Cyprus asylum seekers head for new lives in Italy thanks to pope

Six asylum seekers Pope Francis is helping relocate from Cyprus expressed gratitude and hope as they left to start their new lives in Italy on Thursday barely a week before Christmas.
#cyprus #pope #christmas

'Panic' in Britain as Omicron crisis bites ahead of Christmas

Soaring Omicron cases left Britons scrambling Thursday to make alternative Christmas plans, faced with cancellations, long queues for vaccines and France shutting the border to UK visitors.
#britain #omicronvariant

Biden warns of 'winter of death' for unvaccinated as Omicron spreads

US President Joe Biden warned Thursday of a "winter of severe illness and death" for those unvaccinated against Covid-19, as the G7 called the Omicron variant the biggest threat to global public health.
#biden #us #omicronvariant

A UK school reportedly apologised after pictures of its 'grim' Christmas lunch went viral

Parents said they were left "upset" and "disgusted" by a Christmas meal served at Steyning Grammar School and Sixth Form College in West Sussex, United Kingdom on Tuesday. In a local Facebook group, parents described the meal which consisted of a bread roll, slice of turkey, pig in a blanket, mince pie, and a ball of stuffing as "disgusting"
#uk #lunch #christmas #steyninggrammarschool

27 feared dead after fire sweeps through building in Japan's Osaka

Twenty-seven people were feared dead after a blaze swept through a commercial building housing a mental health clinic in the Japanese city of Osaka on Friday, fire officials said.
#japan #fire #osaka

Austria approves legalising assisted dying

Austria's parliament on Thursday approved legalising assisted suicide from January in response to a court ruling that the current ban violated fundamental rights. A year ago, the constitutional court ordered the government to lift the existing ban on assisted dying, which is punishable by up to five years in prison.
#austria #dying

Fake gynaecologist snares 400 women in webcam scam in Italy

Italian police on Friday searched the house of suspected serial sexual predator believed to have posed as a gynaecologist to persuade dozens of women to undergo vaginal exams via weblink.
#italy #italianpolice

Elon Musk named 'Person of the Year' by Financial Times

The Financial Times newspaper has followed the Time magazine in naming Elon Musk, the chief executive officer of Tesla Inc, as its "Person of the Year", commending him for the work done in transforming the electric vehicle industry.
#elonmusk #tesla #financialtimes

Trailblazing US feminist author bell hooks, 69, dies

Iconic American Black feminist author bell hooks, known for her trailblazing works on the intersection of gender, race and class, died Wednesday aged 69, her family said.
#usauthor #bellhook

Elon Musk says Jeff Bezos takes himself 'a bit too seriously'

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO said his fellow billionaire "does take himself a bit too seriously," in an interview with the Financial Times published on Wednesday naming him its Person of the Year. Musk and Bezos, the two richest people on the planet, have feuded for going on two decades. 
#jeffbezos #elonmusk #spacex