Spain has declared a state of emergency and enacted a new round of lockdowns countrywide as it battles a resurgence of coronavirus infections.“The reality is that Europe and Spain are immersed in a second wave of the pandemic,” Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said during a nationwide address Sunday.“The situation we are living in is extreme.”Both Spain and France, which enacted nighttime curfews to quell the spread of the virus, have surpassed more than 1 million cases, according to data compiled by the A health worker takes a nasal swab sample for a COVID-19 test, provided for free by the municipal government in Bogota, Colombia, Oct. 16, 2020.Colombia becomes the eighth country to hit the 1 million milestone, after the U.S., India, Brazil, Russia, France, Argentina and Spain. France and Spain surpassed the mark Friday.  The United States set a daily record Friday with at least 83,757 infections reported, breaking a single-day record set July 16 by more than 6,000 cases.  U.S. Vice President Mike Pence’s chief of staff, Marc Short, tested positive and began a quarantine Saturday, a spokesman said, adding that Pence and his wife tested negative and were in good health. The coronavirus causes the COVID-19 disease.With surges in northern Rocky Mountain states and the upper Midwest, the U.S. continued to lead the world Sunday in coronavirus infections, with more than 8.5 million, and in deaths, with more than 224,000, according to the Johns Hopkins University, which is tracking cases around the world.A new estimate by the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation has said the U.S. death toll could surpass a half-million by February unless nearly all Americans wear face masks.It said the number of possible deaths could drop by 130,000 if 95% of Americans would wear face coverings.The U.S. surge is similar to widespread spikes in Europe, where Paris, Rome and other large cities are imposing increasingly stringent measures to contain the spread of the virus.The European Union’s disease control agency, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, has joined the World Health Organization to sound the alarm over a new surge of the coronavirus across the continent, as the WHO warned that the infection is rising exponentially.ECDC Director Andrea Ammon said Europe is facing a major threat to public health and a “highly concerning epidemiological situation.”All EU countries except Cyprus, Estonia, Finland and Greece fell into a “serious concern” category, as did Britain, the agency said.Elsewhere in Europe, Poland has seen a sharp increase in infections, with 13,628 new cases reported Saturday. Polish President Andrzej Duda is among those who have tested positive, as the country imposed more lockdown measures including a two-week closure of bars and restaurants and students beyond third grade moving to distance learning.As coronavirus infections in Belgium continue to reach record highs, authorities ordered the closure of the country’s cultural facilities on Saturday and announced a longer curfew beginning Monday. Brussels, home to the European Union and NATO, is among the country’s hardest-hit regions. Belgium has one of the world’s highest per capita fatality rates and currently has seen more than 10,700 deaths, as reported by Johns Hopkins.Germany’s death toll passed 10,000, according to the latest data by the university, which indicates that currently, the nation has nearly 435,000 infections.Russia reported 16,521 new cases of infection with the coronavirus on Saturday after hitting a record high of over 17,300 on Friday. Russia has nearly 1.5 million confirmed cases, said Johns Hopkins.In Greece, authorities imposed a nightly curfew Saturday in the Athens area and in other regions of the country with high infection rates and made it mandatory to wear face masks indoors and outdoors. The country has so far avoided the worst of the virus, reporting under 30,000 cases and 564 deaths.Researchers around the world are racing to develop a safe and effective vaccine against the infection, which has killed more than 1.1 million globally and sickened more than 42 million. 
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Pope Francis on Sunday named 13 new cardinals, including Washington D.C. Archbishop Wilton Gregory, who would become the first Black U.S. prelate to earn the coveted red hat.In a surprise announcement from his studio window to faithful standing below in St. Peter’s Square, Francis said the churchmen would be elevated to a cardinal’s rank in a ceremony on Nov. 28.Other new cardinals include an Italian who is the long-time papal preacher at the Vatican, the Rev. Raniero Cantalamessa, a Franciscan friar; the Kigali, Rwanda, Archbishop Antoine Kambanda; the Capiz, Philippines, Archbishop Jose Feurte Advincula, and the Santiago, Chile, Archbishop Celestino Aos Braco. Another Franciscan who was tapped is Friar Mauro Gambetti, in charge of the Sacred Convent in Assisi. The pope, when elected in 2013, chose St. Francis of Assisi as his namesake saint. Earlier this month, the pontiff journeyed to that hill town in Umbria to sign an encyclical, or important church teaching document, about brotherhood.In a reflection of the pope’s stress on helping those in need, Francis also named the former director of the Rome Catholic charity, Caritas, the Rev. Enrico Feroci, to be a cardinal.Wilton, 73, was picked by Francis to lead the prestigious diocese in the U.S. capital last year. The prelate has his pulse on factions in the U.S. Catholic Church, which has both strong conservative and liberal veins since he served three times as the head of the U.S. Conference of Bishops.Nine of the new cardinals are younger than 80, and thus eligible to elect the next pontiff in a secret conclave. Some cardinals head powerful Vatican offices, and pontiffs frequently turn to cardinals for advice.No details were immediately given by the Vatican about the concistory, as the formal ceremony to make the churchmen cardinals is known, especially in view of travel restrictions involving many countries during the COVID-19 pandemic.As he has in other groups of cardinals he tapped in his papacy, Francis in this selection reflected the global nature of the Catholic Church and his flock of 1.2 billion Catholics.Others named cardinals include a Maltese prelate, Monsignor Mario Grech; Monsignor Marcello Semeraro, an Italian serving as prefect of the Vatican office which runs the saint-making process; Bishop Cornelius Sim, a Brunei native who serves as apostolic vicar of Brunei; the Italian archbishop of Siena and nearby towns in Tuscany, Augusto Lojudice; the retired bishop of San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico, Monsignor Felipe Arizmendi Esquivel; and an Italian former Vatican diplomat, Archbishop Silvano Tomasi.Churchmen over 80 who are named cardinals are chosen to honor their life of service to the church. Those in this batch too old to vote in a conclave are Cantalamessa, Tomasi, Feroci and Arizmendi Esquivel. 
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Chileans will vote on Sunday on whether they want the country’s Pinochet-era constitution torn up and replaced by a fresh charter drafted by citizens, a key demand in protests that erupted last year.The fiery anti-government protests over inequality and elitism in one of Latin America’s most advanced economies broke out last fall and resumed with the easing of coronavirus lockdowns.Voters have 12 hours beginning at 8 a.m. (1100 GMT) to cast their ballot.Citizens can decide whether to approve or reject a new constitution and whether it should be drafted by a specially elected citizens’ body, made up half of women and half of men, and indigenous representatives, or a mix of citizens and lawmakers.Opinion polls suggest a new charter will be approved by a significant margin. All eligible Chileans from the country’s population of 18 million are automatically registered to vote, but voting is optional.People with COVID-19 have been told to stay away from voting stations on threat of arrest and prosecution.Control points have been set up at least 20 meters (22 yards) from polling place entrances where officials will conduct identity spot checks to ensure people are not on the quarantine list.”The right to vote of an infected subject puts at risk the right to health of thousands of people,” Attorney General Jorge Abbott told regional staff in an email.Soldiers, ubiquitous on Chilean streets since the declaration of a state of emergency during the protests last year and again with the outbreak of COVID-19 in March, will oversee the process inside polling stations while police will guard outside.The current constitution was drafted by dictator Augusto Pinochet’s close adviser Jaime Guzman in 1980, and has only been tweaked by successive governments to reduce military and executive power. 
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An international treaty to ban nuclear weapons has been ratified by 50 United Nations member countries, the world body said Saturday.With Honduras being the 50th nation to ratify it, the historic document enters into force in 90 days, on Jan. 22.In a statement U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres commended the efforts of the 50 countries and of civil society’s anti-nuclear activists for such “instrumental work.”The treaty is the culmination of a worldwide movement “to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons,” Guterres said in the statement issued by U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, adding it “is a tribute to the survivors of nuclear explosions and tests, many of whom advocated for this treaty.”The movement had been strongly opposed by the United States and other major nuclear powers.The treaty “represents a meaningful commitment towards the total elimination of nuclear weapons, which remains the highest disarmament priority of the United Nations,” Dujarric quoted Guterres as stating.The president of the International Committee of the Red Cross saluted the treaty, saying in a statement “today is a victory for humanity, and a promise of a safer future.”Since the 75th anniversary of the nuclear attacks on Nagasaki and Hiroshima in August, several countries, including Nigeria, Malaysia, Ireland, Malta and Tuvalu, have ratified the treaty.
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Tropical Storm Zeta formed early Sunday off the coast of Cuba, becoming the earliest named 27th Atlantic storm recorded in an already historic hurricane season.The system was centered about 400 kilometers south-southeast of the western tip of Cuba, forecasters with the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in a 2 a.m. EDT advisory.Zeta was stationary, located near the Yucatan Peninsula about 415 kilometers east-southeast of Cozumel, Mexico. A tropical storm warning was in effect for Pinar del Rio, Cuba, and a tropical storm watch was in effect for Cozumel and for Tulum to Rio Lagartos, Mexico.The tropical storm had maximum sustained winds of 65 kph, forecasters said. The system was expected to reorganize and move to the north-northwest later Sunday, skirting past Cuba and the Yucatan Peninsula on Monday before entering the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday.Zeta broke the record of the previous earliest 27th Atlantic named storm that formed Nov. 29, 2005, according to Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach.This year’s season has so many storms that the hurricane center has turned to the Greek alphabet after running out of official names.Forecasters said Zeta could bring 10 to 20 centimeters of rain to parts of the Caribbean, Mexico, southern Florida and the Florida Keys through Wednesday. Isolated totals up to 30 centimeters were possible.
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Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko told U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a phone call on Saturday that Belarus and Russia were ready to respond jointly to external threats, Russian agencies quoted Belarus state media as saying.Lukashenko, who is holding on to power despite major protests in recent weeks calling for him to resign, is facing the prospect of a national strike that could begin on Monday following an ultimatum set by opposition leaders.Lukashenko has shown no sign he will heed the ultimatum and step down. Protests against his 26-year rule began following an Aug. 9 election victory his opponents say was rigged.Lukashenko had sought to mend fences with the West in recent years and Pompeo had traveled to Belarus in February in a bid to “normalize” ties. But the crisis after the disputed election pushed Lukashenko back closer to traditional ally Russia.A U.S. State Department spokesperson confirmed Pompeo’s call on Saturday. “The Secretary called for the full release and immediate departure from Belarus of wrongfully detained U.S. citizen Vitali Shkliarov and reaffirmed U.S. support for the democratic aspirations of the people of Belarus,” the spokesperson said in a statement.Washington has imposed sanctions on Belarus officials following violent crackdowns at demonstrations in Minsk and across the country.Protesters shouting slogans and waving red-and-white opposition flags marched through the streets of Minsk on Saturday, footage taken by local media showed.”Russia does not interfere in the internal affairs of Belarus. At the same time, the countries are ready to jointly respond to emerging external threats,” Russia’s Interfax news agency cited Belarus state television as saying, describing the call.”By mutual opinion, after Pompeo’s February visit to Minsk, the situation has changed dramatically, new challenges have arisen and are emerging,” Interfax cited Belarusian state television as saying.
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Fake news about the coronavirus can do real harm. Polygraph.info is spotlighting fact-checks from other reliable sources here​.Daily DebunkClaim: “A study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that an ‘overwhelming majority’ of individuals who contacted coronavirus had worn a mask or face covering, proving that neither are effective at preventing the spread of COVID-19.”Verdict: Mostly falseRead the full story at: snopes.comSocial Media DisinfoCirculating on social media: “After an Ontario politician condemned the Canadian federal government’s Covid-19 quarantine sites as “internment camps,” social media posts suggested that these sites would eventually be used to jail Canadians. This is false; the sites are facilities rented by the federal government for travellers who have no alternative for mandatory quarantine, Health Canada told AFP.”Verdict: FalseRead the full story at: AFP Fact CheckFactual Reads on CoronavirusImproving pandemic preparedness: Lessons from COVID-19
The United States and the world were caught unprepared by the COVID-19 pandemic despite decades of warnings of the threat of global pandemics and years of international planning.
— Council on Foreign Relations, October 2020
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Nigeria’s top police official on Saturday ordered the immediate mobilization of all officers to “reclaim the public space from criminal elements masquerading as protesters” after days of peaceful demonstrations over police abuses followed by violent unrest that left at least 69 people dead.The police order could further heighten tensions in Africa’s most populous country after its worst turmoil in years. Nigeria’s inspector general of police, M.A. Adamu, ordered colleagues to “dominate the public space” while announcing that “enough is enough,” a statement said.Nigerians on Tuesday evening watched in horror as soldiers fired on a peaceful crowd of mostly youthful demonstrators singing the national anthem in the country’s largest city, Lagos, with Amnesty International reporting at least 12 killed.A roadblock with graffiti is seen at the Lekki toll gate, site of protests that turned deadly when security forces opened fire on demonstrators earlier this week, in Lagos, Nigeria, Oct. 24, 2020.Some dismayed Nigerians then criticized President Muhammadu Buhari for not mentioning the killings and instead warning citizens against “undermining national security.” The government has insisted that the protests, while well-intentioned, were hijacked by thugs who looted and burned vehicles and businesses in the two days after the soldiers opened fire.Buhari has said 51 civilians were killed, along with 11 police officers and seven soldiers.The scenes in Nigeria have struck a chord with the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States, and the shootings by soldiers sparked immediate international condemnation.By not acting against security forces, some Nigerians have warned, the president could inspire further abuses.Lagos NigeriaThe new police order came even as a 24-hour curfew loosened for the first time Saturday in Lagos, a city of some 20 million where glittering wealth and grinding poverty are in sharp contrast, inflaming grievances over inequality and corruption.The police inspector general “enjoins law-abiding citizens not to panic but rather join forces with police … to protect their communities from the criminal elements,” the statement said.It struck a tougher tone than a police statement Friday that said the inspector general told visiting lawmakers and oversight officials that “the force is more than ever before committed to police reforms and ensuring a safe and secure environment for all to live and thrive devoid of any violation of their fundamental human rights.”Reforms include strengthening internal discipline and conducting psychological exams for members of the now-defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad whose heavy-handed activities sparked the public protests, Friday’s statement said.Volunteers sweep burned tire on the roads in Lagos, Oct. 24, 2020. Nigeria’s president says 51 civilians have been killed in unrest following days of peaceful protests over police abuses, and he blames “hooliganism” for the violence.Elsewhere in Lagos, some youths took to the streets again Saturday, but this time to clean up some of the debris after the turmoil. Charred vehicles remained in some parts of the city.”A lot of harm has happened to people’s business and our heart goes out to them,” said one volunteer, Monica Dede.As for the way forward in Nigeria, she said, “we will still be heard, we will not be shut up, we will definitely push for what we believe in as the youths of Nigeria. We are part of the system, we are part of this governance.” 
 
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Prominent opposition activist Leopoldo López has abandoned the Spanish ambassador’s residence in Caracas and left Venezuela after years of frustrated efforts to oust the nation’s socialist president, his party said Saturday.The 49-year-old former Caracas-area mayor has been holed up at the ambassador’s residence since a failed military uprising he led in April 2019 aimed at ousting President Nicolás Maduro. He has been jailed, under house arrest or in a foreign embassy refuge for nearly seven years.In a statement from Popular Will, the party López founded, leaders confirmed he had left the country to continue his work from abroad in a decision they deemed “best for the country and the fight for Venezuela’s freedom.””After seven years of persecution and unjust imprisonment inside Venezuela, Leopoldo López is still not totally free, like all Venezuelans, so long as there exists a dictatorship that violates the human rights of the people,” the party said.It is unclear how López left the ambassador’s residence, given the heavy state security presence permanently stationed outside the property. Travel by land has grown increasingly difficult because of widespread fuel shortages. Filling up a vehicle with gas can take hours if not days, and checkpoints manned by security forces have proliferated across the country.Efforts to continueIn a message directed to Maduro on Twitter, U.S.-backed opposition leader Juan Guaidó said his political mentor had gotten out of Venezuela by “evading your repressive apparatus.” He added that López’s efforts to remove Maduro would continue from abroad as part of the opposition strategy to garner international support.”Maduro you don’t control anything,” Guaidó wrote.There was no immediate reaction from Venezuelan authorities.López was sentenced in 2015 to nearly 14 years in prison after being convicted of inciting violence during anti-government protests in which three people died and dozens were wounded. He was released from prison and placed under house arrest after more than three years in a military jail.FILE – Juan Guaido, leader of Venezuela’s political opposition, talks to a journalist during an interview with Associated Press in Brussels, Jan. 22, 2020.Even from his confines, López has remained an influential figure in Venezuela’s opposition, advising Guaidó, who claims he is the country’s interim president because Maduro’s 2018 reelection was not legitimate.But after drawing tens of thousands of people to the streets last year, the opposition has struggled to regain momentum. Maduro remains firmly in control of the nation’s military and nearly all other government institutions.López’s flight is likely to be held up by the government as a trophy as it prepares to retake control of the National Assembly in December legislative elections that Guaidó has vowed to boycott. López had long stubbornly refused to leave, even when his wife and children fled to Spain last year.Dozens have leftHe would join dozens of anti-government politicians who have fled Venezuela over recent years, many leaving covertly to avoid potential persecution or jail time.”It’s probably the clearest sign that the continued opposition effort to unseat Maduro has floundered that a committed stay-in-Venezuela leader like Lopez has chosen to finally leave,” said Raul Gallegos, a Colombia-based analyst at the Control Risks consultancy.López pursued a strategy in 2014 known as “The Exit,” consisting of street protests months after Maduro was elected. The strategy failed and ultimately divided the opposition. That combativeness led to his arrest and conviction on insurrection charges branded a sham by human rights groups.FILE – Venezuela’s President Maduro touches a gold bar as he speaks during a meeting with the ministers responsible for the economic sector in Caracas, March 22, 2018.His hardline stance, backed by Washington, would ultimately come to dominate the fractious opposition, which rallied behind Guaidó. A follower of López, he had become congressional president and is now recognized by more than 50 countries as Venezuela’s rightful leader.The years López spent at a military prison, during which he read the works of Nelson Mandela and kept up a rigorous exercise regimen, solidified his image as a man willing to risk his own skin to rid the country of Maduro.He sought allies among his former jailers in the military and in 2019 reappeared on a highway overpass with a small band of national guardsmen calling for an uprising against Maduro. The putsch was easily quashed and López took refuge in the ambassador’s residence.Critics within coalitionSince then, López has struggled to maintain the same leadership. While Guaidó named him his cabinet chief, many in the opposition coalition, envious of his influence in Washington, sought to quietly undermine him, accusing him of having a messiah complex and failing to build consensus.His departure comes just days after Spain’s Ambassador Jesus Silva — who has been the dean of Caracas’ dwindling diplomatic community — was recalled by Spain’s leftist government to Madrid after serving for four years.Silva, a career diplomat, was a firm backer of López. But as a holdover from previous Spanish administrations who was once expelled by Maduro, he was less effective an interlocutor when Spain’s socialist government took power.Even as his whereabouts remained unknown, some opposition leaders were praising López’s decision to flee.”We await you in the diaspora to continue fighting for the freedom of all of Venezuela,” said Antonio Ledezma, a former Caracas mayor who himself fled in a risky trek by land out of the nation in 2017 after being briefly jailed on charges of plotting to oust Maduro.
 
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U.S. officials in Turkey have warned Americans in the country of possible terror attacks in Istanbul and other areas within the country.
 
In a security alert issued Friday, the mission said it received “credible reports of potential terrorist attacks and kidnappings against U.S. citizens and foreign nationals in Istanbul, including against the U.S. Consulate General, as well as potentially other locations in Turkey.”
 
The mission warned U.S. citizens to exercise extra caution in large office buildings, shopping malls and in other places where Americans and other foreigners may gather.
 
Visa and other services for Americans provided at the mission’s facilities in Turkey have been suspended, the mission said.
 
The U.S. State Department said Saturday the alert was issued “as a result of ongoing assessments of security conditions” in the country but did not disclose specifics about what prompted the alert.
 
The alert followed recent U.S. air strikes against al-Qaida forces in Syria, including a strike on Thursday where senior leaders of the terrorist group were said to be meeting.
 
“[Al-Qaida in Syria] takes advantage of the instability in northwest Syria to establish and maintain safe havens to coordinate activities,” the U.S. military’s Central Command warned in a statement.
 
Syria’s Idlib province is the last rebel stronghold in the country after a decade of war. Opposition forces that include jihadist fighters continue to repel attacks by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad with assistance from Turkey’s military.
 
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The West African nation of Guinea is bracing for more post-election unrest after the country’s Election Commission Thursday declared preliminary results showing President Alpha Conde was reelected for a third term.
     
But even before the results were announced, opposition leader Cellou Dalein Diallo alleged fraud and declared himself the winner, prompting street protests and clashes that left at least people 10 dead.  
 
Opposition activists such as Mamadou Billo Bah say they will keep protesting Conde’s taking a controversial third term in office.   
   
Billo Bah said the protesters are mentally ready because they understand they are facing a dictator. Therefore, he said, they are prepared to be arrested, to experience violence, to be killed.  He added that if people are ready to face all of this, they are not scared about it. And, he added, the protesters’ lives are not more valuable than the lives of those who have already died.Police officers in riot gear confront demonstrators (not pictured) during mass protests after preliminary election results were announced in Conakry, Guinea, Oct. 23, 2020.Conde’s supporters say the third term was legally allowed by a March constitutional referendum.    
   
The day after the vote, clashes broke out between security forces and Diallo’s Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea.    
 
Amnesty International researcher Mohamed Barry says dozens of protesters have been killed and wounded this year in election-related violence, but no security forces have been held responsible.  
   
Barry said Guinea’s government has allowed the security forces to enjoy impunity.  He said even though everyone – human rights activists and political figures — have denounced it, there have been no investigations.  
   
With neither side in Guinea’s political standoff appearing to back down, the country is now bracing for more post-election unrest.   
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