Daily News Briefing
Brief. Me - December 13, 2025 6:12 am
Covid: Public can have confidence in UK’s vaccines, Nadhim Zahawi says
BBC News the public can have confidence in the UK’s Covid vaccines, despite concerns about the Oxford jab’s effectiveness against the SA variant, the vaccines minister says.
Early trials suggest the jab offers “minimal protection” against from the South Africa variant.
But Nadhim Zahawi said the vaccines being used appeared to work well against dominant variants in the UK.
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UK weather: Storm Darcy to bring more snowfall and gale-force winds on Monday
The Guardian says heavy snow and gale-force winds that hit south-east England and East Anglia on Sunday are forecast to continue into Monday as Storm Darcy brings icy conditions to much of the nation.
Amber and yellow warnings for snow issued by the Met Office were expected to cause widespread travel problems and possible power cuts to parts of London, the east and south-east of England.
Yellow warnings for snow and ice will also remain in place for the entire country until Wednesday evening.
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Thousands join a third day of protests against coup in Myanmar
France24 says thousands of people joined anti-coup protests across Myanmar as workers went on a nationwide strike, demanding the release of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the return of democracy.
In the commercial capital, Yangon, more than 1,000 people gathered at a park by mid-morning, helping to kick off a third straight day of rallies following last week’s coup.
“This is a work day, but we aren’t going to work even if our salary will be cut,” one protester, 28-year-old garment factory worker, Hnin Thazin, told AFP.
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Kuwait to finish most COVID-19 jabs by September, if vaccines are supplied
Arab News says Kuwait’s COVID-19 vaccination drive will be almost complete by September, with the 850,000 citizens completed in the next three months if vaccines are available.
Kuwait health minister Bassel Al-Sabah made the statement based on the country’s plan to vaccinate 300,000 people each month, state news agency KUNA reported.
Kuwait is expanding its vaccination capacity with the opening of two new COVID-19 centres in Al-Naseem and Al-Masayel.
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Indian rescuers search for missing after Himalayan glacier bursts
Aljazeera says fourteen people are confirmed dead and at least 170 others missing after a part of a Himalayan glacier broke away in India, setting off a torrent of water, rock and dust down a mountain valley, officials said.
“A total of 15 people have been rescued and 14 bodies have been recovered from different places so far,” the state government of Uttarakhand, in the country’s north, said on Twitter on Monday.
Sunday’s violent surge swept away a small hydroelectric project called Rishiganga and damaged a bigger one further downstream. “There was a cloud of dust as the water went by. The ground shook like an earthquake,” said resident Om Agarwal.
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Brazil’s Covid-19 cases exceed 9.5M – latest updates
TRT World says Brazil has had 26,845 new cases of the novel coronavirus reported in the past 24 hours, and 522 deaths from Covid-19, the Health Ministry has said.
The country has now registered 9,524,640 cases since the pandemic began, while the official death toll has risen to 231,534, according to ministry data, in the world’s third-worst outbreak outside the US and India and the second-deadliest.
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In Pandemic, More People in US Choose to Die at Home
VOA says mortuary owner Brian Simmons has been making more trips to homes to pick up bodies to be cremated and embalmed since the pandemic hit.
With COVID-19 devastating communities in Missouri, his two-person crews regularly arrive at homes in the Springfield area and remove bodies of people who decided to die at home rather than spend their final days in a nursing home or hospital with visitations prohibited during the pandemic.
“The separation part is really rough, rough, rough,” Simmons said. “My daughter went to the hospital and we saw her once through the glass when they put her on the ventilator, and then we never saw her again until after she died.”
UK WEATHER FORECAST
SUNRISE 07:30
Sunset 17:05
TODAY
Today will be bitterly cold, brisk easterlies will add a considerable chill factor. Eastern regions will see frequent snow flurries, drifting further west at times. Some bright spells in the west.
TONIGHT
Tonight there will be a widespread frost across the UK. Snow showers will continue to pile into eastern regions and could turn quite heavy and persistent in places. Drier and clearer in the west.
Tweets
The only Pepsi Halftime Show I can get behind is if The Weeknd brings Britney out on stage and she tears up her conservatorship paperwork and shoots it out of a confetti cannon. And then they sing Toxic. #FreeBritney
— Michelle Collins (@michcoll) February 8, 2021
i simply do not understand how it is humanly possible to stay on top of exercising and eating and cleaning and washing and admin and work and keeping in contact with people whilst also having time to 'sleep' and 'rest' how are the rest of you people doing this
— Ben Smoke (@bencsmoke) February 7, 2021
FROM WTX NEWS
https://wtxnews.com/2021/02/04/effy-stonem-and-the-enduring-appeal-skins/
https://wtxnews.com/2021/02/03/guide-a-luxury-day-in-london/
RENAISSANCE
Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary
Boohoo buys Arcadia brands Dorothy Perkins, Wallis and Burton
COVID-19 in France: Student meals for just one euro in Paris
A restaurant in Paris is offering students a meal at knockdown prices to help them cope during the pandemic. The team at Le Reflet offer a balanced menu for students in financial difficulty twice a week, with dishes prepared with fresh ingredients.
French President Emmanuel Macron has promised all university students two meals a day for one euro to help them cope during lockdown.
“We are a small link, a small grain of sand. We’ve been aware of it since we started, we really realise that there is a demand, and if it can incite other restaurants to launch the same operation,” said Le Reflet’s manager Olivier Vellutini. – Euronews
US moves to rejoin UN Human Rights Council
The Biden administration is set to announce this week that it will reengage with the much-maligned UN Human Rights Council that former President Donald Trump withdrew from almost three years ago.
The decision reverses another Trump-era move away from multilateral organisations and agreements.
US officials say Secretary of State Antony Blinken and a senior US diplomat in Geneva will announce on Monday that Washington will return to the Geneva-based body as an observer with an eye toward seeking election as a full member. – TRT World
Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu returns to court as graft trial ramps up
Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in court on Monday to formally respond to corruption charges, as his trial enters an intensified phase six weeks before he faces re-election.
Netanyahu, the first Israeli premier to be indicted in office, was charged last year over allegations that he accepted improper gifts and sought to trade regulatory favor with media moguls in exchange for positive coverage. – Arab News
Three climbers on K2 feared dead, three days after they went missing
Pakistani military helicopters continued to search for three missing climbers on the world’s second highest mountain K2 on Monday (Feb 8), as hope of their survival faded rapidly.
Muhammad Ali Sadpara, 45, of Pakistan, John Snorri, 47, of Iceland, and Juan Pablo Mohr, 33, of Chile, were last seen on Friday around noon at what is considered the most difficult part of the climb: The Bottleneck, a steep and narrow gully just 300m shy of the 8,611m-high K2. – CNA
Google Pixel phones will be able to measure your heart rate with rear camera
Google is adding heart and respiratory rate monitors to its new Pixel phones, using only the rear camera to contribute to measurements of users’ health.
There are plans for the feature to become available across all Android devices in the future using the Fit app to monitor the rise and fall of people’s chests when they breathe in and out. – Sky News
Business news
Covid set to shave as much as £60bn from corporate pension costs – FT News
Boohoo tells suppliers not to subcontract, raising job fears – BBC Business
COVID-19: Derby-based company to produce 20 million rapid result coronavirus tests – Sky Business
Americans take to ‘buy now, pay later’ shopping during pandemic, but can they afford it? – Reuters
Sports News
Super Bowl 2021: Tom Brady wins seventh title as Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat Kansas City Chiefs – Read on
Australian Open: Serena Williams & Naomi Osaka win but Angelique Kerber loses – Read on
Liverpool: ‘Too soon to talk of crisis, but champions on worrying slide’ – Read on
Man Utd’s Axel Tuanzebe and Lauren James: FA urges government and social media giants to act on online racist abuse – Read on
Cultura
Katie Price’s son Harvey home from hospital after reaction to COVID-19 vaccination – Read on
Super Bowl Halftime show: How did The Weeknd do? – Read on
Caitlyn Jenner shares why daughters Kylie and Kendall call her ‘dad’ after transition – Read on
Miley Cyrus breaks down in tears at emotional Super Bowl TikTok tailgate gig – Read on
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)
