Homebase is to live on as a brand online and within up to 70 former stores reopened next year as branches of the Range, its new owner has announced. CDS said it would open the first three converted outlets from the collapsed DIY retailer in January under the Range Superstores name, and then 10 a month from February.more

Belgium has recorded its first case of the new, more contagious monkeypox virus, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the Belgian national health institute Sciensano reported.more

A pistol, rifle and deactivated World War One machine gun were among the items lost or stolen from Ministry of Defence facilities over the past two years. Figures uncovered by the Liberal Democrats show more than 700 phones, laptops, computers and USB sticks also went missing over the period.more

Yesterday, 104 yachts set off on the 79th edition of the famous Sydney to Hobart regatta. Organizers reported that two participants died in the storm. The victims were crew members of two different boats: the Flying Fish Arctos and the Bowline.more

Russian air defences downed an Azerbaijan Airlines plane that crashed in Kazakhstan, killing 38 people, four sources with knowledge of the preliminary findings of Azerbaijan's investigation into the disaster told Reuters on Thursday. more

More than 450 migrants crossed the English Channel in small boats on Christmas Day - the first arrivals for more than a week. A total of 11 boats made the journey to the UK from France on Wednesday morning, with more expected to follow in the coming days.more

China has approved a project to build the world's largest hydroelectric dam on the Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra) River on the Tibetan Plateau, Reuters reported. Concerns about the project's environmental impact have been raised by downstream countries like India and Bangladesh.more

Sporting Lisbon striker Viktor Gyokeres intends to sign a contract with FC Barcelona to become Lewandowski's successor when the Catalan club's contract with Robert Lewandowski expires in 2026, according to Portuguese and Spanish media.more

A cultural melting pot, London is a city home to millions of people who speak over 100 different languages. From Pakistan to Colombia, Iran to France, we've got every corner of the globe covered. more

65 per cent of Poles think about other people's needs in December, according to a survey conducted by the Father Christmas Foundation and research agency IMAS International. Perhaps this is why many of the charitable campaigns carried out before Christmas find donors.more

Millions of vulnerable UK households on prepayment meters could see their energy bills consume almost a third of their incomes this winter. As temperatures drop across the country, the Resolution Foundation said a combination of higher gas and electricity prices and the typical seasonal increase in energy usage over the colder months would hit poorer families most.more

During his Christmas holiday in Finnish Lapland, Cristiano Ronaldo took a bath in an ice break in 20-degree frost. He lasted about a minute in the icy water, and could have lasted longer. According to the Finnish walrus association, the Portuguese footballer was ‘perfectly prepared’ for such a challenge.more

Thursday is a day of national mourning in Azerbaijan following the crash of a passenger plane in Kazakhstan that killed 38 people. State flags were lowered to half mast and at midday, traffic was halted across the country and a moment of silence was observed to honour the victims.more

In his Christmas address yesterday, Britain's King Charles III thanked the doctors and nurses who treated him and the royal family this year. The monarch and his daughter-in-law Duchess Kate were undergoing cancer treatment in 2024.more

From delight to a series of setbacks - that's how the first part of the Spanish Premier League season played out for Barcelona's players. They ended the year with a painful defeat against Atletico Madrid (1:2), after which coach Hansi Flick admitted that a Christmas break would do everyone good.more

US President-elect Donald Trump plans to restore the former name of Mount McKinley to Alaska's Denali, the highest peak in North America, Fox News reported.more

This footage shows cleaners targeting seats on a London red bus - revealing just how much dirt passengers take home. Cleaner Steve James, 55, started posting cleaning videos from “high traffic areas” on his Instagram in 2020 - including a viral video on a London tube.more

"When I was young I was really into death metal music and I think that's something that's similar to my preferred style of football," said new Southampton manager Ivan Juric, who has signed an 18-month contract with the Premier League relegation zone club.more

The first place in the trust ranking among politicians was taken by the mayor of Warsaw, deputy chairman of PO Rafał Trzaskowski - he was indicated by 45.8 percent of respondents. In second place was President Andrzej Duda with the indication of 41.2 percent of respondents - according to the IBRiS poll for Onet.more

Immigration enforcement teams carried out nearly 1,000 visits to target illegal working in the capital in recent months.more

A billion people in 64 countries watched the Apollo 8 mission in 1968, when three astronauts celebrated Christmas outside Earth's orbit for the first time in history. Since then, Christmas traditions have been celebrated in space, including a celebratory dinner and presents.more

Kamil Stoch will not compete in the upcoming Four Hills Tournament. The Polish team includes Dawid Kubacki, Paweł Wąsek, Jakub Wolny, Aleksander Zniszczoł and Piotr Żyła - informed the Polish Ski Association.more

About 1 million people who need to obtain eVisas to prove their right to live and work in the UK or return after travelling abroad have not yet done so even though the deadline to register is just over a week away.more

The Wawel Royal Castle in Kraków recorded a record number of over 3.8 million visitors in 2024. The director of the facility, Andrzej Betlej, who won the competition for another term, announced the continuation of the offer and - as he emphasized - Wawel is to be open, accessible, inspiring.more

Chocolate maker Cadbury has been dropped from the list of royal warrants for the first time in 170 years. The Birmingham-based chocolatier was awarded its first royal warrant as chocolate and cocoa manufacturers by Queen Victoria in 1854, but it has lost its royal endorsement under King Charles.more