Good morning. We’re covering Christmas during the pandemic, a major investment deal in the works between China and the E.U. and a Belarusian band making waves on TikTok. | |  By Melina Delkic | | | Police officers patrolling London on Monday. Andrew Testa for The New York Times | | | Health officials said severely limiting human contact was the only way to protect people. “The new variant makes everything so much harder because it spreads so much faster,” the British health secretary said. | | | Areas around England will be placed under the highest level of restrictions starting the day after Christmas. All nonessential businesses must close and people cannot meet with those outside their households. | | | The numbers: Britain reported 39,237 cases on Wednesday, up 56 percent from a week ago, according to a Times database. The number of people hospitalized with the virus is about the same as it was at the peak of the outbreak in the spring. | | | Volkswagen’s electric vehicle plant in Shanghai. Aly Song/Reuters | | | China and the European Commission are close to reaching a deal that would make it easier to invest in each other’s economies — but their talks keep running into snags. The latest one? A tweet by a top aide to Joe Biden indicating that the president-elect was not happy about the deal. | | | The pact is a top priority of Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany because it would give companies like Daimler and Volkswagen better control over their operations in China. But critics say it does not do enough to open China’s markets and address human rights concerns. | | | The clock is ticking. Germany wants to finish the deal before the end of the year while China hopes it can be sealed before the new Biden administration tries to rally opposition to the agreement. | | | Shopping for Christmas decorations in Milan this month. Alessandro Grassani for The New York Times | | | The virus that stole most of 2020 is now stealing Christmas, too. | | | Across Italy and beyond, many people were looking forward to Christmas with loved ones to soothe the heartache of a year of mourning. But with new lockdowns dashing those hopes, “home for the holidays” has taken on an ominous meaning: There is nowhere else to go. | | | In South Korea, which is facing its worst outbreak, the authorities are clamping down on gatherings of five or more people, from Christmas Eve until at least Jan. 3. | | | In the U.S., case numbers are about as bad as ever. The country is on pace to reach 325,000 deaths before Christmas. But it is no longer experiencing explosive spikes in infections, and many states are improving. Even with the promise of new federal aid, many jobless Americans are facing a holiday of tough choices, trying to celebrate while dealing with pressing financial needs. | | | Erin Lubin for The New York Times | | | Cecilia Chiang escaped war in China and landed in an America that was hungry for a new kind of Asian cuisine. When she moved to San Francisco, she was determined to introduce the distinct flavors from the kitchens of Sichuan, Shanghai and Beijing. Her restaurant, the Mandarin, completely changed America’s perception of Chinese cuisine. | | | PAID POST: A MESSAGE FROM CAMPAIGN MONITOR | | TEST: Email Marketing 101: Never Sacrifice Beauty for Simplicity | | A drag-and-drop email builder, a gallery of templates and turnkey designs, personalized customer journeys, and engagement segments. It's everything you need to create stunning, results-driven email campaigns in minutes. And with Campaign Monitor, you have access to it all, along with award-winning support around the clock. It's beautiful email marketing done simply. | | | Learn More | | | | Jimmy Lai: A Hong Kong judge granted the media tycoon bail on Wednesday, but imposed extensive restrictions barring him from using social media, giving interviews or leaving his home. His release was an unexpected reprieve for Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement. | | | Fraser Island blaze: Four people have been charged with unlawfully lighting a campfire that sparked huge blazes on Fraser Island off the coast of Australia in October, ultimately razing more than 210,000 acres of the popular vacation spot. | | | Yahuen Yerchak for The New York Times | | | Snapshot: Above, members of the band Molchat Doma in Minsk, Belarus, this month. Their music was the soundtrack to a traumatic year, but abroad, many of their tracks have gone viral as the backdrops for fun videos on TikTok. | | | What we’re listening to: This Retro Holiday playlist on Spotify. It doesn’t feel quite like the end of the year without a quick jam session to one of these songs. | | | Andrew Purcell for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne. | | | Cook: This Italian pasta and chickpea stew begins with sautéing onion, tomatoes, garlic and rosemary in olive oil, then tossing in the chickpeas, and smashing a few to give the stew a creamy texture. | | | Listen: If you are just starting to dip into the world of audiobooks, these recent releases may persuade you to keep listening. | | | Do: What’s the secret to longevity? A high-intensity workout, even for a few minutes a week, according to one study. | | | Let us help you celebrate the holidays with our At Home collection of ideas on what to read, cook, watch and do while staying safe at home. | | | For this year’s holiday season, those who are used to celebrating are having to make major adjustments — no dinners, no crowds, little travel. The Times talked to a few New Yorkers about how they were handling loneliness and how they would celebrate. | | | “Being a spreader is my worst fear,” said Jennifer Gagliardi, 27, who lives in a one-bedroom apartment with her cat. Ms. Gagliardi tried to cope with hobbies: She learned embroidery and adopted 46 plants. Pre-pandemic, she would drive to Long Island to spend Thanksgiving with her family. This year, she ordered Indian food for two and dined with her best friend. | | | ‘Without structure there is no motivation to study’ | | | Since moving to New York from Chittagong, Bangladesh, in 2015, Ahnaf Islam has found it difficult to connect with his roommates and classmates at New York University, where he studies physics. | | | He said being physically in class motivated him. But when the pandemic hit, his struggles with depression intensified. “The mental isolation I felt before became augmented with physical isolation,” he said. He plans to spend his holiday catching up on schoolwork. | | | ‘There has to be some sort of hope’ | | | Victoria Remer, 25, a Master of Divinity candidate, moved to New York in August to intern at a Lutheran church. But what was supposed to be a community-based job turned out to be a solitary one. | | | “I feel like I’m missing out on a huge part of what I’m supposed to be doing here,” she said. Most years, she would spend Christmas Eve at church, with her family working as ushers or worship assistants. This year she will spend it at home. | | That’s it for this briefing. We will be off for Christmas tomorrow and there will be no newsletter. We wish you a very merry holiday season. — Melina | | Thank you
Carole Landry helped write this briefing. Theodore Kim and Jahaan Singh provided the break from the news. You can reach the team at briefing@nytimes.com. | | | Were you sent this briefing by a friend? Sign up here to get the Morning Briefing. | | |
