NEWS OF THE DAY
From Around the World
1 Erdogan congratulates Biden: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan congratulated Presidentelect Joe Biden on Tuesday, expressing Turkey’s determination to work closely with the new administration. “I believe that the strong cooperation and alliance between our countries will continue to contribute to world peace in the future, as it has done so far,” Erdogan said in his congratulatory message. Turkey was one of a handful of countries, along with Russia, that had not commented on Biden’s victory, which was announced Saturday.
2 Landmine free: Britain’s Foreign Office says the Falklands will soon be landmine free — almost 40 years after the 1982 conflict between the United Kingdom and Argentina in the South Atlantic islands. A U. K. funded mine clearing program that started in 2009 is set to end three years ahead of schedule. With the completion of the program, no antipersonnel mines will remain on British soil. People on the Falklands will detonate the final mine in a ceremony on Nov. 14 that will also include reopening access to beaches. Argentina lost the war for the South Atlantic archipelago after its troops embarked on an illfated invasion. The conflict claimed the lives of 649 Argentines and 255 British soldiers. Argentina still claims the islands, which it calls the Malvinas. Britain says the Falklands are a selfgoverning entity under its protection.
3 Baby deaths: A British nurse has been arrested for the third time in relation to the deaths of more than a dozen babies at a hospital, police said Tuesday. Police said the woman was rearrested on suspicion of murder in relation to the deaths of eight babies, and the attempted murder of nine others, at the neonatal unit of the Countess of Chester Hospital, south of Liverpool in northwestern England. Police first launched an investigation into the deaths of a number of babies at the hospital in May 2017. Detectives initially looked into the deaths of 15 babies between 2015 and 2016, and the probe later widened to the deaths of 17 babies and 16 “nonfatal collapses” in the same period.
4 Journalist charged: A Hong Kong journalist appeared in court Tuesday on charges of making false statements while obtaining information on vehicle license plate information from a publicly accessible database in the semiautonomous Chinese city. Choy Yukling, a freelance producer affiliated with public broadcaster Radio Television Hong Kong, was previously involved in the production of an investigative documentary into the behavior of Hong Kong police during last year’s antigovernment protests, after the force was accused of not intervening during a violent clash between protesters and a mob of men in a subway station. Media groups are concerned Hong Kong’s new security law, which outlaws secession, subversion and foreign collusion to interfere in the city’s internal matters, could be used against journalists.
5 Bahrain pact: Israel’s parliament Tuesday ratified the country’s recent agreement establishing formal diplomatic relations with the Gulf state of Bahrain. The agreement was approved by a 6214 margin. The vote was largely a formality, following last month’s signing of an agreement to establish ties at a ceremony in Bahrain’s capital, Manama. The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have both signed U. S. brokered diplomatic pacts with Israel in recent months — making them the third and fourth Arab countries to normalize ties with Israel. Egypt was the first Arab country to do so, in 1979, followed by Jordan in 1994. The latest agreements have undercut the traditional Arab consensus that peace with Israel can come only after the establishment of a Palestinian state.