News 15/12/25

A pedestrian has been hailed a hero after stopping Liverpool parade attacker Paul Doyle by climbing into his car, a court has heard.

Doyle, who used a vehicle as a weapon against more than 100 people celebrating the Premier League title, told officers he had “just ruined my family’s life”. The 54-year-old was described as “in a rage”, with his anger having completely taken hold. He is due to be sentenced on Tuesday after pleading guilty to 31 offences linked to seriously injuring people during the victory parade on 26 May.

A JetBlue passenger plane narrowly avoided a mid-air collision with a US Air Force aircraft near Venezuela, according to an air traffic control recording.

JetBlue Flight 1112, flying from Curacao to New York, was about 40 miles off the Venezuelan coast when the Airbus A320, operated as a refuelling tanker, came within a few miles at the same altitude. The JetBlue pilot said: “We almost had a mid-air collision up here.”

European leaders have called for a multinational force to secure Ukraine following a potential peace deal with Russia.

After talks in Berlin, they said “significant progress” had been made, boosted by a new US commitment to provide unspecified security guarantees to Ukraine. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz described the US guarantees as “truly remarkable”.

There is a growing risk Russia could attack the UK, the head of Britain’s armed forces has warned.

Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton said Russia’s military strength is increasing, with troops battle hardened after nearly four years of full scale war in Ukraine. He said UK forces remain the first line of defence with NATO, but wider society must help rebuild national resilience.

Following a Thames Valley Police investigation, a man has been jailed for supplying class A drugs in Slough.

At Reading Crown Court, Sajmir Halilaj, aged twenty two, of Moreton Way, pleaded guilty to supplying cocaine, driving without a licence or insurance, possession of criminal property, and possessing an identity document with improper intention. He was sentenced to three years and six months in prison.

Forecasters have issued a yellow warning for rain, with flooding and travel disruption possible.

The Met Office says fifteen to twenty five millimetres of rain are likely across South Wales and the South West of England on Wednesday, falling onto already saturated ground. The warning applies from ten in the morning until the end of the day.

Los Angeles Police say Nick Reiner has been booked for murder after his parents Rob and Michele Reiner were found dead at their home.

Officers say he is a suspect and is being held on four million dollars bail. Police say no further details can be shared. The couple’s youngest daughter Romy found the bodies.

Donald Trump has launched an attack on film director Rob Reiner, who was found stabbed to death with his wife on Sunday.

The US president wrote on Truth Social that a sad event had happened in Hollywood, describing Reiner as talented, and claiming he died together with his wife Michele because of anger he caused through what he called Trump Derangement Syndrome.

Ukraine’s top negotiator says talks with the US team in Berlin were constructive and productive.

Ruston Umerov said real progress had been achieved and he hoped to reach an agreement bringing Ukraine closer to peace by the end of the day. He said the American team led by Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner was working constructively to help find a lasting peace agreement.

A resident doctors’ strike in the run up to Christmas is set to go ahead.

The British Medical Association says members have rejected the government’s offer to halt action and will strike from seventeen December until twenty two December. The decision follows warnings from NHS England of a worst case scenario in hospitals after flu cases rose by more than fifty five percent in a week.

The union says eighty three point two percent of those voting rejected the offer, with a turnout of sixty five point three four percent.

At the hearing into Paul Doyle, prosecutor Paul Greaney KC describes the actions of Daniel Barr, calling him a hero of the day.

Barr, a former soldier, bravely jumped into the back of Doyle’s Ford Galaxy and placed the vehicle into park. Mr Greaney says Barr was walking along Water Street when he noticed the car and saw the crowd change from joyous to desperate. The vehicle then stopped beside him suddenly.

Rishi Sunak’s testimony at the Covid enquiry showed how quickly decisions were taken in the early pandemic.

He described holding press conferences every second day, announcing measures built from forty eight hours of nonstop work, then moving straight on to the next task. He told the hearing there was no time to panic or worry.

Today’s hearing into Paul Doyle’s vehicle attack at the Liverpool FC victory parade opens with a statement from prosecutor Paul Greaney KC.

He outlines events of twenty six May, described as joyful. The court hears Doyle drove into central Liverpool to pick up friends from the parade celebrating the club’s Premier League title. From an early stage, he drove dangerously.

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.