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Victorian temperatures to rise from Monday, with fire warnings also in place in NSW and Western Australia

Research for Lib Dems shows nearly 27,000 assaults were recorded last year, with about 3,200 deemed seriousAssaults in prisons have been rising with an average of 74 a day recorded in England and Wales last year, including 25 assaults a day inflicted on staff, House of Commons library research has shown.The figures, commissioned by the Liberal Democrats, show that of the 26,912 assaults that took place over the course of the year, about 3,200 were deemed to be serious - an average of eight a day. Continue reading...

US Department of Housing and Urban Development reports largest increase among families with childrenThe US saw a dramatic rise in homelessness at the start of 2024, counting 18% more unhoused people during its annual tally in January than the year before, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (Hud) reported on Friday.Cities reported counting a total of 771,480 unhoused people in January, a number that is larger than the population of Seattle. Representing 23 out of every 10,000 Americans, the number is the highest ever recorded during the tally. Still, experts consider the number an undercount, since it reflects one point in time and misses many people staying with friends or family. Continue reading...

Georgian Dream government threatens pro-west president with jail if she refuses to leave office on SundayAll eyes in Georgia are fixed on the elegant 19th-century Orbeliani Palace in Tbilisi, where a defining moment looms. Who will occupy its halls on 29 December?On Sunday, Georgia's pro-western president, Salome Zourabichvili, is supposed to hand over the keys to her successor, Mikheil Kavelashvili, a former football player turned far-right politician who is backed by the ruling and increasingly authoritarian Georgian Dream (GD) party. Continue reading...

Preparations for new year's street parties under way as Met Office warns of significant disruption' due to heavy rain on 30 and 31 DecemberA severe weather warning is threatening to put a dampener on Hogmanay plans across Scotland as the nation braces for 48 hours of heavy rain.The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for rain covering all of Scotland apart from Orkney and Shetland on 30 and 31 December, with significant disruption" expected from the early hours of Monday. Continue reading...

Finland seizes ship it suspects of engaging in sabotage causing Estlink 2 cable outage on Christmas DayNato is to increase its military presence in the Baltic Sea, the alliance has announced, after the suspected sabotage of an underwater power cable running between Finland and Estonia.The Estlink 2 submarine cable was disconnected from the grid on Christmas Day, little more than a month after two telecommunications cables were severed in Swedish territorial waters in the Baltic Sea. Continue reading...

Guardian analysis finds 1.6 million pupils in schools in need of repair, while some NHS sites endanger patients and staff

Manchester-raised entertainment mogul is ambassador for scheme helping businesses in creative industries succeedHe is the man behind 3bn streams, a string of chart-topping artists - and Wetherspoon's newest brand of tequila.Ask Michael Adex how he has achieved all this by the age of 28 and he gives some credit to his immovable" will to make things happen. Continue reading...

Underinvestment has led to crumbling infrastructure in schools, hospitals and courts, Guardian study shows

Deliveries of vital food and medical supplies will help 200,000 families, say aid groups and local volunteersAn aid convoy has reached a besieged area of Khartoum for the first time since Sudan's civil war broke out in April 2023, bringing food and medicines in a country where half of the people are at risk of starvation.The 28 trucks arrived in southern Khartoum on 25 December, according to the World Food Programme (WFP), which provided 22 trucks loaded with 750 tonnes of food. Continue reading...

Nick Starmer, 60, who had cancer, met all the challenges life threw at him with courage and good humour', says PMKeir Starmer has paid tribute to his brother, Nick, who had cancer and died on Boxing Day aged 60.The prime minister said his younger brother was a wonderful man" who met all the challenges life threw at him with courage and good humour". Continue reading...

Report for final three months of year shows pressure driven by rising costs and weak consumer confidence

Anthony Gilheaney, 30, charged with attempted murder after four pedestrians were hit by a carA man has been charged with four counts of attempted murder after allegedly driving into four pedestrians in the West End of London on Christmas Day.Anthony Gilheaney, 30, was also charged with causing serious injury by driving while disqualified, driving a motor vehicle dangerously, and possession of a bladed article in a public place. Continue reading...

Formal step taken by Frank-Walter Steinmeier after chancellor Olaf Scholz lost confidence vote in BundestagGermany's president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, has dissolved parliament and called a snap election on 23 February after Olaf Scholz's fractious three-way coalition collapsed three years into its mandate.The national vote will come seven months ahead of schedule amid a rocky stretch of unusual political turmoil for the EU's top economic power, with growth rates flatlining, industry in crisis and the far right on the rise. Continue reading...

Deal under which Family Action takes over Relate's counselling services will save up to 185 jobs, say administratorsBritain's biggest relationship counselling charity looks likely to be rescued from insolvency under plans for it to be taken over.Last month, Relate was put into administration after a collapse in its funding from NHS, school and local authority contracts. Continue reading...

Gemfields makes decision over ruby mining after groups took advantage' of situation to try to invade its siteThe London-listed mining company Gemfields said it had temporarily halted its ruby mining operation in Mozambique after groups took advantage" of political unrest to set fire and attempt to invade its site, resulting in two deaths.Gemfields, one of the world's largest miners of coloured gemstones, said more than 200 people associated with illegal ruby mining attempted to invade the residential village built by the company next to its Montepuez Ruby Mining (MRM) operation in northern Mozambique on Christmas Eve. Continue reading...

Italians are taking to the court with factors including the pandemic and broadcasting also said to be fuelling enthusiasmAt the age of 47, diehard AC Milan fan Ninni Licata has hung up his football boots in exchange for a tennis racket.Like thousands of Italians in recent years, Licata has been unable to resist the lure of a game that for years had been relegated to the sidelines of the country's national sports, overshadowed by football and Formula One. Continue reading...

Producer says courage has gone out of broadcasting' and audiences want to see grittier issuesThe creator of some of Britain's best-loved soaps has said the courage has gone out of broadcasting" and suggested that television bosses should not be afraid to flout Ofcom rules.Phil Redmond - the brains behind Hollyoaks, Grange Hill and Brookside - said there was too much risk aversion" in television, with producers afraid to upset regulators even if it meant pleasing audiences. Continue reading...

Female prison officer faces misconduct investigation after footage reportedly shared with inmates at HMP Five WellsA prison officer has been arrested after she was allegedly filmed having sex with an inmate at a Northamptonshire prison.

Record-breaking explorer, who was first woman of colour to complete solo expedition to Antarctica, turns to northThe record-breaking British explorer Preet Chandi, who made history trekking solo to the south pole, is now turning her ambitions north.Nicknamed Polar Preet, the 36-year-old from Derby has made three solo expeditions to Antarctica, earning herself four Guinness world records, as well as praise from the Princess of Wales for her incredible" achievements.

Crackling fireplace edges out new series of Squid Game as streaming service's most watched Boxing Day show in UKIt pays the world's biggest stars and utilises the most cutting-edge special effects to entice families away from terrestrial TV over the festive period.But Netflix viewers this year were instead drawn to one of humanity's oldest sources of fascination: fire. Continue reading...

Assembly approves motion days after parliament stripped President Yoon Suk Yeol of his powers over martial law order

Exclusive: Shelter poll shows housing crisis is causing hardship even for those with jobsNearly two-thirds of workers living in private rented housing struggle to pay their rent, according to a poll that shows how England's housing crisis is causing financial hardship even for those with jobs.Only 32% of workers said they were able to keep up on their rent payments without difficulty, the poll by YouGov for Shelter shows, with 40% sometimes struggling and 23% constantly struggling. Continue reading...

Outgoing minister says combination of more medium-term housing and dedicated staff has dropped average discharge rate to a record low of 20 days

Secondhand tumble dryer and roast beef for vegetarian also in worst present ever received' pollA burial plot and a toilet seat top the list of the nation's all-time worst Christmas gifts, according to research that suggests one in five Britons receive an unwanted present in their annual haul.More than 2,000 members of the public were polled by Which? about what they were given at Christmas last year, with 21% saying they had received an unwanted or unsuitable gift. Continue reading...

Temperatures plunged overnight in Victoria's west as gusty winds swept over blazes that scorched bushland the size of Singapore

Yoon's legal team will attend the first hearing in impeachment review on Friday, the same day that the acting president also faces an impeachment voteSouth Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol's legal team are set to attend court on Friday as the constitutional court begins hearings into his impeachment by parliament over his short-lived imposition of martial law,The court has 180 days to decide whether to reinstate Yoon or remove him. In the latter scenario, a new presidential election would be held within 60 days. Continue reading...

UN secretary general decries escalatory actions on both sides after WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says he was just metres from airport strikeThe United Nations chief has denounced the escalation" in hostilities between Yemen's Houthi rebels and Israel, calling IDF strikes on targets including at the airport in Sana'a especially alarming" after it came under attack while the head of the World Health Organization was about to board a plane.Israel struck multiple targets linked to the Iran-aligned Houthi movement in Yemen on Thursday, including the international airport in the capital, Sana'a. Houthi media said at least six people were killed. Continue reading...

Newly released documents show senior official accepted that Rosemary Nelson should have been offered helpThe murdered solicitor Rosemary Nelson should have been offered protection by the Northern Ireland Office (NIO), a senior official accepted, according to newly released documents.Nelson was killed by a loyalist car bomb outside her home in Lurgan, County Armagh in March 1999. Continue reading...

Seven fire engines and search and rescue team attended incident on Boxing Day morningThe body of a woman has been found in a property on the outskirts of Norwich after a house fire, police said.Officers were called to assist the fire service at 4.22am on Boxing Day after reports of the blaze at a residential property to the north of the East Anglia city. Continue reading...

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He may be in league of his own on social media, but can he convince the big money he leads a viable national party?On brand as ever, Nigel Farage got the news that Reform appears to have surpassed the Tories in membership numbers while attending a traditional Boxing Day hunt.He was filmed for TikTok and Instagram wearing tweeds and a flat-cap, getting the news on his phone. He said: We've done it. We're through. How about that? We're now the official opposition." Sticking out his tongue and smiling straight into the camera, he added: It's going to be a long day." Continue reading...

Only 25% of institution's students are from Scotland, and they are more likely to be from working-class backgroundsFrom the first day Shanley Breese started her law degree at the University of Edinburgh, she encountered demeaning comments about her accent. She was told she was hard to understand and was asked to repeat herself in tutorials when she used words from the Scots language.It was just a little thing to differentiate us and point it out ... It meant that I didn't participate in my tutorials," she says. Continue reading...

Aircraft carrying 62 passengers and five crew was en route from Baku to Grozny in ChechnyaTwenty-nine people have survived after a passenger plane operated by Azerbaijan Airlines burst into flames as it crashed near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan after veering hundreds of miles off its planned route.The flight was carrying 62 passengers and five crew members with 38 killed in the crash, according to Kazakhstan's deputy prime minister, Kanat Bozumbayev. Continue reading...

Ukraine official also says crash caused by Russian air defence fire, while Russia plays down involvementRussia and Kazakhstan have sought to play down speculation about the Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash, as a US official said there were early indications that a Russian anti-aircraft system may have struck the plane.The assertion comes after a Ukrainian national security official and several sources in Azerbaijan claimed that the crash, which killed 38 people on Christmas Day, was caused by Russian air defence fire. Continue reading...

Security personnel and three armed men killed in clashes in Tartus province, a former Assad stronghold, say monitors

Man, 49, arrested on suspicion of murder, with man in his late 20s and teenage boy suffering serious injuriesTwo women have died and a man and a teenage boy have suffered serious injuries after a reported stabbing in Milton Keynes on Christmas Day.A 49-year-old man from Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, was arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder and remained in police custody, Thames Valley police said. Continue reading...

Nigel Farage heralds historic moment' as figure surpasses that of Conservatives when Kemi Badenoch took overReform UK has said it believes it now has more members than the Conservatives, surpassing 131,000 on Boxing Day.The party said it had hit the milestone of 131,680, which is the number of members the Conservatives had when Kemi Badenoch won the leadership election in the autumn. Continue reading...

Waves towering up to 30 metres killed more than 220,000 people in 15 countries in deadliest tsunami in historyCeremonies have been held in countries across Asia to remember the more than 220,000 people who were killed two decades ago in the Indian Ocean tsunami, the most deadly tsunami in history.On 26 December 2004, a 9.1-magnitude earthquake struck Indonesia's Sumatra island, triggering huge waves that slammed into coastal communities across the Indian Ocean. The waves, which towered as high as 30 metres, killed 227,899 people across 15 countries. Continue reading...

Book banned since 1988 is selling out' after import bar was overturned due to missing paperworkSalman Rushdie's 1988 novel The Satanic Verses - which led to a fatwa threatening his life, forcing him into hiding for a decade - has finally returned to bookshops in India, the land of his birth.The novel, inspired by the life of the prophet Muhammad, became the focus of a fierce global debate about freedom of speech when Iran's then-supreme leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, placed a bounty on Rushdie's head due to its supposed blasphemy. The book was banned in India by Rajiv Gandhi's government in 1988 after riots erupted over its contents. Continue reading...

Experts say disappointing' relationships with gambling industry, including funding for research, should be scrutinised

Exclusive: Gareth Thomas suggests company should have shown more remorse' since failings of Horizon IT system emergedA minister has spoken of his disappointment that Fujitsu, the Japanese company behind the Horizon computer system, has not done more for those whose lives were ruined in the Post Office scandal.After an intensive year of testimony and revelations at the public inquiry, the postal minister, Gareth Thomas, suggested the response of Fujitsu, which earned record profits in the last quarter of the year, had not been strong enough. Continue reading...

Last episode of long-running BBC sitcom had an average of 12.3m live viewersGavin and Stacey has won the festive TV ratings battle, with the show's final farewell becoming the most watched Christmas Day programme in 16 years.The final episode of the long-running BBC sitcom drew in an average of 12.3 million viewers on Wednesday, according to overnight viewing figures. These figures do not include views racked up on catch-up services during the rest of the festive period. Continue reading...

French authorities carry out 12 rescue operations off northern coast during intense' day of attempted crossingsFrench maritime authorities carried out 12 rescue operations along the coast of northern France on Christmas Day, rescuing 107 people in distress in small boats trying to cross to the UK.On Christmas morning, 30 passengers were rescued from a boat near Dunkirk, while the others onboard wished to continue their journey and were taken into British custody once they reached UK waters, said the French Channel and North Sea maritime prefect's office. Continue reading...

Police say postmortem being carried out to determine cause of death of man, in his 30s, in Norton CanesA woman is being questioned by police after she was arrested on suspicion of murdering a man on Christmas Day in a Staffordshire village.Staffordshire police said a postmortem was being carried out on Boxing Day to determine the cause of death of the man, in his 30s, who was thought to have died at a property in Norton Canes. Continue reading...

Sun Chanthy also barred from running for office, in latest case to target critics of governmentThe leader of a Cambodian opposition party has been sentenced to two years in jail and banned from running for office after he was found guilty of inciting social disorder, in the latest legal case to target government critics.Sun Chanthy, the president of the Nation Power party, was found guilty of the charge at a court in Phnom Penh. He also faces a fine of 4m riel (800) and has been stripped of his right to vote or stand for election.AFP contributed to this report Continue reading...

Residents in some areas warned it is too late to leave as authorities brace for dangerous winds overnight

YouGov survey finds negotiated end to war with Russia is preferred option in four out of seven countriesReadiness to support Ukraine until it wins" has fallen sharply across western Europe at a critical time for the country, a survey suggests, as Donald Trump's forthcoming return to the White House raises questions over the future of US military assistance to Kyiv.December polling by YouGov in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Denmark and the UK found public desire to stand by Ukraine until victory - even if that meant prolonging the war - had slumped in all seven countries over the past 12 months. Continue reading...