Brief. Me - December 22, 2024 12:47 pm
In today’s briefing update, the Sunday Papers says MPs did flout 10 pm bar curfew, one million young Britons face a job crisis within weeks and the Queen pardons London Bridge hero.
In our special feature, we look at global coronavirus updates.
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Official: MPs did flout 10 pm bar curfew
The Mail on Sunday says an official inquiry has confirmed MPs were drinking in a Commons bar beyond the nationwide 10 pm curfew. Health Secretary Matt Hancock has reportedly refused to answer 30 times whether he was among the group flouting the rules.
Read the full story on the Daily Mail
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Blair accused of breaking quarantine rules with trips to US
The Sunday Telegraph’s front page reports Tony Blair has been accused of breaching quarantine rules after being pictured at a restaurant in London reportedly 10 days after visiting Washington DC.
The paper says he has been accused of failing to self-isolate for the full two-week period that is required after travelling to the US for a two-day trip on a private jet.
Read the full story on the Telegraph
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One million young Britons ‘face job crisis within weeks’
The Observer lead story says a million young people between the ages of 16 and 24 will face a jobs crisis within weeks. This “Covid generation” will struggle to find work when the furlough scheme ends this month, according to analysis from labour-market experts. And a picture of Jacinda Ardern dominates the front page following her party’s landslide victory in New Zealand’s election.
Read the full story on the Guardian
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Virus circuit breakers would not end
The Sunday Express reports there are fears that circuit-breakers – a short, limited lockdown – “would not end”. The paper quotes a Whitehall source who said the proposal will cause great damage to the economy by triggering indefinite lockdowns.
Read the full story on the Daily Express
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Queen’s pardon for hero killer of London Bridge
The Queen has pardoned a jailed killer who helped foil the London Bridge terror attack last year, the Sunday Mirror reports. The paper says that Steven Gallant, who was on day release and intervened when terrorist Usman Khan began attacking people, will be let out early.
Read the full story on the Daily Mirror
https://wtxnews.com/2020/10/16/insta-talk-ep-9-black-history-month/
UK Weather Forecast
Sunday 18th October 2020
Today
It will be mainly dry and cloudy with the best chance of sunny spells in western areas. However, rain will push into Northern Ireland and the far north of Scotland in the evening.
Tonight
Rain will continue to spread north-east across Northern Ireland and Scotland. Elsewhere, it will remain largely dry with clear spells in central and eastern areas of England and a moderate breeze.
Tweet of the Day
Skills that hollywood think is still relevant but no one has: #1592 whistling down a taxi
Treat of the week
Msmen/Rghaif/Marokkaanse pannenkoek
Renaissance
“You gotta hear this one song. It’ll change your life, I swear.”
Garden State (2004)
A bit of Nostalgia from our entertainment people
Featured Story
In today’s special feature we look at global coronavirus updates.
GLOBAL COVID-19 TODAY
CORONAVIRUS CASES: 40,000,081
DEATHS: 1,115,154
RECOVERED: 29,919,338
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Coronavirus drives shop closures to new record
BBC News says a record number of shops closed on UK high streets during the first half of this year as the lockdown hit many stores hard, data shows.
Some 11,120 chain store outlets shut between January and June, according to research by the Local Data Company and accountancy firm PwC.
Although more than 5,000 shops opened during the same period it was not enough to fill the gaps, resulting in a net decline of 6,001 stores.
Read the full story on BBC News
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French cities under Covid-19 curfew as country posts record number of new cases
France24 says some 20 million French people spent their first evening under curfew on Saturday as the health ministry reported more than 32,000 new confirmed cases of Covid-19, the highest single-day tally since the start of the pandemic.
The 9pm to 6am curfew came into force in the Paris region and eight other large cities, affecting nearly a third of the country’s population.
Read the full story on France24
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Melbourne closer to easing coronavirus restrictions
Arab News says Australia’s Victoria state has reported just one new case of Covid-19 and no deaths as the city of Melbourne moves closer toward the easing of some lifestyle restrictions.
The state’s coronavirus death toll remains at 816 and the Australian total is 904.
Melbourne residents are expecting Covid-19 restrictions to be eased on Sunday but it is unclear how much freedom will be regained.
Read the full story on Arab News
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Iran imposes new restrictions as Covid-19 deaths surpass 30,000
Aljazeera says “The second time I was dealing with the virus, one night I was in so much pain that I said my prayers before going to sleep because I felt like I might not see another morning,” says Tehran resident Sadaf Samimi.
The 29-year-old journalist told Al Jazeera she first tested positive for Covid-19 in July at her workplace and has since been working from home. But in early September, she got sick a second time with the coronavirus after she met two of her close friends, who had been isolating at home. One of her friends had shopped for groceries at a large market, where they might have contracted the virus.
Read the full story on Aljazeera
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More than 218,000 people have died from coronavirus in the US
CNN says according to Johns Hopkins University’s tally, there have been at least 8,069,856 cases of coronavirus in the US since the pandemic began. At least 218,812 people have died in the US from coronavirus.
The total includes cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases.
Read the full story on CNN
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