The Winter Solstice event at Stonehenge is claimed to be more important in the pagan calendar than the Summer Solstice because it marks the 're-birth' of the sun for the New Year.

On the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard, where polar bears reign and the dark nights are illuminated by the Northern Lights, there is a legend that Santa Claus lives in an abandoned mine below the ice.

Svalbard is one of the closest inhabited areas to the North Pole with a population of almost 3000.

In the icy tundra, foxes scurry and reindeer graze on the arctic white heather dwarf shrubs.

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And in mine number two, also known as Gruve, local folklore says Santa Claus resides.

People of all ages can drop letters in a red post box that stands erect in front of the mine and is addressed to the man in red himself.

Whether Santa Claus is truly busy making presents in the mine shafts, Svalbard content creator Cecilia Blomdahl says there is an abundance of Christmas magic in the wintry town.

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"We're above the arctic tree line so Christmas is magical," Ms Blomdahl said.

She has been living on Svalbard for six years and expressed her love for all the traditions that come with the holiday season on the archipelago.

"We have this amazing tradition in Longyearbyen [one of the main towns on Svalbard]. The whole village is invited to meet at this one place called Huset. We get torches and we all wear reflective gear and then they turn the lights off in the entire that part of the village and then we walk down to the town square," Ms Blomdahl said.

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The procession takes place on the first day of Advent because rumour has it on that day Santa Claus returns to the mine, according to Ms Blomdahl.

She added that there is also an array of community activities that take place this time of year.

"We have Christmas tables we call them. So, they're Christmas dinners with very specific Norwegian food. So, that's going on from now until Christmas," Ms Blomdahl said.

"We have Christmas concerts, we have Luciatåg, where there is a woman with a crown and the lights on it. It's called the Lucia train. You always did this in school. You make this train of people with different characters in it, and they sing in different places."

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The temperature during winter can drop to as low as -20C, which means no trees grow on Svalbard.

So real Christmas trees are imported from northern Norway.

One is placed in the town square in Longyearbyen and is lit up for all to enjoy.

While torches and fairy lights are used as Christmas decorations, there is a natural light show in the sky that adds even more holiday lustre to Svalbard.

The aurora borealis.

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"I look up and I see the sky is green. It was one of the most incredible shows I've seen in years," Ms Blomdahl said as she recalled a recent night when she had gazed up at the Northern Lights from her own backyard.

"Every time it blows my mind," she said.

"At any time you can walk in the village and you suddenly see that little streak of green, and you just know there she is. It feels like it's part of our little secret."

Days before Christmas, a South Australian woman has been left devastated after her car went up in flames early this morning.

More than 50 presents were inside the vehicle, destined to be delivered to domestic violence survivors.

Heidi Putric, from the Adelaide suburb of Grange, found her Toyota SUV extensively damaged today.

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Police and firefighters were called to the scene at 12.15am.

"[It] really just broke me. I collapsed. I couldn't believe it. I just couldn't believe it," Ms Putric said.

"Toys and things for families to get started and I just don't know what to say. It took a lot of work and it's really sad."

Ms Putric's neighbour, Josh Goldsworthy, discovered the fire in the carport after waking to strange noises just after midnight.

"I was running down to alert the neighbours to the fire and on the way back the car just exploded," Mr Goldsworthy said.

South Australia Police is now investigating the fire, which is believed to have been deliberately lit.

"Luckily the fire did not spread and no one was injured," SA Police said.

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"It's really disheartening that there are people around that would do this to people," Ms Putric said.

Anyone who saw anything suspicious is asked to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or make a report online at www.crimestopperssa.com.au.

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The brother of disgraced NRL player Bronson Xerri has been found guilty of three charges following a crash that killed a 63-year-old woman.

Troy Anthony Xerri's out of control ute slammed head-on into Joanne Duke's car on Blaxland Rd at Eastwood in November 2019 as she was driving home from work.

The mother-of-three died at the scene while Xerri's male passenger, Michael Nader was seriously injured and required surgery.

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Another woman, Edwina Roberts, was driving behind Joanne Duke when the two vehicles slammed into hers. She suffered minor injuries.

Speed was a key focus of the trial, with the Crown prosecutor trying to prove Xerri was driving at more than 45 km/h above the speed limit – a claim his defence denied, saying his speed was closer to 80 km/h – 20 km/h above the speed limit.

In reaching a verdict today, Sydney District Court Judge Leonie Flannery said the evidence from the Crown's expert that Xerri reached a speed of 120 km/h couldn't be accepted beyond a reasonable doubt because there were errors in how it was calculated.

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As a result, she found the Merrylands man not guilty of the two more serious charges of aggravated dangerous driving occasioning death and aggravated dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm.

But the judge did find Xerri guilty of the lesser charges of dangerous driving occasioning death and dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm – two charges he had earlier pleaded guilty to.

Xerri's also pleaded guilty to a third charge of furious driving, which related to Edwina Roberts.

The impact of Xerri's Toyota HiLux hitting Ms Duke's Mazda sedan was so severe, the tray of the ute became separated from the rest of the vehicle.

Xerri, 30, remains in custody and will be sentenced on April 15.

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His brother Bronson was a rising star with the Cronulla Sharks until he was suspended in May last year after doping samples tested positive to banned substances including testosterone.

He'll remain sidelined until 2024.

All nightclubs have been ordered to close and masks have been mandated indoors in Western Australia after a new local COVID-19 case was recorded.

Authorities are racing to contain a potential COVID-19 outbreak after the positive case went out clubbing and to a range of venues while infectious.

Premier Mark McGowan has announced restrictions, which he has said will be in effect from 6pm (AWST) on Thursday until at least 6am on Tuesday, December 28.

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https://twitter.com/oliverpeterson/status/1473865140990668801?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Hundreds of people in Perth are in isolation after the positive case attended nightclubs in Northbridge late on Saturday and in the early hours of Sunday.

The case is an unvaccinated 25-year-old backpacker who travelled into the state from Queensland 11 days ago, and is originally from France.

Since Queensland was classified as a very low-risk area when the backpacker arrived, he wasn't required to get tested before arriving.

He got sick on Sunday and was tested yesterday, with the result returning a strong positive.

Mr McGowan said it was unlikely the infection is the Omicron strain.

"Thankfully, the backpacker has been checking in… this has enabled us to identify very quickly a comprehensive picture of the man's movements since his arrival," Mr McGowan said.

The man has created a number of exposure sites, including the Geisha Bar, the Connections Nightclub, a McDonald's in Girraween, a restaurant, a cinema and a museum.

The case has been living with four other people at a house in Girrawheen.

His girlfriend is also symptomatic and has been tested and moved into hotel quarantine.

Geisha Bar was informed by WA Health earlier this afternoon that it is an exposure site between 12am and 3am on Sunday morning.

In a statement on Facebook, the nightclub said it was working with health officials to provide contacts of patrons present during those hours.

It has since closed.

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As Australia experiences a spike in COVID-19 cases, experts fear a surge of mental health issues among healthcare workers could threaten the workforce's ability to cope.

A recent study led by frontline clinicians showed post-traumatic stress and other mental health problems are crippling Australia's doctors, nurses and allied staff, with over 70 per cent reporting they were physically and emotionally exhausted during the pandemic's second wave last year.

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Such is the impact of the pandemic on the healthcare workforce that one would be hard-pressed to find a frontline worker not at the point of exhaustion, said Dr Sarah Whitelaw, a Melbourne emergency medicine physician and emergency medicine representative of the Australian Medical Association.

"We simply can't deal with Omicron spreading very fast through the population," said Dr Whitelaw.

"There's still more unvaccinated people than there are hospital beds."

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"It will be difficult to find a healthcare worker who is not exhausted," Dr Whitelaw said.

The study, published as part of the BMJ's Public Health Emergency Collection, revealed 60 per cent of the 9518 health professionals surveyed had experienced mild to severe anxiety between August and October 2020.

It showed 57.3 per cent had suffered depression, and over 58 per cent were experiencing moral distress.

The survey found 5.6 per cent had also developed PTSD.

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"These figures are likely much higher now," Dr Whitelaw claimed.

Even though the prevalence of mental health issues in Australia is already comparable to countries hit hardest by the pandemic, studies conducted in other parts of the world suggest the worst may be yet to come.

In the United Kingdom, as many as 44 per cent of healthcare workers are suffering from COVID-19 related PTSD, a study from the British Journal of Clinical Psychology found.

Another study from the Lancet reported 57 per cent had been affected by the illness in China.

'If I exposed a family member to COVID, I don't think I could live with that guilt'

One junior medical officer, who works in a Sydney hospital, told nine.com.au he was concerned he had been thrust into his first year of medical practice amid severe staff shortages.

Martin* described "getting absolutely smashed," when forced to take on the workload of two people after his colleague was transferred to work on a COVID-19 ward.

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However, it was the prospect of infecting his family that caused Martin the most stress.

With both parents over 50 and unable to find a vaccination booking, he felt constantly at risk.

"If I exposed a family member to COVID, I don't think I could live with that guilt. There is no chance I would have continued working," he said.

An Elsevier study estimated healthcare workers are at almost three times the risk of contracting COVID-19 than the general community. While many Australians were in isolation, working safely from home, frontline workers had no option but to risk infection.

"You're literally just pieces of a puzzle being pushed around in different places. You don't have a say," Martin said.

'I don't know how long we can keep doing this'

Unlike pre-pandemic hospital systems, which naturally had moments of relative quiet between busy periods, Dr Whitelaw said emergency departments are now relentlessly busy. At the same time, more patients are coming to hospital for elective surgeries that were deferred during lockdown.

"There's no break. There's no end in sight. There's no downtime," Dr Whitelaw said.

"I don't know how long we can keep doing this."

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Although post-traumatic stress disorder is often associated with psychological distress after war, trauma from the 'front line' means something entirely different in 2021.

"This is like a long, slow, drawn-out campaign," added Dr Whitelaw.

"I haven't had experience of what it's like to be in a war, but for my colleagues and I, this sense of exhaustion is really hard."

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*Martin spoke under the condition of anonymity and that is not his real name