Wednesday, October 27th, 2021 

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov warns that the delivery and Ukraine’s first operational deployment of the Turkish Bayraktar TB2 in Donbas may “destabilize the situation” in the region. Ukraine carried out its first strikes against separatist forces using the Bayraktar drone yesterday. (Reuters) 

Ukrainian troops regain control of the village of Staromaryivka in the so-called “grey zone” between Ukraine and the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), according to DPR Foreign Minister Natalya Nikonorova. (TASS) 

Four policemen are killed and 263 more are injured during clashes with supporters of the banned far-right Islamic extremist Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan party in Lahore, Pakistan. (Al Jazeera) 

A report by the United Nations and the government of Papua New Guinea finds that thousands of Papuans from Indonesia have crossed into the remote border areas of western Papua New Guinea. In one of the areas, the sole police commander, Terry Dap, has asked the central government in Port Moresby to help reduce the influx of asylum seekers into Papua New Guinea. (RNZ) 

The African Union suspends Sudan in response to Monday’s military coup. (DW) 

The Central Bank of Brazil raises its interest rate by 150 basis points to 7.75 percent, its largest increase since 2002. (AFP via RFI) 

Singapore reports a record 5,324 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 184,419. (Today) 

Merck & Co. signs a licensing agreement with the UN-backed Medicines Patent Pool that will allow more companies to manufacture generic versions of its experimental oral antiviral COVID-19 treatment molnupiravir with a royalty-free license that will apply to 105 low- and middle-income countries. (Reuters) 

Saudi Arabia summons the Lebanese ambassador over “offensive” remarks about the war in Yemen made by Lebanese information minister George Kurdahi. (Arab News) 

Tajikistan approves the construction of a new US$10 million Chinese military base near its border with Afghanistan, and in a separate statement offers to hand over a pre-existing base to China and waive future rent payments on the base in exchange for military aid. The approval comes as the Tajik government expressed concerns about the worsening security situation along the border after the Taliban took over Afghanistan a few months prior. (RFE/RL) 

Following a meeting with European officials in Brussels, Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian announces that negotiations on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action will resume in November. Negotiations were halted following the United States’ withdrawal from the deal. (AFP via WION) 

The Brazilian Senate votes to charge President Jair Bolsonaro over his controversial handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. The charges include crimes against humanity, incitement to crime, falsification of documents and the violation of social rights. Brazil‘s COVID-19 death toll is second only to that of the United States. (BBC News) 

Protests continue for a second consecutive day across Ecuador due to an increase in the price of gasoline, as president Guillermo Lasso orders the deployment of security forces to highways in order to maintain order. Lasso also calls on indigenous populations and civil society groups to engage in dialogue. (Reuters) 

The budget proposed by the Socialist minority government of Prime Minister António Costa is rejected by the Assembly of the Republic for the first time in the country’s democratic history, following moves by the Left Bloc and the Communist Party to join the right-wing parties and reject the budget. It is expected that the President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa will dissolve the parliament and call for early elections. (AFP via France 24) 

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) fines Poland €1 million per day, for breaking the law by maintaining the disciplinary chamber of its Supreme Court. The ECJ says Poland has failed to comply with its order, and finds it might pose a “serious and irreparable harm to the legal order of the European Union”. The fine is the highest daily penalty the ECJ has ever imposed on any EU member state. (DW) 

Australian professional soccer player Josh Cavallo comes out as gay, becoming the only current openly gay top-flight male soccer player. (CNN) 

 
FDA advisers recommend Pfizer vaccine for kids ages 5 to 11 The Food and Drug Administration’s advisory committee on Tuesday made a non-binding recommendation to authorize the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for children ages 5 to 11. The panel said the potential benefits outweighed the risks of a rare cardiac side effect. The vote was 17 to 0, with one abstention. The pediatric vaccine’s step toward approval came more than 10 months after the first U.S. adults got their COVID-19 vaccines. Approval for pediatric vaccines is seen as crucial to protecting children in school and in holiday gatherings during an ongoing pandemic that has killed more than 736,000 people in the United States, according to The Washington Post. “To me, it seems that it is a hard decision but a clear one,” said Patrick S. Moore, a microbiologist at the University of Pittsburgh, noting that 94 children in the age group have died of COVID-19. THE WASHINGTON POST 

Senators grill YouTube, Snap, TikTok leaders on damaging posts Lawmakers questioned YouTube, Snap, and TikTok on data privacy, damaging posts, and other issues on Tuesday, shifting attention briefly to other social media companies after weeks of criticism of Facebook for allegedly putting profits above user safety. A bipartisan group of senators told executives of the companies they feared the firms’ software was driving young users to inappropriate posts, and companies were not doing enough to remove dangerous content. “Everything that you do is to add users, especially kids, and keep them on your apps for longer,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.). The companies said they were working hard to protect child users. Several lawmakers said their staff had accessed harmful content with ease, sometimes logged in as a teenager, echoing concerns about Facebook that were raised by whistleblower Frances Haugen. THE NEW YORK TIMES 

Democrats want $500 billion for climate programs in spending bill  The White House has told several congressional allies that the Democrats’ spending bill will include between $500 billion and $555 billion for climate change programs, Politico reported Tuesday, citing four people familiar with the matter. A senior Biden administration official declined to confirm the amount, but said the White House sees “the ball moving forward.” Politico‘s sources said the bill will not include a proposed system of penalties intended to get power companies to increase renewable energy, a program opposed by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.). It will be replaced with grants, tax credits, and loans to help steel, cement, and aluminum companies decarbonize. President Biden has pledged to cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions 50 to 52 percent below 2005 levels this decade. He will attend a global climate summit next week in Scotland. POLITICO 

Democrats consider taxes on billionaires, corporations to pay for spending plan  Senate Democrats rushed to try to finalize a deal on a major spending plan before President Biden leaves on a foreign tour this week. The Build Back Better proposal could cost $1.75 trillion over a decade, and some Democrats are pushing a tax hike that would raise more than half of its revenue from the 10 richest people in America, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. The “billionaire” tax proposal would make the 700 wealthiest taxpayers the main revenue source for the spending plan, which would expand the social safety net and boost Biden’s effort to fight climate change. Leading Democrats also are proposing a 15-percent minimum tax on corporations posting more than $1 billion in profits over three years, and a 3 percent “surtax” on millionaires earning more than $5 million annually. REUTERS 

Biden mocks Virginia Republican for refusing to campaign with Trump  President Biden campaigned with Democrat Terry McAuliffe in Alexandria, Virginia, on Tuesday night, a week before Virginia chooses its next governor. Polls show a tight race between McAuliffe and his Republican rival, former private equity executive Glenn Youngkin, and Biden pointedly asked the crowed why Youngkin is not campaigning with the head of his party, former President Donald Trump. “Is there a problem with Trump being here? Is he embarrassed?” Biden said. Biden seemed to be “trying to goad Donald Trump to weigh in” as the campaign ends, CNN’s Jeff Zeleny tweeted. He also touted McAuliffe’s accomplishments as governor, called Youngkin a “Trump acolyte,” and hit Trump on his claims of election fraud, his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, and the Jan. 6 insurrection. POLITICO 

‘Dune’ sequel confirmed for 2023 release Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures have confirmed that director Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s classic sci-fi novel Dune will get a second installment. Dune: Part Two is scheduled to hit theaters in October 2023. “I just received news from Legendary that we are officially moving forward with Dune: Part Two,” Villeneuve told The Hollywood Reporter. “It was a dream of mine to adapt Frank Herbert’s Dune and I have the fans, the cast, and crew, Legendary and Warner Bros. to thank for supporting this dream. This is only the beginning.” Dune fans had been anxious about whether this second movie would go forward, since the new film doesn’t adapt the entire book and is even referred to on screen as Dune: Part One. But the film’s solid $40.1 million in domestic ticket sales in its opening weekend appeared to have helped, especially considering it was also available to stream on HBO Max. THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER 

Japan’s Princess Mako marries commoner, loses imperial status Japanese Princess Mako lost her royal status on Tuesday after quietly marrying a commoner, Kei Komuro. “For me, Kei-san is a priceless person. For us, our marriage was a necessary choice to live while cherishing our hearts,” Mako said in a televised news conference, using the traditional honorific in speaking of her husband. The couple announced in 2017 that they planned to get married the following year, but a financial dispute involving his mother resulted in an extended delay. Some opposed the marriage. Because of the criticism, Mako declined a $1.23 million payment she was entitled to for leaving the imperial family. Mako, a niece of Emperor Naruhito, and Komuro met when they were classmates at Tokyo’s International Christian University. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

Tuesday,  October 26th, 2021 

It is revealed that yesterday’s explosion on a bus in Mpigi District was carried out by an ADF suicide bomber. The attacker was killed, and three other people were wounded. (France 24) 

Military leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan says that he and his forces seized power in an attempt to avoid a civil war in Sudan, saying that “the dangers we witnessed last week could have led the country into civil war”. Meanwhile, anti-coup protests occur across the country. (Reuters) 

Deposed prime minister Abdalla Hamdok and his wife are released by the military. However, several government officials continue to be detained and face trial. (AFP via Gulf News) 

Ukraine confirms it has carried out its first drone strikes using the Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2, destroying a pro-Russian separatist D-30 howitzer. A Ukrainian soldier is killed and another is wounded by rebel artillery near Hranitne in Donetsk Oblast. (The Moscow Times) 

Princess Mako of Akishino marries commoner Kei Komuro, thereby nullifying her imperial title under Japanese law and becoming Mako Komuro. (AFP via France 24) 

A cyberattack affects gas stations across Iran, rendering government-issued electronic cards used to buy subsidized fuel unuseable and leaving motorists stranded in long queues. No group immediately claims responsibility for the attack. Iran blames an Two people are killed and another is missing as floods triggered by a powerful storm is affecting Catania, Sicily, Italy. Roads have been completely submerged in parts of the region. (BBC News) 

Belgium reintroduces the usage of face masks at public places and will expanding the usage of COVID Safe Ticket to bars, restaurants, and fitness club beginning next week amid a rise of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. (AP) 

Russia reports a record 1,106 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll to 232,775. (The Moscow Times) 

Ukraine reports a record 734 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll to 64,936. (RFE/RL) 

Bahrain approves the usage of the Sinopharm BIBP COVID-19 vaccine for children between the ages of 3 and 11 years old. (Khaleej Times) 

The city of Lanzhou is placed under lockdown due to a cluster of COVID-19 cases. The city, which has a population of over four million, accounts for roughly a fifth of new cases reported in China since October 17. (NDTV) 

The African Union will purchase 110 million doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine in a deal brokered by the United States, which will defer delivery of some doses intended for the U.S. in order to facilitate the deal. (Al Jazeera) 

Poland increases the number of soldiers deployed on its border with Belarus from 6,000 to “about 10,000” in order to prevent the flow of further illegal crossings by Middle Eastern migrants being flown in by the Belarusian government. The troop surge comes after two border guards were hospitalized over the weekend after a group of 70 migrants stormed a section of the border. (EU Observer) 

The ASEAN Summit takes place virtually without the participation of Myanmar, following the bloc’s decision to disinvite the country’s military junta chief Min Aung Hlaing for refusing to cooperate on a peace process. (AFP via France 24) 

A Senate committee approves a resolution to gain access to Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s internet activity. The Senate also votes today on whether to indict Bolsonaro with multiple charges, including charges accusing him of mismanagement of the pandemic, charlatanism and crimes against humanity. (Reuters) 

At least 150 people are arrested by European and U.S. authorities during a joint crackdown on traders of drugs, weapons and other illicit goods on darknet e-commerce sites. The majority of those arrested are from Germany, the U.S. and the United Kingdom. (AP) 

The End

Tuesday,  October 26th, 2021 

At least 150 people are arrested by European and U.S. authorities during a joint crackdown on traders of drugs, weapons and other illicit goods on darknet e-commerce sites. The majority of those arrested are from Germany, U.S. and the United Kingdom. (Reuters) 

The city of Lanzhou is placed under lockdown due to a cluster of COVID-19 cases. The city, which has a population of over four million, accounts for roughly a fifth of new cases reported in China since 17 October. (NDTV) 

Greenhouse gases hit record level despite drop during coronavirus lockdowns  Greenhouse gas concentrations surged to a record level last year despite a temporary decline in emissions during coronavirus lockdowns, the United Nations said Monday ahead of the organization’s climate talks in Glasgow, Scotland. A new U.N. World Meteorological Organization (WMO) report found that carbon dioxide levels increased by more than the average rate of the last decade in 2020, reaching 413.2 parts per million. WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said that the rate of increase would push up temperatures “far in excess” of the 2015 Paris Agreement target of 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. “We are way off track,” he said. “We need to revisit our industrial, energy, and transport systems and whole way of life.” REUTERS 

Yesterday’s explosion on a bus in Mpigi District was carried out by an ADF suicide bomber. The attacker was the only fatality while three people were wounded. (France24)

Military leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan says that he and his forces seized power in an attempt to avoid a civil war in Sudan, saying that “the dangers we witnessed last week could have led the country into civil war”. Meanwhile, anti-coup protests occur across the country. (Reuters) 

Princess Mako of Akishino marries commoner Kei Komuro, thereby nullifying her imperial title in accordance with Japanese law. (AFP via France 24) 

Russia reports a record 1,106 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 232,775. (The Moscow Times) 

The African Union will buy 110 million doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine in a deal brokered by the United States, which will defer delivery of some doses first intended for internal use as part of the deal. (Al Jazeera) 

Poland increases the number of soldiers deployed on its border with Belarus from 6,000 to “about 10,000” to prevent the flow of further illegal crossings by Middle Eastern migrants. The troop surge comes after two border guards were hospitalized over the weekend after a group of 70 migrants stormed a section of the border. (EU Observer) 

Facebook whistleblower testifies to U.K. lawmakers  Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen testified to British lawmakers on Monday, urging them to crack down on the spread of hate speech and other harmful content on social media platforms before it is too late. “Right now, Facebook is closing the door on us being able to act. We have a slight window of time to regain people control over AI,” Haugen said. Haugen repeated an allegation that she made recently to Congress, saying, “Facebook has been unwilling to accept even a little sliver of profit being sacrificed for safety.” Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said that was “just not true.” Facebook said Monday in a statement that it had “reduced the amount of hate speech that people see by half this year.” CNBC 

Biden administration halts aid to Sudan after coup The Biden administration plans to suspend $700 million in economic assistance to Sudan in response to a military coup in the northeast African nation, the State Department said Monday. The announcement came shortly after the military arrested Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and other members of the government. The U.S. is calling for Sudan’s military to respect “the aspirations of the Sudanese people to restore the country’s path to democracy,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said. The military declared a state of emergency as protesters took to the streets in the capital, Khartoum, calling for a return to the transition to democracy that started with the ouster of longtime dictator Omar Hassan al-Bashir more than two years ago. Soldiers responding to the protest killed at least three people. THE WASHINGTON POSTREUTERS 

Gunman kills 2 at Boise shopping mall A shooting at a Boise, Idaho, shopping mall on Monday left two people dead and five others injured, including the suspect, Boise police said. A police officer who was among those injured was treated and released from a hospital. The unidentified gunman also was wounded in an exchange of gunfire with police and hospitalized in critical condition. The shootout occurred after officers responding to a report of gunfire in the mall encountered a person matching the suspect’s description, Boise Police Department Chief Ryan Lee said. Police did not immediately identify the people killed or injured, and Lee said it was too early in the investigation to determine a motive. Boise Mayor Lauren McLean thanked shopkeepers who “reacted so quickly to take care of folks that were there,” saying they “showed in a tough and chaotic moment, how much you care.” IDAHO STATESMAN 

Trial showed Moderna vaccine safe, effective in children 6 to 11 Moderna said Monday that its COVID-19 vaccine was shown to be generally safe and effective in a clinical trial involving children aged 6 to 11. The company said it would submit the results to the Food and Drug Administration and its regulatory counterparts in Europe and elsewhere, seeking emergency authorization to administer the shots to children in that age group. The Moderna vaccine currently is authorized in the U.S. for people 18 and older. The company already has asked the FDA to authorize giving its vaccine to children aged 12 to 17, but a decision has been delayed as the agency assesses the risk of a rare inflammation of the heart. Pfizer and BioNTech are expected to get authorization for the use of their vaccine in children 5 to 11 within days or weeks. THE WALL STREET JOURNAL 

Tesla’s market cap hits $1 trillion for 1st time Tesla shares jumped by nearly 13 percent on Monday, vaulting the electric-car maker’s market capitalization above $1 trillion for the first time. The spike followed car rental company Hertz’s announcement that it planned to buy 100,000 Tesla cars by the end of 2022. After the purchase, electric vehicles will make up 20 percent of the Hertz fleet worldwide. Tesla shares, which bottomed out below $100 in the early days of the pandemic, settled above $1,000 for the first time, closing at $1,024.86. Tesla, the world’s first trillion-dollar automaker, is now worth more than General Motors, Toyota Motor, Ford, Volkswagen, BMW, Honda, and several other automakers combined. The surge appeared to surprise Tesla CEO Elon Musk. “Strange that moved valuation,” he said via Twitter, “as Tesla is very much a production ramp problem, not a demand problem.” THE NEW YORK TIMESREUTERS 

White House launches program letting private citizens sponsor resettling Afghans  The Biden administration on Monday announced a new initiative allowing private citizens to sponsor resettling Afghan refugees. The program could shore up the U.S. resettlement system that proved weak as it was tested by thousands of recent arrivals, Roll Call said. Under the arrangement, groups of citizens can form what are called “sponsor circles” to help refugees with basic services and tasks traditionally handled by nonprofits — like securing housing, accessing government benefits, and providing food and clothing — during their first 90 days in the U.S. Local communities and organizations like Welcome.US, Airbnb, Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services, among others, will also assist in the program, according to ABC News. ROLL CALLABC NEWS 

NYC police union challenges vaccine mandate in court New York City’s largest police union on Monday filed a lawsuit asking a judge to let unvaccinated police officers keep working despite a vaccine mandate imposed by Mayor Bill de Blasio last week. The Police Benevolent Association of New York said the city should give police officers the option of testing regularly, arguing that a “test-or-vax” rule would protect public safety. On the day the lawsuit was filed in Staten Island, where many officers live, a crowd that included fire, police, and sanitation workers marched across the Brooklyn Bridge to City Hall, chanting, “We Will Not Comply.” COVID-19 was the most common cause of officer duty-related deaths in 2020 and 2021, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page. THE NEW YORK TIMES 

Monday,  October 25th, 2021 

Petrol prices hit a record high of £1.4294 per litre (equivalent to $7.45 per gallon) in the United Kingdom amid fuel shortages. (BBC News) 

The death toll from the clashes between the Somali National Army and Sufi paramilitary group Ahlu Sunna Waljama’a in Galmudug increases to 120. (Reuters) 

Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and other senior members of the civilian government are detained by the military in a coup d’état. The military also seizes state television and blocks internet access. Thousands of people gather in Khartoum to protest the coup. (The Guardian) 

Ten civilians are killed and 140 more are injured as mass protests occur following the coup. (BBC News) 

Chairman of the Sovereignty Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan announces a state of emergency and the dissolution of the Sovereignty Council and the government. (Saudi Gazette) 

It is announced that around 1.5 million people have visited the Expo 2020 event in Dubai since its opening on October 1. (Al Arabiya) 

In a near-return to normalcy, operating hours restrictions on bars and restaurants have been lifted in cities across the Greater Tokyo Area and Osaka for the first time in 11 months, also allowing these establishments to resume their alcohol sales at any time during their business hours as the number of COVID-19 cases decreases. (The Asahi Shimbun) 

Romania imposes a nationwide curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. for those who have been unvaccinated or who have not recovered from COVID-19 and makes face masks mandatory in all public venues in an attempt to reduce the number of COVID-19 cases. The country also begins to implement a mandatory green certificate for shopping malls, restaurants, public institutions and workplaces. (See News) 

Mexico begins vaccinations for at-risk children in Mexico City. (La Prisna Latina) 

Hours after the coup d’état in Sudan, the United States Department of State suspends $700 million worth of aid to the country until the restoration of the civilian government. (AFP via CNA) 

A court in Munich, Germany, sentences an Islamic State-affiliated 30-year-old woman to 10 years in prison for allowing a 5-year old Yazidi girl to die from thirst in Iraq. The woman was found guilty on multiple charges, including some related to terrorism. (CBS News) 

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi announces that the state of emergency, which was imposed in April 2017, will be lifted. (The New York Times) 

Facebook and Alphabet Inc., which owns Youtube, announce that they have removed a video of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro claiming that vaccines cause AIDS after the video was found to have violated their respective company’s policies about COVID-19 vaccines. (Reuters) 

October 25th, 2021 

Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and other senior members of the civilian government are detained by the military in a coup d’état. The military also seizes state television and blocks internet access. Thousands gather in Khartoum to protest the coup. (The Guardian) 

Three civilians are killed and 80 more injured as mass protests erupt after the coup. (Al Jazeera) 

Chairman of the Sovereignty Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan announces a state of emergency and the dissolution of the Sovereignty Council and the government. (Reuters) 

An explosion on a bus in Mpigi District, kills one person and injures several others. (Al Jazeera) 

Saturday’s bombing of a Kampala restaurant is claimed by Islamic State. (Reuters) 

The death toll from the clashes between the Somali National Army and Sufi paramilitary group Ahlu Sunna Waljama’a in Galmudug rise to 120. (Reuters) 

In near return to normalcy, operating hours restrictions on bars and restaurants have been lifted in cities across the Greater Tokyo Area and Osaka for the first time in eleven months, which also allowing establishments to resume their alcohol sales at any time during their business hours as the number of COVID-19 cases decreases. (The Asahi Shimbun) 

Romania imposes a nationwide curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. for those who have been unvaccinated or unrecovered from COVID-19 and mandatory face masks in all public venues in attempt to curb the spike of COVID-19 cases. It also begins to implement a mandatory green certificate for entering shopping malls, restaurants, public institutions or going to work. (See News) 

Russia reports a record 37,930 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 8.279 million. (Emirates News Agency) 

The Biden administration signs an presidential proclamation requiring international travellers to be fully vaccinated using any WHO-approved COVID-19 vaccines and allows “mix-and-match” jabs. The proclamation also requiring unvaccinated Americans and immigrants to tested negative for COVID-19 one day before departure. These rules will take effect on November 8. (Financial Times) 

A court in Munich, Germany sentences an IS-affiliated woman to 10 years in prison for allowing a young Yazidi girl to die from thirst in Iraq. The woman was found guilty on multiple charges, some related to terrorism. (Reuters) 

Sudan military detains prime minister in apparent coup Sudan’s military detained Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, along with cabinet members and other civilian leaders, in an apparent coup that threatened to derail the northeast African nation’s fragile democratic transition. Military forces put Hamdok under house arrest, then moved him to “an unknown location” after he refused to “endorse the coup,” the country’s Ministry of Culture and Information said in a Facebook post. Internet services were disrupted in the capital Khartoum and other parts of the country. Protesters filled Khartoum’s streets early Monday. Smoke from burning tires filled the air. The turmoil came days after the capital’s biggest pro-democracy protests since the 2019 wave of popular anger that forced out longtime authoritarian ruler Omar Hassan al-Bashir. Since then, the country has been ruled by a civilian-military council. THE NEW YORK TIMESTHE WASHINGTON POST 

Fauci: Coronavirus vaccines likely available to kids aged 5 to 11 in November Coronavirus vaccines should be available for children aged 5 to 11 by mid-November, top U.S. infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday on ABC’s This Week. Food and Drug Administration officials are reviewing an application from Pfizer and BioNTech to authorize their two-dose vaccine for children in the age group. The FDA’s panel of outsiders is scheduled to consider the vaccine on Oct. 26, and the FDA usually follows their recommendations. After that, advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will weigh in, and the CDC is expected to quickly follow up with a final decision. “If all goes well, and we get the regulatory approval and the recommendation from the CDC, it’s entirely possible if not very likely that vaccines will be available for children from 5 to 11 within the first week or two of November,” Fauci said. REUTERS 

Jan. 6 rally organizers implicate GOP lawmakers in planning Two people who helped plan the Jan. 6 rally in Washington that preceded the Capitol insurgency are sharing their knowledge with the House Jan. 6 committee, and they have “explosive allegations that multiple members of Congress were intimately involved in planning both [former President Donald] Trump’s efforts to overturn his election loss and the Jan. 6 events that turned violent,” Rolling Stone reported Sunday. “I remember Marjorie Taylor Greene specifically,” one organizer told Rolling Stone. Along with Greene (R-Ga.), both planners said GOP Reps. Paul Gosar (Ariz.), Lauren Boebert (Colo.), Mo Brooks (Ala.), Madison Cawthorn (N.C.), Andy Biggs (Ariz.), and Louie Gohmert (Texas), or their top staffers, participated in the conversations. Greene “had nothing to do with planning of any protest,” a spokesman said. ROLLING STONE 

Husband starts hunger strike on behalf of U.K. charity worker jailed in Iran The husband of a U.K. charity worker detained in Iran started a hunger strike on Sunday after an Iranian court extended her prison term another year. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has already been detained for more than five years. She was arrested at Tehran’s airport in April 2016 and later convicted on a charge of plotting to overthrow the country’s government, which she and human rights groups deny. Her husband, Richard Ratcliffe, launched his hunger strike outside the British government’s Foreign Office in central London. Two years ago, he fasted for 15 days outside the Iranian Embassy. He said that was what got Iran to release their 7-year-old daughter, Gabriella. “We are now giving the U.K. government the same treatment,” he said, adding that Iran was the “primary abuser” in the case but that the “U.K. is also letting us down.” THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

Trial starts in lawsuit over Charlottesville rally violence  A long-delayed lawsuit gets underway in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Monday to determine whether the far-right organizers of the August 2017 “Unite the Right” rally plotted for the event to turn violent. The gathering started with a torch-lit march during which participants chanted racist and antisemitic slogans. The next day, a rally supporter drove into a crowd of counterprotesters, killing one woman and injuring dozens of others. The plaintiffs accuse the two dozen organizers of intentionally fomenting the violence that left them injured. The 24 defendants, including 10 far-right organizations, white supremacists, neo-Nazis, Klan sympathizers, and other extremists, have argued that rally participants involved in clashes were acting in self-defense. The plaintiffs are asking for unspecified financial damages. THE NEW YORK TIMES 

Yellen says inflation will improve by middle or end of 2022 Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Sunday she expects inflation to ease by “the middle to end of next year,” but that rates could remain abnormally high for months. “The COVID shock to the economy has caused disruptions that we’ll be working through over the next year,” Yellen told CNN’s State of the Union. “And, of course, Americans have not seen inflation like we have experienced recently in a long time.” Yellen also pushed back on the idea that the U.S. is losing control of inflation. “As we get back to normal, expect that to end,” she added of the high rates. The most recent Consumer Price Index indicated that consumer prices rose 5.4 percent in the past 12 months. POLITICOCNN 

October 24th, 2021 

Clashes between the Somali National Army and Sufi paramilitary group Ahlu Sunna Waljama’a in Galmudug kill at least 30 people and injure more than 100 others. (Reuters) 

Eastern Europe surpasses 20 million cases of COVID-19, with Russia, Ukraine and Romania reporting the most deaths. (Al Jazeera) 

Uzbeks head to the polls to elect their president. Analysts say that incumbent Shavkat Mirziyoyev has his victory for a second term secured as the country struggles with its tourism industry and security issues on the Afghanistan–Uzbekistan border since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. (Deutsche Welle) 

Guatemala imposes a month-long dawn to dusk curfew on the eastern Izabal Department following two days of protests over a new mining project in the region. (The Washington Post) 

The End

Sunday, October 24th, 2021 

Saudi Arabia sets net-zero carbon emission target ahead of COP26 Saudi Arabia aims to reduce pollution to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2060, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said Saturday at a Saudi forum ahead of the United Nations’ 26th UN Climate Change Conference, COP26, in Glasgow. The prince said the oil-rich nation would pursue the goal with a varied approach that includes curbing emissions, planting 450 million trees, and rehabilitating degraded lands to expand protected areas. Prince Charles warned in a virtual keynote speech at the forum that there is a “dangerously narrow window” to speed up the world’s “green recovery” to avoid the most devastating effects of climate change, and said Saudi Arabia’s work on “energy transition is critically important.” CNN 

Scientists at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa announce the discovery of 2M0437b, one of the youngest exoplanets ever found at a distant star. The exoplanet was discovered using the Subaru Telescope at the observatory on Mauna Kea. (SciTech) 

Colombian forces capture country’s most wanted drug lord Colombian military forces and police captured the South American nation’s most wanted drug trafficker, Dairo Antonio Úsuga, in his rural hideout near the Panama border on Saturday. Úsuga, better known as Otoniel, is the leader of Colombia’s largest criminal gang. He became the head of the Gulf Clan after his brother, its previous leader, was killed by police during a raid nearly 10 years ago. The government had offered a $800,000 reward for confirmed information on how to find him. The United States had placed a $5 million bounty on him. “This is the biggest blow against drug trafficking in our country this century,” President Iván Duque Márquez said in a televised message. “This blow is only comparable to the fall of Pablo Escobar in the 1990s.” BBC NEWS 

Facebook platforms spread religious hatred in India Inflammatory content jumped by 300 percent on Facebook’s products in India as religious protests swept the country in the early months of 2020, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday, citing an internal Facebook report. A Hindu man in Delhi told Facebook researchers he got “very dangerous” messages on Facebook and WhatsApp, such as, “Hindus are in danger, Muslims are about to kill us.” A Muslim user in Mumbai said there was “so much hatred going on” he feared for his life. In February 2019, two Facebook employees set up a dummy account with the profile of a 21-year-old woman in North India to gauge the user experience. When violence flared in the India-Pakistan territorial dispute in Kashmir, the Facebook account was inundated with nationalist propaganda and anti-Muslim hate speech. THE WALL STREET JOURNAL 

The Canadian Coast Guard and local firefighters combat a fire on board the MV Zim Kingston, off Victoria, British Columbia. The fire, which started yesterday, is focused on ten containers as authorities say that the ship itself is not on fire. (Washington Post) 

Uzbeks head to the polls to elect their president. Analysts say incumbent Shavkat Mirziyoyev has his victory for a second term secured as the country struggles with its tourism industry and security issues on the Afghanistan–Uzbekistan border since the Taliban takeover. (Deutsche Welle) 

U.S. drone strike kills senior al Qaeda leader The U.S. military said Saturday that it killed a senior al Qaeda leader, Abdul Hamid al-Matar, with a drone strike Friday in northwest Syria. Army Maj. John Rigsbee, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command, said al-Matar’s death will disrupt the Islamist terrorist organization’s “ability to further plot and carry out global attacks threatening U.S. citizens, our partners, and innocent civilians.” Rigsbee added that al Qaeda “uses Syria as a base for threats reaching into Syria, Iraq, and beyond.” Two days before the airstrike, a U.S. military outpost in southern Syria was attacked with drones and rockets, although there were no American casualties. Iranian-backed forces commonly target U.S. forces with drones and rocket fire in eastern Syria and Iraq. NBC NEWS 

Clashes between the Somali National Army and Sufi paramilitary group Ahlu Sunna Waljama’a leave at least 30 people dead and more than 100 others injured in Galmudug. (Reuters) 

Turkey calls for departure of U.S. ambassadors and 9 other envoys Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday he ordered his government to declare the United States and nine other Western countries “persona non grata at once,” after they signed a joint statement demanding the “urgent release” of imprisoned philanthropist Osman Kavala. The ambassadors of the U.S., Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and New Zealand issued the statement on Monday calling for a “just and speedy” resolution to the case against Kavala, who has been in prison since 2017 after being charged with financing 2018 protests in Turkey and participating in a failed 2016 coup. Kavala was acquitted in 2020 on protest charges, but the decision was overturned this year. Kavala has denied all the allegations against him. REUTERS 

2 children die in Texas drag-racing accident A drag racing vehicle veered off a track in Texas on Saturday and hit spectators, killing two children and injuring eight other people. A 6-year-old boy was pronounced dead at the track. An 8-year-old boy died later at a hospital. The 34-year-old driver was hospitalized in stable condition. The accident occurred at “Airport Race Wars 2,” an event held on a makeshift track at Kerrville Aviation at the Kerrville-Kerr County Airport, 65 miles northwest of San Antonio. Investigators said the driver lost control of his vehicle and drove off the runway that was being used as a racetrack, and veered into parked vehicles and spectators. NBC NEWS 

Eastern Europe surpasses 20 million cases of COVID-19, with Russia, Ukraine and Romania reporting the most deaths among the most five affected countries in the region. (Al Jazeera) 

Saturday, October 23rd, 2021 

U.S. reports record migrant apprehensions at southern border Federal authorities apprehended more than 1.7 million migrants along the U.S.-Mexico border over the 12 months that ended in September, the most ever in a single fiscal year, according to Department of Homeland Security data released Friday. The surge peaked in the summer. About 61 percent of those caught at the border were sent right back to Mexico or their home country under a pandemic-era policy designed to curb the spread of the coronavirus. The policy, enacted by the Trump administration in March 2020, has resulted in a higher rate of repeat border-crossing attempts, as many of those sent back simply try again. In September, 26 percent of those caught illegally crossing the border had tried before, Customs and Border Protection said. CBS NEWS 

Supreme Court declines to block Texas abortion law, agrees to hear challenges The Supreme Court on Friday said it would let Texas continue enforcing a new law that bans most abortions in the state, but hear arguments in the case on Nov. 1. The justices first will consider whether the Justice Department and abortion providers can pursue lawsuits challenging the ban in federal court. The law prohibits abortions after fetal cardiac activity can be detected at about six weeks, before most women know they’re pregnant. The ban has resulted in an 80 percent reduction in abortions in Texas, according to women’s health clinics. Justice Sonia Sotomayor said the law was “enacted in open disregard of the constitutional rights of women seeking abortion care in Texas.” Court precedents guarantee abortion rights until fetal viability, at about 24 weeks. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

Film crew complained of working conditions before fatal accident A half-dozen crew members walked off the New Mexico set of Rust hours before actor Alec Baldwin fatally shot cinematographer Halyna Hutchins with a prop gun, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday. Hutchins reportedly had advocated for better working conditions for her team after complaints of long hours and other issues. There had been two misfires on the prop gun on Saturday and one the previous week, a person familiar with the matter told the Times. “There was a serious lack of safety meetings on this set,” the person said. An assistant producer reportedly handed Baldwin the prop gun, a Colt revolver, before a scene being filmed at Bonanza Creek Ranch outside Santa Fe, and told him it was “cold,” meaning it was understood to be loaded with blanks and not live rounds. LOS ANGELES TIMES 

Clashes continue for the second day in Lahore, Pakistan, as the banned far-right Islamic extremist political party Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan is demonstrating to pressure the government to release its leader Saad Hussain Rizvi, who was arrested last year. Three protesters and two policemen were killed yesterday during the clashes and two protesters are killed today. (Al Jazeera) 

IS claims responsibility for the killing of 16 civilians during an assault at a village in Beni, Democratic Republic of the Congo, three days ago. (Reuters) 

Namibia suspends the usage of the Russian made Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine amid reports from South Africa that the vaccine carries a risk of causing HIV infections in men. (WION) 

Russia reports a record for the fifth consecutive day of 1,075 deaths from COVID-19, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 229,528. The country also reports a record for the third consecutive day of 37,678 new cases of COVID-19, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 8.2 million. (ANI News) 

The percentage of the population that is fully vaccinated in South Korea surpasses 70%, allowing the government to ease their COVID-19-related restrictions in November. (The Straits Times) 

At a rally in central Budapest, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán accuses the United States, the European Union, and philanthropist George Soros of trying to meddle in the upcoming parliamentary elections. The accusations come as opinion polls show Orbán’s alliance Fidesz–KDNP and the rival United Opposition polling neck-and-neck. (Al Jazeera) 

The trial of Matteo Salvini opens in Palermo, Italy. Salvini is accused of kidnapping and abuse of office when he ordered the detaining of 147 migrants at sea in August 2019, when he was serving as minister of the interior. Salvini said that the decision was agreed upon with the government, including then-prime minister Giuseppe Conte. (France24) 

Colombian police arrest Dario Antonio Úsuga (alias “Otoniel”), a leader of the Clan del Golfo drug cartel, in the town of Necoclí. Úsuga has been listed by authorities as one of the country’s most-wanted drug traffickers. (AFP via CNA) 

Lev Parnas, a former Giuliani ally, convicted on campaign finance charges Former Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas was convicted Friday of illegally funneling money to U.S. political campaigns to gain influence and bolster a marijuana business. The Soviet-born Parnas and his co-conspirator, Andrey Kukushkin, tried to “manipulate the United States political system for their own financial gain,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said. Kukushkin also was convicted. The men directed money to American politicians during the 2018 midterms aiming to increase the marijuana business’ profits, Williams said. Parnas and another associate, Igor Fruman, also collaborated with Giuliani to find information that could damage President Biden’s campaign, to help former President Donald Trump. That scheme led to the first of Trump’s two impeachments. USA TODAY 

Astros win ALCS to advance to World Series The Houston Astros advanced to the World Series for the third time in five seasons on Friday with a 5-0 victory over the Boston Red Sox, winning the American League Championship Series. Yordan Alvarez, who was named ALCS MVP, drove in the first run with a double, and later hit a triple and scored again. Right fielder Kyle Tucker put the game away with a three-run homer. The Astros will go after the club’s second championship against either the Atlanta Braves or the Los Angeles Dodgers, with Game 1 of the World Series scheduled for Tuesday. “We feel like we deserve this, and we’re together in this,” second baseman Jose Altuve, whose Game 4 eighth-inning home run turned the series’ momentum, said. USA TODAY 

FDA scientists say Pfizer vaccine’s efficacy in children outweighs risks Food and Drug Administration scientists said Friday that the likely benefits of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for 5- to 11-year-olds outweighed the risks, including rare cases of heart inflammation. If the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sign off on the kid-sized doses of the Pfizer vaccine, it will be the first COVID-19 vaccine available to people that young. Also on Friday, Pfizer and BioNTech said their vaccine was 90.7 percent effective against coronavirus in clinical trials of children from 5 to 11, who were given either two 10-microgram doses or a placebo. The doses were a third as large as those given to people 12 and up. Sixteen of the trial participants who received the placebo got COVID, compared to three who were vaccinated. REUTERS 

New whistleblower says Facebook put profit before safety A second Facebook whistleblower has submitted an affidavit to the Securities and Exchange Commission with more allegations that the social media giant prioritized growth and profits over fighting hate speech and misinformation, The Washington Post reported Friday after obtaining a copy of the document. The unidentified new whistleblower, who once worked on Facebook’s Integrity team, said Facebook communications official Tucker Bounds at one point shrugged off the controversy over Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. According to the whistleblower, Bounds said lawmakers would “get pissy” about misinformation spread on Facebook, then “move onto something else. Meanwhile we are printing money in the basement.” Bounds said it was hard to respond to an “empty accusation” from a “faceless person.” THE WASHINGTON POST 

Dow rises to its 1st record high since August The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at an all-time high on Friday after Wall Street’s third straight week of gains. The Dow rose by 74 points or 0.2 percent to 35,677.02, its first record since Aug. 16. The S&P 500, which set a record on Thursday, edged back by 0.1 percent on Friday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell by 0.8 percent. The Dow’s gains came as many investors shifted away from tech stocks and bought blue-chips like American Express, which rose by 5.4 percent after a strong earnings report. Intel and Snap fell after posting disappointing earnings, dragging down the Nasdaq. Despite some struggles among tech companies, earnings season has been strong so far. CNBC 

Robert Durst charged with murder of wife Kathie Durst New York police have charged millionaire real estate heir Robert Durst with second-degree murder in the death of his wife, Kathie Durst, who disappeared in 1982, authorities confirmed Friday. A state police investigator filed the complaint on Oct. 19 in Lewisboro, New York, where the Dursts lived when Kathie Durst disappeared, Westchester District Attorney Mimi Rocah’s office said in a statement. Durst, 78, was sentenced to life in prison without parole last week for killing a friend, Susan Berman, who allegedly helped him cover up his ex-wife’s murder but was preparing to confess in 2000. The case was featured in the 2015 HBO documentary The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst. NBC NEWS 

Friday,  October 22nd, 2021 

The leader of the Haitian gang who kidnapped 17 United States and Canadian missionaries has threatened to kill the hostages if the gang does not receive the $17 million ransom for their release. (CNN) 

The United States Department of Defense reports that forces have killed a senior al-Qaeda leader in Syria through an MQ-9 drone strike. (AFP via Arab News) 

Tesla reports biggest quarterly profit ever Tesla on Wednesday reported its biggest quarterly profit ever thanks to record electric vehicle sales over the summer despite a global shortage of computer chips. Tesla said its third-quarter net income reached $1.62 billion, smashing its previous record of $1.14 billion set the previous quarter. Tesla’s $331 million profit in this year’s third quarter was nearly five times its profit in the same period last year. Revenue reached $13.76 billion, which also marked a record although it fell short of the $14 billion analysts expected, according to FactSet. Tesla said it aimed to expand its factory capacity quickly and see sales grow by 50 percent annually over the next few years. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

Chinese property developer Evergrande Group reports that it transferred US$83.5 million to pay off interests on its dollar bonds, allowing it to avert short-term default a day before its deadline. (Business Insider) 

Sixteen people are killed and another is injured by an explosion at a chemical plant in Ryazan Oblast, Russia. (Reuters) 

Mass Friday prayers resume in the capital Tehran after a 20-month suspension due to the pandemic. Worshippers must adhere to social distancing measures and use face masks during the gatherings, with most worshippers using their own prayer rugs and clay tablets. (Al-Arabiya English) 

The Chinese capital Beijing begins administering booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccines to “at-risk” individuals over the age of 18, which includes those participating, organizing, or working in the 2022 Winter Olympics as well as people working in education, manufacturing, retail, and public facilities. (The Hill) 

Belarus ends its short-lived mask mandate that was introduced on October 9 despite a record number of COVID-19 cases as President Alexander Lukashenko dismissed the measures as “unnecessary”. (AP) 

Russia reports a record for the fourth consecutive day of 1,064 deaths from COVID-19, bringing the nationwide death toll to 228,453. The country also reports a record for the second consecutive day of 37,141 new cases of COVID-19, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 8,168,305. (Saudi Press Agency) 

Ukraine closes schools and public venues in Kyiv and will only permit the schools to reopen if teachers are vaccinated in other “red zone” areas after the country reported a record for the second consecutive day of 29,785 new cases and 614 deaths from COVID-19. (AFP via Barron’s) 

The New Zealand Government sets a target of 90% of the population fully vaccinated, which is very high by international standards, in order to end lockdown measures and shift to a new traffic light system giving vaccinated Kiwis more freedoms. (1 News) 

Pfizer says that its vaccine is 90% effective in children between the ages of 5 and 11. (CBS News) 

Police and the army open fire on a group of health workers protesting outside a hospital in Eswatini, injuring 30 people. (BBC News) 

After appearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court and the Old Bailey, Ali Harbi Ali is charged with the murder of David Amess and remanded to Belmarsh prison. He is due to be tried on March 7, 2022. (BBC News) 

Luxembourg legalizes cannabis, becoming the first country in Europe to do so. (TheStreet) 

The Israeli Defense Ministry designates six humanitarian Palestinian groups, including human rights organization Al-Haq and non-profit organization Union of Agricultural Work Committees, as “terrorist organisations” for their alleged connections to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The Palestinian National Authority, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and several human rights groups harshly criticize the designations. (Al Jazeera) 

CDC approves Moderna, J&J boosters and mix-and-match vaccines The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has signed off on the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson coronavirus boosters, clearing the way for eligible, fully vaccinated Americans at risk of severe COVID-19 to get the shots beginning Friday. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky also went along with the recommendation of expert advisers and the Food and Drug Administration to let people mix-and-match vaccines, so eligible people will be able to choose a booster made by a different company than the one that made their initial vaccine. Walensky said in a statement Thursday night that the vaccines had been shown to be safe and effective at preventing COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths, “as demonstrated by the over 400 million vaccine doses already given.” THE WASHINGTON POST 

DeSantis calls special legislative session to block Biden vaccine mandates Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on Thursday stepped up his fight against the White House over COVID-19 restrictions, calling for a special legislative session so the state’s Republican-dominated Legislature can block President Biden’s vaccine mandates. “We have an opportunity here to take additional action, and I think we have to do it,” said DeSantis, who also has vowed to challenge Biden’s mandates in court. “I think we have got to stand up for people’s jobs and their livelihoods.” Florida House Speaker Chris Sprowls said his office had not received details on the plan for a special session. Biden in September said his administration would impose vaccine mandates on federal workers and businesses with more than 100 employees, prompting criticism from Republicans who said getting vaccinated should be a personal choice. POLITICO 

India celebrates its billionth coronavirus vaccine dose India administered its billionth COVID-19 vaccine dose on Thursday. The milestone marked a sign of hope in a country of nearly 1.4 billion people after a devastating coronavirus surge this year fueled by the fast-spreading Delta variant. Roughly half of India’s population now has received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine. About 20 percent are fully vaccinated, according to Our World in Data. India has stepped up the pace of its vaccinations in the second half of the year after a slow vaccine rollout due to vaccine shortages and distribution problems. India is using two-dose vaccines, so accelerating the distribution of second doses is “an important priority,” said V.K. Paul, head of the country’s COVID-19 task force. “Complete coverage is absolutely critical,” Paul said. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

Pfizer/BioNTech booster 95.6 percent effective in Stage 3 trial The Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine booster dose was 95.6 percent effective against COVID-19 in a Phase 3 trial, the companies announced Thursday. The “efficacy was consistent irrespective of age, sex, race, ethnicity, or comorbid conditions,” Pfizer and BioNTech said. More than 10,000 fully vaccinated people ages 16 and up randomly got the 30-microgram booster dose or a placebo, with a median delay of 11 months after getting the second dose to complete the initial regimen. During the study, 109 people who received the placebo got COVID, compared to just five people who got the booster. “These results provide further evidence of the benefits of boosters as we aim to keep people well-protected against this disease,” Albert Bourla, Pfizer’s chairman and chief executive officer, said in a news release Thursday. CNN 

Ex-Minneapolis officer gets 57 months for killing 911 caller Former Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor was sentenced to 57 months in prison on Thursday for fatally shooting an unarmed Australian-American woman, Justine Ruszczyk Damond, after she called 911 to report a possible rape behind her home in 2017. Noor initially was sentenced to a 12 1/2-year sentence for his initial third-degree murder conviction, which was overturned last month. Judge Kathryn Quaintance said she imposed the maximum sentence for manslaughter because Noor showed a “generalized indifference to human life” when he fired “across the nose of your partner” after Damond appeared suddenly at the driver-side window. Noor was fired after he was charged. He has served more than 29 months, and with good behavior could be released next summer. NPR 

Remains found in Florida identified as Brian Laundrie’s Dental records showed that human remains found in a Florida nature reserve were those of Brian Laundrie, who disappeared last month after returning alone from a cross-country trip with his fiancée, Gabby Petito, the FBI’s Denver office confirmed on Thursday. Investigators on Wednesday said they found a backpack and notebook belonging to Laundrie near the remains. A week after Laundrie went missing, authorities in Wyoming found Petito’s body in a national forest. A coroner ruled her death a homicide by strangulation by hand. Laundrie’s parents were notified by local police and had no further comment, their lawyer said. A lawyer for Petito’s family said her parents are “grieving the loss of their beautiful daughter” and would make a statement “when they are emotionally ready.” CNN 

Cinematographer dies when Alec Baldwin’s prop gun misfires Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins died Thursday after she was injured by a prop gun discharged by actor Alec Baldwin on the set of a Western movie, Rust, being filmed in New Mexico. The film’s director, Joel Souza, was injured. The 63-year-old Baldwin was seen in tears outside the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office, where he was questioned about the accident. Juan Rios, a spokesman for the sheriff’s office, said the shooting occurred at Bonanza Creek Ranch while a scene was being rehearsed or filmed. “We’re trying to determine right now how and what type of projectile was used in the firearm,” he said. A spokesperson for Baldwin said the accident occurred when a prop gun with blanks misfired. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

Thursday, October 21st, 2021 

Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins is killed during the production of the upcoming American film Rust in Bonanza City, New Mexico, while film director Joel Souza is in critical condition, after actor Alec Baldwin reportedly misfired a prop gun. (AFP via The Straits Times) 

The United States House of Representatives votes 229-202 to hold former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon in criminal contempt for refusing to comply with a subpoena issued by the January 6 select committee investigating the attack on the U.S. Capitol. The contempt is referred to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia and United States Attorney General Merrick Garland to decide whether to prosecute Bannon. (AP) 

Health problems from climate change getting worse  Heat deaths, infectious diseases, hunger, and other health problems linked to climate change are getting worse as global temperatures rise, according to two annual reports published Wednesday. “Rising temperatures are having consequences,” said University of Washington environmental health professor Kristie Ebi, the co-author of a report commissioned by the medical journal Lancet. That report tracked 44 global health indicators and found that all of them are increasingly alarming, said Lancet Countdown project research director Marina Romanello, a biochemist. The reports — one global and one covering the United States — found that the amount of time that vulnerable populations experienced dangerous heat rose last year, with people over 65 facing a total of three billion more “person-day” exposures to extreme heat than they did on average from 1986 to 2005. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

President of Russia Vladimir Putin says that he will not attend the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, which is seen as a blow to efforts to get leaders to negotiate a new deal to stall climate change. (BBC News) 

Greenpeace partially leaks a draft report from the International Panel on Climate Change, revealing that a number of large oil, coal, beef and animal feed-producing countries including Australia, Saudi Arabia, Brazil and Argentina are lobbying the IPCC for looser restrictions on global heating. (AP) 

The University of Oxford links the Chinese government to a disinformation campaign promoting the unfounded claim that COVID-19 could have been imported to China from the United States through Maine lobsters shipped to a seafood market in Wuhan in November 2019. (NBC News) 

Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin announces a non-working week from October 28 until November 7 in order to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Only firms that serve essential goods and the city infrastructure would be allowed to operate. (The Moscow Times) 

Latvia enters a month-long lockdown until November 15 that closes non-essential shops, cinemas and hairdressers, as well as implements a curfew from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m., due to an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases. (Medical Xpress) 

Protesters criticize Netflix over Dave Chappelle’s special Protesters gathered at a Netflix office in California on Wednesday, two weeks after the streamer’s release of comedian Dave Chappelle’s controversial new standup special. Hundreds of employees and activists attended the rally outside Netflix’s headquarters in Los Angeles to criticize the streaming video service for releasing Chappelle’s latest special The Closer, in which Chappelle says he’s “team TERF,” meaning “trans-exclusionary radical feminist,” among other comments and jokes about the LGBTQ community. Netflix staffers also planned a virtual walkout over the company’s response to the backlash. The rally also drew Chappelle supporters, including one holding a sign that read “Netflix Don’t Cancel Free Speech.” VARIETYLOS ANGELES TIMES 

Saudi Arabia begins the rollout of booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccines for people aged above 18 and have received their second dose at least six months ago. (Gulf News) 

The Biden administration announces that the United States has donated 200 million COVID-19 vaccines to countries around the world, fulfilling a pledge from President Joe Biden that the U.S. would be the “world’s arsenal” in vaccines. (The Hill) 

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention endorses booster shots of the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. (The New York Times) 

A working group to find a more permanent solution to the license plate issue, consisting of negotiators from the governments of Kosovo and Serbia, meet for the first time in Brussels. If negotiations are successful, the group will announce their proposals in 6 months. (Gazeta Tema) 

The French National Assembly votes 135 to 125 to approve the extension of the COVID-19 Health Pass until at least July 31, 2022. The bill will be debated at the French Senate on October 28 in preparation for adopting the bill on November 15. (The Connexion) 

Former Minneapolis Police Department Officer Mohamed Noor is resentenced to four years and nine months in prison for the manslaughter of unarmed 9-1-1 caller Justine Damond. Noor had originally been sentenced to 12.5 years for murder in 2017. (CNN) 

Twenty-four people have been executed in Syria for deliberately starting wildfires in late 2020 that killed three people. (BBC News) 

FDA OKs Moderna and J&J boosters, plus mix-and-match shots The Food and Drug Administration announced Wednesday that it was authorizing the emergency use of Moderna and Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine boosters. The decision will make most fully vaccinated adults eligible for another shot to increase their protection against infection and severe COVID-19 after a recommended waiting period. The FDA also said people could get a booster made by a different company than the one that made their initial vaccine. “The availability of these authorized boosters is important for continued protection against Covid-19 disease,” said acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock. The Pfizer-BioNTech booster was approved previously for certain groups, including the elderly and those facing elevated risk. The decisions promised to help the Biden administration pursue its push to make boosters widely available. THE WALL STREET JOURNAL 

White House unveils plan for vaccinating children aged 5 to 11 The White House on Wednesday announced its plan for distributing coronavirus vaccines to children aged 5 to 11. The Biden administration will kick off the effort to get shots to the 28 million children in the age group as soon as federal health officials give emergency-use authorization for administering the reduced dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. The Biden administration expects that to come as soon as the first week of November. The government would distribute the specially packaged vaccine to more than 25,000 pediatricians’ and other doctors’ offices, pharmacies, hospitals, community health centers, and school and community clinics. Getting most of these children vaccinated “would play a major role in diminishing the spread of infection in the community,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease expert. THE WASHINGTON POST 

Trump announces financial backing for his own social media platform Former President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he has lined up investment money to launch a publicly-traded social media company and a new app, “Truth Social.” Trump said the app would start an invite-only trial run in November and roll out nationwide in 2022. His investing partner is Digital World Acquisition, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) incorporated in Miami in December 2020. Trump, who was banned by Facebook and Twitter after the Jan. 6 insurrection, and his investors said the venture’s purpose is “to create a rival to the liberal media consortium and fight back against the ‘Big Tech’ companies of Silicon Valley.” But Axios said the “bottom line” is that “there are not yet enough details to suggest that this deal has much legitimacy.” THE NEW YORK TIMESAXIOS 

Taliban lines up support to call for U.N. donor conference The Taliban on Wednesday got support from 10 regional powers for a proposal to hold a United Nations donor conference to get enough aid to help Afghanistan avoid economic collapse and a humanitarian disaster. Russia, China, Pakistan, India, Iran, and five formerly Soviet Central Asian states backed Afghanistan’s new rulers in their call for a U.N. conference on rebuilding the war-ravaged country, which still faces mounting attacks from a rival Islamic extremist group affiliated with the Islamic State. Representatives of the countries participating in the talks in Moscow said the conference should take place with the understanding that “the main burden … should be borne by the forces whose military contingents have been present in this country over the past 20 years,” a reference to the United States and its allies. CNN 

FBI, police find unidentified remains near Brian Laundrie’s backpack The FBI and local police found unidentified human remains near a backpack and other items belonging to fugitive Brian Laundrie in a North Port, Florida, nature reserve, FBI Special Agent in Charge Michael McPherson said Wednesday. The remains were found in an area that recently was underwater. The FBI Tampa’s Evidence Response Team is on the scene using “all available forensic resources” to process the site and identify the remains. The discovery came more than a month after Laundrie disappeared. He was last seen by his parents after he returned alone from a cross-country trip he took with his fiancée, van-life vlogger Gabby Petito. Her remains were later found at a campsite in a Wyoming national forest. CNN 

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta lifts the nationwide curfew that had been in place since March 2020 and allows places of worship to be filled to two-thirds of their capacity as the number of COVID-19 cases decreases. (Bloomberg) 

Russian President Vladimir Putin approves the cabinet proposal for non-working days for employees from October 31 until November 7 amid a persistent increase in the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths. (VOA) 

Researchers at NYU Langone Health in New York City announce that a team of surgeons last month, lead by Dr. Robert Montgomery, successfully attached a genetically-modified pig kidney to a brain dead patient for two days without rejection. (NPR) 

The End

Wednesday, October 20th, 2021 

Israel reports its first case of the Delta subvariant “AY4.2” in a boy who travelled from Moldova. (The Times of Israel) 

U.K. keeping ‘close eye’ on ‘Delta Plus’ coronavirus subvariant U.K. officials are “keeping a very close eye on” a new COVID-19 subvariant known as AY.4.2, also known as “Delta Plus,” the spokesperson for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a Tuesday BBC News report. The Delta variant mutation is not yet considered a variant of concern, but it has been blamed for an increasing number of infections in the United Kingdom. Data indicates that it might be about 10 percent more transmissible than the most common Delta strain in the U.K. “At this stage I would say wait and see, don’t panic,” said professor Francois Balloux, director of University College London’s Genetics Institute, of the variant. “It might be slightly, subtly more transmissible but it is not something absolutely disastrous like we saw previously.”  BBC NEWS 

United Kingdom reports 233 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, which is the highest single-day total of daily deaths since March 3. (Inews.co.uk) 

And also…why does Putin hate the Earth so much?

President of Russia Vladimir Putin says he will not attend the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, seriously weakening hopes of a breakthrough international deal on climate change. (BBC) 

Mount Aso in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, erupts, sending smoke to 3,500 meters into the sky. The eruption began around noon local time. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno says that there are no reports of injuries but says he heard there were climbers on the mountain before the eruption and they are checking the situation. (The Asahi Shimbun) 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom declares statewide drought emergency California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Tuesday declared a statewide drought emergency, urging Californians to “redouble our efforts to save water in every way possible.” Most of California’s 58 counties had been in a drought emergency since July, when temperatures soared and Newsom urged residents to reduce water use by 15 percent. Water use fell by just 5 percent in August. The State Water Resources Control Board will have the authority to impose emergency regulations to help save water, including banning people from hosing down sidewalks or washing cars without shut-off nozzles. On Monday, the state announced that the water year ending on Sept. 30 was California’s driest since 1924, with 11.87 inches of rain and snow — well below the yearly average of about 23.58 inches. LOS ANGELES TIMES 

FBI raids 2 homes tied to Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska FBI agents on Tuesday raided two houses tied to Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. One of the houses was described as the oligarch’s Washington, D.C., home, although he isn’t allowed to own property in the U.S. because of sanctions imposed against him. The other property is in New York. An FBI spokesperson said the searches were related to a federal investigation out of New York. A Deripaska spokesperson said the raids were “being carried out on the basis of two court orders, connected to U.S. sanctions.” The Trump administration in 2018 imposed sanctions against Deripaska and about two dozen other oligarchs and Kremlin officials due to their connections with Putin. Deripaska was targeted “for having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of” a senior Russian Federation official, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said. CNBC 

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announces a stay-at-home for unvaccinated or unrecovered people age 60 years and older and ordering businesses to shift 30% of their workers to remote work beginning from October 25 due to record 1,015 deaths in Russia over the past 24 hours. (CBC) 

The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority rejects the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine due to some safety concerns the manufacturer wasn’t able to answer such as failed HIV vaccines that use Adenovirus Type 5 that similar to Russian-made vaccine. (AP) 

Committee votes to recommend holding Bannon in criminal contempt The select committee investigating the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol riot by a mob of former President Donald Trump’s supporters voted unanimously Tuesday to recommend a criminal contempt charge against former Trump strategist Steve Bannon for refusing to comply with a subpoena to provide testimony and documents. House Democratic leaders said the full House would vote on the recommendation Thursday. Bannon promoted efforts by Trump and other Republicans to overturn President Biden’s election victory, telling listeners to his radio show on Jan. 5: “Now we’re on, as they say, the point of attack — the point of attack tomorrow.” On Monday, Trump filed a lawsuit seeking to block the committee from getting White House records relating to the insurrection. CNN 

Trump statement disparaging the late Colin Powell angers critics Former President Donald Trump issued a statement on Tuesday criticizing former Secretary of State Colin Powell, who died Monday of COVID-19 complications. “Wonderful to see Colin Powell, who made big mistakes on Iraq and famously, so-called weapons of mass destruction, be treated in death so beautifully by the fake news media,” Trump wrote Tuesday. Trump went on to call Powell a “classic RINO, if even that,” and concluded: “He made plenty of mistakes, but anyway, may he rest in peace!” Critics pounced on the former president. “What a vile, disgusting ‘statement,’” tweeted Republican political strategist Ron Christie. “No decent human being will defend Trump’s malevolent, spiteful, narcissistic statement on Gen. Powell,” wrote political scientist Larry Sabato. USA TODAY 

Transplant surgeons successfully test pig kidney in human Surgeons in New York successfully attached a kidney from a genetically altered pig to a brain-dead woman in September, and the kidney worked with no signs of rejection. “It was better than I think we even expected,” Dr. Robert Montgomery, who led the team at NYU Langone Health, told The New York Times. “It just looked like any transplant I’ve ever done from a living donor. A lot of kidneys from deceased people don’t work right away, and take days or weeks to start. This worked immediately.” Experts in the field described the experiment as a scientific breakthrough that could lead to a vast new supply of organs for severely ill patients. “It’s a big, big deal,” said Dr. Dorry Segev, a Johns Hopkins School of Medicine professor of transplant surgery who was not involved in the research. Still, more work needs to be done. “We need to know more about the longevity of the organ,” Segev said. THE NEW YORK TIMES 

Dr. Rachel Levine named 1st transgender 4-star officer Dr. Rachel Levine, the assistant secretary of health, made history on Tuesday after being promoted to become the first openly transgender four-star officer in any of the eight uniformed services in the United States. Levine, already the nation’s most senior transgender official, said she was “honored to take this role for the impact I can make and for the historic nature of what it symbolizes,” adding, “I stand on the shoulders of those LGBTQ+ individuals who came before me, both those known and unknown. May this appointment today be the first of many more to come, as we create a diverse and more inclusive future.” Levine, a pediatrician, previously served as Pennsylvania’s health secretary, and has addressed such issues as the opioid epidemic, maternal mortality, and childhood immunization. NBC NEWS 

Two bombs attached to a military bus detonate as it passes under Jisr al-Rais bridge in Damascus, killing 14 people. Minutes later, military shellfire kills at least 10 people in Ariha, Idlib Governorate. (BBC) 

Defence minister Sadio Camara confirms that the Islamic branch of the government is willing to negotiate with the local affiliate of al-Qaeda, a move that is strongly opposed by France. (Al Jazeera) 

Nikolas Jacob Cruz, accused of the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, United States, pleads guilty on all 34 charges. (CNN) 

International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi says that he plans to visit Iran by the end of November in an effort to revive the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. (Newsweek) 

The Brazilian Senate releases a report recommending that President Jair Bolsonaro should face criminal charges for homicide regarding his response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. (Reuters) 

Global investment bank Credit Suisse agrees to pay a US$475 million fine to U.S. and British authorities after pleading guilty to conspiring wire fraud towards investors, which violated the anti-corruption law of Mozambique regarding bond offerings. (AFP via RFI) 

Tuesday,  October 19th, 2021 

Egor Babaev and collaborators with the KTH Royal Institute of Technology publish an experiment showing evidence of a new state of matter called electron quadruplets. (Phys.org) 

FDA to approve ‘mix-and-match’ COVID boosters The Food and Drug Administration plans to let people get a coronavirus booster that is different from their initial vaccine, according to Monday news reports that cited officials familiar with the matter. The move could come as early as this week. The FDA won’t recommend any booster over others, the officials said, and will urge people to get a booster from the company that made their initial vaccine when possible. State health officials have been requesting freedom to give “mix-and-match” vaccines. A federally funded study released Friday found that antibody levels increased 76-fold over 15 days in recipients of Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose shot who received a Moderna booster. Similar patients who got the J&J booster got a four-fold antibody increase. THE WALL STREET JOURNALTHE NEW YORK TIMES 

The Olympic torch relay begins in Olympia, Greece, without public attendance. (ANI News) 

EPA moves to limit ‘forever chemicals’ in drinking water The Environmental Protection Agency said Monday it would hurry to establish enforceable limits on some polyfluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as “forever chemicals,” that threaten the health of millions of Americans, and are used in many products, including cosmetics, dental floss, food packaging, clothing, and cleaning supplies. Forever chemicals don’t break down normally and can find their way into the water supply. The Obama administration established a recommended but unenforceable limit of 70 parts per trillion for some PFAS chemicals in drinking water. Scientists said that level was too high to adequately protect public health. If the mandatory standards get approved in a process expected to take years, local communities could face penalties for exceeding the limits. THE WASHINGTON POST 

Colin Powell, 84, dies of COVID-19 complications Soldier-turned-statesman Colin Powell died Monday from COVID-19 complications, his family said. He was 84. Powell was fully vaccinated but his immune system had been compromised by multiple myeloma, a blood cancer. “We have lost a remarkable and loving husband, father, grandfather, and a great American,” the family said. Powell started a distinguished career as a soldier who saw combat in Vietnam. He later served as national security adviser under Ronald Reagan and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under George H.W. Bush. He served as the first Black secretary of state under George W. Bush. In that post, he pushed faulty intelligence to justify the Iraq invasion, something he called a “blot” on his record. CNN THE NEW YORK TIMES 

Former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell dies from COVID-19 at the age of 84 at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. (The New York Times) 

Haiti protesters call for ending gang violence after latest kidnapping Protesters took to the streets in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince on Monday calling for an end to intensifying gang violence following the kidnapping of 17 missionaries and their children. The U.S. government sent a team to work with the Haitian government and the U.S. embassy to find the group, which includes 16 Americans and one Canadian. The brazen abduction was the latest in a wave of kidnappings that has targeted everyone from street vendors to corporate executives, priests, and government officials. Angry Port-au-Prince residents have blocked roads with barricades or burning tires in some areas to show their frustration with worsening insecurity. Police have blamed the notorious 400 Mawozo gang for the kidnapping of the U.S.-based Christian Aid Ministries group, which was on a trip to visit an orphanage. THE NEW YORK TIMESTHE WASHINGTON POST 

Khalilzad stepping down as U.S. envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad is resigning as special envoy to Afghanistan, effective Tuesday. Khalilzad, who negotiated the U.S. withdrawal agreement with the Taliban for former President Donald Trump, was among the most senior Trump administration officials to continue serving under President Biden. His departure comes a month and a half after the last U.S. troops left Afghanistan and the Taliban returned to power 20 years after the U.S.-led invasion that ousted them. “I decided that now is the right time,” Khalilzad said in a resignation letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, “at a juncture when we are entering a new phase in our Afghanistan policy.” It was not immediately clear whether members of the Biden administration asked Khalilzad to step down. Blinken thanked Khalilzad for his work. THE WASHINGTON POST 

1st day of jury selection in Ahmaud Arbery murder trial focuses on race Defense lawyers representing three white men accused of murdering Black jogger Ahmaud Arbery asked potential jurors on the trial’s first day whether the Confederate battle flag is racist. “We do know that race is an issue in this case,” said Franklin Hogue, a lawyer for one of the defendants. Three of the first group of 20 potential jurors indicated they did see the flag as racist. Former policeman Gregory McMichael, his son Travis McMichael, and neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan are accused of chasing and killing Arbery in their Georgia neighborhood. George McMichael’s vanity license plate showed the old Georgia state flag, which included the Confederate symbol. All three have pleaded not guilty, saying they thought Arbery was a burglar and were trying to make a citizen’s arrest. REUTERS 

ENDF airstrikes on the city of Mekelle in Ethiopia‘s Tigray Region kill at least three people. (Al Jazeera) 

Prime Minister Cleopas Dlamini orders the closure of schools across Eswatini in an attempt to stop pro-democracy protests that have occurred across the kingdom in the past few months. Protesters demand an end to the absolute monarchy of King Mswati III, the last of its kind in Africa, as ministers back the move, saying that there “is no room for such anarchy in our society”. (Bloomberg) 

German publishing house Axel Springer dismisses Julian Reichelt as the editor-in-chief of its tabloid newspaper Bild following sexual harassment complaints against Reichelt from his co-workers. (The New York Times) 

Russia surpasses eight million cases of COVID-19 after reporting a record for the fourth consecutive day of 34,325 new cases. (ABC News) 

Phase three trial results suggest that the Valneva COVID vaccine is effective at priming the immune system to fight COVID-19. (BBC News) 

Russia announces that it will be suspending its mission to NATO in Brussels as early as November 1, in response to the expulsion of 8 diplomats accused of espionage from the mission earlier this month. The NATO information bureau and military liaison in Moscow will also be terminated. (CNN) 

Iraq receives Ghazwan al-Zawbaee, the alleged mastermind of the ISIL suicide truck bombing that killed 340 people in Karrada, Baghdad, in 2016, which was the deadliest single-bomb attack in Iraq. Al-Zawbaee was arrested two days prior through a joint operation in a neighbouring country. (BBC News) 

State Administration Council chairman Min Aung Hlaing announces that his military junta will release a total of 5,636 jailed protesters to commemorate the Thadingyut Festival. (AFP via ABS-CBN News) 

Citing Roe v. Wade, the United States Department of Justice requests the Supreme Court to vacate the mandate of the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on allowing the Texas Heartbeat Act to remain in effect, thereby blocking the law. (AFP via RTL) 

Ecuadorian president Guillermo Lasso declares a nationwide state of emergency, citing an increase in drug-related crime. (AFP via Manila Bulletin) 

Monday,  October 18th, 2021 

China’s economic growth slows  China’s economy grew by 4.9 percent in the third quarter, the slowest pace in a year for the world’s second largest economy, according to data released Monday. The drop from the previous quarter’s 7.9 percent pace came as supply chain delays and power outages hurt factory output. A construction downturn and fallout from the coronavirus pandemic also hurt. In the first quarter of the year, the economy grew a record 18.3 percent, as overseas buyers snapped up Chinese-made goods when the winter coronavirus surge eased. China could see more “ugly growth numbers” in coming months, and that could prompt policymakers to “take more steps to shore up growth,” said Louis Kuijs, head of Asia economics at Oxford Economics. REUTERS 

At least 300 suspected members of a Muslim mob are arrested for the killing of two Hindu men three days ago at a temple in Noakhali, Bangladesh. The violence erupted after an alleged Quran desecration at a Hindu temple in Haziganj Upazila. Several Hindu temples were also damaged in the clashes. Four members of the mob were also killed when Bangladesh Police personnel opened fire. (Al Jazeera) 

Fauci: J&J vaccine probably should have been 2 shots all along Johnson & Johnson’s single-shot coronavirus vaccine probably should always have been given in two doses, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said Sunday on ABC’s This Week. A panel of Food and Drug Administration advisers on Friday recommended emergency-use authorization for a second J&J shot to boost immunity, noting that the company’s vaccine had been shown to offer less protection than the vaccines produced by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. “What the advisers to the FDA felt is that, given the data that they saw, very likely this should have been a two-dose vaccine to begin with,” Fauci said. The FDA advisers unanimously voted to recommend booster shots for everyone 18 and older who got the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, as early as two months after the initial shot. USA TODAY 

Haiti police blame notorious gang for U.S. missionaries’ kidnapping  Haitian police said Sunday that the notorious 400 Mawozo gang, which has spread terror with a string of kidnappings and murders, was responsible for the abduction of 17 missionaries from the U.S.-based Chrisian Aid Ministries. The Ohio-based missionary group said the victims included five children, seven women, and five men. Sixteen are U.S. citizens. One is Canadian. The organization said the missionaries had gone to visit an orphanage when armed men seized them. Christian Aid Ministries returned its American staff to the organization’s Haiti base last year after a nine-month absence prompted by Haiti’s worsening security situation and kidnapping epidemic. Police said 400 Mawozo, which means “400 inexperienced men” in Haitian Creole, controls the Croix-des-Bouquets area where the crime occurred. THE NEW YORK TIMES 

 

Maduro ally to make 1st appearance after extradition Colombian businessman Alex Saab, allegedly a financier of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, is scheduled to appear in court Monday after being extradited from the West African island nation of Cape Verde to the United States to face money-laundering charges. Saab is accused of using his U.S. accounts to launder money siphoned from a government-subsidized food program called CLAP to provide hundreds of millions of dollars for Maduro and his allies. “Rather than ensure that this vulnerable population receives the food it desperately needs, the regime uses the CLAP program as a political tool to reward support and punish political criticism,” the U.S. Treasury Department said in 2019. Maduro’s government has halted talks with the U.S.-backed opposition in retaliation for Saab’s extradition. BBC NEWS 

‘Halloween Kills’ scores best horror-film debut of pandemic  Halloween Kills, the 12th installment in the long-running slasher-movie franchise, took in $50.4 million at the domestic box office this weekend, Variety reported Sunday. It beat A Quiet Place Part II to post the biggest opening-weekend haul for a horror film during the pandemic. The debut was impressive given lingering coronavirus concerns and the fact that the film was made available to stream on Peacock at no additional cost to subscribers. The last Halloween movie to come out before the pandemic brought in $76 million in its 2018 debut. Halloween Kills was the latest in a series of blockbusters to come out simultaneously in theaters and streaming platforms as moviegoers and theaters slowly come back after pandemic-induced shutdowns. VARIETY 

Ford to convert England engine plant to make electric-power units Ford said Monday it would spend $315 million transforming a northwest England factory to produce electric-power units for cars and trucks to be sold in Europe. The automaker said the factory, which currently makes engines and transmissions for gasoline-powered vehicles, will start making the electric-power units by mid-2024, with a target capacity of about 250,000 units per year. “This is an important step, marking Ford’s first in-house investment in all-electric vehicle component manufacturing in Europe,” said Stuart Rowley, president of Ford of Europe. The company aims to sell only electric passenger vehicles in Europe by the end of the decade. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

Saks online unit prepares for IPO Saks Fifth Avenue’s e-commerce business is planning an initial public offering targeting a valuation of about $6 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday. The last time the fast-growing online business of the luxury retailer was valued, in March, the estimate was just $2 billion. The company is interviewing potential underwriters for the IPO, which could take place in the first half of next year. The stock sale would be the second part of a deal reached earlier this year to separate the booming online business from Saks’ brick-and-mortar stores, which are growing more slowly. Saks and other department stores have seen a surge in online sales as the coronavirus pandemic encouraged people to shop from home. THE WALL STREET JOURNAL 

Jury selection begins in Ahmaud Arbery case Jury selection is set to begin Monday for the trial of three white men charged with chasing and fatally shooting Ahmaud Arbery, an unarmed Black man who was running through their neighborhood outside Brunswick, Georgia. It is expected to take two weeks or more to pick a jury in the case, after the killing was captured on a graphic video that sparked a national outcry resulting in the arrest of father and son Greg and Travis McMichael and their neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan. An ex-prosecutor has been accused of “showing favor” to the suspects. Arbery’s father said he was praying for justice that Black victims are often denied. “This is 2021, and it’s time for a change,” Marcus Arbery Sr. told The Associated Press. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

Sunday, October 17th, 2021 

The Saudi Arabia-led coalition says that they have killed 160 Houthi militants in Marib, Yemen, during 32 airstrikes in the past 24 hours. The coalition also reports that they killed a total of more than 700 Houthis during the past week. (Al Jazeera) 

Saudi Arabia eases its COVID-19-related restrictions, lifting mandatory social distancing requirements as well as a requirement to wear face masks outdoors. (Arabian Business) 

Russia reports a record for the fourth consecutive day of 34,303 new cases of COVID-19, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 7.99 million. (Euronews) 

The French ambassador to Belarus departs following a directive issued by the Belarusian government, which did not cite a rationale. The ambassador had not presented his credentials to President Alexander Lukashenko. (AFP via The Moscow Times) 

The End