Nine people were arrested Saturday in Denmark at demonstrations against COVID-19 restrictions imposed to curb the surge of the virus, according to local sources.
The protests were organized by a social media movement, Men in Black, in Copenhagen and Aalborg, the fourth largest city.
Demonstrators shouted slogans against Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, and claimed the restrictions are exaggerated, unnecessary and not related to the coronavirus but for public control.
Protesters wanted to regain their freedom, which is restricted by the pandemic. They shouted, "We have had enough, freedom for people."
Police intervened after protesters threw fireworks and empty bottles at officers.
Four people were arrested in Copenhagen and five in Aalborg.
Denmark has a rule that limits a maximum of five people to congregate but demonstrations cannot be prohibited due to a "freedom of assembly" article in the Constitution.
Since December 2019, the pandemic has claimed more than 1.9 million lives in 191 countries and regions.
More than 89 million cases have been reported worldwide, with recoveries nearing 49.7 million, according to figures compiled by US-based Johns Hopkins University.
The US, India, and Brazil remain the worst-hit countries for infections.

‘We have had enough, freedom for people’ shouted at Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen

Four people were arrested in Copenhagen and five in Aalborg

9 arrested at coronavirus protests in Denmark

“Bye bye family. We’re heading home for now,” Ratih Windania posted on Instagram from Jakarta’s airport with pictures of three laughing children and two emojis blowing kisses.The message was sent just before they boarded a plane from the Indonesian capital on Saturday that crashed into the sea minutes after take-off, carrying 62 passengers and crew.
-Pray for us- her brother Irfansyah Riyanto posted on Instagram with a picture of the family.
Indonesian authorities said they had recovered pieces of wreckage and body parts on Sunday from the waters north of the capital where Sriwijaya Air Flight SJ 182 disappeared in rainy weather.
Like dozens of other desperate relatives, Irfansyah rushed to Jakarta’s Soekarno Hatta airport late on Saturday. On Sunday, he was still hoping for good news about his sister and four other family members on the flight, including his parents.
-We feel powerless, we can only wait and hope to have any information soon- Irfansyah told reporters.
Irfansyah said his relatives had originally been due to take an earlier flight operated by Sriwijaya’s unit NAM Air and he was unclear why that was changed.
His sister and her two children had been at the end of a three-week holiday and were taking the 740 km (460 mile) trip home to Pontianak on the island of West Kalimantan.
-I was the one who drove them to the airport, helped with the check-ins and the luggage ... I feel like I still can’t believe this and it happened too fast- Irfansyah said.
The flight disappeared from radar screens minutes after the plane took off and reached an altitude of 10,900 feet.

Indonesian authorities said they had tracked signals likely from the plane’s black boxes on Sunday. Police asked families to provide information to help identify any bodies retrieved such as dental records and DNA samples.
At the police hospital, the brother of co-pilot Diego Mamahit said he had been asked for a blood sample.
-I believe my younger brother survived, these are just for the police procedure- Chris Mamahit said. -Diego is a good man, we still believe Diego survived.-
On his LinkedIn profile, Mahamit had written -I really love to fly.-
He and pilot Afwan, who goes by only one name, had nearly two decades of commercial flying experience between them. Afwan had previously been an air force pilot.
-We the family still hope for good news- a family member of Afwan, a devout Muslim, told Detik.com.
President Joko Widodo offered sympathy on Sunday.
-We are making our best efforts to find and rescue the victims and we all pray that they can be found- he said.
Panca Widiya Nursanti, a middle-school teacher in Pontianak, had been returning after a vacation in her home town of Tegal in Central Java. In Pontianak, her husband Rafiq Yusuf Al Idrus recounted the last contact he had with her.
-I was joking by saying that when she arrived in Pontianak we would eat satay together- he said.
-She contacted me via Whatsapp at 2.05 p.m with laughter. She was already boarding the plane and she said the weather conditions were not good. I said pray a lot, please.-

Indonesian authorities said they had recovered pieces of wreckage and body parts on Sunday from the waters north of the capital where Sriwijaya Air Flight SJ 182 disappeared in rainy weather

Sri Lungdiyanti, 41, family member of a Sriwijaya Air passenger reacts after the Flight SJ182 Boeing 737-500, crashed after taking off, in Tegal, Central Java Province, Indonesia, January 10, 2021.

Still hoping: Indonesians await news of relatives on missing plane

A new coronavirus variant was detected in four travellers from Brazil, Japan’s Health Ministry said on Sunday, marking an advance in changes to the pandemic virus.
The new variant is different from those first found in Britain and South Africa, although the three of them share some common mutation, said Takaji Wakita, head of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases.
-I understand a new variant that is different from Britain’s and South Africa’s has been found- Wakita told a health ministry briefing.
Characteristics of the new variant, such as how effective vaccines can be against it and how serious its symptoms can be, are being studied, a health ministry official said.

The new variant is different from those first found in Britain and South Africa, although the three of them share some common mutation

Pedestrians wearing protective masks, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, make their way at Ginza shopping district which closed to cars on Sunday in Tokyo, Japan, January 10, 2021.

New coronavirus variant found in travellers from Brazil: Japan government

Amazon will suspend Parler, the tech giant confirmed Saturday, sending the social media network offline after it was banned by Apple and Google for allowing "threats of violence" in the wake of a deadly riot at the US Capitol.
The Parler social network has become a haven for conservatives who say they have been censored by other social media platforms.
It had soared in popularity in recent months, becoming the No. 1 free app on Apple's App Store on Saturday after the much larger Twitter decided to permanently ban US President Trump from its platform for his role in inciting violence at the Capitol.
Messages of support for the Wednesday's rioters along with calls for new demonstrations had flourished on the platform, leading Google to remove it from its app store on Friday, followed by Apple on Saturday.
Amazon then moved to wipe it from its cloud hosting Amazon Web Services, pushing it offline entirely.
In a letter to Parler first published by Buzzfeed, Amazon said the network was not acting quickly enough against violent content on the platform.
-We've seen a steady increase in this violent content on your website, all of which violates our terms of service- the letter, the contents of which were confirmed to AFP by Amazon, said. 
Given the riot at the Capitol this week, the letter continued, there was a "serious risk that this type of content will further incite violence."
It will suspend the account just before midnight Pacific Standard Time on Sunday (0759 GMT Monday). 
As the group hosts Parler's data on its cloud service, this should prevent it from functioning, at least temporarily.&nbsp;

The founder of Parler, John Matz, confirmed on his profile that there was a possibility the network would be unavailable "for up to a week" as it searches for a new host. 
-We will try our best to move to a new provider right now- he said. 
Amazon's decision has much more far-reaching impact than the moves by Google and Apple. 
They had made it more complicated to download the Parler app, but users could still access it if it was already downloaded or if they were using an internet browser.
-We have always supported diverse points of view being represented on the App Store, but there is no place on our platform for threats of violence and illegal activity- Apple said in a statement Saturday.
-Parler has not taken adequate measures to address the proliferation of these threats to people's safety. We have suspended Parler from the App Store until they resolve these issues.-
Google pulled Parler from its app store for allowing "egregious content" that could incite deadly violence like that seen at the Capitol.
Angry Trump supporters swarmed the building on Wednesday as lawmakers met to certify Joe Biden's November 3 election win, leaving five people -- including a policeman -- dead.
Other mainstream social media networks like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitch have also suspended Trump following the attack on the Capitol.
Matze has said the platform has "many options" for moving ahead.
Parler started in 2018 and was initially a home for the extreme right, but now it attracts more traditional conservative voices including Republican lawmakers.

Other mainstream social media networks like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitch have also suspended Trump

Parler has become a haven for Trump supporters in recent weeks

Amazon pushes Parler offline after Capitol attack

Two former Algerian prime ministers went on trial again Saturday on appeal for corruption, the official APS news agency said, after the supreme court annulled their earlier convictions.
Ahmed Ouyahia and Abdelmalek Sellal both served under former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika.
APS said they were involved in a corruption scandal and accused of covert financing of Bouteflika's final re-election bid.
The new proceedings in the capital Algiers come after the supreme court in November accepted a defence appeal.
Several former ministers and other well-known figures are also on trial over the same affair, APS said.
The trial of Ouyahia and Sellal in December 2019 was the first in a series of high-profile corruption cases launched after Bouteflika resigned earlier that year.
It was also the first time since Algeria's independence from France in 1962 that former prime ministers had been put on trial.
Ouyahia was prime minister four times between 1995 and 2019, and had been sentenced to 15 years behind bars.
Sellal, who served from 2012 to 2017 and managed four of Bouteflika's election campaigns, was sentenced to 12 years in jail.
Their sentences were confirmed on appeal in March.
The pair were sentenced to further jail time in separate cases last year.
Bouteflika, who was Algeria's longest-serving president, was forced to resign in April 2019 after losing the backing of the army amid enormous street protests against his decision to seek a fifth term.
Following his departure, authorities launched a string of investigations against high-ranking former officials and business figures, several of whom have been convicted.
Some see the trials as little more than score-settling between rival clans among the ruling elite, however, rather than a genuine reform effort.&nbsp;

Ahmed Ouyahia and Abdelmalek Sellal both served under former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika

The trial of Ouyahia and Sellal in December 2019 was the first in a series of high-profile corruption cases launched after Bouteflika resigned earlier that year

Former Algeria premiers back on trial for corruption

Four people died in Spain as Storm Filomena caused travel chaos across the country, blanketing Madrid in the heaviest snowfall in decades and forcing authorities to mobilise troops to rescue trapped motorists.Rescue services reached 1,500 people trapped in cars, while skiers glided down Gran Via, normally one of the busiest streets in the capital. Other Madrid residents used the freak blizzard to snowboard down the road or pelt each other with snowballs.
A man and woman who were traveling in a car drowned after a river burst its banks near Malaga, southern Spain, and two homeless people froze to death, one in Madrid and the other in the eastern city of Calatayud, authorities said.
Responding to the events, King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia tweeted: “The royal family would like to express their sorrow for victims of the storm ... and ask for extreme caution against the risks of accumulation of ice and snow.”
Interior minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska urged Spaniards to avoid all but essential travel. “We are facing the most intense storm in the last 50 years,” he said.
More than 650 roads were blocked by snow, said Grande-Marlaska, leaving some drivers stuck in their cars from Friday night until Saturday.
Patricia Manzanares, trapped in her car on the M-40 motorway in Madrid since 7 p.m. on Friday, told RTVE television: “I have been stuck here without water or any other help”.
Aena, which controls the country’s airports, said Madrid’s Barajas airport, which was closed on Friday night, would remain shut for the rest of Saturday. It said at least 50 flights to Madrid, Malaga, Tenerife and Ceuta, a Spanish territory in North Africa, were canceled.
The State Meteorological Agency said it was the heaviest snowfall in Madrid since 1971, while José Miguel Viñas, a meteorologist from Spanish National Radio, said that between 25 cm and 50 cm (10-20 inches) had fallen in the capital, which he said made it the largest snowfall since 1963.
Atletico Madrid’s game against Athletic Bilbao, scheduled to kick off at 1515 GMT on Saturday, was postponed, La Liga said in a statement.

Rescue services reached 1,500 people trapped in cars

More than 650 roads were blocked by snow, leaving some drivers stuck in their cars from Friday night until Saturday

Four die in Spanish storm, troops deployed to help motorists stranded by snow

The existence of January 9th - Day of the Republic of Srpska is not in question and the circumstances of the coronavirus pandemic have not changed anything in that regard, B&amp;H Presidency Chairman Milorad Dodik told RTRS on the occasion of marking the unconstitutional day of RS.

- Our emotion in that regard remains very strong, powerful and definite, and in that regard we will adapt to the conditions and celebrate Day of the Republic of Srpska through some new form. The basic relations are the same for us - RS Day is January 9th for us, it cannot be changed by the inquisitorial decisions of international judges or some self-proclaimed High Representative or anyone else - Dodik said.
He pointed out that January 9th will definitely remain the day of the Serbian people, freedom and statehood.
- We fought for freedom to have a state, we do not run away from it and we will not hide. Generations have created Day of the Republic of Srpska and it is important that it remains for future generations, not to irritate others, but because it belongs to us, this is ours, we have been fighting for this for hundreds of years - he stated.
Dodik said that Serbs in this area had been fighting for the state together with Serbia since the time of the Turkish occupation until January 9th, 1992.
- They did not fight for some B&amp;H. We are not fighting for B&amp;H even today, it is an imposed framework for us in which we still suffer. We have not received anything good from B&amp;H, there is not a single element that could prove to be a benefit in these 20 or more years - he believes.

<h2>They call for various interventions</h2>

Dodik said that RS is unquestionable and that any calls for constitutional changes will not destroy it.
- There are no such changes. We are against the new High Representative, he is not welcome here, whoever he is. The High Representative has shown that he is anti-Serb, because he acted like that... The new representative comes as a Muslim subject who should devastate RS and the Serbian people and its identity, to create a quasi-Muslim state that they cannot create themselves, so they call for various interventions - Dodik points out.

We are against the new High Representative, he is not welcome here, whoever he is, said Milorad Dodik, Chairman of the Presidency of B&H

Dodik: The new High Representative is coming as a Muslim subject

Austrian schools will receive 5 million coronavirus testing kits from Jan. 18, the government said on Saturday, as part of efforts to curb the spread of the virus when pupils eventually return to the classroom.Education Minister Heinz Fassmann announced the delivery of the voluntary tests which pupils and teachers will be able to take at least once a week.
-Testing is the right answer to bridge the difficult months until the vaccine coverage is complete- Fassmann said.
Austria has ordered most of its schools to move to remote learning for pupils from Jan. 7 to Jan. 15. It is unclear when schools will reopen, Fassmann said, although he hoped this would be as soon as possible.
Parents of younger children will be asked to test their children at home, while older pupils will be able to test themselves at school.
-There will be parents who refuse- Fassmann told a press conference. -But overall this is an opportunity not only to open up the schools, but also to keep them open.-
The tests require a swab only to be inserted into the front area of the nasal cavity and do not require a throat swab, making them easier to perform.
The results will be visible within 15 minutes, making them suitable for quickly identifying people who are highly infectious. People who test positive have to notify the authorities for further testing.
The government said the sensitivity of nasal tests is comparable to the conventional throat swab tests, citing separate studies by the Charite hospital in Berlin and the Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety.
Teachers are due to get vaccines from late February, although there is no mandatory requirement for them to be vaccinated.
Austria, a country of 8.9 million people, is in its third lockdown, with only essential shops open. The country has reported 379,071 coronavirus cases and 6,687 COVID-19 linked deaths since the pandemic began last year.

Education Minister Heinz Fassmann announced the delivery of the voluntary tests which pupils and teachers will be able to take at least once a week

Austria's Education Minister Werner Fassmann attends a news conference in Vienna, Austria November 25, 2020.

Austria to roll out 5 million coronavirus tests for school pupils

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip received Covid-19 vaccinations on Saturday, Buckingham Palace said, in a rare public comment on the private health matters of the long-serving monarch.
-The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh have today received Covid-19 vaccinations- a Buckingham Palace spokesman said.
A source told the domestic Press Association news agency that the queen, 94, and Philip, 99, were given the injections by a royal household doctor at Windsor Castle.
No further details about the vaccinations were released.
More than 1.5 million people in Britain have so far received virus jabs, as the biggest immunisation programme in its history ramps up with priority given to the elderly, their carers and health workers.
The country, which has so far begun administering two types of approved vaccines, is racing to inoculate as many people as possible as a coronavirus variant pushes infections and deaths to unprecedented levels.
Britain on Friday reported a record 1,325 deaths over a 24-hour period, bringing the total number of deaths to nearly 80,000, while also registering a high of 68,053 new cases. 
The queen and Philip have spent much of the pandemic in self-isolation at Windsor because of their advanced age, and this year saw their traditional family Christmas at her Sandringham estate in eastern England with other royals scrapped.

A source told the domestic Press Association news agency that they were given the injections by a royal household doctor at Windsor Castle

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip

UK's Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip given Covid-19 jab

Today, in a smaller B&amp;H entity is celebrated the unconstitutional Day of Republic of Srpska.
It was declared unconstitutional by the B&amp;H Constitutional Court in 2016. This date is associated with the terrible suffering of the people in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Convicted war criminal Radovan Karadžić had announced war in the former Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina months earlier. Before the Parliament of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina on October 17th, 1991., he said what would happen if B&amp;H took the path taken by Slovenia and Croatia.
- The road you lead Bosnia and Herzegovina is the same highway of hell and suffering that Slovenia and Croatia took. Do not think that you will not take Bosnia and Herzegovina to hell, and the Muslim people maybe to extinction, because the Muslim people cannot defend themselves if there is a war here - Karadžić said a little less than 30 years ago.

Alija Izetbegović answered on that.

- I did not intend to speak now, however, it is good, I need to speak immediately after Mr. Karadžić's presentation. Namely, his presentation, his way of presenting, his messages may explain in the best way why we may not want to remain Yugoslavia anymore. That's what I'm saying here tonight. His way, his messages may explain why others will not stay in that Yugoslavia. Nobody wants the kind of Yugoslavia that Mr. Karadžić wants anymore. Nobody will, except maybe the Serbian people. In the eyes of the Yugoslav peoples, Slovenians, Croats, Macedonians, Albanians, Hungarians, Muslims, such Yugoslavia was simply hated in the eyes of Europe and the world, the way Karadžić does it. However, Karadžić is only an expression of one way of thinking and approaching. What is being done today does not serve the Serbian people, neither this way nor the way out. And these threats that are being expressed. The Muslim people will not disappear. I am telling that to Mr. Karadžić - Izetbegović said at the time.

Do not think that you will not take Bosnia and Herzegovina to hell, and the Muslim people to extinction, Karadžić said in 1991.

Karadžić: He threatened that the Muslim people would disappear

How war criminal Radovan Karadžić announced the founding of Republic of Srpska

The Unconstitutional Day of Republic of Srpska will be marked today. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, this year will not be marked traditionally, according to many, with a tasteless parade of kitsch.
President of the smaller B&amp;H entity Željka Cvijanović previously announced that a ceremonial academy would be held in Banski dvor, and that, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the traditional parade would be moved to Vidovdan.

- We will have a ceremonial academy without an audience, but in a live television broadcast - said Cvijanović.
It was subsequently announced that a musical parade will be held - a concert by the Police Orchestra of the RS Ministry of the Interior on the route National Theater - Palace of the Republic - Krajina Square.
The so-called "Assembly of the Serb Republic in Bosnia and Herzegovina", held in Sarajevo 29 years ago on January 9th, 1992., was one of the first formal moves by then-republican and federal Yugoslav Serb officials as part of a plan to break up B&amp;H and creation of a "Greater Serbia".

<h2>Attempt to create a "Greater Serbia"</h2>

The assembly held in Sarajevo on January 9th, although formally, according to experts, can be considered absolutely illegal, the coup d'etat and the beginning of the aggression on Bosnia and Herzegovina was not a fateful date, but an attempt by then-President of the Republic of Serbia Slobodan Milošević, to continue with the realization of his plan to create a "Greater Serbia", based on the 1986. SANU Memorandum.
In 2016, the Constitutional Court of B&amp;H issued a decision according to which the celebration of January 9th as the day of the smaller B&amp;H entity unconstitutional.

The so-called "Assembly of the Serb Republic in Bosnia and Herzegovina", held in Sarajevo 29 years ago, was one of the first formal moves by then-republican and allied Yugoslav Serb officials as part of a plan to break up B&H

From the celebration of the unconstitutional Day of RS in previous years

Unconstitutional Day of Republic of Srpska is being celebrated today, without a tasteless kitsch parade

A new, more infectious strain of the coronavirus has now spread to at least eight US states, official data showed Friday, as the country logged a record new daily virus caseload.
The B117 coronavirus strain, which emerged in Britain late last year, has been shown to be between 40 and 70 percent more contagious than variants which have spread previously.
Data from the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) showed Friday that the strain -- first reported in the US last week -- has been detected in eight states, with California and Florida the worst affected.
The strain has also been found in Colorado, Texas, New York, Georgia, Connecticut and Pennsylvania, in a total of 63 cases.
Top US infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci told Newsweek on Wednesday that the variant may be "more widespread in the United States than we are currently detecting it to be".
-I'm certain it's here, we just haven't detected it yet. And I think it's pretty clear that if it's in places like California, and New York and Colorado... that pretty soon it's going to be in several more states- he said.
The spread of B117 and another more infectious variant from South Africa, known as B1351, has sparked fears of a similar new strain emerging in the US.But US officials on Friday denied reports that one had been detected so far.
-Researchers have been monitoring U.S. strains since the pandemic began, including 5,700 samples collected in November and December- CDC spokesman Jason McDonald told CNBC.
-To date, neither researchers nor analysts at CDC have seen the emergence of a particular variant in the United States as has been seen with the emergence of B.1.1.7 in the United Kingdom or B.1.351 in South Africa.-
Almost 290,000 new coronavirus infections were reported in the US within 24 hours Friday according to Johns Hopkins University, a day after the world's worst-hit country recorded a daily high of nearly 4,000 deaths.

Almost 290,000 new coronavirus infections were reported in the US within 24 hours Friday according to Johns Hopkins University

A ski resort in Breckenridge, Colorado. The Covid-19 variant has spread to at least eight US states including Colorado.

New Covid-19 variant found in eight US states: official data

Some airlines intend to introduce covid passports as a condition for travel, world media report. A covid passport with a vaccination certificate should supposedly be a guarantee that citizens are not contagious, although, in practice, those who have been vaccinated can also get sick.
The International Air Transport Association considers that vaccination will trigger a recovery in tourism, while domestic carriers do not share that view. Some believe that instead of increasing it, it could lead to a decrease in the number of passengers.
Director of Transturist Tuzla Nedžad Siočić believes that the additional introduction of a covid passport would only represent an additional burden, reducing the number of passengers who would be willing to travel.
One of the leading carriers from Tuzla, which transported passengers to European countries and Turkey, retained only 15 percent of the lines.
Freight transport did not suffer such consequences of the introduced coronavirus protection measures. They operated normally, without special restrictions and are not at loss. It is uncertain what would happen if, for example, other countries introduce covid passports, and drivers from BiH do not have the opportunity to be vaccinated or do not want to receive it.
However, the owner of one of the largest international transport companies from Tuzla, which transports food, is optimistic.
Director of Kuna from Tuzla, Nijaz Duraković, believes that he will find a solution when that moment comes. He added that he, as an employer, will not condition workers with vaccinations.

The International Air Transport Association considers that vaccination will trigger a recovery in tourism

Some airlines intend to introduce covid passports as a condition for travel

Introduction of Covid passports as a travel condition

A Turkish colonel was appointed as the deputy commander of NATO's Sarajevo base in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey announced Friday.
Following the appointment of army Col. Olcay Denizer, Turkey's National Defense Ministry said in a statement that the country's military fulfilled important duties in Bosnia and Herzegovina and noted Sarajevo's efforts to join NATO.
A ceremony at Bosnia's Butmir military post was held to mark the assignment of the deputy command to Turkey.
The event was attended by Turkey's Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina Haldun Koc, EUFOR Commander Maj. Gen. Reinhard Trischak, NATO Sarajevo Headquarters Brig. Gen. Eric Folkstad and Military Attache Colonel Mustafa Sitki Tatar, as well as the head of the Turkish Representative Committee, Colonel Selim Gokcegoz.
Denizer's post is of critical importance as he will oversee efforts towards Bosnia and Herzegovina's accession into the alliance, with the Political-Military Advisors and Technical Military Advisors branches coming under his command.

Col. Olcay Denizer to oversee NATO membership efforts for Bosnia and Herzegovina

Denizer's post is of critical importance as he will oversee efforts towards Bosnia and Herzegovina's accession into the alliance, with the Political-Military Advisors and Technical Military Advisors branches coming under his command

Turkish officer appointed NATO Sarajevo HQ deputy head

European plane maker Airbus said Friday that it garnered just 268 net new orders last year, a drop of 65 percent year-on-year reflecting persistent fears about the prospects for air travel amid the coronavirus crisis.
The new orders take into account 115 cancellations as airlines scaled back their ambitions because of uncertainty about how long international travel restrictions will remain in place.
Deliveries of completed Airbus planes also suffered, falling 34 percent to 566 planes last year.
-Based on our 2020 deliveries, we are cautiously optimistic as we look into 2021, although challenges and uncertainties remain high in the short term- chief executive Guillaume Faury said in a statement.
The company scaled back production at its factories by 40 percent last spring, and Faury said in October that no uptick was expected before the third quarter of 2021.
Airlines are facing their worst year ever, the International Air Transport Association warned in November, with the Covid crisis likely to have slashed industry revenue by 60 percent in 2020.
Even though airlines have reduced costs by $1 billion a day, grounded fleets and cut jobs, they are still racking up huge and "unprecedented" losses, the IATA said.

Guillaume Faury: Based on our 2020 deliveries, we are cautiously optimistic as we look into 2021, although challenges and uncertainties remain high in the short term

Airlines have been forced to scale back purchases of aircraft by makers such as Airbus as a result of the coronavirus crisis

Airbus orders plunge 65 percent as airlines hunker down

The United Kingdom recorded its highest daily death toll on Friday since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic as London declared a major incident, warning that its hospitals were at risk of being overwhelmed.

With a highly transmissable new variant of the virus surging across Britain, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has shuttered the economy and is rushing out vaccines faster than the country’s European neighbours in a bid to stem the pandemic.
Britain has the world’s fifth-highest official death toll from COVID-19 at nearly 80,000, and the 1,325 deaths reported within 28 days of a positive test on Friday surpassed the previous daily record from last April.
-Our hospitals are under more pressure than at any other time since the start of the pandemic, and infection rates across the entire country continue to soar at an alarming rate- Johnson said in a statement.
-The NHS (National Health Service) is under severe strain and we must take action to protect it, both so our doctors and nurses can continue to save lives and so they can vaccinate as many people as possible as quickly as we can.-
A further 68,053 COVID-19 cases were reported - also a new daily high - meaning almost three million people have now tested positive for the disease in the United Kingdom, which has a total population of around 67 million.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan, from the opposition Labour Party, said hospital beds in the capital would run out within the next few weeks because the spread of the virus was “out of control”.
-We are declaring a major incident because the threat this virus poses to our city is at crisis point- Khan said.
The designation of “major incident” is usually reserved for attacks or grave accidents, notably those likely to involve “serious harm, damage, disruption or risk to human life or welfare, essential services, the environment or national security”.
London’s last “major incident” was the Grenfell Tower fire in a high-rise residential block in 2017, when 72 people died.

Khan said there were parts of London where 1 in 20 people had the virus. The pressure on the ambulance service, which was now dealing with up to 9,000 emergency calls a day, meant firefighters were being drafted in to drive vehicles, and police officers would follow.
London, which vies with Paris for the status of Europe’s richest city, has a population of more than nine million.
The Office for National Statistics estimated that 1.1 million people in England had the coronavirus in the week to Jan. 2, the equivalent of one person in 50.
Britain, the first country to approve vaccines made by Pfizer/BioNTech and AstraZeneca, on Friday approved Moderna’s shot, which it hopes to begin administering this spring. It also agreed to purchase an additional 10 million Moderna doses.
However, transport minister Grant Shapps said there were fears that some vaccines might not work properly against a highly contagious variant of the coronavirus that has emerged in South Africa.
-This is a very big concern for the scientists- he told LBC radio.
A laboratory study by the U.S. drugmaker Pfizer, not yet peer-reviewed, indicated that the vaccine it is making, developed by Germany’s BioNTech, does work against one key mutation in the new variants found in Britain and South Africa.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has shuttered the economy and is rushing out vaccines faster than the country’s European neighbours in a bid to stem the pandemic

Vials labelled "COVID-19 Coronavirus Vaccine" are placed on dry ice in this illustration taken, December 5, 2020.

9 arrested at coronavirus protests in Denmark

Still hoping: Indonesians await news of relatives on missing plane

New coronavirus variant found in travellers from Brazil: Japan government

Amazon pushes Parler offline after Capitol attack

Former Algeria premiers back on trial for corruption

Four die in Spanish storm, troops deployed to help motorists stranded by snow

Dodik: The new High Representative is coming as a Muslim subject

Austria to roll out 5 million coronavirus tests for school pupils

UK's Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip given Covid-19 jab

How war criminal Radovan Karadžić announced the founding of Republic of Srpska

Unconstitutional Day of Republic of Srpska is being celebrated today, without a tasteless kitsch parade

New Covid-19 variant found in eight US states: official data

Introduction of Covid passports as a travel condition

Turkish officer appointed NATO Sarajevo HQ deputy head

Airbus orders plunge 65 percent as airlines hunker down

UK sees record daily COVID deaths, London hospitals on brink

News

9 arrested at coronavirus protests in Denmark

Still hoping: Indonesians await news of relatives on missing plane

New coronavirus variant found in travellers from Brazil: Japan government

Amazon pushes Parler offline after Capitol attack

Former Algeria premiers back on trial for corruption

Four die in Spanish storm, troops deployed to help motorists stranded by snow

Dodik: The new High Representative is coming as a Muslim subject

Austria to roll out 5 million coronavirus tests for school pupils

UK's Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip given Covid-19 jab

How war criminal Radovan Karadžić announced the founding of Republic of Srpska

Unconstitutional Day of Republic of Srpska is being celebrated today, without a tasteless kitsch parade

New Covid-19 variant found in eight US states: official data

Introduction of Covid passports as a travel condition

Turkish officer appointed NATO Sarajevo HQ deputy head

Airbus orders plunge 65 percent as airlines hunker down

UK sees record daily COVID deaths, London hospitals on brink