News 15/12/25

Sir Cliff Richard has revealed he has been treated for prostate cancer over the past year.

The 85-year-old singer said his cancer has “gone at the moment” and supported calls for a national screening programme for men. Speaking to Good Morning Britain, he explained that he was preparing for a tour to Australia and New Zealand when the promoter requested medical checks for insurance purposes, prompting the diagnosis.

Pro-democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai has been found guilty of national security offences in Hong Kong.

The 78-year-old media tycoon and British citizen was arrested in August 2020 after China introduced a national security law following large anti-government protests. Witnesses described Lai as looking “drawn and thin” as the verdict was read. He had previously received sentences for several lesser offences during his five years in prison.

The new chief of MI6, Blaise Metreweli, is set to warn of what she calls “the acute threat posed by Russia” in her first public speech.

She will focus on so-called hybrid warfare, including cyber attacks and drones suspected to have been launched near critical infrastructure by Russian proxies. Ms Metreweli will describe Russia as aggressive, expansionist and revisionist, and will insist that Britain will continue to apply pressure on President Vladimir Putin in support of Ukraine.

Police are releasing a man detained in connection with the fatal shooting on the campus of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.

Two people were killed and nine others were injured in the attack on Saturday, with all or nearly all believed to be students. Three senior law enforcement officials briefed on the investigation told NBC News the detained man, who is now being released, was twenty four year old Benjamin Erickson, who had served several years in the US army. His release means the suspected gunman remains at large.

Police are investigating an apparent homicide after two people were found dead at the Los Angeles home of director and actor Rob Reiner.

Firefighters were called to a house in the Brentwood neighbourhood of Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon, where they found a seventy eight year old man and a sixty eight year old woman. Both were pronounced dead at the home. Officials did not immediately identify them or give details of the circumstances. Rob Reiner is seventy eight and his wife, Michele, is sixty eight.

The chief executive of Oxfam GB has been forced out by the charity’s board after an independent review found serious issues with her behaviour and decision making.

Trustees said Dr Halima Begum’s position was untenable because of an irretrievable breakdown in trust and confidence in her ability to lead the organisation. Around seventy staff signed a letter calling for an investigation into her conduct, with several employees said to have resigned. Dr Begum had been in the role for almost two years.