Daily News Briefing
Brief. Me - December 27, 2025 8:44 am
Sarah Everard: Boris Johnson ‘deeply concerned’ by vigil footage
BBC News says Boris Johnson is “deeply concerned” by footage from the vigil to remember Sarah Everard at the weekend, which showed police officers detaining women.
The PM will chair a meeting of the crime and justice taskforce later to discuss ways to protect women.
Officers handcuffed women and removed them from the gathering on Clapham Common in London on Saturday. Met Police Commissioner Cressida Dick has dismissed calls to resign and defended the force’s actions.
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Labour to vote against Priti Patel’s crime legislation ‘mess’, sparking row over women’s safety and the right to protest
Sky News says Labour has revealed it will vote against the government’s flagship crime legislation, branding it a “mess” that could lead to tougher penalties for damaging a statue than attacking a woman.
Shadow justice secretary David Lammy said the suspected murder of Sarah Everard had “instigated a national demand for action to tackle violence against women” and so it was “no time to be rushing through poorly thought-out measures to impose disproportionate controls on free expression”.
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Myanmar military condemned for ‘appalling’ violence as Yangon martial law brought in
The Guardian says the killing of at least 39 people by Myanmar’s security forces in one of the deadliest days since last month’s coup has been condemned by the UK and the United Nations as “appalling” and “heartbreaking”.
Sunday’s violence brings the number of people killed in mass protests since the military seized power from civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi to about 100, though activists and rights groups believe it could be higher.
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Beijing smothered by hazardous yellow smog
France24 says Beijing was cloaked by thick yellow smog on Monday with pollution surging to hazardous levels as a sandstorm swept across China’s capital.
City residents used goggles, masks and hairnets to protect themselves from the choking air, with landmarks including the Forbidden City and the distinctive headquarters of state broadcaster CCTV partly obscured behind an apocalyptic-looking pall of smog.
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Saudi Ministry of Health: COVID-19 vaccines are ‘safe’
Arab News says COVID-19 vaccines are safe, a spokesman for the Ministry of Health said Sunday as he rejected news that the Kingdom had halted the use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for 48 hours.
More than 2.2 million people have received their COVID-19 jabs so far in Saudi Arabia.
Health Ministry spokesman Dr. Mohammed Al-Abd Al-Aly said in a press conference that authorities were continuing to monitor the safety and efficacy of vaccines, which had not shown any concerning issues to date.
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Police break up anti-lockdown protest ahead of Dutch elections
Aljazeera says police have used water cannon and batons to disperse a crowd of several thousand anti-lockdown protesters gathered at a field in the centre of The Hague a day before elections in the Netherlands.
The demonstration was broken up after the protesters flouted social distancing rules and ignored police warnings to disperse. Local media said several arrests were made during the clashes. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
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Fauci: US Normalcy Soon, but Cautions on Premature Easing of COVID Restrictions
VOA says Dr Anthony Fauci, said Sunday he is optimistic the country can return to some sense of normalcy by the annual July 4 independence celebration, but that precautions still need to be taken in the meantime to avert a new surge in infections.
The US is picking up the pace of coronavirus vaccinations, administering a new high of 3 million shots on Saturday. Fauci told news talk shows he believes the U.S. will have enough doses of vaccine by the end of May so that any American who wants a shot will be able to get one. Biden last week said all adults, not just older people, should be eligible to get a shot starting May 1.
UK WEATHER FORECAST
SUNRISE 06:17
Sunset 18:08
TODAY
Today will be a largely dry day with lighter winds. In the morning, there will be a few showers in the south of Wales and southwest England. Eastern areas can expect sunny spells.
TONIGHT
Tonight, a weak system will bring showers or spells of rain to the north. Dry conditions are expected for the southern UK in the evening, but some patchy light rain will move in overnight.
Tweets
Our fav won best pop solo performance 😍
— WTX News UK (@WtxNews) March 15, 2021
Watch the full LIVE COVERAGE of the Grammys https://t.co/XFkjqE5pis #harrystyles #grammys2021 #taylorswift #theweeknd #beyonce #AlbumOfTheYear #grammyawards2021link #GRAMMYs pic.twitter.com/ILuNeWwhGX
FROM WTX NEWS
https://wtxnews.com/entertainment/2021-the-grammys-live-now/
RENAISSANCE
“ May the Force be with you.”
Star Wars, 1977
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More than 1,000 civil service jobs to be relocated to Scotland, government says
More than 1,000 civil service jobs are to be relocated to Scotland in the coming years, the government has announced.
Alongside a previously announced secondary Cabinet Office headquarters in Glasgow with 500 staff by 2024, officials said more than 500 civil servants from the Foreign Office would be stationed north of the border by the middle of the decade. – The Independent
COVID vaccines: Ireland suspends AstraZeneca jab as company announces further cuts to EU deliveries
Ireland on Sunday became the latest country to temporarily suspend the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine over reports of serious blood clotting events in vaccinated people.
“It has not been concluded that there is a link between the COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca and these cases” of blood clotting, Dr Ronan Glynn, Ireland’s Deputy Chief Medical Officer said in a statement.
“However, acting on the precautionary principal, an pending receipt of further information, the NIAC [National Immunisation Advisory Committee] has recommended the temporary deferral of the COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca vaccination programme in Ireland,” he added. – Euronews
Amazon, Union Battle for Undecided Workers in High-Stakes Vote
Arab Parliament, Jordan condemn opening of Czech Jerusalem office
The Arab Parliament condemned Czech Republic’s opening of an embassy in Jerusalem, saying the decision is against the international law and violates the rights of Palestinians, state news agency Petra reported.
Speaker of the Parliament Adel Assomi called on the “government and parliament of the Czech Republic to not follow through with this illegal action that runs counter to the international legitimacy.” – Arab News
Chinese workers injured in Myanmar factory attacks, China’s embassy says
China’s embassy in Myanmar said many Chinese employees were injured and trapped when factories in the Hlaing Tharyar district of Yangon were looted and destroyed.
The embassy asked for security to be guaranteed quickly, a statement on the embassy’s Facebook page said, describing the situation as “very severe”. It said Chinese citizens in Myanmar had also been warned. – CNA
Australia March 4 Justice: Thousands march against sexual assault
Tens of thousands of people have turned out to marches across Australia, protesting against the sexual abuse and harassment of women in the country.
They are spurred by a recent wave of allegations of sexual assault, centred around Australia’s parliament.
The allegations have focused scrutiny on the conservative government.
The protests were organised a week ago, after Attorney General Christian Porter revealed he was the subject of a 1988 rape allegation – which he denies. – BBC World
Business news
Miles of new bus lanes and more services promised – BBC Business
Virgin Atlantic in discussions about £160m injection as travel ban forces fresh creditor talks – Sky Business
VW to cut up to 4,000 jobs via early retirement, sources say – Reuters
Sports News
Cultura
YOUR QUESTIONS answered
what happened at the capitol?
On January 6, 2021, a mob of rioters supporting United States President Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn his defeat in the 2020 presidential election stormed the U.S. Capitol, breaching security and occupying parts of the building for several hours.
After attending a rally organized by Trump, thousands of his supporters marched down Pennsylvania Avenue before many stormed the United States Capitol in an effort to disrupt the electoral college vote count during a joint session of Congress and prevent the formalization of President-elect Joe Biden’s election victory.
After breaching police perimeters, they occupied, vandalized, and ransacked parts of the building for several hours. The insurrection led to the evacuation and lockdown of the Capitol building and five deaths. – Read on
what does brexit mean?
Brexit was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) and the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom) at the end of 31 January 2020 CET.
To date, the UK is the first and only country formally to leave the EU, after 47 years of membership within the bloc, after having first joined its predecessor, the European Communities (EC), on 1 January 1973.
It continued to participate in the European Union Customs Union and European Single Market during a transition period that ended on 31 December 2020 at 23:00 GMT. – Read on
covid-19 meaning
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).
It was first identified in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. The World Health Organization declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern in January 2020 and a pandemic in March 2020.
As of 11 January 2021, more than 90.3 million cases have been confirmed, with more than 1.93 million deaths attributed to COVID-19.
coronavirus definition
Meaning of “coronavirus” and related terminology “coronavirus” means severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)
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Get the latest NHS information and advice about coronavirus (COVID-19)