Wednesday 4 November
BRIEF – ME! – DAILY NEWS BRIEFING
Wednesday 4 November 2020 News Briefing – Today’s headlines are dominated by the global Coronavirus Pandemic. As of 6:30 am (GMT), these are the global active numbers.
Global COVID-19 UPDATE
Coronavirus Cases: 47,854,043
Deaths: 1,220,535
Recovered: 34,357,609
- Covid: MPs to vote on England’s one-month lockdown.
- UK can expect at least three Covid waves with lockdowns, Mordaunt says.
- France’s Covid-19 daily death toll hits 854, hospitalisations over 1,000.
- Algerian president has COVID-19 but improving, presidency says.
- Hungary to reintroduce state of emergency amid coronavirus spread.
Covid: MPs to vote on England’s one-month lockdown
BBC News says MPs will vote later on the government’s month-long lockdown in England, amid growing unease among Conservatives about the economic and social impact.
The restrictions will come into force just after midnight if approved and will last until 2 December.
Pubs, restaurants, gyms and non-essential shops will have to close.
Read the full story on BBC News
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UK can expect at least three Covid waves with lockdowns, Mordaunt says
The Guardian says the UK should be braced for at least a third wave of the coronavirus pandemic and further lockdowns, a minister has said as Tory sceptics warned they would not vote to extend England’s four-week shutdown.
Penny Mordaunt, the paymaster general, told MPs on Tuesday that there could yet be a rolling series of lockdowns – but argued this was not evidence that the measure was ineffective.
Read the full story on The Guardian
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France’s Covid-19 daily death toll hits 854, hospitalisations over 1,000
France24 says France’s daily Covid-19 death toll spiked by 854 on Tuesday, an increase unseen since April 15, while the number of people hospitalised for the disease went up by more than a 1,000 for the fifth time in nine days.
The country’s daily tally of coronavirus deaths reached 854 on Tuesday. That includes 426 people who died in hospitals in the past 24 hours and 428 deaths in nursing homes since Friday, health authorities say.
Read the full story on France24
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Algerian president has COVID-19 but improving, presidency says
Arab News says Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has tested positive for Covid-19, but his condition is gradually improving as he receives treatment in a German hospital, the presidency said on Tuesday.
Algerian authorities had previously said Tebboune was in Germany for medical checks when he flew there last week, after saying people in his administration had the coronavirus.
Read the full story on Arab News
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Hungary to reintroduce state of emergency amid coronavirus spread
CNN says Hungary will reintroduce its state of emergency from midnight on Tuesday, Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced in a video posted on his verified Facebook page.
The country will close nightclubs and impose a night-time curfew to curb the spread of coronavirus infections, Orban said.
The Prime Minister said the government would also reinforce tighter control on entertainment venues – such as cinemas, theaters and sports events – to make sure audiences follow stipulated precautions for social distancing and mask wearing. If these protocols are not followed, police have authority to intervene, fine and even close venues if necessary.
Read the full story on CNN
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A quick look at the top headlines
US election still too close to call
Fox News says President Trump tweeted that Democrats are “trying to STEAL the Election,” while claiming a “big win”—a post that Twitter flagged as “misleading” content.
“We are up BIG, but they are trying to STEAL the Election,” Trump tweeted just before 1:00 a.m. Wednesday. “We will never let them do it. Votes cannot be cast after the Polls are closed!”
Vienna attacker acted alone and had tried to join so-called Islamic State, say authorities
Euronews says the man who killed four people in a shooting rampage in Vienna on Monday had sought to join the so-called Islamic State (IS) and most likely acted alone, Austrian authorities said on Tuesday.
Authorities have named the gunman, who was carrying an assault rifle and a fake suicide vest, as Austrian-North Macedonian dual national Kujtim Fejzula.
He was shot dead by police.
Ivory Coast police surround house of opposition leader
Netflix taps ‘Hollywood of the Middle East’ to produce new series
Aljazeera says Netflix Inc will debut its first Egyptian television series, Paranormal, on Thursday, marking a significant step in the streaming service’s Middle Eastern strategy.
The series is based on Egyptian novelist Ahmed Khaled Tawfik’s books about a doctor whose lifelong scientific convictions are suddenly called into question. His critically-acclaimed novels in Arabic have sold more than 15 million copies.
MH17 crash suspect ‘saw no sign of missile’
CNA says a Russian suspect in the crash of flight MH17 saw no sign of the missile allegedly used to shoot down the plane, he said in a video played on Tuesday (Nov 3) at his trial.
Oleg Pulatov is one of four men being tried in absentia by a Dutch court over the loss of the Malaysia Airlines jet, which was travelling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it was downed over eastern Ukraine on Jul 17, 2014.
