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world news Diaranson 28 october 2020

Philippines: Typhoon displaces 120,000 people, 8 missing

(AP) — A strong typhoon despite widespread damage
blew out of the Philip- The fast-moving typhoon in his hard-hit province of
pines on Monday after dis- blew out of the country to Oriental Mindoro, no ty-
placing more than 120,000 the South China Sea on phoon deaths were reported
people, leaving several Monday afternoon with sus- there. In one area alone, 200
fishermen missing and tained winds of 130 kilome- families lost their fishing
causing at least six vessels ters (81 miles) per hour and boats, Dolor said. Many vil-
to sink or run aground in gusts of up to 160 kph (99 lagers have started to leave
storm-tossed waters, offi- mph), forecasters said. It emergency shelters to fix
cials said. roared overnight across is- their battered homes, he said.
land provinces south of the
Local authorities reported at capital, Manila, which was “Many of them lost their
least two dead from Typhoon lashed by strong winds but roofs, their walls and ceil-
Molave, including a villager escaped major damage. ings,” he told DZMM radio.
who drowned, but the gov- Dozens of villagers were in-
ernment’s main disaster-re- More than 120,000 villagers jured by falling trees and
sponse agency said it would fled to safety at the height other storm debris as the ty-
wait to include the deaths in of the typhoon’s onslaught, phoon pounded entire prov- still searching for one other.
its casualty count until after with more than 75,000 taking inces, officials said. About 20 typhoons and
they are validated. shelter in hundreds of evacu- More than 1,800 cargo truck storms annually batter the
ation centers. The rest took The coast guard said four drivers, workers and passen- Philippines, and the South-
At least 13 people were ini- cover in relatives’ homes. Of- ships ran aground and two gers were stranded in ports east Asian archipelago is seis-
tially reported missing, most- ficials struggled to set people other boats, including a after the coast guard barred mically active, with earth-
ly fishermen, but five were apart in emergency shelters yacht, sank in very choppy ships and ferry boats from quakes and volcanic erup-
later rescued separately off due to the coronavirus pan- waters off Batangas province, venturing into rough seas. tions, making it one of the
the eastern island province of demic. south of Manila. Coast guard Some of the ports were lat- world’s most disaster-prone
Catanduanes, the Office of personnel rescued seven er reopened as the weather countries.
Civil Defense said. Gov. Humerlito Dolor said crew from the yacht but were cleared.

UK sends flagship for joint naval drills with Cyprus, France

(AP) — Britain flexed its the coastal town of Limassol. nis told the Associated Press. derstanding and knowledge is an amphibious assault ship
naval muscles in its largest The main part of the exer- of each other.” that can quickly deploy Royal
deployment off Cyprus in cise involved Cypriot special British military officials said Marines on land through its
decades, to make its pres- forces and British Royal Ma- the joint training with Cy- The U.K. retained two mili- Wildcat helicopters or a pair
ence felt in the volatile rines boarding a supposedly priot forces also illustrated a tary bases on Cyprus after the of landing craft.
region and underscore hijacked ship by fast-roping joint commitment to region- eastern Mediterranean island Officials said the deployment
what officials said was down from hovering heli- al stability and a determina- gained independence from that included the air defense
the country’s post-Brexit copters while small, highly tion to further strengthen a British colonial rule in 1960. destroyer HMS Dragon also
commitment to buttress- maneuverable speed boats bilateral defense relationship. afforded personnel the op-
ing Europe’s security. came alongside the vessel. The exercise comes amid portunity to experiment with
“Cyprus is a very important continued tensions with new, high-tech tools that
A three-ship strike force cen- “This is the U.K. doing its partner for the UK in the neighboring Turkey over could assist troops to success-
tered around the Royal Na- part to prove our commit- eastern Mediterranean and rights to prospect and drill fully carry out an assigned
vy’s flagship HMS Albion on ment to European safety and the Mediterranean region in for oil and gas around war- mission. Those tools include
Tuesday conducted joint ma- security whilst working with general,” Capt. Dennis said, divided Cyprus. a powerful drone that can
neuvers with a Cypriot patrol our NATO allies and part- adding that the exercise of- carry up to 150 pounds (70
vessel and helicopters and the ners,” Deputy Strike Force fered “a great chance for us The 20,400-ton HMS Albi- kilograms) of supplies or am-
French frigate Jean Bart off Commander Capt. Phil Den- to see and experience the un- on, with a 400-person crew, munition to frontline troops.

Virus cases spike at Milan's La Scala, Naples' San Carlo

(AP) — The number of staging in November, but the down all theaters this week, theater and musical activ-
performers at Milan’s Italian media also reported government decree has shut drawing a protest from star ity to provide spiritual food,
famed La Scala opera that 12 positive cases had down theaters through Nov. conductor Riccardo Muti, without which society is bru-
house who have tested been reported at the San Car- 24. who appealed to Premier Gi- talized.’’
positive for the coronavi- lo Theater in Naples, affect- useppe Conte to “revive the
rus has risen to 21, even as ing management, the orches- The theater has not released
the theater was forced to tra, chorus and dance troupe. the suspected source of con-
close due to new govern- tagion. But the infections un-
ment restrictions aimed at The new peak in virus cases derline the delicacy of staging
curbing the virus’ resur- in Italy has been centered singing performances during
gence. in Milan, Lombardy's capi- which voices are necessarily
tal, throwing into doubt La projected, risking the spread
La Scala spokesman Paolo Scala’s celebrated Dec. 7 gala of contagion.
Besana confirmed Tues- season opener. La Scala had
day that 18 members of the launched a limited series of Italy, the birthplace of opera,
world-class chorus and three concerts and ballets in Sep- resumed classical music per-
woodwind players in the or- tember with just 700 audi- formances this summer after
chestra have the virus. That ence members instead of the a severe 10-week lockdown,
comes after two singers, usual 2,000, with operatic with strict distancing rules
including tenor Francesco concerts and ballet galas in- between orchestra members
Meli, tested positive, ahead of stead of fully staged perfor- and limiting the number of
planned concert performanc- mances. singers on stage.
es last week of Giuseppe Ver-
di's “Aida.’’ It had planned to resume full The government closed