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Adelaide stayed at 27.4C overnight while Victoria is forecast to dip no lower than 26C, the state’s hottest night in four years

Cause of blaze unknown, but an incorrectly recycled battery or vape has not been ruled out

Report warns homes keep getting less affordable, and Australia has one of the highest rates of people spending more than 40% of their income on housing

Campaign, originally blocked by Liz Truss, suggests actions such as turning down boiler flowHouseholds will be urged to take only 30 seconds out of their day to reduce their energy use as a UK government TV advertising campaign designed to cut bills finally launches.The advert, part of an £18m campaign originally blocked by Liz Truss, will air during festive schedules from 8.30am on Tuesday on terrestrial and satellite channels, including ITV, Channel 4 and Sky. Continue reading...

Three Victorians and a South Australian woman die, while two young girls rescued in near-drowning at St Kilda beach in Melbourne

Doctors, Coronation Street and EastEnders among credits of actor whose career included working with RSC and the National TheatreStephen Greif, who appeared in Blake’s 7 and The Crown, has died aged 78, his representatives said.The actor had an extensive career on stage and screen and appeared in other series including Doctors, Coronation Street, Tales of the Unexpected and EastEnders. Continue reading...

Man, 30, arrested on suspicion of murder and woman, 19, held on suspicion of conspiracy to murderTwo people have been arrested in connection with the “cold-blooded shooting” of Elle Edwards in Wallasey Village, Merseyside police said.A 30-year-old man from Tranmere has been arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder. Continue reading...

Australian Transport Safety Bureau investigating after two bodies found in aircraft wreckage at Appin

‘Every war ends in a diplomatic way,’ says Dmytro Kuleba

Better-than-expected numbers after 2021’s Covid-hit Christmas remain well below pre-pandemic levelsThe number of shoppers hitting the Boxing Day sales has bounced back after last year’s Covid-hit Christmas – but remained well below levels seen before the pandemic.The shopper tracking agency Springboard said there had been a 50% rise in shopper numbers out on Monday compared with Boxing Day last year, when the Omicron variant of Covid-19 prompted many to stay at home. However, footfall remained 30.5% down on 2019 levels. Continue reading...

Three Russian servicemen killed at Russia’s Engels air base hundreds of miles from Ukraine’s frontlines; Putin says west trying to ‘tear apart’ Russia

Railways closed because of RMT strike while 1,000 Border Force staff in PCS union continue action. This blog is now closedBarclaycard, the credit card firm, predicts that the average person will spend £229 in the post-Christmas sales, £18 less than last year, which can be partly attributed to the cost-of-living crisis.The AA also forecasts that 15.2m cars will be on the roads during the day. Continue reading...

Snowfall in parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland on Christmas Day, becoming more widespread on Boxing DayIt was a “technical” white Christmas in the UK this year as the Met Office recorded snowfall in parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland, although most of the country did not have snow.The forecaster recorded either sleet or snow falling at five of its weather stations across the UK on 25 December, with Edinburgh one of three in Scotland and another two in Northern Ireland. Continue reading...

Only 7% had undertaken right-to-work checks and just 11% handed out payslips, Nottingham Trent University research revealsMore than 90% of hand carwashes are likely to be employing workers illegally, without proper pay, records and first aid measures, three years after the government backed a voluntary scheme to tackle abuse in the sector.Surprise inspections of carwashes in Leicester, Suffolk and Norfolk found only 7% had undertaken right-to-work checks, a legal obligation, or could prove that legal employment rights were being upheld. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Foreign secretary urged to speed up efforts to help former staff and their families get to UKMinisters are putting endangered British Council staff and their families in Afghanistan at risk because of a “blockage of red tape” preventing them from coming to the UK, a cross-party group of dozens of MPs and peers says.John Baron, a senior Conservative backbencher, pioneered the cross-party call for the foreign secretary, James Cleverly, to ensure the country repays the “debt of gratitude and honour” he believed was owed to the roughly 200 people and their immediate relatives. Continue reading...

Vashini Jayakumar has spent the past four years fighting for her best friend, Priya Nadasalingam, to return to Biloela – but now her own visa has expiredTamil asylum seekers, Vashini Jayakumar and Priya Nadesalingam, are more like sisters than best friends.And now that Nadesalingam is finally safe, she is hoping the community that supported her will step up to protect Jayakumar from the same fate. Continue reading...

Kathy McGinness, who lived adjacent to flats that collapsed, died in hospital on Christmas DayA woman injured in an explosion at a block of flats in Jersey earlier this month died on Christmas Day, taking the death toll to 10.Kathleen (Kathy) McGinness, 73, who lived at Haut du Mont adjacent to the building that collapsed, died at Jersey general hospital. Continue reading...

Whitby crew urges people not to set off flares in non-emergencies after pyrotechnic was possibly ‘let off as a celebration’An RNLI crew has warned against setting off flares when there is no emergency, after it was called out on Christmas Day for the first time in living memory.Whitby’s all-weather lifeboat launched on Sunday after two members of its team spotted a red flare above the North Yorkshire town’s harbour. Continue reading...

Arthur Labinjo-Hughes’ relatives criticise local child protection service that ignored months of torture and abuseThe family of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes, the six-year-old boy murdered by his stepmother after months of torture and abuse, have said they fear more children will die unless there is “total reform of social services”.Relatives added they were disappointed at the scale of intervention taken since Arthur’s death, particularly after a national review found failures in local child protection reflected national shortcomings. Continue reading...

De Morgan Museum reopened in Barnsley and gained accreditation status by Arts Council EnglandSixty years ago, they were so unfashionable they were in danger of being forgotten. Today the Victorian artists Evelyn and William De Morgan are having a renaissance with, supporters say, interest never higher.The De Morgan Museum recently reopened in Barnsley after a major refurbishment. In the last few weeks it has been given accreditation status by Arts Council England. This month it also joined the National Gallery in London and the Metropolitan Museum in New York on an app offering online tours. Plus, there are touring exhibitions in the US and UK and displays in Surrey and Wolverhampton. Continue reading...

Local authorities say they are short of space due to Victorian laws that are also causing rise in funeral costsCemeteries are running out of space to bury the dead, local authorities have warned, prompting calls for an overhaul of archaic legislation to prevent deepening funeral poverty for families.The disposal of human remains is governed by a complex set of legislation in England and Wales dating to the Victorian era, which prevents graves being reused. Continue reading...

Susan Moffat and Aida Haughton explain how their play My Thousand Year Old Land was given a universal humanity by using raw, real-life testimonyThree women – Pravda (meaning “justice”), Istina (“truth”), and Nada (“hope”) – sit around a table, grinding coffee and telling stories. Around them on stage are men’s boots, belts and a hat. The men are no longer here but killed in war.It’s what writer and director Susan Moffat calls “the presence of absence”. In the play My Thousand Year Old Land (A Song for BiH), which Moffat wrote alongside Bosnian war survivor Aida Haughton, we follow three women whose lives are changed by the deaths of their communities’ men in the 1990s conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina. They find themselves taking on the typically male roles in the family, from tilling the fields to feeding cockerels. Continue reading...

According to ONS data, there are now nearly 300,000 people aged 50 or over in insecure employmentZero-hours contracts among the over-50s have reached their highest level since records began, according to new analysis of official government statistics.There are nearly 300,000 people aged 50 and older with zero-hours contracts, the highest number for this age group since records began in 2013 and almost double the number 10 years ago, from 149,000 in October to December 2013 to 296,000 in July to September 2022. Continue reading...

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As figures show there have been 438 convictions since 2010, party says it wants to outlaw trail hunting ‘smokescreen’More than 430 convictions for hunting have been secured since 2010, figures reveal amid calls to strengthen the law before this year’s Boxing Day parades.Labour, which introduced legislation to tackle fox hunting in 2004, has vowed to toughen up the Hunting Act to close a “loophole”. Continue reading...

An estimated £3.8bn will be spent on 26 December, down almost 4% on last yearRetailers are preparing for a quieter Boxing Day this year despite freedom from pandemic restrictions as the cost of living crisis weighs on shoppers’ budgets.Spending is expected to hit almost £3.8bn on 26 December, according to research by GlobalData for Vouchercodes. Continue reading...

Beijing says drills also involving navy ships are a ‘firm response’ after US defence spending bill prioritised support for Taiwan

Consumers are ‘freedom spending’ after an intense year, but on essentials rather than big-ticket items

Up to 10 people had been feared buried after incident between Zuers and Lech am Arlberg on SundayTen people initially feared buried under snow after an avalanche swept across ski trails in western Austria have been found, according to authorities.Just before 1am on Monday, police confirmed all the missing had been accounted for, the Austria Press Agency reported. Continue reading...

Lifting age eligibility rules would help attract a wider range of skilled workers and professionals, Tourism and Transport Forum boss says

One of the protesters, Drew Pavlou, says they want to ‘make trouble’ for Tennis Australia over its links to China

Ukraine’s president says Ukrainians are creating their own ‘miracle’ in Christmas address as Russian president accuses Kyiv and western allies of ‘refusing to negotiate’

UK Foreign Office is seeking further information about detainees, who include several dual nationalsSeven people with links to Britain have been arrested by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards over anti-government protests that have snowballed across the country in recent months, according to reports.The people arrested, some of whom are dual nationals, were detained while trying to leave Iran, according to Reuters, citing a statement published by state media. Continue reading...

The man, 69, was held on Friday after killing three people at a Kurdish cultural centre and nearby cafeThe French man detained over the killing of three Kurdish people in Paris last week has told investigators he had a “pathological” hatred of foreigners, the city’s prosecutor said on Sunday.The 69-year-old man was arrested on Friday after shooting dead two men and a woman in a Kurdish cultural centre and nearby Kurdish cafe in the 10th district of Paris, which the French president, Emmanuel Macron, described as a “vile” attack on the Kurds of France. Continue reading...

Family describe Rachael Louise Moore, who died on Christmas Eve, as ‘cherished’ daughter, sister, granddaughter and partnerA 22-year-old woman who died after being hit by a police car on Christmas Eve in Liverpool has been described by her family as a “cherished” daughter, sister, granddaughter, partner and “friend to many”.Merseyside police are appealing for witnesses after being called to reports of a collision involving a marked police car on Saturday at about 8.10pm on Sheil Road in the Kensington area of the city. Rachael Louise Moore died at the scene. Continue reading...

Lockdown was ‘catalyst for change’, with men now spending more quality time with their children

Driver and one passenger rescued as search continues for at least one missing person in GaliciaAt least five people have died after a bus fell off a bridge into a surging river in north-western Spain late on Christmas Eve.Emergency teams are searching for at least one missing person, while two survivors – the driver of the bus and a female passenger – were rescued from the Lérez River in Galicia and taken to hospitals, authorities said on Sunday. Police said the driver tested negative for alcohol and drugs. Continue reading...

Monarch reflects on the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in first Christmas Day broadcastI am standing here in this exquisite Chapel of St George at Windsor Castle, so close to where my beloved mother, the late Queen, is laid to rest with my dear father.I am reminded of the deeply touching letters, cards and messages which so many of you have sent my wife and myself and I cannot thank you enough for the love and sympathy you have shown our whole family. Continue reading...

Monarch pays tribute to the volunteers and charity workers helping those in financial difficultyKing Charles has highlighted the cost of living crisis and the “great anxiety and hardship” of many struggling to “pay their bills and keep their families fed and warm” in his first Christmas broadcast.In the message, with the nation in the grip of economic woes and against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, the king dedicated a major part of his broadcast to those helping to ease the plight of others. Continue reading...

Half the Hareth family obtained visas, but three sons faced years of danger and uncertainty, until they were recognised as refugeesA refugee family have celebrated their first festive season safely together in two and a half years after the Home Office abandoned threats to deport three of them because they arrived in the UK on a small boat.The Hareth family – mother, Ferdowz, and father, Hussein, both 55, Hamzah, 27, Hassan, 25, Hazem, 24, and Azzam, 14, fled war in Yemen, but had very different journeys to the UK and contrasting experiences of dealing with the Home Office even though their circumstances were identical. Continue reading...

Royal Gibraltar police ask British counterparts to investigate alleged data breach in interests of ‘transparency’UK police have been called in to lead an investigation into a data breach in a public inquiry concerning alleged corruption at the top of Gibraltar’s government.The development is the latest twist in the inquiry, which is to hear explosive allegations by the British overseas territory’s former police chief, Ian McGrail. Continue reading...

Investigation takes aim at everything from Cosa Nostra whiskey to El Padrino restaurant in Spain and Nasi Goreng Mafia eaterie in IndonesiaItaly’s biggest farmers’ association is waging a battle against the “scandalous” use of mafia terms to sell a variety of food and drink products around the world, from Cosa Nostra whiskey to Chilli Mafia tomato sauce.Coldiretti undertook an extensive investigation and also discovered that almost 300 restaurants beyond Italy have mafia-themed names, including El Padrino in Spain, Don Corleone in Finland, Burger Mafia in Germany, Falafel Mafia in the US and Nasi Goreng Mafia in Indonesia. Continue reading...

Pontiff says world suffering from ‘famine of peace’ as Justin Welby praises example of late monarchThe archbishop of Canterbury and Pope Francis have used their Christmas addresses to call for an end to the war in Ukraine.During his sermon, Justin Welby also spoke of those suffering “immense anxiety and hardship” during the cost of living crisis and made reference to the “desperate struggles of hospital wards”. Continue reading...

SNP’s Kirsten Oswald says PM should scrap policies, including the controversial ‘rape clause’, to lift 500,000 out of povertyRishi Sunak has been urged to drop “unspeakably cruel” policies in order to lift half a million people out of poverty.The Scottish National party MP Kirsten Oswald has urged the prime minister to U-turn on his decision to back the two-child limit and benefit cap policies set by his predecessors. Continue reading...

The man was charged with the shooting of Omar Zahed, 39, and Tarek Zahed, 41, at a gym in Auburn, Sydney in May. Omar Zahed died at the scene

PM spends Christmas morning at Ashfield Uniting Church in Sydney’s inner west along with NSW Labor leader Chris Minns

Ten dead and more than 50 injured in Russian strikes on Kherson; ‘We will endure this winter,’ Volodymyr Zelenskiy says in Christmas eve message

Paramedics treated the two-year-old boy but he died at the scene. A man was taken for mandatory testing and is assisting with the police investigationA child has died after being hit by a 4WD at a Sydney property on Christmas Eve.Emergency services were called to Dural in Sydney’s north-west about 6pm on Saturday where they found a two-year-old boy who was critically injured. Continue reading...

Saman Yasin had denied charges of attempting to kill security forcesIran’s supreme court has accepted an appeal by rapper Saman Yasin against his death sentence even as it confirmed the same sentence against another protester.Yasin, a well-known and acclaimed Kurdish artist and rapper, has been a vocal critic of the Iranian regime amid the current unrest. He wrote messages of support for protesters on his social media channels and has written several protest songs. Continue reading...