Billie Eilish said the current president was destroying the United States. Despite that, he tried to recruit her for his campaign. A strong earthquake in Turkey has claimed lives, and the search continues. France faces further attacks, Emmanuel Macron plunges into uncertainty. In the Czech Republic, more and more people are on sick leave as coronavirus cases are rapidly growing. Enjoy our very first weekend early bird - come and see what's going on in our country as well as in the world.
At least 26 people died in Turkey and Greece when a strong earthquake struck the Aegean Sea on Friday afternoon, bringing buildings crashing down and setting off tidal waves that can be described as a "mini tsunami".
Authorities said that 24 people were killed in Turkish coastal cities. Two teenagers died on the Greek island of Samos after a wall had collapsed on them. In Turkey alone, at least 20 buildings in Izmir have been destroyed. Around 800 people were injured, dozens of which have been saved by rescue teams using excavators and helicopters. A total of 196 tremors have been recorded during the earthquake. Search operations continue in seventeen buildings. Idil Gungor, who works as a journalist and runs a guesthouse in the Turkish town of Siğacik in Izmir province, stated the area was more damaged by the force of the water than by the earthquake itself.
Billie Eilish was among hundreds of celebrities approached by the Trump administration for a Covid-19 ad campaign. According to Trump, recruiting celebrities should help facilitate hope and positive thinking. The young singer made it clear through social networks that she didn't agree with Trump.
"Donald Trump is destroying our country and everything we care about. We need leaders who will solve problems like climate change and COVID, not deny them, leaders who will fight against systemic racism and inequality. It starts with a vote against Donald Trump and for Joe Biden,"
In the first half of this year, the number of sick leaves increased by up to a tenth compared to last year. More than a million new cases of temporary incapacity for work have been reported. In 91%, these were due to illness, the remaining 9% being incapacity for work due to work and other accidents.
"Because of temporary incapacity for work due to illness or injury, an average of 261 thousand employees per day were absent from their workplaces in the first six months of this year, i.e. 31 thousand more than in the first half of last year,"
The situation is, of course, strongly affected by the pandemic and related government measures. The number of sick notes issued due to illness increased by 12% year-on-year, i.e. by more than 100,000.
For the second time in mere weeks, France is recovering from a brutal attack attributed to Islamist terrorism. On Thursday, three people were stabbed to death in a church in Nice. While the investigation is still ongoing, French President Emmanuel Macron said after the incident that the country had been attacked by "Islamist and terrorist madness." The killings followed an attack on teacher Samuel Paty, who had shown students in his class a cartoon caricature in the magazine Charlie Hebdo depicting the Prophet Muhammad.
On Friday, the Berlin Madame Tussauds Wax Museum loaded its wax effigy of the infamous Republican President Donald Trump into a dumpster. This bold move obviously reflects their expectations for next week's presidential election.
"Today’s activity is rather of a symbolic character ahead of the elections in the United States. We here at Madame Tussauds Berlin removed Donald Trump’s waxwork as a preparatory measure,"
Trump has long followed his Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, in national opinion polls, also due to the widespread disapproval of his manipulation of the coronavirus pandemic that has engulfed Europe and the United States. Recent opinion polls have shown that he is in the lead in several key states.
On Friday, Apple promised that they would replace all AirPods Pro headphones that have sound problems. There have been complaints of static or crackling sounds that increases in loud environments and isszes with active sound cancellations. Owners who have experienced any of these issues may contact Apple online. The replacement only applies to the headphones themselves, not to the charging case. The cracking issues with AirPods Pro were reported by the users at the beginning of this year. Apple stated that AirPods Pro manufactured after October 2020 has do not have an issues and is the only model that can be replaced.
That's all from us for today, we wish you a beautiful Saturday morning. And although we live in trying times, don'te lose hope, because as the British physicist Stephen Hawking said: