
Honoring Bishop Kazembe: a true Revolutionary who held on to ZANU PF in darkest timesLip service
None
Jimmy Carter, the 39th US president, has died at 100
Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa, WR Jaylen Waddle out vs. Browns
Australians are rejoicing, reflecting and remembering on Christmas Day as the holiday kickstarts summer celebrations for some and bookends a difficult year for others. or signup to continue reading Almost the entire country is set to bask in a sunny day, with warm northerly winds lifting temperatures above 30C in several capitals. Few blemishes are expected elsewhere with showers in Western Australia's southwest and storms in the Top End. Millions of Australians will mark the day with present giving and lunches with family and friends. But it won't be all festive cheer, particularly for those remembering those missing around the table. That includes the 70 Palestinian Christian families marking Christmas in Australia, including a 28-year-old refugee whose wife and two daughters were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a church in 2023. He's among those granted refugee status in Australia after Israel invaded Gaza as retaliation to the October 7 Hamas attack. "There's so much trauma, the families are suffering the trauma from the war because it is ongoing and a lot of their families are still in Gaza," Palestinian Christians Association President Suzan Wahhab told AAP. "I would say it's bittersweet." Still, Ms Wahhab said the group is working hard to ensure the day can still bring joy, by throwing gift drives and church services across the country. "But the shadow of the war, the shadow of losing loved ones and thinking about them during this time is overpowering," she said. The war and the ripple effect of hatred have also cast a shadow over the Jewish Festival of Lights, which begins on Christmas Day for only the fourth time since 1900. But the leader of Sydney's Great Synagogue said the message for Hannukah was one of community strength and unity after a spate of anti-Semitic attacks across the country. "It's always better when any community - Jews or otherwise - think about their own traditions and celebrations and what they enjoy about their culture," Rabbi Benjamin Elton told AAP. "That is more sustaining than thinking about attitudes of hostile outsiders." He noted a resurgence of Jewish community spirit and interest in Jewish practices in the past year. "When there is such a sense of external aggression and hostility by a very unpleasant minority, then people come to re-examine why they value their traditions and their community," he said. Christmas Day will also be a time of reflection for Australia's northern capital as it marks 50 years since Cyclone Tracey tore Darwin to shreds, killing at least 66 people. "This will be a difficult period where people will remember lost loved ones and remember as well the traumatic experience that they had," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters in Darwin. He also thanked doctors, nurses, hospitality staff and all those working over Christmas to make the season of celebration and reflection possible. "I do want to wish everyone the very best and a peaceful and joyful Christmas," he said. Opposition Leader Peter Dutton celebrated Australian stoicism in the face of financial pressures in his Christmas message. "I salute our charity workers, our food banks and those feeding the poor and homeless who, although overstretched, are always outstanding in what they do," he said. Up to 1000 people experiencing homelessness and social isolation are expected to attend the Wayside Christmas street party in Sydney. Four times that amount are expected to be treated to a free lunch across town with Reverend Bill Crews at his charity's headquarters. Bushfire risk meanwhile will keep communities in Victoria's west and South Australia nervous. Total fire bans have been declared in SA's Mount Lofty Ranges and west coast for Christmas Day and across Victoria on Boxing Day. DAILY Today's top stories curated by our news team. WEEKDAYS Grab a quick bite of today's latest news from around the region and the nation. WEEKLY The latest news, results & expert analysis. WEEKDAYS Catch up on the news of the day and unwind with great reading for your evening. WEEKLY Get the editor's insights: what's happening & why it matters. WEEKLY Love footy? We've got all the action covered. WEEKLY Every Saturday and Tuesday, explore destinations deals, tips & travel writing to transport you around the globe. WEEKLY Going out or staying in? Find out what's on. WEEKDAYS Sharp. Close to the ground. Digging deep. Your weekday morning newsletter on national affairs, politics and more. TWICE WEEKLY Your essential national news digest: all the big issues on Wednesday and great reading every Saturday. WEEKLY Get news, reviews and expert insights every Thursday from CarExpert, ACM's exclusive motoring partner. TWICE WEEKLY Get real, Australia! Let the ACM network's editors and journalists bring you news and views from all over. AS IT HAPPENS Be the first to know when news breaks. DAILY Your digital replica of Today's Paper. Ready to read from 5am! DAILY Test your skills with interactive crosswords, sudoku & trivia. Fresh daily! Advertisement Advertisement
NEW YORK (AP) — Top-ranked chess player Magnus Carlsen is headed back to the World Blitz Championship on Monday after its governing body agreed to loosen a dress code that got him fined and denied a late-round game in another tournament for refusing to change out of jeans . Lamenting the contretemps, International Chess Federation President Arkady Dvorkovich said in a statement Sunday that he'd let World Blitz Championship tournament officials consider allowing “appropriate jeans” with a jacket, and other “elegant minor deviations” from the dress code. He said Carlsen's stand — which culminated in his quitting the tournament Friday — highlighted a need for more discussion “to ensure that our rules and their application reflect the evolving nature of chess as a global and accessible sport.” Carlsen, meanwhile, said in a video posted Sunday on social media that he would play — and wear jeans — in the World Blitz Championship when it begins Monday. “I think the situation was badly mishandled on their side,” the 34-year-old Norwegian grandmaster said. But he added that he loves playing blitz — a fast-paced form of chess — and wanted fans to be able to watch, and that he was encouraged by his discussions with the federation after Friday's showdown. “I think we sort of all want the same thing,” he suggested in the video on his Take Take Take chess app’s YouTube channel. “We want the players to be comfortable, sure, but also relatively presentable.” The events began when Carlsen wore jeans and a sportcoat Friday to the Rapid World Championship, which is separate from but held in conjunction with the blitz event. The chess federation said Friday that longstanding rules prohibit jeans at those tournaments, and players are lodged nearby to make sartorial switch-ups easy if needed. An official fined Carlsen $200 and asked him to change pants, but he refused and wasn't paired for a ninth-round game, the federation said at the time. The organization noted that another grandmaster, Ian Nepomniachtchi, was fined earlier in the day for wearing sports shoes, changed and continued to play. Carlsen has said that he offered to wear something else the next day, but officials were unyielding. He said “it became a bit of a matter of principle,” so he quit the rapid and blitz championships. In the video posted Sunday, he questioned whether he had indeed broken a rule and said changing clothes would have needlessly interrupted his concentration between games. He called the punishment “unbelievably harsh.” “Of course, I could have changed. Obviously, I didn’t want to,” he said, and “I stand by that.”