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Summer Jet-Setters Turned Sardinia Into a Virus Hot Spot

Published

4 years ago

September 9, 2020

Summer Jet-Setters Turned Sardinia Into a Virus Hot Spot

ROME — The attract of the turquoise waters, extravagant villas and unique dance golf equipment of the Emerald Coast of Sardinia proved stronger than ever in August, as Italian vacationers hungry for virus-free air mingled with regulars of the worldwide occasion circuit hopping throughout from locations just like the Spanish island of Ibiza and Mykonos within the Aegean Sea.

They joined Silvio Berlusconi, the mogul who dominated Italian politics for a quarter-century and whose Sardinian refuge is worthy of a Roman emperor; and his businessman pal Flavio Briatore, an acquaintance of President Trump, organic father to Heidi Klum’s first little one and proprietor of the island’s unapologetically hedonistic membership Billionaire.

Now Mr. Berlusconi, 83, lies in a Milan hospital with pneumonia after contracting the coronavirus. Mr. Briatore, who dropped in to pay him a go to at his Sardinian property and who had publicly complained about what he mentioned was an overreaction by the federal government to the pandemic, is quarantined in Milan with Covid-19, too.

It’s not clear when or how Mr. Berlusconi or Mr. Briatore have been contaminated. However native officers say that Billionaire and a few different golf equipment ignored well being rules and have become the petri dish of an island epidemic that contaminated soccer coaches, socialites and showgirls because it unfold to the mainland.

Mr. Briatore’s membership says that it did greater than was requested of it and blamed a sensationalist information media for leaping to conclusions.

What’s for positive is that the number of cases in Sardinia shot up from a few dozen before the summer to more than 1,000 in the space of a month and that the authorities have attributed more than 750 cases in Lazio, the region that includes Rome, to people returning from the island.

Roberto Ragnedda, the mayor of the Sardinian town of Arzachena, where many of the clubs are, said “10 days of madness” in August had caused “enormous damage to our image and to economy.”

“If the owners of the clubs were more careful these outbreaks could have been avoided,” he said, adding that, despite having gotten the outbreak under control, “we are seen as the source of everything wrong.”

For the authorities in Sardinia, the summer realized their worst nightmare.

In March, as infections and deaths exploded in the country’s north, the southern island’s governor, Christian Solinas, pleaded with the authorities in Rome to ban travel to Sardinia because Italians, especially those with a second home there, kept arriving. The government obliged.

As a result, Sardinia essentially dodged the Covid-19 disaster. In mid-April, when Italy reached more than 170,000 total cases for the virus, Sardinia had about 1,000.

Over the ensuing months, the virus all but vanished from the island, with zero new infections on May 14. Mr. Solinas vowed to keep it that way and at the time proposed requiring a “sanitary passport,” essentially a sticker certifying a negative coronavirus test result attached to a boat or plane ticket. The government called it unconstitutional, and ultimately, tourists only had to register via an online form on the region’s website.

Still, it seemed sufficient. Mr. Solinas, using powers given by the national government, decided to reopen outdoor nightclubs, as long as people danced at a distance. On Aug. 1, the island’s cases had ticked up only slightly, to 39.

But August has been Sardinia’s hot season since the 1960s, when the Aga Khan, the spiritual leader of some 20 million Ismaili Muslims worldwide and an enthusiastic jet-setter, banded together with friends to buy miles of northeastern coastal land from herders and developed luxurious hotels, yacht and golf clubs and a village in medieval Moorish style along what became known as the Emerald Coast.

This year, it became Italy’s viral hot spot; “the Emerald Covid,” according to one headline in the newspaper Corriere della Sera.

The authorities are investigating partygoers for leaving false names and numbers at clubs to avoid contact tracing. The Italian civil protection agency complained about a 5 a.m. incident at the Just Cavalli nightclub of the zebra-print fashion house Roberto Cavalli, in which a man broke the nose of a volunteer for blocking his yellow Mercedes and “ruining his holiday.” Johnny Micalusi, a Rome-based celebrity chef known as the King of Fish and for schmoozing with his famous guests at their tables, was hospitalized with Covid-19 after working out of a Sardinian club.

But according to Mr. Ragnedda, the “most egregious” offender was Mr. Briatore, at whose club he once delivered drinks while working his way through law school.

Mr. Briatore declined a request for an interview through Patrizia Spinelli, a spokeswoman for his Billionaire Life brand. (“We didn’t just create a company, we built a lifestyle” is its motto.) She said the club was not responsible: “We are victims of the situation, too, and took all the precautions.”

She noted that the club had gone above and beyond health regulations, limiting its season to a single month, specially training its staff and halving the number of tables for the dinner show it developed to replace the usual disco.

She said Mr. Ragnedda forced the club to close early by banning the loud music necessary in a song and dance performance that people expected with their dinner.

“We are all about music and energy,” she said.

She said that 27 infected members of the club’s staff were isolated in single rooms at the company’s expense in the Billionaire residences, and confirmed that about 30 contractors had also been infected.

Mr. Briatore is in quarantine after discovering his infection during an Aug. 22 checkup for an unrelated ailment. This week, he assured his Instagram followers, “I have not disappeared,” and said that he was in “super form.”

Mr. Briatore, a convicted card cheat and fixer of Formula 1 motor races, is also the star of the Italian version of “The Apprentice.”

“There was only one person that I wanted. And that was Flavio,” Mr. Trump said in a promo for the Italian show. In another spot, the two men appear together at Trump Tower, firing each other. Mr. Briatore once claimed of Mr. Trump that he had been “the first to bring him to Europe” but has since downgraded their relationship status to a publicity stunt.

Mr. Briatore, who usually wears a white beard and black T-shirts, has bristled at the attacks on Billionaire, telling Italian reporters that his club “always respected the rules.”

But videos on social media depicting less-than-quiet sit-down dinners have caused an uproar.

In one, a train of women transport champagne bottles loaded with sparklers by means of thumping music and a sweaty crowd. Nearly no one is carrying a masks.

In a social media publish a few days earlier than his coronavirus analysis, Mr. Briatore, 70, attacked a virologist for talking badly about his membership, saying that such scientists had “terrorized Italy.”

“Allow us to work,” Briatore mentioned in one other publish on Might 31. “The coronavirus gives insurance coverage for this authorities, they’re scaring everybody, and since every part has been happening since June, they begin scaring folks for September,” he added.

He additionally cited a remark made by his physician, Alberto Zangrillo, who has mentioned, “Covid clinically not exists; somebody is terrorizing the nation.” (Dr. Zangrillo later mentioned that he had been talking loosely and that he believes the virus is actual.)

Dr. Zangrillo can be the private physician of Mr. Berlusconi, who’s in a Milan hospital the place his situation is claimed to be bettering.

Mr. Briatore visited Mr. Berlusconi at his Villa Certosa on Aug. 11.

“Go to to a particular pal,” Mr. Briatore titled an Instagram post documenting the splendid seaside property. Within the publish, Mr. Briatore pays tribute, saying he discovered Mr. Berlusconi in “nice type.”

“A heartfelt thanks,” Mr. Berlusconi replied.

After making a political profession out of victimization, Mr. Berlusconi this week appeared to have discovered a once-in-a-lifetime enemy: his coronavirus an infection.

In a name on Tuesday to members of his occasion, Forza Italia, he mentioned that hoped to return to political battle and that, out of all of the hundreds of checks carried out on the Milan hospital for the reason that begin of the epidemic, “I’ve come out within the prime 5 when it comes to the energy of the virus.”

“I’m combating to beat this infernal illness,” Mr. Berlusconi added, “It’s very ugly.”

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Petition Against Cody Roberts Demands Felony Charges For Killing Wolf

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4 hours ago

April 19, 2024

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Cody Roberts has invaded the media headlines as numerous animal rights activists asked for strict actions against him. Cody Roberts is a man hailing from Wyoming, reported Times Now.

After brutally torturing a wolf, he kills the animal as well. This brutal incident took place on February 29 in Daniel.

Reportedly, Cody hit the wolf with his snowmobile. Later, he took the wolf to his house. Then he shifted the wolf to Green River Bar, a local pub. He shot the wolf fatally at the pub.

Reportedly, when Cody Roberts was inside the bar, he paraded the innocent animal, clicked pictures of it and then killed him.

A witness told the Colorado Sun that the majority of the people present at the crime spot, the bar, were Roberts’ family and friends.

The witness said, “People were petting it, taking photos of it, hugging it. I want to be clear: He wasn’t kicking or beating or torturing it. The torture was in not putting it down when he ran it over.”

Petition · Demand Felony Charges Against Cody Roberts for Animal Cruelty https://t.co/rspMMVnRxr— Rivulets (@rivulets) April 9, 2024

The individual added, “He was a jokester about it, while it was just sitting there bleeding to death.”

According to The Guardian, in the wake of this incident, the suspect was charged with a nominal fine of $250.

Petition Against Cody Roberts

An advocate for animal rights, Tessa Branas, has recently launched a petition. She called the authorities and asked them to bring felony charges against Cody Roberts.

Tessa Branas wrote in the petition, “I am appalled by the horrific act of cruelty inflicted upon a wolf by Cody Roberts of Daniel, Wyoming. Animals have just as much right to feel safe and be spared any unnecessary pain. If it was a person being tortured, the man would be in jail immediately.”

She added in the petition that she called upon Clayton Melinkovich, Sublette County Attorney, and K.C. Lehr, Sublette County Sheriff to charge the suspect with felony charges of torturing and then murdering an innocent animal.

Tessa Branas added that the petition aims not to deliver justice to just one world but, the entire animal group and that cruelty against them will not be tolerated.

Also Read: Gas leak in Durham leads to complete evacuation near Angier Avenue

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911 Outage In US: China Cyberattack Hacking Theories Explored

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4 hours ago

April 19, 2024

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911 Outage In US: China Cyberattack Hacking Theories Explored

On Wednesday night, April 17, a major 911 outage affected over nine states. As per the law enforcement agencies, the emergency services were restored after several hours.

Until now, it was not clear what is the reason behind such downtime or if these are related to some bigger conspiracy theories. Thus, in the wake of this, several theories have come up.

As per reports by NBC News, a cyberattack might be the reason behind impacting the key US systems. The 911 outage was given a potential China angle by social media users.

Several reports suggested that Wisconsin, Kentucky, Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota, Nevada, Nebraska, Florida and Texas were the states which were severely affected by the 911 outage.

We are aware of reports of 911-related outages and we are currently investigating.— The FCC (@FCC) April 18, 2024

911 Outage in The US

The South Dakota Department of Public Safety went to social media and posted that it was aware of the entire state getting interrupted due to 911 service.

Furthermore, the agency added that sending a text to 911 worked in several locations.

“The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department 911 Communications” stated that the 911 outage affected non-emergency and 911 calls as well.

The department added that calls from landlines also didn’t work. However, officials could check the numbers from which calls were made.

The department went to X and tweeted, “Dial on a mobile device, and we will be able to see your number and will call you back right away.”

Even the officials of Nebraska faced a similar problem. In Texas, the Del Rio PD stated, “an outage with a major cellular carrier was to blame.”

ABC News published an analysis which underscored the concerns about the potential effect of this disruption of emergency services, and its connection with the exploitation of sensitive data.

The publication highlighted that “ransomware attacks have disrupted the networks of police departments and 911 call center operations”.

However, USA Today later reported that the 911 Outage experienced in several states in the US, was due to the installation of light pole.

Also Read: Gas leak in Durham leads to complete evacuation near Angier Avenue

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Jeff Bezos Lookalike Cagdas Halicilar Enjoys Lavish Lifestyle By Impersonating The Billionaire

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4 hours ago

April 19, 2024

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Jeff Bezos Lookalike Cagdas Halicilar Enjoys Lavish Lifestyle By Impersonating The Billionaire

A 46-year-old German man, Cagdas Halicilar, is currently the talk of the town as he has emerged on the internet as Jeff Bezos’ lookalike.

Thus, Cagdas Halicilar has transformed his profession into a professional Jeff Bezos doppleganger from an electrician.

The 46-year-old reveals that now he lives an opulent lifestyle as an entrepreneur.

Cagdas Halicilar was often told by his family and friends that his looks were similar to those of a billionaire. However, only when he saw Jeff Bezos’ picture, did he understand what people around him meant.

The New York Post reported that Halicilar dreamed of becoming a successful business executive. With him founding CB Transporte, a transport company, he lived his dream.

After accepting his resemblance to Jeff Bezos, Cagdas Halicilar enrolled himself at a doppelgänger agency.

Cagdas Halicilar Gained Popularity by Being Jeff Bezos’ Lookalike

Most of the time, he dressed up in casual attire which made him look more like a billionaire, as Jeff Bezos also dressed up casually.

Halicilar added, “It doesn’t matter whether I’m wearing a suit or wearing jeans and a polo shirt.”

He added how it requires a bit of effort to maintain his appearance like a billionaire. He shaves his head and applies Nivea cream regularly. The German doppleganger added that he has been doing the same for more than ten years now.

The 46-year-old has gained a lot of popularity and recognition over the years for his work as Jeff Bezos’s doppelgänger. His spouse complained that people often stopped him and asked for selfies on the street.

In the “King of Stonks,” the German Netflix miniseries, he also had a guest spot.

When in Seattle once, Cagdas Halicilar strolled through the Amazon campus. Surprisingly, Amazon employees thought that he was Jeff Bezos, reported TimesNow.

He said,