NEWS IN BRIEF__2026-01-01

FE Team | Published: December 31, 2025 22:08:50

Queen Camilla describes being assaulted by man as a teenager
LONDON, Dec 31: Britain's Queen Camilla has described for the first time fighting off an attack by a man on a train when she was a teenager, speaking in an interview with the BBC in which she recounted how furious the assault had left her. "When I was a teenager, I was attacked on a train … I remember at the time being so angry," she said during a discussion broadcast on Wednesday about violence against women. "I was reading my book and you know this boy - man - attacked me, and I did fight back." She said she did not know the man who attacked her. Camilla, 78, has for many years championed charities and causes that seek to end sexual and domestic violence and to support victims.—Reuters.
Doumbouya declared winner
of Guinea presidential vote
CONAKRY, Dec 31: Guinea's junta leader Gen Mamdi Doumbouya was declared the winner of the country's presidential election held over the weekend, according to partial results released late Tuesday, marking the first vote since the 2021 military takeover. The General Directorate of Elections said Doumbouya secured 86.72 per cent of the votes counted so far. Analysts had widely expected his victory, citing a weakened opposition ahead of Sunday's poll. — AP
Thailand releases 18 Cambodian
soldiers held since July
PHNOM PENH, Dec 31: Thailand on Wednesday released 18 Cambodian soldiers captured in July, both governments said, after a fresh ceasefire between the neighbours held for more than three days following weeks of deadly border clashes. "I can confirm," Cambodia's information minister Neth Pheaktra told AFP when asked if the soldiers had been released and re-entered Cambodian territory. — AFP
Mali, Burkina Faso ban US citizens in response to Trump travel curbs
BAMAKO, Dec 31: Mali and Burkina Faso announced late Tuesday that they will bar United States citizens from entering their countries, in retaliation for US President Donald Trump's decision to restrict the entry of Malian and Burkinabe nationals into the United States. The decisions were announced in separate statements by the foreign ministries of the two West African nations, reflecting growing tensions between military-led governments in the region and Washington. — AP