It promises to be ‘a feast for the senses, with a high-end drink and food offering’.

Mass IT layoffs could prolong outages, impacting patient care, warns risk register.

A man has been charged with attempted murder after allegedly stabbing a 70-year-old woman multiple times in her Queensland home.

Police were called to an address on Short Street in Boronia Heights in Logan about 11.40pm on Saturday night following reports a woman had been stabbed.

Grandmother Valerie Paterson was stabbed in the face, neck and chest during the alleged frenzied attack and she was taken to hospital in a serious condition.

READ MORE: Aussie mum and daughter 'poisoned' at Fiji resort after drinking cocktails

A 40-year-old man has since been charged with attempted murder, breaking into a home, wilful damage and domestic violence offences.

Police will allege the charged man and Valerie are known to each other.

The matter was heard before Beenleigh Magistrates Court today and the charged man is set to appear in court again tomorrow.

READ MORE: Nation's youngest murderer could walk free yet again within days

Valerie's devastated grandson Bailey Paterson described his grandmother to 9News as a strong person following the alleged incident.

"She's always there for people, she's opened her home up to people … if they need a place to stay, for this to happen … I can't even describe it, it's ridiculous," he said.

READ MORE: What the weather on Christmas Day is forecast to be in your city

"I am still trying to process it and put it all into words. It sucks. You hear about it on the news all the time then for it to happen to you, it's just mind blowing to think about.

"She's done it hard in recent years, beaten breast cancer, two hip replacements, she tries to make the most out of life."

Police say there is no wider threat to the public.

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

Kristian White, the police officer found guilty of manslaughter over the fatal Tasering of 95-year-old great-grandmother Clare Nowland, is taking legal action in an attempt to get his job back.

White was sacked from the force a week after a jury found him guilty over Nowland's 2023 death, with NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb saying she did "not have confidence in the officer's suitability to continue as a police officer".

"Accordingly, I have removed him from the NSW Police Force and he has been advised via his legal counsel," she said in a statement at the time.

READ MORE: Brisbane Broncos star fined over drug driving collision

White has now taken legal action against Webb over claims of unfair dismissal, seeking a review of her decision in the NSW Industrial Relations Commission on the grounds the sacking was harsh, unreasonable or unjust.

The matter is listed for a hearing on Thursday afternoon.

In a statement, NSW Police said it has been advised of the legal action, but that it could not comment further as the matter was before the Industrial Relations Commission.

White was found guilty of manslaughter in November after he discharged his Taser at Nowland while she was standing with a walking frame holding a serrated knife in the Yallambee Lodge aged care home in Cooma in May last year.

READ MORE: Reserve Bank gets biggest shake-up in decades

Nowland, who likely had undiagnosed dementia, fell backwards and hit her head, and died a week later from bleeding on the brain.

A court heard White said "nah, bugger it" before shooting the great-grandmother in the torso with his stun gun.

White had pleaded not guilty to the charge of manslaughter.

He is currently on bail awaiting sentencing.

Manslaughter carries a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison.

The aviation colour code for White Island has been raised to orange.

‘He was not rational and his behaviour was highly erratic.’

Māori-led fintech launches NZ’s first crypto fund, aiming for $100m in year one.

The witness said council should change the depth of the pond to make it safer.

The deadly disease that stole baby Mabel from her doting parents Carly and John Goya has reared its ugly head again in Australia.

Mabel died in March 2021 at just six months old after contracting pneumococcal meningitis, a bacterial infection which attacks the brain, lungs and heart.

Rates of the disease have reached a 20-year high and a new-generation jab could help protect vulnerable Australians – but a rollout has been delayed due to "bureaucratic red tape".

READ MORE: What the weather on Christmas Day is forecast to be in your city

"It very rapidly attacked her brain, by the time someone realised it was a lot more serious than gastro, it was essentially too late," mum Carly told 9News.

Carly and John now have eight-month-old triplets Edie, Owen and Augie.

The parents are often crippled by worry that the same thing could happen to them.

More than 4500 cases of invasive pneumococcal disease have been recorded across the country since the beginning of 2023, according to the Immunisation Foundation of Australia (IFA).

READ MORE: Australian mum and daughter 'poisoned' after drinking cocktails in Fiji

This is the highest rate of infection recorded in Australia since 2002.

The IFA warns next year could see a fresh spike in deadly cases if vaccinations don't keep up with the outbreak.

It is urging the federal government to prioritise a rollout of new, broader-coverage pneumococcal vaccines which are TGA-approved.

Mabel's parents say their baby girl might have lived if the new vaccine was available three years ago.

READ MORE: Qantas flight turns back twice over weird smell, radio issues

"Invasive pneumococcal disease is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the impact of pneumococcal infections in Australia," said Paediatrician and Infectious Disease Researcher Professor Peter Richmond.

"We're seeing a drop in vaccine coverage alongside emerging strains of the bacterium, and antibiotic resistance."

IFA director and founder Catherine Hughes said the new immunisations can better protect against more strains than the current jabs.

She said the rollout is being delayed by "bureaucratic red tape". 

"We simply can't risk not having the best available pneumococcal protection," Hughes said.

"Invasive pneumococcal disease can cause permanent disability and even death. We have the tools to make a difference, and now is the time to ensure Australians at greatest risk of infection are protected."

READ MORE: Treasurer quits just days after mid-year budget debt blow-out

READ MORE: Nation's youngest murderer could walk free yet again within days

There are more than 100 strains of streptococcus pneumoniae and the new vaccines can protect against the most common and severe ones, the IFA said.

Vaccination rates in children fell to 92.8 per cent in 2023 and only 20 per cent of Australians aged between 71 and 19 are immunised against the disease.

DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the Apple App Store and Google Play.

A roll call of noteworthy figures died in 2024, including O.J. Simpson, Donald Sutherland, and Iris Apfel.