News in pictures: Duterte hailed, husband sells land to buy wife elephant in India, China on US, Australia whales death, Brazil COVID cases, Navalny discharged…

2 KILLED, 4 INJURED AS CAR FALLS INTO GORGE: Two persons were killed and four sustained injuries after their car fell into a deep gorge near Egala Penta on the Srisailam highway in India, the police said. The vehicle was going from Hyderabad towards Srisailam when the mishap occurred. It is suspected that the accident occurred due to failure of brakes.

HUSBAND SELLS LAND, BUYS ELEPHANT TO FULFIL WIFE'S DREAM: The best thing to hold onto in life is each other and this was manifested by a Bangladeshi man for his wife. Dulal Chandra Roy, a resident of Lalmonirhat's Panchagram union Bangladesh, sold his land and bought an elephant out of the proceeds as a token of love for his wife Tulsi Rani Dasi to fulfil her wish. Dulal is a farmer by profession. He sold two bighas of his land, went to Moulvibazar and bought an elephant for Tk 16.5 lakh. He returned home last week with the animal in a truck hired for Tk 20,000. "I sold the land and bought the elephant to fulfil my wife's dream," he said.

'NO MASK - NO SERVICE' CAMPAIGN: In a bid to create awareness among the public regarding COVID-19, the Jodhpur district administration in the Indian state launched the 'No mask - no entry' and 'No mask - no service' campaign on Tuesday. Posters encouraging people to wear masks were pasted on vehicles as part of the campaign.

'WHEN I'M WITH YOU I'M STANDING WITH AN ARMY': Sharing an all-smiles throwback picture, Bollywood actor Kajol on Wednesday penned a heartwarming note to her mom and veteran actor Tanuja on the occasion of her birthday. As the 'Haathi Mere Saathi' actor turned 77, her daughter showered truckloads of love to mark the special day. The 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai' actor shared an adorable picture in which the mother-daughter duo is smilingly posing for the camera while dressed in traditional ensembles. "When I'm with you I'm standing with an army", wrote Kajol alongside the picture she shared on Instagram.

US 'SERIOUSLY OBSTRUCTS' CLIMATE FIGHT, SAYS CHINA: The United States "seriously obstructs" the battle to control global emissions, China's foreign ministry said Wednesday, as Beijing tries to occupy the high ground over the environment. By pulling out of international agreements to moderate carbon emissions, the US has failed in "its duty to restrict the amount of emissions, and refuses to take minimum action to protect the earth," foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said in a statement.

NAVALNY DISCHARGED: Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who the West believes was poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent, has been discharged from hospital after 32 days, the Berlin medical facility treating him said Wednesday. "Based on the patient's progress and current condition, the treating physicians believe that complete recovery is possible," Charite hospital said in a statement.

JAPAN MAY EASE VIRUS ENTRY RESTRICTIONS: Japan is considering easing strict coronavirus border restrictions from October to allow more foreign nationals to enter, local media reported Wednesday. Tourists would still be banned and only longer-term visas approved, the reports said, as the nation looks to rebuild its economy and prepare for the postponed Olympics next year. Japan currently bans entry for foreigners from most countries, but has been negotiating the gradual resumption of cross-border business travel. Business visitors are already allowed from seven places - including Thailand, Vietnam and Taiwan.

AT LEAST 380 WHALES DEAD IN AUSTRALIA: At least 380 whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia, officials said Wednesday, with rescuers managing to free just a few dozen survivors. Nearly the entire pod of 460 long-finned pilot whales stuck in Macquarie Harbour, on the rugged and sparsely populated west coast of Tasmania, has now perished. "We have got a more accurate count and we can confirm that 380 whales are dead," Tasmania's Parks and Wildlife Service manager Nic Deka said.

BRAZIL REPORTS 33,536 NEW COVID-19 CASES, 836 DEATHS: Brazil recorded 33,536 additional confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, in the past 24 hours, as well as 836 deaths from the disease, the Health Ministry said. Brazil has registered more than 4.59 million cases of the virus since the pandemic began, while the official death toll has risen to 138,108, according to ministry data.

DUTERTE GETS RARE PRAISE: President Rodrigo Duterte made one of his strongest defenses of the Philippine victory in the arbitration case in his first address before the annual UN General Assembly where world leaders spoke mostly in prerecorded videos due to the pandemic. China has long refused to bring the issue to any international arena. Duterte, who has nurtured close ties with China since taking office in mid-2016, has long been criticized for refusing to immediately and forcefully demand Chinese compliance with the ruling by a UN-backed tribunal.