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Blantyre, Malawi — A 72-year-old woman has shot to music stardom in Malawi, challenging societal norms in a country where elderly people are often abused, tortured or even killed over false accusations of witchcraft. Christina Malaya, now popularly known by her stage name, Jetu, is breaking the internet with her amapiano-style tracks. Jetu started her music career last year, at the age of 71 — soon after the death of her husband, in central Malawi, where she was staying. Relatives suggested she go to Blantyre to stay with grandchildren. Those grandchildren were “doing music,” she said, and asked her to join them as a way to overcome her loneliness and boredom. Under the management of her grandson, musician Blessings Kazembe, popularly known as Emmu Dee, Jetu has released three powerful singles: “Wakalamba Wafuna,” “Chakwaza” and “Simunatchene.” Her fans and admirers have crowned her the Malawian queen of amapiano — a subgenre of South African house music — which dominates the music scene in Malawi. Jetu is excited that music has allowed her to go places she never dreamed of visiting, including Johannesburg and Cape Town when she performed in South Africa in June. Her talent has earned her recognition as an ambassador for elderly people in Malawi, helping to reduce attacks and killings. Older people in Malawi are faced with attacks and killings on suspicion of practicing witchcraft even though Malawi law does not recognize witchcraft. Andrew Kavala, executive director of the Malawi Network of Older Persons' Organizations, told VOA that in 2023, his organization recorded 25 killings and 87 cases of violence, including setting fire to homes and assault. That was up from 2022’s 17 deaths. So far in 2024, he said, 17 elderly people have been killed and 89 have been abused. Kavala said his organization chose Jetu as an ambassador for elderly Malawians because of her strong appeal to youth, who studies show make 86% of the witchcraft accusations. “We are trying to explore means through which Jetu can use her platform to convey the message to the youth, ‘Stop bullying, stop abusing elderly persons,’” he said. Malawi’s youthful and renowned fashion designer Xandria Kawanga, owner of the House of Xandria fashion brand, has started to dress Jetu for events. “Most people at her age have already given up or they feel they cannot do anything, entertainment or arts, because they are old now,” Kawanga said “So, I thought one of the best ways [to help] is to complement her art and to give her that push.” Jetu and her grandson/manager, Emmu Dee, are working to promote their new song, which has a video that was was produced this month.

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.

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washington — The United States has handed over to the Uzbek government possession of aircraft that former Afghan air force personnel flew to Uzbekistan after the Taliban takeover of Kabul in 2021. A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department told VOA on Thursday that the ownership of “some aircraft” was transferred to Uzbekistan as part of the Department of Defense’s Excess Defense Articles program. “This transfer was agreed in the context of our strong bilateral cooperation on counterterrorism, counternarcotics and enhanced border security,” the spokesperson told VOA in an email, without saying how many aircraft were transferred to the Uzbek government. The fate of aircraft that were flown to Uzbekistan after the fall of Afghanistan into the hands of the Taliban has been a bone of contention between the Taliban and Uzbekistan for three years. Afghan air force personnel flew about 46 aircraft — 22 military planes and 24 helicopters — to Uzbekistan as the government in Afghanistan collapsed in the face of the Taliban’s advances in August 2021.   The Taliban, who consider the aircraft to be Afghan property, objected to the handover of the aircraft to Uzbekistan. “The Ministry of Defense [of the Taliban] clearly declares that the United States has no right to donate or confiscate the property of the Afghan people,” the spokesperson of the Taliban’s Ministry of Defense said in an audio message sent to media this week. The Taliban spokesperson also called on Uzbekistan to make a “reasonable decision” to return the aircraft to the Taliban. Local media in Uzbekistan reported last week that the U.S. ambassador said the aircraft had already been transferred. Tashkent has not commented yet on the transfer. However, Uzbek authorities previously said that the aircraft belonged to the United States because the U.S. government paid for them and that it would not return the military equipment to the Taliban. Tashkent-Taliban relations Alisher Hamidov, an expert on Central Asia, told VOA that the transfer of aircraft to Uzbekistan may complicate the relations between Tashkent and the Taliban. “The situation with the planes may now endanger Uzbekistan’s diplomatic relations,” he said, adding that Tashkent has been playing mediator between Kabul and other countries over the past three years. “The main goal was to bring Afghanistan [Taliban] to the international arena, restore relations and, of course, strengthen Uzbekistan’s economy and foreign policy,” Hamidov added. Uzbekistan has cultivated close relations with the Taliban, though it does not officially recognize the Taliban’s government in Afghanistan. On Thursday, the Taliban’s deputy prime minister, Abdul Ghani Baradar, attended the inauguration ceremony of the Termez International Trade Center in Uzbekistan’s border town of Termez. On August 17, the prime minister of Uzbekistan, Abdulla Aripov, visited Kabul and signed 35 trade and investment agreements valued at $2.5 billion. Malik Mansur of VOA's Uzbek Service contributed to this report, which originated in VOA's Afghan Service.

REHOBOTH BEACH, Delaware — Israel recovered the bodies of six hostages in Gaza, including that of Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, U.S. President Joe Biden said late Saturday. "Earlier today, in a tunnel under the city of Rafah, Israeli forces recovered six bodies of hostages held by Hamas," Biden said in a statement issued by the White House. "I am devastated and outraged." The Israeli military said in a statement early on Sunday that the bodies of Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi and Ori Danino had been brought to Israel. At least 40,691 Palestinians have been killed and 94,060 injured in Israel's military offensive in the Gaza Strip since October 7, the enclave's health ministry said in a statement on Saturday. The war was triggered when Palestinian Islamist group Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. On Saturday, clashes broke out between Israeli troops and Palestinian fighters in the occupied West Bank as Israel pushed ahead with a military operation in the flashpoint city of Jenin. Hundreds of Israeli troops have been carrying out raids since Wednesday in one of their largest actions in the West Bank in months. Goldberg-Polin, captured at a music festival near Gaza, appeared in a video released by Hamas in late April. "He had just turned 23. He planned to travel the world," Biden said. His parents, Rachel Goldberg and Jon Polin, "have been courageous, wise, and steadfast, even as they have endured the unimaginable," Biden said. "They have been relentless and irrepressible champions of their son and of all the hostages held in unconscionable conditions. I admire them and grieve with them more deeply than words can express," the president said. Biden vowed that "Hamas leaders will pay for these crimes. And we will keep working around the clock for a deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages." Vice President Kamala Harris said in a statement, "I strongly condemn Hamas’ continued brutality, and so must the entire world.” Harris, the Democratic candidate running to succeed Biden, said she and he would never waver in their commitment to free the Americans and all those held hostage in Gaza. Earlier, speaking to reporters in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, Biden said he was "still optimistic," about a cease-fire deal to stop the conflict. "I think we're on the verge of having an agreement," he said. "It's time this war ended." Biden added that "people are continuing to meet." "We think we can close the deal, they’ve all said they agree on the principles."

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.

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BISHKEK, KYRGYZSTAN — While Kyrgyz state media have portrayed the recent resettlement of residents of a Kyrgyz enclave in Uzbekistan in glowing terms, a different picture emerged during a VOA visit to the residents’ new home. At issue is Barak, a Kyrgyz hamlet of less than 1,000 inhabitants in Uzbekistan that was moved in April as part of a border deal with Uzbekistan. Barak is one of a number of parcels of land shared by Soviet Central Asian republics that, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, became problematic. The Uzbek territories of Shakhimardan, Sokh, Qalacha, and Jangail are all located within Kyrgyzstan's Batken province. Vorukh and Western Qalacha, two Tajik districts, are also surrounded by Batken province. Tajikistan's Sarvak lies within Uzbekistan's Fergana province. Enclave residents have long complained about stiff border control measures by the Central Asian governments that have hampered travel and trade. As a result, the enclaves often become flashpoints for border-related confrontations. Nurgul, a Barak primary school teacher who only provided her first name, described to VOA the difficulties of living in Barak, which was connected to Kyrgyzstan by a 3-kilometer road through Uzbekistani territory. "To reach Kyrgyzstan, we had to cross several border and police checkpoints. Border guards frequently closed the road, and this left Barak without food and medicine for weeks." She added that, exhausted by such difficulties, some of her relatives left Barak to resettle in Kyrgyzstan’s Osh province, about 20 kilometers away, in 2018. In late 2022, in accordance with a Kyrgyz-Uzbek border agreement, Barak’s territory was absorbed by Uzbekistan. In exchange, Kyrgyzatan received an equivalent parcel of land from Uzbekistan. In November 2022, Kyrgyz officials said that Barak residents would be permanently resettled in a new village in Osh province. The new settlement is called Jany Barak, or "New Barak" in Kyrgyz. Construction began in April and was to be completed by August 31, the anniversary of Kyrgyzstan's independence. Osh provincial Governor Elchibek Jantaev told local media in April that Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov had allotted $3 million for the construction of 101 new houses, a secondary school, and a health clinic for the resettled Barak residents and Kyrgyz state media provided extensive coverage of government’s resettlement works. An early May broadcast on Kyrgyz state TV described the resettlement as a historic event. The broadcast also presented interviews with several Barak residents who said they were joyous about being reunited with mainland Kyrgyzstan. A different picture That is not the picture that emerged during a VOA visit to the site of Jany Barak. Kalyssa, a retired accountant from Kara-Suu, a town in Osh province near Jany Barak, who would only let her first name be used, said construction is still in progress, adding, "people have questions about quality of the new houses. They are also worried the houses will not be completed until winter." VOA observed August 17 that the new houses being built are not winterproof and there are no paved access roads or sewage system. Nurgul, the primary school teacher from Barak, said Barak residents were not given a choice between financial compensation and housing. "Some people would rather take money instead of moving into government-built houses," she told VOA. Marat Imankulov, the head of Kyrgyzstan's Security Council – part of Kyrgyz President's Office – said in a May interview with Kyrgyz media that the land-swap deal allowing for resettlement of Barak could serve as model for "solving border issues with Tajikistan."  Some experts, though, have expressed doubts about land-swap solutions for enclaves. Chris Rickleton, a journalist based in Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city, wrote in a late April analysis paper published by RFE/RL that 2021 comments by Kyrgyz President Japarov’s ally and national security chief Kamchybek Tashiev about a potential transfer of Tajik enclave Vorukh to Kyrgyz control "were met with anger from Vorukh locals, not to mention a former top Tajik official who publicly lambasted Tashiev." Kyrgyz political analyst Emil Juraev, in an April interview, described Vorukh, compared with Barak, as "a massively more difficult situation, with around 40,000 people in Vorukh compared to just a few hundred in Barak." A Kyrgyzstani journalist who covered the enclaves for Kyrgyz media pointed to high economic costs from potential land-swap deals, saying Central Asian governments "are cash-strapped, and they cannot afford such costly resettlement projects." Uzbek officials have their own reasons to oppose further land-swap deals with Kyrgyzstan. An Uzbek government official from Ferghana province, which has jurisdiction over Uzbekistani enclaves of Shakhimardan and Sokh, told VOA on condition of anonymity that the two territories "have strategic importance for Uzbekistan." "They are major holiday destinations due to their picturesque sceneries and mountain lakes," the official said, adding that both enclaves house small Uzbek military outposts. Nevertheless, there are positive developments related to enclave solutions. Since November 2022, the Uzbek and Kyrgyz governments have eased border restrictions for Shakhimardan and Sokh inhabitants and have pledged to jointly develop the tourism potential of the enclaves. "This step is a crucial move forward," the Uzbek government official from Ferghana said.

JERUSALEM — The family of Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin announced the young man's death early Sunday, ending a relentless campaign by his parents to rescue him that included meetings with world leaders and an address to the Democratic convention last month. Goldberg-Polin, 23, was seized by militants at a music festival in southern Israel on October 7. The native of Berkeley, California, lost part of his left arm to a grenade in the attack. In April, a Hamas-issued video showed him, his left hand missing and clearly speaking under duress, sparking new protests in Israel urging the government to do more to secure his and others' freedom. Israel's announcement is bound to bring urgent new calls for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a deal to bring home remaining hostages. The Israeli leader has taken a tough line in negotiations and repeatedly said that military pressure is needed to bring home the hostages. According to Israeli media, he has feuded with top security officials who have said a deal should be reached urgently. President Joe Biden, who had met with the parents, said he was "devastated and outraged." "It is as tragic as it is reprehensible," he said. "Make no mistake, Hamas leaders will pay for these crimes. And we will keep working around the clock for a deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages." The family issued a statement early Sunday, hours after the Israeli army said it had located bodies in Gaza. "With broken hearts, the Goldberg-Polin family is devastated to announce the death of their beloved son and brother, Hersh," it said. "The family thanks you all for your love and support and asks for privacy at this time." There was no immediate comment from the army, details on the exact circumstances of his death or identities of other bodies recovered. Asked about the case earlier on Saturday, Biden said bodies were still being identified and that families were being notified. But he called for an end to the war and said cease-fire efforts were progressing. "I think we're on (the) verge of having an agreement," he said as he left church in Delaware. "It's just time to end. It's time to finish it." Goldberg-Polin's parents, U.S.-born immigrants to Israel, became perhaps the most high-profile relatives of hostages on the international stage. They met with Biden, Pope Francis and others and addressed the United Nations, urging the release of all hostages. On August 21, his parents addressed a hushed hall at the Democratic National Convention — after sustained applause and chants of "bring him home." "This is a political convention. But needing our only son — and all of the cherished hostages — home is not a political issue. It is a humanitarian issue," said his father, Jon Polin. His mother, Rachel, who bowed her head during the ovation and touched her chest, said "Hersh, if you can hear us, we love you, stay strong, survive." Both wore stickers with the number 320, representing the number of days their son had been held. It had long become part of a morning ritual — tear a new piece of tape, write down another day. "I find it so remarkable how nauseating it is every single time,'' Rachel Goldberg-Polin told The Associated Press in January, ahead of the 100-day mark. "And it's good. I don't want to get used to it. I don't want anybody to get used to the fact that these people are missing.'' She asked other people around the world to take up the ritual, too, not only for her son, who moved to Israel with his family when he was 7, but for the other hostages and their families. She and her husband sought to keep their son and the others held from being reduced to numbers, describing Hersh as a music and soccer lover and traveler with plans to attend university since his military service had ended. At events she often addressed her son directly in the hope he could hear her, urging him to live another day. Some 250 hostages were taken on October 7. Before the military's announcement of the latest discovery of bodies, Israel said it believed 108 hostages were still held in Gaza and about one-third of them were dead. In late August, the Israeli military recovered the bodies of six hostages in southern Gaza. Eight hostages have been rescued by Israeli forces, the most recent found on Tuesday. Most of the rest were freed during a weeklong cease-fire in November in exchange for the release of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Two previous Israeli operations to free hostages killed scores of Palestinians. Hamas says several hostages have been killed in Israeli airstrikes and failed rescue attempts. Israeli troops mistakenly killed three Israelis who escaped captivity in December.

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.

tokyo — Tropical Storm Shanshan brought torrential rain Sunday to Japan's Shizuoka area, 180 kilometers southwest of Tokyo, as weather officials warned the storm would linger for several more days.  Shanshan, packing winds of 65 kilometers per hour, made landfall Thursday, leaving landslides, flooded rivers, torn branches and scattered debris in its path. In southwestern Japan, people were busy cleaning up muddied homes and throwing out broken appliances.  So far, the storm is linked to at least six deaths, including three people who were trapped in a mudslide. It left one person missing and 127 people injured, according to Japanese public broadcaster NHK, which compiles reports from local governments.  Shanshan was barely moving at all as of Sunday morning, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.  The tropical storm triggered rainfall in an extensive area, even in places not in its path, such as the northernmost main island of Hokkaido, according to the agency.  Shanshan initially crept across the southwestern Japanese islands of Kyushu and Shikoku, then reached the main island of Honshu, meandering into coastal waters at one point but later moving back onto land.  Landslide warnings were issued in parts of Hamamatsu and Izu cities in Shizuoka Prefecture and Yokohama in Kanagawa, a port city near Tokyo, as well as at-risk spots in Tokyo. Tokyo in recent days saw mostly cloudy skies, with moments of sudden and intense showers.  People living in areas at risk for landslides were told to evacuate to local stadiums and community centers as a cautionary measure. Shanshan's exact route remains uncertain. It's expected to gradually move north Monday, then out over the Sea of Japan. 

MANILA, Philippines — A Vietnamese doctor who has helped seek justice for victims of the powerful defoliant dioxin "Agent Orange" used by U.S. forces during the Vietnam War is among this year's winners of the Ramon Magsaysay Awards — regarded as Asia's version of the Nobel Prizes.  Other winners announced on Saturday were a group of doctors who struggled to secure adequate health care for Thailand's rural poor, an Indonesian environmental defender, a Japanese animator who tackles complex issues for children, and a Bhutanese academician promoting his country's cultural heritage to help current predicaments.  First given in 1958, the annual awards are named after a Philippine president who died in a 1957 plane crash, and honor "greatness of spirit" in selfless service to people across Asia.  "The award has celebrated those who challenge the status quo with integrity by courageously confronting systemic injustices, transform critical sectors through groundbreaking solutions that drive societal progress, and address pressing global issues with unwavering resilience," said Susanna B. Afan, president of the award foundation.  Vietnamese doctor Nguyen Thi Ngoc Phuong carried out extensive research into the devastating and long-term effects of Agent Orange. She said she first encountered it in the late 1960s as a medical intern when she helped deliver babies with severe birth defects as a result of the lingering effect of highly toxic chemical, according to the awards body.  "Her work serves as a dire warning for the world to avoid war at all costs as its tragic repercussions can reach far into the future," the Magsaysay foundation said. "She offers proof that it can never be too late to right the wrongs of war and gain justice and relief for its hapless victims."  American forces used Agent Orange during the Vietnam War to defoliate Vietnamese jungles and destroy crops for the Vietnamese Communists, or Viet Cong, who fought against South Vietnam and the United States.  Between 1962 and 1971, the U.S. military sprayed roughly 11 million gallons of the chemical agent dioxin used in Agent Orange across large swaths of southern Vietnam. Dioxin stays in the soil and in the sediment of lakes and rivers for generations. It can enter the food supply through the fat of fish and other animals.  Vietnam says as many as 4 million citizens were exposed to the herbicide and as many as 3 million have suffered illnesses from it, including the children of people exposed during the war.  Indonesian Farwiza Farhan won the award for helping lead a group to protect the Leuser Ecosystem, a 2.6-million-hectare forest on Sumatra Island in his country's Aceh province where some of the world's most highly endangered species have managed to survive, the foundation said.  Her group helped win a court verdict that led to $26 million in fines against a palm oil company that burned forests and stopped a hydroelectric dam that would have threatened the elephant's habitat, the foundation said.  Miyazaki Hayao, a popular animator in Japan, was cited by the awards body as a co-founder in 1985 of Studio Ghibli, a leading proponent of animated films for children. Three Ghibli productions were among Japan's 10 top-grossing films.  "He tackles complicated issues, using his art to make them comprehensible to children, whether it be about protecting the environment, advocating for peace or championing the rights and roles of women in society," the foundation said.  The Rural Doctors Movement, a group of Thai physicians, won the award for their "decades of struggle … to secure adequate and affordable health care for their people, especially the rural poor," the foundation said.  "By championing the rural poor, the movement made sure to leave no one behind as the nation marches forward to greater economic prosperity and modernization," it said.  Karma Phuntsho from Bhutan, a former Buddhist monk and an Oxford-educated scholar, was cited by the awards body for his academic works in the field of Buddhism and Bhutan's rich history and cultural heritage that were being harnessed to address current and future problems in his country, including unemployment and access to high-quality education.  The winners will be presented with their awards and a cash prize on November 16 at the Metropolitan Theater in Manila.