Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Tuesday 3 Nov 2020

1. Biden and Trump make final pitches as US votes

Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger Joe Biden have spent the final hours of the White House race delivering their closing pitch to voters in critical swing states. Biden promised “the beginning of a new day” as he closed his campaign in Pennsylvania, while in North Carolina, Donald Trump told a rally: “Next year will be the greatest economic year in the history of our country.”

US election 2020: Joe Biden wins the White House

2. Covid-19 hospital admissions soaring in England

The number of Covid-19 patients admitted to hospital in England has jumped more than 60% in just 10 days, according to leaked NHS data. The number of patients needing a ventilator to help them breathe has also increased by nearly 51%, The Independent reports. Meanwhile, North West Ambulance Service declared a major incident last night due to high demand for ambulances.

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Britain’s death toll could hit ‘85,000 in second Covid wave’, leaked Sage documents reveal

3. Austrian police in manhunt after Vienna gun attacks

Police in Austria are searching for at least one suspect after a multiple gun attack in the capital, Vienna, left three people dead. Gunmen opened fire at six different locations in the city centre last night, leaving around a dozen injured. After one of the suspects was shot dead by police, Interior Minister Karl Nehammer described the assailant as an “Islamist terrorist”.

4. First city-wide testing to be launched in Liverpool

The government is planning its first attempt at city-wide mass testing in Liverpool, where up to half a million people are set to be checked for Covid-19. With the government facing pressure to improve its bungled £12bn test-and-test trace system, the self-isolation period for those who test positive for coronavirus, and their contacts, could be cut from the current 14-day period to seven days next week.

Coronavirus: does test-and-trace work to keep Covid-19 cases down?

5. EU denies negotiators have ‘caved’ on fishing

European Union negotiators have conceded over British demands on fishing rights after Brexit, according to a disputed report. The Telegraph claims that Brussels has “caved” on a long-standing UK demand that fishing opportunities be calculated on the basis of zonal attachment, “a system that calculates a share of the catch based on which waters the fish are in”. EU sources said the report was “far off the mark”.

Why a UK-French spat over fishing rights may trigger a no-deal Brexit

6. China seizes new territory in Nepal after border clashes

China has seized more than 150 hectares of Nepal, months after deadly border clashes between Chinese and Indian troops in the Himalayas. China allegedly began seizing Nepalese land in five frontier districts in May, sending members of its People’s Liberation Army across undefended areas of the border, The Telegraph reports. The PLA troops have also reportedly constructed military bases on the territory.

High drama: India and China brawl in the Himalayas

7. Survivors count victims after massacre in Ethiopia

Amnesty International says at least 54 people have been killed in a rebel attack in Ethiopia’s restive Oromia region over the weekend. Survivors, who counted the dead in a schoolyard in the village of Gawa Qanqa, say most of the victims were women, children and elderly people. They were attacked by suspected members of the Oromo Liberation Army, a breakaway rebel group.

8. Grayson Perry says pandemic will clear arts of ‘dead wood’

Grayson Perry is under attack after saying the economic fallout of Covid-19 will clear galleries of “dead wood”. Speaking to Arts Society Magazine, Perry said: “I think every part of life has probably got a bit of fat that needs trimming.” An unnamed artist told The Guardian that “Perry’s views from his ivory tower” do not help the “very real struggle of arts workers trying like everyone else to survive this pandemic”.

Second lockdown will plunge UK into ‘double-dip’ recession, economists warn

9. Princess Diana’s brother attacks BBC ‘whitewash’

Princess Diana’s brother has accused the BBC of a “whitewash” over faked bank statements said to have helped land a Panorama interview with his late-sister. Charles Spencer has attacked the institution’s “sheer dishonesty” and accused journalist Martin Bashir, who secured the landmark interview in 1995, of “yellow journalism”. The Earl Spencer is demanding the BBC open an inquiry into the allegations.

Princess Diana: 10 surprising things we've learnt since her death

10. Domestic violence charities welcome Depp judgement

Domestic violence charities have said Johnny Depp’s defeat in the libel courts should encourage other victims to come forward and seek justice. The High Court’s ruling that The Sun was justified in describing the actor as a “wife beater” has also been welcomed by lawyers and campaign groups. The Guardian says the damage to Depp’s reputation following the trial will be “extensive”.

Why everybody’s talking about Johnny Depp and Amber Heard