liberty - Page 2

AMSTERDAM (AP) – Thousands of people in the capital of the Netherlands defied a ban and gathered Sunday for a demonstration against the Dutch government’s coronavirus lockdown measures before police pushed the crowd off an Amsterdam square.

PARIS (AP) – France’s government is forging ahead with efforts to increase pressure on unvaccinated people to get coronavirus jabs, as the omicron variant fuels a record surge in infections.

France announced new coronavirus regulations for the coming weeks including compulsory mask-wearing on city streets. 

New post-Christmas restrictions aiming to curb the spread of COVID-19 came into force in three out of four of Britain’s Home Nations on Boxing Day.

Anti-Covid passport protestors broke through a police line to protest in front of the Romanian parliament, entering the building’s courtyard before being stopped by police.

The implementation of vaccine passports in France is a “disguised” mandate, the country’s Minister of Health admitted on Sunday.

The Austrian government has announced that it will allow unvaccinated people to enjoy Christmas and New Year’s Eve without being under lockdown restrictions — but some limitations will still apply.

Leading political figures in Germany have signalled that they would support a vaccine registry to collect a list of those vaccinated.

An Irish grandma who violated the nation’s mask mandate is to spend Christmas behind bars after being sentenced to a year in prison.

Central London descended into chaotic scenes on Saturday after police squared off with demonstrators in a large-scale protest against the latest coronavirus restrictions.

Former Slovakian prime minister Robert Fico was arrested on live television this week after attempting to give a statement ahead of a planned protest that would defy the country’s Wuhan virus restrictions.

The British government is reportedly drafting plans for a two-week “circuit breaker” lockdown amid doomsday predictions from scientific advisors.

Conservative lockdown-sceptic MP Steve Baker has accused Boris Johnson’s government of creating a “miserable dystopia” in pushing for new coronavirus restrictions.

Britain’s Health Secretary Sajid Javid has revealed that the double-vaccinated will no longer be entitled to Covid passes “once all adults have had a reasonable chance to get their booster jab”. 

Boris Johnson appeared to issue a veiled threat to citizens that failing to “get boosted” as a matter of urgency could see their “freedoms” and “way of life” taken away in an address to the nation.

BERLIN (AP) – German lawmakers are debating a bill Friday that would require staff at hospitals and nursing homes to get vaccinated against the coronavirus or risk losing their jobs.

The introduction of Covid passes in England will lead to mandatory vaccination, creating a “subclass of people who are treated as unclean, unsafe, and excluded”, privacy and civil liberties campaign group Big Brother Watch has warned.

Restoring the economy and lowering inflation top the set of issues voters have in mind when considering who they will support in the 2022 midterm elections, and voters are more concerned about “respecting individual rights and liberty” over combatting the coronavirus pandemic, a Convention of States/Trafalgar Group survey released Thursday found. 

The leader of the Scottish wing of the Conservative Party has spoken out against Prime Minister Boris Johnson on vaccine passports and said he should go if he misled Parliament about an alleged lockdown-breaking Christmas party at Downing Street.

MILAN (AP) – Italy is making life more uncomfortable for unvaccinated people this holiday season, excluding them from indoor restaurants, theatres, and museums starting Monday to reduce the spread of coronavirus and encourage vaccine sceptics to get their shots.

Markus Lohi, chairman of the Finnish parliament’s Social Affairs and Health Committee, has said he will not support a European Union-wide vaccine mandate.

Brexit leader Nigel Farage has exclaimed “thank goodness we left” the EU in response to reports that the head of the bloc, European Commission Ursula von der Leyen saying mandatory vaccination should be considered, while countries like Greece are threatening to fine senior citizens for every month they go unvaccinated.

The Greek government will fine all unvaccinated people aged 60 and older €100 (£85/$113) every month before mandatory vaccination is enforced next month. 

Austrian ski slopes have been allowed to remain open while the rest of the country languishes in a 20-day lockdown.

Ten of thousands of people demonstrated through Brussels on Sunday to protest lockdown restrictions imposed by the Belgian government.

There are growing calls within Germany to follow the lead of neighbouring Austria and mandate vaccines for the Chinese coronavirus.

Mass demonstrations erupted across Europe on Saturday with anti-lockdown protests being staged in Vienna, Rome, and The Netherlands.

Police have said at least two people may have been shot as a result of officers firing warning shots during violent protests in Rotterdam on Friday evening, as demonstrations against the Dutch government’s decision to enact another coronavirus lockdown descended into chaotic riots.

The Austrian government has announced it will be forcing all residents to take a Wuhan virus vaccine. Those who refuse will face heavy fines and possible prison sentences starting in February.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has refused to rule out a winter lockdown leaving Briton’s facing the prospect of a lonely Christmas yet again. 

The Austrian government has imposed a nationwide stay-at-home lockdown exclusively on the unvaccinated, in what opposition politicians have denounced as a “corona apartheid system”.

Chancellor Angela Merkel told the citizens of Germany that it is their “duty” to get vaccinated and compared the coronavirus pandemic to the alleged climate crisis.

European Union member-state Latvia has banned unvaccinated MPs from voting in its parliament, as well as docking their pay.

VIENNA (AP) – Austria is implementing a lockdown for unvaccinated people in two hard-hit regions next week and looks poised to move forward with similar measures nationwide, Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg said Friday.

Van Morrison is being sued for libel by Northern Ireland’s Health Minister after the singer called him “dangerous” for his lockdown policies.

The UK is set to change the definition of ‘fully vaccinated’ to mean three jabs and will impose travel restrictions on people with only two.