News in pictures: China-India standoff, Rhea summoned in Sushant case, Philippine police slammed, Iran-Russia vaccine, Australia lockdown...

POWERFUL TYPHOON SLAMS JAPAN: A powerful typhoon began to lash southern Japan on Sunday, with officials warning it could bring record rainfall and winds strong enough to snap power line poles and flip cars. Typhoon Haishen, categorised as "large" and "extremely strong", has prompted evacuation advisories for more than three million residents, particularly in Kyushu - one of Japan's main islands - which the storm is expected to affect overnight.

SANCTIONS OVER NAVALNY POISONING: Germany, the current head of the European Union, will discuss possible sanctions on Russia over the poisoning of Alexei Navalny if the Kremlin does not provide an explanation soon, its foreign minister said Sunday. "If in the coming days Russia does not help clarify what happened, we will be compelled to discuss a response with our allies," Heiko Maas told German daily Bild. Any sanctions decided should be "targeted", he added.

CHINA-INDIA STANDOFF RISKS UNINTENTIONAL WAR: As a months-long military standoff between India and China along their disputed mountain border protracts, experts warn that the countries could unintentionally slide into war. "The situation is very dangerous on the ground and can spiral out of control,'' said Lt. Gen. D.S. Hooda, who served as the Indian military's Northern Commander from 2014 to 2016. `"A lot will depend on whether the two sides are able to control the volatile situation and make sure it doesn't spread to other areas.'' The two Asian giants have held several rounds of talks, mainly involving military commanders, without success. In a sign that the talks are now shifting to the political level, their defense ministers met in the Russian capital on Friday to try end the impasse. It was the first high-level direct contact between the sides since the standoff erupted in the Ladakh region four months ago.

SUSHANT CASE: RHEA CHAKRABORTY ASKED TO JOIN PROBE: The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) of India has issued a summons to Bollywood actor Rhea Chakraborty, asking her to join the investigation, in connection with the death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput. Joint Director of NCB Sameer Wankhede said, "Summons have been served to Rhea. She was at her home." "She will be coming to the NCB office on her own," Wankhede said. [For more: https://gn24.ae/a6f04c9bbfcf000]

PHILIPPINE POLICE SLAMMED: Philippine police drew criticism from netizens and activists on Sunday for a plan to monitor social media to enforce quarantine rules, with critics accusing the authorities of authoritarianism and double standards. National Police Lieutenant General Guillermo Eleazar, head of a task force enforcing quarantine protocols, warned of fines and penalties of community service for people violating precautionary measures, while violators of liquor bans will face "additional charges". "Police could use public postings on social media as leads, and these will be over and above the police visibility operations we are conducting and will complement tips we get from police hotline," Eleazar said. The plan to monitor social media, announced on Saturday, seems to show the police agency "wants to use the pandemic to turn us into a police state, where every action is being watched by the authorities," Renato Reyes, secretary general of left-wing activist group Bayan (Nation) said on Twitter.

GIVE KANGANA RANAUT POLICE PROTECTION: Anil Vij, minister in the north Indian state of Harayana, has come out in support of Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut and stated that she should be given police protection after the star accused Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut of allegedly threatening her to not come to Mumbai. The minister said that the actress should be allowed to make revelations freely on whatever she wants to do. The minister also slammed Raut and said: "Mumbai is not anybody's inheritance. Anybody can go there. Actions must be taken against people allegedly threatening her." Kangana said in a tweet: "After a major star has been killed I spoke about drug and movie mafia racket, I don't trust Mumbai Police because they ignored SSR's complaints. He told everyone they will kill him yet he was killed. If I feel unsafe, does that mean I hate the industry and Mumbai?".

HARD LOCKDOWN EXTENDED IN MELBOURNE: Australia's coronavirus hot spot state of Victoria on Sunday extended a hard lockdown in its capital Melbourne by two weeks to the end of September as infection rates have declined more slowly than hoped. State Premier Daniel Andrews on Sunday extended the hard lockdown, in place since Aug. 2, to Sept. 28 with a slight relaxation, and mapped out a gradual easing of restrictions over the following two months. Melbourne's stage 4 restrictions, which had been due to end on Sept. 13, shut most of the economy, limited people's movements to a 5-km (3-mile) zone around their homes for one hour a day and imposed a night time curfew.

GRAND JURY TO PROBE DEATH OF BLACK MAN: New York's attorney general announced that she would form a grand jury to probe the death of a black man whom police had hooded and forced face-down on a road. Daniel Prude's family said he died on March 30 after being removed from life support, seven days after his detention by police in the city of Rochester. He is the latest African-American to die after an encounter with law enforcement, cases that have galvanized protests around the United States.

IRAN AND RUSSIA TO JOINTLY PRODUCE COVID-19 VACCINE: Iran and Russia will cooperate to produce a COVID-19 vaccine in the Islamic republic as COVID-19 cases in Iran surged to 384,666 on Saturday. Iran, the hardest-hit country in the Middle East region, reported 1,894 new cases, bringing the total number of infections to 384,666, Xinhua news agency reported. The announcement of Iran-Russia cooperation on producing a coronavirus vaccine was made during the online meeting between Kazem Jalali, Iran's ambassador to Moscow and Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of Russian Direct Investment Fund, Iranian semi-official FARS news agency reported.

HONEY SINGH ON BUYING SOCIAL MEDIA FOLLOWERS: Indian Rapper Yo Yo Honey Singh, known for a fiercely loyal fan base, has opened up about the fake social media followers scam, saying when he started his career many people had made many accusations against him. "I have heard a lot of rumours about rappers who have bought fake views for their songs. I want to say that when I started my career and I was getting popular people had made many accusations," Honey Singh said. He said these are just allegations and nothing has been proved, to jump to a conclusion.

FROM CONCERT HALLS TO THE STREETS: New York's Philharmonic, one of America's oldest musical institutions, is taking it to the streets. The famed symphony orchestra is playing outdoor pop-up shows, getting creative during the coronavirus pandemic that has kept concert halls closed and New Yorkers starved for live music. Each weekend, small ensembles play at surprise locations throughout the city, wearing T-shirts and masks in front of a pickup truck dubbed the 'bandwagon'. "In this moment of pandemic, in this moment of social change, we're exploring new ways together... to connect to people and to realize that we have to reinvent the concert-going ritual," the countertenor said.