One of the most popular singers of the last decade, Justin Bieber, will have a solo concert on New Year's Eve after more than three years. The British are also having a great day today, as coronavirus vaccination begins in the UK. Facebook and Google, on the other hand, are facing serious issues in Australia. Their position in this country is getting more and more complicated.
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The British are starting to vaccinate against coronavirus
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Zdravotní sestra podává vakcínuSource: Unsplash.com/nci
Three days after coronavirus vaccination has begun in Moscow, where the local government uses Sputnik V, the United Kingdom is also starting to vaccinate. They'll be using a vaccine from Pfizer-BioNTech, which was approved by the British regulatory authority last week. First-line health professionals, healthcare workers and people over the age of 80 should receive their first shots today.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson stated that the vaccination preparations were one of the largest civilian logistics projects in the history of the United Kingdom. It is the largest vaccination event in the country's history. British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that this week would be a historic moment. At first, fifty selected hospitals will start to vaccinate, followed by smaller medical centers and doctor's offices. The vaccine comes at a time when the UK is the third most affected country in Europe, with more than 1.7 million confirmed cases and more than 60,000 deaths linked to COVID-19. A few days ago, Queen Elizabeth II. stated she plans to get vaccinated.
Food sales in the Czech Republic have been growing
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Obchod s potravinamiSource: Pixabay.com/PhotoMIX-Company
Sales in food retail have increased by more than 3.2 percent month-on-month. In the year-on-year comparison, they have grown by another tenth of a percent. On the contrary, measures against the spread of coronavirus, due to which a number of stores offering mainly non-food goods were closed or could operate only in a limited regime this year, caused a decrease in sales of non-food goods. The year-on-year decrease may have been only 0.2%, but sales dropped by almost 4 percentage points month-on-month. The drop in sales is especially noticeable in case of clothing and footwear stores (-36.5%) and products for culture, sports and recreation (-18.8%). Purchases via the Internet or mail order services, on the other hand, have been growing stronger (+ 31.5%).
Pronájem Luxusního mezonetu, 2+kk, Praha, Praha 1
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Facebook and Google should pay for media content
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Chytrý telefon s mobilními aplikacemiSource: Pexels.com/Tracy Le Blanc
Tomorrow, Australia will introduce laws in parliament that mandate Facebook and Google to negotiate how much they would pay local media publishers for shared news content. This is the first similar step in the world made to protect independent journalism. However, the internet giants are complaining, claiming that they're bringing crowds of readers to Australian media websites every year.
"This is a huge reform. We are the first in the world and the whole world is now watching what is happening here in Australia,"
Australian Finance Minister Josh Frydenberg told reporters in the capital. Australia has tried to force the technology giants to negotiate with media publishers before, but no cooperation has taken place.
Justin Bieber is getting ready for a New Year's Eve concert
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Mladý Justin Bieber na koncertním turnéSource: Pexels.com/12019
It will be his first concert since 2017. The 26-year-old Canadian singer is probably the most discussed pop star of the last decade. He became famous at a very young age and traveled around the world multiple times. In November 2016, Czech people could see him at the O2 Arena in Prague. Now he is preparing a special New Year's Eve live concert in cooperation with T-Mobile. It should be a spectacular show on the occasion of the celebration of the arrival of the New Year 2021. For customers of this mobile giant, access to the live stream will be free, others will have to pay $ 25 to watch it (approximately 550 Czech crowns).
"We're working on more surprises to enjoy during this special night. I can't wait to give everyone a safe way to kick 2020 out the door, together,"
Bieber says in a message for his fans. The singer released his new album Changes this year and received three nominations for the prestigious Grammy Awards.
IKEA cancels its catalog after seventy years
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Katalog IKEASource: Unsplash.com/billow926
IKEA has taken a decisive action. After decades, it is canceling the publication of its iconic catalog, which has passed through the hands of hundreds of millions of customers around the world. The Swedish company said it was doing so in response to the growing popularity of online shopping. According to the company's management, this is a very emotional, but also a rational decision. The catalog won't be canceled only in its printed version, but also in the digital one.
"Turning the page with our beloved catalog is in fact a natural process since media consumption and customer behaviors have changed. In order to reach and interact with the many people, we will keep inspiring with our home furnishing solutions in new ways,"
Konrad Grüss, managing director of Inter Ikea Systems B.V., said in a statement. IKEA started publishing the catalog in Sweden in 1951. In 2016 alone, it printed more than 200 million copies in 32 languages.
That's all from us this morning. We hope optimism and joy will be with you throughout the day.
"Above all, learn to be happy. True joy is the most important thing in life,"
said the Roman philosopher Seneca two thousand years ago.
