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Fartuun Adan and her daughter Ilwad Elman, a Somali mother and daughter duo are the 2020 recipients of The Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity, a prize given each year to a person or group risking their lives to protect people in conflict. VOA’s Salem Solomon reports. 
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China’s economy grew 4.9% for the three months between July and September, providing further evidence that the world’s second-largest economy is rapidly recovering from the worst of the coronavirus pandemic. The 4.9% growth in the third quarter of 2020 was better than 3.2% posted in the period between April and June, according to figures released Monday by the government’s National Bureau of Statistics.   Meanwhile, China’s industrial output rose 6.9% in September, while retail sales expanded 3.3% for the same month.  The statistics bureau said last week that China’s exports rose 9.9% in September compared to a year ago, and a significant increase from the 9.4% figure posted in August. Analysts say the rise in exports was spurred by global demand for Chinese-made personal protective gear and other medical supplies to curb the spread of COVID-19. China’s economy was the first in the world affected by the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, which was first detected late last year in the central city of Wuhan.  
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Dr. Scott Atlas is a neuroradiologist, a fellow at a conservative-leaning think tank, a science adviser to President Donald Trump and a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force. He is also the latest person in Trump’s world to have a tweet blocked by Twitter. Facebook to Ban Anti-Vaccine AdsThe social media giant says the efforts are part of an attempt to support vaccinesOver the weekend, Atlas tweeted “Masks work? NO,” and said widespread use of masks is not supported, according to the Associated Press. Twitter told the AP that the tweet violated its policy that prohibits false and misleading information about COVID-19 that could lead to harm. The “This Tweet is unavailable” label was put on Atlas’ Twitter feed where his tweet once was.Atlas followed up with another tweet, which remained on the site as of Sunday night. He praised what he called Trump’s “guideline,” which is to “use masks for their intended purpose – when close to others, especially hi risk. Otherwise, social distance. No widespread mandates.” That means the right policy is @realDonaldTrump guideline: use masks for their intended purpose – when close to others, especially hi risk. Otherwise, social distance. No widespread mandates. #CommonSensehttps://t.co/GZpBZxfNYa— Scott W. Atlas (@SWAtlasHoover) October 17, 2020The deletion of Atlas’ tweet is the latest in what has become an ongoing battle between Trump and internet companies. Twitter has blocked or put warnings on Trump’s tweets regarding COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, as well as vote-by-mail. Last week, Twitter temporarily blocked the Trump campaign’s ability to share a story about his presidential challenger, former Vice President Joe Biden. Some congressional leaders accuse Twitter, Facebook and other internet companies of bias and say they are unfairly limiting speech close to the U.S. election. Some have called for the leaders of Twitter and Facebook, which has also taken action on some of Trump’s posts, to testify in front of Congress as soon as the coming week. Twitter told the AP it relies on public health authorities to determine whether a statement is false or misleading.In September, Dr. Robert Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention testified at a congressional hearing that masks are “the most powerful public health tool” against the coronavirus.Atlas, a fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, joined the White House task force in August. A medical doctor, Atlas does not have a background in infectious diseases or public health. He is reportedly helping to shape the White House policies about how to handle the virus, including policies about masks and other issues. Atlas told the AP that Twitter’s actions were censorship. “General population masks and mask mandates do not work,” he said.
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The campaigns of President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden are rallying people in a place where U.S. citizens cannot cast ballots but have the ear of hundreds of thousands of potential voters in the battleground state of Florida.The candidates are targeting Puerto Rico in a way never before seen, with the U.S. territory suddenly finding itself in the middle of a high-stakes race even though Puerto Ricans on the island cannot vote in presidential elections despite being U.S. citizens since 1917.The campaigns know this, but they hope those on the island will push relatives and friends on the U.S. mainland to vote for them in a strategy that capitalizes on the close ties they share.It’s a novel role that plays off the sentiment that Puerto Ricans in Florida feel they are voting by proxy for those back home left out of U.S. democracy. And a growing number find this role appealing, especially since many on the island are struggling to recover from hurricanes Irma and Maria, a string of strong earthquakes, a deep economic crisis and the pandemic.”I’m voting for 3 million Puerto Ricans on the island, including my entire family,” said Jerick Mediavilla, who is from the mountain town of Corozal and is voting in a U.S. presidential election for the first time after moving to Orlando four years ago. “Puerto Rico doesn’t have a voice. Our voice is via the United States.”Voters like Mediavilla are the ones Democrats and Republicans are targeting as they court Latinos in Florida, which has the largest population of Puerto Ricans in the U.S., with nearly 1.2 million. Trump won Florida in 2016 and has virtually no path to the White House if he doesn’t do so again. Polls are tight, and as the Trump campaign worries of support slipping among suburban and older voters, Latinos in Florida have become crucial.Puerto Ricans represent 27% of Hispanics of voting age in Florida, trailing only Cuban-Americans. While it’s unclear how many are Democrats or Republicans, Democrats have widened the gap of Hispanic voters registered for this election over the GOP compared with 2016. The gains were in counties with a high number of Puerto Ricans including Orange County, home to Orlando, and Hillsborough, home to Tampa. Polk County, where the Puerto Rican population has more than doubled since 2013, saw the fastest growth of Latino registered voters, with Democrats registering 21,000 more voters than Republicans. The gap in 2016 was 15,000. But those same counties also have a very high number of voters registered without party affiliation.Election observers, however, note Puerto Ricans have weaker voter turnout rates than other Hispanic groups that favor Republican candidates.  Trump recently secured an endorsement from Puerto Rico’s governor and promised nearly $13 billion in additional aid last month to help the island rebuild from Hurricane Maria. During a recent rally in Florida, Trump declared: “I’m not gonna say the best, but I’m just about the best thing that ever happened to Puerto Rico. You better vote for me, Puerto Rico.” Many were quick to note that those living on the island don’t have that right.Meanwhile, Biden granted an exclusive interview to Puerto Rico’s main newspaper that for the first time in its 50 years endorsed a U.S. presidential candidate and asked those in the U.S. mainland to support Biden: “We ask that you, with the great power of your vote, especially in key electoral states, help open the way to the transformation effort that will honor the dignity and promote the progress of every person.”  Biden recently launched digital and print ads on the island with the hashtag “HazloXMi,” or DoItForMe, urging Puerto Ricans to tell their friends and family on the U.S. mainland to participate: “With your vote over there, you help us here.”It’s unclear whether the indirect campaign strategy will work, but Luis Gutiérrez, a former U.S. representative who served 26 years in Congress and now lives in Puerto Rico, called it a smart move.Puerto Ricans “are always in contact. Why? Because whether you’re one of 3 million on the island or 5 million somewhere else, you’re part of one community,” the Democrat said. “If you are born in Puerto Rico, it will be part of your life until the last day.”As the election draws near, pressure grows on Puerto Ricans on the island and on the mainland.A Florida political group recently created a song set to the tune of “Rakatá” by Wisin y Yandel, a renowned Puerto Rican reggaeton duo who first became popular in the early 2000s. The song encourages Puerto Ricans who moved to Florida to use their new voting power and hurl a “chancleta” or flip-flop at Trump to help those living on the island: “He doesn’t care one bit for Boricuas.”Trump’s campaign has countered with ads highlighting the billions of dollars his administration has pledged to help Puerto Rico recover from Maria, a Category 4 storm that caused an estimated $100 billion in damage and killed an estimated 2,975 people in its aftermath. However, the administration withheld billions of dollars in emergency aid for months, saying it worried about mismanagement and corruption on the island.Wyneska Méndez, who moved to Miami from Puerto Rico eight years ago, said she would not let fellow Puerto Ricans influence her decision, adding that Trump is the only choice to protect the economy. She especially likes that Trump feels strongly against abortion because of her Christian faith, and she believes Puerto Rico needed to get its affairs in order to receive the same kind of relief offered to U.S. states.”I don’t let others get in my head,” Méndez said as she waited for a speech by Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday in Miami.Despite the aid Puerto Rico has received under the Trump administration, Mediavilla and his brother, Omar, who lives in Puerto Rico, remain unswayed.”It’s a great help, but really, in the end, I see it as a political strategy,” said Omar Mediavilla, adding that he is grateful his brother was motivated by the aftermath of Maria to support Biden. “They’re our voice carrying our complaints … It’s important that Puerto Ricans over there give us this opportunity.”
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The Czech Republic, which has the highest coronavirus infection rate in Europe, will wait at least two weeks before deciding whether to order a full lockdown to stem its epidemic, Deputy Prime Minister Karel Havlicek said Sunday.In the past week, bars and restaurants in the country of 10.7 million have been ordered to close except for takeout orders, and schools have moved to distance learning. Sport and fitness clubs, theaters and cinemas had already shut, but shops have remained open.The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control said it had registered 828 cases per 100,000 population in the last two weeks, more than 10 times the rate in neighboring Germany.Since schools reopened in September, the cumulative number of cases has risen almost seven times.Officials have warned that hospital admissions are set to rise sharply until the restrictions show an impact.”We will not decide this week about a lockdown,” Havlicek said on Czech television. “We have clearly said we will wait (until Nov. 2) for results.”Interior Minister Jan Hamacek said on CNN Prima’s Sunday show the new measures should cut the R number, which measures average spread from one infected person, by 30-40%. A number above 1.0 indicates an exponential increase, and the current rate is estimated at 1.4.If the latest restrictions are not effective enough, he said there were few options other than a lockdown.The growth in COVID-19 cases with more than 100,000 this month, bringing the total to 171,487 as of Saturday evening, and 1,402 deaths overall, according to Johns Hopkins University data, is forcing authorities to make plans for field hospitals and seeking foreign help.The Czech Fire Rescue Service said it had sent a formal request through European Union channels for ventilators.In Prague, more than 2,000 sports fans according to city hall estimates, including militant soccer supporters’ groups known as ultras, protested against the coronavirus measures, defying restrictions on gatherings.Police used water cannon and tear gas amid clashes. Emergency services reported nine people were injured.
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A hardliner who favors even closer ties with Turkey and a tougher stance with rival Greek Cypriots in peace talks has defeated the leftist incumbent in the Turkish Cypriot leadership runoff Sunday.Turkish Cypriot broadcaster BRT says with 100% of the votes counted, Ersin Tatar secured 51.74% of the vote compared to 48.26% for Mustafa Akinci.Tatar appears to have benefited from a higher turnout in the runoff, managing to rally supporters from the estimated 200,000-strong electorate who may not have voted in the first round.Akinci conceded to Tatar in a speech to supporters at his campaign headquarters, congratulating his opponent on his victory.  “We went through an election contest that wasn’t normal. … These results mark the end of my 45-year political career,” Akinci said. “I wish good luck to our people.”Tatar declared victory in a speech to his supporters.Akinci, 72, is a champion of Turkish Cypriots who oppose Turkey’s complete domination of their affairs. Tatar, 60, advocates fully aligning Turkish Cypriot policies with those of Turkey, the region’s patron.Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan congratulated Tatar on his election victory.  “Turkey will continue to make all necessary efforts to defend the rights of the Turkish Cypriot people,” Erdogan said on his official Twitter account.  The Mediterranean island nation of Cyprus was split in 1974 when Turkey invaded after a coup by supporters of union with Greece. Only Turkey recognizes a breakaway Turkish Cypriot state in the north that is economically and militarily dependent on Ankara. The island’s internationally recognized government has its seat in the Greek Cypriot south and is part of the 27-nation European Union.The tussle between Turkish Cypriots who seek to retain more say in how they’re governed and those who want to walk in lockstep with Turkey has been a prominent feature in past leadership races, but this contest seems more polarized than ever.  Akinci has alleged that Turkey has engaged in “unprecedented” interference throughout the campaign in favor of Tatar and that he and his family have received threats to drop out of the race.”We know that things happened that shouldn’t have happened,” Akinci said after casting his ballot.A first test for the winner will be a meeting with Greek Cypriots and Cyprus’ “guarantors” — Greece, Turkey and Britain — that U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is expected to call soon. The aim will be to figure out if there’s enough common ground to restart dormant peace talks.Nearly five decades of U.N. facilitated attempts at achieving reunification based on a federal framework have failed.Akinci believes that federation is the only way toward a peace accord. Tatar shares the Turkish government view that federation may not be the most viable option and alternatives such as a two-state deal should be pursued.Tensions have soared this summer in waters off Greece and Cyprus over sea boundaries and energy exploration rights after Turkey redeployed a research vessel near the Greek island of Kastellorizo. The move cast doubts on fresh talks aimed at resolving the dispute.Turkey insists it has every legal right to search for hydrocarbons in waters where Greece and Cyprus claim exclusive economic rights. The Greek and Cypriot governments accuse Turkey of violating international law. The dispute raised fears of a military conflict between Greece and Turkey, which are NATO members but are strong regional rivals.
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The UK had imposed a deadline of last week’s EU summit for a deal  and Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was now ready to walk away and prepare for a no-deal exit, after five decades of EU membership. However, senior minister Michael Gove said on Sunday he was still hopeful there would be an agreement, telling TV interviews the door remained “ajar” if the EU would change its position. The two sides disagree on the rules for fair competition, how these rules will be policed and how much access EU fishing fleets will get to UK waters. Britain wants to reassert sovereignty over its waters and have no EU legal oversight over the deal — insisting it wants a simple trade deal of the kind the EU signed with Canada. But the EU says Britain’s situation is completely different to that of Canada. “I want a deal, I’m keen to conclude one but it takes both sides to compromise in order for there to be one. The EU is not doing so at the moment,” Gove told Sky News, adding that the EU did not seem serious in their desire to reach a deal. Chief European negotiator Michel Barnier and his British counterpart David Frost are due to discuss the structure of talks on Monday, according to the European Commission. “The ball is in his court,” Gove said of Barnier. Failure to strike a deal would see Britain and Europe revert to World Trade Organization terms, with higher tariffs and quotas, potentially devastating for economies already weakened by the pandemic.  
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France saw countrywide rallies defending free speech and secularism Sunday, while the government discussed a stronger response to Islamist extremism following the brutal killing of a French schoolteacher last week. Masks firmly on, per the capital’s coronavirus rules, thousands assembled at the Place de la Republique in Paris following Friday’s beheading of middle school history teacher Samuel Paty. Some waved French flags, as speakers paid a somber tribute to the country’s latest victim of terrorism.  A national commemoration takes place Wednesday in honor of Paty, who died in the Paris suburb of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine. People gather at the Place de la Republique in Paris, to pay tribute to Samuel Paty, Oct. 18, 2020. Placard reads ‘I am a teacher’. But despite calls of national unity after this second terrorist attack in less than a month, the moment is also being marked by division and criticism over the government’s response to radical Islam.  It also comes amid — and partly shapes — the country’s very different battle against another crisis, in the coronavirus pandemic.  “It’s them or us,” titled Le Point magazine in an editorial on the killing, while the regional Le Telegramme wrote that Friday’s attack “reminds us to what extent our French model of education and separation of church and state is threatened.”  Prophet Muhammad cartoons Nearly a dozen people are being held for questioning in Paty’s killing, which took place as he headed home from class. They include the family of the suspect, an 18-year-old Chechen refugee identified by officials as Abdoullakh A., whom police shot dead shortly after he allegedly stabbed and decapitated his victim.  Posting an image of Paty on Twitter after killing him, the alleged assailant also left a menacing message to President Emmanuel Macron. The Reuters news agency reports Twitter swiftly removed the post, saying the account was suspended because it violated the company’s policy.  FILE – French police officers patrol the area after a knife attack near the former offices of satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, Sept. 25, 2020, in Paris. The incident comes less than a month after a Pakistani immigrant stabbed two people outside Charlie Hebdo’s old Paris headquarters. In both cases, the suspects appeared to retaliate against the publication’s cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, which originally inspired the January 2015 terrorist attack.  And it is backdropped by an ongoing Paris trial over those Charlie Hebdo strikes.  Flowers are stacked outside the school where slain history teacher Samuel Paty was working, in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, northwest of Paris, Oct. 17, 2020. In Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, about 30 kilometers from Paris, bouquets of flowers were stacked in front of Paty’s shuttered school. Residents paid tributes to a teacher many described as kind but strict. Some are calling Paty a “martyr.” “‘We’re in shock,” Sophie Venetitay, a teachers’ union representative told France Info radio. “It’s school as a whole that’s under attack in wanting to open minds.”  Free expression on the line?  The teacher’s killing came after he showed students the Prophet Muhammad caricatures as part of a lesson on free expression. It was not the first time, students say, and they say the teacher notified Muslims in the class they were free to leave, warning they might find the images shocking.  But some parents were not happy. According to reports, one father, in particular, posted his complaints on social media, earning support from a known Islamist, Abdelhakim Sefrioui.  According to Le Journal du Dimanche, authorities considered Sefrioui to be an agitator but not dangerous. They reportedly expected possible protests against the teacher, but never a violent reprisal.   Many questions remain, but investigators have yet to find direct ties between the Chechen suspect, who lived in Normandy, and the Paris area school. On Sunday, Macron presided over a defense meeting to mull tougher measures against extremism. Macron’s ruling On the Move party is also readying new legislation against “separatism” that largely targets radical Islam.  FILE – French President Emmanuel Macron, flanked by offcials, speaks to the press, Oct. 16, 2020. The president is already battling negative reviews over his coronavirus response. Critics describe the government’s latest moves against extremism as similarly underwhelming.  Responding to Macron’s recent remarks that extremists would never win, far-right leader Marine Le Pen shot back on Twitter, “They’re already here — including in our schools!” 
 
“Big speeches need to make way for big decisions,” center-right Republicains leader Christian Jacob said, referring to Macron’s penchant for soaring discourse.  For their part, leaders of France’s Muslim community, western Europe’s largest, fear the latest attack will intensify anti-Muslim sentiment they say has been rising in recent years.  “I am devastated by this unspeakable act on behalf of a religion that has nothing to do with it,” Bordeaux Mosque rector Tareq Oubrou told French radio, adding the country’s Muslim community was “doubly affected, as both citizens and Muslims.” 
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Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center reported early Sunday that there are nearly 39.7 million COVID-19 infections worldwide and 1.1 million deaths from the virus.The U.S. continues to lead the world in COVID cases, with 8.1 million infections.India said Sunday it had recorded more than 61,000 COVID-19 cases in the previous 24-hour period. India has almost 7.5 million COVID-19 cases, with more than 114,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins statistics.Paris streets were deserted Saturday night as the city began a 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew, designed to help curb the spread of the coronavirus.At least seven other French cities, including Lyon, Grenoble, Aix-en-Provence, Montpellier, Lille, Rouen and Saint-Étienne are also under the nighttime curfew, scheduled to be in place for four weeks.Belgium will be placed under a midnight to 5 a.m. nationwide curfew Monday to combat the country’s rising COVID-19 caseload. In addition, Belgium has ordered all cafes, bars, and restaurants shuttered, starting Monday.Two European foreign ministers — Austria’s Alexander Schallenberg and Belgium’s Sophie Wilmès — have been infected with the coronavirus. Both attended a European Union meeting in Luxembourg on Monday.The Dutch king and queen cut their vacation to Greece short amid criticism that they were doing the opposite of what the Dutch people have been advised to do during the pandemic – stay home as much as possible to flatten the spread of the virus.King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima left The Hague on Friday but returned Saturday.”We do not want to leave any doubts about it: in order to get the COVID-19 virus under control, it is necessary that the guidelines are followed,” the couple said in a royal statement. “The debate over our holiday does not contribute to that.”
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Turkish Cypriots began voting Sunday in a leadership runoff between an incumbent who pledges a course less bound by Turkey’s dictates and a challenger who favors even closer ties to Ankara. The stakes have soared as a battle over energy rights in the eastern Mediterranean has intensified.Veteran incumbent Mustafa Akinci, 72, is a champion of Turkish Cypriots who oppose Turkey’s complete domination of their affairs. His hard-line challenger Ersin Tatar, 60, advocates fully aligning Turkish Cypriot policies with those of Turkey, the region’s patron.The Mediterranean island nation of Cyprus was split in 1974 when Turkey invaded after a coup by supporters of union with Greece. Only Turkey recognizes a breakaway Turkish Cypriot state in the north that is economically and militarily dependent on Ankara. The island’s internationally recognized government has its seat in the Greek Cypriot south and is part of the 27-nation European Union.The tussle between Turkish Cypriots who seek to retain more say in how they’re governed and those who want to walk in lockstep with Turkey has been a prominent feature in past leadership races but this contest seems more polarized than ever.Akinci has alleged that Turkey has engaged in “unprecedented” interference throughout the campaign in favor of Tatar and that he and his family have received threats to drop out of the race.“We know that things happened that shouldn’t have happened,” Akinci said after casting his ballot, adding that he wishes voters will look back on Sunday’s election with “pride for Turkish Cypriot democracy and will.”Tatar edged out Akinci in the first round of voting by less than three percentage points but Akinci now has clinched support from the third-place candidate. Analyst Tumay Tugyan says the contest could go either way as Tatar courted a significant pool of voters from the approximately 200,000-strong electorate — especially in rural areas — who may not have voted in the first round.Tatar urged voters to get out and beat the first round’s record-low turnout.“The important thing is to reflect our will and send out a message to the world,” Tatar said after voting.A first test for the winner will be a meeting with Greek Cypriots and Cyprus’ ‘guarantors’ — Greece, Turkey and Britain — that U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is expected call soon. The aim will be to figure out if there’s enough common ground to restart dormant peace talks.Nearly five decades of U.N. facilitated attempts at achieving reunification based on a federal framework have failed.Akinci believes that federation is the only way toward a peace accord. Tatar shares the Turkish government view that federation may not be the most viable option and alternatives such as a two-state deal should be pursued.Tensions have soared this summer in waters off Greece and Cyprus over sea boundaries and energy exploration rights after Turkey redeployed a research vessel near the Greek island of Kastellorizo. The move cast doubts on fresh talks aimed at resolving the dispute.Turkey insists it has every legal right to search for hydrocarbons in waters where Greece and Cyprus claim exclusive economic rights. The Greek and Cypriot governments accuse Turkey of violating international law. The dispute raised fears of a military conflict between Greece and Turkey, NATO members who are strong regional rivals. 
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In a Twitter message early Sunday, Armenia’s Defense Ministry accused Azerbaijan of violating a new cease-fire in the Nagorno-Karabakh region by firing artillery shells and rockets.“Once again violating the humanitarian ceasefire, the enemy fired artillery shells in the northern direction from 00:04 to 02:45, and fired rockets in the southern direction from 02:20 to 02:45.”Once again violating the humanitarian ceasefire, the enemy fired artillery shells in the northern direction from 00:04 to 02:45, and fired rockets in the southern direction from 02:20 to 02:45.— Shushan Stepanyan (@ShStepanyan) October 17, 2020There has been no reaction so far from Azerbaijan.Azerbaijan and Armenia announced they had agreed to a new cease-fire beginning Sunday, the second attempt in a week to temper almost three weeks of fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh.”The Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan have agreed to a humanitarian truce as of October 18, 00h00 local time,” Armenia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said late Saturday.Azerbaijan’s Foreign Affairs Ministry issued an identical statement.The announcements came after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke by phone with his Armenian and Azeri counterparts. Lavrov and French President Emmanuel Macron both stressed that the cease-fire must be strictly observed by both sides.Earlier Saturday, Azerbaijan and Armenia accused each other of new attacks, a further indication that violence has escalated in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region in violation of a Russian-brokered truce that took effect a week ago.Authorities in Azerbaijan said an Armenian missile attack on the city of Ganja killed at least 13 people and wounded 50 others in early hours of Saturday while Armenia accused Azerbaijan of more shelling.Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry said that the cities of Ganja and Mingachevir were hit with missiles fired from two locations in Armenia.According to official sources in Azerbaijan, Saturday’s missile attacks destroyed at least 20 residential buildings in Ganja, the country’s second-largest city.The Armenian Defense Ministry denied carrying out the strikes and accused Azerbaijan of continuing to shell populated areas in Nagorno-Karabakh, including its largest city, Stepanakert.The Armenian foreign ministry said three civilians were injured in a fire resulting from Azerbaijan’s attacks.Armenia also accused Azerbaijan of flying drones over Armenian settlements, attacking military installations and damaging civilian infrastructure.UNICEF, meanwhile, called Saturday for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire, declaring in a statement that children have been killed, injured and displaced by the fighting, forcing them to endure weeks of “extreme psychological trauma and distress.”“Children, families and the civilian facilities that they depend upon must be protected, in line with international human rights and humanitarian law. A complete cessation of hostilities is in the best interest of all children,” the statement said.The ongoing fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia erupted Sept. 27 and has killed hundreds of people, marking the biggest escalation of the decades-old conflict over breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh since a 1994 cease-fire.The predominantly ethnic Armenian territory declared its independence from Azerbaijan in 1991 during the collapse of the Soviet Union, sparking a war that claimed the lives of as many as 30,000 people before a 1994 cease-fire. However, that independence is not internationally recognized.   
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Supporters of the Iran-backed Hashd al-Shaabi, an Iraqi Shi’ite militia group, set fire Saturday to the offices of the Kurdish Democratic Party in Baghdad.The protesters in the Iraqi capital were upset by comments made by a senior KDP official. Ex-foreign minister Hoshyar Zebari said earlier this month that the government should “clean up” Baghdad’s Green Zone “from the presence of Hashd militias.” He said their ouster was an “essential task” as they are operating “outside the law.”The U.S. State Department issued a statement about the attack on the KDP offices by Hashd al-Shaabi, also known as the Popular Mobilization Forces.“The ability to speak freely and critically is a vital component of any democracy, and political parties should be able to engage in robust debate without threat from militias and thugs,” State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said.“We strongly urge all parties to behave responsibly during this critical period in which Iraq is already dealing with a pandemic, an economic crisis, and the continued threat of ISIS,” she said.
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Iran said it was self-reliant in its defense and had no need to go on a weapons-buying spree as a United Nations conventional arms embargo was set to expire Sunday despite strong U.S. opposition.”Iran’s defense doctrine is premised on strong reliance on its people and indigenous capabilities. … Unconventional arms, weapons of mass destruction and a buying spree of conventional arms have no place in Iran’s defense doctrine,” said a Foreign Ministry statement carried by state media.The 2007 Security Council arms embargo on Iran was set to expire Sunday, as agreed to under the 2015 nuclear deal among Iran, Russia, China, Germany, Britain, France and the United States that sought to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons in return for economic sanctions relief.Tensions between Washington and Tehran have soared since U.S. President Donald Trump in 2018 unilaterally withdrew from the deal, however.In August, the Trump administration triggered a process aimed at restoring all U.N. sanctions, after the U.N. Security Council rejected a U.S. bid to extend the conventional arms embargo on the country.”Today’s normalization of Iran’s defense cooperation with the world is a win for the cause of multilateralism and peace and security in our region,” Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Twitter.Days after triggering the process, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned Russia and China not to disregard the reimposition of all U.N. sanctions on Iran that Washington has demanded.When asked whether the United States would target Russia and China with sanctions if they refuse to reimpose the U.N. measures on Iran, Pompeo said: “Absolutely.””We have already done that, where we have seen any country violate … the current American sanctions, we’ve held every nation accountable for that. We’ll do the same thing with respect to the broader U.N. Security Council sanctions as well,” he said.Iran has developed a large domestic arms industry in the face of international sanctions and embargoes that have barred it from importing many weapons.Western military analysts say Iran often exaggerates its weapons capabilities, although concerns about its long-range ballistic missile program contributed to Washington leaving the Iran nuclear deal.
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Human traffickers are capitalizing on the coronavirus pandemic to target people ranging from jobless migrants to out-of-school children, two U.N. specialists said, warning that the fallout from COVID-19 had driven the crime further underground.The global economic slowdown has left countless people jobless, desperate and at risk of exploitation, while victims of trafficking are less likely to be found or receive help with attention and resources diverted elsewhere, the experts said.An estimated 25 million people worldwide are victims of labor and sex trafficking, according to the United Nations, with concerns growing that more will fall prey as support services are halted and efforts to secure justice are hindered.”The difficulty is that trafficking is now even more underground and less visible,” said Siobhan Mullally, the recently appointed U.N. special rapporteur on human trafficking.”More people are at risk … especially in the informal economy … there are opportunities for traffickers to recruit, to exploit, to prey on people’s desperation,” Mullally told the Thomson Reuters Foundation ahead of Anti-Slavery Day on Sunday.About 2.5 billion people, more than 60% of the world’s workforce, are informal workers, leaving them particularly at risk of being underpaid and abused, labor advocates have said.From India to Cambodia, workers in sectors such as textiles and tourism have lost their livelihoods because of COVID-19 and resorted to taking out loans that can lead to debt bondage or accepting work on worse terms and in exploitative conditions.FILE – Migrant workers and their families line up in a New Delhi bus terminal to leave for their villages during a government-imposed nationwide lockdown as a preventive measure against the coronavirus, March 28, 2020.Many of the world’s estimated 164 million migrant workers are stranded abroad and unable to go home or unwilling to seek help because of closed borders and restrictive immigration policies, leaving them vulnerable to traffickers, according to Mullally.‘Worsening horrors’Two decades after the adoption of a landmark U.N. anti-trafficking protocol, Mullally said the issue was still seen mainly as a criminal justice matter, and she called for a much broader focus encompassing labor rights and social protection.”An economic crisis … and recession or even depression … may be used as an excuse to curtail workers’ rights, with the knock-on effect of a greater threat of trafficking,” she added.Extreme poverty will rise for the first time this century, the World Bank said last week, predicting that the COVID-19 fallout could spawn 115 million “new poor” this year alone.Ilias Chatzis, head of the trafficking unit at the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), said his department was still gathering information about the impact of coronavirus on the crime but warned that early evidence showed “worsening horrors.”He cited the example of children spending more time online and being vulnerable to sexual exploitation — remotely — by global predators. Europol said in May that online child sex abuse in the European Union spiked at the start of the pandemic.While acknowledging the complexity of tackling trafficking during COVID-19, Chatzis sounded a note of hope for the future.”It’s not all darkness ahead. There is light at the end of the tunnel,” he said. “We abolished [chattel] slavery, we can abolish trafficking.”
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At least 24 people have been killed, and tens of thousands forced to flee their homes in Cambodia, because of prolonged heavy rain and flash flooding, authorities said Saturday, October 17. Almost 60,000 houses and 240,000 hectares of farmland have been flooded, affecting 245,428 people in 19 provinces and cities, including the capital Phnom Penh, and nearly 8,000 families were evacuated, according to official figures. Prime Minister Hun Sen visited evacuees at a makeshift center in Phnom Penh Thursday night, handing out blankets and supplies, local media reported. More rain is in forecast over the weekend across most of the country. (Reuters)  
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A year ago, hundreds of thousands of Lebanese took to the streets protesting taxes and a rapidly deteriorating economy. A spontaneous and hopeful nationwide movement was born, denouncing an entire political establishment that had for decades pushed Lebanon toward collapse.Today, as crises multiply and the country dives deeper into uncertainty and poverty, protests seem to have petered out. Even widespread anger over a devastating explosion at Beirut’s port on Aug. 4, blamed on government negligence, failed to reignite the movement.FILE – Words are written by Lebanese citizens in front of the scene of the Aug. 4 explosion that hit the seaport of Beirut, Lebanon, Aug. 9, 2020.On Saturday, thousands of people marked the first anniversary of the protest movement in different parts of Lebanon, including in its three largest cities, Beirut, Tripoli and Sidon. But there were far fewer protesters than there were last year.It is both bewildering and frustrating for those who believe only a sustained popular uprising can bring change in Lebanon.Some argue the protests lost momentum because of the political elite’s moves to hijack and weaken the movement. Protesters have been met with violence, arrest and intimidation. Others say Lebanese have become numb to incompetence and corruption among the political class.Patronage networkBut Lebanon’s confessional-based power-sharing system also proved difficult to bring down. A revolt against the status quo means breaking a sectarian patronage network cultivated by the ruling elite that many in the divided population benefit from. Even if dissatisfied, some blame other factions for the country’s problems or fear change will give another sect power over them — a fear that politicians eagerly stoke.”We don’t have one head of state. It’s a group of men. They have agreed to divide the spoils of the state at every level. It’s a system that you can hardly topple,” said Carmen Geha, associate professor in public administration and an activist. She compared the dismantling of Lebanon’s system to the dismantling of apartheid in South Africa, a long and arduous process.For all its limitations, the protest movement that erupted on Oct. 17, 2019, had successes.Even after street demonstrations dissipated, grassroots networks quickly mobilized following the Beirut explosion, which killed nearly 200 and wrecked tens of thousands of homes. Authorities almost completely left the public on its own to deal with the aftermath, with no government cleanup crews in the streets and little outreach to those whose homes or businesses were wrecked.So, activists stepped in and took charge of rebuilding.”You find people more mobilized toward helping each other … that is another face of the revolution,” Geha said. “We need to show people how inept politicians are and provide them with an alternative system, one focused on services.”The protests showed Lebanese could march against politicians of their own sect. In unprecedented scenes, large crowds turned out, even in cities like Tripoli, Sidon and Nabatiyeh, which have been strongly affiliated with traditional sectarian parties, including Hezbollah. Politicians considered untouchable gained something of a pariah status, named and shamed in public or even chased out of restaurants.’We broke their halo'”We broke the sectarian barriers and the taboo of opposing these warlords. We broke their halo,” said Taymour Jreissati, once a prominent protester, now living in France. Jreissati left in the summer, for the sake of his children, he said, and after being threatened by politicians and security agencies.Two governments were toppled under the pressure of the streets — one last October, the other right after the Beirut explosion.Jad Chaaban, an economist and activist, said the protest movement was thwarted by the political elite.”The politicians cemented their alliances again and distributed the roles to protect each other,” he said. “The counter-revolution was at the level of the economy, allowing it to deteriorate … [and] on the streets through a fierce police crackdown.”FILE – Women walk past graffiti painted on a metal barrier that closed the entrance of a hotel damaged by the Aug. 4 explosion in Beirut, Lebanon, Oct. 12, 2020.The political factions in power have generally claimed to support the protesters’ goals of reform and an end to corruption. At the same time, they have made no move to enact reform, often depicting the protesters as agents of instability.In a speech to his party faithful last week, former Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil — who is the son-in-law of the president and who was particularly vilified in protesters’ chants as a symbol of the ruling class — called on “the true, sincere movement” to join his party in forming a program of change. But he also warned that Lebanese are threatened “with being brainwashed by ‘revolutions’ fabricated and financed from abroad.”The protest movement also failed to offer solid leadership. From the start, protesters shunned calls to do so, worried leaders could be targeted or co-opted. With time, that absence became a constraint.Some experts see the protesters’ chief demand as unrealistic — typified in the chant, “All of them means all of them,” meaning all politicians in the establishment must step down.’Dilution of the problem’That addressed the wrong issue and was “a dilution of the problem,” said Nadim Shehadi, from the London-based think tank Chatham House.”The problem in Lebanon is not the system of governance. It has its flaws, but it is not the cause of the problem. Hezbollah is,” said Shehadi, who is also executive director of the New York headquarters and academic center at the Lebanese American University.At various protests, supporters of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah and its Shiite ally Amal attacked demonstrators. Hezbollah and its political allies have also snarled efforts to form a more reformist government since the port explosion — wary, critics say, of changes that could affect its strength as an independent armed force and support system for its Shiite community.The uprising tripped over a myriad of crises. The coronavirus pandemic undermined turnout. The breakdown of the economy — and then the port explosion — threw people into survival mode, drained by their inability to make ends meet.Anti-government protesters wave Lebanese national flags near a giant flame over a metal statue that reads in Arabic “October 17, Revolution,” in Beirut, Lebanon, Oct. 17, 2020.In Beirut, hundreds marched on Saturday from different parts of the capital and gathered outside the port, the scene of the massive blast. They later lit a giant flame over a metal statue that reads in Arabic the “October 17, Revolution.” The flame was lit at 6:07 p.m. (1507 GMT) to mark the moment the port blast occurred.People may eventually go back to street protests in larger numbers. The Central Bank is expected to end subsidies of basic goods in coming weeks, throwing more people into poverty.But many activists now focus on the grassroots level, building an alternative to the patronage system to deliver basic needs. With time, they hope more people will break with their traditional leadership.”It’s a long road,” said activist Lina Boubess, a 60-year-old mother who has not missed one protest since October.”I am the civil war generation, but this new generation gives me hope. I believe in a tomorrow. I don’t want to give up.” 
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The director of a Kurdish-language performance of a 1981 Italian play banned by the Turkish authorities four hours before its stage time is rejecting the government claim that it is a terror propaganda for the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).Beru is a Kurdish adaptation of the Nobel prize-winning Italian playwright Dario Fo’s Trumpets and Raspberries. The play was performed by the independent company Teatra Jiyana Nu, or New Life Theatre, for at least three years in Turkey and abroad until earlier this week when Turkish authorities said it was promoting the PKK group.“We are not making propaganda but art,” Nazmi Karaman, the director of the play, told VOA.The ban, he said, was a political move by the government to limit the usage of Kurdish language in public arenas.Beru was included in the Istanbul Municipal Theatre’s October program as part of a project by the main opposition-held Istanbul Municipality to support independent theater companies struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic. It would have been the first Kurdish-language play staged in the theater’s 106-year history.Karaman said police delivered to him a banning notice from Istanbul’s Gaziosmanpasa district governor shortly before the play’s final rehearsal on Tuesday. In the notice seen by VOA, the play was accused of violating public order.“It was not a public order violation or propaganda since today. Why now?” he said, adding that his team had submitted permit applications to the police “many times” with Turkish subtitles for review.Trumpets and Raspberries has been translated into several languages, including Turkish. The play is a political satire “based upon the richest man and head of the largest car company in Italy at the time,” Actress Ruges Kirici speaks to media in front of Istanbul’s Municipal Theatre building after Turkish authorities banned a Kurdish-language play, in Gaziosmanpasa district, Istanbul, Turkey, Oct. 13, 2020.Public outcryThe ban on Beru has sparked a controversy in the country, with the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) considering it an attack on Kurdish language that reportedly has 5 million speakers in Istanbul alone.The official census in Turkey does not list ethnicities, but Istanbul is often referred to as the country’s largest Kurdish city.“This is the fascist mentality that we challenge,” the HDP said on its official Twitter account.Similarly, Ekrem Imamoglu, the mayor of Istanbul from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), condemned the decision in a statement Wednesday.Referring to a government move to broadcast an interview with PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan’s brother Osman Ocalan on state TV channel TRT Kurdi before last year’s local elections, Imamoglu said, “it’s allowed for a terrorist group member who is sought with a red notice to make a statement on TV, but it’s banned to stage a play in Kurdish. This is unacceptable.”Turkish authorities, however, have denied that the ban was imposed due to its rendition in Kurdish.Ismail Catakli, the interior ministry spokesperson, on Twitter called the criticism as “another lie, another provocation.””A theater play spreading the PKK terror organization’s propaganda will be allowed neither in Kurdish, Turkish nor in Arabic,” Catakli added.In a press statement released on Wednesday, Istanbul governorate announced it has opened an investigation into the claims that it pushed for the PKK narrative.A scene from the play Beru (Twitter @nazmikaraman)PKK conflictThe PKK, a designated terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States, and the European Union, has fought Turkey since 1984. The conflict has left more than 40,000 people dead.The Turkish government over the years has come under criticism from several human rights organizations alleging that it uses the PKK conflict as a broad brush to crack down on the Kurds.“The conflict with the PKK has been used to justify discriminatory measures against Kurds, including the prohibition of Kurdish festivals for security reasons and the reversal of Kurdish municipal officials’ efforts to promote their language and culture,” noted Freedom House in its Freedom in the World 2020 report.According to Lisel Hintz, a professor at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies, the suppression of the Kurdish movement through the restriction of arts represents a broader attempt by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) “to police and patrol the kinds of identities that its citizens are able to have.”“I think it’s also representative of a de-democratization movement that is directed particularly at Kurds, at the Peoples’ Democratic Party and at anyone who supports them,” Hintz told VOA.Last month, Turkey issued arrest warrants for 82 members of the HDP, including the mayor of Kars, over pro-Kurdish protests held in 2014. The protests were sparked by the seizure of Kobane, a mainly Kurdish town in northern Syria, by the Islamic State.Hintz charged that the ban on Beru is likely a tactic by the ruling AKP to portray the main opposition CHP as cozying up to the Kurdish movement.“This represents a way in which the AKP can try to sort of smear the CHP with being associated with Kurds which in and of itself is insulting. The idea that just being associated with the Kurdish movement is something that is dangerous, unpatriotic or inauthentic is, in itself, reprehensible,” she added.Mem Botanî contributed to this report from Istanbul, Turkey. 
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