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As Israeli forces advanced deeper into the southern Gaza city of Rafah, US President Joe Biden declared Hamas had lost its ability to carry out a major terrorist attack on Israel, and he endorsed what he said was the latest Israeli offer of a cease-fire deal. VOA's White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara has the story.

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's government appears set to complete a deal for a Chinese-built diesel-electric attack submarine — a one-off purchase first negotiated under its previous military government — but experts say at this point, motivation for the deal may more political than military. Under Thailand’s previous government led by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-Cha, the original deal to purchase three submarines was made in 2017. But only one of the submarine deals materialized and faced many snags along the way. It was projected to cost Thailand about 13.5 billion baht — or $367 million — for China’s construction of the S26T Yuan-class submarine and was put on hold amid the outbreak of COVID-19. Hesitant to resume the deal, Thailand’s Defense Ministry under a new civilian-led government in October 2023 said it would no longer acquire the submarine because of Beijing’s inability to integrate a German-made diesel engine, a result of EU sanctions on China. Benjamin Zawacki, author of Thailand: Shifting Ground Between the U.S and Rising China, said the events unfolded during a time of political uncertainty in Thailand. "There were legitimate concerns about the engines. But the timing of that controversy coincided with a lot of controversy about the then-military government, whether or not it should be spending so much money in the midst of COVID-19 and the midst of post-COVID-19 economic recovery," he told VOA. "It was trying to realize this submarine deal didn't place it in a very good light politically." With Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin’s September 2023 rise to power, the submarine deal looked dead in the water — until Thai Defense Minister Sutin Klungsang’s May 21 announcement that Thailand’s Royal Navy had dropped demands for the German hardware, opting instead from Chinese-made CHD620 diesel engine, bringing the submarine deal back to life. Not all about defense Chinese tourism is key to Thailand’s tourist economy. China was Thailand’s largest trading partner in 2023, when it exchanged an estimated $135 billion in revenue. Following the 2014 military coup, the U.S., which had worked closely with Thailand in the past, quickly denounced the seizure of power, withdrawing millions in military aid to Bangkok. Since then, Bangkok and Beijing have tightened security ties. Thailand purchased more arms equipment in terms of value from China than the U.S. between 2016 and 2022, according to a report published in the Lowy Institute. But Zawacki says questions remain about the necessity of a Thai attack submarine. "Thailand doesn't need it, and China doesn't need Thailand to have it," he told VOA. "Speaking purely from a security standpoint, it doesn't make a great deal of sense for either China or Thailand, especially given the political controversy it's caused." But, Zawacki added, the deal is "emblematic of the [Sino-Thai] military-to-military relationship" that has evolved since the 2014 coup. He also believes Beijing has persisted in finalizing the deal, which has since been modified to accommodate trade requirements on Thai military hardware procurement announced under Srettha’s new government. "It's been brought back I think primarily because it's important to the Chinese," Zawacki said. "I'm sure they were persistent. It's a deal they want to get done for their own reasons." Greg Raymond, a senior lecturer at the Strategic & Defence Studies Center at Australia National University, echoes that opinion, saying it seems like Chinese pressure pushed the deal over the line. "I don't think [this is] what the current Srettha government was looking for," he said, adding that Srettha’s administration in October 2023 briefly discussed the possibility of converting the deal into a procurement of Chinese-made naval frigates. "They were looking for that trade to frigates or some other alternative, [but] they wanted to stand their ground," he said of the new administration. "They've been rolled," he added, alluding to China pushing through the deal. "I think that's pretty significant that whatever pressure or leverage the Chinese have applied has been successful." VOA has contacted governments of Thailand and China seeking comment on the submarine deal. Beijing’s push for greater power in Southeast Asia, including the submarine deal with Thailand and docking its warships in Cambodia, won’t go down well in Washington, Raymond added. "This ... is something which I'm not sure the Thais have thought through in terms of how that's going to be read by the U.S.," he said. "I think it's an increasingly tenuous posture of hoping to somehow achieve a balance and equidistance between China and the U.S." Zawacki says Washington’s main concern will be about where the Chinese-made submarine will dock. "Will it be at Satthip Heap [Thailand Naval Base in Chonburi] which is where U.S. assets are also docked? And would that pose a potential [for] espionage and information gathering? In terms of the proximity of having Chinese or Chinese-built vessel and U.S. vessels in the same in the same port, that's been their primary concern." Unveiling the newly modified deal to acquire the submarine last week, Thai Defense Minister Sutin Klungsang asked opposition leaders to wait until further details of the transaction were locked in place before asking questions about it. According to the Bangkok Post, Sutin also said he could not share precisely when the finalized deal would be ready for review by Cabinet officials, adding that a trade component of the deal was still being negotiated.  

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THE WHITE HOUSE — Less than a day after U.S. President Joe Biden granted Ukraine authorization to strike inside Russia with American weaponry, Michael Carpenter, senior director for Europe at the National Security Council, spoke with VOA's Iuliia Iarmolenko to discuss details of the new policy and explain what prompted the president’s reversal of a longstanding ban. Carpenter, former U.S. ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, emphasized that U.S. policies barring Ukraine from using American-provided ATACMS, or long-range missiles, and other munitions to strike offensively inside Russia have not changed. The following interview has been edited for length and clarity. VOA: Could you provide details about this shift in policy? What is allowed and what are the limitations? MICHAEL CARPENTER, SENIOR DIRECTOR FOR EUROPE AT NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: This is in the context of the Russian offensive in the Kharkiv region against Ukraine. Russians were striking targets in Ukraine from just across the border. And at that point, the Ukrainians came to us with a request to use U.S.-provided weapons to be able to hit back at the Russian weapons that were targeting Ukrainian villages and Ukrainian people and their homes. And so the president directed his national security team to look into this and directed them to change the guidance and to allow for the employment of U.S. provided weapons to be able to strike back. That guidance has now gone into effect. VOA: Does it apply only to the Kharkiv region? CARPENTER: This applies to counter-fire capabilities that are deployed just across the border. It does not apply to ATACMS or long-range strikes. This is meant to enable Ukrainians to defend themselves against what would otherwise be a Russian sanctuary across the border. VOA: But in the Sumy region, would it be possible to do so there? CARPENTER: As I said, this applies to enable Ukrainians to defend themselves. Yes, across the border for Russian attacks that are coming across, where otherwise Russians would enjoy a relative sanctuary on their side of the border. VOA: What is the hope of the administration on how this policy shift might influence Ukraine's position on the battlefield? CARPENTER: Well, we have all long wanted to give Ukraine the capabilities that it needs defensively to push back on this aggressive onslaught on their territory. And we will continue to do that. VOA: Do you expect, though, that this change in policy might influence the situation on a battlefield, such that Ukraine might have an upper hand in coming months? CARPENTER: We endeavor to give Ukraine the capabilities over time to enable Ukraine to be able to defend its sovereignty against this aggression. And, yes, the types of weapons systems and the capabilities that we have provided, yes those have changed over time. The battlefield has changed over time. And we have reacted to what Russia has done. Don't forget that Russia has also benefited from its partners. Principally Iran and North Korea. And we have therefore stepped up the contributions that we have made together with our allies and partners. And we continue to do so. VOA: A couple weeks ago, Defense Secretary Austin said the United States is talking to allies in Europe about trying to get at least one more Patriot air-defense battery in place. Should we expect another battery directly from the United States as well? CARPENTER: We are looking very carefully at what we could contribute to Ukraine's air defense needs, which are very acute at this point in time. We're talking with allies and partners. We're talking around the world with various countries that we engage in. And I don't have any announcements to make today, but I can assure you that this is an ongoing process where we are doing everything possible to unlock air defense capabilities for Ukraine. VOA: I'd like to talk about the upcoming July NATO summit in Washington. Secretary of State Antony Blinken this week said that we’ll see “very strong deliverables for Ukraine” at the summit. Is there a consensus among allies about what those deliverables might look like? And should Ukraine expect the invitation to start accession talks? CARPENTER: Secretary Blinken is in Prague right now to talk about the nature of the deliverable for Ukraine, the nature of the support that will be provided in the aftermath of the Washington summit. We think it's going to be very robust. This will be essentially a bridge to [NATO] membership, so that when Ukraine does in the future receive an invitation — now, there is no consensus for an invitation now, at the Washington summit — but when conditions permit and when there is that consensus and Ukraine does gain entry to the NATO alliance, we want to make sure that Ukraine is fully capable on day one of being able to deter and defend and also is fully interoperable with NATO and is able to essentially participate in all the benefits but also undertake the responsibilities of being a member of the alliance from day one. So, we're looking out to build out those capabilities and that support through this package of measures that is currently under discussion among NATO allies in Prague as we speak right now. VOA: President Biden is meeting today with Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo at the White House. What role does President Biden hope Belgium can play in using Russian frozen assets to Ukraine's benefit? CARPENTER: Belgium is a great NATO ally. They're a member of the EU. They've had the presidency of the European Union. They play a very important role. And President Biden, as he does with every single European leader, will underscore our partnership in support of Ukraine. Now, Belgium plays a particular role in terms of Russian sovereign assets, and we will be discussing how we can use the proceeds from those immobilized Russian sovereign assets to support Ukraine. VOA: It appears President Biden is likely to skip the Ukraine peace summit that's going to be happening in Switzerland. Is it a sign that the administration doesn’t believe that this summit can produce some important results? CARPENTER: So, first of all, I don't have an announcement for you today on who will participate for the United States. We will have senior-level participation there, no doubt. ... But we will look to use the opportunity of this Swiss peace summit to underscore support for Ukraine, for its sovereignty, for its territorial integrity, for the principles of the U.N. Charter. And as wide a participation as possible that will underscore worldwide support for Ukraine and its effort to defend itself.   

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little washington, virginia — The United States, Japan and South Korea “strongly oppose” any unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the Indo-Pacific waters and “strongly condemned” North Korea's recent launches using ballistic missile technology. This joint statement followed a meeting of senior officials in historic Little Washington, Virginia, on Friday. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell hosted Japan’s Vice Foreign Minister Masataka Okano and South Korea's Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong Kyun at his farmhouse, nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains near Washington. The three allies recognized the importance of “opposing unlawful maritime claims in the South China Sea” and reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. “There is no change in our basic positions on Taiwan, and we call for the peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues,” the joint statement said. On Friday, the three countries, along with several others, voiced their "resolute opposition" to the continued transfer of arms from North Korea to Russia and vowed to impose costs on those involved in the “unlawful transfer of arms” for use in attacking Ukraine. Last week, the three countries announced unilateral sanctions against Russian ships and North Korean personnel to counter their illicit transactions. The State Department’s second-highest-ranking diplomat told reporters he thought China, which still maintains close ties with North Korea, also has concerns. "I think they, too, have some anxieties about the steps North Korea has taken with respect to providing dangerous military equipment to Russia," Campbell said during a joint news conference at his farmhouse. The trilateral dialogue, a key deliverable from the historic 2023 Camp David summit involving the leaders of the three countries, reaffirmed cooperation on economic security, critical and emerging technologies, and maritime security. When asked if the leaders of the three countries would meet on the margins of the NATO summit in Washington July 9-11, Campbell said that convening a second leaders summit was "among the highest priorities" for the remainder of this year. The high-level talks unfolded against the backdrop of North Korea’s provocations, Russia’s war on Ukraine, the imperative of maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, and the need to provide humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza. “We have more shared interests, and we have more shared agendas. So, if we work together, we can produce more relevant and efficient result[s],” Japan’s Okano said. The latest trilateral talks followed North Korea's launch of suspected ballistic missiles toward its eastern sea on Thursday, reported by South Korea's military. The launches occurred shortly after the country's unsuccessful attempt to launch a military reconnaissance satellite and after North Korean dropped balloons containing feces and garbage on South Korea's busy streets and public areas. “These actions will only solidify our resolve to strengthen security cooperation,” said South Korea's Kim. "All of us know North Korea continues to violate multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions and threatened the region with its nuclear and missile program,” he added.     “Any kind of aerial object, certainly, we would find destabilizing and provocative, and we continue to consult closely with the Republic of Korea and Japan against these kinds of malign and destabilizing behaviors,” State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said during a briefing Thursday. “We condemn the DPRK’s May 29th ballistic missile launch,” he noted, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The high-level talks also took place amid other regional and global challenges, including recent large-scale military drills by China following the inauguration of Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te, as well as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Friday's talks followed the recent revival of a high-level dialogue among China, Japan and South Korea after almost five years. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese Premier Li Qiang attended a summit Monday in Seoul. “We welcome renewed diplomacy between China, Japan and South Korea,” Campbell told VOA after receiving a “deep and sincere” debrief from his Japanese and South Korean counterparts.   “We welcome the steps towards increasing dialogue and discussion on the critical matters of Northeast Asia,” he added. Former U.S. intelligence officials and analysts said the alliance among Washington, Tokyo and Seoul was especially crucial amid rising military threats from the People’s Republic of China. James Fanell, a retired U.S. Navy captain and former director of intelligence and information operations for the U.S. Pacific Fleet, said, “Given the current military threats from the PRC, as exemplified by last week’s large-scale drills near Taiwan, and the ongoing rapid military buildup, all three nations should break free from incremental changes and adopt a much more assertive approach to regional security.” Others told VOA that countries in the region are not only worried about the economic fallout from any type of war, citing the importance of maintaining the status quo of the Taiwan Strait as an international waterway, but they also are very concerned about immediate Chinese threats following a potential forcible takeover of Taiwan.      "If China were to take Taiwan by force, then Chinese forces would be that much closer to their outlying territories. Especially in Japan, there's a fear that this would be the first step toward Chinese seizure of some of the southwestern islands,” said Jennifer Kavanagh, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. On Friday morning, Campbell met with South Korea’s Kim for a bilateral discussion. The previous day, Campbell held an inaugural vice ministerial meeting with his Japanese counterpart, Okano, to focus on infrastructure development cooperation in other countries. That initiative is widely viewed as a key part of the two allies' strategy to counter China's influence in Southeast Asia and beyond. The next trilateral vice foreign minister-level dialogue will be held in Seoul in the second half of this year.

WASHINGTON — Relatives of the passengers who died in two jetliner crashes pushed federal officials Friday to prosecute Boeing on criminal charges related to the accidents no later than this fall but said they got no commitment from the Justice Department. The Justice Department determined two weeks ago that Boeing violated terms of a settlement that let the company avoid prosecution for deceiving regulators who approved the Boeing 737 Max. Prosecutors have said they will announce by July 7 whether the company will face sanctions. Boeing agreed in 2021 to pay $2.5 billion — mostly compensation to airlines — to avoid prosecution on a fraud charge. Relatives of some of the 346 people who died in the 2018 and 2019 crashes have tried ever since to scuttle the settlement. It appeared that the fraud case would be dismissed permanently. But in January, a door plug blew off a Max during an Alaska Airlines flight, leading to new investigations of Boeing. "They claimed the Max is completely safe, it's the most-scrutinized plane ever, even as the doors blow off on the Alaska Air (Max), and they can't blame the pilots anymore," said Michael Stumo, whose daughter, Samya, died in the second crash. The Justice Department declined to comment Friday but has said that Boeing violated terms of the 2021 settlement by failing to make promised changes to detect and prevent violations of federal anti-fraud laws. Prosecutors have not publicly disclosed instances of potential fraud. In early May, Boeing disclosed that workers at a South Carolina plant falsified inspection reports on some 787 Dreamliner jets. "We believe that we have honored the terms of the agreement and look forward to the opportunity to respond to the Justice Department on this issue," a Boeing spokesperson said. They added that the company is acting "with the utmost transparency" to answer the department's questions, including those surrounding the Alaska Airlines incident.

united nations — The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Friday to end the U.N. political mission in Iraq.  The mission was established in 2003 following the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. Its task was to coordinate post-conflict humanitarian and reconstruction efforts, and to help restore a representative government in the country.  The Iraqi government asked the council in a May 8 letter to wrap up the mission by the end of 2025, and that's what the resolution does: It extends the mandate of the U.N. Assistance Mission in Iraq, known as UNAMI, for a final 19 months until Dec. 31, 2025, when all its work will cease.  The U.S.-sponsored resolution asks Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to prepare "a transition and liquidation plan" in consultation with the Iraqi government by December 31, 2024, so UNAMI can start transferring its tasks and withdrawing staff and assets.  The council said it supports Iraq's continuing stabilization efforts, including its ongoing fight against the Islamic State group and al-Qaida extremists and their affiliates.  In 2014, the Islamic State group declared a caliphate in large parts of Iraq and Syria and attracted tens of thousands of supporters from around the world. The extremists were defeated by a U.S.-led military coalition in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria in 2019, but its sleeper cells remain in both countries.  The council's action came as Iraq is also seeking to wind down the military coalition formed to fight IS. The roughly 2,500 U.S. troops are scattered around the country, largely in military installations in Baghdad and in the north. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has contended that the Iraqi security forces are capable of dealing with the remaining IS cells in the country and the coalition's presence is no longer needed.  The resolution adopted Friday to close the UNAMI mission expresses support for Iraq's reform efforts aimed at fighting corruption, respecting and protecting human rights, delivering essential services to its people, creating jobs and diversifying the economy.  It asks the secretary-general to streamline UNAMI's tasks ahead of the mission's closure to focus on providing advice, support and technical assistance to the government to strengthen preparations for free elections, including for the federal Parliament and for the Parliament in the Kurdistan region.  It also authorizes UNAMI to facilitate progress toward finally resolving outstanding issues between Iraq and Kuwait, stemming from Saddam's invasion of its smaller neighbor in August 1990.  In addition, the resolution says UNAMI should help with the return of internally displaced Iraqis and those in Syria, with providing health care and other services, and with economic development. And it also authorizes the mission to "promote accountability and the protection of human rights, and judicial and legal reform."  U.S. Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood welcomed the resolution's unanimous adoption and plans for an orderly wind down of UNAMI.  "We all recognize that Iraq has changed dramatically in recent years and UNAMI's mission needed to be realigned as part of our commitment to fostering a secure, stable and sovereign Iraq," he told the council.

President Joe Biden reveals details of a three-phase ceasefire plan in Gaza he said was proposed by Israel as its military pushed deeper into central Rafah. Will international pressure and last week’s ruling by the World Court have influence on ending what has become a humanitarian catastrophe? Amanda Ghahremani, criminal law attorney and research fellow at the Human Rights Center at the University of California Berkeley weighs in. Former President Donald Trump remains defiant after being found guilty of 34 felony charges. Criminal defense attorney Jack Rice describes the historic nature of the verdict. Environmental extremes reach new levels as the world struggles to cope with the impacts of climate change. A look at how the ‘Doomsday Seed Vault’ is helping protect the world’s food supply deep in a frozen cave in Norway.

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 conviction of former U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday for falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment ahead of the 2016 election quickly became one of the hottest topics on Chinese social media. Trump’s conviction became the most searched topic on Chinese social media platform Weibo and search engine Baidu on Friday morning in China. On short-video platform Douyin, TikTok's China-based sister application, it also landed among the five most searched topics. While views varied, many Chinese netizens posted they hope the verdict by a New York jury, which found Trump guilty on 34 felony counts, will cause unrest in the U.S. between the former president’s supporters and opponents. Although as president, Trump took a series of punitive measures against China in areas such as technology and trade, some Chinese netizens felt that his conviction was unfair and repeated unfounded claims by his supporters that the verdict was political persecution from U.S. President Joe Biden and the Democratic Party. "The Democrats' tactics are really low," one Weibo user under the name Little Rabbit and Evil Cake commented on the news. Other netizens stood by the guilty verdict, declaring Trump's conviction his own doing. "If you do too much evil, you will be killed by yourself," one user under the name Gray Wolf with White Fur wrote on Weibo. But many Chinese netizens were less interested in the verdict than the unrest they hoped it would cause in the U.S. "Trump supporters quickly mobilize and occupy Congress," said one Weibo user in a call for a repeat of the January 6, 2021, storming of the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters trying to stop the 2020 election from being certified. Those who stormed the Capitol were repeating Trump's claim, without evidence, that Biden cheated in the election. A Chinese nationalist commentator named Lu Kewen insulted Trump’s supporters in a post that hoped they resort to violence. "Put Trump in jail and wait for the fuming rednecks to draw their guns," he wrote. His was not the only call for violence in the U.S. that as of Friday morning had not been removed from Chinese social media, despite the ability of Beijing’s Great Firewall internet censors to quickly delete posts by China’s own critics and domestic calls for unrest. "Fast forward to the new Civil War. I want to see rivers of blood!" another user under the name Wearing Red Clothes wrote. But there were also more analytical comments from Chinese netizens. Chinese economist Hong Hao posted on his Weibo that Trump's trial is not conducive to the stability of American society. "The biggest issue in the United States right now is not allowing a criminal to run for president. Rather, politicizing the judicial process in these Trump cases has shaken the foundation of the rule of law in the United States," he said. During the 2016 election, Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, paid adult film actress Stormy Daniels $130,000 in exchange for her silence about a sexual encounter she said she had with Trump in 2006. Such payments are not illegal and are called hush money. Trump was found guilty of falsifying company business records to conceal the reimbursement paid to Cohen. Trump denies the encounter with Daniels or that anything illegal occurred. Trump on Thursday railed against the jury’s verdict and said, without presenting any evidence, that the trial was rigged. "We have a judge who's highly conflicted. He happens to be corrupt. It's the worst confliction that anybody's seen. Nobody has ever seen anything like it," he said. A spokesperson for the White House Counsel's Office responded, saying only, "We respect the rule of law." Trump is scheduled to be sentenced on July 11, just days before the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Despite the conviction, Trump is expected to be the Republican presidential nominee for the election on November 5. Trump on Friday said he would appeal the conviction and repeated unfounded claims that the trial was rigged. Biden on Friday said the verdict showed "the American principle that no one is above the law was reaffirmed" and said it is "reckless, is dangerous, it’s irresponsible for anyone to say this (trial) was rigged just because they don’t like the verdict." When asked at a regular Chinese Foreign Ministry briefing Friday if Trump’s conviction would prevent him from visiting China, if reelected in November, or present any other difficulties for China-American relations, spokesperson Mao Ning declined to comment, calling it a U.S. domestic affair.

WASHINGTON — Marian Shields Robinson, the mother of Michelle Obama who moved with the first family to the White House when son-in-law Barack Obama was elected president, has died. She was 86. Robinson's death was announced by Michelle Obama and other family members in a statement that said, "There was and will be only one Marian Robinson. In our sadness, we are lifted up by the extraordinary gift of her life." She had been a widow and lifelong Chicago resident when she moved to the executive mansion in 2009 to help care for granddaughters Malia and Sasha. In her early 70s, Robinson initially resisted the idea of starting over in Washington, and Michelle Obama had to enlist her brother, Craig Robinson, to help persuade their mother to move. "There were many good and valid reasons that Michelle raised with me, not the least of which was the opportunity to continue spending time with my granddaughters, Malia and Sasha, and to assist in giving them a sense of normalcy that is a priority for both of their parents, as has been from the time Barack began his political career," Marian Robinson wrote in the foreword to A Game of Character, a memoir by her son, formerly the head men's basketball coach at Oregon State University. "My feeling, however, was that I could visit periodically without actually moving in and still be there for the girls," she said. Robinson wrote that her son understood why she wanted to stay in Chicago but still used a line of reasoning on her that she often used on him and his sister. He asked her to see the move as a chance to grow and try something new. As a compromise, she agreed to move, at least temporarily. Her granddaughters Malia and Sasha were just 10 and 7, respectively, when the White House became home in 2009. In Chicago, Robinson had become almost a surrogate parent to the girls during the 2008 presidential campaign. She retired from her job as a bank secretary to help shuttle them around. At the White House, Robinson provided a reassuring presence for the girls as their parents settled into their new roles, and her lack of Secret Service protection made it possible for her to accompany them to and from school daily without fanfare. "I would not be who I am today without the steady hand and unconditional love of my mother, Marian Shields Robinson," Michelle Obama wrote in her 2018 memoir, Becoming. "She has always been my rock, allowing me the freedom to be who I am, while never allowing my feet to get too far off the ground. Her boundless love for my girls, and her willingness to put our needs before her own, gave me the comfort and confidence to venture out into the world knowing they were safe and cherished at home." Robinson gave a few media interviews but never to the White House press. Aides guarded her privacy, and, as result, she enjoyed a level of anonymity openly envied by the president and first lady. It allowed her to come and go from the White House as often as she pleased on shopping runs around town, to the president's box at the Kennedy Center, and for trips to Las Vegas or to visit her other grandchildren in Portland, Oregon. She attended some White House events, including concerts, the annual Easter Egg Roll and National Christmas Tree lighting, and some state dinners. White House residency also opened up the world to Robinson, who had been a widow for nearly 20 years when she moved to a room on the third floor of the White House, one floor above the first family. She had never traveled outside the U.S. until she moved to Washington. Her first flight out of the country was aboard Air Force One in 2009, when the Obamas visited France. She joined the Obamas on a trip to Russia, Italy and Ghana later that year, during which she got to meet Pope Benedict, tour Rome's ancient Colosseum and view a former slave-holding compound on the African coast. She also accompanied her daughter and granddaughters on two overseas trips without the president: to South Africa and Botswana in 2011, and China in 2014. Craig Robinson wrote in the memoir that he and his parents doubted whether his sister's relationship with Barack Obama would last, though Fraser Robinson III and his wife thought the young lawyer was a worthy suitor for their daughter, also a lawyer. Without explanation, Craig Robinson said his mother gave the relationship six months. Barack and Michelle Obama were married on October 3, 1992. One of seven children, Marian Lois Shields Robinson was born in Chicago on July 30, 1937. She attended two years of teaching college, married in 1960 and, as a stay-at-home mom, stressed the importance of education to her children. Both were educated at Ivy League schools, each with a bachelor's degree from Princeton. Michelle Obama also has a law degree from Harvard. Fraser Robinson was a pump operator for the Chicago Water Department who had multiple sclerosis. He died in 1991.

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.

U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump says the Biden administration engineered his criminal convictions in New York to gain an advantage in this November’s election. President Joe Biden says the justice system should be respected. VOA Correspondent Scott Stearns reports.

islamabad — The Taliban government Friday dismissed the findings of a Pakistan probe that attributed a recent fatal attack against Chinese workers in the country to militants operating from Afghanistan.    Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban’s chief spokesman, told an Afghan television station that his country had nothing to do with the March 26 attack on Chinese nationals in northwestern Pakistan, insisting it was an internal issue for the neighboring country to address.     “The report published by Pakistan is an attempt to damage the trust between Afghanistan and China. We have repeatedly denied this report as illogical,” Mujahid told TOLO TV in his audio remarks.     The response came a day after a Pakistani delegation visited Kabul on Thursday and shared with Taliban counterparts the results of Islamabad’s investigation into the killings of five Chinese nationals, along with their local driver, in a suicide car bombing. The victims were working on a China-funded hydropower project in northwestern Pakistan. The Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesperson told a weekly news conference in Islamabad on Friday that its delegation also had requested assistance from Afghan authorities to apprehend the perpetrators of the terrorist attack on Chinese workers based on the "concrete evidence" Pakistan had shared with them. "The Afghan side has committed to prevent the use of their soil for any terrorist activity, and they have agreed to examine the findings of the investigation and to work with Pakistan to take the investigation to its logical conclusion,” Mumtaz Baloch said.     Pakistani military and civilian officials maintain that the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, a globally designated terrorist group also known as the Pakistani Taliban, orchestrated the attack on Chinese personnel from Afghan sanctuaries.     The militant group has for years waged deadly attacks in Pakistan, targeting security forces and civilians.    Officials in Islamabad maintain that fugitive TTP leaders and combatants relocated to sanctuaries in Afghanistan after the Taliban retook control of the country nearly three years ago, and they have since intensified cross-border attacks with “greater operational freedom.” The Taliban have consistently denied that foreign extremist groups have a presence in Afghanistan and are using their territory to threaten outside countries. Critics, however, have questioned those claims. This month, a U.S. government quarterly report to Congress noted that the ruling Taliban continued to allow senior al-Qaida leaders, the TTP, and other insurgent groups to operate in Afghanistan. A United Nations report published earlier this year said the Taliban continued to be “sympathetic” to the TTP and supplied it with weapons and equipment, and some Taliban members reportedly joined the TTP in conducting cross-border raids against Pakistan. The Taliban government has not been formally recognized by the international community. China has steadily improved relations with Afghanistan, though, since the fundamentalist Taliban regained power in Kabul in August 2021. Beijing was the first to appoint a new ambassador to Kabul and the first to officially accept a Taliban ambassador.

Washington — Nearly eight months after a freelance journalist disappeared on assignment in Russian-occupied Ukraine, Moscow confirmed that the reporter is in its custody.  Victoria Roshchyna, a contributor to Ukrainian media outlets including Ukrainska Pravda, had planned to report on what life is like for those living under Russian occupation.   But shortly after passing through a border post on Aug. 3, 2023, communication between Roshchyna and her family ended. Since then, her family and colleagues have been trying to locate the journalist.   Then last month, Russia’s Defense Ministry confirmed in a letter to the family that the reporter has been detained in Russian territory.   The status of her health — as well as her specific whereabouts — are still unknown. It’s also unclear whether she has been charged with any crime.   For the International Women’s Media Foundation, or IWMF, which awarded Roshchyna its 2022 courage award, there was a certain amount of relief in knowing that the journalist was detained.  “Because there was also serious concern that she had been killed,” IWMF executive director Elisa Lees Munoz told VOA.  Now their attention is on trying to secure Roshchyna’s release.  “There’s no question that the detention is unjust. But there’s also little hope that there will be some sort of real justice applied in the near future,” Munoz said.   The Russian Defense Ministry delivered the news of Roshchyna’s detention in a letter to her father. He then alerted the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine, or NUJU, about her detention.  The media union released a statement this week demanding “the immediate and unconditional release from captivity of Victoria Roshchyna and other illegally captured journalists.”  Russia’s Washington embassy did not immediately reply to VOA’s email requesting comment.   Roshchyna’s family reported the journalist missing to Ukrainian authorities about a week after their last call, during which she said she had passed a border post.   At the time, the Security Service of Ukraine, or SBU, told the family that the journalist may have been captured by Russian occupation forces.  “We know that Ukrainian journalists working for independent media in the occupied territories are being hunted down by Russian forces,” Jeanne Cavelier, the head of the Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk at Reporters Without Borders, said in an October 2023 statement, about two months into Roshchyna’s disappearance.   Russia ranks among the world’s worst jailers of journalists, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, or CPJ. In late 2023, the press freedom group documented 22 journalists jailed by Russia.   Of those, 12 were foreign nationals, including two Americans and 10 Ukrainians.    Roshchyna was previously abducted by Russian forces in March 2022 while reporting in Berdiansk, in occupied southeastern Ukraine. She was released after nine days.   In an interview last year, Roshchyna’s father said that he had asked her to be careful after that incident. But, he said, she was “unstoppable — she was not able to stop covering the news of this war on the occupied territories for her readers.”  Munoz said that Roshchyna has long been known for being “an extremely vocal and brave journalist.”   “She really dedicated her career to writing about some of the most dangerous topics you could write about in Ukraine,” Munoz said.  She recalled how when the IWMF invited Roshchyna to the United States to accept the courage award in person, Roshchyna declined, saying she needed to keep reporting.   “That is who Victoria is,” Munoz said.