Violette Toussaint

Earlier this year, hundreds of elephants in northwestern Botswana inexplicably died. The government now states that their death was due to a neurological disorder caused by water contaminated by toxic blue-green algae.

It's unclear why the contaminated water only affected elephants and not other animals.

On Sunday, thousands of demonstrators gathered outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s official residence in central Jerusalem to demand his resignation. Protests have been happening throughout the summer. Netanyahu is currently on trial for corruption charges.

People were protesting even though Israel has been under a strict nationwide lockdown since Friday.

The Taj Mahal has reopened its doors to visitors after a six-month-long closure. To ensure people's safety, various Coronavirus measures have been implemented, e.g. reduced capacity, temperature checks and mandatory face masks.

Facebook will open its second African office in Lagos, Nigeria in 2021 to support the Sub-Saharan region, the company said in a statement.

“The opening of our new office in Lagos, Nigeria presents new and exciting opportunities in digital innovations to be developed from the continent and taken to the rest of the world," the Head of New Product Experimentation Ime Archibong said. “All across Africa we’re seeing immense talent in the tech ecosystem, and I’m proud that with the upcoming opening of our new office, we’ll be building products for the future of Africa, and the rest of the world, with Africans at the helm. We look forward to contributing further to the African tech ecosystem.”

Indonesian villagers who refuse to wear masks are now being forced to dig graves for Covid-19 victims as punishment. The punishment was enforced for the first time on September 9th.

Dr. Olivier Joannes-Boyau, the head of the intensive care unit at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire (CHU) de Bordeaux, told CNN that the city's ICUs are nearing capacity. His hospital only has 10 of 35 beds available. France is experiencing a resurgence of Coronavirus cases. Dr. Joannes-Boyau says the first wave was like a sprint while the second will be more like a marathon.

Dr. Catherine Fleureau, director of the CHU, agreed and said: "It's also going to be harder than last time, because this wave, I think, will grow progressively and then last over time."

Marseille and Bordeaux announced stricter measures to prevent the further spread of the Coronavirus. Work from home should be implemented wherever possible. Public transport companies are asked to reorganise to prevent overcrowding during rush hours. Major events are ordered to cancel or postpone. Sale of alcohol on the street after 8pm is now also forbidden in Marseille.

Christophe Mirmand, the government’s top official in greater Marseille area: "The virus has accelerated despite the obligation to wear a mask introduced earlier this summer. We need to take action to ensure health services can cope."

Jamaican singer and songwriter and pioneering reggae star Toots Hibbert died at the age of 77. He was the frontman of Toots and the Maytals, a band that helped make reggae globally famous. He died surrounded by his family at the University Hospital of the West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica.

Parts of Yangon, Myanmar's largest city, have been put under a stay-at-home-order. The country has seen a rise in Coronavirus cases, reported 115 new infections of Friday morning.

"It took five months to discover 374 infection cases in the first wave of the disease. The number of infections quadrupled now although it's been only 24 days since the second wave started on Aug 16," said Dr Khin Khin Gyi, director of Contagious Disease Prevention and Eradication Division of Public Health Department under the Health and Sports Ministry, told Xinhua. "Active cooperation and participation of the public are needed to reduce the number of infections by following the preventive measures and guidelines by the ministry."

India reported 96,551 new Coronavirus infections in a 24-hour period, reaching 4.5 million total cases since the beginning of the outbreak.