Europe

Germany regulator sticks to age limit for AstraZeneca COVID shot

Germany's vaccine regulator said on Thursday it would stick to its guidance to limit the use of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine to those aged over 60. The European Union's drug regulator…

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More EU countries to be added to Ireland’s hotel quarantine list

Travellers to Ireland from more European Union countries will be subjected to mandatory hotel quarantine in the coming days in an attempt to stop the spread of COVID-19 variants, Irish…

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Concern mounts over health of Kremlin critic Navalny

A lawyer for jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny said that his health was deteriorating and that he was losing a kilogram (2 pounds) a day due to his hunger strike.…

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German vaccine experts say no risks in vaccine switch after first Astra dose

Germany’s vaccine advisory committee sees no disadvantages or risks from giving younger recipients of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine a second dose of an alternative shot, two of its members said on…

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UPDATED: Germany’s vaccine task force to hold talks with Russia on Sputnik V

Germany's vaccine task force will hold talks with the developers of Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 shot, including the possibility of setting up more production sites in Germany, a government source…

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Belgium Restricts AstraZeneca Covid Vaccine

Belgium will stop giving the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine to people under age 56 for the next four weeks amid blood clot concerns, national and regional health ministers agreed today. People aged…

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Photo Story: Heavy snow in Barrea, Italy

Freshly fallen snow in Barrea, in the heart of the Abruzzo National Park, central Italy. Via EPA-EFE/BRUNO CELIDONIO

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European countries may have to mix COVID-19 shots amid AstraZeneca crisis

Several European countries are considering mixing up COVID-19 vaccines for citizens who received a first dose of AstraZeneca’s shot, an unprecedented move that highlights challenges for governments struggling to tame…

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Italian businesses, government sign protocol for worker vaccination

Italy’s government, the country’s main unions and employer associations said on Wednesday they had signed a protocol to organise the administration of vaccines in workplaces, as Rome steps up its…

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Greece to open high schools despite a increasing number of daily new cases

Greece will open high schools next week despite a record number of daily new cases recently, officials said, as the government began mass distribution of home-testing kits it hopes will…

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Norway says cargo ship secured, no longer at risk of grounding

A Dutch cargo ship that was abandoned at sea during a storm off the coast of Norway this week has been attached to two large tugboats and is no longer…

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Italy, Britain suggest age limits for AstraZeneca vaccine but still recommend it

Italy recommended that AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 shot only be used on those over 60 and Britain that people under 30 should get an alternative, due to possible links between the vaccine…

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Merkel backs tougher COVID lockdown in Germany

BERLIN, April 7 (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel supports demands for a short, tough lockdown in Germany to curb the spread of the coronavirus as infection rates are too high,…

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“Unlikely to succeed,” Bulgaria’s PM Borissov says will propose new government

SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria's long-serving prime minister, Boyko Borissov, announced plans on Wednesday to seek a coalition government after his party came first in Sunday's national election, but he said…

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Poland extends COVID-19 curbs amid fears of Easter bounce

WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland will extend COVID-19 restrictions until April 18, its health minister said on Wednesday, as the country struggles to cope with a third wave of infections that…

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UK companies rebound in March ahead of lockdown lifting – PMI

British businesses saw a strong rebound in orders in March as they prepared for the relaxation of coronavirus restrictions this month, and ramped up their hiring for the first time…

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Sweet-toothed Britons spend 150 mln pounds more on Easter treats

Britons spent 439 million pounds ($608 million) on confectionaries ahead of Easter in the four weeks to March 27, a 34% rise compared with the same period in 2020, industry…

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France to open Mitterrand’s Rwanda archives

PARIS (Reuters) - France will open the Rwanda archives of former French president Francois Mitterrand, President Emmanuel Macron's office said in a statement on Wednesday. Macron's office said the decision…

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French services slowdown eases in March despite COVID curbs -IHS Markit

A slowdown in France's service sector eased in March despite tougher coronavirus restrictions, a monthly survey showed on Wednesday, offering the euro zone's second-biggest economy some relief. Data compiler IHS…

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Italian service activity shrinks for 8th month running in March -PMI

Italy's services sector contracted for the eighth month running in March, and at a marginally faster rate than in February, a survey showed on Wednesday. IHS Markit's Business Activity Index…

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Ryanair narrows loss forecast for year to end-March

Ryanair on Wednesday said it expected to post a smaller than expected loss in the year to the end of March and said the Irish airline expected to be "close…

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Britain recommends not using Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine for under-30s – UPDATE

Britain should not give Oxford University/AstraZeneca's vaccine to under 30s where possible, Britain's Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) said on Wednesday, due to a very rare side effect…

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Swiss watchmakers go digital to show off new products, revive sales

Luxury Swiss watchmakers, usually not big fans of online retailing, are launching a new all-digital Watches & Wonders event on Wednesday to show off their latest products, hoping to revive…

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Merkel backs tougher COVID lockdown in Germany

Chancellor Angela Merkel supports demands for a short, tough lockdown in Germany to curb the spread of the coronavirus as infection rates are too high, a German government spokeswoman said…

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Nokia settles patent fight with Lenovo

Finland's Nokia has settled a multi-year patent fight with China's Lenovo Group , the world's biggest PC maker, resolving all pending litigation across all jurisdictions, the companies said on Wednesday.…

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Sweden to bring in banks in next stage of e-krona project

Sweden’s central bank will bring in banks in the coming year to test how its proposed digital currency - the e-krona - could handle commercial and retail payments in the…

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Finnish nurse squeezes extra vaccine doses with air-bubble technique

Finnish nurse Sari Roos is teaching her colleagues a vaccination technique that enables her to squeeze more doses out of COVID-19 vaccine vials, helping to stretch scarce supplies and ensure…

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Spain plans to fully vaccinate 53% of population by late July

Spain is accelerating its COVID-19 vaccination rollout and will have fully inoculated 25 million people by late July, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said, also confirming the end-August target of giving…

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UPDATED: ‘Diplomatic fiasco’ after Ursula von der Leyen relegated to sofa by Erdogan, President Michel clarifies

Turkey committed a major diplomatic faux pas on Tuesday when a visibly frustrated European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was relegated to a socially distanced sofa, while European Council…

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Poland extends COVID-19 restrictions until April 18

Poland will extend COVID-19 restrictions until April 18, its health minister said on Wednesday, as the country struggles to cope with a third wave of infections that authorities fear could…

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Britain’s Saga says travel, cruise operations will not resume until late-2021

Britain's over-50s holidays group Saga on Wednesday pushed the resumption of its cruises to later this year after the government hinted that pandemic-led travel curbs could continue beyond May. The…

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Spain’s Castile and Leon region suspends AstraZeneca shots

A regional Spanish health authority said on Wednesday it had suspended AstraZeneca COVID-19 shots pending a European Medicines Agency (EMA) safety report, though the national government said it would continue…

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UPDATED: Former Italian PM Berlusconi in hospital since Tuesday

Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has been in hospital since Tuesday afternoon for check-ups, two sources from his Forza Italia party said on Wednesday. One of the sources said…

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Rare COVID-19 variant identified in Sardinia

Cagliari's Policlinico university hospital said Tuesday that one of its laboratories has identified a rare variant of COVID-19 in Sardinia. At the moment there have been no other reports of…

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France’s COVID-19 hospitalisations at a near five-month high

France’s hospital system is under heavy pressure from the pandemic, with the number of people treated in intensive care units for COVID-19 at the highest in almost a year, even…

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Turkey’s daily COVID-19 cases hit all time

Turkey recorded 49,584 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, health ministry data showed on Tuesday, the highest level since the start of the pandemic. Last week President Tayyip…

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Amnesty International says Russia may be slowly killing Navalny

Alexei Navalny, the prominent opponent of Russian President Vladimir Putin, is incarcerated in conditions that amount to torture and may slowly be killing him, human rights group Amnesty International said…

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UK begins rollout of Moderna COVID vaccine

Britain begins rolling out Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday in Wales and expects to be using it in the rest of the United Kingdom in the coming days in a…

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UPDATED: Left-wing party wins Greenland election, opposes big mining project

Greenland's left-wing Inuit Ataqatigiit party pledged its opposition to a large rare earth mining project on Wednesday after winning a parliamentary election with more than a third of the votes.…

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Photo Story: Snowfall in Poland

A view of snow-covered cars in Olsztyn, northeastern Poland. The Polish Institute of Meteorology and Water Management (IMGW) is forecasting continuing cold temperatures and snowfall in the next days. A…

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UPDATED: Ukraine calls for NATO membership, Russia to keep troops near Ukraine border

The Kremlin said on Wednesday that Russia would keep military forces near the country's border with Ukraine for as long as it saw fit and that they posed no external…

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Scuffles as Italy’s lengthy COVID-19 curbs spark small business protests

Dozens of small business owners scuffled with police on Tuesday as they tried to force their way into Rome’s parliament square to protest against Italy’s long-running coronavirus restrictions. “Freedom, freedom,”…

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UPDATED: Dutch cargo ship adrift off Norway after dramatic rescue of crew

Emergency response teams scrambled to prevent a Dutch cargo ship adrift in the North Sea from sinking and causing an oil spill off Norway’s coast after the crew had to…

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Trial of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID vaccine on children in the UK paused

Sky News reports that a trial of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID vaccine on children in the UK has been paused while the medicines regulator investigates a possible link between the jab…

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Hungary to start reopening after reaching 2.5 million inoculations: PM Orban

Hungary's businesses and services will begin reopening as it has vaccinated more than a quarter of its 10 million people with at least a first shot, Prime Minister Viktor Orban…

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Greenland holds election closely watched by global mining industry

Greenland held a parliamentary election today that could help decide the fate of vast deposits of rare earth metals which international companies want to exploit. The Arctic island of 56,000 people, which former…

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Czech government to start reopening schools from April 12

PRAGUE, April 6 (Reuters) - Schools in the Czech Republic will start reopening from April 12, starting with the first five years of elementary school, Czech Television reported on Tuesday.…

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Britain’s Johnson says wants to make travel testing regime ‘easy as possible’

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday (April 6) said he wanted a testing regime for international travel to be easy and cheap, hinting that rapid tests could be used…

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Navalny’s doctor not allowed in prison

Doctor of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, Anastasiya Vasilyeva, was not allowed to enter the prison grounds where the opposition politician was held. Vasilyeva said she had applied for a meeting with…

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Ukraine says NATO path is only way to end war in eastern region

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday that a path towards membership of NATO was the only way to end war in the eastern Donbass region after speaking to the…

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UK Government extends support for vulnerable UK Nationals in regulating their status in Malta

The UK Government is extending support for potentially at-risk groups including pensioners, disabled people and those with language difficulties who live in Europe by continuing the activity of the UK…

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Italy abolishes film censorship

The Italian Government has moved to abolish film censorship after more than 70 years, during which more than 700 flms were banned while over 34,000 were requested to carry out…

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Bomb threat on Turkish Airlines flight while taxiing for departure from Warsaw

Reports emerged this morning of a bomb threat on board Turkish Airlines flight TK1766, from Warsaw Poland to Istanbul, Turkey on 4th April 2021 as it was taxiing for departure.…

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EasyJet CEO criticises testing requirements in Britain’s travel restart plan

LONDON, April 6 (Reuters) - The chief executive of British airline easyJet criticised some of the government's plans to restart travel, saying COVID-19 tests should not be required for passengers…

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269 priests died in Italy in first year of pandemic

269 Catholic priests have died of COVID-19 in Italy over the past year, according to religious news agency SIR. The vast majority of these fatalities happened in Northern Italy, with…

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Claims that vaccinated people are more likely to infect others have no scientific basis – WHO

The World Health Organization (WHO) has strongly denied claims that Covid-19 vaccines were among the factors causing the spread of new variants of the virus. These reports were being fuelled…

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Man charged with causing death of 15-day-old baby

James Paul Davis, 34, has been charged of causing death by dangerous driving in the aftermath of a case which has shocked Great Britain. Yesterday, a two-week-old baby boy was…

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