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ISLAMABAD — A quarterly report on the situation in Afghanistan by the United Nations has documented a surge in attacks by armed groups fighting Taliban rule. It also noted “persistent” internal tensions among de facto Afghan leaders. The U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, or UNAMA, released the assessment Friday, noting that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres recently submitted it to the Security Council. The report stated that the armed opposition “did not pose a significant challenge” to the Taliban’s hold on territorial control since they regained power in August 2021. “Two opposition groups conducted verified attacks during the reporting period: the Afghanistan Freedom Front [AFF] and the National Resistance Front [NRF],” the document stated. The U.N. said both groups focused on attacking Taliban security forces in the capital, Kabul. The report stated that the NRF carried out “29 confirmed attacks” in the past three months, with 20 in Kabul and the rest in the northern Afghan provinces of Takhar, Baghlan and Parwan. The AFF conducted 14 attacks, all of which took place in the national capital. “Both groups used hit-and-run tactics against de facto security forces, throwing grenades in 22 attacks and using improvised explosive devices in seven others,” said the U.N. report. It stated that an NRF-claimed attack on February 26 targeted the Taliban-run military zone of Kabul International Airport, firing three mortars on the installation but causing no confirmed damage or casualties. A spokesman for the NRF disputed the U.N. assessment, saying it is “deeply disappointing” to see the world body downplaying the security and other crises in Afghanistan.     “Notably, the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan has conducted over 160 successful operations in Kabul and various provinces this year, yet only 29 have been reported,” Ali Maisam Nazary said on social media platform X. “This lack of accurate reporting undermines the true situation on the ground and does a disservice to the people of Afghanistan,” he wrote. The U.N. findings come as the Taliban’s crackdown on media has made it extremely difficult for reporters to access authentic information and to verify insurgent claims. Taliban officials have not yet commented on the U.N. report. The Afghan rebel groups, NRF and AFF, are made up of political and military officials of the internationally backed government in Kabul that was ousted from power by the then-insurgent Taliban. Taliban authorities also have played down the armed insurgency, claiming they have restored peace through war-torn Afghanistan with public support and they have established control over all 34 of the country’s provinces. The male-only Taliban government is internationally isolated and condemned for its sweeping curbs on Afghan women’s and girls’ access to education and employment. No country has formally recognized the Taliban leadership, nor has any foreign government, including the United States, encouraged a war against the de facto Afghan rulers. IS threat The U.N. report also documented six attacks by an Afghan-based Islamic State affiliate, known as Islamic State-Khorasan, in the reporting period. The violence was mostly targeted at the Taliban, including a suicide bombing outside a bank in southern Kandahar city on March 21. The Kandahar blast killed at least 25 Taliban security forces and wounded 45 others, along with five Afghan civilians, according to the U.N. report. Taliban officials had formally confirmed only three fatalities, saying the attack injured about a dozen people, though they did not identify the casualties. U.S. military commanders and intelligence chiefs have described IS-Khorasan as the most potent threat to Taliban rule in Afghanistan and beyond. The Kabul government maintains that its sustained counterterrorism operations have significantly degraded IS-Khorasan’s presence in the country, along with its ability to launch attacks internally or externally. Taliban rifts The U.N. report released Friday also observed “some divergent views” within the Taliban over governance issues. “The de facto authorities maintained public unity and exerted authority over the entire national territory, although some internal tensions persisted within their structure. They continued their outreach with communities to bridge gaps and elicit their support while reducing the space for men and women to conduct civil and political activities,” the quarterly assessment stated. Taliban officials repeatedly have dismissed as Western propaganda allegations of internal rifts involving their reclusive supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, and Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani. “These are just rumors, not true,” Suhail Shaheen, the head of the Taliban’s Qatar-based political office, said in a brief statement Thursday when asked for his comments on the reported divisions

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HONG KONG — The United States and China resumed semi-official nuclear arms talks in March for the first time in five years, with Beijing's representatives telling U.S. counterparts that they would not resort to atomic threats over Taiwan, according to two American delegates who attended. The Chinese representatives offered reassurances after their U.S. interlocutors raised concerns that China might use, or threaten to use, nuclear weapons if it faced defeat in a conflict over Taiwan. Beijing views the democratically governed island as its territory, a claim rejected by the government in Taipei. "They told the U.S. side that they were absolutely convinced that they are able to prevail in a conventional fight over Taiwan without using nuclear weapons," said scholar David Santoro, the U.S. organizer of the Track Two talks, the details of which are being reported by Reuters for the first time. Participants in Track Two talks are generally former officials and academics who can speak with authority on their government's position, even if they are not directly involved with setting it. Government-to-government negotiations are known as Track One.   Washington was represented by about half a dozen delegates, including former officials and scholars at the two-day discussions, which took place in a Shanghai hotel conference room.   Beijing sent a delegation of scholars and analysts, which included several former People's Liberation Army officers. A State Department spokesperson said in response to Reuters' questions that Track Two talks could be "beneficial." The department did not participate in the March meeting though it was aware of it, the spokesperson said.   Such discussions cannot replace formal negotiations "that require participants to speak authoritatively on issues that are often highly compartmentalized within (Chinese) government circles," the spokesperson said. Members of the Chinese delegation and Beijing's defense ministry did not respond to requests for comment.   The informal discussions between the nuclear-armed powers took place with the U.S. and China at odds over major economic and geopolitical issues, with leaders in Washington and Beijing accusing each other of dealing in bad faith.   The two countries briefly resumed Track One talks over nuclear arms in November but those negotiations have since stalled, with a top U.S. official publicly expressing frustration at China's responsiveness. The Pentagon, which estimates that Beijing's nuclear arsenal increased by more than 20% between 2021 and 2023, said in October that China "would also consider nuclear use to restore deterrence if a conventional military defeat in Taiwan" threatened CCP rule. China has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control and has over the past four years stepped up military activity around the island.   The Track Two talks are part of a two-decade nuclear weapons and posture dialog that stalled after the Trump administration pulled funding in 2019.   After the COVID-19 pandemic, semi-official discussions resumed on broader security and energy issues, but only the Shanghai meeting dealt in detail with nuclear weapons and posture. Santoro, who runs the Hawaii-based Pacific Forum think-tank, described "frustrations" on both sides during the latest discussions but said the two delegations saw reason to continue talking. More discussions were being planned in 2025, he said.   Nuclear policy analyst William Alberque of the Henry Stimson Centre think-tank, who was not involved in the March discussions, said the Track Two negotiations were useful at a time of glacial U.S.-Chinese relations. "It's important to continue talking with China with absolutely no expectations," he said, when nuclear arms are at issue. No first-use? The U.S. Department of Defense estimated last year that Beijing has 500 operational nuclear warheads and will probably field more than 1,000 by 2030.   That compares to 1,770 and 1,710 operational warheads deployed by the U.S. and Russia respectively. The Pentagon said that by 2030, much of Beijing's weapons will likely be held at higher readiness levels. Since 2020, China has also modernized its arsenal, starting production of its next-generation ballistic missile submarine, testing hypersonic glide vehicle warheads and conducting regular nuclear-armed sea patrols. Weapons on land, in the air and at sea give China the "nuclear triad" - a hallmark of a major nuclear power. A key point the U.S. side wanted to discuss, according to Santoro, was whether China still stood by its no-first-use and minimal deterrence policies, which date from the creation of its first nuclear bomb in the early 1960s. Minimal deterrence refers to having just enough atomic weapons to dissuade adversaries. China is also one of two nuclear powers - the other being India - to have pledged not to initiate a nuclear exchange. Chinese military analysts have speculated that the no-first-use policy is conditional - and that nuclear arms could be used against Taiwan's allies - but it remains Beijing's stated stance.   Santoro said the Chinese delegates told U.S. representatives that Beijing maintained these policies and that "'we are not interested in reaching nuclear parity with you, let alone superiority.'"   "'Nothing has changed, business as usual, you guys are exaggerating'," Santoro said in summarizing Beijing's position. His description of the discussions was corroborated by fellow U.S. delegate Lyle Morris, a security scholar at the Asia Society Policy Institute.   A report on the discussions is being prepared for the U.S. government but would not be made public, Santoro said. 'Risk and Opacity' Top U.S. arms control official Bonnie Jenkins told Congress in May that China had not responded to nuclear-weapons risk reduction proposals that Washington raised during last year's formal talks.   China has yet to agree to further government-to-government meetings. Bejing's "refusal to substantively engage" in discussions over its nuclear build-up raises questions around its "already ambiguous stated "no-first-use" policy and its nuclear doctrine more broadly," the State Department spokesperson told Reuters.   China's Track Two delegation did not discuss specifics about Beijing's modernization effort, Santoro and Morris said. Alberque of the Henry Stimson Centre said that China relied heavily on "risk and opacity" to mitigate U.S. nuclear superiority and there was "no imperative" for Beijing to have constructive discussions. China's expanded arsenal - which includes anti-ship cruise missiles, bombers, intercontinental ballistic missiles and submarines - exceeded the needs of a state with a minimal deterrence and no-first-use policy, Alberque said.   Chinese talking points revolved around the "survivability" of Beijing's nuclear weapons if it suffered a first strike, said Morris. The U.S. delegates said the Chinese described their efforts as a deterrence-based modernization program to cope with developments such as improved U.S. missile defenses, better surveillance capabilities, and strengthened alliances. The U.S., Britain and Australia last year signed a deal to share nuclear submarine technology and develop a new class of boats, while Washington is now working with Seoul to coordinate responses to a potential atomic attack. Washington's policy on nuclear weapons includes the possibility of using them if deterrence fails, though the Pentagon says it would only consider that in extreme circumstances. It did not provide specifics.   One Chinese delegate "pointed to studies that said Chinese nuclear weapons were still vulnerable to U.S. strikes - their second-strike capability was not enough," said Morris.  

Conakry, Guinea — Two media regulators in Guinea were sentenced Thursday to eight months in prison after claiming the heads of popular outlets were bribed by the ruling military, their lawyer said. The ruling followed months of a junta-led crackdown on media freedom across Guinea that saw four private radio stations and two private television channels banned in May. Djene Diaby and Tawel Camara — two of the 13 commissioners of Guinea’s media regulator, the High Authority for Communication — were also fined 1 million Guinean francs ($116) each, lawyer Kemoko Malick Diakite told reporters. He said that he intended to appeal. During the trial, prosecutor Mohamed Bangoura called for a one-year sentence, saying that the commissioners committed "very serious" acts. One of the defense lawyers, Bakary Millimouno, asked the court for leniency, describing his clients as "first-time offenders." In comments to reporters on June 12, Diaby and Camara accused the owners of the now-banned media organizations of receiving money from the junta in return for favorable coverage. However, those media organizations continued to criticize the junta, which led to them being banned last month, the commissioners claimed. Diaby and Camara were charged with defamation against the head of state and detained in Conakry's central prison, their colleague Amadou Toure told AFP. The two commissioners appeared in court in Conakry Wednesday where they apologized and said they had no proof of their claims. In her earlier contested comments, recorded and published on social media, Diaby said she had "no compassion" for the media bosses. "Each one of them got money ... at the presidency. Each one of them signed," Diaby said. Both commissioners also described junta members as indifferent to legality and capable of anything to retain power. The High Authority for Communication suspended Diaby and Camara for "gross misconduct" on June 13. The directors of the Hadafo Medias, Djoma Media and Frequence Medias groups said they were lodging a complaint against the two officials. Their media outlets are among the radio and TV stations whose licenses were withdrawn by the authorities on May 22. Opposition voices have been largely stifled since the colonels seized power in a 2021 coup, overthrowing elected President Alpha Conde.

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Gaborone, Botswana — Defense chiefs from 30 African countries will gather in Botswana next week for a two-day military conference to discuss the continent's security and stability challenges. The meeting, organized by the United States Africa Command, or AFRICOM, will be the first to be held in Africa since the inaugural conference in 2017  "The aim [is] to tackle the pressing security challenges on the African continent and to find ways to work together for a safer, more secure Africa," said Lt. Commander Bobby Dixon, a spokesman at AFRICOM.  "From counterterrorism efforts to cyber threats and peacekeeping missions, this conference will cover it all. Experts and military leaders will share insights, strategies, and forge partnerships that will strengthen the collective defense capabilities for all of Africa. This is more than just a conference — it's a significant step towards a unified approach in safeguarding the African continent." AFRICOM says the meeting will build on the success of previous conferences. Last year's meeting held in Rome, Italy, attracted the highest turnout, with 43 countries in attendance. "It is evident that Africa faces a series of challenges," said Jakkie Cilliers, a political scientist at the Institute for Security Studies in Pretoria. "It is not always clear that the model that the U.S. presents is appropriate for Africa. In recent years, we have seen a variety of coups in Africa, sometimes executed by African forces that have been trained in the U.S., the U.K. and France. And it is also evident that a number of U.N. peacekeeping missions, such as that in the DR Congo and Mali, are withdrawing from Africa. "On the other hand, the role of Russia and the so-called Africa Group [pls check the audio; it is usually called the Africa Corps] is expanding. So, it's clear that Africa is facing a security challenge, and partners can and should do as much as possible to help." Cilliers added that there is a need for the Gaborone conference to come up with effective solutions to the continent's security challenges.  "Are we seeing a new model developing where African governments are considering alternative security arrangements, mostly by other African countries?" he said. "And of course, the role of private companies is also increasing. These events occur at a time of significant shifts in the global balance of power, and Africa again is an area of competition. One hopes all these issues will be discussed at the upcoming conference in Gaborone, and that real solutions will come to the fore." In March, following its Peace and Security Council meeting, the African Union expressed "deep concern" over the scourge of conflicts on the continent and their impact on socioeconomic development.

June 20th marked the start of the summer solstice, a moment that draws thousands of people from around the world to the ancient Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza, Mexico, to see a phenomenon that appears each year - a sun shadow of a serpent descending from top of the site’s main period. What many visitors don’t know is that much of the modern understanding of the ancient Mayans is rooted in the work of a Ukrainian-born academic from the Soviet era. Marcus Harton narrates this report from Olga Pavlova in Moscow. Camera: Ricardo Marquina Montanana and Luis Ramirez

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MANILA — The Philippines did not consider invoking a mutual defence treaty with the United States after accusing China of disrupting a resupply mission in the disputed South China Sea, officials said on Friday. A Philippine sailor suffered serious injury after what its military described as "intentional-high speed ramming" by the Chinese Coast Guard on Monday, aiming to disrupt a resupply mission for troops stationed on the Second Thomas Shoal. Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who also chairs the national maritime council, said the confrontation between Philippine navy sailors and the Chinese coast guard "was probably a misunderstanding or an accident". "We are not yet ready to classify this as an armed attack," Bersamin told a briefing. The Philippines has a mutual defence treaty with the United States, and U.S. officials including President Joe Biden have reaffirmed its "ironclad" defence commitments against any attack on Philippine aircraft and vessels in the South China Sea. Andres Centino, a presidential assistant for maritime concerns, said invoking the treaty was not considered in discussions. The council, however, had recommended to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. that its resupply missions to the disputed shoal should continue to be "scheduled regularly".

WINDHOEK — A high court in Namibia on Friday declared unconstitutional two colonial-era laws that criminalized same-sex acts between men, in a landmark win for the LGBTQ community in the southern African nation. The case was brought by Namibian activist Friedel Dausab with the support of UK-based non-governmental organization Human Dignity Trust. Dausab told Reuters after the court's decision he was "just happy". "It's a great day for Namibia," he said. "It won't be a crime to love anymore." Rights campaigners say that while convictions under the laws on "sodomy" and "unnatural sexual offences" were relatively rare, they have perpetuated discrimination against the LGBTQ community and made gay men live in fear of arrest. Namibia inherited the laws when it gained independence from South Africa in 1990, though same-sex acts between men were initially criminalized under colonial rule. South Africa has since decriminalized same-sex sexual activity and is the only country on the African continent to allow LGBTQ couples to adopt children, marry and enter civil unions. Last year, Uganda enacted one of the world's harshest anti-LGBTQ laws, which included the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality", despite widespread condemnations from the West.

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA — For more than two years, Western countries have urged South Korea to directly arm Ukraine, insisting that South Korean weapons could play a pivotal role in helping Kyiv fight off Russia's invasion. South Korea, a major arms producer, has resisted, concerned that directly arming Ukraine could prompt Russia to expand its military cooperation with North Korea, which seeks help on advanced weapons that target Seoul. That calculation may be changing. This week, Russia and North Korea announced a mutual defense treaty. Russian President Vladimir Putin hinted the deal could facilitate the provision of more weapons to Pyongyang. The formalization of North Korea-Russia ties surprised many observers, who had assumed Moscow was mainly pursuing short-term gains with Pyongyang. The move also enraged the government of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol. In a briefing Thursday, South Korean National Security Adviser Chang Ho-jin slammed the Russia-North Korea treaty as a violation of international law and said his government would reconsider its ban on sending lethal weapons to Ukraine. It is not the first time that Yoon's conservative government has hinted at a change in its Ukraine policy but its latest threat may be more serious, if comments by South Korean officials are any indication. According to the conservative Joongang Ilbo, a senior official in South Korea's presidential office said "we will consider whatever steps Russia would find most painful," while also noting Seoul is watching to see Russia's next moves. Andrii Nikolaeinko, a former diplomat at Ukraine's embassy in Seoul and now a member of the Ukrainian parliament, told VOA that he believes such statements suggest Seoul is prepared to modify its policy. "My contact and sources led me to believe that it's possible and is going to happen soon," Nikolaeinko said, without providing more details. "It's not just only my personal opinion, but also the expectation of Ukrainian officials that this time South Korea will really change its policy on supplying ammunition to Ukraine, probably openly and directly," he added. Though South Korea still faces a tricky situation and may proceed cautiously, some observers argue that Seoul's considerations might be changing in a fundamental way. "Putin signing a comprehensive strategic partnership with Kim Jong Un suggests that South Korea's self-restraint in supporting Ukraine buys it little to nothing in Moscow," Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Seoul's Ewha University, said. A Seoul-based European ambassador told VOA he is waiting to see how the situation will develop. But, the ambassador added, "Now it should be clear that one cannot expect that Russia is capable of playing any constructive role in providing peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula." Major impact It is not hard to see why Ukraine has pushed for more help from South Korea. It is the world's ninth-largest arms exporter and has a reputation for quickly supplying affordable and reliable weapons. South Korea has so far only provided weapons to third parties, such as the United States and Poland, which themselves are directly arming Ukraine. To defend their approach, South Korean officials often cite domestic laws that strictly regulate or prevent sending arms to war zones, although Yoon has suggested in the past that such barriers could be overcome. In April of last year Yoon said South Korea could provide more than just humanitarian or financial support if Ukraine comes under a large-scale civilian attack. Since then, Yoon has not clarified what type of incident would meet those standards. At least in theory, a South Korea decision to arm Ukraine could be a game-changer, more than making up for the munitions that Russia has allegedly received from North Korea, analysts say. "South Korea's ability to produce weapons cannot be compared to that of North Korea," Cho Han-beom, a senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said. "North Korea's weapons help Russia barely sustain the war, but South Korea's weapons could change the entire landscape of the conflict," he said. Ankit Panda, a Washington-based defense analyst who follows the Koreas, agreed to an extent. "That's assuming a large volume of deliveries. Hard to say at this stage what the magnitude of ROK deliveries might look like," Panda, a senior fellow at Washington's Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said. Two and a half years into the war, Ukraine is searching for whatever help it can find. Russia controls roughly a fifth of Ukraine, according to independent estimates, and has been gaining ground, as Kyiv struggles to find munitions to push back a Russian offensive. "Ukraine needs munitions as it can get them. South Korea has quite a few platforms that would be quite valuable for Kyiv," Panda said, "These capabilities likely won't be transformative … but will nevertheless offer real benefits." How South Koreans feel South Korea's domestic politics provide another possible barrier to becoming more involved in the Ukraine war. Nearly 60% of South Koreans oppose arming Ukraine, according to a poll published in April 2023. There do not appear to be any more recent surveys on the matter, which has not been a subject of intense public debate. Some left-leaning South Korean lawmakers say it would be foolish to upset the status quo, given there is no public evidence that Putin has yet provided Kim with advanced weapons. Kim Joon-hyung, a member of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, said it would be "reckless" to intervene in a faraway war and become Russia's enemy. If South Korea wants to change its weapons exports policy, it must first get permission from elected lawmakers, Kim told VOA in an interview. Like some other South Korean foreign policy analysts, Kim questioned whether the Russia-North Korea treaty truly established an alliance, noting that Putin refrained from using that phrase in his public comments following the treaty signing. In Kim's view, Yoon should take a more cautious response to the region. "If you want peace, the president must abandon his false belief that you should prepare for war…if you want peace, prepare for peace," he said. Many South Korean analysts disagree, saying Yoon should draw an even harder line to deter Russia from arming the North. "For example, if Russia transfers core military technology and weapons systems to North Korea, we [would] start providing precision strike weapons to Ukraine," Park Won-gon, a North Korea specialist at Ewha University, said. "This treaty is a very serious problem," said Park. "There are plenty of examples historically, in terms of how we should handle Russia. We have no choice but to go strong."

Taipei, Taiwan — Analysts say China has been placed in an awkward position by the warming ties between Russia and North Korea, which signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit this week to Pyongyang.  The signing of the treaty, which stipulates that if one of the countries is in a state of war, the other will provide it with military assistance, climaxed a widely watched visit in which Putin was welcomed with lavish hospitality.   Putin described the treaty as a breakthrough document that will elevate the cooperation between the two countries to a new level. Kim called the treaty "peaceful and defensive in nature." An article in China's official media, Global Times, quoted Chinese analysts as saying the enhanced alliance is a “rational choice” for Russia and North Korea after the United States and its allies have long sought to isolate and suppress the two countries. But Kuo Yu-jen, a professor of China and Asia-Pacific studies at National Sun Yat-sen University in Taiwan, believes that Putin's other consideration in making his first visit to North Korea in nearly 25 years is to use Pyongyang to contain China. "Putin's economic dependence on China has deepened because the war in Ukraine has become a war of attrition. So, he must play the North Korea card to contain China, which is equivalent to saying that Russia and China are mutually hostage. North Korea's making trouble in East Asia is basically a very troubling thing for Beijing," Kuo said. As the war in Ukraine continues, Russia's economic dependence on China deepens, and China's role in the war has gradually become more important. Putin began to strengthen relations with North Korea to ease its financial reliance on China. Nine months ago, Kim visited Russia's Far East. Since strengthening its relations with Russia, North Korea's provocative behavior in East Asia seems to have escalated. In 2022, the country launched more than 90 missiles, the most since Kim came to power. In 2023, North Korea launched the solid-fuel Hwasong-18 missile for the first time. After analyzing the shape and color of the smoke at the tail of the missile, experts pointed out that these technologies clearly came from Russia.   Deng Yuwen, a political commentator and researcher at the Center for China Analysis and Strategy, said on VOA Mandarin's TV show on June 19 that Putin's visit to North Korea may also want to remind China it is not Russia’s only ally. "From China's perspective, it does have some implicit reminder to China that, 'I have other friends.' China always has a boss mentality when it interacts with Russia," he said. Kuo believes Putin's visit to North Korea may encourage closer cooperation among China’s pro-Western neighbors. "This is why we can see that on August 18 last year, the United States, Japan and South Korea formed a small alliance. This is basically very bad for China," he said. On August 18, 2023, the leaders of the United States, Japan and South Korea held talks at the Camp David presidential retreat in the U.S. in what some analysts described as a "historic" qualitative change marking the reappearance of an "iron triangle" of the three countries. Kuo said that once Russia and North Korea get closer, they will put pressure on China and at the same time, alienate Japan and South Korea from China. Unlike Russia and North Korea, Beijing seems to be deliberately downplaying the Putin visit. At the regular press conference on June 18, in response to a reporter's question, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said simply, "This is bilateral engagement between Russia and the DPRK." Lin said on June 13, "China welcomes Russia to cement and grow ties with countries they have traditional friendship with." Tong Zhao, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said in an interview with Reuters that "China has certain reservations regarding North Korea's deepening military cooperation with Russia, which could undermine Beijing's near monopoly of geopolitical influence over Pyongyang. ...   "China is also careful not to create the perception of a de facto alliance among Beijing, Moscow and Pyongyang, as this will not be helpful for China to maintain practical cooperation with key Western countries," Zhao said. China is in fact seeking to ease tensions with Japan and South Korea. Last month, China held a trilateral summit with the two countries to discuss North Korea's nuclear weapons, which drew strong condemnation from Pyongyang. China and South Korea held their first vice-ministerial diplomatic and security 2+2 dialogue in Seoul on June 18. According to the website of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the two sides introduced their respective diplomatic and security policies and exchanged views frankly and in-depth on China-South Korea relations and international and regional issues of common concern. However, Kuo believes the relationship between Russia and North Korea is not as close as the leaders of the two countries portray it. "The relationship between North Korea and Russia is that they need each other, but neither has met each other's expectations," he said. Last September, Kim visited Russia and reached an important agreement with Putin to address North Korea's energy shortage. Russia agreed to provide North Korea with 300,000 tons of refined oil and 100,000 tons of agricultural diesel, and asked North Korea to pay in U.S. dollars or rubles. However, due to North Korea's limited transportation capacity and ship safety issues, the actual delivery of oil and diesel was far lower than expected, resulting in severe challenges for North Korea's agricultural production.

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BEIJING — China's top prosecutor urged law enforcement officials across the country on Friday to focus efforts on combating drug trafficking, capping a week in which Beijing and Washington announced a rare joint counternarcotics investigation. The Supreme People's Procuratorate published "six typical cases," involving actions ranging from postal fraud to medical professionals selling illicit drugs on the side, and clarified the legal application standards to handle such cases. The prosecutor said in a statement that the release was meant to show its "determination and attitude to intensify efforts to crack down on related crimes, while hoping that this batch of typical cases will serve as a warning to the society." The United States and China held high-level counternarcotics talks on Thursday following a breakthrough in bilateral cooperation this week in which both sides went after a major drug-linked money laundering operation. The United States, where fentanyl abuse has been a major cause of death, has pushed China for deeper law enforcement cooperation, including tackling illicit finance and further controls on the chemicals that can be used to make fentanyl. These chemicals are often shipped to the U.S. and other destinations from China using mail packages that have unverifiable addresses or are mislabeled, experts say. The U.S. Postal Service has for years struggled with the problem. One of the examples highlighted in the prosecutor's note on Friday involved a case of a Chinese buyer, surnamed Yan, purchasing date-rape drug triazolam from overseas and then selling it in China by mail using mislabeled packaging. As a result, "the procuratorate issued a procuratorial suggestion to the postal administration department...urging the regulatory department to fulfill its main responsibility and perform its duties conscientiously." The postal administration then "urged the company to make timely rectifications," the prosecutor said. The note said "the procuratorate invited nearly 100 couriers and college students to attend the trial, focusing on the new characteristics and new forms of new drug cases to carry out anti-drug law publicity." Postal fraud was briefly mentioned in the opening remarks by Rahul Gupta, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, who on Thursday held talks in Beijing with China's minister of public security, Wang Xiaohong. Gupta said it was among the "areas where we're both being negatively impacted," listing it alongside illicit finance, "illegal drug trafficking and use, and the emergence of new and more dangerous drugs."

CAIRO — Israeli forces pounded Rafah and other areas across the GazaStrip and engaged in close-quarter combat with fighters led by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, residents and Israel's military said. Residents said the Israelis appeared to by trying to complete their capture of Rafah, the city on the enclave's southern edge that has been the focus of an Israeli assault since early May. Tanks were forcing their way into the western and northern parts of the city, having already  captured the east, south and center. Israeli forces fired from planes, tanks and ships off the coast, forcing a new wave of displacement from the city, which had been sheltering more than a million displaced people, most of whom have been forced to flee again. Palestinian health officials said at least 12 Palestinians had been killed in separate Israeli military strikes Friday. The Israeli military said on Friday its forces were conducting "precise, intelligence-based" actions in the Rafah area, where troops were involved in close-quarter combat and had located tunnels used by militants. It also reported actions elsewhere in the enclave. Some Rafah residents said the pace of the Israeli raid has been accelerated in the past two days. They said sounds of explosions and gunfire indicating fierce fighting have been almost non-stop. "Last night was one of the worst nights in western Rafah, drones, planes, tanks, and naval boats bombarded the area. We feel the occupation is trying to complete the control of the city," said Hatem, 45, reached by text message. "They are taking heavy strikes from the resistance fighters, which may be slowing them down." More than eight months into the war in Gaza, Israel's advance is now focused on the two last areas its forces had yet to storm: Rafah on Gaza's southern edge and the area surrounding Deir al-Balah in the center. "The entire city of Rafah is an area of Israeli military operations," Ahmed Al-Sofi, the mayor of Rafah, said in a statement carried by Hamas media on Friday. "The city lives through a humanitarian catastrophe and people are dying inside their tents because of Israeli bombardment," he added. Sofi said there was no medical facility functioning in the city, and that remaining residents and displaced families lacked the minimum of their daily needs of food and water. Palestinian and UN figures show that fewer than 100,000 people may have remained in the far western side of the city, which had been sheltering more than half of Gaza's 2.3 million people before the Israeli assault began in early May. The military accused Hamas of using Palestinian civilians as human shields, an allegation Hamas denies. "The soldiers located inside a civilian residence large quantities of weapons hidden in wardrobes, including grenades, explosives, a launcher and anti-tank missiles, ammunition, and arms," the military said in a statement late Thursday. Hamas' armed wing said Thursday its fighters had hit two Israeli tanks with anti-tank rockets in the Shaboura camp in Rafah, and killed soldiers who tried to flee through the alleys. There was no Israeli immediate comment on the Hamas claim. In nearby Khan Younis, an Israeli air strike on Friday killed three people, including a father and son, medics said. In parallel, Israeli forces continued a new push back into some Gaza City suburbs in the north of the enclave, where they fought with Hamas-led militants. Residents said the army forces had destroyed many homes in the heart of Gaza City on Thursday. Later Friday, an Israeli air strike on a facility of the Gaza City municipality killed five people, including four municipality workers, the territory's Civil Emergency Service said. It added that rescue teams were searching the rubble for more missing victims. Israel's ground and air campaign was triggered when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on October 7, killing around 1,200 people and seizing more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. The offensive has left Gaza in ruins, killed more than 37,400 people, according to Palestinian health authorities, and left nearly the entire population homeless and destitute.

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.