Vaccination campaigns are national competences
A spokesman for the European Commission has told journalists that “vaccination campaigns are national competences, so whether or not they are mandatory is a decision up to the Member States”. Asked whether the EU had a position on the mandatory nature of the vaccine, the spokesman said “we have always said that it is important to continue vaccinating citizens” against COVID-19 “as it is the way out of the pandemic, especially for the most vulnerable”.
1.3 million in France opt to have coronavirus vaccine
More than one million people in France have made appointments to get the Coronavirus vaccine after French President Emmanuel Macron said COVID-19 passes would soon be needed for daily activities. Doctolib, the centralized vaccine appointment app for the country, announced Tuesday that 1.3 million people in France signed up to get the coronavirus vaccine. The majority of those who signed up were under 35 years old. A COVID-19 pass would be needed to
go into restaurants, stores, on planes and trains. The coronavirus pass requirement will begin in August,
France slap €500 million fine on Google
The French competition authority has imposed a record fine of 500 million Euros on US giant Google. The French Authority says the US company had not negotiated “in good faith” with the publishers of the press regarding the application of the so-called related rights. Google will also have to “submit a remuneration offer for the current use of protected content” from publishers and news agencies, if it does not want to incur other mega-sanctions.
Death toll mounts amid looting in Zuma riots
Channel Africa says the death toll in South Africa has risen to 72, after violence engulfed parts of the country following the jailing of former President Jacob Zuma. 10 of these people were killed in a stampede during looting on Monday night at a shopping centre in Soweto. The BBC filmed a baby being thrown from a building in Durban that was on fire after ground-floor shops were looted. The military has now been deployed to help the Police, overstretched since the unrest began last week. At least 757 people have been arrested, most of them in Johannesburg.
25 children rescued in bus fire
Ansa reports 25 Italian children were rescued before a bus caught fire in the tunnel along the north lane of the Superstrada 36 that connects Lecco to the province of Sondrio. The accident could have had serious consequences if the driver had not acted swiftly, as he stopped in time and helped the children to get off the bus before it was engulfed in flames.
Iraq fire death toll climbs to 92
Al Hawza reports the death toll from a fire that swept through a hospital COVID-19 ward in an Iraqi hospital in Nassariyah, has climbed to 92, as anguished relatives buried their loved ones and lashed out at the government over the country’s second such disaster in less than three months. Health officials said scores of others were injured in the blaze that erupted Monday at al-Hussein Teaching Hospital. The hospital director has been detained for questioning.
