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In the United States, community colleges traditionally give two-year associate’s degrees and certificates. That is changing as more of these colleges develop bachelor’s degree programs. The higher degree from these schools is making college more accessible and affordable nationally and internationally. Robin Guess reports. Camera: Roy Kim.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague did not recognize China’s claim over the Spratly Islands. China is the main polluter of the South China Sea where Beijing’s island-building, dredging, and overfishing causes severe environmental damage.

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.

Indigenous fashion designers gathered in the American Southwest to celebrate couture and creativity at the first ever Native Fashion Week. Gustavo Martinez Contreras has our story from Santa Fe, New Mexico.

May 20 marked Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s fifth anniversary as Ukraine’s president. By law, the president serves five years, but elections have been postponed while the country remains under martial law. Katerina Besedina examines Zelenskyy’s challenging term so far. Anna Rice narrates. VOA footage by Elena Matusovky.

Women’s soccer in the U.S. has been on the rise, bringing more girls than ever into the fold. Thai American Madison Casteen embraced soccer at a young age and aims to be one of the few Asian Americans to break into the professional leagues. Warangkana Chomchuen has the story, narrated by Neetikarn Kamlangwan.

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.

Windhoek, Namibia — The Southern African Science Service Centre for Climate Change and Adaptive Land Management (SASSCAL) met in Namibia’s capital on Thursday to discuss ways to blunt the impact of rising temperatures in the region. Global warming has surpassed the 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold agreed upon in the Paris Agreement, with January 2024 marking the hottest year on Earth since pre-industrial times. The rising temperatures, experts say, are making environmental disasters worse.   Climate expert Francois Engelbrecht cautioned of “tipping points” if Southern African nations don’t adapt to climate change and limit their carbon dioxide emissions by moving from coal and oil to cleaner energies like wind and solar. “In Botswana and Namibia, one of the biggest risks is that we are running the risk of completely losing the cattle industry," Engelbrecht said. "Because if the world should warm to about 3 degrees Celsius globally, it means in Botswana and obviously Namibia, the warming will be about 6 degrees Celsius, and that heat stress is so aggressive to the cattle that no breed can survive. All the cattle breeds will become unsustainable in terms of farming with them.” Tipping points are events where climate systems change in such a way that they can no longer be reversed. As an example, Engelbrecht said, a prolonged drought in the Gauteng Province of South Africa that lowered water levels in dams and led to shortages in the city of Johannesburg, making it inhospitable. Zambian geology scholar Kawawa Banda says research conducted under SASSCAL shows groundwater supply in the Zambezi Catchment Area shared by Botswana, Namibia and Zambia could be another tipping point. “In the TIPPECC project, what we want to do is understand the risks associated with these drought conditions," Banda said. "We also want to understand the risks associated with tipping points around the quality, as well as possible complete depletion of this resource, so that actions around adaptation and risks are better informed from a water management perspective.” TIPPECC stands for Tipping Points Explained by Climate Change. It is funded by SASSCAL. Jane Olwoch is the executive director of SASSCAL, which includes Angola, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zambia. She says there is a need to integrate climate change into goverment policy, and information is a tool in sensitizing leaders to act on climate change by supporting renewable energy.  “We use science especially in green hydrogen to support demonstration pilot projects. In that way, we are bringing in new technology, new know-how, and giving our countries capability to respond to these new subjects like green hydrogen and renewable energy,” Olwoch said. Namibia’s green energy ambitions involve the production of hydrogen and ammonia for foreign markets using solar and wind energy, some of which will be sent back into the electrical grid. A clean source of energy, experts say, can replace oil, coal and gas in the near future. In the Southern Hemisphere, Botswana, Namibia and Zambia are hit hardest by global warming, with SASSCAL research showing a 6 percent increase in the second half of the 21st century if nothing is done about it now.

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.

Study finds 1 in 3 secretly travel while working remotely

BANGKOK, THAILAND — Thailand is set to ratify a U.N. convention that would see new ways to protect at-risk individuals from being extrajudicially abducted, kidnapped or disappeared.  The Southeast Asian country with a poor human rights record in recent years is seeking a seat on the U.N. Human Rights Council, and apparently hopes ratification will help its candidacy later this year, human rights advocates say. The Thai Foreign Ministry told VOA that the goal is for the convention to be fully ratified by the government in Bangkok by June 13.  Thailand signed the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances (ICPPED) in 2012 yet has not formally ratified it.  "On May 14, 2024, Thailand deposited an Instrument of Ratification to the International Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance. Thailand reaffirms its commitment to protect all persons from enforced disappearance," Thailand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs told VOA, noting the process is expected to end in ratification within a month. ICPPED will be Thailand's eighth core international human rights treaty, the ministry said.  Thailand has a long history of enforced disappearances, records show. Between 1980 and 2023, the U.N. Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances reported that 77 of 93 documented "enforced or involuntary disappearance" cases in Thailand remain unsolved. Sanhawan Srisod, an associate international legal adviser at the International Commission for Jurists, told VOA that Thailand is taking public steps to try to improve its rights reputation. "Thailand has illustrated its willingness to take a leadership role in safeguarding human rights, not only at a global level but also at the domestic level," she said. In February 2023, for example, Thailand passed the Act on Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance. When in force, the U.N. treaty on protection is expected to reduce the number of "enforced disappearances," rights advocates say. A mechanism will be in place for requests to protect individuals at risk to be sent to the U.N. Committee on Enforced Disappearance, which is the supervisory authority of the convention. "One immediate change is that relatives, legal representatives, or any other person having a legitimate interest in the potential victims of enforced disappearance will be equipped with more tools to seek the truth. The committee can urgently request state parties like Thailand to take measures to ensure that a disappeared person, including dissidents and political refugees, is located and protected, taking into account the urgency of the situation," Sanhawan said. Phil Robertson, director of Asia Human Rights and Labour Advocates (AHRLA), said he hopes the Thai government works to improve conditions for dissidents and critics. "One hopes that this ratification will see Thailand turn the corner and end such disappearances once and for all, but it will require real political commitment to stop the culture of intimidation and impunity which makes disappearing critics and rivals so easy," he told VOA. Robertson said the treaty should be retroactive so dozens of unsolved cases can be re-examined. "If they are serious about this issue, the Thai authorities would systematically re-open and investigate those cases, but there is no indication they are preparing to do so. For the families of the dozens of victims of enforced disappearance vainly waiting for closure and accountability, this ratification won't mean much since it's not retroactive," Robertson said. One such case has reached a 20th anniversary. Somchai Neelapaijit, a prominent Thai human rights lawyer, disappeared in Bangkok in 2004. Thailand announced last year it was seeking a seat on the U.N. Human Rights Council and was preparing for the September vote at the U.N. General Assembly that will determine which nations hold seats for the 2025-27 term. Bangkok now has boosted its chances to secure a U.N. seat, Robertson says. "Thailand needed something to show for its campaign to be elected to the U.N. Human Rights Council in September, so ratifying this convention became the easiest pledge they could make." But for a country that has seen military coups and opposition crackdowns in recent years, Thailand's human rights record remains a concern. The crackdown on dissidents stemming from the 2020 anti-government and monarchy reform protests has seen nearly 2,000 people prosecuted for expressing opinions and political views. This includes 272 people facing lèse-majesté charges, which prohibits criticism of Thailand's monarchy. Under Article 112 of Thailand's Criminal Code, each charge can warrant a maximum 15-year prison sentence. Human rights advocates have expressed concern that some political activists have been refused bail and remain in custody in pretrial detention. Currently 27 detainees are being held under those conditions, according to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights. Earlier in May, political activist Netiporn Sanesangkhom, also known as "Bung," died of cardiac arrest while in custody following a hunger strike. She was facing lèse-majesté charges and her bail had been revoked. "Thailand does not deserve a seat on the U.N. Human Rights Council if it continues to imprison people for speaking the truth to power," Akarachai Chaimaneekarakate, advocacy lead at Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, told VOA. Sanhawan, of the ICJ, said that while political activists languish in Thai prisons, questions over human rights practices hang over the country. "The allegations of rights violations that continually haunt Thailand should be addressed, including the alleged misuse of the judicial process against political dissidents based on non-human rights compliance laws which have been consistently criticized by U.N. bodies for a long time."

MANILA — The Philippines has built a coastguard station in its northern islands near Taiwan, boosting its capacity to monitor an area where China has built up its military presence, National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano said on Friday. He said the new station less than 200 km (125 miles) from Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, will improve Manila's ability to monitor the Luzon Strait, a vital international waterway south of the democratically governed island. Ano said the area around the town of Itbayat in the Philippines' Batanes islands was the scene of a military build-up in 2022 after China had responded to "political developments" between Taiwan and the U.S., the island's key foreign backer. "China's corresponding naval response was observed in the Luzon Strait," Ano said in a statement. The strait, traversed by multiple cable systems, is a transit zone for vessels moving between the Philippine Sea and the contested South China Sea. The frequent presence of Chinese survey ships there also underscores the importance of "securing peace, stability, and freedom of navigation along the Luzon Strait", Ano said. Ano said the new station would allow the Philippines Coast Guard (PCG) to combat foreign threats and crimes at sea including illicit trade, trafficking, piracy and foreign intrusions. Itbayat was one of the venues of joint military exercises by the Philippines and the U.S. from April 22 to May 10 in which more than 16,000 troops from both sides participated. In 2023, the Philippines almost doubled the number of its military bases that U.S. forces can access, including three facing Taiwan. China has said those moves were "stoking the fire" of regional tensions. In waters east of Taiwan, China conducted mock missile strikes and dispatched bombers carrying live missiles on Friday in its two-day Taiwan drills, Beijing's state CCTV said. It said the exercises were launched to punish Taiwan's new president, Lai Ching-te, whom it has denounced as a "separatist". Lai has repeatedly offered talks with China but has been rebuffed. He says only Taiwan's people can decide their future, and rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims. Taiwan's armed forces have mobilised to monitor and shadow Chinese forces.

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.

LONDON — The number of people held in Russian prisons dropped by 58,000 last year, Russian independent media reported on Friday, continuing a steady fall spurred in part by the recruitment of convicts to fight in Ukraine. In total, some 105,000 prisoners were released between 2022-2023, media reported, citing data published in the official journal of Russia's prison service. Russia has one of the highest rates of incarceration in the world and a vast network of prisons and labour camps stretching across its 11 time zones. Russia has recruited prisoners to fight in Ukraine since 2022, when Yevgeny Prigozhin, the late head of the Wagner mercenary group, began touring penal colonies, offering prisoners a pardon if they survived six months at the front. Prigozhin, who was killed in a plane crash last year two months after leading a short-lived mutiny against Russia's military leaders, said he had recruited 50,000 prisoners for Wagner. Russia's Defence Ministry has since continued recruiting convicts from prisons for its own Storm-Z formations. Regional authorities in Siberia have said they plan to close several prisons this year amid a decline in inmate numbers driven by the recruitment of convicts for the war. The latest drop in the prison population is part of a longer-term downward trend. Since 2009, the number of convicts has decreased threefold, from about 730,000 to roughly 250,000, according to calculations by independent media, as Russia has softened penalties for some financial crimes.

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan will pay more than $2 million to the families of Chinese workers killed in a suicide bombing this year. Five Chinese workers and their Pakistani driver were killed on March 26 when a suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into their convoy in the country’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.   The Economic Coordination Committee, Pakistan’s top economic body approved a $2.58 million package Thursday as compensation to the families of the foreign victims. The ECC, presided over by Pakistani Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, also approved nearly $9,000 in compensation for the family of the slain Pakistani national. “The ECC considered and approved proposals for Technical Supplementary Grants, including: $2.58 million and Rs. 2.5 million to the Ministry of Water Resources as the compensation packages for Chinese and local casualties at DASU Hydropower Project,” a statement on the finance ministry's website said.   The workers were traveling to the Chinese-funded Dasu hydropower project in the remote region of Kohistan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa when they came under attack in Bisham, in Shangla district, about four hours north of the capital. Islamabad. Pakistan identified the attacker as an Afghan national and claimed the attack was planned in Afghanistan. Pakistan: Afghan-based terrorists planned suicide attack on Chinese engineers Islamabad accuses the Afghan Taliban of allowing anti-Pakistan terrorists to operate on its soil, a charge the rulers in Kabul deny. China has urged Pakistan to punish those involved in the attack and to ensure better security for its nationals present in the country. Thousands of Chinese are working on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, or CPEC, a multibillion-dollar energy and infrastructure project under Beijing’s global Belt and Road Initiative. As Pakistan pushes to revive the pace of the megaproject, Islamabad has assured China it has enhanced security protocols for the foreign workers. In a visit to Dasu, days after the attack, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif vowed “fool-proof” security arrangements in a meeting with Chinese workers at the hydropower project. “I will not rest until we have put in place the best possible security measures for your security. Not only in Dasu, [but] all over Pakistan,” Sharif said, adding that, this was his promise to the people of China, and to the Chinese leadership including President Xi Jinping. A special military unit as well as local law enforcement are already responsible for the security of Chinese nationals in Pakistan. Since the launch of CPEC, foreign workers have come under attack, mostly, by Baloch separatist groups who see the project as part of Pakistani state’s measures to rob the mineral-rich Balochistan province of its precious resources. No group, however, claimed responsibility for the attack in March that occurred far from Balochistan. The banned Islamist militant outfit Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan - an ideological offshoot of the Afghan Taliban - has a foothold in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In 2021, an attack on a bus carrying workers to the same hydropower project killed 13 people including at least nine Chinese nationals. Pakistan compensated their families as well. Two alleged Islamist militants were sentenced to death for that attack.