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12.18am GMT
A mass Covid-19 testing programme for British truck drivers is to get under way to relieve congestion at British ports following an agreement to reopen the border between France and the UK.
The UK Department for Transport made the announcement late on Tuesday, hours after Paris said passengers from Britain could enter France following a 48-hour blockade aimed at stopping the spread of a new coronavirus variant that left thousands of HGVs stranded outside UK ports before Christmas.
Related: France agrees to reopen UK border to lorry drivers with negative Covid test
12.11am GMT
China reported 15 new Covid cases on 22 December, the same as a day earlier, the country’s national health authority said on Wednesday.
The National Health Commission, in a statement, said 14 of the new cases were imported infections originating from overseas. The commission also reported one local transmission in Liaoning province.