All but two of 181 people onboard a plane that crashed while landing at an airport in South Korea are presumed to have died, in the country’s worst domestic civil aviation disaster.

Officials said they had confirmed that 177 people died in the crash on Sunday at Muan international airport in the country’s south-west, while two crew members – a man and a woman – had been rescued. Two people remained missing nine hours after the incident.

Footage of the crash showed the Boeing 737-800 skid along the runway and veer off across a buffer zone before striking a concrete barrier at high speed and bursting into flames as parts of the fuselage flew into the air.

A local fire official said the crash could have been caused by a bird strike and weather conditions, but the exact cause was not yet known.

Transport ministry officials said an early assessment of communication records showed that the airport control tower had issued a bird strike warning to the plane shortly before it intended to land and gave its pilot permission to land in a different area. The pilot sent out a distress signal shortly before the plane went past the runway and skidded across a buffer zone before hitting the wall, the officials said.

“The cause of the accident is presumed to be a bird strike combined with adverse weather conditions,” Lee Jeong-hyun, the chief of Muan fire station, told a media briefing. “However, the exact cause will be announced following a joint investigation.”

Joo Jong-wan, a transport ministry official, said workers had retrieved the flight data and cockpit voice recorders of the plane’s black box. They will be examined by government experts, Joo said, adding that the runway would be closed until 1 January.

There were heartbreaking scenes at the airport as more than 100 family members gathered in a meeting room to receive updates about their loved ones. When Lee told families that most passengers were presumed dead, the room erupted in wails of grief.

“Is there absolutely no chance of survival?” one family member asked. The fire chief could only bow his head and reply: “I’m so sorry, but that’s what it’s looking like.”

Lee later said the tail section was the only part of the plane to have retained “a little bit of its shape. The rest is almost impossible to recognise.”

Some families voiced anger at what they saw as a delayed response from authorities and the airline. They had pleaded to be allowed near the crash site since the morning, but were denied access because of the restricted nature of the airport zone.

One relative used a microphone to plead for more information. “My older brother died and I don’t know what’s going on,” he said. “I don’t know.”

The accident occurred at about 9am local time, shortly after the plane, Jeju Air flight 7C2216, landed at the airport about 186 miles south-west of Seoul, at the end of a flight from Bangkok.

Thick plumes of smoke could be seen rising into the sky after the crash. Some photos showed fire engulfing parts of the aircraft.

Yoo Jae-yong, 41, who was staying near the airport, told the Yonhap news agency he saw a spark on the plane’s right wing before the incident. “I was telling my family there was a problem with the plane when I heard a loud explosion,” Yoo said.

Another witness, Kim Yong-cheol, 70, said the plane failed to land in the first attempt and had circled back for another attempt. Kim said he heard the sound of “metallic scraping” twice about five minutes before the crash. He saw the plane rising after failing to make a landing, before he heard a “loud explosion” and saw “black smoke billowing into the sky”.

The crash was the worst on South Korean soil and one of the deadliest in its aviation history. The last time South Korea suffered a large-scale air disaster was in 1997, when a Korean Air plane crashed in Guam, killing 228 people onboard. In 2013, an Asiana Airlines plane crashlanded in San Francisco, killing three people and injuring 200.

Marco Chan, a senior lecturer in aviation operations at Buckinghamshire New University, speculated that damage from a bird strike involving the right-hand engine could have caused a hydraulic system failure that left the pilot unable to deploy the landing gear.

“The Boeing 737-800 is a reliable and widely used aircraft, and this crash appears to result from an unfortunate chain of events rather than a systemic design flaw,” Chan said.

Jeju Air, one of South Korea’s largest low-cost carriers, switched its website to a minimalist, black background in response to the crash. In a statement, it said: “Jeju Air deeply bows in apology to all those affected by the Muan airport accident. Our first priority is to do everything possible to manage this incident. We sincerely apologise for causing concern.”

A company official told Yonhap that the aircraft involved in Sunday’s crash had been in operation for 15 years and had no history of accidents.

The two surviving crew members were rescued from the tail of the aircraft and had suffered “mid to severe” injuries, authorities said.

Local authorities said they were coordinating with major hospitals in the nearby city of Gwangju to handle the casualties.

Officials said 173 of the passengers were Korean nationals and two were Thai nationals.

The Muan-Bangkok international route was launched three weeks ago, on 8 December, as part of a revamp in which the regional airport would operate routes to 18 international destinations across nine countries this winter season, according to Yonhap News.

The national fire agency said the initial fire in the wreckage of the plane was brought under control at 9.46am, 43 minutes after the first emergency call was received at 9.03am.

South Korea’s acting president, Choi Sang-mok, ordered “all available equipment and personnel to be mobilised” for the rescue operation and was heading to the scene of the crash.

The incident is the first major test for Choi, who assumed office on Friday after South Korea’s parliament voted to impeach the previous acting president, Han Duck-soo.

Philip Goldberg, the US ambassador to South Korea, said on social media: “I was heartbroken to hear about the tragedy at Muan airport this morning.”

The UK ambassador, Colin Crooks, wrote: “Deepest condolences to the families of those who perished in this morning’s dreadful air accident at Muan.”

Experts said South Korea’s aviation industry had a solid track record for safety, and this was the first fatal accident that Jeju Air had experienced since it was founded in 2005.

Previous major accidents on Korean soil include the 1993 Asiana Airlines crash in Mokpo that killed 68 people, and a 2002 Air China crash near Gimhae airport in which 129 of 166 passengers died.

On 12 August 2007, a Bombardier Q400 operated by Jeju Air carrying 74 passengers came off the runway as a result of strong winds at the southern Busan-Gimhae airport, causing a dozen injuries.

Sunday’s crash came almost a year after a Japan Airlines plane struck a coastguard aircraft and burst into flames as it landed at Haneda airport in Tokyo. All 379 passengers and 12 crew managed to exit the aircraft before it was engulfed in flames. Five crew members of the coastguard plane died in the accident.

As the year draws to a close, South Koreans must have hoped for respite from the political chaos visited on their country in recent weeks.

It was going to take something out of the ordinary to overshadow Friday’s impeachment of Han Duck-soo, the second South Korean leader to be removed from office by parliament in a fortnight.

On Sunday morning, the country was forced to confront the horrifying sight of a passenger aircraft careering along the tarmac before smashing into a wall and bursting into flames, reportedly killing all but two of the 181 people onboard.

The two events that will come to define 2024 for a country hitherto celebrated for its economic and cultural prowess are unrelated, of course, but it is impossible to ignore the political backdrop to Sunday’s tragedy on the runway at Muan international airport.

The incident has highlighted the potential risks that instability at the highest level of government poses to disaster response.

There were encouraging signs in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy. South Korea’s rival political parties launched separate initiatives in response to the disaster, apparently setting aside the animosity of recent weeks.

The opposition Democratic party leader, Lee Jae-myung, left for Muan, where he plans to stay indefinitely to support rescue efforts, the Hankyoreh newspaper said, although he will stay away from the crash site while recovery operations continue.

The ruling People Power party, meanwhile, formed a taskforce focused on investigating the crash and supporting victims’ families. The party’s acting leader, Kweon Seong-dong, will visit Muan on Monday with taskforce members to “review accident response measures and prevention strategies” and meet bereaved families.

Within hours of the crash, the acting president, Choi Sang-mok, arrived at the scene to support emergency workers and offer words of comfort to more than 100 relatives desperate for news about their loved ones. Some surrounded him, demanding updates and pleading with him to put the families first. Choi could only bow repeatedly while saying: “I understand”.

There was anger, too, at what some saw as a slow response from authorities and the airline. The families had pleaded to be allowed near the crash site since Sunday morning, but were denied access because of the restricted nature of the airport zone.

When Lee Jeong-hyeon, the chief of Muan fire station, told families that most passengers were presumed dead, the room erupted in wails of grief, according to the Yonhap news agency. “Is there absolutely no chance of survival?” one family member asked. Lee bowed and replied: “I am so sorry, but that’s what it’s looking like.”

Choi’s presence was a reminder that the worst aviation disaster on Korean soil occurred at a time of unprecedented political turmoil, coming just two days after he replaced the impeached Han.

The flames that swept through the fuselage of the Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 had barely been extinguished when concerns were raised over Choi’s ability to respond effectively while serving both as acting president and in his existing roles as finance minister and deputy prime minister.

The political uncertainty extends to the interior ministry – a vital coordinating body in response to situations such as the Muan crash – which is being led by an acting minister after his predecessor stepped down in the aftermath of this month’s martial law debacle.

Choi acknowledged the gravity of the situation in remarks he made at the airport. “No words of consolation will be enough for the families who have suffered such a tragedy,” he said, pledging that “the government will spare no effort in supporting the bereaved families”.

The joyless game of political revolving doors that catapulted an unwilling Choi to the presidency 48 hours earlier began when Yoon Suk Yeol was suspended from the presidency after attempting to impose martial law on 3 December. His replacement, Han, was impeached by parliament on Friday over his refusal to appoint judges to the constitutional court – the body that will decide Yoon’s fate.

Beyond managing Sunday’s aviation disaster, Choi has also inherited a number of other immediate challenges: a currency that has plunged to its lowest level since the 2009 financial crisis, and heightened security concerns after several military commanders were arrested over their alleged involvement in the martial law plan.

The response to the Muan disaster has drawn scrutiny from civic groups, including the families of the 159 people killed in the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush in Seoul – a tragedy compounded by the government’s inadequate emergency response.

On Sunday, the Itaewon group’s representatives called for proper support for victims’ families, including counselling and translation services for the relatives of the two foreign victims onboard the Jeju Air flight – both Thai nationals.

The group said in a statement: “Given the political chaos of the insurrection situation and presidential impeachment, acting president Choi must do his utmost to ensure there are no failures in the government’s control tower role in responding to and managing this disaster.”

As the families of the Jeju Air victims attempted to comprehend what had happened, the Muan tragedy was quickly turning into a test of whether South Korea’s fractured political landscape could find unity and compassion amid the devastation.

• A Jeju Air flight from Bangkok carrying 181 passengers and crew has crashed while attempting a landing at Muan international airport in south-western South Korea on Sunday morning.

• All but two of the people onboard Flight 7C2216 are presumed dead, according to local fire authorities. Two people were pulled from the tail section and are receiving treatment at a nearby hospital. Among the 175 passengers aboard the flight, 173 were Korean nationals and two were Thai nationals, officials have said.

• The Boeing 737-800 attempted a belly landing at about 9.03am local time after its landing gear reportedly failed to deploy. The aircraft was seen skidding along the runway before hitting the airport’s perimeter wall, breaking into two pieces at the front and tail sections and bursting into flames.

• Witnesses reported hearing loud “bang” noises before the aircraft struck the wall. Local broadcaster MBC aired footage that appears to show a bird strike incident as the plane was descending. Officials have also said weather conditions may have played a role.

• If the death toll is confirmed, it would be South Korea’s worst domestic civil aviation disaster and marks the first major casualty incident involving a low-cost carrier in the country’s history.

• South Korea’s acting president, Choi Sang-mok, has arrived at the scene approximately 300km south-west of Seoul and has ordered “all available equipment and personnel to be mobilised” for the rescue operations at the airport. ‘“No words of consolation will be enough for the families who have suffered such a tragedy,” he said at the scene.

• Jeju Air chief executive, Kim E-bae, has issued official apology saying: “Above all, we express our deepest condolences and apologies to the families of the passengers who lost their lives in this accident. At present, the cause of the accident is difficult to determine, and we must await the official investigation results from the relevant government agencies. Regardless of the cause, as CEO, I feel profound responsibility for this incident.”

• A spokesperson for Boeing told the Guardian: “We are in contact with Jeju Air regarding flight 2216 and stand ready to support them. We extend our deepest condolences to the families who lost loved ones, and our thoughts remain with the passengers and crew.”

• South Korea’s national rail operator has announced a special train service to help victims’ families reach the disaster site. A bullet train will depart Seoul at 3pm local time and arrive at Mokpo. The railway company says bereaved families can use these services free of charge and additional trains will be arranged if needed. Mokpo station is the closest rail terminal to Muan international airport.

• The Muan-Bangkok route was part of the airport’s first international services in 17 years, launched just three weeks ago, on 8 December.

• Experts said South Korea’s aviation industry has a solid track record for safety, and this was the first fatal accident Jeju Air, one of South Korea’s largest low-cost carriers, had experienced since it was launched in 2005.

Georgia’s pro-western president, Salome Zourabichvili, has said she will leave the palace but remain the country’s legitimate officeholder, after refusing to hand over the keys to her successor in the wake of a controversial general election.

Zourabichvili spoke as thousands of protesters gathered in the capital, Tblisi, to demonstrate against the inauguration of Mikheil Kavelashvili, a former football player turned far-right politician backed by the ruling pro-Moscow and increasingly authoritarian Georgian Dream (GD) party, who was sworn in as president at a parliamentary ceremony.

The inauguration of Kavelashvili – which for the first time in Georgia’s history was held behind closed doors in the plenary chamber inside parliament – is likely to further escalate a months-long political crisis during which there have been large pro-European Union demonstrations.

At least 2,000 pro-EU protesters had gathered outside parliament before the disputed presidential inauguration.

Addressing the protesters moments before the inauguration, Zourabichvili, who has become a rallying figure for those opposed to GD, declared: “I remain the only legitimate president. I will leave the presidential palace and stand with you, carrying with me the legitimacy, the flag and your trust.”

After taking the presidential oath in parliament, Kavelashvili said: “Our history clearly shows that, after countless struggles to defend our homeland and traditions, peace has always been one of the main goals and values for the Georgian people.”

The GD party has presented itself as the sole guarantor of stability in the country, accusing the west of trying to drag Tbilisi into the Ukraine conflict.

Kavelashvili, known for his far-right views and derogatory comments against LGBTQ+ people, went on to praise “our traditions, values, national identity, the sanctity of the family, and faith”.

The standoff between Zourabichvili and GD had plunged the country into a political crisis following the contested election in October that GD had won but many Georgians believe was rigged with Russia’s help.

Zourabichvili and protesters have declared Kavelashvili “illegitimate”, demanding a rerun of the October general elections.

As Zourabichvili vacated the 19th-century Orbeliani presidential palace and addressed protesters nearby, as a symbolic gesture she wore the same white-and-black attire – the colours of the Georgian flag – that she wore during her inauguration six years ago.

She reiterated that rerunning the “illegitimate” election would be the “formula to resolve such a crisis”.

Following her address outside the presidential palace, thousands of protesters moved toward parliament, with some holding up red cards in a clear nod to Kavelashvili’s football career. They dispersed shortly afterward, vowing to stage another protest later in the evening.

Giorgi Mamatelashvili, a 34-year-old protester, told Agence France-Presse he initially expected Zourabichvili to remain in the palace, but it would have led to a too “dramatic standoff”.

But “she still remains our president”, he said.

Zourabichvili, whose role as president is ceremonial but has made her a symbolic leader of the opposition, has emerged as the most popular politician and a last hope for protesters who accuse Georgian Dream of steering Tbilisi away from the west and toward Moscow.

“We trust her, we follow her, and for now, she’s our guide,” 42-year-old Shorena Aleksaia, who attended the demonstration, told AFP. “I’m sure she wants only the best for Georgia, and we have faith in her.”

Georgia has been in political turmoil since October’s disputed parliamentary elections and the government’s decision to shelve EU membership talks.

Thousands of Georgians have taken to the streets daily for a month, accusing the increasingly repressive government of derailing Tbilisi’s EU ambitions.

Many protesters said they intended to keep demonstrating as tension escalated in the small nation nestled in the Caucasus mountains that has a turbulent history of swinging between democratic aspirations and periods of harsh repression.

“We will keep fighting. We will keep protesting,” said David, a 22-year-old programmer who stood outside the presidential palace earlier Sunday. “It’s too late for backing down.”

Opposition parties have refused to enter parliament since the October elections, and Zourabichvili has declared the newly elected legislature, the government and president-elect “illegitimate”.

Weighing in on the crisis, US Republican congressman Joe Wilson has said that Zourabichvili is invited to attend Donald Trump’s inauguration next month “as the only legitimate leader in Georgia”.

He announced a bill “which will prohibit US recognition of the illegal dictatorial regime in Georgia and recognise Zourabichvili as the only legitimate leader in Georgia”.

But the prime minister, Irakli Kobakhidze, of the GD party, has ruled out calling fresh elections. He had had said that Zourabichvili would face legal consequences if she chose to stay in office.

In the first 10 days of protests after the contested vote, riot police used teargas and water cannon to disperse demonstrators, some of whom threw fireworks and stones.

More than 400 people have been arrested during the protests, many saying they have been beaten.

The reported police brutality has drawn international condemnation, with Washington and several European countries imposing visa bans on GD officials.

Agence France-Presse contributed to this report

The arrest of a renowned Italian journalist in Iran is reportedly in retaliation for the detention of a Swiss-Iranian businessman and suspected arms dealer in Italy three days earlier, according to media reports quoting the US state department.

Cecilia Sala, 29, a war correspondent and reporter who works for the Italian newspaper Il Foglio and the podcast company Chora Media, was detained on 19 December while reporting in the Iranian capital, Tehran, and held in solitary confinement for a week.

She was in the country on a regular journalist visa and had published several reports on the shifting landscape in Iran after the fall of the Assad regime in Syria. Italy’s government said it was working to try to bring her back to Italy.

The foreign ministry said Sala had been allowed to make two phone calls to her relatives. The Italian ambassador, Paola Amadei, visited Sala in prison on Friday, and Antonio Tajani, Italy’s foreign minister, said the journalist was “in good health condition”.

On Sunday, in an interview with la Repubblica, a US state department spokesperson said her detention was allegedly a reprisal for the 16 December arrest at a Milan airport on a US warrant of a Swiss-Iranian businessman and alleged arms trafficker with ties to the Iranian regime.

“Unfortunately, the Iranian regime continues to unjustly detain citizens of many other countries, often using them as political leverage,’’ said the US spokesperson. “There is no justification for this, and they should be released immediately. Journalists do crucial work in informing the public, often under dangerous conditions, and must be protected.’’

“We are aware of the arrest in Iran of the Italian journalist Cecilia Sala,” the US state department added. “Her arrest comes after an Iranian citizen was arrested in Italy on 16 December for smuggling drone components. We once again call for the immediate and unconditional release of all arbitrarily detained prisoners in Iran without just cause.”

Three days before the arrest of Sala in Tehran, Mohammad Abedini Najafabadi, a 38-year-old Swiss-Iranian businessman, was arrested at Milan’s Malpensa airport on a US warrant over charges of the illegal sanction-busting export of electronic devices that could be used in drones.

The man is accused of criminal association with the purpose of terrorism and is being detained in a prison in Milan.

Najafabadis’ lawyer, Alfredo De Francesco, told Italy’s state agency Ansa that his client rejected all charges against him.

“From the analysis of the documents in my possession, although the charges brought are formally serious, in reality the position of my client appears to be much less serious than it may seem,’’ De Francesco said. “He rejects the charges and is unable to understand the reasons for the arrest.”

Najafabadi, wanted by the US for violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and providing material support to a foreign terrorist organisation, is accused of trafficking drones, some of which were reportedly used during a deadly attack in Jordan.

His arrest has led to a diplomatic spat, with Tehran summoning ambassadors from Switzerland and Italy.

Questioned about Najafabadi’s arrest, Tajani said: “There is a Swiss-Iranian prisoner who was arrested in Malpensa before Cecilia Sala in Tehran because there was an international arrest warrant issued by the US.’’

“The prisoner, since he has not yet been convicted, is being treated with all the rules of guarantee that we must provide,’’ Tajani added. “He received a consular visit, his lawyer had the opportunity to learn the charges, but they are charges that come from an international arrest warrant, it is not an Italian choice, Italy is not competent for the criminal proceedings of this Iranian. Then we will see about extradition. For the moment he is being held in prison with all the guarantees that are owed to a non-Italian prisoner.”

Sala has nearly half a million followers on Instagram and is a regular guest on Italian talkshows. She has covered among other topics the fall of Kabul and the return of the Taliban in Afghanistan, the crisis in Venezuela, the war in Ukraine and the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Giorgia Meloni, the Italian prime minister, is closely following the case and all efforts are being made to bring Sala home, her office at Palazzo Chigi said.

The European Commission’s foreign policy spokesperson, Anouar El Anouni, has confirmed close monitoring of the Italian journalist’s “sensitive” situation.

Iran has not acknowledged detaining Sala and her charges remain unknown.

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev said the Azerbaijani airliner that crashed last week was shot down by Russia, albeit unintentionally, and criticised Moscow for trying to “hush up” the issue for days.

“We can say with complete clarity that the plane was shot down by Russia … We are not saying that it was done intentionally, but it was done,” he told Azerbaijani state television.

Aliyev said that the airliner, which crashed on Wednesday in Kazakhstan, was hit by fire from the ground over Russia and “rendered uncontrollable by electronic warfare”. Aliyev accused Russia of trying to “hush up” the issue for several days, saying he was “upset and surprised” by versions of events put forward by Russian officials.

“Unfortunately, for the first three days we heard nothing from Russia except delirious versions,” he said.

The crash killed 38 of 67 people onboard. The Kremlin said that air defence systems were firing near Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, where the plane attempted to land, to deflect a Ukrainian drone strike.

Aliyev said Azerbaijan made three demands to Russia in connection with the crash.

“First, the Russian side must apologise to Azerbaijan. Second, it must admit its guilt. Third, punish the guilty, bring them to criminal responsibility and pay compensation to the Azerbaijani state, the injured passengers and crew members,” he said.

Aliyev noted that the first demand was “already fulfilled” when the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, apologised to him on Saturday. Putin called the crash a “tragic incident” though he stopped short of acknowledging Moscow’s responsibility.

He said that an investigation into the crash was ongoing, and that “the final version (of events) will be known after the black boxes are opened”.

He noted that Azerbaijan was always “in favour of a group of international experts” investigating the crash, and had “categorically refused” Russia’s suggestion that the interstate aviation committee, which oversees civil aviation in the Commonwealth of Independent States, investigate it.

“It is no secret that this organisation consists mostly of Russian officials and is headed by Russian citizens. The factors of objectivity could not be fully ensured here,” Aliyev said.

The Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russian state media on Sunday that Putin had spoken again to Aliyev over the phone, but did not provide details of the conversation.

The Kremlin also said a joint investigation by Russia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan was under way at the crash site near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan. The plane was flying from Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, to Grozny when it turned toward Kazakhstan, hundreds of miles across the Caspian Sea from its intended destination, and crashed while making an attempt to land.

Passengers and crew who survived the crash told Azerbaijani media that they heard loud noises on the aircraft as it was circling over Grozny.

Dmitry Yadrov, the head of Russia’s civil aviation authority, Rosaviatsia, said on Friday that as the plane was preparing to land in Grozny in deep fog, Ukrainian drones were targeting the city, prompting authorities to close the area to air traffic.

The crash is the second deadly civil aviation accident linked to fighting in Ukraine. Malaysia Airlines flight 17 was downed with a Russian surface-to-air missile, killing all 298 people onboard, as it flew over the area in eastern Ukraine controlled by Moscow-backed separatists in 2014.

Russia denied responsibility, but a Dutch court in 2022 convicted two Russians and a pro-Russia Ukrainian man for their role in downing the plane with an air defence system brought into Ukraine from a Russian military base.

Three people have died after falling from an overcrowded small boat trying to cross from France to the UK, as 2024 became the deadliest year on record for perilous sea crossings.

The boat ran into trouble at about 6am on Sunday near Blériot-Plage, a public beach in Sangatte close to the French Channel port of Calais, emergency services said. Several people fell into the water trying to board the overcrowded vessel.

The Calais prefect’s office and French maritime authorities said 48 people were rescued and 45 needed urgent medical help – the majority for hypothermia, four of whom were urgently transferred to hospital.

A rescue mission, by sea and helicopter, was launched from the French coast as soon as the boat was seen in difficulty. A French naval helicopter recovered the three people from the water who were pronounced dead by medical services. An investigation has been opened by the Boulogne-sur-Mer prosecutor’s office.

Operations continued along the French coast on Sunday morning to identify any other small boats in danger. Attempted boardings of other small boats and dinghies were spotted at several locations.

The mayor of Sangatte, Guy Allemand, told AFP: “It never stops. It’s crossing after crossing, without any letup.”

After a lengthy gap in crossings due to bad weather conditions, 1,485 people crossed by sea from the northern French coast to the UK between 25 and 28 December. Dozens more are understood to have made the crossing successfully earlier on Sunday and have arrived in Dover.

The large number of recent crossings calls into question the UK government’s claim of disrupting the smugglers’ supply network in other European countries such as Germany by seizing dinghies destined for the French coast.

Favourable winds since last weekend have encouraged people seeking asylum in the UK to attempt the dangerous crossing.

Sunday’s deaths mean at least 76 people have died trying to cross the Channel to Britain this year, according to the Pas-de-Calais authorities, making 2024 the deadliest year on record for the crossings. In October, a baby died after an overloaded boat started to sink off the French coast. In September, six children and a pregnant woman were among 12 people who died after a boat carrying dozens of people was “ripped open” in one of the worst Channel tragedies since the small boats crisis began.

French maritime authorities carried out 12 rescue operations along the coast of northern France on Christmas Day, rescuing 107 people in distress from small boats trying to cross to the UK. Charities in France had warned of a growing number of attempted departures at the end of December when the sea can appear calm, but water temperatures are dangerously low and small inflatable boats are overloaded.

One asylum seeker from Lebanon said on Christmas Eve that, due to the poor weather and the harsh conditions in the makeshift camp in northern France that he was living in, with evictions by the French police every 48 hours, he had decided to abandon his plans to reach the UK.

“I have travelled to Germany and am planning to claim asylum there,” he said. “The conditions in northern France are too bad.” Based on the numbers who have crossed the Channel in recent days, many others chose to wait in camps in Calais and Dunkirk until the weather improved.

More than 150,000 people have crossed the Channel in small vessels since records began in January 2018, with more than 36,000 so far this year – a 23% increase on last year, but a 21% reduction since 2022.

The UK government has pledged to crack down on people-smuggling gangs. In November, Keir Starmer called for greater international cooperation against the gangs, which he described as a “global security threat similar to terrorism”.

Three people have died after falling from an overcrowded small boat trying to cross from France to the UK, as 2024 became the deadliest year on record for perilous sea crossings.

The boat ran into trouble at about 6am on Sunday near Blériot-Plage, a public beach in Sangatte close to the French Channel port of Calais, emergency services said. Several people fell into the water trying to board the overcrowded vessel.

The Calais prefect’s office and French maritime authorities said 48 people were rescued and 45 needed urgent medical help – the majority for hypothermia, four of whom were urgently transferred to hospital.

A rescue mission, by sea and helicopter, was launched from the French coast as soon as the boat was seen in difficulty. A French naval helicopter recovered the three people from the water who were pronounced dead by medical services. An investigation has been opened by the Boulogne-sur-Mer prosecutor’s office.

Operations continued along the French coast on Sunday morning to identify any other small boats in danger. Attempted boardings of other small boats and dinghies were spotted at several locations.

The mayor of Sangatte, Guy Allemand, told AFP: “It never stops. It’s crossing after crossing, without any letup.”

After a lengthy gap in crossings due to bad weather conditions, 1,485 people crossed by sea from the northern French coast to the UK between 25 and 28 December. Dozens more are understood to have made the crossing successfully earlier on Sunday and have arrived in Dover.

The large number of recent crossings calls into question the UK government’s claim of disrupting the smugglers’ supply network in other European countries such as Germany by seizing dinghies destined for the French coast.

Favourable winds since last weekend have encouraged people seeking asylum in the UK to attempt the dangerous crossing.

Sunday’s deaths mean at least 76 people have died trying to cross the Channel to Britain this year, according to the Pas-de-Calais authorities, making 2024 the deadliest year on record for the crossings. In October, a baby died after an overloaded boat started to sink off the French coast. In September, six children and a pregnant woman were among 12 people who died after a boat carrying dozens of people was “ripped open” in one of the worst Channel tragedies since the small boats crisis began.

French maritime authorities carried out 12 rescue operations along the coast of northern France on Christmas Day, rescuing 107 people in distress from small boats trying to cross to the UK. Charities in France had warned of a growing number of attempted departures at the end of December when the sea can appear calm, but water temperatures are dangerously low and small inflatable boats are overloaded.

One asylum seeker from Lebanon said on Christmas Eve that, due to the poor weather and the harsh conditions in the makeshift camp in northern France that he was living in, with evictions by the French police every 48 hours, he had decided to abandon his plans to reach the UK.

“I have travelled to Germany and am planning to claim asylum there,” he said. “The conditions in northern France are too bad.” Based on the numbers who have crossed the Channel in recent days, many others chose to wait in camps in Calais and Dunkirk until the weather improved.

More than 150,000 people have crossed the Channel in small vessels since records began in January 2018, with more than 36,000 so far this year – a 23% increase on last year, but a 21% reduction since 2022.

The UK government has pledged to crack down on people-smuggling gangs. In November, Keir Starmer called for greater international cooperation against the gangs, which he described as a “global security threat similar to terrorism”.

A Colorado man attacked a TV news reporter while asking if he was a citizen and taunting him that this was life now in the US with Donald Trump’s second presidency looming, criminal court documents allege.

The man, Patrick Thomas Egan, was arrested on 18 December in Grand Junction on suspicion of bias-motivated crimes, second-degree assault and harassment.

Egan is supposed to appear in court on 2 January to see if formal charges have been filed.

According to police, Egan, 39, followed the car of the KKCO/KJCT reporter Ja’Ronn Alex, who later told police he believed he was targeted because he is Pacific Islander.

An arrest affidavit in the case said Egan arrived by taxi, pulled up next to Alex – who was on an assignment at the time – at a stoplight and asked: “Are you even a US citizen? This is Trump’s America now! I’m a Marine and I took an oath to protect this country from people like you!”

The affidavit described Egan as tackling Alex and putting him in a headlock before Egan “began to strangle him”, causing co-workers to run out and help.

According to the documents, witnesses said Alex looked like he was struggling to breathe during the attack, which was caught on surveillance, the Associated Press reported.

While the alleged assault appears isolated, a hostile political environment to news media has seen Trump calling the news media “the enemy of the people”, a “threat to democracy”, “fake” and “crooked bastards”. He deployed such rhetoric during his first presidency from 2017 to 2021 and as he successfully sought a return to the White House in November’s election.

The Freedom of the Press Foundation in November said it had recorded 75 assaults on journalists since 1 January this year – a 70% increase over 2023.

A recent survey of journalists undertaking safety training provided by the International Women’s Media Foundation found that 36% of respondents reported being threatened or experiencing physical violence – and 28% reported legal threats or action against them.

Yet nearly a quarter (23%) of Americans surveyed did not regard political attacks on journalists or news organizations as a threat to press freedom. Among them, 38% identified as Republicans compared to just 9% as Democrats, the City University of London reported.

• The Associated Press contributed reporting

At least two people were killed and six more injured as several tornadoes touched down in Texas and Mississippi on Saturday, damaging homes and flipping vehicles as the storm system moved east across Alabama early on Sunday.

The US National Weather Service (NWS)’s severe storm tracker indicated the system was moving east through Alabama into Georgia shortly before 4am. The agency issued severe thunderstorm warnings with the possibility of tornadoes in western Georgia and the north-western tip of Florida directly above the Gulf of Mexico.

One person died in the Liverpool area, located south of Houston, and four people suffered injuries that were not considered critical, according to Madison Polston of the Brazoria county sheriff’s office.

There were “multiple touchdown points” in the county between Liverpool, Hillcrest Village and Alvin. Officials knew of about 10 damaged homes but were working to determine the extent of the damage, Polston said.

In Mississippi, one person died in Adams county, and two people were injured in Franklin county, according to the Mississippi emergency management agency.

The NWS said two tornadoes hit around Bude and the city of Brandon, ripping roofs from several buildings.

“These storms are probably going to get a lot worse this evening and overnight the further east you go,” said Josh Lichter, a meteorologist with the NWS.

It appeared at least six tornadoes touched down in the Houston area, though officials may discover there were more when crews go out to survey the damage. And there was damage in the area from both tornadoes and straight-line winds, Litcher said.

North of Houston, mobile homes were damaged or destroyed in Katy and Porter Heights, where the doors of a fire station were blown in, the weather service said.

The storms also caused departure delays of over an hour on Saturday afternoon at Houston’s two main airports, Bush Intercontinental and Hobby, according to the website FlightAware.

About 71,000 utility customers were without power in Mississippi on Saturday, and the number was expected to rise, said Malary White, chief communications officer for the state’s emergency management agency.

At about 3.30am on Sunday, nearly 81,000 customers were without power in the state, down from 93,000 at about 1am, according to the electric utility tracking website PowerOutage.us.

The emergency management agency did not have official damage reports on Saturday. First responders were focused on ensuring safety and making sure everyone was accounted for, White said.

“We do anticipate more thorough damage assessments starting in the early morning hours,” she said.

The NWS office in Birmingham, Alabama, issued overnight severe thunderstorm warnings for several areas in the southern part of the state, advising residents to seek shelter to avoid possible damaging winds up to 60mph (96.5km/h).

The science of happiness has spawned hundreds of thousands of studies, surveys, books and reviews, but what reliably lifts the spirits, to what extent, and who benefits most are still far from nailed down.

Now, psychologists have drawn up plans for the world’s largest happiness experiment to thrash out once and for all what really gives people an emotional boost, how effective different strategies are, and whether the benefits are the same around the globe.

“Our goal is for this to be the largest, most comprehensive, most diverse experiment on happiness ever conducted,” said Prof Elizabeth Dunn, a psychologist at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. “It’s like the Avengers: many of the top happiness researchers from around the world have come together to join forces.”

In the past six months, more than 1,000 scientists from over 70 countries submitted proposals for the project. In December, an expert panel whittled these down to seven categories of interventions, each including three or four different approaches, which will be tested in the Global Happiness Megastudy.

The researchers aim to recruit at least 30,000 people worldwide for the trial. The volunteers will be randomly assigned to perform a short, sharp intervention from the list, or assigned to a control group for comparison. Each happiness intervention is designed to last no more than 25 minutes and requires no special equipment.

The strategies range from physical exercise, involving yoga, high-intensity interval training or body weight resistance training, to social interactions, where people might call a loved one, push themselves to behave in more extroverted ways, or chat with an AI companion.

“All of the interventions can be done at home, people don’t need anyone watching them or helping them,” said Dr Barnabás Szászi, a behavioural scientist and principal investigator on the project at Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest. “That was a very conscious decision on our part.”

The project aims to address shortcomings that raise questions over the validity of some older happiness research. One concern is that most research involves “weird” people – western, educated, industrialised, rich and democratic – meaning the bulk of the evidence is based on people from North America, Europe and other western regions. But what makes a person in Chicago happy might not work in Chongqing, Nagoya or Mombasa.

The lack of diversity is not the only issue. Happiness interventions are delivered in different ways to different populations in different settings, making direct comparisons impossible. Another problem occurs when researchers do not pre-register their studies, a move that requires them to outline their plans and analyses in advance. This can lead to spurious claims if scientists repeatedly analyse their data until they find a statistically significant result. The practice, known as p-hacking, is likened to drawing a target around a bullet hole and claiming to have hit the bullseye.

Having done the groundwork, Dunn and Szászi are now looking for funders to move the project on. If all goes well, they aim to publish a registered report in a major journal to record the methods and data analyses they will use. The experiments themselves should start soon after.

“What will we have at the end of it?” said Dunn. “We will have the largest and most diverse dataset ever collected on the strategies that promote happiness. How effective are these strategies? Do they work everywhere? Do some work extremely well for a small group of people and barely do anything for many others?

“If we find things that are universally effective, or that are at least effective in certain places, and identify what kinds of places those are, or what kinds of people benefit, it will be a huge leap forward for the science of happiness.”

Rebel Wilson has married wife, Ramona Agruma, for the second time in Sydney and this time it was legal.

Wilson, the Australian actor and director, revealed the “legal wedding” was officiated by her sister on Sunday via Instagram, in a post accompanied by photos of the couple standing in front of the Sydney Opera House with the Harbour Bridge in the background.

“My sister Liberty officiated our legal wedding in Sydney! It meant my 94 year old grandmother Gar could come which was very special to us to have her included and just felt right to do it in my hometown at this glorious time of the year!” Wilson said.

The second nuptials followed a lavish wedding ceremony and reception in Sardinia, in Italy, in September, where the couple wore matching white bridal dresses from Spanish designer Pronovias, according to Vogue.

The Sydney event appeared to be a simpler affair. The photos shared by Wilson on Instagram show the Australian actor and director in a ruffled, off-the-shoulder peach gown, embracing Agruma, who was wearing a vintage-look floral dress with scalloped sleeves from Australian brand Zimmerman.

Wilson and Agruma were engaged on Valentine’s Day last year, after welcoming a daughter in 2022. They met in late 2021 after bonding over text messages.

The happy news comes at the end of a busy year for Wilson, best known for her roles in Pitch Perfect and Bridemaids, who released a memoir in May. The star is also being sued in California for defamation over social media posts.

When the scientist and inventor Prof Archibald Montgomery Low predicted “a day in the life of a man of the future” one century ago, his prophesies were sometimes dismissed as “ruthlessly imaginative”.

They included, reported the London Daily News in 1925, “such horrors” as being woken by radio alarm clock; communications “by personal radio set”; breakfasting “with loudspeaker news and television glimpses of events”; shopping by moving stairways and moving pavements.

One hundred years after Low’s publication of his book The Future some of his forecasts were spot on. Others, including his prophesy that everyone would be wearing synthetic felt one-piece suits and hats, less so.

Researchers from the online genealogy service Findmypast, have excavated accounts of Low’s predictions from its extensive digital archive of historical newspapers available to the public and included them in a collection on its website of forecasts made for 2025 by people a century ago.

Low, born in 1888, was an engineer, research physicist, inventor and author. A pioneer in many fields, he invented the first powered drone, worked on the development of television, was known as the “father of radio guidance systems” for his work on planes, torpedo boats and guided rockets and reportedly attracted at least two unsuccessful assassination attempts by the Germans.

In 1925, he predicted how home loudspeakers and “a television machine” would replace “the picture paper” – or newspapers – for information and on demand entertainment; access to global broadcasting at the press of a button; and the use of secret cameras and listening devices to catch criminals.

He foresaw the use of moving pavements and stairs, essentially the escalators and travelators of today, as well as “automatic telephones” with the benefit of getting the right number every time, as opposed to the 1920s rotary dial phones.

Some outlandish imaginings included new ways of illuminating streets by herbs (1926), jets of electrically charged water to replace cavalry (1923) and mind-to-mind electrical communication (1925). Others, such as women in trousers becoming the norm (1924) and sex determination before birth (1926) are very much on the mark.

The major investment in offshore wind and solar power of recent years appears to fulfil another prediction: that “wind and tide are also to be harnessed to the service of man”. Yet another was: “Life is to be made far easier by the use of machinery that will do all the heavy and disagreeable work.”

The average man, according to one newspaper report, “will be called punctually by a radio alarm clock set to pick up the particular signal at the time he wishes to rise”. Before the rise of automated alarms, people would be woken for work by an early-morning “knocker upper”, a person going door-to-door tapping windowpanes with a long wooden stick, which did not die out in Britain until the 1940s and 50s. However, Low’s prediction that the alarm clock would be set for “probably nine-thirty” was optimistic.

Another prophesy, that each morning people would enjoy “a few moments radio light treatment or massage in order to keep fit and alert for the day’s business,” does seem to tap into the modern health and wellness trends of today.

Jen Baldwin, a research specialist at Findmypast, which has more than 87m digitised historical newspaper pages, said: “It’s amazing that a century ago, one visionary scientist could predict how emerging technology – in its infancy at the time – could have changed the world by 2025. It makes you stop to wonder how the advancements we see around us today will be experienced by our own descendants.”

Low, who died aged 68, carried on making predictions throughout his life. Not all found favour. In 1929, the Daily Express reported, with some outrage, the professor was in some ways an “arrant conservative” who had declared it would be centuries before “women approach men in intelligence” and then only when they take on “men’s physical characteristics”.

“A woman doctor in Munich has just been prophesying that women who bob their hair will in time grow beards. She and Professor Low ought to meet,” the paper said.