Philippines: Death toll touches 85 after floods, landslides

Panic gripped big tech firms like Facebook and Twitter which decided to close their offices from Seattle to London as more employees tested positive for the new coronavirus.

Facebook shut its three London offices till Monday after an employee was diagnosed with COVID-19.

The social networking giant told nearly 3,000 employees in London to work from home after an employee, who is based in Singapore but visited the London offices between February 24-26, was diagnosed with the new coronavirus, Sky News reported on Friday.

"An employee based in our Singapore office who has been diagnosed with COVID-19 visited our London offices on February 24-26.

"We are therefore closing our London offices until Monday for deep cleaning and employees are working from home until then," the company said in a statement.

There have been 163 cases of coronavirus so far in the UK.

Earlier, Facebook recommended all its Bay Area employees in the US to work from home. The latest precautions come after San Francisco announced its first two coronavirus cases on Thursday.

Facebook has also shut its Seattle office until Monday after one of its contractors was confirmed to be infected with the virus. The infected contractor last visited the Facebook office on February 21. King County health officials said all Facebook sites should work from home until March 31.

Twitter shut its Seattle office for a 'deep clean' after an employee developed COVID-19 like symptoms though final result was still awaited.

"A Seattle-based employee has been advised by doctor about likely COVID-19, though still awaiting the final testing," Twitter said in a tweet on Friday.

"While the employee has not been at a Twitter office for several weeks and hasn't been in contact w/others, we're closing our Seattle office to deep clean," the company added.

According to The Seattle Times, at least 14 people have died due to COVID-19 in Washington State till date.

Amazon, Microsoft, Google and Facebook have advised their employees in Washington State to work from home.

Apple has reportedly suggested its employees at California campuses to work from home as an "extra precaution" while new coronavirus cases spread on the west coast in the US, especially Seattle area.

Apple's flagship developers' conference WWDC 2020 in June is also at the risk of getting cancelled as the Santa Clara public health department has warned against large public gatherings. The event draws nearly 5,000 developers from across the world.

The US death toll from the new coronavirus has climbed to 14, according to Johns Hopkins' tracker, with 329 cases reported across the country.

Karachi, Jun 29: Four heavily-armed militants attacked the busy Pakistan Stock Exchange on Monday morning, killing four security guards and a police sub-inspector before being shot dead in an exchange of fire, media reports said.

The unidentified militants opened indiscriminate fire and lobbed hand grenades at the main gate of the building as they tried to storm it, Geo News reported.

Police said that all the terrorists have been killed while five persons injured in the attack.

Four security guards and a police sub-inspector were also killed in the attack.

"An unfortunate incident took place at the Pakistan Stock Exchange. They made their way from our parking area and opened fire on everyone," said Abid Ali Habib, Director of Pakistan Stock Exchange.

The firing by militants caused panic among the people in the building.

Sindh province Governor Imran Ismail condemned the incident.

"Strongly condemn the attack on PSX aimed at tarnishing our relentless war on terror. Have instructed the IG & security agencies to ensure that the perpetrators are caught alive & their handlers are accorded exemplary punishments. We shall protect Sindh at all costs," he said on Twitter.

Police and rangers have arrived on the spot and surrounded the area.

New Delhi, Jan 8: Iran will welcome any peace initiative by India for de-escalating its tensions with the US after the killing of Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani, the Iranian envoy here said on Wednesday.

His comments come hours after Iran launched missile strikes against two US military bases in Iraq in retaliation to the killing of its top commander General Qassem Soleimani.

"India usually plays a very good role in (maintaining) peace in the world. At the same time, India belongs to this region. We welcome all initiatives from all countries, especially India as a good friend for us, to not allow escalation (of tensions)," Iranian Ambassador to India Ali Chegeni told reporters after a condolence meeting for Solemani at the country's embassy here.

"We are not for war, we are looking for peace and prosperity for everybody in this region. We welcome any Indian initiative or any project that can help peace and prosperity in this world," he said.

On the Iranian attack on US targets in Iraq, Chegeni said his country retaliated under its right to defend.

Amid spiralling US-Iran tensions over the killing of Soleimani, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday had a conversation with his Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, voicing India's concerns over the escalation of tensions.