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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.

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.

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.

Voters in the United Kingdom cast ballots in a national election on Thursday, passing judgment on British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s 20 months in office, and the four Conservative prime ministers before him. Voters are widely expected to do something they have not done since 2005: elect a Labour Party government. We talk with American University professor Laura Beers. Donald Trump has established a sizable lead over President Joe Biden in the White House race since the two candidates debated last week. Hurricane Beryl hits Jamaica. And the evolution of Barbie opens in London this week as the famed Mattel doll celebrates her 65th birthday this year.

OROVILLE, Calif. — Firefighters lined roads to keep flames from reaching homes as helicopters dropped water on a growing wildfire Wednesday in Northern California that has forced at least 26,000 people to evacuate, as the state sweltered under extreme heat. The Thompson fire broke out before noon Tuesday about 110 kilometers north of Sacramento, near the city of Oroville in Butte County. It sent up a huge plume of smoke that could be seen from space as it grew to more than 14 square kilometers. There was no containment. But Oroville Mayor David Pittman said by Wednesday afternoon there had been a "significant drop in the fire activity," and he was hopeful that some residents could soon be allowed to return home. The fire's progress was stopped along the southern edge and firefighters working in steep terrain were trying to build containment lines on the northern side. "On that north side they have some real struggles in terms of the topography," Pittman said. More than a dozen other blazes, most of them small, were active in across the state, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire. A new fire Wednesday afternoon prompted a small number of evacuations in heavily populated Simi Valley, about 65 kilometers northwest of downtown Los Angeles. The state's largest blaze, the Basin Fire, covered nearly 57 square kilometers of the Sierra National Forest in eastern Fresno County and was 26% contained. In Oroville, a state of emergency was declared Tuesday night and evacuation centers were set up. The evacuation zone expanded Wednesday into foothills and rural areas beyond the city that's home to about 20,000 people. With July Fourth in mind, authorities also warned that fireworks are banned in many places, including most of Butte County. There was no immediate official report on property losses. An Associated Press photographer saw fire burn three adjacent suburban-style homes in Oroville. The fire ignited sprigs of grass poking from the concrete edges of Lake Oroville as gusty winds whipped up American flags lining a bend of the state's second largest reservoir and the nation's tallest dam. Residents stood on hillsides in the night, watching the orange glow, as aircraft made water drops to keep the fire from spreading. A crew of more than a dozen firefighters saved one home as goats and other farm animals ran to find safety. The fire's cause is being investigated. Red flag warnings for critical fire weather conditions, including gusty northerly winds and low humidity levels, were in effect when it erupted. The warnings were expected to remain in effect until 8 p.m. Wednesday, said Garrett Sjolund, the Butte County unit chief for Cal Fire. "The conditions out there that are in our county this summer are much different than we've experienced the last two summers," Sjolund said in an online briefing. "The fuels are very dense, brush is dry. And as you can see, any wind will move a fire out very quickly." The conditions led Pacific Gas & Electric to implement targeted public safety power shutoffs in parts of some Northern California counties to prevent fires from being ignited by downed or damaged wires. More high temperatures above 100 degrees (37.8 Celsius) were forecast Wednesday, the National Weather Service said. Hot conditions were expected to continue into next week. Authorities warned of full legal consequences for any illegal use of fireworks during the Fourth of July holiday. "Don't be an idiot, cause a fire and create more problems for us," said Butte County Sheriff Kory L. Honea. "No one in the community is going to want that. And we certainly don't want this." The governor's office announced late Tuesday that federal funding had been approved to help with firefighting efforts. Gov. Gavin Newsom this week activated the State Operations Center to coordinate California's response, dispatch mutual aid and support communities as they respond to threats of wildfire and excessive heat. In Southern California, Joshua Tree National Park officials closed Covington Flats, an area with most of the park's important Joshua tree populations, on Wednesday because of extreme fire risk after spring rains led to abundant grass that has now dried. A June 2023 fire burned 4.14 square kilometers of Joshua trees and desert tortoise habitat.

HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM — Analysts cite an effort to strengthen Vietnam’s South China Sea territorial claims as a key reason Hanoi welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this month, despite potential fallout from links to Moscow in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. They also say Russian investment in offshore oil and gas reserves off Vietnam’s coast in the South China shows Hanoi strengthening its territorial claims. Vietnam and Russia signed 11 agreements during the visit. They included, according to the Kremlin, granting an investment license for a hydrocarbon block off Vietnam’s southeastern coast to Zarubezhneft, a state-owned Russian oil and gas firm with a history of joint ventures with Vietnam. Ian Storey, senior fellow at Singapore's ISEAS Yusof-Ishak Institute, told VOA that Vietnam wants to expand its oil and gas operations with Russia inside its exclusive economic zone for two reasons. "First, the resources in the fields being worked by Vietsovpetro [a Russian-Vietnamese oil and gas joint venture] are running low and it's time to start operations in new blocks," Storey wrote over email on June 25, referring to an existing oil partnership. "Second," he wrote, "Vietnam wants to internationalize the energy projects in its EEZ because it adds legitimacy to its jurisdictional claims in the South China Sea." Storey added that although there have been reports of Hanoi making an arms purchase by using funds from the joint oil enterprise Rusvietpetro, it is unlikely that the leaders settled plans for a weapons sale during the visit. "While there have been reports that Russia is considering providing loans to Vietnam to buy military hardware using the profits from their joint venture in Siberia, it is unclear whether the two sides have reached a final agreement," Storey wrote. The New York Times reported on a leaked March 2023 document from Vietnam's Finance Ministry that outlined plans for Hanoi to purchase Russian weapons using loans from Rusvietpetro. "The absence of Russian Defence Minister [Andrei] Belousov from Putin's entourage to Vietnam suggests they have not," he wrote. Protecting disputed waters Although Vietnamese territory stretches 370 kilometers off its coast according to international law, China claims the vast majority of the South China Sea with its disputed so-called nine-dash line delineating its claims in the sea. Ray Powell, director of the Sea Light Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation at Stanford University, wrote over WhatsApp on June 27 that the block licensed to Zarubezhneft "appears to be inside" the nine-dash line. Nguyen The Phuong, a maritime security expert and Ph.D. candidate at the University of New South Wales Canberra, told VOA during a call on June 26 that the key takeaway from Putin's visit is Hanoi's intention to secure its territorial integrity. "Vietnam wants Russia to have more presence in the South China Sea because, different from the United States or Western countries, the presence of Russia will not infuriate China," Phuong said. "It could somehow prevent China from going overboard, from being overly aggressive." Alexander Vuving, professor at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, said it is important for Hanoi to maintain strong ties with Moscow after Putin's invasion of Ukraine. "The Ukraine war is pushing Russia closer to China, and that is the Vietnamese nightmare," Vuving said during a Zoom call with VOA on June 27, noting that Moscow is Hanoi’s leading partner to counter Chinese aggression in the South China Sea. "From Vietnam's perspective, they need Russia," he said. Vietnam is attempting to diversify its military equipment away from Russia, which has been its primary supplier, and it is not clear whether the two sides agreed on an arms sale during this visit. Nevertheless, Russia remains Hanoi's top option to update its aging military arsenal, Vuving said. "[Vietnam] is still trying to buy arms from Russia for many reasons," he said. "The price is not so high like some other alternative sources but there's also the question of the issue of trust – Vietnam would trust Russia," Vuving said. That trust comes from a long history of support from the former Soviet Union and later Russia, Nguyen Hong Hai, senior lecturer at Hanoi's Vinuniversity, told VOA. Along with military aid to support Vietnam's fights for independence, the Soviet Union and Russia helped to bring the country out of poverty and most of Vietnam's top leaders trained there, Hai said. "For the generation who lived during that period of time, they still have very fond memories of the Soviet Union's and Russian assistance to Vietnam," Hai said June 25 by Zoom. Some see dangers Even with the historic connection, some point to the dangers of welcoming Putin after the invasion of Ukraine and Putin's visits to China and North Korea. "This trip was made right after Putin visited [Chinese President] Xi Jinping and [North Korean leader] Kim Jong Un. The two most brutal dictators in East Asia," Tran Anh Quan, a Ho Chi Minh City-based social activist wrote to VOA in Vietnamese over Telegram. "If Putin can link up with Xi Jinping, Kim Jong Un, and To Lam, it will form an alliance of tyrants of the world's major dictatorial states," Quan said, referring to former public security minister To Lam, who became president in May. Quan said he has not seen much response from the Vietnamese public to Putin's Hanoi visit. He said many are afraid to speak out in the current political environment and the public is more focused on the case of Thich Minh Tue – a monk who is not part of a state-sanctioned Buddhist group and became famous for walking barefoot across the country before he was detained by police in early June. "Vietnam is increasingly suppressing critical voices, so people dare to speak out less than before," Quan said. Zachary Abuza, Southeast Asia expert and professor at the National War College in Washington, also noted the negative image Putin's visit casts, adding that Russia's war on Ukraine highlights the degradation of international laws, crucial to Vietnam, given its territorial tensions with neighboring China. "The optics of it are terrible," he told VOA on June 17. "This is the leader who is trying to upend the international rules-based order and change borders through the use of force. … The legal rationale that Russia and Putin have come up with for the invasion of Ukraine is really dangerous for Vietnam." Still, Hai said that although Vietnam and Ukraine are two small nations neighboring larger powers, it is too simplistic to compare the relationships between Vietnam and China with Ukraine and Russia. "[Vietnam] has coexisted with China for over 4,000 years and understands its neighbor well," he said, while noting the countries continue to have territorial disputes and had a border war in 1979. "Since normalizing relations in 1991, the two countries have managed their relationship effectively,’’ Hai said. ‘’Both nations aim to avoid conflict." Further, he added that Hanoi does not "take sides" with Russia, and when leaders express their debt to the Soviet Union, that includes its former republic, Ukraine. "In the joint statement between Vietnam and Russia during the Putin visit … Vietnam was very careful to show it does not side with Russia," Hai 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.

WASHINGTON — General Motors will pay nearly $146 million in penalties to the federal government because 5.9 million of its older vehicles do not comply with emissions and fuel economy standards. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a statement Wednesday that certain GM vehicles from the 2012 through 2018 model years did not comply with federal fuel economy requirements. The penalty comes after the Environmental Protection Agency said its testing showed the GM pickups and SUVs emit more than 10% more carbon dioxide on average than GM's initial compliance testing claimed. The EPA says the vehicles will remain on the road and cannot be repaired. The GM vehicles on average consume at least 10% more fuel than the window sticker numbers say, but the company won't be required to reduce the miles per gallon on the stickers, the EPA said. "Our investigation has achieved accountability and upholds an important program that's reducing air pollution and protecting communities across the country," EPA Administrator Michael Regan said. GM said in a statement that it complied with all regulations regarding the pollution and mileage certification of its vehicles. The company said it is not admitting to any wrongdoing nor that it failed to comply with the Clean Air Act. The problem stems from a change in testing procedures that the EPA put in place in 2016, GM spokesperson Bill Grotz said. Owners don't have to take any action because there is no defect in the vehicles, Grotz said. "We believe this voluntary action is the best course of action to resolve the outstanding issues with the federal government," he said. The enforcement action involves about 4.6 million full-size pickups and SUVs and about 1.3 million midsize SUVs, the EPA said. The affected models include the Chevy Tahoe, Cadillac Escalade and Chevy Silverado. About 40 variations of GM vehicles are covered. GM will be forced to give up credits used to ensure that manufacturers' greenhouse gas emissions are below the fleet standard for emissions that applies for that model year, the EPA said. In a quarterly filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, GM said it expects the total cost to resolve the matter will be $490 million. Because GM agreed to address the excess emissions, EPA said it was not necessary to make a formal determination regarding the reasons for the excess pollution. But David Cooke, senior vehicles analyst for the Union of Concerned Scientists, questioned how GM could not know that pollution exceeded initial tests by more than 10% because the problem was so widespread on so many different vehicles. "You don't just make a more than 10% rounding error," he said. Dan Becker, director of the Safe Climate Transport Campaign for the environmental group Center for Biological Diversity, said the violations by GM "show why automakers can't be trusted to protect our air and health, and why we need strong pollution rules. Supreme Court, take notice!" In similar pollution cases in the past, automakers have been fined under the Clean Air Act for such violations, and the Justice Department normally gets involved, Cooke said. Hyundai and Kia, for instance, faced Justice Department action in a similar case. The Justice Department declined to comment, and GM said the settlement resolves all government claims. Cooke said it's possible that GM owners could sue the company because they are getting lower gas mileage than advertised. In 2014, Hyundai and Kia entered into a settlement in which they had to pay a $100 million civil penalty to end a two-year investigation into overstated gas mileage on window stickers of 1.2 million vehicles.