On Monday, Saint-Tropez residents paid tribute to French icon Brigitte Bardot outside her home, one day after the actress passed away at the age of 91. Local authorities announced that the actress-turned-far-right agitator would be interred in a cemetery close to the southern town.
Published On 29 Dec 2025
In coastal cities, Alawite protesters confront government supporters.
Since taking office in January, Syria’s new leader has been working to stabilize and reintegrate his nation globally.
However, sectarian violence is putting an end to President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s efforts to bring the nation back after 14 years of civil war.
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In Latakia and Tartous, the Alawite minority group’s latest flare-up came on Sunday when protesters confronted government supporters. Government forces were attacked in an effort to stop the violence. The once-powerful community claims to be underrepresented.
How serious are the protests and the violence against the security?
How can President al-Sharaa ease conflict?
Presenter: Adrian Finighan
Guests:
The Syrian Network for Human Rights was founded by Fadel Abdulghany and is now its executive director.
Gamal Mansour is a specialist in international relations and comparative politics.
Published On 29 Dec 2025
President Trump claimed he wanted to “quickly” enter the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire, but that Hamas’ disarmament was the main issue. He stated that soon work would be done on reconstructing Gaza, adding that the area is “a tough neighbourhood.”
Published On 29 Dec 2025
Pro-Palestine activists have sprayed red paint and smashed windows at the offices of the United Kingdom’s Labour Party in London, saying the action is in solidarity with prisoners on hunger strike in British jails.
The group Justice for the Hunger Strikers said on Monday that its members had targeted the governing party, citing growing anger at what it described as the government’s refusal to engage with the hunger strikers.
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The protest was held as four detainees continue to refuse food while being held on remand awaiting trial, prompting increasing concern from doctors and campaigners that one or more could die.
Four other detainees have since ended their hunger strike but have said they plan to resume it in the new year.
Heba Muraisi is on day 57 of her hunger strike and is being held in a prison in West Yorkshire.
In a statement shared exclusively with Al Jazeera on Monday, she said: “I’ve been forced fed repression and I’m stuffed with rage and that’s why I’m doing what I’m doing now. I am bringing acute awareness to the unjust application of UK laws by our Government and I’m glad that people can now see this after a year of imprisonment and human rights violations. Keep going, keep fighting”.
The three other detainees still on hunger strike are Teuta Hoxha on day 51, Kamran Ahmed on day 50 and Lewie Chiaramello on day 36. Hoxha and Ahmed have previously been hospitalised during the protest.
A spokesperson for Justice for the Hunger Strikers criticised the Labour government, saying it has failed to intervene despite advance warning of the hunger strike.
“Despite being given two weeks notice of the hunger strike, the Labour government has refused to engage with the hunger strikers or their families and legal representatives, even as they have reached a critical stage, with death a very real possibility”, the spokesperson said.
The hunger strikers are being held in five prisons across England over their alleged involvement in break-ins at the UK subsidiary of the Israeli defence firm Elbit Systems in Bristol and at a Royal Air Force base in Oxfordshire.
The detainees deny the charges against them, including burglary and violent disorder, and said the UK government should itself be held accountable for its alleged role in Israel’s genocidal war on the Palestinian people.
All eight hunger strikers are members of Palestine Action and were charged before the group was designated a proscribed organisation under “antiterrorism” laws. They are expected to spend more than a year in prison before their trials begin – well beyond the UK’s usual six-month pretrial detention limit.
According to the Prisoners for Palestine group, their trials are expected to begin between April and January 2027.
The detainees ‘ demands include release on bail, an end to what they describe as interference with their mail and reading materials, access to a fair trial and the de-proscription of Palestine Action.
Additional demands issued this week include transferring Muraisi back to HMP Bronzefield, closer to her family, lifting non-association orders between prisoners, and allowing detainees access to prison activities and courses.
Campaigners have described the protest as the largest hunger strike in Britain since the Irish hunger strikes of 1981, saying it has prompted hundreds of solidarity demonstrations across the country.
On Friday, a group of United Nations experts – including Gina Romero, the UN special rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association, and Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on occupied Palestinian territory – issued a statement expressing alarm at the detainees ‘ treatment.
“Hunger strike is often a measure of last resort by people who believe that their rights to protest and effective remedy have been exhausted”, the experts said. “The state’s duty of care toward hunger strikers is heightened, not diminished”.
Separately, more than 800 doctors have signed a letter addressed to Justice Secretary David Lammy urging him to intervene. The letter, written on December 17, raised “grave concern” about the prisoners ‘ health, warning they were at high risk of organ failure, irreversible neurological damage, cardiac arrhythmias and death.
Lawyers for the hunger-striking detainees said last week that they had initiated legal proceedings against the government, alleging it had abandoned its own prison safety policy. The detainees said they have written repeatedly to Lammy and other justice officials without receiving a response.
James Timpson, the UK minister of state for prisons, probation and reducing reoffending, said the government would not engage directly with the hunger strikers or their representatives.
Donald Trump threatened Iran and said, “we’ll knock the hell out of them” if Tehran rebuilt its military forces, standing next to Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel. He, however, refused to provide a specific response when asked about regime change by an Israeli reporter.
Published On 29 Dec 2025
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Donald Trump, president of the United States, suggested that if Iran rebuilt its nuclear arsenal or missile arsenal, Washington might consider using force against it.
Trump did not rule out a follow-up attack after the three Iranian nuclear facilities were damaged by air strikes in June during a speech in Florida on Monday.
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Trump told reporters, “I’ve heard that Iran is trying to grow up again, and if they do, we have to knock them down.” We’ll knock them out,” the message is. We’ll kill them in the end. However, I’m hopeful that won’t occur.
Trump threatened to attack Netanyahu as he welcomed him to his Palm Beach, Florida, Mar-a-Lago estate.
Trump cited the strikes against Iran in June and the wars in Gaza and Lebanon as examples of how the US and Israel have been “extremely victorious” against their adversaries.
When Trump was asked whether Israel’s missile program against Tehran would be supported by the US, Trump responded, “If they will continue with the missiles, yes, the nuclear, then fast. One will say yes, and the other will say absolutely. The other is “We’ll do it right away.”
A further round of Iranian strikes would likely cause internal strife in the US, including from Trump’s own backers’ supporters.
Trump has argued in recent weeks that Iran’s nuclear program has been “obliterated” by the June strikes.
Israeli officials and their US allies have been raising concerns about Iran’s missiles since Trump delivered the address.
In response to the unprovoked Israeli attack that claimed the lives of several nuclear scientists, hundreds of civilians, and the country’s top generals, Tehran launched hundreds of missiles into Israel in June.
Senator Lindsey Graham, a close ally of Trump, traveled to Israel this month and reiterated her warning about the dangers of Iran’s long-range missiles, saying that it is “producing them in very high numbers.”
He cited Israel’s air defense system as saying, “We cannot allow Iran to produce ballistic missiles because they could overwhelm the Iron Dome.” It poses a significant threat, the author claimed.
Iran’s missile program, which is at the heart of its defense strategy, has been decided not to negotiate.
Trumps said Iran and the US should “make a deal” on Monday.
Trump remarked, “That’s much smarter if they want to make a deal.” They could have made a deal the last time, before we had a significant attack on them, and they made the decision not to do so,” she said. They would prefer to have that deal.
Following the release of a National Security Strategy that recommends shifting foreign policy focus to the Western Hemisphere and avoiding the region, the Trump administration has the possibility of starting a Middle Eastern war.
Iran launched an a  missile attack on a US base in Qatar in June to counteract US strikes, which did not cause any American casualties. Shortly after the Iranian response, Trump declared a ceasefire to put an end to the conflict.
However, opponents warn that a further round of Iranian hostility could lead to a longer-lasting conflict.
The Iranian response would be “much harsher” if the country were to be attacked again, according to Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the US think tank for diplomacy.