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Former President George HW Bush dies at 94; Trump designates Wednesday as national day of mourning, markets to close
John McCain: Life and times of an American maverick in photos
'Kinder, gentler' and other George HW Bush quotes
Sri Lanka v England: first Test, day two – live!
- Day one report: England dominant after skittling Sri Lanka
- The 80s and 90s Cricket Show: podcast relives England’s nadir
- And you can email Daniel here or tweet @DanielHarris
9.17am GMT
81st over: England 289-3 (Root 148, Lawrence 70) There were fears of rain roundabout now, but we’re looking good for the next bit as Embuldeniya takes the new globule and Root leans back to crack for four behind point; the single which follows raises the 150 partnership, then after Lawrence adds one too, Root creams fo mo to midwicket via pull. Er, and you know that bit where I said we weren’t getting the rain? Well in metaphorical terms, it’s not just raining for the Lankans because it never does, it’s pouring on them. Root takes one to cover, then Lawrence comes down the track, the spin takes the ball away from his almighty hoik, and Dickwella misses the grab and stumping in one as they run two. When it’s your day it’s your day; when it’s not your day, it’s not your life.
9.10am GMT
80th over: England 275-3 (Root 138, Lawrence 67) And that’s the new ball. I’m sure Sri Lanka will take it.
Continue reading...Eight people dead, hundreds injured after strong quake
Part of bus dangles from NYC overpass
Xiaomi slapped with US restrictions as Trump's term winds down
Métis seek voice on vaccine task force
The US coronavirus death toll is projected to surpass 400,000 by Inauguration Day
Coronavirus live news: UK ban on South America flights begins as global deaths near 2m
WHO moves emergency meeting forward; US government executes inmate with Covid; US officials warn of ‘full resurgence’ in major population centres
- Surge in Brazil’s largest state leaves health workers begging for help
- Testing times: how UK government fell short, again and again
- Struggling London hospitals sending Covid patients to Newcastle
- ‘No time to waste’: Biden unveils $1.9tn coronavirus stimulus package
- See all our coronavirus coverage
8.58am GMT
A World Health Organization-led team investigating the origins of Covid-19 are to begin virtual meetings with their Chinese hosts from a hotel in Wuhan, where the pandemic first emerged, on Friday.
Their arrival at the city in central China on Thursday was disrupted by the absence of two members who failed Covid-19 antibody tests in Singapore. One of the missing members has since passed a test and their travel to China is being arranged, according to China’s foreign ministry.
Finally here in Wuhan! Team now undergoing the mandatory 14 days quarantine & being treated very well by our hosts. Work begins today, day 1, in teleconf. mtgs w/ China team. https://t.co/gi7Mjr1iBf
8.53am GMT
Health authorities in England have published weekly surveillance statistics on Covid-19 (and respiratory illnesses) that show hospital admission rates for coronavirus are at their highest in London and have increased in all regions except the north-east.
ICYMI: We've published our weekly #COVID19 surveillance report: https://t.co/a6mN93iPod
It shows hospital admission rates for covid-19 are highest in #London and have increased in all regions except the North East. pic.twitter.com/Hzgj9OKHxn
John Rich says country stars tell him conservatives being 'muzzled' by industry
French motorcyclist Cherpin dies after Dakar Rally crash
North Korea's Kim sends rare New Year's cards to his people
From Donna Summer to LCD Soundsystem: 10 of the best remixes
The clubs are shut, but there’s always your living room: here we’ve got techno reveries, Balearic bliss and unlikely club divas
The only criticism you can make of Giorgio Moroder’s motor-disco landmark is that it is too short. Enter like-minded New Yorker Patrick Cowley, five years later, who exploited that Escher-staircase bassline to create a dizzying 3D labyrinth with shades of dub, jazz and psychedelia, and premonitions of techno. Sixteen minutes that hint at infinity.
Continue reading...For 50 years, zero tolerance to drugs has failed – yet Britain refuses to change | Simon Jenkins
The 1971 Misuse of Drugs Act has needlessly criminalised thousands of people, and done nothing to tackle abuse
A pandemic is gripping Europe with its centre in Great Britain. More than 3 million Britons caught it in 2019-20, of whom 5,657 died – a number that has quadrupled since 2013. Scotland’s death rate has soared to three and a half times that of the whole UK, and is the worst in Europe. Multiple cures are being tested round the world, but the British government opposes every one of them.
This year is the 50th anniversary of Westminster telling the world that its Misuse of Drugs Act (1971) would stamp out illegal drugs for ever. The act failed utterly, but it has never been repealed. Among other horrors, the industry it created now enslaves an estimated 27,000 children and teenagers, some as young as eight, in “county lines” drug gangs. The government has no answer but to throw a few of them in jail.
Continue reading...Manchester United's Leah Galton: 'Press and Heath have changed our mindset'
Forward opens up on how a six-month sabbatical got her career back on track, working with Casey Stoney and taking on Chelsea
Leah Galton suspected her love affair with football was over. After a highly promising stint playing professionally in North America, the left winger hit an unexpected wall at Bayern Munich and, suddenly, craved a different life.
She remained in fantastic physical shape but Galton was mentally jaded, low on confidence and in urgent need of a fix of “normality”. A restorative six-month sabbatical spent re-connecting with friends and family in Harrogate beckoned.
Continue reading...Can Marvel's Kevin Feige make the Star Wars movies soar again?
Now the Marvel head honcho has been brought into the fold, the Star Wars saga needs to try something more thrilling than it current cosy, reactive approach
When it comes to TV, Star Wars is sitting very pretty after the enormous success of Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian, a space opera tour de force that has completely re-routed Disney’s vision for its long running saga. All of a sudden, we are due to see multiple enticing spin-offs centred on characters including Boba Fett, Ahsoka Tano and Cara Dune, which will eventually culminate in a grand crossover event involving the soft-hearted bounty hunter. Star Wars’ number one rule – that members of the Skywalker clan must be at the heart of all major events – has been Death Starred in less time than you can say: “Great shot kid, that’s one in a million!”
But how about the big screen, where Star Wars began, and where – until very recently – it was always imagined the saga’s most vital moments would play out? Here, we find ourselves in a very different place, with the once promising sequel trilogy having ultimately disappointed due to a lack of fresh thinking and an approach to macro-storytelling more chaotic than a box of angry Krykna.
Continue reading...Yvette Janine Jackson: Freedom review | John Lewis's contemporary album of the month
(Phantom Limb Music)
The composer’s two new works, exploring slavery and homophobia, are like immersive non-visual films
On paper, the latest album by electro-acoustic composer and installation artist Yvette Janine Jackson isn’t the most inviting of propositions for these miserable days. It features two lengthy soundscapes: the 23-minute Destination Freedom is a sonic representation of a slave ship crossing the Atlantic; the 20-minute Invisible People is an aural collage that confronts homophobia within African American communities.
Continue reading...Doctors are conducting 'dry runs' to decide who gets access to critical care if it gets to that point

As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, doctors in Quebec and Ontario are conducting what one physician called "dry runs" and using triage guidelines to prepare for the possibility that they may have to decide who gets access to life-saving treatment when the demand exceeds capacity.