Reuters: World

Morocco earthquake kills over 1,000 people, rescuers dig for survivors A powerful earthquake in Morocco has killed more than 1,000 people and injured hundreds more, the country's deadliest in more than six decades, toppling houses in remote mountain villages where rescuers dug through rubble for survivors. The quake struck in Morocco's High Atlas mountains late on Friday night, damaging historic buildings in Marrakech, the nearest city to the epicentre, while the most badly affected areas were in the mountains nearby. The Interior Ministry said 1,037 people had been killed and another 672 injured by the quake, gauged by the U.S. Geological Survey at a magnitude of 6.8 with an epicentre some 72 km (45 miles) southwest of Marrakech. read more

Modi uses 'Bharat' for G20 nameplate, not India, amid name-change row Prime Minister Narendra Modi's placard at the opening of the G20 summit on Saturday referred to India as "Bharat", raising speculation of a change of name for the South Asian nation. India is also called Bharat, Bharata, Hindustan - its pre-colonial names - in Indian languages and these are used interchangeably by the public and officially. While the country has traditionally stuck to using India in titles such as president or prime minister while communicating in English, President Droupadi Murmu earlier this week referred to herself as the "President of Bharat" in a dinner invitation for a reception of G20 leaders, sparking controversy. read more

Powerful 6.8 magnitude earthquake strikes Morocco, some damage reported A powerful earthquake of magnitude 6.8 struck central Morocco late on Friday, the U.S. Geological Survey said, shaking buildings in nearby Marrakesh and sending panicked residents out into the streets. The scale of the damage was not immediately clear. The quake's epicenter was at a relatively shallow depth of 18.5 km (11.5 miles) and occurred about 72 km (44 miles) southwest of Marrakesh and 56 km west of the Atlas Mountain town of Oukaimeden at just after 11 p.m. local time (2200 GMT), according to the USGS. read more

Hong Kong's heaviest rain in at least 140 years floods city streets, metro Torrential rain deluged Hong Kong on Friday leading to widespread flooding across the densely packed city, submerging streets, shopping malls and metro stations, as authorities shut schools and asked workers to stay at home. The Chinese special administrative region saw the highest hourly rainfall since records began 140 years ago. Cascades of water tumbled down the city's mountainous terrain as authorities issued landslide risk warnings. Streets turned into torrents, videos circulating on social media showed, while one clip showed metro workers wading waist deep in a station as they tried to stem the water flow gushing down from road level. read more

Is India changing its name to Bharat? G20 invite controversy explained The incident comes just days after the government announced a surprise five-day special session of parliament later this month, without disclosing any agenda. The move prompted unconfirmed reports that a change of name could be discussed and passed during the session. There has been no confirmation that such a move is in the works, but members of the government and the ruling BJP have suggested that the name Bharat should take primacy over India. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the ideological parent of the BJP, has always insisted on calling the country Bharat. A government spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment. read more

Exclusive: India's Tata seeks control of Haldiram's, snack maker wants $10 bln valuation Tata Group's consumer unit is in talks to buy at least 51% of popular Indian snack food maker Haldiram's but is not comfortable with the $10 billion valuation sought, two people briefed on the matter said. If successfully concluded, a deal would see the Indian conglomerate directly compete with Pepsi (PEP.O) and billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Retail. Haldiram's, a household name in India, is also talking with private equity firms including Bain Capital about the sale of a 10% stake, they said. read more

US says 52 million air bag inflators should be recalled over rupture threat U.S. auto safety regulators said on Tuesday that 52 million air bag inflators produced by auto suppliers ARC Automotive and Delphi Automotive need to be recalled because they may rupture and send dangerous metal fragments flying. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) first demanded a voluntary recall in May, but ARC rejected it. The agency issued an initial decision on Tuesday and set a public meeting for Oct. 5 in a rare move to compel a recall. If successful in forcing a recall, the callback would be one of the largest on record. read more

Japan to WTO: China's Fukushima-related seafood ban 'totally unacceptable' Japan has told the World Trade Organization (WTO) that China's ban on Japanese seafood after the release of treated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant was "totally unacceptable", the Japanese foreign ministry said late on Monday. In a counterargument to China's Aug. 31 notification to WTO on its measures to suspend Japanese aquatic imports, which started last month, Japan said it would explain its positions in relevant WTO committees and urged China to immediately repeal the action. Some Japanese officials have signaled the country may file a WTO complaint, which the U.S. ambassador to Japan said last week the United States would support. read more

Putin tells Turkey's Erdogan: we're ready to discuss the grain deal President Vladimir Putin told Turkey's Tayyip Erdogan on Monday that Russia was open to discussions about the Black Sea grain deal, an agreement that helped get Ukraine's grain to market and thus ease a global food crisis. Russia quit the deal in July - a year after it was brokered by the United Nations and Turkey - complaining that its own food and fertiliser exports faced obstacles and that not enough Ukrainian grain was going to countries in need. Erdogan, who previously played a significant role in convincing Putin to stick with the deal, and the United Nations are trying to get Putin to return to the deal. read more

Mission accomplished, India puts moon rover to 'sleep' India switched off its moon rover, the first craft to reach the lunar south pole, after it completed its two-week assignment conducting experiments, the country's space agency said. The Pragyan rover from the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft was "set into Sleep mode" but with batteries charged and receiver on, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, late on Saturday. "Hoping for a successful awakening for another set of assignments!" ISRO said. "Else, it will forever stay there as India's lunar ambassador." read more

With DeSantis absent, Biden surveys storm damage in Florida President Joe Biden traveled to Florida on Saturday to survey the destruction from Hurricane Idalia and comfort victims of the storm, but he did not meet with Governor Ron DeSantis, a potential presidential rival, who opted not to come. Biden, who praised DeSantis during the visit, said he was not disappointed by the Republican governor's absence and said DeSantis had helped plan the trip. DeSantis' spokesperson said on Friday the governor had no plans to meet Biden, saying "the security preparations alone that would go into setting up such a meeting would shut down ongoing recovery efforts." read more

Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia reject China's latest South China Sea map The Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam have rejected as baseless a map released by China that denotes its claims to sovereignty including in the South China Sea and which Beijing said on Thursday should be viewed rationally and objectively. China released the map on Monday of its famous U-shaped line covering about 90% of the South China Sea, a source of many of the disputes in one of the world's most contested waterways, where more than $3 trillion of trade passes each year. The Philippines called on China on Thursday "to act responsibly and abide by its obligations" under international law and a 2016 arbitral ruling that had declared the line had no legal grounds. Malaysia said it had filed a diplomatic protest over the map. read more