Reading Time: 2 minutes The Palestinian Authority (PA) cancelled a deal on Friday to receive soon-to-expire COVID-19 vaccines from Israel after an initial Israeli shipment showed an expiration date sooner than had been agreed, the PA health minister said. Israel and the PA announced a vaccine swap deal earlier on Friday that would have seen Israel
Reading Time: 2 minutes Prime Minister Mario Draghi urged Italians on Friday to get fully vaccinated against coronavirus, acknowledging that a government decision to ban AstraZeneca doses for people aged over 60 had created confusion. “It is fundamental that people get vaccinated,” Draghi told a hastily called news conference, signalling a U-turn on
Britons are fearing massive queues at airports and the overwhelming of the country’s border force as the UK government mulls relaxing travel restrictions for fully vaccinated people. The Daily Mail reported on Friday that critics believe that queues could stretch for as long as seven hours as more people travel and as checks on evidence of vaccination
The Netherlands on Friday announced further easing of a raft of measures to combat coronavirus, including an end to mask-wearing in most places. Prime Minister Mark Rutte said the country was "taking a big step" towards a life without restrictions, from June 26. "Almost everything is possible at a distance of 1.5 metres," he added. The government would
In recent days Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo and France’s World Cup winning midfielder Paul Pogba have removed bottles from press conferences. But now UEFA has hit back, in defence of partnerships with sponsors. European football’s governing body UEFA has warned players at Euro 2020 they have contractual obligations towards sponsors and say teams
Starting Monday, Italy is requiring people who arrive from Britain to do five days of quarantine as well as take a COVID-19 swab test. Italian Health Minister Roberto Speranza on Friday said he signed that order as concern builds about a soaring increase of coronavirus cases in Britain involving the delta variant. That variant is responsible for over
The leaders of Germany and France called for vigilance Friday to prevent the spread of a coronavirus variant that this week prompted Britain to delay the planned relaxation of pandemic restrictions in England. Chancellor Angela Merkel said that while Germany has very low numbers of new COVID-19 infections at present, the “aggressive” delta variant
Reading Time: 2 minutes The Kremlin on Friday blamed a surge in COVID-19 cases on “nihilism” and reluctance to have vaccinations after a record 9,056 new infections in Moscow, mostly with the new Delta variant, fanned fears of a third wave. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin extended restrictions he had imposed this month, which include a ban on public events
A Belgian court on Friday ordered drugs company AstraZeneca to deliver 50 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine to EU members by September 27 - fewer than Brussels had demanded. Both sides claimed victory, with the European Commission stressing the firm would pay a financial penalty for each missed dose and the company promising it would easily meet
Spain will lift the legal requirement to wear a mask outdoors from June 26, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Friday. “This will be the last weekend when we wear masks outdoors because next June 26 we won’t have to wear masks in outdoor public spaces,” he said. The lifting is to be approved at a special cabinet meeting on Thursday, Sanchez said
