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President Joe Biden will host the leaders of Japan and the Philippines Thursday. The first trilateral summit between Washington and its two Asian allies is set to launch initiatives including bolstering maritime cooperation in the South China Sea. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara reports.

taipei, taiwan — Taiwan was struck Wednesday by its most powerful earthquake in a quarter of a century. At least nine people were killed and hundreds injured, buildings and highways damaged and dozens of workers at quarries stranded.  Taiwan is no stranger to powerful earthquakes yet their toll on the high-tech island's 23 million residents has been relatively contained thanks to its excellent earthquake preparedness, experts say.  Here is a closer look at Taiwan's history of earthquakes:  Why so many temblors? Taiwan lies along the Pacific "Ring of Fire," the line of seismic faults encircling the Pacific Ocean where most of the world's earthquakes occur.  The area is particularly vulnerable to temblors due to the tension accumulated from the interactions of two tectonic plates, the Philippine Sea Plate and the Eurasian Plate, which may lead to sudden releases in the form of earthquakes.  The region's mountainous landscape can magnify the ground shaking, leading to landslides. Several such landslides occurred on Taiwan's eastern coast near the epicenter of Wednesday's quake near eastern Hualien County, when falling debris hit tunnels and highways, crushing vehicles and causing several deaths.  How prepared is Taiwan? Wednesday's earthquake measured 7.2, according to Taiwan's earthquake monitoring agency, while the U.S. Geological Survey put it at 7.4. It damaged several buildings in Hualien but caused only minor losses in the capital Taipei despite being strongly felt there.  The earthquake hit in the middle of the morning rush hour yet only slightly derailed the regular commute. Just minutes later, parents were again walking their children to school and workers driving to offices.  "Taiwan's earthquake preparedness is among the most advanced in the world," said Stephen Gao, a seismologist and professor at Missouri University of Science and Technology. "The island has implemented strict building codes, a world-class seismological network, and widespread public education campaigns on earthquake safety."  The government continually revises the level of quake resistance required of new and existing buildings — which may increase construction costs — and offers subsidies to residents willing to check their buildings' quake resistance.  Following a 2016 quake in Tainan, on the island's southwestern coast, five people involved in the construction of a 17-story high-rise apartment building that was the only major structure to have collapsed, killing dozens, were found guilty of negligence and given prison sentences.  Taiwan also is pushing quake drills at schools and workplaces while public media and cellphones regularly carry notices about earthquakes and safety.  "These measures have significantly enhanced Taiwan's resilience to earthquakes, helping to mitigate the potential for catastrophic damage and loss of life," Gao said.  A wake-up call in 1999 Taiwan and its surrounding waters have registered about 2,000 earthquakes with a magnitude of 4.0 or greater since 1980, and more than 100 earthquakes with a magnitude above 5.5, according to the USGS.  The island's worst quake in recent years struck on Sept. 21, 1999, with a magnitude of 7.7. It caused 2,400 deaths, injured around 100,000, and destroyed thousands of buildings.  It was also a major wake-up call that led to key administrative reforms to improve emergency response and disaster reduction, according to Daniel Aldrich, professor of political science and public policy at Northeastern University.  "Observers strongly criticized Taiwan's response to the 21 September 1999 earthquake, arguing that it took hours for emergency medical response teams to arrive, that rescuers lacked training, and that the operations between government agencies were not well coordinated," he wrote in an email. As a result, the government passed the Disaster Prevention and Protection Act and set up two national centers to handle coordination and training for earthquakes.  "I think we're seeing the results in this most recent shock," he said. 

ACCRA, Ghana — When Efua, a 25-year-old fashion designer and single mother in Ghana, became pregnant last year, she sought an abortion at a health clinic but worried the procedure might be illegal. Health workers assured her abortions were lawful under certain conditions in the West African country, but Efua said she was still nervous. "I had lots of questions, just to be sure I would be safe," Efua told The Associated Press, on condition that only her middle name be used, for fear of reprisals from the growing anti-abortion movement in her country. Finding reliable information was difficult, she said, and she didn't tell her family about her procedure. "It comes with too many judgments," she decided. More than 20 countries across Africa have loosened restrictions on abortion in recent years, but experts say that like Efua, many women probably don't realize they are entitled to a legal abortion. And despite the expanded legality of the procedure in places like Ghana, Congo, Ethiopia and Mozambique, some doctors and nurses say they've become increasingly wary of openly providing abortions. They're fearful of triggering the ire of opposition groups that have become emboldened since the U.S. Supreme Court's 2022 decision overturning the nationwide right to abortion. "We are providing a legal service for women who want an abortion, but we do not advertise it openly," said Esi Asare Prah, who works at the clinic where Efua had the procedure — legal under Ghana's law, passed in 1985. "We've found that people are OK with our clinic providing abortions, as long as we don't make it too obvious what we are doing." The Maputo Protocol, a human rights treaty in effect since 2005 for all 55 countries of the African Union, says every nation on the continent should grant women the right to a medical abortion in cases of rape, sexual assault, incest, and endangerment for the mental or physical health of the mother or fetus. Africa is alone globally in having such a treaty, but more than a dozen of its countries have yet to pass laws granting women access to abortions. Even in those that have legalized the procedure, obstacles to access remain. And misinformation is rampant in many countries, with a recent study faulting practices by Google and Meta. "The right to abortion exists in law, but in practice, the reality may be a little different," said Evelyne Opondo, of the International Center for Research on Women. She noted that poorer countries in particular, such as Benin and Ethiopia, may permit abortions in some instances but struggle with a lack of resources to make them available to all women. Many women learn of their options only through word of mouth. Across Africa, MSI Reproductive Choices — which provides contraception and abortion in 37 countries worldwide — reports that staff have been repeatedly targeted by anti-abortion groups. The group cites harassment and intimidation of staff in Ethiopia. And in Nigeria, MSI's clinic was raided and temporarily closed after false allegations that staffers had illegally accessed confidential documents. "The opposition to abortion in Africa has always existed, but now they are better organized," said Mallah Tabot, of the International Planned Parenthood Federation in Kenya. She noted that a significant amount of money backing anti-abortion efforts appears to have come from conservative American groups — and several reports have found millions in such funding from conservative Christian organizations. The spike from opposition groups is alarming, said Angela Akol, of the reproductive rights advocacy group Ipas. "We've seen them in Kenya and Uganda advocating at the highest levels of government for reductions to abortion access," she said. "There are patriarchal and almost misogynistic norms across much of Africa. ... The West is tapping into that momentum after the Roe v. Wade reversal to challenge abortion rights here." Congo, one of the world's poorest countries, introduced a law in 2018 permitting abortions in the first 14 weeks of pregnancy in cases of rape, incest, and physical or mental health risks to the woman. Even so, pamphlets aimed at women who might want an abortion use coded language, said Patrick Djemo, of MSI in Congo. "We talk about the management of unwanted pregnancies," he said, noting that they don't use the word abortion. "It could cause a backlash." Accurate language and information can be hard to find online, too. Last week, a study from MSI and the Center for Countering Digital Hate found that Google and Meta — which operates Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp — restricted access to accurate information about abortion in countries including Ghana, Nigeria and Kenya. The study said the tech giants banned local abortion providers from advertising services while approving paid ads from anti-abortion groups pushing false claims about decriminalization efforts as part of a global conspiracy to "eliminate" local populations. Google didn't respond to a request for comment on the study. Meta said via email that its platforms "prohibit ads that mislead people about services a business provides" and that it would review the report. Opondo, of the international women's center, said she's deeply concerned about the future of abortion-rights movements in Africa, with opponents using the same tactics that helped overturn Roe vs. Wade in the U.S. Yet, she said, for now it's "still probably easier for a woman in Benin to get an abortion than in Texas." For Efua, information and cost were obstacles. She cobbled together the necessary 1,000 Ghana cedis ($77) for her abortion after asking a friend to help. She said she wishes women could easily get reliable information, especially given the physical and mental stress she experienced. She said she wouldn't have been able to handle another baby on her own and believes many other women face similar dilemmas. "If you're pregnant and not ready," she said, "it could really affect you mentally and for the rest of your life."

UNITED NATIONS — The United States and its Western allies are feuding with Russia over its diamond production, but they joined forces Wednesday to keep supporting the Kimberley Process, which aims to eliminate the trade in "blood diamonds" that helped fuel devastating conflicts in Africa. At a U.N. General Assembly meeting, its 193 member nations adopted a resolution by consensus recognizing that the Kimberley Process, which certifies rough diamond exports, "contributes to the prevention of conflicts fueled by diamonds" and helps the Security Council implement sanctions on the trade in conflict diamonds. The Kimberley Process went into effect in 2003 in the aftermath of bloody civil wars in Angola, Sierra Leone and Liberia where diamonds were used by armed groups to fund the conflicts. Zimbabwe's U.N. Ambassador Albert Chimbindi, whose country chaired the Kimberley Process in 2023, said in introducing the resolution that it would renew the General Assembly's "commitment to ensuring that diamonds remain a force for inclusive sustainable development instead of a driver of armed conflict." It was true in 2003 and "remains true now," he said, that profits from the diamond trade can fuel conflicts, finance rebel movements aimed at undermining or overthrowing governments, and lead to the proliferation of illegal weapons. The European Union's Clayton Curran told the assembly after the vote that the Kimberley Process "is facing unprecedented challenges" and condemned "the aggression of one Kimberley Process participant against another" — Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.  For the first time in its history, last November's plenary meeting of Kimberley Process participants failed to produce a consensus communique because of serious differences between Russia and the West. The key reason was a Ukrainian request, supported by the United States, Britain and others, to examine whether Russia's diamond production is funding its war against Kyiv and the implications for the Kimberley Process which Russia and several allies strongly opposed. Russia refused to support a communique that acknowledged Ukraine's request. And before Wednesday's vote, the deputy director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's economic department, Alexander Repkin, accused Western countries of sabotaging international cooperation on diamonds for "their own geopolitical interests." Alluding to sanctions on Russian diamonds by the European Union, Repkin accused the West and its companies of trying to gain a hold over the global production and processing of diamonds. He said "the further functioning of the Kimberley Process is at stake," but Russia will do everything it can to support its work. He noted that the plenary communique has served as the foundation for the General Assembly resolution on the role of conflict diamonds in fueling conflict but without one the resolution approved Wednesday "is largely technical in nature." The EU's Curran urged reform of the process "to broaden the definition of `conflict diamonds' to capture the evolving nature of conflicts and the realities on the ground." He said the EU will also try again this year to discuss the issue of the negative impact of the illegal trade in diamonds on the environment. Britain expressed regret at the failure to discuss the link between Russia's rough diamond revenue and their invasion of Ukraine, and reiterated the need for a discussion to ensure that the Kimberley Process deals with issues related to delinking diamonds from conflict. United Arab Emirates deputy ambassador Mohamed Abushahab said it's more important than ever to strengthen the Kimberley Process, which his country is chairing this year. The UAE has identified three ways: to establish a permanent secretariat which was approved at the end of March in Botswana's capital, Gabarone, to complete a review and reform of the process by the end of the year, and to identify digital technologies that can strengthen the Kimberley Process, he said.

WASHINGTON — Climate change and water scarcity are harsh realities facing Central Asia. Glaciers in the east, in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, are rapidly melting, while in the west, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, the Aral Sea has turned into a desert. According to the World Bank, almost a third of the region's 80 million people lack access to safe water, highlighting the urgent need to modernize outdated infrastructure. Afghanistan is building a canal that could exacerbate the crisis. Shrinking rivers, drying sea Last summer and fall in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, people living along the Syr Darya and Amu Darya rivers described to VOA extreme weather conditions — droughts and floods posing existential dangers. “It's all about water, our constant worry,” said Ganikhan Salimov, a cotton farmer in Uzbekistan’s Ferghana region, bordering Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. “This water is not just for us, but a source of life for the entire region,” he said, pointing to a muddy canal near his crops. The Syr Darya River originates in the Tian Shan Mountains in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, flowing more than 2,250 kilometers (1,400 miles) west through Tajikistan and Kazakhstan to the northern remnants of the Aral Sea, which has been gradually disappearing for five decades. The Amu Darya stems from the confluence of the Vakhsh and Panj rivers. Separating Tajikistan and Afghanistan, it runs for 2,400 kilometers (almost 1,500 miles) northwest through Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan into the southern remnants of the Aral. “We don’t fool ourselves with this magnificent view,” said a local resident who introduced himself only as Bayram, enjoying a hot day with his family on a bank of the Amu Darya in Uzbekistan’s Karakalpakstan Republic, adjacent to Turkmenistan. “It continuously shrinks and becomes nothing by the time it winds its way to the Aral Sea, which is nowhere to be found,” he said. Bayram is right. The Amu Darya and Syr Darya have shrunk by a third in little more than 70 years. The Aral Sea, once a vast inland sea, has diminished by 90% since the 1960s, as pointed out in a recent U.N. report. The northern end of the sea, bordering Kazakhstan, is more vibrant, but life has become nearly impossible around all its shores. Authorities insist they are working with international institutions to revitalize the local ecosystem, but VOA mainly heard stories of disillusionment from residents. A new water deal? Aggravating the situation, Taliban-run Afghanistan is building a 285-kilometer (177-mile) canal off the Amu Darya, which could draw off 20% to 30% of the water that now goes to Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Tashkent and Ashgabat have been in separate talks with the Taliban, who have argued that the purpose of the canal, called Qosh Tepa, is not to deprive their neighbors of a strategic resource but to provide more water for Afghans. Central Asian experts express concern over the quality of the Qosh Tepa construction, which started in 2022. Officials in Tashkent say they have offered Kabul technical assistance. Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev calls the Taliban “a new stakeholder” not bound by any prior obligations to their northern neighbors. Last September in Tajikistan, at a meeting on the Aral Sea, he proposed a dialogue of riparian countries. “We believe it is necessary to set up a joint working group to study all aspects of the construction of the Qosh Tepa canal and its impact on the water regime of the Amu Darya involving our research institutes,” Mirziyoyev said. No progress has been made since then, but Eric Rudenshiold, a former U.S. official with decades of experience working with Central Asian governments, believes the best outcome would be a new water-sharing agreement. “Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, all are facing water shortage issues, and so cooperation is really the only answer. And the question is, at what point these countries do that. Cooperation is much better than conflict,” he told VOA. They would not even talk to each other on these issues until recently, Rudenshiold said. “We've seen Central Asian states lean forward to engage with the Taliban, and I think that's a big step,” he said. While optimistic about the prospects for regional dialogue, Rudenshiold said he doubts Western governments will participate, given their strong opposition to the Taliban and its repressive policies. “I think the region is going to have to resolve this issue itself, not relying on international organizations or other powers, but actually having the countries come together,” Rudenshiold said. He sees enough leverage to negotiate: Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan provide power to Afghanistan. “The question is, how do you add water into that equation?” “Yes, Afghanistan can take water for agriculture and drinking water. The problem is it's still depleting, and Afghanistan needs to be part of the solution,” Rudenshiold said. America’s offering At a recent forum at the Wilson Center in Washington, U.S. officials and Central Asian diplomats highlighted growing water demand and worsening environmental conditions. Tajikistan’s ambassador, Farrukh Hamralizoda, said that “more than 1,000 of the 30,000 glaciers” in his country have already melted. “Every year, we suffer from floods, landslides, avalanches and other water-related natural disasters,” Hamralizoda said, adding that his mountainous country generates 98% of its electricity from hydropower. Kyrgyzstan’s ambassador, Baktybek Amanbaev, said glaciers have also been vanishing in his similarly mountainous country, which he said hosts 30% of the clean water in the five former Soviet republics that make up Central Asia. “We need effective water management to be able to estimate water reserves and flows,” Amanbaev said. To that end, the U.S. Agency for International Development is funding MODSNOW, a digital program for hydrological forecasting that uses satellite imaging to monitor snow depth and melt and water flows from the mountains. By providing governments and local stakeholders with accurate and timely data, the U.S. hopes to enable informed decision-making and sustainable management of resources. “With accelerated snowmelt and heavy rainfall events also comes the greater risk of landslides and other severe natural disasters,” said Anjali Kaur, the agency’s deputy administrator, also speaking at the Wilson Center.

washington — Education and immigration advocates say African students face high denial rates when seeking visas to study in the United States, and they are pushing for changes. Visa rejection rates are higher than elsewhere in regions of the Middle East, South America and Africa, with Africa experiencing the highest levels of disproportionate refusals, according to a Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration report released in July 2023. “Whenever we see that sort of data for any country, let alone a region of the world, it gives us pause,” said Fanta Aw, executive director of NAFSA: Association of International Educators. Aw told VOA that NAFSA and other institutions met a few times with U.S. State Department officials in 2023 to ask questions and push for visa adjudication changes. She said an investigation still is needed to understand what is happening. They are expected to meet again in the coming months. “They’re very committed … and do not want to see inconsistencies in different parts. … We had conversations about staff training at the country level and consular affairs level, and we had assurances that these things are being constantly monitored,” she said. Data collected through public records requests show that in 2022, half of the students from African countries who applied for a student visa were denied. In 2023, the trend continued. Ethiopian students had a 78% denial rate, followed by Nigeria at 75%, Kenya at 74%, Congo at 69%, Ghana at 63%, Zimbabwe at 47%, and South Africa at 17%. “What is the root cause here?” Aw said. “There needs to be assurance that [consular officers] on the ground are fully trained in the way they make determinations around this, that there is consistency in that. We need more visa appointment slots, because with the demand, if people are not even able to get a visa appointment, and when they get the rejection is this high, you can imagine the compounding effect of that.” In European countries, for instance, one in 10 students was denied a visa during the same time frame. The student visa, or F-1 visa, allows international students to enroll full time in U.S. government-certified institutions, and it is required for all international students. “For the past few years, we’ve been tracking this,” Washington-based immigration lawyer Leon Fresco told VOA. “And we happened to notice there’s this weird African disparity here. … Is this happening by inertia? Is this happening because [U.S. officials] wanted it to happen? … We just want people to know there’s this disparity. … [And] start the process of fixing it.” Word goes around Advocates say a high rate of visa denials discourages students from applying to U.S. institutions. “Word goes around, ‘Don’t bother, because you’re never going to make it,’” Aw said. “And that is not the message any of us want to see. … International education is one of the most effective bridge-building, because these are future engineers, future business, future scientists, future artists, future politicians.” Aw said countries like China and India are actively recruiting in parts of the African continent, and the United States is losing talent. “Don’t get me wrong — if students want to go to China or India, there’s nothing wrong with that or any other place. But it shouldn't be because they couldn't get here,” she said. Top priority U.S. officials told VOA that international students are a top priority for the Department of State and that all visa applications are processed on their individual merits according to U.S. immigration law. A State Department spokesperson told VOA that EducationUSA, a network supported by the U.S. government, is actively promoting U.S. higher education in Africa. “Demand for student visas has skyrocketed across many regions in recent years. Our missions in Africa, South and Central Asia, and the Western Hemisphere all issued more student and exchange visitor visas in [fiscal year] 2023 than ever before,” a State Department official wrote in an email. “With sharp increases in demand, a commensurate increase in denials is expected.” Aw recognizes that U.S. officials are working on visa adjudications. She praised the change announced in December by the State Department, which waived in-person interviews for student visa renewals. Students can now apply for renewal without traveling to their home country, as long as their visa was issued within 48 months and they meet other criteria such as never having been refused a visa. “We were pleased. … We see progress. … But even with that, it’s at the discretion of the consular affairs [official],” Aw said. In 2023, more students from Africa got visas to study in the U.S. than ever before, the State Department says. Compared to 2019 — before the pandemic — there is a 61% increase. Countries like Nigeria, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Eswatini, Ivory Coast and Madagascar saw the highest number of student visas issued in the past 20 years. In a January letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, some congressional leaders urged greater attention toward equity in student exchange programs and visa adjudication. They emphasized its pivotal role in fortifying diplomacy and bolstering the U.S. economy. “Because of these benefits, it is critical that foreign students from Africa are treated similarly to foreign students from other parts of the world. There should be no reason that the State Department data should reflect such disparities among similarly situated countries,” they wrote. The next report on international student visa issuance and denials is expected in October.

KEAN SVAY, KANDAL PROVINCE, Cambodia — Five years ago, Lun Sam Ath took out a $12,000 loan to build a new wooden house and repay a previous loan that she had used to buy a motorbike. The 45-year-old mother of five owed $200 a month to Amret, one of the country’s largest microfinance institutions (MFI), which she figured she could repay with help from her older daughter’s earnings from a garment factory job. But then her husband contracted hepatitis, and treatment was costly. After her husband died, Lun Sam Ath, who made about $180 a month in a garment factory, fell behind on payments. So, she decided to sell their house — along with a 10-by-20-meter plot of land. But with Cambodia experiencing a post-COVID real estate slump, it remains unsold. The MFI credit officers seeking repayment started pressuring Lun Sam Ath. "They would come to my home with several people, three to five motorbikes, and also bring the village chief with them," she said during a recent interview with VOA Khmer. She couldn’t handle the stress and shame. Last June she abandoned her home and rented a room for $40 a month, living with her three younger children, ages 9 to 14. In February, she moved to the capital, Phnom Penh, where she sells face masks on the street. She screens phone calls "since I am afraid the bank agents will call me" she said. "They [the MFI] can take my land and sell it now to pay off the loan." Lun Sam Ath’s loan was one of nearly 2 million outstanding microfinance loans in Cambodia as of the end of 2023, according to the Cambodia Microfinance Association (CMA). Cambodia’s population is about 16.5 million, and researchers say the ratio of microfinance loans per person is the world’s highest. The MFI sector was once hailed as a key tool for lifting Cambodians out of poverty by injecting capital into small businesses or farms unsuitable for traditional loans. Instead, thousands of Cambodians found themselves in a debt trap, taking out increasingly burdensome loans to pay back other loans, and taking increasingly extreme measures to escape the cycle of indebtedness. Substantial research conducted in Cambodia and in other developing nations found that while microloans helped many, especially women, the small loans have also made lives, like Lun Sam Ath’s, worse. Advocates say the MFIs in Cambodia frequently fail to clearly explain the risks of these loans to borrowers, who are often financially illiterate and use their land as collateral. Two local rights groups, Licadho and Equitable Cambodia, released a report, Debt Threats: A Quantitative Study of Microloan Borrowers in Cambodia, based on a survey of 717 households in Kampong Speu province, which is about 50 kilometers from Phnom Penh. "Widespread over-indebtedness has led to significant numbers of serious human rights abuses," the study said. It found 6.1% of households had sold land to repay a debt, while about 3% of households had a child drop out of school specifically due to a loan, often to start working to help repayment. The study, released in August, also found a spike in people increasing their borrowing to repay other loans. In 2012, 3.45% of loans went to repaying existing loans, which increased to 34.8% of loans in 2022. Am Sam Ath, operations director at Licadho, called for urgent intervention from MFIs and the government to protect borrowers. But he said loan officers employed by MFIs were often perpetuating the problem. Rather than approving loans for income-generating activities, these institutions were issuing loans for house repairs, medical expenses or repaying other loans. And Cambodia is seeing increasing reports of credit officers resorting to intimidation or other unscrupulous tactics to compel borrowers to repay their debt, Am Sam Ath told VOA Khmer in January. That month, the CMA released a study touting the "transformative impact" of microfinance loans. Kaing Tongngy, a spokesperson for the association, said there were more than 2 million borrowers across the country, "so it is unavoidable that some clients were unable to pay." The CMA impact study, conducted by development research agency M-CRIL, found that 31% of the 3,200 microfinance borrowers surveyed experienced substantial economic benefit and life improvements, while 36% reported some improvement over the past five years. And while nearly 6% of borrowers had reported selling some land over the past five years, 20% reported purchases of some land, according to the CMA report. Licadho’s Am Sam Ath said the CMA study "focused mostly on positive work of MFIs, but little on negatives." He and other like-minded advocates want to see "solutions and improvements in the sector." The growth of MFIs has been staggering. Starting with about 50,000 clients and a total loan portfolio of more than $3 million in 1995, the microfinance sector provided loans to 2.1 million households with a portfolio of $9.4 billion by the end of 2022, according to the CMA. That accounts for more than 30% of Cambodia’s estimated GDP of $29.96 billion. MFIs often tout the relatively high repayment rates as proof of the industry’s health. The National Bank of Cambodia in 2022 reported a sectorwide non-performing loan rate of just 2.5%. But researchers from Cambodia and Singapore said an obsession with "portfolio quality" was masking the true cost to individual borrowers. "These indicators hide how people are juggling debt from informal lenders to repay their loans. Consequently, claims about the social impact of microfinance are based on a flawed understanding of household borrowing practices," said their report, released last year with a grant from the National University of Singapore. "Lenders not only fail to measure the impact of their services, but they also have a conflict of interest in reporting on the abuses that their services have caused. So long as repayment rates are considered an indicator of success, then the risks associated with juggling debt are likely to increase," it added. According to a report by the National Bank of Cambodia, its officials have imposed fines or taken other administrative actions against MFIs that fail to follow existing regulations. Cambodia’s microfinance industry is being investigated by the International Finance Corporation’s (IFC) watchdog’s Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO), because of the reports of forced land sales and other human rights violations from advocacy organizations. CAO is reviewing six of Cambodia’s top IFC-funded microfinance institutions including Amret, which issued Lun Sam Ath’s loan. It declined to comment on her case in an email to VOA on March 16.

WARSAW — Poles vote in local elections on Sunday, selecting thousands of councilors and mayors who will play a key role in allocating billions in European Union funds and giving an early indication of their satisfaction with the government of Donald Tusk. Tusk's appointment as prime minister in December marked a turning point for the largest country in the EU's east, drawing a line under eight years of nationalist rule that set Warsaw at odds with Western allies and putting the nation of 38 million people on a resolutely pro-European course. The broad coalition which Tusk leads won a majority in October's parliamentary elections on promises to roll back judicial reforms implemented by the previous government that critics said undermined the independence of the courts, while boosting the rights of women and minorities. He has painted victory on Sunday for his liberal Civic Coalition (KO), the largest grouping in the ruling alliance, as essential if Poland is to avoid sliding back towards nationalist rule under the Law and Justice party (PiS). "Our dream -- once a beautiful dream, and today an increasingly better reality -- may end overnight," he told a rally in Warsaw on Friday, before an election blackout began. "If someone believes that freedom, human rights, women's rights, democracy, free economy, self-government - that all this is permanent, will defend itself ... we will lose it all again." PiS has repeatedly rejected accusations that it undermined democracy and human rights. 'Yellow card' With the three groups that form the ruling coalition running on separate tickets, the vote is also a chance for Tusk to cement KO's dominance in government. Elections to the European Parliament are scheduled for June, and Sunday's results will be closely watched in Brussels. While Tusk has unblocked billions in EU funds that were frozen over rule-of-law concerns and launched sweeping changes in the courts and state media, he has also faced criticism for not delivering on a host of election promises and questions over the legality of some reforms, particularly regarding the media. For PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the local elections offer a chance to send a warning shot to a government he accuses of lying about what it could achieve and about the record of the previous administration. "We have a chance ... to show the authorities who are at the helm in Warsaw today a yellow card," he told supporters on Friday, in a reference to the way soccer referees warn players. A second round of voting in mayoral races will be held on April 21.

Beirut — The Israeli military said on Sunday its fighter jets had struck Hezbollah sites in eastern Lebanon, where the Iran-backed group has a strong presence, in retaliation for one of its drones being shot down. A source close to Hezbollah earlier told AFP in the Baalbek region in eastern Lebanon that the strikes had targeted Janta and Sinfri in the Bekaa Valley. The Israeli military said on Telegram that "fighter jets struck a military complex and three other terrorist infrastructure sites belonging to Hezbollah's air defense network" in the region. It said the strikes were "in retaliation for the attack in which an Israel Defense Forces drone was shot down" by a surface-to-air missile on Saturday. Janta is an arid, mountainous region close to the border with Syria, while Sifri is in the center of the Bekaa Valley. A source in Lebanon's Civil Defense Department said there were no casualties from the strikes. Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged near-daily cross-border fire since the Palestinian militant group Hamas carried out an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7, triggering the war in Gaza. Hezbollah targets Israeli positions close to the border, while Israel retaliates with raids that go deeper and deeper into Lebanese territory and carries out strikes against the Shiite Islamist group's officials. The latest strikes in eastern Lebanon came after Hezbollah announced on Saturday evening it had shot down an Israeli Hermes 450 drone over Lebanese territory. Israel launched similar strikes against Hezbollah targets in the Bekaa Valley in February after the group said it had shot down a similar type of Israeli drone. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised speech on Friday that his movement had not yet used its "main" weapons and reiterated that Hezbollah would cease its attacks only when the war in Gaza ends. The cross-border hostilities have killed at least 349 people in Lebanon, mostly Hezbollah fighters, but also at least 68 civilians, according to an AFP tally. The fighting has displaced tens of thousands of people in southern Lebanon and in northern Israel, where the military says 10 soldiers and eight civilians have been killed.

GUNTUR, India — There's a pungent odor on Ratna Raju's farm that he says is protecting his crops from the unpredictable and extreme weather that's become more frequent with human-caused climate change. The smell comes from a concoction of cow urine, an unrefined sugar known as jaggery, and other organic materials that act as fertilizers, pesticides and bad weather barriers for his corn, rice, leafy greens and other vegetables on his farm in Guntur in India's southern Andhra Pradesh state. The region is frequently hit by cyclones and extreme heat, and farmers say that so-called natural farming protects their crops because the soil can hold more water, and their more robust roots help the plants withstand strong winds. Andhra Pradesh has become a positive example of the benefits of natural farming, and advocates say active government support is the primary driver for the state's success. Experts say these methods should be expanded across India's vast agricultural lands as climate change and decreasing profits have led to multiple farmers' protests this year. But fledgling government support across the country for these methods means most farmers still use chemical pesticides and fertilizers, making them more vulnerable when extreme weather hits. Many farmers are calling for greater federal and state investment to help farms switch to more climate change-proof practices. For many, the benefits of greater investment in natural farming are already obvious: In December, Cyclone Michaung, a storm moving up to 110 kph brought heavy rainfall across India's southeastern coast, flooding towns and fields. A preliminary assessment conducted a few weeks later found that 600,000 acres of crops were destroyed in Andhra Pradesh state. On Raju's natural farm, however, where he was growing rice at the time, "the rainwater on our farms seeped into the ground in one day," he said. The soil can absorb more water because it's more porous than pesticide-laden soil which is crusty and dry. Planting different kinds of crops throughout the year — as opposed to the more standard single crop farms — also helps keep the soil healthy, he said. But neighboring farmer Srikanth Kanapala's fields, which rely on chemical pesticides and fertilizers, were flooded for four days after the cyclone. He said seeing Raju's crops hold firm while his failed has made him curious about alternative farming methods. "I incurred huge losses," said Kanapala, who estimates he lost up to $600 because of the cyclone, a substantial sum for a small farmer in India. "For the next planting season, I plan to use natural farming methods too." Local and federal government initiatives have resulted in an estimated 700,000 farmers shifting to natural farming in the state according to Rythu Sadhikara Samstha, a government-backed not-for-profit launched in 2016 to promote natural farming. The state of Andhra Pradesh hopes to inspire all of its 6 million farmers to take up natural farming by the end of the decade. The Indian federal government's agriculture ministry has spent upward of $8 million to promote natural farming and says farmers tilling nearly a million acres across the country have shifted to the practice. In March last year, India's junior minister for agriculture said he hoped at least 25% of farms across India would use organic and natural farming techniques. But farmers like Meerabi Chunduru, one of the first in the region to switch to natural farming, said more government and political support is needed. Chunduru said she switched to the practice after her husband's health deteriorated, which she believes is because of prolonged exposure to some harmful pesticides. While the health effects of various pesticides have not yet been studied in detail, farm workers around the world have long claimed extended exposure has caused health problems. In February, a Philadelphia jury awarded $2.25 billion in damages in a case where a weed killer with glyphosate — restricted in India since just 2022 — was linked to a resident's blood cancer. In India, 63 farmers died in the western state of Maharashtra in 2017, believed to be linked to a pesticide containing the chemical Diafenthiuron, which is currently banned in the European Union, but not in India. "Right now, not many politicians are talking about natural farming. There is some support but we need more," said Chunduru. She called for more subsidies for seeds such as groundnuts, black gram, sorghum, vegetable crops and corn that can help farmers make the switch. Farmers' rights activists said skepticism about natural farming among political leaders, government bureaucrats and scientists is still pervasive because they still trust the existing farming models that use fertilizers, insecticides and pesticides to achieve maximum productivity. In the short-term, chemical alternatives can be cheaper and more effective, but in the long term they take a toll on the soil's health, meaning larger quantities of chemicals are needed to maintain crops, causing a cycle of greater costs and poorer soil, natural farming advocates say. "Agroecological initiatives are not getting adequate attention or budgetary outlays," said Kavitha Kuruganti, an activist who has advocated for sustainable farming practices for nearly three decades. The Indian government spends less than 3% of its total budget on agriculture. It has earmarked nearly $20 billion in fertilizer subsidies this year, but only $55 million has been allocated by the federal government to encourage natural farming. Kuruganti said there are a handful of politicians who support the practice but scaling it up remains a challenge in India. A lack of national standards and guidelines or a viable supply chain that farmers can sell their produce through is also keeping natural farming relatively niche, said NS Suresh, a research scientist at the Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy, a Bengaluru-based think tank. But because the practice helps keep the plants and the soil healthy across various soil types and all kinds of unpredictable weather conditions, it's beneficial for farmers all around India, from its mountains to its coasts, experts say. And the practice of planting different crops year-round means farmers have produce to harvest at any given time, giving an extra boost to their soil and their wallets. Chunduru, who's been practicing natural farming for four years now, hopes that prioritizing natural farming in the country can have benefits for producers and consumers of crops alike, and other farmers avoid the kind of harms her husband has faced. "We can provide nutrient-rich food, soil and physical health" to future generations, she said. 

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ROME — An international campaign to ban surrogacy received a strong endorsement Friday from the Vatican, with a top official calling for a broad-based alliance to stop the "commercialization of life." A Vatican-affiliated university hosted a two-day conference promoting an international treaty to outlaw surrogacy, be it commercial arrangements or so-called altruistic ones. It's based on the campaigners' argument that the practice violates U.N. conventions protecting the rights of the child and surrogate mother. At issue is whether there is a fundamental right to have a child, or whether the rights of children trump the desires of potential parents. The conference, which also drew U.N. human rights representatives and experts, marked an acceleration of a campaign that has found some support in parts of the developing world and western Europe. At the same time, Canada and the United States are known for highly regulated arrangements that draw heterosexual and homosexual couples alike from around the world, while other countries allow surrogacy with fewer rules. Pope Francis in January called for an outright global ban on the practice, calling it a despicable violation of human dignity that exploits the surrogate mother's financial need. On Thursday, Francis met privately with one of the proponents calling for a universal ban, Olivia Maurel, a 33-year-old mother of three. Maurel was born in the U.S. in 1991 via surrogacy and attributes a lifetime of mental health issues to the "trauma of abandonment" she says she experienced at birth. She says she was separated from her biological mother and given to parents who had contracted with an agency in Kentucky after experiencing infertility problems when they tried to have children in their late 40s. Maurel says she doesn't blame her parents and she acknowledges there are "many happy stories" of families who use surrogate mothers. But she says that doesn't make the practice ethical or right, even with regulations, since she said she was made to sacrifice "for the desire of adults to have a child." "There is no right to have a child," Maurel told the conference at the LUMSA university. "But children do have rights, and we can say surrogacy violates many of these rights." She and proponents of a ban argue that surrogacy is fundamentally different from adoption, since it involves creating a child for the specific purpose of separating him or her from the birth mother for others to raise as their own. Monsignor Miloslaw Wachowski, undersecretary for relations with states in the Vatican secretariat of state, concurred, saying the practice reduces human procreation to a concept of "individual will" and desire, where the powerful and wealthy prevail. "Parents find themselves in the role of being providers of genetic material, while the embryo appears more and more like an object: something to produce — not someone, but something," he said. He called for the campaign to ban the practice not to remain in the sphere of the Catholic Church or even faith-based groups, but to transcend traditional ideological and political boundaries. "We shouldn't close ourselves among those who think exactly the same way," he said. "Rather, we should open up to pragmatic alliances to realize a common goal." The Vatican's overall position, which is expected to be crystalized in a position paper Monday on human dignity, stems from its belief that human life begins at conception and must be given the consequent respect and dignity from that moment on. The Vatican also holds that human life should be created through intercourse between husband and wife, not in a petri dish, and that surrogacy takes in vitro fertilization a step further by "commercializing" the resulting embryo. As the conference was getting underway, Italy's main gay family advocacy group, Rainbow Families, sponsored a pro-surrogacy counter-rally nearby. The aim was to also voice opposition to proposals by Italy's hard-right-led government to make it a crime for Italians to use surrogates abroad, even in countries where the practice is legal. "We are families, not crimes," said banners held by some of the 200 or so participants, many of them gay couples who traveled abroad to have children via surrogate. A 2004 law already banned surrogacy in Italy. The proposed law would make it illegal in Italy for citizens to engage a surrogate mother in another country, with prison terms of up to three years and fines of up to 1 million euros ($1.15 million) for convictions. Participants at the rally complained that the law would stigmatize their children and they denied anyone's rights or dignity was violated in the surrogacy process, which they noted was legal and regulated. "All parties involved are consenting, aware," said Cristiano Giraldi, who with his partner Giorgio Duca used a surrogate in the U.S. to have their 10-year-old twins. "We have a stable relationship with our carrier, our children know her. So actually there is no exploitation, there is none of the things that they want the public to believe." In the U.S., Resolve, the National Infertility Association, which advocates for people experiencing infertility problems, has criticized any calls for a universal ban on surrogacy as harmful and hurtful to the many people experiencing the "disease of infertility." "Resolve believes that everyone deserves the right to build a family and should have access to all family building options," Betsy Campbell, Resolve's chief engagement officer, said in a telephone interview. "Surrogacy, and specifically gestational carrier surrogacy, is an option." She said the U.S. regulations, which include separate legal representation for the surrogate and the intended parents, and mental health and other evaluations, safeguard all parties in the process and that regardless less than 2% of pregnancies in the U.S. using assisted reproductive technology involves surrogacy. "Most people do not expect to have infertility or to need medical assistance to build their families," she said. "So when non-medical people speak about IVF and surrogacy in a negative way, it can be very discouraging and make an already challenging journey all the more challenging." Velina Todorova, a Bulgarian member of the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child, told the Rome conference that the U.N. committee hasn't taken a definitive position on surrogacy, but that its concern was the rights of children born via the practice. It was a reference to legislation to prevent parents from being able to register the births of children born through surrogacy in their home countries.

BUNEOS AIRES, Argentina — An Argentine judge on Friday ruled that 20 cloistered nuns had suffered abuse for more than two decades at the hands of high-ranking clergy in the country's conservative north, and ordered the accused archbishop and church officials to undergo psychological treatment and training in gender discrimination. The ruling in the homeland of Pope Francis cast a spotlight on the long-standing of abuse of nuns by priests and bishops in the Catholic Church. Though long overshadowed by other church scandals, such abuses in religious life are increasingly being aired and denounced as a result of nuns feeling emboldened by the #MeToo movement, which has a corollary in the church, #NunsToo. "I conclude and affirm that the nuns have suffered acts of gender violence religiously, physically, psychologically and economically for more than 20 years," Judge Carolina Cáceres said in the ruling from Salta in northwestern Argentina. She also ordered the verdict be conveyed to Francis. The four accused clergy members have denied committing any violence. The archbishop's lawyer, Eduardo Romani, dismissed Friday's ruling as baseless and vowed to appeal. Still, he said, the archbishop would abide by the order to receive treatment and anti-discrimination training through a local NGO "whether or not he agrees with its basis." The nuns' lawyer hailed the verdict as unprecedented in Argentina in recognizing the plaintiffs' plight and the deeper problem of gender discrimination. "It shatters the 'status quo' because it targets a person with a great deal of power," said José Viola, the lawyer. In recent years, several prominent cases have emerged involving nuns, laywomen or consecrated women denouncing spiritual, psychological, physical or sexual abuse by once-exalted priests. But complaints have largely fallen on deaf ears at the Vatican and in the rigid all-male hierarchy at the local level in Argentina, apparently prompting the nuns in Salta to seek remedy in the secular justice system. A similar dynamic played out when the clergy abuse of minors scandal first erupted decades ago and victims turned to the courts because of inaction by church authorities. The 20 nuns from the reclusive order of Discalced Carmelites at San Bernardo Monastery — dedicated to solitude, silence and daily contemplative prayer — brought their case forward in 2022, sending shockwaves through conservative Salta. Their complaints cited a range of mistreatment including verbal insults, threats, humiliation and physical — although not sexual — assault. The nuns describe archbishop Mario Cargnello as grabbing, slapping and shaking women. At one point, they said, Cargnello squeezed the lips of a nun to silence her. At another, he pounced on a nun, striking her as he struggled to snatch a camera from her hands. They also accused Cargello of borrowing nuns' money without paying them back. Cáceres, the judge, described the instances as "physical and psychological gender violence."

Strasbourg, France — Europe's top rights court will on Tuesday issue unprecedented verdicts in three separate cases on the responsibility of states in the face of global warming, rulings that could force governments to adopt more ambitious climate policies. The European Court of Human Rights, part of the 46-member Council of Europe, will rule on whether governments' climate change policies are violating the European Convention on Human Rights, which it oversees. All three cases accuse European governments of inaction or insufficient action in their measures against global warming. In a sign of the importance of the issue, the cases have all been treated as priority by the Grand Chamber of the ECHR, the court's top instance, whose 17 judges can set a potentially crucial legal precedent. It will be the first time the court has issued a ruling on climate change. While several European states, including France, have already been condemned by domestic courts for not fulfilling commitments against global warming, the ECHR could go further and make clear new fundamental rights. The challenge lies in ensuring "the recognition of an individual and collective right to a climate that is as stable as possible, which would constitute an important legal innovation," said lawyer and former French environment minister Corinne Lepage, who is defending one of the cases. Turning point The court's position "may mark a turning point in the global struggle for a livable future," said lawyer Gerry Liston, of the NGO Global Legal Action Network. "A victory in any of the three cases could constitute the most significant legal development on climate change for Europe since the signing of the Paris 2015 Agreement" that set new targets for governments to reduce emissions, he said. Even if the Convention does not contain any explicit provision relating to the environment, the Court has already ruled based on Article 8 of the Convention -- the right to respect for private and family life -- an obligation of states to maintain a "healthy environment" in cases relating to waste management or industrial activities. Of the three cases which will be decided on Tuesday, the first is brought by the Swiss association of Elders for Climate Protection -- 2,500 women aged 73 on average -- and four of its members who have also put forward individual complaints. They cite "failings of the Swiss authorities" in terms of climate protection, which "would seriously harm their state of health." Damien Careme, former mayor of the northern French coastal town of Grande-Synthe, in his case attacks the "deficiencies" of the French state, arguing they pose a risk of his town being submerged under the North Sea. In 2019, he filed a case at France's Council of State -- its highest administrative court -- alleging "climate inaction" on the part of France. The court ruled in favor of the municipality in July 2021, but rejected a case he had brought in his own name, leading Careme to take it to the ECHR. 'For benefit of all' The third case was brought by a group of six Portuguese, aged 12 to 24, after fires ravaged their country in 2017. Their case is not only against Portugal, but also 31 other states – every EU country, plus Norway, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom and Russia. Almost all European countries belong to the Council of Europe, not just EU members. Russian was expelled from the COE after its invasion of Ukraine but cases against Moscow are still heard at the court. The ECHR hears cases only when all domestic appeals have been exhausted. Its rulings are binding, although there have been problems with compliance of certain states such as Turkey. The three cases rely primarily on articles in the Convention that protect the "right to life" and the "right to respect for private life." However, the Court will only issue a precedent-setting verdict if it determines that these cases have exhausted all remedies at the national level. The accused states tried to demonstrate this is not the case during two hearings held last year.

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KIGALI, Rwanda — Rwanda is preparing to mark the 30th anniversary of the East African nation's most horrific period in history — the genocide against its minority Tutsi. To this day, new mass graves are still being discovered across the country of 14 million people, a grim reminder of the scale of the killings. Delegations from around the world will gather on Sunday in the capital of Kigali as Rwanda holds somber commemorations of the 1994 massacres. High-profile visitors are expected to include Bill Clinton, the U.S. president at the time of the genocide, and Israeli President Isaac Herzog. In a pre-recorded video ahead of the ceremonies, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that France and its allies could have stopped the genocide but lacked the will to do so. Macron's declaration came three years after he acknowledged the "overwhelming responsibility" of France — Rwanda's closest European ally in 1994 — for failing to stop the country's slide into the slaughter. Here's a look at the past and how Rwanda has changed under President Paul Kagame, praised by many for bringing relative peace and stability but also vilified by others for his intolerance of dissent. What happened in 1994? An estimated 800,000 Tutsi were killed by extremist Hutu in massacres that lasted more than 100 days. Some moderate Hutu who tried to protect members of the Tutsi minority were also targeted. The killings were ignited when a plane carrying then-President Juvénal Habyarimana, a member of the majority Hutu, was shot down on April 6, 1994, over Kigali. The Tutsi were blamed for downing the plane and killing the president. Enraged, gangs of Hutu extremists began killing Tutsi, backed by the army and police. Many victims — including children — were hacked to death with machetes. Kagame's rebel group, the Tutsi-led Rwandan Patriotic Front, managed to stop the killings, seized power and has since, as a political party, ruled Rwanda. Kagame's government and genocide survivor organizations have often accused France of training and arming militias and troops that led the rampage, sometimes saying they expect a formal apology. A report commissioned by Macron in 2019 and published in 2021 concluded that French authorities failed to see where Habyarimana's regime, which France supported, was headed and were subsequently too slow to acknowledge the extent of the killings. However, the report cleared France of any complicity in the massacres. What came after the genocide? After Kagame seized power, many Hutu officials fled into exile or were arrested and imprisoned for their alleged roles in the genocide. Some escaped to neighboring Congo, where their presence has provoked armed conflict. In the late 1990s, Rwanda twice sent its forces deep into Congo, in part to hunt down Hutu rebels. Some rights groups accused Rwanda's new authorities of revenge attacks, but the government has slammed the allegations, saying they disrespect the memory of the genocide victims. Kagame, who grew up as a refugee in neighboring Uganda, has been Rwanda's de facto ruler, first as vice president from 1994 to 2000, then as acting president. He was voted into office in 2003 and has since been reelected multiple times. What's the political landscape like? Rwanda's ruling party is firmly in charge, with no opposition, while Kagame's strongest critics now live in exile. Kagame won the last presidential election, in 2017, with nearly 99% of the vote after a campaign that Amnesty International described as marked by suppression and a "climate of fear." Critics have accused the government of forcing opponents to flee, jailing or making them disappear while some are killed under mysterious circumstances. Rights groups cite serious restrictions on the internet, as well as on freedom of assembly and expression. Some claim Kagame has exploited alleged Western feelings of guilt over the genocide to entrench his grip on Rwanda. Now a candidate in the upcoming July presidential election, Kagame has cast himself in the role of a leader of a growing economy marked by technological innovation, with his supporters often touting Rwanda as an emerging business hub in Africa. What about reconciliation? Rwandan authorities have heavily promoted national unity among the majority Hutu and the minority Tutsi and Twa, with a separate government ministry dedicated to reconciliation efforts. The government imposed a tough penal code to punish genocide and outlaw the ideology behind it, and Rwandan ID cards no longer identify a person by ethnicity. Lessons about the genocide are part of the curriculum in schools. However, a leading survivors' group points out that more needs to be done to eradicate what authorities describe as "genocide ideology" among some Rwandans. What does Rwanda look like today? The streets of Kigali are clean and free of potholes. Littering is banned. Tech entrepreneurs flock here from far and wide. Stylish new buildings give the city a modern look and an innovation center aims at nurturing local talent in the digital culture. But poverty is rampant outside Kigali, with most people still surviving on subsistence farming. Tin-roofed shacks that dotted the countryside in 1994 remain ubiquitous across Rwanda. The nation is young, however, with every other citizen under the age of 30, giving hope to aspirations for a post-genocide society in which ethnic or tribal membership doesn't come first. Corruption among officials is not as widespread as among other governments in this part of Africa, thanks in part to a policy of zero-tolerance for graft.  Are there troubles on the horizon? Though mostly peaceful, Rwanda has had troubled relations with its neighbors. Recently, tensions have flared with Congo, with the two countries' leaders accusing one another of supporting various armed groups. Congo claims Rwanda is backing M23 rebels, who are mostly Tutsi fighters based in a remote area of eastern Congo. The M23 rebellion has displaced hundreds of thousands in Congo's North Kivu's province in recent years. Rwanda says Congo's military is recruiting Hutu men who took part in the 1994 massacres. U.N. experts have cited "solid evidence" that members of Rwanda's armed forces were conducting operations in eastern Congo in support of M23, and in February, amid a dramatic military build-up along the border, Washington urged Rwandan authorities to withdraw troops and missile systems from Congo. In January, Burundi, whose troops are fighting alongside the Congolese military in eastern Congo, closed its border with Rwanda and started deporting Rwandans. This happened not long after Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye accused Rwanda of backing Congo-based rebels opposed to his government. Rwanda denies the allegation. Rwanda has also been in the news recently over a deal with Britain that would see migrants who cross the English Channel in small boats sent to Rwanda, where they would remain permanently. The plan has stalled amid legal challenges. In November, the U.K. Supreme Court ruled the plan was illegal, saying Rwanda is not a safe destination for asylum-seekers.

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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.