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Losses are mounting for the U.S. airline industry as the coronavirus pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the economy and hope dims for an immediate government aid package.  Karl Moore, associate professor at Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill University, says, “We’re looking at flights being down in the area of 90% less in March and April than they were the year before. So, it’s a time of enormous crisis. And there are hundreds of thousands of people who work in the airline industry.” For now, combined third-quarter losses for American, United, Delta, Southwest and Alaska Air have exceeded $11.5 billion. The industry’s downturn dwarfs previous crises such as SARS and the September 11 terrorist attacks of 2001, Moore says.WATCH: US Airlines Await Critical Aid DealSorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline.Download File360p | 10 MB480p | 14 MB540p | 19 MB720p | 33 MB1080p | 69 MBOriginal | 94 MB Embed” />Copy Download AudioEarlier this year, U.S. airline companies received billions from Congress through the CARES Act in the form of cash and loans that helped keep them afloat. The hope was that the virus would have subsided by now. It hasn’t.   “What we’ve seen is domestic travel in the U.S. has gone up some, but international travel is down horrifically, and even domestic travel is not anywhere near what it was last year. So, we have the ongoing crisis. We have maybe a second wave — certainly a lot more people getting sick than we had hoped at this time of year. So, it’s a thing where the industry’s troubles have not yet gone beyond six or seven months and it will go on for some months and perhaps a couple of years to come,” says Moore. Nearly 5 million air transport jobs globally are at risk, according to estimates by the Air Transport Action Group. Mask wearing is mandatoryTo bring passengers back, airlines have made mask wearing mandatory. They’ve also stepped up their cleaning of plane cabins. Some leave middle seats open to put more space between passengers.Negotiations between Congress and the White House on a new aid package continue with few signs that an agreement will be reached soon.   This has led airlines to cut jobs, offer early retirement and take other cost-cutting measures. But some experts note that with airlines raking in profits over the past decade, they could have made better decisions.Even though they could not foresee the pandemic and the fallout from COVID-19, Israel Shaked, a finance and economics professor at Boston University Questrom School of Business, says airlines’ own choices left them with little cash.Shaked is also the managing director of the Michel Shaked group, a consulting firm based in Boston. In a recent article, he argues that decisions made in the past few years by the airlines were short-sighted and that they could have saved for a so-called rainy day.    “If you take a look at 2019, for example, this industry paid itself, and I am only talking about American, United, Southwest, Alaska, JetBlue … and Delta. … They paid out dividends of $1.7 billion and the stock repurchase of $7.4 billion. If you combine these two, you’re talking about almost like a 7, 8, 9 billion dollars in one year going out of the company … and it was similar the year before.” Minimum of 80% capacity neededHe points out that airlines need minimum 80% capacity utilization to survive because they have huge fixed costs.He says he supports government aid in the short term, but authorities need to put some limits in what the airlines can do with that money.This month the number of people screened at U.S. airports is down 65%, compared with last October, but that’s better than the 68% decline in September, the 71% drop in August and the 96% plunge in mid-April.  
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As Europe tries to curtail a second wave of the coronavirus, many residents across the continent are facing more restrictions in their daily lives.Parts of Germany, Spain, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Slovakia and other countries are imposing curfews and limits on social interaction as case numbers spike.Countries scrambled to look for ways to slow the spread but also to avoid the blanket lockdowns from earlier this year that have taken a massive economic toll and have little public support.Spreading fasterThe second wave has some leaders sounding the alarm. One French official said the virus was spreading faster now than it did during the first wave.“The virus is circulating more quickly than in the spring,” said epidemiologist Arnaud Fontanet, who sits on the scientific council advising the French government.Traffic passes a COVID-19 sign informing drivers of the upcoming lockdown that closes nonfood retailers, cafes, restaurants, pubs and hotels for two weeks in a bid to reduce soaring coronavirus cases, in Cardiff, Wales, Oct. 23, 2020.In Wales, for example, First Minister Mark Drakeford this week announced a severe two-week lockdown in which all nonessential businesses such as shops, restaurants and bars must shut down from late Friday until November 9.”A firebreak period is our best chance of regaining control of the virus and avoiding a much longer and much more damaging national lockdown,” he said.Other countries are taking less severe measures. Belgium, one of the hardest hit countries, restricted social contacts and banned spectators from sporting events. Poland said it would close restaurants and bars and limit public gatherings to five people. In Spain, some called for the central government to impose nighttime curfews.People sit outside a bar near Campo de’ Fiori before a curfew imposed by the region of Lazio from midnight to 5 a.m to curb the coronavirus disease infections in Rome, Italy, Oct. 23, 2020.Despite the jump in cases, hospitalizations in Europe are “still less than half of the peak in March and April” but are rising steadily each week, according to data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, The New York Times reported.The Times reported that in the U.S., about 41,000 COVID sufferers were in hospitals, which represented a 41% increase from the past month. The northern Rocky Mountain states and the upper Midwest were seeing spikes in reported cases.Researchers around the world are racing to develop a safe, effective vaccine against COVID-19, which has killed more than 1.1 million people around the globe and sickened more than 41 million.Nations with 1M casesMeanwhile, the number of countries with more than 1 million confirmed coronavirus cases rose to seven, with France and Spain the latest nations to reach the mark.According to data compiled by the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center, the United States remained the country with the highest number of infections: more than 8.4 million total cases. Despite a massive increase in testing, however, the positivity rate in the U.S. was well below April peaks.
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United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres said it was very unfortunate that the 20 major industrialized nations did not come together in March, as he suggested then, to establish a coordinated response to suppress COVID-19 worldwide.In an interview with the Associated Press, Guterres said he hopes that as the G-20 summit is coming next month, the international community understand “they need to be much more coordinated in fighting the virus.”Guterres said the U.N. will be “strongly advocating” for a coordinated response to the disease, in addition to seeking a “guarantee” that any developed vaccine be treated as “a global public good” and be made “available and affordable for everyone, everywhere.”Scores of researchers around the world are racing to develop a safe and effective vaccine against COVID-19, which has killed more than 1.1 million people worldwide and sickened more than 41 million.Meanwhile, the number of countries with more than 1 million confirmed coronavirus cases has risen to seven, with France and Spain the latest nations to reach the mark.On Thursday, France extended curfews to about 65% of its population and Belgium’s foreign minister was hospitalized with COVID-19 and treated in the intensive care unit, as a second wave of the pandemic surged across Europe.However, according to data compiled by the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center, the United States remains the country with highest number of infections, more than 8.4 million total cases, followed by India, with 7.76 million; Brazil, with 5.32 million; Russia, with 1.45 million; and Argentina, which has 1,053,650. France is in sixth place with 1,041,991 cases, followed by Spain with 1,026,281.The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has revised its definition of close contact with a person infected with COVID-19.The agency had previously determined that close contact was spending 15 consecutive minutes within 2 meters of an infected individual. The revised changes announced Wednesday now defines a close contact as someone who spent a total of 15 minutes accumulated over a 24-hour period.The change by the CDC was prompted by a report of a prison officer in the northeastern U.S. state of Vermont who became infected with COVID-19 after more than 20 brief interactions with inmates who later tested positive for the virus. The brief visits added up to about 17 total minutes of exposure.
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President Donald Trump and his Democratic Party challenger, Joe Biden, met in Nashville, Tennessee, Thursday night for the final debate of the presidential campaign. VOA’s Mike O’Sullivan reports.
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AFI FEST, one of Hollywood’s most prestigious film festivals and part of the American Film Institute, was held virtually this year because of the coronavirus pandemic.  VOA’s Penelope Poulou spoke to the festival’s organizers and filmmakers about the challenges and advantages of the online platform. 
Camera:  Penelope Poulou   Producer: Penelope Poulou
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Iran has made the imprisonment of a mother and her daughter who campaigned against its compulsory public veiling of women harsher – denying the daughter medical care and refusing to grant her mother a furlough for no apparent reason, according to an informed source.The source spoke to VOA Persian in an Oct. 16 interview from Iran, describing several recent examples of authorities at Tehran’s Evin prison engaging in harsh treatment of 22-year-old activist Saba Kord Afshari and her mother, Raheleh Ahmadi. VOA is unable to independently verify the source’s account due to being barred from reporting inside Iran.The source said that while Iranian authorities allowed Kord Afshari to be hospitalized for serious ailments three times in recent months, they prevented her from getting the treatment that she needed before she was returned to Evin.London-based rights group Amnesty International has said Iranian authorities forced Kord Afshari to wait a year after her June 2019 arrest before allowing her to make her first hospital visit on June 29 for preexisting gastrointestinal problems that have been exacerbated in prison.Amnesty said the doctor failed to conduct a comprehensive examination of Kord Afshari and referred her for future colonoscopy, endoscopy and ultrasound procedures.But VOA’s source said Kord Afshari was told that she cannot have those procedures because of her late hospital arrival and her lack of money to make payments. As a result, Kord Afshari’s health problems have worsened since she was transferred to Evin in August 2019, the source added.Dublin-based rights group Front Line Defenders has said the regulations of Iran’s Organization of Prisons stipulate that medical expenses of prisoners should be paid by the government. The group also said that when authorities granted Kord Afshari a Sept. 19 hospital visit, they misled her family by saying she was in a different hospital to ensure that relatives would not meet her and pay for her treatment.سه هفته پیش مچ پای صبا ترک برداشت و دکتر زندان گفت باید بره بیمارستان و بعد از چهار روز درد کشیدن اعزامش کردن و دکتر اورژانس گفته بود که باید ام ار ای بشه و مشکوک به پارگی تاندون هست ولی چون ظهر شده بود،درمانگاه پذیرش نکرد و مجبور شدن گچ بگیرن و برگرده.— sogand (@sogand1998ka) October 14, 2020Saba Kord Afshari’s sister Sogand reported on Twitter that Saba had been hospitalized again in late September for an ankle injury but was sent back to Evin without an MRI examination and with only a cast on her leg. Sogand said when Saba was not granted a follow-up appointment at the hospital two weeks later, she opened the cast herself and saw that her foot was swollen and bruised.VOA’s source said Kord Afshari’s lawyer Hosein Taj also has escalated his fight to restore the activist’s November 2019 acquittal by an appellate court for the charge of “inciting and facilitating corruption and prostitution” through promoting “unveiling.”A lower court initially convicted Kord Afshari in August 2019 of that charge and two others — “gathering and conspiring against national security” and spreading anti-government propaganda — for removing her hijab in public as part of a women’s right’s campaign against Islamist-ruled Iran’s compulsory public veiling laws for women.The lower court sentenced Kord Afshari to 15 years in prison for “corruption and prostitution,” 7.5 years for “gathering and conspiring” and 1.5 years for spreading propaganda. The appellate court later acquitted her of the corruption and prostitution charge, meaning she would only have to serve the longest remaining sentence, 7.5 years.But Taj said in a May tweet that he discovered Iran’s judiciary had inexplicably restored his client’s corruption and prostitution conviction, meaning that she would have to serve 15 years in prison rather than 7.5 years.VOA’s source said Taj petitioned Iran’s Supreme Court in late September to restore Kord Afshari’s acquittal and was awaiting a response.Mother denied furloughRaheleh Ahmadi, Saba Kord Afshari’s mother, was arrested in July 2019 and detained for several days for advocating on behalf of her daughter. Ahmadi later was sentenced to two years and seven months in prison for national security offenses and began serving her sentence at Evin on Feb. 20.In March, Iran said it granted temporary releases or furloughs to tens of thousands of prisoners serving five years in prison or less, in part to curb the spread of the coronavirus in its overcrowded and unsanitary jails.According to VOA’s source, Ahmadi has not been granted a furlough since her imprisonment, despite qualifying for one by serving a less-than-five-year sentence. Family members of Ahmadi and her jailed daughter repeatedly have asked Evin’s prosecutor to grant furloughs to the two women, but the appeals have been rejected, the source added.“‌When a mother is kept in prison with her sick child, and sees that her child cannot eat due to a gastrointestinal illness, she is in torment,” the source said. “The authorities just want to inflict psychological torture on political prisoners and their family members.”There has been no comment from Iranian officials in state media about the cases of the two women since May, when reports confirmed that Kord Afshari’s acquittal had been canceled.Kord Afshari previously was arrested in August 2018 for joining anti-government street protests and later sentenced to one year in prison for allegedly disrupting public order. Authorities released her in February 2019 as part of a general pardon marking the 40th anniversary of Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, before re-arresting her in June that year.This article originated in VOA’s Persian Service. Click here for the original Persian version of the story. 
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Russia and Iran are ramping up attacks on U.S. government networks and computer systems while also amplifying their disinformation campaigns, hoping to rattle the confidence of American voters with less than two weeks until the Nov. 3 presidential election.The warning Thursday from U.S. intelligence and election security officials came less than 24 hours after the director of national intelligence blamed Iran for launching the first sensational attack on the upcoming election, accusing Tehran of being behind thousands of spoofed emails designed to intimidate voters.Thursday’s advisories from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency suggested that the emails, as well as the ability of Russia and Iran to access voter registration information, were just the start of a larger campaign to undermine the U.S. elections.According to the FBI and CISA, the attacks from Russian began in September, targeting dozens of state and local government networks involved in activities ranging from aviation to education.The Russian cyber actor known as Beserk Bear “successfully compromised network infrastructure, and as of October 1, 2020, exfiltrated data from at least two victim servers,” the advisories said.The attackers also managed to obtain credentials that could allow them to move around in the networks, seeking out critical information that they could exploit at a later date, potentially to disrupt the upcoming presidential election.”There may be some risk to elections information housed on SLTT [state, local, tribal and territorial] government networks,” the statement added. “However, the FBI and CISA have no evidence to date that integrity of elections data has been compromised.”Officials refused to share additional details about the Russian exploits, or say which government servers had been compromised, but the independent cyber security firm Mandiant said the Russian behavior appeared to be geared toward the Nov. 3 vote.”Access to these systems could enable disruption or could be an end in itself, allowing the actor to seize on perceptions of election insecurity and undermine the democratic process,” Mandiant Senior Director of Analysis John Hultquist said in a statement.Hultquist added that while there had been at least one attack on an election-related target, “we have no information which suggests these actors are capable or even willing to alter votes.”But while the Russian cyber actors appear content, for the moment, to threaten U.S. election-related networks, the FBI and CISA warned Thursday that Iranian-linked actors appear to be in position to exploit current network vulnerabilities.“These actors have conducted a significant number of intrusions against U.S.-based networks since August 2019,” according to the new advisory, pointing to possible distributed denial of service (DDos) attacks, spear-phishing campaigns and website defacements.“These activities could render these systems temporarily inaccessible to the public or election officials, which could slow, but would not prevent, voting or the reporting of results,” the advisories said.It further warned that Iranian cyber actors have also been expanding their election-related disinformation efforts, “creating fictitious media sites and spoofing legitimate media sites to spread obtained U.S. voter-registration data, anti-American propaganda, and misinformation about voter suppression, voter fraud, and ballot fraud.”The warnings from U.S. security and intelligence officials represent a shift from the cautious, but seemingly more optimistic tone they sounded as recently as last month.”Russia continues to try to influence our elections, primarily through what we would call malign foreign influence … as opposed to what we saw in 2016 where there was also an effort to target election infrastructure,” FBI Director Christopher Wray told lawmakers on the House Homeland Security Committee Sept. 17.#Election2020-“#Russia continues to try to influence our elections, primarily thru what we would call malign foreign influence” per @FBI’s Wray “As opposed to what we saw in 2016 where there was also an effort to target election infrastructure”— Jeff Seldin (@jseldin) September 17, 2020But in an interview with Hearst Television two weeks ago, the top U.S. counterintelligence official suggested the threat landscape was changing, saying Russia, Iran and China were actively targeting U.S. election infrastructure.”We are very resilient, and we’ve been very successful in pushing back the majority of these efforts,” National Counterintelligence and Security Center William Evanina said.Evanina confirms to Hearst #Russia#China#Iran have actively targeted US election infrastructure, emails/servers for both the @realDonaldTrump & @JoeBiden campaigns”We are very resilient & we’ve been very successful in pushing back the majority of these efforts”— Jeff Seldin (@jseldin) October 8, 2020In the wake of the Iranian email campaign, officials are warning American voters these campaigns by Russia and Iran, are just the start.“The intelligence shared [Wednesday], while alarming, is not surprising,” CISA Director Christopher Krebs said in a statement, adding that the number of actors seeking to meddle is likely to grow.”These are desperate attempts by our adversaries to intimidate or to undermine voter confidence, but Americans can rest assured: thousands of your fellow citizens stand ready to defend your vote, every single day” per @NSAGov’s Imbordino & @US_CYBERCOM’s BrigGen Hartman— Jeff Seldin (@jseldin) October 22, 2020In the meantime, some current and former U.S. officials have expressed a sense of foreboding, noting Russia and Iran may not be done making use of the voter registration data they obtained, and which Iran used in its email campaign.“The reported Iranian acquisition of voter data should be a cause for concern,” said Norman Roule, a former senior U.S. intelligence official, who said Tehran’s efforts show its cyber and influence operations have evolved.“Whether or not this data was publicly available, its acquisition by Iranian actors engaged in these operations indicates that the material will form the basis for future targeting operations,” he said. “If our response becomes an internal debate with little focus on Iran, they will learn that these operations come at little cost.”Another current U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the matter, told VOA there is heightened concern about Tehran’s efforts, warning the Iranian regime appears to still be looking for payback following the drone strike in January that killed Quds Force Commander Qassem Soleimani.For now, state election officials are urging voters to remain calm and avoid falling for upsetting or sensational claims likely to pop up on social media, whether director by Iran, Russia or anyone else.“Be prepared for foreign efforts aimed at sowing division and undermining the legitimacy of the election,” a coalition of national and state officials said in a statement issued late Thursday. “Be prepared for attempts to confuse or misinform.”“The entire election community stands ready for the task ahead,” they added.NEW: @CISAgov@EACgov@NASSorg@NASEDorg on attacks vs #Election2020″We must remain steadfast…While this year has thrown unprecedented obstacles in our way, the entire election community stands ready for the task ahead & united in our goal to protect our democracy” pic.twitter.com/Go3imyxLgl— Jeff Seldin (@jseldin) October 22, 2020Some experts worry that as Election Day draws near, American voters will be tested like never before.“The really tricky problem is that we’re all in a laboratory right now and we’re being experimented on by different parties,” said John Scott-Railston, a senior researcher at The Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto’s Munk School.”We don’t know what the results will be. They [U.S. adversaries] don’t know what the results will be. But they’re very much learning,” he said.
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The Trump administration has issued more than 400 executive actions that dramatically reshaped America’s immigration system. Some of those executive actions are coming under scrutiny ahead of the November 3 presidential election.Family separation  A firestorm has erupted over reports that the U.S. government lost track of the parents of 545 migrant children separated at the U.S.-Mexico border under a now-defunct Trump administration policy of “zero tolerance” for illegal border crossers.Parents of 545 Children Separated at Border Can’t Be Found About two-thirds of parents of those 545 children are believed to be in their countries of origin, the ACLU says Immigrant advocates said they do not know where the children are now or why the parents sent back to their countries of origin cannot be found.”[The children] are no longer in [Department of Homeland Security] custody, no longer in [Health and Human Services] custody, no longer in the government’s custody,” said Lee Gelernt of the American Civil Liberties Union’s immigrant rights project. “They were sponsored out. And that could mean [the children are with] a relative who — maybe — they were lucky enough to know. It could be a very distant relative they didn’t know. But it could also mean a stranger in a foster family [in the United States]. And now it’s been three years.”A statement from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said federal authorities have “yet to identify a single family that wants their child reunited in their country of origin.” This story is wholly inaccurate. In the current litigation, for example, out of the parents of 485 children whom Plaintiffs’ counsel has been able to contact, they’ve yet to identify a single family that wants their child reunited with them in their country of origin. https://t.co/loYdf9WcZW— Chase Jennings (@SpoxDHS) October 21, 2020Gelernt said, if found, the parents of the children face a horrible choice “of having to either be separated permanently or bring their child back to danger [in the home countries] rather than bringing the parent back to the U.S.”A federal judge last year ordered the U.S. government to reunite children with parents separated under the 2017 pilot program that coincided with the Trump administration’s initial efforts to limit asylum-seeker entry into the United States along the southern border.Supreme Court cases The Supreme Court revised its calendar, setting Nov. 30 as the date to hear arguments on the Trump administration’s push to exclude undocumented immigrants from the U.S. Census count, which was just completed nationwide. Among many functions, the Census is used to determine how many U.S. representatives each state has in Congress.Looking ahead to next year, the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear two cases pertaining to policies at the U.S.-Mexico border. One concerns the Trump administration’s reallocation of federal funds to pay for the construction of several miles of a border wall, a key promise of Trump’s 2016 campaign and an initiative Congress repeatedly declined to fully fund.The second case focuses on the Trump administration’s “Remain in Mexico” program that forced asylum-seekers to await their U.S. immigration court cases on the Mexican side of the border.Supreme Court to Review 2 Cases Involving Trump Border Policy The justices’ decision to hear the cases continues its practice of reviewing lower court rulings that have found President Donald Trump’s immigration policies illegal over the past four yearsAsylum rules The U.S. Department of Homeland Security recently proposed a rule that blocks certain people from obtaining asylum, including convicted felons and those who have been found guilty of illegal reentry into the United States.The proposal would also block those who illegally harbored unauthorized immigrants, possessed a controlled substance, used false identification or unlawfully received public benefits.Under the rule, no exceptions would be granted for immigrants whose convictions have been expunged.Under current immigration law, asylum-seekers who fail to apply for asylum within one year of entering the United States are barred from receiving asylum. Those convicted of a serious crime, including terrorist activity, are also barred.The new rule is set go into effect in November. Fast-track deportations U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced it is moving forward with “expedited removal” — a fast-tracked deportation process that bars certain immigrants from making a case to remain in the United States before an immigration judge. “Our ability to implement this important statutory tool will further enable us to protect our communities and preserve the integrity of our nation’s congressionally mandated immigration laws,” Tony Pham, the senior official performing the duties of the ICE director, said in a statement.  Immigrants bear “the affirmative burden to show to the satisfaction of the encountering immigration officer” that they should not be promptly deported, Pham added. The policy will apply expedited removal to undocumented immigrants detained anywhere in the country if deportation agents conclude they have lived in the country for fewer than two years and were not lawfully paroled or admitted to the U.S. 
 
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Early voting began in Florida on October 19, and the number of people who turned out shattered opening-day records for in-person early voting. Liliya Anisimova has more in this story narrated by Anna Rice.
Camera: Liliya Anisimova and Aleksandr Fedorov   
 
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Fake news about the coronavirus can do real harm. Polygraph.info is spotlighting fact-checks from other reliable sources here​.Daily DebunkClaim: Dr. Anthony Fauci “wrote a paper regarding the Spanish Flu and stated that the majority of deaths in 1918-1919 was because of bacterial pneumonia from wearing masks.”Verdict: FalseRead the full story at: Politifact.com Social Media Disinfo     Fact check: “Social media users have claimed that a document from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) admits that the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which is the name for the novel coronavirus, does not exist. While the document is authentic, the scientific process described within it has been misrepresented.” — Reuters Fact CheckVerdict: FalseRead the full story at: Reuters.com/fact-check Factual Reads on CoronavirusChina’s Covid success compared to Europe shows lockdowns are a first step, not a solution
As much of Europe stares down the barrel of renewed coronavirus lockdowns, and a potentially miserable — and deadly –winter to come, China is going from strength to strength.
— CNN, October 19The coronavirus test results that predict an outbreak’s course
Viral levels in people infected with SARS-CoV-2 in a specific town or city could be used to assess whether the epidemic there has passed its peak.
— Nature, October 19Eight Persistent COVID-19 Myths and Why People Believe Them
From a human-made virus to vaccine conspiracy theories, we rounded up the most insidious false claims about the pandemic
— Scientific American, October 125 Things to Know About a COVID Vaccine: It Won’t Be a ‘Magic Wand’
President Donald Trump makes no secret he would like a COVID-19 vaccine to be available before the election. But it’s doubtful that will happen.
— Kaiser Health News, October 5Watch: Antibodies, immunity, and what they mean for Covid-19, explained
The immune system is no wimp. When pathogens cause illness, it kicks into high gear. Cells work together to tag, kill and gobble up invaders as they fight the infection.
— Stat, May 5The race for coronavirus vaccines: a graphical guide
Eight ways in which scientists hope to provide immunity to SARS-CoV-2.
— Nature, April 28
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Huawei’s new smartphone has an upgraded camera, its latest advanced chipset and a better battery. What it may not have outside the Chinese tech giant’s home market is very many buyers.
Huawei, which recently became the world’s No. 1 smartphone maker, on Thursday unveiled its Mate 40 line of premium phones, a product release that comes at a crucial moment for the company as it runs out of room to maneuver around U.S. sanctions squeezing its ability to source components and software.
The Mate 40 could be the last one powered by the company’s homegrown Kirin chipsets because of U.S. restrictions in May barring non-American companies from using U.S. technology in manufacturing without a license.
Analysts say the company had been stockpiling chips before the ban but its supply won’t last forever.
“This is a major challenge to Huawei and it’s really losing its market outside of China,” said Mo Jia, an analyst at independent research firm Canalys. The latest U.S. restrictions mean it “100% has closed doors for Huawei to secure its future components.”
Executives said this summer that production of Kirin chips would end in mid-September because they’re made by contractors that need U.S. manufacturing technology. In a press preview this week ahead of the Mate 40’s launch, staff declined to answer questions on Huawei’s ability to source chips. The head of Huawei’s consumer business, Richard Yu, referred only briefly to the issue at the end of  a virtual launch event Thursday.
“For Huawei, nowadays we are in a very difficult time. We are suffering from the U.S.
government’s third round ban. It’s an unfair ban. It makes (the situation) extremely difficult,” Yu said.
Huawei, which is also a major supplier of wireless network gear, is facing pressure in a wider global battle waged between the U.S. and China over trade and technological supremacy. The U.S. government’s efforts to lobby allies in Europe to not give it a role in new high-speed 5G wireless networks over cybersecurity concerns has been paying off, with countries including Sweden and Britain blocking its gear.
Huawei phones are not widely available in the U.S., but they’re sold in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The company climbed to the top of the global smartphone rankings this summer, knocking Samsung off top spot by shipping 55.8 million devices in the second quarter to gain a 20% share of the market, according to research firms Canalys and International Data Corp. But the performance was driven by strong growth in China while smartphone sales in the rest of the world tumbled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Analysts say it will be hard for Huawei to remain No. 1.
“Huawei’s in a tight spot,” said Ben Wood, chief of research at CCS Insight. Along with the U.S. sanctions, it’s also hurt by slumping confidence in the brand that makes retailers less keen to stock its phones. “And sadly, I don’t think you’re going to see the Mate 40 performing particularly well outside of China.”
Huawei has a small but enthusiastic fan base in Europe, its biggest market outside China. But some users are turned off by the idea of sticking with the brand because of a related problem: recent models like the Mate 40, priced at 899 euros ($1,070) and up, can’t run Google’s full Android operating system because of an earlier round of U.S. sanctions.
Instead, they come with a stripped down open source version of Android, which doesn’t have Google’s Play Store and can’t run popular apps like Chrome, YouTube and Search.
Mark Osten, a 29-year-old architect in Preston, England, bought a Huawei P30 last year when the contract on his previous Samsung phone ended.
He says the camera is great but hesitates to recommend the brand to others because of the uncertainty.
“I just can’t imagine life without YouTube or Google,” said Osten.
To make up for losing Google services, Huawei has built its own app store and has been paying developers to create apps for it. Users can request apps that aren’t yet available, but it’s not something that appeals to Chloe Hetelle, a 35-year-old events organizer in Toulouse, France, who bought a Huawei P20 model two years ago after switching from an iPhone.
“I don’t want to request apps, I just want to have YouTube,” said Hetelle. “I’m not really keen on struggling to get something that I would have easily with another phone.”
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With long waits making headlines during early voting across the country, professional sports venues have emerged as bright spots, repurposing huge spaces mostly devoid of fans into efficient and relatively safe polling places.
Featuring rows and rows of voting machines, ample space for social distancing and staff accustomed to large crowds, these mega voting sites are proving attractive to voters looking for the best way to cast their ballots amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“This was an amazing, fantastic experience,” Jen Cox said after voting at State Farm Arena, home of the Atlanta Hawks. Other voters leaving the arena and posting on social media shared that sentiment.
The Hawks were the first NBA team to commit their arena for early voting. They contacted Fulton County officials in June after long lines plagued the state’s primary election and protests over the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis roiled the streets around the arena.
“In my mind, protests are great, but protests leading to action, leading to solutions and change is better,” Hawks CEO Steve Koonin said.
Since then, 20 more NBA teams signed on to host voting or other election-related activities — including voter registration and poll worker training — in their arenas or practice facilities. Some of those commitments came after NBA players protesting racial injustice and police brutality halted the playoffs for three days in August, and the league agreed to a plan that includes encouraging voting this fall.
In a normal year, the NBA’s regular season would be starting right about now. But the coronavirus outbreak that has altered voting procedures during the presidential election also has delayed the season and left arenas sitting empty. Opening them to voters seemed a natural fit.
“We’re going to have thousands every day between now and Election Day voting in NBA arenas,” said Kathy Behrens, the league’s social responsibility and player programs president. “It feels good to be able to play such a vital role during this pandemic so people can vote safely and easily.”
The NFL, NHL and MLB also are getting involved. Half the NFL’s 32 teams are making their facilities available following offseason conversations commissioner Roger Goodell had with players about ways to leverage the league’s power against social injustice.
Vivek Ranadivé, owner of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings, was instrumental in a “Rally the Vote” effort bringing together dozens of professional sports teams to encourage participation. Voters will be able to register and cast ballots at the Kings’ Golden 1 Center, blocks from California’s Capitol, starting 11 days before the Nov. 3 election.
“I wanted to make voting as easy as ordering an Uber,” he said.
After waiting five hours “in the heat and then the rain” to vote in Georgia’s primary in June, Cox decided to vote early in the general election. Lines at polling places near her home in suburban Roswell were consistently long, so she drove 20 miles south to downtown Atlanta.
“I had heard great things about the way the Atlanta Hawks staff was running the arena, and it was by far the easiest and safest and best way I’ve voted since the pandemic began,” she said.
There are 30 early voting locations scattered around Fulton County, which stretches 70 miles (112 kilometers) north to south. But with 60 check-in stations and 300 voting machines, the arena may be the best option for many, county elections director Rick Barron told reporters.
“Voters will probably save time by going to State Farm, driving from wherever they are,” he said, while noting there is a transit station right next to the arena.
A glitch with the electronic pollbooks used to activate the cards that go into the voting machines caused a backup at the arena the day it opened, but it was cleared quickly and nearly 3,000 people voted there that day, Barron said.
Voters in Dallas have enthusiastically embraced the arena experience.
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban retweeted a message that said the American Airlines Center was “the coolest polling place I’ve ever voted in.” Cuban added that there are 60 polling stations set up inside.
The next day, he tweeted a photo of voting machines in the arena’s concourse, calling it “Democracy in action.”
In Detroit, the training facility for the NBA’s Pistons and Ford Field, where the NFL’s Lions play, will provide socially distant spaces for receiving boards to double check ballots after they are counted at precincts. Pistons Vice Chairman Arn Tellem said helping with this year’s election is important because the only way to bring about change is to vote.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib, whose district includes parts of Detroit, said it’s appropriate for taxpayer-funded sports facilities to play this role.
“We did subsidize the building, so of course they should be using them for public good,” Tlaib said.
Florida has early voting at venues used by the NBA’s Orlando Magic, the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning and the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
When he went to vote on Monday, Anton Versch, 30, said he was surprised to see Magic coach Steve Clifford assisting poll workers inside the Amway Center. There were no lines and voters were in and out quickly.
“I felt like I was a player. I just had to make the right decisions,” Versch said.
Not every team request was approved. Miami-Dade County rejected an offer from the Miami Heat, saying they wanted only sites that can be used in the future and, in most years, the NBA and early voting seasons overlap.
In Milwaukee, election officials scrapped plans to use the Bucks basketball and Brewers baseball stadiums as early voting locations, citing concerns about legal challenges, since they would have been designated later than required by state law.
The pandemic has created a new need for socially distanced voting locations, as well as a unique opportunity with venues idled after games and other events were canceled. But Behrens said the NBA plans to continue promoting voting once it’s over.
“We don’t think there’s anything more American than encouraging people to participate in the process,” she said.
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Voters in the Seychelles on Thursday begin the three-day process of choosing a president and lawmakers.Voters in the Indian Ocean archipelago of 115 islands will decide if President Danny Faure will be elected for the first time after taking over from predecessor James Michel, who resigned.Faure, of the ruling United Seychelles party, is running against two candidates.Agence France-Presse reports Faure’s main rival is perennial presidential candidate, Anglican priest Wavel Ramkalawan, who lost to Michel by just 193 votes in 2015.Ramkalawan’s Seychelles Democratic Alliance party holds most of the seats in parliament.The other candidate is Alain St Ange, a former tourism minister, who is representing the One Seychelles party.One of the main challenges facing the country is rebooting the critical tourism industry affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
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Asian markets are mostly lower Thursday as investors continue to wait for a resolution to talks between the Trump administration and U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on a coronavirus relief bill.Tokyo’s Nikkei index dropped 0.7% at the closing bell. Shanghai’s Composite index fell 0.3%. The S&P/ASX ended 0.2% lower. Seoul’s KOSPI index lost 0.7%.The TSEC index in Taipei was the lone bright spot in the region, gaining 0.3%.In late afternoon trading, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index is up 1.1%, while Mumbai’s Sensex is down 0.5%.In commodities trading, gold is selling at $1,921.20 an ounce, down 0.4%. U.S. crude is selling at $40.23 per barrel, up 0.5%, and Brent crude is selling at $41.97 per barrel, also up 0.5%.All three U.S. indices are trending negatively.
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Uzbekistan is poised to join the U.N. Human Rights Council in January alongside two authoritarian stalwarts, Russia and China. But while Western capitals deride Moscow and Beijing’s membership, they have welcomed Tashkent’s accession as an opportunity to advance that Central Asian country’s stuttering human rights reforms.Uzbekistan’s progress – and how far it still has to go – is demonstrated by the case of Bobomurod Abdullayev, a former political prisoner who was recently granted a fully furnished apartment in the capital, which he said is a gift from President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.Suspected of anti-constitutional activities, Abdullayev was extradited from Kyrgyzstan last month and quickly freed. “I’m innocent,” Abdullayev said. But his case remains under investigation by the State Security Service under what VOA sources say is a gag order.Reform-minded officials and lawmakers point to considerable progress in the four years since Mirziyoyev took power. There is greater freedom in every sphere, they say, highlighted by an emboldened domestic media that has not shied away from covering long-standing problems.Bobur Bekmurodov, a parliamentarian and chairman of the Yuksalish National Movement, whose mission is to promote reforms, said there is enough will in the system and among citizens to transform the country.“We know there are many problems but are ready for the challenges that come with UNHRC membership and will use it build on progress made so far,” he said.“Transformation from a closed to open society is hard,” Bekmurodov said. But “President Mirziyoyev really means it when he says Uzbekistan will not change course.”But for Abdujalil Boymatov, a Europe-based activist, membership on the UNHRC is more a boost to Mirziyoyev’s image than a reflection of Uzbekistan’s human rights trends, which he views as negative overall.Boymatov said he recognizes “some good decisions” by Mirziyoyev but sees them “Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev addresses the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 23, 2020. (Navbahor Imamov/VOA Uzbek Service)U.S. officials stressed that membership on the human rights council cannot substitute for tangible progress and commitment to further improvements.The U.S. Embassy in Tashkent tweeted: “Uzbekistan’s election to the #UNHRC is a timely opportunity to demonstrate its stated commitment to human rights reforms – both here in Uzbekistan and on the world stage. The U.S. supports @GOVuz in implementing its reform agenda.”Uzbekistan’s election to the #UNHRC is a timely opportunity to demonstrate its stated commitment to human rights reforms – both here in Uzbekistan and on the world stage. The U.S. supports @GOVuz in implementing its reform agenda.— U.S.Embassy Tashkent (@usembtashkent) October 15, 2020Helena Fraser, the U.N. chief in Uzbekistan, said that UNHRC membership is both a privilege and responsibility.Speaking on state television, Fraser laid out a list of U.N. priorities for Uzbekistan, which included empowering civil society and the media, judicial independence, and ratification of U.N. protocols and conventions against torture and on the rights of people with disabilities.The U.N. is committed to help implement a national human rights strategy, she said.Swerdlow, who spent years in Central Asia studying human rights, urges Uzbekistan to reckon with its recent past.The country could set an example with an unprecedented yet necessary conversation about who abused whom, why and how, and most importantly, how to stop systemic violations, he said.But Tashkent remains unwilling to discuss abuses during former President Karimov’s leadership. Officials say they are looking forward and see no use in litigating the past.Some officials even say they don’t see the past as dark or abusive, while others fear that opening that “Pandora’s box” may distract Uzbekistan from “its current, more critical issues.”But former political prisoners are unwilling to wait for justice.Chuyan Mamatkulov spent six years behind bars, including time in the notorious Jaslik prison, which was closed by Mirziyoyev in 2019.The 50-year-old former army officer was convicted in 2012 on what he says were false charges of conspiring to subvert the constitutional order, abduction, fraud and perjury. He has sued for compensation and vindication and vows to go to the Supreme Court.Other former political prisoners who languished longer behind bars told VOA they want their names cleared of crimes they never committed, not just compensation. Imprisonment on bogus charges cost them years and their health, they said, adding they want their honor restored and acknowledgement by the government.International watchdogs encourage Tashkent to act now. Swerdlow asked, if Uzbekistan cannot ensure justice today for what happened yesterday, how can it ensure justice for today’s violations tomorrow?Critics also worry that by joining Moscow and Beijing on the Council, Tashkent will be boxed in from criticizing them. Said activist Boymatov: “Uzbek-Chinese ties have strengthened, so we can’t expect Uzbekistan to criticize Chinese policy toward the Uighurs in the UNHRC.”Two precedents further fuel the skepticism: Neighboring Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan were UNHRC members yet made no major progress.Kazakhstan is still rated as “not free” in Freedom House’s annual rating of political rights and civil liberties worldwide, while Kyrgyzstan, twice a member, has been only “partially free” for years, with internet freedom declining.
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Nigerian Vice President Yemi Osinbajo is expressing his condolences and promising justice for as many as 12 peaceful protesters shot dead by Nigerian Security Forces at the Lekki toll plaza.Osinbajo’s comments, in a series of tweets Wednesday night, were the first public comments from the country’s leaders referring to Tuesday’s shooting in Lagos state.President Muhammadu Buhari, who has said little about the protests engulfing his country, did not mention the Lekki shootings in a statement Wednesday but issued a call for calm and vowed police reforms.The international human rights group Amnesty International said in a report Wednesday, a total of 38 people died on Tuesday and at least 56 people over the past two weeks in protests directed at the police Special Anti-Robbery Squad, known as SARS, which Amnesty accused of torture and murders.The government disbanded SARS last week but that has not tempered the outrage, with some demonstrators defying a curfew on Wednesday, which reportedly lead to more shooting, but there were no immediate reports of casualties.Amnesty also claims in its report that security cameras at the toll gates where protesters had gathered were removed by government officials prior to the shooting.Osai Ojigho, director of Amnesty International in Nigeria said that in addition to investigating what happened Tuesday night, they also want to know who gave the orders for the soldiers to be there.Nigeria’s military has denied responsibility for the shootings near the Lekki toll gates.There were reports of shots being fired during demonstrations in other Nigerian towns, including the capital city, Abuja.It is unclear if there were any casualties.
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Three retired Taiwanese military officers are under investigation over alleged espionage activities for the Chinese Communist Party, with one detained for allegedly passing secrets to China.Taiwanese legislators said they hoped the inquiry would be conducted without political interference and would have a deterrent effect.Taiwan’s District Prosecutor’s Office said that investigators on Tuesday searched the home of two retired colonels from the Military Intelligence Bureau, Chang Chao-jan and Chou Tien-tzu, and former Major General Yuen Chih-chung. They are accused of introducing other Military Intelligence Bureau officials to Chinese security agents as potential sources for classified information.Chang was detained following Wednesday’s court questioning. The other two were freed on bail of $5,200.Speaking to reporters, Chang maintained his innocence, claiming that he was Taiwan’s only secret agent present in Beijing during the Tiananmen massacre.Under the National Intelligence Services Act, the retired agents risk a maximum prison term of seven years.Last month, another retired Taiwanese lieutenant colonel was sentenced to four years for trying to build a spy network for Beijing and for trying to recruit another lieutenant colonel by giving him money and gifts.Seeking connectionsExperts say over the years, China has been actively recruiting Taiwanese businessmen or retired officials as part of a strategy to focus on finding well-connected people who can serve as bridges to an intelligence target.Peter Mattis, a fellow in the China Program at the Jamestown Foundation, wrote in a report that instead of expending a great deal of effort to identify key people inside Taiwan on its own, Chinese intelligence is putting the onus on its Taiwanese recruits, who already have existing relationships and, perhaps, even some idea of who among their government contacts could be approachable.“By doing so, Chinese intelligence make their job easier by focusing on Taiwanese inside China over whom they can develop leverage and meet away from the prying eyes of Taiwanese security agencies,” he wrote.Taiwan Needs More Homegrown Military Efforts to Counter China, Experts Say The armed forces lack enthusiastic troops and a full slate of homegrown advanced weapons, defense experts sayCheng Yun-peng, a legislator from the Democratic Progressive Party, said if it’s proven that the Chinese Communist Party can effectively conduct espionage in Taiwan, it might affect military and technological cooperation between Taipei and Washington.“So I hope this investigation can test the effectiveness of our new national security policies. I hope the verdict can have a deterrent effect,” he said.Closing loopholesLast year, Taipei passed new laws aimed at tightening national security by closing legal loopholes in the country’s national security policy. The changes affected the Criminal Code, Classified National Security Information Act, National Security Act, and the Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area.Yeh Yu-Ian, a legislator from the opposition Kuomintang, said she hoped the trials would be conducted in a fair manner and free from political interference.In recent weeks, there has been a spate of espionage allegations involving the two sides as tensions grow between Beijing and Taipei.Chinese state media said in early October that Beijing’s security agents had cracked down on hundreds of spying cases linked to Taiwan and had arrested a batch of alleged Taiwanese spies and their accomplices in its special initiative called “Thunder 2020.”State CCTV has also aired four confessions by Taiwanese nationals detained by China.Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council in Taipei called the report “groundless” and a “malicious political stunt” by the Chinese Communist Party.
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