Feed aggregator

MARSEILLE, France — French Olympic swimmer Florent Manaudou became the first Olympic torch carrier in France after the Olympic flame arrived in Marseille's Old Port Wednesday on a majestic three-mast ship from Greece for the welcoming ceremony at sunset in the city's Old Port.  The ship sailed into Marseille's old port with the French national anthem, La Marseillaise, echoing from the embankment and a French Air force flyover with planes first drawing the five Olympic rings and then the red-blue-white colors of the nation's flag.  The ship docked on the pontoon that reflects an athletics track and Manaudou carried the torch to mainland France as tens of thousands cheered and thousands of others waved from balconies and windows overlooking the festivities.  "We can be proud," said President Emmanuel Macron, who attended the ceremony to welcome the torch.  "The flame is on French soil," Macron said. "The games are coming to France and are entering the lives of the French people."  The torch was lit in Greece last month before it was officially handed to France. It left Athens aboard a ship named Belem, which was first used in 1896, and spent twelve days at sea.  Paris 2024 Olympics Organizing Committee President Tony Estanguet said the return of the Olympic Games to France was cause for a "fantastic celebration."  "As a former athlete, I know how important the start of a competition is. That is why we chose Marseille, because it's definitely one of the cities most in love with sports," added Estanguet, a former Olympic canoeing star with gold medals from the 2000, 2004 and 2012 Games.  Safety of visitors and residents has been a top priority for authorities in Marseille, France's second largest city with nearly a million inhabitants. About 8,000 police officers have been deployed around the harbor.  Thousands of firefighters and bomb disposal squads have been positioned around the city along with maritime police and anti-drone teams patrolling the city's waters and its airspace.  "It's a monumental day and we have been working hard for visitors and residents of Marseille to enjoy this historical moment," said Yannick Ohanessian, the city's deputy mayor.  The torch relay will start on Thursday in Marseille, before heading to Paris through iconic places across the country, from the world-famous Mont Saint-Michel to D-Day landing beaches in Normandy and the Versailles Palace.  A heavy police and military presence was seen patrolling Marseille's city center Tuesday, as a military helicopter flew over the Old Port, where a range of barriers have been set up.  French Interior Ministry spokesperson Camille Chaize said officials were prepared for security threats including terrorism.  "We're employing various measures, notably the elite National Gendarmerie Intervention Group unit, which will be present in the torch relay from beginning to end," she said.  The Olympic cauldron will be lit after the Games' opening ceremony that will take place on the River Seine on July 26.  The cauldron will be lit at a location in Paris that is being kept top-secret until the day itself. Among reported options are such iconic spots as the Eiffel Tower and the Tuileries Gardens outside the Louvre Museum.

LONDON — British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was accused Wednesday of leading a "chaotic" government as another one of his Conservative lawmakers defected to the main opposition Labour Party ahead of a looming general election.  In a stunning move just ahead of the weekly prime minister's questions, Natalie Elphicke crossed the floor of the House of Commons to join the ranks of Keir Starmer's Labour Party, which appears headed for power after 14 years.  "We need to move on from the broken promises of Rishi Sunak's tired and chaotic government," said Elphicke, who represents the constituency of Dover in southern England, which is at the front line of migrant crossings from France. "Under Rishi Sunak, the Conservatives have become a byword for incompetence and division."  Elphicke is the second Conservative lawmaker to defect to Labour in two weeks,; Dan Poulter quit in anger over the government's handling of the National Health Service.  The defection of Elphicke is particularly surprising as she was widely considered to be on the right of the Conservative Party. She has been hugely critical of Labour in the past and Starmer himself but has recently been increasingly disapproving of the government's approach to migrant crossings.  "From small boats to biosecurity, Rishi Sunak's government is failing to keep our borders safe and secure," she said.  Just under 30,000 people arrived in Britain in small boats in 2023, and Sunak has made reducing that number a key issue ahead of the election due this year, notably with his controversial plan to send some asylum-seekers to Rwanda. More than 8,000 have made the dangerous crossing already this year.  Elphicke was elected in 2019, taking over the Dover seat that had been held by her then-husband Charlie, who was found guilty in 2020 of sexually assaulting two women and sentenced to two years in prison, of which he served half.  Elphicke will not be standing in her Dover seat at the next election, although she said she will help the party with Labour's housing policies.  Starmer welcomed Elphicke to the Labour benches as well as Chris Webb, the party's new lawmaker in Blackpool South in northwest England following his big victory in a special election Thursday.  The Labour Party's head reiterated his call for Sunak to immediately call for a general election, saying the Conservatives cannot carry on when even a lawmaker at the forefront of the small-boats crisis — meaning Elphicke — said Sunak "cannot be trusted with our borders."  The date of the general election rests in the hands of the prime minister. It must take place by January, and Sunak has repeatedly said his "working assumption" was that it would take place in the second half of 2024.  Last week, the Conservatives suffered a historic drubbing in local elections, with nearly half of its candidates losing, while Labour made gains and won most of the key mayoral races it fought, including in London.  Particularly encouraging for Labour was winning in areas that voted for Britain's departure from the European Union in 2016 and where it was crushed by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson at the general election in 2019.  Elphicke's defection may help Labour deflect Conservative attacks during the election that the opposition party may seek to reverse Brexit. In her statement Wednesday, she said Labour "has accepted Brexit and its economic policies."  Her defection has not only raised eyebrows within the Conservative Party.  The left-wing Labour grouping, Momentum, said that Elphicke has "consistently demonized refugees and aid groups" and that she "should have no place in a Labour Party committed to progressive values and working-class people." 

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.

The U.S. has paused some arms shipments to Israel because of actions Israel has taken in the southern Gaza city of Rafah and discussion about the strategic significance of closing the border crossing there. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was the target of a foiled assassination plot as his country commemorates World War II amid shelling of its civilian infrastructure. President Biden addresses the rise of antisemitism globally and in the U.S. as an American Jewish charity raises money for Gazans. A town in northern Libya is rebuilding after devastating floods.

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.

BRUSSELS — European Union nations reached a tentative breakthrough deal to provide Ukraine with billions in additional funds for arms and ammunition coming from the profits raised from frozen Russian central bank assets held in the bloc.  The agreement among the 27 EU ambassadors was announced by Belgium, which holds most of the frozen assets in the bloc. It came after weeks of tough negotiations among member states, which were made more complicated by the stringent financial limits on using such funds.  The deal should free up to $3.2 billion a year for Kyiv, of which 90% could be spent on ammunition and other military equipment.  Officials said a first installment of the funds could reach Kyiv in July.  The EU is holding around $225 billion in Russian central bank assets, most of it frozen in Belgium, in retaliation for Moscow's war against Ukraine. Kyiv has long been urging that those funds be used to get vital military supplies as it struggles to stave off renewed Russian attacks.  A small group of member states, especially Hungary, refuses to supply weapons to Ukraine so special safeguards had to be included in the deal to allow for some 10% of the funds to be considered general aid.  EU member states still need to officially endorse the ambassadors' agreement. 

NAIROBI — Kenyan public hospital doctors on Wednesday signed a return to work agreement with the government meant to end a strike that started in mid-March, union and government officials said.  The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU), which represents more than 7,000 members, went on strike on March 15 to demand payment of their salary arrears and the immediate hiring of trainee doctors, among other grievances.   Television footage showed the union's officials and senior government officials shaking hands after signing the documents.  "We have signed a return to work formula and the union has called off the strike," said Susan Nakhumicha, the minister of health.  The doctors' arrears arose from a 2017 collective bargaining agreement (CBA), the union said. Doctors were also demanding the provision of adequate medical insurance coverage for themselves and their dependents.  "One thing we must assure everybody, every doctor, every person that the rights of workers as enshrined in the collective bargaining agreement that is signed is that it is sacrosanct, we will always endeavor to protect that," said Dhavji Atellah, KMPDU's secretary general.   He said the hiring of interns demand was still pending in court, but it was agreed they would be posted within 60 days.  The government had said it cannot afford to hire the trainee doctors due to financial pressure on the public purse.  The Kenyan health sector, which doctors say is underfunded and understaffed, is routinely beset by strikes.  A strike in 2017 lasted three months, and some doctors in individual hospitals downed their tools at various times during the COVID-19 pandemic to protest lack of personal protective equipment and other grievances.  The end of the strike will provide relief to those seeking services, especially following heavy rains and flooding that has killed 257 people since March, and displaced 293,661 people.  "We will wish they can go back in the next few minutes because we really want our health to be back on track," said Muthomi Njuki, the governor of Tharaka Nithi County, citing cholera cases that have arisen in some parts of the country.  Another group of health workers, clinical officers, are still on strike.

Geneva — United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Tuesday condemned Russia’s brutal crackdown on journalists, which he says has been increasing since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.  “The continuous attacks on free speech and the criminalization of independent journalism in Russia are very troubling,” Türk said in a prepared statement that called for the release of journalists detained “solely for doing their jobs.”  The U.N. human rights office says the number of imprisoned journalists in Russia has reached an all-time high since Moscow began its war of aggression in Ukraine, noting that at least 30 journalists are currently detained on a variety of criminal charges.  The charges include terrorism, extremism, spying, treason, extortion, violating the provisions of the law on foreign agents, inciting mass disturbances, illegal possession of explosives and illegal possession of drugs.  Türk, who expressed concern about the frequent use “of the broad legislative framework to combat terrorism and extremism,” called on Russian authorities to amend the legislation in compliance “with international human rights law.”  U.N. officials report 12 of the 30 jailed reporters are serving sentences ranging from five-and-a-half to 22 years in prison.  “Since March, at least seven journalists have faced administrative or criminal charges,” Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the high commissioner, told journalists Tuesday in Geneva.  She observed that all seven are Russian journalists who have faced the charges “for criticism of Russia’s actions in Ukraine or for alleged links to the late opposition politician Alexey Navalny, and his Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK),” which Russia labeled extremist in 2021.  According to the 2024 World Press Freedom Index produced by Paris-based Reporters Without Borders, Russia ranked 162nd out of 180 countries. Commenting on the designation, authors of the annual report said that Russian President Vladimir Putin, who “was unsurprisingly reelected in 2024, continues to wage a war in Ukraine” that “has had a big impact on the media ecosystem and journalists’ safety.”  The latest report by the U.S.-based Committee to Protect Journalists finds “Russia holds a disproportionate number of foreign reporters in its jails,” noting that 12 of the 17 foreign nationals currently detained worldwide “are held by Russia.”  Two are U.S. citizens. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich has been held in pre-trial detention by Russia since March 2023 on charges of espionage, while Alsu Kurmasheva of VOA sister network Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has been detained since October 2023 for failing to register as a “foreign agent.” Both detainees and their employers vehemently reject the charges as bogus and politically motivated.  The 10 other foreign journalists imprisoned by Russia are from Ukraine, including five Crimean Tatars.  “Russia is a place where it is very risky to be a journalist these days if you are reporting on issues that are very sensitive to the authorities,” Shamdasani said. “What is worrying us is the lack of transparency.  “The fact that independent journalists are being cracked down on leads to a level of uncertainty and facilitates a climate of misinformation, disinformation, chaos and panic for people who do not know what their rights are in these circumstances,” she said.  U.N. human rights chief Türk is calling for an immediate end “to the intense crackdown on journalists’ independent work,” describing the right to inform as a critical “component of the right to freedom of expression [that] needs to be upheld.”  “Journalists should be able to work in a safe environment without fear of reprisals in line with Russia’s international human rights obligations,” he said.

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.

Yangon — Myanmar's junta on Wednesday denied a request by former Cambodian leader Hun Sen for talks with democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been detained since a 2021 coup. Suu Kyi has largely been hidden from view since the military detained her as they seized power in a putsch that has plunged the country into turmoil. The junta has rebuffed numerous requests by foreign leaders and diplomats to meet the Nobel laureate, 78, who has reportedly suffered health problems during more than three years in detention. On Tuesday Hun Sen, who ruled Cambodia for nearly four decades before stepping down last year, said he had requested a meeting with Suu Kyi during video talks with junta chief Min Aung Hlaing. But the junta had "no reason to facilitate it at this moment," junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun said in an audio message released by the military's information team. The military would hold promised and much-delayed fresh elections "without fail," he said, without giving details. "We are going to avoid matters which can delay or disturb future processes." Since her detention Suu Kyi's only known encounter with a foreign envoy came in July last year, when the then Thai foreign minister Don Pramudwinai said he had met her for over an hour. Suu Kyi is serving a 27-year sentence imposed by a junta court after a trial condemned by rights groups as a sham to shut her out of politics.  Last month the junta said she was being "given necessary care" as temperatures in the military-built capital Naypyidaw, where she is believed to be detained, hit around 40 degrees celsius (104 Fahrenheit). Zaw Min Tun also addressed Thai media reports that former Thai leader Thaksin Shinawatra had recently held talks with several Myanmar ethnic armed groups operating along their shared border. Some of those groups have given shelter and military training to those fighting the junta's coup and have themselves clashed regularly with the military. "We assume that encouraging terrorist groups which destroy Myanmar interests is not appropriate," Zaw Min Tun said. The military launched its coup citing unsubstantiated claims of massive electoral fraud in 2020 elections won resoundingly by Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD). It has pushed back a timetable to hold fresh polls several times.   In March junta chief Min Aung Hlaing said it may not be able to hold polls nationwide as it struggles to crush opposition to its rule.

Nairobi, Kenya — Digital experts called on African countries Tuesday for laws to protect the data of individuals and businesses, saying that a single digital market in which data can safely flow across borders would help overcome barriers to commerce and trade on the continent. African government information and communications technology representatives, international organizations, diplomats and experts are meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, this week to discuss how data can move freely from one country to another without risking people's privacy and safety. Kenyan Information, Communication and Digital Economy Minister Eliud Owalo said Africa needs to improve its laws to deal with emerging issues in the digital space. "What will enable African countries to remain relevant in the digital marketplace will be our level of creativity and innovation, strategic agility and maneuverability in the digital space,” he said. “And that means we need to continuously, based on what is happening in our operational environment, look at our laws, policies and regulations." In its 2023 Londa report, the Paradigm Initiative — an organization that monitors digital rights, environment and inclusion in Africa — said internet shutdowns and disruptions, data protection, disinformation, cybersecurity, surveillance and a lack of freedom of expression and information affect the continent's digital growth and sustenance. Experts say that data plays an important role in every sector and that sharing it makes information more accessible, increases collaboration and facilitates knowledge exchange, leading to innovation and growth in business and relations among states. Paul Russo, the head of Kenya Commercial Group, which operates in seven African countries, says the discussion about data sharing and security is important for businesses. "This is not only a new area that we need to work together to bring to life, but I also think it's important for our own businesses to be sustainable,” he said. “At the heart of every business, particularly for those of us in the private sector, is data — both integrity and confidentiality and protection of that data." Data misuse and abuse is a worldwide concern, and fears continue to spark debate on how best to safeguard, regulate, monitor and benefit from the available data. European Union Deputy Head of Mission to Kenya Ondrej Simek said that data protection requires global effort and that gaps must be filled through law. "Collaboration between data protection authorities around the world is needed to advance the regional and global harmonization of legal and regulatory frameworks,” Simek said. “One area of specific importance is that of safe cross-border data flows,” he said. “A first step is ensuring the data protection laws are in place. The second one is obviously to operationalize them effectively. These are critical steps toward Africa's single digital market and toward a global area for safe data exchange."

Washington — The United States has revoked certain licenses for exports to Chinese tech giant Huawei, the Commerce Department said, drawing opposition from Beijing on Wednesday. The move came after criticism last month by Republican lawmakers, who urged President Joe Biden's administration to block all export licenses to the company after it released a new laptop powered by a processor by U..S chip giant Intel. "We continuously assess how our controls can best protect our national security and foreign policy interests, taking into consideration a constantly changing threat environment and technological landscape," said a Commerce Department spokesperson. "We are not commenting on any specific licenses, but we can confirm that we have revoked certain licenses for exports to Huawei," the spokesperson added in a statement to AFP. Huawei has long been caught in an intense technological rivalry between Beijing and Washington, which has warned that the firm's equipment could be used for Chinese espionage operations. The company denies these claims. Sanctions in 2019 restricting Huawei's access to U.S.-made components dealt a major blow to its production of smartphones -- and meant that suppliers need a license before shipping to the company. Asked about reports that the U.S. government had revoked some companies' licenses, a Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesperson said Beijing "firmly opposes this." "China will take all necessary measures to firmly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese firms," the spokesperson added. The announcement of a new Huawei computer recently, powered by Intel technology, drew fire from Republican lawmakers in the United States.  A letter by policymakers Marco Rubio and Elise Stefanik charged that "licenses issued in 2020, at least some of which are active to this day, have allowed Huawei to collaborate with Intel and Qualcomm to keep its PC and smartphone segments alive." It criticized the allowance of US tech into Huawei's new product.

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.

DETROIT — Severe storms barreled through the Midwest early Wednesday, a day after two reported tornadoes struck one Michigan city and destroyed homes and commercial buildings, including a FedEx facility.  Tornadoes were first reported after dark Tuesday in parts of Michigan, Indiana and Ohio, while portions of Illinois, Kentucky and Missouri were also under a tornado watch, according to the National Weather Service. The storms came a day after a deadly twister ripped through an Oklahoma town.  As the storms raged on in the pre-dawn hours Wednesday, the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh warned that a tornado in northeastern Ohio could cross into Pennsylvania. Parts of West Virginia were also under a tornado warning.  Hancock County Schools in West Virginia closed schools Wednesday because of “extensive overnight weather issues” in the county. News outlets reported damaged buildings and power outages.  Hours earlier in southwestern Michigan, two reported tornadoes blitzed the city of Portage near Kalamazoo on Tuesday night, destroying homes and commercial buildings, including a FedEx facility that was ripped apart.  No serious injuries were immediately reported, but city officials said in a news release that the twisters knocked out power to more than 20,000 people. Most of them would be without power until late Wednesday, city officials said.  At one point, about 50 people were trapped inside the FedEx facility because of downed power lines. But company spokesperson Shannon Davis said late Tuesday that “all team members are safe and accounted for.”  More than 30,000 customers were without power in Michigan early Wednesday, and an additional 10,000 in Ohio, according to PowerOutage.us.  Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency for four counties.  “My heart goes out to all those impacted by tonight’s severe weather in southwest Michigan,” Whitmer said in a message on social media. “State and local emergency teams are on the ground and working together to assist Michiganders.”  National Weather Service crews were working Wednesday to survey storm damage in several counties in Michigan’s southwest Lower Peninsula to determine whether tornadoes touched down in those areas, including the two reported Tuesday night in the city of Portage, said meteorologist Mike Sutton with the weather service’s Grand Rapids office.  He said the Grand Rapids office had received a total of 11 reports of tornadoes from storm spotters, emergency managers and the public from late Tuesday afternoon into Tuesday night, but as of 8 a.m. Wednesday, it had not confirmed any tornado touchdowns.  Sutton said it could be a couple days before the storm surveys are completed and he stressed that some of the tornado reports could be duplicate reports passed along by people who saw the same storm.  “It’s quite possible those are multiple reports from the same tornado. The actual number of tornadoes may be lower depending on what they find when they’re out surveying,” he said.  Tuesday's storms came a day after parts of the central United States were battered by heavy rain, strong winds, hail and twisters. Both the Plains and Midwest have been hammered by tornadoes this spring.  Across the U.S., the entire week is looking stormy. The Midwest and the South are expected to get the brunt of the bad weather through the rest of the week, including in Indianapolis, Memphis, Nashville, St. Louis and Cincinnati — cities where more than 21 million people live. It should be clear over the weekend.  Oklahoma’s recent twisters On Monday night, a deadly twister in Oklahoma tore through the 1,000-person town of Barnsdall. At least one person was killed. and another was missing. Dozens of homes were destroyed.  Aerial videos showed homes reduced to piles of rubble and others with roofs torn off. The twister tossed vehicles, downed power lines and stripped limbs and bark from trees across the town. A 160-acre (65-hectare) wax manufacturing facility in the community also sustained heavy damage.  It was the second tornado to hit Barnsdall in five weeks — a twister on April 1 with maximum wind speeds of 90 to 100 mph (145 to 161 kph) damaged homes and blew down trees and power poles.  At the Hampton Inn in nearby Bartlesville, several splintered two-by-fours were driven into the building. Chunks of insulation, twisted metal and other debris were scattered over the lawn, and vehicles in the parking lot were heavily damaged, with blown-out windows.  Hotel guest Matthew Macedo said he was ushered into a laundry room to wait out the storm.  “When the impact occurred, it was incredibly sudden,” he said.  Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, who toured the twister's damage Tuesday, said it was rated by weather researchers as a violent tornado with winds reaching up to 200 mph (322 kph). Stitt said he and legislative leaders have agreed to set aside $45 million in this year’s budget to help storm-damaged communities.  Areas in Oklahoma, including Sulphur and Holdenville, are still recovering from a tornado that killed four and left thousands without power late last month. 

Accra — Ghana's Supreme Court on Wednesday began a hearing on an injunction seeking to overturn a contested law that severely curtails LGBTQ rights. Lawmakers approved the so-called Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill in February, drawing international condemnation despite gaining wide public support in the conservative West African country. With elections in December to choose President Nana Akufo-Addo's successor, the issue of gay rights has increasingly come into the political spotlight, though Ghana's leader has yet to promulgate the law. In a suit filed with the Supreme Court, Ghanaian broadcaster Richard Dela-Sky has challenged the constitutionality of the law. The court's judges on Wednesday gave Dela Sky seven days to file a fresh motion with additional documents to challenge the anti-LGBTQ bill. That case and a second one also challenging the law were adjourned to a later date. In a rare move, Ghana's attorney general requested permission for live broadcast of the proceedings to allow more "transparency." "It is my respectful view that the transparency to be engendered by a coverage of the proceedings would be in the best interest of the administration of justice," the attorney's office said in a letter. It is very uncommon for Ghana's Supreme Court to hold public hearings. The last time the court allowed a live broadcast was a 2020 election petition filed by former President John Dramani Mahama. Akufo-Addo has said he cannot sign off on the new law until legal challenges against it have been resolved. The bill sparked criticism from several countries, including the United States, as well as concern from Ghana's finance ministry, which warned of a risk of losing billions of dollars in World Bank funding. Ghana is emerging from its worst economic crisis in decades and is already under a $3 billion loan program from the International Monetary Fund. The proposed legislation stipulates jail terms of six months to three years for engaging in LGBTQ sex and sentences of between three and five years for promoting or sponsoring LGBTQ activities. Thirty African nations currently ban homosexuality, according to the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA).

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.