Days after reaching a ceasefire agreement, Armenian and Azerbaijan forces engaged in new fighting as the US urged the two sides to observe the ceasefire.

Watch:

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The fighting which began on September 27 over the disputed<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/humanitarian-crisis-feared-as-nagorno-karabakh-ceasefire-buckles-335077"> Nagorno-Karabakh</a> region has led to at least 600 deaths including 73 civilians as the International Red Cross said that "once-busy streets are being reduced to rubble".

Earlier, &nbsp;Azerbaijan and Armenian troops had accused each other of breaking the ceasefire as heavy shelling was reported in several areas despite the ceasefire.

"The United States calls on Azerbaijan and Armenia to implement their commitments to a ceasefire as agreed and cease targeting civilian areas," US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said amid the fighting between the two sides even as the Minsk Group urged both nations to "to take immediate steps" to implement the ceasefire.

The members of the Minsk group including Russia, France and the United States have warned of "catastrophic consequences for the region" if the fighting continues.

Meanwhile, Azerbaijan's ally Turkey said it wanted four-way talks between Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Turkey.

"Since Russia is on Armenia's side and we, Turkey, support Azerbaijan, let's meet as a foursome to discuss resolving these problems," Turkey's government said, adding,"if the Minsk Group hasn't been able to find a solution for more than 30 years, it's time to find a new mechanism."

The disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan comprises of Armenian majority and became a flashpoint between the two countries after the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. Both countries had fought each other in the early 90s leading to the deaths of at least 30,000 people however a truce was brokered in 1994.

Days after reaching a ceasefire agreement, Armenian and Azerbaijan forces engaged in new fighting as the US urged the two sides to observe the ceasefire. Watch: The fighting which began on September 27 over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region has led to at least 600 deaths including 73 civilians as the International Red Cross said that "once-busy streets are being reduced to rubble".

Days after reaching a ceasefire agreement, Armenian and Azerbaijan forces engaged in new fighting as the US urged the two sides to observe the ceasefire. Watch: The fighting which began on September 27 over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region has led to at least 600 deaths including 73 civilians as the International Red Cross said that "once-busy streets are being reduced to rubble". Earlier, Azerbaijan and Armenian troops had accused each other of breaking the ceasefire as heavy shelling was reported in several areas despite the ceasefire. "The United States calls on Azerbaijan and Armenia to implement their commitments to a ceasefire as agreed and cease targeting civilian areas," US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said amid the fighting between the two sides even as the Minsk Group urged both nations to "to take immediate steps" to implement the ceasefire. The members of the Minsk group including Russia, France and the United States have warned of "catastrophic consequences for the region" if the fighting continues. Meanwhile, Azerbaijan's ally Turkey said it wanted four-way talks between Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Turkey. "Since Russia is on Armenia's side and we, Turkey, support Azerbaijan, let's meet as a foursome to discuss resolving these problems," Turkey's government said, adding,"if the Minsk Group hasn't been able to find a solution for more than 30 years, it's time to find a new mechanism." The disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan comprises of Armenian majority and became a flashpoint between the two countries after the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. Both countries had fought each other in the early 90s leading to the deaths of at least 30,000 people however a truce was brokered in 1994.

Armenia, Azerbaijan continue fighting amid rising death toll

Russia on Wednesday&nbsp;rejected calls over the START nuclear agreement after the Trump administration said it would support preserving the treaty for an unspecified period.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-and-russia-to-hold-latest-nuclear-arms-talks-in-finland-332528">Also Read:&nbsp;US and Russia to hold latest nuclear arms talks in Finland</a>

"We are in fact willing to extend the New START treaty for some period of time provided that they, in return, agree to a limitation -- a freeze -- on their nuclear arsenal," US negotiator Marshall Billingslea said.

However, deputy foreign minister Sergei Riabkov said that it was "an unacceptable proposition". The US has tried to rope in China into the agreement as the Trump administration has demanded that Russia should stop its nuclear activities during the extension period.

"Everything we agree with the Russians must be framed and must be formatted in a way that allows us to extend that arrangement to the Chinese when they are finally brought to the negotiating table," Billingslea said, however, China has rejected the US move to join the nuclear agreement with the Chinese disarmament envoy, Li Song declaring: "There are only two largest nuclear arsenals on earth. Not three."

While calling the US option as a "gentleman's agreement", the US government said it had taken "note of those who have chosen to remain silent".

Ryabkov told the Russian news agency that "a deal could even be reached tomorrow", but added that there were "many differences" even as the US side said that Russia would have to show &nbsp;"political will" in order to reach the agreement.

The treaty is due to expire early next year.

Russia on Wednesday rejected calls over the START nuclear agreement after the Trump administration said it would support preserving the treaty for an unspecified period.

Russia on Wednesday rejected calls over the START nuclear agreement after the Trump administration said it would support preserving the treaty for an unspecified period. Also Read: US and Russia to hold latest nuclear arms talks in Finland "We are in fact willing to extend the New START treaty for some period of time provided that they, in return, agree to a limitation -- a freeze -- on their nuclear arsenal," US negotiator Marshall Billingslea said. However, deputy foreign minister Sergei Riabkov said that it was "an unacceptable proposition". The US has tried to rope in China into the agreement as the Trump administration has demanded that Russia should stop its nuclear activities during the extension period. "Everything we agree with the Russians must be framed and must be formatted in a way that allows us to extend that arrangement to the Chinese when they are finally brought to the negotiating table," Billingslea said, however, China has rejected the US move to join the nuclear agreement with the Chinese disarmament envoy, Li Song declaring: "There are only two largest nuclear arsenals on earth. Not three." While calling the US option as a "gentleman's agreement", the US government said it had taken "note of those who have chosen to remain silent". Ryabkov told the Russian news agency that "a deal could even be reached tomorrow", but added that there were "many differences" even as the US side said that Russia would have to show "political will" in order to reach the agreement. The treaty is due to expire early next year.

Unacceptable proposition, says Russia over new nuclear agreement with US

NEW YORK — Facebook has just leased enough new office space in Manhattan to nearly triple its current local workforce, including at one of the city’s most iconic buildings, the 107-year-old former main post office complex near Pennsylvania Station.

Apple, which set up its first office in New York a decade ago, is expanding to another building in Manhattan. And Google and Amazon are stitching together corporate campuses in the city more quickly than anywhere else in the world. Amazon paid roughly $1 billion in March for the iconic Lord &amp; Taylor building on Fifth Avenue.

Despite a pandemic that has ravaged New York, hollowed out many of its office buildings and raised fundamental questions about its future, the four companies collectively known as Big Tech are all significantly expanding their footprint in the city, giving it a badly needed vote of confidence.

With fears that the virus could spike again in the colder months, many companies are grappling with how, when and even if office workers will come back to buildings in Manhattan. And the tech giants have not brought their workers back yet, either.

Even so, the giants have not only moved forward with previous growth plans, but have also increased their pace of hiring and office acquisition during the pandemic.

The industry’s embrace of New York City comes despite the tumultuous reception that Amazon received last year when it proposed building a sprawling headquarters in Queens. Amazon abandoned the plans in the face of political and community opposition, but now has acquired more than 2 million square feet of office space for corporate workers, as well as warehouses from Staten Island to Queens to the Bronx.

After Amazon bought the Lord &amp; Taylor building, it announced in August that 2,000 employees would eventually work there, increasing by half its current tech workforce of 4,000.

Amazon now has eight office properties in New York, most of which are clustered in Midtown. The company recently expanded outside Manhattan, leasing space on the Brooklyn waterfront for its Amazon Music team.

“We know that talent attracts talent, and we believe that the creative energy of cities like New York will continue to attract diverse professionals from around the world,” said Ardine Williams, Amazon’s vice president of workforce development.

Even with Big Tech’s expansion, the city continues to face a fundamental challenge: Most offices have been deserted since March, devastating the local economy and the ecosystem of transit, stores, restaurants and other business that depend on workers. Only about 12% of workers have returned to Manhattan offices managed by CBRE, a commercial real estate firm that manages 20 million square feet of office space in the city.

Many people do not want to go back to offices until there is a vaccine. Even after that, there are mounting questions about whether the pandemic has fundamentally tarnished the allure of the office towers of Midtown and Lower Manhattan.

What’s more, a recent uptick in new cases in parts of Brooklyn and Queens has raised fears that a second wave looms and that restrictions on daily life could be reimposed.

Collectively, Amazon, Google, Facebook and Apple have hired more than 2,600 employees in the city so far this year, bringing their total employment to over 22,000 people. Facebook alone has added 1,100 workers to bring its current workforce up to 4,000.

Apple, Amazon and Facebook have gobbled up more than 1.6 million square feet of office space since the start of the year, most of which was leased or bought during the pandemic. Before the pandemic, Google added about 1.7 million square feet of office space as part of a corporate campus rising along the Hudson River in Manhattan.

The companies now have enough new office space to hire another 15,000 employees. When those workers will arrive at the new offices remains uncertain; all four companies have allowed their employees to work remotely and some, including Facebook, foresee a future in which up to half its employees work from home.

Executives at the companies said their investments even during one of the city’s darkest periods reflect their belief that the features that set New York apart — its diversity, culture, regional transportation network and numerous colleges and universities — will keep luring people after the pandemic.

To a large extent, the companies are also wagering that current and future employees will be eager to return to shared workplaces that promote spontaneity and collaboration.

“The big takeaway here is that New York will always be a tech hub,” said William Floyd, director of external affairs for Google’s New York offices, which has about 9,000 workers, more than half of whom are engineers.

Google is on target to employ 14,000 people in the city in the coming years, fulfilling a 2018 pledge to double its New York City workforce. The company has pieced together a sizable corporate campus in and around the Chelsea neighborhood in Manhattan, including several properties that are under construction.

The tech sector first settled in New York more than two decades ago, a tiny player in the shadows of the city’s traditional powerhouse industries like finance, media, real estate and health care. Google opened its first outpost outside California, a sales office in Manhattan with a lone employee, in 2000.

But in recent years, New York has blossomed into a bona fide tech hub, an East Coast rival to Silicon Valley that has become a second home to tech behemoths but has also given rise to thousands of startups.

The larger companies have established a tech corridor on Manhattan’s West Side, stretching from West 34th Street in Midtown south to the World Trade Center area in Lower Manhattan.

The focus of the tech companies in New York has shifted from marketing and sales departments to teams that mirror those in Silicon Valley. They have recruited engineers and developers from local and regional universities and filled some roles with West Coast employees who want to decamp to New York City.

For every Big Tech company in the city, there are numerous smaller but still sizable firms, including Salesforce, LinkedIn, Spotify and ZocDoc. Microsoft, another tech giant, has a modest presence in offices near Times Square.

Before the pandemic, the city’s tech sector employed 150,100 people, and had added a total of 15,700 jobs in 2018 and 2019, according to the New York state comptroller’s office. Most of the new jobs were in fields like software, data processing and internet publishing.

The pace of hiring is expected to keep climbing.

In August, when Facebook grabbed all the office space at the James A. Farley Building near Pennsylvania Station, it cemented Manhattan’s West Side as its East Coast campus.

The company said it leased 730,000 square feet at the old post office in part because of its cavernous layout — a rarity among New York City buildings — which mimics the large open areas at its headquarters in Menlo Park, California. When a renovation is completed next year, the building will be filled with engineers.

“The floor plan will allow for multiple teams to be housed on those floors,” said Jamila Reeves, a company spokeswoman, “and we don’t necessarily have to break folks up.”

Around the corner from the Farley Building, Apple signed a lease for 220,000 square feet at 11 Penn Plaza, a 1923 art deco tower near Madison Square Garden.

Before the deal, Apple, which has said very little about its plans in the city, had not expanded beyond an office building on Fifth Avenue in the Flatiron neighborhood that it moved into in 2011.

Smaller tech companies have also kept adding to their payrolls right through the outbreak.

MongoDB, a cloud database platform whose headquarters are in Midtown Manhattan, has hired 97 employees since the beginning of the pandemic, bringing its total workforce in the city to 551.

The company, whose products are used by Verizon, eBay and Adobe among other companies, has more than 2,100 employees worldwide and is creating a hybrid work model to have employees work remotely some days and in the office on others.

“While there are questions about what the future of work post-COVID will look like, we plan to maintain office spaces in New York,” said Dev Ittycheria, the company’s chief executive. “We believe that being physically present with colleagues in an office can offer important opportunities for in-person interaction, collaboration, and connection that are important for the success of our company.”

One of the company’s newest hires, Farah Wahab, started in August as a product marketing manager after working for five years at tech companies in San Francisco.

Though San Francisco has a far larger tech scene, she said the city felt more insular compared with New York.

“I love S.F. but it can feel a bit like a tech-centric bubble isolated from the real world,” Wahab, 32, said. “Being around different industries and types of people, as well as greater access to the market, was important to me both personally and professionally.”

Kia D. Floyd, Facebook’s head of public policy for the east and Midwest regions, pointed out that the company set up shop in New York shortly before the 2008 Great Recession, another challenging period of uncertainty in the city.

“People fled the city then and didn’t think it would come back,” Floyd said. “But the city has grit and resilience and diversity, and it was always going to be inspirational for businesses like ours.” 
&nbsp;

NEW YORK — Facebook has just leased enough new office space in Manhattan to nearly triple its current local workforce, including at one of the city’s most iconic buildings, the 107-year-old former main post office complex near Pennsylvania Station.

NEW YORK — Facebook has just leased enough new office space in Manhattan to nearly triple its current local workforce, including at one of the city’s most iconic buildings, the 107-year-old former main post office complex near Pennsylvania Station. Apple, which set up its first office in New York a decade ago, is expanding to another building in Manhattan. And Google and Amazon are stitching together corporate campuses in the city more quickly than anywhere else in the world. Amazon paid roughly $1 billion in March for the iconic Lord & Taylor building on Fifth Avenue. Despite a pandemic that has ravaged New York, hollowed out many of its office buildings and raised fundamental questions about its future, the four companies collectively known as Big Tech are all significantly expanding their footprint in the city, giving it a badly needed vote of confidence. With fears that the virus could spike again in the colder months, many companies are grappling with how, when and even if office workers will come back to buildings in Manhattan. And the tech giants have not brought their workers back yet, either. Even so, the giants have not only moved forward with previous growth plans, but have also increased their pace of hiring and office acquisition during the pandemic. The industry’s embrace of New York City comes despite the tumultuous reception that Amazon received last year when it proposed building a sprawling headquarters in Queens. Amazon abandoned the plans in the face of political and community opposition, but now has acquired more than 2 million square feet of office space for corporate workers, as well as warehouses from Staten Island to Queens to the Bronx. After Amazon bought the Lord & Taylor building, it announced in August that 2,000 employees would eventually work there, increasing by half its current tech workforce of 4,000. Amazon now has eight office properties in New York, most of which are clustered in Midtown. The company recently expanded outside Manhattan, leasing space on the Brooklyn waterfront for its Amazon Music team. “We know that talent attracts talent, and we believe that the creative energy of cities like New York will continue to attract diverse professionals from around the world,” said Ardine Williams, Amazon’s vice president of workforce development. Even with Big Tech’s expansion, the city continues to face a fundamental challenge: Most offices have been deserted since March, devastating the local economy and the ecosystem of transit, stores, restaurants and other business that depend on workers. Only about 12% of workers have returned to Manhattan offices managed by CBRE, a commercial real estate firm that manages 20 million square feet of office space in the city. Many people do not want to go back to offices until there is a vaccine. Even after that, there are mounting questions about whether the pandemic has fundamentally tarnished the allure of the office towers of Midtown and Lower Manhattan. What’s more, a recent uptick in new cases in parts of Brooklyn and Queens has raised fears that a second wave looms and that restrictions on daily life could be reimposed. Collectively, Amazon, Google, Facebook and Apple have hired more than 2,600 employees in the city so far this year, bringing their total employment to over 22,000 people. Facebook alone has added 1,100 workers to bring its current workforce up to 4,000. Apple, Amazon and Facebook have gobbled up more than 1.6 million square feet of office space since the start of the year, most of which was leased or bought during the pandemic. Before the pandemic, Google added about 1.7 million square feet of office space as part of a corporate campus rising along the Hudson River in Manhattan. The companies now have enough new office space to hire another 15,000 employees. When those workers will arrive at the new offices remains uncertain; all four companies have allowed their employees to work remotely and some, including Facebook, foresee a future in which up to half its employees work from home. Executives at the companies said their investments even during one of the city’s darkest periods reflect their belief that the features that set New York apart — its diversity, culture, regional transportation network and numerous colleges and universities — will keep luring people after the pandemic. To a large extent, the companies are also wagering that current and future employees will be eager to return to shared workplaces that promote spontaneity and collaboration. “The big takeaway here is that New York will always be a tech hub,” said William Floyd, director of external affairs for Google’s New York offices, which has about 9,000 workers, more than half of whom are engineers. Google is on target to employ 14,000 people in the city in the coming years, fulfilling a 2018 pledge to double its New York City workforce. The company has pieced together a sizable corporate campus in and around the Chelsea neighborhood in Manhattan, including several properties that are under construction. The tech sector first settled in New York more than two decades ago, a tiny player in the shadows of the city’s traditional powerhouse industries like finance, media, real estate and health care. Google opened its first outpost outside California, a sales office in Manhattan with a lone employee, in 2000. But in recent years, New York has blossomed into a bona fide tech hub, an East Coast rival to Silicon Valley that has become a second home to tech behemoths but has also given rise to thousands of startups. The larger companies have established a tech corridor on Manhattan’s West Side, stretching from West 34th Street in Midtown south to the World Trade Center area in Lower Manhattan. The focus of the tech companies in New York has shifted from marketing and sales departments to teams that mirror those in Silicon Valley. They have recruited engineers and developers from local and regional universities and filled some roles with West Coast employees who want to decamp to New York City. For every Big Tech company in the city, there are numerous smaller but still sizable firms, including Salesforce, LinkedIn, Spotify and ZocDoc. Microsoft, another tech giant, has a modest presence in offices near Times Square. Before the pandemic, the city’s tech sector employed 150,100 people, and had added a total of 15,700 jobs in 2018 and 2019, according to the New York state comptroller’s office. Most of the new jobs were in fields like software, data processing and internet publishing. The pace of hiring is expected to keep climbing. In August, when Facebook grabbed all the office space at the James A. Farley Building near Pennsylvania Station, it cemented Manhattan’s West Side as its East Coast campus. The company said it leased 730,000 square feet at the old post office in part because of its cavernous layout — a rarity among New York City buildings — which mimics the large open areas at its headquarters in Menlo Park, California. When a renovation is completed next year, the building will be filled with engineers. “The floor plan will allow for multiple teams to be housed on those floors,” said Jamila Reeves, a company spokeswoman, “and we don’t necessarily have to break folks up.” Around the corner from the Farley Building, Apple signed a lease for 220,000 square feet at 11 Penn Plaza, a 1923 art deco tower near Madison Square Garden. Before the deal, Apple, which has said very little about its plans in the city, had not expanded beyond an office building on Fifth Avenue in the Flatiron neighborhood that it moved into in 2011. Smaller tech companies have also kept adding to their payrolls right through the outbreak. MongoDB, a cloud database platform whose headquarters are in Midtown Manhattan, has hired 97 employees since the beginning of the pandemic, bringing its total workforce in the city to 551. The company, whose products are used by Verizon, eBay and Adobe among other companies, has more than 2,100 employees worldwide and is creating a hybrid work model to have employees work remotely some days and in the office on others. “While there are questions about what the future of work post-COVID will look like, we plan to maintain office spaces in New York,” said Dev Ittycheria, the company’s chief executive. “We believe that being physically present with colleagues in an office can offer important opportunities for in-person interaction, collaboration, and connection that are important for the success of our company.” One of the company’s newest hires, Farah Wahab, started in August as a product marketing manager after working for five years at tech companies in San Francisco. Though San Francisco has a far larger tech scene, she said the city felt more insular compared with New York. “I love S.F. but it can feel a bit like a tech-centric bubble isolated from the real world,” Wahab, 32, said. “Being around different industries and types of people, as well as greater access to the market, was important to me both personally and professionally.” Kia D. Floyd, Facebook’s head of public policy for the east and Midwest regions, pointed out that the company set up shop in New York shortly before the 2008 Great Recession, another challenging period of uncertainty in the city. “People fled the city then and didn’t think it would come back,” Floyd said. “But the city has grit and resilience and diversity, and it was always going to be inspirational for businesses like ours.”

Manhattan emptied out during the pandemic. But Big Tech is moving in

Pakistan on Tuesday was re-elected as a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for the next 3 years.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/why-do-chronic-violators-of-human-rights-like-china-pak-want-a-seat-at-the-unhrc-335063">Also Read:&nbsp;Why do chronic violators of human rights like China &amp; Pak want a seat at the UNHRC?</a>

The country will be a member of the UN council for 2021-23 period. Pakistan garnered 169 out of 194 votes for the seat

Meanwhile, Nepal's foreign minister Pradeep Gyawali said, "Nepal is re-elected in UN Human Rights Council for the second term with 150 votes."

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Nepal is re-elected in UN Human Right Council for second term with 150 votes. We are grateful to the friendly nations for their support. Thanks to the Nepali Missions in New York and Geneva for hard work.
— Pradeep Gyawali (@PradeepgyawaliK) <a href="https://twitter.com/PradeepgyawaliK/status/1316086795973521410?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 13, 2020</a></blockquote>
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China, Cuba and Russia were also elected to the UNHRC while Saudi Arabia failed in its attempt to become the member of the Rights council winning just 90 votes.

Fifteen countries were elected to the council which comprises of 47 nations.

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Members to the UNHRC are elected directly by secret ballot by UN General Assembly members who are distributed geographically. The members to the council have a three-year term with a maximum of two terms.

The regions for UNHRC membership are divided into Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Caribbean, western Europe and eastern Europe.

Pakistan on Tuesday was re-elected as a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for the next 3 years. Also Read: Why do chronic violators of human rights like China & Pak want a seat at the UNHRC?

Pakistan on Tuesday was re-elected as a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for the next 3 years. Also Read: Why do chronic violators of human rights like China & Pak want a seat at the UNHRC? The country will be a member of the UN council for 2021-23 period. Pakistan garnered 169 out of 194 votes for the seat Meanwhile, Nepal's foreign minister Pradeep Gyawali said, "Nepal is re-elected in UN Human Rights Council for the second term with 150 votes." Nepal is re-elected in UN Human Right Council for second term with 150 votes. We are grateful to the friendly nations for their support. Thanks to the Nepali Missions in New York and Geneva for hard work. — Pradeep Gyawali (@PradeepgyawaliK) October 13, 2020 × China, Cuba and Russia were also elected to the UNHRC while Saudi Arabia failed in its attempt to become the member of the Rights council winning just 90 votes. Fifteen countries were elected to the council which comprises of 47 nations. × Members to the UNHRC are elected directly by secret ballot by UN General Assembly members who are distributed geographically. The members to the council have a three-year term with a maximum of two terms. The regions for UNHRC membership are divided into Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Caribbean, western Europe and eastern Europe.

Pakistan, Nepal re-elected as UNHRC members; China also elected

Azerbaijan forces said it hit missile launch site in <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/after-ceasefire-armenia-says-azerbaijan-launching-attacks-towards-karakhanbeyli-334256">Armenia</a> as the conflict over <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/reports-of-new-armenia-azerbaijan-clashes-dent-ceasefire-hopes-334643">Nagorno-Karabakh</a> region continued despite a ceasefire agreement between the two countries in Moscow last week.

Watch:

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Azerbaijan's defence ministry said it destroyed a ballistic missile system and a rocket system in Armenia in overnight attcks on Wednesday.

The latest report comes as both sides have accused each other of shelling cities even as Russia and the United States have called a halt to the hostilities.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/armenia-azerbaijan-continue-fighting-amid-rising-death-toll-335094">Also Read:&nbsp;Armenia, Azerbaijan continue fighting amid rising death toll</a>

At least 600 people have died in the conflict including over 70 civilians as both nations have continued to pound each other's positions even after a ceasefire deal was reached in Moscow after over 11 hours of talks last week.

Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan is largely populated with Armenians and has been controlled by &nbsp;Armenia since war broke out between the two countries in the 1990s after the breakup of the former Soviet Union. At least 30,000 people had died in the conflict at the time leading to a truce in 1994.

The conflict escalated on September 27 as the two sides fired at each other leading Russia, United States and France which comprise the Minsk group to intervene.

Azerbaijan forces said it hit missile launch site in Armenia as the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh region continued despite a ceasefire agreement between the two countries in Moscow last week.

Azerbaijan forces said it hit missile launch site in Armenia as the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh region continued despite a ceasefire agreement between the two countries in Moscow last week. Watch: Azerbaijan's defence ministry said it destroyed a ballistic missile system and a rocket system in Armenia in overnight attcks on Wednesday. The latest report comes as both sides have accused each other of shelling cities even as Russia and the United States have called a halt to the hostilities. Also Read: Armenia, Azerbaijan continue fighting amid rising death toll At least 600 people have died in the conflict including over 70 civilians as both nations have continued to pound each other's positions even after a ceasefire deal was reached in Moscow after over 11 hours of talks last week. Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan is largely populated with Armenians and has been controlled by Armenia since war broke out between the two countries in the 1990s after the breakup of the former Soviet Union. At least 30,000 people had died in the conflict at the time leading to a truce in 1994. The conflict escalated on September 27 as the two sides fired at each other leading Russia, United States and France which comprise the Minsk group to intervene.

Azerbaijan hits ballistic missile launch site in Armenia in Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

An app launched by China's Tuber by a cybersecurity firm Qihoo 360 disappeared after it gave the country’s internet users access to Facebook and Google which are banned in the Communist country.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/technology/quantum-leap-united-states-unveils-blueprint-for-virtually-unhackable-internet-315799">Also Read:&nbsp;'Quantum' leap: United States unveils blueprint for virtually 'unhackable internet'</a>

The App also allowed Chinese citizens to legally access Youtube and Instagram photos without resorting to the illegal virtual private network(VPN). However, it disappeared from &nbsp;Huawei's app store.

China controls all access to the Internet in the country with users allowed to access only government sanctioned sites. Tuber was reportedly dowloaded five million times on Huawei’s App store.

The new app had allowed millions of Chinese to bypass the state-controlled Great Firewall. After it was launched, it required personal information from users namely names and identity card numbers even as some users complained it too slow.

Qihoo 360 is owned by China's tech tycoon Zhou Hongyi who had delisted his company from the New York stock exchange four years ago and aligned itself to China's policies. The US had earlier this year sanctioned Zhou’s two companies over national security concerns.

The US government had earlier clamped down on China's popular video-sharing app TikTok over security concerns. US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said following the Trump administration's line had said that TikTok must become a "US-based company controlled by US investors".

However, China's Xi Jinping regime accused Trump of "bullying" and "abusing national power" in its bid to take over TikTok.

An app launched by China's Tuber by a cybersecurity firm Qihoo 360 disappeared after it gave the country’s internet users access to Facebook and Google which are banned in the Communist country.

An app launched by China's Tuber by a cybersecurity firm Qihoo 360 disappeared after it gave the country’s internet users access to Facebook and Google which are banned in the Communist country. Also Read: 'Quantum' leap: United States unveils blueprint for virtually 'unhackable internet' The App also allowed Chinese citizens to legally access Youtube and Instagram photos without resorting to the illegal virtual private network(VPN). However, it disappeared from Huawei's app store. China controls all access to the Internet in the country with users allowed to access only government sanctioned sites. Tuber was reportedly dowloaded five million times on Huawei’s App store. The new app had allowed millions of Chinese to bypass the state-controlled Great Firewall. After it was launched, it required personal information from users namely names and identity card numbers even as some users complained it too slow. Qihoo 360 is owned by China's tech tycoon Zhou Hongyi who had delisted his company from the New York stock exchange four years ago and aligned itself to China's policies. The US had earlier this year sanctioned Zhou’s two companies over national security concerns. The US government had earlier clamped down on China's popular video-sharing app TikTok over security concerns. US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said following the Trump administration's line had said that TikTok must become a "US-based company controlled by US investors". However, China's Xi Jinping regime accused Trump of "bullying" and "abusing national power" in its bid to take over TikTok.

China's Tuber app bypasses Great Firewall, then disappears

NASA said on Tuesday that eight nations have signed the international agreement for Moon exploration called the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trump-led-united-states-to-secretly-draft-artemis-accords-pact-for-moon-mining-297300">Artemis Accords</a>.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/nasa-picks-four-us-small-businesses-to-build-artemis-lunar-tech-311891">Also Read:&nbsp;</a><a href="http://13.235.153.162/science/nasa-picks-four-us-small-businesses-to-build-artemis-lunar-tech-311891" hreflang="en">NASA picks four US small businesses to build Artemis lunar tech</a>

The US space agency aims to humans to the Moon and beyond by 2024. The signatories include the United States, UAE, Canada, Japan, Australia, Italy, Luxembourg and the United Kingdom.

"Artemis will be the broadest and most diverse international human space exploration program in history, and the Artemis Accords are the vehicle that will establish this singular global coalition," Jim Bridenstine, NASA administrator said, adding,"What we’re trying to do is establish norms of behaviour that every nation can agree to."

The accord seeks to create international space law by establishing "safety zones" in order to prevent countries from getting involved in conflicts in outer space.

Last year, US Vice President Mike Pence had directed NASA to send humans to the Moon by 2024. The US space agency intends to first send a robotic rover to the Moon before sending humans.

"With today's signing, we are uniting with our partners to explore the Moon and are establishing vital principles that will create a safe, peaceful, and prosperous future in space for all of humanity to enjoy," Bridenstine asserted.

According to the agreement, the members would have to adhere to peaceful exploration and create hardware which can be used operated&nbsp;by other member nation ensuring transparency.

Russia said it was unlikely to join the group, with China excluded from the agreement.

NASA said on Tuesday that eight nations have signed the international agreement for Moon exploration called the Artemis Accords. Also Read: NASA picks four US small businesses to build Artemis lunar tech The US space agency aims to humans to the Moon and beyond by 2024.

NASA said on Tuesday that eight nations have signed the international agreement for Moon exploration called the Artemis Accords. Also Read: NASA picks four US small businesses to build Artemis lunar tech The US space agency aims to humans to the Moon and beyond by 2024. The signatories include the United States, UAE, Canada, Japan, Australia, Italy, Luxembourg and the United Kingdom. "Artemis will be the broadest and most diverse international human space exploration program in history, and the Artemis Accords are the vehicle that will establish this singular global coalition," Jim Bridenstine, NASA administrator said, adding,"What we’re trying to do is establish norms of behaviour that every nation can agree to." The accord seeks to create international space law by establishing "safety zones" in order to prevent countries from getting involved in conflicts in outer space. Last year, US Vice President Mike Pence had directed NASA to send humans to the Moon by 2024. The US space agency intends to first send a robotic rover to the Moon before sending humans. "With today's signing, we are uniting with our partners to explore the Moon and are establishing vital principles that will create a safe, peaceful, and prosperous future in space for all of humanity to enjoy," Bridenstine asserted. According to the agreement, the members would have to adhere to peaceful exploration and create hardware which can be used operated by other member nation ensuring transparency. Russia said it was unlikely to join the group, with China excluded from the agreement.

Eight nations sign NASA'S space coalition mission under Artemis Accords

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/belarus-opposition-leader-says-trial-for-lukashenko-subject-to-negotiation-333612">Belarus</a> security officials on Sunday used water cannon and batons on protesters who were demanding fresh presidential election.

Watch:

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/belarus-president-lukashenko-meets-11-jailed-activists-334434/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

Reports said police detained several protesters beating them with their batons at a rally in Minsk. According to Russia's Interfax news agency, at least 50 people have been detained.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/after-several-eu-nations-uk-withdraws-envoy-from-belarus-334278">Also Read:&nbsp;After several EU nations, UK withdraws envoy from Belarus</a>

Lukashenko who has been in power since 1994 has been accused by the Opposition of fraudulently winning the elections even as several leaders have been arrested or fled abroad.Black-clad masked police were seen hitting protesters as demonstrators came out with umbrellas on Sunday afternoon. 
&nbsp; 
The country has witnessed a series of protests ever since Alexander Lukashenko won the August 9 election with a landslide.

Opposition leader <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/russia-puts-belarus-opposition-leader-sviatlana-tsikhanouskaya-on-wanted-list-333276">Sviatlana </a>Tsikhanouskaya who fled the country has called for "new free and transparent elections" even as senior Belarus officials have been accused of fraud and human rights abuses.&nbsp;

Demonstrators have been demanding Lukashenko's removal for months amid large scale protests even as the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/belarus-announces-sanctions-list-in-retaliation-against-eu-331966">EU</a> has imposed sanctions on the country including the United States, Britain and Canada.

Lukashenko had on Saturday visited jailed Opposition leaders. "I am trying to convince not only your supporters but the whole of society that one needs to look at things more broadly," the 66-year-old leader said in a video release.&nbsp;

"The aim of the president is to hear everyone's' opinion," Lukashenko's press service said amid large scale protests against his rule in the country.

Belarus security officials on Sunday used water cannon and batons on protesters who were demanding fresh presidential election. Watch: Reports said police detained several protesters beating them with their batons at a rally in Minsk.

Belarus security officials on Sunday used water cannon and batons on protesters who were demanding fresh presidential election. Watch: Reports said police detained several protesters beating them with their batons at a rally in Minsk. According to Russia's Interfax news agency, at least 50 people have been detained. Also Read: After several EU nations, UK withdraws envoy from Belarus Lukashenko who has been in power since 1994 has been accused by the Opposition of fraudulently winning the elections even as several leaders have been arrested or fled abroad.Black-clad masked police were seen hitting protesters as demonstrators came out with umbrellas on Sunday afternoon. The country has witnessed a series of protests ever since Alexander Lukashenko won the August 9 election with a landslide. Opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya who fled the country has called for "new free and transparent elections" even as senior Belarus officials have been accused of fraud and human rights abuses. Demonstrators have been demanding Lukashenko's removal for months amid large scale protests even as the EU has imposed sanctions on the country including the United States, Britain and Canada. Lukashenko had on Saturday visited jailed Opposition leaders. "I am trying to convince not only your supporters but the whole of society that one needs to look at things more broadly," the 66-year-old leader said in a video release. "The aim of the president is to hear everyone's' opinion," Lukashenko's press service said amid large scale protests against his rule in the country.

Belarus police uses water cannon, batons to break up  anti-Lukashenko protests

In his first public address after recovering from coronavirus, US President Donald <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/after-florida-trump-to-take-part-in-two-more-rallies-next-week-334358">Trump</a> told his supporters that he was "feeling great" from the White House balcony on Saturday.

Watch:&nbsp;

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/president-trump-develops-coronavirus-antibodies-calls-catching-covid-19-a-blessing-333550/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

"Our nation will defeat the China virus, the vaccine is coming in record time, it is coming very soon," the US president said, adding," I am thankful to everyone who prayed for my health."

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/allan-lichtman-the-man-who-has-correctly-predicted-us-election-since-1984-334317">Also Read |&nbsp;Allan Lichtman: The man who has correctly predicted US election since 1984&nbsp;</a>

"Science, medicine will eradicate the China virus once and for all, it's going to disappear. It's disappearing," Trump asserted. "I have defeated the China virus, &nbsp;This disease is going to disappear."

"Science, medicine will eradicate the China virus once and for all," the US president said.

Trump took a dig at Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden saying: "Sleepy Joe Biden&nbsp;betrayed Latino and Black Americans. If you think he can run this country, you're wrong." With the US election just days away, Trump's campaign team announced that the US president would be attending three rallies next week in Florida, Iowa and Pennsylvania.

"If the left gains power, they'll launch a nationwide crusade against law enforcement," he said. "Joe Biden doesn't know what to say, he is told what to say," the president told his supporters.

"We have law enforcement watching all those ballots, tremendous problems with the ballots. You see how many crooked ballots are being found? he asked.

"I have done more for the black community than any other President since Abraham Lincoln," he said.

"This is the most important election we have ever had. Even more than the last one, so please get out there and vote," the US president told his supporters.

In his first public address after recovering from coronavirus, US President Donald Trump told his supporters that he was "feeling great" from the White House balcony on Saturday.

In his first public address after recovering from coronavirus, US President Donald Trump told his supporters that he was "feeling great" from the White House balcony on Saturday. Watch: "Our nation will defeat the China virus, the vaccine is coming in record time, it is coming very soon," the US president said, adding," I am thankful to everyone who prayed for my health." Also Read | Allan Lichtman: The man who has correctly predicted US election since 1984 "Science, medicine will eradicate the China virus once and for all, it's going to disappear. It's disappearing," Trump asserted. "I have defeated the China virus, This disease is going to disappear." "Science, medicine will eradicate the China virus once and for all," the US president said. Trump took a dig at Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden saying: "Sleepy Joe Biden betrayed Latino and Black Americans. If you think he can run this country, you're wrong." With the US election just days away, Trump's campaign team announced that the US president would be attending three rallies next week in Florida, Iowa and Pennsylvania. "If the left gains power, they'll launch a nationwide crusade against law enforcement," he said. "Joe Biden doesn't know what to say, he is told what to say," the president told his supporters. "We have law enforcement watching all those ballots, tremendous problems with the ballots. You see how many crooked ballots are being found? he asked. "I have done more for the black community than any other President since Abraham Lincoln," he said. "This is the most important election we have ever had. Even more than the last one, so please get out there and vote," the US president told his supporters.

Science, medicine will eradicate the China virus, it will disappear, says Trump from White House balcony

OLYPHANT, Pa. — President Donald Trump’s narrowing path to victory in Pennsylvania, and the country, runs through small towns like Olyphant, where Dave Mitchko’s street might be quieter, if not for the large sign he put on his front lawn urging supporters of the president to honk when they pass.

Trump signs are Mitchko’s thing, and his front yard has become something of an informal sign depot for Republicans in greater northeastern Pennsylvania. He estimates that he’s given away more than 26,000 signs this year. And his efforts were rewarded by the campaign with tarmac invitations for recent visits to the region by both Trump and Vice President Mike Pence as well as a spot driving in the presidential motorcade. Mitchko wore a suit and a Trumpian red tie for the occasion.

“Your area — this has always been a Democrat area, and yet the votes for Trump here are through the roof,” Trump bragged that August day.

Trump was right. Mitchko was among the defectors. A 53-year-old lifelong Democrat who used to work at the local compact disc factory, which has since shuttered, and who had a lawn care business until health troubles put him on disability, he voted twice for Barack Obama. For 2020, he registered as a Republican for the first time.

“I opened my eyes,” Mitchko explained.

With Trump trailing Joe Biden in Pennsylvania in nearly every poll — a New York Times/Siena College survey last week showed Trump behind by 7 percentage points — voter registration trends have stood out as a rare bright spot for Republicans in one of the nation’s most important battleground states. Since Election Day 2016, Republicans have shrunk the Democratic advantage in Pennsylvania by nearly 200,000 voters, from just over 916,000 to just over 717,000 — all in a state that Trump won in 2016 by fewer than 45,000 votes.

Many of those gains have been made in smaller, more rural and mostly white counties. The great unknown is how much of that movement consists of ancestral Democrats like Mitchko who voted for Trump in 2016, formalizing their departure from the party, and how much is fresh erosion.

Olyphant was once “solid blue,” Mitchko said. “But it’s definitely cracked now.” Across the street, his neighbor, who said he had recently switched to become a Republican, was packing his truck for a cornhole tournament and bringing along his 4-by-8-foot Trump sign.

As Trump’s disregard for science and health guidelines during the pandemic has increasingly repelled college-educated white voters, the president’s last refuge and perhaps best hope is to maximize the turnout of working-class white voters, including former Democrats like Mitchko, whose regular Facebook postings showcase his full embrace of the culture wars of the Trump era.

On the wall of the garage where he stores the Trump signs, Mitchko has affixed the hate mail he has received (“Dear American turncoat,” reads one piece). And on a recent Saturday, his newly purchased assault rifle was prominently displayed, too, along with the Glock pistol he said he carried with him for protection.

“I’m not worried about nobody. They better be worried,” Mitchko said.

Who exactly are “they”?

“From what they say on TV, the Black Lives Matter people, rioters, the looters,” he said.

What makes Pennsylvania and its trove of 20 Electoral College votes particularly alluring to the Trump campaign is just how many registered white voters there are who are not college-educated and who did not cast ballots in 2016 but could do so this year.

That number is about 2.4 million, according to Dave Wasserman, an elections analyst at the nonpartisan Cook Political Report who studies demographic data. Comparatively, he estimated that only about 500,000 college-educated white voters in Pennsylvania failed to cast ballots in 2016.

“The potential for Trump to crank up the intensity of turnout among noncollege whites is quite high,” Wasserman said.

According to his model, that demographic broke 2-1 for Trump in 2016: 2 million backed Trump, and 1 million voted for Hillary Clinton.

Now, Wasserman said, “There is a level of cultural attachment to Trump in places that voted for him last time that exceeds 2016.”

Trump still faces significant headwinds in Pennsylvania. Recent polling shows Trump’s strength dipping among those voters compared with four years ago, despite the famous intensity of his supporters. In three Pennsylvania polls in the past week, Trump’s support among white voters without college degrees landed at 52%, 57% and 58% — all below the 64% he won in 2016, according to Pennsylvania exit polling. Then there is the fact that the overall share of the white population that doesn’t go to college is declining as more people get college degrees and more diversity comes to the state’s cities.

“He’s going after a population that’s shrinking,” said William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution, who has produced similar models. “He just has to eke out even more of them than he did last time.”

In 2004, when President George W. Bush ran for reelection, working-class whites voted at higher rates in Pennsylvania than they did in 2016, Frey noted. He estimated that if turnout increased to 2004 levels, that would add about 130,000 more such voters this year.

“It’s a small path,” Frey said of Trump’s chances. “But it’s possible.”

John Yudichak, a moderate state senator from northeastern Pennsylvania, is among those who have left the Democratic Party in the Trump era. He became an independent in late 2019 and now caucuses with the Republicans in the state Capitol, even as he supports Biden. But Yudichak warned of his former party’s drift from its working-class roots to become “a party of the elite.”

“Politics is math,” Yudichak said. “If the Democratic Party is only going to be of the college-educated elite,” he said, noting that nearly 90% of those in his district have attained only a high school education, “the math doesn’t work. You’re going to lose a lot of elections.”

Luzerne County, at the center of Yudichak’s district, is one of three Pennsylvania counties that Trump flipped in a dramatic fashion in 2016, carrying it by 19 percentage points — only four years after Obama had carried it by almost 5 points.

“Trump — I don’t know how he did it,” Yudichak said. “He was able to connect and sincerely make people believe here in Luzerne County that he valued them.”

In small county after small county, Trump won in 2016 by staggeringly large margins. In neighboring Schuylkill County, where Republicans had previously carried 56% of the vote, Trump won with 69.4%.

The Trump campaign keeps a close tally on these figures. A campaign presentation in September noted that Trump’s margin over Clinton in Pennsylvania’s 45 smallest counties was 230,000 more votes than the GOP advantage in 2012.

“He can take a red county and make it even more intensely red. It’s remarkable,” said Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., who vividly recalled watching the early 2016 returns and wrongly believing that the Democratic margins in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh would be enough to carry the state.

Casey has since memorized the exact number of votes that Clinton lost by: 44,292.

“I wanted that number to haunt me,” he said.

The flip side of Trump’s strength in more rural areas, Casey said, is that Democrats are winning the suburbs, particularly those outside Philadelphia, by bigger margins than ever. Casey said he had won those suburbs in his 2018 reelection by more than double Obama’s margin in 2012.

“Not because I’m the greatest candidate God ever created,” he said. “It’s because people were damn angry.”

How much of Trump’s strength among white working-class voters was simply a rejection of Clinton rather than an embrace of Trump is one of the questions that 2020 will help answer. But there are many signs that deep animosity toward Clinton played a critical role.

Yudichak said one run-in at the state Capitol with a Trump supporter was seared in his memory: “He said, ‘Look, Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party make me feel bad about myself. Donald Trump makes me feel good about who I am. I only have a high school education, but I got a good union job. I go to work every day. Why am I a bad guy? Hillary’s calling me deplorable.’”

In Biden, the Democrats have nominated a candidate whom David Axelrod, former chief strategist for Obama, likes to call “culturally inconvenient” for Trump: a Scranton, Pennsylvania-born politician who has long emphasized his blue-collar roots, no matter that it has been nearly a half-century since his election to the Senate.

Of late, Biden has geographically located his pitch in northeastern Pennsylvania, framing the 2020 election as a choice between “Scranton and Park Avenue.” He first unfurled the line at a televised town hall not far from his hometown last month, and it quickly became a favorite.

“I will win Scranton,” Biden told reporters on the tarmac that night. “This is home. I know these people.”

In nearby Olyphant, Lauren Telep, 64, a rare lifelong Republican in these parts, stopped by Mitchko’s house for a refill on signs and marveled at her hometown’s transformation. Not so long ago, the politics here had been so blue that she said, “God, the Almighty, if he ran on the Republican ticket in this town — at one point was probably like 90% Catholic — he would still lose.”

Political strategists of both parties say it is less about winning particular cities and instead about limiting the losses in hostile territory and running up the margins in favored strongholds.

Casey, who lives in Scranton, said he was confident that Biden’s local roots would help him “shave 2 points here, 3 points there” from Trump’s margins. But he also said that the Democratic Party faced a backlash in his home region for its necessary and worthwhile devotion to diversity — its messaging this year on racial justice and policing as Trump has executed a campaign of white grievance.

“One consequence of being a party that wants to embrace diversity is, you’re going to lose — you’re going to lose white voters,” Casey said. “I think that’s just a reality.”

OLYPHANT, Pa. — President Donald Trump’s narrowing path to victory in Pennsylvania, and the country, runs through small towns like Olyphant, where Dave Mitchko’s street might be quieter, if not for the large sign he put on his front lawn urging supporters of the president to honk when they pass.

OLYPHANT, Pa. — President Donald Trump’s narrowing path to victory in Pennsylvania, and the country, runs through small towns like Olyphant, where Dave Mitchko’s street might be quieter, if not for the large sign he put on his front lawn urging supporters of the president to honk when they pass. Trump signs are Mitchko’s thing, and his front yard has become something of an informal sign depot for Republicans in greater northeastern Pennsylvania. He estimates that he’s given away more than 26,000 signs this year. And his efforts were rewarded by the campaign with tarmac invitations for recent visits to the region by both Trump and Vice President Mike Pence as well as a spot driving in the presidential motorcade. Mitchko wore a suit and a Trumpian red tie for the occasion. “Your area — this has always been a Democrat area, and yet the votes for Trump here are through the roof,” Trump bragged that August day. Trump was right. Mitchko was among the defectors. A 53-year-old lifelong Democrat who used to work at the local compact disc factory, which has since shuttered, and who had a lawn care business until health troubles put him on disability, he voted twice for Barack Obama. For 2020, he registered as a Republican for the first time. “I opened my eyes,” Mitchko explained. With Trump trailing Joe Biden in Pennsylvania in nearly every poll — a New York Times/Siena College survey last week showed Trump behind by 7 percentage points — voter registration trends have stood out as a rare bright spot for Republicans in one of the nation’s most important battleground states. Since Election Day 2016, Republicans have shrunk the Democratic advantage in Pennsylvania by nearly 200,000 voters, from just over 916,000 to just over 717,000 — all in a state that Trump won in 2016 by fewer than 45,000 votes. Many of those gains have been made in smaller, more rural and mostly white counties. The great unknown is how much of that movement consists of ancestral Democrats like Mitchko who voted for Trump in 2016, formalizing their departure from the party, and how much is fresh erosion. Olyphant was once “solid blue,” Mitchko said. “But it’s definitely cracked now.” Across the street, his neighbor, who said he had recently switched to become a Republican, was packing his truck for a cornhole tournament and bringing along his 4-by-8-foot Trump sign. As Trump’s disregard for science and health guidelines during the pandemic has increasingly repelled college-educated white voters, the president’s last refuge and perhaps best hope is to maximize the turnout of working-class white voters, including former Democrats like Mitchko, whose regular Facebook postings showcase his full embrace of the culture wars of the Trump era. On the wall of the garage where he stores the Trump signs, Mitchko has affixed the hate mail he has received (“Dear American turncoat,” reads one piece). And on a recent Saturday, his newly purchased assault rifle was prominently displayed, too, along with the Glock pistol he said he carried with him for protection. “I’m not worried about nobody. They better be worried,” Mitchko said. Who exactly are “they”? “From what they say on TV, the Black Lives Matter people, rioters, the looters,” he said. What makes Pennsylvania and its trove of 20 Electoral College votes particularly alluring to the Trump campaign is just how many registered white voters there are who are not college-educated and who did not cast ballots in 2016 but could do so this year. That number is about 2.4 million, according to Dave Wasserman, an elections analyst at the nonpartisan Cook Political Report who studies demographic data. Comparatively, he estimated that only about 500,000 college-educated white voters in Pennsylvania failed to cast ballots in 2016. “The potential for Trump to crank up the intensity of turnout among noncollege whites is quite high,” Wasserman said. According to his model, that demographic broke 2-1 for Trump in 2016: 2 million backed Trump, and 1 million voted for Hillary Clinton. Now, Wasserman said, “There is a level of cultural attachment to Trump in places that voted for him last time that exceeds 2016.” Trump still faces significant headwinds in Pennsylvania. Recent polling shows Trump’s strength dipping among those voters compared with four years ago, despite the famous intensity of his supporters. In three Pennsylvania polls in the past week, Trump’s support among white voters without college degrees landed at 52%, 57% and 58% — all below the 64% he won in 2016, according to Pennsylvania exit polling. Then there is the fact that the overall share of the white population that doesn’t go to college is declining as more people get college degrees and more diversity comes to the state’s cities. “He’s going after a population that’s shrinking,” said William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution, who has produced similar models. “He just has to eke out even more of them than he did last time.” In 2004, when President George W. Bush ran for reelection, working-class whites voted at higher rates in Pennsylvania than they did in 2016, Frey noted. He estimated that if turnout increased to 2004 levels, that would add about 130,000 more such voters this year. “It’s a small path,” Frey said of Trump’s chances. “But it’s possible.” John Yudichak, a moderate state senator from northeastern Pennsylvania, is among those who have left the Democratic Party in the Trump era. He became an independent in late 2019 and now caucuses with the Republicans in the state Capitol, even as he supports Biden. But Yudichak warned of his former party’s drift from its working-class roots to become “a party of the elite.” “Politics is math,” Yudichak said. “If the Democratic Party is only going to be of the college-educated elite,” he said, noting that nearly 90% of those in his district have attained only a high school education, “the math doesn’t work. You’re going to lose a lot of elections.” Luzerne County, at the center of Yudichak’s district, is one of three Pennsylvania counties that Trump flipped in a dramatic fashion in 2016, carrying it by 19 percentage points — only four years after Obama had carried it by almost 5 points. “Trump — I don’t know how he did it,” Yudichak said. “He was able to connect and sincerely make people believe here in Luzerne County that he valued them.” In small county after small county, Trump won in 2016 by staggeringly large margins. In neighboring Schuylkill County, where Republicans had previously carried 56% of the vote, Trump won with 69.4%. The Trump campaign keeps a close tally on these figures. A campaign presentation in September noted that Trump’s margin over Clinton in Pennsylvania’s 45 smallest counties was 230,000 more votes than the GOP advantage in 2012. “He can take a red county and make it even more intensely red. It’s remarkable,” said Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., who vividly recalled watching the early 2016 returns and wrongly believing that the Democratic margins in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh would be enough to carry the state. Casey has since memorized the exact number of votes that Clinton lost by: 44,292. “I wanted that number to haunt me,” he said. The flip side of Trump’s strength in more rural areas, Casey said, is that Democrats are winning the suburbs, particularly those outside Philadelphia, by bigger margins than ever. Casey said he had won those suburbs in his 2018 reelection by more than double Obama’s margin in 2012. “Not because I’m the greatest candidate God ever created,” he said. “It’s because people were damn angry.” How much of Trump’s strength among white working-class voters was simply a rejection of Clinton rather than an embrace of Trump is one of the questions that 2020 will help answer. But there are many signs that deep animosity toward Clinton played a critical role. Yudichak said one run-in at the state Capitol with a Trump supporter was seared in his memory: “He said, ‘Look, Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party make me feel bad about myself. Donald Trump makes me feel good about who I am. I only have a high school education, but I got a good union job. I go to work every day. Why am I a bad guy? Hillary’s calling me deplorable.’” In Biden, the Democrats have nominated a candidate whom David Axelrod, former chief strategist for Obama, likes to call “culturally inconvenient” for Trump: a Scranton, Pennsylvania-born politician who has long emphasized his blue-collar roots, no matter that it has been nearly a half-century since his election to the Senate. Of late, Biden has geographically located his pitch in northeastern Pennsylvania, framing the 2020 election as a choice between “Scranton and Park Avenue.” He first unfurled the line at a televised town hall not far from his hometown last month, and it quickly became a favorite. “I will win Scranton,” Biden told reporters on the tarmac that night. “This is home. I know these people.” In nearby Olyphant, Lauren Telep, 64, a rare lifelong Republican in these parts, stopped by Mitchko’s house for a refill on signs and marveled at her hometown’s transformation. Not so long ago, the politics here had been so blue that she said, “God, the Almighty, if he ran on the Republican ticket in this town — at one point was probably like 90% Catholic — he would still lose.” Political strategists of both parties say it is less about winning particular cities and instead about limiting the losses in hostile territory and running up the margins in favored strongholds. Casey, who lives in Scranton, said he was confident that Biden’s local roots would help him “shave 2 points here, 3 points there” from Trump’s margins. But he also said that the Democratic Party faced a backlash in his home region for its necessary and worthwhile devotion to diversity — its messaging this year on racial justice and policing as Trump has executed a campaign of white grievance. “One consequence of being a party that wants to embrace diversity is, you’re going to lose — you’re going to lose white voters,” Casey said. “I think that’s just a reality.”

Can Trump squeeze more from his white base in Pennsylvania and beyond?

The European Union on Sunday expressed "extreme concern" over reports of continued military activity in the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/after-ceasefire-armenia-says-azerbaijan-launching-attacks-towards-karakhanbeyli-334256">Nagorno-Karabakh</a> region despite a ceasefire between warring Armenia and Azerbaijan.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/truce-too-fragile-pope-francis-calls-for-dialogue-as-karabakh-ceasefire-under-severe-strain-334515">Also Read:&nbsp;Pope Francis calls for dialogue as Karabakh ceasefire under severe strain</a>

"We note with extreme concern the reports of continued military activities, including against civilian targets, as well as civilian casualties," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said.

The EU's latest statement comes as heavy shelling was reported in civilian areas after a ceasefire was brokered between <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/armenia-and-azerbaijan-accuse-each-other-of-violating-fragile-truce-334365">Armenia </a>and Azerbaijan in Moscow.

Armenia meanwhile accused Azerbaijan of shelling civilian areas although Nagorno-Karabakh's leader Arayik Harutyunyan described the situation as "calmer" on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Canada said that Turkey and all external parties should stay out of the conflict after the Erdogan regime said peace efforts by Russia, US and France was bound to fail unless they Armenian forces withdrew from Nagorno-Karabakh.

Turkey has been a firm ally of Azerbaijan and has openly backed its forces on the ground. Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar had earlier said that Azerbaijan's offensive will not stop until Armenia withdrew its forces.

"Until the occupation is over, until the terrorists and mercenaries are taken out of there, nobody should expect our Azeri brothers to stop," Akar said.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani had said that there was a threat of a "regional war" if the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh wasn't controlled. &nbsp;Peace is the basis of our work and we hope to restore stability to the region in a peaceful way," Rouhani said.

The European Union on Sunday expressed "extreme concern" over reports of continued military activity in the Nagorno-Karabakh region despite a ceasefire between warring Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The European Union on Sunday expressed "extreme concern" over reports of continued military activity in the Nagorno-Karabakh region despite a ceasefire between warring Armenia and Azerbaijan. Also Read: Pope Francis calls for dialogue as Karabakh ceasefire under severe strain "We note with extreme concern the reports of continued military activities, including against civilian targets, as well as civilian casualties," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said. The EU's latest statement comes as heavy shelling was reported in civilian areas after a ceasefire was brokered between Armenia and Azerbaijan in Moscow. Armenia meanwhile accused Azerbaijan of shelling civilian areas although Nagorno-Karabakh's leader Arayik Harutyunyan described the situation as "calmer" on Sunday. Meanwhile, Canada said that Turkey and all external parties should stay out of the conflict after the Erdogan regime said peace efforts by Russia, US and France was bound to fail unless they Armenian forces withdrew from Nagorno-Karabakh. Turkey has been a firm ally of Azerbaijan and has openly backed its forces on the ground. Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar had earlier said that Azerbaijan's offensive will not stop until Armenia withdrew its forces. "Until the occupation is over, until the terrorists and mercenaries are taken out of there, nobody should expect our Azeri brothers to stop," Akar said. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani had said that there was a threat of a "regional war" if the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh wasn't controlled. Peace is the basis of our work and we hope to restore stability to the region in a peaceful way," Rouhani said.

Extremely concerned over civilian casualties in Nagorno-Karabakh: EU

Catalonia and Navarra in Spain announced new <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/south-korea-relaxes-coronavirus-restrictions-as-cases-decrease-334477">coronavirus</a> restrictions as Ireland reported the highest daily increase in coronavirus cases amid a surge of cases in Europe.

Watch:

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/covid-19-pandemic-retraining-the-jobless-to-work-in-healthcare-334231/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

Navarra authorities limited gathering of people to six and asked bars and restaurants to close at 10 pm. The restrictions also included limiting cinemas, theatres to 30 per cent capacity.&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/extra-pounds-may-raise-risk-of-severe-covid-19-334543">Also Read:&nbsp;Extra pounds may raise risk of severe COVID-19</a>

"We are at a critical moment when we need to redirect the situation. We still have time. We don't want to go to a tougher scenario but that possibility exists," regional leader Maria Chivite said.

In Catalonia, authorities urged people to work for home and moved university classes online over the next 15 days. Spain had earlier declared a state of emergency in Madrid and had enforced a partial lockdown in the Spanish capital.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce tier-three coronavirus restrictions on Monday amid a surge in coronavirus cases in the country. The curbs are expected to be put in northern England which is being widely resisted by local leaders.

Britain has the highest death rate due to coronavirus in Europe with over 42,000 deaths.

In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that hotspots would be given 10 days to combat the virus after which tougher rules would be imposed.

"We all sense that the big cities, the urban areas, are now the arena where we will see if we can keep the pandemic under control in Germany as we have done for months, or if we lose control," Merkel said, adding,"the coming days and weeks will decide how Germany gets through the pandemic this winter."

Authorities have identified Berlin, Frankfurt and Hamburg as the new virus "high-risk zones" as the country grapples with the virus.

Catalonia and Navarra in Spain announced new coronavirus restrictions as Ireland reported the highest daily increase in coronavirus cases amid a surge of cases in Europe.

Catalonia and Navarra in Spain announced new coronavirus restrictions as Ireland reported the highest daily increase in coronavirus cases amid a surge of cases in Europe. Watch: Navarra authorities limited gathering of people to six and asked bars and restaurants to close at 10 pm. The restrictions also included limiting cinemas, theatres to 30 per cent capacity. Also Read: Extra pounds may raise risk of severe COVID-19 "We are at a critical moment when we need to redirect the situation. We still have time. We don't want to go to a tougher scenario but that possibility exists," regional leader Maria Chivite said. In Catalonia, authorities urged people to work for home and moved university classes online over the next 15 days. Spain had earlier declared a state of emergency in Madrid and had enforced a partial lockdown in the Spanish capital. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce tier-three coronavirus restrictions on Monday amid a surge in coronavirus cases in the country. The curbs are expected to be put in northern England which is being widely resisted by local leaders. Britain has the highest death rate due to coronavirus in Europe with over 42,000 deaths. In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that hotspots would be given 10 days to combat the virus after which tougher rules would be imposed. "We all sense that the big cities, the urban areas, are now the arena where we will see if we can keep the pandemic under control in Germany as we have done for months, or if we lose control," Merkel said, adding,"the coming days and weeks will decide how Germany gets through the pandemic this winter." Authorities have identified Berlin, Frankfurt and Hamburg as the new virus "high-risk zones" as the country grapples with the virus.

Spain imposes new restrictions in Catalonia amid virus surge in Europe

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