Workers administer rapid antigen tests to high school students at the Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus Gymnasium high school in Dresden, Germany. Getty Images
An illustration of a syringe is used to indicate the city's vaccination centre to pedestrians in Osnabrueck, Germany. AP Photo
The vaccination centre at the Erfurt exhibition centre in Germany is deserted. After the suspension of AstraZeneca vaccinations, thousands of appointments were cancelled in Thuringia. AP Photo
A person adds drops of a sample to the test device for a Covid-19 antigen rapid test in Berlin, Germany. AFP
People walk down a crowded street in the Neukoelln neighbourhood of Berlin, Germany. AP Photo
Dancers perform in front of the Theatre de l'Odeon in Paris, France. Workers have occupied the Theatre de l'Odeon since March 4 to protest against the French government's decision to close all theatres. Getty Images
Hospital staff carry a Covid-19 patient at the Clinic du Millenaire, in Montpellier, France. EPA
A healthcare worker administers a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at Paris 17th district city hall in Paris, France. Reuters
Teresa Cabello, 88, waits in a seat before receiving a Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine in Pamplona, northern Spain. AP Photo
Taxi drivers stage a fake funeral for a taxi in a protest against the reduction of customers caused by restrictive measures aimed at stopping the spread of Covid-19 in the Campania Region in Naples, Italy. EPA
Employees of the Lazio Region close the entrance of the new vaccination centre in Rome, Italy. AFP
Customers makes purchases at an IKEA store in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Due to the lifting of some coronavirus restrictions, stores can receive a maximum of 50 customers per time slot instead of two. AFP
Germany should prepare for a “drastically more difficult” third wave of the coronavirus to infect unvaccinated people, a leading virologist said.
Prof Christian Drosten, director of the Institute of Virology at Charite Hospital in Berlin, said the more infectious UK variant was now the dominant strain in Germany, accounting for three in four cases.
Germany and several other European nations suspended use of the AstraZeneca-Oxford University vaccine citing blood clotting concerns.
The European Medicines Agency said on Tuesday it was “firmly convinced” there is no evidence linking the shot to thrombosis.
It said it would continue to analyse data before making a decision on use of the vaccine on Thursday and that there were 30 cases involving blood clots reported among the five million people given the AstraZeneca vaccine in the 30-nation European Economic Area.
Scientists are worried the suspension could increase scepticism of the AstraZeneca drug in Germany after it was initially recommended only for people under 65 because of a lack of data showing it was effective in older people.
Prof Drosten predicted things could be “tricky” for unvaccinated people over 50 when coronavirus cases surge.
“Shortly after Easter, we will have a situation like around Christmas,” he said, referring to soaring infections that led to a hard lockdown late last year.
Germany reported 13,435 new infections and 249 Covid-related deaths on Wednesday, and scientists said the country must resume using AstraZeneca’s Covid vaccine to protect the population.
One senior medical figure said the pause was a “catastrophe” that would damage public trust in the vaccine and set back the struggling inoculation campaign.
“This vaccine, which is actually good and effective, will not exactly achieve more acceptance in the population thanks to all this fuss and the suspensions in many countries,” Frank Ulrich Montgomery, the German president of the World Medical Association, told newspaper group RND.
The German health ministry said it had a duty of care to suspend the AstraZeneca shot while seven blood clot cases were investigated, adding that only 1 to 1.4 cases were statistically expected with 1.6 million vaccinations.
It warned of "legal consequences" if it did not inform people about the vaccine's potential link to blood clotting.
A YouGov survey published on March 7 found people in the UK were far more likely to trust the AstraZeneca drug than mainland Europeans – 81 per cent said it was safe and 79 per cent said the same of the Pfizer-BioNTech shot.
In Germany, 66 per cent said Pfizer-BioNTech’s was safe, compared with 43 per cent for AstraZeneca.
Prof Jeremy Brown of University College London said European fear of the risk of blood clotting linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine was “overblown”.
"I don't understand why this is happening. To me, it doesn't seem at all logical – the vaccine prevents about 85 per cent of admissions to hospital after one dose, even in the very elderly and the frail," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
He said that halting distribution of the vaccine would “cause more illness and more death”.
When: Thursday, 9pm Arizona time (Friday UAE, 8am)
THE DETAILS
Director: Milan Jhaveri Producer: Emmay Entertainment and T-Series Cast: John Abraham, Manoj Bajpayee Rating: 2/5
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
An arms embargo
A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
The Birkin bag is made by Hermès.
It is named after actress and singer Jane Birkin
Noone from Hermès will go on record to say how much a new Birkin costs, how long one would have to wait to get one, and how many bags are actually made each year.
Ultra processed foods
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
A recent survey of 10,000 Filipino expatriates in the UAE found that 82 per cent have plans to invest, primarily in property. This is significantly higher than the 2014 poll showing only two out of 10 Filipinos planned to invest.
Fifty-five percent said they plan to invest in property, according to the poll conducted by the New Perspective Media Group, organiser of the Philippine Property and Investment Exhibition. Acquiring a franchised business or starting up a small business was preferred by 25 per cent and 15 per cent said they will invest in mutual funds. The rest said they are keen to invest in insurance (3 per cent) and gold (2 per cent).
Of the 5,500 respondents who preferred property as their primary investment, 54 per cent said they plan to make the purchase within the next year. Manila was the top location, preferred by 53 per cent.
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
Red flags
Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
