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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Category Archives: News
Worldwide news. News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different media: word of mouth, printing, postal systems, broadcasting, electronic communication, or through the testimony of observers and witnesses to events. News is sometimes called “hard news” to differentiate it from soft media
US Justice Department Files Antitrust Lawsuit Against Google
The U.S. Justice Department has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google for allegedly violating federal law by using its dominant market position to stifle competition.The agency alleged in its long-awaited lawsuit Tuesday that Google abused its dominant market position to maintain monopolies in online search and search advertising.Google did not immediately comment on the lawsuit, the most significant legal challenge to the U.S. technology sector in more than two decades.Consumer advocates and legislators have long accused Google of abusing its dominant market position to suppress competition, increase profits and hurt consumers. The suit, filed in federal court in Washington, could be the first of many other significant government antitrust actions against Silicon Valley. The Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission also are currently investigating Apple, Amazon and Facebook.A senior economic adviser to President Donald Trump said two years ago that the administration was considering whether Google searches should be regulated by the government. Trump has frequently criticized Google and promoted unsubstantiated claims by conservatives that the company suppresses conservative viewpoints, meddles in U.S. elections and favors collaborating with the Chinese military over the U.S. Defense Department.Google has captured about 90% of the world’s internet search market, the result of offering a product that is preferred by billions of users daily, the company has said.The California-based corporation has been preparing for the lawsuit and is expected to aggressively oppose any efforts to force it to spin off its services into individual businesses. A recent House Judiciary subcommittee report concluded after a yearlong investigation into Silicon Valley’s market dominance that Google has monopolized the search market. The report said Google established its dominant position through acquisition in several markets, buying about 260 companies that other businesses had developed over a 20-year span. Google was fined $1.7 billion by the European Union in 2019 for preventing websites from using the tech giant’s rivals from locating advertisers. The EU also fined Google $2.6 billion in 2017 for favoring its own online shopping venues over its rivals, and $4.9 billion in 2018 for blocking competitors from its Android operating system.
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Honduras Ex-President Receives Experimental Russian COVID Vaccine
Former Honduran President Manuel Zelaya is taking part in Phase 3 trials of a potential coronavirus vaccine. Venezuelan state television showed Zelaya receiving a shot of Russia’s experimental Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine in Caracas on Monday. Venezuela is the first Latin American country to participate in the testing process.FILE – A Russian medical worker administers a shot of Russia’s experimental Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine in Moscow, Russia, Sept. 15, 2020.Western experts raised questions over the Sputnik V vaccine’s readiness for mass trials, citing the fact that Russia had tested the vaccine on just a small sample group before launching widespread testing. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro discounted the criticism, expressing satisfaction Zelaya is taking part in the trials. So far, Venezuela has confirmed more than 87,000 coronavirus cases and at least 736 deaths.
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Danish Man Convicted of Murder Aboard Homemade Submarine Captured
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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Imperial College London Recruiting Healthy Volunteers to Infect with COVID-19
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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Argentina Now Has 1 Million Confirmed COVID-19 Cases
Argentina is now the world’s fifth country with more than one million confirmed COVID-19 cases. Data collected by Johns Hopkins University’s Coronavirus Resource Center shows the South American country has 1,002,662 total cases. Argentina is in fifth place behind the United States (8.2 million), India (7.5 million), Brazil (5.2 million) and Russia (1.4 million). The one million coronavirus cases in Argentina include 26,716 deaths. The new figures from Argentina push the total number of worldwide coronavirus infections to more than 40.4 million cases, including 1.1 million deaths. FILE – Scientists and researchers work on a potential vaccine for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at a Pfizer’s laboratory.Reuters news agency says U.S.-based pharmaceutical firm Pfizer and German-based BioNTech have begun a combined Phase One and Phase Two trial of an experimental coronavirus vaccine in Japan. The study will recruit 160 people between the ages of 20 and 85 to take part in the study. The United Nations Children’s Fund says it will stockpile 500 million syringes by the end of the year, and one billion by 2021, as part of its preparations for an eventual COVID-19 vaccine. According to U.N. News, the stockpile of one billion syringes to support the agency’s coronavirus vaccination drive is in addition to the 620 million syringes UNICEF plans to purchase for its normal vaccination programs. UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore says the push to vaccinate billions of the world’s children against COVID-19 “will be one of the largest mass undertakings in human history, and we will need to move as quickly as the vaccines can be produced.”
UNICEF is the world’s largest purchaser of vaccines, buying more than two billion doses annually for routine vaccination efforts against such diseases as measles and typhoid, as well as outbreak responses on behalf of nearly 100 countries. A report in The Guardian newspaper says Chinese health authorities have found traces of live coronavirus on frozen food packaging. The live virus was detected during an investigation of an outbreak in the eastern coastal city of Qingdao, marking the first time the virus in an active state has been detected on the outside of refrigerated goods. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has previously said there has been no evidence of COVID-19 infection through handling or consuming food. Empty city center shopping streets are seen as the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak continues, in Galway, Ireland, Oct. 19, 2020.Ireland announced some of the strictest measures in Europe this fall to combat a surge in cases. The government told residents not to travel more than five kilometers from their home, closed nonessential retail businesses and limited restaurants and pubs to takeout only. Part of Germany’s Bavaria region will go into a strict lockdown on Tuesday. Officials in Berchtesgadener Land district announced Monday that residents will not be able to leave their homes without a valid reason for two weeks. Schools, restaurants and hotels will be closed to stop the spread of the virus. FILE – Coronavirus signs are seen in the city center as the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak continues in Cardiff, Wales, Britain, Oct. 19, 2020.Wales became the second nation in Britain to lock down large parts of its economy, even as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson resisted calls to do the same throughout England. The Welsh government announced Monday it would close nonessential retail, hospitality and tourism businesses, beginning Friday. Northern Ireland recently ordered new lockdown measures, closing schools for two weeks and shutting down many businesses, including bars and restaurants, for a month. Poland’s government said Monday it is transforming its National Stadium in Warsaw into a field hospital to handle the growing number of COVID-19 cases. The European Commission on Monday launched a system across the EU to link national COVID-19 tracing apps, beginning with COVID-19 trackers in Germany, Italy and Ireland. In the United States, cases of COVID-19 continue to rise in almost every state, and an analysis by Reuters found the number of new cases in the past week rose 13% to more than 393,000, approaching levels last seen during a summer peak.
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Poll Finds Many Spaniards Favor Dissolving Monarchy
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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Former Honduran President Receives Experimental Russian Vaccine for Coronavirus
Former Honduran President Manuel Zelaya is taking part in Phase 3 trials of a potential coronavirus vaccine. Venezuelan state television showed Zelaya receiving a shot of Russia’s experimental Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine in Caracas on Monday. Venezuela is the first Latin American country to participate in the testing process.FILE – A Russian medical worker administers a shot of Russia’s experimental Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine in Moscow, Russia, Sept. 15, 2020.Western experts raised questions over the Sputnik V vaccine’s readiness for mass trials, citing the fact that Russia had tested the vaccine on just a small sample group before launching widespread testing. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro discounted the criticism, expressing satisfaction Zelaya is taking part in the trials. So far, Venezuela has confirmed more than 87,000 coronavirus cases and at least 736 deaths.
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Mexico to Extradite Drug Lord to US
The Mexican government is set to extradite to the United States Jaime González Durán, one of the founders of the Los Zetas drug cartel. Duran, who has been in custody in Mexico for 12 years ranked third among the leaders of the Los Zetas cartel behind Heriberto Lazcano-Lazcano, who was killed eight years ago, and Miguel Treviño Morales, who was extradited to the United States nearly three years ago. Duran is expected to face multiple charges in the United States, including crimes of conspiracy, drug trafficking of cocaine and marijuana and money laundering. Duran, who is on the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration most wanted list, is being held at a federal prison in Hermosillo, Sonora. By late Monday, the DEA had yet to release a statement in response the Mexican court clearing the way for Duran to brought the United States.
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Runner Up in Bolivia Presidential Race Concedes Defeat, Citing Exit Polling
Bolivian presidential candidate Carlos Mesa of the Citizen Community party has conceded defeat to rival Luis Arce Catacora, candidate of the Movement Towards Socialism party, citing exit polls showing Arce with an insurmountable lead. Speaking Monday, Mesa said he recognizes that there has been a winner in the election and that it is appropriate in a democracy to recognize the victory. Mesa’s concession comes a day after the election, with the official count by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal expected in the next few days. Exit polls revealed Arce obtained at least a 20-percentage point lead over Mesa, with third placed candidate Luis Fernando Camacho of the Creemos coalition garnering just over 14 percent of the votes. Meantime, the French News Agency reports exiled former president Evo Morales is suggesting he will return to Bolivia after the election victory by Arce, a former member of Morales’ cabinet.
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High Court to Review Two Cases Involving Trump Border Policy
The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear two cases involving Trump administration policies at the U.S.-Mexico border: one about a policy that makes asylum-seekers wait in Mexico for U.S. court hearings and a second about the administration’s use of money to fund the border wall. The justices’ decision to hear the cases continues its practice of reviewing lower court rulings that have found President Donald Trump’s immigration policies illegal over the past four years. Most notably, the high court reviewed and upheld Trump’s travel ban on visitors from some largely Muslim countries. In June, the court kept in place legal protections for immigrants who came to the U.S. as children. The justices will not hear either new case until 2021, and the outcome of the presidential election could make the cases go away, or at least reduce their significance. If Democrat Joe Biden wins the White House, he has pledged to end “Migrant Protection Protocols,” which Trump considers a cornerstone policy on immigration. In the border wall case, much of the money has already been spent and wall constructed. It is unclear what could be done about that wall that has already been built if the administration loses, but it could conceivably be torn down. Biden has said he would cease wall construction if elected but would not tear down what was built under Trump’s watch. The court has allowed both policies to continue even after they were held illegal by lower courts, a sign the challengers could face long odds when the justices ultimately decide the cases. Remain in Mexico The Trump administration policy known informally as “Remain in Mexico” began in January 2019. It became a key pillar of the administration’s response to an unprecedented surge of asylum-seeking families from Central American countries at the border, drawing criticism for having people wait in highly dangerous Mexican cities. Lower courts found that the policy is probably illegal. But earlier this year the Supreme Court stepped in to allow the policy to remain in effect while a lawsuit challenging it played out in the courts. More than 60,000 asylum-seekers were returned to Mexico under the policy. The Justice Department estimated in late February that there were 25,000 people still waiting in Mexico for hearings in U.S. court. Those hearings were suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic. In a statement after the high court agreed to take the case, Department of Justice spokeswoman Alexa Vance said the administration is pleased the court agreed to hear the case, calling the program “a critical component of our efforts to manage the immigration crisis on our Southern Border.” Judy Rabinovitz, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, which is challenging the policy, called the policy “illegal and depraved.” “The courts have repeatedly ruled against it, and the Supreme Court should as well,” she said in a statement. Border wall The high court also agreed to hear the Trump administration’s appeal of a lower court ruling that it improperly diverted money to build portions of the border wall with Mexico. The high court has previously allowed construction to continue, even after a federal appeals court ruled in June that the administration had illegally sidestepped Congress in transferring $2.5 billion in Defense Department funds. The case has its origins in the 35-day partial government shutdown that started in December 2018. Trump ended the shutdown after Congress gave him about $1.4 billion in border wall funding, but that was far less than the $5.7 billion he was seeking. Trump then declared a national emergency to take cash from other government accounts to use to construct sections of the wall. At the time, the money Trump identified included $2.5 billion in Defense Department money, $3.6 billion from military construction funds and $600 million from the Treasury Department’s asset forfeiture fund. The case before the Supreme Court involves just the $2.5 billion in Defense Department funds. The administration has already built 115 of the 129 miles of border wall that is funded by that money. That includes sections in California, Arizona, New Mexico and west Texas.
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US Charges Six Russian Military Officers in Global Cyberattacks
U.S. prosecutors on Monday announced charges against six Russian military intelligence officers in connection with a global computer hacking campaign that targeted the 2017 French presidential election and the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea, and carried out other high-profile cyberattacks. The campaign, spanning from 2015 to 2020, was the “most disruptive and destructive” carried out by a single group of cyber intruders, law enforcement officials said. The six hackers, all officers of the Russian military intelligence service known as GRU, “engaged in computer intrusions and attacks intended to support Russian government efforts to undermine, retaliate against, or otherwise destabilize” entities and institutions seen as anti-Russia, the Justice Department said. The same unit, known to cybersecurity researchers as the “Sandworm” team, was allegedly behind the hacking of Democratic computer networks as part of Russia’s interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. FILE – Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, visits the new GRU military intelligence headquarters building in Moscow, Nov. 8, 2006.One of the six hackers charged in a new 50-page indictment, Anatoliy Sergeyevich Kovalev, had been indicted along with 11 other GRU officers in 2018 in connection with the 2016 election interference. Russian President Vladimir Putin recently called for a cyber reset between Russia and the United States. John Demers, head of the Justice Department’s national security division, said the indictment underscores why Russia’s proposed reset “is nothing more than dishonest rhetoric and cynical and cheap propaganda.” The indictment “lays bare Russia’s use of its cyber capabilities to destabilize and interfere with the domestic political and economic systems of other countries,” Demers said at a virtual press conference at the Justice Department. The five others were identified as Yuriy Sergeyevich Andrienko, Sergey Vladimirovich Detistov, Pavel Valeryevich Frolov, Pavel Valeryevich Frolov and Petr Nikolayevich Pliskin. They face charges of conspiracy, computer hacking, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and false registration of a domain name. All six remain at large. The Russian Embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment. The charges, which come two weeks before another contentious U.S. presidential election, do not allege election interference, Demers said. “Rather, today’s charges illustrate how Unit 74455’s election activities were but one part of the work of a persistent, sophisticated hacking group busy sabotaging perceived enemies or detractors of the Russian Federation, regardless of the consequences to innocent bystanders or their destabilizing effect,” Demers said. In recent months, the Justice Department has announced a series of indictments charging hackers working for China, Iran and North Korea. Asked if the indictment was meant to be a warning to U.S. adversaries seeking to disrupt the U.S. elections, a Justice Department official said, “I would say that generally, it is a warning, a warning to these countries and the actors that are working for them, these activities are not quite as deniable as they might have hoped they were originally.” The official spoke during a press call and asked not to be identified. Cyberattack targetsThe GRU hackers’ targets included Ukrainian government and critical infrastructure; Georgian companies and government entities; the elections in France; an investigation into Russia’s poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal in Britain; the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang; and several U.S. corporations. FILE – Flag bearers from various nations attend the closing ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Feb. 25, 2018.During their yearslong campaign, the hackers used “some of the world’s most destructive malware” to strike targets on three continents, according to the Justice Department. In Ukraine, using malware known as BlackEnergy, Industroyer, and KillDisk, the hackers attacked the country’s electric power grid, Ministry of Finance, and State Treasury Service from December 2015 through December 2016.Ahead of the 2017 presidential election in France, the GRU officers allegedly carried out spear-phishing and hack-and-leak operations targeting President Emmanuel Macron’s party, French politicians and local French governments.In June 2017, the hackers deployed malware known as NotPetya to infect computers around the world, targeting the networks of hospitals and medical facilities in the Heritage Valley Health System in Pennsylvania; a FedEx subsidiary; and an unidentified U.S. pharmaceutical manufacturer. Masquerading as ransomware, NotPetya was capable of bringing down entire computer networks within seconds, officials said. At Heritage, patient lists, patient history, physical examination files, and laboratory records were wiped out. In all, the attacks resulted in losses of nearly $1 billion to the companies. During the Winter Olympic Games, the hackers used malware known as Olympic Destroyer to knock the games’ official website offline and prevented attendees from gaining their tickets. The attack came within hours of the Olympic Committee’s decision to disqualify Russian athletes over doping.In Georgia, with which Russia has tense relations, the hackers targeted a major media company in 2018 and defaced about 15,000 websites in 2019. “They replaced the homepages of those websites with an image of a former Georgian president known for his efforts to counter Russian influence in Georgia with the caption, ‘I’ll be back,'” said a Justice Department official. John Hultquist, senior director of analysis for cybersecurity firm FireEye, said the indictment “reads like a laundry list of many of the most important cyberattack incidents we have ever witnessed.” “Sandworm has been involved in many of the most aggressive cyberattacks and information operations ever seen,” Hultquist said in a statement. Smuggling ring Separately, the Justice Department unsealed charges against 10 alleged members of an international smuggling ring for trafficking more than $50 million worth of electronic devices, from the United States to Russia. The defendants, eight of whom have been arrested, allegedly used employees of Russia’s Aeroflot Airlines as couriers to smuggle Apple products and other electronics to Russia.
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US Charges Six Russian Agents in Global Cyber Attack
U.S. prosecutors have charged six Russian military intelligence officers in connection with a global computer malware campaign that struck the 2017 French presidential election and the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea among other targets. The cyber campaign represented “the most disruptive and destructive series of computer attacks ever attributed to a single group,” said John C. Demers, head of the Justice Department’s national security division. “No country has weaponized its cyber capabilities as maliciously or irresponsibly as Russia, wantonly causing unprecedented damage to pursue small tactical advantages and to satisfy fits of spite,” Demers said Monday at a news conference. The six hackers, all officers of the Russian military intelligence service known as GRU, “engaged in computer intrusions and attacks intended to support Russian government efforts to undermine, retaliate against, or otherwise destabilize” targets around the world, the Justice Department said. TargetsThese included Ukrainian government and critical infrastructure; Georgian companies and government entities; the elections in France; an investigation into Russia’s poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal in Britain; and the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, the Justice Department said.In addition, the hackers, using the NotPetya malware, struck hospitals and medical facilities in the Heritage Valley Health System in Pennsylvania, a FedEx Corporation subsidiary and an unidentified U.S pharmaceutical manufacturer. The Justice Department had previously indicted GRU officers with hacking Democratic emails during the 2016 presidential election. The latest charges do not allege election interference on the part of the GRU.The six defendants were identified as Yuriy Sergeyevich Andrienko, Sergey Vladimirovich Detistov, Pavel Valeryevich Frolov, Anatoliy Sergeyevich Kovalev, Artem Valeryevich Ochichenko, and Petr Nikolayevich Pliskin They face charges of conspiracy, computer hacking, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and false registration of a domain name.
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France Probes Muslim Organizations Following Beheading of Teacher
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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Wales to Impose Two-Week Coronavirus Lockdown Beginning Friday
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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Poll Finds Many Spaniards Favor Dissolving Monarch
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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Got Any Signal Up Here? Nokia to Build Mobile Network on Moon
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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Bolivia’s Socialist Candidate Seen Winner of Presidential Election
Bolivia’s socialist candidate Luis Arce appears to have won the presidential election in the first round of voting. Bolivian TV channel Unitel released the initial count from authoritative pollster Ciesmori at around midnight on Sunday, showing Arce, with 52.4% of the vote. “Very grateful for the support and trust of the Bolivian people,” Arce tweeted Monday. “We have recovered democracy and we will regain stability and social peace. United, with dignity and sovereignty,” he said. Interim president Jeanine Anez, who was not running, congratulated Arce and his running mate David Choquehuanca for the likely victory. Arce’s centrist rival Carlos Mesa, 67, came in second with 31.5%, according to the same pollster. If the results hold, the leftwing party of former president Evo Morales, the Movement for Socialism (MAS), will return to power. Although the electoral authority is in the early stage of counting, Morales said on Sunday from Buenos Aires, where he has taken refuge, that Arce had won the presidential election. “Undoubtedly today is an historic day. Once again, the Bolivian people have delivered a lesson in democracy and perseverance. The people have resisted a coup, a de facto government, two massacres, a pandemic management marked by inefficiency and corruption, several delays on the elections and the worst economic crisis in our history,” Morales said.Sunday’s election, which was postponed twice because of the COVID-19 pandemic, was the first in 20 years not to have Morales, the country’s first ever indigenous leader, on the ballot. After allegations of voting irregularities last year Morales resigned in November 2019, after 14 years in power.
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Twitter Blocks Tweet About Masks From White House Coronavirus Team Adviser
Dr. Scott Atlas is a neuroradiologist, a fellow at a conservative-leaning think tank, a science adviser to President Donald Trump and a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force. He is also the latest person in Trump’s world to have a tweet blocked by Twitter. Facebook to Ban Anti-Vaccine AdsThe social media giant says the efforts are part of an attempt to support vaccinesOver the weekend, Atlas tweeted “Masks work? NO,” and said widespread use of masks is not supported, according to the Associated Press. Twitter told the AP that the tweet violated its policy that prohibits false and misleading information about COVID-19 that could lead to harm. The “This Tweet is unavailable” label was put on Atlas’ Twitter feed where his tweet once was.Atlas followed up with another tweet, which remained on the site as of Sunday night. He praised what he called Trump’s “guideline,” which is to “use masks for their intended purpose – when close to others, especially hi risk. Otherwise, social distance. No widespread mandates.” That means the right policy is @realDonaldTrump guideline: use masks for their intended purpose – when close to others, especially hi risk. Otherwise, social distance. No widespread mandates. #CommonSensehttps://t.co/GZpBZxfNYa— Scott W. Atlas (@SWAtlasHoover) October 17, 2020The deletion of Atlas’ tweet is the latest in what has become an ongoing battle between Trump and internet companies. Twitter has blocked or put warnings on Trump’s tweets regarding COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, as well as vote-by-mail. Last week, Twitter temporarily blocked the Trump campaign’s ability to share a story about his presidential challenger, former Vice President Joe Biden. Some congressional leaders accuse Twitter, Facebook and other internet companies of bias and say they are unfairly limiting speech close to the U.S. election. Some have called for the leaders of Twitter and Facebook, which has also taken action on some of Trump’s posts, to testify in front of Congress as soon as the coming week. Twitter told the AP it relies on public health authorities to determine whether a statement is false or misleading.In September, Dr. Robert Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention testified at a congressional hearing that masks are “the most powerful public health tool” against the coronavirus.Atlas, a fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, joined the White House task force in August. A medical doctor, Atlas does not have a background in infectious diseases or public health. He is reportedly helping to shape the White House policies about how to handle the virus, including policies about masks and other issues. Atlas told the AP that Twitter’s actions were censorship. “General population masks and mask mandates do not work,” he said.
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Czechs to Wait 2 Weeks Before Considering COVID Lockdown
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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Turkish Cypriot Hardliner Beats Leftist in Leadership Runoff
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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UK Says Door Remains ‘Ajar’ for Post-Brexit Trade Deal
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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Bolivia’s Vote a High-Stakes Presidential Redo Amid Pandemic
Bolivians vote Sunday in a high-stakes presidential election redo that could determine its democratic future and bring a return of socialism to the country as it struggles with a raging pandemic and protests over last year’s annulled ballot. Bolivia, once one of the most politically volatile countries in Latin America, experienced a rare period of stability under former President Evo Morales, the country’s first Indigenous president who resigned and fled the country late last year after his claimed election win was annulled amid allegations of fraud. His ouster set off a period of unrest that caused at least 36 deaths. Morales called his ouster a coup. Sunday’s vote is a rerun of last year’s election and an attempt to reset Bolivia’s democracy. “Bolivia’s new executive and legislative leaders will face daunting challenges in a polarized country, ravaged by COVID-19, and hampered by endemically weak institutions,” said WOLA, a Washington-based human rights advocacy organization. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres has urged Bolivians to respect the electoral process, and in particular the final result. Ballots, ballot boxes and other materials were delivered to polling stations Saturday by police and military units without incident, officials said. Police and soldiers took to the streets hours later seeking to ensure calm. The country’s Supreme Electoral Court announced late Saturday that it had decided unanimously against reporting running preliminary vote totals as ballots are counted. It said it wanted to avoid the uncertainty that arose when there was a long halt in reporting preliminary results during last year’s election. Council President Salvador Romero said promised a safe and transparent official count, which could take five days. To win in the first round, a candidate needs more than 50% of the vote, or 40% with a lead of at least 10 percentage points over the second-place candidate. A runoff vote, if necessary, would be held Nov. 28. Bolivia’s entire 136-member Legislative Assembly also will be voted in. The election was postponed twice because of the coronavirus pandemic. On a per capita basis, few countries have been hit harder than impoverished, landlocked Bolivia: Nearly 8,400 of its 11.6 million people have died of COVID-19. The election will occur with physical distancing required between masked voters — at least officially, if not in practice. The leading contenders are former Economy Minister Luis Arce, who led an extended boom under Morales, and former President Carlos Mesa. a centrist historian and journalist who was second to Morales in the disputed returns released after last year’s vote. Trailing in all the polls has been Luis Fernando Camacho, a conservative businessman who helped lead last year’s uprising, as well as a Korean-born evangelist. Overshadowing the vote is the absence of Morales, who led Bolivia from 2006 until 2019 and was a key figure in the bloc of leftist leaders who held power across much of South America.FILE – Bolivia’s former President Evo Morales gestures after a news conference, in Mexico City, Mexico, Nov. 27, 2019.Morales, now exiled in Argentina, was barred from running for the presidency or even the Senate by electoral authorities following his ouster. He chose Arce as his stand-in for the Movement Toward Socialism party, and a win by the party would be seen as a victory for Latin America’s left. A boyhood llama herder who became prominent leading a coca grower’s union, Morales had been immensely popular while overseeing an export-led economic surge that reduced poverty during most of his term. But support was eroding due to his reluctance to leave power, increasing authoritarian impulses and a series of corruption scandals. He shrugged aside a public vote that had set term limits, and competed in the October 2019 presidential vote, which he claimed to have narrowly won outright. But a lengthy pause in reporting results fed suspicions of fraud and nationwide protests broke out. When police and military leaders suggested he leave, Morales resigned and fled the country. FILE – This picture released by hte Bolivian goverment shows the interim president of Bolivia, Jeanine Anez, announcing her withdrawal from the presidential race a month before the elections in La Paz, Bolivia, Sept. 17, 2020.Conservative Sen. Jeanne Áñez proclaimed herself president and was accepted by the courts. Her administration, despite lacking a majority in congress, set about trying to prosecute Morales and key aides while undoing his policies, helping prompt more unrest and polarization. She dropped out at as a candidate for Sunday’s presidential election while trailing badly in polls. Most polls have shown Arce with a lead, though likely not enough to avoid a runoff. There is a strong chance the next president will struggle with a divided congress — and perhaps worse, an opposition that refuses to recognize defeat.
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Turkish Cypriots Pick Leader as Stakes Soar in Mediterranean
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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