Your morning briefing: What you should know for Thursday, December 24

Brexit trade deal expected after Johnson briefs cabinet on progress of talks

The UK and EU are on the threshold of striking a post-Brexit trade deal after Boris Johnson briefed his cabinet on the progress of talks.

An announcement is expected this morning, but negotiations continued through the night on the details of an agreement.

The development came as Britain and the EU were believed to have made progress on resolving issues including fishing rights and the "level playing field" measures aimed at preventing unfair competition.

The expected deal comes with just days left before the current trading arrangements expire on December 31.

Travel ban on South Africa arrivals over another new coronavirus strain

The Government has implemented a travel ban on passengers arriving in England from South Africa after two cases of another new strain of Covid-19 linked to the country were identified in the UK.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock warned the "highly concerning" new variant is believed to be more transmissible than the mutant strain that resulted in the creation of the new Tier 4 restrictions.

It is believed to be behind an increase in cases in South Africa, and has been discovered in two people in the UK thought to be contacts of those who travelled between the two countries in the last few weeks.

Shapps calls for ‘patience’ as stranded lorry drivers still face queues after French travel ban

The Transport Secretary has called for "patience" from thousands of lorry drivers stranded outside the Port of Dover following the French travel ban.

More than 6,000 HGVs are being held in Kent with some facing a fourth night in their cabs since the border was temporarily closed on Sunday night.

Trucks began entering the Eurotunnel again on Wednesday after the French government agreed to allow drivers through provided they had a negative Covid-19 result, but it was feared it could take days to carry out tests on the hauliers.

Mass coronavirus testing pilot ‘failed to detect 60% of known cases’

A mass community testing pilot in Liverpool using rapid-result tests failed to detect 60% of known positive coronavirus cases, an evaluation shows.

A quarter of Liverpool's 498,000 residents were tested using lateral flow device tests (LFTs) between November 6 and December 9, with 897 positive results.

And a third used the LFTs or PCR tests, with 2,902 positive results, according to the evaluation, led by the University of Liverpool.

Scientists have defended the rapid tests as a "useful public health tool”.

And finally…

This is your last morning briefing for the year and it will return on Monday, January the fourth.

We hope you have a Merry festive period and we'll see you in 2021.

On this day…

1167: King John (John Lackland) was born in Oxford.

1491: Ignatius Loyola, who founded the Jesuits, was born in Loyola in northern Spain.

1524: Vasco da Gama, Portuguese navigator who found the sea route from Europe to the East, died on his second voyage after landing in India.

1809: American folk hero Kit Carson was born in Kentucky.

1818: A mouse put the organ out of order at St Nicholas Church, Oberndorf, Austria. Franz Xaver Gruber rescued the Christmas music for Midnight Mass by writing a carol for guitar and choir. It was called Stille Nacht (Silent Night). Gruber wrote the tune, but Josef Mohr wrote the lyrics for Silent Night.

1828: The trial of William Burke began in Edinburgh. The other body-snatcher, William Hare, had turned King's evidence and was not brought to trial. Sentenced to death, Burke was hanged on January 28 1829.

1871: Verdi's opera Aida had its world premiere in Cairo.

1904: The London Coliseum opened in St Martin's Lane, with the first revolving stage in Britain. 

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