- Trump makes first public remarks since weekend election loss
- Seemed to be on verge of acknowledging Biden’s victory
Donald Trump has come closer than ever to admitting that he lost the US presidential election, suggesting “time will tell” but stopping short of a formal concession to president-elect Joe Biden.
Related: Joe Biden ignores Trump obstruction to press ahead with cabinet selection
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Out goes centralised power and hostility to the press; in comes meaningful contact with MPs
Out will go open hostility towards journalists, centralised power around Boris Johnson’s office and the ruthless dispatch of those who oppose the prime minister.
In, or so it is suggested, will come an attempt to win over the media, a collegiate approach to government and meaningful contact with the parliamentary party.
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Covid edition of annual TV advert focuses on kindness rather than gift-giving
A hedgehog who hopes to fly, a group of hip-hop pigeons and lots of love hearts are the stars of this year’s pandemic edition of the John Lewis Christmas TV adverts.
Over the past decade the retailer’s festive ad has become a big annual TV moment that kicks off the Christmas shopping season.
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Proportion higher in north, with 82% of north-east care staff on less than £9.50 per hour
Almost three-quarters of frontline care workers in England are earning below the “real” living wage, which experts say is the bare minimum to allow families basics such as a secondhand car and a week’s annual UK self-catering holiday, research has revealed.
The proportion of care workers below the threshold is even higher in northern areas, where care homes have been hit hardest by Covid-19. In the north-east, 82% of care staff earned less than the England-wide real living wage of £9.50 per hour, while the proportion was 78% in the north-west. One care worker in Lancashire earning £8.72 per hour who recently had her pay cut told the Guardian some colleagues have been using food banks.
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Leaders say service needs cash to tackle surgery backlog and mental health demand
NHS leaders are urging Rishi Sunak to fulfil his pledge to give the service “whatever it needs” to respond to the coronavirus crisis, by boosting its budget by £4bn next year.
NHS services need the money to tackle the huge backlog of patients waiting for surgery and the sharp increase in people needing mental health care as a direct result of the pandemic.
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UK students could receive degree course offers based on exam results from 2023
Vice-chancellors have given their backing to a radical overhaul of higher education admissions, which would mean UK students will only be offered places at university once they have their A-level results.
The long-awaited policy change is intended to make the system fairer by eliminating the use of predicted grades, which are often unreliable, and will bring the UK into line with other countries. Universities said it could be introduced as early as 2023/4.
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France’s lockdown extended by two weeks; German infection surge may be easing; Russia says its Sputnik-V vaccine is 92% effective
- Scientist behind BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine says it can end pandemic
- Billionaire Trump donors contract Covid after playing down risks
- Covid infections in Sweden surge, dashing hopes of herd immunity
- French professor faces disciplinary case over hydroxychloroquine claims
As the US confirms 143,231 coronavirus cases in 24 hours, Dr. Anthony Fauci says he doesn’t believe the United States will need to go into lockdown to fight the coronavirus if people double down on wearing masks and social distancing.
The nation’s top infectious disease expert says “the cavalry is coming” in the form of vaccines. He says, “Help is really on the way.”
Fauci told ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Thursday that vaccines being developed “are going to have a major positive impact” if they prove to be safe and effective. He says they may be deployed in December and early into next year. He says he hopes by April, May and June “the ordinary citizen should be able to get” a vaccine.
In the meantime, Fauci says there are fundamental things Americans can do to stem the spread of the deadly virus. They include “universal” wearing of masks, avoiding crowds, keeping social distance and washing hands. He says that sounds simple against a very difficult challenge but “it really does make a difference.”
Fauci’s message echoes that of President-elect Joe Biden, who this week signaled strongly that fighting the raging pandemic will be the immediate priority of his new administration.
The US leads the world with more than 241,000 deaths and 10 million coronavirus cases.
Hello and welcome to today’s live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic with me, Helen Sullivan.
As the world confirmed a record 666,053 new coronavirus cases in 24 hours, according to Johns Hopkins University, the French prime minister, Jean Castex, said there would be no easing of a second Covid-19 lockdown in France for at least two weeks, with the number of people in hospital infected by the coronavirus now higher than at the peak of the first wave.
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Italy passes 1m cases while Spain says it will demand negative test for all visitors; Greece extends curfew. Follow updates live
- Italy passes 1m Covid cases as calls for national lockdown grow
- US records more than 1m new cases in 10 days
- European commission seeks greater public health powers
- Delhi Covid crisis made worse by soaring air pollution
Denis Campbell and Lisa O’Carroll report:
Thousands of hospital staff will join the drive to vaccinate all adults in England against coronavirus and will be deployed at mass vaccination centres to give the jab to up to 5,000 people a day, NHS officials involved in the plans said.
Related: NHS to vaccinate up to 5,000 people a day in Covid immunisation drive
Hello and welcome to today’s live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.
My name is Helen Sullivan, you can get in touch with me here, and I’ll be bringing you the latest for the next while.
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