News in pictures: Job loss fears hit workers globally; UK to infect healthy volunteers; Robert Redford's son James dies; Dubai thwarts smuggling attempts; Prithviraj tests COVID-19 positive…

EMIRATES POST MARKS UAE'S MARS MISSION WITH COMMEMORATIVE STAMPS: Emirates Post, in collaboration with Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre and the UAE Space Agency, issued on Tuesday the distinctive commemorative stamp 'Emirates Mars Mission Hope Probe' to celebrate the UAE's historic first mission to the Mars and its broader space ambitions. The commemorative stamps feature four different images, two of which illustrates the design of the satellite and other two the historic moment of its launch into space. https://gn24.ae/aa89afd8d352000

JEBEL ALI CUSTOMS CENTRE THWARTED 103 SMUGGLING ATTEMPTS: Jebel Ali Customs Centre, part of Dubai Customs' Sea Customs Centres Management, thwarted 103 smuggling attempts in the first eight months of 2020. A total of 104,074 inspection operations were conducted and 144,025 containers were scanned in this period. Prohibited goods, which were seized by the Centre, varied to include 33,930 kg of sandalwood, which is in violation of CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). Another seizure included 53,760 narcotic pills packed in 32 boxes, and another one included the narcotic substance packed in 5.5 million plastic bags and hidden in 92,400 boxes. https://gn24.ae/aa8a31678d94000

SWEDEN BANS CHINA'S HUAWEI, ZTE FROM 5G NETWORK: Sweden has banned Chinese telecoms groups Huawei and ZTE from its 5G network for security reasons, the Swedish telecoms regulator said on Tuesday. The ban is in line with new legislation that entered into force in January 2020, following an examination by the Swedish armed forces and security service "to ensure that the use of radio equipment in these bands does not cause harm to Sweden's security," the Swedish Post and Telecom Authority said in a statement. Huawei, the world number two in mobile phones and a market leader for next generation 5G equipment, and ZTE will also have to remove any existing installations by January 1, 2025. https://gulfnews.com/business

FEAR OF JOB LOSS HAUNTS HALF OF WORLD'S WORKERS: More than half of workers around the world are worried about losing their jobs, according to a survey measuring labour-market insecurity wreaked by the coronavirus crisis. The poll of 12,430 people for the World Economic Forum showed 54% of them are either "very concerned" or "somewhat concerned" that their employment will cease in the next year. Respondents were from 27 countries spread around the world, including almost all of the Group of 20 economies. The report highlights the collective angst about livelihoods that the coronavirus crisis is breeding just as a new surge in infections in Europe underscores the persistence of the pandemic. https://gulfnews.com/business

SUDAN TO GET US FUNDING AFTER TERROR DELISTING: Sudan will receive US financial assistance when the African nation's long-standing designation as a state sponsor of terrorism is lifted, the finance minister said, hours after the Trump administration indicated the step is imminent. "We all know that Sudan is witnessing hardship and needs urgent assistance, so the US would help with a package of aid and some money," Heba Mohammed Ali said. She declined to give any details, including on the amount. https://gulfnews.com/world/mena

EU MAY SHUT DOOR TO TRAVEL FROM CANADA, ALLOW SINGAPORE VISITORS: The European Union plans to remove Canada, Tunisia and Georgia from its list of countries whose residents should be allowed to visit the bloc amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to EU officials familiar with the matter. The EU intends at the same time to reopen its doors to travelers from Singapore as a result of improved virus trends there, the officials said on the condition of anonymity because the deliberations on Tuesday in Brussels are confidential. The US will remain blacklisted along with most other countries in the world. https://gulfnews.com/world

UK TO INFECT HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS TO SPEED VACCINE: UK researchers are preparing to begin a controversial experiment that will infect healthy volunteers with the new coronavirus to study the disease in hopes of speeding up development of a vaccine. The approach, called a challenge study, is risky but proponents say it may produce results faster than standard research, which waits to see if volunteers who have been given an experimental treatment get sick. Imperial College London said Tuesday that the study, involving healthy volunteers between the ages of 18 and 30, would be conducted in partnership with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust and hVivo, a company that has experience conducting testing. https://gulfnews.com/world/europe

ROBERT REDFORD'S FILMMAKER SON JAMES DIES AT 58: Documentary filmmaker, activist and son of actor Robert Redford, James Redford, has died. He was 58. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the Sundance Institute, a nonprofit organisation co-founded by James and Robert Redford in 2005, confirmed his death. James Redford had been diagnosed with primary sclerosing cholangitis, an auto-immune disease that affects the liver, which resulted in him receiving two liver transplants in 1993. After surviving the transplants, he launched the James Redford Institute for Transplant Awareness, a nonprofit dedicated to educating the public about the need for organ and tissue donation, and produced The Kindness of Strangers, a documentary film exploring the sacrifices made by organ donor families, as per the Hollywood Reporter. https://gulfnews.com/entertainment/hollywood

RAHUL GANDHI ATTENDS COVID-19 REVIEW MEETING AT WAYANAD COLLECTORATE: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday attended a review meeting on COVID-19 at Wayanad Collectorate in the south Indian state of Kerala, said All India Mahila Congress. The Congress MP reached Kerala for a three-day visit to his parliamentary constituency, from October 19 to October 21. https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/india

INDIAN POLITICIAN EXPRESSES OUTRAGE OVER RAPE THREATS TO VIJAY SETHUPATHI'S DAUGHTER: Expressing outrage over the rape threats to south Indian actor Vijay Sethupathi's daughter, political party Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) women's wing secretary and MP Kanimozhi on Tuesday said that it is not only barbaric but also extremely dangerous to the very fabric of the society. Sethupathi had received threats on social media that his daughter will be raped if he acts as Sri Lankan cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan in an upcoming biopic on the cricketer. Kanimozhi tweeted, "The only war cowards fight is against women and children. The threat against actor Vijay Sethupathi's daughter is a shame. Trolling women and children should be punished." https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/india

MALAYALAM ACTOR PRITHVIRAJ SUKUMARAN TESTS POSITIVE FOR COVID-19: South Indian actor, director and producer Prithviraj Sukumaran has tested positive for COVID-19. Prithviraj confirmed the same on Tuesday through a statement on Twitter. The actor has been filming for his upcoming project 'Jana Gana Mana' from October 7. He tested positive recently and he has gone into isolation. The actor is asymptomatic at present and he is in perfect shape. https://gulfnews.com/entertainment/south-indian

ARREST WARRANTS ISSUED FOR FOUNDERS OF PANAMA PAPERS FIRM: Germany has issued international arrest warrants for the two founders of the firm at the centre of the tax haven scandal exposed by the Panama Papers data leak, German media reported. Mossack Fonseca founders Juergen Mossack and Ramon Fonseca, suspected of tax evasion and associating with criminals, will be arrested if they enter the European Union, German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported late Monday. The Panama Papers, a massive data leak in April 2016, exposed widespread tax avoidance and evasion using complex structures of offshore shell companies and caused an international outcry. https://gulfnews.com/world/europe

TOKYO SHARES FALL ON US STIMULUS TALKS AHEAD OF EARNINGS: Tokyo stocks ended lower Tuesday on dwindling chances of a US stimulus package, as some investors took a wait-and-see approach ahead of the corporate earnings season. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost 0.44 percent or 104.09 points at 23,567.04, while the broader Topix index fell 0.75 percent or 12.24 points to 1,625.74. https://gulfnews.com/business

INDIA POSTS LOWEST DAILY NEW CORONAVIRUS CASES IN NEARLY FOUR MONTHS: India posted its lowest daily coronavirus caseload in nearly four months, data from the health ministry showed on Tuesday, as new cases maintained decreasing trend from a peak in September. The country reported 46,790 new infections in the last 24 hours, taking its tally to nearly 7.6 million - the second highest behind the United States. It also reported 587 deaths, taking the total to 115,197. https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/india