Tensions are mounting in the US city of Portland, where federal troops have been sent to end almost two months of anti-racism protests, some of them violent. The protests began after the death of George Floyd in police custody in May. There have been nightly rallies ever since, with clashes between protesters and police escalating in recent days.

President Donald Trump says he is trying to restore order. The approach has been criticised by local officials. 

Like other US cities, Portland, Oregon saw a wave of peaceful protests over Floyd’s death in Minneapolis, with thousands taking to the streets to demand police reform and racial equality. Recent protests, however, have been marred by violence, arson, damage to property, arrests and allegations of police brutality. Last week, federal officers started cracking down on crowds gathering in the city against the wishes of state and local officials, drawing widespread criticism and legal challenges. ( BBC)…[+]

Belgian authorities are investigating the death of a man after footage shared on social media appeared to show a police officer kneeling on his back. Police said a 29-year-old man of Algerian origin was arrested outside a café in Antwerp on Sunday after he allegedly tried to attack people. The man died in hospital hours later. His death drew parallels with the case of George Floyd, who died in May after a police officer knelt on his neck during his arrest in the US.  A police spokesman told the AFP news agency that officers were called after the “very agitated” man tried to attack people, adding that the man had already been injured and appeared intoxicated. Antwerp police said in a tweet that they would not comment on the case pending a judicial investigation. The man has been named in local media as Akram, and the hashtags #JusticeForAkram and #MurderInAntwerp have been trending in Belgium. Floyd’s death led to an outpouring of anger in cities across the world against police brutality and racism. (BBC)…[+]

More than 100 wild animals, including at least eight rare rhinos, have died in recent flooding at a national park in north-eastern India, officials say. The Kaziranga park in Assam state is home to the world’s largest population of one-horned rhinos, which faced extinction at the turn of the century. But this year’s monsoon rains have almost 85% of the park under water. The floods have killed at least 190 people and displaced millions in Assam as well as in Nepal. Kaziranga park, which is a Unesco World Heritage site, is home to at least 2,400 one-horned rhinos.

Park officials told the Hindustan Times eight one-horned rhinos had drowned in the recent rains, while another died of natural causes last month.  Dozens of other animals, including deer, buffalo and porcupines, have also been died – many due to drowning, although others were hit by vehicles as they attempted to escape the floodwaters. Across Assam, heavy rain has submerged thousands of villages. Hundreds of relief camps have been set up to shelter those displaced. (BBC)…[+]

US presidents and foreign leaders have joined the tributes to civil rights icon John Lewis, who has died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 80. Lewis was one of the “Big Six” civil rights leaders, which included Martin Luther King Jr, and helped organise the historic 1963 March on Washington. Barack Obama is among those who have praised Lewis’s legacy. President Donald Trump later said in a tweet that he was “saddened” to hear of the former congressman’s death. A petition to rename a bridge in Alabama that played a pivotal role in Lewis’s life has drawn more than 400,000 signatures.

Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, described Lewis as “truly one-of-a-kind, a moral compass”. Mr Biden said he had spoken to Lewis in the days before his death. “His voice still commanded respect and his laugh was still full of joy. Instead of answering our concerns for him, he asked about us. He asked us to stay focused on the work left undone to heal this nation.”(BBC)…[+]

EU leaders trying to hammer out a huge post-coronavirus economic recovery plan are now in an unscheduled third day of a testy summit in Brussels. Some member states believe the proposed €750bn ($857bn; £680bn) package is too large and should come as loans, rather than grants.

Austria said there was still a “way to go”, while Hungary’s PM lashed out at his Dutch counterpart. Germany’s Angela Merkel said a deal might not be reached on Sunday. The third day of talks comes after a record one-day rise in new infections worldwide. The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Saturday that new cases rose by almost 260,000 in 24 hours. Officials said this was the largest single-day increase since the pandemic began, and the first time the number of new daily infections has surpassed a quarter of a million. The previous record rise in new confirmed cases was recorded by the WHO just one day earlier. The total number of confirmed cases of coronavirus passed 14 million on Saturday, with over 600,000 recorded deaths, according to the tally kept by US-based Johns Hopkins University. (BBC)…[+]