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The White House prepares for the upcoming NATO summit in Washington. The United Nations says the percentage of people in the world who have fled their homes to protect their lives has doubled in the past decade. Ukraine strikes an oil depot inside Russia, as Russian forces continue their bombardment of Dnipro, Kharkiv and Kherson. Vladimir Putin visits North Korea and the US Congress advances a bipartisan bill supporting Tibetan rights. Plus, Azerbaijani oil exports have continued to pass through a Turkish port, causing a problem for the country’s leadership.

Tbilisi, Georgia — On top of a steep hill overlooking Tbilisi, tucked behind the city’s ancient fortress, sits a sprawling, futuristic $50 million mansion that locals call “the glass palace.” A shark tank, private zoo and helipad lie within the heavily guarded compound. Its owner, Bidzina Ivanishvili, reportedly calls it his “James Bond” house. Ivanishvili is Georgia’s richest citizen by far. The 68-year-old multibillionaire founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party was rarely seen in public for much of the last decade — but he is now pulling the strings of Georgian politics, according to Eka Gigauri, head of the anti-corruption group Transparency International in Georgia. “Ivanishvili is the real ruler of this country,” Gigauri said. “He owns one-third of Georgian GDP, and he made his fortune in Russia in the late '90s. He still has the interests in Russia through his offshore companies — and not only him but his family members as well. ... “Is it possible to expect, or is it realistic to expect, from such an individual that he will do everything for Georgia to become the EU and NATO member? I don't think so,” Gigauri told VOA. Ivanishvili, for his part, has rarely spoken in public since a brief term as prime minister in 2012-13 apart from a speech in late April in which he defended a controversial “foreign agent” law as needed to prevent foreign intelligence agencies from undermining the government through the financing of nongovernmental organizations. West vs Russia Analysts say Georgia is torn between a future aligned with the West or with Russia. Protests erupted in March this year after the government introduced the “foreign agent” law, which requires any organization receiving more than 20% of its funding from foreign sources to register as a foreign agent. It closely resembles similar legislation in Russia which has forced many nongovernmental and media organizations to close or move abroad. The protests against the legislation in Georgia have evolved into anti-government demonstrations, as the country prepares for crucial elections in October. Ghia Nodia, a political analyst at Georgia’s Ilia State University, said, “With this so-called Russian law or foreign agent law, [Georgian Dream] effectively turned its back on Europe, even though they don't admit to it openly.” EU aspirations The Georgian government insists it still wants to join the European Union by 2030, although the bloc has warned that the foreign agent law could derail that process. The EU granted official candidate status to Georgia last year, hoping to set it on the path to democratic reform and Western integration. But the West misread Georgia’s billionaire puppet master, Nodia said. “The Georgian state has been captured by a specific person — Bidzina Ivanishvili — who is very secretive, whose agenda was not clear for people,” Nodia said. “Some people, including in the West, had illusions that he was maybe a little bit of a strange guy, but ultimately he is also committed to values and norms of Western democracy. “But they were proved wrong and skeptics were proved right, unfortunately. And it appears that he never had any real kind of commitment to democratic norms,” Nodia told VOA.   Protests The streets of Tbilisi have become a canvas for anti-government graffiti. Alongside EU, U.S., Georgian and NATO colors, protesters have daubed the blue and yellow of the Ukrainian flag — a show of solidarity as Kyiv tries to resist Russian occupation and domination. One slogan reads “Georgia is Ukraine; Ukraine is Georgia.” Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine forced Ivanishvili and his Georgian Dream party into the limelight, said Nodia. The invasion “somehow put him on the spot that he had to take sides more clearly. He didn't want to. But eventually he moved more in the Russian direction, even though Georgian Dream tries to hide it, not to say it openly. Ivanishvili made a strategic decision that Russia is winning this war, so we should stay with the winner, or prospective winner, as he saw it,” Nodia said. Stoking fear At a government-organized rally in April aimed at countering the opposition demonstrations, Ivanishvili said a Western “global party of war” was meddling in Georgia, citing a host of conspiracy theories about the role of nongovernmental organizations in the country. His party accuses the West of trying to persuade Georgia to open a new conflict against Russia, without providing any evidence. The propaganda is part a well-rehearsed autocratic playbook, said Aka Zarkua of the Governance Monitoring Center in Tbilisi, a nongovernmental organization that tracks government spending and communications. “The main propaganda line right now is that if we [Georgian Dream] are out of power, war with Russia is inevitable. So that is one of the biggest things. And as a country which experienced Russian aggression three or four times in the last 30 years, and a population traumatized by this experience, it is working,” Zarkua said. “They are trying to portray the West and Western countries — especially the United States and European Union — as some kind of enemy of Georgian traditional interests and family values,” Zarkua said. The government denies stoking public fear. Fridon Injia, an MP with the European Socialists party who voted for the foreign agent law, told VOA the government is seeking to carve its own independent future. “The main goal of the Georgian government now is to maintain peace, because we have seen what the war has done to other countries. So, it’s our main goal to maintain peace and for the Georgian government to avoid any kind of provocation that could spark a military conflict,” Injia said.   Western mistakes Since regaining independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Georgia has received financial and political support from the West. In addition to its EU aspirations, Georgia is a close partner of NATO, and the alliance decided in 2008 that the country would become a future member, although no timeline has been agreed upon. So why has Georgia strayed from its path to Western integration? “If we're talking about Western mistakes, the biggest mistake was the overall assumption about the threat of Russia and tyranny — that it was a headache, but not a fundamental threat,” said Giga Bokeria, chairperson of the European Georgia party and the secretary of the National Security Council of Georgia from November 2010 to November 2013. “Even after the 2008 invasion in Georgia, even after the 2014 invasion in Ukraine, there was no shift in understanding that this is a fundamental battle, and that resetting the relationship [with Russia] was only empowering the heirs of the evil empire of the Soviet Union,” Bokeria said. “So, it’s a lack of focus, lack of attention, and overall, a misunderstanding that what’s going on in Georgia is part of this bigger confrontation with Russia. But now I think … that after this full-scale invasion in Ukraine we now see an overall turn to a sober understanding of the challenge,” Bokeria told VOA. Backlash The Geogian  government was taken by surprise at the strength of the backlash to the foreign agent law, which has politicized younger generations, said analyst Ghia Nodia. “Some people say that now we are actually more optimistic than we were in February or March before this law was introduced. Because this law and protest woke up the Georgian people. We are kind of facing a precipice,” he said. While there is optimism that the October election could bring a change of geopolitical direction in Georgia, it’s clear that the government — and its billionaire master Ivanishvili — won’t relinquish power without a fight.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Washington    — The U.S. Embassy in Finland this month presented journalist Jessikka Aro with the Ambassador Hickey Woman of Courage Award.  The honor — tailored specifically for Aro — comes five years after the U.S. State Department rescinded its courage award because of critical comments the Finnish journalist made about then-President Donald Trump.   The embassy presented its award in recognition of Aro’s commitment to exposing and combating Russian disinformation campaigns at great personal cost. For a decade, she has been at the forefront of investigating Russian information warfare and pro-Kremlin troll farms.  “I still can’t believe that I actually got [the award],” Aro told VOA from Finland’s capital, Helsinki. “I felt utterly supported. I felt utterly appreciated. I felt really honored.”  In 2019, U.S. officials informed Aro that she would receive that year’s International Women of Courage Award. A few weeks later, she was told there had been a mistake and she would not receive the prestigious honor. Back then, Aro reported for Finland’s public service broadcaster YLE.  At the time, officials publicly denied that Aro’s social media posts about Trump were the reason. But a 2020 report by the State Department’s Office of Inspector General found that officials revoked the award over Aro’s comments.   The report cited a post on Twitter, now X, in which Aro wrote that “Trump constantly labels journalists as ‘enemy’ and ‘fake news.’” She then cited an article about a Trump supporter who threatened to shoot reporters for The Boston Globe for being what Trump described as “enemies of the people” and “fake news.”  Throughout his presidency, Trump regularly referred to the media as the “enemy” of the American people. The Trump presidential campaign did not reply to VOA’s email requesting comment. In 2020, the Washington-based International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) awarded Aro its own Courage in Journalism Award. The organization also advocated for an investigation into why the State Department backtracked on its award.  The new award from the U.S. Embassy in Helsinki comes at a meaningful time for Aro. This year marks a decade since she began facing severe online harassment — including death threats — over her coverage of Russian information warfare. The harassment, which mainly comes from Russian and Finnish actors, is ongoing, she said.   “My work is being attacked, myself smeared. Some of my sources are smeared,” said Aro, who is now the communications director for the Finnish trade union Tehy. “They are spreading these seeds of mistrust against my person and my work.”   Trolls also attacked her after the State Department rescinded its award, sparking “a massive wave” of harassment, she said.   Such attacks are consistent with the broader trend of disproportionate online harassment against female journalists, according to Elisa Lees Munoz, executive director of the IWMF. Online attacks against female journalists are often sexualized and can include rape threats and insults about the reporter’s appearance, Munoz said.   “It leads to symptoms that are very similar to PTSD, and that even though these attacks are happening virtually, they have very serious, real-life impacts,” she said.   In a 2022 survey by the International Center for Journalists and UNESCO, nearly three-quarters of respondents identifying as women said they had experienced online violence.  When Aro first began to face online harassment in 2014, “it actually fueled my will to investigate Russian trolls,” she said. “Even nowadays, on a daily basis, I think of it as proof that I’m doing a great job.”  Aro admits the harassment has also taken a toll. But she says she’ll never let it get in the way of her work.  “Investigating Russian information hybrid warfare is a true calling for me,” she said.   Although it’s five years late, Aro says she feels vindicated. The investigative journalist is currently working on her third book about Russian information warfare, which she expects to be published in 2026. 

Denver, Colorado — The shooter who killed five people and injured 19 others at a nightclub in Colorado Springs pleaded guilty to 50 federal hate crime charges on Tuesday. Anderson Lee Aldrich, 24, is already serving life in prison after pleading guilty to state charges in the 2022 shooting last year. Federal prosecutors have focused on proving that the attack at Club Q — a sanctuary for LGBTQ+ people in the mostly conservative city — was premeditated and fueled by bias. Aldrich entered the guilty pleas under a deal with prosecutors that allows the shooter to avoid the death penalty and instead be sentenced to more multiple life sentences for the hate crimes plus a total of 190 years on gun charges and other counts. Defense attorneys in the state case, who said their client is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns, argued that Aldrich was drugged up on cocaine and medication at the time. In phone calls from jail with The Associated Press last year, Aldrich didn't answer directly when asked whether the attack was motivated by hate, saying only, that's "completely off base," and did not reveal a motivation to the AP or in state court. U.S. District Judge Charlotte Sweeney, the first openly gay federal judge in Colorado, said she would hear victim testimony before deciding whether to accept the sentencing agreement. Less than a month before the shooting, Aldrich coordinated a spam email campaign against a former work supervisor who is gay, according to recent court filings by prosecutors. They also accuse Aldrich of disseminating someone else's manifesto, which included racist and antisemitic statements and falsely claimed being transgender is a mental illness. Aldrich spent over $9,000 on weapons-related purchases from at least 56 vendors between September 2020 and the attack on Nov. 19, 2022, according to new evidence cited by prosecutors. Investigators found a hand drawn map of Club Q with an entry and exit point marked was found inside Aldrich's apartment, evidence that was also presented in state court. There was also a black binder of training material entitled "How to handle an active shooter." Defense attorneys in the state case, who said their client is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns, argued that Aldrich was drugged up on cocaine and medication at the time. In a series of phone calls from jail with The Associated Press last year, Aldrich didn't answer directly when asked whether the attack was motivated by hate, saying only, that's "completely off base." Aldrich did not reveal a motivation to the AP or in state court and declined to speak during that sentencing. That Aldrich is nonbinary is a claim rejected by some of the victims as well as the district attorney who prosecuted Aldrich in state court, who called it an effort to avoid hate crime charges. They include Ashtin Gamblin, who worked the front door that night and remains in physical therapy after being shot nine times. A true member of the LGBTQ+ community would know about the discrimination and the mental health challenges they face and wouldn't attack its members in such a sanctuary, she said. "To come into the one safe place to do that, you're not part of the community. You just wanted the community gone," Gamblin said. She's among the survivors expected to speak during the hearing about how the attack still affects their lives. Aldrich visited the club at least eight times before the attack, including stopping by an hour and a half before the shooting, according to prosecutors. Just before midnight, Aldrich returned wearing a tactical vest with ballistic plates and carrying an AR-15 style rifle and started firing immediately. Aldrich killed the first person in the entryway, shot at bartenders and customers at the bar and then moved onto the dance floor, pausing to reload the rifle's magazine. The shooting was stopped by a Navy officer who grabbed the barrel of the suspect's rifle, burning his hand, and an Army veteran who helped subdue Aldrich until police arrived, authorities have said. There had been a chance to prevent such violence: Aldrich was arrested in June 2021, accused of threatening their grandparents and vowing to become "the next mass killer " while stockpiling weapons, body armor and bomb-making materials. But Aldrich's mother and grandparents refused to cooperate, and prosecutors failed to serve subpoenas to family members that could have kept the case alive, so the charges were eventually dismissed. A felony conviction in the case would have prevented Aldrich from legally buying more firearms. But District Attorney Michael Allen pointed out that most of the gun components used in the shooting were untraceable ghost gun parts that did not require Aldrich to pass a background check to acquire. Two guns seized from Aldrich in the 2021 case were still held by the sheriff's office at the time of the Club Q shooting, he said. Justifying the proposed sentence, prosecutors wrote: "The horrors that the victims and survivors experienced at the hands of the defendant cannot be overstated. The victims and survivors, who were celebrating Transgender Day of Remembrance, were attacked when they least suspected it by someone who had stood in their presence mere hours before." Aldrich, who will be returned to state prison after the hearing, is being sentenced federally under the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which expanded federal law in 2009 to include crimes motivated by sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. Gamblin wanted the death penalty as an acknowledgement of how many people's lives have been harmed. She said some friends don't want to go out to events anymore and others struggle to keep jobs that involve working with the public. "We want nothing more to go back to normal, but we know it's not going to happen," she said.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Washington — China aims to mark a new milestone in space exploration next week when its Chang'e-6 probe is expected to return to Earth from the far side of the moon with rock and soil samples. Scientists involved in the project say the probe is likely to bring back a "treasure trove" of material that will shed light on the differences between the front and back of Earth's satellite. James Head is an American planetary scientist and professor of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences at Brown University.  He has 15 years of experience in cooperating with the Chinese scientific community and participated in the research for the Chang'e-6 lunar landing. He told VOA in a video interview that the samples brought back by Chang'e-6 from the far side of the moon will be "a treasure chest of fragments of materials, all of which are going to tell us something about why the moon is different on the near side and the far side. It's just amazing." "It's going to be an international treasure trove of information for space planetary scientists," he added. The strength of China's space science and technology, demonstrated by the Chang'e series of lunar exploration projects, has also attracted the participation of other countries. The European Space Agency, France, Italy, and Pakistan responded to the "Chang'e-6 Mission International Payload Cooperation Opportunity Announcement" released by the China National Space Administration in 2019. They were selected to carry out exploration on the lunar surface and lunar orbit. Head said, "Not every country has the ability to launch rockets to the moon. So, if you can use your capability, then that's a big deal for international relationships for the countries — essentially the way they're perceived in the world." The mission, which comes 55 years after the U.S. first sent humans to the moon, has attracted the attention and participation of European and American scientists.  However, it also comes at a time when geopolitical tensions are pulling Russia and China closer together to counter Western democracies.  Analysts worry that our lunar exploration and space research are quickly being divided into two camps as well. As China makes significant progress in its lunar program, it is also actively courting other countries to form a parallel alliance with the U.S.-led lunar exploration program. China and Russia have been planning to cooperate in building the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) since 2021. On June 12, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law approving the cooperation agreement signed by Russia and China last year on the joint construction of the ILRS. Countries currently participating in the ILRS initiative also include Venezuela, Pakistan, South Africa, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Nicaragua and a university in the United Arab Emirates. Namrata Goswami, lecturer in space policy and international relations at the Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University, told VOA, "They're (China is) actually changing the narrative to tell nations that want to collaborate with them, that their station is like a strategic high ground, and nations that actually collaborate with China will benefit from this particular focus, which is space resource utilization, and they have stated that officially now.” The Chinese government has said it adheres to the peaceful use of space, but Western analysts have questioned China's motives for developing the moon. Todd Harrison, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, told VOA in an email, "China tends to have a more mercantilist view of the moon that aligns with its authoritarian form of government, which is in stark contrast to the open, transparent, and free market approach of the United States and its partners." China has even proposed establishing an Earth-Moon space economic zone and has drawn up a roadmap for it with an annual "total output value of more than US$10 trillion" by around 2050. Harrison said, "China's main partner for its lunar research base is Russia, and they have managed to attract a handful of other nations to join them, most of which have no significant space capabilities or financial resources to contribute." In contrast, NASA and the U.S. State Department jointly launched the Artemis Accords in 2020, reaching a multilateral arrangement with more than 30 countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy, stipulating the principles of civil exploration and cooperation among the contracting parties in outer space. Neither China nor Russia have joined the agreement initiated by the U.S. Dmitry Rogozin, former head of Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos, even said that the Artemis Accords were "illegal" and not in compliance with international law. "You do see a very clear strategic alignment structure forming, also very long-term clear ambitions as to what each coalition is hoping to do,” said Goswami. Experts say the lunar exploration race of China and Russia versus the U.S. is about more than just resource extraction. Harrison said, "This is really about setting precedent for how space commerce will be conducted and establishing norms of behavior for activities on the moon. A key component of this race is building international partnerships with shared values and a shared understanding of how the lunar economy should work for the benefit of all. In this respect, China has fallen behind the United States and the free world." For the European Space Agency, the Chang’e-6 may be their last lunar exploration experiment in cooperation with China, according to an interview posted on the website SpaceNews. “For the moment there are no decisions to continue the cooperation on the Chang’e-7 or -8,” Karl Bergquist, ESA’s international relations administrator, he told SpaceNews. China plans its next lunar probes in the Chang’e series around 2026 and from 2028. Bergquist also told SpaceNews the ESA will not be involved in the China-led ILRS. “ESA will not cooperate on ILRS as this is a Sino-Russian initiative and space cooperation with Russia is at present under embargo,” he said. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, the European Union, together with the U.S., has imposed embargoes and sanctions on several Russian industries, including a technical embargo on the Russian space industry. The European Space Agency has also terminated its planned lunar exploration project with Russia. Meanwhile, China has stepped-up its space cooperation with Russia, including allowing Moscow Power Engineering Institute to open a branch at its newest spaceport on southern Hainan Island. Europe and China's space technology cooperation will continue at least until the Chang’e-6 probe lands back on Earth. The ESA is offering ground support for the return flight from its Maspalomas space station in Gran Canaria island in Spain. The probe is scheduled to land at a site in Inner Mongolia around June 25.  

U.S. negotiator Amos Hochstein is back in the Middle East as Israel and Hezbollah seem to be on the brink of all-out war. A war would be devastating for both Israel and Lebanon, but a cease-fire seems tied to the fighting in Gaza. Linda Gradstein reports for VOA from Jerusalem. VOA footage by Ricki Rosen.

Islamabad — The United Nations human rights expert for Afghanistan warned Tuesday against sidelining the rights and voices of women at an upcoming international meeting with the country's fundamentalist Taliban leaders. The special rapporteur, Richard Bennett, issued the warning while presenting his latest report on the Taliban’s allegedly intensifying rights violations against Afghan women and girls to the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva. “Following extensive research, consultation, and analysis, it finds that the Taliban’s institutionalized system of gender oppression established and enforced through its violations of women's and girls’ fundamental rights is widespread and systematic and appears to constitute an attack on the entire civilian population, amounting to crimes against humanity,” Bennett reported. "The gravity and scale of the crimes can’t be overstated. We have a collective responsibility to challenge and dismantle this appalling system and to hold those responsible to account,” said the U.N. expert.  Bennett shared his findings as the U.N. prepares to host a two-day meeting of international envoys on Afghanistan in Doha, Qatar, commencing June 30. The Taliban will attend for the first time what will be the third Doha conference since U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres launched the process more than a year ago. Afghan civil society groups and representatives reportedly have not been invited to the third Doha huddle, even though they attended the second this past February. The Taliban refused to join those discussions unless their delegates could be accepted as the sole representatives of Afghanistan. Guterres rejected the Taliban’s demands in a post-meeting news conference. The U.N. has stated that the Doha process is aimed at developing a coherent and unified world approach to engagement with the Taliban. Bennett said Tuesday the upcoming meeting presents an important opportunity to affirm that civil society, including women, are "meaningful participants" and that women's rights are central to discussions. “The Taliban are not recognized as a government and should not be treated as such. They must not be allowed to dictate the terms of U.N.-hosted meetings,” Bennett said. “Failure to learn the lessons of the past and sidelining human rights could have devastating and long-lasting consequences,” he added. “The Taliban’s institutionalization of its system of gender oppression should shock the conscience of humanity.” The Taliban have dismissed international criticism of their governance, including restrictions on women’s access to education and employment, saying their policies are aligned with Afghan culture and their harsh interpretation of Islamic law. On Sunday, the Taliban’s foreign ministry spokespersons formally confirmed that its delegation would attend the third Doha conference. “The agenda and participation list of the upcoming Doha meeting shared with the Islamic Emirate after two months of discussions with the U.N., it was decided in principle to participate in the said meeting,” Abdul Qahar Balkhi said. He used the official title of their men-only government, which is yet to be recognized by the world. “If there are any changes to the agenda and participation, it would naturally affect our decision, which we will share with all sides at that time,” Balkhi cautioned. Bennett urged the international community to use an “all-tools approach” centered on justice and accountability, incorporating human rights and women’s voices in political processes and diplomatic engagement while dealing with the Taliban. “It’s incumbent on us all to take decisive action to stand with Afghan women and girls, hold the perpetrators accountable, and restore dignity, equality, and justice for all.” The Taliban stormed back to power in Afghanistan almost three years ago, banning girls ages 12 and older from attending secondary school. They have also barred women from working in public and private sectors, including the U.N, except for Afghan health care and a few other departments. Women are not allowed to travel long distances by road or air unless accompanied by a male relative and are banned from visiting public places such as parks, gyms, and bathhouses. The Taliban’s return to power in August 2021 led to the worsening of economic and humanitarian conditions in the impoverished country of more than 40 million people, which is reeling from years of war and the devastation of natural disasters.

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NEW YORK — New York's top court declined Tuesday to hear Donald Trump's gag order appeal, leaving the restrictions in place following his felony conviction last month. The Court of Appeals found that the order does not raise "substantial" constitutional issues that would warrant an immediate intervention. The decision is the latest legal setback for the former president, who has repeatedly railed against the gag order, which prevents him from commenting on witnesses, jurors and others who were involved in the hush money case. But it could be short lived. The trial judge, Juan M. Merchan, is expected to rule soon on a defense request to lift the gag order. Trump's attorneys filed a notice of appeal with the state's high court on May 15, during the former president's landmark criminal trial. They argued that the gag order restricted Trump's "core political speech on matters of central importance at the height of his Presidential campaign." But the Court of Appeals disagreed. In a decision list posted on Tuesday, the court said it would not automatically hear the case, writing that "no substantial constitutional question is directly involved." Trump's lawyers were essentially seeking a shortcut to expedite their appeal, which was rejected by the state's midlevel appeals court last month. They now have 30 days to file a motion for leave to appeal, according to court spokesperson Gary Spencer. Merchan imposed the gag order on March 26, a few weeks before the start of the trial, after prosecutors raised concerns about the presumptive Republican presidential nominee's tendency to attack people involved in his cases. During the trial, Merchan held Trump in contempt of court and fined him $10,000 for violating the gag order. The judge threatened to put Trump in jail if he did it again. The order remains in effect weeks after the conclusion of the trial, which ended with Trump's conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records arising from what prosecutors said was an attempt to cover up a hush money payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 election. Daniels claims she had a sexual encounter with Trump a decade earlier, which he denies. He is scheduled to be sentenced July 11. The Manhattan district attorney's office had urged the Court of Appeals to reject the appeal. In their own letter, prosecutors noted the question about whether the order should be lifted could be dealt with through post-trial court filings. Trump's lawyers have argued that he should be entitled to fully address the case, given the continued public criticism of him by his ex-lawyer Michael Cohen and Daniels, both key prosecution witnesses. Days after the verdict, they sent a letter to Merchan asking him to lift the gag order. They followed up last week with a formal motion requesting that the restrictions be rescinded. Prosecutors have until Thursday to respond. Merchan is expected to rule soon after that, possibly before Trump's June 27 debate with President Joe Biden. "It's a little bit of the theater of the absurd at this point, right? Michael Cohen is no longer a witness in this trial," an attorney for Trump, Todd Blanche, told the AP earlier this month. "The trial is over." Messages seeking comment were left Tuesday for Blanche and the Manhattan DA's office.

NAIROBI, Kenya — More than 200 protesters have been arrested in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, in ongoing protests against proposed tax hikes in a finance bill that is due to be tabled in parliament.  Civil society groups said that demonstrations and a planned sit-down outside parliament buildings will continue despite the arrest of 210 protesters.  Nairobi Police Commander Adamson Bungei on Tuesday said that no group had been granted permission to protest in the capital. The right to peaceful protests is guaranteed in the Kenyan Constitution, but organizers are required to notify the police beforehand. Police generally give a go-ahead unless there are security concerns.  Police hurled tear gas canisters at hundreds of demonstrators on Tuesday, forcing businesses to temporarily close because of fears over looting.  A lawyer, Wanjohi Gachie, said that he was protesting on behalf of all Kenyans who would be potentially burdened by the tax hikes.  "I'm requesting the police not to arrest or beat us, because we are fighting for their rights as well," he said.  Some major tax proposals in the bill were dropped after a Tuesday morning meeting between ruling party lawmakers and President William Ruto.  The chairperson of the finance committee, Kuria Kimani, said the proposal to introduce a 16% value-added tax on bread had been dropped.  Other levies that had prompted debate and have been amended include a proposed 2.5% motor vehicle annual tax that was to be placed on insurance.  A proposed tax on goods that degrade the environment will also be amended to apply only to imported goods to encourage local manufacturing.  Rights group Amnesty Kenya said that its staff members observing the protests were arrested.  "We demand the immediate and unconditional release of all arrested protesters and observers," the group said.  Kenya Law Society President Faith Odhiambo said that police used tear gas on lawyers at a Nairobi police station as they sought to see their clients.  Ruto last month defended the proposed taxes, saying the country must be financially self-sustaining.  "The whole principle is that you must live within your means," he said. "I persuaded and I made a case to the people of Kenya that we must begin to enhance our revenue."  Opposition leader Raila Odinga urged legislators to scrutinize the bill and vote to remove clauses that would burden the poor.  "It is worse than the one of 2023, an investment killer and a huge millstone around the necks of millions of poor Kenyans who must have hoped that the tears they shed over taxes last year would see the government lessen the tax burden in 2024," he said in a statement in early June. Opposition figure Kalonzo Musyoka said that weekly protests would resume if the finance bill is approved as proposed.  Legislators are due to debate the bill starting Wednesday with a vote scheduled for Monday.  Last year's finance law introduced a 1.5% housing tax on gross income for salaried individuals, despite concerns that it would further burden Kenyans already struggling under a high cost of living. The law also doubled VAT on petroleum products from 8% to 16%.

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NAIROBI, Kenya — A team of Haitian police commanders on Tuesday met Kenya's inspector general of police ahead of a planned deployment to the violence-hit Caribbean country expected to take place by the end of June. Kenya is set to lead a United Nations-backed multinational peacekeeping mission with officers drawn from several countries to combat gang violence in Haiti that has left thousands of people dead and forced more than 360,000 others to flee their homes. "We are counting on your support," Haitian police official Joachim Prohete told Kenya's Inspector Japhet Koome in a meeting in Nairobi, as police clashed with anti-taxation protesters in the streets.  "We are ready and committed to come over and assist whenever needed," Koome told the Haitian delegation in return. The Haitian police also met commanders of the 1,000 Kenyan officers who will be deployed as part of the multinational peacekeeping mission. Kenya will also host Haitian police for training, and the delegation in Nairobi on Tuesday visited the barracks where drills will take place, Kenyan police said. President William Ruto last week said Kenya will honor its commitment to restore peace in the Caribbean nation. U.S. President Joe Biden during Ruto's state visit in May expressed deep appreciation for Kenya's planned deployment. The deployment that was set to take place in May was postponed to allow completion of bases from which the officers will operate and the procurement of key equipment, including vehicles. Haiti has endured poverty, political instability and natural disasters for decades. International intervention in Haiti has a complicated history. A U.N.-approved stabilization mission to Haiti that started in June 2004 was marred by a sexual abuse scandal and the introduction of cholera, which killed nearly 10,000 people. The mission ended in October 2017.

In March 2024, the Russian government branded the Institute of International Education, which grants Fulbright scholarships, as an “undesirable” organization, banning it from operating in the country and making association with it potentially illegal. Now, Russian Fulbright scholars who are currently abroad could face repercussions when they return home. Maxim Adams has the story.

California researchers are working to make self-driving cars safer by letting them see around corners. Matt Dibble has our story in this week’s episode of LogOn.