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KARACHI, Pakistan — Stained glass windows, a sweeping staircase and embellished interiors make Mohatta Palace a gem in Karachi, a Pakistani megacity of 20 million people. Peacocks roam the lawn and the sounds of construction and traffic melt away as visitors enter the grounds. The pink stone balustrades, domes and parapets look like they've been plucked from the northern Indian state of Rajasthan, a relic of a time when Muslims and Hindus lived side by side in the port city. But magnificence is no guarantee of survival in a city where land is scarce and development is rampant. Demolition, encroachment, neglect, piecemeal conservation laws and vandalism are eroding signs of Karachi's past. The building's trustees have fended off an attempt to turn it into a dental college, but there's still a decadeslong lawsuit in which heirs of a former owner are trying to take control of the land. It sat empty for almost two decades before formally opening as a museum in 1999. The palace sits on prime real estate in the desirable neighborhood of Old Clifton, among mansions, businesses and upmarket restaurants. The land under buildings like the Mohatta Palace is widely coveted, said palace lawyer Faisal Siddiqi. "It shows that greed is more important than heritage." Karachi's population grows by around 2% every year and with dozens of communities and cultures competing for space there's little effort to protect the city's historic sites. For most Pakistanis, the palace is the closest they'll get to the architectural splendor of India's Rajasthan, because travel restrictions and hostile bureaucracies largely keep people in either country from crossing the border for leisure, study or work. Karachi's multicultural past makes it harder to find champions for preservation than in a city like Lahore, with its strong connection to the Muslim-dominated Mughal Empire, said Heba Hashmi, a heritage manager and maritime archaeologist. "The scale of organic local community support needed to prioritize government investment in the preservation effort is nearly impossible to garner in a city as socially fragmented as Karachi," she said.  Mohatta Palace is a symbol of that diversity. Hindu entrepreneur Shivratan Mohatta had it built in the 1920s because he wanted a coastal residence for his ailing wife to benefit from the Arabian Sea breeze. Hundreds of donkey carts carried the distinctively colored pink stone from Jodhpur, now across the border in India. He left after partition in 1947, when India and Pakistan were carved from the former British Empire as independent nations, and for a time the palace was occupied by the Foreign Ministry. Next, it passed into the hands of Pakistani political royalty as the home of Fatima Jinnah, the younger sister of Pakistan's first leader and a powerful politician in her own right. After her death, the authorities gave the building to her sister Shirin, but Shirin's passing in 1980 sparked a court fight between people saying they were her relatives, and a court ordered the building sealed. The darkened and empty palace, with its overgrown gardens and padlocked gates, caught people's imagination. Rumors spread of spirits and supernatural happenings. Someone who heard the stories as a young girl was Nasreen Askari, now the museum's director. "As a child I used to rush past," she said. "I was told it was a bhoot (ghost) bungalow and warned, don't go there." Visitor Ahmed Tariq had heard a lot about the palace's architecture and history. "I'm from Bahawalpur (in Punjab, India) where we have the Noor Mahal palace, so I wanted to look at this one. It's well-maintained, there's a lot of detail and effort in the presentations. It's been a good experience." But the money to maintain the palace isn't coming from admission fees. General admission is 30 rupees, or 10 U.S. cents, and it's free for students, children and seniors. On a sweltering afternoon, the palace drew just a trickle of visitors. It's open Tuesday to Sunday but closes on public holidays; even the 11 a.m.-6 p.m. hours are not conducive for a late-night city like Karachi. The palace is rented out for corporate and charitable events. Local media report that residents grumble about traffic and noise levels. But the palace doesn't welcome all attention, even if it could help carve out a space for the building in modern Pakistan. Rumors about ghosts still spread by TikTok, pulling in influencers looking for spooky stories. But the palace bans filming inside, and briefly banned TikTokers. "It is not the attention the trustees wanted," said Askari. "That's what happens when you have anything of consequence or unusual. It catches the eye." A sign on the gates also prohibits fashion shoots, weddings and filming for commercials. "We could make so much money, but the floodgates would open," said Askari. "There would be non-stop weddings and no space for visitors or events, so much cleaning up as well." Hashmi, the archaeologist, said there is often a strong sense of territorialism around the sites that have been preserved. "It counterproductively converts a site of public heritage into an exclusive and often expensive artifact for selective consumption." 

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — In the quiet corners of Springfield, Ohio — out of sight of the drumbeat of politicians and journalists, troopers and newly installed security cameras — the people who live here are taking a breath, praying and attempting to carry on. Between the morning bomb sweeps of Springfield's schools and the near daily afternoon media briefings, a hush comes over the city of 58,000 that residents say is uncanny, haunting even. It's fear. It's confusion — dismay at being transformed overnight into a target for the nation's vitriol. Pastor Andy Mobley, who runs the Family Needs Inc. food pantry on the city's south side, said people are hunkered down out of the public eye. He said they're hoping the attention sparked by former President Donald Trump spreading unsubstantiated rumors about the city's legal Haitian immigrants eating house pets during last week's presidential debate will blow over. Trump and his vice presidential running mate, Ohio's junior Sen. JD Vance, have used the cat-eating rumors to draw attention to the city's 15,000 Haitian immigrants, whose arrival to fill manufacturing, distribution and warehouse jobs has put a severe strain on local resources. Since the Republican candidates' initial comments, more than two dozen bomb threats — mostly from foreign actors seeking to sow discord — have prompted the state to send in additional state troopers and install surveillance cameras around the city in order to reopen schools and government buildings. "We've got good people here. Republican, Democrat. They're good people," Mobley said Tuesday, as the pantry tended to a steady stream of clients seeking clothing and food. Resident Josh Valle said the situation is unsettling. "We definitely need answers," said the 35-year-old tool and die repairman, who has lived in Springfield for decades. "It's affecting my kids and my community and my neighbors. With the bomb threats and the influx, it's something new every day. And this used to be a really chill town, you know, it used to be just a small town Ohio." The area around Springfield City Hall, where Valle spoke, sat largely silent Tuesday afternoon, until a news conference with state and local officials prompted a brief swarm of activity. Local families are avoiding schools in the wake of earlier bomb threats, even though dozens of troopers have fanned out across the Springfield City School District to stand guard. Some 200 of 500 students were absent Tuesday from a single elementary school, officials said. Still, there are signs of hope. "Home Sweet Springfield" tea towels adorn the window of Champion City Guide & Supply on a downtown block that bustles with activity over the lunch hour. One line of mugs and clothing items reads: "Speak a Good Word for Springfield — or say nothing." Across town, a small group of kids whose parents kept them home on Tuesday horsed around together at a makeshift lemonade stand they set up to make a few bucks. They delighted in the revving motor of a passing muscle car and, when sales were slow, swigged back the merchandise. David Graham, who visits communities in crisis as The Praying Cowboy, positioned himself in Springfield this week to show support. "Agenda: Pray, worship, witness, smile, honor, esteem," he wrote in a Facebook post from the city, accompanied by his hands holding an open Bible with a newly installed surveillance platform in the background. He added lines with black electrical tape to a small heart placard he posted nearby, to represent Springfield hearts being broken. He wasn't the only one trying to help. A bipartisan group of area mayors met with Springfield Mayor Rob Rue on Monday to figure out how they can help — including with resources to address the traffic, health care, social services and housing needs prompted by the increase in the Haitian population and their language barrier. Andrew Ginther, the Democratic mayor of Ohio's capital, Columbus, and president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, said in a statement: "Mayors across America will continue to stand by Springfield and all cities working to responsibly address an increased number of migrants, which we can do without losing sight of our shared humanity." Years ago, Family Needs Inc. was designated one of President George H.W. Bush's "thousand points of light," honoring its dedication to volunteerism. The organization has helped Haitians arriving in Springfield for years now, Mobley said — providing them translation services and co-signing their rental agreements. He recalled working with Haitian immigrants as far back as 2016, the year Trump was elected — though census figures show the population remained at only about 400 until a few years ago. "In 2016, we started signing contracts. Through the pandemic, we were doing things for the Haitian community," he said. "Has that all been forgotten? They have been here, and we've been dealing with this, and we've been asking for help through two different administrations. And no administration has helped us, until now this thing has become public." As she walked downtown, one resident who declined to give her name said she's not letting the situation get her down. "It's childish. It's stupid. It took one stupid person to get on a debate and ruin the reputation of a community. I think you know exactly who I'm talking about," she said. "He should never have said that. There's no truth to those allegations whatsoever. I was born and raised in this town, I'm staying here, and I have no problem with nobody."

LONDON — An artwork featuring the plaster face casts of hundreds of transgender people went on display Wednesday in London's Trafalgar Square, where their features will be worn away by London's wind and rain over the next 18 months. Mexican artist Teresa Margolles' "Mil Veces un Instante (A Thousand Times in an Instant)" is a 3.3-metric-ton cube covered in face masks of 726 trans, nonbinary and gender nonconforming people. It's the latest artwork placed atop the "Fourth Plinth," a large stone pedestal in the central London square. Margolles, who trained as a forensic pathologist and once worked in a morgue, has used blood and material from crime scenes in artworks exploring death and conflict. The new sculpture evokes a Tzompantli, a rack used in Mesoamerican civilizations to display the skulls of captured enemies and sacrifice victims. It pays tribute to one of the artist's friends, a transgender woman named Karla who was killed in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico in 2015. The crime remains unsolved. "We pay this tribute to her and to all the other people who were killed for reasons of hate," the artist said. "But, above all, to those who live on, to the new generations who will defend the power to freely choose to live with dignity." Organizers of the project say the work will "naturally age" while on display, with the detail of the faces slowly fading as the plaster is exposed to the elements. One of London's main gathering spots for tourists and protesters, Trafalgar Square was named for Admiral Horatio Nelson's 1805 victory over the French and Spanish fleets. A statue of the one-armed admiral stands atop Nelson's Column at the center of the square, and statues of other 19th-century military leaders are nearby. The fourth plinth — 7-meter-high stone pedestal — was erected in 1841 for a never-completed equestrian statue, and since 1999 has been occupied by a series of artworks for about 18 months at a time. Previous occupants included a giant bronze thumb, a sculpture of a giant swirl of whipped cream topped with a cherry, a fly and a drone, and 2,400 members of the public who each stood atop the plinth for an hour over the course of 100 days.

KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo — A military court in Democratic Republic of Congo, one of Africa's largest countries, has convicted three Americans and dozens of others of taking part in a coup attempt and imposed "the harshest penalty, that of death." The court convicted the 37 defendants, including the three Americans and imposed the death penalty in a verdict delivered by presiding judge Maj. Freddy Ehuma at an open-air military court proceeding. The defendants, a majority of them Congolese but also including a Briton, a Belgian and a Canadian, were charged with terrorism, murder, criminal association and illegal possession of weapons, among other charges. The lawyer who defended the six foreigners said they would appeal the verdicts. The U.S. State Department strongly discourages travel to Congo, warning of violent crime and civil unrest. Here's how the three Americans ended up in the middle of the coup attempt. What happened during the coup attempt in May? In Congo's capital Kinshasa, a ragtag group including three Americans tried to unseat the country's President Felix Tshisekedi. They were led by a little-known opposition figure, Christian Malanga, who sold used cars and dabbled in gold mining before persuading his Utah-born son to join in the foiled coup. The coup attempt began at the Kinshasa residence of Tshisekedi's close ally, Vital Kamerhe, a federal legislator and a candidate for Speaker of the National Assembly of Congo. His guards killed some of the attackers, officials said. Christian Malanga, meanwhile, was live-streaming video from the presidential palace in which he is seen surrounded by several armed men in military uniforms wandering around in the middle of the night. He was later killed while resisting arrest, Congolese authorities said. Dozens, including Malanga's son and two other Americans, were arrested and brought to a high-security military prison in Kinshasa. Family members said the young men have been sleeping on the floor, struggling with health issues and have had to pay for food and hygiene products. Christian Malanga, the unlikely coup leader Malanga, who was born in Kinshasa, had described himself as a refugee who thrived after settling in the U.S. with his family in the 1990s. He said he became a leader of a Congolese opposition political party and met high-level officials in Washington and the Vatican. He also described himself as a devoted husband and father of eight. Court records and interviews paint another picture. In 2001, the year he turned 18, Malanga was convicted in Utah of assault with a firearm, which resulted in a 30-day jail sentence and three years of probation. That same year, he was charged with domestic violence assault in one incident and battery and disturbing the peace in another, but he pleaded not guilty and all counts in both cases were dismissed. In 2004, he was charged with domestic violence with threat of using a dangerous weapon, but he pleaded not guilty and the charges were again dismissed. Since 2004, records show several cases related to a custody dispute and a child support dispute. How three young Americans got involved in a coup attempt The three imprisoned Americans are Malanga's 21-year-old son Marcel Malanga, Tyler Thompson Jr., 21, who flew to Africa from Utah with the younger Malanga for what his family believed was a free vacation, and Benjamin Reuben Zalman-Polun, 36, who is reported to have known Christian Malanga through a gold mining company. Marcel Malanga is a U.S. citizen and was born in Utah. He told the court his father had threatened to kill him and Thompson if they did not take part in the attack. His mother, Brittney Sawyer, has said her son is innocent and was simply following his father, who considered himself president of a shadow government in exile. Thompson was his high school friend and football teammate in the Salt Lake City suburb of West Jordan. He was the only former teammate to accept Marcel Malanga's invitation to travel to Congo, according to several other players who told The Associated Press they had been invited to what the younger Malanga pitched interchangeably as a family vacation or as a service trip to build wells. Other teammates alleged that Marcel Malanga had offered up to $100,000 to join him on a "security job" in Congo. Thompson's family maintains he had no knowledge of the elder Malanga's intentions, no plans for political activism and didn't even plan to enter Congo. He and the Malangas were meant to travel only to South Africa and Eswatini, his stepmother, Miranda Thompson, said. Here's what happens next All of those convicted have five days to appeal the verdict. Richard Bondo, the lawyer who defended the Americans and three other foreigners, said he plans to do so. Congo reinstated the death penalty earlier this year, lifting a more than two-decade-old moratorium, as authorities struggle to curb violence and militant attacks in the country. The men convicted in the coup attempt would likely be executed by firing squad. The U.S. State Department has not declared the Americans wrongfully detained, making it unlikely that U.S. officials would try to negotiate their return.

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JAKARTA, Indonesia — New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens has been freed more than 19 months after being kidnapped by armed separatists in Indonesia's Papua, authorities said on Saturday. Mehrtens was freed and picked up by a joint team in the Nduga area and was undergoing health check-ups and a psychological examination in Timika regency, the Indonesian police said in a statement. A faction of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB), led by Egianus Kogoya, kidnapped Mehrtens on February 7, 2023, after he landed a small commercial plane in the remote, mountainous area of Nduga. "We are pleased and relieved to confirm that Phillip Mehrtens is safe and well and has been able to talk with his family. This news must be an enormous relief for his friends and loved ones," said New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters. A range of New Zealand government agencies had been working with Indonesian authorities and others toward securing Mehrtens' release, Peters said in a statement. Indonesian Brigadier General Faizal Ramadhani, head of Cartenz 2024 Peace Operations, said, "We are prioritizing approach through religious leaders, church leaders, traditional leaders and Egianus Kogoya's close family to minimize casualties and maintain the safety of the pilot." Indonesian police said they would hold a press conference later Saturday.

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PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA — Nhem Liza made her first visit to the National Museum of Cambodia after learning about the August return from the United States of dozens of looted Cambodian artifacts, including important Hindu and Buddhist masterpieces dating from the ninth to 14th centuries. "Those artifacts are amazing," said 15-year-old Nhem, a 10th grade Phnom Penh high school student. The return of the statues — viewed as divine or containing the souls of ancestors — has given younger Cambodians like Nhem an opportunity to embrace the country’s cultural heritage and history. "I am excited to see these artifacts our government is trying to get back," she told VOA on September 16 after viewing some of objects now on display at the museum. Cambodia has worked for years to identify and secure the return of culturally and historically important relics from private collections and museums overseas, many of which were lost to the country because of war, theft and the illegal artifact trade. Cambodia faced continuous civil unrest from the mid-1960s until the early 1990s and archeological sites from the ancient Khmer Empire, such as Angkor Wat and Koh Ker, suffered serious damage and widespread looting, Cambodian officials told VOA Khmer. In August, Cambodia celebrated the return of 70 items from museums and private collections overseas, including 14 from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The objects include priceless stone statues such as one depicting a mythical warrior from the Hindu epic Mahabharata. There are also statues of Hindu deities Shiva and Parvati, and one of the Hindu god Ardhanarishvara from the ancient capital of Koh Ker, according to Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts. Presiding over the return ceremony, Prime Minister Hun Manet said the 70 returned objects symbolically reunited the Cambodian people with their "ancestral souls," adding that the government will continue working to bring more artifacts home. From 1996 to July of this year, 1,098 artifacts had been returned to Cambodia — 571 from private collections and 527 from foreign institutions and governments, Hun said. "It is the soul of our nation," Doeun Sokun Aly, 18, told VOA at the museum. "The heroes of our country built those artifacts for the younger generation to know about those antiques. … I will visit museums more to see more artifacts." National Museum Director Chhay Visoth told VOA the display is meant to stir new interest from Cambodians, especially younger Cambodians. "Recently, we have seen a surprising increase of Cambodian visitors to the museum, especially youth," he said by phone this week. The authorities, he said, are now planning to conduct a "mobile exhibition" to display the artifacts at museums in provinces such as Siem Reap, Battambang and Pursat, in the northwestern part of the country. Chhay said the museum also hopes the display will send a message to private collectors and museums overseas that "those artifacts are greatly important" and "not for beautifying gardens, kitchens, living rooms, residents or offices of the rich." "For Cambodians, they are meaningful indeed. Those artifacts are the souls of Khmer ancestors," he said. Chhay added that the museum is already planning to expand its display area to accommodate more returned artifacts. Over the years, Cambodia has received dozens of statues from the families of wealthy collectors, such as George Lindemann, a U.S. businessman and philanthropist who died in 2018. In 2021, after three years of negotiations, the family of the late British art collector Douglas Latchford agreed to return more than 100 Cambodian artifacts, according to the government. Latchford, who co-authored three books on Cambodian art and antiques, died in 2020 facing accusations that he had illegally trafficked the artifacts to his homes in Bangkok and London. In November 2019, federal prosecutors in New York charged Latchford with falsifying the provenance, invoices and shipping documents to transport valuable Khmer-era relics to private collections, museums and auction houses around the world. Other cultural objects that have found their way back to Cambodia went through processes including voluntary returns, negotiations, seizures and legal proceedings. The United States has helped secure the return of well over 150 antiques to Cambodia so far, Wesley Holzer, a U.S. Embassy spokesperson in Phnom Penh said. "The United States is proud of its longstanding contributions to preserving and restoring Cambodia’s cultural heritage," he told VOA in an email, adding that Cambodia is the first country in Southeast Asia to establish a bilateral property repatriation memorandum of understanding with the U.S. "Through this MOU, the United States and Cambodia have trained heritage professionals, prevented pillaging of antiquities, and facilitated the return of looted artifacts. This agreement also makes it illegal to import certain Cambodian archeological and ethnological material into the United States," he added. Bradley Gordon, a lawyer representing Cambodian government, said there were "many more" that his team are searching for. "To be clear, Cambodia does not want to empty out museums around the world, but wants many important and precious national treasures to come home.   Cambodia also is open to long-term loans which they are exploring with a number of museums," he added. A member of Gordon’s restitution team, Cambodian researcher Kunthea Chhoun, said getting the artifacts back is not easy. "We need to investigate and collect testimonies from looters, villagers and brokers.  It takes a great amount of patience and many interviews.   We have used different approaches to get back our artifacts and it has taken many years," she told VOA in a September 20 email. 

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Washington — The son of Iran’s last monarch, exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi, is urging Israelis to help fund civil disobedience movements in the Islamic Republic as part of his campaign for regime change. The U.S.-based Pahlavi made the appeal in a VOA interview after speaking on Friday at the Israeli-American Council national summit at the Washington Hilton. The event is an annual gathering of Israeli American activists, their Jewish American allies and other Israel supporters. Pahlavi drew cheers and standing ovations from the audience for urging Israelis to work with Iranians to oust the radical clerics who have ruled Iran since overthrowing his father in 1979. The speech was his most high-profile outreach to Israelis since traveling to Israel in April 2023, when he became the most prominent Iranian opposition figure to make a public visit to the Jewish state. The following transcript of Pahlavi’s interview has been edited for brevity and clarity. VOA: In your IAC speech, you urged the audience to take action. What kinds of actions do you expect to see from Israeli Americans, Israelis in general and the Israeli government when it comes to achieving regime change? Reza Pahlavi, exiled Iranian crown prince: There are two major components in this campaign. On one hand, it is important to put maximum pressure on the regime. Parallel to that is maximum support for the people of Iran. We are trying to foment civil disobedience movements within Iran, ranging from protests to labor strikes. It is important to fund them. Many diaspora Iranians would like to help. But U.S. sanctions make it almost impossible for them to, for instance, transfer money back home. Many aspects of the sanctions rules have to change to facilitate that. It requires a new U.S. policy. There also needs to be an appropriate media strategy to counter the regime's propaganda machinery. All aspects of the campaign should be coordinated with some key governments that can help. VOA: Iran and its main proxy Hezbollah are once again threatening revenge against Israel for alleged Israeli attacks on Hezbollah communications devices in Lebanon this week. What is your message to the Islamic Republic as it considers its next move? Pahlavi: There is no message to give to warmongers who stand against freedom, peace, human rights and even our national identity. Iranians, by the millions, have shown how much they despise this regime and want to tell the world that it does not represent us. Iranians are peace lovers. We want to have good relationships with our neighborhood — with Arabs, Israelis and the rest of the world. This is why I’m not going to waste my time telling the regime anything. At the end of the day, the solution is for the Iranian people themselves to put an end to this regime. But as I said in my speech, they have done all of this work alone so far. They need extra support to have a chance of success. VOA: In the audience, some Iranian Muslims waved Iran’s former Lion and Sun flag and chanted your name, reflecting the support you have in the diaspora for your friendship toward Israel. But there also are some in the diaspora who accuse you of supporting Israeli aggression toward Palestinians and others in the region. What is your message to Iranians who are skeptical of your view that they need to embrace Israel to achieve regime change? Pahlavi: I think a strategic partnership with a country like Israel brings a tremendous amount of opportunities for sharing technological knowhow. One of the reasons for my trip to Israel was to explore the possibilities of using their expertise in water management for agriculture. We are facing a drought and water crisis in Iran, so we need to have a cordial relationship with such governments. It is unfortunate that when we have such a conflict [like the Israel-Hamas war], there always are casualties. Of course, my heart goes out to many victims. The main problem is the regime itself. As long as it is there, it will not allow for normalization [of relations in the region], or for stability and peace. I’ve been insisting for years that as long as you don’t eliminate the source of the problem, which finances terrorism and forces governments to act and react, we will never be rid of it. The solution is for this regime to go. That is what the majority of the Iranian people are calling for. And what I’ve been calling for is solidarity. I think governments, including Israel, are very cognizant of, and know the difference between, the people of Iran and the regime that has nothing to do with the people’s aspirations. The regime is only there to represent its own self-interest at the expense of the Iranian people. This story was produced in collaboration with VOA’s Persian Service.  

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sao paulo, brazil — Elon Musk-owned social media platform X has named a legal representative in Brazil, the firm's lawyers said Friday, in a move that would address one of the demands imposed by Brazil's top court to allow the company to operate in the country.  Andre Zonaro and Sergio Rosenthal, who were recently appointed as X's lawyers in Brazil, told Reuters that colleague Rachel de Oliveira Conceicao was chosen as the firm's legal representative.  In late August, Brazil's top court ordered mobile and internet service providers to block X in the nation, and users were cut off within hours.  The shutdown followed a monthslong dispute between Musk and Brazilian Justice Alexandre de Moraes over X's noncompliance with court orders demanding the platform take action against the spread of hate speech.  Courts have previously blocked accounts implicated in probes of allegedly spreading misinformation and hate, which Musk has denounced as censorship, and had also ordered X to name a local legal representative as required by Brazilian law, after the firm closed its offices in Brazil in mid-August.  On Thursday, the lawyers representing X in Brazil said the firm would present a legal representative to the local Supreme Court "very soon."  They also said the firm was starting to comply with the orders on removing content, which is another demand from the top court.