World news

• Mike Pence mocked for saying liberals want to make ‘poor people more comfortable’

  22-12-2020 22:50 via independent.co.uk
  
  Critics online wondered why making the poor comfortable was such a bad thing
  
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• Train carrying crude oil derails, burns north of Seattle

  22-12-2020 22:47 via independent.co.uk
  
  Authorities say a train carrying crude oil has derailed and caught fire north of Seattle close to the Canadian border
  
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• Mexico sees most journalists killed in 2020, group says

  22-12-2020 22:38 via independent.co.uk
  
  A report says Mexico has had the most journalists killed in retaliation for their work in 2020, followed by Afghanistan and the Philippines
  
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• US companies no longer have to pay sick leave to people with Covid after Mitch McConnell reportedly blocks extension

  22-12-2020 22:35 via independent.co.uk
  
  ‘This crisis has made it clearer than ever why paid leave for every worker is so important to families,’ says senator Patty Murray
  
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• Writing off more of that 3-martini lunch is causing a stir

  22-12-2020 22:31 via independent.co.uk
  
  Stuffed into the new emergency relief package is a morsel that President Donald Trump has long had on the buffet of his economic wish list: restoring full tax breaks for restaurant business meals
  
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• New museums and Smokey Bear: what's in the $900bn US stimulus package?

  22-12-2020 22:07 via theguardian.com
  
  Analysis: Tucked into a 5,593-page bill are obscure provisions that appear to have little to do with fortifying a fragile economyLate on Monday night, Congress approved a $900bn stimulus package which will deliver financial aid to millions of families and businesses facing economic distress from coronavirus pandemic. Though far smaller than a bill lawmakers passed at the outset of the pandemic, earlier this year, the measure is one the largest pieces of legislation in US history. Related: Covid
  
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• 'Darkest days ahead': Joe Biden gives sobering message on Covid – video

  22-12-2020 21:58 via theguardian.com
  
  Biden said the US would have dark days ahead in tackling the coronavirus pandemic and things would get worse before they improved.Monday saw the Covid-19 cases pass 18 million in the US according to data from Johns Hopkins University, and Biden said the vaccine rollout would not change trends quicklyCoronavirus: latest updates Continue reading...
  
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• Pelosi vowed to pull Trump out of White House by his ‘little hands’, report says

  22-12-2020 21:48 via independent.co.uk
  
  'I’m counting down the hours ‘til he’s gone’, Speaker is reported to have said
  
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• Christmas in New York will be strange but some things still make me feel festive

  22-12-2020 21:46 via independent.co.uk
  
  So we weren’t able to make it home to Britain this year and the present I bought my partner may not turn up for months – but I’ve still tried to be optimistic, writes Holly Baxter
  
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• Jamaican asylum seekers hiding in Philadelphia church free after 843 days, in ‘Christmas miracle’

  22-12-2020 21:25 via independent.co.uk
  
  The couple sought asylum in the US after a Jamaican gang threatened to kill them
  
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• Chris Christie considering 2024 presidential run against old friend Donald Trump

  22-12-2020 21:20 via independent.co.uk
  
  The pair are old friends, but have had an occasionally strained relationship
  
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• El Gordo: Spanish lottery winners celebrate

  22-12-2020 20:47 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Lucky lottery ticket holders have been celebrating in cities across Spain.
  
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• France bans use of drones to police protests in Paris

  22-12-2020 20:23 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A top court backs privacy campaigners and calls for an immediate halt to drone surveillance in Paris.
  
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• Photos of New Zealand politicians and their bookcases are creepily revealing

  22-12-2020 20:00 via theguardian.com
  
  We are what we read; a bookcase is an X-ray of its owner, their ambitions and fears, their IQ and their desiresA politician anywhere near a book is a rare and incongruous sight. They exist as creatures who act on a range of terrible decisions. It doesn’t do for them to be seen floating around in the nebulous, dreamy world of literature, with its nuances and its conflicting ideas. But all photo opportunities are good photo opportunities when you’re running for office, and I had every
  
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• Coronavirus: EU urges countries to lift UK travel bans

  22-12-2020 19:57 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Dozens of countries, alarmed by a new coronavirus variant, have suspended travel links with the UK.
  
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• Nasa killed 27 monkeys in one day in 2019, report says

  22-12-2020 18:57 via independent.co.uk
  
  Animal rights activists condemn failure to put animals in sanctuary
  
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• Covid variant not found in US, says CDC amid calls to shut down UK flights

  22-12-2020 18:46 via independent.co.uk
  
  ‘Ongoing travel between the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as the high prevalence of this variant among current UK infections, increase the likelihood of importation’
  
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• Pop star Lizzo surprises her mom a brand-new car for Christmas

  22-12-2020 18:45 via independent.co.uk
  
   ‘I remember crying in my car when my daddy passed, no job no money nowhere to live, wishing I could one day provide for my family,’ the Grammy-winning singer wrote
  
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• Covid variant not found in US, finds CDC amid calls to shut down UK flights

  22-12-2020 18:12 via independent.co.uk
  
  The mutated Covid-19 variant has not been found in the United States but it could already be circulating in the country undetected, according to the Centres for Disease Control.
  
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• Dr Fauci feels 'extreme confidence' in Covid vaccine as he gets jab – video

  22-12-2020 18:05 via theguardian.com
  
  Dr Anthony Fauci was injected with his first dose of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine and he said he hoped it would encourage millions of other Americans to do the same.The top US infectious diseases expert said he felt 'extreme confidence of the safety and efficacy of this vaccine'Coronavirus – live coverage Biden receives vaccine live on TV Continue reading...
  
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• Mexico is named world’s deadliest country for journalists

  22-12-2020 18:02 via independent.co.uk
  
  The number of journalists killed in the country doubled in 2020
  
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• Covid variant not in US, finds CDC amid calls to shut down UK flights

  22-12-2020 17:58 via independent.co.uk
  
  The mutated Covid-19 variant has not been found in the United States but it could already be circulating in the country undetected, according to the Centres for Disease Control.
  
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• 2020 set to be deadliest year in American history

  22-12-2020 17:13 via independent.co.uk
  
  COVID-19 has killed more than 318,000 Americans and counting
  
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• Doctor claims US could reach herd immunity if 20 per cent of population get Covid vaccine

  22-12-2020 17:11 via independent.co.uk
  
  ‘The reality is that about 25 to 50 per cent of Americans have already had the infection,’ Dr Marty Makary claims
  
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• Alaska Airlines accused of ‘violating’ two Muslim men’s civil rights

  22-12-2020 17:00 via independent.co.uk
  
  The men said they were made a spectacle of
  
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• Dr Fauci gives thumbs up as he receives Covid vaccine

  22-12-2020 16:54 via independent.co.uk
  
  Dr Anthony Fauci gave an enthusiastic thumbs up after receiving his first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.
  
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• Pakistan activist who criticised army found dead in Toronto

  22-12-2020 16:47 via independent.co.uk
  
  Amnesty International call for an immediate investigation
  
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• Will pregnant women receive the Covid-19 vaccine? It depends

  22-12-2020 16:30 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Without pregnant women in trials for the jab, countries are taking different approaches.
  
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• Giant iceberg A68a shatters into large fragments

  22-12-2020 16:25 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The giant iceberg that's been drifting through the South Atlantic experiences a major break-up.
  
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• Coronavirus spreads to Antarctic research station

  22-12-2020 16:20 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The virus reaches all seven continents after 36 people test positive at a Chilean research station.
  
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• Biden picks Connecticut schools chief as education secretary

  22-12-2020 16:01 via independent.co.uk
  
  President-elect Joe Biden has chosen the education commissioner for Connecticut and a former public school teacher to serve as education secretary
  
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• Hungry and afraid: life for factory workers meeting UK demand for cheap clothes

  22-12-2020 16:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Pakistani workers describe trying to survive on the less than £50 a month many of them earn making items for firms such as Boohoo
  When Qasim Ahmed* arrived in Faisalabad a year ago, he didn’t want much – just enough money to pay for a roof over his head, buy food and send a little cash home each month.Today, that seems like a fantasy. Instead of having enough to get by, he claims, he has found himself struggling to survive, frequently going hungry, feeling abused by his boss an
  
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• Man charged in 1988 kidnapping and murder of nine-year-old girl in California

  22-12-2020 15:48 via independent.co.uk
  
  California authorities say they have charged a convicted killer with the 1988 kidnapping and slaying of a 9-year-old girl
  
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• Pressure intensifies on governors to issue Covid rules as deaths soar before Christmas

  22-12-2020 15:39 via independent.co.uk
  
  Pressure is intensifying on governors who haven’t issued mandates as new coronavirus cases and deaths soar before Christmas
  
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• Mutated coronavirus could already be in US, Fauci says

  22-12-2020 15:37 via independent.co.uk
  
  US officials debate whether to implement travel restrictions as researchers warn not to ‘overreact’ 
  
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• Black Air Force members more likely to be investigated and arrested, report finds

  22-12-2020 15:30 via independent.co.uk
  
  A new report on racial disparities in the Air Force concludes that Black service members in the service are far more likely to be investigated, arrested, face disciplinary actions, and be discharged for misconduct
  
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• Karima Baloch: Pakistani rights activist found dead in Toronto

  22-12-2020 15:23 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Karima Baloch, who was living in exile, was named in the BBC's annual list of 100 inspirational women.
  
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• Russia hits EU with sanctions in backlash over Navalny sting

  22-12-2020 14:51 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The Kremlin mocks Putin critic Alexei Navalny, who revealed how agents allegedly tried to kill him.
  
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• US embassy in Jerusalem names courtyard after Jared Kushner, despite mixed record on peace deals

  22-12-2020 14:50 via independent.co.uk
  
  President’s son-in-law played central role in helping Israel normalise relations with neighbours
  
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• Antarctica no longer Covid-free after 36 people test positive

  22-12-2020 13:51 via independent.co.uk
  
  The experts remain wary that the outbreak on the secluded continent can have greater implications due to its remote nature and subzero temperature
  
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• Vatican permits use of Covid vaccines made using aborted fetal tissue

  22-12-2020 13:45 via independent.co.uk
  
  Vatican says ‘It is morally acceptable to receive COVID-19 vaccines that have used cell lines from aborted fetuses’
  
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• One killed two injured in India gas pipeline explosion

  22-12-2020 13:45 via independent.co.uk
  
  It was not immediately clear who owned the pipeline
  
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• Kremlin attacks Navalny’s ‘mental health’ after critic tricks agent into damning confession

  22-12-2020 13:43 via independent.co.uk
  
  Spy duped into revealing step-by-step account of assassination attempt
  
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• Indian political leader says he will divorce wife who joined rival party

  22-12-2020 13:38 via independent.co.uk
  
  Political foes, the ruling TMC and BJP have been at loggerheads to claim power in West Bengal, with its firebrand chief Mamata Banerjee vying for a third straight term
  
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• Afghanistan conflict: Kabul car bombing kills four doctors

  22-12-2020 13:26 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Three of the doctors, who worked at a prison in the Afghan capital, were women, police say.
  
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• Covid: Vatican says coronavirus vaccines 'morally acceptable'

  22-12-2020 13:22 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The Catholic Church says vaccines developed using cell lines derived from aborted foetuses can be used.
  
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• In pictures: The great conjunction

  22-12-2020 12:35 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Planets Jupiter and Saturn cross paths in the night sky, an event known as the great conjunction.
  
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• Marcelo Crivella: Rio mayor arrested over bribery claims

  22-12-2020 12:26 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Marcelo Crivella, an evangelical pastor turned politician, was detained by police at dawn.
  
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• White House coronavirus adviser Deborah Birx defends Thanksgiving trip to holiday home

  22-12-2020 12:23 via independent.co.uk
  
  Family helped prepare property for potential sale, Covid-19 response coordinator says
  
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• Ancient mummified wolf cub in Canada 'lived 56,000 years ago'

  22-12-2020 12:04 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists say the cub, which died about 56,000 years ago, is "the most complete wolf mummy known".
  
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