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The Paris Olympics organisers announced a 54.6 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions compared to the London Olympics in 2012.

A Federal Court judgment marks the end of MP Moira Deeming's two-year defamation showdown with Victorian Opposition Leader John Pesutto.

A global sports star known for his deep faith and “passion for social equity” has made a surprising career change.

A Papua New Guinea rugby league team will be shut down and Australian funding withdrawn if the Pacific nation breaks a security agreement.

The Lexus LBX Morizo RR is arriving in the first half of 2025 with the engine from the GR Yaris, and a price nearing $80,000 drive-away.

Broome swimming prodigy Jasper Barnett has started a GoFundMe to help her get to the 2025 national swimming championships. 

SIR Keir Starmer will today seize control of house-building rules to get desperate wannabe homeowners on the property ladder.

The PM will ride roughshod over local planners who stand in the way of his target of building 370,000 new homes a year.

He will give town halls just three months to form blueprints for hitting new, centrally imposed mandatory house-building targets.

The thresholds, which will be confirmed today, require England’s most unaffordable areas to take on the most development.

Sir Keir has vowed the move will ensure working families can fulfil the “dream of home ownership”.

Councils will be ordered to build on an area of greenbelt land larger than Surrey.

The PM will expand the definition of the “grey belt” to unlock sites previously designated as untouchable.

And he will give local authorities more power to ensure developments include a “premium level” of social and affordable housing.

All new-builds will be guided by golden rules requiring developers to ensure homes come with necessary infrastructure, including nurseries, GP surgeries and transport.

A £100million cash injection will help pay to improve council planning departments, as well as funding 300 new planning officers, to speed up the construction process.

And Nimby town hall chiefs who frequently block new homes will see proposals bypass their desks and be sent to Whitehall for approval.

Sir Keir said: “We’re taking action to make the dream of home ownership a reality through delivering 1.5million homes by the next parliament and rebuilding Britain to deliver for working people.

“This will build growth and boost living standards across the country.”

Shadow Housing Secretary Kevin Hollinrake said: “Labour will bulldoze through concerns of communities.”

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A MUM-of-three who died days after undergoing a “Brazilian butt lift” surgery did not consent to the procedure, an inquest heard.

Demi Agoglia, 26, died in Turkey after a “barbaric” operation contributed to by neglect with “no proper pre-operative care and advice”, a coroner warned.

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Demi Agoglia, 26, died days after undergoing a Brazilian bum-lift operation in Turkey[/caption]

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Demi pictured with her partner Bradley Jones[/caption]

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The mother-of-three, from Salford, Manchester, died in a hospital in Istanbul on January 8[/caption]

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The procedure was described as ‘barbaric’[/caption]

Demi travelled to Turkey for the operation after seeing celebrity endorsements for Istanbul-based Comfort Zone Surgery on social media.

The mother of three was said to be “conscious about the way she looked” and was insistent on undergoing the procedure, which sees fat taken from elsewhere on the body and injected into the hips and buttocks.

Her partner, Bradley Jones, said he had not wanted Agoglia to have the surgery but she had booked the trip months earlier after seeing “some celebrity” endorse it online.

Immediately after the operation she was “shaking” and appeared “very, very cold”, he told Bolton coroner’s court.

Staff from Comfort Zone were called to the villa where she was staying after Agoglia complained of a tight chest, and they checked her blood pressure, but did not inspect the area of the operation or check her heart rate and pulse, the inquest heard.

Agoglia then collapsed at the villa and was taken back to a hospital in Istanbul where she died on 8 January, three days after the operation.

The Bolton coroner, John Pollard, ruled that the medical cause of death was a microscopic fat embolism in which tissue leaks into the bloodstream.

Mr Pollard told Ms Agoglia’s family he would write to Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, adding: “I do feel something further needs to be done to stop this frankly barbaric medical practice being conducted to such low standards that would certainly not be tolerated in the UK.”

Concluding that Agoglia had died as a result of misadventure contributed to by neglect, he said: “I find there was no proper informed consent in this matter, there was no proper pre-operative care and advice, and no proper post-operative care.

“All of this meant the care in total fell well below the standard expected of this type of treatment and the lack of care contributed significantly to Demi’s death.”

It later emerged that the Comfort Zone staff who were called out to the villa were not qualified nurses.

The inquest also heard that their “completely bizarre” actions included trying to feed pieces of cucumber to Agoglia after she collapsed.

The court heard that Ms Agoglia had struggled with her mental health and was on medication for ADHD and bipolar disorder.

Her mother, Christine Tydd, told the hearing she told Ms Agoglia she was a “good looking girl” and did not need the operation, shortly before her daughter travelled to Turkey on Jan 4 with her partner, Bradley Jones.

Mr Jones, a landscaper, said he also did not want Ms Agoglia to have the surgery, but she had already booked the trip through a company named Comfort Zone Surgery after “she had seen some celebrity” advertising the procedure.

Giving expert evidence, Dr Omar Tillo, a Harley Street consultant plastic surgeon, noted the “completely bizarre” actions of the Comfort Zone staff.

He added that the BBL procedure is performed in the UK “within very strict rules to do it safely”.

Dr Tillo agreed with Mr Pollard that it would seem “almost incredible” that the death of a young, physically fit woman was not linked to the BBL operation she underwent.

Dr Usha Chandran, the pathologist who carried out the post-mortem, told the hearing: “I feel all these cosmetic procedures are given a lot of importance by celebrities… and are being done in shoddy clinics.”

KNITTERS are needed to help a charity fundraising campaign for the elderly struggling to afford heating.

The call for volunteers is from smoothie brand innocent and Age UK to meet a target of 1.4million mini hats.

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Smoothie brand innocent has called for volunteers to raise money for OAPs struggling with heating bills[/caption]

For every little creation put on one of its bottles sold, the company will donate 30p to Age UK to help OAPs who are struggling to heat their homes this winter.

The small knitted hats need to be sent to Age UK by July 1, 2025.

They will appear on top of innocent smoothie bottles in shops from October 2025.

But the charity said there is a shortage of knitters.

One of the issues has been the closure of community groups during the Covid pandemic, some of which failed to reopen.

One of the volunteers Marjory Needham, 91, faced such a challenge when the centre where she used to run weekly knitting sessions was closed down.

But she managed to hold a small group together and still knits the tiny hats – as she has done since 2009.

innocent and Age UK are now urging people to knit more in a bid to reach their target of £500,000.

Charity boss Hannorah Lee said: “The Big Knit is a wonderful way to bring communities together while raising funds to support older people in need.”

Charlotte Wright, Brand Manager at innocent drinks UK, said: “The Big Knit is an amazing campaign that gets people throughout the country knitting, crocheting and buying little hats on smoothies for a cause that truly matters.

“We are so excited that the Big Knit is back, and we will be continuing our long-standing partnership with Age UK to help support older people as much as possible.”

Since 2003 the Big Knit initiative has raised more than £3.2million.

Meanwhile, Latest Age UK figures show 1.9million older people live in poverty, struggling to afford to eat and heat.

And 37 per cent fear the impact cutting down on energy use will have on their health.

GARDENERS have been urged to feed the nation’s favourite Christmas bird a Sunday dinner staple to help them thrive over winter.

With the colder weather and frozen ground, robins can struggle to keep their energy up over the festive season.

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Robins are a cherished guest in gardens over winter[/caption]

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Dumplings are a Sunday dinner staple in beef stew[/caption]

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Shredded suet used to make dumplings is also a yummy snack for small birds[/caption]

The red-breasted birds are incredibly territorial and start their breeding season earlier than most other birds.

They are readily spotted in gardens and will keenly follow gardeners around to see what fresh worms and grubs they’re digging up in soil.

But in winter, they need to rely more heavily on bird feeders and food being left out for them.

The Royal Horticultural Society says: “Garden birds, in particular, benefit from feeding year-round, but winter is a time to provide foodstuffs with a high-fat content to help keep them warm.

“Feed regularly so that birds will not waste vital energy visiting your garden when there is no food.”

And an ingredient from a Sunday dinner staple can be the perfect snack for them.

Dumplings from beef stew are made using suet pellets, which are a beloved delicacy for birds, including robins.

You can pick up Atora suet for £2.70 in supermarkets including Asda.

Tesco also offer their own-brand version for just £1.65.

Suet pellets provide small birds with essential energy and nutrients, so you can simply scatter them on your bird table or ground feeder.

One keen bird lover said: “They like them so much that if I have the back door open and didn’t put out some pellets for them they’d come into my kitchen to remind me.”

Another added: “Atora suet is absolutely fine for the birds. I’ve been feeding it to my lot for the last two weeks.”

Meanwhile, a third wrote: “When I put the seed into a bowl ready to take outside to the bird table, I mix one third of each packet [of Atora suet] into it and they go crazy and eat the lot!”

If you’re feeling more creative, you can also melt down the suet in a pan, and mix in porridge oats, peanut butter, dried fruit or bird seed to create suet cakes for your favourite garden visitors.

If you make too much, you can freeze them and take them out as required.