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- Authorities in South Australia issue a fire ban for parts of the state
- The United Nations warns of a worsening famine in Sudan
- Australia could be without its most important player for the Boxing Day Test
Hot weather will intensify across Australia’s south and east with total fire bans declared in the Mount Lofty Ranges and the west coast region of South Australia.
Adelaide is set to record its hottest Christmas since 2016, with temperatures reaching high-30s to early 40s across the state.
Extreme fire risks will shift towards the state’s east and across the boarder on Boxing Day as a cool change sweeps in from the west.
Victoria faces its worst fire risk since 2019’s Black Summer with extreme fire dangers in all but one region, leading to a total fire ban for the state on Boxing Day.
The Bureau of Meteorology says temperatures are expected to reach the 40s on Thursday in Victoria.
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Health authorities are urging people to remain vigilant and take precautions to stay safe in hot weather.
Ambulance Victoria says high temperatures increase the risk of serious heat-related illnesses, including heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke.
AV Director Emergency Management Dale Armstrong says heat stroke is fatal in up to 80 per cent of cases yet entirely preventable with elderly people, young children and those with medical conditions most at risk.
Mr Armstrong says if someone else is experiencing symptoms such as confusion, seizures, collapsing or loss of consciousness to call Triple Zero (000).
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Survivors of Cyclone Tracy are gathering to remember the place the cyclone first made landfall, commemorating 50 years since Darwin was destroyed.
The cyclone hit Darwin, destroying most of the city and killing 66 people.
What followed was the Royal Australian Navy’s biggest peacetime disaster relief operation, involving 13 ships, 11 aircraft and roughly 3,000 personnel.
The Prime Minister Anthony Albanese attended a service in Darwin speaking with those affected.
“And we remember all the survivors so many of them honour us with their presence here this morning. Who spent those days after Christmas as part of the biggest peacetime evacuation in Australian history.”
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Famine is spreading in Sudan due to a civil war between the military and a paramilitary group that has devastated the country and created a mass population displacement crisis.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, which monitors global hunger levels, says it has detected famine in five areas, including in Sudan’s largest displacement camp, Zamzam, in North Darfur province.
Dervla Cleary, senior emergency and rehabilitation officer at the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organisation, says 638,000 people are experiencing famine.
“The situation in Sudan is just awful. It is unacceptable in a world like today where there’s so much prosperity that you are seeing people dying of hunger. This should never be happening today. But what we really, really need is to get access to people. We need safe and continuous access for the humanitarian community to access people in need. We need the violence to stop so people can access food, water, health, nutrition and agriculture.”
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United States President-elect Donald Trump says he will direct his Justice Department to pursue the death penalty to protect Americans from what he describes as violent rapists, murderers, and monsters when he takes power on January 20.
Trump’s statement on his social media platform Truth Social on Tuesday was in response to President Joe Biden’s announcement that he had commuted the sentences of 37 out of 40 federal inmates on death row, converting them to life in prison without parole.
Trump restarted federal executions during his first term in office from 2017 to 2021 after a nearly 20-year pause.
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Australia could be without their most important player for the Boxing Day Test as Travis Head struggles to overcome a quad strain.
After hurting himself on the final day of the third Test at the Gabba, the star left-hander will be given every opportunity to prove his fitness to take on India.
Australia coach Andrew McDonald says he is confident Head will play, but still needed to prove his fitness.
After not training a day earlier, the star left-hander had a short stint in the MCG nets on Tuesday when he received throw downs for about 20 minutes.
Other batters Steve Smith, Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne all had extended periods in the nets facing the likes of Mitchell Starc at full pace.
