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Tunis, tunisia — Tunisia's electoral commission rejected a court ruling Monday reinstating three presidential candidates and police arrested another candidate in what opposition critics said was another example of President Kais Saied stifling competition. Defying the highest judicial body, the commission approved only the candidacies of Saied and two others, Zouhair Magzhaoui and Ayachi Zammel, for the Oct. 6 presidential election. "The commission is the only body constitutionally entrusted with the integrity of election," Farouk Bouasker the head of electoral commission said. Earlier Monday, police arrested Zammel, a member of his campaign told Reuters. The campaign member said the arrest appeared aimed at distracting him from his campaign. The developments could shake the credibility of the vote and deepen a political crisis that has been escalating since 2021, when Saied began ruling by decree in a move the opposition described as a coup. Last week, the Administrative Court, the highest judicial body that adjudicates electoral disputes, reinstated three prominent candidates, Mondher Znaidi, AbdelLatif Mekki and Imed Daimi, to the election race after the electoral commission had rejected their candidacy filing. Dozens of activists gathered near the commission's headquarters Monday, demanding the commission step down. "This is a complete coup against the will of the voters. ... This sets a precedent in election history that the commission does not respect the decision of the Administrative Court," Hichem Ajbouni, a protester, told Reuters. "We have moved to the law of force. This is a farce," he added. Tunisian opposition parties and human rights groups have accused the authorities of using "arbitrary restrictions" and intimidation to help ensure Saied's reelection. Opposition politicians have said the electoral commission was no longer independent and its sole goal had become ensuring an easy victory for Saied. The commission denies these accusations and says it is neutral. Saied, who was democratically elected in 2019, said last year he would not hand over the country to "non-patriots."

MILWAUKEE — Some vans at the back of a motorcade carrying Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz crashed on the highway while heading from the airport to a campaign stop in Milwaukee on Monday, but Walz was unhurt.  President Joe Biden called from Air Force One and spoke to Walz a short time later, as the president was traveling to a separate campaign stop in Pittsburgh with Vice President Kamala Harris. Harris herself was campaigning in Detroit before heading to the joint event later in the day with Biden, and her campaign said that she also spoke with her running mate by phone after the crash.  The Harris campaign said the crash involved vehicles near the rear of the motorcade. Walz, who is also the governor of Minnesota, was riding closer to the front. Images posted on social media showed large passenger vans with crumpled front and back ends after the collision, which was said to have occurred on Interstate 794.  Upon arriving at his event, Walz spoke briefly about the crash saying, "Some of my staff and members of the press that were traveling up with us were involved in a traffic accident on the way here today."  "We've spoken with the staff. I'm relieved to say that with a few minor injuries, everybody's going to be OK," Walz said. "President Biden and Vice President Harris called to check in, and we certainly appreciate their concern, and I want to express my sincere thanks to the U.S. Secret Service and all the local first responders for their quick reaction."  It wasn't immediately clear what caused the crash, which occurred shortly before 1 p.m. local time.  A member of the traveling pool staff, who was in a van carrying reporters, had an injured arm and was treated by medics, according to a pool report from a reporter traveling in Walz's motorcade, who wrote that passengers were "violently thrown forward, as our van slammed into the one in front of us and was hit from behind."  Walz and his motorcade stopped at the hospital a few hours after the crash so he could check on staff members who were involved.  The van carrying the reporters remained pulled over on the side of the road for several minutes afterward.  Some reporters had scrapes and bruises, and one had a bloody nose. Another feared having suffered a concussion and was initially looking to be taken to urgent care, but eventually climbed aboard a new van to accompany the rest of the press to the event.  All who wanted to be checked out by paramedics were assessed, according to the pool report.  The crash occurred after Walz and his wife, Gwen, were greeted at the airport by Democratic Representative Gwen Moore of Wisconsin. The trio embraced, chatted and posed for a photo before the motorcade began heading to the event.  Monday's campaign stops marking Labor Day were Walz's first aboard the Harris-Walz campaign charter aircraft. It bears decals of an American flag, the words Harris-Walz, and "A New Way Forward." 

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new york — Five people were shot Monday at New York City’s West Indian American Day Parade, police said. It was the latest incident of violence to mar one of the world’s largest annual celebrations of Caribbean culture. A gunman targeting a specific group of people opened fire along the parade route in Brooklyn around 2:35 p.m., NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell said. The parade had kicked off hours earlier, with thousands of revelers dancing and marching down Eastern Parkway, a main thoroughfare through the borough. It was expected to continue into the night. Two people were critically wounded, Chell said. The three other victims were expected to survive their injuries, he said. The gunman fled. “This was not random,” Chell said. “This was an intentional act by one person towards a group of people. We do not by no means have any active shooter or anything of that nature running around Eastern Parkway as we speak. The parade is going on and will go on until later on tonight.” An Associated Press videographer who was nearby when the shots rang out saw at least two people being treated for what appeared to be wounds to the face and arm.  Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer was marching in the parade at the time and completed the route. A message was left with Schumer's office. Police cordoned off an area adjacent to the parade route, where they placed crime scene markers. The parade continued flowing past as officers were seen bagging items. Chell asked that bystanders provide police with any video footage they may have recorded of the shooting. “We need that video,” Chell said. “We are going to solve this, but it’s going to take a lot of work.” The parade, an annual Labor Day event in its 57th year, turns Eastern Parkway into a kaleidoscope of feather-covered costumes and colorful flags as participants make their way down the thoroughfare alongside floats stacked high with speakers playing soca and reggae music. The parade routinely attracts huge crowds, who line the almost 2-mile (3.2-kilometer) route that runs from Crown Heights to the Brooklyn Museum. It’s also a popular destination for local politicians, many of whom are of West Indian heritage or represent members of the city’s large Caribbean community. Though a joyous occasion, the parade and related celebrations have been plagued by violence over the years. In 2016, two people were killed and several others were wounded near the parade route. The year before, Carey Gabay, an aide to then-Governor Andrew Cuomo, was shot in the head during pre-parade festivities. He died nine days later. The West Indian American Day Parade has its roots in more traditionally timed, pre-Lent Carnival celebrations started by a Trinidadian immigrant in Manhattan around a century ago, according to the organizers. The festivities were moved to the warmer time of year in the 1940s. Brooklyn, where hundreds of thousands of Caribbean immigrants and their descendants have settled, began hosting the parade in the 1960s. The Labor Day parade is now the culmination of days of carnival events in the city, which include a steel pan band competition and J’Ouvert, a separate street party commemorating freedom from slavery. 

abuja, nigeria — Trial began Monday in Nigeria for 10 people charged with treason in connection with anti-government protests that erupted last month over the high cost of living. The defendants could face the death penalty if convicted. The defendants are also charged with conspiring to incite the military to mutiny. They pleaded not guilty, and a bail hearing was set for September 11. In early August, thousands of protesters took to Nigeria's streets to denounce President Bola Tinubu's policies and government. Tinubu scrapped expensive fuel subsidy payments last year upon assuming office and soon afterward floated the national currency, the naira. Authorities accused protesters of inciting public unrest and burning government buildings but pledged to address the economic hardship. The case has drawn the ire of human rights group Amnesty International. Isa Sanusi, the country director for Amnesty in Nigeria, said, "What they're doing is just a deliberate effort to psychologically and physically break down these people, who are resilient people and came out to express their anger over the way the nation is being run as a result of corruption and mismanagement. So the trial is a sham; it does not meet all the international standards of fair trial." Amnesty also called the trial a mockery of Nigeria's rule of law. The group said the government was attempting to stifle dissent, and it called for the protesters to be released and charges withdrawn immediately.  The 10 defendants are among hundreds of protesters who were arrested during last month's demonstrations, which came amid Nigeria's worst economic crisis in a generation. In the nationwide protests, tagged “Ten Days of Rage,” demonstrators demanded better governance and a reversal of government reforms, including the scrapping of the fuel subsidy. During the demonstrations, protesters in northern Nigeria hoisted Russian flags as they marched and chanted for President Vladimir Putin to come to their aid. The protests were met with a fierce crackdown by security forces. Amnesty International said 13 people were killed, and Amnesty’s Sanusi said Nigerian authorities should focus on investigating these killings. Sanusi also said Nigerian authorities have been denying the detained protesters access to family and legal representation. "These people have not been allowed to have access to adequate legal representation or assistance," he said. "Treason carries the death penalty, according to the Nigerian laws. ... So that is the tactic they use - they use this ambiguity, suspense of being taken to court just to break down the spirit of these protesters, and we condemn this misuse of the Nigerian judicial system to suppress people." The government has not responded to Amnesty International's statement. But in the past, the government has often said it works in the interest of national security. The legal counsel for the protesters, Deji Adeyanju, said a team of lawyers has been working to secure their release. "The charge against the protesters is completely unacceptable because it's an attempt to criminalize freedom of assembly," Adeyanju said. "The criminalization will be resisted." On Monday, Nigerian police also declared British national Andrew Wynne wanted for allegedly plotting to topple the Nigerian government. The Associated Press said the British high commissioner had not responded to a request for comment.  Police also said nine suspects have been arrested in connection with allegedly receiving monies from foreign sources to destabilize the country.

abuja, nigeria — Nigeria on Monday charged 10 people with treason and conspiring to incite the military to mutiny following last month's nationwide demonstrations that saw thousands take to the streets to protest the cost-of-living crisis. The protests were met with a deadly crackdown by security forces and Amnesty International said at least 13 people were killed. Security forces denied using lethal force. The 10 men were arraigned in the Abuja Federal High Court and entered a not guilty plea. They face the death penalty if convicted, human rights lawyer Inibehe Effiong said. State prosecutors said, in court papers seen by Reuters, that the protesters intended to destabilize Nigeria and "conspired together to commit felony to wit, treason." Prosecutors also laid five other charges against the accused under the country's penal code, including inciting the military to mutiny, burning government buildings and disturbing public peace. Lawyers for the protesters sought their release on bail, which was opposed by the state. The court will make a ruling on September 11 when their trial is expected to begin. Amnesty urged the government to unconditionally release all the people arrested during the protests. It said the trial was meant to unlawfully justify detaining protesters. "These are blatantly trumped-up charges that must be immediately withdrawn," said Isa Sanusi, director for Amnesty International Nigeria. Nigerians blame economic reforms by President Bola Tinubu, in office since May 2023, for economic hardship — worsened by double-digit inflation after the nation’s currency was devalued — and the cost of petrol and electricity rose.

RIO DE JANEIRO — A Brazilian Supreme Court panel on Monday unanimously upheld the decision of one of its justices to block billionaire Elon Musk's social media platform X nationwide, according to the court's website. The broader support among justices undermines the effort by Musk and his supporters to cast Justice Alexandre de Moraes as an authoritarian renegade intent on censoring political speech in Brazil. The panel that voted in a virtual session was made up of five of the full bench's 11 justices, including de Moraes, who last Friday ordered the platform blocked for refusing to name a local legal representative, as required by law. It will stay suspended until it complies with his orders and pays outstanding fines that as of last week exceeded $3 million, according to his decision. The platform has clashed with de Moraes over its reluctance to block users and has alleged that de Moraes wants an in-country legal representative so that Brazilian authorities can exert leverage over the company by having someone to arrest. De Moraes also set a daily fine of $8,900 for people or companies using virtual private networks, or VPNs, to access X. Some legal experts questioned the grounds for that decision and how it would be enforced, including Brazil's bar association, which said it would request that the Supreme Court review that provision. But the majority of the panel upheld the VPN fine — with one justice opposing unless users are shown to be using X to commit crimes. Judge feuding with Musk Brazil is one of the biggest markets for X, with tens of millions of users. Its block marked a dramatic escalation in a monthslong feud between Musk and de Moraes over free speech, far-right accounts and misinformation. Over the weekend, many X users in Brazil said they felt disconnected from the world and began migrating en masse to alternative platforms such as Bluesky and Threads. The suspension has proceeded to set up a showdown between de Moraes and Musk's satellite internet provider Starlink, which is refusing to enforce the justice's decision. "He violated the constitution of Brazil repeatedly and egregiously, after swearing an oath to protect it," Musk wrote in the hours before the vote, adding a flurry of insults and accusations in the wake of the panel's vote. On Sunday, Musk announced the creation of an X account to publish the justice's decisions that he said would show they violated Brazilian law. But legal experts have said such claims don't hold water, noting that de Moraes' peers have repeatedly endorsed his rulings — as they did Monday. Although his actions are viewed by experts as legal, they have sparked some debate over whether one man has been afforded too much power, or if his rulings should have more transparency. De Moraes' decision to quickly refer his order for panel approval served to obtain "collective, more institutional support that attempts to depersonalize the decision," Conrado Hübner, a constitutional law expert at the University of Sao Paulo, told The Associated Press. It is standard for a justice to refer such cases to a five-justice panel, Hübner said. In exceptional cases, the justice also could refer the case to the full bench for review. Had de Moraes done the latter, two justices who have questioned his decisions in the past — and were appointed by former right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro — would have had the opportunity to object or hinder the vote's advance. Starlink shutdown next? X's block already led de Moraes last week to freeze the Brazilian financial assets of Starlink to force it to cover X's fines, reasoning that the two companies are part of the same economic group. The company says it has more than 250,000 clients in Brazil. Legal experts have questioned the legal basis of that move, and Starlink's law firm Veirano has told the AP it has appealed the freeze. It declined to comment further. In a show of defiance, Starlink told the telecommunications regulator Anatel that it would not block X access until its financial accounts were unfrozen, Anatel's press office said in an email to the AP. Starlink didn't respond to a request for comment. That means a shutdown of Starlink is likely, although enforcement will be difficult given the company's satellites aren't inside national territory, said Luca Belli, coordinator of the Technology and Society Center at the Getulio Vargas Foundation. It is popular in Brazil's expansive rural and forested areas. Anatel's President Carlos Baigorri told local media GloboNews late Sunday afternoon that he has relayed Starlink's decision to Justice de Moraes. Baigorri told GloboNews that the "maximum sanction" for a telecom company would be revocation of its license. He said if Starlink loses its license and continues providing service, it would be committing a crime. Anatel could seize equipment from Starlink's 23 ground stations in Brazil that ensure the quality of its internet service, he said. "It is highly probable there is a political escalation" because Starlink is "explicitly refusing to comply with orders, national laws," said Belli, who is also a professor at the Getulio Vargas Foundation's law school. The arguments from Musk, a self-proclaimed "free-speech absolutist," have found fertile ground with Brazil's political right, who view de Moraes' actions as political persecution against Bolsonaro's supporters. On Brazilian orders, X previously has shut down accounts, including those of lawmakers affiliated with Bolsonaro's right-wing party and far-right activists accused of undermining Brazilian democracy. X's lawyers in April sent a document to the Supreme Court, saying that it had suspended or blocked 226 users since 2019. Bolsonaro and his allies have cheered on Musk for defying de Moraes. Supporters rallied in April along Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana beach with a giant sign reading "Brazil Thanks Elon Musk." Earlier that month, de Moraes ordered an investigation into Musk over the dissemination of defamatory fake news and another probe over possible obstruction, incitement and criminal organization. Bolsonaro is also the target of a de Moraes probe over whether the former president had a role in inciting an attempted coup to overturn the results of the 2022 election that he lost. 

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washington — As a young college student, Kamala Harris made the nearly 3-mile trip from Howard University to the National Mall to protest apartheid in South Africa. In 2017, as a senator, she returned to her alma mater to deliver the commencement address. In July, when she received word that she would likely be the Democratic presidential nominee, she was wearing her Howard sweatshirt in the vice president's residence. Howard, one of the nation's best known historically Black colleges, has been central to Harris' origin story, and now, as she seeks to become the first woman elected president, the university is having a capstone moment. The school has produced luminaries like Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, whose legacy inspired Harris to attend Howard, and author Toni Morrison, among others. Some at the university see Harris' elevation as vice president as another validation of one of the school's core missions of service. “There’s clearly a direct relationship between Howard and its relationship to democracy and the democracy that we envision, one that is practiced in a way that includes all of us,” said Melanie Carter, the founding director of the Howard University Center for HBCU Research, Leadership and Policy. If Harris won the White House, she would be the first woman elected president and the first graduate of a historically Black college to hold that office. With many HBCUs, like a number of liberal arts colleges, struggling financially, her ascent has bathed Howard in a positive light. “It empowers students to reach farther than what they thought was possible,” said Nikkya Taliaferro, a senior at Howard University from Honolulu who said the 2024 presidential election will be her first time voting. “Even if she doesn’t win, she’s already made such a big impact and I know for all of us, that alone, is unforgettable.” To Stefanie Brown James, a Howard alumna and co-founder of The Collective PAC, which is working to increase Black political representation, said that for Howard, the rise of Harris underscores “all the pieces fitting together. At this moment, she is the personification of the leadership, the excellence, the global responsibility to service, that Howard represents.” In her 2017 commencement address, Harris said Howard taught her to reject false choices and steered her to public service. In her memoir, she wrote that Howard taught that there is an expectation that students and graduates would “use our talents to take on roles of leadership and have an impact on other people, on our country and maybe even on the world.” Earlier this year, she wrote in a Facebook post that the investment in HBCUs is an investment “in the strength of our nation for years to come,” when she welcomed Howard’s men’s basketball team to the White House as the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champions. HBCUs have historically struggled to generate investment, despite recent influxes in funding and donations, causing them to flounder financially. Democratic Representative Summer Lee, a Howard Law graduate, said Howard’s “each one, teach one camaraderie” shaped how many alums in politics tackle the job. “It allowed us to root for each other in ways that I would not have gotten at another institution,” Lee said. “Those guidelines of being a social engineer, not being on the sidelines, and creating public policy, that’s rooted in the experiences of the most marginalized people. That is a Howard trait.” The Howard network is also providing some financial and organizational support to Harris' campaign. The Collective PAC utilized its HU Bison PAC, which held a virtual call for graduates with more than 4,000 attendees and raised over $150,000, according to James. The Bison PAC plans another call Wednesday. On campus, a group called Herd for Harris is campaigning to support her. Other student-led organizations are mobilizing students to register to vote and be engaged around presidential debates and policies that could most affect them. “It was instantaneous and that’s just Howard,” James said. “Something’s happening, we need to respond to it, so we get to work. It’s simply a Howard thing.” Even though Harris enjoys broad support on campus, there are students who are challenging Harris over policy, notably the war in Gaza. “What we expect of Kamala Harris in this election is really derived from the morals that Howard instilled in us, that we are an oppressed people, and that we also need to advocate for oppressed people abroad,” said Courtney McClain, a student senator at Howard who met Harris in 2020. She said she plans to support Harris, while holding her accountable. With the November election drawing near, Harris has been on extensive campaign travel and prepping for her first debate against Republican Donald Trump — including a mock session at Howard — on Sept. 10. Still, she made time to speak to the crowd of Howard’s largest incoming first-year class in front of Cramton Auditorium. Using a bullhorn, she told them that she was proud of them and urged that they enjoy this moment. "You might be running for the president of the United States,” she said to roaring cheers.

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The Paris Olympics have just ended, but some diehard fans are already planning for the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles, California. Vivianne Robinson is one of them. The self-described Olympics superfan has been following the Games' flame all over the world. Angelina Bagdasaryan has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. VOA footage by Vazgen Varzhabetian.

phnom penh, cambodia — A year after succeeding his father as Cambodia’s prime minister, Hun Manet is facing widespread public anger over a regional economic cooperation plan with Vietnam and Laos that is testing his political acumen. Thousands of Cambodians living in Japan, South Korea and Australia have staged protests against the Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Development Triangle Area (CLV-DTA) initiative, citing fears of ceding sovereignty or inviting large-scale immigration from Vietnam. Although the initiative has been in place for decades, regional meetings this year for a 2030 “master plan” have put it back in the spotlight. An 11-minute video posted on Facebook by government critics last month fanned historic resentment toward Vietnam and its perceived control over the current government, which Hanoi installed and backed throughout the 1980s. While political analysts say fears of the CLV-DTA may be overblown and fueled by online misinformation, they also blame the government for failing to provide transparent explanations about the initiative, instead seeking to suppress dissent, which has only fueled suspicions of ill intentions. Sophal Ear, an associate professor at the Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University, told VOA Khmer in an email that the underlying concerns about Cambodia's sovereignty is a significant test for Hun Manet. “It challenges his ability to navigate complex regional projects while addressing domestic concerns about national sovereignty and territorial integrity. Successfully managing this controversy will be crucial in establishing his credibility as a leader who can protect Cambodia's interests while engaging in regional cooperation,” he said. “How he handles this situation could set the tone for his leadership and influence public perception of his capacity to govern effectively,” he added. Hun Manet took office on August 22, 2023, shortly after an election the United States deemed neither free nor fair. His father, Hun Sen, was the party’s prime minister candidate and arranged for his son to take power ahead of the formation of a new government. While the generational transfer of power allowed some Western countries to reset relations with Cambodia, there has been little change in the government’s reliance on China or its approach to critics and perceived opponents. Dozens of activists and political opponents have been arrested under Hun Manet. Earlier this month, authorities arrested more than 30 people across the country amid reports of a planned mass demonstration against the CLV initiative in Phnom Penh on August 18. The creators of the Facebook video were also arrested after it drew the ire of government leaders. Hun Sen, who is now president of the Senate, has threatened additional arrests should public criticism continue. Sophal Ear said the proactive arrests, along with the deployment of a heavy security presence across major cities, showed the government’s determination to quell any significant uprising before it gains momentum. “However, the situation remains fluid, and the government’s approach could either suppress the movement or further galvanize public opposition, depending on how it handles the protesters and addresses the underlying concerns,” he told VOA Khmer on Monday. In a public address on August 22 marking one year in power, Hun Manet addressed criticism and concerns about the development triangle area, saying it was meant to “create potential and development” in the four Cambodian provinces involved. He said the initiative would spur infrastructure construction in border regions, encourage more productive land use, and protect forests for joint development. In his speech, Hun Manet highlighted that the initiative would strengthen sovereignty of Cambodia while “boosting the development and maintaining stability and security” for its people. The attention of the CLV initiative also comes as Cambodia is pushing ahead with the controversial 180-kilometer Funan Techo Canal project that will rely significantly on Chinese funding, which carries its own regional implications as it would bypass traditional trade routes through the Mekong delta in Vietnam. The CLV furor has been a distraction from the Funan Techo project, which officially broke ground earlier this month. Political professor Em Sovannara, who is based in Cambodia, said Hun Manet seems unable to deal with the issue. “First, I think building the canal is part of creating political value for the new prime minister. Second, on the issue of the CLV project left from the past, the current prime minister has no ability to respond or deal with it based on our observation,” he said. Soeng Senkaruna, a former senior official at the human rights group ADHOC who fled to live in Australia, told VOA Khmer that he expected Hun Manet to continue trying to address the criticism by silencing it or creating distractions. “So, they will not solve the problems according to what the people are demanding, so they will keep defending this project," he said. “We are aware that this project is a long-term strategy between Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos. That’s why the child prime minister and his father, the former prime minister, as we saw, we know that they can’t do anything with Vietnam. Thus, he has no capacity to deal with this issue. The new prime minister will do nothing.” Cambodia is expected to host a ministerial summit later this year for the review and adoption of the Master Plan for Socio-Economic Development in the CLV-DTA up to 2030. Cambodia’s exiled opposition leaders have seized on fears about the initiative, which could negatively impact four Cambodian border provinces — Ratanakiri, Mondulkiri, Kratie and Stung Treng — as well as provinces in Laos in Vietnam. The plan encourages freer flow of goods and people across the borders but entering a joint development with its larger and much more populous eastern neighbor also rekindles many Cambodians’ traditional fear of Vietnamese expansion and domination. “The project is in fact a cover for further illegal deforestation, land evictions and exploitation of natural resources for foreign gain,” the Khmer Movement for Democracy wrote August 14 on X. “Continued illegal Vietnamese immigration into the four Cambodian provinces concerned by the agreement, and the effective control that Vietnam will wield over the economy of the region, means that the provinces will effectively become vassals controlled by Vietnam,” it added. Cambodia’s government spokesman Pen Bona said Hun Manet was ensuring peace, security and national sovereignty, and denied restricting freedom of expression or dissent. “Lately, we have seen the people using opposition culture to cause destruction by a handful of people. So, the government must take very strict measures by not absolutely allowing such a group to use its own trick to spoil peace or harmony or national development,” he told VOA. He added, “I would like to clarify: Don’t consider the government measures as a restriction of freedom of expression [or] democratic freedom.”

The two major U.S. political parties are expressing concern ahead of November’s election about “election integrity” – meaning the process of registration, the casting of, counting and certifying of votes, as well as adequately addressing any serious issues that arise. More from VOA’s chief national correspondent Steve Herman on Capitol Hill. (Camera: Adam Greenbaum)

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Washington — The U.S. government has seized a plane used by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro that officials say was illegally purchased through a shell company and smuggled out of the United States, citing violations of sanctions and export control laws. The Dassault Falcon 900EX was seized in the Dominican Republic and transferred to the custody of federal officials in Florida, the Justice Department said Monday. U.S. officials say associates of the Venezuelan leader used a Caribbean-based shell company to hide their involvement in the purchase of the plane, valued at the time at $13 million, from a company in Florida. The plane was exported from the U.S. to Venezuela, through the Caribbean, in April 2023 in a transaction meant to circumvent an executive order that bars U.S. persons from business transactions with the Maduro regime. The plane, registered to San Marino, was widely used by Maduro for foreign travel, including for trip earlier this year to Guyana and Cuba. "Let this seizure send a clear message: aircraft illegally acquired from the United States for the benefit of sanctioned Venezuelan officials cannot just fly off into the sunset,” Matthew Axelrod, an assistant secretary for export enforcement in the Commerce Department, said in a statement. CNN first reported the plane seizure. The seizure announcement comes just over a month after Venezuelans headed to the polls for a highly anticipated presidential election in which ruling party-loyal electoral authorities declared Maduro the victor without showing any detailed results to back up their claim. The lack of transparency has drawn international condemnation against Maduro’s government. Meanwhile, the opposition managed to obtain more than 80% of vote tally sheets – considered the ultimate proof of results – nationwide. The documents, the faction said, show Maduro losing by a wide margin against former diplomat Edmundo Gonzalez. It was also the plane that carried several Americans jailed for years in Venezuela to the Caribbean Island of Canouan last December where they were swapped for a close Maduro ally, businessman Alex Saab, imprisoned in the U.S. on money laundering charges. In March, it flew to the Dominican Republic, along with a Venezuelan-registered plane, for what was believed to be maintenance, never to leave again. The U.S. has sanctioned 55 Venezuelan-registered planes belonging to state owned oil giant PDVSA. It’s also offered a $15 million bounty for the arrest of Maduro to face federal drug trafficking charges in New York. The Venezuelan government’s centralized press office did not immediately return a message from The Associated Press seeking comment Monday.

warsaw — Sava Trypolsky couldn't wait for school to start. Days before the Ukrainian boy entered first grade Monday, his backpack was packed. Sitting on his bed in his home near Warsaw last week, he pulled out coloring pens, glue sticks and all manner of supplies emblazoned with Spider-Man, Minions and his favorite soccer player, Lionel Messi. Sava was almost 5 when he fled his home in Cherkasy, Ukraine, with his mother and older sister soon after Russia’s full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022. But the war has dragged on for more than 2½ years, and he is now a 7-year-old starting his educational journey. For Ukrainian children, the last several years have been a time of severe disruption. First the COVID-19 pandemic brought online learning, and then war uprooted millions. That disruption was still evident in Ukraine, where it was also the first day of school Monday. An overnight Russian drone and missile attack in Kyiv forced the cancellation of classes for some because of damage from the attack. Many Ukrainians who fled to neighboring Poland never returned to a classroom at all, continuing their Ukrainian classwork remotely. But as this new school year began Monday, a new Polish law makes school attendance mandatory for Ukrainian refugees. In cases where the kids don't attend school, the government will enforce the law by withholding a monthly 800 zloty ($200) bonus that all citizens and refugees receive for each child under 18. Only those entering the last year of high school are exempt from this new requirement. Poland’s Education Ministry said it was unrealistic for them to master the Polish curriculum in language and culture in time to pass final graduation exams by spring. Sava can expect an easier time than many. Educators say kids his age learn Polish quickly. He has a best friend, Bart, going to his school, and a soccer group. Medals he earned while playing the sport decorate his room in Jablonna, a small community north of Warsaw. “I’ll have fun,” he said beaming. But his 16-year-old sister Marichka hopes to return to Ukraine for university and knows school can be hard for adolescents even without the pressure of being a refugee. She has one year left and opted to continue her home schooling. “Some people are just mean, you know, and I’ve heard many stories about just being excluded or bullied,” Marichka said. “That happens in every country, it’s not just Poland, it’s just kids who try to grow up in this world.” Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that it was important to bring Ukrainian youth into the system to avoid the formation of social “pathologies.” “Since we do not know how many Ukrainian families will want to stay with us for longer, and perhaps forever, we are very keen for these children to be educated like their Polish peers,” Tusk said Friday. Some Ukrainians have already returned home, and many others plan to. That has led many of them to live in Poland, but to keep kids out of Polish schools and do remote learning with schools back in Ukraine. Jędrzej Witkowski, CEO of the Polish nonprofit Center for Citizenship Education, said that allowing online learning made sense during the initial crisis, but now Polish authorities can’t even track whether Ukrainian children are continuing with their education or dropping out. There isn't reliable data or research that can measure the educational loss, he said. “This would have been the fifth consecutive year of online learning,” Witkowski said. “We’re very happy with the move that the government has made.” Poland has the second-largest population of Ukrainian war refugees in the West after Germany, and most are women and children. UNHCR estimated the number of Ukrainian refugees in Poland, a nation of 38 million, at slightly over 957,000 in June, the latest figures published on its website. UNICEF and UNHCR — the United Nations' children’s and refugee agencies — had expressed concern about the large numbers of children living in Poland but not attending schools in person, estimating the number at around 150,000 — a calculation based on administrative data and the number of Ukrainian kids with Polish identity numbers. Other countries with large Ukrainian populations, like Germany and Italy, required school attendance from the start, said Francesco Calcagno, chief of education for the UNICEF refugee response office in Warsaw, which is working with the national government, local authorities and nongovernmental organizations to help get kids back into schools. “Education is not just about academic achievement but also about fostering resilience, stability and hope,” Calcagno said. “Schools provide a crucial sense of structure and safety, which helps children from Ukraine to catch up on learning and supports their psychosocial wellbeing.”

Massive protests break out across Israel after the death of six hostages in Gaza as anger over the government’s failure to secure a ceasefire deal reaches boiling point. Palestinian health authorities and U.N. agencies begin large-scale campaign to vaccinate children against polio in war ravaged Gaza Strip. And as children across Ukraine prepared to return to school, Russia launched a barrage of overnight attacks on Kyiv. And why is Iran arresting nurses across the country?