An elderly woman has died after being seriously assaulted inside a flat in Devizes on Christmas Day, police have said. The woman, who was in her 80s, was found at a property on Keepers Road early on Christmas morning. Despite the efforts of police officers and paramedics, she was pronounced dead at the scene. Wiltshire Police confirmed that a 63-year-old woman, who is known to the victim, has been arrested…

A US judge has blocked American authorities from detaining or deporting a British anti-disinformation campaigner Imran Ahmed targeted by the Trump administration over efforts to counter hate speech and misinformation. Ahmed, chief executive of the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), is one of five European nationals accused by US officials of pressuring technology companies to censor American viewpoints. On Thursday, Ahmed filed a legal complaint against senior Trump allies,…

Japan’s cabinet has approved a record defence budget amid rising tensions with China, as Beijing accused Tokyo this week of “fuelling a space arms race”. The draft budget for the next financial year, approved on Friday, exceeds ¥9tn (£46bn), marking a 9.4% increase on the current year’s spending, which ends in April. It represents the fourth year of Japan’s five-year plan to double defence spending to 2% of gross domestic…

A powerful rain and wind storm driven by an atmospheric river from the Pacific has been blamed for a third death in southern California, as flooding, road closures and debris flows disrupt large parts of the region. A flood watch was extended through Thursday for most of southern California, after more than 11 inches of rain fell in parts of Los Angeles county by Wednesday night. Evacuation warnings were issued…

The United States have launched a deadly attack against Islamic State terrorists persercuting Christians in Nigeria. Donald Trump said this on Sunday evening via his Truth Social account. The New Daily Prime reported that Trump had declared Nigeria Country of Particular Concern (CPC). Several individuals, including rapper Nicki Minaj backed the President while Nigerian pastor Eugene Ugo had urged Nigerian government to act fast to avert US military invasion. American…

Pope Leo XIV on Thursday appealed to Russia and Ukraine to summon the “courage” needed to engage in direct negotiations, while also drawing attention to the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, as he delivered his first Christmas message as pontiff. The US-born pope, elected in May after the death of Pope Francis, used the occasion to denounce the devastation of war, describing it as senseless and leaving behind “rubble and…

Donald Trump-backed candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura has been declared the winner of Honduras’s presidential election after a vote count that stretched on for almost a month and was overshadowed by allegations of fraud and criticism of US interference. Asfura, a rightwing politician and former mayor of the capital Tegucigalpa, won 40.27% of the vote. His closest rival, the centre-right candidate Salvador Nasralla, secured 39.53%, leaving a margin of about 28,000…

The US justice department said on Wednesday that it has uncovered more than a million additional documents linked to the Jeffrey Epstein case, warning that reviewing them for release could take several more weeks. In a post on X, the department said federal prosecutors in Manhattan and the FBI had handed over the records in compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, existing laws and court orders. The department said…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for an end to attacks against Christians in Nigeria, making the appeal during his Christmas message to Christians worldwide late Wednesday night. In his remarks, Netanyahu reflected on the historical and spiritual ties between Judaism and Christianity, describing them as closely connected Abrahamic faiths rooted in ancient Israel. While Christians celebrate Christmas as the birth of Jesus Christ, Jews continue to await the…

A newly released batch of Epstein files contains numerous references to Donald Trump, including a claim that he flew on Jeffrey Epstein’s private jet several times in the 1990s alongside women who may have been potential witnesses in later investigations. The documents do not accuse Trump of any criminal wrongdoing. Inclusion in the files does not imply guilt, and there is no indication that any woman mentioned was a victim…

The administration of Donald Trump has banned two British citizens and a former European Union commissioner from entering the United States, accusing them of undermining free speech by pressuring social media companies to censor content. Those affected include Imran Ahmed, chief executive of the Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), and Clare Melford, head of the Global Disinformation Index (GDI). Ahmed now faces deportation from the US, while Melford’s visa…

The United States has recorded a sharp rise in violence against journalists since Donald Trump returned to office, according to a new report by the Freedom of the Press Foundation. The non-profit organisation says most of the incidents involved reporters and photographers covering protests against the administration’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants. Many of the alleged attacks were carried out by law enforcement officers. The foundation reports that journalists have suffered…