EU: Electric car sales accelerate as Europe turns away from diesel

Europeans bought as many hybrid cars as they did diesel in Europe in 2021 for the first time as the European Commission presses forward with its intention to ban the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles by 2035.

Sales of non-rechargeable hybrids - vehicles that run on fuel but also have an electric component that reduces consumption - were up 60% on the previous year and amounted to almost 20% of the total market share.

That is on a par with ordinary diesel vehicles, sales of which fell by 31% across the continent, according to the Association of European Manufacturers (ACEA).

Read more at: Electric car sales accelerate as Europe turns away from diesel | Euronews

Britain reports 35,077 new COVID-19 cases on Monday

Britain on Monday reported 35,077 new daily COVID-19 cases, up from the 30,439 cases reported a day earlier, government statistics showed, with a further 33 deaths within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test result.

Read more at: Britain reports 35,077 new COVID-19 cases on Monday | Reuters

Coronavirus Cases: U.S. child COVID-19 cases continue to rise as kids return to school

Children represented over 20 percent of weekly COVID-19 cases in the United States by the end of August, according to a report by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children's Hospital Association.

A total of 203,962 child COVID-19 cases were reported in the week from Aug. 19 to Aug. 26, accounting for 22.4 percent of the weekly reported cases in the country, said the report.

Over two weeks from Aug. 12 to Aug. 26, there was a 9 percent increase in the cumulated number of child COVID-19 cases, it said.

Read more at: U.S. child COVID-19 cases continue to rise as kids return to school - Xinhua

Corona Pandemic: Israel was down to a handful of daily COVID cases. Now it's around 11,000. What happened?

Just months ago, Israel was a world leader in vaccinating its population and appeared to be putting a stranglehold on the virus that causes COVID-19, wrestling down its daily case count to double digits — and at times, near zero.

But any potential celebration was short-lived, as the more contagious delta variant gained traction and spread quickly, to the point where Israel's most recent daily case count was around 11,000 — a level not seen since January.

Read more at: Israel was down to a handful of daily COVID cases. Now it's around 11,000. What happened? | CBC News

Coronavirus - it ain't over yet: World Reaches Grim Milestone of 200 Million COVID Cases Globally, as Delta Variant Surges

The total number of recorded COVID-19 cases worldwide has hit 200 million on Wednesday, according to the John Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center.

This milestone, which does not account for any cases that have gone unrecorded is disconcerting as the world grapples with a surging Delta variant. It is a record number that stands to prove how much the virus has affected the globe as the more infectious variant continues to threaten areas with low vaccination rates and puts immense strains on the world's healthcare systems.

Read more at: World Reaches Grim Milestone of 200 Million COVID Cases Globally, as Delta Variant Surges

US Economy: Unfilled jobs, unemployment and price rises show Biden's spending plans carry major risks - by W. James Antle III

We're a long way from the stagflation of those bad old days under President Jimmy Carter, with the economy growing at a brisk 6.4 percent annual rate as the world reopens and the pandemic recedes. Still, a recent spate of bad economic news in what should be a fairly robust recovery is a warning that President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats' approach to fiscal policy could reap negative unintended consequences.

Read more at: W. James Antle III: Unfilled jobs, unemployment and price rises show Biden's spending plans carry major risks

US jobless claims rise to 898,000 with layoffs still high - by C. Rugaber

The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits rose last week by the most in two months, to 898,000, a historically high number and evidence that layoffs remain a hindrance to the economy’s recovery from the pandemic recession.

Thursday’s report from the Labor Department coincides with other recent data that have signaled a slowdown in hiring. The economy is still roughly 10.7 million jobs short of recovering all the 22 million jobs that were lost when the pandemic struck in early spring.

Read more at: 
US jobless claims rise to 898,000 with layoffs still high

Natural Disasters - Chart: Natural Disasters on the Rise Around the Globe - by Katharina Buchholz

 MunichRe registered 820 natural disasters causing insured losses in 2019 - three times as many as thirty years ago. Some – but not all – of that rise can be chalked up to more people carrying insurance.

MunichRe estimates that the share of natural disaster losses which are insured only doubled since 1980.

Read more at:
• Chart: Natural Disasters on the Rise Around the Globe | Statista

USA: April jobs report: 20.5M become unemployed as COVID-19 spreads

Some 30% of America’s economy has evaporated, leading to 20.5 million job losses and soaring unemployment.

Read more at:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2020/05/08/april-jobs-reports-20-5-m-become-unemployed-covid-19-spreads/3090664001/

Populism in Europe: Rise in populism threatens European democracy, warns Tony Blair think tank - by Gavin Gordon

Europe has seen a surge in support for “populist” political parties which threatens to destabilise democracy across the continent, a report by Tony Blair’s think tank has warned.

The survey by the former Prime Minister’s Institute for Global Change found the share of the vote taken by populist parties from both right and left has almost trebled since 2000 – rising from 8.5 to 24.1 per cent.

Over the same period, it said the number of European countries with populist parties participating in government has doubled from seven to 14 – creating an unprecedented “populist belt” from the Baltic to the Aegean.

Read more at: Rise in populism threatens European democracy, warns Tony Blair think tank | The Independent

USA:Trump doesn’t think white nationalism is a threat — but data says otherwise - by Kelly Cohen

Nearly 50 people were allegedly killed by a man in New Zealand who was inspired by white nationalist ideas.

The US is no better off.

After a gunman inspired by the white nationalist ideas that fuel violence and attempted violence in the United States and elsewhere allegedly killed 49 people at mosques in New Zealand Friday, Donald Trump was asked whether he thought white nationalism is a global rising threat.

The United States president responded: “I don’t really.”

But as evidenced by reports from civil liberties groups and American justice officials’ own data, domestic terrorism, specifically white supremacy, is on the rise in the United States.

Data released earlier this month by the Anti-Defamation League shows white supremacists’ propaganda efforts increased 182 percent last year, with 1,187 distributions across the US in 2018, up from 421 total incidents reported in 2017.

The number of racist rallies and demonstrations also rose last year: The ADL data released in February shows at least 91 white supremacist rallies or other public events attended by white supremacists were held in 2018, up from 76 the previous year.

Read more: Trump doesn’t think white nationalism is a threat — but data says otherwise

Global Warming: Fears rise 'world's most dangerous glacier' could soon collapse - by Mark Prigg

A gigantic cavity two-thirds the area of Manhattan and almost 1,000 feet (300 meters) tall has been found growing at the bottom of Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica.

About the size of Florida, Thwaites Glacier is currently responsible for approximately 4 percent of global sea level rise.

It holds enough ice to raise the world ocean a little over 2 feet (65 centimeters) and backstops neighboring glaciers that would raise sea levels an additional 8 feet (2.4 meters) if all the ice were lost.

The giant cavity is just one of several disturbing discoveries reported in a new NASA-led study of the disintegrating glacier.

Researchers expected to find some gaps between ice and bedrock at Thwaites' bottom where ocean water could flow in and melt the glacier from below.

However, the size and 'explosive growth rate' of the newfound hole surprised them.

The collapse of the Thwaites Glacier would cause an increase of global sea level of between one and two metres (three and six feet), with the potential for more than twice that from the entire West Antarctic Ice Sheet

Read more at: Fears rise 'world's most dangerous glacier' could soon collapse | Daily Mail Onlin