Some activities U.S. President Donald Trump attended in the last week, analysts say, have likely been superspreader events for COVID-19, leaving behind a trail of infected people, making it difficult to determine who infected whom.On Friday of last week, the president attended fundraiser at his Washington hotel. Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, who was at the function, has since reported her COVID-19 positive status.The next day, the White House hosted events for Judge Amy Coney Barrett, Trump’s nominee to replace the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Guests were tested for the virus and if found negative were told that it was safe to remove their masks to socialize in the Rose Garden and in the White House. Photos from the Rose Garden event show many maskless people sitting side by side in rows of chairs without regard to social distancing.Since then, two senators who attended the events – Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Mike Lee from Utah – along with Notre Dame University President John Jenkins, have reported COVID-19 infections.At the first presidential debate Tuesday in Cleveland, Ohio, the first lady and Trump’s grown children sat in the audience maskless, even after physicians from the Cleveland Clinic offered face coverings to them.”I am frustrated today as I worry now about my own health and the health of so many others who were present that evening like journalists, support staff, Cleveland Clinic professionals, and many others who could have potentially been exposed,” Ohio House Minority Leader Emilia Strong Sykes said in a statement Friday. “This is a very somber moment for our country in a year of somber moments.”Bill Stepien, Trump’s campaign manager, has reported his COVID-19 positive status since traveling to Cleveland.On Wednesday, the president went to Minnesota for a fundraiser in Shorewood and a rally in Duluth. Trump aide Hope Hicks started feeling ill on the way back to Washington and is reported to have self-isolated on the plane. Hicks had also been with the president in Cleveland.Hicks had tested negative for the virus earlier Wednesday but tested positive Thursday morning. Despite his exposure to Hicks, Trump traveled to New Jersey on Thursday for a fundraiser at his golf club, where he mingled maskless with maskless guests.By late Thursday, Bloomberg News reported that Hicks was COVID-19-positive, and the White House confirmed the story.New Jersey public health officials are conducting contact tracing to warn fundraiser participants of their possible exposure to the coronavirus-caused disease.First lady Melania Trump also has been infected. She is recuperating at the White House.
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An Iranian political prisoner suffering from a panic disorder has been sent against his will to a psychiatric clinic after prison interference with his medical treatment led to his partial paralysis, according to a friend and family member of the dissident.In a Tuesday interview with VOA Persian from Iran, the friend of dissident Behnam Mahjoubi said authorities transferred Mahjoubi from Tehran’s Evin prison to the Razi Aminabad psychiatric hospital in southern Tehran’s Shahr-e-Rey district on Saturday. Ebrahim Allah Bakhshi said he learned of the transfer by speaking with Mahjoubi on the phone that day.Allah Bakhshi, a former political prisoner, and Mahjoubi both are members of Iran’s Gonabadi Dervish religious minority. Members of the Sufi Muslim religious sect long have complained of harassment by Iran’s Shiite Islamist rulers, who view them as heretics.Allah Bakhshi said he had been in regular phone contact with Mahjoubi in prison and learned that Evin authorities had been blocking Mahjoubi’s access to panic disorder medications provided by family members since August. He said Mahjoubi went on a hunger strike that month, not only to protest the denial of the medication, but also in solidarity with jailed Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, who began her own hunger strike at Evin on August 11.Mahjoubi began suffering coronavirus symptoms while on the hunger strike and ended the protest after 10 days to take the necessary medication, Allah Bakhshi said. Sotoudeh’s husband, Reza Khandan, told rights activists on September 26 that his wife ended her hunger strike due to worsening health.Allah Bakhshi said a prison doctor also recently pressured Mahjoubi into taking sleeping pills to treat the jailed dissident’s panic disorder. He said Mahjoubi stopped taking the pills after feeling unwell and refused the doctor’s orders to take more, drawing a warning from prison authorities that a continued refusal would result in a transfer to the psychiatric clinic.VOA could not independently confirm Allah Bakhshi’s account of Mahjoubi’s situation. Iranian state media have been silent on the matter.من صالحه حسینی، همسر بهنام محجوبی، دومین نامه‌ سرگشاده‌ای است که درباره نگرانی از وضعیت همسرم، می‌نویسم. یک ماه پیش نوشتم که زندان در ارائه داروهای خاص همسرم کوتاهی می‌کند و هشدار داده بودم که عدم مصرف داروهای بهنام، باعث می‌شود که جسم او از کار بیفتد.#رشتهتوییت#بهناممحجوبی— صالحه حسینی (@salehehosini) September 29, 2020In a series of Tuesday tweets, Mahjoubi’s wife, Saleh Hosseini, said he suffered a fall in prison on Saturday, leaving him partially paralyzed. She said his transfer to the psychiatric clinic happened later that day.Allah Bakhshi told VOA that he last spoke to Mahjoubi by phone on Monday. He said he learned that Mahjoubi received an unknown injection while being confined to a hospital bed and that a court had ordered Mahjoubi to remain at the psychiatric clinic until further notice.“Mahjoubi wanted to be sent to a forensic medicine clinic, not a psychiatric hospital,” Allah Bakhshi said.پنجمین روز از انتقال‌اجباری #بهنام_محجوبی به تیمارستان‌رازی “امین‌آباد” می‌گذرد.جان بهنام در خطر است، صدای او باشیم.#FreeBehnampic.twitter.com/IQlxz1dq2R— ابراهیم الله‌بخشی (@allahbakhshii) October 2, 2020In a Friday tweet, Allah Bakhshi said five days had passed since what he called Mahjoubi’s forced transfer to the psychiatric clinic. “Behman’s life is in danger. Let’s be his voice,” he wrote.Mahjoubi was among more than 300 Dervish community members arrested for involvement in anti-government protests in Tehran, February 19-20, 2018. The protests escalated into violent street confrontations between Iranian security forces and the activists. Five officers were killed.Iranian rights activists have said Mahjoubi was released on bail later that year while also being sentenced to two years in prison on the charge of “assembly and collusion against national security.” He began serving the sentence at Evin in June.The Dervishes involved in the 2018 protests in Tehran had been demanding the release of arrested members of their community and the removal of security checkpoints around the house of their elderly leader, Noor Ali Tabandeh. He died in December 2019.This article originated in VOA’s Persian Service. Click here for the original Persian version of the story.
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The day before President Donald Trump tested positive for COVID-19, he flew to Minnesota on Air Force One with senior staff, as well as pool reporters, including VOA’s White House bureau chief Steve Herman. The next day Herman traveled to Wilmington to prepare to cover a Joe Biden rally, the only reporter who attempted to switch between the Trump and Biden campaigns this week. He describes the experience following the president’s positive coronavirus test.At the White House on Wednesday morning, a member of the medical office swabbed my nose to collect a sample for the routine COVID-19 rapid test administered daily to all members of the protective pool of reporters covering the president’s activities.It was a brief and painless procedure. I had undergone it more than a dozen times in recent months — always with the same “negative” result. That has also been the case for my colleagues on the White House beat, Patsy Widakuswara and Carolyn Presutti, with whom I alternate campaign coverage when it is VOA’s turn in the rotation among radio networks.As the day’s designated radio pooler for the Minnesota round trip on Air Force One, I was responsible for ensuring that all the networks would have broadcast quality audio whenever the president spoke — from the time we left Joint Base Andrews in Maryland to our post-midnight return on the same military tarmac.The president’s first stop in Minnesota, known as “the Land of 10,000 Lakes,” was a massive multimillion-dollar estate on the shores of Lake Minnetonka. At a fundraiser at the home of wealthy Republican Party donor Martin Davis, during which the accompanying media waited outside in our vans, Trump mingled with an unannounced number of guests. Thus, we were not able to observe if the participants were wearing masks or engaged in social distancing.Duluth rallySuch recommended precautions were certainly not seen at the president’s next stop in Duluth, where an airport rally was held. Thousands of enthusiastic supporters turned out – crammed in bleachers, on the tarmac and in the hangar. Only about a fifth of the crowd wore any type of face covering.Trump spoke for 45 minutes. His normal rally remarks usually stretch beyond an hour. This, I noted at the time, was unusual. But it was chilly and windy on the north shore of Lake Superior on the last day of September.Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden arrives at New Castle Airport in New Castle, Del., Oct. 1, 2020, after speaking at United Food & Commercial Workers Union Local 951 in Grand Rapids, Mich.When we made the sprint back to the warm airplane, the group of reporters and photographers surmised the president did not want to spend any additional time exposed to such weather. Later we would learn from official sources and media reports that Trump was apparently already feeling unwell, that he fell asleep for part of the two-hour flight back to Maryland and an ill Hope Hicks, counselor to the president, had decided to isolate herself on the plane. She would test positive for the coronavirus the following morning, something the public did not know until Bloomberg’s Jennifer Jacobs broke the story late Thursday.Trump, during his travels Wednesday, did not make remarks before boarding or stepping off the plane and he did not come back to the press cabin at any time to speak to us. That was unusual but not unprecedented.We also had no contact with Hicks that day.White House chief of staff Mark Meadows did chat for about 10 minutes with the poolers on the plane during the flight home from Minnesota. He said on Friday that he had tested negative for COVID-19.Flight to New JerseyIn a decision that is being criticized by health officials, journalists and Democrats, Trump, on Thursday, following Hicks’ diagnosis, flew to his private club in Bedminster, New Jersey, for a round-table and fundraiser with supporters. Several White House aides who had been in close proximity to Hicks did not join the trip.Asked why the president went ahead with the journey, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany told reporters on Friday afternoon that “it was deemed safe” by White House operations.At that outdoor fundraiser, the president was kept more than 6 feet (2 meters) from a group of about 18 donors, who were not wearing masks, according to campaign sources.While the president was in New Jersey, I was on an Amtrak train to the state of Delaware to prepare to resume coverage of the Joe Biden campaign. Although we would not be departing with the Democratic Party candidate to Michigan until Friday, the campaign requires all pool reporters traveling with the candidate to take a COVID-19 test the prior day. This was done at a Wilmington hotel by a pair of technicians from a chain pharmacy, and the antigen test is similar to the one conducted at the White House.Quick resultUnlike the procedure in the White House, where we are not informed of the results unless it is a “positive,” the reporters in Wilmington waited on the spot while their swabs are analyzed by the humming Abbott ID NOW machine, which, after about 15 minutes, spits out a piece of paper with the results.“COVID-19: Negative. Procedural control valid,” mine read.At that point, I assumed I was good to go and returned to my downtown hotel to rest for Friday morning, when we were scheduled to join the Biden motorcade near his residence and ride to the New Castle airport.When word came of Hicks’ positive test and her presence on the Air Force One flights the previous day, I notified the Biden campaign, which consulted with medical advisers, and it was decided that out an abundance of caution I stay back on Friday.It would be a few hours later, with a @realDonaldTrump tweet, that we learned one more passenger on Air Force One had tested positive for the coronavirus: the president himself.  
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Disgraced media magnate Harvey Weinstein was charged with six additional counts of criminal sexual assault in Los Angeles Friday, all stemming from three alleged rapes in the early 2000s.Weinstein, who is currently serving a 23-year sentence in a state prison near Buffalo, N.Y., after being convicted in February of third-degree rape and forcible sexual assault of two women, has been accused of sexual assault or other misconduct by more than 100 women in the last three years.The new charges against the former film producer are tied to the rape of a woman that took place in a Beverly Hills hotel sometime between September 2004 and September 2005, for which Weinstein has been charged with forcible rape and forcible oral copulation.He is also accused of raping a second woman on two occasions in November 2009 and November 2010 in the same location. For this, Weinstein has been charged with two counts of forcible rape and two counts of forcible oral copulation.The Los Angeles District Attorney’s office has yet to identify the victims.The 68-year-old Weinstein is awaiting extradition to Los Angeles to face sexual assault and rape charges originally filed on Jan. 6 by the office of L.A. District Attorney Jackie Lacey. The four initial charges accused Weinstein of raping and sexually assaulting two women at different hotels within a period of 48 hours in February 2018.Lacey’s office added a fifth count in April of sexual battery by restraint of a woman that allegedly took place in a hotel room in May 2010.Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the hearing for these charges was delayed until Dec. 11.In total, there are 11 counts pending against Weinstein in Los Angeles County. If convicted of the new charges, Weinstein could face up to 140 years in prison.
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Fifty Republican and Democratic senators signed a letter this week encouraging U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to begin formal negotiations on a comprehensive trade agreement with Taiwan.In the letter sent Thursday, the senators said, “As we look to advance our initiative for a free and open Indo-Pacific, we believe that now is the time to establish trade agreements with like-minded countries in the region.”As tensions have risen between Washington and Beijing over coronavirus, trade, human rights issues and Chinese espionage, many lawmakers are looking to strengthen ties with Taiwan.As one of the 11 largest U.S. trading partners, Taiwan contributed $76 billion to U.S. trade in goods and $18.5 billion in services in 2018, supporting an estimated 208,000 U.S. jobs, the U.S. lawmakers said in the letter.They also stressed that, to achieve a free and open Indo-Pacific, U. S. needs to counter “China’s use of unfair trading practices and other policies to advance its economic dominance in the region.”“An agreement with Taiwan would help us accomplish this goal by building a network of like-minded governments dedicated to fair competition and open markets free from government manipulation and would serve as a signal to other nations that Taiwan is a viable partner that is open for business.”The senators urged the administration to prioritize a trade deal with Taiwan that “would promote security and economic growth for the United States, Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific as a whole.”One authors of the letter, Senator Jim Risch, an Idaho Republican, wrote on Twitter that Taiwan is “an important partner of the U.S., and a model democracy in the Indo-Pacific.”Taiwan is an important partner of the U.S., and a model democracy in the Indo-Pacific. Today, I joined many Senate colleagues in encouraging @USTradeRep to prioritize a comprehensive trade agreement with #Taiwan. More here: https://t.co/Pl3sUTn98l— U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee (@SenateForeign) October 1, 2020Others who signed the letter included Senators Jim Inhofe, an Oklahoma Republican;  Bob Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat, and Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat.Earlier this week, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Kelly Craft also showed her support for closer U.S.-Taiwan relations.“Taiwan deserves the highest platform where it can share its remarkable innovation and expertise,” Craft tweeted while stating that the world needs Taiwan’s full participation at the U.N. in a wide range of fields, including public health and economic development.The world needs Taiwan’s full participation at the @UN, particularly with respect to matters that affect public health and economic development. It is a force for good, and a UN without Taiwan’s full participation is cheating the world.  @TECRO_USA  #AITpic.twitter.com/6kcUo4VkL2— Ambassador Kelly Craft (@USAmbUN) September 30, 2020As U.S. officials have reached out to Taiwan, Beijing has strongly opposed all official interactions between the two.Last month, after Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar met with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen in Taipei, Chinese officials said they opposed all official interactions between the two, and denounced the trip.“We urge the U.S. … not to send any wrong signals to ‘Taiwan independence’ elements to avoid severe damage to China-U.S. relations,” a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said.History on proposed trade dealsLast December, 161 U.S. lawmakers wrote to Lighthizer to express support for a bilateral trade agreement between the U.S. and Taiwan. But Lighthizer told the lawmakers that Taiwan’s restrictions on U.S. imports of pork and beef were the main obstacle to further U.S.-Taiwan trade relations.Support for a bilateral trade agreement between the U.S. and Taiwan began to increase after Taiwan’s president announced at the end of August an end to restrictions on imports of U.S. pork and beef containing ractopamine, but the USTR, which is in charge of U.S. foreign trade negotiations, remained quiet.U.S. officials have held several high-profile meetings with Taiwanese government officials in recent months.Keith Krach, U.S. undersecretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment, visited Taiwan earlier this month, the second high-level visit by a U.S. official in the past two months.A day later, Craft had lunch with James K.J. Lee, director of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York, a meeting she called “historic.”Adrianna Zhang contributed to this report.
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Національний банк України дозволив відкривати банківський рахунок клієнтам з цифровим паспортом у мобільному застосунку «Дія».

«Відтепер громадянам під час дистанційного відкриття рахунку в банку не потрібно фізично пред’являти ID-картку або біометричний закордонний паспорт, якщо вони мають цифровий паспорт або закордонний цифровий паспорт у мобільному застосунку «Дія», – пояснили у регуляторі.

Цифровий паспорт – це цифровий аналог паперових документів у мобільному застосунку «Дія». У електронному вигляді відображається інформація, яку містить ID-картка та біометричний закордонний паспорт громадянина України.

У квітні уряд України прирівняв «паспорт у смартфоні» до паперового документа.
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Protesters from various opposition political parties across India clashed with police, Friday, October 2, as anger over the gang rape and death of a low-caste young woman continued to grow. Two opposition politicians from the India Trinamool Congress Party briefly scuffled with police when they attempted to meet the family members of the victim just outside of her village in Hathras district, Uttar Pradesh.  After clashes in the area, Wednesday, September 30, authorities said they were barring gatherings of five or more people and would block politicians from the area. In other localities, protesters, mainly aligned with opposition parties, carried photographs of independence leader Mahatma Gandhi and faced off with police. The 19-year-old woman from the Dalit community died from injuries Tuesday, September 29, after being attacked on September 14 near her home, authorities said. The Dalit community often faces violence and discrimination. (Reuters)
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A little more than a month before the U.S. presidential election, Donald Trump announced early Friday via Twitter that he and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for the coronavirus and have begun quarantining themselves.  In response, Vice President Mike Pence tweeted: “Karen and I send our love and prayers to our dear friends President @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS Melania Trump. We join millions across America praying for their full and swift recovery. God bless you President Trump & our wonderful First Lady Melania.” Pence spokesman Devin O’Malley tweeted a short while later that Pence and his wife tested negative early Friday and that the vice president “remains in good health.” As has been routine for months, Vice President Pence is tested for COVID-19 every day. This morning, Vice President Pence and the Second Lady tested negative for COVID-19. Vice President Pence remains in good health and wishes the Trumps well in their recovery.— Devin O’Malley (@VPPressSec) FILE – Defense Secretary Mark Esper, left, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Mark Milley attend a briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, March 2, 2020.”Secretary Esper and Chairman Milley last met with the president on Sunday at the White House Gold Star Families event. In preparation for and as part of his international travel, Secretary Esper tested negative for COVID on Monday and Wednesday of this week,” said Hoffman in a statement, adding that Milley was tested early Friday and was negative.  The Pentagon spokesman also added, “The U.S. military stands ready to defend our country and interests. There’s no change to the readiness or capability of our armed forces. Our national command and control structure is in no way affected by this announcement.” On Capitol Hill, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell tweeted he was pleased to hear “the White House physician’s report that @POTUS and @FLOTUS are feeling well.” Later Friday, McConnell tweeted that he had spoken to Trump about Supreme Court Justice nominee Amy Coney Barrett and that the president was “in good spirits.” Just finished a great phone call with FILE – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, accompanied by Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer, left, speak to reporters in Washington, Aug. 7, 2020.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told MSNBC that she was tested early Friday out of an “abundance of caution.” On President Trump’s diagnosis, she said, “I’m glad that he will have the best possible care and we want to make sure in our legislation that everyone in the country has that.” American civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, among Trump’s fiercest critics, also offered words of comfort to Trump and the first lady.  “We sincerely pray the President & the First Lady do not have the worst of this disease,” Jackson tweeted. “We must all pray for the full recovery of the President & his wife. For whatever religious or political persuasion, you may be, we must all pray as millions of people are affected by this disease.” FILE – Rev. Jesse Jackson addresses reporters at an event in Chicago, July 2, 2019.Fox News journalist Chris Wallace, who moderated Tuesday’s debate between Biden and Trump, told Fox & Friends Friday he will get tested for the coronavirus, although he and Trump remained at least 10 feet away.  Wallace also said that all debate participants and organizers except Trump, Biden and himself were told after they were tested at Cleveland Clinic to wear masks. Wallace said the first family elected not to wear masks. Nearly 7.3 million people in the U.S. have been infected with COVID-19, which has claimed at least 208,000 lives — the most reported by any country, according to Johns Hopkins University.  U.S. markets opened lower Friday on the news of Trump’s contraction of COVID-19. The S&P 500 Index was 0.6% lower in early trading, amid signs of a rise in negative investor sentiment. Energy indexes were pulled sharply lower by a more than 3% drop in oil prices. Some market analysts, including Bronson Meadows Capital Management President Oliver Pursche, said Trump’s illness could hurt his presidential campaign and lead to increased volatility at a time when investors are already nervous after the chaotic debate and heightened concerns over an uncertain transfer of power after the November 3 election.”It’s one more insecurity heading into a tight, contentious election,” Pursche said. 
 
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Фонд державного майна вирішив звільнити тимчасового виконувача обов’язків «Об’єднаної гірничо-хімічної компанії» Пітера Девіса. Про це Фонд повідомив 2 жовтня.

Відповідне рішення в установі ухвалили через факти про нібито «порушення т.в.о. голови правління ОГХК Пітером Девісом умов трудового контракту, висвітлених у тому числі у численних зверненнях народних депутатів України, Служби безпеки України та членів правління ОГХК щодо можливого завдання шкоди майновим інтересам держави».

Зокрема, зазначають у Фонді, у вересні 2020 року Девіс вирішив відновити продаж продукції Вільногірського гірничо-металургійного комбінату, який входить до структури ОГХК, компаніям попередніх керівників підприємства, відсторонених через корупцію.

Читайте також: ФДМУ продала готель «Дніпро» за понад 1,1 мільярда гривень

«Одночасно з цим Пітер Девіс наказав зупинити відвантаження продукції компаніям, що є добросовісними досвідченими учасниками ринку, що співпрацюють з ОГХК на умовах передоплати за вищими цінами, аж до вивантаження вже завантажених контейнерів. Зазначені учасники ринку забезпечують щомісячну купівлю продукції ОГХК на суму декілька мільйонів доларів США», – стверджують у ФДМУ.

Рішення про звільнення очільника ОГХК у Фонді називають «екстреним» і стверджують, що забезпечать підготовку підприємства для залучення інвестора через приватизаційний аукціон. Він стане можливим після зняття заборони на аукціони з великої приватизації.

Пітер Девіс наразі публічно не коментував заяви ФДМУ.

У квітні ФДМУ відсторонив виконувача обов’язків голови «ОГХК» Максима Макарова і призначив на його місце Пітера Девіса.
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President Donald Trump has tested positive  for the coronavirus, joining a small group of world leaders who have been infected. Trump is 74, putting him at higher risk of serious complications. Here’s a look at other leaders who have had the virus. Some are sending Trump their wishes for a speedy recovery.Boris Johnson
The British prime minister was the first major world leader confirmed to have COVID-19, after facing criticism for downplaying the pandemic. He was moved to intensive care in April after his symptoms dramatically worsened a day after he was hospitalized for what were called routine tests. He was given oxygen but did not need a ventilator, officials said. He later expressed his gratitude to National Health Service staff for saving his life when his treatment could have “gone either way.” Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, also tested positive in March and showed mild symptoms.Jair Bolsonaro
The Brazilian president announced his illness in July and used it to publicly extol hydroxychloroquine, the unproven malaria drug that he’d been promoting as a treatment for COVID-19 and was taking himself. For months he had flirted with the virus, calling it a “little flu,” as he flouted social distancing at lively demonstrations and encouraged crowds during outings from the presidential residence, often without a mask.  Juan Orlando Hernandez
The Honduras president announced in June that he had tested positive, along with two other people who worked closely with him. Hernández said he had started what he called the “MAIZ treatment,” an experimental and unproven combination of microdacyn, azithromycin, ivermectin and zinc. He was briefly hospitalized and released. He has added his voice to growing pleas for equitable access to any COVID-19 vaccine, asking the recent U.N. gathering of world leaders, “Are people to be left to die?”  Alexander Lukashenko
The president of Belarus, who dismissed concerns about the virus as “psychosis” and recommended drinking vodka to stay healthy, said in July he had contracted it himself but was asymptomatic. Belarus is one of the few countries that took no comprehensive measures against the virus. Other top officials in former Soviet states who were infected include Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.Prince Albert ii of Monaco
The palace of Monaco in March said the ruler of the tiny Mediterranean principality tested positive but his health was not worrying. He was the first head of state who publicly said he was infected.Alejandra Giammattei
The Guatemalan president said he tested positive for the virus in September. “My symptoms are very mild. Up to now, I have body aches, it hurt more yesterday than today, like a bad cold,” he said during a televised address. “I don’t have a fever, I have a bit of a cough.” He said he’d be working from home.Jeanine Anez
The virus drove the Bolivian interim president into isolation in July, but she said she was feeling well.  Juis Abinader
The newly elected president of the Dominican Republic contracted and recovered from COVID-19 during his campaign. He spent weeks in isolation before the country’s July election.Iran
Iran, the epicenter of the Mideast’s initial coronavirus outbreak, has seen several top officials test positive. Among them are senior Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri and Vice President Massoumeh Ebtekar. Cabinet members have tested positive, too.  India  
Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu, 71, recently tested positive but his office said he had no symptoms and was quarantined at home. Home Minister Amit Shah, the No. 2 man in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, was hospitalized for COVID-19 last month and has recovered. Junior Railways Minister Suresh Angadi last week was the first federal minister to die from COVID-19.Israel
Israel’s then-Health Minister Yaakov Litzman tested positive in April and recovered. Litzman is a leader in Israel’s ultra-Orthodox community, which has seen a high rate of infection as many have defied restrictions on religious gatherings. The minister for Jerusalem affairs, Rafi Peretz, tested positive over the summer as cases surged nationwide and recovered.South Africa
The country’s defense minister, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, mineral resources and energy minister, Gwede Mantashe, and labor minister, Thulas Nxesi, were infected as cases surged in June and July.South Sudan
Vice President Riek Machar was among several Cabinet ministers infected.Gambia
Vice President Isatou Touray tested positive in July along with the ministers of finance, energy and agriculture.  Guinea-Bissau
Prime Minister Nuno Gomes Nabiam in April said he tested positive.
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Долар продовжує оновлювати свій річний максимум, свідчать дані на сайті Національного банку України.

Американська валюта зміцнилася ще на копійку – до 28 гривень 34 копійок. Це відповідає рівню січня 2018 року.

Євро натомість втратив 10 копійок і коштуватиме 33 гривні 23 копійки.
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With just a month to go until the election, President Donald Trump had a busy schedule during the week the coronavirus hit home with him. Trump tweeted early Friday that he and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for the coronavirus.  Monday, September 28— Trump surveys a truck produced by Lordstown Motors on the White House South Lawn at an event attended by two members of Congress and three representatives from the Lordstown, Ohio, manufacturer.— Trump holds a Rose Garden event to announce an administration effort to distribute millions of coronavirus test kits to states. The event is attended by administration officials including Vice President Mike Pence, members of Congress and state officials.Tuesday, September 29— Trump travels to Cleveland for a 90-minute presidential debate against Democratic rival Joe Biden. The two men are both tested ahead of the debate and stand behind lecterns positioned a good distance from one another. They do not wear masks during the face-off.  — White House aide Hope Hicks is part of a large entourage that travels to Ohio with Trump aboard Air Force One for the debate, including members of the Trump family. Trump’s adult children and senior staff do not wear masks during the debate, violating host rules.Wednesday, September 30 — Trump travels to Minnesota for a fundraiser at a private home in suburban Minneapolis and an outdoor rally in Duluth.  — Hicks is among the White House aides who accompany Trump on the trip. She feels unwell on the return trip and isolates herself aboard Air Force One.Thursday, October 1— Hicks tests positive for the coronavirus.— Trump flies to his Bedminster resort in New Jersey for a private fundraiser. Several aides who were in proximity to Hicks scrap plans to accompany Trump.— Trump announces in an evening interview on Fox News that he and the first lady are being tested for the coronavirus. He later tweets that they will “begin our quarantine process!”Friday, October 2— Trump tweets shortly before 1 a.m. that he and the first lady have tested positive for the virus and “will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately.”— Dr. Sean Conley, physician to the president, releases a statement that the president and first lady “are both well at this time, and they plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence.” 
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Молдова зберігатиме запас газу в підземних сховищах України, повідомив голова ТОВ «Оператор ГТС України» Сергій Макогон.

«Уже почалися перші поставки. За словами Молдовагазу, протягом жовтня-листопада планується закачати близько 100 млн кубометрів газу», – написав Макогон у фейсбуці 2 жовтня.

За його словами, питання про створення запасу газу для Молдови в Україні почали активно опрацьовувати ще влітку 2019 року, «коли була невизначеність із продовженням транзиту через Україну».

«Подібний запас гарантує енергетичну безпеку Молдови і знижує залежність від єдиного постачальника газу. Україна стає гарантом регіональної енергетичної безпеки», – додав Макогон.

В АТ «Молдовагаз» у фейсбуці повідомили, що компанія почала закачування на зберігання природного газу в Україні Трансбалканським коридором. Щодня планується передавати від 1,5 до 3 мільйонів кубометрів газу для складування в підземних сховищах, щоб використовувати його в холодну пору року.

«Сумарно, в жовтні і листопаді планується закачати на зберігання близько 100 мільйонів кубометрів газу. За необхідності, ці обсяги будуть поставлені споживачам АТ «Молдовагаз» в період з грудня 2020 по лютий 2021 року. Сумарне споживання природного газу правобережною частиною Республіки Молдова варіюється в межах 1 мільярда кубометрів на рік. Понад 80% припадають на холодну пору року», – додали в компанії.

У вересні «Нафтогаз України» повідомив, що російський «Газпром» потребує додаткових потужностей для транспортування газу українською ГТС у Європу в жовтні.

В уряді України минулого місяця заявили, що опалювальний сезон в країні повинен розпочатися вчасно, бо накопичено «стабільно високі запаси палива на ТЕС, ТЕЦ і рекордні запаси газу». У підземних сховищах України є 27 мільярдів кубометрів блакитного палива. Це на 6 мільярдів більше, ніж на початку минулорічного опалювального сезону, і на десять мільярдів, ніж позаторік.

Рекордне наповнення сховищ спостерігається через майже п’ять років після припинення прямої купівлі російського газу.

 
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More than 1 million people have died after contracting the novel coronavirus. More than 33 million have been infected.Leading figures in politics, sport, royalty and entertainment are among them.Prominent casesU.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19, Trump said in a tweet on October 1. Trump said the couple would begin their quarantine and recovery process immediately. The pair were tested after Hope Hicks, one of Trump’s closest aides, tested positive.British actor Robert Pattinson tested positive for COVID-19, news media reported on September 3, halting production of “The Batman.”Pro-wrestler turned Hollywood actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson said in a video message posted on social media on September 2 that he, his wife and their two young children tested positive for COVID-19 in recent weeks but that they all have recovered and are healthy.Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, the eldest son of President Jair Bolsonaro, tested positive for the novel coronavirus, according to a statement by Flavio’s spokesman on August 25.Flavio Briatore, one of Italy’s most flamboyant businessmen who lambasted restrictions aimed at curbing the COVID-19 epidemic, was hospitalized after testing positive for the disease, his staff said in a statement on August 25.World-record sprinter and eight-time Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt tested positive for the coronavirus, Jamaica’s health ministry confirmed on August 24.Spanish actor Antonio Banderas, star of “The Mask of Zorro” and dozens of other films, announced on August 10, his 60th birthday, that he had tested positive for COVID-19 and was in quarantine.Mexican Formula One driver Sergio Perez tested positive for COVID-19, his Racing Point team said on July 30.FILE – Actor Bryan Cranston poses with his awards for outstanding male actor in a drama series for ‘Breaking Bad’ and for outstanding cast in a motion picture for ‘Argo’ at the 19th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles in 2019.U.S. actor Bryan Cranston said he contracted and recovered from COVID-19 in a video posted to Instagram on July 30, according to media reports.U.S. national security adviser Robert O’Brien tested positive for the coronavirus, according to a July 27 announcement.Amitabh Bachchan, one of India’s best-known movie stars, tested positive for COVID-19 together with his actor son Abhishek Bachchan, they said on July 11.Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, 65, said on July 7 that he had tested positive for the novel coronavirus, after months of playing down the severity of the pandemic.Novak Djokovic, the top-ranked men’s tennis player, tested positive for the virus on June 23. Djokovic, 33, apologized to anyone who contracted the virus after playing in an exhibition tournament he organized in Serbia and Croatia.Actor Tony Shalhoub, 66, who starred in “Monk” and “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” revealed in May that he and his wife had recovered from coronavirus.New York Knicks great Patrick Ewing, 57, on May 22 said he had tested positive for COVID-19.Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller, 31, tested positive in April.FILE – Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson gestures as he speaks during the weekly question time debate in Parliament in London, Sept. 30, 2020, in this screen grab taken from video.British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, 55, was admitted to hospital on April 5 after suffering symptoms including a fever and a cough for more than 10 days. He spent a week in hospital, including three nights in intensive care.American singer Pink, 40, said on April 5 that she had tested positive for COVID-19 two weeks prior and had since recovered. She donated $1 million to relief efforts.Italian opera singer Andrea Bocelli, 61, said he felt like he was “living a nightmare” during his battle with coronavirus in March.NBA basketball player and Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant, 31, tested positive for coronavirus in March. NBA Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert, 28, also tested positive in March.Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks and his wife, actress Rita Wilson, tested positive in March. Both 63, they were in Australia because Hanks was working on a film.Former movie producer Harvey Weinstein, 68, who is serving a prison sentence for sexual assault and rape, tested positive for the coronavirus in March, according to the head of the state corrections officers union.Britain’s Prince Charles, 71, tested positive for the virus, his residence said on March 25. The heir to the throne had self-isolated at his residence in Scotland for seven days with mild symptoms.FILE – Spanish tenor Placido Domingo performs during his concert in Szeged, southern Hungary, Aug. 28, 2019.Spanish opera singer Placido Domingo, 79, said on March 22 he had tested positive and went into self-isolation with his family.Prince Albert of Monaco, 62, tested positive for coronavirus but his health “is not a cause for concern,” his office said on March 19.The European Union’s chief negotiator for Brexit, Michel Barnier, said on March 19 he had tested positive for COVID-19.Actor Daniel Dae Kim, 51, best known for the television series “Hawaii 5-0,” said on March 19 he had tested positive for the coronavirus.British actor Idris Elba, 47, said on March 16 he had tested positive, after discovering he had been exposed to someone with the disease.Former Bond girl Olga Kurylenko, 40, who appeared in “Quantum of Solace” in 2008, said on March 15 that she was “locked up at home” after testing positive for the coronavirus.Kristofer Hivju, 41, best known for playing the formidable, bearded Tormund on “Game of Thrones,” tested positive for the coronavirus, he said in an Instagram post on March 14.Sophie Trudeau, 45, wife of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, tested positive for coronavirus on March 12. The entire family self-isolated for two weeks.Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta tested positive for the coronavirus, the Premier League club said March 12.Juventus defender Daniele Rugani, 25, was the first Serie A soccer player to test positive, the Turin side said on March 11.DeathsFormer Indian president Pranab Mukherjee died on August 31 after a lung infection. He had tested positive for COVID-19 on August 10 and had been in hospital since. He was 84.Nick Cordero, a Canadian Broadway actor who played leading roles in “Bullets over Broadway” and “Waitress,” died on July 5, aged 41.Annie Glenn, philanthropist and the widow of pioneering astronaut and U.S. Senator John Glenn, died aged 100 on May 19 at a Minnesota nursing home.Roy Horn, the magician who starred alongside Siegfried Fischbacher in a popular, long-running Las Vegas act built around rare tigers, died on May 8, aged 75.Dave Greenfield, keyboard player for the British rock group The Stranglers died on May 3, aged 71. He wrote the music for “Golden Brown,” the band’s biggest hit.Luis Sepúlveda, the Chilean author best known for his book The Old Man Who Read Love Stories, died in Spain on April 16, aged 70.Lee Konitz, the U.S. saxophonist who pioneered “cool” jazz, died on April 15, aged 92. He cut albums with Miles Davis, pianist Bill Evans, sax player Gerry Mulligan and bassist Charles Mingus among many others.Tim Brooke-Taylor, a stalwart of British comedy best known for the 1970s TV show “The Goodies,” died on April 12, aged 79.FILE – John Prine poses in his office in Nashville, Tennessee, June 20, 2017.John Prine, the Grammy-winning singer who wrote his early songs in his head while delivering mail and later became one of the most influential songwriters of his generation, died on April 7, aged 73.Mahmoud Jibril, who abandoned Muammar Gaddafi to become Libya’s rebel prime minister during the 2011 revolution, died in Cairo on April 5. He was interim leader until the country held its first free elections in four decades in 2012.Patricia Bosworth, the U.S. writer and actor who starred alongside Audrey Hepburn in “The Nun’s Story” in 1959, died on April 2, aged 86.Sergio Rossi, the Italian luxury shoemaker, died on April 2. He was in his 80s.Ellis Marsalis, one of the patriarchs of jazz as the father of Branford, Wynton, Delfeayo and Jason and a great pianist in his own right, died on April 1 aged 85.Pape Diouf, the former president of Ligue 1 soccer club Olympique de Marseille, died aged 68 on March 31. The Senegalese national who moved to Marseille as a teenager died in Dakar.Ken Shimura, one of Japan’s best-known comedians, died on March 29, aged 70.Manu Dibango, the Cameroon-born singer and saxophonist who recorded the hit track “Soul Makossa” in 1972, died in France on March 24, aged 86.Terrence McNally, the Tony award-winning playwright known for plays including “Love! Valor! Compassion!” and the musical version of “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” died on March 24, aged 81.Li Wenliang, the Chinese doctor who was reprimanded for issuing an early warning about the disease, died on February 7.  
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