Daily News Briefing
Brief. Me - December 22, 2024 4:10 pm
Covid-19: Novavax vaccine shows 89% efficacy in UK trials
BBC News says a new vaccine has been shown to be 89.3% effective in large-scale UK trials.
The Novavax jab is the first to show it is effective against the new variant of the virus discovered in the UK. The PM welcomed the “good news” and said the UK’s medicines regulator would now assess the vaccine.
The UK has secured 60 million doses of the jab, which will be made in Stockton-on-Tees.
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UK economy suffering most damage since first wave of Covid-19
The Guardian says Britain’s economy is suffering the most damage since the first wave of Covid-19 as high infection rates and lockdown measures delay the economic recovery from the pandemic,.
Almost a year on since the pandemic spread to Europe, focus is shifting towards how quickly vaccines can be deployed, with the UK, for now, among countries leading the pack. Economists said this could increase the likelihood of the British economy outperforming other countries’ later this spring, depending on when lockdown restrictions are lifted.
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UK launches visa scheme for Hong Kong citizens
TRT World says Boris Johnson has hailed a new visa scheme that offers qualifying Hong Kong citizens a route to British citizenship – a programme launched in response to China’s new security laws in the former colony.
The scheme opens on Sunday and allows those with “British National (Overseas)” status to live, study and work in Britain for five years and eventually apply for citizenship.
Britain says it is fulfilling a historic and moral commitment to the people of Hong Kong, after accusing China of breaching the terms of a 1997 handover by introducing security laws that London says are being used to silence dissent.
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Poles take to the streets in renewed protest against abortion restrictions
France24 says armed with red paint and defying coronavirus restrictions, hundreds of Poles rallied in Warsaw Thursday against a controversial court verdict imposing a near-total ban on abortion.
Protesters also took to the streets elsewhere in the EU member in what was the second night of outrage after the Constitutional Court ruling came into effect on Wednesday.
The move means that all abortions in Poland are now banned except in cases of rape and incest, or when the mother’s life or health are considered to be at risk.
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Jordan presses Israel to vaccinate Palestinians
Arab News says Jordan’s King Abdullah said Israel’s failure to provide vaccines to Palestinians under occupation in the West Bank or blockaded in the Gaza Strip was counterproductive for the Jewish state.
“The Israelis have had a very successful rollout of the vaccine, however the Palestinians have not,” Abdullah told the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
“You cannot vaccinate one part of your society and not the other and think that you are going to be safe,” he said via videoconference. “That is the No. 1 lesson that COVID-19 taught us.”
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Lebanon: Funeral held for demonstrator killed in Tripoli protests
Aljazeera says hundreds of mourners in Tripoli on Thursday attended the funeral of Omar Tayba, who was wounded during Wednesday evening’s protests and riots in the city that were fuelled by anger over harsh living conditions.
More than 220 people were injured on Wednesday evening, which marked the third consecutive night of protests.
In a widely shared video, an unidentified protester said the riots were taking place after the failure by authorities to address long-standing grievances and demands for simple necessities including electricity and education.
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North America’s Largest Cemetery Struggles to Cope with COVID Deaths
VOA says Rose Hills Memorial Park and Mortuary in Whittier, California, may be the biggest cemetery in North America, but the 1,400-acre park is struggling to cope with the number of bodies awaiting funeral services because of an increase in COVID-19 deaths.
Despite the numerous facilities at Rose Hills, there is about a month’s delay before families can receive funeral services for their loved ones.
There has been a sharp increase for services since the Thanksgiving holiday in November, with demand nearly doubling, says the CEO.Â
Rose Hills has brought in a large number of refrigeration units to deal with the additional bodies.
UK WEATHER FORECAST
SUNRISE 07:46
SUNSET 16:47
TODAY
This morning, further hill snow for northern Scotland and some showers for southern Britain for a time. Some light rain for northern England later; staying mostly cloudy and dry elsewhere.
TONIGHT
Tonight will be cold and clear for the northern half of Britain. N Ireland and central England will see variable cloud amounts. Some heavy, blustery rain will push in to the south-west over night.
Tweets
Reading about Armie Hammer and thinking about how so many people who grow up in rich American dynasty families have brain worms
The Great Stand Up To Cancer Bake Off returns this Spring! Here are the celebs daring to enter our tent for a great cause… #GBBO pic.twitter.com/dhhppn0xcV
FROM WTX NEWS
https://wtxnews.com/2021/01/28/another-pandemic-covid-19-not-big-one/
https://wtxnews.com/2021/01/08/2008-bling-ring-kids-terrorised-hollywood/
RENAISSANCEÂ
“Go ahead, make my day.”
Reading resurgence leads Bloomsbury to hike guidance
Bloomsbury said that its revenue and profit would both be ahead of forecasts for the full year due to the surge in reading over lockdown.
In a trading update, the publisher said that strong trading in its consumer division would leave profit “well ahead” of expectations of ÂŁ12.1m – CityAM
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Covid-19: ‘Less exercise and more TV’ than first lockdown
Two-fifths of people say they are doing less exercise in this lockdown than during the first one in spring 2020, a large UK survey suggests.
About a fifth of people say they are watching more TV, streaming more films and gaming more.
Meanwhile a third report working more, but volunteering and time spent on hobbies has decreased. – BBC News
Why has the EU’s coronavirus vaccine rollout been so slow?
As other rich countries have surged ahead in vaccinating against COVID-19, the European Union has been left lagging behind.
It’s not that the EU doesn’t recognise the urgency: the European Commission has already signed contracts for more than two billion vaccine doses from six companies. It wants countries to vaccinate 70% of their populations by this summer. – Euronews
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Navalny slams ‘illegal’ Russian case against him
Russian anti-Putin campaigner Alexei Navalny has denounced his detention as “blatantly illegal” in an appeal hearing via video link.
A judge heard, and then rejected, his appeal against detention for 30 days.
He was arrested on 17 January for not complying with a suspended sentence. He had only just arrived from Berlin, where he spent months recovering from a near-fatal Russian nerve agent attack. – BBC News
Class action lawsuit filed against Robinhood online brokerage
Investors have filed a class action lawsuit against trading app Robinhood after the company announced it will no longer allow margin trading of shares of both GameStop Corp and AMC Entertainment Holdings.
The lawsuit filed at US District Court for the Southern District of New York on Thursday said the move by Robinhood “deprived retail investors of the ability to invest in the open-market and manipulating the open-market.” – TRT World
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Biden’s Trade Representative Expected to Play Hardball with China
If China’s leadership had any question about how the Biden administration would approach the ongoing trade disputes between the two countries, the appointment of Katherine Tai to be U.S. trade representative ought to have answered them pretty clearly.
An attorney by training, Tai comes to the job from the U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee, where she has been chief trade counsel since 2017. Before joining the committee in 2014, she spent several years at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, including three years as the chief counsel for China Trade Enforcement, where it was her job to manage U.S. disputes with China before the World Trade Organization. – VOA
Libyan election hopefuls told they hold nation’s future in their hands
“Libya’s future is in your hands.” That was the message to prospective election candidates from the UN’s envoy to the country, Stephanie Williams, ahead of her trip to Geneva for what she predicted will be “a decisive round of intra-Libyan talks.”
They are expected to lead to the creation of a new, temporary executive authority that will shepherd the nation toward elections scheduled for December. – Arab NewsÂ
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Lebanon launches online platform for vaccine registration
Lebanon on Thursday launched an electronic platform for citizens and residents wishing to receive the coronavirus vaccine.
Meanwhile, protests over the full lockdown have spread to cities in the south of Lebanon, considered as pro-Hezbollah and Amal Movement.
Demonstrations in Tripoli turned violent — a protester was killed and tens of people were injured during clashes with security forces that have continued for the fifth consecutive day. – Arab News
China will not recognise British passport for Hong Kong residents from Jan 31
China said on Friday (Jan 29) that it would not recognise the British National Overseas (BNO) passport as a valid travel document or for identification starting from Jan 31.
Foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian was speaking at a regular news briefing.
Beijing’s move to impose a national security law in June last year prompted Britain to offer refuge to almost 3 million Hong Kong residents eligible for BNO passport from Jan 31.
– CNA
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COVID-19: Holidays to Spain could be delayed ‘until end of summer’
Britons hoping to escape to Spain could have their holiday plans cancelled following reports the Spanish prime minister said the country would not welcome international tourists until the “end of summer”.
Speaking at a meeting of the World Tourism Organisation, Pedro Sanchez reportedly said he did not expect holidaymakers to visit Spain until nearly all of the population has been vaccinated. – Sky News
Business news
Scotland able to borrow ÂŁ300m more a year to fight Covid – FT News
GameStop: Meet the amateur traders fighting Wall Street – BBC Business
Boohoo renews high street raid to complete Arcadia break-up – Sky Business
Hyundai wrestles with the risks of embracing Apple – Reuters
Sports News
Liverpool end winless run with victory at lacklustre Tottenham – Read on
 Jesse Lingard: West Ham set to sign Man Utd midfielder on loan – Read on
Carla Suarez Navarro: Olympics return would be ‘a dream’ for Spaniard having cancer treatment – Read on
Harry Kane: Spurs and England striker injures both ankles against Liverpool – Read on
Cultura
Pioneering US actress Cicely Tyson dies aged 96 – Read on
Kate Moss and daughter Lila star in Paris catwalk show together – Read on
Khloe Kardashian begs Tristan Thompson for baby number two in final KUWTK series – Read on
Lori Loughlin’s daughter Olivia Jade busts her lip open and chips a tooth after mysteriously passing out in her bathroom… following YouTube return – Read on
YOUR QUESTIONS answered
what happened at the capitol?Â
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
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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)Â
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