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washington — The United States is calling on China to do more to monitor North Korean sanctions violations as a U.N. panel charged with that task is set to expire this month. "Beijing can do more to combat the DPRK's sanctions evasion efforts in PRC territorial waters, repatriate North Korean laborers earning income in PRC territory, and shut down procurement networks," a State Department spokesperson said in an email Wednesday to VOA's Korean Service. DPRK refers to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North Korea's official name. China's official name is the People's Republic of China. The U.S. official also reacted to comments this week by Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, who told VOA, "The U.S. needs to ... stop heightening the pressure and sanctions, stop military deterrence, and take effective steps to resume meaningful dialogue." Washington has been sending messages to Pyongyang seeking a dialogue "in multiple ways – through third parties and directly, orally and in writing," said the U.S. spokesperson, who insisted on anonymity according to department policy. But North Korea has shown "no indication it is interested in engaging," he wrote. Liu, whose remarks were delivered to VOA by email on Monday, also maintained that "China has faithfully implemented relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions." DPRK 'grows stronger' The North Korean Foreign Ministry's vice minister for U.S. affairs, Kim Un Chol, released a statement through its state-run KCNA on Thursday saying Washington's attempt "to enliven the worn-out sanctions and pressure the DPRK" would be met with a military response. "If the U.S. introduces a new version of sanctions against the DPRK, the latter will take a new opportunity necessary for its upward readjustment of force which the U.S. is most afraid of," said Kim. "The DPRK is a state entity that grows stronger before harsher sanctions and pressure." Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, visited South Korea and Japan last week to discuss new ways of enforcing sanctions on North Korea. Authorization of the U.N. panel of experts that has been monitoring sanctions enforcement expires at the end of this month because Russia vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for an annual extension of its mandate. China abstained. Thomas-Greenfield said at an April 17 news conference in Seoul that it was "critical" for all U.N. member states to continue "receiving independent and accurate reporting of the DPRK's ongoing weapons proliferation and sanction evasion activities." She also said, "We will eventually find a mechanism to continue to do that reporting. And yes, Russia and China will continue to try to block those efforts." She added, "I don't expect that they will cooperate or agree with any efforts that we make to find another path, but that is not going to stop us from finding that path moving forward." Aaron Arnold, former member of the U.N. panel of experts and currently a senior associate fellow at the London-based Royal United Services Institute, said he believed it is possible to create an external monitoring body without Russia and China. "Although the report [of a new body] may not hold the same political legitimacy as a report produced under a [U.N.] mandate, relevant stakeholders such as banks will certainly make use of them," Arnold said. The U.N. panel produced reports twice a year detailing the violations of sanctions by U.N. member states, including China and Russia. "Everyone who reads the reports of the U.N. panel of experts knows the truth" that China is violating sanctions, said Joshua Stanton, a Washington-based attorney who helped draft the Sanctions and Policy Enforcement Act in 2016. "It has been illegally importing North Korean coal, knowingly hosting North Korean hackers, helping North Korea disguise its smuggling fleet, and hosting North Korea's money laundering and computer hacking networks," he said. "North Korean missiles even parade through the streets of Pyongyang on Chinese trucks." China is harboring at its port in its eastern Zhejiang province a U.S.-sanctioned Russian cargo ship, the Angara, that transported arms from North Korea, Reuters reported Thursday, citing the Royal United Services Institute's findings. Eunjung Cho contributed to this report. 

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.

MIGORI, Kenya — As the coffin bearing the body of Rosebella Awuor was lowered into the grave, heart-wrenching sobs from mourners filled the air. Her sister Winnie Akinyi, the guardian to Awuor's orphaned son, fell to the ground, wailing.  It was the latest of five deaths in this family attributed to malaria. The disease is common in Kenya, and it is preventable and curable, but poverty makes it deadly for those who can't afford treatment.  In the family's compound in the western county of Migori, three other graves are visible, that of Awuor's husband and their other two children who died from malaria before age 2.  Awuor, 31, fell ill in December and lost her five-month pregnancy before succumbing to malaria. Her 11-year-old son is the family's only survivor.  Malaria is still a significant public health challenge in Kenya, though some progress may be coming. Parts of Kenya participated in an important pilot of the world's first malaria vaccine, with a reported drop in deaths for children under 5. Kenya's health ministry hasn't said when the vaccine will be widely available.  The biggest impact is felt in regions characterized by high temperatures like Kenya's Indian Ocean coast, and places with high rainfall like the western region near Lake Victoria.  Kenya had an estimated 5 million malaria cases and more than 12,000 deaths reported in 2022, according to the World Health Organization. The WHO has declared April 25 as World Malaria Day.  Most of those affected are children under 5 and pregnant women.  New approaches needed Kenya continues to combat malaria with traditional methods such as distributing bed nets that are treated with insecticides, spraying breeding areas, and promoting early diagnosis and treatment, but experts say progress against the disease with those approaches has plateaued.  Public health expert Dr. Willis Akhwale, special adviser for the Kenya End Malaria Council, said the COVID-19 pandemic slowed the distribution of drugs and treatment.  He said innovative treatment methods are needed in the wake of drug-resistant cases reported in parts of Africa.  "We need to start looking at investments in new-generation medicines. That should then be able to counter any resistance in [the] foreseeable future," he said.  Akhwale said other needs include more funding and logistical support.  "In Kenya, the shortfall in terms of the need is almost $52 million, so we need to close that gap," he said, citing health ministry data. He recommended domestic funding and private sector support amid donor fatigue with crises around the world.  Wilson Otieno has been admitted to a hospital three times for malaria and has received outpatient treatment countless times. It's expensive for the 33-year-old accountant and father in the lakeside city of Kisumu.  Malaria is never "pocket friendly," he said.  Some progress has been made with local manufacturing of crucial medication.  The Kenya-based Universal Corporation Limited last year received the WHO's approval to produce an antimalarial drug known as Spaq, a combination of sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine plus amodiaquine.  The approval was an important step in Africa's capacity to make lifesaving medications, a new focus for governments and public health officials after vulnerabilities were exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Africa relies heavily on drug imports.  "It will really help in lowering the dependency for imports as we saw during the COVID era, where whatever was being imported actually had huge supply disruptions," said Palu Dhanani, the founder and managing director of UCL.  If you don't get the right medicine at the right time, malaria can cause unnecessary deaths, Dhanani 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.

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.

An inside look at the massive foreign aid bill approved by lawmakers in Washington. Find out more about the targets of the bill, including Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, and the Indo-Pacific. Plus, explore the role of artificial intelligence in the upcoming U.S. presidential election. This week on The Inside Story Politics, US Aid and War.

nairobi, kenya — About 1,300 delegates and 400 companies participated in the fourth American Chamber of Commerce summit in Nairobi, Kenya, where Kenya's president William Ruto says his country is ready for business — and means business. "The 2024 summit's theme — catalyzing the future of U.S. East Africa Trade and Investment intentionally — draws on the previous edition to develop a strategic platform for commercial advocacy, which will strengthen bilateral trade between Kenya and the U.S., as well as between our region and the U.S.," said Ruto. U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo participated in this year's summit — which ended Thursday — saying it's not enough to state the intentions of the United States to invest more and collaborate with Kenya. "You also have to show up and that's why I am here," she said. "And when we show up, we also have to listen and learn.'' Raimondo announces US-Kenya partnership In her first official trip to East Africa, Raimondo reiterated President Joe Biden's December 2022 message that the U.S. is all-in on Africa. To that end, she said she traveled with 14 members of the President's Advisory Council on doing business in Africa. "Africa has changed the narrative and the companies that are here today know that," said Raimondo. "And they reflect the optimism and the commitment from the U.S. business community about the opportunities in Kenya and across the continent." Raimondo also announced a partnership "to harness artificial intelligence, facilitate data flows and empower digital upskilling with Kenya." The partnership, she said, is the first of its kind with an African nation to promote the safe development and deployment of AI. In addition, seven private-sector deals on digital transformation and commitments were made involving companies including the NBA, CISCO, Pfizer, and Qualcomm. Two new grants by the U.S. Trade and Development Agency were announced to expand semiconductor fabrication in Kenya and the construction of a fiber network along the railways. Rebecca Miano, Kenya's cabinet secretary with the Ministry of Investments, Trade, and Industry, told participants that Kenya should be a destination for investors and not only because of its young, educated and innovative workforce. "We also have a green story: decarbonizing the world," Miano said. "Kenya is a key player." Miano said that up to 95 percent of the electricity consumed in Kenya is renewable. "We have a target to make it 100% in the next few years," she said. Summit explores tech, climate, energy The two-day AmCham summit brought together businesses to stimulate commercial opportunities, said Maxwell Okello, CEO of AmCham Kenya. This year's summit focused on key areas such as the tech space, climate action and green energy, said Okello. "I am sure you've walked around and seen the pavilion under the title 'Digital Transformation Africa,' which brings together technology ecosystems both Kenyan but American as well," said Okello. "Secondly, we have shone the light on ... matters related to climate action and green business because we know we need to be green as we are moving forward." Out of 400 companies at the event, Wandia Gichuru, CEO of Vivo Fashion Group, got a special shout-out from U.S. Ambassador to Kenya Meg Whitman, who said she was wearing a top made by Gichuru's apparel company. "We were very excited, not only she was wearing something Vivo, but she also made the announcement that we would be opening our very first U.S. store in Atlanta this May," said Gichuru. "... and we hope that the ambassador and our president will visit the store while they are in the U.S. for the state visit in May." President Ruto is set to visit the United States next month in the first state visit since he was elected.

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, France — World wine production dropped 10 percent last year, the biggest fall in more than six decades, because of "extreme" climate changes, the body that monitors the trade said Thursday.   "Extreme environmental conditions" including droughts, fires and other problems with climate were mostly to blame for the drastic fall, said the International Organization of Vine and Wine, or OIV, that covers nearly 50 wine-producing countries.   Australia and Italy suffered the worst, with 26 and 23 percent drops. Spain lost more than a fifth of its production. Harvests in Chile and South Africa were down by more than 10 percent.  The OIV said the global grape harvest was the worst since 1961, and worse even than its early estimates in November.  In further bad news for winemakers, customers drank 3 percent less wine in 2023, the French-based intergovernmental body said.   Director John Barker highlighted "drought, extreme heat and fires, as well as heavy rain causing flooding and fungal diseases across major northern and southern hemisphere wine-producing regions."    Although he said climate problems were not solely to blame for the drastic fall, "The most important challenge that the sector faces is climate change.   “We know that the grapevine, as a long-lived plant cultivated in often vulnerable areas, is strongly affected by climate change," he added.   France bucked the falling harvest trend, with a 4 percent rise, making it by far the world's biggest wine producer. Less wine being drunk Wine consumption last year was, however, at its lowest level since 1996, confirming a fall off over the last five years, according to the figures.   The trend is partly due to price increases caused by inflation and a sharp fall in wine drinking in China — down a quarter — due to its economic slowdown.  The Portuguese, French and Italians remain the world's biggest wine drinkers per capita.  Barker said the underlying decrease in consumption is being "driven by demographic and lifestyle changes. But given the very complicated influences on global demand at the moment," it is difficult to know whether the fall will continue.   "What is clear is that inflation is the dominant factor affecting demand in 2023," he said.  Land given over to growing grapes to eat or for wine fell for the third consecutive year to 7.2 million hectares.   But India became one of the global top 10 grape producers for the first time with a 3 percent rise in the size of its vineyards.   France, however, has been pruning its vineyards back slightly, with its government paying winemakers to pull up vines or to distill their grapes.   The collapse of the Italian harvest to its lowest level since 1950 does not necessarily mean there will be a similar contraction there, said Barker.   Between floods and hailstones, and damp weather causing mildew in the center and south of the country, the fall was "clearly linked to meteorological conditions," he said.

Victorian dress was forcibly imposed on Namibia’s indigenous ǂNūkhoe women by German colonizers in the late 1800s. Despite the origins, these styles persist today as a symbol of resilience. Lee Garises reports from Windhoek, Namibia. Camera: Jesaya Abraham

Washington — Bangladesh and Myanmar exchanged hundreds of their citizens from custody over two days this week, following a deal reached between the two countries. Bangladesh repatriated 288 members of Myanmar's Border Guard Police and other security agencies on Thursday, after Myanmar on Wednesday released 173 Bangladeshi nationals, mostly fishermen.  Officials of the Bangladesh border security agency Border Guard Bangladesh said a Myanmar navy ship, the Chin Dwin, left Cox's Bazar port early Thursday morning with the Myanmar police and immigration officials on board. The same ship brought the freed 173 Bangladeshi fishermen the previous day.  The Myanmar security personnel fled the fighting last month in the province of Rakhine between Myanmar's military and rebel Arakan Army and took shelter in Bangladesh. This was the second such incident of Myanmar border police and officials escaping to Bangladesh in as many months.  The Myanmar province of Rakhine, which borders Bangladesh, has been the site of heavy fighting between the rebels and Yangon's forces since October. While the Arakan Army is mostly ethnic Rakhine, the Muslim Rohingyas have borne the brunt of the Myanmar military's actions over the past few decades. Over a million Rohingyas who fled atrocities by the military in 2017 are currently living in makeshift shelters in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar district.  In February, 330 Myanmar police and officials were repatriated but nothing was sought in return. This time, officials said the Bangladesh Foreign Ministry took the initiative to take back their nationals who had either served their prison terms or were still in jail.    Despite the apparent success of the negotiations, analysts in Dhaka see this as a lost opportunity rather than a triumph. Long-term Myanmar watcher and defense analyst Mohammad Emdadul Islam called it an "empty gesture" and said the fishermen would have been released at some point anyway.  "If Myanmar had taken back 20,000 Rohingyas in return for the repatriation of their officials, then I would've seen it as a positive outcome," said Islam, who served as the head of mission at the Bangladesh Consulate in Sittwe, Rakhine, in the late 1990s and early 2000s.  Islam, a retired Army major, negotiated the release of 1,100 Bangladeshi fishermen from Myanmar prisons while serving at the consulate in 2001. He said the fishermen stray into Myanmar waters either because their boats have poor navigation equipment or they take a chance to illegally fish there.  Myanmar naval forces often intercept them and hand them to the courts, which sentence them to up to 12 years in jail — five for illegal fishing and seven for illegal entry.  Bangladesh's decision to promptly repatriate the Myanmar officials has also been the subject of debate among international human rights groups that campaign for the rights of the Rohingya people.  One such group, Fortify Rights, urged Bangladesh in February to investigate the Myanmar security personnel seeking refuge for potential involvement in atrocities against the Rohingyas. The group's CEO, Matthew Smith, told Dhaka's New Age newspaper that while it was important for Bangladesh to provide aid and protection to the fleeing officials, their past actions needed to be questioned.  "These border guards might have information that could help hold perpetrators accountable for the Rohingya genocide and other crimes unfolding in Myanmar, and they should be properly investigated," Smith said. Bangladeshi officials emphasize their desire to keep the border calm and not confront Myanmar. "[The border police] have been given shelter on humanitarian grounds and we are working to ensure their safe return," Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud told reporters in the southern city of Chattogram on Wednesday. Analysts agree that Bangladesh does not want to get into a direct conflict with Myanmar, but other factors make an investigation of sheltered officials difficult.  "The atrocities against the Rohingyas in 2017 were committed by special brigades of the Myanmar army," Islam told VOA. "These brigades are no longer deployed in the area. Besides, the officials and police who are coming across the border are not part of the regular army. They are mostly border police, intelligence, customs and immigration officials." Hasan Mahmud told reporters that what was happening in Rakhine was "Myanmar's internal affairs," even though it often spilled across the border in the form of stray artillery shells or fleeing officials. He said the Bangladeshi government, working closely with various countries, especially the United States, China and India, is putting pressure on Myanmar to take back the Rohingyas living in Bangladesh.  Meanwhile, Islam is concerned about the impact recent developments in Rakhine may have among the Rohingyas in Bangladesh. He said the Myanmar military has, in recent months, started recruiting Rohingyas to fight against the Arakan Army. "How will the Rohingyas living in Bangladesh react when they see their relatives and friends back home joining the Myanmar army, and how will authorities in Bangladesh tackle the reaction? This could be a big challenge," Islam said. In March 2022, the U.S. recognized the atrocities committed against the Rohingya population as a genocide.  This story originated in VOA's Bangla Service. 

Blantyre, Malawi — Malawi and Israel have signed a new deal for Malawi to send unskilled laborers to Israel. The agreement is a departure from a previous arrangement where nearly 1,000 laborers were sent to work in Israel through private labor agents. Malawi officials say the new deal will help address challenges workers were facing under the previous arrangement.  The memorandum of understanding comes a month after Malawi’s parliament allowed the government to proceed with its program to send laborers to work on farms and industries in Israel.  Currently, Malawi is expected to send about 3,000 unskilled laborers to work on various agriculture farms. Most of the workers will replace Palestinians who no longer work in Israel because of tensions sparked by the war between Israel and Hamas.   Malawian government spokesperson Moses Kunkuyu was part of a delegation that traveled to Israel to sign the deal. During a televised press conference in Lilongwe, Kunkuyu said the deal puts into place regulations regarding workers’ rights.  “We want to see that the citizens benefit, their rights are not trampled upon and that each party of the agreement … sticks to the provision of the agreements,” Kunkuyu said. “It is very easy to depart from this arrangement when there is no bigger force involved. So, the government is involved and even the challenges that these young people did raise when we visited them will not be there.”  Kunkuyu said some of the laborers in Israel told the delegation that some agents were not honoring terms and conditions in the contracts they signed.  Nearly 1,000 laborers were recently sent to work in Israel through labor agents. Kunkuyu, however, said besides farm laborers, some Israeli employers have expressed plans to come to Malawi to recruit skilled laborers in the construction industry, like builders, carpenters, welders and tile workers. The lawmakers in Malawi had earlier proposed that a recruitment exercise be done through their constituencies, saying this would provide an opportunity for those living in rural areas. Currently, most recruitment takes place in urban centers. Malawi’s foreign affairs minister, Nancy Tembo, led the delegation to Israel. She said the labor ministry will be responsible for recruitment of those willing to work in Israel.  “The Ministry of Labor will have to develop a plan and make sure that they understand the agreements, they are properly briefed, they know what is expected of them when they get to Israel. So, this is what the Ministry of Labor is working on at the moment,” Tembo said.  Malawi’s government began promoting work in Israel in November, with the goal of generating more foreign exchange revenue. Malawi’s finance minister, Simplex Chithyola Banda, said in February that $735,000 had already been transferred to Malawi through the labor export arrangement with Israel. Authorities say the next group of laborers is expected to leave for Israel in three weeks.

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.

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Joe Biden was in Syracuse, New York, Thursday to tout a deal to provide memory chip maker Micron Technology with $6.1 billion in federal grants to support the firm in building factories in the states of New York and Idaho. “We're bringing advanced chip manufacturing back to America after 40 years,” Biden said Thursday. He said the funding, paired with a $125 billion investment from Micron, represents the “single biggest private investment ever in history of these two states.” The investment will support the construction of two plants in Clay, a suburb of Syracuse, New York, and one in Boise, Idaho. The grant will unleash “$50 billion in private investment by 2030 as the first step towards Micron’s investment of up to $125 billion across both states over the next two decades,” the White House said in a statement. The deal was announced last week by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, who personally lobbied Micron to invest in his state. It’s the latest in a series of awards given by the administration, intended to shore up domestic production of advanced semiconductors using funds from the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022. The aim is to boost domestic manufacturing and reduce reliance on chip supplies from China and Taiwan. This investment will “supercharge Micron to build the most advanced memory chip factory in the world, Schumer said Thursday. “America's future will be built in Syracuse, not in Shanghai.” The administration recently awarded Samsung, Taiwan Semiconductor, Intel, GlobalFoundries, Microchip Technology, and BAE Systems, more than $29 billion in federal grants for chipmaking investments. It’s part of an effort to catch up in the global semiconductor manufacturing race currently dominated by China, Taiwan and South Korea. The U.S. share of global semiconductor manufacturing capacity has decreased from 37% in 1990 to 12% today, largely because other governments have offered manufacturing incentives and invested in research to strengthen domestic chipmaking capabilities, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association. To address such stiff foreign competition, the $280 billion bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act offers $52 billion in incentives for domestic semiconductor production and research, as well as an investment tax credit for semiconductor manufacturing. Manufacturing revival The announcements are part of the economic vision the president is offering to voters in his re-election bid – that he is working to create a manufacturing revival in the country, including in Republican-controlled districts such as where the Micron plant will be located. “Micron’s total investment will be the largest private investment in New York and Idaho’s history, and will create over 70,000 jobs, including 20,000 direct construction and manufacturing jobs and tens of thousands of indirect jobs,” the White House said. Ahead of the November presidential election, Biden’s strategy appears to be to announce investments in manufacturing facilities in Georgia, Idaho, North Carolina and Ohio, states where Democrats lack a strong foothold. It is not clear whether the approach will succeed as voters will not immediately feel the effects. The initial phase of the Micron project, for example, would see the first plant opened in 2028 and the second in 2029. Meanwhile, voters are concerned about high inflation, and dislike Biden’s economic job performance. A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll shows 34% of respondents approving of Biden’s approach on the economy, compared to 41% who favor the approach of former president Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee. Still, Biden’s trip to New York is an opportunity for him to celebrate another victory following a string of good news for the president. On Wednesday, he secured the endorsement of the North America’s Building Trades Unions and signed a $95.3 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan after months of congressional gridlock. Paris Huang contributed to this report.

Every April the sitting U.S. president and the White House media gather to make fun of each other. The star-studded White House Correspondents Dinner this Saturday is a good time to analyze how a president changes his speech to his audience. Here's VOA's Senior Washington Correspondent Carolyn Presutti about what to expect this year - in the middle of a campaign.