Donald Trump has conceded that a transition should begin for president-elect Joe Biden to take office. In a landmark moment, the president said the federal agency overseeing the handover must “do what needs to be done”. However, hours later the president vowed to keep contesting his election defeat, writing on Twitter that he “will never concede to fake ballots”.
Boris Johnson has outlined a three-tier system of Covid-19 restrictions for England that will run until spring 2021. The prime minister said that rules in many areas will be tougher than before the lockdown, but encouraged the nation to make “one final push” before the expected vaccine arrival. Speaking of the Christmas period, Johnson said: “Tis the season to be jolly, but it is also the season to be jolly careful.”
The governor of the Bank of England has said the economic cost of a no-deal Brexit would be more seismic in the long-term than the damage caused by Covid-19. Andrew Bailey said a hard Brexit would cause disruption to cross-border trade and damage the goodwill between London and Brussels. Speaking to MPs, he added: “It would be better to have a trade deal, yes, no question about it.”
Spain’s King Felipe VI has entered 10 days of quarantine after coming into contact with a person who tested positive for Covid-19. The monarch’s wife and the couple’s two daughters are expected to continue their activities as normal. Spain has been hard hit by the pandemic, recording nearly 1.6 million Covid-19 cases and 43,131 deaths.
John Kerry will act as climate envoy when US president-elect Joe Biden takes office. The former secretary of state joins long-term Biden aide Antony Blinken, who will be the new secretary of state, and former Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen, who is expected to be chosen as treasury secretary. Biden said: “I need a team ready on day one to help me reclaim America’s seat at the head of the table.”
Victims of domestic abuse have been encouraged by the police to take civil action, rather than pursuing a criminal prosecution, because the system is clogged up, a new report claims. Victim Support’s study found that some victims had tried to kill themselves because of court delays, adding: “Many victims with delayed cases have already waited a long time for the court date, which has been cancelled.”
Isis bride Shamima Begum remains a serious threat to national security and should be deprived of her UK citizenship, the Supreme Court has been told. At the start of a two-day challenge to the decision to revoke Begum’s UK citizenship and refuse her leave to return home, extracts of MI5 assessments were disclosed. Her return would “inspire and encourage” others to carry out attacks, one security report said.
A suspect has been arrested in connection with killing of nine members of a Mormon community in northern Mexico last year. According to local media reports, the suspect is an ex-policeman with possible links to the La Línea drug cartel. Three women and six children, all dual US-Mexican citizens, were killed in the attack a year ago.
Pope Francis has described China’s Uighurs community as a “persecuted” people. It is the first time the Pope has used the description, which human rights activists have been lobbying him to use for years. In the book Let Us Dream: the Path to a Better Future, he speaks of “persecuted peoples: the Rohingya, the poor Uighurs, the Yazidi”. Over one million people are held in camps China’s remote Xinjiang region.
An off-duty police officer who crashed into a 73-year-old cancer victim while riding his bike has received a £30 fine. John Wilson, who is terminally ill with prostate cancer, was left with bruises to his face and broken ribs after he was knocked over in Worthing last month. Police bosses insisted the officer was not cycling in a “wanton or furious manner” and it was not in the public interest to prosecute.
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