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LONDON — NATO allies on Wednesday selected Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as NATO's next boss, as the war in Ukraine rages on its doorstep and uncertainty hangs over the United States' future attitude to the transatlantic alliance. Rutte's appointment became a formality after his only rival for the post, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, announced last week that he had quit the race, having failed to gain traction. "The North Atlantic Council decided to appoint Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as the next Secretary General of NATO, succeeding Jens Stoltenberg," NATO said in a statement. "Mr Rutte will assume his functions as Secretary General from 1 October 2024, when Mr Stoltenberg’s term expires after ten years at the helm of the Alliance," it added. After declaring his interest in the post last year, Rutte gained early support from key members of the alliance including the United States, Britain, France and Germany. Others were more reticent, particularly Eastern European countries which argued the post should go to someone from their region for the first time. But they ultimately rowed in behind Rutte, a fierce critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin and a staunch ally of Ukraine. Stoltenberg said he warmly welcomed the selection of Rutte as his successor. "Mark is a true transatlanticist, a strong leader, and a consensus-builder," he said. "I know I am leaving NATO in good hands." NATO takes decisions by consensus so Rutte, who is bowing out of Dutch politics after nearly 14 years as prime minister, could only be confirmed once all 32 alliance members gave him their backing. Rutte will face the challenge of sustaining allies' support for Ukraine's fight against Russia's invasion while guarding against NATO's being drawn directly into a war with Moscow. He will also have to contend with the possibility that NATO-skeptic Donald Trump may return to the White House after November's U.S. presidential election. Trump's possible return has unnerved NATO leaders as the Republican former president called into question U.S. willingness to support other members of the alliance if they were attacked.

YEKATERINBURG, Russia — Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich went on trial behind closed doors in Yekaterinburg on Wednesday, 15 months after his arrest in the Ural Mountains city on espionage charges that he, his employer and the U.S. government vehemently deny. The 32-year-old journalist appeared in the court in a glass defendants' cage, his head shaved and wearing a black-and-blue plaid shirt. A yellow padlock was attached to the cage. Journalists were allowed into the courtroom for a few minutes before the proceedings were closed. Also briefly permitted in court were two consular officers from the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, according to the embassy. Jay Conti, executive vice president and general counsel for Dow Jones, described the trial as a sham in an interview with The Associated Press. “He was an accredited journalist doing journalism, and this is a sham trial, bogus charges that are completely trumped up,” Conti said. The American-born son of immigrants from the USSR, Gershkovich is the first Western journalist arrested on espionage charges in post-Soviet Russia. Authorities arrested Gershkovich when he was on a reporting trip to Yekaterinburg and claimed he was gathering secret information for the U.S. intelligence. The State Department has declared him “wrongfully detained,” thereby committing the government to assertively seek his release. The Journal has worked diligently to keep the case in the public eye and it has become an issue in the combative months leading up to the U.S. presidential election. After his arrest on March 29, 2023, Gershkovich was held in Moscow's notoriously dismal Lefortovo Prison. He has appeared healthy during court hearings in which his appeals for release have been rejected. “Evan has displayed remarkable resilience and strength in the face of this grim situation," U.S. Ambassador Lynne Tracy said on the first anniversary of his arrest. Gershkovich faces up to 20 years in prison if the court finds him guilty, which is almost certain. Russian courts convict more than 99% of the defendants who come before them, and prosecutors can appeal sentences that they regard as too lenient, and they even can appeal acquittals. In addition, Russia's interpretation of what constitutes espionage is broad. Igor Sutyagin, an arms control expert at a Russian Academy of Sciences think tank, was behind bars for espionage for 11 years for passing along material that he said was publicly available. Paul Whelan, an American corporate security executive, was arrested in Moscow for espionage in 2018 and his serving a 16-year sentence. Gershkovich's arrest came about a year after President Vladimir Putin pushed through laws that chilled journalists, criminalizing criticism of what the Kremlin calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine and statements seen as discrediting the military. Foreign journalists largely left the country after the laws’ passage; many trickled back in subsequent months, but there were concerns about whether Russian authorities would act against them. After he was detained, fears rose that Russia was targeting Americans as animosity between Moscow and Washington grew. Last year, Alsu Kurmasheva, a reporter with dual American-Russian citizenship for the U.S. government-funded Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe was arrested for alleged violation of the law requiring so-called “foreign agents” to register. Another dual national, Los Angeles resident Ksenia Karelina, is on trial, also in Yekaterinburg, on treason charges for allegedly raising money for a Ukrainian organization that supplied arms and ammunition to Kyiv. Several Western reporters have been forced to leave after Gershkovich's arrest because Russia refused to renew their visas. With Gershkovich's trial being closed, few details of his case may become public. But the Russian Prosecutor General's office said this month that he is accused of “gathering secret information” on orders from the CIA about Uralvagonzavod, a plant about 150 kilometers (90 miles) north of Yekaterinburg that produces and repairs tanks and other military equipment. Not only is Uralvagonzavod strategically sensitive, it's also been a nest of vehement pro-Putin sentiment where an inquisitive American could offend and alarm. In 2011, a plant manager, Igor Kholmanskikh, attracted national attention on Putin's annual call-in program by denouncing mass protests in Moscow at the time. Putin later appointed him as his regional envoy and as a member of the National Security Council. “Evan Gershkovich is facing a false and baseless charge. ... The Russian regime's smearing of Evan is repugnant, disgusting and based on calculated and transparent lies. Journalism is not a crime,” Journal publisher Almar Latour and chief editor Emma Tucker said in a statement after his trial date was announced. “We had hoped to avoid this moment and now expect the U.S. government to redouble efforts to get Evan released,” they said. Russia has not ruled out a prisoner exchange involving Gershkovich but says that's not possible before a verdict in his case. That could be months away, because Russian trials often adjourn for weeks. The post-verdict prospects are mixed. Although Russia-U.S. relations are highly troubled because of the conflict in Ukraine, the Kremlin and Washington did work out a swap in 2022 that freed WNBA star Brittney Griner, who was serving a 9 1/2-year sentence for cannabis possession. But that exchange also freed the highest-value Russian prisoner in the United States, arms dealer Viktor Bout, and the U.S. may not hold another card that strong. Putin has alluded to interest in freeing Vadim Krasikov, a Russian imprisoned in Germany for assassinating a Chechen rebel leader in Berlin, but Germany's willingness to aid in a Russia-U.S. dispute is uncertain. The Biden administration would also be sensitive to appearing to be giving away too much after coming under substantial criticism in trading Bout, widely called “the Merchant of Death,” for a sports figure. But Biden may feel an incentive to secure Gershkovich's release because of boasts by former President Donald Trump, who is his main challenger in this year's election, that he can easily get the journalist freed. Putin “will do that for me, but not for anyone else,” Trump claimed in May. The Kremlin, however, says it has not been in touch with Trump, and Putin's spokesman Dmitry Pekov bristled at the attention given to a possible exchange, saying “these contacts must be carried out in total secrecy.”

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DHAKA, BANGLADESH — Pride Month, the monthlong celebration of LGBTQ+ culture and rights, is not publicly celebrated in Bangladesh, a Muslim-majority country where same-sex relationships are illegal under a colonial-era law dealing with “unnatural offences,” and conservative religious values are rising, despite the nation's self-imposed secular label. A teenage high school student from an affluent Dhaka family who identifies as a lesbian and asked that her name not be used told VOA she limited her celebration to a virtual party on an exclusive private online forum. “My devout Muslim father would be shattered,’’ she told VOA. ‘’My grandparents would think they're being punished for their sins, and my mom wouldn't be able to come to terms with it.”  With the constant risk of social rejection and disappointment from her family, the student remains closeted, a situation that mirrors the country’s pervasive and deeply ingrained cultural and religious attitudes. Despite public constraints, private LGBTQ gatherings still take place in secret locations, embassies, and safe spaces organized by civil society groups, as well as online. Organizers and participants say these events connect to the global LGBTQ community, fostering discussions on diversity and acceptance in a confidential, supportive setting. “The Bangladeshi LGBTQ community has been organizing its own private events for years,” Tushar Baidya, a Dhaka LGBTQ and human rights activist, told VOA. ‘’The positive side of these gatherings is that attendees find a sense of connectivity, build new networks, and enjoy knowing they have a common, safe space to share.’’ However, such events have limitations, Baidya said, typically attracting an urban, educated and wealthier audience and often regularly draw the same attendees. As the COVID-19 pandemic forced global shifts in work and activism, the LGBTQ community in Bangladesh adapted. In 2021, they organized the country’s first "Virtual Pride Event" to continue their advocacy during the pandemic and try to connect with a broader audience. “These virtual Pride events have not only put Bangladesh back on the world Pride map but also sparked conversations about the human rights of LGBTQ people within Bangladeshi society,” said Baidya, an organizer of the virtual “Dhaka Pride” event on YouTube, which includes online discussions and recorded musical and dance performances. “For decades, the human rights of this marginalized group have been intentionally kept taboo, allowing misconceptions to spread and narratives to shrink their rights.  Progress in hijira legal status Over the past decade, transgender women, commonly referred to as "hijra" – a term derived from the old Hindi language that originally meant "impotent" – in South Asia, have gained increased legal recognition in Bangladesh, where they are officially acknowledged as a third gender. Bangladesh's hijras, previously excluded from prayer services, can now worship at a new mosque near Mymensingh, north of the capital Dhaka, that does not discriminate against them.  The Third Gender Community and Dakshin Char Kalibari Ashrayan Mosque was built on land donated by the government after hijras were expelled by locals from an established traditional congregation. Afterward, with local government assistance, they obtained the land and built the new mosque themselves, mainly with hijra donations. There has been opposition to similar efforts, though, including opposition that stopped a similar project in another part of Mymensingh. Anwara Islam Rani, a transgender candidate for a parliamentary seat, attracted considerable attention in the country’s January general election, which political activists and analysts have described as one-sided. Although unsuccessful, her campaign garnered significant public support. Bangladesh’s most recent census in 2022 reported 12,629 transgender individuals, yet the exact number of LGBTQ people in the country remains unclear because of the criminalization of same-sex relationships and the related social stigma. 'One Step Forward, Three Steps Back' While the government has made progress in promoting social acceptance for hijras, it has made limited efforts to advance the rights of other LGBTQ Bangladeshis and has not offered legal recognition.  The anti-LGBTQ stigma in Bangladesh is deeply ingrained and consistently reinforced by the legal system, societal norms, and religious beliefs. Religious hardliners increasingly use such social media platforms as YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok to disseminate homophobic content, reaching broad audiences to encourage discrimination. “My father is a massive follower of some so-called religious scholars on YouTube, and he often listens to them spreading all sorts of rubbish, hateful misinformation about queer people,” the high school student said. “Even a couple of years ago, he wasn’t this stupid and intolerant of gay people, but I can sense the videos changed him for the worse, and that frustrates me,” she added.  “I feel society is sometimes taking one step forward by recognizing the identities of trans people, but three steps back when it comes to the rest of us.” Mosques The issue is discussed beyond the digital realm and in such places as mosques, where some imams deliver speeches that include homophobic rhetoric during the Friday sermons. The speeches reinforce negative stereotypes and hostility towards LGBTQ individuals, deepening prejudices.   This rhetoric, both online and offline, apparently poses real danger to members of the LGBTQ community. Shahanur Alam, founder and president of the human rights organization JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France, told VOA via WhatsApp, “Throughout the year 2023, there were 56 reported incidents affecting 219 individuals within the LGBTQI+ community” in Bangladesh.  Shahanur – who, like many Bangladeshis, prefers using his first name on second reference – operates in France because of past attacks, death threats, and fabricated legal cases against him in Bangladesh, stemming from his LGBTQ rights activism. Incidents, he said, included killings, assaults, suicides, kidnappings, detainments, harassment, and extortion. In March 2023, Imtiaz Mohammad Bhuiyan, a gay architect, was killed in Dhaka by a smartphone app-based blackmailing racket of persons using the app Grindr, which targets gays. His body was later discovered, and police investigations indicated that the crime was facilitated through connections made on the app. In April 2016, Xulhaz Mannan, co-founder of Roopbaan, Bangladesh’s first LGBTQ-focused magazine and a U.S. Embassy employee, and fellow activist Mahbub Rabbi Tanoy, were murdered in a Dhaka apartment by attackers armed with machetes and guns. The assault was claimed by Ansar Al Islam, the regional affiliate of al-Qaida.  Shahanur added that religious fundamentalist homophobic and transphobic rhetoric in Bangladesh “greatly intensifies the challenges faced by the LGBTQ community, resulting in legal persecution, social ostracism, violence, and significant mental health issues.”  

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Nairobi, Kenya — Several people were shot outside Kenya's parliament on Tuesday as police clashed with protesters who stormed the complex after lawmakers passed highly controversial tax increases. Police fired live ammunition after tear gas and rubber bullets failed to disperse the thousands who had gathered to protest the tax hikes.  Witnesses told VOA they saw a number of bodies on the ground outside the building, and news reports say that at least five people were killed. Meanwhile, fires broke out in the parliament buildings after protesters made it past police barricades.  At least two vehicles in the area were set on fire and burned. Protesters had demonstrated peacefully near parliament in Nairobi most of the day to demand that lawmakers vote against the 2024 Finance Bill. However, the bill was approved on a 195 to 106 vote. One protester told VOA he disagrees with what the government is trying to do and had to be there to make his voice heard.  "We are protesting against government impunity. You see the finance bill is not something that is going to make Kenyans live at peace," he said. "And you've seen we've tried to talk to the government but they are forcing it down our throat. So I've decided as a youth to come here and protest and tell them that the government is made by the people, we are the people and we want the government to listen to us."  Kelvin Moses works near where the protests were taking place. He told VOA the demonstrations have affected many businesses in the Central Business district. "The businesses are really down, the traffic and flow of customers has really been affected," Moses said. "You can see that in the CBD [Central Business District], very few shops are open. We hope this matter can be resolved as soon as possible because we business people are feeling the pinch." After the vote, some lawmakers fled the parliament complex as hundreds of protesters broke through police barricades and rushed inside. Kenya has seen a growing youth-led movement in recent days against the tax increases, which the government says are necessary to continue to pay the interest on its high sovereign debt. Lawmakers made some compromises on the tax bill, dropping proposed increases on bread, car ownership and financial transactions.  But that was not enough for protesters who said the cost of living is already too high. The protests have been led largely by young people. However, Kenyan lawyer Javas Bigambo told VOA the opposition to the finance bill is not just limited to the youth.  "There has been the assumption that the protests are merely a creation of the Gen-Z or the youth in the country forgetting that these protests, organic as they are, have continued to receive overwhelming support from civil society organizations, from the farmers, manufacturers, the private sector and religious leaders," Bigambo said. The Finance Bill still needs President William Ruto’s signature to become law.

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Tbilisi, Georgia — Campaigners in Georgia are seeking to highlight atrocities committed by invading Russian troops and allied militias during the early 1990s, which they say should have been a warning of the dangers posed by Russia long before Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.  Their campaign, “Before Bucha Was Abkhazia,” is touring U.S. and European cities and includes documentary screenings, photography exhibitions and presentations. Russian atrocities As the Soviet Union was collapsing, Georgia declared independence in 1991. There were tensions between Georgians and ethnic minority groups in the Abkhazia and South Ossetia regions bordering Russia. Many Georgians say Moscow exploited those tensions to stoke conflict.  Tamar Chergoleishvili, manager of the “Before Bucha Was Abkhazia” campaign, says Russia was to blame for the conflict. “Wars broke out in Georgia that were branded as ethnic conflicts and civil war. But, in fact, it was Russia that was organizing all the turmoil, wars and bloodshed in order to dismember Georgia and not to allow a newly independent state to become truly independent, truly sovereign, and to become the member of the Western democratic world,” she told VOA. Russia disputes that history and insists it sent troops into Abkhazia and South Ossetia as peacekeepers.  The ensuing conflicts between Georgians, Russians and their allied ethnic minority militias from 1989 to 1994 killed an estimated 10,000 to 30,000 people. More than 200,000 were forced to flee their homes. Many have never been able to return. Survivors of the conflict say multiple atrocities were committed by armed separatists and their Russian allies. In one notorious incident, witnesses say 300 women and girls were held in a school and systematically raped. There are hundreds of other testimonies recounting killings and torture. Taliko Zarandia recalled the killing of her neighbor’s son in Abkhazia. “The militants arrived and charged at us like wolves,” she said. “They rushed towards the boy and asked how old he was. He replied that he was 15. ‘You deserve 15 bullets then,’ they replied. Then, they shot him 15 times in the head,” Zarandia said. Ethnic cleansing Russia denies its forces committed war crimes. However, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe describes what happened in Abkhazia as ethnic cleansing. The harrowing testimony of survivors is reminiscent of the accounts from Ukrainians following Russia’s February 2022 full-scale invasion. In Ukrainian cities Bucha and Irpin, survivors describe similar killings, rapes and torture carried out by Moscow’s forces, which Russia also denies, despite widespread evidence and the uncovering of mass graves. The International Criminal Court in The Hague is investigating possible war crimes by Russian forces. Chergoleishvili, who founded the independent news agency Tabula Media, said she was inspired to launch the campaign after Ukrainian television journalists contacted her for information on what had happened in Abkhazia. “We all knew that something horrible had happened in Abkhazia, but it was so dusty. No one wanted to go through it ever again. But Ukrainians made me to go through the material before giving [it to] them, and I had goosebumps, and I felt so shameful,” she said, adding that Moscow’s war in Ukraine has alerted the world to the threat from Russia. Warning to West “Now we think that it is a good time — when there is the readiness to receive that information on the Western side — to remind the world, and ourselves, about the forgotten victims from Georgia that suffered the same aggression that Russia is using now against Ukraine. Just to warn the West that if they don't stop Russia in Ukraine now, they will have to spend 100 times more in another 30 years,” Chergoleishvili told VOA. Russia invaded Georgia again in 2008. It still occupies 20% of Georgian territory, including Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Many Georgians say their experiences should have provided the West with ample warning of the dangers posed by Russia, long before its February 2022 invasion of 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.

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.

Police in Nairobi opened fire on protesters, killing at least five who were storming the parliament in protest of a new finance bill, while the first contingent of Kenyan police arrived in Haiti to launch a peacekeeping mission in the Caribbean country ravaged by gangs. The U.S. surgeon general declared gun violence in the country a public health crisis. And Protein-rich larvae are increasingly being studied for their potential as a sustainable alternative form of protein to meat amid growing hunger in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — An attack by Yemen's Houthi rebels on Monday targeted a ship farther away from nearly all of the previous assaults they've launched in the Gulf of Aden, potentially part of a widening escalation by the group. The attack comes as the U.S. has sent the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower back home after an eight-month deployment in which it led the American response to the Houthi assaults. Those attacks have reduced shipping drastically through the route crucial to Asian, Middle East and European markets in a campaign the Houthis say will continue as long as the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip rages on. The attack happened Monday morning in the Gulf of Aden about 450 kilometers southeast of Nishtun, a town in the far reaches of Yemen that's close to the border with Oman, according to the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center. That region has long been held by forces allied to Yemen's exiled government, which has battled the Houthis since the rebels took the capital, Sanaa, back in 2014. The attack was just off to the northeast of Yemen's Socotra Island, also held by allies of the exiled government. "The master of a merchant vessel reports an explosion in close proximity to the vessel," the UKMTO said. "The crew are reported safe and the vessel is proceeding to its next port of call." The Joint Maritime Information Center, which is overseen by the U.S. Navy, identified the vessel attacked as the Liberian-flagged, Greek-managed container ship MSC Sarah V, which is bound for Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. "The vessel was not hit and all crew on board are safe," it said. "JMIC assesses that the vessel was likely attacked due to perceived Israeli association." Another MSC-associated vessel, the MSC Orion, was targeted in May in a deep-sea attack claimed by the Houthis. Late Tuesday, Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree claimed the attack in a prerecorded message, saying without providing more details that they used a new ballistic missile in the assault. The attack happened near the outer reaches of the Gulf of Aden where it becomes the Arabian Sea and then ultimately the Indian Ocean. Of the more than 60 attacks launched by the Houthis since November that specifically targeted vessels, this would be one of the farthest. In the MSC Orion attack in May, the distance at which it was struck led experts to question whether Iran, the Houthis' main benefactor, could have launched the attack. The Houthis have claimed attacks later assessed to have been conducted by Iran, including the 2019 attack on Saudi Arabia's oil fields that temporarily halved the kingdom's energy production. The Houthis have made a series of claims without evidence they've targeted vessels at even greater distances, even though there's been no independent confirmation of any of those attacks actually taking place. The rebels have fired off other missiles and drones in their campaign that has killed a total of four sailors. They have seized one vessel and sunk two since November. A U.S.-led airstrike campaign has targeted the Houthis since January, with a series of strikes on May 30 killing at least 16 people and wounding 42 others, the rebels say. The Houthis have maintained that their attacks target ships linked to Israel, the United States or Britain. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the Israel-Hamas war — including those bound for Iran.

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Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant met with U.S Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in Washington on Tuesday, a day after Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Gallant against allowing the conflict with Hamas in Gaza to expand. Katherine Gypson reports. Kim Lewis contributed to the report.

EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — The head of the National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday that Norfolk Southern repeatedly tried to interfere with the agency's investigation into the derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, and shape its conclusions about the flawed decision to blow open five tank cars and burn the vinyl chloride inside.  The NTSB also confirmed at Tuesday's hearing that the February 2023 derailment was caused by a wheel bearing that video showed was on fire for 32.19 kilometers (more than 20 miles) beforehand but wasn't caught in time by inaccurate trackside detectors. The board also approved more than two dozen recommendations to prevent similar disasters, including establishing federal rules for those detectors and the way railroads respond to them along with reviewing how officials decide whether to ever conduct a vent and burn again.  More than three dozen freight cars derailed February 3, 2023, on the outskirts of East Palestine near the Pennsylvania border, including 11 carrying hazardous materials. Some residents were evacuated that night, but days later more had to leave their homes amid fears of an imminent explosion. Despite potential health effects, officials intentionally released and burned toxic vinyl chloride three days after the crash, sending flames and smoke into the air. 

RIO DE JANEIRO — A global tax on the super-rich is proposed in a new report that Brazil commissioned for its current presidency of the leading 20 rich and developing nations. Individuals with more than $1 billion in total assets would be required to pay the equivalent of 2% of their wealth in income tax, according to the proposal in the report by Gabriel Zucman, a French economist who teaches at the Paris School of Economics. The report says global billionaires currently pay the equivalent of 0.3% of their wealth in taxes. It said a 2% tax would raise $200 billion to $250 billion per year globally from about 3,000 individuals — money that could fund public services such as education and health care as well as the fight against climate change. "The super-rich pay proportionately less in taxes than other socioeconomic groups," Zucman told journalists, adding that the practice fuels inequality. He called a progressive tax system a "key pillar of our democratic societies," essential for strengthening social cohesion and trust in governments. In wealth, billionaires currently own the equivalent of 13% of the world's GDP, up from 3% in 1987, according to the new report. The proposed tax would target billionaires who do not already pay the equivalent of 2% of their wealth in income tax, the report said. Most global billionaires probably pay below 2% but it is difficult to be more precise, Zucman said. New G20 member the African Union has expressed interest in the proposal, as well as Belgium, Colombia, France and Spain, he said. The issue of inequality is a priority for Brazil in its G20 presidency, along with the reduction of hunger, the promotion of sustainable development and reforms of global governance. A global minimum tax on billionaires is one way of raising funds to make progress on those agendas, the Brazilian Ministry of Finance's Felipe Antunes de Oliveira told journalists. He acknowledged that the way ahead would be far from smooth. "We can expect the negotiations to be long," Oliveira said, echoing similar remarks by Finance Minister Fernando Haddad in February when the proposal was first discussed in Sao Paulo. The gap between the super-rich and the bulk of the global population has grown since the coronavirus pandemic, according to anti-poverty organization Oxfam International, which praised the new report. "This is a sensible and serious proposal that is in every government's strategic economic interest," interim executive director Amitabh Behar said in a statement. According to a 2023 study by advocacy group Tax Justice Network, countries around the world could lose up to $4.8 trillion in tax revenue over the next decade due to the use of tax havens by individuals and businesses.

NIAMEY, Niger — An ambush by a "terrorist group" killed 21 Nigerien soldiers near the country's border with Burkina Faso on Tuesday, Niger's ruling military junta said in a statement read on national television. The statement Tuesday evening did not specify which group was behind the attack. Niger is struggling with a deadly security crisis involving several armed groups. Last week, the rebel Patriotic Liberation Front attacked a China-backed pipeline and threatened more attacks if the $400 million deal with China isn't canceled. The group, led by Salah Mahmoud, a former rebel leader, took up arms after the junta staged a coup last year ousting a democratically elected government. Niger and neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso are also battling movements linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State extremist group in a decade-long conflict in the Sahel region that is worsening. The violence killed thousands of people last year, and more than 2 million people have been displaced, according to the United Nations Mali and Burkina Faso are also led by juntas and have experienced two coups each since 2020. Both juntas have expelled French forces and turned to Russian mercenaries as they struggle to quell the Islamist groups.