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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.

NRL star Sonny Bill Williams has made a call for Australia's prime minister to accept Jacinda Ardern's offer to take asylum seekers stuck on the remote Pacific islands, Manus Island and Nauru. Sonny Bill Williams. Photo: NRL Photos 2020/Photosport On Wednesday morning, he spoke to MPs and journalists in front of Parliament House in Canberra about 290 asylum seekers stuck on remote Pacific islands Manus Island and Nauru. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has made an offer to have the men, who are in Australia's immigration detention system, resettled in New Zealand. Australia's Government has not yet accepted the invitation. "Brother Scotty [Prime Minister Scott Morrison] just needs to sign that paper and, whoever it is, we just need to get it done," Williams said. "These people are humans just like us." 'We just need to give them a fair go' The United States offered to take up to 1250 asylum seekers in a deal struck by Malcolm Turnbull and Barack Obama in 2016, and close to 1000 have been homed so far. But hundreds more remain in limbo, either due to the US rejecting their application or through a reluctance to move there. "I feel like we just need to have a human outlook and think that, just like any goodwilled Aussie, we just need to give them a fair go," Williams said. The Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs, Mike Pezzullo, last week said the New Zealand offer was being "actively considered". A spokesperson for Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton said the New Zealand offer was appreciated, but the government was focused on the US arrangement. "We are aware that people smugglers in our region market New Zealand as a destination," they said. "In fact, as part of OSB (Operation Sovereign Borders), we have already stopped four people-smuggling boats which were headed to New Zealand." Williams has supported efforts to assist refugees in the past, and he visited a Middle Eastern refugee camp in 2015. However, the Sydney Roosters player was less comfortable when addressing issues beyond refugees. When asked about a potential boycott of the Winter Olympics in Beijing, or the Wallabies' decision not to kneel, Williams said he did not want to "get off topic". Alongside Williams at the Amnesty International-arranged event was former Socceroo and human rights advocate Craig Foster. He was happy to entertain a range of issues. Not only did Foster lobby for the release of asylum seekers on Nauru, he was critical of Qatar's human rights record following news of invasive searches of Australian women at a Qatari airport earlier this month, and said it was inappropriate for China to host the 2022 Winter Olympics due to its human rights record. "You have a huge human-rights atrocity going on with the Uyghur people in north-western China," he said. "Sport globally is asking whether it is appropriate for them to host the Olympics and I don't think it is." Athletes lack the confidence to speak out, Williams says Australian athletes have often been criticised for speaking out on political issues or social causes, but Williams wants more of them to find their voice for causes such as refugee resettlement. "It's not that there isn't support, it's just formally doing it, organising it," he said. "Most people I've come across, especially in the sporting field, care about these sorts of issues." He said there needed to be more groups around causes to help sportspeople become more confident speaking out. "It's just the organisation of it, bro," the New Zealand international said. While Williams had one eye on the bigger issues, he still had more immediate questions to answer. His contract with the Sydney Roosters has expired and speculation about his NRL future is mounting. Williams said it would "come to fruition" in the next couple of months. - ABC

The Wallabies, the Melbourne Storm, injuries, or even retirement - not so much. The thing NRL star Sonny Bill Williams finds daunting is politics. Sonny Bill Williams. Photo: NRL Photos 2020/Photosport "Sportspeople just grow up knowing sports," he told the ABC in front of Parliament House in Canberra. "No-one really knows politics, so it's daunting." On Wednesday morning, despite his apprehension, he spoke to MPs and journalists about 290 asylum seekers stuck on remote Pacific islands Manus Island and Nauru. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has made an offer to have the men, who are in Australia's immigration detention system, resettled in New Zealand. Australia's Government has not yet accepted the invitation. "Brother Scotty [Prime Minister Scott Morrison] just needs to sign that paper and, whoever it is, we just need to get it done," Williams said. "These people are humans just like us." 'We just need to give them a fair go' The United States offered to take up to 1250 asylum seekers in a deal struck by Malcolm Turnbull and Barack Obama in 2016, and close to 1000 have been homed so far. But hundreds more remain in limbo, either due to the US rejecting their application or through a reluctance to move there. "I feel like we just need to have a human outlook and think that, just like any goodwilled Aussie, we just need to give them a fair go," Williams said. The Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs, Mike Pezzullo, last week said the New Zealand offer was being "actively considered". A spokesperson for Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton said the New Zealand offer was appreciated, but the government was focused on the US arrangement. "We are aware that people smugglers in our region market New Zealand as a destination," they said. "In fact, as part of OSB (Operation Sovereign Borders), we have already stopped four people-smuggling boats which were headed to New Zealand." Williams has supported efforts to assist refugees in the past, and he visited a Middle Eastern refugee camp in 2015. However, the Sydney Roosters player was less comfortable when addressing issues beyond refugees. When asked about a potential boycott of the Winter Olympics in Beijing, or the Wallabies' decision not to kneel, Williams said he did not want to "get off topic". Alongside Williams at the Amnesty International-arranged event was former Socceroo and human rights advocate Craig Foster. He was happy to entertain a range of issues. Not only did Foster lobby for the release of asylum seekers on Nauru, he was critical of Qatar's human rights record following news of invasive searches of Australian women at a Qatari airport earlier this month, and said it was inappropriate for China to host the 2022 Winter Olympics due to its human rights record. "You have a huge human-rights atrocity going on with the Uyghur people in north-western China," he said. "Sport globally is asking whether it is appropriate for them to host the Olympics and I don't think it is." Athletes lack the confidence to speak out, Williams says Australian athletes have often been criticised for speaking out on political issues or social causes, but Williams wants more of them to find their voice for causes such as refugee resettlement. "It's not that there isn't support, it's just formally doing it, organising it," he said. "Most people I've come across, especially in the sporting field, care about these sorts of issues." He said there needed to be more groups around causes to help sportspeople become more confident speaking out. "It's just the organisation of it, bro," the New Zealand international said. While Williams had one eye on the bigger issues, he still had more immediate questions to answer. His contract with the Sydney Roosters has expired and speculation about his NRL future is mounting. Williams said it would "come to fruition" in the next couple of months. - ABC

The first positive cases of Covid-19 were confirmed among two US Army Garrison workers who arrived this week on Kwajalein Atoll (USAG-KA) as part of an ongoing repatriation program at the missile testing range in the Marshall Islands. The new president of the Marshall Islands, David Kabua (file photo). Photo: SPREP Army and Marshall Islands authorities confirmed that a female aged 35 and a male aged 46 both tested positive for coronavirus soon after arrival. They had tested negative in Honolulu prior to boarding Tuesday's military flight to Kwajalein Atoll. Marshall Islands authorities said there had been no contact with people in the Kwajalein base community as the two, along with the others in the weekly repatriation group, are in managed quarantine at the army base. Underlining the significance of this development in a country that has been one of a dozen globally to remain unaffected by Covid-19, President David Kabua delivered a statement Wednesday night that was broadcast live on the government's AM radio station. It is not yet clear what impact this development will have on the scheduled arrival from Honolulu this Saturday of a group of 27 Marshallese to begin a 21-day quarantine at USAG-KA, the first Marshallese to come into the country from a country with Covid-19. They are among a group of about 300 Marshall Islanders who have been stranded in Hawaii, Guam and elsewhere since the Marshall Islands closed its borders in early March to prevent Covid-19 spread to this western Pacific nation. "What we were worried about has come true," repatriation critic Ebon Atoll Mayor Marie Davis Milne said Wednesday night on social media following the government's announcement of the two positive cases in quarantine. "Now lives are going to be put on hold because a handful of people made the decisions they did for whatever reasons. Life as we all knew it will be in limbo until further notice because of the choices of a few." In anticipation of arrival this Saturday of the first group of Marshallese to be repatriated from a Covid-19 infected nation, the Marshall Islands government launched Covid-19 awareness sessions last week Friday for the public. Photo: Eve Burns Neither of the two US base workers was showing any signs of Covid-19, the government said in a statement issued late Wednesday. "The National Disaster Committee, in close coordination with the president and the cabinet and USAG-KA, are rapidly responding to these cases and we can assure the public that these are strictly border cases and were discovered while these people were in quarantine, where they remain until this time," chief secretary Kino Kabua said in a statement. A 35-year old female tested positive on the evening of 27 October, a few hours after arriving at the Kwajalein Army base Tuesday. "This person was known to have had Covid-19 in late July," Kabua said. The base worker tested negative for the virus this past weekend in Hawaii before boarding the military flight to Kwajalein. She received an antibody test, the results of which are still pending. This will determine if this Covid-19 case is indeed a historical infection, meaning the person previously had Covid-19 and is not infectious or contagious, Kabua said. The other positive case involves a 46-year-old US male, who tested positive 28 October, after also arriving the previous day on the same flight the other positive individual "We are still waiting for the results of the antibody test," Kabua said, adding: "As far as we know, this person previously did not have Covid-19. "The two cases are not epidemiologically linked and protocols in place on USAG-KA have ensured they have not had contact with the community. "Both, along with their tranche, remain under strict quarantine." Kabua said these cases remained "border quarantine cases of Covid-19, with no threat of community transmission." A total of 223 US Army missile range workers and nine others have been released after successfully completing 21-day quarantine periods at the US Army base at Kwajalein since the repatriation of mostly base workers began on 9 June. The latest report issued Monday by the Ministry of Health shows that a total of 280 people were repatriated through the USAG-KA quarantine system since 9 June. Of the 280, two were returned to the US: one for discipline issues, the other because of a non-Covid emergency medical situation. Of the remaining 278, 223 USAG-KA workers successfully completed quarantine and multiple Covid-19 tests prior to being released to return to work at Kwajalein. Nine others - a range of Marshallese and various nationalities, including US Embassy and Australian Navy personnel - also completed quarantine at USAG-KA. Another 46 were still in quarantine as of earlier this week. Separate from the US Army-sponsored quarantine, the first group of Marshallese to return from Hawaii is scheduled to arrive at Kwajalein this weekend to begin 21-days of quarantine. The government's cabinet was meeting to decide if the Marshallese repatriation plan would proceed this weekend in light of the new development at the Army base. Marie Davis Milne, at a public briefing about repatriation held last Friday by the Chief Secretary's office, called for the government to put off repatriation of Marshallese. She warned of the threat Covid-19 spread presented to the population of the Marshall Islands, which is at high risk for the virus because of numerous underlying health conditions.

France will move into a second national lockdown for at least the whole of November, President Emmanuel Macron has announced. French President Emmanuel Macron. Photo: AFP Macron said under the new measures, starting on Friday, people would only be allowed to leave home for essential work or medical reasons. Non-essential businesses, such as restaurants and bars, will close, but schools and factories will remain open. Covid daily deaths in France are at the highest level since April. On Tuesday, 33,000 new cases were confirmed. Macron said the country risked being "overwhelmed by a second wave that no doubt will be harder than the first". The president said that people would need to fill in a form to justify leaving their homes, as was required in the initial lockdown in March. Germany limits gatherings Germany will also have a November lockdown but schools and shops will stay open, Chancellor Angela Merkel has said, calling for a "major national effort" to fight coronavirus. German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Photo: Reuters POOL via AFP Social contacts will be limited to two households, and bars, catering and leisure facilities will shut. Covid daily deaths have risen above 500 there and officials say everything must be done so it "does not overwhelm us". EU special adviser Prof Peter Piot has warned that some 1000 Europeans are now dying every day from the virus. Night curfews are in force in several countries, including for 46 million people in France. However, one minister has complained that they have failed to halt social interactions. "[The curfew] has simply shifted them - instead of getting together at 21:00, people meet up at six," the unnamed minister was quoted as saying. The German government is keen to enable families and friends to meet at Christmas, but daily infections have soared to a new high of 14,964, with 85 more deaths reported in the latest 24-hour period. Ireland imposed tight measures last week with the aim of reopening before Christmas and Italy shut cinemas and gyms this week in an attempt to "save Christmas". Now the UK government is under pressure to act too. What do we know? A broad but limited German lockdown will now start on Monday 2 November, under terms agreed during a video conference involving Merkel and the 16 state premiers: Schools and kindergartens will remain open Social contacts will be limited to two households with a maximum of 10 people and tourism will be halted Bars will close and restaurants will be limited to takeaways Tattoo and massage parlours will shut Smaller companies badly hit by the lockdown will be reimbursed with up to 75 percent of their November 2019 takings Merkel and the state premiers are expected to reconvene on 11 November to reassess the situation "We have to act now," the chancellor explained, to avoid a national emergency. How are infections spreading? While Western Europe has seen numbers returning to levels last seen during the initial wave, there are also big rises in Central and Eastern Europe. Prof Piot, who's head of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said on Wednesday "the situation is very serious and risks getting worse". "Deaths are rising also: last week about one-third more deaths than the week before which means that about 1000 Europeans die per day from Covid." In his role of special adviser to the president of the European Commission, he said currently an average of 60 percent of people in the EU wore masks and if that rose to 95 percent then hundreds of thousands of lives could be saved. In Russia, Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Golikova has warned of a critical situation in hospital bed capacity in 16 regions. Five regions are at 95 percent capacity, she says. Masks are now required in crowded public places across Russia. In the Siberian city of Omsk, two ambulances were unable to find beds for Covid patients, so they turned on their sirens outside the health authority headquarters in protest. After more than 12 hours, beds were found in a hospital said by a member of staff to be "bursting at the seams". Poland on Wednesday announced a further 18,820 cases and 236 deaths. Belgium has reached its highest number of hospitalisations in a single day (689) since the Covid-19 pandemic began. The number of deaths has now surpassed 11,000. Spain has recorded 267 more deaths - the highest number since 1 May. Night curfews start at 9pm today in the Czech Republic - except for working, walking the dog or urgent medical needs. Shops shut at 8pm. The country has again recorded more than 15,000 new cases. - BBC