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Changing continent: The EU’s population is declining, figures reveal

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Changing continent: The EU’s population is declining, figures reveal

Eurostat’s Demography of Europe report documents various factors affecting the lives of tens of millions of people.

The European Union population decreased by more than half a million compared to 2020, according to the latest demographic statistics published by Eurostat.

The report revealed the adverse effect of COVID-19 casualties on the EU population, interrupting the annual growth observed until 2020. 

Despite 17 EU member nations showing an absolute increase in population, seven countries followed the opposite trend, including significant decreases in Italy, Poland, Greece, and Croatia. 

The annual demographic statistics, produced by Europe’s official stats crunchers aim to look at how the population is developing in the region across a number of key metrics. 

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Here are some of the highlights from the latest report: 

EU population on the decline

The EU’s population on 1 January 2022, was 446.7 million – a slight decrease compared to the same day in 2021.

Although the population overall has grown by 4% compared to 2001, the population fell for the second consecutive year.  

There were 585,000 fewer people in January 2022 compared to the first day of 2020 in the European Union.

The EU population continued to grow annually until January 2020 and then began picking up the negative trend, which is attributed to the casualties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

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EU is ageing fast

The latest numbers show over a fifth of EU inhabitants are now aged 65 or over. 

With access to better healthcare facilities, the share of those aged 80 or above almost doubled in 2022 compared to 2002. 

Alternatively, a decrease in the population below the age of 20 was also seen, contributing to the overall ageing figures. 

That means an increase in the median age of the people residing in the EU. 

The median age in the EU in 2022 was 44.4 years, an increase of almost six years compared to the figures from 20 years ago. 

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While Italy had the highest median age amongst the member states at 48 years, Cyprus stood at the bottom with 38.3 years. 

Women live longer in the EU

Women in the EU live longer than men in the EU, based on the latest life expectancy figures. 

Although the overall life expectancy fell by 1.2 years between 2019 and 2021, figures show women live 5.7 years longer than men. 

Life expectancy at birth for women was 82.9 for women in 2021 compared to 77.2 for men. All the EU member states followed the same trend. 

The overall average life expectancy has grown from 77.6 years in 2002 to 80.1 in 2021 with factors like reductions in infant mortality, rising living standards, improved lifestyles, better education and advances in healthcare and medicine delaying premature deaths.

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New Lonely Island Song ‘Sushi Glory Hole’ Premieres on ‘SNL’; Raps About Secret Sushi Spots Around NYC

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New Lonely Island Song ‘Sushi Glory Hole’ Premieres on ‘SNL’; Raps About Secret Sushi Spots Around NYC

In the first Lonely Island song of the 50th season of “SNL,” the beloved trio of Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer debuted “Sushi Glory Hole,” a humorous take on a fictional app where you can find sushi in a hole in a bathroom around New York.

“SNL” alumna Maya Rudolph, who has been portraying presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris during the new season, was on hand for the video. “Gentleman, what do you have for us today?” she asked in the video opener.

“Sushi glory hole,” rapped Samberg. “Imagine that. Instead of getting strange [expletive] you’ll be getting a snack.” A long refrain of “Hear us out, hear us out, hear us out,” played on loop as the trio tried to get others on board with their idea.

Dressed as 1980s businessmen, the Lonely Island members, and Bowen Yang, rapped about sushi in bathrooms, with suggestive lyrics, singing, “So drop to your knees and get ready for some fish.” The digital short featured funny evocative imagery of slices of sushi being presented through holes in bathroom walls. The trio rapped, “Hit the bathroom stall, and find a sushi-sized hole in the bathroom wall.”

“Hit the map,” they said, showing a phone with a lit-up map with “SGH” locations all around Manhattan, where one could find a sushi glory hole. They rapped on, defending the unorthodox food-related business idea, saying, “You got nothing to fear. It’s not weird. It’s sushi being through a hole in the wall.”

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They rapped about the different ideal circumstances for a “SGH.” Samberg sang about sushi glory holes in nightclubs and how it’s better than eating in the middle of a street. “Make a wish and prepare for some shockingly high-grade fish.”

“Don’t leave, hear us out. No substitutions or special requests,” they said.

Stand-up comedian Nate Bargatze was this episode’s guest and musical group Coldplay was the musical guest.

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Iran's Ayatollah Khamenei defends missile barrage against Israel in rare sermon

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Iran's Ayatollah Khamenei defends missile barrage against Israel in rare sermon

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared in a rare sermon Friday that his country’s ballistic missile attack on Israel earlier this week was “legal and legitimate” and that the “resistance in the region will not back down even with the killing of its leaders.” 

The public address from Khamenei was his first during Friday prayers in Tehran in nearly five years, according to the AFP.  

Khamenei said Iran will not “procrastinate nor act hastily to carry out its duty” in going after Israel, Reuters reports. 

The news agency cited him as saying that Tuesday’s barrage of nearly 200 missiles fired by Iran at Israel was “legal and legitimate” and the minimum punishment for Israel’s “crimes.” 

IRAN WARNS OF ‘DECISIVE RESPONSE’ IF ISRAEL CROSSES ‘RED LINES’ 

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Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during Friday Prayers and a commemoration ceremony of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Tehran, Iran, on Oct. 4. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/West Asia News Agency/Reuters)

“The resistance in the region will not back down even with the killing of its leaders,” Khamenei reportedly added, mentioning recently slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah during the speech. 

The remarks came as the Israel Defense Forces announced Friday that Mohammad Rashid Sakafi, the commander of Hezbollah’s Communications Unit, was killed in an airstrike in Beirut, Lebanon. 

“Sakafi was a senior Hezbollah terrorist, who was responsible for the communications unit since 2000,” the IDF wrote on X. “Sakafi invested significant efforts to develop communication capabilities between all of Hezbollah’s units.” 

ISRAEL BANS UN SECRETARY-GENERAL OVER ANTI-ISRAEL ACTIONS 

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Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks in Tehran

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Friday that Iran’s missile attack on Israel this week was “legal and legitimate,” Reuters reports.  (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/West Asia News Agency/Reuters)

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said earlier this week that the Iranian missile attack on Israel was “defeated and ineffective” and that the U.S. military coordinated with the IDF to repel the strikes.  

“U.S. naval destroyers joined Israeli Air Defense units in firing interceptors to shoot down inbound missiles. President Biden and Vice President Harris monitored the attack and the response from the White House Situation Room, joined in person and remotely by their national security team,” Sullivan said during a briefing.  

Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system

Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets during the missile attack, as seen from Ashkelon, Israel, on Tuesday, Oct. 1. (Reuters/Amir Cohen)

 

“This is a significant escalation by Iran, a significant event, and it is equally significant that we were able to step up with Israel and create a situation in which no one was killed in this attack in Israel… We are now going to look at what the appropriate next steps are to secure, first and foremost, American interests and then to promote stability to the maximum extent possible as we go forward,” he added. 

Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan contributed to this report. 

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Protests across Europe as Gaza war anniversary nears

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Protests across Europe as Gaza war anniversary nears

The war in Gaza, which started on 7 October last year, has seen more than 41,000 Palestinians killed and decimated the Strip. Almost 100 Israelis are still being held hostage by Hamas, with fewer than 70 believed to be alive.

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Thousands of people have staged protests in capitals across Europe in support of Palestine in the run-up to the first anniversary of the war on 7 October.

Huge rallies took place in several major European cities, with rallies expected to continue over the weekend and peak on Monday, the date of the anniversary.

Italy

In Rome, several thousand demonstrated peacefully until a smaller group tried to push the rally toward the centre of the city, in spite of a ban by local authorities who refused to authorize protests, citing security concerns.

Some protesters, dressed in black and with their faces covered threw stones, bottles and paper bombs at the police, who responded with tear gas and water cannons, eventually dispersing the crowd.

At least 30 law enforcement officers and three demonstrators were injured in the clashes, local media reported.

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The rally in Rome had been calm earlier, with people chanting “Free Palestine, Free Lebanon,” waving Palestinian flags and holding banners calling for an immediate stop to the conflict.

United Kingdom

In London, thousands marched through the capital to Downing Street amid a heavy police presence.

The atmosphere was tense as pro-Palestinian protesters and counterdemonstrators, some holding Israeli flags, passed one another.

Scuffles broke out as police officers pushed back activists trying to get past a cordon.

At least 17 people were arrested on suspicion of public order offences, supporting a proscribed organisation and assault, the Metropolitan Police said.

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Spain

Thousands also took to the streets of Madrid to demand a ceasefire in Gaza.

The protests were peaceful and there were no reported incidents of altercations with police.

“Outrage at this situation, thousands and thousands of people killed in Gaza, now in Lebanon, there are already more than 2,000, more than 10,000 people missing. This has to be stopped one way or another,” said Enrique Quintanilla from the ‘Disarm Madrid’ group.

Germany

In the northern of Hamburg, about 950 people staged a peaceful demonstration with many waving Palestinian and Lebanese flags and chanting “Stop the Genocide,” the DPA news agency reported, citing a count by police.

Two smaller pro-Israeli counterdemonstrations took place without incident, it said.

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Serbia

A smaller protest of around 200 people happened in Belgrade with protesters chanting “Free Palestine” and expressing their anger at their government’s support for Israel.

“The main message is that we, citizens of Serbia and Belgrade, are against arms exports to Israel. The Republic of Serbia is exporting arms to Israel. Since October 7 last year, the value of weapons exported to Israel from Serbia is at least 20 million euros. We are against that,” said protest organiser, Mihajlo Nikolic.

Rallies were also planned in several other countries across Europe including Greece, the Netherlands, Denmark and Switzerland.

Increased security

Security forces in several countries warned of heightened levels of alert in major cities, amid concerns that the conflict in the Middle East could inspire new terror attacks in Europe or that the protests could turn violent.

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Pro-Palestinian protests calling for an immediate cease-fire have repeatedly taken place across Europe and around the globe in the past year and have often turned violent with confrontations between demonstrators and law enforcement officers.

A bloody year

On 7 October last year, Hamas launched a surprise attack into Israel, killing 1,200 Israelis, taking 250 people hostage and setting off a war with Israel that has shattered much of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.

More than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed since then in Gaza, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between fighters and civilians.

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Nearly 100 Israeli hostages remain in Gaza, with fewer than 70 believed to be alive. 

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