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SINGAPORE — Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy arrived in Singapore for the Shangri-La Dialogue conference on Saturday, where he planned to meet U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and discuss support for his embattled country in an address to delegates.  After arriving at the conference venue in a motorcade amid heavy security, Zelenskyy said in a statement on the social media platform X that he had come to gather support from the Asia-Pacific region for a peace summit planned for June 15-16 in Switzerland.  "Global security is impossible when the world's largest country disregards recognized borders, international law, and the U.N. Charter, resorts to hunger, darkness, and nuclear blackmail," the statement said, referring to Russia, which invaded Ukraine in 2022.  The statement said Zelenskyy planned to hold several meetings, including with Singaporean President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, Timor-Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta, Austin, and Singaporean investors.  A U.S. official said Zelenskiy and Ukrainian Defense Minster Rustem Umerov would meet Austin "to discuss the current battlefield situation in Ukraine and to underscore the U.S. commitment to ensuring Ukraine has what it needs to defend itself against ongoing Russian aggression."  The International Institute of Strategic Studies, which organized the security conference, said Zelenskyy would participate in a discussion session on Sunday entitled "Re-Imagining Solutions for Global Peace and Regional Stability."  Zelenskyy said on Wednesday that Russia is trying to disrupt the Switzerland peace summit, which he hopes will generate support for the withdrawal of Russian troops and the restoration of Ukraine's 1991 borders.  It is Zelenskiy's second trip to Asia since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. In May 2023, he attended the G7 meetings in Japan.  Russia has begun renewed assaults against Ukrainian lines and has stepped up missile attacks in recent months. Russian troops have made small gains in Ukraine's east and south, even as Kyiv's allies accelerate shipments of ammunition and other arms.  Russia has not attended the Shangri-La Dialogue since the invasion.  The United States this year approved $61 billion for weapons for Ukraine, some of which — such as Patriot missiles and ATACMS precision ballistic missiles — have already arrived there.   On Thursday, U.S. officials said U.S. President Joe Biden had assured Ukraine it could use U.S. weapons to strike targets across the border in Russia that were being used to attack areas around Kharkiv, a city in Ukraine's northeast.  Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned NATO members against allowing Ukraine to fire their weapons into Russia and on Tuesday again raised the risk of nuclear war.  Sweden also approved a new security package this week worth about $1 billion, which included armored vehicles, and for the first time, airborne warning and control aircraft that can spot targets in the air at extreme distances.  Austin, who spoke earlier on Saturday at the Shangri-La Dialogue, noted in his remarks that the support for Ukrainian forces pushing back against Russia's invasion for more than two years showed that countries around the world could rally in the face of aggression.  The Shangri-La conference, held annually in Singapore by the International Institute of Strategic Studies for the last 21 years, ends on June 2. 

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SINGAPORE — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin tried to refocus attention on China's threat in the Asia-Pacific region on Saturday, seeking to alleviate concerns that conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza have distracted from America's security commitments in the region. Austin, who was speaking at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore, met his Chinese counterpart, Dong Jun, on Friday in a bid to cool friction over issues such as Taiwan and China's military activity in the South China Sea. There has been increasing concern that Washington's focus on helping Ukraine counter Russia's invasion and support for Israel's war in Gaza, while trying to ensure that the conflict does not spread, has taken away attention from the Indo-Pacific. "Despite these historic clashes in Europe and the Middle East, the Indo-Pacific has remained our priority theater of operations," Austin said in his speech, which appeared aimed at underlining the administration's legacy in the region as President Joe Biden's first term in office nears its end. Biden is running for reelection in November against former President Donald Trump. "Let me be clear: The United States can be secure only if Asia is secure," Austin said. "That’s why the United States has long maintained our presence in this region." Austin underscored the importance of alliances in the region. "And ... peaceful resolution of disputes through dialogue and not coercion or conflict. And certainly not through so-called punishment," Austin said, taking a shot at China. The speech took aim at Beijing's actions in the region, including the South China Sea, without naming China for the most part. In response, Chinese Lieutenant General Jing Jianfeng said the U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy was intended "to create division, provoke confrontation and undermine stability." "It only serves the selfish geopolitical interests of the U.S. and runs counter to the trend of history and the shared aspirations of regional countries for peace, development and win-win cooperation," said Jing, deputy chief of the Joint Staff Department of China's Central Military Commission. Some U.S. officials say Beijing has become more emboldened in recent years, recently launching what it described as "punishment" drills around Taiwan, sending heavily armed warplanes and staging mock attacks after Lai Ching-te was inaugurated as Taiwan's president. About $8 billion in U.S. funding is set aside for countering China in the Indo-Pacific as part of a supplemental funding bill passed by lawmakers. Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Friday denounced illegal, coercive and aggressive actions in the South China Sea, a disputed ocean territory that China has been flooding with coast guard ships in recent months. The Philippines, a sprawling archipelago with strong historical ties to the United States and close geographical proximity to China, is at the center of an intensifying power struggle between Washington and Beijing. Austin said the harassment faced by the Philippines was dangerous and reiterated that the United States' mutual defense treaty with Manila was iron clad. He said the aim was for tensions between Beijing and Manila not to spiral out of control. "America will continue to play a vital role in the Indo-Pacific, together with our friends across the region that we share and care so much about," Austin said. Jing, the Chinese general, said these alliances contribute to instability in the region. "It is natural for neighbors to bicker sometimes, but we need to resolve disagreements through dialogue and consultation rather than inviting wolves into our house and playing with fire," he 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.

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.

NEW DELHI — Millions of Indians voted Saturday in the last phase of India’s mammoth election that will decide whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi secures a third consecutive term in office. Voters were casting ballots for 57 parliamentary constituencies in the seventh phase of the polls that stretched over six weeks in the searing summer heat. Among the seats for which votes were cast on Saturday was Modi's constituency, Varanasi, a holy Hindu city in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. The Hindu nationalist leader has won the seat in the last two elections with huge margins. All eyes are now on Tuesday, when votes will be counted for all 543 elected seats in the lower house of Parliament. As India uses electronic voting machines, results are expected the same day. The elections will test the popularity of 73-year-old Modi, whose image as a strong leader and champion of Hindu nationalism has been boosted by a host of welfare measures for tens of millions of poor people during his decade in power. The Bharatiya Janata Party campaign was dominated by the Indian leader, who crisscrossed the country to hold over 200 rallies. Before elections got underway, the BJP was expected to cruise to an easy victory. The party had set a target of winning a supermajority by winning 400 seats. Most observers say it could fall short of that ambitious goal even though it is expected to win a majority. "It’s a litmus test for Mr. Modi. When elections started it appeared to be a one-horse race. He appeared very invincible, very formidable and raised the bar very high," political analyst Rasheed Kidwai told VOA. But he said an opposition alliance of more than two dozen parties that is challenging Modi has put up a spirited fight. "The final numbers will depend on whether the BJP can hold ground in populous northern states where the party has secured huge success in the past," he said. On Friday, the Indian leader started two days of meditation at the southernmost tip of India at a memorial for Hindu philosopher Swami Vivekananda -- images released by his party showed him clad in saffron robes with eyes closed and prayer beads in hand. Both Modi and the opposition alliance have exuded confidence about winning. The opposition’s hopes of making gains rest on tapping into growing resentment over high unemployment that faces the country’s huge youth population and rising prices. Congress Party leader, Rahul Gandhi, who was the face of the opposition, focused his campaign on the need to create jobs and growing wealth inequality in the country and said the government’s policies have favored the rich at the expense of the poor. The party has promised cash transfers to poor women and a guarantee of apprenticeships for college graduates. It has also raised concerns about democratic backsliding under Modi. The Congress Party has been marginalized over the last decade amid the BJP’s rise into a formidable political force under Modi – it only holds 52 seats in Parliament. Political observers said the party and its allies could regain some momentum. "Much will depend on how the Congress Party and its allies perform in swing states like Maharashtra in the west, Bihar in the east and Karnataka in the south," according to Kidwai. Still the opposition faces a daunting task. To make significant gains it would also have to fare well in populous northern states, where the BJP is well entrenched and where its Hindu nationalist agenda resonates the most.  The BJP, for its part, hopes to expand its influence in some southern states where it has virtually no presence. The election campaign has been called one of India’s most divisive. At rallies, Modi charged that the Congress Party was pro-Muslim and planned to hand benefits reserved for lower caste Hindus to Muslims if it is voted into power – analysts said the polarizing rhetoric was a bid to shore up support among his Hindu base after voting got off to a lackluster start last month. In a letter addressed to voters in Punjab on Thursday, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh accused Modi of indulging in the "most vicious form of hate speeches that are purely divisive in nature" during the campaign and accused him of lowering the dignity of the prime minister's office. Punjab was among the seven states and one federal territory that voted Saturday. Only India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, secured a third straight term in office. The winning party is expected to form the next government by mid-June before the term of the present Parliament ends.

MEXICO CITY — Mexicans will vote Sunday in historic elections weighing gender, democracy and populism, as they chart the country's path forward in voting shadowed by cartel violence. With two women leading the contest, Mexico will likely elect its first female president – a major step in a country long marked by its "macho" culture. The election will also be the biggest in the country's history. More than 20,000 congressional and local positions are up for grabs, according to the National Electoral Institute. The number of contested posts has fed bloodshed during the campaigns, as criminal groups have used local elections as an opportunity to exert power. A toxic slate of cartels and gangs have battled for turf and more than 20 people seeking political office have been killed just this year. Also at play is the political legacy of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and Mexico's often tumultuous relationship with the United States. Who are the candidates in Mexico's presidential election? Claudia Sheinbaum, the former mayor of Mexico City, has maintained a comfortable double-digit lead in polls for months. She promises to be a continuation of populist leader López Obrador and is backed by his ruling Morena party. Trained as a scientist, Sheinbaum has had to walk a fine line to carve out her own image while highlighting her connection to López Obrador, though she lacks the charisma that attracted many to her political ally. Xóchitl Gálvez, an opposition senator and tech entrepreneur, represents a coalition of parties that have had little historically to unite them other than their recent opposition to López Obrador. Gálvez is a fierce critic of the outgoing president who doesn't shy away from verbal sparring, but who hasn't appeared to ignite much fervor for her Strength and Heart for Mexico coalition. The third candidate is little-known Jorge Álvarez Máynez, a former federal congressman from the Citizen Movement party. He has focused on trying to scoop up the young vote, but has not gotten much traction. What has President López Obrador meant for this election? Elected in 2018, López Obrador tapped into large swathes of the population like the working-class and poor, rural voters who had long felt forgotten by the political system. He made combatting corruption his top priority. Despite not being on the ballot, much of Sunday's election has revolved around him. Though he remains highly popular, López Obrador has shown himself to be intolerant of criticism and oversight. And his critics say his moves to attack the judiciary, slash funding to Mexico's electoral agency and expand the military's responsibilities in civilian life have eroded Mexican democracy. The opposition has responded with large protests. López Obrador is considered Sheinbaum's mentor and if she is elected, it would cement his legacy and show that his Morena party can survive beyond his presidency. When are Mexico's elections and how does voting work? Parties selected their candidates well before the official start of campaigning for the presidential, congressional and municipal elections. On June 2, millions of voters will cast for their new leaders in a single round of voting. The winner of the highly anticipated presidential election will serve a six-year term. While most eyes are on the presidential race, Mexicans will also vote for 128 senators, 500 congressional representatives and for nearly 20,000 local government positions. Why has the campaign cycle been so violent? Under López Obrador's "hugs not bullets" policy, which emphasizes addressing the societal root causes of violence, analysts say cartels and other criminal groups have expanded their control. Homicide rates have remained stubbornly high despite promises by López Obrador to ease the violence. López Obrador has in many cases refused to confront criminal groups, and activists say his government has tried to reduce the official count of Mexico's forcibly disappeared in the lead up to the election. Cartels and other criminal groups see elections – particularly local elections – as an opportunity to make power grabs. They've warred for turf and at least 145 people tied to politics have been slain by organized crime this year, according to tracking by the human rights organization Data Civica. Violence has been particularly severe in states where criminal groups are fighting for territory like Chiapas and Guerrero in the south, and Michoacan in central Mexico. Mexico's first woman president Electing a female president would be a huge step in a country with soaring levels of gender-based violence and deep gender disparities. Mexico still has a famously intense "machismo," or culture of male chauvinism, that has created large economic and social disparities in society. In its most extreme form, the misogyny is expressed in high rates of femicides, and things like acid attacks against women. Yet a historic number of women in the socially conservative country are taking up leadership and political roles. That's in part due to a decades-long push by authorities for greater representation in politics, including laws that require political parties to have half of their congressional candidates be women. Since 2018, Mexico's Congress has had a 50-50 gender split, and the number of female governors has shot up. Both frontrunner Sheinbaum and Gálvez have promised to address high rates of gender-based violence and gender disparities if they win.

DAKAR, Senegal — Billons of dollars in gold is smuggled out of Africa each year and most of it ends up in the United Arab Emirates, where it is refined and sold to customers around the world, according to a report published Thursday. Over $30 billion worth of gold, or more than 435 metric tons, was smuggled out of the continent in 2022, according to the report published by Swissaid, an aid and development group based in Switzerland. The main destinations for African gold were the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Switzerland. The authors of the report said their goal was to make the trade in African gold more transparent and put pressure on industry players to do more to make gold supplies traceable and supply chains more responsible. "We hope that this will improve the living conditions of local populations and the working conditions of artisanal miners throughout Africa," Yvan Schulz, one of the report's authors, told The Associated Press. The report found that between 32% and 41% of gold produced in Africa was not declared. In 2022, Ghana was the largest gold producer in Africa, followed by Mali and South Africa, it said. The UAE was by far the main destination for smuggled gold, the report said, with some 405 metric tons of undeclared output from Africa ending up there. During a 10-year period between 2012-22, that amount summed up to 2,569 metric tons of gold, worth around $115 billion. The report said the gap between UAE imports and exports from African countries has widened over the years, meaning that the amount of gold smuggled out of Africa appears to have increased over the past decade. For example, it widened from 234 metric tons in 2020 to 405 in 2022. Switzerland, another main buyer of African gold, imported some 21 metric tons of undeclared gold from Africa in 2022, the report said. The real figure could be much higher if African gold imported through third countries was taken into consideration, the report said, but once gold is refined, it is virtually impossible to follow its flow to it final destination. The United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database, which contains detailed imports and exports statistics, shows that Switzerland is the main buyer of gold from the UAE. "Sourcing gold from the UAE is notoriously risky," the report said, describing the difficulty in ascertaining the origins of the refined gold. A official within the UAE government's media office said the country has taken significant steps to address concerns around gold smuggling and the risks it poses. The continued growth of the UAE's gold market reflected the confidence of the international community in its processes, the official said, responding on behalf of the country's press office without providing further identification. "The UAE remains steadfast in its efforts to combat gold smuggling and ensure the highest standards of transparency and accountability within the gold and precious metals sector," the official said. The Swiss government said it was aware of the challenges identifying the origins of gold and that it had introduced measures to prevent illegal flows. "Switzerland is and stays committed to improve the traceability of commodity flows, the transparency of statistics and the quality of controls," Fabian Maienfisch, spokesperson for Switzerland's State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, said. The report compared export data from African countries with import data from non-African countries, along with other calculations, to extrapolate the data. Among its recommendations, it called on African states to take steps to formalize artisanal and small-scale mining and reinforce border controls. It also called on non-African states to publish the identity of the countries of origin and the countries of dispatch of imported gold, and to work with authorities to identify illicit gold flows.

KAMPALA, Uganda — Uganda has rolled out a nationwide yellow fever vaccination campaign to help safeguard its population against the mosquito-borne disease that has long posed a threat. By the end of April, Ugandan authorities had vaccinated 12.2 million of the 14 million people targeted, said Dr. Michael Baganizi, an official in charge of immunization at the health ministry. Uganda will now require everyone traveling to and from the country to have a yellow fever vaccination card as an international health regulation, Baganizi said. Ugandan authorities hope the requirement will compel more people to get the yellow fever shot amid a general atmosphere of vaccine hesitancy that worries health care providers in the East African nation. The single-dose vaccine has been offered free of charge to Ugandans between the ages of 1 and 60. Vaccination centers in the capital, Kampala, and elsewhere included schools, universities, hospitals and local government units. Before this, Ugandans usually paid to get the yellow fever shot at private clinics, for the equivalent of $27. Uganda, with 45 million people, is one of 27 countries on the African continent classified as at high risk for yellow fever outbreaks. According to the World Health Organization, there are about 200,000 cases and 30,000 deaths globally each year from the disease. Uganda's most recent outbreak was reported earlier this year in the central districts of Buikwe and Buvuma. Yellow fever is caused by a virus transmitted by the bite of infected mosquitoes. The majority of infections are asymptomatic. Symptoms can include fever, muscle pain, headache, loss of appetite and nausea or vomiting, according to the WHO. Uganda's vaccination initiative is part of a global strategy launched in 2017 by the WHO and partners such as the U.N. children's agency to eliminate yellow fever by 2026. The goal is to protect almost 1  billion people in Africa and the Americas. A midterm evaluation of that strategy, whose results were published last year, found that 185 million people in high-risk African countries had been vaccinated by August 2022. In Uganda, most people get the yellow fever shot when they are traveling to countries such as South Africa that demand proof of vaccination on arrival. James Odite, a nurse working at a private hospital which has been designated as a vaccination center in a suburb of the capital, Kampala, told the AP that hundreds of doses remained unused after the yellow fever vaccination campaign closed. They will be used in a future mass campaign. Among the issues raised by vaccine-hesitant people was the question of whether "the government wants to give them expired vaccines," Odite said. Baganizi, the immunization official, said Uganda's government has invested in community "sensitization" sessions during which officials tell people that vaccines save lives.

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KYIV — Russia launched a barrage of missiles and drones on Saturday, damaging energy facilities in five regions across Ukraine, officials said. Ukraine's national grid operator Ukrenergo said the attack damaged energy facilities in the eastern Donetsk, southeastern Zaporizhzhia, and Dnipropetrovsk regions, central Kyrovohrad region, and Ivano-Frankivsk region in the west. "Today morning the Russians launched another strike on Ukrainian energy facilities. Since March it is already the sixth massive, complex, missile and drone attack against the civilian energy infrastructure," Ukrenergo said. Ukrainian air defense shot down 35 of 53 Russian missiles and 46 of 47 Russian drones, the air force commander said. Since March, Russia has stepped up its bombardments of the Ukrainian power infrastructure, knocking out the bulk of the thermal and hydropower generation, causing blackouts, and pushing electricity imports to record highs. DTEK, Ukraine's largest private energy-generating company, said that during the attack its two thermal power plants had been hit and equipment "seriously damaged." Regional officials reported that firefighters were extinguishing fires on several sites following the strikes. There were no immediate reports of casualties. 

washington — Chinese artists walk a tightrope when trying to create content acceptable to Beijing’s standards while attempting to seek success among Western audiences. More than one artist who has gained recognition in the West has been punished by Chinese censors, with Chinese filmmaker Lou Ye being the most recent case. The 2024 Cannes Film Festival featured Lou’s pseudodocumentary "An Unfinished Film" as an Official Selection, and it drew positive reviews. However, the film hardly has any chance to be publicly screened in China. “An Unfinished Film” is about a film crew’s 2020 experience at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in Wuhan. The fictional plot follows the members of a film crew as they attempt to reshoot a movie, then are forced indoors as the city goes on lockdown. During this time, the wife of an actor, a member of the film crew, was about to give birth. She tried to rush out of the hotel but was beaten by the security guard. In the movie version, the wife of Jiang Cheng, the main character, was about to give birth. Desperate to be at the hospital with his wife, Jiang tried to break through the blockade but ended up in a huge scuffle with the security guards. Jiang was beaten up and forced to stay in his hotel room until the lockdown ended in Wuhan. In the end, the actor, the director and other members of the fictional crew had to stay in the Wuhan hotel and could contact each other only by mobile phone. The film included many real-life video clips that went viral during the lockdown, including a child crying and chasing his mother who was put on a bus to a makeshift hospital, and residents singing in a locked-down community in Wuhan at night. Reaction to the film The film stirred strong emotions among some viewers at the Cannes Film Festival. After the film's screening, someone in the audience shouted, "Lou Ye, you are the greatest director in China!" Another person who watched the film posted on the Chinese social media site Weibo under the name Wu Ke Feng Gao, "In the second half, sobbing was heard everywhere in the theater. The audience in the back row said that everyone was crying for themselves. ... To me, this is the greatest Chinese film in the past decade." But Zhao Liang, a former Chinese film critic living in the United States who requested to use a pseudonym to avoid retaliation from the Chinese government, had a different reaction to Lou’s film. "This is a suicidal movie,” he told VOA. "Lou Ye can't [work in China anymore]; he has killed himself in front of the Chinese government," Zhao added. He said, "He filmed the pandemic, which is very sensitive to the Chinese government and is a subject that cannot be touched. The Chinese government has destroyed all the files related to the pandemic in the hospitals, as if COVID-19 never happened. All the files on the lockdown and all the records at the time, whether in the government, hospitals or neighborhood committees, have been destroyed.” Lou Ye, the West and Chinese censors Over the course of Lou’s more than 20-year career, Chinese officials have banned and censored much of his work. Only four of his twelve films have made it to big screens in China. In 2000, his film "Suzhou River" won the Golden Tiger Award at the Rotterdam Film Festival in the Netherlands. However, because Lou participated in the foreign film festival without official approval, the Chinese government banned the film in China and punished Lou with a two-year prohibition on filming. In 2006, the Chinese government placed a five-year filming ban on Lou for entering the film "Summer Palace" in the Cannes Film Festival without approval.  The film was set during the taboo Tiananmen Square pro-democracy demonstrations and included explicit sexual content. In 2019, Lou said in an interview about making the banned film, “A Cloud Made of Rain in the Wind,” “Directors should be able to make movies without being threatened by censorship and express themselves freely. This is a right granted by the Constitution. … The censorship system has made the Chinese domestic audience a second-tier audience, a second-rate audience, because they simply cannot see what they should see, what they have the right to see." The plight of Chinese artists Kong Ming, a former Chinese art critic living in the United States who requested to use a pseudonym to avoid retaliation from the Chinese government, told VOA that in an already competitive industry, Chinese artists have very few options to exercise their creativity. "Chinese artists actually have nowhere to escape," Kong said. "Even if you give up the Chinese market, you will no longer have the soil for your creations." Other artists who have faced Chinese censors include internationally renowned Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, known for his often provocative art. He experienced detention and violence at the hands of Chinese police when living in China. In 2019, music by contemporary Chinese folk singer Li Zhi disappeared from all music streaming platforms in China. His personal Weibo and other social media accounts were also shut down. An official reason was never given for the disappearance of Li’s music.  Many of his works touched on the taboos of the Chinese government, including the suppression of the 1989 student movement at Tiananmen Square. During the COVID-19 White Paper Movement, he also posted photos of himself holding white paper. In April, although Li toured major cities in Japan, attracting tens of thousands of Chinese fans, Kong said the tour in Japan was just a one-time phenomenon. "China has tightened up its grip in all aspects. Li's case has definitely alerted the government. In the future, any musician who wants to hold a concert abroad will need a permit," said Kong. It is tough for Chinese artists to find success both in China and the West, analysts said. One rare exception is Liu Cixin, the award-winning science fiction writer of The Three-Body Problem. The popularity of the trilogy has led to television adaptions in China and on Netflix about an alien race’s invasion. "Some individuals may be able to break through the ban, but it is very rare. How many Chinese artists are there in New York? Whose career is actually growing? Almost none,” Zhao said. In addition to the threat of censors in China, Chinese artists face challenges if they try to expand their careers overseas, Zhao said. "First of all, the cultural gap is still severe," he said. "Lou Ye can only shoot Chinese themes, which are also very limited. Overseas audiences care little about Chinese themes, and it is difficult to integrate. It is very difficult for Chinese artists to be truly recognized in the West." He said the creative soil overseas is extremely barren for individual Chinese artists, there is no support structure, and they lack funding. "There are a few capable people, but they are all very depressed when they arrive in the United States. When they live in the U.S. they don't interact with each other, and it's impossible for them to come together," he said. Adrianna Zhang contributed to this report. 

BRUSSELS — Around 400 million European Union citizens go to the polls next month to elect members of the European Parliament, or MEPs, in one of the biggest global democratic events. Far-right parties are seeking to gain more power amid a rise in the cost of living and farmers' discontent, while the wars in Gaza and Ukraine are on the minds of voters. One of the biggest questions is whether European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will remain in charge as the most visible face of the EU. Here is a look at the upcoming election and the biggest issues at stake: When is the vote? EU elections are held every five years across the 27-member bloc. This year marks the 10th parliamentary election since the first polls in 1979, and the first after Brexit. The vote takes place from June 6-9. First results can only be revealed on the evening of June 9, once polling stations have closed in all member states. How does voting work? The elections start on a Thursday in the Netherlands and finish on a Sunday, when most countries hold their election. The voting is done by direct universal suffrage in a single ballot. The number of members elected in each country depends on the size of the population. It ranges from six for Malta, Luxembourg and Cyprus to 96 for Germany. In 2019, Europeans elected 751 lawmakers. Following the United Kingdom's departure from the EU in 2020, the number of MEPs fell to 705. Some of the 73 seats previously held by British MEPs had been redistributed to other member states. After the election, the European Parliament will have 15 additional members, bringing the total to 720. Twelve countries will get extra MEPs. Elections are contested by national political parties, but once they are elected, most of the lawmakers then join transnational political groups. Who is voting? People under 18 are allowed to vote in some countries. In Belgium, a law adopted in 2022 lowered the minimum voting age to 16. Germany, Malta and Austria are also permitting 16-year-olds to vote. In Greece, the youngest voting age is 17. In all other member states, it's 18. A minimum age is also required to stand for election — from 18 in most countries to 25 in Italy and Greece. What about turnout? European Union elections usually don't bring a huge turnout, but there was a clear upturn in public interest in the 2019 election. At 50.7%, the turnout was eight points higher than in 2014 after steadily falling since 1979, when it reached 62%. In April, the latest edition of the European Parliament's Eurobarometer highlighted a surge of interest in the upcoming election. Around 71% of Europeans said they are likely to cast a ballot. What are the main issues? Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine is at the forefront of citizens' minds, with defense and security seen as key campaign issues. At national level, the EU's defense and security was mentioned first in nine countries. The economy, jobs, poverty and social exclusion, public health, climate change and the future of Europe are also featuring prominently as issues. What do EU lawmakers do? The European Parliament is the only EU institution to be elected by European citizens. It's a real counterpower to the powerful EU's executive arm, the European Commission. The parliament doesn't have the initiative of proposing legislation. But its powers are getting bigger. It is now competent on a wide range of topics, voting on laws relating to climate, banking rules, agriculture, fisheries, security or justice. The legislature also votes on the EU budget, which is crucial to the implementation of European policies, including, for instance, the aid delivered to Ukraine. Lawmakers are also a key element of the check and balances system since they need to approve the nomination of all EU commissioners, who are the equivalent of ministers. And it can also force the whole commission to resign with a vote by a two-third majority. What's the current makeup of the parliament? With 176 seats out of 705 as of the end of the last plenary session in April, the center-right European People's Party is the largest political group in the European Parliament. Von der Leyen belongs to the EPP and hopes to remain at the helm of the EU's executive arm after the election. The second-largest group is the S&D, the political group of the center-left Party of European Socialists, which currently holds 139 seats. The liberal and pro-European Renew group holds 102 seats ahead of an alliance made up of green and regionalist political parties that holds 72 seats. Far right looks to make gains Two groups with far-right parties, the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) and Identity and Democracy (ID), could be headed to becoming the third- and fourth-largest political groups at the European Parliament. The two groups have many divergences and it's unclear to what extent they could team up and affect the EU's agenda, especially the EU's efforts to support Ukraine against Russia in the war. The EPP and S&D are expected to remain stable. Liberals and greens could both take a hit after they made big gains at the previous election. What happens after the election? Once the weight of each political force is determined, MEPs will elect their president at the first plenary session, from July 16-19. Then, most likely in September after weeks of negotiations, they will nominate the president of the European Commission, following a proposal made by the member states. In 2019, von der Leyen won a narrow majority (383 votes in favor, 327 against, 22 abstentions) to become the first woman to head the institution. Parliamentarians will also hear from the European commissioners before approving them in a single vote. Von der Leyen has good chances to be appointed for another team, but she needs to secure the support of enough leaders. She has also antagonized many lawmakers by suggesting she could work with the hard right depending on the outcome of the elections.

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UNITED NATIONS — The United States and allies South Korea and Japan clashed with China and Russia Friday over North Korea’s latest satellite and ballistic missile launches and threats to use nuclear weapons that have escalated tensions in northeast Asia. The scene was an emergency open meeting of the U.N. Security Council called after North Korea’s failed launch of a military reconnaissance satellite on May 27 and other launches using ballistic missile technology in violation of U.N. sanctions. Since the beginning of 2022, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea – the North’s official name – has launched over 100 missiles using this banned technology as it has advanced its nuclear weapons program. In response, the U.S. and its allies have carried out an increasing number of military exercises. U.N. Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari briefed the council meeting saying sovereign states have the right to benefit from peaceful space activities – but the DPRK is expressly prohibited from conducting launches using ballistic missile technology and its continuing violations undermine global nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation treaties. "We remain deeply concerned about growing tensions on the Korean Peninsula," Khiari said. "There is a need for practical measures to reduce tensions, reverse the dangerous dynamic, and create space to explore diplomatic avenues." North Korea’s U.N. Ambassador Kim Song insisted that its satellite launches – and it had a successful one last November – are "the legitimate and universal right of a sovereign state" under international law and the Outer Space Treaty. He stressed that reconnaissance satellites are not only needed to strengthen its self-defense capabilities but to defend its sovereignty. Kim told the Security Council that the "massive deployment of strategic assets and aggressive war exercises" by the United States on the Korean Peninsula and in the region have broken all records and destroyed the military balance. This has turned the Korean Peninsula "into the most fragile zone in the world, fraught with the danger of outbreak of war," he said, claiming that joint military exercises since the beginning of the year are "a U.S.-led nuclear war rehearsal." The DPRK ambassador said the Security Council shouldn’t waste time debating the legitimate rights of a sovereign state, but should direct its attention to putting an immediate end to the killing of civilians in Gaza, "which continues unabated under U.S. patronage." South Korea’s U.N. Ambassador Joonkook Hwang said it should be his country – not the DPRK – that should claim the right to self-defense. He said the DPRK’s nuclear policy and its rhetoric "are getting increasing aggressive and hostile, and Pyongyang no longer views its nuclear arsenal as just a deterrent against the United States, "but instead as a means to attack my country." He quoted DPRK leader Kim Jong Un’s sister, Kim Yo-jong, saying two weeks ago that the only purpose of their tactical nuclear weapons "is to teach a lesson to Seoul." U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood urged the Security Council to condemn the DPRK’s launches and hold it accountable for violating U.N. sanctions. "But two council members, China and Russia, continuously block the Security Council from speaking against the DPRK’s behavior with one voice and makes us all less safe," he said. Wood also accused the DPRK of unlawfully transferring dozens of ballistic missiles and over 11,000 containers of munitions to Russia to aid its war against Ukraine, "prolonging the suffering of the Ukrainian people." He rejected as "groundless" and disingenuous" claims by the DPRK and its supporters on the council that its missile launches are a response to U.S.-led military exercises. Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Anna Evstigneeva countered that "one of the key catalysts for the growing tensions in the region has been and remains the build-up of military activity by the U.S. and its allies." U.S.-led military drills against the DPRK and numerous other hostile acts with a threatening military component "are provoking countermeasures from North Korea, which is forced to take action to strengthen its national defense capacity," she said. Evstogneeva claimed "the unstable situation around the Korean Peninsula is of benefit to Washington, which continues to confidently and deliberately pursue the path of confrontation instead of dialogue." She also dismissed claims that Russia is engaging in illegal military and technical cooperation with the DPRK as "absolutely unfounded." China’s U.N. Ambassador Fu Cong called the situation on the Korean Peninsula "highly tense, with antagonism and confrontation escalating," and called on all parties to exercise restraint and avoid any actions or rhetoric that might increase tension. He warned that a planned large-scale joint military exercise on the peninsula in August "practicing a scenario involving a nuclear war" will only increase tensions. U.S. envoy Wood retorted that "the United States is in no way a threat to the DPRK," stressing that the U.S. offer to reach out "an open hand" and hold talks with the DPRK without preconditions over the past few years "has been met with a clenched fist." 

MULLAITIVU, Sri Lanka — At the site of a bloody battlefield that marked the end of Sri Lanka's civil war, Singaram Soosaimuthu fishes every day with his son, casting nets and reeling them in. It is a skill he has known for much of his life — and one that he had to relearn after a devastating injury. The former Tamil fighter lost both legs in 2009 as the nation's generation-long civil war drew to a close and the Tamils retreated in defeat. Making something of himself despite his injuries brought Soosaimuthu success — an achievement in which he finds profound meaning. He sees his fellow ethnic Tamils in the same light: To regain their voice, they must thrive. But defeat — bloody, protracted and decisive — has brought Sri Lanka's minority Tamil community to a point of despair. Some parents have given up hope of ever learning the fate of the thousands of missing children. Parts of the Tamil lands are decimated, with poor infrastructure and fewer economic opportunities. Survivors have lived under surveillance for years, and many now feel that members of the rising generation have grown too fearful and apathetic toward speaking up for their rights. "There is a clear agenda underway to degenerate a defeated community," says Selvin Ireneus, a social activist based in Jaffna, the Tamils' northern cultural heartland. The government, he says, doesn't want today's Tamils to be politically evolved. After fighting ended, he asserts, narcotics and other vices have been systematically introduced into the region. "They only want them to eat, drink and enjoy and not have a political ideology," Ireneus said. "This has happened with all defeated communities in the world." The island nation of 20 million is overwhelmingly ethnically Sinhalese, with the Tamil community making up about 11% of the population. The separatist civil war broke out in 1983 after years of failed attempts to share power within a unified country, with Tamil fighters — known as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or simply the Tamil Tigers — eventually creating a de facto independent homeland in the country's north. The group was crushed in a 2009 government offensive. The war killed at least 100,000 on both sides, and left many more missing. Though not all Tamils were part of or supported the Tamil Tiger rebel group, their defeat has effectively become a political defeat to the community. They have lost their bargaining power. "What is remaining now is a very small community, and they don't have the courage ... to show dissent," says K.T. Ganeshalingam, head of political science at the University of Jaffna. Sri Lanka's government had promised the United Nations and countries like India and the United States that they would share power with the Tamil-majority areas to resolve the causes that led to the civil war. However, successive governments have not followed up. Fifteen years on, some in Tamil areas are still in denial that the armed campaign has been defeated and that the rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, who was seen as invincible, has been killed. Sections of the expatriate Tamils in Europe have been claiming that Prabhakaran would return soon to take on the campaign to the next stage, including a woman who claims to be his daughter and is said to be collecting donations in his name. Prabhakaran's nephew in Denmark, Karthic Manoharan, says the time has come to put a stop to the rumors and state, emphatically, that the leader is dead. "We don't have any doubt regarding (his death) because he loved his country so much. And he's not a coward to run from the country and live in another country, in a different country to save himself, his wife and his daughter," Manoharan says. Such beliefs are more than simply inaccurate, says Ganeshalingam; they're genuinely harmful to any possible future that the Tamil people are trying to chart. He wonders: "If I have not grasped the fact that I am defeated, how can I rise from that?" Discussing the Tamil Tigers' defeat, their past mistakes and even Prabhakaran's death is discouraged in Tamil society, especially in the diaspora. Ganeshalingam says such attitudes have created a stagnation in Tamil politics. Political leaders are divided and are in disarray. A political alliance that the Tamil Tigers formed is fragmented with many leaders breaking away to form their own parties. Civil activists are now working to unify them and strengthen their bargaining position ahead of the presidential election later this year. In the villages of Mullaitivu district, where the final battle between government forces and the Tamil Tigers unfolded, many men are addicted to narcotics and alcohol, forcing women to be the family's main breadwinners, says Yogeswari Dharmabaskaran, a social worker in the Udaiyarkattu area of Mullaitivu district. School dropouts soar in the villages, she says, as boys find easy money through selling narcotics, illegal tree-felling and the mining of river sand. In Jaffna, local politician Thiyagaraja Nirosh says family elders discourage young people from discussing political rights. Because of that, it is difficult to find younger candidates to run in local elections. "There is fear that talking politics is dangerous. Many family elders do not encourage talking politics," Nirosh says "The reason is that there has been no justice for the past killings. They see no guarantee that such incidents won't recur." Thayalan Kalaipriya, a former rebel, wonders about the future often. She says her many losses have made her deeply desire unity among all Sri Lankans; at the same time, she says it is painful to realize their efforts to win political rights have been wasted. Former rebels often do not receive adequate support and at times ex-fighters, like those who conscripted children at the height of the war, are treated with resentment, although she says some respect their commitment and sacrifice. She finds solace by working with her young children, educating them and helping to give them a good life in a land she hopes is free of civil war and the sad echoes it has caused. "We teach our children about what happened," she says, "but never to seek revenge."

SAMASTIPUR, India — Narendra Modi swept to power a decade ago on promises to transform India's economy, and it would be hard to argue he hasn't made strides. As he seeks a third term as prime minister, the country's economic growth is the envy of the world, its stock markets are booming, and new buildings and highways are popping up everywhere. There are cracks in the facade, though, that his political challengers hope to benefit from, including high unemployment, persistent poverty and the sense that only a small portion of India's 1.4 billion people has been able to cash in on the good fortune. "You have a booming economy for people higher up on the socioeconomic ladder, but people lower down are really struggling," said Milan Vaishnav, director of the South Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party have remained popular since he was first elected prime minister in 2014 on a strident Hindu-first platform and pledges to succeed where past governments had failed by finally transforming the economy from rural to industrial. He promised to clamp down on deeply rooted corruption and to leverage the country's manpower advantage to turn it into a manufacturing powerhouse. While campaigning this spring — the six-week-long election concludes Saturday — Modi has vowed to make India's economy the world's third-largest, trailing only those of the U.S. and China. Votes will be counted Tuesday. Modi has had successes. The economy is growing by 7% and more than 500 million Indians have opened bank accounts during his tenure — a big step toward formalizing an economy where many jobs are still off the books and untaxed. His administration has also poured billions of dollars into the country's creaky infrastructure to lure investment, and notably streamlined its vast welfare program, which serves around 60% of the population and which his party is leveraging to try to win over poor and disillusioned voters. Despite these advances, though, Modi's economic policies have failed to generate employment that moves people from low-paying, precarious work to secure, salaried jobs. With inequality, joblessness and underemployment soaring, they've become central themes of the election. Even as India's millionaires multiply, nearly 90% of its working-age population earns less than the country's average annual income of around $2,770, according to a World Inequality Lab study. The top 1% own more than 40% of the country's wealth, while the bottom 50% own just above 6%, the study found. To stem economic discontent, Modi and the BJP are hoping to win over poor and disgruntled voters with more than $400 billion in welfare subsidies and cash transfers. At the heart of their welfare agenda is a free ration program, which serves 800 million people. It existed under the previous government and is a right under India's National Food Security Act. But it was greatly expanded during the pandemic to provide grain for free, instead of just cheap, and then extended for another five years beginning in January. Through roughly 300 programs, hundreds of millions have received household goods ranging from cooking gas cylinders to free toilets. Millions of homes have been built for the poor, who now have greater access to piped water, Wi-Fi and electricity. And the government has ramped up cash transfers to farmers and other key voting blocs. When Rajesh Prajapati lost his job at a chemical factory in Prayagraj, a city in India's largest state, Uttar Pradesh, his family of five survived on government grain. "For almost a year, the free ration was our only solace," he said, adding that it was the reason they voted for Modi again. Indian parties have always used welfare to win elections. But experts say the BJP has done it better. Benefits such as subsidies, pensions and loans are now delivered through cash transfers directly to bank accounts linked to each individual's biometric identity card, which the government says has helped eliminate leakages and corruption by cutting out intermediaries. These large-scale handouts provide relief, but some say they are only a temporary fix and a sign of rising economic distress. To reduce inequality, they should be accompanied by investment in health and education, which have stagnated in recent years, said Ashoka Mody, an economist at Princeton University. Subsidies are helpful, "but they do not create the ability of people to put themselves on a trajectory where they and their children can look forward to a better future," he said. Tuntun Sada, a farmworker from Samastipur, a city in the eastern state of Bihar, said the 18 kilograms of free grain that helps feed his family of six each month has only marginally improved their lives. He still earns less than $100 a month after working the fields of wealthier landowners. "People like us don't get very much," Sada said. "Modi should walk the talk. If we don't earn enough, how will we raise our children?" The free rations don't last through the month, piped water has yet to reach his community and there are no nearby schools for his four kids to attend. What he really needs, he said, is a better job. Modi's opposition, led by the Congress party, are betting on the jobs crisis to dent the BJP's chances of securing a majority. Before the election, a survey by the Center for Study of Developing Societies found that more than 60% of voters were worried about unemployment and believed finding a job had become tougher. Only 12% felt like economic opportunities had increased. Official government data, which many economists question, shows the unemployment rate declining. But a recent report from the International Labor Organization found that youth unemployment in India is higher than the global average, that more than 40% of Indians still work in agriculture, and that 90% of workers are in informal employment. The liberalizing of India's economy in the 1990s laid the foundation for the remarkable growth since, with millions escaping poverty and spawning a middle class. But it has also allowed for the growing disparity between rich and poor, economists say. Rahul Gandhi, the main face of the opposition, has sought to tap into the growing resentment felt by the country's many have-nots by promising to take on the issue of wealth distribution if his alliance gains power. Modi, who says his government has lifted 250 million Indians out of poverty, is unapologetic. In a TV interview this month, he said wealth distribution is a gradual process and dismissed criticism of the growing inequality by asking, "Should everyone be poor?" Both the BJP and the Congress party say they will create more employment through various sectors including construction, manufacturing and government jobs. Experts say this is crucial for reducing economic disparities, but it's also hard to do. Mass unemployment and underemployment have always been intractable problems in India, so parties inevitably fall back on the promises of handouts, said Mody, the Princeton economist. Case in point: The Congress party has pledged to double people's free rations if voted into power. "It's completely the wrong focus… what we need is job creation," Mody said. "And there is no one today who has an idea of how to solve that problem."

BOGOTA, Colombia — Colombia's congress voted Tuesday to ban bullfights in the South American nation, delivering a serious blow to a centuries-old tradition that has inspired famous songs and novels but has become increasingly controversial in the countries where it is still practiced. The bill calls for the banning of bullfights in a three-year span, making the tradition illegal by the start of 2028. The new law now needs to be signed by President Gustavo Petro, who has been a longtime opponent of these events. Bullfighting originated in the Iberian Peninsula and is still legal in a handful of countries, including Spain, France, Portugal, Peru, Ecuador and Mexico. It was once a popular event, broadcast live by multiple television networks. But the tradition has come under increased scrutiny as views change about animal welfare, and many find it unacceptable to see an animal suffer for entertainment's sake. "This ban is a huge victory for organizations that have worked to transform society and reject violence against animals," said Terry Hurtado, an animal rights activist and city council member in Cali, who has been leading protests against bullfights since the 1990s. "I feel relieved that bulls and horses (which also participate in some bullfights) in Colombia will no longer be tortured, and that children will no longer be exposed to this spectacle." In bullfights, a matador faces bulls that are bred to be aggressive. The matador taunts the bull with a red cape and kills the animal with the blow of a sword after it has been injured with lances and daggers, and is tired of charging at the matador in a circular arena. In Colombia, where bullfights have been held since colonial times, less than two dozen municipalities continue to hold these events, although the annual bullfights in the city of Manizales still draw tens of thousands of spectators. Bullfighting aficionados described the ban as an assault on the freedoms of minorities as well as a problem for cities where these events draw thousands of visitors.