NEWS OF THE DAY
From Around the World
1 Powerful storm: A rare cyclone slammed into the western Ionian Islands of Greece and other parts of the country Friday, bringing lashing rain, strong winds and flooding as it tore into the coastline. Greece issued its highestlevel weather alert with the landfall of the hurricanestrength storm. Local authorities advised the islands’ residents and tourists to remain indoors as the storm brought winds of at least 75 mph. On Kefalonia, locals reported downed trees, damage to homes and dozens of boats capsized by the storm. Because they do not originate in the tropics, Mediterraneanformed cyclones are not called tropical storms or hurricanes.
2 Bolivia politics: Interim President Jeanine Anez has dropped out of Bolivia’s presidential election scheduled for Oct. 18, saying she wanted to avoid dividing the votes of people who oppose returning the party of exleader Evo Morales to power. Anez said Thursday that she was ending her candidacy “to ensure that there is a winner who defends democracy” against the Movement for Socialism party of Morales, who resigned the presidency last year and went into selfexile amid widespread protests over allegations of electoral fraud. Anez had been a distant fourth in opinion polls. The frontrunner is former Economy Minister Luis Arce, the candidate of the Movement for Socialism.
3 Deadly lightning: A tropical storm made landfall in central Vietnam on Friday, killing one person, while seven people died in a lightning strike in neighboring Cambodia. The lightning struck a wooden stilt house under which people were eating in Cambodia’s northwestern Battambang Province on Thursday evening. The dead included a family of four and three other relatives, said Keo Vy, the spokesperson for the National Committee for Disaster Management. Tropical Storm Noul caused heavy rain and strong winds in several coastal provinces of Vietnam, uprooting trees and blowing away roofs. In Hue province, a man was crushed to death by a falling tree. At least 23 others were reported injured.
4 Attack warning: The U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan warned that extremist groups are planning attacks against a “variety of targets” but are taking particular aim at women. The warning didn’t specify which organizations were plotting the attacks, and the Taliban denied it had any such plans. The militant group been harshly criticized for its treatment of women and girls during their fiveyear rule that ended in 2001. The U.S. has said one of the most dangerous extremist groups in Afghanistan is the Islamic State group’s affiliate, headquartered in the country’s east. The affiliate has declared war on minority Shiite Muslims and has claimed credit for horrific attacks targeting them. The United Nations has stressed the need for any peace deal to protect the rights of women and minorities.
5 Military parade: North Korea is preparing for a major military parade to mark the 75th anniversary of its ruling party next month, satellite images indicated Friday, even as the country strengthens its coronavirus measures. The images, provided by Maxar, a Colorado satellite imagery company, show thousands of people assembled in formation near Pyongyang’s Kim Il Sung Square and rehearsing for a military parade. The anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers’ Party is on Oct. 10. North Korea often holds military parades featuring goosestepping soldiers and new weapons systems on state anniversaries to bolster unity and intimidate enemies. North Korea insists it hasn’t had any coronavirus cases, a claim widely disputed by many foreign experts.