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Seoul, South Korea — President Yoon Suk Yeol boycotted the formal opening of South Korea’s parliament Monday as his squabbles with the opposition deepen over allegations of wrongdoing by top officials and his wife. It’s a tradition for South Korean presidents to deliver a speech at opening ceremonies for National Assembly sessions, and Yoon is the first to skip the event since the country’s transition from a military dictatorship to democracy in the late 1980s. Yoon, a conservative who narrowly won the election in 2022, has struggled to navigate a parliament controlled by liberals who have stymied his agenda and called for investigations into allegations of corruption and abuse of power involving his wife and government officials. President Yoon also faces declining approval ratings as concerns grow over his government’s ability to deal with a worsening job market, soaring household debt and a prolonged strike by thousands of doctors that is straining medical services. Asked about his decision to skip the legislature’s opening ceremony, Yoon’s office said lawmakers must first “normalize the National Assembly, which over issues demands for special prosecutor investigations and impeachments,” before inviting Yoon. A senior presidential official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity during a background briefing, said it was difficult for Yoon to attend when lawmakers were expected to greet him with “verbal abuse and picketing demonstrations.” “They aren't hesitating to call the president's family member a murderer and conspiracies about martial law are continuing to circulate in the National Assembly," she said. Jo Seoung-lae, spokesperson of the main opposition Democratic Party, said Yoon’s refusal to attend the ceremony displayed his “arrogance” and disregard for the assembly’s role to check and balance the executive branch. “It’s impossible to produce results in national governance without having respect for the National Assembly,” assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik said during the opening ceremony as he lamented Yoon’s absence. Following parliamentary elections in April in which the liberals extended their majority, the current assembly began meeting in May. But its official opening ceremony was delayed for months because of political bickering. Opposition lawmakers are pushing for an investigation by special prosecutors into allegations that top government and military officials tried to cover up the circumstances surrounding the death of a marine who drowned during a search for flood victims in 2023. They want another independent investigation into allegations that Yoon’s wife, Kim Keon Hee, was involved in stock price manipulation and violated the country’s antigraft law by receiving a luxury handbag from a Korean American pastor. Yoon has denied any legal wrongdoing by his wife. In August, Yoon’s office angrily demanded an apology after Democratic Party lawmaker Jeon Hyun-heui labeled Kim as a “murderer” over the death of a senior official from the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, who was reportedly involved in the commission’s review of the handbag scandal. Opposition lawmakers had raised suspicions on whether the commission was pressured into closing the review in June, when it concluded that the antigraft law provides no grounds for punishment for the spouses of public officials. The death of the former commission official, who was reportedly found with a note, is still being investigated. Yoon in May and July rejected consecutive bills calling for special prosecutors to investigate the marine’s death, describing the allegations as groundless and politically motivated. Yoon and his party also criticized the opposition’s move to hold a parliamentary hearing in July to address online petitions signed by tens of thousands calling for his impeachment. South Korea’s Constitution limits a president to a single five-year term, so Yoon cannot seek reelection.

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.

Kinshasa, DRC — Heavy gunfire rang out early Monday morning from Congo’s largest prison in the capital, Kinshasa, as inmates tried to break out from the overcrowded facility, authorities said. Congolese government spokesperson Patrick Muyaya confirmed on X that there was an "an attempted escape.” Local media reported security forces killed some of those who tried to flee. The gunfire from inside the prison started around midnight, residents said. By Monday morning, the road leading to the prison had been cordoned off by security forces. “Security services are on site to restore order and security [and] the population of Kinshasa is urged not to panic,” Muyaya said. Videos purporting to be from inside the prison showed several bodies on the ground. The Makala prison, which is Congo’s main penitentiary with a capacity for 1,500 people, holds over 12,000 inmates most of whom are awaiting trial, Amnesty International said in its latest country report. It has recorded previous jailbreaks, including in 2017 when an attack by a religious sect freed dozens of inmates. Authorities had been trying to reduce overcrowding, with dozens of inmates released in recent months. There was no public comment about Monday's incident yet from Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi, who is in China on an official visit. Justice Minister Constant Mutamba called the attack a “premeditated act of sabotage” that was carried out against efforts to improve the condition of prisons. “Investigations are underway to identify and severely punish those who instigated these acts of sabotage. They will receive a stern response,” Mutamba said. The minister also announced a ban on the transfer of inmates from the prison and said authorities will build a new prison, among other efforts to reduce overcrowding.

washington — As North Korea's nuclear and missile programs become increasingly sophisticated, U.S.-based experts see the United States shifting the focus of its diplomacy from the pursuit of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula to one of deterrence.  Officially, the U.S. State Department insists that denuclearization remains the primary goal of the United States and South Korea, a policy that is unlikely to change regardless of the outcome of the November U.S. presidential election.  But in a series of email interviews with VOA Korean, more than half a dozen experts said they saw scant hope that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un could be persuaded to give up his growing nuclear arsenal and that the U.S. must concentrate instead on seeing that it is never used.   "I think, in practical terms, most Americans believe we have little choice at this point but to prioritize deterrence, at least for the foreseeable future," said Michael O'Hanlon, director of foreign policy research at the Brookings Institution in Washington, in an email to VOA Korean this week.   Robert Peters, research fellow for nuclear deterrence and missile defense at the Heritage Foundation, told VOA Korean via email that American politicians on both sides of the political spectrum are questioning whether North Korea would even consider abandoning its nuclear weapons.  "I think there is little appetite in either political party to seek denuclearization with North Korea, given the failures of the late 2010s," Peters said, referring to the collapse of the nuclear talks between former U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who met three times in 2018 and 2019.  "I think all sides recognize that Kim will not give up nuclear weapons at any price."   Shifting priorities  Negotiations over North Korea's nuclear program between Washington and Pyongyang have been nearly nonexistent since October 2019.  Peters added, "Bottom line — without question, the ground has shifted regarding how we think about the North Korean nuclear threat."   Gary Samore, former White House coordinator for arms control and weapons of mass destruction during the Obama administration, said Washington's shift in direction was inevitable.  "The U.S. government has been forced to place more emphasis on deterrence over denuclearization because Kim Jong Un has shown no willingness to negotiate a nuclear deal or even meet with the U.S. to discuss denuclearization," Samore told VOA Korean via email.  "Instead, North Korea has continued to advance its nuclear and missile program, and the U.S. has responded by strengthening military cooperation with the ROK and Japan, including joint efforts to enhance extended deterrence."  ROK stands for Republic of Korea, the official name of South Korea.   Denuclearization of North Korea is now viewed in Washington as a "mission impossible," said Bruce Bennett, a senior defense analyst at the RAND Corporation.  "I think it is fair to say that the U.S. government is now more focused on deterrence, which is largely succeeding, than on denuclearization," Bennett told VOA Korean via email.  "This change does not mean that the U.S. and ROK have abandoned trying to negotiate for denuclearization, which North Korea steadfastly refuses to do, but rather that our governments no longer see denuclearization as a viable solution to the North Korean nuclear weapon threat."  Markus Garlauskas, director of the Indo-Pacific Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council, told VOA Korean via email it was "fully appropriate" that Washington has been paying more attention in recent years to deterring North Korean aggression than attempting to negotiate denuclearization.  "I have long argued that Kim Jong Un does not intend to give up his nuclear weapons, that the nuclear weapons and missile capabilities of North Korea have grown and will continue to grow, meaning that we in the United States and its allies must adjust our strategy and policy accordingly," he said.  "We should not let hopes of negotiations get in the way of making tough decisions to improve deterrence," added Garlauskas, who served as the U.S. national intelligence officer for North Korea from 2014 to 2020.  He stressed, however, that "accepting the reality that North Korea is nuclear-armed and will remain so while under Kim Jong Un's leadership" does not mean that the U.S. should or would give up denuclearization as a goal.  "Our principled stand can and should remain that North Korea must comply with U.N. Security Council resolutions by halting its nuclear and ballistic missile programs and relinquishing its nuclear weapons, and I do think there is still broad agreement on that in Washington," Garlauskas said.  Commitment to denuclearization  Sydney Seiler, who until last year was the national intelligence officer for North Korea on the U.S. National Intelligence Council, said the U.S. should keep denuclearization as a priority, adding that "denuclearization and deterrence are not mutually exclusive."  "We have a responsibility on a day-by-day basis to deter provocative actions, coercion, blackmail and even possible invasion by North Korea and have been doing so for the last 70 years of armistice," said Seiler, who is now a senior adviser on Korean affairs at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.  "Successfully ensuring deterrence does not mean abandoning the goal of the denuclearization of North Korea," he told VOA Korean via email.  Robert Abrams, a retired U.S. Army four-star general who served as commander of U.S. Forces Korea from 2018 to 2021, emphasized that a strategy of deterrence should be clearly differentiated from the goal of denuclearization.  "The U.S. strategic deterrent was never about stopping the North Korean regime from developing their own nukes," Abrams told VOA Korean in an August 20 email.  "Sanctions and diplomatic efforts were intended to stop North Korea's nuclear program. The strategic deterrent is to deter North Korea from ever using nuclear weapons, and that has obviously been very successful."  Officially, Washington reiterates that denuclearization of North Korea remains a goal of the U.S.-South Korea alliance.  "The United States and the ROK continue to pursue the shared objective of the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," a State Department spokesperson told VOA Korean via email this week. "We believe that the only effective way to reduce nuclear threats on the peninsula is by curbing the proliferation of nuclear weapons."  But the spokesperson stressed that deterrence was also a crucial element of U.S. policy toward North Korea.  "At the same time, the United States and the ROK will continue working together to strengthen extended deterrence in the face of increasingly aggressive DPRK rhetoric about its nuclear weapons program," the spokesperson said.  He added that the 16-month-old Washington Declaration "reinforces the fact that any nuclear attack by [North Korea] against [South Korea] will be met with a swift, overwhelming and decisive response from the United States."  In April 2023, U.S. President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol adopted the Washington Declaration, which outlines a series of measures to deter North Korea's nuclear weapons use.

los angeles, california — Halloween has arrived earlier than ever at major U.S. theme parks, as operators such as Disney, Six Flags, and Universal Studios seek to expand their reach and build on consumers' love of spooky costumes and scares.  Theme park operators have introduced a range of attractions, live performances, merchandise and food and beverages in August — before summer has ended and well before the October 31 holiday — to take advantage of the surging popularity of Halloween. These holiday-themed efforts come at a time when domestic theme park attendance has slumped, following a surge in demand after COVID.   Edithann Ramey, chief marketing officer at Six Flags, told Reuters that the theme parks saw attendance gains and increases in guest spending in 2023 when it introduced attractions based on the horror films "SAW" and "The Conjuring."  The offerings were so successful that the theme park company has been investing more in Halloween experiences, Ramey said.  "It's become this time of the year that's grown in explosive ways," Ramey said. "It's become a billion-dollar industry in the last five years." Jakob Wahl, chief executive for the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, said Halloween has become one of the strongest selling points for parks that cater to young people and families.   "We actually see a growth every year in terms of Halloween events, not only North America, but across the world," Wahl said.   Disney starts season in August Walt Disney's parks started the Halloween season earlier than ever this year with "Mickey's Not So Scary Party" beginning on August 9 and running through the end of October.   The Oogie Boogie Bash, a separately ticketed event named for the "Nightmare Before Christmas" villain, sold out this year in 11 days, Disney said. Its popularity prompted the company to push the release date to August 25 from September 5.  "We've seen from our guests in years past that there's a demand for them to come and enjoy that season with us," said Tracy Halas, creative director of Disney Live Entertainment.   Six Flags also kicks off Halloween early this year, on September 14, with a new experience called "Saw: Legacy of Terror" celebrating the 20th anniversary of the "SAW" horror movie franchise.   Following the $8 billion merger of Six Flags and former rival Cedar Fair, which created the nation's largest amusement park operator, with 42 parks across 17 states, Six Flags is increasing its investment in Halloween.   That includes adding Hollywood-themed experiences to Six Flags Fright Fest based on Netflix's science fiction series, "Stranger Things," as well as horror films "Texas Chainsaw Massacre," and "The Conjuring." Universal adds 'Ghostbusters' haunted house  Comcast-owned Universal Studios 2024 Halloween Horror Nights in Orlando runs from August 30 to November 3, the longest season they've ever had. The company did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.  Universal is adding a "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire" haunted house to its Halloween programming alongside the first attraction inspired by horror franchise, "A Quiet Place."   Universal also aims to attract guests at Universal Studios Japan with a new 4D show in collaboration with the anime television series "Chainsaw Man."   Both Universal Orlando and Japan will add cast members dressed as the antagonists called Death Eaters to haunt Diagon Alley during Horror Nights.   Disney villain Cruella de Vil hosted a "Let's Get Wicked" celebration at Hong Kong Disneyland in 2022, which received an industry award and returns this year.  

A U.S. Supreme Court decision in June makes it easier for communities across the nation to fine and arrest people living and sleeping in public spaces. That has left many of America’s hundreds of thousands of homeless people in a difficult situation. Angelina Bagdasaryan looks at what California is doing to address the problem. Anne Rice narrates. Camera: Vazgen Varzhabetian

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.

Dubai, UAE — Suspected attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels targeted two ships in the Red Sea on Monday, authorities said, near where crews hope to salvage a tanker loaded with oil and still ablaze after another assault by the group. The attacks are believed to be the latest in the Iranian-backed rebels’ campaign that has disrupted the $1 trillion in goods that pass through the Red Sea each year over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip as well as halted some aid shipments to conflict-ravaged Sudan and Yemen. Meanwhile, the efforts to salvage the still-burning Sounion seek to head off the potential ecological disaster posed by its cargo of 1 million barrels of crude oil. In Monday's first assault, two projectiles hit the vessel, and a third explosion occurred near the ship, the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said. “Damage control is underway,” the UKMTO said. “There are no casualties onboard and the vessel is proceeding to its next port of call.” The timing of the attack and coordinates offered by the UKMTO corresponded to the reported path of the Panama-flagged oil tanker Blue Lagoon I, now traveling south through the Red Sea to an unlisted destination. The Blue Lagoon I was coming from Russia's port of Ust-Luga on the Baltic Sea and had been broadcasting that it had Russian-origin cargo on board. In recent months, the Blue Lagoon I traveled to India, which gets more than 40% of its oil imports from Russia despite Moscow's ongoing war on Ukraine and the international sanctions it faces over it. The Greek-based firm operating the ship could not be immediately reached. Later Monday morning, the UKMTO reported a second attack off the Houthi-controlled port city of Hodeida. The private security firm Ambrey said an aerial drone hit a merchant ship, though no damage or injuries were reported. The attack happened only a few kilometers from where the Blue Lagoon I attack occurred, Ambrey said. The Houthis did not immediately claim responsibility for the attacks. However, it can take the rebels hours or even days to acknowledge their assaults. The Houthis have targeted more than 80 vessels with missiles and drones since the war in Gaza started in October. They seized one vessel and sank two in the campaign that also killed four sailors. Other missiles and drones have either been intercepted by a United States-led coalition in the Red Sea or failed to reach their targets. The rebels maintain that they target ships linked to Israel, the U.S. or the U.K. to force an end to Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the conflict, including some bound for Iran. Meanwhile Monday, a salvage effort appeared to be under way to tow away the Sounion oil tanker, which was earlier hit by the Houthis and abandoned by its crew. Jamel Amer, an official with the Houthis, wrote online Saturday that tug boats assigned to pull the Sounion away should arrive Sunday. However, NASA fire satellites showed a blaze at the site of where the Sounion had been abandoned on Monday morning. The Sounion was carrying some 1 million barrels of oil when the Houthis initially attacked it on Aug. 21 with small arms fire, projectiles and a drone boat. A French destroyer operating as part of the European Union’s Operation Aspides rescued the Sounion’s crew of 25 Filipinos and Russians, as well as four private security personnel, after they abandoned the vessel and took them to nearby Djibouti. Last week, the Houthis released footage showing they planted explosives on board the Sounion and blew them up in a propaganda video, something the rebels have done before in their campaign.

Mbabane, Eswatini — Eswatini’s King Mswati III's plans to wed Nomcebo Zuma, the daughter of former South African President Jacob Zuma, as his 16th wife. Political analysts dismiss the union's geopolitical impact but see its potential in strengthening ties between the two leaders. A royal delegation from Eswatini, also known as Swaziland, visited Jacob Zuma’s homestead at Nkandla in July in accordance with tradition, marking the start of Mswati’s marriage proposal to Zuma. Political analyst Mandla Hlatshwayo sees this union as a strategic move, cementing economic and political interests. "President Zuma's role and capacity to be a major ambassador for Swaziland or the Swazi royal family is a noncontestable issue and has become even far more important in my view with the development or the emergence of MK [uMkhonto weSizwe] as a political party with President Zuma as its absolute president."  Sicelo Mngomezulu, a Swazi-born, South Africa-based lawyer, downplays the political impact of the marriage, arguing that Zuma's diminished role in South African politics renders him unable to influence Swazi politics. However, he foresees the marriage "strengthening bilateral relations between the king of Swaziland and the former president, as we know by now that the former president of South Africa and king are actually business partners in some shape or form ... and so, we expect that part of their relationship will actually blossom." Zuma is expected to go on trial on multiple corruption and racketeering charges next April. He has pleaded not guilty. Meanwhile, Mswati has been criticized for his controversial polygamy and lavish lifestyle. Former Eswatini lawmaker Mduduzi Simelane points out the king’s wedding will be expensive. "Firstly, this high-profile wedding, with its steep dowry of 100 cattle and R2 million [2 million rands, or USD $113,300] and all the other hidden costs associated with a wedding of this nature, puts a significant strain on Swaziland’s economy. Secondly, within royal circles, this union has also been met with internal opposition among the royal wives. ... This marriage will cause an uproar." Eswatini High Court lawyer Sibusiso Nhlabatsi agrees that whether seen as a strategic union of two powerful families or a personal decision to extend influence and financial gain, the king’s marriage to Nomcebo Zuma will have a lasting impact on the two nations’ ties, for better or worse.

Warsaw, Poland — Decades after they were killed, Poland held a state burial on Monday of the remains of more than 700 victims of Nazi Germany's World War II mass executions that were recently uncovered in the so-called Valley of Death in the country's north. The observances in the town of Chojnice began with a funeral Mass at the basilica, leading to an interment with military honors at a local cemetery of the victims of the Nazi crimes. The remains were contained in 188 small wooden coffins with ribbons in national white and red colors across them. Relatives of the victims, an aide to President Andrzej Duda, local authorities and top officials of the state National Remembrance Institute, which carried out and documented the exhumations, took part in the events. “We want to give back memory, we want to give back dignity to the victims of the crimes in Chojnice,” presiding Bishop Ryszard Kasyna said. Duda sent a message saying that the deaths weren't in vain and will always be held in the national memory, because the only reason they were killed by the Nazis was the fact that they were Polish. The remains of Polish civilians, including 218 asylum patients, were exhumed in 2021-2024 from a number of separate mass graves on the outskirts of Chojnice. Personal belongings and documents helped identify around 120 of the victims of an execution in early 1945. Among them were teachers, priests, police officers, forestry and postal workers, and landowners. Historians have established that the Nazis, shortly after invading Poland on Sept. 1, 1939, executed some of the civilians, in a drive to subdue the nation. The remains of another 500 victims are from the January 1945 execution, when the Germans were fleeing the area. Bullets and shells from handguns used by German forces were found in the graves. Experts will continue to comb the area for more mass graves of the so-called Pomerania Crime. Poland lost 6 million citizens, or a sixth of its population, of which 3 million were Jewish, in the war. The country also suffered huge losses to its infrastructure, industry and agriculture.

BAKU — Azerbaijan's ruling party retained its majority in Sunday's snap parliamentary election, preliminary results showed, in the country's first vote since staging a lightning offensive a year ago to recapture the breakaway territory of Karabakh. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), a rights watchdog, criticized the vote, saying it had fallen well short of democratic standards. President Ilham Aliyev's party was on course to win 68 out of 125 seats in parliament, according to preliminary results from the Central Election Commission reported by the TASS news agency. It had 69 seats in the outgoing parliament. Just over 2 million people in the energy-rich nation cast their ballots, bringing the turnout at the time of the close of polling stations to 37.3%, said Central Election Commission chief Mazahir Panakhov. Exit polls suggested dozens of other seats would go to candidates who are nominally independent of political parties but in practice back the government as well as to minor pro-government parties. OSCE election monitors said the election campaign had been "barely visible". "The September 1 early parliamentary elections took place in a restrictive political and legal environment that does not enable genuine pluralism and resulted in a contest devoid of competition," the OSCE mission said in a statement. Karabakh It was the first parliamentary vote since Azerbaijan recaptured Karabakh, where ethnic Armenians had enjoyed de facto independence for three decades since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Aliyev, in power since 2003, moved swiftly to capitalise on that victory and won a fifth presidential term in February with more than 92% of the vote, according to election authorities. Armenia accused Azerbaijan of ethnic cleansing in Karabakh after almost all of its more than 100,000 ethnic Armenian residents fled the area. Azerbaijan denied that allegation. It is rebuilding the region and resettling it with Azerbaijanis who fled during a war with Armenia in the 1990s. The Central Election Commission said about 42,000 people in Karabakh were registered to vote on Sunday.  

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.

Beijing — China rolled out the red carpet on Monday for leaders from across Africa, seeking to deepen ties with the resource-rich continent it has furnished with billions in loans for infrastructure and development. Beijing has said this week's China-Africa forum will be its largest diplomatic event since the COVID-19 pandemic, with more than a dozen leaders and delegations expected. China has sent hundreds of thousands of workers to Africa to build its megaprojects while tapping the continent's vast natural resources including copper, gold, lithium and rare earth minerals.   Its huge loans have funded infrastructure but also stoked controversy by saddling countries with huge debts. China, the world's No. 2 economy, is Africa's largest trading partner, with bilateral trade hitting $167.8 billion in the first half of this year, according to Chinese state media. Security is tight across Beijing, with roads and bus stops bedecked with banners declaring China and Africa are "joining hands for a brighter future." Among the leaders in the capital is South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who arrived early on Monday for a four-day trip during which he will also visit the southern tech powerhouse city of Shenzhen.   Trade between China and South Africa soared to $38.8 billion in 2023, according to the South African presidency. Ramaphosa met Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Monday, state news agency Xinhua said. China and South Africa are expected to sign a number of agreements focused on "enhancing economic cooperation and the implementation of technical cooperation," Ramaphosa's office said. Expanding influence Xi also met Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi on Monday, state news agency Xinhua said. China has a significant presence in the DRC, where it is keen on tapping vast natural resources including copper, gold, lithium and rare earth minerals.   But it has grappled with security issues there. DRC sources told AFP in July that a militia attack on a mining site in gold-rich Ituri province killed at least four Chinese nationals. Leaders of Djibouti -- home to China's first overseas military base -- as well as Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria, Mali and others, also arrived in Beijing on Sunday and Monday. Beijing's loans to African nations last year were their highest in five years, research by the Chinese Loans to Africa Database found. Top borrowers were Angola, Ethiopia, Egypt, Nigeria and Kenya. However, the data showed that loans were well down compared to highs in 2016, when they totaled almost $30 billion. The loans were also increasingly to local banks, researchers said, helping to avoid "exposing Chinese creditors to credit risks associated with those countries". Analysts say an economic slowdown in China has made Beijing increasingly reluctant to shell out big sums. This week's summit comes as African leaders eye mounting great power competition between the United States and China over resources and influence on the continent.  Washington has warned against what it sees as Beijing's malign influence. The White House said in 2022 China sought to "advance its own narrow commercial and geopolitical interests (and) undermine transparency and openness."

Manila — A storm set off landslides and unleashed pounding rains that flooded many northern Philippine areas overnight into Monday, leaving at least nine people dead and prompting authorities to suspend classes and government work in the densely populated capital region.  Tropical Storm Yagi was blowing 115 kilometers northeast of Infanta town in Quezon province, southeast of Manila, by midday on Monday with sustained winds of up to 75 kilometers per hour and gusts of up to 90 kilometers per hour, according to the weather bureau.  The storm, locally called Enteng, was moving northwestward at 15 kilometers per hour near the eastern coast of the main northern region of Luzon, where the weather bureau warned of possible flash floods and landslides in mountainous provinces.  A landslide hit two small shanties on a hillside in Antipolo city on Monday in Rizal province just to the west of the capital, killing at least three people, including a pregnant woman, disaster-mitigation officer Enrilito Bernardo Jr.  Four other villagers drowned in swollen creeks, he said.  National police spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo told reporters without elaborating that two other people died and 10 others were injured in landslides set off by the storm in the central Philippines.  Two residents died in stormy weather in Naga city in eastern Camarines Sur province, where floodwaters swamped several communities, police said. Authorities were verifying if the deaths, including one caused by electrocution, were weather-related.  Storm warnings were raised in a large swath of Luzon, the country’s most populous region, including in metropolitan Manila, where schools at all levels and most government work were suspended due to the storm.  Along the crowded banks of Marikina River in the eastern fringes of the capital, a siren was sounded in the morning to warn thousands of residents to brace for evacuation in case the river water continues to rise and overflows due to heavy rains.  In the provinces of Cavite, south of Manila, and Northern Samar, in the country's central region, coast guard personnel used rubber boats and ropes to rescue and evacuate dozens of villagers who were engulfed in waist- to chest-high floods, the coast guard said.  Sea travel was temporarily halted in several ports affected by the storm, stranding more than 3,300 ferry passengers and cargo workers, and several domestic flights were suspended due to the stormy weather.  Downpours have also caused water to rise to near-spilling level in Ipo dam in Bulacan province, north of Manila, prompting authorities to schedule a release of a minimal amount of water later Monday that they say would not endanger villages downstream.  About 20 typhoons and storms batter the Philippines each year. The archipelago lies in the “Pacific Ring of Fire,” a region along most of the Pacific Ocean rim where many volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur, making the Southeast Asian nation one of the world’s most disaster-prone.  In 2013, Typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest recorded tropical cyclones in the world, left more than 7,300 people dead or missing, flattened entire villages, swept ships inland and displaced more than 5 million people in the central Philippines. 

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Beijing — Swathes of China logged the hottest August on record last month, the weather service said, as Japanese authorities announced that 2024 had been its warmest summer since records began.  China is the leading emitter of the greenhouse gas emissions scientists say are driving global climate change.  Beijing has pledged to bring planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions to a peak by 2030 and to net zero by 2060.  Its weather service said in an article published Sunday that average air temperatures last month in eight provinces, regions and cities "ranked the hottest for the same period" since records began.  They included the megacity of Shanghai, the provinces of Jiangsu, Hebei, Hainan, Jilin, Liaoning and Shandong as well as the northwest region of Xinjiang, the weather service said.  A further five provinces chalked up their second-hottest August, while seven more endured their third-hottest.  "Looking back at the past month, most parts of China have experienced a hotter summer than in previous years," the weather service said.  The major population centers of Shanghai, Hangzhou and Chongqing also saw more "high temperature days" -- typically declared when the mercury breaches 35 degrees Celsius -- than in any August since records began.  Although the heat is expected to recede across much of the north as autumn begins, "it is still too early to end completely," the weather service said.  Climate scientists have already predicted that 2024 will be the hottest year on record for the Earth because of a warming planet.  The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said July was the second warmest on record books going back to 1940, only slightly cooler than July 2023.  Extreme heat has seared much of East Asia this summer, with Asian neighbor Japan saying on Monday that its long-term average temperature between June and August was 1.76 degrees Celsius above the standard value, the joint highest since statistics started being kept in 1898.  Rising global temperatures also make extreme weather more frequent and intense, and China has seen a summer of extreme weather, from heatwaves across much of the north and west to devastating floods in central and southern regions.  Chinese weather authorities said July was the country's hottest month since records began, state media reported, as extreme temperatures persist across large parts of the globe.  Last month was "the hottest July since complete observations began in 1961, and the hottest single month in the history of observation," state broadcaster CCTV said, citing weather authorities.  The average air temperature in China last month was 23.21 degrees Celsius, exceeding the previous record of 23.17 C in 2017, CCTV reported the weather authorities as saying. 

Paris — Refugee Paralympic Team triathlete Ibrahim Al Hussein said Monday he had come to "give a message of hope" after taking part in his third Paralympic Games.   Born in Syria, Al Hussein fled the civil war in his homeland, first seeking refuge in Turkey before settling in Greece in 2014.   But prior to his managing to flee Syria, the future Paralympian was injured during the war and lost his right foot as well as the joint of his left foot in 2012.   "I came to give a message to everyone, a message of hope," said Al Hussein after completing his race at the Paris Paralympics.   "Everyone, from where we are in the world, is going through a difficult time. Everyone can reach their destination.   "With serious work, with hard work, everyone can achieve their goal. It's not just the athletes. Everyone can achieve their goal."   Al Hussein overcame the hardships of war, injury and displacement to participate in para-swimming at Rio 2016 and then at the Tokyo Games three years ago.   Now in his third Paralympics, the 35-year-old competed in the triathlon, finishing sixth in the men's PTS3 race -- the category for athletes with significant disabilities.   "I am very happy. It was a very good result for me. It was my goal to be in the top six," said Al Hussein after recording a time of 1hr 12min 34sec.   "I want to thank the International Paralympic Committee for giving me this opportunity," he added.   "And I want to thank the UN Refugee Agency for believing in me." 

New Delhi — Intense monsoon rains and floods in India's southern states have killed at least 25 people, with thousands rescued and taken to relief camps, disaster officials said Monday. At least 16 people have been killed in Telangana state, and nine in neighboring Andhra Pradesh in the past two days. "Lots of houses have been damaged as well," Y. Nagi Reddy, director general of Telangana's disaster response and fire service, told AFP, noting there had 400 millimeters (15.7 inches) of rainfall within the past 24 hours. Around 3,800 people have been rescued in Telangana and moved to relief camps. India's air force said Monday it had flown in more than 200 rescue officers and 30 tons of emergency aid to both states. Rains cause widespread destruction every year, but experts say climate change is shifting weather patterns and increasing the number of extreme weather events. Last week, at least 28 people were killed over three days in the western state of Gujarat. The northeastern state of Tripura was also hit by floods and landslides in August, with more than 20 people killed. In neighboring Bangladesh, downriver from India, floods killed at least 40 people over the same period, with nearly 300,000 residents taking refuge in emergency shelters.

Oslo — Electric car sales in Norway took a 94% share of the market in August — a new world record — statistics showed Monday, as sales in the rest of Europe stagnate.   Boosted by the Tesla Model Y, which accounted for 18.8% of sales, and to a lesser extent Hyundai's Kona and Nissan's Leaf, electric vehicles made up 94.3% of new car registrations, the Norwegian Road Federation (OFV) said.   Norwegians bought 10,480 new EVs in August, bringing the total to 68,435 since the start of the year.   Elsewhere in Europe high prices and insufficient infrastructure have hampered sales of EVs, whereas sales of hybrid models, which combine fossil fuel engines with electric batteries, have increased.   The Scandinavian country, a major oil and gas producer, has set a target to sell only zero-emission vehicles by 2025, 10 years ahead of the EU goal.   The country offers generous tax benefits which make electric models competitively priced.   "No country in the world comes close to Norway in the electric car race," OFV director Oyvind Solberg Thorsen said in a statement.   "If this trend continues, we will soon be on our way to achieving our goal of 100% zero-emission cars by 2025," he said.   By comparison, electric cars represented 12.1% of new car sales in the EU in July, behind petrol cars at 33.4%, full hybrids at 32% and diesel cars at 12.6%, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association.