Cincunri Sakia

Senin, 22 November 2021

Covid: Austria back in lockdown despite protests - BBC News

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Austria has returned to a full national lockdown as protests against new restrictions aimed at curbing Covid-19 infections spread across Europe.

From midnight, Austrians have been asked to work from home and non-essential shops have closed.

New restrictions have sparked protests throughout Europe. People clashed with police in the Netherlands and Belgium.

Infection rates have risen sharply on the continent, prompting warnings from the World Health Organization (WHO).

On Saturday WHO regional director Dr Hans Kluge told the BBC that unless measures were tightened across Europe - such as on vaccines, wearing masks and with Covid passes for venues - half a million more deaths could be recorded by next spring.

Last week Austria became the first European country to make Covid vaccination a legal requirement, with the law due to take effect in February. Politicians in neighbouring Germany are debating similar measures as intensive care units there fill up and case numbers hit fresh records.

'A sledgehammer' to cut cases

This is Austria's fourth national lockdown since the pandemic began.

Authorities have ordered residents to stay home for all but essential reasons, including work, exercise and shopping for food.

Restaurants, bars, hairdressers, theatres and non-essential shops must all close their doors. These measures will continue until 12 December, although officials said they will be reassessed after 10 days.

Speaking on ORF TV on Sunday night, health minister Wolfgang Mueckstein said the government had to "react now".

"A lockdown, a relatively tough method, a sledgehammer, is the only option to reduce the numbers [of infections] here," he reportedly told the broadcaster.

Tens of thousands of people protested in the capital Vienna ahead of the lockdown. Brandishing national flags and banners reading "Freedom", protesters shouted "Resistance!" and booed the police.

Demonstrations and unrest

Several European countries saw angry protests against tougher restrictions turn violent over the weekend.

In Belgium's capital, Brussels, demonstrators clashed with police after tens of thousands of people marched through the city centre.

Protesters are mainly opposed to Covid passes that stop the unvaccinated from entering cafes, restaurants and entertainment venues.

The march started peacefully but some launched stones and fireworks at officers, who responded with tear gas and water cannon.

Across the border in the Netherlands, rioting took place for the third night in a row.

Local media report that police arrested 15 people in the southern city of Roosendaal where a primary school was set ablaze. An emergency order has also been imposed in the town of Enschede to keep people off the streets overnight.

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On Saturday, people hurled fireworks at police and set fire to bicycles in The Hague. That followed what Rotterdam's mayor called "an orgy of violence" on Friday, when officers opened fire after protesters threw rocks and fireworks and set police cars ablaze.

Four people thought to have been hit by police bullets remain in hospital, authorities said on Sunday.

The Netherlands is under a three-week nationwide partial lockdown, forcing restaurants to shut earlier and banning fans at sports events.

Protesters are also angry at a ban on fireworks on New Year's Eve and government plans to introduce a vaccine pass for indoor venues.

Thousands of demonstrators were also on the streets in Croatia's capital Zagreb on Saturday, while in Denmark around 1,000 people protested in Copenhagen against government plans to order public sector workers to be vaccinated in order to enter workplaces.

The French Caribbean department of Guadeloupe, meanwhile, has been rocked by three days of looting and vandalism, over a mandatory vaccine order for health workers as well as high fuel prices.

Some 38 people were reportedly arrested and special police forces were sent to the island on Sunday in a bid to quell the unrest after protesters ransacked and torched shops.

Are you in Austria? How will the lockdown affect you? Email: haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

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2021-11-22 01:26:01Z
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Minggu, 21 November 2021

Covid: Huge protests across Europe over new restrictions - BBC News

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Tens of thousands of people have been marching in the Belgian capital, Brussels, to protest against anti-Covid measures.

Some protesters threw fireworks at police officers, who intervened with tear gas and water cannon.

Demonstrators are mainly opposed to the use of Covid passes, which stops the unvaccinated from entering venues such as restaurants or bars.

This comes after fresh protests in the Netherlands against new lockdown rules.

On Saturday, people hurled fireworks at police and set fire to bicycles in The Hague, one night after protests in Rotterdam turned violent and police fired gunshots.

Thousands of demonstrators also took to the streets in Austria, Croatia and Italy as anger mounted over new curbs.

In Belgium, rules on face masks have been tightened, including in places such as restaurants where Covid passes are already required, and most Belgians will also have to work from home four days a week until mid-December. There are also plans to make vaccinations for health workers compulsory.

Earlier, the World Health Organization (WHO) said it was "very worried" about rising coronavirus cases on the continent.

Its regional director, Dr Hans Kluge, told the BBC that unless measures were tightened across Europe, half a million more deaths could be recorded by next spring.

"Covid-19 has become once again the number one cause of mortality in our region," he said, adding "we know what needs to be done" in order to fight the virus - such as getting vaccinated, wearing masks, and using Covid passes.

Many governments across the continent are bringing in new restrictions to try to tackle rising infections. A number of countries have recently reported record-high daily case numbers.

Demonstrations and unrest

In the Netherlands, a second night of riots broke out on Saturday in several towns and cities.

Hooded rioters set fire to bicycles in The Hague, as riot police used horses, dogs and batons to chase the crowds away. Officials announced an emergency order in the city, and at least seven people were arrested.

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Police said a rock was thrown through the window of an ambulance carrying a patient. Officers in the city tweeted that five police officers were injured, with one taken away by ambulance with a knee injury.

Elsewhere in the country, two top-flight football matches were briefly halted after supporters broke into the grounds and ran on to the pitch. Fans are currently banned from stadiums because of new coronavirus rules.

The unrest followed a night of riots in Rotterdam condemned by the city's mayor as "an orgy of violence". Police fired warning shots and direct shots "because the situation was life-threatening", a police spokesperson told Reuters.

At least three demonstrators are receiving hospital treatment for gunshot wounds, officers said. Authorities have launched an investigation.

The Netherlands imposed a three-week partial lockdown last weekend after recording a record spike in Covid cases. Bars and restaurants must close at 20:00, and crowds are banned at sports events.

Tens of thousands of people protested in Austria's capital, Vienna, after the government announced a new national lockdown and plans to make jabs compulsory in February 2022. It is the first European country to make vaccination a legal requirement.

Brandishing national flags and banners reading "Freedom", protesters shouted "Resistance!" and booed the police.

The country will enter a 20-day nationwide lockdown from Monday, shutting all but essential shops and ordering people to work from home.

The mandatory vaccinations have been described as a "double-edged sword" by Andrea Ammon, director for the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

She told the BBC's Andrew Marr that the strict rules could make people who were still doubting the vaccine - but not fully rejecting it - completely turn away from it.

In Croatia, thousands marched in the capital, Zagreb, to show their anger at mandatory vaccinations for public sector workers, while in Italy, a few thousand protesters gathered at the ancient Circus Maximus chariot-racing ground in Rome to oppose "Green Pass" certificates required at workplaces, venues and on public transport.

French authorities are sending dozens more police officers to quell unrest on the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, a French overseas department.

Overnight riots saw looters ransack dozens of shops and set businesses alight after protests against France's own Covid pass turned violent.

Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said that some involved in the unrest used "live ammunition" against law enforcement, and promised a "firm" response to those committing public disorder.

UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid has said there are no plans to change travel rules between the UK and Germany at the moment, in view of the rising number of cases there.

He said this was because Germany was dealing with the Delta variant: "We have Delta here already, I'm not sure there is much benefit in having more rules, but we do keep an eye out for any potential new variants," he told Andrew Marr.

Are you in the Netherlands? Have you been affected by what's been happening? You can get in touch by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways:

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2021-11-21 18:24:17Z
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Peng Shuai: Chinese tennis player says she is safe and well in video call but wants privacy respected - Sky Sports

"She explained that she is safe and well, living at her home in Beijing, but would like to have her privacy respected at this time," the IOC said; safety of Peng has become a matter of international concern after she made sexual assault allegations against a former China vice-premier

Last Updated: 21/11/21 5:40pm

Peng Shuai made sexual assault allegations against a senior minister in China earlier this month

Peng Shuai says she is safe and well but wants her privacy respected, the International Olympic Committee said after holding a video call with the Chinese tennis player on Sunday.

A newly released video released by Chinese state media earlier purportedly showed Peng, a former Wimbledon doubles champion, at a tennis tournament in Beijing on Sunday morning.

Peng Shuai showed up at the opening ceremony of a teenager tennis match final in Beijing on Sunday morning. Global Times photo reporter Cui Meng captured her at scene. pic.twitter.com/7wlBcTMgGy
— Hu Xijin 胡锡进 (@HuXijin_GT) November 21, 2021

The safety of Peng, 35, has become a matter of international concern since her disappearance after she made sexual assault allegations against former China vice-premier Zhang Gaoli two weeks ago.

In a statement, the IOC said that at the start of the 30-minute call with its president Thomas Bach, Peng had thanked the IOC for its concern about her well-being.

"She explained that she is safe and well, living at her home in Beijing, but would like to have her privacy respected at this time," the IOC said.

"That is why she prefers to spend her time with friends and family right now. Nevertheless, she will continue to be involved in tennis, the sport she loves so much."

IOC Athletes Commission chair Emma Terho and IOC member Li Lingwei, a former vice president of the Chinese Tennis Association, were also on the call in what appears to be Peng's first direct contact with sports officials outside China since her disappearance from public view on November 2.

On Saturday, images supposedly showed Peng having dinner with her coach and friends in Beijing.

Images and video released on Saturday purportedly showing Peng Shuai (third from right) in a restaurant. Pic: @li_ding1

Peng appears to be smiling and having fun. Pic: @li_ding1

France's foreign minister had earlier called on the Chinese authorities to provide more reassurance around Peng's wellbeing, echoing a statement by the Women's Tennis Association on Saturday that the images were "insufficient".

"While it is positive to see her, it remains unclear if she is free and able to make decisions and take actions on her own, without coercion or external interference," WTA chief Steve Simon said.

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US-based tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg praises the WTA for their 'firm' stance on China, amid growing concern over Peng Shuai's whereabouts.

Peng's allegation was made on Chinese social media site Weibo in early November, before the post was quickly taken down.

Neither Zang nor the Chinese government have commented on her allegation.

The UK government said it was following the case closely and remained "extremely concerned".

The WTA has threatened to pull tournaments out of China and the men's ATP has demanded clarity from Chinese authorities.

Serena Williams and Roger Federer are among a host of the sport's biggest names to have raised concerns about Peng's welfare.

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Roger Federer is hopeful of positive news regarding Peng Shuai's whereabouts amid continued concern around the world over her safety.

Men's world No 1 Novak Djokovic said he supported "100%" the WTA's threat to axe its China events.

He said: "The whole community, tennis community needs to back her up and her family, make sure that she's safe and sound because if you would have tournaments on Chinese soil without resolving this situation, it would be a little bit strange."

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2021-11-21 16:47:56Z
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Covid: Netherlands and other parts of Europe see protests over new restrictions - BBC News

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Fresh unrest has erupted in the Netherlands against new lockdown rules amid rising Covid-19 cases in Europe.

People hurled fireworks at police and set fire to bicycles in The Hague, one night after protests in Rotterdam turned violent and police fired shots.

Thousands of demonstrators also took to the streets in Austria, Croatia and Italy as anger mounted over new curbs.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said it was "very worried" about rising coronavirus cases on the continent.

Its regional director, Dr Hans Kluge, told the BBC that unless measures were tightened across Europe, half a million more deaths could be recorded by next spring.

Many governments across the continent are bringing in new restrictions to try to tackle rising infections. A number of countries have recently reported record-high daily case numbers.

Demonstrations and unrest

In the Netherlands, a second night of riots broke out on Saturday in several towns and cities.

Hooded rioters set fire to bicycles in The Hague, as riot police used horses, dogs and batons to chase the crowds away. Officials have announced an emergency order in the city, and at least seven people were arrested.

The unrest follows a night of riots in Rotterdam condemned by the city's mayor as "an orgy of violence". Police fired warning shots and direct shots "because the situation was life-threatening", a police spokesperson told Reuters.