Uniquely Nelson

The US State Department notified Congress it approved the sale of 50 Lockheed Martin Co F-35 jets to the United Arab Emirates in a deal that could be worth $10 billion, sources say. An Israeli F-35 fighter jets performs during an air show, over Tel Aviv, on May 9, 2019. Photo: AFP Jack Guez The United States and the UAE aim to have a letter of agreement for the F-35 jets in time for UAE National Day celebrated on 2 December, Reuters reported in September. The US Senate Foreign Relations and House of Representatives Foreign Affairs committees, whose members have criticised the UAE's role in civilian deaths in Yemen, have the right to review, and block, weapons sales under an informal review process. Israel initially balked at the prospective sale but last week dropped its opposition after what it described as US guarantees that Israeli military superiority would be preserved. Any deal must satisfy a longstanding agreement with Israel that any US weapons sold in the region must not impair Israel's "qualitative military edge," guaranteeing US weapons furnished to Israel are "superior in capability" to those sold to its neighbors. "We all face a common threat," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in an apparent allusion to Iran, told reporters on Thursday when asked about reports of the impending UAE jet sale. "But with that said, it was important that the [Israeli] defense establishment received this clear American undertaking to preserve our qualitative military edge," added Netanyahu, who earlier on Thursday hosted visiting Pentagon chief Mark Esper. Representative Eliot Engel, chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, confirmed that an informal notification was sent to Congress on Thursday. "As Congress reviews this sale, it must be clear that changes to the status quo will not put Israel's military advantage at risk," he said. The sources said the Trump administration aims to send formal notifications for the deal in the coming days. Once formally notified, Congress can choose to pass legislation to block the sale. Typically the informal notification process for complex deals like the F-35 sale is 40 days, but the Trump administration is cutting it to just a few days to meet the goal of a UAE National Day signing ceremony, the sources said. "Rushing these sales is not in anyone's interest," Engel warned in his statement. Senator Bob Menendez, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, made clear he would not automatically support the deal in a statement adding that "recklessly accelerating the timeline around a reportedly artificial deadline precludes sufficient consideration." The UAE, one of Washington's closest Middle East allies, has long expressed interest in acquiring the stealthy F-35 jets and was promised a chance to buy them in a side deal when it agreed to normalize relations with Israel. Because of the qualitative military edge restriction, in the past the F-35 has been denied to Arab states, while Israel has about 24 of the jets. Israel is currently slated to purchase 50 of the fighters. - Reuters

Global coronavirus cases rose by more than 500,000 for the first time on Wednesday, a record one-day increase as countries across the Northern Hemisphere reported daily spikes. medical assistant takes a sample from a patient for a coronavirus (Covid-19) test at an analysis laboratory in Le Peage-de-Roussillon, some 30kms south of Lyon, south-eastern France. Photo: AFP Global daily Covid-19 cases have risen by nearly 25 percent in less than two weeks as the world witnessed 400,000 daily reported cases for the first time last Friday. Most western countries and parts of Latin America have reported their highest single-day surges in the past few weeks. Many governments, with the notable exception of the United States, have started taking stronger measures to bring the spread of the virus under control. The global coronavirus tally stands at 44.7 million cases and about 1.17 million deaths. Europe, North America and Latin America account for over 66 percent of global cases and over 76 percent of global deaths. Europe's new daily infections have doubled over the past two weeks as it reported more than 250,000 cases for the first time on Wednesday, according to a Reuters tally. The region has so far reported about 9.5 million cases and about 261,000 deaths. France reported a new record daily total of more than 50,000 infections for the first time on Sunday. Euro-zone economic activity has slipped back into decline this month as renewed restrictions to control the coronavirus pandemic forced many businesses in the bloc's dominant service industry to limit operations, a survey showed last Friday. The United States continues to lead the worldwide coronavirus tally with about 8.9 million infections and about 228,000 fatalities since the pandemic started. The US broke its daily record for new coronavirus infections on Friday as it reported 84,169 new cases due to outbreaks in virtually every part of the country shortly before its presidential election on Tuesday. The United States is reporting about 75,000 cases a day on an average, according to a Reuters analysis and its death toll from Covid-19 could surpass 500,000 by February unless nearly all Americans wear face masks, researchers said. Asia surpassed 10 million infections of the new coronavirus on Saturday, the second-heaviest regional toll in the world, according to a Reuters tally, as cases continue to mount in India despite a slowdown and sharp declines elsewhere. India, the world's second most populous country as well as the second worst affected country, is reporting about 48,000 cases a day on an average with a total of about 8 million cases, according to a Reuters tally. As Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised to provide any successful vaccine to each of India's 1.3 billion people. The country is preparing a database of all government and private health personnel to speed up vaccinations once they become available. In the Middle East, Iran, the most affected Covid-19 infections country is reporting one death every three minutes, according to state television. - Reuters

Three people have died in a knife attack at a church in Nice, in what French President Emmanuel Macron said was an "Islamist terrorist attack". Members of the police force monitor a place of worship after the two attacks in Nice and Avignon. Photo: AFP He said France would not surrender its core values after visiting the Notre-Dame basilica in the southern city. An extra 4000 troops are being deployed to protect churches and schools. In Nice, one elderly victim was "virtually beheaded", officials said. Another woman and a man also died. A male suspect was shot and detained. Anti-terror prosecutors have opened an investigation into the attack and France has raised its national security alert to its highest level. Police sources named the suspect as Brahim Aioussaoi, a 21-year-old Tunisian who arrived by boat on the Italian island of Lampedusa in September. He was placed in coronavirus quarantine there before being released and told to leave Italy. He arrived in France earlier this month. Nice Mayor Christian Estrosi spoke of "Islamo-fascism" and said the suspect had "repeated endlessly 'Allahu Akbar' (God is greatest)". Two other attacks took place on Thursday, one in France and one in Saudi Arabia. A man was shot dead in Montfavet near the southern French city of Avignon after threatening police with a handgun. A guard was attacked outside the French consulate in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. A suspect was arrested and the guard taken to hospital. Speaking after visiting Nice, President Macron said: "If we are attacked once again it is for the values which are ours: freedom, for the possibility on our soil to believe freely and not to give in to any spirit of terror. "I say it with great clarity once again today: we won't surrender anything." The president said the number of soldiers being deployed to protect public places across the country would rise from 3000 to 7000. Estrosi compared the attack to the recent murder of teacher Samuel Paty, who was beheaded close to his school outside Paris earlier this month. Police have not suggested a motive for the attack in Nice. However, it follows days of protests in some Muslim-majority countries triggered by President Macron's defence of the publication of cartoons that depicted the Prophet Mohammed. There have been calls in some countries for a boycott of French goods. French members of the elite tactical police unit RAID enter to search the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Nice as forensics officers wait after a knife attack. Photo: AFP Who were the victims? All three were attacked inside the basilica on Thursday morning before the first Mass of the day. Two died inside the church: the woman in her 70s who was "virtually beheaded", and a man in his 40s or 50s whose throat was cut, reports said. The male victim is believed to have been a lay member of staff responsible for the upkeep of the church and had a wife and two children. Another woman in her 30s or 40s managed to flee to a nearby cafe after being stabbed several times, but died later. French police officers stand at the entrance of the Notre Dame Basilica church in Nice, France, 29 October 2020. It later emerged that a witness had managed to raise the alarm with a special protection system set up by the city. Chloe, a witness who lives near the church, told the BBC: "We heard many people shouting in the street. We saw from the window that there were many, many policemen coming, and gunshots, many gunshots." Tom Vannier, a journalism student who arrived at the scene just after the attack, told the BBC that people were crying on the street. The attacker was detained by police at about 9:10am local time, reports said. Four years ago Nice was the scene of terrorist attack, when a Tunisian drove a truck into crowds celebrating Bastille Day on 14 July, killing 86 people. - BBC

At least 140 Europe-bound migrants drowned off the coast of Senegal when their boat caught fire and capsized, marking the deadliest shipwreck recorded this year, says the UN migration agency. Boats off of Senegal's coast. Photo: Herni Tabarant / ONLY WORLD / Only France via AFP The boat carrying 200 people sank a few hours after leaving the fishing town of Mbour, 100km south of the capital Dakar, on Saturday, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said. Video shared on local media showed a rescue boat of local fishermen approaching a thick column of dark smoke in the open ocean, as people swam frantically towards them. The Senegalese and Spanish navies and fishermen rescued some 60 people, but "at least 140 people have drowned", IOM said in a statement. Migrant arrivals in the Canary Islands from West Africa have more than quadrupled so far this year to about 11,000 compared with the same period in 2019, IOM said. The surge has happened as other more favoured routes through Libya or Algeria, and across the Mediterranean Sea to southern Europe, have become blocked off by tougher controls. The perilous sea passage to the Canary Islands was once a more popular route. Attempts became scarcer when Spain stepped up patrols in the mid-2000s. But with fewer options, migrants seeking an escape from poverty or conflict are again taking the longer, 1400km sea route to the Spanish islands off the Moroccan coast, often in rickety, overcrowded boats with unreliable engines. Fourteen boats carrying 663 migrants left Senegal for the islands in September, over a quarter of which experienced an incident or shipwreck, the IOM said. - Reuters

A moderate to strong La Niña weather event has developed in the Pacific Ocean, according to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO). Photo: AFP The naturally occurring phenomenon results in the large scale cooling of ocean surface temperature. This La Niña, which is set to last through the first quarter of 2021, will likely have a cooling effect on global temperatures. But it won't prevent 2020 from being one of the warmest years on record. La Niña is described as one of the three phases of the weather occurrence known as the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). This includes the warm phase called El Niño, the cooler La Niña and a neutral phase. A La Niña develops when strong winds blow the warm surface waters of the Pacific away from South America and towards Indonesia. In their place, colder waters from deep in the ocean come up to the surface. This event leads to significant weather changes in different parts of the world. What does La Niña mean for New Zealand during summer?If you have 1️⃣ minute, we'll tell you!Here's what this climate driver has historically meant to Aotearoa in terms of:️ Rainfall️ Temperatures️ WindsOcean conditions pic.twitter.com/DsuwA4OWyQ — NIWA Weather (@NiwaWeather) October 29, 2020 If a really strong La Niña event were to occur, research suggests that the UK and Northern Europe might experience a very wet winter. Normally La Niña means countries like Indonesia and Australia can get much more rain than usual, and a more active monsoon occurs in southeast Asia. There are likely to be more storms in Canada and the northern US, often leading to snowy conditions. Southern US states can be hit by drought at the same time. What about New Zealand? MetOcean Solutions says La Niña brings a tendency for warmer than average ocean and air temperatures for New Zealand once it becomes established. While every La Niña event is different, it can make certain outcomes more likely, MetOcean Solutions says. MetOcean Solutions senior oceanographer Dr Joao de Souza, said in a statement from the organisation earlier in spring: "Typically, during La Niña years stronger north-easterly winds are produced to the north of New Zealand, often leading to larger waves on the north coast from Cape Reinga to East Cape. "These increased north-easterly winds often bring moist, humid, rainy conditions to the north-east of the North Island, while reduced rainfall can be experienced to the south and south-west of the South Island. "Increases in the frequency of occurrence of storms were observed in the past for the north coast during La Niña years. The sequence of storms with a short time interval in between significant events can result in increased beach erosion due to the insufficient time for the beach to recover - for example. "There is also the potential for more frequent storm surge events, particularly along the north-easterly facing coastlines of New Zealand. These events have the potential to cause significant damage to coastal infrastructure around susceptible low-lying areas of New Zealand." Wider impact of La Niña The last time that a strong event developed was in 2010-2011. The WMO says there is a now around a 90 percent chance of tropical Pacific sea temperatures remaining at La Niña levels for the rest of this year. There is a 55 percent chance of the conditions persisting through the first quarter of next year. While a La Niña event normally exerts a cooling influence on the world, this is unlikely to make too much of a difference to 2020. "La Niña typically has a cooling effect on global temperatures, but this is more than offset by the heat trapped in our atmosphere by greenhouse gases," said Prof Petteri Taalas, from the WMO. "Therefore, 2020 remains on track to be one of the warmest years on record and 2016-2020 is expected to be the warmest five-year period on record," he said "La Niña years now are warmer even than years with strong El Niño events of the past." The WMO says it is announcing the La Niña now to give governments a chance to mobilise their planning in key areas such as disaster management and agriculture. One important aspect of La Niña is the effect it could have on the remainder of the Atlantic hurricane season. A La Niña event reduces wind shear, which is the change in winds between the surface and the upper levels of the atmosphere. This allows hurricanes to grow. The hurricane season ends on 30 November and so far there have been 17 named storms of the 19-25 that were predicted by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). - BBC and RNZ

At least one person has died and several others have been wounded in a stabbing attack in Nice, French media report. French policemen stand guard a street after a knife attack in Nice. Photo: AFP or licensors Nice Mayor Christian Estrosi said everything pointed to a "terrorist attack at the heart of the Notre-Dame basilica". Police said one woman had been beheaded in the attack and Estrosi spoke of "islamofascism". The suspect was detained shortly after the attack. France's national anti-terror prosecutors opened a murder inquiry. The mayor told reporters that the suspect had "repeated endlessly 'Allahu Akbar' (God is greatest) when he was being treated at the scene". Estrosi said one of those killed was the caretaker at the basilica. The interior minister appealed to people to avoid the area in the centre of the French Riviera city. Gérald Darmanin said he was convening a crisis meeting at the ministry in Paris. A minute's silence was held in the National Assembly, where Prime Minister Jean Castex had just been giving details of lockdown measures coming into force on Thursday night. "Without question this is a very serious new challenge that is striking our country," he said, appealing for unity and cohesion. Nice was the target of one of France's deadliest attacks in recent years, when a 31-year-old Tunisian drove a truck into crowds celebrating Bastille Day on 14 July 2016, killing 86 people. - BBC

Vietnam is searching for survivors after landslides triggered by Typhoon Molave, one of its strongest storms in decades, lashed a central region already reeling from weeks of heavy rains that have killed at least 160 people. A woman clears debris outside an eatery next to uprooted trees in central Vietnam's Quang Ngai province in the aftermath of Typhoon Molave. Photo: AFP Hundreds of troops with heavy equipment were deployed to the sites of the landslides in remote areas of Quang Nam province, where 19 people were killed and 48 were missing, with early rescue efforts hampered by bad weather at the tail end of the storm. The bodies of 12 fishermen were found at sea on Thursday and the navy was searching for 14 others missing since their boats sank while trying to come ashore two days earlier, state broadcaster VTV reported. At least 160 people have died and scores more were still missing, mostly in landslides, as a result of a succession of storms which have hammered Vietnam since early October. "We can forecast the storm path or the amount of rain, but can't predict when landslides happen," Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung said in a statement. "The road is covered under deep mud and heavy rains are still lashing the area, but rescue work has to be carried out quickly." More than a million people have been impacted for weeks by the storms, which have caused heavy rains and some of the worst flooding in years in central Vietnam, pushing relief agencies to their limits. Molave hit the Philippines at the weekend and deaths there from mudslides and floods rose to 16 on Thursday. It damaged 56,000 homes in Vietnam and left millions without electricity, with heavy rain expected in the central region until Saturday. The typhoon weakened to a tropical depression after making landfall on Wednesday and by Thursday afternoon, the skies over the worst affected areas had cleared, VTV said, helping rescue efforts. Images on social media showed villages overwhelmed by flooding, and roads filled with debris, toppled trees or blocked by landslides. - Reuters

Vietnam has deployed hundreds of soldiers and heavy machinery to search for survivors after landslides triggered by torrential rains from Typhoon Molave, one of the strongest typhoons in the region in decades. A woman clears debris outside an eatery next to uprooted trees in central Vietnam's Quang Ngai province in the aftermath of Typhoon Molave. Photo: AFP The landslides, which hit remote areas in the central province of Quang Nam a day earlier, killed 13 people with 40 more missing as rescue efforts were hampered by bad weather at the tail end of the storm, the government said. "We can forecast the storm path or the amount of rain, but can't predict when landslides happen," deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung said in a statement. "The road is covered under deep mud and heavy rains are still lashing the area, but rescue work has to be carried out quickly," Dung said. Since early October, Vietnam has been battered by storms, heavy rains and floods which have affected over a million people. The government said Typhoon Molave had left millions of people without electricity and damaged 56,000 houses. Twenty-six fishermen also remain missing after their boats sank when trying to return to shore on Tuesday with two navy vessels mobilised to find them. Molave has weakened to a tropical depression after making landfall on Wednesday and is expected to reach Laos later on Thursday. Heavy rain of up to 700 millimetres will continue in parts of central Vietnam until Saturday, Vietnam's weather agency said. - Reuters

A curfew has come into force in Philadelphia after two days of protests and looting following the police killing of a black man. Police officers congregate an hour before a citywide curfew came into place in Philadelphia on 28 October 2020. Photo: AFP / 2020 Getty Images The family of Walter Wallace Jr says he was suffering a mental health crisis when he was shot by officers. Police say he had refused to drop a knife. On Tuesday night, protesters again clashed with police, and barricaded businesses across the city were looted. The curfew order is citywide and began at 9pm local time. The Pennsylvania National Guard as well as police reinforcements have been deployed. Authorities say 30 officers were hurt during Monday night's clashes. Businesses have been boarding up their windows in fear of another night of violence. Wallace, 27, had bipolar disorder, and his wife told officers this before they shot him, a lawyer representing his family said. Philadelphia also saw large protests earlier this year over police brutality and racism following the death of George Floyd in Minnesota. What happened on Tuesday? The marches began peacefully on Tuesday but became more confrontational as the evening drew on. Officers in riot gear arrived in squad cars, on bicycles and on buses, and used their bikes to shove protesters back from barricade lines. Shops around the city closed early and set up barricades. Police and the city's office of emergency management said widespread looting was reported in several areas. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, protesters tried to erect makeshift barricades using bins. Police used pepper spray and batons after saying they had been attacked by demonstrators. On Monday, more than 300 people took to the streets to protest, and 91 were arrested. One officer was in hospital with a broken leg and other injuries after being struck by a pickup truck. On Tuesday night, another 81 people were arrested, with 53 of them charged with burglary. Twenty-three officers were injured, officials said. A demonstration against the fatal shooting of Wallace Walter Jr by police. Photo: AFP How has it reached the campaign trail? Speaking at a campaign rally in Wisconsin on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump attempted to tie the protests to his democratic rival, former Vice-President Joe Biden, without providing evidence of a link. "Last night [Monday] Philadelphia was torn up by Biden-supporting radicals," he said. "Thirty police officers, Philadelphia police officers, they were injured, some badly. Biden stands with the rioters, and I stand with the heroes of law enforcement." On Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said the riots were "the most recent consequence" of the Democrats "war on police", and that "mob rule" could never be allowed. In a joint statement on Tuesday, Biden and his running mate, Kamala Harris, said: "We cannot accept that in this country a mental health crisis ends in death." They also condemned the looting as a crime. Speaking briefly to reporters on Wednesday, Biden said: "I think to be able to protest is totally legitimate, totally reasonable. But there's no excuse for the looting." Philadelphia is the largest city in Pennsylvania, a state critical to next week's presidential election. Mayor Jim Kenney, a Democrat, said the video of the shooting presented "difficult questions that must be answered", and that he was looking forward to a "speedy and transparent resolution" to the case. What do we know about the shooting? Police said two officers responded to a report of a man with a weapon in the neighbourhood of Cobbs Creek in West Philadelphia about 4pm (local time) on Monday. Police officials say a man, later identified as Wallace, was holding a knife when the officers approached, and instead of following orders to drop the weapon he "advanced towards them". Both officers fired "several times", hitting Wallace in the shoulder and chest, she said. One of the officers drove him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police say. Footage shared on social media shows two officers pointing their guns at Wallace as he walks towards them. The officers back away from him and shout at him to put the knife down. Shots are then fired and Wallace is seen lying on the street. Wallace's father told the Philadelphia Inquirer that his son had mental health issues and was on medication. "Why didn't they use a Taser?" he asked. At Tuesday's news conference, officials said the officers both fired seven shots each. The officers, who have not been named, were wearing body cameras and did not carry Tasers. Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said the city was conducting a "threat assessment" to determine "if and when" to release the officer names without putting their safety at risk. Meanwhile, Wallace's family lawyer said they had called for an ambulance - not police - to help deal with Walter Wallace's mental issues. Instead, two police officers arrived, lawyer Shaka Johnson was quoted as saying by the Inquirer. Wallace's pregnant wife told them her husband had bipolar disorder and was in crisis. Protesters march through West Philadelphia on 27 October. Photo: AFP Who was Walter Wallace? Wallace was an aspiring rapper, and often recorded songs on issues including gun and police violence and racial injustice, according to relatives and neighbours, who described him as a "quiet, family man". The Inquirer reported he was a father of eight who had been in and out of court throughout his adult life. He was awaiting trial for allegedly making threats, but this had been delayed repeatedly because of the coronavirus pandemic. He pleaded guilty to robbery, assault and possessing an instrument of crime in 2017 after kicking down a woman's door and putting a gun to her head, Philadelphia's ABC affiliate WPVI reports. He was sentenced to 11-23 months behind bars, with a judge requiring mental health supervision. In 2013, he pleaded guilty to assault and resisting arrest after punching a police officer in the face, the broadcaster reported, saying that a judge had ordered him to undergo psychiatric evaluation and treatment. "I do know that he was on a regimen of lithium and that says to me he was under a doctor's care," the family lawyer said after the shooting, citing a medicine used in the treatment for conditions including bipolar disorder. - BBC

The World Trade Organisation's bid to select a new leader was plunged into uncertainty on Wednesday after the United States rejected the Nigerian woman proposed as the global trade watchdog's next director-general. File image. Photo: 123RF Just six days before the US election in which trade is a hot topic, Washington struck another blow at the WTO, which US President Donald Trump has described as "horrible" and biased towards China. Washington has already paralysed the WTO's role as global arbiter on trade by blocking appointments to its appeals panel. Now it threatens to render it leaderless for weeks or months to come. The WTO itself has called a meeting for 9 November, less than a week after the presidential election, by which time it hopes to have secured full backing for Nigeria's Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. The decision needs to be approved by consensus, however, meaning any of the 164 WTO members could block her appointment. Three WTO ambassadors, the "troika" charged with finding a successor to Brazilian Roberto Azevedo, had decided that the former Nigerian finance minister should be the next chief as she had secured wide cross-regional backing. "All of the delegations that expressed their views today expressed very strong support for the process, for the troika and for the outcome. Except for one," WTO spokesman Keith Rockwell told reporters after the closed-door meeting, specifying that the one was the US. Washington continued to support South Korean trade minister Yoo Myung-hee in the final round of a more than four-month selection process. Rockwell said there was likely to be "frenzied activity" before the 9 November meeting to secure the required consensus. It was not immediately clear if the outcome of the US vote would affect the US position on Okonjo-Iweala's appointment. By then, Trump may be heading a lame-duck administration. Many members, including China and the United States, had declined to name their preference publicly before Wednesday although some African, Caribbean and other states had voiced support for Okonjo-Iweala. The European Union endorsed her on 26 October. The leadership void was created after outgoing WTO chief Azevedo stepped down a year early in August. The WTO is currently being steered by four deputies. Okonjo-Iweala, a 66-year-old former finance minister and World Bank managing director, would face considerable challenges with rival economies bickering amid rising tensions and protectionism during a coronavirus-induced trade plunge. A development expert, she has branded herself a "do-er" saying she has the political clout to command influence in capitals. She is chair of the of GAVI vaccine alliance board, and has also said the WTO should play a role in helping poorer countries access Covid-19 drugs and vaccines.