If you’d asked me which rare bird I might see in Somerset in early January, the least sandpiper would have been very low on my list. Yet on a fine, bright, chilly morning here it was: running along the edge of the water like a clockwork toy, probing the mud for food with its stubby…

Palisades wildfire explodes to nearly 3,000 acres The Palisades fire more than doubled in size Tuesday evening, up to 2,921 acres from 1,262 earlier in the afternoon, according to the California department of forestry and fire protection (CalFire). CalFire also expanded its evacuation zones to include larger swaths of the coastal California communities of Topanga…

A man accused of setting fire to a heritage-listed racecourse grandstand before breaking into a Jewish community centre will remain behind bars after facing court. Travis Bird, 51, appeared at Melbourne magistrates court on Wednesday after being charged with nine offences – four counts of arson, two of trespass and one each of burglary, criminal…

A rapidly spreading wildfire in southern California reached the grounds of the Getty Villa museum north of Santa Monica on Tuesday, but officials said no structures had burned and the collection was safe. The Pacific Palisades fire, fueled by a major windstorm and prompting mass evacuations in Los Angeles county, burned some trees and vegetation…

The monthly inflation rate rose to 2.3% in November, according to the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The underlying inflation rate – the Reserve Bank’s preferred measure for prices – has declined but remains above the bank’s target band, casting doubt over the prospect of a February interest rate cut. The consumer…

A former Cambodian opposition MP and French citizen was shot dead by a gunman on a motorcycle in Bangkok on Tuesday, according to Thai media. “Lim Kimya… died at the scene. Officers with the Metropolitan Police Bureau have launched a manhunt for the assassin,” the Bangkok Post reported, adding that the deceased was a dual…

Joe Biden will designate two new national monuments in California in his last days in office, after tribes and environment groups asked him to take urgent action. The designation of the Chuckwalla monument in southern California and the Sáttítla monument in the far north of the state will place 840,000 acres (339,935 hectares) of land…

Afghans who were killed by members of the SAS in Afghanistan were described dismissively as having been “flat packed” according to revealing testimony given by a former member of the elite force’s sister unit to a public inquiry. The soldier, known only as N1799, said he had been party to a conversation with a member…

Plans to cap the number of branded uniform items schools in England can require to three, plus a tie, could save families more than £50 a child, with additional annual savings of £450 from free breakfast clubs in all primaries, the government has said. The cost-saving measures are laid out in the government’s children’s wellbeing…