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Yaounde, Cameroon — Cameroon government officials said the central African state’s 91-year-old president, Paul Biya, is in good health, contrary to information circulating on social and mainstream media. Biya has not been seen in public since his official visit to China more than 1 month ago. Citizens say they want proof that their longtime leader is well. Biya is in excellent health, according to a statement issued Tuesday by Samuel Mvondo Ayolo, director of the Civil Cabinet.   Ayolo said Biya is in Geneva, Switzerland, where he has been granting audiences and working for the development of Cameroon.    The statement comes after social media reports on Tuesday said Biya was dead but gave no details as to where and when the long-serving leader had died.  Biya was last seen in Beijing over a month ago during a China-Africa leaders forum. In the meantime, some citizens said they do not believe Biya is alive.    One of those is Gloria Wirkom, a businessperson in Cameroon's capital, Yaounde.   "He is our president, and if there is something wrong with him, we have the right to know," she said. "So we are pleading with the government of Cameroon to let us know the health state [state of health] of our president."  Wirkom said she does not trust government officials' declarations that Biya is in good health. Wirkom said she will believe Biya is alive only when she sees him. On Cameroon State TV, government spokesperson Rene Emmanuel Sadi said he unequivocally affirms that the rumors of Biya’s death are pure imagination.  Sadi said the day after the China-Africa summit, Biya stayed briefly in Europe, and that wherever he might be, Biya is attentive to the well-being of Cameroonians.  Akongnwi Neba, a merchant, said it is wrong for the government to wait until a rumor spreads before explaining where Biya is.   "We are asking the government to prove to us where he [Biya] is," said Neba. "We need to know his whereabouts, whether he is alive or dead. It is our right as citizens of the country to know where our president is."  Cameroon officials have not said whether Biya will appear in public in Geneva. VOA could not independently confirm whether Biya was in the Swiss city.     Biya is the oldest leader in the world. He has ruled Cameroon for more than four decades, and his supporters have been holding public rallies asking him to be a candidate in elections expected in October 2025. Biya has not said whether he will run for president again.  

TAIPEI, Taiwan — China's stock rally resumed Tuesday after the weeklong National Day holiday but lost some steam on mainland markets after a press conference by the country’s economic planning agency disappointed hopes for more fiscal stimulus measures. In Hong Kong, the day ended with chunky losses of nearly 10%.  Early in the day, the Shanghai Composite Index rose more than 10%, the Shenzhen Component Index was up more than 12%, and the ChiNext Index rose 18%, continuing a rise that began late last month with the announcement of stimulus measures, ranging from rate cuts to looser curbs on house buying. The rally stalled, however, as the National Development and Reform Commission, at a press conference intended to further boost market confidence, failed to announce any specific stimulus measures. By day’s end, the Shanghai Composite Index rose 4.59%, the Shenzhen Component Index was up 9.17%, and the ChiNext Index rose 17.25% to mark its largest-ever, single-day increase. But in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index traded low throughout the day, returning the gains registered before the National Day holiday and closing down 9.41%. Investors hoped the National Development and Reform Commission, China’s state economic planning body, would roll out more detailed stimulus measures at the Tuesday briefing. Chairman Zheng Shanjie told reporters that he had “full confidence” the economy would reach its official full-year growth target of about 5%. He said China will introduce policies to specifically strengthen or stabilize five aspects in the early stage, including the economic downturn, insufficient domestic demand, the difficulties of some enterprises, the continued weakness of the property market and the capital markets. Chin-Yoong Wong, a professor of economics at Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman in Malaysia, said the NDRC's target issues are “very to the point but insufficient in implementation," because the NDRC has not proposed precise and feasible countermeasures, and the scale of implementation is unclear. Wong said much of what has been promised by the NDRC includes spending plans that were already in place "rather than additional fiscal stimulus for China's economic downturn." He said the NDRC has talked a lot about boosting consumer confidence but has not issued any specific practical policies to achieve that, leaving shareholders to question whether the talk will be backed with action. Liu Meng-Chuh, director of the First Research Division at the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research in Taipei, said external factors are contributing to the volatility of China's stock markets. He told VOA, "On the one hand, China's [favorable policies] are not so strong; [on the other hand], the U.S. economy is not so bad, so maybe much international hot money has begun to flow back [to the U.S.]." However, Liu believes that there is still room for development in green industries and infrastructure for an aging society. He said that China's urban population is about 60% to 70% of its entire population, which is lower than the average of about 80% in mature economies, meaning that the dividends of China's "urbanization" have not yet been exhausted. But he stressed that the feasibility has to be well-assessed to avoid repeating mistakes made in the past. Tsai Ming-Fang, a professor of industrial economics at Tamkang University, said China's foreign relations are not improving, causing foreign trade issues that are difficult to solve, such as the new tariffs imposed by Canada and the European Union on Chinese electric vehicles.  Tsai said the stimulus measures in the past two weeks are not designed to revive the economy but to beautify the data to achieve the economic growth target of 5% this year, which may allow some shareholders and even foreign investors to liquidate their positions and take profits.  "China's only goal now is to reach the economic growth rate of 5%,” Tsai said. “Many problems arise from the drastic changes in Chinese laws [in recent years], which have led to a lack of confidence of manufacturers in China.” Adrianna Zhang contributed to this report.

washington — The FBI has arrested an Afghan man who officials say was inspired by the Islamic State militant organization and was plotting an Election Day attack targeting large crowds in the United States, the Justice Department said Tuesday. Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 27, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, told investigators after his arrest Monday that he had planned his attack to coincide with Election Day next month and that he and a juvenile co-conspirator expected to die as martyrs, according to charging documents.  Tawhedi, who entered the U.S. in 2021 on a special immigrant visa, had taken steps in recent weeks to advance his attack plans, including by ordering AK-47 rifles, liquidating his family's assets, and buying one-way tickets for his wife and child to travel home to Afghanistan.  "Terrorism is still the FBI's number one priority, and we will use every resource to protect the American people," FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement.  After he was arrested, the Justice Department said, Tawhedi told investigators he had planned an attack for Election Day that would target large gatherings of people.  Tawhedi was charged with conspiring and attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State group, which is designated by the U.S. as a foreign terrorist organization.  It was not immediately clear if he had a lawyer who could speak on his behalf. 

President Joe Biden postponed his trip to Germany and Angola Tuesday to oversee the response to Hurricane Milton, which is heading toward Florida just days after Hurricane Helene ravaged the southeastern United States. Patsy Widakuswara reports. Jose Pernalete contributed to this report.

Washington — The number of madrassas, or religious schools, has increased fourfold under the Taliban in Afghanistan as experts worry that the rise could fuel extremism in the country and limit opportunities for younger Afghans, particularly girls.   "In the past year, at least 1 million children have been enrolled in madrassas for religious education," said Karamatullah Akhundzada, the deputy minister of education, in a September news conference.   The year’s new enrollments brought the total to 3.6 million students at more than about 21,000 madrassas registered in the country,  This shift marks a change in the educational landscape in Afghanistan, where madrassas now outnumber the more than 18,000 public and private schools.   Jennifer Brick Murtazashvili, founding director of the Center for Governance and Markets at the University of Pittsburgh, told VOA that the increase in the number of madrassas is part of the Taliban's effort to establish control.   "It's important to look at madrassas together with local governance. Under the republic [former Afghan government], there was no formal village governance, but the Taliban have replaced that with religious leaders who now hold local power," Murtazashvili said.  Before the Taliban seized power in 2021, there were about 5,000 madrassas registered across Afghanistan.   After returning to power, the Taliban aimed to transform the education system.   Officials at the Taliban Ministry of Education said they have taken steps to "revise and reform" textbooks and curricula in the schools in the past three years.   Before the Taliban, more than 9 million students were enrolled in all types of schools, with 39% of them girls.   Following the Taliban's return to power, the group imposed a ban on girls' secondary education, making Afghanistan the only country in the world to restrict girls from attending secondary school.   The Taliban ban on secondary education deprived about 1.5 million girls of going to school.   Murtazashvili sees the ban on girls attending school beyond the sixth grade as a clear sign of extremism.   "By robbing girls of education, they are robbing the country of its future," Murtazashvili said, adding that "you're not going to have a future of women nurses and doctors. You're going to see mortality increase."   One young woman who spoke to VOA but did not want her name used was in 11th grade when the Taliban took power in 2021 and banned secondary education for girls.   She said she enrolled in a madrassa in Herat City, hoping to continue her education, but was "disappointed."   "At first, I thought I could learn and reconnect with friends, but it felt more like brainwashing," she said, adding that "they kept telling us education wasn't for us. We should become good housewives and give birth to future Islamic leaders."  After three months, "disheartened with the restrictive environment," she quit the madrassa.  Mohammad Moheq, former Afghan ambassador to Egypt and author of many books on Islam and Afghanistan, told VOA the Taliban push their strict interpretation of Islam through these madrassas.   "Their goal is to stop people from thinking for themselves and push their strict version of Islam that fits their political agenda," Moheq said.   Madrassas played an important role in the Taliban's rise to power in the late 1990s as many of the Taliban were graduates of madrassas in neighboring Pakistan.   In April 2022, the Taliban announced their plan to open three to 10 new madrassas in every district in Afghanistan.   "Religious sciences should be further taught throughout Afghan society," said Noorullah Mounir, the then-minister of education, as he urged Afghan teachers to instill an "Islamic belief" in their students.  Saba Hanif, a professor at the University of Education in Lahore, Pakistan, told VOA that there is a need for the international community to talk to the Taliban to find "a middle ground" and blend religious and "worldly" education.   "They should agree on certain terms and show the Taliban how purely religious education could harm the country's future, particularly in terms of job opportunities and economic growth," Hanif said.  She added that if children are exposed to "only one way of thinking and one way of living life," it will perpetuate extremism.   "This will be quite obvious. And it could be very dangerous for the region because, you know, of their past practices. They try to force it on others, and they also don't hesitate in using power to control others," Hanif said.

Back-to-back monster hurricanes across the eastern coast of the United States brings another glaring reminder of the ominous threat of global warming. Storms and weather events all over the world are becoming more and more extreme. We talk to Kim Cobb, Director of the Institute at Brown University for Environment and Society and Michael Wehner, senior scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory about why the planet’s weather is becoming more and more destructive and deadly.

washington — Authorities in Burkina Faso on Monday suspended Voice of America for three months over comments made by one of the network's journalists.  The junta also temporarily banned local news outlets from using any international media reports, the reports said.   Burkina Faso's superior council for communication, also known as CSC, accused VOA of demoralizing troops in Burkina Faso and nearby Mali in a broadcast on September 19, according to media reports. The interview was later aired by a privately owned local radio station, according to Reuters.   In the communique that banned local news outlets from using any international media reports, the CSC said it noted the "dissemination of information of a malicious and biased nature" by national outlets using international media reports.   In the communique, which did not specifically mention VOA, the CSC said such reports tend to "insidiously apologize for terrorism."   The phone number listed online for the CSC was not working. VOA attempted to request comment via an online form on the CSC website, but it returned an error message.   VOA and its parent organization, the U.S. Agency for Global Media, did not immediately reply to requests for comment. Burkina Faso's Foreign Ministry did not reply to VOA's email requesting comment for this story.   Earlier suspension   This would not be the first time VOA has been suspended in Burkina Faso.   Authorities suspended VOA and the BBC in April following the broadcast of news stories about a Human Rights Watch report accusing the Burkinabe army of abuses against civilian populations. "VOA stands by its reporting about Burkina Faso and intends to continue to fully and fairly cover events in that country," VOA's then-acting director John Lippman said in a statement about the April suspension.   Military leaders in Burkina Faso seized power in a coup in September 2022. Since then, media watchdogs have documented a decline in media freedoms, with media outlets suspended and foreign correspondents expelled.   In 2021, Burkina Faso ranked 37 out of 180 countries on the World Press Freedom Index, where 1 shows the best media environment. This year, Burkina Faso ranked 86.  

Former U.S. President Donald Trump and many of his supporters claim, without evidence, the 2020 election was stolen and warn that the same could happen in 2024. Democratic and Republican election officials in Michigan dispute those claims and are working to assure Americans that their votes are secure. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara brings us this story from Michigan. Videographer: Rivan Dwiastono

GENEVA   — Human rights experts warn the human rights situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo, already troubled for decades, is on a downward spiral again as armed clashes, attacks on schools and hospitals, sexual violence and other forms of abuse escalate.  Kicking off a discussion of the DRC at the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk urged the international community to pay more attention to the plight of Congolese civilians victimized by a "volatile mix of escalating violence, regional and international interests, exploitative businesses and weak rule of law." He said the number of victims of human rights violations is growing, with armed groups fighting in the eastern provinces responsible for most of these violations, including "deadly attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure, including schools and hospitals."  He said sexual violence is spreading despite efforts to prevent and investigate cases. "The armed groups take people prisoners, subject women and girls to sexual slavery.  Many of them have been killed after being raped. These cases, of course, have not all been reported. This is atrocious," he said. "Human rights violations committed by the defense and security forces during their military operations against armed groups, also remain of concern," he said noting that hate speech and other incitement to discrimination and violence "are fueling the conflict and increasing political tensions across the country." Türk appealed to countries of influence to use their power to ensure the fighting stops, stating that "any role played by Rwanda in supporting the M23 in North Kivu, and by any other country supporting armed groups active in the DRC, must end."  Responding to Türk's comments, DRC Minister of Human Rights Chantal Shambu  Mwavita said her government has made great progress in protecting human rights, in spite of challenges posed by the war in the east.  Alluding to Rwanda, she pointed her finger at so-called "negative forces" supporting the armed groups from the outside. She "called on the international community to condemn these actions strongly and to impose targeted sanctions on Rwanda for its destabilizing role."    Mwavita said the war in the eastern provinces is closely linked to the seizure and illegal exploitation of her country's natural resources by Rwanda and other countries.  She also demanded the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Rwandan troops from DRC territory.   North Kivu and surrounding provinces of the eastern DRC have been wracked by violence for decades, as armed groups battle for control of the region's rich natural resources. Rwanda has denied supporting the M23 rebels, with Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe renewing that denial on Saturday. The minister, who was attending a two-day "Francophonie" summit in Paris, accused his Congolese counterpart of refusing to sign "an agreed deal" to resolve the M23 rebel conflict in the DRC. On Tuesday, Rwanda's ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva, James Ngango, also expressed concern about the escalation of abuse and human rights violations in the eastern DRC, "particularly sexual violation and violation against children in the region affected by armed conflict and inter community conflicts," he said. He said Rwanda remains committed to dialogue and the regional peace processes. He said, "No military solution can address the root causes of the conflict in eastern DRC." It is unclear whether the DRC's demand for the withdrawal of Rwandan forces will be met, nor is it clear if and when MONUSCO, the U.N.'s peacekeeping force, will withdraw from the country as demanded by the government of Felix Tshisekedi. The U.N. says the peacekeepers, who were supposed to leave by the end of the year, apparently have been given a reprieve. Several thousand soldiers remain in North and South Kivu and Ituri provinces. Bintou Keita, special representative of the secretary-general in the DRC and head of MONUSCO, made little reference to the potential consequences for the stability of the DRC once U.N. peacekeepers leave the country. However, she painted a worrying picture of human rights in the DRC due to "the deteriorating security situation" in the eastern provinces from attacks on civilians, "causing loss of human lives and mass displacements of peoples towards Kinshasa and Kisangani." "The M23, in the quest for territorial gains, extended its hold on territories towards Lubero Kanyabayonga, which was captured in late June after intense fighting. Hospitals and IDP sites were deliberately targeted by M23. Several civilians fled their homes, further exacerbating the humanitarian crisis," she said. She affirmed that MONUSCO "will continue to provide its support to the DRC … in strict conformity with the U.N. human rights due diligence policy, including support for the establishment of the human rights compliance framework." Keita added, "The return of peace to the DRC will come about through pooled military and non-military efforts to find lasting solutions, both national and regional." Conflict in the DRC has come at a high price. The United Nations said the country is struggling with twin humanitarian crises — an internal displacement crisis and a food crisis. It reports that 7.2 million people currently are internally displaced, and nearly 26 million face acute hunger.

NEW YORK — The Biden administration is working on plans to bring additional decommissioned nuclear power reactors back online to help meet soaring demand for emissions-free electricity, White House climate adviser Ali Zaidi said Monday.  Two such projects are already under way, including the planned recommissioning of Holtec's Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan and the potential restart of a unit at Constellation Energy's Three Mile Island plant in Pennsylvania, near the site of the worst nuclear accident in U.S. history.  Asked if additional shuttered plants could be restarted, Zaidi said, "We're working on it in a very concrete way. There are two that I can think of."  He declined to identify the power plants or provide further details about the effort.  Speaking at the Reuters IMPACT conference in New York, Zaidi said repowering existing dormant nuclear plants was part of a three-pronged strategy of President Joe Biden's administration to bring more nuclear power online to fight climate change and boost production.  The other two prongs include development of small modular reactors (SMRs) for certain applications, and continuing development of next generation, advanced nuclear reactors.  Biden has called for a tripling of U.S. nuclear power capacity to fuel energy demand that is accelerating in part due to expansion of power-hungry technologies like artificial intelligence and cloud computing.  Last week, the Biden administration said it closed a $1.52 billion loan to resurrect the Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan, which would take two years to reopen.  Constellation and Microsoft, meanwhile, signed a power deal last month to help resurrect a unit of the Pennsylvania plant, which Constellation hopes will also receive government support.  Zaidi told the conference that the U.S. Navy on Monday had requested information to build SMRs on a six bases. "SMR is a technology that is not a decades-away play. It's one that companies in the United States are looking to deploy in this decade," he said.  Zaidi also addressed the woes that have beset a separate Biden clean energy goal, to bring 30 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity online by the end of the decade.  The administration shelved offshore wind lease sales this year in both Oregon and the Gulf of Mexico due to low demand from companies, as high costs, equipment issues and supply chain challenges hit other projects.  Zaidi said at least half of the 30GW goal is already under construction and that some of the early snags provide helpful learning for future projects.  "I am pretty optimistic about the next wave of projects where we will have a domestic supply chain and hopefully better cost to capital relative to what projects are facing right now," he said.

washington — The U.S. general election on Nov. 5 will decide the country’s direction, but it is far from a nationally administered contest. The 50 states and the District of Columbia run their own elections, and each does things a little differently. Here’s a look at some notable variations in the 2024 election: Maine and Nebraska allocate electoral votes by congressional district To win the presidency outright, a candidate must receive at least 270 of the 538 votes in the Electoral College. In 48 states, the statewide winner gets all of that state’s electoral votes, and that's also the case in the nation's capital.  In Maine and Nebraska, the candidate who receives the most votes in each congressional district wins one electoral vote from that district. The candidate who wins the statewide vote receives another two.  In 2020, Democrat Joe Biden received three of Maine’s four electoral votes because he won the popular vote in the state and its 1st Congressional District. Republican Donald Trump received one electoral vote from the 2nd Congressional District. Trump won four of Nebraska’s five votes for winning the popular vote in the state as well as its 1st and 3rd Congressional Districts; Biden received one electoral vote for winning the 2nd Congressional District.  Alaska and Maine use ranked choice voting  In ranked choice voting, voters rank candidates for an office in order of preference on the ballot. If no candidate is the first choice for more than 50% of voters, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated. Voters who chose that candidate as their top pick have their votes redistributed to their next choice. This continues, with the candidate with the fewest votes getting eliminated, until someone emerges with a majority of votes.  Maine uses ranked choice voting in state-level primaries and for federal offices in the general election. That means Maine voters can rank presidential, Senate and House candidates on ballots that include the Democrat and the Republican who advanced out of their respective party primaries, plus third-party and independent candidates who qualify.  The presidential ballot will include Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris, plus three other candidates. In the six years since implementing ranked choice voting, the state has used it twice in races for Congress in its 2nd Congressional District. The 2020 presidential race did not advance to ranked choice voting, with the winners of the state and in each congressional district exceeding 52% of the vote.  Alaska holds open primaries for statewide offices and sends the top four vote-getters, regardless of party, to the general election, where the winner is decided using ranked choice voting. In all legislative and statewide executive offices, Alaskans can rank up to four names that can include multiple candidates from the same party.  The exception is the presidency, which is eligible for ranked choice voting in Alaska for the first time. This year, there will be eight presidential tickets on the ballot, and Alaskans can rank all candidates if they choose to. The last time the winner of the presidential contest in Alaska failed to surpass 50% of the vote was in 1992, when third-party candidate Ross Perot won almost 20% of the national popular vote.  But in 2022, both Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola and Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski won their elections after both went to ranked choice voting.  Another wrinkle this year? In Alaska, where ranked choice voting was implemented by ballot measure in 2020, there’s a voter initiative on the ballot this fall to repeal it.  In California and Washington, candidates from the same party can face off  California and Washington hold open primaries in which all candidates run on the same ballot and the two top vote-getters advance to the general election, regardless of party. This year, there are two House races in Washington that include candidates of the same party, one with two Republicans and one with two Democrats. There are four in California: three with only Democrats and one with only Republicans.  The winning party in those six districts will be reflected in The Associated Press’ online graphic showing the balance of power in the House at poll close, rather than once a winner is declared because the party of the winner is a foregone conclusion.  Louisiana holds a 'primary' on Nov. 5  Louisiana holds what it refers to as its “open primaries” on the same day the rest of the country holds its general election. In Louisiana, all candidates run on the same open primary ballot. Any candidate who earns more than 50% of the vote in the primary wins the seat outright.  If no candidate exceeds 50% of the vote, the top two vote-getters advance to a head-to-head runoff, which can end up pitting two Republicans or two Democrats against each other. Louisiana refers to these contests as its “general election.”  That will change for elections for the U.S. House starting in 2026 when congressional races will have earlier primaries that are open only to registered members of a party. Certain state races will continue to hold open primaries in November, but the change will prevent future members of Congress from waiting until December — a month later than the rest of the country — to know whether they are headed to Washington.  Nebraska has two competing abortion measures on the ballot, but only one can be enacted  In Nebraska, any measure that receives approximately 123,000 valid signatures qualifies for the ballot. This year, two measures relating to abortion met this threshold.  One would enshrine in the Nebraska Constitution the right to have an abortion until fetal viability or later, to protect the health of the pregnant woman. The other would write into the constitution the current 12-week ban, with exceptions for rape, incest and to save the life of the pregnant woman.  This marks the first time since the 2022 Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade that a state has measures that seek to roll back abortion rights and protect abortion rights on the ballot at the same time.  It’s possible voters could end up approving both measures. But because they’re competing and therefore cannot both be enshrined in the constitution, the measure with the most “for” votes will be the one adopted, according to the Nebraska secretary of state.  Georgia holds runoff elections if a candidate doesn’t win a majority of votes  In primary elections, a handful of states, mostly in the South, go to runoffs if no candidate receives at least 50% of the vote. In races with more than two candidates, runoffs in those states are common. Several states held primary runoffs this year.  Georgia uses the same rules in general elections. The last three Senate races there went to runoffs because a third-party candidate won enough of the vote to prevent the Republican or Democratic nominee from exceeding 50% of the vote.  But this year, runoff possibilities may be confined to downballot races such as state legislature. There’s no Senate race there this year, and the U.S. House races have only two candidates on the ballot.  Texas, Florida and Michigan report a lot of votes before final polls are closed  This is common in states that span multiple time zones. In most states, polls close at the same time in each time zone.  The AP will not call the winner of a race before all the polls in a jurisdiction are scheduled to close, even if votes already reported before that time make clear who will win the race. So if there is a statewide race in a state where polls close at 8 p.m. local time, but some of the state is in the Eastern time zone and some of the state is in Central time zone, the earliest the AP can call the winner is 8 p.m. CST/9 p.m. EST.  The AP will still show the results as they arrive from counties with closed polls.  Some of the biggest states with split poll close times are Florida, Michigan, Texas and Oregon. Tennessee is an exception, as even though the state is in both the Eastern and the Central time zones, all counties coordinate their voting to conclude at the same time.