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U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledged that his government would use "every available second" to shield the elderly and the vulnerable from the virus rampaging across Britain as he told Parliament why the country needed to return to a COVID-19 lockdown.
Lawmakers were recalled from their Christmas recess to discuss the measures, which came into force at midnight. Despite some grumbling, they voted 524-16 to approve England's third national lockdown because there is a wide consensus on the need for tougher restrictions to control soaring new infections.
"When the Office for National Statistics reports that more than 2% of the population is now infected, and when the number of patients in hospitals in England is now 40% higher than the first peak in April, it is inescapable that the facts are changing, and we must change our response," Johnson said.
He said "we will use every available second of the lockdown to place this invisible shield around the elderly and the vulnerable" until vaccination provides a "means of escape" from lockdown.
The U.K. is in a maelstrom of rising COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations and deaths. Britain reported more than 60,000 new confirmed cases in 24 hours for the second day in a row on Wednesday. Authorities said more than 403,914 people had tested positive in the past seven days, a 43% increase from the previous week.
Rising infections are also putting an unprecedented strain on the nation's healthcare system. Hospitals in the U.K. are treating 30,451 coronavirus patients, well over 40% more than during the pandemic's first peak in April.
Authorities reported 1,041 deaths on Wednesday, the highest since April 21. Hospitals are jammed with COVID-19 patients and medical personnel, many of whom are exhausted after months of dealing with the virus, find themselves stretched thin. The situation is dire.
"We've got these unprecedented numbers of patients coming in with COVID,'' said Dr. Tom Dolphin, a member of the British Medical Association council who works in London. "And we probably haven't seen the peak yet from the patients coming in who got infected during Christmas and the new year period.''
When Johnson on Monday announced the stay-at-home order and the nationwide closure of gyms, pubs, restaurants and nonessential shops, he said the lockdown terms would remain in place until mid-February. By that time, the government hopes to have given one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine to about 13 million people who are most at risk — including everyone in the country over age 70 — and the progress may potentially allowing some relaxation of the restrictions.
"After the marathon of last year, we are indeed now in a sprint, a race to vaccinate the vulnerable faster than the virus can reach them, and every needle in every arm makes a difference,'' Johnson told the House of Commons on Wednesday.
The session came amid anger over the chaos in the government's education strategy during the pandemic.
As part of the latest lockdown, Johnson ordered schools across England to close, backtracking on the government's pledge to keep them open. Some lawmakers are seeking assurances that schools will reopen in mid-February.
"It's been a huge shambles," Robert Halfon, chairman of the House of Commons' education committee, told the BBC. "This has got to stop. The government has got to offer consistency, a consistent policy that doesn't change every couple of days."
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson confirmed that the major exams for 16- and 18-year-old high school students, which determine their chances of postsecondary education, won't be held this summer, the second year they have been scuttled by the coronavirus.
Williamson said students would be graded based on teacher assessments instead.
Johnson ordered the national lockdown in England after public health officials warned that the rising infection rates threatened to overwhelm the...

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Defying President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence said Wednesday that he does not have the power to discard electoral votes that will make Democrat Joe Biden the next president on Jan. 20.
Pence said in a statement issued minutes before he was to begin presiding over a joint session of Congress to count those votes that it was "my considered judgement that my oath to support and defend the Constitution constrains me from claiming unilateral authority to determine which electoral votes should be counted and which should not."
In the days before the joint session, Trump has pressured his vice president to toss electors from battleground states that voted for Biden to overturn the will of voters in a desperate and futile bid to undo President-elect Joe Biden's victory in the November election.
"If Mike Pence does the right thing we win the election," Trump told thousands of supporters who rallied Wednesday on the Ellipse, just south of the White House, an hour before the count in Congress was to begin.
"All Vice President Pence has to do is send it back to the states to recertify and we become president and you are the happiest people," Trump said, repeating a falsehood he has been promoting leading up to the congressional session.
Trump repeatedly pressured Pence to act during his more than 75-minute speech to supporters. "Mike Pence is going to have to come through for us," Trump said, "and if he doesn't, it's a sad day for our country."
Shortly before the 1 p.m. start of the joint session and even as Trump continued his verbal haranguing, Pence made clear in a three-page letter that he would follow the Constitution, not the commander in chief. While Trump was speaking, Pence's motorcade carried him through a heavily-secured Washington toward the Capitol, where thousands of Trump supporters were marching.
Pence has no unilateral power under the Constitution and congressional rules that govern the count. It is up to the House and Senate to voice objections, and states' electors were chosen in accordance with state law, not fraudulently.
Beginning at 1 p.m., Pence began to open the certificates of the electoral votes from each state and present them to the appointed "tellers" from the House and Senate in alphabetical order. At the end of the count, Pence, seated on the House of Representatives' rostrum, has the task of announcing who has won the majority of votes for both president and vice president.
Despite his largely ceremonial assignment, Pence has faced intense pressure from the president and legions of supporters who want the vice president to use the moment to overturn the will of the voters in a handful of battleground states.
Pence told Trump during their weekly lunch in the West Wing on Tuesday that he did not believe he had the power to unilaterally overturn electoral votes, according to a person briefed on the one-on-one conversation. This person was not authorised to publicly discuss the private discussion, which was first reported by The New York Times, and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Trump denied the report in a statement late Tuesday in which he continued to falsely assert Pence has powers he does not. But the vice president, whose office declined to discuss his plans, was not expected to deliver on Trump's request to overturn the electors, acknowledging he has no such unilateral power.
Pence has spent hours with staff and the Senate parliamentarian to prepare for Wednesday's joint session, including studying the Electoral Count Act of 1887, which governs the proceedings, and relevant legal opinions.
In fulfilling one of the few formal responsibilities of the vice presidency, Pence risks compromising his own political future. Pence is eyeing a run for the White House in 2024 and is banking on his years of loyalty to Trump, who could be a political kingmaker for years to come, to help him stand out in what is expected to be a crowded...

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From a 6m dragon to a taxidermied sailor rat, and even a Nintendo Switch: the Bay's top Trade Me Marketplace listings of 2020 were inspired by the weird and wonderful.
The auction site has released its top five most viewed listings of the year in the Bay of Plenty. Topping the list was a $3500 dragon, better known as "Drogon" - named after the central dragon from Game of Thrones. 

Drogon is ready to spread his wings. Photo / Supplied
The listing states the long, stroppy teenage dragon is house-trained and well behaved but desperately wanting to spread his wings and fly the coop - and is also a bit of a show pony who loves crowds.
"Enjoys small children and sheep, stray cats and baby bunnies are definitely his preference, with a pinch of salt and some smoky herbs."
Drogon also enjoys watching "Big Bang Theory", "A Knight's Tale", "How to Train A Dragon" and anything with Emilia Clarke in - who plays Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones - its current owner stated.

Drogon the dragon was the top listing from the Bay of Plenty. Photo / Supplied
The Tauranga listing was the most viewed in the region last year with 27,491 views.
Coming in second was "Sailor Sam", a taxidermied rat complete with oars, hat and scarf.
"He's cheap to feed ... everlasting and sends a message," the 16,611-viewed listing states.

Sailor Sam's flatmate Betty the Cat had too much hatred for the taxidermied rat. Photo / Supplied
Third, with 15,109 views, was a multi-door fridge freezer, wrapped with a design made specifically by the New Zealand artist Dick Frizzell.
The Incubator Creative Hub Charitable Trust were the owners of the fridge and they believed only 10 were made.
They stated with artwork valued at $10,000 it was worth "much more" than its retail price of $3000.

The Incubator's collector fridge. Photo / Supplied
The top five viewed listings were rounded out by a Rotorua Giant Reign mountain bike with more than 8000 views and a gaming console Nintendo Switch with 7721 views.
Spokeswoman Millie Silvester said wider events and current news were often reflected inTrade Me's top auctions and last year was no exception.
"Obviously, much of 2020 was dominated by Covid-19 and so were our top auctions, with all five of our most popular listings of the year related to the pandemic in some way."
Silvester said a Covid-free bag of air took out the top spot nationally with 210,086 views.

Covid-free air was one of the top national listings on Trade Me last year. Photo / Supplied
After five days onsite, Silvester said Trade Me contacted the seller and together they made the decision to withdraw the listing.
"Our team was actively monitoring the listing and when it became apparent that some bidders were not genuine, we made the call to remove it from our site. At the time we removed the auction, the leading bid was $101,200."
In second place was a "leprechaun turd" found by a Christchurch father and son on a walk during level 4 lockdown.
"The charming listing description was written in the words of 8-year-old Pacey and told the tale of how he found the rock and came to list it onsite. It was an instant hit, fetching 157,275 views and selling for $274."

The "leprechaun turd" found by a father and son. Photo / Supplied
Taking out the third most-viewed spot was Dan Carter's test jersey, listed to support his local rugby club Southbridge after Covid brought the season to a halt.
The listing reached 129,357 views and sold for $21,300.
Silvester said both the fourth and fifth most popular auctions featured director general of health Ashley Bloomfield.
A superhero-themed sketch of Bloomfield and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern by Aucklandartist Jason Hoyt took out fourth place, receiving 105,744 views and selling for $6350.
In fifth place, a Cancer Society fundraiser auction gave the top...

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Newstalk ZB is back with another edition of Hidden Spots on Summer Breakfast.
This is where we take you on a bit of a virtual road trip around the country - and give you tips on attractions you may not know about.
Today, our road trip takes us to the top of the South Island, where you can find the Nelson Theatre Royal. 
It is the oldest purpose-built performance theatre in New Zealand, painstakingly restored and with all the modern theatre needs.
Manager Eliane Polack joined Tim Dower to discuss why the theatre is so special.
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Justine Smith has been awarded New Zealand’s best female comedian of 2020, and she snapped up best mc while she was at it.
It's her fourth time winning best female comedian at the comedy guild awards.
It comes after a rocky year for comedy, with the lockdowns and social distancing restrictions seeing the Comedy Festival cancelled and a number of clubs and venues go months without shows.
Smith joined Tim Dower to discuss her win and reflect on the strangeness of 2020.
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Big hotel chains being used as MIQ facilities could find their image tainted by a link to Covid-19.
Hotels need the revenue as there aren't any tourists, but when government contracts end, there could be long-lasting tarnish to their brand.
Marketing Associate Professor Dan Laufer told Tim Dower otential brand damage will vary, but could be worse for some hotels working as quarantine facilities.
"The Government, when they have a press conference, always highlight that people are being transferred to the Jet Park hotel. So there I think the damage can be greater."
He says hotels will look to improve their image from brand damage through promotion and advertising campaigns.
"Changing the brand name, that is an extreme case. There are other things the hotel can do."
Laufer says four-star hotels will reinforce their luxury and safety.
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The two owners of a cafe in Orange, NSW have described the "devastating" consequences of their venue's exposure to the coronavirus.  
A slew of venues in NSW’s west were hit with COVID-19 warnings yesterday after being visited by an 18-year-old who went on a camping trip across the state while unknowingly infected.
One of them was Birdie Noshery cafe, which is co-owned by Leah Morphett and Simonn Hawke.
When the phone call from NSW Health came in on Tuesday morning, Ms Morphett answered.
“She beckoned me over, and I could see she was tearing up on the phone. I knew something was wrong,” Ms Hawke told The Australian.
The cafe employs about 24 members of staff, half of whom have been “wiped out” for the next two weeks as they need to isolate.
“We’ve worked so hard to make the business safe, so this is just so devastating for us,” Ms Hawke said.
“We opened last year and we’ve only just hit our stride, so this is a big financial blow.”
“I cried. I’m still doing that intermittently,” Ms Morphett told the ABC yesterday.
“My mind just kicked into damage control. We have a lot of staff and a lot of customers to think about, the whole community of Orange.”
Meanwhile, a plan for public servants across Melbourne to begin returning to work from Monday could be thrown into jeopardy.
Speaking to the Herald Sun, a government spokesperson said Victoria’s public health team would be reviewing the state’s current return to work schedule as a result of its first COVID-19 outbreak in months – linked to the ongoing situation in NSW. 
Up to 50 per cent of public servants were due to be back in offices by February 8, while commercial offices were set to continue a phased return and other offices were due to increase from 25 per cent capacity to 50 per cent from January 11.

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A rush of investors means New Zealand's housing market is set to implode.
CoreLogic's last House Price Index for 2020 shows properties nationwide increased by 2.6 per cent over December.
It takes growth in the final quarter to 6.1 per cent - a rate only matched by February 2004's final boom of 6.6 per cent.
Head of research, Nick Goodall warns the rate we're going, can't be sustained over this year.
He told Tim Dower something has to give, and it probably will when nobody can afford the asking prices anymore, and demand drops.
"Or there's going to be some sort of regulatory influence here, whether that's the Government or the Reserve Bank.
"We know the Government has talked about extending the brightline test."
He says people are buying houses because there are few other places to put their money, with the chance of any real return.
"We've seen the Government and Reserve Bank basically come out and say we can't allow house prices to fall away at all, and that obviously provides more confidence and more demand." 
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Georgians cast high-stakes final votes in elections to determine the balance of power in the new Congress, deciding Senate runoff elections sure to shape President-elect Joe Biden's ability to enact what could be the most progressive governing agenda in generations.
Republicans are unified against Biden's plans for health care, environmental protection and civil rights, but some have feared that outgoing President Donald Trump's brazen attempts to undermine the integrity of the nation's voting systems might discourage voters in Georgia.
State election officials  reported light turnout  Tuesday morning, including in the deeply conservative northwest region where Trump held a rally Monday night to encourage GOP voters to turn out in force. Wait times at polling sites were "almost nonexistent," averaging about one minute statewide, said Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
More than 3 million Georgians had voted early, either by mail or during in-person voting in December. The robust early turnout was expected to benefit Democrats, as it helped Biden in November become the first Democratic presidential candidate to win Georgia since 1992.
"This is history unfolding in Georgia right now," Jon Ossoff, one of Georgia's two Democratic challengers, told reporters outside an Atlanta polling site.
Republicans were counting on a big turnout Tuesday to boost their chances.
"You've got to swarm it tomorrow," Trump told thousands of cheering supporters Monday night, downplaying the threat of fraud even as he repeatedly declared that the state's November elections were plagued by cheating that Republican officials, including his former attorney general and Georgia's elections chief, say did not occur.
Democrats must win both of the state's Senate elections to gain the Senate majority. In that scenario, the Senate would be equally divided 50-50 with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris serving as the tie-breaker for Democrats.
The Democrats secured a narrow House majority and the White House during November's general election.
Georgia's January elections, necessary because no Senate candidates received a majority of the general-election votes, have been unique for many reasons, not least because the contenders essentially ran as teams.
One contest featured Democrat Raphael Warnock, who serves as the senior pastor of the Atlanta church where Martin Luther King Jr. preached. The 51-year-old Warnock was raised in public housing and spent most of his adult life preaching in Baptist churches.
Warnock was facing Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler, a 50-year-old former businesswoman who was appointed to the Senate a year ago by the state's Republican governor. She is only the second woman to represent Georgia in the Senate, although race has emerged as more of a campaign focus. Loeffler and her allies have seized on snippets of Warnock's sermons at the historic Black church to cast him as extreme. Dozens of religious and civil rights leaders have pushed back.
The other election pitted 71-year-old former business executive David Perdue, who held the Senate seat until his term officially expired on Sunday, against Democrat Ossoff, a former congressional aide and journalist. At just 33 years old, Ossoff would be the Senate's youngest member if elected. He first rose to national prominence in 2017 during an unsuccessful House special election bid.
Even a closely divided Democratic Senate wouldn't guarantee Biden everything he wants, given chamber rules that require 60 votes to move most major legislation. But if Democrats lose even one of Tuesday's contests, Biden would have little shot for swift up-or-down votes on his most ambitious plans to expand government-backed health care coverage, address racial inequality and combat climate change. A Republican-controlled Senate also would create a rougher path for Biden's Cabinet picks and judicial nominees.
"Georgia, the whole nation is...

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The ACT party believes stripping violent gang members of their gun licences could reduce shootings.
Gang clashes have flared up in Auckland and Christchurch, while a Police pursuit in Manawatu on Monday night ended in officers dodging bullets.
Act's law reform spokesperson Nicole McKee told Tim Dower they have concerns that innocent families will be caught up in the next gang shooting.
She says hardened Australian deportees, known as 501s, have ramped up thuggish behaviour among gangs.
"The tensions that are occurring between the gangs means it's a matter of time before the community are targetted as well. And we will get innocent people, including the front-line police who are trying to protect us, in the firing line."
She says hardened gang members don't care if they use legal or illegal guns.
But McKee says the freezing and taking of gang assets by targeting gun licence breaches, could work.
"So what we to be able to do is encourage them to not want to have a firearm in the first place.
"What matters to the gangs is their bling and their money."
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