World


UNITED NATIONS, United States - Nearly half a billion children are facing twice as many days of extreme heat each year -- or more -- than their grandparents did, the UN said on Tuesday, warning of deadly consequences.

As climate change continues to push up temperatures globally, one in five children -- some 466 million kids -- live in areas that are registering "at least double the number of extremely hot days every year" compared to 60 years ago, the UN children's agency UNICEF said.

"The bodies of young children are not like little adults, they have much more vulnerability to extreme heat," UNICEF advocacy chief Lily Caprani told AFP, also warning of dangers for pregnant women.

Additionally, children lose out from education when schools are forced to close due to high temperatures -- which has affected at least 80 million children in 2024 so far.

UNICEF used days reaching 35 degrees Celsius as its benchmark, comparing average temperatures in the 2020-2024 period to the 1960s.

Such hot days -- as well as the means to cope with high temperatures, such as air conditioning -- affect the entire world, it noted.

Children in West and Central Africa are the most exposed, with 123 million children -- 39 per cent of the kids in the region -- facing a third of each year with 95-degree days or higher.

At the higher end, in Mali, for example -- where air conditioning is out of reach for millions and blackouts can leave fans idled -- more than 200 days a year can reach 95 degrees or higher.

In Latin America, meanwhile, 48 million children are facing double the number of 95-degree or higher days than 60 years ago.

Worldwide, the "trajectory is getting worse and worse for these children", Caprani said.

Children "are fragile and they breathe very quickly. They can't even sweat like an adult does. They are much more vulnerable to heat stress and it can be literally deadly," she added.

High temperatures can contribute to child malnutrition and leave kids more vulnerable to disease, especially malaria and dengue, which spread in warm climates, UNICEF warned.

Excessive heat can also negatively impact neurodevelopment and mental health.

UNICEF is calling for increased education for parents to know the signs of heat stroke, better training for medical personnel, and investing in air conditioning in schools -- where, even when classes aren't canceled, learning can be made difficult by hot conditions.

Yet, the bigger push remains in reining in climate change, caused by humanity's use of fossil fuels.

"As governments are currently drafting their national climate action plans, they can do so with the ambition and knowledge that today's children and future generations will have to live in the world they leave behind," UNICEF chief Catherine Russell said in a statement.

KYIV, Ukraine — President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday that Ukrainian troops had "advanced well" into Russia's Kursk region, as Kyiv's biggest cross-border attack stretched into a second week.

The Ukrainian army entered the Kursk region on August 6, capturing dozens of settlements in the biggest offensive by a foreign army on Russian soil since World War II.

"Today we have advanced well in the Kursk region. We are achieving our strategic goal," Zelensky said in his evening address.

He had also spoken of gains of "one to two kilometres (0.6-1.2 miles) in different areas since the beginning of the day" in a social media post earlier on Wednesday.

Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said Ukraine would create a "buffer zone" in the region to prevent Russian cross-border strikes.

"The creation of a buffer zone in the Kursk region is a step to protect our border communities from daily hostile shelling," he said.

The neighbouring Russian region of Belgorod declared its own state of emergency, as the governor warned the situation was "extremely difficult" due to Ukrainian shelling and drone attacks.

An AFP analysis of data provided by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) indicated Ukrainian troops had advanced over an area of at least 800 square kilometres of Russia as of Monday.

Russia said it had repelled Ukrainian attempts to push further into five areas of Kursk.

"The attempts by enemy mobile units using armoured equipment to break through deeper into Russian territory have been repelled," its defence ministry said.

Since launching its invasion in February 2022, Russia has captured territory in southern and eastern Ukraine and subjected Ukrainian cities to missile and drone barrages.

After re-capturing some lost territory in 2022, a long-awaited Ukrainian counter-offensive last year largely petered out.

 'It's very worrying' 

Ukraine said Tuesday it would not hold on to Russian land it captured and offered to stop raids if Moscow agreed a "just peace".

"The sooner Russia agrees to restore a just peace... the sooner the raids by the Ukrainian defence forces into Russia will stop," foreign ministry spokesman Georgiy Tykhy said.

US President Joe Biden said Tuesday the incursion had given Russian President Vladimir Putin a "real dilemma".

More than 120,000 Russians have fled their homes in Kursk's border areas.

Ukraine said it would "open humanitarian corridors" for civilians in the captured territory so they can evacuate towards Russia or Ukraine.

It also said it would let "international humanitarian organisations" into the area.

Footage from Ukrainian TSN news, purportedly taken inside the Kursk town of Sudzha, showed Ukrainian soldiers climbing atop a building and removing a Russian flag, shouting "Glory to Ukraine!".

Russians in Moscow told AFP they were concerned by Ukraine's operation, which caught the Kremlin off guard.

"I have relatives living there and they refuse to leave. It's really hard," said salesperson Yulia Rusakova.

"This whole situation is a big blow. It's very hard to lead a normal, calm life, knowing that such things are happening there," she said.

Olga Raznoglazova, a 36-year-old account manager visiting from the Kursk region, said she felt the operation had brought the war closer.

"Now, when it is happening right next door to us... it is a completely different feeling," she said. "It's very worrying."

Putin has vowed to "dislodge" Ukrainian troops from Russian territory, accusing the neighbour of using the operation to "improve its negotiating position" in any future talks.

Blindfolded POWs 

On the Ukraine side of a border with Kursk, AFP reporters saw evidence of the intensity of the fighting.

Concrete fortifications lay toppled and the remains of security and customs buildings could be seen caved in.

On the road, around 10 blindfolded and bound men in Russian military fatigues were being driven in a military vehicle away from the border crossing in the direction of the city of Sumy on Tuesday.

The Russians "didn't protect the border", a Ukrainian serviceman who took part in the offensive and identified himself as Ruzhyk told AFP in Sumy region.

"They only had anti-personnel mines scattered around trees at the side of the road and a few mines that they managed to quickly throw along the highways," he said.

Separately, Ukrainian forces fired long-range drones at the Voronezh, Kursk, Savasleyka and Borisoglebsk airfields in central and western Russia overnight, a source in Kyiv's security services told AFP. 

The operation was the "largest attack on Russian military airfields" during the war and aimed to stop them being used to launch strikes, the source said.

BEIJING — China's top diplomat Wang Yi will hold talks with Myanmar's junta chief, a top Myanmar general said on Tuesday, during a Southeast Asian trip this week that also includes Thailand.

China's foreign ministry said earlier that Wang would travel to Myanmar and Thailand from Wednesday until Saturday and co-chair a regional foreign ministers' forum.

A senior Myanmar military official, who requested anonymity in order to talk to the media, said Wang would hold talks in Myanmar with junta chief Min Aung Hlaing.

However, Wang would not meet democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been detained by the military since it seized power in 2021, the official said.

China is a major ally and arms supplier to the Myanmar junta, but analysts say it also maintains ties with armed ethnic groups that hold territory near its border.

There have been repeated clashes in Myanmar's northern Shan state since late June after ethnic rebel groups renewed an offensive against the military along a vital trade highway to China.

Beijing's special envoy for Asian affairs met the junta chief in the capital Naypyidaw last week, Myanmar state media said, days after ethnic rebels seized a regional military command.

Min Aung Hlaing discussed "internal peace processes in Myanmar, peace and stability measures in the border region" with China's Deng Xijun, according to the Global New Light of Myanmar.

The senior general "explained the implementation of objectives and a five-point roadmap in order to ensure peace, stability", the state-run newspaper said.

An unidentified spokesman from China's foreign ministry said on Tuesday Wang's visit to Myanmar was "aimed at deepening bilateral mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields".

China supports "Myanmar's effort to uphold stability, grow the economy and improve people's livelihood", the spokesman said.

He said Beijing helps Myanmar "to properly address differences through political consultation within the framework of the constitution and other laws".

Myanmar is also a vital piece of China's Belt and Road Initiative, President Xi Jinping's flagship $1 trillion project that includes maritime, rail and road projects in Asia, Africa and Europe.

However, progress in Myanmar has been hampered by the conflict since the military coup.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said Wang would also attend an "informal discussion" between counterparts from Laos, Myanmar and Thailand during his trip

Kyiv, Ukraine — Ukraine said Tuesday it would not hold on to Russian territory captured in its surprise cross-border incursion and offered to stop raids if Moscow agreed a "just peace".

Ukrainian forces entered Russia's Kursk region last Tuesday, taking over two dozen settlements in the biggest attack by a foreign army on Russian soil since World War II. Russia said Tuesday it had fended off new attacks in Kursk.

More than 120,000 people have fled the area and Ukraine's military chief Oleksandr Syrsky said Monday that his troops controlled about 1,000 square kilometres of Russian territory.

At least 800 square kilometres was under Ukrainian control as of Monday, according to an AFP analysis of data from the US-based Institute for the Study of War.

Foreign ministry spokesman Georgiy Tykhy on Tuesday said Kyiv was not interested in "taking over" Russian territory and defended Ukraine's actions as "absolutely legitimate".

"The sooner Russia agrees to restore a just peace... the sooner the raids by the Ukrainian defences forces into Russia will stop," he told reporters.

Ukraine meanwhile said it was imposing movement restrictions in a 20-kilometre zone in Sumy region along the border with Kursk region due to an "increase in the intensity of hostilities" and "sabotage" activities.

Russia's defence ministry said it had "foiled" new Ukrainian attacks in Kursk by "enemy mobile groups in armoured vehicles to break through deep into Russian territory".

Alexander Bortnikov, head of Russia's FSB security service, also said in a statement that Ukraine had carried out the attack "with the support of the collective West".

 'I saw a lot of death' 

Since launching its invasion in February 2022, Russia has captured territory in southern and eastern Ukraine and subjected Ukrainian cities to missile and drone barrages.

Ukraine's offensive was the biggest cross-border action since the invasion and it caught Russia off guard.

"They didn't protect the border," a Ukrainian serviceman who took part in the offensive and identified himself as Ruzhyk told AFP in Sumy region.

"They only had anti-personnel mines scattered around trees at the side of the road and a few mines that they managed to quickly throw along the highways," he said.

A 27-year-old squad leader, who identified himself as Faraon, was sparing but direct in his description of battles in Kursk.

"I saw a lot of death in the first few days. It was terrifying at first but then we got used to it," he told AFP.

"There have been many deaths," he repeated stood next to a forest road leading to the frontier, without elaborating.

Ukrainian military analyst Mykola Bielieskov told AFP: "Russian complacency prevailed".

"Russia assumed that since it had initiative elsewhere, Ukraine wouldn't dare to do things we've seen," he said, referring to months of Russian advances along the front.

ISW figures also showed that Russian troops had captured 1,360 square kilometres of Ukrainian territory since the start of 2024.

 'Sow discord' 

Russian President Vladimir Putin has vowed to "dislodge" Ukrainian troops.

Putin told a televised meeting with officials on Monday that "one of the obvious goals of the enemy is to sow discord" and "destroy the unity and cohesion of Russian society".

Putin also said Ukraine wanted to "improve its negotiating position" for any future talks with Moscow.

Regional governor Alexei Smirnov told the same meeting that Ukrainian forces had entered at least 12 kilometres into the region and the new front was now 40 kilometres wide.

Russia had conceded earlier that Ukrainian forces had penetrated up to 30 kilometres into Russian territory in places.

A Ukrainian security official told AFP, on condition of anonymity, at the weekend, that Ukraine sought to "stretch the positions of the enemy, to inflict maximum losses and to destabilise the situation in Russia as they are unable to protect their own border".

The Ukrainian official said thousands of Ukrainian troops were involved in the operation.


LONDON — The UK government welcomedon  Monday the "de-escalation" of far-right inspired disorder and rioting following a knife attack that killed three children, but insisted officials remain on "high alert".

Prime Minister Keir Starmer's spokeswoman was speaking a day after hundreds of people gathered for the funeral of nine-year-old victim Alice da Silva Aguiar.

Mourners wore white, a tradition for some in Portugal, where Alice's parents hail from.

"She was taken from us in an unimaginable act of violence that has left our hearts broken beyond repair," they said in a statement released through police, adding she was "full of joy, light, and love".

Two other girls -- Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven -- also died in the attack. Ten others were injured including eight children.

The far-right violence in English towns and cities came after misinformation spread about the identity of the alleged perpetrator of the mass stabbing on July 29 at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport, northwestern England.

"We welcome that there has been a de-escalation this weekend. But we're certainly not complacent and remain on high alert," the prime minister's spokeswoman said.

The stabbings sparked a riot in Southport the following evening, on July 30, and violence in more than a dozen English towns and cities as well as in Northern Ireland over the ensuing week.

Starmer's spokeswoman added that authorities had acted decisively to quell the unrest.

"We also recognise that the job is not done until people feel safe in their communities, but thanks to the work of our police officers, prosecutor and judiciary, we have seen a swift response from the justice system," she said.

"Within a matter of days, we've seen criminals involved arrested, charged, sentenced and behind bars."

Far-right agitators 

As of Monday, 975 people had been arrested and over 500 charged for involvement in the disorder, according to the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC).

Officials pointed the finger at far-right agitators and opportunist "thugs" accused of using the Southport tragedy to further their anti-immigration, anti-Muslim agenda.

Misinformation spread online in the immediate aftermath of the stabbing spree, claiming that the perpetrator was a Muslim immigrant.

Two 12-year-old boys on Monday pleaded guilty to violent disorder, becoming the youngest to admit taking part in the riots.

One was accused of throwing a missile at a police van in Manchester, in the northwest.

District Judge Joanne Hirst said the boy -- who cannot be named due to his age -- had been more involved in the violence than any other accused person she had seen "coming through these courts, adult or child".

British-born Axel Rudakubana has been charged with murder and attempted murder over the mass stabbing.

His parents originally come from Rwanda, which is overwhelmingly Christian.

A motive for the atrocity has not been disclosed, but police have said it is not being treated as terrorism-related.

Writing in The Telegraph on Monday, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper also called out the "shameful behaviour we have seen from some senior politicians and pundits who sought to undermine the legitimacy and authority of the police".

Hard-right Reform UK leader Nigel Farage and X CEO Elon Musk have been among the big names questioning the policing of the riots.

The American tech billionaire has posted a string of X posts criticising the sentences handed down to rioters and accusing the UK government of censoring free speech after two people were jailed for stirring up racial hate online.


TOKYO — Severe Tropical Storm Maria on Monday made landfall in northern Japan, having dumped more than two months worth of rain in the previous 24 hours and forcing the cancellation of dozens of flights.

Maria, which was categorised as a "severe tropical storm", a level below typhoon, made landfall around 8:30 am (23:30 GMT Sunday) near Ofunato city in Iwate prefecture, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

There were no reports of injuries, according to the Iwate Prefecture government.

The region's municipalities issued various evacuation advisories and warnings to some 315,000 residents overnight, and around 2,000 spent the night at local shelters.

The storm dumped 362 millimetres of rain in the 24 hours to Monday morning in Kuji city, the highest amount since the agency began keeping records in 1978.

The area's average monthly rainfall for August is 177.9 millimetres, records showed.

"The residents in the affected region are advised to be vigilant about landslides, surging and flooding rivers and flooding in low-lying areas, as well as violent gusts and high waves," the weather agency said.

Maria was bringing gusts of up to 126 kilometres per hour and moving northwest at 15 kilometres per hour, the agency said.

It has forced cancellation of flights to the northern region. Japan Airlines said it cancelled 78 domestic flights, affecting 7,039 passengers. Its rival ANA cancelled eight flights, national broadcaster NHK said.

Some regional train services suspended their services, although the bullet train system continued its normal operations.

The storm was expected to cross Japan and head out to the Sea of Japan by Monday evening.

VINHEDO, Brazil — Brazilian authorities on Saturday finished recovering the bodies of the 62 people who died when their plane tumbled from the sky, as experts began examining the doomed aircraft’s black boxes to determine the cause of the disaster.

Videos showed the ATR 72-500 plane in a sickening downward spin Friday before it crashed into a residential area in the town of Vinhedo, some 80 kilometres northwest of Brazil’s financial capital Sao Paulo.

The plane operated by airline Voepass fell almost vertically, landed on its belly and exploded in flames, striking with such force that it was nearly “flattened”, said Sao Paulo fire lieutenant Olivia Perroni Cazo.

“A total of 62 bodies [34 male and 28 female] were recovered and taken to the morgue in Sao Paulo for identification and delivery to their families,” the regional government said Saturday evening.

Two have already been identified through fingerprints, with Vinhedo Mayor Dario Pacheco saying they were the pilot and co-pilot.

The twin-engine turboprop, built by aviation firm ATR, was flying from Cascavel in southern Parana state to Sao Paulo’s Guarulhos international airport.

Experts from Brazil’s Aeronautical Accidents Investigation and Prevention Centre (CENIPA) have begun analysing two black boxes recovered from the wreckage, containing cabin conversations and in-flight data, said the centre’s chief, Marcelo Moreno.

It plans to publish a preliminary report “within an estimated 30 days”, the Brazilian Air Force said.

According to the Flight Radar 24 website, the plane flew for about an hour at 5,180 metres, until 1:21 pm (16:21 GMT) when it began losing altitude at a catastrophic rate.

Radar contact was lost at 1:22 pm, the air force reported. It said the plane’s crew “at no time declared an emergency or were under adverse weather conditions.”

‘No technical problems’

ATR, a joint subsidiary of European giant Airbus and Italy’s Leonardo, said its experts will assist in the investigation.

The plane, in use since 2010, was in compliance with current standards, the National Civil Aviation Agency said, adding that the four crew members were all fully certified.

Voepass’s operations director, Marcel Moura, said the plane had undergone routine maintenance the night before the accident and that “no technical problems” were found.

But experts suggested icing of the plane’s wings may have been behind the accident.

Moura said the plane was a type that flies at an altitude “where there is a greater sensitivity to icing”, but that conditions on Friday were “within acceptable parameters for a flight”.

National mourning

The fiery crash transformed the plane’s fuselage into a mass of twisted metal. Despite the devastation, there were no casualties on the ground.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has declared three days of national mourning for what was one of the worst aviation accidents in the country’s history.

“It was horrible, horrible... such a sad tragedy,” said a trembling Lourdes da Silva Astolfo, 67, whose home is only metres from the crash site.

She told AFP she had first felt a “rumbling, almost like a tremor”, when she suddenly saw the plane almost directly overhead. Seconds later came the stunning impact and the horrified screams from neighbors as a thick cloud of acrid smoke billowed outward.

The normally peaceful, wooded enclave where the plane came down saw a steady stream on Saturday of police cars, ambulances and firetrucks.

Voepass said all the victims were traveling on Brazilian identity documents. One woman was a dual citizen with Portugal, and there was also a family of three Venezuelans.

It was the worst major air disaster in Brazil in 17 years.

In 2007, an Airbus A320 of Brazil’s TAM airlines overran a runway at Sao Paulo’s Congonhas airport and crashed into a warehouse, killing all 187 on board and 12 runway workers.

WASHINGTON — Kamala Harris now leads Donald Trump in three crucial battleground states, according to new polls published Saturday, apparently eroding the advantage the former president has enjoyed there over the past year.

The polls of likely voters by The New York Times and Siena College showed Harris leading Trump by an identical 50 per cent to 46 per cent margin in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Under the US electoral college voting system, those three populous Midwestern states are considered key to victory for either party. 

The polls are a reversal of surveys in those states which for nearly a year had shown Trump either tied with or slightly leading Democratic President Joe Biden, who dropped out of the race last month and endorsed Harris instead.

Much can change in the nearly three months before the November 5 election. The polling showed voters still prefer Trump on the key issues of the economy and immigration, though Harris had a 24-point advantage when voters were asked whom they trust on the issue of abortion.

Democrats, in any case, have taken heart in the surge of enthusiasm that has greeted Harris's candidacy, with many expressing relief after 81-year-old Biden stepped aside.

Her announcement Tuesday of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate also appears to have energized Democrats.

The Harris-Walz surge helped cut short a rise in support for Trump that followed the July 13 attempt on his life and the Republicans' successful national convention last month.

But Harris has enjoyed an even bigger bump in favorability -- up 10 points among registered voters in Pennsylvania in just a month, the Times/Siena polling found.

Voters said they saw her as more intelligent than Trump and having a better temperament to govern.

Trump, his running mate J.D. Vance and other Republicans have tried an array of attacks meant to weaken Harris -- with Trump even questioning her racial identity.

But the new polls show Democrats strongly supporting the younger and more vigorous Harris who, with Walz, has been campaigning at a furious pace this week in swing states.

Among Democrats, voter satisfaction with their choice of candidates has shot up by 27 points in the three Midwestern states since May, the polls found. 

Three months ago, it was Republicans who expressed a higher level of satisfaction.

The surveys were conducted between August 5 and 9, with at least 600 voters in each state.