USA - The US Center for Disease Control Anaphylaxis Following m-RNA COVID-19 Vaccine Receipt report says 2.3% of the 215,362 [5,052] Americans who received the COVID-19 vaccine have had a "Health Impact Event", defined by the CDC as: “unable to perform daily activities, unable to work, required care from a doctor.”Health Communication Lecturer at IDC Herzliya International School Dr Yaffa Shir Raz commented on the data: "According to this, vaccinating 150 million people would produce 3.4 million 'events'."

UK - Britain’s departure from the European Union and the legacy of the Trump administration means that the special relationship between the US and UK isn’t what it once was. But the agreement struck on Christmas Eve over post-Brexit relations between the UK and EU removed a major potential source of friction between Boris Johnson’s government and the incoming Biden administration in Washington. President-elect Joe Biden and some other Democrats, including those with active Irish-American blocs in their districts, had bristled over the possibility that a no-deal Brexit would result in a hard border between the British province of Northern Ireland and Ireland and violate the Good Friday peace deal, which the Clinton administration helped broker in 1998. With a deal that avoids the need for tariffs between the UK and EU member Ireland, that prospect has been averted.

UK - The EU and UK have reached a post-Brexit trade deal, ending months of disagreements over fishing rights and future business rules. At a Downing Street press conference, Boris Johnson said: "We have taken back control of our laws and our destiny." The prime minister added that although arguments had been "fierce" it was a "good deal for the whole of Europe", driving jobs and prosperity. EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said it was a "fair and balanced" deal. She added that now was "time to turn the page and look to the future" and that the UK "remains a trusted partner". There will be a five-and-a-half year transition period for the fishing industry, she indicated. "It is time to leave Brexit behind, our future is made in Europe," she added. Fishing makes up just 0.12% of the UK's economy. The threat of tariffs - import taxes - between the UK and its biggest trading partner will be removed.

UK - Brexit leader Nigel Farage has advised exercising caution after the announcement that Boris Johnson and the EU had made an 11th-hour post-Brexit trade deal, until the details of the agreement are revealed, but said that today was nevertheless significant, and a “tribute to the ordinary men and women who stood up against the Westminster establishment — and won”.

ISRAEL - Israel is to hold its fourth elections in two years after the two main parties in its unity government failed to meet a deadline in a row over state budgets. Voters will return to the polls in March, just 12 months after the last round. Two previous elections were inconclusive, resulting in a rare government of national unity. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on trial for alleged corruption, is hoping to return to office for a sixth time. He denies the criminal charges against him, dismissing them as politically motivated. At midnight (22:00 GMT Tuesday), Israel's parliament, the Knesset, was automatically dissolved as required by law after a deadline to pass the 2020 state budget expired.

GERMANY - Germany's Lufthansa is airlifting fresh fruit and vegetables to the UK on Wednesday as firms seek to beat the lorry chaos at sea ports. The airline said it is carrying 80 tonnes of food from Frankfurt to Doncaster Sheffield Airport for grocers including Tesco and Sainsbury's. Almost 3,000 lorries remain stuck in Kent despite moves to re-start cross-Channel access from Dover. There are concerns that testing drivers for Covid could delay food supplies. France shut its border with the UK on Sunday for 48 hours to stop the spread of a new variant of the coronavirus found in the UK. Lufthansa said the delivery, sent by freight firm Venus International Transport, was destined for Tesco, Sainbury's, the Co-op and Aldi.

RUSSIA - Russian and Chinese bombers flew a joint patrol mission over the Western Pacific Tuesday in a show of increasingly close military ties between Moscow and Beijing. The Russian military said that a pair of its Tu-95 strategic bombers and four Chinese H-6K bombers flew over the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea. The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement that the joint mission was intended to “develop and deepen the comprehensive Russia-China partnership, further increase the level of cooperation between the two militaries, expand their ability for joint action and strengthen strategic stability.” The ministry added that the patrol flight “wasn’t directed against any third countries.”

ITALY - The recent volcanic activity at Italy’s Mount Etna intensified overnight, as a large stream of lava spewed out westward from Europe's largest and most active volcano, putting local residents on edge as 2020 draws to a close. The eruption at the 3,329-meter (10,922-foot) volcano’s southeast crater reignited, resulting in yet another lava-fountaining episode (known as a paroxysm), lighting up the Sicilian skies in the early morning, before filling them with thick clouds of smoke and ash. According to some reports, the recent activity could mark the beginning of a new cycle of increased paroxysms at the volcano in the coming days and weeks, not ideal news for beleaguered local residents as the end of 2020 comes so agonizingly close.

USA - Once a child figures out that you have been lying about Santa Claus for years, how can you expect that child to believe you about anything else? Many regard the tradition of pretending that Santa Claus is real to be relatively harmless, but the reality of the matter is that millions upon millions of Americans have deep psychological scars from being deceived throughout childhood only to find out later in life that everything that they believed about Santa was completely fake.

UK - "We have taken back control of our money, borders, laws, trade and our fishing waters," the UK government says. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says it is a "good, fair and balanced deal". "Today is a day of relief, but tinged by some sadness," EU chief negotiator, Michel Barnier says. Negotiating teams talked through the night to finalise the details of the agreement. The two sides have one week to get any deal formally approved in London and Brussels. The UK left the EU at the end of January, but remains under its trading rules until 31 December.

SWITZERLAND - The World Economic Forum (WEF) has revealed its Davos 2021 Agenda, confirming the annual gathering of political and business elites next month will be a digital event heralding the public unveiling of its Great Reset Initiative. In a preview to the digital “Davos Dialogues”, the WEF asserts, “The time to rebuild trust and to make crucial choices is fast approaching as the need to reset priorities and the urgency to reform systems grow stronger around the world.”

USA - Russia acted with impunity when it hacked US government servers in a global cyber-espionage campaign and could do far more damage next time — like cutting off the nation’s water and electricity supply, GOP Senator Mitt Romney said Sunday. Speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” the Utah senator said the massive cyberattack discovered earlier this week, which officials say could be the biggest hack on the American government ever, must be met with a vigorous response and without delay. “They potentially have the capacity to cripple us economically, they went to our businesses. They have the potential to also cripple us with regards to our water and electricity and so forth.” Romney added: “They don’t need rockets to take those things out.” Officials say the breach could potentially endanger American security for years to come. While President Trump surmised the attack might have come from China, security officials in his administration pointed directly to Russia. “We can say pretty clearly that it was the Russians who were responsible,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday.

USA - The Trump Administration is spending some of its last days in office provoking a debate about building a larger and more lethal US Navy to check China in the Pacific. This political document arrives late, but give the Trump Team credit for issuing this challenge to President-elect Joe Biden. National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien and budget director Russ Vought recently laid out on these pages a plan to reach a 355-ship Navy in about a decade, up from roughly 295 today. The Pentagon has been debating and studying how to expand the fleet, and the Trump plan suggests underwriting more than 80 ships over five years at a cost of $147 billion. Meanwhile, a September Pentagon report said China has reached parity with or exceeded the US in shipbuilding, certain missiles and integrated air-defense systems. That ought to concern Americans who have been used to naval dominance since the end of World War II. Joe Biden might prefer to talk about expanding health insurance or forgiving student loans, but his first obligation is to keep America safe and its global interests secure.

USA - President Trump took to the airwaves to describe what was pumped into the so-called “COVID-19 Relief Bill” that Congress sent him last night. In it, he detailed multiple examples of legislative pork that Congress tried to ram down everyone’s throat. He concluded by saying he will not sign the bill unless it is tremendously amended. “The $900 billion package provides hard-working taxpayers with only $600 each in relief payments. and not enough money is given to small businesses, and in particular restaurants whose owners have suffered so grievously,” he said. “Congress found plenty of money for foreign countries, lobbyists, and special interests while sending the bare minimum to the American people who need it,” he said. “It wasn’t their fault. It was China’s fault.”

UK - Another mutant strain of coronavirus has been found in Britain after entering from South Africa, ministers revealed today as they plunged millions more families into Tier 4 from Boxing Day. The variant of the virus is the second one to be announced by the Government in as many weeks and this one is even more infectious than the last, which is thought to have emerged in Kent, Health Secretary Matt Hancock claimed today. Mr Hancock this afternoon told the remaining parts of the South East not already in the toughest level of restrictions they would be in it little more than 48 hours from now, with new restrictions coming into force at midnight on Christmas Day.