Police have confirmed that a bomb blast at a maternity hospital in Liverpool on Remembrance Day was a terrorist attack. The UK is relieved that a major accident has been averted due to the coordinated intervention of a taxi driver. The bomber struck shortly after noon in front of a taxi driver’s car, detonating a small car bomb, killing only the attacker.

Four people have so far been taken into police custody in connection with the incident. Police confirmed that the incident was a terrorist attack and did not disclose further details.

Monday was Britain’s Remembrance Day, commemorating those who lost their lives in World Wars I and II. The assailant first instructed the taxi driver to go to the cathedral where the ceremony was being held. Halfway through the traffic heavy traffic the passenger shifted to the destination. He was asked to return the car to Liverpool Maternity Hospital. The suspected driver got out of the car as soon as he reached the hospital.

The driver, suspicious of the passenger’s actions, locked the car from the outside. Within seconds the car exploded with a loud bang. The terrorist, who was trapped in the car, was killed in the blast. The driver was hospitalized with minor injuries. People and police in Liverpool are relieved that the horrific suicide bombing was averted without major disasters.

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Belarus’ actions in the rising migrant crisis on its border with Poland have been denounced by Western members of the UN Security Council. 

They accused Belarus of manipulating the migrants to destabilize the European Union’s eastern border in a harsh statement.  Belarus’ primary partner, Russia, has denied the allegations.  If fresh sanctions are applied, Belarus’ autocratic leader has vowed to cut off the gas supply to Europe.

Thousands of migrants, largely from Iraq, Syria, and Yemen, have set up camp near the Polish border, braving the cold in the hopes of entering the EU. There are mostly young men among the migrants, although there are also women and children.

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After record illnesses were reported across the country, Austrians are days away from the country’s first lockdown for anyone who isn’t completely vaccinated.

If the federal government approves, the province of Upper Austria will implement limitations beginning Monday. New measures are also being considered in Salzburg. A countrywide lockdown for the unvaccinated, according to Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg, is “definitely inevitable.”

He claimed that two-thirds of the population should not suffer because others were hesitant. Upper Austria, with a population of 1.5 million people and borders Germany and the Czech Republic, has the highest infection rate and the lowest vaccination rate in the country.

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The minimum wage in the UK will be raised to 9.50 pound an hour from April next year. Those over the age of 23 are eligible for this minimum wage. The current minimum wage is 8.91 pound per hour. This is going to be nine and a half pounds from April. At the current exchange rate, this is equivalent to an average of 1,000 Indian rupees.

Under the new increase, a full-time employee will receive a salary increase of 1,074 pound a year. Chancellor Rishi Sunak will make an official announcement in the budget to be presented in Parliament this week. The government is preparing for such a decision based on the recommendations of the Pay Commission and the Independent Advisers.

The decision will give a 6.6 per cent increase in salaries to those over 23 years of age. This increase will be a great boon for workers as the cost of living has risen by an average of 3.1 per cent. The government is making a decision to provide relief to those who are suffering in the employment sector due to Covid.

The minimum wage for 21- to 22-year-olds will rise from 8.36 an hour to 9.18 pound from April. Apprenticeship pay will increase from 4.30 to 4.81 pound per hour.

The minimum wage for 18- to 20-year-olds will be raised from 6.56 to 6.83 pound. There is also an increase for those under 18 years of age. Their salary, which was 4.62, will rise to 4.81 pound. The Chancellor will present the budget in Parliament on Wednesday morning.

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