Tourists, residents evacuated as fires rage in Europe
Dozens of panicked tourists and locals were evacuated by boat in Italy and Turkey as forest fires raged in both nations over the weekend. Firefighters in Sicily are battling wildfires fueled by high temperatures, prompting the region’s governor to request assistance from Rome. Some 150 people trapped in two seaside areas in Catania were evacuated by sea, where they were picked up by rubber dinghies and transferred to Coast Guard boats. Meanwhile, panicked tourists in Turkey hurried to the seashore to wait for rescue boats after being told to evacuate hotels in Bodrum due to the dangers posed by nearby wildfires.
French police face extremists in Bastille Square
French law enforcement officers went into action in Bastille Square in Paris against a group of extremists, protesting against the Green Pass. The agents responded with tear gas to the throwing of objects and glass bottles. Three policemen were injured. The protestors had the support of the far left and the far right. Some 200,000 protesters, opposed to the mandatory passes, marched through towns and cities
Berlin bans anti-lockdown protesters
Berlin authorities have banned tens of thousands of anti-lockdown protesters demonstrating this weekend amid fear of a rise in coronavirus infections sparked by the Delta variant. Judges at the German capital’s administrative court refused to authorise 13 demonstrations, some of which had been organised by the Querdenker (Lateral thinker) anti-lockdown movement. Organisers said 22,500 people had registered to take part in one of the rallies.
Japan registers over 10,000 cases in 24 hours
Coronavirus cases in Japan have reached 913,755, an increase of 10,744 within the past 24 hours. According to the Johns Hopkins University, deaths increased by 11 to 15,184. Tokyo has broken through 4,058 in the last 24 hours for the first time since the start of the pandemic, a sharp increase compared to the previous record of 3,865 set on Thursday.
Increase in COVID-19 cases worldwide
A surge of 530,972 cases wordwide has been recorded, with deaths increasing by 8,722 to 4,232, 291. The main increases were reported in Asia (245,544), Europe (100,175), Africa (35,860) and North America (88,371). In Europe, worst hit in the last 24 hours were Russia with 23,807 cases, France (23,471) and the UK (26,144). In Florida, 21,683 cases were recorded.
Taxi and food discounts offer to boost British youth jabs
Young people in the UK are to be offered free taxi rides, takeaway and supermarket discounts if they take their COVID vaccinations, as part of a government jabs drive, according to the front page of the Sunday Telegraph. Ministers are said to be discussing a voucher scheme with dozens of firms to be launched later this month. It says the government is “desperate” to boost vaccine uptake among the young – with just 67% of under-29s having received their first dose. Cabinet ministers have told the paper that if uptake is boosted to more than 80% this could remove the need for COVID passports in venues like nightclubs.
The Johnsons are having a ‘rainbow baby’ next Christmas
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his wife Carrie Symond, who got married a few months ago, are expecting their second child at Christmas. Announcing the pregnancy on social media, Carrie said that earlier this year she had a miscarriage “that broke my heart”. A ‘rainbow baby’ is a child who is conceived after a miscarriage.
Brighton cat killer gets 5-year sentence
A heavy 5-year prison sentence in the UK for Steven Bouquet, a private security officer dubbed “the Brighton cat killer” by British media for stabbing 16 cats in the seaside town in the south of England between 2018 and 2019: killing nine and wounding seven. Judge Jeremy Gold explained he had sentenced Bouquet for three months in prison for the unjustified possession of an offensive weapon, and the rest of the penalty for “the brutalities perpetrated on the animals”.
Olympic football semi-finalists
Olympics Men’s football quarter-finals results: Spain v. Ivory Coast 5-2; Japan v. New Zealand 4-2 (after penalties); Brazil v. Egypt 1-0 and South Korea v. Mexico 3-6. Semi-finals: Japan v. Spain and Brazil v. Mexico will be played next Tuesday, August 3. Tomorrow sees the semi-finals of the Olympic Women’s football tournament: USA v. Canada and Australia v. Sweden.
