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Russia and Saudi Arabia meet with other countries Thursday on cutting oil production while they continue a price war that has driven down U.S. gasoline and oil prices.The talks could calm prices that declined in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak told Russian television several days ago that the coronavirus crisis is one of the principal causes of what he called the “unprecedented fall of world oil prices.” This, he maintained, “affects the economic interests of the major world nations, including Russia.” In a round table discussion broadcast on Russian television, President Vladimir Putin suggested that his aim in the current tug-of-war with Saudi Arabia and other major producers, including the United States, was “to cut world production by around 10 million barrels, give or take.” U.S. President Donald Trump has tried to broker a solution between Russia and Saudi Arabia, which have each increased production to try and intimidate the other. Trump said Sunday that he might consider using tariffs to halt the slide of domestic U.S. oil prices.  “Tariffs are a way of evening the score. Tariffs are a way of just neutralizing. They have tariffs on us and we can now put tariffs on them. Am I using it for oil? It’s something we can (do). Am I doing it now? No,” Trump said.Russia’s Energy Minister Alexander Novak, Venezuela’s Oil Minister Manuel Quevedo, OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo and Saudi Arabia’s Oil Minister Khalid Al-Falih are seen at an OPEC and NON-OPEC meeting in Vienna, Austria, July 2, 2019.Saudi oil analyst Abdel Aziz Miqbal told Sky News Arabia that he thought the U.S. will eventually sit down to discuss oil production levels, since the U.S. is “one of the principal parties hurt” by the ongoing price war. Riyadh will also host a virtual meeting Friday with energy ministers from the Group of 20 nations that represent the world’s most powerful economies. Khattar Abou Diab teaches political science at the University of Paris. He tells VOA that he thinks both Russia and Saudi Arabia have reached a stalemate in their game of double-or-nothing and that each side has come out a loser. He says neither Russia nor the Saudis wants to lose the important Asian oil market. Russia, he thinks, may be trying to hurt U.S. producers as a response to U.S. sanctions prompted by a gas pipeline to Germany. Saudi Arabia, he argues, is trying to defend its interests in a show of force with both Russia and the U.S., after feeling slighted by what the Saudis considered insufficient solidarity, when its Aramco oil installations were attacked by Yemen’s Houthi rebels in June. Paul Sullivan is a professor at the U.S. National Defense University. Sullivan tells VOA that he thinks “shale producers in the U.S. seem to be the target” of the current oil price war. “It is much more expensive,” he argues, “to produce an average barrel of shale oil in the U.S. than to produce an average barrel of oil in Saudi Arabia and in most of the better fields in Russia.” 
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Across a locked-down France, strawberries, lettuce and asparagus are ripening, near-ready for picking. Other plants are poking through the warming soil, thanks to rising temperatures and generous sunshine. But the tens of thousands of Polish, Romanian and Moroccan workers who normally flood in for spring harvest are nowhere in sight.France is not the only country facing a migrant labor crunch. With the coronavirus battening down national borders, many other European farmers also are hurting. In Britain, agricultural unions are pressing the government to fly in Eastern European workers on chartered planes. Germany announced Thursday it would relax border restrictions to fill gaps in fields and food processing plants. Spain and Italy also worry about unpicked fruits and vegetables rotting in fields, further hurting their coronavirus-battered economies. But in France, the European Union’s biggest agricultural producer, filling the labor shortage has become a national cause — although reactions from the farming world are mixed. Appealing to leagues of newly sidelined workers — waitresses, hotel workers, hairdressers and others rendered jobless and confined by COVID-19 — Farm Minister Didier Guillaume urged them to “join the great army of French agriculture.”Solid responseThe rallying cry has resonated strongly in a country where food and rural life are embedded in popular culture and the nation’s very identity. Local residents practice social distancing as they shop fruits and vegetable directly from “Le potager de Saquier” farm in Nice, France, as a lockdown is imposed to slow the rate of the coronavirus, April 3, 2020.No matter that many French can’t tell the difference between a strawberry and a potato plant. In a matter of days, more than 200,000 have signed up for fieldwork — if only to escape stuffy confinement. That’s about the same number of extra hands the country’s main FNSEA agricultural union estimates are needed through May.“I’m in good health, so why not,” speech therapist Florence Khong told French TV, pausing between pulling up leeks. “During these times we need to help each other.”Many farmers applaud the drive, and the public’s reaction.“It’s a double win,” said wheat grower Jerome Regnault. “Obviously it will help professionals who need labor, but it also gives people an opportunity to get some fresh air — both psychologically and physically.” Cereal farmer Jerome Regnault in his tractor in Plaisir, outside of Paris. He says working in his business needs experience. (Lisa Bryant/VOA)Co-founder of an association trying to reconnect French with the farm world, Regnault’s phone rings incessantly these days. He points aspiring laborers to local associations and a new online volunteer platform, Des bras pour ton assiette (arms for your plate). But Regnault himself doesn’t need extra help. His two long-time workers are still coronavirus-free. Besides, cereal farming demands experience. “Obviously, I can’t allow a novice to handle equipment worth several tens of thousands of euros,” he said.Farmers dividedOther growers have similar reservations. “We’re worried we’ll get people without the needed experience or competence,” vegetable farmer Robert Francais told local media, standing before rows of lettuce that he said demanded special techniques to harvest.  “We have the impression, with this government call, that just about anybody can suddenly become a farmer without training or skills,” said Nicolas Girod, a dairy farmer and spokesman for the Confédération paysanne, France’s third-largest agricultural union. “It feels pretty degrading.”A French farmer, wearing a protective face mask, gives a driving lesson to a new young farm worker for his tractor in Anneux, France, March 27, 2020.While applauding the initiative’s spirit, Girod also criticized the idea of unpaid labor—although some jobs come with salaries. His union is selecting only volunteers with past farming experience or agricultural students to fill labor gaps. For French authorities, the farm drive is part of a broader call to arms to shore up the French economy. Yet as President Emmanuel Macron laments the lack of European unity in its coronavirus response, his finance minister Bruno Le Maire urges the country to display “economic patriotism,” by stocking up on local products.  On social media, some critics compare the government farm drive with China’s traumatic cultural revolution, where millions of young people were sent to work in the countryside. Others suggest it does not square with the nationwide lockdown and other tough health safety measures. The overall reaction, though, has been massively positive. The volunteer platform is crammed with help-wanted notices: for people to drive tractors, prune trees or generally help at vegetable farms and vineyards. “A magnificent initiative,” saluted agricultural association Au Coeur de Paysans on Twitter. Livestock farmer Clement Traineau agreed. “Don’t waste your energy in permanently criticizing,” he tweeted of naysayers. “Save it to make a difference.”   
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After dropping for straight days, Spain’s health ministry announced Tuesday both the coronavirus daily rate of new infections and the death rate were higher overnight.At news briefing in Madrid, the health ministry’s Dr. Maria Jose Sierra reported the number of new infections grew at a faster pace from Monday, rising 4.1 percent to 140,510 total cases. That number had risen by 3.3 percent on Monday.Sierra also reported deaths spiked from Monday to Tuesday, with 743 new deaths, raising the total toll to 13,798. That compared to 637 deaths from Sunday to Monday.She said Tuesday’s increases may be attributed to delayed reporting from the weekend. The ministry noted the proportional daily increase in cases of 5.7 percent reported Tuesday is still a fraction of the figures reported in mid-March, when the rate of increase was more than 20 percent per day.  Spain’s current total of coronavirus cases is second only to the United States. 
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The president of El Salvador warned on Monday that security forces had been ordered to enforce quarantine orders more rigorously to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, confining offenders to “containment centers” and confiscating their cars.   “The restrictions are the same, but we are going to be much tougher to enforce them,” President Nayib Bukele said in a televised address to the impoverished central American nation of around 6 million people.   In neighboring Honduras, the Security Ministry said it would temporarily ban the carrying of firearms for everyone except those transporting, food, cargo and other goods deemed essential during the health crisis.   Bukele said he had instructed his security and defense ministers take firmer action enforcing quarantine measures in the country, which has confirmed 78 cases of the virus, with four deaths so far.   In addition to having their cars confiscated, those who violate the quarantine orders will also be taken to “containment centers” for 30 days, Bukele said.  He added that national quarantine measures would be extended by 15 days, without specifying the precise date when they would end. Bukele also outlined a plan to track down people who are carriers of the virus and place them in observation.  
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Local authorities in Ukraine have dismissed residents’ concerns that forest fires near the Chernobyl nuclear power station have led to unsafe radiation levels.The radiation levels in the capital Kyiv and the exclusion zone established around the plant in 1986, after an explosion there that caused the world’s worst nuclear accident, “did not exceed natural background levels,” the zone’s authorities said.The emergency service said it was still fighting the fires but the situation was “fully under control.”After the explosion in April 1986, people were evacuated and resettled from the 30 km (19 mile) exclusion zone around the nuclear plant, and the zone is still strictly controlled.The fires began on Friday evening in the western part of the exclusion zone and spread to nearby forests, some of which are in the part of the zone that still has higher radiation.Footage shot by the emergency service shows forests covered with dense smoke, burning grass and shrubs.The emergency service said the area affected had increased to 35 hectares by Tuesday afternoon, and planes and helicopters were being used to fight the blaze.The fires follow unusually dry weather but police also say they have identified a 27-year old local resident accused of deliberately setting fire to garbage and grass.
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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was in stable condition Tuesday in a hospital intensive care unit with the coronavirus, and while he is not on a ventilator, he is receiving oxygen, his spokesman said.Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has taken over many of Johnson’s duties temporarily while he is being treated at St. Thomas’ Hospital. Britain has no official post of deputy prime minister.The 55-year-old Johnson is the first major world leader confirmed to have COVID-19. He was admitted to the hospital late Sunday with a fever and cough that persisted 10 days after he was diagnosed with the virus and was moved to the ICU Monday evening after his condition worsened.”The prime minister has been stable overnight and remains in good spirits. He is receiving standard oxygen treatment and is breathing without any other assistance,” said Johnson’s spokesman, James Slack.He said Johnson was not receiving mechanical ventilation or “noninvasive respiratory support.” He would not give details of what form of oxygen treatment the prime minister was getting.Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove said Johnson was “receiving the very, very best care from the team at St. Thomas’ and our hopes and prayers are with him and with his family.””It was a shock yesterday to hear the news of his going into intensive care,” said Gove, who is in isolation at home after a family member showed mild coronavirus symptoms. “All of us just want him to pull through — he is the leader of our country. He is a big-hearted, generous-spirited guy. who believes in public service. We are rooting for him.”Johnson’s fiancee, Carrie Symonds, who is pregnant, is herself recovering from coronavirus symptoms.Raab said “the government’s business will continue” despite the prime minister’s hospitalization.He said Johnson had asked him “to deputize for him where needed in driving forward the government’s plans to defeat coronavirus.”The deterioration of Johnson’s health took many in Britain by surprise. On Monday afternoon, he tweeted that he was in good spirits and thanked the National Health Service for taking care of him and others with the disease.The government faced calls Tuesday to be more transparent about Johnson’s condition amid concerns it had underplayed how serious it was.It’s not common for details about the health of British prime ministers to be made public, except at times of crisis. Even then, information has sometimes been scanty. When Winston Churchill suffered a debilitating stroke in 1953, the government kept it secret until Churchill recovered.Buckingham Palace said Queen Elizabeth II was being kept informed about Johnson’s condition. Buckingham Palace said the monarch “said they were in her thoughts and that she wished the prime minister a full and speedy recovery.”The queen’s son, Prince Charles, who tested positive for the virus but has recovered, and grandson Prince William also sent messages of support.Johnson had been quarantined in his Downing Street residence since being diagnosed with COVID-19 on March 26.He continued to work throughout his illness, to the concern of some of his colleagues. With the U.K. still approaching the peak of the coronavirus outbreak and the government facing criticism it did not act soon enough to put the country into lockdown, Johnson and his ministers are under intense pressure.Johnson chaired daily meetings on the outbreak until Sunday. He released several video messages during his 10 days in isolation urging Britons to stay home and observe social distancing measures to help slow the spread of the virus.Concerns had been growing about Johnson’s welfare ever since he posted a message Friday in which he appeared red-eyed and flushed, saying he was feeling better though was still feverish.Johnson’s former communications director, Will Walden, said the prime minister tended to try to soldier on through illness rather than taking a break.”He’s pretty stoic and can be a bit bloody-minded about that kind of thing,” Walden told the BBC.
News that Johnson had been transferred to intensive care drew an outpouring of support from around the world.U.S. President Donald Trump said “Americans are all praying for his recovery.”  “He’s been a really good friend,” Trump said at a White House briefing. “He’s been really something very special — strong, resolute, doesn’t quit, doesn’t give up.”Trump said he asked two “leading companies” to contact officials in London about therapeutics that could be of help. He did not identify the companies, but said “we have contacted all of Boris’ doctors, and we’ll see what’s going to take place, but they are ready to go.”French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted he was sending support to Johnson, his family and “the British people at this difficult time. I wish him well.”Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a telegram wishing Johnson a full and quick recovery, the Kremlin said. “I’m positive that your energy, optimism and sense of humor will help combat the disease,” Putin wrote.The virus causes mild to moderate symptoms in most people, but for some, especially older adults and the infirm, it can cause pneumonia and lead to death.The government said Monday that 51,608 people had been confirmed to have the coronavirus in Britain, and 5,373 have died.Britain’s unwritten constitution does not have a clear rule for what happens if a prime minister becomes incapacitated or dies. Seven prime ministers have died in office, but the most recent was in 1865.Johnson delegating Raab to fill in for him clarifies things for now, but it does not mean Raab would automatically take over permanently should a new leader be needed. If it became clear Johnson could not return to his job, the Conservative Party could elect a new leader, who would become prime minister.
 
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They whiled away the week on a sex- and drug-fueled romp: dancing on white-sand beaches and frolicking on a paradisaical Caribbean island with prostitutes from Europe, some snapping selfies with famous reggaeton artists.But unbeknownst to several children of Venezuela’s ruling elite, the coronavirus was spreading among them.  For some of Venezuela’s high-flying “Bolichicos” — the privileged offspring of the socialist revolution — the party hasn’t stopped amid a widening pandemic in a country already gripped by crisis.To date, the virus has claimed only seven confirmed fatalities in Venezuela. But the potential is high for the pandemic to overwhelm an already crippled health system, where hospitals lack water, electricity and supplies.  It’s not clear how many people got sick last month on the Los Roques archipelago. But a raucous party that became a cluster of infections has raised concerns at the highest level of the government and drawn condemnation from Venezuelans locked down at home for weeks.”There was a party, on an island, and practically everyone at the party is testing positive,” embattled leader Nicolás Maduro said on state TV March 20.  Three days later, as embarrassing Instagram posts leaked out under the hashtag #CoronavirusParty, he downplayed it.  “Who is going to criticize a party? They didn’t know they were sick,” said Maduro, who was indicted by the U.S. last month on narcotics charges.Whether it’s crowded Miami beaches during spring break or clandestine raves in Spain and Italy in the pandemic’s early days, parties among the young and rich have been tough to tamp down.  In Latin America, the world’s most unequal region, jet-setting elites are blamed for importing the virus. In Mexico, for example, nearly 20 people were found to be infected after returning from a ski trip to Vail, Colorado. But it’s the poor — lacking medical care and struggling to hold down informal jobs — who bear the brunt.In Venezuela, engulfed by food and medicine shortages that have forced 5 million to flee, lavish celebrations are even more vexing. Such pockets of wealth are also harder to see amid incessant propaganda extolling the hardworking poor.  The festivities in Los Roques were organized by several government-connected businessmen, according to two people familiar with the gatherings who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.  While neither of the two people who spoke to The Associated Press were at the party, they have attended other gatherings with the same group and are in contact with several of those who went.Among the young revelers was Jesús Amoroso, son of Maduro’s top anti-corruption official, who has been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department for allegedly undermining Venezuela’s democracy.  The two people said Venezuelan prostitutes from Madrid and London were flown in just before air travel was closed to Spain, one of the nations hit hardest by the pandemic.  A smaller group crossed paths with two famous Puerto Rican reggaeton artists, Zion and Justin Quiles, who are seen with Amoroso on a sun-struck powerboat in photos and videos on social media.  A spokeswoman said Zion and Quiles were in the islands to shoot a video and didn’t attend any social event. Both tested negative for the virus.  In a nation plagued by misery, Los Roques is an oasis for the few who can afford it, including aides and relatives of top officials who travel by private plane to the band of tiny islands. Parties in the cluster of tiny islands have become more popular, with Miami, Madrid and New York out of reach after U.S. sanctions cut off access to foreign bank accounts and easy travel. Among them are Maduro’s sons, according to the two people, although none attended the latest gathering.  Usually, the parties feature psychedelic 2C-B drugs — known as “pink cocaine” for its high price and pink, powdery substance, the two people said.  One of them provided a video of the recent soiree, showing bikini-clad women dancing on March 11 at a beachfront home rented from an exiled Venezuelan banker.  According to a third person familiar with the situation, the next day a larger entourage set out in several boats to a popular spot that locals call “Corrupt Cay.” They didn’t know the virus was spreading.”Certainly one of the girls had the virus and nobody knew,” a local resident and partygoer said in an audio message leaked on social media. The person, whose authenticity was verified by one of the two people who used to attend the parties, recounted how he and his girlfriend had to be evacuated with high fevers. He said six people tested positive for the virus.  The party ended with a hangover: Everyone was tested, and some, embarrassed, closed their social media accounts.Others defended their actions.”Suck it gossipers,” Amoroso said on Instagram with a photo showing him in front of a luxury SUV, middle fingers raised.  Last week, police arrested several people who were in Los Roques, including the suspected madam for the upscale prostitutes, after breaking up a multiday party in an upscale Caracas home. Officers found a handgun, ecstasy pills and eight women belonging to a suspected prostitution ring, according the police report.  Of the 18 arrested for violating Maduro’s ban on large gatherings, two tested positive for the virus, according to police.  The scandal still rankles people in the Caracas slum of Petare. Miguel Rengifo, who drives a motorcycle-taxi, said he’s appalled at reports of the rich throwing parties while the country is on lockdown.”We’re struggling to eat, but they’re running free, drinking, chasing girls without a second thought about the rest of us,” the 38-year-old said. “Here, we are fighting just to get by.” 
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Former Mexican lawmaker Juan Antonio Vera Carrizal is under arrest for allegedly ordering the acid attack on a saxophone player last September. Oaxaca state police say Vera was the main suspect in the case, where acid was thrown on saxophonist María Elena Ríos Ortiz by a man pretending to be a customer at the travel agency where she worked. Reuters news agency said Ortiz believed her ex-boyfriend was behind the attack.  The motive for the attack on Ortiz was not clear.  Interpol has reportedly arrested a second man in connection with the crime, which is part of a disturbing trend of violence against women in Latin America. Women’s rights activists say there have been more than a dozen cases of acid attacks in Mexico over the past decade.   
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Japan prepared Tuesday to declare a coronavirus emergency in parts of the country, while British Prime Minister Boris Johnson remained hospitalized with COVID-19 and U.S. officials looked for signs the outbreak might be starting to slow in some of the nation’s hardest-hit regions. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said his decision to enact a state of emergency in Tokyo and six other prefectures was based on a need to protect people amid a situation that is “gravely” affecting lives and the economy. The measure is due to be in effect for about one month, and comes coupled with a government stimulus package worth about $1 trillion. Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks during a meeting about the measures against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo, Japan, April 6, 2020.Johnson was hospitalized Sunday after his symptoms persisted while he was in isolation.  His office said Monday his condition deteriorated and that he was moved to the intensive care unit, but not placed on a respirator. Britain has seen a spike in its coronavirus toll, reporting 600 deaths Sunday and 400 more on Monday. The United States has experienced about 11,000 deaths, making it the country with the third-highest official death tally, behind only Italy and Spain.   More than 40 percent of the U.S. deaths have been in the state of New York, and the majority in New York City.  The state’s Governor Andrew Cuomo reported a potential sign of progress in containing the spread of the coronavirus with a drop in hospitalizations and critically ill patients. But he stressed the need to not let up on public distancing efforts, announcing an extension of closures for schools and non-essential businesses through the end of the month. “We underestimate this virus at our own peril,” Cuomo said.  “Now is not the time to slack off.” In South Korea, steady progress remained with 47 new infections reported Tuesday, but officials there also remain concerned about a reversal and urged people to stay at home. There is also consideration of using electronic wristbands to track those under self-quarantine because of the virus. A similar idea was authorized Monday in the U.S. state of West Virginia, where a judge in the country with the most cases there approved local authorities to put ankle monitors on people who test positive but refuse to go into quarantine to protect others. Progress in some European nations has led to some of the first steps to reverse lockdown measures and begin to return to some semblance of normal life. Denmark, following a similar announcement this week from Austria, says it will reopen daycares, kindergartens and primary schools beginning April 15.  Middle and high school would follow on May 10. Researchers work on a vaccin against the new coronavirus at the Copenhagen’s University research lab in Copenhagen, Denmark.The virus has upended presidential primary voting in the United States, but the Midwestern state of Wisconsin is going ahead with its election Tuesday after a court order overturned a decision by the state’s governor to postpone the voting until June. In Poland, lawmakers approved a plan to hold their May 10 presidential election entirely by mail-in voting.  The measure also allows for the possibility of delaying election day if that is deemed necessary.  The bill must still pass the country’s senate and be signed by the president. New Zealand has been on lockdown for about one-and-a-half weeks, but that did not stop Health Minister David Clark from taking his family for a walk on the beach. He apologized for breaking the stay-at-home orders, calling himself “an idiot.” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said under normal circumstances she would have fired Clark, but that given the coronavirus emergency she needs senior health officials in place, and instead stripped him of some of his duties. 
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Australia’s highest court has dismissed the convictions of the most senior Catholic found guilty of child sex abuse. High Court Chief Justice Susan Kiefel announced the decision of the seven judges on Tuesday in the appeal of Cardinal George Pell. The decision means he will be released from Barwon Prison outside Melbourne after serving 13 months of a six-year sentence. Pope Francis’ former finance minister was convicted by a Victoria state jury in 2018 of sexually abusing two 13-year-old choirboys in a back room of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne in December 1996 while he was archbishop of Australia’s second-largest city. Pell was also convicted of indecently assaulting one of the boys by painfully squeezing his genitals after a Mass in early 1997. Pell had been ordered to serve three years and eight months behind bars before he became eligible for parole.  The High Court found that the Victorian Court of Appeal was incorrect in its 2-1 majority decision in August to uphold the jury verdicts. Pell was regarded as the Vatican’s third-highest ranking official when he voluntarily returned to Melbourne in July 2017 determined to clear his name of dozens of decades-old child abuse allegations. All the charges were dropped by prosecutors or dismissed by courts in preliminary hearings over the years except the cathedral allegations. Pell was tried on the charges twice in 2018, the first County Court trial ending in a jury deadlock. Pell did not testify at either trial or at the subsequent appeals. But the juries saw his emphatic denials in a police interview that was video recorded in a Rome airport hotel conference room in October 2016. “The allegations involve vile and disgusting conduct contrary to everything I hold dear and contrary to the explicit teachings of the church which I have spent my life representing,” Pell read from a prepared statement. Australian Cardinal George Pell leaves at the end of a meeting with the victims of sex abuse, at the Quirinale hotel in Rome, Italy, March 3, 2016.He also pointed out that he had established a world-first compensation scheme for victims of clergy, the Melbourne Response, months before the crimes were alleged to have occurred. As police detailed the abuse allegations, Pell responded: “Absolutely disgraceful rubbish. It’s completely false. Madness.” Pell was largely convicted on the testimony of one of the choirboys, now in his 30s with a young family. He first went to police in 2015 after the second victim died of a heroin overdose at the age of 31. Neither can be identified under state law. Director of Public Prosecutions Kerri Judd told the High Court last month that the surviving choirboy’s detailed knowledge of the layout of the priests’ sacristy supported his accusation that the boys were molested there. Pell’s lawyers argued that Pell would have been standing on the cathedral steps chatting with churchgoers after Mass when his crimes were alleged to have occurred, was always with other clerics when dressed in his archbishop’s robes, could not have performed the sexual acts alleged while wearing the cumbersome garments and could not have abused the boys in the busy priests’ sacristy without being detected. Much of the two-day hearing focused on whether the jury should have had a reasonable doubt about Pell’s guilt and whether he could have time to molest the boys in five or six minutes immediately after a Mass. The appeals court found in a 2-1 majority in August that Pell had had enough time to abuse the boys and that the unanimous guilty verdicts were sound. Judd said the “two big points” raised by Pell’s lawyers against the prosecution case were evidence that Pell had been chatting with members of the congregation on the steps of the cathedral after the Masses when the abuses could have occurred and that he only had windows of five or six minutes to commit the abuses undetected. Pell’s lawyer Bret Walker told the High Court that all that the prosecution had to do at his trial and appeals court hearing was to prove that Pell being left alone while robed or not talking with congregants after Mass was “possible” to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt. “That … is a grotesque version of the reversal of onus of proof, if all the Crown has to do is to prove the possibility of something,” Walker said. Judd argued that the charges were proved beyond reasonable doubt. “The High Court found that the jury, acting rationally on the whole of the evidence, ought to have entertained a doubt as to the applicant’s (Pell’s) guilt with respect to each of the offenses for which he was convicted,” the court said in a statement. 
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With Istanbul the epicenter of Turkey’s COVID-19 epidemic, the city is becoming the political battleground over how to defeat the virus.  Istanbul’s mayor is calling for a city shutdown, but the Turkish president insists the wheels of the economy must continue to turn. Every day, millions of people in Istanbul go to work, potentially running a gantlet of infection. While the city’s schools and entertainment venues are closed like the rest of the country, many factories and businesses continue to function.   Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
Istanbul shop keeper Burak believes there needs to be a full lockdown of Istanbul, but says compensation needs to be worked out by the government. (Dorian Jones/VOA)”The businesses should all be closed,” said shopkeeper Burak, who only wanted to be identified by his first name. “But if they are closed, stores like mine will not be able to pay their rents, cover the expenses for their personnel. There is no clear explanation for how the solution will be to cover our costs. “The government has mentioned that there will be a part-time payment solution,” he added. “My colleagues and some other friends in other businesses already applied more than two weeks ago for this procedure, but they haven’t got any answers till today.” Burak said the economy was weak before the epidemic. “I think our government also got caught in a financially difficult situation. That’s why I think they will be prolonging the postponing of the shutdown as much as they can, to win time,” he said. In a possible sign of limited state funds, Erdogan last week launched a national public appeal for donations to help support those worst affected by the epidemic. While resisting calls for a complete lockdown, the Erdogan government is enforcing a curfew on those younger than 20 and for those older than 65.    Despite such moves, the coronavirus grip on Turkey tightens. The city accounts for most of the country’s deaths and infections. Many commuters wear masks distributed by the Istanbul city authority to contain COVID-19, but Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu is calling for a lockdown of the city. (Dorian Jones/VOA)In a desperate bid to control the virus, authorities issued masks to users of public transport, some of whose hours have now been curtailed. Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) says Ankara must enforce a complete lockdown on the city, saying there are still too many people on the streets. “A 15% mobility in Istanbul means more than 2 million people, and this is very frightening,” he said. “It’s as much as the population of a prominent city in Europe. It is clear this current mobility is posing a threat, and this is why we say that we need a strict measure.” Imamoglu says Istanbul, home to 16 million people, is now the front line for Turkey’s battle against the virus. But he fears that too much time may have been lost. “It’s very important because the measures you take for 16 million people and your methods of stopping the pandemic will save Turkey,” he said, “since it is clear Istanbul has become the center of the pandemic in Turkey. If we had declared a stay-at-home order a week ago, we could have been in a very different position today. This is why we are insisting (for a shutdown).” Millions of people in Istanbul still commute to work despite the city being the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak, as President Erdogan insists the “wheels of economy still need to turn.” (Dorian Jones/VOA)Atilla Yesilada of Global Source Partners says the cost of shutting down Turkey’s largest city might be a price too high to pay for the government.  “Tax revenues are not coming in anymore, and you are shutting down industries with potentially 4 and 5 million workers,” Yesilada said. “Even if the law doesn’t dictate it, ethics, as well as good governance, will dictate that you pay some kind of compensation to these people so they don’t starve or protest on the streets and the budget equation becomes unmanageable.” But with reports that Erdogan’s top medical advisers are also calling for a more extensive curfew, Erdogan appeared to open the door for such a move. “We won’t need further measures if all our citizens keep themselves in voluntary quarantine,” Erdogan said Sunday. “However, we may have to take much more advanced measures if the pandemic spreads and our citizens don’t pay attention to the rules, such as staying at home, social distancing and hygiene.” But some analysts warn that time may be running out for Istanbul and the country for the government to find the right balance to fighting the virus. “There is no way you can fight it unless you impose a Chinese-style, Italian-style very stringent curfew,” Yesilada said. “But Erdogan has a small window of opportunity to enforce the curfew, because when summer comes, when the heat is 40 degrees in people’s small houses, you are not going to keep people in their homes. It’s going to be impossible to enforce the curfew.” 
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The United States has designated the white supremacist group Russian Imperial Movement (RIM,) as a global terrorist organization, an unprecedented move that reflects increasing concerns about violent white supremacists with transnational connections.In Monday’s State Department announcement, three of RIM’s leaders — Stanislav Anatolyevich Vorobyev, Denis Valliullovich Gariev and Nikolay Nikolayevich Trushchalov — have also been designated global terrorists.The move comes after the first anniversary of the terrorist attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand.  The March 15, 2019, attack was linked to a global rise in white supremacism and alt-right extremism since 2015. “These historic designations are just one part of the administration’s broader efforts to counter white supremacist terrorism abroad,” Nathan Sales, the State Department’s coordinator for counterterrorism and ambassador-at-large, said Monday.“We’re bringing all of our counterterrorism tools to this fight — information-sharing, counter-messaging, combating terrorist travel, engaging with tech companies and building partner capacity — to protect soft targets like synagogues and mosques,” Sales added.The designation denies RIM and its leaders access to the U.S. financial system. Any assets they may have in the U.S. are now frozen. Americans will also be banned from financial dealings with the group.  The State Department said Monday’s designation not only makes it “substantially more difficult” for RIM to move money throughout the international financial system, but also makes it easier for U.S. officials at the borders to stop RIM-related individuals from traveling to the U.S.”White supremacist groups are increasingly transnational in nature. This is an important first step by this administration, both in terms of substance and public messaging,” said Seamus Hughes, deputy director of the Program on Extremism at George Washington University.RIM provides paramilitary-style training to neo-Nazis and white supremacists. The organization also attempts to rally like-minded Europeans and Americans against perceived enemies. RIM has two training facilities in St. Petersburg, which likely are being used for woodland and urban assault, tactical weapons, and hand-to-hand combat training, according to the State Department.  FILE – Members of the Russian Imperial Movement, a nationalist group in Russia, pose for a picture with weapon simulators at a training base in Saint-Petersburg, Feb. 28, 2015. In August 2016, two Swedish men traveled to St. Petersburg and underwent 11 days of paramilitary-style training provided by RIM. A few months later, these men and another person conducted a series of terrorist attacks in the Swedish city of Gothenburg, including a bomb attack outside a café and the bombing of a migrant center.When asked about RIM’s outreach and potential connections to domestic white supremacist groups in the U.S., Sales said while Washington does not have the authority to designate groups or individuals on the basis of constitutionally protected speech, blacklisting RIM enables U.S. authorities to keep these terrorists off U.S. soil and denies them resources that could harm U.S. interests.“We’ve seen what RIM-trained terrorists can do in Europe. We want to make sure that RIM is not able, or any terrorist group is not able, to accomplish something similar here in the United States, that is to say providing training that could enable violent attacks and deadly attacks here on the homeland,” Sales told reporters in a telephone briefing on Monday.Some analysts say the rise of white supremacy in Western society and far-right groups in Europe has been part of a disinformation campaign by the Russian government, taking advantage of anything they can do to create divisiveness in Western societies.VOA’s National Security correspondent Jeff Seldin contributed to this story. 
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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was moved to the intensive care unit of a London hospital after his coronavirus symptoms worsened Monday, just a day after he was admitted for what were said to be routing testsJohnson was admitted to St. Thomas’ Hospital late Sunday, 10 days after he was diagnosed with COVID-19.”Over the course of this afternoon, the condition of the Prime Minister has worsened and, on the advice of his medical team, he has been moved to the Intensive Care Unit at the hospital,” his office said in a statement.Downing St, said Johnson was conscious and does not require ventilation at the moment, but was in the intensive care unit in case he needed it later.It said Johnson has asked Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab to deputize for him.Hours earlier, Johnson tweeted that he was in good spirits after spending a night in hospital.The prime minister’s spokesman said Johnson had spent a comfortable night and remained in charge of government despite being admitted to St Thomas’ Hospital after COVID-19 symptoms of a cough and fever persisted.Johnson sent out a tweet thanking the National Health Service for taking care of him and others in this difficult time.”On the advice of my doctor, I went into hospital for some routine tests as I’m still experiencing coronavirus symptoms,” Johnson said in the tweet. “I’m in good spirits and keeping in touch with my team, as we work together to fight this virus and keep everyone safe.”.Johnson’s spokesman, James Slack, refused to say what kind of tests Johnson was undergoing. He insisted that “the PM remains in charge of the government.””He is receiving updates in hospital and is continuing to receive a (ministerial red) box” of files and briefing papers, Slack said,The 55-year-old leader had been quarantined in his Downing Street residence since being diagnosed with COVID-19 on March 26 — the first known head of government to fall ill with the virus.He continued to preside at daily meetings on the outbreak until Sunday and has released several video messages during his 10 days in isolation.Raab chaired the meeting Monday.Britain has no official post of deputy prime minister, but Raab has been designated to take over should Johnson become incapacitated.Speaking at the government’s daily coronavirus press briefing, Raab said Johnson was being “regularly updated,” but admitted he had not spoken to him since Saturday.”He’s in charge, but he’ll continue to take doctors’ advice on what to do next,” Raab said.Johnson was admitted to the hospital as a message to the nation from Queen Elizabeth II was being broadcast Sunday evening. The 93-year-old monarch urged the public to show resolve and follow advice to stay inside.Concerns had been growing about Johnson’s welfare ever since he posted a message Friday saying that he was feeling better, though was still feverish.  The virus causes mild to moderate symptoms in most people, but for some, especially older adults and the infirm, it can cause pneumonia and lead to death.The government said Monday that 51,608 people had been confirmed to have the coronavirus in Britain, 5,373 of whom have died.One of the advantages of being in the hospital is that it will allow doctors to directly monitor Johnson’s condition.  Derek Hill, a professor of medical imaging science at University College London said that since COVID-19 causes difficulty breathing, one test performed on people with the disease is lung imaging with ultrasound or CT scans to see how badly they might be affected.”Some people are rapidly discharged,” he said. “Some others can quickly deteriorate and need help breathing. We have no reason to believe the PM needs such help.”Hill said there are various types of breathing help, depending on the person and the difficulties.”The reasons some people get seriously ill with COVID-19 while others have minor symptoms is not yet fully understood,” Hill said. “But doctors managing these patients report that more men than women have serious problems, and patients who are overweight or have previous health problems are at higher risk.” 
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Mexico has seen a drastic increase in coronavirus cases in the last few days, prompting the government to announce strict social distancing guidelines. However, up until about a week ago, the Mexican government had done very little to prevent the spread of the disease. VOA reporter Iacopo Luzi spoke via Skype with two doctors about how the country is dealing with this health emergency
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British Prime Minster Boris Johnson remains in a central London hospital under observation, having been admitted there on the advice of doctors Sunday night. He was hospitalized on precautionary grounds for further tests as his symptoms had not improved. Johnson was diagnosed with the coronavirus eleven days ago. As Henry Ridgwell reports from London, the shock announcement overshadowed Queen Elizabeth’s rare televised address to the nation
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A Slovak court on Monday sentenced former soldier Miroslav Marcek to 23 years in prison for shooting and killing investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kusnirova in February 2018.
 
Marcek, 37, who was not present at the sentencing, had admitted guilt in the case, which led to nationwide protests and eventually brought down the Slovak government.
 
“It was cold-blooded and malicious. Victims did not have a chance to defend themselves,” presiding judge Ruzena Szabova of the Specialised Criminal Court said at the hearing in Pezinok, north of Bratislava. “His confession was a mitigating circumstance.”
 
Prosecutor Juraj Novocky, who asked for a 25-year sentence, appealed against the sentence.
 
Kuciak had covered corruption and the links of influential businessmen to political, judicial and police leaders.
 
Businessman Marian Kocner, who was a target of Kuciak’s reporting, is standing trial with two others in separate hearings on charges of procuring the murder. 
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Mexico’s President said there will not be a big economic stimulus package related to the coronavirus pandemic, although the country is facing a crisis unlike anything before. Andrés Manuel López Obrador struck an optimistic tone Sunday, uncommon elsewhere nowadays, as the COVID-19 has drastically slowed the economy around the world. “This crisis is temporary, transitory and will soon return to normal. We will defeat the coronavirus, we will revive the economy and Mexico will continue to stand up and show the world its glory and greatness,” Obrador said.    Mexico’s economy has already been in recession. Last week, Mexico’s Treasury said the country’s economy would contract up to 3.9% in 2020 because of the coronavirus. Private analysts have predicted a deeper dive. Thursday, Bank of America said that Mexico’s GDP could contract 8% this year.Mexico is a close economic partner of the United States and it is expected to have directly or indirectly some benefit from the $2 trillion stimulus package approved by the U.S. Congress and signed by President Donald Trump. As of Sunday, Mexico had confirmed 94 deaths related to the coronavirus and over 2,100 infections. 
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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who last week tested positive for coronavirus, remained hospitalized Monday after being admitted for additional testing after having a persistent high fever. His office called the development “precautionary” and said he remained in charge of the government. Britain has emerged as one of the latest hot spots in the pandemic, reporting more than 600 deaths Sunday. Other parts of Europe showed some improvement after weeks of devastating impacts from the virus that have caused governments to put residents on lockdown to try to slow its spread. Italy, which has the most deaths, reported its smallest increase in two weeks, while Spain also reported its latest in a string of lower daily death and new infection counts. In the United States, the western states of Oregon and Washington said they will send thousands of badly needed ventilators across the country to New York, the hardest-hit area in the country.A ventilator is displayed during a news conference on March 24, 2020 at the New York City Emergency Management Warehouse, where 400 ventilators have arrived and will be distributed.About one-third of 9,600 people who have died from the coronavirus in the United States have been in New York City, where makeshift field hospitals and a U.S. Navy medical ship are trying to take some of the strain off the city’s health care system. Other parts of the country are emerging as concerns with mounting case numbers, including Pennsylvania, Colorado and the nation’s capital, Washington, DC, where about 1,000 cases have been confirmed. South Korea, one of the first hot spots in the outbreak, reported just 47 new cases Monday, but the country’s vice health minister cautioned the need for continued vigilance and for people to stay home to prevent an infection “explosion.” Kim Gang-lip said data from smartphones showed too many people were going out to restaurants and parks in recent weeks. Meanwhile, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is urging governments to take steps to protect women after a “horrifying” increase in domestic violence during the outbreak. 
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Two forest fires near the now defunct Chernobyl nuclear plant in Ukraine have boosted the radiation level in the area. Ukrainian firefighters worked into Sunday night to put the fires under control. Emergency services said one of the fires that spread to an area of about five hectares was contained. The other fire was covering a much larger area, of about 20 hectares. Fire officials said radiation levels in the area near Chernobyl were considerably higher than normal.  The emergencies service, however, said radiation levels in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, about 100 kilometers south, were within normal range. The fires were within the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone established after the 1986 explosion at the plant, an area of 2600 square kilometers which was largely evacuated because of radioactive contamination. Since than about 200 people have remained in the area, disregarding orders to leave.  
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The U.N. secretary-general warned Sunday that the increase in social and economic pressures brought on by the coronavirus pandemic has led to a global increase in violence against women and girls.   Last week, Antonio Guterres called for a global cease-fire so that the international community could focus all of its attention on stopping the virus and helping those who have contracted it. “But violence is not confined to the battlefield,” he said in a statement Sunday evening. “For many women and girls, the threat looms largest where they should be safest – in their own homes. And so I make a new appeal today for peace at home — and in homes — around the world.” Many countries have reported a surge in domestic violence incidents and calls to abuse hotlines since the pandemic started spreading globally earlier this year. In France, domestic violence rates surged by a third in one week. In South Africa, authorities received nearly 90,000 reports of violence against women in the first week of its lockdown. Australia’s government says online searches for support on domestic violence have risen 75%, while in Turkey, activists are demanding greater protections after the killing of women rose sharply after a stay at home order was issued March 11. Badges showing an emergency phone number created to fight domestic violence are pictured, Sept. 3, 2019, at the hotel Matignon, the French prime minister’s official residence in Paris, at the outset of a multiparty debate on domestic violence.Entire countries have called for quarantines and lockdowns to slow the spread of the respiratory virus that has sickened more than 1.25 million people worldwide and killed nearly 70,000. These stay at home orders mean many women and girls are stuck in crowded homes with men who have lost their jobs or have no outlet for their frustrations, such as watching sports or meeting friends at a local bar, and are instead taking them on out on them. At the same time, authorities, such as police, are overwhelmed with their coronavirus response, and civil society groups are struggling to maintain staff and resources. In some cities, domestic violence shelters have been commandeered as health centers. “I urge all governments to make the prevention and redress of violence against women a key part of their national response plans for COVID-19,” Guterres said of the disease caused by the coronavirus. He said that includes declaring shelters as essential services, setting up emergency warning systems in pharmacies and grocery stores, declaring shelters essential services, and creating safe ways for women to seek support, without alerting their abusers. 
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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was diagnosed with the new coronavirus more than a week ago, was admitted to a hospital Sunday for tests.  Johnson’s office said he was hospitalized because he still has symptoms 10 days after testing positive for the virus. His admission to an undisclosed hospital in London wasn’t an emergency.Downing St. said it was a “precautionary step” and Johnson remains in charge of the government.Johnson, 55, has been quarantined in his Downing St. residence since being diagnosed with COVID-19 on March 26.Johnson has continued to chair daily meetings on Britain’s response to the outbreak, and has released several video messages during his 10 days in isolation.In a message on Friday, he said he was feeling better but still had a fever.The virus causes mild to moderate symptoms in most people, but for some, especially older adults and the infirm, it can cause pneumonia and lead to death.Johnson has received medical advice by phone during his illness, but going to a hospital means doctors can see him in person.Johnson’s fiancee Carrie Symonds, 32, revealed Saturday that she spent a week with coronavirus symptoms, though she wasn’t tested. Symonds, who is pregnant, said she was now “on the mend.”The government said Sunday that almost 48,000 people have been confirmed to have COVID-19 in the U.K., and 4,934 have died.Johnson replaced Theresa May as prime minister in July and won a resounding election victory in December on a promise to complete Britain’s exit from the European Union. But Brexit has been overshadowed by the coronavirus pandemic sweeping the globe.Johnson’s government was slower than those in some European countries to impose restrictions on daily life in response to the pandemic, but Britain has been effectively in lockdown since March 23.Several other members of Johnson’s government have also tested positive for the virus, including Health Secretary Matt Hancock and junior Health Minister Nadine Dorries. Both have recovered.News of Johnson’s admission to hospital came an hour after Queen Elizabeth II made a rare televised address to the nation, urging Britons to remain “united and resolute” in the fight against the virus.Drawing parallels to the struggle of World War II, the 93-year-old queen said that “while we may have more still to endure, better days will return: we will be with our friends again; we will be with our families again; we will meet again.”
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Queen Elizabeth II urged Britons to “rise to the challenge” of the coronavirus pandemic in a rare address to the nation Sunday night.“I am speaking to you at what I know is an increasingly challenging time,’’ she said, speaking from her residence in Windsor.The Queen thanked workers at the National Health Service as well as those continuing to work essential jobs.“Every hour of your hard work brings us closer to a return to normal times,” the Queen said, going on to add her thanks for every Briton who is staying at home.“I hope in the years to come everyone will be able to take pride in how they responded to this challenge,” she said.The Queen left London to stay in the Windsor castle as the COVID-19 pandemic affects Britain.Her son, Prince Charles, has been diagnosed with a mild case of the virus.Queen Elizabeth II records an annual Christmas message to Britain, but very rarely addresses the country in Sunday’s fashion. Other instances of such an address by the 93-year-old monarch include one before the funeral of Princess Diana in 1997 and after the Queen Mother’s death in 2002.
 
“While we have faced challenges before, this one is different,” the Queen said, noting that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected nearly all nations around the globe.The United Kingdom has recorded more than 48,000 cases of COVID-19 and nearly 5,000 resulting deaths. Prime Minister Boris Johnson tested positive for the virus last week and is isolating at home.
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Soccer players in Spain on Sunday criticized the Spanish league’s decision to ask clubs to put the footballers on government furloughs during the coronavirus crisis.The league on Friday said the furloughs were needed because there was no agreement on the size of the salary cuts players must take to reduce the financial impact of the pandemic.”It is strange that the Liga supports [the furloughs],” Spain’s players’ association said in a statement.It said the league should have created a financial cushion for this period considering it always boasted about its “economic control measures” and the “well-balanced economy” of the Spanish clubs. The association said it also should be taken into account that the league has been temporarily suspended and not yet canceled.The league and the players’ association have been in talks to try to find ways to mitigate losses that could reach nearly 1 billion euros ($1.08 billion) if the season cannot be restarted because of the pandemic.The players said they agree with a salary reduction to help the clubs during the crisis, but not to the extent the league wants, which could amount to nearly half of the total losses if the competition is not resumed.Players said they want to keep negotiating directly with the clubs instead of being forced into furloughs.”The clubs and the players have been reaching agreements regarding the salaries,” the players’ association said. “What footballers are not going to do is relinquish labor rights.”Barcelona and Atlético Madrid are among the Spanish clubs requesting furloughs, but both directly negotiated the amount of the salary reduction with players — 70% in both cases. Both clubs and their players are contributing to guarantee the wages of non-playing employees being furloughed.The government furloughs help reduce the clubs’ labor costs while also guaranteeing players their jobs once the crisis is over.Spain has more than 130,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with nearly 12,500 deaths. The nation is expected to remain in a lockdown until April 26.There is no timetable for the return of the Spanish league.Players maintained their position to only resume competing when health authorities deem it safe for everyone’s heath, a view also shared by the Spanish league.The league has suggested it will recommend teams start mini-camp while the lockdown is still in place, if it’s possible to do so within the restrictions imposed by authorities.
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Emergency authorities in Ukraine say there are no signs of any fire still burning in the uninhabited exclusion zone around the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear plant after firefighters mobilized to put out a blaze.The country’s State Emergency Service said early on Sunday that background radiation levels were “within normal limits.”More than 130 firefighters, three aircraft, and 21 vehicles were deployed on April 4 to battle the fire, which was said to have burned around 20 hectares (50 acres) in the long-vacated area near where an explosion at a Soviet nuclear plant in 1986 sent a plume of radioactive fallout high into the air and across swaths of Europe.Fire and safety crews were said to be inspecting the area overnight on April 4-5 to eliminate any threat from sites where there was still smoldering.The blaze required seven airdrops of water, officials said.The Ukrainian State Emergency Service said that “as of April 5, 7:00 a.m., there was no open fire, only some isolated cells smoldering.”It said firefighters hadn’t seen any flames since around 8:00 p.m. on April 4.Officials had earlier shared images taken from an aircraft of white smoke blanketing the area, where it said firefighting was complicated by “an increased radiation background in individual areas of combustion.”There was no threat to settlements, the State Emergency Service said.A number of regions of Ukraine this week have reported brushfires amid unseasonably dry conditions.Fires are a routine threat in the forested region around the exclusion zone where an explosion 33 years ago ripped a roof off the fourth reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant near the now-abandoned town of Pripyat.The 1986 explosion sent a cloud of radioactive material high into the air above then-Soviet Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia, as well as across Europe as Soviet officials denied there had been any accidents.Dozens of people in Ukraine died in the immediate aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster, and thousands more have since died from its effects, mainly exposure to radiation.A second massive protective shelter over the contaminated reactor was completed in 2016 in hopes of preventing further radiation leaks and setting the stage for the eventual dismantling of the structure.
 
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