Britain and the US may be on the cusp of herd immunity by the end of 2021 thanks to their speedy Covid vaccine roll-outs, data suggested today. But forecasters analysing the current pace of the global inoculation drive have warned Germany, France and Italy must rapidly speed up to reach the same threshold. Herd immunity … Read more
Islamic State’s de facto leader in Germany has been jailed for ten years and six months for funding terrorism and radicalising youngsters in the country’s mosques. A German court sentenced 37-year-old Iraqi Ahmad Abdulaziz Abdullah Abdullah, better known as Abu Walaa, who was accused of directing a jihadist network radicalising young people in Europe and … Read more
German health minister Jens Spahn is said to be ‘fighting for his career’ after overseeing a shambolic vaccine roll-out, clashing with Angela Merkel and failing to deliver on a promised rapid-testing scheme. Spahn, who only months ago was being feted by those marvelling at Germany‘s early success against the pandemic, has seen his approval rating … Read more
Europe’s vaccine chaos is set to continue into the spring with as many as 90million doses missing from AstraZeneca shipments in the second quarter of 2021. An EU official involved in talks with the firm says the company has warned that it may deliver only half of its promised 180million doses from April to June. … Read more
Chancellor Angela Merkel has said that Germany is now in the third wave of the coronavirus pandemic, two sources told Reuters news agency. ‘We are now in the third wave,’ Merkel told lawmakers in her conservative party on Wednesday, according to two sources who attended the meeting. The chancellor is also said to have warned … Read more
The Widow and children of World Cup 1966 winner Nobby Stiles have donated his brain to science – to research crippling sports-related dementia. Ex-Manchester United star Stiles, who won 28 England caps, died aged 78 last October after being stricken with Alzheimer’s. Stiles played a key role in neutralising Portugal star Eusebio in the ’66 … Read more
Home-schooling time warp! Parents are much more likely to say that time has gone ‘very fast’ than adults without children, research finds Research finds parents much more likely to say that time has gone ‘very fast’ Age-old adage that ‘children grow up so fast’ may be based in scientific truth Time passing ‘fast’ could be due … Read more
The World Health Organisation has blasted wealthy countries for hogging Covid vaccines days after the World Trade Organisation chief called on the UK to send jabs abroad. WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said some rich countries’ direct deals with manufacturers has caused a reduction in doses for poorer countries. The chief said the money was … Read more
Beer importers are seeing shortages of specialist brews from Germany and Belgium as a result of Brexit red tape and Covid-19. The company ‘Beers of Europe’, which claims to operate the biggest beer shop in Britain as well as offering online sales, has issued a warning about the problem to customers. British craft brewers have seized … Read more
Putin critic Alexei Navalny faces nearly three years in jail after losing his appeal and has also been convicted of defamation for calling a World War Two veteran a ‘traitor’ for appearing in a pro-Kremlin video. Judge Dmitry Balashov dismissed Navalny’s appeal of a decision to imprison him for violating the terms of a 2014 … Read more