ASTRAZENECA, OXFORD GIVE CONFLICTING ACCOUNTS OF COVID-19 TRIAL

AstraZeneca and Oxford University have given conflicting accounts of how

they came upon the most effective dosing pattern for their COVID-19 vaccine,

a rare instance of public dissension between major institutions

collaborating on a pivotal project.

The discrepancy centres on the regimen administered to a smaller group of

volunteers in the late-stage trials, of half a dose followed by a full dose.

This diverged from the original plan of two full doses, given to the

majority of participants.

The half-dose pattern was found to be 90% effective, versus the 62% success

rate of the two-full-dose main study, based on interim data.

AstraZeneca's research chief told Reuters 10 days ago, when interim trial

data was released, the half-dose was given inadvertently as a first shot to

some trial participants, and emerged as a stroke of fortune - that

scientists expertly harnessed.

This narrative was refuted by a leading Oxford University scientist,

however, who told Reuters on Monday that the half-dose shot was given

deliberately after thorough consultations.

Uncertainty over how the dosing regimen came about raises questions about

the robustness of the data, according to some experts who said it risked

slowing down the process of gaining regulatory approval for the shot and

denting public confidence.

JOE BIDEN: COVID VACCINATION IN US WILL NOT BE MANDATORY

President-elect Joe Biden says Americans won't be forced to take a

coronavirus vaccine when one becomes available in the US.

It comes as the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) for the first time urged

"universal mask use" indoors, unless when Americans are at their own home.

The CDC said the US had "entered a phase of high-level transmission" of the

virus.

Mr Biden - who is due to take office on 20 January - also said he expected

his inauguration to be a scaled-back event without large crowds because of

coronavirus concerns.

"My guess is there'll still be a platform ceremony but I don't know how it's

all going to work out," he said.

Speaking in Wilmington, Delaware, the US president-elect said it would not

be necessary to make a coronavirus vaccine mandatory.

"I will do everything in my power as president to encourage people to do the

right thing and when they do it, demonstrate that it matters," he said.

JOE BIDEN OFFICIALLY SECURES ENOUGH ELECTORS TO BECOME PRESIDENT

California certified its presidential election Friday and appointed 55

electors pledged to vote for Democrat Joe Biden, officially handing him the

Electoral College majority needed to win the White House.

Secretary of State Alex Padilla's formal approval of Biden's win in the

state brought his tally of pledged electors so far to 279, according to a

tally by The Associated Press. That's just over the 270 threshold for

victory.

These steps in the election are often ignored formalities. But the hidden

mechanics of electing a U.S. president have drawn new scrutiny this year as

President Donald Trump continues to deny Biden's victory and pursues

increasingly specious legal strategies aimed at overturning the results

before they are finalized.

Although it's been apparent for weeks that Biden won the presidential

election, his accrual of more than 270 electors is the first step toward the

White House, said Edward B. Foley, a law professor at Ohio State University.

The electors named Friday will meet Dec. 14, along with counterparts in each

state, to formally vote for the next president. Most states have laws

binding their electors to the winner of the popular vote in their state,

measures that were upheld by a Supreme Court decision this year. There have

been no suggestions that any of Biden's pledged electors would contemplate

not voting for him.

Results of the Electoral College vote are due to be received, and typically

approved, by Congress on Jan. 6. Although lawmakers can object to accepting

the electors' votes, it would be almost impossible for Biden to be blocked

at that point.

US HOUSE PASSES BILL TO DECRIMINALIZE MARIJUANA

US House legislators voted for the first time Friday to decriminalize

cannabis, a key step towards bringing federal laws in line with states and

other countries that have freed up use of the drug.

The House of Representatives, controlled by Democrats, easily passed the

bill by 228 votes to 164. It stands little chance however in the Senate,

which is controlled by Republicans.

The bill would remove marijuana from the federal Controlled Substances Act,

which listed it beside heroin and cocaine as a dangerous narcotic and

mandated tough penalties.

It would see the records of many people arrested for marijuana use expunged,

and calls for the review of the sentences of those currently jailed on

federal cannabis charges.

And it would let states set their own laws but also launch federal

regulation and taxation of the industry, as it does for alcohol.

BREXIT: BORIS JOHNSON AND EU CHIEF SEEK TO BREAK TRADE DEAL DEADLOCK

Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen will

seek to break the stalemate over a post-Brexit trade deal on Saturday.

Negotiators for the two sides called in the two leaders after saying

"significant divergences" remained following a week of intensive talks.

Time is running out to get a deal through before the UK leaves EU trading

rules on 31 December.

Most of the deal has been completed but key sticking points remain.

These include fishing rights, the rules governing state subsidies for

business and how the agreement is policed.

One source close to the negotiations on the UK side suggested there had been

a more optimistic outlook earlier in the week but pointed to demands for EU

fishing boats to have ten year access to UK waters as one issue that

derailed progress.

ERDOGAN HOPES FRANCE WILL 'GET RID OF MACRON'

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday he hopes France will

"get rid" of his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron as soon as possible, in

the latest salvo in an escalating war of words between the two leaders.

"Macron is a trouble for France. With Macron, France is passing through a

very, very dangerous period. I hope that France will get rid of Macron

trouble as soon as possible," Mr. Erdogan said .

Turkey and France are embroiled in a series of disputes, from tensions in

the eastern Mediterranean to the contested Nagorno-Karabakh region.

And the spat has risen to new levels in recent months as France has moved to

crack down on Islamist extremism after several attacks on French soil. Mr.

Erdogan has repeatedly suggested that Mr. Macron get "mental checks" and

urged the Turkish people to boycott French-labelled products.

On Friday, Mr. Ergodan said France should get rid of Mr. Macron "otherwise

they will not be able to get rid of yellow vests," referring to the protest

movement that began in France in 2018. "Yellow vests could later turn into

red vests," Mr. Erdogan said, without elaborating.

AT LEAST 2 U.S. MARSHALS, SUSPECT SHOT IN NEW YORK, SAY POLICE

At least two U.S. Marshals and a suspect have been shot in the Bronx early

on Friday, police said.

The New York Police Department said the shooting happened about 5:30 a.m. on

Friday and they didn't immediately have information about the conditions of

those shot. Two or three Marshals were injured, the department said.

Media reports described the Marshals' injuries as non-life threatening.

The police department's public information office referred a request for

additional information by The Associated Press to the U.S. Marshals Service.

No one was immediately available to comment at the Marshals' office in New

York City.

NORWAY TO USE THREE VACCINES TO STOP COVID-19 FROM EARLY 2021

Norway plans to use the three vaccines developed by Moderna, AstraZeneca,

Pfizer and BioNTech in its first push to inoculate its population against

COVID-19, the country's health minister said on Friday.

In the first quarter of 2021, Oslo expects to receive a total of 2.5 million

doses, covering 1.25 million people, pending approval of the vaccines from

European regulators. Norway's population is 5.4 million.

Non-EU Norway will get access to some of the vaccines obtained by the

European Union thanks to Sweden, an EU member that will buy more than it

needs and sell them to Norway, right after New Year.

"By Easter, we could be in a completely different situation than today,"

Health Minister Bente Hoeie told a news conference. The timeline in Norway

is speedier than earlier announced. In October, Prime Minister Erna Solberg

had said she expected vaccinations to start in the first half of next year.

CHINA TURNS ON 'ARTIFICIAL SUN'

China successfully powered up its "artificial sun" nuclear fusion reactor

for the first time, state media reported on Friday, marking a great advance

in the country's nuclear power research capabilities.

The HL-2M Tokamak reactor is China's largest and most advanced nuclear

fusion experimental research device, and scientists hope that the device can

potentially unlock a powerful clean energy source.

It uses a powerful magnetic field to fuse hot plasma and can reach

temperatures of over 150 million degrees Celsius, according to the People's

Daily -- approximately ten times hotter than the core of the sun.

Located in Sichuan province and completed late last year, the reactor is

often called an "artificial sun" on account of the enormous heat and power

it produces.

Chinese scientists have been working on developing smaller versions of the

nuclear fusion reactor since 2006.

JAPANESE SPACECRAFT APPROACHES EARTH TO DROP ASTEROID SAMPLES

Japanese space agency officials said on Friday the Hayabusa2 spacecraft is

on its intended trajectory as it approaches Earth to deliver a capsule

containing samples from a distant asteroid that could provide clues to the

origin of the solar system and life on Earth.

The spacecraft left the asteroid Ryugu, about 300 million kilometers (180

million miles) away, a year ago. The capsule is to be released 2,20,000

kilometers (1,36,700 miles) away in space and land in a remote, sparsely

populated area of Woomera, Australia, on Sunday.

Hayabusa2 is flying smoothly according to plan, Yuichi Tsuda, project

manager at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), said at a briefing

ahead of the critical separation of the capsule from the spacecraft on

Saturday.

"We trained ourselves and now we are fully prepared. So I'm just praying

that equipment that hasn't been used yet will work well and that there will

be good weather in Australia," he said.