RIYADMEDIA

The number of COVID-19 infections has been rising in Spain, one of the early epicenters of the pandemic. In this report narrated by Jonathan Spier, Alfonso Beato has more from Barcelona on the dilemmas the country faces as it prepares to reopen schools.
PRODUCER: Jon Spier
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French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo is republishing caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad which unleashed a wave of anger in the Muslim world to mark the start of the trial of alleged accomplices in the militant attack against it 2015.
Among the cartoons, most of which were first published by a Danish newspaper in 2005 and then by Charlie Hebdo a year later, is one of Mohammad wearing a bomb-shaped turban with a lit fuse protruding.
“We will never lie down. We will never give up,” editor Laurent “Riss” Sourisseau wrote in a piece to accompany the front cover that will be published in print on Wednesday.
Twelve people, including some of the magazine’s best-known cartoonists, were killed when Said and Cherif Kouachi stormed the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo and sprayed the building with automatic gunfire.
The Kouachi brothers and a third Islamist gunman who killed five people in the 48 hours that followed the Charlie Hebdo massacre were shot dead by police in different stand-offs, but 14 of their alleged accomplices go on trial on Wednesday.
The decision to republish the cartoons will be seen by some as a defiant gesture in defense of free expression. But others may see it as a renewed provocation by a magazine that has long courted controversy with its satirical attacks on religion.
After the 2006 publication of the cartoons, Jihadists online warned the weekly would pay for its mockery. For Muslims, any depiction of the Prophet is blasphemous.
“The freedom to caricature and the freedom to dislike them are enshrined and nothing justifies violence,” the French Council of the Muslim Faith wrote on Twitter in response.
Muslims have previously said the turban cartoon branded all Muslims as terrorists, as did a Charlie Hebdo cartoon showing the Prophet reacting to Islamist militants by saying: “It’s hard to be loved by idiots.”
In 2007, a French court rejected accusations by Islamic groups that the publication incited hatred against Muslims.
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The U.S Geological Survey says a strong 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck near the coast of Northern Chile early Tuesday.   Initially, local media reported some minor damage near the epicenter.  There are reports of people living along the coast being evacuated as a precaution, but  no immediate word of anyone being injured.The earthquake was felt in the western region of neighboring Argentina.The earthquake has already produced more than a dozen aftershocks.Chilean authorities say the earthquake posed no threat of a tsunami.
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Czech Foreign Minister Tomáš Petříček Monday pushed back on his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi’s assault over the Czech Senate delegation’s visit to Taipei — signs, observers say, that suggest the tide is turning against China in Europe. Relations between Prague and Beijing may take another plunge. While visiting in Slovenia, Petříček tweeted that Wang’s comments toward the delegation were “over the edge,” shortly after the Chinese official warned of “a heavy price” for Czech Senate President Milos Vystrčil to pay, now that he has defied China’s objection to the visit to Taiwan. Beijing considers Taiwan a renegade province.     “Minister Wang’s statements are over the edge. Such strong words do not belong in the relations between the two sovereign countries,” Petříček tweeted, calling on China to pursue “factual, practical cooperation without emotions that do not belong in diplomacy.”   Exchanges of protests   The Czech foreign minister said he had instructed his deputy to summon China’s ambassador in Prague and expressed the Czech ministry’s “fundamental disagreement” with China’s repeated negative words toward the delegation. Although the Czech government does not support the delegation’s visit to Taiwan, Petříček added that he has demanded an explanation from China and anticipated the delegation’s trip would have a negative impact on its relations with China. The Czech government, led by Czech President Miloš Zeman and Prime Minister Andrej Babis, still favors closer ties to China.   But while meeting U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo in the Czech Republic in mid-August, Babis complained that the Chinese have not invested in the Czech Republic in the way he would imagine they should.  Pompeo’s warm reception was considered a warning sign to the once-promising relationship between Prague and Beijing.U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, front left, shakes hands with Czech Republic’s Foreign Minister Tomas Petricek, right, during a ceremony at the General Patton memorial in Pilsen near Prague, Czech Republic, Aug. 11, 2020.A heavy price to pay According to a statement released by China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday, Wang described Vystrčil’s trip to Taipei as “an unendurable provocation for which there will be retribution.”   He was quoted as saying “the Chinese government and Chinese people won’t take a laissez-faire attitude or sit idly by and will make him pay a heavy price for his short-sighted behavior and political opportunism,” the statement said. In return, China’s Vice Foreign Minister Qin Gang Monday also summoned the Czech Republic’s ambassador in Beijing to tell him that Vystrcil “violated China’s sovereignty by openly supporting Taiwan ‘independence’ and splittist forces.” Another outcry in Czech   Wang’s threats, part of China’s coercive diplomacy that backfired and failed to stop the Senate delegation’s visit to Taiwan, are expected to provoke another public outcry, said Karel Picha, a Czech who has lived in Taiwan for eight years and currently runs the only Czech cuisine restaurant in Taipei.   “I think most of the Czech people, they will respond negatively to these threats. They are probably not going to be polite,” Picha told VOA. He said that the wounds from 30 years of occupation by communist Soviet Union are too fresh to the Czech people, who hate it more than anything else when another communist country threatens them.   Doing the right thing Vystrčil also responded to Wang’s threat in Taipei by saying that “delegation members made the trip voluntarily, and we believe we are doing the right thing. In the short run, the outcome looks negative. But there will be long-term benefits.” He said the Czech people know how it feels to be controlled by a big brother who will never relent.   Two analysts who spoke to VOA said China’s repeated bashing of Vystrčil can only result in soured relations, while it is also likely for China to make good on its threat.   “China is too pushy. It turns even more aggressive when other countries or companies have been willing to go along (with its one-China policy),” DPP legislator Lo Chih-cheng told VOA. “But there comes a time when people say, ‘Enough is enough.’ “China has turned into such a bully because for a long time, Western countries have put up with it,” he added, referring to Wang’s threat to punish the Czech Republic. Worsening relations  Lo urges China to realize that any coercive move it plans to take will only backfire and worsen their relations.   Jean-Pierre Cabestan, a political science professor at Hong Kong Baptist University, agreed that China will make the Czech Republic pay. But it remains to be seen how damaging China’s sanctions will be, since the Czech economy isn’t heavily dependent upon China.   He said the Czechs are “courageous” to have made the trip to Taiwan regardless of the Chinese pressure.  “I think it kind of underscores a pushback from a number of countries in Europe which feel much more sympathy with Taiwan, a democratic country, as opposed to authoritarian China,” Cabestan told VOA by phone. China-Europe relations are on a rocky path, as more European countries have become vocal over the situation in Hong Kong, Xinjiang and the potential flash point in Taiwan or the South China Sea, according to Cabestan. China’s popularity in Europe has fallen in recent years and will take some time to improve, he said. Cabestan said Wang was touring Europe because the country’s “wolfish” diplomacy has done harm to its relations with many European countries, and Wang was there to minimize the damage. 
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Trinidad and Tobago have adopted a stringent face mask policy to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in the Caribbean.  Starting Monday, anyone eight years of age and older caught not wearing a mask in public without good reason faces a $1,000 fine. The penalty increases to $2,000 for a second offense and $3,000 if someone is caught a third time without a mask. Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley’s poignant advice for those who cannot afford the fines is to put their mask on. Rowley said the burden is on everyone to abide by all measures that aim to slow the spread of the coronavirus.  So far, Trinidad and Tobago have confirmed more than 1,700 COVID-19 cases and 22 deaths. 
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Roberto Marrero, the chief of staff to Venezuela’s opposition leader Juan Guaido, has been released from prison in Caracas hours after the government announced President Nicolas Maduro pardoned more than 100 opposition politicians. Venezuelan Communication Minister Jorge Rodriguez said the government’s intention is to deepen the process of national reconciliation so that political issues are settled by peaceful and electoral means. Guaido, the self-declared acting president, and leading opposition figures have vowed to boycott the election, fearing a lack of transparency.Opposition leader Juan Guaido waves to supporters during a rally at Bolivar Plaza in Chacao, Venezuela, Feb. 11, 2020.The head of Venezuela’s oldest party, Henry Ramos Allup of the Democratic Action party, is among those pardoned, as well as individuals with outstanding court cases and exiled opposition lawmakers. The pardons also follow the release from house arrest of lawmaker Juan Requesens, who was jailed for two years and accused of participating in a failed attack on President Maduro with two drones that exploded during an outdoor military ceremony. It is unclear if the pardons will impact Guaidó’s ongoing effort to remove Maduro from power. 
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Canada reached an agreement in principle on Monday with both Novavax and Johnson & Johnson for millions of doses of their experimental coronavirus vaccines, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said. Canada’s two agreements follow separate deals with Pfizer and Moderna announced weeks ago, and are the latest example of countries rushing to secure access to vaccines. Canada is also in “the final stages of negotiations” to secure AstraZeneca’s potential vaccine and is in talks to secure more doses of the Pfizer vaccine candidate, Procurement Minister Anita Anand said. “What we are trying to do is make sure that when a vaccine is developed, we are at the front of the line,” Anand told reporters. Canada has a population of about 38 million, and the four vaccine agreements signed so far “give Canada at least 88 million doses with options to obtain tens of millions more,” Trudeau said when he announced the deals in Montreal. More doses possibleAll four agreements announced so far have options to purchase more doses if needed, officials said. Trudeau also said the government will invest C$126 million ($96.7 million) over two years to build a biomanufacturing facility at the Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre in Montreal capable of producing up to 2 million doses of a vaccine per month by next year. Last week, Canada’s National Research Council said it had ended its partnership on a coronavirus vaccine with China’s CanSino Biologics because the company lacked the authority to ship the vaccine. Help for businessesSeparately, Canada extended to the end of October a program to provide loans of up to C$40,000 ($30,666), a quarter of which is forgivable, to small businesses struggling amid the pandemic. It had been due to expire Monday. Novavax said it expects to finalize an advance purchase agreement to supply doses of the vaccine, beginning as early as the second quarter of next year. Novavax has agreed to supply up to 76 million doses of its experimental vaccine, while Johnson & Johnson will supply up to 38 million doses of its vaccine candidate. Both agreements are subject to the vaccines obtaining licenses from Health Canada. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Shares of Novavax were up 1.7% at $109.59 and Johnson & Johnson shares were little changed at $153.72 on Monday afternoon. 
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Czech Foreign Minister Tomáš Petříček Monday pushed back on his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi’s assault over the Czech Senate delegation’s visit to Taipei — signs, observers say, that suggest the tide is turning against China in Europe. Relations between Prague and Beijing may take another plunge. While visiting in Slovenia, Petříček tweeted that Wang’s comments toward the delegation were “over the edge,” shortly after the Chinese official warned of “a heavy price” for Czech Senate President Milos Vystrčil to pay, now that he has defied China’s objection to the visit to Taiwan. Beijing considers Taiwan a renegade province.     “Minister Wang’s statements are over the edge. Such strong words do not belong in the relations between the two sovereign countries,” Petříček tweeted, calling on China to pursue “factual, practical cooperation without emotions that do not belong in diplomacy.”   Exchanges of protests   The Czech foreign minister said he had instructed his deputy to summon China’s ambassador in Prague and expressed the Czech ministry’s “fundamental disagreement” with China’s repeated negative words toward the delegation. Although the Czech government does not support the delegation’s visit to Taiwan, Petříček added that he has demanded an explanation from China and anticipated the delegation’s trip would have a negative impact on its relations with China. The Czech government, led by Czech President Miloš Zeman and Prime Minister Andrej Babis, still favors closer ties to China.   But while meeting U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo in the Czech Republic in mid-August, Babis complained that the Chinese have not invested in the Czech Republic in the way he would imagine they should.  Pompeo’s warm reception was considered a warning sign to the once-promising relationship between Prague and Beijing.U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, front left, shakes hands with Czech Republic’s Foreign Minister Tomas Petricek, right, during a ceremony at the General Patton memorial in Pilsen near Prague, Czech Republic, Aug. 11, 2020.A heavy price to pay According to a statement released by China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday, Wang described Vystrčil’s trip to Taipei as “an unendurable provocation for which there will be retribution.”   He was quoted as saying “the Chinese government and Chinese people won’t take a laissez-faire attitude or sit idly by and will make him pay a heavy price for his short-sighted behavior and political opportunism,” the statement said. In return, China’s Vice Foreign Minister Qin Gang Monday also summoned the Czech Republic’s ambassador in Beijing to tell him that Vystrcil “violated China’s sovereignty by openly supporting Taiwan ‘independence’ and splittist forces.” Another outcry in Czech   Wang’s threats, part of China’s coercive diplomacy that backfired and failed to stop the Senate delegation’s visit to Taiwan, are expected to provoke another public outcry, said Karel Picha, a Czech who has lived in Taiwan for eight years and currently runs the only Czech cuisine restaurant in Taipei.   “I think most of the Czech people, they will respond negatively to these threats. They are probably not going to be polite,” Picha told VOA. He said that the wounds from 30 years of occupation by communist Soviet Union are too fresh to the Czech people, who hate it more than anything else when another communist country threatens them.   Doing the right thing Vystrčil also responded to Wang’s threat in Taipei by saying that “delegation members made the trip voluntarily, and we believe we are doing the right thing. In the short run, the outcome looks negative. But there will be long-term benefits.” He said the Czech people know how it feels to be controlled by a big brother who will never relent.   Two analysts who spoke to VOA said China’s repeated bashing of Vystrčil can only result in soured relations, while it is also likely for China to make good on its threat.   “China is too pushy. It turns even more aggressive when other countries or companies have been willing to go along (with its one-China policy),” DPP legislator Lo Chih-cheng told VOA. “But there comes a time when people say, ‘Enough is enough.’ “China has turned into such a bully because for a long time, Western countries have put up with it,” he added, referring to Wang’s threat to punish the Czech Republic. Worsening relations  Lo urges China to realize that any coercive move it plans to take will only backfire and worsen their relations.   Jean-Pierre Cabestan, a political science professor at Hong Kong Baptist University, agreed that China will make the Czech Republic pay. But it remains to be seen how damaging China’s sanctions will be, since the Czech economy isn’t heavily dependent upon China.   He said the Czechs are “courageous” to have made the trip to Taiwan regardless of the Chinese pressure.  “I think it kind of underscores a pushback from a number of countries in Europe which feel much more sympathy with Taiwan, a democratic country, as opposed to authoritarian China,” Cabestan told VOA by phone. China-Europe relations are on a rocky path, as more European countries have become vocal over the situation in Hong Kong, Xinjiang and the potential flash point in Taiwan or the South China Sea, according to Cabestan. China’s popularity in Europe has fallen in recent years and will take some time to improve, he said. Cabestan said Wang was touring Europe because the country’s “wolfish” diplomacy has done harm to its relations with many European countries, and Wang was there to minimize the damage. 
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In an interview with VOA, Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya appears to reject any idea of imminent Western intervention or help, saying, “The Belarusian people have a responsibility for what’s going on. We think that we have to solve this problem by ourselves.” Belarusians have protested nearly nonstop since the election Aug. 9, in which President Alexander Lukashenko won a disputed sixth term. Protesters claim the election was rigged, an accusation that Lukashenko has denied. Tsikhanouskaya fled to Lithuania with her children after the election.  Here is a transcript of her recent interview with VOA’s Henry Ridgwell. It has been edited for clarity and length. VOA: Do you believe that you have defeated Lukashenko and that most people in Belarus voted for you on Aug. 9? The Belarussian authorities claim that Lukashenko has won. What evidence do you have of your leadership? Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: All the people who are on the streets now, and the evidence that Mr. Lukashenko didn’t win, and all the people who came to their polling station for voting. VOA: How realistic is that, that Lukashenko will sit down at the negotiating table with you? Tsikhanouskaya: It is realistic because the authorities will not have a way out of this situation. The only way out of this political crisis is negotiations. VOA: Some say you don’t have any plan or strategy. If you do, what is it? Tsikhanouskaya: Our plan is absolutely clear. It’s organization of new elections, fair and transparent. VOA: Do you think Lukashenko should be allowed to participate in new presidential elections? Tsikhanouskaya: No. So, as our elections are absolutely free and clear and transparent, so every person is allowed to participate in these elections. And so, Mr. Lukashenko is a citizen of our country, so physically, he can. But if he has a moral right to participate is a big question. VOA: This weekend, we saw more and more women come out to protest. What’s your message to them? Tsikhanouskaya: I’m so proud that women are playing a great role in these demonstrations, in this so-called revolution. Because our women showed that women play a great role in everyday life. And maybe we inspired them for this movement is because we had to stand instead of our men. So, as they stand in front of their men and beside their men, and it’s wonderful. And I don’t think that the world had ever seen such a demonstration of women in white. VOA: Your countrymen are protesting on the streets of Belarus — cities. You’re in Vilnius, Lithuania. Why did you leave the country?  Tsikhanouskaya: I had big reasons to make this step. I can’t talk about this now. Maybe somewhere in the future I will talk about all my story, but now, I can’t comment on it. VOA: Were you pressured or threatened? Tsikhanouskaya: Sorry, I can’t comment.  VOA: If you knew back in May, what you know now, would you have done it again? Tsikhanouskaya: You know, I have been thinking about this a lot, and of course I had great stress during all this election campaign. And a lot of times, I was ready to step away because I wasn’t sure that I had enough strength to continue. But I see now that it’s so important for Belarusian people. This year is extremely important for the history of Belarus, that we are, at last, woken up, and we are ready to fight for our rights. So now, I think that, yes, I would do this again. VOA: Should Russia or any other Western countries be involved in negotiations between you, the coordination council and Lukashenko? Tsikhanouskaya: “You know, I have to admit that this political crisis that takes place in our country is absolutely an internal affair. And we have — the Belarusian people — have a responsibility for what’s going on. And we think that we have to solve this problem by ourselves. But if it happens then we will need one day (the) help of other countries, help in organizing this — maybe in mediation of these negotiations. So of course, any country that would like to help us with this question is invited.”   
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Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has told VOA that the country’s political crisis is “absolutely an internal affair” as she appeared to reject any idea of imminent Western intervention or help. Speaking Monday from Vilnius, Lithuania, Tsikhanouskaya said, “The Belarusian people have a responsibility for what’s going on. We think that we have to solve this problem by ourselves. “But if it happens that we will need one day the help of other countries, help in organizing this, maybe mediation or negotiation, of course any country that would like to help us with this question is invited,” she added. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, candidate for the presidential elections, reacts during a news conference after the Belarusian presidential election in Minsk, Belarus, Aug. 10, 2020.Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets of Belarusian cities in recent weeks to demand the resignation of President Alexander Lukashenko, who refuses to step down. Lukashenko claimed victory in elections August 9. Opposition parties, along with the United States and the European Union, say the poll was heavily rigged.  Lukashenko has denied rigging the election, yet he has used riot police and special forces personnel in a crackdown on demonstrations. Hundreds of protesters have been arrested, and widespread evidence of abuse and torture has been reported. At least four people were reported to have died during the demonstrations. Tsikhanouskaya was briefly detained and fled to neighboring Lithuania following the election, fearing for her and her family’s safety. She refused to elaborate further on why she left Belarus.  “I had big reasons to make this step. I can’t talk about this now. Maybe some [time] in the future I will talk all about my story but now I can’t comment on it.” VOA Interview: Belarus Opposition Leader Tsikhanouskaya Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya tells VOA, ‘Our plan is absolutely clear. It’s organization of new elections, fair and transparent’ Tsikhanouskaya stood for the presidency after her husband, Sergei Tsikhanousky, a prominent YouTube blogger, was arrested in May and barred from taking part in the election. Several other opposition figures were also arrested, and their wives joined the political opposition movement.  Tsikhanouskaya praised the hundreds of women who have taken part in the protests in recent days, many wearing white and red, the traditional colors that have become emblematic of the political opposition to Lukashenko’s rule. “I’m so proud that women are playing a great role in these demonstrations in this so-called revolution,” Tsikhanouskaya told VOA. “Our women showed that [they] play a great role in everybody’s lives and maybe we inspired them for this move because we had to stand instead of our men. So, as they are standing in front of their men, and beside their men, it’s wonderful and I don’t think the world has ever seen such demonstrations of women [in white].” The 37-year-old former English teacher reiterated her stance that Belarus must hold fresh elections overseen by international observers.  “The only way out of this political crisis is negotiation,” she said.   VOA asked Tsikhanouskaya whether Lukashenko should be allowed to stand in any new elections.  “Mr. Lukashenko is a citizen of our country so physically he can. But whether he has the moral right to participate is a big question,” she said. Lukashenko has been in power for 26 years and shows little sign of any willingness to compromise with the opposition, despite the ongoing protests and mass strikes that have paralyzed parts of the country for the past three weeks. His government has recently canceled the visas of many foreign journalists reporting on the crisis. Russian President Vladimir Putin last week said that he had a police reserve force ready to intervene in Belarus if necessary. WATCH: Behind Russia’s Take on Mass Protests in Belarus Behind Russia’s Take on Mass Protests in Belarus Concerns within the Kremlin: The same could happen in RussiaOn Monday, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia placed travel restrictions on Lukashenko and nearly 30 other Belarusian officials. The Baltic countries are targeting officials they accuse of having played a role in vote-rigging and violence against Belarusian voters. Lukashenko responded Monday by threatening to cut off European transit routes through Belarus.  Many outside observers have compared the crisis in Belarus to the revolution in Ukraine in 2014, when Russia invaded the country following the overthrow of President Viktor Yanukovych. That revolution was marked by the presence of European Union flags among the anti-government protesters, and opposition calls for U.S. and other Western help. Observers also say the future of the Belarusian opposition movement, and Tsikhanouskaya’s role, remain highly uncertain.  
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Canada reached an agreement in principle on Monday with both Novavax and Johnson & Johnson for millions of doses of their experimental coronavirus vaccines, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said. Canada’s two agreements follow separate deals with Pfizer and Moderna announced weeks ago, and are the latest example of countries rushing to secure access to vaccines. Canada is also in “the final stages of negotiations” to secure AstraZeneca’s potential vaccine and is in talks to secure more doses of the Pfizer vaccine candidate, Procurement Minister Anita Anand said. “What we are trying to do is make sure that when a vaccine is developed, we are at the front of the line,” Anand told reporters. Canada has a population of about 38 million, and the four vaccine agreements signed so far “give Canada at least 88 million doses with options to obtain tens of millions more,” Trudeau said when he announced the deals in Montreal. More doses possibleAll four agreements announced so far have options to purchase more doses if needed, officials said. Trudeau also said the government will invest C$126 million ($96.7 million) over two years to build a biomanufacturing facility at the Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre in Montreal capable of producing up to 2 million doses of a vaccine per month by next year. Last week, Canada’s National Research Council said it had ended its partnership on a coronavirus vaccine with China’s CanSino Biologics because the company lacked the authority to ship the vaccine. Help for businessesSeparately, Canada extended to the end of October a program to provide loans of up to C$40,000 ($30,666), a quarter of which is forgivable, to small businesses struggling amid the pandemic. It had been due to expire Monday. Novavax said it expects to finalize an advance purchase agreement to supply doses of the vaccine, beginning as early as the second quarter of next year. Novavax has agreed to supply up to 76 million doses of its experimental vaccine, while Johnson & Johnson will supply up to 38 million doses of its vaccine candidate. Both agreements are subject to the vaccines obtaining licenses from Health Canada. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Shares of Novavax were up 1.7% at $109.59 and Johnson & Johnson shares were little changed at $153.72 on Monday afternoon. 
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With mass protests in Belarus showing no signs of letup following contested presidential elections August 9, the country’s longtime leader Alexander Lukashenko is turning to Russia for his political survival. But behind the Kremlin’s response lies a mix of geopolitical and domestic concerns, as Charles Maynes reports from Moscow.
Camera: Ricardo Marquina, Agencies   Produced by: Ricardo Marquina 
 
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Rail officials say thousands of passengers were trapped overnight on high-speed TGV trains that were halted by electrical problems in southwestern France. SNCF, the national rail authority, apologized Monday for what it called “a series of electrical supply incidents” that started Sunday afternoon and disrupted service to Paris.  SNCF officials said a train from Hendaye, a popular tourist destination on the border with Spain, was carrying about 1,000 vacationers back to Paris when electrical issues halted it in the remote Landes region. Officials say those passengers were transferred to another train bound for Bordeaux in the middle of the night. Four high-speed trains connecting Bordeaux with other cities in the region were also stuck on tracks into the night, resulting in delays on other routes.  Frustrated travelers posted images on social media of children sleeping on floors, and described the challenges of wearing face masks for as long as 20 straight hours.  French media reported that several people were evacuated for medical reasons. SNCF Strategic Crisis Director Jérôme Attou told reporters in Bordeaux that authorities were still inspecting the tracks and the catenaries — power lines that deliver electricity to the trains — and getting the network back in working order. Attou said he expected trains to be running normally by Tuesday. France’s junior minister for transport, Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, said all passengers will be reimbursed three times the cost of their tickets.    
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High-profile COVID-19 vaccines developed in Russia and China share a potential shortcoming: They are based on a common cold virus that many people have been exposed to, potentially limiting their effectiveness, some experts say. CanSino Biologics’ vaccine, approved for military use in China, is a modified form of adenovirus type 5, or Ad5. The company is in talks to get emergency approval in several countries before completing large-scale trials, the Wall Street Journal reported last week. A vaccine developed by Moscow’s Gamaleya Institute, approved in Russia earlier this month despite limited testing, is based on Ad5 and a second less common adenovirus. A scientist works inside a laboratory of the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology during the testing of a coronavirus vaccine, in Moscow, Russia, Aug. 6, 2020. (Russian Direct Investment Fund/Handout via Reuters)”The Ad5 concerns me just because a lot of people have immunity,” said Anna Durbin, a vaccine researcher at Johns Hopkins University. “I’m not sure what their strategy is … maybe it won’t have 70% efficacy. It might have 40% efficacy, and that’s better than nothing, until something else comes along.” Vaccines are seen as essential to ending the pandemic that has claimed over 845,000 lives worldwide. Gamaleya has said its two-virus approach will address Ad5 immunity issues. Both developers have years of experience and approved Ebola vaccines based on Ad5. Neither CanSino nor Gamaleya responded to requests for comment. Researchers have experimented with Ad5-based vaccines against a variety of infections for decades, but none are widely used. They employ harmless viruses as “vectors” to ferry genes from the target virus — in this case the novel coronavirus — into human cells, prompting an immune response to fight the actual virus. But many people already have antibodies against Ad5, which could cause the immune system to attack the vector instead of responding to the coronavirus, making these vaccines less effective. FILE – Screen grab taken from video issued by Britain’s Oxford University, showing a person being injected as part of the first human trials in the UK to test a potential coronavirus vaccine, untaken by Oxford University in England, Apr. 23, 2020.Several researchers have chosen alternative adenoviruses or delivery mechanisms. Oxford University and AstraZeneca based their COVID-19 vaccine on a chimpanzee adenovirus, avoiding the Ad5 issue. Johnson & Johnson’s candidate uses Ad26, a comparatively rare strain. Dr. Zhou Xing, from Canada’s McMaster University, worked with CanSino on its first Ad5-based vaccine, for tuberculosis, in 2011. His team is developing an inhaled Ad5 COVID-19 vaccine, theorizing it could circumvent pre-existing immunity issues. “The Oxford vaccine candidate has quite an advantage” over the injected CanSino vaccine, he said. Xing also worries that high doses of the Ad5 vector in the CanSino vaccine could induce fever, fueling vaccine skepticism. “I think they will get good immunity in people that don’t have antibodies to the vaccine, but a lot of people do,” said Dr. Hildegund Ertl, director of the Wistar Institute Vaccine Center in Philadelphia. In China and the United States, about 40% of people have high levels of antibodies from prior Ad5 exposure. In Africa, it could be has high as 80%, experts said. HIV risk  Some scientists also worry an Ad5-based vaccine could increase chances of contracting HIV. In a 2004 trial of a Merck & Co Ad5-based HIV vaccine, people with pre-existing immunity became more, not less, susceptible to the virus that causes AIDS. FILE – Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, testifies before a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, June 30, 2020.Researchers, including top U.S. infectious diseases expert Dr. Anthony Fauci, in a 2015 paper, said the side effect was likely unique to HIV vaccines. But they cautioned that HIV incidence should be monitored during and after trials of all Ad5-based vaccines in at-risk populations. 
“I would be worried about the use of those vaccines in any country or any population that was at risk of HIV, and I put our country as one of them,” said Dr. Larry Corey, co-leader of the U.S. Coronavirus Vaccine Prevention Network, who was a lead researcher on the Merck trial. Gamaleya’s vaccine will be administered in two doses: The first based on Ad26, similar to J&J’s candidate, and the second on Ad5. Alexander Gintsburg, Gamaleya’s director, has said the two-vector approach addresses the immunity issue. Ertl said it might work well enough in individuals who have been exposed to one of the two adenoviruses. Many experts expressed skepticism about the Russian vaccine after the government declared its intention to give it to high-risk groups in October without data from large pivotal trials. “Demonstrating safety and efficacy of a vaccine is very important,” said Dr. Dan Barouch, a Harvard vaccine researcher who helped design J&J’s COVID-19 vaccine. Often, he noted, large-scale trials “do not give the result that is expected or required.”  
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Italian Police say at least three migrants were killed, six were injured and one is missing after their boat caught fire in the Ionian Sea, off the coast of Italy Sunday. Coast Guard video shows the boat in flames and sailors frantically yelling instructions as they try to rescue the migrants in the water. Police say the ship’s engine reportedly caught fire and exploded, as it was being navigated into port. It is unclear exactly how many migrants were originally on the boat. Media reports about 21 migrants were on board the boat when it arrived but 13 of them had already been escorted on shore by the Italian police before the fire.  ANSA news agency reported that the police were escorting the boat with the remaining migrants to the port of Crotone in Calabria when the fire occurred. Several migrants suffered serious burns and were taken to the hospital in Crotone. Meanwhile, the recent increase in migrant arrivals in Italy has sparked protests on the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa, which bears the brunt of the landings. Mayor Toto Martello called for a “general strike” demanding more assistance from the Italian government on Sunday after a rusty fishing boat landed during the night allowing 450 migrants to disembark on the island. Italian officials have responded by sending three more COVID-19 quarantine ferries to the island, with one due to arrive on Monday and two more on Wednesday. 
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In Montenegro, pollster CEMI forecast that the pro-Western Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) of President Milo Djukanovic is narrowly ahead of the pro-Serbian and pro-Russian alliance For the Future of Montenegro after Sunday’s parliamentary election.As neither of the two main political parties will secure the necessary simple majority of 41 deputies in the 81-seat parliament to govern alone, they each will need to seek the support of smaller parties in hopes of forming a coalition government.Speaking to supporters, Djukanovic said the DPS remains the strongest party in the parliament.“Such a result means that the Democratic Party of Socialists is the strongest party in Montenegro and in these elections (supporters cheering and applauding) – not only in terms of votes, but also in terms of the mandates,” he said.Djukanovic said the DPS is waiting for the official results and will “unconditionally comply” with the outcome.Meanwhile, the leader of For the Future of Montenegro alliance, Zdravko Krivokapic, claimed victory.“People of Montenegro, freedom has happened!” Krivokapic said. “Good things come to those who wait. After 31 years of an absolute power, this had to happen.The state election commission is expected to announce the results of Sunday’s parliamentary elections in the coming days.Montenegro, under the DPS and Djukanovic, broke with Serbia and Russia to join NATO in 2017 after declaring independence from Serbia in 2006.Internally, DPS and Djukanovic, have faced accusations of an autocratic rule, as well as of widespread graft and criminal links.  
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The 2020 Tango World Cup, an annual event held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, was held virtually this year because of the coronavirus pandemic.For the champions of the stage category Valentín Arias Delgado and his dance partner, Diana Franco Durango of Colombia, training was a challenge because of COVID-19 restrictions.”For us it didn’t matter that it was virtual, but it was the world cup organized by the city of Buenos Aires so it was super important and worthy of respect,” he said. “Of course, we had to change a little our way of preparing because we had spent five months without dancing together due to the worldwide pandemic, but when we started training, we did it full speed.”Louise Junqueira Malucelli and Marcos Esteban Roberts of Argentina won the salon category.Instead of competing at the Luna Park stadium in Buenos Aires, where the event has been held each year since 2002, competitors were required to send a video of their dances to the organizers.Among the finalist were couples from Argentina, Colombia, the United States, Russia, Italy and Norway.More than 91,000 people from the general public voted online to crown the champs.
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The pro-Western Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) of President Milo Djukanovic was narrowly ahead of Montenegro’s pro-Serbian and pro-Russian alliance in parliamentary elections Sunday, pollster CEMI said in a preliminary forecast.On the basis of 89% of ballots from a sample of polling stations, CEMI forecast the DPS secured 34.8% of votes, while the alliance of mainly Serb nationalist parties, For the Future of Montenegro, which wants closer ties with Serbia and Russia, was just behind with 32.7%.As neither of the two largest contenders will secure the 41 deputies in the 81-seat parliament needed to rule alone, they would need to seek coalition partners.The Peace is Our Nation, an alliance of centrist parties also opposed to the DPS, came third with 12.5% of the votes, CEMI said. Another alliance led by the green United Reform Action (URA) party received 5.7% of the votes.The result was a major setback for the DPS, which has been in power for three decades, and Djukanovic, who led the country through the violent collapse of the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s, the dissolution of a state union with Serbia in 2006 and steered it into NATO in 2017.A pro-Serb government might move the country closer to Serbia and Russia, but it is not expected to lead it out of NATO and to abandon its EU membership bid.Nela Savkovic, a DPS official, told reporters that the party had secured enough votes to form a coalition with “traditional partners” that include national minorities and some smaller parties.At the headquarters of the Democratic Front, which is the mainstay of For the Future of Montenegro, the leader of the pro-Serb alliance, Zdravko Krivokapic, claimed victory.”Dear citizens, we are expressing our gratitude for your perseverance and dignity … the regime has fallen,” Krivokapic, a university professor, told his jubilant backers.Krivokapic’s alliance and the DF are backed by the powerful Serbian Orthodox Church, which holds daily protests against a law adopted last December that allows the state to seize religious assets whose historical ownership cannot be proven.Politicians from the DF were also implicated in a failed 2016 election day plot staged by Russian agents and a group of Serb nationalists aiming to topple the government, assassinate Djukanovic, who then served as the prime minister, and halt the country’s accession to NATO.Opposition leaders and democracy and rights watchdogs have long accused Djukanovic and his party of running Montenegro for three decades as their own corrupt fiefdom with links to organized crime.The DPS denies this. Djukanovic, who faces re-election as the country’s president in 2023, and his top associates have in turn accused Serbia and Russia of using the Church and the pro-Serb opposition to undermine the independence of the mountainous coastal republic, its NATO membership and its EU membership bid.Any future government must tackle an economic downturn that started in 2019 and was aggravated by the coronavirus pandemic, which gutted revenues from tourism that is a key driver of the economy.According to the International Monetary Fund, Montenegro’s economy is forecast to contract by nearly 9% this year and recover in 2021. 
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The Vatican has announced that the faithful will be readmitted to the general audiences Pope Francis holds on Wednesday as the Holy See slowly begins easing restrictions imposed by COVID-19. Francis has spoken about the pandemic on various occasions including the past week when he said it has both “exposed and aggravated” social inequalities. Sabina Castelfranco has more for VOA.For more than six months, due to COVID-19, Pope Francis has been holding his customary Wednesday general audiences in his private library inside the Vatican and the faithful all over the world were able to receive his message streamed online, but no one was present.   The Vatican announced that as it begins easing restrictions imposed by the coronavirus, a limited number of faithful would start to be readmitted to the papal audiences starting Wednesday. The audiences will not be held in Saint Peter’s Square as in the past, but in a closed courtyard of the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace. There will be a maximum number of 500 seats available in the courtyard and entry to the area will open two hours ahead of the scheduled start of the audience. FILE – A bar employee wears a protective face mask while standing at St. Mark’s Square amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Venice, Italy July 9, 2020.Italy was the first country in Europe to be hard hit by COVID-19, which killed more than 35,000 people on its territory. The situation improved significantly over the summer but the number of infected people over the past week has started to grow again with more than 1,000 daily cases being reported.  This has led authorities to warn there could be new closures and new measures implemented if the numbers cannot be contained.  FILE – Pope Francis reads his “Urbi et Orbi” (“To the City and the World”) message in St. Peter’s Basilica with no public participation due to an outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on Easter Sunday at the Vatican.Due to the virus crisis, Pope Francis was forced to celebrate Easter this year in solitude, in front of an empty Saint Peter’s Square. The Pope has spoken on numerous occasions about the sorrow and hardship caused by the pandemic during these months and the consequent economic difficulties faced by many. Pope Francis has said that the pandemic has both “exposed and aggravated” social inequalities. He added that not everyone can work from home and that school was “abruptly interrupted” for some children. He added that while “some powerful nations can issue money to deal with the crisis,” that would mean “mortgaging the future for others.” He said, “these symptoms of inequality reveal a social illness; it is a virus that comes from a sick economy.” FILE – Pope Francis poses with a baby as her mother (L) takes a picture, during a visit to parish San Gregorio Magno in Rome, April 6, 2014.Pope Francis has always been fond of direct contact with people and shook the hands of many and hugged children and kissed babies in his audiences before the pandemic. He was fond of travelling both in Italy and abroad. It remains unclear if and when the 83-year-old pontiff will be able to return to those habits.  
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Tens of thousands protested in the Belarusian capital of Minsk Sunday, the president’s birthday, demanding he resign. Alexander Lukashenko, who turned 66 Sunday, was declared the winner of an August 9 election, amid widespread allegations of voter fraud. Lukashenko, in power for 26 years, denies any election irregularities. The main opposition candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said she would never accept the elections results before fleeing to Lithuania for what she said was her children’s safety.    Protesters rally against elections results they say were rigged, in Independence Square in Minsk, Belarus, Aug. 27, 2020.Protests have rocked the country since the election results were announced. On Sunday, protesters convened around Lukashenko’s residence, facing security forces carrying shields and backed by prisoner vans and water cannons. At least 125 people were detained Sunday, Russia’s RIA news agency quoted the Interior Ministry as saying. Russian President Vladimir Putin called Lukashenko Sunday to wish him a happy birthday and invite him to Moscow. Putin has repeatedly offered support to Lukashenko as Belarus faces sanctions from the West. 
 
 
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The U.N. refugee agency says tens of thousands of Nicaraguan refugees and asylum-seekers in Costa Rica are going hungry because COVID-19 restrictions have eliminated job opportunities.More than 81,000 Nicaraguans have sought international protection in Costa Rica from rights violations and political persecution in Nicaragua. Before the pandemic, the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees reports, most of the refugees and asylum-seekers could find work to support themselves.This situation has changed dramatically for the worse because of lockdowns and other restrictions imposed to curb the impact of COVID-19. The UNHCR reports more than three-quarters of Nicaragua’s refugee population is going hungry as a direct consequence of these measures.UNHCR spokeswoman Shabia Mantoo said forcibly displaced Latin Americans largely depend on the informal economy to earn a living.  These jobs, she said, have essentially dried up because of COVID-19.  She said most of these families now eat only two meals a day.“Only 59% of refugee families in Costa Rica are reporting steady work-related income streams as of the end of July.  And, this is a staggering decrease from 93% before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.  So, this now leaves many also at risk of eviction and homelessness.  A fifth of Nicaraguan refugees surveyed in Costa Rica said they now do not know where they will live in the next month,” she said.A recent survey of 21% of Nicaraguan refugees and asylum-seekers indicates at least one member of their households is thinking of returning to Nicaragua because they cannot make a living.  Mantoo told VOA more than 3,000 asylum claims in Costa Rica, most from Nicaraguans also have been withdrawn.“Families are reporting that they are considering these returns back to Nicaragua where maybe what is driving them is this pressing socioeconomic condition—the desperation, the hardship, the poverty that they are enduring …That is just the data that we have and it points as part of the bigger picture that we are seeing—sort of a pressing humanitarian situation there for refugees driving premature returns, but also affecting day-to-day lives,” she said.  Mantoo said the UNHCR is stepping up cash assistance programs throughout Central America to support vulnerable forcibly displaced people.  In face of the worsening situation in Costa Rica, she said her agency and its partners are working with the government to support asylum-seekers and refugees who cannot return to Nicaragua. 
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German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Sunday condemned an attempt by protesters to break-in to storm the Reichstag, Germany’s parliament building, as an “unacceptable attack on the heart of our democracy.”    “We will never accept this,” Steinmeier said in an Instagram message. The incident took place on Saturday evening after some 38,000 protesters gathered in Berlin during the day to protest against the country’s coronavirus  restrictive measures. After about two hours, police dispersed the protesters, citing disregard of social distancing rules. The German president called the protesters a “right-wing extremist rabble,” while praised the security forces who “acted extremely prudently in a difficult situation.” “The Reichstag building is the seat of our Parliament and thus the symbolic center of our democracy,” German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer told the newspaper Bild am Sonntag. “The fact that sowers of chaos and extremists are abusing it for their own purposes is unacceptable,” Seehofer added. 
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Montenegrins vote Sunday in parliamentary elections, choosing between the path toward EU membership, led by the long-ruling pro-Western party, or closer ties with Serbia and Russia advocated by a coalition of opposition groups.The elections are being held as a dispute over a religious property law opposed by the influential Serbian Orthodox Church brews.The church argues the law permits Montenegro to confiscate its property in efforts to create a separate Montenegrin church, the government has denied the claim.The main pro-Serb and -Russian opposition alliance, For the Future of Montenegro, backs the church.Polls predict the Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic, a strong Western ally, in power for about 30 years, will finish first but may not have the votes to form a government alone.Montenegro under the DPS and Djukanovic, broke with Serbia and Russia to join NATO in 2017, after declaring independence from Serbia in 2006.Internally, DPS and Djukanovic, have faced accusations of an autocratic rule, as well as of widespread graft and criminal links.Some 540,000 Montenegrins are eligible to vote in the Balkan country for the 81-seat Skupstina, or Assembly.
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India reported 78,761 new coronavirus infections in 24 hours on Sunday, the highest single day rise in the world since the pandemic began, while the county is continuing to open its economy.It was the fourth consecutive day that India has registered more than 75,000 infections.With a population of 1.4 billion people, India is the third most infected nation in the world, behind the United States and Brazil, with 3.5 million cases and more than 63,000 deaths, according to official statistics provided by the country’s health ministry.In several European cities Saturday demonstrators rallied against restrictions that have been imposed since the COVID-19 outbreak began.Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Berlin to march against mask-wearing and social distancing rules. Police say they arrested about 300 protesters. In London, demonstrators in Trafalgar Square rallied against what they said is the “medical tyranny” that has been placed on them by masks and distancing.A man with a placard reading in German: ‘Watch out! Covidiot’ takes part in a protest against the increasing coronavirus preventative measures in Zurich, Switzerland, Aug. 29, 2020.A few hundred protesters in Paris demonstrated against the capital’s mandatory mask-wearing mandate.In Zurich, about 1,000 demonstrators skeptical of COVID-19 rules called for a “return to freedom.”U.S. President Donald Trump said in a statement Saturday night that he is extending the federal cost-sharing for the deployment of the National Guard in Louisiana to help with the state’s response to COVID-19 and to help facilitate the Southern state’s economic recovery.Public health departments throughout the United States are calling on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to reverse changes the federal agency recently made to its public coronavirus testing guidelines.The Big Cities Health Coalition and the National Association of County and City Health Officials, which represent thousands of local departments, sent a letter Friday to the heads of the CDC and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services requesting that the agencies reverse a decision to stop testing people who have been exposed to the virus but are asymptomatic.The organizations called on the government agencies to reinstate recommendations that people who have been exposed to the virus be tested even if they are asymptomatic.At least 33 states are not following the new CDC guidelines and continue to recommend testing for all people who have been exposed to COVID-19 regardless of symptoms, according to an analysis by Reuters news agency.Johns Hopkins University reports there are more than 25 million COVID-19 cases worldwide. The United States has almost 6 million infections, followed by Brazil with 3.8 million and India with 3.5 million.   
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