USA

UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Sunday expressed shock at Saturday's horrific attack on a school in Kumba in Cameroon's Southwest region, in which several children were reportedly killed and several others wounded, said his spokesman.

The attack is another disturbing reminder of the exacting heavy toll on civilians, including children, many of whom have been deprived of their right to education. Attacks on education facilities are a grave violation of children's rights, said Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman, in a statement.

26 Oct 2020; MEMO: The United States has called on the Egyptian government not to allow Chinese companies to help establish the country’s 5G telecommunications infrastructure.

In an official statement, the American embassy in Egypt urged Cairo to join the US so-called “Clean Network” programme to obtain 5G from what it described as “reliable partners”. The embassy added that the network was “the path which most global developed economies follow to obtain the 5G technology.”

Houston, Oct 26 (PTI) A massive number of people have already voted in Texas since early voting started on October 13, leading experts to predict that the state could reach overall turnout levels unseen so far this century.

Over seven million people have already voted in the state of Texas ahead of next week's general election, a figure that accounts for nearly 43 per cent of all registered voters in the state.

Washington, Oct 26 (PTI) US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo has left for India for the third edition of the 2+2 ministerial dialogue to be held in New Delhi on Tuesday during which the two sides are expected to explore ways to further bolster bilateral defence ties and security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, amidst China flexing its muscles in the strategic region.

The visit comes a week before the US presidential election on November 3.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of Californians lost power as utilities sought to prevent the chance of their equipment sparking wildfires and the fire-weary state braced for a new bout of dry, windy weather.

More than 1 million people were expected be in the dark Monday during what officials have said could be the strongest wind event in California this year.

(AP) --- A fire was set Sunday in a Boston ballot drop box holding more than 120 ballots in what Massachusetts election officials said appears to have been a “deliberate attack,” now under investigation by the FBI.

The fire that was set around 4 a.m. in a ballot drop box outside the Boston Public Library downtown, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin’s office said.

MIAMI (AP) — A strengthening Tropical Storm Zeta is expected to become a hurricane Monday as it heads toward the eastern end of Mexico’s resort-dotted Yucatan Peninsula and then likely move on for a possible landfall on the central U.S. Gulf Coast at midweek.

Zeta, which on Sunday became the earliest ever 27th named storm of the Atlantic season, was centered about 260 miles (420 kilometers) southeast of Cozumel island late Sunday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. It had maximum sustained winds of 60 mph (95 kph).

(AP) --- Preslie Paur breaks down in tears when she thinks of her state’s refusal to mandate face masks.

The South Salt Lake City, Utah, woman can’t work at her special education job due to an autoimmune disease. Her husband, also a special ed teacher, recently quit because his school district would not allow him to work remotely to protect her and their 5-year-old son, who has asthma.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump plans to intensify an already breakneck travel schedule in the final full week of the presidential campaign, overlooking a surge of coronavirus cases in the U.S. and a fresh outbreak in his own White House.

Trump is expected to hit nearly a dozen states in his last-ditch effort to recover ground from Democrat Joe Biden, including Sunday’s trip to Maine and Tuesday’s to Nebraska. Both states award electoral votes by congressional district and could be crucial in a tight election. He will hold 11 rallies in the final 48 hours alone.

(AP) --- With nine days before Election Day, more people already have cast ballots in this year’s presidential election than voted early or absentee in the 2016 race as the start of in-person early voting in big states led to a surge in turnout in recent days.

The opening of early voting locations in Florida, Texas and elsewhere has piled millions of new votes on top of the mail ballots arriving at election offices as voters try to avoid crowded places on Nov. 3 during the coronavirus pandemic.