Your Friday Briefing - The New York Times
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Your Friday Briefing – The New York Occasions

By Nancy Carrillo

London, along with other major cities in Europe, including Paris and Berlin, will tighten restrictions to repel an increasing new wave of coronavirus infections.

According to the regional director of the World Health Organization’s European office, Hans Kluge, the weekly number of new cases in Europe is at its highest level since the pandemic began, rising from six million in just ten days to seven million. The number of daily deaths exceeded 1,000 for the first time in months, he said.

Restrictions on social gatherings are “absolutely necessary,” said Kluge, and more drastic measures may be required. Entrepreneurs were concerned.

Here are our latest updates and maps of the pandemic.

In other developments:

  • Singapore and Hong Kong have reached a preliminary agreement to set up a travel bubble. According to the agreement, travelers must test the virus negative and only fly on certain flights to avoid quarantine.

  • Two officials in Qingdao, China, have been fired and are being investigated after another outbreak, the city government said Thursday.

  • Barron Trump, President Trump’s 14-year-old son, was also infected with the coronavirus, according to his mother Melania Trump.

As the pollution season begins in New Delhi, doctors and scientists warn that a deterioration in air quality could exacerbate the city’s Covid-19 problems.

Both attack the airways and peak at the same time. “We’re just sitting ducks,” said an environmental activist.

India’s coronavirus outbreak continues to spread and is well on its way to surpass that of the United States, which has the largest number of cases in the world.

Poisonous air: The spring lockdown gave the country the clearest skies in years, but pollution is back. In autumn, air temperatures and wind speeds drop and pollutants condense over India’s cities, especially in the north. And farmers in rural areas burn stalks and reject their crops, sending out huge clouds of smoke that drift for miles.

Countermeasures: The Delhi government is doing more this year to tackle pollution. This includes setting up a war room to track pollution sources and using anti-smog cannons that blow up mist to knock down the dust.

The widespread use of smartphones and the internet in Vietnam has resulted in those who dare to post stories to expose corruption and wrongdoing. But in a country where the Communist Party fears that freedom of speech will undermine its influence over power, this also poses a great aim on the back.

On October 6th, police arrested an activist and journalist, Pham Doan Trang, for propaganda and dissemination of propaganda against the Vietnamese state, which could be punished with up to 20 years in prison. She left a letter predicting her arrest and calling for an end to one-party rule.

Ms. Pham reported on a police raid in January against villagers who spoke out against the government’s land seizure, in which the 84-year-old village chief was shot dead by police. She also reported on an environmental disaster in 2016 that was caused when a Taiwanese-owned steel mill dumped toxic waste into the sea along the Vietnamese coast.

Context: Activists say Ms. Pham’s arrest was most likely sparked by the upcoming Communist Party Congress in January. Vietnam, a US strategic ally and global manufacturing hub, has tackled dissent with little fear of repercussions.

Eight species of native venomous snakes, including the Chinese cobra, inhabit Hong Kong’s lush forests. They are the stars of the Hong Kong Snakes Safari. The nocturnal migration highlights the extent of the biodiversity in the forested hinterland of the territory and is also an opportunity for city dwellers with snake phobias to face their fears.

Our correspondent managed to keep his fear at bay while patting the stomach of a krait, a highly toxic member of the cobra family.

BTS: The shares of Big Hit, the management company behind the K-pop sensation, skyrocketed on its first day of trading in South Korea. The stock opened at twice the offer price on Thursday and then rose 30 percent in early trading before closing the day. The company was valued at around 8.7 trillion won, or around $ 7.6 billion.

US election: President Trump and Joe Biden are hosting city hall duel events on rival networks in a matter of hours, replacing a debate Mr Trump withdrew after organizers insisted it go virtual in the face of the president’s coronavirus diagnosis.

Kyrgyzstan: After more than a week in hiding after a controversial election in Central Asia’s only democracy, President Sooronbai Jeenbekov announced his plans to resign, saying he did not want to go down in history as a leader “who shed blood and shot at his own citizens. ”

Kilimanjaro fire: Hundreds of volunteers from local villages in Kenya have joined firefighters to stop a fire that has swept up the slopes of Africa’s highest mountain and threatens to devastate one of the most diverse ecosystems in the world.

Snapshot: American voters waiting to cast their ballots this week in Georgia which, like many other states, has opened more early voting sites to make polling stations less crowded on November 3rd. Some voters have waited hours to illustrate the intensity of the election focus on this turning point in the US election.

What we read: This Twitter thread that starts with “Make your favorite movie as boring as possible” and gets longer by the minute.

Cook: These pumpkin-ginger-oat scones stay both chewy and crispy thanks to the pumpkin puree, thanks to the extra oats on the crust.

Read: Marie Lu’s latest work by young adults, “Skyhunter,” follows a refugee 5,000 years from now in the future who is defending their country against an evil association that has taken over the rest of the world.

To do: If you have trouble sleeping, research shows that weighted blankets can help.

The weekend is almost here. At home, you have ideas for what to read, cook, see, and do while being safe at home.

Ken Dychtwald, psychologist, gerontologist and author, interviewed more than 100,000 boomers (56 to 74 years old) to find out how they are redefining retirement for his new book “What Retirees Want: A Holistic View of the Third Age”. Here is an excerpt from his chat with a reporter.

How have your views on coronavirus and age 70 retirement changed this year?

This year’s pandemic has given many of us a tremendous appreciation for the preciousness of life. I realized that I want to be useful more than when I am young.

However, I was very concerned about the lack of usefulness in so many of my cohorts. I was really troubled when I read that the average American retiree has watched TV 48+ hours a week for the past year. I don’t think this is the best we can do or the best we can be as older men and women.

I urge pre-retirees and retirees to ask: How do I try to see and feel the world from the perspective of those who are much younger than me? This is an important activity in our new longevity. That we invest time and energy not only trying to hoard our lives and memories, but also actively trying to be empathetic to different people, younger people.

What has emerged from your research that retirees should be thinking about?

The importance of interdependence alongside independence – we would all do better in our later years if we were connected rather than isolated. And how do I maximize my health span, not just my life span?

And there is the serious problem of funding our longer lives. A third of boomers saved almost nothing for retirement and no pensions; This is a massive poverty phenomenon that lies ahead unless millions of people work a little longer, spend less, downsize, or even share their homes with roommates or family members.

What’s the biggest mistake retirees make?

Far too many think far too small. I have asked thousands of people from all walks of life who are approaching retirement over the years what they would like to do when they retire. They tell me, “I want to get some rest, do more sports, visit my family, have a great vacation, read some great books.” Then most of them are determined. Few have taken the time or effort to study the myriad of opportunities that await them, or to imagine or explore all of the incredible ways in which they can spend the next period of their lives.

That’s it for this briefing. Until next time.

– Carole

Thank you very much
To Theodore Kim and Jahaan Singh for the break from the news. You can reach the team at [email protected].

PS
• We listen to “The Daily”. Our latest installment is the first in a two-part series on the politics of the presidential candidates.
• Here’s our mini crossword puzzle and a clue: Lots of Modern Meetings (five letters). You can find all of our puzzles here.
• Roger Cohen, who has worked for The Times as a reporter, office manager, foreign editor and columnist for more than three decades, has been named our next Paris office manager.

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