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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.

Written by Raul Pinto & Laila Khan Approximately one year ago, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) launched Cash Electronic Bonds (CeBONDS), a web portal with the stated intent improving how people pay bonds to ICE to secure the release of a loved one from detention. One year in, it’s clear that while CeBONDS makes it […]

The post CeBONDS One Year After its Implementation appeared first on Immigration Impact.

Many Afghans are applying for resettlement in the U.S., including Nizakat Parsa. The journalist and his family embarked on a three-month journey through the Americas in search of freedom and security. From California, Fahim Sediqi reports, narrated by Elizabeth Cherneff. Camera: Fahim Sediqi .

This week the United States and 28 partner nations began the world’s largest naval war exercise off the shores of Hawaii. Known as Rim of the Pacific, or RIMPAC, analysts say this year’s exercise gives partners a chance to work together while sending a strong deterrence message to China. VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb has details.

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.

In Department of State v. Munoz, the Supreme Court has chosen procedural concerns over the reality that errors by consular officers may bar U.S. citizens from residing in the United States with their noncitizen spouses. Consular nonreviewability is a judge-made doctrine. Courts have barred review of visa denials due to separation of powers concerns—that decisions […]

The post Supreme Court’s Munoz Decision Disregards Fundamental Interests of U.S. Citizens Married to Noncitizens appeared first on Immigration Impact.

Blantyre, Malawi    — Malawi’s Constitutional Court on Friday dismissed the case of two applicants who wanted it to legalize same-sex relationships. State lawyers welcomed the ruling while lawyers for the applicants expressed disappointment. The applicants, Jan Willem Akster from the Netherlands and a Malawian transgender man, Jana Gonani, brought their case to the Constitutional Court for interpretation of Malawi's anti-homosexuality laws following their arrest in 2021. Akster is currently facing nine charges of sexual abuse and sodomy, while Gonani is charged with unnatural offenses. They said Malawi’s laws violate their fundamental rights, including a right to privacy and dignity. However, Judges Joseph Chigona, Vikochi Chima and Chimbizgani Kacheche rejected their arguments. Chigona said the applicants failed to bring evidence of how the provisions in the country's laws discriminated against homosexuals. Chigona also said Akster failed to prove that Malawi’s laws violated his right to health. “The first applicant was asked in a cross examination if he had ever accessed a public hospital and replied that he had gone to Zomba Central Hospital after he had been involved in a car accident," Chigona said. "When he was asked about his experience there, especially if he was asked about his sexual orientation before he was assisted, he said he was not. He actually said that he was medically assisted so well. The only complaint he had about the facility were spiders in the ward.” Chigona said the court also dismissed claims that Malawi police violated Gonani’s right to privacy when they ordered him to undress, to confirm his claims that he was transgender. “We know that by Section 24 of Criminal Procedure and Evidence Code that police are empowered to search a suspect who is reasonably suspected of having committed a particular offense and who has been arrested," the judge said. "The caveat is that the search only extends as it is reasonably required for discovering a thing upon this person in connection to the offenses he was suspected of.” Minority rights activists and religious leaders attended the delivery of the judgment, which took over six hours. Rights activist Michael Kaiyatsa of the Center for Human Rights and Rehabilitation said he was not happy with the ruling but would comment more after going through the written judgment. Defense attorney Bob Chimkango said, “To be honest, we are satisfied with the process, but the only thing that we may not be agreeing with is the judgment itself. But it’s too early to comment as you will notice it’s a 135-page document. We were just listening — we were not working on it. So we will be waiting for it to be given to us, analyze it and then advise the client accordingly.” A spokesperson for Ministry of Justice, Frank Namangale told reporters outside the court that the government was happy with the ruling. Same-sex marriages have been a controversial issue in Malawi. In July 2023, religious leaders led street protests across the country against the potential legalization of same-sex marriage. Friday’s judgment means homosexuality remains an offense in Malawi, punishable by a maximum prison sentence of 14 years. The Constitutional Court said Friday that the applicants were free to ask parliament to amend the country’s homosexuality laws if they were not satisfied with its judgment.

In Kenya, where same-sex relations constitute a crime punishable by up to 14 years in prison, the only option for the LGBTQ+ community to meet is through dating apps and social media. But now, those Kenyans say, the platforms are being used to trap victims in a web of blackmail, extortion and physical and sexual assault. Juma Majanga reports from Nairobi, Kenya. Camera: Amos Wangwa.

OXFORD, England, — Japan's Emperor Naruhito and his wife took a trip down memory lane Friday, the final day of their weeklong stay in Britain, with a visit to the medieval university city of Oxford where they both studied in the 1980s. The imperial couple's formal state visit concluded Thursday with a goodbye from King Charles and Queen Camilla at Buckingham Palace, but they squeezed in a trip to Oxford before flying home. The 64-year-old emperor attended Oxford's Merton College in 1983-1986, while his wife Empress Masako, 60, studied international relations in the late 1980s down the road at Balliol College. Tracing its history back to 1096, the University of Oxford is the oldest in the English-speaking world, famous as a prestigious seat of learning which has educated dozens of British prime ministers including the current one, Rishi Sunak. At Balliol, Naruhito and Masako met Oxford University's chancellor Chris Patten and the master of the college, Helen Ghosh, as well-wishers waved Japanese and British flags. Naruhito was due later to plant a cherry tree at Merton College, in what will be the final part of a trip that has been focused on celebrating the cultural, business and military ties between Japan and Britain. Before his trip, Naruhito had said he was looking forward to visiting Oxford with his wife as it would be the first time they would spend time there together in the city with its winding lanes and honey-colored gothic spires. Both had a memorable time at Oxford, the emperor said, with his wife particularly fond of the city's majestic buildings and beautiful gardens.

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.

Since the Israel-Hamas war started, Israel has arrested about 15,000 Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. Palestinians say detention conditions have worsened and many detainees are tortured. Israel says it abides by international law. Linda Gradstein reports from the West Bank city of Ramallah. Camera: Ricki Rosen.

Joe Biden and Donald Trump squared off in their first debate of the 2024 election season: Donald Trump was aggressive, confident and often, untruthful. Joe Biden was soft-spoken and seemed tired. How do the two candidates view the war in Ukraine? North Korea launches another missile, women are excluded from a UN conference on Afghanistan’s future and Iranians go to the polls.

In Frederick, Maryland, when Tony Peterson got himself off the streets, he wanted to help others conquer their homelessness as well. He began by asking the homeless people he encountered what they needed, and the answer was simple but deeply personal. Arzouma Kompaore reports.

VIENNA — Iran has so far installed four out of the eight clusters of advanced IR-6 centrifuges it said earlier this month that it would quickly set up at its Fordow uranium-enrichment plant, the U.N. atomic watchdog said in a report on Friday seen by Reuters. "Since the Director General's previous quarterly report, the Agency has verified that Iran has installed four of the aforementioned eight IR-6 cascades in Unit 1 at FFEP [Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant]," the International Atomic Energy Agency said in the confidential report to member 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.

HARARE, ZIMBABWE — The International Monetary Fund has asked Zimbabwe to rein in corruption — said to be costing the economy billions of dollars each year — while giving some rare praise for the country's new currency, the most stable Zimbabwe has seen in years. Following a recent mission to Zimbabwe, the IMF says the country's new Zimbabwe Gold currency, or ZiG, has ended a bout of macroeconomic instability that saw the preceding currency, the Zimbabwe dollar, suffer radical depreciation, causing prices to skyrocket. The IMF said that if macro-stabilization is sustained, cumulative inflation for the remainder of the year would be about 7% — a figure Zimbabwe has not achieved in years. In an interview with VOA, Persistence Gwanyanya, a member of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Board, welcomed the IMF’s report for acknowledging that the country’s new currency had stabilized the economy. “We think that there has been some notable improvements with regards to … fiscal accountability,” Gwanyanya said. “Whilst there are isolated cases of corruption that we acknowledge, the overall picture is that there has been significant improvement in fiscal management in the country. And unsurprisingly, we continue to improve. But to achieve the ambitions, we reduce the leakages, we improve … accountability further in the economy.” In the report, the IMF said Zimbabwe’s economic governance still has significant weaknesses, and said corruption poses a risk to economic performance that needs to be addressed. Last month, Zimbabwe’s prosecutor general, Loice Matanda-Moyo, also the former head of the anti-corruption commission, said corruption costs the country nearly $2 billion annually, devastating the economy and ordinary citizens. The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission says it is investigating a case from last year in which the electoral commission reportedly paid $1.2 million for a server it could have bought on the open market for less than $25,000. The money went to a company owned by an ally of President Emmerson Mnangagwa. Godfrey Kanyenze, an economist and founding director of the Labour and Economic Development Research Institute of Zimbabwe, said reducing corruption is crucial if the country’s economy is to improve. “Corruption is a cancer that has to be dealt with, we need political will to address this particular issue and there is to be a price to corrupt activities. The culture of impunity must be replaced by zero tolerance for corruption, as is the case in other countries where the state has played a leadership role,” Kanyenze said. Steven Dhlamini, an economics professor at National University of Science and Technology, said the IMF report addressed all issues that Zimbabwe needs to get on track. “Overall, it is a very positive report, it confirms that our policy trajectory is on the right path and we are hopeful that authorities are going to continue implementing these policy measures that have been commenced since last year,” Dhlamini said. In its report, the IMF said Zimbabwe’s economy is showing “resilience” even as effects of the El Nino drought were being felt. The economy is expected to grow 2 percent in 2024, down from 2023’s 5.3%.

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.