Out of Chinese language jail, into compelled quarantine
After almost 5 years in jail, Wang Quanzhang, one among China’s most distinguished human rights attorneys, thought he was lastly free. As an alternative, he was transferred to a room with barred home windows the place he was held for 2 weeks and denied permission to contact his household.
Rights activists say abstract quarantines — usually imposed simply after detainees, like Mr. Wang, had cleared a earlier one — are the newest approach to silence dissent. A rights watchdog has documented 9 current instances of activists being launched from jail after which held in quarantine.
Dissidents held in quarantine are “not allowed to speak with the skin world, held in a secret location and never given the choice to self-isolate at house,” mentioned Frances Eve, the deputy director of analysis at Chinese language Human Rights Defenders.
Listed below are the newest updates and maps of the pandemic.
In different developments:
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Australia recorded its deadliest day for the reason that coronavirus pandemic started, with 13 deaths reported on Wednesday, all within the southern state of Victoria, which additionally had 723 new instances. The document numbers are tied to nursing houses, the authorities mentioned.
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A brand new evaluation of one of the vital mysterious and dramatic virus outbreaks — aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship early this 12 months — factors to small, floating droplets as a major driver of virus transmission. The brand new findings may assist make indoor areas safer.
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Herman Cain, who made a bid for the Republican presidential nomination within the 2012 race and was a current contender for a high Federal Reserve job, died of the coronavirus.
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As coronavirus instances spiked in Tokyo, with one other every day excessive on Thursday of 367 new infections, Gov. Yuriko Koike requested that karaoke venues and bars and eating places serving alcohol shut by 10 p.m.
Hong Kong bars pro-democracy candidates
Weeks after the Chinese language authorities imposed a brand new nationwide safety legislation on Hong Kong, town’s authorities have taken aggressive steps in opposition to the pro-democracy opposition.
Officers on Thursday barred 12 candidates, together with well-known pro-democracy figures, from the September legislative election. And 4 activists had been arrested over on-line posts. The federal government mentioned extra candidate restrictions may observe.
Native information shops reported that the federal government was contemplating suspending the election by as a lot as a 12 months due to the coronavirus pandemic. Critics mentioned it was an try and keep away from a loss on the polls.
Greater image: It was a blow to opposition candidates, who had hoped to trip a wave of public discontent over the safety legislation to victory.
The financial system worsens, and Trump suggests election delay
Trailing badly within the polls and dealing with an financial meltdown, President Trump prompt on Thursday that the November election be delayed, one thing he has no authority to order. Solely the U.S. Congress can decide the timing of the election.
The president made the suggestion in a tweet, repeating his false declare that widespread voting by mail from house would end in a “fraudulent” end result.
Context: Minutes earlier than his tweet, new information was launched exhibiting that the G.D.P. fell 9.5 p.c in the course of the three months ending June 30 — the most important quarterly drop on document. On Wednesday, the U.S. dying toll from the coronavirus pandemic reached 150,000, the world’s highest. Polls present Mr. Trump far behind Joe Biden, the previous vp and presumptive Democratic nominee.
The response: None of Mr. Trump’s allies endorsed his suggestion. “By no means within the historical past of the nation, by wars, depressions and the Civil Conflict, have we ever not had a federally scheduled election on time,” Senator Mitch McConnell, the bulk chief, mentioned. “And we’ll discover a manner to try this once more this Nov. 3.”
When you’ve got 6 minutes, that is value it
1 / 4 of Bangladesh is now underneath water
Torrential rains have washed away livestock, homes and meals saved for the lean season in Bangladesh. It’s the newest calamity to hit the nation, inhabitants 165 million, after a cyclone and steadily rising sea ranges. Above, Bogura in mid-July.
And it’s projected to worsen. The nation’s predicament illustrates a placing inequity of our time: The individuals least chargeable for local weather change are sometimes those most affected by it.
Right here’s what else is going on
Pakistan: The U.S. urged the nation to overtake its harsh blasphemy legal guidelines after an American accused of violating them was fatally shot in a courtroom as he went to trial. The American, Tahir Ahmad Naseem, was in Peshawar dealing with costs that he had claimed to be a prophet.
In memoriam: Lee Teng-hui, Taiwan’s first democratically elected chief, has died at 97. He led his nation’s transition away from a police state to one among Asia’s most vibrant democracies, and insisted that Taiwan be handled as a sovereign state, angering Beijing.
Poland: European Union officers mentioned they’d reduce funding to 6 cities that had declared themselves “L.G.B.T.-free.” Whereas the funding withheld is modest, the exclusion of the cities was meant to have a deeper symbolic resonance.
Canada scandal: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will face questions from lawmakers about multimillion-dollar contracts awarded to a charity with ties to his household. Mr. Trudeau’s spouse and brother earned greater than $200,000 for talking engagements with the charity.
Prepare dinner: This watermelon salad is a refreshing dish that may be made with pickled chiles for a tangy-sweet style.
Learn: “Eat the Buddha,” an eye-opening work by Barbara Demick, the previous Beijing bureau chief of The Los Angeles Occasions, chronicles the historical past of Tibetan resistance to Chinese language domination.
Do: A brand new research exhibits that consuming a weight loss program excessive in sugar and processed meals can dent our long-term well being partly by altering how properly our our bodies reply to train.
At Dwelling has our full assortment of concepts on what to learn, prepare dinner, watch and do.
And now for the Again Story on …
Theater for learners, and under
Alexis Soloski, a theater critic, missed going to exhibits a lot that she enrolled in on-line courses to see if she may develop her theater abilities at house. She spent two weeks in a do-it-yourself theater coaching program. Right here’s an excerpt from her essay about it.
I began with vocal work, arranging a voice lesson by way of Broadway Plus, a concierge service that used to rearrange V.I.P. entry to Broadway performances and has since pivoted to on-line meet-and-greets and personal classes.
After polling mates a couple of good tune for a pleasant girl with a Playbill-slim vary and a shaky grasp of pitch, I picked “Sonya Alone,” from “Natasha, Pierre & the Nice Comet of 1812.” I rehearsed after I may — within the bathe, cooking dinner, underneath my breath at numerous playgrounds. By the point the lesson got here round, I had it down.
Although I as soon as gained a limbo contest at a classmate’s bar mitzvah, dance has additionally by no means been my factor. Nonetheless, I figured that Newbie Theater Dance, which I signed up for by Ailey Extension, couldn’t be so onerous. I figured improper.
We warmed as much as choices from “The Lion King” and “The Prince of Egypt.” I even discovered a Fosse hip roll. However as we danced to “No Day however As we speak,” the “Hire” finale, the ballet phrases — passé, coupé, rond de jambe — proliferated and the eight counts got here worryingly quick. Although I had positioned my laptop computer digital camera in order that it confirmed me solely from the rib cage up. I couldn’t even pretend the arms.
Possibly that’s as a result of, as I quickly discovered, a degree exists even under Newbie. That degree is Fundamental. So am I. The next week, I attempted Steps on Broadway’s Fundamental Theater Dance.
The trainer, Tera-Lee Pollin, a Broadway veteran with inhuman exuberance, guided a handful of scholars by “Waterloo,” the curtain quantity for “Mamma Mia!” and a tune about defeat. Collectively, delightedly, we ponied, we swam, we grapevined. No jambes had been ronded.
So, sure, any novice with sufficient time and resilience and discretionary revenue can most likely be taught theater fundamentals remotely. The alchemy of dwell performing earlier than a dwell viewers nearly comes by onscreen — however not fairly. Till it might probably, I’ll consider the 1000’s and 1000’s of individuals of their houses, practising their pentameter, arabesques and key adjustments, ready for curtains to rise.
That’s it for this briefing. See you subsequent time.
— Melina
Thanks
To Melissa Clark for the recipe, and to Theodore Kim and Jahaan Singh for the remainder of the break from the information. You’ll be able to attain the group at briefing@nytimes.com.
P.S.
• We’re listening to “The Every day.” Our newest episode is on a congressional grilling of Massive Tech executives.
• Right here’s our Mini Crossword, and a clue: Pc’s core, for brief (three letters). Yow will discover all our puzzles right here.
• Ruth Graham, most just lately at Slate, is becoming a member of our Nationwide desk to cowl faith.
