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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People in London packed pubs and bars late Wednesday for one last drink before all of England shutdown for one month in an attempt to halt a surge in COVID-19 infections.
 
Streets in London’s Soho neighborhood were blocked so pubs could put out tables for outdoor seating, but that appeared to be the only indication the city was in the midst of a pandemic. People sat shoulder to shoulder or stood arm-in-arm, and the only masks in sight were on the policemen standing by to make sure the revelry did not get out of hand.
 
One man told a reporter the scene felt like a bittersweet New Year’s Eve atmosphere — festive, but with the knowledge it would all be ending.  
 
London and the rest of England began the shutdown at 1:00 am Thursday to combat a surge in new infections that scientists said could, if unchecked, cause more deaths than a first wave that forced a three-month lockdown earlier this year.  On Wednesday, the United Kingdom reported 492 deaths from the virus, the most reported since mid-May.
 
The nation has the biggest official death toll in Europe from COVID-19 and is grappling with more than 20,000 new coronavirus cases a day. Scientists warned the “worst-case” scenario of 80,000 dead could be exceeded without action.  
Under the lockdown, all non-essential businesses in England will be closed and people will be asked to work from home if possible until at least December 2nd. Masks and social distancing will be mandatory when venturing out.
 
The rest of the United Kingdom – Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – have their own lockdown policies and enacted tougher health restrictions last month. 
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Kosovo President Hashim Thaci has confirmed that he has been indicted for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
 
Thaci told a news conference on Thursday that, because of the indictment, he was following through on a pledge to resign from his position.
 
Thaci was a commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army (UCK), an ethnic Albanian guerrilla group that fought against Belgrade’s security forces in the 1998-99 war.
 
A Specialist Prosecutor’s Office (SPO) has accused Thaci and other suspects of being “criminally responsible for nearly 100 murders,” as well as the “enforced disappearance of persons, persecution, and torture.”
 
The alleged crimes involved “hundreds of known victims of Kosovo Albanian, Serb, Roma, and other ethnicities and include political opponents,” according to the SPO.
 
Thaci has denied involvement in any war crimes.
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The recent repatriation of an Islamic State (IS) woman and four children from the Kurdish-controlled al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria is being applauded as an important step by Albania to deal with its citizens abroad who have been affiliated with the terror group.Some observers say they are expecting a long journey ahead for the country as it addresses the rehabilitation of IS families and their reentry into society.“Although modest in size, this transfer signals Albania’s shift toward a proactive approach for the repatriation of its citizens, especially children and women,” Adrian Shtuni, a Washington-based security and radicalization expert, told VOA.Roughly 13,500 foreign women and children are among about 70,000 IS families held by the Kurdish-led, U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northeastern Syria, according to a report in April by the Crisis Group. Researchers in Albania say at least 70 members of the group hold Albanian citizenship.Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said last week that he was in Beirut to bring home from Syria a 41-year-old woman, Floresha Rasha; her three children – Amar, Emel and Hatixhe Rasha; and another minor, Endri Dumani. The five Albanians were evacuated from the al-Hol camp in a process mediated by the Syrian Arab Red Crescent.Mark Ghraib, Albania’s honorary consul in Beirut, said the Albanians had been given medical checkups and provided with proper care. Authorities have not disclosed many details about the health of the evacuees but said Floresha Rasha uses a wheelchair because of “severe injuries” and will need immediate surgery upon her arrival in Tirana.Floresha Rasha will face investigation to determine if she was involved in any terrorist attacks during her seven years in Syria, according to the Albanian Special Anti-Corruption Prosecution. The four children, however, do not have any criminal liability under Albanian law because of their age.FILE – A man, suspected of having collaborated with the Islamic State group, is greeted by family members upon his release from the Kurdish-run Alaya prison in the northeastern Syrian city of Qamishli, on Oct. 15, 2020.Complex operationKurdish authorities repeatedly have called on countries to repatriate their citizens, saying imprisoned IS fighters and their families are a burden on their limited resources.Albanian Interior Minister Sander Lleshaj said in September that the return of the Albanian adults would face legal challenges because “they are considered the losing side of an armed battle.” He said the government was on track, though, to bring home 28 children.The government in Tirana first planned to repatriate dozens of its citizens in August 2019. But Albanian State Minister Elisa Spiropali subsequently announced the process was suspended because of the changing geopolitical situation in Syria following Turkey’s military operations and the partial withdrawal of U.S. troops in October 2019.The halt prompted a protest in September by relatives of the IS children, who said the government had to put more effort into bringing home minors who are citizens.Following the protest, Lleshaj went to Beirut to discuss with his Lebanese counterparts the possible repatriation of children and women from the camps“For children, we are trying to save them from that hell,” Lleshaj told Albania’s national Top Channel in September.Rights groups describe al-Hol camp as “massively” crowded and unsanitary. Doctors Without Borders FILE – Two women, center, reportedly wives of Islamic State group fighters, wait with other women and children at the al-Hol camp in al-Hasakah governorate in northeastern Syria, Feb. 7, 2019.Mironova also added that another motivation for these women who prefer to stay is to raise their children in the camp, which they consider an Islamic land, thinking that their countries do not have Islamic practices.Some may not seek returnSimilarly, Adrian Shtuni says the assumption that all of the Albanian women being held in the camp are eager to return home may not be accurate.“Substantiated media reports that a number of Albanian women went into hiding to evade repatriation point to a less well-understood aspect of the reality in camps,” Shtuni told VOA.“This highlights once more that though repatriation in itself is a complex effort, it is only the beginning of a long-term process of rehabilitation from trauma and violent extremism required to prepare returnees for reentry into mainstream society,” Shtuni added.Rama in the past has said his Cabinet is well-prepared to hold IS adult members accountable, and to prepare for the return of the brainwashed children into society.In a news conference last week, Rama announced his government rehabilitation program for children was being assisted by the children’s relatives and was equipped with the necessary care, psychologists, teachers and doctors.“The progress of these children will be monitored. Work will be done step by step to integrate them into the social structures, based on the opinion that will be given by doctors and psychologists,” Rama added.More than 100 Albanians are reported to have joined the conflicts in Iraq and Syria, alongside other ethnic Albanians from Kosovo and North Macedonia. The U.S. State Department’s 2019 Country Report on Terrorism determined the terrorism threat in Albania came mainly from foreign fighters returning from Iraq and Syria, along with Albanian youth being radicalized to terrorism.VOA’s Albanian Service contributed to this report.
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Pope Francis is urging people in Italy to follow the latest strict measures imposed by authorities to curb the spread of the coronavirus. VOA’s Mariama Diallo has more.
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A former senior commander of ethnic Albanian separatist fighters in Kosovo’s 1998-1999 war who was also the country’s former Parliament speaker was arrested Wednesday and taken to a special court in the Netherlands for war crimes, his lawyer said.Jakup Krasniqi, 69, was arrested by policemen of the European Union rule of law mission (EULEX) at his house in Negrovc village, 34 kilometers (20 miles) west of the capital, Pristina, according to lawyer Valon Hasani. Krasniqi was taken to The Hague.”The indictment has been confirmed, and it is expected that a hearing before the special chambers will be scheduled very soon,” Hasani said, without giving details of the charges.Krasniqi is the second former fighter of the Kosovo Liberation Army, which fought for Kosovo’s independence from Serbia, to be taken to The Hague Kosovo Specialist Chambers court after Salih Mustafa in September.Another ex-KLA commander, Rexhep Selimi, 49, said he had been charged, without giving details, and will go to The Hague on Thursday.”I have known how to, and always will, defend the freedom of the people, the state of Kosovo, the glorious KLA,” said Selimi, one of the KLA founders.Selimi is a lawmaker with the main opposition Self-Determination Movement Party and has been interior minister and head of the military academy.The court and an associated Special Prosecutor’s Office were established five years ago following a 2011 report by the Council of Europe, a human rights body, that included allegations that KLA fighters trafficked human organs taken from prisoners and killed Serbs and fellow ethnic Albanians. The court is mandated to investigate and prosecute allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Kosovo, or linked to the Kosovo conflict, from 1998-2000. The Kosovo government said it was closely following EULEX activities concerning Krasniqi, adding that the country’s institutions and citizens have always respected the mission’s decisions.Prosecutors in The Hague also have issued an indictment against Kosovar President Hashim Thaci, former parliamentary speaker Kadri Veseli, and others for crimes that include murder, enforced disappearances, persecution and torture. It is not clear whether a pre-trial judge has confirmed those indictments, though the six-month period to do that is over. Both men have denied committing any war crimes.Two leaders of the Kosovar war veterans’ association, Hysni Gucati and Nasim Haradinaj, also were arrested in September and transferred to The Hague, accused of allegedly endangering potential witnesses in war crimes cases the court is investigating by releasing their names publicly.The war for Kosovo’s independence from Serbia left more than 10,000 people dead – most of them ethnic Albanians from Kosovo. More than 1,600 people remain unaccounted for. The fighting ended after a 78-day NATO air campaign against Serbian troops.Kosovo, which is dominated by ethnic Albanians, declared independence from Serbia in 2008, a move recognized by many Western nations but not by Serbia or its allies Russia and China. 
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The Dec. 7 season premiere at Milan’s La Scala opera house, a gala event that is one of Italy’s cultural highlights, is being canceled after a rash of COVID-19 infections among musicians and chorus members.The theater’s board of directors concluded Wednesday that the status of the pandemic and Italy’s virus-control measures, which include the closure of theaters, did not allow for “achieving a production open to the public and of the level and with the characteristics required” for the premiere.Lucia di Lammermoor had been on the program for the season’s opening. La Scala said the scheduled opening night performance and the shows set for the following days have been postponed.Politicians, business figures and other VIPs traditionally turn out for La Scala’s season premiere, an official holiday in Milan.The opera house reported a week ago that its entire orchestra had been told to quarantine after nine musicians tested positive for the coronavirus. The chorus was put under an earlier quarantine after 18 singers were confirmed to be infected.A government decree issued last month to battle a surge in COVID-19 infections shut down Italy’s theaters, cinemas and concert halls for a few weeks. Starting Thursday, Italian museums will also have to close their doors, at least until Dec. 2.  
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With a deadline looming ever more menacingly, the European Union’s chief negotiator on the post-Brexit trade deal with Britain on Wednesday publicly blamed London for a lack of progress in the two sides’ belated attempt to reach an even rudimentary agreement.”At this stage, there are still too many difficulties remaining on important topics,” Michel Barnier said on his way to brief the envoys of the 27 member states.In a Twitter comment later, Barnier said, “Despite EU efforts to find solutions, very serious divergences remain.”Britain’s Chief negotiator David Frost walks down Downing Street in London, Oct. 19, 2020.Britain’s chief negotiator, David Frost, said he agreed that “wide divergences remain on some key issues.””We continue to work to find solutions that fully respect U.K. sovereignty,” Frost tweeted.Barnier’s comments threw a dampener on optimistic reports that progress was being made at a rapid pace on issues such as fisheries rights, one of three remaining major topics that need a compromise solution if a deal is to be found before Jan. 1, when a transition period in the Brexit divorce proceedings ends.Barnier’s stern words were in complete contradiction to the olive branch he offered London only two weeks ago after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson insisted that the EU and Barnier fundamentally had to change tack to continue the negotiations.Both sides have been intensely negotiating since, but, as Barnier pointed out, to little effect.The lack of progress on fisheries and on the need to have common regulatory standards and fair competition to make sure Britain won’t undercut EU businesses has befuddled the negotiating teams for months, as both sides have been trying to strike a trade deal since the U.K. left the EU on Jan. 31.Without a deal, trade between both sides would fundamentally change, and hundreds of thousands of jobs would be threatened on both sides, especially in nations close to Britain such as Ireland, France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Barnier insisted again Wednesday that the EU “is prepared for all scenarios.”In the trade negotiations, Britain wants to retain as many of the advantages of EU membership as possible without having to live by the bloc’s rules. The EU is insisting on stringent trade regulations to avoid having a giant buccaneering trade partner on its doorstep that could freely undercut the bloc’s state aid, social and environmental standards.After negotiating in Brussels this week, the talks are set to move to London again in the coming days.
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The death toll in last week’s Aegean Sea earthquake rose to 116 on Wednesday as rescuers in the Turkish city of Izmir finished searching buildings that collapsed in the quake.All but two of the victims were killed in Izmir, Turkey’s third-largest city. Two teenagers died on the Greek island of Samos, which lies south of the epicenter of Friday’s earthquake. The U.S. Geological Survey registered the quake’s magnitude at 7.0, although other agencies recorded it as less severe.Mehmet Gulluoglu, head of Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency, said search and rescue operations had been completed at 17 buildings that fell in Izmir. The rescue operation has been roaring at full tilt since Friday, pulling 107 survivors from the rubble.Of the 1,035 people injured in the quake, 137 remained hospitalized on Wednesday, the agency added.Following a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday evening, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pledged not to give up until the final person was recovered. Rescuers’ spirits were raised Tuesday when they pulled a 3-year-old girl from the wreckage of her family home 91 hours after the quake.The tremors were felt across western Turkey, including in Istanbul, as well as in the Greek capital of Athens. Some 1,700 aftershocks followed, 45 of which were greater than 4.0 magnitude.In Izmir, the quake reduced buildings to rubble or saw floors pancake in on themselves. Authorities have detained nine people, including contractors, for questioning over the collapse of six of the buildings.Turkey has a mix of older buildings and new buildings make of cheap or illegal construction that do not withstand earthquakes well. Regulations have been tightened to strengthen or demolish older buildings, and urban renewal is underway in Turkish cities, but experts say it is not happening fast enough. The country sits on top of two major fault lines and earthquakes are frequent.  
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Austrian authorities continue to investigate whether more than one attacker was involved in the terrorist shootings in Vienna Monday night that left four people dead and scores wounded.  As Henry Ridgwell reports from London, it’s the latest in a series of terrorist incidents in Europe in recent days.   Camera: Henry Ridgwell   Video editor: Jon Spier
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Britain’s Home secretary announced Tuesday the nation was raising its terrorism threat level from “substantial” to “severe” following recent terrorist activity in France and Austria.
According to Britain’s MI5 domestic intelligence agency, the severe alert means a terrorist attack is highly likely. It is the fourth highest of the nation’s five threat levels.  
Speaking to reporters in London, Home Secretary Priti Patel said MI5’s Joint Terror Analysis Center ((JTAC)) raised the level following a recent knife attack by a radicalized Chechen refugee in Nice, France and the shooting of four people in Vienna late Monday by an armed man identified as a convicted jihadist.
Patel says the alert means people should be on alert but not alarmed. She said the alert is a precautionary measure. Patel adds the public can expect to see the nation’s intelligence and police agencies putting visible protective preventative measures in place across the country.
On her Twitter account earlier, Patel encouraged the public to “continue to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity to the police.”
 
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Austrian officials said Tuesday a perpetrator of an attack in Vienna, Austria that killed at least four people and wounded 14 others was a sympathizer of the Islamic State terror group.    “We experienced an attack last night by at least one Islamist terrorist,” Interior Minister Karl Nehammer told reporters.    He said the assailant was armed with an assault rifle and wore a fake suicide vest.  He added in later comments to the Austrian news agency APA that the attacker was convicted last year of trying to travel to Syria to join Islamic State.   Police shot the assailant dead, and Nehammer said a search was ongoing Tuesday to see if anyone else was involved in the attack.    “At the moment we can’t rule out that there are still other attackers out there. That’s why we are investigating the environment of the attacker and also all of Vienna in order to make sure whether there was just one perpetrator or two,” he said.  After a shooting armed police officers stand on a street at the scene in Vienna, Austria, Nov. 3, 2020.Authorities advised people to stay away from public places and public transport.  Students in Vienna were allowed to miss classes Tuesday.    The shootings took place late Monday at six locations in Vienna, hours before a partial lockdown was due to go into effect due to the rising number of coronavirus cases in the country.  The dead included two men and a woman, while a police officer was among the wounded.    Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said his country “will not be intimidated by terrorists.”  In a series of tweets he also said there is not a dispute between Christians and Muslims or between Austrians and migrants, but rather a struggle between those who believe in peace and those who want war.   Speaking to the Austrian public broadcasting station ORF, Nehammer said all six locations that were attacked were near a central city street that house’s Vienna’s main synagogue.    Jewish community leader Oskar Deutsch said on Twitter that it was not clear whether the synagogue and its adjoining offices had been the target of the attack. He said the buildings were closed at the time of the violence.        President Emmanuel Macron of France, which has faced several recent attacks blamed on Muslim extremists, tweeted that the French “share the shock and grief of the Austrian people hit by an attack tonight.””This is our Europe,” he said. “Our enemies must know with whom they are dealing. We will not retreat.”    German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed solidarity with neighboring Austria in a statement Tuesday, saying, “The fight against Islamist terrorism is our common struggle.” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States “strongly condemns the terrorist attack in Vienna.” “We express our deepest sympathy to the families of those killed and wounded,” Pompeo said.  “We affirm our support for the police and first responders, and stand in solidarity with the people of Austria.” 
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Austrian officials said Tuesday the perpetrator of an attack in Vienna, Austria that killed at least three people and wounded 15 others was a sympathizer of the Islamic State terror group. “We experienced an attack last night by at least one Islamist terrorist,” Interior Minister Karl Nehammer told reporters. He said the assailant was armed with an assault rifle and wore a fake suicide vest. Police shot the assailant dead, and Nehammer said a search was ongoing Tuesday to see if anyone else was involved in the attack. “At the moment we can’t rule out that there are still other attackers out there. That’s why we are investigating the environment of the attacker and also all of Vienna in order to make sure whether there was just one perpetrator or two,” he said. After a shooting armed police officers stand on a street at the scene in Vienna, Austria, Nov. 3, 2020.Authorities advised people to stay away from public places and public transport.  Students in Vienna were allowed to miss classes Tuesday. The shootings took place late Monday at six locations in Vienna, hours before a partial lockdown was due to go into effect due to the rising number of coronavirus cases in the country.  The dead included two men and a woman, while a police officer was among the wounded. Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz described the shootings as a “repulsive terrorist attack.”    He said the attackers had “prepared professionally” and “were very well equipped with automatic weapons.”    Speaking to the Austrian public broadcasting station ORF, Nehammer said all six locations that were attacked were near a central city street that house’s Vienna’s main synagogue.      Jewish community leader Oskar Deutsch said on Twitter that it was not clear whether the synagogue and its adjoining offices had been the target of the attack. He said the buildings were closed at the time of the violence.     President Emmanuel Macron of France, which has faced several recent attacks blamed on Muslim extremists, tweeted that the French “share the shock and grief of the Austrian people hit by an attack tonight.”       “This is our Europe,” he said. “Our enemies must know with whom they are dealing. We will not retreat.” German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed solidarity with neighboring Austria in a statement Tuesday, saying, “The fight against Islamist terrorism is our common struggle.” 
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