World | WPN World People News

On the 11th, Japan’s Kyushu region was hit by an unusually severe rainstorm, with Kumamoto Prefecture’s Tamana City recording more than 370 millimeters of rainfall in just six hours — the highest total ever observed in the area. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) issued an emergency heavy rain special warning, rapidly expanding the alert zone to Yatsushiro City, Uki City, and surrounding areas. Authorities urged residents to take the highest level of evacuation precautions, warning that “there is an imminent threat to life.” Kumamoto Prefecture’s Disaster Response Headquarters was established in the early hours of the 11th, and as of 11 a.m., 743 households — a total of 1,694 people — had been evacuated. Multiple urban roads were submerged, cars stranded, buildings inundated, and basement flooding widely reported. Even the famous Shimotori covered shopping street was engulfed by floodwaters.

The torrential downpour triggered multiple mudslides and flash floods, leaving at least one person dead and several others missing. In Kōsa Town, a vehicle carrying evacuees was struck by a landslide — a mother and her two children were rescued, but the father remains missing. In Misato Town, a home was buried by debris, trapping residents who remained conscious. Tamana City also received reports of people being swept away by floodwaters. Meanwhile, in Fukutsu City, Fukuoka Prefecture, the Saigo River overflowed, sweeping away a man and a woman in their 60s, with search operations still underway. Rescue efforts have been hampered by blocked roads, making evacuation extremely difficult.

The JMA reported the formation of linear rainbands over Kumamoto and Nagasaki, with heavy rains expected to continue through the 12th. Multiple rivers in northern Kyushu and Yamaguchi Prefecture have already exceeded flood danger levels, and a level-3 equivalent flood warning has been issued for the Nibo River in Yamaguchi City. JR Kyushu announced the suspension of all Shinkansen services on the 11th, leaving large numbers of passengers stranded at stations. The JMA urged residents in hillside, riverside, and low-lying areas to evacuate immediately. If roads are impassable, they advised moving to higher floors in nearby buildings and taking protective measures to maximize safety. Confronted with yet another extreme weather disaster, Japanese society is once again facing a severe test.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the 10th stressed that the Kyiv government “highly values and fully supports” the joint statement issued by several European leaders to promote peace in Ukraine and safeguard the interests of both Ukraine and Europe.

According to Reuters, the leaders of France, Italy, Germany, Poland, the United Kingdom, Finland, and the European Commission on the 9th expressed their welcome for U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to help end the Russia–Ukraine war, while also emphasizing the need to maintain pressure on Russia and provide Ukraine with security guarantees.

In a post on social media platform X, Zelensky said the war must end in a just manner. He thanked all the nations and peoples standing with Ukraine and fighting for peace, stressing that Ukraine is protecting vital security interests for all of Europe. He also extended individual thanks to French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Finnish President Alexander Stubb for their support of Ukraine.

Trump is scheduled to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on the 15th of this month, claiming that the talks could lead to an agreement to end the three-and-a-half-year-long conflict. However, Zelensky and European allies have made it clear that any proposal requiring Ukraine to cede large swathes of territory would only serve to fuel Russia’s expansionist ambitions.

Jim Lovell, a renowned American astronaut, passed away on the 7th at the age of 97. He was best known as the commander of the famous Apollo 13 mission, which was later adapted into a film in which Tom Hanks portrayed him.

NASA announced that Lovell died on the 7th in Lake Forest, Illinois. The agency said his steadfast character and courage helped America reach the Moon and turned what could have been a tragedy into a success. “We mourn his passing and honor his remarkable achievements,” NASA stated.

Lovell commanded the historic Apollo 13 lunar mission in 1970. When the spacecraft was about 200,000 miles from Earth, an oxygen tank in the service module exploded, putting the three astronauts’ lives in grave danger. The crew used the lunar module as a makeshift lifeboat and, after a tense three-day journey, successfully returned to Earth. The mission became known as NASA’s “most successful failure,” and Lovell’s calm report to Mission Control — “Houston, we’ve had a problem” — became an iconic phrase.

In 1995, the film Apollo 13 was released, with Tom Hanks playing Lovell. In the movie’s closing scenes, after the astronauts’ safe return to Earth, the captain of the USS Iwo Jima — the amphibious assault ship sent to recover them — was portrayed in a cameo by Lovell himself.

On Instagram, Tom Hanks mourned his passing: “Some men dare to challenge, dare to dream, and lead others to places we cannot reach alone. Jim Lovell was such a man. He explored space longer and farther than anyone else on Earth.”

Lovell was a member of America’s early space program, flying on multiple space missions. With over 715 hours in space, he once held the record for the longest total time spent in space and still holds the record for the farthest distance humans have traveled from Earth. Despite flying on two lunar missions, he never set foot on the Moon. Following the Apollo 13 mission, Lovell was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1970, retired from the U.S. Navy and NASA in 1973, was inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in 1993, and received the Congressional Space Medal of Honor from President Bill Clinton in 1995.

On August 8, U.S. President Donald Trump hosted a peace summit between Azerbaijan and Armenia at the White House. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a peace agreement, officially ending 35 years of conflict and hostility between the two nations. Following the summit, both leaders praised President Trump for his contributions to ending the conflict and announced plans to jointly nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Since the Soviet era in the 1980s, Armenia and Azerbaijan have been in a state of opposition due to the territorial dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh. The two countries have fought two wars over the region. In September 2020, war broke out again over the control of Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan utilized a large number of suicide drones during the conflict and successfully regained control of the region. The prolonged fighting over the years resulted in thousands of casualties. Although several world leaders attempted to broker peace, none were successful until Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, visited Azerbaijan earlier this year. Continuous negotiations and mediation led to the eventual agreement.

Trump stated that the peace agreement signed by Armenia and Azerbaijan commits both parties to cease hostilities and establish diplomatic relations based on mutual respect for territorial integrity. The agreement includes expanding cooperation in energy, trade, and artificial intelligence, as well as opening a transportation corridor connecting Azerbaijan with its exclave, Nakhchivan. This corridor, which spans 32 kilometers through Armenian territory, will be developed by private enterprises to include railway lines, oil and gas pipelines, and fiber-optic networks. It will be named the *Trump International Road of Peace and Prosperity*.

In addition, the United States signed agreements with both Armenia and Azerbaijan granting the U.S. exclusive development rights to a strategic transit corridor through the South Caucasus. The agreements also lift restrictions on U.S.-Azerbaijan defense cooperation. Furthermore, the U.S. will sign bilateral agreements with both countries to further promote infrastructure development in transportation and energy.

Media reports indicate that U.S. President Donald Trump has announced the imposition of tariffs as high as 50% on imports from Brazil, effective August 1st. The move has sparked strong dissatisfaction from Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who condemned the U.S. for undermining the international order. Lula stated that he would work with other BRICS countries, including China and India, to formulate a joint response and counter what he described as American trade bullying.

According to reports, Trump justified the high tariffs on Brazil by citing political persecution of his ally, former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. In early 2023, Bolsonaro’s supporters stormed Brazil’s Congress and Supreme Court in a violent uprising. As a result, Bolsonaro remains under multiple criminal investigations. On August 4th, Brazil's Supreme Court ordered Bolsonaro to be placed under house arrest, banning him from going out, using a mobile phone, or receiving visitors.

The report also mentioned that Lula strongly denounced U.S. interference in Brazil's sovereignty and declared that he had no intention of backing down. He said that negotiating with Trump at this point was meaningless. Lula plans to join forces with leaders of other BRICS nations, including India and China, to explore collective responses to the U.S. tariffs. He is also considering working with other countries to file a joint complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO).

On July 30, a powerful magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck Russia’s Far Eastern Kamchatka Peninsula, ranking as the sixth-strongest earthquake ever recorded globally. The quake caused dramatic crustal deformation and a rare natural phenomenon: a "chain eruption" of seven volcanoes. According to observations by the Russian Academy of Sciences, parts of the southern epicentral region shifted nearly 2 meters (about 6.5 feet) southeast, an intensity comparable to the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.

The earthquake was caused by the collision and locking of the Eurasian and Pacific tectonic plates, releasing pressure that had built up over many years. This led to a massive horizontal displacement at the southern tip of the peninsula. Scientists noted that this event is a classic example of the "elastic rebound theory," where intense plate movement can cause the Earth's surface to shift several meters in an instant. Preliminary measurements recorded a maximum displacement of approximately 6.5 feet (around 2 meters), far exceeding the normal annual rate of movement, which is typically about 1.5 centimeters. Such crustal changes are expected to continue for days or even weeks until tectonic activity stabilizes.

The earthquake-induced crustal ruptures and pressure release also triggered simultaneous volcanic activity. The Institute of Volcanology and Seismology at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Far East Branch reported that seven volcanoes in the Kamchatka region erupted one after another following the quake. This marks the first time in nearly 300 years that such a large-scale and rare volcanic awakening has occurred in the area—almost like a “parade of volcanic eruptions.”

The Philippine military announced on August 4 that naval vessels from India and the Philippines have launched their first-ever joint patrol in the disputed waters of the South China Sea. The two-day patrol operation began yesterday, with India deploying three warships, which are currently conducting maritime replenishment activities.

According to foreign media reports, this development comes as Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. departs for New Delhi, India’s capital, where he is expected to meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The two leaders are set to discuss and possibly sign a number of agreements spanning legal, cultural, and technological fields. However, international attention is focused on whether the two countries will formalize a defense cooperation agreement.

In recent years, due to frequent tensions in the South China Sea, the Philippines has actively strengthened military ties with various allied nations. Last year, the Philippines purchased BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles from India. These missiles can reach speeds of up to 3,450 kilometers per hour.

India is a member of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), along with the United States, Japan, and Australia, working together to promote regional security cooperation. Beijing has criticized the Quad as a strategic effort to contain China.

Migrant boat disasters continue to occur with alarming frequency. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that a vessel carrying 154 Ethiopian migrants capsized on August 3 in the Gulf of Aden, off the coast of Yemen’s southern Abyan province. At least 68 people died and 74 are missing. According to reports, 54 bodies were washed ashore in Khanfa district, while another 14 were recovered by rescue teams and transported to Zinjibar Hospital. Only 12 migrants are known to have survived. Authorities have presumed the remaining missing individuals dead.

Abdusattor Esoev, head of the IOM’s mission in Yemen, noted a sharp rise in deaths and disappearances due to multiple recent shipwrecks in Yemeni waters. He warned that smuggling networks have grown increasingly reckless, forcing migrants onto dangerous sea routes using overcrowded and unseaworthy boats to cross the Red Sea or Gulf of Aden. Local security officials also confirmed that numerous bodies were found along a large stretch of coastline, describing the scene as harrowing.

The IOM stated that irregular migration from Africa to Yemen remains significant despite over a decade of civil war in the country. Migrants from East Africa and the Horn of Africa continue to pour into Yemen in hopes of reaching Gulf nations for work opportunities. According to IOM data, more than 60,000 people have arrived in Yemen in 2024—a slight decrease from 2023, likely due to heightened coastal patrols. The organization has called on the international community to strengthen surveillance of illegal migration routes to prevent further loss of innocent lives.

Just two days after the Ukrainian parliament passed legislation to restore the independence of its anti-corruption institutions, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) uncovered a major corruption case involving military procurement. The case centers on contracts for military drones and electronic warfare systems, in which prices were deliberately inflated to extract kickbacks of up to 30%. Four individuals have already been detained, including a sitting member of parliament, two local government officials, and several members of the National Guard. The investigation is ongoing and continues to expand.

According to CNN, NABU and SAPO issued a joint statement on social media, revealing that the procurement contracts were signed with suppliers at deliberately inflated prices, allowing officials to skim kickbacks from the funds. The statement noted: “At the core of this corruption scheme was the signing of government contracts with suppliers at intentionally inflated prices.” While the names of those involved have not been publicly disclosed, Ukraine’s Ministry of Internal Affairs has confirmed that the implicated National Guard personnel have been suspended.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated on Telegram that there will be “zero tolerance” for any form of corruption and emphasized the need for government agencies to work together to uncover and prosecute wrongdoing fairly and in accordance with the law. Zelensky had previously sparked controversy and protests for attempting to place anti-corruption agencies under the control of the Prosecutor General. He later withdrew the proposal and supported revised legislation to restore their independence — a move welcomed by the European Union. EU officials have reiterated that preserving the independence of anti-corruption bodies is a key requirement for Ukraine’s bid to join the bloc.

The journey began at Fort Charlotte, a historic fortress perched atop a mountain, offering sweeping views of Kingstown and the majestic Caribbean Sea.