BNS: Highlights of Monday 15min.lt

Coronavirus situation:

* In the last day 837 new cases of COVID-19 infection were confirmed in Lithuania, four people died from coronavirus.

* The coronavirus has been approved by the mayor of Panevėžys, Rytis Mykolas Račkauskas. The mayor says that he has had a fever, but that his condition is not very serious.

* The partial quarantine has entered into force in Germany: cafes, bars, restaurants, theaters and cinemas closed. Chancellor Angela Merkel said that families should be able to celebrate Christmas together, but that major New Year’s Eve celebrations will be banned.

* British media reported that Prince William was infected with the coronavirus in April, but kept it a secret. Kensington Palace neither confirmed nor denied this information.

* Nigel Farage, a British politician made famous for his pro-Brexit campaign, announced that he would reorganize his small party and seek to fight quarantine restrictions. He says the government-imposed quarantine is ruining business and that the British should follow the Swedish model. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says there is no alternative to quarantine, and a second wave of coronavirus without quarantine could kill twice as many people this winter as in the first spring.

* More than 1.2 million people around the world have died from the coronavirus. people. The highest number of deaths was confirmed in the United States (230,000), Brazil (160,000), India (122,000), Mexico (91,000) and Great Britain (46,000).

Ambassador to the EU. President Gitanas Nausėda confirmed that he wants to see Vygandas Jankūnas, who is currently working for the European Commission, as Lithuanian ambassador to the European Union. Critics say the president’s well-known staff are not experienced enough to hold one of the top diplomatic posts. Lithuania has not had a permanent head of the embassy in the EU since August. The candidate must be agreed by the president, the prime minister, and the Seimas Foreign Affairs Committee.

Arrests in Minsk. The Belarusian Interior Ministry said police arrested about 300 people over the weekend in protest against authoritarian pre-election president Aliaksandr Lukashenko. On Sunday, tens of thousands of people took part in the march from central Minsk to the Stalin-era execution site.

United States elections. The day before the US presidential election, re-election donor Donald Trump holds meetings with supporters in major volatile states like North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. His rival, Democrat Joe Biden, will also arrive in Pennsylvania, appearing alongside pop star Lady Gaga a few hours before voting begins. Former President Barack Obama is trying to mobilize Democratic voters in Georgia and Miami on the final day. 93 million people have already voted early in elections. voters. A total of about 150 million are estimated to vote. American.

Muslim protests. At least 50 thousand. People gathered in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, for a demonstration against French President Emmanuel Macron’s stance on Islam. The protesters chanted “Do not blacken the prophet Muhammad” and burned the image of the French president. Macron attracted discontent from Muslims for his strong position in defending religious cartoons.

Snowden nationality. Edward Snowden, a former US intelligence officer who was granted asylum in Russia and leaked thousands of secret documents to the press, applied for Russian citizenship, but at the same time hopes to retain US citizenship.

Moldovan elections. Former pro-European Prime Minister Maia Sandu and current pro-Russian head of state Igor Dodon entered the second round of Moldova’s presidential elections. On Sunday, in the first round, M. Sandu received 35 percent. votes, and I. Dodon – 33 percent. The second round will take place on November 15.

Typhoon in the Philippines. Typhoon Goni, which struck the Philippines, destroyed tens of thousands of homes and claimed at least 20 lives. Hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated.

Attack on Kabul. At least 19 people were killed and another 22 injured on Monday when armed militants stormed Afghanistan’s largest university in the capital, Kabul. Most of the victims were students. The Taliban have declared they were not involved in the attack. In recent years, several educational centers have been repeatedly attacked by extremist groups, such as the Islamic State jihadist movement.

Explanations from the Vatican. The Vatican broke the silence on Pope Francis’ comments about gay couples. In a letter to ambassadors, the Vatican Secretariat said the pontiff’s comments on same-sex civil unions had been taken out of context by combining separate excerpts from old interviews into a documentary, but it reaffirmed the Pope’s belief that same-sex couples must receive legal protection.

Shame on Johny Deppo. Hollywood star Johnny Depp lost a case in which he accused British tabloid The Sun of smearing him, calling him a “wife beater” in an article. This high-profile case, hailed by the media as the largest defamation lawsuit of the 21st century in England, revealed many shocking facts about the actor’s chaotic lifestyle. The judge claimed that the published article about the actor’s violence against his ex-wife Amber Heard was fundamentally correct.