Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Wednesday 26 Dec 2018

1. Japan to resume commercial whale hunts

Japan is to withdraw from the International Whaling Commission, which has prohibited commercial whaling since 1986, and will resume hunting the sea mammals commercially from July. The country has hunted whales for so-called “scientific research” for many years, with the meat from these trips sold for consumption – but now whaling will be overt.

2. Indonesia tsunami: people warned from sea

Officials in Indonesia have warned people not to go near the sea for fear of further tsunamis after 429 people were killed by extreme waves caused by the eruption of Anak Krakatoa. There are fears that potential storms and heavy rain could cause problems even if there are no further tremors. At least 128 people are still missing.

3. Italy: injuries as Mount Etna erupts again

Europe’s most active volcano erupted again yesterday, in one of its biggest blasts for a decade. The eruption of Mount Etna caused a 4.8-magnitude earthquake in Sicily, injuring at least two people. Flights from Catania airport were temporarily halted as volcanic ash filled the air and people on the mountainside were advised to escape quickly.

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4. Boxing Day train standstill ‘shows Tory hypocrisy’

Labour has accused the Conservatives of hypocrisy over a Boxing Day rail “standstill”. Five major train operators have a drastically reduced service today because of engineering works. Labour says the Tories themselves complained about the annual Boxing Day shutdown when they were last in opposition eight years ago.

5. Murder arrest after Christmas Day killing

A 27-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder in Kent after a 19-year-old woman was found dead on Christmas Day. Emergency services were called to a house in Maidstone early on Tuesday afternoon and confirmed that she was dead. The arrested man, still in custody, is believed to have known the victim.

6. Girl in Trump call still believes in Santa

A seven-year-old girl who was asked by Donald Trump if she still believed in Santa Claus says the conversation has not shaken her faith. Collman Lloyd spoke to the president on the phone as part of a US Christmas tradition. Trump asked her: “Are you still a believer in Santa? Because, at seven, it’s pretty marginal, right?”

7. Fox hunting ban ‘ignored’ on Boxing Day

Anti-fox-hunting campaigners say the ban will be widely ignored today, with groups meeting under the guise of trail hunting. They say there have been dozens of reports of foxes pursued and killed since the season began. Hunters, meanwhile, say saboteurs are being helped by the National Trust, which publishes the dates of trail hunts.

8. Argentinian woman freed after 1980s abduction

An Argentinian woman abducted as a child in the 1980s has been found alive with a nine-year-old son in Bolivia, and reunited with her family. The whereabouts of the woman, now 45, had been unknown until this year. She was freed earlier this month but police have only released the news now.

9. Alexa users complain of Christmas outage

Amazon’s digital assistant Alexa seemed to take at least part of Christmas Day off: users trying to get the AI interface to help them time cooking, turn on Christmas lights or play carols yesterday only got the response: “Sorry, I’m having trouble understanding right now.” It is thought a surge in new devices given as gifts caused the trouble.

10. Briefing: celebrities who died in 2018

The world lost more than a few iconic stars in 2018, from Hollywood heartthrob Burt Reynolds and the “Queen of Soul” Aretha Franklin to theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking and the 41st president George H.W. Bush.

Remember some of the prominent public figures that we said goodbye to this year with The Week’s gallery of late celebrities.

Celebrities who died in 2018