Month: December 2020

LISBON (Reuters) – Portugal will ease coronavirus rules over the Christmas period to allow people to visit loved ones but measures will be reinforced again a few days later to crack down on New Year’s Eve parties, the government said on Saturday.

Prime Minister Antonio Costa told reporters a domestic travel ban would not be imposed between Dec. 23 and 26 but said movement between Portuguese regions would be prohibited again on New Year’s Eve.

https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-portugal/portugal-says-it-will-ease-covid-19-rules-over-christmas-idUSKBN28F0K6?il=0

(Reuters) – President Donald Trump will stump on Saturday for Republican U.S. senators in Georgia facing January runoffs, but some in his party worry he may do more harm than good if he stays focused on personal grievances over his loss in the Nov. 3 election.

https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-election-georgia/trump-campaigns-for-georgias-republican-senators-but-will-that-help-or-hurt-idUSKBN28F0EK

PARIS (Reuters) – Thousands protested in Paris on Saturday to denounce police violence and President Emmanuel Macron’s security policy plans which the demonstrators say would crimp civil liberties.

https://www.reuters.com/article/france-security-protest/violence-erupts-during-paris-protest-against-police-brutality-idUSKBN28F0JB?il=0

Ontario is reporting a record 1,859 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, breaking the previous record of 1,855 set last month.

The province says 20 more people have died from coronavirus, raising the provincial total to 3,757.

Toronto remains the hotspot in the province with 504 new cases, followed by Peel Region with 463 and York Region with 198 – the seventh straight day that region has recorded more than 150 new cases.

Provincial health officials say they completed almost 60,000 tests in the previous 24-hour period – a record high as well.

Ontario reports record-high 1,859 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday

PARIS (Reuters) – Thousands protested in Paris on Saturday to denounce police violence and President Emmanuel Macron’s security policy plans which the demonstrators say would crimp civil liberties.

In one incident, police fired tear gas and charged after fireworks were launched at their lines. Hooded youths smashed one store window. There were violent clashes between protesters and police in a similar protest last week.

https://www.reuters.com/article/france-security-protest/protesters-return-to-french-streets-to-denounce-police-violence-tear-gas-fired-idUSKBN28F0JB?il=0

NASA has struck deals with four private enterprises involving collection of Moon soil, including a contract involving a cost of just one dollar, to further its understanding of the Moon’s resources, the US space agency has said.

All the four contracts involve collecting a small amount of lunar soil, which is essentially dust known as regolith, and proving images of the operation to NASA. The ownership of the collected samples is also to be transferred to the US space agency.

https://www.rt.com/usa/508744-nasa-moon-dust-private-companies/