This week kicked off with the explosive revelation that Boris Johnson plans to row back on key elements of the Brexit withdrawal agreement - a move that Northern Ireland Minister Brandon Lewis has admitted would break international law.
Amid anger in both Westminster and Brussels over the plan, EU lawyers are said to be reviewing the newly tabled UK Internal Market Bill, which contains clauses that effectively override parts of the Northern Ireland protocol laid out in the treaty.
And Brexit is by no means the only headache facing Johnson. In a bid to stem a surge in coronavirus infections across the UK, the prime minister has imposed a blanket ban on social gatherings of more than six people from Monday.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Latest Videos FromThe Week
The new restriction has been met with widespread dismay, with Johnson unable to rule out disruptions to the fast-approaching festive season.
To find out how closely you’ve been paying attention to the latest developments in the pandemic, and other global events, put your knowledge to the test with our Quiz of The Week:
Need a reminder of some of the other headlines over the past seven days?
Across the pond, Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen published a tell-all memoir about the US president. Cohen accuses Trump of being a “cheat, a liar, a fraud, a bully, a racist, a predator and a con man” in the new book, which the White House has dismissed as “fan fiction”.
Back in Europe, the Swedish government claimed vindication of their decision to not impose a lockdown, after the Nordic nation recorded its lowest rate of positive coronavirus tests yet. As other countries across Europe record surges in infections, Sweden is reporting positive test rates of just 1.3% despite ramping up its testing regime to record levels.
Over in China, meanwhile, Xi Jinping’s government is constructing a “Covid-Proof” city. Located about 60 miles southwest of Beijing, the flagship new metropolis of Xiong’an will feature “pandemic-friendly” residential areas that are self-sufficient, to make the implementation of lockdown measures easier in future outbreaks.
