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LONDON — The suspects who allegedly stabbed a journalist for an independent Iranian media outlet in London last week fled the country after the attack, police said on Tuesday. Pouria Zeraati, 36, a presenter for Persian-language Iran International, was stabbed in his leg last Friday afternoon outside his home in Wimbledon, southwest London. He was treated in a hospital for injuries to his leg and released on Monday. On Tuesday, Scotland Yard said three men carried out the attack. "Detectives have established the victim was approached by two men in a residential street and attacked," it said in a statement. "The suspects fled the scene in a vehicle driven by a third male." The suspects later abandoned the car, which is being examined by forensic experts, Scotland Yard said. "After abandoning the vehicle, the suspects travelled directly to Heathrow Airport and left the UK within a few hours of the attack," it said, without providing further details. London's Metropolitan Police had said after the stabbing that the motive was unclear, but that "the victim's occupation as a journalist at a Persian-language media organisation based in the UK" was being considered. Head of the police's anti-terror unit, Dominic Murphy, said police still "do not know the reason why this victim was attacked, and there could be a number of explanations for this." "All lines of enquiry are being pursued, and we are keeping an open mind on any potential motivation for the attack," he said. Iran's charge d'affaires in the U.K., Mehdi Hosseini Matin, on Saturday said that Tehran denied "any link" to the incident. The Met has said it had disrupted what it has called plots in the U.K. to kidnap or even kill British or Britain-based individuals perceived as enemies of Tehran. The Iranian government has declared Iran International a terrorist organization. The U.K. government last year unveiled a tougher sanctions regime against Iran over alleged human rights violations and hostile actions against its opponents on U.K. soil.

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new york — A U.S. judge on Tuesday rejected exiled Chinese businessman Guo Wengui's bid to dismiss an indictment accusing him of defrauding thousands of investors out of more than $1 billion.  U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres in Manhattan said prosecutors sufficiently alleged that Guo engaged in a pattern of racketeering through four fraud schemes, and that proving it was a matter for trial.  Lawyers for Guo did not immediately respond to requests for comment after business hours.  Guo has pleaded not guilty to 12 criminal charges including securities fraud, wire fraud, unlawful monetary transactions and conspiracy, including for money laundering.  According to the indictment, Guo and his accomplices defrauded investors in a media company, cryptocurrency and other ventures.  The indictment said Guo took advantage of his prolific online presence and hundreds of thousands of followers by promising outsized financial returns and other benefits.  In reality, the scheme allowed the co-conspirators to enrich themselves and family members and fund Guo's "extravagant lifestyle," the indictment said.  Two co-defendants face related criminal charges, and one defendant is charged with obstruction.  Also known as Ho Wan Kwok and Miles Kwok, Guo is a critic of China's Communist Party and a business associate of former U.S. President Donald Trump's onetime adviser Steve Bannon.  Guo has been jailed in Brooklyn, a borough in New York City, since his March 2023 arrest, with Torres and a federal appeals court rejecting his proposed $25 million bail package last year.  Jury selection in his trial is scheduled to begin on May 20.  Prosecutors also sought the forfeiture of various assets, including bank accounts, a $37 million yacht, a New Jersey mansion, a Bugatti, a Lamborghini and a Rolls Royce.  Guo filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Connecticut in February 2022. That case was later combined with the bankruptcies of other companies he controlled. Torres has twice rejected Guo's bid to stay the bankruptcy proceedings. 

NEW YORK — A company that provides services for immigrants in federal detention was ordered Tuesday to pay more than $811 million in restitution and penalties in a lawsuit alleging it used deceptive and abusive tactics. Nexus Services must pay roughly $231 million in restitution as well as penalties of $13.8 million to New York, $7.1 million to Virginia and $3.4 million to Massachusetts, according to a judgment filed in federal court for the Western District of Virginia in Harrisonburg. The Virginia-based company, its subsidiary Libre by Nexus and its three executives must also each pay more than $111 million in civil penalties. "This judgment is a victory for thousands of immigrant families who lost their life savings and were targeted and preyed on by Libre," New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement. "Libre exploited vulnerable immigrants and their families to pad its pockets, and that is illegal and unconscionable." James joined state attorneys general in Virginia and Massachusetts and the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in a 2021 lawsuit that accused the company of violating state and federal consumer protection laws. The officials said the company promised to secure immigrants' release on bond while their immigration claims were being processed but concealed and misrepresented the true nature and costs of its services. They said the company collected thousands of dollars in fees above the face value of the bonds and forced immigrants to wear painful ankle monitors. U.S. District Judge Elizabeth Dillon noted in her decision that the company isn't a licensed bail bond agent or a surety company certified by the U.S. Treasury but a "service provider that acts as an intermediary between immigration detainees and sureties and their bond agents." The company said in a statement that it intends to appeal the judgment, calling it a "shocking departure from normal American jurisprudence" as it was decided "without evidence, without a trial and without a damages hearing." "We continue to remain committed to serving our clients — people who suffer and sacrifice for a better life, and who do not deserve to be political pawns in an American legislature or an American courtroom," the company added.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. and like-minded countries must find new ways to monitor the enforcement of sanctions on North Korea after the mandate of a U.N. expert group expires this month, say former U.S. officials with deep experience in North Korea sanctions.   The U.N. Panel of Experts has been tasked with investigating whether member states are enforcing sanctions on North Korea for the past 15 years. But at a Security Council meeting on March 28, Russia vetoed a resolution calling for the panel's annual extension, and the panel will be disbanded after April 30.   This is the first time the Security Council has failed to extend the panel's mandate for another year. But Russia has grown closer to North Korea since Pyongyang began supplying weapons for Moscow's war in Ukraine in violation of the sanctions. The panel, consisting of eight experts and created in 2009, produced an in-depth report published twice a year describing cases that pointed to violations of the sanctions by U.N. member states and their entities and nationals. Those sanctions will remain in effect. Once the panel is no longer active, the U.S. and other countries that supported its work — such as the U.K., France, Japan and South Korea — will have to rely on other ways to monitor and enforce the sanctions.  Potential alternatives include the use of new or existing coalition groups, which can be "far more powerful than relying on the U.N. Panel of Experts," said Joshua Stanton, an attorney based in Washington who helped draft the Sanctions and Policy Enforcement Act in 2016.  Stanton said via email to VOA on Friday that Washington should see Moscow's veto "as an opportunity to break free of Russian and Chinese obstructionism, to build a better coalition, and to give sanctions investigation and enforcement the vigor the U.N. system always denied."  The Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), led by the U.S. and consisting of more than 100 countries, aims to curb the spread of weapons of mass destruction, including through interdiction.  It was created by former U.S. President George W. Bush in 2003 in response to a failed attempt by the U.S. and Spain to confiscate the cargo of a North Korean ship carrying ballistic missiles to Yemen in 2002.   PSI member states can rely on their national laws to authorize an interdiction, said Stanton.  Another international coalition is the Egmont Group, which aims to counter money-laundering and terrorism financing.  Created in 1995, it is comprises financial intelligence units from 174 member states that share information and collaborate to counter illicit financial activities. The U.S. Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network is a founding member. The U.S. is establishing another coalition with South Korea. On March 26, Washington announced it held the inaugural meeting of the Enhanced Disruption Task Force with Seoul aimed at blocking North Korea from procuring refined petroleum in violation of U.N. sanctions.  Anthony Ruggiero worked in the U.S. government for more than 19 years, focusing on targeted financial sanctions and proliferation issues, including those involving North Korea. He told VOA in a telephone interview on Monday that these multilateral groups, like PSI, are "always a benefit" to monitoring and enforcing sanctions. "We need those groups to say which authorities can take actions, whether through sanctions or enforcement actions or other mechanisms to stop these activities," added Ruggiero, who is now a senior director of the nonproliferation and biodefense program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.   He also said that "U.S. sanctions are more robust than U.N. sanctions" and the question is whether Washington is willing to enforce them fully, for example, by targeting Chinese and Russian companies, individuals and banks that hire North Korean workers in violation of sanctions. China has been accused of employing North Korean laborers to process seafood products and false eyelashes. Expanding cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang has spurred concerns that North Korean workers will flock to Russia for wages they remit to the state.  Aaron Arnold, a former member of the U.N. Panel of Experts who is currently a senior associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute based in London, said there will be opposition to sanctions monitoring outside the U.N. Arnold told VOA via email on Friday, "While Western governments will, of course, step in to provide intelligence and information about North Korea's sanctions evasion activities, the stark reality is that these efforts will be viewed with a great deal of suspicion by non-Western countries." 

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SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea said Wednesday it tested another new hypersonic intermediate-range missile powered with solid propellants as it continues to expand its nuclear and missile program in the face of deepening tensions with neighbors and the United States. The report by North Korean state media came a day after the South Korean and Japanese militaries detected the North launching the missile from an inland area around its capital toward its eastern sea. North Korean state media said the test was supervised by leader Kim Jong Un, who described the missile – named Hwasong-16B – as a key piece of his nuclear war deterrent, which he vowed to further build up to counter his "enemies," a reference to the United States, South Korea and Japan. Kim said the North has now developed nuclear-capable, solid-fuel systems for "all the tactical, operational and strategic missiles with various ranges," the Korean Central News Agency said. In recent years, North Korea has been focusing on developing more weapons with built-in solid propellants. Those weapons are easier to move and hide and can be launched quicker than liquid-propellant missiles, which need to be fueled before launch and cannot stay fueled for long periods of time. Since 2021, the North has been testing hypersonic weapons designed to exceed five times the speed of sound. If perfected, such systems could potentially pose a challenge to regional missile defense systems because of their speed and maneuverability. However, it's unclear whether the North's hypersonic vehicles consistently maintained a desired speed exceeding Mach 5 during tests in 2021 and 2022. During Tuesday's test, the missile's hypersonic glide warhead, after being separated from the launch rocket, reached a peak altitude of 101 kilometers (62 miles) and flew about 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) while performing various flight maneuvers before landing in waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, the KCNA said. The South Korean and Japanese militaries had assessed that the missile flew around 600 (372 miles) although Japan's Defense Ministry announced a similar apogee with the North Korean report. The North had also tested a purported hypersonic IRBM in January, which came years after it flight-tested liquid-fuel IRBMs. Experts say such weapons if perfected are potentially capable of reaching remote U.S. targets in the Pacific, including the military hub of Guam. While North Korea had initially tested its hypersonic warheads with liquid-fuel systems, the ability to load them on solid-fuel rockets would allow for faster launches and operation, said Chang Young-keun, a missile expert at South Korea's Research Institute for National Strategy. "North Korea, in declaring that it has fully accomplished the nuclear weaponization of its missiles, also emphasized its commitment to arm its hypersonic missiles with nuclear weapons," Chang said. "North Korea's development of hypersonic IRBMs targets Guam, which hosts U.S. military bases, and even Alaska." Tensions in the region have risen since 2022 as Kim used Russia's invasion of Ukraine as a distraction to accelerate his testing of missiles and other weapons. The United States and South Korea have responded by expanding their combined training and trilateral drills involving Japan and sharpening their deterrence strategies built around strategic U.S. assets. While supervising Tuesday's test, Kim called for his country to further expand its nuclear and missile program to acquire "overwhelming power capable of containing and controlling" his enemies, who have "recently run higher fever in boosting their military alliance and staging all sorts of war drills." Hours after the launch, Seoul's Defense Ministry announced that South Korea, the United States and Japan conducted a combined aerial exercise above waters near Jeju Island that involved at least one nuclear-capable U.S. B-52 bomber. The United States in recent months has been increasing its deployment of strategic assets to the region, also including aircraft carriers and missile-firing submarines, in a show of force against North Korea.

taipei, taiwan — An earthquake off Taiwan's eastern shore with a magnitude of 7.2 rocked Taipei, the capital, on Wednesday morning, knocking out power in several parts of the city and sparking a tsunami warning for the islands of southern Japan and the Philippines.  Taiwan television stations showed footage of some collapsed buildings in Hualien, near the quake's epicenter, and media reported some people were trapped.   The quake could be felt as far as Shanghai, according to a Reuters witness.  The epicenter was just off the coast of eastern county of Hualien, in waters off the eastern coastline of Taiwan Island, the Taiwan central weather administration said.  Japan issued an evacuation advisory for the coastal areas of the southern prefecture of Okinawa. Tsunami waves of up to 3 meters were expected to reach large areas of Japan's southwestern coast, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency, which put the quake magnitude at 7.5.   The Philippines Seismology Agency also issued a warning for residents in coastal areas of several provinces, urging them to evacuate to higher ground.  The quake was felt in Fuzhou, Xiamen, Quanzhou and Ningde in China's Fujian province, according to Chinese state media.  The Taipei city government has not received any reports of damage, and the city's Mass Rapid Transit was up and running soon after.   Southern Taiwan Science Park, where semiconductor giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. has a plant, said companies were operating without impact.  Taiwan's official central news agency said the quake was the biggest to hit the island since 1999 when a 7.6 magnitude tremor killed around 2,400 people. 

BANGKOK — Thai LGBTQ+ activists celebrated another victory Tuesday after a marriage-equality bill overwhelmingly passed a first reading in the upper house, a key step bringing the country closer to becoming Asia's third territory to legalize same-sex unions. "It's like we've been embraced and accepted by the people in the entire country," said Waaddao Chumaporn, 40, an LGBTQ+ activist and spokesperson for the parliamentary committee for the bill, calling it the "best gift of our lives." "It sends a signal to the Southeast Asian region, where the fundamentals are deeply rooted in conservative views," Waaddao said. The bill sailed through the Senate's first reading in a 147-4 vote, prior to second and third readings due in July. If approved, it will be sent to the royal palace for the king's assent before it becomes law within 120 days. Other activists on the committee pumped their fists and celebrated with each other after the vote. Last month, 96% of the lower house passed the bill in a landmark move. "We see that the needle has moved closer towards our goal," said Siritata Ninlapruek, 45, who waved a rainbow flag, exulting as the vote count was read.

Crime in the United States is one of the leading issues on voters’ minds in this year’s US presidential election. VOA correspondent Scott Stearns looks at how Joe Biden and Donald Trump are addressing those concerns.

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seoul, south korea — The United States and Japan are considering ways to strengthen military cooperation, with several reports suggesting the alliance could see one of its biggest structural upgrades in several decades.  The potential changes, meant to better address shared threats such as China and North Korea, will figure prominently when Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida meets U.S. President Joe Biden during a state visit next week in Washington.   During the visit, U.S. and Japanese officials are expected to agree on a review of the framework that has for decades guided interaction between Japan's Self-Defense Forces and the approximately 54,000 U.S. troops in Japan.   Specifically, Japan's Kyodo news agency said, the U.S. military will consider ways to strengthen the functions of its command headquarters in Japan amid concerns that the current arrangement would not allow for adequate coordination during a conflict.   Japan wants the United States to appoint or elevate a four-star commander to oversee U.S. troops in the country. Under the current setup, U.S. Forces Japan is led by a three-star general with little authority over joint operations. That means Japan must coordinate with the U.S. military's Indo-Pacific Command, located more than 6,000 kilometers (3,728 miles) and five time zones away in Hawaii.   The existing arrangement dates to the 1960s, long before China's massive military buildup and North Korea's acquisition of nuclear weapons upended Asia's security dynamic, prompting Japan to take a much more proactive role in world affairs.   It is not clear what changes the United States will propose. When asked by VOA about recent reports on the matter, the White House National Security Council declined to comment. Still, the review is being welcomed by many in Japan's defense community who have pushed for greater integration between the two countries' forces.   "This is a very significant step for the alliance," said Tetsuo Kotani, senior fellow at the Japan Institute of International Affairs. "By upgrading our command and control relationship, we are actually preparing for war fighting together, so that the two militaries can operate together in a time of crisis."  More assertive Japan  Until recently, it was difficult to imagine Japan becoming involved in a major conflict. The country has a technically pacifist constitution, which was drafted by the U.S. following Tokyo's defeat in World War II.   But in recent years, Japan has loosened some of its self-imposed military restraints, allowing it to become a major player in regional and global security.   Most notably, Japan intends to increase its annual defense spending to 2% of its gross domestic product (GDP), up from the traditional 1%, by 2027. This will likely give Japan the world's third-largest military budget, behind the United States and China.   For the first time, Japan also will deploy missiles that can hit military targets in other countries. In January, Japan signed a deal with the U.S. to purchase up to 400 Tomahawk cruise missiles.  The acquisition has created further urgency for military integration, according to analysts, who note that Japan would rely on the United States for targeting information, damage assessment and escalation management if the missiles were used.   Naoko Aoki, an associate political scientist at the RAND Corporation, said Japan's increased defense capabilities also necessitate greater cooperation with South Korea, another U.S. ally, which hosts about 28,500 U.S. troops.  "Because if Japan were to use this [counter strike capability] against North Korea, for example, then clearly coordination among the three countries would become very, very important," she said.   To allow for smoother integration among its own forces, Japan recently announced plans to establish a joint operations headquarters by 2025. The move was also widely discussed as a possible catalyst toward greater integration with U.S. forces.   How to proceed  The U.S. military has not released details about any possible changes to its command structure in Japan. However, media reports point to several possibilities.   Last week, Reuters reported that Washington will consider appointing a four-star commander, as Tokyo has requested, though it is not clear what responsibilities the position would be given.  Some analysts say the appointment of a U.S. four-star general may be too controversial in Japan, because it would be widely seen as a possible precursor to the type of unified command that exists in South Korea, where a U.S. four-star general would control both U.S. and South Korean troops during wartime.  "A four-star general in Japan sounds like too much at this moment," said Kotani. Instead, he thinks the U.S. could establish some type of joint coordination center to facilitate greater interaction with the Japanese military.   A similar idea was mentioned as a possibility last week by the Financial Times. According to the British newspaper, the task force would be attached to the Hawaii-based U.S. Pacific Fleet but would shift to Japan "over time."   From Tokyo's standpoint, such a proposal is "probably better than nothing," said Jeffrey J. Hall, a Japanese politics specialist at Kanda University of International Studies.   "It does make sense to have decision-making power shifted to a time zone closer to a potential conflict area," Hall said.   But, Hall said, U.S. officials are likely to proceed cautiously, perhaps wary of big steps that could spark domestic opposition in Japan, where some are uncomfortable with the idea of Japanese troops being controlled by the United States.   Kishida is already in a difficult situation at home. The approval rating of his Cabinet remains near record lows amid long-running economic challenges and a political fundraising scandal in his party.   "For the last year, we've been in a situation where Prime Minister Kishida is incredibly unpopular among Japanese voters but loved by the national security folks in Washington," Hall said.   For Japan, the question is how to achieve greater military integration while maintaining proper levels of independence, given Japan's constitutional and political restraints, said Aoki. But she maintains that the effort is worthwhile.  "The command and control architecture … hasn't been changed since the 1960s, but the threat environment has changed greatly," she said. "So, modernizing this will help the credibility of the alliance and help deterrence in the region."  

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he will shut down the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera news network’s operations in Israel under a new law that allows the closure of foreign networks deemed a threat to national security. Linda Gradstein reports for VOA from Jerusalem. Camera: Ricki Rosen.

washington — President Joe Biden is meeting with American Muslim community leaders on Tuesday amid outrage from Muslim and Arab Americans over his administration's support for Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza. "Continuing his tradition of honoring the Muslim community during Ramadan, President Biden will host a meeting with Muslim community leaders to discuss issues of importance to the community," a White House official said in a statement sent to VOA. "He will be joined by Vice President [Kamala] Harris, senior Muslim Administration officials and senior members of his National Security team." Following the meeting, the official said they will "host a small breaking of the fast, prayer, and Iftar" with "a number" of senior Muslim administration officials. Unlike in previous years, American Muslim leaders were not included in the White House iftar, or breaking of the fast meal. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that the leaders had declined and asked for a "working group meeting" instead. "They wanted to make sure that there was an opportunity to discuss the issues at hand," she said during her briefing Tuesday in response to a VOA question. "We listened, we heard, and we adjusted the format to be responsive so that we can get feedback from them." Since taking office, Biden has hosted Muslim community leaders at the White House, a tradition that began with President Bill Clinton in 1996. Except for President Donald Trump in 2017, Republican and Democratic presidents have hosted an iftar dinner during Ramadan or an Eid al-Fitr reception to mark the end of the month of fasting. Past Ramadan and Eid celebrations usually included diplomats from majority-Muslim countries. Embassies that VOA reached out to said they have not received an invitation this year. Many decline invitation Even with the meeting-only format, many community leaders declined to attend, and Biden will likely meet with only a handful of them. In a social media post, Muslim advocacy group Emgage Action said they had asked Biden to "postpone this gathering and to convene a proper policy meeting with representatives of the community's choosing rather than those selected by the White House." The administration "can and should leverage its enormous support for Israel and begin to take demonstrable actions" including to demand an immediate and permanent cease-fire and unfettered access for humanitarian aid," the group said. "Without more Palestinian voices and policy experts in the room, we do not believe today's meeting will provide for such an opportunity." Many who have attended White House Ramadan events in the past said they had no idea about the meeting until VOA reached out to them. "It's probably hand-picked people who have been vetted and who have been guaranteed not to speak up and be critical of the president's policies," said Jawaid Kotwal, board member of the Afghan American Foundation. Several White House and Biden campaign events around the country have been marred with disruptions by pro-Palestinian protesters. His constituents — including many Muslim and Arab Americans — have signaled their outrage. Hundreds of thousands voted "uncommitted" in Democratic primary elections in various states. A Pew survey released Tuesday shows that only 36% of American Muslims view Biden positively. The same survey shows that only 6% believe the U.S. is striking the right balance between the Israelis and Palestinians. Sixty percent say Biden favors the Israelis too much. 'A time of mourning, not celebration' "The American Muslim community has made it very clear they have no interest in breaking bread with President Biden while his administration is enabling the starvation and slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza," Edward Ahmed Mitchell told VOA. Mitchell is deputy executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, also known as CAIR. As the death toll in Gaza approaches 33,000 people, it's clear that many American Muslims are uncomfortable with the thought of celebrating at the White House. "This is a time of mourning, not celebration, so we're only accepting iftars that benefit the poor, refugees and the oppressed," Salam Al-Marayati, founder of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, told VOA. CAIR and other Muslim groups and anti-war organizations are hosting a "People's White House Ceasefire Now Iftar" in front of the White House on Tuesday. Biden also faces dissent from some administration staff members, particularly those with Arab or Muslim backgrounds, including Tariq Habash, a Palestinian American and former policy adviser at the Department of Education who resigned in protest in January. The president is "attempting to break bread with Muslim staffers while finalizing the sale of billions of dollars in warplanes to Israel as its extremist government targets humanitarian workers and hospitals," Habash told VOA. Biden's meeting with American Muslims came amid reports that seven aid workers, including at least one dual-nationality American from the NGO World Central Kitchen, were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza on Monday. The organization, led by celebrity chef Jose Andres, has been leading the efforts to get food to Gaza via a ship from Cyprus. Iuliia Iarmolenko, Sayed Aziz Rahman, Yuni Salim and Iram Abbasi contributed to this report.

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phnom penh, cambodia/washington — Cambodia's first leadership change in almost four decades has given the United States an opportunity to reset its relationship with Phnom Penh, analysts and experts told VOA Khmer following a recent visit from an American diplomat. However, Cambodia's slide away from democracy — along with claims that China is establishing an exclusive military presence at Cambodia's main naval base — continues to pose a major impediment to warming relations, they said in recent interviews. Sebastian Strangio, the author of Hun Sen's Cambodia, said some voices in U.S. foreign policy circles were questioning the effectiveness of Washington's prevailing Cambodia policy even before former Prime Minister Hun Sen handed control to his son, Prime Minister Hun Manet, in August — ending the father's 38-year reign. "There has been discussion amongst people who pay attention to Southeast Asia that the very moralistic tone of American policy toward Cambodia, really since the early '90s, has failed to achieve its goals, while also opening up the space for China to step in as Hun Sen's benefactor and patron, and that some sort of change in emphasis was needed," he said during an interview with VOA Khmer on March 28. Strangio described tension between leading Hun Sen critics in Congress, who want human rights and democracy at the forefront of Cambodia policy, and more pragmatic figures in the State Department who are willing to sacrifice principles for more influence in Phnom Penh. The coming to power of Manet, a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, "has given an opportunity for the country to take a new approach, or for people advocating a new approach to get more of a hearing," Strangio said. That shift was on full display after July's election. The U.S. initially froze $18 million in foreign aid to Cambodia in protest of the election, pointing to a "pattern of threats and harassment" against opposition politicians, journalists and civil society ahead of the vote. Two months later, after Hun Manet was sworn in, Victoria Nuland, the acting U.S. deputy secretary of state, met with the new prime minister in New York and informed him the U.S. would unfreeze the funds. Analysts say Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Kritenbrink's visit to Phnom Penh in late February showed the delicate balance the United States is pursuing, highlighting areas of agreement without entirely abandoning its stated priorities since helping broker peace in Cambodia 30 years ago. The U.S. envoy, in an online news conference March 7, said he raised "areas of difference related to issues such as human rights, trafficking in persons, and creating space for free and independent media," while also reiterating the U.S. commitment to "a more prosperous, democratic, and independent country." Kritenbrink praised Cambodia at the United Nations for cooperating with sanctions against North Korea and consistently condemning Russia's war in Ukraine. Astrid Norén-Nilsson, a senior lecturer at the Center for East and South-East Asian Studies at Sweden's Lund University, said the U.S. "commitment to Cambodia remains fundamentally geopolitical." She noted Hun Manet's government was sending some positive signals on the domestic front, despite the political repression. "The new government's focus on administrative reform, its discourse of meritocracy, and its technocratic approach to policy also allow Western governments to latch on to its policy agendas," she said. Kritenbrink said he and Hun Manet discussed the Ream Naval base, a pain point between the countries that has prompted U.S. sanctions against top military figures. The U.S. accuses Cambodia of allowing China to develop the base as an exclusive Chinese naval outpost. Cambodia denies any such deal and says China will not have any special access to the base.   Paul Chambers, of the Center of ASEAN Community Studies at Naresuan University in Thailand, said Kritenbrink's visit was "meant to send a message to Cambodia that leading U.S. officials are worried about Cambodia's tilt to China.'' Chambers said the high level of Chinese military and economic involvement in Cambodia would remain a roadblock to expanding cooperation with Washington. "It will deeply worsen U.S.-Cambodia relations unless there is an offset — Cambodia allows equal levels of U.S. security activity with Cambodia," he said in an email to VOA Khmer on March 13. Cambodia canceled its annual joint military drills with the United States in 2017. Sophal Ear, an associate professor at the Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University and a longtime Cambodia observer, was optimistic about a potential breakthrough in U.S.-Cambodia relations. "Timing is everything. Rapprochement may be on the menu," he said in an email last month. "Cambodia is strategically located in Southeast Asia and is crucial to regional dynamics," he added. "Engaging with Cambodia allows the U.S. to promote its governance, trade, and regional security interests." However, other analysts said the United States is likely unwilling to take steps that would significantly change the state of relations. Christopher Primiano, an assistant professor of political science at Huntingdon College in Alabama who studies China's role in Southeast Asia, said Washington is not interested in competing with China in military or economic support for Hun Manet's government. And though the tone from U.S. diplomats may have shifted to some extent, he told VOA in a phone call last week that criticism around democracy and human rights hasn't stopped. "This will always be a source of discontent for the leadership in Cambodia," he said. "If the U.S. government were very interested in Cambodia as a security partner, then we think that we would see less naming and shaming." Sim Chansamnang contributed to this report.