Europe Breaking News

The number of people dying with flu and pneumonia on their death certificate in England and Wales is now ten times higher than those with Covid , figures show. Latest weekly data on deaths from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows there were just 84 deaths mentioning Covid in the week ending June 11. In contrast, there were 1,163 deaths involving flu and pneumonia. Registered Covid deaths fell by 14 per cent since the last update in the week ending June 4, when there were 98 deaths recorded. Covid deaths now make up just 0.8 per cent of all deaths - down from 1.3 per cent in the previous week, despite the fact that week included the late May bank holiday, which meant there were fewer death registrations. The latest figure of 84 deaths is only the third time the weekly total has dipped below 100 since last September, and is one of the lowest since the pandemic began. In the most recent week, there were just 66 deaths where Covid was the primary cause of death, …

[Read more...] about Flu and pneumonia deaths now ten times higher than Covid

Who would have thought that those taking the biggest chunks out of the Government would be those who were once at the heart of it. Last week, 51 Tories – some heavyweights among them – rebelled against the plans to extend restrictions until July 19. This week, a Tory MP and former speaker and the Prime Minister’s former chief adviser are on the attack, with John Bercow leaving the party and saying Boris Johnson had only “a nodding acquaintance with the truth” and treated Parliament with “utter contempt” . Dominic Cummings with his daily purging, tells us about the horrific decision-making inside No 10, saying: “If this were broadcast, everyone would sell everything and head for the bunker in the hills.” But these ruthless attacks are arguably harming the opposition more than they are the Prime Minister and making Labour’s leader look cautious and defensive. People are desperate for real opposition and Andy Burnham is cutting through while Keir Starmer struggles to make the …

[Read more...] about If the Labour Party cannot remake itself, how can it ever remake the country?

It’s crunch time for the Tories. No, not because they lost a by-election : the result, among many things, was a return to the status quo, when voters give the governing party (in this case, going on eleven years) a bit of a kicking. The big question facing Boris Johnson’s party goes far beyond the politics of any particular constituency, and will underpin future offers they make to their new-found coalition: to what extent are the Conservatives still committed to fiscal responsibility? It’s not a new question but it is becoming an increasingly pertinent one, as whispers over pension reform are bringing it to a head. The pandemic has eviscerated the public finances. As new costs emerge (more money for HS2, royal yachts) and inflation fears creep in, the reality is dawning that something’s gotta give. Having borrowed £300bn last year , set to borrow more than £234bn this year, then in excess of £100bn next year, the Treasury is desperate to lay even simply minimal groundwork …

[Read more...] about There is no better time to scrap the pensions triple lock

Protestors should be free to be noisy, a parliamentary committee has said, as it called Priti Patel’s plans to curb demonstrations “deeply concerning”. In a report that presages a major revolt in the Lords, the all party committee of MPs and peers urged the Home Secretary to ditch key clauses in the bill including a new noise trigger for placing conditions on protest. The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, which is currently before Parliament, would allow police to “impose conditions such as start and finish times and maximum noise levels on static protests” of whatever size. However, the committee said the trigger was neither necessary, nor proportionate and struck “at the very heart of why people gather together to protest – to have their voices heard”. “Demonstrations with the greatest public backing could be disproportionately impacted by this expansion of police powers to move the location of a demonstration, limit its numbers, duration or even silence chants …

[Read more...] about Voices of protest must be heard, warn MPs, as revolt stirs over Priti Patel’s noise limit plans

Today’s Education Select Committee report on the position of white working class children shows just how ruthless the Tories are prepared to be in pursuance of electoral advantage through divisive “ culture wars ”. Tory MPs have hijacked the Education Committee and its report in order to continue fighting these wars. It is a crude and partisan attempt to distract from the effects of the Tory government ’s underfunding of education and its failure to address so many of the serious issues in the school system. This report frequently quotes Tony Sewell’s discredited Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities report. To me, the fact that it quotes this, rather than any serious work on race and education, is a clue that its motivation is about party politics rather than a meaningful effort to raise the achievement of all working-class children. The Tory MPs on the committee call for an end to the use of the term “white privilege”. This is completely gratuitous . No …

[Read more...] about Tory austerity wrecked our education system – the term ‘white privilege’ has nothing to do with it

Dr. Anthony Fauci has spoken out about the content of his emails with Mark Zuckerberg after they were published online earlier in June. In an interview with The New York Times ' Kara Swisher on Monday's Sway podcast, Fauci dismissed claims he was suppressing speech related to COVID, stating: "Any thought of that is total conspiracy theory and total flight of fantasy." Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease official and medical adviser to President Joe Biden , has become a conspiracy-theory target in recent weeks after thousands of his emails were released to Buzzfeed and The Washington Post via a Freedom of Information Act request. The emails, released June 1, run from January to June 2020. They provide an insight into how Fauci handled the U.S. health crisis in its early stages, as well as how his approach changed as new data emerged over time. Many Republicans have used the email dump as ammunition for criticism . Some of the released emails show …

[Read more...] about Dr. Fauci on redacted Mark Zuckerberg emails: “Friendly and innocent”

Israeli police arrested four people in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of Jerusalem after a fight erupted between Palestinians and Jewish settler groups who are attempting to evict several Palestinian families, the Associated Press reported. The Red Crescent emergency service said 20 Palestinians were injured. The fight involved stones, chairs and fireworks being thrown from both sides. The Red Crescent said 16 of the people its crews treated had been tear-gassed and pepper-sprayed. Others suffered injuries from rubber-coated bullets, and two were injured, including an elderly man who had been hit in the head. Settlers have campaigned for decades to evict Palestinian families from their homes in the densely populated Palestinian neighborhoods just outside the walls of the Old City. The area is known as the Holy Basin and the Jewish settlers claim the land was owned by Jews prior to the Israel's creation in 1948. Jews are allowed to reclaim that property under Israeli law, but …

[Read more...] about 4 arrested, 20 injured as Israelis, Palestinians fight over potential evictions

BTS Meals are leaving some K-pop fans hungry for more McDonald's. But some K-poppers don't want another order...they want their extra chicken nugget. McDonald's customers around the world have been devouring the meals in recent weeks, with fast food restaurants often struggling to meet the sky-high demand. The meals were first released on May 26 in the U.S., where they were available until June 20, kickstarting a global rollout to 50 countries. Yet not every BTS Meal is the same. Diners in the U.S. were served 10 chicken nuggets, medium fries and medium Coke, with sweet chili and Cajun dipping sauces "inspired by popular recipes from McDonald's South Korea," according to a company release in April. It all comes in a BTS-branded brown bag, where stocks are available. That's the same for diners in places including South Korea, India, and Australia. Get your meal in another country, however, and you might see something else. At product launches in Asia this weekend, …

[Read more...] about McDonald’s BTS Meal is different depending where you buy it—here’s how

California police officers have arrested a suspect after a waitress was fatally shot at a restaurant. Officers from the Roseville Police Department (RPD) said they were alerted to the shooting at House of Oliver, on Douglas Boulevard, at around 3:30 p.m. on Monday. When they arrived, officers found one victim who had suffered life-threatening injuries. The RPD said the suspect fled the restaurant shortly after the shooting, and described him as a 50-year-old Black man who was wearing a black hoodie at the time. Matthew Oliver, the owner of House of Oliver, said the victim was a waitress who had worked at the restaurant for several years. According to ABC10, Oliver said: "Due to senseless violence, we lost one of the most beautiful souls and colorful hearts." He added: "A mother, a friend, a coworker and truly someone who's part of our family and our heart is devastated." In a 5:25 p.m. incident update, the RPD said they had arrested a suspect in connection with the …

[Read more...] about House of Oliver shooting victim was waitress, suspect arrested by Roseville PD

China accused the United Nations ' top human rights official of making "erroneous remarks" after the commissioner revealed that she was seeking "meaningful access" to Xinjiang amid ongoing reports about serious violations. Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said she was in discussions with China over "modalities for a visit, including meaningful access," which she hopes will happen this year. Bachelet told the 47th session of the UN Human Rights Council on Monday that she intended to visit Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China's northwest, "particularly as reports of serious human rights violations continue to emerge." The Chinese government responded with mixed signals. Its mission to the UN Office at Geneva said it welcomed the official's visit to China and Xinjiang, but told Bachelet to "stop making erroneous remarks which interfere in China's sovereignty." Witness testimony, rights groups and UN assessments say Chinese officials in …

[Read more...] about China warns UN as human rights chief seeks to inspect Xinjiang