29/12/2025

MONDAY | DEC 29, 2025

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French legend Brigitte Bardot dies at 91

forgettable flops, with a few exceptions. On her 26th birthday in 1960, she attempted suicide. Then in 1973, just short of her 40th birthday, she turned her back on it all. “I knew my career was based entirely on my physique, so I decided to leave cinema just as I have always left men,” she explained in 1978. Born on Sept 28, 1934 in Paris, Bardot was raised in a well-off traditional Catholic household. Married four times, she had one child, Nicolas with her second husband, actor Jacques Charrier. Animal activism became the dominant feature of her life after film, as she retreated into a hermit-like existence in Saint-Tropez at the age of 39. In a 2011 letter to conservation group WWF, Bardot recounted her life-changing visit to Canada in the 1980s when she witnessed its annual seal cub culls. “I will never forget those pictures, the

o Devoted herself to fighting for animals PARIS: French film legend Brigitte Bardot, a cinema icon of the 1950s and 1960s who walked away from global stardom to become an animal rights protector, has died at the age of 91, her foundation said yesterday.

in And God created Woman in 1956, and went on to appear in about 50 more movies before giving up acting. She retired from film to settle permanently near the Riviera resort of Saint-Tropez, where she devoted herself to fighting for animals. Her calling apparently came when she encountered a goat on the set of her final film, The Edifying and Joyous Story of Colinot . To save it from being killed, she bought the animal and kept it in her hotel room. In 1973, she turned her back on fame to look after abandoned animals, saying she was “sick of being beautiful every day”. In her brief film career, Bardot enjoyed a string of popular successes, without garnering much critical acclaim. Most of her 50-odd films were fun but

Bardot had rarely been seen in public in recent months but was hospitalised in October and in November released a statement denying rumours that she had died. The foundation did not say when or where she died. “The Brigitte Bardot Foundation announces with immense sadness the death of its founder and president, Madame Brigitte Bardot, a world-renowned actress and singer, who chose to abandon her prestigious career to dedicate her life and energy to animal welfare and her foundation,” it said in a statement. Bardot became a global star after appearing

Bardot ... turned her back on fame. – AFPPIC

Nine held over alleged Hamas funding ROME: Italian prosecutors said they have arrested nine people on suspicion of financing Hamas through charities based in Italy, in an operation coordinated by anti-mafia and anti-terrorism units. The suspects are accused of “belonging to and having financed” the Palestinian group, which the European Union designates as a terrorist organisation, prosecutors in the northern Italian city of Genoa said in a statement. Those arrested allegedly diverted to Hamas linked entities about €7 million (RM33 million) raised over the last two years for ostensibly humanitarian purposes, prosecutors said. Police seized assets worth more than €8 million. The investigation began after suspicious financial transactions were flagged and expanded through cooperation with Dutch authorities and other EU countries, coordinated through the EU judicial agency Eurojust. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni thanked the authorities for “a particularly complex and important operation” that has uncovered financing for Hamas through “so-called charity organisations”. The Israeli prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Meloni’s support for Israel during its war with Hamas in Gaza has triggered large and repeated street protests in Italy. – Reuters In 1986 she set up the Brigitte Bardot Foundation dedicated to animal protection. She has crusaded for baby seals and elephants, called for the abolition of ritual animal sacrifice and the closure of horse abattoirs. – AFP 830 refugees, migrants reach Crete ATHENS: A total of 830 refugees and migrants were picked up in rescue operations south of the Greek island of Crete in recent days. Nearly 400 people were picked up on Friday, Greek media reported, in operations involving fishing boats and patrol boats from the Greek coast guard and EU border protection agency Frontex. Dozens of migrants were in the boats, in some cases more than 100, including minors, the coastguard said. The migrants set sail from Tobruk in Libya and paid large sums of money for the dangerous 300km journey across the open sea, according to the authority. Several people were arrested on suspicion of being human traffickers. Crete has already recorded more than 18,000 refugee arrivals this year, the coastguard said, up from some 5,000 last year. – Bernama screams of pain, they still torture me but they have given me the strength to sacrifice my whole life to defend the animals,” she said.

Russia ready to achieve Ukraine aims by force MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin said Ukraine was in no hurry for peace and if it did not want to resolve their conflict peacefully, Moscow would accomplish all its goals by force. Telegram messaging app. Ukraine’s military rejected Russia’s assertions about Huliaipole and Myrnohrad as false statements. The situation in both places remains “difficult” but “defensive operations” by Ukrainian troops are ongoing, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said in a statement on social media.

for Ukrainian forces to withdraw completely from the Donbas. Failing that, Zelensky said the entire 20 point plan, the result of weeks of negotiations, should be put to a referendum vote. Axios said US officials viewed Zelensky’s willingness to hold a referendum as a major step forward and a sign that he was no longer ruling out territorial concessions, although he said Russia would need to agree to a 60-day ceasefire to allow Ukraine to prepare for and hold such a vote. A recent poll suggests that Ukrainian voters may also reject the plan. Kyiv and Washington have agreed on many issues, and Zelensky said on Friday the 20-point plan was 90% finished. But the issue of what territory, if any, will be ceded to Russia remains unresolved. While Moscow insists on getting all of Donbas, Kyiv wants the map frozen at current battle lines. – Reuters

Putin’s remarks on Saturday followed a Russian drone and missile attack that prompted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to say Russia was demonstrating its wish to continue the war while Kyiv wanted peace. Zelensky met US President Donald Trump in Florida yesterday to seek a resolution to the war. Russian commanders told Putin during an visit that Moscow’s forces had captured the towns of Myrnohrad, Rodynske and Artemivka in the eastern region of Donetsk, as well as Huliaipole and Stepnohirsk in the Zaporizhzhia region, the Kremlin said on the

The Southern Command of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said on Telegram “fierce fighting” continued in Huliaipole. “However, a substantial part of Huliaipole continues to be held by the Defence Forces of Ukraine.” Verifying battlefield claims is difficult as access on both sides is restricted, information is tightly controlled and front lines shift quickly. The Ukrainian president told Axios on Friday he still hopes to soften a US proposal

Israel seals off Palestinian village QABATIYA: Israeli forces imposed a lockdown on a Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank on Saturday, after a local resident killed two people in Israel.

A few hours later, the Israeli army and the Shin Bet domestic security agency began operating in Qabatiya. They searched the perpetrator’s house and questioned suspects, the army said. On Saturday, the army’s Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir ordered the reinforcement of troops deployed in the area. “This period is characterised by lone attackers and individuals staying illegally in (Israel). Enforcement against those who transport and employ them must be strengthened and improved,” he said, according to an army statement. “At the same time, we must continue to enhance our capabilities to identify and thwart these attackers.” Qabatiya resident Muhannad Zakarneh told AFP that the army arrested him at home “for no obvious reasons” and kept him handcuffed for hours. “When I asked what my charge was, there was no response,” he said. The official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that apart from blocking entrances and conducting interrogations and home searches, Israeli forces also took over a school and used it as a “detention and interrogation centre”. – AFP

“The IDF (Israeli army) is operating forcefully against terror hubs in the village of Qabatiya, accompanied by a lockdown and a cordon around the locality,” Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a statement. “We will continue to pursue an uncompromising offensive policy against Palestinian terror.” Bilal Hunaisha, a resident of Qabatiya, south of Jenin in the northern West Bank, said the town “is being subjected to collective punishment by the Israeli occupation”. “As you can see, they blocked the way to my house and I am no longer able to move around,” he told AFP, pointing to a pile of rubble obstructing the road. In the attack on Friday, a 34-year-old Palestinian man killed two people in northern Israel. The assailant, who had been working illegally in Israel, had used his employer’s vehicle to ram into a 68-year-old man and then stabbed an 18-year-old girl to death, according to Israeli police.

A displaced Palestinian child dragging a trolley with water containers Saturday in Khan Younis. – AFPPIC