UK - The Independent

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1. At least nine killed in mass shooting in South Africa

   Manhunt for the suspects launched

2. Brendon McCullum admits England’s Ashes preparation ‘didn’t work’

   England finally took a Test match into the fifth day in South Australia but an 82-run defeat leaves them 3-0 down to Australia.

3. Saudi Arabia quietly expands access to its only alcohol store for non-Muslim residents

   Saudi Arabia has quietly expanded access to its only alcohol store, now allowing non-Muslim Premium Residency holders to purchase alcohol legally

4. Minor miracles of travel 2025, from Melbourne to Chandigarh

   The Man Who Pays His Way: Not everything goes right, but sometimes journeys deliver unexpected wonders

5. Have Christmas stockings become embarassing now?

   Christmas stockings have been a tradition in the UK since the Victorian era. While this festive fun was originally reserved for children, Lydia Spencer-Elliott finds that adults in their thirties show no signs of giving up the extra gifts – even if it’s a total cringe

6. How ‘Amadeus’ turns a wild rumour about Mozart and Salieri into unmissable Christmas TV

   As Sky’s five-part drama hits our screens, stars Will Sharpe and Gabrielle Creevy plus writer Joe Barton talk to Patrick Smith about fiction straying from fact, risk-taking television, and whether the musical genius was neurodivergent

7. SNL mocks Trump over Epstein file redactions, cognitive tests and renaming Kennedy Center in scathing Christmas episode cold open

   James Austin Johnson continued his streak as the president and ridiculed the Trump administration over its claim to be the ‘most transparent in history’

8. Epstein files live: Democrats cry cover up and claim DOJ has deleted photo of Trump released in tens of thousands of documents

   Democrats accused the DOJ of deleting the previously available photograph that appeared to be Trump with a group of women

9. ‘Hidden crisis’ of 40,000 women and girls going missing every year due to violence

   Women open up about abuse that led to disappearance, after government VAWG strategy is silent on missing people, as The Independent hopes to launch national lifeline SafeCall

10. Jim Beam shutting down bourbon production at Kentucky distillery for a year as Trump’s trade wars hit sales

    Trade war with Canada has contributed to a significant decline in U.S. liquor sales