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Tropical Storm Eta strengthened quickly Sunday as it barreled west through the Caribbean en route to Nicaragua and Honduras, which it is expected to pound with potentially deadly wind and rain, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.Eta is forecast to become a hurricane overnight and plow into the northeast coast of Nicaragua and adjacent portions of eastern Honduras early Tuesday, the Miami-based NHC said.Latest projections say Eta will by then be a Category 2 hurricane on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale, blowing winds of up to 177 kph (110 mph). That is stronger than the NHC had earlier predicted.”Once inland, Eta should quickly weaken over the mountainous terrain of Nicaragua and Honduras,” the NHC said.By midafternoon, Eta was 495 km (305 miles) east-northeast of Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua, moving west at 24 kph (15 mph) and blowing sustained winds of 105 kph (65 mph), the NHC said.Through Friday afternoon, Eta’s rains threaten to cause serious flooding and landslides in Central America. Jamaica, southern Haiti and the Cayman Islands may also be hit.By then, Eta is likely to have dumped 381-640 mm (15-25 inches) of rain on central and northern Nicaragua and much of Honduras, with up to 889 mm (35 inches) in some areas, the NHC said.Nicaragua’s government has issued a hurricane warning from the Honduras-Nicaragua border to Sandy Bay Sirpi. Honduras has put out a tropical storm warning from Punta Patuca to the border with Nicaragua. 
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The ruling party in the former Soviet republic of Georgia is claiming victory following Saturday’s closely contested parliamentary election.  But the opposition alleges the vote was rigged and staged a rally outside parliament on Sunday in protest.Preliminary results show the ruling Georgian Dream, or GD, led by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, garnered about 48% of the vote, according to election officials.The opposition United National Movement, or UNM, of former President Mikheil Saakashvili, was second with 27%. Trailing with roughly 4% was European Georgia, a party that split from the UNM in 2017. Altogether, there are eight opposition parties, including pro-Russia Patriot’s Alliance, which is perceived as an ally to the Georgian Dream.  The ruling party declared victory soon after initial projections were announced. It said the elections were a step forward and that it will single-handedly form a government.  “This is a big win,” said Irakli Kobakhidze, Georgian Dream’s executive secretary. “Free and fair elections are main achievement of Georgian Dream,” he told reporters at a press conference.
 
With the final votes still being counted, the opposition is discussing the possibility of boycotting parliament. They have argued that Ivanishvili has undermined Georgian democracy through shadow governance, control over the judiciary and pressuring the business sector.   The opposition leaders have pledged unity, maintaining that they won’t recognize Saturday’s elections.   “Ivanishvili destroyed democracy in our country last night,” said UNM member Salome Samadashvili ahead of announcing an opposition rally. “We demand new and legitimate elections,” she added.   “The results that were established through fear tactics, violence, bribery, use of administrative resources, manipulations at voting stations, do not reflect the will of the people,” said Giga Bokeria, leader of European Georgia.Ruling Party in Ex-Soviet Georgia Leads in Parliament Vote; Opposition ProtestsThe opposition said preliminary results did not correspond with realityObservers from the OSCE — the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe — have said the vote was competitive and that overall, fundamental freedoms were respected. The OSCE, however, said allegations of pressure on voters and blurring of the line between party and state reduced public confidence in parts of the process.  Georgian Dream says the OSCE assessment proves that the elections reflected the popular choice. “The assessment is much more positive than in the case of previous elections,” said Archil Talakvadze, the chairman of parliament.  A statement from the U.S. embassy in Tbilisi echoed the assessment of the OSCE, while calling for transparency in resolving the complaints.“These efforts to corrupt the electoral process through voter intimidation, vote buying, interfering with ballot secrecy, blurring of party and official activities, and violence against election observers and journalists, while not sufficient to invalidate the results, continue to mar Georgia’s electoral process and are unacceptable,” the statement said.Elections in the nation of nearly 4 million people were held with a hard-won, new electoral system, a concession the ruling party made after a series of demonstrations last year and continued pressure from the U.S. government and Congress. Of the legislature’s 150 seats, 120 are decided by a proportional system. The remaining seats would be decided through what are called single-mandate. There will be run-offs in 16 out of 30 districts.  The elections also took place amid the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic, a struggling economy and increased poverty. Observers note the national currency, the lari, has lost half of its value against the U.S dollar and unemployment remains the main concern of the population.  The pandemic has hit Georgia hard with its economy expected to shrink by 4% this year. Coronavirus cases are sharply rising, straining the health care sector. According to the Johns Hopkins University, the former Soviet republic has close to 39,000 confirmed cases and 307 deaths. The government took steps to curb the outbreak by declaring a state of emergency earlier this year, closing schools and some businesses and restricting travel.The election followed a highly polarized campaign in which Georgian Dream and the United National Movement traded personal attacks.  Georgian Dream’s chief tactic was to target Saakashvili, who served as president from 2004 through 2013. Saakashvili left the country after a series of criminal charges against him, which he argues are politically motivated. He currently resides in Ukraine and holds an official position in the government.  “If the opposition decides that I should come, I will jump on the next plane,” he said after the election results were announced.Ivanishvili, who made his fortune in Russia in the 1990s, came to power in 2012, ousting President Saakashvili’s government. He served as a prime minister for a year, before abruptly resigning. He is widely believed to run the government behind the scenes.  Over the years, Ivanishvili’s Georgian Dream has come under harsh criticism from local and international observers, who have voiced concerns over targeting of media freedoms, and political opponents and the use of excessive force during anti-Russia protests last summer.
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White House coronavirus adviser Scott Atlas apologized on Sunday for giving an interview to Russia’s Kremlin-backed television station RT, saying he was unaware the outlet was a registered foreign agent in the United States.Atlas, a neuroradiologist and member of the White House coronavirus task force, appeared on the channel on Saturday and criticized coronavirus lockdown measures, calling them an “epic failure” at stopping the virus’ spread.”I recently did an interview with RT and was unaware they are a registered foreign agent,” Atlas wrote on Twitter. “I regret doing the interview and apologize for allowing myself to be taken advantage of.”I especially apologize to the national security community who is working hard to defend us,” Atlas said.I recently did an interview with RT and was unaware they are a registered foreign agent. I regret doing the interview and apologize for allowing myself to be taken advantage of. I especially apologize to the national security community who is working hard to defend us.— Scott W. Atlas (@SWAtlasHoover) November 1, 2020RT registered as a foreign agent three years ago. A January 2017 report from U.S. intelligence agencies said the television station, which broadcasts on cable in the United States, is “Russia’s state-run propaganda machine” and that it contributed to the Kremlin’s campaign to interfere with the 2016 presidential election in favor of the winning candidate, Republican President Donald Trump.After that report, the U.S. Department of Justice insisted that RT America comply with requirements under the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA).”The lockdowns … will go down as an epic failure of public policy by people who refused to accept they were wrong,” Atlas told RT in the Saturday interview.Public health experts in the United States have previously raised concerns that Atlas, who has no background in infectious diseases, is providing misleading or incorrect information on the pandemic to Trump.Anthony Fauci, the leading U.S. infectious disease expert, said on Saturday that Atlas is the only pandemic adviser whom Trump regularly sees.”I have real problems with that guy,” Fauci told The Washington Post. “He’s a smart guy who’s talking about things that I believe he doesn’t have any real insight or knowledge or experience in.”  
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Security forces in the Belarusian capital have detained more than 200 people in the latest anti-government protest fueled by a disputed presidential election 12 weeks ago.Thousands of demonstrators took part Sunday November 1 in marches in Minsk as part of almost daily protests demanding Alyaksandr Lukashenko’s resignation and a new vote.According to a list published by the human rights group Vyasna, nearly all the people detained were taken into custody in Minsk.People argue with policemen during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus, Nov. 1, 2020.Armored vehicles equipped with machine guns were seen in Minsk along with water cannons and other anti-riot equipment, according to AP.It was the 12th consecutive Sunday of marches in Minsk held to keep the pressure on Lukashenko, who has orchestrated a massive crackdown and arrested thousands since authorities declared him the winner of an August 9 election to give him a sixth consecutive term.Most of the country’s opposition leaders have been arrested or forced to leave the country, including presidential candidate Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who has said the vote was rigged in Lukashenko’s favor and considers herself the rightful winner. She left Belarus for Lithuania after the vote amid threats to her and her family.Tsikhanouskaya has urged a “national strike” since October 26 that has been met with security sweeps and more brutal moves against dissenters.The opposition had set a deadline of midnight on October 25 for Lukashenko — who has been president for 26 years — to leave.Lukashenko responded with another show of power, and later met with his new security chiefs on October 30 and threatened “harsh measures” against protesters.Vyashna said about 40 people were detained in Minsk, Hrodna, and other Belarusian cities on October 31.The November 1 rallies coincide with an annual march that commemorates victims of Soviet-era killings with victims buried at Kurapaty, on the outskirts of Minsk.Cell phone coverage was said to be cut off in many areas as estimates suggested dual marches had attracted tens of thousands of people.Belarus partially closed all its land borders to foreigners overnight on October 31-November 1 in a move that prompted speculation the restrictions are politically motivated.The country’s State Border Committee said the border restrictions were to “prevent the spread of infection caused by COVID-19.”Lukashenko has repeatedly accused the opposition and critics of being foreign-backed puppets.He has bolstered forces at Belarus’s western borders, and accused Poland and the Baltic states of trying to destabilize Belarus.
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Security forces in the Belarusian capital have fired warning shots and begun detaining participants on Sunday in the latest anti-government protest fueled by a disputed presidential election 12 weeks ago. Thousands of demonstrators were taking part in parallel Minsk marches on November 1 as part of almost daily protests and ongoing demands for Alyaksandr Lukashenko’s resignation and a new vote. Columns of security trucks and buses to hold detainees could be seen around the city as the columns marched toward a well-known monument to Soviet-era repression victims outside the capital. But soon, law enforcement were targeting groups of protesters with flash-bang grenades, warning shots fired into the air, and with tear gas and batons while trying to disperse the crowds. Belarusian law enforcement officers block opposition supporters during their rally to reject the presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus, Nov. 1, 2020.Some motorists appeared to be trying to block the movement of vehicles intended to carry off detainees. One day earlier, police arrested dozens as hundreds of women marched through Minsk to keep the pressure on Lukashenko, who has orchestrated a massive crackdown and arrested thousands since authorities declared him the winner of an August 9 election to give him a sixth consecutive term. FILE – Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya speaks during a news conference in Brussels, Belgium, Sept. 21, 2020.Most of the country’s opposition leaders have been arrested or forced to leave the country, including presidential candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who has said the vote was rigged in Lukashenk’s favor and considers herself the rightful winner. She left Belarus for Lithuania after the vote amid threats to her and her family. Tsikhanouskaya has urged a “national strike” since October 26 that has been met with security sweeps and more brutal moves against dissenters. The opposition had set a deadline of midnight on October 25 for Lukashenko — who has been president for 26 years — to leave. Lukashenko responded with another show of power, and later met with his new security chiefs on October 30 and threatened “harsh measures” against protesters. The Vyashna rights organization said about 40 people were detained in Minsk, Hrodna, and other Belarusian cities on October 31. The November 1 rallies coincide with an annual march that commemorates victims of Soviet-era killings with victims buried at Kurapaty, on the outskirts of Minsk. Cell phone coverage was said to be cut off in many areas as estimates suggested dual marches had attracted tens of thousands of people. Belarus partially closed all its land borders to foreigners overnight on October 31-November 1 in a move that prompted speculation the restrictions are politically motivated. The country’s State Border Committee said the border restrictions were to “prevent the spread of infection caused by COVID-19.” FILE – Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko speaks during a meeting with the country’s political activists in Minsk, Belarus, Sept. 16, 2020.Lukashenko has repeatedly accused the opposition and critics of being foreign-backed puppets. He has bolstered forces at Belarus’s western borders, and accused Poland and the Baltic states of trying to destabilize Belarus. Belarus has also expelled or turned away many foreign correspondents, in addition to jailing some journalists. Lukashenko has repeatedly turned to Russian President Vladimir Putin, with whom he has sometimes clashed over the implementation of a two-decade-old agreement on a joint state, for support since the latest unrest began.  
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AstraZeneca Plc said on Sunday Britain’s health regulator had started an accelerated review of its potential coronavirus vaccine.”We confirm the MHRA’s (Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency) rolling review of our potential COVID-19 vaccine,” an AstraZeneca spokesman said.In rolling reviews, regulators are able to see clinical data in real time and have dialogue with drug makers on manufacturing processes and trials to accelerate the approval process.The approach is designed to speed up evaluations of promising drugs or vaccines during a public health emergency.AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine is being developed along with the University of Oxford. Bloomberg reported on Friday that MHRA had also begun an accelerated review for the COVID-19 vaccine candidate from Pfizer Inc.AstraZeneca and Pfizer are among the frontrunners in the race to develop a vaccine for the coronavirus, with the race also including Johnson & Johnson and Moderna Inc. Their vaccine candidates are in late-stage trials, interim data from which are expected in the coming weeks.The British drug maker said on Monday its COVID-19 experimental vaccine produces an immune response in both old and young adults. The vaccine also triggers lower adverse responses among the elderly, it said.The novel coronavirus has killed more than 1.19 million people globally, damaged the world economy and turned normal life upside down for billions of people.Work began on the Oxford vaccine in January. Called AZD1222 or ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, the viral vector vaccine is made from a weakened version of a common cold virus that causes infections in chimpanzees. 
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Police in Quebec City early Sunday arrested a man on suspicion of killing two people and injuring five others in a stabbing rampage on Halloween near the provincial legislature in Quebec City.They say a man in his mid-20s has been arrested in connection with the Halloween night attacks and taken to a hospital.Police had earlier warned residents to remain indoors as they hunted for a man dressed in medieval clothing and armed with a bladed weapon who had left “multiple victims.”Spokesman Etienne Doyon said police were first notified of the stabbings near the National Assembly shortly before 10:30 p.m. Saturday.The five injured victims were taken to a hospital, and a spokeswoman said their lives do not appear to be in danger.There’s no word on a possible motive for the attacks.Doyon declined to offer any information about the two people who were killed, saying only that “Our thoughts are with the family of the people who died today.”Carlos Godoy, who lives in the area, said police K-9 units had searched his backyard as they hunted for the suspect.”It’s a full moon, it’s October 31st. It’s Halloween, and it’s a lockdown weekend. No one should be out on the streets,” Godoy said. “And I’m in an extremely quiet neighborhood because there are no tourists nowadays.” 
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French authorities said that a person suspected of firing a hunting gun and seriously wounding a Greek Orthodox priest outside a church in the city of Lyon, France, Saturday, is in police custody.Nikolaos Kakavelaki was closing his church when he was shot twice in the chest at point-blank range and is currently in a serious condition in the hospital, police sources said.The motive for the attack is still unclear, but it comes after a young Tunisian killed three people inside the Notre Dame Basilica in the southern French city of Nice on Thursday and the beheading of a history teacher near Paris earlier last month.Security throughout France remains high after the deadly stabbings at the basilica, while President Emmanuel Macron tried to ease tensions with Muslims in the country.French leaders have termed the incident an Islamist terrorist attack after the perpetrator shouted “Allahu Akbar,” Arabic for “God is great,” as he decapitated a woman and killed two other people.Thursday’s attack followed the beheading of teacher Samuel Paty earlier in October after the republication of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad by the Paris-based satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo.Macron triggered protests in the Muslim world after the murder of Paty, who showed a cartoon of Muhammad to his class, by saying France would never renounce its right to caricature.On Saturday, though, Macron sounded a more empathetic tone in an interview with Arab broadcaster Al-Jazeera.“I can understand that people could be shocked by the caricatures, but I will never accept that violence can be justified,” Macron said.Meanwhile, French authorities detained a third man for questioning Saturday in connection with the Islamist knife attack at the basilica in Nice.The man was present during a police search Friday at the home of a second young Tunisian man suspected of being in contact with the attacker.The main suspect, Ibrahim Issaoui, 21, who went through Italy last month en route to France, remains in critical condition in a French hospital after being wounded by police as they arrested him.France, Tunisia and Italy are jointly investigating to determine the motive for his attack, whether he acted alone and whether his act was premeditated.Issaoui was not on Tunisia’s list of suspected militants and was not known to French intelligence services.Tunisian authorities are reportedly investigating whether a group called the Mahdi Organization carried out the Nice attack. The state news agency TAP reported Friday investigators were also trying to determine whether the group exists and said that the probe is based on claims of responsibility on social media. 
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Moldovans started to vote in a presidential election Sunday in which the pro-Russian incumbent Igor Dodon is bidding for a second term against former prime minister Maia Sandu, who wants to pull the country closer to the European Union.The election in the nation of 3.5 million, where the West and Russia vie for influence, takes place in the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic that has pushed one of Europe’s poorest countries into a sharp economic downturn.Dodon took power in 2016 after pro-Western political forces became mired in scandals. He has led opinion polls against seven other candidates going into Sunday’s vote but may not win outright, which would lead to a run-off.Sandu, a Harvard-educated former World Bank economist known for her tough stance on corruption, led a short-lived coalition government last year that was brought down by a no-confidence vote within months.If elected, she has promised to secure more financial support from Brussels, while Dodon has pledged to roll out a settlement next year for the breakaway Russian-speaking region of Transdniestria.The EU in 2014 forged a deal on closer trade and political ties with the ex-Soviet republic, which is squeezed between EU member Romania and Ukraine, but became increasingly critical of Chisinau’s track record on reforms.Sandu has received messages of support from German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, a close ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel, and former European Council President Donald Tusk.A group of Dodon’s supporters denounced such support as an attempt to destabilize the country. Sergei Naryshkin, the head of Russia’s SVR Foreign Intelligence Service, last week accused the United States of plotting to instigate mass protests against Dodon as punishment for him fostering good relations with Moscow.Naryshkin similarly accused Washington of fomenting revolution in Belarus, where the Moscow-backed President Alexander Lukashenko has battled months of protests following a contested election.
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At least 39 people have been killed and nearly 900 injured by the earthquake that toppled buildings in the Turkish city of İzmir and created sea surges on at least two Greek islands.Rescue teams in Turkey early Sunday morning pulled a man alive from the rubble of a collapsed building. The man, identified as Ahmet Citim, survived for 33 hours under the debris of a residential building that was flattened during the earthquake.Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Izmir on Saturday evening and promised the government would help victims who lost their homes with temporary housing and rent, and start construction of new buildings.The deadly 7.0 earthquake originated from a 250-kilometer fault line off the coast of the Greek island of Samos, streaming across the Aegean Sea that divides Turkey and Greece. Hundreds of aftershocks followed.Just hours after the quake, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis placed a rare telephone call to Turkish president to offer his condolences.“Whatever our differences, these are times when people need to stand together,” Mitsotakis posted on Twitter.Erdogan replied in a twin tweet: “That two neighbors show solidarity and support in difficult times is more valuable than many things in life.”The United States has saluted the Greek-Turkish earthquake diplomacy and expressed readiness to help the two NATO countries.”It’s great to see both countries putting their differences aside to help each other during a time of need. The United States also stands ready to assist,” said U.S. national security adviser Robert O’Brien.France also offered assistance to the countries, extending “full solidarity to both Greece and Turkey.”Although Greece and Turkey are both members of NATO, there are perhaps no two allied, neighboring nations whose dealings have been marked with so much conflict and mistrust. Most recently, both sides have been embroiled in a heated energy standoff in the eastern Mediterranean, bringing them to the brink of war during the summer.The European Union and the United States have been working for months in hope of sitting both sides down to negotiate their differences, but to no avail.It remains unclear whether the deadly earthquake can strengthen ties. 
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Tropical Storm Eta formed in the Caribbean late Saturday, tying the record for most named storms in a single Atlantic hurricane season.The system reached maximum sustained winds of 65 kph late Saturday, the National Hurricane Center said in an advisory. It’s centered 435 kilometers southeast of Kingston, Jamaica.Forecasters expect Eta to become a hurricane by Monday. The system is forecast to be near the northeastern coasts of Nicaragua and Honduras by Monday night. A hurricane watch was issued for parts of both countries. Eta was moving west at about 24 kph.Eta is the 28th named Atlantic storm this season, tying the 2005 record for named storms. However, this is the first time the Greek letter Eta is being used as a storm name because in 2005, after the season ended meteorologists went back and determined there was a storm that should have gotten a name but didn’t.Hurricane season still has a month to go, ending Nov. 30. And in 2005, Zeta formed in the end of December.
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A Greek Orthodox priest was shot and injured Saturday at a church in the center of the French city of Lyon by an assailant who then fled, a police source and witnesses said.The priest was fired on twice around 4 p.m. (1500 GMT) as he was closing the church, and he was being treated for life-threatening injuries, the source said.Lyon, FranceWitnesses said the church was Greek Orthodox. Another police source said the priest was of Greek nationality and had been able to tell emergency services as they arrived that he had not recognized his assailant.A Greek government official identified the priest as Nikolaos Kakavelakis.There was no indication from French officials that the attack was related to terrorism. The French anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office had not been brought in, as is normal when law enforcement officials suspect a terrorism link, France’s BFMTV broadcaster said.Other attacksThe incident came two days after a man shouting “Allahu Akbar!” (God is greatest) beheaded a woman and killed two other people in a church in Nice.Two weeks ago, a schoolteacher in a Paris suburb was beheaded by an 18-year-old attacker who was apparently incensed by the teacher’s showing of a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad during a class.While the motive for Saturday’s attack was not known, government ministers had warned that there could be other Islamist militant attacks. President Emmanuel Macron has deployed thousands of soldiers to protect sites such as places of worship and schools.Police search for clues after a priest was shot, Oct.31, 2020, in Lyon, France. A Greek Orthodox priest was shot while he was closing his church.Prime Minister Jean Castex, who was visiting Rouen, said he was heading back to Paris to assess the situation.The Nice attack took place on the day Muslims celebrate the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday. Many Muslims around the world have been angered about France’s defense of the right to publish cartoons depicting the Prophet.A third person has been taken into police custody in connection with that attack, a police source said Saturday. The suspected assailant was shot by police and remained in critical condition in hospital.Macron: Violence unjustifiedMacron took to Arabic language airwaves on Saturday, saying he understood the publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad might shock some people but that there was no justification for acts of violence.In an interview with Al Jazeera released Saturday, Macron said his position had been misconstrued. He said he had never supported publication of cartoons seen as insulting by Muslims but had defended the right of free expression.”I understand and I respect the fact that people might be shocked by these caricatures, but I will never accept any justification for acts of violence over these caricatures,” Macron said.The teacher killed on October 16, Samuel Paty, had shown cartoons in class to prompt discussion about free speech.
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Armenia and Azerbaijan once more accused each other of bombing residential areas on Saturday, in defiance of a pact to avoid the deliberate targeting of civilians in and around the mountain enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.   Shelling was reported by both sides within hours of the latest agreement to defuse the conflict, reached after talks in Geneva between the two countries’ foreign ministers and envoys from France, Russia and the United States.   The agreement with the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group fell short of what would have been a fourth ceasefire since fighting began on Sept. 27. The death toll in the worst fighting in the South Caucasus for more than 25 years has surpassed 1,000 and is possibly much higher.   Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but is populated and controlled by ethnic Armenians. About 30,000 people were killed in a 1991-94 war in the region.   The Nagorno-Karabakh Emergency and Rescue Service said the central market in Stepanakert, the enclave’s largest city, had come under fire and that large parts of it had been burned.   Armenia’s defense ministry said several civilians had been wounded in attacks on the city of Shushi, 15 km (9 miles) to the south, while the human rights ombudsman in Nagorno-Karabakh said a civilian in Martuni region had died when a shell hit his home.   Azerbaijan’s defense ministry denied these accusations. It said that the regions of Terter, Aghdam and Aghjabedi had come under artillery fire, as had Gubadli, a town between the enclave and the Iranian border that was taken by Azeri troops this week. Azerbaijan’s recent advances on the battlefield, which also extends to seven surrounding regions, have reduced its incentive to strike a lasting peace deal and complicated international efforts to broker a truce.   The conflict has also brought into sharp focus the increased influence of Turkey, an ally of Azerbaijan, in a former Soviet region considered by Russia to be within its sphere of influence. Russia also has a security alliance with Armenia.  In response to a request by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to outline the extent of Moscow’s support, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said it would provide “all assistance required” should the conflict spill onto “the territory of Armenia” — land that is outside the current conflict zone.   Nagorno-Karabakh’s army says 1,166 of its soldiers have been killed since Sept. 27. Azerbaijan, which does not disclose its military casualties, updated its civilian death toll to 91. Russia has estimated as many as 5,000 deaths on both sides.  
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Security throughout France was high Saturday after this week’s deadly stabbings at a church in Nice as President Emmanuel Macron tried to ease tensions in the country. French leaders have termed Thursday’s incident an Islamist terrorist attack after the perpetrator shouted “Allahu Akbar” (God is Greatest) as he decapitated a woman and killed two others in Notre Dame Basilica in Nice. Thursday’s attack followed the beheading of teacher Samuel Paty earlier this month after the republication of the Prophet Muhammad by the Paris-based satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo.  Macron triggered protests in the Muslim world after the murder of Paty, who showed a cartoon of Prophet Muhammad to his class, by saying France would never renounce its right to caricature. On Saturday, though, Macron sounded a more empathetic tone in an interview with Arab broadcaster Al-Jazeera. “I can understand that people could be shocked by the caricatures, but I will never accept that violence can be justified,” Macron said. 
 
Meanwhile, French authorities detained a third man for questioning Saturday in connection with the Islamist knife attack at Notre Dame Basilica in the southern French city of Nice that left three people dead. 
 
The man, a 33-years-old, was present during a police search Friday at the home of a second young Tunisian man suspected of being in contact with the attacker. 
 
France, Tunisia and Italy are jointly investigating to determine the motive of main suspect Ibrahim Issaoui, a 21-year-old Tunisian, and whether he acted alone and whether his act was premeditated. 
 
French police have three people in custody for questioning after they found two telephones on the suspect after the attack. 
 
The first man, age 47, was detained Thursday night after police reviewed surveillance footage and observed the person next to the attacker on the day before the attack. 
 
A second detained subject, 35, suspected of contacting Ibrahim Issaoui, the day before the attack, was arrested Friday. 
 
Macron said earlier in the week he would increase the number of troops deployed to protect schools and churches from 3,000 to 7,000. Indonesian President Joko Widodo, meanwhile, strongly denounced the attacks and remarks Macron made on Oct. 21, when he said Paty “was the victim of a conspiracy of stupidity, hate, lies … hate of the other … hate of what we profoundly are.” “The comments could divide the unity of the world’s religious communities at a time when the world needs unity to curb the COVID-19 pandemic,” Widodo said Saturday during a televised news conference in Jakarta.   Tunisian authorities are reportedly investigating whether a group called the Mahdi Organization carried out the attack. The state news agency TAP reported Friday investigators were also trying to determine whether the group exists and that the probe is based on claims of responsibility on social media.   Issaoui, who transited Italy last month en route to France, remains in critical condition in a French hospital after being wounded by police as they arrested him.   Three people were killed in Thursday’s attack. French anti-terrorism prosecutor Jean-Francois Ricard said a 60-year-old woman was decapitated, and a 55-year-old man, the church sexton, had his throat slit. Forty-four-year-old Brazilian national Simone Barreto Silva was stabbed several times before fleeing to a nearby bistro, where she raised the alarm before succumbing to her wounds.     Issaoui was not on Tunisia’s list of suspected militants and was not known to French intelligence services.   Ricard said Issaoui arrived on the Italian island of Lampedusa on September 20 and traveled to Paris on October 9.   He said Issaoui was carrying a copy of the Quran. The knife used in the attack was found near him and two other knives not used in the attack were found in a bag that belonged to him.   French leaders have termed Thursday’s incident an Islamist terrorist attack and raised the country’s security alert to its highest level.   
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Scottish movie legend Sean Connery, who shot to international stardom as the suave, sexy and sophisticated British agent James Bond and went on to grace the silver screen for four decades, has died aged 90. The BBC and Sky News reported his death on Saturday. “I was heartbroken to learn this morning of the passing of Sir Sean Connery. Our nation today mourns one of her best loved sons,” said Scottish First Minster Nicola Sturgeon. “Sean was a global legend but, first and foremost, he was a patriotic and proud Scot.” 
 
Connery was raised in near poverty in the slums of Edinburgh and worked as a coffin polisher, milkman and lifeguard before his bodybuilding hobby helped launch an acting career that made him one of the world’s biggest stars. 
 
Connery will be remembered first as British agent 007, the character created by novelist Ian Fleming and immortalized by Connery in films starting with “Dr. No” in 1962. 
 FILE – In this file photo taken on Oct. 22, 1982 British actor Sean Connery is seen during the making of the film “Never say, never again” in Nice.As Bond, his debonair manner and wry humor in foiling flamboyant villains and cavorting with beautiful women belied a darker, violent edge, and he crafted a depth of character that set the standard for those who followed him in the role. 
 
He would introduce himself in the movies with the signature line, “Bond – James Bond.” But Connery was unhappy being defined by the role and once said he “hated that damned James Bond.” Tall and handsome, with a throaty voice to match a sometimes crusty personality, Connery played a series of noteworthy roles besides Bond and won an Academy Award for his portrayal of a tough Chicago cop in “The Untouchables” (1987). 
 
He was 59 when People magazine declared him the “sexiest man alive” in 1989. 
 
Connery was an ardent supporter of Scotland’s independence and had the words “Scotland Forever” tattooed on his arm while serving in the Royal Navy.FILE – Sir Sean Connery, with wife Micheline (R), pose for photographers after he was formally knighted by the Britain’s Queen Elizabeth at Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh July 5.When he was knighted at the age of 69 by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth in 2000 at Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh, he wore full Scottish dress including the green-and-black plaid kilt of his mother’s MacLeod clan. 
 Became fed up with ‘idiots’  
 
Some noteworthy non-Bond films included director Alfred Hitchcock’s “Marnie” (1964), “The Wind and the Lion” (1975) with Candice Bergen, director John Huston’s “The Man Who Would be King” (1975) with Michael Caine, director Steven Spielberg’s “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” (1989) and the Cold War tale “The Hunt for Red October” (1990). 
 
Fans of alternative cinema will always remember him starring as the “Brutal Exterminator” Zed in John Boorman’s mind-bending fantasy epic “Zardoz” (1974), where a heavily mustachioed Connery spent much of the movie running around in a skimpy red loin-cloth, thigh-high leather boots and a pony tail. 
 
Connery retired from movies after disputes with the director of his final outing, the forgettable “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” in 2003. 
 
“I get fed up dealing with idiots,” he said. The Bond franchise was still going strong more than five decades after Connery started it. The lavishly produced movies, packed with high-tech gadgetry and spectacular effects, broke box office records and grossed hundreds of millions of dollars. 
 
After the smashing success of “Dr. No,” more Bond movies followed for Connery in quick succession: “From Russia with Love” (1963), “Goldfinger” (1964), “Thunderball” (1965) and “You Only Live Twice” (1967). 
 
Connery then grew concerned about being typecast and decided to break away. Australian actor George Lazenby succeeded him as Bond in “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” in 1969. 
 
But without Connery it lacked what the public wanted and he was lured back in 1971 for “Diamonds Are Forever” with temptations that included a slice of the profits, which he said would go to a Scottish educational trust. He insisted it would be his last time as Bond. 
 
Twelve years later, at age 53, Connery was back as 007 in “Never Say Never Again” (1983), an independent production that enraged his old mentor, producer Albert “Cubby” Broccoli. 
 Preferred beer to martinis  
 
In a 1983 interview, Connery summed up the ideal Bond film as having “marvelous locations, interesting ambiance, good stories, interesting characters — like a detective story with espionage and exotic settings and nice birds.” 
 
Connery was a very different type from Fleming’s Bond character with his impeccable social background, preferring beer to Bond’s vodka martini cocktails that were “shaken not stirred.” 
 
But Connery’s influence helped shape the character in the books as well as the films. He never attempted to disguise his Scottish accent, leading Fleming to give Bond Scottish heritage in the books that were released after Connery’s debut. 
 
Born Thomas Connery on Aug. 25, 1930, he was the elder of two sons of a long-distance truck driver and a mother who worked as a cleaner. He dropped out of school at age 13 and worked in a variety of menial jobs. At 16, two years after World War II ended, Connery was drafted into the Royal Navy, and served three years. 
 
“I grew up with no notion of a career, much less acting,” he once said. “I certainly never have plotted it out. It was all  happenstance, really.” 
 
Connery played small parts with theater repertory companies before graduating to films and television. It was his part in a 1959 Disney leprechaun movie, “Darby O’Gill and the Little People,” that helped land the role of Bond. Broccoli, a producer of the Bond films, asked his wife to watch Connery in the Disney movie while he was searching for the right leading actor. 
 
Dana Broccoli said her husband told her he was not sure Connery had sex appeal. 
 
“I saw that face and the way he moved and talked and I said: ‘Cubby, he’s fabulous!'” she said. “He was just perfect, he had star material right there.” 
 
Connery married actress Diane Cilento in 1962. Before divorcing 11 years later, they had a son, Jason, who became an actor. He married French artist Micheline Roquebrune, whom he met playing golf, in 1975.   
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Rescue teams on both sides of the Aegean Sea searched Saturday through crushed buildings and concrete rubble, pulling out at least 27 dead and hundreds more injured after a powerful earthquake toppled buildings in the Turkish city of İzmir and created sea surges on at least two Greek islands.    At least 60 separate aftershocks have jolted the Greek islands of Samos and Ikaria since the deadly 7.0 earthquake hit the region, experts in Athens said Saturday.   Damaged buildings at the port town of Vathy following an earthquake, on the island of Samos, Greece, Oct. 30, 2020. (Samos24.gr via Reuters)The powerful tremor originated from a 250-kilometers-long fault line off the coast of Samos, streaming across the Aegean Sea that divides the two adversaries.   Yet just hours after Greece and Turkey were struck by the deadly quake, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis placed a rare telephone call to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to offer his condolences.   “Whatever our differences, these are times when people need to stand together,” Mitsotakis posted on Twitter.   And his gesture was met.   Turkey’s strongman replied in a twin tweet: ‘That two neighbors show solidarity and support in difficult times is more valuable than many things in life.”   Although Greece and Turkey are both members of NATO, there are perhaps no two allied, neighboring nations whose dealings have been marked with so much conflict and mistrust. And most recently, both sides have been embroiled in a heated energy standoff in the eastern Mediterranean, bringing them to the brink of war during the summer.   FILE – Warships from Greece, Italy, Cyprus and France, participate in a joint military exercise which was held from 26-28 of August, south of Turkey in eastern Mediterranean sea, Aug. 31, 2020.The European Union and the United States have been working for months in hope of sitting both sides down to negotiate their differences — but to no avail.   It remains unclear whether the deadly earthquake can warm up ties.   Unlike a set of devastating quakes that hit the two countries in 1999, both sides have settled for diplomatic niceties. Greece has not offered rescue crews and supplies to assist Turkey’s quake-hit Izmir and surrounding provinces.   Athens and Ankara only recent re-established a military hotline but diplomatic talks planned initially for the start of October were scrapped. Still, millions of Greeks kept glued to their television sets watching their neighbor’s tragedy unfold alongside their own.   Dramatic footage broadcast by Turkish television was interplayed against domestic stills of search efforts in Samos, where two teenagers were crushed to death by a building whose walls crumbled and balcony fell as the pair were walking home from school. In Izmir, cars and household contents such as refrigerators, chairs and tables were seen floating through the main streets — an almost mirror image of the calamity that cloaked port towns in Samos and Ikaria. All but two of the people killed — the two teenage students — were from Turkey. Experts anticipate the death toll will rise. Rescue workers search for survivors at a collapsed building after an earthquake in the Aegean port city of Izmir, Turkey Oct. 31, 2020.Greek seismologist Akis Tselentis warned that aftershocks could prove powerful because of the shallow depth of the quake — roughly 10 kilometers. He said post tremors were expected for as long as two months. On Saturday, France offered assistance to both countries, extending “full solidarity to both Greece and Turkey.”  
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Rescue teams in Turkey working around the clock recovered another body Saturday from the rubble of a collapsed building in Bayrakli district in Izmir struck by a strong earthquake.The quake hit Turkey’s third-largest city and a nearby Greek island on Friday morning, killing at least 27 people and injuring more than 800.Haluk Ozener, director of the Istanbul-based Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute, said that Izmir was the hardest-hit and most-damaged area.Izmir’s Governor Yavuz Selim Kosger said at least 70 people were rescued from the wreckage of four destroyed buildings and from more than 10 other collapsed structures.As the quake hit, residents were seen running into the streets in panic in Izmir, which has a population of 4 million.The European-Mediterranean Seismological Center said the quake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.9 with an epicenter 13 kilometers north-northeast of Samos and 32 kilometers off the coast of Turkey.The U.S. Geological Survey put the magnitude at 7.0. It is common for preliminary magnitudes to differ in the early hours and days after a quake.The quake triggered a surge of water into Izmir’s Seferihisar district.On the nearby Greek island of Samos, a teenage boy and girl were found dead in an area where a wall had collapsed.Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said all means necessary would be used to assist rescue efforts.Many of Izmir’s inhabitants, fearing for their safety, were spending the night outside, in parks and open land or in their cars. Soup kitchens have been set up to feed those in need.Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis offered his condolences to Erdogan. The quake comes amid high tensions between the neighbors over disputes over territorial waters, but Mitsotakis tweeted, “Whatever our differences, these are times when our people need to stand together.”Erdogan thanked Mitsotakis and offered assistance, “We are standing with Greece if there is anything we can do for them.”Turkey is no stranger to powerful earthquakes, developing a large pool of expertise in rescue operations.The provincial city of Izmit, close to Istanbul, was devastated by an earthquake in 1999, killing at least 17,000 people. Many of those killed died in collapsed buildings.Since the 1999 quake, stringent building regulations have been introduced, along with a program of strengthening old structures. 
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Tens of thousands of Poles joined a march Friday in Warsaw, the biggest in nine days of protests against a ruling by the country’s top court last week that amounted to a near-total ban on abortion in the predominantly Catholic nation.Defying strict rules that restrict gatherings to five people during the coronavirus pandemic, demonstrators walked through central Warsaw streets carrying black umbrellas, a symbol of abortion rights protests in Poland, and banners that read “I think, I feel, I decide” or “God is a woman.”Military police, some in riot gear, lined the streets as the demonstration began.Organizers and the city of Warsaw said some 100,000 people took part, one of the largest protest gatherings in years, following a Constitutional Court ruling on Oct. 22 outlawing abortions because of fetal defects. It ended the most common of the few legal grounds left for abortion in Poland and set the country further apart from Europe’s mainstream.Daily protests have taken place across the country in the past week and have turned into an outpouring of anger against five years of nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) rule and the Roman Catholic church, which is an ally of the government.Far-right groups which support the court ruling also turned out in small gatherings in Warsaw on Friday, and TV footage showed police clashing with them to keep one group away from the protesters.The leader of the abortion rights movement in Poland, Marta Lempart, told activists to report any attacks and to resist any threats of prosecution or fines for taking part. “We are doing nothing wrong by protesting and going out on the streets,” she told a news conference.After the ruling goes into effect, women will only be able to terminate a pregnancy legally in the case of rape, incest or a threat to their health.Dancing on tramsIn an effort to ease tensions, President Andrzej Duda proposed legislation on Friday reintroducing the possibility of terminating a pregnancy due to fetal abnormalities, although only limited to defects that are immediately life-threatening.Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki pledged lawmakers would proceed with the legislation quickly, but demonstrators were unimpressed.”This is an attempt to soften the situation for PiS, but no sane person should fall for it,” activist and leftist lawmaker Joanna Scheuring-Wielgus told Reuters.The government has accused demonstrators of risking the lives of the elderly by defying strict pandemic rules against large gatherings. Poland reported a daily record of more than 21,000 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday.Health Minister Adam Niedzielski drew comparisons between the Polish protest and the Black Lives Matter movement against police brutality, saying demonstrations across the United States caused an “escalation” of the pandemic.Public health experts say there has yet to be conclusive evidence of large-scale spread from the U.S. events.Five women were charged with organizing an illegal protest which attracted 850 people in the town of Police on Thursday, officials said.The Roman Catholic Church has said that while it opposes abortion, it did not push the government or the court to increase restrictions.PiS, however, has sought to instill more traditional and Catholic values in public life, ending state funding for in vitro fertilization, introducing more patriotic themes into school curricula and funding church programs.It has also launched a crackdown on LGBT rights and a reform of the judiciary the European Union says subverts the rule law. PiS says it seeks to protect traditional Polish values against damaging western liberalism.Opinion polls have shown its support falling sharply in recent weeks.
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On the steps of a Bucharest court on Friday, Adrian Albu pointed to his sister among the pictures of the 65 people who died in a nightclub fire five years ago, triggering mass protests across Romania at a culture of graft and lack of accountability.Hundreds of people wearing protective masks and standing 4 meters apart lit candles and formed a socially distanced human chain between the site of the former Colectiv club and the Bucharest Court of Appeals where the trial against those responsible is still taking place.”We should know who is guilty and people should know that the same thing can happen again at any moment and we are as unprepared now as we were then,” said Albu, 43, who survived the fire but lost both his sister and his cousin.The fire broke out when fireworks used during a concert by rock band Goodbye to Gravity ignited non-fireproofed insulation foam, triggering a stampede toward the single-door exit.Prosecutors have shown the club’s owners allowed it to fill beyond capacity and that Bucharest officials gave it an operating license while safety inspectors allowed it to run despite knowing it did not have a fire safety permit.A trial resulted in preliminary prison sentences last year, but the decision is on appeal.Badly burned patients were treated in improper conditions in Romanian hospitals, where many contracted infections that are still hampering their recovery.On Friday, centrist President Klaus Iohannis signed into law a bill that covers all future medical expenses of those injured at Colectiv. Albu said the legislation does not account for hundreds of non-Colectiv burn victims Romania records every year.Romania, which has one of the European Union’s least developed health care infrastructures, currently has one of the EU’s highest coronavirus death rates.”Change must start with us citizens,” said Marian Raduna, one of the human chain organizers. “We are the ones who tolerate corruption cases and incompetent authorities, and, sadly, we forget quickly.”
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Pope Francis said he is focused on fighting corruption in the Catholic Church, despite the challenges.”I know I have to do it (fight corruption), I was called to do it, but it will be the Lord to decide if I did well or not. Sincerely, I am not very optimistic,” he said during an interview Friday with Italian news agency AdnKronos.Pope Francis also said he is not deterred by criticisms in whatever area, noting he takes them “on board because it can lead to self-examination.” He added he will not let himself be “dragged down by every non-positive thing written about the pope.”In 2013, Pope Francis was elected by cardinals on a mandate to clean up the Vatican’s finances, after a series of corruption scandals.Last month, Francis fired a former top Vatican official, Cardinal Angelo Becciu, for alleged embezzlement in the purchase of a luxury London building for the Vatican. Becciu has denied all accusations.A former worker of Becciu, 39-year-old Cecilia Marogna, was released Friday after spending at least two weeks in jail. Marogna is awaiting a judge’s decision on extradition from the Vatican.Francis says he is worried the “cases of malfeasance, of betrayals” hurt believers of the Catholic faith.
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Officials in Greece and Turkey say rescue efforts are continuing into the night after a powerful earth struck Friday in the Aegean Sea between the Turkish coast and the Greek island of Samos, killing at least 14 people and injuring hundreds amid collapsed buildings and flooding caused by a minor tsunami.
Video clips showed several damaged buildings, some partially or completely collapsed, as emergency services attended the scene.
Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency reported12 people died, one due to drowning, while 419 people were injured.
On the Greek island of Samos two teenagers, a boy and a girl, were found dead in an area where a wall had collapsed. Haluk Ozener, director of the Istanbul-based Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute, reported a small tsunami struck the Seferihisar district south of Izmir, the city in western Turkey that was the worst affected.
Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency  said search and rescue operations continued at 17 collapsed or damaged buildings. Izmir’s governor said 70 people had been rescued from under the rubble.
The European-Mediterranean Seismological Center said the quake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.9 with an epicenter 13 kilometers north-northeast of Samos and 32 kilometers off the coast of Turkey. The United States Geological Survey put the magnitude at 7.0. It is common for preliminary magnitudes to differ in the early hours and days after a quake.
Multiple aftershocks struck the region.
Turkey’s official Anadolu news agency said three injured people were pulled from the wreckage of a building in Izmir. Izmir mayor Tunc Soyer told CNN Turk that about 20 buildings collapsed. The city is the third largest in Turkey with about 4.5 million residents.
Media reports say the quake was felt as far away as Britain and Bulgaria. 
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German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier expressed optimism Friday when data for the third quarter of 2020 showed the German economy bounced back strongly compared to the previous three months, when the country was hit by the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
 
At a news conference in Berlin, Altmaier said figures from the Federal Statistical Office indicate the country’s gross domestic product grew by 8.2% from July to September compared to the second quarter, “well above” expectations, and the government now expects a full-year decline in GDP of 5.5%, down from the September forecast of a 5.8%.
 
Altmaier said the good third quarter suggests the German economy can continue to grow even during a pandemic. He said that also gives the government hope as it faces a second wave of COVID-19 and heads into what could be difficult winter months.
 
Germany is set to enforce new restrictions on Monday, closing bars, restaurants and other “leisure” sections of the economy to slow the current surge in infections.
 
Altmaier told reporters, as optimistic as he is, the recovery is “subject to further developments of the pandemic.”
 
But, he added, “we have a real chance of achieving this growth.”
 
Altmaier said he expects the economy to fully recover from the pandemic by 2022.
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Women’s rights activists have called a national strike and thousands of people have joined demonstrations to protest a decision by Poland’s Constitutional Court to ban nearly all abortions. Roderick James narrates this report filed by Pablo Gonzalez in Warsaw for VOA.
Camera: Pablo Gonzalez
Video editor: Henry Hernandez
Contributor: Ricardo Marquina
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After the Canadian parliamentary Subcommittee on International Human Rights concluded last week that China’s treatment of the Uighurs in the Xinjiang region amounts to genocide, some experts and international human rights activists say the international community could be entering a new phase of action to hold officials in Beijing accountable.In its Oct. 21 statement, the committee said the detention of nearly 2 million Uighurs and other Turkic Muslims, forced labor, “pervasive” state surveillance and repressive control were “a clear attempt to eradicate Uighur culture and religion.”“Based on the evidence put forward during the Subcommittee hearings, both in 2018 and 2020, the Subcommittee is persuaded that the actions of the Chinese Communist Party constitute genocide as laid out in the Genocide Convention,” the committee said in a news release.The U.N. Genocide Convention defines genocide as acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.Kyle Matthews, executive director of the Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies at Concordia University, said the committee’s move represents the first time a national legislative body has described the treatment of Uighurs in China as genocide.“This will put pressure [on] the executive branch of government to follow suit and respond accordingly,” Matthews told VOA.China has been accused internationally of arbitrary detention, forced indoctrination and torture of over a million Uighurs and other Turkic Muslims in internment camps in Xinjiang since 2017.Approval by governmentThe committee called on the Canadian government to recognize the campaign as genocide, condemn China, and sanction officials involved in “grave human rights abuses.” It also asked the government to push for international access to the region and support organizations raising awareness on Uighurs.Committee chair Peter Fonseca told VOA that the suggestions included in the statement were “a unanimous proclamation on the part of the multiparty members of the subcommittee.”He said the committee report will be presented to the Foreign Affairs Committee, which can approve or reject its findings.Some experts say the findings are likely to proceed further in the country’s legislative branch and be presented to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Cabinet for approval.“The government has often followed the suggestions of the committee,” Ilan Orzy, director of operations at the Raoul Wallenberg Center for Human Rights, told VOA.Orzy said the Canadian government followed such a proceeding with regard to the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar.Canada recognized the actions by Myanmar authorities against the Rohingya minority as genocide in September 2018.The Canadian government has yet to announce whether it will act on the committee suggestions. In a statement shared with VOA, Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne said his government takes genocide allegations “very seriously.”“We will continue to work in close collaboration with our allies to push for these to be investigated through an international independent body and for impartial experts to access the region so that they can see the situation firsthand and report back,” Champagne said.‘‘We remain deeply disturbed by the troubling reports of human rights violations in Xinjiang and have publicly and consistently called on the Chinese government to end the repression of Uighurs,” he said.‘Vocational training’China rejects the claim that it is running a repressive campaign against Turkic minorities in Xinjiang. Beijing officials say they have sent Uighurs who were “poisoned” by religious extremism or who lagged behind in society to “vocational training centers” to deradicalize them and teach them new work skills.Last Thursday, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian called the committee’s statement “groundless” and called on Canada to stop interfering in China’s internal affairs under the pretext of Xinjiang-related matters.“The so-called genocide in Xinjiang is a rumor and a farce fabricated by some anti-China forces to slander China,” Zhao said at a press conference.Some observers charge that a possible move by the Canadian government to approve the committee findings and recognize the Uighur genocide could encourage other countries to follow suit.U.S. stanceLast Friday, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, a Foreign Relations Committee member, urged the U.S. government to formerly recognize the issue as genocide.Tuesday, a bipartisan group of senators introduced a resolution to declare the Uighur campaign genocide.Peter Irwin, a senior program officer at the Washington-based Uyghur Human Rights Project, told VOA that those resolutions show the international community is ready to go beyond condemnation of China’s policies in Xinjiang toward holding party officials accountable.“The Canadian [parliamentary] subcommittee, to their credit, took the time to study the issue intensively, calling witnesses and analyzing reports, and concluded that what’s happening amounts to genocide,” Irwin said.Dolkun Isa, president of the Munich-based World Uyghur Congress, said that discussions of genocide-labeling means those countries understand the severity of the Uighur situation, and their policymakers are willing to adjust their responses to the crisis.“There is growing momentum to recognize the situation as a genocide, and the decision of the subcommittee has greatly contributed to that. It is our hope that this move will be the start of a more meaningful and concrete push by the international community to demand that China stops the Uighur genocide,” Isa told VOA.
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