7.1 C
Brussels
Tuesday, November 5, 2024
Home Blog Page 1467

Hong Kong: Cardinal calls for unity among faithful during social turmoil

0
Hong Kong: Cardinal calls for unity among faithful during social turmoil - Vatican News

By Vatican News English Section – In a recent Pastoral Letter, Cardinal John Tong Hon of Hong Kong addressed the social turmoil and division that rocked Hong Kong over the past year saying, “the public are fully justified in expecting the local government to take action promptly to address their aspirations for justice, democracy and a more decent quality of life.” 

However, he also acknowledged that divisions have found their way into the local Catholic community.

Church teaching

The Cardinal pointed out that the faithful are free to have different views given that social and political issues are often complex and do not come up with “simple or ready answers.”

Nevertheless, he said, “differences in viewpoints must not give way to a division in the Church.  “We must bear in mind,” he added, “the teaching of Vatican II that all the faithful are to strive to preserve Church communion, and they are to take account of the common good of the Church even when exercising their own rights.”

Cardinal Tong noted one of the consequences of social turmoil in Hong Kong has been a “hatred” of some sectors of the public towards those who do not share their stances or endorse their actions in regard to socio-political reforms.”

The Beatitudes

The Cardinal said that at this present time, “it is fitting to reiterate that the Church gives support to ‘democracy’ as a system of governance.”  

Pope Francis, he said, in his apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium writes “that the progress in building a people in peace, justice and fraternity can be achieved by committed and responsible citizens. However, such a progress is an ‘ongoing process’ which demands that people work slowly but surely, without being obsessed with immediate results. In contributing to building a society of peace, justice and fraternity, we have a twofold role to play as ‘prophet’ and ‘servant’: we have to discern the ‘signs of the times,’ and we have to act like the salt of the earth, the light of the world and the yeast of human society.”

The Cardinal said, “in our endeavours for socio-political reforms and the well-being of society, we should be guided by the social teaching of the Church. We must, above all, put into practice what Jesus teaches in the Beatitudes and in the Sermon on the Mount. Thus we must realise that treating others as ‘enemies’ to be hated and fought against is inconsistent with the Christian faith.”

Christ crucified, he continued, “has set an example for all Christians to follow: whatever might be the conflicts that have to be resolved, love, forgiveness and reconciliation must always prevail, if justice and peace are to be achieved.“The end does not justify the means.”” 

He went on to say that pastors and priests “should enlighten the faithful and form their consciences with the social teaching of the Church so that they can adopt a balanced approach and take the right course of action while engaging themselves in social concern activities.”

However, he stressed, priests “should not exert their influence in those areas.”

The Cardinal also emphasized that Catholics who arrogantly challenge or criticise the Church or even slander Church leaders are simply setting a bad example and creating a split in the Church. Only by preserving their communion with the Hierarchy can “Catholics truly manifest the ‘sense of faith’ (sensus fidelium) as advocated by Vatican II.”

Hope amid challenges

In his Pastoral Letter, the Cardinal noted that many Catholics “bear a gloomy outlook about the future of Hong Kong. They have based their views on the uncertainties about the rule of law and the political reform, and the almost unbearable impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on our local economy and livelihood”, he said.

“I earnestly call”, he continued, “on these Catholics to place an unwavering hope in Jesus Christ…”

The Cardinal also underlined that the “social turmoil last year and the current pandemic have made great impacts on Hong Kong, and we can foresee new challenges to our evangelising mission in the years to come.”

Cardinal Tong concluded saying that God is “the key to our human destiny, of the need for a stronger sense of solidarity among members of the human family, and of the significance of maintaining Church communion, though allowing for a “diversity” in Church life.”

Ukraine working towards universal health coverage while responding to COVID-19

0
pexels-photo-4031867.jpeg
Photo by Edward Jenner on Pexels.com

Ukraine is transforming its health system so that people can get the quality health-care services they need without experiencing financial hardship.

Andrii, a 25-year-old doctor living in the city of Khmelnytskyi in western Ukraine began to feel unwell. It was in March 2020, when the COVID-19 outbreak had started in the country. Armed with medical knowledge, he immediately self-isolated from his wife and other family members. As his symptoms worsened, he called an ambulance, and eventually tested positive for COVID-19 while in hospital.

“While I was in hospital, testing and examinations were free of charge, but I had to find and buy my own medicines. I am very grateful to the anaesthesiologists of Khmelnytskyi region and other colleagues, who helped me find and buy medicines while my family members were in 14-day isolation. Since then, the availability of medicines in hospitals has improved and medicines are now provided to patients free of charge,” said Andrii.

The transformation of health services to ensure that patients can be tested and treated for COVID-19 free of charge is just one of the many positive steps the Ukraine government has taken. It demonstrates the government’s commitment to universal health coverage (UHC), ensuring that no one is left behind and everyone can access the health care they need without experiencing financial hardship.

This commitment to UHC has been evident since 2015, when the government initiated the reform of its health system to improve the population’s health and ensure financial protection from out-of-pocket payments. The reform aims to increase efficiency, modernize an obsolete service delivery system and improve access to better quality of care.

WHO, through the UHC Partnership, has been walking hand in hand with the government since the very first steps on this road. It provided continued and consistent technical support on health financing and service delivery with a strong focus on strengthening primary care – working closely with national and international stakeholders throughout election cycles and changes in the government. The Partnership, which assists 115 countries in accelerating progress to achieve UHC, is funded by the European Union, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Irish Aid, the Government of Japan, the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, the United Kingdom Department for International Development and the Government of Belgium.

COVID-19 in Ukraine

Ukraine recorded its first case of COVID-19 on 3 March 2020. By the end of August, there had been more than 108 000 confirmed cases and over 2000 people had lost their lives. From the start of the outbreak, WHO has continued to support the Ministry of Health to further develop three key areas of its health system: health financing, service delivery and governance. This strengthens both the emergency COVID-19 response and progress towards UHC.

UHC means health for all

As the world is confronted with one of the most devastating health crises in history, Ukraine’s experience demonstrates the value of reforming health financing, service delivery and governance; the key areas that set the foundations of health systems in all countries. In both ordinary and extraordinary times, UHC principles are at the core of keeping all communities healthy, safe and productive.

Mali: Transitional government appoints new prime minister – Vatican News

0
Mali: Transitional government appoints new prime minister - Vatican News

By Fr. Benedict Mayaki, SJ

Mali’s transitional president Bah N’daw, has appointed former Malian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Moctar Ouane, as the new Prime Minister of the West-African country.

The appointment on Sunday of a civilian premier was a precondition to the lifting of sanctions imposed on the country by ECOWAS – the West African regional bloc – shortly after the 18 August coup which overthrew former President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.

ECOWAS had stopped financial flows into Mali and closed its borders in a bid to pressure the military junta that seized power to quickly return the country to civilian rule. The bloc is also seeking the release of all the detainees from last month’s coup.

Transitional government

The country’s transitional President and vice-President were sworn into office on Friday, a little over a month after the coup. 

Bah N’Daw – the new President – is a retired colonel and was Mali’s former Defense Minister, while Colonel Assimi Goita, head of the junta that staged the August coup, is the new vice-President.

The new Prime Minister, aged 64, served as Foreign Minister between 2004 and 2011 during the presidency of Amadou Toumani Toure. He also served as Mali’s permanent representative to the United Nations from 1995 to 2002 and later as a diplomatic adviser to ECOWAS.

Pompeo to criticise Vatican’s renewal of China deal during visit

0
aerial view of vatican city
Photo by Aliona & Pasha on Pexels.com

Mike Pompeo will visit the Vatican to protest against the imminent renewal of a deal between the Catholic church and China, which the US secretary of state claims endangers its moral authority.

Pope Francis has reportedly declined to meet Pompeo during his visit this week, citing the closeness of the US election. However, such a move is likely to be linked to Pompeo’s recent attacks on the Vatican’s perceived soft-pedalling on China’s human rights record as the two sides prepare to extend a historic agreement signed two years ago.

The details of the deal have never been made public, but it gave the Vatican a say in the appointment of Catholic bishops in China. Pope Francis also recognised eight bishops that had been appointed by Beijing without his approval.

In the past two years, two new bishops have been appointed in China after consultation with the Vatican, and Chinese and Vatican officials met publicly for the first time in seven decades.

Critics claimed the deal was a betrayal of millions of Chinese Catholics, most of whom worship in unregistered churches at enormous personal risk, and would cause irreparable damage to the church’s credibility. “They’re [sending] the flock into the mouths of the wolves,” Cardinal Joseph Zen, the former archbishop of Hong Kong, said at the time.

Since the rapprochement with China, Pope Francis has been notably silent on the country’s violations of human rights. Despite advocating for marginalised and oppressed people all over the world, Francis has failed to use his voice to highlight the incarceration of at least a million Uighurs and other Muslims in prison camps, where they are reported to face starvation, torture, murder, sexual violence, slave labour and forced organ extraction.

Earlier this month, Pompeo, who is on a five-day tour of Greece, Turkey, Croatia and Italy, said the Catholic church should deploy its moral authority against the Chinese Communist party’s crackdowns on religious worship.

The criticism is part of a broader pattern of US attacks on China during Donald Trump’s presidency as relations between the superpowers have reached their lowest point for decades. At the UN general assembly this month, Trump accused China of “unleashing this plague onto the world”, referring to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In an article in First Things, a US conservative Catholic magazine, Pompeo wrote: “The Holy See has a unique capacity and duty to focus the world’s attention on human rights violations, especially those perpetrated by totalitarian regimes like Beijing’s. In the late 20th century, the church’s power of moral witness helped inspire those who liberated central and eastern Europe from communism, and those who challenged autocratic and authoritarian regimes in Latin America and East Asia.

“That same power of moral witness should be deployed today with respect to the Chinese Communist party … What the church teaches the world about religious freedom and solidarity should now be forcefully and persistently conveyed by the Vatican in the face of the Chinese Communist party’s relentless efforts to bend all religious communities to the will of the party and its totalitarian program.”

On Twitter he said the party’s “abuse of the faithful has only gotten worse” since the deal was signed. “The Vatican endangers its moral authority, should it renew the deal.”

Pompeo is expected to meet Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Holy See’s secretary of state, and the archbishop Paul Gallagher, secretary for relations with states.

China’s president, Xi Jinping, has pledged to “Sinicise” all religious practise, insisting that it must be “Chinese in orientation”, with the government providing “active guidance to religions”.

Catholicism is a relatively minor religion in China, with an estimated 10-12 million adherents out of a population of 1.4 billion. Catholics are supposed to worship only in churches approved by the state, but many attend unregistered churches under the authority of bishops who are not recognised by the Chinese authorities.

The extension to the Vatican-China deal is expected to be signed next month.

Britain, EU start key week of Brexit talks with ‘better mood music’

0

BRUSSELS/LONDON (Reuters) – The European Union and Britain both said a post-Brexit deal was still some way off and differences persisted on Monday over putting in place their earlier divorce deal as they began a decisive week of talks in Brussels.

Slideshow ( 3 images )

Britain left the EU last January and is locked in negotiations on a new trade deal from 2021, as well as on implementing the divorce, as set out in the Withdrawal Agreement, especially on the sensitive Irish border.

EU national leaders will assess the state of play at a summit next month, with a no-deal Brexit still possible.

Negotiations have stumbled over fisheries, fair competition and settling disputes, and Brexit descended into fresh chaos this month when London proposed draft laws that would undermine the earlier agreement.

“The UK’s positions are far apart from what the EU can accept, a deputy head of the bloc’s executive Commission, Maros Sefcovic, said on Monday after talks with Michael Gove, the minister handling the divorce deal.

“We maintain that the bill, if adopted in its current form, would constitute an extremely serious violation of … the Withdrawal Agreement and of international law,” he said, urging speedy progress before he meets Gove again in mid-October.

Gove said the clauses of the Internal Market Bill that undercut the Withdrawal Treaty would remain.

Related Coverage

“We want to make sure that the Withdrawal Agreement is implemented in full,” Gove told reporters. “But those clauses are there, they’re in legislation … And those clauses will remain in that bill.”

TRADE TALKS

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman said in London that Britain’s focus was on progress in trade talks.

“Although the last two weeks of informal talks have been relatively positive there remains much to be done,” he said.

“We simply want the standard free trade agreement … we continue to be asked to accept provisions that do not reflect the reality of our status as an independent country.”

Trade talks resume in Brussels on Tuesday. Lasting until Friday morning and also due to cover energy links and transport, they are the final round of negotiations scheduled so far.

EU leaders meeting in Brussels on Thursday and Friday are expected to authorise more talks before their next summit on Oct. 15-16. They will then assess whether to try push a deal over the line or prepare for the most damaging Brexit at the end of the year.

The EU says negotiators must seal an agreement by the end of October or early November, to leave time for ratification by the European Parliament and some national parliaments in the EU so that it can take effect from 2021 when Britain’s standstill transition ends after Brexit.

Otherwise, the delicate peace on the island of Ireland as well as an estimated trillion euros worth of annual EU-UK trade would be at risk as the sides would fall back on general World Trade Organization rules that include tariffs and quotas.

Additional reporting by Guy Faulconbridge and William James in London, Writing by Gabriela Baczynska; Editing by Giles Elgood and Alison Williams

Key week of Brexit talks between UK and EU start with ‘better mood music’

0
Key week of Brexit talks between UK and EU start with ‘better mood music’

The European Union and Britain started a decisive week of talks on Monday on a new trade deal and implementing their divorce agreement before national leaders assess progress or the risk of a no-deal split on Thursday and Friday.

                                                    <p class="no_name">British cabinet office minister <a class="search" href="/topics/topics-7.1213540?article=true&amp;tag_person=Michael+Gove">Michael Gove</a> is set to attend a meeting of the joint committee responsible for implementing the <a class="search" href="/topics/topics-7.1213540?article=true&amp;tag_location=Northern+Ireland">Northern Ireland</a> protocol, which his government is threatening to renege on if it does not get its way in negotiations.</p>
                                                    <p class="no_name">The three sticking points in talks so far remain the same: fisheries; state aid rules; and governance or dispute resolution.</p>
                                                    <p class="no_name">An EU diplomat said however that “the mood music was a bit better” after Mr Gove expressed confidence about securing a trade deal.</p>
                                                    <p class="no_name">“It’s high time that negotiations move forward, we need to make progress on issues like the level playing field, fisheries and governance,” the diplomat told Reuters on condition of anonymity.</p>
                                                                                                        <aside class="related-articles--instream has-3"/><p class="no_name">“The UK still has to restore trust after the Internal Market Bill escalation.”</p>
                                                    <p class="no_name">Mr Gove meets a deputy head of the bloc’s executive Commission, Maros Sefcovic, on Monday in the <a class="search" href="/topics/topics-7.1213540?article=true&amp;tag_organisation=Joint+Committee">Joint Committee</a> tasked with implementing the divorce treaty and now looking at the contentious new UK laws.</p>
                                                    <p class="no_name">“We are looking forward to continuing our discussions at the Joint Committee and working towards a satisfactory outcome for both sides,” a UK government spokeswoman said.</p>
                                                    <p class="no_name">Trade talks headed by the EU’s <a class="search" href="/topics/topics-7.1213540?article=true&amp;tag_person=Michel+Barnier">Michel Barnier</a> and the UK’s <a class="search" href="/topics/topics-7.1213540?article=true&amp;tag_person=David+Frost">David Frost</a> resume in <a class="search" href="/topics/topics-7.1213540?article=true&amp;tag_location=Brussels">Brussels</a> on Tuesday. Lasting until Friday morning and also due to cover energy cooperation and transport, they are the final round of negotiations scheduled so far.</p>
                                                    <p class="no_name">EU leaders meeting in Brussels on Thursday and Friday are expected to authorise more negotiations before their next summit on October 15th-16th.</p>
                                                    <p class="no_name">The EU says negotiators must seal a deal by the end of October or the first days of November at the latest, to leave enough time for ratification by the <a class="search" href="/topics/topics-7.1213540?article=true&amp;tag_organisation=European+Parliament">European Parliament</a> and some national parliaments so a deal can take effect from 2021 when Britain’s post-<a href="/news/world/brexit">Brexit</a> transition ends. </p>

                                                    <p class="no_name">- Reuters</p>

Ahead of biodiversity summit, UN officials call for action to preserve the natural world

0
Ahead of biodiversity summit, UN officials call for action to preserve the natural world

“We have no time to wait. Biodiversity loss, nature loss, it is at an unprecedented level in the history of mankind”, Elizabeth Mrema, the Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, told UN News in the SDG Media Zone. “We’re the most dangerous species in global history.”  

The Convention on Biological Diversity is an international treaty agreed to at the UN Earth Summit in Brazil in 1992. It has three goals: the conservation of biological diversity; the sustainable use of nature; and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from genetic science.  

Biodiversity targets 

If you look at the scorecard, like a school report, the highest is below 30 per cent of the progress … Not one Aichi Target will be fully met – Elizabeth Mrema

Under the CBD, countries in 2010 agreed to the Aichi Biodiversity Targets – a group of 20 goals to conserve biodiversity that range from preserving species, to reducing deforestation by 2020. Aichi’s goals are to biodiversity what the Paris climate accord is to global warming.   

Countries had until this year to reach the targets, and then move on to create a post-2020 global biodiversity framework. But despite some progress, the targets – which range from stopping species from extinction to cutting pollution and preserving forests – were not achieved.    

“If you look at the scorecard, like a school report, the highest is below 30 per cent of the progress”, Ms. Mrema said. “Not one Aichi Target will be fully met, so that, by itself, of the 20 targets, 10 years, we have failed.”  

Discussions are now underway for a new framework that builds on those “quote unquote failures”, said Ms. Mrema.  

The document is still in the early stage, being reviewed in informal consultations, but needs to be ready for adoption at the 15th Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in China in 2021. 

One of the major differences between the Aichi Biodiversity Targets and the post-2020 framework will be implementation. After Aichi, some countries had to create national strategies to act on the targets. Those are now in place. 

Coral Reef Image Bank/Tracey Jen

A sea turtle glides over the reef in Raja Ampat, Indonesia.

Taking action now 

“We are not calling for reinventing the wheel, so basically implementation should be able to begin immediately,” Ms. Mrema said.  

The new framework will also include resources such as technology transfer and capacity building, which were not considered priorities at Aichi. 

To create momentum for this new way of living with nature, the President of the UN General Assembly will convene the Summit on Biodiversity this Wednesday, where world leaders are expected to declare their countries’ commitments to nature and a post-2020 biodiversity framework.    

“They are not going to say, ‘We will continue a path of destruction.’ They are going to say, ‘We will get on a path of sustainability’,” said Inger Andersen, the head of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).  

Ms. Andersen, speaking alongside Ms. Mrema in the SDG Media Zone, outlined other voices that will be heard this week in the General Assembly Hall, and in so-called leaders’ dialogue sessions that will focus on sustainable development and on science and technology. 

Youthful energy 

“Just like in the climate movement, and then the Climate Action Summit, we saw that the energy that the young people bring in, into the room, onto the street, over dinner tables, back at home, into the classroom, and eventually into the voting booth”, Ms. Andersen said about the inclusion of young people in the week’s discussions. “That is an energy that we want to see also for nature and biodiversity.” 

She highlighted the voice of indigenous peoples, calling them “environmental defenders”, “stalwarts of nature” and “holders of knowledge” whose “voice, in the UN and beyond, is irrepressible and critical.” 

The week will include participation from the private sector and highlight an awareness among participants of agriculture and how to more effectively incentive farming in line with preserving biodiversity. 

Mark Anderson

Lesser Flamingo (Phoeniconaias minor). The Asian and southern African populations are partially migratory, with many making regular movements from their breeding sites inland to coastal wetlands when not breeding.

Changing agriculture 

“We all eat, so we all have to understand that eating is important,” Ms. Andersen said. “But our agricultural practices need to change for the better, and so that means that big agriculture has a to-do item on its list in terms of how we do that, and policymakers have a to-do item in helping them shift.” 

While these senior UN officials hope for strong participation from a variety of groups, the most important voice is strong commitments from heads of State who have the ability to direct policy change. 

 “It’s time for action. And understanding, therefore, that the heads of State now what they will say will really matter, because future generations will judge them,” Ms. Anderson said, echoing Ms. Mrema. 

“Were we going to be the leaders that stood and let species and nature disappear? So that your grandchild or mine, will not see that magnificent animal or that incredible flower or the very being of ecosystem that supports us? It’s not small. It’s very, very big, because it is the future [of] food security, because it is the future of peace, because it is the future of humanity as we understand it.” 

Google Continues Antitrust Practices In Shopping Search Even After $2.7B EU Fine: Report

0
Google Continues Antitrust Practices In Shopping Search Even After .7B EU Fine: Report
Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOGL) (NASDAQ: GOOG) subsidiary Google is under fire in the European Union for failing to alter its business practices even after it was fined, the Financial Times reported Sunday.

What Happened: A study commissioned by 25 shopping sites that looked at 10.5 billion clicks indicated that less than one percent of traffic through Google Shopping is being directed to rival sites such as Kelkoo and Idealo, according to FT.

The study, undertaken by Lademann & Associates, is the first such comprehensive empirical research that shows that Google still undermines competition, Thomas Hoppner, a lawyer advising the companies, told FT.

The analysis was reportedly conducted three years after Google made changes to its shopping search after the European Commission fined it $2.7 billion for favoring its own comparison shopping service and “demoting those of competitors.”

Olivier Guersent, who heads the EU’s Competition department, said officials were seeing “positive developments” after Google made changes in its shopping search.

Why It Matters: Hoppner alleged that Google’s main search results, a key source of traffic, remain unaffected by the changes. He claimed the remedy deployed by the Sundar Pichai-led company “has not improved the competitive situation at all.”

Google is contesting the fine and the European General Court’s decision is expected at the end of the year, FT noted.

In July, the Google parent was hit with a record $5.1 billion fine from the EU after the bloc alleged that it had used its Android operating system to establish the dominance of its own search engine.

The Mountain View, California-based company is also trying to fend off an antitrust investigation from the EU into its $2.1 billion acquisition of Fitbit Inc (NYSE: FIT).

Price Action: Alphabet Class A shares closed almost 1.1% higher at $1,439.06 on Friday. On the same day, the company’s Class C shares closed almost 1.2% higher at $1,444.96.

© 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

Trump’s Tax Returns, Coronavirus Deaths, Charlie Hebdo: Your Monday Briefing

0
Trump’s Tax Returns, Coronavirus Deaths, Charlie Hebdo: Your Monday Briefing

(Want to get this briefing by email? Here’s the sign-up.)

Good morning.

We’re covering the takeaways from more than two decades of President Trump’s tax returns, the global death toll from the coronavirus and the death of a man who ate one to two large bags of black licorice a day for three weeks.

Image
Credit…Doug Mills/The New York Times

In 2016, the year Donald Trump won the presidency, he paid $750 in federal income taxes. The following year, he paid another $750. And in 10 of the previous 15 years, he paid no income taxes at all — largely because he reported losing much more money than he made.

The Times has obtained more than two decades of President Trump’s tax returns. The documents paint a picture of a man who takes in hundreds of millions of dollars in some years yet racks up chronic losses.

Response: Mr. Trump denied wrongdoing and attacked the I.R.S. in response to questions about the investigation, which he dismissed as “fake news.”

Timeline: Our interactive timeline charts the ebbs and flows of Mr. Trump’s finances, including huge losses, looming financial threats and a large, contested refund from the I.R.S. that could cost him more than $100 million.

In brief: Key findings from the investigation include the $70,000 spent on hairstyling, the 20 percent of income set aside across nearly all his projects for unexplained “consulting fees” and how his unprofitable companies help reduce his tax bill.

Editor’s note: “We are publishing this report because we believe citizens should understand as much as possible about their leaders and representatives,” writes Dean Baquet, the executive editor of The Times. “Every president since the mid-1970s has made his tax information public.”

Credit…Sajjad Hussain/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

The world is likely to pass a painful milestone in the coming 24 hours: more than one million deaths from Covid-19. India, the world’s second-most populous nation, leads in daily virus-related deaths. The U.S. is second, with Brazil and Mexico third and fourth. These four countries account for more than half the world’s total deaths from the virus.

As of this writing, at least 994,457 people have died, nearly 32 million people have been sickened, and the virus has been detected in nearly every country, according to a Times database. The World Health Organization said on Friday that the death toll could double if countries did not uniformly work to suppress the virus’s spread.

With seasons changing, some countries that were hit hard by the virus in the spring and summer are beginning to shed lockdown policies, raising fears of future surges. In Europe, second waves of infections have already hit Britain, Spain and France.

Here are the latest updates and maps of the pandemic.

In other developments:

  • With positive virus tests reaching new highs, Israeli officials pleaded with the public to heed lockdown measures heading into Yom Kippur.

  • For those facing daunting seasonal cold, The Times gathered some advice from experts on keeping the virus at bay indoors.

  • The French Open tennis tournament began in Paris despite a recent spike in coronavirus cases that restricted spectators on the grounds to 1,000 per day.

  • In Madrid, about 1,000 protesters took to the streets on Sunday to demand an end to a partial lockdown imposed by the regional government.

  • Without further restrictions, Britain could end up “caught in a cycle of epidemic waves,” a member of the government’s scientific advisory board warned.


Credit…Robert Deyrail/Gamma-Rapho, via Getty Images

In a Paris courthouse last week, survivors and families of the four victims of an attack on a kosher supermarket in January 2015 relayed their memories of the terrifying assault and how it left their personal lives in tatters. More than a dozen people are on trial, many facing charges of aiding the assailant, the Islamic extremist Amedy Coulibaly, who was killed after security forces stormed the grocery.

Because of the attacks, “no Jew in France can go to the synagogue or drop off their children at school without thinking that they are a target,” Francis Kalifat, president of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France, told the court. “This trial must also be the trial of an anti-Semitism that kills.”

Charlie Hebdo: The 2015 attacks came just days after the massacre of cartoonists and journalists at the offices of the satirical weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo. On Friday, two additional people were stabbed outside the former Paris office of the newspaper. A suspect in the stabbing has confessed, saying that his attack was directed at the publication because it had reprinted cartoons mocking the Prophet Muhammad.

Credit…Gianni Cipriano for The New York Times

Hampered by a lack of widespread broadband, an older population unused to shopping online and poor infrastructure for delivering packages, Amazon had long struggled to make inroads in Italy. But the country’s early, biting lockdown at the start of the pandemic has changed the equation for many Italians — possibly permanently.

The company’s success has, in turn, drawn scrutiny. Unions have criticized Amazon’s labor practices, including staging a multiday strike over virus-related safety policies. Italian regulators are also investigating the company for price gouging during the pandemic.

Child labor: With schools closed because of the pandemic, children are taking illegal and often dangerous jobs in India and other developing countries, potentially rolling back years of progress in social mobility and public health.

Nagorno-Karabakh: Fighting broke out on Sunday on the long-disputed border of the breakaway province between Azerbaijan and Armenia, and quickly escalated to the largest clash since 2016. The neighboring countries described the events as “war.”

Uighurs: Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, described his policies in the autonomous region of Xinjiang as a “totally correct” success and vowed to do more to imprint Chinese national identity “deep in the soul” of Uighurs and other largely Muslim minorities.

Paternity leave: Switzerland is the last country in Western Europe to adopt a law mandating paternity leave, beating back strong conservative opposition to the proposal.

Credit…Doug Mills/The New York Times

Snapshot: Above at the White House, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, President Trump’s pick to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court. If confirmed, the 48-year-old judge’s almost uniformly conservative voting record suggests she would move the court to the right, potentially changing the right to abortion in the U.S.

Lives lived: The game-changing French chef Pierre Troisgros, whose unpretentious approach to seasonal cooking earned him fans, plaudits and Michelin stars, died at 92 on Wednesday at his home in Le Coteau, France.

Licorice: A new scientific journal article explores the death of a 54-year-old man from Massachusetts, who died after eating one to two large bags of black licorice a day for three weeks, eventually resulting in cardiac arrest.

What we’re reading: “In this powerful piece,” Marc Lacey, our National editor writes, “the Los Angeles Times reporter ⁦Greg Braxton⁩ confronts a former editor about a remark that has bothered him for nearly 30 years.”

Credit…Christopher Simpson for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Cook: This one-pan orzo with spinach, feta and dill is as appealing as risotto, but without all the stirring.

Read: Daniel Kraus’s “They Threw Us Away” and “Saucy,” by Cynthia Kadohata, are among a new crop of children’s books helping to revive the genre of richly illustrated novels.

Listen: The latest playlist from our pop critics features some sass and swing from Jennifer Lopez and Maluma, and Wizkid, an Afrobeats luminary from Nigeria.

It’s the start of a new week. Take some time to explore new ideas from our At Home collection on what to read, cook, watch and do while staying safe at home.

Since the killing of George Floyd in May, The Times’s visual investigations unit has examined several cases involving police violence or scenes of protest in the U.S. The team of reporters, editors and producers tries to provide a more complete picture of an event. Our Times Insider series took a look at how they do it.

“Often there’s one video from these incidents that goes extremely viral for a variety of reasons: It’s intense, it’s graphic, it’s emotional for a lot of people. But very often, those single videos that go viral don’t tell the whole story of what happened,” said Haley Willis, a video producer on the team who worked on the report detailing the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wis.

The visual investigations team uses original recordings, explores open sources like social media, analyzes and authenticates audio components of a recording, reviews incident reports and applies traditional methods of tracking down sources and mapping out timelines.

Credit…By The New York Times. Image: Brendan Gutenschwager, via Storyful

For the team, achieving accuracy is always a must. But at a time when these viral events can quickly become politicized, another priority is presenting the information in a way that’s tonally sensitive and responsible.

“We never want to just show something graphic just to show it,” said Whitney Hurst, a senior producer. “We always want to be able to bring the analysis to the table that can really push the story forward.”

The utmost responsibility of each investigation, Ms. Hurst said, is to uncover and convey the facts — whether that takes a few hours, a few days or even a few months — and to present the findings in a visual way that offers insight into that news.

More often than not, Ms. Willis said, the responses to their work have a common thread: “I thought I knew what happened. But I didn’t.”

Here’s the team’s video investigation of the killing of Mr. Floyd.


That’s it for this morning’s briefing. See you tomorrow.

— Natasha


Thank you
To Melissa Clark for the recipe, and to Theodore Kim and Jahaan Singh for the rest of the break from the news. You can reach the team at [email protected].

P.S.
• We’re listening to “The Daily.” Our latest episode is on the push to reform policing in Minneapolis, where George Floyd was killed.
• Here’s our Mini Crossword, and a clue: “Piece of soap” (three letters). You can find all our puzzles here.
• The word “pornomime” — a neologism meaning a mime that acts out sexual scenarios — first appeared in The Times on Sunday, according to the Twitter bot @NYT_first_said.
• The Times put together useful information for Americans voting from abroad in the Nov. 3 election.

European Commission appeals EU General Court’s decision to annul Apple’s €13b tax bill

0
apple devices books business coffee
Photo by Serpstat on Pexels.com

The court decision that annulled Apple’s need to pay €13 billion in back-taxes has been appealed by the European Commission (EC).

The appeal will send the case to Europe’s highest court where a final decision will be made.

The case focuses on whether a deal made between Apple and Irish tax authorities was illegal, with the EC alleging that the deal granted Apple €13 billion in unlawful tax advantages.

The EU’s second-highest court disagreed with these allegations, however, ruling in July that there was not enough evidence to demonstrate that the tech giant broke EU competition rules.

“The General Court annuls the contested decision because the Commission did not succeed in showing to the requisite legal standard that there was an advantage for the purposes of Article 107(1) TFEU,” the judgment [PDF] said.

In announcing the appeal, the commission said it believed the General Court had made a “number of errors of law” when making its judgment.

“We have to continue to use all tools at our disposal to ensure companies pay their fair share of tax. Otherwise, the public purse and citizens are deprived of funds for much-needed investments — the need for which is even more acute now to support Europe’s economic recovery,” European Commission EVP Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.

"If Member States give certain multinational companies tax advantages not available to their rivals, this harms fair competition in the European Union in breach of State aid rules," Vestager added. 

The EC originally made these allegations against Apple back in 2016, after a two-year investigation had found that Ireland issued two tax rulings to “substantially and artificially” lower Apple’s tax bills.

The deal allegedly saw Apple attribute all profits from two of its incorporated companies to a “head office” in Ireland, which had no employees and “could not have generated such profits”, the EC said at the time.