Ethnic Shona people in Kenya have been demonstrating in recent weeks to demand legal recognition after decades of statelessness. Numbering some 5,000 people, they say they face discrimination and a lack of access to government services. More from Lenny Ruvaga in Nairobi.
Camera: Amos Wangwa   Produced by: Barry Unger 
 
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Europe is once again an epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic and Spain – under a state of emergency – has gone into another lockdown as protests continue.  Alfonso Beato has more from Barcelona in this report narrated by Roderick James.Camera: Alfonso Beato   Producer: Roderick James
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Most Americans identify with one of the two major political parties. Of the rest, some call themselves independent and vote for their favorite candidate regardless of party. Others support candidates from smaller parties. No matter the number, the other parties are covered by a single term: Third Party. Here’s how they can swing an election.
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Прем’єр-міністр Денис Шмигаль заявив, що Україна суттєво просунулася у виконанні своїх зобов’язань перед Міжнародним валютним фондом.

«Провели щойно продуктивну зустріч з нашими міжнародними партнерами із Фонду. Україні вдалося суттєво просунутись у виконанні своїх зобов’язань. Велика подяка Альфреду Каммеру та МВФ за діалог. Міцні партнерські відносини з МВФ — це запорука довгострокової стабільності України», – написав Шмигаль у телеграмі.

Ще на початку вересня голова Національного банку Кирило Шевченко висловлював сподівання, що Міжнародний валютний фонд передасть Україні новий транш до кінця 2020 року. З аналогічними заявами виступали й інші представники української влади.

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7 травня після багатомісячних переговорів із Україною щодо трирічної програми розширеного фінансування МВФ урешті відмовився від неї і запропонував вужчу програму stand-by через «безпрецедентну невизначеність щодо економічних і фінансових перспектив і необхідність зосередити політичні пріоритети на короткостроковому стримуванні й стабілізації» в Україні. 9 червня Рада директорів Міжнародного валютного фонду схвалила 18-місячну програму співпраці з Україною на п’ять мільярдів доларів, яка буде виконана в разі виконання Україною низки умов. Перший транш у 2,1 мільярда доларів Україна отримала вже 12 червня.

1 червня голова Національного банку України Яків Смолій подав у відставку, заявивши про «систематичний політичний тиск». Його відставка, а потім і призначення на його місце Кирила Шевченка викликали значне занепокоєння у світі, зокрема в фінансових установах, у тому числі і в МВФ, і в бізнесових колах, щодо незалежності Нацбанку і подальшого перебігу реформ в Україні. Новий голова Нацбанку заявив про продовження партнерства з МВФ.
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Національне агентство з питань запобігання корупції з 19:00 28 жовтня закриває реєстр електронних декларацій через рішення Конституційного суду щодо електронного декларування. Про це повідомили на сайті агентства.

«Це означає, що державні органи та громадськість більше не мають відкритого цілодобового доступу до електронних декларацій посадовців, а НАЗК припиняє їхню перевірку, зберігання та оприлюднення», – мовиться у повідомленні.

Голова НАЗК Олександр Новіков, назвав рішення КСУ «нищівною поразкою антикорупційної реформи в Україні».

Станом на 19:06 сайт реєстру електронних декларацій не відкривається.

Конституційний суд України визнав неконституційною статтю 366-1 Кримінального кодексу, яка передбачає покарання за декларування недостовірної інформації. Відповідне рішення від 27 жовтня було оприлюднене на сайті суду 28 жовтня.

Інформація про те, що Конституційний суд скасував статтю Кримінального кодексу про декларування недостовірної інформації, з’явилася 27 жовтня.

Після цього в Офісі президента запевнили, що система електронного декларування та відповідальності за недостовірні дані в Україні буде збережена.

Національне агентство з питань запобігання корупції заявило, що Конституційний суд діяв у власних інтересах, ухвалюючи рішення. 
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На українському міжбанківському валютному ринку котирування в парі гривня-долар наближаються до рекордних для цього року значень, зафіксованих раніше цього місяця.

За даними Finance.ua, станом на 12:05 котирування сягнули 28 гривень 40–41,5 копійки за долар. Це лише на копійку менше за результати торгів 5 жовтня, коли за долар давали 28 гривень 41–42,5 копійки.

Тоді, орієнтуючись на показники міжбанку, НБУ встановив на 6 жовтня курс 28 гривень 40 копійок за долар, що було рекордним значенням із листопада 2018 року.

«З учорашнього дня держава почала активно розраховуватися за відшкодуваннями ПДВ (близько 1,5-1,6 млрд гривень було перераховано у вівторок), і надходження гривні на рахунки експортерів зменшує їхню зацікавленість до продажу валюти. Це погано впливає на обсяг пропозиції на міжбанку і знову спрацює проти гривні… За нашими даними, сьогодні на торги будуть виходити нерезиденти з купівлею валюти, що також спрацює не на користь гривні. А от розрахунки по вчорашньому аукціону Міністерства фінансів України з розміщення ОВДП практично не вплинуть на ситуацію на ринку в зв’язку з їхніми мінімальними обсягами. На аукціоні 27 жовтня Мінфін зміг розмістити облігацій лише на 395,6 мільйона гривень», – відзначали аналітики сайту «Мінфін» перед початком торгів.

Національний банк України встановив опівдні 28 жовтня довідкове значення курсу 28 гривень 39 копійок за долар. Це на 2 копійки вище за офіційний курс на сьогодні.
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An unexpected consequence of the COVID crisis in Germany has been the rapid increase in followers of the QAnon conspiracy theory. As Jacob Russell reports from Berlin, Germany now has the second largest following outside the United States as more people become skeptical of their government’s good intentions.Camera:  Jacob Russell 
Producer:  Jason Godman 
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Authorities in Niger say an American citizen has been kidnapped from his home at gunpoint and is being held for ransom.Philip Walton was seized Tuesday at his farm in the rural village of Massalata in southern Niger near the border with Nigeria, said Ibrahim Abba Lele, a police official in the nearby town of Birni Konni.  A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department said Tuesday it is aware an American citizen has been abducted and is providing support to the person’s family.  No one has claimed responsibility. Niger is part of Africa’s Sahel region, which has been plagued by a growing number of attacks by insurgents linked to both Islamic State and al-Qaida. Six French aid workers and their Niger guide were killed by Islamic extremists back in August while visiting a wildlife park near the capital, Niamey.Walton is now the seventh foreign national being held captive by Islamist insurgents in Niger. 
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Asian markets are mixed Wednesday as concerns grow among investors over a new surge of coronavirus cases across Europe and the United States.   Japan’s benchmark Nikkei index closed 0.2% lower.  In Australia, the S&P/ASX index finished 0.1% higher. The KOSPI index in South Korea rose 0.6%, while Taiwan’s TSEC index dropped 0.6% In late afternoon trading, the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong is down 0.1%, Shanghai’s Composite index is up 0.4%, and Mumbai’s Sensex is down one percent. In commodities trading, gold is selling at $1,908.40 an ounce, down 0.1%. U.S. crude oil is selling at $38.55 per barrel, down 2.5%, and Brent crude is selling at $40.35 per barrel, down 2%.   All three U.S. indices are trending negatively in futures trading.   
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The World Health Organization says a record 2.8 million new COVID-19 cases have been reported globally over the past seven days ending Tuesday, including 40,000 new deaths.   The U.N. health agency says Europe accounts for the greatest proportion of reported new cases for the second consecutive week with more than 1.3 million, an increase of 33% compared to the previous week.  The region accounted for nearly half of the new COVID-19 cases during the seven-day period.   The figures also show that cases are also increasing in the Americas, Eastern Mediterranean and African regions, while declines continue to be reported in Southeast Asia.  The Western Pacific region also showed a slight decline in new cases and deaths over the seven-day period. WATCH: Taking steps to stop the spread of COVID-19Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
Tequila Butler, left, sets up her taco stand out of the back of a U-Haul truck with her daughters, Alliyah, 15, rear, and Chardonnay, 14, in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood in Chicago, Aug. 27, 2020.Further west of Chicago, Mayor Michael Hancock of Denver, Colorado, has ordered restaurants and other businesses to limit the number of patrons from 50% to 25%, as the state capital posted a one-day record of 327 new coronavirus cases on Sunday.   The United States leads the world with more than 8.7 million total COVID-19 cases, including nearly 226,700 deaths.  One new case is Justin Turner of Major League Baseball’s Los Angeles Dodgers, who was pulled from Tuesday’s World Series game against the Tampa Bay Rays after officials learned he had tested positive for the disease.   Turner was pulled late in the game before the Dodgers defeated the Rays 3-1 to win the league’s season-ending championship.   In the effort to develop a new coronavirus vaccine, U.S. pharmaceutical company Pfizer said its large, late-stage trial of its experimental vaccine it is developing with Germany’s BioNTech has not reached a key milestone, making it unlikely that it will be released before the upcoming November 3 U.S. presidential election.   The company said fewer than 32 COVID-19 infections among its 44,000 volunteers have occurred, a necessary benchmark to determine whether the drug is safe and effective.  
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Iran has imposed harsh sentences on 36 residents of a southwestern city who joined the nation’s last major wave of anti-government protests in November 2019, according to a knowledgeable source who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation.   Speaking to VOA from Iran on Friday, the source said the 36 protesters from Behbahan in Khuzestan province were handed their sentences by the city’s criminal court October 22. The source said the defendants were sentenced to a cumulative total of 109 years in prison and 2,590 lashes, while each individual was fined more than 3 million tomans, equivalent to roughly $700. A copy of the verdict, provided by the source and verified by VOA Persian, showed the protesters were convicted of disturbing public order, disobeying security agents and vandalizing public property. The source said the Behbahan court’s presiding judge, Rasoul Asadpour, barred defendants and their lawyers from the courtroom for the October 12 trial session, allowing them to submit only a written defense. Prosecutors presented no evidence for many of the charges, the source asserted.   VOA could not independently confirm the circumstances of the trial because it is barred from reporting inside Iran.   There has been no comment from Iranian officials about the cases of the 36 protesters in state media this month.   VOA’s source said two of the defendants, Ahmad Hatampour  and Maryam Payab, previously had been sentenced to a total of 12 months in prison in a separate trial overseen by a Revolutionary Court in the southwestern city of Mahshar several months ago. The source said the Mahshar court had convicted Hatampour and Payab of spreading anti-government propaganda, and its ruling was upheld on appeal.   “The 36 Behbahan residents only were protesting against inflation and government mismanagement,” the source said. The defendants, who remained free on bail, were planning to visit the Behbahan prosecutor’s office in the following days to appeal their sentences, the source added.   Iran’s government sparked the November 2019 demonstrations in dozens of cities nationwide by ordering a 50% increase in the subsidized price of gasoline, further straining the finances of Iranians facing high unemployment and inflation in a shrinking economy under heavy U.S. sanctions. Iranian security forces killed hundreds of protesters and arrested thousands more in a violent crackdown on the mostly peaceful demonstrations, in which some people also damaged public buildings and businesses. The Trump administration said the protests represented the worst political crisis for Iran’s Islamist rulers since they seized power in the 1979 Islamic Revolution. This article originated in VOA’s Persian Service. Click here for the original Persian version of the story. 
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Republican and Democratic lawmakers sharply criticized the head of the U.S. Agency for Global Media for his late-night action to repeal a rule meant to protect the Voice of America and other U.S.-funded news networks from editorial interference.  In a statement on the USAGM website and emailed to staff late Monday, CEO Michael Pack said he was using his powers as chief executive to roll back the regulation, known as the “firewall” rule, because it was harmful to the agency’s and national interests.  The regulation was adopted by previous USAGM leadership in June, days before Pack was confirmed by the Senate as CEO. The rule aimed to consolidate and clarify legal protections Congress had passed separately, including in the 1994 International Broadcasting Act. Pack’s decree does not impact the firewall statute in the 1994 Act. That legislation and subsequent reforms were designed to shelter journalists from interference that could undermine their credibility while at the same time fostering their freedom to report on the United States and its politics and culture from the full range of perspectives.  But in a 33-page notice striking down the rule, Pack characterized it an unconstitutional and unworkable misinterpretation that would undermine U.S. government broadcasting and prevent him from being able to effectively manage and provide “editorial oversight” of the agency. New organization The justification contends that USAGM is different than other news organizations, with a special mission “to serve United States interests through Government sponsored news abroad.”  “Because of this special mission, USAGM and its Networks do not function as a traditional news or media agency and were never intended to do so,” the notice says.  “By design, their purpose and focus is foreign relations and the promotion of American objectives — not simply presenting news or engaging in journalistic expression.”  Reaction from Capitol Hill was swift.  Although leaders of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, which oversees USAGM, said Pack’s action doesn’t affect underlying laws that are the foundation for the firewall – only Congress could change those – the unilateral repeal still risks damaging the networks’ credibility.  “Mr. Pack has shown again and again that he doesn’t feel constrained by laws,” committee Chairman Eliot Engel, a Democrat from New York, said in a statement.  Engel said he would “encourage USAGM journalists to continue carrying out their important work and to ignore illegal interference from Mr. Pack and other administration officials. The law remains on your side.”  His Republican counterpart, Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas, told VOA: “It is unclear why CEO Pack is opposed to journalistic objectivity at USAGM and its networks. Without it, the mission and effectiveness of the agency is undermined.”  “Fortunately, the requirement that USAGM’s broadcasts be objective and conform with the highest professional standards in broadcast journalism is mandated in statute,” he added.  Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told VOA the agency’s firewall exists to prevent political interference.  “The firewall that was codified as part of the International Broadcasting Act is what distinguishes USAGM-funded networks from state-sponsored propaganda we see in places like Russia and China. We cannot allow the president’s political appointees to influence journalistic content and we must ensure the law remains on the side of the journalists,” he said.  Pack was nominated by President Donald Trump to fill the top USAGM job prior to the departure last year of John Lansing, an Obama appointee. The firewall rule was approved under acting CEO Grant Turner and with the support of the previous USAGM board that dissolved when Pack was confirmed in June. After his arrival, Pack also sidelined Turner and other senior executives at the USAGM, five of whom, including Turner, filed a lawsuit against him and the agency for, among other things, “systematic dismantlement of the [agency’s] firewall.”    USAGM did not respond to VOA’s request for comment. Earlier this month, Pack said the lawsuit was “without merit” and that all of his and his team’s decisions and actions are “correct and lawful.”    The USAGM, with a budget of more than $800 million a year, incorporates five networks: Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, the Middle East Broadcasting Network, and the Office of Cuba Broadcasting. Their combined international audience reaches some 350 million a week on radio, TV and online. On Tuesday, VOA’s acting director, Elez Biberaj, emailed a statement to staff saying repeal of the firewall rule serves only to return VOA to its status of protection prior to Pack’s arrival, which would not allow “government officials to tamper with or otherwise distort VOA content.”  He noted that journalistic independence remains under provisions of the 1994 Broadcasting Act and also the National Defense Authorization (budget) Act for fiscal year 2017.  New executive power  In his repeal notice, Pack argues that because the agency’s news networks are legally required to “be consistent with the broad foreign policy objectives of the United States,” the firewall rule created an untenable conflict.  Ultimately, the notice says, there are times when the president, or his appointees, may want to kill a story that, for example, would reveal classified information. “They should have the clear ability to do so and to ensure that the decision is carried out by the organization,” he wrote.  There have been times in the past when the White House pressured VOA over its news coverage, but Sanford Ungar, a former VOA director and now director of the Georgetown University free speech project, said giving the president the power to censor news would be a “catastrophe.”Trump’s VOA Criticism Shows US-Funded News Doesn’t Mean US-ApprovedPublic dispute highlights unique position of government-funded, editorially independent journalism“No president of the United States should be able to do that, not just the current one,” Ungar said.  Media experts and rights groups, including the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and the Committee to Protect Journalists, warned the repeal could hurt VOA’s credibility.  “The editorial firewall that protects these media outlets from political pressure is statutory, and the journalists working for these broadcasters are protected by the First Amendment,” said Gabe Rottman, director of the technology and press freedom at the reporters committee.  “Their success as credible sources of news for millions of people around the world depends upon their editorial independence from political interference, interference which remains illegal and unconstitutional.”  The RCFP offers legal resources, including to VOA journalists whose J-1 visas allowing them to work in the U.S. were not renewed under a policy shift instituted by Pack. The committee is one of 16 media groups that signed a letter supporting the lawsuit alleging firewall violations at the USAGM.  Nicholas Cull, professor of public diplomacy at the University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, said the firewall rule had simply been an attempt to “codify standard practice.”  Cull, the author of “The Cold War and the United States Information Agency,” said he was “shocked” by Pack’s action. “A firewall is essential for international broadcasters to be credible in a world market,” Cull said. “The BBC has a firewall, Deutsche Welle has a firewall. Radio Pyongyang does not have a firewall. Taking away this kind of firewall, in practice, or in regulation, is not a step toward the BBC. It is a step away from the BBC model. It’s a step away from credibility. No international broadcaster should take a step away from credibility,” he said. 
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The Greek navy says one of its ships has collided with a container vessel near the Greek coast, injuring two crewmen and seriously damaging the navy ship.The cargo ship Maersk Launceston, a much larger vessel registered to Portugal, was not damaged in the collision, which took place near the Greek port of Piraeus.Officials say all 27 crewmen on board the Greek mine sweeper were rescued Tuesday by a coast guard ship. The injured were taken to a local hospital for treatment.The mine sweeper could be seen listing in the harbor and being guided by tugboats following the collision. Officials say it is unclear how it occurred, and an investigation is under way.
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