The Vatican on Tuesday will release its report into the rise and fall of ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the once-influential American cardinal who was defrocked by Pope Francis in 2019 after a Vatican investigation confirmed decades of rumors that he was a sexual predator. The McCarrick scandal is different from other cases of clergy abuse, primarily because there is evidence that Vatican and U.S. church leaders knew of his penchant for bedding seminarians but turned a blind eye as McCarrick rose to the top of the U.S. church as an adept fundraiser who advised three popes.  When McCarrick’s crimes were revealed, the scandal sparked such a crisis of confidence in the church’s U.S. and Vatican hierarchies that Francis approved new procedures to investigate bishops accused of abuse in a bid to end decades of impunity for Catholic leaders. But beyond that, the McCarrick case has forced the Vatican to acknowledge that adults can be victims of sexual abuse, too. The Vatican has long tried to paint any sexual relations between priests and adult men or women as consensual, focusing its prevention policies on protecting minors.  But as a bishop, McCarrick held all the power in his relationships with his seminarians: to refuse his sexual advances or report his misconduct could have spelled an end to their priestly vocations and careers in the church. The Vatican’s new policies, enacted as a response to the McCarrick scandal, spell out that adults could have been forced “to perform or submit to sexual acts” through abuses of authority by church leaders.FILE – Pope Francis reaches out to hug Cardinal Archbishop emeritus Theodore McCarrick after the Midday Prayer of the Divine with more than 300 U.S. Bishops at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington, D.C., September 23, 2015.What’s it about?  The archdiocese of New York announced on June 20, 2018, that it had determined that an allegation that McCarrick sexually molested a minor was “credible and substantiated.” The allegation was lodged by a former altar boy who said McCarrick fondled him when he was a teenager during preparations for Christmas Mass in St. Patrick’s Cathedral in 1971 and 1972. The allegation was the first against McCarrick involving a minor, and as such triggered the investigation.  On the same day, McCarrick’s former dioceses of Newark and Metuchen, New Jersey, revealed they had settled two of three allegations of sexual misconduct by McCarrick involving adults in 2005 and 2007. Subsequently, James Grein came forward detailing the abuse he suffered at the hands of McCarrick, a family friend, starting when he was 11. Other former seminarians have since described the harassment and abuse they endured while “Uncle Ted,” as McCarrick liked to call himself, was their bishop in New Jersey, forced to sleep in his bed during weekend trips to his beach house.  McCarrick, 90, was defrocked last year after the Vatican determined he sexually abused adults and children, including during confession. McCarrick’s response McCarrick has said he was innocent of the fondling accusation but accepted the pope’s sanctions.  “While I have absolutely no recollection of this reported abuse, and believe in my innocence, I am sorry for the pain the person who brought the charges has gone through, as well as for the scandal such charges cause our people,” he said in a statement June 20, 2018, after the initial fondling allegations were substantiated.  In a 2008 email McCarrick sent to the Vatican, he denied ever having sexual relations with anyone but said he had shown an “unfortunate lack of judgment” for having shared his bed with seminarians.FILE – Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano reads during the episcopal ordination of Auxiliary Bishops James Massa and Witold Mroziewski, in Brooklyn, New York, July 20, 2015.Archbishop’s bombshellThe McCarrick scandal took on greater dimensions on Aug. 26, 2018, when the former Vatican ambassador to the U.S., Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, published an 11-page expose accusing two dozen U.S. and Vatican churchmen by name of knowing about McCarrick’s misconduct since at least 2000 and hiding it. Vigano cited the case of one former seminarian who in 1994 wrote a lengthy letter to his bishop detailing McCarrick’s sexual abuse of him and others — a document that would have been turned over to the Vatican at the very least in 2004 when the man was defrocked.  Vigano demanded Francis resign, saying he had told the pope in 2013 during one of their first meetings that McCarrick has “corrupted generations of seminarians and priests, and Pope Benedict ordered him to withdraw to a life of prayer and penance.” Vigano claimed that Francis rehabilitated McCarrick from Benedict’s sanctions and turned him into a trusted adviser. FILE – Pope Francis wears a face mask as he attends an inter-religious prayer service for peace in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Aracoeli, a church on top of Rome’s Capitoline Hill, in Rome, October 20, 2020.Vatican’s response Francis initially refused to comment, but later authorized a Vatican investigation into its archives to determine who knew what and when about McCarrick, the result of which is being released Tuesday.  In 2019, Francis told Mexican broadcaster Televisa that he didn’t know anything about McCarrick’s past and didn’t remember if Vigano had raised the issue with him when they met in 2013. In addition, Cardinal Marc Ouellet, head of the Congregation for Bishops, confirmed McCarrick had been subject to disciplinary measures for uncorroborated “rumors” of misconduct but said the Vatican’s decision for him to live a discreet life of prayer stopped short of binding canonical sanctions because the rumors lacked proof. Ouellet accused Vigano of mounting a “blasphemous” political hit job against Francis. Further revelations A former McCarrick aide, Monsignor Anthony Figueriredo, in May 2019 released excerpts of correspondence that show McCarrick was placed under written Vatican restrictions in 2008 for sleeping with seminarians but regularly flouted them with the apparent knowledge of Vatican officials under Benedict and Francis.  In December 2019, the Washington Post reported that McCarrick gave more than $600,000 in donations from a personal fund he controlled to powerful clerics in the U.S. and Vatican, including those who had a say in whether to investigate him. The payments underscored the common tradition among well-funded bishops and religious superiors to curry favor in the Vatican with checks.  McCarrick also helped funnel millions of dollars to three popes via the U.S. Papal Foundation, which he helped co-found to raise money from wealthy American Catholics for specific works of papal charity. 
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Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Monday became the latest world leader to test positive for COVID-19.Zelenskiy tweeted the announcement, saying “There are no lucky people for whom #COVID19 does not pose a threat. Despite all the quarantine measures, I received a positive test. I feel good & take a lot of vitamins. Promise to isolate myself but keep working. I will overcome COVID19 as most people do. It’s gonna be fine!”Shortly thereafter, the Ukrainian president’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, announced on his Facebook page that he too had coronavirus. Yermak said he feels “normal” and will continue working from self-isolation. He also urged everyone not to be careless with COVID-19 rules, saying “Wear masks, wash your hands. Keep your distance, while staying calm.”The number of daily new COVID-19 cases in Ukraine continues to grow. The Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center reports the country registered 9,647 new cases and 142 new deaths Monday, bringing the total number of cases since the start of the pandemic to 474,245. At least 8,695 have died from the disease in Ukraine.
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Police in Belarus arrested at least 500 people on Sunday as thousands of protesters took to the streets again to demand new elections and the resignation of President Alexander Lukashenko.
 
At least nine journalists were detained, according to the Belarusian Association of Journalists.
 
The human rights group Viasna was quoted to have put the number of those arrested in the capital, Minsk, and elsewhere, between 548 and 830. They included well-known model and former Miss Belarus winner Olga Khizhinkova, and Olympic decathlete Andrei Kravchenko.
 
A heavy security force had been deployed since early Sunday in the capital as protesters held umbrellas and waved red-and-white flags that have become the symbol of the opposition. Police also deployed water cannon in various locations around the city.
 
Since Lukashenko claimed victory in a disputed August 9 election, with the country’s election commission saying he garnered 80% of the vote, protesters have regularly taken to the streets demanding his resignation and the release of political prisoners.
 
Lukashenko’s main opposition candidate, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, was forced to take asylum in Lithuania after fleeing Belarus for her safety in the wake of the government crackdown.
 
Despite widespread claims at home and abroad the vote was heavily rigged, Lukashenko has refused to relinquish power. He has been in office for 26 years.
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German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday congratulated the new U.S. president-elect and his running mate on their projected election victory and said the U.S. and its European partners must stand together to deal with the challenges of our time.
At a news conference in Berlin, Merkel said Biden has decades of experience in both domestic and foreign policy and knows Germany and Europe well. She said she had fond memories of good encounters and discussions with the former vice president.  
The German chancellor also warmly congratulated Harris as future vice president, noting she will be the first woman to serve in that position. Merkel said Harris, as the child of two immigrants, is an inspiration for many people and example of what is possible in America, and added, “I am looking forward to meeting her.”
Merkel said the U.S., Germany and the rest of the European Union must stand “side by side” to face the big challenges of our time, including the COVID-19 pandemic, global warming and terrorism. She said they must work for “an open world economy and free trade, because this is the basis of our prosperity on either side of the Atlantic.”
Merkel also said she recognized Germans and Europeans have to take on more responsibility in their partnership with the United States.  “America is and remains our most important ally. But it expects us, and rightly so, to make stronger efforts to take care of our security and to stand up for our convictions in the world,” she said.   
Germany currently holds the rotating EU presidency.
Relations between Merkel and President Donald Trump had been strained over issues such as funding for NATO and relations with Russia.
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In a scaled-back service, Queen Elizabeth II led tributes Sunday to those from the U.K. and the Commonwealth who perished in wartime, as most veterans paid their respects at home as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The 94-year-old monarch looked on from a balcony at a government building above the Cenotaph on Whitehall in central London on the 100th year anniversary of the memorial’s installation following the conclusion of World War I. The Cenotaph was officially unveiled on Nov. 11, 1920, two years to the day after the signing of the armistice that brought an end to hostilities. Following a two-minute silence at 11 a.m., Prince Charles laid a wreath on the queen’s behalf during the Remembrance Sunday commemoration. Others, including Charles’ oldest son, Prince William and Prime Minister Boris Johnson, also laid wreaths in honor of those who have perished in wartime. Leaders from across the political spectrum, including former prime ministers, were also present. The public was unable to attend this year, with the event taking place during a second national lockdown in England, and instead was encouraged to take part in the two-minute silence at home.  In other years, the commemoration is packed with thousands of veterans and military personnel. In Sunday’s service, there were less than 30 veterans in attendance, and everyone present observed social distancing rules though mask wearing wasn’t mandatory in the outdoor setting. Though the service was very different this year, people took time to honor the war dead. Small services were permitted. World War II veteran Seymour “Bill” Taylor, who turns 96 next month, usually attends the service but paid his respects outside his home in Colchester, around 65 miles (105 kilometers) northeast of London, with the support of his neighbors. “It’s something that’s really special and it means an awful lot,” he said. “I shall remember it as a good day.” Charles’ other son, Prince Harry, wasn’t present but spoke about what serving his country in Afghanistan meant to him. “Being able to wear my uniform, being able to stand up in service of one’s country, these are amongst the greatest honors there are in life,” Harry said in a podcast. “To me, the uniform is a symbol of something much bigger, it’s symbolic of our commitment to protecting our country, as well as protecting our values.” Gen. Nick Carter, chief of the defense staff, said remembrance services still hold relevance today even though there is no one alive who served in World War I and the number of veterans from World War II are dwindling. “We have to remember that history might not repeat itself, but it has a rhythm and if you look back at the last century, before both world wars, I think it was unarguable that there was escalation which led to the miscalculation which ultimately led to war at a scale we would hopefully never see again,” he said in an interview with Sky News. “We need to be conscious of those risks and that’s why remembrance matters,” he added. 
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Georgian police fired water cannon and tear gas against hundreds of protesters outside the Central Election Commission (CEC) on Sunday to support a call by opposition parties for a rerun of Oct. 31 parliamentary elections that they say were rigged.Small groups of protesters started throwing stones at the police. The demonstrators had moved to the CEC building from the capital’s main Rustaveli Avenue, where thousands of people held a peaceful rally.Police said that protesters tried to storm the CEC building.”As the protesters used violent methods and did not obey the instructions of the police, the Interior Ministry used proportional force within its powers,” the ministry said in a statement.The opposition is demanding the resignation of the CEC chief, Tamar Zhvania, and the calling of fresh elections.According to official results, the ruling Georgian Dream party won 48.23% of the vote, with the largest opposition party, the United National Movement (UNM), taking 27.18%.After the result gave the ruling party the right to form a government, eight opposition parties, including the UNM, said they would boycott parliament.The opposition accuses the ruling party and its supporters of vote buying, making threats against voters and observers and of violations during the counting process. Georgian Dream leaders have denied the accusations.Protesters moved to the CEC building after the 8 p.m. deadline to dismiss the electoral commission head and to start talks on a fresh vote passed without a response from the government.The economy of the South Caucasus country has been hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak. The government said on Saturday it would impose an overnight curfew from Monday between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. in the largest cities because of a sharp rise in cases since early September. Georgia has reported nearly 58,000 cases since the pandemic began and almost 500 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. 
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Turkish Finance Minister Berat Albayrak said on Sunday he was resigning for health reasons, the second surprise departure of a top economic policymaker in two days after the central bank chief was ousted.The upheaval follows a 30% slide in the lira to record lows this year amid the coronavirus pandemic as investors worried about falling foreign exchange reserves and the central bank’s ability to tackle double-digit inflation.Albayrak’s resignation, announced in an Instagram statement confirmed by an official, came a day after his father-in-law, President Tayyip Erdogan, replaced the central bank governor with a former minister whose policies are seen to be at odds with Albayrak.”I have decided that I cannot continue as a minister, which I have been carrying out for nearly five years, due to health problems,” the statement said. Albayrak became finance minister two years ago after serving as energy minister.A Finance Ministry official confirmed the authenticity of the statement.Albayrak, 42, was appointed energy minister in 2015 and shifted to finance after Erdogan was reelected with sweeping new executive powers in 2018.During his tenure at finance, Turkey’s economy was hit by two bad slumps, double-digit inflation and high unemployment. The lira has lost around 45% against the U.S. dollar since his appointment and is the worst performer in emerging markets this year.Erdogan, who appointed former finance minister Naci Agbal as the new central bank governor Saturday, would need to approve the resignation.The departure of Turkey’s top two economic policymakers boosted the lira, which rose 2% to 8.3600 against the U.S. dollar at 1904 GMT, and set the stage for a sharp rate rise, analysts said.Agbal “might do a better job in getting approval for a rate hike” given his experience with the government and ruling party, said Selva Demiralp, director of the Koc University-TUSIAD Economic Research Forum.”Absent a rate hike, I am afraid the financial crisis will only get worse with the depreciation in the lira that increases the external debt, triggering bankruptcies.”Analysts at Goldman Sachs and TD Bank expect a monetary tightening of at least 600 basis points from a 10.25% policy rate now.Mehmet Mus, the deputy parliamentary group chairman for the ruling AK Party, said Albayrak had taken important steps to strengthen the economy and that he hoped Erdogan would not accept the resignation.”We personally witnessed his diligent work. If our president sees fit, I hope he continues at his post,” Mus said on Twitter. 
 
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Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was among the first foreign leaders to congratulate Joe Biden after he was projected to become the next U.S. president. Greece views the pending change of guard at the White House as pivotal to easing turbulent relations with Turkey. Many analysts, though, warn Athens should take a more cautious approach.
 
Mitsotakis sent a congratulatory message within minutes after Biden was projected to win the presidential election.
 
Mitsotakis called Biden a true friend and voiced certainty that his presidency would help forge stronger ties between the U.S. and Greece.
 
Analysts say that is diplomatic shorthand for an end to the close personal connection Donald Trump had developed with Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan over several years.
 
Sotiris Servos, a professor of international relations in northern Greece, explains.
    
With this election, Erdogan loses Trump’s ear and the direct access he had to the Oval Office, Servos says. Biden may not be an unknown force to him, but it’s unlikely, Servos says, that Erdogan will try and test the limits of this new relationship early on.
 
For Greece, embroiled in a long-running and increasingly dangerous standoff with Turkey over energy rights in the eastern Mediterranean, that anticipated hiatus may buy crucial time in helping ease tensions between the rival neighbors.
 
But with Biden expected to toughen relations with Russia, experts in Athens anticipate this could yield even greater support from Washington, especially after Turkey, a key NATO ally, purchased an S-400 missile defense system from Moscow over U.S. objections. Turkey signed a deal to buy the system in 2017 and began taking delivery of it in 2019. A few days prior to the U.S. election, Turkey tested the system, further angering the United States.
 
Ankara has dismissed Washington’s concerns that the S-400 system could compromise NATO’s military systems and said the weapons are the most cost-effective solution for Turkey’s defense needs.
 
According to Servos, if there is one foreign policy issue Biden has been very clear about, it is Russia. How these dynamics will play out, will no doubt impact developments in the eastern Mediterranean, he explained.
 
In a policy chapter dubbed “Joe Biden’s vision for Greek Americans and U.S.-Greece Relations,” Biden promised ahead of the elections to call out Turkish aggression in its long-standing disputes with Greece over sea and air rights. While both NATO allies, the two countries came to the brink of war in September, forcing the U.S. to intervene and urge Erdogan to recall a survey vessel from a drilling expedition off the coast of a Greek island.
 
Still, critics like Panos Panagiotopoulos, a leading foreign policy analyst and former lawmaker, advise caution.
    
Of course, Biden’s election spells positive news for Greece, he said, as Biden is no newcomer and knows the issues and problems of this region.
 
But at the same time, Panagiotopoulos said, “We have to remain realists and Greeks should not froth up to expectations that Biden will cast Turkey to the side for our sake alone.” He also said the best Greeks can hope for is a different state of play and balance of relations in the region.
 
Whether that will play out remains to be seen.
 
But until then, Greece says it will not ease up on its defenses in the eastern Mediterranean, keeping ships and submarines in the region and being mindful of Ankara’s moves until Biden takes office early next year.
 
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European leaders reacted positively and congratulated Joe Biden on his projected victory over Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential election. Congratulations also went to Vice-President elect Kamala Harris for her historic achievement. After days of waiting, Europe is optimistic that a new era of relations with the U.S. is now on the horizon.  After days of holding their breath over who would finally be the next president of the United States, congratulations to what is expected to be the new administration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris starting next January flowed in. FILE – European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks during a press conference at an EU summit in Brussels, Oct. 2, 2020.European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen issued her warm congratulations and said in a statement: “The European Union and the United States are friends and allies. Our citizens share the deepest of links. Together we have built an unprecedented transatlantic partnership.” Von der Layen added that, “As the world continues to change and new challenges and opportunities appear, our renewed partnership will be of particular importance.” European Parliament President David Sassoli said after following with great attention the elections of a great partner of the European Union, he was looking forward to working with the new Biden administration.   Sassoli said, “the world needs a strong relationship between Europe and the U.S. and a relaunch of transatlantic relations, capable of addressing the challenges of our times.” FILE – Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson gestures as he speaks during a virtual news conference on the ongoing situation with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at Downing Street, London, Oct. 12, 2020.British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also stressed the importance of the transatlantic relationship. On Twitter he said: “The U.S. is our most important ally and I look forward to working closely together on our shared priorities, from climate change to trade and security.” In a statement, German Chancellor Angela Merkel congratulated both president-elect Biden and vice president-elect Harris. “I sincerely wish him the best of luck and every success and I would also like to congratulate Kamala Harris, the first female vice-president-elect in the history of your country.” She added, “Our transatlantic friendship is irreplaceable if we are to master the great challenges of our time.”  French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte both tweeted their readiness to work with the new administration. Macron wrote, “The Americans have chosen their President. We have a lot to do to overcome today’s challenges. Let’s work together!” Conte who heads a country traditionally very close to the U.S. said, “We are ready to work with the President-elect Joe Biden to make the transatlantic relationship stronger. The U.S. can count on Italy as a solid ally and a strategic partner.”   Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s congratulations took some hours compared to other leaders. He said he and Biden have had a “long and warm” personal relationship for almost 40 years adding that he sees him as “a great friend of Israel” and looked forward to working together. He also tweeted his thanks to Donald Trump “for the friendship you have shown the state of Israel and me personally, for recognizing Jerusalem and the Golan”.        
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U.S. presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, when first elected, both thought they could establish a rapport with Russian leader Vladimir Putin and dramatically improve U.S.-Russian relations.Their appraisal of Putin swiftly changed.When asked his impression of Putin after his first face-to-face meeting, George W. Bush said, “I looked the man in the eye. I found him very straightforward and trustworthy – I was able to get a sense of his soul.” Obama, eight years later, openly sought a reset in relations only to see his hopes dashed finally with Russia’s annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula Crimea in 2014.Joe Biden, who as Obama’s vice president supported the reset strategy, is unlikely to follow the example of his predecessors, say former diplomats and analysts. Biden indicated as much during his presidential campaign, saying at a CNN town hall last month, “I believe Russia is an opponent, I really do.”In contrast, he called China “a competitor, a serious competitor.”During the presidential campaign, Biden sought to differentiate himself from President Donald Trump regarding Russia, accusing his Republican rival of being soft on Putin.Trump and his aides pushed back, with the president saying in August, “The last person Russia wants to see in office is Donald Trump because nobody’s been tougher on Russia than I have.”Early last month, Biden criticized his opponent for remaining silent on the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, which he bluntly blamed on the Moscow government.“Once again, the Kremlin has used a favorite weapon — an agent from the Novichok class of chemicals — in an effort to silence a political opponent,” he said. “It is the mark of a Russian regime that is so paranoid that it is unwilling to tolerate any criticism or dissent.”But candidates can say one thing during a campaign and do something else once in office; sometimes they have little choice because of circumstances or the course of events. Will a President Joe Biden pursue as muscular an approach to Russia as he has suggested?’No reset’“I don’t think Biden is going to fall head over heels to butter up Putin,” said David Kramer, who was an assistant secretary of state in the administration of George W. Bush. “Moscow has continued with a disinformation campaign against him, and so I don’t think he’s going to extend a hand and say, ‘Let’s make nice,’” added Kramer, now a fellow at the McCain Institute, a foreign policy think tank based in Washington.“I mean, no reset. I don’t think he’s going to try anything like 2009,” Kramer said in reference to Obama’s failed reset policy. Kramer thinks Biden will have to focus largely on domestic issues, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic and its economic impact.“And to the extent he is able to focus on foreign policy, Russia should not be at the high end of the priority list,” he told VOA. Although he added, “You can’t ignore it. And it is a factor in a number of problems we face. I think he’s going to have to devote his limited time when it comes to foreign policy to work with countries that are ready to solve problems.” By that he means shoring up America’s transatlantic alliance.Biden and Putin have met — without much cordiality. In a 2011 interview with The New Yorker magazine, Biden said at one meeting he told the Russian leader, “I’m looking into your eyes, and I don’t think you have a soul.”Biden continued: “He looked back at me, and he smiled, and he said: ‘We understand one another.’”Aside from the lack of personal rapport, analysts say any effort to reset relations would be complicated by economic sanctions on Russia, imposed by both the Obama and Trump administrations. The measures will leave Biden with little room to maneuver and are unlikely to be lifted while Western powers believe Russia is mounting cyberattacks against them.’Gray space’Former Western diplomats say antagonism is likely to persist between Washington and Moscow as long as the Kremlin seeks to undermine Western democratic institutions.Last week, a former top security adviser to British prime minister Boris Johnson, Mark Sedwill, revealed that Britain has launched a series of covert cyber-based attacks on Russian leaders and their interests to “impose a price greater than one they might have expected” for their cyber-offensive against the West.Other allied powers, including the U.S. are doing so, too, say Western intelligence officials in what is becoming a “like-for-like” cyber-conflict with the Kremlin in the so-called “gray space,” the gap between normal state relations and armed conflict.The U.S. and other Western powers are in conflict with Russia on a range of issues — from the 2014 annexation of Crimea to the pro-Moscow agitation in east Ukraine, from Russia’s backing of Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad to the 2018 attempted assassination in Salisbury, England, of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal.Heather Williams of Britain’s Chatham House expects a Biden administration to focus on two key areas: restoring arms control and strengthening NATO to check Russian adventurism.“On the one hand, the U.S. must maintain a strong deterrent and restore credibility with its allies. At the same time, it must pursue arms control and other risk reduction opportunities,” she said.In the final days of the presidential election the Kremlin appeared to be hedging its bets on who might win.Republican campaigners, as well as President Trump, had been hurling corruption charges at Biden’s son Hunter over his service on the board of an energy company in Ukraine and business dealings with China.But Putin dodged an opportunity to amplify the allegations against Hunter Biden, saying, “Yes, in Ukraine he had or maybe still has a business. It doesn’t concern us. It concerns the Americans and the Ukrainians. I don’t see anything criminal about this.”The Russian leader has also sought to highlight possible common ground with Biden — especially over nuclear arms control.Nuclear arms controlPutin called this month for the last existing nuclear arms control pact between Russia and the U.S. to be saved, proposing to extend the New START treaty that’s set to expire in February. “It would be extremely sad if the treaty ceases to exist,” he said.The treaty was signed in 2010 by Barack Obama and then-Russian president Dmitry Medvedev. The pact limits each country to no more than 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads and 700 deployed missiles and bombers.During his long career in the Senate, Biden was a champion of nuclear arms control and he has promised to seek to extend the New START treaty, saying he would likely accept a Russian offer to extend it for five years.
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After days of shying away from comment on America’s presidential election, world leaders including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and German Chancellor Angela Merkel tendered congratulations Saturday to Joe Biden after Pennsylvania’s vote results made him the projected winner.“The U.S. is our most important ally and I look forward to working closely together on our shared priorities from climate change to trade and security,” Johnson said in a statement issued by Downing Street.FILE – Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks during a virtual news conference at Downing Street, London, Oct. 12, 2020.The British leader also praised Biden’s running mate, Kamala Harris, for what he dubbed her “historic achievement.” Harris, the daughter of a Jamaican father and Indian mother, is the first woman of color on a U.S. national political ticket.Midweek, Johnson avoided making any remarks on the election, sidestepping calls from Britain’s opposition parties to comment on President Donald Trump’s demand for vote counting to stop in several states.“We don’t comment as the U.K. government on the democratic processes of our friends and allies,” he said.Some Trump supporters expressed frustration with foreign leaders.“These early calls by foreign leaders congratulating Biden are deliberate election interference,” tweeted Kyle Shideler, an analyst at the Center for Security Policy, a pro-Trump policy organization in Washington. “It is beyond inappropriate for these leaders to weigh in at this time.”Canada’s TrudeauAmong the first world leaders to react to Biden’s projected win was Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, saying, “Canada and the United States enjoy an extraordinary relationship — one that is unique on the world stage. Our shared geography, common interests, deep personal connections, and strong economic ties make us close friends, partners, and allies.”He added: “I look forward to working with President-elect Biden, Vice President-elect Harris, their administration, and the United States Congress as we tackle the world’s greatest challenges together.”FILE – German Chancellor Angela Merkel, right, walks with then-U.S. Vice President Joe Biden for a meeting at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Feb. 1, 2013.Germany’s Merkel said she was looking forward to “future cooperation” between the two countries, adding: “Our transatlantic friendship is irreplaceable if we are to master the great challenges of our time.”Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and French President Emmanuel Macron also offered congratulations.Macron said: “We have a lot to do to overcome today’s challenges. Let’s work together.”Sanchez added: “We are looking forward to cooperating with you to tackle the challenges ahead of us.”Governments across the world have been anxiously waiting to see whether Republican Trump would secure a second term or they would be dealing for the next four years with his Democratic challenger, the former U.S. vice president.Most foreign leaders were careful not to express a preference, fearful of alienating the eventual winner. Even national leaders most closely associated with Trump, such as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, were restrained in their praise of him.FILE – Viktor Orban, prime minister of Hungary, attends a news conference in Lublin, Poland, Sept. 11, 2020.Hungary’s firebrand populist Prime Minister Viktor Orban was one of the few leaders to back Trump publicly, as he did in 2016, announcing in an article in a Hungarian newspaper in September that he was “rooting for another victory for Donald Trump because we are very familiar with the foreign policy of U.S. Democratic administrations, built as it is on moral imperialism. We have tasted it — albeit under duress. We didn’t like it and we don’t want a second helping.”Other conservative nationalist leaders in central Europe were quieter, including Poland’s President Andrzej Duda.NervousnessAnxiety had only mounted since Election Day, with international allies fearful that America was heading for a contested election that could last for weeks or months.Officials in several European countries said they did not want to say anything they might later have to retract, as some governments did amid the confusion of the contested U.S. election in 2000. Among others, the German president initially congratulated candidate George W. Bush, only to have to withdraw his remarks as the world waited for five weeks and a Supreme Court ruling to finally conclude the election.But the congratulatory messages to Biden by several leaders Saturday suggested America’s allies have decided the result is a foregone conclusion — despite Trump’s decision not to concede and his determination to mount legal challenges.FILE – Polish President Andrzej Duda speaks to a crowd during an event in Gdansk-Westerplatte, Sept. 1, 2020.That includes Poland, one of the U.S.’s closest allies under the Trump administration. Duda said Saturday that his country was determined to maintain a “high-level, high-quality … partnership” during a Biden administration.Messages of congratulation also came Saturday from the leaders in the Netherlands, Qatar, Egypt, Ukraine, Lebanon, Norway and Greece.Ireland’s taoiseach, Micheal Martin, said: “Ireland takes pride in Joe Biden’s election, just as we are proud of all the generations of Irish women and Irish men and their ancestors whose toil and genius have enriched the diversity that powers America.”Biden traces his ancestry to Ireland and England.
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Slovakia held a second round of nationwide coronavirus testing on Saturday in an effort to curb increasing infections, with more than half a million people screened by noon.Last weekend, more than 3.6 million people — two thirds of the population — took part in the first round of a scheme that other nations are studying as they look for ways protect their health systems.The government this time called on people from regions where more than 0.7% tested positive last weekend to repeat the procedure, testing in 45 out of 79 of the nation’s counties.Because Slovaks in areas with lower rates of infection — including the capital, Bratislava — could voluntarily go for tests, it was not clear how many would participate. The government had estimated that it could test up to 2.6 million people.As of noon (1100 GMT), government data showed 553,377 had been tested, with 3,677 positive results. Prime Minister Igor Matovic said the country now had a way to handle the epidemic.”When we agree that we would want to have more freedom, to open theaters, churches … we will know that we have this tool [to control the epidemic],” Matovic said.The antigen test produces results in 15-30 minutes but is less accurate than the standard PCR tests.Overall, Slovakia reported 2,579 COVID-19 cases on Saturday through PCR testing, bringing the total to 73,667, with 351 deaths.Compared with other parts of Europe, Slovakia recorded relatively few cases after the pandemic started spreading in March, but infections have soared in recent weeks. The government has warned the increase could overwhelm hospitals.
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Ethiopia’s stability is on the line as the recent outburst of fierce fighting in the country’s Tigray and Oromia regions risks getting out of hand. U.N. rights chief Michelle Bachelet called Saturday for a de-escalation of violence and for grievances in these separate but equally destructive conflicts to be settled peacefully.Heavy clashes broke out Wednesday in the northern region of Tigray between federal and regional troops, prompting declaration of a six-month state of emergency.  The Ethiopian government announced it had deployed federal troops in response to an alleged attack by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front on a military base.Bachelet spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told VOA the eruption of fighting followed months of growing tensions between the federal government and authorities of the Tigray regional state.“This is really quite an alarming flare-up of these tensions, which have now entered into a phase of violence. … Since then, it has been very difficult to get information exactly about what is happening on the ground, because there has been an internet shutdown and phone lines have also been cut,” Shamdasani said. “So we are very worried, especially as we are not able to access information about the impact of the clashes on civilians.”Bachelet also deplored an attack by a group of armed men against members of the Amhara ethnic group in the Oromia region on Sunday. The government said 32 people were killed, although other sources reported many more casualties.Shamdasani said Bachelet was concerned about the lack of proper investigations and accountability into past similarly deadly incidents.“What that means is that, you know, people are left desolate,” Shamdasani said. “They are left feeling like there are entire communities that are pitted against each other and that this then provides fertile ground for further intercommunal clashes, more casualties.”Shamdasani said Bachelet was calling on the government this time around to ensure prompt, thorough, independent and impartial investigations into these incidents and to ensure that those responsible are held individually accountable.
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As Britain battles a surge in coronavirus infections with a nationwide monthlong lockdown, an ambitious mass testing pilot project has been launched in the northwestern city of Liverpool. Anyone who lives or works in the city and comes forward will be given a free test, whether they show symptoms of COVID-19 or not. Sabina Castelfranco has more from London.   
   
There are long lines at one of the mass testing facilities set up at a tennis center in Liverpool in what is the British government’s latest effort to find a way to limit the spread of COVID-19, which has seen particularly high numbers in the country’s northwest in recent weeks.
 
Two thousand members of the British army have been deployed along with medical staff at various sites in the city, which include schools, offices and care homes, to help administer the tests and process the swabs as quickly as possible in this first citywide experiment.  
 
Liverpool is one of the British cities most affected by the virus. It was the first city to be placed in Tier 3, Britain’s highest alert level for COVID-19, even before the country went into national lockdown this week.
 
The aim of the project is also to keep hospitals from being overwhelmed soon. Liverpool residents are concerned about the virus and appeared very supportive of the government’s plan for their city.A member of the armed forces waits to test local residents at the Liverpool Tennis Centre on the first day of mass testing pilot, in Liverpool, Britain, Nov. 6, 2020.“You can be symptom-free and still positive and you’re going to go about your business and spread it aren’t you? So, the more people that do it, the more people that will hopefully stay in if they are found positive,” said one woman who lining up to be tested.
 
There is hope in Liverpool that if enough people come forward for testing, more infections will be detected, which will help to eventually bring down the numbers. Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson tested negative on the first day of and urged the population to take advantage of the free testing.  
 
“It’s estimated that about 80% of people who have the virus are asymptomatic so, if we identify people who have the virus and would then self-isolate, it’s going to stop the spread of the virus. So, it’s crucial that we use this tool,” Anderson said.
 
The Liverpool pilot project will allow up to 500,000 people to be tested over 10 days. If successful, the government has said it plans to roll the pilot out in other cities and areas of the country. Britain has the highest COVID-19 death toll in Europe.  
 
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In parts of Italy, 16 million people went into lockdown Friday as the country moved to prevent another wave of coronavirus in hard-hit areas despite stiff opposition from local authorities. Italian health authorities have zoned the country into red, orange and yellow, depending on identified risk factors — red for high risk and yellow for low risk. Lombardy, Piedmont and Aosta Valley in the north as well as Calabria in the south are considered high risk and are in the red zone. These regions closed all nonessential businesses and activities. Residents may leave their homes only for work, medical reasons or emergencies, and essential shopping. Mayors like Calabria’s have pushed back against the red zone restrictions, expected to last 15 days, which halt bar, restaurant and gym operations. Restaurants may provide only takeout service. Mask-wearing is encouraged: People wearing masks may briefly step out of their homes to exercise. Meanwhile, hairdressers can keep their shops open. Italy’s Health Ministry reported a record 37,809 cases on Friday after performing more than 234,000 swab tests in 24 hours. The ministry said this new infection record, which was 9% higher than the previous day, was accompanied by 445 deaths, the highest daily death toll in six months. The densely populated Lombardy region contributed nearly 10,000 cases. People who live in medium-risk regions, such as Puglia and Sicily in the south, can move about freely in their region but cannot travel outside their region. In the yellow zone, including Rome, only the national restrictions apply. The national restrictions include a nighttime curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. In addition, schoolchildren age 12 and older have switched to remote learning. Italy has reported a total of more than 862,681 coronavirus cases, with a total death toll of 40,638, the sixth highest in the world, according to Johns Hopkins University statistics. 
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The European Union is poised to move next week to impose tariffs on $4 billion of U.S. imports in retaliation for U.S. subsidies for plane-maker Boeing, EU diplomats said, teeing up an eleventh-hour showdown with U.S. President Donald Trump.A majority of EU governments have backed imposing the widely expected tariffs once EU trade ministers meet next Monday, the latest twist in a trans-Atlantic trade saga that has spanned 16 years and four U.S. presidents.Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden is edging closer to victory in the U.S. election, but Republican Trump would remain president until January 20 and has plenty of leeway to increase U.S. tariffs on Europe that were imposed in a parallel case over subsidies for Airbus.U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer last month warned that any EU tariffs would “force a U.S. response” and Trump has threatened to “strike back harder.”Brussels views its own tariffs, authorized by the World Trade Organization last month, as important leverage in negotiations to end a dispute that began in 2004.”I would expect the tariffs to be imposed next Tuesday or Wednesday,” an EU diplomat said.In October 2019, Washington imposed tariffs on Airbus planes and other European products from cheese to olives and single-malt whisky. Combined, the two cases represent the world’s largest ever corporate trade dispute.Washington argues there is no legal basis for EU tariffs because underlying subsidies to Boeing have been repealed. European officials argue that only the WTO can decide on compliance and that last month’s green light stands.Both sides accuse the other of failing to obey WTO rulings but are seen as determined to maximize their positions ahead of probable negotiations.If Biden wins, the avowed trans-Atlanticist is expected to work quickly to mend fences with Brussels on a host of issues and could use talks over the aircraft subsidies as a gesture of goodwill as he tries to build a more united front against China.After holding off on tariffs to avoid clashing with the U.S. presidential campaign, EU governments formally cleared tariffs on Tuesday, Election Day, but must now decide their timing.Farmers, construction, casino tablesTariffs will hit U.S. planes and parts, fruits, nuts and other farm produce, orange juice, some spirits and other goods from construction equipment to casino tables, diplomats said.The European Commission said it was fine-tuning what it regards as its retaliation rights in case no agreed solution could be found with Washington, including an immediate suspension of U.S. tariffs.Lighthizer’s office had no immediate comment. One senior U.S. source said Trump was not expected to feel constraint about expanding U.S. tariffs, even if he loses the election.The United States is authorized to impose tariffs on $7.5 billion of European goods but has not used the whole quota. It could raise duties on various goods or expand the target list.Chris Swonger, president and CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S., said any EU tariffs on spirits would further devastate an industry that has already seen a 41% drop in U.S. whiskey exports to Europe because of previous EU tariffs.European producers have voiced similar complaints about U.S. tariffs. Politicians on both sides of the Atlantic are under mounting pressure to prevent the aircraft feud from hurting other industries.New EU tariffs will also hand Britain, which left the bloc this year, delicate decisions about whether to join neighbors in imposing tariffs at a time when it is caught between trade negotiations with both the United States and EU.Britain, a partner of France-based Airbus, has pledged to “keep all options open.”
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A lockdown in Denmark began Friday as officials ordered millions of minks – farmed for their fur – to be destroyed after a mutated variation of COVID-19 was discovered on more than 200 farms in the region.
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the lockdown was aimed at containing the spread of the coronavirus. It comes two days after the government ordered the cull of all 15 million minks bred in the European country’s 1,139 mink farms. The nation is the world’s leading mink fur producer.
The lockdown will affect about 280,000 residents in the region, and the government is urging them all to be tested for coronavirus.
Speaking to reporters, Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said that finding COVID-19 in mink was not a new development. It has happened in other countries and was first discovered in Denmark in June. But he said, “We have indications this unique mutation has reduced response to antibodies, which can ultimately affect the efficiency of a potential vaccine.” He said the testing on the mutation are continuing.
Kofod said as of Thursday, 216 mink farms have been infected. Speaking at the same news conference, Denmark’s State Serum Institute chief Tyra Grove Krause  said the mutated COVID-19 strain had been found in 12 people on five mink farms.
Experts say the coronavirus evolves constantly, and, to date, there is no evidence that any of the mutations pose an increased danger to people. But Danish authorities say they are not taking chances.
Denmark officials had informed the World Health Organization (WHO) and other international health bodies.
When asked about the situation in Denmark during a briefing at WHO headquarters in Geneva, WHO Technical Lead for COVID-19 Maria van Kerkhove said transmission of the virus between animals and humans was “a concern,” but added such mutations are normal and the agency has been tracking them since the pandemic started.
Kerkove said WHO officials are working with offices in regions where there are mink farms, “and looking at biosecurity and to prevent spillover events.”
Overall, Denmark has reported 53,180 cases of coronavirus and 738 deaths.
 
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Health officials in Poland reported a record number of coronavirus-related deaths on Friday as the first treatments began for patients at a makeshift hospital in the country’s national stadium. The government reported 445 deaths and 27,086 new infections in its latest report. The caseload was the second highest number of in a single day during the pandemic — second only to Thursday’s total. The figures coincided with the admission of the first patient at a new field hospital located in Warsaw’s National Stadium. The rapidly growing number of COVID-19 cases has placed Poland among the 20 most-affected countries in the world.  If the level of infections reaches 70 people per 100,000 or if 30,000 patients are hospitalized, a full national lockdown will take effect, according to the government. The health ministry said the health care system is facing shortages of hospital beds, equipment and medical personnel. The health ministry added that, as of Friday, COVID-19 patients occupied 19,479 of 29,407 available hospital beds and were using 1,703 of 2,238 available ventilators. 
 
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Russia reported 20,582 new COVID cases Friday, a record daily high. Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesman, did not give any details about what steps public health officials would take to curb the uptick.  With more than 1.7 million COVID infections in Russia, only the United States, India and Brazil have more coronavirus cases. India reported more than 47,000 new COVID cases Friday. Anyone traveling from Denmark to Britain must now self-isolate for 14 days. Denmark was removed Friday from Britain’s corridor of travel, following a coronavirus outbreak on mink farms in the Scandanavian country. Denmark has announced it is culling more than 15 million minks in an effort to halt the spread of a mutated form of the coronavirus that has appeared in the minks.
The coronavirus is sweeping across Europe again. England began a four-week lockdown Thursday, while Greece begins a three-week shutdown Saturday.Italy starting is beginning new coronavirus restrictions across the country. In the so-called ‘soft lockdown’ the country has been divided by colors according to risk with set of restrictions differing by color.An aerial view of vehicles queuing at a drive-thru COVID-19 testing site at the Alliant Energy Center complex, as the coronavirus disease outbreak continues in Madison, Wisconsin, Nov. 5, 2020.US hits another daily record
On Thursday, the United States recorded its highest number of COVID cases since the start of the pandemic – more than 117,000 new infections.  The rapid spread of the virus in the U.S. comes as voters await the final results of the country’s presidential election. The virus is “coming after all of us,” Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said.  “This virus doesn’t care if we voted for Donald Trump, doesn’t care if we voted for Joe Biden.”The virus in the U.S. is  especially spreading across the Midwest and the so-called Great Plains region that spans large parts of the central and western U.S.  The U.S. has 9.6 million of the world’s 48.6 million cases. 
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Greece has ordered a three-week nationwide lockdown to help contain a dramatic resurgence of COVID-19 infections. It is the second shutdown this year after a sudden surge in infections this week.Under restrictions taking effect Saturday, retail businesses will be closed, except for supermarkets, pharmacies and banks.Greeks will need state-authorized permits to venture out of their homes at specific times. While primary schools will remain open, high schools and universities will remain closed, operating by way of online learning sessions.In a nationally televised news conference, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said he had no other option than to take aggressive action because the deadly virus was spreading at an alarming rate.It changed dramatically this week, he said. “We saw the contagion rates increasing at a frightening rate in northern Greece, and we saw similar trends emerging.”If these measures were not taken now, he said, then the strain on the health care system would become so great within a few weeks that doctors would have to limit admissions to intensive care units.In the last five days alone, the country has counted 10,000 infections, a fifth of the total number of cases documented since the start of the pandemic here.Greece’s rolling average of daily new cases is just 17 per 100,000 people, compared to 33 in Britain and 68 in France. Mitsotakis warned, though, that Greece had less of a margin to respond.Just out of a 10-year devastating financial crisis, Greece took aggressive action at the start of the pandemic to bolster its anemic health care system, adding much-needed personnel and medical supplies to deal with the health crisis.It managed to keep daily infections down to about a few dozen a day, with a death toll of around 300. Once summer set in and its borders reopened, though, Greeks abandoned all show of social distancing, packing into bars and partying nonstop.The social rebellion was so intense that a movement of deniers mushroomed across the nation, refusing to don masks, let alone acknowledge the existence of the deadly virus.Now Mitsotakis is under fire by politicians across the board, accusing him of mismanaging the health crisis.On Thursday, he seemed apologetic“Perhaps the gravest mistake we made,” he said, “was that we resigned to this sweeping sense of relief that gripped all of us over the summer, that the pandemic was over and that we had been spared.”Government officials anticipate the draconian lockdown will stem the spread of the deadly virus in as soon as a week.Medical experts, though, expect the Greek resurgence to worsen before it will start to recede, and that could well be beyond Christmas and into the new year, when vaccines are anticipated for release.
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The 90-year-old leader of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Irinej, was sent to a military hospital in Belgrade this week after testing positive for the coronavirus, according to the church.His hospitalization Wednesday came days after the patriarch led prayers at the funeral of the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro, Bishop Amfilohije, who died of COVID-19.FILE – A nun kisses Bishop Amfilohije during the liturgy and funeral in the main temple in Podgorica, Montenegro, Nov. 1, 2020. The bishop, head of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro, died after contracting COVID-19.During the funeral at the church in Montenegro, prevention measures were not observed. Mourners did not wear masks. They kissed the body of the bishop as it lay in a coffin and did not keep their distance from one another.A statement from his office said Patriarch Irinej was “without symptoms and is in excellent health.”Serbia and Montenegro have seen a rise in coronavirus cases, and authorities warned the funeral could be a super-spreader event and a public health threat.Many mourners, including a top Montenegro cleric, Bishop Joanikije, reportedly contracted the virus after the funeral. He now suffers from mild pneumonia.Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Montenegrin Prime Minister-designate Zdravko Krivokapic also attended the funeral of Bishop Amfilohije.Bishop Amfilohije was a powerful cleric who did not observe COVID-19 prevention measures such as wearing masks.
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Former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci, a wartime hero turned politician, was arrested and transferred Thursday to the detention center of the Kosovo Tribunal in The Hague, the Netherlands, to face charges of war crimes.Thaci had resigned, effective immediately, earlier in the day after learning that the tribunal confirmed a war crimes indictment against him.Thaci and three other former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) are accused of overseeing illegal detention facilities where the movement’s opponents were kept in inhumane conditions, tortured and sometimes killed.Thaci has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. He told a news conference in the Kosovo capital, Pristina, that he felt his resignation was necessary “to protect the integrity of the state.”Thaci arrived at Pristina’s military airport in the afternoon and was flown to The Hague, where he was taken into custody by the Kosovo Specialist Chambers.Instability ahead?The move could bring political instability to Kosovo, a young democracy where the 52-year-old former guerrilla became the first prime minister in 2008 and was elected president in 2016.Prosecutors in July said they held Thaci responsible for the killing of nearly 100 civilians during the 1998-99 war when he was a KLA commander who fought the Serbian police and army.Thaci, a U.S.-backed national hero, embarked on his political career after leading the KLA’s battle against forces under the late Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic.Ties with the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump deepened in September, when Kosovo and Serbia signed an economic relations deal at the White House.The European Union on Thursday welcomed Thaci’s cooperation with the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, where he is expected to come before a pretrial judge in the coming days.The tribunal was set up in 2015 to handle cases relating to the war that led to Kosovo’s independence from Serbia in 2008. The court is governed by Kosovo law but staffed by international judges and prosecutors.FILE – Hashim Thaci, who then was Kosovo’s president, attends a ceremony of security forces, in Pristina, Kosovo, Dec. 13, 2018.Anger in KosovoMany in Kosovo oppose the war crimes court and see the KLA commanders as heroes.”I think a big injustice is being committed here by putting on trial our liberators,” economist Fejzullah Ibrahimi told Reuters at a market in Pristina.NATO bombed Belgrade in 1999 with U.S. support to halt the killings and expulsions of ethnic Albanians from Kosovo by Serb forces.Human rights watchdog Amnesty International said the indictment against Thaci gave hope to thousands of victims of the war “who have waited for more than two decades to find out the truth about the horrific crimes.”In Belgrade, lawmaker Milovan Drecun, chairman of the Serbian parliamentary committee for Kosovo, said the indictment proved that “establishing the truth about war crimes of the KLA and punishing those responsible is an irreversible process.”In July, Thaci met the prosecutors in The Hague to discuss the allegations against him.Another three Kosovo politicians and former KLA members — Rexhep Selimi, a deputy in the Kosovo parliament; Kadri Veseli, president of Thaci’s Kosovo Democratic Party; and veteran Kosovo politician Jakup Krasniqi — were transferred Wednesday and Thursday to The Hague on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, the tribunal said.
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Sweden’s prime minister announced Thursday he has gone into protective self-isolation after a person close to him encountered someone who tested positive for the coronavirus. The country is experiencing an autumn surge of infections. From his Facebook account, Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said that on his doctor’s advice, he and his wife, Ulla, were self-isolating, even though they have no symptoms. He said it was “the only responsible thing to do in this situation.”  FILE – Sweden’s Prime Minister Stefan Lofven speaks during a news conference updating on the coronavirus situation, at the government headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden, Nov. 3, 2020.Lofven’s announcement came as Sweden’s Public Health Agency reported a record 4,034 new daily infections and five new deaths, putting Sweden’s total deaths at 6,002. In his post, Lofven said the new infections were clearly going in the wrong direction. Early in the pandemic, as other Nordic nations locked down to fight the virus, Sweden drew international attention by keeping schools, gyms and restaurants open and not requiring people to wear masks.  In recent weeks, as infections have risen, the government began implementing limits on the size of social gatherings, patrons in restaurants and on public transportation. They have also encouraged people to work from home if possible. Sweden’s per capita death rate of 0.7 is high compared to Nordic neighbors Norway and Finland, but relatively low next to other nations in Europe. 
 
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Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz is urging fellow European leaders to form a common front against what some leaders call “political Islam.”
 
“I expect an end to the misconceived tolerance and for all the nations of Europe to finally realize how dangerous the ideology of political Islam is for our freedom and the European way of life,” Kurz told the German newspaper Die Welt. “The EU must focus much more strongly on the problem of political Islam in the future.”  
 
The idea of forming a common European front against political Islam, first broached by France’s President Emmanuel Macron, is being embraced by other European leaders, including Italy’s foreign minister, who said the European Union should adopt a version of the USA Patriot Act, which gives security agencies greater surveillance powers.
 
Kurz said he will put the issue of political Islam on the agenda of a scheduled EU summit later this month. He said he had talked with Macron and “many other government leaders so that we can coordinate more closely within the EU.”
 
The Austrian chancellor’s comments came in the wake of Monday’s shooting rampage in Vienna where a gunman killed four people, the first major terrorist attack on Austrian soil since 1985.  A military police officer stands guard near the scene of a terrorist attack in Vienna, Austria, Nov. 4, 2020.Austria’s security services are investigating whether the 20-year-old suspect, an Austrian-North Macedonian dual citizen with a previous terror conviction, had ties to Islamist militants in other countries, including Switzerland, where police arrested two people in connection with the Vienna attack. Swiss Justice Minister Karin Keller-Sutter told a local newspaper that the two were “colleagues” of the attacker, and the three men had met face-to-face recently.
 
The wave of attacks carried out by Islamist militants in Paris, Nice, Dresden and Vienna over the past few weeks is raising alarm, with European security officials saying they fear more violence.
 
Islamic State claimed responsibility for Monday’s attack in a statement issued through its Amaq News Agency, along with a video purportedly showing the gunman swearing allegiance to the terror group’s leader.
 
“The enemy, the Islamist terror, wants to split our society,” Kurz said. “But we will give no space to this hatred. Our enemies are not the members of a religious community. These are terrorists. This is not a fight between Christians and Muslims, or Austrians and migrants, but a fight between civilization and barbarity.”
 
Some leaders and countries warn that the stances taken by Kurz and Macron will be used by militants and others to paint Europe as anti-Islam.French President Emmanuel Macron visits the scene of a knife attack at Notre Dame church in Nice, France, Oct. 29, 2020.Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been feuding bitterly with Macron over the French president’s recent remarks that Islam is a religion “in crisis.” The French government’s renewal of its support for the right to show caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad has infuriated Ankara. Erdogan has accused Macron of being mentally unstable — an accusation that prompted Paris to recall its ambassador from Turkey.
 
Macron has repeatedly voiced his support for freedom of expression following the killing of teacher Samuel Paty in a Paris suburb last month. Paty was beheaded by a militant after showing cartoons from the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo to his students in a lesson about free speech.
 
Erdogan has urged a boycott of French products, as a backlash has mounted against Macron in the Muslim world. Retailers in the Gulf and Jordan have announced boycotts of French products.
 
France on Thursday condemned what it said were “declarations of violence” by Erdogan and raised the possibility of the EU imposing new sanctions on Ankara.  
 
“There are now declarations of violence, even hatred, which are regularly posted by President Erdogan, which are unacceptable,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told Europe 1 radio.
He added, “There are means of pressure. There is an agenda of possible sanctions.”Tribute flowers are stacked outside the school where slain history teacher Samuel Paty was working, in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, northwest of Paris, France, Oct. 17, 2020.Macron underlined Wednesday he wants to target “Islamist separatism, never Islam,” and said he is not “stigmatizing French Muslims.”  
 
“I will not allow anybody to claim that France or its government is fostering racism against Muslims,” he said in a letter published in Britain’s Financial Times.  
 
Rallies have taken place in Bangladesh, Indonesia and other Muslim countries against Macron. Around 50,000 protesters took part in a demonstration in Bangladesh Monday, with some burning effigies of the French leader. In Jakarta, 2,000 Indonesians protested outside the French embassy, chanting, “No defamation of the Prophet Muhammad.”
 
Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said Wednesday that Europe needed to take “measures that can prevent tragedies such as those in Nice and Vienna.” On his Facebook page he added, “In the face of this, Europe and Italy itself cannot continue with just words.”  
 
Di Maio said Europe should implement tighter controls on mosques and take bolder steps to curb illegal immigration.
 
On Thursday, Italy announced it will step up border checks because of the latest attacks in Europe. Like other European countries, including Britain, authorities in Rome have upgraded their terrorism threat level to high. British security officials say they fear the attacks in Nice and Vienna might encourage other militants.
 
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