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MADRID — Spanish authorities confirmed on Tuesday that a body found in a remote area of the island of Tenerife a day earlier was that of a missing British teenager and that the injuries sustained were compatible with an accidental fall. "We have a positive ID," a court spokesperson said. "Fingerprinting confirms that the body belongs to Jay Slater, and the death was due to multiple traumas compatible with a fall in the mountainous area." Earlier, the same spokesperson said it would take some days before autopsy results were available. Slater's mother, Debbie, issued a statement through the British overseas missing persons charity LBT Global acknowledging the "worst news." "I just can't believe this could happen to my beautiful boy," the statement read. "Our hearts are broken." The body was found Monday morning by a Civil Guard mountain rescue group. Slater, 19, went missing on June 17, and his phone was last traced to the Masca ravine in a remote national park on the Canary Islands archipelago. The remains were found with Slater's possessions and clothes close to the site of his mobile phone's last location, LBT Global said on Monday. Matthew Searle, chief executive of LBT Global, which has issued several statements on behalf of the family, said it would help repatriate Slater's body and belongings and make funeral arrangements. "There will, of course, be many more hurdles for the family to face in the coming days, and we will work with them to make this horrific time as easy as possible," he said. 

Sixty-four percent of Pakistan’s population is under the age of 30. While opportunities to participate in sports are generally scant for this population, they barely exist for the country's girls. Sidra Dar meets two Pakistani sisters in Karachi who are trying to change that, in this story narrated by Aisha Khalid. (Camera: Muhammad Khalil)

Rights watchdogs accuse Ruto’s government of extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances to quiet opposing voices and deny the Kenyan people their constitutional rights.

BANGKOK — Police in Thailand say the bodies of six people were found Tuesday in a luxury hotel in downtown Bangkok and poisoning is suspected.  Thailand's Foreign Ministry said in a short statement that the dead were reported to be two Vietnamese Americans and four Vietnamese nationals. They were not identified further.  The Thai newspaper Matichon showed photos of police at the Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel investigating the deaths after being summoned by hotel staff at late afternoon. It said five bodies were found inside a room and one outside.  Investigators said the bodies were found foaming at the mouth, an officer from the Lumpini police station said on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to release information.  Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin went to the scene in the evening but did not provide any additional information to reporters gathered there. 

Tallinn, Estonia — Dozens of Nobel Prize laureates are calling in an open letter on Belarus' authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko to free all political prisoners, after 18 seriously ill activists were released this month. The Belarusian human rights group Viasna counts almost 1,400 political prisoners, including its Nobel Peace Prize-winning founder Ales Bialiatski. Many of Belarus' most prominent opposition figures are behind bars while others fled abroad as authorities cracked down severely on opponents as protests gripped the country in 2020. But only one well-known figure was among the 18 prisoners whom Lukashenko allowed to be freed earlier this month. The letter from Nobel winners urged Lukashenko to follow through with more releases. "You have a unique opportunity to turn the page on the past and enter history not only as an uncompromising ruler but also as a political leader who has shown wisdom and compassion, responsible to your people and their future," said the letter that was posted Friday on the website of Belarusian political scientist Dmitry Bolkunets. The 58 signatories include literature prize winners Svetlana Alexievich of Belarus, J.M. Coetzee, Herta Mueller, and peace prize laureates Mairead Corrigan Maguire, Oscar Arias, Jody Williams, Shirin Ebadi, Tawakkol Karman, Juan Manuel Santos, Dmitry Muratov and Maria Ressa.

Taipei, Taiwan — Taiwan hosts a series of military exercises and drills next week that will include preventing attacks on key airports and ports, and testing the ability of troops to respond to scenarios similar to a hypothetical invasion from China.   Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense says the annual Han Kuang and Wan An exercises, between July 22 and July 26, will focus on “unscripted and real combat drills.” They will include drills such as shelter-in-place and air defense drill alerts.   The exercises come as China increases military pressure on Taiwan, which Beijing views as part of its territory. Beijing has vowed to unify the democratically ruled island with China, by force if necessary.  When Taiwan President Lai Ching-te took office in May, China conducted a blockade-style military exercise around Taiwan, aimed at testing its ability to “seize power.” Beijing has also increased the number of military aircraft, naval vessels and coast guard vessels operating near Taiwan.   On July 11, Taiwan’s defense ministry said it detected 66 Chinese military aircraft operating around the island within 24 hours, the most sorties on a single day in 2024. A day before, Taipei said it detected China’s aircraft carrier Shandong sailing through waters near Taiwan to join military exercises in the western Pacific.  Unscripted drills  Unlike Han Kuang exercises in the past, some analysts say this year’s exercises will be closer to actual combat as authorities will not announce simulated scenarios before the exercises.   “This year’s drills are unscripted exercises and the goal is to let the Taiwanese military develop capabilities to respond swiftly in real combats,” Su Tzu-yun, a military expert at the Taipei-based Institute for National Defense and Security Research, told VOA by phone.   He said another aim of the drills is to boost troop morale and the public’s confidence in the military’s capabilities.   During the live-fire segment of the exercises, the defense ministry will test the troops’ defense capabilities during nighttime to ensure they can make decisions independently and follow the rules of engagement even after losing contact with central command.  “As the Chinese military enhances its combat capabilities at night, Taiwanese troops also need to possess the ability to be prepared to fight at any hour of the day,” said Chieh Chung, a military researcher at the National Policy Foundation in Taiwan.   Since the Chinese military may try to disrupt communication between the Taiwanese troops through large-scale information and electronic warfare, Chieh told VOA that it’s important for Taiwan to ensure its forces “have the capabilities and will to fight independently in combat when they lose contact with central command.”   To prevent invading Chinese troops from seizing critical infrastructure across Taiwan, the military will conduct anti-landing drills at 12 airports, ports, and beaches near key political and economic centers.   Apart from Taiwan’s main international airport in Taoyuan, the harbor at the mouth of the Tamsui River in northern Taiwan will be another important location where the Taiwanese military will conduct a river defense exercise, after a Chinese man drove a speedboat into the harbor in June.  China has increasingly deployed fighter jets and aircraft carrier groups toward eastern Taiwan, an area traditionally used to protect Taiwanese troops and home to two important air bases. In response, this year’s exercise will include runway repair, restoration of combat power, and air force countermeasures.    Su said the drills aim to ensure the Taiwanese military is capable of conducting “multi-point simultaneous defense” rather than concentrating on defending one particular item of infrastructure.  “These exercises are simulated based on a potential Chinese military invasion, during which the Chinese troops may likely focus on seizing airports, seaports, and beaches around Taiwan,” he told VOA.   Strengthening civil defense  Apart from strengthening Taiwanese troops’ capabilities in actual combat, Taiwan will also conduct the annual air defense exercise across the island.  While last year’s drills focused on shelter-in-place and evacuation drills in districts, this year’s air defense exercise will include the dissemination of alerts about missile and rocket attacks.  According to Taiwan’s Defense Ministry, alerts will be sent to Taiwanese people through text messages. The messages will include links to maps that inform them about the locations of nearby shelters.  In addition to the regular 30-minute drills, during which people need to shelter in place and vehicles have to stop moving, local governments and civil defense organizations will conduct a separate 30-minute drill setting up wartime disaster relief and shelter stations.  This year’s exercise will also simulate storing ammunition in strategic, underground places near battlefields as part of the effort to strengthen Taiwanese troops’ sustainability during combat. The ministry said this could reduce the risks of ammunition being damaged during combat while enhancing the troops’ combat sustainability.   Su said while Taiwan’s air raid shelters are already well-equipped, Taiwanese authorities should consider drawing up plans to transform some shelters into hospitals or spaces to store essential supplies. “These steps can further strengthen Taiwan’s civil defense,” he told VOA.   Some analysts say that while this year’s exercises reflect Taiwan’s attempt to modernize the training schemes, it’s important for the military to keep adjusting the exercises based on patterns emerging from China’s military activities.  

KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo — At least 70 people, including nine soldiers and a soldier's wife, were killed when armed men attacked a village in western Democratic Republic of Congo, local authorities said, as violence intensifies between two rival communities. The attack took place on Saturday in the village of Kinsele, around 100 kilometers (60 miles) east of Kinshasa, the capital. Because of insecurity and poor infrastructure in the region, deadly attacks can take days to be reported. Kinsele is in the Kwamouth territory, where for the past two years conflict has raged between two local communities — Teke and Yaka — leading to the deaths of hundreds of civilians. As Congo battles armed groups in the east, violence has also intensified in the western part of the country.  The attackers were members of the Mobondo militia, an armed group presenting itself as defenders of the Yaka people. "As of [Monday], 72 bodies have already been found and the search continues to find other bodies in the bush," David Bisaka, the provincial deputy for the Kwamouth territory, told The Associated Press in a phone interview. Security services on site continue to search for the bodies "after the army succeeded in routing this militia" for the second time in a week, Bisaka said. The Mobondo militia first tried to attack the same village on Friday. Following Saturday's attack, the bodies found included those of nine soldiers and one woman, the wife of a soldier, the head of a nearby village, Stanys Liby, told the U.N.-funded Radio Okapi. The conflict over land and customary claims in the Kwamouth territory erupted in June 2022 between so-called "native" and "nonnative" communities, according to the advocacy group Human Rights Watch. Tensions flared in June 2022 over land rights and customary taxes between the Teke, historical inhabitants of the region, and farmers from various other ethnic groups, including the Yaka, who settled near the Congo River more recently. Despite a cease-fire agreed upon in April 2024 in the presence of Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi, clashes between the two communities have continued and even intensified in recent weeks, with the Congolese army failing to quell the violence. The army is also struggling to contain the violence in the eastern part of the country, which has been torn by decadelong fighting between government forces and more than 120 armed groups seeking a share of the region's gold and other resources. Violence in the eastern part of the country has worsened in recent months as security forces battle the militias. Earlier this month, a militia attack on a gold mine in northeastern Congo killed six Chinese miners and two Congolese soldiers.

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We are issuing policy guidance on new provisions in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) that cover consequences for noncompliance with the EB-5 Regional Center program.

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.

Audio deepfakes have been used to try and sway voters in elections this year. VOA’s Matt Dibble looks at how artificial intelligence can help detect synthetic voices in this week’s episode of LogOn.

TEHRAN, Iran — Iranian Shiite Muslims on Tuesday commemorated Ashoura, a remembrance of the 7th century martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, Hussein, that gave birth to their faith. More than 1,340 years after Hussein’s death, Tehran and other cities across the country were adorned with symbols of Shiite piety and repentance. Red flags represented Hussein’s blood, black funeral tents and clothes indicated mourning, and processions of chest-beating and self-flagellating men expressed fervor. Some sprayed water over the mourners in the intense heat. Iranian state TV reported that 6 million Iranian pilgrims traveled to the Iraqi city of Karbala, where Hussein is entombed in a gold-domed shrine, and broadcast live images of the procession. Many Shiite Muslims across the Middle East commemorated Ashoura on Tuesday. In the Omani capital of Muscat, a shooting at a Shiite mosque killed four people and wounded dozens on Tuesday. Iran’s foreign ministry condemned the attack. Shiites represent more than 10% of the world’s 1.8 billion Muslims and view Hussein as the rightful successor to the Prophet Muhammad. Hussein’s death in battle at the hands of Sunnis at Karbala, south of Baghdad, ingrained a deep rift in Islam and continues to play a key role in shaping Shiite identity.

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.

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan said Tuesday four of its nationals were killed and 30 others injured in an unprecedented gun attack targeting a Shi’ite Muslim minority mosque in Oman's capital, Muscat. Omani authorities said, based on initial reports, the shooting resulted in the killings of four worshipers and injuries to "several others” in the otherwise peaceful Sunni Muslim-majority sultanate. There were no immediate claims of responsibility. In a statement, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry condemned what it said was “the dastardly terrorist attack.” It added without elaborating that Islamabad was “heartened” that Oman’s authorities had “neutralized” the assailants. The ministry said that Pakistan’s embassy in Muscat was in contact with Omani authorities "for the identification and repatriation of the mortal remains" of the slain Pakistanis. It added that Pakistani Ambassador Imran Ali is also visiting local hospitals to inquire about the well-being of injured Pakistani nationals. "The Royal Oman Police have responded to a shooting incident that occurred in the vicinity of a mosque in the Al-Wadi Al-Kabir area," a Muscat police statement said. It said that "all necessary security measures and procedures have been taken to handle the situation" following the attack. "The authorities are continuing to gather evidence and conduct investigations to uncover the circumstances surrounding the incident," police wrote on social media platform X. “Pakistan has offered all possible assistance to Omani authorities in the investigation and in bringing to justice those responsible for this heinous crime in this holy month of Muharram,” the Pakistani statement said. The U.S. Embassy in Muscat issued a security alert following the shooting and canceled all visa appointments on Tuesday. The embassy wrote on social media platform X, "U.S. citizens should remain vigilant, monitor local news, and heed directions of local authorities.” Video verified by the AFP news agency shows people fleeing near Imam Ali Mosque, its minaret visible, as gunshots ring out. A voice can be heard saying “Oh God" and repeating "Oh Hussein," referring to the imam who Shi’ites view as the rightful successor to the Prophet Muhammad. The area where the shooting occurred was reportedly still cordoned off later on Tuesday, preventing journalists from accessing the mosque. Shi’ites this week mark Ashura, an annual day of mourning that commemorates the seventh-century battlefield martyrdom of Imam Hussein. Oman officially has a population of four million, with 40% of them expatriate workers. Some of the information for the story came from AFP.

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.

Paris — French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal was set to resign but stay on as head of a caretaker government Tuesday, officials said, with no replacement in sight as divided parliamentary groups succumb to infighting. President Emmanuel Macron is expected to accept Attal's resignation after Tuesday's Cabinet meeting — the first since his allies got roundly beaten in a snap National Assembly election called to "clarify" the political landscape. But he was also likely to ask the prime minister and his team to stay on as a caretaker government with restricted powers until after the Paris Olympics, which open on July 26. This would also give political parties more time to build a governing coalition after the July 7 election runoff left the National Assembly without an overall majority. A broad alliance — called New Popular Front (NFP) — of Socialists, Communists, Greens and the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) won the most seats, with 193 in the 577-strong lower chamber. Macron's allies came second with 164 seats and the far-right National Rally (RN) third at 143. The divided NFP alliance has been scrambling to come up with a consensus candidate for prime minister. But internal conflicts — notably between the LFI and the more moderate Socialists — have thwarted all efforts to find a personality able to survive a confidence vote in parliament. 'Shameful' Over the weekend, the Socialists torpedoed the hopes of Huguette Bello, 73, a former communist MP and the president of the regional council in France's overseas territory La Reunion, who had support from the other left-wing parties. The LFI, in turn, rejected Laurence Tubiana, an economist and climate specialist without political affiliation, who had the backing of the Socialists, Communists and Green party. Leftist deputy Francois Ruffin on Tuesday called the NFP's infighting "shameful," while Green deputy Sandrine Rousseau said the disagreements made her "very angry." On Saturday, Attal was voted in as leader of his party's National Assembly contingent, as he eyes his own future outside government, saying he would "contribute to the emergence of a majority concerning projects and ideas." Macron and Attal, observers say, are still hoping to find a right-of-center majority in parliament that would keep both the LFI or the far-right RN out of any new coalition. Once Attal resigns, he and other cabinet members will be able to take their seats in parliament and participate in any coalition-building. Parliament reconvenes on Thursday and will start by filling the National Assembly speaker job and other key positions. Cracks have appeared between Attal and his former mentor Macron, whom the prime minister appears to blame for the electoral defeat only six months after being appointed France's youngest ever head of government at 34. Macron still has almost three years to go as president before elections in 2027, at which far-right leader Marine Le Pen is expected to make a fresh bid for power.