new video loaded: Lagos’s Month of Partying Is Getting Pricier
By Ruth Maclean, Taiwo Aina, Karen Hanley and Christina Thornell
December 26, 2025
If you’re shopping for a used car, you know just how instrumental the smallest details are. Price, brand, mileage, condition… you’re probably juggling everything at once, trying to find the perfect car that offers a mix of all these attributes. But here’s the most important factor you’re probably missing: reliability.
You don’t want to be sitting in your newly purchased pre-owned car first thing in the morning, only to have the bloody thing not fire up. Ouch. That’s where Consumer Reports’ (CR) reliability study for used cars comes in.
The US Magazine ranks 26 auto brands from “most” to “least reliable” cars that are five to 10 years old – in this case, models from 2016 to 2021 from a survey sample of more than 140,000 vehicles – with Tesla ranking last.
CR focuses on 20 possible “trouble areas” and compares “a car’s number of problems to the average number of problems for cars of that model year” to measure reliability and generate a ranking. The magazine’s experts subsequently determine a score by weighing the reported issues based on their severity.
Consumer Reports
Let’s have a look at this year’s list in full. At the top, we have the usual suspects of Lexus, Toyota, and Mazda, which have been given an average reliability rating of 77, 73, and 58 (out of 100), respectively. Honda (57) and Acura (53) follow closely to round out the top five.
That rating is more or less in line with CR’s reliability report for new cars, which placed Toyota, Subaru, Lexus, Honda, and BMW (in that order) in the top five. That’s good news if you’re in the market for a pre-owned Japanese car. You’re much more likely not to go wrong with that decision.
You’ll find a bunch of popular European brands placed in the middle of the list with scores lingering around the 50 mark. The bottom of the list, meanwhile, is bombarded with American makers, with brands earning scores less than 40.
A few car brands are missing, including Porsche, Infiniti, Mitsubishi, and Fiat. That’s owing to insufficient data to rank them.
Consumer Reports
There, you’ll find the likes of Jeep, Chrysler, GMC, and Ram, but at the very bottom of that pile lies Tesla, with an abysmal reliability score of 31.
One is bound to wonder: How could cars with so few moving parts (relatively speaking) have the highest number of owner complaints? From a carmaker that is known for its state-of-the-art technology, performance, and wide network of charging stations that have made electric vehicles so darn accessible?
Well, Tesla’s reliability issues are nothing new: suspension, electronics, and build quality problems are some of the most common woes experienced by Tesla owners. But on closer examination, you realize what’s happened here. In the study, the Teslas assessed were primarily early Model S and Model X production runs, both models that were manufactured during the company’s “production hell” phase between 2014 and 2019. Teslas from these batches were notorious for suspension issues, niggles with the temperature systems, to odd build-quality problems like broken door handles.
Tesla
So, if anything, this report reveals more about the time period in which these Teslas were manufactured than it does about what Tesla is doing now. That difference is even more evident when you see how Tesla’s more recent models, like the Model 3 and Model Y, have been faring. CR’s own reliability study for new cars placed Tesla within the top 10, with the Model Y even receiving an “excellent” score comparable to well-known Japanese brands.
So what does this tell us? Well, if you were in the market for a used Tesla from, say, 2016, it would likely give you more problems than you anticipated – compared to a brand new EV from the carmaker. And the fact that used Teslas have dropped in value way quicker than other electric vehicles also reflects Consumer Reports’ rankings.
It’s not just about Teslas – while rankings like these can give you a good overall idea about brand reliability ratings, it would be more helpful for you to look at individual car models and go from there.
Toyota
Well, there you have it. What carmaker would you trust if you were in the market for a second-hand car?
Source: Consumer Reports
The developers of a Virginia offshore wind project are asking a federal judge to block a Trump administration order that halted construction of their project, along with four others, over national security concerns.
Dominion Energy Virginia said in its lawsuit filed late Tuesday that the government’s order is “arbitrary and capricious” and unconstitutional. The Richmond-based company is developing Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, a project it says is essential to meet dramatically growing energy needs driven by dozens of new data centers.
The Interior Department did not detail the security concerns in blocking the five projects on Monday. In a letter to project developers, Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management set a 90-day period — and possibly longer — “to determine whether the national security threats posed by this project can be adequately mitigated.”
The other projects are the Vineyard Wind project under construction in Massachusetts, Revolution Wind in Rhode Island and Connecticut and two projects in New York: Sunrise Wind and Empire Wind. Democratic governors in those states have vowed to fight the order, the latest action by the Trump administration to hobble offshore wind in its push against renewable energy sources.
Dominion’s project has been under construction since early 2024 and was scheduled to come online early next year, providing enough energy to power about 660,000 homes. The company said the delay was costing it more than $5 million a day in losses solely for the ships used in round-the-clock construction, and that customers or the company would eventually bear the cost.
Dominion called this week’s order “the latest in a series of irrational agency actions attacking offshore wind and then doubling down when those actions are found unlawful.”
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
U.S. District Judge Jamar Walker set a hearing for 2 p.m. Monday on Dominion’s request for a temporary restraining order.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
Tensions are flaring along the Tajikistan-Afghanistan border in Central Asia with the Tajik government reporting multiple armed incursions this month, straining its fragile relationship with Afghanistan’s Taliban leaders.
More than a dozen people have been killed in attacks by men whom Tajik authorities call “terrorists” and the resulting clashes with Tajik forces, officials in Dushanbe and Beijing said. Victims include Chinese nationals working in remote areas of the mountainous former Soviet republic.
In the latest fighting this week, at least five people were killed in Tajikistan‘s Shamsiddin Shokhin district, including “three terrorists”, officials said.
Tajikistan has long opposed the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan, a country it shares a largely unsecured 1,340km (830-mile) border with.
Despite cautious diplomatic engagement between the two countries to adjust to new regional realities, analysts said, the frequency of the recent border clashes risks eroding the Taliban’s credibility and raises questions about its capacity to enforce order and security.
Here is all we know about the clashes along the Tajik-Afghan border and why they matter:
The border runs along the Panj river through the remote, mountainous terrain of southern Tajikistan and northeastern Afghanistan.
On Thursday, Tajikistan’s State Committee for National Security said in a statement that “three members of a terrorist organisation” crossed into Tajik territory on Tuesday. The committee added that the men were located the following morning and exchanged fire with Tajik border guards. Five people, including the three intruders, were killed, it said.
Tajik officials did not name the armed men or specify which group they belonged to. The officials, however, said they seized three M-16 rifles, a Kalashnikov assault rifle, three foreign-made pistols with silencers, 10 hand grenades, a night-vision scope and explosives at the scene.
Dushanbe said this was the third attack originating from Afghanistan’s Badakhshan province in the past month that has resulted in the deaths of its personnel.
These attacks, Tajik officials said on Thursday, “prove that the Taliban government is demonstrating serious and repeated irresponsibility and non-commitment in fulfilling its international obligations and consistent promises to ensure security … and to combat members of terrorist organisations”.
The Tajik statement called on the Taliban to “apologise to the people of Tajikistan and take effective measures to ensure security along the shared border”.
Tajikistan has not suggested what the motive for the attacks may be, but the assaults have appeared to target Chinese companies and nationals working in the area.
Beijing is Tajikistan’s largest creditor and one of its most influential economic partners with a significant footprint in infrastructure, mining and other border-region projects.
China and Tajikistan also share a 477km (296-mile) border running through the high-altitude Pamir Mountains in eastern Tajikistan, adjacent to China’s Xinjiang region.
Two attacks were launched against Chinese companies and nationals in the last week of November. On November 26, a drone equipped with an explosive device attacked a compound belonging to Shohin SM, a private Chinese gold-mining company, in the remote Khatlon region on the Tajik-Afghan border, killing three Chinese citizens.
In a second attack on November 30, a group of men armed with guns opened fire on workers employed by the state-owned China Road and Bridge Corporation, killing at least two people in Tajikistan’s Darvoz district.
Tajik officials said those attacks had originated from villages in Afghanistan’s Badakhshan province but did not disclose any affiliation or motive behind the attacks.
Chinese nationals have also come under attack in Pakistan’s Balochistan province and along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.
China’s embassy in Dushanbe advised Chinese companies and personnel to evacuate the border area. Chinese officials demanded “that Tajikistan take all necessary measures to ensure the safety of Chinese enterprises and citizens in Tajikistan”.
While the attackers have not been identified, analysts and observers believe the attacks carry the hallmarks of the ISIL (ISIS) affiliate in Khorasan Province (ISKP), which, they said, aims to discredit Afghanistan’s Taliban leaders.
“The ISKP has attacked foreigners inside Afghanistan and carried out attacks on foreigners inside Afghanistan as a key pillar of their strategy,” said Ibraheem Bahiss, a Kabul-based analyst at the International Crisis Group think tank.
“The aim is to shatter the Taliban’s image as a security provider with whom the regional governments should engage,” Bahiss told Al Jazeera.
Kabul expressed its “deep sorrow” over the killings of Chinese workers on November 28.
The Taliban blamed the violence on an unnamed armed group which, it said, is “striving to create chaos and instability in the region and to sow distrust among countries”, and it assured Tajikistan of its full cooperation.
After this week’s clashes, Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban’s interior minister, said Kabul remains committed to the 2020 Doha Agreement, its deal with the United States for a phased foreign troop withdrawal from Afghanistan in exchange for Taliban commitments to prevent Afghanistan from being used as a base for attacking other countries.
Addressing a police cadet graduation ceremony at the National Police Academy in Kabul on Thursday, Haqqani said Afghanistan posed no threat to other countries and the door to dialogue remains open.
“We want to address problems, distrust or misunderstandings through dialogue. We have passed the test of confrontation. We may be weak in resources, but our faith and will are strong,” he said, adding that security had improved to the extent that Taliban officials now travel across the country without weapons.
The Taliban insists that no “terrorist groups” are operating from Afghanistan. However, in a recent report, the United Nations sanctions-monitoring committee cited the presence of multiple armed groups, including ISKP, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, al-Qaeda, the Turkistan Islamic Party, Jamaat Ansarullah and Ittehad-ul-Mujahideen Pakistan.
Jamaat Ansarullah is a Tajik group linked to al-Qaeda-aligned networks and active primarily in northern Afghanistan near the Tajik border.
For decades, the relationship between Tajikistan and the Taliban has been defined by deep ideological hostility and ethnic mistrust with Dushanbe one of the group’s fiercest critics in Central Asia.
In the 1990s, Tajikistan aligned with the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance, led by Afghan military commander and former Defence Minister Ahmad Shah Massoud.
After the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, Tajikistan stood as the lone holdout among its neighbours in refusing to officially recognise the new government.
However, pragmatic diplomatic engagement quietly began about 2023, driven by economic necessity and shared security fears over the presence of ISKP. Stepping up the restoration of relations, a high-level Tajik delegation visited Kabul in November, the first such visit since the Taliban’s return to power.
But the two governments continue to trade accusations that the other is harbouring “terrorists”, the major thorn remaining in their bilateral relationship, and that drug smuggling is occurring across their border.
The Tajik-Afghan border has long been a major trafficking route for Afghan heroin and methamphetamine into Central Asia and onwards to Russia and Europe, exploiting the area’s rugged terrain and weak policing.
“The rising frequency [of the clashes] is new and interesting and raises a point: whether we might be seeing a new threat emerging,” Bahiss said.
Badakshan province, from which Tajik authorities said the attacks on Chinese nationals originate, presents a complex security situation for the Taliban as it has struggled to stem the threat from armed opposition groups, Bahiss added.
This security issue has been further complicated by the Taliban’s crackdown on poppy cultivation in the province, he said. The Taliban has faced resistance to this policy from farmers in the north. This is largely because the terrain of Badakshan means poppies are the only viable cash crop.
Since the Taliban retook control of Afghanistan in 2021, some of its neighbours have maintained a pragmatic transactional relationship while others have not.
Relations with Pakistan, previously its patron, have particularly deteriorated. Islamabad accuses Kabul of harbouring fighters of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, also known as the Pakistan Taliban. Tensions over this issue boiled over in November when Pakistan launched air strikes in Kabul, Khost and other provinces, prompting retaliatory Taliban attacks on border posts.
Dozens of people were killed before a ceasefire was brokered by Qatar and Turkiye. However, both sides have engaged in fighting since, blaming each other for breaking the fragile truce.
The Taliban denies Islamabad’s allegations and has blamed Pakistan for its “own security failures”.
Meanwhile, the Taliban is now invested in developing a new relationship with Pakistan’s archrival, India, with delegations visiting Indian cities for trade and security discussions. New Delhi was earlier part of the anti-Taliban alliance. However, that approach has changed with the deteriorating ties between Pakistan and the Taliban.
A required part of this site couldn’t load. This may be due to a browser
extension, network issues, or browser settings. Please check your
connection, disable any ad blockers, or try using a different browser.
EPA/ShutterstockUkraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky has said he will meet US President Donald Trump in Florida at the weekend, as talks continue on ending Russia’s full-scale war.
Zelensky said he expected the meeting to take place on Sunday and to focus on a US-brokered 20-point peace plan, as well as separate proposals for US security guarantees.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin says President Vladimir Putin’s senior aide has held further talks with US officials over the phone, and that Russia has committed to continuing with the negotiations.
Russia has spoken of “slow but steady progress” in talks but has not commented on Zelensky’s offer to withdraw troops from the eastern Donbas, if Russia pulls back too.
Ukraine has sought to secure guarantees from the US as part of a deal, and Zelensky has suggested that a demilitarised “free economic zone” is a potential option for areas of Donbas that Russia has failed to take by force.
On Friday, Zelensky said he had received an update on the latest technical talks from his most senior negotiator, Rustem Umerov.
He wrote on social media: “We are not losing a single day. We have agreed on a meeting at the highest level – with President Trump in the near future. A lot can be decided before the new year.”
A White House meeting between Zelensky and Trump in February, the first after the US president returned to office, descended into a hostile shouting match, though their most recent meeting at the White House in October was far more amicable.
ReutersConfirmation of planned top-level talks came after the Ukrainian leader said he had spoken to Trump’s chief negotiators, special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner, for an hour over the phone on Christmas Day.
He said the latest round of negotiations had generated “new ideas” on how to end the war, and described it as a “really good conversation”.
The White House has proposed establishing what would in effect be a demilitarised zone in eastern Ukraine where both sides agree not to deploy troops – a compromise that would avoid settling the intractable question of legal ownership over the contested territory.
Zelensky signalled on Wednesday that if Ukraine were to pull back by up to 40km (25 miles) from the front line in the east to create an economic zone, then Russia would have to do the same from Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine’s industrial heartland in the Donbas.
Ukraine has secured a number of changes to an earlier 28-point draft plan, which was formulated by Steve Witkoff but widely seen as being favourable to Russia.
Zelensky told reporters on Friday that the weekend talks in Florida would focus on several documents, including US security guarantees and a separate economic agreement.
However, Zelensky has repeatedly said the question of territory has proved to be the most difficult issue to resolve, along with the future of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
The White House has proposed Ukraine and Russia split the energy generated by the plant, the largest in Europe. Russian troops currently control it.
Russia is unlikely to agree to a number of points in the updated US plan, especially its territorial proposals. Foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused “groups of states, primarily Western European” of seeking to derail the diplomatic progress that had been made.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed further talks would take place between Russian and American delegations, following last weekend’s meeting between US negotiators and a delegation led by Putin envoy Kirill Dmitriev in Miami.
Another close aide, Yuri Ushakov, had held further talks with the White House over the phone, and more were planned, Peskov added.
Zelensky outlined the latest version of the plan this week, the first time since the original 28-point draft was leaked in November.
Latest proposals commit the US and Europe to providing security guarantees modelled on Nato’s Article 5, committing allies to providing military support in the event Russia launches a renewed invasion.
The deal would also see Ukraine’s military maintained at 800,000 personnel, a level the Kremlin has demanded be cut.
Meanwhile, fighting and aerial strikes have continued. Ukrainian officials have reported at least four deaths as a result of strikes since the morning of 25 December, while the air force said it had shot down 73 drones overnight.
Russia also said it had shot down projectiles overnight, including British Storm Shadow missiles. Ukraine’s air force said it had struck oil and gas refineries in Rostov and Krasnodar.
Floor & Decor opens new warehouse store in Dearborn, Michigan
new video loaded: A 12-Year-Old Girl’s Battle With Malnutrition in Gaza
By Nader Ibrahim, Saher Alghorra For The New York Times, Bilal Shbair and Ben Hubbard
December 26, 2025
As major milestones like buying a home or having kids have felt increasingly unattainable, younger generations have invested more in something arguably as rewarding: their pets. During the pandemic pet boom, an eye-popping 23 million American households adopted a cat or dog, which forced people to adjust their household budgets to afford a new furry friend.
But for many pet parents, having a dog or cat hasn’t just meant carving out an extra $50-$100 per month just for food and toys. Pet parenting has become more of a lifestyle, with people shelling out hundreds of dollars per month for fresh food—and sometimes thousands for special experiences like a Transatlantic flight or curated vacation.
This is evidence of a shifting consumer attitude around pets, Nicki Baty, chief operating officer of $3.1 billion dog food brand Freshpet, told Fortune.
“I think it’s kind of gone on steroids, really,” Baty said of the trend of pet parents willing to spend more on their pets. She even said some pet parents value their pets more than other family members.
“In consumer insights we get, they spend more on their pet, and they value their pet more than their children,” Baty said. “So when you had to rank the order of relationships they have in their family, their dog comes before their partner, their kids, other family members.”
“It’s one of the most constants in life,” she continued. “There’s something, I think, really powerful about that human-animal bond, and especially over the last few years, with everything that played out, with COVID as well.”
The average annual cost of raising a human child in the U.S. is nearly $30,000, according to a recent LendingTree study, an eye-popping figure that often dissuades people from extending their families. It’s also approximately equal to the lifetime care costs for a pet.
According to Rover’s 2025 Pet Parenthood report, the average lifetime care for a 10-year-old dog costs about $34,550, and $32,170 for a 16-year-old cat. To be sure, those figures can vary based on breed and health conditions—plus, pet parents should expect to pay much more during a period riddled with inflation and tariffs: They can expect to spend about 11% more for veterinary fees this year, 183% more for pet cleaning supplies, 20% more for grooming supplies, and 85% more for treats and chews, according to Rover.
That’s also meant the number of households today bringing a pet home has become relatively flat, Baty said, “and that’s a big change from the last few years.”
Even considering how much more expensive it’s become to own a pet, people still want their furry family members to have the best care and conditions, which often starts with food. During the past few years, fresh, raw, or freeze-dried food have become more popular options, marketed as a healthier and more life-sustaining option for pets than traditional kibble.
Getty Images—Phillip Faraone
While The Farmer’s Dog is one of the preeminent fresh pet food brands, often associated with its curated subscription boxes, Freshpet was actually launched about a decade earlier. Freshpet was founded in 2006 and became the first major player in the fresh dog food space, with millions of pet parents as customers, and is sold at major retailers like Walmart, Petco, and Petsmart.
The company focuses on producing pet food with premium, locally sourced, fresh ingredients that are gently steam cooked instead of baked at high temperatures, like traditional kibble. According to ConsumerAffairs, Freshpet can cost $3-$13 per day for one pet, depending on size, breed, and health needs. Traditional kibble can cost as little as $0.76 per day or as much as about $5 per day, again depending on the dog’s needs, according to Rover.
But as fresh dog food brands tout offering a “longer and healthier lifestyle,” Baty said, pet parents are more willing to spend more to keep their pets happy and healthy. And it’s not just high-income consumers who are willing to spend more.
“We have a large amount of low income, middle income, and high income [customers],” Baty said. “And the reason goes back to the attitude. The core of it is the attitude you have towards your pet, which is you’re going to make sacrifices or choices.” Meghan Trainor also famously partnered with Freshpet upon the release of her “I’m a Dog Mom” music video, and released an accompanying apparel line.
Getty Images—Phillip Faraone
Baty also argues that feeding fresh food offers better long-term benefits, such as lower vet bills. She said pets who consume fresh food can face fewer health risks down the line, which means less spent on additional medical care.
To be sure, many veterinarians still recommend more traditional kibble brands, with Purina Pro Plan being a popular option. Those foods are still packed full of the nutrients and protein pets need to live a happy and healthy life, and it’s always important to discuss any nutrition plans with a trained veterinarian. Choosing the right pet food has been a long-contested debate in the veterinary world, and it’s often difficult to discern the right choice for your pet.
Some pet parents also opt for feeding fresh food as a “topper” or extra on top of traditional kibble, which can add more health benefits—and excitement around mealtime.
“Even if you can’t afford to feed it every single meal or always on the main meal, we do have a really large number of consumers that start off mixing,” Baty said: 70% of their revenue comes from 2.2 million households, but there are 14.5 million households that buy Freshpet.
“It’s a place of not wanting to make ourselves inaccessible from either a price-point standpoint, whereby only very wealthy people can afford to pay the main meal fee,” she said.
And Freshpet has big growth plans: Baty said they believe they can reach 33 million households and invest in new technology and roll out new flavors, textures, proteins, and more treats.
“The nice thing is, we’re only just getting started,” she said. “There’s so much opportunity for us. It’s just a question of what we do first.”
Palestinian Christians gathered in Bethlehem to mark Christmas despite Israel’s military occupation and the ongoing war in Gaza. Al Jazeera’s Nida Ibrahim spoke to worshippers who described the celebrations as an act of resilience and hope.
Published On 26 Dec 2025
Welcome to World Breaking News, your trusted source for fast, accurate, and impactful news coverage from around the globe. We are a dedicated team of journalists, editors, and news enthusiasts committed to delivering breaking stories, in-depth analysis, and real-time updates on politics, business, technology, sports, entertainment, and more.
© Copyright -World Breaking News -2025
