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A formidable new radar satellite jointly developed by the United States and India is set to launch Wednesday, designed to track subtle changes in Earth’s land and ice surfaces and help predict both natural and human-caused hazards.Dubbed NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar), the pickup truck-sized spacecraft is scheduled to lift off at 5:40 pm (1210 GMT) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre on India’s southeastern coast, riding an ISRO Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle rocket.Highly anticipated by scientists, the mission has also been hailed as a milestone in growing US-India cooperation between President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”Our planet surface undergoes constant and meaningful change,” Karen St Germain, director of NASA’s Earth Science division, told reporters. “Some change happens slowly. Some happens abruptly. Some changes are large, while some are subtle.”By picking up on tiny changes in the vertical movement of the Earth’s surface — as little as one centimeter (0.4 inches) — scientists will be able to detect the precusors for natural and human-caused disasters, from earthquakes, landsides and volcanoes to aging infrastructure like dams and bridges.”We’ll see land substance and swelling, movement, deformation and melting of mountain glaciers and ice sheets covering both Greenland and Antarctica, and of course, we’ll see wildfires,” added St Germain, calling NISAR “the most sophisticated radar we’ve ever built.”Equipped with a 12-meter dish that will unfold in space, NISAR will record nearly all of Earth’s land and ice twice every 12 days from an altitude of 464 miles (747 kilometers).- Microwave frequencies -As it orbits, the satellite will continuously transmit microwaves and receive echoes from the surface. Because the spacecraft is moving, the returning signals are distorted — but computer processing will reassemble them to produce detailed, high-resolution images. Achieving similar results with traditional radar would require an impractically large 12-mile-wide dish.NISAR will operate on two radar frequencies: L-band and S-band. The L-band is ideal for sensing taller vegetation like trees, while the S-band enables more accurate readings of shorter plants such as bushes and shrubs.NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and India’s ISRO shared the workload, each building components on opposite sides of the planet before integrating and testing the spacecraft at ISRO’s Satellite Integration & Testing Establishment in the southern Indian city of Bengaluru.NASA’s contribution came to just under $1.2 billion, while ISRO’s costs were around $90 million.India’s space program has made major strides in recent years, including placing a probe in Mars orbit in 2014 and landing a robot and rover on the Moon in 2023.Shubhanshu Shukla, a test pilot with the Indian Air Force, recently became the second Indian to travel to space and the first to reach the International Space Station — a key step toward India’s own indigenous crewed mission planned for 2027 under the Gaganyaan (“sky craft”) program.

England and India head to the Oval for the decisive fifth and final Test of a hard-fought campaign on Thursday, with both teams battling mental and physical fatigue.A congested schedule of five Tests in less than seven weeks has proved gruelling, especially for the fast bowlers from both teams, with every match going the distance so far.Remarkably, India can still end the series all square at 2-2 after salvaging an unlikely draw in the fourth Test at Old Trafford, keeping the hosts on the field for 143 overs in their second innings.Tensions spiked at the end of the game when India allowed Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar to complete their centuries after England captain Ben Stokes offered to shake hands on a draw, adding spice to the Oval Test.AFP Sport looks at the key talking points ahead of the fifth Test in London.India weigh up Bumrah decision Jasprit Bumrah’s back injury earlier this year prompted India to announce the fast bowler would only feature in three games during the current series.The world’s top-ranked Test bowler made his third appearance on a docile pitch in Manchester and has little time to recover after bowling a gruelling 33 overs, during which he took two wickets.But India coach Gautam Gambhir says all of his squad’s quicks are fit for the finale including Akash Deep, who took 10 wickets in Bumrah’s absence during India’s 336-run win in the second Test at Edgbaston before suffering a groin injury in the next match at Lord’s.England must decide whether to risk express paceman Jofra Archer, who has bowled nearly 90 overs in two Tests after more than four years of injury-enforced exile.The home team took just four wickets on a flat Old Trafford pitch during India’s battling second innings, with seamer Brydon Carse also worked hard.Jamie Overton has been added to an England squad that already has extra pace options in Josh Tongue and Gus Atkinson.England may need to rein in StokesCan England stop skipper Ben Stokes from bowling himself into the ground at the Oval? The Old Trafford match was a personal triumph for the all-rounder, who became just the fourth England cricketer to score a hundred and take five wickets in the same Test.Stokes has now sent down 140 overs — the most he has bowled in any series — and is the leading wicket-taker on either side with 17 scalps.Yet in Manchester he was in evident pain, often clutching his thigh as well as nursing a bicep injury.With the skipper central to England’s hopes of regaining the Ashes on their upcoming tour of Australia, concerns remain over his workload.”Bowling, being in the field is tough work, so I am pretty sore,” said Stokes after the fourth Test. “We are going in 2-1 up but we want to put that last big performance in.”Remarkable Gill eyes another recordCaptaincy appears to be doing wonders for the career of previously inconsistent India batsman Shubman Gill.The elegant 25-year-old scored his fourth century of an extraordinary debut series as skipper at Old Trafford.He came in with the tourists in dire straits at 0-2 in their second innings, responding with a marathon 103 in 238 balls that laid the foundations for a great escape. Gill has set a new record for the most runs scored by an India batsman in a series against England of 722, surpassing team-mate Yashasvi Jaiswal’s tally of 712 in 2023/24.At the Oval he could eclipse Sunil Gavaskar’s all-time India series record of 774 runs, set in a four-match campaign against the West Indies in 1971.One downside for Gill is that he will be without vice-captain and prolific runscorer Rishabh Pant, who sustained a foot fracture in Manchester.

The IMF raised its global growth forecast Tuesday as efforts to circumvent Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs sparked a bigger-than-expected surge in trade, while the US president stepped back from some of his harshest threats.The International Monetary Fund still sees growth slowing this year, however, even as it lifted its 2025 projection to 3.0 percent — up from 2.8 percent in April — in its World Economic Outlook update.In 2024, global growth came in at 3.3 percent.Looking ahead, the IMF expects the world economy to expand 3.1 percent next year, an improvement from the 3.0 percent it earlier predicted.Despite the upward revisions, “there are reasons to be very cautious,” IMF chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas told AFP.”Businesses were trying to frontload, move stuff around, before the tariffs were imposed, and so that’s supporting economic activity,” he said.”There is going to be payback for that. If you stock the shelves now, you don’t need to stock them later in the year or into the next year,” he added.This means a likelihood of reduced trade activity in the second half of the year and into 2026.”The global economy has continued to hold steady, but the composition of activity points to distortions from tariffs, rather than underlying robustness,” the IMF’s report said.For now, a “modest decline in trade tensions, however fragile, has contributed to the resilience of the global economy,” Gourinchas told reporters Tuesday.Trump imposed a 10 percent levy on almost all trading partners this year, alongside steeper duties on autos, steel and aluminum.He paused higher tariffs on dozens of economies until August 1, a significant delay from April when they were first unveiled.Washington and Beijing also agreed to lower for 90 days triple-digit duties on each other’s goods, in a halt expiring August 12. Talks that could lead to a further extension of the truce are ongoing.Trump’s actions have brought the US effective tariff rate to 17.3 percent, significantly above the 3.5 percent level for the rest of the world, the IMF said.If deals unravel or tariffs rebound to higher levels, global output would be 0.3 percent down next year, Gourinchas said.- US inflation hit -US growth for 2025 was revised 0.1 percentage points up, to 1.9 percent, with tariffs anticipated to settle at lower levels than initially announced in April.The country is also set to see a near-term boost from Trump’s flagship tax and spending bill.Euro area growth was adjusted 0.2 percentage points higher to 1.0 percent, partly reflecting a jump in Irish pharmaceutical exports to the United States to avoid fresh duties.Among European economies, Germany is still expected to avoid contraction while forecasts for France and Spain remained unchanged at 0.6 percent and 2.5 percent respectively.While the IMF anticipates global inflation to keep declining, with headline inflation cooling to 4.2 percent this year, it warned that US price increases will remain above target.”The tariffs, acting as a supply shock, are expected to pass through to US consumer prices gradually and hit inflation in the second half of 2025,” the IMF report said.Elsewhere, Trump’s duties “constitute a negative demand shock, lowering inflationary pressures,” the report added.- China challenges -Growth in the world’s number-two economy China, however, was revised 0.8 percentage points upwards to 4.8 percent.This reflects stronger-than-expected activity in the first half of 2025, alongside “the significant reduction in US–China tariffs,” the IMF said.Gourinchas warned that China is still experiencing headwinds, with “fairly weak” domestic demand.”There is relatively little consumer confidence, the property sector is still a black spot in the Chinese economy, it’s not been completely addressed,” he added. “That is resulting in a drag on economic activity going forward.”Russia’s growth was revised 0.6 percentage points down, to 0.9 percent, partially due to Russian policies but also oil prices, which are set to remain relatively subdued compared with 2024 levels, Gourinchas said.

Indian security forces have killed three Pakistani gunmen who were involved in an April attack on Hindu tourists in Indian Kashmir that led to an intense military conflict between the two countries, home minister Amit Shah said on Tuesday.The heavily-armed men were killed in a military operation on Monday, more than three months after 26 people were gunned down in a popular resort town of Indian Kashmir on April 22.”I want to tell the parliament (that) those who attacked in Baisaran were three terrorists and all three have been killed,” he said.Shah said all three were Pakistani nationals and identified two of them as members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, a UN-designated terrorist group based in Pakistan.”Indian security agencies have detailed evidence of their involvement in the attack,” he said in a speech in the lower house of parliament.Monday’s operation took place in the mountains of Dachigam, around 30 kilometres (18 miles) from the disputed region’s main city of Srinagar, the army said in a statement.The attack in April saw gunmen burst out of forests near Pahalgam and rake crowds of visitors with automatic weapons.All those killed were listed as residents of India except one man from Nepal. Survivors said gunmen had separated the men from the women and children and ordered some of the men to recite the Muslim declaration of faith.India accused Pakistan of backing the attackers, a charge Islamabad denied, sparking an intense four-day conflict between the nuclear-armed rivals in May that killed more than 70 people on both sides.Muslim-majority Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence from British rule in 1947, and the neighbours — who both claim the region in full — have fought two wars and several conflicts over its control.Shah said a security meeting was held immediately after the attack and it was decided that the attackers should not be “allowed to leave the country and return to Pakistan”.Investigators relied on eyewitness accounts and forensic evidence to establish that the rifles found on the men were the same that were used in the April attack, he said.”It was confirmed that these three rifles were involved in killing of our innocent civilians,” said Shah.A shadowy group called The Resistance Front (TRF) initially claimed responsibility for the April attack.But as public criticism mounted over the killings, the group retracted its claim. Earlier this month, the United States described the TRF as a “front and proxy” of Lashkar-e-Taiba.

At the border with Iran, Fatima Rezaei distributes food and hygiene products to Afghans forced to return, unable to passively stand by as the deportation crisis grows.The 22-year-old is one of many Afghan volunteers rallying to help their compatriots, despite having little themselves.Since the beginning of the year, more than 1.6 million Afghans, including many children, have returned after being deported or driven out of Iran, which accuses them of pushing up unemployment and crime.”It doesn’t matter whether you have a lot of money or not. I don’t have much, but with the help of Afghans here and abroad, we manage,” said Rezaei. The number of crossings at the Islam Qala border has reached 30,000 on several days, peaking at 50,000 on July 4, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).In response, residents of the western region have mobilised, partly thanks to donations sent by Afghans living in Europe or North America.A journalist for a local television channel, Rezaei travels over 100 kilometres (62 miles) to reach the border from her hometown of Herat.From a stack of cardboard boxes, she distributes baby wipes and sanitary towels to women gathered under a tent and surrounded by around a dozen children.”It is our responsibility to stand by their side,” she said. “The government tries to help, but it’s not enough.”International organisations are helping to register migrants but face massive budget cuts.Meanwhile, Taliban authorities struggle to support the influx of Afghans who have often left everything behind and returned to a country mired in poverty.- ‘We have a duty’ -Unemployed Hosna Salehi volunteers with her parents’ charitable organisation, Khan-e-Meher, to distribute aid, such as infant formula. “Some women with young children tried to breastfeed but didn’t have enough milk due to stress,” she told AFP. “Our fellow Afghans need our support right now. We have a duty to give what we can, no matter if it is a little or a lot.”The show of solidarity “makes us proud”, said Ahmadullah Wassiq, director of Afghanistan’s High Commission for Refugees. “The government cannot solve these problems alone,” he acknowledged, “and the efforts of citizens must be applauded”. The Taliban government says it provides money upon arrival and is establishing towns dedicated to returning Afghans, though it does not specify when they will be ready. In Herat, the nearest major city to the border, some in the most precarious circumstances have been living in parks in tents donated by residents.- ‘Extended a hand’ -Some said they were having to rebuild their lives after returning home.”The only thing we’re worried about is finding work,” said Hussein, 33, who spent more than 10 years in Iran.”There, they told us our papers were no longer valid. We had good jobs, now we need to find work and start from scratch,” said the father-of-two, who was moved by the support he encountered on the Afghan side of the border.”They really helped us and extended a hand,” he said as he waited for a free bus to take him the nearly 1,000 kilometres to the capital Kabul.In Afghanistan, where half the population of around 48 million lives below the poverty line according to the World Bank, “there isn’t much of a culture of volunteering”, said 27-year-old Omid Haqjoo, as he prepared food in vast cooking pots.”But we are trying to promote it… to provide the support that is missing,” he added.After a day of heat in the humanitarian tents at Islam Qala, Salehi felt strengthened by a “life lesson”.”If I was able to help volunteer, I think everyone can,” she said.”And when I go home and think of all the fellow Afghans who smiled at me and prayed for me, that’s enough for me.”

Counting down the minutes to midnight when a truce with Cambodia is due, Thai evacuee Jeanjana Phaphan is full of a fragile hopes and doubts that peace will prevail.”I’d be so happy if the ceasefire really happens,” said 48-year-old farmer Jeanjana, who fled her frontier home in Phanom Dong Rak district with her three-year-old son a few days ago.”If it’s truly ending, I’m overjoyed —- the happiest I’ve felt in a long time,” she told AFP at a shelter in Surin city, 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the border.Thailand and Cambodia’s leaders have agreed an “unconditional” ceasefire will begin at midnight on Monday, following five days of combat along their jungle-clad frontier that has killed at least 38 people.Nearly 300,000 people have fled as the two sides fired artillery, rockets and guns in a battle over long-disputed areas home to a smattering of ancient temples.News of the ceasefire sent a ripple of relief, measured with a degree of scepticism, through those who fled since the fighting erupted last Thursday.”If our two countries keep fighting, the hardship and loss will only grow,” Jeanjana said.”When I hear neighbours say their roof was pierced by bullets, it makes me heavy-hearted. The sound of people crying from loss is truly heartbreaking,” she added with a trembling voice and tear-brimmed eyes.”People on that side are civilians too, just like us. On our side we’re just farmers — and I believe they are farmers like us too. Ordinary people working to survive.”- ‘I still have doubts’ – The peace deal was agreed in Malaysia, under the mediation of its Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim following interventions by US President Donald Trump and Chinese negotiators.But sitting on a straw mat next to his wife, 68-year-old farmer Tee Samanjai is thinking not about those high-table talks, but his normal life back on his farm.”The first thing I’ll do when I get home is check on the chickens, fertilise the rice, and take care of the fields,” he said. But his anticipation to return is also clouded with doubt.The past week’s clashes have been the deadliest since 2008-2011 over the territory, claimed by both sides because of a vague demarcation made by Cambodia’s French colonial administrators in 1907.”I still have doubts that Cambodia will follow through with what they agreed to,” Tee said.”We may go home, but with unease. There’s no peace of mind. I want to go back, but I don’t trust Cambodia at all. No one in our village does.”Just over the border in Cambodia, camped out at a temple evacuation site in Phumi Bak Thkav, farmer Say Yoeun has much in common with his Thai counterpart.”I am not happy to stay somewhere like this,” said the 55-year-old.”I miss my home and livestock — and I cannot take care of my paddy field.”Cambodian and Thai commanders are due to meet early Tuesday morning if the truce holds, before villagers can return to their homes and start counting the cost of the conflict.For Thai Kavindhra Tiamsai, who evacuated her mother from the conflict zone, the fighting has revealed how locals on the fringes of both countries are marginalised by their governments.”A ceasefire is a good option but also the minimum,” the 33-year-old said. “What we need is a comprehensive, grounded plan that speaks to the realities of rural life.””One that doesn’t assume evacuation is easy — or even possible — when most families have no transport, no money to buffer, and no safety net to lean on.”burs/jts/dhw

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos blasted “useless and crumbling” flood control projects in a state of the nation address Monday that focused on domestic issues after a months-long feud with his vice president.Addressing a joint session of Congress after days of rain that left at least 31 dead, Marcos repeated his recent warning that the nation faced a climate change-driven “new normal”, while pledging to investigate publicly funded projects that had failed.”Let’s not pretend, the people know that these projects can breed corruption. Kickbacks… for the boys,” he said, citing houses that were “swept away” by the floods.”Someone has to pay for the grave damage and corruption,” he said, adding he would demand a full list of failed flood control projects and make it public. After months dominated by a feud with his vice president that left many voters disillusioned, Marcos’s speech leaned heavily into bread-and-butter concerns.”The people feel a sense of defeat and dismay at the government, especially when it concerns basic services,” he said, referencing disappointing mid-term election results in May.”The lesson for us is very simple. We need to do better. We need to work faster.”Marcos spent much of his 70-minute speech unveiling promises for the second half of his six-year term — from 40,000 more classrooms to new power plants and free dialysis treatments — though he offered little by way of detail.Notably absent was any explicit mention of the rising tensions with China over disputed areas of the South China Sea that figured heavily into last year’s address.After 12 months marked by violent clashes at sea and an increasingly close military relationship with the United States, Marcos said only that the country faced “new threats” to its sovereignty while adding “more allies who can help us in our time of need”.- No shows -Numerous high-profile allies of Vice President Sara Duterte, whose would-be impeachment trial was scrapped by the Supreme Court on Friday, skipped Monday’s address, including the president’s senator sister Imee Marcos.The feud between the Marcos and Duterte political dynasties loomed large over the May mid-terms that saw the vice president’s camp outperform expectations.The duo swept to power in 2022 in an alliance that began crumbling almost immediately.Their feud exploded into open warfare this year with her impeachment and the subsequent arrest and transfer of her father, ex-president Rodrigo Duterte, to face charges at the International Criminal Court in The Hague over his deadly drug war.The timelines of those two events coincided with a sharp dip in the president’s polling numbers.Marcos had publicly stated that he was against the impeachment while consistently maintaining he was powerless to intervene.- ‘New normal’ -Last week, the Philippine president for the first time blamed climate change for storms which are hitting the country harder and more frequently, saying Filipinos would need to learn how to adapt.”This is not an extraordinary situation anymore… This will be our lives no matter what we do,” he told a cabinet briefing, adding the country should plan for the long-term in addressing natural disasters.”This is the way it’s going to be as far as we know for… many decades to come, so let’s just prepare,” he said.Michael Henry Yusingco, a senior research fellow at the Ateneo de Manila University School of Government, on Monday praised Marcos’s pledge to tackle corruption around flood control projects but warned that follow-through would be everything.”(To) have a really significant effect on his legacy,” Marcos will need to put people in charge that will “not be afraid to go after these politicians”, he said.

India on Monday lauded their cricketers for pulling off a “draw that feels like a win” in the fourth Test against England to keep the series alive.India, 2-1 down in the five-match series and a daunting 311 runs behind on first innings, batted out Sunday’s final day to take it to a decider at the Oval, starting Thursday.Captain Shubman Gill struck his fourth century of the series before unbeaten hundreds from Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar denied England victory. KL Rahul also scored 90.It was a remarkable fightback after India had lost their first two second-innings wickets without a run on the board on Saturday. “When it comes to India-England, Old Trafford is known for keeping the series alive,” India great Sachin Tendulkar posted on X.It was a “fantastic comeback” said Tendulkar who added that Rahul, Gill, Jadeja and Sundar had shown “great character and fighting spirit”. The Times of India headlined with “The draw that feels like a win”, while espncricinfo.com said it had been a “great escape”.Gill had come into his first series as captain with question marks over his overseas batting record.But he has laid all doubts to rest with a record-breaking run, joining Don Bradman and Sunil Gavaskar as the only Test captains to score four centuries in a series.His 722 runs are the most scored by an Indian batsman in a series against England, surpassing team-mate Yashasvi Jaiswal’s 712 in 2023/24.”Nobody ever doubted Shubman Gill’s talent,” said head coach Gautam Gambhir .”Those who did, they just know to talk cricket but lack understanding of the game. Some people take time to blossom in international cricket. And no one in the dressing room is surprised by what he has done.”Uncapped wicketkeeper Narayan Jagadeesan was on Monday called into the India squad as cover, after Rishabh Pant was ruled out with a fractured foot.Dhruv Jurel is expected to take the gloves in the fifth Test. 

India’s enthralling series in England is going all the way to the finish after the resilient tourists drew the fourth Test at Old Trafford on Sunday.Record-breaking skipper Shubman Gill scored his fourth century of the campaign before Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar also made hundreds as India finished on 425-4 in their second innings — a lead of 114 runs — inside the last hour.England remain 2-1 up in this five-match contest ahead of a quick turnaround to Thursday’s start of an Oval finale. An India victory in south London would ensure a share of the spoils for Gill’s men in a series where the first four Tests have all gone to the last day.Defeat, rather than a draw, looked likely when India collapsed to 0-2 in the opening over of their second innings on Saturday as Chris Woakes struck with successive deliveries following England’s mammoth first-innings 669.But Gill, in on a hat-trick, went on to score 103 in a marathon seven-hour stint as he turned the tide during a stand of 188 with KL Rahul that ended before lunch on Sunday.Jadeja, reprieved first ball when Joe Root dropped a tough slip chance, went on to make 107 not out, his first century of the series following four fifties, with fellow spin-bowling all-rounder Sundar unbeaten on 101 — his maiden Test hundred.- ‘Brave effort’ -“I am extremely pleased with our batting effort over the past couple of days,” said Gill.”I think we were put under a lot of pressure, but the way we responded, especially after losing two wickets, was a very brave effort.”Sundar and Jadeja’s unbroken partnership of 203 on a flat pitch frustrated a toiling England, despite the best efforts of inspirational captain Ben Stokes.This match was a personal triumph for Stokes as he became just the fourth England cricketer to score a hundred and take five wickets in the same Test, his 141 on Saturday following a haul of 5-72 in India’s first-innings 358.But Stokes, who insisted “pain is just an emotion”, repeatedly clutched the top of his leg  — having had hamstring surgery earlier this year — and also suffered a bicep strain.”When you put in good performances for the team, the joy is dictated by how you feel at the end of the Test and the result,” said Stokes. “Obviously, I’d give the bottle of champagne and the medal (away) in a heartbeat if we were on the right side of the result.”India resumed on 174-2 with KL Rahul 87 not out and Gill 78 not out.Stokes, the leading bowler on either side this series with 17 wickets at 25.23, brought himself on at the start of Sunday’s play after not bowling Saturday and had obdurate opener Rahul, plumb lbw for 90 to a nip-back ball that kept low.And when Gill was caught behind off Jofra Archer, India were still not safe at 222-4.But Sundar and Jadeja, after his first ball reprieve, were largely untroubled.And even when Stokes braved the pain barrier again, Sundar pulled the England skipper for a six and a four off successive balls to reach fifty.Sunday’s closing stages became a question of whether either of India’s fifth-wicket duo would go to a hundred after Gill declined to take a draw immediately at the start of the last hour when Sundar was 80 not out and Jadeja unbeaten on 89.The match ended in farcical circumstances when batsman Harry Brook came on to bowl.Jadeja smashed a woeful Brook delivery for six to complete a 182-ball century before Gill’s two off the Yorkshireman took him to a 206-ball hundred — the last act of the match.”It got to that point where there was obviously only one result left on the table and I wasn’t going to be risking any of my frontline bowlers, especially with a quick turnaround,” said Stokes.Sundar and Jadeja received some verbal abuse from England fielders for carrying on towards the three-figure landmark, with Stokes telling reporters: “That partnership was massive, they played incredibly well and I don’t think there would have been too much more satisfaction at walking off 100 not out than 80 or 90.”

Under the drumbeat of artillery fire near Thailand’s border with Cambodia, farmer Samuan Niratpai refuses to abandon his buffalo herd — stubbornly risking his life to tend his livestock.”At 5:00am every day, I hear the loud bangs and booms. Then I run into the woods for cover,” the 53-year-old told AFP in the village of Baan Bu An Nong in Surin province, just 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the fraught frontier.His family of five fled to the capital Bangkok on the first day of clashes on Thursday, but he remains behind with their flock of chickens, three dogs and 14 prized buffalo.”How could I leave these buffaloes?” he asked, his eyes brimming with emotion. “I’d be so worried about them. After the strikes I go and console them, telling them ‘It’s okay. We’re together’.”Thailand and Cambodia’s clashes have entered their fourth day after a festering dispute over sacred temples ignited into cross-border combat being waged with jets, tanks and group troops.Peace talks between leaders are scheduled for Monday in Malaysia, the Thai government has said.In the meantime, at least 34 people have been killed on both sides, mostly civilians, and more than 200,000 have fled their homes along the 800-kilometre border — a rural area patched with rubber and rice farms.But on both sides of the tree-clad ridge marking the boundary between the two countries there are many who refuse to evacuate.As nearby blasts shake Cambodian restauranteur Soeung Chhivling’s eaterie she continues to prepare a beef dish, declining to abandon the kitchen where she cooks for troops and medics mobilised to fight Thailand.”I am also scared, but I want to cook so they have something to eat,” said the 48-year-old, near a hospital where wounded civilians and troops are being treated.”I have no plan to evacuate unless jets drop a lot of bombs,” she told AFP in Samraong city, just 20 kilometres from the Thai frontier, where most homes and shops are already deserted.- ‘I’d rather die at home’ -Back on the Thai side, Pranee Ra-ngabpai, a researcher on Thai-Cambodian border issues and a local resident, said many who have chosen to stay behind — like her own father — are men who hold traditional and stoic values.”He is still there in the house right now and refuses to leave,” Pranee said. “There’s this mindset: ‘If I die, I’d rather die at home’ or ‘I can’t leave my cows’.”Baan Bu An Nong has been designated a “red zone” — meaning it is high risk for air strikes, artillery barrages and even gun battles between ground troops.But village co-leader Keng Pitonam, 55, is also reluctant to depart. Loading grass onto his three-wheeled cart to feed his livestock, he is now responsible for dozens of neighbours’ animals as well as their homes.”I have to stay — it’s my duty,” Keng told AFP.”I’m not afraid. I can’t abandon my responsibilities,” he said.”If someone like me — a leader — leaves the village, what would that say? I have to be here to serve the community, no matter what happens.”His local temple has become a makeshift donation and rescue hub, parked with ambulances inside its perimeter.”I have to stay — to be a spiritual anchor for those who remain,” said the abbot, declining to give his name. “Whatever happens, happens.”Huddled in a bunker just 10 kilometres from the border, Sutian Phiewchan spoke to AFP by phone, pausing as his words were interrupted by the crackle of gunfire.He remained behind to fulfil his obligations as a volunteer for the local civil defence force, activated to protect the roughly 40 people still staying there.”Everyone here is afraid and losing sleep,” the 49-year-old said.”We’re doing this without pay. But it’s about protecting the lives and property of the people in our village.”burs-jts/dhw