Brief. Me Better Faster December 23, 2025 11:46 am
At least 10 EU countries will not extradite criminals to UK because of Brexit
At least 10 EU countries will no longer extradite their nationals to face prosecution in the UK because of Brexit, the government has admitted.
In correspondence with the House of Lords EU Committee, it said Croatia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Latvia, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden will be “invoking constitutional rules as reason not to extradite their own nationals to the UK”. – The Independent
Belarus: Over 200 arrested during Freedom Day protests
More than 200 people were detained across Belarus on Thursday during protests against President Alexander Lukashenko as the country marked Freedom Day.
In the capital, Minsk, it was the first sizeable turnout of demonstrators since weeks of protests rocked the country last year. Freezing temperatures and the authorities’ violent crackdown had led to numbers dropping significantly. – Euronews
It took the Pentagon 22 days to make a meme
And they don’t even know if it worked.
For most people, the creativity associated with meme’s is spontaneous, cathartic – it usually mocks or satirises political and popular culture.
When US military officials at the Pentagon tried their hand at a shitposting meme, it took them 22 days. – TRT World
Iran’s online anti-government protests gain momentum
The online presence of the anti-government campaign, “no to the Islamic Republic”, calling for the removal of the clerical regime has gained popularity in the recent days, TV news channel Al Arabiya reported.
The campaign launched in March against the current government has gained traction in the recent days with more than 600 anti-regime Iranians, including political activists, artists, athletes and academics. – Arab News
Firebomb attack at Aung San Suu Kyi’s party headquarters in Myanmar
A fire from a hurled Molotov cocktail broke out early on Friday (Mar 26) at the party headquarters of deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi in Myanmar’s largest city, a party official said.
The country has been in uproar since the military ousted the Nobel laureate in a lightning putsch on Feb 1, triggering an uprising demanding a return to democracy. – CNA
North Korea claims ‘new tactical guided’ missiles launched
North Korea has claimed the missiles it launched Thursday were a “new-type tactical guided projectile”, in its first statement since the test.
It was the country’s first ballistic launch in almost a year and the first since Joe Biden became US President.
Mr Biden has said the US will “respond accordingly”. The US, Japan and South Korea have condemned the tests. – BBC World
Uighurs: China bans UK MPs after abuse sanctions
BBC News China has imposed sanctions on nine UK citizens – including five MPs – for spreading what it called “lies and disinformation” about the country.
The group are among the most vocal critics of China in the UK.
It comes in retaliation for measures taken by the UK government on Monday over human rights abuses against the Uighur Muslim minority group.
40,600 people likely caught Covid while hospital inpatients in England
The Guardian says more than 40,600 people have been likely infected with coronavirus while being treated in hospital in England for another reason, raising concerns about the NHS’s inability to protect them.
In one in five hospitals at least a fifth of all patients found to have the virus caught it while an inpatient. North Devon district hospital in Barnstable had the highest rate of such cases among acute trusts in England at 31%.
Germany to list France as Covid-19 high-risk zone
France24 says Germany will classify France as a high-risk zone for Covid-19, Chancellor Angela Merkel said, in a move that could see Berlin tighten border controls and require mandatory quarantine to enter the country.
The decision will come into force on Friday and be announced by the national health institute, the Robert Koch Institute, according to the newspaper FAZ.
Covid-10 incidence rates, which measure the number of infections in every 100,000 people over the previous seven days, have crossed the threshold of 200 in numerous French departments.
Egypt races to free giant vessel blocking Suez Canal
Arab News says a giant container ship remained stuck sideways Friday in Egypt’s Suez Canal, as authorities race to free the vessel and reopen traffic in a crucial East-West waterway for global shipping.
The Ever Given, a Panama-flagged ship that carries cargo between Asia and Europe, ran aground Tuesday in the narrow, man-made canal dividing continental Africa from the Sinai Peninsula.
The ship, owned by Japanese firm Shoei Kisen KK, has blocked traffic in the canal, leaving dozens of smaller ships stranded in the Mediterranean and Red Seas.
Death toll in Myanmar’s post-coup crackdown surpasses 300
Aljazeera says some 34 more people have been killed in Myanmar, taking the civilian death toll in the security forces’ crackdown on anti-coup protests to 320, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), which is tracking deaths and arrests, said in its latest update on Thursday.
The AAPP said it had documented additional deaths across Myanmar including Yangon, its biggest city and ethnic minority areas in the country’s borderlands.
Biden: ‘Hard’ to meet May 1 Afghanistan troop exit deadline
TRT World says Joe Biden has said it will be “hard” to meet the May 1 deadline to withdraw all American soldiers from Afghanistan as part of a Taliban deal, but stressed troops are not there indefinitely.
“It is going to be hard to meet the May 1 deadline in terms of tactical reasons. It’s hard to get those troops out,” Biden said on Thursday in his first press conference since taking office on January 20.
“We will leave, the question is when we leave,” he said.
Border Issue Dominates Biden’s First News Conference
VOA says Joe Biden took questions from reporters for one hour Thursday during his first formal news conference, an encounter partly intended to refute conservative critics who had predicted the oldest man ever elected U.S. president would not be up to the task.
After brief opening remarks about his administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, Biden responded to questions from 10 reporters, calling their names off a list on his lectern.
On his 65th day in office, the president found that most of the questions had to do with immigration, specifically about the government’s treatment of child migrants at the border.
Live Updates
- Uighurs: China bans UK MPs after abuse sanctions
- Germany to list France as Covid-19 high-risk zone
- Death toll in Myanmar’s post-coup crackdown surpasses 300
- England take Kholi’s wicket
Most of Friday’s front pages carry the stories of the UK pub passports and UK ‘plans October booster jab’.
The Daily Mail reports there are plans for a mobile phone app that can provide proof of vaccinations or negative tests, and that venues taking part could drop social-distancing rules. Adding plans have been met with ‘fury’ and reports hospitality bosses have called the idea ‘unworkable’ and ‘costly’. – Daily Mail
The Guardian suggests making Covid certificates compulsory for entry into pubs is part of a strategy to encourage young people to get their vaccinations.
It says there are fears within the government that those in lower age groups are less likely to take up their jabs – The Guardian
i News reports it has seen NHS documents over plans to give out booster vaccines in October to people who have already been jabbed. The paper says the documents say the move is designed to protect people from new variants.
The paper adds drive-through vaccine centres will be created next month for the under-50s. – i News
Covid: February redundancy plans fall despite lockdown – Read on
COVID-19: Chancellor urges firms to reopen their offices once lockdown ends -Read on
UK retail sales rise 2.1% in February – Reuters
Football
England win 5-0 San Marino: Is Gareth Southgate’s Euros selection getting tougher by the game?- Read on
World Cup 2026: Are USA building towards success on home soil in 2026? – Read on
Italy too strong for Northern Ireland – Read on
Formula 1
Formula 1 Practise kicks off today with the Bahrain Grand Prix at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, 26-28 March.
| First practice | 11:30-12:30 GMT |
Cricket
One day International – India and England face each other again in the second ODI cricket ODI series. England won toss; India 1-0 up in three-match series
Jessica Walter: Arrested Development star dies aged 80 – Read on
Glee’s Lea Michele felt ‘lowest in entire life’ during ‘very scary’ pregnancy – Read on
One Direction’s Niall Horan ‘felt like a prisoner’ during the band’s heyday – Read on
Covid-19: Dutch sign up for test holiday on Greek island
A Dutch travel firm will take nearly 200 people for an eight-day holiday in Greece aimed at seeing if tourism is feasible during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Those picked will have an all-inclusive getaway on the island of Rhodes at a cost of €399 (£344; $472) per person, but there are some catches.
They will not be allowed to leave the resort and will have to quarantine for up to 10 days when they return home.- BBC World
A spat over Covid vaccine doses has erupted between the European Union and the UK threatens to have far reaching implications over coronavirus jab disruption.
Brussels demanded access to AstraZeneca vaccines manufactured in UK plants to make up for a shortfall after the pharmaceutical giant said it would have to cut the amount of doses delivered to the bloc by the end of March.
What do we know about the dispute? And what potential implications could the rumbling dispute have on future Covid vaccine rollouts? – (ITV)
Recent and upcoming changes
Restrictions are easing across the UK.
In England
Step 1 of the roadmap out of lockdown has begun. Shielding ends on 31 March.
In Scotland
People will be asked to ‘Stay Local’ from 2 April. A timetable for further lockdown easing from 5 April is on GOV.SCOT.
In Wales
The stay at home restriction was lifted on 13 March. Read about the rules on GOV.WALES.
In Northern Ireland
The next review will happen on or before 15 April. You can read the guidance on current restrictions on nidirect.
latest Covid-19 news
For the latest Covid-19 news visit the UK governement website