Top story: Britons could face EU Covid travel ban on 1 January
Good morning and welcome to this Thursday briefing with me, Alison Rourke.
“Lively and frank” discussions between Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen over a dinner last night of scallops and turbot in Brussels have cast this weekend as the final opportunity to reach agreement on whether Britain bows out of Europe with or without a deal. “Very large gaps” are said to remain between the two sides, according to a No 10 source. Von der Leyen, the EU commission president, said the two sides’ positions “remain far apart” and that their teams will reconvene to try to resolve issues: “We will come to a decision by the end of the weekend,” she said. While an EU source said a deal was still possible, Johnson told the bloc’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, that he could not accept terms in a treaty that would tie Britain to EU rules. The EU is expected to publish its no-deal contingency plans “very soon indeed” one source told the Guardian. British holidaymakers, meanwhile, will be barred from Europe from 1 January because the UK only has an exception from Covid restrictions during the Brexit transition period, underlining one potential impact of no-deal. EU member states agreed in October to adopt a European council proposal to allow nonessential travel from a small group of countries with lower levels of Covid cases including Australia, New Zealand and South Korea. An EU commission spokesman last week said there were no plans to extend that to the UK. “This is a decision for the council to make,” he said.
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‘Mars here we come!’ – SpaceX’s shiny, bullet-shaped Starship SN8 rocket exploded in a fireball on touchdown after a six-and-a-half-minute test flight in a remote corner of Texas overnight. The prototype had been shooting for an altitude of up to eight miles (12.5km) – almost 100 times higher than previous tests. After about five minutes, it flipped sideways, as planned, and descended with its Raptor engines reigniting for braking. But on touchdown, it became engulfed in flames and ruptured. It was the highest and most elaborate flight yet for the rocket ship that Elon Musk says could carry people to Mars in as little as six years. And despite the catastrophic end, Musk was thrilled, tweeting: “We got all the data we needed!”
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Air pollution rise – Air pollution in many towns and cities across the UK now exceeds pre-pandemic levels, exacerbating the risk of Covid-19 and putting the health of millions of people at risk. A study published today says that although air quality improved dramatically in the first half of the year as the country went into lockdown, pollution now exceeds pre-Covid levels in 80% of the 49 cities and large towns that were analysed. Andrew Carter, the chief executive of the Centre for Cities thinktank, which carried out the study, said discouraging car usage will be unpopular in the short term but, “if coupled with the necessary improvements to public transport, the long-term benefits to public health and the economy will be huge and our cities will become better places to live in”.
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Hunter Biden – The US president-elect’s son has said that the US attorney’s office in Delaware had opened an investigation into his “tax affairs”. Hunter Biden, who has long been a target of Donald Trump and his allies, said he had learned about the federal investigation on Tuesday from his lawyer, who was informed of the matter by the US attorney’s office earlier that day. In a statement released by his father’s transition office, Hunter said: “I take this matter very seriously but I am confident that a professional and objective review of these matters will demonstrate that I handled my affairs legally and appropriately, including with the benefit of professional tax advisers”.
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Bernardine Evaristo – The Booker prize-winning author has praised her former college for making an “important statement” by installing her as the UK’s first ever black female president of a major drama school. Evaristo will take up the ceremonial role at Rose Bruford college, which the author attended four decades ago, and she hopes to be an inspiration for young students of colour who want to break into the cultural sector. “I think it’s really good to have a black woman as the head, even if it’s the titular head of a drama school, because it makes a very powerful statement,” she said.
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Roman discovery – A fifth-century mosaic discovered at the Chedworth Roman villa in the Cotswolds suggests that there was a more gradual decline in living standards following Rome’s exit from Britain, than previously thought. Life at the start of the dark ages is generally thought of as pretty uncomfortable, with economic hardship and cultural stagnation. However, according to National Trust archaeologist, Martin Papworth: “The discovery of a new room and the laying of new floor suggests wealth, and a mosaic industry continuing 50 years later than had been expected.” He suggests it’s also possible that the area was not so badly affected by hostile raids that were taking place in the north and east.
Today in Focus podcast: The mystery of the Gatwick drone
In December 2018 a series of drone sightings forced the closure of Gatwick airport, causing chaos for Christmas travellers. Two years on and with the mystery still unsolved, Samira Shackle investigates what really happened.
Lunchtime read: Inside the big business of packaged ice
Like central heating and hot water, ice is one of those minor luxuries we scarcely notice. And yet The Ice Co in West Yorkshire has turned frozen water into a £38m brand. That’s five billion ice cubes a year, filling everything from cocktail glasses to ice baths. But now it faces its toughest challenge, writes George Reynolds – for what is ice without a party season?
Sport
Rugby union authorities are likely to be forced into immediate safety measures to reduce the risk of lawsuits from current and future players, a leading brain injury lawyer has said. The England head coach, Eddie Jones, has said he believes modern rugby union is safe for its players, while acknowledging that players were not sufficiently protected in the past. Paolo Rossi, the star of Italy’s 1982 World Cup-winning team, has died at the age of 64. Players and officials united to take a stand against racism in the Parc des Princes on Wednesday, as the postponed Champions League fixture between Paris Saint-Germain and Istanbul Basaksehir was resolved resoundingly in favour of the French side. Takumi Minamino was denied a winning goal by a contentious VAR decision after Midtjylland’s strong second-half performance saw them peg Group D winners Liverpool back to 1-1. Sergio Agüero returned to help Manchester City ease past Marseille with a 3-0 home win that kept them unbeaten atop Group C. Kubrat Pulev is confident of causing an upset when he faces Anthony Joshua as he aims to become the first Bulgarian to be heavyweight champion. And Nos 70 to 41 on the Guardian’s list of the best female footballers of 2020 have been revealed, with Chelsea’s Erin Cuthbert and PSG’s Nadia Nadim among those included. And cricket advertising is set for areas never before reached, with umpires in Australia’s Big Bash League to advertise a new sponsor in their underarms.
Business
Britain’s economy will bounce back next year from the Covid pandemic but a fifth year of weak business investment will delay a full recovery until the end of 2022, according to CBI forecasts. A combination of Brexit uncertainty, which is expected to continue into next year with or without a deal, and the blow to business confidence during the first and second lockdowns will delay a rebound in private sector investment. Business investment has remained flat since the 2016 Brexit vote as companies struggled to assess the impact of the possible changes under a deal or no-deal. As the talks in Brussels appear to be heading to their final stage this weekend, business groups have warned that fears over uncertainty could deter investment in the new year.
The pound is buying €1.105 and $1.337.
The papers
The impasse in Brussels leads almost all of today’s papers. The Guardian’s final edition leads with “PM and EU agree Sunday deadline to avoid no deal”. The Mail’s headline is “Deadlock at dinner”, with the paper describing a “dramatic night over fish supper”. The Telegraph’s splash says: “Four days to save trade deal after Brussels talks go badly”. It reports Johnson did not want to leave “any route to a possible deal untested” but he was downbeat about the chances of an agreement after his three-hour dinner with von der Leyen. The Express’s first edition took an unsurprisingly tough line, with “Boris: take it or leave it”, saying the prime minister is “standing firm” against EU attempts to “punish” the UK for leaving the bloc. It’s second edition went further with the headline: “Boris walks away from the EU”. The Times also supports Johnson, saying the PM “refused to back down in face of Brexit deadlock”. The i goes for a food pun over the leaders’ high-stakes dinner, with the headline: “Fudge for last supper at EU talks”. The Mirror splashes on “Tesco’s food stockpile for no-deal”, saying the supermarket giant is building up food supplies for the new year, amid fears talks in Brussels will fail. The Sun devotes just a small front page slot in its first edition top corner for Brexit, with the headline “PM meal or no deal bid”, saying Johnson tried to break the deadlock in Brussels. It’s second edition however has the headline: “BoJo vow after 3hr fish supper: Let’s mullet over”, with the paper noting the talks will be back on Sunday. The FT devotes its Brexit coverage to “Britons barred from entering EU on January 1 as virus shutters come down”. You can read our story on that here and our full roundup of the papers here.
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