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Washington — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Wednesday that he will move to dismiss impeachment charges against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, a move that would end the Senate trial before arguments even begin. Schumer, D-N.Y., said that the two articles of impeachment brought against the secretary over his handling of the U.S.-Mexico border "fail to meet the high standard of high crimes and misdemeanors" and could set a dangerous precedent.  "For the sake of the Senate's integrity and to protect impeachment for those rare cases we truly need it, senators should dismiss today's charges," Schumer said as he opened the Senate.  An outright dismissal of House Republicans' prosecution of Mayorkas, with no chance to argue the case, would be an embarrassing defeat for House Republicans and embattled House Speaker Mike Johnson, who made the impeachment a priority. And it is likely to resonate politically for both Republicans and Democrats in a presidential election year when border security has been a top issue.  Republicans argue that President Joe Biden has been weak on the border as arrests for illegal crossings skyrocketed to more than 2 million people during the last two years of his term, though they have fallen from a record-high of 250,000 in December amid heightened enforcement in Mexico. Democrats say that instead of impeaching Mayorkas, Republicans should have accepted a bipartisan Senate compromise aimed at reducing the number of migrants who come into the U.S. illegally.  The House narrowly voted in February to impeach Mayorkas for his handling of the U.S.-Mexico border, arguing in the two articles that he "willfully and systematically" refused to enforce immigration laws. House impeachment managers appointed by Johnson, R-La., delivered the charges to the Senate on Tuesday, standing in the well of the Senate and reading them aloud to a captive audience of senators.  As Johnson signed the articles Monday in preparation for sending them across the Capitol, he said Schumer should convene a trial to "hold those who engineered this crisis to full account."  Schumer "is the only impediment to delivering accountability for the American people," Johnson said. "Pursuant to the Constitution, the House demands a trial."  Once the senators are sworn in on Wednesday, the chamber will turn into the court of impeachment, with Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington presiding. Murray is the president pro tempore of the Senate, or the senior-most member of the majority party who sits in for the vice president.  The entire process could be done within hours after the trial is called to order. Schumer said he will seek an agreement from Republicans for a period of debate — an offer they are unlikely to accept — and then allow some Republican objections. He will them move to dismiss the trial and hold a vote.  To win that vote, Schumer will need the support of all of the Senate's Democrats and three independents.  In any case, Republicans would not be able to win the support of the two-thirds of the Senate that is needed to convict and remove Mayorkas from office — Democrats control the Senate, 51-49, and they appear to be united against the impeachment effort. Not one House Democrat supported it, either.  While most Republicans oppose quick dismissal, some have hinted they could vote with Democrats.  Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, said last week he wasn't sure what he would do if there were a move to dismiss the trial. "I think it's virtually certain that there will not be the conviction of someone when the constitutional test has not been met," he said.  At the same time, Romney said he wants to at least express his view that "Mayorkas has done a terrible job, but he's following the direction of the president and has not met the constitutional test of a high crime or misdemeanor."  Mayorkas, who was in New York to launch a campaign for children's online safety, reiterated that he's focused on the work of his department. "The Senate is going to do what the Senate considers to be appropriate as that proceeds," he said. "I am here in New York City on Wednesday morning fighting online sexual exploitation and abuse. I'm focused on our mission."  The two articles argue that Mayorkas not only refused to enforce existing law but also breached the public trust by lying to Congress and saying the border was secure. The House vote was the first time in nearly 150 years that a Cabinet secretary was impeached.  Since then, Johnson delayed sending the articles to the Senate for weeks while both chambers finished work on government funding legislation and took a two-week recess. Johnson had said he would send them to the Senate last week, but he punted again after Senate Republicans said they wanted more time to prepare.  House impeachment managers previewed some of their arguments at a hearing with Mayorkas on Tuesday morning about President Joe Biden's budget request for the department.  Tennessee Rep. Mark Green, the chairman of the House Homeland Security panel, told the secretary that he has a duty under the law to control and guard U.S. borders, and "during your three years as secretary, you have failed to fulfill this oath. You have refused to comply with the laws passed by Congress, and you have breached the public trust."  Mayorkas defended the department's efforts but said the nation's immigration system is "fundamentally broken, and only Congress can fix it."  Other impeachment managers are Michael McCaul of Texas, Andy Biggs of Arizona, Ben Cline of Virginia, Andrew Garbarino of New York, Michael Guest of Mississippi, Harriet Hageman of Wyoming, Clay Higgins of Louisiana, Laurel Lee of Florida, August Plfuger of Texas and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.  If Democrats are unable to dismiss or table the articles, they could follow the precedent of several impeachment trials for federal judges over the last century and hold a vote to create a trial committee that would investigate the charges. While there is sufficient precedent for this approach, Democrats may prefer to end the process completely, especially in a presidential election year when immigration and border security are top issues.  If the Senate were to proceed to an impeachment trial, it would be the third in five years. Democrats impeached President Donald Trump twice, once over his dealings with Ukraine and a second time in the days after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Trump was acquitted by the Senate both times.  At a trial, senators would be forced to sit in their seats for the duration, maybe weeks, while the House impeachment managers and lawyers representing Mayorkas make their cases. The Senate is allowed to call witnesses, as well, if it so decides, and it can ask questions of both sides after the opening arguments are finished. 

SAN FRANCISCO — Microsoft said on Wednesday that Russian online campaigns to influence the upcoming U.S. presidential election kicked into gear over the past 45 days, but at a slower pace than in past elections.  Russia-linked accounts are disseminating divisive content aimed at U.S. audiences, including criticizing American support of Ukraine in its war with Russia, researchers at the tech giant said in a report.  The Russian embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment, but the Kremlin said last month it would not meddle in the November U.S. election. It also dismissed U.S. allegations that it orchestrated campaigns to sway the 2016 and 2020 U.S. presidential elections.  While the Russian activity Microsoft observed is not as intense as around the previous elections, it could increase in the coming months, the researchers said.   "Messaging regarding Ukraine — via traditional media and social media — picked up steam over the last two months with a mix of covert and overt campaigns from at least 70 Russia-affiliated activity sets we track," Microsoft said.  The most prolific of such Russian campaigns is linked to Russia's Presidential Administration, they added. Another one is aimed at posting disinformation online in various languages, with posts typically starting with an apparent whistleblower or citizen journalist posting content on a video channel. That content is then covered by a network of websites that include DC Weekly, Miami Chronical and The Intel Drop.  "Ultimately, after the narrative has circulated online for a series of days or weeks, U.S. audiences repeat and repost this disinformation, likely unaware of its original source," Microsoft said.  A "notable uptick" has been seen in hacking by a Russian group Microsoft calls Star Blizzard, or Cold River, which is focused on targeting western think tanks, the company said.  "Star Blizzard's current focus on U.S. political figures and policy circles may be the first in a series of hacking campaigns meant to drive Kremlin outcomes headed into November."  Malicious use of artificial intelligence by foreign rivals targeting the U.S. election is a key concern cited by American political observers, but Microsoft said it found that simpler digital forgeries were more common than deepfakes. Audio manipulations have a bigger impact than video, it added.  "Rarely have nation-states' employments of generative AI-enabled content achieved much reach across social media, and in only a few cases have we seen any genuine audience deception from such content," the researchers said.   "The simplest manipulations, not the most complex employment of AI, will likely be the pieces of content that have the most impact."

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ISLAMABAD — Pakistan said Wednesday that its border security forces killed a group of seven "terrorists," who were attempting to cross over from Afghanistan.  A military statement said the overnight infiltration occurred in North Waziristan, a volatile Pakistani district on the Afghan border. It stated that “the infiltrators were surrounded, effectively engaged, and, after an intense fire exchange,” all of them were killed.   The statement said that Pakistani security forces also “recovered a large quantity of weapons, ammunition, and explosives” from the slain militants.  The veracity of the official claims could not immediately be ascertained from independent sources.     The military said in its statement that Islamabad had consistently asked the Taliban government to “ensure effective border management” on the Afghan side, and it “is expected to fulfill its obligations” to prevent “acts of terrorism against Pakistan.”   No group claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s alleged border incident.   Pakistan blames fugitive commanders and fighters of an anti-state militant group known as the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, for orchestrating cross-border attacks from sanctuaries in Afghanistan.    Authorities say the violence has intensified and killed hundreds of Pakistanis, including security forces, since the Taliban reclaimed power in the neighboring country in 2021.  Last month, Pakistani fighter planes carried out strikes against TTP hideouts inside Afghanistan, raising bilateral military tensions.  The United States and the United Nations have designated TTP as a global terrorist organization.  The Taliban deny they are allowing anyone to threaten neighboring countries from their territory, claiming no foreign militants, including TTP, are based in Afghanistan. 

taipei, taiwan — A Vietnamese delegation’s visit to China last week has underscored increasingly close economic ties between the territorial rivals, which analysts say is posing a challenge to the dominance of South Korean investment in Vietnam. Vietnam’s National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue led the high-level delegation from April 7 to 12 and met with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Hue proposed the two countries create a new push for trade development and "connect Vietnam to China's large development strategies." He also met with the heads of many large Chinese companies that want to participate in Vietnam's infrastructure construction. China is Vietnam’s largest trade partner and on the way to becoming its biggest foreign direct investor. A representative of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, or KCCI, in Vietnam last week told Nikkei Asia that Chinese companies are pushing back South Korean firms as China steps up investment in Vietnam. "Looking at the cumulative amount of investment in Vietnam since 1988, South Korea ranks first with $85.8 billion, ahead of Singapore and Japan. However, in recent years, Korea has been in a neck-to-neck competition with China," Kim Hyong-mo told the Japan-based Asia news magazine. More current figures provided by Vietnam’s Ministry of Planning and Investment put South Korean foreign direct investment since 1988 at $87 billion, accounting for more than 18% of the total, followed by Singapore at $76 billion, Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong. But in 2023, South Korea ranked fifth after Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong and China, which led in terms of newly registered projects. According to Joeffrey Maddatu Calimag, an assistant professor at the Department of Global Business Management at Kyungsung University in Busan, South Korea, competition between South Korean and Chinese companies is increasingly fierce. "South Korean conglomerates like Samsung Electronics Limited have notably ramped up or increased their investment or R&D spending to counter the investments of China's in terms of this sector, the mobile technology,” he told VOA. “And Chinese companies have demonstrated impressive R&D growth, which can heighten the competition for South Korean firms in Vietnam. These combined with China's technological advancements, presents a formidable challenge to South Korean companies operating in the region," he said. South Korea’s Samsung is by far the largest single foreign investor in Vietnam. Vietnam’s Hanoi Times newspaper reports Samsung invested more than $1 billion in Vietnam in 2023, for a total of more than $22 billion, and is expected to invest a further $1 billion per year. South Korean lens module manufacturer LG Innotek announced last year that it would invest an additional $1 billion in capital in Haiphong City, bringing the company's total investment in Vietnam to more than $2 billion. But China’s investment is heating up. Vietnam's Trade Ministry said this month that Chinese automaker Chery signed a joint venture agreement with a Vietnamese company to build a factory in Vietnam at an investment of $800 million, becoming the first Chinese EV manufacturer in Vietnam. China’s BYD, the world’s largest EV maker, also plans to set up a factory in Vietnam. Reuters reported in November that Chinese solar panel manufacturer Trina Solar, one of five Chinese solar firms the U.S. says used plants in Southeast Asia to avoid duties on panels made in China, plans to nearly double its investment in Vietnam to almost $900 million. China-based economist and finance commentator He Jiangbing notes that since U.S.-China trade tensions erupted in 2018, many Chinese companies have invested in Southeast Asia to avoid made-in-China tariffs. He says China's domestic overcapacity has also forced Chinese companies to accelerate their overseas deployment. "The focus of Southeast Asia is Vietnam because [China and Vietnam] are geographically closer. Vietnam also has a large population, with more than 100 million people. It also hoards a large part of the industrial chain transferred from mainland China," He said. "Wherever the industrial chain moves, Chinese companies will follow." Nguyen Tri Hieu, a Vietnamese American economist, says Vietnam is politically closer to China, a fellow one-party communist state, than democratic South Korea. "In Vietnam, there is a saying that the relationship between China and Vietnam is just like the teeth and the lips,” he told VOA. “South Korea is politically more remote. I would say [South] Korea is important but is not in the same position as China." But unlike Hanoi, Seoul has no territorial dispute with Beijing that could threaten to upend the relationship. China’s and Vietnam’s competing claims to areas in the South China Sea have not halted trade and investment but they have at times slowed it down amid clashes and tensions. Beijing claims most of the South China Sea as its own, putting it in conflict with Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.   Adrianna Zhang contributed to this report.

The Biden Administration has launched a new effort to tackle the drug overdose epidemic in the United States, which in 2022 took more than 100,000 lives, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But as VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias reports, some critics say there are some gaps in the government’s strategy to save lives.

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Washington — The Republican leader in the House of Representatives announced Wednesday a vote on renewing long-delayed US military aid to Ukraine, as well as to Israel. The move sets up a showdown with his own far-right wing that for months has blocked helping the outgunned Ukrainian forces. "We expect the vote on final passage on these bills to be on Saturday evening," Speaker Mike Johnson announced. With Ukraine struggling to hold back Russia in the third year of President Vladimir Putin's invasion, Johnson faces huge pressure from the White House and much of Congress to allow the lower house to vote for aid already approved in the Senate. However, with loyalists to Donald Trump holding the balance of power in his party, the speaker's own position hangs by a thread. The announcement by Johnson came shortly after President Joe Biden described Ukraine and Israel as two US allies desperate for help in their conflicts. "While both countries can capably defend their own sovereignty, they depend on American assistance, including weaponry, to do it. And this is a pivotal moment," Biden wrote in an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal. Biden called the Senate-approved version of the Ukraine and Israel aid package "strong and sensible." "It shouldn't be held hostage any longer by a small group of extreme Republican House members," he said. Investing in America Biden argued in the Journal that the aid is needed to help Ukraine, which is running out of ammunition, and Israel in the wake of last weekend's mass Iranian drone attack. But he said the assistance is just as important for US security. "Both Ukraine and Israel are under attack by brazen adversaries that seek their annihilation. Mr Putin wants to subjugate the people of Ukraine and absorb their nation into a new Russian empire. The government of Iran wants to destroy Israel forever -- wiping the world's only Jewish state off the map," Biden wrote. "America must never accept either outcome -- not only because we stand up for our friends, but because our security is on the line, too." In an attempt to address Republican criticism that the United States cannot afford to spend money on Ukraine's fight against Russia, Biden said it would not be "blank checks." The weaponry for Ukraine would be built in US factories, he said. "We'd be investing in America's industrial base, buying American products made by American workers, supporting jobs in nearly 40 states, and strengthening our own national security. We'd help our friends while helping ourselves," Biden said. He also sought to allay concerns about the aid to Israel within his own Democratic party, where growing numbers of members oppose arming Israel during its devastating war against Hamas in civilian-packed Gaza. The bill approved by the Senate, Biden said, includes funding to "continue delivering urgent humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza."

YAOUNDE, CAMEROON — The state of health care in Cameroon is a source of growing concern, with thousands of doctors fleeing the central African country for lucrative jobs elsewhere, especially in Europe and North America, according to officials.  The number of people, including doctors, acquiring passports and applying for visas has increased by 70 percent, officials say. In addition, 75 percent of the 1,000 doctors that Cameroon’s government trains each year are leaving.   Cameroon's Ministry of Public Health reports that several hundred doctors are enrolled in what members of the profession see as lucrative schemes to emigrate to Canada. Also, the number of health workers, including doctors, applying for the U.S. government’s Diversity Immigrant Visa Program, also known as the Green Card Lottery, is rising.  The Cameroon Medical Council, an association of doctors, says the doctor-patient ratio in Cameroon has sunk to one doctor per 50,000 people, instead of the World Health Organization’s recommended ratio of one doctor per 10,000 patients. The group reports that the doctors are fleeing to escape hardship, poor pay, difficult working conditions and unemployment.  Doctor Peter Louis Ndifor, the council's vice president, said it is unfortunate that Cameroon trains but does not recruit thousands of its doctors. He spoke to VOA via telephone from Buea, an English-speaking town in southwestern Cameroon.  "The number of registered doctors on the roll[s] of the Cameroon Medical Council is about 13,000, but we have 5,000 to 6,000 doctors in Cameroon presently,” he said. “Doctors quitting Cameroon is an eloquent testimony that doctors are in discomfort, doctors are in distress.”  Cameroon says it currently needs at least 30,000 health workers, including doctors. The country is facing attacks from Boko Haram that have left more than 36,000 people dead, a separatist crisis that has killed more than 6,000 people and displaced about 750,000 others, and the spillover of sectarian violence from neighboring Central African Republic.   The Cameroon Medical Council says the central African country in 2013 launched a program to train about 1,000 doctors in order to improve the doctor-patient ratio, which was then one doctor per 17,000 patients.  However, the government recruits less than 100 doctors each year due to financial constraints, officials say. Cameroon's Ministry of Public Health says it expected privately owned hospitals to recruit a majority of the doctors upon graduation from medical school, but hospitals owned by individuals, communities and churches also recruit less than 100 doctors each year.   Even when recruited, the doctors say they are paid about $100 per month in private hospitals and about $220 per month in government hospitals. Jathor Godlove, 29, is an unemployed doctor. After seven years of study at the faculty of medicine of Cameroon’s University of Bamenda, he says hardship is forcing him to consider leaving the country.  "I find myself being very restrained and restricted in my capacity to help my family,” he said. “I even have some peers who venture out of medicine because they see that as a medic, when you get somewhere to offer your services, they will tell you they want to pay you 50,000 [Central African CFA] francs a month [around $80 U.S.], which is very funny. Some of them have families, when they find themselves in such situations, they see better opportunities abroad. I think you can't blame them."   He says poor working conditions — including the lack of hospital equipment and poor pay — are pushing nurses, midwives and laboratory technicians to join doctors in leaving Cameroon for Europe and North America.  However, some medical staff members who have not been able to travel out of Cameroon offer voluntary services in hospitals like in Bamenda, capital of Cameroon's English-speaking Northwest Region.   Doctor Denis Nsame, director of the Regional Hospital in Bamenda, says unemployed health care workers outnumber health workers hired by the government.  "At the Regional Hospital in Bamenda, out of 600 staff, only 146 are state-employed staff, and we consult on average 45,000 patients per year, carry out about 1,900 surgeries per year, we have deliveries [of babies] close to 250 to 300 every month," Nsame said.  The Cameroon Medical Council says that some health workers, including doctors, at times go several months without pay. Many of the health workers count on donations and consultation fees from well-wishers and patients to make a living.   In a message to Cameroonian youths last February 11, Cameroonian President Paul Biya said young people’s growing desire to emigrate is increasingly a cause for concern. He said Cameroonians should be patriotic and serve their homeland because the country is facing difficulties and leaving is not a solution.   Doctors and other health workers say the president, if he wants to curb emigration, should improve their living conditions and hospital equipment.

New Delhi — Mounting hostility between Israel and Iran is creating a diplomatic problem for India, which has long-standing and important relations with both countries. Kallol Bhattacherjee, a senior foreign affairs analyst, says in the event of an Iran-Israel war, New Delhi cannot afford to support or oppose either of them. Speaking to VOA, Bhattacherjee said 7 million Indians work in the Gulf countries and send more than $90 billion in foreign exchange to India annually. In the event of a war in the Middle East, Indian workers will be the most affected and remittances will stop. Senior foreign affairs analyst Umashankar Singh says India has a strategic relationship with Israel and has a historical relationship with Iran. He said India and Israel have been cooperating in various fields, including defense and technology, for decades, and Israel is the largest supplier of arms to India. According to him, Iran was the second-largest supplier of oil to India before sanctions were imposed on it due to its nuclear program. Although India has not been able to buy oil from Iran for the past four years, the two countries still have close relations. India and Iran signed a defense pact in 2002, while New Delhi has invested in the construction of Iran's Chabahar Port. According to Bhattacherjee, Iran has helped India on issues including relations with Central Asian countries, communications with the Taliban and other security and defense matters. Iran, Russia and India established the multilateral corridor model in September 2000 to promote cooperation in the transport sector. Later, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Ukraine, Belarus, Oman, Syria and Bulgaria were included in this corridor. The number of Indian workers in Iran is not high. According to India’s ministry of external affairs, there are 4,000 Indian immigrants in Iran, while 18,000 Indians are working in Israel, many of them as caregivers, according to The Hindu newspaper. Another 6,000 are expected to arrive shortly to fill construction jobs left vacant by Palestinians because of the Israel-Hamas war, the newspaper said.  India and Israel had signed an agreement to send another 1,500 Indian workers to Israel, of whom the first group of 65 people arrived on April 2. The dispatch of a second group was postponed because of the threat of further Iran-Israel conflict. Naor Gilon, Israeli ambassador in India, has said protection will be provided to the Indian workers. This story originated in VOA’s Urdu Service. 

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COPENHAGEN, Denmark — The Swedish parliament passed a law Wednesday lowering the age required for people to legally change their gender from 18 to 16. Young people under 18 will still need approval from a guardian, a doctor, and the National Board of Health and Welfare. However, a gender dysphoria diagnosis — defined by medical professionals as psychological distress experienced by those whose gender expression does not match their gender identity — will no longer be required. Following a debate that lasted for nearly six hours, 234 lawmakers voted for the plans, 94 against and 21 were listed as absent. The center-right coalition of Sweden's conservative prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, has been split on the issue, with his own Moderates and the Liberals largely supporting the law while the small Christian Democrats were against it. Sweden Democrats, the populist party with far-right roots that support the government in parliament but are not part of the government, also opposed it. Denmark, Norway, Finland and Spain are among countries that already have similar laws. Last Friday, German lawmakers approved a similar legislation, making it easier for transgender, intersex and nonbinary people to change their name and gender in official records directly at registry offices. In the U.K., the Scottish parliament in 2022 passed a bill allowing people aged 16 or older to change their gender designation on identity documents by self-declaration. It was vetoed by the British government, a decision that Scotland's highest civil court upheld in December. The legislation set Scotland apart from the rest of the U.K., where the minimum age is 18 and a medical diagnosis is required. Jimmie Akesson, the leader of the Sweden Democrats, told reporters it was "deplorable that a proposal that clearly lacks the support of the population is so lightly voted through." But Johan Hultberg, of Kristersson's Moderates, said that the outcome was "gratifying." The newly approved law was "a cautious but important reform for a vulnerable group. I'm glad we're done with it," he said. Peter Sidlund Ponkala, chairman of the Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex Rights, known by its Swedish acronym RFSL, called Wednesday's news "a step in the right direction" and "a recognition for everyone who has been waiting for decades for a new law." Elias Fjellander, chairman of the organization's youth branch, said it "will make life better for our members." "Going forward, we are pushing to strengthen gender-affirming care, to introduce a third legal gender and to ban conversion attempts," Fjellander said in a statement.

Washington — The United States has barred four former officials of the Malawi government from entry because of their involvement in significant corruption, the State Department said on Wednesday. The officials designated are former solicitor general and secretary of justice Reyneck Matemba, former director of public procurement and disposal of assets John Suzi-Banda, former Malawi Police Service attorney Mwabi Kaluba, and former Inspector General of the Malawi Police Service George Kainja, the department said. The four were cited by the State Department as having "abused their public positions by accepting bribes and other articles of value" from a private business person in exchange for a government police contract. "The United States stands with Malawians working towards a more just and prosperous nation by promoting accountability for corrupt officials, including advocating for transparency and integrity in government procurement processes," department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement. Matemba expressed surprise when contacted by Reuters. "I am still in Malawi and have never traveled outside the country since 2021. I am on bail, therefore I can't travel because my passport is technically with the police," Matemba said. Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera has waged a crackdown on corruption in recent years. In January 2022, he dissolved the country's entire Cabinet on charges of corruption against three serving ministers. Later that year, Malawi's Anti-Corruption Bureau arrested and charged the country's vice president, Saulos Klaus Chilima, over graft allegations. The group has been investigating public officers in Malawi over alleged plundering of state resources by influencing awarding of contracts through the country's public procurement system. Malawi is one of the world's poorest countries, with nearly three-quarters of the population living on less than $2 a day. Though small in size, it features in the top 10 in Africa in terms of population density.

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GENEVA — Decades of progress in sexual and reproductive health are being rolled back with the poorest, most vulnerable members of society at greatest risk of losing out on lifesaving services, according to the 2024 State of World Population report.   The report, issued Wednesday by the U.N. Population Fund, UNFPA, says, “The data are damning.”   “Women and girls who are poor, belong to ethnic, racial and indigenous minority groups, or are trapped in conflict settings, are more likely to die because they lack access to timely health care.”   Thirty years ago, 179 governments that attended the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo pledged that they would place sexual and reproductive health at the core of sustainable development, to empower women and girls, and achieve gender equality.   “There was a moment in Cairo when humanity came together in agreement that women should not die while giving life. And this is a worthy pursuit,” Dr. Natalia Kanem, UNFPA executive director, told journalists in Geneva on Monday, in advance of the report’s publication.   Unfortunately, she said, the promise of Cairo is not being met. Women are still being left behind. That, she added, is happening after a generation of notable achievement in reducing the rate of unintended pregnancy, in lowering maternal deaths by one-third, and in securing laws against domestic violence in more than 160 countries.   “In the report, we show that inequalities are widening, human reproduction is being politicized. The rights of women, girls and gender-diverse people are the subject of increasing pushback … progress is slowing and by many measures it has stalled completely,” she said.   “Annual reductions in maternal deaths have flatlined. Since 2016, the world made zero progress in saving women from preventable deaths in pregnancy and childbirth,” she said, noting that 800 women die every day giving birth.   Instead of being empowered, she said women continue to be repressed and denied their rights. “One woman in four cannot make her own health care decisions, one woman in four cannot say no to sex, and nearly one in 10 are unable to make their own choices about whether or not to use contraception,” she said.   The report finds racism, sexism, and other forms of discrimination are blocking women’s and girls’ access to sexual and reproductive health and that those living in poor, developing countries are far more likely to die from a lack of services than are women and girls in richer countries.   The report says African women are most at risk. It says an African woman who experiences pregnancy and childbirth complications is around 130 times more likely to die from them than a woman in Europe or North America.   It says nearly 500 deaths a day, more than half of all preventable maternal deaths, occur in countries with humanitarian crises and conflicts.   The report notes that women of African descent across the Americas are more likely to die in childbirth than white women, noting, “In the United States, the rate is three times higher than the national average.”   Kanem says the data show that “inequalities are killing women,” adding they are dying because “health systems today are weak, tainted by gender inequality, by racial discrimination, and by misinformation.”   For example, she notes that midwives are undervalued, underpaid and under-supported in male-dominated health systems “even though increasing midwifery coverage could avert more than 40 percent of maternal deaths.”   “We also see that women of African descent experience higher rates of mistreatment and neglect by health providers. Indigenous women are routinely denied culturally appropriate maternal health care.   “As a result, these groups are much more likely and, in some places, six times more likely to die in pregnancy or childbirth,” she said.   Nowhere in the 168-page report does the word “abortion” appear in the text. Kanem explains that as a U.N. entity, UNFPA does not take a position on member state policies and complies with whatever national governments determine “about that procedure.”   However, she noted that UNFPA believes that, “Where legal in countries it should be safe and accessible and where not legal, it should be clear that post-abortion services, typically presenting as hemorrhage and bleeding, must be available, no matter the legal status.  “In my mind, it is clear that unsafe abortion, the result of not having contraception … is a leading cause of this stubborn maternal death globally,” indicating that deaths from unsafe abortions are likely to be higher than the data suggest.   “Often the physician is not going to put ‘unsafe abortion’ on the death certificate. You will see hemorrhage or some other concomitant cause,” she said.   The report shows that investing in sexual and reproductive health benefits everyone and would contribute trillions of dollars to the global economy.   Authors of the report say that spending an additional $79 billion in low- and middle-income countries by 2030 “would avert 400 million unplanned pregnancies, save one million lives and generate $660 billion in economic benefits.”

CAPRI, Italy — Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) major democracies gathered on the Italian island of Capri on Wednesday for three days of talks overshadowed by expectations of an Israeli retaliation against Iran for missile and drone attacks. The continuing escalation of tensions between Israel and Iran and the wars in Gaza and in Ukraine will dominate the agenda of the ministers from the United States, Britain, France, Italy, Germany, Canada and Japan.   Italy, which holds the G7's rotating presidency, is pushing for a ceasefire in Gaza and a de-escalation of Middle East tensions, but Israel looks very likely to retaliate against Iran's weekend attacks despite Western calls for restraint. "Against a background of strong international tensions, the Italian-led G7 is tasked with working for peace," Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said in a statement. The G7 nations pledged support for Israel after the attack, which came in response to a presumed Israeli airstrike on Iran's embassy compound in Damascus on April 1 which killed two generals and several other Iranian officers. The U.S. said on Tuesday it was planning to impose new sanctions on Tehran's missile and drone program in the coming days and expected its allies to follow suit. Tajani told Reuters this week that any sanctions might just focus on individuals. The Iranian missiles and drones launched on Saturday were mostly shot down by Israel and its allies, and caused no deaths. But Israel says it must retaliate to preserve the credibility of its deterrents. Iran says it considers the matter closed for now but will retaliate again if Israel does. Ukraine Russia's invasion of Ukraine will also be a major topic in Capri, with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg scheduled to join the talks on Thursday. Germany said on Wednesday the G7 ministers would discuss how to get more air defenses to Ukraine as Kyiv faces increasing pressure from relentless Russian air strikes on its energy network. Another key issue will be ways of utilizing profits from some $300 billion of sovereign Russian assets held in the West to help Ukraine, amid hesitation among some European Union member states over the legality of such a move. The opening session of the meeting on Wednesday evening will focus on Gaza and Iran, with the situation in the Red Sea under scrutiny on Thursday morning. Before turning to Ukraine, the ministers will look at ways of strengthening ties with Africa. The G7 ministers will also discuss stability in the Indo-Pacific region, Italy has said, and hold debates on issues including infrastructure connectivity, cybersecurity, Artificial Intelligence and the fight against fake news.