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RAMALLAH, West Bank — Dozens of Israeli settlers, some wearing masks, attacked a Palestinian village near the city of Qalqilya in the occupied West Bank, burning cars and killing at least one person, authorities said on Thursday. The Palestinian health ministry said one Palestinian was killed and another critically wounded by Israeli settlers' gunfire during the incident in the village of Jit, the latest in a series of attacks by violent settlers in the West Bank. Footage shared on social media showed cars and houses on fire following the attacks. The White House said late on Thursday attacks by settlers on Palestinian civilians in the West Bank were "unacceptable and must stop." "Israeli authorities must take measures to protect all communities from harm, this includes intervening to stop such violence, and holding all perpetrators of such violence to account," a White House spokesperson added. The Israeli military said police and army units intervened and arrested one Israeli. It condemned the incident, which it said diverted security forces from other responsibilities. The military said it was examining reports about the death of the Palestinian. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office issued a statement saying he viewed the incident with "utmost severity." "Those responsible for any offense will be apprehended and tried," it said. Palestinians regularly accuse Israeli security forces of standing by and allowing groups of violent settlers to attack their houses and villages and the incidents have attracted increasing concern internationally. The United States and a number of European countries have imposed sanctions on violent settlers and called repeatedly on Israel to do more to curb the attacks.

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WASHINGTON — Kamala Harris is set to unveil plans for a federal ban on food and grocery "price gouging" and assistance of up to $25,000 in down payment support for first-time homeowners – populist proposals the vice president has embraced since becoming the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee. Harris is scheduled to outline her proposals Friday, in her first speech on the economy focusing on dealing with rising grocery and housing prices – key concerns for voters. She is set to speak in front of supporters at a rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, a battleground state that she and former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, are vying to win in the November presidential election. "In her first 100 days, Vice President Harris will work to enact a plan to bring down Americans' grocery costs and keep inflation in check," her campaign said in a memo to reporters Wednesday. Harris aims to ensure "big corporations can’t unfairly exploit consumers to run up excessive corporate profits," her campaign said, and will specifically call out the "highly consolidated" meat processing industry. "The lack of competition gives these middlemen the power to drive down earnings for farmers while driving up prices for consumers." Speaking to reporters Thursday, Trump called Harris’ proposal "communist price controls." "They don't work, they actually have the exact opposite impact and effect," he said. But it leads to food shortages, rationing, hunger, dramatically more inflation." In the U.S., the Federal Reserve sets interest rates independently, and presidential policies do not have much influence on lowering prices, at least in the short term. "It is highly unlikely that any single policy introduced by a president could have a significant enough impact to bring inflation down from its current level to the Federal Reserve's long-term target for the economy, which is 2%," said Andrew Lautz, associate director for the Bipartisan Policy Center's Economic Policy Program. Trump has said he will fight rising prices by boosting oil and gas production. While increasing energy supply could have a downward pressure on prices, and in turn on inflation, it won’t happen quickly, Lautz told VOA. Lower inflation While Americans are still feeling the pain, last month U.S. year-over-year inflation dipped under 3% for the first time since March 2021. Unemployment remains low, retail sales figures are upbeat, and most economists no longer warn of recession. Still the overall health of the economy remains a key concern for voters, and a point of attack on the campaign trail. "The only thing Kamala Harris can deliver is horrific inflation, massive crime and the death of the American dream," Trump said. Both candidates have also promised to slash federal taxes on tips received by workers in the service and hospitality industry. Critics say that proposal won’t help fast food servers or other low-income workers who don’t get tips and is vulnerable to abuse. "How can we be sure that it's deserving working people, as opposed to opening the door to a whole bunch of other people who might treat their bonuses and performance fees like tips and exempt themselves?" said Steven Rosenthal, senior fellow at the Tax Policy Center. Such proposals are common during presidential campaigns, Rosenthal said. "We often see a race to the bottom, with the candidates trying to outbid themselves for how many tax cuts they can promise." If enacted, those promises will be costly at a time when the country needs to seriously think about fiscal responsibility and deficit reduction, said Lautz. "We are at nearly $28 trillion in federal debt held by the public," he said. "The Congressional Budget Office estimates that's going to increase by another $20 trillion or so over the next decade." Trump previously held a commanding lead among voters on key economic issues, with various polls showing Americans think they will be better off financially under Trump than President Joe Biden. However, a survey conducted for the Financial Times and the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business published this week found that 41% trust Trump to be better at handling the economy, while 42% believe Harris would be better – a figure up seven points from Biden's numbers in July. 

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.

More than two and a half years into Russia's war in Ukraine, Germany is considering slashing military assistance to Kyiv by 50%. Berlin is the European Union's largest donor of military aid to Ukraine and second only to the United States, but domestic politics are casting doubt on that role. Marcus Harton narrates this report from Ricardo Marquina in Berlin. Camera: Ricardo Marquina 

TOKYO — Flights and trains in the Tokyo area were canceled Friday, and people were warned of strong winds, heavy rains and potential flooding and mudslides as a typhoon swerved near Japan on its way further north in the Pacific Ocean. Typhoon Ampil was forecast to reach the waters near Tokyo in the evening then continue north, bringing stormy conditions to the northern Kanto and Tohoku regions early Saturday. It had sustained winds of 162 kph with higher gusts Friday morning and was moving north at 15 kph, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. Ampil was not expected to make landfall and would weaken to a tropical storm by Sunday. Tokyo's Disneyland, usually open until 9 p.m., was closing early at 3 p.m. because of the typhoon. Yamato Transport, which makes Amazon and other deliveries in Japan, said no deliveries will be made in the Tokyo and nearby affected areas Friday and Saturday. The Shinkansen bullet trains running between Tokyo and Nagoya were halted for the entire day, according to Central Japan Railway, a common response to typhoons here. Bullet trains serving northeastern Japan and some local Tokyo trains were suspended temporarily or switched to a slower schedule. Dozens of departing and arriving flights were canceled at Tokyo's two airports, Haneda and Narita, as well as at Kansai, Osaka and Chubu airports. The flight cancellations affect some 90,000 people, according to Japanese media reports. Several highways may also partly close to traffic. Airports and train stations had been packed Thursday with people moving up their plans to avoid disruptions from the typhoon. Friday was drizzly and windy in Tokyo, although the intensity varied. Traffic and crowds out on the streets were sparse, mostly because of the Bon summer holiday period, not just the weather. Stores remained open. Officials warned people to stay away from rivers and beaches and to be wary of winds strong enough to send objects flying. "We foresee extremely fierce winds and extremely fierce seas," said Shuichi Tachihara, JMA chief forecaster. Japanese TV broadcasts showed Hachijo residents boarding up windows. Ampil moved past Hachijo by midday, as it headed northward. Store shelves for bread and instant noodles were empty.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Hurricane Ernesto strengthened into a Category 2 storm Thursday night as it barreled toward Bermuda after leaving hundreds of thousands of people in Puerto Rico without power or water. Sweltering heat enveloped the U.S. territory, raising concerns about people's health. A hurricane warning was in effect for Bermuda, with Ernesto expected to pass near or over the island Saturday. The storm was centered about 660 kilometers south-southwest of Bermuda late Thursday. Its maximum sustained winds had risen to 155 kph, and the storm was moving north-northeast at 22 kph over open waters. "I cannot stress enough how important it is for every resident to use this time to prepare. We have seen in the past the devastating effects of complacency," said National Security Minister Michael Weeks. Ernesto was forecast to possibly reach Category 3 strength Friday and then weaken as it approaches Bermuda, where it was forecast to drop 15 to 30 centimeters of rain, with up to 38 centimeters in isolated areas. "All of the guidance show this system as a large hurricane near Bermuda," said the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Ernesto was then expected to pass near or east of Atlantic Canada on Monday. Meanwhile, the spinning storm on Thursday was generating southern winds in Puerto Rico, which have a heating effect as opposed to the typical cooling trade winds that blow from the east. "We know a lot of people don't have power," said Ernesto Morales with the National Weather Service as he warned of extreme heat and urged people to stay hydrated. More than 290,000 of 1.4 million customers remained in the dark Thursday evening, more than a day after Ernesto swiped past Puerto Rico late Tuesday as a tropical storm before strengthening into a hurricane. A maximum of 735,000 clients had been without power Wednesday. Hundreds of thousands also were without water as many questioned the widespread power outage given that Ernesto was only a tropical storm when it spun past the island. "I haven't slept at all," said Ramón Mercedes Paredes, a 41-year-old construction worker who planned to sleep outdoors on Thursday night to beat the heat. "I haven't even been able to take a shower." At a small park in the Santurce neighborhood of the San Juan capital, Alexander Reyna, a 32-year-old construction worker, sipped on a bright red sports drink that friends provided as roosters crowed nearby above the slap of dominoes. He had no water or power and planned to spend all day at the park as he lamented the lack of breeze, a slight film of sweat already forming on his forehead: "I have to come here because I cannot stand to be at home." The situation worried many who lived through Hurricane Maria, a powerful Category 4 storm that hit Puerto Rico in September 2017 and was blamed for at least 2,975 deaths in its sweltering aftermath. It also razed the island's power grid, which is still being rebuilt. The National Weather Service issued a heat advisory on Thursday warning of "dangerously hot and humid conditions." Faustino Peguero, 50, said he was concerned about his wife, who has fibromyalgia, heart failure and other health conditions and needs electricity. He has a small generator at home, but he is running out of gasoline and cannot afford to buy more because he hasn't found work. "It's chaos," he said. Officials said they don't know when power will be fully restored as concerns grow about the health of many in Puerto Rico who cannot afford generators or solar panels on the island of 3.2 million people with a more than 40% poverty rate. Crews have flown more than 870 kilometers across Puerto Rico and identified 400 power line failures, with 150 of them already fixed, said Juan Saca, president of Luma Energy, a private company that operates the transmission and distribution of power in Puerto Rico. The remaining failures will take more time to fix because they involve fallen trees, he added. "We haven't seen anything catastrophic," he said. When pressed for an estimate of when power would be restored, Alejandro González, Luma's operations director, declined to say. "It would be irresponsible to provide an exact date," he said. At least 250,000 customers across Puerto Rico also were without water given the power outages, down from a maximum of 350,000. Among them was 65-year-old Gisela Pérez, who was starting to sweat as she cooked sweet plantains, pork, chicken and spaghetti at a street-side diner. After her shift, she planned to buy gallons of water, since she was especially concerned about her two small dogs: Mini and Lazy. "They cannot go without it," she said. "They come first."

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.

International mediators have held a new round of talks aimed at halting the Israel-Hamas war and securing the release of scores of hostages, with a potential deal seen as the best hope of heading off an even larger regional conflict. We talk with Boaz Atzili, a professor at the Department of Foreign Policy and Global Security, School of International Service, American University. More than two and a half years into Russia's war in Ukraine, Germany is considering slashing military assistance to Kyiv by 50 percent. And if you want to go down the rabbit hole with Alice to Wonderland we’ll tell you how you can.

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 — As North Korean leader Kim Jong Un struggles to cope with devastating floods in his country, his recent brash words have exposed his fear of South Korean influence over his people, analysts in Seoul said. During a visit to a flood-stricken area last week, Kim slammed South Korean news reports about the flooding, claiming media outlets were producing fake news stories about the damage and death toll. Kim accused the South Korean media of spreading false rumors, calling news reports "conspiracy propaganda" and "blasphemy" from "the country of waste." The South's media had reported that an estimated 1,500 people were dead or missing after the flooding, citing unnamed South Korean government officials. While Kim often engages in bellicose rhetoric, his direct criticism of South Korean media stood out as rare. His sister, Kim Yo Jong, has often taken the role of verbally attacking the country's southern neighbor. Anxiety over outside influence Some analysts said Kim's denunciation of the South Korean media was spurred by his anxiety over North Koreans' greater access to outside information. Cho Han-bum, a senior research fellow at the state-run Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul, told VOA Korean on Tuesday that thanks to modern technology, North Korean people receive information from the outside world more easily today. According to Cho, there are around 34,000 North Korean defectors in South Korea these days. This is a 23.6% increase from the end of 2014, when there were 27,500, data from South Korea's Unification Ministry show. "Many of them manage to talk frequently with their families in North Korea over the phone," Cho said. "The information from South Korea tends to spread faster through the intranet within North Korea, even though the internet connected to the outside world is blocked." North Korean authorities are having more difficulty controlling the flow of information now than they did in the past, Cho added. Nam Sung-wook, professor of North Korean studies at Korea University in Seoul, said the reopening of the North's border with China in the post-COVID-19 era has allowed more information to enter what is often called the "Hermit Kingdom." "Those who live near the Chinese border area should be able to get hold of the foreign news," Nam told VOA Korean in a phone call Tuesday. "They must be upset to find out the regime's incapability in dealing with the disaster, and the regime, on the other hand, is trying to contain such dissatisfaction." South Korea has always been an easy target for the North Korean regime to frame as a source of fake news, Nam said. North Korea would be hesitant to blame China, its longtime benefactor, he said, although it is likely that some North Koreans have heard from the Chinese side across the border along the Yalu River about the flooding, which has affected both countries. Cha Doo-hyun, a researcher at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul, said Kim might fear that his incompetence would be highlighted if he accepted support from South Korea, which made an offer earlier this month that Kim rejected. "For Kim, the news reports of the offers from other countries only underscore that the Kim regime doesn't have enough capacity to handle the situation," Cha told VOA Korean on the phone Tuesday. "And that is what makes Kim Jong Un respond to the South Korean media even more defiantly." Refusal of aid In his speech last week, Kim also stressed that North Korea would "pioneer its own path with its own strength and effort," while admitting that several countries and international institutions had offered to help the North. Kim's remarks suggested that the regime would refuse to accept any support from outside. Lim Eul-chul, associate professor at the Institute for Far Eastern Studies at Kyungnam University in Changwon, South Korea, told VOA Korean on the phone Tuesday that Kim is trying to discredit the South Korean media. "Kim Jong Un has already defined a new relationship with South Korea and is seeking an internal unity while escalating animosity toward the South," Lim said. "He cannot receive the humanitarian aid proposed by South Korea in this situation, so I think Kim is using this South Korean media report as an excuse to lower expectations about the humanitarian aid that South Korea was willing to provide." Lim added that Kim is exploiting the natural disaster to more broadly limit South Korean influence among North Korean people. The South Korean government interpreted Kim's remarks about its nation's news media as his attempt to "minimize public sentiment turning against the regime" by pointing fingers outward. North Korea is "shifting the subject of criticism to the outside," Koo Byoung-sam, a spokesperson at South Korea's Unification Ministry, told a press briefing earlier this month.

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washington — As Indonesia gears up to participate in U.S.-led joint military exercises this month, it agreed at a meeting this week to hold military training with China, a move analysts say points to Indonesia's nonalignment stance regarding the U.S.-China rivalry. The Indonesian military is preparing to host Super Garuda Shield exercises led by the U.S. with participation by dozens of countries, including Japan, Australia, South Korea, Germany, Singapore and Malaysia. The annual drills will be held in the Indonesian provinces of East Java, West Java and South Sumatra from August 26 to September 5. In the meantime, senior Indonesian and Chinese officials agreed to hold joint military training and reaffirmed their commitment to boost regional security, among other things, at a meeting Tuesday in Jakarta, according to a statement by the Indonesian Foreign Ministry. It was the first senior officials' meeting of a joint foreign-defense ministerial dialogue that will be elevated to a ministerial-level meeting during a new Indonesian administration next year. President-elect Prabowo Subianto will begin his term in October. The two countries agreed to launch a new dialogue when outgoing President Joko Widodo met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in October in Beijing. "If it takes place next year, the bilateral exercises with the Chinese will reflect Indonesia's pursuit of showcasing its neutrality" based on "bebas and aktif," or "free and active" foreign policy aimed at making it "difficult for any major power to pull Indonesia into its sphere of influence," said Abdul Rahman Yaacob, a research fellow in the Southeast Asia Program at the Lowy Institute. However, if the exercises with China focus on combat operations and interoperability rather than nontraditional security areas such as piracy and counterterrorism and are conducted in the contested South China Sea, it "will raise red flags for the U.S. and its allies," Yaacob said. "Indonesia under Prabowo will have to balance many factors when planning exercises with the Chinese, as potential repercussions could be high." The U.S. and its allies, including South Korea, France and Japan, could reconsider a decision to supply the Indonesians with advanced weapons systems, he added. Indonesia, like other Southeast Asian countries, has been conducting joint drills with both the U.S. and China. Last year, China sent a naval destroyer and frigate to participate at the invitation of Jakarta in a multilateral naval exercise aimed at fostering cooperation on humanitarian operations and disaster management. The U.S. Navy, which also participated, described the drills as allowing "exchanges that support multilateral cooperation." Indonesia's defense cooperation with China is considered underdeveloped, mainly focusing on low-level exercises. But recently, Jakarta expressed its desire to hold more military exercises with China, in addition to ASEAN member states and the U.S. In an interview with Nikkei Asia in July, Indonesian Army Chief of Staff General Maruli Simanjuntak said the Indonesian army is preparing to conduct joint drills with China that could start next year. "Indonesia, like most of its neighbors, both seeks pragmatic cooperation with and wants to hedge against the hegemonic ambitions of China," said Gregory Poling, senior fellow and director of the Southeast Asia Program and Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "That also explains why Jakarta would be open to low-level military exercises with China even as it prioritizes its much more robust military relationship with traditional partners like the United States, Japan and Australia.” The U.S. Navy SEALs and the Indonesian navy's Frogman Forces Command held a joint training exercise in July. The drills have been taking place annually since their bilateral defense talks in 2022. Andreyka Natalegawa, an associate fellow for the Southeast Asia Program at CSIS, said, "Despite the apparent — and nascent — deepening of Indonesia-China defense ties, the United States remains the primary partner of choice in defense cooperation with Indonesia." He continued, "The depth, frequency and institutionalization of U.S. bilateral and multilateral exercises with Indonesia remains second to none, and it is highly unlikely that China will supplant the United States' role as Indonesia's primary defense partner of choice in the immediate future." At their first U.S.-Indonesian senior officials' foreign policy and defense dialogue in October 2023 in Washington, the U.S. reaffirmed its commitment to support Indonesia's defense forces as the country's "largest military engagement partner."

taipei, taiwan — A 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck 34 kilometers (21.1 miles) off Taiwan's eastern city of Hualien on Friday, the weather administration said, with no immediate reports of damage from what was the second strong tremor to hit the island in less than a day.   The quake also shook buildings in the capital, Taipei. Authorities said subway services in the city continued at lower speeds.   "It was close," said Hsieh Yu Wei, a singer who pulled his car over the moment he received a government-issued quake warning while driving on a Hualien coastal highway.  The quake had a depth of 9.7 kilometers (6 miles), the weather administration said, and followed a 5.7 magnitude earthquake that struck off Taiwan's northeastern shore on late Thursday.   Weather officials have warned of the risk of landslides in mountainous areas following days of rain.   Taiwan lies near the junction of two tectonic plates and is prone to earthquakes.   In April, Hualien was hit by the biggest earthquake to affect Taiwan in at least 25 years. Nine people were killed and more than 900 injured.  

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.

There is no evidence the United States set any conditions for Sudanese participation. According to the United Nations, Sudan does not have a government, and the United Arab Emirates and Egypt are key to a successful cease-fire.

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 Nairobi, a new restaurant is generating business and buzz – not just because of the food, but because of the staff. Robots serving dishes is the main attraction of diners who flock to the Robot Cafe. Juma Majanga reports. Camera: Jimmy Makhulo.