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PITTSBURGH — Last week in Parkland, Florida, wrecking equipment began demolishing the building at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School where a gunman's rampage in 2018 ended with 17 people dead. As the rumble of destruction echoed, people in the community set to explaining exactly why ripping the building down was so meaningful — and so crucial. From former student Bryan Lequerique: "It's something that we all need. It's time to bring an end to this very hurtful chapter in everyone's lives." And Eric Garner, a broadcasting and film teacher, said: "For 6½ years we have been looking at this monument to mass murder that has been on campus every day. ... So coming down, that's the monumental event." Parkland. Uvalde. Columbine. Sandy Hook. A supermarket in Buffalo. A church in South Carolina. A synagogue in Pittsburgh. A nightclub in Orlando, Florida. When violence comes to a public place, as it does all too often in our era, a delicate question lingers in the quiet afterward: What should be done with the buildings where blood was shed, where lives were upended, where loved ones were lost forever? Which is the appropriate choice — the defiance of keeping them standing, or the deep comfort that can come with wiping them off the map? Is it best to keep pain right in front of us, or at a distance? How different communities have approached the problem This question has been answered differently over the years. The most obvious example in recent history is the decision to preserve the concentration camps run by Nazi Germany during World War II where millions of Jews and others died — an approach consistent with the post-Holocaust mantras of "never forget" and "never again." But that was an event of global significance, with meaning for both the descendants of survivors and the public at large. For individual American communities, approaches have varied. Parkland and others chose demolition. In Pittsburgh, the Tree of Life synagogue, site of a 2018 shooting, was torn down to make way for a new sanctuary and memorial. But the Tops Friendly Markets in Buffalo, New York, and the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, where racist mass shootings happened, both reopened. And Columbine High School still stands, though its library, where so much bloodshed occurred, was replaced after much impassioned debate. "Finding a balance between its function as a high school and the need for memorialization has been a long process," former student Riley Burkhart wrote earlier this year in an essay. What goes into these decisions? Not only emotion and heartbreak. Sometimes it's simply a question of resources; not all school districts can afford to demolish and rebuild. Sometimes it's about not wanting to give those who might support the shooter a place to focus their attention. "Denying such opportunities for those who celebrate the persecution and deaths of those different from themselves is a perfectly sound reason to tear down buildings where mass killings occurred," Daniel Fountain, a professor of history at Meredith College in North Carolina, said in a email. Perhaps the most significant driving force, though, is the increasing discussion in recent years about the role of mental health. "There are changing norms about things like trauma and closure that are at play that today encourage the notion of demolishing these spaces," said Timothy Recuber, a sociologist at Smith College in Massachusetts and author of "Consuming Catastrophe: Mass Culture in America's Decade of Disaster." For many years, he said, "the prevailing idea of how to get past a tragedy was to put your head down and push past it. Today, people are more likely to believe that having to return to the scene of the crime, so to speak, is liable to re-inflict harm." In Pittsburgh's Squirrel Hill neighborhood, a fence masks the site where the Tree of Life synagogue stood until it was razed earlier this year, more than five years after a gunman killed 11 people in the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history. David Michael Slater grew up across the street from the synagogue. He understands the ambivalence that can come with choosing whether to knock down. "It's easy to see why decision-makers might have chosen one path or the other. And to me, it seems presumptuous for anyone not part of, or directly affected by, the choice to quibble with it," said Slater, who retired this month after 30 years of teaching middle and high school English. "That said, the decision to demolish such sites, when seen in the context of our escalating culture of erasure, should raise concern." The power of memory cuts both ways From World War II to 9/11, the politics of American memory are powerful — and nowhere more intricate than in the case of mass shootings. The loss of loved ones, societal disagreements over gun laws and differing approaches to protecting children create a landscape where the smallest of issues can give rise to dozens of passionate and angry opinions. To some, keeping a building standing is the ultimate defiance: You are not bowing to horror nor capitulating to those who caused it. You are choosing to continue in the face of unimaginable circumstances — a robust thread in the American narrative. To others, the possibility of being retraumatized is central. Why, the thinking goes, should a building where people met violent ends continue to be a looming — literally — force in the lives of those who must go on? It stands to reason, then, that a key factor in deciding the fates of such buildings coalesces around one question: Who is the audience? "It's not a simple choice of should we knock it down or renovate or let it be," said Jennifer Talarico, a psychology professor at Lafayette College in Pennsylvania who studies how people form personal memories of public events. "If we're interested in the memories of the people who directly experienced the event, that physical space will serve as a specific and powerful reminder. But if we're talking about remembering or commemorating an event for other people, those who did not experience it, that's a slightly different calculus," Talarico said. "Remembering and forgetting are both powerful forces." Ultimately, of course, there is a middle ground: eliminating the building itself but erecting a lasting memorial to those who were lost, as Uvalde and other communities have chosen. In that way, the virtues of mental health and memory can both be honored. Life can go on — not obliviously, but not impeded by a daily, visceral reminder of the heartbreak that once visited. That approach sits well with Slater, who has contemplated such tragedies both from the standpoint of his hometown synagogue and the classrooms where he spent decades teaching and keeping kids safe. "Like every problem in life that matters, simple answers are hard to come by," Slater said. "If what replaces the Tree of Life, or Parkland, or the next defiled place of worship or learning or commerce, can be made to serve both as proof of our indomitable spirit and as memorialized evidence of what we strive to overcome, perhaps we can have the best of both worst worlds."

PARIS — The alleged rape of a 12-year-old Jewish girl in a suspected antisemitic attack has sent shockwaves throughout France and thrust concerns about antisemitism to the forefront of campaigning for the country's legislative elections. The anti-immigration National Rally party, which has tried to shed historical links to antisemitism, is leading in preelection polling and has its first real chance of forming a government, if it comes out on top in the two-round elections that end July 7. It would be the first far-right force to lead a French government since the Nazi occupation. Far-left figures, meanwhile, have faced accusations of antisemitism linked to their response to Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel and the ensuing war. Concerns came to the fore after two adolescent boys in a Paris suburb were given preliminary charges this week of raping a 12-year-old girl and religion-motivated violence, according to prosecutors. Lawyer and Jewish leader Elie Korchia told French broadcaster BFM that the girl is Jewish and that the word Palestine was mentioned during the attack. The prosecutor's office did not specify the girl's religion or release her identity, according to policies for the protection of victims, as is standard practice for hate crimes in France. Hundreds of people gathered Thursday evening around the Bastille monument in Paris to protest against antisemitism, in the second straight night of demonstrations. France has the largest Jewish population in Europe, but as a result of its own World War II collaboration with the Nazis, antisemitic acts today open old scars. France also has the largest Muslim population in western Europe, and anti-Muslim acts have risen in recent years. Politicians from all sides were quick to comment on the attack, notably after a surge in antisemitic acts in France since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal wrote on the social media platform X that the girl was "raped because she's Jewish," while French President Emmanuel Macron called on schools to hold a "discussion hour" on racism and antisemitism. Jordan Bardella, president of the National Rally, said that if elected, he would "fight the antisemitism that has been plaguing France since Oct. 7." In the wake of reports of the attack, Bardella announced that his party was withdrawing support for one of its candidates over an antisemitic message on social media posted in 2018. His predecessor as party president and the National Rally's 2022 presidential candidate, Marine Le Pen, accused the "extreme left" of "stigmatization of Jews" and of "instrumentalizing" the Israel-Hamas conflict. Leftist leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon denounced "antisemitic racism," though the France Unbowed party which he formerly led has itself faced accusations of antisemitism linked to the Israel-Hamas war. "There has never been any ambiguity in our denunciation of antisemitism," lawmaker Manuel Bompard of France Unbowed said on French news broadcaster La Chaîne Info on Wednesday, pushing back on accusations that his party's stance on antisemitism and the Israel-Hamas war contributed to an environment of insecurity for French Jews. "To have people believe that there would be a link between what happened and France Unbowed's political positions is offensive and inappropriate," he said. Arié Alimi, lawyer and vice president of the League of Human Rights, called for a united front against the far right. "For some time now there is an awareness that there is antisemitism also on the left and that we need to address it,'' he said at Thursday's demonstration. ''Today it's the camp of the left, of progressives that is gathered with all people who are worried by antisemitism and all kinds of racism in France, in a particular political moment with a far right that could possibly come to power.'' Although the alleged rape has heightened tensions regarding antisemitism in France before the June 30 and July 7 two-round parliamentary election, it is far from a new issue in French politics. More than 180,000 people across France, marched in November to protest rising antisemitism in the wake of Israel's ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza. Along with then-Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne and representatives of several other parties, Le Pen attended the march amid fierce criticism that her once-pariah National Rally party had failed to shake off its antisemitic heritage despite growing political legitimacy. Borne, the daughter of a Jewish Holocaust survivor, tweeted that "the presence of the National Rally is not fooling anyone." Party founder Jean-Marie Le Pen, Marine Le Pen's father, was convicted repeatedly of antisemitic hate speech and played down the scope of the Holocaust. Marine Le Pen — runner-up in the last two presidential elections and likely a top contender in 2027 — has worked to scrub the party's image, kicking her father out and changing its name from National Front to National Rally. Attal announced in May that "366 antisemitic acts " were recorded between January and March this year, an increase of 300% compared to the first three months of 2023. Antisemitism refers to hatred of Jews, but there is no universally agreed definition of what exactly it entails or how it relates to criticism of Israel. The Israeli government regularly accuses its opponents of antisemitism, while critics say it uses the term to silence opposition to its policies. The war has reignited the long debate about the definition of antisemitism and whether any criticism of Israel — from its military's killing of thousands of Palestinian children to questions over Israel's very right to exist — amounts to anti-Jewish hate speech.

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EUGENE, Oregon — The U.S. Olympic team is one of a handful that will supply air conditioners for their athletes at the Paris Games in a move that undercuts organizers' plans to cut carbon emissions.  U.S. Olympic and Paralympic CEO Sarah Hirshland said Friday that while the U.S. team appreciates efforts aimed at sustainability, the federation would be supplying AC units for what is typically the largest contingent of athletes at the Summer Games.  "As you can imagine, this is a period of time in which consistency and predictability is critical for Team USA's performance," Hirshland said. "In our conversations with athletes, this was a very high priority and something that the athletes felt was a critical component in their performance capability."  The Washington Post reported earlier this month that Germany, Australia, Italy, Canada and Britain were among the other countries with plans to bring air conditioners to France.  Olympic organizers have touted plans to cool rooms in the Athletes Village, which will house more than 15,000 Olympians and sports officials over the course of the games, using a system of cooling pipes underneath the floors.  The average high in Paris on August 1 is 26 degrees Celsius. The objective is to keep the rooms between 23-26 degrees. The rooms will also be equipped with fans.  "I want the Paris Games to be exemplary from an environmental point of view," Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo has said about the plans for the Olympics.  According to the International Energy Agency, fewer than 1 in 10 households in Europe has air conditioning, and the numbers in Paris are lower than that. The study said that of the 1.6 billion AC units in use across the globe in 2016, more than half were in China (570 million) and the United States (375 million). The entire European Union had around 100 million.  The Olympics mark the most important stop on the athletic careers of the 10,500-plus athletes who will descend on Paris, which has led some high-profile countries to undercut environmental efforts for the sake of comfort.  "It's a high-performance environment," Australian Olympic Committee spokesman Strath Gordon explained to the Post.   

HOUSTON, TEXAS — Hundreds of thousands of immigrants had reason to rejoice when U.S. President Joe Biden unveiled a highly expansive plan to extend legal status to spouses of U.S. citizens, but, inevitably, some were left out. Claudia Zuniga, 35, married in 2017, which was 10 years after her husband came to the United States. He moved to Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, after they wed, knowing that, by law, he had to live outside the country for years to gain legal status. “Our lives took a 180-degree turn,” she said. Biden announced Tuesday that his administration will, in coming months, allow U.S. citizens' spouses without legal status to apply for permanent residency and eventually citizenship without having to first depart the country for up to 10 years. Some 500,000 immigrants may benefit, according to senior administration officials. To qualify, an immigrant must have lived in the United States for 10 years and be married to a U.S. citizen, both as of Monday. Zuniga's husband is ineligible because he wasn't in the United States. “Imagine, it would be a dream come true,” said Zuniga, who works part time in her father's transportation business in Houston. “My husband could be with us. We could focus on the well-being of our children.” Every immigration benefit — even those as sweeping as Biden's election-year offer — has a cutoff date and other eligibility requirements. In September, the Democratic president expanded temporary status for nearly 500,000 Venezuelans who were living in the United States on July 31, 2023. Those who had arrived a day later were out of luck. The Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which has shielded from deportation hundreds of thousands of people who came to the United States as young children and is popularly known as DACA, required applicants be in the United States on June 15, 2012, and continuously for the previous five years. About 1.1 million spouses who are in the country illegally are married to U.S. citizens, according to advocacy group FWD.us., meaning hundreds of thousands won't qualify because they were in the United States for less than 10 years. Immigration advocates were generally thrilled with the scope of Tuesday's announcement, just as Biden's critics called it a horribly misguided giveaway. Angelica Martinez, 36, wiped away tears as she sat next to her children, ages 14 and 6, and watched Biden's announcement at the Houston office of FIEL, an immigrant advocacy group. A U.S. citizen since 2013, she described a flood of emotions, including regret that her husband couldn't travel to Mexico when his mother died five years ago. “Sadness, joy all at the same time," said Martinez, whose husband arrived in Houston 18 years ago. Brenda Valle of Los Angeles, whose husband has been a U.S. citizen since 2001 and, like her, was born in Mexico, renews her DACA permit every two years. “We can start planning more long-term for the future instead of what we can do for the next two years,” she said. Magdalena Gutierrez of Chicago, who has been married to a U.S. citizen for 22 years and has three daughters who are U.S. citizens, said she had “a little more hope” after Biden’s announcement. Gutierrez, 43, is eager to travel more across the United States without fearing an encounter with law enforcement could lead to her being deported. Allyson Batista, a retired Philadelphia teacher and U.S. citizen who married her Brazilian husband 20 years ago, recalled being told by a lawyer that he could leave the country for 10 years or “remain in the shadows and wait for a change in the law.” “Initially, when we got married, I was naive and thought, ‘OK, but I’m American. This isn’t going to be a problem. We’re going to fix this,’” Batista said. “I learned very early on that we were facing a pretty dire circumstance and that there would be no way for us to move forward in an immigration process successfully.” The couple raised three children who are pursuing higher education. Batista is waiting for the details of how her husband can apply for a green card. “I’m hopeful,” Batista said. “The next 60 days will really tell. But, obviously, more than thrilled because every step forward is a step toward a final resolution for all kinds of immigrant families.” About 50,000 noncitizen children with parents who are married to a U.S. citizen could also potentially qualify, according to senior administration officials who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity. Biden also announced new regulations that will allow some DACA beneficiaries and other young immigrants to more easily qualify for long-established work visas.

Washington — Speaking at China’s first military political work conference in a decade this week, Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated the need for the military to eliminate corruption and strengthen its loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party. He also warned of "deep-seated issues" in the military’s politics, ideology, work style and discipline. "The gun barrels should always be in the hands of those who are loyal and reliable to the party and there must be no place for corrupt elements to hide in the military," Xi said in his remarks, according to China’s state broadcaster CCTV. In a lengthy overview, Xi urged the military to enhance the thoroughness of its ideological transformation by following the Communist Party’s theories, improving the leadership of party organizations, and eradicating conditions that may allow corruption to thrive. Chieh Chung, a military researcher at the National Policy Foundation in Taiwan, said the remarks show that "Xi wants to emphasize the importance for the military to be loyal to the party and his leadership while signaling his concerns about how corruption affects the military" and its capabilities. Xi "hopes the warnings can help accelerate the development of advanced technologies and equipment," Chieh told VOA by phone. Since last July, China has ousted more than a dozen top military commanders, including former defense minister Li Shangfu, and leaders of the People’s Liberation Army’s Rocket Force. While the Chinese government hasn’t publicly linked their removals to corruption, some foreign media outlets and experts see their removal as part of the extended anti-corruption campaign Xi initiated since he came to power in 2012. Reuters reported last September that Li was facing an investigation related to the procurement of military equipment. The removal of top military leaders not only highlights the prevalence of corruption; it also raises other questions. "Since corruption has hampered Russia’s ability to supply its military in the Ukraine war, it raises the question of whether the Chinese military’s capabilities have been compromised by corruption or not," Lin Ying-yu, a military expert at Tamkang University in Taiwan, told VOA by phone. There is also a concern about the impact Xi’s persistent attempts to eradicate corruption will have on the military internally. "When a former defense minister can be abruptly removed from his position without any clear explanation, it will create a deep sense of fear within the military because no one knows when they might be the next one to be purged," said Su Tzu-yun, a military expert at the Taipei-based Institute for National Defense and Security Research. Su said this is part of the Communist Party’s strategy of "ruling with terror," which allows Xi to concentrate decision-making power on the top leadership within the party. "While tackling corruption in the military is important to Xi, the anti-corruption campaign has become a political tool for him to consolidate his control over the military," Su told VOA by phone. In January, the state-run People’s Liberation Army Daily published an opinion piece that emphasized the importance of implementing Xi’s instructions for the military and extending the party’s governance to the grassroots level. "By strengthening the supervision of military personnel, it builds a firm first line of defense for soldiers to comply with the rules and refuse to be corrupted," said the opinion piece run by the PLA Daily. While Xi looks to consolidate control and build loyalty, both Chieh and Su see other potential side-effects such as the promotion of unqualified leaders and the impact that could have on the military’s capabilities and readiness. "When Beijing puts so much emphasis on loyalty to the party, it could reduce the military’s combat capabilities and make the military huge but weak," Su said. Xi’s expressed desire to continue cracking down on corruption also means the Chinese military may need to go through a period of adjustment, Chieh said. "Normally, the military’s combat capabilities will decrease following several rounds of purges, so I expect the Chinese military to go through a tough period of adjustment and reorganization over the next few years," he told VOA. And while top officials in the U.S. have repeatedly highlighted 2027 as the year that the Chinese military aims to possess the capabilities to invade Taiwan, Chieh thinks the  purges and Xi's remarks at the political work conference suggest the PLA may be hard pressed to achieve that goal. "Since the Chinese military’s command system and the rocket force’s capabilities may not have reached the goal set by the top leadership due to rampant corruption, I think this makes it even less likely for the Chinese military to have the capabilities required to invade Taiwan by 2027," he said.

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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A commercial ship traveling through the Gulf of Aden saw explosions near the vessel, authorities said Saturday, likely the latest attack by Yemen's Houthi rebels attempting to target the shipping lane. The apparent fire by the Houthis comes after the sinking this week of the ship Tutor, which marked what appears to be a new escalation by the Iranian-backed Houthis in their campaign of attacks on ships in the vital maritime corridor over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, U.S. officials reportedly ordered the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, the aircraft carrier leading America's response to the Houthi attacks, to return home. The captain of the ship targeted late Friday saw "explosions in the vicinity of the vessel," the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said. "The crew are reported safe and the vessel is proceeding to its next port of call," the UKMTO said, without elaborating on whether the ship sustained any damage. The Houthis, who have held Yemen's capital, Sanaa, since 2014, did not immediately claim the attack. However, it can take the rebels hours or even days to acknowledge their assaults. The Houthis on Friday released footage of one of their drone boats, the "Tufan," or "Flood," which they said targeted the Tutor. The Houthis have launched more than 60 attacks targeting specific vessels and 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 May 30 killing at least 16 people and wounding 42 others, the rebels say. In March, the Belize-flagged Rubymar carrying fertilizer became the first to sink in the Red Sea after taking on water for days following a rebel attack. 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. Meanwhile, the U.S. Naval Institute's news service reported, citing an anonymous official, that the Eisenhower would be returning home to Norfolk, Virginia, after an over eight-month deployment in combat that the Navy says is its most intense since World War II. The report said an aircraft carrier operating in the Pacific would be taking the Eisenhower's place. The closest American aircraft carrier known to be operating in Asia is the USS Theodore Roosevelt. 

MADRID — A cruise ship rescued 68 migrants and found five bodies in a traditional fishing boat that was drifting off the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean, Spain's maritime rescue agency said Thursday. It said an oil tanker traveling from northwestern Spain to Brazil spotted the drifting boat on Wednesday afternoon about 815 kilometers south of Tenerife, one of the seven islands in the Canaries archipelago. Spanish authorities diverted the Insignia, a cruise ship, to rescue the migrants. The Insignia crew also recovered three of the five bodies on the fishing boat. The remains of two people were left at sea because of bad weather hampering their recovery. The canoe-shaped boats, known as pirogues, are used by fishermen in Mauritania and Senegal. It is unusual for cruise ships to make rescues of migrants on the Atlantic route, but the pirogue "was a long way out and they could be in danger," said a maritime rescue's spokesperson, speaking on condition of anonymity under departmental rules. One of the passengers on the cruise ship, Steve Dilbeck from Huntington Beach, California, said they were not told about the dead. "They did say the boat had been at sea for 20 days," Dilbeck told The Associated Press in a text message. "We were diverted in the evening and took us two hours to reach them. They were brought on board and placed in the Insignia Lounge, which is where they have all their shows." "The area has been closed off to passengers. Told they had them remove their clothes and put on jumpsuits. Then they asked passengers if they had shoes and clothes they could donate, particularly for men. Their announcement said 62 were men, with the rest women and children," he added. The Marshall Islands-flagged Insignia had left Mindelo, a port city in Cape Verde, on Tuesday. Its operator, Miami-based Oceania Cruises, did not immediately comment on the rescue. The Spanish rescue agency emailed a statement saying the Insignia is expected to arrive on Friday at the port of Santa Cruz, Tenerife. The Canary Islands is a destination for boats packed with migrants departing from northwestern Africa on a perilous Atlantic route in search of a better life in Europe. Spain's Interior Ministry says a record 55,618 migrants arrived by boat — most of them in the Canary Islands — last year, almost double the number of the previous year. More than 23,000 have landed so far this year, the ministry said. The Spanish nonprofit organization Caminando Fronteras (Walking Borders) says more than 5,000 migrants have died so far this year through May while trying to reach Spanish coasts, most of them on the Atlantic route. The figure for all 2023 was 6,600, more than double the number for 2022.

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GROS ISLET, St. Lucia — Undefeated South Africa pulled off a seven-run win over defending champion England in the Super Eight playoffs at the Twenty20 World Cup on Friday. Harry Brook, who made 53, and Liam Livingstone, with 33 off 17 balls, had the chase in control for England with 25 needed off 18 balls until fast bowlers Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje dismissed them in the last three overs. Later, Shai Hope hit 82 from 39 balls as the West Indies beat the United States by nine wickets in a match between co-hosts. Hope struck eight sixes as the West Indies ran down their winning target of 129 with more than nine overs to spare. England was restricted to 156-6 in reply to South Africa's 163-6. "Getting to those last three overs, the odds looked heavily against you," South Africa captain Aiden Markram said. "But the bowlers came back, it shows a lot of skill and shows the fight inside." Quinton de Kock finished with 65 as he smacked the tournament's joint-fastest half-century off 22 balls, and David Miller provided the impetus in the latter half of South Africa's innings with 43 off 28. South Africa's win streak was extended to six games and it is a firm favorite for the semifinals after two wins in two matches in its group. England suffered its first loss in the Super Eight after it beat the West Indies by eight wickets at the same venue. Earlier, de Kock dominated South Africa's powerplay and had them motoring along at 63-0 before England pulled them back through spinners Adil Rashid (1-20) and Moeen Ali (1-25). De Kock put fast bowler Jofra Archer on the mat early with two successive sixes in a 21-run over. De Kock was given a life on 58 when video replays suggested Mark Wood's fingers were not underneath the catch. The decision left England players fuming. Hope the new star as West Indies beat US At Bridgetown, Barbados, West Indies fans partied under the Friday night lights as new team addition Shai Hope launched a spectacular display of power-hitting to put the West Indies' campaign back on track with its nine-wicket win over the U.S. He finished the chase with a six from the fifth ball of the 11th over. Along with his eight sixes, he hit four fours. After a loss to England in their first Super Eight match, the West Indies had to win to stay in semifinal contention. The United States surprised the cricket world by beating powerhouse Pakistan on the way to the Super Eight playoffs but after losses to South Africa and the West Indies in the playoff stage now cannot reach the final four. Roston Chase took a career-best 3-19 and Andre Russell 3-31 as the West Indies limited the United States to 128 in 19.5 overs after winning the toss. "This is my favorite place to play cricket," Chase said. "I'm from Barbados so I grew up playing a lot of cricket here. It's our destiny and our goal to go out there and win this World Cup." Hope was added to the West Indies' lineup for Friday's match as an injury replacement for Brandon King who was ruled out with a side strain. The United States began well and despite the loss of Steven Taylor in the second over, reached a healthy 48-1 after the six-over power play. But from then on regular wicket falls prevented them gaining momentum. Chase, especially, put brakes on the scoring. He bowled captain Aaron Jones for 11 in the 10th over, then removed Corey Anderson and Harmeet Singh with consecutive balls in the 14th over. Hope powered the West Indies run chase, hitting 42 from 23 balls in the power play after which the West Indies were 58 without loss. "A tough night for the boys," Jones said. "Against the West Indies we needed a target of 175 or 180 and obviously we didn't get that."

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washington — A new defense pact signed between Russia and North Korea this week publicly laid out Moscow's willingness to engage in full-fledged military cooperation with Pyongyang, in contrast to their denials prior to the summit, analysts said. Before Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Pyongyang for a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Wednesday, it was already widely believed that Moscow was transferring military technology to Pyongyang for weapons upgrades. In 2023, North Korea launched the solid-fuel Hwasong-18 missile for the first time. After analyzing the shape and color of the smoke at the tail of the missile, experts said these technologies appeared to have come from Russia. At the same time, U.S. and other officials have accused North Korea of providing Russia with large quantities of conventional munitions for its war in Ukraine. In September, Kim showed an interest in various military assets during his tour of Russia's satellite launch site, fighter jet factory, and Pacific Fleet equipped with nuclear-capable bombers and hypersonic missiles. Both Russia and North Korea denied any arms dealings between them prior to Putin's visit to Pyongyang. It is still uncertain exactly what types of military technology Moscow could provide Pyongyang. But at the summit, Moscow made explicit its willingness to prop up Pyongyang's military in return for continued flow of munitions to use against Ukraine, according to Bruce Bechtol Jr., a former intelligence officer at the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency and now a professor at Angelo State University in Texas. In the Treaty of Comprehensive Strategic Partnership signed between Putin and Kim at their summit, the two agreed to set up "mechanisms" for undertaking "measures" for "strengthening the defense capabilities." They also agreed to develop and cooperate in the areas of science and technology, including space. At a joint press conference following their summit, Putin said Moscow "does not rule out developing military and technical cooperation" with Pyongyang as agreed on in the pact in response to the U.S. and other NATO countries' allowing weapons that they supplied to Ukraine being used against targets inside Russia. Kim and Putin also agreed in the treaty to intervene militarily if either North Korea or Russia is invaded. But Bechtol said the most significant part of the treaty "is military cooperation." "We're not going to invade North Korea. We're not going to invade Russia. It's all about the military cooperation, the arms deals" that have "no limits" and will be made in a "barter" form rather than in a "cash and carry" arrangement, he said. Any arms exports or imports by North Korea would violate U.N. Security Council resolutions. Putin trade proposal In an article by Putin published by North Korea's state-run newspaper Rodong Sinmun on Tuesday ahead of his arrival in Pyongyang, Putin said Russia and North Korea would develop a trade and payment system not controlled by the West. This would make it easier to circumvent international sanctions on both countries. Joshua Stanton, a Washington-based attorney who helped draft the North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enforcement Act of 2016, said, "Russia and North Korea have been talking about setting up ruble-based and renminbi-based payment systems for at least a decade." He continued: "It never worked before. It would probably violate U.N. sanctions, and if our Treasury Department is willing to impose secondary sanctions on the banks that facilitate it, it will fail again." Moscow and Pyongyang are likely to exchange military hardware using railways rather than sea routes to avoid "any kind of interdiction," said David Maxwell, vice president of the Center for Asia Pacific Strategy. He said the idea of interdiction could be discussed when Washington, Seoul and Tokyo meet on the sidelines of a NATO summit in July. Putin said at a press conference in Pyongyang this week that Russian Railways will participate in the upgrade of the Khasan-Rajin railway crossing between the two countries. 'High intensity of commitment' Even without the treaty, military cooperation — including arms transfers from Russia to North Korea — was likely to have gone forward, according to Bechtol and other analysts. "I frankly don't think that the treaty makes a huge difference," said Michael Kimmage, who from 2014 to 2016 served on the Secretary's Policy Planning Staff at the U.S. State Department, where he held the Russia-Ukraine portfolio. "It's signaling a high intensity of commitment" and "a longevity of commitment," which "in and of itself is quite significant," but "I don't think the treaty itself is that dramatic of a turning point," he said. Bruce Bennett, a senior defense analyst at the RAND Corporation, said, "It is hard to imagine this new agreement makes it easier for Russia to transfer military technologies to North Korea, given the transfers in recent years of Iskander missile technology, liquid oxygen and petroleum fuel for satellite launchers, repair of satellite launcher problems, GPS jammers, and 24 mm MRL precision guidance." He continued: "I think the bottom line is not the greater feasibility of weapons technology transfers but the Russian government's greater political willingness to make the transfers." Putin's outspoken willingness to cooperate militarily with Pyongyang has prompted deep concerns in both Seoul and Washington. A senior South Korean presidential official said on Thursday that Seoul will now consider sending arms directly to Ukraine. Seoul has withheld providing lethal weapons to Ukraine since Russia invaded the country in February 2022. A spokesperson for the South Korean foreign ministry told VOA's Korean Service on Thursday that Seoul is "gravely concerned" about the treaty and the declaration of military technology cooperation "that outrightly violates U.N. Security Council resolutions." A State Department spokesperson told VOA Korean on Wednesday that "deepening cooperation between Russia and the DPRK is a trend that should be of great concern." The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is North Korea's official name. In contrast, Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, told VOA on Thursday that Moscow and Pyongyang have "a normal need for exchanges, cooperation and a closer relationship."

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ANKARA, Turkey — A fire that apparently started in crop stubble spread through settlements in southeast Turkey overnight, killing 11 people and leaving dozens of others requiring medical treatment, officials and news reports said Friday. In neighboring Greece, authorities evacuated several villages in the southern Peloponnese region because of wildfires. The blaze in Turkey broke out in an area between the provinces of Diyarbakir and Mardin. Fanned by winds, it moved quickly through the villages of Koksalan, Yazcicegi and Bagacik, Diyarbakir Gov. Ali Ihsan Su said. The fire was brought under control early Friday. Health Minister Fahrettin Koca posted on X that 11 people were killed. Around 80 others required treatment, including six who were in serious condition. Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said that authorities have launched an investigation into the cause of the fire, which lit up the night sky. Residents believe the blaze was caused by sparks from a power line that set crop residue ablaze, according to independent news website Gazete Duvar. Some of the hospitalized people were villagers who tried to extinguish the fire, it said. Hundreds of farm animals also perished in the fire, according to news channel HaberTurk. Across the country in northwest Turkey, meanwhile, firefighters were battling a wildfire near the town of Ayvacik in Canakkale province, the state-run Anadolu Agency said. No one was hurt, but authorities evacuated the small village of Camkoy as a precaution, the agency reported. It was one of several wildfires that have erupted in the province of Canakkale in the past week amid high winds and scorching summer temperatures. Wildfires also erupted in Greece amid very windy, hot and dry conditions. About a dozen villages or settlements were ordered evacuated as a precaution because of wildfires in the southern Peloponnese region. There were no immediate reports of injuries. State-run ERT television reported at least six homes burned in one southern village that had been safely evacuated in advance. Firefighters on the ground were assisted by water-dropping aircraft. The greater Athens region was on the top wildfire emergency footing Friday because of the weather forecast, with bans on entering forests and parks. A fire in Saronida, south of the Greek capital, was brought under control in the evening. The fire service said late Friday that 64 wildfires had broken out around the country in the previous 24 hours. 

We’re halfway through 2024, and the elections taking place across the globe this year will set the course for the latter half of this decade. Political landscapes are shifting, and the outcomes of four contests could shape our collective future. What are these critical elections and what is their potential impact on the world stage?