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Ukrainian embassy in Australia says the number of enquiries about volunteering in the country has dropped off

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Appeal for UK authorities to bring over mother who was left in France after smugglers departed shore with her three childrenThe Home Office is under pressure to reunite a family of Eritrean asylum seekers after smugglers forced three children, the youngest aged just five, to cross the Channel on a small boat before their mother could get on board with them.The woman, 31, who was staying in northern France hoping to reach the UK, paid smugglers for places on a dinghy for herself and her three children, a boy aged 14 and two girls aged nine and five, to cross the Channel on 16 December. She said she believed the UK was the place where she would find safety and a respect for the human rights of her family. Continue reading...

Centre in London says record number born on site is a result of fewer people being able to afford cost of neuteringParsnip, Cranberry and Sprouts. Not your Christmas dinner, but a festive trio of fluffy black and white kittens, newly arrived at Battersea Dogs & Cats Home. Down the corridor in the cattery, another three newborns have just been taken in, along with their parents, in something approaching a feline nativity scene.The new arrivals are, according to Bridie Williams, Battersea’s cattery manager, “ridiculously cute”. And they come at the end of a year during which 133 kittens were born on site – considerably more than any year in the past decade. Continue reading...

Paul Nowak says party can ‘set a very clear direction of travel’ for public services if it wins next electionLabour will not be able “turn the taps on from day one” on public spending if it wins the next election, the new leader of the TUC has acknowledged, suggesting the party’s attempts to manage expectations are working.The incoming general secretary, Paul Nowak, said a Labour government would not be able to fix the Conservatives’ “neglect” straight after coming to power but suggested it could still “set a very clear direction of travel” for public services. Continue reading...

British government urged Washington embassy to lobby incoming president, declassified documents showThe election of Bill Clinton as US president in 1992 prompted the British government to brace for “turbulence” because of his views on Northern Ireland.The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) said the incoming president’s views on the region were unwelcome and urged the British embassy in Washington to confront him, according to an official document declassified this week. Continue reading...

Across country last month, almost 14,000 people were ready to be discharged but could not be sent home or into careMore people could be spending the time between Christmas and new year in hospital in parts of England this year than at any time in the past decade, as NHS trusts struggle to find social care places for patients medically fit for discharge.The latest figures for December to date show an average of 94,200 patients were in hospitals across England, more than 93,000 of them in acute settings, the highest in seven winters. Continue reading...

Five-year-old girl credited for helping siblings survive 55 hours in 30-degree heat in car wreckage with dead parentsTrapped inside the wreckage of a car after an accident that killed her parents, a five-year-old girl has been credited for an “absolute miracle” feat of survival.Inside an upturned Land Rover, hidden from view beside a remote Western Australian road, the young girl managed to undo her one-year-old brother’s seatbelt, freeing him. Continue reading...

Santa Cruz governor and former presidential candidate flown to La Paz after what his supporters called a ‘kidnapping’Bolivian police have detained prominent opposition leader Luis Fernando Camacho on charges of “terrorism” in a move that significantly escalates tensions between the national government and Camacho’s Santa Cruz base.Bolivia’s state attorney’s office confirmed the detention on Wednesday of 43-year-old Camacho, the governor of Santa Cruz who unsuccessfully ran for president in 2020. Continue reading...

Victorian treasurer says plagued myki payment system will be reviewed with current contract due to expire late next year

Poorly resourced regional hospitals brace for flood of cases during upcoming lunar new year holiday as infections soarChina’s sprawling and thinly resourced countryside was racing to beef up its medical facilities amid a surging Covid-19 wave as hundreds of millions of migrant factory workers prepare to return to their families for the lunar new year.Each year, hundreds of millions of people, mostly working in factories near the southern and eastern coasts, return to the countryside for the lunar new year festivities, due to start on 22 January next year. Continue reading...

Homicide investigation launched after deaths of Todd Mooney and 10-year-old Kirra at BiggendenA shed fire that killed Queensland man Todd Mooney and his 10-year-old daughter Kirra was deliberately lit, police believe.Remains believed to be the 54-year-old man and the girl were found after the blaze at Biggenden, south-east of Bundaberg, on 20 December. Continue reading...

Many humanitarian activities ‘paused’ as Taliban decision to bar women NGO workers prevents vital services across the countryThe United Nations said that some “time-critical” programs in Afghanistan have temporarily stopped and warned many other activities will also likely need to be paused because of a ban by the Taliban-led administration on women aid workers.UN aid chief Martin Griffiths, the heads of UN agencies and several aid groups said in a joint statement on Wednesday that women’s “participation in aid delivery is not negotiable and must continue”, calling on authorities to reverse the decision. Continue reading...

Chief medical officer does not rule out future border restrictions but says community has high immunity to current variants

Emma Lovell died after being stabbed in the chest in an alleged home invasion north of Brisbane on Boxing Day

Castillo is appealing against his detention earlier in December over an attempt to illegally dissolve CongressThe former Peruvian president Pedro Castillo, who is being held in pretrial detention after attempting to illegally dissolve Congress, said he was a victim of “political revenge” by his adversaries.Castillo, speaking at a hearing on Wednesday to appeal against the detention, said he had not committed the crimes of rebellion and conspiracy for which he is under investigation. Continue reading...

Exiled National Unity Government says figure is a rise of 78% on last year, following February 2021 coupMyanmar’s military junta killed 165 children in 2022, according to the country’s exiled opposition National Unity Government (NUG). According to their data, 78% more children died at the hands of the occupying military in 2022 compared with 2021.“The NUG figure appears credible,” says Thomas Kean, a senior consultant on Myanmar for the International Crisis Group, explaining that reports are often accompanied by evidence. Continue reading...

Incoming general secretary, Paul Nowak, says PM has overestimated public support for confronting unionsRishi Sunak needs an “exit strategy” from ongoing industrial disputes to avoid them escalating in the months ahead after overestimating public support for his “1980s playbook” approach to widespread strikes, the incoming TUC general secretary has said.Paul Nowak, who takes over as Britain’s top union leader next month, predicted the government’s “war of attrition” against the unions would fail and accused ministers of having their “hands over their ears” about the severity of the situation. Continue reading...

‘You’d think they would have shown compassion’: patient’s son decries Kansas police who issued citation as father sufferedHospital staff in Kansas called the police on a man dying of cancer who was using cannabis products to cope with his symptoms, in an incident that has since sparked outrage and renewed calls to rethink the state’s strict cannabis laws.The encounter took place in mid-December, when police in the city of Hays say two officers showed up at the cancer patient’s hospital room to issue him a citation for a drug violation. Police also took away a vaping device and cannabis product that hospital staff had already confiscated. Continue reading...

Ministers considering change that would class eggs laid by hens kept in barns for months under restrictions as free rangeFree-range egg rules in the UK could be relaxed in response to the European Union preparing to overhaul regulations after the biggest avian flu outbreak on record.Ministers are understood to be considering a change to the rules that would mean eggs laid by hens kept in barns for months on end could be classed as free range. Continue reading...

Dyfed-Powys police arrested 33-year-old on suspicion of child neglect after sudden death of child in LampeterA woman has been arrested on suspicion of child neglect in Wales over the death of an eight-year-old linked to the strep A infection.According to the BBC, a 33-year-old woman was arrested by Dyfed-Powys police on 23 December after the “sudden death” of a child the day before in Lampeter, Ceredigion and has been released as inquiries continue. Continue reading...

A five-year-old girl saved her younger brother’s life after their Land Rover rolled on Christmas Day

Other countries including Italy have taken similar steps after Beijing’s rollback of ‘zero-Covid’ policies led to surge in casesThe US has announced all travellers from China must provide a negative Covid-19 test to enter the country, joining other nations imposing restrictions because of a surge of infections.The increase in cases across China follows the rollback of the nation’s strict anti-virus controls. Beijing’s “zero Covid” policies had kept the country’s infection rate low but fuelled public frustration and crushed economic growth. Continue reading...

Storm that sent US temperatures plunging triggers yellow weather warning for heavy rain over Scotland on FridayThe deadly bomb cyclone that has sent temperatures plunging in the US is also causing the UK to experience wet and windy weather, the Met Office has said.On Wednesday, the forecaster issued a yellow weather warning for heavy rain from 3am on Friday for 15 hours for much of Scotland, including Edinburgh, Glasgow and Stirling. The Met Office said heavy rain could bring some flooding and travel disruption. Continue reading...

Putin bans supply of oil to countries participating in price cap; heavy fighting continues in southern and eastern Ukraine

Whitehall sources claim the Home Office is fighting with Michael Gove over whether Islamist extremists’ details should be removedNo 10 has refused to say if its review of the Prevent counter-terrorism strategy will be redacted, amid reports it has been delayed by a row between Michael Gove and the Home Office over whether to reveal the names of suspected Islamist extremists.The Prevent review was handed over to the Home Office by William Shawcross, a former head of the Charity Commission, in the summer. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Nearly one in 10 care homes that offer dementia support reported on by inspectors in 2022 were given worst rating

This year, 3,275 took a break from mince pies and charades to fill in their self-assessment forms, HMRC saidWhile most households spent the holidays feasting and visiting relatives and friends, others apparently decided Christmas was the season to catch up on admin, with 22,000 Britons filing self-assessment tax returns during the yuletide break this year.The latest data from HMRC indicates that on Christmas Day, 3,275 people took a break from eating mince pies and watching the Mrs Brown’s Boys special to disclose their latest earnings. Continue reading...

Footballer was stabbed death in Birmingham nightclub on Boxing DayTwo men have been arrested on suspicion of murdering a footballer who was stabbed to death in a nightclub on Boxing Day.Cody Fisher, 23, was fatally attacked in the Crane nightclub in Digbeth, Birmingham, just before midnight on Monday. Continue reading...

Liliana Segre, 92, has been subjected to racist attacks, and fears the Holocaust will become a footnote in the history booksAn Italian senator who survived the Auschwitz concentration camp and this year found herself witnessing a far-right government take power again in Rome has said her “personal nightmare” is that the Holocaust will all but vanish from history books.Liliana Segre, 92, was the only one of her relatives to survive the Holocaust, which killed six million Jews as part of Nazi Germany’s second world war campaign to obliterate the Jewish population in Europe. Continue reading...

Hundreds rescued in NSW over Christmas break as hot weather sends people flocking to beaches and waterways

Quarter of consumers more likely to visit branches amid struggles with surging energy, food and housing costs, finds KPMG surveyCost of living pressures have increased the number of customers relying on bank branches to help manage their squeezed budgets, research shows.While the Covid-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of online-only banking, particularly during lockdowns, research from the accountancy firm KPMG showed a quarter of UK consumers were more likely to visit bank branches now that households were grappling with surging energy, food and housing costs. Continue reading...

England to become first country to eliminate virus thanks to targeted screening campaigns and effective treatmentsThe NHS is set to eliminate hepatitis C in England by 2025 due to targeted screening campaigns for those at risk and effective drug treatments, according to health officials. NHS England said the measures are helping to dramatically cut deaths from the virus five years ahead of global targets.Deaths from hepatitis C – including liver disease and cancer – have fallen by 35% since NHS England struck a five-year deal worth almost £1bn to buy antiviral drugs for thousands of patients in 2018. Continue reading...

Exclusive: ONS analysis shows black households five times more likely to struggle to pay energy billsLabour has reaffirmed its commitment to tackle structural racism after new analysis showed black households are five times more likely to struggle making energy bills repayments.Black and minority ethnic people were already 2.5 times more likely to be in relative poverty, and 2.2 times more likely to live in deep poverty (defined as having an income more than 50% below the relative poverty line), than their white counterparts regardless of the energy crisis, figures from the Office for National Statistics show. Continue reading...

Authorities did not confirm if they were charging anybody over use of the restricted spray, which was posted on social media

The Boeing 787 was more than four hours into the flight when it was denied permission to land and forced to return to Melbourne

Health workers report huge jump in mostly elderly Covid patients as China adjusts to living largely without virus restrictionsChinese hospitals were under intense pressure as a surging wave of Covid-19 infections strained resources in the last major country to move towards treating the virus as endemic.In an abrupt change of policy, China earlier this month began dismantling the world’s strictest Covid regime of lockdowns and extensive testing, putting its battered economy on course for a complete re-opening next year. Continue reading...

Rain-induced floods and landslides unlike previous disasters in the country, which are typically triggered by severe typhoonsRescue teams across nine provinces in the Philippines raced to try to locate 26 people missing after weekend rains, floods and landslides that have killed at least 25 people, in one of its deadliest weather events this year.The national disaster agency on Wednesday said casualties reported so far had increased to 25 from 17 the previous day, with most deaths caused by drowning from flash floods. Continue reading...

Daniel Duggan’s lawyer says the 54-year-old pilot will fight any extradition request and resolutely maintains his innocence

Plan will bring Durham, Northumberland, Gateshead, Sunderland, Newcastle, South Tyneside and North Tyneside under control of one mayorA £1.4bn devolution deal for the north-east of England would bring seven local authority areas under the control of an elected mayor in 2024, Michael Gove has announced.The levelling-up secretary set out the £48m-a-year deal for Northumberland, Durham, Newcastle, South Tyneside, North Tyneside, Gateshead and Sunderland on Wednesday after months of negotiations over the new devolved area covering 2 million people. Continue reading...

Families losing millions of pounds to unsolved crimes, party says, as it pledges to put 13,000 extra officers on the streetsMore than 1m thefts went unsolved last year, Labour has said, as it branded the figures “disgraceful”.The party’s analysis of crime statistics found that 1,145,254 cases of theft were dropped last year because the police failed to find a suspect. It said that on average a domestic burglary costs victims £1,400, with Labour warning that families were losing millions due to unsolved crimes. Continue reading...

Sydney, Brisbane and Darwin could have showers on New Year’s Eve but forecast sunny for other capitals

Felonies facing rapper Tory Lanez include assault with a semiautomatic weapon and could lead to up to 22 years in prisonA Los Angeles jury on Friday found rapper Tory Lanez guilty of three felonies in the 2020 shooting of hip-hop star Megan Thee Stallion that left her wounded with bullet fragments in her feet.The jury deliberated for one day before convicting the 30-year-old Canadian rapper, whose legal name is Daystar Peterson, of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, having a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle and discharging a firearm with gross negligence. The counts could lead to up to 22 years in prison. Continue reading...

Footballer’s family say they lost their ‘best friend’ in Boxing Day attack and plead for privacyPolice have launched a murder investigation after a man was stabbed on the dancefloor of a nightclub in Birmingham on Boxing Day.The family of the victim, named as 23-year-old footballer Cody Fisher, said in a statement that whoever was responsible had “broken our hearts” and that they had lost their “best friend”. Continue reading...

Warning of further strike disruption as users on some routes advised to avoid non-essential travel until at least 9 JanuaryCrowds of people were left waiting at train stations amid chaotic scenes as Britain’s struggling rail network stuttered back to life after Christmas.Hundreds of passengers were stuck in long queues at major stations on Tuesday and others faced lengthy delays due to overrunning engineering work. Continue reading...

Emma Lovell, 41, was stabbed during an alleged break-in at her family’s home near Brisbane on Boxing DayTwo teenagers have been charged with murder after a woman from Suffolk was killed in an alleged break-in at her family’s home in Australia on Boxing Day.Emma Lovell, 41, was stabbed in the chest at her home on Monday and later died in hospital. Continue reading...

As more people explore outdoors and rescue callouts rise, experts advise use of maps and compassWalkers in the UK have been warned not to rely on smartphones to find their way on hills and mountains, and instead learn to use a map and compass, amid an increase in calls to rescue services.On Christmas Day a walker became unwell and later died after getting into difficulty at Buckstones Jump, near Rydal, in the Lake District. Continue reading...

Death of Pavel Antov, who reportedly criticised Ukraine war, comes days after his travelling companion died at same hotelIndian police are investigating the sudden deaths at a luxury hotel of a wealthy Russian politician who reportedly criticised the Ukraine war, and his travelling companion.The body of Pavel Antov, 65, was found on Saturday in a pool of blood outside his lodgings in eastern Odisha state, where he was on holiday with three other Russian nationals. Continue reading...

Not enough money to repay up to 30,000 customers for deposits on goods ordered at collapsed furniture makerMore than 30,000 Made.com shoppers are collectively owed almost £12m they will not get back, according to the latest report by administrators to the collapsed furniture seller.Shoppers paid £13.7m in deposits on large items such as sofas, according to documents filed with Companies House late last week. However, less than £1.9m has been recouped by customers through card charge-backs, which is where credit card providers refund borrowers when purchases go wrong. Continue reading...

Some voluntary groups have closed and farmers report problems after slow disbursal of UK funds to replace EU money