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Belarusian police detained hundreds of protesters in central Minsk on Saturday, a witness said, as around 2,000 people marched through the city demanding that President Alexander Lukashenko step down.
 
Belarus, a former Soviet republic closely allied with Russia, has been rocked by mass street protests since Lukashenko claimed a landslide victory in an Aug. 9 presidential election that his opponents say was rigged. He denies their accusation.
 
Saturday’s protesters, most of them women, briefly scuffled with police who then blocked their path and started picking people one by one out of the crowd, the witness said.  
 
In one location, dozens of female protesters could be seen encircled by men in green uniforms and black balaclavas outside a shopping mall as they shouted “Only cowards beat women!”Police officers detain Nina Baginskaya, 73, during an opposition rally challenging official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus, Sept. 19, 2020.Among the detained was 73-year-old opposition activist Nina Baginskaya who has become an icon of the protest movement after scuffling with armed policemen last month.
 
One female protester was taken away in an ambulance after lying on the ground, apparently unconscious.
 
Lukashenko’s crackdown on the protests has prompted the European Union to weigh fresh sanctions against his government.
 
The president, who has ruled Belarus for 26 years, says the protesters are being backed by foreign powers. Earlier this month he secured a $1.5 billion lifeline from Moscow. 
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The Detroit home where American civil rights activist Rosa Parks took refuge after the historic bus boycott has been rebuilt as an art project in Naples, Italy. Parks’ niece saved the two-story home from demolition in Michigan following the 2008 financial crisis. She donated it to an American artist who rebuilt it for public display in Germany, and now in Italy, after failing to find a permanent place for it in the United States. VOA correspondent Mariama Diallo reports.
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European countries announced new coronavirus restrictions Friday, one day after the World Health Organization warned infections have started to spread again across the continent at “alarming rates.”
 
In Spain, which has more cases than any other European country with more than 620,000, the regional government of Madrid ordered a lockdown effective Monday in some of the more impoverished areas after a spike in infections there. While movement in the area will be restricted, people will still be allowed to go to work.
 
Authorities in Nice, France, have banned gatherings of more than 10 people in public spaces and cut bar operating hours, after new restrictions were imposed earlier this week in Bordeaux and Marseilles.
 
Britain said it is considering a new national lockdown after cases nearly doubled to 6,000 a day in the latest reporting week. British Health Minister Matt Hancock said another lockdown should be a last resort but that the government would do whatever is necessary to contain the virus.
 New lockdown in Israel
 
Israel begins a second lockdown Friday because of a sharp jump in the number of coronavirus cases.  
 
The three-week-long restrictions come just as the country is set to begin the Jewish holidays.   
 
Israelis are allowed to travel no more than 500 meters from their houses. Exceptions include those purchasing medicine, seeking medical services, “helping someone in distress,” transferring a minor between parents, and obtaining “essential treatment for animals.”Israeli police officers wearing face masks to protect against coronavirus secure a check point on the first day of three-week lockdown in Bnei Brak, Israel, Sept 18, 2020.And in Iran, a senior Iranian official said the country should be on “red alert” after it reported 3,049 new cases Friday, the highest daily gain since early June.  
 
“The color classification doesn’t make any sense anymore,” Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi said in an interview with Reuters. “We no longer have orange and yellow. The entire country is red.”
 
India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said Friday that 96,424 new infections and more than 1,000 COVID-related deaths were reported in the last 24 hours.  
 
In North America, Canada has decided to extend the closure of the border its shares with the United States to non-essential travel until October 21, after seeing an increase in infections in recent weeks. Canadian Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said Friday such decisions would continue to be based on public health advice to protect its citizens. The closing was first announced on March 18 and have been extended each month since.  
 US minorities affected
 
And in the U.S., the U.S. data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week revealed that members of minorities younger than 21 years old are disproportionately affected by COVID-19 compared with white Americans in the same age group.
 
Between February 21 and July 31, 121 people younger than 21 died of the disease, according to data compiled from 27 states. More than 75% of those young people were Hispanic, Black, American Indian and Alaska Native, even though they represent 41% of the U.S. population.FILE – A “promotora” (health promoter) from CASA, a Hispanic advocacy group, tries to enroll Latinos as volunteers to test a potential COVID-19 vaccine, at a farmers market in Takoma Park, Maryland, Sept. 9, 2020.The CDC report also found that 75% of those who died had at least one underlying health condition such as asthma, obesity, neurologic and developmental conditions or cardiovascular conditions.  
 
Researchers pointed out that certain social conditions, including crowded living environments, food and housing insecurity, and wealth and education gaps, could be contributing factors in the high fatality rates among minority children.
 Vaccine trust tumbles
 
Nearly half of Americans, or 49%, said they definitely or probably would not get an inoculation if a coronavirus vaccine were available today, while 51% said they would, according to a Pew Research Center poll conducted earlier this month.
 
The 49% who lean toward rejecting the inoculation cited concerns about side effects from the vaccine.  
 
On Friday, the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center reported there are more than 30 million COVID-19 infections worldwide and almost 950,000 deaths.  
 
The United States has more cases than anywhere else in the world with 6.6 million, followed by India with 5.1 million cases and Brazil with 4.4 million. 
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Britain’s newest ambassador to China has gotten off to a rocky start after posting a photo on social media that some viewers interpreted as an endorsement of the hard-line policies of Chinese President Xi Jinping.Caroline Wilson, appointed in June to lead Britain’s diplomatic mission in Beijing as of this month, posted the photo on Twitter after a meeting with Liu Xiaoming, China’s envoy to Britain.In the photo, Liu beams with apparent delight as the two hold what appears to be a gifted book, the latest in a series of tomes laying out Xi’s thoughts on governance.Wilson described the occasion on Twitter as a “valuable meeting with @AmbLiuXiaoMing before heading to Beijing.” Her new subordinates at the British Embassy in Beijing subsequently retweeted the posting.As of Friday morning, Wilson’s tweet had generated more than 1,000 comments, and while a handful praised her as “the perfect person for this absolutely pivotal role,” the vast majority considered the posting highly problematic.“Even Liu XiaoMing didn’t choose to upload this photo,” one commentator wrote, though the Chinese envoy did post several other photos from the meeting. Many others shared the views of a writer who commented, “How could she uphold UK values while holding ‘Xi Jinping Thought’?”Among the most scathing comments was one from a writer who uploaded a 1938 photo of then-British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain shaking hands with Adolf Hitler. Another writer said Wilson’s gesture was “no different than holding Mao’s little red book.”A tweet that had generated almost 500 likes by Friday lodged a more serious charge, that Wilson is too eager to please Xi.Foreign ministry responseA spokesperson from the British foreign ministry defended Wilson’s tweet, telling VOA their country has “a policy of engagement with China and our approach will remain consistent even if difficulties emerge.”“We must have a calibrated approach and use engagement to raise matters on which the U.K. cannot agree or compromise with China, including on human rights and Hong Kong,” the spokesperson said.That argument is not persuasive to Roger Garside, a former British diplomat whose latest book, Coming Alive: China After Mao, focuses on contemporary China.“As a former British diplomat myself, who served twice in Beijing, I am appalled by this behavior by our Ambassador-designate to the PRC,” Garside wrote from London in response to VOA’s request for comment. “It goes beyond anything I have witnessed from a British diplomat.”Garside summed up the reaction to Wilson’s tweet as a “stream of well-deserved outrage.”’Hard looks’Clive Hamilton, a professor of public ethics in Australia, also responded to a request for comment from his home in Canberra:“I think the foreign policy establishment is lagging [behind] the political shift that has taken place in Britain this year. It has yet to wake up to the [Communist Party of China]’s ambitions and ruthless modus operandi.”Hamilton added: “The danger is that instead of advocating Britain’s policies in Beijing, she will end up advocating China’s policies in London.”Wilson has already attracted “hard looks” from critics of China’s ruling Communist Party within her own party, said Hamilton, the author of Hidden Hand, which warns that the Chinese Communist Party is determined to mold the world in its own image.He said there has been no public criticism “as far as I know, but I’ve heard indirectly that some have expressed dismay in private.”
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Denmark’s prime minister announced Friday new COVID-19-related restrictions after a resurgence of coronavirus infections in recent weeks.
 
At a news conference in Copenhagen, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Denmark will lower the limit on public gatherings to 50 people, down from 100, and bars and restaurants will close at 10 p.m. She said both measures will take effect Saturday and stay in effect until October 4.
 
In recent weeks, Frederiksen said, Denmark has seen daily infections rise after a relaxing of lockdown measures imposed between March and May. She said 454 new coronavirus infections had been registered in Denmark over the prior 24 hours, close to an April record of 473.  
 
The prime minister said the COVID-19 reproduction rate, which indicates how many people one infected person on average transmits the virus to, is at 1.5 in the country.  
 
Denmark is part of a growing list of European countries re-imposing or tightening COVID-19 restrictions in the face of surging infections rates that follow relaxed lockdown measures.
 
Britain, France and Spain have all locked down regions or at least tightened restrictions in targeted areas after seeing cases surge this week. British Health Minister Matt Hancock said a second nationwide lockdown could happen if cases continue to surge.
 
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A drug company said Friday that a medicine it sells to tamp down inflammation has helped prevent the need for breathing machines in hospitalized COVID-19 patients in the first large study that primarily enrolled Hispanics and Blacks.Switzerland-based Roche reported the results for tocilizumab, sold now as Actemra and RoActemra for treating rheumatoid arthritis and some other diseases. The company said it would quickly publish the results, which have not yet been reviewed by independent scientists, and would speak with regulators about next steps.The drug, given through an IV, tamps down a protein called interleukin-6 that’s often found in excess in COVID-19 patients. It failed in a previous study that tested it in people more severely ill from the coronavirus. The new study was done in the United States, South Africa, Kenya, Brazil, Mexico and Peru. About 85% of the 389 participants were Hispanic, Black, Native American or other ethnic or racial minorities. These groups have been disproportionately hurt by the pandemic.About 12% given the drug needed a breathing machine or died within 28 days versus about 19% of patients given a placebo.Looked at separately, there were fewer deaths among those on the drug — 8.6% versus 10.4% on placebo — but the difference was too small to say it might not have been due to chance.It’s unclear how the results will be viewed; another drug that works in a similar way failed in an experiment rigorously testing it in COVID-19 patients but some less scientific, observational studies have suggested benefit.This is the third time this week that companies have announced positive results from studies testing COVID treatments via press releases. Companies often are required to disclose results that could affect their financial situation.On Monday, Eli Lilly reported benefits from a study testing its anti-inflammatory drug baricitinib when combined with the antiviral drug remdesivir. On Wednesday, it said interim results from very early testing suggested that its experimental antibody drug showed promise for helping clear the virus and possibly reducing the need for hospitalization in mild to moderately ill patients.
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Populist-ruled countries the United States, Brazil, Mexico, India and Britain are among the worst impacted, so far, in terms of coronavirus cases and deaths, prompting commentators and analysts to argue the pandemic could mark the beginning of the end for populism, whether of the political left or right.But in Europe, recent polling by the Politico Europe newspaper suggests liberal and establishment opponents would be premature in writing off populism. Support for populist parties has remained relatively stable since the pandemic struck the continent and there are signs that skepticism about the European Union, a key populist issue, is rising rather than ebbing.And in Europe, with the exception of Britain, populist governments in some countries, including Poland, Hungary and Austria, have been credited with doing a good job in curbing viral transmission and keeping deaths low, undermining establishment claims that populism has mismanaged the pandemic.A new book by British author and political commentator David Goodhart suggests post-pandemic populism is likely to remain a transfiguring political force for some time. In “Head Hand Heart: The Struggle for Dignity and Status in the 21st Century,” Goodhart, an analyst at Policy Exchange, a London-based research organization, argues “status inequality” will continue to drive a political rebellion that has already led to Brexit and the upending or disruption of establishment parties from Italy to Germany.In a previous book, “The Road to Somewhere,” published in 2017, Goodhart placed the roots of populism in a conflict over values, dividing voters into two groups. Those in the larger group feel they are far from somewhere. They are rooted in their communities, tend to be socially conservative and often didn’t attend college. Those in the smaller but more powerful group feel they could come from anywhere. They tend to be more metropolitan, socially liberal and, more often than not, university graduates.In his latest book he expands on the theme, dividing voters between the highly educated, the Heads, manual workers, the Hands, and those who mainly care for others, the Hearts. He maintains populism is a backlash against the Heads, who have become too powerful. “In the language of political cliché,” Goodhart writes, “the ‘brightest and the best’ today trump the ‘decent and hardworking.’ Qualities such as character, integrity, experience, common sense, courage and willingness to toil are by no means irrelevant, but they command relatively less respect.”FILE – People queue at a testing site amid the coronavirus pandemic in Southend-on-Sea, Britain, Sept. 16, 2020.That is building resentment, and not just when it comes to jobs or wealth. Alongside an income inequality there is a status inequality, which will continue to drive populism, along with different definitions of identity and clashes over the future shape of the European Union.Both euro-federalists, those who want closer political integration among the EU’s 27 member states, and populist euro-skeptics see political opportunities arising out of the coronavirus pandemic.The former says the crisis will bring home to people the reasons for greater political and economic integration — that the big challenges, from public health to climate change, require closer coordination and more centralized decision-making.But populists say the absence of solidarity and the squabbling among European nations during the pandemic is what many people will take away from the crisis. Deeper integration, they say, will just place more power into the hands of faraway elites, compounding Europe’s long-standing crisis of political accountability.Other close observers of European politics agree that just a dose of “more Europe” will allow populism not only to survive but likely thrive after the pandemic, whatever the results are of this November’s U.S. elections.“Populism is tied to the hollowing out of advanced democracies. Political elites have become estranged from voters after decades of declining participation in elections, in party membership, and in the civic activities that created links between the electorate and the government,” says Rosa Balfour, director of Carnegie Europe, a Brussels-based research group.Balfour says a political void has emerged, which populists have filled “bypassing the traditional institutions — from parliaments to newsrooms.”In a recent commentary for Carnegie Europe, Balfour says the populist challenge isn’t just on a national level but feeds through to the European Union, which is “unable to keep up with the transformations of the twenty-first century.” Populist politics “pose deeper questions about legitimacy, representation, and political participation. Who are ‘the people?’ Who decides? And for whose benefit? Filling those voids meaningfully requires a total rethink of the relationship between the local, national, EU, and global levels of governance — instead of the top-down reform the EU has habitually pursued.”
 
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Can mandatory masks offer enough protection in lecture halls so packed that late arrivals have to sit on the floor?  That’s what worries many students at the centuries-old Sorbonne University in Paris as the coronavirus is on the rebound across France.  At least a dozen COVID-19 clusters have emerged since French campuses and classrooms opened this month. The clutches of cases are a warning sign for countries elsewhere in Europe, where most universities are readying to resume teaching and research in coming weeks.  “We go back to university in conditions that are a bit extreme, and we fear we might get COVID-19,” Elise Gilbert, 20, who is studying literature at the Sorbonne, said of the overcrowding students encountered.  France’s experience so far stands in contrast to what’s happening in Britain, where virus-driven changes on campuses mean university life will look a lot different this term. Germany and Italy are also adapting their delivery of higher education in response to the pandemic.  The French government was determined to get people back to classrooms to bridge education inequities that the pandemic has exacerbated. The government also urged workers to return to offices and job sites to resuscitate the economy and to “learn to live with the virus.”  At universities, the main change this year is mandatory mask-wearing at all times. But keeping physical distances appears impossible in many places.  Some students are raising their grievances on Twitter, using the hashtag #Balancetafac (“Squeal on your uni”) to share pictures of packed classrooms and corridors.  They describe situations where there’s no soap to wash their hands and where rooms, sometimes with no windows to provide fresh air, are not being disinfected between lectures.  “We are doing our best to respect social distancing, but sometimes we can’t,” Corentin Renoult, a 20-year-old Sorbonne journalism student, said.  Nevertheless, the Sorbonne is maintaining in-person classes for the time being.  “It’s quite hard at the moment because we haven’t got any extra means,” Franziska Heimburger, assistant director of the university’s English department, said. “.We don’t have any more teachers, we don’t have any more space, so we basically have to teach as best we can.”  Heimburger said instructors won’t penalize students for pandemic-related absences. “I’ve had students who live with their grandparents and they are worried of taking (the virus) back home with them,” she said.  Many students also expressed anger when French authorities appeared to blame the country’s recent virus outbreaks mostly on students attending parties.  One factor in the overcrowding is more students are attending French universities. The number of students enrolled jumped by 270,000 to 2.8 million after the exam which allows high school students access to universities was canceled due to the pandemic. Students were instead granted access based on school grades, and many more qualified than usual.  The safety precautions differ broadly among schools. Some have strict public health measures in place, with small class size limits and a mix of in-person and online classes.  But others have had to temporarily shut down after dozens of students tested positive in multiple sites, from engineering to medical and business schools. They moved teaching online, as when the country was locked down at the height of its epidemic which has killed some 31,000 people in France.  In the UK, most universities do not begin their fall terms until late September or early October, and are readying big changes.  At the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, where the fall semester began Monday, many classes are being taught online — other than laboratory sessions or other practical instruction where hands-on learning is essential. Student societies are barred from meeting in person, and many students arriving from overseas will have to quarantine for two weeks in line with government protocols.  At University College London, only a quarter of the buildings will be occupied at one time. Teaching spaces will incorporate social distancing and everyone must wear face-masks. The university created an app for students to alert authorities if they have symptoms and plans to test up to 1,000 students and staff a day to keep the campus safe.  “I’ve got a public health expert team that are advising me when it’s appropriate to extend testing beyond those that are immediately symptomatic,” Michael Arthur, the president and provost at UCL. “So I think we’re reasonably confident if we do have an outbreak — and I’m sure we will have, we’re just playing with statistics — that we can move in and contain it very rapidly.”  Student housing has been adapted to allow those who test positive to self-isolate.  In Germany, most universities won’t start lectures before next month, and they have introduced numerous rules to ensure distancing, increased hygiene and bans on students’ parties. They are also expanding online teaching.  Many Italian universities are reopening with distance learning this fall. Priority for physical classrooms was being given to first-year students, to aid their transition.  In the United States, dozens of universities have emerged as virus hot spots. Although students are being spaced apart in classrooms and dining halls, the virus has continued to spread in cramped dorm halls and through off-campus parties that have been blamed for thousands of cases.  The surge has prompted some universities to send students home and cancel in-person instruction for the rest of the term. U.S. officials are urging against that approach, saying it could spark outbreaks elsewhere. Instead, universities are being urged to keep students where they are and temporarily move classes online. 
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