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UNITED NATIONS — Russia vetoed a U.N. resolution on Thursday, effectively abolishing the monitoring of United Nations sanctions against North Korea by a panel of U.N. experts.  The Security Council resolution sponsored by the United States would have extended the mandate of the panel for a year, but Russia's veto will halt its operations.  The vote in the 15-member council was 13 in favor, Russia against and China abstaining.  Russia's U.N. ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, told the council before the vote that Western nations are trying to "strangle" North Korea and that sanctions have proven "irrelevant" and "detached from reality" in reining in its nuclear program.  The resolution does not alter the sanctions, which remain in force.

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Tokyo — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida reiterated Thursday his determination to work toward a summit with North Korea's Kim Jong Un to realize the return of Japanese people believed abducted by North Korean agents in the 1970s and 80s.  "I remain committed to realizing this for Japan," he told reporters, while declining to directly address the recent comments from North Korea that suggested such a meeting would be possible only if Japan stops pressing the abductions issue.  Speaking at a news conference after the government budget cleared parliament, Kishida stressed he was directly involved in high-level negotiations to fix various bilateral problems, amid growing worries about neighboring North Korea's missiles and nuclear weapons programs.  In 2002, Kim Jong Il, the late father of Kim Jong Un, told then-Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi that its agents had kidnapped 13 Japanese in the 1970s and 80s, and allowed five of them to return to Japan.  Japan thinks hundreds more may have been abducted during that period and that some are still alive. Koizumi's second visit to North Korea in 2004 was the last summit between the two nations.  Deflation and public trust Kishida, prime minister since 2021, also promised to wrest the nation out of decades-long deflation and set off "a positive cycle" of higher wages, company profits and strong productivity.  "We have this historic chance to get out of deflation," Kishida said, noting that the changes will come under his "new capitalism" program, based on economic changes such as a more mobile labor force, investments in artificial intelligence and income growth for the middle class.  He promised that legal revisions and an internal investigation were underway to deal with a burgeoning scandal centered around political funding that ruling party lawmakers had allegedly secretly received through shady methods like expensive tickets for fundraising parties.  Kishida said more time is needed to sort out details, but the erring politicians will get punished, to restore public trust.  Kishida has seen his popularity plummet to record lows in recent months over the scandal. But his ouster, even if it happens, will likely result in another leader from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, because the opposition is weak and splintered.  There is even speculation among pundits that Japan will get its first female prime minister, such as Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike. As a woman, Koike would be seen as a fresh change, although she is unlikely to stray too far from the status quo.  A Japanese prime minister has almost always been a member of the lower house of Parliament, so Koike would need to run for a seat and give up being city governor. The Liberal Democrats have ruled Japan almost incessantly after World War II, except for brief periods of opposition control. 

Panama City — Starting next month, the U.S. Coast Guard and Argentine Navy will begin conducting joint exercises aimed at combating illegal Chinese fishing in the Atlantic Ocean. Argentina, Chile and Peru have criticized Chinese-operated craft for large-scale invasive fishing in their territorial waters without regulation, which the South American countries say is depleting fish stock and damaging the natural biodiversity of the southwest Atlantic. It is a key nesting area for seabirds and feeding area for marine mammals. The Coast Guard will send its destroyer, the USS James, to work with Argentine vessels to curb these fishing practices. According to data from the NGO Global Fishing Watch, nearly 3,000 deepwater fishing boats operate under the Chinese flag globally, including about 400 in the southwest Atlantic, often targeting Argentine squid and Patagonian toothfish. The NGO says Chinese vessel activity in the southwest Atlantic increased from 61,727 hours per 500 square kilometers in 2013 to 384,046 hours in 2023. Since 1986, Argentine authorities have seized 80 foreign-flagged boats fishing in their waters, including sinking Chinese and Taiwanese ships.   The upcoming joint U.S.-Argentina cruise to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated or IUU fishing, mainly by Chinese fishing vessels, is part of a global and ongoing effort to strengthen maritime security partnerships. In 2020, the United States launched a new strategy to combat IUU fishing, and the Coast Guard is spearheading that effort. In South America, it has already stepped-up cooperation with Ecuador, Peru, and Chile. Analysts say the Coast Guard’s cooperation with Argentina — together with recent visits from Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns — reflect a shift by Argentine President Javier Milei’s new government, elected in November, away from China and toward the United States. “The producing provinces of Patagonia have warned about the serious situation of illegal fishing and President Milei has a very clear position in relation to China,” Gabriela Ippolito O’Donnell, a political science professor at the National University of San Martín in Argentina, told VOA Mandarin. “President Milei is undoubtedly in tune with the USA, even more so if Donald Trump wins the elections. He has already shown signs of a 180-degree turn in foreign policy in all its aspects, including the military.” O’Donnell said the decision to push back on Chinese illegal fishing practices was more than a symbolic move. “There is an epochal change in Argentina's foreign relations,” O’Donnell said. “Of course, the Argentine military and the political opposition will have a voice in this process of military rapprochement with the U.S. But the initiative today belongs to President Milei.”  In January, Milei authorized the U.S. military to enter Argentine territory — a stark contrast from three years ago, when U.S. patrols in the South Atlantic led to conflict with Argentina’s then-President Alberto Fernandez. According to Michael Paarlberg, an assistant professor of political science at Virginia Commonwealth University, the decision is a deliberate way for Milei to break from his rivals, his direct predecessor Fernandez and former President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, who reached several military cooperation agreements with China. “We are seeing a growing closer relationship between the U.S. and Argentina under the new Milei government, closer than it was under the more U.S.-skeptical Fernandez government,” Paarlberg told VOA Mandarin. “Military cooperation with the U.S. is a way for Milei to fulfill his promise to undo all of the policies of his predecessors.” Analysts, however, say Milei’s actions do not represent a complete break between China and Argentina, but rather an interest in diversifying Argentina’s international relationships, with fishing in Argentina’s territorial waters providing the country with a bargaining chip. China remains Argentina’s largest trading partner. “It is too soon to talk about a major overhaul of Argentina's foreign policy under Javier Milei, particularly regarding its ties with the United States and China,” Fabricio Fonseca, an assistant professor of diplomacy at Taiwan’s National Chengchi University, told VOA Mandarin. “There are other geoeconomic trends and events that we need to take into consideration before forecasting a permanent change in Buenos Aires’s relations with Beijing.” Evie Steele contributed to this story.  

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.

While the roots of the Kosovo ar are complicated, and atrocities were committed by both sides, the evidence shows forced displacement and the targeted killing of Kosovo Albanians preceded the 1999 NATO intervention.

RAMALLAH, West Bank — The Palestinian Authority announced the formation of a new Cabinet on Thursday as it faces international pressure to reform.  President Mahmoud Abbas, who has led the Palestinian Authority for nearly two decades and remains in overall control, announced the new government in a presidential decree. None of the incoming ministers is a well-known figure.  Abbas tapped Mohammad Mustafa, a longtime adviser, to be prime minister earlier this month. Mustafa, a politically independent, U.S.-educated economist, had vowed to form a technocratic government and create an independent trust fund to help rebuild Gaza.  The Palestinian Authority administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Its forces were driven from Gaza when Hamas seized power in 2007, and it has no power there.  The United States has called for a revitalized Palestinian Authority to administer postwar Gaza ahead of eventual statehood.  Israel has rejected that idea, saying it will maintain open-ended security control over Gaza.

It's an important year for South Africa: Not only is the country marking the 30th anniversary of its democracy, 2024 is also an election year. Observers say the polls will be fiercely contested. Kate Bartlett has the story from Johannesburg. Camera: Zaheer Cassim.

A South African who was bullied at high school is celebrating his dance students participating in the colorful Cape Town Carnival. UNICEF says a recent study found 10 million adolescent students in the Southern African Development Community region experience bullying, and the effects can continue into adulthood. Vicky Stark reports from Cape Town. (Camera and Produced by: Vicky Stark)

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

NEW DELHI — An Indian court extended the custody of opposition leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal until April 1 on Thursday in a graft case related to the national capital territory's liquor policy, local media said.  India's financial crime-fighting agency arrested Kejriwal last week in connection with corruption allegations related to the city's liquor policy and he was remanded to its custody until Thursday, weeks before India begins voting in general elections on April 19.   Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) says the case is fabricated and politically motivated. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government and his Bharatiya Janata Party deny political interference and say law enforcement agencies are doing their job.   All the main leaders of AAP were already imprisoned in the case before Kejriwal was arrested.   Terming his arrest a "political conspiracy", Kejriwal, 55, told reporters outside court on Thursday that "the public will respond to this". Speaking in court later, he said the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which has arrested him, aims to crush AAP.  ED lawyers told the court that they needed Kejriwal in custody for another seven days as he was "deliberately not cooperating" and needed to be interrogated further.   Kejriwal's arrest has sparked protests in the national capital and the nearby northern state of Punjab, which is also governed by AAP, over the last few days.   Dozens of AAP supporters were detained on Tuesday as they attempted to march to Modi's residence to demand his release. Some AAP workers protesting and distributing leaflets to commuters outside a busy metro station in central Delhi were also detained on Thursday.   "This is the time when we campaign (for elections), our leaders are being put in prison, arrested ... they (federal government) are stopping us from campaigning, (but) nobody can stop us from winning," a protester told news agency ANI.   A joint rally of the 'INDIA' alliance, consisting of more than two dozen political parties including AAP, is planned in the capital on Sunday to protest against the arrest.   The issue has also drawn international attention with the U.S. and Germany calling for a "fair" and "impartial" trial in the case, causing New Delhi to tell Washington and Berlin that India's legal processes are based on an independent judiciary and that they should stay away from its internal affairs. 

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Surrounded by ordinary gray shop houses on Jakarta’s bustling Lautze Street, the building with the yellow façade stands out. Red overhangs echo the rooflines of traditional Chinese temples, and red arched wooden doors suggest a welcome within. At a glance, the building could be mistaken for a Chinese temple. Built in 1991 by Haji Junus Jahya, an Indonesian businessman of Chinese descent, the Lautze Mosque embodies his interest in encouraging assimilation between the ethnic Chinese people and Indigenous Malay community known as Pribumi. “Haji” indicates that he made the pilgrimage to Mecca, the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad, founder of Islam. Ustaz Naga Qiu, which means the dragon Islamic teacher, said the mosque occupies what was once an ordinary shop occupied by the foundation founded by Haji Karim Oei, a prominent ethnic Chinese Indonesian nationalist. Because Junus initially wanted the Chinese to blend in with other Indonesians, the mosque blended in with its surroundings. But in 2000, “after President Abdurrahman Wahid brought equality for Chinese Indonesians, the mosque’s look started to change,” Naga said. This also reflected how Junus’ attitude about blending in changed before his death in 2011. An uneasy relationship The centuries-long relationship between Indonesians and their Chinese neighbors is one marked by violence. Under Dutch colonial rule in the early 17th century, the Dutch East India Trading Company hired thousands of Chinese and Malay low-wage laborers to work on plantations and mines. The company often stoked division between the groups to keep them from acting together against the corporation and forced the Chinese to live in separate areas. Attacks on property owned by Chinese traders and mass killings of ethnic Chinese started in 1740, when some 10,000 died on Java. When Indonesia achieved independence from Dutch colonial rule in 1945, many ethnic Chinese were unable to obtain citizenship and were perceived as being more loyal to China. Hundreds were killed during an anti-Communist purge in 1965 that led to the authoritarian rule of President Suharto. Suharto forced Chinese residents to assume more Indonesian-style names and carry ID papers, and he banned Chinese characters and holiday celebrations. During the financial crisis of 1997-1998 that eventually forced Suharto’s resignation, Chinese Indonesians were targeted again during Jakarta riots for their perceived wealth. And while the Lunar New Year is now a national holiday, and Confucianism is one of the six official faiths of the Muslim-majority nation, anti-Chinese sentiment lingers. “The anti-Chinese narrative is still very much alive and well under the surface and can be used for the purpose of political mobilization whenever the political circumstances are prime for it,” Charlotte Setijadi, an assistant professor of humanities at Singapore Management University who has researched Chinese-Indonesian identity politics, told Al Jazeera in 2023.   Which makes the standout building on Lautze Street even more remarkable, especially during holidays such as Ramadan, when more people visit. This year in Indonesia, Ramadan began the evening of March 11 and will end at sunset on April 9. Since its establishment, the Lautze Mosque has served as a center for non-Muslim Chinese Indonesians who want to learn more about Islam from fellow ethnic Chinese. The mosque holds weekly meetings where new Muslims can learn how to carry out the ablution and prayers and study the Quran. Haji Muhammad Ali Karim Oei, the son of Karim Oei and now chairman of the foundation that manages the Lautze Mosque, said the organization has built mosques in Bandung and elsewhere, as well as the one in Jakarta, and helped convert more than 1,800 ethnic Chinese to Islam. “All our mosques are located near Chinese communities or Chinatown,” he said. “As the saying goes, ‘One can only catch the tiger cub by entering the tiger’s den.’” The mosque in Bandung, a city in West Java, was built in 1997. It also features Chinese-style architecture. Earlier this week, the acting governor of West Java, Bey Machmudin, performed Tarawih prayers at Lautze Mosque 2. Naga said most of the non-Muslims who come to the Lautze Mosque in Jakarta are corporate workers who plan to marry Muslim women. The Islamic preacher said that many non-Muslim Chinese are curious about how they can maintain Chinese cultural practices if they convert. “We share practical tips on how to prevent friction from occurring among family members due to different religious beliefs,” said Naga. Eko Tan, 67, a Muslim convert who lives in Jakarta and frequently prays at the Lautze Mosque, said he grew up as an atheist. Islam attracted him to what he said is its logical approach to faith. During an interview with VOA Indonesian, Eko, who has a bachelor’s degree in psychology, told VOA Indonesian the Lautze Mosque is affiliated with the Muhammadiyah Islamic organization, “whose teachings appeal to my logic. For me, the Quran is like a book on applied psychology.” Muhammadiyah, founded in 1912, is the second-largest Islamic organization in Indonesia. Eko, a parking attendant, said most mosques in Jakarta do not offer mentoring or training for Muslim converts. He added he found comfort being part of a community of Chinese Muslims at Lautze Mosque. During the month of Ramadan, new converts can attend a brief sermon before breaking their fast at the mosque and are encouraged to take turns leading the congregation in Tarawih prayers each evening. “This is meant to train the men to have more confidence in leading congregational prayers with their families,” Naga said.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.