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Support for the far-right among young voters appears to be growing in several European countries – not least in Germany, where the AfD party is hoping to secure another victory in an upcoming state election. Henry Ridgwell has more from London. (Videographer: Henry Ridgwell)

Nairobi — Hundreds of workers at Kenya's main international airport demonstrated on Wednesday against a planned deal between the government and a foreign investor. Planes have remained grounded, with hundreds of passengers stranded at the airport. The government has said that the build-and-operate agreement with India's Adani Group would see the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport modernized, and an additional runway and terminal constructed, in exchange for the group running the airport for 30 years. Kenya Airport Workers Union, in announcing the strike, said that the deal would lead to job losses and "inferior terms and conditions of service" for those who will remain. Kenya Airways on Wednesday announced there would be flight delays and possible cancellations because of the ongoing strike at the airport, which serves Nairobi. The strike has affected local flights coming from the port city of Mombasa and the lake city of Kisumu, where delays have been reported by local media. At the main airport, police officers had taken up security check-in roles with long lines seen outside the departure terminals and worried passengers unable to confirm if their flights would depart as scheduled. The Kenya Airports Authority said in a statement that it was "engaging relevant parties to normalize operations" and urged passengers to contact respective airlines to confirm flight status. The Central Organization of Trade Unions' secretary-general, Francis Atwoli, told journalists at the airport that the strike would have been averted had the government listened to the workers. "This was a very simple matter where the assurance to workers in writing that our members will not lose jobs and their jobs will remain protected by the government and as is required by law and that assurance alone, we wouldn't have been here," he said. Last week, airport workers had threatened to go on strike, but the plans were called off pending discussions with the government. The spotting of unknown people moving around with airport officials taking notes and photographs raised concerns that the Indian firm officials were readying for the deal, local media outlets reported last week. The High Court on Monday temporarily halted the implementation of the deal until a case filed by the Law Society and the Kenya Human Rights Commission is heard.

Islamabad — Gunmen in northwestern Pakistan killed an anti-polio worker and a policeman guarding him Wednesday, the second attack on healthcare teams trying to carry out a national immunization campaign against the paralytic virus. Area officials reported that the assailants targeted a polio team providing vaccine to children in the Bajaur district, bordering Afghanistan. The attack also injured a policeman. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the deadly attack in one of the militancy-hit districts of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The start of the immunization campaign Monday was marred by a roadside bombing of a polio vaccination team in the province’s South Waziristan district. That attack resulted in injuries to at least ten people, including three vaccinators and six police personnel.  An Afghanistan-based Islamic State affiliate known as Islamic State-Khorasan reportedly claimed responsibility for the deadly blast.   Militants in violence-affected districts often target polio vaccinators, suspecting them of spying on behalf of Pakistani security forces. Such attacks have killed dozens of vaccinators and police personnel escorting them in past years, mostly in areas near or adjacent to the Afghan border, dealing critical blows to polio eradication efforts. On Monday, the Pakistan Polio Eradication Program said that the country of about 240 million is facing an “intense outbreak” of wild poliovirus this year, paralyzing 17 children so far nationwide. It reported that sewage samples tested positive in 66 districts for the highly contagious virus, threatening more children. The program noted that the ongoing house-to-house campaign aims to vaccinate more than 33 million children under five in 115 districts nationwide. Pakistan and Afghanistan, which reported nine paralytic polio cases so far in 2024, are the only two remaining polio-endemic countries globally. Polio immunization drives in both countries, which share a nearly 2,600-kilometer border, have long faced multiple challenges, such as security and vaccine boycotts, which have set back the goal of eradicating the virus from the globe. Officials at the World Health Organization have reported an improvement in Afghan vaccination efforts since the Islamist Taliban retook control of the country three years ago, ending years of nationwide hostilities and enabling polio teams to inoculate children in previously inaccessible areas.

Washington — The post-pandemic spike in U.S. inflation eased further last month as year-over-year price increases reached a three-year low, clearing the way for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates next week. Wednesday’s report from the Labor Department showed that consumer prices rose 2.5% in August from a year earlier. It was the fifth straight annual drop and the smallest such increase since February 2021. From July to August, prices rose just 0.2%. Excluding volatile food and energy costs, so-called core prices rose 3.2% in August from 12 months earlier, the same as in July. On a month-to-month basis, core prices rose 0.3% last month, a pickup from July's 0.2% increase. Economists closely watch core prices, which typically provide a better read of future inflation trends. For months, cooling inflation has provided gradual relief to America’s consumers, who were stung by the price surges that erupted three years ago, particularly for food, gas, rent and other necessities. Inflation peaked in mid-2022 at 9.1%, the highest rate in four decades. Fed officials have signaled that they’re increasingly confident that inflation is falling back to their 2% target and are now shifting their focus to supporting the job market, which is steadily cooling. As a result, the policymakers are poised to begin cutting their key rate from its 23-year high in hopes of bolstering growth and hiring. A modest quarter-point cut is widely expected next week. Over time, a series of rate cuts should reduce the cost of borrowing across the economy, including for mortgages, auto loans and credit cards. The latest inflation figures could inject themselves into the presidential race in its final weeks. Former President Donald Trump has heaped blame on Vice President Kamala Harris for the jump in inflation, which erupted in early 2021 as global supply chains seized up, causing severe shortages of parts and labor. Harris has proposed subsidies for home buyers and builders in an effort to ease housing costs and backs a federal ban on price-gouging for groceries. Trump has said he would boost energy production to try to reduce overall inflation. A key reason why inflation eased again in August was that gas prices tumbled by about 10 cents a gallon last month, according to the Energy Inflation Administration, to a national average of about $3.29. Economists also expect the government’s measures of grocery prices and rents to rise more slowly. Though food prices are roughly 20% more expensive than before the pandemic, they have barely budged over the past year. Another potential driver of slower inflation is that the cost of new apartment leases has started to cool as a stream of newly built apartments have been completed. According to the real estate brokerage Redfin, the median rent for a new lease rose just 0.9% in August from a year earlier, to $1,645 a month. But the government’s measure includes all rents, including those for people who have been in their apartments for months or years. It takes time for the slowdown in new rents to show up in the government’s data. In July, rental costs rose 5.1% from a year ago, according to the government’s consumer price index. Americans’ paychecks are also growing more slowly — an average of about 3.5% annually, still a solid pace — which reduces inflationary pressures. Two years ago, wage growth was topping 5%, a level that can force businesses to sharply raise prices to cover their higher labor costs. In a high-profile speech last month, Fed Chair Jerome Powell noted that inflation was coming under control and suggested that the job market was unlikely to be a source of inflationary pressure. Consumers have propelled the economy for the past three years. But they are increasingly turning to debt to maintain their spending and credit card, and auto delinquencies are rising, raising concerns that they may have to rein in their spending soon. Reduced consumer spending could lead more employers to freeze their hiring or even cut jobs.

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HONG KONG — China must reprioritize economic growth and reforms and boost investor confidence by leveling the playing field for all companies in the country, a European business group said Wednesday.  With "business confidence now at an all-time low" over lagging domestic demand and overcapacity in certain industries, the annual European Business in China Position Paper called on China to open its economy and allow a more free market to determine resource allocation. It also recommended introducing policies to boost domestic demand.  Profit margins in China are at or below the global average for two-thirds of the companies surveyed earlier in the year, according to the paper published Wednesday by the European Chamber of Commerce in China.  In August, China filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization over European Union tariffs on electric vehicles made in China. It also launched anti-dumping and subsidies investigations of European dairy products, brandy and pork exports. The tit-for-tat actions have raised fears that a trade war may break out.  Many European businesses are deciding that the returns on investments in the world's second-largest economy are not worth the risks, due to issues including China's economic slowdown and a politicized business environment.  "For some European headquarters and shareholders, the risks of investing in China are beginning to outright the returns, a trend that will only intensify if key business concerns are left unaddressed," Jens Eskelund, president of China's European Union Chamber of Commerce, said in a message at the beginning of the paper.  The European Chamber's paper proposes over 1,000 recommendations for China to resolve challenges and problems faced by European businesses operating in the country and boost investor confidence. Among them are calls for China to refrain from punishing companies for the actions of their home governments. Others include ensuring that policy packages for attracting foreign investment are followed by implementation, and refraining from "erratic policy shifts."  The report also recommended that the EU proactively engage with China and keep its responses "measured and proportionate" when disagreements arise. 

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LONDON/DAKAR — Among the dozens of Wagner mercenaries presumed dead after a lethal battle with Tuareg rebels during a desert sandstorm in Mali in July were Russian war veterans who survived tours in Ukraine, Libya and Syria, according to interviews with relatives and a review of social media data. The loss of such experienced fighters exposes dangers faced by Russian mercenary forces working for military juntas, which are struggling to contain separatists and powerful offshoots of Islamic State and Al Qaeda across the arid Sahel region in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. The Mali defeat raises doubts over whether Moscow, which has admitted funding Wagner and has absorbed many of its fighters into a defense ministry force, will do better than Western and U.N. troops recently expelled by the juntas, six officials and experts who work in the region said. By cross-referencing public information with online posts from relatives and fighters, speaking to seven relatives and using facial recognition software to analyze battlefield footage verified by Reuters, the news agency was able to identify 23 fighters missing in action and two others taken into Tuareg captivity after the ambush near Tinzaouaten, a town on the Algerian border. Several of the men had survived the siege of Bakhmut in Ukraine, which Wagner's late founder Yevgeny Prigozhin called a "meat grinder." Others had served in Libya, Syria and elsewhere. Some were former Russian soldiers, at least one of whom had retired after a full-length army career. Grisly footage of dead fighters has now circulated online, and some of relatives told Reuters the bodies of their husbands and sons had been abandoned in the desert. Reuters could not confirm how many of the men it identified were dead. Margarita Goncharova said her son, Vadim Evsiukov, 31, was first recruited in prison where he was serving a drug-related sentence in 2022. He rose through the ranks in Ukraine to lead a platoon of 500 men, she said. After coming home, he worked as a tailor but struggled with survivor's guilt and secretly traveled to Africa in April to join his former commander, she said. "He wanted to fly to Africa many times. I discouraged him as much as I could," Goncharova said in an interview with Reuters. "I told him 'fate has given you a once-in-a-million chance. You can start your life again; you've won such a crazy lottery'." The Russian Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Wagner did not respond to requests for comment for this story. After Prigozhin died in August last year, Wagner employees were invited to join a newly created group called the Africa Corps, under the defense ministry, "to fight for justice and the interests of Russia," according to the Africa Corps channel on social-media platform Telegram. On the channel, Africa Corps says about half its personnel are former Wagner employees who it allows to use Wagner insignia. Wagner's social media channels remain active. The Russian government has not publicly commented on the Tinzaouaten battle. Mali's armed forces-led government said the defeat had no impact on its goals. The Malian Armed Forces "are committed to restoring the authority of the state throughout the country," army spokesman Colonel Major Souleymane Dembele told Reuters. Wagner has acknowledged heavy losses in the Mali ambush but gave no figure. The Malian army, which fought alongside the Russians, also did not give a toll. Tuareg rebels, who are fighting for an independent homeland, said they had killed 84 Russians and 47 Malians. Reuters could not independently establish how many were killed in battle. One video, out of more than 20 sent to Reuters by a Tuareg rebel spokesman, showed at least 47 bodies, mostly white men, in military-style uniforms lying in the desert. Reuters verified the location and date of the video. Mikhail Zvinchuk, a prominent blogger close to the Russian defense ministry, said on social media platform RuTube in August that the defeat showed Wagner fighters who arrived from Ukraine had underestimated the rebels and the Al Qaeda fighters. Missing in action Wagner-linked Telegram accounts named two of the dead as Nikita Fedyakin, the administrator of The Grey Zone, a popular Wagner-focused Telegram channel with over half a million subscribers, and Sergei Shevchenko, who the accounts described as the unit commander. Reuters could not verify the identity of Shevchenko. Reuters separately identified 23 Wagner operators missing in Mali via relatives who posted in an official Wagner Telegram chat group, checking the names against social media accounts, publicly available data and facial recognition software. All the relatives received calls from Wagner recruiters on Aug. 6 to notify them their men were missing in action, they said in the chat group. Lyubov Bazhenova told Reuters she had no idea her son Vladimir Akimov, 25, who had briefly served in Russia's elite airborne forces as a conscript, had signed up. She was angry with Wagner for sharing no further information about his fate or the whereabouts of his body. She said letters to the prosecutor's office, defense ministry and foreign ministry had gone unanswered. Facial-recognition software was used to identify another two men captured by Tuareg fighters, based on photographs and videos of the ambush site published by Tuareg sources. The Tuareg rebels posted videos and photos of the two captives on social media. Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, a spokesman for the rebel alliance, confirmed the men were in rebel captivity as of late August. One of the missing fighters, Alexei Kuzekmaev, 47, had no military experience, his wife Lyudmila Kuzekmaeva told Reuters. "Neither my hysterics, nor tears, nor persuasion - nothing helped. He just confronted me a month before he left home. He said 'I bought a ticket and will be leaving.'" Among the most experienced men was Alexander Lazarev, 48, a Russian army veteran who served in wars against Chechen separatists in the 1990s and 2000s, according to his wife's posts in the Wagner channel. She declined to comment. Lazarev appears in many photos on the Russian Facebook equivalent VKontakte wearing military uniform, with symbols linked to several army subdivisions. Parastatal mercenary force Democratic governments in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger were overthrown since 2020 in a series of coups driven by anger with corrupt leaders and a near decade of failed Western efforts to fight insurgencies that have killed thousands and displaced millions. The military juntas have kicked out French and U.S. troops and U.N. peacekeepers. In Africa, Wagner emerged in Sudan in 2017 as the deniable face of Russian operations. Its enterprises soon ranged from protecting African coup leaders to gold mining and fighting jihadists. Wagner is also active in Central African Republic. It first appeared in Mali in late 2021. Wagner's fortunes rose and fell last year. In May, the group led Russia to its first significant Ukrainian battlefield victory in almost a year with the capture of Bakhmut. But after his criticism of Russian military leaders and his effort to lead a rebellion weeks after the Bakhmut victory, Prigozhin died in a fiery plane crash in August. The Kremlin has rejected as an "absolute lie" U.S. officials' claim that Putin had Prigozhin killed. Eric Whitaker, the top U.S. envoy to Burkina Faso until retiring in June, who previously served in Niger, Mali and Chad, said the Putin administration has achieved complete control over the Wagner brand in the post-Prigozhin era. "Africa Corps earns (the Russian government) hard-currency payments from host governments for its services and also gains a significant sources of revenue from gold derived from its activities in the Sahel," he said. Russian mercenary activity soared in Mali after Africa Corps was formed, according to data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), a U.S.-based crisis-monitoring group. Based on media reports and social media documenting, the data shows violent events linked to Russian mercenaries rose 81% and reported civilian fatalities rose 65% over the past year, compared to the year before Prigozhin's death. Wagner does not publish recruitment figures. Jędrzej Czerep, an analyst at Warsaw-based think tank Polish Institute of International Affairs, estimated that around 6,000 Russian mercenaries serve in Africa, while three diplomatic sources said about 1,500-2,000 were in Mali. "When Africa Corps started to promote and recruit, they were flooded with applications," said Czerep. "Being sent to one of the African missions was seen as far safer than Ukraine," he said. Tuareg spokesman Ramadane said the rebel alliance was preparing for more clashes. Further losses could eventually drive Russia out, said Tibor Nagy, the top U.S. envoy to Africa in 2019, when Wagner withdrew from northern Mozambique months after around a dozen of its men were killed during a conflict with an Islamic State affiliate. "They were out of there very quickly," said Nagy. Wagner has not publicly commented on its plans in Mali.  

Taipei, Taiwan — As China is set to host bilateral talks with the Philippines this month, their South China Sea dispute is expanding from sea to air, increasing the risk of military confrontation, analysts warn. The Chinese Communist Party’s People’s Daily newspaper on Monday published an article warning that “China-Philippines relations stand at a crossroads” over the South China Sea dispute. The warning came after Filipino Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo told reporters at a diplomatic reception on September 4 that Beijing will host the next round of the Bilateral Consultative Mechanism meetings designed to manage differences between the two countries. Manalo did not say on which date the talks would start this month but expressed hope the two countries would discuss an incident in late August when coast guard ships from both sides collided at a disputed shoal. Both countries blame the other for the collision, though video released by the Philippine coast guard appears to show the Chinese coast guard ship ramming their vessel, BRP Teresa Magbanua. It was the second such collision of their coast guard ships in August at the disputed atoll. Vincent Kyle Parada, a former defense analyst for the Philippine Navy and a graduate student at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, says the frequency of the sea clashes is pushing the two sides to expand their operations to the air. “Over the past few weeks, China has been actively working to disrupt resupply missions to the ship and crew, to the point that after one such failed attempt, the Philippine government announced that essential supplies reached critical levels,” he told VOA Mandarin. “Manila did manage to resupply BRP Teresa Magbanua through a helicopter, signaling this potential shift.” Parada added, “This potential shift from maritime to aerial resupply emissions in the future is obviously a risk because China has also been escalating aerial operations in the South China Sea. “Beijing would increase its aerial presence in the Spratlys and send fighter jets to its artificial islands for extended deployments. I think the goal there really would be to make aerial resupply emissions an incredibly dangerous policy option for Manila. That way, it limits Manila's ability to sustain a long-term presence in the disputed territories.” According to the latest data from the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs, the administration of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has lodged 176 diplomatic protests with the Chinese government, which claims almost the entire South China Sea, putting it in conflict with Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert and researcher at Xuanyuan (Hong Kong) Science and Technology Exchange Center, says any Chinese military moves in the airspace over the South China Sea are due to what he calls “illegal expansion” by the Philippines. "Whether it's Scarborough Shoal, Second Thomas Shoal or Sabina Shoal, these are all China's sovereign territories,” he told VOA Mandarin, repeating Beijing’s claims. “If the Philippines wants to conduct patrols or resupply by air, this in itself is violating the security of China's airspace, and China will inevitably take certain measures to intercept it.” An article published on September 2 by the Beijing-based think tank South China Sea Strategic Situation Probing Initiative says since 2024, the Philippines has "repeatedly dispatched military aircraft to invade the islands and reefs of Spratly Islands and Macclesfield Bank" and also sent military aircraft to carry out airdrops and replenishment missions over the sea, indicating that "air intrusion is becoming another major path for the Philippines to cause trouble in the South China Sea." The article warned that if the Philippines insists on carrying out an "air invasion," China will have to take corresponding measures, and "once there is friction or even collision, the consequences will be much more serious than the collision with a ship." Su Tzu-yun, a research fellow and director at the Division of Defense Strategy and Resources in Taiwan, says China is more likely to take coercive actions in the air, making it difficult for the Philippines to defend its sovereignty. "China may first take measures to interfere, as it does with the United States and Australian military aircraft, and it will scatter thermal flares to interfere so that Philippine helicopters may not be able to get close," Su told VOA Mandarin. “It may use jets to create turbulence, meaning it uses air from the jet tail to interfere with the Philippine helicopter when it’s flying.” Su says Beijing is taking more aggressive interception actions, which greatly increase the risk of accidental conflict. “The number of Chinese ships has increased. Second, coupled with the previous conflict between China and the Philippines in the sea, which caused injuries to Philippine coast guards, and now it threatens to use stronger means against the Philippine so-called aircraft, so it is moving the definition of gray zone operations closer to the direction of war.” Philippine National Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro in August said the Philippines plans to purchase 40 new multirole fighter jets and mid-range missiles to strengthen its territorial defense, Reuters reported. The U.S. in July repeated its commitment to the Philippines’ security after China’s increasingly assertive actions in the South China Sea. US reiterates 'ironclad' commitment to Philippines amid China actions in South China Sea. Parts of the disputed South China Sea are believed to be rich in oil and gas, and the waters are an important transit point for trillions of dollars in annual shipping. The Hague-based intergovernmental Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016 unanimously ruled that China’s claim to almost all the South China Sea had “no legal basis,” which Beijing rejected. Adrianna Zhang contributed to this report. Some information for this report came from Reuters.

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KARAWANG, Indonesia — Rahmat Hidayat lost his job when the shoe factory he worked for closed down last year in the industrial town of Karawang in Indonesia's West Java.   The 44-year-old now earns less than half of what he used to make by selling grilled meatballs. Unable to afford his wife's diabetes medication, Rahmat picks herbs to make a tonic instead.  Like Rahmat, millions of working to middle class Indonesians have become poorer, largely due to an increase in layoffs and a drop in the number of job opportunities since the pandemic.  This trend bodes ill for the outlook for Southeast Asia's biggest economy — household consumption accounts for over half of gross domestic product — as well as the widely held investment thesis that an expanding middle class will drive Indonesia's ambition to become a high-income nation by 2045.  It also poses a challenge for the incoming administration of President Prabowo Subianto, who won a February election by a landslide on promises to boost economic growth and create 19 million of jobs. Prabowo takes office on Oct. 20.  "Pushing the economy to grow higher with weak consumption is difficult," said Mohammad Faisal, an economist at the Jakarta-based Center of Reform on Economics.  The government classifies those who spend between $132 to $643 a month as middle class, based on a World Bank criteria. This group is key to economic growth as their spending accounts for nearly 40% of private consumption, and more than 80% if combined with the aspiring middle class, who spend $57 to $132.   The size of the middle class, however, has dropped from 21.5% of the total population in 2019 to 17.1% in 2024, according to official data released last month.  Even though Indonesia's economy has bounced back after the pandemic, with growth of around above 5% a year since 2022 amid generally low inflation, this shrinking middle class is likely to pressure future growth, as the government will have to contend with lower tax revenues and a possibly more subsidies, said Jahen Rezki, an analyst from the University of Indonesia.   "In the long run, if the middle class dwindles, it will certainly be a big burden for the state," he said.  Big state spending  One of the main reasons for the demise of the middle class is the changing labour market.  A large portion of the foreign investment coming into Indonesia has targeted industries such as mining, which are becoming much less labour intensive as more cutting-edge technology is deployed.  Also, stronger competition from lower cost destinations such as China, especially in the textile sector, has squeezed factories, leading to lay offs that the textile association said were the worst in the last decade.   Prabowo's brother and adviser Hashim Djojohadikusumo said the incoming government will help the middle class by creating millions of new jobs from projects like the $28 billion free meals programme and the building of millions of homes.   "We want to create a lot of small, medium and micro entrepreneurs, for example through our housing program. We want to build 3 million units of houses, in villages and cities. That's to create middle class," he told Reuters recently.   However, how much the next government is able to spend on welfare schemes might be limited, especially next year when a large amount of government debt is due to mature, said Teguh Yudo Wicaksono, an economist at Islam Internasional Indonesia University.  For former factory worker Rahmat, the best help the government can give is a handout he can use to expand his food business, as it has become increasingly difficult to find a job.  His wife Fatimah said her children often ask for their favorite spicy meat dish, but she can only afford to feed them instant noodles with eggs most of the time.  "I could only tell my kids to please wait until dad got his fair compensation from the factory, we will cook a delicious meal again," she said.  

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BATON ROUGE, La. — Hurricane Francine barreled early Wednesday toward Louisiana and is expected to make landfall in coming hours as forecasters raised threats of potentially deadly storm surge, widespread flooding and destructive winds on the northern U.S. Gulf coast. Francine drew fuel from exceedingly warm Gulf of Mexico waters to jump from a tropical storm to a Category 1 hurricane on Tuesday night. The National Hurricane Center said Francine might even reach Category 2 strength with winds of 155 to 175 kph before crashing into a fragile coastal region that still hasn't fully recovered from a series of devastating hurricanes since 2020. Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry warned at midday Tuesday — when Francine was still a tropical storm — that residents around south Louisiana and in the heavily populated state capital of Baton Rouge and nearby New Orleans — should "batten down all the hatches" and finish last preparations before a 24-hour window to do so closed. Once Francine makes landfall, Landry said, residents should stay in place rather than venture out into waterlogged roads and risk blocking first responders or utility crews working to repair power lines. The governor said the Louisiana National Guard is being deployed to parishes that could be impacted by Francine. They are equipped with food, water, nearly 400 high-water vehicles, about 100 boats and 50 helicopters to respond to the storm, including possible search-and-rescue operations. Francine was centered Wednesday morning about 395 kilometers southwest of Morgan City, Louisiana, and was moving northeast at 17 kph with maximum sustained winds of 90 150 kmh, the Miami-based hurricane center said. Some additional strengthening is expected Wednesday morning and then Francine is expected to weaken quickly after it moves inland. A hurricane warning was in effect along the Louisiana coast from Cameron eastward to Grand Isle, about 80 kilometers south of New Orleans, according to the center. A storm surge warning stretched from the Mississippi-Alabama border to the Alabama-Florida border Such a warning means there's a chance of life-threatening flooding. In downtown New Orleans, cars and trucks were lined up for blocks on Tuesday to collect sandbags from the parking lot of a local YMCA. CEO Erika Mann said Tuesday that 1,000 bags of sand had already been distributed by volunteers later in the day to people hoping to protect homes from possible flooding. One resident picking up sandbags was Wayne Grant, 33, who moved to New Orleans last year and was nervous for his first potential hurricane in the city. The low-lying rental apartment he shares with his partner had already flooded out in a storm the year before and he was not taking any chances this time around. "It was like a kick in the face, we've been trying to stay up on the weather ever since," Grant said. "We're super invested in the place, even though it's not ours." Francine is the sixth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. There's a danger of life-threatening storm surge as well as damaging hurricane-force winds, said Brad Reinhart, a senior hurricane specialist at the hurricane center. There's also the potential for 10 to 20 centimeters of rain with the possibility of 30 centimeters locally across much of Louisiana and Mississippi through Friday morning, Reinhart said. The hurricane center said parts of Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle were at risk of "considerable" flash and urban flooding starting Wednesday, followed by a threat of possible flooding later in the week into the lower Mississippi Valley and lower Tennessee Valley as the soggy remnants of Francine sweep inland. Francine is taking aim at a Louisiana coastline that has yet to fully recover since hurricanes Laura and Delta decimated Lake Charles in 2020, followed a year later by Hurricane Ida. A little over three years after Ida trashed his home in the Dulac community of coastal Louisiana's Terrebonne Parish – and about a month after he finished rebuilding – Coy Verdin was preparing for another hurricane. "We had to gut the whole house," he recalled in a telephone interview, rattling off a memorized inventory of the work, including a new roof and new windows. Verdin, 55, strongly considered moving farther inland, away from the home where he makes his living on nearby Bayou Grand Caillou. After rebuilding, he said he's there to stay. "As long as I can. It's getting rough, though," he said. Francine's storm surge on the Louisiana coast could reach as much as 3 meters from Cameron to Port Fourchon and into Vermilion Bay, forecasters said. They said landfall was likely somewhere between Sabine Pass — on the Texas-Louisiana line — and Morgan City, Louisiana, about 350 kilometers to the east.

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In the U.S. presidential election, the Republican Party’s presidential nominee, Donald Trump, clashed with his Democratic Party rival, Kamala Harris, Tuesday evening over issues such as abortion, immigration and foreign policy. VOA’s chief national correspondent Steve Herman has details from the candidates’ first debate in Philadelphia.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.