Author: LoveWorld UK

Sweden has beaten coronavirus by refusing to shut the country down and achieving herd immunity, according to an expert. The Scandinavian nation was the only country in Europe not to introduce strict lockdown measures at the start of the pandemic. But scientists believe that this may have helped it avoid a second wave of Covid-19 as it continues to record its lowest number of cases since March – with just 28 infections per 100,000 people. This figure is less than half of the UK’s own infection rate of 69 per 100,000 people. Professor Kim Sneppen, an expert in the spread of coronavirus at…

Britain’s finance minister will announce more job protection plans on Thursday, likely to include a new wage subsidy scheme, to stem unemployment in the pandemic-ravaged economy after existing safeguards expire next month. Rishi Sunak had ruled out a wholesale extension of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, which supported 8.9 million private sector jobs at its peak in May, but a growing second wave of COVID-19 cases has brought clamour for a replacement. He will announce a new wage subsidy to encourage part-time returns to work instead of full furlough pay, plus an extension of a sales tax cut for the…

Civic leaders in Marseille reacted with anger on Thursday to the closure of the city’s bars and restaurants, saying they had not been consulted by the French government which ordered the measures to contain an upsurge in COVID-19 cases. Health Minister Olivier Veran ordered bars and restaurants in Marseille to shut for two weeks from next Monday, after placing the city and surrounding region on the Mediterranean coast on the maximum alert level for the spread of the virus. Local politicians said the step was out of proportion to the risks and would devastate their economy. “It was with surprise…

A swathe of British businesses are unprepared for the end of the Brexit transition period at the turn of the year, a survey from the British Chambers of Commerce showed on Thursday. Some 51% of companies had not taken any steps recommended by the government to prepare for changes in the trade of goods, the survey showed, with little more than three months to go before a shift in the terms of trade with the European Union. Britain told businesses on Wednesday to prepare for paperwork or face 100 km-long queues of lorries when the country’s post-Brexit transition arrangement ends,…

Swiss voters will decide on Sunday whether to tear up a pact with the European Union on the free movement of people, after a referendum campaign that exposed rifts in society over foreigners who make up a quarter of the population. The right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP) – the biggest in parliament – is leading the charge to seize back control of immigration, echoing some of the arguments pro-Brexit politicians used in the run-up to Britain’s exit from the EU. Opinion polls suggest it will not be so successful. A gfs.bern poll found 63% of respondents opposed the SVP proposal…

Britain is considering more targeted measures to help save jobs once its furlough scheme stops at the end of October, foreign minister Dominic Raab said, amid speculation that German-style wage subsidies could be brought in. Opposition and business leaders have been calling for the scheme to be extended in some form to avoid a cliff-edge effect they fear could put make millions unemployed, particularly as new COVID-19 restrictions hamper any economic recovery. Raab said the programme, officially called the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), would come to an end, but hinted more help could be on the way. “I don’t…

Police federation chiefs have blasted Boris Johnson’s new rules as ‘absurd’ and ‘a nonsense’ as small business owners say they will go bust if workers stay home again. The Prime Minister faced fire from all sides as he U-turned on his push to reopen workplaces after just a few weeks to tell office staff to work from home if they can. He was barbed for introducing new measures including a 10pm pub curfew and £200 fines for mask rule-breakers among new restrictions on social settings in England. The PM also announced he is making the British Army available to help the police…

Dean Henderson’s bid to replace David de Gea as Manchester United’s first-choice goalkeeper got off to a solid start as he made a key save in his belated debut for the club in their 3-0 win at Luton Town in the League Cup on Tuesday. Henderson was one of 10 changes to the United team after a disappointing 3-1 home defeat to Crystal Palace on Saturday in their opening game of the new Premier League campaign. The 23-year-old, returning to the club after a loan spell at Sheffield United, made a crucial stop to deny Tom Lockyer as United went…

Germany’s Europe Minister Michael Roth urged Britain on Tuesday to drop plans for a bill that would break the country’s obligations to the European Union under its withdrawal treaty as time was running out to clinch an EU-Britain trade deal. Speaking to reporters ahead of a meeting of EU ministers in Brussels that is to prepare a summit of EU leaders later this week, Roth said he was “extremely worried” by London’s plans to pass an internal market bill that would break international law. “Please, dear friends in London, stop the games, time is running out, what we really need…

Claims against Danske Bank DANSKE.CO in a lawsuit about one of the world’s biggest money laundering investigations have topped $1 billion, according to a Danish law firm. Denmark’s biggest lender is under investigation in several countries including the United States over 200 billion euros ($235 billion) in payments made via its small branch in Estonia between 2007 and 2015, many of which the bank has said were suspicious. Danish law firm Klar Advokater said it had filed a final round of complaints against the bank on behalf of 55 pension funds and other investors. U.S. law firms Grant & Eisenhofer and DRRT…