Covid news – live: Johnson under pressure over inquiry as doctors face choosing patients to prioritise

Follow the latest updates on the pandemic

Almost a third of recovered Covid patients return to hospital in five months and one in eight die

Almost a third of recovered Covid patients will end up back in hospital within five months and one in eight will die, alarming new figures have shown. Research by Leicester University and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) found there is a devastating long-term toll on survivors of severe coronavirus, with many people developing heart problems, diabetes and chronic liver and kidney conditions. Out of 47,780 people who were discharged from hospital in the first wave, 29.4 per cent were readmitted to hospital within 140 days, and 12.3 per cent of the total died. The current cut-off point for recording Covid deaths is 28 days after a positive test, so it may mean thousands more people should be included in the coronavirus death statistics. Researchers have called for urgent monitoring of people who have been discharged from hospital.

Labour opens up 4-point lead over Tories as approval of Boris Johnson’s Covid response plunges

Poll finds public support for closing takeaway coffee shops and nurseries in lockdown

Coronavirus: No one should be going on holiday while NHS is ‘on the cusp’, says Dominic Raab

Quarantine checks to be stepped up, but doubt over workability of plans to use hotels, says foreign secretary

Trump news – live: Armed groups dwarfed by security at state capitals as president’s approval at new low

Follow the latest updates

• 
  Rudy Giuliani said he is working on Trump's defense for the impeachment trial and that he's open to the president himself testifying, ABC News report says

  Business Insider
• 
  Trump's Legacy: 2 Impeachments, An Insurrection, Countless Lies And Corruption

  HuffPost

Lib Dems are ‘very pro-European’ but ‘not a rejoin party’ – Sir Ed Davey

Sir Ed said his party do want to see the closest possible relationship with the European Union following Brexit.

Alexei Navalny arrested in Russia immediately after arriving from Germany after poisoning

Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader, was arrested immediately after returning to the country for the first time since he was poisoned with a nerve agent. The plane carrying Mr Navalny from Germany, where the 44-year-old had been recovering from a poisoning he blames on Russian authorities, landed at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport around 8:15 pm. The pilot had told passengers there was a delay for "technical reasons" and then that the flight had been diverted from Vnukovo, another Moscow airport where Mr Navalny's supporters and media had gathered for his return. President Vladimir Putin's most well-known opponent was returning to Russia for the first time since the poisoning in August, in defiance of warnings from officials that they would arrest him for breaking the terms of a suspended prison sentence. Mr Navalny is defying the Kremlin’s threats to jail him under one of several active criminal cases, which are widely regarded as politically motivated.

• 
  Navalny is detained upon returning to Moscow for first time since poisoning

  Washington Post
• 
  Alexey Navalny detained after landing back in Moscow

  Axios

Coronavirus news – live: Travel warning as new rules come in and Covid patient admitted ‘every 30 seconds’

No one should go on holiday abroad or in the UK while the NHS is on the “cusp” due to the coronavirus pandemic, the foreign secretary, Dominic Raab has said. More than 3.5 million people in the UK having now received their first dose of the vaccine, Boris Johnson said, as he celebrated those helping the “fantastic national effort”.

• 
  Valneva says UK rollout of COVID-19 vaccine could start in July-September: report

  Reuters
• 
  Moderna Struggling To Find Enough Kids To Participate In COVID Vaccine Trial

  Scary Mommy

Giuliani associate told ex-CIA officer a Trump pardon would 'cost $2m’ – report

Giuliani associate told ex-CIA officer a Trump pardon would 'cost $2m’ – reportJohn Kiriakou, who was jailed in 2012 for identity leak, said his pursuit of a pardon came up in a meeting with Giuliani last year * US politics – live coverage

Government ‘plans to end lockdown in March’ while ‘every adult could get Covid vaccine by end of June’

The government is planning to end lockdown in March after cabinet members agreed that waiting until the summer when most people will have been vaccinated would lead to yet more economic misery, according to reports. Ministers are drawing up a timetable to scale back restrictions despite the Sage Advisory committee calling for delays, it has been reported. A blueprint for the end of the lockdown is expected to be looked at later this week which will take into account the latest infection rates, deaths and hospitalisations.

UK, France and Germany warn Iran against planned violation of nuclear deal

Officials warn of ‘potentially grave’ implications from uranium metal production

• 
  France says Iran is building nuclear weapons capacity, urgent to revive 2015 deal

  Reuters
• 
  Iran asks watchdog not to publish 'unnecessary' nuke details

  Associated Press

Democracy is dead if we don’t hold Beijing to account for what is happening in Hong Kong

The international community has a responsibility to sanction China for its treatment of those seeking the freedom to make choices

• 
  Five Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters seek asylum in United States

  The Telegraph
• 
  British lawyer set to prosecute Hong Kong democracy campaigners called 'mercenary' by Dominic Raab

  The Telegraph

Brexit: Raab claims EU trade agreement is ‘great deal’ for fishermen, as firms complain of costs and delays

Foreign secretary ‘not convinced’ woes of industry caused by Brexit deal

‘I think we all deserve a pardon’: Texas realtor who attended Capitol riots says she was ‘following president’

‘He asked us to fly there. He asked us to be there. So I was doing what he asked us to do,’ says Jenna Ryan

• 
  Mom of ‘zip tie guy’ arrested for her role in US Capitol insurrection, feds say

  Miami Herald
• 
  From Baked Alaska to a guy with horns: notable riot arrests

  Associated Press

Lecturers warn they will strike if forced to resume 'unsafe' teaching

Lecturers warn they will strike if forced to resume 'unsafe' teachingUniversity and College Union warns any attempt to send members back to campuses too early will lead to ballot * Coronavirus – latest updates * See all our coronavirus coverage

Unscrupulous and aggressive, Pompeo plans to be the next Trump – but smarter

Unscrupulous and aggressive, Pompeo plans to be the next Trump – but smarter. The secretary of state has laid political booby traps for Biden in a diplomatic onslaught – with the aim of winning the White House

Golf star Justin Thomas stripped of sponsorship millions after homophobic slur on course

Ralph Lauren, the American fashion house, has terminated its multi-million dollar sponsorship of Justin Thomas after the golfer used a homophobic slur during a tournament round. Thomas, the world No 3, was heard using a derogatory word towards himself after missing a par putt on the fourth hole at Kapalua, Hawaii, during the third round of the Sentry Tournament of Champions last weekend. The 27-year-old American later apologised for the remark and said there was "no excuse". He added: "I'm an adult, I'm a grown man. There's absolutely no reason for me to say anything like that. It's terrible. I'm extremely embarrassed." However, Ralph Lauren has now announced it is severing ties with the golfer. The clothing brand said in a statement: "We are disheartened by Mr Thomas's recent language, which is entirely inconsistent with our values. "While we acknowledge that he has apologised and recognises the severity of his words, he is a paid ambassador of our brand and his actions conflict with the inclusive culture that we strive to uphold. "In reflecting on the responsibility we have to all of our stakeholders, we have decided to discontinue our sponsorship of Mr Thomas at this time."

Covid vaccine: Raab refuses to guarantee everyone will receive second dose

Foreign secretary says government can be ‘quietly confident’ about timetable

‘Not going to lose my son and my republic’: Jamie Raskin on Trump impeachment

‘Not going to lose my son and my republic’: Jamie Raskin on Trump impeachment * House Democrat leading the impeachment remembers his son * Trump’s trial could start immediately after Biden takes power * US politics – live coverage

China reports ice cream contaminated with coronavirus

The coronavirus was found on ice cream produced in eastern China, prompting a recall of cartons from the same batch, according to the government. The Daqiaodao Food Co., Ltd. in Tianjin, adjacent to Beijing, was sealed and its employees were being tested for the coronavirus, a city government statement said. There was no indication anyone had contracted the virus from the ice cream. Most of the 29,000 cartons in the batch had yet to be sold, the government said. It said 390 sold in Tianjin were being tracked down and authorities elsewhere were notified of sales to their areas. The ingredients included New Zealand milk powder and whey powder from Ukraine, the government said. The Chinese government has suggested the disease, first detected in the central city of Wuhan in late 2019, came from abroad and has highlighted what it says are discoveries of the coronavirus on imported fish and other food, though foreign scientists are skeptical. Chinese officials have blamed cluster outbreaks on frozen food products imported from countries including the US, EU, New Zealand, Canada, India, Germany and Ecuador. And recently, China blamed an infection in a current cluster outbreak on an imported virus strain that had supposedly contaminated a package of steamed buns. The World Health Organisation has said that cases of live viruses being found on packaging appeared to be “rare and isolated". Other health experts have cautioned against drawing causal links between food packaging and outbreaks – finding traces of virus indicates it is present on a surface, but does not mean it can cause infections. The report came as China confirmed 109 new Covid-19 cases, two-thirds of them in a northern province that abuts Beijing, and no deaths. There were 72 new cases in Hebei province, where the government is building isolation hospitals with a total of 9,500 rooms to combat an upsurge in infections, according to the National Health Commission. The Health Commission on Saturday blamed the new infections on travellers and imported goods it said brought the virus from abroad. China's death toll stands at 4,653 out of 88,227 total cases.

Trump news - President wants ‘military’ sendoff as top Democrat says ex-staff cannot salvage reputations

All the latest from the White House and beyond on 16 January 2021