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President Joe Biden returned to the White House Tuesday after an eventful news week that he spent entirely out of the spotlight – yet still managed to dominate with news of his exit from the presidential race. Meanwhile, his vice president hit the road launching her presidential campaign. VOA’s Anita Powell reports from the White House.

washington — Who will she pick? That's the big political question in America after U.S. President Joe Biden dropped his reelection bid and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, who has quickly collected a critical mass of Democratic Party support and funding. The selection in question is Harris' running mate, the person who would step into the role she will shed if the Democrats are victorious in November's presidential election against Republicans Donald Trump and J.D. Vance. Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and his law firm are vetting Harris' potential vice presidential candidates, according to media reports. The campaign has requested vetting materials from five Democratic governors — Roy Cooper of North Carolina, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Tim Walz of Minnesota and J.B. Pritzker of Illinois — and one U.S. senator, Democrat Mark Kelly of Arizona, reports The Wall Street Journal. Those who pass the vetting "will probably have a one-on-one conversation with Harris and then she'll make a choice, probably in the week or so before the convention," William Galston, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, told VOA. "The danger of an accelerated process is that you know things will be overlooked. Mistakes will be made that a more leisurely process would have prevented. But she has no choice. She has to do it fast and get it right." Quest to balance ticket  It "is most likely" that Harris, as the daughter of a Black father and a mother who emigrated from India, will choose a white man to be her number two, according to Joel K. Goldstein, a scholar of U.S. vice presidents and the Vincent C. Immel professor of law emeritus at the St. Louis University School of Law. Geographical balance is another factor. Harris, who is from California, a solidly Democratic state, likely desires someone who can boost the party's chance in one of the critical swing states — territory that spans westward from Pennsylvania to Michigan, as well as the southern state of Georgia. "Someone from the Midwest or even from the South would be a good choice," said Jay Chen, Democratic National Committee delegate from California and co-chair of Taiwanese Americans for Progress. "Andy Beshear, he's a governor from Kentucky. I think he would make a good choice. We want to make sure that we're balancing out the ticket, because we have someone [Harris] from California," said Chen. "I think we do have to make sure that folks in the Midwest on the East Coast from the South, that they don't feel like they're going to be ignored by this administration and this is an excellent opportunity to try to try to balance out the ticket." Historically, geographic balance "was perhaps the most common type of balance that you would see on tickets," according to Goldstein. Nowadays, "the idea of geographic balance is not really as important a calculation as some other things." The governors of both Pennsylvania and Michigan, who are Democrats, endorsed Harris on Monday. That quashed any speculation that Shapiro or Whitmer might challenge Harris for delegates ahead of the party's national nominating convention next month. It also appeared to automatically place them into consideration to be the vice presidential nominee. Pennsylvania in play Pennsylvania is practically a must-win for either party. The Keystone State offers 19 electoral votes — the most of any 2024 battleground state — of the 270 required to reach the threshold for victory in a U.S. presidential election. In an on-air conversation about Shapiro, CNN chief national correspondent John King said the governor is a contender, but "he's Jewish. There could be some risks with putting him on the ticket." Commentators on social media quickly responded that Harris may be hesitant to select Shapiro, who is a strong supporter of Israel, as he could jeopardize her chances in Michigan, where there has been a primary election backlash against the Biden-Harris ticket from Arab American voters because of the president's support for Israel's war against Hamas. "It says a lot about the state of American politics, and perhaps especially in progressive circles that one of the 'cons' of Kamala Harris selecting" Shapiro as her vice president, is that he is Jewish and the pushback this might receive, Arsen Ostrovsky, CEO of the International Legal Forum, a global network of lawyers supporting Israel, wrote on X on Sunday. Harris' husband, second gentleman Douglas Emhoff, is Jewish. Stella Hsu and Kim Lewis contributed to this report.

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Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Rights groups accuse French authorities of "social cleansing” ahead of the Paris Olympics by uprooting migrants, sex workers and others around the capital — undermining promises of making these Games the most inclusive ever. The government says it’s simply trying to address a longstanding problem. Lisa Bryant has more from the French capital.

As the country continues to dissect the ramifications from President Joe Biden’s decision to drop out of the presidential race, the attention has quickly shifted toward Vice President Kamala Harris. While she has not been confirmed as the nominee for the Democratic ticket, she has obtained commitments from most of the required delegates, received key […]

The post Kamala Harris Has an Opportunity to Reframe the Immigration Conversation as the Democratic Nominee for President appeared first on Immigration Impact.

WASHINGTON — The United States has invited the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces for U.S.-mediated cease-fire talks starting on August 14 in Switzerland, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday.  The talks will include the African Union, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and the United Nations as observers, Blinken said in a statement. Saudi Arabia will be a co-host for the discussions, he added.   "The scale of death, suffering, and destruction in Sudan is devastating. This senseless conflict must end," Blinken said, calling on the Sudanese Armed Forces, or SAF, and Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, to attend the talks and approach them constructively.  The war in Sudan, which erupted in April 2023, has forced almost 10 million people from their homes, sparked warnings of famine and waves of ethnically driven violence blamed largely on the RSF.  Talks in Jeddah between the army and RSF that were sponsored by the United States and Saudi Arabia broke down at the end of last year.  State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters on Tuesday that the goal of the talks in Switzerland was to build on work from Jeddah and try to move the talks to the next phase.  "We just want to get the parties back to the table, and what we determined is that bringing the parties, the three host nations and the observers together is the best shot that we have right now at getting the nationwide cessation of violence," Miller said.

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london — Sunday, July 21 was the hottest day ever recorded, according to preliminary data from the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service, which has tracked such global weather patterns since 1940. The global average surface air temperature on Sunday reached 17.09 degrees Celsius (62.76 degrees Fahrenheit) — slightly higher than the previous record set last July of 17.08 C (62.74 F) — as heatwaves scorched large swathes of the United States, Europe and Russia. Carlo Buontempo, director of the Copernicus service, said that it was possible the beginning of this week could eclipse Sunday's record as heatwaves continue to sizzle across the world. "When you have these peaks, they tend to cluster together," he said. Last year, saw four days in a row break the record, from July 3 through July 6, as climate change, driven by the burning of fossil fuels, drove extreme heat across the Northern Hemisphere. While Sunday's record was only marginally higher than last year's reading, "What is remarkable is how different the temperature of the last 13 months is with respect to the previous records," said Buontempo. Every month since June 2023 has now ranked as the planet's hottest since records began, compared with the corresponding month in previous years. Some scientists have suggested 2024 could surpass 2023 as the hottest year since records began, as climate change and the El Nino natural weather phenomenon — which ended in April — have pushed temperatures ever higher this year. "As a consequence of the increasing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere — we are bound to see new records being broken in the next few months, in the next few years," Buontempo said. Scientists and environmental advocates have long called for global leaders and wealthier countries to phase out and end the reliance on fossil fuels to prevent catastrophic effects of climate change, including increased heatwaves.

Abuja, Nigeria — Regional analysts have voiced skepticism about a so-called standby counterterrorism force announced Sunday by West African bloc ECOWAS. The critics say despite the comments from Nigeria’s president suggesting the force is ready for deployment, ECOWAS has not provided any details about its size, base, funding or mode of operation. Nigerian President and ECOWAS chair Bola Tinubu announced what he called the “activation” of a standby force on counterterrorism while addressing African leaders during an African Union meeting in Ghana on Sunday. The force, first proposed in August 2023 after a coup in Niger, is projected to consist of military, police and civilian components and be jointly sponsored by ECOWAS members. However, ECOWAS members have yet to decide which countries will contribute the personnel and from where they will operate.  Tinubu told leaders at Sunday's summit that ECOWAS is exploring options for funding the force. His comments came two weeks after three of the bloc's former members — Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger — announced a confederation, signaling their exit from ECOWAS was permanent. All three countries withdrew from ECOWAS after being suspended from the bloc following military takeovers of their governments.  Security analyst Senator Iroegbu says creating a joint ECOWAS force to fight terrorism is a good idea but questions the regional bloc's readiness. "With Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso pulling out and forming their own [confederation], it tends to dilute whatever arrangement, because these three countries are actually the epicenters of the terrorism we're talking about,” he said. “This ECOWAS standby force, where's it going to operate? Is it in Nigeria that already has its own arrangement?” ECOWAS said it will continue to dialogue with the military leaders of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso and plans to convene a special summit on the future of the bloc. In April, ECOWAS held a counterterrorism summit in Abuja to strategize on combating terrorism affecting its remaining member states. Sub-Saharan Africa has become an epicenter of terrorism, accounting for more than half of the global terror-related deaths according to the 2023 Global Terrorism Index report.  Burkina Faso suffered the highest number of deaths, with Mali, Nigeria and Niger not far behind. Ahmed Buhari, a political affairs analyst, says he is skeptical about the success of the ECOWAS force amid uncertainty and instability within the region. "I do not see anything new with what ECOWAS is reiterating,” he said. “This is what we've been hearing for the past 15 years or so. It's been in the conversation. The terror hasn't declined. As a matter of fact, it looks like the terrorists are seemingly gaining ground and becoming more daring.”  Iroegbu said ECOWAS countries should focus more on improved governance if they want to address the causes of terrorism.  "More than setting up a force on counterterrorism, other aspects of non-kinetic measures are needed,” he said. “If you check, the root cause of these [problems] are non-kinetic issues like issues of good governance, development, inclusiveness, sound electoral process. These are issues that once they're in place even terrorists will find it hard to thrive in such environment." It's not clear when ECOWAS will hold the summit on its three former member states. Analysts say the chances of successful dialogue among the West African states are slim but it is not impossible.

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.

state department — U.S. President Joe Biden's administration said it remains “intensely focused on” its foreign policy agenda in the final six months of his term, despite the challenges often faced by so-called lame-duck leaders. On Tuesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters at the State Department that the United States will continue the work, “particularly trying to bring peace to the Middle East, ending the war in Gaza,” dealing effectively with the ongoing aggression by Russia against Ukraine, and maintaining engagement in the Indo-Pacific region. This week, Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin head to Asia to reassure allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific of the U.S. commitment, as the U.S. presidential election in November casts uncertainty over Washington's foreign policy. On Sunday, Biden announced he will not run for reelection and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor. Earlier this month, the Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump, survived an assassination attempt. By late Monday, most Democratic delegates pledged their support for Harris, making her the likely nominee. Blinken endorsed Harris on Tuesday. "What I've observed is someone who asks, time and again, the penetrating questions, who cuts to the chase and is intensely focused on the interests of the American people and making sure that our foreign policy is doing everything it can to advance those interests,” he said. 2+2 security talks Blinken and Austin will hold the so-called 2+2 security talks with U.S. allies Japan and the Philippines. The U.S.-Japan Foreign and Defense Ministerial Dialogues will discuss "extended deterrence" for the first time amid growing, unprecedented threats in the region, according to U.S. officials. The term refers to the U.S. commitment to use its nuclear and conventional forces to deter attacks on its allies. The first U.S.-Philippines 2+2 meeting to be held in Manila follows a crucial deal reached between China and the Philippines on Sunday, amid recent collisions near the waters around Second Thomas Shoal, known as Rén'ài Jiao in China. The agreement aims to establish a mutually acceptable arrangement at the shoal without conceding either side's territorial claims. “As the Philippines’ ally, we do support the diplomacy that they’ve chosen to conduct. We welcome the announcement of this outcome,” Daniel Kritenbrink told VOA during a phone briefing on Monday. Kritenbrink is the assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs. After returning to the United States, the top U.S. diplomat and the defense chief will host their Australian counterparts in Annapolis, Maryland, for the 2024 Australia-U.S. Ministerial Consultations, or AUSMIN, on August 6, according to the Pentagon. Vietnam Blinken’s 10-day trip to Asia will start in Hanoi, where he will attend the funeral of General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng, head of Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party, who died last Friday. In 2023, the U.S. and Vietnam elevated their bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership. The United States, China, and Russia are among the countries that maintain top-tier relations with Vietnam. ASEAN in Laos Blinken will then attend meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, in Vientiane, Laos, where he will hold face-to-face talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. State Department officials said they do not anticipate Blinken meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov or North Korean officials on the sidelines of ASEAN-related regional talks. Japan In Tokyo, in addition to the 2+2 security talks, Blinken will join his Australian, Indian and Japanese counterparts for a Quad foreign ministers’ meeting to reaffirm their collective commitment to regional stability. The Quad is a security dialogue involving the four countries. The United States and Japan will demonstrate responsibly how they will ensure not just the defense of Japan but also their contribution to regional security, according to Kritenbrink. In April, Tokyo and Washington announced a series of initiatives to strengthen their military ties, which the Biden administration described as the most significant upgrade since the U.S.-Japan alliance began in 1951. The Philippines In Manila, Blinken and Austin will meet with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. They will discuss ways to deepen coordination on shared challenges, including in the South China Sea, and advance our bilateral economic agenda, according to the State Department. Singapore In Singapore, Blinken will meet with Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and the city-state's new leadership to discuss the U.S.-Singapore strategic partnership. U.S. officials said the focus on critical and emerging technologies highlights the partnership's role in promoting a free, open, connected, and resilient Indo-Pacific region. Mongolia Tuesday, Blinken held talks with Mongolian Foreign Minister Battsetseg Batmunkh at the State Department. The inaugural U.S.-Mongolia Comprehensive Strategic Dialogue highlighted the growing ties between the two countries, as evidenced by ongoing initiatives to strengthen people-to-people connections through professional and educational exchanges, English-language programs and the establishment of direct flights.

Kampala, Uganda — A heavy military and police presence in and around Kampala left the streets deserted as pockets of young people marched toward parliament Tuesday. Under the hashtag #March2Parliament, demonstrators demanded the resignation of Speaker of Parliament Anita Among along with four members of parliament who recently shared an award of $460,000 for "public service." They also called for an audit of legislators' income. Many of the unarmed, placard-wielding protesters were thrown into police vans. Salim Papa Were spoke to journalists from under police van seats, where he had been pushed. "We are protesting against escalating levels of corruption in Uganda," he said. "I was marching because I want Anita Among to resign, she has stolen from this country. These resources are not hers, this is taxpayers' money." Almost an hour later, another group of nine youth appeared just meters from parliament before they were arrested and thrown into the police van. Kirya Samson was among those arrested. "No drugs in hospitals, bad roads, Kampala is the pothole capital," said Samson. "It’s because of corruption. We are tired." Parliamentary spokesperson Chris Obore told VOA that protesters should have addressed their concerns through proper channels instead of demonstrating. "This one is something disguised as a petition. If it is about the speaker of parliament, the speaker of parliament is not appointed by anybody. The speaker of parliament is elected by members of parliament. Is it members of parliament demanding her to resign?" asked Obore. "The campaign around the Speaker Anita Among is a smoke screen by those who have their ulterior motives." In May, both the United States and United Kingdom sanctioned Speaker Among over reports of corruption and abuse of office. There was hope that today’s protests would mimic events in neighboring Kenya, where youth have been protesting since June and successfully forced Kenyan President William Ruto to withdraw a proposed tax hike and overhaul his cabinet. Activist and law professor Busingye Kabumba said it is unfortunate that Uganda's parliament has gone ahead to sit without acknowledging protestors' demands. He thinks protests in Uganda could still unfold the way they did in Kenya. "I see today as being the starting shot in what is likely to be a longer struggle," said Kabumba. "But either way, the critical similarities are to do with the joining concerns of the youth and their determination to change the political systems in which they find themselves." While Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni warned protestors that they were playing with fire by marching on parliament, no tear gas was fired Tuesday to disperse onlookers. It was not immediately clear how many protesters were arrested or when they might appear before courts.

Islamabad, Pakistan — Afghanistan’s Taliban claimed Tuesday that their crackdown on illegal drug production in the country has helped address a major global challenge but expressed frustration at the ongoing lack of international support in response. Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi told a national labor conference in Kabul that his country used to be the world’s largest opium-poppy producer. It was detrimental and smuggled to the entire world and resulted in more than four million Afghans becoming drug addicts in the past two decades, he said. “The illegal production of drugs has ceased. The addicts are now in need of medical treatment while the farmers need livelihoods and employment,” Muttaqi said in his televised speech. He noted that their counternarcotics campaign has led to immense economic pressures and severe hardships for Afghans reeling from the effects of years of war and natural disasters in the impoverished country. “Regrettably, the international community has failed to fulfill its responsibility in this matter. Instead, they have imposed sanctions on Afghan trade, travel, and banking sectors in breach of the universal fundamental human rights,” the chief Taliban diplomat said. The Taliban banned opium poppy cultivation and production in Afghanistan in April 2022, eight months after the fundamentalist group reclaimed power. The South Asian nation supplied about 80% of the global illegal opiate demand and 95% of Europe's heroin in 2022, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. The UNODC noted in its 2024 World Drug Report that the drug ban has reduced opium production in Afghanistan by 95%, severely impacting the livelihoods of farmers and necessitating urgent humanitarian aid. Muttaqi complained Tuesday that Afghanistan had been ignored in international conferences aimed at discussing solutions and steps to tackle calamities stemming from climate change. Afghanistan is listed among the top 10 countries most vulnerable to climate change, even though it accounts for less than 1% of global carbon emissions. It has lately experienced unusually heavy rains, flash flooding, and worsening droughts, killing hundreds of Afghans, destroying livelihoods, and fueling hunger in a country where U.N. agencies say millions of people need urgent humanitarian aid. However, the country remains largely a global pariah because of the Taliban’s curbs on women’s access to education and work. No country has formally recognized the de facto Afghan government. The isolation has deterred foreign governments from engaging in formal financial dealings with Kabul and excluded Afghanistan from global climate change meetings, depriving it of much-needed foreign funding to battle climate change. Muttaqi recounted the Taliban’s security gains, saying they have effectively countered the Islamic State-orchestrated threat of terrorism in the country, established nationwide peace, and ended corruption. 'Absurd' demands “It’s absurd that the world demands action on drug control, security, and preventing Afghan territory misuse but offers zero cooperation,” Muttaqi said. He argued that international collaboration would help his administration create employment opportunities in Afghanistan that would deter its citizens from seeking to migrate to other countries and causing problems for them. In early July, the United Nations hosted an international conference in Doha, where delegates discussed Afghan private-sector investment possibilities, how to build on the progress made in curbing illegal drug production, and women's human rights. “Running through all the discussions was the deep international concern about the ongoing and serious restrictions on women and girls,” Rosemary DiCarlo, the U.N. under-secretary-general who presided over the two-day sessions in Qatar’s capital, told a post-meeting news conference. “Afghanistan cannot return to the international fold or fully develop economically and socially if it is deprived of the contributions and potential of half its population,” she said. The Taliban has rejected criticism of their governance as an interference in internal Afghan matters. They maintain their regulations are aligned with Islamic law and local culture. Girls ages 12 and older are not allowed to attend school beyond the sixth grade, and many women are barred from Afghan public and private sector jobs. According to a recent U.N. Development Program report, the Afghan economy has contracted by 27%, leading to economic stagnation since the Taliban takeover. The report noted that sectors such as finance have “basically collapsed,” and there are no major sources of economic activity such as exports or public expenditure, leaving small and medium enterprises and farmers “as the lifeblood of the faltering economy.”

Geneva — A senior World Health Organization official expressed alarm Tuesday at the high risk of polio spreading within the Gaza Strip because of dire sanitary conditions in the war-wracked enclave, and that the paralytic disease it causes could spill across borders without prompt action to stem the outbreak. “I am, like, super worried,” Dr. Avadil Saparbekov, team lead for health emergencies at the WHO in the occupied Palestinian territory, told journalists from Jerusalem. “I am extremely worried about an outbreak happening in Gaza … and that it may spill over internationally at a very high point.”  Saparbekov, who recently returned from a weeklong visit to Gaza, confirmed that "circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2" has been identified in samples of Gazan sewage assessed by researchers and that an epidemiological probe “to identify the potential source of this importation” is underway. “Based on the results of the assessment, WHO and the GPEI (Global Polio Eradication Initiative) partners will consolidate a set of recommendations, including the need for a mass vaccination campaign,” he said. On July 16, the Global Polio Laboratory Network isolated the virus in six environmental surveillance samples collected from sewage on June 23 in Khan Younis and Deir al Balah in Gaza. The WHO reports that further genomic sequencing of the samples by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that they are related to environmental samples that were circulating in Egypt during the second half of last year. “It is important to note that poliovirus has been isolated from environmental samples only at this time; no associated paralytic cases have been detected,” Saparbekov stressed. Circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus is transmitted from person to person mainly through the fecal-oral route. It can invade a person’s nervous system and cause paralysis and death. “We have not yet collected the human samples to identify any viruses because of the lack of equipment to collect those and lack of capacity to test those samples,” Saparbekov said, noting that WHO and UNICEF teams entering Gaza on Thursday will bring up to 50 sample collection kits “so we will be able to collect human samples, stool samples from humans.” The samples, he said, will be sent to a lab in Jordan to confirm any cases of infection. “Until that is done, I cannot say that there are any humans that are affected with this circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus,” he said. The WHO said that wild poliovirus was eliminated more than 25 years ago in the Palestinian territories. Before the start of the war in Gaza, following a vicious attack on Israel by Hamas militants on October 7, the U.N. health agency says 89% of the population was vaccinated against polio, primarily conducted through routine immunization. Last Sunday, Israel’s military said it would offer polio vaccinations to soldiers serving in Gaza to protect against the paralytic disease. Saparbekov said the WHO will be reaching out to COGAT, the Israeli authority responsible for the coordination of government activities in the Palestinian territories, “to see how they can facilitate” the response to the outbreak. One way to do that, he added, is to have vaccines available for Gazans in case “there is a decision to conduct a mass campaign.” “We have so far received assurances that this will be done,” he said. The WHO official expressed hope that the epidemiological investigation and risk assessment would be completed by the end of the week, such that his team “will have a joint recommendation from the GPEI network about what to do with this particular outbreak” by Sunday. In the meantime, he said, aid workers are doing their best to inform the population as to health measures they must take to prevent a polio outbreak. “Given the water and sanitation limitations in Gaza, it will be very difficult for the population to follow the advice to wash their hands, to drink safe water,” he said. “Unfortunately, the majority that live in shelters with one toilet for 600 people and maybe 1.5 liters of water per person, will definitely not be able to follow the recommendations that we are providing,” he said. While reiterating concerns about polio spreading in the Palestinian enclave, WHO health emergency chief Saparbekov said he also is very worried about the possible outbreak of other communicable diseases. “We had Hepatitis A confirmed last year and now we may have a polio outbreak,” he said. “So, with the crippled health system, lack of water and sanitation, as well as lack of access of the population to health services, specifically primary health services, this is going to be a very bad situation that will happen in Gaza. “We may have more people dying from communicable diseases than from injuries and related conditions,” he warned.

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