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Washington — The United States on Wednesday imposed visa restrictions on more than 250 members of the Nicaraguan government and levied sanctions on three Nicaraguan entities in retaliation for "repressive actions" and a failure to stem migrant smuggling through the Central American country. Senior administration officials told reporters that the officials subject to visa restrictions included police and paramilitary officials, prosecutors, judges and public higher education officials. At the same time, the Departments of State, Homeland Security, and the Treasury issued a joint alert to notify airlines and travel agents about the ways smuggling and human trafficking networks are exploiting legitimate transportation services to facilitate illegal migration to the United States through Nicaragua. "Actions by the Nicaraguan government are of grave concern. President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo have put in place permissive-by-design migration policies," the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement. The Nicaraguan government did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Increasingly migrants have been flying into Nicaragua and then heading north overland to the U.S.-Mexico border as some smugglers have promoted the route through social networks. Many migrants in recent years have started their journeys in Brazil or other South American countries, but flying into Nicaragua avoids the often perilous journey through the jungle region known as the Darien Gap on the Colombia-Panama border. The administration of President Joe Biden, a Democrat, has struggled with record numbers of migrant crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border and, as he runs for reelection in November, voters have increasingly said that immigration is a top concern. Senior Biden administration officials told reporters on a Wednesday conference call that sanctions would be levied against a Russian training center operating in Managua since October 2017 that enabled anti-democratic behavior and repression. A press release from the Treasury Department said Nicaragua was one of Russia's "main partners" in Central America and the training center provided specialized courts to the Nicaraguan National Police (NNP), which the statement called "a repressive state apparatus, carrying out extrajudicial killings, using live ammunition against peaceful protests, and even participating in death squads." In addition, the Treasury Department imposed sanctions on two gold companies it said were "government affiliated." Gold is Nicaragua's top commodity export, the Treasury announcement said, and "this action aims to degrade the ability of the Ortega-Murillo regime to manipulate the sector and profit." Reuters was not immediately able to reach the companies for comment. Migrant apprehensions on the border halved from December to March, according to U.S. government data, in part because of increased enforcement by Mexican authorities, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has said.

Chattogram, Bangladesh — The 23 crew members of MV Abdullah, which was released on April 14 after 33 days of captivity by Somali pirates, met their families Tuesday afternoon as the vessel reached the Chattogram Port in Bangladesh.  The crew members received a warm welcome when vessel MV Jahan Moni-3, carrying them from Kutubdia in Cox's Bazar, reached New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT)-1.  Relatives waiting for the sailors' safe return had gathered at the port jetty with flowers.  Abdun Nur Khan Asif, younger brother of the chief officer, Atiqullah Khan, said, "I can't express in words how happy we are that my elder brother is back. The whole family was waiting for this day."  Ibrahim Khalilullah, a sailor, thanked the Bangladeshi people and the authorities for ensuring their safe return.  State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury told VOA that all the sailors on the ship are in sound health. "After being freed, they went to Dubai, from there they came to Bangladesh with the goods. The sailors are physically and mentally healthy and very well," he said.  Mizanul Islam, media adviser of KSRM, owner of the hijacked vessel, said the crew members will go to their respective homes and that care was taken to send them to their destinations safely.  The ordeal began on March 12 when the MV Abdullah was seized by Somali pirates about 600 nautical miles off the Somali coast en route from Mozambique to Dubai.  The pirates took control of the vessel and its crew, holding them until a ransom of $5 million facilitated their release on the night of April 13.  The vessel, which was hijacked for 33 days, first arrived at the outer anchorage of the Al-Hamriya Port in the United Arab Emirates on April 21 and anchored at the UAE port on the evening of April 22.   It departed for Bangladesh on April 28 after unloading 55,000 metric tons of coal.  When asked about the process of rescuing the ship, Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury said, "We are an international maritime country. We have friendly relations with everyone, including the U.S. Coast Guard, the European Union. When a ship using an international route falls under the hands of pirates, all kinds of agencies and countries, including maritime, cooperate."  The state minister added, "And the pirates of the country that hijacked it also have a security issue. So, the pressure that was created by combining everything was of great help in saving the ship. Our dialogues, the pressure of the international community contributed to the rescue of the ship."  On behalf of Deputy Managing Director of KSRM Group Shahriar Jahan, Mizanul Islam told VOA, "It was a challenge for us to bring back the ship and the sailors safely and soundly. ... We had past experience. In 2010, one of our ships was captured by Somali pirates. Using this experience, we were able to bring the sailors back unharmed."  New crew members took charge of the MV Abdullah on Tuesday and sailed for the United Arab Emirates.  This story originated in VOA's Bangla Service. Some information for this report came from UNB Wires.

Washington — The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on two commanders of Sudan's paramilitary force, vowing pressure to stop the unit from an offensive on the Darfur city of el-Fasher. The Treasury Department said it was freezing any U.S. assets and criminalizing transactions with Ali Yagoub Gibril, Central Darfur commander of the Rapid Support Forces, and an RSF major general involved in operational planning, Osman Mohamed Hamid Mohamed. "The RSF military operation to encircle and besiege el-Fasher, North Darfur, has endangered the lives of hundreds of thousands of civilians," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement. "We stand ready to take additional measures against those individuals and institutions that actively escalate the war — including any offensive actions on el-Fasher," he said. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday also voiced alarm over reports of heavy fighting in densely populated areas as the RSF seeks control of el-Fasher, the last major city in Darfur not under its control. Tens of thousands of people have died, and millions have been displaced since war broke out in April 2023 between Sudan's army and the RSF after their head generals refused a plan to integrate. The United States has led diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting but has seen limited success and leverage, with RSF commanders unlikely to hold major assets in the West affected by sanctions. The RSF and Sudan's armed forces are seen as both wanting to secure a battleground victory, and each side has received support from outside players. The U.S. special envoy for Sudan, Tom Perriello, is again traveling around the Middle East and Africa this week in hopes of making progress. The United States has accused both sides of war crimes and charged that the RSF has carried out ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity against the indigenous African-origin people of Darfur. The RSF's predecessor, the Janjaweed militia, carried out a scorched-earth campaign in the arid western region that the United States at the time described as genocide.

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Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Tbilisi, Georgia, in protest of the parliament's passage Tuesday of what critics call a Russian-style foreign agent law. The ruling party approved the legislation despite warnings from Washington and Brussels that such a move might threaten Georgia’s partnership with the West. VOA Georgian Service’s Ani Chkhikvadze has more details from Tbilisi.

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WASHINGTON — The White House will send an unofficial delegation to Taiwan this weekend for the inauguration of the island's democratically elected president, the Biden administration announced Wednesday, in a move that is certain to upset China but unlikely to draw excessive responses from Beijing as the two countries try to stabilize relations. A senior White House official said the move is in line with longstanding U.S. practice to send the delegation — which includes two former senior officials and a scholar — to the inauguration ceremony Monday. Lai Ching-te of the Democratic Progressive Party will take office, succeeding Tsai Ing-wen of the same party. Beijing, which sees Taiwan as part of Chinese territory and vows to seize the island by force if necessary to achieve unification, sees Lai as a supporter of Taiwan's independence and has long opposed any official contact between Washington and Taipei. "In what ways the U.S. deals with the new Taiwan authorities on May 20 and afterwards will affect (the) cross-Strait situation and also the China-U.S. relations in the future," Liu Pengyu, spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, said Tuesday before the announcement, referring to the Taiwan Strait. "So we urge the U.S. side to act on President Biden's commitment of not supporting Taiwan independence," he said. The U.S. delegation will be in Taipei "to represent the American people," the White House official told reporters on condition of anonymity to discuss details of the trip before it was announced. The official called Taiwan "a model for democracy not only in the region but also globally." Despite an absence of formal relations with Taiwan, the U.S. is the island's strongest ally and is obligated under a 1979 law to help Taiwan protect itself from invasion. It's unclear how Beijing would respond to an unofficial U.S. delegation at the Taiwanese inauguration, but "Beijing will be the provocateur should it choose to respond with additional military pressure or coercion," the U.S. official said, adding that the administration is not predicting how China would respond. Beijing has repeatedly warned Washington not to meddle with Taiwan's affairs, which it says are a core interest for China because it is a matter of sovereignty and territorial integrity. Beijing sees Washington's support for Taiwan as provocative. The U.S. insists any differences be resolved peacefully and opposes any unilateral changes by either side to the status quo. "We do not support Taiwan independence," the administration official said. "We support cross-Strait dialogue." Taiwan has topped the agenda in U.S.-China relations, which have soured over issues ranging from trade, cybersecurity and human rights to spying. The Biden administration, in its competition with China, has engaged in "intense diplomacy" aimed at preventing tensions from spiraling out of control. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Secretary of State Antony Blinken have recently visited China in the administration's latest effort to keep communications open and minimize misunderstanding. Shortly after Lai was elected in January, President Joe Biden sent an unofficial delegation to Taipei to meet Lai, drawing protests from Beijing. Members of Congress also have traveled to Taiwan to meet the president-elect. Plans are underway for a congressional delegation to visit Taiwan shortly after the inauguration. Beijing reiterated its claim over Taiwan immediately after Lai was elected and said "the basic fact that Taiwan is part of China will not change." Days later, Nauru, a tiny Pacific nation, severed its diplomatic ties with Taiwan, which now is recognized by 12 governments, including the Vatican. Since then, Beijing has criticized a U.S. destroyer's passage through the Taiwan Strait. The U.S. Navy's 7th Fleet said the USS Halsey "conducted a routine Taiwan Strait transit on May 8 through waters where high-seas freedoms of navigation and overflight apply in accordance with international law." Navy Senior Capt. Li Xi, speaking for China's Eastern Theater Command, accused the U.S. of having "publicly hyped" the passage of the ship and said the command "organized naval and air forces to monitor" the ship's transit. Meanwhile, in a push to avoid Taiwan's global recognition, Beijing said this week that it would not agree to Taiwan's participation in this year's World Health Assembly, an annual meeting by the World Health Organization that could boost Taiwan's visibility on the world stage. "China's Taiwan region, unless given approval by the central government, has no basis, reason or right to participate in the World Health Assembly," said Wang Wenbin, speaking for the Chinese foreign ministry. Wang also said Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party, which came into power in 2016, has been "hellbent on the separatist stance" of Taiwan's independence and that Beijing has "sufficient reason and a solid legal basis" to bar Taiwan from the global organization. Here's the bipartisan delegation that the White House is sending to Taiwan this weekend: — Laura Rosenberger, chair of the American Institute in Taiwan, a nonprofit, private corporation established under a 1979 law to manage America's unofficial relations with Taiwan. — Brian Deese, a former director of the National Economic Council in the Biden administration. — Richard Armitage, a former deputy secretary of state under President George W. Bush. — Richard Bush, a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who previously served as chair of the American Institute in Taiwan.

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.

He captured the most famous faces in 1930s and early '40s cinema — Garbo, Crawford, Bogart and Gable. Now the work of George Hurrell, one of Hollywood's greatest portrait photographers, is on display at Washington’s National Portrait Gallery. For VOA News, Cristina Caicedo Smit has the story. Videographer: Hakim Shammo; Video editor: Cristina Caicedo Smit

GENEVA — United Nations humanitarian workers are calling on Russia to immediately end its armed attacks in Ukraine as the intensification of fighting in the eastern part of the country in recent days causes a surge in civilian casualties and displacement, and the destruction of critical infrastructure.    “What we are seeing on the ground is that people are being evacuated from the areas of heavy fighting or are fleeing. Now, you can imagine, for the people, for the civilians living there, this is beyond distressing,” Liz Throssell, spokesperson for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, told journalists in Geneva Tuesday. “For many of them, it is really difficult to know what to do. Many of them really do not want to leave. That would be a question of leaving their homes, leaving their animals, leaving their plants, their gardens, a really personal kind of impact,” she said. Russian forces have seized more Ukrainian territory and taken control of several small settlements since they launched an attack Friday near Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiv. “Several waves of attacks in the Kharkiv region over the past few days have caused the death and injury of numerous civilians, including children,” said Lisa Doughten, director of financing and partnership division for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, in a briefing to the Security Council Tuesday,  “These attacks have triggered yet more displacement from border and front-line communities,” she said. “As of today, authorities report that over 7,000 civilians were evacuated from border areas of the Kharkiv region. “And they have had devastating consequences for civilians who remain in those areas, with many cut off from access to food, medical care, electricity and gas,” she said. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights recorded more than 700 civilian casualties across Ukraine in April. The number includes at least 129 civilians who were killed and 574 injured, “the majority amid attacks by Russian armed forces along the front lines.” While April saw a slight increase in the number of civilians who were killed compared with the previous month, the report noted that the number of injured civilians “increased significantly” for the second month in a row. “Our human rights monitoring team in Ukraine, which is continuing to analyze information from the ground, has verified that at least eight civilians have been killed and 35 injured in the Kharkiv region since last Friday,” Throssell said, describing conditions there as dire. “Continuing attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, which since March have affected millions across the country, have also meant daily power cuts in many parts of Kharkiv,” she said. In April, the Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine documented 34 attacks on energy infrastructure in government-controlled territory and 13 incidents in territory occupied by the Russian Federation. While most civilian casualties and damage to infrastructure have occurred in Ukraine-controlled territory, OCHA says that people in Russia-occupied regions of Donetsk and Sumy, in eastern and northern Ukraine, “also experienced attacks” Tuesday and over the weekend.   “Local authorities and humanitarian partners on the ground said homes and civilian infrastructure were damaged during the attacks,” OCHA said. Between February 24, 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine and February 24, 2024, the OHCHR reports 10,582 civilians have been killed and 19,875 injured, including 587 children who have been killed and 1,298 injured. “These are the figures the U.N. has been able to verify.  We know the true number is likely much higher,” said Regina De Dominicis, UNICEF special coordinator for the refugee and migrant response in Europe in a statement Monday. “As we see in all wars, the reckless decisions and actions of adults are costing children their lives, safety, and futures. “UNICEF continues to call for an immediate cease-fire in Ukraine and for all children to be protected from harm…and to end the brutal use of explosive weapons in populated areas,” she said. In issuing this call, the UNICEF official echoed that of the OHCHR for the Russian armed forces to halt their offensive, to withdraw to internationally recognized borders, and to make every effort to avoid or “at least minimize civilian casualties when conducting their operations.”  In the meantime, OHCHR spokesperson Throssell said that the high commissioner continued to regularly engage with leaders and with permanent missions in Geneva to achieve these goals.   “We believe that it is incredibly important to keep making these calls.  They may not be heeded in the first instance but as you know, part of the work of our office is to monitor, is to document as part of an overall aim of establishing accountability for violations,” she said. While acknowledging that, in some cases, this could take years, she stressed the importance of monitoring and documenting for future accountability “what is happening in terms of human rights violations and atrocities” committed in this brutal war.

Abuja — Human rights activists in Nigeria are criticizing a new bid put forward by Nigerian lawmakers to punish drug trafficking with the death penalty.  The proposed measure is part of authorities' efforts to escalate a crackdown on drug abuse and trafficking. The law, if passed, would allow judges to issue the death sentence to people convicted of producing, supplying or selling narcotics.  Currently, the maximum sentence is life in prison. The Nigerian Senate adopted the bill on Thursday, despite opposition by some lawmakers who raised concerns about the possibility of wrongly sentencing and executing an innocent person. Human rights group Amnesty International also criticized the new measure. Aminu Hayatu is a researcher for the human rights group. "It's a regressive legislative attempt by the Nigerian lawmakers. Once someone's life has ended, they have lost the opportunity to live to tell the truth. We also need to look at the history of our prosecutions over time. There have been quite a number of mistakes. In Nigeria, Amnesty International has had a persistent call against [the] death penalty. And apart from that, the worldwide campaign against that is actually in line with the promotion of human rights," said Hayatu. But not every voice is against the bill. Supporters say the law could prove to be a more effective deterrent compared to a life sentence.   Ibrahim Abdullahi is the founder of Muslim Media Watch Group, one of the organizations supporting the bill. "It seems as if the punishment as contained in the law that we have presently [has] not served as deterrent enough. Luckily, over 20 countries across the whole world made [the] death penalty as the punishment for drug trafficking. So, if Nigeria follows suit, it's not too much. So, I see it as a very good step to serve as [a] deterrent to peddlers of drugs," he said. The Nigerian Senate and House of Representatives must approve the amendment before it can be sent to the president to sign into law.   The country is seeing an increasing trend of drug abuse and has in recent years gone from being a transit country to a hub of the drug trade. Nigeria’s National Drug Law Enforcement Agency says over 14 million Nigerians use illegal drugs.  The majority use locally-grown cannabis, but many others use cocaine, heroin, or amphetamine-type stimulants.   The drug trade is often fueled by lack of legitimate economic opportunities. Abdullahi said besides adding the death penalty, corruption should also be addressed. "You can't fight drug addiction without fighting corruption. Now that this law is about to be promulgated, more stringent laws should be made to fight corruption in Nigeria so that officers who are guilty of taking bribes to conceal crimes or not to prosecute diligently will also be dealt with seriously. So, as we fight drug trafficking, we should fight the attendant corruption," he said. More than 3,000 Nigerians are on death row for various offenses — the highest number in the world. Rights activists have been campaigning to change that and compel authorities to abolish the death penalty. But they say proposing the death penalty for more offenses only makes matters worse. 

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