Top Stories

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  Last update: 19:56 GMT 04.12.2020

  19:56 GMT 04.12.2020

  UK

  UK PM to Speak to EU Chief on Saturday as Post-Brexit Trade Talks Put on Hold

  After the United Kingdom exited the European Union on 31 January, London and Brussels have been engaged in prolonged negotiations attempting to settle the post-withdrawal trade deal. The transition period is set to end on 31 December.

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  Last update: 19:45 GMT 04.12.2020

  19:45 GMT 04.12.2020

  Society

  Top Health Expert Fauci Warns January Will Be ‘Terrible’ as US COVID-19 Hospitalizations Spike

  With a positivity ratio of 10.67%, the US counted an additional 217,664 COVID-19 cases on Thursday, pushing the nation’s total case tally since the start of the pandemic past 14 million, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Health experts have warned that the holiday season is likely to prompt numbers to surge even further.

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  Last update: 16:14 GMT 04.12.2020

  16:14 GMT 04.12.2020

  Middle East

  Iran 'Desperately' Signalling Wish to Return to Talks to Get Sanctions Relief, Pompeo Says

  The relations between Tehran and Washington have been continuously spiralling down since 2018, when President Trump withdrew the US from the nuclear deal with Iran. A year later, Iran began relaxing its obligations under the accord that was drawn up in 2015 to curb its nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief.

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  Last update: 17:06 GMT 04.12.2020

  17:06 GMT 04.12.2020

  Society

  US Military Spotted Mysterious Cube and Triangle-Shaped Objects Over Atlantic, Media Says

  Earlier this year, the US established a dedicated task force that would investigate reports of UFO sightings, which the body officially refers to as Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP). It was established after the US Navy confirmed 2017 media reports about American military jets spotting “Tic Tac” UAPs over the Pacific in 2004.

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  Last update: 12:11 GMT 04.12.2020

  12:11 GMT 04.12.2020

  World

  JCPOA No Longer Enough? Germany Seeking a New, Broader Nuke Deal With Iran

  The deal signed back in 2015 to contain the Iranian nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief has been a focus of international attention since the US unilaterally withdrew from the accord in 2018. On Thursday, the Iranian foreign minister underlined Tehran would not renegotiate the terms of the deal.

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  Last update: 14:49 GMT 04.12.2020

  14:49 GMT 04.12.2020

  World

  Venezuela's Maduro Says US Tried to Lure His Wife Into Divorcing Him

  Speaking to journalists, the Venezuelan president relayed a couple of curious exchanges his family has had with the US authorities, albeit not directly, but rather through their respective envoys.

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  Last update: 04:33 GMT 04.12.2020

  04:33 GMT 04.12.2020

  World

  Live Updates: US Confirms Record 217,000 New Coronavirus Cases Over Past 24 Hours

  The global death toll from the coronavirus is now over 1.5 million, while the overall tally is more than 65 million, according to Johns Hopkins University. The spike in the number of infections caused several countries to impose quarantines in November, however, most are expected to end their lockdowns this month, before Christmas.

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  Last update: 14:23 GMT 04.12.2020

  14:23 GMT 04.12.2020

  Society

  'Why Journo So Bitter': Jordan Peterson Hits Back at Guardian Op-ed on His 'Bigotry'

  Last month, clinical psychologist Jordan Peterson announced the forthcoming release of "Beyond Order", a follow-up to his previous bestseller, which is due out in March. The news about the contract with the publisher, Penguin Random House Canada, reportedly even left a number of staffers in tears.