Briefly

PHILIPPINES

Storm death toll jumps to nearly 100

The death toll from a storm that battered the Philippines has jumped to 98, the national disaster agency said on Monday, with little hope of finding survivors in the worst-hit areas. Just over half of the fatalities were from a series of flash floods and landslides unleashed by Tropical Storm Nalgae, which destroyed villages on the southern island of Mindanao on Friday. The number of fatalities is likely to rise, with the national disaster agency recording 63 people still missing and scores of others injured.

EUROPE

Growth slows as inflation soars

Eurozone economic growth fell to 0.2 percent in the third quarter, as inflation hit another record high on the back of soaring energy prices, the EU's statistics agency said Monday. Consumer prices jumped by a fresh record of 10.7 percent in October, up from 9.9 percent the month before, stoked by an eye-watering 41.9 percent rise in energy costs, Eurostat said. The European Central Bank warned last week that a recession is looming, as it announced another jumbo interest rate hike to try to curb inflation.

UNITED STATES

Trump's company faces fraud trial

Former US president Donald Trump's company, The Trump Organization, is on trial this week for criminal tax fraud — on the hook for what prosecutors said was a 15-year scheme by top officials to hide the plums and avoid paying taxes. Opening statements and the first witnesses were expected in New York on Monday. Last week, 12 jurors and six alternates were picked for the case, the only criminal trial to arise from the Manhattan district attorney's three-year investigation of the former president.

AUSTRALIA

New phase in koala monitoring launched

Australia's national science agency has announced a new phase in its National Koala Monitoring Program. The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization launched the next stage on Monday, saying it would provide a strong estimate of the national population of the iconic marsupial. It came eight months after the federal government officially listed the koala as an endangered species in New South Wales, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory after land clearing, bushfires, droughts and disease drove a rapid decline of its population.

Agencies via Xinhua