Wednesday 2 December
- New Covid tier system comes into force in England.
- Debenhams website inundated as shoppers try to grab bargains from collapsing chain.
- US attorney general says no evidence of election-altering fraud.
- Netanyahu’s rival says Israeli PM ‘only working to save himself from trial’ as country might hold FOURTH election in 2 years.
- Joshua Wong defiant ahead of Hong Kong sentencing.
- UN: Food has run out for nearly 100,000 refugees in Ethiopia.
- US, Europe develop vaccine plans with approval likely soon.
EU keeps UK guessing on post-Brexit rights – FT
Nike’s diversity advert causing a backlash in Japan – BBC Business
UAE looks to new reforms to boost economy and global image – WTX News
Takeovers, scandal and debt – the colourful decades that ended in Debenhams’ downfall – Sky News
New Covid tier system comes into force in England
BBC News says England has returned to a tiered system of Covid restrictions after its second national lockdown ended.
The tougher new system came into force on Wednesday after being approved by MPs on Tuesday.
The government said the move would help “safeguard the gains made during the past month”, despite 55 Tories voting against PM Boris Johnson’s plan.
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Debenhams website inundated as shoppers try to grab bargains from collapsing chain
Sky News says shoppers have been waiting in virtual queues for over an hour as they rush to snap up deals on the Debenhams website after the chain’s collapse.
The department store chain is being wound down after JD Sports pulled out of talks on a rescue takeover, placing 12,000 jobs at risk in a horror week for UK retail.
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US attorney general says no evidence of election-altering fraud
France24 says the US attorney general rejected Republican claims of significant voter fraud in the presidential election on Tuesday, adding to the pressure on Donald Trump to give up his effort to overturn Joe Biden’s clear victory.
“To date, we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have effected a different outcome in the election,” Attorney General Bill Barr told the Associated Press in an interview.
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Netanyahu’s rival says Israeli PM ‘only working to save himself from trial’ as country might hold FOURTH election in 2 years
RT News says Benny Gantz said his party will back a bill to dissolve the Knesset and send the country into its fourth election in just two years, as a shaky coalition with PM Benjamin Netanyahu continues to unravel.
Gantz said on Tuesday that his party would support an opposition-crafted bill to dissolve parliament, accusing Netanyahu of reneging on a two-year budget plan that he accepted as part of a unity government deal struck earlier this year.
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Joshua Wong defiant ahead of Hong Kong sentencing
Aljazeera says, Joshua Wong, the Hong Kong activist, who rose to prominence as a teenager is facing 3 years in jail when he’s sentenced on Wednesday.
He has already served several sentences in relation to his role in the 2014 Umbrella pro-democracy protests. At the time, he was just 17, but he became the poster boy for the mass civil-disobedience movement, which brought parts of the city’s business district to a standstill for 79 days.
His sentencing is over the last year’s unprecedented anti-government protests, which began in opposition to a proposed extradition bill with mainland China.
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UN: Food has run out for nearly 100,000 refugees in Ethiopia
Arab News says the UN says food has now run out for the nearly 100,000 refugees from Eritrea who have been sheltering in camps in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, which has been cut off from the world for nearly a month amid fighting.
“Concerns are growing by the hour,” UN refugee spokesman Babar Baloch told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday. “The camps will have now run out of food supplies – making hunger and malnutrition a real danger, a warning we have been issuing since the conflict began nearly a month ago. We are also alarmed at unconfirmed reports of attacks, abductions and forced recruitment at the refugee camps.”
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US, Europe develop vaccine plans with approval likely soon
TRT World says the US and Europe fleshed out plans to administer vaccines as soon as they gain approval, with a US panel recommending that healthcare workers and nursing home residents be given top priority.
Hopes are high that shots could be ready for use before the end of the year, with two frontrunner vaccines, by Moderna and BioNTech/Pfizer, already seeking emergency use approval on both sides of the Atlantic.
In Review
UK BECOMES FIRST COUNTRY TO AUTHORISE PFIZER/BIONTECH COVID-19 VACCINE
The UK has become the first country to approve the Pfizer and BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine.
Matt Hancock announced on Wednesday that the UK’s medicines regulatory agency has authorised the coronavirus vaccine. –WTX News
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What’s the media saying?
U.K. Approves Pfizer Coronavirus Vaccine, a First in the West – New York Times
Reaction as UK begins to vaccinate next week – BBC
Extremely vulnerable in UK given high priority for coronavirus vaccine – The Guardian
GPs ‘may REFUSE’ to sign-up to UK’s Covid vaccine drive unless they are given more money up-front – as family doctors warn IT problems could make a ‘dog’s breakfast’ out of programme – Daily Mail
‘End in sight!’ Matt Hancock overjoyed at vaccine after step-grandfather’s tragic death – Express
‘This is propaganda’: Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo slammed for ‘softball’ Trump interview
“Let’s be clear,” CNN contributor Amanda Carpenter tweeted. “Maria Bartiromo is not interviewing the President (right now). She is providing him a free platform to feed his base talking points uncontested. … This is propaganda.” – USA Today
UK becomes first country to authorise Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine
The UK has become the first country to approve the Pfizer and BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine.
Matt Hancock announced on Wednesday that the UK’s medicines regulatory agency has authorised the coronavirus vaccine. – WTX News
EU presses Morocco on migrants after arrivals overwhelm Canary Islands
The EU wants to improve cooperation with Morocco for the return of the later’s citizens who don’t qualify asylum or refugee status in the bloc, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson said Tuesday in Rabat. – Africanews
Iran tells MBZ it will hit UAE in response to a US attack
Threat given to Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed directly hours before Emirati statement condemning the assassination of a nuclear scientist. – Middle East Eye
South Korea COVID-19 outbreak adds new stress to gruelling, 8-hour exam
From avoiding family members to skipping extra study at “cram schools”, Covid-19 has forced nearly half a million South Korean test-takers and proctors to rethink their strategies ahead of a hyper-competitive university entrance exam this week. – CNA
