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As the U.S. Presidential election draws near, we highlight the alarming rise in foreign interference and manipulation threatening the integrity of our democratic process. Meanwhile, in Ukraine, the war intensifies with Russia's recent attacks targeting a hospital, raising global security concerns. This week on The Inside Story: USA – Votes 2024 & A Free Press Matters.

Los Angeles — Hunter Biden plans to change his "not guilty" plea in his federal tax case, his defense attorney said Thursday just as jury selection was set to begin. Defense attorney Abbe Lowell told the judge about Hunter Biden's plans to change his previous plea, just months after the president's son was convicted of gun charges in a separate case, but did not provide further details. The latest case accuses Hunter Biden of a four-year scheme to avoid paying at least $1.4 million in taxes while pulling in millions of dollars from foreign business entities. He is already facing potential prison time after a Delaware jury convicted him in June of lying on a 2018 federal form to purchase a gun that he possessed for 11 days. Hunter Biden walked into the courtroom holding hands with his wife, Melissa Cohen Biden, and flanked by Secret Service agents. Initially, he pleaded not guilty to the charges related to his 2016 through 2019 taxes and his attorneys have indicated they will argue he didn't act "willfully," or with the intention to break the law, in part because of his well-documented struggles with alcohol and drug addiction. Hunter Biden had agreed to plead guilty to misdemeanor tax offenses last year in a deal with the Justice Department that would allow him to avoid prosecution in the gun case if he stayed out of trouble. But the agreement imploded after a judge questioned unusual aspects of it, and he was subsequently indicted in the two cases. His decision to change his plea came after the judge issued some unfavorable pre-trial rulings for the defense, including rejecting a proposed defense expert lined up to testify about addiction. U.S. District Judge Mark Scarsi, who was appointed to the bench by former President Donald Trump, placed some restrictions on what jurors would be allowed to hear about the traumatic events that Hunter Biden's family, friends and attorneys say led to his drug addiction. The judge barred attorneys from connecting his substance abuse struggles to the 2015 death of his brother Beau Biden from cancer or the car accident that killed his mother and sister when he was a toddler. The indictment alleged that Hunter Biden lived lavishly while flouting the tax law, spending his cash on things like strippers and luxury hotels — "in short, everything but his taxes." Hunter Biden's attorneys had asked Scarsi to also limit prosecutors from highlighting details of his expenses that they say amount to a "character assassination," including payments made to strippers or pornographic websites. The judge has said in court papers that he will maintain "strict control" over the presentation of potentially salacious evidence. Prosecutors could have presented more details of Hunter Biden's overseas dealings, which have been at the center of Republican investigations into the Biden family often seeking — without evidence— to tie the president to an alleged influence peddling scheme. The special counsel's team has said it wants to tell jurors about Hunter Biden's work for a Romanian businessman, who they say sought to "influence U.S. government policy" while Joe Biden was vice president. The defense accused prosecutors of releasing details about Hunter Biden's work for the Romanian in court papers to drum up media coverage and taint the jury pool. Sentencing in Hunter Biden's Delaware conviction is set for Nov. 13. He could face up to 25 years in prison, but as a first-time offender, he is likely to get far less time or avoid prison entirely.

Washington — Efforts by Beijing to limit Taiwan's participation in the recently concluded Pacific Islands Forum underscore the intense and ongoing tug-of-war between Western democracies and China for influence in the region, analysts say. During the Pacific Islands Forum, or PIF, which wrapped up Friday, Beijing ally Solomon Islands tried unsuccessfully to block Taiwan from future participation. Then, on Saturday, the PIF removed a reference to Taiwan in its final communique after Beijing's top Pacific diplomat expressed outrage at its inclusion. The communique originally reaffirmed a 30-year-old agreement allowing Taiwan to take part in the PIF. That wording was later removed. Beijing's communist leaders insist that democratically ruled Taiwan is a part of China and have worked for decades to limit the island's participation in international organizations. After the references to Taiwan were removed, Taiwan's Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday, "Taiwan issued the strongest condemnation on China's arbitrary intervention and unreasonable actions that undermine regional peace and stability.” However, the ministry said the revision did not undermine Taiwan’s status at the forum or prevent it from participating in the future. Asia Group senior adviser Kathryn Paik, who helped lead the creation of the first U.S.-Pacific Islands Forum Summit while at the U.S. National Security Council, said that while Taiwan's status as a development partner is still solid, what happened highlights the intensity of Beijing's efforts in the region. "China has made gaining access and influence in the Pacific a top priority in recent years, sending savvy diplomats to the region. In fact, China currently has vastly more diplomats on the ground in more countries than the United States, outnumbering the U.S. in almost every location," Paik told VOA. "The pushback on the Solomon Islands' attempt — which was transparently an attempt by China — to remove Taiwan as a development partner to the PIF demonstrated the high regard that many nations have for Taiwan's contributions to Pacific development." PIF officials did not explain why Taiwan was removed from the communique but stressed that the PIF would continue to welcome Taiwan at its regional meetings. Nikkei Asia reported that Chinese Special Envoy for the Pacific Qian Bo told reporters Friday the reference was “a mistake” that “should be corrected.” "Taiwan is part of China. Taiwan is not a dialogue partner of PIF, so China has the representation on behalf of the whole China, including Taiwan and the mainland," Qian said. VOA reached out to the Chinese Embassy in Washington and the Solomon Islands for comment but has yet to receive a response. Partnership through 2027 On Sunday, Taiwan announced an agreement with the Pacific Islands to extend the development partnership through 2027, according to a Foreign Ministry statement. The statement also highlighted programs Taiwan has supported in the Pacific Islands, efforts that have focused on areas such as agriculture, education, medical care, communications technology, women's empowerment and basic infrastructure. Commenting Tuesday on China's efforts at the PIF, the U.S. State Department backed Taiwan's continued right to attend regional meetings. "The PRC's efforts to pressure Pacific Island countries to remove this reference fit a pattern of PRC coercion to constrain Taiwan's international position," a State Department spokesperson told VOA, using an abbreviation of the country’s formal name, the People’s Republic of China. "Taiwan is a highly capable, engaged, democratic and responsible member of the global community." US Pacific territories While China and the United States maintain status as partner nations in the PIF, U.S. territories Guam and American Samoa were granted status as associate members during last week's meetings. Although they do not have voting rights, they will be able to provide speakers at plenary sessions and nominate members to PIF working groups. "The United States supports the U.S. Pacific territories' increased participation in the PIF and greater connectivity with PIF members," a State Department spokesperson told VOA. The Asia Group's Paik said that having two U.S. territories "more tightly knit into the Pacific community" further reinforces that the U.S. is a Pacific nation and opens opportunities for the U.S. to influence decision-making at the forum. Ivan Kanapathy, a former deputy senior director for Asian affairs at the National Security Council, agrees. "This will provide more allied voices and reduce PRC influence, which often relies on elite capture," said Kanapathy, an adjunct professor at Georgetown University. He added: "Washington must convince the region that it is willing to impose real costs on Beijing — more than just diplomatic statements." Some information for this report came from Reuters.

ISLAMABAD — As monsoon season nears its end in Pakistan, higher than average rainfall and rain-related accidents leave behind a trail of deaths, nearly half of them children. Monsoon season runs from July to September in Pakistan. Since the beginning of July, the country has counted at least 337 rain-related deaths, according to the National Disaster Management Authority. One-hundred-seventy children are among the dead. Thousands also have been displaced as floodwaters inundated villages. Pakistan’s meteorological department recorded rains 60% higher than average in the first two months of the monsoon season. August saw 137% more rain than the month’s average after slightly below average rainfall in July. Weather officials expect mostly normal rainfall in September. The data shows that rainfall patterns in Pakistan are changing. “The shift that we are seeing is that monsoon used to go to the upper areas, that trend is lessening a bit,” Sahibzad Khan, director general of PMD, told VOA. “Now it’s shifting more to the south.” Rain that was twice as heavy as normal battered Pakistan’s two southern provinces, Sindh and Balochistan, over the last two months, while the northern, mountainous regions saw average-to-below-average rain, according to the national weather agency. Just in Sindh, 72,000 children saw their education disrupted by the severe weather, Save the Children said in a statement Wednesday. Despite heavy rains, flooding, and displacement in parts of the country, experts say Pakistan escaped extensive damage this monsoon season, partly because of lessons learned from the devastating floods in 2022. “We are working more on anticipatory approaches. Looking at past patterns, we are predicting the scale and velocity of upcoming floods,” said Shafqat Munir Ahmad, deputy executive director of the Resilience Development Program and Policy Outreach at the Sustainable Development Policy Institute in Islamabad. In 2022, historic rains submerged nearly a third of the country at one time, affecting 33 million Pakistanis and causing nearly $30 billion in damage. Since then, Pakistan incorporated technology to plan scenarios and issue early severe weather warnings to communities, said Ahmad, adding that improved coordination and response time also reduced damage. This year, Pakistan also used lightning detectors that China provided last year. “China has collaborated with us. With their help, we have 26 lightning detector stations that tell us about the type and severity of lightning and thunder,” said weather chief Khan. Pakistan still lacks sufficient long-term planning, however, to tackle the impact of climate change, experts say. The Germany-based Global Climate Risk Index ranks Pakistan the 8th most vulnerable country. A web app created at the University of Maryland that predicts what a city’s weather will be like in 60 years shows summers and winters in several Pakistani cities will be much warmer than they are at present. While projects to mitigate climate change may attract funding, Ahmad said efforts to help vulnerable communities adapt to changing climate lack necessary financial support in Pakistan. Several communities across the South Asian nation are still awaiting funds to rebuild homes devastated by the 2022 weather calamity. Just last July, the Asian Development Bank approved a $400 million loan to fund the reconstruction of homes and infrastructure in Sindh. At a donor conference in January 2023, donors pledged more than $9 billion to help Pakistan build back after the 2022 floods. Still, the country has barely tapped the funds that were largely designated as project loans. As authorities and charitable organizations rush to provide food, water and shelter to communities displaced by this year’s rains and floods, Save the Children urged increased support to prevent the current impact of the floods from becoming long-term problems. “Governments must tackle the underlying causes of these climate driven disasters, including channeling funding and support to children and their families in Pakistan to adapt, recover and rebuild their lives,” the statement said, quoting country director Khuram Gondal.

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.

Despite global efforts to stop the practice of female genital mutilation, the harmful tradition continues to affect the lives and health of millions of women and girls in Somalia. Reporter Najib Ahmed has this story from the capital, Mogadishu, narrated by Anthony LaBruto. (Camera and Produced by: Abdulkadir Zuber)

Washington — Ukraine faces wildly different prospects under a potential Trump or Harris presidency — but analysts say it's clear Kyiv is not waiting for November to let its fate be decided. Still, in this ancient capital that is no stranger to the whims of foreign powers, analysts seem to view a possible re-run of a Donald Trump administration with ambivalence. "There is a prevailing opinion that the return of Trump to the White House is not the best scenario for Ukraine," said Oleksii Melnyk, of the foreign relations and international security program at the Razumkov Center, a research institution. "Although there are also cautious opinions that everything may not be that bad." Trump has said he'll swiftly end the war, although his running mate, vice presidential candidate JD Vance, once said he "doesn't really care" about Ukraine. This makes a future Kamala Harris administration more of a wild card to this nation that knows Trump and President Joe Biden so well. Harris has met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and represented Biden at major transatlantic security summits. But on the campaign trail, Harris has only briefly spotlighted Ukraine — and how she differs from Trump. Trump "encouraged [Russian President Vladimir] Putin to invade our allies, said Russia could, quote, do whatever the hell they want. Five days before Russia attacked Ukraine, I met with President Zelenskyy to warn him about Russia's plan to invade," she said at last month's Democratic National Convention. "I helped mobilize a global response — over 50 countries to defend against Putin's aggression. And as president, I will stand strong with Ukraine and our NATO allies." Analysts say none of this is surprising. Harris is likely to follow Biden's "Support-Ukraine" playbook, they say, adding that Trump's broad foreign policy pronouncements remain as vague as ever, such as Trump's promise that he'll end the war in one day. "It's not entirely clear how he'll do that," said Andrew Payne, a lecturer in foreign policy and security at City St. George's, University of London. "The fear, of course, is that he'll do it by simply abandoning Ukraine, cutting off funds and pressuring Zelenskyy into negotiations at a time when Putin would enjoy all of the bargaining leverage." Ukraine shows renewed confidence But, Payne said, the battlefield has shifted with Ukrainian forces' recent decision to strike across the border and take a bite of Russian territory. This development is something that stuck with John Herbst, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, on a recent visit there. "Without a doubt, our chief impression was the energy and renewed confidence Ukraine's bold strike into Russia has provided the country's leadership and people," Herbst wrote in the Atlantic Council late last month. "They see the seizure of more than 460 square miles of Russian territory and the capture of hundreds of Russian soldiers as a clear victory, one that has changed the international conversation from a focus on peace talks or a cease-fire in place largely on Kremlin terms; they recognize that Russian President Vladimir Putin's notion of a cease-fire in place is now much less attractive to the Kremlin." Biden still a factor While analysts widely predict that Ukraine will neither seek to hold let alone succeed in holding this land permanently, it's a bargaining chip that will help Kyiv, whomever wins. And, Payne said, Biden could also put his hand on the scale at a pivotal stage. "I wouldn't be expecting any shift in the U.S. position vis-a-vis Ukraine's military operations before November, but I would be watching between November and January — whatever the outcome — to see if there is a little bit more leash given to Kyiv," he said. And he said Ukraine's leader has bolstered his relationships with European leaders and broadened his support. Herbst also pointed to how a lame-duck Biden could give Kyiv a shot in the arm. "Biden should also use his last months in office to reach out to Republican leaders in Congress to pass one last aid bill for Ukraine during his administration," he wrote. Anna Chernikova contributed to this report from Kyiv.

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LONDON — Disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein won't face charges of indecent assault in Britain, prosecutors announced on Thursday. The Crown Prosecution Service, which in 2022 authorized two charges of indecent assault against Weinstein, said it decided to discontinue proceedings because there was "no longer a realistic prospect of conviction.'' "We have explained our decision to all parties,'' the CPS said in a statement. ''We would always encourage any potential victims of sexual assault to come forward and report to police, and we will prosecute wherever our legal test is met." Weinstein became the most prominent villain of the #MeToo movement in 2017 when women began to go public with accounts of his behavior. After the revelations emerged, British police said they were investigating multiple allegations of sexual assault that reportedly took place between the 1980s and 2015. In June 2022, the Crown Prosecution Service said it had authorized London's Metropolitan Police Service to file two charges of indecent assault against Weinstein in relation to an alleged incident that occurred in London in 1996. The victim was in her 50s at the time of the announcement. Unlike many other countries, Britain does not have a statute of limitations for rape or sexual assault. Weinstein, who has denied that he raped or sexually assaulted anyone, remains in custody in New York while awaiting retrial in Manhattan, prosecutors said in August. After the retrial, he is due to start serving a 16-year sentence in California for a separate rape conviction in Los Angeles, authorities said. Weinstein was convicted in Los Angeles in 2022 while already serving a 23-year sentence in New York. His 2020 conviction in Manhattan was thrown out earlier this year when the state's top court ruled that the judge in the original trial unfairly allowed testimony against Weinstein based on allegations that weren't part of the case. Weinstein, the co-founder of the Miramax entertainment company and The Weinstein Company film studio, was once one of the most powerful people in Hollywood, having produced films such as "Pulp Fiction" and "The Crying Game."

Dhaka, Bangladesh — Thousands of students and others on Thursday rallied in Bangladesh's capital to mark one month since former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted from power by a mass uprising initially led by students over a quota system for government jobs. Hasina fled to India on Aug. 5 after weeks of violence left more than 600 people dead, including students. The uprising ended the 15-year-rule of the country's longest-serving prime minister who began a fourth consecutive term in January following an election boycotted by the major opposition parties, who questioned the credibility of the electoral process. The demonstrators chanted slogans such as "Where is Hasina? Bury her, bury her!" and "Hasina-Modi, warning, be careful!" or "Naraye Takbeer, Allahu Akbar." They were referring Narendra Modi, India's prime minister, as Hasina is known to be a trusted ally of India. Many protesters do not like India for promoting Hinduism and demonstrating what they see as a big brotherly dominance, and condemned it for sheltering Hasina. The central procession, styled as a "shaheedi march" or "procession for the martyrs" began from the Dhaka University campus and marched through streets. In addition to the many Bangladeshi flags, some participants carried a giant Palestinian flag. Tens of thousands joined rallies across the Muslim-majority nation of 170 million people. In Dhaka's Uttara neighborhood, thousands of school and madrasah students in uniform took part in processions, chanting anti-Hasina slogans. Some carried banners and placards, reading "We want Hasina's execution" and "We want reforms of the state." Thursday's development came as Bangladesh was returning to normalcy after the protests, despite challenges such as a struggling economy. An interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, who had a frosty relationship with Hasina for many years, has prioritized law and order to stabilize the country. Yunus in an interview with the Press Trust of India, or PTI, news agency released Thursday said that Hasina should stay quiet, and that her political remarks from India are an "unfriendly gesture." The protesters and other opponents of Hasina want her and her associates to stand trial for mass killings during the demonstrations that began in July. "If India wants to keep her until the time Bangladesh wants her back, the condition would be that she has to keep quiet," the PTI quoted Yunus as saying. "No one is comfortable with her stance there in India because we want her back to try her. She is there in India and at times she is talking, which is problematic ... No one likes it," he said. Yunus was apparently referring to Hasina's statement on August 13 in which she demanded "justice", saying those involved in recent "terror acts", killings and vandalism must be investigated, identified and punished. Yunus' administration is reorganizing police, bureaucracy and other state institutions to take control amid reports of violence and continuing unrest. Days of street protests by garment workers and other industries forced owners to shut their factories for days before they restarted their operations on Thursday amid heightened security in two major industrial hubs outside Dhaka. Also, media reports said that a young Hindu man was beaten on Wednesday by a Muslim mob in the presence of security officials in the southwestern Khulna region after he allegedly posted derogatory comments online about the Prophet Muhammad. The country's two leading Bengali-language dailies, Prothom Alo and Samakal, reported online that the man, named as Sri Utso, was lynched by the mob, but they later removed the stories from their websites and republished new versions, saying that he did not die and was now receiving medical treatment. The reports provided no further details about the whereabouts of the 22-year-old man. The military's Inter Service Public Relations office in a statement later Thursday said that the soldiers rescued Utso after an angry mob attacked him inside the office of a senior police official. It said he survived and was out of danger, and he would be handed over to police for legal actions against him. Yunus in the interview with the PTI refuted earlier reports that the Hindu minority had been targeted since Hasina's fall. Modi had also earlier voiced concern over the reports of attacks on Hindus. Yunus said the issue of attacks on minority Hindus in Bangladesh is "exaggerated" and questioned the manner in which India projected it. He said the attacks on minorities in Bangladesh are more political than communal: he described them as the fallout of political upheaval as there is a perception that most Hindus supported the now-deposed Awami League regime of Sheikh Hasina.

This week on The Inside Story, we highlight the alarming rise in foreign interference and manipulation threatening the integrity of the U.S. presidential election. Meanwhile, in Ukraine, the war intensifies with Russia's recent attacks targeting a hospital, raising global security concerns.

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 — A judge will hear arguments Thursday about the potential next steps in the federal election subversion prosecution of Donald Trump in the first hearing since the Supreme Court narrowed the case by ruling that former presidents are entitled to broad immunity from criminal charges. Prosecutors and defense lawyers submitted dueling proposals late Friday before the status conference. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan is presiding over the case that charges Trump with plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 election in the run-up to the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Trump is not expected to be present, and it was not immediately clear whether Chutkan will make any rulings Thursday. Special counsel Jack Smith's team filed a new indictment last week to strip out certain allegations against Trump, the Republican nominee for president, and comply with the Supreme Court ruling. His team said it could be ready at any time to file a legal brief laying out its position on how to apply the justices' immunity opinion to the case.  Defense lawyers said they intend to file multiple motions to dismiss the case, including one that piggybacks off a Florida judge's ruling that said Smith's appointment was unconstitutional. Neither side envisions a trial happening before the November election, especially given the amount of work ahead. Chutkan is tasked with determining which of the acts alleged in the indictment can remain part of the case in light of the Supreme Court opinion. The justices in July ruled that former presidents enjoy absolute immunity for the exercise of their core constitutional duties and are presumptively immune from prosecution for all other official acts.  Smith's team responded to the ruling with a revised indictment last week that removed references to Trump's efforts to use the law enforcement powers of the Justice Department to remain in power, an area of conduct for which the Supreme Court said Trump is immune.  The case is one of two federal prosecutions against Trump. The other, charging him with illegally hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, was dismissed in July by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon. She said Smith's appointment as special counsel was unlawful. Smith's team has appealed that ruling. Trump's lawyers say they intend to ask Chutkan to dismiss the election case on the same grounds. 

Munich — Police in Munich exchanged fire with a man on Thursday, fatally wounding the suspect in an area near a museum on the city's Nazi-era history and the Israeli Consulate. According to a police spokesperson, officers were alerted to a person carrying a "long gun" in the Karolinenplatz area, near downtown Munich, at around 9 a.m. There was then an exchange of shots in which the suspect sustained fatal injuries, but there no was no indication that anyone else was hurt, spokesperson Andreas Franken told reporters.  There was no immediate information on the suspect's identity or on any motive, Franken said. The man, who was carrying an old make of firearm with a repeating mechanism, died at the scene. Bavaria's top security official, state Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann, said the suspect had opened fire at police and they returned fire. It was unclear whether the incident was in any way related to the 52nd anniversary Thursday of the attack by Palestinian militants on the Israeli delegation at the 1972 Munich Olympics, which ended with the death of 11 Israeli team members, a West German police officer and five of the assailants. Police said there was no evidence of any more suspects connected to the incident. They increased their presence in the city, Germany's third-biggest, but said they had no indication of incidents at any other locations or of any other suspects. Five officers were at the scene at the time the gunfire erupted. Police later deployed to the area in force. Israel's Foreign Ministry said the consulate in Munich was closed when the shooting occurred and that none of its staff had been hurt. The nearby Munich Documentation Center for the History of National Socialism, which opened in 2015 and explores the city's past as the birthplace of the Nazi movement, also said all of its employees were unharmed. Israeli President Isaac Herzog said he spoke with German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier. He wrote on the social media platform X that "together we expressed our shared condemnation and horror" at the shooting. Speaking at an unrelated news conference in Berlin, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser described Thursday's shooting as "a serious incident" but said she didn't want to speculate on what had happened.  She reiterated that "the protection of Jewish and Israeli facilities has the highest priority."

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.

Paris — President Emmanuel Macron named EU former Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier as France's new prime minister on Thursday after more than 50 days of caretaker government. The appointment of the 73-year-old Barnier follows weeks of intense efforts by Macron and his aides to find a candidate who might be able to build loose groupings of backers in parliament and survive possible attempts by Macron's opponents to quickly topple the new government that Barnier will now put together and lead. A statement from Macron's office announcing Barnier's appointment said he'd been tasked "with forming a unifying government to serve the country and the French people." "This appointment comes after an unprecedented cycle of consultations during which, in accordance with his constitutional duty, the President ensured that the Prime Minister and the future government would meet the conditions to be as stable as possible and give themselves the chances of uniting as broadly as possible," the statement said. 

Beijing — Hundreds of African political and business leaders filed into China's Great Hall of the People on Thursday eager to forge new partnerships, sign contracts and make industry connections. "Business is business, we'll buy from anywhere. In China, the price is right," Abakar Tahir Moussa, a Chadian construction firm owner, told AFP, showing off the business card of a potential new Chinese partner.  He hoped to use the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, which ends on Friday, to partner with Chinese firms on road and bridge projects. "I'm here to make contacts and get more business," Moussa said after he joined thousands of delegates from more than 50 countries at the forum's colorful opening ceremony. A housing developer from Burkina Faso, who asked not to be identified, said Chinese products were "cheaper than elsewhere." "We buy everything from China: lights, air conditioning, wires... The only thing we get elsewhere is cement," he told AFP outside the hall.  "If you want quality you can get quality (in China), and even the quality things are cheap," he said, kicking off his shoes and clutching a smartphone with a gold case. Bustling Beijing The atmosphere was hopeful and friendly ahead of meetings that many Africans hoped would spur much-needed development and investment back home. Leaders and their entourages from across Africa have flown in to Beijing since Saturday, keeping President Xi Jinping busy with bilateral meetings all week. South African leader Cyril Ramaphosa and Nigerian president Bola Ahmed Tinubu heaped praise on their Chinese hosts, even over the food served at a lavish banquet thrown by Xi on Wednesday evening. Broad-shouldered security guards in dark sunglasses kept watch outside the hall as delegates entered through airport-style X-ray machines.  Security around the capital has been tight all week with the steady arrival of heads of state. Passengers arriving at Beijing train stations have faced enhanced security checks, while authorities have increased scrutiny of vehicles entering the city through traffic checkpoints. Hotels have been booked out all week and surrounded by armed guards and new metal fences. Bars in Sanlitun, a central shopping and nightlife district, have been packed with visitors from across Africa. Xi pledged more than $50 billion in financing for Africa over the next three years -- more than half of it in credit -- telling delegates at the opening ceremony that China was "ready to deepen cooperation with African countries." China is Africa's largest trading partner and its loans have helped build much-needed infrastructure, but they have sometimes also stoked controversy by saddling governments with huge debts. Yet many delegates seemed hopeful that China, which seeks to tap Africa's vast natural resources, could help their countries develop.  The Burkina Faso developer said Chinese investment had been "good for the economy" and "improved people's lives", while increased trade meant there were "many more things for people to buy." "I hope the forum will improve relations even further and bring more cooperation."