Philippines orders evacuation as world’s strongest 2020 typhoon approaches

Residents wade in a flooded bridge over a swollen river due to heavy rains in Ilagan town, north of Manila, ahead of Typhoon Goni’s landfall in the Philippines. MANILA, Oct 31 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Philippine officials on Saturday ordered the evacuation of thousands of residents in the southern part of the…

Covid-19: Millions more face English restrictions as cases spiral

LONDON, Oct 31 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Millions more people in northern England face stricter coronavirus rules next week, officials said as reports suggested the government is considering a nationwide lockdown. From Monday, nearly 2.4 million residents in five districts of West Yorkshire, including in the city of Leeds, will be barred…

US judge sets up fresh roadblock in Pres Trump bid to ban China’s TikTok

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 31 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A US federal judge issued an injunction temporarily blocking an executive order by President Donald Trump aimed at banning TikTok, throwing up a legal roadblock ahead of a Nov 12 deadline. The order would have knocked the Chinese-owned video-sharing app offline by cutting it…

Covid-19: WHO registers record high of over 505,000 new cases in one day

GENEVA, Oct 31 (NNN-TASS) — The number of the confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection worldwide has approached 44.9 mln, rising over 24 hours by more than 505,000, which is a new record high of incidence in one day. According to the data of the World Health Organization (WHO)…

Update: UN chief saddened by loss of life caused by powerful earthquake in Aegean Sea

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 31 (NNN-Xinhua) — United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed his sadness over the loss of life and damage caused by the powerful earthquake in the Aegean Sea. Through a statement attributable to his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, the UN chief extended his condolences to the bereaved families and…

Update: Typhoon Molave leaves 27 dead, 50 missing in central, central highlands Vietnam

A flooded area in central Vietnam’s Quang Tri Province HANOI, Oct 31 (NNN-Xinhua) — Floods and landslides triggered by Typhoon Molave in Vietnam’s central and central highlands regions have left 27 people dead, 50 missing and 67 injured as of Saturday morning, the country’s Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster…

COVID-19: Cases in Iran exceed 600,000; Israel to begin second-stage exit from lockdown

CAIRO, Oct 31 (NNN-Xinhua) — Iran’s COVID-19 cases surpassed 600,000 on Friday while Israel decided that the second stage of the exit plan from the ongoing full lockdown will begin from Sunday. IRAN, the hardest-hit country in the Middle East region, reported 8,011 new cases, bringing the total number of…

UNICEF deplores killing of two children by explosive devices in Tripoli

 TRIPOLI, Oct 31 (NNN-XINHUA) —The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on Friday deplored the killing of two children by explosive devices here in the Libyan capital. Forces of the UN-backed government said in a statement that two seven-year-old boys were killed by a landmine in their home in southern Tripoli. “Landmines…

Covid-19: Ronaldo free after 19 days but virus hits other Serie A teams

MILAN, Oct 31 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo has tested negative for coronavirus after nearly three weeks but Serie A clubs Atalanta, Sassuolo, Crotone and Parma on Friday revealed new cases. Ronaldo first tested positive for Covid-19 on Oct 13 while playing with Portugal. “Ronaldo carried out a check…

Covid-19: First international, Chinese expert meeting on virus origin – WHO

GENEVA, Oct 31 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The World Health Organization said that international experts had held their first meeting, albeit virtually, with their Chinese counterparts in order to investigate the animal origins of the novel coronavirus pandemic. The WHO has for months been working to send a team of international experts,…