«Укрзалізниця» хоче запровадити безконтактну оплату в електричках.

Для реалізації пілотного проєкту обрані напрямки Київ – Фастів та Київ – Святошин. На низці станцій, зокрема, планується встановити турнікетні системи та термінали з продажу квитків. У разі успішної реалізації проєкт планують поширювати і на інших приміських напрямках.

За словами директора філії «Пасажирська компанія» «Укрзалізниця» Олександра Перцовського, партнери з компанії VISA мають технічні рішення, які дозволяють запустити цей сервіс вже на початку наступного року.

«Пасажири отримають можливість оплачувати проїзд безконтактно карткою, або навіть телефоном, і не стояти в чергах до квиткової каси. До речі, у ситуації з поширенням коронавірусу ця опція надзвичайно актуальна. Переваги отримає й залізниця, яка зможе бодай частково побороти проблему «зайців», – розповів Перцовський.

«Укрзалізниця» – національний перевізник вантажів та пасажирів. Згідно з інформацією на сайті компанії, наразі вона забезпечує 82 % вантажних і майже 50 % пасажирських перевезень, які здійснюються усіма видами транспорту.
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U.S. Senate Republicans’ timeline to confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett to fill the Supreme Court vacancy left by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been thrown into disarray by the coronavirus.FILE – President Donald Trump works in his conference room at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, Oct. 3, 2020, after testing positive for COVID-19. (Official White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian)Those Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans appear to have been exposed to the virus in the cluster of cases that also infected U.S. President Donald Trump and other top members of the administration. The cluster of cases may have come from the September 26 White House Rose Garden event for Trump’s announcement of Barrett as his Supreme Court nominee.  Here’s a look at where the timeline for Bennett’s confirmation hearings stand a week before the anticipated October 12 start:How are Senate Republicans responding?  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced a change to the Senate schedule Saturday in an attempt to contain the spread of the virus on Capitol Hill. The Senate will now not hold any floor business until October 19, but Republicans continue to aim to start confirmation hearings for Barrett on October 12.   “The Senate floor schedule will not interrupt the thorough, fair and historically supported confirmation process,” McConnell said. “Since May, the Judiciary Committee has operated flawlessly through a hybrid method that has seen some Senators appear physically at its hearings while other members have participated virtually.”  FILE – Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., speaks at the Capitol in Washington, Sept. 21, 2020.The Senate Judiciary Committee has held 21 hybrid hearings — a mix of in-person and virtual — since the pandemic began in earlier this year.  But McConnell cannot afford to lose even one more of the 51 Senate Republicans to illness or quarantine in order to confirm Barrett since Republican Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski have already announced they would not vote to confirm a nominee before Election Day. As it is, those senators infected or quarantining have already said they would return to Washington before the CDC recommended 14-day quarantine period has ended.  In a Saturday interview with conservative talk show host Hugh Hewitt, McConnell said the coronavirus is the “biggest enemy” to moving the Barrett nomination to a vote before Election Day.  “Every precaution needs to be taken, because we don’t anticipate any Democratic support at all, either in committee or in the full Senate, and therefore, everybody needs to be in an all hands on deck mindset,” McConnell told Hewitt.How are Senate Democrats responding?  The recent infection of three Republican senators has renewed the debate over safety procedures in the U.S. Capitol. While Congressional Republicans have held their caucus meetings in person throughout the course of the pandemic, Democrats continue to meet virtually.  Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Monday the plan to continue with the confirmation process highlighted Republicans’ disregard for safety protocols.  FILE – Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer of N.Y. speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Sept. 9, 2020.”The Republican leadership has truly lost touch with reality if it’s contemplating marching COVID-stricken members to the Senate to rush through a Supreme Court nominee who could strip health care from 20 million Americans. Instead of engaging in continuously more absurd and dangerous behavior, Chairman Graham should halt this already illegitimate nomination process,” Schumer said in a statement.  At the same time, Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats have also protested the plan to hold the Supreme Court confirmation process virtually, writing Saturday in a letter to Chairman Lindsey Graham, “Holding a remote hearing for a Supreme Court nomination is not an adequate substitute. As Republican members of this Committee have recognized, questioning nominees by video is ineffective and ignores the gravity of our constitutional duty to provide advice and consent on lifetime appointments, particularly those to the nation’s highest court.”  Democrats’ best chance to block the Barrett confirmation will occur with procedural maneuvers on the Senate floor, after the Senate Judiciary Committee votes on her nomination. As of now, that committee vote is still planned for October 22. Republicans’ original plan would have the nomination ready for a full Senate floor vote the week of October 26.How has the U.S. Congress previously responded to protecting members from the coronavirus?  Earlier this year, the Republican-majority U.S. Senate and the Democratic-majority U.S. House diverged in their response to the virus. Led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, lawmakers in that chamber passed the first-ever rules for proxy voting and switched over to holding committee hearings virtually. After a break in April, the U.S. Senate returned to in-person work. Both McConnell and Pelosi declined a White House offer for testing. To date, there is no COVID-19 testing or tracing regimen on Capitol Hill.  FILE – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., speaks during a weekly news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Oct. 1, 2020.Pelosi did institute a mask mandate for the House side of the Capitol in late July, when Rep. Louie Gohmert — who had refused to wear a mask — tested positive for coronavirus.   According to GovTrack, 72 members of Congress in total have tested positive for COVID-19, been quarantined or come into contact with someone who has the virus.  U.S. lawmakers fly into Washington from all parts of the country, work a three- to four-day week on Capitol Hill and then fly back to their home districts — a situation that is ideal for facilitating the spread of the virus.  “400-500+ members of Congress regularly travel from every corner of the country to DC & back. Each time we convene carries with it the potential of a super spreader event. It’s absolutely unacceptable that there is no regular temp-taking, testing, or contact tracing protocol,” Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted over the weekend.   The U.S. House is currently out of session for the month of October while lawmakers’ campaign in their home districts.  
 
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The U.S. Supreme Court returned to work for the first time Monday since the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg amid controversy over her replacement.The Supreme Court will begin this term as it ended the last one — hearing cases via teleconference to protect against the spread of COVID-19. The court, now comprised of eight justices instead of nine, is expected to hear several high-profile cases this term, including the fate of the Affordable Care Act.The first case of the new term is centered around a provision in the Delaware constitution mandating that courts be ideologically balanced.Chief Justice John Roberts paid tribute to Ginsburg, who died Sept. 18, before hearing opening arguments Monday. He called Ginsburg a “dear friend and a treasured colleague.”President Donald Trump nominated Amy Coney Barrett to replace Ginsburg on the Court. Democrats on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee said Republicans are rushing the confirmation process and reiterated calls for postponing the review of Barrett’s nomination until after the presidential inauguration in January 2021.  
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Долар зміцнився до дворічного максимуму, свідчать дані на сайті Національного банку України.

Долар зріс ще на чотири копійки: на 6 жовтня його курс встановлений на рівні 28 гривень 40 копійок. Це найбільше з вересня 2018 року.

Євро подорожчав на 17 копійок – до 33 гривень 40 копійок. Це відповідає рівню лютого 2018 року.
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White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows says President Donald Trump is meeting with doctors treating him for COVID-19 Monday to assess his progress and the administration is “optimistic” he could be discharged from the hospital later in the day.“Spoke to the President this morning.  He continued to improve over night and is ready to get back to a normal working schedule,” Meadows told Fox News.  “We are still optimistic that he will be able to return to the White House later today.”On Sunday, after tweeting a video that he is “getting great reports” from his doctors, Trump promised a little surprise for his supporters outside the hospital where he is being treated.   pic.twitter.com/0Bm9W2u1x7— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 4, 2020The president then briefly left Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in an armored SUV with Secret Service agents in tow to drive by a flag-waving, cheering crowd outside the hospital.     “President Trump took a short, last-minute motorcade ride to wave to his supporters outside and has now returned to the Presidential Suite inside Walter Reed,” White House spokesman Judd Deere said in a statement.     Earlier Sunday, the doctors treating the president revealed that their patient experienced “two episodes of transient drops in his oxygen saturation.”     Despite that, “The fact of the matter is, he is doing really well,” the president’s primary physician, Dr. Sean Conley, told reporters. COVID-19 is the disease caused by the coronavirus.     A team led by Conley was more transparent during Sunday’s news briefing than the previous day, when their appearance before a pool of White House reporters seemed to raise as many questions as it answered.    Trump Leaves Hospital Briefly; Doctors Report 2 Drops in Oxygen SaturationThe president drove by his supporters outside the hospital where he is being treated, could be discharged as early as Monday, his doctors say Conley, asked by a reporter why he had been evasive on the question of whether Trump had required supplemental oxygen at the White House on Friday — which the president did for about an hour — replied he was trying “to reflect the upbeat attitude of the team.”      Conley, an osteopath and a commander in the U.S. Navy, explained that he did not “want to give any information that might steer the course of illness in another direction and in doing so it came off that we were trying to hide something, which wasn’t necessarily true.”      That medical team, during a 10-minute briefing on Sunday outside the front steps of the Walter Reed, explained that the president is now taking a steroid, dexamethasone, which is typically not administered in mild or moderate cases of the coronavirus, along with a five-day course of remdesivir, an antiviral medication.      Dr. Sean Dooley, an Army colonel and pulmonologist, told reporters that the president’s vital signs were stable on Sunday morning and the patient was walking around, not complaining of shortness of breath or experiencing any other respiratory symptoms.      “If he continues to look and feel as well as he does today, our hope is that we can plan for a discharge as early as tomorrow to the White House, where he can continue his treatment course,” announced Dr. Brian Garibaldi, a civilian specialist in pulmonary and critical care medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.      Some key questions remain, such as whether the president has suffered any lung damage. Doctors in their responses Sunday declined to go beyond saying there have been the “expected findings” with their patient, who is a 74-year-old overweight male.      Trump on Friday had a high fever, and that — along with the brief need for supplemental oxygen — prompted the president’s move from the White House to the hospital, according to Conley.      Trump tweeted a video Saturday evening in which he said he was doing well and hoped to be back soon, acknowledging that the next few days will be the “real test.”      Conley received word Thursday evening that both Trump and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for the coronavirus after one of the president’s close aides, Hope Hicks, was confirmed to be ill with the infection.      The president’s decision to do a drive-around for supporters Sunday evening was condemned by one attending physician at Walter Reed as irresponsible.       Dr. James Phillips, who is also chief of disaster medicine at George Washington University in Washington, tweeted that the special vehicle the president was riding in is sealed against chemical attack.       “The risk of COVID19 transmission inside is as high as it gets outside of medical procedures. The irresponsibility is astounding. My thoughts are with the Secret Service forced to play,” said Phillips, referring to the driver and an accompanying agent in the front seat who appeared to be wearing masks, face shields and gowns.That Presidential SUV is not only bulletproof, but hermetically sealed against chemical attack. The risk of COVID19 transmission inside is as high as it gets outside of medical procedures. The irresponsibility is astounding. My thoughts are with the Secret Service forced to play.— Dr. James P. Phillips, MD (@DrPhillipsMD) October 4, 2020“Appropriate precautions were taken in the execution of this movement to protect the president and all those supporting it, including PPE,” Deere, the White House spokesman said. “The movement was cleared by the medical team as safe to do.”Earlier Sunday, National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien said there had not been a discussion of temporarily transferring power to Vice President Mike Pence.      “We have a government that is steady,” O’Brien said on CBS News’ Face the Nation, adding later, “We have plans for everything.”      Trump’s campaign Friday put on hold all previously announced events involving the president’s participation. Pence is to make campaign appearances this week, as well as face off Wednesday evening against the Democrats’ vice presidential nominee, U.S. Senator Kamala Harris of California.       Sunday marked 30 days before the Nov. 3 presidential election. Trump’s    opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden, said Friday he was sending “prayers for the health and safety of the first lady and the president of the United States.”      Biden added that the president’s positive test is a “bracing reminder to all of us that we have to take this virus seriously.”     Trump and Biden were about 4 meters apart on a debate stage Tuesday evening in Cleveland, Ohio. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests at least 2 meters for social distancing purposes.      Biden’s campaign said the former vice president tested negative Friday for the coronavirus and a test on Sunday was also negative.      Speaking Friday in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Biden, wearing a surgical mask, called again for a national mask mandate, asserting it could save 100,000 lives in 100 days.      The coronavirus has killed nearly 210,000 people in the United States and infected about 7.4 million across the country, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
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Health authorities in Uganda say the supply of blood has sharply declined since the start of the coronavirus pandemic as fewer people donate and schools remain closed. The consequences are sometimes deadly.
Students, especially those in secondary school, are the largest group of blood donors in the East African country but schools have been closed since March amid efforts to curb the spread of the virus.
This means the government agency charged with collecting blood is failing to meet its targets.
Dr. Emmanuel Batiibwe, the director of a hospital that looks after many of the poorest residents of the capital, Kampala, cited multiple deaths there in recent months related to blood shortages.
One victim was a woman with pregnancy complications. Children under 5 and patients going into surgery are also among those frequently in need of a blood transfusion, he said.
In July, Batiibwe’s China-Uganda Friendship Hospital received only 18 of a requisitioned 218 units of blood. The next month 68 of 217 units came in, he said.
“There’s a problem somewhere,” he said, calling the shortage a “disaster.”
The head of Uganda Blood Transfusion Services, Dr. Dorothy Byabazaire, told lawmakers earlier this year that her agency collected 56,850 units of a targeted 75,000 between April and July.
Facilities across the country submit blood orders to the agency, and there is a sharing mechanism among facilities in the event of emergencies. But “borrowing” blood can be time-consuming, Batiibwe said.
The Uganda Red Cross, which helps authorities to mobilize blood donors, said it hasn’t been easy to recruit donors during the pandemic. The country has confirmed more than 8,600 coronavirus cases, including 79 deaths.
“People don’t feed well anymore. People are stressed,” said spokeswoman Irene Nakasiita, adding that some willing, potential donors are turned away because their blood levels are too low.
Similar challenges were echoed by Ariho Franco, a donor recruiter for a blood bank operated by Kampala’s private Mengo Hospital, who said that while schools are closed they are focusing on public places. They have set up tents in locations such as the public square in central Kampala. Donors receive soda and cookies.
“The blood shortage is a serious problem because the few people who are out there that we are able to reach are unable to donate due to various reasons,” Franco said.
He said blood collection teams are facing challenges in finding donors among communities reeling from the economic impacts of the pandemic. Some people say they are not sure where their next meal will come from, he said.
“At the end of the day some people may only survive by the mercy of God since the little blood that will have been collected will only be reserved for serious emergencies,” he said.
Blood shortages have been reported elsewhere, including in parts of Europe.
Local media in Romania have cited fear of COVID-19 infections among the reasons for a decline in the number of blood donors. The cities of Iasi and Cluj face a dire situation as some cancer patients needing frequent transfusions and people needing urgent surgery have had to bring their own donors to survive.
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Asian markets rose Monday as news of U.S. President Donald Trump’s continued recovery from his COVID-19 infection appeared to calm nervous investors.  Japan’s benchmark Nikkei index closed 1.2% higher. The S&P/ASX index in Australia soared 2.5%.  South Korea’s KOSPI index finished 1.2%, and the TSEC index in Taiwan ended 0.2% higher.   Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index is 1.3% higher in late afternoon trading, while Mumbai’s Sensex is up 0.8%.  Shanghai’s Composite index is closed for a national holiday. In commodities trading, gold is selling at $1,892.90 an ounce, down 0.7%.  U.S. crude oil is trading at $37.65 per barrel, up 1.6%, and Brent crude oil is trading at $39.85 per barrel, up 1.4%. The 74-year-old U.S. president was flown to Walter Reed Military Medical Center near Washington last Friday after announcing he contracted the disease, but his doctors say he is responding well to treatment and could return to the White House on Monday. All three major U.S. indices are trending higher in futures trading. 
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The fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces over Nagorno-Karabakh spilled over the disputed region’s borders Sunday.   Hikmet Hajiyev, an aide to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, said Armenian forces shelled Azerbaijan’s second-largest city of Ganja with heavy artillery and rockets,  killing one person and injuring 32 others. Hajiyev also said Armenian forces also targeted the industrial city of Mingachevir and other smaller towns.  Hajiyev’s claims were denied by Armenian defense forces, but Arayik Harutyunyan, the leader of the contested Nagorno-Karabakh, said in a post on Facebook that his forces targeted military objects in Ganja before he ordered them to stop to avoid killing civilians. Harutyunyan warned that his forces would begin targeting other large cities in Azerbaijani and urged those cities to evacuate immediately.  Authorities in the breakaway territory have warned that the “last battle” for the region has begun. They called on the international community Saturday to “recognize the independence” of Nagorno-Karabakh as “the only effective mechanism to restore peace.”Military conflict over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, Oct. 4, 2020.The reports of attacks on Ganja and Mingachevir comes a day after Armenia said the territory’s capital, Stepanakert, was targeted by Azeri forces.  Dozens of people have been killed and hundreds of others injured in the fighting that erupted one week ago Sunday. Armenian and Azerbaijani forces ignored calls this past week by the United States, France and Russia for an immediate cease-fire in Nagorno-Karabakh, as fighting escalated to levels not seen since the 1990s. The three countries co-chair the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) Minsk Group, which is tasked with finding a peaceful solution.  Azerbaijani President Aliyev has demanded the withdrawal of Armenia from Nagorno-Karabakh as the only way to end the fighting. The predominantly ethnic Armenian territory, a formerly autonomous territory which sits inside Azerbaijan, declared its independence from Baku 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 cease-fire was declared in 1994.   Peace efforts in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, mediated by the Minsk Group, collapsed in 2010. 
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State and county officials in New Jersey are contacting more than 200 people who were at President Donald Trump’s Bedminster golf club for Thursday’s campaign fundraiser and asking them to monitor themselves for possible coronavirus symptoms.If they were in close contact with the president or his staff, they are being asked to quarantine for 14 days. Officials recommend waiting five to seven days from the event to get a COVID-19 test to prevent false negatives.Trump Leaves Hospital Briefly; Doctors Report 2 Drops in Oxygen SaturationThe president drove by his supporters outside the hospital where he is being treated, could be discharged as early as Monday, his doctors say Trump announced early Friday that he and his wife had tested positive for the novel coronavirus. According to a statement issued Sunday, the White House sent the New Jersey officials a list of 206 attendees.”The White House supplied to NJ officials the names of at least 206 individuals who attended the events,” the New Jersey Department of Health said on Twitter. The department has contacted the people and recommended that they self-monitor for symptoms and quarantine if they were in close contact with the president and his staff.Meanwhile, Somerset County officials are contacting employees who worked at the event, most of whom live in the county.State and county officials said the federal government is also conducting contact tracing.White House spokesman Judd Deere said in a statement that a full contact tracing, consistent with guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was completed for the president’s Bedminster trip. Trump did not have any interactions with Bedminster staff or guests that would be considered “close” based on the guidelines, Deere said.All White House staff considered to be in close contact during the trip have been identified, contacted and recommended to quarantine, Deere said.
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After tweeting a video early Sunday evening saying he’s “getting great reports” from his doctors, U.S. President Donald Trump promised a little surprise for his supporters outside the hospital where he is being treated for COVID-19.pic.twitter.com/0Bm9W2u1x7— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 4, 2020  The president then briefly left Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in an armored SUV with Secret Service agents in tow to drive by a flag-waving, cheering crowd outside the hospital.     “President Trump took a short, last-minute motorcade ride to wave to his supporters outside and has now returned to the Presidential Suite inside Walter Reed,” White House spokesman Judd Deere said in a statement.     Earlier Sunday, the doctors treating the president revealed that their patient experienced “two episodes of transient drops in his oxygen saturation.”     Despite that, “The fact of the matter is, he is doing really well,” the president’s primary physician, Dr. Sean Conley, told reporters. COVID-19 is the disease caused by the coronavirus.     Trump COVID-19 Treatment Continues; Doctors say He Has Experienced Oxygen Saturation Drops TwiceThe president could be discharged from the hospital as early as Monday, according to his team of doctors  A team led by Conley was more transparent during Sunday’s news briefing than the previous day, when their appearance before a pool of White House reporters seemed to raise as many questions as it answered.      Conley, asked by a reporter why he had been evasive on the question of whether Trump had required supplemental oxygen at the White House on Friday — which the president did for about an hour — replied he was trying “to reflect the upbeat attitude of the team.”      Conley, an osteopath and a commander in the U.S. Navy, explained that he did not “want to give any information that might steer the course of illness in another direction and in doing so it came off that we were trying to hide something, which wasn’t necessarily true.”      That medical team, during a 10-minute briefing on Sunday outside the front steps of the Walter Reed, explained that the president is now taking a steroid, dexamethasone, which is typically not administered in mild or moderate cases of the coronavirus, along with a five-day course of remdesivir, an antiviral medication.      Dr. Sean Dooley, an Army colonel and pulmonologist, told reporters that the president’s vital signs were stable on Sunday morning and the patient was walking around, not complaining of shortness of breath or experiencing any other respiratory symptoms.      “If he continues to look and feel as well as he does today, our hope is that we can plan for a discharge as early as tomorrow to the White House, where he can continue his treatment course,” announced Dr. Brian Garibaldi, a civilian specialist in pulmonary and critical care medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.      Some key questions remain, such as whether the president has suffered any lung damage. Doctors in their responses Sunday declined to go beyond saying there have been the “expected findings” with their patient, who is a 74-year-old overweight male.      Trump on Friday had a high fever, and that — along with the brief need for supplemental oxygen — prompted the president’s move from the White House to the hospital, according to Conley.      Trump tweeted a video Saturday evening in which he said he was doing well and hoped to be back soon, acknowledging that the next few days will be the “real test.”     Conley received word Thursday evening that both Trump and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for the coronavirus after one of the president’s close aides, Hope Hicks, was confirmed to be ill with the infection.      The president’s decision to do a drive-around for supporters Sunday evening was condemned by one attending physician at Walter Reed as irresponsible.       Dr. James Phillips, who is also chief of disaster medicine at George Washington University in Washington, tweeted that the special vehicle the president was riding in is sealed against chemical attack.       “The risk of COVID19 transmission inside is as high as it gets outside of medical procedures. The irresponsibility is astounding. My thoughts are with the Secret Service forced to play,” said Phillips, referring to the driver and an accompanying agent in the front seat who appeared to be wearing masks, face shields and gowns.  That Presidential SUV is not only bulletproof, but hermetically sealed against chemical attack. The risk of COVID19 transmission inside is as high as it gets outside of medical procedures. The irresponsibility is astounding. My thoughts are with the Secret Service forced to play.— Dr. James P. Phillips, MD (@DrPhillipsMD) October 4, 2020“Appropriate precautions were taken in the execution of this movement to protect the president and all those supporting it, including PPE,” Deere, the White House spokesman said. “The movement was cleared by the medical team as safe to do.”Earlier Sunday, National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien said  there had not been a discussion of temporarily transferring power to Vice President Mike Pence.     “We have a government that is steady,” O’Brien said on CBS News’ Face the Nation, adding later, “We have plans for everything.”      Trump’s campaign Friday put on hold all previously announced events involving the president’s participation. Pence is to make campaign appearances this week, as well as face off Wednesday evening against the Democrats’ vice presidential nominee, U.S. Senator Kamala Harris of California.       Sunday marked 30 days before the Nov. 3 presidential election. Trump’s    opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden, said Friday he was sending “prayers for the health and safety of the first lady and the president of the United States.”      Biden added that the president’s positive test is a “bracing reminder to all of us that we have to take this virus seriously.” 
Trump and Biden were about 4 meters apart on a debate stage Tuesday evening in Cleveland, Ohio. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests at least 2 meters for social distancing purposes.      Biden’s campaign said the former vice president tested negative Friday for the coronavirus and a test on Sunday was also negative.      Speaking Friday in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Biden, wearing a surgical mask, called again for a national mask mandate, asserting it could save 100,000 lives in 100 days.      The coronavirus has killed nearly 210,000 people in the United States and infected about 7.4 million across the country, according to Johns Hopkins University data.  
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As the November 3rd elections approach in the US, many voters in states that allow it are already taking advantage of casting their ballots early – either in person or by mail. In Virginia, residents got a chance to vote early starting on September 18th – and indications are that turnout is beating records.  Lesia Bakalets has the story, narrated by Anna Rice.VIDEOGRAPHER: Aleksandr Bergan 
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Seven bodies were found in a region straddling the French-Italian border near Nice on Sunday after torrential rains swept houses and roads away, officials in both countries said.Five of the bodies were discovered in northwestern Italy, including four washed up on the shore between the towns of Ventimiglia and Santo Stefano al Mare, near the French frontier. Some of the corpses might have been swept down the coast from France.Two more were found in France, including a shepherd found by an Italian search and rescue team. The other body was found in a vehicle that had been swept away by flash-flooding in the village of Saint-Martin-Vésubie.It brings to nine the number of people found dead after fierce rains and howling gales lashed the border area on Friday. French firefighters said another 21 people were missing, eight of them known to be as a direct result of the storm.The bad weather caused millions of euros in damage, with several road bridges swept away in Italy, and streets in some towns littered with debris, mud and overturned cars.Officials in the Piedmont region reported a record 630 mm (24.8 inches) of rain in 24 hours in Sambughetto, near Switzerland, more than half its annual average rainfall.In Limone Piemonte, a three-story house was swept off its foundations and into a river. In the nearby village of Tanaro, floodwaters destroyed the local cemetery, sweeping away dozens of coffins.In France, almost 1,000 firefighters were drafted into the Alpes-Maritimes region to look for the missing and re-establish communications. More than two dozen primary and secondary schools in the area are closed until further notice, local authorities said.Up to 500 mm (19.5 inches) of rain fell in less than 10 hours, a volume not seen since records began, Prime Minister Jean Castex said on Saturday.
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Kenzo Takada, the iconic Franco-Japanese fashion designer famed for his jungle-infused designs and free-spirited aesthetic that channeled global travel, has died. He was 81.The family said in a statement to French media Sunday that Takada died from complications from COVID-19 in a hospital in Neuilly-sur-Seine, near Paris. A public relations officer for Kenzo’s brand confirmed that Takada died, but didn’t give a cause of death.”It is with immense sadness that KENZO has learned of the passing of our founder,” the fashion house said in a statement. “For half a century, Mr. Takada has been an emblematic personality in the fashion industry — always infusing creativity and color into the world.”Though Takada had been retired from his house since 1999 to pursue a career in art, Kenzo remains one of the most respected fixtures of the high Paris fashion. Since 1993, the brand Kenzo has been owned owned by the French luxury goods company LVMH. The current designer and artistic director, Felipe Oliveira Baptista, unveiled Kenzo’s spring-summer 2020 to fashion editors on Wednesday.”His amazing energy, kindness, talent and smile were contagious,” Oliveira Baptista said. “His kindred spirit will live forever.”Kenzo’s styles used bold color, clashing prints and were inspired by travels all over the world.”Kenzo Takada has, from the 1970s, infused into fashion a tone of poetic lightness and sweet freedom which inspired many designers after him,” said Bernard Arnault, chairman and chief executive of LVMH.Takada was born on Feb. 27, 1939, in Himeji, in the Hyogo Prefecture in Japan to hoteliers, but after reading his sisters’ fashion magazines his love of fashion began.Studying at the Bunka College of Fashion in Tokyo, Kenzo Takada had a brief stint working in Japan, before relocating to Paris in 1965, to work as a freelance designer.In Paris, he took over a boutique in 1970 which served crystallized his future ready-to-wear aesthetic, and was inspired in its decoration by the jungle scenes of painter Henri Rousseau, which he merged with Asian styles. It became influential.  But it was lowly beginnings: Takada’s first collection at the store called was made entirely out of cotton because he had little money. But the clothes spoke for themselves and a model of his was put on the cover of Elle magazine. A short time after, pioneering shoulder forms, large armholes, dungarees, smock tent dresses, innovative shoulder shapes, and his store was featured in US Vogue. Kenzo showed collections in New York and Tokyo in 1971.Yves Saint Laurent was an important inspiration, in his work, Takada has said. Takada shared Saint Laurent’s penchant for theatrics. in 1978 and 1979, he showed in a circus tent, and it featured himself riding an elephant, and performers rode horses wearing see-through uniforms.Takada’s love of travel and use of ethnic influences were strong features in his three decades atop his house.His contribution to style was significant. He championed a youthful aesthetic and unstructured form, and did away with zippers to liberate silhouettes. His signatures were of wider sleeves and arm holes, that harked to historic styles in his home continent of Asia. 
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The World Bank says almost half of Afghanistan’s 18,000 schools lack proper buildings and an estimated 3.7 million children are still out of the classroom despite massive investment in the education sector.
 
The bank’s country director Sunday urged Afghan leaders to invest more in their people and stressed the need for continued international aid to create better lives for millions of people in the war-ravaged nation.  
 
Data from 2013 shows that 93 percent of 10-year-old Afghan children cannot read and understand a simple text when they finish primary school, said Henry Kerali in a statement.
 
“This is higher than the average for the South Asia region (59%) and Afghanistan’s income group peers (91%),” he said.  
 
“Afghanistan also lags far behind in reducing gender gaps, especially in the education and health sectors. Currently, 67 percent of boys compared to 48 percent of girls are enrolled in school,” Kerali said.  
 Report: Nearly Half of Afghan Children Not Going to Schools

        A newly published report on education in Afghanistan concludes nearly 44 percent of all children in the country are not going to schools, pushing the rate up for the first time since 2002.

The report blames the ongoing conflict and worsening security situation, combined with “deeply engrained” poverty and discrimination against girls, for the 3.7 million children aged between 7 and 17 years old who are out of school.
Afghan Education Minister Mirwais Balkhi discussed at a seminar in Kabul Sunday the…
The World Bank official noted health indicators in Afghanistan are still worse than the average for low-income countries, indicating a need to further increase access to services, especially for women.
 
“Afghanistan needs to strengthen its governance by increasing transparency in budget spending, teacher recruitment, and merit-based appointments in education. The country also needs to improve transparency in health service delivery,” he said.
 
Ghani under fire
 
The assessment comes as President Ashraf Ghani faces a domestic backlash for asserting that he had “rebuilt the whole of Afghanistan.”
 
Ghani Saturday visited the eastern Afghan province of Paktika, where he addressed a public gathering and criticized local authorities for not paying attention to the development of the area. The presidential office in Kabul later released the video of the speech.  
 
“I have rebuilt the whole of Afghanistan,” Ghani said and paused for a few seconds, apparently anticipating applause from the crowd. But the audience remained silent, prompting him to repeat his assertions.  
 
“I have rebuilt the whole of Afghanistan, didn’t I?,” Ghani asked. He did not elaborate and promised to arrange funds for the regional development projects.  
 
Ghani’s remarks come as Taliban insurgents continue to inflict dozens of casualties on government security forces every day and Afghan civilians also bear the brunt of nearly two decades of conflict.  
 
The worsening security situation in Kabul has worried residents of the national capital where high-profile assassinations have become a routine.  
 
On Sunday, at least six people, including government officials, were killed in so-called incidents of targeted killing that have plagued the city for months.
 
Saad Mohseni is the director of MOBY Group – which owns the TOLO television channel, the country’s largest. He tweeted that war-weary Afghans needed “empathy,” not “lectures” from their leaders on how well the country is doing.  
 
“These types of comments can only anger the general public. Afghanistan is hurting and definitely not fixed – far, far from it,” Mohseni wrote.  
 
A social media activist, Masuda Sultan, in a tweet, said, “Afghans are hungry, dying, subject to a 40-year wars ugly cycle and living through a pandemic. On top of that an angry President telling them that he fixed everything. Trauma upon trauma.”  
 
The hostilities have displaced millions of families internally in the country of around 35 million.  
 
The Taliban controls or contests nearly half of all Afghan districts and the insurgent group has not eased attacks on government forces, despite launching first-ever peace talks with Kabul’s representatives in Qatar last month.  
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