France has declared a public health state of emergency, a move that has restaurant owners worried they could be forced to shut down again and ultimately go out of business. Elhame Lecoeur reports from Paris.
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People in Ukraine are closely following the U.S. presidential election given America’s strategic importance to the country and campaign allegations of corruption linked to Ukraine.  Henry Ridgwell reports.Videographer: Eugene Risunkov
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Spain this week will become the first European country to report one million coronavirus cases since the pandemic started.   Despite bringing in one of the strictest lockdowns in the world, experts say that Spain has reached this grim milestone because the pandemic has exposed some deep flaws in its health system and model of government. At the start of the week, the country had reached 974,449 reported COVID-19 cases nationwide and the figure was likely to reach the million mark by the weekend.  Some six million Spaniards — about 13% of the population of 47 million — are now living under some kind of restrictions to try to curb a second wave. FILE – A worker wearing a face mask to prevent the spread of coronavirus prepares to close a bar at 10 p.m. due to new measures against COVID-19, in Pamplona, northern Spain, Oct. 17, 2020. (AP)However, tensions soon flared between the desire of Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to keep in charge of the pandemic and some conservative-run regions whose priority was keeping the economy alive and avoiding another lockdown despite rising infection rates. This reached its peak after the central government and the right-wing Madrid regional government spent weeks sparring over how to halt a rising contagion rate in the Spanish capital. Sánchez insisted on following the advice of health experts who recommended a partial lockdown of the entire city and eight outlying towns while Isabel Díaz Ayuso, the Madrid regional leader who is on the hard-right of the conservative People’s Party, said the measures would destroy the economy. As the disagreement dragged on, Madrid’s contagion rate rose to over 730 cases per 100,000 in the previous 14 days, the second highest in Europe after the tiny state of Andorra, according to World Health Organization data. Eventually, Sanchez’s patience snapped and the government imposed a partial lockdown, only for Ayuso to concede defeat ungracefully by trying to fight the measure in the Constitutional Court but failing. Since the lockdown came into force on October 9, the rate has dropped to 509 cases per 100,000 but it still accounts for a third of all contagions in Spain. Madrid’s Emergency Service UVI-8 unit’s members push a stretcher with a patient at Clinico San Carlos hospital amid the coronavirus outbreak in Madrid, Spain, Oct. 19, 2020. (Reuters)Imposing any curfew in Madrid will depend on whether an agreement is reached with the opposition, but in Spain’s fractious political environment, the People’s Party, the far-right Vox, which control 140 seats in the parliament between them, are likely to oppose such a move. “The health crisis has demonstrated the weaknesses of our system of de-centralized system,” Lluis Orriols, professor of politics at the Carlos III University in Madrid, told VOA in an interview. “There are countries where the regions lead and they are more devolved. The problem here is that of confrontation and there are no mechanisms of cooperation between the institutions.” Manuel Fernández, owner of Restaurante Braseria Los Olivos in Malgrat de Mar, a town 56 kilometers north of Barcelona, has been fined $70,839 for refusing to abide by restrictions imposed by authorities in Catalonia in which bars and restaurants can only serve takeaways.  His protest is an example of rising frustration with a political class who are not focusing on implementing the correct measures to combat COVID-19.  “Restaurants are not spreading this disease. We have abided by all their restrictions in the past and we are going out of business. I am no communist but someone needs to make a point: It is the politicians who should sort out their priorities, not crush normal people,” he told VOA. Alex Arenas, an expert in public health at the Rovira i Virgili University in Tarragona near Barcelona who advises the Catalan regional government, blamed Spain’s current position on the early lifting of lockdown, the lack of track-and-trace systems, pressure on a depleted health system and the false perception that the crisis was under control in the summer. “The political polarization has been dire as we have seen, for example, between the government and Madrid. These party battles represent a loss of precious time in terms of the anticipating and taking action against the pandemic,” he told VOA. “It results in a lack of confidence among the public in what measures we need to adopt.” 
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The U.S. and Russia signaled their willingness Tuesday to reach a new deal on nuclear arms control by working toward a freeze on warhead arsenals for a year past the February expiration of the current weapons pact.
 
Russia proposed extending the accord for the New START arms-control treaty, with the U.S. State Department hours later saying it appreciated Russia’s “willingness to make progress on the issue of nuclear arms control.”
 
The State Department said the U.S. “is prepared to meet immediately to finalize a verifiable agreement. We expect Russia to empower its diplomats to do the same.”
 
Moscow said it was “ready, together with the United States, to make a political commitment to ‘freeze’ the number of nuclear warheads held by the parties” through February 2022 while a new treaty is negotiated.  
 
The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty was signed in 2010 and imposes limits on the two countries’ strategic nuclear arsenals. It can be extended for five years, which Moscow has said it is ready to do without preconditions.
 
The possible extension of the pact — even by a year — would mark a rare improvement in bilateral relations between the two countries on arms control.
 
The White House already had withdrawn from other arms-control treaties with Moscow, accusing the Kremlin of violating them and claiming the agreements benefited Russia more than the United States. This included the Cold War-era Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, and it unilaterally exited Open Skies, a pact that permitted the two countries to conduct reconnaissance flights over each other’s territory.
 
Joe Biden, Trump’s Democratic challenger in the Nov. 3 presidential election, supports extending New START “to use that as a foundation for new arms-control arrangements.”  
 
Biden has said the treaty, which was negotiated when he was vice president under President Barack Obama, is an “anchor of strategic stability between the United States and Russia.”
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Since 1994, Alexander Lukashenko has ruled Belarus under a system of tight control inherited from the former Soviet Union and largely dependent on Russia.  His opponents denounce Lukashenko as repressive and want him out, while his supporters point to Belarus’ record of stability and low unemployment as reasons for him to stay.  Jonathan Spier narrates this report by Ricardo Marquina in Minsk.Producer: Henry Hernandez 
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A Danish man serving a life sentence for the torture and murder of a Swedish journalist aboard his homemade submarine was apprehended Tuesday after escaping from prison.Danish police said Peter Madsen was caught shortly after escaping from a prison in suburban Copenhagen. The tabloid Ekstra Bladet posted a video of Madsen after his capture near the prison.Madsen was sentenced to life in prison in 2018 in Copenhagen for killing Swedish journalist Kim Wall after he lured Wall aboard his submarine in 2017 with the promise of an interview. Madsen dismembered Wall’s body and dumped it into the sea.Madsen, who denies killing Wall, lost an appeal shortly after apologizing to the journalist’s family. Madsen claims she accidently died inside the submarine but acknowledged he tossed her body parts into the Baltic Sea.Life sentences in Denmark typically mean serving 16 years in prison, but convicts can be jailed longer if authorities determine they would pose a threat to society if released. 
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The British government is supporting human trials for a potential COVID-19 vaccine in which healthy human subjects will be infected with the virus to accelerate the process.The tests will be conducted by Imperial College London as part of a partnership between government, laboratory and trial services company hVIVO and the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust.The government is providing $43.5 million to fund the project, which, if approved by regulators and an ethics committee, would start in January with results expected by May 2021.Researchers say they are seeking recruits between the ages of 18 and 30 with no previous history or symptoms of COVID-19 and no underlying health conditions or adverse factors. They say in the initial phase of the testing, their goal would be to discover the least amount of the virus it takes to infect a person.Once that phase is complete, the researchers say they would study how the vaccine works in the body to stop or prevent COVID-19 and investigate possible treatments.The risk for the volunteers is that at the time of their infection, there will be no known cure. The Imperial College lead researcher on the project, Dr. Chris Chiu, insists the safety of the volunteers is the number one priority.  He said while no study like this is risk free, but scientists would work as hard as possible to limit the risks.The upside, Chiu says, is that these so-called “human challenge studies” can increase understanding of a virus like COVID-19 in unique ways and accelerate the development of treatments and vaccines. 
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Protests against the monarchy have spread in Spain and polls show the nation is divided over whether it should be abolished. Alfonso Beato has more from Barcelona in this story narrated by Jonathan Spier. 
Camera: Alfonso Beato  Produced by: Jon Spier
 
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France’s Interior Ministry has launched an investigation into a wide range of hate speech following the beheading of a history teacher last week. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said that 80 instances of hate speech online had been investigated since Friday’s attack and that 51 French Muslim organizations would be probed, as well. “Not a minute of respite for enemies of the republic,” Darmanin wrote Monday on Twitter. Pas une minute de répit pour les ennemis de la République.👉+ de 80 enquêtes ouvertes pour haine en ligne suite à l’attentat de vendredi.👉 51 structures associatives verront toute la semaine des visites des services de l’Etat et plusieurs d’entres elles seront dissoutes. pic.twitter.com/r7F8UOTHJH— Gérald DARMANIN (@GDarmanin) October 19, 2020The comments follow a weekend of countrywide rallies defending free speech and secularism in France after middle school teacher Samuel Paty was beheaded Friday near his school in the Paris suburb of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine.Latest Terror Attack in France Sparks Anger, Fear Some believe free expression and France’s secularist creed are on the line  A national commemoration in honor of Paty takes place Wednesday. Among the groups being investigated by the French government is the Anti-Islamophobia collective (CCIF), a group that tracks anti-Muslim attacks. Darmanin called the group an “enemy of the state.” CCIF, which expressed condolences for Paty’s family and all teachers on social media, accused Darmanin of slander. Nearly a dozen people are being held for questioning in Paty’s killing, which took place as he returned home from class. They include the family of the suspect, an 18-year-old Chechen refugee identified by officials as Abdoullakh A., who police shot and killed shortly after he allegedly stabbed and decapitated his victim.  
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Officials in Wales announced Monday they will impose a two-week “firebreak” lockdown effective Friday, requiring all but essential workers to stay at home to combat an accelerating second wave of the COVID-19 outbreak. Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford announced the move at a news conference, saying the lockdown will be in effect from Friday to November 9. During that time, everyone in Wales will be required to stay at home, except for the most critical workers. He said that that means people will be working from home wherever possible. Referring to the lockdown as a “firebreak,” Drakeford said it “is the shortest we can make it but that means that it will have to be sharp and deep in order to have the impact we need it to have on the virus.”   Drakeford said that while he understood that people were tired of COVID-19 restrictions, the imposition of rules was essential as critical care units were already full.  All non-essential retail, leisure, hospitality and tourist businesses will have to close in Wales. Places of worship will also close for regular service. Last week, Britain’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE)recommended a similar break for all of Britain, but Prime Minister Boris Johnson rejected it in favor of his regional three-tiered “alert” system approach.  Britain recorded 16,982 new daily cases of COVID-19 in the space of 24 hours, according to government data issued on Sunday, up from 16,717 the previous day. Wales recorded 950 cases, up from just 400 per day at the start of the month.    
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Protests against the monarchy have spread in Spain and polls show the nation is divided about whether it should be abolished, as Alfonso Beato reports from Barcelona in this story narrated by Jonathan Spier. Camera: Alfonso Beato   
Producer:  Jon Spie
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Finland’s Nokia has been selected by NASA to build the first cellular network on the moon, the company said on Monday.
 
The lunar network will be part of the U.S. space agency’s efforts to return humans to the moon by 2024 and build long-term settlements there under its Artemis program.
 
Nokia said the first wireless broadband communications system in space would be built on the lunar surface in late 2022, before humans make it back there.
 
The Finnish company will partner with Texas-based private space craft design firm Intuitive Machines to deliver the network equipment to the moon on their lunar lander.
 
After delivery, the network will configure itself and establish the first LTE (Long-Term Evolution) communications system on the moon, Nokia said. “The network will provide critical communication capabilities for many different data-transmission applications, including vital command and control functions, remote control of lunar rovers, real-time navigation and streaming of high definition video,” Nokia said.
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The Czech Republic, which has the highest coronavirus infection rate in Europe, will wait at least two weeks before deciding whether to order a full lockdown to stem its epidemic, Deputy Prime Minister Karel Havlicek said Sunday.In the past week, bars and restaurants in the country of 10.7 million have been ordered to close except for takeout orders, and schools have moved to distance learning. Sport and fitness clubs, theaters and cinemas had already shut, but shops have remained open.The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control said it had registered 828 cases per 100,000 population in the last two weeks, more than 10 times the rate in neighboring Germany.Since schools reopened in September, the cumulative number of cases has risen almost seven times.Officials have warned that hospital admissions are set to rise sharply until the restrictions show an impact.”We will not decide this week about a lockdown,” Havlicek said on Czech television. “We have clearly said we will wait (until Nov. 2) for results.”Interior Minister Jan Hamacek said on CNN Prima’s Sunday show the new measures should cut the R number, which measures average spread from one infected person, by 30-40%. A number above 1.0 indicates an exponential increase, and the current rate is estimated at 1.4.If the latest restrictions are not effective enough, he said there were few options other than a lockdown.The growth in COVID-19 cases with more than 100,000 this month, bringing the total to 171,487 as of Saturday evening, and 1,402 deaths overall, according to Johns Hopkins University data, is forcing authorities to make plans for field hospitals and seeking foreign help.The Czech Fire Rescue Service said it had sent a formal request through European Union channels for ventilators.In Prague, more than 2,000 sports fans according to city hall estimates, including militant soccer supporters’ groups known as ultras, protested against the coronavirus measures, defying restrictions on gatherings.Police used water cannon and tear gas amid clashes. Emergency services reported nine people were injured.
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A hardliner who favors even closer ties with Turkey and a tougher stance with rival Greek Cypriots in peace talks has defeated the leftist incumbent in the Turkish Cypriot leadership runoff Sunday.Turkish Cypriot broadcaster BRT says with 100% of the votes counted, Ersin Tatar secured 51.74% of the vote compared to 48.26% for Mustafa Akinci.Tatar appears to have benefited from a higher turnout in the runoff, managing to rally supporters from the estimated 200,000-strong electorate who may not have voted in the first round.Akinci conceded to Tatar in a speech to supporters at his campaign headquarters, congratulating his opponent on his victory.  “We went through an election contest that wasn’t normal. … These results mark the end of my 45-year political career,” Akinci said. “I wish good luck to our people.”Tatar declared victory in a speech to his supporters.Akinci, 72, is a champion of Turkish Cypriots who oppose Turkey’s complete domination of their affairs. Tatar, 60, advocates fully aligning Turkish Cypriot policies with those of Turkey, the region’s patron.Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan congratulated Tatar on his election victory.  “Turkey will continue to make all necessary efforts to defend the rights of the Turkish Cypriot people,” Erdogan said on his official Twitter account.  The Mediterranean island nation of Cyprus was split in 1974 when Turkey invaded after a coup by supporters of union with Greece. Only Turkey recognizes a breakaway Turkish Cypriot state in the north that is economically and militarily dependent on Ankara. The island’s internationally recognized government has its seat in the Greek Cypriot south and is part of the 27-nation European Union.The tussle between Turkish Cypriots who seek to retain more say in how they’re governed and those who want to walk in lockstep with Turkey has been a prominent feature in past leadership races, but this contest seems more polarized than ever.  Akinci has alleged that Turkey has engaged in “unprecedented” interference throughout the campaign in favor of Tatar and that he and his family have received threats to drop out of the race.”We know that things happened that shouldn’t have happened,” Akinci said after casting his ballot.A first test for the winner will be a meeting with Greek Cypriots and Cyprus’ “guarantors” — Greece, Turkey and Britain — that U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is expected to call soon. The aim will be to figure out if there’s enough common ground to restart dormant peace talks.Nearly five decades of U.N. facilitated attempts at achieving reunification based on a federal framework have failed.Akinci believes that federation is the only way toward a peace accord. Tatar shares the Turkish government view that federation may not be the most viable option and alternatives such as a two-state deal should be pursued.Tensions have soared this summer in waters off Greece and Cyprus over sea boundaries and energy exploration rights after Turkey redeployed a research vessel near the Greek island of Kastellorizo. The move cast doubts on fresh talks aimed at resolving the dispute.Turkey insists it has every legal right to search for hydrocarbons in waters where Greece and Cyprus claim exclusive economic rights. The Greek and Cypriot governments accuse Turkey of violating international law. The dispute raised fears of a military conflict between Greece and Turkey, which are NATO members but are strong regional rivals.
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The UK had imposed a deadline of last week’s EU summit for a deal  and Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was now ready to walk away and prepare for a no-deal exit, after five decades of EU membership. However, senior minister Michael Gove said on Sunday he was still hopeful there would be an agreement, telling TV interviews the door remained “ajar” if the EU would change its position. The two sides disagree on the rules for fair competition, how these rules will be policed and how much access EU fishing fleets will get to UK waters. Britain wants to reassert sovereignty over its waters and have no EU legal oversight over the deal — insisting it wants a simple trade deal of the kind the EU signed with Canada. But the EU says Britain’s situation is completely different to that of Canada. “I want a deal, I’m keen to conclude one but it takes both sides to compromise in order for there to be one. The EU is not doing so at the moment,” Gove told Sky News, adding that the EU did not seem serious in their desire to reach a deal. Chief European negotiator Michel Barnier and his British counterpart David Frost are due to discuss the structure of talks on Monday, according to the European Commission. “The ball is in his court,” Gove said of Barnier. Failure to strike a deal would see Britain and Europe revert to World Trade Organization terms, with higher tariffs and quotas, potentially devastating for economies already weakened by the pandemic.  
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Turkish Cypriots began voting Sunday in a leadership runoff between an incumbent who pledges a course less bound by Turkey’s dictates and a challenger who favors even closer ties to Ankara. The stakes have soared as a battle over energy rights in the eastern Mediterranean has intensified.Veteran incumbent Mustafa Akinci, 72, is a champion of Turkish Cypriots who oppose Turkey’s complete domination of their affairs. His hard-line challenger Ersin Tatar, 60, advocates fully aligning Turkish Cypriot policies with those of Turkey, the region’s patron.The Mediterranean island nation of Cyprus was split in 1974 when Turkey invaded after a coup by supporters of union with Greece. Only Turkey recognizes a breakaway Turkish Cypriot state in the north that is economically and militarily dependent on Ankara. The island’s internationally recognized government has its seat in the Greek Cypriot south and is part of the 27-nation European Union.The tussle between Turkish Cypriots who seek to retain more say in how they’re governed and those who want to walk in lockstep with Turkey has been a prominent feature in past leadership races but this contest seems more polarized than ever.Akinci has alleged that Turkey has engaged in “unprecedented” interference throughout the campaign in favor of Tatar and that he and his family have received threats to drop out of the race.“We know that things happened that shouldn’t have happened,” Akinci said after casting his ballot, adding that he wishes voters will look back on Sunday’s election with “pride for Turkish Cypriot democracy and will.”Tatar edged out Akinci in the first round of voting by less than three percentage points but Akinci now has clinched support from the third-place candidate. Analyst Tumay Tugyan says the contest could go either way as Tatar courted a significant pool of voters from the approximately 200,000-strong electorate — especially in rural areas — who may not have voted in the first round.Tatar urged voters to get out and beat the first round’s record-low turnout.“The important thing is to reflect our will and send out a message to the world,” Tatar said after voting.A first test for the winner will be a meeting with Greek Cypriots and Cyprus’ ‘guarantors’ — Greece, Turkey and Britain — that U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is expected call soon. The aim will be to figure out if there’s enough common ground to restart dormant peace talks.Nearly five decades of U.N. facilitated attempts at achieving reunification based on a federal framework have failed.Akinci believes that federation is the only way toward a peace accord. Tatar shares the Turkish government view that federation may not be the most viable option and alternatives such as a two-state deal should be pursued.Tensions have soared this summer in waters off Greece and Cyprus over sea boundaries and energy exploration rights after Turkey redeployed a research vessel near the Greek island of Kastellorizo. The move cast doubts on fresh talks aimed at resolving the dispute.Turkey insists it has every legal right to search for hydrocarbons in waters where Greece and Cyprus claim exclusive economic rights. The Greek and Cypriot governments accuse Turkey of violating international law. The dispute raised fears of a military conflict between Greece and Turkey, NATO members who are strong regional rivals. 
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Armenia and Azerbaijan accused each other Sunday of violating a new humanitarian cease-fire in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, just hours after it took effect.In a Twitter message early Sunday, Armenia’s Defense Ministry accused Azerbaijan of violating the new cease-fire in the Nagorno-Karabakh region by firing artillery shells and rockets.“Once again violating the humanitarian ceasefire, the enemy fired artillery shells in the northern direction from 00:04 to 02:45, and fired rockets in the southern direction from 02:20 to 02:45.”Once again violating the humanitarian ceasefire, the enemy fired artillery shells in the northern direction from 00:04 to 02:45, and fired rockets in the southern direction from 02:20 to 02:45.— Shushan Stepanyan (@ShStepanyan) October 17, 2020Azerbaijan’s defense ministry said in a statement later that “the enemy fired at the vicinity of the Jabrail city, as well as the villages of this region … using mortars and artillery,” adding that the Azeri army “took adequate retaliatory measures.”Azerbaijan and Armenia announced they had agreed to a new cease-fire beginning Sunday, the second attempt in a week to temper almost three weeks of fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh.”The Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan have agreed to a humanitarian truce as of October 18, 00h00 local time,” Armenia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said late Saturday.Azerbaijan’s Foreign Affairs Ministry issued an identical statement.The announcements came after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke by phone with his Armenian and Azeri counterparts. Lavrov and French President Emmanuel Macron both stressed that the cease-fire must be strictly observed by both sides.Earlier Saturday, Azerbaijan and Armenia accused each other of new attacks, a further indication that violence has escalated in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region in violation of a Russian-brokered truce that took effect a week ago.Meanwhile, UNICEF called Saturday for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire, declaring in a statement that children have been killed, injured and displaced by the fighting, forcing them to endure weeks of “extreme psychological trauma and distress.”“Children, families and the civilian facilities that they depend upon must be protected, in line with international human rights and humanitarian law. A complete cessation of hostilities is in the best interest of all children,” the statement said.The ongoing fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia erupted Sept. 27 and has killed hundreds of people, marking the biggest escalation of the decades-old conflict over breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh since a 1994 cease-fire.The predominantly ethnic Armenian territory declared its independence from Azerbaijan in 1991 during the collapse of the Soviet Union, sparking a war that claimed the lives of as many as 30,000 people before a 1994 cease-fire. However, that independence is not internationally recognized.
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In a Twitter message early Sunday, Armenia’s Defense Ministry accused Azerbaijan of violating a new cease-fire in the Nagorno-Karabakh region by firing artillery shells and rockets.“Once again violating the humanitarian ceasefire, the enemy fired artillery shells in the northern direction from 00:04 to 02:45, and fired rockets in the southern direction from 02:20 to 02:45.”Once again violating the humanitarian ceasefire, the enemy fired artillery shells in the northern direction from 00:04 to 02:45, and fired rockets in the southern direction from 02:20 to 02:45.— Shushan Stepanyan (@ShStepanyan) October 17, 2020There has been no reaction so far from Azerbaijan.Azerbaijan and Armenia announced they had agreed to a new cease-fire beginning Sunday, the second attempt in a week to temper almost three weeks of fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh.”The Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan have agreed to a humanitarian truce as of October 18, 00h00 local time,” Armenia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said late Saturday.Azerbaijan’s Foreign Affairs Ministry issued an identical statement.The announcements came after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke by phone with his Armenian and Azeri counterparts. Lavrov and French President Emmanuel Macron both stressed that the cease-fire must be strictly observed by both sides.Earlier Saturday, Azerbaijan and Armenia accused each other of new attacks, a further indication that violence has escalated in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region in violation of a Russian-brokered truce that took effect a week ago.Authorities in Azerbaijan said an Armenian missile attack on the city of Ganja killed at least 13 people and wounded 50 others in early hours of Saturday while Armenia accused Azerbaijan of more shelling.Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry said that the cities of Ganja and Mingachevir were hit with missiles fired from two locations in Armenia.According to official sources in Azerbaijan, Saturday’s missile attacks destroyed at least 20 residential buildings in Ganja, the country’s second-largest city.The Armenian Defense Ministry denied carrying out the strikes and accused Azerbaijan of continuing to shell populated areas in Nagorno-Karabakh, including its largest city, Stepanakert.The Armenian foreign ministry said three civilians were injured in a fire resulting from Azerbaijan’s attacks.Armenia also accused Azerbaijan of flying drones over Armenian settlements, attacking military installations and damaging civilian infrastructure.UNICEF, meanwhile, called Saturday for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire, declaring in a statement that children have been killed, injured and displaced by the fighting, forcing them to endure weeks of “extreme psychological trauma and distress.”“Children, families and the civilian facilities that they depend upon must be protected, in line with international human rights and humanitarian law. A complete cessation of hostilities is in the best interest of all children,” the statement said.The ongoing fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia erupted Sept. 27 and has killed hundreds of people, marking the biggest escalation of the decades-old conflict over breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh since a 1994 cease-fire.The predominantly ethnic Armenian territory declared its independence from Azerbaijan in 1991 during the collapse of the Soviet Union, sparking a war that claimed the lives of as many as 30,000 people before a 1994 cease-fire. However, that independence is not internationally recognized.   
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The coronavirus pandemic has not deterred the Swiss from sending yodels echoing across their mountain valleys, but a concert attended by 600 people is believed to have made one canton a European virus hot spot.At the late September yodeling event in the rural Schwyz canton, people in the audience were asked to maintain social distancing, but mask-wearing was not required.”We can’t do anything about what happened with this yodeling group. We found out nine days after the performances that several people from the group were infected,” event organizer Beat Hegner told RTS public television.Now the pandemic has spread through the region, with 1,238 cases compared with just 500 in mid-September.On Wednesday alone, 94 people tested positive, twice as many as the day before.The overloaded cantonal hospital has asked people to begin wearing masks and avoiding gatherings.’Explosion’ in cases”There’s an extremely high rate of positive tests. We’ve gone from 30% to 50%,” hospital chief Franziska Foellmi said.”It’s time we reacted. The explosion in the number of cases in Schwyz is one of the worst in all of Europe,” chief doctor Reto Nueesch posted online.Cantonal authorities have stepped up infection control measures, making mask-wearing compulsory at all public and private events with more than 50 people and in situations where distancing can’t be maintained.But people can still go to the shops without covering their noses and mouths.Switzerland isn’t the only country to practice yodeling, an age-old style of singing where the performer rapidly switches between registers.It’s also practiced in Austria’s Tyrol region and in variant forms across the mountains of central Europe, from Poland to Romania.Like archery, wrestling and the Alpine games, yodeling has been one of the building blocks of common identity between Switzerland’s culturally disparate regions since the 19th century.
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France is reeling from its latest terrorist attack — the gruesome beheading of a Paris-area teacher days after he showed his class controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.Media identify the suspect as an 18-year-old immigrant born in Moscow and of Chechen origin. The suspect asked students in the street to point out the victim, counterterror prosecutor Jean-Francois Ricard said Saturday. Speaking at a news conference, Ricard also noted the attacker posted a photo of the teacher’s body on Twitter, with a note saying he had carried out the killing.Friday’s attack marked yet another strike on France, less than a month after a man brutally stabbed two people in front of the former offices of the satirical Charlie Hebdo magazine. Once again, the government is treating the incident as a terrorist attack.Several people are being held for questioning, including members of the suspect’s family.Police shot and killed the alleged assailant, who reportedly had yelled “Allahu akbar” — “God is great,” shortly after they found the decapitated body of middle school history teacher Samuel Paty near his school in the Paris suburb of Conflans-Saint-Honorine. The suspect reportedly lived in Normandy, far from where the attack took place.In the gruesome Twitter posting, the man said he killed his victim for having shown Charlie Hebdo’s mocking cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad to his class. Those same cartoons triggered a series of terrorist attacks in January 2015. A trial over them is going on in Paris.Speaking late Friday, President Emmanuel Macron said the killing bore the markings of an Islamist terror strike. He said those trying to attack free expression would not win.French President Emmanuel Macron, flanked by offcials, speaks to the press following a stabbing attack at a school in the Conflans-Sainte-Honorine suburb of Paris, France, Oct. 16, 2020.Residents of Conflans-Saint-Honorine are in shock. Speaking to French media, some of the teacher’s students said he told them those who might be uncomfortable with the Charlie Hebdo cartoons were free to leave the class. The lesson was on free expression, but several parents reportedly were upset by it and signaled this on social media.Teachers’ union representatives say they are devastated. One, Jean-Remi Girard, told French radio it was shocking that a teacher could be killed for simply doing his job.For their part, Muslim leaders fear the attack will again stigmatize French Muslims, who make up Western Europe’s largest Islamic community.Tareq Oubrou, rector of Bordeaux’ main mosque, told BFMTV people will link his religion to such crimes — which, he said, would be terrible for ordinary Muslims.Others, including the far-right National Rally party, criticize the government for being too soft on extremism. Next month, French lawmakers begin examining controversial legislation to fight radical Islam. 
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The United States has condemned Turkey for testing a highly advanced Russian air defense system on Friday, disregarding U.S. warnings.A Haber television, which is close to Turkish government, reported that the Turkish army conducted the test firing of the S-400 system in the northern province of Sinop by the Black Sea.The U.S. State Department said the missile launch is “incompatible with Turkey’s responsibilities as a NATO ally and strategic partner” of the U.S.A Defense Department spokesperson said “We have been clear: an operational S-400 system is not consistent with Turkey’s commitments as a U.S. and NATO ally. We object to Turkey’s purchase of the system and are deeply concerned with reports that Turkey is bringing it into operation.”The chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Republican Jim Risch, called the test “unacceptable behavior” from a NATO ally.Risch said in a statement that the move damages NATO and represents a direct threat to the U.S. F-35 bombers and other U.S. and NATO allies’ systems.“U.S. law requires sanctions against countries that continue to deepen their defense relationship with Russia, and the administration should send a strong signal that Turkey must divest its S-400s,” the statement said.Sen. Bob Menendez, the committee’s senior Democrat, said in a statement that “Turkey must be sanctioned immediately for its purchase and use of this system.”Menendez did not spare the Trump administration of criticism, saying “President Trump’s failure to follow the law and his affinity for [Turkish President] Recep Tayyip Erdogan pose a serious threat to our national security and that of our NATO allies and partners in Europe.”The Turkish Defense Ministry has refused to confirm or deny the test firing.Turkey signed the S-400 deal with Russia in 2017, with the first deliveries of missile batteries, worth $2.5 billion, coming in July of last year.
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Authorities in Azerbaijan say a missile attack on the city of Ganja killed at least 12 people and wounded 40 others in early hours of Saturday.Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry claimed that the cities of Ganja and Mingachevir were hit with missiles fired from two different locations in Armenia.Armenian authorities have neither denied nor accepted the responsibility for the attacks on the two cities.According to official sources in Azerbaijan, Saturday’s missile attack destroyed at least 20 residential buildings in Ganja, the country’s second-largest city.The ongoing fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia erupted on Sept. 27 and has killed hundreds of people, marking the biggest escalation of the decades-old conflict over breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh since a 1994 cease-fire.The predominantly ethnic Armenian territory declared its independence from Azerbaijan in 1991 during the collapse of the Soviet Union, sparking a war that claimed the lives of as many as 30,000 people before a 1994 cease-fire.   However, that independence is not internationally recognized. 
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Turkey and Ukraine signed military cooperation agreements in Istanbul on Friday, deepening a defense partnership seen as an effort to counterbalance Russia’s dominance in the Black Sea region. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan oversaw the signing of a “goodwill” agreement concerning the defense industry and a “military framework agreement,” officials said, although details of the agreements were not immediately known.  “Turkey sees Ukraine as a key country for the establishment [of] stability, security, peace and prosperity in the region,” Erdogan said following the signing ceremony between the two Black Sea nations that have been enhancing military ties in recent years.  Zelenskiy said the agreements pave the way for “new opportunities.”  “Cooperation in the defense industry is important for the development of our strategic partnership and I am happy that we are strengthening it today,” he said, speaking through an interpreter.  Last year, Ukraine reached an agreement for the purchase of Turkish-made drones. The two countries are also reportedly engaged in discussions to develop an aircraft engine. The signing of the agreements comes as the conflict in the Caucasus over Nagorno-Karabakh is putting a strain on Turkey’s relations with Russia. Turkey has backed Azerbaijan in the dispute, while Russia has a military base in Armenia and a security pact requiring Moscow to intervene if its ally is attacked.FILE – People look at the destroyed houses a day after shelling by Armenian artillery during fighting over the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh, in Ganja, Azerbaijan, Oct. 12, 2020.In a delicate balancing act, Russia also has sought to maintain warm ties with Azerbaijan and avoid upsetting relations with Turkey. Although Ankara and Moscow have developed strong economic ties and are accommodating mutual interests in Syria and Libya, the two have an often uneasy relationship and remain geopolitical rivals.  Erdogan on Friday reiterated Turkey’s refusal to recognize Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula. “Turkey has not recognized Crimea’s illegal annexation and it never will,” Erdogan said. Zelenskiy, meanwhile, presented Erdogan with a state medal for his support for Ukraine’s “territorial integrity.” 
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A history teacher who opened a discussion with students on caricatures of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad was decapitated Friday in a French street and police have shot the suspected killer dead, a police official said.  The French antiterrorism prosecutor has opened an investigation into the slaying as murder with a suspected terrorist motive, the prosecutor’s office said. The gruesome incident occurred in the town of Eragny, in the Val d’Oise region northwest of Paris. A police official said the suspect, armed with a knife and an airsoft gun, was shot to death by police about 600 meters from where the male teacher was killed. The teacher had been threatened after opening a discussion “for a debate” about the caricatures, the police official told The Associated Press.  The official could not be named, not being authorized to discuss ongoing investigations. It was the second terrorism-related incident since the opening of an ongoing trial on the newsroom massacre in January 2015 at the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo.  The paper recently republished caricatures of the prophet. A young man from Pakistan was arrested after stabbing, outside the newspaper’s former offices, two people who suffered non-life-threatening injuries. 
 
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