Author: WTX News

A monument at a Hong Kong university that commemorates the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre was removed by workers early Thursday over the objections of its creator from Denmark. The 8-metre tall Pillar of Shame, which depicts 50 torn and twisted bodies piled on top of each other, was made by Danish sculptor Jens Galschiøt to symbolise the lives lost during the bloody military crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989. The Pillar of Shame monument The Pillar of Shame monument became an issue in October, with the university demanding that it be removed, even as…

Hungary’s prime minister Viktor Orbán has been denounced by Bosnian officials and religious leaders after he claimed integrating the country into the European Union would be a challenge because of its Muslim population. Orbán was giving a speech in Budapest on Tuesday, lines of which were tweeted out in English by his spokesperson. Hungary’s prime Minister thinks Bosnians are ‘challenging for the EU’ Orbán said during his speech, that Hungary supports Bosnia’s (a token statement) effort to join the EU, but added that “how we manage the security of a state in which 2 million Muslims live is a key…

Metro says The world’s biggest lottery jackpot is being dished out this afternoon.

The Independent says China shuts down city of 200,000 and tells people to stay home over one Covid case.

The Guardian says Pressed about US testing shortages amid the omicron surge, Biden conceded in an interview that “nothing’s been good enough”.

The Guardian says the police watchdog will not investigate a complaint that officers failed to properly look into an alleged party at Downing Street.

The Metro says The jurors in Ghislaine Maxwell’s child sex-trafficking trial opted for a long Christmas break Wednesday.

The Guardian says Barcelona have agreed an initial €55m (£46.7m) deal to sign Ferran Torres from Manchester City, with additional clauses that could take the fee to €65m.

The Metro says Nightclubs will be closed in Northern Ireland from 6am on Boxing Day after the nation recorded its highest daily Covid surge.

The Guardian says Wales and Northern Ireland have announced stringent restrictions that will come into force from Boxing Day.

The Independent says Nicola Sturgeon has visited a mass vaccination centre to help as a volunteer, saying staff there are doing “heroic work”.

The Metro says The River Thames is being searched as the investigation into missing Harvey Parker continues.

Thursday’s front pages report on data suggesting that the Omicron variant of coronavirus may be less severe than previous variants.

The Guardian says Daily cases of Covid-19 have passed 100,000 as the Omicron variant sweeps across the UK, according to government figures.

The Independent says James Franco says he was ‘blind to power dynamics’ and admits having sex with his acting students.

Arab News says the Libyan presidential election scheduled for Dec. 24 was postponed on Wednesday for at least a month, leaving the internationally-backed peace process in chaos.

Aljazeera says Dozens of jade miners who remain missing on Thursday following a landslide in Myanmar’s Kachin State have “very little chance of survival.”

The Los Angeles Times says The Omicron surge has hit California, with new coronavirus cases climbing rapidly and warnings that hospitals could be hit hard by a surge.

VOA says U.S. health officials say 2021 is shaping up to be even deadlier than last year. It seems likely 2021 will surpass last year’s record number of deaths by at least 15,000.

BBC News says Arsenal will face Liverpool in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup, while Chelsea will meet Tottenham.

Brussels has today begun legal action against Poland over a row about the primacy EU law and its application in the country. In October, Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal ruled the country’s EU membership did not give the bloc’s courts supreme legal authority. The ruling sparked anger in Brussels and further damaged Poland’s already troubled relationship with EU chiefs. Follow WTX News EU on Twitter for breaking news 24-7 Primacy EU law On Wednesday, the European Commission said it had “serious concerns” over the ruling and said it had begun an “infringement procedure.” It said the ruling was in breach of EU…

The Independent reports that Britain’s “top civil servant” has been accused of misleading officials over the Christmas party scandals.

Christmas will go ahead without any restrictions on socialising, reports The Guardian.

Boris Johnson has promised millions of families there will be no lockdown ahead of Christmas, reports the Metro.

Christmas will go ahead lockdown free, but New Year’s Eve “looks doomed”, says The Sun.