Feed aggregator

The U.S. government's representative to the Minerals Security Partnership, an alliance of mostly Western countries that aims to speed the development of energy mineral supply chains, said last month that a Chinese company was using "predatory" tactics to hold down the price of cobalt mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Henry Wilkins looks at what this means for Africa.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken affirmed Monday that President Joe Biden's proposal to end the Israel-Hamas conflict is still achievable. Blinken also underlined the importance of postwar plans to rebuild Gaza. VOA's Veronica Balderas Iglesias reports.

New York — Donald Trump’s lawyers on Monday asked the New York judge who presided over his hush money trial to set aside his conviction and delay his sentencing scheduled for later this month. The letter to Judge Juan M. Merchan cited the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling earlier Monday and asked the judge to delay Trump’s sentencing while he weighs the high court’s decision and how it could influence the New York case, the people said. The people could not discuss details of the letter before it was made public and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. The Supreme Court on Monday ruled for the first time that former presidents have broad immunity from prosecution. Trump was convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records, arising from what prosecutors said was an attempt to cover up a hush money payment just before the 2016 presidential election. Merchan instituted a policy in the run-up to the trial requiring both sides to send him a one-page letter summarizing their arguments before making longer court filings. He said he did that to better manage the docket, so he was not inundated with voluminous paperwork.

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 — The United States’ commitment to providing extended deterrence to South Korea is being put to the test, with some South Korean politicians publicly questioning the effectiveness of the U.S. nuclear umbrella after Russia and North Korea reached a new defense pact. Debate over the U.S. extended deterrence was sparked by Representative Na Kyung Won, a five-term lawmaker of South Korea’s ruling People Power Party, who is running for the party leadership. “The deterrence under the solid South Korea-U.S. alliance is currently working, but it does not guarantee the capacity to respond to the future changes in the security environment,” Na said in a social media post last week. “The international situation, such as cooperation between North Korea and Russia, is adding uncertainty to the security of South Korea,” she added, referring to the stronger military ties between Russia and North Korea, bolstered by the comprehensive strategic partnership treaty signed by Russia’s President Vladmir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang last month. The new treaty mandates Russia and North Korea to immediately assist each other militarily if either of them is attacked by a third country. The prospect of quasi-automatic Russian involvement in any future war between the two Koreas is now causing alarm in Seoul. The credibility of extended deterrence is a frequent topic of conversation in today’s South Korea, where citizens must contend with seemingly endless threats and provocations from the North.     Seoul is doing its best to allay citizens’ fears by invoking the April 2023 Washington Declaration, which reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to defend South Korea through its extended nuclear umbrella as well as robust missile defense and conventional forces.     The Washington Declaration outlined a series of measures, including the establishment of the bilateral Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG), to deter North Korea’s use of nuclear weapons.     In the joint declaration, the U.S. additionally vowed to enhance the visibility of its strategic assets, such as a nuclear-armed submarine, around the Korean Peninsula. The Washington Declaration’s measures are collectively sufficient to deter aggression from Pyongyang, according to some experts in the U.S. The joint declaration was “unprecedented in its strength and clarity,” Evans Revere, a former State Department official who negotiated with North Korea, told VOA’s Korean Service on Sunday. “And the NCG process is designed to be flexible, creative, and allow for adaptation to a broad range of future contingencies.” Troop presence David Maxwell, a former U.S. Special Forces colonel who served on the Combined Forces Command of the U.S and South Korea, told VOA’s Korean Service on Sunday that a large troop presence on the Korean Peninsula demonstrates Washington’s firm commitment to the defense of its key ally. “How many Russian troops are committed to North Korea? There is no comparison as to the commitment,” said Maxwell, who now serves as vice president of the Center for Asia Pacific Strategy. Currently, the U.S. has about 28,500 service members deployed in South Korea. In contrast, Elbridge Colby, who served as the deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy and force development in the Trump administration, suggested the U.S. might have to go beyond the Washington Declaration to ensure the security of South Korea. “I think we need to take very seriously how dire the threat from North Korea is, and that the Washington Declaration is not a solution,” Colby told VOA’s Korean Service on the phone last week.     “It’s been a failure that both North Korea and China are a nuclear breakout. They’re increasing the size and the sophistication of the nuclear forces. So it’s very unsurprising that serious people in South Korea are coming to this conclusion.”     Bruce Bennett, senior defense analyst at the RAND Corporation, believes some South Koreans may lack confidence in the Washington Declaration because the NCG’s work is not made public. “Because the NCG that it established has carried out most of its work in secrecy and provided little substance to reassure the South Korean people, many of the South Koreans with whom I have spoken are concerned that it is an inadequate means for rebuilding South Korean trust,” Bennett told VOA’s Korean Service on Sunday. Responding to an inquiry from VOA’s Korean Service, a State Department spokesperson said Thursday that "the U.S. and the ROK are enhancing and strengthening extended deterrence through the Nuclear Consultative Group, established as part of the Washington Declaration.” The spokesperson also stressed that the Washington Declaration is “a landmark U.S. extended deterrence commitment to the Republic of Korea.” The Republic of Korea is South Korea’s official name. Earlier last week, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell maintained that the series of mechanisms put in place between the United States and South Korea through the Washington Declaration “has given us what we need to work with” regarding the alliance’s deterrence posture. North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles Monday, one of which is presumed to have failed and fallen inland near Pyongyang. The latest missile test came just five days after North Korea conducted a ballistic missile test in which it claimed to have successfully tested its multiple-warhead missile technology. South Korean authorities have dismissed such a claim. Eunjung Cho contributed to this report.  

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.

doha, qatar — The third round of U.N.-led talks to explore engagement with Afghanistan ended Monday without the Taliban making any reform pledges or winning concessions from the international community. A few international organizations and special envoys for Afghanistan from nearly two dozen countries met with Taliban officials in Doha, Qatar, over two days. Rosemary DiCarlo, U.N. undersecretary-general for political and peacebuilding affairs, who presided over the event, told reporters the talks were "constructive" and "useful." "This is the first time such a broad cross section of the international community and the de facto authorities have had the opportunity to hold such detailed discussions," DiCarlo said at the news conference after the event. "The discussions were frank and, I believe, useful." U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres initiated the "Doha process" a year ago. While participants in the latest round of talks agreed to continue to engage, DiCarlo ruled out recognizing the de facto regime in Kabul unless the Taliban ended curbs on women's education and participation in public life. Individual decisions "Afghanistan cannot return to the international fold, or fully develop economically and socially, if it is deprived of the contributions and potential of half its population," the U.N. official said, adding that recognizing Taliban rule is also not the mandate of the global body but would be the decision of individual countries. Although nearly 16 countries have embassies in Afghanistan, the global community has held back recognition of the Taliban government mainly because it is not inclusive and restricts the rights of women and girls in the country. Though women's rights were not part of the official agenda, DiCarlo said participants raised the issue throughout their discussions and highlighted the need for an inclusive government during the two-day talks that focused on developing a private business sector and helping the Taliban sustain anti-narcotics gains. "Afghanistan's messages reached all participant countries," Taliban delegation head Zabihullah Mujahid said in a post on social media platform X after the talks, adding that his country needed international cooperation. Speaking to VOA on background, a Western diplomat said the Afghan delegation members were "very competent" and their technical know-how was "impressive." Earlier, in a post on X, Mujahid, who is also the Taliban's chief spokesperson, claimed success. "It was pledged that restriction on banking and economic avenues should be lifted," the post said. While more than a hundred Taliban members face international sanctions, including financial sanctions, Afghanistan's banks do not. Experts say the country is disconnected from the global banking system and the dominant SWIFT financial transaction network because Western banks are wary of doing business with Afghan banks and exposing themselves to the reputational and financial risks they pose. No new policy was introduced by any country, the Western diplomat privy to the talks said. Separately, the U.S. froze $9.5 billion in Afghan central bank funds after the Taliban took control of the country in August 2021. In 2022, the Biden administration put $3.5 billion of that money in a Switzerland-based trust account called “Fund for the Afghan People,” which a board oversees. The remaining money remains locked. China, Russia, Pakistan and Iran are among countries that support unfreezing the funds. 'It was about understanding' Speaking to reporters late Monday, Mujahid said the Taliban did not come expecting a breakthrough. "It [the gathering] was about understanding each other's views," Mujahid said in response to a VOA question on the lack of progress on contentious issues between the Taliban and the West. "The achievement is that every country wants to support Afghanistan." The U.N. is under fire from rights activists for its decision to exclude Afghan civil society activists to ensure the Taliban's participation in the global meeting. DiCarlo told reporters it was "a very tough, maybe impossible choice." "We have a mandate to support this process [of talks]. Our belief was to bring the de facto authorities and special envoys together for direct talks," DiCarlo said. "Regrettably, the de facto authorities will not sit across the table with Afghan civil society in this format." When asked what concessions the global body would be willing to make in the future to bring the Taliban back to the table, DiCarlo said she could not predict what conditions the de facto rulers might place. "I could not speculate on that. What I can say is that they did come today. They were very engaged," she said. At least three prominent Afghan women have declined the U.N.'s invitation to meet for talks in Doha on Tuesday. "I respect their decision," DiCarlo said. "We're involved in a process now that is going to be a long-term process. This is not easy going forward. And we will continue to try to do the best we can. We won't make everybody happy." Asked whether the Taliban would come back for more talks, Mujahid said it would depend on who and what were on the table. "We will consider each meeting separately," he said. " We will look at its agenda and targets." No date has been set for the next round of U.N.-led talks on Afghanistan.

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.

The US Supreme Court sides with Donald Trump in that the president of the United States, no matter who that person is, is entitled to “presumptive immunity” for official acts in office. A move that further delays his trial for trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The United States continues pushing for an Israel-Hamas peace plan involving regional intermediaries Egypt and Qatar. The far-right wins big in French elections and liberals in the U.S. are worried about their candidate’s poor debate performance and consequences it might have for the party. Hungary takes over the EU presidency, we’ll get an update from Kyiv. Heavy rains are wreaking havoc in Europe and South Asia as a hurricane approaches the Caribbean. Plus, is World War III inevitable?

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.

islamabad — A group of independent experts from the United Nations demanded Monday the immediate and unconditional release of Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan, asserting that his imprisonment is arbitrary and violates international laws. The Geneva-based Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, which reports to the U.N. Human Rights Council, published the opinion, saying that Pakistani authorities have “no legal basis” for Khan’s detention. The five-member group pointed out that the imprisonment of the 71-year-old former Pakistani leader violated at least a dozen articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. “The Working Group requests the government of Pakistan to take the steps necessary to remedy the situation of Mr. Khan without delay and bring it into conformity with the relevant international norms,” it said. Khan was convicted and sentenced to three years in August 2023 for alleged corrupt practices after a trial that he and independent legal experts declared replete with due process violations. Three days later, the Election Commission of Pakistan disqualified him from running for office for five years. The conviction was related to his alleged failure to report and disclose gifts received during his time as prime minister in the so-called Toshakhana case. Toshakhana — which literally means “treasure house” — is a government department where gifts received by Pakistani leaders during foreign state visits are stored and displayed. The U.N. group determined that the prosecution was not grounded in law from the outset, and that Khan’s unlawful detention “appears to have been intended to disqualify him from running for political office." The opinion was dated March 25 but made public only Monday. The experts concluded that “the appropriate remedy would be to release Mr. Khan immediately and accord him an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations.” Khan, a philanthropist, politician and former cricket star, has been in jail since last August. He served as the prime minister of Pakistan from 2018 to April 2022, when an opposition-led parliamentary no-confidence vote ousted him from power. Pakistani authorities, allegedly acting on behalf of the country’s powerful military, have filed numerous lawsuits against the ousted leader, accusing him of murder, sedition, graft and other crimes. Khan denies the allegations as frivolous and an attempt to keep him from power. He is the head of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or PTI, rated as the most popular political party in the South Asian nation of about 245 million people. The experts noted that they had reached out to the Pakistani government through regular communication procedures to clarify the legal provisions justifying Khan’s detention and its compatibility with the state’s obligations under relevant international treaties. “The working group regrets that it did not receive a response from the government to the present communication,” they stated. Pakistani officials did not immediately respond to the U.N. findings. The U.N. panel has the authority to investigate and issue legal opinions about alleged cases of arbitrarily imposed deprivation of liberty. Its opinions are not legally binding, but they hold significant reputational weight. Khan’s party hailed the group’s conclusions and renewed its demand for Khan’s immediate release. “The international silence has finally broken on the illegal incarceration of Imran Khan,” said Zulfi Bukhari, adviser to Khan and a PTI spokesperson. “The international condemnation of the manner in which the government of Pakistan illegally stripped Mr. Khan of his freedom and rights has echoed from the U.S. to the U.N. ... and now the Working Group [is] shining a light on it as a blatant effort to interfere with his intentions to run for political office,” Bukhari stated. In the lead-up to Pakistan’s February 2024 general elections, PTI candidates were arrested, tortured and intimidated into leaving the party. Authorities blocked and disrupted PTI campaign rallies, and the party was deprived of its iconic cricket bat symbol in a controversial move, forcing its candidates to run as independents. Just days before the February 8 election, Khan was convicted in three more cases and sentenced to an additional 10 years, 14 years and seven years, respectively. He blamed the military for the crackdown on his party and vote manipulations and mobile phone and internet shutdowns on election day — charges the election commission and the military denied. Despite the restrictions, independents aligned with PTI won the most directly elected seats, 92, but were short of a simple majority needed to form the government. Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 368-7 to urge a “full and independent investigation of claims of interference or irregularities” in Pakistan’s election. Islamabad rejected the probe call as an interference in the country’s internal affairs, saying the U.S. congressional resolution stemmed from “an incomplete understanding of the political situation and electoral process” in Pakistan.

baghdad, iraq — Iraqi police announced Monday the arrest of three suspected members of a militant group accused of arson attacks in the country's north.  The announcement comes at a time of heightened tension in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, where the Turkish army is conducting operations against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is listed as a "terrorist" group by Ankara and several Western allies.  The region is also scheduled to hold much-delayed elections in October.  The fires in 2023 and 2024 struck markets and shopping centers in the cities of Kirkuk, Irbil and Dohuk, Iraqi interior ministry spokesperson Moqdad Miri said during a news conference, adding that the suspects made "confessions."  One suspect was arrested at the end of May and "chemical products" used to start fires were found in his vehicle, Miri said.  "The entity responsible for execution ... is the PKK organization, a banned organization," he added.  The objective was to "harm the commercial interests of a country with which they are in direct opposition," as well as "to impact the security and economic situation" of the autonomous Kurdistan region, he added.  In a statement, the PKK's political bureau "rejected" what it said were "baseless allegations."  It called on "the Iraqi state and the ministry of the interior to act responsibly in the face of directives coming from Turkish intelligence" and to "identify the real perpetrators" of the fires.  Strained ties   The PKK, which has fought a decadeslong insurgency against the Turkish state, has a presence in northern Iraq, as does Turkey, which has operated from several dozen military bases there against the Kurdish group.  Turkey's military operations, which sometimes take place deep inside Iraqi territory, have frequently strained bilateral ties.  During the joint conference, a senior official from Kurdistan's interior ministry, Hemin Mirany, revealed the identity of two of the suspects, saying that one belonged to the local peshmerga armed forces.  The other suspect was an "officer in the anti-terrorist services of Sulaymaniyah," Kurdistan's second city, Mirany said.  The Kurdish official said the two men were "recruited" by the PKK and were "trained by fighters coming from Turkey and Syria in particular."  The three suspects were presented at the conference wearing yellow prison outfits, kneeling, blindfolded and handcuffed with their hands behind their backs.  Officials in both Turkey and Irbil, the capital of the Kurdistan region, have accused the PKK of benefiting from support within the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), a major political party that controls the security services in Sulaymaniyah.  Responding to a request for comment, a PUK spokesperson, Saadi Ahmed Pire, told AFP the anti-terrorism officer arrested had been "immediately removed" eight months ago when federal authorities first warned them that the individual had been accused.  In March, following a visit by senior Turkish officials to Iraq, Baghdad quietly listed the PKK as a "banned organization" — though Ankara demands that the Iraqi government do more in the fight against the militant group.

Russian attacks on Ukrainians cities, including the capitol Kyiv continued through the weekend. Hungary's nationalist government, which has a history of blocking or delaying funds and arms for Ukraine took it’s turn Monday in the rotation as president of the European Union. Campaigners in Georgia are seeking to highlight past atrocities committed by invading Russian troops. Ten Ukrainian civilians return to Kyiv after being held for years in Russia. A celebrity chef in America is becoming a hero for Ukraine.

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.

France’s far-right has never been closer to power after winning the first round of snap legislative elections Sunday. It’s a stunning result that could see the far-right taking control of the government — and a far-right prime minister ahead of the Paris Olympics — if it wins big in the second round of voting July 7. The left and center are now calling for an alliance against extremism in one of Europe’s largest countries. Lisa Bryant reports from Paris.

State Department — The United States is "determined" to prevent military conflict between Israel and Hezbollah fighters based in southern Lebanon from escalating into an all-out war, America’s top diplomat said Monday.  While acknowledging “forces of momentum ... may be leading” toward a war between Israel and Hezbollah, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, “None of the main actors actually want a war.”  “I don't believe Hezbollah actually wants a war,” he told an audience at the Washington-based Brookings Institution. “Israel doesn't want a war, although they may well be prepared to engage in one if necessary. ...  “Lebanon certainly doesn't want a war because it would be the leading victim in such a war,” he added. "And I don’t believe that Iran wants a war, in part because it wants to make sure that Hezbollah is not destroyed and that it can hold onto Hezbollah as a card if it needs it."    Blinken’s comments come as Israel signals that a military "downshift" in Gaza would allow its forces to allocate more resources to addressing the threat posed by the Iran-backed Hezbollah on the northern front.  As Blinken spoke, pro-Palestinian protesters outside the Brookings Institution could be heard through his microphone.  Blinken renewed his call on Hamas' leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, to accept a U.S.-proposed Gaza cease-fire and said Washington is “determined not to be outpaced” in Gaza's post-war reconstruction.  “We know that there are three things that are unacceptable for Gaza's future: an Israeli occupation; Hamas perpetuating its leadership; or chaos, anarchy, lawlessness, which is what we're seeing in big parts of Gaza today.”  In Jerusalem, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said Israel is “advancing to the end of the phase of eliminating” Hamas' military capabilities in the Gaza Strip, nearly nine months into Israel’s war with the militants.  Blinken also defended U.S. President Joe Biden following Thursday night's presidential debate with former president Donald Trump, which many deemed a disappointing performance by Biden. Blinken said that U.S. allies “like the choices and the policies" Biden is pursuing.  China  In his foreign policy speech on Monday, Blinken also addressed China.  “I think China's objectives are clear. Over time, over the coming decades, they would like to be the leading country, the dominant country in the international system, militarily, economically, diplomatically, that's clear,” said Blinken.  While the U.S. has stated that its goal is to responsibly manage competition with China, the government in Beijing has refuted this, saying the relationship between the world’s two largest economies should not be defined by competition.  Chinese officials have said that “major-country competition” provides “no answer to the problems in the U.S. or the challenges in the world.”  The U.S. will host a NATO summit in Washington from July 9 to July 11, with a focus on European security amid Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine.  Four countries from the Indo-Pacific region — Australia, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand — are set to attend the summit.  Secretary Blinken warned that while China is not directly providing arms to Russia, its supply of critical materials has helped Moscow sustain its war on Ukraine, posing serious repercussions for European security. Blinken said that 70% of Russia's imported machine tools and 90% of its microelectronics come from China.  Chinese officials have rejected what they describe as Washington's "smear," asserting that Beijing regulates the export of dual-use articles in accordance with its laws and regulations. 

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.