Christmas tree lights decorate trees along the Champs-Elysees in Paris. Reuters
Christmas tree lights decorate trees along the Champs-Elysees in Paris. Reuters
Christmas tree lights decorate trees along the Champs-Elysees in Paris. Reuters
Christmas tree lights decorate trees along the Champs-Elysees in Paris. Reuters

How Europe plans to get out of lockdown for Christmas


  • English
  • Arabic

Europe is hoping to preserve the joy of Christmas by allowing families to meet for the holiday as infection rates decline in many countries.

France was one of the first countries to announce such a measure during an address by President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday evening.

France will start easing its coronavirus lockdown this weekend so that by Christmas, shops, theatres and cinemas will re-open and people will be able to spend the holiday with their families.

In his address, Mr Macron said the worst of the second wave of the epidemic in France was over, but that restaurants, cafes and bars would have to stay shut until January 20 to avoid triggering a third wave.

"We must do everything to avoid a third wave, do everything to avoid a third lockdown," Mr Macron said.

After curfew measures in many French cities in mid-October failed to produce the results the government had hoped for, a one-month lockdown was put in place on October 30, though it was less strict than the lockdown that ran from March 17 to May 11.

Positive trends including a decline in hospitalisations for Covid-19 infections, combined with pressure from business lobbies who say they are facing financial ruin, have led to calls to loosen the lockdown as soon as possible.

Mr Macron also said he would start a vaccination campaign at the end of December or the beginning of January, starting with the most vulnerable and older people. Vaccination will not be mandatory, he said.

The address comes as new cases plunge to their lowest level in two months.

Mr Macron's move to ease the lockdown mirrors Boris Johnson's announcement on Monday that England's shutdown would end on December 2 as expected and that there would be a reprieve over the festive season.

Other European nations, including Germany, are heading in the same direction.

Mr Macron is expected to announce that measures will ease in three phases as infections decline. On Monday, France reported 4,452 new cases - the lowest daily figure since September 28.

The tally easily achieves Mr Macron’s stated aim of reaching a daily case number below 5,000 before easing the lockdown.

Government spokesman Gabriel Attal said the first easing would take place “around” December 1, followed by a second one before year-end holidays and a third in January.

With data showing France on track to rein in a surge in coronavirus infections, the government is under pressure from shops and businesses to ease restrictions in time for the Christmas shopping season.

"We had committed to allow them (shopkeepers) to reopen around December 1 if the health situation improved, which seems to be the case," Mr Attal told Le Journal Du Dimanche.

Bars and restaurants, however, "will continue to experience restrictions," he added.

In Germany, authorities were planning on allowing gatherings of up to 10 people over Christmas and the New Year.

The premiers of the states are due to agree on plans with Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday.

Berlin Mayor Michael Mueller told ARD television he was confident the measures, agreed to by the leaders late on Monday, would be adopted.

The premiers agreed to extend a national "lockdown light", introduced on November 2, to December 20, with bars, restaurants and entertainment venues remaining shut while schools and shops stay open.

They also agreed to reduce the number of people allowed to meet to five starting December 1.

Germany, which kept infections and deaths low compared to many of its neighbours during the first wave, stopped an exponential rise in new coronavirus cases, but the overall numbers are still far too high, officials said.

Coronavirus cases rose by 13,554 on Tuesday while the death toll increased by 249 to 14,361.

Keen to stop a revolt against the rules, German officials want to offer relief over Christmas with a December 23 to January 1 amnesty on family gatherings.

"Christmas and other end-of-year festivities should be possible … with family and friends even in this unusual year, albeit on a smaller scale," a draft proposal of the Christmas plan said.

Germany is considering relaxing coronavirus restrictions over Christmas. Reuters
Germany is considering relaxing coronavirus restrictions over Christmas. Reuters

The German leaders stopped short of recommending a blanket ban on fireworks at New Year's Eve, but said none would be allowed in public areas to avoid large numbers of people gathering.

In the UK, Mr Johnson said he was working with the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish executives on nationwide plans to briefly relax the rules at Christmas to allow families to get together, with details to be announced shortly.

He urged the public to keep following the rules in the run-up to the festive season to make a short respite possible.

"'’Tis the season to be jolly, but 'tis also the season to be jolly careful, especially with elderly relatives,” he said.

In Spain, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez warned that this Christmas “will be different” as he seeks to “avoid a third wave”.

But as infections fall, a plan is in the works to allow gatherings of up to six people at parties.

The government will recommend that office gatherings and similar celebrations in the run-up to the holidays be held on restaurant terraces, outside or in places with "no more than two walls", it was reported.

A draft document proposed "planning a different Christmas without taking out the soul and spirit that makes it one of our citizens' most beloved holidays".

Some regions, however, are already moving ahead.

Catalonia is reopening bars and restaurants and wants to allow gatherings of up to 10 people at Christmas.

In Italy, the government is drafting a decree to limit social contact until the New Year, and officials are considering pushing back the curfew to 11pm to allow people more time for buying gifts.

“Italians will need to prepare for a sober Christmas, with no big parties, hugs and kisses, as one week of unrestrained social gatherings would lead to a sharp steepening of the pandemic curve with more deaths and pressure on ICUs,” Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said last week.

“The country cannot afford that.”

As lockdown is eased in some countries, others are going backwards.

Sweden, which never ordered a lockdown, has registered 17,265 new cases since Friday, compared to 15,084 new cases recorded during the previous week.

A further 94 deaths were recorded, bringing the total to 6,500.

On Monday, Prime Minister Stefan Lofven used a rare national address to bemoan his countrymen's failure to stick to Covid-19 restrictions.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin said Russia’s healthcare system was under heavy strain in the lead-up to Christmas.

The country reported a record 491 Covid deaths on Tuesday, with 24,326 new cases.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "The healthcare system is working under heavy strain, but with the exception of a few regions...the situation remains under control.

"This is an epidemiological challenge that all the world's countries have faced. We have not faced such challenges in either new or modern history."

The specs

Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel

Power: 579hp

Torque: 859Nm

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Price: From Dh825,900

On sale: Now

The Written World: How Literature Shaped History
Martin Puchner
Granta

UAE tour of the Netherlands

UAE squad: Rohan Mustafa (captain), Shaiman Anwar, Ghulam Shabber, Mohammed Qasim, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Chirag Suri, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Mohammed Naveed, Amjad Javed, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
Fixtures and results:
Monday, UAE won by three wickets
Wednesday, 2nd 50-over match
Thursday, 3rd 50-over match

A Dog's Journey 

Directed by: Gail Mancuso

Starring: Dennis Quaid, Josh Gad, Marg Helgenberger, Betty Gilpin, Kathryn Prescott

3 out of 5 stars

Last 10 winners of African Footballer of the Year

2006: Didier Drogba (Chelsea and Ivory Coast)
2007: Frederic Kanoute (Sevilla and Mali)
2008: Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal and Togo)
2009: Didier Drogba (Chelsea and Ivory Coast)
2010: Samuel Eto’o (Inter Milan and Cameroon)
2011: Yaya Toure (Manchester City and Ivory Coast)
2012: Yaya Toure (Manchester City and Ivory Coast)
2013: Yaya Toure (Manchester City and Ivory Coast)
2014: Yaya Toure (Manchester City and Ivory Coast)
2015: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund and Gabon)
2016: Riyad Mahrez (Leicester City and Algeria)

Tonight's Chat on The National

Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.

Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster who has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others.

Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.

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Ferrari 12Cilindri specs

Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12

Power: 819hp

Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm

Price: From Dh1,700,000

Available: Now

Fixtures and results:

Wed, Aug 29:

  • Malaysia bt Hong Kong by 3 wickets
  • Oman bt Nepal by 7 wickets
  • UAE bt Singapore by 215 runs

Thu, Aug 30: UAE v Nepal; Hong Kong v Singapore; Malaysia v Oman

Sat, Sep 1: UAE v Hong Kong; Oman v Singapore; Malaysia v Nepal

Sun, Sep 2: Hong Kong v Oman; Malaysia v UAE; Nepal v Singapore

Tue, Sep 4: Malaysia v Singapore; UAE v Oman; Nepal v Hong Kong

Thu, Sep 6: Final

TEAMS

US Team
Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth
Justin Thomas, Daniel Berger
Brooks Koepka, Rickie Fowler
Kevin Kisner, Patrick Reed
Matt Kuchar, Kevin Chappell
Charley Hoffman*, Phil Mickelson*

International Team
Hideki Matsuyama, Jason Day 
Adam Scott, Louis Oosthuizen
Marc Leishman, Charl Schwartzel
Branden Grace, Si Woo Kim
Jhonattan Vegas, Adam Hadwin
Emiliano Grillo*, Anirban Lahiri*

denotes captain's picks

 

 

CONFIRMED%20LINE-UP
%3Cp%3EElena%20Rybakina%20(Kazakhstan)%3Cbr%3EOns%20Jabeur%20(Tunisia)%3Cbr%3EMaria%20Sakkari%20(Greece)%3Cbr%3EBarbora%20Krej%C4%8D%C3%ADkov%C3%A1%20(Czech%20Republic)%3Cbr%3EBeatriz%20Haddad%20Maia%20(Brazil)%3Cbr%3EJe%C4%BCena%20Ostapenko%20(Latvia)%3Cbr%3ELiudmila%20Samsonova%3Cbr%3EDaria%20Kasatkina%3Cbr%3EVeronika%20Kudermetova%3Cbr%3ECaroline%20Garcia%20(France)%3Cbr%3EMagda%20Linette%20(Poland)%3Cbr%3ESorana%20C%C3%AErstea%20(Romania)%3Cbr%3EAnastasia%20Potapova%3Cbr%3EAnhelina%20Kalinina%20(Ukraine)%3Cbr%3EJasmine%20Paolini%20(Italy)%3Cbr%3EEmma%20Navarro%20(USA)%3Cbr%3ELesia%20Tsurenko%20(Ukraine)%3Cbr%3EEmma%20Raducanu%20(Great%20Britain)%20%E2%80%93%20wildcard%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
FULL%20FIGHT%20CARD
%3Cp%3EFeatherweight%20Bout%3A%0D%20Abdullah%20Al%20Qahtani%20v%20Taha%20Bendaoud%0D%3Cbr%3EBantamweight%20Bout%3A%0D%20Ali%20Taleb%20v%20Nawras%20Abzakh%0D%3Cbr%3EBantamweight%20Bout%3A%0D%20Xavier%20Alaoui%20v%20Rachid%20El%20Hazoume%0D%3Cbr%3EFeatherweight%20Bout%3A%0D%20Islam%20Reda%20v%20Adam%20Meskini%0D%3Cbr%3EBantamweight%20Bout%3A%0D%20Tariq%20Ismail%20v%20Jalal%20Al%20Daaja%0D%3Cbr%3EBantamweight%20Bout%3A%0D%20Elias%20Boudegzdame%20v%20Hassan%20Mandour%0D%3Cbr%3EAmateur%20Female%20Atomweight%20Bout%3A%0D%20Hattan%20Al%20Saif%20v%20Nada%20Faheem%0D%3Cbr%3EFeatherweight%20Bout%3A%0D%20Maraoune%20Bellagouit%20v%20Motaz%20Askar%0D%3Cbr%3EFeatherweight%20Bout%3A%0D%20Ahmed%20Tarek%20v%20Abdelrahman%20Alhyasat%0D%3Cbr%3EShowcase%20Featherweight%20Bout%3A%0D%20Mido%20Mohamed%20v%20Yazeed%20Hasanain%0D%3Cbr%3EShowcase%20Flyweight%20Bout%3A%0D%20Malik%20Basahel%20v%20Harsh%20Pandya%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
F1 The Movie

Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rating: 4/5

'Gehraiyaan'
Director:Shakun Batra

Stars:Deepika Padukone, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Ananya Panday, Dhairya Karwa

Rating: 4/5

The National photo project

Chris Whiteoak, a photographer at The National, spent months taking some of Jacqui Allan's props around the UAE, positioning them perfectly in front of some of the country's most recognisable landmarks. He placed a pirate on Kite Beach, in front of the Burj Al Arab, the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland at the Burj Khalifa, and brought one of Allan's snails (Freddie, which represents her grandfather) to the Dubai Frame. In Abu Dhabi, a dinosaur went to Al Ain's Jebel Hafeet. And a flamingo was taken all the way to the Hatta Mountains. This special project suitably brings to life the quirky nature of Allan's prop shop (and Allan herself!).

Generation Start-up: Awok company profile

Started: 2013

Founder: Ulugbek Yuldashev

Sector: e-commerce

Size: 600 plus

Stage: still in talks with VCs

Principal Investors: self-financed by founder

The specs: Aston Martin DB11 V8 vs Ferrari GTC4Lusso T

Price, base: Dh840,000; Dh120,000

Engine: 4.0L V8 twin-turbo; 3.9L V8 turbo

Transmission: Eight-speed automatic; seven-speed automatic

Power: 509hp @ 6,000rpm; 601hp @ 7,500rpm

Torque: 695Nm @ 2,000rpm; 760Nm @ 3,000rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 9.9L / 100km; 11.6L / 100km

The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo

The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
​​​​​​​Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km

'I Want You Back'

Director:Jason Orley

Stars:Jenny Slate, Charlie Day

Rating:4/5

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
57%20Seconds
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Rusty%20Cundieff%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJosh%20Hutcherson%2C%20Morgan%20Freeman%2C%20Greg%20Germann%2C%20Lovie%20Simone%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2%2F5%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
PFA Premier League team of 2018-19

Allison (Liverpool)

Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)

Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)

Aymeric Laporte (Manchester City)

Andrew Robertson (Liverpool)

Paul Pogba (Manchester United)

Fernandinho (Manchester City)

Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)

Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)

Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)

Sadio Mane (Liverpool)

European arms

Known EU weapons transfers to Ukraine since the war began: Germany 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger surface-to-air missiles. Luxembourg 100 NLAW anti-tank weapons, jeeps and 15 military tents as well as air transport capacity. Belgium 2,000 machine guns, 3,800 tons of fuel. Netherlands 200 Stinger missiles. Poland 100 mortars, 8 drones, Javelin anti-tank weapons, Grot assault rifles, munitions. Slovakia 12,000 pieces of artillery ammunition, 10 million litres of fuel, 2.4 million litres of aviation fuel and 2 Bozena de-mining systems. Estonia Javelin anti-tank weapons.  Latvia Stinger surface to air missiles. Czech Republic machine guns, assault rifles, other light weapons and ammunition worth $8.57 million.

Specs

Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request

UK-EU trade at a glance

EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years

Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products

Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries

Smoother border management with use of e-gates

Cutting red tape on import and export of food

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE. 

Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

 

'Ghostbusters: From Beyond'

Director: Jason Reitman

Starring: Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace

Rating: 2/5

The years Ramadan fell in May

1987

1954

1921

1888

The years Ramadan fell in May

1987

1954

1921

1888

Labour dispute

The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.


- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law 

MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW

Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman

Director: Jesse Armstrong

Rating: 3.5/5

Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
  • Priority access to new homes from participating developers
  • Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
  • Flexible payment plans from developers
  • Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
  • DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES

SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities

Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails

Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies

Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments