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Nairobi, Kenya — Kenya Airways said Monday that it would resume flights to Kinshasa after military authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo released two of its employees who were detained last month.  The airline announced on April 29 that it would suspend flights to the DRC capital, calling the arrests "unlawful."  "Kenya Airways confirms that military authorities have unconditionally released our two employees who had been detained since 19 April 2024," Kenya's flag carrier said in a statement. "With the necessary ground support in place, we are pleased to announce that Kenya Airways will resume flights to Kinshasa on 8 May 2024."  Earlier, the Kenyan government had announced the release of one of the employees.  "Deeply grateful to inform that Lydia Mbotela, KQ [Kenya Airways] manager in DRC, has just been released by the authorities in Kinshasa," Korir Sing'Oei, Kenya's principal secretary for foreign affairs, said on X, formerly Twitter.  The two employees, who work at the airline's office in Kinshasa, were arrested on April 19 by a military intelligence unit, according to Kenya Airways.  The airline had described it as "harassment targeting Kenya Airways' business," while the head of a powerful parliamentary committee called it a breach of diplomatic rules.  Kenya Airways said the employees were held allegedly because of "missing custom documentation on valuable cargo."   The DRC government has not commented on the allegations.  But the airline's CEO, Allan Kilavuka, had said it did not accept the cargo, whose contents were not specified, because of incomplete documentation.  This cargo "was still in the baggage section being cleared by customs when the security team arrived and alleged that KQ was transporting goods without customs clearance," he said. "All efforts to explain to the military officers that KQ had not accepted the cargo because of incomplete documentation proved futile."   The airline said its employees were held incommunicado in a military facility until April 23, when embassy officials and a KQ team were allowed to visit them.

new york —   The New York Times and The Washington Post were awarded three Pulitzer Prizes apiece on Monday for work in 2023 that dealt with everything from the war in Gaza to gun violence, and The Associated Press won in the feature photography category for coverage of global migration to the U.S. Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel and the aftermath produced work that resulted in two Pulitzers and a special citation. The Times won for text coverage that the Pulitzer board described as "wide-ranging and revelatory," while the Reuters news service won for its photography. The citation went to journalists and other writers covering the war in Gaza. The prestigious public service award went to ProPublica for reporting that "pierced the thick wall of secrecy" around the U.S. Supreme Court to show how billionaires gave expensive gifts to justices and paid for luxury travel.Reporters Joshua Kaplan, Justin Elliott, Brett Murphy, Alex Mierjeski and Kirsten Berg were honored for their work. The Pulitzers honored the best in journalism from 2023 in 15 categories, as well as eight arts categories focused on books, music and theater. The public service winner receives a gold medal. All other winners receive $15,000. The 15 photos in AP's winning entry were taken across Latin America and along the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas and California in a year when immigration was one of the world's biggest stories. They were shot by AP staffers Greg Bull, Eric Gay, Fernando Llano, Marco Ugarte and Eduardo Verdugo, and longtime AP freelancers Christian Chavez, Felix Marquez and Ivan Valencia. "These raw and emotional images came about through day-to-day coverage of a historic moment in multiple countries documenting migrants at every step of their treacherous journeys," said Julie Pace, the AP's senior vice president and executive editor. The United States has seen more than 10 million border arrivals in the last five years, with migrants arriving from a wide range of new locations like Venezuela, Cuba, Ecuador, Haiti and Africa, in contrast with earlier eras.     The AP has won 59 Pulitzer Prizes, including 36 for photography. The news cooperative was named a finalist for the national reporting Pulitzer on Monday for its coverage of hundreds of thousands of children who disappeared from public schools during the pandemic. In citing The Times for its work in Israel and Gaza, the Pulitzer board mentioned its coverage of the country's intelligence failures, along with the attack and Israel's military response. The award comes even as The Times has faced some controversy about its coverage; last month a group of journalism professors called on the publication to address questions about an investigation into gender-based violence during the Hamas attack on Israel. The Times' Hannah Dreier won a Pulitzer in investigative reporting for her stories on migrant child labor across the United States. Contributing writer Katie Engelhart won the newspaper's third Pulitzer, in feature writing, for her portrait of a family struggling with a matriarch's dementia. The Washington Post staff won in national reporting for its "sobering examination" of the AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, which came with some gut-wrenching photos. "We were eager to find a way to cover it differently and change the conversation about mass shootings," Peter Walstein, The Post's senior national enterprise editor, said in the newspaper. The Post's David E. Hoffman won in editorial writing for a "compelling and well-researched" series on how authoritarian regimes repress dissent in the digital age. Its third award went to contributor Vladimir Kara-Murza, for commentaries written from a Russian prison cell. The New Yorker magazine won two Pulitzers. Sarah Stillman won in explanatory reporting for her report on the legal system's reliance on felony murder charges. Contributor Medar de la Cruz won in illustrated reporting and commentary for his story humanizing inmates in the Rikers Island jail in New York City. The staff of Lookout Santa Cruz in California won in the breaking news category for what the prize board called "nimble community-minded coverage" of flooding and mudslides. On its website Monday, Lookout Santa Cruz said that it made its coverage free at a time of crisis in the community, and also used text messages to reach people without power. "In short, we did our jobs," the staff said in an unsigned article, "and we heard so many thanks for it. The Pulitzer is icing on that cake." The Pulitzers gave a second award in national reporting to the Reuters staff for an "eye-opening" series that probed Elon Musk's automobile and aerospace businesses. In local reporting, Sarah Conway of City Bureau and Trina Reynolds-Tyler of the Invisible Institute won for an investigative series on missing Black girls and women in Chicago, which showed how racism and the police contributed to the problem. The Pulitzer in criticism went to Justin Chang of The Los Angeles Times for evocative and genre-spanning coverage of movies. The Pulitzer board's second special citation went to the late hip-hop critic Greg Tate. The Pulitzers are administered by Columbia University in New York, which itself has been in the news for student demonstrations against the war in Gaza. The Pulitzer board met away from Columbia this past weekend to deliberate on its winners. For the first time, the Pulitzers opened eligibility to broadcast and audio companies that also operate digital news sites, such as CNN, NPR and the broadcast networks ABC, CBS and NBC. None of these companies won, however. The Columbia Journalism School also administers the duPont-Columbia Awards, which recognize audio and visual journalism and are presented in the winter. The Pulitzers also announced that five of the 45 finalists this year used artificial intelligence in research and reporting of their submissions. It was the first time the board required applicants for the award to disclose use of AI. The prizes were established in the will of newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer and first awarded in 1917.

Washington — The United States called Monday on Rwanda to punish forces behind an attack in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, not backing down from charges Kigali is meddling in its neighbor's affairs.  The State Department accused Rwandan forces Friday of joining M23 rebels in blasts on a camp for internally displaced people on the outskirts of the eastern city of Goma that killed at least nine people.  Rwandan government spokesperson Yolande Makolo described the U.S. accusation as "ridiculous," writing on X that Rwanda had a "professional army" that would "never attack" a camp for displaced people.  Asked Monday if the United States stood by its claim, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said, "We absolutely do."   "The government of Rwanda must investigate this heinous act and hold all those responsible accountable. And we have made that clear to them," he said.   The United States has long said there was evidence to back up charges by Kinshasa that Rwanda is backing the M23 rebels, who are mostly ethnic Tutsis and resumed their armed campaign in the historically turbulent country in 2021.   But the latest U.S. statement marked an unusually direct accusation of Rwandan involvement.  Rwandan President Paul Kagame in turn has demanded that the DR Congo act against Hutu forces over ties with the perpetrators of Rwanda's 1994 genocide, which mostly targeted Tutsis.  The United States has sought to mediate between the two countries, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken in January meeting Kagame and voicing hope that Rwanda would engage in diplomacy.

GEORGE, South Africa — Rescue efforts were underway after two people were killed and dozens remained trapped after a multistory building under construction collapsed in the South African city of George, authorities said Monday.  Twenty-two people were rescued from the site and sent to hospitals, the municipality of George, a coastal city east of Cape Town, said in a statement.  Western Cape premier Alan Winde said two among the retrieved had died, while 53 remain trapped under the rubble.  "Seventy-five members of the construction crew have been confirmed on-site at the time of the incident," he said.  CCTV footage obtained by Reuters showed a cloud of dust as the building crumbled on Monday afternoon.  "I saw one guy was working and then 'boom,' and I saw the whole building collapse. ... I'm also traumatized. It is very sad," Theresa Jeyi, a local councilor, told reporters at the scene.  The provincial government said police and rescue teams with sniffer dogs were on-site.   Rescue workers on-site were trying to recall where they heard calls from people, George Mayor Leon van Wyk told SABC, while rescue equipment was on its way.  "This is going to be a really lengthy exercise and probably going to go right through the night," he said.

Russia said Monday it plans to hold drills simulating the use of battlefield nuclear weapons as part of a military exercise after what Moscow said were threats from France, Britain, and the United States. A barrage of weekend Russian drone strikes hit civilian targets as Ukrainians celebrated the Orthodox Easter Holiday. A US architect is helping to design and renovate housing for internally displaced Ukrainians.

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WASHINGTON — An American soldier has been arrested in Russia and accused of stealing, according to two U.S. officials.  The soldier, who is not being identified, was stationed in South Korea and was in the process of returning home to the United States. Instead, officials said he traveled to Russia.  The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel details.  Cynthia Smith, Army spokesperson, confirmed that a soldier was detained Thursday in Vladivostok, a major military and commercial Pacific port, on charges of criminal misconduct. She said Russia notified the U.S. and the Army told the soldier's family.  "The U.S. Department of State is providing appropriate consular support to the soldier in Russia," Smith said.  It was unclear Monday if the soldier is considered absent without leave, or AWOL.  The arrest comes less than a year after American soldier Travis King sprinted into North Korea across the heavily fortified border between the Koreas. North Korea later announced that it would expel King, who was returned to the U.S. He was eventually charged with desertion.  Russia is known to be holding a number of Americans in its jails, including corporate security executive Paul Whelan and The Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich. The U.S. government has designated both as wrongfully detained and has been trying to negotiate for their release.  Others detained include Travis Leake, a musician who had been living in Russia for years and was arrested last year on drug-related charges; Marc Fogel, a teacher in Moscow, who was sentenced to 14 years in prison, also on drug charges; and dual nationals Alsu Kurmasheva and Ksenia Khavana.  The soldier's arrest in Russia was first reported by NBC News. 

WARSAW, POLAND — Poland is verifying if a Polish judge who had access to confidential information and asked for political asylum in Belarus had been spying, authorities said Monday.  Earlier on Monday, Tomasz Szmydt, a judge from a Warsaw administrative court, asked for asylum in Belarus, saying he acted in protest to Poland's policy toward Russia and Belarus, according to a video aired by Russian TV.  A hub for Western military supplies to Ukraine as it fights Russia's invasion, Poland says it has become a major target of Russian spies. It accuses Moscow and its ally Belarus of trying to destabilize it.  Prosecutors are checking if Szmydt has been spying against Poland given his Monday statement and information he had access to as a judge, a Polish State Prosecutor's Office spokesperson told Reuters.  Szmydt was slated to rule on cases concerning issuing security clearances to information on NATO and European Union secrets next month, according to a calendar of court sittings of the Warsaw administrative court. "The matter requires immediate clarification," Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz told reporters on Monday, adding that going to Belarus makes previous activities a matter that "gives a lot to think about."  Separately, the Polish Internal Security Agency said it is checking the scope of confidential information that Szmydt had access to, said a spokesperson for the coordinator of Poland's secret services.

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Academic institutions in Israel say they are making plans to welcome students who want to leave U.S. universities as campus protests against Israel’s war in Gaza cause many American Jewish students to say they feel unsafe. Linda Gradstein reports for VOA from Jerusalem. VOA footage by Ricki Rosen.

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Israel warns civilians to leave Rafah as a military operation appears imminent, plus possible ramifications from the Israeli shut-down of Al-Jazeera. Russia claims to be training with tactical nuclear weapons near Ukraine and Sweden prepares to host Eurovision.

BANGKOK — A powerful ethnic minority armed group battling Myanmar's army in the country's west claimed Monday to have taken hundreds of government soldiers prisoner when it captured a major command post. The Arakan Army, the well-trained and well-armed military wing of the Rakhine ethnic minority movement, has been on the offensive against army outposts in the western state of Rakhine — its home ground — for about six months. The group said in a video statement posted on the Telegram messaging app that soldiers belonging to the military government's Operational Command No. 15 headquarters in Rakhine's Buthidaung township surrendered after a siege. Buthidaung is about 385 kilometers (240 miles) southwest of Mandalay, Myanmar's second-largest city. The reported capture of the base could not be independently confirmed. Myanmar's military government made no immediate comment, and the spokesperson of the Arakan Army did not respond to questions sent by The Associated Press. The fight in Rakhine is part of the nationwide conflict in Myanmar that began after the army ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021 and suppressed widespread nonviolent protests that sought a return to democratic rule. Despite its advantages in arms and manpower, Myanmar's army has been on the defensive since October, when an alliance of three ethnic rebel groups launched an offensive in the country's northeast. The video released by the Arakan Army was described as having been made Saturday. It shows Arakan Army fighters guarding men in military uniforms and civilian clothes, some injured, as they walk through a field and down a roadside accompanied by women and children — families of soldiers often live at their posts. A caption accompanying the video says it shows the deputy commander of the group and his troops after a "final assault in which (they) faced total defeat and surrendered." The video does not specify the total number of captured soldiers and their family members, but in one part about 300 men can be seen sitting in rows in an open field. In a statement released Sunday, the Arakan Army said it captured the command post Thursday after attacking it for two weeks. It claimed another army post was seized the next day, along with others over the past two months. The attackers captured "weapons, ammunition, military equipment and surrendered prisoners of war," the statement said. Some parts of the video released Monday show young men who appear to be members of the Muslim Rohingya minority. Myanmar's military has been accused of filling its depleted ranks with Rohingya men in Rakhine under the recently activated conscription law. The army has lost personnel to casualties, surrender and defections while facing increasingly tough opposition on the battlefield. The Rohingya were the targets of a brutal counterinsurgency campaign incorporating rape and murder that saw an estimated 740,000 flee to neighboring Bangladesh as their villages were burned down by the army in 2017. Ethnic Rakhine nationalists aligned with the Arakan Army were also among the persecutors of the Rohingya minority, but now the Arakan Army and the Rohingya are uneasy allies in opposition to the military government. The Arakan Army, which seeks autonomy from Myanmar's central government, is part of an alliance of ethnic minority armies that launched an offensive in October and gained strategic territory in Myanmar's northeast bordering China. Its success was seen as a major defeat for the military government, and boosted the morale of restive ethnic minorities as well as the pro-democracy resistance. On Sunday, the Kachin Independence Army, another major ethnic armed group, claimed to have captured Sumprabum, a township in the northern state of Kachin.

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Nairobi, Kenya — The United States Agency for International Development last week launched a $6 million program to support small businesses and financial institutions in northern Kenya that are looking to implement climate-smart practices and enhance their resilience to climate-related challenges. The region suffers from recurring droughts; when it does rain, it often floods and causes people to lose their livelihoods. Residents of 10 northern Kenyan counties heavily depend on their livestock for food and income. Over the years, alternating periods of drought and floods have killed animals, pastures and crops, leaving millions in need of humanitarian assistance. USAID recently set aside $38 million in loans and investments to build resilience among small businesses in these arid and semi-arid regions. The $6 million investment is part of the larger program. Abubakar Aidarus is the head of Solargen, an organization that provides power sources and irrigation tools to farmers in Garissa and Wajir counties. Solargen received $500,000 from USAID last year. Aidarus said the new investment has helped his business reach more places and people. "We are from this area. We understand that the services are needed, and they are excluded from the financial systems and the grid as well,” Aidarus said. “There is no access to energy. Being able to get this investment first gave us the opportunity to put up and the courage to move to Wajir and establish an operation there. It gave us an opportunity to turn fewer customers away." Venny Mayaka works with a nongovernmental organization that implements the USAID Kuza program in northern Kenya. Kuza is the Swahili word for nurture. Mayaka said USAID will address the community's most urgent needs in managing the impact of climate change in their homes. "USAID KUZA is coming in to bridge the gap in terms of providing access to financial services but also providing incentives in form of financing, catalytic financing,” Mayaka said. “This financing goes into [addressing] the missing links in terms of provision of water, provision of technical assistance to some of the clients, providing the access to finance but also providing some of the services to the communities. And this is cascaded down to the communities." Aidarus said the financial support his company received enabled it to support its customers and give them more time to repay the loans. "Within 18 months they're able to take full advantage of the resource that they have, which is the farm, and be able to pay us back and continue with the system,” Aidarus said. “So that really increases their ability to produce.” For small and medium enterprises (SMEs), Aidarus added, having constant, reliable and affordable power increases their income. Mayaka said USAID wants to finance people and businesses attempting to overcome climate change issues. "We want to see a scale up of the number of SMEs reached in terms of climate finance investments, best practices in environmental conservation and innovations towards addressing aspects of climate change,” Mayaka said. “We’d want to see more micro and small enterprises reached through the financial institutions and we also wish to see more products developed that are agile to address some of the challenges." USAID said it is developing a digital tool that allows data entry and captures data points about reducing carbon emissions, energy access and financial inclusion in its clients' funds. The agency says the tool will ensure that the investments align with its climate change objectives.