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ALGIERS, Algeria — Algerians head to the polls Saturday to cast votes for president and determine who will govern their gas-rich North African nation — five years after pro-democracy protests prompted the military to oust the previous president after two decades in power. Since elections were scheduled in March — ahead of the predicted schedule — there has been little suspense about the result. Although few doubt he will be named the winner by the time results are finalized, military-backed President Abdelmadjid Tebboune said Saturday after voting that he hoped “whoever wins will continue on the path towards a point of no return in the construction of democracy.” Members of Tebboune's government as well as his challengers have urged voters to cast ballots after boycotts and high abstention rates in previous elections marred the government's ability to claim popular support. "I call on Algerians to vote en masse to reinforce our country's democratic processes," Mohamed Larbaoui, Tebboune's prime minister, said at the polls Saturday. Algeria is Africa's largest country by area and, with almost 45 million people, it's the continent's second-most populous after South Africa to hold presidential elections in 2024 — a year in which more than 50 elections are being held worldwide, encompassing more than half the world's population. The campaign — rescheduled to take place during North Africa's hot summer — has been characterized by widespread apathy from the population, which continues to be plagued by high costs of living and a punishing drought that brought water shortages to some parts of the country. On Saturday morning, many polling places sat mostly empty. Without crowds or lines of voters queuing to cast their ballots, administrators hoped things would pick up later in the day before polls close at 7 p.m. “Residents generally vote in the afternoon,” said Rabah Belamri, poll station chief in Rouiba, a neighborhood east of downtown Algiers. “Uncle Tebboune," as his campaign has framed the 78-year-old, was elected in December 2019 after nearly a year of weekly “Hirak” demonstrations demanding the resignation of former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. Their demands were met when Bouteflika resigned that April and was replaced by an interim government of his former allies, which called for elections later in the year. Protestors opposed holding elections too soon, fearing the candidates running that year each were close to the old regime and would derail dreams of a civilian-led, nonmilitary state. Tebboune, a former prime minister seen as close to the military, won. But his victory was stained by low turnout, boycotts and Election Day tumult, during which crowds sacked voting stations and police broke up demonstrations. To cement his legitimacy, Tebboune hopes more of the country's 24 million eligible voters will participate in Saturday's election than in his first when only 39.9% voted. But many of the last election's boycotters remain unconvinced about elections ushering in change. Activists and international organizations, including Amnesty International, have railed against how authorities continue prosecuting those involved in opposition parties, media organizations and civil society groups. Some have also denounced this election as a rubber stamp exercise that can only entrench the status quo. “Algerians don’t give a damn about this bogus election,” said former Hirak leader Hakim Addad, who was banned from participating in politics three years ago. “The political crisis will persist as long as the regime remains in place.” Twenty-six candidates submitted preliminary paperwork to run in the election, although only two were ultimately approved to challenge Tebboune. Neither political novices, they have avoided directly criticizing Tebboune on the campaign trail and, like the incumbent, emphasized participation. Abdelali Hassani Cherif, a 57-year-old head of the Islamist party Movement of Society for Peace has made populist appeals to Algerian youth, running on the slogan “Opportunity!” At his polling place Saturday, he thanked his opponents and said it was “an important election for the country’s future.” Youcef Aouchiche, a 41-year-old former journalist running with the Socialist Forces Front, campaigned on a “vision for tomorrow,” and made appeals to those concerned about human rights and political repression. It's the first time since 1999 that his party, which enjoys strong support among ethnic minorities in central Algeria, has put forth a candidate. Voting in Kabylia on Saturday, Aouchiche called on Algerians to break with the system that rules the country “to give young people the confidence to put an end to the despair that drives them to take the boats of death in an attempt to reach the other side of the Mediterranean,” referencing many who elect to migrate to Europe in search of opportunity rather than remain at home. Andrew Farrand, the Middle East and North Africa director at the geopolitical risk consultancy Horizon Engage, said both opposition candidates were more aimed at the 2025 legislative elections than the 2024 presidential contest. Because Algerian law funds political parties based on the number of seats they win in legislative elections, they hope campaigning positions them for a strong 2025 performance. “It’s a long game: How can I mobilize my base? How can I build up a campaign machine? And how can I get into the good graces of the authorities so that I can be in a position to increase my seats?” he said. “We’ve seen that in their choice not to overtly criticize [the] president … paired with a very strong message to Algerians to come out and vote.”

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WASHINGTON — Chrysler parent Stellantis said Saturday it is recalling 1.46 million vehicles worldwide due to a software malfunction in the anti-lock brake system that can increase the risk of a crash. The recall includes nearly 1.23 million Ram 1500 trucks from the 2019 and 2021-2024 model years in the United States, as well as about 159,000 vehicles in Canada, 13,000 in Mexico and 61,000 outside North America. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said a software malfunction might result in the anti-lock brake system control module disabling the electronic stability control system. The issue means the vehicles do not comply with a federal motor vehicle safety standard on electric stability control systems. Stellantis said if the issue occurs, the ABS, ESC, adaptive cruise control and forward collision warning indicator lights will be illuminated at vehicle start up, indicating the systems are not working. Foundational braking would be working, it added. The company said it is unaware of any related injuries or crashes. Stellantis also said Saturday it is recalling about 33,000 Jeep Gladiator models from 2020-2024 and Jeep Wrangler vehicles from 2018-2024 due to a potential internal short circuit issue in the instrument panel cluster.

Six years after Jifeng Bookstore was forced to close its doors in Shanghai, the shop has reopened in Washington to bring debate and literature to a new audience. Liam Scott has the story for VOA News. Videographer: Yi Ruokun

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Close to the U.S. capital of Washington, the rural state of West Virginia was solidly Democratic for most of the 20th century. But now it's a Republican stronghold, delivering overwhelming wins for former President Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020. VOA’s congressional correspondent, Katherine Gypson, went to Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, to see how the 2024 election season is playing out. Videographers: Adam Greenbaum, Henry Hernandez and Mary Cieslak

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN — Chinese dissident Liu Dongling is at risk of deportation back to China after Denmark rejected her asylum application in June, a situation some rights advocates say reflects challenges Chinese dissidents face when seeking refuge abroad, especially in Europe. Liu has been leading the “Ban the Great Firewall” online campaign against China’s internet censorship regime since August 2023, when founder Qiao Xinxin was deported back to China from Laos and detained on subversion charges. Danish immigration authorities informed Liu in June they rejected her asylum application following a two-year review and would repatriate her back to China in seven days. Fearing similar charges if deported to China, Liu fled to Sweden with her teenage son the next day. “I’ve been in Sweden for more than two months, and I still can’t work here since I don’t have a proper legal status,” she told VOA in an interview in Stockholm. Lui cannot apply for asylum in Sweden due to the Dublin Regulation, an agreement between European Union countries that establishes that a single country is responsible for examining an applicant's request for asylum. Contacted by VOA, the Danish Immigration Service and Danish Return Agency said they could not comment on individual cases, citing confidentiality required by law. Human rights advocates contacted by VOA said that based on Qiao’s detention, Liu will likely face imprisonment if the Danish authorities deport her. “Apart from leading the online free speech campaign, Liu has also been collecting information about human rights violations for the China Human Rights Accountability Database, so she would definitely be given prison sentences if she were sent back to China,” Lin Shengliang, a Chinese activist based in the Netherlands and the founder of the human rights database, told VOA by phone. Seeking asylum in Denmark Liu has been an activist since 2014, when she helped forced eviction victims seek compensation through legal channels. She said she started being followed and her son started being banned by teachers from participating in activities he enjoyed. “My son began to refuse to go to school so I decided to move to Thailand and let him go to school there,” Liu told VOA. In June 2019, she began documenting human rights violations for the Chinese news website Boxun, which covers activism and human rights violations in China. But soon, Chinese prosecutors in China’s Henan province started repeatedly contacting her, increasing her concern over her safety. She nevertheless returned to China twice in 2019 to renew her Thai visa. At the time, she wasn’t arrested or detained by local authorities. In June 2022, fearing deportation back to China considering the Thai detention and repatriation of Chinese dissidents, Liu applied for a Danish tourist visa and flew there with her son, applying for asylum when they arrived. As Danish authorities began to review her asylum application in March 2023, she also became involved with the online free speech campaign. She tried to spread information about how to bypass China’s internet censorship through virtual private networks to Chinese people while informing Chinese people working in the cybersecurity sector that they might be assisting the Chinese government with violating Chinese people’s basic human rights. Two months after she joined the campaign, movement co-founder Qiao Xinxin went missing in Laos. In August 2023, his family confirmed he had been detained in a Chinese prison under subversion charges. Despite Qiao’s and her extensive history of activism, Liu said Danish authorities repeatedly questioned whether she was at risk of arrest if she returned to China, citing her successful returns to China in 2019 as proof that she could freely leave the country. “The Refugee Appeals Board finds that the applicant left China legally for Thailand in 2018 and later, she traveled back and forth between China and Thailand legally twice without experiencing issues,” the Danish Refugee Appeals Board wrote in an official case document seen by VOA. The Danish immigration authorities ultimately determined that Liu had not provided “credible evidence” to prove that she had faced persecution in China and that if she returned to China, she would be persecuted by Chinese authorities. Some analysts say while Liu has a long track record of criticizing the Chinese government and engaging in human rights issues, some missing pieces of evidence made it difficult for her to prove the authenticity of her claims to the Danish authorities. However, several human rights organizations, including Madrid-based Safeguard Defenders, are trying to push the Danish immigration authorities to reassess her case. “We have prepared all the paperwork to support the reassessment of her case,” said Peter Dahlin, the director of Safeguard Defenders. He told VOA that Denmark’s rejection of Liu’s asylum application shows the need for Chinese dissidents to be well-prepared before applying for asylum in a foreign country. “If Chinese dissidents are going to seek asylum abroad, they need to prepare all necessary paperwork and evidence to back up their claims,” he said in a phone interview. Dahlin said if the Danish authorities decided to follow through on deporting Liu to China, human rights organizations will consider filing an interim measure requesting the European Court of Human Rights to weigh in on the decision. “I don't think Denmark wants the embarrassment of having been told by the European Court of Human Rights to stop their action,” he told VOA. While human rights organizations are pushing Danish authorities to reassess Liu’s initial asylum application, she and her son may need to wait months before the Danish government finishes reassessment of her case. “They will live in Sweden with no legal rights, and that’s not an easy situation to be in especially when Sweden and Denmark are hardening their stance on asylum and immigration,” Dahlin said. Since it remains unclear whether Danish authorities would reassess her case, Liu said she is still haunted by her possible deportation back to China. “I have no clue what my next step is, and the only thing I could do now is to lay low and wait to see if Danish authorities reassess my asylum application,” she told VOA.

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.

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.

washington — Shunned by the West for over three years, Afghanistan's Taliban scored a diplomatic victory of sorts this week when the small Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan quietly removed the group from its list of banned terrorist organizations. The move underscores warming ties between the Taliban, in power since August 2021, and the countries of Central Asia. While the United States has led an international campaign to deny the Taliban government legitimacy, over a dozen regional countries, led by China and Russia, have embraced the self-styled "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan." "It fits with the broader trend of governments in the region and internationally warming up to the idea of having to work with the Taliban," said Lucas Webber, a senior threat intelligence analyst at Tech Against Terrorism and a research fellow at the Soufan Center. "Generally, there is a recognition that the Taliban is not going anywhere, so you have to work with whoever is ruling Afghanistan for economic and security reasons." Taliban reaction The government of Kyrgyzstan, once considered a close U.S. ally in the region, did not publicize its decision to delist the Taliban, but the Taliban's Foreign Ministry quickly seized on it as the latest breakthrough in its regional diplomacy. "Aligning with actions of other countries, the step taken by Kyrgyzstan signifies a growing political recognition of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan on both regional and international levels, and removes a barrier to strengthening bilateral relations between the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan & other countries," it said Thursday in a statement. The Taliban, which first ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001 before waging a 20-year insurgency, has appeared on various international terrorist lists over the years. While the U.S. has not officially labeled them a "foreign terrorist organization," it considers members "specially designated global terrorists." Kyrgyzstan is the second Central Asian country to delist the Taliban in recent months. In December, Kazakhstan took the group off its own terrorist list as part of its growing economic engagement with the Taliban. In May, Russia said it, too, was considering such a move as it decides whether to recognize the Taliban's government. Although no country has extended official recognition to the Taliban, more than a dozen, including all six of Afghanistan's neighbors, have allowed Taliban diplomats to take charge of Afghan embassies or consulates. Among them, three have accepted accredited Taliban envoys: China in January, followed by Kazakhstan and the United Arab Emirates last month. In pursuing ties with the Taliban, Central Asian countries are taking their cues from Russia and China, both of which have deepened their engagement with Afghanistan's de facto government in recent years. "They're pursuing practical policies, and they're also given a kind of umbrella by two of the major great powers — Russia and China — who are working with the Taliban quite closely," Webber said. A 'necessary evil' In a report on the Taliban's regional diplomacy, analysts at the International Crisis Group noted how various countries pursue disparate agendas. Afghanistan neighbors such as Iran, Pakistan and Uzbekistan view dealing with the Taliban as a "necessary evil if they are to address core concerns," the analysts wrote. Those concerns include extremist threats as well as trade. For Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, a planned project designed to carry surplus power to Afghanistan and Pakistan is a priority. Regional powers China, India and Russia use engagement to contain "any spillover" from Afghanistan, the analysts said. Russia regards the Taliban as a bulwark against the Islamic State's local branch. And while China has signed lucrative investment deals with Afghanistan, it, too, is motivated by fear of terrorism. Countries farther afield, such as the UAE and Qatar, aim "to challenge the Taliban's Islamic exceptionalism but [are] also spurred by the need to balance their own regional rivalries," they wrote. Strategic interests vs. human rights Significantly, none of the countries that have established diplomatic ties with the Taliban were classified as "free" by Freedom House, the freedom and democracy advocacy group. All but two are labeled "not free," according to a VOA review. Only Pakistan and Turkey are designated as "partly free." This suggests that the Taliban can ward off international isolation if enough countries prioritize strategic interests over human rights and democracy, according to experts. While human rights haven't always been a U.S. foreign policy priority, the Biden administration, along with its Western allies, have made Taliban recognition contingent on respect for human rights, women's rights and an inclusive government. "Given the issues related to the treatment of women and other human rights issues, it's more difficult for liberal democratic governments to recognize and work with the Taliban than it is for less democratic governments or nondemocratic governments, where they can be more practical in terms of pursuing their national interests solely and then working with the Taliban on this basis," Webber said. The implications for Afghanistan's future and U.S. diplomacy are immense. Increased political and economic engagement could embolden the Taliban to keep their harsh policies, such as their ban on girls' education after sixth grade, experts say. It could also force Washington to reassess its dual policy of engaging and isolating the Taliban. Since the Taliban takeover, U.S. and European diplomats have held ongoing talks with Taliban officials in Qatar, where they maintain their Afghanistan embassy operations. Biden administration officials have also reportedly weighed working with the Taliban to combat the Afghan-based Islamic State Khorasan terror group, even while refusing to establish diplomatic ties. "There is going to be pressure as more governments recognize that this kind of resistance to working more closely with the Taliban doesn't hold up," Webber said. "But it will be hard to do so publicly and officially, given the humanitarian violations and problems that we see with the Taliban government." The Biden administration defends its Afghanistan policy. Asked about the Taliban's growing diplomatic footprint, a State Department spokesperson noted that no country has said that it recognizes the Taliban as the government of Afghanistan. "The Taliban seek recognition as Afghanistan's government," the spokesperson said in a statement to VOA. "The United States and the international community have been clear with the Taliban that our ability to take meaningful steps toward normalization will be based on the Taliban's own actions." These include respecting the rights of women and minorities, fulfilling anti-terror obligations and starting a political process for inclusive governance, the spokesperson said.

NAIROBI, KENYA/BEIJING — China stopped short of providing the debt relief sought by many African countries this week, but pledged $50.7 billion over three years in credit lines and investments. The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, or FOCAC, launched in 2000 took on an enhanced role after the 2013 inception of President Xi Jinping's Belt and Road Initiative, which aims to recreate the ancient Silk Road for the world's second-largest economy and biggest bilateral lender to Africa. "China is moving back on to the front foot in terms of overseas deployment of capital in the emerging markets," said Tellimer's Hasnain Malik, while adding it was not yet at pre-COVID levels. China has also sought to use FOCAC to counter growing competition in Africa from the United States, the European Union, Japan and others. In Beijing, diplomats and delegates from around the world mingled in the Great Hall of the People in Tiananmen Square as leaders from more than 50 African countries and Chinese officials led by Xi gathered for a group photo. The new financial pledge is more than what Beijing promised at the last FOCAC, in 2021, but below the $60 billion of 2015 and 2018, which marked the peak of lending to Africa under the Belt and Road Initiative. During those peak years, Beijing bankrolled the construction of roads, railways and bridges. But a drying up of funds since 2019 has left Africa with stalled construction projects. The new funds will go toward 30 infrastructure projects to improve trade links, China said, without giving details. The 54-nation continent of more than 1 billion people has an annual infrastructure funding deficit estimated at $100 billion and needs transport links to make a new giant pan-African trade bloc a reality. Beijing has in recent years cut funding for such projects as it shifted focus to "small and beautiful" projects, mainly due to its own domestic economic pressures and an increase in debt risks among African countries. Asked how the new commitments fit into China's current cautious overseas lending strategy, a foreign ministry spokesperson said there was no contradiction. "The cooperation between China and African countries, including the specific implementation of projects, is discussed and determined by both sides," Mao Ning, a foreign ministry spokesperson, told a news conference on Friday. China also said it will launch 30 clean-energy projects in Africa, offer cooperation on nuclear technology and tackle a power deficit that has delayed industrialization efforts. "The outcomes of the FOCAC summit signal an impetus for green projects and especially for renewable energy installations," said Goolam Ballim, head of research at South Africa's Standard Bank. China has become a global leader in wind and solar energy, Ballim said, controlling significant supply chains and reducing production costs. Others were skeptical. "The issue is not so much about the size of the investments, it's been about the lack of transparency around the terms of the debt," said Trang Nguyen, global head of emerging markets credit strategy at French bank BNP Paribas. Success was less clear-cut for countries owing a large share of their debt to China, which made no express offer of assistance to those struggling with repayments. Beijing instead urged other creditors "to participate in the handling and restructuring of African countries' debts under the principle of joint actions and fair burden-sharing." African leaders hoping to bask in large deals for their countries had to settle for less splashy announcements. Ethiopia and Mauritius announced new currency swap lines with China's central bank. Kenya said it made progress on talks to reopen the lending taps for key projects such as its modern railway to link the region. Still, there was optimism from some, as they welcomed China's increased commitments to Africa's security, humanitarian challenges and other nonfinancial affairs. "After nearly 70 years of hard work, China-Africa relations are at their best in history," Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu said on her X account.

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Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea — Pope Francis visited Papua New Guinea Saturday, where he called for vast natural resources to benefit the "entire community" — a politically charged demand in a nation where many believe their riches are being stolen or squandered. Addressing political and business leaders, the 87-year-old pontiff hailed his hosts as being rich in culture and in natural resources — a nod to vast reserves of gold, copper, nickel, gas and timber. But, he suggested, the tens of billions of dollars made from digging, dredging and drilling the earth needed to benefit more than a fraction of the country's 12 million people. "These goods are destined by God for the entire community," Pope Francis said. Despite its resource wealth, Papua New Guinea is one of the poorest countries in the Pacific. Between a quarter and half the population lives in extreme poverty. Scarcely more than 10% of homes have electricity. Even if "outside experts and large international companies must be involved in the harnessing of these resources," they should not be the only ones to benefit, the pope said. "It is only right that the needs of local people are given due consideration when distributing the proceeds and employing workers, to improve their living conditions," he added. It is a message likely to resonate with millions of Catholics in Papua New Guinea — and with millions more in resource-rich regions of Africa, Latin America and elsewhere. Twenty-two-year-old pilgrim Jonathan Kais, from Manus Island, welcomed the pope's remarks and said he hoped they would spur the government to provide better services. "The service we receive in our villages by our leaders at the parliament, it's not much (compared to) what they are getting from the resources of the country," he told AFP. 'Poverty hardly changed' For decades, Papua New Guinea has been dotted with vast American, Australian, Canadian, European and Chinese-run mines. A $19 billion project led by ExxonMobil has produced tens of millions of tons of liquified natural gas since operations began in 2014. But economists have found little evidence that any of the projects have helped poor Papua New Guineans. A recent World Bank study showed that between 2009 and 2018, the country's gross domestic product per person grew by more than a third on the back of the resource boom. "Poverty hardly changed over that time," the report's authors said. 'Spiral of violence' Pope Francis is on a marathon 12-day visit to the Asia-Pacific, visiting Indonesia, East Timor and Singapore as he promotes interfaith dialogue and embraces regions on the periphery of world affairs. On Saturday he also made a plea for Papua New Guineans to "stop the spiral" of tribal violence that has killed untold numbers of people and displaced tens of thousands more. "It is my particular hope that tribal violence will come to an end," he said. "It causes many victims, prevents people from living in peace and hinders development." There are few reliable estimates as to how many people have died during decades of tribal unrest between dozens of clans in the country's Highlands. But UN agencies estimate that about 100,000 people have been displaced by the cycle of retaliatory attacks, which have intensified in recent years. The murders are often extremely violent, with victims hacked by machetes, burned, mutilated or tortured. Civilians, including pregnant women and children, have been targeted in the past. An influx of mercenaries and automatic weapons has made clashes much more deadly. Where bows, spears and clubs were once the weapons of choice, now tribesmen have a veritable armory of SLR, AK-47, and M16 rifles. Papua New Guinea's stretched government has tried suppression, mediation, gun amnesties and a range of other strategies to control the situation, with little success. But experts say the violence has little to do with ancient customs and is more about the modern problems of a surging population, a breakdown in traditional rules of war, joblessness and the rising cost of living. And there is growing concern that violence is spreading to other parts of the country. In July, at least 27 people, among them 11 children, were massacred in Angoram District, not far from the northern coast.

Jerusalem — The family of a Turkish-American woman shot dead while demonstrating against Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank demanded an independent investigation into her death on Saturday, accusing the Israeli military of killing her "violently." Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, 26, was "shot in the head" while participating in a demonstration in Beita in the West Bank on Friday. "Her presence in our lives was taken needlessly, unlawfully, and violently by the Israeli military," Eygi's family said in a statement. "A U.S. citizen, Aysenur was peacefully standing for justice when she was killed by a bullet that video shows came from an Israeli military shooter. "We call on President (Joe) Biden, Vice President (Kamala) Harris, and Secretary of State (Antony) Blinken to order an independent investigation into the unlawful killing of a U.S. citizen and to ensure full accountability for the guilty parties." The Israeli military said its forces "responded with fire toward a main instigator of violent activity who hurled rocks at the forces and posed a threat to them" during the protest. Eygi was a member of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), a pro-Palestinian organization, and was in Beita on Friday for a weekly demonstration against Israeli settlements, according to ISM. In recent years, pro-Palestinian demonstrators have frequently held weekly protests against the Eviatar settlement outpost overlooking Beita, which is backed by far-right Israeli ministers. During Friday's protest, Eygi was shot in the head, according to the U.N. rights office and Rafidia hospital where she was pronounced dead. Turkey said she was killed by "Israeli occupation soldiers," with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemning the Israeli action as "barbaric." Washington called it a "tragic" event and has pressed its close ally Israel to investigate. But her family has demanded an independent probe. "Given the circumstances of Aysenur's killing, an Israeli investigation is not adequate," her family said. Her family said Eygi always advocated "an end to the violence against the people of Palestine." Israeli settlements in the West Bank, where about 490,000 people live, are illegal under international law. Since Hamas's Oct. 7 attack on Israel which triggered the war in Gaza, Israeli troops or settlers have killed more than 690 Palestinians in the West Bank, according to the Palestinian health ministry. At least 23 Israelis, including security forces, have been killed in Palestinian attacks during the same period, according to Israeli officials.

WASHINGTON — Boeing's beleaguered Starliner made its long-awaited return to Earth on Saturday without the astronauts who rode it up to the International Space Station, after NASA ruled the trip back too risky. After years of delays, Starliner launched in June for what was meant to be a roughly weeklong test mission — a final shakedown before it could be certified to rotate crew to and from the orbital laboratory. But unexpected thruster malfunctions and helium leaks en route to the ISS derailed those plans, and NASA ultimately decided it was safer to bring crewmates Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams back on a rival SpaceX Crew Dragon — though they'll have to wait until February 2025. The gumdrop-shaped Boeing capsule touched down softly at the White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico, its descent slowed by parachutes and cushioned by airbags, having departed the ISS around six hours earlier. As it streaked red-hot across the night sky, ground teams reported hearing sonic booms. The spacecraft endured temperatures of 1,650 degrees Celsius during atmospheric reentry. NASA lavished praise on Boeing during a post-flight press conference where representatives from the company were conspicuously absent. "It was a bullseye landing," said Steve Stich, program manager for NASA's commercial crew program. "The entry in particular has been darn near flawless." Still, he acknowledged that certain new issues had come to light, including the failure of a new thruster and the temporary loss of the guidance system. He added it was too early to talk about whether Starliner's next flight, scheduled for August next year, would be crewed, instead stressing NASA needed time to analyze the data they had gathered and assess what changes were required to both the design of the ship and the way it is flown. Ahead of the return leg, Boeing carried out extensive ground testing to address the technical hitches encountered during Starliner's ascent, then promised — both publicly and behind closed doors — that it could safely bring the astronauts home. In the end, NASA disagreed. Asked whether he stood by that decision, NASA's Stich said: "It's always hard to have that retrospective look. We made the decision to have an uncrewed flight based on what we knew at the time and based on our knowledge of the thrusters and based on the modeling that we had." History of setbacks Even without crew aboard, the stakes were high for Boeing, a century-old aerospace giant. With its reputation already battered by safety concerns surrounding its commercial jets, its long-term prospects for crewed space missions hung in the balance. Shortly after undocking, Starliner executed a powerful "breakout burn" to swiftly clear it from the station and prevent any risk of collision — a maneuver that would have been unnecessary if crew were aboard to take manual control if needed. Mission teams then conducted thorough checks of the thrusters required for the critical "deorbit burn" that guided the capsule onto its reentry path around 40 minutes before touchdown. Though it was widely expected that Starliner would stick the landing, as it had on two previous uncrewed tests, Boeing's program continues to languish behind schedule. In 2014, NASA awarded both Boeing and SpaceX multibillion-dollar contracts to develop spacecraft to taxi astronauts to and from the ISS, after the end of the Space Shuttle program left the US space agency reliant on Russian rockets. Although initially considered the underdog, Elon Musk's SpaceX surged ahead of Boeing, and has successfully flown dozens of astronauts since 2020. The Starliner program, meanwhile, has faced numerous setbacks -- from a software glitch that prevented the capsule from rendezvousing with the ISS during its first uncrewed test flight in 2019, to the discovery of flammable tape in the cabin after its second test in 2022, to the current troubles. With the ISS scheduled to be decommissioned in 2030, the longer Starliner takes to become fully operational, the less time it will have to prove its worth.

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Kinshasa, Congo —   Officials from the Democratic Republic of Congo will be heading home from the two-day Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Beijing with limited success in their bid to expand economic relations beyond the mineral exports that have dominated trade, analysts say. “The Chinese will continue to want to consolidate their position in Congo, including on minerals,” says Jean-Pierre Okenda, a Congolese consultant on mining issues. Although the DRC has a trade surplus with China, while most African countries have large deficits, almost all of it is from minerals China is buying to feed its manufacturers that are hungry for raw materials. The central African nation is the world’s largest producer of copper and cobalt, a metal used in electronics and a key material for batteries used in electric vehicles.  The DRC has about 70% of the planet’s cobalt reserves. Expanding trade, investment? China’s customs authority shows trade flows to the DRC dropped 13% last year to $18.75 billion compared to 2022, the vast majority of it due to China's decreased imports from the DRC, which dropped by nearly 14% to $14.27 billion. While the drop was largely due to fluctuating prices, it underscored how deeply the DRC, one of the poorest countries in the world, relies on China.   China is by far its largest single trading partner, representing nearly half of its merchandise exports and more than a quarter of its imports, according to 2022 data from the World Trade Organization. Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi was the first African leader to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping ahead of the conference. According to a statement from his office, Tshisekedi made it clear he wants to see bilateral trade expanded to other sectors “such as agriculture, renewable energy and especially industrialization through the local processing of the DRC's mineral wealth.”  China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said ahead of the forum that Xi declared his nation is ready to “deepen cooperation in agriculture, mineral products processing, vocational training and other fields.” Many in the Congolese leadership were hoping to come away from the conference with large pledges of Chinese investment in the country. Julien Paluku, the DRC’s trade minister, on Thursday published a plea for Kinshasa to be given a large chunk of the $50 billion that Xi promised at the conference to invest in Africa over the next three years. “We focused our arguments on DRC's pivotal role in the Belt and Road Initiative, highlighting its strategic location as a connectivity point from North to South and East to West across the African continent,” he wrote on X. Business climate Christian-Geraud Neema, a Congolese researcher on China-Africa relations and the Francophone Africa Editor of the China Global South Project, says complaints about the investment climate in the DRC are an issue. “There is a sort of reluctance to increase projects,” he says, referring to Chinese investments in Congo. “China will make promises, but not very committed promises.” The DRC is one of the most corrupt countries in the world, ranking 162 out of 180 countries in Transparency International’s corruption perceptions index. Chinese businesses have also come under increasing pressure under Tshisekedi’s administration, with the government working to renegotiate long-standing deals with Chinese mining firms. In January, the Congolese government concluded talks on renegotiating a deal with the Chinese consortium running Sicomines, a copper-cobalt mine in Congo’s southeast. That renegotiation saw the investors behind the consortium agree to spend a massive $7 billion on developing infrastructure, such as badly needed roads and bridges, in the DRC. Another Chinese company, CMOC, which runs the largest copper-cobalt mine in the world, situated in the DRC, agreed to pay $2 billion to the Congolese state last year after a commercial dispute. Although many analysts believe those mining deals are still favorable to China, the uncertain business environment and the costs associated with rampant corruption have caused unease, say analysts. “The operating conditions in Congo, everyone knows what they’re like,” says Okenda, explaining that Chinese firms were among the few willing to brave Congo’s tough business environment. Defense cooperation Defense is another area where some in the Congolese administration had been hoping for more cooperation in light of the country’s struggle to end the brutal conflict in eastern DRC. Tshisekedi’s office said he discussed security concerns with Xi and that he “praised China's influence on the lifting of the [U.N.] arms embargo on the DRC while it is unjustly attacked by Rwanda and M23 terrorists.” The M23, a Rwandan-backed rebel group, has captured swathes of territory in the region since launching a rebellion in late 2021, and displaced more than 1 million people from their homes. The DRC’s army, which critics say is weak and plagued with corruption, has struggled to fight back, losing battles and territory. But the DRC army did purchase nine high-tech Chinese CH-4 Rainbow attack drones, which it has used effectively in battle despite some being shot down. Jean-Pierre Bemba, who was the DRC’s defense minister before moving to the transport portfolio in April, said in Beijing this week that he hoped China and the DRC could go beyond their traditional areas of cooperation and work more closely on defense. Analysts are skeptical the defense relationship will go much further. Okenda, the mining consultant, said “China’s interest isn’t in defense,” and that Beijing's overriding concern was natural resources. Neema, the researcher, said the prospect of a minerals-for-arms deal with Chinese firms had been a vague idea for years, but that Congolese leaders had never pursued it for fear of angering the United States, another important diplomatic partner. He said that closer defense cooperation remained unlikely, unless the situation in the eastern DRC deteriorates further. “Expediting military factors could push the Congolese government to make a deal,” he said. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in their statement on Xi’s meeting with Tshisekedi indicated he made no reference to defense cooperation and gave only a boiler plate comment about working together for peace.