Plus, what's your Covid risk?
| | | | Lockdown in England is due to end next week and we've got more details about what comes next. Gyms and shops are expected to be able to reopen in all areas and the ban on both adult and children's grassroots sport is set to be lifted. The curfew for the hospitality industry will be eased - last orders will still be at 10pm, but diners and drinkers will have another hour to finish up. These relaxations will, however, go hand-in-hand with a toughening of the tier system. Boris Johnson will explain more later, but we know the rules in all three tiers will be stricter and more areas will be placed in the higher levels. Pubs and restaurants could be restricted to takeaway only in areas with the worst infection rates. Rapid mass testing - delivered with military support - will be rolled out in all tier three areas after a trial in Liverpool. A new system of repeat testing is also on the way, which could mean the close contacts of confirmed cases no longer having to self-isolate. Wondering what tier your region will be in? That announcement will be made on Thursday, and Labour is urging the government to be transparent about the criteria it'll be using. The PM had hoped to announce arrangements for the Christmas period on Monday, but that's been delayed until at least Tuesday to allow the Scottish and Welsh cabinets to agree the plans. We know all four nations are on board with the principle of a festive grace period. BBC deputy political editor Vicki Young says that could see three households allowed to get together for up to five days. | |
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| It may have dropped down the news agenda in the UK somewhat, but Donald Trump is still refusing to concede defeat after the US election. A small but growing number of his allies have urged him to end his protests, the latest of whom is former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. Calling the conduct of the president's legal team "a national embarrassment", he told ABC News: "We cannot continue to act as if something happened here that didn't happen." On Saturday, the Trump camp suffered a major blow in Pennsylvania, after a judge dismissed a lawsuit seeking to invalidate millions of mail-in votes. President-elect Joe Biden, meanwhile, has been pressing on with plans for office and is due to announce his first cabinet appointments on Tuesday. | |
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| Train companies are extending a scheme that gives free travel to those fleeing domestic abuse until the end of March. The "rail to refuge" initiative was launched earlier this year after charities reported a surge in cases because of the pandemic. More than 600 adults and 200 children have already benefited, the Rail Delivery Group said. Nicki Norman, from Women's Aid, said the scheme removed several significant barriers from people trying to escape an abuser. | |
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| | | | | President Trump alleged "fraud" even while votes were still being counted - the culmination of a strategy at least months in the making. In the early hours of a frosty November morning in Connecticut, 49-year-old Candy snuggled into her bed after a long night shift. She immediately unlocked her phone - and began scrolling through her social media feed, as she does most nights. But this was different - it was election night. The result was still hanging in the balance. Candy scrolled, catching up on the night's news while waiting for her favoured candidate to speak out. And just after one in the morning, he did. | |
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| | Marianna Spring | Specialist disinformation reporter BBC News | |
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| | | | Many papers seize on what they see as positive news about the festive season. "Families can meet up for Christmas" is the headline for the i, while for the Daily Mirror, it's "Christmas gets the go-ahead". The Daily Express declares: "Christmas is saved!" The Daily Telegraph focuses on changes to the rules on self-isolating in England. It reports that the "ineffective and hated" system for those who've come into contact with a Covid case will be scrapped in January in favour of daily testing. The Guardian believes the move is an attempt by the prime minister to see off "an unprecedented internal rebellion over Covid measures". Ahead of Wednesday's spending review, the Times says unions are threatening to strike if a public sector pay freeze is announced, with the head of the TUC calling it "morally obscene". The Financial Times reports that despite warning the UK will have to tackle "the scale of the economic shock" caused by coronavirus, the chancellor will stick with plans to boost funding for schools and police. The paper describes it as a "last hurrah" before taxes rise. Finally, the Daily Mail leads with what it says is £5.6bn of taxpayers' money "frittered away on luxuries" by government departments. | |
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| If you listen to one thing today |
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| Actor John Boyega has had quite a year. He talks to us about his part in the summer's BLM protests, racial representation in Star Wars and spending Christmas with Jamie Foxx. Speaking of movie stars, the pandemic has led to a big rise in remote filming, with directors many miles away from the set. So how does that work? And finally, from big screen to small, comedian Michael McIntyre reveals how he handles cynical viewers who don't believe the features on his Big Show are genuine. | |
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