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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.

Geneva — Nearly 62,000 people died from heat-related stress in the summer of 2022 in Europe alone, and, according to a new study by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC, “With further global warming, we can expect an increase in the intensity, frequency, and duration of heatwaves.” The report launched ahead of Heat Action Day on Sunday, June 2, looks at the role climate change is playing in increasing the number of extreme heat days around the world over the last 12 months. “What we are now going through is a very silent but increasingly common killer — heat, that was particularly disastrous last year,” said climatologist Friederike Otto, co-lead of World Weather Attribution at Imperial College London and one of the authors of the report. Speaking from London last Tuesday, she told journalists in Geneva that this May was hotter than any May ever experienced before, as were all months for the past 12 months. “Every heat wave that is happening today is hotter and lasts longer than it would have without human-induced climate change. That is without the burning of coal, oil and gas and we also see many more heat waves than we have otherwise,” she said noting that temperatures right now were around 50° C (122° F) in India and Pakistan. The World Meteorological Organization confirms that 2023 was the hottest year on record, reaching 1.45° C (2.6° F) above the pre-industrial average, almost reaching the Paris Climate Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5° C. According to the report, the average inhabitant of the planet has experienced 26 more extremely hot days, “which probably would not have occurred without climate change.” Or put another way, 6.8 billion people —78 percent of world’s population — have experienced at least 31 days of extreme heat. “But, of course, we are not average people. We live in a specific place, in a specific country,” said Otto. “So, for example if you lived in Ecuador, it was not 26 more days, but it was 170 more days. In other words, in the last 12 months, the people in Ecuador experienced 180 days of extreme heat. Without climate change, it would have been just 10. So, it is six months of extreme heat, instead of 10 days.” She noted that extreme heat was dangerous and responsible for thousands of deaths every year. She said, “Heat harmed especially vulnerable people: the elderly, the very young, those with pre-existing health conditions” as well as healthy people exposed to extreme temperatures, “like outdoor workers in construction or agriculture and people living in refugee camps.” The World Health Organization, previewing a new collection of papers to be published this week in the Journal of Global Health, says the studies show “climate-related health risks have been crucially underestimated” for younger and older people and during pregnancy, “with serious, often life-threatening implications.” Taking extreme heat for example, WHO says the authors note that preterm births — the leading cause of childhood deaths, “spike during heatwaves, while older people are more likely to suffer heart attacks or respiratory distress.” Heat Action Day, which is organized by the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Center, aims to draw attention to the threat of extreme heat and to what can be done to mitigate it. In a statement to mark Heat Action Day, Jagan Chapagain, secretary-general of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said, “Flooding and hurricanes may capture the headlines, but the impacts of extreme heat are equally deadly. “That is why Heat Action Day matters so much,” he said. “We need to focus attention on climate change’s silent killer. The IFRC is making heat and urban action to reduce its impacts a priority.” Climatologist Otto said the burning of fossil fuels must stop to prevent the situation from becoming worse. “Heat kills. But it does not have to kill. There are many solutions, some of which are low or no cost, ranging from individual action to population-scale interventions that reduce the urban heat island effect. “At an individual level, people can cool their bodies by self-dousing with water, using cooling devices or modifying their built environment to increase shade” around their homes. But she observed that individual action alone is not enough. She said action had to be taken at the community, city, regional and country levels as well. “Cities can develop and implement heat action plans that outline how they will prepare for the heat season, respond to imminent heat waves, and plan for the future. “And on a large scale, policies can be introduced to incorporate cooling needs into social protection programs, supplement energy costs for the most vulnerable and building codes can be updated to encourage better housing,” she said.

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.

Vienna, Austria — The OPEC+ group of oil-producing nations agreed Sunday to extend their production cuts in a bid to support prices, as economic and geopolitical uncertainty looms over the market.   The 12-member oil cartel and its 10 allies decided to "extend the level of overall crude oil production... starting 1 January 2025 until 31 December 2025," a statement by the alliance said.   In addition, eight countries said they would also extend voluntary supply cuts made at Riyadh's request to further support the market: Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman.   Some of those cuts will run until September before being phased out, while others will be kept in place until December 2025.   The decisions came after the biannual meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), led by Saudi Arabia, and its 10 partners, headed by Russia.   The group-wide supply cuts amount to about two million barrels per day (bpd).   Adding the series a voluntary cuts, OPEC+ members are currently slashing output by almost six million barrels per day overall to bolster flagging oil prices.    'Positive surprise'  OPEC+ also agreed to allow the United Arab Emirates to increase its production target by 300,000 bpd for next year, a statement said.   The UAE had pledged to make additional voluntary output cuts at the request of Saudi Arabia, which wanted to share the burden of cuts in an effort to support prices.    UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo called Sunday's announcements a "positive surprise."  The decision "removes some uncertainty over some tensions down the road, as the quotas will now be reviewed end 2025 for 2026," Staunovo told AFP.   Negotiations about the production quotas of member countries have repeatedly been a source of discord in the past, triggering heated debates and even shock departures.    At the end of 2023, Angola exited OPEC over a disagreement on output cuts.   But according to Mukesh Sahdev at the Rystad Energy research group, the alliance still faces the issue of "actual barrels flowing to the market likely being higher than what is accounted for", which could potentially undermine the cartel's strategy.   Moreover, Iraq and Kazakhstan exceeded their quotas in the first quarter, while Russia overproduced in April.    'Challenging environment'   Amid questions surrounding global demand, some analysts say that gradually allowing oil to return to the markets without causing prices to plummet will prove challenging.   Producers will probably have to come up with a complex system to skillfully reintroduce barrels that were previously removed, without causing prices to crater.   Oil prices have changed little since the last meeting in November, hovering at around $80 a barrel.   OPEC continues to stick to its demand forecasts for 2024, while the International Energy Agency has lowered its estimates.   Amid "above-average inflation, slowing global growth outlook, central bank uncertainties, rising US oil production and Middle East tensions, the environment is challenging", said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, a market analyst at Swissquote Bank.

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.

Seoul — North Korea said Sunday it would stop sending trash-filled balloons across the border into the South, saying the "disgusting" missives had been an effective countermeasure against propaganda sent by anti-regime activists. Since Tuesday, the North has sent nearly a thousand balloons carrying bags of rubbish containing everything from cigarette butts to bits of cardboard and plastic, Seoul's military said, warning the public to stay away. South Korea has called the latest provocation from its nuclear-armed neighbour "irrational" and "low-class" but, unlike the spate of recent ballistic missile launches, the trash campaign does not violate UN sanctions on Kim Jong Un's isolated regime. Seoul on Sunday warned it would take strong countermeasures unless the North called off the balloon bombardment, saying it runs counter to the armistice agreement that ended the 1950-53 Korean War hostilities. Late Sunday, the North announced it would stop its campaign, after scattering what it claimed was "15 tons of waste paper" using thousands of "devices" to deliver them. "We have given the South Koreans a full experience of how disgusting and labor-intensive it is to collect scattered waste paper," it said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency. The North said it will now "temporarily suspend" its campaign, saying it had been a "pure countermeasure." "However, if the South Koreans resume the distribution of anti-DPRK leaflets, we will respond by scattering one hundred times the amount of waste paper and filth, as we have already warned, in proportion to the detected quantity and frequency," it said, using the acronym for the country's official name. Activists in the South have also floated their own balloons over the border, filled with leaflets and sometimes cash, rice or USB thumb drives loaded with K-dramas. Earlier this week, Pyongyang described its "sincere gifts" as a retaliation for the propaganda-laden balloons sent into North Korea. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the balloons had been landing in northern provinces, including the capital Seoul and the adjacent area of Gyeonggi, which are collectively home to nearly half of South Korea's population. The latest batch of balloons were full of "waste such as cigarette butts, scrap paper, fabric pieces and plastic," the JCS said, adding that military officials and police were collecting them. "Our military is conducting surveillance and reconnaissance from the launch points of the balloons, tracking them through aerial reconnaissance, and collecting the fallen debris, prioritizing public safety," it said. South Korea's National Security Council met Sunday, and a presidential official said Seoul would not rule out responding to the balloons by resuming loudspeaker propaganda campaigns along the border with North Korea. In the past, South Korea has broadcast anti-Kim propaganda into the North, which infuriates Pyongyang. "If Seoul chooses to resume anti-North broadcast via loudspeakers along the border, which Pyongyang dislikes as much as anti-Kim balloons, it could lead to limited armed conflict along border areas, such as in the West Sea," said Cheong Seong-chang, director of the Korean peninsula strategy at Sejong Institute. In 2018, during a period of improved inter-Korean relations, both leaders agreed to "completely cease all hostile acts against each other in every domain," including the distribution of leaflets. South Korea's parliament passed a law in 2020 criminalizing sending leaflets into the North, but the law — which did not deter the activists — was struck down last year as a violation of free speech. Kim Jong Un's sister Kim Yo Jong — one of Pyongyang's key spokespeople — mocked South Korea for complaining about the balloons this week, saying North Koreans were simply exercising their freedom of expression. The two Koreas' propaganda offensives have sometimes escalated into larger tit-for-tats. In June 2020, Pyongyang unilaterally cut off all official military and political communication links with the South and blew up an inter-Korean liaison office on its side of the border. The trash campaign comes after analysts have warned Kim is testing weapons before sending them to Russia for use in Ukraine, with South Korea's defense minister saying this weekend that Pyongyang has now shipped about 10,000 containers of arms to Moscow, in return for Russian satellite know-how.

DUBAI — The next CEO of Boeing BA.N should have an understanding of what led to its current crisis and be prepared to look outside for examples of best industrial practices, the head of the International Air Transport Association said on Sunday. U.S. planemaker Boeing is engulfed in a sprawling safety crisis, exacerbated by a January mid-air panel blowout on a near new 737 MAX plane. CEO Dave Calhoun is due to leave the company by the end of the year as part of a broader management shake-up, but Boeing has not yet named a replacement. "It is not for me to say who should be running Boeing. But I think an understanding of what went wrong in the past, that's very important," IATA Director General Willie Walsh told Reuters TV at an airlines conference in Dubai, adding that Boeing was taking the right steps. IATA represents more than 300 airlines or around 80% of global traffic. "Our industry benefits from learning from mistakes, and sharing that learning with everybody," he said, adding that this process should include "an acknowledgement of what went wrong, looking at best practice, looking at what others do." He said it was critical that the industry has a culture "where people feel secure in putting their hands up and saying things aren't working the way they should do." Boeing is facing investigations by U.S. regulators, possible prosecution for past actions and slumping production of its strongest-selling jet, the 737 MAX. 'Right steps' Calhoun, a Boeing board member since 2009 and former GE executive, was brought in as CEO in 2020 to help turn the planemaker around following two fatal crashes involving the MAX, its strongest-selling jet. But the planemaker has lost market share to competitor Airbus AIR.PA, with its stock losing nearly 32% of its value this year as MAX production plummeted this spring. "The industry is frustrated by the problems as a result of the issues that Boeing have encountered. But personally, I'm pleased to see that they are taking the right steps," Walsh said. Delays in the delivery of new jets from both Boeing and Airbus are part of wider problems in the aerospace supply chain and aircraft maintenance industry complicating airline growth plans. Walsh said supply chain problems are not easing as fast as airlines want and could last into 2025 or 2026. "It's probably a positive that it's not getting worse, but I think it's going to be a feature of the industry for a couple of years to come," he said. Earlier this year IATA brought together a number of airlines and manufacturers to discuss ways to ease the situation, Walsh said. "We're trying to ensure that there's an open dialogue and honesty," between them, he said.

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.

U.S. and Chinese defense officials offered competing visions for Asia, even as they agreed to keep channels open during the three-day? Shangri-La security summit that wrapped up Sunday in Singapore, as VOA’s William Gallo reports from Seoul, South Korea. (Camera: William Gallo)

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.

Johannesburg — The final results of a tumultuous South African election are expected to be declared late Sunday, though what is already evident is that the governing party has lost its majority for the first time. A former South African president once boasted that the African National Congress would rule "until Jesus comes back.” There’s a joke now doing the rounds in South Africa that Jesus must have returned, given the bashing the party took in general elections this week. In a seismic political shift, the ANC lost its parliamentary majority for the first time, getting just 40 percent of the vote. It was a chastened ANC when the party’s secretary-general Fikile Mbalula made the first public remarks since the vote, acknowledging that there was “nothing to celebrate” but “It is the will of the people, and that is what we must accept." “The African National Congress commends the people of South Africa for once again demonstrating the strength and vibrancy of our democracy. The results send a clear message to the ANC. We wish to assure the people of South Africa that we have heard them, we have heard their concerns, their frustrations and their dissatisfaction,” Mbalula said. Mbalula stressed that contrary to some reports the party would not be asking President Cyril Ramaphosa to step down. In terms of who the ANC might now go into coalition with, he said they were engaging with other parties, without specifying. David Everatt, a professor at Johannesburg’s Wits School of Governance said he suspected “almost everything” was still on the table in terms of coalitions. The party that got the second largest amount of votes, at over 21 percent, was the Democratic Alliance, or DA, which the business-minded would prefer to see in a coalition. However, some in the ANC might balk at going into an alliance with them as they are seen as a “white” party, and prefer to go with a radical party like the Economic Freedom Fighters, he said. “The political arithmetic is being recalibrated almost hourly…we’ll have final results by the end of today, being Sunday, and after that they have to horse-trade very quickly, because they don’t have very long before we have to form, or they have to form, a government,” he said. One of the main upsets of the election was newly formed party uMkhonto weSizwe, or MK, led by former President Jacob Zuma. Coming in with around 14 percent of the votes, MK ate into some of the ANC’s support. Ironically it was Zuma who made the comment about the ANC governing until Jesus returns. Zuma, 82, has an axe to grind with the ANC, after it forced him to resign from the presidency in 2018 amid corruption scandals. On Saturday, the former ANC stalwart-turned-disrupter called for a delay in the official declaration of results, alleging rigging and demanding a re-count. He provided no proof for this claim, and the election on Wednesday has been widely praised as free and fair. However Zuma intimated there could be violence if the announcement of official results went ahead as planned, said Everatt. “This is not a democrat, this is an autocrat who is threatening violence to try to get what he wants,” he said. However the electoral commission said while they were dealing with challenges to the vote, the announcement would go ahead Sunday night at a conference center in Johannesburg. President Ramaphosa has confirmed his attendance.

London — Halla Tomasdottir, a businesswoman and investor, has won Iceland's presidential election, topping a crowded field of candidates in which the top three finishers were women, the country's national broadcast service reported.  Tomasdottir was elected to the largely ceremonial post with 34.3% of the vote, defeating former Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir, with 25.2%, and Halla Hrund Logadottir, with 15.5%, RUV said Sunday.  Tomasdottir, 55, campaigned as someone who was above party politics and could help open discussions on fundamental issues such as the effect of social media on the mental health of young people, Iceland's development as a tourist destination and the role of artificial intelligence.  She will replace President Gudni Th. Johannesson, who did not seek re-election after two four-year terms. Tomasdottir will take office on Aug. 1.  Iceland, a Nordic island nation located in the North Atlantic, has about 384,000 people and a long tradition of electing women to high office. Vigdis Finbogadottir was the first democratically elected female president of any nation when she became Iceland's head of state in 1980.  The country has also seen two women serve as prime minister in recent years, providing stability during years of political turmoil. Johanna Sigurdardottir led the government from 2009-2013, after the global financial crisis ravaged Iceland's economy. Jakobsdottir became prime minister in 2017, leading a broad coalition that ended the cycle of crises that had triggered three elections in four years. She resigned in April to run for president.  Tomasdottir first rose to prominence during the financial crisis, when she was hailed as the co-founder of Audur Capital, one of the few Icelandic investment firms that survived the upheaval. She is currently on leave as chief executive of the B Team, a non-profit organization that works to promote workplace diversity and has offices in New York and London. 

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.

Chicago — A Grammy-winning rapper, progressive activists and a leader of an afterschool squash program are part of the eclectic mix of possible candidates lining up for Chicago’s first school board elections this fall. America's third-largest city has long been an outlier with a mayor-appointed board overseeing its public schools, and it took years of advocacy and legislative squabbles to reach this point. But the messiest part is likely yet to come. The historic November races are part of a multi-year transition that is hard to explain to voters. Special interest groups are taking notice. And questions loom about how the new 21-member board, triple the current size, will govern. “This is not a political race, this is a movement,” said rapper Che “Rhymefest” Smith, who is among dozens of hopefuls who filed fundraising paperwork. “Everyone in this city has a responsibility to the children who are going to be served.” Potential candidates are circulating petitions while educating voters about the inaugural contests. Many are parents, advocates and former educators making their first foray into politics, navigating a steep learning curve with little name recognition or cash. While legislators approved an elected board in 2021, the logistics, including political maps, weren’t settled until March. The board won’t be fully elected until 2027. Residents, divided into 10 sprawling districts, will vote for board members to take office next year. The mayor will then appoint 10 other board members from smaller subdistricts along with a citywide president. In 2026, voters will elect all 21 members, eventually for four-year terms. “It takes almost a flow chart to figure it out,” said Adam Parrott-Sheffer, a former principal touting his experience to run in the same South Side district as Smith. Conversations with potential supporters involve more explanation on process than issues, he says. Parent Kate Doyle, who founded a nonprofit, hopes to represent a North Side district. After knocking on hundreds of doors, she found one person, a teacher, who fully understood what's coming. Chicago’s Board of Education — which passes a $9 billion budget, confirms a CEO and approves policies and contracts — was created by state legislators in 1872. After many versions, a seven-member board was instituted in 1999. The roughly 325,000-student district, serving largely low-income Black and Latino children, has grappled with budget cuts and dwindling population. Interest in elected representation gained momentum after former Mayor Rahm Emanuel closed over 50 schools in 2013. The Chicago Teachers Union, among the groups pushing the change, deems it a voting rights issue. “An elected school board brings people from those spaces that have been neglected and disinvested to a table where they have some agency," said CTU President Stacy Davis Gates. Over 90% of school boards are elected, according to the National School Boards Association. Few school districts have recently changed from an appointed school board to an elected one, leaving Chicago without a roadmap. One fellowship program through National Louis University is trying to ease Chicago's transition with training for potential board members. Most of the 22 current fellows enrolled hope to get on the November ballot. They're learning how to engage with the public and tactics for group decision making. “If this program can shorten that learning curve a little bit, that could have a really positive tremendous impact on the students in the city,” said Bridget Lee, who oversees the program. Candidates face numerous hurdles, including a truncated campaign season. The jobs, which district officials estimate require up to 30 hours of time weekly, are unpaid, limiting who can afford to run. At least 1,000 signatures are required to get on the ballot, more than double the number for aldermanic and some congressional candidates with paid political operations. Anusha Thotakura, a 25-year-old activist with the progressive Citizen Action Illinois, collected 600 signatures in a district that includes wealthy and low-income neighborhoods. “This board presents a lot of hope for people about having accountability," she said. Smith fanned signed petitions on the dining table at his great-grandmother’s South Side home where he lives. “In Chicago, this is money,” the 46-year-old joked. Still, he’s putting $80,000 into his bid and has written a campaign song titled “Optimistic.” “People see a rapper and there’s a stigma to it,” said Smith, who made an unsuccessful 2011 City Council run. “I’m here to break stereotypes.” Voter turnout in school elections is typically under 10%, according to the NSBA. The presidential contest is expected to help, though Chicago's March primary turnout was the lowest in years at roughly 26%. That adds weight to endorsements, including from the influential teachers' union. Competition to get them is fierce. One possible candidate, Yesenia Lopez, unveiled her campaign with Congressman Jesus “Chuy” Garcia's backing before her campaign disclosure paperwork was filed. Jesus Ayala, 32, hopes to run in the same Southwest Side district. He works at MetroSquash, a sports complex offering mentorship and other student programs through the racquet sport. “When you have a congressman announcing someone’s candidacy, it feels like an elected official trying to appoint someone to the board,” he said. Elsewhere, outside organizations have poured money into down-ballot school elections, making them proxy votes for controversial national issues. During Los Angeles’ 2017 board races, unions and pro-charter school groups spent $15 million. In Chicago, charter schools groups are already getting involved. Paul Vallas, a former superintendent and failed candidate for Chicago mayor, started a political action committee that could back candidates. Parents advocating to restore school bus service, which the district cut amid driver shortages, hosted the first candidate forum. “The wild card in all of this is: Will there be national issues that are tangentially related that will bleed into the race?” asked Michael Ford, a University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh professor. District officials have offered few details about how the board will operate. One thing raising eyebrows is its size. “They are creating conditions for a lot of political infighting, more opportunities for deal brokering, things that have been synonymous with Chicago politics,” said Jonathan Collins, a Columbia University political scientist. Los Angeles has seven board members while Houston has nine. In New York, the panel is partially appointed and recently increased from 15 to 23. Illinois state Sen. Rob Martwick, who championed an elected board, said more districts were created to curb the influence of outside money. More legislative changes could follow, including campaign finance and board pay. “Now the responsibility of making our schools better is in your hands, can’t blame the mayor anymore," Martwick said. "Look in the mirror.”