Myanmar on Sunday saw early voters queuing up outside polling stations to cast their ballot in the military-ruled nation’s first general election in five years.

The heavily restricted polls are being conducted under the supervision of Myanmar’s military junta which has touted the exercise as a path to reconciliation and a return to democracy.

However, western governments and human rights groups see the elections as a sham designed to keep the military secretly in power through affiliated parties.

In 2021, The Tatmadaw — Myanmar’s powerful army —  seized power by removing the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.

The coup triggered a deadly civil war, which has killed thousands of people and displaced millions.

The civil war continues to rage through much of the Southeast Asian nation even as the elections take place.

Opposition groups have called for a voter boycott.

Myanmar to hold first general election since 2021 coup

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What do you need to know about the elections in Myanmar?

The month-long election is divided into three phases.

In Sunday’s first round —  which began at 6 am local time (2330 GMT) —  the vote is being held in 102 of Myanmar’s 330 townships, including in the capital Naypyidaw and the cities of Yangon and Mandalay.

The next two phases are slated for January 11 and January 25.

There will be no voting in rebel-held areas.

Over 4,800 candidates from 57 parties are contesting in the elections.

Only six parties —  including the pro-military Union Solidarity and Development Party —  have candidates competing nationwide. The Union Solidarity and Development Party is widely projected to win.

The other 51 parties and independents will contest only for regional legislatures. 

Former civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi remains imprisoned. Her hugely popular party, the National League for Democracy, was dissolved in 2023 and is not taking part.

UN decries ‘repression’

The junta has passed legislation that it says forbid “disruption” of the election, including protest and criticism.

It is pursuing prosecution against more than 200 people for violating the laws.

“These elections are clearly taking place in an environment of violence and repression,” UN rights chief Volker Turk said in a statement last week.

Meanwhile on Sunday, Myanmar’s military chief Min Aung Hlaing cast his ballot in Naypyidaw alongside other military personnel, the French AFP news agency reported.

“We guarantee it to be a free and fair election,” he told reporters. “It’s organised by the military, we can’t let our name be tarnished.”

Myanmar junta holds elections amid civil war

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Edited by: Rana Taha

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Caroline Ellison, the former girlfriend of crypto swindler Sam Bankman-Fried, is set to be released from prison just over a year into her sentence. 

The 31-year-old was sentenced to two years in prison in September 2024 for wire fraud and money laundering, after admitting to helping Bankman-Fried’s FTX platform steal billions from clients. 

According to Federal Bureau of Prisons records seen by the Daily Mail, Ellison is now set to be released from custody on January 21, 2026, nine months before the end of her original sentence. 

Ellison was CEO of Alameda Research, a trading company owned by Bankman-Fried’s FTX, and she admitted that he illegally loaned Alameda billions of clients’ money before the platform collapsed in November 2022. 

She pleaded guilty to fraud charges soon after FTX collapsed and was initially sent to federal prison in Connecticut following her sentencing. After serving 11 months of her two-year sentence, she was transferred to community confinement in October 2025, as first reported by Business Insider. 

Community confinement means Ellison is either under house arrest or is in a halfway house, and in January, she will be freed less than four years after she first pleaded guilty to a slew of charges related to the collapse of FTX. 

In Bankman-Fried’s 2023 trial, Ellison became the prosecution’s star witness against her former on-and-off lover. 

Ellison cooperated with prosecutors and offered key testimony that brought down Bankman-Fried, as she confessed to knowingly engaging in illegal business tactics with the disgraced FTX founder, including telling jurors that he gave Alameda ‘unlimited’ access to FTX client money. 

Caroline Ellison, the former girlfriend of crypto swindler Sam Bankman-Fried, is set to be released from prison in January 2026, just over a year into her sentence for her role in the $8 billion FTX cryptocurrency fraud  

Ellison was the former girlfriend of Sam Bankman-Fried, and sensationally turned on him and worked with prosecutors to bring him down at trial in 2023

Ellison’s sentence of two years in federal prison surprised legal experts at the time in September 2024, as she was expected to be rewarded for her cooperation with the prosecution against Bankman-Fried. 

Before her sentencing, the CEO of the FTX bankruptcy estate, John J Ray, told the judge that Ellison deserved to avoid prison time because she ‘provided the Debtors with valuable assistance and cooperation, which resulted in the recovery of hundreds of millions of dollars in Debtor assets for the benefit of creditors.’ 

Earlier this month, after being placed on community confinement, Ellison also agreed to a 10-year ban on serving as an officer or director of cryptocurrency exchanges or public companies. 

She was the star witness at Bankman-Fried’s trial and her three days of testimony, which revealed how Alameda stole billions of dollars from FTX customers to finance risky trades and lavish spending, was ‘crucial’ in securing a conviction for the fraudster. 

After pleading guilty to seven charges in late 2022, including wire fraud and money laundering, Ellison faced as much as 115 years in prison, but was expected only to receive supervised release. 

Ellison surrendered to authorities in the chaotic aftermath of the FTX collapse, which followed the platform loaning billions in client cash to Alameda. 

A court sketch depicts a moment during the Bankman-Fried trial when Ellison was overwhelmed by emotion on the stand

She was the former on-again, off-again girlfriend of Sam Bankman-Fried, who founded both FTX and Alameda Research

When FTX customers tried to withdraw their money, the company couldn’t pay out and went bankrupt. 

When she was sentenced, Ellison grew emotional in court, saying she was sorry for her part in the fraud and for not being ‘brave’ enough to stop it. 

‘I participated in a criminal conspiracy that ultimately stole billions of dollars from people who entrusted their money with us,’ she said. ‘Not a day goes by that I don’t think about all of the people I hurt.’

She cried and sniffled at times throughout her remarks.

The days of the trial when she was on the stand consistently drew the most attendees, as she recounted the salacious details of her toxic relationship with SBF and the shockingly brazen means through which the young crypto executives at FTX and Alameda, herself included, committed one of the largest financial hoodwinks in American history.

Ellison testified that Bankman-Fried ‘directed me’ to commit fraud. She said that Bankman-Fried told her to take $14 billion from the failed crypto exchange’s customers to repay the eyewatering loans Alameda had racked up to fund its often disastrous trades.

She also said that Alameda took FTX deposits for ‘whatever’ it needed.

Ellison cooperated with prosecutors and offered key testimony that brought down Bankman-Fried, as she confessed that she knowingly engaged in illegal business tactics with the disgraced FTX founder

Bankman-Fried is pictured with Gisele Bundchen at a Crypto Bahamas conference

Part of what Ellison said Bankman-Fried instructed her to do was to draft seven different balance sheets to send to Genesis, one of Alameda’s leading lenders, when it recalled its $500 million loan to Alameda in June 2022.

Many lenders were demanding their money back at this time because crypto markets were in the red.

Bankman-Fried denied telling her to do this, even though prosecutors showed he opened the Google document containing the seven balance sheets.

Ellison sent ‘alternative seven’ to Genesis and others. The document inflated Alameda’s asset value and downplayed its liabilities by billions of dollars.

By this time, she and Bankman-Fried had broken up but they had dated from summer 2020 to summer 2021.

‘I would say the whole time we were dating he was also my boss at work which created some awkward situations,’ she said at trial, adding that ‘I wanted more from our relationship and often felt he was distant or not paying attention to me.’

Ellison found herself intertwined with the bushy-haired crypto boss years before FTX’s bankruptcy, once valued at $32 billion by venture capital firms.

At Bankman-Fried’s trial, she said he directed her to tweet out a defense of the FTX and Alameda in the wake of insolvency rumors

Ellison, the daughter of two MIT professors, first met Bankman-Fried in the summer of 2015 while she was working at Jane Street Capital, a proprietary trading firm.

He was two years older than her and a full-fledged trader, while she had just taken an internship before her senior year at Stanford University.

In fall 2017, the two crossed paths again, meeting at a coffee shop in the San Francisco Bay Area to discuss what Bankman-Fried was working on: Alameda Research.

Ellison joined the company shortly after this in what she described as ‘a blind leap into the unknown.’

With Ellison now facing freedom in January, Bankman-Fried has also been actively seeking clemency from President Trump, appealing for a pardon and claiming his prosecution was politically motivated because of the ‘anti-crypto’ Biden administration.  

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Cities around the world have scaled back New Year’s Eve celebrations amid security concerns, as the FBI says it foiled an alleged bombing attack planned for Los Angeles on New Year’s Eve

Fireworks light up the sky during the New Year celebrations in Hong Kong(Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)

Several cities worldwide are calling off their New Year’s Eve festivities due to credible threats of terrorist attacks.

This follows the FBI’s thwarting of an alleged planned bombing attack in Los Angeles set for New Year’s Eve. The four suspects were nabbed earlier this month in the Mojave Desert, east of Los Angeles, while rehearsing their plot, revealed First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli at a press conference.

Officials presented surveillance aerial footage of the suspects moving a large black object onto a table in the desert. They managed to arrest the suspects before they could assemble a functional explosive device, officials said.

People gather on the Champs-Elysee as they wait for the New Year’s Eve fireworks in Paris in 2022(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

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The criminal complaint identifies the four suspects as Audrey Illeene Carroll, 30; Zachary Aaron Page, 32; Dante Gaffield, 24; and Tina Lai, 41. All hail from the Los Angeles area, according to Essayli.

As it stands, Los Angeles city officials have not announced any plans to cancel New Year’s Eve gatherings, but several cities have scaled back their celebrations, reports the Mirror US.

Paris

In Paris, the concert scheduled for New Year’s Eve has been scrapped, reports local news outlet sortiraparis.com, citing a request from Paris police due to security concerns.

Authorities reportedly urged the mayor to call off the concert to minimise the threat of crushes and disorder, given that massive crowds usually flock to the Champs-Elysées performance.

However, a fireworks spectacular will still go ahead, meaning not all festivities have been scrapped.

Sydney

New Year’s Eve pyrotechnics have been axed following the tragic Bondi Beach shooting that occurred earlier this month. The spectacular was expected to attract 15,000 revellers to Bondi Beach.

Waverley Council confirmed the cancellations, stating: “Due to the current situation on the ground, Waverley Council has made the decision to cancel New Year’s Eve events at Bondi Beach, including elrow XXL Bondi and Local’s Lawn,” according to Sky News.

The broadcaster reported that event organiser Fuzzy also explained the choice was made to maintain focus on demonstrating “compassion and care for Sydney’s Jewish community.”

Paris at new year(Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)

Tokyo

Much like Paris, Tokyo officials scrapped the scheduled New Year’s Eve countdown at Shibuya Station over fears that massive gatherings could become targets for attacks and might trigger deadly stampedes, Japan Today reported.

The publication noted that Shibuya Mayor Ken Hasebe also expressed worries about the potential consequences of public drinking.

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Amid the forward momentum, it’s telling that Trump touched the brakes.

“He doesn’t have anything until I approve it,” is how he trailed Volodymyr Zelenskyy‘s upcoming visit to Mar-a-Lago.

The Ukrainian leader has spoken of a peace plan that’s “90% ready” but, as the guest markets its potential, the host isn’t buying – yet, at least.

Any breakthrough breaks down on Russian refusal and Donald Trump needs no reminding – it’s the evergreen reality that has undermined peace efforts and tested his diplomatic muscle with Moscow, often with unflattering results.

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‘Tough night’ after Ukraine hit by Russia

Zelenskyy and coalition allies have talked him back from the brink – a sell-out, as they saw it, when the US floated a 28-point plan that read like a Russian wish list.

The 20-point version crafted in Kyiv includes compromise and Zelenskyy talks of a “good conversation” with Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner, in teeing up a tete-a-tete with the man himself.

So far, so promising – but relative silence from Moscow screams otherwise.

Russian officials have made some optimistic noises but they have been measured and minimal. Vladimir Putin has barely shifted from his original position on Ukraine and there’s limited expectation that will change this weekend.

Why would it?

This is a Russian leader basking in the bonhomie of a president reshaping US relations to Moscow’s advantage and he senses opportunity to pursue territorial ambitions. Antagonism between the US and European allies is but another benefit to Putin of things as they are.

Read more:
Peace talks: What are the main issues remaining?

In such circumstances, a framework proposal that locks down his ambition, long-term, won’t necessarily land well in Moscow.

Is that why he played down the significance of the Zelenskyy plan?

Not for the first time, any Russian reluctance will be a test for Donald Trump – of strength, diplomacy, and of where his loyalties lie.

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Polls have opened in Myanmar’s first general election since the country’s military toppled Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi’s democratically elected government in a 2021 coup.

The heavily restricted election on Sunday is taking place in about a third of the Southeast Asian nation’s 330 townships, with large areas inaccessible amid a raging civil war between the military and an array of opposition forces.

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Following the initial phase, two rounds of voting will be held on January 11 and January 25, while voting has been cancelled in 65 townships altogether.

“This means that at least 20 percent of the country is disenfranchised at this stage,” said Al Jazeera’s Tony Cheng, reporting from Myanmar’s largest city, Yangon. “The big question is going to be here in the cities, what is the turnout going to be like?”

In Yangon, polling stations opened at 6am on Sunday (23:30 GMT, Saturday), and once the sun was up, “we’ve seen a relatively regular flow of voters come in,” said Cheng.

“But the voters are generally middle aged, and we haven’t seen many young people. When you look at the ballot, there are only few choices. The vast majority of those choices are military parties,” he said.

The election has been derided by critics – including the United Nations, some Western countries and human rights ⁠groups – as an exercise that is not free, fair or credible, with anti-military political parties not competing.

Aung San Suu Kyi, who was deposed by the military ​months after her National League for Democracy (NLD) won the last general election by a landslide in 2020, remains in detention, and her party has been dissolved.

The pro-military Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) is widely expected to emerge as the largest party.

The military, which has governed Myanmar since 2021, said the vote is a chance for a new start, politically and economically, for the nation of 55 million people, with Senior General Min Aung Hlaing consistently framing the polls as a path to reconciliation.

The military chief cast his ballot shortly after polling stations opened in Naypyidaw, the country’s capital.

The polls “will turn a new page for Myanmar, shifting the narrative from a conflict-affected, crisis-laden country to a new chapter of hope for building peace and reconstructing ‌the economy”, an opinion piece in the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar said on Saturday.

‘A resounding USDP victory’

But with fighting still raging in many areas of the country, the elections are being held in an environment of violence and repression, according to UN human rights chief Volker Turk. “There are no conditions for the exercise of the rights of freedom of expression, association or peaceful assembly that allow for the free and meaningful participation of the people,” he said last week.

The civil war, which was triggered by the 2021 coup, has killed an estimated 90,000 people, displaced 3.5 million and left some 22 million people in need of humanitarian assistance.

According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, more than 22,000 people are currently detained for political offences.

In downtown Yangon, stations were cordoned off overnight, with security staff posted outside, while armed officers guarded traffic intersections. Election officials set up equipment and installed electronic voting machines, which are being used for the first time in Myanmar.

The machines will not allow write-in candidates or spoiled ballots.

Among a trickle of early voters in the city was 45-year-old Swe Maw, who dismissed international criticism.

“It’s not an important matter,” he told the AFP news agency. “There are always people who like and dislike.”

In the central Mandalay region, 40-year-old Moe Moe Myint said it was “impossible for this election to be free and fair”.

“How can we support a junta-run election when this military has destroyed our lives?” she told AFP. “We are homeless, hiding in jungles, and living between life and death,” she added.

The second round of polling will take place in two weeks’ time, before the third and final round on January 25.

Dates for counting votes and announcing election results have not been declared.

Analysts say the military’s attempt to establish a stable administration in the midst of an expansive conflict is fraught with risk, and that significant international recognition is unlikely for any military-controlled government.

“The outcome is hardly in doubt: a resounding USDP victory and a continuation of army rule with a thin civilian veneer,” wrote Richard Horsey, an analyst at the International Crisis Group in a briefing earlier this month.

“But it will in no way ease Myanmar’s political crisis or weaken the resolve of a determined armed resistance. Instead, it will likely harden political divisions and prolong Myanmar’s state failure. The new administration, which will take power in April 2026, will have few better options, little credibility and likely no feasible strategy for moving the country in a positive direction,” he added.

The Southeast Asian nation of about 50 million is riven by civil war, and there will be no voting in rebel-held areas, which is more than half the country [Nhac Nguyen/AFP]



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Large parts of north Queensland are set to be battered by days of heavy rain, with some areas expected to receive up to 500mm in the coming week, according to the weather bureau.

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe weather warning for heavy rainfall in the gulf region, and is expected to issue another for the coastal region around Townsville later today.

It has also issued flood warnings in the gulf, with a flood watch active for parts of north-western Queensland and the tropical north coast.

BoM senior meteorologist Andrea Peace said parts of the gulf region, such as Mount Isa, had received between 30 and 80mm of rain in the past day or so, with isolated areas receiving up to 120mm.

The same areas are expected to receive up to 100mm of rain on Sunday.

Peace said the system was very broad and was gradually intensifying, while remaining “almost stationary”. It will “impact Queensland at least for the next three to four days”, she said.

“We are expecting to pick up a lot more rainfall through that region in the coming days,” she said.

Pearce said the system would move farther east on Tuesday and Wednesday.

“Seeing totals in excess of 500mm broadly across the region this week is not out of the question,” she said.

Pearce said there was a risk to livestock, comparing the rain event to the 2019 Townsville flood that caused massive inland flooding.

The Queensland police minister, Dan Purdie, said the state disaster coordinator had spent the past week preparing for the potential flood.

“The biggest concern in north-west Queensland is livestock and fodder, and the plan is in place to drop fodder [if roads are cut off],” Purdie said.

The bureau has issued a moderate flood warning for the town of Winton, with the Diamantina River expected to flood on Sunday.

There is also a longer-term major flood warning for Walkers Bend, for the Flinders and Cloncurry catchments. Flooding is expected in Cloncurry today.

A second system is expected to cause heavy rain in the coastal regional around Townsville and Cairns. The area has already seen totals of about 100mm in the past day.

Peace said the area is likely to see an additional 60 to 80mm today, with up to 200mm in isolated pockets. On Monday it will intensify with totals of 70 to 120mm, with some areas seeing 300mm or more.

“At this stage, our flood team is looking at issuing some flood warnings, particularly for the regions around just to the north of Townsville, around the Bohle River,” she said.

The wild weather is being driven by a monsoon trough inland and a monsoon low offshore, both driven by very high sea surface temperatures. It’s likely to continue all week, with rain slackening off later in the week, Peace said.

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Huckabee says Iran’s ‘ultimate goal is to destroy the US’

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, speaking at the Israel National Security Studies conference, says President Donald Trump has been clear that Iran will not be allowed to go nuclear. (Video: Israel National Security Studies.)

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Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country is engaged in what he described as a “total war” with the U.S., Israel and Europe.

In an interview published Saturday by Iranian state media, Pezeshkian said that he believes the Western powers want to bring Iran “to its knees,” The Times of Israel reported.

“In my opinion, we are at total war with the United States, Israel and Europe,” Pezeshkian said. “They want to bring our country to its knees.”

Pezeshkian argued that the current conflict is more complex than the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s, saying his country is now under pressure “from every angle,” according to The Times of Israel.

IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER REITERATES ‘SERIOUS DAMAGE’ TO NUCLEAR FACILITIES, DESPITE AYATOLLAH’S COMMENTS

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks with Fox News Channel’s Martha MacCallum during an interview on Sept. 25, in New York City.  (John Lamparski/Getty Images)

“If one understands it well, this war is far more complex and difficult than that war. In the war with Iraq, the situation was clear, they fired missiles, and we knew where to hit,” Pezeshkian said, according to The Jerusalem Post. 

“Here, they are besieging us from every aspect, they are creating problems for us in terms of livelihood, culturally, politically, and security-wise.”

Despite the strain, Pezeshkian claimed Iran’s military emerged stronger following its June conflict with Israel, according to The Times of Israel.

“Our beloved military forces are doing their jobs with strength and now, in terms of equipment and manpower, despite all the problems we have, they are stronger than when they attacked. So if they want to attack, they will naturally face a more decisive response,” he said.

IRAN’S LEADER THREATENS ‘EVEN BIGGER BLOW’ AGAINST US, TRUMP SAYS HE’S IN ‘NO RUSH’ TO TALK

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu participates in a joint press conference with President Donald Trump at the White House, Sept. 29, in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)

The interview with Pezeshkian was released ahead of a planned meeting this coming week at Mar-a-Lago between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump, according to The Jerusalem Post.

Tensions remain high following a brief but intense air conflict in June that was kicked off by Israel. 

The fighting resulted in roughly 1,100 deaths in Iran, including senior military commanders and nuclear scientists, while Iranian missile attacks killed 28 people in the Jewish State.

TRUMP’S BIG ACHIEVEMENT IN BOMBING IRAN, STILL SLAMMED BY CRITICS – AS HE SUGGESTS ‘REGIME CHANGE’

President Donald Trump will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu next week. (Andrew Harnick/Getty Images)

On June 22, President Donald Trump announced U.S. forces had launched attacks on Iranian nuclear sites, including Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.

“Our objective was the destruction of Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world’s number one state sponsor of terror,” the president said. “Tonight, I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success. Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated.”

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A US-brokered ceasefire between Iran and Israel took effect on June 24.

Fox News Digital’s Landon Mion contributed to this report.

Sophia Compton is a Writer at Fox News Digital. Sophia was previously a business reporter covering finance, energy and tourism and has experience as a TV news producer. She graduated with a journalism degree in 2021 from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

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Jeffrey R. Holland, a high-ranking official in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who was next in line to become the faith’s president, has died. He was 85.

Holland died early Saturday morning from complications associated with kidney disease, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced on its website.

Holland led a governing body called the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, which helps set church policy while overseeing the many business interests of what is known widely as the Mormon church.

He was the next longest-tenured member of the Quorum of the Twelve after President Dallin H. Oaks, making him next in line to lead the church under a long-established succession plan.

Henry B. Eyring, one of Oaks’s two top counselors, is now next in line for the presidency.

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Jeffrey R. Holland was next in line to lead the church under a long-established succession plan (AP)

Holland had been hospitalized during the Christmas holiday for treatment related to ongoing health complications, the church said. Experts on the faith pointed to his declining health in October when Oaks did not select Holland as a counselor. He attended several church events that month in a wheelchair.

His death leaves a vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve that Oaks will fill in coming months, likely by calling a new apostle from a lower-tier leadership council. Apostles are all men in accordance with the church’s all-male priesthood.

Holland grew up in St. George, Utah, and worked for many years in education administration before his call to join the ranks of church leadership. He served as the ninth president of Brigham Young University, the Utah-based faith’s flagship school, from 1980 to 1989 and was a commissioner of the church’s global education system.

Under his leadership, the Provo university worked to improve interfaith relations and established a satellite campus in Jerusalem. The Anti-Defamation League later honored Holland with its Torch of Liberty Award for helping foster greater understanding between Christian and Jewish communities.

Holland is widely remembered for a 2021 speech in which he called on church members to take up metaphorical muskets in defense of the faith’s teachings against same-sex marriage. The talk, known colloquially as “the musket fire speech,” became required reading for BYU freshmen in 2024, raising concern among LGBTQ+ students and advocates.

Holland is survived by his wife, Patricia Terry, their three children, 13 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Associated Press writer Jeff Martin in Atlanta contributed.

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NEED TO KNOW

• A woman is rethinking returning to a beautician who refused to let her use the bathroom during a three-hour, at-home appointment
• She recounted the experience and shared her frustrations on the community forum Mumsnet
• Users reacted to the situation, with one calling the beautician’s actions “bizarre”

After three years as a loyal client, a woman isn’t sure if she’ll return to her beautician.

The woman has been going to the beautician, who works out of her home, for about three years, according to a post on the U.K. community forum Mumsnet. She gets her eyebrows and lashes done, plus a manicure and pedicure, and typically the appointments last three hours or longer.

“She operates out of her house and must be busy, as she always makes out she has lots of clients,” the woman wrote, before recounting the recent appointment that made her rethink her longstanding relationship with the at-home beautician.

The woman said she recently had her first appointment with the beautician after the birth of her baby 12 weeks earlier, and noted that after childbirth, “my bladder is not what it used to be.” After her mani-pedi was complete, and the beautician had given her a coffee per usual, the pair were going to move on to brows and lashes when the woman asked to use the bathroom.

Stock image of a woman getting their eyebrows shaped.

Getty

The beautician refused, telling the woman that “it’s not clean up there,” and she “wasn’t expecting anyone to use it,” according to the Mumsnet post. So the two continued with the appointment.

By the time the woman’s brows were done — and the client was still trying to hold out — things got “desperate.”

“I didn’t say anything and then let her do my brows. By this point, I was getting really desperate and told her I was going to have to nip to a nearby supermarket to use the toilet and come back,” the woman said. But that also caused issues.

The beautician “said if I did that she wouldn’t be able to do my lashes due to time, but I’d still have to pay for them as that’s what I’d booked,” the woman recalled in the post. “I knew I couldn’t wait,” she said, so she paid, left without her lashes completed and drove to a nearby grocery store to use the restroom.

After the experience, the woman is wondering if she will continue to be a regular, or find a new beautician after their three-year history. “I really like her and I love the way she does my brows,” she wrote, “but this has got me questioning whether I should go back.”

“I’ve had treatments done at other people’s homes before, and they’ve always offered me use of the toilet,” she said. Elsewhere in the post, the woman anticipated that in response, Mumsnet users would find her “unreasonable here because I’m a grown adult who should be able to hold my bladder” — but most people did not.

“You are not being unreasonable in the slightest,” one person wrote, calling it “completely bonkers” that the beautician would not allow a client to use her bathroom. “Completely understandable that you’d need access to a toilet, especially for an appointment that long!”

Stock image of a woman waiting outside a bathroom.

Getty

The same user continued, “I get my nails done at [somebody’s] home as well, and we are welcome to use the loo and it’s always kept spotless because of that. Perhaps you could message her with some feedback before deciding never to go back? See if she listens? But if you aren’t allowed to use the loo there that would be a dealbreaker for me as I wouldn’t be able to relax during my appointment.”

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“If she’s running her business from home then she should expect people may need the bathroom and make sure [it’s] clean,” a different user echoed. “It was a perfectly reasonable request you made.”

Another commenter agreed, writing, “If she’s offering appointments to the public then she needs to be offering a toilet. I’ve got pretty good bladder control, but I couldn’t go that length of time without a wee.” The same person also advised the frustrated woman to “find a professional salon for future treatments.”

“Bizarre of her,” another Mumsnet user wrote, adding that if they were in the woman’s shoes, they “wouldn’t go back.”

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By NICHOLAS COMINO, NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA

Published: 02:02 GMT, 28 December 2025 | Updated: 02:02 GMT, 28 December 2025

A prominent state MP who is one of South Australia’s wealthiest men will spend a second night in custody after he was charged over the alleged assault of his wife of more than three decades.

Police were called to a Conmurra property on the state’s Limestone Coast on Saturday morning following reports of a ‘domestic assault’.

Independent MacKillop MP Nick McBride, 56, was arrested and charged with aggravated assault, breach of bail, and breaching an intervention order over the alleged incident involving his wife Katherine.

He was refused bail and will appear in Mount Gambier Magistrates Court on Monday.

An 82-year-old man from Kingston South-East, understood to be McBride’s father, was also interviewed by police and later reported for aggravated assault. 

He will be summoned to appear in court at a later date.

A police spokesperson told Daily Mail that investigations into the alleged incident continue. 

The charges come just 83 days before South Australians head to the polls on March 21, where McBride hopes to be re-elected for a third term.

Nick McBride (left) has been charged over the alleged assault of his wife Katherine (right)

The independent SA MP hopes to be re-elected for a third term in March

A prominent grazier, McBride was elected to state parliament in 2018.

His MacKillop electorate covers 34,138 km stretching south and west from the mouth of the Murray River to the Victorian border.

He easily retained his seat at the 2022 election with 62.3 per cent of the primary vote and 72.6 per cent on a two-party preferred basis.

However, McBride spectacularly quit the Liberals a year later, blaming ‘dark forces’ and ‘divisive factionalism’ within the party for his departure.

Now an independent, he still holds a largely Liberal stance on social issues.

McBride describes himself as a ‘primary producer, long established business owner, Chairman and board member of numerous local not-for-profit organisations’.

‘Nick prides himself on his approachability, and the open and honest relationships he has with local people of all ages,’ his website reads.

The McBride family is influential in both politics and agriculture. 

Nick McBride and his wife Katherine were married for more than three decades

His great-grandfather, Sir Philip McBride, was a founding member of the Liberal Party and served as Defence Minister under then-Prime Minister Robert Menzies.

Their power also extends deep into farming, with the family controlling over 1.1million hectares of land across South Australia and Queensland, making them one of the nation’s largest landholders.

McBride has been campaigning for re-election as an independent.

Daily Mail contacted McBride and his wife for comment.

The couple have been married for more than 30 years and have two children.

Ms McBride is a registered nurse who works in the not-for-profit aged care sector.

She previously attempted a stint in politics when she took on federal MP Tony Pasin for preselection in the safe Liberal seat of Barker in 2023 but lost out to the incumbent member.

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High profile MP Nick McBride in custody over alleged assault of his wife months out from the South Australian state election

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David Smith, who brutally killed a grandad and later trafficked drugs in prison, died behind bars at HMP Northumberland, with a report into his death now released

David Smith, 45, died in February 2024(Image: NEC)

A man who murdered a grandad and later became involved in drug trafficking in prison died behind bars.

David Smith, 45, attacked Steven Youll, 45, on the street in Benwell, Newcastle, in 2013 after a drinking session. Smith carried out the killing alongside Michael Wait following a dispute with Mr Youll. The dad-of-three and grandad suffered 71 injuries. Both Smith and Wait were jailed for life, with a minimum term of 16 years. Smith died of multiple drug toxicity on February 8, 2024, while serving his sentence at HMP Northumberland.

Following his death, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) launched an investigation, which found that Smith’s clinical care was reasonable and equivalent to what he could have expected to receive in the community. However, the recently published report also stressed a number of findings, Chronicle Live reports.

An investigation was launched after David Smith died while serving his sentence at HMP Northumberland(Image: mirror.co.uk)

The report said Smith claimed he had no problems with drugs or alcohol, and there was no evidence of him taking illicit drugs at Northumberland. However, post-mortem tests found bromazolam, buprenorphine and olanzapine in his body, none of which had been prescribed to him.

Underlying ischaemic heart disease also contributed to his death. He had been diagnosed with heart failure in 2016 and had other cardiovascular conditions. While care plans were in place to monitor him in prison, he sometimes “missed appointments”.

The report highlighted that HMP Northumberland, a category C prison in Morpeth, has implemented measures to tackle drugs and build recovery, including scanning mail, acquiring additional drug detection dogs, enhanced gate security, customised training and greater collaboration with the police and specialist teams. The latter has been “particularly fruitful in addressing staff corruption”.

Smith’s prison records described him as “helpful and well regarded”. However, around 20 security intelligence reports in 2023 linked him to trafficking drugs and mobile phones, partly through his roles in the education department and as a cleaner, the report said.

“There was no evidence that this information was considered when reallocating Smith to his role as a cleaner towards the end of that year,” it said.

According to the PPO report, an intelligence report in July 2023 indicated a large amount of drugs was available in the prison and, as an orderly, Smith was implicated in their rapid distribution.

The report suggested he was one of two men running the drug network on House Block 1. Although staff were unable to corroborate the information, the high number of prisoners found under the influence at the time lent credibility to the allegation.

Further intelligence suggested that Smith and another prisoner were facilitating the drug trade and had obtained a new strain of Spice. There were reports that they coerced another prisoner into trying it. Several prisoners subsequently became very unwell, with some experiencing seizures and convulsions.

The report alleged that drugs were smuggled via the education department and that some prisoners hid substances in socks and trainers to bypass body scanners.

An intelligence report indicated that Smith kept mobile phones and drugs, which he hid during cell searches. He received them by mail and in visits, using codes and pictures to order them. The risk was assessed as high impact and required a targeted search.

A further report noted increasing drug use. Staff suspected that Smith and a prisoner in the adjacent cell were trafficking drugs from the education department. The informant alleged the drugs were crack, heroin, steroids, Valium, diazepam and Spice.

At his last meeting with a prison key worker, Smith asked to return to work as a cleaner and he resumed this role shortly afterwards. The report found that the security department only assesses prisoners who apply for jobs outside of the house-block.

Those applying for other jobs are only brought to their attention if they are of very high interest. The PPO said that security checks should be made for positions of trust within the house-block, to mitigate potential risks.

After Smith’s death, a notice reminded staff of the key requirements when conducting welfare checks on prisoners. The PPO advised reviewing the allocation process for positions of trust to ensure security information and potential risks are fully considered.

The most recent inspection of HMP Northumberland took place in August and September 2022. It found that safety and respect inside the prison had improved compared to 2017. However, inspectors noted that more prisoners at similar prisons reported that it was easy to obtain drugs and a larger proportion had developed drug problems.

Inspectors reported that several steps had been taken to reduce the demand for and the supply of illicit substances, including improved gate security and appointing a drug strategy manager.

The report found that managers had appropriately focused on responding to intelligence on drug and alcohol use. Inspectors noted that there was strong partnership working between the substance misuse team and the prison, links with the police were good and the prison was actively addressing staff corruption.

An HMP Northumberland spokesperson said: “Our thoughts continue to be with the family of Mr Smith. We have cooperated fully with the Prisons and Ombudsman’s investigation, and have already implemented the agreed actions from its report.”

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These are the key developments from day 1,403 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Published On 28 Dec 202528 Dec 2025

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Here is where things stand on Sunday, December 28:

Fighting

• At least two people were killed in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, and the surrounding region, after Russian forces launched a massive attack with hundreds of missiles and drones, ahead of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s meeting with United States President Donald Trump to work out a plan to end nearly four years of war.
• The attack also wounded at least 46 people, including two children, according to Ukrainian officials.
• Zelenskyy, who was on his way to meet Trump in Florida, said that Russia had launched nearly 500 drones and 40 missiles, targeting energy and civilian infrastructure.
• Ukraine’s state grid operator, Ukrenergo, said that energy facilities across Ukraine were struck, and emergency power cuts had been implemented across the capital. DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private energy company, said the attack had left more than a million households in and around Kyiv without power.
• Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksii Kuleba said that more than 40 percent of residential buildings in Kyiv were left without heat, as temperatures hovered around 0 degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit) following the attack.
• Poland’s Air Navigation Services Agency said in a statement on X that the Rzeszow and Lublin airports in the country’s southeastern region were temporarily shut following Russia’s strikes on Ukraine. The Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces said that Polish and allied jets were deployed during the attack, but no violations of Polish airspace were reported.
• In Russia, air defence forces shot down 11 drones headed for the capital, Moscow, according to the city’s mayor, Sergei Sobyanin.
• Russia’s aviation watchdog, Rosaviatsia, said that Moscow’s Vnukovo and Sheremetyevo airports imposed temporary restrictions on airspace due to security reasons.
• Russia’s Ministry of Defence also said that its air defence systems had intercepted and destroyed more than 100 Ukrainian drones in three hours over six other Russian regions.
• Russian commanders told President Vladimir Putin that Moscow’s forces had captured the Ukrainian towns of Myrnohrad, Rodynske and Artemivka in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, as well as Huliaipole and Stepnohirsk in the Zaporizhia region, the Kremlin and Russian news agencies said on Telegram.
• But Ukraine’s military said in its daily battlefield update that its forces had beaten back Russian attempts to advance in the vicinity of Myrnohrad and Huliaipole.

Politics and diplomacy

• Zelenskyy announced in a Telegram message that he would hold talks with European leaders after his meeting with Trump on Sunday, as Kyiv pushes for a stronger position in the ongoing ceasefire negotiations to prevent Russia from prolonging the war in Ukraine.
• Zelenskyy said he wants to discuss with Trump territorial issues, the main stumbling block in talks to end the war, as a 20-point peace framework and a security guarantee deal near completion.
• On the way to the meeting in Florida, Zelenskyy stopped in Canada’s Halifax to meet Mark Carney, the Canadian prime minister said in a statement after the meeting.
• Carney denounced the latest Russian attack as “barbarism”, stressing that it is important for allies to “stand with Ukraine in this difficult time”. He also announced $1.83bn in additional economic aid to Ukraine.
• Zelenskyy spoke to European leaders following the meeting with Carney. In a statement posted on X, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said: “We welcome all efforts leading to our shared objective – a just and lasting peace that preserves Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. And that strengthens the country’s security and defence capabilities.”
• Antonio Costa, the president of the European Council, which represents the bloc’s 27 member states, echoed von der Leyen’s promise to continue backing Ukraine, saying on X: “The EU’s support for Ukraine will not falter. In war, in peace, in reconstruction.”
• German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that Zelenskyy had “the full support” of European leaders ahead of his talks with Trump. The leaders of NATO and the European Union said they would work “in close coordination” with the US “for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine”, Merz added in a statement.
• French President Emmanuel Macron said in a call with Zelenskyy that the latest Russian strikes on Kyiv showed that Moscow was not interested in ending the war, the AFP news agency reported, citing officials from Macron’s office. During the call, Macron highlighted what he called the “contrast” between “the willingness of Ukraine to build a lasting peace and Russia’s determination to prolong the war that it started”, the report said.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia could see Kyiv was in no hurry to end the war by peaceful means, according to the Interfax news agency. Putin said that if Ukraine did not want to resolve the conflict peacefully, then Russia would accomplish all goals of its “special military operation” by force, Russian state news agency TASS reported.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (right) and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney (left) speak to the media as they meet in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, ahead of the former’s meeting with US President Donald Trump on Sunday [Ukrainian Presidential Office/Handout Photo via AFP]



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A winter snow storm wreaked havoc across New York City and other parts of the US Northeast over the weekend, causing major travel disruptions during the holiday season.

New York City received about 4 inches (10.2 centimeters) of snow Friday night into early Saturday, with up to 10 inches of snow seen in other parts of the state.

“The good news is that the heaviest snow is done,” said Bob Oravec, a Maryland-based forecaster at the National Weather Service.

“The storm is definitely winding down, a little bit of flurries across the Northeast [on Saturday morning],” he added.

New Yorkers were urged to stay indoors ahead of the blanketingImage: John Angelillo/UPI Photo/IMAGO

Flights cancelled across Northeast

More than 1,600 flights were cancelled nationwide on Friday and another 800 flights were cancelled on Saturday, according to air traffic tracker FlightAware.

Thousands more flights were delayed due to the wild weather.

The snow storm reduced visibility at New York’s main airportsImage: Charles Guerin/abaca/picture alliance

Many of the cancellations were flights out of New York’s John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia airports, as well as nearby Newark airport.

Additional flights were cancelled as far away as Philadelphia and Toronto.

Cities emerge from state of emergency

Ahead of the snow storm, New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency for more than half the state.

“The safety ⁠of New Yorkers is my top priority, and I continue to urge extreme caution throughout the duration of this storm,” she said in a statement on Friday.

But as the weather cleared later on Saturday, many took to New York’s parks to enjoy the winter wonderland, with one interstate tourist telling the Associated Press news agency that the blanketing was “absolutely beautiful.”

Some New Yorkers seized the opportunity to play in the snowImage: Angela Weiss/AFP

Acting New Jersey Governor Tahesha Way had also declared a state of emergency.

“This storm will cause dangerous road conditions and impact holiday travel,” she said.

“We are urging travelers to avoid travel during the storm and allow crews to tend to the roads. Drivers should plan their travel accordingly, monitor conditions and road closures, and follow all safety protocols.”

The wild weather began to ease later on SaturdayImage: Deccio Serrano/NurPhoto/picture alliance

Edited by: Rana Taha

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People across Taiwan have reported feeling “shaking” and tremors after a magnitude 6.6 earthquake hit the island’s north-east coast.

The earthquake started at around 11.05pm local time on Saturday – 32 kilometres (20 miles) from the coastal town of Yilan – but was felt across the island.

Buildings in the capital Taipei shook as Taiwanese President William Lai Ching-te urged residents to be alert for possible aftershocks.

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Taiwan lies near two tectonic plates and is accustomed to earthquakes (AFP via Getty Images)

One resident in Yilan County described how a building shook first vertically and then horizontally.

“It kept on shaking for a while. Then I ran out, but most people did not run out. I was scared,” he said.

The epicentre was 70 kilometres (43 miles) deep, and there were no immediate reports of widespread damage or casualties.

Local television showed hanging TVs swaying inside an office building, and spilt cleaning products and broken bottles that had fallen off supermarket shelves.

More than 3,000 homes in Yilan briefly lost power, Taiwan Power Company said, as Taipei’s city government reported isolated cases of damage including gas and water leakage and minor damage to buildings.

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An earthquake last year saw buildings collapse in Hualien City, eastern Taiwan (AP)

It designated the incident a category four earthquake, meaning minor damage is possible.

TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said that a small number of its facilities in the Hsinchu science park, where it is headquartered, reached evacuation criteria due to the quake.

The weather administration warned people should be on alert for aftershocks between 5.5 and 6.0 in the coming day, but that damage from the quake should be limited because it was relatively deep and hit offshore.

A number of “high wave” advisories were issued in the Japanese regions of Hokkaido, Tohoku, Hokuriku, and Okinawa, but no tsunami alerts or warnings were given.

Taiwan lies near the junction of two tectonic plates and is prone to earthquakes. An earthquake with a magnitude between 6.0 and 6.9 is described as “strong” on the Richter scale.

More than 100 people were killed in a quake in southern Taiwan in 2016, while a 7.3 magnitude quake killed more than 2,000 people in 1999.

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NEED TO KNOW

• A landlord in Washington has been arrested after the body of a man, who was reportedly his tenant, was discovered in a barrel on his property
• Ricky Dean Miller, 67, was charged with second-degree murder and unlawful disposal of human remains on Dec. 17
• The victim was identified as 71-year-old Dennis Eugene Schmitt, and his body showed signs of “multiple blunt-force injuries to the head” and “evidence of strangulation,” per police

A landlord in Washington has been charged with murder after a body was discovered in a barrel on his property — and the victim was reportedly his tenant.

Authorities responded to a report of “suspicious circumstances” in the 3600 block of Old Lewis River Rd. in Cowlitz County at 6:53 p.m. local time on Dec. 16, per a press release shared by the Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) on Tuesday, Dec. 23. 

The call came from a family member of local man Ricky Dean Miller, 67, who claimed Miller told them he had “killed someone” and that the victim’s body was hidden on his property, according to the statement.

Police obtained a warrant to search Miller’s property, where they located the body of 71-year-old Dennis Eugene Schmitt in a barrel. 

Schmitt was reportedly Miller’s tenant, and he lived in a separate structure on the property, per the statement.

Washington state patrol car.

Washington State Patrol

An autopsy conducted on Dec. 19 revealed that Schmitt had sustained “multiple blunt-force injuries to the head,” and his body showed “evidence of strangulation,” per police.

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Miller was booked without bond into Cowlitz County Jail on charges of second-degree murder and unlawful disposal of human remains on Dec. 17, per public arrest records. Police ask that anyone with information regarding the case contact Detective James Hanberry at 360-577-3092.

PEOPLE reached out to the CCSO and the Cowlitz County Coroner’s Office for comment on Saturday, Dec. 27, but did not receive an immediate response.

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