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indianapolis, indiana — Semiconductors, or microchips, are critical to almost everything electronic used in the modern world. In 1990, the United States produced about 40% of the world's semiconductors. As manufacturing migrated to Asia, U.S. production fell to about 12%.   "During COVID, we got a wake-up call. It was like [a] Sputnik moment," explained Mark Lundstrom, an engineer who has worked with microchips much of his life.  The 2020 global coronavirus pandemic slowed production in Asia, creating a ripple through the global supply chain and leading to shortages of everything from phones to vehicles. Lundstrom said increasing U.S. reliance on foreign chip manufacturers exposed a major weakness.  "We know that AI is going to transform society in the next several years, it requires extremely powerful chips. The most powerful leading-edge chips."  Today, Lundstrom is the acting dean of engineering at Purdue University in Lafayette, Indiana, a leader in cutting-edge semiconductor development, which has new importance amid the emerging field of artificial intelligence.  "If we fall behind in AI, the consequences are enormous for the defense of our country, for our economic future," Lundstrom told VOA.  Amid the buzz of activity in a laboratory on Purdue's campus, visitors can get a vision of what the future might look like in microchip technology.  "The key metrics of the performance of the chips actually are the size of the transistors, the devices, which is the building block of the computer chips," said Zhihong Chen, director of Purdue's Birck Nanotechnology Center, where engineers work around the clock to push microchip technology into the future.  "We are talking about a few atoms in each silicon transistor these days. And this is what this whole facility is about," Chen said. "We are trying to make the next generation transistors better devices than current technologies. More powerful and more energy-efficient computer chips of the future."  Not just RVs anymore Because of Purdue's efforts, along with those on other university campuses in the state, Indiana believes it's an attractive location for manufacturers looking to build new microchip facilities.  "Purdue University alone, a top four-ranked engineering school, offers more engineers every year than the next top three," said Eric Holcomb, Indiana's Republican governor. "When you have access to that kind of talent, when you have access to the cost of doing business in the state of Indiana, that's why people are increasingly saying, Indiana."  Holcomb is in the final year of his eight-year tenure in the state's top position. He wants to transform Indiana beyond the recreational vehicle, or "RV capital" of the country.   "We produce about plus-80% of all the RV production in North America in one state," he told VOA. "We are not just living up to our reputation as being the number one manufacturing state per capita in America, but we are increasingly embracing the future of mobility in America."  Holcomb is spearheading an effort to make Indiana the next great technology center as the U.S. ramps up investment in domestic microchip development and manufacturing.  "If we want to compete globally, we have to get smarter and healthier and more equipped, and we have to continue to invest in our quality of place," Holcomb told VOA in an interview.  His vision is shared by other lawmakers, including U.S. Senator Todd Young of Indiana, who co-sponsored the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act, which commits more than $50 billion in federal funding for domestic microchip development.  'We are committed' Indiana is now home to one of 31 designated U.S. technology and innovation hubs, helping it qualify for hundreds of millions of dollars in grants designed to attract technology-driven businesses.  "The signal that it sends to the rest of the world [is] that we are in it, we are committed, and we are focused," said Holcomb. "We understand that economic development, economic security and national security complement one another."  Indiana's efforts are paying off.  In April, South Korean microchip manufacturer SK Hynix announced it was planning to build a $4 billion facility near Purdue University that would produce next-generation, high-bandwidth memory, or HBM chips, critical for artificial intelligence applications.   The facility, slated to start operating in 2028, could create more than 1,000 new jobs. While U.S. chip manufacturer SkyWater also plans to invest nearly $2 billion in Indiana's new LEAP Innovation District near Purdue, the state recently lost bidding to host chipmaker Intel, which selected Ohio for two new factories.  "Companies tend to like to go to locations where there is already that infrastructure, where that supply chain is in place," Purdue's Lundstrom said. "That's a challenge for us, because this is a new industry for us. So, we have a chicken-and- egg problem that we have to address, and we are beginning to address that."  Lundstrom said the CHIPS and Science Act and the federal money that comes with it are helping Indiana ramp up to compete with other U.S. locations already known for microchip development, such as Silicon Valley in California and Arizona.  What could help Indiana gain an edge is its natural resources — plenty of land and water, and regular weather patterns, all crucial for the sensitive processes needed to manufacture microchips at large manufacturing centers. 

washington — Months after Manila withdrew from China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects, Washington announced a set of infrastructure projects in the Philippines, the first under an initiative to accelerate investments in partner countries in the Indo-Pacific. The infrastructure projects, known as PGI Luzon corridor, were announced by U.S. President Joe Biden as he hosted Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at the White House on Thursday. Marcos is seen as much closer to Washington than his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte. Last year, he skipped a BRI summit in Beijing that marked the 10th anniversary of China’s $1 trillion international infrastructure-building program. PGI is an initialism for Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, an initiative that offers grants, federal financing and private sector investment to partner countries. It was launched in 2021 by the U.S. and G7 partners under the title “Build Back Better World” and billed as an alternative to China’s BRI. PGI Luzon corridor PGI Luzon corridor is the first project of its kind in the Indo-Pacific and will “connect Subic Bay, Clark, Manila and Batangas in the Philippines to accelerate coordinated investments in high-impact infrastructure projects, including ports, rail, clean energy, semiconductors, supply chains and other forms of connectivity in the Philippines,” a senior administration official said during a briefing on Wednesday. The official asked for anonymity in speaking to reporters. The official did not provide more details on the project but noted “it will take some time” to secure investments. She highlighted a recent U.S. trade and investment mission to the Philippines that announced “more than $1 billion” in combined investments to promote the Philippines’ innovation economy, clean energy transition and supply chain resilience. Rebecca Ray, senior researcher with the Global China Initiative at the Boston University Global Development Policy Center, said that PGI Luzon corridor could lead to “healthy competition among major sources of lending and investment globally.” Those lending sources now recognize that developing countries “need support in overcoming hard infrastructure bottlenecks for industrialization," she told VOA. The U.S. and Japan will also provide funding for technology in the Philippines that will improve wireless communication throughout the region, the official said. In addition, the official said, the Development Finance Corporation, a U.S. development bank that partners with the private sector, will open its first regional office in the Philippines. If the U.S. can sustain its focus and investments, PGI will be quite beneficial to the Philippines, said Derek Grossman, a senior analyst at the Rand Corporation, an American global policy research group. “That said, we have seen numerous funding battles to get funds passed through Congress on these types of programs,” he told VOA. “And thus, this essential part is hardly guaranteed.” Manila out of BRI As ties with Beijing become increasingly strained over territorial disputes in the South China Sea, Manila announced in November that it has given up on Chinese funding for three major transportation projects, expressing confidence in securing financial backing elsewhere. Even so, Chinese investment in the Philippines does not appear to be waning, Ray said, citing Chinese firm Yadea’s 2023 announcement of a $1 billion investment in e-motorcycle manufacturing, the second-largest investment in the Philippines for the year. The Biden administration said it has been able to mobilize billions of dollars of U.S. private sector investments in the Indo-Pacific, including from Vena Energy, an energy company developing 2.4GW of renewable energy projects in the Philippines.

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 — Tensions between Israel and Turkey over the war in Gaza are at risk of escalating into an all-out trade war, threatening a bilateral economic relationship that has long been nurtured even as the countries bicker over political issues. On Tuesday, Turkey’s Trade Ministry announced new restrictions on exporting 54 product groups, including aluminum, steel, several construction products, jet fuel and chemical fertilizers, to Israel.  Some experts think Ankara has historically separated political problems from economic relations in its stance on Israel, but recent announcements show a policy shift.  “Turkey’s decision was negatively received in Israel as the two countries are important trade partners, and until now, Ankara has put a barrier between tensions on the political level and trade relations,” Gallia Lindenstrauss, a senior research fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) in Israel, told VOA.  The restrictions came a day after Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Israel had prevented Turkey from airdropping aid to Gaza and vowed to take measures against Israel until there was a cease-fire and permanent flow of aid into the territory. Israel has not responded to Fidan’s statement.  Alan Makovsky, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, said he saw Turkey’s export restrictions as a response to domestic politics.  “I would find it hard to believe that Turkey could seriously think that Israel would approve of allowing Turkey to participate in airdrops. When there’s an airdrop, Israel does not review what is in the airdrop, so it is only countries that they would really trust from a security standpoint that they would give clearance to. At least, I believe that’s the case,” Makovsky said.  “If Turkey did apply, I am sure they knew when they applied that there was no way Israel would approve it," he said. "I suspect they used that as a cover for what is really a domestic political decision.”  Makovsky was referring to the success of the Islamist New Welfare Party (YRP) in last month’s local elections in Turkey. YRP, which came third, was vocal in criticizing Erdogan for not cutting off trade with Israel during the campaign.  Trade with Israel  In a post on X, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said, “We will respond accordingly and prepare an extended list of additional products that Israel will prevent Turkey from exporting.” Makovsky said that trade between Israel and Turkey in recent years has become “increasingly unbalanced in Turkey’s favor.”  The two countries signed a free-trade agreement in 1996. According to the state-run Turkish Statistical Institute, Turkey’s exports to Israel were worth $5.4 billion in 2023, while Israel’s exports to Turkey were worth $1.6 billion the same year.  “In terms of replacing materials, the burden is going to be greater on Israel, but there could be economic problems for Turkey, obviously, if these sales do not go through,” Makovsky said.  “I also wonder what message it sends to international investors if Turkey suddenly prevents private contracts from being carried out for political reasons. That may not be a great thing for the Turkish economy,” he said. Some experts said the restrictions would broadly affect Israel’s construction sector.  “Regarding some materials, such as cement, Israel is highly dependent on imports from Turkey. Israel can find alternatives, but they will cost more, and it may take time till it finds the relevant substitutes,” INSS’s Lindenstrauss told VOA.  According to the Israel Builders Association, Israel imports around 70% of its iron construction materials and about a third of its cement needs from Turkey. Turkey has also been one of the leading steel providers to Israel.  US involvement  Israeli Foreign Minister Katz said he asked “Israel’s friends in the U.S. Congress to examine Turkish violation of boycott laws against Israel and impose sanctions accordingly.”  Eugene Kontorovich, a law professor at George Mason University’s Scalia Law School, said he thought that Turkey’s action “most probably violates the World Trade Organization’s agreements,” but not U.S. federal laws.  “As for a U.S. response, it is unlikely that Turkey’s selective export restrictions on products to Israel violate U.S. federal anti-boycott laws; state laws simply do not deal with boycotts imposed by countries,” Kontorovich told VOA.  Thirty-eight U.S. states have laws prohibiting states from contracting or investing in entities that boycott Israel. Some analysts think that given the debate in Washington over sending aid to Israel, it is unlikely that Congress will take measures against Turkey.  “They have got a lot of things on their plate, and it seems to me unlikely that punishing Turkey for sanctions against Israel is going to be high on the congressional agenda anytime soon,” Makovsky said.

Washington — On a near daily basis, Scott Cullinane talks with members of Congress about Russia's war in Ukraine. As a lobbyist for the nonprofit Razom, part of his job is to convince them of Ukraine's need for greater U.S. support to survive. But as lawmakers debated a $95 billion package that includes about $60 billion in aid for Ukraine, Cullinane noticed an increase in narratives alleging Ukrainian corruption. What stood out is that these were the same talking points promoted by Russian disinformation. So, when The Washington Post published an investigation into an extensive and coordinated Russian campaign to influence U.S. public opinion to deny Ukraine the aid, Cullinane says he was not surprised. "This problem has been festering and growing for years," he told VOA. "I believe that Russia's best chance for victory is not on the battlefield, but through information operations targeted on Western capitals, including Washington." The Post investigation is based on more than 100 documents collected by a European intelligence service. The files exposed a Kremlin-linked campaign in which "political strategists and trolls have written thousands of fabricated news articles, social media posts and comments that promote American isolationism, stir fear over the United States' border security and attempt to amplify U.S. economic and racial tensions," the Post reported. Social media One of the main methods for spreading such disinformation is social media, according to Roman Osadchuk, a researcher at the Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab and an expert on propaganda and influence campaigns. "The process begins with a Russian publication on a small website or social media account. This is then picked up by a small Russian Telegram channel, which is subsequently shared by a larger channel with more subscribers," Osadchuk said. From there, someone will translate the content into English and share it, for example, on X. "This is how Russian disinformation can quickly spread within the English-speaking X community," Osadchuk said. In an article published April 8, The Washington Post cited Microsoft and the social media intelligence company Graphika as saying that some articles created within this operation could have been first published on sites known as doppelgangers. Osadchuk told VOA that these are deceptive replicas of legitimate media websites. They feature fake articles and are often taken down, only to be replaced by clones with slightly different web addresses. "Nobody would know about these sites' existence unless they are promoted on social media platforms. However, as soon as they detect them, social media block them. So, Russians quickly replace banned sites with their clones," he said. Worldwide effect In interviews with U.S. media, two influential Republicans said they believe the propaganda has influenced their base and some of their colleagues. "It is absolutely true. We see, directly coming from Russia, attempts to mask communications that are anti-Ukraine and pro-Russia messages, some of which we even hear being uttered on the House floor," House Intelligence Committee Chair Mike Turner said in an interview with CNN. In an interview with the U.S. news website Puck, Michael McCaul, head of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said, "Russian propaganda has made its way into the U.S., unfortunately, and it's infected a good chunk of my party's base." Serhiy Kudelia, a political scientist at Baylor University, says the Kremlin messaging is effective because it plays on existing fears. He says the disinformation seeks to reinforce already held beliefs such as the wastefulness of aid to Ukraine, or fuels existing anger and energizes opposition to sending assistance. "When such alignment occurs, it is easier to push through disinformation and invented news stories that would be accepted as credible by a large number of people, including members of Congress, since they reinforce their prior beliefs," Kudelia said. "Once fabricated stories enter mainstream public debates, they become almost impossible to debunk or separate truth from lies," he said. The disinformation campaign is similar to ones seen in Europe. Both seek to decrease support for Ukraine, undermine public trust in their institutions and polarize society, says Jakub Kalenský, a senior analyst at Helsinki-based European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats. Kalenský, who is deputy director of the center's Hybrid Influence team, believes the Kremlin's disinformation activities have a significant effect on politics worldwide. "This is why Russia employs thousands of people for this activity. This is why they spend billions every year, because they see it works," he said. But Olga Belogolova, director of the Emerging Technologies Initiative at Johns Hopkins University, says that it is hard to know how effective these propaganda efforts are. "Russian influence operations are not necessarily always designed to get people to believe anything in particular, but to get them to believe nothing at all," she told VOA. Belogolova added that claims of the efforts being successful in swaying opinion "is not only irresponsible, it's dangerous." Countermeasures needed Last month, the U.S. Treasury Department issued sanctions on two people and two companies that it says are connected to a "foreign malign influence campaign." They include Moscow-based Social Design Agency, its founder Ilya Gambashidze, Russia-based Group Structura LLC and its CEO Nikolai Tupikin. The Social Design Agency and Gambashidze are believed to be involved in the campaign described in the Post article on April 8. Kalenský advises governments on countering disinformation and says its success requires countermeasures. These include strengthening detection and documentation of Russian disinformation campaigns, increasing awareness and resilience of audiences to the propaganda efforts, and preventing the aggressor from exploiting weaknesses of social media and societies. "Finally, we need to impose higher costs on the information aggressors. So far, they are almost unopposed in conducting their aggression," Kalenský said. For Cullinane, the Russian disinformation campaign makes his job harder. He says the debate about the role the U.S. should play in the world appears to be shifting and invoking pre-World War II isolationism. But he remains resolute. Part of his work is finding what resonates most with each lawmaker. "Some offices focus very much on the human rights situation in Ukraine. Many members are very moved by the plight of religious communities in occupied territories of Ukraine and the persecution they face at the hands of the Russian military," Cullinane said. "Other offices are very intrigued by the military reform and the military innovation brought about by an active war in Ukraine." The national security spending bill is currently awaiting approval in the House. This story originated in VOA's Ukraine Service.

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.

In July 2023, the Kyiv City Council introduced a moratorium on the use of “Russian-language cultural products” such as books, songs and films in the city. While people are permitted to speak Russian in Kyiv and elsewhere in Ukraine, as of 2023, most Ukrainians spoke only Ukrainian in daily life.

In Telangana state, India, a man is desperately trying to get his brother back from the front lines in Ukraine after he was duped into working for Russia during its invasion of the country. Experts explain why Russia is using such subterfuge in its war effort. Henry Wilkins 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.

Reproductive rights are again at the forefront of the U.S. presidential campaign, as Republican candidate Donald Trump distances himself from an Arizona Supreme Court decision to ban most abortions in the state. VOA's Scott Stearns has the story.

The Midwestern state of Indiana aspires to become the next great technology center as the United States ramps up investment in domestic microchip development and manufacturing. VOA’s Kane Farabaugh has more from Indianapolis. Videographer: Kane Farabaugh, Adam Greenbaum

We cover the aftermath of the Hamas attack on Israel in Gaza six months ago. The UN has warned of a potential famine in the Palestinian territories, and the White House is discussing US-Israel policy. This week on the Inside Story - Israel Hamas: Six Months of War.

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.

Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel is preparing for battles outside of Gaza plus an update on death of three sons of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. Heavy shelling in Kyiv, as the funding debate in congress won’t go away. And leaders from the U.S., Japan and The Philippines sit down for a trilateral summit