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Contactless card scams discusses by Which? expert Get pensions news and advice plus latest money alerts for FREE now SUBSCRIBE Invalid email We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info Research carried out by payment provider SumUp found the UK saw an increase of 4.2 percent in the number of transactions paid by contactless cards last year. This represents a rise from 83.5 percent in 2020 to 87 percent in 2021 with the method gaining popularity as a way of paying for goods and services while social distancing during the pandemic. Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk , Nine Etienne, vice president at SumUp, spoke about why the UK has embraced contactless payments compared to its European counterparts. Related articles Women are underpaid by £1bn … [Read more...] about Contactless card payments are more popular in the UK than Europe – why?

5 MOSCOW (AP) — New coronavirus infections in Russia reached an all-time high on Sunday, the third consecutive daily record as the highly contagious omicron variant spreads through the country. The national coronavirus task force reported 63,205 new infections tallied in 24 hours — a spike of more than 25% since the record set on Friday. The task force reported 679 deaths, similar to other daily death counts in the past week. The omicron variant has been detected in 64 of the country’s 89 regions and Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova says that authorities expect it to become the dominant variant. Just about half of Russia’s 146 million people have been fully vaccinated despite the fact that Russia was among the first in the world to approve and roll out a COVID-19 vaccine. In Russia, everyone who received their primary vaccination more than six months ago has been eligible for a booster shot since July. Gogov.ru, an independent … [Read more...] about Russia sets another daily virus record amid omicron surge

26 BRUSSELS (AP) — Police fired water cannons and thick clouds of tear gas Sunday in Brussels to disperse people protesting COVID-19 vaccinations and government restrictions that aim to curb the fast-spreading omicron variant. Police said the protest in the Belgian capital drew an estimated 50,000 people, some traveling from France, Germany and other countries to take part. Protesters yelled “Liberty!” as they marched and some had violent confrontations with police. Video showed black-clad protesters attacking a building used by the European Union’s diplomatic service, hurling projectiles at its entrance and smashing windows. A much smaller number of anti-vaccination demonstrators marched in Barcelona. The protests followed demonstrations in other European capitals on Saturday against vaccine passports and … [Read more...] about Water cannon, tear gas at COVID-19 protests in Brussels

An iconic 747 British Airways has become the first in the world to be transformed into a bar to host lavish plane parties. The BA Negus 'party plane', which was bought for the bargain price of £1, is now in situ at the privately owned Cotswolds Airport - and is available for revellers to hire. It has been remodelled into an events space to host everything from private birthday parties to product launches and corporate events. The aircraft is being preserved at the site near Cirencester after British Airways retired its fleet early because of the travel downturn caused by the pandemic. It was bought for just £1 back in 2020 and has since been a labour of love for the airport's chief executive Suzannah Harvey after British Airways retired its fleet early due to the pandemic. Suzannah said: "I paid a pound for her, and we have a certain obligation to maintain it as is practical for public use. "The company has had to spend nearly £500,000 getting her … [Read more...] about Iconic BA jet bought for just £1 transformed into bar to host lavish parties

Published 1 hour ago Share close Share page Copy link About sharing Dutch police say they have found a stowaway alive in the wheel section of a plane that landed at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport from South Africa. Flights from Johannesburg to Amsterdam take about 11 hours, with the cargo plane believed to have made one stop, in Nairobi, Kenya. It is very unusual for stowaways on long flights to survive, due to the cold and low oxygen at high altitudes. The man's age and nationality have not yet been determined, police say. Do any plane stowaways survive? "The man was found alive in the nose wheel section of the plane and was taken to hospital in a stable condition," Royal Dutch Military Police spokeswoman Joanna Helmonds told the AFP news agency. "It is quite remarkable that the man is still alive," she said. A spokesperson for freight carrier Cargolux confirmed in … [Read more...] about Stowaway found in South Africa plane wheel at Amsterdam airport

Simon Calder says travelling to Florida was easier the Europe Discover the best city breaks, beach holidays, cruises and UK travel spots by signing up SUBSCRIBE Invalid email We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info Located in the Mediterranean sea, the island of Cyprus is renowned for natural beauty and stunning beaches. It’s not hard to see why British expats are keen to settle there. Related articles ‘Pathetic’ : Expat in Spain ‘upset’ by ‘terrible state’ of property British expat in Cyprus says ‘isolation is a regular feeling’ Pantelis Leptos, co-president of Leptos Group of Companies, told Express.co.uk : “There are approximately 70,000 British expats living in Cyprus. “Permanent residency status in Cyprus can be … [Read more...] about ‘All-year sunshine’ British expats moving to Cyprus for ‘best fast-track’ residency option

Dozens of people queue outside a pharmacy for a COVID-19 antigenic test on January 19, 2022 in Savenay, western France France, as Covid-19 cases soar in Europe. (Photo by LOIC VENANCE / AFP) COPENHAGEN — The Omicron variant has moved the COVID-19 pandemic into a new phase and could bring it to an end in Europe, the WHO Europe director said Sunday. “It’s plausible that the region is moving towards a kind of pandemic endgame,” Hans Kluge told AFP in an interview, adding that Omicron could infect 60 percent of Europeans by March. Once the current surge of Omicron currently sweeping across Europe subsides, “there will be for quite some weeks and months a global immunity, either thanks to the vaccine or because people have immunity due to the infection, and also lowering seasonality.” “So we anticipate that there will be a period of quiet before Covid-19 may come back towards the end of the year, but not necessarily the pandemic coming back,” Kluge said. The Omicron variant, … [Read more...] about Europe could be headed for pandemic ‘endgame’– WHO

A man has appeared in court charged with the murder of an 86-year-old woman in an attack which also left her husband fighting for his life in hospital. Vasile Culea was arrested on Thursday after Freda Walker was killed in a violent incident at her home in Langwith Junction, Shirebrook, near Bolsover in Derbyshire. The 33-year-old suspect appeared at Nottingham Magistrates' Court on Saturday and followed proceedings through a Romanian interpreter. Mrs Walker's 88-year-old husband Kenneth suffered life-threatening injuries in the incident. A concerned neighbour found the couple at the property in Station Road at 9am on January 15. Culea spoke only to confirm his name, address and date of birth during a short hearing. Culea spoke only to confirm his name, address and date of birth during a short hearing The charges allege the defendant murdered Mrs Walker on January 14 and attempted to murder Mr Walker on the same date. Police previously said one of their leading … [Read more...] about Man charged with murder of pensioner, 86, in home attack appears in court

Published 5 minutes ago Share close Share page Copy link About sharing Related Topics The Holocaust A Dutch tourist has been detained in Poland for giving the Nazi salute at the site of the former Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp, local police say. The 29-year-old woman made the gesture in front of the Arbeit Macht Frei (Work Sets You Free) gate. The woman - who has not been named - was later charged with engaging in Nazi propaganda. Prosecutors issued a fine, which she agreed to pay. The woman said the act had been a bad joke, Poland's PAP news agency reports. She had been posing for a photo taken by her husband at the time. Nazi Germany built the death camp in the southern Polish town of Oswiecim after occupying Poland at the start of World War Two in 1939. 'I survived two concentration camps' The families who weren't meant to live Holocaust row seethes as … [Read more...] about Auschwitz: Dutch tourist fined over Nazi salute at former death camp

News Desk (Agence France-Presse) Paris, France   ● Thu, February 25, 2021 2021-02-25 22:00 332 559f5bc8c5224ad06a25184c0a214830 2 World France,Nuclear,energy-mix,nuclear-power-generation,Europe,energy Free French safety officials on Thursday gave the green light to extend the lifetime of the country's oldest nuclear power plants as it seeks to boost the share of renewables in its power mix. Nuclear energy currently provides nearly 70 percent of French electricity, more than in any other country. France, hoping to reduce that share to 50 percent by 2035 -- a target pushed back from an earlier 2025 date -- with the help of renewables, has been holding off from building new reactors. The number of French reactors, at 56, is second in the world only to the United States which operates 85. The French nuclear safety authority (ASN) said the country's 32 plants with 900 Megawatt capacity, built mostly in the 1980s, would be allowed to operate for another … [Read more...] about France to extend lifetime of old nuclear power plants