Voice of America’s immigration news

A group of young activists in Turkey known as 1000 Youth for Palestine is posing a rare and potent challenge to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan by using social media to expose Turkey's ongoing trade with Israel. This, despite Erdogan's public claims that he has imposed a strict trade embargo on Israel over the war in Gaza. As Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul, the group's message is crossing the deep political, social and religious divides of Turkey.

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Washington — The United States has identified and taken down a botnet campaign by China-directed hackers to further infiltrate American infrastructure as well as a variety of internet-connected devices. FBI Director Christopher Wray announced the disruption of what he called Flax Typhoon during a cyber summit Wednesday in Washington, describing it as part of a much larger campaign by Beijing. “Flax Typhoon hijacked Internet-of-Things devices like cameras, video recorders and storage devices — things typically found across both big and small organizations,” Wray said. “And about half of those hijacked devices were located here in the U.S.” Wray said the hackers, working under the guise of an information security company called the Integrity Technology Group, collected information from corporations, media organizations, universities and government agencies. “They used internet-connected devices — this time, hundreds of thousands of them — to create a botnet that helped them compromise systems and exfiltrate confidential data,” he said. But Flax Typhoon’s operations were disrupted last week when the FBI, working with allies and under court orders, took control of the botnet and pursued the hackers when they tried to switch to a backup system. “We think the bad guys finally realized that it was the FBI and our partners that they were up against,” Wray said. “And with that realization, they essentially burned down their new infrastructure and abandoned their botnet.” Wray said Flax Typhoon appeared to build on the exploits and tactics of another China-linked hacking group, known as Volt Typhoon, which was identified by Microsoft in May of last year. Volt Typhoon used office network equipment, including routers, firewalls and VPN hardware, to infiltrate and disrupt communications infrastructure in Guam, home to key U.S. military facilities. The Chinese Embassy in Washington Wednesday rejected the U.S accusations. "Without valid evidence, the U.S. jumped to an unwarranted conclusion and made groundless accusations" Chinese Embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu told VOA in an email, responding to the allegations about Flax Typhoon. "The U.S. itself is the origin and the biggest perpetrator of cyberattacks," Liu added. "We urge the U.S. to stop its worldwide cyber espionage and cyberattacks, and stop smearing other countries under the excuse of cyber security." The FBI and the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency have previously warned that Chinese-government directed hackers, like Volt Typhoon, have been positioning themselves to launch destructive cyberattacks that could jeopardize the physical safety of Americans. Following Wednesday’s announcement by the FBI, the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) issued an advisory encouraging anyone with a device that was compromised by Flax Typhoon to apply needed patches. It said that as of this past June, the Flax Typhoon botnet was making use of more than 260,000 devices in North America, Europe, Africa and Southeast East. The NSA said almost half of the compromised devices were in the U.S. Another 18 countries, including Vietnam, Bangladesh, Albania, China, South Africa and India, were also impacted.  

AVIGNON, France — Gisele Pelicot, who was drugged and raped by dozens of men recruited by her husband, said on Wednesday "forgiveness does not exist," rejecting claims by him and one of his chief accomplices that they regretted harming the women they loved. The trial in the southern French town of Avignon of Dominique Pelicot and 50 other men accused of raping his wife has shocked the world. The case has also triggered protests across France in support of Gisele Pelicot, who has become a symbol of the fight against sexual violence. "These men are degenerates. They committed rape," Gisele Pelicot, 72, told the court after her now ex-husband Dominique and the accomplice, Jean-Pierre Marechal, gave testimony on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively. "When they see a woman sleeping on her bed, no one thought to ask themselves a question? They don't have brains?" Dominique Pelicot, 71, is also accused of having raped Marechal's wife at her home after drugging her, with the collaboration of her husband. Gisele Pelicot insisted on a public trial to expose her former husband and the 50 men he is accused of inviting to rape her in a small village in southern France. "Today forgiveness does not exist," Gisele Pelicot told the court as she described how her former husband had taken mistresses without hiding the fact from her, and she defended herself from some of the criticisms leveled against her. "I have felt humiliated while I've been in this courtroom. I have been called an alcoholic, a conspirator of Mr. Pelicot," she said, adding her life had been "destroyed" for 10 years. "In the state I was in, I absolutely could not respond. I was in a comatose state; the videos show that." The Pelicots' daughter Caroline, whose photographs were found on her father's devices along with images of her mother being raped, was on the verge of tears in the courtroom as her mother spoke. Dominique Pelicot has denied drugging or sexually abusing Caroline. She has told French media that she started publicly campaigning to fight drug-induced sexual assault to cope with the shock following her father's arrest. In court, Dominique Pelicot admitted orchestrating the mass rape of his then-wife. He asked for forgiveness and said he ultimately hoped to win back his former partner, who filed for divorce after learning of the rapes from investigators. Because of a skirmish between some supporters of Gisele Pelicot and some of the accused on Tuesday evening, the court told attendees not to boo the suspects in the case, telling them they were innocent until proven guilty. But the court also said it was not a problem if supporters applauded Gisele Pelicot when she emerged from the courtroom, as some have been doing. Earlier on Wednesday, Marechal, 63, admitted to working with Dominique Pelicot to drug and both rape Marechal's wife, Cilia, after the men met on a now-shuttered website. Marechal blamed his mentor and a troubled childhood for his actions. Marechal is not among those accused of raping Gisele Pelicot. "I regret my actions. I love my wife," Marechal said in the courtroom. "If I had not met Mr. Pelicot, I would have never committed this act." Marechal met Dominique Pelicot on a website called Coco, where Pelicot shared with him images of the rapes of his wife by the men he had recruited, describing how he had drugged her. Marechal said in the courtroom he stumbled across the website by accident and initially refused Pelicot's request to rape his own wife before acquiescing. Prosecutors say Pelicot drugged Marechal's wife and raped her while Marechal watched. Gisele Pelicot said Marechal's explanation of his childhood was insufficient to explain his actions. "I've had trauma but I have not committed crimes," she said. Dominique Pelicot acknowledged his guilt in raping Marechal's wife and said he regretted his actions, adding that he cut contact with them after she woke up while he was in her room. Prosecutors say Dominique Pelicot was recorded in at least three of 12 assaults against Marechal's wife Cilia.

Egypt ruffled Ethiopia’s feathers after Cairo sent military aid to Somalia, which had accused Ethiopia of planning to annex its territory. The two countries are locked in yet another battle over a dam Addis Ababa has been constructing on a major tributary of the Nile River.

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.

BALTIMORE — The U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday sued the owner and manager of the cargo ship that caused the Baltimore bridge collapse, seeking to recover more than $100 million that the government spent to clear the underwater debris and reopen the city's port.  The lawsuit filed in Maryland alleges that the electrical and mechanical systems on the ship, the Dali, were improperly maintained, causing it to lose power and veer off course before striking a support column on the Francis Scott Key Bridge in March.  "This tragedy was entirely avoidable," according to the lawsuit.  The collapse snarled commercial shipping traffic through the Port of Baltimore for months before the channel was fully opened in June.  "With this civil claim, the Justice Department is working to ensure that the costs of clearing the channel and reopening the Port of Baltimore are borne by the companies that caused the crash, not by the American taxpayer," Attorney General Merrick Garland said in written statement.  The case was filed against Dali owner Grace Ocean Private Ltd. and manager Synergy Marine Group, both of Singapore. The companies filed a court petition days after the collapse seeking to limit their legal liability in what could become the most expensive marine casualty case in history.  The ship was leaving Baltimore bound for Sri Lanka when its steering failed because of the power loss. Six members of a road work crew on the bridge were killed in the collapse. The men were working an overnight shift filling potholes on the bridge deck when it suddenly crumbled beneath them, sending them tumbling into the water.  "This accident happened because of the careless and grossly negligent decisions made by Grace Ocean and Synergy, who recklessly chose to send an unseaworthy vessel to navigate a critical waterway and ignored the risks to American lives and the nation's infrastructure," said Chetan Patil, the acting deputy assistant attorney general.  On Tuesday, the victims' families declared their intent to file a claim seeking to hold the ship's owner and manager fully liable for the disaster. Several other interested parties, including city officials and local businesses, have filed opposing claims accusing the companies of negligence.  The families are also calling for more robust workplace protections, especially for immigrant workers. All the victims were Latino immigrants who came to the United States in search of better-paying jobs and opportunities.

Existing laws governing internet free speech are being questioned across the U.S. political spectrum. VOA’s Matt Dibble looks at how candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump view the issue.

Tuberculosis remains a critical public health issue in many countries and is a leading cause of death in South Africa. Over the past six years, the BEAT Tuberculosis study, conducted in South Africa and focused on children and pregnant women, has revealed a promising new oral treatment that could mark a significant breakthrough in the fight against drug-resistant TB. Zaheer Cassim reports.

For the first time in over a decade, elections for 90 seats in Indian-administered Kashmir's general assembly are being held. This is the first vote since Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government revoked the region's semi-autonomous status. Separatist leaders and parties are participating in the election against Modi’s party. VOA’s Yusuf Jameel has more from Srinagar, Kashmir. Camera: Zubair Dar

According to the U.N., one in four girls ages 15 to 19 in Tanzania is either pregnant or has given birth. Policies that forced teen moms to drop out of school were lifted in 2021. But despite these rules, many are still unable to be a mother and receive an education at the same time. Juhudi Mmari has the report from Dodoma, Tanzania, narrated by Salem Solomon.

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.

Russia’s invasion has riddled the farmland in Ukraine's Kharkiv region with land mines, leaving many local farmers without a job. But since the occupying forces left, some are growing what they can, where they can, and selling it to make ends meet. And they’re getting help from a group of volunteers.  Anna Kosstutschenko has the story.

WASHINGTON — Americans can now renew their passports online, bypassing a cumbersome mail-in paper application process that often caused delays. The U.S. State Department announced Wednesday that its online passport renewal system is now fully operational. "By offering this online alternative to the traditional paper application process, the Department is embracing digital transformation to offer the most efficient and convenient passport renewal experience possible," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement. After staffing shortages caused mainly by the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in lengthy passport processing delays, the department ramped up hiring and introduced other technological improvements that have reduced wait times by about one-third over last year. It says most applications are now completed in far less than the advertised six to eight weeks. The online renewal system is expected to further reduce that. The system will allow renewal applicants to skip the current process, which requires them to print out and send paper applications and a check by mail and submit their documents and payment through a secure website, www.Travel.State.Gov/renewonline.

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.

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.

LAGOS — Nigeria's hydrological services agency has warned of potential flooding in 11 states after neighboring Cameroon said it was starting to release water from one of its largest dams following recent heavy rainfall in West and Central Africa.   The warning comes as Nigeria is already grappling with severe floods in northeastern Borno state where a dam burst its walls after heavy rains that have also caused floods in Cameroon, Chad, Mali and Niger — all part of Africa's Sahel region that usually receives little rain.   The Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) said it had been notified by authorities in Cameroon on Tuesday that they had started controlled water releases from Lagdo dam.   Cameroon has several dams on the Benue River, which flows downstream to Nigeria.   A spokesperson for Cameroon's utility ENEO, which manages the dam, told Reuters there was a possibility that the dam could be flooded, but the reservoirs had not been opened on Wednesday morning.   The NIHSA said Lagdo dam managers would gradually release water in a way not to exceed the capacity of the Benue river downstream to prevent flooding.   But 11 states, including Benue, Nasarawa and Kogi in the food producing central belt region and southern oil producing states of Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers were at risk, said NIHSA.   It urged federal and state authorities in Nigeria "to step up vigilance and deploy adequate preparedness measures to reduce possible impacts of flooding that may occur as a result of increase in flow levels of our major rivers at this period."   In 2022, Nigeria lost more than 600 people and farmlands to the worst flooding in a decade following heavy rain and after Cameroon released water from Lagdo dam.   Experts said then that Nigeria's failure to complete a dam of its own that was supposed to backstop the Cameroonian one worsened the disaster.   Nigeria, the most populous nation in Africa, is prone to flooding but critics say defective infrastructure and poor planning worsen the situation.  

Paris — France's budgetary situation is "very serious," Prime Minister Michel Barnier told AFP on Wednesday, saying more information was needed to gauge the "precise reality" of French public finances.   France was placed on a formal procedure for violating European Union budgetary rules before Barnier was picked as head of government this month by President Emmanuel Macron.   And the Bank of France warned this week that a projected return to EU deficit rules by 2027 was "not realistic."   France's public-sector deficit is projected to reach around 5.6 percent of GDP this year and go over six percent in 2025, which compares with EU rules calling for a three-percent ceiling on deficits.   "I am discovering that the country's budgetary situation is very serious," Barnier said in a statement to AFP.   "This situation requires more than just pretty statements. It requires responsible action," he said.   The new prime minister, who has yet to appoint a cabinet, is scheduled to submit a 2025 budget to parliament next month, in what is expected to be the first major test for the incoming administration.    'Out of the question'  Within days of taking office in early September, Barnier said in an interview that "French people want more justice" in terms of fiscal policy, while several politicians have reported the prime minister mentioning possible tax increases in private conversations.   Such a move would be a red rag to allies of Macron, who oversaw cuts in the corporate tax rate from 33.3% to 25% as well as tax reductions for households, including the wealthiest taxpayers.   Macron has claimed a reduction in the overall tax burden by 50 billion euros ($56 billion) since he became president in 2017.   Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, a staunch Macron ally, said Wednesday that it was "out of the question" to join, or even back, a government that raised taxes.    But years of extra spending during the Covid pandemic combined with sluggish growth have caused the French deficit to balloon, sparking the "excessive deficit procedure" by the EU, which is designed to force a country to negotiate a plan with Brussels to get their deficit or debt levels back on track.   Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, who is to be replaced soon, promised to bring the deficit back below three percent by 2027 but many analysts have dismissed the plan as implausible.   France's central bank governor, Francois Villeroy de Galhau, said this week that the objective was "not realistic" unless the government was willing to risk "stopping growth in its tracks."    Apparently backing Barnier's approach, Villeroy de Galhau called for an "exceptional and reasonable effort asked of some major companies and wealthy taxpayers" to help a recovery in finances. France, he said, could no longer afford "unfunded" tax cuts.    But tighter fiscal policies could put Barnier on a collision course with Macron, who appointed the experienced politician — best known internationally as the EU's former chief Brexit negotiator — in the hope that he can survive an early no-confidence vote in parliament.   'Dreadful error to go back'  "We want a stable fiscal policy that does not undermine policies that caused unemployment to fall and our country's attractiveness to rise," said Jean-Rene Cazeneuve, a National Assembly deputy and Macron ally. "It would be a dreadful error to go back on this."   Laurent Wauquiez, head of the conservative Les Republican (LR) parliamentary group on whom Barnier will depend for support, said last week that "our conviction is that in a certain number of areas we need rightist policies". This, he said, meant "no tax rises."   The tax question is likely to deepen budding tensions between Macron and Barnier, who is said to have been irritated that the president did not consult him about nominating Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne to the EU Commission.   "Knowing where Michel Barnier stands on Europe and the loss of French influence, I think he's just suffered his first humiliation," said one LR deputy on condition of anonymity. 

Lisbon — Deadly wildfires raging in Portugal have forced more people to evacuate their homes as crews battled dozens of blazes on Wednesday in the nation's north. Stifling heat and strong winds have fanned a spate of forest fires across the north and centre of the country that have killed seven people dead since the weekend. Civil protection authorities listed 42 active fires on its website on Wednesday and said they had mobilized around 3,900 firefighters and over 1,000 vehicles. In the Gondomar municipality, just outside Porto, authorities carried out more evacuations on Tuesday night. Firefighters battling blazes in Arouca in the hard-hit Aveiro region told local media outlets the situation there was "uncontrollable." Around 20,000 hectares (49,400 acres) of vegetation have burned in the region, south of Porto, since Monday, according to data from the European Forest Fire Information System (Effis). A total of 15 separate fires have passed the 1,000-hectare threshold since the fires began over the weekend, Effis data also showed. Authorities in Aveiro said Tuesday evening that firefighters were on the verge of bringing one group of fires that had spread across a 100-kilometre (60-mile) perimeter under control. Three firefighters died on Tuesday when their vehicle was trapped by the flames, civil protection authorities said, bringing the fire-related toll up to seven, with some 50 injured. A 28-year-old Brazilian who worked for a forestry company died after he become trapped by the flames as he tried to collect some times. Two others suffered heart attacks and a volunteer firefighter died while taking a break from battling the flames. Lisbon has upped fire prevention funding ten-fold and doubled the budget to fight wildfires since deadly blazes in 2017 claimed hundreds of lives. The Iberian peninsula is particularly vulnerable to global warming, with heatwaves and drought exposing the region to blazes.