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Western media found no evidence of cruelty by the Armed Forces of Ukraine toward civilians in Ukraine-controlled areas of Russia's Kursk region. Ukraine asked the United Nations and Red Cross to verify the situation. Foreign volunteers in Ukraine officially join its Armed Forces via contracts.

Washington — Based on the posts of an X account that bears the name of Dutch cartoonist Bart van Leeuwen, a profile picture of his face and short professional bio, one would think the Amsterdam-based artist is a staunch supporter of China and fierce critic of the United States. In one post, the account blasts what it calls Washington’s “fallacies against the Chinese economy,” accompanied by a cartoon from the Global Times — a Beijing-controlled media outlet — showing Uncle Sam aiming but failing to hit a target emblazoned with the words “China’s economy.” In another, the account reposts a Chinese propaganda video about the country’s rubber-stamp legislature, writing “today’s China is closely connected with the world, blending with each other, and achieving mutual success.” But Van Leeuwen didn’t make the posts. In fact, this account doesn’t even belong to him. It belongs to a China-connected network on X of “spamouflage” accounts, which pretend to be the work of real people but are in reality controlled by robots sending out messages designed to shape public opinion. China has repeatedly rejected reports that it seeks to influence U.S. presidential elections, describing such claims as “fabricated.” VOA Mandarin and DoubleThink Lab (DTL), a Taiwanese social media analytics firm, uncovered the fake Van Leeuwen account during a joint investigation into a network of spamouflage accounts working on behalf of the Chinese government. The network, consisting of at least nine accounts, propagated Beijing’s talking points on issues including human rights abuses in China’s western Xinjiang province, territorial disputes with countries in the South China Sea and U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods. Fake account contradicts real artist Van Leeuwen confirmed in an interview with VOA Mandarin that he had nothing to do with and was not aware of the fake account. “It’s ironic that my identity, being a political cartoonist, is being used for political propaganda,” he told VOA in a written statement. The real Van Leeuwen is an award-winning cartoonist whose works have been published on news outlets around the world, such as the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the Korea Times, Sing Tao Daily in Hong Kong and Gulf Today in the United Arab Emirates. He specializes in editorial cartoons, whose main subjects include global politics, elections in the U.S. and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Several of his past illustrations made fun of Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s economic policies and the opaqueness of Beijing’s inner political struggles. After being contacted by VOA Mandarin, a spokesman from X said the fake account has been suspended. Other than finding irony in being impersonated by a Chinese propaganda bot, Van Leeuwen said the incident also worries him. “This example once again highlights the need for far-reaching measures regarding the restriction of social media,” Van Leeuwen wrote in his statement, “especially with irresponsible people like Elon Musk at the helm.” After purchasing what was then called Twitter in 2022, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO vowed to reduce the prevalence of bots on the platform, but many users complain it has become even worse. Musk, the world’s richest person, is a so-called “free speech absolutist,” opposing almost all censorship of people voicing their views. Critics say his policy allows racist and false information to flourish on X. Former President Donald Trump has praised Musk’s business acumen and said he plans to have the man who may become the world’s first trillionaire head a commission on government efficiency if he is reelected in November. Network of spamouflage accounts Before its suspension, the X account that impersonated Van Leeuwen had close to 1,000 followers, more than Van Leeuwen’s real X account. It was registered in 2013, but its first post came only last year. The account’s early posts were mostly encouraging and inspiring words in Chinese. It also posted many dance videos. Gradually, the account started to mix in more and more political narratives, criticizing the U.S. and defending China. It often reposted content from another spamouflage account called “Grey World.” “Grey World” used a photo of an attractive Asian woman as its profile picture. Most of its posts were supportive of Beijing’s talking points. It regularly posted videos and cartoons from Chinese state media. It also posted several of Van Leeuwen’s cartoons about American politics. VOA Mandarin and DTL’s investigation identified “Grey World” as the main spamouflage account in a network of nine such accounts. Other accounts in the network, including the fake Van Leeuwen account, amplified “Grey World” by reposting its content. But posts from “Grey World” had limited reach on X, despite having tens of thousands of followers. For example, between August 18 and September 1, its most popular post, a diatribe against Washington’s Indo-Pacific strategy, was viewed a little over 10,000 times but only had 35 reposts and 65 likes. After the suspension of the fake Van Leeuwen account, X also shut down the “Grey World” account. The spamouflage network is not the first linked to China. In April, British researchers released a report saying Chinese nationalist trolls were posing as American supporters of Trump on X to try to exploit domestic divisions ahead of the U.S. election. U.S. federal prosecutors in 2023 accused China’s Ministry of Public Security of having a covert social media propaganda campaign that also aimed to influence U.S. elections. Researchers at Facebook’s parent company Meta said it was the largest known covert propaganda operation ever identified on that platform and Instagram, reported Rolling Stone magazine. Network analysis firm Graphika called the pro-Chinese network “Spamouflage Dragon,” part of a campaign it identified in early 2020 that was at the time posting content that praised Beijing’s policies and attacked those of then-President Trump.

new york — Wall Street romped to records Thursday as jubilation swept markets worldwide one day after the U.S. Federal Reserve's big cut to interest rates.  The S&P 500 jumped 1.7% for one of its best days of the year and topped its last all-time high set in July. The Dow Jones Industrial Average leaped 522 points, or 1.3%, to beat its own record set on Monday, and the Nasdaq composite led the market with a 2.5% spurt.  The rally was widespread, and Darden Restaurants, the company behind Olive Garden and Ruth's Chris, led the way in the S&P 500 with a jump of 8.3%. It said sales trends have been improving since a sharp step down in July, and it announced a delivery partnership with Uber.  Nvidia, meanwhile, barreled 4% higher and was one of the strongest forces lifting the S&P 500. Lower interest rates weaken criticism by a bit that its shares and those of other influential Big Tech companies look too expensive following the frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology.  Wall Street's gains followed rallies for markets across Europe and Asia after the Federal Reserve delivered the first cut to interest rates in more than four years late on Wednesday.  It was a momentous move, closing the door on a run where the Fed kept its main interest rate at a two-decade high in hopes of slowing the U.S. economy enough to stamp out high inflation. Now that inflation has come down from its peak two summers ago, Chairman Jerome Powell said the Fed can focus more on keeping the job market solid and the economy out of a recession.  Wall Street's initial reaction to Wednesday's cut was a yawn, after markets had run up for months on expectations for coming reductions to rates. Stocks ended up edging lower after swinging a few times.  "Yet we come in today and have a reversal of the reversal," said Jonathan Krinsky, chief market technician at BTIG. He said he did not anticipate such a big jump for stocks on Thursday.  Some analysts said the market could be relieved that the Fed's Powell was able to thread the needle in his press conference and suggest the deeper-than-usual cut was just a recalibration of policy and not an urgent move it had to take to prevent a recession.  That bolstered hopes the Federal Reserve can successfully walk its tightrope and get inflation down to its 2% target without a recession. So too did a couple reports on the economy released Thursday. One showed fewer workers applied for unemployment benefits last week, another signal that layoffs across the country remain low.  Lower interest rates help financial markets in two big ways. They ease the brakes off the economy by making it easier for U.S. households and businesses to borrow money. They also give a boost to prices of all kinds of investments, from gold to bonds to cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin rose above $63,000 Thursday, up from about $27,000 a year ago.  An adage suggests investors should not "fight the Fed" and should instead ride the rising tide when the central bank is cutting interest rates. Wall Street was certainly doing that Thursday. But this economic cycle has thrown out conventional wisdom repeatedly after the COVID-19 pandemic created an instant recession that gave way to the worst inflation in generations.  Wall Street is worried that inflation could remain tougher to fully subdue than in the past. And while lower rates can help goose the economy, they can also give inflation more fuel.  The upcoming U.S. presidential election could also keep uncertainty reigning in the market. A fear is that both the Democrats and Republicans could push for policies that add to the U.S. government's debt, which could keep upward pressure on interest rates regardless of the Fed's moves.  Indexes climbed even more across the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. They rose 2.3% in France, 2.1% in Japan and 2% in Hong Kong.  The FTSE 100 added 0.9% in London after the Bank of England kept interest rates there on hold. The next big move for a central bank arrives Friday, when the Bank of Japan will announce its latest decision on interest rates. 

Blantyre, Malawi — Banana farmers in Malawi are beginning to recover from over a decade of economic hardship after the banana bunchy top virus, or BBTV, wiped out local banana varieties.  Africa’s Banana Bunchy Top Disease Alliance said up to 16 countries on the continent have been hit by BBTV, which renders plants unproductive and eventually kills them. The disease leads to yield losses of 70% to 90% in the first season, with subsequent seasons seeing no bananas at all.  Agriculture experts in Malawi say the virus destroyed the livelihoods of nearly 200,000 farmers in 2016, who were entirely dependent on banana farming.   Samson Mulenga, one of the affected farmers in Mulanje district in southern Malawi, told VOA the disease wiped out his entire banana production and left him destitute. The retired agriculture extension coordinator said a switch to other crops like cow peas, vegetables and cassava did not earn him as much as he had earned from banana farming.   But now, he said, the situation is slowly returning to normal because of collaborative programs between the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization and the Malawi government aimed at revamping the banana industry.   Godfrey Kayira, horticulture specialist for the Ministry of Agriculture in Mulanje district, said that under the Special Agricultural Product and Kulima programs, farmers were advised to get rid of all infected bananas and instead plant a BBTV-free variety.  “These are the new varieties, but they are also susceptible to disease and can get the disease,” he said. “So, the only way is to manage the disease. That’s why we did some training [for] farmers so that they can manage. But if the varieties are left unmanaged, they can also get affected by the disease and also die.”  Kayira said farmers were told to plant the new varieties 100 meters away from any banana plantation or orchard, and to immediately uproot and burn any plant showing signs of the disease, which include severe stunting and stumpy shoots.   However, smallholder farmers say their road to recovery is hindered by an influx of imported bananas from Tanzania and Mozambique. Those bananas are cheap, but are lower quality, Kayira explained.  “Mulanje [district] is getting a lot of bananas from Mozambique,” he said. “The challenge is that the bananas from Mulanje, the quality is good compared to those from Mozambique. As a result, the price of the bananas that we have here are much higher than those from Mozambique.”   Kayira said the situation will normalize once the country’s banana production returns to its former glory.    Meanwhile, Malawi is also receiving support from the Chinese government, which is carrying out a “School Banana Orchard Establishment” initiative aimed at growing bananas at primary and secondary schools across the country. In March of this year, the initiative planted more than 100 banana plants at the Chaminade Marianist secondary school in the capital Lilongwe.

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.

We report on a small town in Ohio at the center of the Presidential campaign. Plus, we cover the forces threatening U.S. election integrity. This week on The Inside Story: USA VOTES 2024.

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.

Bamako, Mali — An attack in the Malian capital, Bamako, targeting a military police training camp and airport left more than 70 people dead and 200 wounded, security sources said Thursday, one of the highest tolls suffered in recent years.  The attacks Tuesday in Bamako were the first of their kind in years and dealt a forceful blow to the ruling junta, experts said.  The death toll has put scrutiny on the junta's military strategy and its claims that the security situation is under control despite militants roaming the region for years.  The operation claimed by the al-Qaida-linked Group to Support Islam and Muslims (JNIM) has prompted widespread shock and condemnation within the West African country.  Many Malians have taken to social media to demand accountability for what they consider a security lapse.  Higher reported tolls A security source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that 77 people had been killed and 255 wounded in Tuesday's attacks.  An authenticated confidential official document put the toll at around 100 and identified 81 victims.  The general staff acknowledged late Tuesday that "some human lives were lost," notably personnel at the military police center.  Mali's military-led authorities have so far given no indication of any future measures in response to the attacks, which were not mentioned in the minutes of Wednesday's cabinet meeting.  JNIM claimed that a few dozen of its fighters had killed and wounded hundreds from the opposing ranks, including members of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner.  The attack came a day after junta-led Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso marked a year since the creation of their breakaway grouping, the Alliance of Sahel States.  The three countries, which have been under military rule following a string of coups since 2020, have broken ties with former colonial ruler France and turned militarily and politically toward other partners, including Russia.  Bamako is normally spared the sort of attacks that occur almost daily in some parts of Mali.  The West African country has been ravaged since 2012 by different factions affiliated with al-Qaida and the Islamic State group.  Volleys of gunfire interspersed with explosions broke out in Bamako around 5 a.m. local time (0500 GMT) on Tuesday.  JNIM fighters attacked a military police school and stormed part of the nearby airport complex, where a military facility adjoins the civilian one.  The militant group broadcast images showing fighters strolling around and firing randomly into the windows of the presidential hangar and destroying aircraft.  Condemnation, condolences Condemnation poured in on Thursday, including from U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Mali's neighbor Senegal, African Union Commission Chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat and the U.K. Embassy.  The French Embassy in Bamako offered its "condolences to the government of Mali."  Jean-Herve Jezequel, Sahel project director at the International Crisis Group, told AFP that one hypothesis could be that "the jihadists are trying to send a message to the Malian authorities that they can hit them anywhere and therefore that the big cities must also be protected."  He said the aim could be to force the government to concentrate its resources in populated areas and have fewer troops in rural areas "where these jihadist groups have established their strongholds."  Against a backdrop of severe restrictions on freedom of expression under the governing junta, virtually no public figures in Mali have spoken out against the alleged security lapse.  The daily Nouvel Horizon, a rare dissenting voice, wrote on its front page that it was "time to apportion blame at all levels." 

With fewer than 50 days left in this year’s U.S. presidential race, candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are campaigning in key swing states, each declaring to be the nominee with policies that can boost the economy. VOA Correspondent Scott Stearns reports.

LONDON — Scientists searching for the origins of COVID-19 have zeroed in on a short list of animals that possibly helped spread it to people, an effort they hope could allow them to trace the outbreak back to its source. Researchers analyzed genetic material gathered from the Chinese market where the first outbreak was detected and found that the most likely animals were raccoon dogs, civet cats and bamboo rats. The scientists suspect infected animals were first brought to the Wuhan market in late November 2019, which then triggered the pandemic. Michael Worobey, one of the new study's authors, said they found which sub-populations of animals might have transmitted the coronavirus to humans. That may help researchers pinpoint where the virus commonly circulates in animals, known as its natural reservoir. "For example, with the raccoon dogs, we can show that the raccoon dogs that were [at the market] … were from a sub-species that circulates more in southern parts of China," said Worobey, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Arizona. Knowing that might help researchers understand where those animals came from and where they were sold. Scientists might then start sampling bats in the area, which are known to be the natural reservoirs of related coronaviruses like SARS. While the research bolsters the case that COVID-19 emerged from animals, it does not resolve the polarized and political debate over whether the virus instead emerged from a research lab in China. Mark Woolhouse, a professor of infectious diseases at the University of Edinburgh, said the new genetic analysis suggested that the pandemic "had its evolutionary roots in the market" and that it was very unlikely COVID-19 was infecting people before it was identified at the Huanan market. "It's a significant finding and this does shift the dial more in favor of an animal origin," said Woolhouse, who was not connected to the research. "But it is not conclusive." An expert group led by the World Health Organization concluded in 2021 that the virus probably spread to humans from animals and that a lab leak was "extremely unlikely." WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus later said it was premature to rule out a lab leak. An AP investigation in April found the search for the COVID origins in China has gone dark after political infighting and missed opportunities by local and global health officials to narrow the possibilities. Scientists say they may never know for sure where exactly the virus came from. In the new study, published Thursday in the journal Cell, scientists from Europe, the U.S. and Australia analyzed data previously released by experts at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. It included 800 samples of genetic material Chinese workers collected on Jan. 1, 2020, from the Huanan seafood market, the day after Wuhan municipal authorities first raised the alarm about an unknown respiratory virus. Chinese scientists published the genetic sequences they found last year, but did not identify any of the animals possibly infected with the coronavirus. In the new analysis, researchers used a technique that can identify specific organisms from any mixture of genetic material collected in the environment. Worobey said the information provides "a snapshot of what was [at the market] before the pandemic began" and that genetic analyses like theirs "helps to fill in the blanks of how the virus might have first started spreading." Woolhouse said the new study, while significant, left some critical issues unanswered. "There is no question COVID was circulating at that market, which was full of animals," he said. "The question that still remains is how it got there in the first place."

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.

Moscow's decision this week to expand its military capabilities is a sign of the stress that its military is facing in the third year of its slow-moving, full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Analysts say the mobilization's unpopularity and other factors are driving Russia to look for mercenaries from other countries. Marcus Harton narrates this report from Ricardo Marquina.

Can Republicans and Democrats set aside their differences on the dance floor? A U.S. dance party tour aims to get out the vote and bring joy to a divided nation as Election Day looms. Daybreaker, a rave organizer, aims to help people register to vote and get excited about going to the polls.

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.

Tensions between Israel and Hezbollah are heading to a boiling point after this week’s exploding device attacks in Lebanon. We’ll hear from a national security expert on the covert nature of this operation and the Japanese tech company whose labels were on some of the devices is investigating. The EU says it will use frozen Russian assets to aid Ukraine’s devastated energy infrastructure ahead of another winter of war. A look at Iranian efforts to undermine the American election, and voters in Kashmir are going to the polls as well. Plus, a promising South African study that could mark a significant breakthrough in the fight against drug-resistant TB.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said Thursday the Federal Reserve's decision to lower interest rates was "an important signal" that inflation has eased as he characterized Donald Trump's economic policies as a failure in the past and sure to "fail again" if revived.  "Lowering interest rates isn't a declaration of victory," Biden told the Economic Club of Washington. "It's a declaration of progress, to signal we've entered a new phase of our economy and our recovery."  The Democratic president emphasized that there was more work left to do, but he used his speech to burnish his economic legacy even as he criticized Trump, his Republican predecessor who is running for another term.  "Trickle down, down economics failed," Biden said. "He's promising again trickle down economics. It will fail again."  Biden said Trump wants to extend tax cuts that disproportionately benefit the wealthy, costing an estimated $5 trillion, and implement tariffs that could raise prices by nearly $4,000 per family, something that Biden described as a "new sales tax."  A spokesman for Trump's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But Trump has routinely hammered Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate this year, over higher costs.  "People can't go out and buy cereal or bacon or eggs or anything else," Trump said during last week's debate. "The people of our country are absolutely dying with what they've done. They've destroyed the economy."  Biden dismissed Trump's claims that he supports workers, saying "give me a break." Biden’s administration created more manufacturing jobs and spurred more factory construction, and it reduced the trade deficit with China.  Trump's economic record was undermined by the coronavirus outbreak, and Biden blamed him for botching the country's response.  "His failure in handling the pandemic led to hundreds of thousands of Americans dying," he said.  Biden struggled to demonstrate economic progress because of inflation that spread around the globe as the pandemic receded and supply chain problems multiplied.  He expressed hope that the rate cut will make it more affordable for Americans to buy houses and cars.  "I believe it's important for the country to recognize this progress," he said. "Because if we don't, the progress we made will remain locked in the fear of a negative mindset that dominated our economic outlook since the pandemic began."  He said businesses should see "the immense opportunities in front of us right now" by investing and expanding.  Biden defended the independence of the Federal Reserve, which could be threatened by Trump if he is elected to another term. Trump publicly pressured the central bank to lower rates during his presidency, a break with past customs.  "It would do enormous damage to our economy if that independence is ever lost," Biden said.  During his speech, Biden inaccurately said he had never met with Jerome Powell, chair of the Federal Reserve, while he's been president.  Jared Bernstein, who chairs the White House Council of Economic Advisers, said at a subsequent briefing that Biden intended to say that he had never discussed interest rates with Powell.  "That's what he meant," Bernstein said.

Gaborone, Botswana — Botswana has awarded a 15-year license to a Canadian firm, Giyani Metals, to mine manganese, a metal used in the manufacture of batteries for electric vehicles.   According to a statement from Giyani Metals, the K-Hill project will produce battery-grade manganese. Mining will take place in Kanye, 90 kilometers (56 miles) southwest of Gaborone.   Minister of Foreign Affairs Lemogang Kwape, the area’s member of parliament, told VOA he expects good things from the project.   "It is a project that envisages to mine a product that will revolutionize clean power. It is also a project that will develop Kanye and Botswana,” Kwape said. “Giyani management promised that there will be some processing that will be done in situ. By doing processing, you are adding value, which is in line with the president's objective of adding value to products from Botswana.”   The Ministry of Energy and Minerals granted Giyani Metals the mining license, which is subject to multiple renewals.  In a country heavily reliant on diamonds for its economy, Minister of Energy and Minerals Lefoko Moagi said the government is accelerating research-based exploration of minerals.  “The ministry continues to advance mineral discoveries through research in order to grow and expand the country’s economic status through exploration, mining, manufacturing and processing of various mineral commodities,” Moagi said.  The Botswana manganese project has a net value of $984 million, with an estimated project life span of 57 years.  Tshepiso Masilonyane, programs officer at the Botswana Climate Change Network, said manganese will play a key role if the world is to move away from fossil fuels.   “The manganese project is extremely important for the green energy transition,” Masilonyane said. “It is a critical component in battery technology, particularly in the production of lithium-ion batteries that are used in electric vehicles but also in grade-level electricity distribution, particularly the energy storage systems.”  Masilonyane urged Botswana to play a bigger role in the green energy value chain.  “By becoming a key supplier of battery-grade manganese, Botswana can position itself as an important player in the renewable energy value chain helping to power electric vehicles, the solar energy storage technologies, as well as other green technologies,” Masilonyane said. “But we think beyond extraction, it is going to be very important for us to focus on value addition as early as now.”   According to the International Energy Agency, global electric car sales reached 14 million in 2023, a 35% increase from 2022.  As a result, metals such as manganese are in high demand – and Botswana is in position to benefit from the boom. 

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.