WeekDay AM: 10 Things you need to know this morning
Welby faces pressure, Trump appoints loyalists, and the issue with ugly buildings

 
today's religion story

Bishop calls for Welby to resign

What happened
A Church of England bishop has called on Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby to resign as pressure mounts over his handling of one of the church's most serious abuse scandals.

Who said what
The Right Rev Helen-Ann Hartley, the Bishop of Newcastle, said Welby's position had become "untenable" after it emerged last week that he failed to follow up properly on reports about John Smyth QC, a Christian barrister who brutally abused up to 130 boys over 40 years. A review of the church's handling of Smyth's case said the archbishop "could and should" have reported the abuse to authorities when he became aware of it in 2013.

Yet the resignation demands are not just about how Welby failed to deal with a "vile abuser", said Catherine Pepinster in The Independent, but "about the politics of the Church of England itself". Three priests who began the calls for Welby to step down "have agendas that dominate current debate in the Church of England", including criticism of Welby's approach to same-sex marriage and his apparent "lack of interest in the future well-being of Anglican parishes".

For The Times's Kaya Burgess, "the view on whether The Most Rev Justin Welby should answer calls for his resignation hinges on how egregious people deem his alleged 'lack of curiosity' about Smyth to be". In the end it may come down to "whether Smyth's abuses could have been stopped if Welby had asked more questions".

What next?
Regardless of the mounting pressure, Welby is expected to announce his retirement in the coming weeks or months anyway, said The Guardian. Bishops in the Church of England are required to stand down at the age of 70 and, while Welby won't hit that milestone until January 2026, they "generally give long notice of impending retirement".

 
 
today's international story

Trump administration begins to take shape

What happened
Donald Trump has made more appointments ahead of his second stint in the Oval Office, selecting loyalists Lee Zeldin to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik as US ambassador to the United Nations. The president-elect is also expected to name Stephen Miller, his top immigration adviser, as deputy chief of staff for policy, according to reports.

Who said what
During his campaign Trump vowed to roll back climate regulations and Zeldin is expected to play a key role in realising that ambition. With Washington now expected to withdraw from the landmark Paris Agreement, climate lawyer Zerin Osho told the BBC there would soon be a "leadership vacuum that's going to cost humanity as a whole".

Trump loyalists are being "handed jobs that will be key to implementing his second-term priorities", said The Times, including his plan for "the largest mass deportation in American history on the day he takes office".

What next?
As he contemplates his second term, the president-elect's "fixation on loyalty appears to be growing", said NBC News. Trump is expected to continue finalising his top positions over the next 70 days before he returns to the White House on 20 January.

 
 
Today's architecture story

Ugly buildings 'make people miserable'

What happened
A report by The Centre for Social Justice suggested Britain's ugly buildings "make people lonely and miserable". The independent think tank argued that poor infrastructure made it harder for residents to sustain friendships.

Two-fifths of people did not agree that buildings were designed to encourage community spirit, according to a poll of more than 2,000 UK adults by Whitestone Insight that was weighted to be representative.

Who said what
"The country urgently needs more homes, but this should not mean cutting corners, degrading the built environment or concreting over green community space," said Josh Nicholson, senior researcher at the CSJ. Architects should prioritise "beauty, design and green space" because "loneliness is a public health emergency".

What next?
The government has announced a £5 billion package to construct 1.5 million new homes, but must avoid "building our way into the social problems of the future", said Labour MP Margaret Mullane in the report.

 
 

It's not all bad

In 1991 Sophie Lloyd, disguised as “Raymond Lloyd”, gained entry to the historically male-only Magic Circle society of magicians, but was expelled when she revealed her identity. Her daring act aimed to prove that women's skills in illusion matched those of their male counterparts. Now the Magic Circle is trying to locate Lloyd so it can apologise and re-invite her, recognising the boldness of her act. "It's vital to acknowledge her contribution,” said Laura London, the society's first female chair.

 
 
under the radar

The teenage 'maths prodigy' who turned out to be a cheat

A 17-year-old girl hailed as a "genius" for her score in an international maths competition in China was actually a cheat, according to organisers.

Jiang Ping hit the headlines in June when she became the first finalist from a "lowly vocational school", said the BBC, but "months of scepticism" over her "stellar results" led to an investigation and a shocking discovery.

When Jiang, a fashion design student, came 12th in the qualifiers of the annual international maths contest run by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba she was described as a "genius", said the South China Morning Post, and was "held up as an example of someone who could overcome her modest educational background to achieve major success".

But other finalists raised questions over apparent discrepancies in her performance, including an unfamiliarity with "mathematical expressions and symbols", and penned a joint letter to the organising committee.

The letter claimed there was "evidence" of potential fraud, including a theory of "collaborative cheating". The organising committee investigated and found that Jiang had violated competition rules in the preliminary round because she was helped by her teacher Wang Runqiu, who was himself a contestant.

Jiang has been roundly blasted on social media in China, but some users have insisted the blame lies with her school and teacher. Although the teenager is "not innocent", one user wrote on Weibo, the "worst parties in this" are the adults who "brought this child along to do a bad deed, and let her suffer all the consequences".

As for Jiang herself, she regards maths as her "plan B", said The Beijing News, and prefers fashion design for her future study.

 
 
on this day

12 November 1931

Abbey Road Studios, the first purpose-built recording studio, opened its doors in London. Edward Elgar was the first to use its then cutting-edge facilities, conducting a session with the London Symphony Orchestra. A mixing console that was used to create The Beatles' "Abbey Road" album is currently up for sale, with bidding up to £2,350,000.

 
 
Today's newspapers

Gary Lineker is to quit "Match of the Day" at the end of the season and leave the BBC, reports The Daily Telegraph. "What a finish" says The Sun. Replacements for the long-time host could include Mark Chapman or Alex Scott, says The Mirror. The Guardian leads on how a "historic bill" to legalise assisted dying will set out "strict safeguards", including lengthy prison sentences for coercion. Meanwhile, The Times looks at how a free pill on the NHS will "help thousands give up smoking".

See the newspaper front pages

 
 
tall tale

Egg race record poached

More than 2,000 high school students helped break the Guinness World Record for the largest ever egg and spoon race at the International Egg Fair in Jalisco, Mexico. The committee determined that 2,039 out of the 2,700 participants finished the race without violating any rules, beating the previous mark of 1,400 people set in London. The fair also included an egg hunt, a decorated cart race and an exhibition featuring 100 egg-based dishes.

 
 

Morning Report was written and edited by Arion McNicoll, Harriet Marsden, Tess Foley-Cox and Chas Newkey-Burden, with illustrations by Julia Wytrazek.

Image credits, from top: Carl Court / Getty Images; Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images; David Cowlard / Construction Photography / Avalon / Getty Images.