China on alert for more deadly flooding
BEIJING -- A wide swath of southern China braced Sunday for more seasonal rains and flooding that state media said has already left more than 120 people dead or missing this year.
The National Meteorological Center raised the weather alert to yellow, the third-highest of four levels, for more than half a dozen provinces and the cities of Shanghai and Chongqing. Heavy to torrential rains were forecast into tonight.
Footage on state broadcaster CCTV showed flooded streets and farmland in Anhui province. To the south in Jiangxi province, more than 8,000 people have been evacuated and 54 houses collapsed after rainstorms in recent days, the network said.
Nationwide, flooding-related disasters have destroyed 17,000 homes, caused $5.9 billion in losses and left 121 people dead or missing so far this year, the official People's Daily newspaper said in a social media post, citing the Ministry of Emergency Management.
The Meteorological Center said some parts of Anhui, Hubei, Hunan and Zhejiang provinces could see 10 inches of rain. It also issued a yellow alert for rain in two northeastern provinces, Heilongjiang and Jilin.
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Governor of Tokyo wins second term
TOKYO -- Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike has won a second term to head the Japanese capital, propelled to an election victory Sunday by public support for her handling of the coronavirus crisis despite a recent rise in infections that has raised concerns of a resurgence of the disease.
In her victory speech, Koike, the first woman to lead Tokyo, pledged to continue taking measures to protect the city's 14 million people amid the pandemic, calling it her "most pressing task."
"Now is a very important time to prepare for a possible second wave, and I will continue to firmly take steps," she said.
Koike, 67, is a veteran conservative who has served in key Cabinet and ruling-party posts, and is viewed as a potential candidate to succeed Prime Minister Shinzo Abe when his term ends in September 2021. For now, she says she's focused on protecting the lives of the people of Tokyo, a megacity with a $1 trillion economy.
"The next four years is a crucial time for Japan's capital, with the Olympics and Paralympics coming up, and coronavirus measures are needed," she said. "I'm fully committed to my duty as governor."
Australian ralliers push racial equality
SYDNEY -- Several thousand people rallied in Black Lives Matter protests across Australia over the weekend to call for racial equality and highlight deaths of indigenous people while in police custody.
About 500 people protested Sunday in Newcastle, north of Sydney, after the New South Wales state Supreme Court approved the rally following an attempt by police to have it banned.
A rally in Sydney on Sunday began with a ceremony at which people mourned the indigenous Australians who have died in police custody.
There have been more than 400 indigenous deaths in custody since a royal commission into the issue ended in 1991. No convictions have been recorded.
"We went through the lawful process, we sat through that process of the coronial inquiry, we listened to that process and we received no justice from that process," Sydney rally organizer Paul Silva told SBS Television. "This is our process to demand justice."
On Saturday, Australians took part in Black Lives Matter rallies in Brisbane, Darwin, Perth and Adelaide. Many of the protesters work masks and attempted to maintain social distancing due to coronavirus concerns.
Baghdad rocket attack injures child
BAGHDAD -- The Iraqi military said Sunday that a rocket aimed at Baghdad's fortified Green Zone, home of the U.S. Embassy, struck a residential house and injured a child.
Iraqi officials said the embassy's recently installed C-RAM air defense system may have attempted to intercept the rocket, as the system was operational late Saturday. Recent rocket attacks have struck close to the embassy and targeted American troops in Iraqi bases. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.
The rocket was launched late Saturday from the Ali Al-Saleh area of Baghdad and landed next to a house close to a local TV channel, the military statement said. A child suffered head injuries and the house was damaged.
Iraqi security forces say they also thwarted an attack north of Baghdad in the Umm al-Azam area aiming to hit Camp Taji, a training base used by U.S.-led coalition forces.
The latest uptick in attacks comes shortly before Iraq embarks on strategic talks with the U.S. in which the presence of American forces in the country is expected to top the agenda.
The U.S. has criticized Iraq's federal government for being unable to rein in Iran-backed militia groups it believes are orchestrating the attacks. Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi has pledged to protect American installations from attacks, U.S. officials said.
-- Compiled by Democrat-Gazette staff from wire reports
