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warsaw, poland — Polish prosecutors have discontinued an investigation into human skeletons found at a site where German dictator Adolf Hitler and other Nazi leaders spent time during World War II because the advanced state of decay made it impossible to determine the cause of death, a spokesman said Monday. The remains were found February 24 at Wolf's Lair, which served as Hitler’s chief headquarters from 1941 to 1944, when the area was part of Germany. The compound of about 200 Nazi bunkers and military barracks hidden in deep woods was the site of the failed assassination attempt on Hitler by Colonel Claus Stauffenberg on July 20, 1944. The site is now a tourist attraction. The spokesman for the prosecutor's office in nearby Ketrzyn town, Daniel Brodowski, said police officers secured the remains after they were found by a local group, Latebra, which searches for historical objects. A forensic medical expert examined them under the supervision of the prosecutor's office, which was trying to determine if manslaughter had occurred. It discontinued the investigation in late March because of a lack of evidence that a crime had been committed, Brodowski told The Associated Press in an emailed statement. “The expert stated that the preserved bone remains were of human origin and came from at least four people, three of whom were most likely middle-aged men, and the fourth was a child several years of age whose sex cannot be determined,” Brodowski wrote. But because of the advanced decay of the remains, it was no longer possible to determine the cause of death, he said, noting that at least several dozen years had passed.

There are six months left in the U.S. presidential race between Democratic President Joe Biden and Republican candidate Donald Trump. VOA Correspondent Scott Stearns looks at what is ahead for the campaigns in the run-up to Election Day.]

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

abuja, nigeria — A Nigerian journalist's arrest last week has triggered criticism of worsening press freedoms in the West African country. Daniel Ojukwu with the Foundation for Investigative Journalism went missing last Wednesday in the economic hub of Lagos. His family and employer found out on Friday that he was detained and held in a police station for allegedly violating the country's Cybercrime Act, often criticized as a tool for censorship. The arrest of Ojukwu, who was later transferred to the Nigerian capital of Abuja, follows his report about alleged financial mismanagement of over 147 million naira ($104,600) involving a senior government official, according to his employer, the foundation. Nigeria is ranked 112th out of 180 countries in the latest World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders. It is known for the country's tough environment for journalists who face frequent abductions, arrests and prosecution, usually after reporting on chronic corruption and bad governance plaguing the oil-rich country. At least 25 journalists have been prosecuted under the country's Cybercrime Act since it was introduced in 2015, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. They include eight detained under President Bola Tinubu whose government, in power since May last year, touts itself as one encouraging press freedoms — a claim it repeated last week during World Press Freedom Day events. The Cybercrime Act was amended this year to remove some harsh provisions but the police still use it to "silence journalists and critics," Amnesty International's Nigeria office said. Nigeria's law requires a suspect to be charged or released within 48 hours following arrest. Ojukwu, however, was not allowed any means of communication or access to a lawyer until his third day in custody, said Oke Ridwan, a human rights lawyer who met with the journalist at the police station where he was held. Nigeria's Minister of Information Mohammed Idris Malagi told The Associated Press that he is making efforts to resolve the case and is "on top of the issue." Local and international civil society groups have condemned the detention. It is a "symptom of a larger problem within Nigeria's law enforcement agencies, and their relationship with politically exposed persons undermining democratic principles," a coalition of at least 30 civil society groups known as the Action Group on Protection of Civic Actors said in a statement on Monday. "The Nigerian Police Force has veered off course from its duty to uphold law and order to become an oppressive tool in stifling dissent and independent journalism," it added.

Nairobi, Kenya — Kenya Airways said Monday that it would resume flights to Kinshasa after military authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo released two of its employees who were detained last month.  The airline announced on April 29 that it would suspend flights to the DRC capital, calling the arrests "unlawful."  "Kenya Airways confirms that military authorities have unconditionally released our two employees who had been detained since 19 April 2024," Kenya's flag carrier said in a statement. "With the necessary ground support in place, we are pleased to announce that Kenya Airways will resume flights to Kinshasa on 8 May 2024."  Earlier, the Kenyan government had announced the release of one of the employees.  "Deeply grateful to inform that Lydia Mbotela, KQ [Kenya Airways] manager in DRC, has just been released by the authorities in Kinshasa," Korir Sing'Oei, Kenya's principal secretary for foreign affairs, said on X, formerly Twitter.  The two employees, who work at the airline's office in Kinshasa, were arrested on April 19 by a military intelligence unit, according to Kenya Airways.  The airline had described it as "harassment targeting Kenya Airways' business," while the head of a powerful parliamentary committee called it a breach of diplomatic rules.  Kenya Airways said the employees were held allegedly because of "missing custom documentation on valuable cargo."   The DRC government has not commented on the allegations.  But the airline's CEO, Allan Kilavuka, had said it did not accept the cargo, whose contents were not specified, because of incomplete documentation.  This cargo "was still in the baggage section being cleared by customs when the security team arrived and alleged that KQ was transporting goods without customs clearance," he said. "All efforts to explain to the military officers that KQ had not accepted the cargo because of incomplete documentation proved futile."   The airline said its employees were held incommunicado in a military facility until April 23, when embassy officials and a KQ team were allowed to visit them.

new york —   The New York Times and The Washington Post were awarded three Pulitzer Prizes apiece on Monday for work in 2023 that dealt with everything from the war in Gaza to gun violence, and The Associated Press won in the feature photography category for coverage of global migration to the U.S. Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel and the aftermath produced work that resulted in two Pulitzers and a special citation. The Times won for text coverage that the Pulitzer board described as "wide-ranging and revelatory," while the Reuters news service won for its photography. The citation went to journalists and other writers covering the war in Gaza. The prestigious public service award went to ProPublica for reporting that "pierced the thick wall of secrecy" around the U.S. Supreme Court to show how billionaires gave expensive gifts to justices and paid for luxury travel.Reporters Joshua Kaplan, Justin Elliott, Brett Murphy, Alex Mierjeski and Kirsten Berg were honored for their work. The Pulitzers honored the best in journalism from 2023 in 15 categories, as well as eight arts categories focused on books, music and theater. The public service winner receives a gold medal. All other winners receive $15,000. The 15 photos in AP's winning entry were taken across Latin America and along the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas and California in a year when immigration was one of the world's biggest stories. They were shot by AP staffers Greg Bull, Eric Gay, Fernando Llano, Marco Ugarte and Eduardo Verdugo, and longtime AP freelancers Christian Chavez, Felix Marquez and Ivan Valencia. "These raw and emotional images came about through day-to-day coverage of a historic moment in multiple countries documenting migrants at every step of their treacherous journeys," said Julie Pace, the AP's senior vice president and executive editor. The United States has seen more than 10 million border arrivals in the last five years, with migrants arriving from a wide range of new locations like Venezuela, Cuba, Ecuador, Haiti and Africa, in contrast with earlier eras.     The AP has won 59 Pulitzer Prizes, including 36 for photography. The news cooperative was named a finalist for the national reporting Pulitzer on Monday for its coverage of hundreds of thousands of children who disappeared from public schools during the pandemic. In citing The Times for its work in Israel and Gaza, the Pulitzer board mentioned its coverage of the country's intelligence failures, along with the attack and Israel's military response. The award comes even as The Times has faced some controversy about its coverage; last month a group of journalism professors called on the publication to address questions about an investigation into gender-based violence during the Hamas attack on Israel. The Times' Hannah Dreier won a Pulitzer in investigative reporting for her stories on migrant child labor across the United States. Contributing writer Katie Engelhart won the newspaper's third Pulitzer, in feature writing, for her portrait of a family struggling with a matriarch's dementia. The Washington Post staff won in national reporting for its "sobering examination" of the AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, which came with some gut-wrenching photos. "We were eager to find a way to cover it differently and change the conversation about mass shootings," Peter Walstein, The Post's senior national enterprise editor, said in the newspaper. The Post's David E. Hoffman won in editorial writing for a "compelling and well-researched" series on how authoritarian regimes repress dissent in the digital age. Its third award went to contributor Vladimir Kara-Murza, for commentaries written from a Russian prison cell. The New Yorker magazine won two Pulitzers. Sarah Stillman won in explanatory reporting for her report on the legal system's reliance on felony murder charges. Contributor Medar de la Cruz won in illustrated reporting and commentary for his story humanizing inmates in the Rikers Island jail in New York City. The staff of Lookout Santa Cruz in California won in the breaking news category for what the prize board called "nimble community-minded coverage" of flooding and mudslides. On its website Monday, Lookout Santa Cruz said that it made its coverage free at a time of crisis in the community, and also used text messages to reach people without power. "In short, we did our jobs," the staff said in an unsigned article, "and we heard so many thanks for it. The Pulitzer is icing on that cake." The Pulitzers gave a second award in national reporting to the Reuters staff for an "eye-opening" series that probed Elon Musk's automobile and aerospace businesses. In local reporting, Sarah Conway of City Bureau and Trina Reynolds-Tyler of the Invisible Institute won for an investigative series on missing Black girls and women in Chicago, which showed how racism and the police contributed to the problem. The Pulitzer in criticism went to Justin Chang of The Los Angeles Times for evocative and genre-spanning coverage of movies. The Pulitzer board's second special citation went to the late hip-hop critic Greg Tate. The Pulitzers are administered by Columbia University in New York, which itself has been in the news for student demonstrations against the war in Gaza. The Pulitzer board met away from Columbia this past weekend to deliberate on its winners. For the first time, the Pulitzers opened eligibility to broadcast and audio companies that also operate digital news sites, such as CNN, NPR and the broadcast networks ABC, CBS and NBC. None of these companies won, however. The Columbia Journalism School also administers the duPont-Columbia Awards, which recognize audio and visual journalism and are presented in the winter. The Pulitzers also announced that five of the 45 finalists this year used artificial intelligence in research and reporting of their submissions. It was the first time the board required applicants for the award to disclose use of AI. The prizes were established in the will of newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer and first awarded in 1917.

Washington — The United States called Monday on Rwanda to punish forces behind an attack in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, not backing down from charges Kigali is meddling in its neighbor's affairs.  The State Department accused Rwandan forces Friday of joining M23 rebels in blasts on a camp for internally displaced people on the outskirts of the eastern city of Goma that killed at least nine people.  Rwandan government spokesperson Yolande Makolo described the U.S. accusation as "ridiculous," writing on X that Rwanda had a "professional army" that would "never attack" a camp for displaced people.  Asked Monday if the United States stood by its claim, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said, "We absolutely do."   "The government of Rwanda must investigate this heinous act and hold all those responsible accountable. And we have made that clear to them," he said.   The United States has long said there was evidence to back up charges by Kinshasa that Rwanda is backing the M23 rebels, who are mostly ethnic Tutsis and resumed their armed campaign in the historically turbulent country in 2021.   But the latest U.S. statement marked an unusually direct accusation of Rwandan involvement.  Rwandan President Paul Kagame in turn has demanded that the DR Congo act against Hutu forces over ties with the perpetrators of Rwanda's 1994 genocide, which mostly targeted Tutsis.  The United States has sought to mediate between the two countries, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken in January meeting Kagame and voicing hope that Rwanda would engage in diplomacy.

GEORGE, South Africa — Rescue efforts were underway after two people were killed and dozens remained trapped after a multistory building under construction collapsed in the South African city of George, authorities said Monday.  Twenty-two people were rescued from the site and sent to hospitals, the municipality of George, a coastal city east of Cape Town, said in a statement.  Western Cape premier Alan Winde said two among the retrieved had died, while 53 remain trapped under the rubble.  "Seventy-five members of the construction crew have been confirmed on-site at the time of the incident," he said.  CCTV footage obtained by Reuters showed a cloud of dust as the building crumbled on Monday afternoon.  "I saw one guy was working and then 'boom,' and I saw the whole building collapse. ... I'm also traumatized. It is very sad," Theresa Jeyi, a local councilor, told reporters at the scene.  The provincial government said police and rescue teams with sniffer dogs were on-site.   Rescue workers on-site were trying to recall where they heard calls from people, George Mayor Leon van Wyk told SABC, while rescue equipment was on its way.  "This is going to be a really lengthy exercise and probably going to go right through the night," he said.

Russia said Monday it plans to hold drills simulating the use of battlefield nuclear weapons as part of a military exercise after what Moscow said were threats from France, Britain, and the United States. A barrage of weekend Russian drone strikes hit civilian targets as Ukrainians celebrated the Orthodox Easter Holiday. A US architect is helping to design and renovate housing for internally displaced Ukrainians.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

WASHINGTON — An American soldier has been arrested in Russia and accused of stealing, according to two U.S. officials.  The soldier, who is not being identified, was stationed in South Korea and was in the process of returning home to the United States. Instead, officials said he traveled to Russia.  The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel details.  Cynthia Smith, Army spokesperson, confirmed that a soldier was detained Thursday in Vladivostok, a major military and commercial Pacific port, on charges of criminal misconduct. She said Russia notified the U.S. and the Army told the soldier's family.  "The U.S. Department of State is providing appropriate consular support to the soldier in Russia," Smith said.  It was unclear Monday if the soldier is considered absent without leave, or AWOL.  The arrest comes less than a year after American soldier Travis King sprinted into North Korea across the heavily fortified border between the Koreas. North Korea later announced that it would expel King, who was returned to the U.S. He was eventually charged with desertion.  Russia is known to be holding a number of Americans in its jails, including corporate security executive Paul Whelan and The Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich. The U.S. government has designated both as wrongfully detained and has been trying to negotiate for their release.  Others detained include Travis Leake, a musician who had been living in Russia for years and was arrested last year on drug-related charges; Marc Fogel, a teacher in Moscow, who was sentenced to 14 years in prison, also on drug charges; and dual nationals Alsu Kurmasheva and Ksenia Khavana.  The soldier's arrest in Russia was first reported by NBC News. 

WARSAW, POLAND — Poland is verifying if a Polish judge who had access to confidential information and asked for political asylum in Belarus had been spying, authorities said Monday.  Earlier on Monday, Tomasz Szmydt, a judge from a Warsaw administrative court, asked for asylum in Belarus, saying he acted in protest to Poland's policy toward Russia and Belarus, according to a video aired by Russian TV.  A hub for Western military supplies to Ukraine as it fights Russia's invasion, Poland says it has become a major target of Russian spies. It accuses Moscow and its ally Belarus of trying to destabilize it.  Prosecutors are checking if Szmydt has been spying against Poland given his Monday statement and information he had access to as a judge, a Polish State Prosecutor's Office spokesperson told Reuters.  Szmydt was slated to rule on cases concerning issuing security clearances to information on NATO and European Union secrets next month, according to a calendar of court sittings of the Warsaw administrative court. "The matter requires immediate clarification," Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz told reporters on Monday, adding that going to Belarus makes previous activities a matter that "gives a lot to think about."  Separately, the Polish Internal Security Agency said it is checking the scope of confidential information that Szmydt had access to, said a spokesperson for the coordinator of Poland's secret services.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.