Friday 30 October
- Covid: Nottinghamshire moves into tier 3 restrictions.
- Japan passes 100,000 cases.
- EU to fund transfer of Covid-19 patients between countries as strain on hospitals grows.
- Covid-hit Catalonia closes regional border for 2 weeks, introduces municipal confinement over weekends.
- Trump and Biden clash on Covid-19 as they hold rallies in battleground state Florida.
- Brazil’s Bolsonaro says fresh Covid-19 lockdowns ‘crazy’.
Croydon council on verge of bankruptcy after risky investments
Ministers have sent in a task force to oversee Croydon council after an audit report revealed the Labour-run authority is on the verge of bankruptcy following a string of risky property investments and a failure to keep control of social care budgets.
‘Dramatic’ Plunge in London Air Pollution Since 2016, When Mayor Cracked Down
In a peer-reviewed study that looks at the last four years of London air policy, researchers from King’s College found that between 2016 and 2019, the number of Londoners living in polluted areas fell from 2 million to 115,000.
Covid: Nottinghamshire moves into tier 3 restrictions
BBC News says Nottinghamshire has moved into the top tier of Covid-19 restrictions after an overall rise in infection rates.
Unlike some other tier three areas, betting shops, saunas, tattoo parlours and nail salons must close.
Alcohol cannot be sold after 9 pm in shops, but can be sold until 10 pm if bought “in hospitality venues were accompanying a substantial meal”.
Read the full story on BBC News
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Japan passes 100,000 cases
The Guardian says the total number of Covid-19 cases in Japan has topped 100,000, as experts warned that Tokyo – the most-affected part of the country – should prepare for another wave of infections this winter.
Japan had recorded 100,516 cases and 1,761 deaths as of Thursday, according to a tally by public broadcaster NHK. The number of new infections nationwide totalled 809, the first time it had exceeded 800 since the end of August.
Read the full story on the Guardian
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EU to fund transfer of Covid-19 patients between countries as strain on hospitals grows
France24 says the EU will finance the transfer of patients across borders within the bloc to prevent hospitals from getting overwhelmed as Covid-19 infections and hospitalizations spike in the continent.
After a video conference of EU leaders to discuss the health crisis on Thursday, the head of the EU Commission Ursula von der Leyen said the EU executive had made available 220 million euros ($260 million) to move Covid-19 patients across borders.
Read the full story on France24
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Covid-hit Catalonia closes regional border for 2 weeks, introduces municipal confinement over weekends
RT News says amid soaring Covid-19 infections, the regional government of Catalonia, Spain has approved a new package of measures, including the perimeter confinement of each municipality, limiting people to their own district on weekends.
Pere Aragonès announced that the regional government had voted in favour of the new restrictions which will see the region’s borders close and the introduction of confinement for Catalonia’s municipalities from October 30.
Read the full story on RT News
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Trump and Biden clash on Covid-19 as they hold rallies in battleground state Florida
Arab News says President Trump and rival Joe Biden showcased their contrasting approaches to the resurgent coronavirus pandemic as they rallied supporters on Thursday in the battleground state of Florida with the clock winding down to Election Day.
Opinion polls show Biden with a significant edge nationally, but with a tighter lead in the battleground states that play a decisive role in the final result.
Read the full story on Arab News
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Brazil’s Bolsonaro says fresh Covid-19 lockdowns ‘crazy’
Aljazeera says Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, a longtime critic of stay-at-home measures to combat the coronavirus pandemic, has said that it was “crazy” for countries to start locking down again to control second waves of the virus.
Bolsonaro made the statement on Thursday, as he also declared that he will not pay for the Chinese coronavirus vaccine that is under clinical trial in the city of Sao Paulo state.
Read the full story on Aljazeera
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- New Zealand votes ‘yes’ to the legalisation of euthanasia.
- Japan eases COVID-19 travel curbs for China, eight others.
- A Divided Nation Agrees on One Thing: Many People Want a Gun.
- Macron says France is ‘under attack’ after deadly stabbing in Nice.
- Algeria to vote on a constitution dismissed by protest movement.
- Libya digs up mass grave found in area previously held by Haftar forces.
A Divided Nation Agrees on One Thing: Many People Want a Gun
The New York Times says gun buyers say they are motivated by a new destabilizing sense that is pushing them to purchase weapons for the first time, or if they already have them, to buy more.
Macron says France is ‘under attack’ after deadly stabbing in Nice
France24 says a man wielding a knife on Thursday killed three people in an attack at the Basilica of Notre-Dame in Nice in southern France. The suspect, a Tunisian national, has been arrested in the attack which President Emmanuel Macron has described as an Islamist terrorist attack. Follow events as they unfolded in our liveblog.
Libya digs up mass grave found in area previously held by Haftar forces
AfricaNews says a dozen bodies have been unearthed in newly found mass graves in the Tarhuna region of western Libya from which eastern strongman Khalifa Haftar’s forces launched an aborted assault on Tripoli last year.
Algeria to vote on a constitution dismissed by protest movement
Arab News says Algerians are set to vote on Sunday in a constitutional referendum the government touts as heralding a “new republic,” but a long-running protest movement rejects the exercise as window-dressing.
Japan eases COVID-19 travel curbs for China, eight others
CNA says Japan has eased travel curbs for China, Australia, South Korea and six other countries and regions, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said on Friday, as Tokyo steps up efforts to revive its economy while preventing the spread of Covid-19.
New Zealand votes ‘yes’ to the legalisation of euthanasia
Aljazeera says New Zealand has voted to legalise euthanasia but could reject recreational cannabis use following two referendums that were part of this month’s general election, the country’s Electoral Commission said on Friday.
