Briefly

VIETNAM

Death toll rises to 43 in floods and rains

The death toll from heavy rains and flooding in Vietnam's central region has risen to 43, with nine others missing, the Vietnam Disaster and Dyke Management Authority said on Friday. The floods have inundated more than 67,700 houses and damaged 168 others, according to the authority. More than 13,000 hectares of rice and other crops, along with 88 hectares of fishery farms, were submerged, while over 30,700 livestock and poultry were killed or swept away.

JAPAN

Restart approved for largest nuclear plant

Japanese local authorities approved the restart of the world's biggest nuclear plant on Friday, after more than a decade since the 2011 Fukushima disaster. The governor of Niigata, where the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant is located, said he "would approve" the resumption, which will require final approval from the country's nuclear regulator. The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant was taken offline when Japan pulled the plug on nuclear power after a tsunami caused the 2011 meltdown of the Fukushima Daiichi plant.

UNITED STATES

Tariffs on Brazilian beef, coffee removed

US President Donald Trump on Thursday removed the 40 percent tariffs on Brazilian food products, including beef, coffee, cocoa and fruits that were imposed in July to sanction Brazil over the prosecution of its former president Jair Bolsonaro. Brazil normally supplies a third of the coffee used in the United States and has more recently become an important supplier of beef. Rising food prices are a major factor behind Trump's declining approval ratings, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found.

Agencies - Xinhua