Cardinal George Pell has died aged 81.

Cardinal George Pell has died, aged 81, following complications from a hip replacement surgery. 

Cardinal Pell, the former Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne, died on Tuesday evening, in Vatican City, AAP has confirmed.

He was the Vatican's top finance minister before he left in 2017 to stand trial in Australia for child abuse offences.

Cardinal Pell was in 2018 convicted of molesting two teenage choirboys in the sacristy at St Patrick's Cathedral while he was Archbishop of Melbourne in 1996.

Pell always maintained his innocence and his convictions were quashed in a unanimous decision by the High Court in 2020.

- With AAP. 

Prince Harry's tell-all memoir, Spare, has broken a record on its first day of release, becoming the UK’s fastest selling non-fiction book ever.

The publisher said the book, which was officially released yesterday in the UK and today in Australia, had sold 400,000 copies so far across hardback, e-book and audio formats, according to British sales figures. 

"We always knew this book would fly but it is exceeding even our most bullish expectations," Transworld Penguin Random House Managing Director, Larry Finlay, said in a statement.

"As far as we know, the only books to have sold more in their first day are those starring the other Harry (Potter)."

The book is also ranking as the best-seller on Amazon's UK, US and Australian websites.

As thousands get their hands on the books, Prince Harry and Meghan, as well as other celebrities living in Montecito, California, have been ordered to evacuate their homes following threats of flooding and mudslides. 

Fellow resident, Ellen DeGeneres, shared footage of the flooding in the area a video on Instagram yesterday. 

"Montecito is under complete evacuation, the entire town. This is crazy! We are having unprecedented rain," she said.

"This creek next to our house never ever flows. It's probably about nine feet up, and it's going to go another two feet. We need to be nicer to Mother Nature. Stay safe everybody. Yikes."

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Aussie tennis star Nick Kyrgios has taken another swipe at critics after his pre-Australian Open practice match with Novak Djokovic quickly sold out.

The pair will play on Friday night at Melbourne's Rod Laver Arena for 75 minutes under match conditions, with umpires, ballkids and electronic line-calling.

The $20 tickets for the contest between last year's Wimbledon finalists went on sale yesterday and reportedly sold out in just under an hour.

"Wow Nick Kyrgios is bad for the sport! Wow what a disgrace, a national embarrassment! How dare he sell out another stadium, the arrogance," Kyrgios wrote on Twitter.

Wow Nick Kyrgios is bad for the sport! Wow what a disgrace, a national embarrassment! How dare he sell out another stadium, the arrogance https://t.co/Sn37U2nAjv

— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) January 10, 2023

Proceeds from the practice match are going towards the Australian Tennis Foundation.

Kyrgios' lead-up to the first grand slam of the year has been clouded by injury. He pulled out of the United Cup and Adelaide International 2 due to an ankle problem.

"Nick is focused on doing the best he can," tournament director Craig Tiley told reporters earlier this week.

"He wants to win grand slams, so he's giving himself the best opportunity to prepare and Friday night will be a really good practice match for him, as it will be for Novak.

"That's going to be a fun night to really launch the beginning of the year and he'll be ready."

- With AAP. 

In entertainment news, Hollywood's awards season will officially kick off today with the 80th annual Golden Globes.

Most of this year's nominees are expected to attend the red-carpet ceremony in Beverly Hills, following last year's muted ceremony due to diversity and ethics scandals.

The future of the Globes was thrown into doubt after a 2021 Los Angeles Times investigation found the organisation had no black journalists in its ranks. Some members were accused of making sexist and racist remarks and soliciting favours from celebrities and movie studios.

Longtime broadcaster NBC dropped the 2022 telecast, but the Comcast Corp network agreed to air the ceremony again this year after the Hollywood Foreign Press Association instituted changes and new ethics rules. Among roughly 200 voters, nearly 52 per cent are racially and ethnically diverse, including 10 per cent who are black.

"The organisation really went through a total reform process in the last 18 months," Hoehne said. "We increased diversity, transparency, accountability."

Comedian Jerrod Carmichael will host the three-hour ceremony, while Eddie Murphy will receive a lifetime achievement honour. Director Quentin Tarantino and actor Jamie Lee Curtis are listed among presenters.

Nominees expected to attend include Pitt and his Babylon co-star Margot Robbie, Spielberg and cast from his coming-of-age film The Fabelmans, The Woman King star Viola Davis, Avatar director James Cameron and singer Rihanna, a nominee for a song from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

🌟 Congratulations to the 2023 Golden Globe Awards nominees 🌟 Check out the full list here: https://t.co/1D1gdxZYSJ

Don't miss the #GoldenGlobes Tuesday, January 10 at 8pm ET / 5pm PT on @NBC! pic.twitter.com/TjRlyR72SY

— Golden Globe Awards (@goldenglobes) December 12, 2022

Australian nominees include Cate Blanchett (Tar), Hugh Jackman (The Son), Margot Robbie (Babylon), Baz Luhrmann (Elvis) and Elizabeth Debicki (The Crown).

- With AAP. 

Feature Image: AAP.