France and Germany impose strict restrictions
President Emmanuel Macron announced on Wednesday that France would carry out a second national lockdown starting Friday and lasting a month. Most schools remain open and visits to retirement homes remain possible. Otherwise, people are only allowed to leave their homes for essential reasons.
“The virus is circulating at a rate that not even the most pessimistic predictions expected,” Macron said in a televised address. “Like all of our neighbors, we are inundated with the sudden acceleration of the virus.”
In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel announced the closure of restaurants and bars as well as fitness studios, theaters, museums and nail studios for one month. The schools remain open.
European stocks fell to their lowest level in months as investors worried about the economic impact of the new restrictions.
For weeks, European countries have been trying to slow the spread of a second wave of coronavirus infections through targeted restrictions and avoid the statewide lockdowns that devastated economies. But the number of cases has exploded and hospitals are filling up leaving them with few options. “Within a few weeks we will reach the limits of our health system,” said Ms. Merkel.
Details: France reported 288 new virus-related hospital deaths within 24 hours on Tuesday and 235 nursing home deaths in the past four days, the largest increase since May. In Germany, the number of patients in hospitals has doubled in the last 10 days.
Here are the latest updates and maps of the pandemic.
It took 111 days, but Melbourne and the surrounding state of Victoria saw no new coronavirus infections on Monday, and shops, cafes, restaurants and beauty salons opened their doors on Wednesday for the first time in months. Many of Melbourne’s five million residents said they had survived an emotional roller coaster ride with economic, educational and mental health effects that they had predicted would stop.
“It’s like that tiny little flower with just one petal sticking out at a time,” said Ryan Gribble, 37, who celebrated the beginning of a return to normal life in a bar shortly after the lockdown at midnight.
The turn: The July infections got out of hand, peaking at more than 700 a day.
LVMH and Tiffany almost agree on a new deal
Tiffany & Company is about to agree to lower the price of its sale to French conglomerate LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton. Three people who are aware of the talks that became known on Wednesday may have settled a dispute over one of the largest stores in the luxury world.
Tiffany and LVMH discussed a revised share price that would bring sales down to just under $ 16 billion – about $ 400 million less than before. Tiffany directors are due to vote on the proposal on Wednesday. Both brands generate around 40 percent of their sales with Asian buyers.
Context: LVMH agreed to buy Tiffany almost a year ago, but the pandemic almost put the conglomerate out of circulation.
If you have 7 minutes, it’s worth it
The downfall of a soccer star after speaking
A year ago, Mesut Özil, the Arsenal midfielder, was one of the Premier League’s highest paid players. But then he criticized China for its treatment of Uyghur Muslims on Twitter and in an Instagram post.
A lot has changed since that moment – although it’s unclear how much of that was due to his criticism of China. Our reporters looked at the impact of Özil who quickly disappeared from video games, merchandise and the Chinese internet, received his pay cut, and hasn’t played since June.
The following also happens
Climate change: A radical proposal to combat climate change is gaining traction: artificially cooling the planet in the hope of giving humanity more time to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Australian government is funding research into a technology that scientists hope can save the Great Barrier Reef.
Gay rights in China: A lawsuit brought by a student who found that her school textbooks described being gay as a mental disorder renewed the conversation about gay rights and tolerance in China.
Search for airports in Qatar: The government expressed “regret” but defended the decision to subject more than a dozen women to medically invasive exams after an abandoned newborn was found in an airport bath.
Anonymous Op-Ed: Miles Taylor, a former chief of staff at the US Department of Homeland Security, emerged as the author of an anonymous Op-Ed 2018 in The Times. In the article, he described President Trump as “petty and ineffective” and claimed he was part of a cadre of officials working against the government’s agenda.
Snapshot: Above voting in Tanzania. Wednesday’s election is seen as a referendum on President John Magufuli, who is seeking a second term of five years, and on the ruling party of the Revolution, which has dominated Tanzanian politics under one name or another since independence in 1961.
What we read: This Tampa Bay Times investigation was recommended by Matt Apuzzo, an international investigative correspondent. “There’s nothing more secure than a bank vault or an armored truck, right?” Matt writes. “Think again. This remarkable piece shows how one company lost millions of dollars from some of the largest banks in the country by moving money to stay ahead of the tests.”
Now a break from the news
Cook: These sausages with apples and onions are a delicious combination. The onions are caramelized and the apples fried in butter.
See: “Barbaren” shows the battle of the Teutoburg Forest, which has long been a rallying cry for German nationalists, including the Nazis. The series was well received in Germany.
To do: The Latin name of a plant is the only way to know for sure what you are getting when buying plants. Here are some tips for learning the language of plants.
The virus is still raging, but our collection of ideas for what to read, cook, see, and do at home can help you stay home safe.
And now for the background story about …
How the pandemic is changing the US elections
Transit polling stations. Candidates meet voters on Zoom. Advertisers in masks and gloves knocked on doors and then hurried back a meter. Just a few days before the November 3rd elections, our reporters investigated how the coronavirus had changed the election season almost at every turn.
The pandemic has emerged as the dominant topic up and down among the candidates, disrupting American campaign traditions and complicating the way votes are cast. The collision of elections and pandemics has frenzied last-minute campaigns and early voting efforts.
“All we miss is the asteroid landing with carnivorous zombies and our year will be over,” said Paul Lux, the polling officer in Okaloosa County, Florida and one of the nearly nine million Americans who signed the Virus.
Voters who had never thought of sending their ballots are doing so for the first time, rather than defying their usual indoor polling stations. And some employees of the country’s electoral army are weighing which protective equipment to wear – if they even vote again this year.
The percentage of cases reported in Republican counties has increased from 20 percent in March to 56 percent each month, according to a Times analysis of the virus data. Much of it takes place in counties that represent President Trump’s base in battlefield states that could make the election.
That’s it for this briefing. Until next time.
– Melina
Thank you very much
Carole Landry helped write this briefing. Theodore Kim and Jahaan Singh took the break from the news. You can reach the team at [email protected].
PS
• We listen to “The Daily”. Our latest episode is about the secret pay-to-play network of local partisan news surfacing in the US
• Here is our mini crossword puzzle and a clue: color, which is Latin for “water” (four letters). You can find all of our puzzles here.
• Times Magazine writer Emily Bazelon spoke to NPR’s Fresh Air about her story of how fake content moves uncontrollably through the internet – undermining the political process along the way.
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