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As Kyiv continues its offensive inside Russia and the Russian army nears a key hub in Ukraine’s Donbas region, leaders of more than 50 nations, known as the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, met in Germany on Friday to help get Kyiv the support it seeks. VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb reports.

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 — House Republicans unveiled on Friday their legislation to avoid a partial government shutdown at the end of the month and fund the government into late March, when a new president and Congress would make the final decision on agency spending and priorities for fiscal 2025. Republicans also added a hot-button immigration issue to the measure by requiring states to obtain proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate or passport, when someone registers to vote. Inclusion of the citizenship requirement is a nonstarter in the Senate, complicating prospects for the spending bill's passage. Lawmakers are returning to Washington next week following a traditional August recess spent mostly in their home states and districts. They are not close to completing work on the dozen annual appropriations bills that will fund the agencies during the next fiscal year, so they'll need to approve a stopgap measure to prevent a shutdown when the new fiscal year begins October 1. "Today, House Republicans are taking a critically important step to keep the federal government funded and to secure our federal election process," Speaker Mike Johnson said in a statement. "Congress has a responsibility to do both, and we must ensure that only American citizens can decide American elections." Bipartisanship urged But in a joint statement, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Appropriations Committee Chair Patty Murray said avoiding a shutdown requires bipartisanship, not a bill drawn up by one party. "If Speaker Johnson drives House Republicans down this highly partisan path, the odds of a shutdown go way up, and Americans will know that the responsibility of a shutdown will be on the House Republicans' hands," Schumer and Murray said. It is a crime under federal law for a noncitizen to vote, or even register to vote, in a federal election, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. Johnson's decision to add the proof of citizenship requirement to the spending measure comes after the House Freedom Caucus called for it in a position statement last month. The group of conservatives, banking on a win by Republican nominee Donald Trump, also urged that the measure fund the government into early next year so Republicans could get more of their priorities in legislation. Some Republican leaders had wanted to pass the final spending bills by the end of this Congress so that the new president, whether it be Trump or Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, could focus more on getting staffed and pursuing their own top priorities rather than dealing with spending disagreements. Republicans say requiring proof of citizenship would ensure American elections are only for American citizens, improving confidence in the nation's federal election system. But opponents say the available evidence shows that noncitizen voting in federal elections is incredibly rare and such a requirement would disenfranchise millions of Americans who don't have the necessary documents readily available when they want to register. What remains to be seen is what happens if the bill passes the House this week and the Senate declines to take it up or votes it down. The bill would fund agencies at current levels until March 28, though there's also money to help cover additional security costs associated with Inauguration Day and $10 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency's disaster relief fund.

ASHEVILLE, north carolina — Seth Kaller, an appraiser and collector of historic documents, spreads a broad sheet of paper across a desk. It's in good enough condition that he can handle it, carefully, with clean, bare hands. There are just a few creases and tiny discolorations, even though it's just a few weeks shy of 237 years old and has spent who knows how long inside a filing cabinet in North Carolina.  At the top of the first page are familiar words but in regular type instead of the sweeping Gothic script readers are accustomed to seeing: "WE the People."  And the people will get a chance to bid for this copy of the U.S. Constitution — the only one of its type thought to be in private hands — at a sale by Brunk Auctions on September 28 in Asheville, North Carolina.  The minimum bid for the auction of $1 million has already been made. There is no minimum price that must be reached.  This copy was printed after the Constitutional Convention finished drafting the proposed framework of the nation's government in 1787 and sent it to the Congress of the ineffective first American government under the Articles of Confederation, requesting that it be sent to the states to be ratified by the people. Few copies remain  It's one of about 100 copies printed by the secretary of that Congress, Charles Thomson. Just eight are known to still exist and the other seven are publicly owned.  Thomson likely signed two copies for each of the original 13 states, essentially certifying them. They were sent to special ratifying conventions, where representatives, all white and male, wrangled for months before accepting the structure of the U.S. government that continues today.  "This is the point of connection between the government and the people. The Preamble — 'we, the people' — this is the moment the government is asking the people to empower them," auctioneer Andrew Brunk said.  What happened to the document up for auction between Thomson's signature and 2022 isn't known.  Two years ago, a property was being cleared out in Edenton in eastern North Carolina that was once owned by Samuel Johnston. He was the governor of North Carolina from 1787 to 1789 and he oversaw the state convention during his last year in office that ratified the Constitution.  The copy was found inside a squat, two-drawer metal filing cabinet with a can of stain on top, in a long-neglected room piled high with old chairs and a dusty bookcase, before the old Johnston house was preserved. The document was a broad sheet that could be folded one time like a book.  "I get calls every week from people who think they have a Declaration of Independence or a Gettysburg Address and most of the time it is just a replica, but every so often something important gets found," said Kaller, who appraises, buys and sells historic documents.  "This is a whole other level of importance," he added.  Washington letter Along with the Constitution on the broad sheet printed front and back is a letter from George Washington asking for ratification. He acknowledged there would have to be compromise and that rights the states enjoyed would have to be given up for the nation's long-term health.  "To secure all rights of independent sovereignty to each and yet provide for the interest and safety for all — individuals entering into society must give up a share of liberty to preserve the rest," wrote the man who would become the first U.S. president.  Brunk isn't sure what the document might go for because there is so little to compare it to. The last time a copy of the Constitution like this sold, it went for $400 - in 1891. In 2021, Sotheby's of New York sold one of only 14 remaining copies of the Constitution printed for the Continental Congress and delegates to the Constitutional Convention for $43.2 million, a record for a book or document.  But that document was meant to be distributed to the Founding Fathers as delegates to the Constitutional Convention. The signed copy being sold later this month was one meant to be sent to leaders in every state so people all around the country could review and decide if that's how they wanted to be governed, connecting the writers of the Constitution to the people in the states who would provide its power and legitimacy.  The auction listing doesn't identify the seller, saying it's part of a collection that is in private hands.  Other items up for auction in Asheville include a 1776 first draft of the Articles of Confederation and a 1788 Journal of the Convention of North Carolina at Hillsborough, where representatives spent two weeks debating if ratifying the Constitution would put too much power with the nation instead of the states.

Outrage over the murders of 6 hostages in Gaza, Israelis came out in droves demanding a ceasefire deal, as Prime Minister Netanyahu dug into his own demands. A conversation on the sentiment on the ground from policy expert Shira Efron with the Israel Policy Forum. Israel’s military operation in the West bank left dozens of people dead, including an American woman attending a demonstration against settlement expansion. Another warning from the U.N. on the humanitarian situation in Gaza and a conversation with a Doctors without Borders physician in Khan Younis on the polio vaccination efforts.

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.

Russian mercenaries hired to provide security in Burkina Faso began leaving the country in late August — they say to resist Ukraine's recent incursion into Russia. Data show the mercenaries have had little impact in the Sahel's war against Islamic terrorist groups. As Henry Wilkins reports, Burkina Faso saw one of the deadliest militant attacks in recent years the same week the Russians left.

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.

sao paulo, brazil — The pilots of a Brazilian passenger plane that crashed last month, killing all 62 people aboard, reported failure in the system to remove ice from the plane, according to a preliminary report made public Friday by Brazilian authorities. Investigators were careful to avoid saying this was the cause of the accident, stressing there was more work to be done. Still, their report lent further credence to aviation experts' main hypothesis: that the lift loss had been caused by ice formation on the plane's wings and failure of its deicing system. Weather reports from the day of the accident predicted ice formation in the region where the plane went down. Audio from the cockpit's voice recorder included comments from pilots indicating ice was accumulating and the deicing system was failing, Paulo Froes, an investigator in the air force's center for the investigation and prevention of air accidents, told reporters in Brasilia. "There are still many doubts. This accident shouldn't have happened, not in the conditions in which the plane was flying and was being operated. It had protection equipment," Carlos Henrique Baldin, head of the center's investigation division, told reporters. Operated by the airline Voepass, the flight departed August 9 from the city of Cascavel, in Parana state, bound for Sao Paulo's Guarulhos international airport. It crashed into the backyard of a home in a gated community in the city of Vinhedo, about 80 kilometers northwest of Sao Paulo. Footage of the ATR 72 twin-engine turboprop plunging while in a flat spin horrified people across Brazil.

NAIROBI, Kenya — A fire in a school dormitory in Kenya has killed 18 students and 27 others have been hospitalized, with 70 children unaccounted for, the country's deputy president said Friday. President William Ruto declared three days of mourning during which flags will be flown at half-staff in honor of the children who died. Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua said only 86 out of more than 150 children had been accounted for, and urged community members who may have sheltered some of them to help account for them. Gachagua said that one more student had died at the hospital and that 37 pupils had been reunited with their parents so far. The cause of the fire Thursday night at Hillside Endarasha Primary school in Nyeri County was being investigated, police spokesperson Resila Onyango said. The school serves children up to the age of 14. Nyeri County Commissioner Pius Murugu and the education ministry reported that the dormitory that caught fire housed more than 150 boys between ages 10 and 14. Since most of the buildings are made from wooden planks, the fire spread quickly. The mixed, day and boarding private school, which has 824 students, is located 200 kilometers (125 miles) north of the capital, Nairobi, in the country's central highlands, where wooden structures are common. Nyeri County Gov. Mutahi Kahiga told journalists that rescue efforts were hampered by muddy roads caused by rain in the area. Anxious parents who had been unable to find their children among the survivors waited at the school, engulfed with grief. The parents were overcome by emotions after they were allowed to view the scene of the fire. John Rukwaro told journalists that his 11-year-old grandson was missing, and he had checked with area hospitals without success. The education ministry's permanent secretary, Belio Kipsang, said that the government was working with the school administration to account for all the children in the boarding section. "We are asking the parents who picked up their children and the community to support us as we consolidate the numbers to ensure that we account for every child who was boarding in this school," he said. Ruto called the news "devastating." "I instruct relevant authorities to thoroughly investigate this horrific incident. Those responsible will be held to account," he said in an X post, formerly known as Twitter. His deputy, Rigathi Gachagua, urged school administrators to ensure that safety guidelines recommended by the education ministry for boarding schools are being followed. School fires are common in Kenyan boarding schools, often caused by arson fueled by drug abuse and overcrowding, according to a recent education ministry report. Many students board because parents believe it gives them more time to study without long commutes. Some fires have been started by students during protests over the workload or living conditions. In 2017, 10 high school students died in a school fire in Nairobi started by a student. Kenya's deadliest school fire in recent history was in 2001 when 67 students died in a dormitory fire in Machakos county. The education ministry's guidelines recommend that dormitories should be spacious enough and have two doors on each end, an emergency door in the middle and that windows aren't fitted with grills to allow for escape in case of a fire. Fully serviced fire extinguishers and fire alarms are required at easily accessible spots. It wasn't immediately clear if these guidelines were followed at Hillside school and the area near the dormitory has remained cordoned off.

A Russian missile strike on the historic Ukrainian town of Lviv on September 4 killed at least seven people and damaged parts of the city’s historic downtown. On Thursday, rebuilding began, even as the city mourned the dead. Omelyan Oshchudlyak reports. Camera: Yuriy Dankevych.

washington — A South Korean senior official has rekindled debate over the U.S. commitment to that nation's defense, bringing up the possibility of the U.S. rolling back its nuclear umbrella if former President Donald Trump is reelected. Kim Tae-hyo, South Korea's deputy national security director, said in a Seoul forum Tuesday the reelection of Trump could "weaken a U.S. nuclear umbrella" designed to protect South Korea from North Korean aggression. "Trump as candidate can be seen as pursuing transactional benefits in terms of the South Korea-U.S. alliance," Kim said, according to news reports. "It is not unlikely that he would suggest negotiating defense cost-sharing or the deployment of U.S. strategic assets from a cost perspective." Skepticism about America's willingness and capability to protect South Korea from a North Korean nuclear attack has grown among South Koreans as North Korea's nuclear and missile programs become increasingly sophisticated. A recent poll by South Korea's Institute of National Unification revealed that 66% of respondents supported the country having its own nuclear weapons. Concern over commitment Gary Samore, former White House coordinator for arms control and weapons of mass destruction during the Obama administration, said Kim's remarks reflect widespread concern among U.S. allies. There is a concern that "Trump, if reelected, would pursue policies that will weaken U.S. alliances around the world, including in Europe and East Asia," Samore told VOA Korean Wednesday via email. "In the case of Korea, Trump might seek to resume summit diplomacy with Kim Jong Un and make concessions that weaken the U.S.-ROK alliance, as he did at the Singapore summit in June 2018," Samore said. ROK stands for Republic of Korea, the official name for South Korea. According to the joint statement released after the 2018 summit, Trump "committed to provide security guarantees" to North Korea, while the North Korean leader reaffirmed "commitment to complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula." "However, I think it's premature to predict exactly what policies President Trump will adopt toward Korea if he is reelected," Samore added. "There are too many uncertainties, including, for example, who President Trump appoints for his top foreign policy and defense positions." Michael O'Hanlon, director of foreign policy research at the Brookings Institution in Washington, told VOA Korean Tuesday via email the South Korean official's assessment of Trump is justifiable. "I think the official is correct," O'Hanlon said, adding Trump could take steps to address this concern. "I do not know if he will." 'Treat us properly,' says Trump Trump has often complained that U.S. allies do not pay the U.S. enough for bases and troops used in their defense. In an April interview with Time magazine, Trump said, "I want South Korea to treat us properly," suggesting he would demand that South Korea pay more for the American troops stationed there. But Frederick Fleitz, who served as chief of staff of the National Security Council in the Trump White House, told VOA Korean by phone Tuesday that Trump's reelection is not likely to affect the U.S. nuclear umbrella. Making clear that he was speaking for himself, not for Trump, Fleitz said the former president "was a strong friend of Japan, South Korea and Taiwan when he was in office last time and he'll be a strong friend again." "Why would there be such a big change in a second Trump term when he didn't do that in the first term?" Fleitz asked. "The second Trump administration, concerning South Korea, will be countering the threat from North Korea and this new axis relationship between China, Russia, North Korea and Iran." Fleitz stressed there is no evidence to suggest Trump would link the defense cost-sharing with offering a nuclear umbrella, adding discussions on how much South Korea pays for U.S. troops in South Korea will not be a "deal breaker" for the second Trump administration. "It is an issue that will be resolved among friends," he said. "The security threats in the region are so severe — I think that's what the U.S. will focus on." Redeployment of nukes Robert Peters, a fellow for nuclear deterrence and missile defense at the Heritage Foundation, told VOA Korean Tuesday via email it is "far more likely" that America's extended deterrence commitment to South Korea would strengthen during a second Trump term. Peters said a second Trump administration could consider redeploying U.S. tactical nuclear weapons to the Korean Peninsula, due to the threats coming from North Korea and China. "I think a second Trump administration would field SLCM-N [nuclear-armed, sea-launched cruise missiles] in the near term and potentially reintroduce American nuclear weapons to South Korea as a means to assure the ROK, deter North Korea and strengthen regional stability," said Peters. Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, is widely expected to inherit incumbent President Joe Biden's Asia policies should she win the election. The Biden administration is not considering the redeployment of tactical nuclear weapons to South Korea. In 1991, the U.S. withdrew from South Korea all its nuclear weapons, roughly 100 in number, according to some studies. "The United States does not assess returning nuclear weapons to the Indo-Pacific as necessary at this time," a State Department spokesperson said in an emailed statement on May 31 in response to a VOA Korean inquiry. "The United States has no plans to forward deploy nuclear weapons to the Korean Peninsula." In April 2023, Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol adopted the Washington Declaration, in which the U.S. declared that its commitment to the defense of South Korea will be backed by the full range of U.S. capabilities, including nuclear. During this week's high-level security talks between the U.S. and South Korea, the Biden administration reiterated its commitment to defend South Korea with nuclear weapons if necessary to deter attacks from North Korea. "We reaffirm the U.S. extended deterrence commitment to the ROK using the full range of U.S. defense capabilities, and that any DPRK [North Korea] nuclear attack on the United States or its allies and partners is unacceptable and will result in the end of that regime," Bonnie Jenkins, U.S. undersecretary of state for arms control and international security,  told reporters after Wednesday's talks. VOA Korean contacted the Trump campaign and asked what Trump's stance is on the U.S. nuclear umbrella offered to South Korea, but did not receive a reply by the time this article was published.

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WASHINGTON — A Pakistani citizen living in Canada was arrested Wednesday and charged with planning an attack in New York City in support of the Islamic State group, the Department of Justice said Friday.  Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, 20, is accused of plotting a mass shooting at a Jewish center in Brooklyn around October 7, 2024, nearly one year after Hamas' attack that killed about 1,200 people in Israel.  U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said Khan, who is also known as Shahzeb Jadoon, aimed to kill "as many Jewish people as possible."   Khan attempted to travel from Canada to the United States, where he intended to use automatic and semiautomatic weapons to carry out the attack, according to the indictment.  He was arrested in Canada, just 19 kilometers from the U.S. border.  Khan told two undercover law enforcement officers of his plans to create "a real offline cell" of Islamic State supporters to carry out an attack, the indictment alleged.   He instructed them to obtain AR-style assault rifles, ammunition and other materials to carry out the attacks, and he identified specific locations where the attacks would take place.  Khan targeted New York City because it has "the largest Jewish population in America," prosecutors said.  "We are deeply grateful to our Canadian partners for their critical law enforcement actions in this matter. Jewish communities — like all communities in this country — should not have to fear that they will be targeted by a hate-fueled terrorist attack," Garland said in a statement.  Khan faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

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