News in pictures: India opens new bridges near China border; Audi eyes China market; US, India and Quad; Lower caste man, 65, forced to drink urine in India; Blood tests to detect pregnancy issues…

COVID-19 INFECTIONS AMONG HEALTH WORKERS DECLINING: Health workers have since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic been disproportionately affected by the crisis, but the WHO said Tuesday their high infection levels had finally begun to subside. While the coronavirus crisis has taken a heavy toll overall, data from many countries and regions show that healthcare workers have been infected at a far higher rate than the general population. Health workers represent less than three percent of the population in most countries, but have accounted for around 14 percent of all COVID-19 cases reported to the WHO, and in some countries they have accounted for over a third of cases. But the UN health agency said analysis of reported data from 83 countries, mainly in Europe and the Americas, now showed that "there has been a substantial decline in (health worker) infection since the beginning of the epidemic." https://gulfnews.com/world

12 MALI SOLDIERS KILLED IN RAIDS ON BASE: Twelve Malian soldiers were killed in attacks on their base in the volatile centre of the country, the army said Tuesday, in the latest violence to hit the West African state. In a statement, Mali's military said an army outpost in the central Mopti region was attacked overnight, leaving nine soldiers dead. Militants also attacked reinforcements sent to the base on Tuesday morning, killing three soldiers and wounding 10. https://gulfnews.com/world/africa

SHASTRI URGES DE VILLIERS TO COME OUT OF RETIREMENT: India coach Ravi Shastri on Tuesday urged South African batsman A.B. de Villiers to come out of international retirement after he hit an explosive 73 in the Indian Premier League. The 36-year-old, who ended his international career two years ago, smashed six sixes in a 33-ball blitz in Sharjah on Monday that set up a big win for the Royal Challengers Bangalore over the Kolkata Knight Riders. Accolades poured in for the former Proteas captain, with Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli calling his teammate "super-human". "What one saw last night was unreal," Shastri wrote on Twitter. https://gulfnews.com/sport/cricket

INDIA OPENS NEW BRIDGES NEAR CHINA BORDER: India opened dozens of new bridges - many of them providing all-weather access along its disputed border with China - in a move that could provoke a fresh round of tensions. Eight of the bridges are in the Ladakh province, where India and China have each amassed over 50,000 soldiers, tanks, missiles and have put on fighters on stand-by, while eight are in Arunachal Pradesh in India's remote northeast, the Ministry of Defense said in a statement on Monday. Another four are in the Himalayan region that witnessed a months-long military standoff in 2017 over the Doklam plateau, claimed by China and Bhutan, India's ally. Built to allow faster movement of troops, artillery, tanks and even missiles closer to the border, news of the bridges came as senior military officials and diplomats met on Monday for the seventh time to restore calm after previous talks ended in deadlock. https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/india

NIGERIAN OIL HUB BRACES FOR PROTESTS: Hundreds of people marched in the Nigerian oil hub of Port Harcourt on Tuesday as protests against police brutality that have spread across the West African nation entered a ninth day. Newsom Wike, the governor of Rivers state, outlawed the protest and ordered law-enforcement agencies to prevent the march. Organizers posted messages on social media urging people to join the protest, insisting it would be peaceful. The protests first erupted Oct. 5 after a video of the killing of a civilian by a controversial police unit was shared on social media. https://gulfnews.com/world/africa

INDONESIA'S STATE ISLAMIC BANK MERGER TO FORM $15 BILLION ENTITY: Indonesia is pushing ahead with a years-long plan to merge the Islamic units of its state-owned lenders, which could form an entity with $15 billion of assets. PT Bank Mandiri, PT Bank Negara Indonesia and PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia signed a conditional deal on Monday to combine their Shariah-compliant units. The merged entity's assets could reach 390 trillion rupiah ($26 billion) by 2025, from up to 225 trillion rupiah by end of 2020, as its scale helps it better compete with non-Islamic lenders. https://gulfnews.com/business/banking

AUDI TO BUILD ELECTRIC CARS GEARED TO CHINESE BUYERS: Volkswagen AG's Audi is expanding its partnership with Chinese manufacturer FAW as the German premium brand seeks to build more battery-powered cars geared to customers in its largest market. Audi and FAW on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding to start a company that will produce electric cars for the Chinese market from 2024, Audi said in a statement. The new cars will be designed to meet the requirements of local premium buyers and use the PPE electric platform developed with Porsche, Audi said. "This decision emphasizes the strategic importance of the Chinese market," Chief Executive Officer Markus Duesmann said. https://gulfnews.com/business

‘US, INDIA TOO CAUTIOUS IN BUILDING QUAD’: The US and India have been "too cautious" about China's reaction to developing their informal grouping with Japan and Australia, Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun said. The grouping - known as the Quad - is not intended to be exclusive and any country seeking a free and open Indo-Pacific could be a part of it, Biegun said in a speech in New Delhi. He is in India as part of preparations ahead of visits by Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Mark Esper for ministerial meetings planned later this month. India and the US along with Japan and Australia need to formalize ties and work bilaterally and with other democratic nations in the region in more regular and systematic ways "that offer benefits to our nations' security," Biegun said. https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/india

SECOND WAVE OF CORONAVIRUS HITS CANADIAN CONSUMER CONFIDENCE: Canadian consumer confidence recorded its largest one-week decline in five months as the nation gets hit by a second wave of COVID-19 cases. The Bloomberg Nanos Canadian Confidence Index, a composite measure of financial health and economic expectations derived from telephone polling, dropped more than half a point to 52.4 for the week ended Oct. 9. That's the biggest weekly decline since April, bringing the gauge to the lowest since mid-August. https://gulfnews.com/world/americas

MOTHER OF HATHRAS VICTIM TAKEN TO HOSPITAL: Following her deteriorating health condition, the mother of Hathras rape, murder victim in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh was taken to hospital on Tuesday. This came after Hathras Chief Medical Officer Dr Brijesh Rathore visited the victim's residence after the victim's father who was also unwell declined to go to the hospital. The 19-year old woman had died on September 29 after alleged assault and gang-rape on September 14. https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/india

65-YEAR-OLD DALIT (LOWER CASTE) MAN 'FORCED TO DRINK URINE': Another case of atrocities on Dalits in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh came to light. A 65-year-old man was allegedly forced to drink urine and beaten up, along with his son, in Lalitpur district. Following a complaint by the victim's family, the main accused has been arrested, while the search for others involved in the case is on, said police. Victim Amar, a resident of Roda village in Lalitpur, told ANI news agency that Sonu Yadav forced him to drink his urine a few days ago. "When I refused, he attacked me with a stick. He also attacked my son with an axe. We then complained against him to the police," Amar said. https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/india

MY HINDUTVA DOESN'T NEED VERIFICATION, SAYS UDDHAV THACKERAY: Responding to Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari's letter over the issue of reopening of places of worship in the state, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday said his Hindutva does not need verification from Koshyari. "As imposing lockdown all of a sudden was not right, revoking it completely at once will also be not a good thing. And yes, I am someone who follows Hindutva, my Hindutva doesn't need verification from you," the Chief Minister said. Koshyari, through a letter written on Monday, had urged the Maharashtra CM to announce reopening of places of worship in the state. https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/india

‘BLOOD TEST THAT DETECTS GENETIC ABNORMALITIES MAY HELP PREDICT PREGNANCY COMPLICATIONS’: A blood test, commonly used to detect foetal genetic abnormalities, may help predict complications associated with pregnancy even before symptoms develop, Epigenetics researchers have found. Their preliminary study, appearing in Epigenetics journal, links certain cell-free DNA signatures to adverse outcomes in pregnancy, including ischemic placental disease and gestational diabetes. The findings are the first to show that genetic material shed from the placenta into the mother's blood (circulating cell-free nucleic acids) during the first trimester of pregnancy could potentially be used to predict these complications. Although the analysis of genetic material in mother's blood has been used to screen for genetic abnormalities in a pregnancy, this is the first time these specific methods have been used as a way to a more accurate prediction. https://gulfnews.com/lifestyle/health-fitness

‘KARABAKH FIGHTING HELPING SPREAD VIRUS IN REGION’: Fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenian forces over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region has helped spread the coronavirus in the territory, the WHO said on Tuesday. More than two weeks of conflict between the Caucasus rivals has left almost 600 dead, according to partial tolls, as fighting breaches a Moscow-brokered ceasefire signed last week. "As we have been repeatedly saying, COVID-19 does not respect borders or lines," WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic said at a press conference. "The mobilization of troops for conflict, the displacement of populations because of it all, adds to the ability of the virus to take hold." https://gulfnews.com/world/europe