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world news Diaranson 21 october 2020

Iran breaks its record for most new virus cases in one day

(AP) — Iran on Tuesday Iran, which emerged early on official tolls are widely con-
reported its highest single- as an epicenter of the virus, sidered to understate the true
day toll of new coronavi- has seen its worst wave of dimensions of the outbreak
rus cases since the start of deaths from the illness in re- among medical staff and na-
the pandemic with more cent weeks. Monday’s death tionwide.
than 5,000 new infections, toll shattered its previous
as the country struggles to single-day record, prompting The increase comes after Ira-
cope with a surge in trans- state news outlets to declare it nians packed cafes and restau-
mission. a “black day.” rants at vacation spots during
recent national holidays, and
Iran’s health ministry also Hospitals in the hard-hit cap- after schools reopened for
reported that 322 people had ital of Tehran are overflow- in-person instruction last
died from the virus, pushing ing. Last week, health offi- month.
the death toll over 31,000. cials announced that the city
The new infection count had run out of intensive care The government has resist-
Tuesday eclipsed the previ- beds for virus patients. ed a total lockdown because
ous high of 4,830 last week, it does not want to further
shining a light on the nation’s In a grim reminder of out- weaken an economy already
floundering efforts to combat break's heavy toll on medical devastated by unprecedented
the virus. workers, Hamidreza Azizi, U.S. sanctions. The Trump
deputy head of Iran’s nurs- administration re-imposed
Health minister Saeed Na- es' organization, announced economic sanctions on Iran
maki made a dramatic appeal Tuesday that 31,000 nurses after withdrawing in 2018
for people to follow health have been infected with the from Tehran’s nuclear accord
guidance measures, saying coronavirus in the country, with world powers.
that without public help, “the with 6,000 currently sick and Police have deployed to fine ed on state-run media but
pandemic in this country staying home from work and With the death toll skyrock- those caught without a mask, frequently forgotten on Teh-
will not get better and we'll 54 confirmed dead, accord- eting, authorities are now but enforcement remains a ran's bustling streets.
have to collect the bodies," ing to state-run IRNA news starting to impose more re- challenge in the sprawling
the semi-official ISNA news agency. strictions. The government city of 10 million. Months “We asked for fines to be
agency reported. closed museums, libraries, into the pandemic, fatigue collected from anyone who
He said the organization beauty salons, schools and and frustration have set in. doesn't wear a mask, but go
“People, be aware, I, as the would deploy over 7,600 universities in Tehran earlier Namaki, the health minister, and find out how many peo-
health minister, cannot fix more nurses to compensate this month, and imposed a criticized authorities Tuesday ple were fined," he said. “We
this epidemic and the situa- for dire staff shortages across mask mandate outdoors. for failing to implement new said close roads, and yet how
tion alone," he said. the country's hospitals. Such anti-virus measures, promot- many did they close?"

Thai Cabinet approves Parliament session to debate protests

(AP) — Thailand’s Cabinet on Tuesday ap- The government has sought to weaken the protest-
proved a request to recall Parliament for a ers’ resolve over the past week by arresting their Constitutional changes require a joint vote of the
special session to deal with the political pres- leaders, declaring a state of emergency for Bangkok House and the Senate, but it was clear that the pro-
sures from ongoing anti-government protests. that makes all rallies illegal, and trying to physically posals lacked enough support in the Senate, whose
The Cabinet at its weekly meeting approved impede their gatherings, including by closing mass members are not elected and are generally very
the request, which calls for a non-voting ses- transit stations. conservative and hostile to the protesters.
sion on Oct. 26-27.
However, when riot police backed by water can- Police announced Monday that they were seeking
The request for the session came from House nons were sent in to break up a rally in Bangkok on to impose censorship on media reporting of the
Speaker Chuan Leekpai, who said Monday that Friday, it drew widespread criticism for the use of protests, citing what they called “distorted infor-
both government and opposition parties supported force and failed to discourage the protesters, who mation” that could cause unrest and confusion in
it. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha had already have continued to gather in large numbers every society.
said earlier that he supports the move. day. Protests have also spread to other provinces.
They said they sought to block access to the on-
There is a deadlock between the government and Tuesday marked the seventh straight day of pro- line sites of four Thai news organizations and one
the student-led protesters, who want Prayuth to tests, though they were much smaller in scale than activist group that broadcast live coverage of the
step down, the constitution to be amended to make previous rallies, with organizers telling supporters protests. They also proposed a ban on over-the-air
it more democratic, and reforms to the monarchy on social media that it was a rest day. Small groups digital television coverage of one broadcaster, Voice
to have it conform to democratic norms. of demonstrators gathered in at least five locations TV.
in the Bangkok area.
The protesters charge that Prayuth, an army com- Two detained top protest leaders were released Phuchphong Nodthaisong, a senior official from
mander who led a 2014 coup, was returned to Tuesday, but were immediately rearrested on other the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, an-
power unfairly in last year’s general election be- charges, said their lawyer, Noraseth Nanongtoom. nounced Tuesday that a court, at the government's
cause laws had been changed to favor a pro-mili- He said they would seek their release on bail when behest, had ordered that Voice TV stop broadcasting
tary party. The protesters say a constitution written they are brought to court on Wednesday. on all platforms. The company, which was founded
and passed under military rule is undemocratic. by the son of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shi-
The two, Panusaya “Rung” Sithijirawattanakul and nawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 military coup,
But their more recent demand for checks and bal- Parit “Penguin” Chiwarak, were initially taken into has been sympathetic to the protest movement in
ances on the monarchy has deeply angered con- custody during an attempted overnight rally out- its coverage.
servative Thais — and broken a taboo, since the side the prime minister’s offices on the night of
monarchy is considered sacrosanct and tough laws Oct. 14. The government also said it would try to block use
protecting it from insult mean its role is not usu- Parliament in September made its first attempt at of the Telegram messaging app by protest groups,
ally discussed openly. It has also raised the risk of dealing with one of the protesters' demands when who announced Sunday that they would use it
confrontation in a country where calls for political it was scheduled to vote on six proposed constitu- for organizing because they feared they might be
change have a history of being met with military tional amendments. But the vote was canceled at blocked on other platforms, such as Facebook.
intervention or even violence. the last minute as Parliament voted instead to set Telegram channels of the protest groups were still
up a committee to further consider such proposals. accessible on Tuesday.