Mobile phones and social media are having an increasing impact on children worldwide. So much so, social media has now been banned in Australia for all those under the age of 16. Should children be allowed to have mobile phones at the Christmas dinner table? The survey found that 48% of parents will allow their children (who are 18 or under) to have mobile phones at the dinner table on Christmas Day in 2025. Will you be allowing your children to have their mobile phones at the Christmas dinner table this year?

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Maxwell maintained in a habeas petition she has promised to file since August, that information that would have resulted in her exoneration at her 2021 trial was withheld and false evidence was presented to the jury. The law, signed after months of public and political pressure, requires the justice department to provide the public with Epstein-related records by December 19. Epstein, a millionaire financier, was arrested in July 2019 on sex trafficking charges. Maxwell, a British socialite, was arrested a year later and was convicted of sex trafficking in December 2021. Last week, Judge Paul Engelmayer in Manhattan granted the justice department’s request to publicly release the materials.

She said while the strategy recognised the scale of the challenge, the level of investment "falls seriously short". The £20m package will also see teachers get training around how to identify positive role models, and how to challenge unhealthy myths about women and relationships. It will include a new helpline for teenagers to get support for concerns about abuse in their own relationships. The government hopes that by tackling the early roots of misogyny, it will prevent young men from becoming violent abusers. Under the new plans, schools will send high-risk students to get extra care and support, including behavioural courses to tackle their prejudice against women and girls.

The team behind a festive lights display said they hoped to give "enjoyment" to visitors of a Cornish village. Organisers of the Angarrack Christmas Lights said preparations for the displays near Hayle began in September with more than 75 frames, including seven reindeers, on show. The displays, which depict the 12 days of Christmas, are set to remain in place until early January with the lights switched on between 17:00 and 22:00 GMT each day. Nikki Vincent, chairperson of Angarrack Christmas Lights, praised the effort of organisers and volunteers who put the displays together, which she said were viewed by thousands of people every year.

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Ministers are set to announce plans to intervene early on worrying behaviour of young people as part of the Government’s strategy to halve violence against women and girls (Vawg) in a decade. Schools to take part in the teacher training pilot will be chosen next year, while ministers aim for all secondary schools to teach healthy relationship sessions by the end of this Parliament. Vawg minister Jess Phillips said: “For too long the scale of violence against women and girls has been treated as a fact of life in our country. “I am determined our groundbreaking strategy will prevent women and girls from actually being harmed in the first place. “Put together, from today, it will deploy the full power of the state to introduce the largest crackdown to stop violence perpetrated against women and girls in British history.”

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While gardening may not always feel luxurious, especially at this time of the year, there are gifts that can make the endeavour feel that bit more fabulous. £182, haws.co.ukNiwaki Yamakawa secateursYamakawa secateurs, £239, NiwakiThe sculptor and Japanese topiary obsessive Jake Hobson imports the best handmade garden tools. £590, perfumerh.comAdvertisementDaylesford Bishop twine standDaylesford Bishop twine stand, £36Daylesford has incredibly stylish yet practical gifts for gardeners, from trowels and gloves to trugs. They have compiled a number of beautifully boxed seed collections (hand-sown, grown and harvested from their annual crops): the Sweet Pea collection — created by the sweet pea obsessive Alma — includes varieties such as “April in Paris”, “Misty” and “Tickled Pink”. Each pressing captures the beauty of character of a British wildflower, including tulips, scabious, cornflowers, cosmos, ranunculus and field poppies.

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Yet this year, I’ve achieved something of a Christmas miracle: I’ve paid for it, already, by selling on Vinted. My husband was initially sniffy (Picture: Rosy Edwards)I started using Vinted in earnest to buy my three-year-old clothes. Selling on Vinted has taken the pressure off (Picture: Rosy Edwards)‘Come on, when was the last time you used these?’ he laughed. There is a huge market for baby clothes on Vinted and I’m sure we could make a small fortune. (Picture: Rosy Edwards)Beyond that, selling on Vinted has taken the pressure off one of the most expensive times of the year.

Downing Street insists the $40bn Tech Prosperity Deal between the US and UK that is on hold is not permanently stalled. “We look forward to resuming work on this partnership as quickly as possible,” a Downing Street spokesperson said in a statement. The Trump administration threatened European tech firms on Tuesday with economic penalties if the EU refused to roll back what it called “discriminatory actions”. The Trade Representative’s office said in a post on Twitter/X that these companies could face fees and restrictions on foreign services. The EU has proven much more willing than the US to regulate, investigate and penalize tech giants, a point of contention with the Trump administration.

“When Nick would tell us that it wasn’t working for him, we wouldn’t listen,” Rob Reiner told the LA Times. Police responded to the Reiners’ home around 3:40 p.m. local time on Sunday, Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell told reporters. There were no signs of forced entry at the property and Nick Reiner was not on the premises. If convicted, Nick Reiner faces a maximum sentence of the death penalty or life in prison without parole, according to Hochman. The horrific and devastating loss of our parents, Rob and Michele Reiner, is something that no one should ever experience.

The crash, which involved a car and a motorbike, happened on the A595 near Lillyhall roundabout at 7.36am today, December 17. The driver of the car sustained only minor injuries. Police are now appealing for witnesses to come forward. Anyone with information is urged to report online at www.cumbria.police.uk/report-it or call 101, quoting incident number 25 of December 17, 2025. Alternatively, Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously on 0800 555 111.