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washington — U.S. military officials and analysts have for years warned of possible armed attacks or blockades by China on Taiwan, but a report released Friday has raised a red flag about possible nonmilitary tactics that could be used effectively against the self-governed island. Beijing could wage an economic and cyber war to force a surrender from Taiwan without direct use of military power, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington research institute, said in the report. Such a likely but overlooked scenario, it said, poses a challenge for the U.S., the island's biggest ally, and it suggested Washington make preparations for how best to respond. FDD researchers teamed up with banking and finance experts in Taiwan over two days earlier this year to simulate likely nonmilitary moves by Beijing, such as disinformation campaigns and cyberattacks on infrastructure. The exercise was the first of its kind and sought to fill an analytical gap, FDD said. “Modern globalization has created more economic connections that China can exploit to achieve coercive aims," the report said. “Technological innovation created even more digital connections, offering more possibilities for coercion, including through the targeting of critical infrastructure.” Beijing has vowed to take Taiwan by force if necessary, although Chinese President Xi Jinping has promised to make “utmost efforts” to do so peacefully. Taiwan split from the mainland in 1949 during a civil war when the defeated nationalist government fled to the island. Years of pressure Tensions have flared in the Taiwan Strait since 2016 when Beijing began to increase diplomatic and military pressure on the island, prompting the U.S. to step up its support. Washington, which is obligated under U.S. law to provide Taipei with sufficient military hardware for its defense, has argued that it is in the U.S. interest to keep peace in the strait and to stand with democracies such as Taiwan to maintain the rules-based world order. Beijing has demanded the U.S. stay out of Taiwan, arguing it is a purely domestic affair. President Joe Biden has indicated he would send troops to defend Taiwan in case of an armed attack from China, but the U.S. government has yet to formulate a plan to respond to nonmilitary tactics, giving Beijing flexibility in working to undermine Taiwan without triggering an outright response from Washington that a military invasion would, the FDD researchers said. Taiwan’s foreign and defense ministries had no immediate comment on the report. With an estimated 1 million Taiwanese living and working in China, economic ties have grown ever closer. That has made the possibility of economic coercion, boycotts and military blockades an even bigger threat. Possible moves In the simulation exercises, the experts from the U.S. and Taiwan studied possible moves by Beijing such as conducting psychological wars to erode public trust, banning imports of Taiwanese products or raising tariffs on them, short-selling Taiwanese stocks, freezing bank transfers across the strait, cutting fiber-optic cables, and targeting energy imports and storage. The report recommended that Taiwan diversify its energy imports, relocate businesses away from the mainland, develop new markets, and build alliances and partnerships. The report also suggested that the United States develop a playbook of options to counter China and improve coordination with allies. The Taiwan Academy of Banking and Finance, which worked with FDD on the simulation exercises, has argued that Taiwan must strengthen its financial resilience. “China could destabilize Taiwan’s financial system to incite social unrest as a precursor to invasion,” the report said. Russell Hsiao, executive director of the Washington-based Global Taiwan Institute, said that Beijing has already been ramping up nonmilitary measures against Taiwan and that such efforts are expected to intensify in the coming years. "It behooves the United States and Taiwan to work with allies and like-minded partners to strengthen our collective resilience to China’s weaponization of economic interdependence,” Hsiao said.

washington — Vice President Kamala Harris met briefly with a group of Arab Americans in Flint, Michigan, on Friday, as her campaign aims to build support with communities outraged by the administration's response to the war in Gaza and the expanding conflict in Lebanon. "The vice president heard directly their perspectives on the election and the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon," her campaign said in a statement. Harris "expressed her concern over the scale of suffering in Gaza" and discussed "her efforts to end the war" and to prevent regional war, the campaign statement said. On Lebanon, Harris expressed "concern about civilian casualties and displacement" and reiterated the administration's position that "a diplomatic solution is the best path to achieve stability and protect civilians." Michigan, a key battleground state, is home to almost 400,000 Arab Americans, the highest in the country by percentage, according to the Arab American Institute. Neither the Harris campaign nor the vice president's office provided the list of participants. However, Edward Gabriel, president of the American Task Force on Lebanon, said he took part in the meeting. "We discussed the need for a cease-fire and the support needed from the United States and its allies to address the humanitarian crisis, the presidential leadership void in Lebanon, and the important role of the Lebanese armed forces," he told VOA. "This was a valuable two-sided exchange, and we made important progress in our relationship." Also participating were representatives from Emgage, a Muslim American advocacy group that endorsed Harris in September, citing the danger of "Trump's brand of authoritarianism" for "Muslim Americans, America and the world." In its endorsement, the group noted its support did not equal "an agreement with Vice President Harris on all issues, but rather, an honest guidance to our voters regarding the difficult choice they confront at the ballot box." Pro-Palestinian groups excluded Harris' meeting did not include the Uncommitted National Movement and Abandon Harris, two pro-Palestinian activist groups that have been pushing for change in the administration's policies on Gaza. "We weren't invited," said Layla Elabed, a spokesperson for Uncommitted National Movement, the group that helped organize more than 100,000 Michiganders to vote "uncommitted" in the Democratic primary election to protest the Biden administration's support of Israel's military campaign. Hudhayfah Ahmad, a spokesperson for the Abandon Harris campaign, a group that is actively working to defeat Harris in Michigan and other battleground states in protest of U.S. Gaza policies, said the only path forward is to hold the administration and the Harris campaign accountable. "We've remained firm in our position that we will not meet with the vice president or anyone from her campaign team, as that opportunity has passed," he told VOA. The Flint meeting showed the group's pressure on the Harris campaign is working, Elabed told VOA. However, she added, the campaign should heed the group's request for Harris to meet "everyday Americans whose loved ones are being impacted by this administration's policy to continue supplying the bombs and weapons to Israel that are killing Palestinians and now Lebanese people, including Americans in Gaza and Lebanon." In the past two weeks, Israel's military campaign targeting Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon has killed hundreds, including Kamel Ahmad Jawad, an American from the nearby city of Dearborn, Michigan. Earlier this week, Harris' running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, spoke to a Muslim group focused on activities to increase voter turnout. Harris' national security adviser, Phil Gordon, also met virtually with Muslim and Arab community leaders Wednesday. With the exception of the Arab American Institute and the American Task Force on Lebanon, Gordon's engagements did not include major Muslim and Arab groups. James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute, who participated in the eight-person engagement with Gordon, told VOA it did not include representatives of the community. The vice president's office did not respond to queries on why these groups were excluded from the Flint meeting. A campaign spokesperson, however, said Harris was "committed to work to earn every vote, unite our country, and to be a president for all Americans." "Throughout her career, Vice President Harris has been steadfast in her support of our country's diverse Muslim community, ensuring first and foremost that they can live free from the hateful policies of the Trump administration," the spokesperson told VOA. "She will continue working to bring the war in Gaza to an end in a way where Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination." Harris' outreach efforts come as a new poll indicates Arab American support for the Democratic presidential nominee is virtually tied with that for the Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump. Vote evenly split On Wednesday, the Arab American Institute released a nationwide poll of 500 Arab American registered voters that indicated support for Trump stood at 42%. For Harris, it was 41%. Among those who said they were very likely to vote, Trump led Harris 46% to 42%. The poll suggested the administration's handling of the crisis in Gaza has eroded the community's support for Democrats, whom they traditionally back. Arab Americans now are evenly divided between the two parties: 38% for each. Trump has also been courting Arab and Muslim voters. He has won the support of Amer Ghalib, the Yemeni American mayor of Hamtramck, Michigan. The city is home to about 30,000 people, almost half of them Muslim, and it is the only city in the U.S. to have an all-Muslim city council. "Endorsing President Trump was a combination of disappointment and hope," Ghalib told VOA. "Disappointed at the current administration's policies domestically and internationally, and in hope that President Trump will come to fix things up, end the chaos in the Middle East and restore peace everywhere, as well as preventing our economy from further deterioration." Ghalib's endorsement came last month following his meeting with Trump, also in Flint, Michigan.

Fears of a wider regional war in the Middle East may already be a reality after Iran’s missile attack and Israel’s military operations targeting militants on two fronts. Could the U.S. be dragged into war? After months of working toward a peace agreement and warnings of a wider war, what if anything can the Biden Administration do? We get perspective from Bruce Riedel, with the Brookings Institution’s Center for Middle East Policy. Intensifying hostilities come just days ahead of the one-year mark of the October 7 Hamas massacre in southern Israel that sparked the war in Gaza.

washington — In a crucial week for Somalia's security plan, discussions in Washington and New York have underscored the urgent need for preparation for the upcoming African Union Support Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM), as escalating tensions between Somalia and Ethiopia over a maritime agreement Ethiopia signed with Somaliland raised concerns among international stakeholders.  Somalia is set to determine the composition of its upcoming AUSSOM following the expiration of the current AU mission.  Hussein Moalim, Somalia's national security adviser, stated that Somalia is firm in its position on Ethiopian forces' participation in the new mission.    "Somalia would not consider Ethiopian troops to be part of the new mission unless it withdraws from the illegal memorandum of understanding signed with [Somalia's breakaway region of] Somaliland earlier this year," Moalim said Thursday in an interview with VOA Somali.  The controversial memorandum of understanding, also known as an MoU, has escalated tensions between the two neighboring nations, granting Ethiopia access to a 20-kilometer (12.4 mile) stretch of Red Sea coastline in return for potential recognition of Somaliland's independence.  Somalia views the MoU, signed in January, as a violation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity, leading to a diplomatic rift that has included the expulsion of the Ethiopian ambassador from Mogadishu and threats to remove thousands of Ethiopian troops stationed in parts of south and central regions of the country.  Despite two rounds of mediated talks by Turkey yielding no results, Somalia's State Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Omar Balcad insists that effective dialogue hinges on addressing issues of Somalia's sovereignty infringement and restoring trust.  "First we need to solve the issue on our sovereignty infringement and second to restore the trust and the diplomatic relations between us, and then there comes the negotiation on the Ethiopia desire to access our sea and ports," said Balcad in an interview with VOA Somali. UN urges diplomatic resolution  In New York, the United Nations Security Council addressed the security situation in Somalia on Thursday, stressing the urgency of finalizing plans for the new AU stabilization mission.  During the discussion, concerns were raised regarding escalating tensions between Somalia and Ethiopia, with James Swan, acting special representative of the secretary-general, urging both nations to seek a diplomatic solution within the framework of international law.    Ambassador Robert Wood, the U.S. alternative representative for special political affairs, echoed these sentiments, highlighting the detrimental impact of rising tensions on regional security.    "Colleagues, we are deeply concerned about rising tension between Ethiopia and Somalia and the negative impact it is having on shared security interests," Wood said.  In discussions held in Washington this week, Somali officials, along with representatives from the U.S., Qatar, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the U.K., emphasized the urgency of finalizing funding options for the new peacekeeping mission.  Somalia's Moalim reiterated the commitment of international partners to support Somalia's security, stability and sovereignty.    "The partners reaffirmed their unwavering support for the federal government of Somalia in its efforts to attain stability and security across the nation," he said.  Ethopia denies Somalia's allegations Briefing the U.N. Security Council, Somali Foreign Minister Ahmed Moalim Fiqi accused Ethiopia of using the fight against terrorism as a pretext for territorial expansion.    "Let me be clear. The claim that Ethiopia is in Somalia to fight terrorism is a pretext for annexation," Fiqi asserted, adding that Somalia has intercepted three illegal arms shipments from Ethiopia in the past three months, fueling local conflicts and empowering extremist groups.  "We call these actions a clear violation of Somalia's sovereignty," he said.  Ethiopia has been constantly denying Somalia's accusations against Ethiopia, including its intention behind the MoU signed with Somaliland.  During last month's meeting of U.N. General Assembly, Ethiopian Foreign Minister Taye Atske-Selassie said his country had nothing to do with Somalia's allegations.  "Ethiopia's memorandum of understanding with Somaliland is based on existing political dispensation in Somalia," he said.  "Our objective is a shared growth and prosperity in the region. Similar agreements have been concluded by other states, and there is no reason for the government of Somalia to incite hostility that obviously intends to cover internal political tensions," he added. "I therefore reject the unfounded allegations leveled against my country."  Falastin Iman in Washington contributed to this report, which originated in VOA's Somali Service.

washington — China's weeklong celebration of its National Day, from October 1, is known as the "golden week" because it's the Asian giant's biggest week for travel, tourism and leisure spending. However, some Chinese who spoke to VOA Mandarin described this year's National Day as a national day of mourning because of higher costs while the economy is struggling. All those interviewed by VOA asked that their names not be used out of fear of retaliation from the Chinese government for their negative comments. Despite returning from a holiday in Japan in September, a 37-year-old white-collar worker in Beijing chose to join the crowd of travelers during China's National Day holiday for a seven-day vacation in South Korea. "Usually the ticket is only 2,000 yuan [about $284], but now it has risen to almost 4,000 [about $568] during the National Day holiday. But I still decided to go out and have fun. Otherwise, what are you doing in Beijing? It's so boring," she told VOA. The well-off urban dweller said, "I went to get a manicure today, and the lady said that all of her friends have lost their jobs. Now a lot of people don't have money. The domestic economy is not good. We just don't know how bad it is, and we can't see the truth." She noticed that even though it is the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, Beijing did not have many large-scale celebrations or a festive atmosphere, except for displays of national flags and flowerbeds. The Beijing resident thought the main reason was that the economy is suffering. "Many people have lost their jobs, and if a grand National Day celebration were held, it would definitely be criticized. The government might not have the money to hold a celebration either," she said. China also usually holds more elaborate celebrations when it hits a new decade for its founding anniversary. Not in 'mood' to celebrate A man who lives in Shanghai and works in the publishing industry said he believed that in today's China, national pride is becoming less and less marketable. He told VOA Mandarin, "It's because the people's personal [economic] lives are not good. And now there is a bit of a difficult situation at home and abroad, and people are not in the mood for celebrations." A middle-class translator who lives in Beijing told VOA Mandarin he and his friends thought that "the national fortune is very gray" because the economy is unpredictable. "Who would want to invest? So, are your economic fundamentals getting better? Is your business environment improving? Is your international environment improving? I think these are some of the basic questions," he said. "Not to mention the rule of law. So, we want it to get better, but you tell me, which aspect is getting better?" Li Yang, vice minister of transport, said at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office on September 27 that the cross-regional flow of people during this year's National Day holiday would reach 1.94 billion, with an average 277 million people traveling per day, and 80% of the trips by private vehicles. This would be an average daily increase of 0.7% over the same period last year and an average daily increase of 19.4% over the same period in 2019. The increase in travelers will give at least a temporary boost to domestic consumption, which China has been encouraging since the COVID-19 pandemic, especially as an overreliance on exports has fueled tariff retaliation from trade partners. But while stimulus measures last week boosted China's stock markets by the most since 2008, economists noted the fundamental reliance on exports has not changed and China's property market — a pillar of its domestic economy — is still struggling. 'Just a relative rebound' Despite jumps in markets, and travel for the golden week holiday, the translator and the white-collar worker said these did not signal a return to prosperity. "It's not that your income is higher after three years of the pandemic, it's that you had spent less during the pandemic," said the translator. "It's just a relative rebound." He continued, "Generally speaking, the National Day has become a national mourning," adding that if there is another pandemic or major upheaval, many people will not be able to maintain their standard of living. While China's middle class lamented the country's downturn, they noted the lives of people with limited skills are the most difficult. Meanwhile, taxi drivers are taking advantage of the temporary increase in passengers for the National Day holiday to earn as much as they can. The publisher told VOA he took a ride-hailing application taxi in Shanghai, and it was the driver's first week. "He hadn't gotten out of the car for a week and even slept in the car," he said. "He slept in the car when he was tired and drove when he woke up." He said, "I asked the taxi driver today, 'How do you plan for the National Day? How many days a week do you work?' He said, 'If there were eight days in a week, I would work eight days and not think about vacation travel at all.' " China's Transport Ministry described passenger transport since the beginning of this year as "robust," with nearly 44 billion passenger trips recorded during the first eight months, a 6% increase from the same period last year.

moscow — A court in Minsk sentenced a dozen individuals to prison terms of between two  and 25 years Friday for helping commit what Belarus has called an "act of terrorism" at a military airfield outside the capital last year.  A group of Belarusian anti-government activists said in February 2023 that they had blown up a sophisticated Russian military surveillance aircraft in a drone attack at the base.  Russia and Belarus dismissed the assertion as fake, with Belarusian state television publishing footage showing what it said was the undamaged Beriev A-50 surveillance craft.  About a week later, Minsk said it had detained a "terrorist" and more than 20 accomplices over attempted sabotage at the airfield.  Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin, alleged at the time that Ukrainian security services and the U.S. Central Intelligence agency were behind the operation. He said the aircraft had suffered only superficial damage in the attack, which was carried out using a "small drone," the Belta news agency reported.  On Friday, Belarus' general prosecutor's office said the Minsk City Court had sentenced 12 individuals after finding them guilty of terrorism, extremism and other serious crimes.  The main defendant, Ukrainian national Nikolai Shvets, was sentenced in absentia to 25 years in prison. Shvets, who gave an interview to Belarusian state television last April in which he detailed how he planned the attack, was released in a prisoner exchange with Ukraine in June, according to Belarusian rights group Viasna.  It was not clear how many of the others were sentenced in absentia. 

washington — Spamouflage networks with connections to China are posting antisemitic conspiracy theories on social media, casting doubt on Washington's independence from alleged Jewish influence and the integrity of the two U.S. presidential candidates, a joint investigation by VOA Mandarin and Taiwan's Doublethink Lab, a social media analytics firm, has found. The investigation has so far uncovered more than 30 such X posts, many of which claim or suggest that core American political institutions, including the White House and Congress, have pledged loyalty to or are controlled by Jewish elites and the Israeli government. One post shows a graphic of 18 U.S. officials of Jewish descent, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, and the head of the Homeland Security Department, Alejandro Mayorkas, and asks: "Jews only make up 2% of the U.S. population, so why do they have so many representatives in important government departments?!" Another post shows a cartoon depicting Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate for president, and her opponent, Donald Trump, having their tongues tangled together and wrapped around an Israeli flagpole. The post proclaims that "no matter who of them comes to power, they will not change their stance on Judaism." Most of the 32 posts analyzed by VOA Mandarin and Doublethink Lab were posted during July and August. The posts came from three spamouflage accounts, two of which were previously reported by VOA. Each of the three accounts leads its own spamouflage network. The three networks consist of 140 accounts, which amplify content from the three main accounts, or seeders. A spamouflage network is a state-sponsored operation disguised as the work of authentic social media users to spread pro-government narratives and disinformation while discrediting criticism from adversaries. Jasper Hewitt, a digital intelligence analyst at Doublethink Lab, told VOA Mandarin that the impact of these antisemitic posts has been limited, as most of them failed to reach real users, despite having garnered over 160,000 views. U.S. officials have cast China as one of the major threats looking to disrupt this year's election. Beijing, however, has repeatedly denied these allegations and urged Washington to "not make an issue of China in the election." Tuvia Gering, a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council's Global China Hub, has closely followed antisemitic disinformation coming from China. He told VOA Mandarin that Beijing isn't necessarily hostile toward Jews, but anti-Semitic conspiracy theories have historically been a handy tool to be used against Western countries. "You can trace its origins back to the Cold War, when the Soviet Union promoted antisemitic conspiracy theories all over the world just to instigate in Western societies," Gering said, "because it divides them from within and it casts the West in a bad light in a strategic competition. [It's] the same thing you see here [with China]." Anti-Semitic speech floods Chinese internet Similar antisemitic narratives about U.S. politics posted by the spamouflage accounts have long been flourishing on the Chinese internet. An article that received thousands of likes and reposts on Chinese social media app WeChat claims that "Jewish capital" has completed its control of the American political sphere "through infiltration, marriages, campaign funds and lobbying." The article also brings up the Jewish heritage of many current and former U.S. officials and their families as evidence of the alleged Jewish takeover of America. "The wife of the U.S. president is Jewish, the son-in-law of the former U.S. president is Jewish, the mother of the previous former U.S. president was Jewish, the U.S. Secretary of State is Jewish, the U.S. Secretary of Treasury is Jewish, the Deputy Secretary of State, the Attorney General … are all Jewish," it wrote. In fact, first lady Jill Biden is Roman Catholic, and the mother of former President Barack Obama was raised as a Christian. The others named are Jewish. Conspiracy theories and misinformation abounded on the Chinese internet after the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill in May that would empower the Department of Education to adopt a new set of standards when investigating antisemitism in educational programs. Articles and videos assert that the bill marks the death of America because it "definitively solidifies the superior and unquestionable position of the Jews in America," claiming falsely that anyone who's labeled an antisemite will be arrested. One video with more than 1 million views claimed that the New Testament of the Bible would be deemed illegal under the bill. And since all U.S. presidents took their inaugural oath with the Bible, the bill allegedly invalidates the legitimacy of the commander in chief. None of that is true. The Chinese public hasn't historically been hostile toward Jews. A 2014 survey published by the Anti-Defamation League, a U.S.-based group against antisemitism, found that only 20% of the participants from China harbored an antisemitic attitude. But when the Israel-Hamas conflict broke out a year ago, the otherwise heavily censored Chinese social media was flooded with antisemitic comments and praise for Nazi Germany leader Adolf Hitler. The Chinese government has dismissed criticism of antisemitism on its internet. When asked about it at a news conference last year, Wang Wenbin, then the spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry, said that "China's laws unequivocally prohibit disseminating information on extremism, ethnic hatred, discrimination and violence via the internet." But online hate speech against Jews has hardly disappeared. Eric Liu, a former censor for Chinese social media Weibo who now monitors online censorship, told VOA Mandarin that whenever Israel is in the news, there would be a surge in online antisemitism. Just last month, after dozens of members of the Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah were killed by explosions of their pagers, Chinese online commentators acidly condemned Israel and Jews. The attack "proves that Jews are the most terrifying and cowardly people," one Weibo user wrote. "They are self-centered and believe themselves to be superior, when in fact they are considered the most indecent and shameless. When the time comes, it's going to be blood for blood."

manaus, brazil — The river port in the Amazon rainforest's largest city of Manaus on Friday hit its lowest level since 1902, as a drought drains waterways and snarls transport of grain exports and essential supplies that are the region's lifeline. Below-average rainfall — even through the rainy season — has plagued the Amazon and much of South America since last year, also feeding the worst wildfires in more than a decade in Brazil and Bolivia. Millions of hectares of forest and farmland have burned in Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Peru as well. The same extreme heat and dryness that is driving the surging fires in the Amazon is impacting neighboring Pantanal, the world's largest wetlands. Bolivia is also on track to break a record for the most fires ever recorded, according to data from Brazil's space research agency. The Amazon basin, usually one of the wettest places on Earth, is experiencing its worst fires in nearly two decades, according to the European Union's Copernicus Observatory. And last week, satellite images from the National Institute for Space Research showed 80% of Brazil affected by smoke. Researchers say climate change is the main culprit behind wildfires and the drought. Scientists predict the Amazon region may not fully recover moisture levels until 2026. Last year, the drought became a humanitarian crisis, as people reliant on rivers were stranded without food, water or medicine. This year authorities are already on alert. In hard-hit Amazonas state, at least 62 municipalities are under states of emergency with more than half a million people affected, according to the state's civil defense corps. "This is now the most severe drought in over 120 years of measurement at the Port of Manaus," said Valmir Mendonca, the port's head of operations, who said the river level is likely to keep falling for another week or two. With the region never fully recovering because of weaker-than-usual seasonal rains, many of the impacts of the drought last year look set to repeat or reach new extremes. The Port of Manaus measured the Rio Negro at 12.66 meters Friday, according to its website, surpassing the previous all-time low recorded last year and still falling rapidly. The Rio Negro is a major tributary of the Amazon River, the world's largest river by volume. The port sits near the "meeting of the waters" where the black water of the Negro meets the sandy-colored Solimoes, which also hit a record low this week. Grain shipments have been halted on the Madeira River, another tributary of the Amazon, because of low water levels, a port association said last month. Researchers are again finding the carcasses of Amazon freshwater river dolphins, which they blame on thinning waters driving the threatened species into closer contact with humans. National disaster monitoring agency Cemaden has already called the drought Brazil's worst such event since at least the 1950s. The drought has also sapped hydropower plants, Brazil's main source of electricity. Energy authorities have approved bringing back daylight saving time to conserve electricity, although the measure still requires presidential approval. The extreme weather and dryness are affecting much of South America, with the Paraguay River also at an all-time low. That river starts in Brazil and flows through Paraguay and Argentina to the Atlantic.

london — With an escalating war in the Middle East, uncertainty over Western military aid for Ukraine, and the U.S. presidential election looming next month, new NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has no time to settle in. The former Dutch prime minister was appointed to the role at a ceremony at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Tuesday, where he told delegates that "there can be no lasting security in Europe without a strong, independent Ukraine," and affirmed that "Ukraine's rightful place is in NATO." On Thursday, Rutte was welcomed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Kyiv. Zelenskyy wasted no time in relaying his demands. "We have discussed the most urgent needs of our troops, the weapons and the recruitment to the brigades," Zelenskyy said at a news conference alongside Rutte on Thursday. "We will have more time today to discuss more details on how to strengthen Ukraine's positions on the front so that we can exert more pressure on Russia in order to support just and realistic diplomacy. That is why we need sufficient quantity and quality of weapons, including long-range weapons, the decision on which, in my opinion, our Western partners are delaying," he told reporters. Ukraine wants to use Western long-range missiles on targets inside Russia. The U.S. and other allies are holding back, fearing escalation with Moscow. NATO's new secretary-general made his position clear. "Ukraine obviously has the right to defend itself and international law is on the side of Ukraine, meaning that this right does not end at the border. Russia is pursuing this illegal war … targeting Russian fighter jets and missiles before they can be used against Ukraine's civilian infrastructure can help save lives," Rutte told reporters. Ukraine's president was asked whether he feared the world was forgetting about his country, amid the escalating conflict in the Middle East. "I wish that Ukraine is not forgotten," Zelenskyy said. "And the best way to show this is by giving particular weapons, by giving particular permissions. And help to shoot down hostile drones — by the way, the same Iranian rockets and drones — to shoot them down the same way as they are shot down in the sky of Israel. Do the same over the skies of Ukraine." Rutte is a longtime ally of Ukraine, noted analyst Armida van Rij, a senior research fellow at the London-based think tank Chatham House. "While he was prime minister of the Netherlands, he was very supportive of Ukraine. He's the one who signed off on the F-16s [fighter jets] deal for Ukraine as well. So, there is that history of support," van Rij told VOA. However, Rutte is facing headwinds as he tries to boost military support for Ukraine among NATO allies. Next month, U.S. voters will choose a new president: Donald Trump or Kamala Harris. Rutte said he would work with whoever is elected — but neither outcome will be straightforward, said van Rij. "There is a real risk for Ukraine that Trump may try to force Ukraine's hand and force Ukraine to capitulate to Russia, which would be terrible for European security. That's the first challenge. But the second challenge is even if Vice President Harris were to win the U.S. elections, she may still face a divided Congress and she may still struggle to pass aid packages in support for Ukraine through Congress." Either scenario would require European NATO allies to step up their military aid. "And there again, there's challenges because many countries have depleted their stocks. They've given as much as they feel comfortable with at this point. What I would like to see is to think through some of the practical ways in which we can advance EU and NATO collaborations specifically on this issue of developing a European defense industrial base," van Rij told VOA. There are fears in Europe that a victory for Trump could upend the United States' relationship with NATO. "Like [former NATO Secretary-General Jens] Stoltenberg, Rutte is known as a 'Trump whisperer.' He is one of the few European politicians who developed a good working relationship with Donald Trump. However, a potential second Trump term could prove much more disruptive, with less U.S. aid to Ukraine, more concessions to Russia and further questioning of the value of NATO," said Oana Lungescu, a distinguished fellow at Britain's Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) and a former NATO spokesperson, in an email to VOA. The Kremlin said this week that Russian President Vladimir Putin knew Rutte well from his time as Dutch prime minister. "At that time there were hopes of building good pragmatic relations," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters in a phone call Tuesday. "But we know what followed — the Netherlands adopted a rather defiant attitude to fully exclude all contacts with Russia. So, we don't think that anything new or significant will happen with the policy of the [NATO] alliance," Peskov said. Meanwhile, Rutte takes the helm of NATO as it faces an increasingly assertive China. "On Ukraine, everyone's very much on the same line. On China, there's still some allies saying, 'We're not sure we need to quite go into the Indo-Pacific theater.' In a scenario where U.S. resources and capabilities are drawn elsewhere, i.e., the Indo-Pacific, Europeans have to be able to fend for themselves — including look after Ukraine in the current short-term scenario," van Rij told VOA. Rutte said another priority would be to strengthen NATO's partnerships with allies outside the alliance in an interconnected world. His primary focus must be on keeping NATO members safe, said Lungescu of RUSI. "As NATO secretary-general, Rutte must take the lead in arguing for more defense spending across the alliance," Lungescu said. "He should make a strong case not just about figures and percentages, but about the concrete capabilities that are needed to keep NATO nations safe in a dangerous world."

kampala, uganda — The chief of Uganda’s defense forces, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, has given U.S. Ambassador William Popp until Monday morning to apologize or leave the country. It is not clear why Kainerugaba, who is President Yoweri Museveni’s son, issued the ultimatum to the ambassador, although this week the United States sanctioned four Ugandan police officers for human rights violations. On Friday, Kainerugaba took to X three times to say Uganda was about to have a serious confrontation with Popp for “disrespecting our beloved and celebrated president and for undermining the constitution of Uganda.” Five hours later, Kainerugaba tweeted again, saying if Popp did not apologize to the president personally by 9 a.m. Monday for what the general called Popp’s undiplomatic behavior, the government would demand that he leave. Speaking to VOA, Sewanyana Livingstone, director of the Foundation for Human Rights Initiative Uganda, said Kainerugaba has no authority to declare Popp persona non grata unless he is appointed minister of foreign affairs. Sewanyana said Kainerugaba’s comments should be dismissed. “He needs to calm down. He needs to understand that Uganda is not him, neither is he Uganda,” Sewanyana said. “Uganda will always be there. Sanctions are not the functions of an ambassador. They are issued by the State Department. So, I think he is even targeting the wrong person. I think Ugandans need to call him to order. It’s high time.” On Wednesday, U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said four Ugandan police officers had been sanctioned for gross violations of human rights. These included torture and cruel inhumane treatment and punishment. The police officers were identified as Bob Kagarura, Alex Mwine, Elly Womanya and Hamdani Twesigye. The State Department said reports of the violations as documented by Ugandan civil court documents, civil society organizations and independent journalists were serious and credible. Ugandan authorities did not respond to requests for comment. A report released last month by the African Center for Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture Victims, or ACTV, noted that torture cases in Uganda were on the rise despite laws against the practice. Herbert Sam Nsubuga, executive director of ACTV, said the organization was concerned about the situation in Uganda. “The situation is not as good as we want it to be,” Nsubuga said. “Because just halfway this year, we have made 903 cases. So, it’s still really an issue.” In 2023, monitors in Uganda recorded 1,235 cases of torture, with the Uganda People’s Defense forces and police as top perpetrators. The four designated officers in April 2020 raided a Ugandan legislator's home, accusing him of violating the regulations put in place to control the spread of COVID-19 as he distributed food to vulnerable communities. According to records produced in court, the legislator, Francis Zaake, was arrested and detained at the Defense Intelligence and Security headquarters, where he was tortured before he was left at a hospital. He later sued the four officers, and a court awarded him $20,400. In response to VOA questions on Kainerugaba’s threats, the U.S. Embassy in Uganda quoted State Department spokesman Miller as saying the embassy, the ambassador and the U.S. government were continuing to work directly and normally every day with Ugandan authorities on a full range of issues. Miller said in accordance with U.S. law, the United States was committed to supporting justice for victims and accountability of those involved in human rights violations around the world. This, he said, includes denying or restricting travel visas to visit the United States for individuals when there is demonstrated evidence that they have committed abuses.

new delhi / washington — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi presided over a Cabinet meeting on security Friday to address the escalating conflict in the Middle East. According to Press Trust of India, the meeting focused on the implications on trade and the supply of petroleum products. India expressed grave concern regarding the escalation of the security situation involving Israel and its neighbors, emphasizing that "the conflict must not take a wider regional dimension." In view of the increasing tensions, the question is how India will balance its relations with all parties if the situation becomes worse. Analysts in New Delhi say India should adopt a neutral stance, especially if the situation worsens and a formal war breaks out between Iran and Israel. India's major concern is a potential extended disruption in trade. Traders worldwide are preparing for this, as the crucial Red Sea shipping route could stay closed to international shipping lines longer than initially expected, likely keeping freight rates and petroleum prices elevated. Former Indian diplomat Rajiv Dogra told VOA that if the situation got more tense, it would affect the supply chain, imports and exports, and India's interests in the region. Dogra said that big powers were trying to ensure that the situation does not deteriorate, and that India was also trying to establish peace. Journalist and author Nilofar Suhrawardy told VOA there would not be a formal war. Suhrawardy referred to U.S. President Joe Biden's statement that said that the Israeli reaction to the Iranian attack should be proportionate. She said the Iranian ballistic missile attack Tuesday on Israel was in reaction to the September 27 killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the militant group's headquarters in Beirut, Lebanon. But if there is a full-scale war, what will be India's stand? Analysts said India would take a neutral stand. According to Suhrawardy, India has good relations with Israel, Iran, Arab countries and the Palestinians, so it will not take any party's side. She said she believed the policy India adopted in the Ukraine-Russia conflict would be applied to the Israel-Iran conflict, too. Modi has spoken to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the past two weeks. On September 23, he met Abbas in New York on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. Modi spoke to Netanyahu by phone on Monday. The Indian leader condemned terrorism and urged the release of citizens held hostage by Hamas. This story originated in VOA's Urdu Service.

new york — The United Nations secretary-general joined the Haitian prime minister Friday in strongly condemning a horrific overnight gang attack on a town outside Haiti's capital that killed at least 70 people, including at least 10 women and three infants. "The criminals responsible for these abominable acts will be hunted down and brought to justice, without respite," Prime Minister Garry Conille said in a statement. Haiti's transition government said members of the Gran Grif gang perpetrated the attack in the town of Pont Sonde in the Artibonite department. A report in the Haiti Gazette said the gang was trying to extort money from the local population and they resisted paying it. The massacre was retribution. The U.N. human rights office said gang members firing automatic rifles also reportedly set fire to at least 45 houses and 34 vehicles, forcing a number of residents to flee. At least 3,000 people have been displaced by the attack. A number of people were also wounded, including two gang members. Sixteen people suffered serious injuries, the U.N. said. The government said many of the injured are being treated at the Saint-Nicolas public hospital in Saint-Marc. "As gang violence continues to spread from the capital to other departments of Haiti, the secretary-general stresses the importance of the joint efforts undertaken by the Haitian National Police and the multinational security support mission," Antonio Guterres' spokesperson told reporters Friday. "Those efforts need to be supported." In June, a multinational security support mission, or MSS, began its first deployment of about 400 police from Kenya, which is also leading the mission. About 100 others from Jamaica and Belize have also been deployed to assist the embattled Haitian National Police in subduing armed gangs, which have been terrorizing the country's capital and some outer lying areas. Other countries are expected to contribute police officers to the force. The mission has been beset with delays and financial and equipment shortages. But it has had some success inside the capital. The government said agents from the Haitian National Police Anti-Gang Unit have been deployed as reinforcements to support teams already on the ground in Artibonite. Specialized police units supported by the MSS are also deploying to the area. Haiti has been rocked by instability since 2021, when President Jovenel Moise was assassinated. Prime Minister Ariel Henry then led the country until he announced his resignation in March. A transitional government is now in place with the goal of organizing free and fair elections. Haiti has not held elections since 2016. The country is facing a massive humanitarian crisis due to the violence. On Monday, international food monitors said more than half the country's population — 5.4 million people — are struggling to feed themselves. At least 6,000 displaced persons in shelters in the capital are facing catastrophic levels of hunger, while 2 million people are one step behind them.

washington — While the Belarusian government continues a long-running clampdown on use of the Belarusian language, exiled news outlets are leading the fight to keep their language — and cultural identity — alive. Although Belarusian has been the country’s official language since Belarus declared independence from the former Soviet Union in 1991, there has been an ongoing process of Russification since President Alexander Lukashenko came to power in 1994.  That process has only accelerated since 2020 when Lukashenko — seen by some to be a puppet of Russian President Vladimir Putin — declared victory in an election that was widely viewed as fraudulent. Since then, the Belarusian government has grown increasingly hostile toward Belarusian as the language has become more and more associated with resistance toward Lukashenko’s rule.  As Minsk continues to grow closer to Moscow, Belarusian media outlets that left the country following the 2020 elections see it as their duty to help keep the Belarusian language alive through their reporting, multiple media leaders told VOA.  “It’s a strategic move to preserve the language, to preserve the culture, which is being actively attacked,” said Natalia Belikova, head of international cooperation at Press Club Belarus in Poland’s capital Warsaw.  Belarusian not illegal, but unwelcome Speaking Belarusian isn’t illegal in Belarus, but the government has long made clear its preference for Russian, which has been the other official language in Belarus since 1995. Belarusian is more similar to Ukrainian than Russian. Instead of outlawing Belarusian entirely, the government has taken steps like targeting Belarusian-language newspapers and bookstores. Classes in school are more often taught in Russian, and there aren’t any universities where Belarusian is the primary language. Government officials tend to speak Russian, and government documents are often in Russian, too.  “The presence of Belarusian language is vividly vanishing,” Belikova said. “‘Upsetting’ is probably a milder word for this. It’s really devastating.” A 2019 census found that around 60% of the population consider Belarusian their native language, but only about 28% use the language at home.  Still, since Belarusian isn’t banned, speaking it is one of the few remaining ways for people to safely signal their political beliefs and opposition to Lukashenko, multiple journalists said.  However, multiple analysts said doing so in public is likely to draw negative attention from authorities because the language is so closely associated with the resistance.  “Formally, it’s safe. It’s OK to speak Belarusian in Belarus. But in practice, well, it’s not safe,” Pavel Sviardlou, editor-in-chief of European Radio for Belarus, told VOA from Warsaw.  The Belarusian foreign ministry did not reply to VOA’s email requesting comment. As the Belarusian government works to suppress the Belarusian language in favor of Russian, leaders from prominent exiled outlets like European Radio for Belarus, Nasha Niva and Zerkalo say their outlets are prioritizing coverage in the Belarusian language. In the case of Nasha Niva, one of the oldest Belarusian newspapers, the outlet’s mission has long been to popularize the Belarusian language, culture and history, according to the newspaper’s director Nastassia Rouda. That mission has become more important since the contested 2020 election, after which hundreds of journalists fled the country to escape harassment and censorship.  “Who, if not us? This is the question,” Rouda told VOA from Lithuania.  Nasha Niva’s primary language is Belarusian, but the outlet also translates everything into Russian. European Radio for Belarus operates similarly.  “This is a chance to, for example, listen to Belarusian every day, to read in Belarusian every day. And, of course, to feel that the language is not dead,” Sviardlou said. The fight to preserve the Belarusian language goes hand in hand with the more obvious role that exiled media play — ensuring people still inside Belarus can access independent news about what’s happening.  “Only media like us, who are working from exile right now, can give some truthful information about the political situation. No one inside can do this,” Nasha Niva’s Rouda said.  Although Belarusian authorities block access to independent news sites, Belarusians still access them with circumvention tools like virtual private networks, or VPNs.  Despite the risks and the fact that the government spent about 50 million euros ($55 million) on propaganda in 2023 alone, it’s clear that many people inside Belarus, which has a population of about 9 million, still regularly access banned news sites.  The five biggest sites had over 17 million visits in December 2023, according to a 2024 JX Fund report. The news outlet Zerkalo, for instance, receives about 3 million unique visitors each month, with about 60% of them located inside Belarus, according to a 2024 Press Club Belarus report.  Zerkalo is the successor outlet of Tut.by, which was the largest independent news site in Belarus until authorities shut it down in 2021.  As the Belarus government grows ever closer with Russia amid the ongoing war in Ukraine, exiled Belarusian media view their efforts as critical to maintaining a distinct Belarusian identity. The stakes are high, according to Aliaksandra Pushkina, a board member of Zerkalo. “If we lose our culture, our language, we really will be a part of Russia,” she told VOA  from Austria.  While exiled outlets are prioritizing Belarusian language coverage, Belarusian propaganda outlets inside the country primarily use Russian, according to Sviardlou.  “They don’t even try to work in Belarusian because they understand that no one will listen to them,” he said.  He asserted that Belarusian has taken on a different meaning, saying, “It is a language of truth.”

TAPACHULA, Mexico — An 11-year-old Egyptian girl and her 18-year-old sister were among those killed after Mexican army troops opened fire on a truck carrying migrants earlier this week, an official said Friday.  The sisters, and four other migrants from countries including Peru and Honduras, were killed Tuesday in the southern state of Chiapas.  An official in the state’s prosecutor's office confirmed the identification of the two sisters and said their father was wounded in the shooting but survived.  Federal officials, including newly inaugurated President Claudia Sheinbaum, again refused Friday to confirm the ages or genders of the six migrants killed in the shooting, which occurred on Sheinbaum’s first day in office. Soldiers claimed they heard shots and returned fire, and officials have studiously avoided saying the migrants were killed by army gunfire. However, that appears to be the case, and two soldiers have been relieved of duty and turned over to civilian prosecutors for questioning.  The killings placed in doubt Sheinbaum's statements over her first days in office that human rights will be at the forefront of her administration's policies.  Asked about her immigration policy Friday, Sheinbaum said only that the killings were under investigation and doubled down on earlier claims that the government doesn't violate human rights.  “First of all, human rights are respected,” Sheinbaum said. “That is very important, that is why it is called a humanistic immigration policy, because human rights are at the forefront.”  Three of the dead were from Egypt, and one each from Peru and Honduras. The other has apparently not yet been identified.  Ten other migrants were wounded in the shooting. but there has not been any information on their conditions.  Peru’s foreign ministry confirmed one Peruvian was killed and demanded “an urgent investigation” into the killings. Peru and Mexico have had damaged relations since a 2022 diplomatic spat.  It was the worst killing of migrants by authorities in Mexico since police in the northern state of Tamaulipas killed 17 migrants in 2021.  Sheinbaum has said the shootings are being investigated to see if any commanders might face punishment, and noted “a situation like this cannot be repeated.”  But she left out any mention of that Thursday at a ceremony at a Mexico City army base, where army and navy commanders pledged their loyalty to her in front of massed combat vehicles and hundreds of troops.  “In our country, there is not a state of siege, there are no violations of human rights,” Sheinbaum said, as she promised wage increases for soldiers and sailors.  The shootings Tuesday occurred near the city of Tapachula, near the border with Guatemala.  The Defense Department initially said that soldiers claimed to have heard shots as a convoy of three trucks passed the soldiers’ position.  The Attorney General’s Office later said all three trucks ignored orders to stop and tried to flee. The soldiers pursued them and reported coming under fire from the convoy and returned fire.  One of the trucks eventually stopped, the driver reportedly fled, and a total of 33 migrants were found aboard, from the three countries already mentioned, as well as Nepal, Cuba, India and Pakistan.  The Defense Department said four of the migrants were found dead, and 12 wounded. Two of the wounded later died of their injuries. Sheinbaum refused to say whether any weapons were found in the migrants’ truck.  The area is a common route for smuggling migrants, who are often packed into crowded freight trucks. It has also been the scene of drug cartel turf battles, and the department said the trucks “were similar to those used by criminal groups in the region.”  Irineo Mujica, a migrant rights activist, said he doubted the migrants or their smugglers opened fire.  “It is really impossible that these people would have been shooting at the army,” Mujica said. “Most of the time, they get through by paying bribes.”  If the deaths were the result of army fire, as appears likely, it could prove a major embarrassment for Sheinbaum.  The new president has followed the lead of former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in giving the armed forces extraordinary powers in law enforcement, state-run companies, airports, trains and construction projects.