India trade minister heads to US for talks as Trump tariffs loom, officials say

TOKYO: Nearly 1,700 firefighters are battling Japan’s biggest forest fire in three decades, officials said Monday, as some 4,600 residents remain under an evacuation advisory.
One person died last week in the blaze in the northern region of Iwate, which follows record low rainfall in the area and last year’s hottest summer on record across Japan.
The fire near the city of Ofunato has burned through some 2,100 hectares (5,200 acres) since Thursday, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said Monday.
Firefighters from 14 Japanese regions, including units from Tokyo, were now tackling the blaze, with 16 helicopters – including from the military – trying to douse the flames.
It is estimated to have damaged 84 buildings by Sunday, although details were still being assessed, the agency said.
Around 2,000 people have left the area to stay with friends or relatives, while more than 1,200 evacuated to shelters, according to officials.
Early morning footage from Ofunato on national broadcaster NHK showed orange flames close to buildings and white smoke billowing into the air.
The number of wildfires in Japan has declined since the peak in the 1970s, according to government data.
But there were about 1,300 across the country in 2023, concentrated in the February to April period when the air dries and winds pick up.
Ofunato saw just 2.5 millimeters (0.1 inches) of rainfall in February, breaking the previous record low for the month of 4.4 millimeters in 1967 and below the usual average of 41 millimeters.

MANILA: Soaring temperatures shut down schools in nearly half the Philippine capital on Monday, local officials said, as the torrid dry season started in the tropical Southeast Asian country.
A national weather service advisory warned the heat index, a measure of air temperature and relative humidity, was set to reach “danger” levels in Manila and two other areas of the country.
“Heat cramps and heat exhaustion are likely” at that level, the advisory said, warning residents in affected areas to avoid prolonged exposure to the sun.
A heat wave struck large areas of the Philippines in April and May last year, leading to almost daily suspensions of in-person classes, affecting millions of students.
Manila’s temperature hit a record 38.8 Celsius (101.8F) on April 27 last year.
While temperatures were only expected to hit 33C on Monday, local governments in Manila and six other districts ordered classrooms closed as a precaution.
The capital region has a student population of more than 2.8 million according to education department data.
In Manila’s Malabon district, education department official Edgar Bonifacio said the suspensions affected more than 68,000 students across 42 schools.
“We were surprised by the heat index advisory,” Bonifacio said, adding: “We cannot feel the heat yet outside.”
However, due to protocols adopted during last year’s heat wave, the district’s school superintendent recommended suspending in-person classes.
“Our main concern is we’re near the end of the school year (in mid-April),” Bonifacio said. “This would mean a reduction of the number of school days available.”
In Valenzuela district, school official Annie Bernardo said its 69 schools had been instructed to shift to “alternative” learning models, including online classes.
Global average temperatures hit record highs in 2024 and even briefly surpassed the critical 1.5 degrees Celsius warming threshold.
In January, UN children’s agency UNICEF said extreme weather disrupted the schooling of about 242 million children in 85 countries last year, including the Philippines, with heat waves having the biggest impact.
Human activity, including the unrestricted burning of fossil fuels over decades, has warmed the planet and changed weather patterns.
That has meant wetter wet periods and dryer dry periods, intensifying heat and storms and making populations more vulnerable to disasters.