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Seoul, South Korea — South Korea’s left-leaning opposition won a decisive victory in Wednesday’s legislative election, as voters delivered a rebuke to the party of conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol. The main opposition Democratic Party and smaller allied forces are projected to control about 184 seats in the 300-seat National Assembly, according to preliminary figures released early Thursday by the National Election Commission. The opposition bloc is expected to fall short of a crucial two-thirds majority, however, which would have upended South Korean politics. With 200 seats, the opposition could have overridden Yoon’s legislative veto, proposed constitutional changes, and even impeached the president. If confirmed, the results will preserve the same basic dynamic that existed before the election – meaning opposition forces can continue to obstruct the domestic agenda of Yoon, who is two years into a single, five-year presidential term. Lee Sang-sin, who focuses on political science and public opinion at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said he expects “three years of deadlock” in Korean politics. Since taking office, Yoon has faced significant political barriers, since opposition forces already controlled the 180 seats needed to block any attempts to delay legislative procedures. But South Korea’s powerful presidency has given Yoon a relatively free hand in foreign policy. Yoon has used that power to move his country much closer to the United States, its longtime ally, as well as Japan, South Korea’s former colonial ruler. Foreign policy was not a main issue in the election, which was instead dominated by allegations of corruption, intra-party divisions and fierce personal attacks. Yoon’s overseas agenda may not be greatly affected by the election result, according to Benjamin A. Engel, research professor at the Institute of International Affairs at Seoul National University. “The National Assembly is extremely weak when it comes to foreign policy. They can critique and complain, but Yoon doesn’t have to change unless he wants to for political reasons — which he never seems to do — for better or worse,” Engel said. With a disappointing election result, Yoon may find more reason to prioritize foreign affairs, said Mason Richey, associate professor of international politics at Seoul's Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. “As a lame duck domestically, Yoon will likely focus as much or more than before on foreign policy, since that is where much of his formal power will be,” Richey said. “The question is how much he will be able to do that, if the jockeying in his own party leads to instability in the presidential office or key ministries,” he added. Some analysts suggest conservatives may distance themselves from Yoon, if they decide he has become a political liability closer to the next presidential election in 2027. Yoon has seen consistently low approval ratings as he deals with issues such as rising food prices, excessive housing costs, labor disputes and a plummeting birth rate. He has been embroiled in a series of scandals, including one involving hidden camera footage appearing to show his wife accepting a luxury Dior bag as a gift. He also has pursued criminal charges against critical journalists and media outlets at a record pace. Final results are not expected until later Thursday. Voter turnout stood at 67%, the highest in more than three decades for a legislative election. Lee Juhyun contributed to this report.  

The United States and Japan celebrated their decades-long alliance Wednesday night as President Joe Biden hosts Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the White House for a state dinner. The Japanese leader's visit marks a significant strengthening in defense and technology ties. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara has this report.

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NEW YORK — Donald Trump is now 0 for 3 in last-minute attempts to get a New York appeals court to delay his looming hush money criminal trial. An appeals court judge Wednesday swiftly rejected the latest salvo from the former president’s lawyers, who argued he should be on the campaign trail rather than “in a courtroom defending himself” starting next week. Trump's lawyers had asked the state’s mid-level appeals court to halt the case indefinitely while they fight to remove the trial judge and challenge several of his pretrial rulings, which they argue have seriously hindered the presumptive Republican nominee's defense. Justice Ellen Gesmer’s ruling, after a third straight day of emergency hearings on Trump’s delay requests, was yet another loss for Trump, who has tried repeatedly to get the trial postponed. Barring further court action, the ruling clears the way for jury selection to begin next Monday. “We’re here for this stay because there are restrictions in place that cannot operate in a constitutional way in a trial environment,” Trump lawyer Emil Bove argued at the hearing, which was held in a court basement lobby because the regular courtroom was in use. “It’s an incredibly important trial. It’s a historic, unprecedented proceeding,” Bove said, adding: “This can only be done once, and it must be done right.” Trump’s hush-money case is the first of his four criminal indictments slated to go to trial and would be the first criminal trial ever of a former president. Adding to a litany of complaints registered this week with the appeals court, Bove argued that trial Judge Juan Merchan “exceeded his authority” in refusing to postpone the case until the Supreme Court rules on an immunity claim Trump raised in another of his criminal cases. Trump's lawyers argue some evidence in the hush-money case could be excluded if the Supreme Court rules in his favor. Merchan last week declared that request untimely, ruling that Trump’s lawyers had “myriad opportunities” to raise the immunity issue before they finally did so in March, well after a deadline for pretrial motions had passed. Steven Wu, the appellate chief for the Manhattan district attorney’s office, echoed that sentiment at Wednesday’s emergency hearing. He argued that Trump's lawyers had months to raise immunity and other issues and should not be rewarded with a delay at the eleventh hour. “Staying the trial at this point would be incredibly disruptive,” Wu said. “The court, the people, witnesses have made extraordinary efforts to make sure this trial can take place on Monday.” “There’s a powerful public interest to ensure this criminal trial goes forward,” he added. Gesmer presided over the emergency hearing from an armchair, facing a hodgepodge of wooden seats, a collapsable table and a restroom. Trump is accused of falsifying his company’s records to hide the nature of payments to his former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, who helped Trump bury negative stories during his 2016 campaign. Cohen’s activities included paying porn actor Stormy Daniels $130,000 to suppress her claims of an extramarital sexual encounter with Trump years earlier. Trump pleaded not guilty last year to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. He has denied having a sexual encounter with Daniels. His lawyers argue the payments to Cohen were legitimate legal expenses. Trump already struck out twice this week with the appeals court. One appeals court judge Monday rejected his bid to delay the trial while he seeks to move it out of Manhattan. A different judge on Tuesday denied a request, framed as part of a lawsuit against Merchan, that the trial be delayed while Trump fights a gag order imposed on him in recent weeks. Trump's lawyers had asked Merchan last month to adjourn the New York trial indefinitely until Trump’s immunity claim in his Washington, D.C., election interference case is resolved. Trump contends he is immune from prosecution for conduct alleged to involve official acts during his tenure in office. His lawyers have not raised that as a defense in the hush-money case, but they argued that some evidence — including Trump’s social media posts about former lawyer Cohen — is from his time as president and should be excluded from the trial because of his immunity protections. The Supreme Court is to hear arguments in that matter on April 25. "This is a situation where a judge has exceeded his authority under circumstances with very, very serious federalism implications,” Bove argued at Wednesday's emergency hearing. Trump's lawyers also renewed their argument that Merchan should step aside from the case. They've accused him of bias and a conflict of interest, citing his daughter’s work as the head of a firm whose clients have included President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and other Democrats. Trump's lawyers filed a formal recusal request with Merchan last week. The judge rejected a similar request in August and has not ruled on Trump’s pending request. The judge has also yet to rule on another defense delay request, which claims that Trump won’t get a fair trial because of “prejudicial media coverage.” “Their recusal arguments are completely meritless," Wu argued. Trump's lawyers also took issue with a protocol Merchan put in place last month to manage a flood of last-minute court filings. And they revisited their complaints — aired at an emergency hearing Tuesday — about the gag order Merchan imposed on Trump last month that bars him from making public comments about witnesses, jurors and others regarding their connections to the case. Trump’s ability to campaign "is something that’s protected under the First Amendment, for President Trump and the American people,” Bove argued.

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.

For years, the U.S. state of Ohio was a solid indicator of American political opinion, choosing the winning presidential candidate in every election from 1964 to 2016. VOA Correspondent Scott Stearns reports that Ohio now appears more conservative, presenting a challenge for a Democratic Party trying to re-elect President Joe Biden and keep control of the U.S. Senate.

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.

washington — U.S. House lawmakers rejected an attempt to reform a controversial foreign intelligence program Wednesday, the latest blow in Speaker Mike Johnson’s effort to lead a narrow Republican majority. A renewal of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, failed to advance, 228-193, following a warning from former President Donald Trump on TruthSocial. Trump said that FISA “was illegally used against me, and many others. They spied on my campaign!!” he wrote, using all capital letters. A Justice Department investigation found in 2019 that surveillance of Trump campaign aide Carter Page continued for months after it should have ended. The law — also referred to as Section 702 — allows U.S. intelligence agencies to collect data on foreigners overseas without obtaining a warrant. But it has received the most criticism for so-called “backdoor searches” that allow collection of U.S. citizens’ data. An attempted reform would have required the FBI to secure a warrant before collecting data. “We’re enacting sweeping changes — 50 reforms, 56 to be exact — to the program that are in the base text that will stop the abuse of politicized FBI queries and prevent another Russia hoax debacle, among many other important reforms,” Johnson told reporters Wednesday morning. “No more of the intelligence community relying on fake news reports to order a FISA order, no more collusion.” But Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene — who has filed a procedural motion to remove Johnson from the speakership — said those reforms were not enough. “It's like asking the deep state to hold itself accountable,” Greene told reporters Wednesday. “The FBI is abusing American people's trust. The [Justice Department] has abused the American people's trust. So, this doesn't give me confidence that it will stop it.” Nineteen House Republicans voted against the bill. Democrats said Wednesday that the proposed FISA reforms had not secured their votes. “Whatever the vote count is, or whatever happens to that, it's because the speaker has chosen not to advance this issue in a single standalone process. If he chooses to go a different route, then we'll reassess,” Representative Pete Aguilar, chair of the House Democratic Caucus, said Wednesday morning. An attempt to pass surveillance laws failed in December when House leadership pulled a vote amid internal Republican divisions. Johnson argued to colleagues in a letter on Friday that the law would “establish new procedures to rein in the FBI, increase accountability at the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, or FISC, impose penalties for wrongdoing, and institute unprecedented transparency across the FISA process so we no longer have to wait years to uncover potential abuses.” Christopher Wray, the director of the FBI, warned against some of the proposed changes in a speech Tuesday to the American Bar Association. "Bottom line, a warrant requirement would be the equivalent of rebuilding the pre-9/11 intelligence 'wall,' " he said in his prepared remarks. "As the threats to our homeland continue to evolve, the agility and effectiveness of 702 will be essential to the FBI’s ability — and really our mandate from the American people — to keep them safe for years to come.” Unless Congress acts, authorization for the program expires on April 19. Jeff Seldin contributed to this report.

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Abuja, Nigeria — A sudden hike in electricity rates in Africa's most populous country, Nigeria, has sparked a backlash. Until now, Jude Okafor has spent an average $25 on electricity to run a frozen fish and meat business that he started in 2021. But since last week, when the government announced a rate hike of nearly 300 percent for electricity, Okafor says running his business has been tough.  "There is no escape. Light has gone high, fuel has gone high. And for a businessman, there's no way we can cope with that,” Okafor said. “If there's no light or fuel to ice our fish, what are we going to do? Our business is running down. This is [a] first-class act of wickedness."  The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) announced the price change last Wednesday and said only its bigger power consumers, about 15 percent overall, would be affected by the subsidy cut.   Authorities said consumers in that category enjoy up to 20 hours of electricity a day and that the rate hike was only fair to customers who receive fewer hours of light.  The decision to remove electricity subsidies is part of President Bola Tinubu's reform drives to ease pressure on the economy.   Authorities argue that state-controlled electricity rates are too low to attract new investors or allow distribution firms to recover their costs, leaving the sector with huge debts.  Economic analyst Ogho Okiti says the government’s move is a good one.   "The government is not able to pay those subsidies on time, and because they're not able to [pay] them on time, gas companies are withdrawing their gas supplies,” Okiti said. “The timing is right. I think the government had waited till April to do this because they expect power supply to improve from now because of [the] rainy season."  But the decision is being criticized by many, including businesses, manufacturers and workers' unions.  This week, the Abuja chapter of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture, or NACCIMA, said the decision would threaten the survival of many thousands of businesses already struggling to cope with soaring inflation.   "First of all, the timing is wrong,” said Dele Oye, national president of the NACCIMA. “We all know that electricity is underpriced, but to some extent, there must be some level of subsidy. There's nowhere in the world where there's no subsidy. We cannot compete if we have to pay everything at market value when we don’t see market value service from the government. We do our roads. We do our security as investors."  Nigeria last revised electricity rates four years ago. Authorities say the country could save up to $2.6 billion from the subsidy removal.  But a similar reform applied on petrol last year worsened a cost-of-living crisis for many Nigerians after the annual rate of inflation rose to more than 30 percent — its highest level in three decades.  Critics will be watching to see how this newest subsidy removal unfolds.

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 white house — Preparations take months. No detail is overlooked, for this is perhaps the most evolved form of diplomacy: the state dinner. As first lady Jill Biden prepares Wednesday to host her fifth state dinner, for Japan's leader, she made it clear that every aesthetic detail — from the crystal on the tables, to the food on the White House china, the decor in the State Dining Room, the music and the fashion — drips with diplomatic significance. This dinner, she said in her preview of the event, makes frequent reference to Washington's famous cherry trees, a gift from Japan more than a century ago. "As guests sit among the field of flowers, glass and silk butterflies from both our countries will dance over the tables, their graceful flight a reminder that as our nations navigate the winds of change, we do so together as partners in peace and prosperity," she said. The White House Historical Association lays out the high stakes, saying a state dinner "showcases global power and influence and sets the tone for the continuation of dialogue between the president and the visiting head of state." Roxanne Roberts, a style writer for The Washington Post who has covered state dinners for more than 30 years, likens the dinner to "the frosting on an already-baked cake." "The state dinner is the least important part of a state visit, but it's the thing that gets the most attention," she told VOA. "… And it sends a signal to not only the government of that country, but the people of that country that you're important to us. We care about you." That's reflected in the numbers. Records journalists requested from the State Department, which foots the bill, show that Obama-era dinners cost U.S. taxpayers more than $500,000 each. More recent dinner tabs have not been released. The food! Imagine, Roberts said, a lavish wedding. "It's as if," she said, "There was a marriage between the two countries and this is the wedding reception." The most obvious manifestation of that is on the plate. White House executive chef Cristeta Comerford said this menu took her "a couple of months" to design and field test. Over three courses, guests will take a tour through her Japan-influenced creations, starting with a nod to the beloved American twist on sushi, the California roll. Her version is rendered as a salad of house-cured salmon with avocado, grapefruit, watermelon radish, cucumber and shiso leaf fritters. Beef has been a fixture of past Biden dinners – the exception, of course, being the menu for the 2023 state dinner for Indian leader Narendra Modi, a strict vegetarian. Guests at this dinner, accordingly, will move on to a dry-aged rib eye steak with blistered shishito pepper butter, a fricassee of fava beans, morels and cipollini mushrooms and a sesame oil sabayon. And for dessert: a salted caramel pistachio cake with matcha tea ganache, cherry ice cream and a drizzle of raspberry coulis. "We wanted to bring a little bit of the cherry blossoms that are here on the Tidal Basin right here to our dessert, in order for everyone to enjoy the cherry blossoms that we enjoy every year," said White House executive pastry chef Susie Morrison. The wines, as is now custom, will be American. "The days when only French wines were served at state dinners are long gone," Roberts said. "Primarily because there were a lot of American vineyards who basically said, 'Whoa, what about us? We're cool.'" The fripperies! A temporary water feature in the White House's Cross Hall will feature live koi — "symbols of friendship, peace, luck and perseverance," Biden said. Paul Simon will perform for guests. And the first couples are exchanging gifts that include a three-legged black walnut table made by a Japanese-American-owned company, a set of records autographed by American singer Billy Joel, and, as a personal touch, "a framed painting of the Yoshino cherry tree that she planted with Mrs. Kishida on the South Lawn last spring." The fashion! Japan's first lady, Yuko Kishida, garnered rave reviews for her choice to don India's most culturally and technically fraught of garments, the sari, by draping and meticulously pleating five meters of green Kanjeevaram silk around her body for a summit of global leaders last year in New Delhi. As she landed in Washington for her first state visit on Tuesday — but her second trip to meet the Bidens — she greeted the couple in a flowing dress of autumn-toned watercolor florals. President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida wore suits, while the U.S. first lady donned a black dress with a deep keyhole neckline and razor-sharp tailoring. These decisions, Roberts said, are "more than just going off to the store and going, 'Oh, that's pretty. I think I'll wear that.'" And the pressure, she said, falls disproportionately on the leaders' spouses, who are traditionally women. "They're ambassadors for the clothing that they wear, the look that they have," she said. "And so all of those, all of those elements play into all of these choices. You know, the guys have it easy – just throw on the tuxedo." ... And finally, the faux pas! What could possibly go wrong? Surprisingly, not a lot, Roberts said, adding, "The truth of the matter is that these state dinners tend to go off without a hitch, because the planning is done so well." But, she said, mistakes sometimes happen. She described a long-ago dinner for Mexico's leader that featured "an elaborate desert that had a guy with a sombrero sleeping as a decorative piece." "It was meant to be charming and kind of fun, and it just hit wrong," she said. Another memorable slip, she said, was at a 2009 state dinner for India, where two uninvited reality stars crashed the event. "The fact that two people were able to get in who were not supposed to be there was, in fact, a scandal," she said. The East Wing, in its preview, chose to focus instead on the positive, with White House social secretary Carlos Elizondo homing in on the theme while raising the stakes of this impossibly complex event. "That's what we hope to capture," he said. "…the magic of spring in our lasting friendship, each detail chosen to create a once-in-a-lifetime experience."

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 — The tenacity of Ukrainian troops will soon be no match for Russia’s manpower and missiles should U.S. lawmakers fail to approve additional security assistance for Ukraine, the top American general in Europe told lawmakers, part of a stark warning about the direction of the more than two-year-old conflict. U.S. military officials have warned repeatedly in recent weeks that Russian forces have been able to make incremental gains in Ukraine and that without renewed U.S. backing, Ukraine’s forces will eventually falter. Testifying before the House Armed Services Committee Wednesday, the commander of U.S. European Command described the battlefield in blunt terms. "If we do not continue to support Ukraine, Ukraine will run out of artillery shells and will run out of air defense interceptors in fairly short order,” said General Christopher Cavoli, explaining that Kyiv is dependent on the United States for those key munitions. "I can't predict the future, but I can do simple math,” he said. "Based on my experience in 37-plus years in the U.S. military, if one side can shoot and the other side can't shoot back, the side that can't shoot back loses." Cavoli also said the failure of U.S. lawmakers to approve a $60 billion supplemental security package is already giving Russia a significant advantage. "They [Ukraine] are now being outshot by the Russian side 5-to-1," he told lawmakers. “That will immediately go to 10-to-1 in a matter of weeks. “We are not talking about months. We are not talking hypothetically,” Cavoli said. Multiple U.S. officials have warned that Ukraine’s military has been forced to ration artillery and air defense capabilities as Kyiv waits for U.S. lawmakers to approve the supplemental assistance. “We are already seeing the effects of the failure to pass the supplemental,” Assistant Secretary of Defense Celeste Wallander told the panel, testifying alongside U.S. European Command’s Cavoli. “We don’t need to imagine,” she said, blaming the lack of U.S. provided artillery for why “the Russian attacks are getting through.” That supplemental defense package passed in the U.S. Senate back in February, but leadership in the House of Representatives has so far refused to bring the legislation to the floor for a vote. During a press conference on Capitol Hill Wednesday, Republican House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson said lawmakers were continuing to “actively discuss our options on a path forward.” “It’s a very complicated matter at a very complicated time. The clock is ticking on it, and everyone here feels the urgency of that,” Johnson said. “But what’s required is that you reach consensus on it, and that’s what we’re working on.” House Democrats, however, have voiced frustration with Johnson’s refusal to call a vote. “The House has waited months now to approve the security package to help protect Ukraine,” said Representative Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee. “Weeks ago, we were too late. And now every day is at an extreme cost to our ability to deter Russia.” Another Democrat on the committee, Representative Elissa Slotkin, scolded Johnson, saying he needs to call a vote despite opposition from a small group of House Republicans. “We do need to get it over the finish line,” she said. “I accept that he’s at risk of losing his job over that choice, but that’s what leadership is — it’s the big boy pants and making tough choices.” Some Republicans, though, chastised Democratic lawmakers for what they described as misguided priorities. "We’ve got hundreds of thousands of Americans who are dying, fentanyl overdoses, child and human sex trafficking, not to mention 178-plus countries that are crossing our border,” said Republican Representative Cory Mills. “But, oh wait, that’s not the priority. Let’s secure Ukraine’s borders,” he said. VOA’s Katherine Gypson contributed to this report.

President Biden says Benjamin Netanyahu is making a mistake in how he is waging the war in Gaza, but the U.S. also blames Hamas for failing to reach a deal in Cairo. What are the implications of an Israeli incursion into Rafah? Plus, an update from Kyiv and the digital ‘haves and have-nots.’

ATLANTA — Donald Trump said Wednesday that an Arizona law that criminalizes nearly all abortions goes too far and called on Arizona lawmakers to change it, while also defending the overturning of Roe v. Wade that cleared states to ban the procedure.  "It'll be straightened out and as you know, it's all about states' rights," the former president told supporters and journalists after landing in Atlanta for a fundraiser. "It'll be straightened out, and I'm sure that the governor and everybody else are going to bring it back into reason and that'll be taken care of, I think, very quickly."  Though Trump has waffled on whether he supports abortion rights, he appointed three of the Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade and ended a federally guaranteed right to abortion. Now facing growing political backlash as Democrats notch victories around the nation by campaigning on abortion rights, Trump increasingly has been put on the defensive and urged Republicans to avoid supporting bans that are unpopular with many Americans.  Trump issued a video statement this week declining to endorse a national abortion ban and saying he believes limits should be left to the states. His statement angered some religious conservatives and energized allies of President Joe Biden who see abortion rights as one of Trump's weaknesses.  The Arizona Supreme Court ruling on Tuesday cleared the way for the enforcement of an 1864 law that bans abortion at all stages of pregnancy with no exceptions for rape or incest and allows abortions only if the mother's life is in jeopardy.  Biden called the 1864 Arizona law cruel.  "Millions of Arizonans will soon live under an even more extreme and dangerous abortion ban, which fails to protect women even when their health is at risk or in tragic cases of rape or incest," he said in a statement. "Vice President Harris and I stand with the vast majority of Americans who support a woman's right to choose. We will continue to fight to protect reproductive rights and call on Congress to pass a law restoring the protections of Roe v. Wade."  The decision drastically altered Arizona's legal landscape for terminating pregnancies. The court suggested doctors can be prosecuted under the Civil War-era law, though the opinion written by the court's majority did not say that.  Trump maintains he is proud that the three Supreme Court justices he nominated voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, saying states will have different restrictions. He supports three exceptions in cases of rape, incest and when the life of the mother is at risk.  He also spoke about a Florida law that bans abortions after six weeks, saying that "is probably maybe going to change also." Last week, the state Supreme Court upheld the state's ban on most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy and the ruling also clears the way for the state to ban abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.  "For 52 years, people have wanted to end Roe v. Wade, to get it back to the states. We did that. It was an incredible thing, an incredible achievement," he said. "Now the states have it, and the states are putting out what they want. It's the will of the people. So Florida is probably going to change."  Trump ignored questions about how he plans to vote himself on Florida's pending state constitutional amendment that would enshrine abortion access as a right of his home state's residents. He did not elaborate on what he thinks the level of restrictions and access should be in Arizona or any other state.