Countries across Europe are struggling to tackle the highly contagious Omicron coronavirus variant with a combination of lockdowns and vaccine passports.
Germany reported more than 100,000 cases for the first time while France, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Bulgaria and Slovenia all suffered another day of record numbers.
In England, infection numbers are dropping after a mini-lockdown that included a booster vaccination drive and the requirement of vaccine passports for some events. These measures, known as Plan B, were removed on Wednesday.
The UK was among the first countries in Europe to see cases rise as Omicron became the dominant variant.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is seeking to introduce compulsory vaccinations to ramp up the immunity of the country's 83 million people, of which 60 million are fully vaccinated.
But resistance has been growing in the country where the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine was first developed.
Germany recorded 112,323 new Covid-19 cases and another 239 deaths on Wednesday, data from the Robert Koch Institute show.
The weekly incidence rate reached 584.4 new infections per 100,000 people over the past seven days. That figure was 497.1 four days ago and 470.6 last Friday.
Germany has introduced some curbs to stop the spread of the disease, such as limiting access to restaurants to people who have received booster shots or those who have been tested on top of being fully vaccinated or recently recovered.
Contact restrictions are also in place keeping private gatherings to 10 people, or two households if an unvaccinated person is present.
Omicron now accounts for 70 per cent of cases in Germany.
In neighbouring France, another record high was registered for the previous 24 hours, with 464,769 new cases.
President Emmanuel Macron has backed strict vaccine passports as a way of hassling the unvaccinated into receiving the injection.
He said: “I won't send [the unvaccinated] to prison, I won't vaccinate by force. So we have to tell them: from January 15, you will no longer be able to go to restaurants. You will no longer be able to go for a coffee, you will no longer be able to go to the theatre. You will no longer be able to go to the cinema.
“[The unvaccinated] come to undermine the strength of a nation. When my freedoms threaten those of others, I become someone irresponsible. Someone irresponsible is not a citizen.”
Slovakia is aiming to limit access to what its government considers the riskiest events and public gatherings.
To attend weddings, parties and swimming centres, people need to have received a booster shot, be fully vaccinated and also be tested for or have recovered from Covid-19.
The Czech government is deciding whether to continue mandatory vaccinations for workers in key professions and people over 60 after 28,469 new cases were recorded.
Polish state employees will move to remote working and private sector companies could be next as the country faces another surge in daily Covid cases.
On Wednesday, Switzerland’s Federal Council extended work-from-home measures until the end of February.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Types of bank fraud
1) Phishing
Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.
2) Smishing
The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.
3) Vishing
The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.
4) SIM swap
Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.
5) Identity theft
Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.
6) Prize scams
Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.
If you go
The flights
Etihad (etihad.com) flies from Abu Dhabi to Luang Prabang via Bangkok, with a return flight from Chiang Rai via Bangkok for about Dh3,000, including taxes. Emirates and Thai Airways cover the same route, also via Bangkok in both directions, from about Dh2,700.
The cruise
The Gypsy by Mekong Kingdoms has two cruising options: a three-night, four-day trip upstream cruise or a two-night, three-day downstream journey, from US$5,940 (Dh21,814), including meals, selected drinks, excursions and transfers.
The hotels
Accommodation is available in Luang Prabang at the Avani, from $290 (Dh1,065) per night, and at Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp and Resort from $1,080 (Dh3,967) per night, including meals, an activity and transfers.
Cherry
Directed by: Joe and Anthony Russo
Starring: Tom Holland, Ciara Bravo
1/5
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
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