Feed aggregator

WARSAW — Poles vote in local elections on Sunday, selecting thousands of councilors and mayors who will play a key role in allocating billions in European Union funds and giving an early indication of their satisfaction with the government of Donald Tusk. Tusk's appointment as prime minister in December marked a turning point for the largest country in the EU's east, drawing a line under eight years of nationalist rule that set Warsaw at odds with Western allies and putting the nation of 38 million people on a resolutely pro-European course. The broad coalition which Tusk leads won a majority in October's parliamentary elections on promises to roll back judicial reforms implemented by the previous government that critics said undermined the independence of the courts, while boosting the rights of women and minorities. He has painted victory on Sunday for his liberal Civic Coalition (KO), the largest grouping in the ruling alliance, as essential if Poland is to avoid sliding back towards nationalist rule under the Law and Justice party (PiS). "Our dream -- once a beautiful dream, and today an increasingly better reality -- may end overnight," he told a rally in Warsaw on Friday, before an election blackout began. "If someone believes that freedom, human rights, women's rights, democracy, free economy, self-government - that all this is permanent, will defend itself ... we will lose it all again." PiS has repeatedly rejected accusations that it undermined democracy and human rights. 'Yellow card' With the three groups that form the ruling coalition running on separate tickets, the vote is also a chance for Tusk to cement KO's dominance in government. Elections to the European Parliament are scheduled for June, and Sunday's results will be closely watched in Brussels. While Tusk has unblocked billions in EU funds that were frozen over rule-of-law concerns and launched sweeping changes in the courts and state media, he has also faced criticism for not delivering on a host of election promises and questions over the legality of some reforms, particularly regarding the media. For PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the local elections offer a chance to send a warning shot to a government he accuses of lying about what it could achieve and about the record of the previous administration. "We have a chance ... to show the authorities who are at the helm in Warsaw today a yellow card," he told supporters on Friday, in a reference to the way soccer referees warn players. A second round of voting in mayoral races will be held on April 21.

Beirut — The Israeli military said on Sunday its fighter jets had struck Hezbollah sites in eastern Lebanon, where the Iran-backed group has a strong presence, in retaliation for one of its drones being shot down. A source close to Hezbollah earlier told AFP in the Baalbek region in eastern Lebanon that the strikes had targeted Janta and Sinfri in the Bekaa Valley. The Israeli military said on Telegram that "fighter jets struck a military complex and three other terrorist infrastructure sites belonging to Hezbollah's air defense network" in the region. It said the strikes were "in retaliation for the attack in which an Israel Defense Forces drone was shot down" by a surface-to-air missile on Saturday. Janta is an arid, mountainous region close to the border with Syria, while Sifri is in the center of the Bekaa Valley. A source in Lebanon's Civil Defense Department said there were no casualties from the strikes. Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged near-daily cross-border fire since the Palestinian militant group Hamas carried out an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7, triggering the war in Gaza. Hezbollah targets Israeli positions close to the border, while Israel retaliates with raids that go deeper and deeper into Lebanese territory and carries out strikes against the Shiite Islamist group's officials. The latest strikes in eastern Lebanon came after Hezbollah announced on Saturday evening it had shot down an Israeli Hermes 450 drone over Lebanese territory. Israel launched similar strikes against Hezbollah targets in the Bekaa Valley in February after the group said it had shot down a similar type of Israeli drone. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised speech on Friday that his movement had not yet used its "main" weapons and reiterated that Hezbollah would cease its attacks only when the war in Gaza ends. The cross-border hostilities have killed at least 349 people in Lebanon, mostly Hezbollah fighters, but also at least 68 civilians, according to an AFP tally. The fighting has displaced tens of thousands of people in southern Lebanon and in northern Israel, where the military says 10 soldiers and eight civilians have been killed.

GUNTUR, India — There's a pungent odor on Ratna Raju's farm that he says is protecting his crops from the unpredictable and extreme weather that's become more frequent with human-caused climate change. The smell comes from a concoction of cow urine, an unrefined sugar known as jaggery, and other organic materials that act as fertilizers, pesticides and bad weather barriers for his corn, rice, leafy greens and other vegetables on his farm in Guntur in India's southern Andhra Pradesh state. The region is frequently hit by cyclones and extreme heat, and farmers say that so-called natural farming protects their crops because the soil can hold more water, and their more robust roots help the plants withstand strong winds. Andhra Pradesh has become a positive example of the benefits of natural farming, and advocates say active government support is the primary driver for the state's success. Experts say these methods should be expanded across India's vast agricultural lands as climate change and decreasing profits have led to multiple farmers' protests this year. But fledgling government support across the country for these methods means most farmers still use chemical pesticides and fertilizers, making them more vulnerable when extreme weather hits. Many farmers are calling for greater federal and state investment to help farms switch to more climate change-proof practices. For many, the benefits of greater investment in natural farming are already obvious: In December, Cyclone Michaung, a storm moving up to 110 kph brought heavy rainfall across India's southeastern coast, flooding towns and fields. A preliminary assessment conducted a few weeks later found that 600,000 acres of crops were destroyed in Andhra Pradesh state. On Raju's natural farm, however, where he was growing rice at the time, "the rainwater on our farms seeped into the ground in one day," he said. The soil can absorb more water because it's more porous than pesticide-laden soil which is crusty and dry. Planting different kinds of crops throughout the year — as opposed to the more standard single crop farms — also helps keep the soil healthy, he said. But neighboring farmer Srikanth Kanapala's fields, which rely on chemical pesticides and fertilizers, were flooded for four days after the cyclone. He said seeing Raju's crops hold firm while his failed has made him curious about alternative farming methods. "I incurred huge losses," said Kanapala, who estimates he lost up to $600 because of the cyclone, a substantial sum for a small farmer in India. "For the next planting season, I plan to use natural farming methods too." Local and federal government initiatives have resulted in an estimated 700,000 farmers shifting to natural farming in the state according to Rythu Sadhikara Samstha, a government-backed not-for-profit launched in 2016 to promote natural farming. The state of Andhra Pradesh hopes to inspire all of its 6 million farmers to take up natural farming by the end of the decade. The Indian federal government's agriculture ministry has spent upward of $8 million to promote natural farming and says farmers tilling nearly a million acres across the country have shifted to the practice. In March last year, India's junior minister for agriculture said he hoped at least 25% of farms across India would use organic and natural farming techniques. But farmers like Meerabi Chunduru, one of the first in the region to switch to natural farming, said more government and political support is needed. Chunduru said she switched to the practice after her husband's health deteriorated, which she believes is because of prolonged exposure to some harmful pesticides. While the health effects of various pesticides have not yet been studied in detail, farm workers around the world have long claimed extended exposure has caused health problems. In February, a Philadelphia jury awarded $2.25 billion in damages in a case where a weed killer with glyphosate — restricted in India since just 2022 — was linked to a resident's blood cancer. In India, 63 farmers died in the western state of Maharashtra in 2017, believed to be linked to a pesticide containing the chemical Diafenthiuron, which is currently banned in the European Union, but not in India. "Right now, not many politicians are talking about natural farming. There is some support but we need more," said Chunduru. She called for more subsidies for seeds such as groundnuts, black gram, sorghum, vegetable crops and corn that can help farmers make the switch. Farmers' rights activists said skepticism about natural farming among political leaders, government bureaucrats and scientists is still pervasive because they still trust the existing farming models that use fertilizers, insecticides and pesticides to achieve maximum productivity. In the short-term, chemical alternatives can be cheaper and more effective, but in the long term they take a toll on the soil's health, meaning larger quantities of chemicals are needed to maintain crops, causing a cycle of greater costs and poorer soil, natural farming advocates say. "Agroecological initiatives are not getting adequate attention or budgetary outlays," said Kavitha Kuruganti, an activist who has advocated for sustainable farming practices for nearly three decades. The Indian government spends less than 3% of its total budget on agriculture. It has earmarked nearly $20 billion in fertilizer subsidies this year, but only $55 million has been allocated by the federal government to encourage natural farming. Kuruganti said there are a handful of politicians who support the practice but scaling it up remains a challenge in India. A lack of national standards and guidelines or a viable supply chain that farmers can sell their produce through is also keeping natural farming relatively niche, said NS Suresh, a research scientist at the Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy, a Bengaluru-based think tank. But because the practice helps keep the plants and the soil healthy across various soil types and all kinds of unpredictable weather conditions, it's beneficial for farmers all around India, from its mountains to its coasts, experts say. And the practice of planting different crops year-round means farmers have produce to harvest at any given time, giving an extra boost to their soil and their wallets. Chunduru, who's been practicing natural farming for four years now, hopes that prioritizing natural farming in the country can have benefits for producers and consumers of crops alike, and other farmers avoid the kind of harms her husband has faced. "We can provide nutrient-rich food, soil and physical health" to future generations, she said. 

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.

ROME — An international campaign to ban surrogacy received a strong endorsement Friday from the Vatican, with a top official calling for a broad-based alliance to stop the "commercialization of life." A Vatican-affiliated university hosted a two-day conference promoting an international treaty to outlaw surrogacy, be it commercial arrangements or so-called altruistic ones. It's based on the campaigners' argument that the practice violates U.N. conventions protecting the rights of the child and surrogate mother. At issue is whether there is a fundamental right to have a child, or whether the rights of children trump the desires of potential parents. The conference, which also drew U.N. human rights representatives and experts, marked an acceleration of a campaign that has found some support in parts of the developing world and western Europe. At the same time, Canada and the United States are known for highly regulated arrangements that draw heterosexual and homosexual couples alike from around the world, while other countries allow surrogacy with fewer rules. Pope Francis in January called for an outright global ban on the practice, calling it a despicable violation of human dignity that exploits the surrogate mother's financial need. On Thursday, Francis met privately with one of the proponents calling for a universal ban, Olivia Maurel, a 33-year-old mother of three. Maurel was born in the U.S. in 1991 via surrogacy and attributes a lifetime of mental health issues to the "trauma of abandonment" she says she experienced at birth. She says she was separated from her biological mother and given to parents who had contracted with an agency in Kentucky after experiencing infertility problems when they tried to have children in their late 40s. Maurel says she doesn't blame her parents and she acknowledges there are "many happy stories" of families who use surrogate mothers. But she says that doesn't make the practice ethical or right, even with regulations, since she said she was made to sacrifice "for the desire of adults to have a child." "There is no right to have a child," Maurel told the conference at the LUMSA university. "But children do have rights, and we can say surrogacy violates many of these rights." She and proponents of a ban argue that surrogacy is fundamentally different from adoption, since it involves creating a child for the specific purpose of separating him or her from the birth mother for others to raise as their own. Monsignor Miloslaw Wachowski, undersecretary for relations with states in the Vatican secretariat of state, concurred, saying the practice reduces human procreation to a concept of "individual will" and desire, where the powerful and wealthy prevail. "Parents find themselves in the role of being providers of genetic material, while the embryo appears more and more like an object: something to produce — not someone, but something," he said. He called for the campaign to ban the practice not to remain in the sphere of the Catholic Church or even faith-based groups, but to transcend traditional ideological and political boundaries. "We shouldn't close ourselves among those who think exactly the same way," he said. "Rather, we should open up to pragmatic alliances to realize a common goal." The Vatican's overall position, which is expected to be crystalized in a position paper Monday on human dignity, stems from its belief that human life begins at conception and must be given the consequent respect and dignity from that moment on. The Vatican also holds that human life should be created through intercourse between husband and wife, not in a petri dish, and that surrogacy takes in vitro fertilization a step further by "commercializing" the resulting embryo. As the conference was getting underway, Italy's main gay family advocacy group, Rainbow Families, sponsored a pro-surrogacy counter-rally nearby. The aim was to also voice opposition to proposals by Italy's hard-right-led government to make it a crime for Italians to use surrogates abroad, even in countries where the practice is legal. "We are families, not crimes," said banners held by some of the 200 or so participants, many of them gay couples who traveled abroad to have children via surrogate. A 2004 law already banned surrogacy in Italy. The proposed law would make it illegal in Italy for citizens to engage a surrogate mother in another country, with prison terms of up to three years and fines of up to 1 million euros ($1.15 million) for convictions. Participants at the rally complained that the law would stigmatize their children and they denied anyone's rights or dignity was violated in the surrogacy process, which they noted was legal and regulated. "All parties involved are consenting, aware," said Cristiano Giraldi, who with his partner Giorgio Duca used a surrogate in the U.S. to have their 10-year-old twins. "We have a stable relationship with our carrier, our children know her. So actually there is no exploitation, there is none of the things that they want the public to believe." In the U.S., Resolve, the National Infertility Association, which advocates for people experiencing infertility problems, has criticized any calls for a universal ban on surrogacy as harmful and hurtful to the many people experiencing the "disease of infertility." "Resolve believes that everyone deserves the right to build a family and should have access to all family building options," Betsy Campbell, Resolve's chief engagement officer, said in a telephone interview. "Surrogacy, and specifically gestational carrier surrogacy, is an option." She said the U.S. regulations, which include separate legal representation for the surrogate and the intended parents, and mental health and other evaluations, safeguard all parties in the process and that regardless less than 2% of pregnancies in the U.S. using assisted reproductive technology involves surrogacy. "Most people do not expect to have infertility or to need medical assistance to build their families," she said. "So when non-medical people speak about IVF and surrogacy in a negative way, it can be very discouraging and make an already challenging journey all the more challenging." Velina Todorova, a Bulgarian member of the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child, told the Rome conference that the U.N. committee hasn't taken a definitive position on surrogacy, but that its concern was the rights of children born via the practice. It was a reference to legislation to prevent parents from being able to register the births of children born through surrogacy in their home countries.

BUNEOS AIRES, Argentina — An Argentine judge on Friday ruled that 20 cloistered nuns had suffered abuse for more than two decades at the hands of high-ranking clergy in the country's conservative north, and ordered the accused archbishop and church officials to undergo psychological treatment and training in gender discrimination. The ruling in the homeland of Pope Francis cast a spotlight on the long-standing of abuse of nuns by priests and bishops in the Catholic Church. Though long overshadowed by other church scandals, such abuses in religious life are increasingly being aired and denounced as a result of nuns feeling emboldened by the #MeToo movement, which has a corollary in the church, #NunsToo. "I conclude and affirm that the nuns have suffered acts of gender violence religiously, physically, psychologically and economically for more than 20 years," Judge Carolina Cáceres said in the ruling from Salta in northwestern Argentina. She also ordered the verdict be conveyed to Francis. The four accused clergy members have denied committing any violence. The archbishop's lawyer, Eduardo Romani, dismissed Friday's ruling as baseless and vowed to appeal. Still, he said, the archbishop would abide by the order to receive treatment and anti-discrimination training through a local NGO "whether or not he agrees with its basis." The nuns' lawyer hailed the verdict as unprecedented in Argentina in recognizing the plaintiffs' plight and the deeper problem of gender discrimination. "It shatters the 'status quo' because it targets a person with a great deal of power," said José Viola, the lawyer. In recent years, several prominent cases have emerged involving nuns, laywomen or consecrated women denouncing spiritual, psychological, physical or sexual abuse by once-exalted priests. But complaints have largely fallen on deaf ears at the Vatican and in the rigid all-male hierarchy at the local level in Argentina, apparently prompting the nuns in Salta to seek remedy in the secular justice system. A similar dynamic played out when the clergy abuse of minors scandal first erupted decades ago and victims turned to the courts because of inaction by church authorities. The 20 nuns from the reclusive order of Discalced Carmelites at San Bernardo Monastery — dedicated to solitude, silence and daily contemplative prayer — brought their case forward in 2022, sending shockwaves through conservative Salta. Their complaints cited a range of mistreatment including verbal insults, threats, humiliation and physical — although not sexual — assault. The nuns describe archbishop Mario Cargnello as grabbing, slapping and shaking women. At one point, they said, Cargnello squeezed the lips of a nun to silence her. At another, he pounced on a nun, striking her as he struggled to snatch a camera from her hands. They also accused Cargello of borrowing nuns' money without paying them back. Cáceres, the judge, described the instances as "physical and psychological gender violence."

Strasbourg, France — Europe's top rights court will on Tuesday issue unprecedented verdicts in three separate cases on the responsibility of states in the face of global warming, rulings that could force governments to adopt more ambitious climate policies. The European Court of Human Rights, part of the 46-member Council of Europe, will rule on whether governments' climate change policies are violating the European Convention on Human Rights, which it oversees. All three cases accuse European governments of inaction or insufficient action in their measures against global warming. In a sign of the importance of the issue, the cases have all been treated as priority by the Grand Chamber of the ECHR, the court's top instance, whose 17 judges can set a potentially crucial legal precedent. It will be the first time the court has issued a ruling on climate change. While several European states, including France, have already been condemned by domestic courts for not fulfilling commitments against global warming, the ECHR could go further and make clear new fundamental rights. The challenge lies in ensuring "the recognition of an individual and collective right to a climate that is as stable as possible, which would constitute an important legal innovation," said lawyer and former French environment minister Corinne Lepage, who is defending one of the cases. Turning point The court's position "may mark a turning point in the global struggle for a livable future," said lawyer Gerry Liston, of the NGO Global Legal Action Network. "A victory in any of the three cases could constitute the most significant legal development on climate change for Europe since the signing of the Paris 2015 Agreement" that set new targets for governments to reduce emissions, he said. Even if the Convention does not contain any explicit provision relating to the environment, the Court has already ruled based on Article 8 of the Convention -- the right to respect for private and family life -- an obligation of states to maintain a "healthy environment" in cases relating to waste management or industrial activities. Of the three cases which will be decided on Tuesday, the first is brought by the Swiss association of Elders for Climate Protection -- 2,500 women aged 73 on average -- and four of its members who have also put forward individual complaints. They cite "failings of the Swiss authorities" in terms of climate protection, which "would seriously harm their state of health." Damien Careme, former mayor of the northern French coastal town of Grande-Synthe, in his case attacks the "deficiencies" of the French state, arguing they pose a risk of his town being submerged under the North Sea. In 2019, he filed a case at France's Council of State -- its highest administrative court -- alleging "climate inaction" on the part of France. The court ruled in favor of the municipality in July 2021, but rejected a case he had brought in his own name, leading Careme to take it to the ECHR. 'For benefit of all' The third case was brought by a group of six Portuguese, aged 12 to 24, after fires ravaged their country in 2017. Their case is not only against Portugal, but also 31 other states – every EU country, plus Norway, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom and Russia. Almost all European countries belong to the Council of Europe, not just EU members. Russian was expelled from the COE after its invasion of Ukraine but cases against Moscow are still heard at the court. The ECHR hears cases only when all domestic appeals have been exhausted. Its rulings are binding, although there have been problems with compliance of certain states such as Turkey. The three cases rely primarily on articles in the Convention that protect the "right to life" and the "right to respect for private life." However, the Court will only issue a precedent-setting verdict if it determines that these cases have exhausted all remedies at the national level. The accused states tried to demonstrate this is not the case during two hearings held last year.

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.

KIGALI, Rwanda — Rwanda is preparing to mark the 30th anniversary of the East African nation's most horrific period in history — the genocide against its minority Tutsi. To this day, new mass graves are still being discovered across the country of 14 million people, a grim reminder of the scale of the killings. Delegations from around the world will gather on Sunday in the capital of Kigali as Rwanda holds somber commemorations of the 1994 massacres. High-profile visitors are expected to include Bill Clinton, the U.S. president at the time of the genocide, and Israeli President Isaac Herzog. In a pre-recorded video ahead of the ceremonies, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that France and its allies could have stopped the genocide but lacked the will to do so. Macron's declaration came three years after he acknowledged the "overwhelming responsibility" of France — Rwanda's closest European ally in 1994 — for failing to stop the country's slide into the slaughter. Here's a look at the past and how Rwanda has changed under President Paul Kagame, praised by many for bringing relative peace and stability but also vilified by others for his intolerance of dissent. What happened in 1994? An estimated 800,000 Tutsi were killed by extremist Hutu in massacres that lasted more than 100 days. Some moderate Hutu who tried to protect members of the Tutsi minority were also targeted. The killings were ignited when a plane carrying then-President Juvénal Habyarimana, a member of the majority Hutu, was shot down on April 6, 1994, over Kigali. The Tutsi were blamed for downing the plane and killing the president. Enraged, gangs of Hutu extremists began killing Tutsi, backed by the army and police. Many victims — including children — were hacked to death with machetes. Kagame's rebel group, the Tutsi-led Rwandan Patriotic Front, managed to stop the killings, seized power and has since, as a political party, ruled Rwanda. Kagame's government and genocide survivor organizations have often accused France of training and arming militias and troops that led the rampage, sometimes saying they expect a formal apology. A report commissioned by Macron in 2019 and published in 2021 concluded that French authorities failed to see where Habyarimana's regime, which France supported, was headed and were subsequently too slow to acknowledge the extent of the killings. However, the report cleared France of any complicity in the massacres. What came after the genocide? After Kagame seized power, many Hutu officials fled into exile or were arrested and imprisoned for their alleged roles in the genocide. Some escaped to neighboring Congo, where their presence has provoked armed conflict. In the late 1990s, Rwanda twice sent its forces deep into Congo, in part to hunt down Hutu rebels. Some rights groups accused Rwanda's new authorities of revenge attacks, but the government has slammed the allegations, saying they disrespect the memory of the genocide victims. Kagame, who grew up as a refugee in neighboring Uganda, has been Rwanda's de facto ruler, first as vice president from 1994 to 2000, then as acting president. He was voted into office in 2003 and has since been reelected multiple times. What's the political landscape like? Rwanda's ruling party is firmly in charge, with no opposition, while Kagame's strongest critics now live in exile. Kagame won the last presidential election, in 2017, with nearly 99% of the vote after a campaign that Amnesty International described as marked by suppression and a "climate of fear." Critics have accused the government of forcing opponents to flee, jailing or making them disappear while some are killed under mysterious circumstances. Rights groups cite serious restrictions on the internet, as well as on freedom of assembly and expression. Some claim Kagame has exploited alleged Western feelings of guilt over the genocide to entrench his grip on Rwanda. Now a candidate in the upcoming July presidential election, Kagame has cast himself in the role of a leader of a growing economy marked by technological innovation, with his supporters often touting Rwanda as an emerging business hub in Africa. What about reconciliation? Rwandan authorities have heavily promoted national unity among the majority Hutu and the minority Tutsi and Twa, with a separate government ministry dedicated to reconciliation efforts. The government imposed a tough penal code to punish genocide and outlaw the ideology behind it, and Rwandan ID cards no longer identify a person by ethnicity. Lessons about the genocide are part of the curriculum in schools. However, a leading survivors' group points out that more needs to be done to eradicate what authorities describe as "genocide ideology" among some Rwandans. What does Rwanda look like today? The streets of Kigali are clean and free of potholes. Littering is banned. Tech entrepreneurs flock here from far and wide. Stylish new buildings give the city a modern look and an innovation center aims at nurturing local talent in the digital culture. But poverty is rampant outside Kigali, with most people still surviving on subsistence farming. Tin-roofed shacks that dotted the countryside in 1994 remain ubiquitous across Rwanda. The nation is young, however, with every other citizen under the age of 30, giving hope to aspirations for a post-genocide society in which ethnic or tribal membership doesn't come first. Corruption among officials is not as widespread as among other governments in this part of Africa, thanks in part to a policy of zero-tolerance for graft.  Are there troubles on the horizon? Though mostly peaceful, Rwanda has had troubled relations with its neighbors. Recently, tensions have flared with Congo, with the two countries' leaders accusing one another of supporting various armed groups. Congo claims Rwanda is backing M23 rebels, who are mostly Tutsi fighters based in a remote area of eastern Congo. The M23 rebellion has displaced hundreds of thousands in Congo's North Kivu's province in recent years. Rwanda says Congo's military is recruiting Hutu men who took part in the 1994 massacres. U.N. experts have cited "solid evidence" that members of Rwanda's armed forces were conducting operations in eastern Congo in support of M23, and in February, amid a dramatic military build-up along the border, Washington urged Rwandan authorities to withdraw troops and missile systems from Congo. In January, Burundi, whose troops are fighting alongside the Congolese military in eastern Congo, closed its border with Rwanda and started deporting Rwandans. This happened not long after Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye accused Rwanda of backing Congo-based rebels opposed to his government. Rwanda denies the allegation. Rwanda has also been in the news recently over a deal with Britain that would see migrants who cross the English Channel in small boats sent to Rwanda, where they would remain permanently. The plan has stalled amid legal challenges. In November, the U.K. Supreme Court ruled the plan was illegal, saying Rwanda is not a safe destination for asylum-seekers.

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.

wilmington, delaware — President Joe Biden's reelection campaign and the Democratic National Committee said Saturday that they raised more than $90 million in March and ended the year's first quarter with $192 million-plus in cash on hand, further stretching their money advantage over Donald Trump and the Republicans.  The Biden campaign and its affiliated entities reported collecting $187 million from January through March and said that 96% of all donations were less than $200.  That total was bolstered by the $26 million-plus that Biden reported raising from a March 28 event at Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan that featured former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.   Trump and the Republican party announced earlier in the week that they raised more than $65.6 million in March and closed out the month with $93.1 million. As the incumbent in 2020, Trump had a huge campaign treasury when he lost to Biden.   Trump's campaign said it raised $50.5 million from an event Saturday with major donors at the Florida home of billionaire investor John Paulson, setting a single-event fundraising record.  Campaign fundraising reports filed with the Federal Election Commission detailing donations from Saturday's event are not expected until a mid-July filing date. Biden's campaign says the pace of donations has allowed it to undertake major digital and television advertising campaigns in key states and to work with the DNC and state parties to better mobilize would-be supporters before the November election.  The campaign said the $192 million-plus as of March 31 was the highest total ever by any Democratic candidate. About 1.6 million people have donated to the campaign since Biden announced in April 2023 that he was seeking a second term. The campaign raised more than $10 million in the 24 hours after the president's State of the Union speech in early March.  "The money we are raising is historic, and it's going to the critical work of building a winning operation, focused solely on the voters who will decide this election – offices across the country, staff in our battleground states, and a paid media program meeting voters where they are," Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said in a statement. She scoffed at "Trump's cash-strapped operation that is funneling the limited and billionaire-reliant funds it has to pay off his various legal fees."  Trump campaign officials have said they do not expect to raise as much as the Democrats but will have the money they need. The Biden campaign says its strong fundraising shows enthusiasm for the president, defying his low approval ratings and polls showing that most voters would rather not see a 2020 rematch. 

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — A search was under way in Pakistan's northwest after gunmen ambushed and opened fire on a police vehicle, killing two people and injuring two more, an official said Saturday. The assault took place in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan and has borne the brunt of militant violence since the Pakistani Taliban unilaterally ended a cease-fire with the central government in November 2022. The province is a former stronghold of the militant group, which is also known as the TTP and allied with the Afghan Taliban. Police officer Tariq Khan said the attackers shot and killed a deputy superintendent and a constable in Lakki Marwat district. Heavy police reinforcements arrived at the scene, but the assailants had fled. Khan did not say how many attackers there were. Umar Marwat, a militant commander from the district, claimed responsibility for the attack and alleged the deputy superintendent had been active in operations against the TTP in the area. The TTP spokesperson has not issued a statement about the assault so far. In a separate incident, in the province's Bajaur tribal district, one police officer was killed and another was injured on Saturday in a roadside blast. Police official Zahid Khan said the initial investigation suggested it was an improvised explosive. Also Saturday, Pakistan's army said that security forces killed eight militants in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Dera Ismail Khan district. According to an official statement, the eight men died after an intense exchange of fire in the Friday night operation. The army alleged they were actively involved in activities against security forces and the targeted killing of civilians. The statement said that weapons, ammunition, and explosives were recovered from the slain militants. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack in Lakki Marwat and offered his condolences to victims' families. He praised the army for its operation in Dera Ismail Khan.

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.

LONDON — A journalist for an independent Iranian media outlet in London stabbed outside his home last week has returned to work, saying "the show must go on." Pouria Zeraati, a presenter for Iran International, needed hospital treatment for leg wounds suffered in the March 29 attack. The 36-year-old said the stabbing was a "warning shot." "The fact that they just stopped in my leg was their choice," he told ITV News. "They had the opportunity to kill me because the way the second person was holding me and the first person took the knife out, they had the opportunity to stop anywhere they wanted,” he added. Zeraati said he had returned to work Friday, adding: "Whatever the motive was, the show must go on." London's Metropolitan Police say the two suspects went straight from the scene in southwest London to Heathrow Airport and left the U.K. "within a few hours." Detectives were considering whether "the victim's occupation as a journalist at a Persian-language media organization based in the U.K." could have prompted the assault. Iran's charge d'affaires in the U.K., Mehdi Hosseini Matin, however, said Tehran denied "any link" to the attack. The Metropolitan Police has previously disrupted what it has called plots in the U.K. to kidnap or even kill British or Britain-based individuals perceived as enemies of Tehran. The Iranian government has declared Iran International a terrorist organization. The U.K. government last year unveiled a tougher sanctions regime against Iran over alleged human rights violations and hostile actions against its opponents on U.K. soil.

BUGESERA, Rwanda — Anastasie Nyirabashyitsi and Jeanette Mukabyagaju think of each other as dear friends. The women's friendship was cemented one day in 2007, when Mukabyagaju, going somewhere, left a child behind for Nyirabashyitsi to look after. This expression of trust stunned Nyirabashyitsi because Mukabyagaju, a Tutsi survivor who lost most of her family in the Rwandan genocide, was leaving a child in the hands of a Hutu woman for the first time since they had known each other. "If she can ask me to keep her child, it's because she trusts me," Nyirabashyitsi said recently, describing her feelings at the time. "A woman, when it comes to her children, when someone trusts you with (her) children, it's because she really does." It wasn't always like that. Nyirabashyitsi and Mukabyagaju are both witnesses to terrible crimes. But, in the government-approved reconciliation village where they have lived for 19 years, they have reached a peaceful coexistence from opposite experiences. Nyirabashyitsi, 54, recalled the helpless Tutsis she saw at roadblocks not far from the present reconciliation village, people she knew faced imminent death when the Hutu soldiers and militiamen started systematically killing their Tutsi neighbors on the night of April 6, 1994. The killings were ignited when a plane carrying then-President Juvénal Habyarimana, a Hutu, was shot down over Kigali. The Tutsi were blamed for downing the plane and killing the president. An estimated 800,000 Tutsis were killed by extremist Hutus in massacres that lasted over 100 days in 1994. Some moderate Hutus who tried to protect members of the Tutsi minority were also targeted. One victim was a woman who had been a godmother to her child, and later she saw the woman's body dumped in a ditch, Nyirabashyitsi remembers. "It was so horrible, and it was even shameful to be able [to] see that," she said. "For sure, we had no hope of living. We thought that we would also be killed. How could you see that and then think you will be alive at some point?" As for Mukabyagaju, she was a 16-year-old temporarily staying in the southern province of Muhanga while her parents lived in Kigali. When she couldn't shelter at the nearest Catholic parish, she hid in a latrine for two months, without anything to eat and drinking from trenches, until she was rescued by Tutsi rebels who stopped the genocide. "I hated Hutu so much to the point that I could not agree to meet them," she said, adding that it took a long time "to be able even think that I can interact with a Hutu." The women are neighbors in a community of genocide perpetrators and survivors 40 kilometers outside the Rwandan capital of Kigali. At least 382 people live in Mbyo Reconciliation Village, which some Rwandans cite as an example of how people can peacefully coexist 30 years after the genocide. More than half the residents of this reconciliation village are women, and their projects — which include a basket-weaving cooperative as well as a money saving program — have united so many of them that it can seem offensive to inquire into who is Hutu and who is Tutsi. An official with Prison Fellowship Rwanda, a Kigali-based civic group that's in charge of the village, said the women foster a climate of tolerance because of the hands-on activities in which they engage regularly. "There's a model we have here which we call practical reconciliation," said Christian Bizimana, a program coordinator with Prison Fellowship Rwanda. "Whenever they are weaving baskets, they can engage more, talk more, go into the details. We believe that by doing that ... forgiveness is deepened, unity is deepened." In Rwanda, a small East African country of 14 million people, women leaders have long been seen as a pillar of reconciliation, and Rwandans can now "see the benefits" of empowering women to fight the ideology behind genocide, said Yolande Mukagasana, a prominent writer and genocide survivor. Two of three members of Mbyo Reconciliation Village's dispute-resolution committee are women, and they have been helpful in resolving conflicts ranging from domestic disputes to communal disagreements, residents say. The women's activities set an example for children and "promote the visibility of what really this village is like in terms of practical unity and reconciliation," said Frederick Kazigwemo, a leader in the village who was jailed nine years on charges of genocide-related crimes. He said of the friendship between Nyirabashyitsi and Mukabyagaju: "It pleases my heart. It's something that I could have never imagined. ... It gives me hope (for) what will happen in future." Eighteen women are actively involved in basket weaving, meeting as a group at least once a week. Nyirabashyitsi and Mukabyagaju sat next to each other one recent morning as they made new baskets. A collection of their work was displayed on a mat nearby. "When we came here the environment was clouded by suspicion. It wasn't easy to trust one another," Nyirabashyitsi said. "For example, it wasn't easy for me to go to Jeanette's house, because I had no idea what she was thinking about me. But after time, the more we lived together, that harmony and that closeness came." Nyirabashyitsi and Mukabyagaju were among the first people to arrive in the village when it was launched in 2005 as part of wider reconciliation efforts by Prison Fellowship Rwanda. The organization, which is affiliated with the Washington-based Prison Fellowship International, wanted to create opportunities for genocide survivors to heal in conditions where they can regularly talk to perpetrators. There are at least eight other reconciliation villages across Rwanda. President Paul Kagame's rebel group, the Tutsi-led Rwandan Patriotic Front, stopped the genocide after 100 days, seized power and has since ruled Rwanda unchallenged. Rwandan authorities have heavily promoted national unity among the majority Hutu and the minority Tutsi and Twa, with a separate government ministry dedicated to reconciliation efforts. The government has imposed a tough penal code to prosecute those it suspects of denying the genocide or promoting the "genocide ideology." Some observers say the law has been used to silence critics who question the government. Rwandan ID cards no longer identify a person by ethnicity. Lessons about the genocide are part of the curriculum in schools.

london — Airline passengers in parts of the United Kingdom and Ireland faced travel disruptions Saturday due to flight cancellations as a storm swept across both countries and left thousands of Irish homes with power outages.  The disruption caused by Storm Kathleen, named by the Irish Meteorological Service and the 11th named storm of the 2023-24 season, has affected flights at airports across Ireland and the U.K., including Manchester Airport and Belfast City Airport.  Dublin Airport said travelers due to fly were being advised to check with their airline for travel updates after weather conditions at other airports led to some cancellations and flight diversions.  EasyJet said that due to the impact of the storm, some flights to and from the Isle of Man and Belfast International had been unable to operate Saturday.  "We are doing all possible to minimize the impact of the weather disruption," the airline said in a statement to Reuters.  EasyJet said it was providing customers whose flights were cancelled with the option to transfer to an alternative flight or receive a refund, hotel accommodation and meals.  In Scotland, rail and ferry services were also affected and faced disruption due to Storm Kathleen with Scottish rail services implementing temporary speed restrictions earlier in the day.  Strong winds associated with the storm also led to several power outages across the country, with approximately 34,000 homes, farms and businesses impacted, Irish power supplier ESB Networks said.  "ESB Networks crews are mobilized in impacted areas and responding to power outages where safe to do so," the company said in an update Saturday.  

Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso — In the suburbs of Burkina Faso’s capital Ouagadougou, lucrative strawberry farming is supplanting traditional crops like cabbage and lettuce and has become a top export to neighboring countries. Prized as "red gold" in the Sahel, strawberry crops brought in some $3.3 million from 2019 to 2020, according to agricultural support program PAPEA. In their January to April season, strawberries "take the place of other crops," Yiwendenda Tiemtore, a farmer in the working-class Boulmiougou district on the city outskirts, told AFP. Tiemtore has been busy harvesting the red fruit since dawn, before temperatures rise to 40 degrees Celsius. He harvests about 25 to 30 kilograms of Burkina's popular strawberry varieties, "selva" and "camarosa," every three days, watering his plots from wells. Cultivating strawberries, which thrive on ample sunlight and water, might come as a surprise in this semi-arid West African country. But Burkina Faso leads the region's strawberry production, growing about 2,000 tons a year. Despite being prized by local customers, more than half is exported to neighboring countries. "We receive orders from abroad, particularly from Ivory Coast, Niger and Ghana," said market gardener Madi Compaore, who specializes in strawberries and trains local growers. "Demand is constantly rising and the prices are good." In season, strawberries tend to be sold at a higher price than other fruit and vegetables, fetching $5 per kilogram. Production has remained strong despite insecurity in the country, including from jihadi violence and the repercussions of two coups in 2022. As well as in Ouagadougou, strawberry production is prominent in Bobo-Dioulasso — Burkina's second city — even though "the sector's not very well organized" there, Compaore said. Since the 1970s "You might think it's an oddity to grow strawberries in a Sahelian country like Burkina Faso, but it's been a fixture since the 1970s," Compaore added. The practice began when a French expatriate introduced a few plants to his garden in the country. Now more and more people are growing them. "It's our red gold. It's one of the most profitable crops for both growers and sellers," he explained. Seller Jacqueline Taonsa has no hesitation in swapping from apples and bananas to strawberries in season. "With the heat, it's hard to keep strawberries fresh for long," said Taonsa, who cycles around Ouagadougou neighborhoods balancing a salad bowl on her head. "So, we take quantities that can be sold quickly during the day," she explained. That usually amounts to about 5 or 6 kilograms. Adissa Tiemtore used to be a full-time fruit and vegetable seller. She has mainly switched to selling woven loincloths now but takes up her strawberry business again in season because of the lucrative margins, as high as "200-300%." "I start strawberry selling again when they're in season to make a bit of money and satisfy my former customers, who continue to ask for them," she said. "We go round the different growers depending on what day they're harvesting. That way we get enough to sell every day during the three fruit-producing months," she said. The end of April spells the end of the bonanza. "We go back to our other activities, and we wait for next season," Tiemtore said. 

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.