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washington — China said it opposes a deployment of nuclear weapons to South Korea as it would pose danger to regional countries. Beijing was reacting to a report suggesting the United States should take such a measure to enhance deterrence against threats from North Korea.  "If the U.S. deploys tactical nuclear weapons in Asia-Pacific region, it will be a dangerous move that will seriously threaten the security of regional countries and undermine regional peace and stability," said Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington.  "We will continue to handle Korean Peninsula affairs based on their merits and our own position," he said in a statement sent to VOA on Monday. The embassy spokesperson described China's position on the Korean Peninsula as ensuring peace and stability and advancing political settlement that suits the common interests of all parties.  The remarks were made in response to a report released May 29 by U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, the highest-ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, calling for a major boost to U.S. military buildup and readiness against countries such as North Korea and China. In the report, "Peace Through Strength," Wicker suggested the U.S. explore new options, such as a "nuclear sharing agreement in the Indo-Pacific and re-deployment of U.S. tactical nuclear weapons in the Korean Peninsula."     He said these would "bolster deterrence on the Korean peninsula" as North Korea "continues to build more nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles capable of striking the United States and our allies in the Indo-Pacific."  In response to Wicker's report, a U.S. State Department spokesperson told VOA's Korean Service on Friday that "the United States does not assess returning nuclear weapons to the Indo-Pacific as necessary at this time" and "has no plans to forward deploy nuclear weapons to the Korean peninsula."  The spokesperson continued, "U.S. security commitments to allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific region are steadfast and U.S. extended deterrence commitments to the Republic of Korea, Japan, and Australia remain ironclad."   In 1991, the U.S. withdrew from South Korea its nuclear weapons, which had been stationed there since the late 1950s. The U.S. has been providing extended deterrence commitment to South Korea and Japan, which means the U.S. military would use its full range of capabilities, including nuclear weapons, to defend its allies.   Washington and Seoul will hold their third Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) meeting next week in Seoul to discuss ways to enhance extended deterrence, South Korea's Defense Ministry said Tuesday.    The NCG was set up under the Washington Declaration announced in April last year when U.S. President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol held a bilateral summit in Washington.    On Sunday, after the U.S., South Korean and Japanese defense chiefs met in Singapore, the three countries announced they will conduct their first trilateral, multi-domain exercises, dubbed Freedom Edge, this summer.    Robert Peters, a research fellow for Nuclear Deterrence and Missile Defense at the Heritage Foundation, told VOA via email, "The United States should seriously consider redeploying nonstrategic nuclear weapons to [South] Korea" as they would help strengthen deterrence.  Nonstrategic nuclear weapons refers to low-yield tactical nuclear weapons designed to be used on the battlefield.  However, Thomas Countryman, who recently served as acting undersecretary of arms control and international security under the Biden administration, said "such a deployment would draw [South Korea's] attention away from building conventional capabilities that are more essential to continued deterrence."  Out of 200 tactical nuclear weapons the U.S. has in its active inventory, 100 are located in Europe and the other 100 are stored as a strategic reserve in the U.S, according to Bruce Bennett, a senior defense analyst at the RAND Corporation.  "With the Russian aggression over Ukraine, it is hard to imagine the United States taking any significant number of weapons out of Europe," said Bennett.    "With China on the rise, the United States will be inclined to leave its strategic reserve in the United States and certainly not deploy it in South Korea where it could potentially be vulnerable to Chinese or North Korean interdiction," he continued.  Gary Samore, former White House coordinator for arms control and weapons of mass destruction during the Obama administration, said, "The U.S. military opposes the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons or any nuclear weapons to [South] Korea, because they would be vulnerable to a North Korean attack."  Japan would not object to the U.S. deployment of nuclear weapons in South Korea "as long as they remain under U.S. control," said David Maxwell, vice president of the Center for Asia Pacific Strategy. "It is only when South Korea develops its own nuclear weapons, would it potentially kick off an arms race in the region." 

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JUBLJANA, Slovenia — Slovenia became the latest European Union country to recognize an independent Palestinian state after its parliament approved the move with a majority vote on Tuesday, dismissing a call for a referendum on the issue by the largest opposition party. The government last week decided to recognize Palestine as an independent and sovereign state following in the steps of Spain, Ireland and Norway as part of a wider effort to coordinate pressure on Israel to end the conflict in Gaza. "Today's recognition of Palestine as a sovereign and independent state sends hope to the Palestinian people in the West Bank and in Gaza," Prime Minister Robert Golob said on X. The vote was scheduled for Tuesday, and a parliamentary group for foreign affairs on Monday endorsed the government decision with a majority vote. The right-wing Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) of former Prime Minister Janez Jansa, however, then submitted a proposal on a consultative referendum on the recognition bid, which would have delayed the vote for at least a month. The SDS, the largest opposition party, argued that it was not the right time to recognize an independent Palestinian state, and that the move would only award the "terrorist organization Hamas." After the ruling coalition, which holds a majority in Slovenia’s 90-member parliament, tried to find the way around the referendum demand and proceed with the vote, the SDS withdrew its proposal but submitted it again hours later. The parliament committee for foreign affairs declared it inadequate and dismissed it at an extraordinary session. The decision was approved with 52 votes and nobody against it after the opposition SDS party had left the session. Previously, EU members Sweden, Cyprus, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria had already recognized a Palestinian state. Malta has said it could follow soon. Israel has been fighting against Hamas, which rules Gaza, since the cross-border Oct. 7 attack by militants in which some 1,200 people were killed and over 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies. Nearly 130 hostages are believed to remain captive in Gaza. Gaza health authorities say more than 36,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war over the past seven months.

white house — Despite Israeli leaders pledging to continue military operations until Hamas is destroyed and Hamas saying it cannot accept a deal without Israeli commitment to a permanent cease-fire, mediators from the United States, Egypt and Qatar continue to push through a cease-fire proposal that President Joe Biden said last week had been agreed to by Israel. VOA White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara spoke with National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby about why Biden chose to announce the proposal instead of the Israelis, and what the challenges are to reaching a truce in Gaza. The following interview has been edited for clarity and brevity. VOA: President Joe Biden announced the cease-fire proposal on behalf of the Israelis, and then he rallied the G7 and the U.N. Security Council to support it. Can you explain the thinking behind his strategy? National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby: It was important to lay bare to the public what this proposal said, especially right after it was transmitted to Hamas, so that everybody can see how impactful this can be, so everybody can see what the eventual outcome might be, which is a permanent cessation of hostilities as a possibility from Phase Two. Also, because we want to make sure that Hamas knows that the world now knows what's in this proposal and what's at stake. VOA: Is the strategy partly to empower Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu not to buckle under pressure from his right-wing governing partners? How confident is the president that the Israelis will go through with this? Kirby: The Israelis have said it themselves – it's their proposal, they're signing up to it, they're acknowledging it, they're owning it, as they should. And we have every expectation that they'll continue to back this proposal because it is theirs and it is in their interest. It's also in Hamas' interest. They say they want the war to end; this is a path to end that war. VOA: I understand what happens now is we'll wait for the formal response from Hamas, however ... Kirby: Well, look, there could be some bartering and negotiations going forward. We'll see what Hamas comes back with.  VOA: The U.S. has said that it supports Israel's goal to destroy Hamas' governing and military capabilities. Are the administration and Israel aligned in terms of the parameters of what that means? Kirby: We believe that we are aligned, that we both want to see the hostages home. Certainly, the Israelis want that. We want to see a Gaza that is not governed by Hamas. We want to see a Hamas that can't threaten Israel the way they did on Oct. 7. And we believe through our conversations with our Israeli counterparts that they too want to see the suffering in Gaza alleviated. Now, that said, they have a right and responsibility to continue to go after Hamas. And we're going to continue to help them do that. How they do that matters, and we're still having conversations with them about what's going on in Rafah. VOA: We have the experience of Iraq, to understand what the implications of rooting out the Baath Party means. Does our understanding of that inform our strategy toward what Israel should do with Hamas? Kirby: We're not trying to compare this to the Baath Party in Iraq in that situation. These are totally two different situations. Look, we agree with Israel, not on everything, certainly. But we agree with them on the big things: They shouldn't have to live next door to a terrorist threat. They shouldn't have to be victimized the way they were on the 7th of October. They shouldn't have to see Gaza governed by Hamas. All of those things are true. And we're going to continue to work with them to defeat that threat. At the same time, it's important for this war to come to an end, as the president said, and the best way to do that is to get those hostages out because that leads to a temporary cease-fire, which can lead to a more permanent cessation of hostilities. VOA: Phase One is a six-week full and complete cease-fire, according to the president. Can Israel target Hamas leaders during this time? Kirby: They are allowed to continue, of course, their operations in Rafah unless or until we get a cease-fire in place. If we can get this hostage deal inked, if Hamas agrees to it, then an immediate cease-fire takes place for six weeks. And that means that there will be no military operations in Rafah or anywhere else in Gaza. VOA: Including targeting of Hamas leaders?  Kirby: The fighting comes to an end for the period of the cease-fire. VOA: Including on targets? Kirby: The fighting comes to an end. VOA: You said the Israel Defense Forces' recent actions in Rafah have not reached your definition of a major ground operation, which the U.S. does not support without credible Israeli plans to protect civilians. But hundreds have been killed just in recent days, and a million people have fled from Rafah. Isn't this, in effect, the same result that the U.S. wants Israel to avoid? Kirby: Look, we don't want any civilian casualties, whether it's from a targeted operation, an airstrike or something bigger than that. The right number of civilian casualties is zero. None of them are acceptable, nor should they be acceptable. But we have not seen Israel go into Rafah in a large, concerted, concentrated way. We have not seen major ground operations in Rafah. They are doing what they said they were going to do –going after Hamas leaders in a targeted, precise way. We're going to continue to watch this, obviously, and watch it closely. VOA: Why is a major ground operation the criteria for the U.S. red line when most of the civilians have been killed in airstrikes? Why not the number of civilian deaths as the red line, if you say that the correct number is zero? Kirby: The correct number is zero. And again, what we've told the Israelis is what the president said: that if they go in a heavy-handed way, major ground operations in Rafah in the population centers, that's going to cause us to have to relook at our own Gaza policy and the support that we're providing them. We have not seen them take that sort of a step right now. And again, we're watching it closely. 

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washington — Federal health advisers voted Tuesday against a first-of-a-kind proposal to begin using the mind-altering drug MDMA as a treatment for PTSD, handing a potentially major setback to advocates who had hoped to win a landmark federal approval and bring the banned drugs into the medical mainstream.  The panel of advisers to the Food and Drug Administration sided 10-1 against the overall benefits of MDMA when used to treat post-traumatic stress disorder. They cited flawed study data, questionable research conduct and significant drug risks, including the potential for heart problems, injury and abuse.  "It seems like there are so many problems with the data — each one alone might be OK, but when you pile them on top of each other … there's just a lot of questions I would have about how effective the treatment is," said Dr. Melissa Decker Barone, a psychologist with the Department of Veterans Affairs.  The FDA is not required to follow the group's advice and is expected to make its final decision by August, but the negative opinion could strengthen FDA's rationale for rejecting the treatment.  The vote followed hours of pointed questions and criticisms about the research submitted on MDMA — sometimes called ecstasy or molly. Panelists pointed to flawed studies that could have skewed the results, missing follow-up data on patient outcomes, and a lack of diversity among participants. The vast majority of patients studied were white, with only five Black patients receiving MDMA, raising questions about the generalizability of the results.  "The fact that this study has so many white participants is problematic because I don't want something to roll out that only helps this one group," said Elizabeth Joniak-Grant, the group's patient representative.  The FDA advisers also drew attention to allegations of misconduct in the trials that have recently surfaced in news stories and a report by the nonprofit Institute for Clinical and Economic Review, which evaluates experimental drug treatments. The incidents include a 2018 report of apparent sexual misconduct by a therapist interacting with a patient.  Lykos Therapeutics, the company behind the study, said it previously reported the incident to the FDA and regulators in Canada, where the therapist is based. Lykos is essentially a corporate spinoff of the nation's leading psychedelic advocacy group, the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, or MAPS, which funded the studies. The group was founded in 1986 to promote the benefits of MDMA and other mind-altering substances.  MDMA is the first in a series of psychedelics — including LSD and psilocybin — that are expected to come before the FDA in the next few years. The panel's negative ruling could further derail financial investments in the fledgling industry, which has mainly been funded by a small number of wealthy backers.  MDMA's main effect is triggering feelings of intimacy, connection and euphoria. When used to enhance talk therapy, the drug appears to help patients process their trauma and let go of disturbing thoughts and memories.  But the panel struggled with the reliability of those results, given the difficulties of objectively testing psychedelic drugs.  Because MDMA causes intense, psychological experiences, almost all patients in two key studies of the drug were able to guess whether they had received the MDMA or a dummy pill. That's the opposite of the approach generally required for high-quality drug research, in which bias is minimized by "blinding" patients and researchers to whether they received the drug under investigation.  "I'm not convinced at all that this drug is effective based on the data I saw," said Dr. Rajesh Narendran, a University of Pittsburgh psychiatrist who chaired the panel.  Panelists also noted the difficulty of knowing how much of patients' improvement came from MDMA versus simply undergoing the extensive therapy, which totaled more than 80 hours for many patients. Results were further marred by other complicating factors, including a large number of patients who had previously used MDMA or other psychedelics drugs recreationally. 

Peshawar, Pakistan — As the United Nations and the Taliban prepare to discuss Afghanistan in Doha, Qatar, on June 30, a New York-based global women's rights advocacy nongovernmental organization has urged the U.N. to demand the Taliban ensure full and equal participation of Afghan women, peacebuilders and human rights defenders in all discussions about Afghanistan's future.  During forthcoming meetings, the U.N. Security Council should demand that "the Taliban immediately reverse all policies and practices that restrict the full enjoyment of women's human rights, in accordance with Afghanistan's international obligations, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), as well as relevant Security Council resolutions," the group, the Working Group on Women, Peace and Security, said in a communication posted May 30 on its website.  Since taking power nearly three years ago, the Taliban have systematically violated women's human rights in both policy and practice by codifying gender-based discrimination across nearly every aspect of public and private life, including the recent announcement that the Taliban intend to resume public stoning of women as punishment for adultery, the group said in the digital communication "Monthly Action Points for the Security Council June 2024."  Afghan rights activists say the upcoming Doha meeting is an opportunity for the United Nations to raise the issue of restrictions on Afghan women with the Taliban.  Shinkai Karokhail, an Afghan women's rights activist based in Canada, told VOA that the call for inclusion of Afghan women in conversations about their future is of critical significance.   "Afghan women inclusion is important given their significant sufferings and exclusion from societal, economic and political life due to political changes in Afghanistan," said Karokhail, who added the Doha meeting agenda should prioritize the concerns of the Afghan community.   Azizuddin Maarij, a London-based Afghan rights activist, said women must be part of the upcoming Doha meeting.   "The meeting should invite women, men and civil activists who have actively worked for Afghan women's rights," Maarij told VOA via Skype.   Adela Behram, an Afghan women's rights activist and former Afghan presidential adviser, told VOA the international community should put pressure on the Taliban to change their ban on the education of women.   The Doha meeting scheduled for June 30 will be the third gathering on Afghanistan in Qatar's capital since U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres initiated the process in May 2023, in a bid to increase interaction with Afghan Taliban "in a structured manner."  The Taliban have not officially announced that they will participate in the Doha meeting. A Taliban foreign ministry spokesperson cited Taliban senior official Zakir Jalali in a May 29 post on the social media platform X, that "representatives of the Islamic emirate will take part in the main discussions" in Doha.   Jalali said the Taliban foreign ministry was waiting for the U.N. to share the latest details about the Doha huddle to enable Kabul to send its delegation there.  The U.N. has not issued an agenda for the planned meeting in Doha but the global agency's under-secretary-general for political and peacebuilding affairs, Rosemary DiCarlo, visited Afghanistan from May 18 to 21, where her discussions, apart from other issues, with Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi were focused on the Doha meetings.  DiCarlo, in her May 28 address to a U.N. Security Council meeting, cited Afghanistan as a "crying example" where women and girls are systematically denied rights and dignity, particularly in education.  This story originated in VOA's Deewa Service. 

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This week marks the 35th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy demonstrations in China, which ended in bloodshed. VOA was a major source of information and news at the time for the Chinese. VOA Mandarin’s Xiao Yu has the story, narrated by Elizabeth Lee. Videographer: Zhang Zhen, Ning Lu

washington — U.S. President Joe Biden announced an executive order on Tuesday that will temporarily restrict asylum eligibility at the U.S.-Mexico border whenever the number of migrants crossing unlawfully or without authorization reaches a daily average of 2,500.  Biden's executive order says those who cross into the country illegally won't be eligible for asylum unless there are extraordinary reasons why they should be allowed to stay in the United States.  "These actions alone aren't going to fix our immigration system, but they can help us a good deal in better managing what is a difficult challenge," Biden said in his remarks at the White House.   According to U.S. officials, the temporary asylum restrictions will come into effect when the average daily border encounters exceed 2,500, and they will be suspended when that number falls below 1,500.  These restrictions take effect immediately. Data first reported by CBS News shows U.S. Border Patrol officials recorded 3,000 migrant apprehensions on May 20, and an average of 3,700 per day during the first 21 days of May.    Who is affected?  Anyone, regardless of nationality, crossing unlawfully along the southern border.   While the restrictions are in effect, migrants who cross the southern border and are processed for expedited removal will be referred for a credible fear screening with an asylum officer only if they express a credible fear of returning to their country — meaning "a fear of persecution or torture" — or an intention to apply for asylum, explained a Department of Homeland Security official. Immigration advocates call this a shout test.   "If you're able to shout and claim asylum, then you might be able to get through. But what we know is that people don't always speak English. They don't always know that is the way that they have to seek safety," Amy Fischer, director of refugee and migrant rights at Amnesty International USA, told VOA.   Officials spoke on background, a method often used by U.S. authorities to share information with reporters without being identified. The DHS official also addressed a question about migrant removal.  "[These measures] will apply both to individuals from our hemisphere as well as eastern hemispheric migrants. In terms of returns to Mexico, we will continue to return nationals of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela per our previous arrangement," a DHS official said.   Exemptions  Certain migrants are exempt from these restrictions, including unaccompanied children, victims of human trafficking, migrants facing medical emergencies, and those with valid visas or other lawful permission to enter the U.S.   People who use lawful entry processes, like the U.S. Customs and Border Protection's CBP One mobile application or other designated pathways, won't be affected by this guideline.   Consequences  Those who cross illegally when the restrictions are in place and do not establish a reasonable probability of persecution or torture in their country will be "promptly removed, and they will be subject to at least a five-year bar to reentry and potential criminal prosecution," the DHS official said.  Why now?  During a call with reporters, officials from DHS and the Justice Department said these restrictions were necessary in the face of the summer, when migrant encounters typically increase.   The tougher stance on border security is also a response to a heightened concern over immigration among American voters ahead of the November 5 elections.   Criticism  Some Republicans said Biden is issuing this order considering the upcoming presidential election.  "With an election just months away, the president hopes that issuing an executive order will demonstrate that he cares about this crisis and is trying to fix it," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said on the Senate floor.  Immigration advocates strongly criticized the move, calling it "a total gutting" of asylum protections.   Fischer, of Amnesty International, said this executive order is going to prevent more people from accessing asylum and make it more difficult for people to articulate their claim.   "[It] does not sort out people that have false or ineffective asylum claims. What it does is, it sorts out the most vulnerable," Fischer added.  The ACLU says it will sue to stop the restrictions.  "We intend to challenge this order in court. It was illegal when Trump did it, and it is no less illegal now," said Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the ACLU's Immigrants' Rights Project, in an email to reporters.  Biden officials disagree, saying the United States will continue to adhere to its international obligations and commitments.  "These steps will strengthen the asylum system, preventing it from being overwhelmed and backed up by those who do not have legitimate claims,"  the DHS official said. " … But we are clear-eyed that today's executive actions are no substitute for Congress taking up and passing the tough but fair bipartisan Senate bill, which would have significantly strengthened the consequences in place at the border."

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WASHINGTON  — A local election in northeast Syria scheduled for next week is raising mounting concerns inside and outside the war-torn country.   The voting, planned for June 11, will be held in parts of Syria that are controlled by U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF. The de facto autonomous region is governed by the Kurdish-led Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria.   The SDF has been a major U.S. partner in the fight against the Islamic State (IS) terror group. The group made major military gains after the territorial defeat of IS militants in 2019 and now controls nearly one-third of Syria’s territory.    But Turkey, a NATO ally, considers the SDF and its political entities to be an extension of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a militant group labeled as terrorist by Ankara and Washington.    Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is threatening military action if Kurdish groups in Syria go ahead with the elections.   "We are closely following the terrorist organization's aggressive actions against the territorial integrity of our country and Syria under the pretext of an election,” Erdogan said during a public ceremony last week.  “Turkey will never allow a separatist organization to establish a terrorist entity in northern Syria and Iraq. … We have done what needs to be done before in the face of fait accompli, and we will not hesitate to take action if we encounter the same situation,” the Turkish leader said, referring to Turkish military offensives against Kurdish fighters in Iraq and Syria.  The United States has also said the time is not right for holding any elections in Syria.  "Any elections that occur in Syria should be free, fair, transparent and inclusive, as called for in UNSCR 2254, and we don’t think that the conditions for such elections are in place in northeast Syria in present time,” State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said in a statement posted May 31 by the U.S. Embassy in Syria on social media platform X.    In 2015, the U.N. Security Council adopted Resolution 2254 to end the Syrian conflict by pursuing a political transition.   “We have conveyed this to a range of actors in northeast Syria, including the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North East Syria (DAANES), and urged them not to proceed with elections at this time,” Patel said in the statement.  But Kurdish officials say holding local elections in northeast Syria doesn’t conflict with implementation of the U.N. resolution.  “The Security Council’s resolution refers to general elections in Syria. In our case, we’re only talking about municipal elections,” said Luqman Ehme, a leading member of the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), the political wing of the SDF.   “This election is an opportunity for people to choose their representatives who can provide essential services at the local level in northeast Syria. A political settlement for all of Syria might not be possible in the next 10 years. So, it’s not feasible to wait that long for simply holding local elections,” he told VOA.  Amy Austin Holmes, a research professor of international affairs at The George Washington University, said supporting free elections in northeast Syria is something the U.S. should do.  “The United States has a long history of supporting free and fair elections around the world — including in divided societies like West Germany during the Cold War. The U.S. supported elections in West Germany as key to transitioning to democracy, even as East Germany remained in the Soviet orbit. The regime-held parts of Syria are supported by Russia. This is all the more reason for the United States to support free and fair elections in the Northeast,” she told VOA.  Mesut Yegen, a political scientist at the Istanbul-based Reform Institute, said he didn’t expect that statements from Turkey and the U.S. could lead to a postponement of the elections in northeast Syria.  "There is very little time until June 11, and if held, I do not expect Turkey to intervene militarily,” he told VOA.   Four Kurdish parties in Syria filed a request on Tuesday asking the local election commission to delay the vote. They had previously announced their intention to participate in the election.  Turkey-backed Syrian opposition groups have also opposed the vote, calling for protests against it in areas controlled by the Turkish military and its Syrian allies in northern Syria.   The government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has not publicly commented on the matter.  VOA’s Mahmut Bozarslan in Diyarbakir, Turkey, and Zana Omer in Qamishli, Syria, contributed to this story, which originated in VOA’s Kurdish Service.

PARIS — A multinational operation by Interpol and the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation cracked down on attempts in Moldova to sabotage one of the international police agency's key tools, the Red Notice system, officials said Tuesday. Four people were detained in the eastern European country. The joint sting, which also involved cooperation with French and British authorities, uncovered an international criminal organization with ties to people in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus suspected of cybercrime, Moldova's anticorruption chief said. The suspected individuals "paid intermediaries and public figures in Moldova to inform wanted criminals of [their] Red Notice status," Veronica Dragalin, the anticorruption chief, told reporters. The notice flags people deemed fugitives to law enforcement worldwide and is one of Interpol's most important tools. The investigation led to the detention of four people for 72 hours on suspicion of interfering with the notices, Dragalin said. The scheme sought to have people subject to Red Notices "obtain asylum or refugee status" in Moldova and other countries "with the aim of blocking and deleting" the notices by bribing public officials, she said. The sums of money involved, she said, amount to several million dollars. Interpol said the operation by the international policing agency, headquartered in Lyon, France, followed the detection of attempts to "block and delete" the notices. Moldova opened an investigation on April 2, after receiving information from France's National Financial Prosecutor's Office, and subsequently requested the assistance of the FBI. "We are committed to fighting high-level corruption in all of its forms, particularly those schemes that put in jeopardy criminal investigations worldwide," Dragalin said. A statement from Interpol said the agency has taken steps to prevent further "misuse of its systems." "Our robust monitoring systems identified suspicious activity," said Interpol Secretary General Jurgen Stock. "We took immediate action, including reporting the issue to law enforcement authorities in our host country, France." Stock highlighted the number of individuals subject to Red Notices — more than 70,000 people — but did not elaborate on the attempted sabotage.

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phoenix, arizona — The first heat wave of the season is bringing triple-digit temperatures earlier than usual to much of the southwestern United States, where forecasters warned residents Tuesday to brace for "dangerously hot conditions" with highs expected to top 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43.3 Celsius) in the days ahead in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Phoenix, Arizona.  By Wednesday, most of an area stretching from southeastern California to central Arizona will see "easily their hottest" weather since last September and record daily highs will be in jeopardy throughout the region, the National Weather Service said.  Excessive heat warnings have been issued from 10 a.m. Wednesday to 8 p.m. Friday for parts of southern Nevada and Arizona. The unseasonably hot weather is expected to make its way into parts of the Pacific Northwest by the end of the week.  "We're looking at high temperatures well in the 90s and 100s, temperatures well above average for the time of year — some spots as much as 10 to 20 degrees above average," National Weather Service meteorologist Marc Chenard said on Tuesday.  Southeastern California, southern Nevada and much of Arizona will be affected most, he said.  "As we go through the week, some of those higher temperatures are also going to spread north, potentially getting into portions of the Pacific Northwest as well," Chenard said.  "We do have several days where these temperatures will persist, and that usually adds to the impact. If there is just one day, it doesn't tend to have as much of an impact," he said. "But when you start getting two, three or four days, this heat and then even warm temperatures at night, you start to see the impact increase."  The unseasonably hot weather already has taken a toll in some areas. The U.S. Border Patrol reported on Monday that four migrants died last weekend from heat-related causes while attempting to cross the border in southeastern New Mexico, near El Paso, Texas.  Border Patrol El Paso Sector Chief Anthony Good urged migrants not to try to cross the border in the extreme heat.  "The desert environment is extremely unforgiving, especially during the summer months," Good said. "We urge anyone considering crossing illegally to understand the severe risks involved."  Fire crews will be on high alert, especially in Arizona, where fire restrictions went into effect before Memorial Day in some areas and will be ordered by Thursday across most of the western and south-central parts of the state, authorities said.  Fire forecasters at the Southwest Coordination Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico, said weather in the region doesn't typically become so hot until mid- or late June.  "It does seem like Mother Nature is turning up the heat on us a little sooner than usual," Tiffany Davila, spokesperson for the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management, said Monday evening.  "We can't back down from a fire just because it's pushing 113 degrees outside. But we do keep a close eye on everybody in the field. Make sure they are keeping hydrated and taking more breaks than they normally would," she told The Associated Press.  Highs on Monday reached 110 F (43.3 C) at Death Valley National Park in California near the Nevada line.  In Las Vegas, Nevada, where the high topped out at 103 F (39.4 C) on Monday, temperatures will soar to 10 to 15 degrees above normal during the second half of the week — peaking at 111 (43.8 C) on Thursday.  A high of 120 F (48.8 C) is forecast for Thursday at Furnace Creek in Death Valley.  The current forecast of 113 F (45 C) for Phoenix on Thursday would break the daily record high of 111 F (43.8 C) set in 2016.  Last summer, Phoenix saw a record 31 straight days of at least 110 degrees F (43.3 C), stretching from the last day of June through the entire month of July. At least 400 of the 645 heat-related deaths that occurred last year were during that monthlong period. 

Recent violence between soldiers and migrants at the Polish-Belarusian border has prompted the Polish government to increase security and reintroduce a 200-meter buffer zone this week. Poland sees the latest migrant influx from Belarus as a hybrid warfare tactic. VOA Eastern Europe Bureau chief Myroslava Gongadze visited the region and has this report. VOA footage by Daniil Batushchak.

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