Britain-US relations: President Biden critical of Britain's economic policies

The US president said he disagreed with Liz Truss' now-abandoned plan to fight inflation with tax cuts. The embattled UK leader is now scrambling to present a new budget with the help of her new finance minister.

Read more at: https://www.dw.com

Climate change almost completely destabilizes Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, study finds - by Sarah Kaplan

Human-caused warming has led to an “almost complete loss of stability” in the system that drives Atlantic Ocean currents, a new study has found — raising the worrying prospect that this critical aquatic “conveyor belt” could be close to collapse.

In recent years, scientists have warned about a weakening of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), which transports warm, salty water from the tropics to northern Europe and then sends colder water back south along the ocean floor. Researchers who study ancient climate change have also uncovered evidence that the AMOC can turn off abruptly, causing wild temperature swings and other dramatic shifts in global weather systems.

Read more at Climate change almost completely destabilizes Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, study finds - The Washington Post

Britain: Coronavirus: PM Boris Johnson spends night in intensive care after his symptoms worsen

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is spending the night in intensive care at a central London hospital after his coronavirus symptoms worsened.

Downing Street said he was moved to the unit on the advice of his medical team and was receiving "excellent care".

Mr Johnson has asked Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab to deputise "where necessary", a spokesman added.

The prime minister, 55, was admitted to St Thomas' Hospital with "persistent symptoms" on Sunday evening.

The Queen has been kept informed about Mr Johnson's health by No 10, according to Buckingham Palace.

World leaders - including US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron - have expressed their support for Mr Johnson.

BBC political correspondent Chris Mason said the prime minister was given oxygen late on Monday afternoon, before being taken to intensive care.

The move means the prime minister is closer to a ventilator - which takes over the body's breathing process - although it is understood he is not on one.

Read more at: Coronavirus: Boris Johnson spends night in intensive care after symptoms worsen - BBC News

EU -The Netherlands: Dutch Exceptionalism: Will Holland's Looser Corona Policies Pay Off?

One EU country after the other is moving to restrict public life. The Dutch government has opted for less drastic measures, hoping for herd immunity and relying on the common sense of its people. But the country has still had to make adjustments to its policies.

The Big Bazar in Winterswijk is, as usual, full of "Big Deals!" despite the coronavirus. Plastic footballs, clothespins for hanging laundry, flower pots and various other things are for sale at the store in the Dutch border town. There’s a stand with jackets in front of the clothing shop next door and the drug store Kruidvat across the street has a special offer on creme. People seem relaxed as they stroll through the pedestrian zone and there's not a face mask to be seen. If you visited Winterswijk last Saturday, you could have been forgiven for thinking that the pandemic doesn’t even exist here. But just 10 kilometers away, in the town of Vreden on the German side of the border, almost all the stores have been closed for several days.

Opposition politicians in the Netherlands have been highly critical of the strategy. "Many Dutch people feel like they are being made part of a big experiment,” Lodwijk Asscher, the head of the country’s center-left Social Democratic Party has said. Right-wing radical politician Geert Wilders has said: "Rutte is playing Russian roulette with our people. Many people will get sick as a result. People will die.” Scientists believe that 60 to 70 percent of the population would have to come into contact with the virus to achieve herd immunity, the equivalent of more than 10 million Dutch people. Even with a low mortality among the young and the fittest, this would mean thousands of deaths. And the health system would soon be at its limits.

Read more: Dutch Exceptionalism: Will Holland's Looser Corona Policies Pay Off? - DER SPIEGEL