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In a dramatic surge, U.S. border patrol authorities detained more than 24,000 Chinese citizens crossing the southern border in fiscal year 2023, a 12-fold increase from the previous year. Many come seeking asylum, and among those that do, a small group of China’s ethnic Hui Muslims stands out. Aron Ranen brings us the story from the Big Apple.

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.

When a person dies, it often falls to their children, loved ones, lawyers or even friends to sort through the things they’ve left behind. Sometimes, those things are unfinished projects or hobbies, that’s where the group Loose Ends comes in. Nina Vishneva has the story, narrated by Anna Rice.

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.

JAKARTA — Indonesia president-elect Prabowo Subianto on Wednesday vowed to fight for all Indonesians and called for unity among political elites to take the country forward, as he seeks to strengthen his parliamentary clout ahead of taking office in October. Speaking at a ceremony where he was being confirmed as the winner of the Feb. 14 election, Prabowo, who won by a huge margin, said he was talking to elites in the country and it was vital parties could get along together for the common good. Prabowo, who was tacitly backed by popular incumbent Joko Widodo, is seeking to broaden his coalition in the new parliament and is in talks with parties who backed his election rivals. "I will prove that I will fight for all Indonesians, including those who did not vote for me," Prabowo said. "If Indonesia wants to survive, becoming a prosperous country, all elites must work together. If we dare to leave our differences aside, let's leave our feelings, let's find our love for the country, let's sacrifice together for our people." The confirmation comes two days after the Constitutional Court rejected challenges from both losing candidates seeking a re-run of the presidential election and the disqualification of Prabowo and his running mate, ending all election disputes. In his speech, Prabowo vowed to end poverty and corruption, adding he intends to bring improvement to all Indonesians. He also said a free press was vital in Indonesia, describing it as "the absolute requirement for democracy." Defense Minister's Prabowo's current alliance comprises 48% of seats in the parliament but his senior aides have said that he aims to expand his coalition to secure a majority of seats.

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.

TOKYO — Japan’s first moon lander has survived a third freezing lunar night, Japan’s space agency said Wednesday after receiving an image from the device three months after it landed on the moon. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said the lunar probe responded to a signal from the earth Tuesday night, confirming it has survived another weekslong lunar night. Temperatures can fall to minus 170 degrees Celsius during a lunar night and rise to around 100 Celsius during a lunar day.  The probe, Smart Lander for Investing Moon, or SLIM, reached the lunar surface on Jan. 20, making Japan the fifth country to successfully place a probe on the moon.  SLIM landed the wrong way up with its solar panels initially unable to see the sun, and had to be turned off within hours, but powered on when the sun rose eight days later. SLIM, which was tasked with testing Japan's pinpoint landing technology and collecting geological data and images, was not designed to survive lunar nights. JAXA said on the social media platform X that SLIM's key functions are still working despite repeated harsh cycles of temperature changes. The agency said it plans to closely monitor the lander's deterioration.  Scientists are hoping to find clues about the origin of the moon by comparing the mineral compositions of moon rocks and those of Earth. The message from SLIM came days after NASA restored contact with Voyager 1, the farthest space probe from Earth, which had been sending garbled data back for months. An U.S. lunar probe developed by a private space company announced termination of its operation a month after its February landing, while an Indian moon lander failed to establish communication after touchdown in 2023.   

sydney — Australia’s attempts to ban a graphic video of a stabbing in a church has turned into a global battle between the Canberra government and Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of the social media platform X. A service at an Assyrian Orthodox Church in Sydney was being live-streamed on April 15 when a bishop was repeatedly attacked at the altar.   Four people were stabbed, and a teenager arrested.   A 16-year-old boy was later charged with a terrorism offense.    Soon after the attack, videos of the stabbing began circulating on social media.  The Australian eSafety commissioner Julie Inman Grant, the country’s independent regulator for online safety, issued notices to Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, and X - formerly known as Twitter - to remove the footage.  The tech companies were threatened with heavy fines if they did not comply. The videos were classified under Australian law as 'class 1' material, depicting gratuitous or offensive violence.  Meta adhered to the eSafety Commissioner’s order, but X has argued the directive is "not within the scope of Australian law."  It’s insisted that “global takedown orders … threaten free speech everywhere.” On Monday the confrontation between Canberra and Musk intensified when an Australian court ordered X to temporarily hide the videos. The Australian government wants the footage to be removed permanently. Musk posted that “our concern is that if ANY country is allowed to censor content for ALL countries, what is to stop any country from controlling the entire Internet?” In a rare show of unity, politicians from across Australia’s broad political spectrum denounced Musk’s attitude about the video.   A government minister Tanya Plibersek said he was an "egotistical billionaire" while the Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young said he was a “narcissistic cowboy.” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told local media that Musk was lacking decency. “We will do what is necessary to take on this arrogant billionaire who thinks he is above the law but also above common decency and the idea that someone would go to court for the right to put up violent content on a platform shows how out of touch Mr. Musk is," Albanese said. "Social media needs to have social responsibility with it.  Mr. Musk is not showing any.” Investigators believe the stabbing attack at a church in Sydney was a religiously motivated act of terrorism. Regulators are worried that social media could further inflame tensions between different faiths.   There were serious disturbances outside the Assyrian Orthodox Church after the bishop and three other people were stabbed. None suffered life-threatening injuries. The church stabbings came two days after six people were murdered by a lone knifeman in a separate attack at a shopping center in Sydney. The argument over global access to video of the church attack will test how far-reaching Australian laws are.  

Gaborone, Botswana — Botswana says it has rejected a proposal to accept asylum-seekers from the United Kingdom, an arrangement similar to the one Rwanda has agreed to. The UK’s House of Lords on Monday passed a bill that will see migrants deported to Rwanda in a move condemned by human rights activists and the United Nations. In Botswana this week, an umbrella of civil society organizations urged the government to reject proposals from the U.K. to send thousands of migrants to the African nation. Botswana’s minister for foreign affairs, Lemogang Kwape, told VOA that U.K. officials had reached out, but authorities in Gaborone would not commit to “hosting people not knowing what the end game would be.” Kutlwano Relontle, is the program manager for the Botswana coalition, the Universal Periodic Review NGO Working Group. Relontle said the groups called on the government of Botswana "and other countries to distance themselves from this controversial U.K. program, which appears to be aimed at protecting only some of those who are fleeing their countries on the basis of fear of persecution, and not others." "We noted that in the case of the conflict in Ukraine, those seeking asylum were fast-tracked into the system, and citizens even encouraged to host them in their homes,” Relontle said. Relontle said the group also wants the U.K. government to respect international conventions on the treatment of asylum-seekers. Officials in the U.K. said they want to put an end to asylum-seekers arriving in small boats, mostly from Asia and Africa. Jonathan Portes, a professor of economics and public policy in the U.K., said under the Rwanda arrangement, some deserving asylum-seekers will be turned away.  “There is a general view that the small boats crisis needs to be resolved, [as] that it is very dangerous and unacceptable for people to be arriving in such numbers across the channel, but that does not mean that the majority of the population want to send people, particularly people who would have a claim to refugee status, to Rwanda.” Portes says it is not surprising that countries such as Botswana are turning down the controversial policy after it came under heavy criticism from the United Nations and activists. “Frankly it will be highly unlikely for any other country to participate in this, both from a reputational and practical point of view," Portes said. "I think frankly even the Rwandans, despite being offered really quite remarkably large sums of money by the U.K. government, are regretting or at the very least, having second thoughts about whether this policy is sensible.” The policy was first initiated two years ago, but the U.K. Supreme Court ruled it unlawful, which halted deportation. Following Monday’s passage of the bill, the U.K. is expected to start deporting asylum-seekers to Rwanda by mid-July.

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.

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.

The Independent Task Force on the Application of National Security Memorandum-20 to Israel submitted this report on April 18, 2024.