Voice of America’s immigration news

paris — French President Emmanuel Macron called Saturday for a halt on arms deliveries to Israel for use in Gaza, provoking a sharp response from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He also criticized Netanyahu's decision to send troops into ground operations in Lebanon. "I think that today, the priority is that we return to a political solution, that we stop delivering weapons to fight in Gaza," Macron told French broadcaster France Inter. "France is not delivering any," he added during the interview, which was recorded Tuesday. Macron reiterated his concern over the conflict in Gaza that is continuing despite repeated calls for a cease-fire. "I think we are not being heard," he said. "I think it is a mistake, including for the security of Israel," he said, adding that the conflict was leading to "hatred." His comments brought a swift response from Netanyahu. "As Israel fights the forces of barbarism led by Iran, all civilized countries should be standing firmly by Israel's side," Netanyahu said in a statement issued by his office. "Yet, President Macron and other Western leaders are now calling for arms embargoes against Israel. Shame on them." Israel was fighting a war on several fronts against groups backed by arch-foe Iran, the statement added. "Is Iran imposing an arms embargo on Hezbollah, on the Houthis, on Hamas and on its other proxies? Of course not," Netanyahu said. All three groups are backed by Tehran and form part of its "axis of resistance" against Israel. "This axis of terror stands together. But countries who supposedly oppose this terror axis call for an arms embargo on Israel. What a disgrace!" Netanyahu said Israel would win even without their support. "But their shame will continue long after the war is won," he said. "Rest assured, Israel will fight until the battle is won — for our sake and for the sake of peace and security in the world." Cease-fire call French President Macron said avoiding an escalation in Lebanon was a "priority." "Lebanon cannot become a new Gaza," he added. And he returned to the subject Saturday in a speech to a conference of French-speaking nations in Paris. While both Paris and Washington had called for a cease-fire, said Macron, "I regret that Prime Minister Netanyahu has made another choice, has taken this responsibility, in particular, for ground operations on Lebanese soil." The 88 members of the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF), including France and Canada, have called for an "immediate and lasting" cease-fire in Lebanon, he added. But Macron reaffirmed Israel's right to self-defense and said that Monday he would be meeting relatives of Franco-Israelis held hostage in Gaza. On Monday, Israel marks the first anniversary of the devastating October 7 Hamas attack that sparked the Gaza war and has now engulfed neighboring Lebanon, creating a perilous regional crisis. The attack resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures. Israel's retaliatory offensive on Gaza has so far killed at least 41,825 people, most of them civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run Palestinian territory. The U.N. has said those figures are reliable.

paris — They did not exchange a glance. Congolese Félix Tshisekedi and Rwandan Paul Kagame were nevertheless a few meters from each other, for the "family photo" which opened the Francophonie summit, Friday in Villers-Cotterêts north of Paris. The heavy diplomatic and military dispute between their two countries in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), ravaged by decades of violence, remains alive, despite Paris' hopes of seeing them come closer. The DRC, as well as the U.N. group of experts, accuse Rwanda of having deployed troops in support of the M23 ("March 23 Movement"), a predominantly Tutsi rebellion that has seized large swathes of territory in this mineral-rich region since 2021. The idea of a Kagame-Tshisekedi meeting fizzled out. French President Emmanuel Macron, the summit's host, finally spoke separately with his two counterparts to "encourage" them to conclude a peace agreement "as soon as possible," while Angola, the mediator appointed by the African Union, has been trying for months to make progress on this sensitive issue. And the summit almost ended in a clash. At the closing Saturday, Macron called for the "withdrawal of the M23 and Rwandan troops" from Congolese soil, as Kinshasa is demanding. Tshisekedi had slammed the door of the plenary the day before, angry at the silence of the French president on the situation in the DRC, according to a Congolese government source to AFP. Harmonized plan On the Angolan mediation side, discussions are running into new blockages despite the "important" compromises obtained recently with a view to a possible peace agreement, starting with the cease-fire agreement signed at the end of July, according to Rwandan and Congolese sources contacted by AFP. Alongside ongoing political discussions, intelligence officials from both countries met in secret several times in August to establish a "harmonized plan" for ending the crisis, the sources said. This plan, which was spread over four months, consisted for the Congolese to launch operations to "neutralize" the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), to respond to the concerns of Kigali. This rebel group formed by former senior Hutu leaders of the genocide of the Tutsi in Rwanda in 1994, and who have since taken refuge in the DRC, constitutes a permanent threat in the eyes of Kigali. In return, Rwanda gave the green light to "a disengagement of forces" deployed in the east of the DRC and hostile to Kinshasa. Alas. The progress of the negotiations finally came to a halt on September 14, at the end of yet another meeting between the Rwandan and Congolese foreign ministers Olivier Nduhungirehe and Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner. Go further The first, questioned by AFP, accuses the DRC of having "blocked everything" over a matter of timing, "because the harmonized plan planned to launch operations to neutralize the FDLR on D+25", while the withdrawal of rebel and Rwandan "forces" was to begin five days later, on D+30. "The plan proposed was reasonable, it was a good plan," Nduhungirehe assures. "The principle that should have been enacted is that of the simultaneity of operations, because it is much more effective," the Congolese government source told AFP. "In any case, it is not the military and intelligence experts who ultimately decide, but the political leaders." At the U.N. on September 25, President Tshisekedi unsurprisingly called on the international community to impose "targeted sanctions" against Rwanda, insisting that its military presence on Congolese soil is an "aggression (which) constitutes a major violation of our national sovereignty." "Approving this plan would have been politically risky for Tshisekedi, reelected a year ago on a belligerent program towards Kagame and it could have been interpreted by public opinion as a 180-degree turnaround," explains Onesphore Sematumba, expert for the International Crisis Group (ICG). According to him, "there will be no purely military solution to the current crisis which has caused a humanitarian catastrophe [with nearly 7 million internally displaced people], it is an illusion." "We will have to go much further than the 'harmonized plan,'" he said, and address the issue of mineral resources, the subject of fierce competition, but also political dialogue with the myriad of armed groups present on the ground. In the meantime, the Angolan mediator has proposed a new inter-ministerial meeting on October 12. Both parties assure AFP that they will go. 

Tunis, Tunisia — Voting began in Tunisia's presidential election on Sunday with no real opposition to incumbent Kais Saied, who is widely tipped to win as his most prominent critics are behind bars. Three years after Said staged a sweeping power grab, the election is seen as a closing chapter in Tunisia's experiment with democracy. The North African country had prided itself for more than a decade for being the birthplace of the Arab Spring uprisings against dictatorship. Polling opened at 8 a.m. and is set to end at 6 p.m. Electoral board ISIE has said preliminary results should come no later than Wednesday but may be known earlier. At one polling station in central Tunis, AFP reporters saw a group of mostly older men lining up to vote. Ahead of polling day, there were no campaign rallies or public debates, and nearly all of the campaign posters in city streets have been of Saied. With little hope for change in a country mired in economic crisis, the mood among much of the electorate has been one of resignation. "We have nothing to do with politics," Mohamed, a 22-year-old who gave only his first name for fear of retribution, told AFP in the capital. Neither he nor his friends planned to vote, he said, because they believed it was "useless." After rising to power in a landslide in 2019, Saied, now 66, led a sweeping power grab that saw him rewrite the constitution. A burgeoning crackdown on dissent ensued, and a number of Saied's critics across the political spectrum were jailed, sparking criticism both at home and abroad. New York-based Human Rights Watch has said that more than "170 people are detained in Tunisia on political grounds or for exercising their fundamental rights." Jailed opposition figures include Rached Ghannouchi, head of the Islamist-inspired opposition party Ennahdha, which dominated political life after the revolution. Also detained is Abir Moussi, head of the Free Destourian Party, which critics accuse of wanting to bring back the regime that was ousted in 2011. Little enthusiasm ISIE said about 9.7 million people are expected to turn out, but the near certainty of a Saied win and the country's mounting hardships have inspired little to no eagerness to vote. The International Crisis Group think tank said on Friday that "the president's nationalist discourse and economic hardship" have "corroded any enthusiasm ordinary citizens might have felt about the election." "Many fear that a new mandate for Saied will only deepen the country's socio-economic woes, as well as hasten the regime's authoritarian drift," it said. Voters are being presented with almost no alternative after ISIE barred 14 hopefuls from running in the race, citing insufficient endorsements among other technicalities. Hundreds of people protested in the capital on Friday, marching along a heavily policed Habib Bourguiba Avenue as some demonstrators bore signs denouncing Saied as a "Pharaoh manipulating the law." Running against him Sunday are former lawmaker Zouhair Maghzaoui, who backed Saied's power grab in 2021, and Ayachi Zammel, a little-known businessman who has been in jail since his bid was approved by ISIE last month. Zammel currently faces more than 14 years in prison on accusations of having forged endorsement signatures to enable him to run in the election. In a speech on Thursday, Saied called for a "massive turnout to vote" and usher in what he called an era of "reconstruction." He cited "a long war against conspiratorial forces linked to foreign circles," accusing them of "infiltrating many public services and disrupting hundreds of projects" under his tenure. The International Crisis Group said that while Saied "enjoys significant support among the working classes, he has been criticized for failing to resolve the country's deep economic crisis." 

BEIJING — Coco Gauff rallied Saturday from a set down for the third consecutive match as she beat Paula Badosa 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 to advance to the final of the China Open. The sixth-ranked Gauff will play Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic in Sunday's final as the 20-year-old American bids for her second WTA-1000 level title. Muchova defeated Olympic gold medalist Zheng Qinwen 6-3, 6-4 in the other semifinal. Gauff, who has a 7-1 record in tour finals, has made a habit of slow starts in Beijing this week and the script played out again as the No. 19-ranked Badosa took a tight opening set in 59 minutes, saving 10 of 11 break points. The Spaniard then built a 3-1 lead in the second set before the 2023 U.S. Open champion shifted the momentum by saving four break points and then breaking back to level at 4-4. Gauff then held for 5-4 and broke Badosa again to force a deciding set. "I felt like I was playing the right way the whole time, just a couple of unforced errors, she was playing well too," Gauff said in her on-court interview. "I was trying to stay focused. Mentally, I just tried to reset. I got down a couple of times, and I tried to bounce back." With all the momentum, Gauff then broke Badosa three more times — for the loss of one of her own — as she clinched the match in 2 hours, 20 minutes. Gauff had also lost the first set to Naomi Osaka in the fourth round before winning by walkover as the four-time major winner retired with a back injury at one set-all. "I've had tough opponents the whole tournament," Gauff said. In the quarterfinals, Gauff trailed the No. 115-ranked Yuliia Starodubtseva before rallying to win in three. Shanghai masters Carlos Alcaraz and top-ranked Jannik Sinner showed no signs of fatigue from their China Open final earlier this week to advance with comfortable straight-set victories in their opening matches. The second-ranked Alcaraz, who beat the Italian in Beijing on Wednesday for his fourth title of the year, recorded his 10th consecutive win with a 6-2, 6-2 result against 19-year-old Shang Juncheng of China. The 21-year-old Spaniard won the first nine points of the match and four of seven break points as he rushed into a third-round meeting with another Chinese player, Wu Yibing. "I’m not used to playing against players younger than me," Alcaraz said. "He has been playing good tennis lately, lifting his first ATP (title in Chengdu), so I’m pretty sure he’s going to climb the rankings. I’m just happy to be able to win these kinds of matches." Sinner, who is dealing with an ongoing doping case, had a comfortable 6-1, 6-4 outing against Taro Daniel of Japan for his 250th career win. The Italian, who won the U.S Open last month for his second major of the year, fired 12 aces and 38 winners. "I felt quite comfortable today," said the 23-year-old Sinner, who next plays Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina. "I feel in good shape also physically, which is very important for me. Of course I will try to improve for tomorrow’s performance, but today I was serving really, really well, especially in important moments, and was moving well." No. 65-ranked Jakub Mensik of the Czech Republic broke sixth-ranked Andrey Rublev seven times on his way to an upset 6-7 (7), 6-4, 6-3 victory. Yosuke Watanuki also had a surprise win, beating Number 35-ranked Brendan Nakashima 7-6 (4), 6-3. The Japanese qualifier plays either seventh-ranked Taylor Fritz of the U.S. or French qualifier Terence Atmane next. Also, 24th-ranked Alexei Popyrin of Australia beat Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia 6-3, 6-2. Later Saturday, third-ranked Alexander Zverev began his campaign against Italian qualifier Mattia Bellucci, while fourth-ranked Novak Djokovic faced Alex Michelsen of the United States. 

GOMA, Congo — Congolese authorities on Saturday began vaccinations against mpox, nearly two months after the disease outbreak that spread from Congo to several African countries and beyond was declared a global emergency by the World Health Organization. The 265,000 doses donated to Congo by the European Union and the United States were rolled out in the eastern city of Goma in North Kivu province, where hospitals and health workers have been overstretched, struggling to contain the new and possibly more infectious strain of mpox. Congo, with about 30,000 suspected mpox cases and 859 deaths, accounts for more than 80% of all the cases and 99% of all the deaths reported in Africa this year. All the Central African nation's 26 provinces have recorded mpox cases. Although most mpox infections and deaths recorded in Congo are in children under age 15, the doses being administered are only meant for adults and will be given to at-risk populations and frontline workers, Health Minister Roger Kamba said this week. "Strategies have been put in place by the services in order to vaccinate all targeted personnel," Muboyayi ChikayaI, the minister's chief of staff, said as he kicked off the vaccination. At least 3 million doses of the vaccine approved for use in children are expected from Japan in the coming days, Kamba said. Mostly undetected for years Mpox, also known as monkeypox, had been spreading mostly undetected for years in Africa before the disease prompted the 2022 global outbreak that saw wealthy countries quickly respond with vaccines from their stockpiles while Africa received only a few doses despite pleas from its governments. However, unlike the global outbreak in 2022 that was overwhelmingly focused in gay and bisexual men, mpox in Africa is now being spread via sexual transmission as well as through close contact among children, pregnant women and other vulnerable groups, Dr. Dimie Ogoina, the chair of WHO's mpox emergency committee, recently told reporters. More than 34,000 suspected cases and 866 deaths from the virus have been recorded across 16 countries in Africa this year. That is a 200% increase compared to the same period last year, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. But access to vaccines remains a challenge. The continent of 1.4 billion people has only secured commitment for 5.9 million doses of mpox vaccines, expected to be available from October through December, Dr. Jean Kaseya, head of the Africa CDC, told reporters last week. Congo remains a priority, he said. Province at risk of outbreak At the vaccination drive in Goma, Dr. Jean Bruno Kibunda, the WHO representative, warned that North Kivu province is at a risk of a major outbreak due to the "promiscuity observed in the camps" for displaced people, as one of the world's biggest humanitarian crises caused by armed violence unfolds there. The news of the vaccination program brought relief among many in Congo, especially in hospitals that had been struggling to manage the outbreak. "If everyone could be vaccinated, it would be even better to stop the spread of the disease," said Dr. Musole Mulambamunva Robert, the medical director of Kavumu Hospital, one of the mpox treatment centers in eastern Congo. Eastern Congo has been beset by conflict for years, with more than 100 armed groups vying for a foothold in the mineral-rich area near the border with Rwanda. Some have been accused of carrying out mass killings. 

rome — Blocking a road to protest inaction against climate change could soon be punishable with prison in Italy as Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's hard-right government cracks down on demonstrations, even peaceful ones. A new security law passed by MPs and facing final scrutiny in the Senate has been dubbed the "anti-Gandhi" law — after pacifist Indian independence hero Mahatma Gandhi — by critics for taking aim at demonstrations by people ranging from prisoners to climate activists. It is specifically aimed at protests of two major infrastructure projects — a high-speed, cross-border Turin-Lyon railway to France and a mooted bridge over the Strait of Messina to Sicily — both championed by Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini. Salvini, who also has responsibility for transport and infrastructure, is a defender of the combustion engine and crusades against "climate terrorism," particularly the young members of the Last Generation, a climate group known for headline-grabbing protests. Under the new law, blocking a road outside the authorized route of a demonstration could be punishable by up to two years in prison, up from the current penalty of a fine between 1,000 and 4,000 euros ($1,100 to $4,393). Critics see it as a deliberate attempt to silence dissent by Italy's most right-wing government since the end of World War II. But Salvini, head of the far-right League party, rejected accusations of a "police state," insisting: "Good people have nothing to fear." Ideological madness Meloni's post-fascist Brothers of Italy party took office in October 2022 after an election victory fueled by anti-immigration, nationalist and populist rhetoric, forming a coalition with the League and the right-wing Forza Italia party. The government has since passed numerous laws and measures designed to please their right-wing base, from legislation limiting the activities of charities that rescue migrants at sea to reinforcing an existing ban on surrogacy and clamping down on juvenile crime. With the security law, "the government wants to charm the part of society that continues to vote mainly for far-right parties," many of them older people "who are much less sensitive to issues of civil rights, the labor crisis and climate change," said Anna Bonalume, a journalist who closely follows Salvini. Opposition parties are up in arms. "We have never faced such an attack on democratic civilization such as that brought by the Meloni government," Giuseppe De Marzo, national coordinator of the Even Numbers Network of civil society groups, told AFP at a recent protest of the bill outside parliament. The opposition Five Star Movement condemned it as a "deeply oppressive measure that has the explicit intention of intimidating... political and social dissent." The bill also plans to lift a ban on jailing pregnant women or those with a child under one year old, and to penalize prisoners who protest their conditions. Italy is ranked the sixth-worst European country for prison overcrowding, with 109 inmates for every 100 places, according to the Council of Europe. But the law would make it an offense to demonstrate in a prison, even through "passive resistance," such as disobeying an order. On the flip side, the legislation proposes the filming of police interrogations. "The security bill is a real attack on democracy and the rule of law," said the Green and Left Alliance. The secretary-general of the center-left More Europe, MP Riccardo Magi, called it "ideological madness."

LIMA, Peru — Peru on Thursday celebrated two decades since the creation of a genetically modified breed of guinea pig, a rodent whose meat has formed a part of the diet of people in the Andean nation for thousands of years. The genetically modified breed of guinea pig — known as cuy locally — is called "Peru." It was created in 2004 at the National Institute of Agrarian Innovation, Juan Solórzano, a research zootechnician, said in the middle of one of the institute's farms where thousands of guinea pigs are raised for study. What characterizes the Peru breed is that grows faster, reaching a weight of 1 kilogram in 56 days, rather than the 160 days that was needed before, Solórzano said. "It is a precocious breed," said Solórzano. Guinea pigs are native to the Andes Mountains and are raised in Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and Colombia, areas where the Inca Empire spread almost 500 years ago. There are more than 25 million guinea pigs in Peru, according to official figures. The rodent is so popular in the South American country that authorities have decreed the second Friday of October as National Guinea Pig Day to encourage its consumption. Internal migration from Peru's Andes in the 20th century brought the custom of eating guinea pigs to the country's Pacific coast. "It is eaten at sporting events or religious festivals. Guinea pig is a festive dish," Solórzano said. It is also used in ritual healing practices by being rubbed over the body of a sick person. Marina Isabel Briceño, an employee at an air conditioning supply company, said she has eaten guinea pigs since she was a child, calling them a delicacy served at "special events." Born in the Cajamarca region, Briceño said that at baptisms the parents often give the godfather and godmother a tray with more than a dozen guinea pigs that have been fried and are "crispy and ready to eat." "I know it is a rodent, a distant relative of rats, but those animals eat garbage, whereas guinea pigs eat something else, tender corn leaves which is why they are tasty," she said.

ULM, Germany — The Ulmer Münster in southern Germany is the world's tallest church. For now, anyway. The Gothic-style Lutheran church's reign — begun in May 31, 1890 — could end in 2025, when La Sagrada Familia Basilica's "Tower of Jesus Christ" in Spain is set to be completed. At an eventual 172.5 meters high, the Catholic basilica in Barcelona should inch out the Ulmer Münster by a mere 11 meters. But La Sagrada Familia 's construction has taken 142 years and counting. The ultimate completion could come in 2026, 100 years since the death of the original Catalan architect, Antoni Gaudí. Ironically, when the basilica reaches its final height, it will be thanks to a 17-meter cross that was made by a German company. Still, the Ulmer Münster's lead pastor isn't upset. "I don't find it all that fascinating that it is the highest church tower in the world," Dean Torsten Krannich told The Associated Press. "The church also lifts my heart up to God. This is simply a wonderful church that invites you to pray and be thankful." After all, Ulm will always have Albert Einstein. The physicist was born there in 1879 and lived in Ulm for the first 15 months of his life. His extended family remained, and he returned and climbed the church's tower in 1923. In addition to a stained glass window inside the Ulmer Münster that features Einstein and other famous scientists, the head of communications for Ulm's tourism board is quick to point out that the rest of the city has "a very high density of art and culture." "We can inspire the guests who come here even when we no longer have the highest church in the world, but only have the second-highest," Dirk Homburg said. The Ulmer Münster's history dates to 1377, when Ulm's citizens decided to demolish their old parish church. Located outside the city gates, it could be a perilous trek for congregants during the frequent wars of the Middle Ages. The residents chose to finance the building of a new one in the city's center themselves, and planned for it to have the highest spire in the world. Construction paused in 1543 when, in the wake of the Protestant Reformation, the city's leaders decided to stop the work amid political and economic turbulence. Building resumed in 1844 and by May 31, 1890, the church was complete. Reaching a record 161.5 meters high, the Ulmer Münster was built deliberately to be taller than the Cologne Cathedral in northwest Germany — which topped out at 157.2 meters in 1880. Although Ulm was destroyed by a World War II bombing raid in 1944, the church itself remained upright. But the Ulmer Münster's age, as well as weather impacts and some 1 million annual visitors, mean that construction and restoration occur constantly amid tourism and religious services. For example, visitors can currently climb 560 stairs to the viewing platform at 102 meters. The platform at 143 meters — 768 stairs — is closed due to stairwell repairs. Krannich said it remains special regardless. "Whether the tower is now 5 meters higher or 5 meters lower, it doesn't matter to the quality of this church," he said. Ursula Heckler, a two-time visitor to the church, said she initially journeyed to Ulm in 2019 because she, like many others who trek there, knew it was the world's tallest. She doesn't plan to visit La Sagrada Familia when it takes over. Christos Kalokerinos, a native Ulmer, is unruffled by the looming loss of status. "There are so many other nice things about the Münster that it's not really relevant," he said. "I think most people think that way, too. But of course it was also great to brag a bit about the fact that we have the highest church tower — because many, many people don't necessarily know Ulm that way." Indeed, there are few indications of the record in the city. The gift shop inside the church just has a fake fireplace labeled "the world's tallest church," and the only reference in a tourism store across the street appeared to be a postcard stacking the church's height up against the Great Pyramid of Giza, Big Ben and the Statue of Liberty. All are shorter than the Ulmer Münster. Apparently the region's residents, known as Swabians, "prefer understatement." "They don't want to tell everyone that they're the greatest," Krannich said. "Not everyone needs to know. It's enough if we know it." But next year? "We're going to involve Albert Einstein a bit more in our marketing," Homburg said.

NEW YORK — For years, the Grammy Awards have been criticized over a lack of diversity — artists of color and women left out of top prizes; rap and contemporary R&B stars ignored — a reflection of the Recording Academy's electorate. An evolving voting body, 66% of whom have joined in the last five years, is working to remedy that. At last year's awards, women dominated the major categories; every televised competitive Grammy went to at least one woman. It stems from a commitment the Recording Academy made five years ago: In 2019, the Academy announced it would add 2,500 women to its voting body by 2025. Under the Grammys' new membership model, the Recording Academy has surpassed that figure ahead of the deadline: More than 3,000 female voting members have been added, it announced Thursday. "It's definitely something that we're all very proud of," Harvey Mason jr., academy president and CEO, told The Associated Press. "It tells me that we were severely underrepresented in that area." Reform at the Record Academy dates back to the creation of a task force focused on inclusion and diversity after a previous CEO, Neil Portnow, made comments belittling women at the height of the #MeToo movement. Since 2019, approximately 8,700 new members have been added to the voting body. In total, there are now more than 16,000 members and more than 13,000 of them are voting members, up from about 14,000 in 2023 (11,000 of which were voting members). In that time, the academy has increased its number of members who identify as people of color by 63%. "It's not an all-new voting body," Mason assures. "We're very specific and intentional in who we asked to be a part of our academy by listening and learning from different genres and different groups that felt like they were being overlooked, or they weren't being heard." Mason says that in the last five years, the Recording Academy has "requalified 100% of our members, which is a huge step." There are voters who have let their membership lapse — and those who no longer qualify to be a voting member have been removed. There have been renewal review processes in the past, but under the current model, becoming a voting member requires proof of a primary career in music, two recommendations from industry peers and 12 credits in a single creative profession, at least five of which must be from the last five years. Comparisons might be made to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which announced in 2016 that it would restrict Oscars voting privileges to active members — ineligible parties included those who haven't worked in three decades since joining the Academy, unless they themselves are nominated — as a response to #OscarsSoWhite criticisms of its lack of diversity. As a result, some members protested that the new measures unjustly scapegoated older academy members. The film academy has also grown its membership, adding more women and people from underrepresented racial and ethnic communities. The Recording Academy sought to increase its voting body by reaching out to different, underrepresented communities, says Mason. "Let's take the time to understand why those people aren't engaging with us, figure out how we can fix that," he said. "And once we fixed it, then let's invite them or ask them if they would like to be a part of our organization. So, it was a multi-step process." Since 2019, the Recording Academy has also seen growth in voters across different racial backgrounds: 100% growth in AAPI voters, 90% growth in Black voters and 43% growth in Latino voters. Still, Mason sees room to grow. Of the current voting membership, 66% are men, 49% are white and 66% are over the age of 40. "Going forward, we're going to continue the work. We're going to continue to grow," he says. That might not look like a public commitment to a specific figure, but Mason promises "that our goals will be to be the most relevant, the most reflective, the most accurately representative of the music community that is humanly possible." 

Rome — Pope Francis is calling for prayer and fasting on October 7, the first anniversary of the start of the ongoing conflict in Gaza. As the death and destruction continue, so too do the daily phone calls from the pope to the Catholic Holy Family Church parish in Gaza City, offering spiritual sustenance to the priests, nuns and parishioners seeking shelter there. At the start of a special synod on October 2 of Catholic clergy, nuns, and laity in Rome, Francis issued a call to prayer and fasting on the anniversary of the Gaza war as the conflict widens in the Middle East. Pope Francis said that the Church is always at the service of humanity "especially in this dramatic hour of our history, as the winds of war and the fires of violence continue to ravage entire peoples and nations." The pontiff asked everyone to take part in a day of prayer and fasting for peace in the world on October 7. The Rev. Gabriel Romanelli, the parish priest at the church in Gaza City, told Vatican Radio the pope calls every day to give the people there "words of comfort and his blessing." The priest said the pope "asks us to protect the children and always encourages us to keep going." Longtime Vatican watcher Francis X. Rocca has covered the Vatican since 2007, most recently for The Wall Street Journal. He told VOA Pope Francis’ daily phone calls to the Gaza parish are unique. "It is an extraordinary thing to do, especially if you do it every day,” he said. “For the start of his pontificate, we know that he was making these personal phone calls to various people, sometimes spontaneously, sort of by surprise. But to be doing this regularly, every day, certainly shows a great degree of concern. During the war in Ukraine, he’s also made comments and sent messages and so forth. But I’m not aware that he’s ever done anything like this." The Holy Family Church is so named because it is believed that Mary, Joseph, and the infant Jesus passed through the coastal territory into Egypt to flee King Herod’s sword in the first century A.D. The church has not escaped the violence of this war between Israel and Hamas. Two Christian women, Nahida Khalil Anton and her daughter, Samar Kamal Anton, were killed last December as they walked to the convent on the parish’s complex. Seven more people were shot and wounded by Israeli gunfire as they "tried to protect others inside the church compound," the Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem reported. Israel Defense Forces officials said they were investigating. Several hundred Palestinians, mainly Christians but also some Muslims, now shelter in the church compound. The Rev. Rifat Bader, director of the Catholic Center for Studies and Media in Jordan, said there are currently three priests and several nuns from both the late Mother Teresa’s order, The Missionaries of Charity, and Sisters of the Incarnate Word ministering in Gaza. He explained to VOA the importance of the pope’s personal calls. "We cannot forget these personal, human initiatives every day that the pope is keeping— calling the priests and the nuns there to give a daily encouragement,” he said. “When a priest receives a call from the pope, it is a big thing inside the Catholic Church. You are talking with the successor of Peter. But when this thing is becoming a daily initiative of the pope, really this is a very human touch that the pope is putting inside the minds, the memories, the spirits of these people: priests and community. This is a sign of encouragement, a sign of paternal care of the pope, besides all the diplomatic relations, initiatives." Bader said that while the Vatican has sought diplomatic efforts for a cease-fire and an end to the conflict, Pope Francis' personal phone calls "put this human touch in the hearts" of people who have experienced great suffering and are desperate for an end to the war.

WASHINGTON — Republicans are pointing to newly released immigration enforcement data to bolster their argument that the Biden administration is letting migrants who have committed serious crimes go free in the U.S. But the numbers have been misconstrued without key context. Immigration and Customs Enforcement released data to Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales in response to a request he made for information about people under ICE supervision either convicted of crimes or facing criminal charges. Gonzales' Texas district includes an 800-mile stretch bordering Mexico. Gonzales posted the numbers online and they immediately became a flashpoint in the presidential campaign between former President Donald Trump, who has vowed to carry out mass deportations, and Vice President Kamala Harris. Immigration — and the Biden administration's record on border security — has become a key issue in the election. Here's a look at the data and what it does or doesn't show: What are the numbers? As of July 21, ICE said 662,556 people under its supervision were either convicted of crimes or face criminal charges. Nearly 15,000 were in its custody, but the vast majority — 647,572 — were not. Included in the figures of people not detained by ICE were people found guilty of very serious crimes: 13,099 for homicide, 15,811 for sexual assault, 13,423 for weapons offenses and 2,663 for stolen vehicles. The single biggest category was for traffic-related offenses at 77,074, followed by assault at 62,231 and dangerous drugs at 56,533. The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, later clarified that the numbers span decades — including the Trump administration and other presidencies — and that those not in its custody may be detained by a state or local agency. It's a distinction ICE didn't make in its report to Gonzales. "When we speak of somebody who is not detained, we mean not detained in ICE custody. The individual could be in Folsom State Prison, for example," Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Monday. Millions of people are on ICE's "non-detained docket," or people under the agency's supervision who aren't in its custody. Many are awaiting outcomes of their cases in immigration court, including some wearing monitoring devices. Others have been released after completing their prison sentences because their countries won't take them back. What do both sides say about the numbers? Republicans pointed to the data as proof that the Biden administration is letting immigrants with criminal records into the country and isn't doing enough to kick out those who commit crimes while they're here. "The truth is clear — illegal immigrants with a criminal record are coming into our country. The data released by ICE is beyond disturbing, and it should be a wake-up call for the Biden-Harris administration and cities across the country that hide behind sanctuary policies," Gonzales said in a news release, referring to pledges by local officials to limit their cooperation with federal immigration authorities. Trump, who has repeatedly portrayed immigrants as bringing lawlessness and crime to America, tweeted multiple screenshots of the data with the words: "13,000 CROSSED THE BORDER WITH MURDER CONVICTIONS." He also asserted that the numbers correspond to Biden and Harris' time in office. The data was being misinterpreted, Homeland Security said in a statement Sunday. "The data goes back decades; it includes individuals who entered the country over the past 40 years or more, the vast majority of whose custody determination was made long before this Administration," the agency said. "It also includes many who are under the jurisdiction or currently incarcerated by federal, state or local law enforcement partners." Mayorkas said it was "unfortunate" the information didn't come with proper explanation, saying that "lends itself to misinterpretation, either deliberate or otherwise." The department also stressed what it has done to deport those without the right to stay in America, saying it had removed or returned more than 700,000 people in the past year, which it said was the highest number since 2010. Homeland Security said it had removed 180,000 people with criminal convictions since President Joe Biden took office. What's behind the figures? The data isn't only listing people who entered the country during the Biden administration but includes people going back decades who came during previous administrations, said Doris Meissner, former commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, which was the predecessor to ICE. They're accused or convicted of committing crimes in America as opposed to committing crimes in other countries and then entering the U.S., said Meissner, who is now director of the U.S. Immigration Policy Program at the Migration Policy Institute. "This is not something that is a function of what the Biden administration did," she said. "Certainly, this includes the Biden years, but this is an accumulation of many years, and certainly going back to at least 2010, 2011, 2012." A 2017 report by Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General says that as of August 2016, ICE had about 368,574 people on its non-detained docket who were convicted criminals. By June 2021, shortly after Trump left office, that number was up to 405,786. Can't ICE just deport criminals? ICE has limited resources. The number of people it supervises has skyrocketed, while its staffing has not. As the agency noted in a 2023 end-of-year report, it often has to send staff to help at the border, taking them away from their normal duties. The number of people ICE supervises but who aren't in its custody has grown from 3.3 million a little before Biden took office to a little over 7 million last spring. "The simple answer is that as a system, we haven't devoted enough resources to the parts of the government that deal with monitoring and ultimately removing people who are deportable," Meissner said. ICE also has logistical and legal limits on who they can hold. Its budget allows the agency to hold 41,500 people at a time. John Sandweg, who was acting ICE director from 2013 to 2014 under then-President Barack Obama, said holding people accused or convicted of the most serious crimes is always the top priority. But once someone has a final order of removal — meaning a court has found that they don't have the right to stay in the country — they cannot be held in detention forever while ICE works out how to get them home. A 2001 Supreme Court ruling essentially prevented ICE from holding those people for more than six months if there is no reasonable chance to expect they can be sent back. Not every country is willing to take back their citizens, Sandweg said. He said he suspects that a large number of those convicted of homicide but not held by ICE are people who were ordered deported but the agency can't remove them because their home country won't take them back. "It's a very common scenario. Even amongst the countries that take people back, they can be very selective about who they take back," he said. The U.S. also could run into problems deporting people to countries with which it has tepid relations. Homeland Security did not respond to questions about how many countries won't take back their citizens. The 2017 watchdog report put the number at 23 countries, plus an additional 62 that were cooperative but where there were delays getting things like passports or travel documents.

SEOUL, South Korea — Three years after the 30-year-old South Korean woman received a barrage of online fake images that depicted her nude, she is still being treated for trauma. She struggles to talk with men. Using a mobile phone brings back the nightmare. "It completely trampled me, even though it wasn't a direct physical attack on my body," she said in a phone interview with The Associated Press. She didn't want her name revealed because of privacy concerns. Many other South Korean women recently have come forward to share similar stories as South Korea grapples with a deluge of non-consensual, explicit deepfake videos and images that have become much more accessible and easier to create. It was not until last week that parliament revised a law to make watching or possessing deepfake porn content illegal. Most suspected perpetrators in South Korea are teenage boys. Observers say the boys target female friends, relatives and acquaintances — also mostly minors — as a prank, out of curiosity or misogyny. The attacks raise serious questions about school programs but also threaten to worsen an already troubled divide between men and women. Deepfake porn in South Korea gained attention after unconfirmed lists of schools that had victims spread online in August. Many girls and women have hastily removed photos and videos from their Instagram, Facebook and other social media accounts. Thousands of young women have staged protests demanding stronger steps against deepfake porn. Politicians, academics and activists have held forums. "Teenage (girls) must be feeling uneasy about whether their male classmates are okay. Their mutual trust has been completely shattered," said Shin Kyung-ah, a sociology professor at South Korea's Hallym University. The school lists have not been formally verified, but officials including President Yoon Suk Yeol have confirmed a surge of explicit deepfake content on social media. Police have launched a seven-month crackdown. Recent attention to the problem has coincided with France's arrest in August of Pavel Durov, the founder of the messaging app Telegram, over allegations that his platform was used for illicit activities including the distribution of child sexual abuse. South Korea's telecommunications and broadcast watchdog said Monday that Telegram has pledged to enforce a zero-tolerance policy on illegal deepfake content. Police say they've detained 387 people over alleged deepfake crimes this year, more than 80% of them teenagers. Separately, the Education Ministry says about 800 students have informed authorities about intimate deepfake content involving them this year. Experts say the true scale of deepfake porn in the country is far bigger. The U.S. cybersecurity firm Security Hero called South Korea "the country most targeted by deepfake pornography" last year. In a report, it said South Korean singers and actresses constitute more than half of the people featured in deepfake pornography worldwide. The prevalence of deepfake porn in South Korea reflects various factors including heavy use of smart phones; an absence of comprehensive sex and human rights education in schools and inadequate social media regulations for minors as well as a "misogynic culture" and social norms that "sexually objectify women," according to Hong Nam-hee, a research professor at the Institute for Urban Humanities at the University of Seoul. Victims speak of intense suffering. In parliament, lawmaker Kim Nam Hee read a letter by an unidentified victim who she said tried to kill herself because she didn't want to suffer any longer from the explicit deepfake videos someone had made of her. Addressing a forum, former opposition party leader Park Ji-hyun read a letter from another victim who said she fainted and was taken to an emergency room after receiving sexually abusive deepfake images and being told by her perpetrators that they were stalking her. The 30-year-old woman interviewed by The AP said that her doctoral studies in the United States were disrupted for a year. She is receiving treatment after being diagnosed with panic disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder in 2022. Police said they've detained five men for allegedly producing and spreading fake explicit contents of about 20 women, including her. The victims are all graduates from Seoul National University, the country's top school. Two of the men, including one who allegedly sent her fake nude images in 2021, attended the same university, but she said has no meaningful memory of them. The woman said the images she received on Telegram used photos she had posted on the local messaging app Kakao Talk, combined with nude photos of strangers. There were also videos showing men masturbating and messages describing her as a promiscuous woman or prostitute. One photo shows a screen shot of a Telegram chatroom with 42 people where her fake images were posted. The fake images were very crudely made but the woman felt deeply humiliated and shocked because dozens of people — some of whom she likely knows — were sexually harassing her with those photos. Building trust with men is stressful, she said, because she worries that "normal-looking people could do such things behind my back." Using a smart phone sometimes revives memories of the fake images. "These days, people spend more time on their mobile phones than talking face to face with others. So we can't really easily escape the traumatic experience of digital crimes if those happen on our phones," she said. "I was very sociable and really liked to meet new people, but my personality has totally changed since that incident. That made my life really difficult and I'm sad." Critics say authorities haven't done enough to counter deepfake porn despite an epidemic of online sex crimes in recent years, such as spy cam videos of women in public toilets and other places. In 2020, members of a criminal ring were arrested and convicted of blackmailing dozens of women into filming sexually explicit videos for them to sell. "The number of male juveniles consuming deepfake porn for fun has increased because authorities have overlooked the voices of women" demanding stronger punishment for digital sex crimes, the monitoring group ReSET said in comments sent to AP. South Korea has no official records on the extent of deepfake online porn. But ReSET said a recent random search of an online chatroom found more than 4,000 sexually exploitive images, videos and other items. Reviews of district court rulings showed less than a third of the 87 people indicted by prosecutors for deepfake crimes since 2021 were sent to prison. Nearly 60% avoided jail by receiving suspended terms, fines or not-guilty verdicts, according to lawmaker Kim's office. Judges tended to lighten sentences when those convicted repented for their crimes or were first time offenders. The deepfake problem has gained urgency given South Korea's serious rifts over gender roles, workplace discrimination facing women, mandatory military service for men and social burdens on men and women. Kim Chae-won, a 25-year-old office worker, said some of her male friends shunned her after she asked them what they thought about digital sex violence targeting women. "I feel scared of living as a woman in South Korea," said Kim Haeun, a 17-year-old high school student who recently removed all her photos on Instagram. She said she feels awkward when talking with male friends and tries to distance herself from boys she doesn't know well. "Most sex crimes target women. And when they happen, I think we are often helpless," she said.

SEOUL, South Korea — The leaders of North Korea and China marked the 75th anniversary of their diplomatic relations on Sunday by exchanging messages that expressed hopes for stronger ties, as outsiders raised questions about their relationship. The message exchange came as North Korea and Russia have been sharply expanding their cooperation while China apparently keeps its distance. Experts say that the level of exchanges and commemorative programs between North Korea and China in the coming months will provide a clue to the exact status of their ties. In a message sent to Chinese President Xi Jinping, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his government will "steadily strive to consolidate and develop the friendly and cooperative relations" between the two countries, according to North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency. Xi, in his message to Kim, said that China is ready to jointly promote "the stable and further advance of the socialist cause in the two countries," KCNA said. Since North Korea and China established diplomatic ties on October 6, 1949, their relationship has often been described as being "as close as lips and teeth." China, North Korea's biggest trading partner and main aid provider, has been suspected of avoiding fully implementing U.N. sanctions on North Korea and sending clandestine aid shipments to help its impoverished neighbor stay afloat and continue to serve as a bulwark against U.S. influence on the Korean Peninsula. But many observers say China is reluctant to form a three-way, anti-West alliance with North Korea and Russia as it prefers a stable regional security environment to tackle numerous economic challenges and maintain relationships with Europe and its Asian neighbors. North Korea and Russia have moved significantly closer to each other amid widespread outside suspicions that North Korea has supplied conventional weapons to Russia for its war in Ukraine in return for military and economic assistance. During a meeting in Pyongyang in June, Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a pact stipulating mutual military assistance if either country is attacked, in what was considered the two countries' biggest defense deal since the end of the Cold War. North Korea is locked in confrontations with the U.S., South Korea and their partners over its advancing nuclear program. Kim has said he was forced to expand both nuclear and conventional capabilities to cope with U.S.-led security threats. On Sunday, KCNA reported that Kim oversaw a live artillery firing drill by cadets of a military academy. After watching the drill, Kim said training programs at the military academy must focus on "the guerrilla war tactics to wipe out the enemies through rapid mobile and surprise operations," according to KCNA.

BUTLER, Pennsylvania — Donald Trump returned on Saturday to the Pennsylvania fairgrounds where he was nearly assassinated in July, holding a sprawling rally before a massive crowd in a critical swing state Trump hopes to return to his column in November's election. The former president and Republican nominee picked up where he left off in July when a gunman tried to assassinate him and struck his ear. He began his speech with, "As I was saying," and gestured toward an immigration chart he was looking at when the gunfire began. The Trump campaign worked to maximize the event's headline-grabbing potential with just 30 days to go and voting already underway in some states in his race against his Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris. Musician Lee Greenwood appeared on stage and serenaded him with God Bless the USA, frequently played at his rallies, and billionaire Elon Musk spoke for the first time at a Trump rally. "We fought together. We have endured together. We have pushed onward together," Trump said. "And right here in Pennsylvania, we have bled together. We've bled." 'This is a must-win' Trump needs to drive up voter turnout in conservative strongholds like Butler County, an overwhelmingly white, rural-suburban community, if he wants to win Pennsylvania in November. Harris, too, has targeted her campaign efforts at Pennsylvania, rallying there repeatedly as part of her aggressive outreach in critical swing states. At the beginning of the rally, Trump asked for a moment of silence to honor firefighter Corey Comperatore, who died as he shielded family members from gunfire. Opera singer Christopher Macchio sang Ave Maria after a bell rung at the same time that gunfire began on July 13. Standing behind protective glass that now encases the stage at his outdoor rallies, Trump called the would-be assassin "a vicious monster" and said he did not succeed "by the hand of providence and the grace of God." There was a very visible heightened security presence, with armed law enforcers in camouflage uniforms on roofs. One of the most anticipated guests of the evening was Musk, who climbed onto the stage on Saturday jumping and pumping his fists in the air after Trump introduced him as a "great gentleman" and said he "saved free speech." "President Trump must win to preserve the Constitution. He must win to preserve democracy in America," said Musk, who endorsed Trump after the assassination attempt. "This is a must-win situation." Musk, who bought Twitter and rebranded it as X and has embraced conservative politics, met with Trump and Vance backstage, donning a black "Make America Great Again" hat. A billboard on the way into the rally said, "IN MUSK WE TRUST," and showed his photo. Earlier on Saturday, Trump's running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, got on stage and reflected on the events that day while criticizing Democrats for calling Trump "a threat to democracy," saying that kind of language is "inflammatory." "You heard the shots. You saw the blood. We all feared the worst. But you knew everything would be OK when President Trump raised his fist high in the air and shouted, 'Fight, fight!'" said Vance. "Now I believe it as sure as I'm standing here today that what happened was a true miracle." Crowds pack stands Crowds were lined up as the sun rose Saturday. The crowd packed bleachers, folding chairs and the field stretching to the venue's edges. Area hotels, motels and inns were said to be full and some rallygoers arrived Friday. Much of the crowd waited several hours for Trump. About half an hour into his speech, Trump paused his speech for more than five minutes after an attendee had a medical issue and needed a medic. Trump used the event to remember Comperatore, the volunteer firefighter struck and killed at the July 13 rally, and to recognize the two other rallygoers injured, David Dutch and James Copenhaver. They and Trump were struck when 20-year-old shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, opened fire from an unsecured rooftop nearby before he was fatally shot by sharpshooters. The building from which Crooks fired was completely obscured by tractor-trailers, a large grassy perimeter and a fence. Most bleachers were now at the sides, rather than behind Trump. How Crooks managed to outmaneuver law enforcement that day and scramble on top of a building within easy shooting distance of the ex-president is among many questions that remain unanswered about the worst Secret Service security failure in decades. Another is his motive. Butler County District Attorney Rich Goldinger told WPXI-TV this week that "everyone is doubling down on their efforts to make sure this is done safely and correctly." Mike Slupe, the county sheriff, told the station he estimates the Secret Service, was deploying "quadruple the assets" it did in July. The agency has undergone a painful reckoning over its handling of two attempts on Trump's life. ‘I believe God's got Trump’ Butler County, on the western edge of a coveted presidential swing state, is a Trump stronghold. He won the county with about 66% of the vote in both 2016 and 2020. About 57% of the county's 139,000 registered voters are Republicans, compared with about 29% who are Democrats and 14% something else. Chris Harpster, 30, of Tyrone, Pennsylvania, was accompanied by his girlfriend on Saturday as he returned to the scene. Of July 13, he said, "I was afraid" — as were his parents, watching at home, who texted him immediately after the shots rang out. Heightened security measures were making him feel better now, as well as the presence of his girlfriend, a first-time rallygoer. Harpster said he will be a third-time Trump voter in November, based on the Republican nominee's stances on immigration, guns, abortion and energy. Harpster said he hopes Pennsylvania will go Republican, particularly out of concern over gas and oil industry jobs. Other townspeople were divided over the value of Trump's return. Heidi Priest, a Butler resident who started a Facebook group supporting Harris, said Trump's last visit fanned political tensions in the city. "Whenever you see people supporting him and getting excited about him being here, it scares the people who don't want to see him reelected," she said. Terri Palmquist came from Bakersfield, California, and said her 18-year-old daughter tried to dissuade her. "I just figure we need to not let fear control us. That's what the other side wants is fear. If fear controls us, we lose," she said. She said she was not worried about her own safety. "Honesty, I believe God's got Trump, for some reason. I do. So we're rooting for him."