Wednesday 30 december
News Briefing VIDEO
- Covid: Essex declares major incident over virus cases
- COVID-19: Toughest restrictions could be expanded in England as daily recorded cases pass 50,000
- Death toll rises following strong earthquake in central Croatia
- Venezuela signs deal with Russia to purchase 10 million Sputnik V vaccines for FREE distribution
- One killed, three soldiers injured in Israeli attack in Syria- SANA
- Argentina on the cusp of historic vote to legalise abortion
- Republican-led Senate to decide on Trump’s $2,000 virus relief cheques
- Scottish fishing lobby rounds on Johnson over Brexit trade deal
- FTSE 100 index of leading shares hits highest since March
- Marcus Rashford says it would be “stupid” to think about winning the Premier League title at the moment
- Harry and Meghan’s son Archie speaks publicly for first time in royal couple’s new podcast
Scottish fishing lobby rounds on Johnson over Brexit trade deal – FT News
FTSE 100 index of leading shares hits highest since March – BBC Business
Covid: Essex declares major incident over virus cases
BBC News says a major incident has been declared in Essex amid fears the number of Covid-19 cases could overwhelm the county’s health services.
The Essex Resilience Forum (ERF) said “growing demand” was putting stress on hospitals and social care settings.
On Tuesday Mid and South Essex NHS Trust placed all three of its hospitals on critical alert.
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COVID-19: Toughest restrictions could be expanded in England as daily recorded cases pass 50,000
Sky News says the toughest coronavirus restrictions could be expanded to more areas in England, as daily recorded cases continue to surge and hospitals report record numbers of patients being treated for the virus.
Possible changes to Covid-19 tier areas were discussed as Boris Johnson chaired a meeting of ministers on Tuesday.
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Death toll rises following strong earthquake in central Croatia
France24 says a search for survivors in Croatia stretched into the night after a powerful earthquake killed at least seven people in the country’s interior, tearing down rooftops and piling bricks in the streets.
The 6.4-magnitude quake was felt as far afield as Vienna but the heavy damage was concentrated in and around Petrinja, a town of around 20,000 some 50 kilometres (30 miles) south of Croatia’s capital Zagreb.
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Venezuela signs deal with Russia to purchase 10 million Sputnik V vaccines for FREE distribution
RT News says the President of Venezuela announced that Russia will deliver the Sputnik V jab to 10 million people, saying he hopes to finish the first round of vaccinations in the first three months of 2021.
Announcing the deal, Maduro said the vaccine would be “distributed free of charge to the entire population living in the country, be they Columbians, Portuguese, Italians, Venezuelans,” while taking aim at Colombia’s plan to exclude 900,000 Venezuelan migrants from its own vaccination drive.
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One killed, three soldiers injured in Israeli attack in Syria- SANA
Arab News says one person was killed and three soldiers injured as a result of “Israeli aggression” in the Damascus countryside, Syrian state news agency SANA said on Wednesday, quoting a military source.
The source said the “Israeli enemy” carried out an attack from Northern Galilee and targeted an air defense unit in the Nabi Habeel area, said SANA.
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Argentina on the cusp of historic vote to legalise abortion
Aljazeera says Argentina is marching towards what could be a historic moment as the Senate considers a bill to legalise abortion that, if approved, would make the Latin American country a leader on reproductive rights in the region.
“I have a quota of optimism, because I think we, Argentine women, deserve it,” said Marta Alanis, a member of the campaign to legalise abortion in Argentina and among a group of women who has been waging the pro-choice battle for decades
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Republican-led Senate to decide on Trump’s $2,000 virus relief cheques
TRT World says the US House of Representatives has voted 275-134 to meet Donald Trump’s demand for $2,000 Covid-19 relief cheques, sending the measure to an uncertain future in the Republican-controlled Senate.
But even as Democrats helped secure approval for what the Republican president sought on stimulus payments, they spearheaded a House vote just a short time later to override his veto of a separate $740 billion defence policy bill.
The rebuke, in Trump’s final weeks in office, would be the first veto override of his presidency if seconded by the Senate this week.
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- USA reports first case of new Covid-19 variant
- Life after Brexit: What will change for people in 2021 when the UK is free of EU rules?
- Zambia’s President dismisses 2 policemen following the death of two protesters
- Fuel or flour? Lebanon to ration $2bn in subsidies, PM says
- China sentences Hong Kong activists to up to 3 years in jail for border crossing
USA reports first case of new Covid-19 variant
The USA has reported its first case of the new, more infectious Covid-19 variant – first detected in the UK in September. The variant was found in a man in his 20s near Denver, Colorado. – ITV News
Life after Brexit: What will change for people in 2021 when the UK is free of EU rules?
Major changes will kick in on both sides of the English Channel in the New Year when the full effects of Brexit will be felt. – Euronews
Zambia’s President dismisses 2 policemen following the death of two protesters
Zambian President Edgar Lungu has dismissed two police officials and ordered for the investigation to be fast-tracked into the deaths of two opposition demonstrators last week in Lusaka. – Africanews
Fuel or flour? Lebanon to ration $2bn in subsidies, PM says
Lebanon can ration $2bn in reserves left for subsidies to last six more months, the outgoing prime minister said on Tuesday, as the country’s financial meltdown raises fears of rising hunger. – Aljazeera
China sentences Hong Kong activists to up to 3 years in jail for border crossing
A Chinese court sentenced 10 Hong Kong activists to between seven months and three years in jail on Wednesday for illegally crossing the border, in a case that has drawn international attention and concern over the defendants’ treatment. – CNA
