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Abuja — A U.S. advisory council on African diaspora engagement is in Nigeria on a mission to discuss diaspora-led investments across sectors including education, health, technology and the creative industries. Analysts weigh in on the purpose of the visit. Delegates to the 12-member President’s Advisory Council on African Diaspora Engagement were in Nigeria's economic center, Lagos, Monday for talks with creative industry players. It was the council's first meeting in Africa and second overall. According to an official statement, meetings with government, civil society and private sector players in Nigeria are also scheduled to discuss investments in education, entrepreneurship, health and technology. Godbless Otubure, president of the nonprofit ReadytoLeadAfrica, said the visit is timely. "I think it's a strategic meeting; it is important especially at this time where we have a lot of challenges around the world, within the sub-region and specifically in Nigeria. They underscore the value that the United States places on its relations with not just Nigeria but the African diaspora community in the United States," said Otubure. The council was set up by the U.S. government last September to advise on ways to foster economic, cultural, social, and political relations among African communities and Africans in the diaspora. Authorities say the Nigeria visit underscores the council's effort to build partnerships and promote investments that can significantly benefit the African continent and its diaspora communities. According to a 2018-2022 American Community Survey, 45.3 million foreign nationals live in the United States, with an estimated 2.1 million coming from sub-Saharan Africa. Canada, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and United States have the highest number of Nigerians living abroad. Last year, Nigeria accounted for $19.5 billion or about 35% of sub-Saharan Africa's total remittances, according to a World Bank report. Otubure said the council's visit will add a better structure for investments on the continent by Africans in the diaspora. "When you put a structure to the investment that diaspora community in the U.S. especially of African descent are making, then you create more ties," he said. "People are able to see that what they have in the U.S. is what they're also looking at creating back home and you export culture, education best practices. This meeting is very important because a lot of conversations around the African Continental Free Trade Agreement — what is the role of the African community in that? How do they bring that conversation to the U.S. market?” Rotimi Olawale, co-founder of the nonprofit Youth Hub Africa, also spoke about the council's visit. "The visit is a welcome development as you know the U.S. is looking for ways to maximize relationships with other countries by focusing on the diaspora. Nigeria is one of the most educated migrant groups in the U.S. and Nigeria is also leading in terms of the remittances on the African continent. There are quite a lot of benefits if we harness the professionalism, experience and technology know how — that the diaspora can contribute," said Olawale. The council will discuss youth and women empowerment, and the promotion of creative industries. The team will hold meetings in Abuja on Tuesday and Wednesday before departing.

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The deadly July 8 Russian missile attack that damaged Ukraine’s largest children hospital also destroyed its school for seriously ill patients trying to keep up with their studies. The School of Superheroes, launched at Kyiv’s Okhmatdyt Children's Hospital, is now offered at other children’s hospitals in Ukraine. Anna Kosstutschenko has more from Kyiv. (Camera and Produced by: Pavel Suhodolskiy)

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.

Ukrainians react to the attempted assassination of former U.S. President Donald Trump. Days after NATO allies called Beijing a Ukraine war enabler, China and Russi begin joint naval drills. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday he aimed to have all the elements of a peace plan ready in November so Kyiv could convene a follow-up international summit. Ukrainians are less eager to fight than they were early in the war against Russian forces.

Budapest, Hungary — Top officials of the European Union will boycott informal meetings hosted by Hungary while the country holds the EU’s rotating presidency, after Hungary's pro-Russian Prime Minister Viktor Orban held a series of rogue meetings with foreign leaders about Ukraine that angered his European partners. The highly unusual decision to have the European Commission president and other top officials of the body boycott the meetings in Budapest was made “in light of recent developments marking the start of the Hungarian [EU] presidency," commission spokesperson Eric Mamer posted Monday on X. Hungary took over the six-month rotating role July 1, and since then Orban has visited Ukraine, Russia, Azerbaijan, China and the United States on a world tour he’s touted as a “peace mission” aimed at brokering an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine. That angered many leaders in the EU, who said they had not been informed in advance of Orban’s plans and rushed to emphasize that the nationalist leader was not acting on behalf of the bloc during his surprise meetings with Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping. Hungary's European affairs minister, Janos Boka, lashed out at the commission's decision, writing on X on Monday that the body ‘’cannot cherry pick institutions and member states it wants to cooperate with." “Are all Commission decisions now based on political considerations?” Boka wrote. A Hungarian government spokesperson, Zoltan Kovacs, also suggested the decision was a product of political bias, writing on X: “Sacrificing the institutional setup for private political purposes and disregarding [the Commission's] role for ideological and political motives.” The decision by the European Commission applies to informal meetings hosted by Hungary and means senior civil servants will attend instead of top officials like the European Commission president, currently Ursula von der Leyen. Orban's government has gone against the European mainstream by refusing to supply Kyiv with weapons to deter Russia's invasion and by threatening to block financial assistance to the war-ravaged country. In an interview with Hungarian newspaper Magyar Nemzet on Monday, Orban's political director said that following his trip to Moscow — the first such visit from an EU head of state or government in more than two years — the prime minister had briefed the leaders of other EU countries "in writing about the negotiations, the experiences of the first phase of the peace mission and the Hungarian proposals.” “If Europe wants peace and wants to have a decisive say in settling the war and ending the bloodshed, it must now work out and implement a change of direction,” said Balazs Orban, who is not related to the premier. But von der Leyen accused Orban of trying to mollify the Russian leader with the trip, writing on X: “Appeasement will not stop Putin. Only unity and determination will pave the path to a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine.” Hungary's government has long argued for an immediate cease-fire and peace negotiations in the conflict in Ukraine but has not outlined what such moves might mean for the country's territorial integrity and future security. It has exhibited an adversarial posture toward Ukraine while maintaining close ties to Moscow, even after its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Orban's critics have accused him of acting against the unity and interests of the EU and NATO, of which Hungary is a member, and of pursuing an appeasement strategy concerning Russia's aggression.

Washington — President Joe Biden has directed the U.S. Secret Service to protect independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., after the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, the Homeland Security secretary said Monday. Kennedy is a longshot to win Electoral College votes, much less the presidency. But his campaign events have drawn large crowds of supporters and people interested in his message. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Biden had directed the protection for Kennedy "both prior to and after the events of this past weekend." The Secret Service is legally required to protect major party presidential and vice-presidential candidates and their families 120 days out from a general election, but third-party candidates are on an as-needed basis. The Department of Homeland Security acknowledged in its 2024 budget overview that recent requests for candidate protection were coming in earlier than in the past. Threats to political candidates are common, but law enforcement officials have said that there has been an uptick in violent rhetoric since the weekend attack at the Trump rally. Mayorkas said both Biden and Trump are "constantly the subject of threats." "We are in a heightened and very dynamic threat environment," he said.  With a famous name and a loyal base, Kennedy has the potential to do better than any third-party presidential candidate since Ross Perot in the 1990s. But he didn't participate in the first presidential debate on June 27. Both the Biden and Trump campaigns, who fear he could be a spoiler, bypassed the nonpartisan debate commission and agreed to a schedule that essentially left out Kennedy. Kennedy, who last year challenged Biden for the Democratic nomination before launching an independent bid, has argued that his relatively strong showing in a few national polls gives his candidacy heft. Polls during the 2016 presidential campaign regularly put libertarian Gary Johnson's support in the high single or low double digits, but he ultimately received only about 3% of the vote nationwide. Trump became the official Republican presidential nominee Monday after receiving the votes of enough delegates at the Republican National Convention. He was not seriously injured in the shooting over the weekend in Pennsylvania. There is an independent review of the attack underway. Mayorkas said Trump's protection has been enhanced based on the "evolving nature of the threats to the former president" and his shift from presumptive nominee to nominee. 

Kyiv, Ukraine — Ukraine needs 25 Patriot air defense systems to fully defend its airspace and protect the entire country from Russian missile attacks, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday, adding that he also wants Western partners to send more F-16 warplanes than those already pledged. In his first news conference since returning from a trip to the United States, Zelenskyy said he is ready to work with Donald Trump if he wins November’s election. “I am not afraid" of that prospect, Zelenskyy said, adding he is convinced that most Republicans support Ukraine in its war with Russia. Zelenskyy said on Sunday he was “appalled” by the attempt to assassinate Trump and wished him a speedy recovery. Western support is crucial for Ukraine as it tries to beat back Russia’s bigger and better-equipped invading army. Zelenskyy has proved talented at persuading friendly countries to provide ever more support, even if he doesn’t always get what he wants immediately. A six-month delay in military assistance from the U.S., the biggest single contributor to Ukraine, meant that Kyiv’s forces “lost the initiative” on the front line, Zelenskyy said. Since the U.S. aid resumed in April, Ukraine has been scrambling to block a Russian offensive in eastern areas. Zelenskyy didn’t say how many Patriot systems Ukraine currently possesses, though it is far fewer than the 25 he says his country needs as Russia has battered the national power grid. The U.S. and other NATO allies promised last week to provide Ukraine with dozens of air defense systems in the coming months, including at least four of the sophisticated and expensive Patriot systems. F-16 warplanes pledged by Western countries are due to arrive in Ukraine in two waves: the first batch this summer, and the second by the end of the year, Zelenskyy said. He acknowledged the deliveries won’t, on their own, be a game-changer in the war, given that the Russian air force is far larger. Ukraine will need more warplanes, he said. Commenting on other issues, Zelenskyy said: Russia should be present at a second international gathering to discuss peace. Russia was absent from the first meeting. There is no date for a second gathering. A Ukrainian government reshuffle is in the cards. “We are discussing various changes with some ministers,” Zelenskyy said. Efforts to mobilize more troops are going according to plan, though Ukraine doesn’t have enough training grounds and 14 brigades haven’t yet received promised Western weapons.

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CAPE TOWN, South Africa — Six firefighters have died battling a bushfire in the eastern KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa and another two are in critical condition, emergency services said Monday.  Authorities said they suspect that Sunday's fire may have been started by poachers trying to trap animals to kill.  Three firefighters died at the scene of the fire near the town of Boston, around 130 kilometers inland from the east coast city of Durban, emergency services spokesperson Roland Robertson said. He said another three firefighters were treated and put on ventilators, but they all died soon after being admitted to the hospital.  One firefighter is still on a ventilator in the hospital, and another is also in critical condition, he said.  Robertson said some of the poachers were also believed to have been injured in the fires near private farms as wind and dry ground caused them to burn out of control. No arrests of suspected poachers were reported.  Wildfires have burned in other parts of KwaZulu-Natal for the last week due to the heat and the wind, leaving at least seven other people dead in various parts of the province, the local government has said.  The fires come as the other side of South Africa has been battered by multiple storms, bringing gale-force winds and flooding.  A series of cold fronts coming in from the Atlantic Ocean has caused widespread damage in Cape Town and surrounding areas on the southwest tip of the country over the last 10 days. Around 15,000 people have been affected and thousands of homes and other structures damaged or destroyed.

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 — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has sent a letter to the heads of other European Union countries briefing them on a recent set of foreign visits he made that angered other leaders in the bloc, Orban's political director said Monday. Orban this month visited Ukraine, Russia, Azerbaijan, China, and the United States on a world tour he's touted as a “peace mission” aimed at brokering an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine. His government has gone against the policy of most EU countries by refusing to supply Kyiv with weapons to deter Russia's invasion and by threatening to block financial assistance to the war-ravaged country. The long-serving prime minister's visits to Moscow and Beijing, where he held talks with leaders Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, angered his EU counterparts, who said they had not been informed in advance of Orban's plans. They rushed to clarify that Orban — whose country is currently filling the bloc's six-month rotating presidency — was not acting on behalf of the EU. In an interview with Hungarian newspaper Magyar Nemzet on Monday, Orban's political director said the prime minister had briefed the leaders of other EU countries "in writing about the negotiations, the experiences of the first phase of the peace mission and the Hungarian proposals.” “If Europe wants peace and wants to have a decisive say in settling the war and ending the bloodshed, it must now work out and implement a change of direction,” said Balazs Orban, who is not related to the premier. “A realistic assessment of the situation, realistic goals and the right timing — that’s our approach.” Hungary's government has long argued for an immediate cease-fire and peace negotiations in the conflict in Ukraine, but has not outlined what such moves might mean for the country's territorial integrity and future security. It has exhibited an adversarial posture toward Ukraine while maintaining close ties to Moscow, even after its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Orban's critics have accused him of acting against the unity and interests of the EU and NATO, of which Hungary is a member, and of pursuing an “appeasement” strategy concerning Russia's aggression. Following Orban's unannounced trip to Moscow for talks with Putin on July 5 — the first such visit from an EU head of state or government in more than two years — European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen accused him of trying to mollify the Russian leader, writing on X: “Appeasement will not stop Putin. Only unity and determination will pave the path to a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine.” Orban's unannounced meetings, which included a visit with former U.S. President Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate last week, have led some governments to consider boycotting or limiting participation in a series of upcoming informal meetings in Budapest related to the rotating EU presidency. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said last week that ministers from his country, along with Finland and the Baltic countries, would not participate in such meetings this summer, while other reports suggest a planned summit of foreign ministers in Budapest in late August could be disrupted by an EU-wide boycott.

The investigation into the assassination attempt on Donald Trump continues as the Republican National Convention gets underway in Milwaukee. The FBI has identified a suspect, but not a motive in Saturday’s shooting. All this as charges against Trump in the case against him for illegally taking classified documents with him when he left the White House have been dismissed. Israel stages a major attack in Gaza targeting the commander of Hamas’ military wing and we get an update from Kyiv. Plus, election day in Rwanda and an effort to save South African penguins.

LONDON — The world's second vaccine against malaria was launched on Monday as Ivory Coast began a routine vaccine program using shots developed by the University of Oxford and the Serum Institute of India.  The introduction of the World Health Organization (WHO)-approved R21 vaccine comes six months after the first malaria vaccine, called RTS,S and developed by British drugmaker GSK, began being administered in a routine program in Cameroon.  Some 15 African countries plan to introduce one of the two malaria vaccines this year with support from the Gavi global vaccine alliance.  Ivory Coast has received a total of 656,600 doses of the Oxford and Serum shot, which will initially vaccinate 250,000 children aged between 0 and 23 months across the West African country. The vaccine has also been approved by Ghana, Nigeria, Burkina Faso and the Central African Republic.  The rollout of a second vaccine is the latest milestone in the global fight against malaria and should help address a problem that emerged well before either of the two shots was launched: demand for them is likely to far outstrip supply for several years.  Experts say having safe and effective malaria vaccines is important to meet demand. The shot is meant to work alongside existing tools — such as bed nets — to combat malaria, which in Africa kills nearly half a million children under the age of five each year.  The Serum Institute of India, which manufactures the vaccine, has produced 25 million doses for the initial rollout of the shot and "is committed to scaling up to 100 million doses annually," the company said on Monday about the launch in Ivory Coast.  Serum said it is offering the vaccine for less than $4 per dose, in keeping with its aim to deliver low-cost vaccines at scale.  Results from a large trial in February showed the vaccine prevented around three-quarters of symptomatic malaria cases in young children the first year after they got the shots.  Experts told Reuters at that time that comparing the two malaria vaccines head-to-head was difficult because of the many variables involved in the trials, but overall their performance was similar — a conclusion endorsed by WHO.