News in pictures: Typhoon hits Korea, Sushant case, UAE public sector, Saudi King-Trump talk, plane cabins, oil skid, Indonesia quake, India metro, Pakistan schools…

TYPHOON HITS SOUTH KOREA AFTER TRIGGERING LANDSLIDES IN JAPAN: A powerful typhoon lashed South Korea on Monday after smashing into southern Japan with record winds and heavy rains that left four people missing in a landslide. Half a million people were without power after Typhoon Haishen roared past Japan's southern island of Kyushu, ripping off roofs and dumping half a metre (20 inches) of water in just a day. By Monday, the storm had moved over South Korea, forcing the cancellation of hundreds of flights and triggering landslides. https://gn24.ae/a70fbe89f1d5000

HOW MANY UAE CITIZENS IN PUBLIC SECTOR? The number of UAE citizens working for the federal government until June 2020 totalled 57,109, of whom 31,486 were women, revealed the Federal Authority for Human Resources (FAHR). According to FAHR's recent statistics, Emirati employees in leadership and managerial positions numbered 2,421, with 1,324 being men and 1,097 being women. The 30 to 39-year-old age group represented the majority of employees, numbering 21,886 males and females, followed by the 40 to 49-year old age group with 17,724 employees. Specialist and professional jobs occupied the largest percentage of employees, numbering 34,714 while the number of UAE citizens employed in executive roles amounted to 16,539.

SAUDI KING, TRUMP DISCUSS REGIONAL ISSUES: In a telephone call with US President Donald Trump, Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud affirmed the Kingdom's keenness to reach a permanent and just solution to the Palestinian cause to bring peace, which he said is the main starting point for the Kingdom's efforts and the Arab Peace Initiative, reported the Saudi Press Agency, SPA. The leaders also spoke about a number of issues of common concern including regional issues and the COVID-19 pandemic.

HOW DIFFERENT WILL AIRPLANE CABINS BE? Headrest canopies and fabric barriers between seats could start appearing in airplane cabins as the embattled industry tries to ward off the coronavirus. Airlines desperate for governments to lift travel restrictions and passengers to return are looking at ways to reassure the public that their health won't be compromised on a flight. New-look seats and fresh cabins could be a start. One of the biggest companies in that business, Recaro Aircraft Seating GmbH, has designed a range of modifications to keep passengers apart and protect them from infection. Airlines are considering installing Recaro's equipment as temporary cabin makeovers, according to Chief Executive Officer Mark Hiller. They need fittings that are easy to maneuver, lightweight and available at short notice, he said.

UK POLICE ARREST MAN OVER BIRMINGHAM MASS STABBINGS: A 27-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the mass stabbings in Britain's second city Birmingham that left one person dead and two critically wounded, police said Monday. The man was held on suspicion of murder and seven attempted murders that were carried out after midnight Saturday, West Midlands Police said. https://gn24.ae/a71269ea9632000

OIL SKIDS: Oil prices were trading down more than 1% on Monday after hitting their lowest since July, as Saudi Arabia made the deepest monthly price cuts for supply to Asia in five months and optimism about demand recovery cooled amid the pandemic. Brent crude was at $42.11 a barrel, down 55 cents or 1.3% by 0642 GMT, after earlier sliding to $41.51, the lowest since July 30. US West Texas Intermediate crude skidded 64 cents, or 1.6%, to $39.13 a barrel after earlier dropping to $38.55, the lowest since July 10.

FIRE GUTS 100 SHANTIES IN KOLKATA: A major fire broke out at a slum located in the Indian state of West Bengal (Kolkata's Narkeldanga Canal east road area) on Monday morning destroying more than 100 shanties. At least 10 fire tenders were pressed into action to douse the flames with fire fighters finally taking control over the situation after nearly two hours. According to West Bengal fire brigade sources, the fire took place at Chagolpatty due to a transformer short circuit which soon engulfed the entire area in the morning.

QUAKE STRIKES INDONESIA: An earthquake measuring 6.7 on the Richter scale struck Indonesia's North Sulawesi province, but did not trigger a tsunami, the country's meteorology and geophysics agency said. The agency initially said the quake's magnitude was originally measured at 6.9 magnitude, Said Kristyawan, official in charge at the agency, told Xinhua on Monday morning. There was no preliminary reports of damages or casualties resulted from the earthquake, he said.

INDIA'S LARGEST METRO RESUMES SERVICE: Metro rail service in Indian capital Delhi resumed after a gap of over five months on Monday. The services were shut due to COVID-19 lockdown. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation resumed its services on the Yellow Line at 7 am on Monday. It connects Samaypur Badli in Delhi to Gurugram's Huda City Centre and Rapid Metro. The decision delivered a relief to the passengers in city. https://gn24.ae/a71272efe885000

SCHOOL REOPENING IN PAKISTAN: Educational institutions across phases will reopen in phases starting September 15, Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mehmood said on Monday. All higher education institutions including universities, professional colleges, vocational institutes, as well as classes nine until 12 will resume on September 15. The classes are resuming after nearly six months after the coronavirus pandemic sent students home. A week later, on September 23, classes six, seven and eight will be allowed to return to schools following a review, while primary schools will be reopened on September 30 in the last phase, the minister announced.

INDIA PASSES BRAZIL FOR WORLD'S SECOND MOST VIRUS CASES: India overtook Brazil on Monday as the country with the second highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases. India has emerged in recent weeks as the new global pandemic hotspot, although cases continue to soar across the globe with reported infections worldwide nearing 27 million and deaths surpassing 880,000. India, home to some of the world's most densely populated cities, has been reporting the highest single-day rises in the world and on Monday it confirmed a new record of nearly 91,000 new cases. India's cases have now risen above 4.2 million, surpassing Brazil's total and making it the second-highest tally behind the United States' 6.25 million. https://gn24.ae/a711518031d5000

BORIS JOHNSON WARNS EU: The UK is stepping up preparations for Brexit trade talks to fail, as time runs out for reaching a deal. Boris Johnson will tell the European Union on Monday he's willing to walk away rather than compromise on what he sees as the core principles of Brexit, setting an October 15 deadline for a deal even as U.K. officials draft a law that risks undermining the already fragile negotiations. The pound edged lower against the euro. His government is preparing to publish new legislation designed to dilute the legal force of the divorce deal he signed with the EU this year if outstanding issues can't be resolved on the thorny question of Northern Ireland. The plan was first reported by the Financial Times.

$1.4 BILLION WORTH BTS 'DYNAMITE': K-pop sensation BTS's US-chart-topping single 'Dynamite' could generate more than $1.4 billion for the South Korean economy and thousands of new jobs in the country, a government study claimed Monday. The trailblazing septet cemented their prominence in the world's biggest music market last week, when the all-English track debuted at number one in the Billboard Hot 100. The feat had previously eluded rapper Psy, whose Gangnam Style was a global megahit but peaked at number two in the US for seven weeks in the fall of 2012.

VISCERA TEST IN SUSHANT SINGH CASE: A forensic team of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has conducted viscera test from the reports on the late Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput to check for poisoning, the results of which will come within 10 days, said Dr Sudhir Gupta of AIIMS on Monday. The AIIMS forensic team is analysing the injury pattern in relation to medical findings in the death of the Bollywood star with the CBI, which is probing the case. CBI approached the premier research institute for its medico-legal opinion. In the viscera test, the internal organs of the body, specifically those within the chest (as the heart or lungs) or abdomen (as the liver, pancreas or intestines) are tested thoroughly.

OSCAR WINNING DIRECTOR JIRI MENZEL DIES: Jiri Menzel, a Czech director whose 1966 movie 'Closely Watched Trains' won the Academy Award for the best foreign language film has died. He was 82. Menzel's wife, Olga, announced his death late on Sunday, saying he died the previous day. No details were given. Menzel made some 20 movies and was one of the leading filmmakers of the new wave of Czechoslovak cinema that appeared in the 1960s. His movies represented a radical departure from socialist realism, a typical communist-era genre focusing on realistically depicting the struggles of the working class.