Scotland First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has called on a lawmaker from her own ruling Scottish National Party to resign after she traveled by train following a positive test for COVID-19. Westminster Member of Parliament Margaret Ferrier was suspended Thursday by her party after breaking self-isolation rules to attend Parliament in London while awaiting results of a coronavirus test, which later came back positive. After experiencing symptoms consistent with COVID-19, the 60-year-old lawmaker sought out testing on Saturday, and then traveled from Glasgow to London on Monday because she was “feeling much better.” She received the positive results later that evening, just hours after speaking for four minutes during a coronavirus debate in the Commons chamber. Ferrier returned to Scotland by train Tuesday morning despite the positive test results. It is mandatory for people in Britain to self-isolate if they test positive for the coronavirus, with fines of 1,000 pounds for those who violate the rule. Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon speaks during the Scottish government’s daily briefing on the coronavirus outbreak, at St. Andrew’s House, Edinburgh, in this handout picture released by the Scottish Government on Oct. 2, 2020.From her Twitter account Friday, the first minister said, “I’ve spoken to Margaret Ferrier and made clear my view that she should step down as an MP. I did so with a heavy heart—she is a friend & colleague—but her actions were dangerous & indefensible. I have no power to force an MP to resign but I hope she will do the right thing.”Ferrier apologized for her actions via Twitter on Thursday, saying there was no excuse. “Despite feeling well, I should have self-isolated and waited for my test, and I deeply regret my actions.” Ferrier said she took full responsibility and urges everyone not to make the same mistakes she has. She also said she notified the police and the House of Commons regarding her actions. There has been no reaction regarding Sturgeon’s call for her to resign. 
 
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French President Emmanuel Macron Friday called Islam “a religion that is in crisis all over the world,” in a speech addressing what he calls “separatism” in France’s Islamic community.
 
In remarks delivered in the western Paris suburb of Les Mureaux, Macron said Islam is a religion in deep crisis worldwide, even in countries where it is the majority religion, because of “tensions between fundamentalism and political projects … that lead to very strong radicalization.”
 
The French president said in France there is a “parallel society” of radical Muslims thriving outside the values of the nation, a “separatism” as he describes it, that thrives in some neighborhoods around the country, where Muslims with a radical vision of their religion take control of the local population to inculcate their beliefs.
 
But Macron said everyone can share in the blame for this so-called separatism.
 
“We ourselves have built our own separatism, that of our neighborhoods. This is the ghettoization that our republic, initially with the best intentions in the world, allowed to take place,” said the French leader Friday.He noted France’s concentration of populations into districts according to their origins, which has also concentrated educational and economic difficulties as well.
 
Macron said where French secular society failed Islamic youth, radicals stepped in.
 
The French president said the government will offer legislation in December to “reinforce secularism and consolidate republican principles.”Macron to Outline France’s Controversial Anti-Separatism BillFrance’s Muslim community – Europe’s largest – worries new law could deepen anti-Islamic sentimentsHe called secularism “the cement of a united France,” and added: “Let us not fall into the trap laid by … extremists, who aim to stigmatize all Muslims.”
 
During his speech, Macron repeatedly stressed the importance of schools in instilling secular values in young people and said that the government would require private schools to agree to teach them. Beginning next year, with few exceptions, the 50,000 French children who are currently educated at home would be required to attend school with fellow students, he said.
 
The bill would include additional education funding as well.
 
The remarks come as a trial is underway in Paris over the deadly January 2015 attacks on satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo and a kosher supermarket by French-born Islamic extremists. Last week, a man from Pakistan stabbed two people near Charlie Hebdo’s former offices in anger over its publication of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad. 
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A British judge will deliver a decision January 4 on whether to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the United States to face charges, including espionage.District Judge Vanessa Baraitser made the announcement at London’s Old Bailey Court after nearly four weeks of hearings.The U.S. has requested extradition of Australian-born Assange on 17 espionage charges and one charge of misusing computers in connection with Wikileaks’ 2010 and 2011 publication of thousands of confidential U.S. cables, mainly relating to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.A group of protesters gathered in front of the court in support of Assange.After the court adjourned, Stella Moris, Assange’s fiancée and the mother of his two young children, called for his release.”Julian is a publisher,” she said. “Julian is also a son, he’s a friend. He’s my fiancé and a father. Our children need their father, Julian needs his freedom, and our democracy needs a free press. Thank you.”Kristinn Hrafnsson, a Wikileaks editor, said extradition would mean ”darkness for us all.””After all these four weeks, we should be in no doubt that there is only one thing that has to happen as an outcome of these proceedings,” Hrafnsson said. “If Julian Assange is extradited it will mean darkness for us all. It cannot happen. We must take a stand. There can only be one outcome: no extradition.”Assange’s lawyers, fighting the U.S. extradition request, say the charges were politically motivated and that his mental health is at risk, arguing that U.S. prison conditions breach Britain’s human rights laws, adding that Assange and his lawyers were surveilled while he was in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.Lawyers representing the United States said that many of those arguments related to issues to be addressed in a trial and have no bearing on extradition.
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EU leaders overcame a diplomatic stalemate Friday to agree on sanctions on Belarus after a long evening of summit talks, assuring Cyprus the bloc would stand firm on Turkey for its oil and gas drilling in the Mediterranean.The agreement to sanction some 40 Belarus officials accused of rigging an Aug. 9 presidential election allows the EU to make good on its promise to support pro-democracy protesters in Minsk and regain some credibility after weeks of delays.”We have unblocked sanctions on Belarus,” a senior EU official told Reuters.Another EU diplomat said: “It’s a decent compromise,” but gave no details.The EU’s chairman and chief executive were to give a news conference in the early hours of Friday.While Britain and Canada have imposed sanctions on Minsk to show support for pro-democracy demonstrations there, the impasse in the 27-nation EU, where decisions are taken by unanimity, has cost the bloc credibility, diplomats say.Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, on the day of his island’s 60th anniversary of independence from Britain, had demanded a much tougher stance on Turkey as the price for supporting Belarus sanctions.He said the EU must send a message that Ankara’s oil and gas exploration along the coast of the Mediterranean island is unacceptable.Germany pushed back against the imposition of EU sanctions on Turkey, fearing it would disrupt efforts to cool tensions with Greece.Turkey, both a candidate to join the EU and a member of NATO, has slid toward authoritarianism under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan but remains a strategically located partner that the EU cannot ignore.In a sign that the diplomatic stand-off is easing at least between Athens and Ankara, NATO announced on Thursday that the two alliance members had set up a “military de-confliction mechanism” to avoid accidental clashes at sea. 
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Britain’s primary environmental agency announced that beginning Thursday a ban on all “single-use” beverage straws is in effect, making it illegal for businesses to sell or supply them to individual customers.
 
The ban was passed and set to take effect in April, but the COVID-19 pandemic prompted law makers to postpone its implementation so as to not impose a further burden on businesses.
 
A statement Thursday from Britain’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural affairs says the ban includes plastic straws, stirrers and cotton swabs.
 
In a statement on its official web site, the agency says it is estimated Britain uses 4.7 billion plastic straws, 316 million plastic stirrers, and 1.8 billion plastic-stemmed cotton swabs annually, many of which find their way into the ocean.
 
In the statement, Britain’s Environment Secretary George Eustice said single-use plastics cause “real devastation to the environment” and the government is firmly committed to tackling the issue.
 
He said the ban on straws, stirrers and cotton swabs is just the next step in “our battle against plastic pollution and our pledge to protect our ocean and the environment for future generations.”
 
Exemptions to the ban include disabled persons or those who need them for medical purposes. Some catering businesses also will be allowed to use plastic straws or stirrers in certain circumstances, and businesses may sell some of the banned items to other businesses. 
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Millions of Madrileños were preparing to go into lockdown once again Thursday as authorities in Western Europe’s worst hotspot shut down the Spanish capital to try to halt a new surge in COVID-19 cases. The Spanish government gave regional authorities 48 hours to comply with new restrictions which will affect this city of more than 3 million people and nine surrounding communities.  Isabel Díaz Ayuso, the head of Madrid’s city government, said regional authorities will abide by the order but will challenge the Spanish government in the courts, widening a rift between her conservative regional administration and the minority left-wing coalition central government. Other regions such as Catalonia, Andalusia and Galicia have also opposed the new restrictions. Madrid authorities say the lockdown will damage the economy of the Spanish capital which thrives on its bars, restaurants and — in normal times — tourists. A waiter wearing a protective face mask waits for customers in his terrace at Plaza Mayor square amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease, in Madrid, Spain, Oct. 1, 2020.The dispute has been widely criticized by health workers and epidemiologists who say the bickering has hindered attempts to save lives in Europe’s worst-hit city. Spain, with the highest infection rate in the European Union, has reported 300 coronavirus cases per 100,000 inhabitants during the past two weeks. Madrid, where over a third of all Spain’s cases have been recorded, reported 735 cases per 100,000 people. By Thursday, Spain had recorded 769,188 cases — the highest in Western Europe — and 31,791 deaths. Efforts wane As the pressure on the city’s hospitals and health centers has mounted, doctors said authorities have given up its track and trace program. “They have left us to our own fate,” Angela Hernández, vice president of the Madrid Doctors Association, told VOA. She said track and trace teams in Madrid have stopped trying to reach people who have tested positive for COVID-19, including school children and any family or friends. “With no track and tracing, it means this can only get worse even if they close down the city,” said Hernández. “The politicians should have used this moment to help the public regardless of political differences. … Instead, they just want to perpetuate their own positions.” People queue for a rapid antigen test for COVID-19 in the southern neighborhood of Vallecas in Madrid, Spain, Oct. 1, 2020.The new curbs will apply to Madrid, with a population of over 3 million, and nine surrounding municipalities with populations of at least 100,000 each. Borders will be closed to outsiders for non-essential visits, with only those traveling for work, school or medical visits allowed to cross. Bars and restaurants will be subject to a curfew between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. Residents will not have to stay at home, as happened during the state of emergency in March, but can move around their own areas. Protests  Ayuso agreed to abide by the lockdown order but said the battle was not over. “Madrid is not in rebellion. We will obey them but we will go to court to oppose them. This plan destroys Madrid,” she said. A partial lockdown has already been imposed in many of the poorer areas of Madrid with high infection rates, prompting demonstrations. Protesters said they felt marginalized by the conservative authorities who were putting jobs at risk. “It is OK for me to travel to Salamanca to serve at the tables of the rich, but they put restrictions on my area where I live,” said Gema Ordoñez, a waitress who works at a cafe in one of the most exclusive areas of Madrid and lives in Vallecas, an area placed under partial lockdown. “Many people where I live do not have jobs with contracts. If they have to stay at home because someone has tested positive for the virus, they will lose their jobs.” A man wearing a face mask to prevent the spread of the coronavirus walks in the southern neighborhood of Vallecas in Madrid, Spain, Oct. 1, 2020.Rafael Bengoa, a former World Health Organization director and one-time adviser to U.S. President Barack Obama, said shutting down Madrid was the only option. “Imposing partial lockdowns does not work. There is community transmission so it means a total lockdown must happen,” he told VOA. Echoes of a bitter past The bitter political fighting evokes dark memories and raises alarms in a nation that has yet to fully heal from a 1936-1939 civil war between forces on the left and right that resulted in the deaths of an estimated half-million people.  Jason Webster, the author of Violencia which tells the history of Spain’s violent past, said: “Sadly, what’s happening now in Madrid — the petty point-scoring, politicians caring more about damaging their opponents than actually serving the people who elected them — is nothing new.  “People are used to it, but the damage lingers and festers until seemingly out of nowhere there comes an explosion. Only time will tell whether that will happen again.” 
 
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Barbados intends to remove Britain’s Queen Elizabeth as head of state and become a republic. Observers say the former British colony has debated such a move for decades, but the Black Lives Matter movement and resentment over Britain’s treatment of Caribbean migrants have acted as catalysts. But one prominent British MP is blaming China for pressuring Barbados into breaking ties with Britain, as Henry Ridgwell reports from London.  PRODUCER: Jon Spier
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Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is calling on Georgian authorities to guarantee the safety of journalists covering the parliamentary election campaign in the country after TV crews were attacked during clashes between pro-government and pro-opposition activists.”We call on the leaders of the two parties to condemn these attacks and we urge the authorities to conduct an exhaustive and transparent investigation in order to identify those responsible,” the Paris-based watchdog said in a statement  on October 1, warning that the environment for journalists has “worsened” in the run-up to the October 31 vote.RSF said at least five journalists covering the campaign were physically attacked in the southern town of Marneuli on September 29 during clashes between members of the ruling Georgian Dream party and the opposition United National Movement.Jeyhun Muhamedali, one of four journalists with the opposition TV channel Mtavari Arkhi, was hospitalized with a head injury sustained during the violence, in which a camera and microphone were damaged, according to the group.A camera operator with Georgia’s public broadcaster GPB was also attacked and his camera smashed.Georgian police have launched an investigation into the violence and into the obstruction of journalists’ work.”The state has an obligation to guarantee journalists’ safety. With four weeks to go to a high-stakes election, impunity for those responsible for violence must be combatted,” said Jeanne Cavelier, the head of RSF’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk.The South Caucasus country is ranked 60th out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2020 World Press Freedom Index. 
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Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has told a German magazine that Russian President Vladimir Putin was behind his poisoning.In excerpts of his comments released Thursday by Der Spiegel, Navalny said, “I don’t have any other versions of how the crime was committed.”The Kremlin has denied any involvement.Navalny fell ill on an August 20 flight and was initially hospitalized in the Siberian city of Omsk.Russian doctors said they found no trace of poisoning, but after Navalny was transferred to a hospital in Germany, tests there showed he was poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok, originally developed by the former Soviet Union. Subsequent tests by French and Swedish laboratories confirmed that result.The same type of nerve agent was used in a 2018 attack against a former spy in Britain.Navalny is a frequent critic of Putin and told Der Spiegel he plans to return to Russia.“My job now is to remain the guy who isn’t scared,” he told the magazine. “And I’m not scared.”Navalny spent 32 days in the hospital, and his German doctors have said he could make a full recovery.  
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The Spanish government has issued limited lockdown orders on Madrid as the country experiences a new surge of coronavirus cases.The capital city’s 3 million residents will not be allowed to venture from their homes except to go to work, school, shopping or for medical care.  All bars and restaurants will be forced to close earlier than normal and reduce their seating capacity by 50%.The new restrictions were approved during a meeting Wednesday between the government of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and the heads of Spain’s various autonomous regions. Health Minister Salvador Illa told reporters the restrictions will apply to municipalities with at least 100,000 inhabitants each, which would also affect nine municipalities surrounding the Spanish capital.Europe is experiencing a steady rise of new COVID-19 infections, with Spain leading the way with about 300 infections per 100,000 inhabitants. But the rate is more than double in the Madrid region, which stands at more than 780 infections per 100,000.“Madrid’s health is Spain’s health,” Health Minister Illa said.But the new restrictions have been denounced by Madrid’s right-wing regional government, with regional health minister Enrique Ruiz Escudero accusing the national Socialist-led government of interfering in the region’s handling of the pandemic. Madrid’s regional government rejected the new restrictions during Wednesday’s meeting, along with Catalonia and three other conservative-ruled regions.Meanwhile, two of the world’s biggest airlines, U.S. carriers American and United, say they will begin furloughing a combined 32,000 workers on Thursday due to a lack of more emergency aid from the federal government. The U.S. airline industry had received $25 billion in payroll support in March during the first days of the pandemic, as domestic and international travel ground to a halt.The furloughs by American and United come on the same week U.S. entertainment giant Disney announced it will lay off 28,000 workers, the majority of them at the company’s theme parks in Florida and California.The U.S. National Football League said Wednesday that Sunday’s scheduled game between the Tennessee Titans and Pittsburgh Steelers will be delayed until either Monday or Tuesday due to an outbreak of COVID-19 cases within the Titans’ franchise.Three players and five nonplayer personnel tested positive for the virus after the team played the Minnesota Vikings in Minneapolis on Sunday, prompting the Titans to shut down its practice facilities in Nashville. A fourth player tested positive Wednesday. The Titans are the first NFL franchise with a COVID-19 outbreak since the beginning of the season in early September.
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The United States has held off on joining Britain and Canada in imposing sanctions on Belarus in hopes the European Union can overcome an internal dispute, paving the way to coordinated U.S. and EU sanctions, four sources said on Wednesday.The EU had vowed in August to impose sanctions on Belarus for alleged fraud in its August 9 election and for human rights abuses since, but Cyprus, one of its smallest members, has prevented this.Cyprus has maintained it will not agree to the Belarusian sanctions unless the EU also puts sanctions on Turkey because of a separate dispute over Turkish drilling for oil and gas in the Eastern Mediterranean.Six sources told Reuters last week that Britain, Canada and the United States planned to impose sanctions on individual Belarusians in a coordinated move. Only London and Ottawa followed suit on Tuesday.Speaking on condition of anonymity, three sources on Wednesday said Washington refrained because it believed the EU might achieve consensus at this week’s European Council meeting.One source in Washington familiar with the matter told Reuters that a U.S. package, including human rights sanctions, was essentially ready, but the timing of any announcement was uncertain.The sanctions aim to impose consequences for the disputed election, which the opposition says was stolen, and for the treatment of protesters in Belarus, where President Alexander Lukashenko has ruled for 26 years.More than 12,000 people have been arrested since Lukashenko, who denies electoral fraud, was named the election’s landslide winner. Major opposition figures are either in jail or in exile.A Cyprus source said there was a “political agreement” on Turkish sanctions at an informal EU foreign ministers’ meeting in Berlin in August and Cyprus remained ready to implement it though it was not clear precisely what the source meant.”It’s not a question of softening or hardening of [Cyprus’] position,” the source said.After the meeting, Germany’s foreign ministry said ministers agreed on their “solidarity with Greece and Cyprus” but stressed that constructive dialog with Turkey was vital to resolve “contentious issues in the eastern Mediterranean.”The embassy of Cyprus in Washington, the White House and the State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. 
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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson received a rare reprimand Wednesday by the speaker of the House of Commons for treating lawmakers with contempt by rushing through far-reaching COVID-19 restrictions without proper review by lawmakers.Just before the prime minister’s weekly “question time” with members of Parliament, Lindsay Hoyle, speaker of the House of Commons, admonished Johnson for making rules in a “totally unsatisfactory” way.Hoyle said that several of the COVID-19-related measures were published and brought before Parliament only hours before they were to take effect, and some after the fact. The speaker said the actions showed total disregard for the House of Commons and called on Johnson and his government to prepare measures more quickly.The speaker did hold back a rebellion within Johnson’s own Conservative Party, where more than 50 members had threatened to join an opposition-led measure demanding more say over future rules to stop the spread of the virus and accusing ministers of governing “by decree.”But they were denied a chance to vote on the proposal after the speaker ruled there was not enough time for a proper debate.Later Wednesday, during a news briefing on the COVID-19 pandemic, Johnson said the government would not hesitate to put even stricter pandemic restrictions in place if evidence supported such a move.Britain reported 7,143 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, the highest one-day figure to date for the country, which has the highest official death toll in Europe.Areas of Britain, particularly in the northeast where a second wave of COVID-19 infections is surging, are faced with local restrictions designed to slow its spread. Britain has reported more than 42,233 deaths from the virus, the world’s fifth-highest total.
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A top French appeals court has refused to block the extradition of the alleged financier of Rwanda’s 1994 genocide to a United Nations tribunal. The decision by France’s Court of Cassation is a blow to Felicien Kabuga, 84, who was arrested at his Paris-area apartment in May after a quarter-century on the run.  Kabuga’s lawyers had appealed an earlier ruling that he should stand trial at a U.N. court based in Arusha, Tanzania. They said his health was poor and raised fears the U.N. court would be biased against him.  FILE – Felicien Kabuga, a fugitive wanted over the 1994 Rwandan genocide, who was arrested in a Paris suburb on May 16, 2020, is seen in this handout photo released by the Mecanisme pour les Tribunaux penaux internationaux.But the Court of Cassation said it saw no legal or medical obstacle to Kabuga’s transfer to Arusha.   Etienne Nsanzimana, president of Rwandan genocide survivors’ support group Ibuka France, hailed the ruling. Now, he said, it was time international justice played its role and ended the years of impunity Kabuga had enjoyed.  Once one of Rwanda’s richest men, Kabuga is accused of bankrolling militia groups responsible for killing hundreds of thousands of Tutsis and moderate Hutus. He reportedly founded and was heavily involved in Radio Television Mille Collines, whose incendiary broadcasts fanned ethnic hatred.  More than two decades ago, Kabuga was indicted by the U.N. Criminal Tribunal on Rwanda, or ICTR, on seven counts, including genocide. He denies all the charges as “lies.” Kabuga is to be tried at the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals, which took over from the ICTR after it closed in 2013. Rwanda said it wanted to have him tried in its own courts.  
 
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After consulting with Germany’s 16 regional governors, German Chancellor Angela Merkel Wednesday announced new restrictions on the size of gatherings to prevent the country’s coronavirus infection figures from accelerating.At a Berlin news briefing following her virtual meeting with the governors, Merkel said she wants to act regionally and address the virus where it is surging rather than shut down the whole country, which she said should be avoided at all costs.  “In order to achieve this, we must have minimum standards for certain frequencies of infections,” said Merkel.The German chancellor said in places where there are more than 35 new infections per 100,000 residents recorded in a week, the number of people attending gatherings at public or rented facilities should be limited to 50 and no more than 25 should attend events in private homes.She said that where infections hit at least 50 per 100,000 residents, those figures should be cut to 25 and 10 respectively.Merkel said she expects the rate of infection to rise as the change in weather means more people will spend time inside in the coming months. She said the number of daily infections could rise to 19,200 in three months if the rate of infection continues as it has over the past three months.  “This underlines the urgency for us to act,” said Merkel.The chancellor also discouraged travel to high risk areas in Europe in the coming months, saying staying in Germany was a good option. She said low risk European nations such as Italy might be a good option, noting the number of COVID-19 cases are very low there now and “they are acting very carefully.”Johns Hopkins University reports Germany has over 289,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus and just over 9,450 deaths.
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U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo vowed to advocate for persecuted religious minorities in China while calling on the Vatican to reconsider renewing a deal with Beijing.”Nowhere is religious freedom under assault more than it is inside of China today,” Pompeo said Wednesday in Rome, Italy. ”Nor of course have Catholics been spared this wave of repression.”   Pompeo’s latest remarks come as the Vatican and China are negotiating to renew a controversial 2018 agreement on the nomination of bishops. The terms of that deal have not been publicly revealed.   U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, left, and U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Callista Gingrich greet Cardinal Raymond Burke, right, during a symposium in Rome, Sept. 30, 2020.While admitting nation-states’ efforts to protect religious freedom are “constrained by the realities of world politics,” Pompeo made a subtle appeal to the Vatican to reverse the planned renewal under way.   “The Church is in a different position. Earthly considerations shouldn’t discourage principled stances based on eternal truths.”  Wednesday, the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See hosted a symposium on “Advancing and Defending International Religious Freedom through Diplomacy.” Holy See Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and Holy See Secretary for Relations with States Archbishop Paul Gallagher also participated.  A senior State Department official confirmed the top U.S. diplomat is not scheduled to have an audience with Pope Francis during this visit.     Pompeo met with the pontiff last October.    State Department: Pompeo, Pope Francis Urge Religious Freedom in Mideast, ElsewhereSecretary of state, whose trip to Italy, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Greece has been overshadowed by an impeachment inquiry at home targeting President Donald Trump, met the pope for about a half an hourThe Pope’s office reportedly told American diplomats he would not personally receive Pompeo due to concerns of being seen as influencing the November U.S. election.  The U.S. secretary of state also met Wednesday with the Italian foreign minister. 
 
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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was forced to correct himself Tuesday after he initially gave conflicting information about stricter COVID-19-related social distancing rules going into effect in northeast Britain.In the latest round of localized measures, the government announced a tightening of restrictions on socializing in northeast England effective midnight Tuesday in response to a surge in COVID-19 infection rates in the region.In the affected area, which includes the large urban centers of Newcastle, Gateshead, Sunderland and Durham, residents are not allowed to meet with people from other households anywhere, outdoors or indoors, including in homes, pubs and restaurants.Tuesday, after Education Minister Gillian Keegan had earlier expressed confusion about the new rules during a radio interview, Johnson was asked during a news briefing to clarify.  “Outside the areas such as the northeast where extra measures have been brought in, it’s six inside, six outside,” Johnson said, referring to the government’s “rule of six,” which applies in areas not subject to specific local restrictions.After critics said the response appeared to contradict the information released by the Health Ministry, Johnson corrected himself on his Twitter account.“Apologies, I misspoke today,” Johnson tweeted. “In the North East, new rules mean you cannot meet people from different households in social settings indoors, including in pubs, restaurants and your home. You should also avoid socializing with other households outside.”With infection numbers rising again in different parts of the country, the government has said it wants to avoid a second national lockdown and instead is taking targeted local measures to try to slow the spread of the coronavirus.The opposition Labor Party issued a statement calling Johnson “grossly incompetent” for not knowing the rules.
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France’s environment minister has announced a gradual ban on using wild animals in traveling circuses, on keeping dolphins and killer whales in captivity in marine parks and on raising mink on fur farms.
Barbara Pompili, France’s minister of ecological transition, said in a news conference Tuesday that bears, tigers, lions, elephants and other wild animals won’t be allowed any more in travelling circuses “in the coming years.”
In addition, starting immediately, France’s three marine parks won’t be able to bring in nor breed dolphins and killer whales any more, she said.
“It is time to open a new era in our relationship with these (wild) animals,” she said, arguing that animal welfare is a priority.
Pompili said the measures will also bring an end to mink farming, where animals are raised for their fur, within the next five years.
The ban does not apply to wild animals in other permanent shows and in zoos.
Pompili did not set any precise date for the ban in travelling circuses, saying the process should start “as soon as possible.” She promised solutions will be found for each animal “on a case-by-case basis.”
The French government will implement an 8 million-euro ($9.2 million) package to help people working in circuses and marine parks find other jobs.
“That transition will be spread over several years, because it will change the lives of many people,” she said.
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French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday pledged European support for the people of Belarus after he met with opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. The talks took place in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, where Tsikhanouskaya fled after an August presidential election in Belarus sparked a political crisis. Many in Belarus reject the official results of the election that gave another term to longtime President Alexander Lukashenko, and in the weeks following the vote thousands have protested. The European Union said last week it does not recognize Lukashenko as president, and Macron has said he must step down. 
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Greek authorities on Monday began transferring hundreds of refugees from the island of Lesbos to reduce chronic overcrowding that caused hardship and fanned tensions with locals. Over 700 people were to sail to the Greek mainland aboard a ferry later Monday, organizers said, three weeks after a sprawling camp on the island burned down. Another group will leave on Thursday, state agency ANA said. Some 2,500 refugees and asylum-seekers are to be relocated overall, following coronavirus tests, according to the migration ministry. Over 12,000 asylum-seekers were left homeless on Sept. 8 after a fire ravaged the Lesbos camp of Moria, Europe’s largest. Six Afghan youths are on trial for arson in connection to the fire. They deny the charges. The Moria camp was notorious for overcrowding, poor sanitation and ethnic gang violence. The fire broke out shortly after more than 30 people there tested positive for the coronavirus. Also Monday, Greek police said they had identified 33 aid workers who allegedly facilitated illegal migration to Lesbos. A Greek police source later said the “preliminary” investigation was still under way. A police statement said the suspects, who worked for four nongovernmental organizations, were part of “an organized network” created to “systematically” facilitate illegal migration to the island. Two other foreign nationals, identified by state TV ERT as an Afghan and an Iranian, were also part of the alleged operation, the police said. No information was given on the aid groups in question, the identities of the suspects or whether any were in custody. The police said the alleged operation was active from at least June, “providing substantial assistance to organized migrant-smuggling networks” in an estimated 32 cases by helping direct migrant boats to shore safely. Meanwhile, Germany has offered to take 1,500 asylum-seekers from Greece, including former Moria residents. For its part, France has offered to take in 500 minors from the camp. Authorities and local residents on Lesbos had long campaigned for the immediate removal of most of the asylum-seekers. After the camp burned down, a makeshift tent facility was hurriedly erected to house some 9,500 people. But the temporary camp, on a hill overlooking the sea, is ill-equipped to handle winter conditions. The government is now in talks to build a smaller permanent camp on the island. 
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Polish leaders on Monday rejected suggestions that LGBT people in Poland are facing any kind of discrimination or depravation of rights, following the publication of an open letter from 50 ambassadors and international representatives expressing their support for “challenges faced” by the LGBT communities in the nation. The ambassadors’ appeal, coordinated by Belgium’s embassy in Poland and published Sunday, comes as an increasingly visible LGBT community in Poland has faced a backlash from the right-wing government, many local communities and the Catholic Church. “Human rights are universal, and everyone, including LGBTI persons, are entitled to their full enjoyment,” the letter said, using the acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people. FILE – Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki speaks during a press conference in Vilnius, Lithuania, Sept. 17, 2020.At a news conference Monday, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said he agreed that every person deserves respect but that he completely disagreed with the ambassadors’ claim that LGBT people were being deprived of that. Morawiecki said no one needs to teach Poland tolerance, “because we are a nation that has learned such tolerance for centuries, and we have given many testimonies to the history of such tolerance.”  Poland’s ruling party leaders, including the president, have cast the movement for civil rights for LGBT people as a threat to traditional families. President Andrzej Duda won a second term this year after calling LGBT rights an “ideology” more dangerous than communism. FILE – Polish President Andrzej Duda speaks to a crowd during an event in Gdansk-Westerplatte, Sept. 1, 2020.Meanwhile, dozens of towns in conservative parts of eastern and southern Poland have passed mostly symbolic resolutions declaring themselves to be “LGBT-free zones,” free of LGBT ideology. From her Twitter account Sunday, U.S. Ambassador to Poland Georgette Mosbacher tweeted, “Human Rights are not an ideology — they are universal, 50 Ambassadors and Representatives agree.”  The ambassadors’ letter paid tribute to the work of the LGBT community in Poland as it seeks to raise awareness about the challenges it faces. The letter was signed by the ambassadors of the United States, many European countries, including Germany, Ukraine and Britain, and other nations such as Japan and Australia. The letter was also signed by representatives in Poland of the United Nations, the European Union, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and the Community of Democracies, which is based in Warsaw. 
 
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Turkey says it will back Azerbaijan with all means necessary as fighting entered a second day Monday between Azeri and Armenian forces over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh enclave, in a sign the conflict could be widening.  Monday saw Azeri and Armenian forces exchange heavy artillery fire, with each accusing the other of starting the hostilities Sunday. Observers called the latest fighting over Nargono Karabakh, an enclave inside Azerbaijan but run by ethnic Armenians, the worst since the 1990s. Witness reports put the number of dead, including civilians, at more than 20 and at least 100 wounded.  People watch TV in a bomb shelter in Stepanakert, the capital of the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region, in this picture released Sept. 28, 2020. (Foreign Ministry of Armenia/Handout via Reuters)Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was quick to voice support  for Azerbaijan, labeling Armenia “the biggest threat to peace in the region.” The Turkish leader called on “the entire world to stand with Azerbaijan in their battle against invasion and cruelty.” The Armenian foreign ministry on Monday said Turkish military “experts” were “fighting side by side with Azerbaijan.” Turkish government officials declined to comment on the accusations.  “Turkey troops will not be on the front line, Azeri forces don’t need them,” said Turkish analyst Ilhan Uzgel. But Uzgel says Ankara remains Baku’s key military ally. “Turkey is already supporting Azerbaijan militarily,” he said, “through technical assistance through arms sales, providing critical military support, especially in terms of armed drones and technical expertise. The line for Turkey’s involvement, is Russia’s involvement; actually, that is a red line for Turkey. Turkey doesn’t want a direct confrontation with Moscow.” An image from a video made available on the website of the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry on Sept. 28, 2020, allegedly shows Azeri troops conducting a combat operation during clashes between Armenian separatists and Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh.Moscow is a vital supporter of Yerevan, and maintains a military base in Armenia.  The Russian foreign ministry on Monday called for Armenia and Azerbaijan to exercise restraint.  “Armenian-Russian relations are firm and solid,” said Dr. Zaur Gasimov, a Russian affairs expert at Germany’s Bonn University. “Now, having faced with casualties on the front line, Yerevan would search for more support from Moscow.” Ahead of Sunday’s outbreak of fighting, Baku had accused Moscow of emboldening Yerevan with significant arms shipments since July.  “500 tonnes of military cargo has been delivered to Armenia. Let us be clear, from Russia,” said Hikmat Hajiyev, head of Azerbaijan department of foreign affairs, in a briefing to foreign journalists in Turkey earlier this month.  Hajiyev highlighted the significance of Turkey’s military assistance. “We have seen firm and strong support of Turkey to Azerbaijan. Annually, we have 10 joint military exercises covering land troops, anti-terror special forces operations, and air force exercises.” In what observers interpreted as a message to Armenia, Turkish fighter jets carried out an exercise in Azerbaijan shortly after Armenian and Azeri forces clashed in July. Energy interests July’s fighting in Azerbaijan’s Tovuz region was close to crucial energy pipelines that serve Turkey, causing alarm in Ankara. “This is a very core security issue for Turkey for energy security,” said a senior Turkish energy ministry official speaking to journalists on the condition of anonymity. The official said Turkey “will take any relevant measures” to continue receiving energy deliveries from Azerbaijan.  Ankara has long supported Baku in its efforts to retake Nagorno-Karabakh, and Erdogan on Monday asserted that if Armenia immediately leaves the territory that he said it is occupying, the region will return to peace and harmony. A view of a house said to have been damaged in recent shelling during clashes between Armenian separatists and Azerbaijan over the breakaway Nagorny Karabakh region, Sept. 28, 2020. (Handout Photo from Armenian Foreign Ministry)Restoring Azeri control over Nagorno-Karabakh has the strong support of Turkish nationalists, a critical political base for Erdogan.”Two nations, one people” is a popular mantra used by Baku and Ankara to describe the countries’ relationship. Armenian separatists seized Nargono Karabakh from Azerbaijan in a bloody 1990s war that killed an estimated 30,000 people.  Turkey appears poised to deepen its cooperation with Azerbaijan, analysts say. “But it’s quite a risky area. The Caucasus, it’s one of Russia’s near abroad, the Caucuses is part of Russian area of influence. They may not tolerate Turkish Azerbaijani military action against Armenia that results in heavy Armenian losses. If Turkey and Azerbaijan are planning to have a huge success through military means, that could put Turkish Russian relations at serious risk.” In recent years, Ankara and Moscow have deepened their relationship, cooperating in Syria and building trade ties that even extend to the purchase of sophisticated Russian military hardware.  
 
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Police in Belarus arrested 500 protesters over the weekend, as demonstrations against President Alexander Lukashenko continued.Lukashenko, who has been in power for 26 years, claimed his sixth reelection in the Aug. 9 election. But many in the country view the outcome as illegitimate. He claimed 80% of the vote.The country’s Interior Ministry said 150 people were arrested Saturday and another 350 on Sunday during protests across 22 cities, according to The Associated Press.Dozens Arrested as Protests Against Lukashenko Continue in Belarus The protests in Minsk, Homel, and other cities came after Lukashenko, in power since 1994, was inaugurated on September 23 in a secretive ceremony Around 100,000 protesters took to the streets in the capital, Minsk.A human rights group said the crackdowns on protesters over the weekend were not as violent as previous clampdowns, during which police used tear gas, truncheons and rubber bullets to disperse crowds. Several protesters were reportedly killed.”Repressions get stuck when more than 100,000 people take to the streets,” said Ales Bialiatski, head of the Viasna Human Rights Center, according to AP. “The authorities’ scare tactics don’t work anymore.” Authorities recently began an investigation into members of the Coordination Council, which was created by the opposition and supports a peaceful transition of power. Alleged charges against members of the group include undermining of national security.Several have been arrested or forced to leave the country, according to reports.On Monday, Svetlana Alexievich, who won the 2015 Nobel Prize in literature, left for Germany. Another council member, Maxim Znak, was jailed earlier this month and has been on a hunger strike since Sept. 18.Both the United States and the European Union have said the election was not free nor fair, and many European countries have refused to recognize Lukashenko after his surprise inauguration earlier this week.
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Sri Lanka says it is shipping 21 containers of waste back to Britain.  Officials said hazardous waste materials, including hospital waste, were found in some of the containers, in violation of international laws and European Union regulations.  Officials said the containers were supposed to be holding used mattresses, rugs and carpets for possible recycling. An AFP reports says the containers arrived in Sri Lanka between September 2017 and March 2018. The containers left Sri Lanka bound for Britain Saturday, officials said.  Several Asian countries have said they are tired of being the garbage dump for wealthy nations and have refused docking privileges to ships transporting waste. 
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Voters in Switzerland rejected a proposed limit on immigration from European Union countries in a national referendum Sunday. The freedom-of-movement proposal put forth by the populist Swiss People’s Party was defeated, with only 38% of voters approving the measure. The intent of the People’s Party was to prioritize access to jobs, social protection and benefits to Swiss citizens over those from the 27 countries of the EU, of which Switzerland is not a member.  Critics of the proposal maintained that would have been disadvantageous to Swiss citizens wanting to live or work in any EU member countries. The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the result, saying that it upheld “one of the core pillars of our relationship: the mutual freedom to move, to live and to work in Switzerland and the EU.” About 1.4 million EU citizens live in Switzerland, a country of roughly 8.2 million, while some 500,000 Swiss live in EU member countries. Regarding domestic issues included in the ballot, more than 60 percent of voters favored extending parental leave to fathers, which like maternity leave affords parents 80 percent of their salary, up to 196 Swiss francs per day. The $6.5 billion fighter jet purchase, an issue debated for about a decade, received a yes vote with only 50.1% in favor. Swiss voters rejected an attempt to make it easier to shoot wolves considered a threat to livestock. The turnout of about 60% in Sunday’s referendum was considerably higher than in most recent referendums. 
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