UN secretary general decries escalatory actions on both sides after WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says he was just metres from airport strike

The United Nations chief has denounced the “escalation” in hostilities between Yemen’s Houthi rebels and Israel, calling IDF strikes on targets including at the airport in Sana’a “especially alarming” after it came under attack while the head of the World Health Organization was about to board a plane.

Israel struck multiple targets linked to the Iran-aligned Houthi movement in Yemen on Thursday, including the international airport in the capital, Sana’a. Houthi media said at least six people were killed.

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• Updates from the Boxing Day Test at the MCG
• Start time in Melbourne is 10.30am AEDT
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Watch the Konstas highlights package with this as your soundtrack…

Here’s how local media saw the Konstas Kaos at the MCG…

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• Manager plays down claims Arsenal could buy in January
• Saka out for ‘many weeks’ after injury at Crystal Palace

Mikel Arteta is hoping Gabriel ­Martinelli can help to fill the void created by Bukayo Saka’s hamstring injury , with the England forward likely to miss key fixtures including the north London derby next month.

Arteta confirmed on Monday that Saka was expected to be absent for “many weeks” after tearing a hamstring during the first half of Arsenal’s win at Crystal Palace . That would rule him out of Premier League ­fixtures including Arsenal’s game with Totten­ham on 15 January, the ­Carabao Cup semi‑final first leg against Newcastle and an FA Cup third‑round tie with Manchester United.

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I read 52 books that year and I’ve kept the habit up in the years that followed, the routine now firmly established

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I’ve always been a reader. In primary school, I’d tear through 60-odd books in a month when the annual Read-A-Thon rolled around (they were mostly Babysitters Club books, but still). Then as a teen, I discovered the quiet beauty that could be found in great novels, taking solace in those pages as hormones and high school made the real world awful.

In my 20s, though, my pace started to wobble. I was still getting through 15 or 20 books a year, but less consistently. Partly this was because I had to make time for an exciting new hobby called binge drinking. But I was also increasingly distracted by the bottomless pit that was my iPhone. It always went the same way: I’d be on a roll with reading until I hit a book that just wasn’t that interesting. I’d gradually stop reaching for it at night as doomscrolling on Reddit became a more appealing prospect, then I’d look up and realise it had been a month since I’d turned a page.

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Liverpool have kicked off at 8pm on a Boxing Day twice in their history. The first time was in 2019, when Jürgen Klopp’s team demolished Leicester en route to winning the Premier League title with ease. The second time ended with another convincing defeat of the Foxes. That may not be the only repeat.

Arne Slot’s soaring leaders moved seven points clear of their closest challengers for the title, with a game in hand, courtesy of a controlled comeback against Ruud van Nistelrooy’s side. Leicester took a shock early lead through Jordan Ayew and, while Liverpool never hit the heights of their 2019 performance at the King Power Stadium, goals from Cody Gakpo, Curtis Jones and Mohamed Salah’s 19th of the season ensured the outcome remained the same.

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One sailor each on yachts Flying Fish Arctos and Bowline died after being struck by booms, a large pole at bottom of the sail

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Two Sydney to Hobart sailors on separate yachts have died at sea amid wild weather conditions that forced line honours favourite Master Lock Comanche to withdraw among mass retirements.

The race will go on as the fleet continues its passage to Constitution Dock, with the first boats expected to arrive later on Friday or early Saturday morning.

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Seven fire engines and search and rescue team attended incident on Boxing Day morning

The body of a woman has been found in a property on the outskirts of Norwich after a house fire, police said.

Officers were called to assist the fire service at 4.22am on Boxing Day after reports of the blaze at a residential property to the north of the East Anglia city.

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Kathy Hochul calls for ousting of correction officers and nurse allegedly involved in death of Robert Brooks, 43

The New York governor, Kathy Hochul , has directed 14 workers at a state prison to be fired after they were allegedly involved in an attack that resulted in the death of an incarcerated man.

Robert Brooks, 43, died in a local hospital a day after a 9 December incident at the Marcy correctional facility in central New York.

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• Team ‘need time’ says manager after fourth loss in five
• Pereira praises Cunha after Wolves’ second straight win

Ruben Amorim said Manchester United must adopt survival mode to end their miserable run after a fourth defeat in five Premier League matches dropped them to 14th, eight points above the relegation zone.

United’s Portuguese manager blamed the lack of time to coach his players as a barrier to progress after a sapping Boxing Day defeat at Wolves , where his captain, Bruno Fernandes, was sent off early in the second half after picking up a second yellow card.

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