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Drone attacks targeted oil pipeline installations inside Russia Saturday, including a station serving the vast Druzhba oil pipeline that sends Western Siberian crude to Europe, according to Russian media. Kyiv has not commented on the attacks and Reuters could not verify the reports. Russia's Wagner mercenaries are "regrouping to another three locations" after partially withdrawing from Bakhmut, according to Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov in an interview released Saturday. Ukraine is prepared to launch its long-expected counteroffensive against Russian forces, according to Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksiy  Danilov.  In an interview with the BBC Saturday, Danilov said the counteroffensive is coming very soon, though he refused to give a date for the beginning of the launch. “It would be weird if I were to name dates of the start of that,” he said. “… We have a very responsible task before our country.” Danilov confirmed in the interview that the Wagner Group is withdrawing its forces from the war-ravaged Ukrainian city of Bakhmut but he acknowledged that Russia's Wagner mercenaries are "regrouping to another three locations" after what he called their partial withdrawal from Bakhmut.   Danilov acknowledged that Ukrainian forces control only a “small part of the city” but underscored that "Bakhmut has played a big role in this war," despite the heavy toll on Ukrainian defenders. The British Defense Ministry also confirmed in its daily intelligence update on Ukraine posted on Twitter that “Wagner Group forces have likely started to withdraw from some of their positions around the Donetsk city of Bakhmut.” Wagner and the Russian Defense Ministry claimed victory over Bakhmut on May 20, about 10 months after the heavy battle for the city started. US senator talks F-16s U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham expressed confidence that the Ukrainian counteroffensive coming in the next days or weeks will wield results during a press conference Friday in Kyiv. “I'm here to tell you that the last chapter of the battle of Bakhmut is yet to be written. I'm here to tell you that the Russian military is about to have holy hell unleashed upon them,” he said. Graham also stated that Republicans and Democrats are united in their goal to help Ukraine, and he noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin must not be allowed to win. “History tells us aggression unchecked leads to more aggression.” The senator also hailed the Ukrainian people for their strength and courage. “I am in awe of you. I admire you. You represent the best in humanity. You will win,” he said. Graham said there are no magic weapons to winning a war, but he acknowledged that “the F-16s will matter.” He called on the Biden administration “to do more” and expressed his conviction that “there will be bipartisan support to providing more weapons that can turn the tide of battle in the upcoming counteroffensive.” Responding to VOA about whether the U.S. will support Ukraine’s bid to join NATO, Graham said that Ukraine will eventually become part of the alliance and a member of the EU but for now, the priority, he said, is for Ukraine to “evict the invader,” from Ukrainian territories. “I told President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy nobody is signed up for an invasion of Russia. The weapons we're providing are to evict Russia from Ukraine.” Ukraine’s drone attacks Drone attacks struck oil pipeline installations deep inside Russia on Saturday, including a station serving the Druzhba pipeline, one of the world's largest oil pipelines that sends Western Siberian crude to Europe. Russian media reported the attacks were launched by Ukraine and said that shelling from Ukraine killed at least two people and injured others.   Ukrainian drone attacks inside Russia have been growing in intensity in recent weeks, and The New York Times reported that U.S. intelligence believes Ukraine was behind a drone attack on the Kremlin earlier this month. Ukrainian officials have not publicly acknowledged launching attacks against targets inside Russia. The Ukrainian defense ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday. In Russia’s Tver region, which lies just northwest of Moscow, two drones attacked a station that serves the Druzhba (Friendship) pipeline, one of the world's largest oil pipelines, the Russian Kommersant newspaper said. The Tver local council said a drone had crashed near the village of Erokhino, about 500 kilometers from the border with Ukraine.     The messaging app Telegram channel Baza, which has sources among Russia's security services, said the drones attacked a station serving the Druzhba pipeline.   In Russia's Belgorod region, Ukrainian shelling killed at least one person and injured three, including a 15-year-old girl and a 17-year-old boy, Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of the region said.   Ukrainian shelling killed a construction worker in Russia’s Kursk region near the border with Ukraine, the local governor said. At its daily briefing about the Ukraine war, Russia's defense ministry said it had destroyed 12 Ukrainian drones in the past 24 hours and intercepted two long-range Storm Shadow cruise missiles that were supplied to Ukraine by Britain. Reuters could not immediately verify battlefield accounts from either side. VOAs Eastern Europe Bureau Chief Myroslava Gongadze contributed to this report. Some information for this story was provided by The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.

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France confirmed its aim to launch a vaccination program against bird flu in the autumn after results from a series of tests on the vaccination of ducks showed "satisfactory effectiveness," the farm ministry said.  A severe strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza, commonly called bird flu, has ravaged poultry production around the world, leading to the culling of over 200 million birds in the past 18 months.  France has been the worst hit country in the European Union and is facing a strong resurgence of outbreaks since early this month in the southwestern part of the country, mainly among ducks.  It had already launched a pre-order of 80 million vaccines last month, which needed to be confirmed based on final tests carried out by French health safety agency ANSES.  "These favorable results provided sufficient guarantees to launch a vaccination campaign as early as autumn 2023," the farm ministry wrote on its website.  Governments, often shy to use vaccination due to the trade restrictions it can entail, have increasingly considered adopting them to stem the spread of the virus and avoid interhuman transmission.  The results of the tests demonstrated a good control of virus transmission in vaccinated mule ducks, a differentiation between infected and vaccinated animals, known as the DIVA principle, and a reduction in virus excretion by vaccinated birds, the test conclusions said.  France has mandated two companies, France's Ceva Animal Health and Germany's Boehringher Ingelheim, to develop bird flu vaccines for ducks.  Several other EU countries have been carrying out tests, including the Netherlands on laying hens and Italy on turkeys.  First results in the Netherlands showed the vaccines tested were efficient. 

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Values-based diplomacy lies at the heart of the Czech Republic’s support for Ukraine and Taiwan alike, the country’s Chamber of Deputies president emphasized this week during a visit to Washington. Newly elected Czech President Petr Pavel sounded a similar note at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit earlier this month as he laid out how Prague views the threat posed by Moscow and Beijing.  Marketa Pekarova Adamova was 5 years old when the Velvet Revolution swept the communists out of power in winter 1989. Stories of how people suffered under communism shaped her worldview, she told VOA during her visit to Washington as leader of the Czech Chamber of Deputies, which is comparable to the U.S. House of Representatives.  “For example, my mother couldn’t study what she wished to study,” due to the government’s severe control of everyday life, she recalled. “This is why we know, even in my generation, what communism is about.”  The fact that dissidents such as Vaclav Havel were forced to spend years in prison also “had a huge impact on me,” she added.    The 38-year-old led a parliamentary delegation to engage with U.S. officials in Washington and the states of Maryland and Georgia this week to bolster bilateral ties and common approaches to global issues including Ukraine and Taiwan.  While in Washington, Adamova told a news briefing that undergirding her country’s strong support for Ukraine and Taiwan is the value her government and people attach to democracy, freedom and human rights.  "Our current government’s diplomacy is focused on these values” personified by Havel, the dissident playwright who became the first elected president of her country, she said.  Adamova said her trip to Taiwan earlier this year was guided by this spirit. While they dealt with cyberattacks “on our mobile phones and other equipment,” she said they faced much less pressure than did Czech Senate Leader Milos Vystrcil and the delegation he led to visit Taiwan in 2020.  Back then, she explained, her Senate colleague had to endure pressure from Beijing and from critics within the Czech government, most notably then-President Milos Zeman, who cultivated economic and political ties with both Beijing and Moscow.  Vystrcil was “very brave and a great example to follow,” she said. Unlike his experience, she and her delegation had the full support of the Czech government that came to power following the October 2021 election.  Speaking at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit held May 15-16 in the Danish capital, Petr Pavel, who succeeded Milos Zeman as president of the Czech Republic after winning a nationwide election in March, gave his full support to the values-based diplomacy in which Adamova – and Vystrcil before her – believe.  In a keynote speech, “Defending Global Values,” Pavel assessed the challenge to peace and democracy posed by Moscow and Beijing. He cast the battle in Ukraine as a conflict not only about territory and of regional impact, but as one that tests the strength of democratic aspirations — as well as democratic solidarity — in the face of aggression by a state armed with power and the desire to subjugate another people and society.  Pavel, along with other senior Czech officials, is a strong proponent of supporting both Ukraine and Taiwan.   In the long run, China poses a greater danger to world peace and rules-based order than Russia, which is being weakened by the current conflict in Ukraine, he argued.  China has emerged “much bigger and much stronger than Russia,” he warned, and the more power wielded by a nondemocratic and aggressive government, the more danger it poses to peace and democracy worldwide, especially Taiwan.  While Beijing is often said to have learned from the conflict in Ukraine that Western democracies were quick to form an alliance and issue punishing sanctions against the aggressor, Pavel cautioned that is not the only lesson Beijing has learned.  “China has learned that under pressure, we’re able to be united quite quickly,” he said. “But they also learned that we also had difficulties providing direct support from the very beginning,” he pointed out. “Just look at how long it took for major European countries to provide major support to Ukraine with heavy equipment.  “So, they learned that we need time, and we prefer not to sacrifice too much,” the Czech president noted.  “It is learning from the whole situation, first with regard to [a potential conflict with] Taiwan, as well as with regard to global competition,” he said.  “If we want to preserve a world order where the rules – and not the biggest stick – matter, we should stick together, work together, be more flexible in cooperation with all willing countries.” 

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It's among the world's busiest container shipping routes — a stream of vessels packed with furniture, automobiles, clothing and other goods, traversing the Pacific between Los Angeles and Shanghai. If plans succeed, this corridor will become a showcase for slashing planet-warming carbon emissions from the shipping industry, which produces nearly 3% of the world's total. That's less than from cars, trucks, rail or aviation but still a lot — and it's rising. The International Maritime Organization, which regulates commercial shipping, wants to halve its greenhouse gas releases by midcentury and may seek deeper cuts this year. “Shipping must embrace decarbonization," IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim said in February. Meeting agency targets will require significant vessel and infrastructure changes. That's inspiring plans for “green shipping corridors" along major routes where new technologies and methods could be fast-tracked and scaled up. More than 20 of these partnerships have been proposed. They're largely on paper now but are expected to take shape in the coming years. Front-runners Los Angeles and Shanghai formed their partnership last year. “The vision is that a container will leave a factory on a zero-emissions truck (in China)," said Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles. “It will arrive at the port of Shanghai, be loaded onto a ship by a zero-emissions cargo handling equipment unit and move across the Pacific Ocean on a vessel that emits zero carbon. Once it gets to Los Angeles, the reverse happens," with carbon-free handling and distribution. Los Angeles entered a second agreement in April with nearby Long Beach and Singapore. Others in the works include the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River; a Chilean network; and numerous corridors in Asia, North America and Europe. C40 Cities, a global climate action coalition of mayors, advocates green corridors as "tools that can turn ambition into action, bringing together the entire shipping value chain,” said Alisa Kreynes, a deputy director. Pressure builds From tea to tennis shoes, stuff in your pantry and closets likely spent time on a ship. Roughly 90% of traded goods move on water, some in behemoths longer than four football fields, each holding thousands of containers with consumer products. About 58,000 commercial ships ply the seas. Their emissions are less noticeable than onshore haulers such as trucks, although noxious fumes from ships draw complaints in port communities. Maritime trade volumes are expected to triple by 2050, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Studies predict the industry's share of greenhouse gas emissions could reach 15%. Yet the 2015 Paris climate accord exempts maritime shipping, partly because vessels do business worldwide, while the agreement covers nation-by-nation goals. “No one wants to take responsibility,” said Allyson Browne of Pacific Environment, an advocacy group. “A ship may be flagged in China, but who takes ownership of emissions from that ship when it’s transporting goods to the U.S.?” The IMO responded to mounting pressure with a 2018 plan for a 50% emissions reduction by midcentury from 2008 levels. An update scheduled for July may set more ambitious targets favored by the U.S., Europe and small island nations. Opponents include Brazil, China and India. The Biden administration wants a zero-emission goal, a State Department official told The Associated Press. But fewer than half of large shipping companies have pledged to meet international carbon objectives. And there's no consensus about how to accomplish them. “Global shipping is hard to decarbonize ... because of the energy required to cover long distances with heavy cargoes,” said Lee Kindberg, head of environment and sustainability for Maersk North America. Mechanical sails. Batteries. Low- or zero-carbon liquid fuels. They're among propulsion methods touted as replacements for “bunker fuel” that powers most commercial ships — thick residue from oil refining. It spews greenhouse gases and pollutants that endanger human health: sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, soot. Finding alternatives will be a priority for green shipping corridors. For now, liquid natural gas is the runaway choice. Worldwide, it's used by 923 of 1,349 commercial vessels not powered by conventional fuels, according to a study last year by DNV, a Norway-based maritime accreditation society. Vessels with batteries or hybrid systems placed a distant second. Many environmentalists oppose LNG because it emits methane, another potent greenhouse gas. Defenders say it's the quickest and most cost-effective bunker fuel substitute. Of 1,046 alternative-energy ships on order, 534 are powered by LNG while 417 are battery-hybrids, DNV reported. Thirty-five others will use methanol, which analysts consider an up-and-coming cleaner alternative. Moller-Maersk plans to launch 12 cargo vessels next year that will use “green methanol" produced with renewable sources such as plant waste. Norsepower offers a new twist on an ancient technology: wind. The Finnish company has developed “rotor sails” — composite cylinders about 33 yards (30 meters) tall that are fitted on ship decks and spin in the breeze. Air pressure differences on opposite sides of the whirring devices help push a vessel forward. An independent analysis found rotor sails installed on a Maersk oil tanker in 2018 produced an 8.2% fuel savings in a year. Norsepower CEO Tuomas Riski said others have saved 5% to 25%, depending on wind conditions, ship type and other factors. Thirteen ships are using the devices or have them on order, Riski said. “Mechanical sails have an essential role in the decarbonization of shipping,” he said. “They can't do it alone, but they can make a great contribution.” Who goes first? Before building or buying low-emission vessels, companies want assurances clean fuels will be available and affordable. Companies producing the fuels, meanwhile, want enough ships using them to guarantee strong markets. And both need port infrastructure that accommodates new-generation ships, such as electrical hookups and clean fuel dispensing mechanisms. But ports await demand to justify such expensive upgrades. Switching onshore cargo handling equipment and trucks to zero-emission models will cost the Los Angeles port $20 billion, officials say. “Once you put a (green) corridor on the map,” said Jason Anderson, senior program director for the nonprofit ClimateWorks Foundation, “at least they’re heading in the same direction.”

The Taliban and Iran exchanged heavy gunfire Saturday on the Islamic Republic's border with Afghanistan, sharply escalating rising tensions between the two nations amid a dispute over water rights.  Iran's state-run IRNA news agency quoted the country's deputy police chief, Gen. Qassem Rezaei, accusing the Taliban of opening fire first Saturday morning on the border of Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan province and the Afghan province of Nimroz. IRNA said Iran inflicted “heavy casualties and serious damage."  Taliban-controlled media in Afghanistan did not acknowledge the fighting.  The advocacy group HalVash, which reports on issues affecting the Baluch people in the predominately Sunni province of Sistan and Baluchestan, quoted residents in the area saying the fighting took place near the Kang district of Nimroz. It said some people in the area had fled the violence.  Videos posted online, purportedly from the area, included the crackle of machine gun fire in the distance. HalVash later posted an image of what appeared to be the remains of a mortar round, saying that “heavy weapons and mortars are being used.” A later video from HalVash purported to show Iranian forces firing a mortar.  “The border forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will decisively respond to any border trespassing and aggression, and the current authorities of Afghanistan must be held accountable for their unmeasured and contrary actions to international principles," IRNA quoted Iran's police chief, Gen. Ahmadreza Radan, as saying.  The clash comes as Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi earlier this month warned the Taliban not to violate Iran's water rights to the Helmand River. Raisi's remarks represented some of the strongest yet over the long-running concerns about water in Iran.  Drought has been a problem in Iran for some 30 years, but has worsened over the past decade, according to the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization. The Iran Meteorological Organization says that an estimated 97% of the country now faces some level of drought.  The Taliban seized Afghanistan in August 2021 as U.S. and NATO troops were in the final weeks of their pullout from the country after 20 years of war. In the time since, Afghanistan has become the most repressive in the world for women and girls, depriving them of virtually all their basic rights, according to the U.N. Hunger remains endemic.  While not directly accepting the Taliban government, Iran has maintained relations with Afghanistan's new rulers. Tehran also has called on the Taliban to allow women and girls to go to school.  Earlier on Saturday, the Taliban's Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi met with an Iranian envoy to Afghanistan to discuss the Helmand River water rights, according to tweets from Afghan Foreign Ministry official Zia Ahmad. IRNA acknowledged the meeting, saying “that issues between the two countries will be better resolved through dialogue.”  But tensions have otherwise been rising. Another video posted online in recent days purportedly showed a standoff with Iranian forces and the Taliban as Iranian construction workers tried to reinforce the border between the two countries.  In recent days, pro-Taliban accounts online also have been sharing a video with a song calling on the acting defense minister, Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, to stand up to Iran. Mullah Yaqoob is the son of Mullah Mohammad Omar, the Taliban’s late founder and first supreme leader.  “We are a government, we have power,” the song goes. “Our leader Mullah Yaqoob will stand against Iran, or we are not the republic’s government. We are not slaves, our leader Mullah Yaqoob will stand against Iran.” 

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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate a new parliament complex on Sunday, the centerpiece of a $2.4 billion project that aims to remake British colonial-era buildings in the capital's center and give it a distinct Indian identity. The inauguration, and the ongoing makeover of the heart of New Delhi based on Indian culture, traditions and symbols, comes a year before parliamentary elections in which Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will pitch its strong Hindu nationalist credentials, besides its performance in office over the last decade, to seek a third term. The Modi government has also similarly renovated some of Hinduism's most revered pilgrimage centers since first sweeping to power in 2014. The new, triangular-shaped parliament complex is just across from the heritage building built by British architects Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker in 1927, two decades before India's independence. The old parliament will be converted into a museum, the government has said. It has said a new parliament building is badly needed as the existing structure "is highly stressed" for a number of reasons including capacity, infrastructure, technology and safety. The new building, Modi said when he launched its construction in December 2020 during the pandemic, "would become a witness to the creation of a self-reliant India," underlining another pet theme. Besides modern technology, the new parliament has a total of 1,272 seats in two chambers, nearly 500 more than the old building, and at least three times as much space. It features four stories and halls themed according to the national symbols of the peacock, lotus and banyan tree, and murals, sculptures and art from across the country capturing 5,000 years of Indian civilization, said an architect directly involved in the project. But critics of Modi see the new parliament, designed by an architect from his home state of Gujarat, as an attempt to bolster his brand of nationalism as part of a personal legacy. Opposition parties have announced a boycott of the inauguration. The president, the highest executive of the country, should open the new parliament and not Modi, the opposition members said. The president's office declined to comment. An official in Modi's office said the prime minister respects the constitutional head of the country. On Friday, the Supreme Court dismissed a public interest petition that sought a direction from the court to get the president to inaugurate the building instead of Modi. The overall makeover includes the new parliament, the construction of several government buildings along the lawns of India Gate in the center of the city and new residences for the vice-president and the prime minister. The plan has drawn objections from conservationists and urban planners who say it will obliterate the character of the city. "The decision to build a new parliament building was abrupt and there has been no transparency, probity and frugality in the entire process," said A.G. Krishna Menon, an architect and conservation consultant.

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Serbian troops near Kosovo’s border were placed on high alert Friday, after clashes between police and Kosovo’s Serbian population injured at least 10 people. Serbs in Kosovo had taken to the streets to prevent newly-elected Albanian mayors from entering their offices. Clashes erupted when Kosovan police attempted to move the protesters to allow the politicians to enter their offices. Authorities say at least five police were injured in the skirmishes Friday and several cars were set on fire. Britain, France, Italy, Germany and the United States have issued a joint statement urging Kosovo “to de-escalate.” The Western powers said they are "concerned by Serbia's decision to raise the level of readiness of its armed forces at the border with Kosovo.” Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said Friday, “We will preserve peace — but I am telling you that Serbia won’t sit idle the moment Serbs in northern Kosovo are attacked.” Last month’s municipal elections were generally ignored by Kosovo’s Serbs. That move allowed Albanians to win offices. Serbian politicians in several Serbian-majority municipalities left their offices last year after Kosovan officials prevented them from establishing an organization to coordinate their approaches to social and economic concerns.

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China and South Korea have agreed to strengthen dialog and cooperation on semiconductor industry supply chains, amid broader global concerns over chip supplies, sanctions and national security, China's commerce minister said. Wang Wentao met with South Korean Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) conference in Detroit, which ended Friday.  They exchanged views on maintaining the stability of the industrial supply chain and strengthening cooperation in bilateral, regional and multilateral fields, according to a statement from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce on Saturday. Wang also said that China is willing to work with South Korea to deepen trade ties and investment cooperation. However, a South Korean statement on the same meeting did not mention chips, instead saying the country's trade minister had asked China to stabilize the supply of key raw materials — and asked for a predictable business environment for South Korean companies in China. "The South Korean side expressed that communication is needed between working-level officials over all industries," not just for semiconductors, a source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. The source declined to be identified because they were not authorized to speak to the media. South Korea is in the crosshairs of a tit-for-tat row between the United States and China over semiconductors. China's cyberspace regulator said last week that Micron had failed its network security review and that it would block operators of key infrastructure from buying from the company. The U.S. has pushed for countries to limit China's access to advanced chips, citing a host of reasons including national security. About 40% South Korea's chip exports go to China, according to trade ministry data, while U.S. technology and equipment are necessary for South Korean chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.

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

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A court-appointed monitor said in January that child migrants held in medical isolation may be overlooked when Border Patrol stations get too crowded, a warning issued five months before an 8-year-old girl with a heart condition died in custody during an unusually busy period in the same Texas region he inspected. Dr. Paul H. Wise, a pediatrics professor at Stanford University, called the death of Anadith Tanay Reyes Alvarez of Panama "preventable" during an interview this week while in Texas' Rio Grande Valley to look into the circumstances. "Any child who is ill, but particularly kids with chronic problems, there should be little hesitation to refer them to local hospitals, preferably a children's hospital or hospital with good pediatric capabilities," Wise told The Associated Press. U.S. Customs and Border Protection has acknowledged the girl was seen at least three times by medical personnel the day she died — complaining of vomiting, a stomachache and suffering what appeared to be a seizure — before she was taken to a hospital. CBP did not respond to a request for comment on Wise's January report or his latest comments. Report flagged concerns Wise authored a lengthy report in January on Border Patrol custody conditions for children in the Rio Grande Valley and El Paso, Texas, that gave satisfactory reviews on many counts but also flagged serious concerns. Last year, a federal judge asked him to examine custody conditions in the two busy regions as part of a 1997 court settlement to ensure safe treatment of child migrants. Wise plans to submit a report soon on the May 17 death of the girl, who died on her ninth day in custody after being transferred to a station in Harlingen, Texas, with her family after being diagnosed with influenza. The agency limits custody to 72 hours under its own policy. While his findings are not yet known — he declined to discuss them — some of his earlier warnings may resurface. Wise previously expressed concern about crowding of children in medical isolation. His January report tells how "one medical team" in El Paso was responsible for 125 ill patients, a number that "far surpasses" the team's capabilities. The Border Patrol also struggled to meet a requirement to conduct regular medical assessments of children when they came in families and were in crowded stations, Wise said in January. "The 5-day repeat medical assessment is most important when families are being held for protracted periods in overcrowded conditions," he wrote. "However, because of other important demands on available medical staff, this medical protocol appears to be given relatively low priority under these conditions." Wise further raised concerns about chronic conditions going undetected and "relevant medical information" being unknown or not shared among staff. CBP's relatively detailed public account of the girl's time in custody does not directly address the requirement for exams every five days or how crowded the Harlingen station was when she was there. Acting commissioner orders review The government's responsibilities for medical care of children is clearly defined in the recently updated agreement for the El Paso and Rio Grande Valley sectors. "CBP shall promptly activate the 911 system or refer juveniles to the local health system whenever appropriate for evaluation and treatment. Further, CBP shall refer juveniles with urgent or emergent medical issues to the local health system," the agreement stipulates. During his visit, Wise interviewed Anadith's mother, Mabel Alvarez Benedicks, who told the AP that agents repeatedly ignored pleas to hospitalize her medically fragile daughter as she felt pain in her bones, struggled to breathe and was unable to walk. Agents said her daughter's diagnosis of influenza did not require hospital care, Benedicks said. They knew the girl had a history of heart problems but was told to return if she fainted, the mother said. Troy Miller, CBP's acting commissioner, has since ordered a review of all medically fragile detainees to ensure limited time in custody. Wise said he spoke with U.S. officials, including medical staff, to convey concerns from his recent visit. "I have enough information at this point to make urgent recommendations to CBP, [the Department of Homeland Security] and to the court. And this will be focused around the steps that should be taken, in my view, to ensure that no preventable deaths occur to children in CBP custody," he said.

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