India records world’s biggest single-day jump in virus cases

A boy reacts as a health official uses a swab to collect a test sample at a clinical center in Siliguri, India, on August 26. India registered 78,761 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, the biggest single-day spike in the world since the pandemic began, just as the government began easing restrictions to help the battered economy. The surge raised India’s tally to over 3.5 million.SD-Agencies

Floods in Sudan hit capital hard, over 90 dead

Rising floodwaters have hit Sudan’s capital of Khartoum hard in recent days, as weeks of heavy flooding nationwide left at least 90 people dead and destroying tens of thousands of homes, the country’s Interior Ministry said on Sunday.

Sudan’s military said it deployed troops to help evacuate people and build barricades in Khartoum as well as distribute food, after flooding there cut roads and swept away houses and belongings.

Flash floods have ravaged swaths of Sudan including the capital since late July, injuring around four dozen people and damaging or destroying 57,000 houses nationwide, the Interior Ministry said.

Ex-Japanese DM leads in polls to succeed Abe

Following Japan PM Shinzo Abe’s resignation last week, the race to succeed him has kicked off.

According to opinion polls conducted by Japanese media outlets, it is believed that former Japanese Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba is the most popular choice among the public to be the next PM.

Ishiba has about 34 percent of the public’s support, more than double the 14 percent for Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, the second-most popular choice, a weekend Kyodo News survey showed.

A Nikkei/TV Tokyo poll showed Ishiba with 28 percent support, followed by current Defense Minister Taro Kono with 15 percent and Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi — son of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi — at 14 percent. Suga came in fourth place with 11 percent, the poll showed.

1 killed as Trump supporters, protesters clash

One person was shot and killed on late Saturday in Portland, Oregon, the United States, as a large caravan of President Donald Trump supporters and Black Lives Matter protesters clashed in the streets, police said.

Police said the caravan had left the area around 8:30 p.m., and officers heard gunshots at about 8:46 p.m., according to a statement. Officers arrived at the shooting scene “within a minute,” police said, but the man who was shot did not survive. He was not immediately identified. It’s unclear who shot him.

Pence accepts US GOP’s renomination for VP

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence has accepted the Republican Party’s nomination for a second term.

“I humbly accept your nomination to run and serve as vice president of the United States,” Pence said in his address concluding the third night of the 2020 Republican National Convention last week.

In most of his speech, Pence sought to make the case for U.S. President Donald Trump’s re-election, defended their handling of the coronavirus pandemic, and slammed Democrats and their 2020 presidential nominee, Joe Biden.

UAE ends Israel boycott amid US-brokered deal

The ruler of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) issued a decree on Saturday formally ending the country’s boycott of Israel amid a U.S.-brokered deal to normalize relations between the two countries.

The announcement now allows trade and commerce between the UAE, home to oil-rich Abu Dhabi and skyscraper-studded Dubai, and Israel, home to a thriving diamond trade, pharmaceutical companies and tech startups.

The announcement further cements the August 13 deal opening up relations between the two nations.(SD-Agencies)