Voice of America’s immigration news

Cairo — A bus carrying university students crashed and overturned on a highway in northeastern Egypt, killing 12 people and injuring 33 others, the health ministry said Monday night. Students from the Suez-based Galala University, southeast of Cairo, were on board. Local media reported they were returning from their classes to their dormitory in Porto Sokhna resort, using the Ain Sokhna highway, when the accident happened, and that the driver was arrested as part of an investigation into the crash. The ministry didn't say what caused the accident. The statement said 28 ambulances rushed to the site and transported the injured to the Suez Medical Complex, but didn't disclose their condition. Deadly traffic accidents claim thousands of lives every year in Egypt, which has a poor transportation safety record. Speeding, bad roads and poor enforcement of traffic laws mostly cause the collisions.

Paris — The Auto manufacturers competing to persuade drivers to go electric are rolling out cheaper, more tech-rich models at the Paris Motor Show, targeting everyone from luxury clients to students yet to receive their driving licenses.  The biennial show has long been a major industry showcase, tracing its history to 1898.  Chinese manufacturers are attending in force, despite European Union threats to punitively tax imports of their electric vehicles in a brewing trade war with Beijing. Long-established European manufacturers are fighting back with new efforts to win consumers who have balked at high-priced EVs.  Here's a look at the show's opening day on Monday.  More new models from China  Chinese EV startups Leapmotor and XPeng showcased models they said incorporate artificial intelligence technology.  Leapmotor, founded in 2015, unveiled a compact electric-powered SUV, the B10. It will be manufactured in Poland for European buyers, said Leapmotor's head of product planning, Zhong Tianyue. Leapmotor didn't announce a price for the B10 that will launch next year.  Leapmotor also said a smaller electric commuter car it showcased in Paris, the T03, will retail from a competitive 18,900 euros ($20,620). Those sold in France will be imported from China but assembled in Poland, Zhong said.  Leapmotor also announced a starting price of 36,400 euros ($39,700) in Europe for its larger family car, the C10.  Sales outside of China are through a joint venture with Stellantis, the world's fourth largest carmaker. Leapmotor said European sales started in September.  Xpeng braces for tariff hit  Attending the Paris show for the first time, the decade-old Chinese EV manufacturer XPeng unveiled a sleek sedan, the P7+.  CEO He Xiaopeng said XPeng aims to deliver in Europe from next year. Intended European prices for the P7+ weren't given, but the CEO said they will start in China at 209,800 yuan, the equivalent of 27,100 euros, or $29,600.  XPeng's president, Brian Gu, said the EU's threatened import duties could complicate the company's expansion plans if Brussels and Beijing don't find an amicable solution to their trade dispute before an end-of-October deadline.  Brussels says subsidies help Chinese companies to unfairly undercut EU industry prices, with Chinese-built electric cars jumping from 3.9% of the EV market in 2020 to 25% by September 2023.  "The tariff will put a lot of pressure on our business model. It's a direct hit on our margin, which is already not very high," Gu said.  Vehicles for young teens  Manufacturers of small electric vehicles that can be driven in Europe without a license are finding a growing market among teens as young as 14 and their parents who, for safety reasons, prefer that they zip around on four wheels than on motorbikes.  Several manufacturers of the two-seaters are showcasing in Paris, including France's Citroen. The starting price for its Ami, or "Friend," is just under 8,000 euros ($8,720). Launched in France in 2020, the plastic-shelled vehicle is now also sold in other European markets and in Turkey, Morocco and South America.  "It's not a car. It's a mobility object," said Citroen's product chief for the Ami, Alain Le Gouguec.  European legislation allows teenagers without a full license to drive the Ami and similar buggies from age 14 after an eight-hour training course. They're limited to a top speed of 45 kilometers per hour (28 mph).  The vehicles are also finding markets among adults who lost their license for driving infractions or who never got a full license, and outside cities in areas with poor transport.  Renault subsidiary Mobilize said that even in winter's energy-sapping cold its two-seater, no-license, plastic-shelled Duo can go 100 kilometers (over 60 miles) between charges. A phone app acts as its door and ignition key.  Another French manufacturer, Ligier, sells its no-license two-seaters in both diesel and electric versions.

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania — Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump will take their fight for Pennsylvania to opposite ends of the state on Monday, with Harris speaking in the northwest corner in Erie and Trump in the southeastern suburbs of Philadelphia. Democrat Harris and Republican Trump have been making regular appearances in what is the country's largest battleground state — it will be Harris' 10th visit to Pennsylvania this campaign season, and just last week Trump made stops in both Scranton and Reading. Pennsylvania's energy industry and natural gas fracking are likely topics as they compete for the fraction of the state's voters who have not made up their minds. Mail-in voting is well underway in the state where some 7 million people are likely to cast votes in the presidential race. Trump beat Hillary Clinton by more than 40,000 votes in Pennsylvania on his way to winning the presidency in 2016, but native Scrantonian Joe Biden beat Trump by about 80,000 votes in the state four years ago. Harris will be holding a rally in Erie, a Democratic majority city of about 94,000 people bordered by suburbs and rural areas with significant numbers of Republicans. Erie County is often cited as one of the state's reliable bellwether regions, where the electorate has a decidedly moderate voting record. Trump visited Erie on Sept. 29. Harris plans to talk up early voting during her rally. And she'll stop by a Black-owned small business in Erie in advance of the rally to promote her proposals to give Black men more economic opportunities and other chances to thrive as Democrats try to energize the voting bloc. Trump plans a town hall Monday at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center and Fairgrounds in suburban Oaks, hoping to drive up turnout among his supporters. Pennsylvania and its 19 electoral votes, the most of any swing state, have generated the most attention by far from the Democratic and Republican presidential campaigns. Including Monday's scheduled events, they will have made 46 stops in the state, according to Associated Press tracking of the campaigns' public events. Michigan, with 33 visits, and Wisconsin, with 29, are the next most-visited states, illustrating how both campaigns are focusing on winning states that had been part of the Democrats' so-called "blue wall" until Trump emerged as the Republican standard-bearer. Democrats have won three straight elections for governor, and both current U.S. senators are Democrats, but the state's legislature is closely divided.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida — A NASA spacecraft rocketed away Monday on a quest to explore Jupiter’s tantalizing moon Europa and reveal whether its vast hidden ocean might hold the keys to life. It will take Europa Clipper 5 1/2 years to reach Jupiter, where it will slip into orbit around the giant gas planet and sneak close to Europa during dozens of radiation-drenched flybys. Scientists are almost certain a deep, global ocean exists beneath Europa’s icy crust. And where there is water, there could be life, making the moon one of the most promising places out there to hunt for it. Europa Clipper won’t look for life; it has no life detectors. Instead, the spacecraft will zero in on the ingredients necessary to sustain life, searching for organic compounds and other clues as it peers beneath the ice for suitable conditions. SpaceX started Clipper on its 3 billion-kilometer (1.8 million-mile) journey, launching the spacecraft on a Falcon Heavy rocket from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center. An hour later, the spacecraft separated from the upper stage, floated off and called home. “Please say goodbye to Clipper on its way to Europa,” NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory's flight director Pranay Mishra announced from Southern California. "The science on this is really captivating,” NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free told The Associated Press back at the launch site. Scientists are still learning about the depths of our own ocean, “and here we are looking that far out.” The $5.2 billion mission almost got derailed by transistors. NASA didn’t learn until spring that Clipper’s transistors might be more vulnerable to Jupiter’s intense radiation field than anticipated. Clipper will endure the equivalent of several million chest X-rays during each of the 49 Europa flybys. The space agency spent months reviewing everything before concluding in September that the mission could proceed as planned. Hurricane Milton added to the anxiety, delaying the launch by several days. “What a great day. We’re so excited,” JPL Director Laurie Leshin said after liftoff. About the size of a basketball court with its solar wings unfurled, Clipper will swing past Mars and then Earth on its way to Jupiter for gravity assists. The nearly 5,700-kilogram (13,000-pound) probe should reach the solar system’s biggest planet in 2030. Clipper will circle Jupiter every 21 days. One of those days will bring it close to Europa, among 95 known moons at Jupiter and close to our own moon in size. The spacecraft will skim as low as 25 kilometers (16 miles) above Europa — much closer than the few previous visitors. Onboard radar will attempt to penetrate the moon’s ice sheet, believed to be 15 kilometers to 24 kilometers (10 miles to 15 miles or more) thick. The ocean below could be 120 kilometers (80 miles) or more deep. The spacecraft holds nine instruments, with its sensitive electronics stored in a vault with dense zinc and aluminum walls for protection against radiation. Exploration will last until 2034. “Ocean worlds like Europa are not only unique because they might be habitable, but they might be habitable today,” NASA’s Gina DiBraccio said on the eve of launch. If conditions are found to be favorable for life at Europa, then that opens up the possibility of life at other ocean worlds in our solar system and beyond, according to scientists. With an underground ocean and geysers, Saturn’s moon Enceladus is another top candidate. 

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor said Monday he is renewing an investigation in Congo and focusing on allegations of crimes committed in the conflict-torn North Kivu province in the central African nation's east since early 2022.  Eastern Congo has long been overrun by more than 120 armed groups seeking a share of the region’s gold and other resources as some carry out mass killings. The result is one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises, with more than 7 million people displaced, many beyond the reach of aid.  The most active rebel group has been M23, which rose to prominence more than a decade ago when its fighters seized Goma, eastern Congo’s largest city on the border with Rwanda. It derives its name from a March 23, 2009, peace deal that it accuses Congo's government of not implementing.  In August, clashes between the rebels and pro-government militias killed 16 villagers in a violation of the cease-fire announced in August to help millions displaced.  The ICC first opened an investigation in Congo 20 years ago following years of armed conflict. Last year the Congolese government asked it to investigate alleged crimes in North Kivu by armed groups operating there since Jan. 1, 2022.  In a statement, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan said recent violence in North Kivu is “interconnected with patterns of violence and hostilities that have plagued the region" since mid-2002. As a result, the more recent allegations fall into the ongoing investigation.  Khan said his probe in North Kivu “will not be limited to parties or members of specific groups. Rather, my office will examine holistically, independently and impartially the responsibility of all actors” allegedly committing crimes within the court's jurisdiction.  The ICC previously convicted three rebels of crimes in Congo's eastern Ituri region, including a notorious warlord, Bosco Ntaganda, known as “The Terminator” who was found guilty of crimes including murder, rape and sexual slavery. His convictions and 30-year sentence were upheld by appeals judges in 2021.

BEIJING — Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called on all parties involved in tensions between Israel and Iran on Monday to exercise caution and avoid escalating the situation.  In a phone conversation with Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz, Wang also urged Israel to ensure the safety of personnel of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), a foreign ministry statement said.  He also reiterated Beijing's position on the Gaza conflict, calling for an immediate, complete and permanent cease-fire.  Katz said that during the call he had "clarified that Iran is the primary source for undermining stability in the Middle East" and said that Iran poses a direct threat through its proxies, including Hamas and Hezbollah.  Katz said he had expected that China would express "a balanced and fair position in relation to the war," citing the economic cooperation ties between the two countries "and the fact that approximately 20,000 workers from China continue to work in Israel during the ... war."

Muscat, Oman — Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met a senior official from Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi movement in Muscat on Monday, according to his office, the latest stop in a wide-ranging diplomatic tour of the region.  The Iranian foreign ministry released pictures of the talks with Mohammed Abdelsalam in the Omani capital as Araghchi consults with allies and other Middle East powers following Israel's vow to retaliate against an Iranian missile attack.  Araghchi held a "meeting and discussion with Mohammad Abdelsalam, the spokesman and chief negotiator of the Yemen National Salvation Government," read the photo caption, referring to the Houthi administration.  The Houthi-run Al Masirah television also reported the meeting without providing any details on the nature of the talks.  Araghchi also met with his Omani counterpart Sayyid Badr al-Busaidi to discuss developments in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip where Israel is fighting Hezbollah and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.   They "urged an immediate end to the Israeli regime's genocide and aggression in Gaza and Lebanon," said Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei.  Oman's foreign ministry said the two officials agreed on "harnessing diplomacy as an essential tool for resolving disputes and conflicts" in the region.  Iran fired nearly 200 missiles at Israel on Oct. 1 in what it said was retaliation for the killing of Tehran-aligned militant leaders in the region and a general in Iran's Revolutionary Guards.  Israel has since vowed to respond.  Yemen's Houthis, along with the Palestinian Hamas group in Gaza and Hezbollah, are part of Iran's "axis of resistance" of militant groups arrayed against Israel.  Araghchi's visit to Muscat came after a trip to Baghdad.  Last week, he visited Qatar and Saudi Arabia where talks mainly revolved around establishing a cease-fire in Lebanon and Gaza as well as ways to contain the conflict from spreading across the region.  On Sunday, Araghchi reiterated that Iran was "fully prepared for a war situation ... but we do not want war, we want peace." 

Warsaw — Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Monday defended a plan to temporarily suspend the right to asylum as human rights and civil society organizations express concerns about the move.   Poland has struggled since 2021 with migration pressures on its border with Belarus — which is also part of the European Union's external border.   “It is our right and our duty to protect the Polish and European border,” Tusk said Monday on X. “Its security will not be negotiated.”   Successive Polish governments have accused Belarus and Russia of organizing the mass transfer of migrants from the Middle East and Africa to the EU's eastern borders to destabilize the West. They view it as part of a hybrid war that they accuse Moscow of waging against the West as it continues its nearly three-year full-scale invasion of Ukraine.   Some migrants have applied for asylum in Poland, but before the requests are processed, they travel across the EU’s border-free travel zone to reach Germany or other countries in Western Europe. Germany, where security fears are rising after a spate of extremist attacks, has recently responded by expanding border controls at all of its borders to fight irregular migration. Tusk called Germany’s move “unacceptable.”   Tusk announced his plan to temporarily suspend the right for migrants to seek asylum at a convention of his Civic Coalition on Saturday. It will be part of a strategy that will be presented to a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.   Dozens of nongovernmental organizations urged Tusk in an open letter to respect the right to asylum guaranteed by international conventions, which Poland signed, including the Geneva Convention on the Status of Refugees and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, and Poland's own constitution.   They argued that fundamental rights and freedoms must be respected.   “It is thanks to them that thousands of Polish women and men found shelter abroad in the difficult times of communist totalitarianism, and we have become one of the greatest beneficiaries of these rights,” the letter said.   It was signed by Amnesty International and 45 other organizations that represent a range of humanitarian, legal and civic causes.   Tusk argued that Finland also suspended accepting asylum applications after facing migration pressure on its border with Russia.   “The right to asylum is used instrumentally in this war and has nothing to do with human rights,” Tusk said on X on Sunday.   A spokesperson for the European Commission, the EU's executive branch, acknowledged the challenge posed by Belarus, but also Russia, and didn't explicitly criticize Tusk’s approach.   “It is important and imperative that the union is protecting the external borders, and in particular from Russia and Belarus, both countries that have put in the past three years, a lot of pressure on the external borders,” Anitta Hipper said during a briefing Monday. “This is something that is undermining the security of the EU member states and of the union as a whole.”   But she also underlined that EU member countries are legally obliged to allow people to apply for international protection.   Hipper noted that the commission intends to “work on ensuring that the member states have the necessary tools to respond to these types of hybrid attacks.” 

Many U.S. politicians throughout history owe their success to the drawing of boundary lines on a map that made their election a near certainty. Here is how it worked and continues to work to this day.

Prague — Former Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen is among the world leaders calling for the release of pro-democracy publisher Jimmy Lai from jail in Hong Kong, where he is standing trial on national security charges that are widely viewed as politically motivated.  “They should release him,” Tsai told VOA about Jimmy Lai. She made the statement shortly after she delivered a speech at the Forum 2000 democracy conference in the Czech capital Prague on Monday. It was Tsai’s first international trip since leaving office in May.  Tsai’s call for Lai’s release comes just weeks before Lai’s trial is set to resume on November 20, when he is expected to take the stand for the first time.  Lai, the founder of Hong Kong’s now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper, has been held in solitary confinement since late 2020. The 76-year-old British national is standing trial on charges of collusion with foreign forces and sedition. The charges, which Lai rejects, are widely viewed as politically motivated. The British government recently asked to defer Tsai’s visit to the United Kingdom due to concerns that her visit would anger Beijing, according to media reports. British Foreign Minister David Lammy is expected to visit China next week in his first trip to the country as foreign secretary. A Foreign Office spokesperson told The Guardian: “Ministerial travel will be confirmed in the usual way. We do not comment on speculation.”   Jimmy Lai’s son Sebastien told VOA he hopes Lammy will raise his father’s case with the Chinese government during his upcoming visit.  “I’ll expect him to raise the case,” Sebastien said. “At the end of the day, this is about saving my father’s life, and the foreign secretary is in a unique position to do that.”  Although the United Kingdom has called for Jimmy’s release, the British government has faced criticism from rights groups and activists who say it isn’t doing enough to advocate on behalf of Jimmy, who is a British national.  “They’ve only been in power for four months,” Sebastien said, referring to Britain’s new Labour government. “Dad’s been in jail for four years. So it’s not an excuse.” Sebastien spoke to VOA at Forum 2000, which he attended to advocate for his father’s release. “Getting as much global attention on my father to put pressure on the government of Hong Kong so that they can’t keep essentially persecuting my father,” Sebastien said.  Lai’s plight has come to symbolize the rapid deterioration of press freedom and other civil liberties in Hong Kong since China’s harsh national security law came into effect in 2020.  Lai’s trial, which began in December 2023, was originally estimated to last around 80 days.  Jonathan Price, a member of Jimmy’s international legal team, said he was concerned the trial could be delayed again. “It doesn’t seem, to us, likely to finish anytime soon,” Price told VOA at Forum 2000.  Price added that Lai’s trial highlights the lack of rule of law in Hong Kong. “The proof about the rule of law in Hong Kong is in the pudding. If you’re shocked that there are 1,500 political prisoners in Russia, a country of 150 million people, you’d be staggered to learn that there are more political prisoners in Hong Kong,” Price said.  The Washington-based Hong Kong Democracy Council estimates that there are more than 1,800 political prisoners in Hong Kong, which has a population of about 7.4 million. “That itself is symptomatic of the total destruction of the rule of law,” Price said. Hong Kong's Security Bureau acknowledged receipt of VOA's email requesting comment for this story but did not provide a comment by time of publication. But in an October email to VOA, a Hong Kong government spokesperson denied that civil liberties and the rule of law have declined there. The spokesperson added that “rights and freedoms are not absolute” anywhere in the world. “In particular, journalists, like everyone else, have an obligation to abide by all the laws. Their freedom of commenting on and criticizing government policies remains uninhibited as long as they do not violate the law,” the spokesperson said. Hong Kong authorities have also previously denied that Jimmy’s trial is unfair.  Also at Forum 2000 in Prague, Miriam Lexmann, a Slovakian Member of European Parliament, told VOA that the European Union should do more to push for Lai’s release.  “It’s very important to talk about Jimmy Lai because it represents the case of Hong Kong very clearly. And what is absolutely vital now is that we address the issue of Hong Kong as Europeans,” said Lexmann, who also serves as co-chair of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, or IPAC. IPAC is a coalition of global lawmakers that is focused on relations with the Chinese government.  Lai’s case is especially important, Lexmann said, because he could have left Hong Kong, but he decided to stay in order to stand up for freedom.  “He decided to stay and suffer just to show the case of what’s going on in Hong Kong,” Lexmann said. “We have a moral responsibility to help those who fight for freedom worldwide. With his father’s trial set to resume shortly, Sebastien says now is an especially important time for governments to place more pressure on Hong Kong and China to release the publisher.  “We do see this as a critical time to raise attention for my father’s case,” Sebastien said. “My goal is to release him as soon as possible because at his age, he could die at any moment.” 

NEW DELHI — India said Monday it is recalling its ambassador and other diplomats from Canada, hours after it rejected a Canadian notification that the ambassador was a "person of interest" in the assassination of a Sikh activist last year.  India's foreign ministry said in a statement that it had also summoned the top Canadian diplomat in New Delhi and told him that "the baseless targeting" of the Indian high commissioner, or ambassador, and other diplomats and officials in Canada "was completely unacceptable."  "We have no faith in the current Canadian Government's commitment to ensure their security," it said. "Therefore, the Government of India has decided to withdraw the High Commissioner and other targeted diplomats and officials."  In September last year, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there were credible allegations that the Indian government had links to the assassination in that country of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. India rejected the accusation as absurd.  In Ottawa, messages left for Canada's foreign ministry, foreign minister and the prime minister's office seeking comment were not immediately returned. 

BRUSSELS — The European Union on Monday imposed sanctions on Iran’s deputy defense minister, senior members of its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and three airlines over allegations that they supplied drones, missiles and other equipment to Russia for use in its war against Ukraine.  Deputy Defense Minister Seyed Hamzeh Ghalandari is one of seven senior officials now banned from traveling in Europe and whose assets in the bloc were frozen. The EU said he “is involved in the development of Iran’s [drone] and missile program,” given his high-level defense role.  Iran Air, Mahan Air and Saha Airlines had their assets frozen. The EU said their planes were “used repeatedly to transfer Iranian-made unmanned aerial vehicles and related technologies to Russia, which have been used in Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.”  EU foreign ministers endorsed the sanctions at a meeting in Luxembourg.  In March, the bloc had warned that “were Iran to transfer ballistic missiles and related technology to Russia for use against Ukraine, the EU would be prepared to respond swiftly, including with new and significant restrictive measures.”  EU member countries, except for Hungary, have been supplying weapons and ammunition as well as economic and other support to Ukraine worth some 118 billion euros ($129 billion) since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.  

Moscow — A Russian court on Monday convicted a French citizen of collecting military information and sentenced him to three years in prison. Laurent Vinatier, who was arrested in Moscow in June, earlier admitted guilt, setting the stage for a fast-tracked trial. His lawyers' asked the court to sentence him to a fine. In his remarks before the verdict, Vinatier, speaking Russian, reaffirmed that he fully recognized his guilt and asked the judge for clemency. "I'm asking the Russian Federation to forgive me for failing to observe Russian laws," he said in Russian. He said that he fell in love with Russia 20 years ago when he began studying the country and concluded his comments with a verse by Russian poet Alexander Pushkin about having patience that better days lie ahead. Detentions on charges of spying and collecting sensitive data have become increasingly frequent in Russia and its heavily politicized legal system since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022. Vinatier's arrest came as tensions flared between Moscow and Paris following French President Emmanuel Macron's comments about the possibility of deploying French troops in Ukraine. Russian authorities accused Vinatier of failing to register as a "foreign agent" while collecting information about Russia's "military and military-technical activities" that could be used to the detriment of the country's security. Vinatier is an adviser for the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, a Switzerland-based nongovernmental organization. It said in June that it was doing "everything possible to assist" him. The prosecutors charged that Vinatier had collected military information during his meetings with three Russian citizens in Moscow in 2021-22. The Russian citizens weren't named in the indictment. Vinatier's lawyers argued the sentence sought by prosecutors was too harsh and asked the judge to sentence him to a fine. They pointed at his career as a political scholar who focused on studying Russia and emphasized that his books and articles have been friendly to the country. While asking the judge for clemency, Vinatier pointed at his two children and his elderly parents he has to take care of. The charges against Vinatier relate to a law that requires anyone collecting information on military issues to register with authorities as a foreign agent. Human rights activists have criticized the law and other recent legislation as part of a Kremlin crackdown on independent media and political activists intended to stifle criticism of its actions in Ukraine.

Nairobi — The World Bank said on Monday it had lowered its economic growth forecast for sub-Saharan Africa this year to 3% from 3.4%, mainly due to the destruction of Sudan's economy in a civil war.   However, growth is expected to remain comfortably above last year's 2.4% thanks to higher private consumption and investment, the bank said in its latest regional economic outlook report, Africa's Pulse.   "This is still a recovery that is basically in slow gear," Andrew Dabalen, chief economist for the Africa region at the World Bank, told a media briefing.   The report forecast next year's growth at 3.9%, above its previous prediction of 3.8%.   Moderating inflation in many countries will allow policymakers to start lowering elevated lending rates, the report said.   However, the growth forecasts still face serious risks from armed conflict and climate events such as droughts, floods and cyclones, it added.   Without the conflict in Sudan, which devastated economic activity and caused starvation and widespread displacement, regional growth in 2024 would have been half a percentage point higher and in line with its initial April estimate, the lender said.   Growth in the region's most advanced economy, South Africa, is expected to increase to 1.1% this year and 1.6% in 2025, the report said, from 0.7% last year.    Nigeria is expected to grow at 3.3% this year, rising to 3.6% in 2025, while Kenya, the richest economy in East Africa, is likely to expand by 5% this year, the report said.    Commodities   The sub-Saharan Africa region grew at a robust annual average of 5.3% in 2000-2014 on the back of a commodity supercycle, but output started flagging when commodity prices crashed. The slowdown was accelerated by the COVID pandemic.   "Cumulatively, if that were to continue for a long time, it would be catastrophic," Dabalen warned.   Many economies in the region were starved of public and private investments, he said, and a recovery in foreign direct investments that started in 2021 was still tepid.   "The region needs much, much larger levels of investments in order to be able to recover faster... and be able to reduce poverty," he said.   Growth across the region is also hamstrung by high debt service costs in countries like Kenya, which was rocked by deadly protests against tax hikes in June and July.   "There are staggering levels of interest payments," Dabalen said, attributing this to a shift by governments to borrow from financial markets in the last decade and away from the low-priced credit offered by institutions like the World Bank.   Total external debt among economies has risen to about $500 billion from $150 billion a decade and a half ago, he said, with the bulk owed to bond market investors and China.   Chad, Zambia, Ghana and Ethiopia went into default in the last four years and have overhauled their debt under a G20 initiative Common Framework. Ethiopia is still working to restructure its debt while the others have completed their debt restructuring.   "As long as these debt issues are not resolved, there is going to be a lot of 'wait and see' games going on, and that is not good for the countries, and certainly not good for the creditors as well," he said.

In Namibia, descendants of people who fled German persecution in the early 1900s are returning to their ancestral homeland. The government of Namibia has set aside five commercial farms for the relocation of almost 100 ethnic Ovaherero people. Vitalio Angula reports from Windhoek, Namibia.

Syrian rebels are facing a new threat: suicide drones. Rebels say the Syrian government and Russian forces have hit military and civilian targets with tactics developed largely by Russia in its war on Ukraine. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul with Moawia Atrash in Idlib, Syria. Camera: Moawia Atrash, Ahmad Fallaha