By ALEXA CIMINO, US REPORTER

Published: 16:15 GMT, 28 December 2025 | Updated: 16:22 GMT, 28 December 2025

FBI agents have lifted the lid on alleged diva-behavior by Director Kash Patel as they accused him of using the agency as a personal branding platform.

Current and former agents told The Daily Beast that Patel instructed staff to alert him to ‘noteworthy arrests’ so he could appear for media coverage. 

The security chief also instructed agents to keep interactions with him to a minimum and insisted on wearing an FBI windbreaker instead of a suit, his colleagues told Axios.

Patel rose to the FBI’s top job by vowing to dismantle entrenched Washington bureaucracy but has come under scrutiny for bungling responses to several security incidents.

Concerns about his leadership were detailed in a leaked dossier, obtained by the New York Post, from current and former agents this month, which outlined what they called repeated management failures.

Among the incidents cited was Patel’s alleged meltdown following Charlie Kirk’s killing in Utah. 

His staffers complained to Axios about his social media etiquette after the assassination, citing a post where he hinted at an arrest in the probe before a suspect was actually in custody.

The dossier claims Patel flew to Provo the day after the shooting, refusing to leave his private jet until given a size-medium FBI raid jacket. 

Kash Patel with his girlfriend, country music star Alexis Wilkins

FBI Director Kash Patel has been accused by current and former agents of demanding ‘screen time’ at major arrests

When he complained it lacked enough sleeve patches, SWAT members reportedly stripped patches from their own uniforms and delivered them to the airport. 

‘Patel apparently did not have his own FBI raid jacket with him and refused to step from the plane without wearing one,’ the report stated.

During an interview with Fox News host Laura Ingraham, Patel rejected the account, calling it ‘100 percent false,’ and said he was ‘honored’ to wear the jacket when it was offered and did so with ‘pride’.

The complaints come amid scrutiny of Patel’s lifestyle, including private jet use, luxury cars, and frequent high-profile trips with his musician girlfriend, Alexis Wilkins. 

Former FBI executive Christopher O’Leary told MSNBC that Patel exploited his title for self-promotion, earning the nickname ‘Make-a-Wish director’.

The Daily Mail has reached out to Patel for comment.  

The move comes as Patel faces mounting scrutiny over his leadership style and spending decisions.

President Donald Trump stands with FBI director Kash Patel as he participates in a Diwali celebration in the Oval Office at the White House, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025, in Washington D.C.

Last week, MSNOW reported that Patel ordered four luxury armored BMWs to replace the Chevrolet Suburbans traditionally used by the bureau. 

A person close to Patel, who spoke anonymously to MSNOW to share details, said the government would have paid about $480,000 for a new armored suburban, which was more than twice the cost of the BMW.

He has also drawn criticism for using FBI aircraft for personal travel, responding to backlash by saying, ‘I’m entitled to a personal life.’

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FBI agents spill Kash Patel’s ‘diva’ demands on the job including ‘ensuring he gets screen time for any big arrests’

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You may not realise that you could qualify for 100 per cent off your bill

Certain people could qualify to get 100 per cent taken off their council tax bill(Image: Getty)

Brits might be entitled to a full 100 per cent discount on their council tax bill if they fall into certain categories. As per Government guidelines, certain residents are exempt from the total cost, while others may be eligible for a partial reduction.

Council tax is an annual charge levied by your local council. The sum is set by your council and contributes towards the provision of local services. The amount you pay in council tax is contingent upon both your location and the valuation of your property. Generally, if you’re 18 or older, you’re obliged to pay council tax.

Full council tax is calculated based on at least two adults living in a home. Couples cohabiting are jointly accountable for paying the bill.

However, not everyone is required to pay council tax. For example, some households may be eligible for a council tax reduction, potentially leading to a discount of up to 100 per cent.

Others may also be granted a 100 per cent reduction if they are deemed severely mentally impaired and fulfil other criteria. Furthermore, households where every occupant is a full-time student are exempt from payment altogether. Here’s what you need to know.

Your council tax is set by your local authority(Image: Getty)

Students

GOV.UK clarifies that households where everyone is a full-time student are exempt from paying council tax. If you receive a bill, you can apply for an exemption.

To be considered a full-time student, your course must:

• Last at least one year
• Involve at least 21 hours of study per week

If you’re studying for a qualification up to A-level and you’re under 20, your course must last at least three months and involve a minimum of 12 hours study per week. However, it’s crucial to note that if there’s someone in your household who’s not a full-time student, you’ll receive a council tax bill, but your household might still be eligible for a discount.

Severe mental impairment

You may be able to apply for a discount on your council tax bill if you or someone you live with is severely mentally impaired. You’ll need to:

• Obtain a certificate confirming severe mental impairment from a medical professional, such as your GP
• Demonstrate your eligibility for certain benefits – check with your local council

If you qualify as severely mentally impaired, you’ll receive a 100 per cent discount if one of the following applies:

• You live alone
• Any other adults in your household either qualify as severely mentally impaired or are full-time students

There’ll be a 50 per cent discount on the council tax bill if everyone else in your household is “disregarded”.

Not everyone is obligated to contribute towards council tax(Image: getty)

Council tax reduction

If you’re on a low income, you can apply to your local council for council tax reduction (sometimes referred to as council tax support).

GOV.UK states: “You could be eligible if you’re on a low income or claim benefits. Your bill could be reduced by up to 100 per cent. You can apply if you own your home, rent, are unemployed or working.”

Your eligibility for council tax discounts or exemptions depends on several factors, including your location as each council runs its own scheme. Other considerations include your personal circumstances such as income, number of children, benefits, and residency status.

Your household income, which includes savings, pensions and your partner’s income, is also taken into account, as well as whether your children live with you and if other adults reside in your home. To check your eligibility, visit the Government website here.

Being ‘disregarded’ for council tax

Certain people, like students, are considered “disregarded” for council tax purposes. Other people who fall under this category include those who are:

• Under 18 years old
• On certain apprentice schemes
• Under 25 years old and receive funding from the Education and Skills Funding Agency
• A student nurse
• A foreign language assistant registered with the British Council
• A live-in carer for someone who is not your partner, spouse, or child under 18
• A diplomat

Even if you’re disregarded, you still need to apply for a council tax discount or exemption. For more information, visit the Government website here.

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Iran’s former foreign minister argues Israel, backed by the US, has killed every opportunity for peace.

Months after being attacked by the United States and Israel, Iran finds itself in the crosshairs again, with Israeli officials lobbying US President Donald Trump to address Tehran’s ballistic missiles.

Veteran Iranian diplomat Javad Zarif tells host Steve Clemons that “everybody lost any faith in diplomacy” after Israel and the US attacked Iran following five rounds of reconciliation talks between Washington and Tehran.

Zarif added that Israel has historically thwarted every opportunity for reconciliation between Iran and the US, and that Trump’s style of diplomacy is disastrous, as it creates “negotiations that end up in war”.

Published On 28 Dec 202528 Dec 2025

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Amber cold health alerts have been issued for northern England, with low temperatures predicted to cause a “rise in deaths” among vulnerable and elderly people.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued two amber warnings for north-east and north-west England, which will be in place between 8pm on Sunday until midday on Monday 5 January.

The agency warned that expected low temperatures would probably result in the increased use of healthcare services by vulnerable people and could lead to a rise in the number of deaths, particularly among those aged 65 and over or those with pre-existing health conditions, such as respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.

Vulnerable younger people and those sleeping rough may also be affected.

Temperatures inside buildings such as hospitals, care homes and clinics are predicted to drop and it will be challenging for people to keep indoor temperatures at the recommended level of 18C, leading to more risk to vulnerable individuals, the agency warned.

All other regions in England will be under a less serious yellow alert for this period, indicating that there is still potential for a significant impact on the health services in these regions.

The agency also warned of staffing issues owing to external factors such as travel delays and said infrastructure sectors, such as transport and energy, could be affected.

The Met Office forecast that most of England will be cloudy overnight, and there will be patches of frost and fog also, bringing “tricky travelling conditions” on Monday morning.

Temperatures are expected to fall to as low as -1C overnight in Penrith and hover around 0C in areas of the Lake District where the amber cold health alert is in place, while temperatures in northern areas of Scotland will fall further, to -6C or -7C.

There will be a “brisk northerly breeze” along the north-east coast of England.

Dr Agostinho Sousa, the head of extreme events and health protection at UKHSA, recommended checking on friends, family and neighbours as cold weather sets in.

“The forecasted temperatures can have a serious impact on the health of some people, leading to increased risk of heart attacks, strokes and chest infections, particularly for individuals over the age of 65 and those with pre-existing health conditions,” he said.

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Noor NanjiCulture correspondent

Brigitte Bardot: From French cinema to international fame

French actress Brigitte Bardot, who revolutionised 1950s French cinema and became a symbol of sexual liberation, has died aged 91.

The cinema icon – “BB” as she was known in her home country – acted in almost 50 films, including And God Created Woman, but retired in 1973 to devote her life to animal welfare.

French President Emmanuel Macron said the nation was mourning “a legend of the century”, while the Brigitte Bardot Foundation remembered her as a “world-renowned actress”.

Later in life, Bardot’s reputation was damaged after she made homophobic slurs and was fined multiple times for inciting racial hatred.

Thomas Samson via Getty Images

Brigitte Bardot – pictured here in 2006 – gave up acting to concentrate on animal welfare at the age of 39

The Brigitte Bardot Foundation she established said in a statement that it was announcing her death with “immense sadness”.

The animal welfare organisation said she was “a world-renowned actress and singer, who chose to abandon her prestigious career to dedicate her life and energy to animal welfare and her foundation.”

It did not specify where or when Bardot died.

Paying tribute, Macron wrote: “Her films, her voice, her dazzling glory, her initials, her sorrows, her generous passion for animals, her face that became Marianne, Brigitte Bardot embodied a life of freedom.

“French existence, universal brilliance. She touched us. We mourn a legend of the century.”

Meanwhile, French far-right politician Marine Le Pen said France had lost “an exceptional woman, through her talent, her courage, her frankness, her beauty”.

Bardot’s husband, whom she married in 1992, was Bernard d’Ormale, a former adviser to the late far-right politician Jean-Marie Le Pen – the father of Marine.

Herbert Dorfman/Corbis via Getty Images

Bardot tore up the rule book of French cinema in the 1950s

Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot was born in Paris in 1934 to a wealthy family, who wanted her to become a ballerina.

She was discovered in her teens after posing on the cover of Elle magazine, swiftly becoming a sensation in her home country, and was persuaded to enter the cinema world.

She played iconic roles, most notably in the 1956 film And God Created Woman, directed by her then-husband Roger Vadim, in which she played a sexually liberated woman.

The film scandalised the American public and was banned in some US states, while the French existentialist philosopher Simone de Beauvoir hailed her as an icon of “absolute freedom”.

Through the late 1950s and 1960s, she became a global phenomenon with roles in The Truth, earning critical acclaim for her dramatic depth; Contempt, a Jean-Luc Godard masterpiece; and Viva Maria!, showcasing her comedic flair alongside Jeanne Moreau.

Beyond her most iconic roles, Bardot showcased her versatility in films like Love on a Pillow, where she portrayed a complex, emotionally-torn character, and Two Weeks in September, a romantic drama that highlighted her ability to convey vulnerability.

In The Bear and the Doll, she brought playful charm to a comedic role, proving her range across genres. These films, though less celebrated, underscored her ability to captivate audiences in diverse narratives.

As well as her work in film, Bardot will also be remembered as a fashion icon, with her blonde tousled hair and bold eyeliner setting beauty trends worldwide. After wearing an off-the-shoulder number in Cannes in 1953, similar styles became known as the Bardot neckline.

She was married four times and had one son, Nicolas, with French actor and film producer Jacques Charrier, who died in September.

Nicolas later sued his mother for emotional damage after she wrote in an autobiography that she would have preferred to “give birth to a little dog”.

Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images

Bardot, Jacques Charrier and their three-day-old son Nicolas in 1960

Ruthlessly marketed as a hedonistic sex symbol, Bardot was frustrated in her ambition to become a serious actress.

At the height of her fame, she announced she was retiring at the age of 39 to devote her life to animal welfare.

“I gave my youth and beauty to men, I give my wisdom and experience to animals,” Bardot famously declared.

In 1986, she launched the Brigitte Bardot Foundation, which works to protect wild and domestic animals.

She became a vegetarian, and in 2013 even threatened to apply for Russian citizenship in protest against plans to kill two sick elephants in a French zoo.

Reacting to her death, France’s oldest animal protection association – The Société Protectrice des Animaux – paid tribute to an “iconic and passionate figure for the animal cause”.

Charly Hel/Prestige/Getty Images

Bardot, pictured here in 2001, became an increasingly controversial figure in her later life

But for all her cinema successes and animal welfare work, Bardot leaves behind a controversial legacy, with a string of remarks later in life about Islam, gay people and the #MeToo movement impacting her reputation.

From the late 1990s, Bardot was fined multiple times for inciting racial hatred after comments she made online and in interviews about Muslims. She was fined €15,000 (£12,000) in 2008 after complaining on her website that Muslims were “destroying our country by imposing their ways”.

Bardot faced fierce criticism for her 2003 book, A Cry in the Silence, where she argued gay people, modern art, politicians and immigrants destroyed French culture.

In 2018, Bardot also dismissed actresses who commented on sexual harassment via the #MeToo movement as “hypocritical, ridiculous, uninteresting”.

“There are many actresses who flirt with producers in order to get a role,” Bardot said in an interview with French magazine, Paris Match.

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Watch: Zelensky arrives in Miami ahead of Trump talks

Zelensky arrives in Miami ahead of Trump talks

Bryony Gooch28 December 2025 15:30

Zelensky and Trump to hold call with European leaders

Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump will hold a call with other European leaders as they’re set to continue discussions surrounding ending the war between Russian and Ukraine later on today in Florida.

The Ukrainian president previously said he hoped European leaders could also be involved in talks either on Sunday or at a future date.

Polish prime minister Donald Tusk said on Saturday he would speak with the leaders of Ukraine, Germany, France, the UK, Italy and the EU ahead on the chances for peace ahead of the Florida talks.

Bryony Gooch28 December 2025 15:09

Three Iranian satellites launched from Russia, state media says

Three more ‌Iranian satellites were sent into space on Russia’s Soyuz launchers on Sunday, Iranian state media said, ‌as the two US -sanctioned nations extend their space collaboration.

Iran has increasingly relied on its ally Russia to put satellites ‌in orbit ​in recent ​years, with the latest three intended to help with ‍monitoring agriculture, natural resources and the ‍environment.

“These ​satellites were designed ‍and produced by Iranian scientists … despite all the sanctions and threats,” Iran’s ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali told state TV in reference to Western measures over Tehran’s nuclear programme.

Bryony Gooch28 December 2025 14:39

Russian submarine followed spy ship into British waters as it mapped gas pipeline

Bryony Gooch28 December 2025 14:15

In pictures: Moments from Kyiv’s power outage after Russian bombardment

(AFP via Getty Images)(AFP via Getty Images)

Bryony Gooch28 December 2025 14:00

Russia says situation at Zaporizhzhia power plant is stable

The situation at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia ‌nuclear power plant is stable and power is ‌being ​supplied ​through one high-voltage ‍line, the state RIA ‍news ​agency cited ‍a spokesman at the ‍plant as saying. An ⁠IAEA team is monitoring repairs near the plant after a local ceasefire brokered by the agency ‌began. The ​work is expected to last several ⁠days.

Bryony Gooch28 December 2025 13:30

Peace decisions depend on Kyiv partners, says Zelensky

Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky has said decisions on peace depend on Kyiv’s partners ahead of his meeting with US president Donald Trump today.

Zelensky arrived in Florida yesterday for discussions as he affirmed that the 20 point peace plan draft was 90 per cent complete.

Bryony Gooch28 December 2025 13:10

Watch: Putin warns Russia will accomplish goals by force if Ukraine doesn’t want to resolve conflict peacefully

Putin warns Russia will accomplish goals by force if Ukraine doesn’t want to resolve conflict peacefully

Bryony Gooch28 December 2025 12:50

Ukraine says it struck Syzran oil refinery in Russia’s Samara region

The Ukrainian military said on Sunday that ‌it struck the Syzran oil refinery ‌in ​Russia’s Samara region ​in an overnight ‍drone attack.

The ‍strike ​on the ‍facility caused a fire and ‍damages were still ⁠being assessed, Kyiv’s General Staff said in a statement.

It added that a recent Ukrainian strike on ‌the Volgograd ​oil refinery had damaged a pipeline ⁠and equipment for ‍producing lubricants.

Bryony Gooch28 December 2025 12:25

In pictures: Russian service members hold flags in front of a chapel in the town of Huliaipole in Zaporizhzhia

(via REUTERS)

Bryony Gooch28 December 2025 12:00

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NEED TO KNOW

• Brigitte Bardot’s last public appearance before her death took place over a year ago
• The actress and model was photographed in her car in France on Sept. 28, 2024 — her 90th birthday
• Bardot’s foundation announced her death at age 91 on Sunday, Dec. 28

Brigitte Bardot’s last public appearance before her death took place over a year ago.

The Brigitte Bardot Foundation announced on Sunday, Dec. 28, that the French actress and model has died at age 91.

Bardot was last seen publicly in 2024, when she was photographed in her car in Saint-Tropez, France, on Sept. 28 — her 90th birthday.

Prior to that, Bardot, who was born Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot in Paris in 1934, was seen in public posing with a dog in France in July 2023.

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Brigitte Bardot posing with a dog in France in July 2023.

APS-Medias/ABACA/Shutterstock 

In its statement announcing Bardot’s death to the French news agency AFP, The Brigitte Bardot Foundation didn’t specify the time or place of her death.

Bardot’s death comes after reports surfaced in October that she had undergone surgery amid a “serious illness.”

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The star began her career as a model, appearing on the cover of Elle at the age of 15 in 1950, and she later rose to international fame after her role in the controversial 1956 film And God Created Woman.

Bardot retired from acting in 1973 at the age of 39 and ventured into a new career path: animal rights activism. (She launched the Brigitte Bardot Foundation for the Welfare and Protection of Animals in 1986.)

Brigitte Bardot in the 1960s.

 Hulton Archive/Getty

Over the years, Bardot faced multiple health setbacks, including a suicide attempt and a breast cancer diagnosis.

She also surrounded herself in controversy throughout her life, being fined multiple times by the French government for inciting racial hatred and making headlines when she called the #MeToo movement “hypocritical, ridiculous and uninteresting,” among other instances.

Bardot wed four times throughout her life. She was married to Roger Vadim from 1952 to 1957, to Jacques Charrier from 1959 to 1962, to Gunter Sachs from 1966 to 1969, and she was married to Bernard d’Ormale since 2002.

She and Charrier welcomed a son, Nicolas-Jacques Charrier, in Paris on Jan. 11, 1960. Bardot spoke openly about her distaste for being a mom, including in her memoir Initiales B.B., in which she wrote, “I’m not made to be a mother.”

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A massive blaze broke out at the Wetherspoons pub, The Hippodrome, in Market Drayton, Shropshire, with diners and drinkers forced to flee before firefighters tackled the blaze



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Myanmar’s election is unlikely to change the reality for more than 1M Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh who fled what the UN called ‘genocidal violence’ in Myanmar. Efforts to repatriate the Muslim minority have stalled since the junta seized power in 2021. Al Jazeera’s Tanvir Chowdhury reports from Cox’s Bazar.

Published On 28 Dec 202528 Dec 2025

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An icon of French cinema and one of the country’s most famous stars, Brigitte Bardot has died at the age of 91.

Often referred to simply by her initials, BB was considered both a feminist and a femme fatale — but controversy also became a recurring theme of her life.

Born the daughter of an industrialist in Paris on September 28, 1934, Brigitte Bardot was discovered as a model at the age of 15. She became even more sought-after once she had dyed her brunette hair blonde, making her one of the most famous “blondes” of the 20th century, not unlike Marilyn Monroe. 

Well into the 21st century, fashion magazines celebrated “BB blonde” as the perfect shade of blonde.

Bardot, pictured here in 1965, was an icon of 1960s French cinemaImage: AFP

An icon of sexual liberation

Bardot started appearing in films at age 18, but international interest was first piqued in Roger Vadim’s 1956 romantic drama And God Created Woman, in which she portrayed a liberated young woman in a respectable beachside town. 

In the US, the film was deemed too shocking to be screened; some theater managers who showed it were arrested. But that helped rather than hindered the movie’s success, and Bardot became an international star.

She went on to star in more than 40 films, including Jean-Luc Godard’s Contempt (1963), Henri-Georges Clouzot’s The Truth (1960) and Louis Malle’s Viva Maria! (1965).

Bardot also recorded many popular songs in the 1960s and 1970s, collaborating with the likes of Serge Gainsbourg and Sacha Distel.

As a fashion model, she was a muse for great designers including Dior, Balmain and Pierre Cardin. Her numerous love stories and affairs never failed to make headlines, and she became an icon of the sexual liberation of the time.  

In her 1959 essay, “The Lolita Syndrome,” Simone de Beauvoir described BB as a “locomotive of women’s history” and declared her the most liberated woman of postwar France. 

Bardot retired from acting in 1973, but remained a major star throughout her life. From 1969 to 1978, she modelled for the official busts of Marianne, the national symbol of the liberty of France.

From acting to animal welfare

Instead of acting, she increasingly used her international fame to campaign for animal rights and protection, which was to become the main focus of the later part of her life.

Among other things, she urged the introduction of bolt guns in slaughterhouses to kill animals with as little pain as possible. 

In 1976, she joined a global campaign against seal hunting. Then in 1986, she founded the Brigitte Bardot Foundation, which still campaigns for animal welfare worldwide.

Bardot later founded her own animal protection foundationImage: picture-alliance/ dpa

Drift to the far right

Later in her life, she made headlines for what were alleged to be racially insensitive statements, and was fined many times by French courts for inciting racial hatred against Muslims or native Indian Ocean islanders.

In 2012, Bardot emerged as an ardent supporter of France’s far-right presidential candidate, Marine Le Pen, at one point calling her “the Joan of Arc of the 21st century” who would “save France.”

Bardot also repeatedly spoke out on gay rights and gender issues, though she denied being homophobic, saying she had many homosexual friends. 

At the same time, she blamed the number of gender reassignment surgeries for skyrocketing health care costs. 

During the #MeToo debate over sexual harassment in the movie business, she said many actresses “tease” producers to land a role. “And then they say they were harassed so we’ll talk about them,” she said.

But despite her many controversial statements, Brigitte Bardot’s iconic status will remain firmly anchored in pop culture history. 

This article was originally written in German.

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JOHANNESBURG: Millions of Christians in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), spending Christmas under the reported threat of persecution, kidnapping, sexual violence and in some cases, death from Islamist militants, have seen Friday’s U.S. strikes on Islamic State militants in Nigeria as a real sign that President Trump is serious in his efforts to stop the killing of Africa’s Christians.

Over 16 million Christians are estimated to have been displaced and ripped from their homes across the region. The alleged release of 130 kidnapped schoolchildren in Nigeria this week has done little to reduce fears, as many on the continent try to worship at Christmas.

But this year, Fox News Digital has highlighted the catastrophe from Africa on multiple occasions. The situation led to senior members of Congress, including Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas., Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., and ultimately, President Donald Trump who threatened to send U.S. troops into the worst-affected country, Nigeria, ‘guns-a-blazing’, to stop the killing of Christians, has shone a light on the violence.

LAWMAKERS SOUND ALARM ON ‘DEADLIEST PLACE ON EARTH TO BE A CHRISTIAN’ AS NIGERIA VIOLENCE ESCALATES

In Africa this Christmas, so far there’s reportedly little sign of improvement. “The militant Islamist onslaught across SSA is a catastrophe of global proportions unfolding before us,” Henrietta Blyth, CEO of Open Doors UK & Ireland, told Fox News Digital this week.

Open Doors is a global Christian charity supporting Christians persecuted for their faith.

Blyth continued, “the last year has seen a non-stop stream of reports from sub-Saharan Africa. (including) reports of militant Islamist groups brutally attacking, among others, defenseless Christian communities.”

“At Open Doors, we have been sounding the alarm through our Arise Africa campaign. We’ve prayed repeatedly that the campaign of terror will reach public awareness.”

Referring to Nigeria and the thousands of Christians reported to have been killed there each year and the speeches, articles and posts against the violence, Open Doors’ Blyth states, “There is no sign that this has abated in 2025”.

Members of St Leo Catholic Church hold a procession to mark Palm Sunday in Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria, on April 13, 2025.  (Adekunle Ajayi/Getty Images)

“The lack of global outrage and action on this issue is a moral disgrace,” South Africa’s Chief Rabbi, Dr. Warren Goldstein, told Fox News Digital. He added, “It seems as if black lives do not matter if they are murdered by Islamists in Africa. The persecution of Christians in Africa needs to be seen in its global context. It is part of a multi-continental jihadi war on the ‘infidels’ — Jews and Christians — and on Western values.”

He continued “it is a world war, with Israel at the epicenter of the fire of the jihadi forces of Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah and others. The Islamist war on Christians in Africa is another front of this world war that stretches from Sudan in the north to Mozambique in the South.”

TRUMP ADMIN TARGETS ANTI-CHRISTIAN VIOLENCE WITH NEW VISA CRACKDOWN POLICY FOLLOWING NIGERIA ATTACKS

Fox News Digital has highlighted where persecution has hit hardest in Africa in 2025:

NIGERIA

According to Open Doors, the continent’s most populous nation saw the worst persecution in Africa in 2025, with ‘non-stop stories of deadly attacks and kidnappings’ across Nigeria’s north and Middle Belt — a litany of villages torched, citizens raped, abducted, shot and beheaded.

Pope Leo XIV spoke out this year against killings attributed to Muslim Fulani tribesmen in Nigeria’s Benue State in June, saying “Some 200 people were murdered, with extraordinary cruelty”. 

Christians hold signs as they march on the streets of Abuja during a prayer and penance for peace and security in Nigeria in Abuja on March 1, 2020. – The Catholic Bishops of Nigeria gathered faithfuls as well as other Christians and other people to pray for security and to denounce the barbaric killings of Christians by the Boko Haram insurgents and the incessant cases of kidnapping for ransom in Nigeria.  (Photo by KOLA SULAIMON/AFP via Getty Images)

Bishop Wilfred Anagbe’s Makurdi Diocese in north-central Nigeria is almost exclusively Christian. But the constant and escalating attacks by Islamist Fulani militants led him to testify at a congressional hearing  in Washington in March. Back in Nigeria, he was threatened, and some 20 of his parishioners killed.

THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO (DRC)

A screen shot shows villagers inspecting the damage left by jihadi terrorists who killed 49 Christians in DR Congo in late July. (Open Doors)

The war-torn country is 95% Christian, yet the faithful are being targeted by jihadists. In February, terrorists linked to Islamic State from the so-called ADF group, who want the eastern part of the country to become a Muslim caliphate, rounded up 70 Christians and reportedly beheaded them — in a church. In September, at least 89 Christians were reportedly slaughtered by jihadists at a funeral and in surrounding fields.

SUDAN

Sudan’s estimated 2 million Christians make up an estimated 4% of the country’s population,

Like the rest of Sudan’s people, they face chronic food shortages and the horror of a yearslong war. But Christians are also allegedly singled out for discrimination and persecution by both sides in the conflict.

The Evangelical church in Omdurman after being bombed even though it was not in a combat zone or used by any warring forces. (Open Doors)

A senior Sudanese church leader  told Fox News Digital that in the Darfur city of El Fasher, that “now Christians are eating animal feed and grass. No wheat, no rice, nothing can get in.”

CAMEROON

A civil conflict and weak governance have allowed armed militants to step into the vacuum of law and order, Open Doors reported. In the far north, Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province regularly swoop into villages in overnight raids, killing, abducting and destroying. Thousands of people have fled their homes for displacement camps.

Ali, a villager, said “It never ends. I want it to end, but it doesn’t. We must sleep in the mountains for safety.” 

MOZAMBIQUE

Situated in the southwest of the continent, Mozambique has a Christian population of 55%. Islamic State Mozambique is causing havoc in the far north, targeting Christian communities, burning their churches and destroying homes. The killings have multiplied this year, and thousands more are fleeing their homes, joining more than 1.3 million who have already been displaced.

Christian villages targeted in Mozambique (Middle East Media Research Institute)

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In one mass attack on the village of Napala in October, Open Doors reported militants killed 20 Christians and displaced some 2,000. A local pastor described how four elderly sisters were tied up and burned to death inside a house.

On the airstrikes in Nigeria, Open Doors’ Henrietta Blyth told Fox News Digital, “a military operation like this is not going to provide any sort of quick fix for decades of violence. The Nigerian government must pursue lasting solutions that ensure peace, protection of civilians and religious freedom for everyone.”

Chief Rabbi Goldstein concluded, “The West can only win this war if it can find the moral clarity to call it by its name and see all the theaters of war as part of the same fight.”

Paul Tilsley is a veteran correspondent who has reported from four continents for more than three decades. Based in Johannesburg, South Africa, he can be followed on X @paultilsley.

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A contentious debate over the future of surfing in Munich’s iconic English Garden escalated on Sunday, after city workers removed a beam covertly installed over Christmas to restore a popular wave in the park’s river.

The Eisbach river, which flows through the garden, has long been a magnet for surfers and spectators alike, famed for its meter-high (three-foot) wave generated by a powerful current. This natural phenomenon, however, vanished in October when municipal workers cleared accumulated sediment, gravel, and debris from the riverbed. Its disappearance has since prompted ongoing discussions between city officials and the surfing community regarding its potential restoration.

The authorities were apparently not moving fast enough to suit at least some of the the surfers, who enjoyed several days of holiday surfing in wetsuits after unknown individuals deployed the beam across the river bed on Christmas Day. A banner on the adjacent bridge declared in English, “Just Watch. Merry Christmas!”

The surfers may have been stoked, but the city was not. The fire department moved in early Sunday morning, and the improvised structure and the wave were gone, the dpa news agency reported.

open image in gallery

Fire department employees dismantle the installations and devices for an artificial wave on the Eisbach in Munich, Germany, Sunday Dec. 28, 2025. (Peter Kneffel/dpa via AP) ((c) Copyright 2025, dpa (www.dpa.de). Alle Rechte vorbehalten)

The city has urged patience and asked an engineering professor from the Munich University of Applied Sciences to advise on possible solutions.

Safety concerns became more prominent in May, when a 33-year-old surfer died after her board was caught underwater and she couldn’t free herself from the attached leash.

A Munich surfing association complained on Thursday on its website that city authorities were imposing too many conditions on efforts to restore the wave and that the process has “stalled.”

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NEED TO KNOW

• Jasmine Guillory’s 2018 novel The Wedding Date will be adapted for Netflix
• Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have signed on as producers through their production company, Archewell Productions
• Details about the film are slim, but the book follows a chance elevator encounter that turns into a fake wedding date

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are putting their stamp on a modern romance with Netflix’s adaptation of The Wedding Date.

Deadline reported in December 2025 that Meghan and Harry were set to produce a film version of Jasmine Guillory’s 2018 novel The Wedding Date via their Archewell Productions company. The couple’s involvement came months after announcing they were extending their deal with Netflix, expanding their collaboration into a multi-year, first-look agreement covering both film and television projects.

Though the couple have produced multiple documentaries for the streamer — including their popular 2022 series Harry & Meghan — this will mark one of their first scripted movies to go into production. The couple also acquired the book rights for Carley Fortune’s romance novel Meet Me at the Lake in 2023.

Markle notably has a background in entertainment, having starred in the legal drama Suits for seven seasons. She returned to the industry in November 2025, when she was spotted on set, playing herself in a small role in the Amazon MGM Studios film Close Personal Friends. It does not appear that she will play any part in The Wedding Date.

Here’s everything to know about The Wedding Date, including how Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are involved.

What is The Wedding Date about?

Jasmine Guillory attends Hello Sunshine’s Shine Away on October 21, 2023 in Los Angeles, California ; ‘The Wedding Date’ by Jasmine Guillory.

Monica Schipper/Getty ; Amazon

Details about The Wedding Date film, including its logline, haven’t been released. But if it stays true to Guillory’s book, fans of the novel know what’s to come in this rom-com.

“A groomsman and his last-minute guest are about to discover if a fake date can go the distance in a fun and flirty debut novel,” a logline from The New York Times bestselling author said. “Agreeing to go to a wedding with a guy she gets stuck with in an elevator is something Alexa Monroe wouldn’t normally do. But there’s something about Drew Nichols that’s too hard to resist.”

The Wedding Date is the first title in Guillory’s six-book Wedding Date series.

Who is writing The Wedding Date?

Tracy Oliver attends the Variety Showrunners dinner on January 11, 2024 in West Hollywood, California.

Alberto Rodriguez/Variety via Getty

Tracy Oliver has signed on to adapt The Wedding Date into a movie, per Deadline. She made history with her 2017 hit Girls Trip, which marked the first time a film written by a Black woman grossed more than $100 million worldwide.

The screenwriter’s other notable film credits include Little, The Sun Is Also a Star and The Blackening. Oliver also created and executive produced the series First Wives Club and Harlem.

“Always loved this book by @jasminepics and when one of my longtime friends @b_haps from film school called me about collabing with her on it, I jumped at the opportunity to adapt and help bring it to life on-screen,” Oliver wrote in a December Instagram post announcing The Wedding Date. “Shout out to Tracy Ryerson at Archewell as well and the Netflix team who got behind it. Beyond excited!”

At that time, Guillory also shared her excitement about the movie on Instagram, writing that she was thrilled to be “working with Netflix, Tracy Oliver, and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex!!!”

When will The Wedding Date be released?

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex attend the 2022 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Ripple of Hope Gala on December 06, 2022 in New York City.

Mike Coppola/Getty

A release date for The Wedding Date hasn’t been announced.

Where can I watch The Wedding Date?

Prince Harry and Meghan, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, arrive on the red carpet at the third annual World Mental Health Day Gala on Thursday, October 9, 2025.

John Angelillo/UPI/Shutterstock

The Wedding Date be available to watch on Netflix, amid Meghan and Harry’s ongoing partnership with the streamer.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex expanded their relationship with the platform in August 2025, shifting to a multi-year, first-look deal after reports surfaced earlier in the summer that their initial $100 million agreement would not be renewed. At the time, an insider told PEOPLE the move reflected a broader change in Netflix’s strategy, stepping back from large multi-project deals.

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This was the year the old world order ended. The order that had defeated Nazi Germany, the greatest evil the modern world has known, then went on to see off Soviet communism – the other great evil of the age.

The order that rebuilt – from the carnage, ruins and dictatorships of the Second World War – prosperous Western European democracies. Then embraced the new democracies of Eastern Europe as they threw off their communist yoke.

The order that, for all its many lapses in living up to its principles, placed liberal democracy, human rights and the prosperity of the people at the core of its purpose, leading to the greatest rise in global living standards these past eight decades the world has ever known.

The order in which Britain played a pivotal and honourable role, which we’ve now forgotten as we wallow behind our veil of woes. But in which America was always the essential ally for all involved.

I dwell on such matters to emphasise not just the significance of the historical watershed we’re now living through but the scale of our loss.

The old order was no doubt in need of a reboot, a recalibration, a refocusing for the 21st century. Instead, it is being swept away, for no good reason, by an American president with no knowledge of history, little grasp of geopolitics and scant regard for the principles of democracy and freedom which made the world a safer place the more they were adopted across the globe.

A president who thinks it is no part of US foreign policy to make the world a better place, whose only concern is furthering the narrow, short-term interest of an isolationist America and what he regards as its surrounding satrapies.

If that means supping with tyrants and dictators with the shortest of spoons, while turning on loyal, democratic allies of long standing, then so be it. If it also facilitates lining the pockets of Washington’s ruling family, then so much the better.

Andrew Neil describes Donald Trump as ‘a president who thinks it is no part of US foreign policy to make the world a better place’

Donald Trump has assembled a massive armada off the coast of Venezuela. The naval blockade is designed to cut off the export of Venezuelan oil to Cuba, with the President’s real goal to to topple Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro and hasten the collapse of the Cuban regime, writes Andrew Neil

It is the ruthless, unprincipled application to foreign policy of the ways of the amoral New York property developer in which everything is reduced to a ‘deal’ and nothing matters but power, money, success and self-interest – attitudes that mark the death knell of an old world order which has served us well.

To be replaced by what? We do not yet know for sure. No doubt the coming year will improve our comprehension of what is in store. Those contours that we can already discern are not encouraging.

Next year will hasten America’s retreat from Europe, which will increasingly be left to its own devices, as President Trump focuses his attention and American power on the Western Hemisphere – where he has imperial ambitions.

That is why, as 2025 draws to an end, he has assembled a massive armada off the coast of Venezuela. The pretext is a crackdown on drug-smugglers speeding towards America in high-powered boats. The real goal, of course, is to topple Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, whose regime has impoverished the country, even though it sits on the biggest oil reserves in the world.

The US Navy is now seizing tankers carrying Venezuelan crude oil exports, which account for 90 per cent of Maduro’s revenues. The loss of these funds would be catastrophic for the man in Caracas. Trump reckons a few more turns of the screw will bring down early next year his corrupt, cruel, repressive regime hated by the Venezuelan people.

But there is a further, so far unspoken, purpose to Trump’s Caribbean military adventure: his aim is also to bring down the flailing communist regime in Cuba, which is just as much an economic basket case as Venezuela.

Almost 3 million Cubans – mainly young, educated, ambitious and accounting for a quarter of the country’s population – have fled Cuba in this century alone. What was, until only recently, regularly lauded by the British Left as something of a communist paradise is, in fact, a hellhole in which 90 per cent of the people struggle to survive in extreme poverty.

About 70 per cent go for days without a proper meal; water shortages mean there isn’t even enough to flush the loo or wash the dishes; daily power blackouts force people to sleep outside in sub-tropical heat while schools and hospitals are closed; and basic medicines are now a luxury few can afford. No wonder eight out of ten Cubans want to leave.

The country is in the grip of its worst crisis since Fidel Castro seized power in 1959, worse even than its troubles after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, which had been its biggest benefactor.

Since then, Cuba has been kept on life support by cheap Venezuelan oil – at one stage as much as 100,000 barrels a day. That’s already fallen to 30,000 as Venezuela’s inefficient nationalised oil industry struggles to keep up production.

The US naval blockade is designed to cut off even that to hasten the collapse of the Cuban regime. The Cuban gerontocracy and Maduro are joined at the hip. Venezuelan oil is essential to the survival of the government in Havana. Brutal Cuban intelligence teams help Maduro identify and crack down on any dissent that threatens his government.

If Trump could bring down both regimes early in 2026 he would regard it as vindication of his new emphasis on increasing US power in its own backyard. His aim is to surround America with governments that will do its bidding. He’s already achieved that in Panama.

There is no plan to deploy US boots on the ground in Cuba or Venezuela. The American people – including his own isolationist MAGA movement – have no appetite for that.

He thinks his blockade will do the job. And who could object to seeing the back of Maduro and his henchmen or the Cuban communist plutocrats who’ve ruined a beautiful country?

The problem is that the US record when it comes to regime change does not engender confidence. From South Vietnam to Iraq to Afghanistan to Libya and countless countries in between over the years, the US record on regime change is one of failure, on an often catastrophic scale.

What reason is there to think Venezuela or Cuba will be any different, especially since some of America’s largest previous regime-change failures have been in Latin America?

Even so, it is at the top of Trump’s to-do list in 2026, and if there is even just a scintilla of success it will embolden him to exert further US sway over more of the Western Hemisphere. Trump has indicated Colombia could be next if Venezuela falls.

Join the debate

How should Europe respond if America abandons its traditional role as global protector?

Units of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine extinguish a blaze after a Russian airstrike in Zaporizhzhia earlier this month… next year will hasten America’s retreat from Europe, which will increasingly be left to its own devices

The coming year will see the effective end of US financial and military aid to Ukraine, writes Andrew Neil. It already started to dry up in 2025

Argentina is already in hock to Washington, with $20 billion of US support for its currency. Canada will remain under pressure to fall in line with whatever is Trump’s latest whim. Even Greenland is still in his sights. He’s just appointed a new envoy who has described his job as ‘a volunteer position to make Greenland a part of the US’. The Danes, under whose control Greenland falls, are increasingly nervous.

The more Trump concentrates on his own backyard, the more the US retreat from Europe will gather pace. I find it astonishing that European leaders have still to grasp the immensity of the geopolitical shift that is now under way.

It isn’t just that the European leg of Nato can no longer count on US military when the chips are down – the fact is that Trump’s America is no longer even on our side, a harsh reality that will become apparent as next year unfolds.

Yet European Nato still bases its defence planning on massive US assistance, even as Trump pushes a version of a peace plan for Ukraine originally drafted by the Kremlin.

The coming year will see the effective end of US financial and military aid to Ukraine. It already started to dry up this year.

If Europe means what it says about standing by Ukraine then, in 2026, it will have to become Europe’s war, without American back-up. Despite all the supportive rhetoric it is by no means clear Europe’s leaders are up for this.

Germany is at last taking rearmament seriously. Chancellor Merz has freed up Berlin’s tight fiscal rules to pump an extra €150 billion into defence, taking military spending by the start of the next decade to at least 3 per cent of GDP.

It’s still too little, too late – and it’s not being spent on the armaments needed for 21st-century war.

Germany’s combined air, sea and land forces, the Bundeswehr, has a mere 600 drones at its disposal. It’s planning to increase that to 10,000 in 2026. In 2025, Ukraine made 5 million drones, because they are the essential weapon in the 21st-century battlefield. It will make 10 million next year.

British defence spending is a bit more forward-looking but still wholly inadequate to the task at hand. Despite frankly embarrassing talk from Chancellor Rachel Reeves about making Britain a ‘defence industrial superpower’, military spending is scheduled (according to the latest Commons Library briefing) to rise from £60 billion in 2024-25 to a mere £62 billion in 2025-26 – a pathetic increase which, after inflation, equals almost no increase at all.

Despite bold statements about spending 3.5 per cent of GDP on defence by early in the next decade, there’s not even the outline of an official road map to get us there, to the shame of Starmer’s Government.

I have little hope of peace breaking out in Ukraine. No Ukrainian leader could accept what President Putin wants: to consolidate his grip on the east; place severe limits on the size of free Ukraine’s military; replace President Zelensky with a leader more disposed to the Kremlin – then wait for the rest of Ukraine to fall into his lap. Patience has always been a key ingredient of Russian strategy.

The President has ‘no knowledge of history, little grasp of geopolitics and scant regard for the principles of democracy and freedom which made the world a safer place’, writes Andrew Neil

Trump’s MAGA movement is now gripped by ‘low-intensity civil war’, Andrew Neil adds

Although Putin is the real roadblock to peace, the Russian dictator knows Trump will blame Ukraine (and its European backers) for the lack of progress. He expects Trump to throw his toys out of the pram in frustration some time in the first half of 2026 and depart the scene, saying it’s now on Europe to handle the conflict while he doubles down on the Western Hemisphere.

This will hand the advantage to Putin, which is why 2026 is so dangerous. It is not that, bereft of US protection, Russian tanks will start rolling west. But a Ukraine under the cosh would be grim news for the Baltic states (where mass evacuations are already being rehearsed in case of Russian incursions), Poland and Finland.

Russian cyber attacks and sabotage in Europe, which increased this year, will become endemic next year.

Russian drones have recently flown over Poland, Germany and Denmark, causing civilian airports to shut.

These ‘grey-zone’ provocations will intensify next year, designed to intimidate Europe into loosening its commitment to Ukraine. In the next 12 months we will discover if Europe has the backbone to resist them.

Yet there is an opportunity – if only Europe had the leadership to grasp it. Energy prices – especially oil and gas – are likely to tumble in 2026 because of global gluts of both.

This could act as a trillion-dollar economic stimulus for Europe’s energy-hungry economies, including Britain. Add in European rearmament at the required scale and further interest rate cuts as inflation falls below 2 per cent – helped by a surge in cheap imports from China (everything from solar panels to electric vehicles) – and you have the makings of a return to European growth which could bring the continent renewed confidence when it comes to defence and security.

We shall see. Europe’s recent default position has been to miss every opportunity presented to it. The one thing it can be sure of is not counting on President Trump.

Of course, we could be past peak Trump. His presidency is now being rocked by a cost-of-living crisis. His MAGA movement is now gripped by low-intensity civil war.

The bookies reckon there’s an 80 per cent chance the Republicans will lose the House come the November mid-term elections. That would limit his scope for mischief. But the modern US imperial presidency has plenty of room for manoeuvre, especially in foreign policy.

I expect Trump to be as active as ever on that front in 2026. There is talk in the White House of bringing the Kremlin in from the economic cold with a spate of US-Russian energy deals, perhaps even a joint carve-up of Ukrainian resources. No doubt there will be rich pickings for the Trump family, too.

I’ve even heard top aides muse about a new world order in Trump’s image. America dominant and unchallenged in the Western Hemisphere. But calling the shots in the rest of the world through a new alliance of America, Russia, China, India and perhaps even Japan (now with a Trump-style leader).

Europe, of course, is nowhere in any of these plans. If, in 2026, it doesn’t at last dawn on Europe (including Britain) that we’re on our own then I doubt it ever will – at least not before it’s too late.

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A plastic bottle was allegedly thrown towards the Aston Villa bench after they beat Chelsea 2-1 at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League – and Chelsea have now launched an investigation

12:02, 28 Dec 2025Updated 12:03, 28 Dec 2025

Unai Emery’s side came from behind to win at Stamford Bridge(Image: Vince Mignott/MB Media)

Chelsea have launched an investigation after a plastic bottle was reportedly thrown towards the Aston Villa bench following their 2-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening.

Aston Villa once again staged a comeback to clinch a league victory, having done so in their previous four Premier League away matches prior to facing Chelsea. Substitute Ollie Watkins netted twice in the second half, securing Villa’s 11th consecutive win across all competitions.

The match, which saw eight yellow cards handed out, was marred by moments of ill temper, with Villa’s set-piece coach Austin MacPhee also receiving a booking late in the game – something captain John McGinn made light of by posting three crying laughing emojis and a GIF of the yellow card on X.

Tensions seemed to reach boiling point at the final whistle when a plastic bottle was allegedly hurled towards the Villa bench, dousing some staff members with water.

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Some Villa staff reacted with visible disgust, and according to The Telegraph, one member appeared to suggest that the object had been thrown from the Chelsea dugout area, although this has yet to be confirmed, reports Birmingham Live.

Chelsea have reportedly pledged full cooperation with Villa and any relevant authorities, if necessary, to ascertain exactly where the bottle originated from. CCTV footage is expected to be scrutinised as part of the investigation.

Mirror Football understands that the Football Association, who would bare responsibility for any disciplinary action should it be necessary, are aware of the allegations. Chelsea and Aston Villa have both been contacted for comment.

Ollie Watkins’ brace off the bench sent Aston Villa home happy(Image: David Watts/Getty Images)

The scenes at full-time did little to diminish the delight of the away side, who have now racked up a joint club record of 11 straight wins in all competitions. Villa sit third in the Premier League, one point behind Manchester City in second and three adrift of leaders Arsenal, who they face on Tuesday.

“I’m very happy and thankful for the supporters because we need them and they are with us, transmitting their energy and we’re here trying to play for them,” Emery said post-match. “How the players responded on the field was really fantastic. In the first half, we struggled.

“We weren’t getting the rhythm to keep ball possession and to try to get to their box frequently, but we needed to defend and we were being brilliant defensively.

Enzo Maresca was left to reflect on another disappointing result(Image: Getty Images)

“We conceded one goal from the corner, and we needed to change something in the second half but with the same structure we had in the first half. We started getting better and we needed fresh legs, but how we got our momentum, with the players showing their mentality to exploit their qualities, was fantastic.

“To beat Chelsea here is very difficult. We wanted it and we are happy but still keeping balance and trying to get each match with our objective.”

By contrast, Enzo Maresca was left to reflect on another disappointing result. Chelsea’s form has dipped dramatically and they are now 10 points behind Villa.

“I think the goal we conceded was the turning point,” Maresca said. “Until the goal we conceded, that is around one hour, we were completely in control of the game.

“Again, it’s something that is not the first time that happened. And when we concede a goal, even if we are winning and we concede a goal, we struggle a little bit with the management of the game. And it’s something that for sure we need to improve.”

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