Feed aggregator

An alliance of French left-wing parties was on course Sunday to become the biggest parliamentary bloc by beating the far right and President Emmanuel Macron's coalition, according to surprise projected results. No one group won an absolute majority in the poll, plunging France into political limbo with no clear path to forming a new government, two days before a major NATO summit and three weeks before the Paris Olympics. We talk to Frédéric Mérand, professor and chair of the political science department at the University of Montreal. A memorial concert was held in Kenya's capital Nairobi on Sunday for those killed in anti-government protests. And four people came out of isolation after a year in a simulated Mars habitat to study what it would be like.

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.

SEOUL, South Korea — A workers' union at Samsung Electronics in South Korea is set to stage a three-day strike from Monday and has warned it could take further action against the country's most powerful conglomerate at a later date. The National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU), whose roughly 28,000 members make up over a fifth of the firm's workforce in South Korea, is demanding the company improve its performance-based bonus system and give workers an extra day of annual leave. It is not immediately clear how many workers will join the strike, but the union's poll found about 8,100 members saying they would do so as of Monday morning. Lee Hyun-kuk, a senior union leader, said in a YouTube broadcast last week that another round of strikes could occur once the three-day stoppage is over if the workers' demands are not heard. The union plans to hold a rally on Monday morning near Samsung's headquarters in Hwaseong, south of Seoul. Analysts, however, say the strike is unlikely to have a major impact on chip output as most production at the world's biggest memory chipmaker is automated. Last month, the union staged a walkout by using annual leave, its first such industrial action, but the company at the time said there was no impact on production or business activity. Though it will have little impact on output, the labor movement shows decreased staff loyalty at one of the world's top chipmakers and smartphone manufacturers, analysts say, adding another problem for Samsung as it navigates cutthroat competition in chips used for artificial intelligence applications. Samsung estimated on Friday a more than 15-fold rise in its second-quarter operating profit, as rebounding semiconductor prices driven by the AI boom lifted earnings from a low base a year ago, but its share price performance has been lagging behind South Korean chip rival SK Hynix.

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.

Mina, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia on Monday warned of a temperature spike in Mecca as Muslim pilgrims wrapped up the hajj in searing conditions, with more than a dozen heat-related deaths confirmed. One of the world's largest religious gatherings unfolded during the oven-like Saudi summer again this year, and authorities recorded more than 2,700 cases of "heat exhaustion" on Sunday alone, the Saudi health ministry said. On Monday, according to the Saudi weather service, temperatures reached 51.8 degrees Celsius (125 degrees Fahrenheit) at Mecca's Grand Mosque, where pilgrims were circling the Kaaba, the large black cubic structure towards which all Muslims pray. In nearby Mina, where a spokesman for the national meteorology service said the temperature was 46C, other pilgrims threw stones at three concrete walls, a ritual known as "stoning the devil" that is the last major step of the hajj, while struggling under the burning sun. Jordan's foreign ministry said on Sunday that 14 Jordanian pilgrims had died "after suffering sun stroke due to the extreme heat wave", and that 17 others were "missing.” Iran reported the deaths of five pilgrims but did not specify the cause, while Senegal's foreign ministry said that three others had died. An Indonesian health ministry official, currently in Saudi Arabia, said on Monday that 136 Indonesian pilgrims had died during the hajj including at least three of heat stroke. Karwan Stoni, official spokesperson for pilgrims from Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, told AFP on Monday that 13 pilgrims had died, including 11 women. Heat was "one of the main reasons" for the deaths, along with heart attacks, he said, adding that 12 of the dead did not have official hajj permits and so could not access air-conditioned spaces made available by Saudi authorities.  "The holy sites today record the highest temperatures since the beginning of hajj... that may reach 49 degrees Celsius, and we advise the guests of God not to be exposed to the sun," the Saudi health ministry said, according to state-affiliated Al-Ekhbariya channel. The ministry on Sunday recorded 2,764 cases of heat exhaustion due to sun exposure and "non-compliance with guidelines," which include taking shelter from the sun during the afternoon. "Prevention is the most important, and the commitment of pilgrims not to go out at peak times except when necessary, or to use an umbrella, would reduce the incidence of heat exhaustion," its statement said. "Our health guidelines for the coming days are clear and easy: carry an umbrella, drink water regularly, and avoid exposure to the sun." 'Really hard day' The hajj is increasingly affected by climate change, according to a Saudi study published last month that said temperatures in the area where rituals are performed were rising 0.4C each decade. Pilgrims in Mina on Monday poured bottles of water over their heads as authorities handed out cold drinks and fast-melting chocolate ice cream. Azza Hamid Brahim, a 61-year-old pilgrim from Egypt, described seeing motionless bodies on the roadside as she made her way to and from the three concrete walls. "The ambulances didn't know which way to turn. It looked like Judgment Day, the end of time," she said. "It was a really hard day. We said to ourselves: 'That's it, we're going to die' because of the heatwave." Arzu Farhaj of Pakistan said she struggled to find help for a woman who was lying on the roadside. The woman looked to be without anyone accompanying her, "and the people were passing by," Farhaj said, adding she was unable to get security staff to call an ambulance for her. The hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and all Muslims with the means must perform it at least once. It occurs according to the Islamic lunar calendar, shifting forward each year in the Gregorian calendar.  Around 1.8 million pilgrims took part this year, 1.6 million of them from abroad, according to Saudi authorities. Hosting the hajj is a source of prestige for the Saudi royal family, and King Salman's title includes "Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques" in the cities of Mecca and Medina. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler, said on Sunday that Saudi officials had committed "to provide everything that will serve those who visit the Two Holy Mosques and help them perform their worship in security and reassurance.” The health ministry said it would "closely follow cases of heat exhaustion" and ensure pilgrims "can complete their hajj journey in full health.”

Niamey, Niger — U.S. troops have completed a withdrawal from their base in Niger's capital of Niamey and will fully depart from Agadez in the north before a Sept. 15 deadline set by the country's military rulers, both countries said Sunday. Niger's military leaders scrapped a military cooperation deal with Washington in March, after seizing power in a July 2023 coup. The United States had around 650 soldiers in Niger as part of anti-jihadist missions in several Sahel nations of West Africa, including a major drone base near Agadez. "The defense ministry of Niger and the U.S. Defense Department announce that the withdrawal of American forces and equipment from the Niamey base 101 is now completed," the two countries said in a statement. A final flight carrying U.S. troops was due to leave Niamey late Sunday. The U.S. presence had stood at around 950 troops, and 766 soldiers have left Niger since the military ordered their departure, AFP learned at a ceremony at the base attended by Niger's army chief of staff Maman Sani Kiaou and US General Kenneth Ekman. "American forces are now going to focus on quitting airbase 201 in Agadez," the statement said, insisting that the withdrawal would be completed by September 15 as planned. Niger had already ordered the withdrawal of troops from France, the former colonial power and traditional security ally, and has strengthened ties with Russia which has provided instructors and equipment. On Saturday, Germany's defense ministry also said it would end operations at its airbase in Niger by August 31 following the breakdown of talks with military leaders. A similar shift has taken place in neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso, which are also ruled by military leaders and faced with violence from jihadist groups.

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.

BUDAPEST, Hungary — Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban arrived in Beijing Monday for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Orban's press chief told state news agency MTI. "Prime Minister Viktor Orban's peace mission continues," Bertalan Havasi was quoted as saying. This is Orban's third surprise overseas trip since Hungary took over the European Union's rotating presidency at the beginning of July, after he traveled to Ukraine and Russia last week on what he called a "peace mission." His trip to Moscow drew strong rebukes from his allies. Hungary, under right-leaning Orban, has become an important trade and investment partner for China, in contrast with some other European Union nations seeking to become less dependent on the world's second-largest economy. Orban's visit also came days before a NATO summit that will address further military aid for Ukraine against what the Western defense alliance has called Russia's "unprovoked war of aggression." Hungary's foreign minister, Peter Szijjarto, was accompanying Orban on the China trip, according to photographs on Szijjarto's Facebook page. The foreign ministry canceled late last week a meeting for Monday in Budapest with Germany's foreign minister and Szijjarto, a German foreign ministry official said Friday. Orban, a critic of Western military aid to Ukraine who has the warmest relations of any EU leader with Russian President Vladimir Putin, said last week he recognized he had no EU mandate for the trip to Moscow, but that peace could not be made "from a comfortable armchair in Brussels."

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.

Dhaka, Bangladesh — Thousands of Bangladeshi university students threw roadblocks across key highways Sunday, demanding the end of "discriminatory" quotas for coveted government jobs, including reserving posts for children of liberation heroes. Students in almost all major universities took part, demanding a merit-based system for well-paid and massively over-subscribed civil service jobs. "It's a do-or-die situation for us," protest coordinator Nahidul Islam told AFP, during marches at Dhaka University. "Quotas are a discriminatory system," the 26-year-old added. "The system has to be reformed." The current system reserves more than half of posts, totaling hundreds of thousands of government jobs. That includes 30% reserved for children of those who fought to win Bangladeshi independence in 1971, 10% for women, and 10% percent set aside for specific districts. Students said only those quotas supporting ethnic minorities and disabled people — 6% of jobs — should remain. Critics say the system benefits children of pro-government groups, who back Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Her father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was Bangladesh's founding leader. Hasina, 76, won her fourth consecutive general election in January, in a vote without genuine opposition parties, with a widespread boycott and a major crackdown against her political opponents. Critics accuse Bangladeshi courts of rubber-stamping decisions made by her government. The system was initially abolished after weeks of student protests in 2018. But in June, Dhaka's High Court rolled that back, saying the cancellation had been invalid. 'Wasting their time' Hasina has condemned the protests, saying the matter had been settled by the court. "Students are wasting their time," Hasina told female activists from her party Sunday, Bangladeshi newspapers reported. "After the court's verdict, there is no justification for the anti-quota movement." Protests began earlier in July and have grown. "We will bury the quota system," students chanted Sunday in Bangladesh’s second city Chittagong, where hundreds of protesters marched. In Dhaka, hundreds of students disrupted traffic for hours, police said. At the elite Jahangirnagar University, at least 500 students blocked the highway connecting the capital with southeastern Bangladesh "for two hours," local police chief A.F.M. Shahed told AFP. Bin Yamin Molla, a protest leader, said at least 30,000 students participated in the protests, although the number could not be verified. Bangladesh was one of the world's poorest countries when it gained independence in 1971, but it has grown an average of more than 6% each year since 2009. Hasina has presided over that breakneck economic growth, with per capita income in the country of 170 million people overtaking India in 2021. But much of that growth has been on the back of the mostly female factory workforce powering its garment export industry, and economists say there is an acute crisis of jobs for millions of university students.

Nairobi, Kenya — Hundreds of Kenyans gathered Sunday in the capital Nairobi for a memorial concert following deadly protests over tax hikes that saw the country's leader scrap a controversial finance bill. The initially peaceful rallies mostly led by Gen-Z spiraled into violence that left 39 people dead, rights groups have said, and saw President William Ruto reject the bill containing the hikes and promise spending cuts. On Sunday people streamed into Nairobi's central Uhuru Park from around midday to listen to performers and commemorate those who had died. Victor Waithaka, 29, told AFP he was attending to pay tribute to the "heroes who died during the protests on the rejected finance bill." "This is our country, and we have the right to fight for our rights," he said. Large crowds shouted, "Ruto must go,” echoing demands made by protesters in previous weeks, and waved Kenyan flags as they danced to a medley of singers and performers. "The fight has just begun, the political awakening [is] just the beginning," prominent demonstrator Hanifa Adan told AFP on the concert's sidelines. Early Sunday morning some roads in the city were blocked by police officers. The concert fell on so-called "Saba Saba" (Seven Seven) — the seventh day of the seventh month, marking the moment in 1990 that the opposition rose up to demand the return of multi-party democracy — and a day when demonstrations have previously taken place. It follows Ruto's decision Friday to announce budget cuts and increased borrowing, to cover the projected shortfall from scrapping the finance bill. Following his speech, the president also took part in a sometimes-fiery exchange of views on social media platform X, in a wide-ranging conversation with younger Kenyans on social media.

New Orleans, Louisiana — For 30 years, the Essence Festival of Culture has brought together people from all walks of life and from around the world to connect through conversation, shared experiences and, of course, music. The nation’s largest annual celebration of Black culture was set to end Sunday with musical performances by Janet Jackson and a special tribute to Frankie Beverly & Maze, the soul band that closed the event for the festival's first 15 years. Beverly, now 77, has said he is stepping away from performing live, and the group has been on a farewell tour. Others scheduled to perform included Victoria Monet, Teedra Moses, Tank and the Bangas, Dawn Richard, SWV, Jagged Edge, Bilal and Anthony Hamilton. Barkue Tubman-Zawolo, chief of staff, talent and diasporic engagement for Essence Ventures, told The Associated Press the festival helps connect the global Black community. “Historically, as Black people, sometimes we're not sure where our heritage comes from,” Tubman-Zawolo said. "America is just one place. But within America there’s a melting pot of different Black cultures: Africa, Latin, Europe, the Caribbean. Understanding that allows our power to be even greater." Tubman-Zawolo said those connections could be seen throughout this year's Film Festival, held at the city's convention center, where fans heard from storytellers from Nigeria, Ghana and the Caribbean “who are targeting our stories about us, for us, globally.” She noted similar connections through the Food and Wine stage, where discussions highlighted Caribbean and African cuisine; the Soko Market Place, where vendors from all over the world shared their craft; and on the Caesars Superdome stage, which spotlighted Caribbean and African artists including Machel Montano of Trinidad and Ayra Starr of Nigeria. “All of that occurred over four days,” Tubman-Zawolo said. “But the beauty of it is, it doesn't stay here. (Fans) take it with them.” New Orleans Mayor Latoya Cantrell said this year's “We Love Us” theme was appropriate. “This whole ‘We Love Us’ theme brought us together to build communities,” she said. The festival's impact on the city and state has surpassed $300 million, with more than 500,000 people visiting since 1994. Essence started the festival as a way to celebrate 25 years of the magazine's history. “The locals are being incorporated in a manner that we can see and touch and feel and smell. That has been a part of the evolution of Essence,” Cantrell said. The event's current contract ends in 2026, but Essence Ventures CEO Caroline Wanga has said the festival's “forever home” is New Orleans. “That's what we believe as well,” Cantrell said. “We have a foundation that's been laid over 30 years. The city is always ready and prepared to host this event and more. I think staying in New Orleans is the best fit and best marriage, the best partnership.”

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.

BALNEARIO CAMBORIU, Brazil — Javier Milei, making his first visit to Brazil as Argentina's president, attacked socialism for curtailing liberties and creating corruption in a speech Sunday to a conservative rally led by former Brazilian hard-right President Jair Bolsonaro. Reading from a prepared speech at the CPAC Brazil 2024 event, Milei made no mention of Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, even as Bolsonaro supporters chanted insults about the leftist leader and called for him to be put in jail. Milei skipped the presidential summit of the Mercosur trade block in Paraguay on Monday, where he would finally meet Lula, Argentina's main trading partner. He instead decided to attend the rally of his right-wing ally Bolsonaro. Milei strained relations with the Brazilian government by calling Lula "corrupt" and a "communist" in a post on social media platform X last week — the most recent in a number of insults. Lula has in the past demanded an apology from Milei. After the speech, the crowd cheered Bolsonaro, saying they want him back in power, despite his being banned from seeking elected office until 2030 for attacks on democracy, and under investigation for other alleged crimes during his four-year term. CPAC Brazil is intended to drum up support for candidates of Bolsonaro's party in this year's municipal elections and project his influence ahead of the 2026 presidential race. The event, billed as the first major opposition rally in the campaign for local mayoral elections in October, also has served to unite right-wing leaders in the Americas. Chile's former presidential candidate Jose Antonio Kast addressed the rally, as did former Bolivian minister Branko Marinkovic, who was presented as a possible candidate for next year's presidential elections in Bolivia. Right-wing politicians from Portugal and El Salvador also spoke during the event. Bolsonaro, who spoke Saturday, said the right-wing is gaining ground internationally, in Italy and France, and said he hoped that former U.S. President Donald Trump will be returned to the White House this year.

Seoul, South Korea — Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said South Korea's recent military drills near the border between the two nations are an inexcusable and explicit provocation, according to a report from state media KCNA on Monday. Kim Yo Jong also accused South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol of creating tensions on the Korean peninsula to divert public attention away from his poor performance in domestic politics. She cited an online petition calling for Yoon to be impeached, with more than 1 million signatures. Kim said that in case North Korea judges its own sovereignty as violated, its armed forces will immediately carry out a mission and duty according to its constitution. The South Korean military has resumed live-fire artillery drills near the western maritime border in late June, the first time since 2018. Last month, South Korea said it would suspend a military agreement signed with North Korea in 2018 aimed at easing tensions, in protest of North Korea's trash balloon launches toward the South.

Beijing — Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Sunday congratulated new British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on his election, state media reported, the first senior leader in Beijing to do so publicly. China is "willing to work with the new U.K. government to consolidate mutual political trust and expand mutually beneficial cooperation," Li told Starmer, according to state news agency Xinhua. Their call came after days of silence from top officials in Beijing, with the Chinese foreign ministry saying only that it noted the results of the U.K. election.  By comparison, Chinese leader Xi Jinping congratulated Iran's incoming President Masoud Pezeshkian just hours after his election Saturday. China was Britain's fifth-largest trading partner as of 2023, according to the U.K. Department for Business and Trade. But diplomatic relations between the two countries have been icy in recent years, with Beijing and London sparring over tightening communist control in former British colony Hong Kong. The two sides have also traded accusations of espionage, with Beijing saying last month that MI6 had recruited Chinese state employees to spy for the U.K. Xinhua reported Sunday that Li told Starmer that the "strengthening of bilateral coordination and cooperation was in the interests of both sides."

Britain’s new Prime Minister officially takes office after his UK Labour Party’s landslide victory in a parliamentary election that ended 14 years of Conservative government. Timothy Hellwig, Professor of Political Science with a focus on politics of European Nations at the University at Buffalo College of Arts and Sciences provides insights into what the historic vote says about how voters are feeling, and if it signals a shift of the trend toward right leaning leadership. And with the U.S. presidential election just months away, Senior Clinical Professor of Law and the director of Appellate Practice clinic at Cleveland State University Law Doron Kalir talks about what the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity could mean for democratic norms in the United States.

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.

Manila — The Philippines and Japan will sign a defense agreement on Monday that will allow their military forces to visit each other's soil, the Philippine president's communications office said on Sunday. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will witness the signing of the Philippines-Japan Reciprocal Access Agreement shortly after a courtesy call by Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and Defense Minister Minoru Kihara, his office said. Kamikawa and Kihara are in Manila to meet their Philippine counterparts on Monday to discuss deepening cooperation on defense between two key allies of the United States in Asia. The Philippines has been bolstering ties with neighbors and other countries to counter what it describes as China's growing aggression in the South China Sea.   Japan, on the other hand, has faced off with China in the East China Sea over tiny, uninhabited islands that Beijing calls the Diaoyu and Tokyo calls the Senkaku. Formal negotiations for a Reciprocal Access Agreement between the Philippines and Japan started in November.

Tokyo — U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel expressed regret Saturday for the handling of two cases of sexual assaults allegedly committed by American military personnel on Okinawa, which have again stoked resentment of the heavy U.S. troop presence on the strategic island in Japan's far southwest. The issue broke out late last month, triggering an uproar over reports that two American service members had been charged with sexual assaults months earlier. Both cases were first reported in local media in late June. In one arrest made in March, a member of the U.S. Air Force was charged with the kidnapping and sexual assault of a teenager, and while in May a U.S. Marine was arrested on charges of attempted rape resulting in injury. Further details about the alleged victims were not released. Okinawa police said they did not announce the cases out of privacy considerations related to the victims. The Foreign Ministry, per police decision, also did not notify Okinawa prefectural officials. The cases are a reminder to many Okinawans of the 1995 rape of a 12-year-old girl by three U.S. service members, which sparked massive protests of the U.S. presence. It led to a 1996 agreement between Tokyo and Washington to close a key U.S. air base, although the plan has been repeatedly delayed due to protests at the site designated for its replacement on another part of the island. Emanuel said he deeply regretted what happened to the individuals, their families and their community, but fell short of apologizing. “Obviously, you got to let the criminal justice process play out. But that doesn’t mean you don’t express on a human level your sense of regret.” "We have to do better,” he said, adding that the U.S. military's high standards and protocols for education and training of its troops was “just not working.” Emanuel said the U.S. may be able to propose measures to improve training and transparency with the public at U.S.-Japan foreign and defense ministers’ security talks expected later this month in Tokyo. On Friday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said the Japanese authorities would do their utmost to provide more prompt disclosures of alleged crime related to U.S. military personnel on Okinawa while protecting victims’ privacy. The cases could be a setback for the defense relationship at a time when Okinawa is seen increasingly important in the face of rising tensions with China. Some 50,000 U.S. troops are deployed in Japan under a bilateral security pact, about half of them on Okinawa, where residents have long complained about heavy U.S. troop presence and related accidents, crime and noise. Emanuel commented on the issue while visiting Fukushima, on Japan's northeast coast. Earlier Saturday, the ambassador visited the nearby town of Minamisoma to join junior surfers and sample locally-caught flounder for lunch, aiming to highlight the safety of the area's seawater and seafood amid ongoing discharges of treated and diluted radioactive water from the tsunami-ruined Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. China has banned Japanese seafood over the discharges, a move Emanuel criticized as unjustified.