PARIS

French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday announced that nightly curfew will be imposed in Paris and other cities, as a state of emergency has been declared in the country to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus.  

In an interview broadcast on national television, Macron said the curfew, effective from Saturday, will be imposed from 9:00 p.m. (1900GMT) to 6:00 a.m. (0400GMT) in Ile-de-France region, where the capital Paris is located, and eight other cities. 

In addition to Paris and the region surrounding it, the new measures also targeted the cities of Lille, Grenoble, Lyon, Aix-Marseille, Montpellier, Rouen, Saint-Etienne, and Toulouse. 

The measures are the latest imposed by the president to help stem the spread of the coronavirus, in what has been deemed by health officials as a second wave. 

France's Health Ministry on Wednesday reported 22,591 new COVID-19 infections, with cases now totaling 779,063. The death toll in the country reached 33,037 as 104 new fatalities were reported over the past 24 hours. 

As many as 6,033 people remain hospitalized, with 1,037 of them in intensive care. 

Macron also called for limiting gatherings to no more than six people. 

"We try, when we invite friends, not to be more than six at the table," said the president, speaking of restaurants but then adding that this applied to groups out in the street as well. 

Macron said those receiving the work welfare benefit and housing aid will receive €100-€150 per child over the next six weeks. /aa

DHAKA, Bangladesh

Hundreds of Rohingya refugees in southeast Bangladesh held a protest on Wednesday against the killing and torturing of their community members in Myanmar, a Rohingya member told Anadolu Agency.

Holding banners and placards, the refugees at a camp gathered and formed a human chain, demanding an immediate end to the killings and torturing in Myanmar’s Rakhine state .

“Due to restrictions, we did not gather in huge numbers. Some 300 members of us peacefully took part in today’s demonstration just to highlight that we are still being killed in Myanmar,” Ansar Ali, a Rohingya at the camp, told Anadolu Agency.

He said one of his cousins was shot dead by the Myanmar military on Tuesday. “Almost every day the Tatmadaw [Myanmar Army] kill Rohingya in Arakan [Rakhine],” he added,

According to him, hundreds of Rohingya have fled their homes due to the ongoing violence in the Rakhine state.

“Save Rohingya from mass killings. Stop genocide against Rohingya,” a placard in the demonstration read.

Meanwhile, Amnesty International has recently found fresh evidence of “indiscriminate attacks on civilians in western Myanmar,” while Human Rights Watch has warned against “long-term marginalization” of the Rohingya.

Persecuted people

The Rohingya, described by the UN as the world's most persecuted people, have faced heightened fears of attack since dozens were killed in communal violence in 2012.

According to Amnesty International, more than 750,000 Rohingya refugees, mostly women and children, fled Myanmar and crossed into Bangladesh after Myanmar forces launched a crackdown on the minority Muslim community in August 2017, pushing the number of persecuted people in Bangladesh above 1.2 million.

Since Aug. 25, 2017, nearly 24,000 Rohingya Muslims have been killed by Myanmar’s state forces, according to a report by the Ontario International Development Agency (OIDA).

More than 34,000 Rohingya were also thrown into fires while over 114,000 others were beaten, said the OIDA report, entitled Forced Migration of Rohingya: The Untold Experience.

As many as 18,000 Rohingya women and girls were raped by Myanmar’s army and police and over 115,000 Rohingya homes burned down, while 113,000 others vandalized, it added./aa

ANKARA

Turkish security forces "neutralized" five PKK terrorists in an air operation in northern Iraq, the Turkish Defense Ministry said Wednesday.

The terrorists, who were plotting an attack, were “neutralized” in Hakurk region after they were located through reconnaissance and surveillance, the ministry said on Twitter.

Turkish authorities often use the term "neutralized" to imply the terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or captured.

Turkey’s anti-terror operations continue without any letup, the statement added.

The ministry also shared footage of the operation.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US and EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of nearly 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants./aa

ANKARA

English Premier League club Sheffield United supported a campaign Wednesday to replenish trees burned in forest fires in Turkey's southern province of Hatay.  

Sheffield United said on Twitter that it will donate 1,889 saplings for forests harmed by the fires.

The number 1,889 is a nod to the year the team was founded. That was in reference to Fenerbahce's sapling donation of 1,907 to the province.

Sheffield United added that it stands with Hatay and its football team, Hatayspor FK.

Fires began in several parts of Belen, Hatay last Friday, and authorities believe the blazes are an act of sabotage or arson.

Flames spread to other districts, including the port district of Iskenderun and the resort town of Arsuz.

Rumors have suggested that possible arsonists belong to the PKK terror group, with the Interior Minister saying the terror group “has clear instructions to burn forests.”

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US and the EU – has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children and infants./aa

ROME

Italy on Wednesday reported its highest jump in daily coronavirus infections since the peak of the outbreak in late March, confirming a resurgence in the contagion that risks forcing the country to a new lockdown.

According to Health Ministry data, the new record high of 7,332 cases in the last 24 hours compares with 6,557 daily cases registered on March 21, though on a much lower number of tests conducted daily.

Another 43 people died in the last 24 hours, bringing Italy’s official death toll to 36,289, while the total number of infections reached 372,799.

Experts are worrying that Italy’s contact-tracing system has started struggling to keep pace with the jump in new infections and could risk collapsing soon.

Professor Andrea Crisanti -- a virologist credited with the successful testing plan adopted by the Veneto region at the peak of the pandemic -- said in a TV interview on Wednesday that a Christmas lockdown could be in the cards, as it would help stop the virus transmission.

He praised the new restrictive measures approved by the government earlier this week, but noted that a different strategy is needed at this stage.

"More than enacting measures regarding people’s behavior, we need to block the virus: I don’t want to find myself speaking about 10,000 or 12,000 daily cases in two weeks from now,” Crisanti said.

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Tuesday issued a new decree imposing stricter restrictions, including bans on private parties and early closures for bars and restaurants.

Under the new rules, private parties in closed spaces and outdoors are banned, but the measures also include “strong recommendations” against private gatherings at home with more than six people who do not live together.

Bars and restaurants will have to close at midnight, while food and drinks cannot be consumed standing outside starting at 9 p.m. (17000GMT). Discos and nightclubs remain closed.

Contact sports are also banned, if not organized by associations which can maintain social distancing rules.

The decree, signed in the early hours of Tuesday, is valid for 30 days.

Italy, one of the first countries in Europe to be overwhelmed by the novel coronavirus, has also introduced changes to its quarantine rules, reducing to 10 from 14 days the minimum isolation period for people who test positive or have been in contact with COVID-19 patients./aa

ANKARA

The Dutch government is proposing allowing the active termination of life, or euthanasia, for terminally ill children from age 1 to age 12, local media reported Wednesday. 

According to Dutch daily de Volkskrant, Public Health Minister Hugo de Jonge wrote to the Lower House of the parliament that under new rules, euthanasia will be permissible for critically ill children from age 1 to age 12 who suffer “unbearable and hopelessly” and who cannot get relief from palliative care.

“This scheme will apply to a small group of terminally ill children who suffer hopelessly and unbearably and for whom all the possibilities of palliative care are not sufficient to alleviate their suffering. These are children who are expected to die in the foreseeable future,” he said in the letter.

Currently, euthanasia is only allowed for infants younger than 1 year old and children older than 12 with the permission of the parents and two doctors.

The plan has sparked months of controversy within the ruling four-party coalition government, with conservative Christian parties strongly opposed./aa

ANKARA

Turkey's machinery exports reached $11.9 billion in the first nine months of 2020, down 8.7%, an exporters group said Wednesday.

The machinery sector increased its performance by 5.7% with $1.6 billion in September, according to a statement by the Machinery Exporters' Association (MAIB).

"In the second quarter, when the machinery industry contracted 18.5% in developed countries and 39.2% in developing countries excluding China, the figure was only 12% for Turkey," said Kutlu Karavelioglu, the president of the MAIB.

In the first nine months of this year, the sector experienced an export loss of over 20% in North America and East Asia.

"We managed to keep the decrease in our exports to EU countries below these levels," he noted.

This has reduced the negative effects of the pandemic since the bloc makes the largest contribution to Turkey's machinery exports with a share of 52.1%.

"But the prospect of the EU's reclosure due to virus also appears to be the biggest risk for the machinery industry in the near future," he warned.

Turkey started to compensate for its losses in sales to top machinery export destinations -- Germany, the US, UK and Italy -- from January to September.

Exports to Russia, in particular, during this period rose 17%, according to the group./aa