Lithuania’s opposition conservative Homeland Union party claimed victory Monday in the first round of the country’s general election, winning 23 seats in 141-seat parliament as the center-right opposition appears on track to win the vote, defeating the ruling four-party coalition.
The Farmers and Greens Union, which forms the backbone of the Baltic nation’s current ruling coalition, finished second with 16 seats outright and many fewer candidates making it into the second round of voting being held on Oct. 25.
Two liberal parties — the Freedom Party and the Liberal Movement — considered likely allies in a future center-right coalition, claimed a total of 14 seats. The center-left Labour party won 9 seats and the Social Democrats got 8. Six parties will be represented in the Seimas parliament, according to initial results.
Three candidates in single-member constituencies claimed victory in the first round of voting including the former finance minister and one of the Homeland Union’s leaders, Ingrida Simonyte, a former candidate for president who oversaw drastic austerity cuts during the global financial crisis. She could likely be the country’s next prime minister.
Under Lithuania’s election system, the remaining 68 lawmakers will be elected in a proportional vote on Oct. 25.
“We choose the path of consolidation and cooperation, not the one of drawing lines and confrontation,” the young leader of conservatives, Gabrielius Landsbergis, said at a press conference Monday.
He is the grandson of Lithuanian independence leader Vytautas Landsbergis, who was the Baltic country’s first president.
Lithuania has kept up strong democratic traditions since regaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1990. It has also played a major role as the protests in neighboring Belarus unfold against that nation’s authoritarian leader.
The southernmost Baltic country of less than 3 million has seen a recent surge in COVID-19 cases. So far Lithuania has seen 5,500 confirmed coronavirus cases and just above 100 deaths. The center-right coalition government has faced strong criticism over soaring virus-related unemployment.
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Dozens of protesters in Belarus were arrested Sunday during the 10th straight weekend of demonstrations against longtime authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko.Since the president claimed victory in a disputed August 9 election, protesters have regularly taken to the streets demanding his resignation and the release of political prisoners.Belarus Protesters Face Physical, Social Repression Activists say those who have come out against Lukashenko’s decades-old grip on power are living physical and social repressionVideos from the latest demonstration show security forces using water cannon and batons to disperse crowds. Minsk police said they detained “several dozen” people.The clashes follow an unusual meeting between Lukashenko and jailed opposition leaders Saturday. “The goal of the president was to hear everyone’s opinion,” his office said of the visit. Lukashenko’s main opposition candidate in the election, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, is now based in Lithuania after fleeing Belarus for her safety.Lukashenko maintains he won the poll in a landslide — garnering 80% of all ballots — despite widespread claims at home and abroad the vote was heavily rigged to keep him in power. He has been in office for 26 years.Public anger has stewed over the crackdown in the wake of the protests that have seen more than 7,500 arrests and police violence against demonstrators.Hundreds have emerged from police custody with bruises and tales of torture at the hands of Lukashenko’s security agents.Lukashenko has said the protests are encouraged and supported by the West and accused NATO of moving forces near Belarusian borders. The alliance has denied the accusations.
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Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal has won his record-extending 13th French Open title, defeating Novak Djokovic of Serbia 6-0,6-2,7-5 on Sunday.With the win at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, the Spaniard notched his 20th Grand Slam title, moving into a tie with Swiss tennis great Roger Federer for most men’s major titles ever.Nadal dominated Sunday’s match from the start, but Djokovic came to life in the third set before his serve was broken at 5-5.”To win here means everything. I don’t think today about the 20th and equal Roger on this great number. Today is just a Roland Garros victory and that means everything to me,” Nadal said after the match. “This love story I have with this city and this court is unforgettable.”Djokovic said, “Today you showed why you are the king of clay. Today was a tough match; I was outplayed by a better player today.”In the women’s draw Saturday, Poland’s Iga Swiatek defeated American Sofia Kenin 6-4,6-1.This year’s French Open was held one month later than normal due to the coronavirus pandemic. 
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Millions of people in northern England are anxiously waiting to hear how much further virus restrictions will be tightened as one of the British government’s leading medical advisers warned Sunday that the country is at a crucial juncture in the second wave of the coronavirus. England’s deputy chief medical officer, Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, said the U.K. is at a “tipping point similar to where we were in March” following a sharp increase in new coronavirus cases. “But we can prevent history repeating itself if we all act now,” he said. “Now we know where it is and how to tackle it — let’s grasp this opportunity and prevent history from repeating itself.” FILE – People with and without protective masks walk through the shopping street as the spread of COVID-19 continues in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Oct. 7, 2020.All across Europe including the U.K., the pandemic has found fresh legs over the past few weeks following the reopening of large sectors of the economy, as well as schools and universities. Infection levels — and deaths — in the U.K. are rising at their fastest rates in months. Without quick action, there are fears that U.K. hospitals will be overwhelmed in the coming weeks at a time of year when they are already at their busiest with winter-related afflictions like the flu. So far the U.K. has experienced Europe’s deadliest virus outbreak, with over 42,750 confirmed deaths. A man sells face masks, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease, on a street in Manchester, Britain, Oct. 7, 2020.Although new coronavirus infections are rising throughout England, cities in the north — Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle — have seen a disproportionate increase in new cases. While some rural areas in eastern England have less than 20 cases per 100,000 people, major metropolitan areas such as Manchester are recording levels above 500 per 100,000, nearly as bad as Madrid or Brussels. As a result, national restrictions such as a 10 p.m. curfew on pubs and restaurants have been supplemented by local actions, including in some cases banning contacts between households. In Scotland’s two biggest cities, Glasgow and Edinburgh, pubs have already closed for 16 days to suppress the outbreak. FILE – Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson visits the headquarters of Octopus Energy in London, Oct. 5, 2020.In response to the virus’ resurgence, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce a new three-tier local lockdown system Monday, which could temporarily close pubs and restaurants in the virus hotspots. The speculation is that those areas put under the tightest restrictions would forbid all household mixing, indoors or out. Local leaders in northern England have vented their fury at the Conservative government over what they see as an “inadequate” wage support scheme that it announced Friday and for not properly telling them about the upcoming restrictions. The wage plan aims to help employees in companies that are forced to close due to virus restrictions but mayors say it’s not generous enough in paying only two-thirds of employees’ wages and doesn’t compensate those indirectly hit by any business closures, such as drink suppliers to pubs. Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick on Sunday sought to assuage concerns that the government was being overly top-down in its approach. “We are trying to work very closely with mayors, with council leaders, with chief executives to design these measures with them,” he told Sky News. “That does take time.” Separately, Health Secretary Matt Hancock denied claims that he broke the government’s drinking curfew after the Mail on Sunday newspaper claimed he was seen having a drink in a House of Commons bar after 10 p.m. “The proposed timeline of events is false and no rules have been broken,” a spokesman for the health secretary said. 
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About 40 unidentified people armed with metal bars and using fireworks as projectiles tried to storm a police station in the Paris suburbs on Saturday night, officials said.   “Violent attack last night on the police station of Champigny with mortar shots and various projectiles. No police officer was injured,” the Paris police headquarters said on Twitter on Sunday.   The police posted a video showing a barrage of fireworks going off in the direction of the police station in Champigny-sur-Marne, about 15 km (nine miles) southeast of central Paris. The assailants tried to force entry into the station but failed to do so.   Nobody was arrested, but images showed smashed windows at the station and damaged cars.   The motive for the attack, the third on this police station in two years, was not immediately clear. The station is in a housing estate area known for drug trafficking and deemed by authorities as a high priority district for order to be restored.   Champigny Mayor Laurent Jeanne said the attack may have been triggered after a scooter accident that local residents blamed on the police.   “It was an organized attack of about 40 people who wanted to do battle. For a few days it has been tense with people who have a certain willingness to do battle with the police,” he told BFM TV.   “Little gang leaders don’t impress anyone, and they will not deter our work fighting drug trafficking,” Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Twitter. “Full support for our police officers who are doing a difficult job.”   A spate of criminal incidents across France since the end of the COVID-19 lockdown in mid-May has put President Emmanuel Macron’s government on heightened alert for increases in crime amid the economic fallout from the pandemic.  
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Azerbaijan said Sunday that Armenian forces had shelled the city of Ganja overnight.The Azerbaijani Foreign Affairs Ministry said on Twitter a new “On the night of October 11, #Ganja, the second largest city in #Azerbaijan and far beyond the frontline, came under rocket fire by the Armenian armed forces. The attack killed seven civilians and injured 39 others, including minors.”On the night of October 11, #Ganja, the second largest city in #Azerbaijan and far beyond the frontline, came under rocket fire by the Armenian armed forces. The attack killed seven civilians and injured 39 others, including minors.MFA’s Statement https://t.co/ilzMzdlwhg— MFA Azerbaijan 🇦🇿 (@AzerbaijanMFA) October 11, 2020The defense ministry in Nagorno-Karabakh said that the charge of Armenian forces “shelling Ganja is an absolute lie.”The incident has not been independently confirmed.A cease-fire between Armenian and Azerbaijani went into effect Saturday at noon local time (0800 UTC), at least temporarily halting deadly hostilities over the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region, which each country claims.Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to the cease-fire in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region after 10 hours of talks in Moscow. The truce is intended to allow both sides to exchange prisoners and recover the dead.Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who mediated the talks, said the cease-fire should pave the way for further talks on the settlement of the conflict.The talks between the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan were held at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin after nearly two weeks of fighting.The United Nations human rights office said that it had received unconfirmed reports that more than 50 civilians, including children, have been killed since the fighting erupted on Sept. 27.The fighting also claimed the lives of about 400 soldiers and forced thousands of people to flee their homes.The predominantly ethnic Armenian territory declared its independence from Azerbaijan in 1991 during the collapse of the Soviet Union, sparking a war that claimed the lives of as many as 30,000 people before a 1994 cease-fire.   However, that independence is not internationally recognized.
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Minutes after suddenly becoming a Grand Slam champion at age 19, while ranked just 54th in the world, Iga Swiatek held a microphone during the French Open trophy presentation and was hesitant for pretty much the only time over the past two weeks.”First of all, I’m not very good at speeches,” Swiatek began, haltingly, “so, sorry, because I won my last tournament like two years ago, and I really don’t know who to thank.”When she has a racket in her hand, it’s a whole different story. With the poise of a veteran and the shots of a champion, Swiatek wrapped up a dominating run at Roland Garros, grabbing the last six games to beat Sofia Kenin 6-4, 6-1 in Saturday’s final.”Two years ago, I won a junior Grand Slam, and right now I’m here. It feels like such a short time,” Swiatek said, her voice cracking. “I’m just overwhelmed.”Swiatek is the first Polish tennis player to win a major singles trophy and said, “I know it’s pretty crazy back home” — where one newspaper’s front page was splashed with the headline “Poland Garros” ahead of the final.The way she played these two weeks — with those great groundstrokes, the occasional drop shot, terrific returning and impressive court coverage — made this outcome less of a surprise.Kenin said Swiatek’s “spinny forehand up the line” bounces high enough to make things difficult for opponents.Swiatek lost 28 games across seven matches and is the first woman to triumph in Paris without ceding a set since Justine Henin in 2007. She’s the first teen to win the women’s title there since Iva Majoli in 1997.”She’s, like, really hot right now,” said Kenin, who was hampered by an injury to her upper left leg, an issue that first cropped up during a practice session last weekend.Swiatek beat both 2018 champion Simona Halep and 2019 runner-up Marketa Vondrousova 6-1, 6-2.So it made sense that Swiatek would handle the fourth-seeded Kenin, even if the 21-year-old from Florida won the Australian Open in February and entered Saturday 16-1 in Grand Slam play this year.This weekend is the culmination of an unusual two weeks, to say the least. The tournament was postponed from May-June to September-October because of the coronavirus pandemic; the recently rising number of COVID-19 cases in France led the government to limit the number of spectators allowed on the grounds to 1,000 each day.Some top women, including 2019 major champions Ash Barty, Naomi Osaka and Bianca Andreescu, didn’t enter the event at all; 23-time Slam winner Serena Williams withdrew before the second round with an injury.
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Pope Francis on Saturday urged people to pull investments from companies that are not committed to protecting the environment, adding his voice to calls for the economic model that emerges from the coronavirus pandemic to be a sustainable one.Francis spoke in a video message for an online event called “Countdown Global Launch, a Call to Action on Climate Change.””Science tells us, every day with more precision, that we need to act urgently … if we are to have any hope of avoiding radical and catastrophic climate change,” he said.The pope listed three action points: better education about the environment, sustainable agriculture and access to clean water, and a transition away from fossil fuels.”One way to encourage this change is to lead companies towards the urgent need to commit to the integral care of our common home, excluding from investments companies that do not meet [these] parameters … and rewarding those that [do],” he said.He said the pandemic had made the need to address the climate crisis and related social problems even more pressing.”The current economic system is unsustainable. We are faced with a moral imperative … to rethink many things,” he said, listing means of production, consumerism, waste, indifference to the poor and harmful energy sources.In June, a Vatican document urged Catholics to disinvest from the armaments and fossil fuel industries and to monitor companies in sectors such as mining for possible damage to the environment.Other speakers and activists at the online event included actress Jane Fonda, Britain’s Prince William, former U.S. Vice President Al Gore and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
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A cease-fire between Armenian and Azerbaijani went into effect Saturday at noon local time (0800 UTC), at least temporarily halting deadly hostilities over the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region, which each country claims.Official sources on both sides accused each other of firing missiles and rockets on civilian areas on Saturday, in the hours before the cease-fire.Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to the cease-fire in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region after 10 hours of talks in Moscow. The truce will allow both sides to exchange prisoners and recover the dead.Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who mediated the talks, said the cease-fire should pave the way for further talks on the settlement of the conflict.The talks between the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan were held at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin after nearly two weeks of fighting.On Friday, United Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet called for an “urgent cease-fire” in Nagorno-Karabakh, citing a heavy toll on civilians.“It is deeply worrying that in recent days we have seen populated areas reportedly targeted and shelled with heavy weaponry in and around the conflict area,” Bachelet said in a statement.Bachelet’s office said it has received unconfirmed reports that more than 50 civilians, including children, have been killed since the fighting erupted on Sept. 27.The fighting also claimed the lives of about 400 soldiers and forced thousands of people to flee their homes.The predominantly ethnic Armenian territory declared its independence from Azerbaijan in 1991 during the collapse of the Soviet Union, sparking a war that claimed the lives of as many as 30,000 people before a 1994 cease-fire. However, that independence is not internationally recognized.
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Armenia and Azerbaijan have agreed to a cease-fire in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region beginning at noon Saturday.Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov made the announcement in Moscow in the early hours Saturday after mediating 10 hours of talks between the two sides.The agreement stated the truce would allow both sides to exchange prisoners and recover the dead. Lavrov said the cease-fire should pave the way for further talks on the settlement of the conflict.The talks between the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan were held following an invitation by Russian President Vladimir Putin after nearly two weeks of fighting.On Friday, United Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet called for an “urgent cease-fire” in Nagorno-Karabakh, citing a heavy toll on civilians.“It is deeply worrying that in recent days we have seen populated areas reportedly targeted and shelled with heavy weaponry in and around the conflict area,” Bachelet said in a statement.Bachelet’s office said it has received unconfirmed reports that more than 50 civilians, including children, have been killed since the fighting erupted on Sept. 27.The fighting has also claimed the lives of about 400 soldiers and forced thousands of people to flee their homes.Armenian and Azerbaijani forces had previously ignored calls in the past two weeks by the United States, France and Russia for an immediate cease-fire, as fighting escalated to levels not seen since the 1990s.The three countries co-chair the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Minsk Group, which is trying to find a peaceful solution.The predominantly ethnic Armenian territory declared its independence from Azerbaijan in 1991 during the collapse of the Soviet Union, sparking a war that claimed the lives of as many as 30,000 people before a 1994 cease-fire.Peace efforts in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, mediated by the Minsk Group, collapsed in 2010. 
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Spain’s government declared a state of emergency in Madrid Friday, taking control of efforts to fight the spread of COVID-19 from local authorities after a regional court struck down restrictions as the region faces one of the most significant outbreaks in Europe.
 
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s government took the step at a special cabinet meeting as he imposed his authority on regional officials, who have resisted his calls for restrictions on travel in the region.
 
The move gives Sanchez extraordinary powers to order new constraints on life in the capital, where efforts to control a surge in infections have been complicated by the standoff. The step forced Madrid authorities to restore restrictions they had ignored following the court ruling.
 
At a news conference Friday, Health Minister Salvador Illa said the measures, which prohibit residents from leaving the area, including nine nearby towns, without a valid reason, among other measures, would be effective immediately and remain in place for 15 days.
 
The Madrid region’s 14-day infection rate of more than 560 coronavirus cases per 100,000 residents is more than twice Spain’s national average of 256 and five times the European average rate of 113 for the week ending September 27.
 
The Interior Ministry said an extra 7,000 policemen and security personnel would be deployed for enforcement of the measures “at various exit and access points of the region under state of emergency.”  
 
The partial lockdown comes as the nation begins a three-day holiday weekend, and initial reports from Madrid said cars continued to pour out of the city and its neighboring towns on Friday. 
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The effort to unseat autocratic Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko may be heading for a new phase.
 
Belarusian activists, impressed by the success of protests in Kyrgyzstan, where protesters managed to pull off a “revolution in one day,” are now debating whether to copy the Kyrgyz tactics and storm key government buildings in Minsk.
 
On Telegram, the messaging app used by Belarusian protesters to share uncensored information and discuss strategy, Kyrgyzstan is being cited as a possible model of how to proceed in their weeks-long bid to oust the country’s president, following a disputed August election in which he claims to have won a sixth term in power.
 
Some analysts worry that an escalation in protest tactics in Belarus will fan Kremlin alarm about a new wave of “color revolutions,” in turn prompting Russian leader Vladimir Putin to dispatch Russian forces to Belarus.
 
Putin has already said he has created a police reserve for Lukashenko to use, if events get “out of control” in Belarus.
 
So far the Russian leader has held back from ordering a military intervention, but Russian security advisers and senior Kremlin personnel are suspected by Western diplomats of helping to coordinate the suppression of the pro-democracy opposition in Belarus.
 
Putin and Lukashenko discussed developments in Kyrgyzstan in a phone call midweek, according to the beleaguered Belarusian leader. Midweek, Russia acknowledged it had issued an arrest warrant for Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who left Belarus for Lithuania after the election, following threats to her family.
 
Kyrgyz protesters, outraged by what they saw as rigged parliamentary elections on October 4, overran the parliament and ransacked the office of President Sooronbai Jeenbekov. The action forced election officials to annul the results of the vote and to announce plans for re-running the poll.
 
But political chaos has now unfolded. Jeenbekov declared a state of emergency Friday in the capital, Bishkek, ordering troops to deploy, as supporters of rival political groups took to the streets after days of unrest following the overturned election.
 
Video of the Kyrgyz protests has been reposted on Nexta, a Telegram channel that’s served as a key communication platform for the anti-Lukashenko protesters. Nexta praised the way their Kyrgyz counterparts achieved “revolution in one day,” according to George Barros, an analyst at the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based research group.FILE – People protest during a rally on the central square in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Oct. 7, 2020. Officials in Kyrgyzstan have nullified the results of parliamentary elections after mass protests erupted in Bishkek and other cities.“Nexta has not issued explicit directions for Belarusian protesters to replicate Kyrgyz protest tactics yet,” he said, noting the channel has in the past advocated adoption of more radical options.
 
“Nexta’s favorable coverage of Kyrgyz protesters may embolden Belarusian protesters to adopt more radical tactics,” Barros added.
 
Lukashenko has overseen a brutal crackdown on his opponents, but so far has failed to stem the demonstrations against his rule. Protests have been raging in Belarus for eight weeks. Thousands of protesters have been arrested and most of the main opposition leaders have been imprisoned, deported or forced into exile.
 
“In one day, they managed to change the political leadership in Kyrgyzstan,” Paval Latushka, a member of the Belarusian opposition Coordination Council, told Current Time, the Russian-language network led by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA. “I think that many Belarusians look at this — they are probably surprised by this and are thinking about it.”
 
Other Nexta contributors urge caution, saying peaceful protest is the best option to ensure change is sustainable and long term. They point out that Kyrgyzstan is struggling now to come up with ways to facilitate a transfer of power and that the euphoria felt after opposition groups seized the parliament building has quickly turned into dangerous uncertainty.
 
Other Belarusian activists worry taking a more violent step will only prompt a Russian backlash.
 
Already worried that may happen, Belarus opposition figures have been urging Western governments to collectively make it clear to the Kremlin that Russia must avoid any direct military intervention to save Lukashenko. They want Western nations to announce their readiness to stand by the Budapest Memorandum, an international protocol signed in 1994 guaranteeing the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Belarus.
 
Valery Tsepkalo, a former diplomat, and one of Lukashenko’s main political rivals until forced into exile, says a formal re-commitment by all Western states to the 1994 Budapest Memorandum would send a “strong message” to Russia.
 
The protocol refers to three identical political agreements signed at a conference in Budapest overseen by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. The agreements provide security assurances to Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine against threats or use of force against their territorial integrity or political independence. In return, Belarus and the other two states gave up their stockpiles of Soviet-era nuclear weapons.
 
Analysts say the political explosions in Belarus and Kyrgyzstan, along with the outbreak of war between Armenia and Azerbaijan, has placed the Kremlin in a dilemma. Military intervention risks a public backlash and Western sanctions, while doing nothing and allowing political developments to play out risks emboldening opposition groups in Russia.
 
Recent days have seen a noticeable uptick of state-controlled Russian media blaming Western powers for the political turmoil in what the Kremlin considers its sphere of influence. 
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Police in heavy riot gear Friday cleared squatters from a building in east Berlin known as a center for leftist activists, as a large, loud but mostly peace crowd protested the action.  Police in riot gear could be seen leading – or sometimes carrying – residents down ladder-like steps from an upper level of the Liebig 34 building in the capital’s Friedrichshain neighborhood, named after its address, Liebigstrasse 34.  Police entered the building from there after being refused entry at ground level.The graffiti-covered building has become a symbol for the left-wing scene in the German capital. It has been partially occupied for 30 years by squatters, and the current residents had a 10-year agreement with the property owner who refused to renew it when it expired in 2018. He began a court process that resulted in Friday’s evictions.Police, who feared violent protests from the eviction, called in about 1,500 police which were deployed around the city.  Germany’s Deutsche Welle news service reports protesters threw glass bottles and fireworks at officers within a closed-off zone adjacent to the building.   The police say that overnight, protesters burned tires, garbage dumpsters and set fire to the Tiergarten metro station building. But the spokesman said the protesters were otherwise peaceful as they cleared the building Friday.Occupants of the building say Liebig 34 has offered a place of refuge for women, trans and intersex people since 1999. An autonomously run bar and cultural center allowed the occupants to raise funds to cover rent.A lawyer for the occupants of the building told the French news agency they plan to appeal the eviction, saying the landlord acted unlawfully in limiting his contract to 10 years. He also said it went against human rights to put people on the street in the middle of a pandemic. 
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Norway’s 83-year-old King Harald V on Friday underwent an operation to replace a heart valve at the main hospital in Oslo. The palace said it was successful and his condition was described as good, the palace said.
Following the surgery at Rikshospitalet’s Cardiovascular and Lung Clinic, the monarch was transferred to an intensive care unit for further observation, the king’s doctor, Bjoern Bendz, said in a palace statement,  
Bendz said the intervention was necessary to improve the king’s breathing and added that this kind of operation is regularly performed.
Last month, the king was hospitalized with breathing difficulties. Doctors ruled out COVID-19.  
After Friday’s surgery, the palace said he will be on sick leave through October. His son and heir to the throne, Crown Prince Haakon, has stepped in and taken over his father’s duties.
 
The palace said the operation was not an open heart surgery and that the king was awake during the the operation that was performed via the groin with local anesthesia.  
In 2005, the king’s aortic valve was replaced by an artificial heart valve. Such valves have a lifespan of between 10 and 15 years, the royal household had said.
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The World Food Program (WFP) has won the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize for its efforts to combat the threat of hunger.Berit Reiss-Andersen, chairperson of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, said the WFP was awarded the prize “for its efforts to combat hunger, for its contribution to bettering conditions for peace in conflict-affected areas and for acting as a driving force in efforts to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict.”The peace prize is the sixth Nobel given this week. Each comes with a $1.1 million cash award and a gold medal.An American poet won the Nobel Prize in literature for an “unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal.”The prize in chemistry was awarded to two scientists for developing a method of gene editing.Three scientists won the physics prize Wednesday for their discoveries related to black holes.Three scientists also shared the medicine prize for the discovery of the hepatitis C virus.The related prize in Economic Sciences will be awarded Monday.
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As U.S., French, and Russian officials hold mediation talks in Geneva, fighting in the Nagorno-Karabakh region continues, with thousands of people fleeing into both Armenia and Azerbaijan.  While families say they are exhausted from the battles that span more than 30 years, they also say only victory for their side will truly end the conflict.  VOA’s Heather Murdock has this report from Goris, Armenia.
Camera: Yan Boechat
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Turkey’s backing of Azerbaijan in the conflict with Armenia over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh enclave is coming under increasing scrutiny. Despite international pressure, Turkey is rejecting calls to back an unconditional cease-fire, as Ankara steps up its support of Azerbaijan’s military goals. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul.Producers: Berke Bas, Rod James. Videographers: Berke Bas, agencies.
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Britain and Ukraine have signed a bilateral agreement to support Kyiv’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of Russia’s “malign influence,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s office says. The U.K.-Ukraine Political, Free Trade, and Strategic Partnership Agreement was signed Thursday, the second day of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s visit to Britain.The deal “lays the foundation for an intensified bilateral relationship in areas including trade, defense and political cooperation,” Johnson’s office said in statement.It replaces key elements of an existing partnership agreement between Ukraine and the European Union.FILE – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, left, is welcomed by European Council President Charles Michel ahead of an EU-Ukraine summit at the European Council in Brussels, Oct. 6, 2020.Britain formally left the bloc in January but remains bound by most of its rules until the end of the year. It is now looking to its post-Brexit future in 2021.Russia illegally annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and threw its support behind separatists in Ukraine’s east, where some 13,200 people have been killed in an ongoing conflict.During their meeting in Downing Street, Johnson and Zelenskiy discussed “the importance of working together to counter Russia’s malign influence, both in Ukraine and in the wider region,” according to the prime minister’s office.The statement said Johnson “stressed that reform and rule of law drive economic growth, and reiterated the UK’s commitment to Ukraine’s reform programme.”In a separate statement, Johnson said his country was Ukraine’s “most fervent supporter.””Whether it’s our defense support, stabilization efforts, humanitarian assistance or close cooperation on political issues, our message is clear: we are utterly committed to upholding the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine,” he said.Britain has been “a staunch defender of Ukraine’s right to self-determination,” the statement noted, adding that British troops had trained more than 18,000 members of Ukraine’s armed forces since 2015.The new deal, which Johnson said “signals the next chapter in our relationship,” includes a comprehensive preferential free trade agreement covering goods and services, tariffs and quotas, his office said.It also details commitments to cooperate on peaceful conflict resolution, defense and security, climate change and human rights.Ukrainian Defense Minister Andriy Taran and the British Secretary of State for Defense Ben Wallace on Oct. 7 signed a memorandum on strengthening cooperation in the defense sector. 
 
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Hundreds of mourners gathered in the Central Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod on Wednesday to pay their respects to Irina Slavina, a Russian journalist who colleagues said was dedicated to truth.On Friday, Slavina, editor-in-chief of the news website Koza Press, tied herself to a bench near the Interior Ministry in Nizhny Novgorod and set herself on fire. Hours before, the 47-year-old journalist had posted on Facebook, “In my death, I ask you to blame the Russian Federation.” Slavina was known widely in the region for reporting on local government and pro-opposition movements, and for helping to coordinate marches in memory of Boris Nemtsov, the Russian politician assassinated near the Kremlin in 2015. Friends and colleagues say Slavina faced years of harassment for her work, and they blamed intimidating actions by security forces for the journalist’s death.On Oct. 1, police and members of Russia’s investigative committee raided the journalist’s apartment as part of a criminal investigation into Mikhail Ioselevich, a businessman and pro-opposition activist.  Ioselevich is accused of carrying out activities for an organization declared “undesirable” in Russia – a reference to the group Open Russia. Authorities accuse the opposition group, which is financed by Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky, of funding protests in the region. Slavina and Open Russia had both denied that the journalist had links to the organization.At least 12 agents searched Slavina’s apartment in the early morning raid, taking phones, laptops and other devices belonging to the journalist and her husband and daughter. “I was left without my means of production,” the journalist wrote about the raid.Authorities had previously issued fines to Slavina over her articles about the Open Russia movement, as well as for her participation in opposition rallies, and reporting on issues including the coronavirus pandemic.Russia’s Investigative Committee (SKR) said it has opened an investigation into the journalist’s death and would conduct a “posthumous psychological and psychiatric examination.” The regional governor, Gleb Nikitin, brought flowers to her memorial and also promised an investigation, Current Time reported.Huge lossSlavina’s death was described by Askhat Kayumov, an environmental activist in Nizhny Novgorod, as “a huge human tragedy” and “loss for the entire region.”“There are very few honest journalists in the country, we have lost one of them,” Kayumov told VOA’s Russia Service, before adding that he couldn’t saying anything more. “It hurts too much.”Arkady Galker, chair of the Nizhny Novgorod branch of the International Memorial, a nonprofit that researches political repression in Russia, said Slavina was the most famous independent journalist in the region.”Her publications were closely watched,” Galker said. “Even in the power circles, Irina Slavina’s articles were treated with special attention, because they understood it was valuable information.”“If Irina Slavina wrote something negative about our city officials, they could have very serious problems with their bosses,” Galker said.Koza Press, the news outlet Slavina founded, had a reputation as a serious publication that was read not only in the region, but also abroad, Galker said. “Irina and I knew each other very well, and we worked especially closely together when they were preparing marches in memory of Boris Nemtsov,” Galker said.“Irina participated not only in their organization, but also covered [the marches] in her publication,” Galker said. “She turned out to be the bravest person who led those who came to honor Nemtsov on the fourth anniversary of his murder.”Galker said he believes the investigation into Ioselevich is an attempt to intimidate opposition activists in the region.The International Memorial chair said security agents who raided Slavina’s apartment arrived armed with chainsaws that could cut through a door in minutes.“I regard these actions against Irina as state terror, as deliberate pressure and intimidation,” Galker said.“Both in her journalistic materials and in public statements Irina has always been very persistent, and has never shown how she was hurt by the campaign of bullying, unleashed on her in Nizhny Novgorod region, when they tried to discredit her. And now it is clear that at some point she simply could not take it anymore.”The SKR regional office said that Slavina’s death was not connected to the search of her apartment because she was a witness, not a defendant.In response, Igor Kalyapin, chair of the Interregional Committee Against Torture, wrote in his blog, “Apparently, in the opinion of the Nizhny Novgorod SKR, only the accused can suffer psychological trauma from an attack on a private domicile. A law-abiding man should perceive the morning search by a team of 12 people with the participation of special police forces as  normal. And the seizure during this search of digital media, notebooks and computer, law-abiding person, professional journalist should be perceived with joy and gratitude.”Alexander Kynev, a political scientist who knew Slavina, said the political situation in Nizhny Novgorod had deteriorated in the past three years.“What is happening in the city in recent years? Endless criminal cases against everyone. It all started with the dismantling of the old elite of the former mayor of the city. It did not stop there: harassment of journalists; endless fines; courts; searches. The same pressure was started against the public,” Kynev said.Sociologist and publicist Igor Yakovenko told VOA that Slavina’s case illustrates the desperation and persecution of Russian journalists.”I think that any journalist, if he wants to remain in Russia, periodically or even constantly feels some despair,” Yakovenko said. “If you want to be a journalist in Russia, you start either writing for yourself for little reward, or you are killed or put in jail.This report originated in VOA’s Russia Service
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America’s allies in Europe are watching closely as the U.S. presidential election enters its final leg. Transatlantic relations have at times been strained under President Trump, and some key European allies hope for a return to more stability under a Joe Biden presidency. But some other NATO members have welcomed Donald Trump’s demands for Europe to pull its weight. Henry Ridgwell reports from London.
Camera: Henry Ridgwell    Producer: Jon Spier
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America’s allies in Europe are watching closely as the U.S. presidential election enters its final leg.Transatlantic relations have at times been strained since U.S. President Donald Trump took office, and analysts say some European capitals hope for a return to more stability under a Joe Biden presidency.Other European NATO allies have welcomed Trump’s demands for Europe to pull its weight and meet military spending targets, as the continent faces several strategic challenges on its borders.Shortly after his 2016 election victory, Trump called NATO “obsolete,” because he said the organization “wasn’t taking care of terror.” That alarmed NATO allies shaken by Russia’s 2014 forceful annexation of Crimea and invasion of eastern Ukraine.Different toneBy 2017, Trump’s tone had changed. Hosting NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg at the White House in April of that year, Trump reaffirmed his support for the alliance.“The secretary-general and I had a productive discussion about what more NATO can do in the fight against terrorism. I complained about that a long time ago, and they made a change. And now, they do fight terrorism. I said it was obsolete. It’s no longer obsolete,” Trump told reporters.FILE – U.S. President Donald Trump waves to reporters as he departs with first lady Melania Trump to participate in his first presidential debate with Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in Cleveland, Ohio, Sept. 29, 2020.For Europe, the unpredictability has been difficult, security analyst Julie Norman of University College London said in a recent interview with VOA.”His foreign policy has tended to be rather rash, rather unpredictable. And of course for allies, that’s not really something that you want. You want an ally who’s going to be reliable, especially an ally like the United States that traditionally has been such a heavyweight,” Norman said.What do NATO allies think of Biden? Since the presidential campaign has had little debate on foreign policy so far, according to Ian Bond, director of foreign policy at the Center for European Reform, they must look at Biden’s record.“We know that Trump is no friend at all of NATO, and we believe that Biden, from his past record, is much more favorable to NATO. And NATO remains the bedrock of British security, as well as European security more generally,” Bond told VOA.Trump’s supporters often say he should be judged on his actions rather than his words. The president oversaw the deployment of U.S. troops and hardware to Poland in 2017 as part of NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence mission, the biggest deployment since the Cold War. Trump remains a popular figure in Poland and other former Soviet states.“For some of those states, there would still probably be a preference for Trump to stay in the White House,” Norman said.Hard truths for Europe?Trump has accused Germany of being “delinquent in its payments” to NATO and plans to withdraw 20,000 troops stationed in the country. While the tone is abrasive, the president tells truths that Europe does not want to hear, argued political commentator Matthew Parris, a former British Conservative member of Parliament.“He has, in an instinctive way, been right about quite a few things — that perhaps there was a need to push back against China on trade issues. Perhaps America is going to end up in a very similar place to Britain on COVID. Perhaps nobody actually knows the answer, and we don’t know the answer any better than Donald Trump. He’s right about NATO spending. He’s right about many European countries not pulling their weight,” Parris told VOA in a recent interview.Trump has taken an increasingly tough stance on China. That may not change, whoever wins the White House, said Norman.FILE – Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden gestures while speaking during the first presidential debate, Sept. 29, 2020, at Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic, in Cleveland, Ohio.“Many Democrats, Biden included, share some of the concerns that Trump had around China and that many Europeans have around China, as well,” she said. “That’s in regard to security issues, and to some degree, and perhaps talked about more on the European side, human rights issues, as well.”Leslie Vinjamuri, director of the U.S. and Americas program at the Chatham House policy institute in London, said the biggest transatlantic divergence has been on climate change. Many in Europe see Biden as more sympathetic to their viewpoint.Stakes are high“Here is a value and a collective problem that Europeans can only achieve a solution to if they work with the United States, and if they work with China. … So, I think it’s very clear to Europe that the stakes could not be higher in this election from what is arguably the most important issue, at the international level, over the next 10 or 15 years,” she said.From Russia to conflicts in Libya and the Middle East to tensions with Turkey, Europe faces numerous strategic challenges. Despite the European Union’s call for the bloc to be more self-sufficient, analysts say the U.S. will likely play a key role in each of these arenas. Allies are watching closely as the United States chooses its next commander in chief.
 
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After a surge in COVID-19 cases over two weeks, Scotland First Minister Nicola Sturgeon Wednesday announced new restrictions for the country, including the closing of all pubs in Glasgow and Edinburgh and a 16-day nationwide ban on indoor alcohol consumption beginning Friday.The number of COVID-19 cases in Scotland has been accelerating since mid-September, with 1,054 new cases reported by the government on Wednesday, driven by infections in the “central belt” — or central Scotland — which includes the two major cities.Sturgeon announced the new restrictions before the Scottish parliament. Beginning Friday, she said, areas where all licensed premises will have to close completely — with the exception of hotels for residents — are Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Lanarkshire, Ayrshire and Arran, Lothian and Forth Valley.She said pubs, restaurants and cafes outside the central belt will be able to continue to serve alcohol outdoors until the existing curfew time of 10 p.m. Those establishments can serve food and non-alcoholic drinks indoors but must close by 6 p.m. for the 16-day period.Sturgeon said the hospitality industry isn’t being closed completely because the government understands the benefit of some socializing in terms of reducing loneliness and isolation, “of giving people, particularly those who live alone, somewhere they can meet a friend for a coffee and a chat.”More restrictions will be imposed in those regions for two weeks beginning Oct. 10, including on indoor group exercise for over people 18 and over.Sturgeon also said people should avoid public transport in the central belt, except where necessary.Pubs and restaurants were already required to close at 10 p.m. in Scotland, in line with England and Wales. The country also has a ban on people visiting other homes. 
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A Greek court issued a landmark ruling Wednesday that the far-right political party, Golden Dawn, is a criminal organization.Golden Dawn first won seats in parliament in 2012 and became the third-largest party during the country’s crippling debt crisis as it gained supporters with an anti-immigrant and an anti-austerity agenda.Prosecutors began investigating and arresting party leaders over a series of crimes after a supporter was arrested in 2013 for killing musician and rapper Pavlos Fyssas, who was aligned with the political left.Just before Wednesday’s ruling, the appeals court in Athens convicted Golden Dawn supporter Yiorgos Roupakias of Fyssas’ murder.Magda Fyssa, mother of anti-racist Greek rapper Pavlos Fyssas, who was killed in 2013 by Golden Dawn supporter Giorgos Roupakias, reacts after a trial of leaders and members of the far-right Golden Dawn party, in Athens, Greece, Oct. 7, 2020.The trial into whether Golden Dawn was a criminal organization began in 2015. The party said at the time it was the target of a politically motivated witch hunt.Prosecutors charged 65 people that included 18 former Golden Dawn legislators with being members of a criminal organization.Dozens of other party members and alleged associates are facing charges ranging from murder to perjury in connection with a series of attacks on immigrants and left-wing activists.FILE – Leader of Greece’s far-right Golden Dawn party Nikos Mihaloliakos testifies during the trial of members and leaders of the party in a Court in Athens, Greece, Nov. 6, 2019.The courtroom erupted in cheers after Wednesday’s ruling, as did thousands of others outside the court. But the situation deteriorated outside when isolated groups of self-styled anarchists hurled Molotov cocktails at police, who responded with tear gas and a water cannon.Amnesty International, which helped establish a system to record racially motivated violence in the country, said the ruling could enhance efforts to fight hate crimes.The Golden Dawn party did not win a single seat in last year’s parliamentary election that the conservative New Democracy party won by a landslide. 
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Turkey’s bid to become a member of the European Union appears to be in jeopardy after the bloc’s executive branch on Tuesday said it is displeased by what it called Ankara’s failures to sustain democracy and fight corruption. In its annual report on the country, the European Commission cited too much political power in the hands of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, which has resulted in a poor economy and eroded the independence of the judiciary. The report also said Turkish authorities continue to pressure civil society, aid groups and the media. “Turkey remains a key partner for the European Union. However, Turkey has continued to move further away from the European Union with serious backsliding in the areas of democracy, rule of law, fundamental rights and the independence of the judiciary,” the commission said. But Turkey, which began its EU membership talks in 2005, rejected the commission’s criticisms, describing them as prejudiced, according to the AP. Turkey’s bid to become a member of the EU has not been an easy one in spite of its position as an important socio-economic partner to the EU, in part because Turkey has helped prevent migrants from entering the bloc through its borders with Greece and Bulgaria. For this reason, the EU has paid Turkey about $7 billion to motivate Ankara to stop Syrian refugees in the country from heading to Europe. Nonetheless, Turkish disputed claims over Cyprus and Erdogan’s crackdown on perceived opponents since a failed coup in 2016 have ruined much of the progress made in becoming the 28th member of the EU. “The report presented today confirms that the underlying facts leading to this assessment still hold, despite the government’s repeated commitment to the objective of EU accession,” said the commission. Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said the report reflects “the EU’s prejudiced, unconstructive and double-standard approach.” The report failed to mention the EU’s own “responsibilities and commitments” and criticized Turkey with “unfounded arguments,” the ministry said in a statement. “Our sincere wish is for the EU to look at the EU candidate country Turkey, not through the selfish and narrow vision of certain circles, but through the common interest and vision of our continent,” it said.  
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