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WASHINGTON — The White House is finalizing plans for a U.S.-Mexico border clampdown that would shut off asylum requests and automatically deny entrance to migrants once the number of people encountered by American border officials exceeded a new daily threshold, with President Joe Biden expected to sign an executive order as early as Tuesday, according to four people familiar with the matter.  The president has been weighing additional executive action since the collapse of a bipartisan border bill earlier this year. The number of illegal crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border has declined for months, partly because of a stepped-up effort by Mexico. Still, immigration remains a top concern heading into the U.S. presidential election in November, and Republicans are eager to hammer Biden on the issue.  The Democratic administration's effort would aim to head off any potential spike in crossings that could occur later in the year, as the fall election draws closer, when the weather cools and numbers tend to rise, two of the people said. They were not authorized to speak publicly about the ongoing discussions and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.  The move would allow Biden, whose administration has taken smaller steps in recent weeks to discourage migration and speed up asylum processing, to say he has done all he can do to control the border numbers without help from Congress.  The talks were still fluid, and the people stressed that no final decisions had been made.  The restrictions being considered are an aggressive attempt to ease the nation's overwhelmed asylum system, along with a new effort to speed up the cases of migrants already in America and another meant to quicken processing for migrants with criminal records or those who would otherwise be eventually deemed ineligible for asylum in the United States.  The people told the AP that the administration was weighing some of the policies directly from a stalled bipartisan Senate border deal, including capping the number of encounters at an average of 4,000 per day over a week and whether that limit would include asylum-seekers coming to the border with appointments through U.S. Customs and Border Protection's CBP One app. Right now, there are roughly 1,450 such appointments per day.  Two of the people said one option is that migrants who arrive after the border reaches a certain threshold could be removed automatically in a process like deportation and would not be able to return easily. Migrants were able to more easily return to the border if they were expelled under the pandemic-era policy known as Title 42. Under that arrangement, Mexico agreed to take back some non-Mexican nationalities, including migrants from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.  Migrants, especially families, claiming asylum at the southern border are generally released into the United States to wait out their cases. But there are more than 2 million pending immigration court cases, and some people wait years for a court date while they live in limbo in the U.S.  Anyone can ask for asylum regardless of whether they arrive illegally at the border, but U.S. officials are increasingly pushing migrants to make appointments, use a legal pathway that avoids the costly and dangerous journey, or stay where they are and apply through outposts in Colombia, Guatemala and Costa Rica.  The Biden administration has grown ever more conservative on border issues as the president faces ceaseless criticism from Republicans and there are large numbers of migrants crossing into the U.S. from Mexico who are not easily returned, especially as global displacement grows from war, climate change and more. 

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Little Washington, Virginia — Senior officials from the United States, Japan, and South Korea convene in historic Little Washington, Virginia, on Friday, amid growing threats from North Korea and other pressing regional and global security issues.  U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell hosts 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 trilateral dialogue, a key deliverable from the historic 2023 Camp David Summit, reaffirms cooperation on economic security, critical and emerging technologies, and maritime security.  It also addresses various regional and global challenges, including North Korean threats, Russia's war on Ukraine, stability in the Taiwan Strait, and humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza, according to the State Department.  The latest trilateral talks follow North Korea's launch of suspected ballistic missiles toward its eastern sea May 30, 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 balloons dropped feces and garbage on South Korea's busy streets and public areas.  “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,” said State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel during a briefing on 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.  Friday's talks follow the recent revival of high-level dialogue among China, Japan, and South Korea after almost five years.  The countries are expected to discuss the outcomes of the trilateral summit held in Seoul on Monday, attended by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and Chinese Premier Li Qiang.  Former U.S. intelligence officials and analysts said the alliance between Washington, Tokyo, and Seoul is 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, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Campbell met with South Korea’s vice foreign minister, Kim, for a bilateral discussion.  The previous day, the State Department’s second-ranking diplomat 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.

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WASHINGTON — In a shift from his previous position, U.S. President Joe Biden has allowed Ukraine to use American-provided weapons to counter Russian attacks in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, located just 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the border with Russia. Speaking from Prague on Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed the change in policy. “Over the past few weeks, Ukraine came to us and asked the authorization to use weapons that we're providing to defend against this aggression, including against Russian forces that are massing on the Russian side of the border and then attacking into Ukraine,” he said. Blinken left open the possibility of the policy being applied to other regions of the conflict. “Going forward, we'll continue to do what we've been doing, which is, as necessary, adapt and adjust, he said. U.S. policy prohibiting the use of long-range missiles known as ATACMS, or Army Tactical Missile System, that could hit targets deep inside Russia has not changed. "This applies to counter-fire capabilities that are deployed just across the border. It does not apply to ATACMS or long-range strikes," said Michael Carpenter, senior director for Europe at the White House National Security Council. "This is meant to enable Ukrainians to defend themselves against what would otherwise be a Russian sanctuary across the border," Carpenter said in a Friday interview with VOA. Fearing escalation, Biden had been reluctant to authorize the use of weapons to hit targets inside Russia despite pressure from Ukraine and European allies. However, Moscow’s advances on Kharkiv in recent weeks may have persuaded him. The White House’s decision “does the minimum to help Ukraine with a difficult situation in the northeast,” removing “a major burden on Ukraine’s efforts to defend civilians in Kharkiv and to stop the Russian offensive,” said John Herbst, senior director of the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center and former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine. At the same time, it “makes public a range of restrictions that seem designed to temper Moscow’s reaction.” “This half step is certainly better than none,” Herbst said, but it “does not send the necessary message of American resolve to the Kremlin.” Russian assets Biden is hosting Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo at the White House on Friday, following formal adoption of a plan by the European Union earlier this month to use profits from Russian central bank assets frozen in the EU for Ukraine's defense. To punish Moscow over its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, G7 economies, including the United States and the EU, have immobilized vast sums of Russian central bank assets. U.S. and European officials have been debating on how to unlock these funds to help Kyiv. Biden signed legislation in April allowing Washington to seize the roughly $5 billion in Russian assets located in the United States. However, most of the approximately $280 billion Russian assets are in Europe, including $225 billion held by EU countries, the majority of which are frozen in Belgium. Last week G7 finance ministers said they will back the EU’s plan. Biden and other G7 leaders are set to formally give their support during their summit in Bari, Italy, this June. Under the plan agreed to by the EU, interest and other investment returns accruing on these assets could total more than $3 billion each year and will be used by Western allies to pay themselves back for funds they provide to Ukraine in the near term. Details of the plan are still unclear, said Ian Lesser, distinguished fellow and adviser to the president at the German Marshall Fund of the United States. “What is clear is that it's going to be collected and used in the European level,” he told VOA. The funds could be used for economic support for Ukraine but also to back the purchase arms for Ukraine and support the European defense industries, he said. Russian officials have suggested they could retaliate by confiscating U.S. and European assets in Russia. While some countries may be concerned by the threat, others are worried about the precedent of using frozen assets under international law. “If this goes ahead, others who may be exposed to historic grievances of all kinds may find that they are having their assets ceased as reparations,” Lesser said. The plan is projected to yield as much as $50 billion for Ukraine in the near future. However, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said the ultimate goal is to seize Russian assets, not just the interest. "With all our gratitude for this decision today, the amounts are not commensurate [with the amount of frozen assets]," he told reporters. De Croo’s visit to Washington came days after his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Belgium. The leaders signed a security agreement which includes the delivery of 30 U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets, another move to bolster Kyiv's defense capabilities against Moscow. "These F-16 jets will be provided to Ukraine as soon as possible. Our aim is to be able to provide first aircraft before the end of this year, 2024," De Croo said at a press conference with Zelenskyy earlier this week. However, he underscored those jets cannot be flown in Russian territory. De Croo is also expected to urge Biden to exert more pressure on Israel to change its war conduct and allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza. After Spain, Ireland and Norway said they would recognize a Palestinian state earlier this week, several parties pushed the Belgian Federal Government to do the same but failed to reach an agreement. Iuliia Iarmolenko contributed to this report.

SYDNEY — Australian researchers say a simpler and cheaper method to remove salt from seawater using heat could help combat what they call “unprecedented global water shortages." The desalination of seawater is a process where salt and impurities are removed to produce drinking water.   Most of the world’s desalination methods use a process called reverse osmosis. It uses pressure to force seawater through a membrane. The salt is retained on one side, and purified water is passed through on the other.  Researchers at the Australian National University (ANU) say that while widespread, the current processes need large amounts of electricity and other expensive materials that need to be serviced and maintained.   Scientists at ANU say they developed the world’s first thermal desalination method. It is powered not by electricity, but by moderate heat generated directly from sunlight, or waste heat from machines such as air conditioners or other industrial processes.  It uses a phenomenon called thermo diffusion, in which salt moves from hot temperatures to cold. The researchers pumped seawater through a narrow channel, which runs under a unit that was heated to greater than 60 degrees Celsius and over a bottom plate that was cooled to 20 degrees Celsius. Lower-salinity water comes from the water in the top section of the channel, closer to the heat.  After repeated cycles through the channels, the ANU study asserts, the salinity of seawater can be reduced from 30,000 parts per million to less than 500 parts per million.  Juan Felipe Torres, a mechanical and aerospace engineer at the Australian National University and the project’s lead chief investigator, explained his pioneering work.   “We use a phenomenon people have not used before,” he said. “We are exploring its applicability in this context but in essence (it) should be something super simple, something as simple as a channel where you have water flowing through it and you are going to produce some sort of separation, and this is what thermal desalination is doing.”   The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization has stated that by 2025, 1.8 billion people around the world are likely to face “absolute water scarcity.”   Torres said the ANU’s invention could help ensure water supplies to communities under threat because of climate change.  “Our vision, let’s say, for the future to have a more equitable world in terms of water security and food security is a method that does not require expensive maintenance or to train personnel to continue running it. So, we think thermal desalination would enable that,” he said.   The ANU team is building a multi-channel solar-powered device to desalinate seawater in the Pacific kingdom of Tonga, which is enduring a severe drought.   The research is published in the journal Nature Communications. 

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.

It’s an emergence that’s been more than a decade in the making. Trillions of cicadas that have burrowed underground for 13 or 17 years are now emerging in parts of the Midwestern and Southern United States. And, VOA’s Dora Mekouar reports, they are ready to mate.

Lima’s Chinatown was founded by Chinese migrants who arrived in Peru as indentured laborers. Back then, it was a meeting place for fellow countrymen, but today, it’s a vibrant commercial hub intertwined with Peruvian society. Adriana Núñez Rabascall has the story from Lima.

After Russia invaded Ukraine, Ukrainian professional tennis player Sergiy Stakhovsky immediately volunteered to fight for his home country. Anna Kosstutschenko has his story. Camera and edit: Pavel Suhodolskiy

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Washington — Pakistan's space agency on Thursday launched its second satellite in a month from a launch site in China's northwest Sichuan province. According to Pakistan’s Space & Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO), PakSAT-MM1 is a high-power multimission satellite designed to provide a range of communication services. "Based on advanced communication technologies, PakSAT-MM1 will play a pivotal role in the socio-economic uplift of the country," SUPARCO said on its website, adding that the satellite is "the hallmark of technological cooperation between" China and Pakistan. SUPARCO added, "It will prove to be a stepping stone in the transformation of the country into digital Pakistan." Chinese state news agency Xinhua said Thursday that the country successfully launched Pakistan's multimission communications satellite. "At 20:12 on May 30, my country [China] successfully launched Pakistan's multi-mission communication satellite into space using the Long March 3B carrier rocket at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center," Xinhua said. "The satellite smoothly entered its predetermined orbit, marking a complete success of the launch mission." According to Xinhua, the launch marks the 524th flight of the Long March series of carrier rockets. Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif congratulated the nation on the launch of the satellite, according to a tweet by the Government of Pakistan. "The satellite will play a key role in improving the communication system, enhancing e-commerce, economic activities, and e-governance," Sharif said. According to PTV, Pakistan's state broadcaster, the satellite will provide top-tier internet services nationwide, enhancing TV broadcasts, cellular connectivity and broadband. Its services are set to launch in August. Prior space collaboration Beijing-Islamabad space cooperation dates to 1990 when a communication satellite developed by Pakistan was launched into space aboard a Chinese Long March 2E rocket. This collaboration has since evolved, culminating in the recent launch of Pakistan's first lunar satellite, ICUBE-Qamar (ICUBE-Q), on May 3, aboard China's Long March 5 rocket from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan province. The ICUBE-Q satellite, a joint project between Pakistan's Institute of Space Technology, SUPARCO, and Shanghai Jiao Tong University, captured its first image of the moon on May 8, according to Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai. Ge Ping, deputy director of the China National Space Administration’s Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering Center, said that this ongoing cooperation enhances friendship between the two countries and fosters diverse aerospace collaboration. "I believe that this cooperation is of great significance to promoting friendly relations between the two countries and enriching people's understanding of the moon," Ge said. "We welcome Pakistan's participation in China's lunar and deep space exploration missions, and we will conduct extensive exchanges and cooperation related to space technology." During the first satellite launch this month, Pakistan's Sharif remarked in an official statement that the friendship between Pakistan and China has "gone beyond borders to reach space." He described the Pakistan-China friendship as "higher than the Himalayas, deeper than the oceans, and sweeter than honey," emphasizing that it has now expanded to transcend the boundaries of space with this mission. On its website, Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs says Pakistan regards China as one of its closest friends and partners, while China considers Pakistan its "Iron Brother." Economically, China stands as Pakistan's largest trading partner and a significant investor, particularly in the infrastructure and energy sectors, according to Pakistan's Foreign Ministry. Pakistan, hosting a multibillion-dollar flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, maintains a close relationship with its neighbor China. Pakistan shares a border with China's northwest region of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, where some Western parliaments and the U.S. government accuse Beijing of committing genocide and crimes against humanity against its Muslim Uyghur population. However, Beijing vehemently denies these accusations, and Pakistan supports Beijing's policy in Xinjiang. Notably, Pakistan delivered a statement on behalf of more than 70 countries at the U.N. General Assembly last October, expressing support for China's actions in Xinjiang toward Uyghur Muslims. BRI and beyond Beijing views space cooperation as integral to its BRI, referring to these endeavors as the "Space Silk Road," according to the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee. China's Space Silk Road aims to connect China's BRI partner countries through China's BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS). BDS serves as an alternative to the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS), Russia's GLONASS, and the European Galileo system. BDS offers China and its BRI partners global positioning, navigation and tracking capabilities for both civilian and military uses. In 2018, Pakistan ended reliance on the GPS system and fully transitioned to China's BDS, which covers the entire country. According to the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington, China has become Pakistan's foremost arms supplier in value terms over the past decade, with Pakistan receiving nearly 40% of Beijing's arms exports. Additionally, China has supported Pakistan's nuclear weaponization efforts, aiding in bomb designs and explosive component development, and enhancing nuclear delivery capabilities by developing and transferring solid-propellant missiles.

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.

Singapore — U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun held their first in-person meeting on the sideline of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Friday. The two officials exchanged views on a range of contentious issues, including the rising tension across the Taiwan Strait, the ongoing confrontation between the Philippines and China in the South China Sea, as well as major global conflicts like Russia’s war in Ukraine and the Middle East conflict. During the 75-minute meeting, Austin and Dong both highlighted the importance of maintaining open lines of communication between the two militaries and vowed to resume the hotline between theater commanders from both sides in the coming months. Austin reiterated Washington’s concern about China’s recent two-day military exercise encircling Taiwan and urged Beijing not to use Taiwan’s political transition, which he characterized as part of a routine democratic process, as "a pretext for coercive measures" against the democratic island. At a news conference Friday following the meeting between the two defense officials, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson Wu Qian told journalists from more than a dozen Chinese and foreign media outlets, including VOA, that the Taiwan question remains purely China’s internal affairs and that external forces "have no right to interfere in the issue." Washington’s behavior "severely violated the commitments made by the U.S. side" and sent wrong signals to "the Taiwan independence separatist forces," Wu said during the 50-minute news conference. In addition to the rising tension across the Taiwan Strait, Austin and Dong also exchanged views on the ongoing confrontation between the Philippines and China in the South China Sea. Austin said the United States will continue to "fly, sail, and operate" wherever international law allows safely and responsibly while stressing the importance of respecting high seas freedom of navigation under international law, especially in the South China Sea. During the meeting, Dong said the Philippines has broken its promises due to support from "outside forces" and keeps making provocations on the disputed Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea, which both Beijing and Manila view as its territories, according to Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson Wu. The Chinese defense minister also criticized Washington for deploying mid-range missile systems to the Philippines "under cover of a military exercise," warning that such a move poses a real threat to regional security. "We remain committed to resolving the disagreements with the Philippines side through consultation on an equal footing, but our tolerance for continued and intensified provocations will have a limit," Wu told journalists during the press conference. Apart from the two contentious issues in the Indo-Pacific region, Austin and Dong also exchanged views on the ongoing wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. The U.S. defense secretary expressed Washington’s concerns about North Korea’s "direct contributions to Russia's ongoing assault on Ukraine." Dong reiterated that China has maintained a "just and impartial position" on the Ukraine conflict, honored the promise of not providing weapons to either side in the war and strictly controlled the "export of military items and dual-use goods in accordance with relevant laws and regulations." He urged the United States not to shift the blame for the ongoing war onto China and said that Beijing will continue to play a constructive role in promoting peace talks, according to Wu. The Chinese Defense Ministry said the two sides will have ongoing consultations regarding future exchanges between the two militaries, with engagements between military academies and potential bilateral policy dialogues being the potential starting point. "We believe that having meetings is better than no meeting and having dialogues is better than having no dialogue at all," Wu told journalists, adding that bilateral exchanges like this meeting can help develop "the sound and stable" military-to-military relationship. Some analysts say the meeting between Austin and Dong is mainly focusing on "posturing" and sharing the fundamental and core interests and red lines from Beijing and Washington’s perspectives. "The talk is not about negotiation or high-level diplomacy but more about establishing lines of communication for the hard work that usually goes on at the lower level," Stephen Nagy, a regional security expert at the International Christian University in Japan, told VOA. While military-to-military communication between Beijing and Washington is important and has the effect of de-escalating growing regional tensions, one thing that remains to be seen is whether the Chinese side will "pick up the phone" in the event of an actual crisis. "Due to the nature of China’s political system, power has been highly centralized under Xi Jinping, [so] we are not sure if our Chinese counterpart would be able to pick up the phone, communicate and make decisions in a crisis situation," he added. Despite this uncertainty, some experts say conversations between defense leaders remain "incredibly helpful." The two officials “can have a conversation about intentions that’s incredibly stabilizing to the overall relationship, [but] I don’t think there is a lot of room for adjusting each side’s red lines," Rorry Daniels, managing director of the Asia Society Policy Institute, told VOA by phone. But with tensions rising in several parts of Asia, including the Taiwan Strait, South China Sea, and the Korean Peninsula, some observers, say Friday’s dialogue between Austin and Dong will be increasingly crucial for the region, especially at a time when there are two ongoing military conflicts in the world. "It is a way both sides can turn down the temperature, exchange information in a multilateral security forum, and have corridor diplomacy, which is extremely important for high-context Asian culture that shies away from talking about volatile issues openly and frankly in the public," Lim Tai Wei, Professor at the National University of Singapore, told VOA in a video interview. VOA Seoul Correspondent William Gallo contributed to this report.