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Seychelles President Wavel Ramkalawan declared a state of emergency on Thursday, ordering all citizens except essential workers to stay at home, after a blast at a store and flooding due to heavy rainfall, the presidency said. "Following an explosion at the CCCL explosives store that has caused massive damage... and major destruction caused by flooding due to heavy rains, the President has declared a State of Emergency for today the 7th December," it said in a statement. "All schools will be closed. Only workers in the essential services and persons travelling will be allowed free movement. This is to allow the emergency services to carry out essential work," the statement added. The explosion occurred in the Providence industrial area in Mahe, the largest island in the Indian Ocean archipelago, and caused huge damage there and to surrounding areas, the presidency said, without elaborating further. "The Seychelles International Airport is still operational and ferry services between islands are operating for visitors," the tourism-dependent country said on its official Visit Seychelles account on X. A former British colony, the Seychelles is made up of 115 islands and according to 2021 World Bank data is the richest African country as measured by per capita gross domestic product, with tourism and fishing the biggest contributors to the economy. However, the high cost of living means that around 40% of the country's 98,000 inhabitants live in poverty. The archipelago is famous for its idyllic white beaches and high-end tourism. Mahe, where the capital Victoria is located, is home to 87% of the country's population. Parts of Africa — particularly Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia — have experienced heavier rainfall than usual since October, linked to the El Nino weather phenomenon. According to the UN, the situation has been exacerbated by the combined impact of El Nino and the Indian Ocean Dipole — a climate system defined by the difference in sea surface temperature between western and eastern areas of the ocean. El Nino is typically associated with increased heat worldwide, as well as drought in some parts of the world and heavy rains elsewhere. El Nino last occurred in 2018-2019 and was followed by an exceptionally long La Nina — El Nino's cooling opposite — which ended earlier this year.

A new optical ground station has been built by the Australian National University to help the U.S. space agency, NASA, and others explore space and safely reach Mars. The Australian team has developed a new type of space communication using lasers. Researchers say the system will allow them to connect with satellites and NASA-crewed missions beyond low-Earth orbit. The project is supported by the Australian Space Agency’s Moon to Mars initiative. The Australian National University Quantum Optical Ground Station is based at the Mount Stromlo Observatory, near Canberra. It is a powerful telescope that will support high-speed advanced communications with satellites orbiting at distances from low-Earth orbit to the moon. Kate Ferguson, associate director for strategic projects at the Australian National University Institute for Space, told VOA current communication systems relying on radio frequencies can be slow and cumbersome. “I am sure some of us remember the grainy pictures that we got of the moon landing that came from the Apollo era," Ferguson said. "So, again the current radio frequency systems, they have these much slower data rates and especially over really long distances.  For space exploration those become very slow but with optical communications we will be able to increase the rate of that communication.” She said the new system, based on powerful lasers that are invisible to the naked eye, will transform communications in space. “What we are aiming to do is to be able to receive high-definition video from future crewed missions. Not only will that be great for us here on Earth, seeing what is happening with the astronauts on these types of missions, but it will improve the connectivity between those missions," she said. "And what we are doing here is optical communication, which uses laser beams to communicate and these offer much higher speeds and increased security over the current systems and this is really important for us to be getting that data down and being able to use it here on Earth.” Scientists say the Australian-developed systems will be compatible with NASA missions. They say the laser-based technology will improve astronauts’ ability to connect with Earth from the moon and also allow high-definition video to be sent from the moon and Mars. NASA has said previously that astronauts could be sent on a mission to the red planet by the mid-to-late 2030s.  

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A Russian drone attack killed one person and damaged port infrastructure in Ukraine’s Odesa region, the regional governor said Thursday. Oleh Kiper said Odesa was under attack for two hours, and that while air defenses shot down most of the Russian drones involved, some of them made it through. He identified the victim as a truck driver, and said the drone attack damaged a warehouse, elevator and trucks near the Danube River. Ukraine’s military said Russia’s aerial attack involved a total of 18 drones targeting Odesa in southern Ukraine and the Khmelnytskyi region in the western part of the country. Ukrainian air defenses shot down 15 of the 18 drones, the military said. U.S. aid Republican lawmakers in the U.S. Senate on Wednesday blocked $110 billion in aid for Ukraine and Israel, as well as some security measures for the U.S. southern border.  U.S. President Joe Biden had asked Congress for almost $106 billion to fund the wars and border needs. The vote Wednesday was 49 votes in favor and 51 against, leaving the measure short of the 60 votes needed in order to proceed. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, who supports Ukraine aid, told his party members to reject the aid package because it did not include policy changes, something lawmakers have fought over for years.  Earlier Wednesday, Biden implored Congress to approve more arms aid for Ukraine, saying that failing to pass the assistance would be the “greatest gift” the United States could hand Russian President Vladimir Putin in Putin’s nearly two-year war against the neighboring country.  At the same time, the U.S. Defense Department announced new security assistance for Ukraine that is the Biden administration’s 52nd allotment of equipment for Ukraine since August 2021. It contains air defense capabilities, artillery ammunition, anti-tank weapons and other equipment.  The $175 million military aid package includes guided missiles for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, anti-armor systems, and high-speed anti-radiation missiles, according to the Pentagon and State Department.  Speaking briefly at the White House, the U.S. leader said that if Putin defeats Ukraine, “it won’t stop there,” and Moscow would invade neighboring NATO countries the U.S. is legally bound to defend.   “If NATO is attacked,” Biden said, “We’ll have American troops fighting Russian troops. We can’t let Putin win.”   With the new tranche of aid, Biden emphasized in a statement that “security assistance for Ukraine is a smart investment in our national security. It helps to prevent a larger war in the region and deter potential aggression elsewhere.”  Some Republican lawmakers in both the Senate and House of Representatives say they will not approve the additional Ukraine assistance without adopting much stricter U.S.-Mexico border controls, such as blocking all illegal migration.  Biden said, “I support real solutions at the border … to fix the broken immigration system,” but called for a compromise with opposition Republicans, not blanket acceptance of shutting the border, one of the demands of some Republicans.  The president said Republicans “have to decide whether they want a political solution or a real solution. This has to be a compromise.”     Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.  

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan travels to Athens on Thursday in a keenly watched visit billed as an attempted "new chapter" between the NATO allies and historic rivals after years of tension. In meetings with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and President Katerina Sakellaropoulou, the fiery Turkish leader is expected to discuss trade, regional issues and the perennially thorny issue of migration. In an interview with Greek daily Kathimerini a day before his five-hour visit on Thursday, Erdogan said he was seeking a "new chapter" in relations on the basis of "win-win" principles. Ankara has served as a migration bulwark since a 2016 deal with the European Union, which Mitsotakis and fellow EU leaders hope to update. A retinue of diplomats accompanying Erdogan are also broaching with Greek counterparts the longstanding issue of Greek-Turkish territorial disputes in the Aegean Sea. Erdogan has questioned century-old treaties that set out Aegean sovereignty, and Turkish and Greek warplanes regularly engage in mock dogfights in disputed airspace. The discovery of hydrocarbon resources in the eastern Mediterranean has further complicated ties, with Ankara angering Athens in 2019 by signing a controversial maritime zone deal with Libya. Relations further cratered in the next two years, prompting Mitsotakis to announce a military buildup in naval and air force equipment, and sign defensive agreements with France and the United States. In 2020, Erdogan was seen in Athens to have encouraged thousands of migrants to attempt to cross the frontier into Greece, causing days of clashes with border guards. At the time, the move was interpreted as a Turkish attempt to draw EU attention to the millions of asylum seekers in Turkey. Erdogan also used increasingly inflammatory rhetoric towards Greece, often in conjunction with his electoral campaigns. Last year, he accused Greece of "occupying" Aegean islands and threatened: "As we say, we may come suddenly one night." But relations have improved since February, when Greece sent rescuers and aid to Turkey after a massive earthquake killed at least 50,000 people. 'We don't threaten you' Speaking to Kathimerini on Wednesday, the Turkish leader said communication channels with Greece had been "revived" and that he looked forward to signing a declaration of bilateral friendship with Greece on Thursday. "Kyriakos my friend, we do not threaten you if you do not threaten us," Erdogan said. "If differences are addressed through dialogue and common ground is found, this is to the benefit of all," he added. Mitsotakis, the conservative prime minister who won a second four-year term in June, has also shown readiness to reduce tension with Ankara. The two leaders previously met in September in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. Erdogan was last in Athens in 2017, when he met Mitsotakis' leftist predecessor Alexis Tsipras. Without sidestepping the "major territorial disputes" that have long existed between the NATO allies, Mitsotakis favors settling differences at the International Court of Justice at The Hague. "It is important that disagreements do not lead to crises," and that "every opportunity for dialogue — such as the very important (meeting) of Dec. 7 — leads us forward," Greek government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis told state TV ERT this week. Greek and Turkish ministers will hold a meeting of the high cooperation council, a bilateral body that last convened in 2016. A diplomatic source speaking on condition of anonymity called it a "positive step" in the rapprochement. "Dialogue is the only tool in order to develop a road map for the delimitation of waters in the Aegean," Antonia Zervaki, an assistant professor of international relations at the University of Athens, told AFP. Greek migration minister Dimitris Kairidis this week said the two countries' coastguards had been cooperating smoothly on migration in past months. He did not rule out an agreement with Ankara to station a Turkish officer on the Greek island of Lesbos, and a Greek officer at the western Turkish port of Izmir. Israel-Hamas war Thursday's talks are expected to also discuss the Israel-Hamas war, where Erdogan has shown no sign of abandoning his support of Hamas militants. In contrast, Mitsotakis has made a clear distinction between Hamas and the Palestinian people, stating that Israel had suffered a "savage terrorist attack" on October 7 that killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took around 240 hostages, according to Israeli officials. Israel vowed to destroy Hamas following the deadliest attack in its history and launched a retaliatory military campaign that has killed more than 16,000 people in Gaza, mainly civilians, according to the territory's Hamas authorities.  

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.

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European Union leaders are in Beijing Thursday for a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping and other Chinese leaders. Ahead of the meetings, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the two sides would discuss “how to rebalance our economic relationship,” highlighting China’s position as the EU’s “most important trading partner,” and stressing the need to address the trade imbalance between them. Von der Leyen said the meetings would also include discussion of cooperation on climate change and on rules for artificial intelligence. She also highlighted a need for the EU and China to use their roles as major world powers to respond to the war in Ukraine and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “We have a shared interest in peace and security and the effective functioning of the rules-based international order and to find solutions to global challenges,” Von der Leyen said.  “This is why it is essential to put an end to the Russian aggression against Ukraine and establish a just and lasting peace consistent with the U.N. charter and in the same vein to do everything possible to work for a two-state solution in the Middle East.” Xi said in his opening remarks that China and the European Union must “work together to promote world stability and prosperity.” "China and the EU should be partners in mutually beneficial cooperation and continuously enhance political mutual trust," Xi said. Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.  

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.

Australia and neighboring Papua New Guinea signed a bilateral security agreement Thursday that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and counterpart James Marape said showed the closeness of the two nations.  The deal is designed to bolster Papua New Guinea's internal security through more assistance in policing, defense and the judiciary as the Pacific Islands' largest nation seeks to develop its economy.  Amid strategic competition between China and the United States in the region, PNG signed a defense deal with the United States in May to upgrade its military bases and is also boosting trade ties with China.  Marape told reporters on Thursday the security agreement with Australia showed they were "brother and sister nations," but added PNG would not pick sides and had a foreign policy of "friends to all."   "This is a comprehensive and historic agreement. It will make it easier for Australia to help PNG address its internal security needs," Albanese told a press conference in Canberra.  He paid tribute to the support PNG's population gave to Australian servicemen during World War II, and said it was a defense relationship forged through giving lives.  "For our interests going forward, we have no closer friends than Papua New Guinea," Albanese said.  The structure of PNG's judiciary, public service, and borders were established by Australia before PNG became an independent nation 48 years ago, Marape said.  "You have always given support to us," he said. "What happens up north of your borders has deep, deep shared effect, benefit, consequences, on our region."

The U.S. charges four Russia-affiliated soldiers with war crimes against an American carried out during Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Israel’s military continues to pound Hamas in Gaza with airstrikes and ground operations

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U.S. President Joe Biden said Wednesday that his administration is committed to writing “a new and better chapter of history” for more than 570 native communities in the U.S. by — among other things — making it easier for them to access federal funding. A leader of one of the largest communities speaks to VOA about those efforts and how some of the themes of native history continue to play out halfway across the planet. VOA White House correspondent Anita Powell reports from the Department of the Interior.

U.S. President Joe Biden said Wednesday that his administration is committed to writing "a new and better chapter of history" for its more than 570 native communities by, among other things, making it easier for them to access federal funding. "It's hard work to heal the wrongs of the past and change the course and move forward," Biden said. "But the actions we're taking today are key steps into that new era of tribal sovereignty and self-determination. A new era grounded in dignity and respect, that recognizes your fundamental rights to govern and grow on your own terms. That's what this summit is all about." Biden, speaking at the U.S. Department of the Interior, which sits on the ancestral land of the Nacotchtank people, announced more than 190 agreements during a two-day summit of some 300 tribal leaders. They include an executive order that will make it easier to access federal funding, plus efforts to clean up nuclear sites, support clean energy transitions and work toward the repatriation of native remains and sacred objects. The administration will also release a progress report on its efforts to date. Hope for more The leader of one of the largest groups told VOA that the government's efforts have been "very, very positive" and said he hoped to see more. "The most important thing for the Cherokee Nation, I think — and all tribes — is the efficient deployment of resources, and then allowing tribes to decide how to use those resources," said Chuck Hoskin Jr., principal chief of the Cherokee Nation. But, he said, as his people know too well, land dispossession and conflict is not ancient history. Here's his advice to Biden and Middle Eastern leaders as war rages in Gaza after the October 7 attack by Hamas militants: "We have a history of being dispossessed from our land," he said. "And so, I would just say, remind people that there's a way to balance rights. I think we're trying to do that in the United States in terms of Indian Country versus the rest of the country. "We haven't perfected it, but I think we're making some progress," Hoskin said. "So, all I would say is the respect and dignity that every human being deserves ought to be on display." Youth see potential Younger tribal citizens say they have high expectations. Sareya Taylor, the inaugural Youth Poet Laureate of Phoenix, is a member of the White Mountain Apache and Navajo communities. "I voted for Biden in 2020," said Taylor, 21. "And I believe there's so much more that can be done, especially in terms of climate and how we look at food sovereignty." But if she could ask the president for anything, she said, it would be for a cease-fire in Gaza. "As an Indigenous person, I see my history, like, being like, livestreamed right now," she said. "If that were happening to us, I'd like to believe that it would be stopped immediately. But you know, considering President Biden won't even call for a cease-fire, I don't know about that." Hoskin, who is nearly three decades older than Taylor, took a more measured view. "Obviously, if these were easy issues, somebody would have solved them a long time ago," he said. But, he said, step by step, the U.S. government is working to right past wrongs on its own soil. "Certainly, it would be accurate to say the United States has an appalling record towards Indigenous peoples," he said. "Is it perfect now? No, it's not. But we're making progress."

Nikki Haley was targeted Wednesday from the opening moments of the fourth debate for Republican presidential hopefuls as time runs out for the shrinking field to shake up a race that's been dominated by former President Donald Trump. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis accused Haley of backing down from media criticism and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy suggested that the former United Nations ambassador and South Carolina governor was too close to corporate interests as she gets new interest from donors. Responded Haley, "They're just jealous." Three of the four candidates onstage didn't mention Trump, the overwhelming GOP front-runner, in the debate's opening minutes. Aside from former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, the candidates have spent more time in debates going after each other than taking aim at Trump, reflecting the view of many GOP power players that there are diminishing returns in attacking the former president given his popularity among Republicans. The candidates were at the University of Alabama for their last scheduled meeting before the Iowa caucuses kick off the presidential nominating season next month. Trump, who has staged public appearances to compete for attention during the three prior GOP debates, made plans to spend the evening at a closed-door fundraiser in Florida. Haley is gaining new interest from voters and donors but still remains well behind Trump in national and early-state polls. With Trump absent, the debate lacked some of the buzz sometimes associated with such affairs, especially in ostensibly open primaries. Less than two hours to go before the opening salvo, the media room was barely half full. The debate may have been hard to find for many prospective viewers. It aired on NewsNation, a cable network still trying to build its audience after taking over WGN America three years ago. NewsNation's Elizabeth Vargas moderated alongside Megyn Kelly, a former Fox News anchor who now hosts a popular podcast, and Eliana Johnson of the conservative news site Washington Free Beacon. Haley has risen in recent polling to challenge the Florida governor's position as the leading non-Trump contender. She's leaned on her foreign policy experience since the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7. And she recently won the support of the Koch brothers ' powerful political operation, which will send organizers and canvassers into early primary states on her behalf. DeSantis, meanwhile, faces new upheaval in his political operation. A pro-DeSantis super PAC that is handling much of his campaign apparatus in Iowa parted ways with several top staffers over the weekend. Ramaswamy has been a fiery presence in the three earlier debates. He'll be looking to resurrect the interest he saw over the summer but remains stalled in single digits in most polls. And Christie, who barely met the requirements to participate, is the only leading contender to consistently go after Trump, needling his rivals for focusing on each other instead of the race's front-runner. He has focused his campaign on New Hampshire, which holds its primaries eight days after the Iowa caucuses.

Crowds flocked to one of Kyiv's most beloved squares on Wednesday to see the capital's main Christmas tree lit up to mark Saint Nicholas Day according to a new calendar celebrating Christmas on December 25.  With their military locked in the 21-month-old war against Russia, it was the first time many Ukrainians had marked the holiday under the new calendar endorsed by the country's main Orthodox church to distance itself from practices in Russia.  "Even during these difficult times, we have the opportunity to come and see our Christmas tree in our capital’s center," said Olesia Polyarosh, 29.  "Maybe not to celebrate, but to feel the Christmas spirit despite everything, that we still can mark it in our country," she added.  A cheer went up as the tree’s lights were switched on in the square just outside the 11th-century St. Sophia Cathedral, while families sampled pancakes and mulled wine in adjacent kiosks.  Most Ukrainians are Orthodox Christians and the country's main church agreed earlier this year to change away from the Julian calendar, under which Christmas is celebrated on January 7.  Most mainly Orthodox countries mark Christmas on December 25, but Russia and Serbia are among those that still celebrate on the later date.   Many in the square said they agreed with the changed date.  "We shouldn’t have anything in common with that country," Polyarosh said. "Nicholas and our boys [service members] are holding the country together today. The tree is shining bright. It's not too big - exactly what we need in these times."  Engineer Kateryna Didyk, 32, said that it felt a bit early to celebrate Christmas, but that she had bought a tree on Tuesday and had started decorating it  Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko symbolically lit the tree, saying private donations had funded it to enable public money to be set aside for the army. 

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Facebook and Instagram fail to protect underage users from exposure to child sexual abuse material and let adults solicit pornographic imagery from them, New Mexico's attorney general alleges in a lawsuit that follows an undercover online investigation. "Our investigation into Meta's social media platforms demonstrates that they are not safe spaces for children but rather prime locations for predators to trade child pornography and solicit minors for sex," Attorney General Raul Torrez said in a statement Wednesday. The civil lawsuit filed late Tuesday against Meta Platforms Inc. in state court also names its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, as a defendant. In addition, the suit claims Meta "harms children and teenagers through the addictive design of its platform, degrading users' mental health, their sense of self-worth and their physical safety," Torrez's office said in a statement. Those claims echo others in a lawsuit filed in late October by the attorneys general of 33 states, including California and New York, against Meta that alleges Instagram and Facebook include features deliberately designed to hook children, contributing to the youth mental health crisis and leading to depression, anxiety and eating disorders. New Mexico was not a party to that lawsuit. Investigators in New Mexico created decoy accounts of children 14 years and younger that Torrez's office said were served sexually explicit images even when the child expressed no interest in them. State prosecutors claim that Meta let dozens of adults find, contact and encourage children to provide sexually explicit and pornographic images. The accounts also received recommendations to join unmoderated Facebook groups devoted to facilitating commercial sex, investigators said, adding that Meta also let its users find, share and sell "an enormous volume of child pornography." "Mr. Zuckerberg and other Meta executives are aware of the serious harm their products can pose to young users, and yet they have failed to make sufficient changes to their platforms that would prevent the sexual exploitation of children," Torrez said, accusing Meta's executives of prioritizing "engagement and ad revenue over the safety of the most vulnerable members of our society." Meta, based in Menlo Park, California, did not directly respond to the New Mexico lawsuit's allegations, but said it works hard to protect young users with a serious commitment of resources. "We use sophisticated technology, hire child safety experts, report content to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and share information and tools with other companies and law enforcement, including state attorneys general, to help root out predators," the company said. "In one month alone, we disabled more than half a million accounts for violating our child safety policies." Company spokesman Andy Stone pointed to a company report detailing the millions of tips Facebook and Instagram sent to the National Center in the third quarter of 2023 — including 48,000 involving inappropriate interactions that could include an adult soliciting child sexual abuse material directly from a minor or attempting to meet with one in person. Critics, including former employees, have long complained that Meta's largely automated content moderation systems are ill-equipped to identify and adequately eliminate abusive behavior on its platforms.