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JOANETES, Spain — Xavier Pallàs plants his feet on the belfry floor, grips the rope, and with one tug fills the lush Spanish valley below with the reverberating peal of a church bell.  Clang-clong! Clang-clong! Clang-CLONG! The swinging bronze bell resonates with each strike of the clapper, filling the small stone tower with an undulating hum. Once Pallàs finishes his peals, the metallic melody fades to stillness. Silence returns to the tower, giving the valley's soundscape back to the birdsongs and rooster crows.  For most, church bells are just a quaint bit of automated background noise. But Pallàs and his 18 students at the Vall d'en Bas School of Bell Ringers are trying to change that by resuscitating the dwindling art of tolling — and communicating — by hand.  The shift to mechanical tolling devices over the past century has flattened the bells' dynamic songs and muted their messaging powers, said Pallàs, the school's founder and director. If played with the know-how, the sounding of church bells in various sequences, tones and rhythms can signal the time for rejoicing or mourning and when to run to the aid of a neighbor in need.  "For centuries, the tolling of church bells was our most important communication method," said Pallàs, standing inside the belfry which doubles as his classroom.  "Machines cannot reproduce the richness of the sounds that we used to hear, so there has been a simplification and unification of bell ringing. The language has been lost little by little until now, when we are finally recognizing its worth."  Before newspapers, radio, telephones, television and the internet, it was bellringing that transmitted important information. A physically demanding job that required long hours and complete dedication, to be a bellringer was to be a human clock and the public loudspeaker.  While manual church bell ringing has persisted in Eastern Orthodox countries, it has largely been replaced by bell ringing systems in Catholic and Protestant churches in Western Europe.  Many of Spain's church bell towers that were automized in the 1970s and '80s are in a dire state, said Pallàs, who witnessed widespread problems while researching the belfries of Garrotxa, a county in northeast Catalonia. The rural area is known for its verdant hills, dormant volcanoes and picturesque villages where most people speak Catalan before Spanish.  His research included the 12th century Sant Romà church in Joanetes, a tiny village about two hours north of Barcelona, where Pallàs has spent the past 10 months teaching the inaugural class one Saturday a month.  "Since the last generation of bellringers had died off, the only thing to do was to train new ones in how to toll the bells. And that's where the idea of the school was born," Pallàs said.  Intangible heritage  The initiative comes two years after UNESCO added manual bellringing in Spain to its compendium of humanity's intangible cultural heritage. UNESCO described how the bells had knitted together communities even before they were functioning modern states.  "The first thing we have to do is rediscover the bells. That is why this school is so important," said Roman Gené Capdevila, president of Catalonia's Bell Ringers brotherhood. "There are so many ways to ring a bell, what we need are bellringers."  The bellringing course, officially recognized by the ISCREB theology school in Barcelona, finished last week with a demonstration by the class. All drawn to the allure of the banging bells, the students were men and women with diverse professional backgrounds ranging from engineering to teaching. One was in his 20s; several were retirees.  They spent the past few months researching old chiming sequences, documenting their origins and learning to play them. That ethnographic task meant students had to search out old bellringers, or their family members, to record what they knew.  Roser Sauri jumped at the chance to reconnect with her childhood by recovering and playing the chiming sequence that had sounded in her grandfather's village when he was baptized.  "The bells formed a part of my life," said Sauri, who now works in artificial intelligence. She missed their constancy while studying for her computing doctorate in Boston, where she heard none.  "When I visited my family, I began to associate the sound of church bells with being back home."  The human touch  The students took turns tolling sequences for everything from calls to Easter Mass, bad weather warnings, help for fighting a fire to orders for the village militia. They also could tell workers to get back to reaping wheat, or housewives when the fresh fish was coming to market and even how much it cost. Many of the ringers wore earplugs or headphones to muffle the deafening peals.  The students tolled a gamut of death announcements that could specify gender and social class. Juan Carles Osuna and two others tolled for the death of a woman. That meant swinging the largest bell at 429 kilos (945 pounds). It still had a clapper secured in the traditional method of using a dried skin of an ox penis.  Osuna, who paints church murals, also performed a complex sequence with all four of belfry's bells that required him to sit in a chair with ropes looped around his hands and feet.  "Whew! It's an emotional experience. You feel your blood pumping. You feel the strength, and how you are communicating with everyone in earshot," he said. "For me it is an honor, it's a way to honor both humans and God." The hesitation, the variation in the strength of each toll: in these details, and sometimes mistakes, the listener can hear the creator of the sound.  "The (automated) hammer will always be mathematically precise," Osuna said. "There is emotion in the human touch. There is a human element."  Utopian, quixotic? Maybe not  What might seem like a quixotic mission has so far had a promising start.  While admitting that his dream of having a bell ringer for every bell tower is "utopian," Pallàs said he has a full class lined up for the fall and some 60 more people on a waiting list. Many of his graduating pupils, including Sauri and Osuna, hope to continue playing at their local parishes or help convert their belfries into systems that allow manual ringing.  Pallàs believes that a recovery of bell ringing in a neighborhood or town's life could help strengthen communities in this dizzying age of technological, economic and political change.  "This is a means of communication that reaches everyone inside a local community and can help it come together at concrete moments," Pallàs said. "That can include a death in the community or the celebration of a holiday. It can help mark the rituals that we need." 

JAKARTA, Indonesia — At least 12 people died and 18 are missing after torrential rain caused a landslide in an illegal gold mine over the weekend in Indonesia's Sulawesi island, officials said on Monday. The landslide on Sunday morning in Suwawa district, Gorontalo province, killed miners and residents living near the illegal mine, said Heriyanto, head of the local rescue agency. Five survivors had been evacuated, he said, adding that a rescue team was searching for 18 missing people on Monday. "We have deployed 164 personnel, consisting of the national rescue team, police and military personnel, to search for the missing people," Heriyanto said. However, rescuers must walk about 20 kilometers to reach the landslide site and were being hampered by thick mud over the road and continuing rain in the area, Heriyanto said. "We will try to use an excavator once it's possible," he said. Photos of the affected village shared by the agency showed some houses were flattened by the landslide. Indonesia's disaster agency (BNPB) said the landslide has damaged several houses and one bridge. BNPB also warned residents that rain is still expected in some areas in Gorontalo province on Monday and Tuesday and urge people to be alert in case there's a further disaster. A landslide in South Sulawesi killed at least 18 people in South Sulawesi in April, caused by high-intensity rains. Torrential rain which triggered flash floods and mud slides killed more than 50 people in Indonesia's West Sumatra province in May.

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.

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WASHINGTON — As NATO prepares to convene on Tuesday a three-day summit in Washington to celebrate its 75th birthday, the alliance is reinforcing its support for Ukraine in the ongoing war with Russia. During a news conference with a handful of reporters Sunday previewing the summit, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said all NATO members want peace, and that can be achieved if Russian President Vladimir Putin understands he cannot win on the battlefield. “The quickest way to end this war is to lose the war,” he said. “But that that will not bring peace. That will bring occupation.” Stoltenberg outlined key measures NATO would take, including the establishment of a dedicated command in Germany, enhanced financial and military aid, and bilateral security agreements. Stoltenberg emphasized these initiatives while addressing the complexities of Ukraine's potential NATO membership and the alliance's united front against Russian aggression. The precise language of the final agreement of the summit regarding Ukraine’s NATO membership is still under negotiation, he said. In April, Stoltenberg said the alliance did not expect to offer Ukraine NATO membership during the summit, but rather a “bridge” to membership. At the summit, that “bridge” will encompass five essential components: Security assistance command: NATO is setting up a new command in Germany, with logistical hubs in Eastern Europe, to coordinate international security assistance for Ukraine. This will involve 700 personnel led by a three-star NATO general, according to Stoltenberg. Stoltenberg said there have been differences among allies about “the approach or types of weapons Ukraine should be delivered.” Those differences create bureaucratic delays, and the goal is to make delivery faster and easier. “This new command will have a very robust mandate, so there will be no need for consensus on each and every delivery,” he said. Financial pledge: Since February 2022, NATO allies have provided around $43 billion annually in military support to Ukraine. The upcoming summit is expected to extend this commitment for another year, laying a foundation for future support. Immediate weapon deliveries: Announcements on delivering more weapons and ammunition, particularly air defense systems, are anticipated at the summit to bolster Ukraine's defense. While the secretary general did not offer specifics, a senior U.S. official indicated that announcements can be expected from NATO allies this week regarding the provision of F-16 aircraft to Ukraine. Bilateral security agreements: Twenty NATO allies will have signed bilateral security agreements with Ukraine by the start of the summit, offering additional security guarantees and reinforcing collaborative defense efforts. Interoperability: Efforts are underway to align Ukrainian armed forces with NATO standards, including a joint training center in Poland and programs on military acquisitions and procurement. Hungary won’t participate or obstruct Stoltenberg addressed concerns about Hungary's stance on Russia's war in Ukraine and its potential to block NATO decisions. He recounted a recent visit to Budapest, where he secured an agreement with Prime Minister Viktor Orban ensuring that Hungary will not obstruct the proposed support measures for Ukraine. Budapest will not participate in the new NATO security assistance command for Ukraine but will fulfill its other NATO obligations and contribute to the common budget, Stoltenberg said. The secretary general highlighted NATO's diverse engagements with Moscow even after the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. He noted a recent conversation between U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and the Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, underscoring the routine nature of such contacts. Stoltenberg said NATO must function cohesively in developing new defense strategies, emphasizing unity despite differing perspectives, such as those represented by leaders like Orban. Future relationship with the US Stoltenberg is confident that the United States would continue to be a staunch NATO ally regardless of future election outcomes, attributing past criticisms by former president Donald Trump primarily to defense spending issues rather than NATO itself. He emphasized that any secretary general must be able to work with all leaders within the alliance, comparing NATO to a big family that every now and then has arguments and disagreements. Stoltenberg recounted his experience working with presidents Barak Obama, Trump, and Joe Biden, noting that despite differing political leadership, the U.S. has remained a steadfast and committed NATO ally.

MANILA, Philippines — Japan and the Philippines signed a key defense pact Monday allowing the deployment of Japanese forces for joint military exercises, including live-fire drills, to the Southeast Asian nation that came under brutal Japanese occupation in World War II but is now building an alliance with Tokyo as they face an increasingly assertive China. The Reciprocal Access Agreement, which similarly allows Filipino forces to enter Japan for joint combat training, was signed by Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa in a Manila ceremony witnessed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. It would take effect after ratification by the countries’ legislatures, Philippine and Japanese officials said. Kamikawa called the signing of the defense agreement “a groundbreaking achievement" that should further boost defense cooperation between Japan and the Philippines. “A free and open international order based on the rule of law is the foundation of regional peace and prosperity," she said. "We would like to work closely with your country to maintain and strengthen this.” Kamikawa and Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara later held talks with their Philippine counterparts on ways to further deepen relations. The defense pact with the Philippines is the first to be forged by Japan in Asia. Japan signed similar accords with Australia in 2022 and with Britain in 2023. Under Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, the Japanese government has taken steps to boost its security and defensive firepower, including a counterstrike capability that breaks from Japan’s postwar principle of focusing only on self-defense, amid threats from North Korea and China’s growing assertiveness. It’s doubling defense spending in a five-year period to 2027 in a move to bolster its military power and make Japan the world’s third-biggest military spender after the United States and China. Many of Japan’s Asian neighbors, including the Philippines, came under Japanese aggression until its defeat in World War II and Japan’s efforts to bolster its military role and spending could be a sensitive issue. Japan and the Philippines, however, have steadily deepened defense and security ties. Kishida’s moves dovetail with Marcos’ effort to forge security alliances to bolster the Philippine military’s limited ability to defend Manila’s territorial interests in the South China Sea. The busy sea passage is a key global trade route which has been claimed virtually in its entirety by China but also contested in part by the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan. The United States has also been strengthening an arc of military alliances in the Indo-Pacific to better counter China, including in any future confrontation over Taiwan, and reassure its Asian allies. Japan and the Philippines are treaty allies of the U.S. and their leaders held three-way talks in April at the White House, where President Biden renewed Washington’s “ironclad” commitment to defend Japan and the Philippines. Japan has had a longstanding territorial dispute with China over islands in the East China Sea. Chinese and Philippine coast guard and navy ships, meanwhile, have been involved in a series of tense confrontations in the South China Sea since last year. In the worst confrontation so far, Chinese coast guard personnel armed with knives, spears and an axe aboard motorboats repeatedly rammed and destroyed two Philippine navy supply vessels on June 17 in a chaotic faceoff in the disputed Second Thomas Shoal that injured several Filipino sailors. Chinese coast guard personnel seized seven navy rifles. The Philippines strongly protested the Chinese coast guard’s actions and demanded $1 million for the damage and the return of the rifles. China accused the Philippines of instigating the violence, saying the Filipino sailors strayed into what it called Chinese territorial waters despite warnings. Japan and the United States were among the first to express alarm over the Chinese actions and call on Beijing to abide by international laws. Washington is obligated to defend the Philippines, its oldest treaty ally in Asia, if Filipino forces, ships and aircraft come under an armed attack, including in the South China Sea.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Tokyo — Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike won a landslide victory to secure a third term, official election results showed Monday, in a rare triumph for a woman in Japan's male-dominated politics. The outcome from Sunday's vote is also a relief to unpopular Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which backed Koike despite her not being a member. Koike, 71, a former minister and television anchor who has governed one of the world's biggest cities since 2016, garnered 42.8 percent of votes, results showed. Her nearest rival was independent candidate Shinji Ishimaru, 41, the former mayor of Akitakata in western Japan, who secured 24.3 percent to pull off a surprise second place. Koike's main challenger had been thought to be another woman, former opposition lawmaker, model and TV anchor Renho, 56, who goes by one name, but she garnered just 18.8 percent. Koike declared victory late Sunday, vowing to strengthen Tokyo's welfare, economy and natural disaster management, while acknowledging challenges like inflation and Japan's low birth rate. "With Tokyoites' strong support, I was assigned to lead this great city," Koike told supporters in the megacity of 14 million people. "I have to upgrade efforts of Tokyo's reforms, and as I appealed in my election campaign, I will protect Tokyo residents' lives and livelihoods," she said. Japan has never had a woman prime minister and a large majority of lawmakers are men, although Tokyo accounts for a 10th of the national population and a fifth of the economy. The Tokyo vote comes after new government data showed the birth rate hit a record low of 1.20 last year, with Tokyo's figure 0.99 — the first Japan region to fall below one. Koike and her major rivals pledged to expand support for parenting, with the former promising government subsidies for epidurals. A record 56 people were standing in the election, not all of them serious, with one dressing as "The Joker" and calling for polygamy to be legalized.

An alliance of French left-wing parties was on course Sunday to become the biggest parliamentary bloc by beating the far right and President Emmanuel Macron's coalition, according to surprise projected results. No one group won an absolute majority in the poll, plunging France into political limbo with no clear path to forming a new government, two days before a major NATO summit and three weeks before the Paris Olympics. We talk to Frédéric Mérand, professor and chair of the political science department at the University of Montreal. A memorial concert was held in Kenya's capital Nairobi on Sunday for those killed in anti-government protests. And four people came out of isolation after a year in a simulated Mars habitat to study what it would be like.

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SEOUL, South Korea — A workers' union at Samsung Electronics in South Korea is set to stage a three-day strike from Monday and has warned it could take further action against the country's most powerful conglomerate at a later date. The National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU), whose roughly 28,000 members make up over a fifth of the firm's workforce in South Korea, is demanding the company improve its performance-based bonus system and give workers an extra day of annual leave. It is not immediately clear how many workers will join the strike, but the union's poll found about 8,100 members saying they would do so as of Monday morning. Lee Hyun-kuk, a senior union leader, said in a YouTube broadcast last week that another round of strikes could occur once the three-day stoppage is over if the workers' demands are not heard. The union plans to hold a rally on Monday morning near Samsung's headquarters in Hwaseong, south of Seoul. Analysts, however, say the strike is unlikely to have a major impact on chip output as most production at the world's biggest memory chipmaker is automated. Last month, the union staged a walkout by using annual leave, its first such industrial action, but the company at the time said there was no impact on production or business activity. Though it will have little impact on output, the labor movement shows decreased staff loyalty at one of the world's top chipmakers and smartphone manufacturers, analysts say, adding another problem for Samsung as it navigates cutthroat competition in chips used for artificial intelligence applications. Samsung estimated on Friday a more than 15-fold rise in its second-quarter operating profit, as rebounding semiconductor prices driven by the AI boom lifted earnings from a low base a year ago, but its share price performance has been lagging behind South Korean chip rival SK Hynix.

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Mina, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia on Monday warned of a temperature spike in Mecca as Muslim pilgrims wrapped up the hajj in searing conditions, with more than a dozen heat-related deaths confirmed. One of the world's largest religious gatherings unfolded during the oven-like Saudi summer again this year, and authorities recorded more than 2,700 cases of "heat exhaustion" on Sunday alone, the Saudi health ministry said. On Monday, according to the Saudi weather service, temperatures reached 51.8 degrees Celsius (125 degrees Fahrenheit) at Mecca's Grand Mosque, where pilgrims were circling the Kaaba, the large black cubic structure towards which all Muslims pray. In nearby Mina, where a spokesman for the national meteorology service said the temperature was 46C, other pilgrims threw stones at three concrete walls, a ritual known as "stoning the devil" that is the last major step of the hajj, while struggling under the burning sun. Jordan's foreign ministry said on Sunday that 14 Jordanian pilgrims had died "after suffering sun stroke due to the extreme heat wave", and that 17 others were "missing.” Iran reported the deaths of five pilgrims but did not specify the cause, while Senegal's foreign ministry said that three others had died. An Indonesian health ministry official, currently in Saudi Arabia, said on Monday that 136 Indonesian pilgrims had died during the hajj including at least three of heat stroke. Karwan Stoni, official spokesperson for pilgrims from Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, told AFP on Monday that 13 pilgrims had died, including 11 women. Heat was "one of the main reasons" for the deaths, along with heart attacks, he said, adding that 12 of the dead did not have official hajj permits and so could not access air-conditioned spaces made available by Saudi authorities.  "The holy sites today record the highest temperatures since the beginning of hajj... that may reach 49 degrees Celsius, and we advise the guests of God not to be exposed to the sun," the Saudi health ministry said, according to state-affiliated Al-Ekhbariya channel. The ministry on Sunday recorded 2,764 cases of heat exhaustion due to sun exposure and "non-compliance with guidelines," which include taking shelter from the sun during the afternoon. "Prevention is the most important, and the commitment of pilgrims not to go out at peak times except when necessary, or to use an umbrella, would reduce the incidence of heat exhaustion," its statement said. "Our health guidelines for the coming days are clear and easy: carry an umbrella, drink water regularly, and avoid exposure to the sun." 'Really hard day' The hajj is increasingly affected by climate change, according to a Saudi study published last month that said temperatures in the area where rituals are performed were rising 0.4C each decade. Pilgrims in Mina on Monday poured bottles of water over their heads as authorities handed out cold drinks and fast-melting chocolate ice cream. Azza Hamid Brahim, a 61-year-old pilgrim from Egypt, described seeing motionless bodies on the roadside as she made her way to and from the three concrete walls. "The ambulances didn't know which way to turn. It looked like Judgment Day, the end of time," she said. "It was a really hard day. We said to ourselves: 'That's it, we're going to die' because of the heatwave." Arzu Farhaj of Pakistan said she struggled to find help for a woman who was lying on the roadside. The woman looked to be without anyone accompanying her, "and the people were passing by," Farhaj said, adding she was unable to get security staff to call an ambulance for her. The hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and all Muslims with the means must perform it at least once. It occurs according to the Islamic lunar calendar, shifting forward each year in the Gregorian calendar.  Around 1.8 million pilgrims took part this year, 1.6 million of them from abroad, according to Saudi authorities. Hosting the hajj is a source of prestige for the Saudi royal family, and King Salman's title includes "Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques" in the cities of Mecca and Medina. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler, said on Sunday that Saudi officials had committed "to provide everything that will serve those who visit the Two Holy Mosques and help them perform their worship in security and reassurance.” The health ministry said it would "closely follow cases of heat exhaustion" and ensure pilgrims "can complete their hajj journey in full health.”

Niamey, Niger — U.S. troops have completed a withdrawal from their base in Niger's capital of Niamey and will fully depart from Agadez in the north before a Sept. 15 deadline set by the country's military rulers, both countries said Sunday. Niger's military leaders scrapped a military cooperation deal with Washington in March, after seizing power in a July 2023 coup. The United States had around 650 soldiers in Niger as part of anti-jihadist missions in several Sahel nations of West Africa, including a major drone base near Agadez. "The defense ministry of Niger and the U.S. Defense Department announce that the withdrawal of American forces and equipment from the Niamey base 101 is now completed," the two countries said in a statement. A final flight carrying U.S. troops was due to leave Niamey late Sunday. The U.S. presence had stood at around 950 troops, and 766 soldiers have left Niger since the military ordered their departure, AFP learned at a ceremony at the base attended by Niger's army chief of staff Maman Sani Kiaou and US General Kenneth Ekman. "American forces are now going to focus on quitting airbase 201 in Agadez," the statement said, insisting that the withdrawal would be completed by September 15 as planned. Niger had already ordered the withdrawal of troops from France, the former colonial power and traditional security ally, and has strengthened ties with Russia which has provided instructors and equipment. On Saturday, Germany's defense ministry also said it would end operations at its airbase in Niger by August 31 following the breakdown of talks with military leaders. A similar shift has taken place in neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso, which are also ruled by military leaders and faced with violence from jihadist groups.

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