Health Secretary Matt Hancock says the door is still open for further talks about a coronavirus support deal for Greater Manchester. As things stand, the region's 2.8 million people will be forced into tier three - England's highest level of virus restrictions - on Friday, against the wishes of local leaders. 

The situation certainly looks like a political failure, says the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg. It's quite something, our political editor adds, that after 10 days of wrangling and billions spent during this crisis, the deal fell apart over a gap of just £5m. That gap was between the £60m offered by the government and the £65m Mayor Andy Burnham demanded as "a bare minimum". In the end, the area stands to get £22m to help enforce the new rules. Adding to the sense of acrimony, six Conservative MPs from the region have written to Mr Burnham accusing him of putting his ego above people's best interests. 

With that row still rumbling on, talks continue about whether South Yorkshire will be next to enter the "very high" alert level. West Yorkshire, the North East, Teesside and Nottinghamshire are also known to be considering the move. On Tuesday, the UK recorded its highest daily coronavirus death toll since 5 June. See the situation where you are.

In other news, a new study estimates that one in 20 people are sick for at least eight weeks after contracting coronavirus. Old age, asthma, excess weight and being female were all found to increase a person's risk of developing so-called "long Covid". Read more about the condition.

Labour says hundreds of thousands of children in England could go hungry if free school meals aren't extended outside term time this winter. Footballer Marcus Rashford has continued his campaign on the issue, and more than 300,000 people have signed his petition asking for the move. However, the government has said no, arguing it has already "taken substantial action" to make sure children don't go hungry.

Scotland and Wales will provide free meals over the school holidays until Easter and eligible children in Northern Ireland will receive them during school closures this month. MPs in Westminster will debate a Labour motion on the matter today and while the vote won't be binding, it will put some Conservatives, who've previously backed extending free meals, in a difficult position.

From this week, as well as delivering parcels, postmen and women will collect them from your front door. Royal Mail says it's offering the service because of the boom in online shopping. The service will come at a cost of 72p - on top of postage fees. Customers will have to pay online and print their own labels. Royal Mail says it's one of the biggest innovations in its service since the launch of the post box 170 years ago. Many courier firms, of course, already collect parcels from your home.

The Greater Manchester row dominates Wednesday's front pages. "Tier and Loathing" is the Metro's headline, while the Manchester Evening News and Daily Mirror borrow a quote from Mayor Andy Burnham - accusing Boris Johnson of "playing poker with our lives". The Times lays the blame at Mr Burnham's feet, with unnamed government sources telling the paper his pride caused talks to fail. But the Guardian highlights a deleted post from the Manchester Young Conservatives' Twitter account, calling for the PM to resign. The Daily Mail, meanwhile, leads with what it calls a "chilling" letter from the Metropolitan Police to pub landlords in London, demanding they collect the IDs and addresses of drinkers to prevent households mixing against coronavirus regulations. The Daily Star, though, says people can "defy" pub rules to meet friends by saying they're having a working lunch. It uses that hook to poke fun at Mr Johnson, his aide Dominic Cummings and Health Secretary Matt Hancock. Elsewhere, the Financial Times says a government call with business leaders about Brexit "went down like a bucket of cold sick", while trade talks remain in "deadlock".

This year has seen protests around the world against issues ranging from racism and corruption, to disputed exam and election results. Young activists tell us about the challenges they've faced demonstrating during a pandemic. Elsewhere, broadcaster Clare Balding explains why she's written a book about the "heroic" contribution animals make to our lives. And finally, demand for online entertainment has surged this year, but how is Netflix faring after that initial boost?

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