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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.

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.

Seoul, South Korea — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed "serious concern" about China's support for Russia's defense industry on Friday, warning Chinese leaders that Washington could impose sanctions over the matter. Blinken's comments came in Beijing, shortly after he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and other senior Chinese leaders during meetings that covered a wide range of disputes between the two powers. Near the top of Blinken's agenda, U.S. officials said, was China's provision of items such as microchips, machine tools, and other items Russia is using to create weapons for use in its war against Ukraine. "I told Xi, if China does not address this problem, we will," said Blinken. For weeks, U.S. officials have hinted at further sanctions meant to deter China's provision of so-called dual-use items to Russia, which Washington says has been crucial to Moscow's war on Ukraine. It is not clear how far Washington will go, however, since cutting off major Chinese banks from the U.S. financial system also could hurt the U.S. and global economy. At a press conference in Beijing, Blinken did not reveal details about any possible measures, stating only that the United States has already imposed sanctions on more than 100 Chinese entities. "We're fully prepared to act, take additional measures, and I made that very clear in my meetings today," he noted. China has defended its approach to Russia, saying it is only engaged in normal economic exchanges with a major trading partner. In his public remarks Friday, Xi did not mention the Russia-Ukraine issue. Instead, he focused on the necessity for U.S.-China ties to improve. "China and the United States should be partners rather than rivals; help each other succeed rather than hurt each other; seek common ground and reserve differences, rather than engage in vicious competition," Xi said. Blinken's meeting with Xi had not been previously announced but was widely expected. U.S.-China relations stabilized last year, after Xi met U.S. President Joe Biden in California. At that summit, the two sides agreed to reopen military-to-military communication and take steps to reduce the flow of fentanyl, a dangerous narcotic responsible for tens of thousands of drug overdoses in the United States each year. Blinken cited "important progress" on the fentanyl issue, even while insisting China needs to do more, including prosecute those who sell chemicals and equipment used to make fentanyl. Blinken also announced that both sides agreed to hold their first talks related to concerns over artificial intelligence. Even as communications lines remain open, the United States and China continue to spar over a broad range of issues, including trade policies and territorial disputes. The Biden administration is concerned about cheap Chinese exports, including heavily subsidized green technology products they say are undercutting U.S. companies. During a five-and-a-half hour meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday, Blinken raised concerns, including the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, Chinese activities in the disputed South China Sea, and the need to avoid further escalation in the Middle East and on the Korean Peninsula, according to a U.S. readout. China accuses the United States of inappropriately trying to contain its economic and military power. Following his meeting with Blinken, Wang said China-U.S. ties are "beginning to stabilize" but asserted that negative factors are "increasing and building," warning that the relationship faces "all kinds of disruptions." "Should China and the United States keep to the right direction of moving forward with stability or return to a downward spiral?" Wang asked. "This is a major question before our two countries."

Methane leaking from fossil fuel production is among the top contributors to climate change. Now a leading environmental scientist is hoping to provide more accurate and consistent findings of methane emissions with the launch of a technologically advanced satellite. VOA’s Julie Taboh has more. Arash Arabasadi contributed to this report. Camera: Adam Greenbaum

Asian Americans are the fastest growing group of eligible voters in the United States, according to the Pew Research Center. That makes them an important focus for presidential candidates Joe Biden and Donald Trump. VOA correspondent Scott Stearns has our story. Video: VOA Khmer Service, VOA Mandarin Service, Matt Dibble 

For some African communities, the road to food security is traveled best by tractor. A company called Hello Tractor, supported by non-profit Heifer International, is enabling poor, smallholding farmers to rent or buy mechanized farm equipment that is helping them increase their productivity and profits. Mohammed Yusuf reports from the town of Rabuor in western Kenya.

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.

Abuja, Nigeria — Thursday, April 25, marked World Malaria Day, a day to mark progress against the deadly disease. In Nigeria, that progress is being threatened by soaring drug costs caused by inflation, a poor exchange rate and the exit of pharmaceutical companies. Nigeria accounts for 27 percent of the global malaria burden - the highest in the world. Two months ago, Abuja resident Damian Gaau came down with fever. He immediately suspected malaria and went to a local clinic for treatment. But he says the price of his regular anti-malarial medicine had more than doubled. “Before, I can use a little amount of money to get some drugs to care for my malaria but now, everything is cost [expensive] even to get medicine is not easy, for you to get medicine you age to take half of your salary before you get drugs to treat yourself,” said Gaau. Gaau says to get the care he needed, he had to forgo other necessities. “The increase of the medicine has cost me a lot, like I have to cut down some of my expenses to get some drugs for myself, even to buy food, clothes, all those kinds of stuff I have to cut down from there to get my medicine,” said Gaau. The World Health Organization (WHO) says Africa accounted for about ninety five percent of malaria cases and deaths globally in 2021. That year, Nigeria reported 194,000 deaths from the mosquito-borne disease, more than any other country. Health experts say pregnant women and children younger than five are most at risk of the disease and access to affordable treatment and poverty are some of the reasons malaria cases are high. "What has driven up all the prices is the exchange rate. Almost 70 percent of medicines we use in this country are imported if not more. Most of the pharmaceutical companies working in Nigeria, some of them are closing up and leaving so that means the foreign exchange component is very high so if the dollar to Naira ratio is not favorable, it will drive up this cost which is what's going on,” said Orji. Last year, Nigeria’s health ministry said the economic burden of malaria in the country will increase from $1.6 billion to $2.8 billion by 2030. Like most commodities, the cost of anti-malarial drugs has gone through the roof in recent months amid Nigeria’s growing cost of living crisis, fueled by the withdrawal of fuel subsidy payments and currency control measures. Nigerian authorities say they’re working to address the rising cost of medicine, but Orji says there are other factors. "There are a lot of interventions government has actually put in place but unfortunately the implementation is so poor that Nigerians are still suffering,” said Orji. "The only one that is working, not so well but at least working, is the National Health insurance scheme. What we should also pay attention [to] is our population. Our population is galloping in a way that whatever economic sense we're making will not make any sense." As Nigerian health officials marked World Malaria Day under the theme “Accelerate the fight against malaria for a more equitable world," progress against the disease is under threat, leaving many people like Damian Gaau more vulnerable.  

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.

CAIRO — Egypt sent a high-level delegation to Israel on Friday with the hope of brokering a cease-fire agreement with Hamas in Gaza, two officials said. At the same time, it warned that a possible Israeli offensive focused on Gaza's city of Rafah — on the border with Egypt — could have catastrophic consequences for regional stability. Egypt's top intelligence official, Abbas Kamel, is leading the delegation and plans to discuss with Israel a “new vision” for a prolonged cease-fire in Gaza, an Egyptian official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the mission freely.   As the war drags on and casualties mount, there has been growing international pressure for Hamas and Israel to reach an agreement on a cease fire.   Friday's talks will focus at first on a limited exchange of hostages held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners, and the return of a significant number of displaced Palestinians to their homes in northern Gaza “with minimum restrictions,” the Egyptian official said.   The hope is that negotiations will then continue, with the goal of a larger deal to end the war, he said. The official said mediators are working on a compromise that will answer most of both parties’ main demands. Hamas has said it will not back down from its demands for a permanent cease-fire and full withdrawal of Israeli troops, both of which Israel has rejected. Israel says it will continue military operations until Hamas is defeated and that it will retain a security presence in Gaza afterwards. Ahead of the talks, senior Hamas official Basem Naim told The Associated Press “there is nothing new from our side,” when asked about the negotiations.   Overnight, Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group fired anti-tank missiles and artillery shells at an Israeli military convoy in a disputed border area, killing an Israeli civilian. Hezbollah said its fighters ambushed the convoy shortly before midnight Thursday, destroying two vehicles. The Israeli military said the ambush wounded an Israeli civilian doing infrastructure work, and that he later died of his wounds. Low-intensity fighting along the Israel-Lebanon border has repeatedly threatened to boil over as Israel has targeted senior Hezbollah militants in recent months. Tens of thousands of people have been displaced on both sides of the border. On the Israeli side, the cross-border fighting has killed 10 civilians and 12 soldiers, while in Lebanon, more than 350 people have been killed, including 50 civilians and 271 Hezbollah members. Meantime, Israel has been conducting near-daily raids on Rafah, a city in which more than half of Gaza's 2.3 million people have sought refuge.   The Israeli military has massed dozens of tanks and armored vehicles in an area of southern Israel that is close to Rafah, in apparent preparations for an invasion of the city.   Rafah also abuts the Gaza-Egypt border. While in Israel, Kamel, who heads Egypt’s General Intelligence Service, plans to make clear that Egypt “will not tolerate” Israel’s deployments of troops along that border, the Egyptian official said. The official said Egypt shared intelligence with the United States and European countries showing that a Rafah offensive would inflame the entire region. A Western diplomat in Cairo also said that Egypt has intensified its efforts in recent days to reach a compromise and establish a short cease-fire in Gaza that will help negotiate a longer truce and avert a Rafah offensive. The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity to freely discuss the developments.   On Wednesday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi cautioned that an Israeli attack on Rafah would have “catastrophic consequences on the humanitarian situation in the strip, as well as the regional peace and security.” El-Sissi’s comments came in a phone call with Prime Minister Mark Rutte of The Netherlands, the Egyptian leader’s office said. Egypt has also said an attack on Rafah would violate the decades-old peace deal between Egypt and Israel. The Israel-Hamas war was sparked by the Hamas’ Oct. 7 raid into southern Israel, in which militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took some 250 people as hostages. Israel says the militants are still holding around 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 others. More than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war, according to local health officials, around two-thirds of them children and women.    

HANOI — The chairman of Vietnam's parliament, Vuong Dinh Hue. has resigned over his "violations and shortcomings," its government said on Friday, in a new sign of political turbulence just weeks after the high-profile dismissal of the country's president.   The head of the assembly is among the four "pillars" of the leadership in Vietnam, which officially has no paramount ruler. Hue, 67, had been touted as a possible candidate for the Communist Party secretary position, Vietnam's most powerful job.   "Comrade Vuong Dinh Hue's violations and shortcomings have caused negative public opinion, affecting the reputation of the Party, State and him personally," the government's website said, carrying a statement from the Communist Party's Central Committee.   The statement said his resignation had been accepted and would be removed from the Central Committee and the powerful Politburo. It did not specify what the violations were. Hue was seen attending a ceremony earlier on Friday alongside the prime minister ahead of next week's 49th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War and the reunification of North and South Vietnam under communist rule.   His resignation comes just days after the announcement that his assistant had been arrested over alleged bribery involving an infrastructure company.   'Blazing furnace' Under a yearslong anti-corruption campaign, called "blazing furnace," hundreds of senior state officials and high-profile business executives have been prosecuted or forced to step down. The latest change among Vietnam's top leadership could raise new concerns about political stability in the Southeast Asian manufacturing hub, which is highly reliant on foreign investment and trade.   The departure of Hue, a trained economist and former deputy prime minister who previously served as chief state auditor, follows the dismissal in March of President Vo Van Thuong after the Communist Party said he had violated party rules.   Thuong was the second president to exit in just over a year, prompting multiple commentators to warn that the country's appeal as an investment destination may be affected by prolonged infighting.   A survey of over 650 business leaders conducted by foreign chambers of commerce in Vietnam and published in March said foreign firms were attracted to the country mostly for its political stability.   Hue had met Chinese President Xi Jinping on April 8 during a weeklong visit to China and while abroad, rumors spread in Vietnam that his assistant had been arrested. The detention was announced two weeks later.   Earlier in April, real estate tycoon Truong My Lan was sentenced to death for her role in a multibillion-dollar financial fraud, which had been going on for years with multiple senior officials turning a blind eye.

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.

Warsaw, Poland — Olga drew her index finger abruptly across her neck as she recounted the threats her husband leveled at her after he returned to Russia, wounded from fighting in Ukraine. "I'm going to cut your head and hands off and beat you up. I'll burn you in acid," he threatened her, she said. Even before her husband went off to fight in Ukraine, he was a violent alcoholic, Olga -- not her real name -- told AFP. When he returned home seven months later, he was even worse. And now he was a war hero, endowed with a sense of impunity and moral righteousness. "He became even more radical," she said. "He said that he was untouchable, that nothing could happen to him." Domestic violence Long before Russia invaded Ukraine, rights groups had sounded the alarm over the country's woeful record on protecting women from domestic violence. In 2017, lawmakers -- with the blessing of the Orthodox Church -- reduced penalties for Russians convicted of beating family members. And the Kremlin under Vladimir Putin has in recent years argued that abuse within families should be resolved by families, not law enforcement. With the war in Ukraine, campaigners say that an already widespread problem could now be getting even worse. While there are no publicly available figures on the scope of violence perpetrated by veterans, campaigners have identified a slew of survivors. Local media, too, is awash with reports of violent crimes committed by ex-soldiers. AFP spoke to two Russian women about the violence they had suffered from veterans of the war in Ukraine. Both requested anonymity for fear of reprisals. Their testimonies are rare, given how the Kremlin has sought to exalt veterans fighting in a war it paints as existential. Moscow has brought in new laws to criminalize criticism of the Russian army and its soldiers. 'Ice-cold' eyes Olga's life in her isolated Russian town had long been marked by violence. Her husband was an alcoholic who regularly raped and beat her, stole money and monitored her every social interaction, she said. Over and over, he would beg for forgiveness after an altercation, only to become violent again, she said. So, when he volunteered for the army in October 2022, Olga hoped that proximity to "death and tears" might calm him down and sober him up. Her hopes were dashed. He returned from the front earlier than expected to recover from a shrapnel wound. "The next evening, I had a nervous breakdown," she said. "He was totally sober, but his eyes were shining. His eyes were ice-cold. He started insulting me," she recalled. Tensions were building at home that evening and Olga called an ambulance for refuge, pre-empting the moment he would raise his hand at her. "If you let me out of this vehicle, he will kill me," she told the ambulance crew. AFP independently reviewed threats Olga received by text message, as well as reports compiled by the rights advocacy group Consortium that support the women's testimonies. 'Dreams of justice' The police took a statement from Olga and told her husband to leave, but otherwise took no action, she said -- a practice that rights campaigners have denounced for years. Her husband remained at liberty, and free to spend the equivalent of the 30,000 euros he had received as compensation for being wounded. The couple eventually divorced, and Olga's ex-husband returned to Ukraine months later in December 2023 -- but not before assaulting her one final time and robbing her of money. Ever since her former partner had left for Ukraine again, Olga said she had become preoccupied with the idea of holding him accountable -- "dreams of justice," as she called it. What triggered it was a television show she watched on domestic violence. "It felt as if they were speaking directly to me." The program prompted Olga to file a complaint with law enforcement and telephone Consortium for advice on how to protect herself. Sofia Rusova from the group told AFP she had received around 10 reports like Olga's involving veterans last year alone. She echoed warnings voiced by other advocacy groups that the Kremlin's decision to invade Ukraine had exacerbated domestic abuse in Russia and normalized extreme violence. "The consequences may be felt for a decade," she warned. 'Won't be punished' The placing of veterans on a pedestal -- part of a push by the Kremlin to shore up support for the devastating conflict -- has endowed them with a feeling that they are above the law, she added. "Women often tell me that their attacker said he wouldn't be punished," Rusova told AFP. "These men flaunt their status." But that feeling among veterans also has roots in the failure of the Russian judicial system to tackle domestic violence, she added. "The system sometimes failed to defend women before, so these men think it will keep failing women, and that the state will be on their side," Rusova said. Regional media outlets across Russia regularly publish reports on violent crimes committed by servicemen or former members of the Wagner paramilitary group that fought for the Kremlin in Ukraine. While in some cases, the defendants are handed long prison sentences, sometimes they get off lightly. In separate cases in the southern regions of Volgograd and Rostov near Ukraine, two veterans were allowed to walk free after having stabbed their girlfriends. One of the victims died. The main difficulty in bringing them to justice is that Russia has limited mechanisms for prosecuting violence within the family. Russia in 2017 decriminalized certain forms of domestic violence, classifying them as an administrative offence and not a crime, with reduced penalties. The weakness of legal protection for women means there is little incentive for law enforcement to go after suspects -- or for those among victims to report the problem in the first place, say activists. This month, AFP asked the Kremlin to comment on the slew of reports in local press describing bouts of violence among veterans. Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Putin had recently met with officials from the interior ministry and that the issue had not been raised. "This kind of violence was not among the areas of concern," he said. 'Pure horror' The Kremlin has also spoken in favor of the military's recruitment drive in prisons, paving the way for dangerous criminals to return to society if they survive a months-long battlefield stint. Rusova, from the Consortium campaign group, said several Russian prisons had confirmed to her that people convicted of domestic violence had been recruited to fight in Ukraine. One woman had voiced relief when she learned her abusive husband had been killed in Ukraine, she told AFP. Nadezhda had to face her abusive ex-husband, a veteran of the Wagner group, when he returned from the front a year ago even more aggressive than before. The Wagner group suffered tens of thousands of losses during some of the bloodiest battles of the war before it was dissolved by Moscow after its leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, staged a short-lived rebellion. When her former husband returned, he had a serious drug problem, said Nadezhda. But he insisted she pay due respect to his service with what he saw as an elite fighting force. She struggled for months with feelings of shame and uncertainty over whether she should seek help, she said. Finally, after one outburst of violence that got her fearing for the lives of her children, she fled to a shelter at the end of last year. A sympathetic police officer helped her file a legal complaint that -- to her surprise -- led to her ex-husband being arrested. "We had got used to the nightmare," she said. "We lived with it. We thought it wasn't serious." "But now that we're processing it all, we understand that it was pure horror," she said. Nadezhda and her children are now receiving psychological support. But even though her ex-husband is behind bars, she is haunted by the fear he might someday return seeking revenge. "Still, you walk around, and there's this fear that he'll jump out," Nadezhda told AFP. "There's always the feeling he's out there with a knife. It's just so ingrained in my head."