Facebook to pay UK media millions to license news stories

Facebook to pay UK media millions to license news stories:

Social network agrees deal with mainstream outlets in face of government crackdown on its dominance of advertising

Facebook is to pay mainstream UK news outlets millions of pounds a year to license their articles, as the social network faces the threat of a government crackdown over its dominance of online advertising.

Most British newspaper groups have signed up to the programme, under which their articles will appear in a dedicated news section on the site that is due to launch in January.

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Study finds indications of life on Doggerland after devastating tsunamis

Study finds indications of life on Doggerland after devastating tsunamis:

Scientists suggest parts of expanse that once connected Britain to mainland Europe survived waves and had settlements

Breaking away from Europe has never been straightforward.

Eight thousand years ago, a series of enormous tsunamis swept through the North Sea and struck the coast of what is now Britain, with devastating effects.

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UK food bank trust says half of users repaying universal credit debts

UK food bank trust says half of users repaying universal credit debts:

Food bank users more commonly in debt to government than to friends or payday loan firms

It is now more common for people using food banks to be in debt to the government than to family and friends or payday loan companies, the Trussell Trust has said.

The UK’s biggest food bank network said half of all households visiting food banks struggled to afford essential goods such as food and clothes because they were repaying universal credit debts.

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Helena Bonham Carter says The Crown should stress to viewers it's a drama

Helena Bonham Carter says The Crown should stress to viewers it's a drama:

Actor who plays Princess Margaret adds her voice to calls for Netflix to add a disclaimer

Helena Bonham Carter has said The Crown has a “moral responsibility” to tell viewers that it is a drama, rather than historical fact, in the wake of calls for a “health warning” for people watching the series.

The actor, who played Princess Margaret in series three and four of the Netflix hit drama, told an official podcast for the show that there was an important distinction between “our version”, and the “real version”.

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Coronavirus live news: US may begin vaccinations before Christmas; Vietnam sees first case in three months

Coronavirus live news: US may begin vaccinations before Christmas; Vietnam sees first case in three months:

WHO ‘will do everything’ to find Covid origin; Mexico and Brazil seeing ‘alarming’ case surge; Opec to hold a second day of talks on Tuesday

• US may begin vaccinations before Christmas
• Vietnam reports first community virus in almost three months
• Moderna Covid vaccine has 94% efficacy, final results confirm
• Spain appeals for ‘common sense’ after shopping crowd scenes
• See all our coronavirus coverage

12.45am GMT

The World Tourism Organization called Monday for the standardisation of traveller health checks and the establishment of air corridors to ease international travel during the pandemic, AFP reports.

The call came at a conference in Spain’s Canary Islands as the global tourism industry reels from a year in which travel restrictions to slow the coronavirus pandemic have decimated the sector.

12.32am GMT

After a Thanksgiving weekend when the number of people traveling through US airports reached its highest since mid-March, a top government official said on Monday some Americans could begin receiving coronavirus vaccinations before Christmas, Reuters reports.

US Health Secretary Alex Azar said Pfizer Inc’s Covid-19 vaccine could be authorised and shipped within days of a Dec. 10 meeting of outside advisers to the Food and Drug Administration tasked with reviewing trial data and recommending whether it warrants approval.

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Newcastle's entire squad in Covid-19 self-isolation after significant outbreak

Newcastle's entire squad in Covid-19 self-isolation after significant outbreak:

• Game with Aston Villa on Friday now in jeopardy
• Training ground closed until Wednesday at the earliest

Newcastle’s Premier League game at Aston Villa on Friday is in danger of postponement after Steve Bruce’s entire first-team squad were asked to self-isolate on Monday amid a growing Covid-19 outbreak at the north-east club.

The training ground will not reopen until Wednesday at the earliest after a specially ordered set of coronavirus tests on Sunday revealed a significant number of players and staff had recorded positive results.

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Funds for mass Covid testing offered to local authorities in tier 3

Funds for mass Covid testing offered to local authorities in tier 3:

Areas of England under the toughest rules can run supported programmes

• Coronavirus – latest updates
• See all our coronavirus coverage

Local authorities in tier 3, with the toughest Covid restrictions, will be invited to apply for funds to run mass testing programmes of people with no symptoms, in hopes of driving down the virus and moving to tier 2, the government has said.

Public health directors will be able to put forward proposals for testing in those parts of their communities most at risk from the virus, if they so choose, which could be particular neighbourhoods or workplaces where infection rates are high.

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