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US President Joe Biden took fierce aim Thursday at Donald Trump and his “extremist” supporters, labeling them enemies of American democracy in a prime-time address that sought to fire up voters ahead of key midterm elections.

Speaking in Philadelphia, the cradle of US democracy, the president launched an extraordinary assault on those Republicans who embrace Trump’s “Make America Great Again” ideology — and urged his own supporters to fight back.

“Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic,” thundered Biden, speaking near the spot where the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution were adopted more than two centuries ago.

“They embrace anger. They thrive on chaos. They live not in the light of truth but in the shadow of lies.” 

“There is no place for political violence in America. Period. None. Ever,” warned the 79-year-old Democrat — in a reference to last year’s assault on the US Capitol by hardline Trump supporters refusing to accept his defeat.

Citing the nationwide assault on abortion rights by hardline conservatives — and fears for other freedoms from contraception to same-sex marriage — the US leader charged that “MAGA forces” were “determined to take this country backwards.” 

With control of Congress in the balance come November, Biden appealed directly to mainstream Republicans to join forces with Democrats and repudiate Trump’s brand of politics — which still holds sway over much of his party.

And he made it clearer than ever that Democrats intended to make the midterms a referendum on Trump, saying the Republican Party was wholly “dominated, driven and intimidated” by the former president and his MAGA agenda.

“And that is a threat to this country,” he said, insisting American democracy had to be defended. 

“Protect it. Stand up for it,” Biden urged.

– ‘Semi-fascism’ –

Biden’s speech — billed as an address on the “battle for the Soul of the Nation” — harked back to an article he published in The Atlantic magazine in 2017, after a deadly white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia that he says spurred his presidential run. 

“We are living through a battle for the soul of this nation,” Biden wrote then.

After his election in 2020, the veteran politician initially planned to wage this battle through dialogue with moderate Republican lawmakers, and through economic and social policies aimed at the middle class.

But the talk of reconciliation has died down, as polls seem to indicate the Democratic leader is better served by being more aggressive.

Last week, Biden accused Trump’s supporters of being consumed by “semi-fascism.”

The term sparked indignation in conservative ranks — with Republican Senate Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy charging that it “vilifies” millions of “hardworking, law-abiding citizens.

“With all due respect Mr President, there’s nothing wrong with America’s soul,” retorted Republican senator and longtime Trump loyalist Lindsey Graham after Biden’s speech. “The American people are hurting because of your policies.”

A new poll published Thursday by The Wall Street Journal shows that if the midterm elections were held today, 47 percent of eligible voters would cast ballots for Democrats, and 44 percent would vote Republican. 

In March, the Republicans had a five-point advantage.

The Democrats are hoping for an upset in November’s elections, in which all of the seats in the House of Representatives and a third of the Senate seats are on the ballot. Traditionally, the midterms don’t favor the ruling party.

Things have been going well for Biden lately, however, with inflation slowing, a series of his landmark reforms finally pushed through Congress and Trump fighting off a series of criminal investigations. Polls show widespread support for abortion rights, which could put many Republicans on the back foot.

This would be enough to give hope to the Democrats, who are battling to keep their hold on the House and preserve their Senate majority — or even strengthen it.

And Pennsylvania will be crucial for any of that to happen.

Historically a key battleground state in US politics, the Keystone State will likely prove vital to both parties in the midterms — and Biden will visit three times this week alone.

Trump is also planning an appearance in the state on Saturday to support his candidate in the Senate race, TV physician Mehmet Oz.

Antonina Sidorenko has put on her favourite clothes, selected the prettiest ribbon to adorn her hair and can recite by heart the poem given by her schoolteacher.

But with lessons taking place at home to the background sound of gunfire and shelling, this is no ordinary first day back at school for the nine-year-old Ukrainian.

Sitting behind a desk in the middle of her sitting room, “Tonia” adjusts the mobile phone screen showing her teacher Natalia Vasylivna, best friend Igor and other classmates she has not seen since Russia’s February invasion.

“I’m happy to be back at school but I would be even happier if there was no war because I miss my teacher and my friends,” she told AFP, saying her best friend had fled to Poland. 

Antonina, five-year-old sister Sonia and parents Natalia and Andriy live in Pokrovske, a hamlet of 24 people in the southern region of Mykolaiv near the frontline.

Remote learning is in place across the region due to the fighting. 

For Natalia and Andriy, that posed significant technical challenges, and they only managed to configure the Zoom app on their mobile phone a few days before September 1, when schools returned nationwide.

They also made sure the internet router was working. After their electricity was cut off in the summer, the family gets its power from a solar panel supplied by an NGO.

But there’s little they can do against cannons. The boom of Ukrainian artillery fire reverberates at regular intervals, followed by the Russian reply. Two days previously, their kitchen windows were smashed by shrapnel.

– ‘I’m not scared’ –

Antonina, a young girl with bright blond plaits, has already stopped flinching when the sounds of war echo in the distance. 

“At the start, when there was shelling near the house, I used to hide and lie on the floor. But now, when it’s far away, I’m used to it and I’m not scared,” she said.

While her teacher attempts to get to grips with Zoom, Antonia shows off the room she shares with Sonia. 

“Now we sleep on the floor, that way we won’t be killed by the shrapnel,” she said.

In the courtyard, she feeds the rabbits, her favourite animals. The rabbits, a pig and two cows are the reason why the family is staying put despite the danger.

The pig owes its survival to the irregular electricity supply, which makes the preservation of any choice cutlets impossible, Natalia explained.

“What would we do in town? Where would we stay, how would we live?” asked Andriy, showing the damage left by the last strike as another explosive sound is heard behind him. 

“Did you hear that? It never ends!”

– ‘Like a soldier’ –

Andriy said selling all his possessions would earn him 15,000 hryvnias ($406), whereas a house costs at least 100,000 hryvnias even in the nearest village, Novooleksandrivka.

When the bombardment is too intense, the family escapes by car for a while before calm returns to their neighbourhood.

“You need to be like a soldier: stay together, be ready, have everything packed, be quick, don’t hesitate, listen to your parents, pack your bags and go,” said Natalia.

The 33-year-old treasures her daughter and is proud of her good results and artistic talent, which she says Tonia inherited from her father.

But behind the calm exterior, Natalia admits she worries a lot for her children despite her best efforts not to panic.

She refuses to leave, saying she worked hard to build the house and save money for her daughters’ future.

The mother thinks the return to school will soon fail. Tonia’s teacher has still not managed to configure Zoom, but her young pupil makes use of the delay to chat with long-term friend Igor.

Tonia insists on reciting the poem she has learned by heart.

“Peace will come to Ukraine. Good people want peace. Adults as well as children aspire to peace on Earth.”

The Brazilian Amazon recorded its worst month of August for forest fires since 2010, with an 18 percent rise from a year ago, according to official data released Thursday.

The Brazilian INPE space agency said its satellites had recorded 33,116 fires in the rainforest, a key buffer against global warming, in August this year, compared to 28,060 in the same month last year.

At least 3,358 fires were recorded on August 22 alone, the highest number for any 24-hour period since September 2007, it said.

The number was nearly triple that recorded on the so-called “Day of Fire” — August 10, 2019 — when farmers launched a coordinated plan to burn huge amounts of felled rainforest in the northern state of Para.

Then, fires sent thick, gray smoke all the way to Sao Paulo, some 2,500 kilometers (1,500 miles) away, and triggered a global outcry over one of Earth’s most vital resources burning.

Between January and August, the INPE recorded 46,022 fires — a 16 percent rise from the same period in 2021.

The Amazon had not burnt more in a month of August — usually the worst for fires in the Brazilian dry season — since 2010, when 45,018 were recorded.

All the worst August figures since then — 30,900 fires in 2019, 29,307 in 2020, 28,060 in 2021 and 33,116 in 2022 — happened during the four-year term of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, who will be seeking re-election next month.

“This uncontrolled increase in fires in the last four years is closely related to the increase in deforestation,” said Mariana Napolitano of WWF Brazil.  

“The Amazon is a humid rainforest and, contrary to what happens in other biomes, fire does not arise spontaneously. Fires are always linked to human action,” she added.

According to experts, fires are mainly caused by farmers who illegally clear land by burning vegetation. 

Deforestation in Brazil is also at an historic high: in the first half of 2022 some 3,988 km2 were lost, a record since INPE’s Deter satellite monitoring system began collecting data in 2016.

Bolsonaro, an agribusiness ally, faces international criticism for a surge in Amazon destruction on his watch.

But he rejects the censure.

“None of those who are attacking us have the right. If they wanted a pretty forest to call their own, they should have preserved the ones in their countries,” he wrote on Twitter last month.

“The Amazon belongs to Brazilians, and always will,” said Bolsonaro.

A third person has died this week in Argentina from a type of pneumonia of unknown origin, with the fatalities thus far limited to a single clinic, health authorities said Thursday.

Nine people in northwestern Tucuman province have come down with a mysterious respiratory illness, including eight medical staff at the private clinic, Tucuman health minister Luis Medina Ruiz told reporters.

Three — two health personnel and now also a patient at the clinic — have died since Monday.

Authorities are conducting tests but Medina said they have already ruled out Covid-19, flu, influenza types A and B, the legionella bacterial disease and the hantavirus spread by rodents.

Samples have been sent to the Malbran Institute in Buenos Aires.

The latest victim was a 70-year-old woman who had been admitted to the clinic for surgery.

Medina said the woman could have been “patient zero, but that is being evaluated.”

The mystery disease claimed its first victim among health personnel at the clinic on Monday and a second two days later.

The first six patients started exhibiting symptoms between August 18 and 23.

Medina said on Wednesday the patients were struck with “a severe respiratory condition with bilateral pneumonia… very similar to Covid.”

Symptoms included vomiting, a high fever, diarrhea and body aches.

Of the six people receiving treatment, four were in serious condition in hospital and two were in isolation at home.

All other staff at the clinic were being monitored.

Experts were analyzing the water and air conditioners for possible contamination or poisoning.

The provincial health ministry said Wednesday the outbreak could have come from an infectious agent, but investigators were not excluding “toxic or environmental causes.”

Infectious disease specialist Mario Raya said Thursday that “for the moment, we have no cases outside” the stricken clinic.

Added Hector Sale, president of the Tucuman provincial medical college: “we are not dealing with a disease that causes person-to-person transmission” as no cases have been identified among close contacts of any of the patients.