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United Kingdom

Queen Elizabeth II opens UK parliament but with less ceremony

Queen Elizabeth II has formally opened the UK parliament but without the usual pomp and ceremony

Spain

Spain warns that lockdown leaving parties lead to more than a hangover

Scenes of revelers partying in mass over the past weekend, in many cases without social distancing or masks, have infuriated many, including health workers, and created a new political quarrel.

Travel News

Romania sinks its teeth into vaccination programme at Dracula’s castle

Romania has transformed one of its most popular tourist attractions into a vaccination centre. Just remember to bring garlic.

World

Could equine therapy be the new stressbuster on the block?

Equine-assisted therapy is on the rise in Spain. For many people, riding a horse improves physical and mental health. And during the pandemic, it has also helped some people combat the stress and anxiety associated with COVID-19.

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Belgium

Brussels police break up end-of-curfew celebrations

Officers were called in after young people gathered to celebrate the end of restrictions and reopening of terraces and cafes

Spain

Taste of freedom as Spaniards celebrate end of state of emergency

While hundreds celebrated with improvised street parties, others feared the national state of emergency would be replaced by a patchwork of conflicting regional approaches.

World News

EU agrees to buy up to 1.8 billion Pfizer vaccine doses

The European Commission deal with Pfizer-BioNTech is its biggest vaccine contract so far

India

India records over 4,000 coronavirus deaths in a day for first time

India reported on Saturday a record high 4,187 coronavirus deaths as pressure mounts on the government to impose a nationwide lockdown.

World News

EU leaders urge US to end COVID-19 vaccine export limits

EU leaders urged Washington to end COVID-19 vaccine export limits instead of focussing on waiving vaccine patents.

Travel News

Red, amber or green? UK fleshes out its traffic light rules for travel

The UK has unveiled a small list of countries and territories from which arrivals won't have to quarantine after May 17, including Portugal, Israel and Gibraltar.

Germany

Germany pushes back against COVID-19 patent waiver proposal

A government spokesperson said the main issue affecting poor countries' equal access to vaccines was "not patents, but production capacity".

World

Sweden's registers increase in infections in young people

The Swedish Public Health Agency says the rise could be linked to a recent increase in testing. Among the elderly, there was a clear drop in newly reported cases, which the agency believes is largely due to the impact of the vaccination rollout.

Belgium

'This is a Belgian joke': Brussels set for a two-hour curfew on Friday

Locals in Brussels have been left bemused by rules that require them to respect a curfew on Friday evening... for just two hours!

United Kingdom

UK economy to record best year since 1941, Bank of England says

The Bank of England said that its revised forecast — it previously estimated that the UK economy would grow by 5 per cent this year — was down to the country's fast vaccine rollout which should enable the economy to reopen quicker than initially thought.

Japan

Pfizer/BioNTech to donate COVID jabs to athletes at Tokyo Olympics

The Olympic Games, which were scheduled to take place in 2020 but were postponed due to the pandemic, will kick off on July 23.

USA

COVID-19 is a vascular disease not a respiratory one, says study

This could explain blood clots in some COVID patients and other issues like "COVID feet", which are not classic symptoms of a respiratory illness.

India

India's COVID-19 cases surpass 21 million amid oxygen supply issues

India has hit another record for COVID-19 infections as the country struggles to meet demand for oxygen.

World News

Nearly half of Europeans unhappy with EU's COVID measures, poll finds

The highest proportion of dissatisfaction was found in Greece, Luxembourg and Belgium, the survey found.

Europe News

Greece wants to boost growth by 7% from €57bn pandemic recovery plan

Athens will receive €30.5 billion in European Union funds as part of the bloc's so-called Recovery and Resilience Facility.

India

COVID-19 catastrophe in India worsens as cases and deaths mount

India's health ministry reported 357,229 new COVID-19 infections in the past 24 hours and 3,449 deaths.