French airstrikes kill over 50 Qaeda-linked jihadists in Mali

The French government said Monday its forces had killed more than 50 jihadists aligned to Al-Qaeda in air strikes in central Mali.

The offensive took place on Friday in an area near the borders of Burkina Faso and Niger, where government troops are struggling to rout an Islamic insurgency, French Defence Minister Florence Parly said after meeting members of Mali's transitional government.

"On October 30 in Mali, the Barkhane force conducted an operation that neutralised more than 50 jihadists and confiscated arms and material," Parly said, referring to the French-led anti-jihadist Operation Barkhane.

She added that around 30 motorcycles were destroyed.

UK regulator, insurers, set for November court battle over COVID-19 case

LONDON (Reuters) - The UK Supreme Court will hear an appeal on Nov. 16 of the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) test case over which insurance companies should offer payouts to small businesses battered by the coronavirus pandemic, it said on Monday.

The hearing is expected to last four days, the court said in a statement.

Small businesses – from cafes and wedding planners to events businesses – have said they faced ruin after attempts to claim compensation for business losses during the pandemic, which prompted a three-month national lockdown in March followed by other restrictive measures, were rejected by insurers.

The FCA, six insurers and an action group are appealing a lower court judgment that sought to clarify whether 21 policy wordings, affecting potentially 700 types of policies, 60 insurers, 370,000 policyholders and billions in claims, cover disruption and government-ordered closures to curb the virus.

Although expedited, the appeal has delayed payouts on disputed claims just as thousands of struggling businesses face a second national lockdown this week to curb resurgent coronavirus cases.

The FCA said in September that the lower court found in favour of policyholders’ arguments in the majority of key issues.

Lower court judges examined three types of policy wordings that cover business interruption: when insured premises cannot be accessed because of public authority restrictions, in the event of a notifiable disease within a specified radius and a mixture of these two.

The FCA sought to appeal some aspects of the judgment, as did insurers Arch ACGL.O, Argenta HNRGn.DE, Hiscox HSX.L, MS Amlin MITSID.UL, RSA RSA.L and QBE QBE.AX, and the Hiscox Action Group of policyholders.

The FCA did not have an immediate comment.

The case is being watched overseas, as companies lock horns with insurers over pandemic-related claims in countries from South Africa to the United States.

Source: Reuters

Manchester emergency: North West Ambulance Service declares 'major incident’

MANCHESTER'S ambulance service have declared a "major incident" over the number of COVID-19 related calls.

The North West Ambulance Service said in a statement: “We are trying to reach patients as soon as we possibly can.”

The ambulance service said it was 'exceptionally busy' and has told people to expect delays.

NWAS Tweeted tonight: "We are exceptionally busy this evening.

"Unfortunately there will be delays and we urge you not to call back to ask how long we will be.

"Please only ring 999 for life threatening emergencies."

NWAS Unison added: "Major Incident Declared by NWAS. We have agreed to suspend the Meal Break Policy in line with the agreement that we have with the Trust between 5pm and 7pm. If you have any problems please speak to EOC."

Manchester ambulance declare major incident (Image: Getty)