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Monday morning news briefing: Kobe Bryant killed in air crash

Kobe Bryant was one of the highest profile sporting figures in the US - 2020 Anadolu Agency
Kobe Bryant was one of the highest profile sporting figures in the US - 2020 Anadolu Agency

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US basketball ace one of nine killed in disaster

He was one of the greatest players in the history of basketball. The worlds of sport and showbusiness are today mourning Kobe Bryant, who has been killed in a helicopter crash in California. The ex-Los Angeles Lakers star, 41, died alongside his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and seven others. As US Correspondent David Millward reports, witnesses said that visibility was poor and the hills enveloped in fog before the aircraft plummeted to the ground in Calabasas and burst into flames. Bryant called Gianna "Mambacita" after his own court nickname "Black Mamba", confident she would follow in his footsteps. He had enjoyed a 20-year career with the Lakers, making the all-star NBA team 18 times, and was also an Olympic gold medal winner. Oliver Brown writes that Bryant was a force of nature who transcended his sport.

Health chiefs accused of coronavirus errors

Potential British carriers of the coronavirus may have been wrongly told they only need to be tested if they have "the sniffles". UK public health bosses are accused of leaving the door open to the deadly outbreak after official advice was thrown into doubt. China said that, unlike the SARS outbreak, infected people can spread the virus for up to two weeks before showing signs of the disease. But Public Health England has so far advised that people should only be offered tests if they display flu-like symptoms. Read an exclusive interview with a potential British "super-spreader", revealing he had not been offered screening since returning to the UK - despite visiting a fish market at the centre of the epidemic.

At least 80 Chinese people have died from the virus so far, with confirmed cases in France, the US and Australia. Prof Neil Ferguson, public health expert at Imperial College London, estimated that around 100,000 people globally may be infected. Here is everything you need to know about the outbreak. And these are the symptoms to look out for.

Are Oscar judges actually watching the films?

The Academy Awards' snubbing of female talent shows its members are not watching the films they are meant to judge, Carey Mulligan has said. The British actress - once nominated for an Oscar for An Education - has been critical of this year's choices, which have overlooked feted female directors, and questioned if judges had even seen the films they spurn. She is now calling for the voting system to be overhauled. Meanwhile, teen sensation Billie Eilish swept the Grammy Awards last night.

News digest

Gallery: The big picture

Poignant portrait | To mark the 75th anniversary of the end of the Holocaust, the Duchess of Cambridge took this photograph of Yvonne Bernstein with her granddaughter Chloe Wright. Read how she was inspired by Anne Frank and view more striking pictures of the day.

As a child, Yvonne Bernstein, was hidden in France through most of the genocide - Credit: Duchess of Cambridge
As a child, Yvonne Bernstein, was hidden in France through most of the genocide Credit: Duchess of Cambridge

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Business and money briefing

Too little, too late? | Trade groups have been invited to hold their first consultations on the EU-UK trade deal amid rising fears among industry that ideology will trump practical considerations in the coming talks. With less than five weeks to go before formal negotiations open in Brussels, Europe Editor Peter Foster has found widely shared concerns about the Government's grasp of critical details of the negotiation.

Sport briefing

Shrewsbury 2 Liverpool 2 | Jurgen Klopp will risk the wrath of the FA and public opinion by fielding a youth team in Liverpool's FA Cup replay with Shrewsbury. Having conceded a two-goal lead to draw last night, he immediately said he would be respecting next month's Premier League winter break. Read Chris Bascombe's match report.

And finally...

Surgical first | A retired milkman's entire lung has been removed through a tiny two-inch keyhole surgery in a world first. Raymond Page, 74, underwent the procedure after developing stage 4 cancer - the most dangerous form of the disease. Mason Boycott-Owen reports that he was walking and joking with his wife shortly after.