Public services

‘Young tourist’ tests positive as all people using health centres will have to wear face masks to cut spread

An alert has been issued after a hotspot much loved by UK tourists was hit by an outbreak of measles, with a young tourist testing positive. The Public Health Surveillance Service has detected at least six people affected by a measles outbreak in Mallorca, the Balearic Regional Ministry of Health has reported in a statement.

The patients have been treated at the same hospital, as their cases are linked, although the source of the infection does not originate from the healthcare setting and has therefore been classified as a community outbreak. To try to clamp down on the outbreak all people using health centres will have to wear face masks.

The epidemiological investigation has determined that the first case was that of a young child on holiday who attended the paediatric A&E department at Son Espases University Hospital on July 19. The secondary cases began to show symptoms at the end of July. The Majorca Daily Bulletin has only just reported on the outbreak. No information has yet been released on the nationality of the tourist.

Five of the six people affected by the outbreak have not been vaccinated against measles, whilst there is no record of vaccination for the sixth. The Directorate-General for Public Health, in coordination with IBSalut Balearic health service and in accordance with the protocols of the National Epidemiological Surveillance Network, has activated a monitoring and control plan that includes immediate prevention and protection measures to contain the outbreak.

Public Health service in Majorca said it is carrying out contact tracing and has asked close contacts of those infected to monitor their health closely for 23 days following exposure, particularly those who are unvaccinated.

In addition, it has issued an internal recommendation for the use of FFP2 face masks in all healthcare settings as a priority measure for the prevention, protection and control of the outbreak, as well as mandatory self-monitoring for symptoms and a review of the vaccination status of all staff at health centres and hospitals in Mallorca.

The Foreign Office-backed Travel Health Pro site said: “Measles is a highly infectious viral illness, with potentially serious, life-threatening complications. Travel remains an important risk factor for the international spread of measles.

“Measles is spread by airborne or droplet (coughing, sneezing, drops from mouth/nose) transmission. Initial symptoms can include fever, runny nose, red, sore eyes (conjunctivitis) and cough. A rash usually then appears after a few days. This starts on the face/head and then spreads over the body, arms and legs in three to four days. People are infectious from the day symptoms first appear to four days after the rash starts. The incubation period (time from exposure to measles virus to symptoms starting) is about ten days but can be between seven and 18 days.”

Complications of measles infection can include otitis media (ear infections), diarrhoea, pneumonia and convulsions (fits). Rarely, encephalitis (brain inflammation) or sub-acute sclerosing pan-encephalitis (fatal late onset brain inflammation) can occur. Risk of death from measles complications is age-related and is higher for children younger than one year and adults. Measles can be more severe in immunosuppressed individuals and during pregnancy, and increases the risk of miscarriage, stillbirth, or preterm delivery.

It added: “Travellers with no history of measles infection or who are unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated may be at risk from measles when visiting countries reporting cases, especially if staying with friends or family and mixing with local people.”

All UK travellers should make sure they are up to date with the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) or measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox (MMRV) vaccines, according to current UK recommendations.

Travel plans for around 1.6 million UK tourists heading to Italy were disrupted Rome, Milan, Venice and Naples hit by red alert. Greece helicopters fight fire despite midair crash which one Brit crew member miraculously survived.

Extreme weather brought chaos across Europe today, with warnings of 40C (104F) temperatures in some of the worst-hit countries.

Travel plans for about 1.6 million UK tourists heading to Italy were disrupted as nearly every city was placed on ‘red alert’ for extreme heat. Cities from north to south – including the capital Rome, Milan, Venice and Naples – were warning residents and tourists about the health risks. Temperatures have hit the mid-30sC in many places.

Authorities warned the ‘healthy and active’ were also at risk; not just groups including the elderly, very young children and people with chronic illnesses. Meanwhile, five water-dropping planes and five helicopters took off at dawn today to help firefighters near Athens – after a midair collision in which a Brit helicopter crew member miraculously survived.

The collision between the two fire-fighting choppers showed the extreme danger on the frontline of Europe’s wildfire emergency. Flames bore deeper into the region of the Greek capital, forcing fresh evacuations in the early hours. A Greek national and a Dane died when their helicopter collided with another near the seaside area of Psatha.

The British national and another local man were taken to a hospital, where their injuries were reported as minor. Foreign firefighting and helicopter crews are often deployed in Greece to help tackle wildfires during the country’s hot, dry summers.

More than 1,000 people have been evacuated from the region, including more than 250 rescued by boat from beaches in Greece. Evacuation orders were issued for three more areas, while crews worked to create firebreaks in a forest to help halt the blaze’s advance

In France, firefighters guarded a still-burning scar four times the size of Paris. The blaze raged through pine forests and scrubland over the weekend, whipped by gale force winds that often prevented water-dropping planes from operating.

Hungary is facing power cuts after the drought sweeping across much of Europe forced its only nuclear power plant to shut down. Peter Magyar, the prime minister, said the country was preparing for a “critical” week after the level of the Danube River, which cools the plant, fell to a record low.

The government was considering applying mandatory electricity restrictions for large companies starting today, Mr Magyar said: “We are facing the most critical five days ahead,” he said in a Facebook video.

The Paks power plant will not be generating, while the hottest, 40C days are ahead. The power grid, our public services, and we ourselves will all come under enormous strain.

The Danube has fallen to its lowest level in 30 years in several countries, including Romania. The drought has triggered water-use restrictions in more than 100 cities and villages, including on the outskirts of Budapest.

Mr Magyar called on companies, public institutions, local governments and households to significantly reduce or reschedule electricity use during evening peak hours between 5pm and 10pm.

Italy is in the midst of its fourth extreme heatwave of the summer, with temperatures hitting 40C in many parts of the country. According to official estimates, a total of 17.4 million tourists will be travelling in Italy until August 23, including 8.4 million Italians and nine million visitors from abroad, with about 1.6m expected from the UK.

Dash firefighting aircraft were seen through smoke as they flew over a wildfire in Correns, southeastern France, though the situation in the area was largely under control. Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel, said wildfires in Greece were ‘deeply worrying’ for UK travellers.

He said: “It’s essential, however, that travellers don’t cancel their trips, especially those not due to travel for the next week or two. Travellers who cancel now will likely forfeit the right to a refund or rebooking, and you’re unlikely to be able to claim on travel insurance, as the FCDO has not warned against travel to the affected regions.

“Where possible, holidaymakers should wait until closer to their departure date to see if their holiday can go ahead or what flexible booking options may be offered by their tour operator or airline. Travel companies will be prioritising anyone due to depart in the next couple of days.”

A new alert has been issued in Spain

People in Spain have received another urgent warning following a national emergency declaration earlier this week.

Thousands were forced to flee their homes as wildfires tore through sections of the country, although many have since been permitted to return. A new alert from Spain’s national weather agency, posted on X on Wednesday morning, cautions that additional fires could break out. The message, initially published in Spanish, reads: “With the new heatwave, today the fire danger will be very high or extreme in most of the country.

“Take extreme precautions.” Temperatures are forecast to reach 41C today in the central province of Toledo, where residents from nine of 11 evacuated towns were given the all-clear to return home on Tuesday.

Madrid is bracing for highs of 38C, while Zaragoza is predicted to see the mercury climb to 40C, according to the Met Office. Seville, Malaga, and Palma are expected to experience highs of 37C, 33C, and 33C, respectively.

The UK government hasn’t issued any blanket warnings for Spain, though it is advising holidaymakers to remain alert. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) continues to urge Brits in wildfire-affected areas to “follow instructions from local authorities and emergency services at all times; check updates from the emergency services; and call 112 if you need emergency help”.

On Tuesday, Spain’s Interior Minister urged people: “Don’t let your guard down” adding that “a spark, a moment of carelessness, or an oversight can change anything”. The FCDO guidance states: “Make sure cigarette ends are properly extinguished, do not light barbecues and do not leave empty bottles behind. You can be heavily fined for not following the rules against lighting outdoor barbecues in forest areas.

“Make sure you know the rules if considering a barbecue.”

The trader-turned-campaigner argues that drastic steps need to be taken to close the UK’s huge wealth gap

Millionaire trader-turned-inequality campaigner Gary Stevenson is proposing a 2% annual tax on all those who have wealth above £10million in the UK.

The TV presenter will set out his argument in a Channel 4 programme in which he explores the growing concentration of wealth in Britain. He says that the UK’s poorest billionaire, with a wealth of just £1billion, makes £50 million a year in passive income at a rate of just 5%. That is nearly £1million every week, without getting out of bed.

And Gary, 40, argues that if nothing changes, the concentration of wealth at the top will only accelerate. “If this continues, it is inevitable that the billionaires and the super-rich will own a larger and larger share of the real wealth of this country, meaning other groups in society, the working class, the middle class, and the government will progressively own less and less.

“If we do not do anything about this system then very, very quickly the billionaires will own everything, and you will own nothing.”

In the UK, the richest 56 people have equal wealth to 27million people. In 2025 alone, the average billionaire grew their wealth by £231million. Meanwhile wages, in real terms, are lower than they were almost 20 years ago and the average student debt in England has soared from £3,200 in 2000 to £53,000 today.

Taxing wealth rather than income is not a new idea – Norway, Switzerland and Spain already have wealth taxes. Under his proposal, a person worth £11 million would pay £20,000 in tax a year, while some one worth one billion would pay £20 million.

Some estimates suggest that this system could raise £24billion annually, enough to fund the NHS, build affordable housing or cut taxes for workers who are on lower incomes.

A poll of 4,142 British adults found that 75% of the public support a wealth tax along with many experts. Gabriel Zucman, Professor of Economics, tells Gary: “There is a problem in our tax systems which is that the very rich have lower effective tax rates than the rest of the population.”

But there are plenty of billionaires, aristocrats, tax experts and finance influencers who argue against it. In the programme Reform party donor and billionaire entrepreneur Bassim Haidar – whose wealth is growing at around 12% a year, says that if it happened, he’d sell his businesses and quit Britain. “I would exit completely. Yeah, even if I sell them at a loss, I don’t care, cause it becomes a matter of principle. Wealth is mobile, so I’ll walk away. And listen, I’ll take a hit for one year, that’s fine. But then I’ll go, and I’ll never come back.”

Gary, who grew up in Ilford, east London, the son of a postman, thinks Haidar is scaremongering. “Rich people generate the majority of their income from owning assets. Your house, your supermarket, the farms that grow your food, the power plants that create your energy,” he argues. “Many wealthy people own assets which are fundamentally fixed to this country.”

He also discovers wealthy people who are quite happy to give a bit more. Julia Davies, who made her fortune building an accessories business and is a member of a group called Patriotic Millionaires, is one of them: “We’ve got to stop normalising this idea that it is normal to try and avoid contributing to public services and infrastructure, if you can massively afford to do that. I’m a millionaire, I’m not going anywhere. Why would I uproot myself and my family just to avoid contributing a bit more?”

– How to Get Filthy Rich with Gary Stevenson, Wednesday 8 July, 9pm, Channel 4

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Events and public transport have been cancelled with public drinking banned

Health warnings have been issued for peopel across Europe including in France, Italy, Spain and Germany. France has been cancelling trains, concerts and sports events and cracking down on public drinking as an exceptional heat wave unfurled across parts of Europe.

Multiple drownings were reported as people sought relief in whatever water they could find About a third of France is under “red alert″ heat and temperatures reached 40C in some areas, in a country where air-conditioning is not widespread.

The forecast for Monday is even hotter. The Eiffel Tower and other Paris venues set up misting stations to cool crowds, among a raft of measures introduced by authorities to minimise risks. Tourists in Rome dunked in fountains.

Spain’s Basque Country cancelled some sports and cultural events. More than 200,000 people across Europe died from heat-related causes over the last four years, and most of the fatalities were preventable, the World Health Organisation’s Europe office said this month.

More above-average temperatures are expected this summer, which can cause heat exhaustion and life-threatening heat stroke. Human-caused climate change is tied to increasing extreme weather events and UN climate agency projections say the next five years should shatter more heat records.

A rapid study found that human-caused climate change was responsible for killing about 1,500 people in an unusually early European heat wave in May. In this latest European hot spell, French media reported that four children drowned on Saturday.

Summer drownings are an annual problem that health authorities say worsens during hot spells. France’s annual Music Day on Sunday was of particular concern. The nationwide summer solstice celebration involves thousands of concerts in village squares, rave venues and Paris clubs, bringing communities together and increasingly drawing British and other international visitors.

Some of the concerts outside Paris were cancelled. The French government banned public drinking in “red alert” zones, and ordered organisers of music day events to limit alcohol consumption to “preserve emergency services and allow medics to concentrate on taking care of the most vulnerable”.

Scores of French trains were cancelled, and the national rail authority dispatched thousands of extra staff to deal with potential problems as the heat threatened rails and electrical cables. Authorities are notably worried about people living in the baking streets, and elderly people in nursing homes or isolated in their homes.

About 15,000 older people died in France in a 2003 heat wave that became a national reckoning. The government mobilised emergency services and military forces for reinforced wildfire readiness, imposed tightened surveillance of water supplies to France’s many nuclear reactors, and ordered 845 schools to close on Monday.

Spain kicked off the summer with large parts of the country on alert because of temperatures expected to hover around 40C — even in the interior of Basque Country, a northern region that typically experiences cooler temperatures. Authorities have suspended outdoor sports and cultural activities in the region.

The heatwave is expected to scorch Spain at least until Wednesday. In Italy, authorities expanded heat warnings — referred to locally as “red flags” — to eight cities on Sunday in northern and central parts of the country.

Temperatures there are mostly in the upper 30s. At one farm outside Milan, owners set up fans and sprinklers to keep cows cool, while visitors to Milan Fashion Week huddled under parasols and clutched fans.

In Rome, tourists dunked their arms and occasionally their faces into the city’s famed fountain pools. The German Weather Service is forecasting temperatures of up to 37C for Monday and Tuesday, and up to 39C on Wednesday.

A 23-year-old man drowned on Saturday in a lake near Rheinstetten in the south-western region of Baden-Wurttemberg, the German news agency dpa reported. Three other people are missing after swimming in the Rhine River, a police spokeswoman told dpa.

Thunderstorms also threatened regions in Germany and Poland. French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu is convening a new government heat crisis meeting on Sunday, and ordered government ministers to plan for better adapting France to heat waves in the future — including “via air conditioning, if necessary”.

The move will see passengers pay ’65 per cent’ less tax on a number of routes in a bid to make them more ‘affordable’

The prices of tickets for a number of flights in a holiday destination for British travellers will be lowered in a bid to make them more affordable. The move will see flights on 26 specific routes cut in price as tax is reduced on many flights in France, which gets around four million visits from UK travellers every year.

The move was introduced on June 1. Philippe Tabarot, minister at the French Ministry of Transport, confirmed the update this week, and it will affect some international flights as well as trips to some of France’s biggest cities.

Travellers in the UK heading for holidays to France from Heathrow and Gatwick could benefit. Air France, for instance, travels to Paris Charles de Gaulle, while Manchester airport and Birmingham airport also daily flights to both Paris and Lyon, and Newcastle, Edinburgh and Southampton airports also have regular Paris flights.

The move is due to a change in the so-called solidarity tax on airplane tickets (TSBA). French media website 20 Minutes reports that the TSBA had been raised in March 2025 for all flights departing from France.

Local media say the amount rose from €2.63 to €7.40 per passenger. Now passengers flying on certain routes will see the figure returne to the original rate of €2.63.

The Ministry of Transport says this represents a 65% reduction in the tax. That amounts to a saving of €4.77 per ticket.

The flights in France to be affected by the TSBA change

This discount applies to the following routes:

1. Calvi-Marseille
2. Ajaccio-Paris (Orly)
3. La Rochelle–Lyon
4. Ajaccio-Nice
5. Brive–Paris
6. Rodez–Paris
7. Strasbourg–Madrid
8. Strasbourg–Munich
9. Bastia-Nice
10. Figari-Paris (Orly)
11. Tarbes–Paris
12. Calvi-Paris (Orly)
13. Calvi-Nice
14. Brest–Ouessant
15. Bastia-Paris (Orly)
16. Limoges–Lyon
17. Figari-Nice
18. Poitiers–Lyon
19. Aurillac–Paris
20. Bastia-Marseille
21. Strasbourg-Copenhagen
22. Limoges–Paris
23. Figari-Marseille
24. Ajaccio-Marseille
25. Castres–Paris
26. Le Puy–Paris

The minister said: “By making these routes more affordable, this measure reflects the government’s commitment to supporting connectivity in the least well-served regions and to reducing the cost of air travel to and from these destinations.”

The move is designed to support routes officials believe are sometimes poorly served by other means of transport. While the flights are almost all domestic, Brits travelling around the country could benefit.

There are also international connections to Strasbourg that are included, as well as most of the links between the French island of Corsica and the mainland. These routes have a special status as ‘public service’ routes because they are in areas where other transport options are limited, or where flying represents the only fast connection, The Local reports.

The eco tax was originally added to plane tickets under Jacques Chirac’s government in 2005, French media reports say. It was doubled in 2024 in a move that Ryanair blamed for its withdrawal from some regional French airports.

The tax is added as an extra fee to each plane ticket bought. It is charged at a sliding rate based on the length of the flight and whether the ticket is standard class, business or first.