A trio of space travelers has launched successfully to the International Space Station, for the first time using a fast-track maneuver to reach the orbiting outpost in just three hours. NASA’s Kate Rubins along with Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov of the Russian space agency Roscosmos lifted off as scheduled Wednesday morning from the Russia-leased Baikonur space launch facility in Kazakhstan for a six-month stint on the station.   For the first time, they are trying a two-orbit, three-hour approach to the orbiting space outpost. Previously it took twice as long for the crews to reach the station.   They will join the station’s NASA commander, Chris Cassidy, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner, who have been aboard the complex since April and are scheduled to return to Earth in a week. Speaking during Tuesday’s pre-launch news conference at Baikonur, Rubins emphasized that the crew spent weeks in quarantine at the Star City training facility outside Moscow and then on Baikonur to avoid any threat from the coronavirus.   “We spent two weeks at Star City and then 17 days at Baikonur in a very strict quarantine,” Rubins said. “During all communications with crew members, we were wearing masks. We made PCR tests twice and we also made three times antigen fast tests.” She said she was looking forward to scientific experiments planned for the mission.   “We’re planning to try some really interesting things like bio-printing tissues and growing cells in space and, of course, continuing our work on sequencing DNA,” Rubins said. Ryzhikov, who will be the station’s skipper, said the crew will try to pinpoint the exact location of a leak at a station’s Russian section that has slowly leaked oxygen. The small leak hasn’t posed any immediate danger to the crew.   “We will take with us additional equipment which will allow us to detect the place of this leak more precisely,” he told reporters. “We will also take with us additional improved hermetic material which will allow to fix the leak.” In November, Rubins, Ryzhikov and Kud-Sverchkov are set to greet NASA’s SpaceX first operational Crew Dragon mission, bringing NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchi to the space station aboard the Crew Dragon vehicle. It follows a successful Demo-2 mission earlier this year. The Crew Dragon mission was pushed back from Oct. 31 into November, and no new date has been set yet. The delay is intended to give SpaceX more time to conduct tests and review data from an aborted Falcon 9 launch earlier this month. 
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Saudi Arabia failed in its bid to win a seat on the controversial U.N. Human Rights Council on Tuesday, but other nations with abysmal rights records, including China and Russia, made it on to the 47-nation body.   “Today is a black day for human rights,” Hillel Neuer, executive director of U.N. Watch, a Geneva-based rights group, said ahead of the vote.  The General Assembly elected by secret ballot Bolivia, Britain, China, Cuba, France, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Malawi, Mexico, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Senegal, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. They will serve three-year terms beginning Jan. 1, 2021.   The outcome of the vote was mostly preordained, with candidates put forward by regional groups that set forth the same number of candidates as seats. The only contested group was Asia-Pacific, which saw Saudi Arabia lose to China, Pakistan, Nepal and Uzbekistan for the four available seats.   Nations elected to the Geneva-based HRC are expected to “uphold the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights” both at home and abroad. Human rights groups have strongly criticized many of the new members for having shoddy or appalling rights records.   “Serial rights abusers should not be rewarded with seats on the Human Rights Council,” said Louis Charbonneau, U.N. director for New York-based rights group Human Rights Watch.  He pointed to China’s “massive” violation of human rights at home and efforts to undermine “the international human rights system they’re demanding to be a part of.”  FILE – A man holds a sign during a rally to show support for Uighurs and their fight for human rights, Dec. 22, 2019, Hong Kong.China has detained as many as a million ethnic Uighur Muslims in “re-education camps” in its Xinjiang province and cracked down on freedoms in Hong Kong and Tibet.   Russia, which has been accused of poisoning domestic dissidents, has also used its power in the U.N. Security Council 15 times to shield the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad. Most recently in July, Russia forced the council to cut aid deliveries to millions of Syrians by closing vital border crossing points during the coronavirus pandemic.  Russia and Ukraine took the two available seats in their Eastern European group. In March 2014, Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula, sparking international outrage. A joint evaluation from three rights groups — U.N. Watch, Human Rights Foundation and the Raoul Wallenberg Center for Human Rights — said China, Cuba, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan were unqualified to run for a seat based on their rights’ records. The coalition also deemed Bolivia, Ivory Coast, Malawi, Mexico, Nepal, Senegal and Ukraine’s records as “questionable.”  Under President Donald Trump, the United States withdrew from the HRC two years ago. Then-U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley called the council a “cesspool of political bias” that “makes a mockery of human rights,” primarily for its scrutiny of Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians.   “Prior to making this decision, and after our exit, the United States has urged U.N. member states to take immediate action to reform the Council before it became irreparable,” U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement Tuesday. “Unfortunately, those calls went unheeded, and today the U.N. General Assembly once again elected countries with abhorrent human rights records, including China, Russia and Cuba.” FILE – U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivers his speech during the “Advancing and Defending International Religious Freedom Through Diplomacy” symposium, in Rome, Sept. 30, 2020.Saudi Arabia, which wields financial power in the halls of the United Nations, failed by seven votes to win one of four available seats in the Asia-Pacific regional group.   The kingdom has been involved in a lengthy war in neighboring Yemen that has created the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. The Saudi crown prince has also come under international scrutiny in the aftermath of the murder and dismemberment two years ago of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.  “Saudi Arabia’s failure to win a seat on the Human Rights Council is a welcome reminder of the need for more competition in U.N. elections,” said HRW’s Charbonneau. “Had there been additional candidates, China, Cuba and Russia might have lost, too. But the addition of these undeserving countries won’t prevent the council from shining a light on abuses and speaking up for victims. In fact, by being on the council, these abusers will be directly in the spotlight.”   The Human Rights Council has come under growing criticism in recent years for the number of rights violators among its rotating membership. Advocates warn that these countries use their status on the council as cover for their abuses.    
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Britain’s opposition Labor Party Leader Keir Starmer on Tuesday called on the government to implement a three-week temporary nationwide “circuit breaker” lockdown to stop the spread of COVID-19 throughout Britain.Starmer made the proposal in a speech in London, one day after Prime Minister Boris Johnson introduced his three-tiered regional alert plan designed to simplify and standardize the variety of COVID-related restrictions that have been imposed around the country.But Starmer said Britain is in a decisive moment in the fight against the virus and “there’s no longer time to give this prime minister the benefit of the doubt.””This was not inevitable, but it is now necessary,” he said, acknowledging that the restrictions are largely unpopular.Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks during a coronavirus briefing in Downing Street, London, Oct. 12, 2020.He also said the lockdown idea comes from recommendations made by Britain’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) which said “a package of stringent interventions is now urgently needed” to lower the rate of infection and take strain off hospitals and the National Health service.Quoting SAGE, the opposition leader said, “not acting now will result in a very large epidemic with catastrophic consequences.”Starmer proposed allowing only essential work and travel, restricting household mixing and that all pubs, bars and restaurants should be closed, but also be compensated. He said he understood the measures would require “significant sacrifices across the country.”The Labor Party leader added that schools would not have to close under his proposal, as the lockdown would be timed to coincide with an upcoming school holiday.Speaking directly to Prime Minister Johnson, Starmer said: “You know that the scientific evidence backs this approach … that the restrictions that you introduced won’t be enough.”Starmer’s words will only increase the pressure on the British leader, who has defended his decision not to re-introduce a full lockdown by saying he was trying to protect lives and livelihoods by balancing public health and the economy.
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Turkish drones are playing a big role in supporting Azerbaijan’s offensive in Nagorno Karabakh. With Turkey deploying them from Syria to Libya, they have become an integral part of Ankara’s efforts to project its power beyond its borders. But as Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul, the Turkish drone industry is facing international pushback.
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It didn’t go exactly as planned, but for one Japanese tourist, his dream of visiting the Incan ruins of Machu Picchu finally came true. 
 
Jesse Takayama arrived in Peru nearly seven months ago with the sole purpose of visiting iconic Andean landmark. Because of the coronavirus lockdown, the 500-year-old site was closed, and he ended up trapped in a small, nearby town of Aguas Calientes. Originally, he’d only planned to stay in Peru a few days. 
 
As the months passed, Takayama began to run out of money, and it looked as if his dream of visiting the UNESCO site would never happen. 
 
“I go to run every morning and I could see Machu Picchu afar in distance,” Katayama told CNN. “I thought I would never make it to Machu Picchu as I was expecting it won’t open within this year, but I was OK with it because I had a great time here.” 
 
But finally, thanks to an intervention by the Peruvian government, he was allowed to enter Machu Picchu, the first person to visit for nearly seven months. 
 
“He had come to Peru with the dream of being able to enter,” said Peru’s Minister of Culture Alejandro Neyra in a virtual press conference. “The Japanese citizen has entered together with our head of the park so that he can do this before returning to his country.” 
 
Takayama, was grateful for the long-delayed opportunity. 
 
“I thought I never make it [to Machu Picchu], but everyone asked the government and the town, and they gave me super special permission,” the Osaka native wrote in an Instagram post. “Peruvians are soooo kind. Thank you soooo much!” 
 
According to CNN, Takayama will head back to Japan on Oct. 16. 
 
“I will definitely cry,” he says about his farewell to Aguas Calientes. “These seven months have been very special to me. I have discovered a new part of me.” 
 
Neyra said Machu Picchu would re-open to tourists in November, but only at 30% of the normal capacity of 675 visitors per day. 
 
Peru locked down early in the pandemic but has suffered one of the worst fatality rates in the world. It has 851,171 cases and more than 33,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. 
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As France helps spearhead diplomatic efforts to end the latest clashes over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, the country’s Armenian diaspora along with leading French politicians are calling on Paris to abandon neutrality and side with Armenia. The uptick in violence is also increasing tensions between France and Turkey — as Lisa Bryant reports for VOA from Paris.
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Fighting between the former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan is now in its third week — and has killed and injured hundreds in Europe’s south Caucasus region. But as Charles Maynes reports from Moscow, the conflict is also testing Russia’s traditional influence over the region.Producer:  Ricardo Marquina
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An anti-corruption watchdog on Tuesday ranked the United States and United Kingdom as the largest exporters most active at enforcing rules meant to prohibit companies from paying bribes in foreign markets, but said many others are doing next to nothing.   Berlin-based Transparency International said only four of 47 countries — the U.S., U.K., Switzerland and Israel, making up 16.5% of global exports — were actively enforcing legislation against foreign bribery in 2019. That’s down from seven countries, making up 27% of exports, that were conducting active enforcement in 2018.   “Our research shows that many countries are barely investigating foreign bribery,” said Gillian Dell, the lead author of the Transparency report. “Unfortunately, it’s all too common for businesses in wealthy countries to export corruption to poorer countries, undermining institutions and development.”   The 1997 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development convention prohibits bribes to win contracts and licenses, or to dodge taxes and local laws. China, the world’s largest exporter and not a signatory to the convention, was found to conduct “little or no enforcement,” in a category that also includes India, and convention members Japan and Korea. Germany, the world’s third-largest exporter and also signatory to the convention, only conducts “moderate enforcement,” as do other major exporters like France, Italy and Spain. Germany and Italy both pursued fewer cases in 2019 than in the previous year, while France and Spain improved their performance. The Netherlands, Canada and Austria — all signatories to the convention — are the biggest exporters in the category of those showing only “limited enforcement.”   “Too many governments choose to turn a blind eye when their companies use bribery to win business in foreign markets,” Transparency International head Delia Ferreira Rubio said. “G-20 countries and other major economies have a responsibility to enforce the rules.”   Transparency’s recommendations include ending secrecy in ownership of companies, which makes investigating foreign bribery difficult, and exploring increased liability of parent companies for the actions of their foreign subsidiaries. 
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Peru’s social insurance system announced the rate of weekly coronavirus infections nationwide dropped between 50 to 70 percent in several regions during a recent two week period. The EsSalud Heat Map report revealed coronavirus cases decreased more than 50 percent in 17 provinces.   Four regions, including Puno, Madre de Dios, Amazonas, and Moquegua experienced the greatest decline, with cases dropping more than 70 percent.  EsSalud’s Intelligence and Data Analysis Unit Chief Dante Cersso appealed to Peruvians to remain vigilant in their safety practices. The reduction in new cases in the capital, Lima fell as much as 36 percent. According to Cersso, the latest figures mirror the tally for cases recorded in late April. The reductions in new infections are noteworthy because Peru has been among the leaders in COVID-19 infections in Latin America. So far, Peru has reported more than 851,000 infections and 33,357 deaths. 
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Turkish police detained dozens of people on Tuesday in a search for 167 suspects, many of them active duty soldiers, in a move against supporters of a Muslim preacher the government accuses of organizing a failed coup in 2016, state media reported.   The detentions were the latest in a four-year-old crackdown targeting the network of U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen. He denies involvement in the July 2016 putsch, in which some 250 people were killed.   Authorities launched an operation from the coastal province of Izmir in search of 110 suspects, including 16 pilots, colonels, and lieutenant colonels, across 26 provinces, broadcaster TRT Haber said. It said 89 suspects had been detained. In a separate operation targeting Gulen’s followers, police sought 57 other suspects across 15 provinces, the state-owned Anadolu news agency said, adding that 32 people had been detained. Police spokesmen were not immediately available for comment.   Since the abortive putsch, some 80,000 people have been held pending trial and about 150,000 civil servants, military personnel and others sacked or suspended. More than 20,000 people had been expelled from the Turkish military.   Rights groups and Turkey’s Western allies have criticized the scale of the crackdown, saying the government was using it as a pretext to quash dissent. The government has denied the accusation, saying the measures are necessary for national security. 
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Cuba is easing coronavirus restrictions in an effort to jumpstart the economy by reopening retail businesses, government offices and resuming airports operations across the island except in the capital, Havana, where an outbreak occurred in August. The popular beach resort town of Varadero will begin welcoming international visitors Thursday. All tourists arriving in Cuba are required to undergo mandatory testing and their hygiene practices will be monitored during their visit. Everyone in Cuba is required to wear face masks and maintain a safe distance from one another.  The pandemic has reportedly choked the lifeblood of Cuba, the island’s $3 billion tourism industry, which has suffered since March when the first coronavirus cases were reported.  The Associated Press reports the pandemic has mostly been controlled across Cuba,  with President Miguel Díaz-Canel saying some communities have not logged any new cases in several months.  The island nation has reported 6,000 COVID-19 cases and 123 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.   
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International flights are arriving and departing Panama’s Tocumen airport again after nearly seven months of restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic. Monday’s restart of flight operations is part of a gradual nationwide reopening of businesses and industry which began in June. Initially, seven international airlines are expected to operate, with four others set to resume operations later this week. According to Raffoul Arab, Tocumen International Airport manager, the reactivation of commercial aviation will happen gradually as the different countries complete the opening of their borders. The frequency of flights will increase, especially when people recover their confidence in flying. International travelers must submit a negative COVID-19 test before boarding flights to the Central American country.  Panama has confirmed more than 120,000 coronavirus cases of coronavirus and at least 2,491 deaths. 
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Belarus’ government says police will now be permitted to use firearms against protesters “if need be” as demonstrations demanding the resignation of President Alexander Lukashenko continued Monday.The Interior Ministry said in a statement Monday that the rallies “have become organized and extremely radical.””In this regard, the Interior Ministry’s employees and internal troops will not leave the streets and, if necessary, will use special equipment and military weapons,” it said.The ministry also announced Monday that more than 700 people were detained in demonstrations a day earlier. It said that of those detained Sunday, 570 of them were still in custody awaiting a court hearing.More than 2,000 mostly elderly people took part Monday in a “march of pensioners” against the government in the capital, Minsk. They chanted “go away” and some waved flags symbolizing the opposition.Videos from the demonstration showed police responding with flare guns and tear gas.Large protests have taken place each weekend since Lukashenko claimed victory in a disputed Aug. 9 election. Demonstrators have demanded his resignation as well as the release of political prisoners. Riot police clashed with protesting pensioners in central Minsk, Belarus, Oct. 12, 2020.Earlier Monday, European Union foreign ministers agreed to impose sanctions on Lukashenko as well as other senior officials.Speaking to reporters ahead of the meeting of EU foreign policy chiefs in Luxemburg, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said that renewed violence against protesters in Minsk could not be ignored.”The violence continues, perpetrated by the Lukashenko regime — there are still arrests of peaceful demonstrators, so we have to consider how to proceed,” Maas, whose country holds the EU’s rotating presidency, said.”I have suggested that we establish a new package of sanctions. And Lukashenko should be among the people who will then be sanctioned,” Maas said.The EU had previously imposed travel bans and asset freezes on 40 Lukashenko allies, but did not include Lukashenko in the list.On Saturday, Lukashenko held an unusual meeting with jailed opposition leaders.“The goal of the president was to hear everyone’s opinion,” his office said of the visit.Lukashenko’s main opposition candidate in the election, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, is now based in Lithuania after fleeing Belarus for her safety. Lukashenko maintains he won the poll in a landslide — garnering 80% of all ballots — despite widespread claims at home and abroad that the vote was heavily rigged to keep him in power. He has been in office for 26 years.  Public anger has grown over the crackdown in the wake of the protests that have seen more than 7,500 arrests and police violence against demonstrators.    Hundreds have emerged from police custody with bruises and tales of torture at the hands of Lukashenko’s security agents. Lukashenko has said the protests are encouraged and supported by the West and accused NATO of moving forces near Belarusian borders. The alliance has denied the accusations. 
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NGHE AN, Vietnam – Le Minh Tuan has curled up in the bed of his deceased son every night since the young man suffocated in a truck in Britain alongside dozens of other Vietnamese migrants one year ago. Four men are on trial in London over the deaths of the 39 Vietnamese men and women, facing various charges, including manslaughter and conspiracy to smuggle people. But Tuan – like many of the grieving relatives – does not hold them responsible for the appalling tragedy. “I don’t blame anyone,” he told AFP at his home in central Nghe An province, sobbing as he spoke. “I wish I could go to the UK to attend the trial, and to burn incense in the place where they found my dead son,” he added. His 30-year-old son, Le Van Ha, had paid smugglers for passage from Vietnam to Europe — zigzagging from Turkey to Greece, then France — with Britain as his final destination in his bid for a better life. A rice farmer whose dream of becoming a policeman never quite materialized, Ha left his two young children and wife last summer. His body was found on Oct. 23 in Essex, southeast England, in an unbearably hot and dark container truck that had been sealed for at least 12 hours.  Among the others who died beside him were 10 teenagers, including two 15-year-old boys, and 20-year-old Nguyen Dinh Luong, who had desperately tried to call emergency services as they began to run out of air. Almost a year since the tragedy, prosecutors say that the four accused smugglers were attempting to move two lorryloads of migrants in one to avoid interception by authorities. But like Tuan, Luong’s parents bear no anger toward the accused. “They did not let them die deliberately,” father Nguyen Van Gia told AFP. FILE – Nguyen Gia, father of the late 20-year-old Nguyen Dinh Luong who was among 39 people found dead in a truck in Britain last year, in his house in Can Loc district of Vietnam’s Ha Tinh province, Oct. 11, 2020.At his home in Ha Tinh province, neighboring Nghe An, Gia and his wife have displayed an altar adorned with pictures of their young son. Luong was one of eight children and had worked and lived in France since 2018 before heading to Britain for better opportunities.  “No one forced him to travel, he just had bad luck,” Gia said. ‘The lucky ones’  Like others from Vietnam’s impoverished central provinces, the men were enticed by brokers to embark on illegal and dangerous journeys overseas. Young men and women often spend tens of thousands of dollars to escape the region’s rice farms, chasing dreams of riches overseas. But many end up illegally working in nail bars or on cannabis farms in Britain, heavily indebted and subject to exploitation. Yet most migrants do not see themselves as victims because they make the choice to leave, according to local charity Blue Dragon’s Le Thi Hong Luong, who specializes in anti-trafficking efforts. Last year’s tragedy also did little to deter interest, she said, adding that many more will likely attempt the same journey once the pandemic ends and borders reopen. “A lot of people still want to go,” she said. A huge incentive for them are the massive homes and cars in their provinces paid for by Vietnamese migrants working overseas — the rare success tales that hopeful youngsters believe to be the norm. “People in Vietnam just think that those (who died) were unlucky people, but that will not be their story,” she said. “They will be the lucky ones.” ‘I miss him so much’  Tuan’s son Ha was heavily in debt before he left. He paid $8,500 to build the family house on top of the $30,000 he handed to smugglers, and his family had been relying on him to land a decent salary in Britain. FILE – Le Minh Tuan, father of the late 30-year-old Le Van Ha who was among 39 people found dead in a truck in Britain last year, holding Ha’s son in their house in Vietnam’s Nghe An province, Oct. 10, 2020.They now face even greater economic hardship. “We are really in financial trouble,” Tuan said, explaining that his family’s mountain of debt had grown further still after the state loaned them close to $3,000 to fly Ha’s body home. Like many others, local beliefs that it is bad luck to buy from a family with a recently deceased relative — particularly if they were young or killed in an accident — have compounded his misfortune. A carpenter by trade, Tuan’s neighbors have ordered him not to make anything for them. “This will last two years, which means I can’t do anything to earn money,” he said. The pain of his loss, as well as its consequences, is almost too much to bear. “I don’t know how to go on,” admitted Tuan. “I miss him so much.”  
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French Prime Minister Jean Castex warned Monday that France could impose further restrictions — including a lockdown — as the coronavirus is spreading rapidly, and the situation in hospitals is deteriorating there.In an interview with news broadcaster France Info on Monday, Castex said the country was facing a “strong” second wave of new infections and urged that all citizens be mobilized, saying, “There can be no more slackening.”The government announced nine large cities, including Paris and Marseille, will be placed under maximum virus alert beginning Tuesday. While local governments have objected, bars and other public establishments will be closed in those areas. Castex called on French residents to limit private gatherings in their homes.The prime minister said the French Defense Council will meet this week to examine epidemiological data “to see if there is a reason to go farther.” He said a “general lockdown” of the country “must be avoided by all means,” but said no option is being excluded.President Emmanuel Macron is expected to address the nation later Monday.According to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, France currently has 732,434 infections and more than 32,600 deaths. It ranks second in Europe behind Spain in the number of cases. 
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Haitian President Jovenel Moise is calling on the country’s justice and police departments to bring to light the circumstances surrounding the death earlier this month of a university student, allegedly at the hands of police.  Moise also appealed to student protesters to remain calm as the nation awaits the findings of investigators in the case of 29-year-old Gregory Saint-Hilaire. “All those involved must do their jobs – which means the justice department, including the police, DCPG (the director general of the national police force) – everyone in general. We must find the truth surrounding the death of the student,” Moise said in a video posted on his official Facebook page.  University students in the capital, Port-au-Prince, organized five days of protests last week, at times becoming violent, to demand justice and revenge in the death of Saint-Hilaire.  He was killed on university grounds while demanding the teaching job he was promised after graduating. The national ministry of education signed an agreement with the Ecole Normale Superieure (the state university Saint-Hilaire attended) offering internships and teaching jobs to graduates. That didn’t happen, angering students, who accused officials of playing politics.  FILE – Haitian President Jovenel Moise speaks about  coronavirus measures during a news conference at the National Palace in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, March 2, 2020.”We are out in the streets to ask for our right to life to be respected. This is a fight against impunity, this is a fight against injustice,” a student protester told VOA Creole, adding that the government does not seem prepared to respond to their calls for justice.  Student Jean Ronald Olicier, an eyewitness who was with Saint-Hilaire at the time of his death, told VOA Creole the student was shot in the back by the USGPN [Unite de Securite Generale du Palais National] – the specialized police unit that protects the president and is under his command. Olicier said police fired tear gas at them, then live rounds as they were attempting to leave the university complex where they had been discussing job placement with university officials.   Saint-Hilaire lay bleeding inside the university complex for three hours, Olicier said, before students were able to get him to a hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.  Saint-Hilaire, described by fellow students as an honest man who was fighting for a just cause, lived in the Village de Dieu (Village of God) slum of the Haitian capital, notorious for gang violence. He graduated in 2018 from the Ecole Normale Superieure, which is is near the national palace. He majored in social sciences and then went on to study law at the school.   In his videotaped message, Moise offered condolences to Saint-Hilaire’s family, friends and fellow students, saying he remembered what it was like to be a university student. “I hope the circumstances of his death will be brought to light so we may all know what happened,” he said. “All those who were involved in the murder of the student should pay.”  The president said he wants students to know he has heard their cries and understands their frustration but called on them to remain calm. “Let’s take advantage of this opportunity to embrace the calm because I have to tell you – [repeating] the same actions will produce the same results,” he said.  Haiti’s national police force has been dogged for years by accusations of corruption and human rights violations. The national police (PNH) inspector general has vowed to investigate the crime and bring those responsible for the student’s death to justice. But many Haitians express a lack of confidence that the investigation will lead to an arrest.  
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An independent commission reported Monday that authorities in the Austrian Alpine region of Tyrol acted too slowly to shut down ski resorts in March after they were warned about COVID-19, particularly in the resort town of Ischgl, the scene of what was one of the earliest outbreaks in Europe. The commission, appointed by the Tyrolean regional government in May, released its findings at a briefing in Innsbruck. Chairman Ronald Rohrer said authorities should have acted much sooner to shut down ski buses and cable cars, rather than waiting until March 12. FILE – The ski resort is seen amid the coronavirus outbreak, in Ischgl, Austria, Oct. 9, 2020.Roher told reporters that a group of skiers from Iceland who had been in Ischgl reported symptoms on March 3, more than a week before the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. By March 5, authorities in Tyrol were aware of the situation and started looking for possible contacts.  Rohrer reported that an Ischgl bartender tested positive for the virus on March 7, and the bar where he worked was shut down March 9. The next day, all apres-ski locations were closed. Rohrer said the decision to end the ski season was not made until March 12, and provincial governor Guenther Platter waited two days to give the order.   The commission also faulted federal and local government officials for poor communications after Chancellor Sebastian Kurz announced March 13 that several areas would be put under quarantine but did not explain that foreign tourists and others would be allowed to leave. FILE – Police at a roadblock stop a bus from driving in and out of the Paznauntal, near Landeck, Austrian province of Tyrol, March 14, 2020.Thousands of people contracted COVID-19 in Ischgl, most likely from crowded apres-ski bars, and then spread it across Europe as the tourists traveled home.  Last month, an Austrian consumer protection group filed four civil lawsuits against the country’s government for failing to contain the coronavirus outbreak at the ski resort. The cases were said to be laying the groundwork for a class-action lawsuit on behalf of at least 1,000 people who tested positive for COVID-19 following trips to Ischgl in February and March. 
 
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The ongoing conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh has triggered an outpouring of support from Los Angeles’s Armenian community, one of the largest in the world.
On October 10, U.S. reality television star Kim Kardashian, who is of Armenian descent, announced she had donated $1 million to the Armenia Fund, which seeks to provide humanitarian relief efforts such as food, shelter, and medical care for those affected by the conflict.
“My thoughts and prayers are with the brave men, women and children. I want everyone to remember that despite the distance that separates us, we are not limited by borders and we are one global Armenian nation together,” Kardashian said in a video message to her followers on Instagram.The reality TV star and business mogul, whose father was a third-generation Armenian-American, has often spoken out about issues affecting Armenia and its people. View this post on InstagramI’m so honored to be part of today’s global effort to support the @armeniafund. I’ve been speaking out about the current situation in Armenia and Artsakh and having conversations with so many others to bring further awareness to the crisis that we cannot allow to advance. My thoughts and prayers are with the brave men, women and children. I want everyone to remember that despite the distance that separates us, we are not limited by borders and we are one global Armenian nation together. The @armeniafund is directly helping those that have been impacted during this critical time with humanitarian aid through food, shelter, and medical care. I will be donating $1M to assist their efforts on the ground and invite you to join me. Whether you are helping with just raising awareness and posting on social media or donating just $1, every bit helps. Let’s make this our most successful fundraiser ever. Thank you so much. 🇦🇲 ❤️💙🧡A post shared by Kim Kardashian West (@kimkardashian) on Oct 10, 2020 at 1:01pm PDTHer famous sisters, Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian, also took to Instagram to call for joining the pan-Armenian fund-raiser.
The next day, thousands of people protested in Los Angeles in support of Armenians, waving Armenian flags, chanting, and carrying signs.FILE – People take part in a protest by Armenian Youth Federation against what they call Azerbaijan’s aggression against Armenia and the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region outside the Azerbaijani Consulate General in Los Angeles, California.Meanwhile, the city’s Armenian community has been rallying around calls to support Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, with multiple restaurants offering donation deals and charity initiatives aimed at raising funds.
Southern California is home to the largest Armenian population in the United States; an East Hollywood neighborhood was designated Little Armenia in 2000.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti tweeted in support of the protesters, attaching a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo from a group of mayors and congressional lawmakers urging the United States to help deescalate tensions in the conflict.
“As proud representatives of Armenian-American communities across our country, we share their deep concerns about the violence being inflicted upon Artsakh, the growing number of civilian casualties, and the involvement of regional actors like Turkey and Iran,” the letter reads.Armenians refer to Nagorno-Karabakh as Artsakh.
“We ask that you lead the effort to bring Armenia and Azerbaijan back to the negotiating table, and persuade Turkey to disengage,” the letter states.
There was no mention of Azerbaijani casualties.
Azerbaijan’s consul-general to the western United States, Nasimi Aghayev, condemned the Los Angeles mayor for ignoring the deaths of civilians in rocket attacks by Armenian forces on Azerbaijani cities.
“Is there no limit to political expediency? No red lines? Should the #politics always be about campaign money & votes?” he wrote, adding a video showing the damage and casualties caused by Armenian attacks on Ganca, Azerbaijan’s second-largest city.@MayorOfLA, how can you stand with the #murderers of innocent #Azerbaijani #civilians, killed ruthlessly by #Armenia in their sleep? Is there no limit to political expediency? No red lines? Should the #politics always be about campaign money & votes? pic.twitter.com/v86ugzTTvK— Nasimi Aghayev 🇦🇿 (@NasimiAghayev) October 12, 2020@MayorOfLA, this line from your letter is very disturbing. #Armenia-#Azerbaijan conflict has nothing to do with #religion. Any attempt to bring religion into it plays into hands of #Islamophobes & must be condemned. Suggest this reading for elucidation: https://t.co/Mf1YZuT9UIpic.twitter.com/5VCyDMUYDB— Nasimi Aghayev 🇦🇿 (@NasimiAghayev) October 12, 2020The protest came as fragile cease-fire between Armenia and Azerbaijan has come under strain as both sides have accused the other of violations, including rocket attacks and shelling of cities.
Hundreds of soldiers and an unknown number of civilians have been killed on both sides since fighting erupted on September 27, in the biggest escalation in the conflict since the shaky 1994 cease-fire.
At one point, a crowd of at least 20,000 people gathered in front of the Turkish Consulate in Beverly Hills to condemn Turkey’s support for Azerbaijan.
The demonstration appeared to be largely peaceful.
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Lithuania’s opposition conservative Homeland Union party claimed victory Monday in the first round of the country’s general election, winning 23 seats in 141-seat parliament as the center-right opposition appears on track to win the vote, defeating the ruling four-party coalition.
The Farmers and Greens Union, which forms the backbone of the Baltic nation’s current ruling coalition, finished second with 16 seats outright and many fewer candidates making it into the second round of voting being held on Oct. 25.
Two liberal parties — the Freedom Party and the Liberal Movement — considered likely allies in a future center-right coalition, claimed a total of 14 seats. The center-left Labour party won 9 seats and the Social Democrats got 8. Six parties will be represented in the Seimas parliament, according to initial results.
Three candidates in single-member constituencies claimed victory in the first round of voting including the former finance minister and one of the Homeland Union’s leaders, Ingrida Simonyte, a former candidate for president who oversaw drastic austerity cuts during the global financial crisis. She could likely be the country’s next prime minister.
Under Lithuania’s election system, the remaining 68 lawmakers will be elected in a proportional vote on Oct. 25.
“We choose the path of consolidation and cooperation, not the one of drawing lines and confrontation,” the young leader of conservatives, Gabrielius Landsbergis, said at a press conference Monday.
He is the grandson of Lithuanian independence leader Vytautas Landsbergis, who was the Baltic country’s first president.
Lithuania has kept up strong democratic traditions since regaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1990. It has also played a major role as the protests in neighboring Belarus unfold against that nation’s authoritarian leader.
The southernmost Baltic country of less than 3 million has seen a recent surge in COVID-19 cases. So far Lithuania has seen 5,500 confirmed coronavirus cases and just above 100 deaths. The center-right coalition government has faced strong criticism over soaring virus-related unemployment.
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