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Back-to-back monster hurricanes in the United States. A hurricane in France and Belgum. Record rainfall in Bosnia and Herzegovinia. Unprecedented levels of flooding, drought and wildfires across the globe. Scientists say weather events are becoming more extreme due to human caused climate change. Despite real-time catastrophes, warnings for action are not leading to the level of urgency that scientists warn is needed. And one of the problems is climate denial. We’ll speak with Joshua Newell, co-director of the Center for Sustainable Systems at the University of Michigan’s School for Environment and Sustainability.

WASHINGTON — Russian opposition politician and journalist Vladimir Kara-Murza was released from a Russian prison on August 1 as part of a wide-ranging exchange of prisoners between Russia and several Western countries. He had been jailed in April 2022 on charges of treason for criticizing Russia's war in Ukraine. He was almost fatally poisoned twice, in 2015 and 2017. Since his release, Kara-Murza has been actively involved in the Russian opposition’s diplomatic efforts, meeting with the U.S. and French presidents and the German chancellor. During a recent visit to Washington, he sat down for interviews with Voice of America journalists. Speaking to VOA’s Ukrainian Service, he discussed the agenda that the Russian opposition is promoting in the West. The following interview has been edited for brevity and clarity. VOA: After your release, you met with [U.S.] President [Joe] Biden, [French] President [Emmanuel] Macron and [German] Chancellor [Olaf] Scholz. What was your main message to them about policy toward Russia? Vladimir Kara-Murza, Russian opposition politician: There are two main messages. The first message is that [Russian President] Vladimir Putin must lose the war in Ukraine, because if he does win, that means that in a year or a year and a half, we will be talking about another war or another Russian invasion, because this is what this man does. The second message is that the democratic nations of the free world must have a strategy. We know from the last couple of centuries of Russian history that failed wars of aggression always lead to political changes at home. Once Putin is defeated in Ukraine, there must be a prepared strategy for reintegrating a new, changed, post-Putin democratic Russia back into Europe, back into the civilized world, and back into what we call the international rules-based order. VOA: If Putin loses power, how can democratization possibly happen? Someone from his inner circle would most likely grab power. Kara-Murza: I hope he doesn't die in office and that's how it ends. I'm a Christian, and I know that everybody gets a trial up there, and so will he. But I really want that man to get a trial in this life, too. On the question of change, this is a personalistic dictatorship. It is not an ideological dictatorship like in Soviet times, with the collective Politburo, when you could replace the person at the top without replacing the regime. This system is going to collapse very quickly, as we saw in 1953 after [Josef] Stalin's death. VOA: But [Nikita] Khrushchev, who replaced Stalin, was from his inner circle; he wasn't an outsider. Kara-Murza: Even if the next leader comes from the same circle, they always base their rule on a complete denial of everything that happened before. Khrushchev was one of Stalin's closest entourage. He was the one who released millions of people from the gulag and engaged in a very incomplete, very imperfect but nevertheless de-Stalinization process that we had in the late 1950s, early 1960s — the so-called “Thaw.” VOA: What kind of preparations should be made? How could democratic forces seize power? Kara-Murza: The domestic aspect concerns reflection and accountability, which I call a truth-and-reconciliation process. That is necessary for any society that has undergone the trauma of totalitarian rule. All the people who are responsible for the crimes against Russian citizens, like the assassination of Boris Nemtsov, the assassination of Alexei Navalny and the persecution of hundreds and hundreds of political prisoners, have to be brought to justice. All the archives and the documents of all the crimes committed must be made public. VOA: What about confronting the Russian imperialist mentality? Should Russia also confront all the crimes it has committed toward other people throughout its history? Kara-Murza: It is part of the totalitarian past, because for years and years, for decades, the regime in the Kremlin has been committing crimes against our people in Russia and against other countries, other people and other nations. Look at the aggression and the wars this regime has conducted against the Chechens, against the Georgians, against Ukraine — let's not forget, starting in 2014. Then, in Syria, of course, let's not forget [Sergei] Shoigu, [Putin’s] defense minister, boasted about new armaments they had tested — tested! — on people, on civilians in residential areas. VOA: I want to address your main argument about integrating Russia into the West after democratization and liberalization. The main argument against this would be that the West already tried that in the 1990s. Russia was part of the G8. NATO and the EU engaged with Russia. It received assistance. However, as Russia became richer, it became more aggressive. The more it became integrated with the West, the more efficient its malicious activities against the West became. Kara-Murza: Here is where I fundamentally disagree, because the whole problem is that the West did not do that in the 1990s. Yes, there were some symbolic steps, like the G8, which is just a summit meeting. But, unlike other countries of the former Warsaw Pact, Russia in the 1990s was never offered a prospect of what I would call first-tier European or Atlantic integration with tangible benefits like free trade, visa-free travel and common security guarantees. VOA: But it requires time. Ukraine still hasn't been offered NATO membership ... Kara-Murza: But the problem is that these windows of opportunity are, by definition, short and brief. They last a few months at best, and the West lost that window of opportunity in Russia in the early 1990s. We cannot allow that to happen again. In 1943, as WWII was ongoing, the U.S. government developed the Morgenthau Plan for postwar Germany. It was about dismembering, de-industrializing, humiliating and basically destroying Germany as a functioning state. Given the horrors committed at the time of the war, it was emotionally very understandable. However, leaders of Western-allied nations realized that they could not base long-term strategic policy on emotion. So, the Morgenthau Plan was abandoned in favor of the Marshall Plan, which was the exact opposite: to rebuild and reconstruct Germany after the war, to make it a successful market economy and a functioning liberal democracy. VOA: Should this happen before or after Russia pays reparations for the destruction of Ukraine? Kara-Murza: It should be simultaneous. The only way we can ensure long-term peace, stability, security and democracy on the European continent is with a democratic Russia. It's not going to happen any other way.

CAIRO — A Liberia-flagged tanker was struck twice with missiles and drones in the Red Sea on Thursday morning, in an attack claimed by Iran-aligned Houthi militants.  The Olympic Spirit was hit about 135 kilometers southwest of the Yemeni port of Hodeidah, British maritime security firm Ambrey said. The tanker, en route from Saudi Arabia's Jeddah to Muscat in Oman, was struck on its starboard side. The projectile hit the bridge and caused minor damage, Ambrey said. Four hours later, two additional projectiles reportedly detonated within half a kilometer of the vessel’s port side. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said in a statement that the captain of the Olympic Spirit did not report any fires or casualties. "The damage is minor. The vessel has some technical issues, but it is seaworthy and continues its journey," a maritime security source said. "[The crew members] are all safe." The vessel is proceeding to its next port of call, the British maritime agency said. Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement said later Thursday it had targeted the Olympic Spirit with 11 ballistic missiles and two drones. It said that it had also targeted a vessel it identified as St. John in the Indian Ocean with a winged missile, as part of attacks it launches on global shipping over Israel's war in Gaza. Houthi fighters in Yemen have carried out nearly 100 attacks on ships crossing the Red Sea since November and say they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Israel's year-long war in Gaza. They have sunk two vessels, seized another and killed at least four seafarers.

BEIRUT / ISTANBUL — Hundreds of Turkish citizens seeking refuge from Israel's attacks on the armed group Hezbollah were evacuated from Lebanon Thursday on board two Turkish naval ships. The two vessels — the TCG Sancaktar and TCG Bayraktar — also delivered 300 tons of humanitarian aid, including food, blankets and tents, upon arrival at Beirut’s port on Wednesday. The Turkish Foreign Ministry said the ships are carrying 878 Turkish citizens, 24 Turkish Cypriots from northern Cyprus and 64 of their first-degree relatives. The Turkish ambassador to Lebanon, Ali Baris Ulusoy, told Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency on Wednesday that about 13,000 to 14,000 Turkish citizens live in Lebanon and that 2,000 Turkish citizens had applied for the latest evacuation. "Our country will continue to extend a helping hand to the people of the region in the face of the humanitarian crisis created by the war spread by Israel in the region and will continue to take every step to protect the life and property of its citizens abroad," Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan wrote on social media platform X. Fidan noted that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave the evacuation order. After a period of relative calm, Hezbollah began firing rockets at Israel following Hamas' October 7, 2023, terror attack on Israel, displacing tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border and leading to the current escalation. The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah recently intensified, with Israel launching a ground operation in south Lebanon and bombing Beirut's southern suburbs. Eyup Sabri Kirgiz, a Turkish engineer who has lived in Lebanon since 2003, was among the Turkish citizens who waited at the Beirut port to be evacuated. Kirgiz said that Lebanon was never calm but that it was manageable until the recent escalation. "Where we live is close to the area that was bombed. Each time a bomb was dropped, the house shook, the windows opened and the doors made noise. I have two children, my wife and mother-in-law. So, we could not stand it anymore," Kirgiz told VOA’s Turkish Service before boarding one of the ships in Beirut with his family, two dogs and a turtle. "There is nowhere else to go. For instance, if you go somewhere else, the rent is four or five times higher than it used to be, and they also ask for four or five months of rent up front. Lebanon is already in crisis. Thank God, our state has taken care of us," Kirgiz said. Kirgiz also said that he and his family want to return to Lebanon when things get better. "My job and everything are here,” he said. “My children were born here. They grew up here. So, they feel like they are half Lebanese and half Turkish." Several people with dual Lebanese and Turkish citizenship were among the evacuees. Maya, a 20-year-old Lebanese Turkish woman who did not give her surname, was waiting with her family to board the ship and said she is grateful to Turkey for taking its citizens out of Lebanon. "We were living under great pressure and in difficult conditions. We have to leave our university and our home in Lebanon and go to Turkey," Maya told VOA’s Turkish Service. "There was so much bombardment, it was absolutely impossible to sleep because of the noise. Thank God, nothing happened to our house," she said, adding that she and her family aim to return to Lebanon when the situation calms down. Turkey's Ministry of National Defense announced that the ships are expected to reach port in Turkey's southern Mersin province on Thursday. The voyage on the Mediterranean Sea is expected to take about 12 hours. In a statement shared on X, the ministry also noted that two frigates and two patrol ships will escort the naval ships for protection. A source in the Turkish Foreign Ministry said that Turkey is collecting the names of its citizens who want to leave Lebanon for further evacuation efforts. According to the Turkish Embassy in Lebanon, Ankara is also planning to organize a limited number of charter flights from Beirut to Istanbul or Adana. Hundreds of people of different nationalities have fled Lebanon through a commercial ferry line that operates twice a week from Tripoli port to Turkey's Tasucu port in southern Mersin province. The United States also has evacuated more than 1,000 U.S. citizens and their dependents via U.S.-chartered flights arriving in Turkey. In an interview in Istanbul, U.S. Consul General Julie Eadeh said, "It's the fastest, safest way to get Americans out of harm's way. "The security situation is dynamic, so we have been planning for months for all contingencies. Given the airport in Beirut remains operational and open, our focus is on facilitating departures by air," Eadeh said. According to another U.S. official, reported by the Reuters news agency, 10 of 12 U.S. chartered flights from Beirut have arrived in Istanbul carrying 1,025 citizens and immediate family members since October 2. Reuters also reported that U.S. citizens and those arriving on chartered flights from some other Western countries must continue onward from Turkey within 72 hours of arrival under an agreement with Ankara. Two other U.S.-chartered flights arrived in Frankfurt, Germany, and Doha, Qatar, and U.S. authorities expect to continue providing such flights for remaining U.S. citizens who wish to leave Lebanon. This story originated in VOA’s Turkish Service.

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Militants opened fire on a police vehicle and killed two officers on Thursday in restive northwest Pakistan before fleeing the scene, police said, a sign of increasing violence ahead of a summit of an Asian security grouping in the capital, Islamabad.  Hours later, the military said it killed four militants in North Waziristan, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan. The latest attack on police happened in the city of Tank, also in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, local police official Sher Afzal said.  No group has claimed responsibility, but suspicion is likely to fall on the Pakistani Taliban, known as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, who often target security forces.  The TTP are outlawed in Pakistan. They are separate from but a close ally of the Afghan Taliban who control neighboring Afghanistan.  Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militant violence in recent months.  On Wednesday, a suicide bomber dispatched by the Baloch Liberation Army, an outlawed separatist group, struck a convoy carrying Chinese nationals outside an airport in Karachi on Sunday, killing two engineers and wounding another.  The latest violence comes ahead of the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which will take place in Islamabad on October 15.  The Asian group was established in 2001 by China and Russia to discuss security concerns in Central Asia. Its other members are Iran, India, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.  The killing of the Chinese has drawn condemnation from Pakistan's leaders.  On Thursday, President Asif Ali Zardari visited the Chinese Embassy in Islamabad, where he met with Ambassador Jiang Zaidong to offer condolences. Zardari denounced the attack and promised that those behind it would be punished, a government statement said.  Also on Thursday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a news conference in Beijing that "China will work with Pakistan to protect the safety and security of Chinese personnel, projects and institutions in Pakistan."  But she said she didn't know if the movement of the Chinese nationals was being restricted because of the summit. Security in Islamabad was beefed up, with the authorities deploying troops, shutting schools and closing two restaurants on the road that will take guests from the airport to the summit venue.  Thursday's developments came a day after at least three people were killed in clashes in the northwestern town of Jamrud between police and supporters of a banned organization, the Pashtun Protection Movement, or PTM, which authorities say supports TTP.  The government has also barred PTM from holding rallies in the northwest, allegedly because the demonstrations are against the interests of Pakistan. PTM denies backing the Pakistani Taliban, and tension was growing Thursday after the group vowed to resist the ban on its rallies. 

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesia's immigration officers on the tourist island of Bali have arrested a Chinese suspect sought by Beijing for helping run over $14 billion investment scam to clients in China, officials said Thursday. The 39-year-old man, identified only by his initial, LQ, was arrested on October 1, when an immigration auto-gate in Bali's Ngurah Rai international airport denied him departure for Singapore. The biometric data in the computer registry at the airport identified him as a suspect wanted by Beijing, which led to his arrest, according to Silmy Karim, the immigration chief at Indonesia's law and human rights ministry. He had been listed on an Interpol warrant since late September. The suspect first arrived in Bali from Singapore with a Turkish passport as Joe Lin on September 26, just a day before Interpol released a so-called Red Notice for him, a request to law enforcement agencies worldwide to detain or arrest a suspect wanted by a specific country. Indonesian authorities brought the suspect, wearing a detainee's orange shirt and a facemask, before reporters to a news conference Thursday in the capital of Jakarta. The suspect did not make any statements and was not asked any questions. "He was wrong to use Indonesia as a transit country, let alone as a destination country to hide," said Karim, lauding technological advances and cooperation between immigration and the national police. Krishna Murti, the chief of the international division of the National Police, said the decision to deport or to extradite the suspect to China will take some time. Indonesia needs to confirm whether he has truly become a Turkish citizen in the meantime or if he used a fake passport to enter Indonesia. "We have to respect the suspect's rights," Murti said, adding that the suspect has not committed any violations inside Indonesia. The man was named as a suspect by Beijing, which requested the Red Notice from Interpol, after he allegedly collected more than 100 billion Chinese Yuan ($14 billion) from more than 50,000 people in a Ponzi scheme. Indonesia, an archipelago nation on the crossroads between Asia and the South Pacific, is attractive to local, regional and global organized crime because of its geographical location and its multi-cultural society. Last month, Indonesia arrested Alice Guo, a fugitive former mayor of a town in the Philippines accused of having links to Chinese criminal syndicates. She has since been deported to the Philippines. In June, Chaowalit Thongduang, one of Thailand's most wanted fugitives, was escorted back to Thailand on a Thai air force plane after being arrested in Bali following months on the run in connection with several killings and drug trafficking charges in his homeland.

We report on the first anniversary of the deadly Hamas attack on Israel. The conflict continues to escalate, and Palestinians in Gaza continue to suffer. Plus, we report on Muslim Americans and their impact on the upcoming U.S. presidential election. This week on The Inside Story: Israel-Hamas, A Year of War.

MELBOURNE, Australia — China will resume importing Australian live lobsters by the end of the year, removing the final major obstacle to bilateral trade that once cost Australian exporters more than 20 billion Australian dollars ($13 billion) a year, Australia's prime minister said Thursday.  Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made the announcement after meeting Premier Li Qiang on the sidelines of a Southeast Asian summit in Vientiane, Laos.  The ban on lobsters was the last of a series of official and unofficial trade barriers that Beijing has agreed to lift since Albanese's center-left Labor Party government was elected in 2022.  "I'm pleased to announce that Premier Li and I have agreed on a timetable to resume full lobster trade by the end of this year," Albanese told reporters.  "This of course will be in time for Chinese New Year, and this will be welcomed by the people engaged in the live lobster industry," he added.  Albanese has given assurances that relations with China have been improved without compromising Australian interests. Beijing is unhappy with restrictions Australia has placed on some Chinese investments because of security concerns.  "What's important is that friends are able to have direct discussions. It doesn't imply agreement, it doesn't imply compliance, and I'll always represent Australia's national interest. That's what I did today. It was a very constructive meeting," Albanese said.  "I'm encouraged by the progress that we have made between Australia and China's relationship in producing stabilization to the benefit of both of our nations and with the objective of advancing peace and security in the region," Albanese added.  China's embassy in Australia did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.  Australian lobster exports to China had been worth $700 million Australian dollars ($470 million) in 2019.  Beijing ended trade with Australia in 2020 on a range of commodities including lobster, coal, wine, barley, beef and wood as diplomatic relations plumbed new depths.  Conservative Prime Minister Scott Morrison had angered Beijing that year by demanding an independent investigation into the origins of and responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Tom Ryan, a manager at lobster exporter Five Star Seafoods at Port MacDonnell in South Australia state, said he was disappointed that his trade would be the last to resume with China.  "It's been a long time coming," Ryan told Australian Broadcasting Corp. of Albanese's announcement.  "Between myself and other people in Port MacDonnell, it's an absolute relief," he added.  The industry had found new markets for lobster products but at lower profit margins, Ryan said.  Li said during a state visit to Australia in June that he had agreed with Albanese to "properly manage" their nations' differences.  Beijing had severed minister-to-minister contacts during the conservatives' nine years in power.

When it invaded Lebanon, Israel said its goal was to push Hezbollah back from the border to enable more than 60,000 residents to return to their homes in the north. But since then, its troops have been making some disturbing discoveries. Linda Gradstein reports from Jerusalem. Camera: Ricki Rosen

STOCKHOLM — Swedish police said on Thursday they were investigating a shooting near an Israeli target in the city of Gothenburg, which the national broadcaster said was a unit of Israeli defense electronics firm Elbit Systems.  Police said in a statement it had apprehended a young suspect at the scene and launched a probe into suspected attempted murder and serious weapons crimes.  They did not identify the company, but Elbit Systems Sweden CEO Tobias Wennberg told Reuters there had been a serious incident outside its premises on Thursday, adding that no one was injured in the incident.  "Elbit Systems Sweden otherwise has no knowledge of the incident. Our operations continue as usual," he said in an email.  A police spokesperson said there was only one suspect, and investigators were not aware of any concrete threats against other Israeli targets in the city on Sweden's west coast.  The suspect is under 15 years of age, public broadcaster SVT and other Swedish media reported, without identifying their sources.  The Israeli Embassy in Stockholm did not immediately respond to a request for comment.  Swedish police in May said they had stepped up security around Israeli and Jewish interests in the Nordic country after officers on patrol heard suspected gunshots near Israel's embassy in Stockholm.  Sweden has seen an epidemic of gun violence in recent years, driven by criminal gangs feuding over drugs and other illicit activities. 

When major disasters like hurricanes and floods hit the United States, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, coordinates major rescue efforts that would overwhelm local officials. VOA’s Jessica Stone reports on how the agency works. 

WASHINGTON — Disinformation and conspiracy theories have spread quickly in response to natural disasters in the southeastern United States, creating distrust in the government response, according to the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. “It is absolutely the worst I have ever seen,” FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell told reporters on a Tuesday call. The spread of lies surrounding the natural disasters comes at a time when social media infrastructure will allow “virtually any claim” to amplify and spread, experts say. Hurricane Helene left more than 200 people dead and many more injured or without power, and Hurricane Milton has left at least four dead after ravaging Florida, according to the Associated Press. Some frequently spread falsehoods include accusations that FEMA prevented Florida evacuations and claims that funding for storm victims was instead given to undocumented migrants. Such misinformation is “demoralizing” to first responders, Criswell said in the press call. Additionally, the fabrications could put first responders and residents of impacted areas in even more danger, according to Matthew Baum, a Harvard University professor who focuses on fake news and misinformation. “When you're talking about life-and-death situations, [misinformation] can cause people not to take advantage of help that's available to them, and it can also be dangerous for first responders who are being accused of all sorts of badness,” Baum told VOA. “And if first responders start to worry about their own safety, that's going to undermine how they do their jobs.” Many of the other falsehoods stem from former President Donald Trump’s campaign and allies. In an October 3 rally, the former president falsely claimed that the Biden-Harris administration was diverting FEMA funding to house illegal migrants. Last week, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican from Georgia, claimed that “they control the weather” in a post on social media platform X, formerly Twitter. She did not specify who “they” are. To combat popular conspiracies surrounding hurricane relief efforts, FEMA launched a “Hurricane Rumor Response” webpage to “help correct rumors and provide accurate information,” according to a press release. Baum, however, told VOA that those who believe the false claims may not be swayed by the government-funded website, as they are already “deep down the rabbit hole of conspiratorial thinking.” “I don’t think the website will have a significant effect, but it’s still worth doing because journalists read it and having that information out there gets it into the news ecosystem,” Baum said. “But fundamentally, it's not likely to reach many of the people that are at risk of being harmed by this disinformation.” FEMA put up a similar rumor response webpage during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic. On social media platforms such as X, misinformation tends to spread faster than true stories, a 2018 MIT study found. False news stories are 70% more likely to be reposted than true ones are. Media scholar Matt Jordan told VOA the vast amount of disinformation circulating is part of a “firehose of falsehood” strategy, in which bad actors publish so much “garbage” that people don’t know what to believe. “It's a way of eliminating the capacity for the press to help generate democratic consensus by just putting so much garbage into the zone,” the Penn State professor said. U.S. President Joe Biden said during a Tuesday morning briefing that this misinformation “misleads” the public. “It’s un-American, it really is,” he said in his remarks. “People are scared to death; people know their lives are at stake.”

Yaounde, Cameroon — The condition and exact whereabouts of Cameroon’s President Paul Biya remain unclear Thursday, two days after the government was forced to announce Biya was alive in Geneva, Switzerland, in response to rumors on social media that he had died. Biya has not been seen in public for more than five weeks, since he attended the Africa-China forum in Beijing in early September.  Cameroon's Territorial Administration minister Paul Atanga Nji told residents of Massock, a village near the Atlantic coast, that Biya dispatched him to provide humanitarian assistance to victims of floods sweeping across the central African state.   Nji, like many Cameroon senior state functionaries, told civilians that Biya is in good health, and that information circulating on social and mainstream media about the 91-year-old president's death is being spread by people who want to see Cameroon devolve into chaos.  "The president of our nation Cameroon cannot be dead,” Gregory Mewano, a member of Biya’s Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement party, said Thursday on Cameroon state radio. “And you find the prime minister in Germany with a whole entourage, the minister of interior taking care of internal politics and the minister of public works inspecting projects."  Officials say Biya will return to Cameroon soon, but they have not said when. There was no indication he was unwell in Beijing. He was scheduled to attend a meeting of French and African leaders in Paris afterward, but he did not appear, and no reason was given for his absence.   Cameroon opposition and civil society groups say they are concerned about Biya's absence and health, and ask government officials to present Biya to civilians instead of simply saying he is alive.  With elections only a year away, some groups say it is time to begin thinking about a new, much younger candidate who could take the country forward.  "We have had to make it clear to both national and international opinions that a number of opposition political parties are … consulting with regards to the happenings of Cameroon, and this rumor [about Biya’s death] is not an exception,” said Michael Ngwese Eke Ekosso, president of the opposition United Socialist Democratic Party. “Decisions will be arrived at with regards to the upcoming presidential elections."  Some opposition political parties have proposed uniting behind Akere Muna, an English-speaking anti-corruption lawyer and good governance crusader, as a candidate in the October 2025 presidential election.   Muna, who is 72, said if elected, he would launch a three-year transitional period to lift Cameroon from Biya's iron-fisted 42-year rule.    "Our profound reflection is that a non-renewable transition is essential,” Muna said. “The vision we are proposing is to strengthen democracy and governance, adopt a new constitution that incarnates the present and future aspirations of the people of Cameroon, and promote free and fair elections."   If elected, Muna would be Cameroon’s first leader from the western regions where English is the primary language.   His supporters say having a president from that area may help end a seven-year insurgency by English-speaking armed groups, who say English-speakers in Cameroon are marginalized by the French-speaking majority.   Opposition parties blame Biya for not being able to solve the crisis.  Meanwhile, Cameroonians of all parties wait anxiously for concrete signs that Biya is alive and will be returning to his country.

VIENTIANE, LAOS — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken voiced hope Thursday for cooperation with Thailand and Malaysia after recent turbulence as he met their prime ministers at an Asia summit. In a shift of focus after exhaustive diplomacy on the Middle East crisis, Blinken is representing the United States in Laos at the annual East Asia Summit, which President Joe Biden is skipping for the second straight year. Blinken met Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the 38-year-old heir of a political dynasty who took over a month ago after her predecessor was ousted and the main opposition party dissolved. Blinken said the United States hoped to work with Shinawatra to "focus on things that we can do to better the lives of our people," including on the economy, security and climate change. "The two countries have such an extraordinary history together, and we simply want to build on it," Blinken told her. Shinawatra told Blinken of northern Thailand's recent deadly floods and voiced support for long-term relations with the United States. Thailand is the oldest U.S. ally in Asia, but Washington has repeatedly criticized its record on democracy, although usually gently. The State Department voiced alarm in August after a Thai court dissolved the reformist Move Forward Party and banned from politics the kingdom's most popular politician, Pita Limjaroenrat. Blinken, wearing a dark blue, traditional Laotian jacket, later met separately with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who has been a vocal critic of U.S. support for Israel. Neither mentioned the Middle East in brief remarks in the presence of reporters, with Blinken instead noting that the United States is the top foreign investor in Malaysia. "I think this is a tremendous sign of both trust and confidence, because the investments don't happen unless there's tremendous confidence in the country," Blinken told Anwar. U.S. officials privately say that they understand the political pressure in the Muslim-majority country and that they seek a cooperative relationship with Anwar, who enjoyed strong advocacy from Washington when he was controversially imprisoned. Thailand has taken a lead at the Laos summit in seeking diplomatic progress on the crisis engulfing its neighbor Myanmar, whose military junta sent a representative to a top-level Southeast Asian gathering for the first time in more than three years. The United States, while backing diplomatic efforts, said it would press for sustained pressure on the junta, seeing no progress on key concerns such as freeing political prisoners and reducing violence. Blinken, who met two weeks ago with his Chinese counterpart in New York, will also back efforts by Southeast Asia to raise concerns with Beijing about its actions in the South China Sea. The summit marks a rare occasion in which Blinken is in the same room as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, but no talks between the two are expected. The Biden administration, including presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, has ruled out talks with Russia on its invasion of Ukraine without involving Kyiv.

Boston, Massachusetts — Ethel Kennedy, the widow of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy who raised their 11 children after he was assassinated and remained dedicated to social causes and the family's legacy for decades thereafter, died on Thursday, her family said. She was 96. Kennedy had been hospitalized after suffering a stroke in her sleep on Oct. 3, her family said. "It is with our hearts full of love that we announce the passing of our amazing grandmother," Joe Kennedy III posted on X. "She died this morning from complications related to a stroke suffered last week." "Along with a lifetime's work in social justice and human rights, our mother leaves behind nine children, 34 grandchildren and 24 great-great grandchildren along with numerous nieces and nephews, all of whom love her dearly," the family statement said. The Kennedy matriarch, whose children were Kathleen, Joseph II, Robert Jr., David, Courtney, Michael, Kerry, Christopher, Max, Douglas and Rory, was one of the last remaining members of a generation that included President John F. Kennedy. Her family said she had recently enjoyed seeing many of her relatives, before falling ill. A millionaire's daughter who married the future senator and attorney general in 1950, Ethel Kennedy had endured more death by the age of 40, for the whole world to see, than most would in a lifetime. She was by Robert F. Kennedy's side when he was fatally shot in the kitchen of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles on June 5, 1968, just after winning the Democratic presidential primary in California. Her brother-in-law, President John F. Kennedy, had been assassinated in Dallas less than five years earlier. Her parents were killed in a plane crash in 1955, and her brother died in a 1966 crash. Her son David Kennedy later died of a drug overdose, son Michael Kennedy in a skiing accident and nephew John F. Kennedy Jr. in a plane crash. Another nephew, Michael Skakel, was found guilty of murder in 2002, although a judge in 2013 ordered a new trial and the Connecticut Supreme Court vacated his conviction in 2018. In 2019, she was grieving again after granddaughter Saoirse Kennedy Hill died of an apparent drug overdose. "One wonders how much this family must be expected to absorb," family friend Philip Johnson, founder of the Robert F. Kennedy Foundation, told the Boston Herald after Michael Kennedy's death. Ethel Kennedy sustained herself through her faith and devotion to family. "She was a devout Catholic and a daily communicant, and we are comforted in knowing she is reunited with the love of her life, our father, Robert. F. Kennedy; her children David and Michael; her daughter-in-law Mary; her grandchildren Maeve and Saorise and her great-grandchildren Gideon and Josie. Please keep our mother in your hearts and prayers," the family statement said. Ethel's mother-in-law, Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, initially worried about how she would handle so much tragedy. "I knew how difficult it was going to be for her to raise that big family without the guiding role and influence that Bobby would have provided," Rose recalled in her memoir, "Times to Remember." "And, of course, she realized this too, fully and keenly. Yet she did not give way." She founded the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights soon after husband's death and advocated for causes including gun control and human rights. She rarely spoke about her husband's assassination. When her filmmaker daughter, Rory, brought it up in the 2012 HBO documentary, "Ethel," she couldn't share her grief. "When we lost Daddy ..." she began, then teared up and asked that her youngest daughter "talk about something else." Presidential Medal of Freedom In 2008, she joined brother-in-law Ted Kennedy and niece Caroline Kennedy in endorsing Sen. Barack Obama for president, likening him to her late husband. She made several trips to the White House during the Obama years, receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2014 and meeting Pope Francis in 2015. Many of her progeny became well known. Daughter Kathleen became lieutenant governor of Maryland; Joseph represented Massachusetts in Congress; Courtney married Paul Hill, who had been wrongfully convicted of an IRA bombing; Kerry became a human rights activist and president of the RFK center; Christopher ran for governor of Illinois; Max served as a prosecutor in Philadelphia and Douglas reported for Fox News Channel. Her son Robert F. Kennedy Jr., also became a national figure, although not as a liberal in the family tradition. First known as an environmental lawyer, he evolved into a conspiracy theorist who spread false theories about vaccines. He ran for president as an independent after briefly challenging President Joe Biden, and his name remained on ballots in multiple states after he suspended his campaign and endorsed Donald Trump. Ethel Kennedy did not comment publicly on her son's actions, although several other family members denounced him. Decades earlier, she seemed to thrive on her in-laws' rising power. She was an enthusiastic backer of JFK's 1960 run and during the Kennedy administration hosted some of the era's most well-attended parties at their Hickory Hill estate in McLean, Virginia, including one where historian Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. was pushed fully clothed into the swimming pool. In the Kennedy spirit, she also was known as an avid and highly competitive tennis player and a compulsive planner. "Petite and peppy Ethel, who doesn't look one bit the outdoorsy type, considers outdoor activity so important for the children that she has arranged her busy Cabinet-wife schedule so she can personally take them on two daily outings," The Washington Post reported in 1962. In February of that year, she accompanied her husband on a round-the-world goodwill tour, stopping in Japan, Hong Kong, Italy and other countries. She said it was important for Americans to meet ordinary people overseas. "People have a distinct liking for Americans," she told the Post. "But the Communists have been so vocal, it was a surprise for some Asians to hear America's point of view. It is good for Americans to travel and get our viewpoint across." Kennedy was born Ethel Skakel on April 11, 1928, in Chicago, the sixth of seven children of coal magnate George Skakel and Ann Brannack Skakel, a devout Roman Catholic. She grew up in a 31-room English country manor house in Greenwich, Connecticut, and attended Greenwich Academy before graduating from the Convent of the Sacred Heart in the Bronx in 1945. She met Robert Kennedy through his sister Jean, her roommate at Manhattanville College in New York. They moved to Charlottesville, Virginia, where he finished his last year of law school at the University of Virginia, and then in 1957, they bought Hickory Hill from by John and Jacqueline Kennedy, who had bought it in 1953. Robert Kennedy became chief counsel to the Senate Select Committee in 1957. He later was appointed attorney general by his brother, the newly elected President Kennedy. She had supported her husband in his successful 1964 campaign for the U.S. Senate in New York and his subsequent presidential bid. Pregnant with their 11th child when he was gunned down by Sirhan Sirhan, her look of shock and horror was captured by photographers in images that remained indelible decades later. The assassination traumatized the family, especially son David Kennedy, who watched the news in a hotel room. He was just days before his 13th birthday and never recovered, struggling with addiction problems for years and overdosing in 1984. In 2021, she said Sirhan Sirhan should not be released from prison, a view not shared by some others in her family. Two years later, a California panel denied him parole. Although Ethel Kennedy was linked to several men after her husband's death, most notably singer Andy Williams, she never remarried. In April 2008, Ethel Kennedy visited Indianapolis on the 40th anniversary of the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. A monument there commemorated King's death and the speech her husband had given that night in 1968, which was credited with averting rioting in the city. "Of all the Kennedy women, she was the one I would end up admiring the most," Harry Belafonte would write of her. "She wasn't playacting. She looked at you and immediately got what you were about. Often in the coming years, when Bobby was balking at something we wanted him to do for the movement, I'd take my case to Ethel. 'We have to talk to him,' she'd say, and she would." Ethel Kennedy joined President Obama and former President Bill Clinton — each held one of her hands — as they climbed stairs to lay a wreath at President Kennedy's gravesite during a November 2013 observance of the 50th anniversary of JFK's death. The nonprofit center she founded remains dedicated to advancing human rights through litigation, advocacy, education and inspiration, giving annual awards to journalists, authors and others who have made significant contributions to human rights. She also was active in the Coalition of Gun Control, Special Olympics, and the Earth Conservation Corps. And she showed up in person, participating in a 2016 demonstration in support of higher pay for farmworkers in Florida and a 2018 hunger strike against the Trump administration's immigration policies. Hickory Hill was sold in 2009 for $8.25 million, and Ethel Kennedy divided her time between homes in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, and Palm Beach, Florida.