This month in pictures

DENMARK WILL REOPEN SCHOOLS FOR CHILDREN NEXT WEEK

Denmark will take the first step towards easing its coronavirus lockdown next week, reopening schools for the youngest children, the Nordic country’s government said on Monday. Denmark, in a tough coronavirus lockdown since December, saw a decline in new coronavirus infections and hospitalizations in January after a drastic increase in the previous month. Schools will reopen for children in 1st to 4th grade starting next Monday, Health Minister Magnus Heunicke told a news briefing.

FLYDUBAI SAYS CATANIA AND NAPLES, SALZBURG AND MALTA WILL BE JOINING ITS EUROPEAN NETWORK

Flydubai, the Dubai-based airline, today announced that Catania and Naples in Italy, Salzburg in Austria and Malta will be joining its European network from May 2021. The carrier has grown its network to more than 65 destinations as countries continue to gradually lift travel restrictions.

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AS PANDEMIC WORSENS, PORTUGAL REPORTS NEARLY HALF OF ALL ITS COVID-19 DEATHS IN JANUARY

Portugal reported close to half of all its COVID-19 deaths in January, highlighting the severe worsening of the pandemic in a country whose plight has caused several European nations to offer help. Hospitals across the nation of just over 10 million appear on the verge of collapse, with ambulances queuing sometimes for hours for lack of beds and some health units struggling to find enough refrigerated space to preserve the bodies of the deceased.

ITALY’S MUSEUMS REOPEN AGAIN AFTER COVID-19 CLOSURE

People visit the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy, as it reopened on Thursday. Museums and archaeological sites in ‘yellow zone’ regions reopened to the public again after being shut due to the coronavirus pandemic lockdown.

AMAZON TO OPEN TWO NEW HUBS IN ITALY THIS YEAR

Amazon will open two new logistics centres in Italy this year, investing over 230 million euros ($278 million), the world’s largest online retailer said on Monday. With the two new hubs- a distribution centre in the north-western city of Novara and a fulfilment centre close to the city of Modena – Amazon will create 1,100 new jobs in the coming three years.

CHINA COMPLETES BUILDING OF FIRST OF 6 OF TEMPORARY HOSPITAL IN 5 DAYS

China’s Covid-19 situation was often seen as being under control. The recent arrival of the WHO delegation to investigate the origins of the pandemic, was preluded with a series of news releases related to an ‘increase in cases’ in certain areas. Whether this is coincidental or not is to be seen, given China’s release of information.

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SINOVAC SAYS ITS COVID-19 VACCINE MORE EFFECTIVE WITH LONGER DOSING INTERVAL

China’s Sinovac Biotech said on Monday that a clinical trial in Brazil showed its COVID-19 vaccine was almost 20 percentage points more effective in a small sub-group of patients who received their two doses longer apart. The protection rate for 1,394 participants who received doses of either CoronaVac or placebo three weeks apart was nearly 70%, a Sinovac spokesman said.

DEAD WHALE REMOVED FROM ITALIAN PORT OF SORRENTO

Photos made available by the press office of the Italian Coast Guard (Guardia Costiera) shows the complex operations of removal and transport of a specimen of whale identified last 17 January, in the port of Sorrento, southern Italy, 20 January 2021.

BRITISH TO FACE BAN ON ENTERING EU UNDER GERMAN PLAN TO SHUT BORDERS

European governments would be allowed to ban all UK residents from entering their countries and cut all passenger transport links with Britain under a German proposal to the European Union, the Times reported on Thursday. EU member states are free to impose temporary bans on entry and on transporting passengers entering from non-EU countries with virus variant areas, the Times reported citing a draft proposal reviewed by the newspaper.

LLOYD AUSTIN BECOMES AMERICA’S FIRST BLACK DEFENSE SECRETARY

The retired Army general Lloyd Austin made history on Friday by becoming America’s first Black defense secretary, arriving at the Pentagon minutes after his Senate confirmation to a busy schedule that included a call with NATO’s secretary general. “See you around campus,” the 67-year-old Austin said as he greeted reporters on the steps of the Pentagon.

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KOBE BRYANT MURAL IN TAGUIG, PHILIPPINES

An image taken with a drone shows a mural of the late former Los Angeles Lakers basketball player Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna at a housing community on their death anniversary in Taguig, Philippines, 26 January 2021. Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter were killed along with seven others in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, the USA on 26 January 2020.

AUSCHWITZ SURVIVORS MARK ANNIVERSARY VIRTUALLY AMID PANDEMIC FEARS

Marian Turski, a 94-year-old survivor of the Auschwitz death camp, will mark the 76th anniversary of its liberation by Soviet troops on Wednesday only virtually, aware that he might never return as the coronavirus pandemic drags on.