Animal welfare campaigners are calling on ministers to keep to a pledge to toughen anti-hunt laws, as figures suggest illegal foxhunting remains widespread in England and Wales. Almost 20 years since the Hunting Act 2004 was brought in by Tony Blair’s government, the League Against Cruel Sports (Lacs) – the animal welfare charity that was…
Fourteen security personnel from Syria’s new authorities and three armed men were killed in clashes in Tartous province when forces sought to arrest an officer linked to the notorious Sednaya prison, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The Observatory said the clash broke out in Tartous, a stronghold of ousted president, Bashar al-Assad’s…
Tributes are flowing for 15-year-old Luca Bennett as rescue crews scale back a search for the teenager after he was swept off rocks at a popular beach. Luca went missing about 3pm on Christmas Eve off North Avoca Beach on the New South Wales Central Coast. The aspiring basketballer was one of three teenagers swept…
Key events Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature Petra Stock South Australia’s State Duty Commander, Ann Letcher, said a cool change was sweeping through the state earlier than expected. “It’s gone across most of the southern areas, and it’s really just those eastern border areas that haven’t seen the…
A deadline for registering historic rights of way is to be scrapped after a warning that the looming cutoff date could result in the loss of thousands of miles of footpaths. The last government set a deadline of 2031 for all rights of way in England to be added to an official map, after abandoning…
Moscow is looking into reports that the Russian army may have captured an Australian citizen fighting with Ukrainian forces, while a foreign affairs official noted Canberra’s “hostile stance towards Russia” at a briefing. Family and friends hold grave fears for Australian man Oscar Jenkins who was reportedly captured by Russian soldiers while fighting alongside Ukrainian…
Dangerous fire conditions will sweep across several states as the south-east braces for a Boxing Day scorcher. Damaging winds will fan extreme fire danger on Thursday as hot and dry weather envelops large parts of Victoria, south-west New South Wales and much of eastern South Australia. The mercury is set to reach the high 30s…
Dozens of people have been killed in a prison riot in Mozambique on Christmas Day, authorities have said. The riot, reportedly at the maximum security prison in the capital Maputo, left 33 people dead and 15 injured, according to police general commander Bernardino Rafael. About 1,534 people escaped from the prison in the incident but…
Police fired Tasers during a stand-off with a knife-wielding man in Worcestershire before a firearms officer shot and killed him, the police watchdog said. Officers were called by West Midlands ambulance service to an address in Redditch at about 2pm on Christmas Eve after concerns were raised for the safety of a 39-year-old man with…
A Russian cargo ship that sank on Tuesday in the Mediterranean Sea was the target of an “act of terrorism”, according to the vessel’s owner. The Ursa Major sank while it was sailing through international waters between Spain and Algeria, leaving two crew members missing, Its owner, Oboronlogistika – a company affiliated with the Russian…
