Russia has carried out drone and missile attacks on Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, on the eve of a key meeting between the United States and Ukrainian leaders, killing at least two people and leaving a third of the city without heat, according to authorities.

Russian ballistic missiles and drones rocked Kyiv from the early hours of Saturday morning, when an air alert was in place for nearly 10 hours.

The attacks killed a 71-year-old man in Kyiv’s Dniprovskyi district and another person in the nearby town of Bila Tserka, according to officials. At least 32 others were wounded in Kyiv, including two children, police in Kyiv said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that during the attack, some 500 drones and 40 missiles targeted “energy facilities and civilian infrastructure”.

The Russian strikes cut power to more than a million homes in and around Kyiv, energy company DTEK said in a social media post late on Saturday.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said there was no heat in one-third of the capital, where temperatures hovered around freezing (0 ​degrees Celsius or 32 degrees Fahrenheit).

Russian forces are “trying to cut off all Ukrainians from our critical resources just to freeze us”, Kyiv-based journalist Kristina Zelenyuk told Al Jazeera.

Upcoming peace talks

The Russian attack came as Zelenskyy prepares to meet with US President Donald Trump in Florida on Sunday for further talks on how to end Moscow’s nearly four-year war.

Zelenskyy said they planned to discuss security guarantees and questions over future territorial control, the main sticking points in the negotiations.

Analysts say the Russian strikes on Kyiv were aimed at sending a clear message ahead of the Trump-Zelenskyy meeting.

“It’s kind of traditional in the negotiations, since before the invasion, since 2014, whenever we have these kind of meetings, there is an escalated attack. And the point is to put pressure on the meeting,” said Ben Aris, the founder and editor-in-chief of BNE Intelli-News.

“And Putin here is underlining the fact that he has the ability to take out power stations just as temperatures fall below zero,” said Aris. The message Putin aimed to send is that if Zelenskyy “doesn’t succumb to my demands, then I have the ability to black out all of the large cities in Ukraine with these high precision and powerful missiles,” said Aris.

Before the talks with Trump, Zelenskyy met Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in Halifax on Saturday. The two held a bilateral meeting before attending a joint telephone conversation with European leaders.

Speaking beside⁠ the Ukrainian leader, Carney announced ​an additional 2.5 billion Canadian dollars ‍($1.82bn) of economic aid for Ukraine, and said that peace depends on a “willing Russia”.

Later, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz issued a statement saying that Zelenskyy had “the full support” of European leaders and of Canada, before his talks with Trump. They and 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.

EU chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa also reaffirmed the bloc’s support for Ukraine.

“We welcome all efforts leading to our shared objective – a just and lasting peace that preserves Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” European Commission President von der Leyen said on X after the call with Zelenskyy and Carney.

Costa, the president of the European Council, which represents the EU’s 27 member states, echoed her promise to continue backing Ukraine, saying on X: “The EU’s support for Ukraine will not falter. In war, in peace, in reconstruction.”

Ukraine ‘suffering’

Moscow demands that Ukraine withdraw from the parts of the eastern Donetsk region that Russian troops have failed to occupy during almost four years of war, as it seeks full control of the Donbas, comprising the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

Kyiv wants the fighting to be halted at the current lines.

The US, seeking a compromise, has proposed a free economic zone if Ukraine leaves parts of the Donetsk region. Zelenskyy told US news site Axios on Friday that he would seek a stronger position for Ukraine, but could put the US-backed plan to a referendum if necessary.

Both Zelenskyy and Trump have expressed optimism about the meeting, with the Ukrainian leader saying that most components of a US-Ukraine agreement had been ironed out and that he hopes to finalise a framework on Sunday.

“A lot can be decided before the New Year,” Zelenskyy posted on social media on Friday.

But the attack on Saturday appeared to alter Zelenskyy’s tone. In a post following the aerial barrage, he said that Russia’s leadership “does not want to end the war”, and that their drones and missiles speak louder than any “lengthy talks” they engaged in.

Russia’s leadership aims “to use every opportunity to cause Ukraine even greater suffering and increase their pressure on others around the world”, said Zelenskyy.

The Russian president levied similar criticism.

According to the Interfax and TASS news agencies, Putin said Russia could see Kyiv was in no hurry to end the conflict by peaceful means. He also threatened Russia would accomplish all goals of its “special military operation” in Ukraine by force.

Separately on Saturday, Russian forces ‌reported that they had captured the ‌town of Myrnohrad ⁠in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, as well as Huliaipole ‌in Ukraine’s Zaporizhia region, the Kremlin said on ‍its Telegram channel.

Ukraine’s military, however, said in its daily battlefield update that its forces had beaten back Russian attempts to advance in the vicinity of Myrnohrad and Huliaipole

Some years you just have to get through.

I can’t pretend that 2025 delivered a banner crop of theater productions. Many of the best shows on this list came from elsewhere. And a higher than usual percentage were seen at the Ahmanson Theatre, which had a remarkably good year — perhaps the best of any local theater.

It was so good, in fact, that I left off Michael Arden’s revival of “Parade.” My self-consciousness about the high number of touring productions persuaded me not to include “Shucked” at the Hollywood Pantages, which lightened the summer with its country bumpkin merriment. And I also omitted “Here There Are Blueberries” at the Wallis not because it wasn’t one of the best productions but because it was on my highlight reel of 2022, when this Tectonic Theatre Project play, conceived and directed by Moisés Kaufman, premiered at La Jolla Playhouse.

Our picks for this year’s best in arts and entertainment.

The highlight at the Mark Taper Forum this year was Jocelyn Bioh’s comedy “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding,” which was on its final touring stop. And one of the best musical nights I had all year was courtesy of a concert version of the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene’s revival of “Fiddler on the Roof” in Yiddish at the Soraya.

Of course, L.A. had the theater world’s attention this summer when Cynthia Erivo headlined the Hollywood Bowl’s revival of “Jesus Christ Superstar,” a production that seemed to take over Instagram with the clobbering force of the movie campaign for “Wicked.” But my own pick for L.A. production of the year would be Jessica Kubzansky’s revival of “The Night of the Iguana.”

Kubzansky demonstrated by example what’s required. She and Tennessee Williams were an excellent match. But it’s not just about pairing the right director with the right author. It’s also about fielding a well-synchronized artistic company.

Too many locally grown productions (from our larger theaters especially) seem to leave out one of these elements. To judge by the results, the producing process seems top-down rather than organic. A few times this year at the bigger theaters it seemed as if the principal casting was an afterthought.

Co-productions can be a smart way to pool resources while spreading the risk. But they aren’t always the answer, as proved by the lackluster revival of “Noises Off” at the Geffen Playhouse, a co-production with Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company,

The best new dramatic work I saw anywhere this year was Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ “Purpose,” which deservedly won the Pulitzer Prize for drama and the Tony Award for best play. La Jolla Playhouse has announced that it will produce the West Coast premiere next year. I won’t hold my breath for an L.A. production. (Jackie Sibblies Drury’s “Fairview” is finally heading here next season, but I’m still waiting for countless Annie Baker plays.) But at least Eboni Booth’s Pulitzer Prize-winning “Primary Trust” is coming to the Taper in May.

The writer who made the biggest first impression on me is a.k. payne, author of “Furlough’s Paradise,” which was the best new play I saw in town all year. Plays that I saw in New York that deserve major productions in L.A. include Bess Wohl‘s “Liberation,” Kimberly Belflower‘s “John Proctor Is the Villain,” Samuel D. Hunter’s “Little Bear Ridge Road,” and, if any company is daring enough, Jordan Tannahill’s “Prince Faggot.”

I’m still thinking about Toni Servillo’s full-throated performance in “Tre modi per non morire: Baudelaire, Dante, i Greci,” adapted from works by Giuseppe Montesano. This solo show, which I saw at Milan’s Piccolo Teatro, offered a passionate defense of how great literature can teach us to live again.

The theater can and should be a sanctuary from the technology that is encroaching on what distinguishes us as human beings — our capacity to contemplate ourselves and others feelingly.

2025 definitely had its high points. But there seems to be a weakening of institutional resolve in the face of unrelenting economic, political and cultural pressures. Let’s pray for a renewal of determination to create the theater — and society — we deserve.

Herewith, in no particular order, are my Los Angeles theater highlights of 2025.

Kasey Mahaffy and CJ Eldred in “A Man of No Importance” at A Noise Within.

(Photo by Craig Schwartz)

“A Man of No Importance,” A Noise Within. This revival of a lesser known musical by Stephen Flaherty, Lynn Ahrens and Terrence McNally (the team behind “Ragtime”) was one of the unexpected treasures of 2025. A tale of a closeted Dublin bus driver with a passion for Oscar Wilde and a yen for amateur theatricals, the show featured a star performance from Kasey Mahaffy that was sublime in both its modesty and flamboyance. Julia Rodriguez-Elliott’s production gracefully depicted a world of ordinary folks looking at the aesthetic stars from their humdrum daily realities.

Claudia Logan, from left, Bisserat Tseggai, and Mia Ellis in “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding” at the Mark Taper Forum.

(Javier Vasquez / Center Theatre Group)

“Jaja’s African Hair Braiding,” Mark Taper Forum. Jocelyn Bioh’s high-spirited ensemble comedy, vibrantly directed by Whitney White, took us inside the lives of the African immigrant women who work at a Harlem braiding salon. While working their fingers to the bone creating the most flamboyant hair designs, these characters reveal the great distances they’ve traveled, the courage that’s been required of them and the vulnerabilities they face in their increasingly hostile promised land.

Cynthia Erivo and Adam Lambert in “Jesus Christ Superstar” at the Hollywood Bowl.

(Farah Sosa)

“Jesus Christ Superstar,” Hollywood Bowl. Cynthia Erivo delivered a divinely inspired performance in this revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s 1971 musical, directed and choreographed with concert-like brio by Sergio Trujillo. Adam Lambert was the electric Judas to Erivo’s nuclear Jesus, and the energy they emitted was more than enough to power all of social media for a few days in August. This show didn’t just go viral — it went global pandemic.

Julanne Chidi Hill, from left, Dennis Dun, Jully Lee and Riley Shanahan in “The Night of the Iguana” at Boston Court Pasadena.

(Brian Hashimoto)

“The Night of the Iguana,” Boston Court Pasadena. Artistic director Jessica Kubzansky cut to the spiritual core of one of Tennessee Williams’ lesser major plays and made it seem on par with his masterpieces, “The Glass Menagerie” and “A Streetcar Named Desire.” Jully Lee was brilliant as Hannah, the itinerant painter who turns up with her 97-year-old poet father at a Mexican seaside inn that is like a refuge for the world’s strays. Julanne Chidi Hill, who played the lusty widow hotel proprietor, Maxine, and Riley Shanahan, who played Lawrence Shannon, the disgraced reverend on the lam from his misdeeds, helped bring the play’s lonely battle for redemption to blistering life.

DeWanda Wise, left, and Kacie Rogers in “Furlough’s Paradise” at the Geffen Playhouse.

(Jeff Lorch)

“Furlough’s Paradise,” Geffen Playhouse. This shape-shifting two-character drama by a.k. payne explores the politically loaded subject of identity through the relationship of two queer Black cousins, who grew up together but whose lives have diverged. Sade (DeWanda Wise) is on a three-day furlough from prison; Mina (Kacie Rogers), adrift in California, has returned home to connect with her roots. Together, they challenge each other’s understanding of the past and sense of possibility for the future. The drama, directed by Tinashe Kajese-Bolden and choreographed by Dell Howlett, routinely escaped the confined realism of the dramatic situation to find freedom in a realm of boundless lyricism.

Wesley Guimarães, left, and Jack Lancaster and in “Bacon” at Rogue Machine.

(Jeff Lorch)

“Bacon,” Rogue Machine Theatre at the Matrix’s Henry Murray Stage. This fierce two-hander by British playwright Sophie Swithinbank, about an abusive relationship between two teenage boys awakening to their sexuality, was all the more combustible for being performed in such an inescapable intimate space. Wesley Guimarães and Jack Lancaster brought out the contrasting natures of these characters who are drawn to each in ways neither can fully work out. The production, directed by Michael Matthews, incisively balanced the traumatic push and erotic pull.

Jennifer Babiak and Steven Skybell in “Fiddler on the Roof.”

(Luis Luque / Luque Photography)

“Fiddler on the Roof,” The Soraya. This fluidly staged concert version of the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene’s acclaimed revival in Yiddish of this classic American musical brought a sharp-edged authenticity to the story of Tevye the milkman and his marriageable daughters navigating a treacherous world of pogroms and fraying tradition. Steven Skybell, magnificent in the role of the besieged patriarch, led a superb cast that brought a new understanding to an old chestnut through the force of Yiddish language and culture. The production, directed by Oscar- and Tony-winning actor Joel Grey, spoke as much to our own political and social turmoil as to that of the characters without ever having to press the point.

Rachel Simone Webb and the company of the North American tour of “& Juliet.”

(Matthew Murphy)

“& Juliet,” Ahmanson Theatre. This jukebox musical imagines with unstinting originality a scenario in which the doomed heroine of William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” doesn’t die at the end of the play. Granted a theatrical second act, Juliet makes the rollicking most of it. The same could be said of this kinetically entertaining touring production. Tragedy was transformed not just into comedy but into a Max Martin dance party, replete with hits from the blockbuster Swedish producer that were made famous by such pop titans as Katy Perry, Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys.

Pragun Bhardwaj, from left, Taha Mandviwala and the national touring company of “Life of Pi.”

(Evan Zimmerman)

“Life of Pi,” Ahmanson Theatre. The most visually entrancing production of the year was also one of the most dramatically captivating. This adventure tale of a boy trying to survive a shipwreck with the help of his imagination and a few of the surviving animals of his family’s zoo translated into purely theatrical terms the fable-like enchantment of Yann Martel’s 2002 Booker Prize-winning novel. Lolita Chakrabarti’s smart adaptation rode the magic carpet of Max Webster’s staging, which had the most enchanting menagerie of puppets since “The Lion King.”

Cher Alvarez in “Paranormal Activity.”

(Kyle Flubacker)

“Paranormal Activity,” Ahmanson Theatre. This impeccably staged horror play by Levi Holloway succeeded in injecting maximum fear without theatergoers having to hate themselves in the morning. The characters, rendered with contemporary exactness by a first-rate cast, were so recognizable that they made the mysterious events unfolding around them terrifyingly plausible. The London house, ingeniously laid out by scenic designer Fly Davis, practically stole the show.

One of the most frustrating things I encountered when working as a hotel receptionist was guests asking for a room upgrade – but I finally have a solution to this common complaint

Before embarking on my journalism career, I spent several years behind the desk as a hotel receptionist. During this time, I honed my skills in anticipating guests’ needs.

We were always more than willing to accommodate any request, no matter how peculiar or extravagant, but there was one that consistently got under my skin.

Regardless of the type of room a guest had reserved, more often than not, they’d be angling for an upgrade. And I completely understand why.

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Who wouldn’t want to add a touch of luxury to their stay without parting with a single extra penny? However, one question from guests that never failed to irk me was, ‘Can our room be upgraded?’ Of course, there’s no harm in asking, but it’s generally frowned upon for good reason.

There were countless instances when I’d be on the blower with someone booking a standard room, only for them to immediately follow up with, ‘Can our room be upgraded?

‘ The response was invariably, ‘We don’t provide upgrades until the day before arrival’, but internally I’d be thinking, ‘If you’re after a larger room, book a larger room’.

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I worked at a high-end hotel and spa with 35 rooms, where upgrades were typically set aside for those celebrating a special occasion, such as a birthday or anniversary. Furthermore, we’d only upgrade rooms the night prior to a guest’s arrival, ensuring we knew exactly which rooms were free – we wouldn’t bump someone up to a superior room before it could have been booked online.

It’s astonishing how many guests inquire about an upgrade, even when larger rooms are readily available for booking. The second most irksome time to request such a privilege is post 3pm on a Friday evening, during the peak check-in period and when all rooms have already been assigned.

There were countless instances when a guest would bluntly ask me at check-in if their room had been upgraded, as though it was a given. That said, it doesn’t mean we wouldn’t consider giving you an upgrade.

We’re more inclined to offer an upgrade to those who haven’t explicitly asked for one. After all, we’re only human, and we’d much prefer to surprise someone with an upgraded room who will truly appreciate it, rather than someone who feels entitled to it or demands it.

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Informing the hotel that you’re celebrating a special occasion is the top strategy to secure an upgrade, just ensure you do so prior to your arrival. Alternatively, checking in early is another clever tactic to help bag an upgraded room, and here’s why.

While upgrades are usually organised for the next batch of guests the night before, with key cards already allocated, situations can change. If we’re feeling particularly magnanimous, and the hotel is buzzing, we might spontaneously offer you an upgrade, even if that means downgrading someone else’s previously upgraded room.

Our guests weren’t made aware of any upgrades until their arrival, so if there were any changes, they’d be none the wiser, and we’d rather get you settled into your room. However, from my experience, these were reserved for guests who would least anticipate an upgrade, not those who impolitely demanded one.

Have you got a hotel secret to share? Email us at webtravel@reachplc.com

Democratic presidential nominee Bill Clinton says he still plans to show up in East Lansing, Mich., next Tuesday. But if he does, it looks as if the Arkansas governor will be making a solo appearance rather than confronting President Bush face to face as the bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates had hoped. The commission’s terms for debate have been rejected by the Bush campaign, forcing cancellation of next week’s encounter and quite possibly of the two others the commission has tried to arrange. Partisans can argue who gains from all this. What ought to be clear to everyone is that voters are the big losers.

The commission, headed by former Democratic Party chairman Paul G. Kirk Jr. and former Republican Party chairman Frank J. Fahrenkopf Jr., was formed in 1987 with the idea of taking all the partisan squabbling out of debate arrangements.

The commission proposed three 90-minute presidential debates and one debate between the vice presidential candidates, with questions put by a single moderator. Clinton accepted; Bush wants questions to be asked by a panel of journalists. That latter format allows–almost requires–shorter answers while cutting down on the opportunity for follow-up questions aimed at drawing out precise rather than general responses. By insisting on playing by its rules or refusing to play at all, the Bush camp is negating the bipartisan commission’s purpose.

FORUM OF IDEAS: Voters lose, because here for the first time in this campaign would have been a chance to gauge the candidates’ ideas for dealing with the nation’s problems through something other than carefully prepared formal statements or sound bites largely without content.

Here would have been a chance to see how well Bush and Clinton do on their feet, not just in brief responses and retorts, but in sustained exposition. Anyone who doubts that there is a public hunger for serious talk about serious problems, and a disgust with the glitz and sloganeering that most campaigning has become, is not reading the popular mood accurately.

Certainly Ross Perot sensed that hunger, which is why he encouraged a movement in his name, and certainly he senses it still, which is why as he told The Times this week he may reactivate his campaign. Perot’s biggest complaint is that neither Bush nor Clinton is talking about how he would control the swelling federal deficit, arguably the greatest drag on economic growth. He’s right; the candidates are ducking the issue, because if they were to take it on honestly they would be forced to speak about what is conventionally regarded as politically unspeakable. They would have to tell voters that the deficit can be controlled only by cutting spending, which means reducing a lot of government programs people cherish, or by increasing revenues, which means raising taxes. They won’t say that. Perot would, and in doing so he might just force Bush and Clinton finally to get specific about the deficit crisis.

TIME OF TWISTS: That would be one more twist in a campaign year that can already be seen as one of the most unusual in modern times. Two major developments are already apparent: the reshuffle facing Congress–especially the House, where come January as much as one-third of the membership may be new–and the large number of women who have entered contests for state and national offices and the large number who at this point stand a good chance at election in November. A record 11, for example, have already won primaries for Senate seats.

There will be no end to analyses about what it all means, but some preliminary judgments can be made right now. People seem increasingly to have gone from being cynical about the political process to being angry.

Incumbents are one evident target of this anger, while women candidates benefit because, among other reasons, many of them tend to be relatively new entrants into the political arena. It would be comforting to think that the shallowness and dishonesty of so much of what passes for political discourse have become no less a target of righteous public wrath. Certainly that would be one of the most positive things to take place in our political life in a very long time.

After the Lakers’ third straight loss Thursday, JJ Redick promised things would get “uncomfortable.” The second-year coach, frustrated after the team delivered a lump of coal in a Christmas Day blowout by the Houston Rockets, said he couldn’t stand to rewatch the same tired story. Leaning his elbow on the table at his postgame news conference, Redick called out players who don’t give enough effort on defense or play hard.

Two days later he stood in front of reporters with a different tone.

“Recalibration,” Redick said calmly of the message he delivered during Saturday’s team meeting. “Reconnection.”

Redick has cooled, but the Lakers still are under fire. Not only are they trying to snap a season-high three-game losing streak at home Sunday against the Sacramento Kings (6:30 p.m.), but also the Lakers (19-10) still are looking for their first home win in December and must navigate this defining moment without guard Austin Reaves.

Reaves was diagnosed with a grade 2 strain in his left calf Friday and will be reevaluated in four weeks. The latest setback comes less than two weeks after he was sidelined because of a “mild” strain in the same calf that kept him out for three games.

Reaves is averaging career highs in points (26.6), assists (6.3) and rebounds (5.2) and his ascent from undrafted rookie to potential first-time All-Star was one of the team’s feel-good stories of the season. Reaves scored a career-high 51 points against Sacramento in October, rescuing the Lakers in a game without LeBron James or Luka Doncic and showing Reaves’ potential in a starring role.

Now without their second-leading scorer, the Lakers are looking for their supporting cast to step up.

“We just need our guys to be stars in their roles,” Redick said. “Certainly from a top-end talent standpoint, it diminishes that. But it doesn’t change the non-negotiables or how we’re trying to play.”

After losing the last three games by an average of 20.7 points per game, the Lakers needed to get reacquainted with their non-negotiables during Saturday’s meeting. The session was uncomfortable in the way confronting truth can be uncomfortable, Redick said. It wasn’t just coaches lecturing, but also players speaking up.

The top priority was creating more clarity, Redick said. The team needed to get back to building its defensive fundamentals after so many lineup changes because of injuries. The Lakers have used 16 different starting lineups in 29 games and have to readjust their rotation again in Reaves’ absence.

“Togetherness is going to have to be emphasized to where it looks like an exaggeration,” center Deandre Ayton said, “where it becomes a habit. And that’s what winners do. And it’s pretty easy for this team. It’s just that there’s always a different group out there and we’re going to get it for sure.”

Forward Rui Hachimura said coaches reminded players of the team’s three pillars that again were displayed on a screen in the practice gym Saturday — championship habits, championship communication, championship shape.

“We just talk about everybody, players, coaches, we just gotta kind of tighten up,” Hachimura said. “We had a good stretch in the beginning and now we kind of, I don’t know, we relaxed or we kind of got tired of winning, you know, but we just stopped doing what we’re supposed to do.”

The Lakers are 29th in the NBA in defensive rating in the last 15 games, giving up 122.2 points per 100 possessions. It’s a significant drop from their rating of 113.7 in the first 14 games in which they went 10-4.

Since James returned from, the Lakers’ preferred starting lineup — Doncic, Reaves, James, Ayton and Hachimura — has a net rating of minus-19.9 in seven games.

Offensively the Lakers have lacked organization since James came back, Redick acknowledged. James declined to speak to reporters after practice.

“Too many random possessions,” Redick said. “That’s on me.”

On December 13, a joint US-Syrian patrol was ambushed by a member of Syria’s own security forces near Palmyra, a city in central Syria once controlled by the ISIL (ISIS) group.

Two US soldiers and an interpreter were shot dead, and four people were wounded, before Syrian forces killed the gunman.

In the aftermath of the attack, US and Syrian officials linked the attacker to ISIL, which once controlled vast swaths of Syria and Iraq, and promised to retaliate.

The incident highlights the growing cooperation between the United States and Syria against ISIL, particularly after Damascus joined the US-backed coalition against the group in November.

While it is still unclear if the attacker was a member of ISIL or another group opposed to US-Syrian relations, analysts say that cooperation between the two countries is strong and growing stronger.

“The Syrian government is responding very robustly to fighting ISIL following US requests to do so, and it is worth noting that HTS [Hayat Tahrir al-Sham], before it was in government, had a long-term policy of fighting ISIL,” Rob Geist Pinfold, a scholar of international security at King’s College London, told Al Jazeera, referring to Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s former group.

“It [HTS] did it in Idlib, and cracked down on insurgents and cells, and this is more a continuation of that policy.”

Syria’s Minister of Interior spokesman, Noureddine al-Baba, told Syria’s Al-Ikhbariah TV that there was no direct chain of command to the gunman within Syria’s internal security forces, and that he was not part of the force tasked with escorting the US forces. Investigations are under way, he added, to determine whether he had direct ties to ISIL or adopted violent ideology.

ISIL attacks down

In May 2015, ISIL took over the city of Palmyra from the former Syrian government.

Famous for its Greco-Roman ruins, the city bounced back and forth between regime forces and ISIL until the group was expelled in 2017.

In May 2017, the US-led coalition also forced the group out of Raqqa, which ISIL had declared the capital of its so-called caliphate three years earlier.

Many surviving ISIL fighters were imprisoned in the al-Hol and Roj camps in northeast Syria, controlled by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Others escaped into the Syrian desert around Palmyra, from where they have occasionally launched attacks.

When the regime of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad fell on December 8, 2024, analysts said ISIL fighters used the ensuing chaos to go into various cities across the country. In June, the group launched an attack on a church in Damascus that killed at least 25 people.

Samy Akil, a fellow at the Tahrir Institute, said recent estimates put ISIL’s manpower in Iraq and Syria at between 3,000 and 5,000 fighters.

But experts told Al Jazeera that the coordination between Damascus and Washington has improved over the last year, and pointed to the fact that Syria’s security forces have thwarted several ISIL attacks due to US-provided intelligence.

“Ahmed al-Sharaa’s new government is committed to fighting the group and, in contrast to the Assad era, al-Sharaa’s government gets regular tip-offs from US intelligence, and probably other forms of US support as well. That’s a pretty powerful combination,” Aron Lund, a research fellow at Century International, focusing on Syria, told Al Jazeera.

This collaboration has seen a decrease in ISIL attacks in Syria, according to a report by consulting firm Karam Shaar Advisory. ISIL launched an average of 63 attacks a month in 2024, while in 2025, that number dropped to 10, according to the report.

“Since HTS arrived in Damascus, collaboration [with the US] has become much easier,” Jerome Drevon, a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group, told Al Jazeera.

Structural flaws

After the fall of the Assad regime, there were questions over how security would be enforced. The few thousand HTS members who had previously only controlled Idlib in northwest Syria would not be enough to enforce security across the country.

Syria’s security forces undertook a serious recruitment drive, bringing in tens of thousands of new recruits to add to many of the existing former opposition battalions that were incorporated under the state’s new security apparatus.

With such a huge recruitment campaign, analysts said, vetting was a difficult task.

“The Palmyra attack points to structural flaws rather than a mere one-off event. Integration of former faction fighters and rapid new recruitment have produced uneven vetting and oversight, compounded by a permissive environment for radical views, allowing infiltration to persist,” Nanar Hawash, International Crisis Group’s senior Syria analyst, told Al Jazeera.

“Together, these factors blur early warning signs and create space for hidden threats, raising the risk of repeat attacks.”

Analysts said they expect Syrian security forces to improve the vetting process with time. Meanwhile, another attack like December 13’s was possible and could dent the US’s faith that al-Sharaa’s government can provide security in Syria.

“It could happen again due to the sheer numbers [of new recruits], but over time, the government will improve its game and be more thorough to prevent that from happening again, because it will have consequences,” Drevon said.

“We should be careful over generalising based on one attack, which can be a one-off. But if it happens again, it might change the perception of the Syrian government.”

What does ISIL want?

As for ISIL, analysts said the group’s priorities have changed since the fall of al-Assad.

“What we’re seeing now is ISIL is trying to test boundaries and conduct attacks knowing it cannot gain territorial control,” Akil said.

“It aims at destabilising and staying relevant.”

“ISIS cannot hold cities or topple governments. But it doesn’t need to. Its strength lies in destabilisation,” Hawach said. “The Palmyra attack showed that one operative with the right access can kill three US personnel and shake a bilateral relationship.”

Analysts said ISIL could destabilise Syria by targeting state security forces, religious minorities – like it did in the Damascus church attack in June – or any foreigner on Syrian soil, from US soldiers to humanitarian or United Nations workers. The group could also look to capitalise on tensions between the SDF and Damascus over disagreements on how to integrate the former into the state’s security apparatus.

The SDF also manages the al-Hol and Roj prison camps in northeast Syria, where many of ISIL’s most battle-hardened fighters and commanders are held. This could prove to be a key target for ISIL in Syria.

“ISIL thrives in those vacuums,” Hawach said.

“It’s a guerrilla insurgency, not a caliphate, but in a fragile state, that’s enough to cause serious damage.”

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.

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.

WAG Rebekah Vardy has run into trouble with her booze brand less than a year after it was launched.

Vardy, 43, launched SKTL last December with former footballer and I’m A Celebrity campmate Dennis Wise, 58.

The £25 flavoured vodka — inspired by husband Jamie’s love of mixing Skittles sweets into the spirit — appears to still be on sale from the company’s website.

But disappointed fans told The Sun on Sunday they had waited months for bottles ordered in October that never arrived.

Eventually, they received an automated message saying their money would be refunded but were given no explanation for the delay or cancellation of the order.

When one customer tried to contact Sktl, they found the company’s main email address bounced back.

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Another customer said: “I’m furious, it took two months to find out they weren’t going to deliver.”

Pals of Rebekah — whose husband moved from Leicester to Serie A side Cremonese this summer — revealed the mother of five has paused work on the drink brand to settle into life in Italy.

The source said: “There’s no problem with the brand; and it’s still something Rebekah wants to push on with.

“But, just for the moment, she’s had to take a breath – so she can focus on Italy and organising the family moving out and then getting settled in there.

“Once that’s all sorted, vodka will be back as one of her focuses!”

Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — When Mitt Romney launched Bain Capital in 1984, he struggled at first to raise enough money for the untested venture. Old-money families like the Rothschilds turned down the young Boston consultant.

So he and his partners tapped an eclectic roster of investors, raising more than a third of their first $37-million investment fund from wealthy foreigners.

Most of the foreign investors’ money came through corporations registered in Panama, then known for tax advantages and unusual banking secrecy.

Previously unreported details, documented in Massachusetts corporate filings and other public records, show that Bain Capital was enmeshed in the largely opaque world of international high finance from its very inception.

The documents don’t indicate any wrongdoing, and experts say that such financial vehicles are common for wealthy foreign investors. But the new details come as President Obama has criticized Romney for profiting from Bain Capital’s own offshore investment entities, which are unavailable to most Americans.

The Romney campaign declined to comment on the specifics of Bain’s early investors. Romney has argued that his offshore investments are entirely proper, and that he has paid all the U.S. taxes that he owes. The offshore funds do provide tax advantages for foreign investors, allowing Bain to attract billions of dollars.

“The world of finance is not as simple as some would have you believe,” Romney said in an interview this week with National Review Online.

The first outside investor in Bain was a leading London financier, Sir Jack Lyons, who made a $2.5-million investment through a Panama shell company set up by a Swiss money manager, further shielding his identity. Years later, Lyons was convicted in an unrelated stock fraud scandal.

About $9 million came from rich Latin Americans, including powerful Salvadoran families living in Miami during their country’s brutal civil war.

That first investment fund — used to invest in start-up companies and leveraged buyouts — paid out a stunning 173% in average annual returns over a decade, according to a prospectus prepared by an outside bank. It was the start of the private equity powerhouse that ultimately fueled Romney’s political career. He now cites his experience at Bain as a chief qualification for the White House.

Romney faced unusual complications when he launched Bain Capital, a spinoff of Bain & Co., the Boston consulting firm he joined when he graduated from Harvard Business School.

At the time, U.S. officials were publicly accusing some exiles in Miami of funding right-wing death squads in El Salvador. Some family members of the first Bain Capital investors were later linked to groups responsible for killings, though no evidence indicates those relatives invested in Bain or benefited from it.

Romney has said he checked the foreign investors’ backgrounds. His campaign and Bain Capital declined to provide specifics.

Alex Stanton, a spokesman for Bain Capital, said confidentiality rules barred him from commenting on the investors.

“The hyperbole of political campaigns cannot change the fact that Bain Capital has operated with high standards of integrity and excellence, including compliance with all applicable laws and regulations regarding the vetting of our investors in consultation with experienced counsel and other advisors,” he said. “Any suggestion to the contrary is baseless.”

Matt McDonald, a spokesman for the Romney campaign, also declined to discuss details of the original fund. “There were many investors who saw the opportunity of a firm that could help fix broken companies and help them grow.”

But when Romney and his partners started the firm, Bain & Co. founder Bill Bain — worried the new venture could fail — barred them from soliciting current clients or corporations that would have to publicly disclose the investment, according to an early Bain Capital employee.

Bain partners put in $12 million of their own money, then sought the rest from wealthy individuals.

Records show the first investment in Bain Capital — $1.25 million in June 1984 — was in the name of Jean Overseas Ltd., registered in Panama by Marcel Elfen, a Swiss money manager. Later, the investment was doubled.

The Panamanian shell company apparently was a vehicle for Lyons, the British businessman and philanthropist. Lyons died in 2008.

His son, David Lyons of Quebec, said in a phone interview that he had never heard of Jean Overseas, but he confirmed that his father was “absolutely” an early investor in Bain Capital and said that Elfen, who died last year, was his father’s money manager.

David Lyons said that wealthy Europeans like his father often invested through offshore shell corporations. “It allowed some confidentiality,” he said. “It allowed a lot of things.”

Jack Lyons worked as an outside consultant for Bain & Co., but that ended when he and three others were charged in the Guinness Affair, a stock scandal that rocked Britain. Convicted of fraud in 1990, he was spared prison time due to his failing health, but was stripped of his knighthood.

Romney and his partners also won over the money manager for one of California’s wealthiest families, the Crockers, whose family trust put in $4.8 million. Romney “was the most confident executive I’ve ever come across,” said William Swanson, who at the time managed the family’s investments.

Other early investors included Robert Maxwell, the British publishing baron, who invested $2 million. After his drowning death in 1991, investigators discovered Maxwell had stolen hundreds of millions of dollars from his company’s pension funds.

But early on, the fundraising was still falling short. Harry Strachan, a Bain Capital partner who was born in Costa Rica to American missionary parents, knew Central American businessmen through his involvement in a Harvard-backed business school in Nicaragua. Why not pitch to them?

Romney and Bill Bain were initially “terrified of bringing in Central Americans,” Strachan told the Boston Globe in August 1994. “They were afraid of drug money.”

Reassured by Strachan, Romney flew to Miami to meet the group in 1984.

“My friends were impressed by Mitt and the team and signed up for 20% of the fund,” Strachan wrote in his self-published memoir, “Finding a Path.” He did not respond to requests for comment.

The group included some of El Salvador’s wealthiest people: coffee grower Miguel A. Dueñas; members of the De Sola family, also coffee exporters; and Ricardo Poma, whose family conglomerate now owns car dealerships and luxury hotels across Central America. Other investors included Frank Kardonski, who co-founded the Panama Stock Exchange, and Diego Ribadeneira, nowEcuador’sambassador to Peru.

Most of the money they put into Bain Capital was through corporations set up in Panama with names such as Velof Trust, Jolla and Universal Selling Co.

In the 1980s, Panama was “the country of choice for foreigners wanting to make investments on a confidential basis,” said Steven H. Hagen, a Miami lawyer who provides tax advice to offshore companies and international investors.

The use of an offshore corporation to invest in a U.S. business shields foreign investors from estate taxes, but not income taxes, Hagen said.

At the time, El Salvador was being torn apart in a civil war that ultimately left tens of thousands dead. The Bain investors — some of whom had their plantations seized and family members targeted — were waiting out the war in Miami.

“Many of them were trying to move their money elsewhere,” said Jeffery M. Paige, a University of Michigan professor who wrote a book about the Salvadoran ruling class. “It was a difficult transition, and of course their investment outlets were limited.”

Among the Bain investors were Francisco R.R. de Sola and his cousin Herbert Arturo de Sola, whose brother Orlando de Sola was suspected by State Department officials and the CIA of backing the right-wing death squads, according to now-declassified documents.

Orlando de Sola, who has denied supporting the death squads, is now serving a four-year prison term for unrelated fraud charges. In an interview at the prison in Metapan, El Salvador, he said he did not benefit from the family investment in Bain Capital.

Before Bain, the family’s holdings were based in El Salvador, he said. “I would say their relationship with Bain Capital was a step to diversify into foreign investments. But I insist to you, I was not part of it.”

The other Latin American investors declined or did not respond to requests to comment.

Other early investors were happy to talk about their lucrative early bet. Jack Hanley, former head ofMonsanto Co., put in $1 million.

“It seemed like a hell of a smart thing for me to do to ride their coattails,” said Hanley, now 83. “I got rich.”

joseph.tanfani@latimes.com

melanie.mason@latimes.com

matea.gold@latimes.com

Special correspondent Alex Renderos in Metapan, El Salvador, contributed to this report.

Crespi’s basketball team is starting to gain notice just in time for the start of Mission League play next month.

The Celts (11-4) advanced to the semifinals of the toughest division of the Classic at Damien with a 70-67 victory over Northern California power Richmond Salesian on Saturday.

Carter Barnes finished with 16 points and five assists. Jasiah Williams had 15 points. And, in a big development for the Celts, 6-foot-10 transfer student Rodney Mukendi, who became eligible on Friday, had nine points and eight rebounds in 13 minutes as he continues to gain playing time and makes the transition to blending in.

Crespi will face the winner of St. John Bosco-Phoenix Sunnyslope in the Platinum division semifinals on Monday.

Crean Lutheran 61, Texas Sandra Day O’Connor 60: Nick Giarrusso had 17 points and 12 rebounds to help Crean Lutheran earn a spot in the Platinum division semifinals.

Rolling Hills Prep 61, Arizona Mesa 47: Nick Welch Jr. had 25 points and 14 rebounds to advance Rolling Hills Prep (12-2) to the Gold Division semifinals at Damien.

Eastvale Roosevelt 65, Utah American Fork 61: Sloane Harris had 26 points for Roosevelt.

Corona Centennial 70, Idaho Owyee 46: Stanford commit Isaiah Rogers scored 21 points for Centennial.

Mayfair 55, Palisades 49: Josiah Johnson finished with 27 points for Mayfair.

Campbell Hall 75, Washington Prep 69: Ean Britt finished with 23 points for Campbell Hall.

St. Pius X-St. Matthias 67, De La Salle 64: In double overtime, the Warriors prevailed. Kayleb Kearse scored 23 points and Dominic Gallardo had 16.

Crossroads 65, California 58: Shalen Sheppard, cleared by the Southern Section after transferring from Brentwood, scored 19 points for Crossroads.

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 85, St. Augustine 47: NaVorro Bowman had 17 points for 10-4 Notre Dame. Josiah Nance added 15 points.

St. Anthony 64, Tesoro 55: Jamil House had 24 points and seven rebounds for St. Anthony.

Calabasas 76, Menlo 53: JR Hughes had 24 points and 14 rebounds for Calabasas.

Viewpoint 62, Palo Verde 43: Solomon Clanton Jr. finished with 21 points for 10-2 Viewpoint.

Girls basketball

Windward 68, Bishop Montgomery 50: Angelina Habis scored 37 points, including eight threes, for a Windward team that got better after the sit-out transfer period ended Friday. Charis Rainey added 21 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.

Sierra Canyon 72, San Juan Hills 22: Emilia Krstevski finished with 16 points and Payton Montgomery had 12 rebounds for 11-1 Sierra Canyon.

Dec. 27 (UPI) — A Nebraska man was arrested near Louisville, Ky., when police found 55 pounds of suspected methamphetamine in Christmas wrapping inside his vehicle’s trunk on Monday.

Jeffersontown Police Department officers arrested Jacob Talamantes, 23, while he was at a shopping center near the Bluegrass Parkway after a police dog detected drugs in his 2013 Chevrolet Malibu.

Police officers searched his vehicle and found the meth in gift-wrapped boxes inside the trunk and arrested him.

“No amount of festive wrapping can disguise the harm these drugs inflict on families and communities,” JPD Chief Richard Sanders said in a news release.

“The coordinated efforts of partner agencies ensured these holiday-wrapped packages never reached the streets,” Sanders said.

The police were conducting a drug investigation at the shopping center when the dog alerted them to the drugs when Talamantes arrived in the vehicle, WLWT reported.

He tried to walk away from the police, but they detained him.

Talamantes told officers he was driving from Iowa and intended to traffic the drugs, and he was arrested and charged with first-degree trafficking in a controlled substance.

The Drug Enforcement Agency and Kentucky State Police assisted with the arrest and are helping with the investigation into the matter.

Jeffersontown is located about 15 miles southeast of Louisville.

If Israel and the US were to attack Iran again, they would ‘face a more decisive response’, Pezeshkian warns.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says that the United States, Israel and Europe are waging a “full-fledged war” against his country.

“In my opinion, we are in a full-fledged war with America, Israel and Europe. They do not want our country to stand on its feet,” Pezeshkian told the official site of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in an interview on Saturday.

The president’s remarks come ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s meeting on Monday with US President Donald Trump. They also come six months after Israel and the US launched strikes on Iran, and after France, Germany and the United Kingdom reimposed United Nations sanctions on Iran in September over its nuclear programme.

“Our dear 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 [Israel and the US] attacked,” Pezeshkian said.

“So, if they want to attack, they will naturally face a more decisive response.”

The president said that “this war” is unlike past ones.

“This war is worse than Iraq’s war against us. If one understands it well, this war is far more complex and difficult than that war,” Pezeshkian said, referring to the 1980-1988 conflict between the neighbouring countries in which thousands were killed.

The US and its allies accuse Iran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, a claim Tehran has repeatedly denied.

Israel and Iran engaged in a 12-day war in June, triggered by an unprecedented Israeli attack on Iranian military and nuclear sites, as well as civilian areas.

The strikes caused more than 1,000 casualties, according to Iranian authorities.

The US later joined the Israeli operation, bombing three Iranian nuclear sites.

Washington’s involvement brought a halt to negotiations with Tehran, which began in April, over its nuclear programme.

Since returning to the White House in January, US President Donald Trump has revived his so-called “maximum pressure” policy against Iran, initiated during his first term.

That has included additional sanctions designed to economically cripple the country and dry up its oil revenues from sales on the global market.

According to recent reports, when Netanyahu visits Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida this weekend, he will be pushing for more military actions against Iran, this time focusing on Tehran’s missile programme.

Former EastEnders actor Jamie Borthwick cut a glum figure as he shared a new year message with his followers months after being axed from the long-running BBC soap

It’s been a year to forget for Jamie Borthwick, and now the actor has shared a sad Christmas message. Months after being let go by EastEnders producers, Jamie, 31, has uploaded a sombre looking image and message.

He had played the part of Jay on the BBC soap since 2006. However, following a fallout amid Strictly chaos, Jamie found himself suspended by the soap. Three months later, he was axed, losing his role in September this year.

Now, in a rare social media update, Jamie has tried to look on the positive side of things – even if his picture appears to portray a different message. Taking to Instagram, he shared a picture of himself looking glum while wearing a paper Christmas hat.

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The black-and-white image was accompanied with the words: “Wishing everybody a very merry Christmas and let’s hope for a slightly better 2026 for us all xx.” He added a peering face emoji and an emoji of a face giggling.

Jamie has largely remained off social media since his axing from the long-running soap. He had been suspended following footage being revealed in which he used a severely derogatory term.

He was heard using the offensive term for people with disabilities to describe Blackpool residents while filming Strictly in the seaside town. The BBC said at the time that his language, caught in a clip on a phone, was “entirely unacceptable and in no way reflects the values or standards we hold and expect”.

At the time, BBC Studios, which makes the soap, said: “We can confirm that Jamie Borthwick will not be returning to EastEnders. We do not comment on individual matters.”

Disability charity Scope said that Jamie should reflect on what he had said and urged him to educate himself. It added: “We hope he takes the opportunity to get to know the reality of disabled people’s lives.”

The star, who had played funeral home manager Jay Brown, was spotted after the decision looking downcast and unshaven. It is understood he was only told about the bosses’ decision days before news broke.

He had reportedly been set to return to set to recommence filming after the suspension. However, he was instead shown the door. with the BBC saying: “We are very clear on our expectations that inappropriate behaviour and language will not be tolerated.”

In June, Jamie said: “I am deeply sorry for any offence and upset my words and actions have caused. It is no excuse, but I did not fully understand the derogatory term I used and its meaning.

“That is on me completely. Now I am aware, I am deeply embarrassed to have used the term and directed it in the way I did. It was wrong.”

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ST. LOUIS — President Clinton on Friday joined the growing cultural and political war between Democrats and their critics on the right, bitterly assailing Christian broadcasters and conservative radio talk-show hosts.

In unusually angry and aggressive remarks during a radio interview, Clinton attacked the Rev. Jerry Falwell and popular radio personality Rush Limbaugh by name, saying that their brand of politics and religion feed a spreading intolerance and cynicism across America.

The tenor and heat of his remarks showed what is increasingly becoming apparent–that for those in the roiling political battle, this is less a contest between strong adversaries with some mutual respect than a holy war fueled by bitterness and personal loathing.

Clinton spoke by telephone from Air Force One as he was flying to St. Louis to inaugurate a youth service program and headline a $1,500-a-plate fund-raiser for House Majority Leader Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo.).

The President said that televangelist Falwell and other spokesmen for the religious right hide behind their fervent protestations of faith while engaging in baseless personal attacks and political demagoguery.

“I do not believe that people should be criticized for their religious convictions,” Clinton said. “But neither do I believe that people can put on the mantle of religion and then justify anything they say or do.”

The President called Falwell’s Christian values questionable when he uses his church and his access to television to promote a videotape attacking Clinton’s honesty and morality.

Clinton said that the Falwell tape, which includes lurid allegations about Clinton’s sex life, his personal finances and assorted skullduggery in Arkansas, is full of “scurrilous and false charges.”

“Remember,” Clinton said, “Jesus threw the money-changers out of the temple. He didn’t try to take over the job of the money-changers.”

In an interview with Cable News Network later Friday, Falwell dismissed Clinton’s criticism and invited the President to tape a personal rebuttal to the videotape for use on the “Old Time Gospel Hour,” which airs on 200 stations nationwide.

“While the President should really direct his denials and apparent anger at those making the charges, we will be happy to provide him a forum for rebutting those charges, assuming he has watched the video, knows what the charges are and addresses them specifically,” Falwell said.

Clinton’s growing frustration not only with his legislative difficulties but with the unanswered attacks on his character was evident in the 23-minute interview with radio station KMOX.

He was testy from the outset, then unloaded on radio interviewers Charles Brennan and Kevin Horrigan after they asked about the alleged pilfering of towels and bathrobes from the aircraft carrier George Washington by White House staff members on the President’s recent trip to Europe to commemorate the D-day anniversary.

“Look at all the things you could have asked me about and you just asked me about that,” Clinton said, his voice rising in wrath. “Did you know that there were other people on that aircraft carrier? Did you know that there were press people on the aircraft carrier? Did you know that the carrier had been fully reimbursed out of the private pocket of a White House staff member who was so upset about it. . . ? No. No.”

White House Press Secretary Dee Dee Myers went out of her way to insist that Clinton was not angry. He was shouting only to be heard over the engine noise of Air Force One, she said.

“He wasn’t angry and didn’t want to leave the impression that he was,” Myers said after reading wire service accounts that described the President as inflamed. “It sounded a lot harder than it was.”

She said that Clinton did not intend to point fingers at any individuals. “I think the President just spoke his mind,” she added.

Clinton’s assault on Falwell, Limbaugh and other critics elevated to a new plane a battle that Rep. Vic Fazio (D-West Sacramento) launched earlier this week with an attack on the Republican Party and its supporters from the “intolerant . . . religious right.”

Fazio warned that radical fringe groups are seizing control of the GOP in more than a dozen states and are threatening to become a major force in Congress.

Fazio’s comments were denounced by Republican leaders as “religious bigotry” and a “calculated smear campaign.”

It was clear Friday that Clinton would join Fazio’s line of attack as part of the Democratic Party strategy to demonize the right and stanch Democratic losses in the November mid-term elections.

The President said he respects the religious convictions of evangelicals but that he would not be silent “when people come into the political system and they say that anybody that doesn’t agree with them is Godless, anyone who doesn’t agree with them is not a good Christian, anyone who doesn’t agree with them is fair game for any wild charge, no matter how false, for any kind of personal, demeaning attack.”

The Falwell tape sells for $43, and tens of thousands reportedly have been sold. The people quoted on the tape are several longtime enemies of Clinton who, among other things, suggest that Clinton was involved in several murders in Arkansas.

Falwell aide Mark DeMoss has said that he does not know if the charges are true but believes they should be aired so they can be investigated.

House Republicans also responded to Clinton’s comments. “People who go to work on Monday and church on Sunday are not public enemies,” said Rep. Dick Armey (R-Tex.), who chairs the House GOP Conference. “Clinton should be putting an end to this McCarthyistic tactic now, rather than fanning the flames and setting up some religious right bogeyman.”

The mainstream media also did not escape Friday’s presidential ire. Clinton complained that the reporting on his Administration has emphasized its failures unfairly and ignored its accomplishments.

He said that news reporting today is “much more negative . . , much more editorial . . . and much less direct” than ever before.

And he said that the American people were subjected to a “constant unremitting drumbeat of negativism and cynicism” from talk radio–particularly Limbaugh and his many imitators.

Clinton noted that the three-hour Limbaugh show would follow him on the same radio station and that he would have no opportunity for response or challenge.

“And there’s no truth detector,” Clinton said. “You won’t get on afterwards and say what was true and what wasn’t.”

Limbaugh, in his show Friday, answered the President mockingly, “There is no need for a truth detector. I am the truth detector.”

Clinton said that he had given up hope of receiving better treatment from the press, the religious broadcasters and talk radio.

“So I decided instead of being frustrated, I needed to be aggressive and I’m going to be aggressive from here on in. I’m going to tell what I know the truth to be,” Clinton said.

So no more Mr. Nice Guy?

“I’m going to be very nice about it,” the President said, “but I’m going to be aggressive about it.”

Times staff writer Jeff Leeds in Washington contributed to this story.

This is not the first time the Melbourne pitch for an Ashes Test has been criticised. In the drawn match of 2017, the surface did not offer enough assistance for the bowlers, resulting in a dull contest.

Only 24 wickets fell across the match as England’s Alastair Cook piled on an unbeaten 244.

Melbourne Cricket Club chief executive Stuart Fox explained there had been a review of pitches since then, and Page gave details of the surfaces used for recent Tests.

Some MCG pitches have had longer grass than the 10mm for this year’s contest, while last year’s match between Australia and India was played on a pitch that had 7mm of grass and went into the fifth day.

This year, Page opted for 10mm of grass because of the hot weather forecast for what was scheduled to be the closing stages of the Test. Temperatures of 32C are forecast for Monday, the fourth day.

After almost 190,000 spectators were inside the MCG for the opening two days, day three was also a sell-out. There was the potential for the all-time Ashes attendance record to be broken.

CA are not insured for the loss of revenue from this Test. The A$10m figure is significant, but does not have a huge impact on a forecast A$600m revenue in the financial year.

Fox revealed there were discussions about players returning on day three for an exhibition match in order to satisfy ticket-holders and broadcasters. It is understood those conversations did not progress far enough to be raised with the England team.

“There were alternatives discussed,” he said. “There was talk of players coming out and having a hit, but that didn’t get up.”

Fox said he had “full faith” in Page and believes he is the best groundsman in Australia.

“We’re obviously disappointed the Test has finished in two days,” said Fox. “We didn’t plan for this and we didn’t want this to happen. It’s challenging times for us.

“This pitch has clearly favoured the bowlers and hasn’t given the batters a good opportunity to get set. What it demonstrates is the fine margins Matt and his team are dealing with.

“We do understand the impact this has had on the fans and Cricket Australia. I’ve got all the faith in the world in Matt and his team.”

Fox also confirmed that perishable food due to be used at the Boxing Day Test will be donated to a local charity.

Dec. 27 (UPI) — A 6.6-magnitude earthquake was recorded off Taiwan’s northeastern coast on Saturday night, but no injuries or significant damage were reported.

The earthquake struck offshore at 11:05 p.m. local time and was located 20 miles east of Yilan County Hall.

The epicenter was 45 miles beneath the Earth’s surface, which largely protected Taiwan against harm and helped to prevent a tsunami warning.

The earthquake was felt in 17 of Taiwan’s 22 counties, which created a seismic intensity of 4 on the island’s 7-point scale.

Six of Taiwan High Speed Rail’s trains temporarily stopped upon detecting seismic alerts near Nangang and Yunlin.

Metro rail services in Taipei and Taichung reduced their respective speeds for a short time before resuming normal speeds late Saturday night.

More than 3,000 homes in Yilan lost power for a short period, but it was restored.

The U.S. Geological Survey recorded the earthquake as magnitude 6.6, but Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration reported it as magnitude 7.0.

Taiwan is located in an active seismic zone and on Wednesday recorded a 6.1-magnitude earthquake that impacted the coastal county of Taitung in the southeastern part of the island.

That earthquake also shook buildings in the capital city of Taipei.

FORGET the Oscars, these are the gongs that matter: The Biz on Sunday Awards for 2025.

It’s been another epic year in showbiz, and today we look back at the best, and worst, of it.

From Katy Perry’s space voyage to Alan Carr winning The Celebrity Traitors, here is our round-up . . .

REUNION OF THE YEAR

WHEN Noel and Liam Gallagher walked out on stage together for the first time in 16 years, Oasis fans around the world breathed a huge sigh of relief.

The brothers finally put their long-running feud behind them and took us back to the Nineties with their Live ’25 Tour.

After 41 dates, spanning 13 countries on five continents, it is safe to say that their reunion will be talked about for years to come.

MR AND MRS

Adam Peaty and Holly Ramsay wed with his sister as bridesmaid amid feud

CHRISTMAS CRACKER

Rhian Sugden looks incredible in knickers and ‘naughty but nice’ crop top

Here’s hoping that 2026 holds even more for Oasis.

MOMENT OF THE YEAR

POP star Katy Perry proved she was out of this world when she soared 62 miles above Earth in April.

The American singer went into space on Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin rocket with an all-female crew, and promised that a song inspired by the trip was on its way.

But critics branded her part in the mission “tone deaf” in light of the world’s economic struggles.

FALL OF THE YEAR

McFLY singer Danny Jones and Love Island beauty Maura Higgins certainly had a rocky start to 2025.

After both appeared in ITV’s I’m A Celebrity . . . Get Me Out Of Here! in 2024, they were spotted together at a Brit Awards after-party in March – and married guitarist Danny was filmed kissing single Maura.

Luckily for Danny, his loyal wife, model Georgia, later forgave him.

Hopefully he will be on his very best behaviour next year.

SPLIT OF THE YEAR

LILY ALLEN proved that revenge is a dish best served cold – following her split from Stranger Things star David Harbour.

The British pop star laid bare her marriage breakdown through 14 tracks on her album West End Girl, which was released in October.

Lily’s tell-all lyrics came after months of hints about her toxic split with American David last December, amid rumours she caught him cheating.

If the album is anything to go by, her West End Girl tour will be one to remember.

TV TWIST OF THE YEAR

THE Celebrity Traitors was the year’s biggest TV show – with 12million viewers tuning in to watch Alan Carr win.

The comedian became the standout star of the series after “murdering” his best mate Paloma Faith – and having the worst poker face at the round tables.

Alan will be forever remembered as the best and worst Traitor in BBC history.

COUPLE OF THE YEAR

TAYLOR SWIFT and Travis Kelce broke the internet in August when the announcement of their engagement scored 37million likes on Instagram.

In a joint post, US hitmaker Taylor was pictured surrounded by flowers, with her American football star boyfriend on one knee, and a cryptic caption quipped: “Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married.”

The couple, below, first sparked rumour of a romance when Taylor was spotted watching a Kansas City Chiefs game in 2023.

If the engagement is anything to go by, this is going to be the wedding of the century.

UNLIKELY NEW ROMANCE

HE is Britain’s most eligible pop star – so when Harry Styles stepped out with Catwoman Zoe Kravitz in Rome in August, fans went wild.

The As It Was singer was seen walking arm-in-arm with US actress Zoe through the streets of the Italian capital.

Could we see a diamond ring in the new year?

ARIANA GETS A GRANDE HOTEL

ARIANA GRANDE seems to be planning a Wicked time during her rumoured West End stint — including a £1million hotel stay.

I hear the US singer and actress, who is tipped to star in a revival of hit musical Sunday In The Park With George, has included accommodation at the 5H Mandarin Oriental among conditions for her potentially taking the role.

Penthouses at the Hyde Park hotel start from £40,000 a night.

The three-bedroom suite is almost 5,000sq ft, with a walk-in wardrobe and grandstand private terrace.

If the play runs for six weeks, Ariana’s hotel bill would run to more than £1million.

Fans believe she is set to star in a revival of Stephen Sondheim’s 1984 musical Sunday In The Park With George at London’s Barbican Centre in 2027.

If so, she would line up alongside Jonathan Bailey, who played her Wicked character Glinda’s love interest.

A source said: “Ariana wants to stay at the Mandarin when she stars in the play.

“She really appreciates her downtime when she is working on productions and is a huge fan of the hotel.

“Ariana loves London and believes that the Mandarin Oriental has the city’s best views.”

Meanwhile she is nominated for Best Supporting Actress in Wicked: For Good at the Golden Globes in January.

She will then start her The Eternal Sunshine Tour in June, in Oakland, California, to support her album of the same name.

Sounds like she deserves some five-star R&R.

GET READY FOR A HARRY NEW YEAR

HARRY STYLES has given his most telling clue yet that he is preparing for a comeback.

He put on his YouTube channel a clip from his final Love On Tour gig, in 2023 in Italy – and the post was cryptically titled, “Forever, forever”, with text declaring: “We belong together.” He is at the piano, sparkling in gold.

It comes amid rumours of a fourth solo album – and a stage return.

The former One Direction star released his last album, Harry’s House, in 2022.

Looks like 2026 will be his year.

WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden has turned to one of his most trusted and long-serving foreign policy advisors as his choice for secretary of State.

Biden is expected to nominate Antony Blinken, 58, a veteran diplomat and former senior official at the State Department and National Security Council, perhaps on Tuesday, according to a source familiar with the Biden transition planning.

The Democratic president-elect has said he could announce his choices for several positions this week, as he moves to form a Cabinet and his administration more broadly despite President Trump’s refusal to concede his election defeat.

Blinken is seen as someone who could easily win Senate confirmation even if Republicans still control the chamber in the next Congress. Given the depth of his experience, he could hit the ground running, current and former diplomats said.

Blinken was a deputy national security advisor and deputy secretary of State in the Obama administration as well as national security advisor to Vice President Biden from 2009 to 2013.

The stepson of a Holocaust survivor, Blinken has leaned more toward intervention in world crises than some of his colleagues, but is also facile in readjusting his position to match that of the administration he serves. He is known as fiercely loyal to Biden.

Blinken has also advised Biden during his presidential campaigns, serving during the just-concluded campaign as Biden’s principal foreign policy advisor and spokesman.

“Joe Biden will benefit just by not being President Trump,” Blinken said in an interview with The Times during the summer. “That is the opening opportunity.”

Bloomberg, which first reported the likely Blinken nomination, also said Jake Sullivan, 43, formerly one of Hillary Clinton’s closest aides as well as an advisor to Biden, is likely to be named national security advisor, a White House staff position that does not require Senate confirmation.

Ron Klain, Biden’s incoming White House chief of staff, said Sunday that the president-elect would be making his initial cabinet announcements on Tuesday, but declined to specify which positions would be filled first. The people familiar with Biden’s selections asked not to be identified because he hasn’t yet made the announcements.

State is regarded as one of the most prestigious Cabinet posts. The secretary of State is the nation’s top diplomat, conducting meetings with foreign leaders across the globe.

The president’s national security advisor is one of the most important and powerful jobs in the White House, leading a staff of dozens of experts drawn from the government’s military, diplomatic and intelligence agencies who develop U.S. foreign and military policy.

Blinken and Sullivan didn’t respond to requests for comment. A Biden spokesman declined to comment.

When Biden was a senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Blinken served as his staff director before leaving to work on Biden’s short-lived 2008 presidential campaign. Blinken graduated from Harvard and from Columbia Law School.

After serving in the Obama administration, Blinken co-founded WestExec Advisors, a political strategy firm, with a top Obama-era Pentagon official, Michele Flournoy. She is a top candidate to be Biden’s Defense secretary; if named and confirmed, she would be the first woman to hold the job.

Biden met on Nov. 17 with defense and intelligence experts, including Blinken and others who worked for Obama when Biden was vice president. He gathered them together because the Trump administration has blocked him from getting the intelligence briefings traditionally granted the president-elect.

“We’ve been through a lot of damage done over the last four years, in my view. We need to rebuild our institutions and my workforce to reflect the full strength and diversity of our country,” Biden said at the briefing. “We need to focus on readiness for whatever may come.”

Times staff writer Evan Halper and Bloomberg News contributed to this report.

What began as a blowout, ended as a down-to-the-wire finish Saturday, as the Houston Texans held off the Chargers with a 20-16 victory at SoFi Stadium.

The outcome rippled through the AFC, with the Denver Broncos clinching the AFC West, and the Indianapolis Colts eliminated from playoff contention. The Broncos are the first team other than Kansas City to win the division in the past decade.

The Chargers (11-5), who had won four in a row, made some uncharacteristic mistakes to fritter away scoring chances.

Justin Herbert, who otherwise had a tremendous and gutty game, was intercepted a yard away from the end zone in the first half.

Cameron Dicker, the most accurate kicker in NFL history, missed for the first time in his career inside of 40 yards and in the fourth quarter hooked an extra-point try, only the fourth PAT miss of his career.

Herbert completed 21 of 32 passes for 236 yards with a touchdown and interception.

Houston’s C.J. Stroud completed 16 of 28 for 244 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

The Texans (11-5), who got off to an 0-3 start this season, came into Saturday’s game riding a seven-game winning streak.

They played host to the Chargers in the first round of the playoffs last season and collected a 32-12 victory, intercepting Herbert four times.

On Saturday, Herbert kept the Chargers in the game, absorbing hits from every angle yet still throwing a one-yard touchdown pass to Oronde Gadsden II at the end of the third quarter and setting up another touchdown, a five-yard run by rookie Omarion Hampton, with 3:37 left in the fourth.

Dicker missed the extra point on the latter touchdown, meaning the Chargers couldn’t tie with a field goal and needed a touchdown.

At the end of the first half, Dicker missed a 32-yard field goal, and weird as that was, it encapsulated what kind of start it was for the Chargers.

They were flat and flat-footed from the beginning, surrendering a 75-yard touchdown pass on Houston’s first possession and a 43-yard touchdown pass on the second.

The Texans were up, 14-0, before the Chargers got their initial first down.

Herbert was sacked three times in the half, and on the first appeared to have hurt his surgically repaired left hand. At least he was wincing and favoring that hand as he walked off the field, but it didn’t sideline him.

Despite getting off to a two-touchdown lead, the Texans didn’t run away with the game.

Derwin James Jr. had an interception early in the second quarter to set up a field goal for the Chargers.

The Chargers got a field goal and moved into position for a touchdown in the second quarter when Herbert connected with Quentin Johnston for a 60-yard gain.

On the following play, however, Herbert attempted to hit Gadsden over the middle. The pass wasn’t perfectly timed, and glanced off the hands of the rookie tight end, who was near the goal line. Houston linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair made the interception at the one.

Minutes later, the Chargers would get another golden opportunity to score. Elijah Molden made an interception at the Houston 32, and his team made it into the red zone before Dicker’s failed attempt.

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

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.