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Israel’s defense minister visits Washington this week for talks on the ongoing war with Hamas in Gaza. Meanwhile, international aid groups scramble to find survivors of recent Israeli strikes in the enclave, describing the scale of the carnage as “unprecedented.” VOA’s Arash Arabasadi has the story.

New York — Weekend number two was just as joyous for “Inside Out 2.”  The Pixar sequel collected $100 million in ticket sales in its second weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday, setting a record for an animated movie in its follow-up frame in theaters. The previous best second weekend for an animated title was the $92 million for “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.” Only six movies ever have had better second weekends. In just a week and a half, “Inside Out 2” has become 2024’s highest-grossing film to date with $724.4 million globally, including $355.2 million in U.S. and Canadian theaters. That passes the $711.8 million worldwide total of “Dune: Part Two.” “Inside Out 2” will likely blow through the $1 billion mark in about a week, which would make it the first film since “Barbie” to do so. The extent of the “Inside Out 2” success startled Hollywood, which had grown accustomed to lower expectations as the film industry watched ticket sales this year slump about 40% below pre-pandemic totals, according to data firm Comscore, before “Inside Out 2” came along. The record haul for “Inside Out 2,” though, recalled past years when $1 billion grosses were more commonplace for the Walt Disney Co. It is also a much-needed blockbuster for Pixar, which after experimenting with direct-to-streaming releases, reconsidered its movie pipeline and approach to mass-audience appeal. Now, “Inside Out 2,” which dipped a mere 35% from its $154 million domestic debut, is poised to challenge “The Incredibles 2” ($1.2 billion) for the all-time top grossing Pixar release. It could also steer the venerated animation factory toward more sequels. Among its upcoming films is “Toy Story 5,” due out in 2026. For theater owners, “Inside Out 2” could hardly have been more needed. But it also reminded exhibitors of how feast-or-famine the movie business has become in recent years. Since the pandemic, movies like “Barbie,” “Spider-Man: No Way Home” and “Top Gun: Maverick” have pushed ticket sales to record heights, but fallow periods in between box-office sensations have grown longer. Ticket sales over Memorial Day last month were the worst in three decades. Some of 2024’s downturn can be attributed to release-schedule juggling caused by last year’s writers and actors strikes. The biggest new release over the weekend was Jeff Nichols’ motorcycle gang drama “The Bikeriders,” a film originally slated to open in 2023 before the actors' strike prompted its postponement. “The Bikeriders,” starring Jodie Comer, Austin Butler and Tom Hardy, came in on the high side of expectations with $10 million from 2,642 venues in its opening weekend. “The Bikeriders,” which cost about $35 million to produce, was originally to be released by Disney before New Regency took it to Focus Features last fall. The strong business for “Inside Out 2” appeared to raise ticket sales generally. Sony Pictures’ “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” held well in its third week of release, collecting $18.8 million. It remained in second place. The “Bad Boys” sequel, starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, has grossed $146.9 million domestically thus far. Next week, the sci-fi horror prequel “A Quiet Place: Day One” and Kevin Costner's Western epic “Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1" will hope some of the “Inside Out 2” success rubs off on them. Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.  1. "Inside Out 2,” $100 million.  2. “Bad Boys: Ride or Die,” $18.8 million.  3. “The Bikeriders,” $10 million.  4. “The Garfield Movie, $3.6 million.  5. “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” $3.6 million.  6. “If,” $2.8 million.  7. “The Exorcism,” $2.4 million.  8. “Thelma,” $2.2 million.  9. “The Watchers,” $1.9 million.  10. “Ghost: Rite Here Rite Now,” $1.5 million. 

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Islamabad — Pakistan’s top civilian and military leadership has decided to launch a new multi-faceted nationwide counterterrorism campaign amid the country’s deteriorating security situation. A high-powered meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif gave the go ahead for operation “Azm-e-Istehkam,” or Resolve for Stability, to “combat the menaces of extremism and terrorism in a comprehensive and decisive manner,” said a statement issued by the prime minister’s office. The announcement came as Pakistan faces near daily attacks targeting security personnel and amid mounting pressure from China to ensure the security of its workers. Several Chinese nationals were killed in an attack earlier this year. “The fight against extremism and terrorism is Pakistan’s war and is absolutely essential for the nation’s survival and well-being,” the official statement said. Along with an intensified military push, Azm-e-Istehkam will have a diplomatic push. “In the politico-diplomatic domain, efforts will be intensified to curtail the operational space for terrorists through regional cooperation,” said the statement after the Apex Committee on the National Action Plan reviewed the ongoing counterterrorism campaign and internal security in the country. Pakistan has a history of courts freeing terror attack suspects because of a lack of evidence. The new campaign aims to counter that through legislative actions. “The renewed and full-blown kinetic efforts of the armed forces will be augmented by full support from all Law Enforcement Agencies, empowered by effective legislation to address legal voids that hinder effective prosecution of terrorism-related cases and award of exemplary punishments to them,” according to the statement. Chinese concerns The new counterterrorism operation comes as Islamabad attempts to convince Beijing it is taking the security of Chinese nationals extremely seriously. “The forum also reviewed measures to ensure foolproof security for Chinese nationals in Pakistan.” Saturday’s statement said. “Following the Prime Minister’s approval, new Standard Operating Procedures [SOPs] were issued to relevant departments, which will enhance mechanisms for providing comprehensive security to Chinese citizens in Pakistan.” This comes after Liu Jianchao, minister of the Central Committee of the International Department of the Communist Party of China, told a bilateral political forum in Islamabad last week that Pakistan’s poor security was a hurdle in bringing Chinese investment to the cash-strapped South Asian nation. “As people often say confidence is more precious than gold, in the case of Pakistan, the primary factor shaking the confidence of Chinese investors is the security situation,” Liu told a gathering that representatives from major Pakistani political parties attended. It was held as part of the third meeting of the Pakistan-China Joint Consultative Mechanism of Political Parties on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. The corridor, commonly known as CPEC, is a flagship project of Beijing’s global Belt and Road Initiative and focuses primarily on energy and infrastructure. Five Chinese nationals working on the China-funded Dasu hydropower project and their Pakistani driver were killed in March when a suicide bomber rammed the convoy with an explosives-laden vehicle. At least a dozen more Chinese nationals have been killed in Pakistan in targeted attacks in the last few years. After the March attack, Pakistan ramped up efforts to enhance the protection of Chinese nationals, including the formation of a new security unit in the capital. A special military unit already exists for the protection of Chinese projects in Pakistan. It is supported by local law enforcement agencies. Terrorism landscape According to the South Asia Terrorism Portal that maintains data on terror attacks in the region, Pakistan has witnessed over 300 terrorism-related deaths so far this year. Dozens of Pakistani security personnel, including officials, have died in the first half of 2024 in militant attacks and counterterrorism operations. On Friday, five Pakistani soldiers were killed when an improvised explosive device blew up their vehicle in the Kurram tribal district near Afghanistan. Last year, Pakistan recorded a six-year high in terrorism fatalities with most of the attacks concentrated in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces that border Afghanistan. Islamabad blames the rise in terror attacks on Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan that it says has sanctuaries in neighboring Afghanistan. The Afghan Taliban have rejected evidence of cross-border terror attacks provided by Pakistan as an effort to malign Kabul. Reports gathered by the United Nations and research groups based in the United States indicate the Afghan Taliban have maintained ties with foreign militants. Past operations Pakistan launched massive military operations against terrorists between 2009 and 2017 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. While the operations managed to kill and flush thousands of militants to Afghanistan and dismantle their cells within Pakistan, they also caused a mass displacement of citizens and millions of dollars in damage to property and infrastructure. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has lately seen a wave of Jirga, or consultative public gatherings, where locals have expressed serious concerns over growing militant violence and frequent counterterrorism operations. Pakistani military spokesperson Major General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry told the media last month that security forces had conducted more than 13,000 intelligence-based operations this year, mostly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

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.

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VIENNA — Rescuers in Switzerland have found the body of one of three people who had gone missing Saturday after massive thunderstorms and rainfall in the southeast of the country caused a rockslide, Swiss authorities say. The other two are still missing.  One woman was pulled out alive from the rubble earlier Saturday morning.  “Today is a sad day,” said Ignazio Cassis, member of the Swiss Federal Council, who addressed reporters Sunday after traveling to the region to show solidarity with the victims on behalf of the Swiss Federal Government.  A team of 200 rescuers has been searching for the missing people since Saturday with excavators, specially trained search dogs, drones and army helicopters. But the likelihood of finding them alive is low, William Kloter from the Swiss police, who is heading the rescue operations, told reporters Sunday.  Search operations had to be halted during the night due to heavy rain.  The rockslide hit a group of three houses in the municipality of Lostallo in the Alpine valley of Misox in Graubünden.  Swiss authorities also said that a segment of the Swiss motorway A13 leading toward Italy had been completely submerged and destroyed by flooding. The major transit route between the key San Bernardino Pass and Roveredo in Graubünden will likely remain closed for several months. 

Washington — The last time Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the U.S. Congress, nearly 60 Democrats skipped his speech nine years ago, calling it a slap in the face to then-President Barack Obama as he negotiated a nuclear deal with Iran. With Netanyahu scheduled to address U.S. lawmakers on July 24 and his government now at war with Hamas in Gaza, the number of absences is likely to be far greater. Congressional Democrats are wrestling with whether to attend. Many are torn between their long-standing support for Israel and their anguish about the way Israel has conducted military operations in Gaza. More than 37,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the Hamas attack on Oct. 7 that triggered the war, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-run territory. The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its figures. While some Democrats are saying they will come out of respect for Israel, a larger and growing faction wants no part of it, creating an extraordinarily charged atmosphere at a gathering that normally amounts to a ceremonial, bipartisan show of support for an American ally. “I wish that he would be a statesman and do what is right for Israel. We all love Israel,” former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said recently on CNN about Netanyahu. Tensions between Netanyahu and Democratic President Joe Biden have been seeping into the public, with Netanyahu last week accusing the Biden administration of withholding U.S. weapons from Israel — a claim he made again Sunday to his Cabinet. After the prime minister leveled the charge the first time, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, “We genuinely do not know what he’s talking about. We just don’t.” The invitation from House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to Netanyahu came after consultation with the White House, according to a person familiar with the matter who was granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive subject. As of now, no meeting between the leaders during Netanyahu's Washington visit has been scheduled, this person said. Netanyahu said in a release that he was “very moved” by the invitation to address Congress and the chance “to present the truth about our just war against those who seek to destroy us to the representatives of the American people and the entire world.” Republicans first floated the idea in March of inviting Netanyahu after Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the highest-ranking Jewish official in the United States, gave a speech on the Senate floor that was harshly critical of the prime minister. Schumer, D-N.Y., called the Israeli leader “an obstacle to peace” and urged new elections in Israel, even as he denounced Hamas and criticized Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Republicans denounced the speech as an affront to Israel and its sovereignty. Johnson spoke of asking Netanyahu to come to Washington, an invitation that Schumer and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York ultimately endorsed, albeit reluctantly. Pelosi, who opposed the invitation to Netanyahu in 2015 when she was Democratic leader, said it was a mistake for the congressional leadership to extend it again this time. Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, who attended the 2015 address as a House member, said he saw no reason why Congress “should extend a political lifeline” to Netanyahu. Rep. Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said it would be “healthy” for members of both parties to attend. “I think that a lot of Americans are getting a one-sided narrative, especially the younger generation, and I think it’s important they hear from the prime minister of Israel, in terms of his perspective,” said McCaul, R-Texas. Interviews with more than a dozen Democrats revealed the breadth of discontent over the coming address, which many feel is a Republican ploy intended to divide their party. Some Democrats say they will attend to express their support for Israel, not Netanyahu. New York Rep. Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said he has an “obligation” to attend because of that position. Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., who leads the Sente Foreign Relations Committee, has signaled he will be there. Cardin said that what he’s looking for in Netanyahu’s speech is a “type of message that can strengthen the support in this country for Israel’s needs,” but also lay the groundwork for peace in the region. Other Democrats are waiting to see whether Netanyahu will still be prime minister by the time he is supposed to speak to Congress. There have been open signs of discontent over the handling of the war by Netanyahu’s government, a coalition that includes right-wing hard-liners who oppose any kind of settlement with Hamas. Benny Gantz, a former military chief and centrist politician, withdrew from Netanyahu’s war Cabinet this month, citing frustration over the prime minister’s conduct of the war. On Monday, Netanyahu dissolved that body. Rep. Seth Magaziner, D-R.I., said he stands with those "who hope that he’s not prime minister by the time late July rolls around. I think that he has been bad for Israel, bad for Palestinians, bad for America.” But, he added, he believes it his job to show up when a head of state addresses Congress, “even if its someone who I have concerns about and disagree with.” Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., attended the 2015 speech and described it as “among the most painful hours” he has spent while in Congress. He plans to boycott unless Netanyahu became a “champion for a cease-fire." A large portion of the Congressional Progressive Caucus — lawmakers who are among the most critical of Israel’s handling of the war — is expected to skip. Among them is Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal, the chair of the caucus, who told The Associated Press that it was a “bad idea,” to invite Netanyahu. Netanyahu's visit is expected to draw significant protests.

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London — The chief data officer of Britain's Conservative Party has taken a leave of absence, British media reported Sunday, following growing allegations that the governing party's members used inside information to bet on the date of Britain's July 4 national election before it was announced. The Sunday Times and others reported that Nick Mason is the fourth Conservative official to be investigated by the U.K.'s Gambling Commission for allegedly betting on the timing of the election. The Times alleged that dozens of bets had been placed with potential winnings worth thousands of pounds. The reports came after revelations in recent days that two Conservative election candidates, Laura Saunders and Craig Williams, are under investigation by the gambling watchdog. Saunders' husband Tony Lee, the Conservative director of campaigning, has also taken a leave of absence following allegations he was also investigated over alleged betting. Police said one of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak 's police bodyguards was arrested Monday on suspicion of misconduct in public office. The arrest came after the gambling regulator confirmed it was investigating "the possibility of offences concerning the date of the election." The growing scandal, just two weeks ahead of the national election, has dealt a fresh blow to Sunak's Conservative Party, which is widely expected to lose to the opposition Labour Party after 14 years in power. Sunak said this week that he was "incredibly angry" to learn of the allegations and said that anyone found to have broken the law should be expelled from his party. Sunak announced on May 22 that parliamentary elections would be held on July 4. The date had been a closely guarded secret and many were taken by surprise because a vote had been expected in the fall. Saunders, a candidate standing in Bristol, southwest England, has said she will cooperate fully with the investigation. Williams was Sunak's parliamentary private secretary as well as a member of Parliament running for reelection on July 4. He has acknowledged that he was being investigated by the Gambling Commission for placing a $128 bet on a July election before the date had been announced. Senior Conservative minister Michael Gove condemned the alleged betting and likened it to " Partygate," the ethics scandal that contributed to former Prime Minister Boris Johnson's ouster in 2022. That controversy saw public trust in the Conservatives plummet after revelations that politicians and officials held lockdown-flouting parties and gatherings in government buildings during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. "It looks like one rule for them and one rule for us," Gove told the Sunday Times. "That's the most potentially damaging thing." Daisy Cooper, the deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats, said "people are sick and tired of this sleaze" and that Sunak must intervene and order an official inquiry. The Conservative Party said it cannot comment because investigations are ongoing.

Cairo — More than 1,000 people died during this year's Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia as the faithful faced extreme high temperatures at Islamic holy sites in the desert kingdom, officials said Sunday.  More than half of the fatalities were people from Egypt, according to two officials in Cairo. Egypt revoked the licenses of 16 travel agencies that helped unauthorized pilgrims travel to Saudi Arabia, authorities said.  Saudi Arabia has not commented on the deaths during the pilgrimage, which is required of every able Muslim once in their life.  The Egyptian government announced the death of 31 authorized pilgrims due to chronic diseases during this year's Hajj, but didn't offer an official tally for other pilgrims.  However, a Cabinet official said that at least 630 other Egyptians died during the pilgrimage, with most reported at the Emergency Complex in Mecca's Al-Muaisem neighborhood. Confirming the tally, an Egyptian diplomat said most of the dead have been buried in Saudi Arabia.  The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief journalists.  Saudi authorities cracked down on unauthorized pilgrims, expelling tens of thousands of people. But many, mostly Egyptians, managed to reach holy sites in and around Mecca, some on foot. Unlike authorized pilgrims, they had no hotels to escape from the scorching heat.  In its statement, the government said the 16 travel agencies failed to provide adequate services for pilgrims. It said these agencies illegally facilitated the travel of pilgrims to Saudi Arabia using visas that don't allow holders to travel to Mecca.  The government also said officials from the companies have been referred to the public prosecutor for investigations.  The fatalities also included 165 pilgrims from Indonesia, 98 from India and dozens more from Jordan, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria and Malaysia, according to an Associated Press tally. Two U.S. pilgrims were also reported dead.  The AP could not independently confirm the causes of death, but some countries like Jordan and Tunisia blamed the soaring heat.  Associated Press journalists saw pilgrims fainting from the scorching heat during the Hajj, especially on the second and third days. Some vomited and collapsed.  Deaths are not uncommon at the Hajj, which has seen at times over 2 million people travel to Saudi Arabia for a five-day pilgrimage. The pilgrimage's history has also seen deadly stampedes and epidemics.  But this year's tally was unusually high, suggesting exceptional circumstances.  A 2015 stampede in Mina during the Hajj killed over 2,400 pilgrims, the deadliest incident ever to strike the pilgrimage, according to an AP count. Saudi Arabia has never acknowledged the full toll of the stampede. A separate crane collapse at Mecca's Grand Mosque earlier the same year killed 111.  The second-deadliest incident at the Hajj was a 1990 stampede that killed 1,426 people.  During this year's Hajj period, daily high temperatures ranged between 46 degrees Celsius (117 degrees Fahrenheit) and 49 degrees Celsius (120 degrees Fahrenheit) in Mecca and sacred sites in and around the city, according to the Saudi National Center for Meteorology. Some people fainted while trying to perform the symbolic stoning of the devil.  The Hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam, is one of the world's largest religious gatherings. More than 1.83 million Muslims performed the Hajj in 2024, including more than 1.6 million from 22 countries, and around 222,000 Saudi citizens and residents, according to the Saudi Hajj authorities.  Saudi Arabia has spent billions of dollars on crowd control and safety measures for those attending the annual five-day pilgrimage, but the sheer number of participants makes ensuring their safety difficult.  Climate change could make the risk even greater. A 2019 study by experts at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that even if the world succeeds in mitigating the worst effects of climate change, the Hajj would be held in temperatures exceeding an "extreme danger threshold" from 2047 to 2052, and from 2079 to 2086.  Islam follows a lunar calendar, so the Hajj comes around 11 days earlier each year. By 2029, the Hajj will occur in April, and for several years after that it will fall in the winter, when temperatures are milder. 

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DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — At least 39 people were killed by Israeli strikes across northern Gaza on Saturday, as rescue workers scrambled to find survivors beneath the rubble, according to Palestinian and hospital officials. Fadel Naem, director of the al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City, told The Associated Press that more than three dozen bodies arrived at the hospital. The Palestinian Civil Defense, an emergency group active in Gaza, said its emergency workers were digging for survivors at the site of a strike in the Shati refugee camp west of Gaza City and that it had pulled several dozen bodies from a building hit by an Israeli strike in an eastern neighborhood of Gaza City. Israel said Saturday that its fighter jets struck two Hamas military sites in the Gaza City area but did not elaborate further. The deaths come a day after at least 25 people were killed in strikes on tent camps and 50 wounded near the southern city of Rafah. Israel said Saturday that it was continuing to operate in central and southern Gaza and has pushed ahead with its invasion of Rafah, where over 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from fighting elsewhere. Most have now fled the city, but the United Nations says no place in Gaza is safe and humanitarian conditions are dire as families shelter in tents and cramped apartments without adequate food, water or medical supplies. Israeli strike kills in Lebanon A separate Israeli strike Saturday in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley killed a member of the military wing of al-Jamaa al-Islamiya, or the Islamic Group, a Sunni Muslim faction closely allied with Hamas, according to the group. The member was the seventh killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon since the war began. The Israel-Hamas war erupted on October 7 when Hamas militants who stormed southern Israel killed about 1,200 people and took about 250 others hostage. Israel has responded by bombarding and invading the enclave, killing more than 37,400 Palestinians there according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count. Also Saturday, Israel's army said an Israeli man was fatally shot in the northern West Bank town of Qalqilya, where Israeli forces fatally shot two militants Friday, the latest flare of violence in the territory since the Israel-Hamas war erupted. At least 549 Palestinians in the territory have been killed by Israeli fire since the war began, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry, which tracks the killings. Over the same period, Palestinians in the West Bank have killed at least nine Israelis, including five soldiers, according to United Nations data. Israeli nationals are prohibited from entering Qalqilya and other areas of the West Bank that fall under the under the control of the Palestinian Authority. In April, the death of a 14-year-old Israeli settler sparked a series of settler attacks on Palestinian towns in the territory. The army said a Palestinian was later arrested in connection with the killing. On Saturday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said a 12-year-old Palestinian boy died from his wounds after being shot by Israeli forces in Ramallah last week. Commenting on the shooting, the Israeli army said its forces raided al-Amari refugee camp near Ramallah to arrest a suspect Friday and then opened fire on a group of Palestinians who were pelting them with stones. Israel said Saturday that it was investigating a separate incident into conduct of its soldiers after a video surfaced online showing an injured Palestinian being transported on the hood of an Israeli armored car in the northern West Bank. The army said the man in the video was a wanted suspect and injured during an exchange of fire between Palestinian militants and Israeli forces near the city of Jenin. The man was being transported to a Red Crescent ambulance situated nearby, it said. The army said the conduct in the video didn't "conform to the values" of the army. Israelis protest Netanyahu's government Anger across the country is growing at the government's handling of the war in Gaza and the hostage crisis. On Saturday, tens of thousands of people demonstrated in Tel Aviv calling for new elections and for the government to bring the hostages home. Among the families were the parents of Naama Levy, an Israeli soldier who marked her 20th birthday in captivity.

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Nairobi — Kenya's President William Ruto said Sunday that he was ready for "a conversation" with thousands of "peaceful" young protesters who held nationwide demonstrations this week to oppose proposed tax increases. Organized on social media and led largely by Gen-Z Kenyans who have livestreamed the demonstrations, the protests have caught Ruto's government off-guard, as discontent mounts over his economic policies. "I am very proud of our young people... they have stepped forward peaceful and I want to tell them we are going to engage them," Ruto said in his first public comments on the protests. "We are going to have a conversation so that together we can build a greater nation," Ruto said during a church service in the Rift Valley town of Nyahururu. His characterization of the protests as "peaceful" came after rights campaigners reported two deaths following Thursday's demonstrations in Nairobi. There was no immediate response from the protesters, who have called for a national strike on June 25. The demonstrations were mostly peaceful, but officers fired tear gas and water cannon throughout the day to disperse protesters near parliament. According to a Kenya Human Rights Commission official, 21-year-old Evans Kiratu was "hit by a tear gas canister" during the protests and died in hospital. On Friday, a police watchdog said it was investigating allegations that a 29-year-old man was shot by officers in Nairobi after the demonstrations. The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) said it had "documented the death... allegedly as a result of police shooting" on Thursday. Several organisations, including Amnesty International Kenya, said that at least 200 people were injured in the protests in Nairobi, as thousands of people take to the streets across the country. Cash-strapped government Ruto's administration has defended the proposed levies as necessary for filling its coffers and cutting reliance on external borrowing. Following smaller-scale demonstrations on Tuesday, the cash-strapped government agreed to roll back several tax hikes laid out in a new bill. But Ruto's administration still intends to increase some taxes, defending the proposed levies as necessary to raise money. Kenya has a debt mountain, and servicing costs have ballooned due to a fall in the value of the local currency over the last two years, leaving Ruto with few options. The tax hikes will pile further pressure on Kenyans, with many already struggling as the cost of living surges and well-paid jobs remain out of reach for young people. "Tuesday 25th June: #OccupyParliament and Total Shutdown Kenya. A national strike," read a poster shared widely online, adding that "Gen Z are granting all hard working Kenyans a day off. Parents keep your children at home in solidarity." After the government agreed to scrap levies on bread purchases, car ownership as well as financial and mobile services, the treasury warned of a 200-billion-shilling ($1.5-billion) shortfall. The government has now targeted an increase in fuel prices and export taxes to fill the void left by the changes, a move critics say will make life more expensive in a country already saddled with high inflation. Kenya is one of the most dynamic economies in East Africa but a third of its 51.5 million people live in poverty.

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Bangkok — A Thai court has set a mid-July extradition hearing date for Vietnamese dissident Y Quynh Bdap, who was arrested in Thailand earlier this month at Vietnam’s request, Thai officials have told VOA. Rights advocates are meanwhile urging Thailand not to force Bdap back home, fearing for his safety, and say his arrest continues the "swap mart" they claim the region’s governments are running by returning each other’s wanted dissidents. Bdap had been living in Thailand since 2018 to evade Vietnamese authorities for fear of arrest over this human rights work. Thai police arrested him in Bangkok on June 11 for alleged immigration offenses acting on a call from Vietnam for his return. A Thai court issued the arrest warrant "upon the request for extradition made by the Vietnamese authority, from the ruling of the Vietnamese court that Mr. Bdap was guilty on the charge of terrorism," Thai Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Nikorndej Balankura told VOA. Maj. Gen. Khemmarin Hassiri, an adviser to Thailand’s deputy police chief, said the criminal courts have scheduled an extradition hearing for Bdap on July 15. Vietnam wants Bdap for his alleged role fomenting a riot last year that left nine people, including four local police officers, dead, according to state media. A Vietnamese court convicted him on related terrorism charges in absentia in January and sentenced him to 10 years in jail. The Vietnamese government has also labeled his group, Montagnards Stand for Justice, which advocates for the rights of the mostly Christian ethnic minorities of the country’s central highlands, a terrorist organization. Bdap denied the allegations against him and the group in a brief video recorded in Thailand days before his arrest and later posted online by United Nations special rapporteur on human rights defenders Mary Lawlor. In the clip, he says he fears his imminent arrest and urges the U.N., rights groups and foreign governments to protect him. Clarion calls Since his arrest, rights groups have issued statements urging Thailand not to send Bdap back to Vietnam. Sunai Phasuk, a senior researcher for Human Rights Watch, said the arrest flies in the face of Thailand’s legal obligations to protect refugees. "The situation has now gone from bad to worse as he is facing imminent extradition to face prosecution in Vietnam. The Vietnamese government has long persecuted Christian Montagnards belonging to independent house churches, supporters of nonviolent demands for independence or autonomy, and people objecting to the transfer of land and forests traditionally used by highlanders to Vietnamese businesses and settlers," Sunai told VOA. "Human Rights Watch has no information on Y Quynh Bdap’s possible involvement in the riots but is gravely concerned about his safety and his receiving a fair trial in Vietnam," he added. Y Phic Hdok, who cofounded Montagnards Stand for Justice with Bdap and is now in the United States after fleeing Vietnam eight years ago, said his friend would be in grave danger if handed over to Vietnam. "I urge the Thai government to respect international human rights standards and reject Vietnam’s unlawful extradition request," he told VOA. "It will be a risk for his life if he will be deported." Christopher MacLeod, a Canadian lawyer working to save Bdap from being extradited, echoed the concern. "I worry for his life and safety," he told VOA, including his "mistreatment and abuse in prison, and [about] the message it would send, the chilling effect it would have on anyone else who wants to speak to religious freedom and tolerance." MacLeod said Bdap’s arrest came a day after he had a meeting at the Canadian Embassy in Bangkok about his application to resettle in Canada as a political refugee. The embassy did not reply to VOA’s request to confirm the meeting or to comment on the case. Past as prologue Thailand’s handling of past refugee cases also has advocates concerned. While Thailand has at times allowed foreign dissidents wanted by their home countries to resettle elsewhere, even after arresting them, it also has a track record of forcing them back to repressive regimes, including China and Cambodia. Activists wanted by Hanoi have also gone missing while hiding in Thailand in recent years only to show up days or weeks later in custody back in Vietnam, raising concerns about possible state-sponsored kidnapping. Thai dissidents taking refuge from their own government in neighboring countries have also gone missing or turned up dead under mysterious circumstances in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. "Especially in the region, there has been — I don’t know if it’s formal, but certainly the informal — trading and return of political dissidents from one country to the other," MacLeod said. "I worry that that is playing itself out in this instance," he added, referring to Bdap. In a recent report, Human Rights Watch recounts 25 confirmed or suspected cases of such transnational repression of activists and dissidents across the region between 2014 and 2023, a nine-year stretch of military-run or -aligned governments in Thailand. Sunai said the civilian administration that took office following national elections last year risks following in their footsteps. "The current administration of PM [Prime Minister] Srettha Thavisin carries on the legacy of military rule and maintains the pattern of transnational repression, in which Thai authorities helped neighboring governments take unlawful actions against refugees and dissidents seeking shelter in Thailand," he said. Treaty talks U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk raised the issue during his latest global update to the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva last week. He spoke of an "emerging pattern" of transnational repression in Southeast Asia and of signs that the trend was going global. Thailand and Vietnam are also in the midst of negotiations on a formal extradition treaty. Khemmarin said those talks would likely continue on a future visit to Vietnam by senior Thai officials, possibly next month. MacLeod said a treaty could make the problem of transnational repression worse by making it easier and faster for the two countries to exchange dissidents, leaving other governments, rights groups or the U.N. less time and chance to intervene. Thailand’s Foreign Affairs Ministry, which is leading the treaty talks, did not reply to VOA’s questions about a possible deal. The Vietnamese Embassy did not reply to VOA either. As for Bdap’s case, Thai government spokesperson Chai Watcharong told VOA that Thailand would "take into consideration all relevant factors and concerns including the safety of the alleged offender. The court shall decide whether the alleged offences requested for extradition are considered extraditable." "It is better at this stage not to prejudge the court’s decision," he added.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Tucked inside the West Virginia Statehouse is a copy of a petition to lawmakers with a simple request: Let the voters decide whether to reinstate legal access to abortion. The request has been ignored by the Republican lawmakers who have supermajority control in the Legislature and banned abortions in the state in 2022, shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a constitutional right to the procedure. The petition, with more than 2,500 signatures, is essentially meaningless given the current makeup of the Legislature. But it illustrates the frustratingly limited options millions of Americans face in trying to re-establish abortion rights as the country marks the two-year anniversary since the Supreme Court's ruling. West Virginia is among the 25 states that do not allow citizen initiatives or constitutional amendments on a statewide ballot, an avenue of direct democracy that has allowed voters to circumvent their legislatures and preserve abortion and other reproductive rights in a number of states over the past two years. Republicans there have repeatedly dismissed the idea of placing an abortion-rights measure before voters, which in West Virginia is a step only lawmakers can take. “It makes you wonder what they’re so afraid of,” said Democratic Del. Kayla Young, one of only 16 women in the West Virginia Legislature. “If they feel so strongly that this is what people believe, prove it.” The court's ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade was praised by abortion opponents as a decision that returned the question to the states. Former President Donald Trump, who named three of the justices who overturned Roe, has repeatedly claimed “the people" are now the ones deciding abortion access. “The people are deciding," he said during a recent interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity. "And in many ways, it’s a beautiful thing to watch.” But that's not true everywhere. In states allowing the citizen initiative and where abortion access has been on the ballot, voters have resoundingly affirmed the right to abortion. Voters in seven states, including conservative ones such as Kentucky, Montana and Ohio, have either protected abortion rights or defeated attempts to curtail them in statewide votes over the past two years. Reproductive rights supporters are trying to put citizen initiatives on the ballot in several states this year. But voters don't have a direct say in about half the states. This is particularly true for those living in the South. Republican-controlled legislatures, many of which have been heavily gerrymandered to give the GOP disproportionate power, have enacted some of the strictest abortion bans since the Supreme Court ruling while shunning efforts to expand direct democracy. States began adopting the initiative process during the Progressive Era more than a century ago, giving citizens a way to make or repeal laws through a direct vote of the people. Between 1898 and 1918, nearly 20 states approved the citizen initiative. Since then, just five states have done so. “It was a different time,” said John Matsusaka, professor of business and law at the University of Southern California. “There was a political movement across the whole country when people were trying to do what they saw as good government.” Some lawmakers argue citizen initiatives bypass important checks and balances offered through the legislative process. In Tennessee, where Republicans have gerrymandered legislative districts to give them a supermajority in the statehouse, House Majority Leader William Lamberth likened ballot measures to polls rather than what he described as the legislature's strict review of complicated policy-making. “We evaluate bills every single year,” he said. As in West Virginia, abortion-rights supporters or Democratic lawmakers have asked Republican-controlled legislatures in a handful of states to take the abortion question straight to voters, a tactic that hasn't succeeded anywhere the GOP has a majority. “This means you’re going to say, ‘Hey Legislature, would you like to give up some of your power? Would you like to give up your monopoly on policymaking?’” said Thad Kousser, professor of political science at the University of California, San Diego. “You need a political momentum and then have the process cooperate." In South Carolina, which bans nearly all abortions, a Democratic-backed resolution to put a state constitutional amendment on the ballot never got a hearing this year. Attempts to attach the proposal to other pieces of legislation were quickly shut down by Republicans. “If you believe you are doing the right thing for all the people of South Carolina — men and women and babies — you should have no problem putting this to the people,” said Democratic Sen. Margie Bright Matthews, alleging that Republicans fear they would lose if the issue went directly to voters. In Georgia, Democratic Rep. Shea Roberts said she frequently fields questions from her constituents asking how they can get involved in a citizen-led ballot measure. The interest exploded after voters in Kansas rejected an anti-abortion measure from the Legislature in 2022 and was rekindled last fall after Ohio voters overwhelmingly passed an amendment codifying abortion rights in the state’s constitution. Yet when she has brought legislation to create a citizen initiative process in Georgia, the efforts have been ignored inside the Republican-controlled Legislature. “Voters are constantly asking us why we can’t do this, and we’re constantly explaining that it’s not possible under our current constitution,” Roberts said. “If almost half of states have this process, why shouldn’t Georgians?” The contrast is on stark display in two presidential swing states. Michigan voters used a citizen initiative to enshrine abortion rights in their state constitution in 2022. Voters in neighboring Wisconsin don't have that ability. Instead, Wisconsin Democrats, with a new liberal majority on the state Supreme Court, are working to overturn Republican-drawn legislative maps that are among the most gerrymandered in the country in the hope of eventually flipping the Legislature. Analiese Eicher, director of communications at Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin, said a citizen-led ballot measure process would have been especially valuable for her cause. “We should have legislators who represent their constituents,” she said. “And if they don’t, there should be another option.” In West Virginia, Steve Williams acknowledges the petition he spearheaded didn't change minds inside the Legislature. But the Democratic mayor of Huntington, who is a longshot candidate for governor, said he thinks state Republicans have underestimated how strongly voters believe in restoring some kind of abortion access.   Republican leadership has pointed to a 2018 vote in which just under 52% of voters supported a constitutional amendment saying there is no right to abortion access in the state. But Williams said the vote also had to do with state funding of abortion, which someone could oppose without wanting access completely eliminated. The vote was close, voter participation was low and it came before the Supreme Court's decision that eliminated a nationwide right to abortion. Williams said West Virginia women weren't facing the reality of a near-total ban. “Let’s face it: Life in 2024 is a heck of a lot different for women than it was in 2018,” he said.