Covid cases drop in France, Czech Republic and Belgium following draconian lockdowns

 

The European countries worst-hit by Covid-19 may already be over the peaks of their second waves thanks to draconian nation lockdowns being reinstated across the continent, data suggests. After enjoying a lull in transmission throughout the summer and early autumn - thanks to the first round of nationwide shutdowns - most European countries were hit with a tsunami of new infections in mid-September.  The blitz of cases triggered a domino effect right across the continent, with nations one-by-one announcing national lockdowns in October and November, albeit shorter and less restrictive than the measures in spring.And now that the interventions have had more than a week to take effect, most of these nations are seeing infections either decreasing dramatically or flatlining.  

But EU countries that ignored calls for another national lockdown and instead stuck with regional Covid-19 strategies - most notably Italy and Spain - are still seeing infections rapidly rise Belgium, which went into its second lockdown on November 2, appears to have come out the other side of its second wave. In the days leading up to the shutdown, the country was recording almost 2,000 daily infections per million people, which was the highest on the continent. But the Belgians have managed to drive down cases to 540 per million, as of November 11 - the most recent snapshot.

The Czech Republic was one of the first EU members to go into a second national lockdown on October 21. At that point, the Czechs were reporting 1,400 cases of the disease per million every day. But, thanks to the two-week shutdown, that figure has been halved, and currently stands at 734 per million today. A dramatic plunge in cases has also been observed in France, which went into a month-long lockdown on October 30. On that date, the country had an infection rate of 730 per million people, up from just 113 per million the month before. France's case rate peaked on November 8 - it takes more than a week for interventions to take effect - but it has since fallen by more than half. The current rate is 508 people per million. 

Guinness heiress, 19, dies in pool tragedy: Family mourn ’darling angel’ whose organs have saved four lives after freak accident at summer barbecue

 

She was their ‘darling angel’ with a heart of gold and everything to live for, But tragedy has struck the aristocratic Guinness family with the death of teenage heiress Honor Uloth in a freak swimming pool accident. Last night her ‘utterly devastated’ family paid an emotional tribute – and revealed how the 19-year-old’s wish for her organs to be donated has saved other lives. They said: ‘She always made it clear that if anything happened to her, she would like her organs to be donated to those in need.‘The doctors say that, with the matches they have found, it looks like she is going to help save four lives and seriously enhance ten more.’

Miss Uloth was found unconscious at the bottom of a swimming pool during a family barbecue in the summer. This week a coroner ruled it was a tragic accident.Her family said: ‘We have lost a daughter and sister who brought untold light and joy into our lives. She was so full of fun, laughter, kindness and adventure. She had this knack of bringing people together and making them feel good.’

The eldest daughter of Rupert Uloth and Lady Louisa Jane Guinness, whose father Benjamin Guinness was the 3rd Earl of Iveagh, she was spotted in the pool by her 15-year-old brother Rufus. He dived in to help her, the inquest heard. He pulled her out, but doctors were unable to save the Oxford Brookes University history of art student. She had suffered a broken shoulder and brain injuries, and she was pronounced dead in hospital six days later.The current Earl of Iveagh and the Guinness brewery family have an estimated worth of around £906million, and Miss Uloth’s death is the latest of a series of tragedies to strike the dynasty.

England captain Harry Kane’s £100,000 Range Rover stolen by thieves in brazen daylight raid

ENGLAND star Harry Kane’s £100,000 Range Rover was stolen by thieves in a brazen daylight raid.A gang is believed to have targeted the vehicle after being filmed driving past it several times. The thieves sped off with it from outside an upmarket address in Chingford, East London,They sped off with it from outside an upmarket address in Chingford, East London.

Kane, 27, is the third Spurs player to be robbed in recent months after his team-mates Dele Alli and Jan Vertonghen were attacked by armed raiders.CCTV shows a car driving past Kane’s luxury motor several times last month. Thieves then used an electronic device to open it before stealing the car from outside an address in Chingford, East London.

A source close to the £200,000-a-week striker said: “Harry feels he has been targeted by a gang who focus on footballers. The way the robbery played out didn’t feel like a coincidence.”Dad-to-be Harry called the police and got hold of CCTV film of the theft which took place at the end of October.

 “The footage shows a car driving past his motor a number of times. They were clearly doing a recce. “The road is in an upmarket residential area so it’s not hard to see why Harry and those around him think his car has been targeted.

Finally The Yorkshire Ripper is dead at 74: Serial killer Peter Sutcliffe who murdered 13 women in reign of terror during 70s and 80s dies in jail of Covid after refusing treatment

 

The Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe died this morning at the age of 74 after refusing treatment for coronavirus.    

The frail serial killer, who murdered at least 13 women in the 1970s and 1980s, died at the University Hospital of North Durham. 

His lungs failed overnight and he was pronounced dead at 1.10am, with no visitors by his bedside because of coronavirus restrictions.

The Ripper had previously signed 'do not resuscitate forms' - while friends said he astonishingly believed he would 'go to heaven' after his death because he had become a Jehovah's Witness. 

Marcella Claxton, who was attacked by Sutcliffe and left needing more than 50-stitches after being over the head with a hammer, welcomed today's news. 

She told MailOnline: 'I'm happy he's gone. I've thought about what he did to me every day since and although the news that's he's died brings those horrible memories back at least now I may be able to get some closure.

Nurse Charged With Murdering 8 Babies and Trying to Kill 10 More

  

A British nurse has been charged with murdering eight babies, as well as the attempted murders of 10 others, after a years-long investigation into an unexplained spike in baby deaths at a hospital’s neonatal unit.

It’s the third time that Lucy Letby, 30, has been arrested. She was previously detained in 2018 and 2019 as authorities probed the string of infant fatalities at the Countess of Chester Hospital in England. Both times, the nurse was released with no further action against her, but she appeared in court Thursday to finally face 18 formal charges.

In the courtroom, the nurse learned that she faces eight charges of “murder of a victim under 1 year old,” and each infant victim’s name was read aloud to her. According to BBC News, five baby boys and three girls died. They were named Cemlyn Bennett, Joseph Johnson, Barney Gee, Joseph Gelder, Eli Gelder, Elsie McNall, Daisy Parkin, and Maddie Freed.

Letby did not speak in court other than to confirm her identity and her representatives have not said whether or not she plans to plead guilty. The media has been ordered not to report the names of the alleged victims of attempted murder, but there are reportedly five boys and five girls.

The charges all relate to a string of baby deaths, and non-fatal collapses, at the Countess of Chester Hospital near Liverpool in 2015 and 2016. According to a National Health Service report into the incidents, the hospital launched a probe after resident doctors became concerned about what was described as a “higher-than-usual number of neonatal deaths on the unit, several of them being apparently ‘unexplained’ and ‘unexpected.’”

The Great Herculean Task of Saving Democracy Must Go On After Trump

 

The 2020 election, however, failed to produce a thoroughgoing repudiation of Trumpism and its race-based, grievance-driven brand of politics. Even amid a devastating pandemic and economic downturn, roughly seventy-two million Americans voted for the President, nine million more than voted for him in 2016. The Trump campaign managed to activate millions of new voters—stark evidence of the enduring appeal of Trump’s nationalistic, populist message. Democrats had believed that the great tide of immigration that is dramatically changing the country, the huge numbers of people going to the polls—this election is ultimately expected to record the highest percentage of Americans voting in a hundred and twenty years—and widespread revulsion toward the President could tip a wave of traditionally Republican states in their favor. But it became clear relatively early on Election Night that this hope had failed to materialize.

In Texas, the Biden campaign made a late push, counting on turning out supporters in the state’s booming cities and diversifying suburbs. Trump wound up winning easily, however, mostly because of his strength in rural areas and small towns, where he actually improved on his performance from four years ago. Similarly, Democrats invested heavily in Ohio, where Barack Obama won the vote in 2008 and 2012 but Hillary Clinton lost to Trump in 2016. Trump’s eight-point victory in the state, matching his 2016 margin against Clinton, was so complete that he even defeated Biden in Mahoning County, in northeastern Ohio, a place with deep union roots—the aging industrial town of Youngstown is the county seat—where a Republican Presidential candidate had not triumphed in nearly half a century. Nationally, Democrats had hoped that Trump’s toxicity would sweep them to victory in down-ballot races, but the Party lost several seats in the House, and the near-certainty that many Democrats had felt about taking back the Senate has evaporated. Though, if Democrats are able to eke out a Senate victory in January, via two runoff races in Georgia—a challenging task without alarm about Trump driving voters to the polls—the Party will achieve a fifty-fifty split in the chamber, with Vice-President Kamala Harris able to cast deciding votes.

These three women stood up to Europe's longest-serving dictator. Here's what happened to them

 

Five weeks have passed since Belarus learned the results of its presidential election, in which the country's Central Election Commission announced that President Alexander Lukashenko, often described as Europe's last dictator, had won with 80.23% of the vote.

In the weeks that have followed, the country has seen mass protests from citizens who believe the vote was rigged, violent police crackdowns on those protestors and, possibly most disturbingly, three high-profile opposition figures -- all of whom are women -- have disappeared from public view or fled Belarus.

Belarusian state media said on Tuesday that Maria Kolesnikova, a key opposition figure, had been detained on the Belarusian side of the border between Ukraine and Belarus. The statement was made by Belarusian Border Control, and aired on state TV.

"The disappearance of the candidates demonstrates beyond all doubt the brutality of this regime and how important it is that the international community doesn't lose interest in the appalling events that have unfolded since the election," Tom Tugendhat, chairman of the UK's Foreign Affairs Select Committee,

A California fire that burned more than 7,000 acres was caused by a faulty spinning smoke machine at a gender-reveal party

 

One of three major wildfires tearing through Califonia this weekend was caused by a gender reveal party.

A "smoke generating pyrotechnic device" sparked the El Dorado Fire in Yucaipa, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) said.

The fire has so far burned 7,050 acres. 

Two other major active fires — The Creek Fire and The Valley Fire — have burned 73,278 and 9,850 acres respectively.

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A fire that broke out in California and has so far burned more than 7,000 acres of woodland was caused by a gender-reveal party, authorities said.

At around 10:20 a.m. on Saturday, a "smoke generating pyrotechnic device, used during a gender reveal party" sparked a fire in the El Dorado Ranch Park in Yucaipa, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) said in a statement on Sunday.

Prototype of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines' futuristic-looking flying wing aircraft just took its first flight in Germany

 

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines

The first scaled model of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines' futuristic Flying-V aircraft took flight in Germany last month in an early milestone for the program.

The Flying-V is a flying wing aircraft where the fuselage is blended with the wings to create a giant V-shaped plane.

Airlines and aircraft manufacturers are turning to flying wing designs as an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional designs.

A scaled model of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines' aircraft of the future just took flight for the first time in a milestone event for the Dutch flag carrier's push for more efficient and environmentally responsible aircraft.

Engineers got their first look at what might one day by the new flagship of KLM's fleet in late August when the futuristic-looking Flying-V demonstrator successfully took to the skies above Germany. The remote-controlled flight was the culmination of two-year's work of engineers from KLM and the Delft University of Technology, also known as TU Delft.

Philippine president pardons U.S. Marine jailed for transgender killing

 

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday pardoned a United States Marine convicted of killing a transgender woman in the country nearly six years ago, sparking condemnation from activists who described the move as a "mockery of justice".

Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton was jailed in 2015 for killing Jennifer Laude near a former U.S. navy base. A trial court signed off on his early release last week for good conduct, but was blocked by an appeal from Laude's lawyers.

"Cutting matters short over what constitutes time served, and since where he was detained was not in prisoner's control - and to do justice - the president has granted an absolute pardon," Foreign Minister Teodoro Locsin announced on Twitter.

One of Laude's lawyer was dismayed by the pardon and questioned Duterte's commitment to a foreign policy that he insists is independent and not dictated by U.S. interests.

"We see the welfare of our countrymen are set aside," lawyer Rommel Bagares told DZBB radio.

Cristina Palabay of human rights group Karapatan described Dutere's independent foreign policy as "bankrupt".

"We view this as not only a mockery of justice but also a blatant display of servility to U.S. interest," Palabay told us.

Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny is out of a coma

 

Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny is out of a medically induced coma, the German hospital where he is being treated said in a statement on Monday.Navalny "is being weaned off mechanical ventilation" and "is responding to verbal stimuli," Berlin's Charité Hospital said. "It remains too early to gauge the potential long-term effects of his severe poisoning," the hospital added.

The critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin became sick from suspected poisoning on a flight to Moscow from the Siberian city of Tomsk on August 20.Germany's government said last week that tests on Navalny showed "unequivocal evidence" of the use of a chemical nerve agent from the Soviet-era Novichok group.

The attack on Navalny was met with widespread international condemnation, while the Kremlin has remained defiant in the face of global unease over Russia's role in the incident.Navalny's team have pointed the finger of blame directly at Putin.

"In 2020, poisoning Navalny with Novichok is exactly the same as leaving an autograph at the scene of the crime," Leonid Volkov, Navalny's chief of staff, wrote over a picture of Putin's signature after the poisoning, in a tweet that has since been deleted.

Novichok agents are highly unusual, so much so that that very few scientists outside of Russia have any real experience in dealing with them.

The lethal chemical weapons were first developed in secret by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Even today, no country outside of Russia is known to have developed substances in the group.

Novichok was also used in a March 2018 attack on former Russian spy Sergei Skripal in the English cathedral city of Salisbury.

Later on Monday, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said that he has summoned Russian ambassador Andrey Kelin. "Today the UK summoned Russia's Ambassador to the UK to register deep concern about the poisoning of Alexey Navalny," Raab said on Twitter.

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Universities issue stern warning to 'selfish' students partying on campus as they return for classes: 'There is no place for you here'

 

Penn State, Syracuse and Purdue are three of the latest universities to punish students who are violating the social distancing guidelines that were set to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus on campus.

Penn State University

Videos posted to TikTok and Twitter show hundreds of Penn State students partying outside of University Park dorms, which are known to be freshmen housing, on Wednesday night, just after moving in. Students are seen dancing, chanting and certainly not social distancing, and a majority aren’t wearing masks.

“Wrong on so many levels,” a sophomore at the university wrote on Twitter early Thursday morning. Hours later, the university’s president, Eric Barron, responded with a statement condemning the students involved, noting that the University Park, Pa., school had intervened on Wednesday evening and the crowds had dispersed.

New Music : Danny Boy - Good Life

The Nigerian fast rising  conscious music singer and songwriter Danny Boy gift his fans a new tune titled “Good life” 

cool mid tempo contemporary afrovibes .

The video was shot by @blaanation and

song produced by @soclassic

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Download Audio here GoodLife - Danny Boy

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Bawo Lori · Good Life - Danny Boy

Minneapolis council majority backs disbanding police force

 A majority of the members of the Minneapolis City Council said Sunday they support disbanding the city's police department, an aggressive stance that comes just as the state has launched a civil rights investigation after George Floyd's death.

Nine of the council’s 12 members appeared with activists at a rally in a city park Sunday afternoon and vowed to end policing as the city currently knows it. Council member Jeremiah Ellison promised that the council would “dismantle” the department.

“It is clear that our system of policing is not keeping our communities safe,” Lisa Bender, the council president, said. “Our efforts at incremental reform have failed, period.”

Bender went on to say she and the eight other council members that joined the rally are committed to ending the city’s relationship with the police force and “to end policing as we know it and recreate systems that actually keep us safe.”