Britain, Trump, Covid-19: Your Monday Briefing

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Good morning.

We’re overlaying a virus warning in Britain, a imprecise election risk from President Trump and Joe Biden’s Russia dilemma.

Johnson braces Britain for extra restrictions

Parts of England may face harsher limitations within the coming weeks, Prime Minister Boris Johnson mentioned, as Britain confronts a surge in coronavirus instances and hospitalizations linked to a brand new, extra transmissible virus variant.

But with lessons set to restart in lots of major colleges in England at this time, Mr. Johnson added that folks ought to “absolutely” ship their kids to varsities if doable. “Schools are safe,” he mentioned in a BBC interview.

Britain has the highest number of Covid-19 deaths in Europe.

In different virus developments:

• Pope Francis criticized individuals who traveled overseas throughout the pandemic, saying they were ignoring those who were suffering. “Didn’t they think of those who stayed at home, to the economic problems of many people who have been knocked down by the pandemic, to those who are ill?” Francis mentioned in a message streamed from the Vatican.

• American airports had their busiest day of the pandemic on Saturday, with 1,192,881 passengers passing via safety checkpoints, the federal government mentioned. Public well being officers say a post-Christmas spike could not emerge clearly till the second week of January.

• Prime Minister Erna Solberg of Norway announced new rules amid a rising wave of infections, Reuters reported, together with a ban on serving alcohol in eating places and bars and on inviting over guests.

• The New Zealand Ministry of Health mentioned that beginning on Jan. 15, vacationers arriving from Britain and the U.S. shall be required to show that they tested negative for the coronavirus earlier than they departed.

Trump pressured state official to ‘find’ votes

In an hourlong phone name on Saturday, President Trump pressed Georgia’s prime election official to “find” him sufficient votes to overturn the presidential election and vaguely threatened him with “a criminal offense,” in keeping with an audio recording of the dialog.

He informed the state’s Republican secretary of state that he ought to recalculate the vote depend so Mr. Trump, not Joe Biden, would find yourself successful the state’s 16 electoral votes.

Russia is each good friend and foe for Biden

President-elect Joe Biden’s incoming nationwide safety adviser, Jake Sullivan, mentioned the brand new administration would move quickly to renew the last remaining major nuclear arms treaty with Russia.

But renewing the New Start shall be made extra advanced due to Mr. Biden’s vow to additionally guarantee that Moscow pays for what seems to be the largest-ever hacking of U.S. authorities networks.

In an interview on CNN, Mr. Sullivan additionally mentioned that as quickly as Iran re-entered compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal — which he helped negotiate underneath President Barack Obama — there could be a “follow-on negotiation” over its missile capabilities.

China relations: The latest funding settlement between China’s chief, Xi Jinping, and the European Union may complicate Mr. Biden’s efforts to forge a united front with allies in opposition to China’s authoritarian insurance policies and commerce practices.

If you’ve 7 minutes, that is price it

France’s literary elite: A yr underneath a harsh highlight

In a nation the place literature stays sacred, Olivier Nora, above, the top of a number one French writer for the previous 20 years, sees himself as a guarantor of what he described as a “social good.”

His publication final January of a e-book by the sufferer of a pedophile author set off a nationwide reckoning over sexism, age and consent. It additionally helped expose what critics of the French publishing trade say is an insulated, out-of-touch literary elite lengthy used to working above strange guidelines.

Here’s what else is going on

Niger bloodbath: One hundred civilians were reported dead in two villages in a area underneath siege by militants. Gunmen had been described as having singled out males and boys in what was mentioned to be a revenge assault, only a week after Niger’s presidential election.

Pakistan assault: Armed males kidnapped and killed at least 11 coal miners within the southwestern a part of the nation, officers mentioned. All of the victims had been ethnic Hazaras, a minority Shiite group that has usually been the goal of Sunni extremists.

Assange case: A choose in London plans to rule at this time on whether Britain should extradite Julian Assange to the U.S., the place the WikiLeaks founder faces expenses of conspiring to hack authorities computer systems and violating the Espionage Act in 2010 and 2011.

Italy mourns: The killing of 42-year-old Agitu Ideo Gudeta, an Ethiopian-born immigrant who raised goats and made cheese in a distant a part of Italy, has resonated throughout the nation. The Italian information media praised her as a mannequin of integration.

Snapshot: Above, Kai Jones leaping off a cliff in Jackson Hole, Wyo. The 14-year-old ski daredevil is already a professional, hovering off mammoth ledges and doing double again flips. He concedes, “I always say to myself, ‘How far can I push it and not make my mom scared?’”

In memoriam: Brian Urquhart, a British diplomat who joined the United Nations at its start in 1945 and was a chief aide to 5 of its secretaries common whereas directing peacekeeping operations world wide, died on Saturday at his dwelling in Massachusetts. He was 101.

The ultimate frontier: Our Science desk gives a calendar and a guide to 2021’s astronomical events.

What we’re studying: MIT Technology Review’s article on the worst know-how flops of 2020. It’s a easy reminder that extra doesn’t essentially imply higher.

Now, a break from the information

Cook: This flaming baba au rhum is a day challenge with scrumptious, refined outcomes. In the video accompanying the recipe, Melissa Clark takes you thru each step of creating and baking the wealthy, ethereal yeast dough, after which setting it on hearth.

Watch: The BBC tv film “Elizabeth Is Missing” options Glenda Jackson’s first display screen efficiency since 1992. The famend actress stars as a lady warding off dementia whereas she searches for a misplaced good friend.

Do: For many individuals, 2020 was not a yr for saving cash. Here’s how you can get a deal with in your funds within the new yr, with a few tricks to help keep your spending down.

We’ll strive that will help you make these New Year’s intentions stick to our At Home collection of ideas on what to learn, cook dinner, watch and do whereas staying secure at dwelling.

And now for the Back Story on …

When the pandemic is over

The rollout of vaccines world wide indicators the beginning of a hopeful chapter after almost a yr of lockdowns, restrictions and social distancing. Now that imagining an “after time” appears doable, we requested readers to share the first things they plan to do when the world returns to regular. Here are a few of their solutions.

Give an enormous hug

“Hug my grandmother real tight. I visited her once, but I just waved at her outside her room and then she responded by asking who I was. I lowered my mask to show her my face, and she asked me to come closer. I said I couldn’t.”

Mika Amador, Manila

See household …

“I want to go to my home country, Peru, to see my mom and my dad’s ashes. He died in November, and I couldn’t give him a hug goodbye for fear of traveling there during the pandemic.”

Karina Bekemeier, San Francisco

… and get away from them

“I’m hiring a babysitter and going out dancing.”

Amanda Vaught, Brooklyn, N.Y.

Travel the world

“I am 85 years old. When the pandemic began, I was 84, and when it ends I will probably be 86. Two years at the end of one’s life are rather valuable. What I’d like to do is fly to Boston and walk the Freedom Trail; drive to Maine and find a lobster shack; and visit Egypt to sail down the Nile.”

Jo Procter, Chevy Chase, Md.

That’s it for this briefing. See you subsequent time.

— Victoria

Thank you
To Theodore Kim and Jahaan Singh for the break from the information. You can attain the group at briefing@nytimes.com.

P.S.
• We’re listening to “The Daily.” Our newest episode is on the story of the 1964 earthquake in Alaska.
• Here’s at this time’s Mini Crossword puzzle, and a clue: Parts of a six-pack (5 letters). You can find all of our puzzles here.
• Arthur O. Sulzberger Jr. retired as chairman of The New York Times Company on Dec. 31 and handed over the reins to his son, A.G. Sulzberger, the writer of The Times.