The international news carried on Page 6 of Rodong Sinmun dated July 28, 2026, reports on the extreme climate change threatening the whole world and the resulting heatwaves, floods, forest fire damage, forest fire damage in France, efforts for socio-economic development in Laos and Mozambique, the number of confirmed measles cases in the US hitting the highest record in 35 years, price rises in the UK, the condemnation by Islamic countries of Israel's reckless acts, the Israeli army's violent suppression of Palestinians, accidents and earthquakes occurring in various countries, the development of a technology to supply power to drones with light, the development of concrete with good bending resistance, and so on.

The full text follows:

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Extreme Climate Change Threatening the Whole World

The world is facing a serious climate crisis due to the effects of global warming. The frequency of climate change-related disasters is increasing and their scale is growing. Sometimes, heavy rains fall enough to submerge a whole area in a sea of water, or droughts continue for long periods enough to completely wither crops.

Let us look at the severe heatwave phenomena occurring on a global scale.

Recently, scorching heat has continued due to heatwaves in various countries, and deaths are continuously occurring from wildfires breaking out at odd times.

Not long ago, the first heatwave struck Greece. According to a broadcast from this country, the maximum temperature rose to 42℃. The broadcast reported that a rare high temperature phenomenon would continue in many regions. The relevant authorities of this country demanded that emergency response agencies maintain a state of alert against the heatwave, and appealed to the residents to avoid activities that could cause forest fires.

In Germany, high temperature records are being renewed every day. On June 28, the temperature reached 41.7℃ in Brandenburg, which again exceeded the highest temperature records observed in the preceding two days.

A heatwave warning has also been issued in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Due to the record heatwave, forest fires are continuously breaking out in various places.

The World Health Organization stated that Europe is the continent with the fastest warming rate on Earth, and that now 150 million people on this continent are living in extreme heat, and not a few people have died as a result of the high temperatures.

Severe heatwaves are also sweeping other regions and countries. A temperature of 50℃ was recorded in a city about 40 km southwest of the capital Tarabulus in Libya.

On the 21st, a temperature of 50.2℃ was observed at a meteorological station in Turpan in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China, thus a temperature above 50℃ was observed at a national-level meteorological station for the first time this year. Also, in connection with temperatures exceeding 40℃ in several places in Chongqing, the Chongqing Meteorological Administration issued a red high-temperature alert on the 22nd.

As the high temperature phenomenon continues globally, even a health crisis is being created. Water sources are being polluted and food is spoiling. Consequently, the number of patients suffering from diarrhoea is greatly increasing.

Along with heatwaves, torrential rains are frequently pouring down on a global scale and major floods are occurring, causing serious material and human damage.

On the 20th, in Nuristan Province, Afghanistan, 20 people died, about 80 were injured, and about 100 went missing due to a major flood caused by heavy rains.

On the same day, the National Disaster Management Authority of Pakistan announced that 9 people died and 3 were injured in accidents related to monsoon rains across Pakistan within 24 hours. Since the start of the monsoon season, about 120 people have been injured and 178 dwelling houses have been destroyed. Also, 179 domestic animals died and about 3.42 km of roads were destroyed.

Recently, in the northern region of Vietnam, 4 people died, 7 were injured, and 4 went missing due to major floods and landslides caused by torrential rains. It is reported that houses, transport infrastructure and power facilities were destroyed by the heavy rains, a lot of grain was ruined, and the economic loss amounts to about 4.75 million US dollars.

In many countries on other continents, too, many human casualties and material losses occurred due to major floods and landslides.

In Chile, a strong storm struck and greatly damaged 10 regions. On the 22nd, the government announced that 30 casualties occurred and 4 went missing due to the storm. About 24 460 dwelling houses were destroyed. In connection with the catastrophic disaster occurring in some regions, a state of disaster was declared and soldiers were mobilized for rescue work. Meteorological experts forecast that record heavy rains of more than 250 mm will fall in many regions in the future.

Natural disasters caused by climate change occurring on a global scale not only claim countless lives and destroy the ecological environment, but also have a great negative impact on agricultural production and power supply, threatening the very existence of humankind.

Experts assert that the fact that disasters related to extreme climate change are occurring more frequently and on a larger scale is because global warming is accelerating, and that it is entirely due to human activities. That is, the excessive consumption of natural resources releases large amounts of greenhouse gases, further accelerating the greenhouse effect of the Earth.

The United Nations Environment Programme predicted that even if the countries that signed the Paris Agreement on climate change achieve the carbon dioxide emission reduction targets by 2035, the average global temperature will rise by 2.3–2.5℃ compared to the pre-industrial revolution period, and if urgent measures are not taken, the world's temperature will rise by 2.8℃ in this century.

Staff Reporter

Forest Fire Damage in France

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For Social Progress and Development

Mention on Ways for Socio-Economic Development

Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone, in a speech at a recent meeting, mentioned the ways for socio-economic development in the southern region.

He said that in the four southern provinces, agriculture should be modernized on the basis of science and technology, a transition should be made from the export of raw materials to the development of processing industry, the development and utilization of natural energy should be accelerated, and trade with neighbouring countries should be vitalized.

He also stressed training many talents and skilled workers at universities and vocational schools, and raising the level of medical services in the health sector.

Appeal for Effective Utilization of Resources

The President of Mozambique, at a recent meeting, appealed for the effective utilization of the country's resources. He said that industrialization and economic diversification should be promoted on the basis of abundant resources, and that energy resources and raw materials should not only be exported, but effectively utilized to develop production and processing industries.

At the same time, he stressed that the government is directing great efforts to the development and utilization of energy, and is increasing investments in various projects for power generation, transport infrastructure development and industrial growth.

(Korean Central News Agency)

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Number of Measles Confirmed Cases in US Hits 35-Year High

The US Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that the number of measles confirmed cases that occurred in the US from the beginning of this year to July 23 has recorded the highest level in 35 years.

About 93% of this year's confirmed cases are reportedly unvaccinated persons.

(Korean Central News Agency)

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Price Rise in UK

In the UK, the consumer price index in June last increased by 2.6% compared to the same month last year.

Economic experts warned that if the Middle East crisis is not resolved, energy prices will continue to rise in the future, making it impossible to expect economic growth of the country.

(Korean Central News Agency)

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Islamic Countries Condemn Israel's Reckless Acts

The foreign ministers of eight Islamic countries, including Pakistan, Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, issued a joint statement on the 24th strongly condemning the Israeli act of intruding into the Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem, Palestine.

The statement denounced that Israel's outrageous acts against the Islamic mosque are becoming more serious under the protection of the army and the lead of extreme politicians, and branded that Israel's reckless acts are a brutal violation of international law and UN resolutions, and an infringement on the historical and legal status of the mosque.

The statement demanded that Israel lift the access restriction measures against Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and guarantee the free movement of Muslims.

(Korean Central News Agency)

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Israeli Army's Violent Suppression of Palestinians

From the evening of the 24th to the morning of the 25th, Israel went on a rampage of violent suppression against Palestinians in the West Bank.

In this area, the Israeli army conducted a large-scale arrest operation and took away more than 80 Palestinians who fought against the attacks of Jewish settlers to defend their territory.

Meanwhile, the persons called the Israeli Prime Minister and Defence Minister uttered reckless remarks that they would intensify military operations and increase inspection posts in the West Bank, revealing their intention to further intensify the suppression of Palestinians.

(Korean Central News Agency)

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Accidents and Earthquakes in Various Countries

- In Lima, Peru, damage occurred from a dwelling house fire on the 22nd. On that day, a fire of unknown cause broke out on electric bicycles parked in front of a house, and the flames spread rapidly, completely burning down the whole house. As a result, 10 people, including 9 family members, lost their lives. It is reported that the local police are investigating the cause of the accident.

- On the 25th, an accident occurred in which two passenger buses collided on a highway in Homs Province, Syria. It is reported that 35 people lost their lives and 30 were injured in the accident.

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- In San Pedro de Atacama, Chile, an earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale was observed on the 22nd.

- On the 24th, an earthquake of magnitude 6 on the Richter scale occurred in Vanuatu. The depth of the focus was 10 km.

On the same day, an earthquake of magnitude 5.7 on the Richter scale occurred 49 km west of Turangi, New Zealand.

- The Kamchatka Branch of the Geophysical Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences announced on the 25th that an earthquake measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale was observed 169 km away from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia. The depth of the focus was reportedly 61 km.

(Korean Central News Agency)

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Technology Developed to Supply Power to Drones with Light

Recently, researchers in a certain country have developed a technology to supply power to drones by improving the method of converting laser light into electricity. The core of this technology is a device called a photonic power converter that converts laser light into electricity, and it has become possible to use it to supply power to electronic products without the previous cables or batteries.

The researchers introduced a new converter design and produced a much more efficient device that operates at infrared wavelengths.

The new device uses multiple layers of semiconductors that absorb laser light.

This collects more energy and generates electricity of more than 2V while ensuring an efficiency of more than 53%. More importantly, this device operates even at a distance of more than 1 km.

According to the researchers, this technology can reduce damage caused by lightning and the risk of fire in random places by improving the power supply method for high-voltage sensitive parts used in precision networks. It can also reportedly be integrated into the optical fibre infrastructure already in use for the internet.

With this technology, an efficient network will be built, making it possible to provide power to places that were unimaginable before.

(Korean Central News Agency)

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Concrete with Good Bending Resistance

Researchers in a certain country have developed a new type of concrete with good bending resistance.

When producing concrete, cement, which acts as a special binder to set and harden the wet mixture, causes a large amount of pollution. Because cement requires a high temperature during production, from which a large amount of energy is consumed and a lot of greenhouse gas is emitted. The research group introduced that the main raw material of the concrete they developed is industrial waste such as fly ash. Using this kind of polymer composite material makes the concrete production process more environmentally friendly.

This technology of using substitute raw materials has also been applied to the previous production of ordinary concrete. However, now this technology has become the main application technology in the production of bendable concrete products.

A researcher said that in the production process of the new type of concrete, about 36% of energy can be saved while reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 76%.

The laboratory measurement results showed that the new type of concrete has the same strength as ordinary concrete, but its tensile strength reaches about 400 times that of ordinary concrete. In the future, if the new type of concrete is used in areas where earthquakes frequently occur, buildings will be able to withstand ordinary vibrations, and the structural strength will not decrease even after an earthquake.

(Korean Central News Agency)