Uniquely Nelson

The German Research Vessel Polarstern has sailed back into its home port after completing a remarkable expedition to the Arctic Ocean. Heading for the new MOSAiC ice floe, Polarstern takes the shortest way to the area of interest: via the North Pole. Photo: Alfred-Wegener-Institut / Steffen Graupner The ship spent a year in the polar north, much of it with its engines turned off so it could simply drift in the sea-ice. The point was to study the Arctic climate and how it is changing. And expedition leader professor Markus Rex returned with a warning. "The sea-ice is dying," he said. "The region is at risk. We were able to witness how the ice disappears and in areas where there should have been ice that was many metres thick, and even at the North Pole - that ice was gone," the Alfred Wegener Institute scientist told a media conference in Bremerhaven on Monday. RV Polarstern was on station to document this summer's floes shrink to their second lowest ever extent in the modern era. Welcome home #Polarstern! After more than a year in the Arctic, the ship arrived in Bremerhaven today. The largest expedition to the Arctic so far consisted of over 20 countries. Why? We need more knowledge on climate change. @MOSAiCArctic #MultilateralismMatters pic.twitter.com/vEDZYqhWLW — GermanForeignOffice (@GermanyDiplo) October 12, 2020 The floating ice withdrew to just under 3.74 million sq km (1.44 million sq miles). The only time this minimum has been beaten in the age of satellites was 2012, when the pack ice was reduced to 3.41 million sq km. The downward trend is about 13 percent per decade, averaged across the month of September. "This reflects the warming of the Arctic," Rex said. "The ice is disappearing and if in a few decades we have an ice-free Arctic - this will have a major impact on the climate around the world." Polar bear mom and cub visit the ice floe. Photo: MOSAiC / Esther Horvath The €130m (£120m/$150m) cruise set off from Tromsø, Norway, on 20 September last year. The project was named the Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC). The idea was to recreate the historic voyage of Norwegian polar researcher Fridtjof Nansen, who undertook the first ice drift through the Arctic Ocean more than 125 years ago. RV Polarstern embedded itself in the ice on the Siberian side of the Arctic basin with the intention of floating across the top of the world and emerging from the floes just east of Greenland. In the course of this drift, hundreds of researchers came aboard to study the region's environment. They deployed a battery of instruments to try to understand precisely how the ocean and atmosphere are responding to the warming forced on the Arctic by the global increase in greenhouse gases. AWI sea-ice physicists are working on the sea ice, while the wind is accelerating and the snow drift is increasing. Photo: MOSAiC / Stefan Hendricks Coronavirus only briefly interrupted the expedition - not by making participants ill, but by obliging the ship at one point to leave the floes to go pick up its next rotation of scientists. Other ships and planes were supposed to deliver the participants direct to RV Polarstern, but international movement restrictions made this extremely challenging in the early-to-middle part of this year. Despite the hiatus, Rex declared the MOSAiC project a huge success. The mass of data and samples now in the possession of researchers would make the modelling they use to project future climate change much more robust, he explained. It was as if the MOSAiC scientists had been shown the inner workings of an intricate clock, he said. "We looked at all the different elements, down to the different screws of this Arctic system. And now we understand the entire clockwork better than ever before. And maybe we can rebuild this Arctic system on a computer model," he told reporters. -BBC

Cardinal George Pell has met Pope Francis in Rome for the first time since the Australian cardinal's conviction for child sexual abuse was overturned. Pope Francis talks with Cardinal George Pell Photo: VATICAN MEDIA via AFP The pair met in a private audience but the Holy See gave no further details. The Vatican ex-treasurer, 79, was the most senior Catholic figure ever jailed for such crimes but the conviction and six-year term were quashed in April. Pell, who had served a year in jail, said his meeting with the Pope "went very well". It is unclear whether he will take another role in the Holy See. The cardinal, who always maintained his innocence, had left the Vatican in 2017 to fight the charges against him in his home state of Victoria. His case had rocked the Catholic Church, where he had been one of the Pope's most senior advisers. The cardinal has maintained a low profile in Sydney, where he was once archbishop, in the months since the High Court of Australia overturned the conviction. A jury in December 2018 had found him guilty of sexually abusing two 13-year-old choir boys in St Patrick's Cathedral in the mid-90s when Archbishop of Melbourne. The High Court ruled the jury had not properly considered all the evidence. Pell had been granted an exemption to leave Australia, which closed its borders in March to incoming and outgoing citizens due to the coronavirus pandemic. His return to Rome comes during a tumultuous period for the Vatican. Last month, Pope Francis fired senior cleric Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu over embezzlement accusations. Becciu and Pell had clashed over financial reforms. Pell said of the sacking: "The Holy Father was elected to clean up Vatican finances. He plays a long game and is to be thanked and congratulated on recent developments." - BBC

Civil liberties groups believe privacy, freedom of expression and trade secrets could be eroded if tech companies give up their encrypted data to governments. Photo: 123RF The New Zealand Government and its Five Eyes security partners are calling on companies like Facebook to release data when requested, in order to curb online crime. Minister for Justice Andrew Little said while encryption played an important role in protecting personal data it was also used to hide illicit material such as child pornography or terror communication. Little - who oversees New Zealand's spy agencies - said instances of child sexual abuse and exploitation online were growing rapidly. To curb this, the government wants to cooperate with tech companies. And that would include requests for information being on a warranted basis. "Government's would demonstrate there is a reasonable cause to suspect there has been criminal offending, so the control is still left in the platform owners, but it gives enforcement authorities the ability to chase up and investigate some of the most heinous criminal offending we've ever seen." But Council of Civil Liberties chair Thomas Beagle pans the government's plea for more access as contradictory and dangerous. "It talks about the value of encryption - secure information, private conversations, doing things free from repressive governments - and then it talks about how they need to stop all that because they need to access it to stop crime." Even if a New Zealand government handled the information carefully, that doesn't mean other countries will. And if one government has access to this information, then other government's will request it as part of doing business with another country, Beagle said. He warns that surveillance has a chilling effect on freedom of expression and association. "Our government already has extensive powers of surveillance using other means, and I don't believe this will be the silver bullet that will stop all this crime happening." Privacy Commissioner John Edwards. Photo: Supplied / Office of the Privacy Commissioner Privacy Commissioner John Edwards said agencies could already be required to hand over information if there was a lawful warrant. "Government's are quite right to be concerned about the use of platforms for exploitation of children, the difficulty is in how you provide that access in a way that does not break the security for legitimate purposes." He said requirements for companies to release information would be applied in all countries, including oppressive ones. An international set of guidelines could be established to set out how information is gathered, he suggested, but added that would not be water tight. "Even then you don't solve the technical challenge of allowing access for legitimate purposes while maintaining a secure network, and people in the tech industry tell me this is impossible." Karaitiana Taiuru. Photo: Supplied Cultural advisor and advocate for digital Māori rights, Karaitiana Taiuru, said shutting down harmful behaviour on platforms like Facebook could actually help Māori who face online racism, abuse and scams. It was often not reported because there were no culturally sensitive systems or agencies equipped to deal with complaints, he said. Taiuru said added protection for vulnerable or young Māori was good, but only if Māori voices were at the table helping set the terms. "We've got several hundred years of mistrust with the government." He cited the Tohunga Suppression Act 1907, the Native Schools Act 1867, the Urewera Raids as examples of improper surveillance and suppression against Māori. "The primary issues with all of those significant pieces of legislation that did impact Māori, was that there was no consultation with Māori or with the appropriate individuals and organisations." The more pressing concern for surveillance of Māori is facial recognition technology, Taiuru said.

Facebook has explicitly banned Holocaust denial for the first time as boss Mark Zuckerberg says his "thinking has evolved". Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg Photo: AFP The social network said its new policy prohibits "any content that denies or distorts the Holocaust". Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg wrote that he had "struggled with the tension" between free speech and banning such posts, but that "this is the right balance". Two years ago, Zuckerberg said that such posts should not automatically be taken down for "getting it wrong". "I'm Jewish and there's a set of people who deny that the Holocaust happened," he told Recode at the time. "I find it deeply offensive. But at the end of the day, I don't believe that our platform should take that down because I think there are things that different people get wrong. I don't think that they're intentionally getting it wrong." His remarks led to a large public backlash. But on Monday, as Facebook changed its policies, he wrote that he had changed his mind. "My own thinking has evolved as I've seen data showing an increase in anti-Semitic violence, as have our wider policies on hate speech," he wrote in a public Facebook post. "Drawing the right lines between what is and isn't acceptable speech isn't straightforward, but with the current state of the world, I believe this is the right balance." Earlier this year, Facebook banned hate speech involving harmful stereotypes, including anti-Semitic content. But Holocaust denial had not been banned. Facebook's vice-president of content policy, Monika Bickert, said the company had made the decision alongside "the well-documented rise in anti-Semitism globally and the alarming level of ignorance about the Holocaust, especially among young people". She said that later this year, searching for the Holocaust - or its denial - on Facebook would direct users to "credible" information. But she also warned change would not happen overnight, and training its employees and automated systems would take time. The World Jewish Congress - which had conferred with Facebook on anti-Semitism - welcomed the move. "Denying the Holocaust, trivialising it, minimising it, is a tool used to spread hatred and false conspiracies about Jews and other minorities," the group said in a statement. But it also noted that it had campaigned for the removal of Holocaust denial content from the platform "for several years". Jonathan Greenblatt, chief executive of the Anti-Defamation League, tweeted: "This has been years in the making. "Having personally engaged with Facebook on the issue, I can attest the ban on Holocaust denial is a big deal ... glad it finally happened." -BBC

US President Donald Trump has returned to the campaign trail less than two weeks after testing positive for coronavirus. US President Donald Trump holds a Make America Great Again rally on 12 October Photo: GETTY via AFP Thousands gathered at an outdoor rally in Sanford, Florida, where a defiant Trump made the first of four planned campaign stops over the next four days in battleground states. The president and rival Joe Biden are scrambling to secure votes with three weeks until the 3 November election. On Monday Biden spoke in Ohio, another swing state. Polling suggests Biden has a 10-point lead over Trump nationally. However his lead in some key states is narrower - as is the case in Florida, where he is 3.7 points ahead, according to an average of polls collated by Real Clear Politics. Battlegrounds like the 'Sunshine State' are crucial for gathering the 270 electoral college votes needed to win the White House, which is not determined by a simple popular ballot count. Trump tested positive for Covid-19 some 11 days ago, and was admitted to Walter Reed Medical Center a day later. But on Sunday his personal doctor said he was no longer a Covid transmission risk to others and disclosed on Monday that his most recent tests were negative over consecutive days, although he did not give the dates. What did the president say in Florida? In his first stump appearance following his Covid-19 diagnosis and recovery, a re-invigorated Trump returned to his campaign's familiar themes and lines of attack against Biden. He touted stock market growth, the establishment of the US Space Force and his successful confirmation of two conservative Supreme Court justices to the bench - with a third nominee, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, before the Senate this week - as major achievements. Before a crowd of several thousand - many of whom were not wearing masks - he denounced plans to prolong shutdowns supported by Democrats and sought to question Biden's mental acuity. Referring to his own recovery from Covid-19, he said at one point: "They say I'm immune - I feel so powerful. I'll walk in there and kiss everyone. I'll kiss the guys and the beautiful women, I'll give you a big, fat kiss." US President Donald Trump holds a Make America Great Again rally as he campaigns in Orlando on 12 October Photo: AFP It was no surprise that the Sunshine State is the place where Trump made his big rally return. He wants and needs to win Florida, a state he narrowly carried in 2016. It is also his adopted home. A lifelong New Yorker, he made himself a Florida resident last year in September. Though he is behind in the polls nationally, close races in crucial states mean he may yet win re-election by capturing key electoral college-rich territories. The president's rally showed little sign that Trump has been chastened by his past weeks' illness, and events later in the week in Pennsylvania, Iowa and North Carolina are unlikely to exhibit changes in his approach to coronavirus precautions. Critics have disparaged him for not encouraging people to wear protective masks or abide by social distancing guidelines. Biden meanwhile attacked the president's approach, saying that "President Trump comes to Sanford today bringing nothing but reckless behaviour, divisive rhetoric, and fear mongering". He has taken a more cautious approach to campaigning, making two stops in Ohio on Monday. The Democrat is due to appear in Florida on Tuesday. - BBC

A New Zealand woman living in Melbourne has died in an apparent murder-suicide. Kate Bell Photo: FACEBOOK Kate Bell, who was 31, was originally from Christchurch. Australian media are reporting Bell was killed by her boyfriend Rahul Patel in his apartment in the early hours of Saturday. They are also reporting Patel was discovered dead nearby. In a statement, Victoria police said they were investigating the death of a woman in Richmond, Melbourne. They said they were called to an address on Saturday morning following reports a woman was injured. The woman, who they had not formally identified when releasing the statement on Saturday, died at the scene. A man, who police believe was known to the woman, was found dead at the base of a building nearby. Police said his death was not being treated as suspicious. Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was aware of the death, but had not been asked to provide consular assistance.

Analysis - Of course, Donald Trump can win. Of course he can. That's been the sentiment expressed by most political commentators - and virtually every punter - this year. US President Donald Trump and nominee Joe Biden. Photo: AFP/RNZ/Vinay Ranchhod Many wouldn't have said the same four years ago, when there was a spoken (and unspoken) expectation that Hillary Clinton would become the first woman president of the United States. Now they're saying, in the words of former president George W. Bush, "You fool me, but you can't get fooled again." But is this just an abundance of caution? The polls really would say, "Yes". Joe Biden has been comfortably ahead for months, riding a wave of dissatisfaction over Donald Trump's cavalier handling of the pandemic, the country's economic collapse, and his dismissive response to Black Lives Matter protests. But to suggest he's 12-15 percentage points ahead - as some polls have him - could be misleading. The polls in 2016 under-estimated Trump's support, but the pre-election range then was roughly 1-7 points. Some Republican Party leaders say Trump supporters no longer respond to polls, which many believe are "fake", or are perhaps punking them by falsely claiming they'll vote for Biden. But the significance of this has been relatively debunked - millions of people would have to be making a coordinated effort via "Secret Make America Great Again". If the polls are slightly misleading, it may also be because likely Trump voters are too embarrassed to admit it, and are saying they're undecided. Yet 2016 swung on margin of error. It was expected to be a far closer race, and was one that was eventually decided by less than one percentage point in crucial states. Plus, voter turnout only significantly dipped among likely Democrats - rather than Republicans. Almost 250,000 fewer people voted for Clinton than Barack Obama. Right now, Biden must be smiling looking at the polls. In swing states like Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin - the polling margin is far wider than it was before the 2016 election. In 2016, Trump won each by less than 1 percent. Photo: AFP / Getty In Pennsylvania now, FiveThirtyEight's polling average has Biden ahead 7.3 percent. In 2016, it had Clinton ahead 3.7 percent on election day. In Michigan in 2016, Clinton was ahead 4.2, Biden is currently ahead 8 points. Biden also has a wider margin in Wisconsin than Clinton did in 2016. Charles Franklin of the state's Marquette poll says the number who say they're undecided is half that of four years ago. That's bad news for the president. What's most concerning for Trump is he seems to be losing support among older white voters, while Democratic support among minorities is stronger than four years ago. And Biden looks very likely to secure more of the young vote than Clinton did. Those under 30 who say they will definitely vote is up to 63 percent from 47 percent, according to a Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics poll. Biden is clearly not stirring the same negative emotions that Clinton did. He's also more closely tied to Obama and his enduring popularity. What's also incredible is that many polls have Biden's popularity among women almost double that of Clinton's. And then there's Florida, which has backed every winning candidate since 1996 - the longest run for any state. FiveThirtyEight currently has Biden up 4.4 percent in Florida. The website's margin four years ago was 0.6 in favour of Clinton. She lost then by a thin 1.2 percent. Right now, with Trump having been confined to the White House, and only one presidential debate left on the schedule, it's difficult to see much opportunity for him to surge in the next three weeks. Even a miracle vaccine - which Trump has promised Americans this month - may not be enough to save him.

Analysis - Of course, Donald Trump can win. Of course he can. That's been the sentiment expressed by most political commentators - and virtually every punter - this year. US President Donald Trump and nominee Joe Biden. Photo: AFP/RNZ/Vinay Ranchhod Many wouldn't have said the same four years ago, when there was a spoken (and unspoken) expectation that Hillary Clinton would become the first woman president of the United States. Now they're saying, in the words of former president George W. Bush, "You fool me, but you can't get fooled again." But is this just an abundance of caution? The polls really would say, "Yes". Joe Biden has been comfortably ahead for months, riding a wave of dissatisfaction over Donald Trump's cavalier handling of the pandemic, the country's economic collapse, and his dismissive response to Black Lives Matter protests. But to suggest he's 12-15 percentage points ahead - as some polls have him - could be misleading. The polls in 2016 under-estimated Trump's support, but the pre-election range then was roughly 1-7 points. Some Republican Party leaders say Trump supporters no longer respond to polls, which many believe are "fake", or are perhaps punking them by falsely claiming they'll vote for Biden. But the significance of this has been relatively debunked - millions of people would have to be making a coordinated effort via "Secret Make America Great Again". If the polls are slightly misleading, it may also be because likely Trump voters are too embarrassed to admit it, and are saying they're undecided. Yet 2016 swung on margin of error. It was expected to be a far closer race, and was one that was eventually decided by less than one percentage point in crucial states. Plus, voter turnout only significantly dipped among likely Democrats - rather than Republicans. Almost 250,000 fewer people voted for Clinton than Barack Obama. Right now, Biden must be smiling looking at the polls. In swing states like Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin - the polling margin is far wider than it was before the 2016 election. In 2016, Trump won each by less than 1 percent. Photo: AFP / Getty In Pennsylvania now, FiveThirtyEight's polling average has Biden ahead 7.3 percent. In 2016, it had Clinton ahead 3.7 percent on election day. In Michigan in 2016, Clinton was ahead 4.2, Biden is currently ahead 8 points. Biden also has a wider margin in Wisconsin than Clinton did in 2016. Charles Franklin of the state's Marquette poll says the number who say they're undecided is half that of four years ago. That's bad news for the president. What's most concerning for Trump is he seems to be losing support among older white voters, while Democratic support among minorities is stronger than four years ago. And Biden looks very likely to secure more of the young vote than Clinton did. Those under 30 who say they will definitely vote is up to 63 percent from 47 percent, according to a Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics poll. Biden is clearly not stirring the same negative emotions that Clinton did. He's also more closely tied to Obama and his enduring popularity. What's also incredible is that many polls have Biden's popularity among women almost double that of Clinton's. And then there's Florida, which has backed every winning candidate since 1996 - the longest run for any state. FiveThirtyEight currently has Biden up 4.4 percent in Florida. The website's margin four years ago was 0.6 in favour of Clinton. She lost then by a thin 1.2 percent. Right now, with Trump having been confined to the White House, and only one presidential debate left on the schedule, it's difficult to see much opportunity for him to surge in the next three weeks. Even a miracle vaccine - which Trump has promised Americans this month - may not be enough to save him.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has imposed a tiered system of further restrictions on parts of England including shutting pubs, to curb an acceleration in Covid-19 cases, although anger is rising at the cost of the curtailment of freedoms. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson's speech to the House of Commons screened on a TV in the Richmond Pub, Liverpool. Photo: AFP Johnson announced a new three-tiered system on Monday in an attempt to standardise a patchwork of often complicated and confusing restrictions imposed across England. MPs will vote on the move on Tuesday. The lockdowns will include shutting pubs and bars in areas placed in the "very high" alert level from Wednesday. The other alert levels in the new system are "medium" and "high". So far, Merseyside in northwest England - which includes the city of Liverpool - is the only area classified at the "very high" level. Gyms, leisure centres, casinos, betting shops and adult gaming centres there will also close, Johnson said. "We must act to save lives," Johnson told parliament, adding that he did not want another UK-wide lockdown and that he understood the frustrations of those chafing at the "repressions of liberty". "If we let the virus rip, then the bleak mathematics dictate that we would suffer not only an intolerable death toll from Covid, but we would put such a huge strain on our NHS (National Health Service) with an uncontrolled second spike that our doctors and nurses would simply be unable to devote themselves to other treatments." Health officials say the latest data showed infections were rising across the north of England and in some more southerly areas too, while the virus was creeping up age bands towards the elderly from those aged 16-29 years. A street sign in Liverpool, north west England. Photo: AFP or licensors Manchester intensive care consultant Jane Eddleston said 30 percent of critical care beds were taken up with Covid-19 patients and this was starting to affect healthcare for others. "This is not how we want to live our lives but this is the narrow path we have to tread between the social and economic trauma of a full lockdown and massive human and indeed economic cost of an uncontained epidemic," Johnson said. "The weeks and months ahead will continue to be difficult and will test the mettle of this country," he said. But as millions of people across the United Kingdom grapple with restrictions, the hospitality sector says it is being brought to its knees by the government. Karen Strickland, landlady of The Grapes pub in Liverpool, said their income was already down by 70 percent with the current enforced countrywide closing time of 10pm, and the government's support scheme help was not enough. "It's absolutely horrendous," she said, adding it made no sense to single out pubs. Under the new restrictions, however, pubs that serve a main lunchtime or evening meal will be allowed to stay open, although they will only be able to serve alcohol as part of such a meal. - Reuters

President Donald Trump's nominee for the Supreme Court, Amy Coney Barrett, is appearing before senators in what has been billed as a "contentious week" of confirmation hearings. Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett at the Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing. Photo: AFP The 48-year-old conservative jurist has vowed to judge legal cases impartially. But her nomination so close to the 3 November presidential election has sparked a political row between the Republicans and rival Democrats. The panel's top Republican began by vowing to confirm the "great woman". But one Democratic senator on the committee described the process as "shameful". Judge Barrett's approval would cement a 6-3 conservative majority on the nine-member top court, shifting its ideological balance for potentially decades to come. President Trump picked Judge Barrett to replace liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died last month aged 87. The Republicans - who currently hold a slim majority in the US Senate, the body that confirms Supreme Court judges - are trying to complete the process before Trump takes on Democratic rival Joe Biden in the election. The court's nine justices serve lifetime appointments, and their rulings can shape public policy on everything from gun and voting rights to abortion and campaign finance. Who is Amy Coney Barrett? favoured by social conservatives due to record on issues like abortion and gay marriage a devout Catholic but says her faith does not influence her legal opinion is an originalist, which means interpreting US Constitution as authors intended, not moving with the times lives in Indiana, has seven children including two adopted from Haiti What were the opening exchanges? Committee chairman Lindsey Graham described Ms Barrett as being "in a category of excellence, something the country should be proud of". Top Democrat Dianne Feinstein defended healthcare reforms passed under President Barack Obama, saying that Ms Barrett's appointment could threaten health access for millions. "Simply put, I do not think we should be moving forward on this nomination," she said, calling for the hearings to be delayed until after the election. Vermont Democrat Patrick Leahy said Republicans announced plans to fill Ginsberg's seat "just one hour after the announcement of her death". "From that moment this process has been nothing but shameful. Worse, it will almost certainly lead to disastrous consequences for Americans." Iowa Republican Chuck Grassley predicted Democrats would "rustle up baseless claims and scare tactics" to smear the nominee and "outright disparage her religious beliefs". Rhode Island Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse called her nomination "a judicial torpedo" aimed at removing protections for sick Americans in the midst of a pandemic. What will Judge Barrett say in her speech? In what is effectively an interview for the job, the confirmation hearing will give Judge Barrett a chance to explain her legal philosophy and qualifications for the lifetime post. In prepared remarks released ahead of Monday's meeting, she thanks President Trump for "entrusting me with this profound responsibility", which she calls the "honour of a lifetime". Judge Barrett will speak of the importance of her family and how her parents prepared her for a "life of service, principle, faith, and love". She will pay tribute to judges she has worked with, including former Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Justice Scalia's reasoning "shaped me", Judge Barrett will say. "His judicial philosophy was straightforward: A judge must apply the law as written, not as the judge wishes it were." Judge Barrett will say it is up to elected politicians to make "policy decisions and value judgments", not Supreme Court justices. "In every case, I have carefully considered the arguments presented by the parties, discussed the issues with my colleagues on the court, and done my utmost to reach the result required by the law, whatever my own preferences might be," she will say. What about coronavirus concerns? The hearing room has been prepared in consultation with health officials to ensure that social-distancing rules will be met. Two Republican senators on the committee, Mike Lee and Thom Tillis, have recently tested positive. Lee attended Monday's Senate hearing in person, but Tillis said he would attend the first day remotely. Senator Kamala Harris, the Democratic vice-presidential nominee who is known as one of the toughest questioners in the chamber, is participating remotely from her Senate office. Judge Barrett and her attending family members wore masks as the senators took turns reading their opening statements. Confirmation process After the hearing ends, any committee member can require an additional week before the formal vote. It is not clear if the members will be able to vote remotely. After that the Senate - the upper chamber of the US Congress - will vote to confirm or reject Judge Barrett's nomination. Republicans already appear to have the 51 votes needed to get Judge Barrett confirmed. Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell has vowed to hold a confirmation vote before the presidential election. Barring a surprise, Democrats seem to have few procedural options to prevent her gliding through the Senate to the Supreme Court bench. Why is Judge Barrett's nomination so controversial? Since Ginsburg's death from cancer on 18 September, Republican senators have been accused of hypocrisy for pressing ahead with a Supreme Court nomination during an election year. In 2016, McConnell refused to hold hearings for Democratic President Barack Obama's nominee for the court, Merrick Garland. The nomination, which came 237 days before the election, was successfully blocked because Republicans held the Senate and argued the decision should be made outside of an election year. This time around, McConnell has lauded Judge Barrett's nomination. Democrats say the Republicans should stand by their earlier position and let voters decide. However, Republicans counter that the Democrats have also changed their stance since 2016. Biden has called Trump's efforts to appoint a justice an "abuse of power". He has so far refused to comment on whether the Democrats would attempt to add seats to the Supreme Court - dubbed "court packing" - if he won the presidential election. Battle over Supreme Court - BBC