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October
Deadly humid heat could hit billions, spread as far as US Midwest, study says
Written by Nur Yasmin
VOI, Jakarta - Billions of people could struggle to survive in periods of deadly, humid heat within this century as temperatures rise, particularly in some of the world's largest cities, from Delhi to Shanghai, according to research published on Monday.
Towards the higher end of warming scenarios, potentially lethal combinations of heat and humidity could spread further including into areas such as the U.S. Midwest, the authors of the report said.
"It's very disturbing," study co-author Matthew Huber of Purdue University in the U.S. state of Indiana told Reuters. "It's going to send a lot of people to emergency medical care."
The study built on past research by Huber, George Mason University climatologist Daniel Vecellio and other scientists on the point at which heat and humidity combine to push the human body beyond its limits without shade or help from technologies such as air conditioning.
It found that around 750 million people could experience one week per year of potentially deadly humid heat if temperatures rise 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels.
At 3C (5.4F) of warming, more than 1.5 billion people would face such a threat, according to the paper published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
The world is on track for 2.8C (5F) of warming by the year 2100 under current policies, according to the 2022 United Nations Emissions Gap report.
While India, Pakistan and the Gulf already have briefly touched dangerous humid heat in recent years, the study found it will afflict major cities from Lagos, Nigeria, to Chicago, Illinois if the world keeps heating up.
"It's coming up in places that we didn't think about before," said Vecellio, highlighting rising risk in South America and Australia.
At 4C of warming, Hodeidah, Yemen, would see around 300 days per year of potentially unsurvivable humid heat.
WET-BULB THRESHOLD
To track such moist heat, scientists use a measurement known as "wet-bulb" temperature. This is taken by covering a thermometer with a water-soaked cloth. The process of water evaporating from the cloth mirrors how the human body cools down with sweat.
In a landmark 2010 study, Huber proposed that a wet-bulb temperature of 35C (95F) persisting for six or more hours could be the conservative limit for the human body.
Beyond this, people were likely to succumb to heat stress if they could not find a way to cool down.
A decade later, a group of American scientists co-led by Vecellio put Huber's theory to the test by placing young, healthy adults in environmental chambers with high wet-bulb temperatures.
They found the limit was lower at between 30C (86F) and 31C (88F).
Huber and Vecellio joined forces for Monday's study to apply this lower limit to the world under various future climate warming scenarios, ranging between 1.5C and 4C (2.7F and 7.2F).
"This will be a critical benchmark for future studies," said atmospheric scientist Jane Baldwin of University of California Irvine who was not involved in the research.
"Unfortunately, it's a somewhat grimmer picture than you would have gotten with the 35C limit," she said.
Monday's research adds to a growing body of concern about dangerous wet-bulb temperatures.
Another study published last month in Sciences Advances used Vecellio's threshold alongside weather station data and climate models to reach a similar conclusion: that the geographic range and frequency of dangerous humid heat will increase rapidly under even moderate global warming (Reuters)
October
Iran's Khamenei says Tehran was not behind Hamas attack on Israel
Written by Nur Yasmin
VOI, Jakarta - Tehran was not involved in the militant Hamas group's weekend attack on Israel, Iran's top authority Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Tuesday, but hailed what he called Israel's "irreparable" military and intelligence defeat.
"We kiss the hands of those who planned the attack on the Zionist regime," said Khamenei, who was wearing a Palestinian scarf, in his first televised speech since the attack.
"This destructive earthquake (Hamas' attack) has destroyed some critical structures (in Israel) which will not be repaired easily ... The Zionist regime's own actions are to blame for this disaster," said Khamenei.
Israel has long accused Iran's clerical rulers of stoking violence by supplying arms to Hamas. Tehran, which does not recognize Israel, says it gives moral and financial support to the group, which controls the Gaza Strip.
Backing the Palestinian cause has been a pillar of the Islamic Republic since the 1979 revolution and a way the Shi'ite-dominated country has fashioned itself as a leader of the Muslim world.
The United States said on Monday Iran was complicit in Hamas' assault on Israel, but added it had no intelligence or evidence supporting this assertion. The top U.S. general on Monday warned Iran not to get involved in the crisis, saying he did not want the conflict to the broaden.
Israel said earlier on Tuesday it had re-established control over the Gaza border and was planting mines where militants had toppled the barrier during their bloody weekend assault, after another night of relentless Israeli air raids on the enclave. (Reuters)
October
North Korea Says Military Satellite Key to Countering U.S. 'Space Militarisation'
Written by Nur Yasmin
VOINews, Jakarta - North Korea's spy satellite program is an "indispensable" measure to counter U.S. space militarisation aimed at beefing up the United States' preemptive nuclear strike capability and securing "world supremacy," state media KCNA said on Tuesday.
Ri Song Jin, whom KCNA described as a researcher of the National Aerospace Technology Administration, accused the United States of seeking greater military hegemony in Asia by expanding its space force in an article titled "U.S. space force deployment aimed at preemptive aggression war".
Ri singled out a recent trip by the U.S. Space Force commander to Tokyo, and the deployment of a Space Force component in South Korea, where its members took part in joint military drills for the first time this year.
Such moves were "nothing but a camouflaged curtain to cover up the scenario for preemptive attack on the anti-U.S. and independent countries," Ri said, mentioning North Korea, China and Russia.
"Now that the U.S. is getting hell-bent on space militarisation with a preemptive nuclear attack as its ultimate target by massively introducing space force into the Korean peninsula and its vicinity," Ri said, "space development, including a military reconnaissance satellite, is an indispensable strategic option for guaranteeing the security interests and right to existence of the DPRK."
DPRK is the initials of North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
North Korea has failed twice to place a spy satellite in orbit, both in May and August, and has vowed to try again as early as October.
Last month, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un toured Russia's most modern space launch centre, where President Vladimir Putin promised to help him build satellites.
In another KCNA dispatch, an international affairs commentator named Ra Jong Min denounced Canada's planned dispatch of military ships, aircraft and personnel for "Operation NEON," aimed at ensuring implementation of U.N. sanctions against North Korea.
The operation is meant to identify suspected sanctions evasions at sea, including ship-to-ship transfers of fuel and other banned activities.
Ra accused Canada of "jumping into fire with brushwood on its back" due to "blind belief in its American master" despite the ever-growing possibility of a military conflict on the Korean peninsula. (Reuters)
October
Taiwan Seeks 'Peaceful Coexistence' with China, President Says
Written by Nur Yasmin
VOINews, Jakarta - Taiwan seeks "peaceful coexistence" with China with free and unrestricted interaction but the island will be democratic for generations to come, President Tsai Ing-wen said in her last national day speech on Tuesday.
Taiwan, claimed by China as its own territory, has come under increasing military and political pressure from Beijing, including two major sets of Chinese war games near the island since August of last year, heightening fears of a conflict which would have global ramifications.
Tsai, who cannot stand again as president at elections in January after two terms in office, has repeatedly offered talks with China, which has rejected them as it views her as a separatist.
Speaking in front of the presidential office, Tsai said the strength of international support for Taiwan had reached an "unprecedented height".
"Since this is a time we can now face the world with confidence and resolve, we can also be calm and self-assured in facing China, creating conditions for peaceful coexistence and future developments across the Taiwan Strait," she added.
Tsai said it was her duty to safeguard Taiwan's sovereignty and its democratic, free way of life, seeking "free, unrestricted, and unburdened interactions" between Taiwan and China's people.
Differences between Taiwan and China must be resolved peacefully, and maintaining the status quo is "critical" to ensuring peace, she added, to a big round of applause.
There was no immediate response from China's Taiwan Affairs Office.
The parade part of the event featured dancers, athletes just returned from the Asian Games in China's Hangzhou where Taiwan won 19 gold medals, as well as soldiers marching in close formation.
A formation of five of Taiwan's new advanced jet trainer, the AT-5 Brave Eagle, flew over the venue, underscoring Tsai's efforts to boost domestic weapons development, that includes submarines.
'DEMOCRATIC AND FREE'
In the face of China's threats, Taiwan has been heartened by support from fellow democracies, especially the United States and its allies whose lawmakers and occasionally officials have flocked to Taipei, defying Chinese anger.
"With confidence, we will show the world that the Taiwanese people are dignified, independent, warm, and kind. The Taiwanese people are happy to be people of the world and will be a democratic and free people for generations to come," Tsai said.
Tsai looked back at her major policy achievements since she took office in 2016, including marriage equality, a first for Asia, to an audience that included Canadian and Japanese lawmakers and former Australian prime minister Scott Morrison, as well as ordinary Taiwanese.
Beijing says Taiwan's government must accept that both China and Taiwan belong to "one China", which Tsai has refused to do.
Taiwan celebrates Oct. 10 as its national day, marking an uprising in 1911 that ended China's last imperial dynasty and ushered in the Republic of China.
The republican government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war with Mao Zedong's Communists, who set up the People's Republic of China.
The Republic of China remains Taiwan's formal name, though the government tends to stylise it as the Republic of China, Taiwan, to distinguish it from the government in Beijing. (Reuters)
October
UN, several nations pledge aid to Afghanistan after major earthquake
Written by Nur Yasmin
The United Nations and several countries are lining up aid for Afghanistan after a devastating 6.3 magnitude earthquake in the northwest killed more than 2,000 people.
Below are some facts about the pledges so far, as U.N. agencies try to assess the damage and casualties in Herat province in northwestern Afghanistan.
The U.N. humanitarian coordinator has approved a $5 million emergency reserve allocation from the Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund (AHF).
It said its Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) will launch and fully process the allocation within 24 hours, with eligible partners able to utilize their grants effective from Oct. 9.
The AHF allocations will be depend on receiving additional donor resources, it said, adding that the U.N. partners will also develop an emergency appeal which will be a subset of the existing 2023 humanitarian response plan.
Pakistan, Iran and China have pledged to send in food, blankets, medicines, tents and funds.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Anwar ul Haq Kakar said that Kabul had specifically asked for medical teams, field hospitals, tents and blankets, adding that all the requested items were being dispatched on Monday afternoon, with more relief goods to follow.
Iranian Foreign Minister Amir Abdullahian promised humanitarian aid and expressed his readiness to cooperate with Afghanistan, according to a statement.
The Chinese Red Cross Society has pledged $200,000 in aid which will go to the Afghan Red Crescent, according to Chinese state run news agency Xinhua.
Turkey's foreign office said in a statement it was ready to provide support for the recovery efforts in the affected areas. (Reuters)
October
Most casualties in recent Afghan earthquakes are women, children -WHO
Written by Nur Yasmin
Women and children make up two-thirds of the victims of the recent earthquakes in Afghanistan who were hospitalized with severe injuries, the head of the World Health Organization's emergency response in the country said on Monday.
The Taliban administration said at least 2,400 people were killed and over 2,000 injured in Saturday's quakes which were among the world's deadliest this year, after temblors in Turkey and Syria in which an estimated 50,000 people were killed.
"The earthquake happened around 11 in the morning, when men were out of the houses, so majority of those who are injured and died are women and children who were inside the houses at the time," WHO's Dr Alaa AbouZeid told Reuters in a video interview.
"Two-thirds of those with severe injuries who are admitted in the hospital I have seen yesterday are children and women," he said, referring to his time in Herat following the quake.
He also warned that financing the humanitarian operations remained critical, with global attention and funding shifting away from Afghanistan. That could be attributed to competing or emerging crises around the world, such in the Middle East and Ukraine, and amid concerns over Taliban restrictions on women, diplomats and aid officials say.
AbouZeid said it was "devastating" to see the number of children in hospital in critical condition.
"I have seen a child like 3-4 months old with head trauma, due to the earthquake," he said.
Head trauma can cause long-lasting debilitating effects or disabilities, AbouZeid said. The WHO's response teams were taking the matter seriously, given the impact of such injuries on the victim and their families who would need to support them in the long run, he said.
While the response teams saved many lives, hospitals need to be better equipped to deal with further casualties and similar situations in future, he said.
Afghanistan's healthcare system, largely reliant on foreign aid, has faced crippling cuts in the two years since the Taliban took over and much international assistance, forming the backbone of the economy, was halted.
The U.N.'s humanitarian office has announced $5 million worth of assistance for the quake response, but immediate material support has come from a limited few countries.
"The news diverted to what's going on in the Middle East over the past two days and there was very little attention" towards the existing crisis in Afghanistan, he said. (Reuters)
October
China extends Taiwan trade probe, Taipei cries election interference
Written by Nur Yasmin
China on Monday extended an investigation into what it calls Taiwan's trade barriers against it by three months to the eve of the island's presidential election, prompting Taipei to accuse Beijing of attempting to interfere in the vote.
Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, frequently accuses Beijing of seeking to exert pressure, whether military or economic, to sway the outcome of its elections to ensure an outcome favourable to the Chinese government.
China's Commerce Ministry originally announced the probe into what it says are Taiwan's trade barriers in April, but has now extended the investigation period to Jan. 12, one day before Taiwan's presidential and parliamentary elections.
The Taiwanese government's Office of Trade Negotiations said the extension of the probe "once again proves that China's so-called trade investigation is politically motivated and an attempt to interfere with our elections with economic coercion".
Extending the date to Jan. 12, just before the election, "highlights the political motivations" behind the decision, it added.
It also violated the norms of the World Trade Organization, the office said, of which both Taiwan and China are members.
"We have said many times that any bilateral trade issues should be resolved through consultation between the two sides in accordance with WTO mechanisms. We also once again call on China to return to the right track and not to repeatedly manipulate trade issues politically."
The brief statement from China's Commerce Ministry into the extension gave no details or explanation for why they made the decision.
Taiwan has denounced what it calls Chinese economic coercion before, including China's punishment of Lithuania with trade measures after the European Union member allowed Taipei to open a de facto embassy in Vilnius.
China's government has refused to speak to the government of Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, who it accuses of being a separatist. She has repeatedly offered talks with China, but says only Taiwan's people can decide their future.
Tsai's deputy, Vice President William Lai, is the frontrunner to be Taiwan's next president, according to opinion polls. He has also offered to talk to China, thought it also calls him a separatist. (Reuters)
October
Biden Plans November Meeting with China's Xi -Washington Post
Written by Nur Yasmin
VOINews, Jakarta - The White House is making plans for a face-to-face meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in San Francisco next month as the two countries seek to stabilize troubled relations, the Washington Post reported on Thursday.
Ties between the world's two largest economies have been strained in recent years due to a number of issues including Taiwan, the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, allegations of spying, human rights issues and trade tariffs, among others.
The newspaper, which cited senior unidentified U.S. officials, quoted one of them as saying the possibility of a meeting was "pretty firm."
"We're beginning the process" of planning, the official was quoted as saying by the newspaper.
The Chinese embassy in Washington did not comment specifically on the newspaper report. A spokesperson of the embassy said in an emailed statement that the two countries remained in communication and needed to expand "good faith" cooperation. The White House did not have an immediate comment.
The meeting would follow other high-level engagements between the two countries in recent months that have seen visits from U.S. officials to China like Secretary of State Antony Blinken in June, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in July and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo in August.
More recently, Blinken met Chinese Vice President Han Zheng in New York and U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Malta.
Biden and Xi's last meeting was on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Indonesia in November 2022, which was their first in person meeting since Biden became president. They previously had five exchanges by phone and video conference after Biden took office.
China's top security agency hinted last month any meeting between Xi and Biden will depend on the United States "showing sufficient sincerity."
U.S. officials like Raimondo and Yellen have recently said the United States did not want to decouple from China but Beijing has expressed concern over U.S. approval of arms sales and military financing to Taiwan.
San Francisco will host an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in November that Xi may attend. Xi recently skipped the G20 summit in New Delhi that Biden attended. (Reuters)
October
Heavy Rainstorms to Hit Southern China After Typhoon Koinu Batters Taiwan
Written by Nur Yasmin
VOINews, Jakarta - Heavy rainstorms and strong winds will hit southern China in the next three days as Typhoon Koinu approaches the coast of Guangdong province after killing one and injuring hundreds in Taiwan.
Typhoon Koinu, which means "puppy" in Japanese, will bring heavy rain along the coasts of Guangdong and neighbouring Fujian province in the next three days, China's National Meteorological Centre (NMC) said.
The NMC said rainfall in Guangdong could reach more than 300 millimetres. It also issued a yellow alert for strong winds, the third highest in a four-coloured warning system.
Guangdong province has suspended dozens of ferry routes since late Thursday and the NMC warned tourists to stay away from beach resorts on the last day of a week-long national holiday on Friday.
Typhoon Koinu was travelling around 144 kph (89 mph) off the coast of the southern Guangdong city of Shanwei as of 8 a.m. on Friday, said the NMC, slowing down from the 252 kph (156mph) on Thursday in Taiwan.
The typhoon is expected to weaken into a strong tropical storm from late Friday and grow weaker as it heads west along China's southern coast, it said.
Typhoon Koinu killed one person and injured almost 400 people in Taiwan, causing the most extensive damage on remote Orchid Island off Taiwan's east coast and home to around 5,000 people, although no one was injured on the island.
More than 70 boats were overturned or sunk in a harbour on the island, two schools were seriously damaged and power cut due to the typhoon. An air force helicopter was flying in engineers to restore electricity on Friday. (Reuters)
October
Australia to crack down on 'significant abuse' of immigration system
Written by Nur YasminVOI, Jakarta - Australia will address significant abuses of its visa system, the government said on Thursday, in a bid to crack down on human trafficking and other forms of organised crime.
The government will establish a division in the Department of Home Affairs to tackle abuses of the visa and migration system, funded with A$50 million ($31.48 million).
Former police commissioner Christine Nixon highlighted in a January report "abuses of sexual exploitation, human trafficking and other organised crime" in the immigration system.
"The Nixon Review has identified significant abuse and misuse of Australia's visa system," immigration minister Andrew Giles said.
"By once again prioritising integrity in immigration, we're able to help protect vulnerable communities from exploitation, and make our visa system fairer for everyone."
Long reliant on immigration to supply what is now one of the tightest labour markets in the world, Australia has proposed overhauling its system to speed up the entry of highly skilled workers and smoothening the path to permanent residency.
The government said in April the visa process for skilled professionals would be made quicker and easier, while steps would be taken to retain international students. (Reuters)