World news

• Sheriff: Man arrested on cross-country trip with girl, 12

  19-12-2020 23:51 via independent.co.uk
  
  A self-proclaimed pedophilia advocate who once ran for political office in Virginia has been arrested by authorities who said they caught him flying across country with a 12-year-old girl
  
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• Angela Merkel asks all Germans to have a Covid-secure Skype Christmas

  19-12-2020 20:47 via independent.co.uk
  
  Germany recorded more than 31,000 new infections and 702 deaths on Saturday – a rise in cases of almost 60%.
  
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• WW3 fears: China threatens its helicopters could sink Taiwan’s ‘Aircraft Carrier Killers’

  19-12-2020 20:29 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  CHINA has threatened to sink Taiwan's "aircraft carrier killers" with a single helicopter, sparking fears of a World War 3 outbreak.
  
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• Man who reportedly had Covid symptoms dies after flight from Florida

  19-12-2020 20:23 via independent.co.uk
  
  Passenger had signed form saying he had not tested positive for disease, airline says
  
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• Former Melania Trump aide claims the first lady called Ivanka and Jared ‘snakes’, reigniting feud rumours

  19-12-2020 20:20 via independent.co.uk
  
  ‘We called [Ivanka] the serial poacher,’ Stephanie Winston Wolkoff says about her time working for Mrs Trump
  
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• 'Santa Claus is good to go': Dr Fauci says he vaccinated Father Christmas – video

  19-12-2020 19:41 via theguardian.com
  
  Anthony Fauci told children he had visited Santa Claus at the north pole and personally gave him the vaccine so he could deliver presents this year.The US infectious disease expert responded to video messages sent in to CNN on Saturday from children who were concerned they would not receive their presents due to spread of Covid-19 Continue reading...
  
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• India becomes second country to cross 10 million Covid cases amid chronic ‘mask fatigue’

  19-12-2020 18:59 via independent.co.uk
  
  Experts say that while infection numbers have fallen recently, India has many reasons not to let down its guard just yet. Shweta Sharma reports
  
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• GOP senator blocks $1200 Covid cheques and attacks ‘compassion’ in politics

  19-12-2020 17:44 via independent.co.uk
  
  ‘I’m not heartless. I want to help people,’ Ron Johnson claims
  
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• GOP congressman says he will not take the Covid vaccine because he’s ‘an American’

  19-12-2020 17:36 via independent.co.uk
  
  ‘I have the freedom to decide if I’m going to take a vaccine or not and in this case I am not going to take the vaccine,’ Congressman Ken Buck says
  
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• South China Sea crisis: Beijing think tank warns of US conflict just weeks away

  19-12-2020 17:23 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  A THINK TANK has warned a conflict between Washington and Beijing is just weeks away as tensions in the South China Sea reach boiling point.
  
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• EU humiliated as Barack Obama pinpoints 'unresolved contradictions' at heart of bloc

  19-12-2020 17:17 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  THE EU has been humiliated by former US President Barack Obama, who brutally sums up the bloc's "unresolved contradictions" in his new book.
  
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• François Bozizé: CAR accuses former president of 'attempted coup'

  19-12-2020 16:31 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The Central African Republic says forces loyal to François Bozizé plan to march on the capital Bangui.
  
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• Covid: Chile's president Sebastián Piñera fined $3,500 for no-mask selfie

  19-12-2020 16:24 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Sebastián Piñera apologised for breaching Covid rules by posing for the photo on a beach this month.
  
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• Rich Americans are trying to cut the line for Covid vaccine, doctors say

  19-12-2020 15:58 via independent.co.uk
  
  'These people don't usually have to wait’
  
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• ICYMI: Runaway sheep and a big bale of turtles

  19-12-2020 15:28 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Here are some of the stories you may have missed this week.
  
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• Bible discovery: Ancient ‘treasure map’ pinpointing location of ‘165 tonnes of gold’

  19-12-2020 15:00 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  BIBLE followers were thrilled by the discovery of an ancient manuscript which is said to be a "treasure map" pinpointing the location of "165 tonnes of gold".
  
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• Calls for retaliation on Russia over US hacking attack as Trump silent

  19-12-2020 14:16 via independent.co.uk
  
  ‘This is almost, I would argue — an act of war, absolutely,’ says Republican senator Marco Rubio
  
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• Donald Trump to wage war with US media: POTUS in crackdown on China and Russia-owned firms

  19-12-2020 14:01 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  DONALD Trump is set to take on the US media again with a meeting next week about cracking down on foreign ownership of news.
  
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• Former Epstein associate held on sex trafficking charges

  19-12-2020 13:51 via independent.co.uk
  
  Mr Brunel is suspected of having been part of a global underage sex ring organised by the late American multi-billionaire Jeffrey Epstein.
  
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• ‘Border wall’ built around Seattle’s remaining autonomous zone amid plans to clear area

  19-12-2020 13:20 via independent.co.uk
  
  Thousands of protesters originally occupied the zone during George Flloyd protests 
  
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• Commonwealth War Graves panic: Armistice Day staff may have to LEAVE France

  19-12-2020 12:51 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  HOPES have been raised that Defence Secretary Ben Wallace will intervene to protect Commonwealth War Graves Commission staff in France and Belgium who could see their earnings halved.
  
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• Covid-19: Explosion kills nine coronavirus patients in Turkey

  19-12-2020 12:49 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Nine people are killed as an oxygen ventilator explodes at a coronavirus ward of a private hospital.
  
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• Black family’s cars burned and spray-painted with Trump graffiti after erecting BLM sign in yard

  19-12-2020 12:46 via independent.co.uk
  
  ‘It’s definitely a hate crime,’ says Jayla Gipson
  
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• Epstein ex-associate Jean-Luc Brunel placed under formal investigation

  19-12-2020 12:45 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Modelling agent Jean-Luc Brunel is accused of rape and sexual harassment by French authorities.
  
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• Progressives are a minority in America. To win, they need to compromise | Michael Lind

  19-12-2020 12:21 via theguardian.com
  
  Rebuilding something like the New Deal coalition may require winning back socially moderate and conservative voters“If we are victorious in one more battle with the Romans, we shall be utterly ruined,” lamented King Pyrrhus of Epirus, whose costly triumph in 279 BC inspired the phrase “Pyrrhic victory”. In 2020, the Democratic party learned what King Pyrrhus was talking about. They recaptured the White House and narrowly held on to the House of Representatives. And if the
  
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• Caliphate: NY Times loses awards for Islamic State podcast over false reporting

  19-12-2020 11:33 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The paper admits its blockbuster podcast about Islamic State group failed to meet editorial standards.
  
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• EXPLAINER: Iran, despite sanctions, has routes to vaccines

  19-12-2020 11:31 via independent.co.uk
  
  Iran faces crushing U.S. sanctions, but there are still ways for Tehran to obtain coronavirus vaccines as the country suffers the Mideast’s worst outbreak of the pandemic
  
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• Joe Biden will face an inbox of complex foreign policy problems from the start

  19-12-2020 11:00 via theguardian.com
  
  The massive, ongoing hack of US federal agencies, relations with China and North Korea will be urgent issues for Biden to addressJoe Biden’s foreign policy in-tray is only looking more difficult as he approaches inauguration day – even as the US still confronts the pressing issue of record coronavirus deaths and infections.The massive and ongoing hack of US federal agencies – blamed on Russia – has so far elicited no response from Donald Trump, who has a long history of d
  
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• Man sues parents for thousands after they destroy his extensive porn collection

  19-12-2020 10:16 via independent.co.uk
  
  The collection included 1605 DVDs, VHS tapes, toys, and other paraphernalia. 
  
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• Egypt: ‘Cave complex' beneath Great Pyramid exposed in hunt for 'lost underworld'

  19-12-2020 10:10 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  EGYPT investigator Andrew Collins believed an enormous system of caves, chambers and tunnels span below the Great Pyramid of Giza after apparently finding the "lost underworld of the pharaohs".
  
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• India becomes second country to cross 10 million Covid cases amid chronic ‘mask fatigue’ and fears for 2021

  19-12-2020 10:01 via independent.co.uk
  
  Experts say that while infection numbers have fallen recently, India has many reasons not to let down its guard just yet
  
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• US cyber-attack: Russia 'clearly' behind SolarWinds operation, says Pompeo

  19-12-2020 09:49 via bbc.co.uk
  
  US secretary of state says Moscow is "clearly" responsible for a hack targeting government agencies.
  
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• New York police used excessive force against BLM demonstrators, report finds

  19-12-2020 08:56 via independent.co.uk
  
  Mayor Bill de Blasio says city’s police force has ‘to do something better’
  
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• 737 Max: Boeing 'inappropriately coached' pilots in test after crashes

  19-12-2020 07:15 via bbc.co.uk
  
  US Senate investigators find problems with tests conducted in the wake of two deadly crashes.
  
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• Covid: Italy latest European country to order Christmas lockdown

  19-12-2020 05:37 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Non-essential shops will be closed with travel only allowed for work, health and emergency reasons.
  
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• Covid: US approves Moderna as second vaccine

  19-12-2020 05:35 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The Food and Drug Administration gives the green light for releasing millions of doses.
  
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• Devon Dalio, son of billionaire Ray Dalio, dies in car crash

  19-12-2020 04:33 via independent.co.uk
  
  A family spokesperson says the 42-year-old son of hedge fund founder Ray Dalio died in a car crash this week
  
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• US charges ex-Zoom employee with shutting down Tiananmen Square events

  19-12-2020 04:04 via bbc.co.uk
  
  US prosecutors say the China-based executive terminated meetings discussing the 1989 crackdown.
  
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• Vanessa Bryant, her mother's lawsuit and the value of childcare

  19-12-2020 02:04 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Vanessa Bryant's messy legal dispute with her mother has also got us talking about the value of housework.
  
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• Moderna’s Covid vaccine granted emergency use authorisation

  19-12-2020 01:58 via independent.co.uk
  
  Moderna’s Covid vaccine has been granted emergency use authorisation by the Food and Drug Administration.
  
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• Covid: The countries worried they won't get the vaccine

  19-12-2020 01:06 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Countries such as Zimbabwe, Mexico and Pakistan are likely to have to wait for the coronavirus vaccine.
  
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• Coronavirus in South Africa: Unravelling the mystery

  19-12-2020 01:05 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Antibody tests show that up to a third of South Africans may have contracted coronavirus during the first wave.
  
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• Faith and fertility at Bethlehem's Milk Grotto

  19-12-2020 01:04 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Some say the place where Mary is said to have nursed Jesus holds the power to help couples conceive.
  
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• What a way to wave goodbye to Brussels! Boris nearing £100BN trade deal with India

  19-12-2020 01:01 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  A TRADE deal with India could be worth up to £100billion, the biggest Brexit trade agreement signed so far - and offering a massive endorsement for Boris Johnson's Global Britain vision in the process, an economist has said.
  
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• North Korea: Potato propaganda is back... but what does it mean?

  19-12-2020 01:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Why is North Korea promoting the humble spud in movies, culinary shows, and news reports?
  
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• Microplastics, drugs and food - how jellyfish can help us

  19-12-2020 01:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Jellyfish are being used to develop new medicines, filters for microplastics and for food.
  
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• Blindian Project: Celebrating black and South Asian relationships

  19-12-2020 01:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Blindian Project runs workshops to prepare couples for tricky family introductions.
  
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