China: popular uprising against Covid restrictions increase and now also include protests against lack of democracy in China

A protest poster showing a Friedmann equation was purportedly held up by students in Beijing's prestigious Tsinghua University - a play on the word "Friedmann", which sounds similar to "free 的 man" - quite literally translated to "a man who is free".

Friedmann is a Russian physicist and mathematician best-known for his work on the theory of relativity and for introducing the possibility of an expanding universe - a concept that may not have been lost on the protesting students.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.com 

The Netherlands: Covid: Netherlands to ease restrictions despite rising case numbers

Mr Rutte,DutchPM,who has faced growing calls for a relaxation of restrictions in recent weeks amid falling deaths and admissions to intensive care, added that the new rules will be effective until 8 March.

Cafes, bars and restaurants will be allowed to open until 10pm, though to gain entry patrons will be required to show a negative test result, prove they are vaccinated or have recently recovered from a coronavirus infection.

Read more at: Covid: Netherlands to ease restrictions despite rising case numbers - BBC News

Canada: Omicron infections have peaked nationally, Canada's top doctor says - by John Paul Tasker

Canada's chief public health officer said Friday that cases of the Omicron variant have peaked nationwide and the number of new infections has dropped significantly over the past week.

Canada's molecular testing system has been hampered by constrained capacity and staffing issues that have made PCR tests unavailable to many. Dr. Theresa Tam pointed to other indicators — daily case counts, test positivity rates and wastewater surveillance trends — that she said suggest Canada is now through the worst of the Omicron wave.

But the number of people in hospitals with COVID-19 is still at a record high, putting Canada's health care system under severe strain.

Read more at: Omicron infections have peaked nationally, Canada's top doctor says | CBC News

UK: MPs vote for new COVID measures, amid rebellion against PM Boris Johnson

British MPs have voted for further measures to battle the coronavirus pandemic, despite a sizeable rebellion against the measures from within prime minister Boris Johnson's own Conservative party.

Johnson suffered by far the biggest rebellion of his time as PM, with the government relying on the support of the opposition Labour Party to get the measures passed.

Before the vote in Parliament it was expected that some 60 and 80 Conservative lawmakers would vote against the government's latest COVID measures.

Read more at: UK: MPs vote for new COVID measures, amid rebellion against PM Boris Johnson | Euronews

The Netherlands: Face masks are back, more working at home, as Dutch bring back anti-Covid rules

The Netherlands is bringing in new measures to control coronavirus in a bid to reverse the sharp rise in new cases, and tougher rules are also in the pipeline if there is no improvement. The new plans were outlined by ministers at a press conference on Tuesday evening, shortly after officials raised the risk level to ‘severe’ now that the average number of hospital admissions per day is above 100.

Although social distancing will not be compulsory, it is the government’s ‘urgent advice’, prime minister Mark Rutte told a press conference on Tuesday evening .

Read more at: Face masks are back, more working at home, as Dutch bring back anti-Covid rules - DutchNews.nl

EU: New corona-strain already in EU, as UK locked off

A new, more contagious strain of Covid-19 is already in the EU, with Sweden closing its border to Denmark, on top of a UK cordon sanitaire.

"The new mutated virus has also been confirmed in Denmark and some other countries," Swedish home affairs minister Mikael Damberg said on Monday (21 December), announcing the border closure.

Read more at New corona-strain already in EU, as UK locked off