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Record-breaking heat wave grips western United States

A record early heat wave striking the western United States on Friday is a one-in-500-year event and almost certainly the result of human-caused climate change, experts say. The heat has been toppling records this week and is set to continue into the weekend across western cities while expanding eastward. Four locations in the desert area near the California-Arizona border registered 44.4 degrees Celsius on Friday, a US national record for March. The readings were recorded near Yuma and Martinez Lake in Arizona, and around Winterhaven and Ogilby in California. Read: Intense heatwave grips US, triggering record-breaking temperatures Already, 65 cities have recorded new March highs, ranging from Arizona and California to Idaho, Weather.com reported. Death Valley reached 40°C on Thursday, while typically cool and foggy San Francisco tied its historic March record at 29°C. In Colorado, skiers were seen hitting the slopes shirtless. The National Weather Service issued extreme heat warni...
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WFP presses alarm button on Afghanistan's hunger crisis

The UN World Food Programme predicts that the number of children suffering from food shortages in Afghanistan could reach around 4 million, with malnutrition among children at its highest level in decades. The report published its findings on December 16, 2025, mapping areas where food insecurity and acute malnutrition range from alert to critical. According to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report for Afghanistan, three million more women, men, and children face acute hunger or worse compared to the 14.8 million last year. The IPC system assesses degrees of food insecurity, categorising it into 5 phases, ranging from Phase 1 (Minimal) to Phase 5 (Famine). IPC3+ includes Phase 3 (Crisis) and higher, indicating that individuals in this category are facing significant food insecurity, which is how the crisis in Afghanistan has been labelled. Nearly 3.7 million cases of children aged 6–59 months are projected to suffer acute malnutrition between January 2025 and December 2026, with around 26% experiencing severe acute malnutrition. During that time, an estimated 1.2 million cases of pregnant or breastfeeding women are expected to suffer acute malnutrition. By January 2026, acute malnutrition is expected to remain stable in some provinces and slightly worsen in others, with Faryab and Paktika moving from IPC Acute Malnutrition (AMN) Phase 3 (Serious) to Phase 4 (Critical). Eighteen provinces are expected to remain in IPC AMN Phase 3. With malnutrition already at its highest level in decades and funding for critical service providers at an all-time low, access to treatment is becoming increasingly limited. If left untreated, malnutrition in children can be fatal, and child deaths are likely to rise, particularly during the harsh, cold months when food is in shortest supply. For the first time in decades, WFP cannot launch a significant winter response, while also scaling up emergency and nutrition support nationwide. It urgently requires US$468 million to deliver life-saving food assistance to six million of Afghanistan’s most vulnerable people, helping them survive. Read: Afghan economy buckles under hunger and debt Afghanistan is facing the full brunt of multiple crises converging. Drought has devastated crops across half the country, while job losses and a struggling economy have crippled incomes. Recent earthquakes have left families homeless, exacerbating humanitarian needs. Deportations from Pakistan and Iran have added to the strain, with 2.5 million Afghans sent back this year, many malnourished and destitute. Another 2.5 million are expected to return in 2026. A United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report published in November 2025 said nearly one in ten overseas Afghans has been forced back home, with more than 4.5 million returnees since 2023, mainly from Iran and Pakistan, increasing the population by 10%. It added that earthquakes, floods, and drought have destroyed 8,000 homes and strained public services "beyond their limits".

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