Category: 2. World

Older adults often don’t realize how vulnerable they are to extreme heat and most aren’t prepared for long periods of hot weather, according to a review of more than 40 studies.

In the review, researchers found that most studies focused on how older adults react when heat waves strike, such as staying hydrated or moving to cooler locations.

But there is less research on how they plan for prolonged heat events, which may be evidence of low-risk perception, according to the researchers.

Extreme heat is not often viewed as a weather disaster like hurricanes or floods, but it should be. It is not something that is visible, which is why it is often called the ‘silent killer.’”

Smitha Rao, co-author of the study and assistant professor of social work, The Ohio State University

The study, published today (Aug. 20, 2025) in the journal PLOS Climate, involved a rapid systematic review of 41 studies about extreme heat and older adults published globally from 2010 to 2024.

Most of the studies – 29 in total – focused on individual coping strategies, such as hydration, environmental adjustments or relocation to cooler spots. One study examined heat preparedness.

“I thought it was interesting that very few studies focused on preparedness,” said co-author Fiona Doherty, a PhD graduate of Ohio State who is now an assistant professor of social work at the University of Tennessee.

“Risk awareness seems to be quite low among older adults and their caregivers.”

The issue has gained increasing importance in recent years for several reasons. For one, older adults are one of the fastest-growing age groups, and people aged 65 and over will outnumber children under the age of five by 2050.

Also, countries worldwide experienced record-breaking heat in 2023 and 2024, with temperatures expected to surge over the next few years. Older adults and their caregivers may not be adequately ready to face these changes, according to the researchers.

“We tend to react based on past experiences in our lives and the reality has changed,” said co-author Holly Dabelko-Schoeny, professor of social work at Ohio State.

“The things that worked in the past to deal with heat waves are not going to work in this new reality. That goes for those who deliver services to older adults and well as to the individuals themselves.”

While the times have changed, Rao said another important point is that individuals themselves go through transformations as they age.

“We may not realize that our bodies’ reactions to heat changes as we age, and older adults and their caregivers may not realize that some of the medicines they are taking or medical conditions they have may make them prone to overheating,” Rao said.

Many heat-related deaths for older adults happen in their own homes and at night, again indicating that they may not have known they were in danger, she said.

In addition to the 29 studies that focused mostly on individual coping strategies, seven focused on service delivery to older adults facing extreme heat, and sometimes other weather disasters. Doherty said that often more attention was paid to protecting individuals from extreme cold, rather than extreme heat, showing again the lack of adequate risk awareness.

The fewest number of studies they found had to do with policy actions to protect older adults. That’s an area that needs more attention to make sure individuals are prepared before an extreme heat event occurs, according to the researchers.

That may involve engaging older adults, learning their specific needs, and tailoring interventions. This could include the weatherization of their homes and providing cooling options for those who can’t afford them.

Another example: In Columbus, the Central Ohio Transit Authority recently changed its policies to make its buses free for everyone during extreme heat events, to reduce heat exposure and ensuring that young and old alike can travel without cost to cooling centers if needed.

“It is good to see policy changes like this that are responding to what our new normal looks like,” said Marisa Sheldon, director of the Age-Friendly Innovation Center at Ohio State’s College of Social Work.

In a related article published recently in the journal Environmental Communication, Sheldon and some of the co-authors of the PLOS Climate study explored preferences and sources of extreme weather information among older adults, especially those who are culturally and linguistically diverse.

“One compelling finding from both studies was the importance of relationship building,” Doherty said.

“Not only connecting neighbors, but also learning what information sources older adults trust and building trust between individuals and community agencies so that community members follow expert guidance and change their behavior when necessary.”

Anthony Traver, a PhD graduate of Ohio State, now at the University of Kentucky, was also a co-author of the PLOS Climate and Environmental Communication studies. Yiran Zhan and Emma Rademacher of Ohio State were co-authors of the Environmental Communication study.

The Environmental Communication study was supported by Columbus City Council and the Central Ohio Agency on Aging.

NEW YORK CITY: Daesh remains an active and dangerous presence in the Middle East, the UN warned on Wednesday, as the group works to rebuild its operations in Syria and Iraq, even after the loss of senior leaders.

Vladimir Voronkov, the UN’s counterterrorism chief, told the Security Council that Daesh has maintained its operational capacity in the region and continues to exploit instability, especially in the Badia region of Syria and parts of the country under the control of Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham.

“Daesh continues to exploit security gaps, engage in covert operations and incite sectarian tensions in Syria,” Voronkov said as he presented Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s 21st report on the threat posed by the terrorist organization.

The group also remains active in Iraq, he added, where it seeks to destabilize local authorities and reclaim influence.

The humanitarian and security situations in northeastern Syria remain “deeply concerning,” Voronkov warned, particularly in the camps and detention facilities that hold suspected terrorists and their families.

“The secretary-general’s concern about stockpiles of weapons falling into the hands of terrorists has, unfortunately, materialized,” he said.

In Afghanistan, Daesh-Khorasan continues to pose one of the most serious terrorist threats to Central Asia and beyond, through ongoing attacks against civilians, minority groups and foreign nationals, while leveraging dissatisfaction with the de facto authorities.

Despite the ongoing threats in the Middle East, Africa remains the region experiencing the highest intensity of Daesh-related activity, Voronkov said, with violence escalating in West Africa and the Sahel.

There has been a resurgence of Daesh in the Greater Sahara, while Daesh-West Africa Province has emerged as a key source of propaganda that is attracting foreign fighters, primarily from within the region.

In Libya, arrests have revealed the logistical and financial networks linked to the group and connected to the Sahel. In Somalia, a large-scale Daesh attack in Puntland early this year involving foreign fighters prompted a military counteroffensive that killed 200 militants and resulted in more than 150 arrests.

“Though weakened, Daesh still benefits from regional support networks,” Voronkov said.

Assistant Secretary-General Natalia Gherman, executive director of the Counter-Terrorism Committee’s Executive Directorate, or CTED, echoed the concerns. She noted that Daesh-Somalia’s role as a global logistical hub has been growing recently, though counteroffensives had degraded some of its operational capabilities.

Daesh continues to exploit instability in Africa, she added, where more than half of the world’s terrorism-related fatalities now occur. In the Lake Chad Basin region, for example, the group has received foreign money, drones, and expertise on improvised explosive devices.

Gherman also highlighted the growing use by Daesh of emerging technologies and financial innovations, as terrorist groups increasingly leverage encrypted platforms, artificial intelligence, and cross-border financial systems to raise funds, spread propaganda and recruit new members.

In response to these evolving threats, CTED has visited countries across Europe and Africa, including Somalia, Chad, Cameroon, Hungary and Malta, to assess local capacities and provide tailored support.

The EU-UN Global Terrorism Threats Facility has helped implement legislative reforms and capacity building in countries such as Iraq, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria and Tajikistan.

Voronkov urged member states to invest more in long-term strategies for prevention, rather than focusing only on killing or capturing the leaders of terrorist groups. He said effective counterterrorism efforts must address the root causes of radicalization, while complying with the requirements of international law.

He raised concerns in particular about detention camps in northeastern Syria, where tens of thousands of people, mostly women and children, continue to be held in unsafe and undignified conditions, risking further radicalization.

Gherman said that CTED is helping states address such challenges through the adoption of principles for tackling the use of drones, financial tech and artificial intelligence for terrorism purposes.

Despite the geopolitical and resource-related constraints, both of the officials emphasized the need for sustained international collaboration on the issue.

“The persistence of the threat posed by Daesh, despite national and international efforts, underscores the urgency of sustained global counterterrorism cooperation,” said Voronkov.

Denmark is to stop charging VAT on books in an attempt to get more people reading.

At 25%, the country’s tax rate on books is the highest in the world, a policy the government believes is contributing to a growing “reading crisis”.

The culture minister, Jakob Engel-Schmidt, announced on Wednesday that the government would propose in its budget bill that the tax on books be removed.

The move is expected to cost 330m kroner (£38m) a year.

“This is something that I, as minister of culture, have worked for, because I believe that we must put everything at stake if we are to end the reading crisis that has unfortunately been spreading in recent years,” Engel-Schmidt told the Ritzau news agency .

“I am incredibly proud. It is not every day that one succeeds in convincing colleagues that such massive money should be spent on investing in the consumption and culture of the Danes.”

Other Nordic countries also charge a standard rate of 25% VAT, but it does not apply to books. VAT on books in Finland is 14%, in Sweden 6% and in Norway zero.

Sweden reduced its VAT on books in 2001, resulting in a rise in book sales, but analysis found they were bought by existing readers.

“It is also about getting literature out there,” said Engel-Schmidt. “That is why we have already allocated money for strengthened cooperation between the country’s public libraries and schools, so that more children can be introduced to good literature.”

A total of 8.3m books were sold in shops and online in Denmark in 2023, according to the national statistics office. The country’s population is just over 6 million.

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The most popular genre was books for the very young, picture books and activity books and the second-most popular was crime, thrillers and suspense novels.

If prices do not fall as a result of the measure, Engel-Schmidt said he would reconsider whether it was the right course of action.

“I will of course monitor how prices develop. If it turns out that abolishing VAT only means that publishers’ profits grow and prices do not fall, then we must consider whether it was the right thing to do,” he said.

Recent attacks have been particularly devastating in the Az Zaytoun neighbourhood, where airstrikes, artillery shelling and gunfire are continuous and intense, causing a high number of civilian casualties and the large-scale destruction of residential buildings and public facilities, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, in the Occupied Palestinian Territory said in a statement.

Since 8 August, the office has recorded 54 attacks on residential buildings and entire blocks in Gaza City, killing 87 Palestinians, including at least 25 children and entire families.

It also recorded attacks on shelters for internally displaced people, including tents and schools, killing at least 14.

These casualty figures “indicate that the systematic destruction of Gaza City is already underway,” the statement said.

However, OHCHR stressed that these devastating figures are only a portion of the actual toll due to underreporting in such dire circumstances.

Impact of attacks

As a result of recent attacks, hundreds of families have been forced to flee, with nowhere safe to go amid dire humanitarian conditions across the Gaza Strip.

However, those who remain trapped are completely cut off from food, water and medical supplies.

OHCHR emphasised that “Israel’s reported decision to take full control of Gaza City and to forcibly displace its population will lead to mass killings of civilians and destruction of infrastructure vital to the survival of the population.”

The office is seeing the Israeli military repeat means of warfare that caused mass killings, serious injuries, forced displacement, arbitrary detention, starvation and extensive destruction in previous operations in North Gaza and Rafah.

To reportedly prepare for the offensive, the Israeli military has repeatedly called on Palestinians to move to Al Mawasi, west of Khan Younis.

However, Israel has repeatedly struck tents of the displaced in Al Mawasi, where people are struggling to survive with barely any access to food, water and other necessities.

Violations of international law

Under international law, Israel must not destroy civilian property unless it is rendered necessary by military operations. Yet, the widespread destruction of residential buildings in Gaza City is not seen as an imperative military necessity.

Additionally, by forcing the entire population of Gaza City and those remaining in North Gaza into displacement – with no shelter, food or medical provisions and no indication for allowing them to return to their homes in the future – OHCHR is concerned that these are grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

Thus, the office is urging States party to the Geneva Conventions to follow their obligation “to exert maximum pressure on Israel to immediately halt this offensive, which risks triggering an unprecedented, life-threatening humanitarian crisis and permanently extinguishing the Palestinian presence in Gaza’s largest urban area.”

Worst-case famine

Meanwhile, the World Food Programme (WFP) welcomed Japan’s life-saving contribution of 500 million yen ($3.3 million) to provide emergency food and nutrition assistance to Palestinians as they face severe food insecurity.

Adding to the assistance, on 4 August, limited commercial truck entries resumed, containing mainly dry food items and a small amount of fresh produce, according to the UN aid coordination office, OCHA.

However, the risk of spoilage and infestation of food supplies has drastically increased due to being stranded for months, heat and impending expiration dates.

Furthermore, cooking gas has not entered Gaza for over five months, and firewood has become increasingly unaffordable, forcing many to use waste and scrap wood as alternative cooking sources, exacerbating health and environmental risks.

Due to such limited aid, WFP underscored that the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification report finds that the worst-case scenario of famine is currently occurring in the Gaza Strip.

“I meet families who have lost everything and don’t know where their next meal will come from.” said Antoine Renard, WFP Representative and Country Director in Palestine.

But thanks to this support from Japan, he continued, “WFP can continue procuring life-saving food assistance, but we urgently need a ceasefire and sustained access to reach those most at risk and prevent a full-scale famine.” 

Reuters

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The Danish government has announced it will abolish a 25% sales tax on books, in an effort to combat a “reading crisis”.

The tax is is one of the highest in the world. Culture Minister Jacob Engel-Schmidt says he hopes scrapping it will lead to more books flying off the shelves.

The measure is expected to cost about 330 million kroner ($50m, £38m) a year.

Data from the OECD, an intergovernmental think tank, shows that a quarter of Danish 15-year-olds cannot understand a simple text.

“The reading crisis has unfortunately been spreading in recent years,” said Engel-Schmidt. He added that he was “incredibly proud” of the move to scrap the tax.

He said “massive money should be spent on investing in the consumption and culture” of the Danish people.

In Finland, Sweden and Norway – which also have a standard Value Added Tax (VAT) of 25% like Denmark – the VAT on books is 14%, 6% and 0% respectively. In the UK, books are also VAT-free.

Surveys have shown declining levels of reading and comprehension among Danish teenagers, said Mads Rosendahl Thomsen, vice-chair of the government’s working group on literature.

Younger children can easily improve their reading skills “but at 15 the ability to understand a text is pretty important”, he told the BBC.

The numbers were “pretty shocking,” he said, referring to the OECD research.

Young people struggle with reading because they have “so many options” and can be “easily distracted”.

He said removing VAT on books was not a complete solution, but it would make books “more accessible”.

The government’s working group on literature also looked into ways to export Danish literature, the digitalisation of the book market and the impact on authors’ pay.