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UK COVID-19 Variant Is Doubling Every 10 Days In US: Study

Teresa Marvulli
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4
UK COVID-19 Variant Is Doubling Every 10 Days In US: Study

UNITED KINGDOM. London: The mutating COVID-19 variant, first detected in the U.K. at the end of last year, is doubling its reach in the United States every 10 days, according to a new study published on Sunday.

The new findings straightened the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) predictions that the new variant could become the dominant strain in the U.S. by March.

According to the new study published on the medical site medRxiv, but not peer-reviewed, 3.6% of the COVID-19 cases in the U.S. that surfaced during the last week of January were connected to the U.K. variant.

On Sunday, medRxiv shared on Twitter the new research: “Genomic epidemiology identifies emergence and rapid transmission of SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 in the United States.”

Hard to Track down

The researchers highlighted that it is complicated to track down the spread of the new variant in the U.S. This is due to the lack of “a national genomics surveillance program like those found in the U.K., Denmark, and other countries,” CNBC reported.

The study also concluded that the new strain is already spreading via community transmission. It initially arrived in the country through international travelers and then started spreading internally with people traveling across the country for the festive season.

A ray of hope

The medRziv paper’s researchers think that the U.S. still has time to turn around the new strain trend and control its spread. However, this can only happen through an immediate public health action.

According to the study, a lack of intervention to tackle the spread of the new variant can cause “devastating consequences to COVID-19 mortality and morbidity in the U.S. in a few months.”

Health officials have also said that the existing vaccines are still likely to work against the new strains, however, their effect might be reduced.

COVID-19 cases in Europe

COVID-19, also known as SARS-CoV-2, was first identified in Wuhan at the end of 2019. It was initially reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) on Dec. 31, 2019, and a month later the WHO declared the outbreak a global health emergency.

As of Feb. 5, the Johns Hopkins University reported 34,609,123 confirmed cases of COVID-19 across Europe and 774,777 deaths. The U.K. has the highest death toll in Europe, followed by Italy and France.

Denmark Reaches Agreement To Build World’s First Energy Island In The North Sea

Teresa Marvulli
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2
Denmark Reaches Agreement To Build World’s First Energy Island In The North Sea

UNITED KINGDOM. London: The Danish government has reached an agreement for the construction of the world’s first energy island, which will supply power to three million European households.

The energy produced and stored will be used in aviation as well as shipping, industry, and heavy transport. The island will serve as a hub to gather and store the energy produced by 200 giant offshore wind turbines.

The island will be located 80 kilometers from the shore of Jutland’s peninsula and will measure around 120,000sqm — the size of 18 football pitches.

Energy Island Construction

Dan Jørgensen, Denmark’s Climate Minister, shared on Twitter a 3D video of what the impressive construction would look like.

Also read: India And Denmark Commits To “Green Strategic Partnership” In A Bi-Lateral Virtual Summit

“Denmark has decided to construct the world’s first wind energy hub as an artificial island in the North Sea #dkgreen,” Jørgensen tweeted.

The project will cost around 210bn kroner (around £24bn), and, as reported by BBC, it’s “the biggest construction project in Danish history.” The government will hold the majority of the island, with the private sector owning the remainder.

In an interview with the BBC, Prof Jacob Ostergaard of the Technical University of Denmark suggested that the U.K., Germany, and the Netherlands could also benefit from it.

The world’s first energy island is expected to be up and running by 2033.

Denmark stopped new oil and gas exploration

With Denmark’s Climate Act, the country has committed to an ambitious plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels by 70% by 2030. It also aims to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, closing down the country’s oil industry for good.

Therefore, in December last year, the government has agreed to end all new oil and gas explorations in the North Sea — only the companies with existing licenses will be able to continue.

Denmark giving green light to the energy island comes after the European Union unveiled its plan to increase Europe’s offshore wind capacity from its current level of 12 GW to at least 60 GW by 2030 and to 300 GW by 2050.

In the statement, the EU highlighted that offshore wind “produces clean electricity that competes with, and sometimes is cheaper than, existing fossil fuel-based technology.”

World Nutella Day: The Sweetest Day Of The Year

Teresa Marvulli
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0
World Nutella Day: The Sweetest Day Of The Year

UNITED KINGDOM. London: February 5th might be the sweetest day of the year as Ferrero celebrates the World Nutella Day.

The World Nutella Day’s Twitter account wrote earlier today: “Happy World Nutella Day! Do you know how to celebrate it? Whatever you’ll do, share your love with all the Nutella lovers around the world.  Discover more about​ #worldnutelladay on http://nutelladay.com.”

The idea for the Word Nutella Day came from American blogger Sara Rosso.

Ms Rosso launched the initiative in 2007, as a way to celebrate the most famous chocolate hazelnut spread in the world.

It was a special occasion for Nutella’s fans to share pictures, ideas and recipes. The perfect moment to declare their love for Nutella.

Since 2015 Ferrero has taken over the World Nutella Day and on 5th February it shares, with all the Nutella’s fans, recipes ideas and suggestions on how to be creative using Nutella.

On the official World Nutella Day website, Ferrero has shared “10 ways to celebrate” and these include some simple things, such as having breakfast in bed with Nutella, to more creative ideas like creating some Nutella inspired art or writing a song or a poem about Nutella.

Obviously, everything needs to be shared on social media with the hashtag #WorldNutellaDay.

From Nutelladay.com

From Giandujot to Nutella: the evolution

Pietro Ferrero, the father of Nutella, was the owner of a bakery in an Italian town well-known for the production of hazelnuts.

After WWII cocoa was hard to find, so Mr Ferrero invented a sweet creamy spread with hazelnuts, sugar and just a tiny bit of cacao. It was a play on gianduja, a similar paste invented around 1800.

Sadly, Pietro died of art attack in 1949, at the age of 51 and his son Giovanni took over.

The first version of this new creation, called “Giandujot nocciolato” had the shape of a chocolate block that could be cut and spread on the bread.

In 1951 Ferrero come up with a new creamy version that was easier to spread and didn’t required to be cut from a block. It was called “Supercreama”.

Finally, in 1964, after revisiting the original recipe and improving it, Ferrero created the first jar of a new product called Nutella.

From 1965 Nutella started to be exported outside Italy: from Germany to France passing from Australia.

More than 50 years after the first jag, Nutella has sold in more than 160 countries, and Ferrero makes 365,000 tons of Nutella per year.

WHO Reports “Catastrophic Impact” Of Pandemic On Cancer Care

Teresa Marvulli
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2
WHO Reports “Catastrophic Impact” Of Pandemic On Cancer Care

United Kingdom. London: The COVID-19 pandemic is having a “catastrophic impact” on cancer care in Europe, according to the WHO.

In a statement, Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Europe Region Director, highlighted how Europe health systems, strained by the pandemic and the travel restrictions, are delaying cancer’s diagnosis and treatments, with this having a direct impact on “the chances of a cure or survival for hundreds of thousands of cancer patients.”

Dr Kluge wrote on Twitter earlier today: “A crisis of noncommunicable diseases, including cancer, is brewing, brought on by the #COVID19 pandemic. But we are fighting back. Today, we have an opportunity to map a new path.”

According to WHO’s data, in the first few months of the pandemic “in 122 out of 163 countries, noncommunicable disease services had been disrupted, and that 1 in 3 countries in the European Region had partially or completely disrupted cancer services”.

For instance, at Kyrgyzstan’s National Center of Oncology, in April last year, the number of diagnoses dropped by 90%.

In the Netherlands and Belgium, in the first lockdown of 2020, the diagnosis dropped by 30-40%.

While, in the UK, the delayed treatments and diagnosis are expected to result in “an increase in the number of deaths from colorectal cancer by 15%, and 9% for breast cancer over the next 5 years.”

Furthermore, some countries have experienced a shortage of essential cancer’s drugs.

As stressed in the statement, some cancer treatments and medications are really expensive, even for high-income countries; so, the current economic crisis is negatively affecting the pre-existing inequalities in accessing cancer treatments.  

Cancer numbers before the pandemic

“Even in a normal year, noncommunicable diseases such as cancer, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes are the leading cause of death and disability in the WHO European Region, accounting for more than 80% of deaths.” says the WHO.

In 2020, 4.8 million people in Europe were diagnosed with cancer: more than 13.000 every day.

The WHO data also shows that 1 in 3 people in western European countries will develop cancer at some point in their life, compared to the 1 in 4 in eastern European countries.

What now?

Today in honour of World Cancer Day, WHO is launching Pan-European Cancer Initiative “to unite all towards better cancer control and prevention and to enable policy-makers to make the right decisions to address cancer effectively.”

The initiative will focus on 5 elements: prevention, early detection, access for all to diagnosis and treatment, palliative care, and a focus on data.

The WHO/Europe has earlier said on Twitter: “Today we announce Aron Anderson as a WHO/Europe’s #cancer ambassador.

Aron is an inspirational individual who recovered from #cancer at an early age. His support will prove vital as part of United Action Against Cancer.”

Mr Anderson is a Swedish adventurer with the first-hand experience of cancer.

Former Italian PM Under Fire After Attending Conference In Saudi Arabia

Teresa Marvulli
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0
Former Italian PM Under Fire After Attending Conference In Saudi Arabia

ITALY. Rome: Former Italian PM, Matteo Renzi, has been heavily criticised for his appearance at Saudi Arabia’s Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference.

Renzi is on the FII’s border of Trustees, for which he receives 80.000 dollars a year, according to Italian newspaper La Repubblica. 

The theme of this year’s FII, that took place between 27th and 28th January, was “Neo-Renaissance”.

Thus, Matteo Renzi in his speech introduced himself as the former Mayor of Florence, Renaissance’s motherland.

In a video that became viral, the former Italian PM said: “I think Saudi Arabia could be the place of a new Renaissance in the future”.

The comment sparked backlash over human rights concerns related to Saudi Arabia- including the country’s involvement in Yemen’s war and the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Furthermore, observers criticised Mr Renzi for flying to Riyadh during a delicate phase of the Italian government crisis.

A Twitter user wrote: “I am transfixed by Matteo Renzi’s timing here. In a single week, he collapses the Italian government with the claim that PM Conte was centralizing too much power over the EU Recovery Fund…. and then FLIES DIRECTLY TO RIYADH to lavish praise on MBS”.

In response to the criticism, Renzi has promised a press conference the week after the end of the government’s crisis. The aim of which will be to discuss the matter and his “international position”.

Italy stopped the selling of arms to Saudi Arabia

MMeanwhile, the Italian government has announced the stop of arms’ exports to Saudi Arabia over concerns of their use in the war in Yemen.

However, the two events were not connected.

In July 2019, Italy issued an 18-month stop on the export of bombs and missiles to Saudi Arabia and UAE. In the same year, the country sold just under 4 billion worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia.

Italy: Mario Draghi, Former ECB President, Receives The Mandate To Form A New Government

Teresa Marvulli
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1
Italy: Mario Draghi, Former ECB President, Receives The Mandate To Form A New Government

ITALY. Rome: President Sergio Mattarella summoned the former president of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi today, 3rd February at 12 pm. After just over one hour of talks, the Italian President has given to Draghi the mandate to form a new government.

The President’s official page tweeted: “The President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella met this morning at Quirinale Palace professor Mario Draghi, to whom he gave the mandate to form a new government. The professor has reserved the right to accept.”

Yesterday, Sergio Mattarella met with Honourable Roberto Fico, the lower-house speaker.

Mr Fico announced that the majority parties didn’t find an agreement to form a new government and end the crisis after two days of intensive talks.

Thus, Mattarella had then two alternatives: call for the elections (as asked by the far-right parties) or give a mandate to a “high profile” technocratic government.

In last night’s speech, he explained why the elections wouldn’t be in the country’s best interest at this historic moment.

“I have the duty to emphasise that the long period of the election campaign- and the resulting reduction in government activity- would coincide with a crucial moment for Italy’s future.”

He then highlighted that, in the next few months, the government will need to be cohesive and “provide a quick response to the serious ongoing emergencies that can’t be postponed.”

Furthermore, the President asked all the political parties in Parliament to back the new “high profile” government.

The first words

As reported by Italian newspaper il Corriere Mario Draghi in his speech at the end of the meeting has thanked the President Mattarella and said:”It’s a difficult moment and I answer positively to the Head of State’s call.

“Our challenges are ; to win the pandemic, to complete the vaccination plan, to meet people’s needs and to relaunch the country. We have the amazing resources coming from the European Union and we can do a lot for the future of the country.”

He will know start the consultations with the Parliament and, according to the outcomes, will accept or reject the mandate.

Who is Mario Draghi?

Mario Draghi is a well-known economist who served as President of the European Central Bank between 2011 and 2019. He led the institution through the peak of Europe’s debt crisis in 2012.

On 26th July 2012, at a speech in London, Draghi pledged to do “whatever it takes” to preserve the euro.

A week after his speech the ECB announced a plan to buy the bonds of its distressed countries. The plan was never actually used, but the “promise was enough to calm investors and bring bond yields across the eurozone”, as stressed by Quartz.

Draghi has also served as Governor of the Bank of Italy from 2005 to 2011.

The challenges

Movement 5 Starts has already announced, through his spokesperson, Vito Crimi, that it won’t back a technocratic government.

Crimi wrote of Facebook: “….Movement 5 Starts, already during the consultations, has shown that the only possible way would be a political government. Therefore, it won’t vote for a technocratic government led by Mario Draghi.”

https://www.facebook.com/vitoclaudiocrimi/posts/3722611097819203

If Draghi manages to form a government and become Prime Minister, he will face some of the most severe challenges since WWII. In fact, Italy is going through its greatest economic crisis since the war.

Draghi would also have to come up with a plan on how to spend the 2000bn euros of the European Union Recovery Fund.

The country is still fighting against Covid-19 and the consequences of the pandemic. Italy has recorded 89,344 deaths since the beginning of the emergency.

Captain Sir Tom Moore Dies At 100 After A Brief COVID-19 Battle

Teresa Marvulli
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1
Captain Sir Tom Moore Dies At 100 After A Brief COVID-19 Battle

UNITED KINGDOM. London: Capitan Sir Tom Moore, the WWII veteran who raised £32m for National Health Service (NHS) to help them fight the fatal coronavirus has died after contracting COVID-19.

A statement issued by his daugthers said, “It is with great sadness that we announce the death of our dear father, Capitan Sir Tom Moore. We are so grateful that we were with him during the last hours of his life.”

The 100-year-old was taken to Bedford Hospital in Central England on Jan. 22 after he had trouble breathing. He was being treated for both COVID-19 and pneumonia simultaneously.

100 laps

Raised in Yorkshire, northern England, Moore became a “national hero” after he pledged to walk 100 laps of his garden with his Zimmer frame before his 100th birthday to raise funds for the NHS.

Little did he know that his mission would become viral and he would raise more than £30m for the NHS Charities Together in a few weeks.

He then received a military flypast and the title of honorary colonel. In July last year, he was knighted by the Queen at a special socially distant ceremony at Windsor Castle.

His commitment was cemented with the creation of his own charity, The Capitan Tom Foundation. The charity launched a Walk and Talk with Capitan Tom campaign to spread hope and tackle loneliness during the second lockdown.

“The last year of our father’s life was nothing short of remarkable. He was rejuvenated and experienced things he’d only ever dreamed of,” said the family in the statement. “Whilst he’d been in so many hearts for just a short time, he was an incredible father and grandfather, and he will stay alive in our hearts forever.”

Tributes pour in for Moore

The U.K. Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, and the Queen also paid tribute to Moore, along with people and institutions from all around the world.

“Captain Sir Tom Moore was a hero in the truest sense of the word. In the dark days of the Second World War he fought for freedom and in the face of this country’s deepest post war crisis he united us all, he cheered us all up, and he embodied the triumph of the human spirit,” PM Boris tweeted.

Eurozone Recovery Will Take Longer Than Expected As Vaccination Rollout Plans Prove To Be Challenging

Teresa Marvulli
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1
Eurozone Recovery Will Take Longer Than Expected As Vaccination Rollout Plans Prove To Be Challenging

UNITED KINGDOM. London: With the growing COVID-19 cases, Europe’s economic woes seem to be worsening. There are mounting concerns around the potential economic damage as a new strain of the Coronavirus is circulating in Europe.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has recently updated its growth forecasts for the eurozone and has cut the growth expectations for the region to 4.2%, 1 percentage point less than initially expected.

The IMF’s forecasts don’t expect the eurozone’s economy to return to the end of 2019 growth level before the end of 2022. Eurostat, the European statistics office, has estimated that the eurozone economy has dropped by 0.7% in the last quarter of 2020, -5.1% compared to the same months of 2019.

In the third quarter of 2020, thanks to lower infection rates that allowed governments to partially reopen their countries, the eurozone saw a growth rate of +12.4%. These months also coincided with the vaccine approval news, hinting at the possibility that the pandemic could end soon.

A challenging vaccine rollout

The start of 2021 saw the majority of the eurozone’s countries reintroducing national lockdowns and tighter social restrictions, as infection rates soared again. The vaccine rollout has proved to be more complicated than expected due to supply shortages and disruptions in the distributions that have overshadowed the hope for a fast recovery.

In a press conference on Jan. 21, the European Central Bank’s president, Christiane Lagarde said, despite the vaccination campaigns representing an important milestone, “The pandemic continues to pose serious risks to public health and to the euro area and global economies. The renewed surge in coronavirus (COVID-19) infections and the restrictive and prolonged containment measures imposed in many euro area countries are disrupting economic activity.”

The struggle is real

In an interview with CNBC’s Squawk Box Europe, Erik Nielsen, group chief economist at UniCredit said, “Europe is in a deep hole, the pandemic is very very uncertain, the rollout of the vaccine is frankly disappointing in Europe and therefore the risk of a deeper hole is there.”

The European Commission has asked member states to vaccinate at least 70% of their adult population by summer in a bid to contain the spread of the virus and accelerate the bloc’s economic recovery.

Since Christmas, especially, the European leaders have been battling the rising infection rates. Till date 103 million cases of Coronavirus have been reported in Europe of which 57.3 million have recovered and 2.24 million have died.

Italian Government Crisis: A New Round Of Talks To Find An Agreement

Teresa Marvulli
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2
Italian Government Crisis: A New Round Of Talks To Find An Agreement

ITALY. Rome: Honourable Roberto Fico, the lower-house speaker, met with the majority parties to draft a government’s programme to end the crisis.

On Friday, the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella gave Mr Fico a mandate to investigate the feasibility of forming a new government with the same parties that were supporting the previous President Giuseppe Conte’s administration.

The roundtable started just after 9.40 a.m on 1st February with a delegation of 15 spokespeople from the majority parties: Movement Five Stars (M5S), Democratic Party (PD) and Italia Viva (IV) and the representatives of other smaller political parties that were part of the leading coalition.

The meeting aimed to define a programme that can lead to the end of the government crisis, but also consolidate the coalition on crucial issues concerning the country’s economy and response to the pandemic.

Mr Fico will report back to President Mattarela by tomorrow, Tuesday, 2nd February. The President will then decide the next steps which remain unclear at this stage.

Read also: Italy Destroys School Benches To Prevent Spread Of COVID-19

However, President Mattarella can decide for a new round of talks if today’s roundtable is inconclusive.

How did the crisis start?

The Italian ruling coalition collapsed earlier this month after the former prime minister and IV’s leader, Matteo Renzi, withdrew his party’s support to the government over disagreements on the economic recovery plans.

The dispute focused on how the government was planning to spend the EU recovery funding of over 200 billion euros.

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte won the key confidence votes both in the Chambers and in the Senate. However, he didn’t reach enough votes to claim an absolute majority in the Senate.

On 26th January, PM Conte handed his resignation to President Sergio Mattarella to start the consultation for a new government.

If an agreement is reached during this round of consultations, Giuseppe Conte might be confirmed as Prime Minister, supported by M5S, the largest party in parliament.

Conte, a former law professor, has already led two governments since the 2018 general election.

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