Australians are set to soak up sunny days this Christmas, according to the latest weather predictions.

Accuweather has released a detailed forecast for this month in each of Australia's capital cities.

Here's what's in store for the central hubs of each state and territory.

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NSW

There will be plenty of sun in Sydney this December, with some cloudy conditions and showers predicted across the month.

Christmas Day should be dry and mostly sunny with a low of 21 degrees and a high of 27 degrees.

Queensland

It's going to be hot in Brisbane this December.

Expect plenty of sun with a few summer storms thrown in around the middle and end of the month.

Unfortunately, Christmas Day is predicted to be cloudy and humid with a low of 22 and high of 30.

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Victoria

December will be warm but cloudy in Melbourne.

Some rain and thunderstorms are predicted towards the middle of the month.

Christmas Day is expected to be sunny with a high of 26 and a low of 16.

ACT

Canberra will enjoy a balmy December.

The skies will be a mix of sun and cloud cover for most of the month, with a smattering of showers.

December 25 will be warm with an expected high of 29 degrees.

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South Australia

December is looking like a mixed bag in Adelaide.

Most of the month will be cloudy, with patches of rain and even fog.

Christmas Day is expected to be mostly sunny with a high of 27 degrees.

Western Australia

Perth will experience a sticky summer based on current predictions for December.

Most of the month will be sunny with a few isolated patches of cloud, though they should pass in time for Christmas.

Christmas Day is expected to be sunny with some cloud cover and a high of 24 degrees.

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Northern Territory

December in Darwin will be sweltering with rain and storms throughout the month.

Despite thi, Christmas Day is currently predicted to be one of the few sunny days, with December 25 slated for a high of 35 degrees.

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Tasmania

Hobart will enjoy a more temperate introduction to summer, with plenty of sun and a smattering of rainfall through the month.

Christmas Day is expected to be mostly cloudy with some showers and a predicted high of 21 degrees.

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Iceland has become the fifth nation to withdraw from the Eurovision Song Contest over the organisers' decision to allow Israel to compete.

The island nation joins Spain, Ireland, Slovenia and the Netherlands in boycotting the popular music competition after Israel's participation was confirmed last week, the BBC reports.

The director-general of Icelandic national broadcaster RÚV, Stefan Eiriksson, confirmed the move.

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"There is no peace or joy connected to this contest as things stand now. On that basis, first and foremost, we are stepping back while the situation is as it is," he said.

RÚV said Israel's involvement had "created disunity among both members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and the general public".

The RUV board agreed the decision on Wednesday (Thursday AEDT), hours before the deadline for nations to confirm whether they will take part in the feel-good competition.

Last week the general assembly of the EBU, a group of public broadcasters from 56 countries that runs Eurovision, met to discuss concerns about Israel's participation.

Members voted to adopt tougher contest voting rules in response to allegations that Israel manipulated the vote in favour of its competitor, but took no action to exclude any broadcaster from the competition.

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Next May's contest scheduled to be held in Vienna has been planned as a celebratory 70th anniversary edition.

The contest pits acts from dozens of nations, including Australia, against one another for the continent's musical crown. It strives to put pop before politics, but has repeatedly been embroiled in world events.

Russia was expelled in 2022 after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The war in Gaza has been its biggest challenge, with pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrating against Israel outside the last two Eurovision contests in Basel, Switzerland, in May and Malmo, Sweden, in 2024.

– With AP

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Some Christmas fans are ignoring rising electricity prices this festive season, with twinkling lights draped across trees, lawns and homes across the country.

The beloved tradition of looking at Christmas lights on a warm summer's evening certainly won't be missed this year – thousands of households have already painstakingly hung their colourful decorations and are spreading cheer in their communities.

Here, we round up some of the best lights in Australia and where to find them. From Mudgee in NSW and High Wycombe in WA to Burleigh Waters in Queensland and Roxby Downs in SA, the joyful festivities can be seen far and wide.

If you've decorated for Christmas, send your photos to

An affordable jewellery chain has collapsed into administration but is continuing to trade while the company is assessed for a potential sale.

Kate Warwick, Kelly Trenfield, and John Park of FTI Consulting have been appointed joint and several administrators of Secrets Shhh, which is owned by Secrets International.

Secrets sells lab-grown diamonds and simulated alternatives online and in 23 stores around the country.

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"The business is trading as usual as much as possible while the administrators undertake an urgent assessment of the company's operations, and have commenced a sales process and/or recapitalisation of the group," Park said.

Where stock is available, orders placed on or after the appointment of administrators will be filled and shipped as normal.

However, the administrators cannot guarantee that orders placed before yesterday, December 10, will be filled.

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Customers can use a gift card or redeem store credit if they spend an equal or greater amount.

The administrators will next write to creditors, suppliers, and employees regarding ongoing trading information.

The first meeting of creditors, for which information will also be provided in those communiques, will be held on December 19.

Secrets Shhh, Secrets International, and all the latter's other subsidiaries are all subject to the voluntary administration.

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Swirling underwater storms are aggressively melting the ice shelves of two vital Antarctic glaciers, with potentially far-reaching implications for global sea level rise, a recent study has revealed.

Antarctica is like a fist with a skinny thumb stuck out towards South America. Pine Island Glacier is near the base of this thumb. Thwaites — known as the Doomsday Glacier because of the devastating impact its demise would have on global sea level rise — sits next to it.

Over the past few decades, these icy giants have experienced rapid melting driven by warming ocean water, especially at the point where they rise from the seabed and come afloat as ice shelves.

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The new study, published last month in Nature Geosciences, is the first to systematically analyse how the ocean is melting ice shelves over just hours and days, rather than seasons or years, its authors say.

"We are looking at the ocean on very short 'weather-like' timescales, which is unusual for Antarctic studies," said Yoshihiro Nakayama, a study author and an assistant professor of engineering at Dartmouth College.

The underwater storms they focused on — called submesoscales — are fast-changing, swirling ocean eddies.

"Think of these like little water twirls that spin around really fast, kind of like when you stir water in a cup," said study author Mattia Poinelli, an Earth system science researcher at the University of California, Irvine and a NASA research affiliate. However, in the ocean, these eddies are not small — they can span up to 9.5 kilometres.

They form when warm and cold water meet. To return to the cup analogy, it's the same principle as when you pour milk into a cup of coffee and see tiny swirls spinning around, mixing everything together.

The phenomenon is similar to how storms form in the atmosphere — when warm and cold air collide — and like atmospheric storms, they can be very dangerous.

The eddies spin up in the open ocean and race underneath ice shelves. Sandwiched between the complex, rough base of the ice shelf and the seafloor, the eddies churn up warmer water from deeper in the ocean, which enhances melting when it "hits" vulnerable ice, Nakayama said.

The scientists used computer models as well as real-world data from ocean instruments to analyse the impact of these underwater storms.

They found that, together with other short-lived processes, the storms caused 20 per cent of the melting at the two glaciers over a nine-month period.

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"Quantifying the precise contribution of storms alone is challenging because of their chaotic nature," Poinelli said. But these events look to have a big role over short time frames.

The researchers also highlighted a worrying feedback loop. As the storms melt the ice, they increase the amount of cold, fresh water entering the ocean. This mixes with warmer, saltier water beneath, generating more ocean turbulence, which in turn increases ice melting.

"This positive feedback loop could gain intensity in a warming climate," said study author Lia Siegelman of UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

The consequences could be grave as the ice shelves play a vital role holding back the glaciers, slowing their flow into the ocean. Thwaites Glacier alone holds enough water to raise sea levels by more than 2 feet. But, because it also acts as a cork holding back the vast Antarctic ice sheet, its collapse could ultimately lead to around 10 feet of sea level rise.

The study is important "because it sheds light on the role of small features in the ocean melting the base of ice shelves," said Tiago Dotto, a senior research scientist at the National Oceanography Centre in the UK.

The extent of the ice melt the study found was "astonishing," he told CNN.

There are still huge uncertainties. Antarctic ice shelves are among the least accessible places on Earth, meaning scientists have to rely heavily on simulations. "These kinds of studies are intriguing but they are computer models," said David Holland, a professor of mathematics and atmosphere and ocean science at NYU.

Much more real-world data is needed to really understand the impact of these eddies, along with other ocean weather, he told CNN.

There are also many drivers of ice melt in this vast continent. "Hundreds of things are of similar importance to the decay of the ice sheet," said Ted Scambos, senior research scientist for the Earth Science and Observation Center at the University of Colorado Boulder.

"Awareness of the dynamics of the near-ice-sheet ocean is evolving rapidly," he told CNN.

The study is clear that more data is needed to understand how underwater storms may vary over seasons and years. Nevertheless, these short-term weather-like processes are "far from negligible," Poinelli said.

"Studying these fine-scale ocean phenomena is the next frontier when it comes to the ocean-ice interactions that help us understand ice loss and, ultimately, sea level rise," Siegelman said.

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Large parts of NSW are heading for a soaking from today, with residents warned of possible storms and damaging winds.

More than half of the state is expected to receive about 10mm to 30 mm of rain between now and Saturday, reports weather forecasting site Weatherzone.

Similar totals are forecast for southern inland Queensland, eastern Victoria and the ACT.

READ MORE: Early December weather forecast: One city set to get a drenching on Christmas Day

The Bureau of Meteorology warns showers and thunderstorms are forecast to increase today across central parts of the NSW coast and north-west. Peak rainfall totals of 30mm to 50mm per hour and localised 24-hour totals of 70mm to 120mm are possible.

The Hunter, Sydney, Illawarra regions and parts of the north-west are expected to receive the brunt of the downpour.

While the rain will bring welcome relief from the bushfire threat, authorities are warning of potential storm damage.

NSW SES Assistant Commissioner Nicole Hogan says there is a risk of fallen branches from trees weakened by fires.

"Trees that have been damaged by fire may be unstable and more likely to fall when it is windy and wet.

https://twitter.com/NSWSES/status/1998575264931131642?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Motorists heading to Christmas holiday destinations are also being urged to take care on roads.

"Storms and localised heavy rain may also cause flash flooding due to increased runoff in locations that may not normally flood. If you come across a flooded road, turn around and find a safer route."

The wet conditions are being driven by two low-pressure systems over inland and coastal NSW fed by moisture-filled winds from the Tasman and Coral seas.

Conditions are expected to ease by late tomorrow, before another bout of thunderstorms is predicted for many areas over the weekend, shifting to the north on Monday.

To stay up to date with the latest warnings and information, download the Hazards Near Me app or visit the NSW SES website.

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Australians are among some visitors to the US who may soon have to provide their social media history from the prior five years to enter the country, according to a new Trump administration proposal.

The proposal, posted on the Federal Register by US Customs and Border Protection, suggests travellers coming from countries that are part of a visa waiver program would need to give additional personal information as part of an electronic application.

The requirement would be for travellers using the Electronic System for Travel Authorization, or ESTA, as part of a visa waiver program for citizens from 42 countries, including Australia, the UK, New Zealand, Japan, Israel and Qatar, as well as many other European countries.

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ESTA is an online application visitors from these countries use to travel to the US for under 90 days without a visa. Visitors using the online system are currently asked for information such as their passport and birth date, as well as any past criminal record.

The proposed changes to the visa waiver application include making provision of social media history mandatory and adding "high value data elements," including the person's phone numbers and email addresses over the prior five years, plus close family members' names and birth dates, along with their birthplaces, residences and phone numbers over the prior five years.

A question about entering social media information was initially added to the application in 2016, with the section marked as "optional."

"If an applicant does not answer the question or simply does not hold a social media account, the ESTA application can still be submitted without a negative interpretation or inference," the CBP website now states.

The new proposal – open for public comment until February 9 – would make that information mandatory, though it's unclear how it would impact those wishing to come to the US.

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CNN has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees CBP, for comment.

The changes would align with a broader push from US President Donald Trump's administration to overhaul the country's legal immigration system, in addition to carrying out his long promised program of mass deportation for people in the country illegally.

The Trump administration over the past 11 months has made sweeping changes to nearly every facet of the immigration process, severely tightening every legal and illegal form of entry into the US.

The administration also has placed heavy emphasis and scrutiny on the social media accounts of people in the US on student visas.

In June, the State Department told embassies and consulates they may vet applicants for student visas for "hostile attitudes towards our citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles."

According to those guidelines, applicants are asked to set their profiles to public, and lack of an online social media presence could be seen as a negative that may be held against them in the application process.

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A wellness influencer died from severe blood loss after having a free birth at home, a court has been told.

Stacey Warnecke, 30, was with her husband Nathan and unregulated doula Emily Lal when she delivered her son at her Melbourne home on September 29.

The little boy was healthy but Warnecke's condition rapidly declined and an ambulance was called about 4.30am, the Victorian Coroners Court was told today.

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Paramedics arrived to find Warnecke looking yellow and struggling to breathe as she sat on the floor near the birthing pool, counsel assisting Rachel Ellyard said.

She was rushed to Frankston Hospital but could not be saved.

It's suspected she died from complications following a postpartum haemorrhage, Ellyard said.

The hospital's supply of her blood type was completely exhausted during doctors' attempts to save her, the court was told.

Warnecke's death was reported to police and her husband Nathan provided a statement to detectives but Lal refused.

When officers went to examine Warnecke's home the next day, they also found the house had been extensively cleaned by Lal.

Warnecke's interactions with Lal will form part of the coroner's investigation into her death, Ellyard said.

The 30-year-old's thoughts on the health care system, the decisions around her birth plan and broader attitudes following the COVID-19 pandemic will also be examined in a future inquest.

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The court was told Warnecke was a qualified nutritionist who promoted a healthy and "chemical-free" lifestyle on social media.

It appeared she was profoundly affected by the COVID-19 mandates and those concerns influenced her decision-making during pregnancy and birth, Ellyard said.

Warnecke elected not to receive any health care during her pregnancy, including declining ultrasounds and appointments with a midwife or obstetrician.

She wanted to give birth at home and contacted Lal, who also promoted herself as a free birth "keeper" on social media.

Victoria's Health Complaints Commissioner announced in October it was investigating Lal over allegations she was facilitating or participating in homebirths that could put mothers and babies at risk.

Ellyard said the coroner would be seeking a statement from Lal, as well as the paramedics, doctors and nurses who treated Warnecke.

The case will return to the coroner's court in March for a further directions hearing.

A man has been charged with a slew of domestic violence offences after allegedly assaulting and running over his pregnant partner and leaving her for dead in Sydney's south-west this morning.

The woman was allegedly struck in the face with a glass vase at a home in Narellan Vale, before she tried to leave the property and was allegedly run over by a Mazda sedan.

Police will allege the incident began before 8.30am when the 36-year-old woman and a 36-year-old man, Carl Loxley, who are believed to be in a relationship, got into an argument inside a car.

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The argument continued inside the Maddison Court home, where he allegedly broke a television before attacking the woman.

She called police before running outside to seek aid from neighbours.

It is alleged Loxley followed her outside before striking her with the Mazda and running her over.

Police arrived to find the woman with serious injuries.

She was treated at the scene by paramedics before being airlifted to Liverpool Hospital.

The woman reportedly sustained a broken pelvis, internal injuries, abrasions and lacerations.

The condition of her unborn baby is unknown.

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Loxley, who was already known to police but not for domestic violence offences, was arrested in a phone box on Camden Valley Way.

He has been charged with seven offences, including reckless grievous bodily harm (DV), reckless wounding in company (DV), common assault (DV), grievous bodily harm by negligent act using a vehicle, and driving as a learner while unaccompanied.

He was refused bail to appear in court tomorrow.

Detective Chief Inspector Paul Albury said responding officers were met with a confronting scene.

"They were met with a pretty horrendous scene," he said at a press conference.

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Albury confirmed there was no apprehended violence order against Loxley, and that while police had been to the house before, it had not been for a domestic violence incident.

He also confirmed the car was found abandoned on Wattle Green Place in Narellan Vale, where a crime scene has been established, less than 2km from the home.

Albury said the incident was a reminder of the prevalence and dangers of domestic violence, claiming his precinct responded to a domestic violence call once every two hours in Camden.

He said neighbours and witnesses were still reeling from the alleged attack.

"A number of witnesses came to the aid of the woman… those people are deeply shocked by what has occurred," he said.

"It's a quiet neighbourhood, they are stunned by the level of violence that has been displayed."

Police are urging anyone with information or dashcam footage from both locations to come forward to Narellan Vale Police Station or to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).

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Exclusive: Australia's landmark social media ban for under-16s came into effect this morning, but young Aussies say it's already failing.

Zoe Buttel, 14, stayed up until midnight to see if she'd be booted from age-restricted platforms like Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat.

But when the clock hit 12.01am, nothing happened.

AS IT HAPPENED: Under-16 social media ban kicks in

It was the same story for three other under-16s nine.com.au spoke to this morning, despite Communications Minister Anika Wells claim that 200,000 TikTok accounts had been deactivated this morning.

Another teen revealed she'd only been booted from one platform.

Alicia Liu, 13, was banned from Snapchat the day before the ban started but found a way around it within hours.

"There's a lot of loopholes," she told nine.com.au.

Emme Anderson, 14, knows kids who used their older siblings' or parents' IDs to trick the new age verification tools most age-restricted platforms have introduced.

But she and fellow 14-year-olds Rose Pickles and Zara Connolly didn't have to.

Their accounts simply weren't flagged – at least, not yet.

"Every time I click onto the app I'm preparing myself to be kicked off," Pickles said.

READ MORE: How Australia's world-leading social media ban will be enforced

It's a scary thought for teens who have spent their whole lives online, using social media to connect and communicate with their peers on a daily basis.

For some, it's hourly.

Of the five teens nine.com.au spoke to, Anderson had the lowest average daily screentime of about six to seven hours.

Pickles and Liu averaged about eight or nine hours on their phones, while Connolly had recently racked up 15 hours in a single day when she'd been home sick.

Buttel had gone so far as to deactivate the screentime tracker on her phone.

"I was disappointed in it, so I just deleted it," she said.

The girls agreed they could all probably stand to spend a little less time on their phones but said a blanket social media ban isn't the answer.

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The adults behind the ban, including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Minister for Communications Anika Wells and eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant, insist it will cause a huge, positive cultural change in Australia.

Albanese has said it will save lives and encourage kids to get outside instead of scrolling.

Connolly wasn't convinced.

"Not everyone is going to go outside just because social media's gone," she said.

Liu and Buttel agreed and said new apps will just be created to fill the void left by platforms like TikTok and Snapchat, like Lemon8.

If those become age-restricted, more will crop up in their place.

READ MORE: Here are the platforms that will be included in the under-16s social media ban. But there's a caveat

Albanese has also presented the ban as a huge step towards improving youth mental health, but Pickles said it could backfire.

"Right now I think a lot of teens, the way they help or keep their mental health stable is on social media, talking to their friends or watching creators that help," she explained.

"The social media ban feels like a punishment for something we didn't create."

Anderson questioned claims that the ban will protect under-16s from harmful content, predators, and abuse on social media.

"Instead of taking us completely away from social media, they should implement something that'll stop us getting that [kind of content] on our for your page," she said.

Otherwise, that harmful content will be right there waiting for young Aussies as soon as they turn 16.

READ MORE: Will children under 16 get in trouble for accessing social media when the ban comes into effect?

And it could have an even worse effect on them if they've never been exposed to social media or taught how to navigate it responsibly.

Which is why all five teens agreed that social media education for under-16s would be better and more effective than a ban.

They called for the government to invest in educating school-aged children on the risks and benefits of social media and how to stay safe online.

They also suggested more pressure should be put on individual social media platforms to provide safety tools for young people to protect them from harmful content.

Because kids are going to get online regardless of the ban, so they may as well know how to do it safely.

"It's like learning how to drive a car," Pickles said.

"You actually have someone helping you along the way, and then you finally learn how to use it."

READ MORE: The apps Australian kids are switching to ahead of social media ban

It's not just young Aussies railing against the ban either.

Reddit is reportedly preparing a legal challenge to the social media ban, and Amnesty International called it an "ineffective quick fix".

The US-based Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a non-profit and non-partisan body, said the ban cuts youth off from the benefits of social media and creates privacy risks for all users.

"People say, 'oh, we've been teenagers before, we know what it's like' … but they haven't been teenagers in this age," Anderson said.

"We've basically grown up on social media, they haven't done that, so they don't understand."

Have you got a story? Contact reporter Maddison Leach at Google Play.