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WASHINGTON — The problems of rising poverty and decreasing productivity in Latin America will be on the agenda when the foreign ministers of 12 regional countries convene in Washington on Wednesday, a U.S. State Department official said.  Secretary of State Antony Blinken aims during the talks to "tackle” those challenges and work toward making the Americas “the world's most economically competitive region,” said Brian Nichols, assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs.  The ministers represent members of the Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity, established two years ago to “achieve concrete results for the middle class, workers, and historically marginalized groups” by deepening economic integration and creating good paying jobs, Nichols said, speaking at a briefing this week.  “Through this partnership, we will work together to build resilient supply chains, reinvigorate our region’s economic institutions, and invest in our workers, our infrastructure, and our strategic industries – whether through semiconductors or clean energy, or medical supplies or the critical minerals needed for our modern economy.”  Nichols pointed out that the United States is Latin America's largest trading partner and its largest source of foreign direct investment. In 2023, U.S. trade with Latin America and the Caribbean totaled over $1.1 trillion, and Mexico displaced China as America’s top trading partner.   Nevertheless, he said “poverty rates are rising in Latin America, productivity has lagged, and income inequality remains a serious problem. The pandemic demonstrated to us and to our regional partners the importance of developing more diversified and reliable supply chains closer to home.”  Lisa Kubiske, a former U.S. ambassador to Honduras and former deputy assistant secretary of state, said that in the past two years, the member nations have been able to close gaps in their free trade agreements and address structural issues that thwart broad-based economic growth.  At a summit in November, she said, the leaders of the 12 countries directed their ministers to develop three tracks: trade, finance and foreign affairs. On the foreign affairs front, the group has engaged “on clean hydrogen, entrepreneurship, rule of law and transparency, smart agriculture, peaceful uses of space” and other issues, she told journalists at a briefing.   The president of the Inter-American Development Bank and the deputy CEO of the Development Finance Corporation have been invited to a lunch with the ministers. There will also be two side events, one hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and another hosted by the Council of the Americas.  The founding members of the group are Barbados, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Peru, the United States, and Uruguay. Their leaders will meet again next year in Costa Rica.

State Department   — The United States is encouraged by "incremental progress" on peace and reconciliation efforts in Ethiopia, 20 months after a cease-fire was implemented in the northern Tigray region, according to a senior U.S. official.  In November 2022, Ethiopia’s government and leaders from the Tigray region reached a cease-fire, known as the Pretoria Agreement or Cessation of Hostilities Agreement, after a two-year civil war that devastated much of northern Ethiopia.  Mike Hammer, U.S. special envoy for the Horn of Africa, told VOA during an interview on Monday that Ethiopia is moving “in the right direction.” He noted that internally displaced people have started to return to their homes, and human rights abuses in Tigray have "dramatically decreased."  But he acknowledged continued conflicts in the Amhara and Oromia regions, stating that the U.S. is prepared to support any efforts to bring peace to these areas through dialogue.  Hammer traveled to Ethiopia last week to attend the African Union’s second meeting to review implementation of the Pretoria Agreement.  The following excerpts from the interview have been edited for brevity and clarity. VOA: Given ongoing reports of starvation and food insecurity in Tigray, along with continued conflict in the Amhara and Oromia regions, what actions should the U.S. take to address these crises?  Mike Hammer, U.S. special envoy for the Horn of Africa: I did see some progress during my recent visit. We conducted the second review of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement while I was in Ethiopia from July 8th to the 9th. I was encouraged to see internally displaced people starting to return to their homes, and we're starting to move towards a comprehensive program of disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of combatants (DDR.)  In November 2022, the guns were silent. Now, 20 months later, they remain silent. This is critically significant, because at that time, it was one of the bloodiest wars in the world. And so, we've worked together with the African Union to create an opportunity for peace. Of course, much more needs to be done. As I mentioned, we need to work on the return of internally displaced people, a comprehensive [Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration] program, transitional justice and accountability.  VOA: Are all the parties involved in the Pretoria Agreement following through with the promises they made?  Hammer: Both the government of Ethiopia and the Tigray Interim Regional Administration in the TPLF [Tigray People’s Liberation Front] remain very much committed to the agreement. That's critically important, obviously, to proceed with its implementation. Now, it hasn't been fully implemented, and that's why the United States continues to be very fully engaged in pressing both parties to deliver on their commitments.  One of the major commitments, of course, is that they should resolve their issues through political dialogue. So, we must avoid any return to violence. They must come to agreements on the way forward on how to resolve some of the contested areas. We are also prepared to continue to support any efforts to try to bring peace to other regions like Oromia and Amhara through dialogue.  VOA: Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said, “War crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing” took place in the Tigray war. Why has the U.S. failed to bring this case to the International Criminal Court?  Hammer: It's very important that we called out the war crimes, crimes against humanity, and atrocities that were committed. We stand behind supporting the process that Ethiopia has launched to try to make sure that those responsible are held accountable. Ethiopia is developing a transitional justice process to ensure accountability for war crimes through the Ethiopian court system, and we are prepared to support that.  VOA: You also went to Djibouti, where you consulted on regional issues with the Intergovernmental Authority on Development. What was the consensus on ending the Sudan crisis?    Hammer: There’s a lot of concern over the situation in Sudan. I was also in Addis Ababa at the African Union and participated in the launch of preparatory meetings supporting Sudanese civilians. The entire region is very alarmed by what's happening. The United States is alarmed. The world needs to hear about the despair that the Sudanese people are experiencing in this continuous and horrific war. With a lack of humanitarian assistance, killings and atrocities are being committed.  VOA: Do you see a resumption of Sudan peace talks soon?    Hammer: U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan Tom Perriello is working very hard to move forward on any opportunity to launch new cease-fire talks in Jeddah, or wherever it might be possible.

Nairobi, Kenya — Advocacy group Human Rights Watch called Tuesday for greater accountability of public funds in Kenya, framing it partially as a human rights issue. Kenyans have taken to the streets for four consecutive weeks to protest the high cost of living, corruption and misuse of the country's finances. What began as a tax protest has morphed into a demand for the end of President William Ruto's government, with demonstrators saying they do not trust it to solve the country's political and economic problems. Human Rights Watch called on the International Monetary Fund to work with the Kenyan government to ensure that IMF’s support for the country is aligned with human rights — and that corruption doesn’t take funds meant to improve the lives of ordinary people. Allan Ngari, the Africa advocacy director at Human Rights Watch, said, "Our greatest concern is that the outrage sparked by the proposed taxes is something that is endemic in Kenya in the sense that corporate tax evasion, for example, is one of the issues that haven't been taken into consideration, in addition to the opulent lifestyle that we have seen among the Kenyan executive." Kenya’s debt pressures spurred the IMF to approve $941 million for the country in January, bringing the total amount loaned to the East African nation by the financial agency to $3.9 billion. Kenyans have raised concerns about such heavy borrowing, saying it has done little to improve their lives. At the same time, protesters say, citizens are paying more taxes so Kenya can repay the loans. The IMF argues that the money it provided to Kenya helped alleviate market concerns, allowing the East African nation access to the bond market and partially rolling over a maturing Eurobond. Ngari said the Kenyan government needs to be accountable to the IMF and other foreign loan providers, but also for the revenue it collects in the country. "Monies that have been allocated or are within the government expenditure should be for projects and processes of development in the country,” Ngari said. “That's the reason why these loans have been sought. So, accountability is that [the] public should be really aware of the extent of the borrowing." Activists have repeatedly asked the government to disclose the country’s total current debt, specifically the amount owed to China, which the government has been reluctant to make public. Ruto has formed a task force to audit the country's debt and report back by the end of September. In the streets of many cities and towns, protesters continue to cry out about hard economic times and a government that they say has become blind and deaf to its problems. Sharon, a Nairobi resident who gave only her first name, said that if the borrowed money can be accounted for and used for its intended purpose, it will improve the situation of many Kenyans. "We need accountability for the money we pay and for the money we borrow,” she said. “This will create more employment opportunities because there will be money to pay for those jobs." Stella Nkirote, a 31-year-old street vendor and mother of four, said corruption has hampered the country's economic growth, saying that people in power have refused to use money in the way it is supposed to be used. In its 2016 periodic review of Kenya, the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights said the country has large amounts of illicit financial flows, tax avoidance and cases of corruption involving top government officials that are not investigated. Human Rights Watch argues that many countries’ problems could be solved if they aligned their economic policies with human rights on every level — domestic and international.

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PORT-AU-PRINCE — A second contingent of 200 police officers from Kenya arrived Tuesday in Haiti to bolster a U.N.-backed mission led by the East African country to battle violent gangs in the troubled Caribbean country. The officers arrived nearly a month after the first contingent of 200 landed in the capital of Port-au-Prince, where gangs control at least 80% of the territory. Authorities have declined to provide details on the Kenyans' assignments, citing security concerns, although AP journalists have seen them on patrol in areas near the main international airport, which reopened in late May after gang violence forced it to close for nearly three months. More Kenyans are expected to arrive in coming weeks and months and will be joined by police and soldiers from the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Benin, Chad and Jamaica for a total of 2,500 personnel. They will be deployed in phases at a cost of some $600 million a year, according to the U.N. Security Council. While some Haitians have welcomed the arrival of the Kenyans, others remain wary. Kenyan police have faced years of allegations of abuses in their country, including extrajudicial killings.

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.

MADRID — Spanish authorities confirmed on Tuesday that a body found in a remote area of the island of Tenerife a day earlier was that of a missing British teenager and that the injuries sustained were compatible with an accidental fall. "We have a positive ID," a court spokesperson said. "Fingerprinting confirms that the body belongs to Jay Slater, and the death was due to multiple traumas compatible with a fall in the mountainous area." Earlier, the same spokesperson said it would take some days before autopsy results were available. Slater's mother, Debbie, issued a statement through the British overseas missing persons charity LBT Global acknowledging the "worst news." "I just can't believe this could happen to my beautiful boy," the statement read. "Our hearts are broken." The body was found Monday morning by a Civil Guard mountain rescue group. Slater, 19, went missing on June 17, and his phone was last traced to the Masca ravine in a remote national park on the Canary Islands archipelago. The remains were found with Slater's possessions and clothes close to the site of his mobile phone's last location, LBT Global said on Monday. Matthew Searle, chief executive of LBT Global, which has issued several statements on behalf of the family, said it would help repatriate Slater's body and belongings and make funeral arrangements. "There will, of course, be many more hurdles for the family to face in the coming days, and we will work with them to make this horrific time as easy as possible," he said. 

Sixty-four percent of Pakistan’s population is under the age of 30. While opportunities to participate in sports are generally scant for this population, they barely exist for the country's girls. Sidra Dar meets two Pakistani sisters in Karachi who are trying to change that, in this story narrated by Aisha Khalid. (Camera: Muhammad Khalil)

Rights watchdogs accuse Ruto’s government of extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances to quiet opposing voices and deny the Kenyan people their constitutional rights.

BANGKOK — Police in Thailand say the bodies of six people were found Tuesday in a luxury hotel in downtown Bangkok and poisoning is suspected.  Thailand's Foreign Ministry said in a short statement that the dead were reported to be two Vietnamese Americans and four Vietnamese nationals. They were not identified further.  The Thai newspaper Matichon showed photos of police at the Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel investigating the deaths after being summoned by hotel staff at late afternoon. It said five bodies were found inside a room and one outside.  Investigators said the bodies were found foaming at the mouth, an officer from the Lumpini police station said on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to release information.  Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin went to the scene in the evening but did not provide any additional information to reporters gathered there. 

Tallinn, Estonia — Dozens of Nobel Prize laureates are calling in an open letter on Belarus' authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko to free all political prisoners, after 18 seriously ill activists were released this month. The Belarusian human rights group Viasna counts almost 1,400 political prisoners, including its Nobel Peace Prize-winning founder Ales Bialiatski. Many of Belarus' most prominent opposition figures are behind bars while others fled abroad as authorities cracked down severely on opponents as protests gripped the country in 2020. But only one well-known figure was among the 18 prisoners whom Lukashenko allowed to be freed earlier this month. The letter from Nobel winners urged Lukashenko to follow through with more releases. "You have a unique opportunity to turn the page on the past and enter history not only as an uncompromising ruler but also as a political leader who has shown wisdom and compassion, responsible to your people and their future," said the letter that was posted Friday on the website of Belarusian political scientist Dmitry Bolkunets. The 58 signatories include literature prize winners Svetlana Alexievich of Belarus, J.M. Coetzee, Herta Mueller, and peace prize laureates Mairead Corrigan Maguire, Oscar Arias, Jody Williams, Shirin Ebadi, Tawakkol Karman, Juan Manuel Santos, Dmitry Muratov and Maria Ressa.

Taipei, Taiwan — Taiwan hosts a series of military exercises and drills next week that will include preventing attacks on key airports and ports, and testing the ability of troops to respond to scenarios similar to a hypothetical invasion from China.   Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense says the annual Han Kuang and Wan An exercises, between July 22 and July 26, will focus on “unscripted and real combat drills.” They will include drills such as shelter-in-place and air defense drill alerts.   The exercises come as China increases military pressure on Taiwan, which Beijing views as part of its territory. Beijing has vowed to unify the democratically ruled island with China, by force if necessary.  When Taiwan President Lai Ching-te took office in May, China conducted a blockade-style military exercise around Taiwan, aimed at testing its ability to “seize power.” Beijing has also increased the number of military aircraft, naval vessels and coast guard vessels operating near Taiwan.   On July 11, Taiwan’s defense ministry said it detected 66 Chinese military aircraft operating around the island within 24 hours, the most sorties on a single day in 2024. A day before, Taipei said it detected China’s aircraft carrier Shandong sailing through waters near Taiwan to join military exercises in the western Pacific.  Unscripted drills  Unlike Han Kuang exercises in the past, some analysts say this year’s exercises will be closer to actual combat as authorities will not announce simulated scenarios before the exercises.   “This year’s drills are unscripted exercises and the goal is to let the Taiwanese military develop capabilities to respond swiftly in real combats,” Su Tzu-yun, a military expert at the Taipei-based Institute for National Defense and Security Research, told VOA by phone.   He said another aim of the drills is to boost troop morale and the public’s confidence in the military’s capabilities.   During the live-fire segment of the exercises, the defense ministry will test the troops’ defense capabilities during nighttime to ensure they can make decisions independently and follow the rules of engagement even after losing contact with central command.  “As the Chinese military enhances its combat capabilities at night, Taiwanese troops also need to possess the ability to be prepared to fight at any hour of the day,” said Chieh Chung, a military researcher at the National Policy Foundation in Taiwan.   Since the Chinese military may try to disrupt communication between the Taiwanese troops through large-scale information and electronic warfare, Chieh told VOA that it’s important for Taiwan to ensure its forces “have the capabilities and will to fight independently in combat when they lose contact with central command.”   To prevent invading Chinese troops from seizing critical infrastructure across Taiwan, the military will conduct anti-landing drills at 12 airports, ports, and beaches near key political and economic centers.   Apart from Taiwan’s main international airport in Taoyuan, the harbor at the mouth of the Tamsui River in northern Taiwan will be another important location where the Taiwanese military will conduct a river defense exercise, after a Chinese man drove a speedboat into the harbor in June.  China has increasingly deployed fighter jets and aircraft carrier groups toward eastern Taiwan, an area traditionally used to protect Taiwanese troops and home to two important air bases. In response, this year’s exercise will include runway repair, restoration of combat power, and air force countermeasures.    Su said the drills aim to ensure the Taiwanese military is capable of conducting “multi-point simultaneous defense” rather than concentrating on defending one particular item of infrastructure.  “These exercises are simulated based on a potential Chinese military invasion, during which the Chinese troops may likely focus on seizing airports, seaports, and beaches around Taiwan,” he told VOA.   Strengthening civil defense  Apart from strengthening Taiwanese troops’ capabilities in actual combat, Taiwan will also conduct the annual air defense exercise across the island.  While last year’s drills focused on shelter-in-place and evacuation drills in districts, this year’s air defense exercise will include the dissemination of alerts about missile and rocket attacks.  According to Taiwan’s Defense Ministry, alerts will be sent to Taiwanese people through text messages. The messages will include links to maps that inform them about the locations of nearby shelters.  In addition to the regular 30-minute drills, during which people need to shelter in place and vehicles have to stop moving, local governments and civil defense organizations will conduct a separate 30-minute drill setting up wartime disaster relief and shelter stations.  This year’s exercise will also simulate storing ammunition in strategic, underground places near battlefields as part of the effort to strengthen Taiwanese troops’ sustainability during combat. The ministry said this could reduce the risks of ammunition being damaged during combat while enhancing the troops’ combat sustainability.   Su said while Taiwan’s air raid shelters are already well-equipped, Taiwanese authorities should consider drawing up plans to transform some shelters into hospitals or spaces to store essential supplies. “These steps can further strengthen Taiwan’s civil defense,” he told VOA.   Some analysts say that while this year’s exercises reflect Taiwan’s attempt to modernize the training schemes, it’s important for the military to keep adjusting the exercises based on patterns emerging from China’s military activities.  

KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo — At least 70 people, including nine soldiers and a soldier's wife, were killed when armed men attacked a village in western Democratic Republic of Congo, local authorities said, as violence intensifies between two rival communities. The attack took place on Saturday in the village of Kinsele, around 100 kilometers (60 miles) east of Kinshasa, the capital. Because of insecurity and poor infrastructure in the region, deadly attacks can take days to be reported. Kinsele is in the Kwamouth territory, where for the past two years conflict has raged between two local communities — Teke and Yaka — leading to the deaths of hundreds of civilians. As Congo battles armed groups in the east, violence has also intensified in the western part of the country.  The attackers were members of the Mobondo militia, an armed group presenting itself as defenders of the Yaka people. "As of [Monday], 72 bodies have already been found and the search continues to find other bodies in the bush," David Bisaka, the provincial deputy for the Kwamouth territory, told The Associated Press in a phone interview. Security services on site continue to search for the bodies "after the army succeeded in routing this militia" for the second time in a week, Bisaka said. The Mobondo militia first tried to attack the same village on Friday. Following Saturday's attack, the bodies found included those of nine soldiers and one woman, the wife of a soldier, the head of a nearby village, Stanys Liby, told the U.N.-funded Radio Okapi. The conflict over land and customary claims in the Kwamouth territory erupted in June 2022 between so-called "native" and "nonnative" communities, according to the advocacy group Human Rights Watch. Tensions flared in June 2022 over land rights and customary taxes between the Teke, historical inhabitants of the region, and farmers from various other ethnic groups, including the Yaka, who settled near the Congo River more recently. Despite a cease-fire agreed upon in April 2024 in the presence of Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi, clashes between the two communities have continued and even intensified in recent weeks, with the Congolese army failing to quell the violence. The army is also struggling to contain the violence in the eastern part of the country, which has been torn by decadelong fighting between government forces and more than 120 armed groups seeking a share of the region's gold and other resources. Violence in the eastern part of the country has worsened in recent months as security forces battle the militias. Earlier this month, a militia attack on a gold mine in northeastern Congo killed six Chinese miners and two Congolese soldiers.

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.

Audio deepfakes have been used to try and sway voters in elections this year. VOA’s Matt Dibble looks at how artificial intelligence can help detect synthetic voices in this week’s episode of LogOn.

TEHRAN, Iran — Iranian Shiite Muslims on Tuesday commemorated Ashoura, a remembrance of the 7th century martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, Hussein, that gave birth to their faith. More than 1,340 years after Hussein’s death, Tehran and other cities across the country were adorned with symbols of Shiite piety and repentance. Red flags represented Hussein’s blood, black funeral tents and clothes indicated mourning, and processions of chest-beating and self-flagellating men expressed fervor. Some sprayed water over the mourners in the intense heat. Iranian state TV reported that 6 million Iranian pilgrims traveled to the Iraqi city of Karbala, where Hussein is entombed in a gold-domed shrine, and broadcast live images of the procession. Many Shiite Muslims across the Middle East commemorated Ashoura on Tuesday. In the Omani capital of Muscat, a shooting at a Shiite mosque killed four people and wounded dozens on Tuesday. Iran’s foreign ministry condemned the attack. Shiites represent more than 10% of the world’s 1.8 billion Muslims and view Hussein as the rightful successor to the Prophet Muhammad. Hussein’s death in battle at the hands of Sunnis at Karbala, south of Baghdad, ingrained a deep rift in Islam and continues to play a key role in shaping Shiite identity.