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Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido on Saturday said the opposition would not recognize a “false” electoral body named by the government-friendly supreme court, while his allies pledged to extend the term of the current legislature.An extension past the January 2021 end date would allow Guaido, who is recognized by dozens of countries as Venezuela’s rightful leader due to his position as president of the opposition-held National Assembly, to remain in the role even if the opposition boycotts parliamentary elections due by the end of the year.“We do not recognize any false national electoral council,” Guaido told reporters during a virtual news conference.Venezuela’s constitution grants the power to appoint members of the national electoral council to congress, but the Supreme Court — widely viewed as loyal to President Nicolas Maduro’s socialist government — on Friday named its own board after ruling the legislature had failed to do so.Opposition leaders denounced the move as an attempt to rig the election, and some prominent Guaido allies said in response the current legislature should extend its term.“The current legitimate National Assembly will continue as long as no valid constitutional electoral process to substitute it has been held,” Henry Ramos, a senior lawmaker from the large Democratic Action block, wrote on Twitter on Friday night.Asked about a possible extension of the legislature’s term, Guaido said his priority was ousting Maduro before the end of the year, and that the National Assembly would move forward with naming its own electoral rectors.“For us, 2021 is very far away,” he said.Venezuela’s information ministry did not respond to a request for comment.The court’s decision to name its own council has raised the likelihood that opposition parties would boycott the parliamentary election as they did Maduro’s reelection in 2018. 
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Two and a half million residents. Four confirmed coronavirus deaths.As coronavirus cases surge in Latin America, the Colombian city of Medellin is defying expectations and managing to keep numbers remarkably low.Months into the pandemic, there are just 741 confirmed cases citywide and only 10 patients hospitalized in ICUs with COVID-19. The metropolis recently went five weeks without a single COVID-19 death.“Medellin can be considered a best-case scenario,” said Dr. Carlos Espinal, director of Florida International University’s Global Health Consortium.In theory, that shouldn’t be the case. The city is dense, home to many poor residents who will go hungry if they quarantine for too long and connected by a congested public transportation system. All these factors have made the virus especially hard to contain in Latin America.How has Medellin, so far, defied the odds?City officials and epidemiologists credit early preparation, a novel app that connected needy residents with food and cash while also collecting important data that later helped track cases, and a medical system that has moved rapidly to treat the sick before they fall critically ill.Mayor Daniel Quintero’s critics fear the immense data being collected on citizens amounts to a severe invasion of privacy, but even they admit that it has proven effective in containing COVID-19.“It’s impossible to fight the virus without information,” Quintero, 39, said. “We’d have deaths in the hundreds if we hadn’t made these decisions.”Quintero, Medellin’s youngest mayor ever, is an engineer by training who began holding COVID-19 prep meetings in January, weeks after taking office. The virus was a blip on the radar for most Latin American governments back then. Some thought he was absurd for worrying about a virus raging in China.In this June 9, 2020, photo, a nurse measures the body temperature of a shopper at the El Tesoro mall, amid the new coronavirus pandemic, in Medellin, Colombia.Medellin did many of the things other cities would try in the weeks ahead, but it had some built-in advantages. Its international airport receives far fewer travelers from abroad than bigger cities like Bogota. That made tracking passengers landing from hot spots like Spain and the U.S. easier. It also has what is considered one of the best public health systems in Latin America.Quintero said he knew that in order for many residents to quarantine, they’d need food and cash. Using his tech background, he led the city in launching Medellin Me Cuida (Medellin Takes Care of Me), an app offering aid to those who signed up and requested help.The response has been enormous: 1.3 million families – some 3.25 million people in total – from Medellin and surrounding areas registered.The aid was key for Maritza Alvarez, who lives with six elderly relatives, two of whom are street vendors. Since signing up, she said they’ve gotten packages of food three times and two cash transfers. That has allowed them to mostly stay indoors instead of going out to earn money and buy food.The app also asks questions such as who users live with, if they have COVID-19 symptoms and what preexisting health conditions they suffer. That information has proven key in identifying cases, but it has also raised concerns.Two cases have been filed in court challenging Medellin’s assertion that downloading and registering with the app is voluntary, noting that businesses and employees are being asked to sign up in order to restart work. A judge ruled in favor of one complainant, agreeing that not all the information requested should be obligatory. Others are concerned about what the data might be used for once the pandemic is over.“Technology is an important tool in controlling the virus,” Daniel Duque, a councilman, wrote in a recent blog post. “But the pandemic shouldn’t be an excuse for governments to turn into a Big Brother that watches and controls everything.”In an interview with The Associated Press, Quintero brushed such concerns aside.“They’re partly right. Medellin is the city in Latin America with the most information on its citizens,” he said via Zoom from his headquarters, brightly lit screens with charts and maps behind him. “But the question of our intentions in how we use this data can’t be doubted.”In Medellin, medical workers test anyone suspected of having COVID-19 at their home. Those who test positive are given a free oximeter. If their blood oxygen levels dip, nurses bring oxygen to their homes. Those who don’t improve are taken to the hospital.The app has proven key in quickly tracking down those who may have had contact with someone who tests positive. Medellin does about 40 coronavirus tests for each case diagnosed, a number over double the nationwide average, officials said.Though Medellin’s per million testing rate is low, several epidemiologists said they believe the city’s more targeted testing is proving effective. Colombian scientists estimate that for each COVID-19 death there are at least 100 more cases. That means in Medellin, which has had four deaths, there should be at least 400 infected people. The city has currently identified about 300 cases on top of that amount.In this June 8, 2020 photo, an El Tesoro mall employee uses his mobile to scan a customer’s app to verify he is registered for entry, in Medellin, Colombia, June 8, 2020.Bogota, by contrast, has reported at least 339 coronavirus deaths but has only detected around 14,500 cases, suggesting that despite more testing per million people, they still haven’t found many of the existing cases.Still, confirmed coronavirus cases in Medellin have increased from around five to 16 per day since the city reopened its economy in May. Police officers are using newly developed software to scan ID cards of citizens boarding buses and entering malls to ensure they have permission to be out and about.“We are entering a new phase now,” said Dr. Juan Carlos Cataño, an epidemiologist with the Antioquia Foundation for Epidemiology. “We hope to count on a health system that is sufficiently prepared.”Like much of Latin America, Medellin found it difficult to equip hospitals with more ICU beds. Global prices for ventilators skyrocketed at the start of the pandemic and supply dried up. Medellin initially had 332; today it has 453. In an emergency scenario, the city plans to utilize ventilators made at a university in Medellin.Current projections indicate the city will reach peak caseload in July or October.The challenge for Medellin will now be to convince citizens to continue abiding by safety measures like wearing face masks and social distancing. In some poor neighborhoods, local activists say they’ve encountered skepticism about the virus.“People think it’s a lie, that COVID-19 is a government invention,” said Gustavo Lainez, a community leader. “Misinformation is a huge factor.”Still, he said all but perhaps 2 percent of the 140,000 people who live in the area where he works have agreed to sign up for Medellin Me Cuida.Over the last two decades, Medellin has undergone an urban transformation, leaving behind the days marred by the violence of Pablo Escobar’s drug cartel and boosting education, libraries, parks and other civic projects. But the virus has brought new hurdles. Unemployment in the metro area is now at 17.3 percent, the highest in 18 years.Locals believe their reputation for discipline and industriousness will carry them through another difficult chapter in Colombia’s history.“We feel supported,” said Alvarez, the beneficiary of food packages. “I never thought big data would help me.” 
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Ukrainian officials on Saturday said they were offered $5 million in bribes to end a probe into energy company Burisma’s founder, but said there was no connection to former board member Hunter Biden, whose father is running for the U.S. presidency.The Ukrainian company was thrust into the global spotlight last year in the impeachment inquiry into whether U.S. President Donald Trump improperly pressured Kyiv into opening a case against former Vice President Joe Biden, his rival in the November election race, and Biden’s son.Artem Sytnyk, head of Ukraine’s national anti-corruption bureau (NABU), said three people had been detained, including one current and former tax official, over the bribe offer.The money was the largest cash bribe ever seized in the country, NABU said. It was put on display during a press briefing, brought by masked men in see-through plastic bags.Founder now abroadBurisma said in a statement it had nothing to do with the matter. It did not respond to a request for comment from the company’s founder, Mykola Zlochevsky, a former ecology minister now living abroad.“Let’s put an end to this once and for all. Biden Jr. and Biden Sr. do not appear in this particular proceeding,” Nazar Kholodnytsky, head of anti-corruption investigations at the prosecution service, told Saturday’s briefing.The bribe related to a case of embezzling state money given to a bank, officials said. Some $5 million was offered to anti-corruption officials and a further $1 million was intended for an official acting as a middleman, Sytnyk said.The suspects were in a hurry to pay the bribe because they wanted to end the case against Zlochevsky in time for his birthday on Sunday, “to close the criminal proceedings and ensure the return of Mr. Zlochevsky to Ukraine,” he said.No evidence of Biden wrongdoing foundThe country’s former prosecutor general told Reuters in June that an audit he commissioned while in office of thousands of old case files had found no evidence of wrongdoing by Hunter Biden while he worked for Burisma.Hunter Biden joined Burisma in 2014, one of several high-profile names to join what the private company said was an attempt to strengthen corporate governance.His role has been attacked as corrupt without evidence by Trump and congressional Republicans in Washington. The Bidens deny any wrongdoing, and Democrats said Trump was trying to help his re-election prospects.
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Some members of Poland’s government on Friday denied a Reuters report saying talks over a U.S.-Polish defense deal known as Fort Trump were crumbling amid disputes over how to fund the deployment of additional U.S troops and where to garrison them.“This is fake news,” Krzysztof Szczerski, a top aide to the Polish president, told public radio on Friday.The U.S. ambassador to Poland, Georgette Mosbacher, reacting on Twitter to the report, said negotiations remained on track.“President Trump @POTUS & @Prezydentpl Duda’s vision for increased US presence in Poland will be even greater than originally outlined. Announcement coming soon.”Mosbacher and the U.S. Embassy in Poland were not immediately available for comment to elaborate on the timing of the announcement and what the new plans would look like.A U.S. State Department spokesperson said in an email to Reuters on Saturday that talks were productive and on track.A spokesperson for Reuters said the company stood behind its reporting which accurately reflected the situation at the time.Reuters was unable on Friday to determine what fresh efforts, if any, had been made since Wednesday’s report to advance the negotiations and resolve major outstanding issues such as funding.A year ago, Polish President Andrzej Duda and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed that an additional 1,000 U.S. troops would be stationed in Poland. Six locations were shortlisted for the troops when Vice President Mike Pence visited Warsaw in September.The Reuters report published on Wednesday cited government officials in Washington and Warsaw saying they still could not agree where the troops should be stationed, and how much of the multibillion-dollar deployment Warsaw should fund.In that story, Polish deputy foreign minister Pawel Jablonski told Reuters complex issues remained to be ironed out. “There’s the question of financing, of the placement, of legal rights, under what principles these soldiers will function here,” he said.“I do think we will come to a final decision, but this will still take some time.”But Poland’s defense minister said the deal was going ahead.“We are currently agreeing the last details and discussions are taking place in a good atmosphere,” Mariusz Blaszczak said in a tweet on Thursday. 
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Chanting “We are culture,” matadores and bullfighting supporters demonstrated on Saturday across Spain, seeking government support for the sector after the coronavirus pandemic halted its season.Major festivals such as Sevilla’s April Fair and Pamplona’s San Fermin in July have been canceled, and bulls have been sent from ranches straight to the slaughterhouse. The shutdown could deal a fatal blow to a controversial spectacle that has struggled for survival in recent decades.“The COVID-19 crisis has had an enormous impact … It has reduced almost by 100 percent the scheduled events for the year and all the families that live off bullfighting have been too affected,” said Juan de Castilla, 25, a Colombian bullfighter at a protest in the central city of Guadalajara.There were also protests on Saturday in Seville, Madrid and Barcelona, among other cities.Several hundred masked people marched in Guadalajara, waving Spanish flags with bull figures and holding banners in support of the traditionally emblematic Spanish spectacle.The Spanish government has allowed bullfights to resume but with only half occupancy and a limit of 800 attendees in regions with lesser lockdown restrictions.“We have come to proclaim that the bullfighting world is important for society, Spain and Guadalajara,” said Jesus Romero, 58.He said bullfights, also known as “corridas,” should resume soon since Spain is gradually lifting its lockdown — one of the strictest in Europe. The country has now contained the coronavirus spread, which has killed over 27,000 people.Although the big festivals still draw crowds, public interest in bullfighting has dwindled considerably.Over 56 percent of people were against bullfighting, 24.7 percent in favor and 18.9 percent indifferent in a poll published last year by news website El Espanol. Support was significantly higher among conservative voters, it showed. 
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The French praised the altruism of their prized textile and luxury goods companies when production facilities got diverted from churning out the latest fashions to making cloth masks designed to protect the general public from the coronavirus.Now, the companies that helped France avoid a feared shortage of virus-filtering face wear for everyday use say they need help unloading a surplus of 20 million masks. They asked the French government for assistance promoting and finding buyers for the unsold output of the industry’s national effort.Hundreds of textile and clothing manufacturers answered the government’s call for millions of masks superior to homemade versions. President Emmanuel Macron last month sported a military-tested model embroidered with the tri-color national flag to advertise the “Made in France” masks.Yet within weeks, demand dried up for the domestically produced masks that sold for a few euros at supermarkets and pharmacies or were available in bulk for free distribution by businesses and local governments. Manufacturers and the government acknowledged that many suppliers and consumers still opted for cheaper disposable face masks from Asia.“We are faced with a lot of competition” from countries with lower labor costs, said Thomas Delise, owner of Chanteclair, the knitwear manufacturer behind the mask Macron wore during a school visit last month.In this June 12, 2020 photo, director Thomas Delise gestures in Chanteclair Hosiery, a French knitwear clothing manufacturer in Saint Pouange, east of Paris, that began making masks to combat the spread of the coronavirus.In an interview with The Associated Press at his factory southeast of Paris, he called for trade barriers to large imports, and coordination within Europe to buy Europe-made masks.Guillaume Gibault, founder of trendy underwear brand Le Slip Francais (The French Brief), sees the slump as a marketing and distribution problem. The washable, specially engineered masks produced by his company and others saw “a very strong and immediate demand” before the excess accessories piled up in warehouses and factories.“Not everyone necessarily knew about what was available around them, and the public didn’t necessarily know where or what to buy,” he told French public radio service RFI.Some textile companies complained that the French government was slow to validate their masks as effective in filtering out small particles, which slowed their ability to get to market before people were allowed to start emerging from their homes and needed masks in stores or on public transportation.A group of industry representatives got time with two junior government ministers this week to discuss the surplus masks, as well as broader concerns about the health of fashion, textiles and luxury goods makers amid the economic fallout of the pandemic and in the long term.After the meeting, the ministers pledged the government’s help to spread the word to distributors, local governments and other potential customers about the environmental and employment benefits of the French masks and finding buyers at home and abroad for the surplus stock.In this June 12, 2020 photo, an employee walks by fabric cut to produce face protection masks in Chanteclair Hosiery, a French knitwear clothing manufacturer, in Saint Pouange, east of Paris.Agnes Pannier-Runacher, state secretary to France’s economy minister, told French broadcaster RTL that the government’s objective “is to convince large buyers to switch from single-use masks to reusable washable textile masks.” Gibault and French Textile Industry Union President Yves Dubief agreed to lead the mission.“In a few weeks, the French textile industry has managed to mobilize and redirect its productive apparatus on our territory in order to provide the French durable textile masks with guaranteed filtration in sufficient quantities,” Pannier-Runacher said. “This impressive effort is to be commended. It must now be long term and be given support.”The French Textile Industry Union was the first to sound the alarm in early June on this problem of surplus.“The demand was such that no one had anticipated such a brutal halt. But in the textile industry, once launched, production does not stop with a snap of the fingers,” Dubief told French magazine Challenges.Some French companies were disgruntled because it was the French government that urged many of them to get into mask-making and to increase capacity so the country would produce 5 million masks a day that could be sold or given to the general public, local governments and corporations by mid-May.The mask surplus is especially painful because France was so short of any kind of masks early in the pandemic that some nursing home and medical staff had no face protection at all. Those mask shortages are central to several lawsuits against the government of a country that has seen nearly 30,000 virus deaths.The French government said this week that part of the joint industry-government mission will be to help cloth mask-makers adjust “production capacities to collective needs in masks over the next few months.”At his textile factory, Delise said: “We don’t know how the pandemic will evolve. We don’t know which instructions the government will give, we don’t know what kind of equipment the professionals will want. So today, yes, we have a surplus stock of 600,000 masks and it obviously has an impact on my company.” 
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Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar, one of the world’s oldest and largest, is open for business after being closed for 70 days as part of Turkey’s COVID lockdown. The reopening early this month is an important symbolic step in what the government calls its normalization efforts, a move that cannot come soon enough for the 30,000 people working at the bazaar. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul.Producer: Rod James. Videographer: Berke Bas.
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Paris riot police fired tear gas Saturday to disperse a largely peaceful but unauthorized protest of police brutality and entrenched racism, as France’s minorities increasingly push back against a national doctrine of colorblindness that has failed to eradicate discrimination.In London, far-right activists and soccer rowdies scuffled with police while trying to “guard” historical monuments that have been targeted recently by anti-racism protesters for their links to slavery and British colonialism.The events in the two European capitals reflected the global emotion unleashed by the death of George Floyd in the United States and the ensuing reckoning with racial injustice and historical wrongs. In both cities, protesters defied restrictions on public gatherings imposed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.Myriam Boicoulin, 31, who was born in the French Caribbean island of Martinique, said she marched in Paris on Saturday because she “wants to be heard.””The fact of being visible is enormous,” Boicoulin said. As a black woman living in mainland France, she said, “I’m constantly obliged to adapt, to make compromises, not make waves — to be almost white, in fact.””It’s the first time people see us,” she told The Associated Press. “Let us breathe.”The Paris march in Paris was led by supporters of Adama Traore, a  French black man who died in police custody in 2016 in circumstances that remain unclear despite four years of back-and-forth autopsies. No one has been charged in the case.”We are are all demanding the same thing – fair justice for everyone,” Traore’s sister Assa told the rally.  Angry shouts rose from the racially diverse crowd as a small group of white extreme-right activists climbed a building overlooking the protest and unfurled a huge banner denouncing “anti-white racism.”Building residents then reached out of their windows and tore part of the banner down, one raising his fist in victory. Officers prevented people attending the main rally from approaching the counter-demonstrators, but didn’t detain the far-right activists until two hours later, further angering the crowd below.Riot police then fired tear gas and charged unruly members of the main protest, urging them to disperse. The crowd initially planned to march through the city, but police decided to block them from moving, citing coronavirus concerns.Similar protests were also held Saturday in cities around France, from Rouen in Normandy in the northwest to Marseille on the Mediterranean.Some demonstrators were encouraged that the French government responded to the past couple of weeks of Floyd-inspired protests by banning police chokeholds and launching investigations of racist comments in private Facebook and Whatsapp groups for police.In London, a Black Lives Matter group called off a demonstration scheduled for Saturday, saying the presence of counter-protesters who also planned to demonstrate would make it unsafe.  Some protesters still gathered at Hyde Park to denounce racism while hundreds of far-right activists demonstrated, despite strict police restrictions and warnings to stay home to contain the coronavirus.Many from the far-right camp gathered around a statue of wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill and the Cenotaph war memorial, which were both boarded up to guard against vandalism. Officials put protective panels around the monuments amid fears that far-right activists would seek confrontations with anti-racism protesters under the guise of protecting statues.Some activists threw bottles and cans at officers, while others tried to push through police barriers. Riot police on horses pushed the crowd back. The protesters, who appeared to be mostly white men, chanted “England” and sang the national anthem.”I am extremely fed up with the way that the authorities have allowed two consecutive weekends of vandalism against our national monuments,” Paul Golding, leader of the far-right group Britain First, told the Press Association.Monuments around the world have become flash points in demonstrations against racism and police violence after the May 25 death of George Floyd, a black man who died in Minneapolis after a white police officer pressed a knee to his neck.In Britain, the protests have triggered a national debate about the legacy of empire and its role in the slave trade. A statue of slave trader Edward Colston was hauled from its plinth by protesters in the city of Bristol on Sunday and dumped in the harbor. In London, Churchill’s statue was daubed with the words “was a racist.”Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted Friday that while Churchill “sometimes expressed opinions that were and are unacceptable to us today,” he was a hero and “we cannot now try to edit or censor our past.” Churchill, whose first term spanned 1940-45, has long been revered for his leadership during World War II.  ___Hui reported from London. Angela Charlton and Boubkar Benzabat in Paris contributed. 
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A group of African countries has sent a letter to the president of the U.N. Human Rights Council calling for a debate on racially inspired human rights violence when the council meets next week.  The request was sparked by the death of African American George Floyd while in police custody in the U.S. In its letter, the African group says the events that have unfolded since the May 25 death of George Floyd have sparked protests globally against the injustice and brutality that people of African descent face daily in many parts of the world.
 
It says the current racially inspired human rights violations, systemic racism, police brutality and violence against peaceful protest makes a debate airing these festering issues a matter of great urgency.
 
It says the death of George Floyd is not an isolated issue. The group of African ambassadors that drafted the letter notes many people of African descent have suffered the same fate due to unchecked police brutality. However, the crimes have gone largely unnoticed.
 
U.N. human rights spokesman Rolando Gomez tells VOA the debate is likely to occur at the council Tuesday or Wednesday, when the U.N. body takes up agenda item 9, which deals with issues of racism and discrimination.
 
“Structural racism and police violence are issues, which are commonly raised by states and civil society at meetings of the council, as are unlawful killings by police and racial bias in policing,” Gomez said. “And, the aim, of course, is to prevent such abhorrent acts.”
 
The African group’s letter to the council president notes the uprising in the U.S. is a protest against systemic racism that produces state-sponsored racial violence and impunity for the perpetrators.  It adds the protests the world is witnessing are a rejection of the racial inequality and discrimination suffered by black people and other people of color in the United States.
 
Earlier this week, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Andrew Bremberg, issued a statement expressing American horror, anger, and grief at the senseless death of George Floyd.
 
He said the public reaction following this grave tragedy demonstrated the American peoples’ desire to overcome racial injustice and to achieve a more equal and just society. 
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Professional soccer has resumed in Italy after a three-month stoppage caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Juventus played against AC Milan in Turin in the second leg of the Italian cup semi-final. To the happiness of football fans all over Italy, matches in the country’s top league will resume June 20. However, stadiums remain empty of fans for the time being.When the Italian government took the difficult decision to suspend the football season on March 9 due to COVID-19, it was a sad moment for fans across the country. The indefinite suspension of the national sport was tough for many to digest. The resumption of matches Friday night was a moment of joy, despite the fact the game was nothing to write home about. Playing at the Allianz Stadium in Turin were host Juventus and AC Milan – in a game that would qualify one of the teams for the final of the Italian Cup to be played in Rome Wednesday. The atmosphere was surreal with no one in the stands and quality on both sides after such a long break from the field clearly lacking.Juventus defender Leonardo Bonucci spoke after the game.Bonucci said his emotions are strange, playing in an empty stadium after 90 days of no competition. He said it was difficult at the beginning and AC Milan played well despite only having a 10-man team, but said Juventus managed to reach their objective to play in the final.Italy’s top football division, Serie A, will get underway again on June 20. Before the season can end, there are still 110 regular-season games left to play and 4 make-up games. Italian soccer authorities are hoping and working towards re-opening stadiums in July and allowing at least some fans to watch the games live.But until then, most fans will be watching the games from home because even at sports bars social distancing rules are in place. Some soccer teams have thought up innovative ways to avoid the sadness of having to play in front of empty seats.Lazio, one of the two top-division teams in Rome, launched the idea of fans purchasing cardboard cutouts of their image to be placed in the stands when the team is playing. The proceeds will go to the Red Cross. Other teams will play recorded cheers after a team score. The aim is to maintain a semblance of the enthusiastic atmosphere at Italian football games. Inter Milan has said it will be using lights and graphic effects during their matches.       
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Brazil’s biggest metropolis has an unorthodox plan to free up space at its graveyards during the coronavris pandemic: digging up the bones of people buried in the past and storing their bagged remains in large metal containers.Sao Paulo’s municipal funeral service said in a statement Friday that the remains of people who died at least three years ago will be exhumed and put in numbered bags, then stored temporarily in 12 storage containers it has purchased. The containers will be delivered to several cemeteries within 15 days, the statement said.Sao Paulo is one of the COVID-19 hot spots in Latin America’s hardest-hit nation, with 5,480 deaths as of Thursday in the city of 12 million people. And some health experts are worried about a new surge now that a decline in intensive care bed occupancy to about 70 percent prompted Mayor Bruno Covas to authorize a partial reopening of business this week. The result has been crowded public transport, long lines at malls and widespread disregard for social distancing.Cemetery workers exhume remains buried three years ago at the Vila Formosa cemetery, June 12, 2020. They’re making room for COVID-19 victims.Many health experts predict the peak of Brazil’s pandemic will arrive in August, having spread from the big cities where it first appeared into the nation’s interior. The virus has so far killed almost 42,000 Brazilians, and Brazil passed the United Kingdom on Friday to become the country with the world’s second highest death toll.Dr. Michael Ryan, the World Health Organization’s emergencies chief, said Friday that the situation in Brazil remains “of concern,” although acknowledged that intensive care bed occupancy rates are now below 80 percent in most areas of the country.”Overall the health system is still coping in Brazil, although, having said that, with the sustained number of severe cases that remains to be seen,” Ryan said. “Clearly the health system in Brazil across the country needs significant support in order to sustain its effort in this regard. But the data we have at the moment supports a system under pressure, but a system still coping with the number of severe cases.”The experts aren’t the only ones with concerns.At Sao Paulo’s biggest cemetery, Vila Formosa, Adenilson Costa was among workers in blue protective suits digging up old graves Friday. He said their work has only grown more arduous during the pandemic, and as he removed bones from unearthed coffins, he said he fears what is to come.”With this opening of malls and stores we get even more worried. We are not in the curve; we are in the peak and people aren’t aware,” Costa said. “This isn’t over. Now is the worrisome moment. And there are still people out.”Cemetery workers exhume the remains of people buried three years ago at the Vila Formosa cemetery in Sao Paulo, Brazil, June 12, 2020. They’re making room for COVID-19 victims.In April, gravediggers at Vila Formosa buried 1,654 people, up more than 500 from the previous month. Numbers for May and June aren’t yet available.Before the pandemic, Costa said, he and colleagues would exhume remains of about 40 coffins per day if families stopped paying required fees for the plots. In recent weeks that figure has more than doubled.Remains stored in the metal containers will eventually be moved to a public ossuary, according to the statement from the city’s funeral office. Its superintendent, Thiago Dias da Silva, told the Globo network that containers have been used before and they are more practical and affordable than building new ossuaries.Work has been so busy in Sao Paulo cemeteries since the outbreak began that one of Costa’s relatives was buried only a few meters (yards) from where he was working one day — without him even knowing. “I only found out the next day,” he said.Three other people he knew have also died from the virus.”People say nothing scares gravediggers. COVID does,” Costa said. 
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Venezuela’s supreme court on Friday named new leaders to the national electoral council that will oversee parliamentary elections later this year, a widely expected move that opposition leaders call an effort to rig the upcoming vote.Critics of President Nicolas Maduro have repeatedly accused the elections council of favoring the ruling Socialist Party and in 2018 boycotted the vote that led to Maduro’s reelection on the grounds that it was rigged.The South American nation must swear in a new congress by the start of next year but has not yet set a date for the poll, which will likely be complicated by the coronavirus epidemic that has led to a strict quarantine.Indira Alfonzo, a supreme court magistrate who led the electoral chamber, was tapped as the new elections council chief, the overtly pro-government supreme court said in a statement posted on Facebook.The court said the opposition-run legislature was in “unconstitutional omission” and therefore it had decided to designate the council leaders. The constitution grants this power to congress.Legislators are working to name the electoral council leadership themselves and insist that the supreme court does not have the jurisdiction to do so.”Given that we disavow this farcical (supreme court), we disavow what they produce,” legislator Juan Pablo Guanipa wrote on Twitter. “It’s an electoral barricade created by the dictatorship.”Legislative chief Juan Guaido last year assumed a parallel presidency after declaring Maduro a usurper and won diplomatic recognition from dozens of countries including the United States as Venezuela’s interim president.The upcoming election will force the opposition to choose between participating in what will likely be a process stacked in the Socialist Party’s favor, or boycotting the vote and losing all of its representation in congress.It was not immediately clear how countries that recognize Guaido would respond if the opposition lost its majority, given that his claim to leadership is based on being the leader of parliament. 
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A Turkish court jailed a prominent opposition journalist from an online news outlet pending trial on accusations that she revealed state secrets in two articles about Ankara’s military involvement in Libya, her lawyer said on Friday.Muyesser Yildiz, the Ankara news editor for the OdaTV online news portal, was detained on Monday and formally arrested on Thursday following her questioning.One article published in December questioned which Turkish commanders met Khalifa Haftar, the commander of the Libyan National Army, which is fighting the internationally recognized Government of National Accord of Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj, backed by Turkey.The second article, from January, gave details about a military officer who was sent to Libya to oversee Turkey’s involvement there.Yildiz was initially detained on espionage charges but this was later changed to revealing state secrets, lawyer Erhan Tokatli told Reuters.”If the articles threaten the security of this country so much, they should have blocked access to them,” he said.Ismail Dukel, Ankara representative of broadcaster TELE1, who was also detained along with Yildiz and questioned, was released, state-owned Anadolu news agency said. An army sergeant detained with them was also jailed, it said without elaborating.OdaTV, an online news outlet, has been critical of President Tayyip Erdogan’s government. Turkey ranks among the top jailers of journalists across the world.Erol Onderoglu, Turkey representative for Reporters Without Borders (RSF), said such cases damage Turkey’s international reputation and that the detention of journalists aimed to silence criticism.”Turkey, which is one of the biggest jailers of journalists in the world, needs to make peace with criticism, transparency and the values of an open society,” he said.Critics say Erdogan has used a failed 2016 coup as a pretext to clamp down on dissent and strengthen his grip on power, a charge Ankara denies. It says the measures are necessary to safeguard national security.  
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Turkey criticized Twitter on Friday for suspending more than 7,000 accounts the social media company said were promoting narratives favorable to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and the AK Parti (AKP). The suspended 7,340 accounts were detected earlier this year “employing coordinated inauthentic activity,” Twitter said in a blog post uploaded on Friday. Republic of Turkey communications director Fahrettin Altun said the social media company was attempting to smear the government and trying to redesign Turkish politics. “This arbitrary act … has demonstrated yet again that Twitter is no mere social media company, but a propaganda machine with certain political and ideological inclinations,” Altun said in a written statement on Twitter.Statement regarding Twitter’s decision to suspend accounts in Turkey and the company’s allegations: pic.twitter.com/mi9abYDWEE
— Fahrettin Altun (@fahrettinaltun) June 12, 2020The communications director closed with a warning to Twitter. “We would like to remind this company of the eventual fate of a number of organizations, which attempted to take similar steps in the past,” Altun said. In its Friday blog post, Twitter revealed it had shared data from the account takedowns related to Turkey, as well as China and Russia, with the Australian Strategic Policy Institute  (ASPI) and Stanford Internet Observatory (SIO). In what the SIO dubbed “The Turkey Operation,”  it found batches of fabricated personalities, all created on the same day. The suspended accounts were used for AKP “cheerleading,” to increase domestic support for Turkish intervention in Syria and compromised other Twitter accounts linked to organizations critical of the government, the SIO found.Twitter’s handling of the “Turkey Operation” has come to light as it removed 23,750 accounts posting pro-Beijing narratives, and 1,152 accounts engaging in state-backed political propaganda within Russia. 
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The alleged surveillance of over 400 journalists by Argentina’s former government has been condemned by rights groups as a threat to press freedom and democracy.Files made public by the president’s office Sunday appear to show that during former President Mauricio Macri’s term, Argentina’s Federal Intelligence Agency (AFI) collected data on hundreds of local and international journalists, many of whom covered international summits held in Argentina.“It is extremely serious and worrying that the state is watching or spying on journalists,” Paula Cejas, director of the Latin America office for the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), told VOA via email. “This is a clear attack on freedom of expression and press, and a violation of people’s privacy.”The files were shared with a court last week, along with a criminal complaint that accused the former head of the intelligence agency of domestic espionage without a judicial order,The Associated Press reported.FILE – Argentine President Mauricio Macri speaks during a presidential candidates debate, in Santa Fe, Oct. 13, 2019.The complaint called for an investigation of Macri, former AFI director Gustavo Arribas, his deputy Silvina Majdalani and other agents, according to the IFJ and news reports.Macri’s chief of staff, Gustavo Gómez Repeto, did not respond to VOA’s request for comment.A former spokesperson for Macri told the AP he no longer worked for the former president, and a spokesperson for the party of former Security Minister Patricia Bullrich said she was not on duty and hung up, the AP reported.The complaint alleges that the AFI compiled profiles of businesspeople and academics, with over 400 journalists included, some of whom worked for Reuters and AP.Some of the profiles included “political preferences, social media posts, sympathy for feminist groups, or political and/or cultural content among others,” according to the complaint.Intelligence auditThe alleged surveillance came to light when President Alberto Fernández, who ousted Macri in elections in October, asked new intelligence chief Cristina Camaño to audit the intelligence agency.The prosecutor’s office said that Camaño found the files on hard drives in a safe in an intelligence agency office. The files included three dossiers: “2017,” “G20” and “Miscellaneous.”Argentina hosted the World Trade Organization’s annual summit in 2017 and the Group of 20 summit in 2018.Cejas, of the IFJ, told VOA that “everything indicates” the surveillance related to journalists who were accredited for the summits.Natalie Southwick, from the press freedom group the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), said it was unclear what the information was used for, and who within the government was involved.There are “more questions than answers,” she told VOA.“[Journalists] are trying to do their job, which is reporting on issues of public interest — in this case, a global event,” Southwick said. She added the idea that a journalist may be singled out for activities or movements “is potentially a really powerful tool of intimidation.”The Forum for Argentine Journalism (FOPEA), an organization that protects and promotes journalism in Argentina, said in a statement that it will request reports from the agencies involved.#FopeaLibertaddeExpresión
FOPEA manifiesta preocupación por los casos de presunto espionaje ilegal contra ciudadanos -entre ellos, numerosos periodistas- que se habrían cometido en 2018 y comunica que presentará un pedido de informes a las autoridades y organismos involucrados. pic.twitter.com/uhtLXL2t5C
— FOPEA (@FOPEA) June 6, 2020The alleged actions were “intolerable in a democracy and affect the constitutional safeguard of journalistic activity,” according to a translation of the organization’s June 6 statement.Targeting journalists in Argentina is not new, Cejas said. During the country’s dictatorship from 1976 to 1983, over 220 journalists and media workers disappeared, she said. This “does not diminish” the relevance of the surveillance, she added.Capabilities may still existSouthwick said that the country’s history of surveilling journalists means the government may have similar capabilities today, even decades after the dictatorship.“When you have this kind of surveillance apparatus and infrastructure that was created under previous governments, unless it’s actively dismantled, you still kind of have that capability,” Southwick said.Several Latin American countries are believed to have purchased or shown interest in spyware, according to a 2016 report by Chilean digital rights group Derechos Digitales.“In most countries, it’s not unreasonable to assume that [journalists’] movements or their social media posts or some of their activities are being watched,” Southwick said.Some information for this report came from The Associated Press.
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In his first public appearance since May 9, Russian President Vladimir Putin Friday expressed confidence that “an absolute majority” of Russian citizens support constitutional reforms that include allowing him to stay in office until 2036.Putin, speaking at a Russia Day Celebration at Moscow’s Victory Park on Poklonnaya Hill, offered holiday greetings to Russian citizens and their compatriots abroad.In his comments, Putin spoke of the common “historical code and moral foundations,” culture and traditions that all Russians share, such as respect for the working man, parents and family.  He said “There have been frequent requests to include these fundamental, core principals into the Russian constitution. I’m sure that the absolute majority of our citizens share and support such a position.”Russians go to the polls July 1 to vote on a series of constitutional reforms, including a change that would allow Putin to run for two more six-year terms, after his current term expires in 2024.Other ballot measures include deepening presidential powers over parliament, establishing the ruble as Russia’s official currency and defining marriage as between a man and a woman, effectively banning gay marriage.Observers speculate the gay marriage ban was added to the ballot to drive voter turnout.  Russia Day began in 1992 to mark Russia’s declaration of sovereignty from the Soviet Union, paving the way to the country’s independence.
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French police defied a ban on mass gatherings to protest what they see as a lack of government support, marching shoulder to shoulder on Friday on the Champs-Elysees to show their anger against new limits on arrest tactics and criticism of racism in their ranks.
France this week announced a ban on chokeholds is part of government efforts to stem police brutality and racism in the wake of global protests over George Floyd’s death in the U.S. But police have especially taken issue with any implication of systemic racism among French police.
Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said earlier this week any “strong suspicion” of racism would be punished, in response to investigations into racist comments on closed Facebook and WhatsApp groups for police.
Friday’s protest was small but highly visible, with honking, flags and blue smoke blowing under rainy skies. As officers marched close together, with hardly a mask in sight, Paris police issued a bulletin confirming that anti-police protests planned this weekend were banned because of the coronavirus pandemic.  
Friday’s group walked unimpeded to the interior ministry, which is next to the presidential palace and has been barricaded against demonstrators since the 2018 yellow-vest protests that frequently ended in violent clashes. Uniformed guards appeared startled at the arrival of the protest but did not intervene. After a minute of silence for dead police officers, they sang the French national anthem, spoke briefly and dispersed.
“French police are the most controlled in the world, so when there are certain lapses by a tiny minority, don’t stigmatize all police,” said Fabien Vanhemelryck of the Alliance union. He accused politicians of responding hastily to a crisis in the United States “that has nothing to do with us.”Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline.Download File360p | 11 MB480p | 15 MB540p | 22 MB720p | 51 MB1080p | 91 MB Embed” />Copy Download AudioPolice unions met Thursday and Friday with Castaner to discuss changes to police tactics after the minister announced Monday that police would no longer be taught to seize suspects by the neck or push on their necks. Castaner stopped short of banning another technique — pressing on a prone suspect’s chest — that also has been blamed for leading to asphyxiation and possible death.
Such immobilization techniques have come under growing criticism since Floyd’s death. But French police say the new restrictions go too far.  
“He doesn’t even know what he’s talking about,” said Jean-Paul Megret, another police union leader. “Sometimes you can’t just ask people to follow you to be arrested. Every day, you’re dealing with people who are completely insane.”
Unions floated the idea this week of widening the use of stun-guns, which are only available to a handful of specialized officers.  
France has seen several anti-police protests sparked by Floyd’s death, and another is planned Saturday. Friday’s protest began on the Champs-Elysees avenue, which was repeatedly the scene of violence between police and the “yellow vest” protesters last year.  
Last week, the Paris prosecutor’s office opened a preliminary investigation into racist insults and instigating racial hatred based on comments allegedly written in a private police Facebook group.
Website Streetpress published a string of offensive messages that it said were published within the group, though acknowledged that it is unclear whether the authors were officers or people pretending to be police. Some of the reported comments mocked young men of color who have died fleeing police.
Separately, six police officers in the Normandy city of Rouen are under internal investigation over racist comments in a private WhatsApp group. Both incidents have prompted public concerns about extreme views among French police.
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Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced Thursday night that all professional sport competition in the country will resume starting Friday — but without fans attending, to prevent the risk of spreading the coronavirus.Conte also announced that amateur contact games may restart beginning on June 25 as Italy emerges from the COVID-19 outbreak and regional authorities confirm that the rate of infection continues to decline.Some entertainment activities will resume, and others will remain suspended.”Shows with public in concert halls and movie theaters will also resume, as well as those in other spaces, including those outdoors, but with some precautions,” Conte said. “All those activities that take place in ballrooms, discos and similar clubs, may them be indoors or outdoors, will remain suspended.”Italy is also limiting arrivals for tourism from most of Europe but allowing people to enter Italy from Asia or North or South America for work or other essential reasons for a short period of time.Conte urged Italians to download a new contact tracing app, known as the Immuni app, which will become available all over the country for the first time next week. Immuni uses Bluetooth technology to notify users they have come into close, prolonged contact with an app user who has tested positive.Technological Innovation and Digitalization Minister Paola Pisano said Thursday that 2 million people have downloaded the Immuni app so far.  
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Thousands of tourists are due to begin arriving in Jamaica on Tuesday as the country gradually moves to reopen amid the coronavirus outbreak.The minister of health and wellness, Dr. Christopher Tufton, announced that after Tuesday, all tourists and Jamaicans will be tested for the coronavirus so they can better understand and manage the risk profile of people, especially visitors.The government initially said tourists will only submit to voluntary testing.Jamaican Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett said dozens of flights carrying 5,000 to 6,000 visitors are expected to arrive in Jamaica beginning Tuesday through the end of the month.Bartlett also said the government has launched a resilient zone that aims to help authorities manage the movement of tourists traveling between the most popular destinations, from Negril through Port Antonio on the north end of the island.Jamaican officials are still urging everyone on the island to practice social distancing and wear masks to reduce the risk of infection.So far, Jamaica has confirmed more than 600 coronavirus cases and at least 10 deaths.
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Like many countries, France is witnessing a public awakening on the issue of police violence and racial profiling, sparked by the death of George Floyd in the United States. In northern Paris, one group of judicial experts and activists is working with minority youngsters, teaching them their rights and how to interact with the police and the communities they live in. Lisa Bryant in Paris has the story.
Camera: Lisa Bryant, Agencies
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A Turkish court on Thursday convicted a local U.S. Consulate employee in Istanbul of aiding an armed terror organization and sentenced him to eight years and nine months in prison, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.Metin Topuz, a translator and assistant for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, has been jailed since 2017, accused of links to U.S.-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen. The Turkish government blames Gulen for the 2016 coup attempt and considers his network to be a terrorist organization.Topuz’s arrest and subsequent prosecution caused tensions between Ankara and Washington, and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a statement criticizing the conviction.The accusations were based on his contacts with police officers believed to be members of Gulen’s network of followers. Topuz has maintained his innocence throughout his trial and is expected to appeal the verdict.In his statement, Pompeo said: “U.S. officials observed every hearing in the trial of Mr. Topuz in Istanbul, and we have seen no credible evidence to support this decision. As a result, this conviction undermines confidence in Turkey’s institutions and the critical trust at the foundation of Turkish-American relations.”Pompeo added that the U.S. officials “reiterate our call on the Turkish government to resolve his case in a just manner.”In his concluding words in his own defense before the verdict, Topuz told the court that he had been in contact with Turkish police, paramilitary police and customs officials as part of his job with the DEA and had no way of knowing that these officials were involved in criminal acts.”As part of my duty with the DEA, under the instructions and observation of my superiors, I had thousands of contacts with 309 law enforcement officials to prevent crime,” the state-run Anadolu Agency quoted Topuz as saying.”I committed no crime and had no relations with (Gulen’s network),” he said.The U.S. Embassy said: “For nearly three decades, Mr. Topuz performed outstanding work appreciated and lauded by officials and citizens of both countries. Under our direction, he promoted law enforcement cooperation between Turkey and the U.S., contributing to the safety of people in both nations.”Gulen, who has been in self-imposed exile in the U.S. since 1999, denies involvement in the coup attempt, which killed about 250 people and injured around 2,000 others. 
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A British political insider says there is no longer any doubt that the London government will abandon plans to incorporate technology from Chinese tech giant Huawei in the rollout of its 5G telecommunications network.The government will make an official announcement in the coming weeks of its plans to “sunset” Huawei’s involvement in the network, said Nile Gardiner, a onetime aide to former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and now the chair of a center named for Thatcher at the Washington-based Heritage Foundation.Word of the decision has already been leaked to British media outlets quoting Downing Street sources, “which is usually how it works,” Gardiner said in an interview.For months, the British government has been under pressure from the United States to pull out of its deal with Huawei, but Gardiner said domestic considerations are at least equally responsible for the decision.He attributes the reversal in part to strong opposition among senior members of the governing Conservative Party, as well as widespread public disillusionment with Beijing resulting from the coronavirus pandemic.“There has been a very significant rebellion against Prime Minister [Boris] Johnson’s earlier decision” to allow Huawei a 35% stake in Britain’s telecommunications market, Gardiner told VOA.Vote to amend soughtDuring a parliamentary debate on the issue in March, former Conservative Party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith questioned Johnson’s decision and called for a vote to amend the government’s Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill.Duncan Smith accused the Chinese government of spending 20 years underbidding other tech firms until Huawei could emerge as the dominant player in the telecom market. He said going ahead with the deal would make Britain “nationally dependent on Huawei,” which has been classified by British authorities as a “high-risk vendor.”Gardiner said the revolt within party ranks has gained sufficient support that the Johnson government must amend its proposed 5G legislation or risk a parliamentary defeat when the issue next comes to a vote this summer.FILE – Mobile network phone masts are visible in front of St Paul’s Cathedral in London, Jan. 28, 2020. A political insider says Britain will abandon plans to incorporate Huawei in the rollout of the nation’s 5G telecommunications network.While Duncan Smith and other lawmakers have warned against Beijing’s increasing involvement in British society for years, the turnaround in British public opinion has been shaped by China’s handling of the coronavirus, including early efforts to suppress reporting on the contagion.This “has significantly hardened the view of the British government and the British people,” Gardiner said, adding that recent moves to extend China’s security control over Hong Kong have been “extremely unhelpful” to Beijing’s cause.Analysts also speculate that Johnson’s personal battle with COVID-19, which brought him close to death in April, contributed to his new, tougher view of China. “A healthy growth is his backbone,” said Fraser Howie, a Scottish-born expert on Britain’s relations with the Asia Pacific region and co-author of Red Capitalism.Huawei campaignHuawei, meanwhile, has not given up on the British market. The company launched a high-profile ad campaign this week in the form of a “Dear Britain” letter published in major media outlets, touting its two-decade-long investment history in the country and reiterating its “commitment to helping bring fast reliable mobile and full fiber broadband networks to every part [of] the country.”The ad campaign follows announcements in April and May that a prominent member of British industry had joined the company’s board, and that it had entered a “new five-year collaboration” agreement with Imperial College London, “aimed at growing the U.K.’s data science and innovation ecosystem.”Washington, too, is keeping up the pressure. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a statement Wednesday denouncing “the Chinese Communist Party’s coercive bullying tactics,” citing reports that Beijing has issued threats toward Britain’s landmark banking institution, the HSBC.“The United States stands with our allies and partners” and “stands ready to assist our friends in the U.K. with any needs they have, from building secure and reliable nuclear power plants to developing trusted 5G solutions that protect their citizens’ privacy,” Pompeo said.“Free nations deal in true friendship and desire mutual prosperity, not political and corporate kowtows.”
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Nicaraguan cases of COVID-19 continued to increase dramatically over the past three weeks. Doctors and specialists in the country warn that with winter, which is about to start in the Central American country will bring a bigger burden to the already weak health system. Donaldo Hernandez put together this report adapted and voiced by VOA’s Cristina Smit.Camera: Donaldo Hernández 
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The British government is facing strong criticism for its response to the coronavirus pandemic, as latest forecasts suggest the economy could be the worst-hit globally. Britain has the world’s second-highest death toll from the virus and is emerging from its lockdown later than most of Europe. Henry Ridgwell reports from London.
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