News 10/12/25

The United States says it has intercepted and seized a sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela.

The confirmation came from President Donald Trump during a meeting with business leaders at the White House. He described it as a very large tanker and said it was the largest ever seized. He offered no further details about the operation but added that other things are happening.

A man has been found guilty of murdering his ex partner’s sister and her three children by setting fire to their home.

Prosecutors said forty year old Sharaz Ali was motivated by jealousy and fuelled by drink and drugs when he started the blaze at the home of Bryonie Gawith early on 21 August last year. Jurors were told he went to the house on Westbury Road in Bradford aiming to take revenge on his ex partner, Antonia Gawith, who was staying there after ending their abusive seven year relationship earlier that month.

Iceland says it will boycott next year’s Eurovision because of Israel’s participation, saying taking part would neither be a source of joy nor peace.

The decision from Iceland’s broadcaster RUV follows withdrawals by broadcasters in the Netherlands, Spain, Ireland and Slovenia. RUV said the involvement of Israeli broadcaster KAN had created disunity among members of the European Broadcasting Union and the wider public. Israel’s place was confirmed at the EBU general assembly last week.

Next week’s strike by resident doctors in England could be avoided after ministers offered the British Medical Association a new deal.

The union will put the offer to members in the coming days and, if they support it, the five day walkout due to begin on Wednesday 17 December may be halted. The offer includes more specialist training posts and covering out of pocket costs such as exam fees, but no extra pay. The Health Secretary says he will not negotiate on pay, noting resident doctors have had nearly thirty percent in rises in three years.

The UK armed forces member who died in Ukraine has been named as 28 year old Lance Corporal George Hooley.

The Ministry of Defence confirmed his death and offered thoughts to his family and friends. He served with the Parachute Regiment and is the first confirmed serving British forces member killed on the ground in Ukraine since the war began in 2022.

Author Sophie Kinsella, known for the Shopaholic novels, has died aged 55, her family have said.

She revealed last year she had been diagnosed in 2022 with an aggressive form of brain cancer. A statement on her Instagram said she died peacefully and that her final days were filled with family, music, warmth, Christmas and joy.

An investigation found a sperm donor with a genetic mutation that raises cancer risk fathered at least 197 children across Europe.

Some children have already died and only a minority who inherit the mutation may avoid cancer. The sperm was not supplied to UK clinics, though a number of British families used it during treatment in Denmark. The European Sperm Bank expressed sympathy.

UK grown lettuce used in pre packaged sandwiches was the likely source of the country’s largest recorded STEC 0145 E. coli outbreak, a new report says.

Authorities could not confirm how the lettuce became contaminated. Between May and November last year, 293 people were infected, with symptoms including diarrhoea, stomach cramps, vomiting and fever. Two people died and 11 developed complications including Haemolytic Uraemic Syndrome.

Sir Keir Starmer is urging a tougher approach to policing Europe’s borders ahead of talks on possible reforms to the European Convention on Human Rights.

He says the way courts interpret the ECHR must be updated, arguing it has long been viewed as restricting deportations. Writing with Denmark’s prime minister, he warned change is needed to deter support for populist rivals.

Weather warnings for strong winds remain as Storm Bram continues to affect Scotland.

Yellow alerts advising of powerful gusts stay in force until nine this evening across Shetland, Central, Tayside and Fife, Grampian and areas further south including Edinburgh and Glasgow. Although alerts elsewhere have ended, the impact of the storm is still being felt with further travel disruption likely.

UK adults spent more time online in 2025 than during the pandemic, according to Ofcom’s Online Nation report.

It found people averaged four hours and thirty minutes daily, thirty one minutes more than in twenty twenty one. Psychologist Dr Aric Sigman told the BBC the issue is what use replaces and how that might affect mental health.

Residents were evacuated from a block of flats on Slough High Street after a fourth floor kitchen fire.

Crews were called shortly after two yesterday afternoon and a substantial response followed. Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service said teams from Slough, Langley, Maidenhead and Windsor attended alongside the Incident Command Unit and senior officers, with additional support from Buckinghamshire and Surrey fire crews.

Sir Keir Starmer says it is his moral mission to turn the tide on what he calls a lost decade in which young people were left as collateral damage.

The government launches its ten year youth plan today, pledging five hundred million pounds for youth services. Lisa Nandy warns young people are increasingly isolated, while Conservatives argue the outlook remains bleak.