New York City's West Indian American Day Parade, one of the world's largest celebrations of Caribbean culture, kicked off Monday with vibrant costumes, colorful flags and the sounds of soca and reggae music.
Along with crowds of hundreds of thousands of people, the parade has long been a magnet for local politicians, many of whom have West Indian heritage or represent members of the city's large Caribbean community. With a mayoral election looming in November, the political overlap was particularly evident this year as rival candidates jockeyed for attention and support.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is heading to Beijing by train on Tuesday to attend a military parade with his Chinese and Russian counterparts, North Korea's state media reported. The event could potentially demonstrate three-way unity against the United States.
Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin are among the 26 world leaders who'll join Chinese President Xi Jinping to watch Wednesday's massive military parade in Beijing that commemorates the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and China's fight against Japan's wartime aggressions.

A landslide wiped out a village in Sudan 's western region of Darfur, killing an estimated 1,000 people in one of the deadliest natural disasters in the African country's recent history, a rebel group controlling the area said late Monday.
The tragedy happened Sunday in the village of Tarasin in Central Darfur's Marrah Mountains after days of heavy rainfall, the Sudan Liberation Movement-Army said in a statement.

Emergency workers in Pakistan's Punjab province used drones to find people stranded on rooftops by massive floods as the government expanded its rescue operation with more than 900,000 evacuated, officials said Monday.
The Pakistan Meteorological Department warned of more heavy rain in Punjab's flood-hit districts and elsewhere in the country, where weeks of above-normal rainfall and the release of huge volumes of water from dams in neighboring India last week caused rivers to overflow into low-lying regions.

European soccer's summer transfer window was hours away from closing Monday with most focus on the big-spending Premier League, with Alexander Isak and Gianluigi Donnarumma potentially clinching high-profile moves on deadline day.
A record single-window spend of 2.7 billion pounds ($3.65 billion) by England's top-flight clubs could be supercharged if Liverpool finally secures the signing of Isak before the 1800 GMT deadline following a summer-long pursuit of the Newcastle striker.

Lamine Yamal scored from the penalty spot but Barcelona needed goalkeeper Joan García to ensure it left Rayo Vallecano with a point after a 1-1 draw in the Spanish league on Sunday.
The defending champions were largely outplayed by the modest side from Madrid with its speed and ability to break Barcelona's offside trap.

The leaders of Russia, China, India and seven other nations met Monday in northern China for the latest annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in what could be an emerging challenge to America's global leadership.
The 10-member SCO, which gathered in the port city of Tianjin, has grown in size and influence since its founding 24 years ago, even while its goals and programs remain murky and name recognition low.

World shares were mixed on Monday as investors watched for further developments after a U.S. court ruled against President Donald Trump's sweeping higher tariffs.
U.S. markets were to remain closed on Monday for the Labor Day holiday. The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged 0.1% higher.

Pope Leo XIV met Monday with one of the most prominent advocates for greater LGBTQ+ inclusion in the Catholic Church and encouraged his ministry, just days before a planned Holy Year pilgrimage of LGBTQ+ Catholics to the Vatican in a sign of continued welcome.
The Rev. James Martin, a New York-based Jesuit author and editor, said Leo told him he intended to continue Pope Francis' policy of LGBTQ+ acceptance in the church and encouraged him to keep up his advocacy.

A plane carrying European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was hit by GPS jamming over Bulgaria in a suspected Russian operation, a spokesperson said Monday.
The plane landed safely at Plovdiv airport in central Bulgaria and von der Leyen will continue her planned tour of the European Union's eastern frontline nations, said commission spokesperson Arianna Podestà.
