Israel has become the first country in the world to embark on a fourth Covid-19 vaccination campaign as part of efforts to stem rapidly rising infection rates caused by the Omicron variant. People over the age of 60 and healthcare workers who received their third shot more than four months ago
A record one in 15 people in private households in England are estimated to have had Covid-19 between Christmas and New Year, with as many as one in 10 in London, new figures show. All parts of the country saw a steep jump in infections in the seven days to December 31, with one in 20 people […]
An eight-year-old girl has died and eight children have been injured after wind gusts lifted a bouncy castle metres into the air at a fair in eastern Spain. Emergency services were called to the fairgrounds in Mislata, a municipality on the outskirts of Valencia, on Tuesday evening. Minutes earlier, horrified witnesses had watched as the fair’s […]
The travel industry is calling on ministers to remove all remaining Covid testing requirements for international travellers, arguing they are damaging the travel sector and will not affect the spread of the Omicron variant. Manchester Airports Group (MAG) and the trade body Airlines UK said in a joint statement that research they commissioned into travel restrictions […]
Kazakhstan’s president has accepted the resignation of the government, hours after he declared a state of emergency in large parts of the country in response to a rare outbreak of unrest. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has appointed Alikhan Smailov as acting prime minister, the president’s office said early on Wednesday. Smailov was previously the first deputy prime […]
A popular prime minister of Burundi, Prince Louis Rwagasore, was shot dead just over 60 years ago with the complicity of Belgium, the departing colonial power, a researcher has claimed. The Belgian state has an “overwhelming responsibility” for the assassination of Rwagasore, according to Ludo De Witte, a Flemish sociologist who has spent five years investigating […]
independent– It’s been quite a year for the fashion industry. With an awards season comeback – and a gradual return to a life without coronavirus restrictions – the sartorial stakes were high. And not just because people wanted to make up for the many months they spent swaddled in loungewear. Because while the world was on pause, […]
bbc– Ukraine’s culture minister says he has complained to Netflix over the portrayal of a character from Kiev in Emily in Paris. The Netflix show follows a young American, played by Lily Collins, who travels to the French capital for work. In the latest series, Petra, a Ukrainian, shoplifts during a trip with main character […]
bbc– Israel’s top health adviser says the surge of Omicron cases could see the country reach Covid herd immunity. Nachmann Ash said the country would pay a price for this and he wanted to see herd immunity achieved via vaccinations instead. Modellers have warned that up to four million people could be infected by the […]
africanews– South-African president Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Sunday that “someone is being held” in connection with the fire that started in the early hours and consumed parts of the parliament complex in Cape Town. The incident took place hours after the funeral of Archbishop Desmond Tutu who passed away last Sunday. “This is devastating news,