Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous

Dr Dermot Farrell says he welcomes 'signs of a new urgency in public policy', but politicians must be 'bolder' in addressing issues

Live updatesLive updates, Russian attack on Ukraine's Zaporizhia region kills at least one and injures three, according to its governor. At least one person has been killed and three injured in Russian attacks on Ukraine's Zaporizhia region, including the city of Zaporizhzhia, according to its governor. Ukrainian overnight drone attacks hit Moscow and sparked an industrial fire in the Tula region, which lies directly south of the Russian capital, regional authorities say.

Hundreds of thousands of workers are due to be automatically enrolled in the My Future Fund from new year's day. Employers will be forced to sign up workers and make contributions into the new scheme if the staff do not have a works-based pension or a private one and if they meet other criteria. But Mr Calleary has been concerned that some companies have been trying to circumvent signing up staff for the new scheme by putting them into company schemes with peppercorn contributions.

Russian forces launched one of their largest drone assaults in weeks overnight, striking multiple regions across Ukraine and inflicting more damage to the country's energy network. The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russia deployed 116 attack drones early on December 24, nearly 90 of which were Iranian-made Shahed models. Ukrainian air defenses destroyed 60 drones, while 48 managed to hit targets in 19 locations, the military said.

They tried to kill us. They failed. Let's eat, Andrew Walters said. It is an old Jewish joke that's as relevant as ever in Greater Manchester in the face of today's threats. For Walters, the independent councillor for Kersal and Broughton Park, Salford, the joke encapsulates the good-humoured resilience that is a defining feature of his Orthodox Jewish community. This vibrant neighbourhood was identified as a target by an Islamic State sleeper cell, whose plot to kill as many Jews as possible in a marauding firearms attack was thwarted.

However, Ukraine's president said sensitive issues around territorial control in Ukraine's eastern industrial heartland, along with the management of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), remain unresolved. Mr Zelensky spoke as the US showed the 20-point plan, hammered out after marathon talks in Florida in recent days, to Russian negotiators. A response is expected from Moscow today, Mr Zelensky said. The Ukrainian president briefed journalists on each point of the plan yesterday but his comments were embargoed until this morning.

Used grounds are slightly acidic and dense. Sprinkled thickly, they can form a crust that repels water and suffocates roots. Instead, mix small amounts into compost (no more than 10%), or add to an outdoor compost heap where worms can break them down properly. Never dump fresh, wet grounds straight on to houseplants. The test I mixed a few tablespoons of dried coffee grounds into the soil

A survey by the BCC found that 54 per cent of exporters believe the Trade and Co-operation Agreement (TCA) has failed to help them increase sales in the UK's largest overseas market, a rise of 13 percentage points compared with last year. The findings underline growing concern that Brexit-related barriers are becoming more restrictive rather than easing over time. The results come as Prime Minister Keir Starmer pursues a much-trailed "reset" of the UK's trading relationship with Brussels.

To our government, do not release your breath, because we will certainly return to battle you with our empty stomachs in the New Year, when you have shamefully returned from your blood-soaked break, to the theatrics of your democracy'. Our demands however remain inescapable, and this pause is your chance to meet them, to get it right, to stop arming and aiding this genocide, otherwise you will force us to return to confront you with our breaths, which will be far more disastrous and dangerous than this first time.

excited to accelerate Britain's leadership in the future of mobility, bringing another safe and reliable travel option to Londoners next year.

The chief minister of Gibraltar made a series of grossly improper and sinister interventions to interfere in a live criminal investigation in order to protect his friend, mentor and business partner from the consequences of a search warrant, a public inquiry has found. The retired England and Wales high court judge and inquiry chair, Sir Peter Openshaw, concluded that Fabian Picardo acted to protect James Levy KC when police were at Hassans law firm, where Levy was a senior partner, on 12 May 2020.

So far today, gardaí, along with GoSafe mobile and static safety cameras, have detected nearly 392 vehicles travelling in excess of the applicable speed limit. A motorist was detected travelling at 139kmh in a 60kmh zone on the Dublin Road in Newtownmountkennedy, Co Wicklow. Other speeds detected today include motorists travelling 119kmh in a 50kmh zone on the Drummartin Link Road in Dublin 14, 163kmh in a 120kmh zone on the M6 road in Killavally, Tyrrellspass, Co Westmeath

Weather affects us all: Where we go, what we wear, how we gather, and sometimes even how we feel. Who could understand this better than Al Roker, who has spent decades guiding families through snow days, heat waves, and everything in between as "America's weatherman"? Now, he's translating that knowledge for a new demographic through his animated PBS Kids show Weather Hunters.

Shocked that a fellow Brantfordite would attempt to dampen the joy of Christmas for believers, Canadian observers posted enraged screeds on social media, calling the poster-maker a " psycho" who deserved a rock through their window. After receiving several direct complaints, police officers made contact with the resident, who voluntarily removed the signs. "While it isn't illegal to be a 'Grinch,' we do encourage everyone to embrace the spirit of the season," read a lightly menacing statement from the Brantford Police Service.

The large-scale Russian attacks come two days after US-led peace talks end in Miami.

"55.3kg of suspected cocaine with an estimated value of €3,747,000 was seized by Revenue Officers following the search of a vehicle which had disembarked from a ferry,"

Evidence from the original investigation into the Frenchwoman's death in 1996 is being re-evaluated, in addition to new witnesses and modern forensic testing The family of Sophie Toscan du Plantier will mark the 29th anniversary of her death with a private ceremony this Christmas as a garda cold-case review into the killing nears completion. The French mother of one (39) was beaten to death on a laneway leading to her isolated holiday home at Toormore outside Schull in west Cork in the early hours of December 23, 1996.

Sobering new research from the think tank Resolution Foundation shows that for aspirational Brits looking to move up the wealth ladder, not even a lifetime of savings would be enough. In fact, the average worker would need to save their earnings for 52 years, to raise £1.3 million ($1.7 million), the amount needed to move from the middle and become as wealthy as the richest 10%.

A senior Russian general has been "assassinated" in car bomb in Moscow on Monday morning. Lt General Fanil Sarvarov, the head of the operational training directorate of Russia 's armed forces was one of Vladimir Putin's senior officials died from injuries sustained in the successful car bomb attack. An explosive device exploded from underneath his car as he was travelling to work, Russia's Investigative Committee said.

Americans are no longer just dreaming about living in Italy-they're actually doing it, and remote work is the main reason they can. As political fatigue, housing costs, and burnout continue to rise across the United States, more U.S. workers are turning to their laptops as a one-way ticket to a different lifestyle. Italy, long known for its food, architecture, and slow-living culture, has now become one of the fastest-growing "escape destinations" for Americans with remote jobs.