Author: The West News

[ad_1] As the first wave of coronavirus swept across Europe earlier this year, one region of the continent remained relatively untouched by the global pandemic. Central Europe spends less on healthcare than its western neighbours yet reported significantly lower infections rates after clamping down “hard and fast” to prevent outbreaks, says Politico. Slovakia was even cited alongside New Zealand as a nation setting an example for the rest of the world to follow. But now, as a second wave threatens Europe, the continent’s central countries are seeing “a huge surge in infections” that threatens “to overwhelm the medical systems of many of the…

[ad_1] A swimmer who died after getting into difficulty on the Bangor coast on Tuesday has been named locally as Mary Feeney. Originally from Ardara in Co Donegal, she had established a career as a landscape artist and moved to Co Down several years ago. A major rescue effort was launched shortly before noon on Tuesday after she got into difficulty while swimming along the coast of Skippingstone beach. A regular participant in Bangor’s annual Open House Festival, she had also exhibited her work in galleries across Ireland, the UK and the United States. Ulster Unionist councillor Carl McClean told…

[ad_1] Boris Johnson has been briefing cabinet ministers today about the new three tiered lockdown system for England – amid stark warnings by leading scientists that the country is at a ‘precarious point’ in the coronavirus crisis. Political leaders in the north say their local economies could be shattered by the new restrictions – and want much more control over test and trace efforts as well as financial support. A further 12,872 new UK infections have been confirmed in the last 24 hours – with a sharp rise in the numbers of hospital patients. While a further 65 deaths have…

[ad_1] A game critic for the Los Angeles Times remembers his reaction to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. “What a disappointment — if only it had been built for video game consoles.” This leads to this epiphany: For all the deserved attention “The Mandalorian” series on Disney+ has received, the just-released game “Star Wars: Squadrons” reminds us that some of the best “Star Wars” stories in recent years have been in the video game space…. This is a work, in fact, that doesn’t suffer from an action-focused, little-narrative approach — every second I’ve spent with this game has fulfilled…

[ad_1] Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis has issued an urgent warning to parents in the UK. He says people with children have a matter of days left to act – or risk losing out on grants for up to £14,000 – which are funded by the government. Related Articles Writing in his weekly Money Saving Expert newsletter, he said: “The deadline to apply for the 2nd Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant is this Monday (19 Oct). “DON’T assume you don’t qualify.” The scheme offers a non-repayable, taxable grant, worth up to £6,570, made up of 3 months’ worth (of 70%)…

[ad_1] Minecraft protagonist Steve joined Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s roster with a patch on Tuesday. Smash Bros. fans on social media have noticed he’s been endowed with a victory pose that is … happy to see you, let’s say. At least, that’s what all you filthy horndog perverts with your gutter minds might choose to see. Steve’s victory screen, one of four, is actually 100% innocent, this is only a very deliberate framegrab meant to make Steve seem, er, Randy. Here’s the whole thing: Only in, like, the last six hundredths of a second does it look like Steve is…

[ad_1] Gourmet Burger Kitchen became the latest dining chain to axe hundreds of jobs in the face of the virus after it tumbled into administration on Wednesday. The company was bought from insolvency by Giraffe-owner Boparan Restaurant Group, but the move was not enough to save 362 staff and 26 of its restaurants. It follows major cuts at a raft of rivals including Carluccio’s, Zizzi-owner Azzurri, Pizza Hut and fellow burger chain Byron. They have helped push total potential job losses to more than 200,000 since the start of lockdown in March, according to tracking by the PA news agency.…

[ad_1] Let’s get this out of the way: Genshin Impact and its beautiful, expansive anime world of Teyvat clearly draw inspiration from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and I mean a whole heck of a lot. From the art style to the stamina-based “climb anything” mechanic to the gliding, it’s impossible not to be reminded of Link’s open-world adventures in Hyrule while exploring. But this isn’t just some copycat, as Genshin Impact’s fantastical world, wide array of diverse playable characters, and deep RPG systems are all unique and awesome enough to let it stand on its own…

[ad_1] We finally got to play a couple of proper Xbox Series X games. We give our impressions of those titles on the Series X, plus discuss The Medium’s release date, Microsoft’s new plan to get xCloud game streaming onto iOS devices, and more! Subscribe on any of your favorite podcast feeds, or grab an MP3 download of this week’s episode. For more awesome content, check out the latest episode of IGN Unfiltered, featuring an interview with Geoff Keighley, the creator and host of The Game Awards: [ignvideo url=”https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/25/geoff-keighley-talks-game-awards-hideo-kojima-xbox-vs-ps5-and-more-ign-unfiltered-53″] It’s already been an incredibly fun year of Xbox coverage, and the best…

[ad_1] Developer Harmonix has confirmed that Rock Band 4, all DLC, and a vast array of Rock Band peripherals will work from day one on Sony and Microsoft’s next-generation consoles launching next month. While Sony has previously clarified the PS5 is compatible with “99 percent” of the “thousands” of PS4 games it has tested – and Microsoft has similarly explained almost all Xbox One games will run on Xbox Series S and X beyond a few “one-off exceptions here or there” – Rock Band 4 is in a fairly unique position. Not only does it require a pile of bespoke…