The Times (July 9)
“Every one of Russia’s ten biggest refineries has been hit at least once since the start of the war.” The images of panic buying and “colossal queues will raise spirits in Kyiv,” but the attacks have only seemed to harden “Putin’s determination to achieve victory in Ukraine.” Nor have “the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Russian men on the battlefields of Ukraine” moved the war closer to an end. Similarly, “there are few signs so far that fuel deficits will change Putin’s mind about a conflict that he views as existential for his country.”
Tags: Attacks, Battlefields, Colossal queues, Deaths, Determination, Fuel, Kyiv, Panic buying, Putin, Refineries, Russia, Ukraine, Victory, War
The Guardian (June 3)
“Although western Europe is now mostly free from last week’s heat dome – which shattered temperature records for May in the UK and Ireland – it is already bracing for yet another sweltering summer. Oppressive days, restless nights and furious fires are brewing.” Though there are some “exceptions to the collective denial,” Europe is “still not ready for extreme heat.” It must get fully prepared. “Heat kills more people in Europe than almost any other issue you worry about – from crime to terror attacks – with many tens of thousands of early deaths each year.”
Tags: Crime, Deaths, Extreme heat, Fires, Heat dome, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jun/03/why-is-europe-still-not-ready-for-extreme-heat Europe, Ireland, May, Oppressive, Restless, Shattered, Summer, Sweltering, Temperature records, Terror attacks, UK
Financial Times (February 27)
Although “some demographic experts had been hopeful of a pent-up baby boom in Japan following the pandemic,” 2024 confirmed the worst. “The number of babies born in Japan last year fell to the lowest level since records began 125 years ago as the country’s demographic crisis deepens and government efforts to reverse the decline continue to fail.” For nine years straight, “the decline in births has continued unabated…. Combined with a record 1.6mn deaths last year, the figures mean Japan’s population shrank by almost 900,000 people, net of immigration.”
Tags: 2024, Babies, Baby boom, Births, Deaths, Decline, Demographic crisis, Experts, Fail, Government, Immigration, Japan, Pandemic, Pent-up, Population, Record
National Review (July 27)
“Japan Is disappearing.” The nation’s “population declined by 800,000 in the last year,” marking “14 consecutive years during which deaths outnumbered births. The mathematics of population decline get really desperate from here on out…. This problem is far too large for immigration to solve.”
Tags: Births, Deaths, Declined, Desperate, Disappearing.” Population, Immigration, Japan, Mathematics, Outnumbered, Solve
Reuters (December 22)
Despite official government figures citing just 1,800 Covid cases and only seven resulting deaths last week, more realistic estimates place the true figures at over one million daily infections, with “more than 5,000 people … dying each day from COVID-19 in China.”
Tags: Cases, China, COVID-19, Deaths, Estimates, Figures, Government, Infections, Official, One million, Realistic
Financial Times (December 15)
“Evidence of a wave of Covid-19 deaths is beginning to emerge in Beijing despite official tallies showing no fatalities since an uncontrolled outbreak began sweeping through China’s capital this week. Staff at one crematorium in Beijing said they cremated the bodies of at least 30 Covid victims on Wednesday.”
Tags: Beijing, China, COVID-19, Crematorium, Deaths, Evidence, Fatalities, Official tallies, Outbreak, Uncontrolled, Victims, Wave
BBC (July 20)
“Heat records tumbled and firefighters faced new blazes as much of Western Europe baked in a gruelling heatwave.” The UK “saw temperatures of more than 40C (104F) for the first time.” Germany had “its hottest day of the year,” as did the Netherlands, while in France “37,000 people had to be evacuated from their homes” due to wildfires. In the past week, Portugal alone has recorded “more than 1,000 heatwave-related deaths.”
Tags: Blazes, Deaths, Firefighters, France, Germany, Gruelling, Heat, Heatwave, Netherlands, Portugal, Records, Temperatures, UK, Western Europe, Wildfires
Atlanta Journal-Constitution (February 1)
“The highly contagious omicron variant has pushed the daily average of U.S. COVID-19 deaths higher than last fall’s delta wave as the nation nears a chilling milestone of 900,000 coronavirus deaths.” Statewide deaths have also been growing, though “it remains unclear if Georgia will surpass the peak that followed the devastating surge of the earlier delta variant.”
Tags: Chilling, Contagious, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Deaths, Delta wave, Devastating, Georgia, Milestone, Omicron, Peak, Surge, Surpass, U.S., Variant
Taipei Times (January 18)
In a development likely to affect mainland China’s growth potential, the birthrate “has fallen to its lowest level in six decades, barely outnumbering deaths last year despite major government efforts to increase population growth and stave off a demographic crisis.”
Tags: Birthrate, China, Deaths, Demographic crisis, Development, Efforts, Fallen, Government, Growth, Lowest, Mainland, Population, Potential
LA Times (January 17)
“The Los Angeles County saw an average of 40 coronavirus deaths a day over the last week, the highest such rate in nearly 10 months, a sign that the prolific Omicron variant may be deadlier than many initially believed.”
Tags: Coronavirus, Deadlier, Deaths, Highest, Los Angeles, Omicron, Prolific, Variant
