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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.

The Children’s Hospital in Kyiv is struck by Russian missiles, at least 31 people were killed in shelling across the country. Putin’s ally, Viktor Orban of Hungary met with President Xi in Beijing as NATO prepares for its annual summit, to be held in Washington this week. A surprise defeat is handed to Marine La Pen and her far-right party in French elections, and Iran has a new president elect. Japan and the Philippines sign a military agreement. Plus, June set records for heat and journalists in Ghana are facing threats for covering environmental issues.

Washington — The United States plans to broaden oversight of foreigners' real estate transactions on properties close to military installations, the Treasury Department said Monday, as concerns involving Chinese land purchases grow.  "President [Joe] Biden and I remain committed to using our strong investment screening tool to defend America's national security, including actions that protect military installations from external threats," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement.  Under a proposed rule, more than 50 facilities will be added to a list of sites where surrounding property transactions may be reviewed by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) — taking the total figure to 227.  CFIUS's jurisdiction covers land purchases as well.  The concern is that a foreigner's purchase or lease of certain properties could allow them to collect intelligence or "expose national security activities" to foreign surveillance risks, the Treasury noted.  A senior Treasury official said CFIUS's jurisdiction was "country-agnostic" and did not specify if the latest rule was aimed at quelling concerns directed at specific countries like China or Russia.  In May, U.S. authorities announced that a Chinese-owned crypto firm was barred from using land near a strategic U.S. nuclear missile base, over national security concerns.  MineOne Partners Limited was ordered to divest from land it bought in 2022, which sat less than a mile from Wyoming's Francis E. Warren Air Force Base — home to Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles.  CFIUS had also raised concerns about the installation of "specialized" crypto mining equipment on the land which is "potentially capable of facilitating surveillance and espionage activities." 

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.

After recent years of mistrust, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends NATO’s summit in Washington on Tuesday, hoping to reset relations with Western allies. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul.

Talks to find a political way forward have started in France, following the stunning results of snap legislative elections Sunday that put the left, and not the far right, on top. The polls left the country with no clear political majority or path to forming a government, just three weeks before the Paris Olympics. Lisa Bryant reports from the suburb of Neuilly-Plaisance, just outside the French capital.

In 14 countries and territories, immigration accounted for more than 100% of population growth during this period.

The post In some countries, immigration accounted for all population growth between 2000 and 2020 appeared first on Pew Research Center.

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.

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas today announced the extension and redesignation of Yemen for Temporary Protected Status for 18 months, from September 4, 2024, to March 3, 2026, due to country conditions in Yemen that prevent individuals from safely returning.

Written by Juan Avilez, State and Local Policy Associate and Victoria Francis, Deputy Director of State and Local Initiatives  As we reach the mid-year point in 2024, most states have concluded their legislative sessions, and once again, immigrant-related policies have taken center stage. This year, legislatures advancing harmful policies targeting immigrant communities have stolen the […]

The post We’ve Tracked Over 700 Immigration Bills This Year. Here Are the Trends We’ve Seen. appeared first on Immigration Impact.

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 President Emmanuel Macron refused the resignation of the country’s prime minister, asking him on Monday to remain temporarily as the head of the government after chaotic election results left the government in limbo. French voters split the legislature on the left, center and far right, leaving no faction even close to the majority needed to form a government. The results from Sunday’s vote raised the risk of paralysis for the European Union’s second-largest economy. Macron gambled that his decision to call snap elections would give France a “moment of clarification,” but the outcome showed the opposite, less than three weeks before the start of the Paris Olympics, when the country will be under an international spotlight. The French stock market fell on opening but quickly recovered, possibly because markets had feared an outright victory for the far right or the leftist coalition. Prime Minister Gabriel Attal had said he would remain in office if needed but offered his resignation Monday morning. Macron, who named him just seven months ago, immediately asked him to stay on “to ensure the stability of the country.” Macron's top political allies joined the meeting with Attal at the presidential palace, which ended after about 90 minutes. Attal on Sunday made clear that he disagreed with Macron’s decision to call the surprise elections. The results of two rounds of voting left no obvious path to form a government for either the leftist coalition that came in first, Macron’s centrist alliance, or the far right. Newly elected and returning lawmakers were expected to gather at the National Assembly to begin negotiations in earnest. Macron himself will leave midweek for a NATO summit in Washington. Political deadlock could have far-ranging implications for the war in Ukraine, global diplomacy and Europe’s economic stability. Still, at least one leader said the results were a relief. “In Paris enthusiasm, in Moscow disappointment, in Kyiv relief. Enough to be happy in Warsaw,” Prime Minister Donald Tusk, a former European Union Council head, wrote late Sunday on X. According to official results released early Monday, all three main blocs fell far short of the 289 seats needed to control the 577-seat National Assembly, the more powerful of France’s two legislative chambers. The results showed just over 180 seats for the New Popular Front leftist coalition, which placed first, ahead of Macron’s centrist alliance, with more than 160 seats. Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally and its allies were restricted to third place, although their more than 140 seats were still way ahead of the party’s previous best showing of 89 seats in 2022. Macron has three years remaining on his presidential term. Rather than rallying behind Macron as he'd hoped, millions took the vote as an opportunity to vent anger about inflation, crime, immigration and other grievances — including his style of government. The New Popular Front’s leaders immediately pushed Macron to give them the first chance to form a government and propose a prime minister. The faction pledges to roll back many of Macron’s headline reforms, embark on a costly program of public spending, and take a tougher line against Israel because of its war with Hamas. But it's not clear, even among the left, who could lead the government without alienating crucial allies. “We need someone who offers consensus,” said Olivier Faure, head of the Socialist Party, which joined the leftist coalition and was still sorting out how many seats it won on Monday. Macron warns that the left’s economic program of many tens of billions of euros in public spending, partly financed by taxes on wealth and hikes for high earners, could be ruinous for France, already criticized by EU watchdogs for its debt. A hung parliament is unknown territory for modern France and many people reacted with a mix of relief and apprehension. “What pollsters and the press were telling us made me very nervous so it’s a huge relief. Big expectations as well,” said Nadine Dupuis, a 60-year-old legal secretary in Paris. “What’s going to happen? How are they going to govern this country?” The political agreement between the left and center to block the National Rally was largely successful. Many voters decided that keeping the far right from power was more important than anything else, backing its opponents in the runoff, even if they weren’t from the political camp they usually support. “Disappointed, disappointed,” said far-right supporter Luc Doumont, 66. “Well, happy to see our progression, because for the past few years we’ve been doing better.” National Rally leader Le Pen, who was expected to make a fourth run for the French presidency in 2027, said the elections laid the groundwork for “the victory of tomorrow.” Racism and antisemitism marred the electoral campaign, along with Russian disinformation campaigns, and more than 50 candidates reported being physically attacked — highly unusual for France. Unlike other countries in Europe that are more accustomed to coalition governments, France doesn’t have a tradition of lawmakers from rival political camps coming together to form a majority. France is also more centralized than many other European countries, with many more decisions made in Paris.

Nairobi — A Kenyan court Monday found police acted unlawfully over the 2022 killing of a Pakistani journalist following a complaint by his widow, who welcomed finally getting "justice" in the long-running case. Arshad Sharif, a strident critic of Pakistan's powerful military establishment and supporter of former premier Imran Khan, was shot in the head when Kenyan police opened fire on his car in October two years ago. His widow Javeria Siddique and two journalist groups in Kenya filed a complaint last year against top police and legal officials over the "arbitrary and unlawful killing" of Sharif and the respondents' "consequent failure to investigate." On Monday, the High Court in Kajiado, a town south of Nairobi, rejected a police claim that the killing was a case of mistaken identity and that officers' believed they were firing on a stolen vehicle involved in an abduction. "The use of lethal force against Sharif by shooting him in the head was unlawful and unconstitutional," Judge Stella Mutuku ruled. "Authorities violated Sharif's fundamental right to life." Siddique, who followed the trial from Islamabad in Pakistan, expressed gratitude over the court's decision. "I cannot fully express my emotions, and I cannot bring Arshad back. However, I have set a precedent that those who kill a journalist cannot escape justice," the 36-year-old told AFP. "Today, hired killers are being punished." The judge also awarded 10 million shillings ($78,000) in compensation but granted the state's application to suspend the compensation decision for 30 days to allow it to file an appeal. 'Great precedent' Siddique's lawyer Ochiel Dudley described the decision as a "great precedent for police accountability." He told AFP the judge found "Kenya violated Arshad Sharif's right to life, dignity, and freedom from torture, cruel, and degrading treatment." In her ruling, Mutuku ordered Kenya's legal and police authorities to conclude their investigations into the case. These respondents must "take responsible actions, including to punish and prosecute police officers who killed Arshad Sharif, if found culpable,” she said. Sharif fled Pakistan in August 2022, days after interviewing a senior opposition politician who said junior officers in Pakistan's military should disobey orders that went against "the will of the majority." The country has been ruled by the military for several decades of its 75-year history and criticism of the security establishment has long been seen as a red line. Pakistan is ranked 152 out of 180 countries in a press freedom index compiled by Reporters without Borders, with journalists facing censorship and intimidation. "In my country today, there is no press freedom whatsoever," said Siddique, adding that she was "not optimistic" about receiving justice in Pakistan. But she added: "I finally feel that some form of justice has been achieved." Police in Kenya are often accused by rights groups of using excessive force and carrying out unlawful killings. Recently, criticism has flared again following the deaths of 39 protesters demonstrating against controversial proposed tax hikes in Kenya.

Beni, DRC — A military court in the volatile east of DR Congo sentenced 22 soldiers to death on Monday for "fleeing the enemy" during fighting with M23 rebels, a lawyer told AFP. Sixteen soldiers were handed death sentences in one case in the North Kivu province, and six others in a separate case, coming just days after 25 soldiers received a similar judgment. The latest sentences come as M23 rebels, which Kinshasha accuses Rwanda of backing, last week seized new terrain on the northern front of the conflict that has been ongoing for two-and-a-half years in the North Kivu province. A military court condemned 16 people in one case in the court in North Kivu. The prosecution had asked on Saturday that 22 people in the case be condemned to death. But the court on Monday instead handed down 10-year prison sentences to three defendants and acquitted three other people. In a separate case examined and judged on Monday in North Kivu six of the seven defendants were sentenced to death and one person was acquitted, lawyer Jules Muvweko told AFP. Last Wednesday, a court sentenced 25 soldiers to death during a one day trial for also "fleeing the enemy," lawyers said. Since the end of 2021, the M23 rebels have conquered vast swathes of territory in the province, nearly completely encircling the provincial capital of Goma.