Four killed in large blast in western England; not terror-related, says police

LONDON, Dec 5 (NNN-Xinhua) — Four people were killed following a large explosion at a waste water treatment works in Avonmouth, near the southwestern city of Bristol in western England, local police confirmed. The victims include three employees of Wessex Water, and one contractor, according to the police. The Thursday…

US: Some 25,000 residents flee wildfire in southern California; 2 firemen injured

LOS ANGELES, Dec 5 (NNN-Xinhua) — About 25,000 residents have been evacuated due to a wind-driven wildfire occurring near Irvine City in southern California, local fire-fighting authorities said. Currently, some evacuation orders have been lifted by Friday morning as winds are expected to decrease through the weekend, the Orange County…

Covid-19: Fauci accepts Biden’s offer to be his chief medical adviser

Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease WASHINGTON, Dec 5 (NNN-Xinhua) — Anthony Fauci, a top U.S. infectious disease expert, said that he has accepted President-elect Joe Biden’s offer to be his chief medical adviser. “Oh, absolutely. I said yes right on the spot,”…

US to withdraw majority of forces from Somalia by early 2021

The Pentagon WASHINGTON, Dec 5 (NNN-Xinhua) — The Pentagon said that President Donald Trump had ordered to pull the majority of U.S. military forces out of Somalia by early 2021. “As a result of this decision, some forces may be reassigned outside of East Africa. However, the remaining forces will…

Brexit: UK, EU trade talks put on hold due to “significant divergences”

European Union (EU) chief negotiator Michel Barnier (C) LONDON, Dec 5 (NNN-Xinhua) — After one week of intense trade negotiations in London, the chief negotiators from Britain and the European Union (EU) agreed Friday to “pause the talks” due to “significant divergences.” Releasing identical statements on Twitter, Britain’s chief Brexit…

Covid-19: US sets new record of 225,000 cases in one day

WASHINGTON, Dec 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — For the second day in a row, the United States on Friday notched a record number of coronavirus cases in 24 hours, reaching 225,201 new infections, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. In that same period, the country recorded 2,506 Covid-related deaths,according to…

Covid-19: UK medical chiefs eye major fall in virus deaths by early 2021

LONDON, Dec 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The arrival of a vaccine should seecoronavirus deaths in Britain reduce “significantly” by early next year butsocial mixing over Christmas could cause another spike before that, UKmedical chiefs said. Britain on Wednesday gave emergency approval to the Pfizer-BioNTechcoronavirus vaccine and will begin the world’s first…

Bus falls off viaduct in Brazil, killing at least 16

BRASILIA, Dec 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A bus in Brazil plunged off aviaduct from a height of 20 meters Friday after the brakesapparently failed, crashing onto rail tracks below and killing at least 16people, officials said. Another 27 people were hurt in the accident near the town of JoaoMonlevade in the…

Czech Republic set to phase out coal by 2038

Environmentalists had called for an earlier departure from fossil fuels PRAGUE, Dec 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Czech Republic is to withdraw from coal mining by 2038, according to a decision by the government’s coal commission in Prague.The date is a compromise, Industry Minister Karel Havlicek said when presenting the final…

UN alarmed by thousands of allegations of police violence in Belarus

More than 27,000 people have been detained since the August 9 election GENEVA, Dec 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United Nations’ human rights commissioner said that she had been alarmed by thousands of allegations of police violence against detained protesters in Belarus.“Overwhelmingly peaceful” protesters are being “violently dispersed” by the Belarusian…