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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.

We are updating our Frequently Asked Questions on the USCIS Fee Rule to help certain employment-based petitioners understand how to submit the correct required fees.

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.

Hamas says it is reviewing a cease-fire plan in Gaza put forth by Israel that Secretary Blinken calls "extraordinarily generous." The ICC weighs charges on leaders of Hamas and the Israeli government for possible crimes against humanity. Plus, an update from Kyiv.

Gaborone, Botswana — Herds of endangered hippos are stuck in drying ponds in Botswana's northwest as the El Nino-induced drought takes its toll on wildlife. In Botswana, home to one of the world’s largest hippopotamus populations, around 500 hippos are stranded as blistering heat dries up water sources, Moemedi Batshabang, director of the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, told VOA.  More than 200 of the endangered animals are stranded at the Nxaraga lagoon near the town of Maun in the northwest.  The Maun-based Save Wildlife Conservation Fund is working with the wildlife department to save the stranded hippos. The group’s director, Lars Gorschlüter, said they are pumping water into the lagoon and giving the hippos food.  "This time it’s a bit harder because of missing rainfall that means hippos are trapped in the pool. They don’t have much food outside to get, that’s why we have to feed them every day with lots of bales of lucerne and others,” Gorschlüter said.  Hippos need water to protect their sensitive skin from Botswana’s extreme heat.  Gorschlüter has ruled out moving the affected animals to areas with reliable water sources, such as the Okavango Delta.    “We also considered the translocation of the hippos, together with the department of wildlife, but rejected it because of high costs and lack of budget,” Gorschlüter said.  Some hippos are also stuck in the mud as water levels recede in the Chobe River, which flows from Namibia. Namibian authorities this week indicated they are working with their Botswana counterparts to drill more boreholes in hopes of refilling the drying channel.  But local conservationist Map Ives urged authorities to let nature “take its course.”  “In a case like this, the hippopotamus, I believe, should be left alone. They have a choice; they can get on their feet, and they can walk. There is always some water within 100 kilometers of where they are. They can walk to that water,” Ives said. “The other alternative … if they are old, weak or sick, is that they will die. Yes, we live in an age where human beings do not want to see animals die, but if you leave nature to itself without human interference, it will balance.”   The El Nino drought that has affected much of southern Africa has meant water is scarce, which has destroyed food sources and critical habitats for other kinds of wildlife as well. 

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.

Not only is climate change responsible for sea level rise and extreme weather events, but a new peer-reviewed study signals it may also impact global timekeeping. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias has the details.

MADRID — About 50 migrants were missing after their boat overturned some 100 kilometers (60 miles) south of Spain's Canary Island of El Hierro in the Atlantic Ocean, Spanish media reported Monday. The national marine rescue service said one of its helicopters rescued nine people who were found clinging to the boat Monday morning following a warning call from a merchant vessel in the area. State news agency Efe said that once transferred to El Hierro airport, the rescued migrants reported that 60 of them had set sail nine days ago and that the open-topped wooden boat ran into problems Saturday. The rescue service was unable to say how many people may have been on the boat and no one was available to comment at Civil Guard police offices in the Canary Island capital of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Efe said the migrants were of sub-Saharan origin. There were no details on which country they had sailed from. Tens of thousands of migrants from sub-Saharan countries fleeing poverty, conflict and instability in West Africa try to reach Spain each year by boat. Most go in large open vessels to the Canary Islands in the Atlantic, while others from Morocco, Algeria and Middle Eastern countries try to cross the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean to mainland Spain. Several thousand die during the hazardous journey. The Interior Ministry says 16,621 migrants arrived in Spain by boat between Jan. 1 and April 15, up by 11,681 in the same period last year. The vast majority arrived on the Canary Island route.

The Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today announced a final rule to strengthen the integrity of the T nonimmigrant status (T visa) and ensure eligible victims of human trafficking can access protections and stabilizing benefits on a timely manner.

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.

Nairobi, Kenya — More than 40 people have died in southwestern Kenya after a dam burst Sunday night following heavy rains which spawned devastating flooding across the country. Earlier, several people went missing after their boat capsized in a river in eastern Kenya. Kenyan rescue teams are searching for survivors swept away by floods  in the Mai Mahiu area of Nakuru County. John Karungu, who lives near the dam, said it broke around 2:30 in the morning and that  people on the downstream side pleaded for help as the rushing water engulfed their homes. Karungu and his neighbors managed to rescue several children, but some were swept away. According to residents, at least 16 homes were swept away in the area. Kenyan Transport Minister Kipchumba Murkomen and Nakuru County Governor Susan Kihika visited the flood zone to assess the damage and mobilize authorities and agencies for rescue operations and aid distribution to the victims. Naivasha Police Commander Stephen Kirui told VOA they have recovered dozens of bodies, and some of the survivors were admitted to hospitals in the area. "So far, we have retrieved 45 bodies. We have not identified the gender of adults and children. Almost three villages have been swept [away], and a large number of people, 110 persons, have been admitted to several hospitals within Naivasha Sub-County," Kirui said. Kirui said it was still raining in the area. Last week, the Kenya Red Cross warned of more rains, called on Kenyans to brace for more flooding, and urged the population to take precautions. Kirui said they have managed to clear the roads, but the flooding threat persists. "The situation is now coming to a [sense of] normalcy, and the roads are passable," Kirui said. "We are trying to remove the trees that have barricaded the roads, and now the roads are passable. I want to advise the members of the public within these areas that they should keep off from the floods. They should move to higher ground whereby they cannot be swept away by the water because there is heavy rain coming, and it may not be good." Kenyan media reports that flooding has claimed the lives of more than 100 people since the rainy season began in mid-March. The death toll is expected to rise after a boat capsized in the Tana River in eastern Kenya over the weekend. The Kenyan Red Cross said it rescued 23 people from the boat, but more than a dozen were still missing. The flooding has prompted the Kenyan government to delay the reopening of schools until next week.