Voice of America’s immigration news

PARIS — France on Monday began less than a fortnight of frenetic election campaigning for snap polls called by President Emmanuel Macron to combat the far right, with star footballer Kylian Mbappe warning the country was at a historic crossroads. Candidates had until Sunday evening to register for the 577 seats in the lower house National Assembly ahead of the official start of campaigning from midnight for the June 30 first round. The decisive second round takes place on July 7. The alliance led by centrist Macron, who called the snap polls some three years early after the far right trounced his party in EU Parliament elections, is still lagging way behind with little chance of winning an outright majority itself. Many in France, including ex-leaders, remain baffled over why Macron took the risk of calling an election that could see the far-right National Rally (RN) leading the government and its leader Jordan Bardella, 28, as prime minister. One of the most high-profile of the last candidates to register was Marie-Caroline Le Pen, the elder sister of the RN's three-time presidential candidate Marine Le Pen, who will stand for the party in the central Sarthe region. Her daughter Nolwenn Olivier is Bardella's ex-partner. Mbappe, representing France at the Euro 2024 tournament in Germany, said he was "against extremes and divisive ideas" and urged young people to vote at a "crucial moment" in French history. The striker defended comments made on Saturday by his teammate Marcus Thuram, saying he "had not gone too far" in calling on the country "to fight every day to stop" the RN winning the elections. "Today we can all see that extremists are very close to winning power and we have the opportunity to choose the future of our country," Mbappe said. France's men's football team has long been seen as a beacon for diversity in the country. The French Football Federation has urged against "any form of pressure and political use of the French team". Macron's dissolving of parliament after the French far right's victory in the EU vote has swiftly redrawn the lines of French politics. A new left-wing alliance, the New Popular Front that takes in Socialists and hard-leftists, faced its first crisis over the weekend after some prominent MPs from the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party found they had not been put forward to stand again. But Adrien Quatennens, a close ally of LFI figurehead Jean-Luc Melenchon, withdrew his candidacy which had sparked anger due to a conviction for domestic violence. On the right, the decision of Eric Ciotti, the leader of the Republicans (LR), to seek an election pact with the RN provoked fury inside the party and a move by its leadership to dismiss him, which a Paris court blocked on Friday. Adding to the chaos, the LR's executive is now fielding a candidate to stand against Ciotti in his home region of Nice.

COPENHAGEN, Denmark — The world's nine nuclear-armed states continue to modernize their nuclear weapons as the countries deepened their reliance on such deterrence in 2023, a Swedish think tank said Monday. "We have not seen nuclear weapons playing such a prominent role in international relations since the Cold War," said Wilfred Wan, director of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute's weapons of mass destruction program. Earlier this month, Russia and its ally Belarus launched a second stage of drills intended to train their troops in tactical nuclear weapons, part of the Kremlin's efforts to discourage the West from ramping up support for Ukraine. In a separate report, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, ICAN, said the nine nuclear-armed states spent a combined total of $91.4 billion on their arsenals in 2023 – equivalent to $2,898 per second. The Geneva-based coalition of disarmament activists won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017. The group said that figures show a $10.7 billion increase in global spending on nuclear weapons in 2023 compared with 2022, with the United States accounting for 80% of that increase. The U.S. share of total spending, $51.5 billion, is more than all the other nuclear-armed countries put together. "There has been a notable upward trend in the amount of money devoted to developing these most inhumane and destructive of weapons over the past five years," said Alicia Sanders-Zakre, Policy and Research Coordinator with ICAN. The next biggest spender was China at $11.8 billion, she said, with Russia spending the third largest amount at $8.3 billion. "All this money is not improving global security, in fact it's threatening people wherever they live," Sanders-Zakre said. SIPRI estimated that about 2,100 of the deployed warheads were kept in a state of high operational alert on ballistic missiles, and nearly all belong to Russia or the U.S. However, it said China is also believed to have some warheads on high operational alert for the first time. "Regrettably we continue to see year-on-year increases in the number of operational nuclear warheads," said Dan Smith, SIPRI's director. He added that the trend will likely accelerate in the coming years "and is extremely concerning." Russia and the United States have together almost 90% of all nuclear weapons, SIPRI said. The sizes of their military stockpiles seem to have remained relatively stable in 2023, although Russia is estimated to have deployed around 36 more warheads with operational forces than in January 2023, the watchdog added. In its SIPRI Yearbook 2024, the institute said that transparency regarding nuclear forces has declined in both countries in the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and debates around nuclear-sharing arrangements have increased in importance. Washington suspended its bilateral strategic stability dialogue with Russia, and last year Moscow announced that it was suspending its participation in the New START nuclear treaty. Of the total global inventory of an estimated 12,121 warheads in January, about 9,585 were in military stockpiles for potential use. An estimated 3,904 of those warheads were deployed with missiles and aircraft — which is 60 more than in January 2023 — and the rest were in central storage. In Asia, India, Pakistan and North Korea are all pursuing the capability to deploy multiple warheads on ballistic missiles, the institute said. The United States, Russia, France, U.K. and China have that capacity, enabling a rapid potential increase in deployed warheads, as well as the possibility for nuclear-armed countries to threaten the destruction of significantly more targets. The ninth nuclear nation is Israel. SIPRI stressed that all estimates were approximate and that the institute revises its world nuclear forces data each year based on new information and updates to earlier assessments.

BEIJING — A Philippine supply ship dangerously approached a Chinese ship resulting in a slight collision after it illegally intruded into waters adjacent to the Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea, the Chinese coast guard said Monday. The Philippine transport and replenishment ship ignored China's repeated warnings, the coast guard said in a statement. The guard said the vessel deliberately and dangerously approached the Chinese ship in an unprofessional manner, resulting in a collision. The statement made no mention of injuries or damage to either vessel. For months, China and the Philippines have traded accusations over dangerous maneuvers and collisions at the Second Thomas Shoal, an atoll in the Philippines' exclusive economic zone. Several incidents have happened when the Philippines deploys resupply missions for Filipino soldiers living aboard an aging warship there deliberately run aground to protect Manila's maritime claims. China claims almost the entire South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual ship-borne commerce, including parts claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. China had previously warned the Philippines about intruding into its territorial waters and the country has issued new rules, which went into effect on June 15, that would enforce a 2021 law allowing its coastguard to use lethal force against foreign ships in waters that it claims. The new rules allows China's coastguard to detain suspected trespassers without trial for 60 days.

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.

NEW YORK — Winners at the 2024 Tony Awards, announced Sunday. Best Musical: "The Outsiders" Best Play: "Stereophonic" Best Revival of a Musical: "Merrily We Roll Along" Best Revival of a Play: "Appropriate" Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical: Maleah Joi Moon, "Hell's Kitchen" Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical: Jonathan Groff, "Merrily We Roll Along" Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play: Sarah Paulson, "Appropriate" Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play: Jeremy Strong, "An Enemy of the People" Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical: Daniel Radcliffe, "Merrily We Roll Along" Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical: Kecia Lewis, "Hell's Kitchen" Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play: Will Brill, "Stereophonic" Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play: Kara Young, "Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch" Best Direction of a Play: Daniel Aukin, "Stereophonic" Best Direction of a Musical: Danya Taymor, "The Outsiders" Best Original Score: "Suffs," music & lyrics: Shaina Taub Best Book of a Musical: "Suffs," Shaina Taub Best Choreography: Justin Peck, "Illinoise" Best Costume Design of a Play: Dede Ayite, "Jaja's African Hair Braiding" Best Costume Design of a Musical: Linda Cho, "The Great Gatsby" Best Orchestrations: Jonathan Tunick, "Merrily We Roll Along" Best Scenic Design of a Musical: Tom Scutt, "Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club" Best Scenic Design of a Play: David Zinn, "Stereophonic" Best Lighting Design of a Musical: Hana S. Kim and Brian MacDevitt, "The Outsiders" Best Lighting Design of a Play: Jane Cox, "Appropriate" Best Sound Design of a Play: Ryan Rumery, "Stereophonic" Best Sound Design of a Musical: Cody Spencer, "The Outsiders"

Scores of participants attending a two-day international summit in Switzerland on peace in Ukraine, signed a document saying that Ukraine’s “territorial integrity” should be the basis for a peace agreement with Russia and that Kyiv should enter dialogue with Moscow on ending the war. Texas Christian University professor Ralph Carter provides analysis. Israel’s military announced a “tactical pause” Sunday in daytime fighting around a critical aid route in Gaza. The plan falls short of a total cease-fire outlined by U.S. President Joe Biden. VOA’s Ricki Rosen in Tel Aviv shares the details.

NEW YORK — "Stereophonic," the play about a Fleetwood Mac-like band recording an album over a turbulent and life-changing year, got a lighters-in-the-air cheer at the Tony Awards on Sunday, winning best new play while theater history was made for women as Broadway directors and score writers. "Stereophonic," the most-nominated play in Tony Awards history, is a hyper-naturalistic meditation on the thrill and danger of collaborating on art — the compromises, the egos and the joys. It was written by David Adjmi with songs by former Arcade Fire member Will Butler. "Oh, no. My agent gave me a beta-blocker, but it's not working," Adjmi said. He added that the play took 11 years to manifest. "This was a very hard journey to get up here," he said. "We need to fund the arts in America." He dedicated it to all the artists out there. Danya Taymor — whose aunt is Julie Taymor, the first woman to win a Tony Award for directing a musical — became the 11th woman to win the award. She helmed "The Outsiders," a gritty musical adaptation of the classic American young adult novel. "Thank you to the great women who have lifted me up," she said, naming producer Angelina Jolie among those on her list. Then Shaina Taub, only the second woman in Broadway history to write, compose and star in a Broadway musical, won for best score, following such writers as Cyndi Lauper, Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori. Taub, the force behind "Suffs," won for best book earlier in the night. Her musical is about the heroic final years of the fight to allow women to vote, leading to the passage of the 19th Amendment. "If you are inspired by the story of Suffs, please make sure you and everyone you know have registered to vote and vote, vote, vote!" she said. Taub also said the win was for all the loud girls out there: "Go for it," she urged. Earlier, Alicia Keys electrified the show when she teamed up with superstar Jay-Z on their hit "Empire State of Mind." Keys appeared at the piano on the stage of the David H. Koch Theater in Lincoln Center as the cast of her semi-autobiographical musical, "Hell's Kitchen," was presenting a medley of songs. She began singing her and Jay-Z's 2009 smash before leaving the stage to join the rapper on some interior steps to wild applause. Host Ariana DeBose kicked off the telecast with an original, acrobatic number, and Jeremy Strong took home the first big award of the night as Broadway's biggest party opened its arms to hip-hop and rock fans. Strong, the "Succession" star, landed his first Tony for his work in the revival of Henrik Ibsen's 1882 political play "An Enemy of the People." The theater award for best lead actor in a play will sit next to his Emmy, Screen Actors Guild Award and Golden Globe. The play is about a public-minded doctor in a small town who discovers the water supply for the public spa is contaminated, but his efforts to clean up the mess pit his ethics against political cowards. "This play is a cry from the heart," he said. Kara Young, the first Black performer to be nominated for a Tony three consecutive years in a row, won this time as best featured actress in a play for "Purlie Victorious," the story of a Black preacher's scheme to reclaim his inheritance and win back his church from a plantation owner. "Thank you to my ancestors," she said, adding thanks to her mom and dad, brother, partner, cast, her co-star Leslie Odom Jr. and her director, Kenny Leon. She saved her last thanks to playwright Ossie Davis and his star Ruby Dee, who originated the role. "Harry Potter" star Daniel Radcliffe cemented his stage career pivot by winning a featured actor in a musical Tony, his first trophy in five Broadway shows. He won for the revival of "Merrily We Roll Along," the Stephen Sondheim-George Furth musical that goes backward in time. "This is one of the best experiences of my life," Radcliffe said, thanking his cast and director. "I will never have it as good again." He also thanked his parents for playing Sondheim in the car growing up. Kecia Lewis, who plays a formidable piano teacher in "Hell's Kitchen," took home her first Tony. The 40-year veteran made her Broadway debut at 18 in the original company of "Dreamgirls" and endured amazing moments and heartbreak. "This moment is the one I dreamed of for those 40 years," she told the crowd. "Don't give up!" "Appropriate," Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' play — centered on a family reunion in Arkansas where everyone has competing motivations and grievances — was named best play revival. Jacobs-Jenkins in his remarks thanked Davis, saying there would be no "Appropriate" without "Purlie Victorious." Three-time Tony-honored Chita Rivera got a tribute by Tony winners Audra McDonald, Brian Stokes Mitchell and Bebe Neuwirth. Images of her work in "Chicago," “Kiss of the Spider Woman" and "West Side Story" were projected while dancers mimicked her hit numbers. DeBose, who won an Oscar in Rivera's old "West Side Story" role of Anita, also joined in.

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.

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.

MEXICO CITY — Around 1.39 million people from 177 countries traveled through Mexico so far this year trying to reach the United States without entry papers, the Mexican government said Sunday. The vast majority were men or women traveling alone, while almost 3,000 were unaccompanied minors, the National Migration Institute said, providing figures for January through the end of May. The figure of 177 countries of origin represents almost the whole world -- the United Nations has 193 member states. By country, the largest number of would-be migrants at nearly 380,000 came from Venezuela, which has endured severe economic hardship for years, followed by Guatemala, Honduras, Ecuador and Haiti, all of which are hard hit by gang and drug-trafficking violence. Others attempting the dangerous trek through Mexico in search of a better life in the United States came from as far afield as China, India, Mauritania and Angola, the institute said. In 2023 alone more than 2.4 million people crossed the U.S.-Mexico border without the required documentation, according to U.S. figures. The flow hit a record of 10,000 people per day in December although it has fallen as both countries cracked down on such crossings.

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.

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.

Bangkok — Thailand faces a critical week of court cases that could trigger a political crisis in Southeast Asia's second-largest economy, with the fate of the prime minister and the main opposition hanging in the balance. Four cases before the courts on Tuesday involve the country's most powerful politicians: Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, former prime leader Thaksin Shinawatra, the popular opposition Move Forward party and upper-house lawmakers. For decades, Thailand's politics has been shaped by a struggle between its conservative-royalist establishment, supported by the military, and populist parties such as those backed by Thaksin and the current opposition Move Forward party. "These cases highlight the fragility and complexity of Thailand's political climate," ANZ Research said in a note. "On the economic front, the immediate concerns are the potential for disruptive protests and delays to fiscal policy implementation." How is the prime minister involved? Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, a political novice who took office last August, has been accused by a group of conservative senators of breaching the constitution when he appointed a former lawyer with a conviction record to his Cabinet. Srettha, who denies any wrongdoing, could face dismissal if the Constitutional Court rules against him. If Srettha is removed from office, a new government must be formed, and his ruling Pheu Thai party would need to put forward a new candidate for premier to be voted on by parliament. The court will likely announce the next hearing or verdict date on Tuesday. What is the case against Thaksin? Thaksin, the influential former premier who was ousted in a 2006 military coup, is to be formally indicted in a criminal court in Bangkok Tuesday for allegedly insulting the country’s royalty and other charges linked to a 2015 media interview. The court will then decide whether to grant bail to the billionaire politician, who said he is innocent. "This case has no merit at all," he told reporters earlier this month. Thailand's lese-majeste law, one of the world's toughest, carries a maximum jail sentence of up to 15 years for each perceived royal insult. The 74-year-old returned to Thailand to a rock star's reception last August after 15 years of self-imposed exile. Hours after his arrival, the Shinawatra family-backed Pheu Thai party and Srettha sailed through a parliamentary vote to pick the prime minister, fueling speculation that Thaksin had struck a deal with his former enemies in the conservative establishment. Thaksin and the Pheu Thai party have denied this. Is the opposition under threat? Another case could lead to the dissolution of the progressive Move Forward party, which has 30% of seats in the lower house after winning last year's closely fought election but was blocked by conservative lawmakers from forming a government. The dissolution of Move Forward's predecessor party, Future Forward, in 2020 over a campaign funding violation was among the factors that triggered massive anti-government street protests. The Constitutional Court is considering an Election Commission complaint that alleges the Move Forward party breached the constitution with an election campaign to reform the country's royal insult law. Move Forward, which denies any wrongdoing, ceased efforts to change the law following a January verdict from the same court that ruled the party's plan to amend the law was a hidden effort to undermine the monarchy. The court is expected to announce the next hearing or verdict date on Tuesday. What about the senate election? The Constitutional Court will also deliver a verdict Tuesday on the ongoing selection of a new 200-member Senate, after accepting a petition questioning whether parts of the complex, three-tier process were lawful. If the process is canceled or delayed, it would temporarily extend the term of military-appointed lawmakers who have been central in determining government formation, including last year's maneuver to block Move Forward from forming a government. The current upper house was hand-picked by the military following a 2014 coup that ousted an elected Pheu Thai government that had been led by Thaksin's sister, who still lives in self-imposed exile.

Quito, Ecuador — A landslide in Ecuador killed at least six people and left 30 others missing, according to preliminary information from Ecuadorian authorities on Sunday. The "large-magnitude" landslide occurred in the center of the country, in the city of Banos de Agua Santa, the Ecuadorean Secretariat for Risk Management said in a report. "My solidarity with all the families that have been affected," wrote Roberto Luque, Ecuador's minister of public works, on the social media platform X. A heavy rainstorm caused by low pressure swept across parts of Central and South America on Sunday, with various countries warning of the increased risk of landslides, rock falls and flooding. In El Salvador, the country's civil protection agency declared a red alert due to heavy rains throughout the small nation, while in neighboring Guatemala several airlines diverted flights, according to the Guatemalan ministry of communications, infrastructure and housing.

Dubai, UAE — Iran called upon the Group of Seven leaders Sunday to distance itself from "destructive policies of the past," the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said, referring to a G7 statement condemning Iran's recent nuclear program escalation. On Friday, the G7 warned Iran against advancing its nuclear enrichment program and said it would be ready to enforce new measures if Tehran were to transfer ballistic missiles to Russia. "Any attempt to link the war in Ukraine to the bilateral cooperation between Iran and Russia is an act with only biased political goals," Kanaani said, adding that some countries are "resorting to false claims to continue sanctions" against Iran. Last week, the U.N. nuclear watchdog's 35-nation Board of Governors passed a resolution calling on Iran to step up cooperation with the watchdog and reverse its recent barring of inspectors. Iran responded by rapidly installing extra uranium-enriching centrifuges at its Fordow site and begun setting up others, according to an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report. Kanaani added Tehran would continue its "constructive interaction and technical cooperation" with the IAEA but called its resolution "politically biased." Iran is now enriching uranium to up to 60% purity, close to the 90% required for weapons grade — and has enough material enriched to that level, if enriched further, for three nuclear weapons — according to an IAEA yardstick.

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.

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.

Goma, DRC — A Romanian "mercenary" and two Congolese soldiers were killed, and a U.N. peacekeeper was wounded in three separate incidents in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, several sources said Sunday. A security official in the east of the country told AFP on the condition of anonymity that a private military contractor was killed, and three others wounded Saturday by a missile strike on a Congolese army base around 10 kilometers (6 miles) north of Goma. The origin of the strike was not confirmed.   The capital of North Kivu has been surrounded to the north and west by the Rwandan army and M23 rebels for several months. Fighting regularly takes place against the Congolese army on the outskirts of the city, while the rebels, backed by Kigali, continue to extend their hold in the east of the country. The Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Sunday that the deceased and two injured people were Romanian nationals, and that the fourth injured person was of another nationality. Several Romanian television channels — including the state-owned TVR Info — described the dead fighter as a "Romanian mercenary" under contract to the Congolese army. Around 200 kilometers north of Goma, in Butembo, at least two soldiers were killed in an ambush, local administrator Colonel Alain Kiwewa told AFP. He said he did not yet have any details of the identity of the assailants and that an investigation had been opened. But Kiwewa said the slain soldiers had been supplying others fighting against the ADF rebels. Since the start of the moth, around 150 people have been killed in attacks attributed to the ADF, which originated in neighboring Uganda and most of whose members swear allegiance to the Islamic State Group. Also, around Butembo, a MONUSCO (U.N. mission in the DRC) convoy was attacked by unidentified armed men Saturday evening as it returned from a mission. One peacekeeper was shot in the leg during the attack. Vivian van de Perre, second-in-command of the U.N. mission, condemned "the violence perpetrated against peacekeepers" and reiterated the need for "unhindered access for the protection of civilians."   On Sunday, Pope Francis deplored the surge in violence in eastern DRC and appealed to the national authorities and international communities to "safeguard the lives of civilians."