Madrid’s ancient and emblematic Rastro flea market reopened Sunday after a contentious eight-month closure because of the COVID-19 pandemic that has walloped the Spanish capital. With many major European flea markets still shut down, the Rastro’s return seems to be another example of Madrid’s bid to show that heavy coronavirus restrictions may not be necessary even among the latest surge of the virus and some sort of normality can resume with precautions.  That stance has been both criticized and lauded. After lengthy negotiations, city authorities agreed the Rastro could open at 50% capacity, with half its 1,000 stalls alternating each Sunday for a maximum crowd of 2,700 people.  Police with backup drones will monitor the market to avoid overcrowding. Dating back to the 1700s, the Rastro sells the usual flea market mix of antiques, clothes, furniture, bric-a-brac and curios in stalls that snake down through a warren-like district next to Madrid’s majestic Plaza Mayor square.  Long a traditional meeting and drinking place, the bustling Sunday morning market used to attract thousands of tourists and locals alike. If you arrived after 11 a.m., it was almost impossible to move. Spain has been one of Europe’s hardest-hit countries in the pandemic, recording more than 1.5 million coronavirus cases and over 42,500 deaths. 
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Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday that his country, an official candidate for European Union membership, sees itself as an inseparable part of Europe but will not give in to attacks and double standards. “We see ourselves as an inseparable part of Europe… However this does not mean that we will bow down to overt attacks to our country and nation, veiled injustices and double standards,” Erdogan said in a speech to the members of its AK Party. Turkey’s drilling activities in a disputed part of the eastern Mediterranean have raised tensions with the EU as Turkey locked in a dispute with and Greece and Cyprus over the extent of their continental shelves and hydrocarbon resources. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said this month that Turkey’s rhetoric on Cyprus was aggravating tensions with the EU and Ankara had to understand that its behaviour was “widening its separation” from the bloc. The EU will discuss Turkey’s pursuit of natural gas exploration in contested waters in the eastern Mediterranean at their next summit in December, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday. “We do not believe that we have any problems with countries or institutions that cannot be solved through politics, dialogue and negotiations,” Erdogan said. 
Erdogan, connected to the event through videolink, said that the EU should keep its promises regarding the migrants issue and making Turkey a full member of the bloc. He was referring to a 2016 deal under which Ankara curbed migrant entries into Europe in exchange for financial help and visa-free travel in the Schengen region. Turkey recently extended the seismic survey work being carried out by its Oruc Reis ship in a disputed part of the eastern Mediterranean until Nov. 29, according to a naval notice. 
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Skeletal remains of what are believed to have been a rich man and his male slave attempting to escape death from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius nearly 2,000 years ago have been discovered in Pompeii, officials at the archaeological park in Italy said Saturday.Parts of the skulls and bones of the two men were found during excavation of the ruins from what was once an elegant villa with a panoramic view of the Mediterranean Sea on the outskirts of the ancient Roman city destroyed by the volcano eruption in 79 A.D. It’s the same area where a stable with the remains of three harnessed horses were excavated in 2017.Pompeii officials said the men apparently escaped the initial fall of ash from Mount Vesuvius then succumbed to a powerful volcanic blast that took place the next morning. The later blast “apparently invaded the area from many points, surrounding and burying the victims in ash,” Pompeii officials said in a statement.The remains of the two victims, lying next to each other on their backs, were found in a layer of gray ash at least 2 meters deep, they said.As has been done when other remains have been discovered at the Pompeii site, archaeologists poured liquid chalk into the cavities, or void, left by the decaying bodies in the ash and pumice that rained down from the volcano near modern-day Naples and demolished the upper levels of the villa.The technique, pioneered in the 1800s, gives the image not only of the shape and position of the victims in the throes of death, but makes the remains “seem like statues,” said Massimo Osanna, an archaeologist who is director general of the archaeological park operated under the jurisdiction of the Italian Culture Ministry.Judging by cranial bones and teeth, one of the men was young, likely aged 18 to 25, with a spinal column with compressed discs. That finding led archaeologists to hypothesize that he was a young man who did manual labor, like that of a slave.The other man had a robust bone structure, especially in his chest area, and died with his hands on his chest and his legs bent and spread apart. He was estimated to have been 30 to 40 years old, Pompeii officials said. Fragments of white paint were found near the man’s face, probably remnants of a collapsed upper wall, the officials said.Both skeletons were found in a side room along an underground corridor, or passageway, known in ancient Roman times as a cryptoporticus, which led to the upper level of the villa.“The victims were probably looking for shelter in the cryptoporticus, in this underground space, where they thought they were better protected,” said Osanna.Instead, on the morning of Oct. 25, 79 A.D., a “blazing cloud (of volcanic material) arrived in Pompeii and… killed anyone it encountered on its way,” Osanna said.Based on the impression of fabric folds left in the ash layer, it appeared the younger man was wearing a short, pleated tunic, possibly of wool. The older victim, in addition to wearing a tunic, appeared to have had a mantle over his left shoulder.Mount Vesuvius remans an active volcano. While excavations continue at the site near Naples, tourists are currently barred from the archaeological park under national anti-COVID-19 measures.
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The United Nations’ refugee agency is urging Greece to stamp out migrant abuse and investigate multiple accusations of pushbacks at the country’s sea and land borders with neighboring Turkey.The UNHCR statement issued late Thursday echoes portions of a report published hours earlier by the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT). The CPT report says Greece engaged in repeatedly pushing back migrants and encouraged similar actions by European forces deployed along its porous frontiers as part of a concerted effort to crack down on illegal migration.Forcing migrants to turn around is a serious breach of international law, violating asylum-seekers’ right to safe passage and protection.Croatia, France, Spain and Italy — all of which face similar migration challenges — also have been accused of engaging in unlawful, sometimes violent pushbacks.Earlier this week the EU Observer published emails from the EU border agency commonly known as Frontex citing an October incident in which Danish coast guard officers assisting Greek authorities refused orders to force migrants and asylum-seekers onto a small boat bound for Turkey.Frontex chief Fabrice Leggeri last month called the incident a “misunderstanding,” describing it as an “isolated incident” during questioning by European lawmakers.Details of the published emails, however, show that a Danish coast guard crew based in the Aegean Sea rejected the pushback order despite alleged recommendations by Greek authorities. They instead issued new orders for the migrants to be returned to a harbor on Greece’s southeastern Aegean island of Kos, which lies roughly 23 kilometers southwest of the Turkish port city of Bodrum.’Rescue, support, register’“UNHCR calls on Greece to continue rescuing, providing immediate support and registering new arrivals seeking protection,” said a prepared statement released by the office of Peter Kessler, the refugee agency’s senior communications officer. “UNHCR firmly reiterates its call on Greece to refrain from any practices that may involve informal returns of people to Turkey after they have reached Greek soil or territorial waters.”Kessler called out Greek authorities for allegedly underreporting land and sea arrivals from neighboring Turkey — a move believed to provide local authorities a free hand to conduct illegal pushbacks.Greece has grappled with accusations of forced migrant returns and abuse since 2015, when about a million refugees, mainly from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, arrived in Europe to escape violence at home.Inflows have since see-sawed, reaching record lows since the start of the year with a total of 14,600 sea and land entries, according to UNHCR data.Accusations rejectedGreek migration officials did not immediately comment on either the pushback accusations or calls by the EU and UNHCR to stamp out migrant abuse.The government in Athens has repeatedly denied engaging in pushbacks or abuse of migrants, calling accounts part of an “unsubstantiated fake news campaign” orchestrated by its longtime regional rival, Turkey.Earlier this year, Turkey condemned Greek security forces for using tear gas and water cannons on migrants attempting to enter the country and accused those same forces of opening fire and killing at least three migrants trying to cross the border from Turkey into the European Union.Tens of thousands of migrants have been trying to get into EU member Greece since Turkey said on Feb. 28 it would no longer keep them on its territory as part of a 2016 deal with Brussels reached in return for European aid.Athens on March 1 suspended asylum applications for a month in what it called a strategy to prevent migrants from illegally entering the EU.’Ill treatment, inhumane conditions’According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), a Senegalese asylum-seeker in March said Greek security forces fired on a group of migrants and that he saw two men fall to the ground before he fled from the area.The New York-based rights group could not verify the shooting but accused the European Union of “hiding behind a shield of Greek security force abuse instead of helping Greece protect asylum-seekers and relocate them safely throughout the EU.”In its lengthy report issued Thursday, the CPT task force deployed to Greece earlier this year found recurring cases of migrant abuse, mainly by local police and coast guard officers.“The ill-treatment,” CPT said in its report, “consisted primarily of slaps to the head and kicks and truncheon blows to the body [mainly during arrest or transfer to detention cells.]”The CPT report described the detention facilities as inhumane.“Migrants continue to be held in detention centers composed of large barred cells crammed with beds, with poor lighting and ventilation, dilapidated and broken toilets and washrooms, insufficient personal hygiene, inadequate food and no access to outdoor daily exercise.”HRW in March issued a report stating that Greek authorities arbitrarily detained nearly 2,000 migrants and asylum-seekers in “unacceptable conditions” at mainland detention centers, denying them the right to lodge asylum claims.“[Greek] authorities claim they are holding the new arrivals, including children, persons with disabilities, older people, and pregnant women, in quarantine due to COVID-19, but the absence of even basic health precautions is likely to help the virus spread,” the report states.Greek government spokesperson Stelios Petsas has staunchly denied the criticism, insisting that Greek officials “tell everyone that they shouldn’t attempt to get in through the window.”“There is a door,” Petsas told reporters at a March press conference. “Whoever is entitled to protection should knock on that door and be entitled to protection based on international law.”He also rejected a New York Times report of secret Greek “black sites” where detainees are denied access to lawyers and cannot file asylum claims.Since surging to power last year, Greece’s ruling conservatives have taken an increasingly strong-armed approach to illegal migration, insisting that the EU help shoulder the burden and cost of Europe’s lingering refugee population.Earlier this year, Turkey warned it would no longer uphold a 2016 agreement with the European Union to continue hosting migrants on its soil in exchange for billions in aid.UNHCR says Turkey is currently home to 3.6 million registered Syrian refugees and an estimated 370,000 refugees and asylum-seekers of other nationalities.Greece currently hosts an estimated 186,000 refugees and asylum-seekers, including more than 5,000 unaccompanied minors.Reuters contributed to this story. 
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Hundreds of protesters broke into Guatemala’s Congress and burned part of the building Saturday amid growing demonstrations against President Alejandro Giammattei and the legislature for approving a budget that cut educational and health spending.The protest came as about 7,000 people were demonstrating in front of the National Palace in Guatemala City against the budget, which protesters say was negotiated and passed by legislators in secret while the Central American country was distracted by the fallout of back-to-back hurricanes and the COVID-19 pandemic.Video on social media showed flames shooting out a window in the legislative building. According to media reports, security agents fired tear gas at protesters and there were people injured.Giammattei condemned the fires in his Twitter account Saturday.Guatemala City Guatemala”Anyone who is proven to have participated in the criminal acts will be punished with the full force of the law.” He wrote that he defended people’s right to protest, “but neither can we allow people to vandalize public or private property.”The president said he had been meeting with various groups to present changes to the controversial budget.Discontent had been building over the 2021 budget on social media and clashes erupted during demonstrations on Friday. Guatemalans were angered because lawmakers approved $65,000 to pay for meals for themselves but cut funding for coronavirus patients and human rights agencies.Vice President Guillermo Castillo has offered to resign, telling Giammattei that both men should resign their positions “for the good of the country.” He also suggested vetoing the approved budget, firing government officials and attempting more outreach to various sectors around the country.Giammattei had not responded publicly to that proposal, and Castillo did not share the president’s reaction to his proposal. Castillo said he would not resign alone.The spending plan was negotiated in secret and approved by the congress before dawn Wednesday. It also passed in the days following the destruction and deaths caused by Hurricanes Eta and Iota, which brought torrential rains to much of Central America.The Roman Catholic Church leadership in Guatemala also called on Giammattei to veto the budget Friday.”It was a devious blow to the people because Guatemala was between natural disasters, there are signs of government corruption, clientelism in the humanitarian aid,” said Jordan Rodas, the country’s human rights prosecutor.He said the budget appeared to favor ministries that have historically been hot spots of corruption.
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France will always remember 2015 as a deadly year with several terrorist attacks, including one that targeted the Charlie Hebdo magazine headquarters and another at the Bataclan concert hall. But one attack was foiled that year on an Amsterdam-to-Paris train.On August 21, a gunman with an AK-47 and a bag of nearly 300 rounds of ammunition boarded the high-speed train to allegedly commit a massacre on behalf of the Islamic State terror group. The trial of those charged in the incident is underway.Jean-Charles Brisard, a counterterrorism expert who chairs the Center for the Analysis of Terrorism, said the armed man, Ayoub El Khazzani, is directly linked to Adelhamid Abaaoud, mastermind of the November 2015 Paris attacks, since the men traveled to Europe from Syria together. Brisard said El Khazzani was a member of the Islamic State and trained in its camps, where he learned how to shoot to stage an attack in Europe.Thanks to the bravery of a few passengers, including three young Americans backpacking through Europe that summer, the gunman was tackled and subdued. They are now back in France to testify at the trial against El Khazzani and his alleged accomplices.’I do not feel like a hero’Five years after saving many lives, Aleksander Skarlatos said he still does not consider himself as a hero. He instead credited his friend and co-passenger Spencer Stone, who helped subdue the assailant.“I do not feel like a hero because we were just doing what we had to to survive,” he said. “I think Spencer is probably a hero because he was the first one to get [to the attacker]. We only got involved because Spencer needed our help.”Since 2015, Europe has been hit by many terrorist attacks. The most recent ones have occurred in Vienna and in France, where a teacher was beheaded near Paris and three people were killed in a church in Nice.European police are on highest alert because of the terror threat.Counterterrorism expert Brisard said that since the attempted attack on the train, terrorist strikes have evolved. He said analysis shows jihadists may operate alone but are all connected, in France or abroad, and are inspired by an ideology and jihadist propaganda.The trial will resume Monday with the testimony of Stone. He was supposed to testify earlier but was hospitalized when he landed in Paris before the trial. No details about his condition were released.
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More than 15 million people in Europe have been infected with coronavirus, making it the worst-hit region in the world.  Authorities hope new lockdowns will get the situation under control.  More with VOA Correspondent Mariama Diallo.
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Spain continues to struggle with an influx of migrants arriving at the Canary Islands in recent weeks.Nearly 17,000 migrants have arrived this year, which has overwhelmed a temporary facility at Arguineguin port on Gran Canaria, AFP reported. The facility was designed to hold 400, AP noted, adding that many migrants sleep on concrete and spend hours exposed to direct sunlight.The Associated Press reported that Spanish officials opened a secondary holding facility for about 200 to try to relieve some of the pressure. Reuters on Friday reported the government also promised to open more facilities capable of holding 7,000 migrants.Local politicians and humanitarian groups have been critical of how the Spanish government has been handling the surge in migrants, most of whom come from Morocco and Senegal.”I recognize that we need to be self-critical because at a certain point, perhaps the conditions at Arguineguin port were not the most suitable for human beings,” Defense Minister Margarita Robles told Spanish public television, TVE, according to AFP.”We have a humanitarian crisis” in the Canary Islands and “nobody must look the other way,” she said.Canary lawmaker Ana Oramas went further, telling Spain’s Parliament the situation was a “powder keg,” according to AP.“[The Canary Islands] are a volcano waiting to explode,” she said.In addition to adding facilities, the Spanish government is attempting to stem the flow of migrants through diplomatic means, AFP reported, citing recent talks with Morocco and Senegal.The Canary Islands have been a hot spot for migrants before. In 2006, 30,000 migrants reached the archipelago before stepped-up Spanish patrols slowed the pace.At the time, Spain struck a deal with African countries that were the source of these migrants, promising financial aid in return for development programs, which made it less attractive for people to leave their home countries.
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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday urged Canadians to stay home, avoid contact with others and follow public health rules to help slow the spread of COVID-19, after health officials warned of a possible explosive surge in virus cases.
 
In a televised news conference outside his residence at Rideau Cottage in Ottawa, Trudeau asked Canadians to resist the temptation to let their guard down after 10 months of making sacrifices.  
 
Trudeau said, “We are facing [a] winter that’s going to drive people inside more and more, and we’re really at risk of seeing caseloads go up, and hospitals get overwhelmed, and more loved ones dying.” He said people must do everything they can to slow the spread of the virus.
 
The prime minister’s plea follows grim news earlier Friday from the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC). Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, said she expects the number of new daily cases to reach 20,000 per day — up from just under 5,000 per day currently — if Canadians maintain their current number of personal contacts.
 
But she warned that number could spike to 60,000 a day by the end of December if Canadians increase their current level of contact with other people, a possible scenario with the Christmas holiday season looming.  
 
Tam said if people limit their interactions to essential activities while maintaining physical distancing and adhering to other public health guidelines, the number could be reduced to less than 10,000 daily.
 
Trudeau said “a normal Christmas is quite frankly right out of the question.”
 
As of Friday, Canada had recorded a total of 319,229 cases and 11,314 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.
 
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The shopping holiday known as Black Friday has been postponed for a week in France, as major retailers have accepted the government’s request for delay to help small shop owners, still closed due to the pandemic.With more than $7 billion in sales last year, Black Friday has become a major event in France and a good deal for customers ahead of Christmas. But this year is different, and once again COVID-19 takes the blame for it.  Non-essential small shops, such as those not selling food, are currently closed under health restrictions in the country. Therefore, they have been struggling and the competition from supermarkets or online retailers is considered unfair.  FILE – French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire attends a press conference, June 10, 2020.French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire called this week for a one-week delay for Black Friday to ensure the reopening of small stores “under maximum safety conditions.” Le Maire said he demanded that all key economic players, like supermarkets and online retailers, be responsible. Surprisingly to many, Auchan and Carrefour, the main supermarket chains in the country, accepted the offer. Even the giant online retailer Amazon agreed to the measure. Facing huge backlash in France for increasing its sales by between 40% and 50% while small businesses remain closed, Amazon said it would postpone its sales event for a week.  FILE – The logo of Amazon is seen at the company logistics center in Lauwin-Planque, northern France, March 19, 2020.Fredric Duval, CEO of Amazon France, said Amazon is paying attention to society and authorities, and in consensus with other big retailers, decided to postpone Black Friday until December 4 to enable small shop owners to open before December 1. It is for the common interests, he said. Experts are skeptical about the announcement, as Black Friday is now a worldwide reality and authorities cannot technically prevent French customers from purchasing products on November 27 on foreign websites. 
 
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A Russian court has sentenced a man convicted of spying for the United States to 13 years in prison, Russia’s Federal Security Service said in a statement Friday.
 
On November 17, the Bryansk western regional court declared Yuriy Yeshchenko “guilty of high treason,” the statement said, adding that he would serve the jail term “under severe conditions” in a high-security facility.
 
According to the FSB, Yeshchenko had tried to pass military secrets to the CIA about Russia’s Northern Fleet and pleaded guilty to espionage charges, saying he regretted what he had done.  
 
He was performing maintenance of radio-electronic systems used by the Northern Fleet’s ships, the FSB said, where he copied documents from 2015 to 2017 and made contact with the CIA in 2019.
 
The FSB arrested Yeshchenko in the Bryansk region in July 2019, when he attempted to transmit the state secrets to the CIA, the Russian spy agency’s statement said.
 
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Mexico is a step closer to becoming one of the world’s largest legal marijuana markets.Senators voted overwhelmingly Thursday to approve a marijuana legalization bill.The bill’s next challenge is clearing the lower house of Congress.The legislation is supported by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s Morena party, which holds a majority in both chambers of Congress.The legislation would become law only if it’s signed by Lopez Obrador, who has not spoken openly about his position on legalizing marijuana.The movement to decriminalize marijuana in Mexico comes after lawmakers approved its use for medicinal purposes last year, and the Supreme Court ruled in 2018 recreational marijuana should be allowed.Under the legislation adults would be allowed to possess no more than 28 grams, grow up to four plants and purchase marijuana from authorized businesses.Children would be banned from any use, sale or taking part in growing the drug.
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Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is blaming his rival, opposition leader Juan Guaido, for U.S. President Donald Trump’s apparent reelection defeat.Maduro said Thursday, he received a message from someone in the United States he refused to identify, that if Trump had trusted Maduro instead of Guaido, the election result would have been different.Maduro seemed to mock Trump for recognizing Guaido as Venezuela’s self-proclaimed interim president saying, “You preferred to bet on an imbecile and that imbecile led you to defeat.”Maduro’s comments might also be a public rebuke of Trump and his administration, which has long favored Guaido, who was also backed by some other Western leaders.Thursday a team of Trump campaign lawyers claimed nationwide vote fraud is resulting from what they characterized as a conspiracy among Democrats, a voting machine company in Canada, Venezuelan socialist leaders, Cuban and Chinese communists, antifa and philanthropist George Soros.
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International humanitarian teams in Central America need nearly $43 million to provide critical relief to some 646,000 people who were pummeled by two hurricanes, floods and landslides, UNICEF said in a statement Thursday. Back-to-back Hurricanes Eta and Iota ravaged several Central American countries this month, causing flash floods and mudslides.”We thought Hurricane Eta was bad, but Hurricane Iota may end up being even worse for children in Central America,” said Bernt Aasen, UNICEF regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean. Eta was the first to hit Central America, causing damage impacting some 4.6 million people in Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Panama. Vehicles are submerged at a plot flooded by the Chamelecon River due to heavy rain caused by Storm Iota, in La Lima, Honduras, Nov. 19, 2020.Hurricane Iota followed a week later, inflicting more devastation. UNICEF says it fears for the health and well-being of nearly 2 million children across the region. “It’s one hurricane after the other, but stronger each time,” said Aasen, who warned the worst is yet to come as the “water has yet to recede,” but the “humanitarian needs of families and children are immense and keep growing day by day.” Iota, a Category 4 hurricane on a 1-5 scale, leveled entire communities and pulled down trees and electricity poles. So far, 26 deaths have been reported, including 16 in Nicaragua where about 114,000 homes have no power and 47,000 are without water.  UNICEF warned that “children who survived both hurricanes are now at risk of dying from waterborne and other infectious diseases.” In a statement, it noted that “cases of hepatitis and malaria have already been reported in some shelters.”  UNICEF says it is working to provide humanitarian support to more than 600,000 people in Nicaragua, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras. The organization says continuing rainfall and pandemic-related limitations have hindered access to some affected areas.
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Britain has announced a $21.8 billion increase in defense spending over the next four years, its largest military investment since the end of the Cold War. The government said it was needed to counter the multitude of threats the country faces, Henry Ridgwell reports. 
Camera: Henry Ridgwell
 
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The U.S. Department of the Treasury slapped sanctions on two companies operating out of Russia on Thursday for their alleged involvement in the exploitation of forced labor from North Korea.  According to a statement by the Treasury Department, sanctions will be imposed on Mokran LLC, a Russian construction company, and Korea Cholsan General Trading Corp., a North Korean company operating in Russia.  The move follows a 2017 U.N. Security Council resolution that required all countries to send home North Korean workers by December 22, 2019, as a means of curbing the generation of foreign currency to support North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.  According to the U.N. resolution, sanctions must be imposed on those that engage in, facilitate or are responsible for the exportation of forced labor from North Korea to generate revenue for the government of North Korea or the Workers’ Party of Korea.  FILE – U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.”North Korea has a long history of exploiting its citizens by sending them to distant countries to work in grueling conditions in order to financially support Pyongyang and its weapons programs,” said U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. “Those countries still hosting North Korean workers must send these workers home.” Today’s sanctions will force all property and interests in property of Mokran LLC and the Korea Cholsan General Trading Corp. that are in the United States or in the possession or control of any U.S. citizens to be blocked and reported to the Office of Foreign Assets Control.  According to Reuters, the United States has estimated that Pyongyang was earning more than $500 million a year from its 100,000 residents working abroad, the majority of whom were stationed in China and Russia.  
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Saying the world is now more perilous and competitive than at any time since the Cold War, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson proposed Thursday adding nearly $22 billion in new defense spending over the next four years.
Speaking remotely to Parliament while isolating for COVID-19 exposure, Johnson said based on the current international situation and his foreign policy goals, he has decided “the era of cutting our defense budget must end, and it ends now.”
The prime minister said he was making the proposal in the middle of a pandemic, with multiple demands on the economy, because “the defense of the realm and the safety of the British people must come first.”
Johnson told lawmakers the four-year financial package for the Ministry of Defense will pivot Britain’s military toward potential future threats with funding for space and cyber-defense projects, such as an artificial intelligence agency.
He said the spending plan will create jobs, with plans to build at least 13 new ships, “restore Britain’s position as the foremost naval power in Europe” and boost British shipbuilding across the nation.
Main opposition Labor party leader Keir Starmer, both praised the announcement as long overdue, and questioned how Johnson intended to pay for it.
Fearing a change in the British government’s spending priorities, former British prime minister Gordon Brown urged the government not to break its promises on international aid to some of the world’s poorest countries.
More details likely will emerge next week when Treasury chief Rishi Sunak unveils details regarding the country’s spending plans for the coming year.
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The head of Germany’s disease control agency said Thursday that while the coronavirus infection rate in the country remains serious, there are signs a partial lockdown is working.Germany implemented restrictive measures in early November to curb a nationwide surge in cases, closing bars, restaurants and other leisure venues but keeping schools and shops open.Speaking to reporters in Berlin, Robert Koch Institute chief Lothar Wieler said the number of new infections has since plateaued, with 22,609 reported on Thursday – roughly the same number as a week ago. He said the fact they are not rising is good news but cautioned that it was too early to say if this is a trend.Wieler said the overall number of cases is still too high, and there is a risk that hospitals may become overwhelmed. Wieler, however, also expressed optimism the numbers will start to go down now that they have stabilized.Wieler also said the news this week that at least two potential vaccines are showing better than 90 percent effectiveness was “extremely encouraging.” He said, “I know if the vaccines have an efficacy of more than 90% then they would be great weapons. That’s great.”Wieler said it was unclear how long the restrictions would remain in place. When they were implemented, Chancellor Angela Merkel said the plan was for them to run through November, in hopes the nation would be able to lift some of them in time for the Christmas holiday in December.The Robert Koch Institute reports Germany now has seen a total of 855,916 cases and 13,370 deaths from the infection. The coronavirus causes the COVID-19 disease. 
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Police in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, clashed Wednesday with protesters calling for President Jovenel Moise to step down amid corruption allegations.Demonstrators set up burning barricades and disrupted traffic.  Police responded by firing teargas at the demonstrators.The Associated Press reports one person was shot in the head as demonstrators attempted to reach an area where the heavily guarded Moise was placing a wreath at the National Mausoleum commemorating the 217th anniversary of the Haitian Revolution, when local forces defeated Napoleon’s French expeditionary forces.Haiti’s President Jovenel Moise (R) and First Lady Martine Moise attend celebrations for the 217th anniversary of the Battle of Vertieres, the last major battle of Haitian independence from France, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Nov. 18, 2020.It was not immediately clear who fired the shot.Haitian opposition leader André Michel said, “Haitian people are tired of Jovenel Moïse; he will no longer be able to govern the country.”Demonstrators are venting at Moise, who is leading the impoverished country without the input of a parliament, which was dissolved in January after failed elections in October.Protestors run past burning tires during a march demanding the resignation of Haiti’s President Jovenel Moise, at the 217th anniversary of the Battle of Vertieres, the last major battle of Haitian independence from France, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.The political situation in Haiti has not helped the country generate donations from the international community, hampering its ability to respond to a lingering economic struggle, including food shortages.
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Three days after then-Hurricane Iota struck Nicaragua, the storm’s overall toll on Central America is mounting, with more than 30 deaths, and authorities fear there could be more casualties as the search continues for the missing.Iota’s torrential rains caused flooding and landslides forcing more than 200,000 people to flee their homes across Nicaragua and Honduras.The U.S. National Hurricane Center said lingering rain from Iota could trigger more life-threatening floods across Central America through Thursday as the storm moves west toward the Pacific Ocean.The record rainfall is causing flood threats and setting off mudslides in villages from northern Colombia to southern Mexico.Officials in Nicaragua, Honduras, Colombia, El Salvador and Panama confirmed deaths as a result of Iota, which first hit coastal Nicaragua on Monday, nearly two weeks after Hurricane Eta devastated the same area of the country with flooding and landslides.Eta is blamed for more than 100 deaths across Central America.
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Peru’s new president, Francisco Sagasti, has a cabinet in place to help him begin stabilizing the government, which has been the target of angry street protests.A day after the liberal centrist became Peru’s third president within a week, Sagasti appointed Violeta Bermúdez, a legal expert, to lead the 18 cabinet ministers sworn in Wednesday.Sagasti, who will serve as interim president until next July, replaced former Congress speaker Manuel Merino, who resigned Sunday after days of street protests ended with the deaths of two people.Merino became president by default after the opposition led Congress impeached popular president Martin Vizcarra over unverified bribery allegations, setting off protests and creating a leadership crisis.Peruvians will head to the polls next April to choose the country’s permanent president.
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The BBC’s board of directors has approved the appointment of a retired senior judge to lead an independent investigation into the circumstances around a controversial 1995 TV interview with Princess Diana, the broadcaster said Wednesday.The announcement came after Diana’s brother, Charles Spencer, made renewed claims this month that BBC journalist Martin Bashir used forged statements and false claims to persuade the late royal to agree to the interview.The investigation will consider if the steps taken by the BBC and Bashir were appropriate and to what extent those actions influenced Diana’s decision to give an interview.John Dyson, a former Supreme Court judge, is “an eminent and highly respected figure who will lead a thorough process,” the BBC said.Charles Spencer alleged that in the weeks leading to the interview 25 years ago, Bashir made false and defamatory claims about senior royals in order to gain his trust and access to his sister.The claims included that Diana’s phone was bugged and that her bodyguard was plotting against her. He claimed that Bashir showed him “false bank statements” purporting to show that two senior royal aides were being paid to keep Diana under surveillance.Apology soughtCharles Spencer has demanded an inquiry and an apology. The BBC carried out an internal investigation when the complaints first surfaced and has said Bashir admitted commissioning mocked-up documents. But the corporation has said that the documents played no part in Diana’s decision to take part in the interview.The broadcaster’s director general, Tim Davie, said the BBC “is determined to get to the truth about these events.”The 1995 interview, in which Diana famously said “there were three of us in this marriage” — referring to Prince Charles’ relationship with Camilla Parker-Bowles — was watched by millions of people and sent shock waves through the monarchy.Diana divorced from Charles in 1996 and died in a Paris car crash in 1997 as she was pursued by paparazzi. Charles married Camilla, now the Duchess of Cornwall, in 2005.The BBC said Bashir, 57, who is currently its religion editor, is on medical leave because he is recovering from heart surgery and complications related to contracting COVID-19 earlier this year.
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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, forced to go into quarantine earlier this week after exposure to the coronavirus, was able Wednesday to participate in his usual spirited debate with lawmakers during question time at parliament. Johnson was hospitalized earlier this year after testing positive.After wishing the prime minister well, and praising him for self-isolating, main opposition Labor Party leader Keir Starmer questioned Johnson about a report from the National Audit Office. It was regarding lucrative government contracts worth billions going to “go between” companies to procure personal protective equipment (PPE) without the proper oversight.  The report said the government awarded 8,600 contracts worth $24 billion between March and the end of July of this year, mostly without a competitive tender process.
 
While the government can make purchases with limited competition in emergencies, the audit office said in its report that companies with links to politicians were fast-tracked and had greater chances of getting a coronavirus contract than other applicants.  Starmer called on Johnson to guarantee that from now on such government contracts will be subject to proper process with full transparency and accountability.Johnson accused Starmer of wanting to score political points by attacking the government on moving too fast to secure the PPE and defended the government’s actions.”I’m proud of what we did to secure huge quantities of PPE during the pandemic, any government would do this,” said Johnson without directly addressing Starmer’s question.Prime Minister Johnson’s Conservative government has been accused of running a “chumocracy” by awarding lucrative contracts and well-paid jobs to people with links to ministers and the governing party — claims the government denies.
 
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The remnants of Hurricane Iota moved into El Salvador Wednesday, as the storm continues to pound Nicaragua with strong winds and heavy rains even after weakening from a hurricane to a tropical storm.At last report, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said the system was moving to the west of the city of San Salvador and was now a tropical depression. But the remnants of the most powerful storm ever to hit Nicaragua in the month of November are still likely to produce rainfall capable of mudslides and flash floods across portions of Honduras, Nicaragua and Guatemala through Thursday.A man watches the rising water of the Rio Bermejo in the wake of Hurricane Iota in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, Nov. 17, 2020.The storm came ashore late Monday on the northeastern coast of Nicaragua, just kilometers from where Hurricane Eta had struck two weeks earlier. At its strongest, Iota was a Category 5 storm — the top level on the five-level scale that measures a storm’s potential destructiveness.It left scores of communities cut off from the outside world and forced thousands of residents to evacuate their homes.At least nine people across the region have been killed, including two children who reportedly drowned while trying to cross a flooded river in Nicaragua.Iota was the 30th named storm of the record-breaking 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, which, according to the U.S. National Weather Service, is due to end November 30.  Forecasters are now watching two systems – one in the southern Caribbean and another just south of Bermuda – which each have a 20 percent chance of becoming named storms in the next five days. 
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