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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.

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — When an uprising ousted Sri Lanka's president, many saw it as the end of his powerful family's hold on the island nation after more than 12 years of rule. Now, as Sri Lanka prepares to elect a new leader, Namal Rajapaksa is running for president. The 38-year-old is the son of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the nephew of the ousted President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Namal Rajapaksa is presenting himself as an agent of change, but many see his bid for presidency as an attempt by the controversial political dynasty to regain power. By mid-2022, the clan's political career seemed in ruins. Some of its members were forced into hiding in military camps after angry protesters stormed their residences. Others simply gave up their seats in the government as people blamed them for hurtling the country of more than 20 million people into an economic crisis. Two years later, the family — shunned and pushed to political wilderness — is trying make a comeback via the Rajapaksa heir apparent who is styling himself as someone who could deliver Sri Lanka into a prosperous future. But for Namal Rajapaksa, it's more than just a political choice — it's a deeply personal one. He wants to shed the widespread allegations that the Rajapaksa clan ran the country as a family business that led to the economy crashing in 2022 — as well as the guilty verdict on corruption charges against them. "The corruption charges are not something common to my family or to myself. If you look at all politicians in this country or in the world, including our region … all have been accused of being corrupt," Namal told the Associated Press on a recent afternoon. "People will understand, you know, because if you look at the current stage, everyone is blaming each other." Sri Lanka was once an economic hope in South Asia, before it plunged into an economic crisis in 2022 when unsustainable debt and the COVID-19 pandemic led to a severe shortage of essentials. The crisis morphed into a popular uprising, with angry street protesters taking over the president's and prime minister's offices and other key buildings, forcing Gotabaya to flee the country and later resign. Many blamed the Rajapaksas. The family still had a big parliamentary majority, and voted Ranil Wickremesinghe to serve the remainder of the presidential term. Wickremesinghe ensured them protection in return for their support to pass laws in Parliament, enabling the clan to mark a return in politics. "We didn't run away, we never ran away. It's just that some people thought we were hiding," said Namal. Namal's prospects for a political comeback appear grim, as the main contest appears to be between three other candidates: Wickremesinghe, the parliamentary opposition leader and a left-leaning politician with a powerful alliance. Alan Keenan, senior consultant on Sri Lanka at the International Crisis Group, said the younger Rajapaksa's bid for the presidency is a test run that would establish "his position as the heir apparent" of the political dynasty. "I think they [the Rajapaksas] know that Namal will not win. But his candidature effectively reasserts the family's ownership of the party," Keenan said. The Rajapaksa family has been a mainstay in Sri Lankan politics for decades. They influenced nearly everything — from bureaucracy to courts, police, business and sports. Namal Rajapaksa's father was a prime minister and then a two-term president from 2005 to 2015. Even though Mahinda Rajapaksa was adored by the country's majority Buddhist Sinhalese for defeating the ethnic Tamil separatists after a 26-year bloody civil war, allegations of human rights violations and corruption led to his defeat in 2015. The family, however, returned more powerful four years later, when Mahinda's brother was elected president. Gotabaya Rajapaksa whipped up majority Buddhist Sinhalese sentiments after the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings, blamed on Islamic extremist groups, killed 290 people. But the family's popularity quickly eroded under a tanking economy and alienation among ethnic Tamils, Muslims and other minorities. With hopes to reinvent himself as a young, modern leader removed from his family's tainted past, Namal Rajapaksa's efforts mirror that of his father, who still enjoys considerable support among some voters who credit him for crushing the Tamil separatists. Like his father, Namal Rajapaksa wears the trademark outfit that highlights his Buddhist Sinhalese culture, with a maroon scarf around his neck, a sarong and a white robe. During campaigns he can be seen touching his father's feet in reverence, a practice most locals consider noble. He is also promising to free the island nation from its debt crisis, create more jobs and eradicate corruption by digitizing the administrative systems. Still, many in Sri Lanka are done with the family, and public opposition to Rajapaksa's candidacy is particularly palpable among the Tamil community that makes up about 11% of Sri Lanka's population. The group was crushed in a 2009 government offensive headed by Mahinda and Gotabaya Rajapaksa to end the separatist civil war that broke out in 1983 and left at least 100,000 on both sides, with many more missing. Though not all Tamils were part of or supported the rebel group, their defeat has effectively become a political defeat to the community. They also blame the Rajapaksas for alleged human rights violations against civilians during the war. Vellaiyan Sivaprakash, a Tamil who works as an auditor in central Sri Lanka, said he constantly lived in fear of violence during the Rajapaksa rule and doubted whether he could live in Sri Lanka anymore. "Their rule was like a monarchy and they behaved like princes and treated us like slaves," Sivaprakash said. "They should never come back to power." Rajapaksas still have a large chunk of supporters who appreciate their role in ending the war and in big infrastructure projects including a road network, an airport and a seaport built on high-interest Chinese loans. Even though many of them believe Namal Rajapaksa has no chance of winning, they are banking on his future prospects. "I will vote for Namal because I got my job under his father's government. He is still young and one day he can be the president," said R. M. Lasantha, who works as a pipe fitter at the state-owned petroleum corporation. Some Sri Lankans say it would take the Rajapaksas at least a decade to make a political comeback. "Their name is associated with corruption and bankruptcy, so rebuilding [their image] is a major challenge," said Manilal Ranasinghe, who works in the tourism industry. "At the same time," Ranasinghe said, "we know that Sri Lankans have a short memory."

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SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea offered a rare glimpse into a secretive facility to produce weapons-grade uranium as state media reported Friday that leader Kim Jong Un visited the area and called for stronger efforts to "exponentially" increase the number of his nuclear weapons. It's unclear if the site is at the North's main Yongbyon nuclear complex, but it's the North's first disclosure of a uranium-enrichment facility since it showed one at Yongbyon to visiting American scholars in 2010. While the latest unveiling is likely an attempt to apply more pressure on the U.S. and its allies, the images North Korea's media released of the area could provide outsiders with a valuable source of information for estimating the amount of nuclear ingredients that North Korea has produced. During a visit to the Nuclear Weapons Institute and the production base of weapon-grade nuclear materials, Kim expressed "great satisfaction repeatedly over the wonderful technical force of the nuclear power field" held by North Korea, the official Korean Central News Agency reported. KCNA said that Kim walked around the control room of the uranium enrichment base and a construction site that would expand its capacity for producing nuclear weapons. North Korean state media photos showed Kim being briefed by scientists while walking along long lines of tall gray tubes, but KCNA didn't say when Kim visited the facilities and where they are located. KCNA said Kim stressed the need to further augment the number of centrifuges to "exponentially increase the nuclear weapons for self-defense," a goal he has repeatedly stated in recent years. It said Kim ordered officials to push forward the introduction of a new-type centrifuge, which has reached its completion stage. Kim said North Korea needs greater defense and preemptive attack capabilities because anti-North Korea “nuclear threats perpetrated by the U.S. imperialists-led vassal forces have become more undisguised and crossed the red-line," KCNA said. South Korea's Unification Ministry said it strongly condemned North Korea's unveiling of a uranium-enrichment facility and Kim's vows to boost his country's nuclear capability. A ministry statement said North Korea's "illegal" pursuit of nuclear weapons in defiance of U.N. bans is a serious threat to international peace. It said North Korea must realize it cannot win anything with its nuclear program. North Korea first showed a uranium enrichment site in Yongbyon to the outside world in November 2010, when it allowed a visiting delegation of Stanford University scholars led by nuclear physicist, Siegfried Hecker, to tour its centrifuges. North Korean officials then reportedly told Hecker that 2,000 centrifuges were already installed and running at Yongbyon. Satellite images in recent years have indicated North Korea was expanding a uranium enrichment plant at its Yongbyon nuclear complex. Nuclear weapons can be built using either highly enriched uranium or plutonium, and North Korea has facilities to produce both at Yongbyon. It's not clear exactly how much weapons-grade plutonium or highly enriched uranium has been produced at Yongbyon and where North Korea stores it. "For analysts outside the country, the released images will provide a valuable source of information for rectifying our assumptions about how much material North Korea may have amassed to date," said Ankit Panda, an expert with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "Overall, we should not assume that North Korea will be as constrained as it once was by fissile material limitations. This is especially true for highly enriched uranium, where North Korea is significantly less constrained in its ability to scale up than it is with plutonium," Panda said. In 2018, Hecker and Stanford University scholars estimated North Korea's highly enriched uranium inventory was 250 to 500 kilograms, sufficient for 25 to 30 nuclear devices. The North Korean photos released Friday showed about 1,000 centrifuges. When operated year-round, they would be able to produce around 20 to 25 kilograms of highly enriched uranium, which would be enough to create a single bomb, according to Yang Uk, a security expert at Seoul's Asan Institute for Policy Studies. The new-type centrifuge Kim wants to introduce is likely an advanced carbon fiber-based one that could allow North Korea to produce five to 10 times more highly enriched uranium than its existing ones, said Lee Choon Geun, an honorary research fellow at South Korea's Science and Technology Policy Institute. Some U.S. and South Korean experts speculate North Korea is covertly running at least one other uranium-enrichment plant. In 2018, a top South Korean official told parliament that North Korea was estimated to have already manufactured up to 60 nuclear weapons. Estimates on how many nuclear bombs North Korea can add every year vary, ranging from six to as many as 18. 

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Singapore — Pope Francis wrapped up an arduous 12-day tour of the Asia-Pacific on Friday, defying health concerns to connect with believers from the jungle of Papua New Guinea to the skyscrapers of Singapore. The 87-year-old pontiff flies home to Rome from Singapore, completing his longest trip in duration and distance since he became head of the world's estimated 1.4 billion Roman Catholics more than 13 years ago. The Argentine pope has relied on a wheelchair since 2022 because of knee pain and sciatica. He had a hernia operation in June 2023, and earlier this year he battled flu and bronchitis. Occasionally, during his four-nation trip, the pope struggled to keep his eyes open when listening to late-night liturgical readings or to remain engaged during formal military parades. But he was clearly energized by more freewheeling exchanges — cheerfully goading young people to shout out their agreement with his calls to help those in need. In a lively final inter-religious meeting with young Singaporeans, the pope urged them to respect other beliefs, avoid being slaves to technology and to get out of their comfort zones. "Don't let your stomach get fat, but let your head get fat," the pope said, raising a laugh from his audience. "I say take risks, go out there," he said. "A young person that is afraid and does not take risks is an old person." The historic tour, initially planned for 2020 but postponed by the COVID-19 pandemic, has included 43 hours of flight time and a distance of 32,000 kilometers. But neither the pace — 16 speeches and up to eight hours of time difference — nor the heat, nor multiple meetings have forced any rescheduling of his international odyssey. On a trip that took him to the outer edges of the church's world, the pope delivered a sometimes uncomfortable message for leaders not to forget the poor and marginalized. In Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim-majority state, he visited the Istiqlal Mosque to deliver a joint message against conflict and climate change. In sweltering Papua New Guinea, he donned a bird of paradise headdress in a remote, jungle village where he told inhabitants to halt violence and renounce "superstition and magic." Addressing political and business leaders, he insisted that the country's vast natural resources should benefit the entire community — a demand likely to resound in a nation where many believe their riches are being stolen or squandered. And in staunchly Roman Catholic East Timor, he addressed nearly half the population, drawing about 600,000 rapturous believers in the tropical heat to a celebration of mass on the island's coast. Francis addressed East Timor's leaders, hailing a new era of "peace" since independence in 2002. But he also called on them to do more to prevent abuse against young people, in a nod to recent Catholic Church child abuse scandals. In the affluent city-state of Singapore, the pope called for "special attention" to be paid to protecting the dignity of migrant workers. "These workers contribute a great deal to society and should be guaranteed a fair wage," he said. There are an estimated 170 million migrant workers around the world. Most live in the Americas, Europe or Central Asia. But the Argentine pope was otherwise full of praise for the "entrepreneurial spirit" and dynamism that built a "mass of ultra-modern skyscrapers that seem to rise from the sea" in his final destination. Sandra Ross, 55, a church administrator in Singapore, said she was still "feeling the warmth and joy" after attending mass led by the pope. "I was deeply touched by Pope Francis' courage and dedication to his mission, despite his health challenges. His spirit and enthusiasm are truly inspiring," she said.

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.

President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that the West would be directly fighting with Russia if it allowed Ukraine to strike Russian territory with Western-made long-range missiles. We talk to Daniel Davis with Defense Priorities about the risks. Botswana and an American biotech firm, Ginkgo Bioworks, have partnered to conduct mpox surveillance at the country’s entry points. And the first private spacewalk takes place in Earth orbit.

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.

ATLANTA — The judge overseeing the Georgia election interference case against Donald Trump and others on Thursday tossed out three counts in the indictment — including two counts brought against the former president — saying that they lie beyond the state's jurisdiction.  The case against Trump and others who are appealing an order allowing Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to continue prosecuting the case is on hold while that appeal is pending. But Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee issued orders Thursday based on motions filed by two defendants, Shawn Still and John Eastman, who are not part of that appeal, meaning the case against them is not paused. In the Georgia case — one of four criminal prosecutions against the Republican presidential nominee — a grand jury in August 2023 returned a 41-count indictment against Trump and 18 others, accusing them of participating in a wide-ranging conspiracy to illegally try to overturn Trump's narrow loss in the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. Four people pleaded guilty last year after reaching deals with prosecutors. Trump and other defendants tried to get Willis and her office removed from the case, arguing that a romantic relationship she had with Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor she hired to lead the case, created a conflict of interest. McAfee ruled that there was not a conflict of interest that warranted Willis' disqualification, as long as Wade left the case. Trump and others have appealed, and the Georgia Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear arguments in December.  The judge in March had thrown out six counts of the indictment, a ruling that prosecutors are appealing. Even with a total of nine counts quashed, 32 counts remain, including an overarching racketeering charge brought against all of the defendants. At issue in Thursday's ruling are two counts having to do with the filing of a document with the federal court in Atlanta that declared that Trump had won the state of Georgia and 16 Republicans who signed the document were the "duly elected and qualified electors" from the state. One of the counts charges three of those Republicans, including Still, with filing false documents. The other charges Trump and others, including Eastman, with conspiracy to file false documents. McAfee wrote that punishing someone for filing certain documents with a federal court would "enable a state to constrict the scope of materials assessed by a federal court and impair the administration of justice in that tribunal to police its own proceedings." He concluded that those two counts must be quashed "as beyond the jurisdiction of this State." The third count charges Trump and Eastman with filing false documents, saying they "knowingly and unlawfully" filed a lawsuit with the federal court in Atlanta while "having reason to know" that the document included at least one "materially false" statement about the 2020 election in Georgia. McAfee cited case law that says complaints filed in federal court fall within the scope federal perjury statutes and said the charge must be quashed. A spokesperson for Willis said prosecutors are reviewing the order and declined to comment.

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washington — This week’s U.S. televised debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris broke through an intensely busy news cycle in South Asia to garner attention across most major news outlets. Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi visited the United States. Bangladesh's interim leader, Muhammad Yunus, delivered his second major speech to the nation. And Pakistan suspended security officials over the controversial arrest of lawmakers from Parliament. Despite these significant developments and a nine- to 10-hour time difference from Washington, the pivotal showdown between the two contenders to succeed Joe Biden as U.S. president still drew high interest, underscoring the significance of U.S. electoral politics for the region. "The news cycle in these countries is so fast and the issues they are dealing with internally are so intense that probably their focus has shifted from what is happening elsewhere," said Awais Saleem, a former Pakistani journalist who is now a professor at Lamar University in the U.S. state of Texas. "Nonetheless, [the U.S. election] is still keenly observed and keenly watched, because whatever happens in the U.S. invariably has an effect in other parts of the world, and South Asia is no exception,” Saleem said.  India Take India, the region's most populous country and largest media market. Major Indian outlets, such as NDTV and CNN's local affiliate, dedicated significant coverage to the debate, even while prioritizing Gandhi's remarks in Washington. Aaj Tak, another leading channel, had a correspondent reporting on the debate from the spin room in Philadelphia. Large-circulation newspapers provided more substantial coverage, even while relying on international wire services for content. The Times of India, India's largest newspaper, featured a video analysis of the debate on its website. The Hindu, another major paper, ran multiple articles, including one focusing on Trump's pledge to end the Ukraine war and another on Hollywood's "applause" for Harris. While much of the coverage was routine, some stood out. In addition to broadcasting the debate live, NDTV produced at least 10 stories and segments dedicated to what it termed a "fiery presidential showdown." These included highlights, key quotes and major takeaways. While Indians are as divided over Trump and Harris as Americans, most local outlets widely reported on the American media's verdict that Harris had outperformed Trump. Ahead of the debate, many Indians were skeptical of Harris, said Ashutosh, a veteran Indian journalist and co-founder of news outlet Satya Hindi. To find out how Harris did, Satya Hindi devoted a 30-minute segment featuring a U.S.-based Indian American academic, Ashutosh said. The verdict: Harris won the debate. "There now is a feeling that Kamala Harris is not a weak candidate," said Ashutosh, who goes by one name. India, like other South Asian countries, lacks an American-style tradition of live election debates. The concept intrigues many but faces cultural and political obstacles, experts say. On Satya Hindi, another guest, journalist Shravan Garg, questioned their feasibility. He asked whether Indian TV channels would "dare" to host live debates and whether politicians would "agree" to participate. Atul Singh, founder and editor-in-chief of Fair Observer, an international citizen journalism and civic education platform, said Indian interest in U.S. elections has surged in recent years, spurred by globalization and more recently by the Indian ancestry of Harris and Usha Vance, the wife of Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance. But he said the level of interest varies across the country. States with stronger ties to the U.S., such as Gujarat, a source of migration to the U.S., and Maharashtra, a manufacturing hub for exports to the U.S., are gripped by U.S. election fever. In more rural regions such as Bihar, with fewer connections to the U.S., enthusiasm is far more subdued. "So it depends on which part of the country you're in," Singh said. "I'd say some areas in India simply don't care, and others, the ones that are part of the global economy, are absolutely obsessed." Pakistan In neighboring Pakistan and Bangladesh, the debate received far less coverage despite comparable public interest. Geo TV, Pakistan's leading TV news channel, ran an international segment on the debate, reporting on the candidates' "combative demeanor." A wire story on its website noted that foreign policy "largely took a backseat." Leading English language newspaper Dawn highlighted the debate as its top international story, reporting how Harris put Trump "on the defensive at a combative presidential debate." A wire fact check about the debate was included among its "must read stories" on its homepage. Express Tribune, another leading newspaper, picked up multiple wire service stories about the debate, posting three short video compilations on its websites, including a video of viral memes generated by Trump's comment that migrants were eating people's cats and dogs in Ohio. Atif Khan, a Pakistani journalist, said Harris' unexpected emergence as the Democratic nominee helped boost Pakistani public interest in the U.S. presidential election. "Every political discussion on television now involves a mention of the U.S. election," Khan said. "There is talk about Trump. There is talk about Kamala Harris." While Pakistani media generally don't cover elections in neighboring countries, some local outlets are already planning their U.S. election coverage and trying to secure U.S. visas for their reporters, he said. "Pakistanis think that a change of president will inevitably have direct implications for not just Pakistan but also the region," he said. Underscoring the Pakistani media's interest, Saleem, the Lamar University professor, noted receiving weekly invitations from various outlets to discuss the U.S. election campaign. Bangladesh In Bangladesh, the debate's coverage was overshadowed by continuing reverberations from the August 5 collapse of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government. While interim leader Yunus' speech dominated headlines on Wednesday, leading outlets provided more substantive coverage of the debate, drawing on international wire stories and analysis. Prothom Alo, Bangladesh's largest media outlet, called the debate "the most important moment" before the November 5 election. Daily Star, one of the most reputable outlets, ran at least four stories, including a fact check and a video analysis. Daily Ittefaq, a Bengali language newspaper, ran a summary of U.S. media accounts of the debate, reporting that even the conservative Fox News had declared Harris the winner. Singh, founder of Fair Observer, said the post-Hasina political turmoil in Bangladesh likely contributed to the relatively thin coverage. "They've got their own fish to fry," he said. But, he added, political elites in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka – all dependent on International Monetary Fund largesse – are keenly watching the U.S. election campaign. "They are in economic crisis, so they follow the election for practical reasons," he said.

Israel is defending its strike on a UN school turned shelter in central Gaza and says that the six UN aid workers among the 18 killed were members of Hamas. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he will raise the issue of protecting humanitarian sites with Israel, at the same time criticizing the US-designated terror group for 'hiding in' civilian sites. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara has this report.

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.

American and Chinese diplomats and military officials are talking ahead of the U.S. presidential elections as tensions simmer in the South China Sea and around Taiwan. State Department Bureau Chief Nike Ching reports. Contributor: Jeff Seldin. Narrator: Elizabeth Cherneff.

quetta/islamabad — A police officer in Pakistan’s southwestern Baluchistan province shot and killed a man Thursday who was being held in custody on blasphemy allegations. The fatal shooting happened inside a highly protected police station in the provincial capital of Quetta, a day after the victim, a Muslim, was arrested for allegedly making derogatory remarks about the Prophet Muhammad. A senior local police officer, Muhammad Baloch, told reporters that they had arrested the policeman involved in the shooting and registered a murder case against him. He did not name the detainee. On Wednesday, witnesses reported that when the blasphemy suspect, Abdul Ali, was taken into custody in the Kharotabad neighborhood, a mob of dozens of residents quickly surrounded the police detention facility and demanded that he be handed over to them so they could kill him. Police officials reported the protesters also had thrown a grenade at the building, but the resulting blast did not cause any casualties. They said the violence forced them to transfer Ali to the police station in the central garrison area of Quetta, where he was fatally shot “inside the lock-up by an on-duty policeman” on Thursday. Activists of a religious party later prevented Ali’s family from burying him in his hometown of Pishin, about 50 kilometers from Quetta, forcing those attempting to carry out the burial to flee the graveyard along with the body. In Islamabad, the national capital, an Islamic party senator, Abdul Shakoor Khan, while speaking in the upper house of parliament expressed solidarity with the alleged killer. Khan vowed to help get him a lawyer for his legal battle. “We will not tolerate anyone issuing blasphemous remarks against the Holy Prophet,” Khan said. Blasphemy is a highly sensitive issue in majority-Muslim Pakistan, where mere allegations have led to mobs lynching scores of suspects, even some in police custody. Insulting the Quran or Islamic beliefs is punishable by death under the country's blasphemy laws, though no one has ever been officially executed. Thursday’s killing of a blasphemy suspect in custody by a police officer, however, is the first of its kind in Pakistan. In early June, a 73-year-old Pakistani man from the minority Christian community died in a hospital a week after being violently attacked by a mob following blasphemy accusations in his native Sargodha district in central Punjab province. Days later, on June 20, a Muslim man from Punjab was visiting the scenic Swat Valley in the northwestern Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa when a mob violently lynched him for allegedly desecrating Islam's holy book, the Quran. Domestic and international rights groups have long sought reforms in the blasphemy laws, arguing they are often misused to settle personal vendettas or to target Pakistani minority communities. Hundreds of suspects, mostly Muslims, are languishing in jails in Pakistan because of fear of retaliation from religious groups deters judges from moving their trials forward.