China unveils plan to build ‘strong education nation’ by 2035

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BEIJING — China issued its first national action plan to build a “strong education nation” by 2035, which it said would help coordinate its education development, improve efficiencies in innovation and build a “strong country.”

The plan, issued Sunday by the Communist Party’s central committee and the State Council, aims to establish a “high quality education system” with accessibility and quality “among the best in the world.”

The announcement was made after data on Friday showed China’s population fell for a third consecutive year in 2024, with the number of deaths outpacing a slight increase in births, and experts cautioning that the downturn will worsen in the coming years.

High childcare and education costs have been a key factor for many young Chinese opting out of having children, at a time when many face uncertainty over their job prospects amid sluggish economic growth.

“By 2035, an education power will be built,” the official Xinhua news agency said, adding that China would explore gradually expanding the scope of free education, increase “high-quality” undergraduate enrolment, expand postgraduate education, and raise the proportion of doctoral students.

The plan aims to promote “healthy growth and all-round development of students,” making sure primary and secondary school students have at least two hours of physical activity daily, to effectively control the myopia, or nearsightedness, and obesity rates.

“Popularizing” mental health education and establishing a national student mental health monitoring and early warning system would also be implemented, it said.

It also aims to narrow the gap between urban and rural areas to improve the operating conditions of small-scale rural schools and improve the care system for children with disabilities and those belonging to agricultural migrant populations.

The plan also aims to steadily increase the supply of kindergarten places and the accessibility of preschool education.
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Civil rights leaders, King family issue call to action as inauguration falls on MLK Day

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WASHINGTON — When President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in as president of the United States inside the Capitol’s rotunda, he will do so facing a bust of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. on the federal holiday commemorating King’s legacy.

It’s a disquieting contrast for some civil rights advocates who wish to fulfill the late reverend’s dream of non-violent social revolution.

Events honoring King and advocating for his vision of a just society will occur across the nation as many in the U.S. observe the peaceful transfer of power in the capital. The concurrent events have been met with mixed feelings by civil rights leaders, who broadly reviled Trump’s rhetoric and stances on race and civil rights during his third presidential campaign.

But many leaders, including King’s own family, see the juxtaposition as a poignant contrast and a chance to refocus the work of advancing civil rights in a new political era.

“I’m glad it occurred on that day because it gives the United States of America and the world the contrast in pictures. Is this the way you want to go — or is this the way you want to go?” said the Rev. Bernice King, the late King’s youngest daughter and CEO of the King Center.

“It’s not a day that he can be the star, which he loves to be,” King’s daughter said of Trump. “He has to contend with that legacy on that day, regardless of how he manages it and handles it in his presentation. I hope those around him are advising him well to honor the day appropriately in his speech.”

This is the third time in the nearly 40 years since the federal King holiday became law that it coincides with a presidential inauguration. Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama also were sworn in for their second terms on the holiday. Both praised King in their remarks; it is yet to be seen if and how Trump — who falsely claimed his first inauguration had larger crowds than King’s March on Washington — will acknowledge the day.

“Will he sound a message of unity and a presidency for all, or will he continue to focus on his base and some of the divisive policies he’s championed, like an anti-DEI stance, rounding up immigrants and cutting important parts of the social safety net through this DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) process?” asked Marc Morial, president of the National Urban League civil rights group.

Morial added that Trump’s inauguration landing on MLK Day represented “a contradiction of values.”

Many civil rights leaders will spend the day commemorating King’s legacy after a week of public and private organizing, giving speeches and strategizing how to respond to the incoming administration’s agenda.

“It’s the best of times and the worst of times,” said Derrick Johnson, president of the NAACP, an organization whose members mentored, collaborated and clashed with King throughout the Civil Rights Movement.

“Our mission doesn’t change. Our job is to make democracy work for all, to make sure that equal protection is ensured under the law,” Johnson said. He added that the group “doesn’t want to assume” the Trump administration can’t be a partner on advancing civil rights or racial justice.

On Wednesday, Johnson and other civil rights leaders met with Congressional Black Caucus members on Capitol Hill to discuss how to work with and to oppose the Trump administration. That same day, the National Action Network, a civil rights group founded by the Rev. Al Sharpton, hosted a breakfast at which Vice President Kamala Harris urged attendees to stay motivated.

“Ours is a journey,” she said. “Whatever the outcome of any particular moment, we can never be defeated. Our spirit can never be defeated, because when that happens, we won’t win.”

Martin Luther King III, the late King’s eldest son, prayed with Harris on stage. King had campaigned for Harris in the fall and called her an advocate who “speaks to our better angels” and “embodies Dr. King’s legacy.”

Many racial justice advocates are set to organize demonstrations, vigils and community service events to mark the holiday and prepare for what they consider an adversarial administration.

Some groups are reflecting on parallels and differences with how King organized in the face of explicitly white supremacist state and local governments and geopolitical tumult.

“The hostility is similar, particularly in that there is a mobilized, active and aggressive extremist-right hell bent on unraveling rights and any sense of shared purpose, shared problems or shared solutions,” said Maya Wiley, CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. What differs, Wiley said, is the understanding “there has to be opportunity for everyone.”

King himself worried the legal protections he dedicated his life to realizing would not be followed by greater anti-discrimination efforts or social programs. He proposed it would take white Americans embracing a deeper kinship with Black Americans and engaging in economic and social solidarity to see change.

A year before his 1968 assassination, King wrote in his final book that giving a Black person their “due” often required “special treatment.”

“I am aware of the fact that this has been a troublesome concept for many liberals, since it conflicts with their traditional ideal of equal opportunity and equal treatment of people according to their individual merits,” King wrote in the 1967 book, “Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community.” “But this is a day which demands new thinking and the reevaluation of old concepts.”

King’s advocacy for “new concepts” found an heir in the enactment of affirmative action policies in workplaces and schools. Many advocates of diversity, equity and inclusion policies see such programs as realizing his vision, though that argument has come under withering scrutiny from conservative activists.

Trump’s views on race have been criticized for decades. The federal government sued Trump for allegedly discriminating against Black apartment seekers in the 1970s. He was instrumental in promoting the “birther” conspiracy theory that Obama was not born in the U.S. And his campaign rhetoric about immigrants and urban communities since 2015 up to November’s election has been derided as prejudiced.

As president, Trump enacted some criminal justice reform laws that civil rights advocates praised but then proposed harsh crackdowns on 2020 racial reckoning protests.

In April, Trump did not dispute the notion that “anti-white racism” now represents a greater problem in the U.S. than systemic racism against Black Americans.

“I think there is a definite anti-white feeling in this country and that can’t be allowed either,” Trump said during an interview with Time magazine.

Janiyah Thomas, a spokesperson for the Trump transition, said Trump’s inauguration would be “monumental, turning a new leaf and ushering in the golden age of America” and said Americans should remember “wise words” from King: “We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”

At the end of his life, King reflected on the early backlash to civil rights, especially with integrated housing developments, interracial marriage and necessary economic and social programs. He expressed frustration with then-President Lyndon B. Johnson for prolonging the Vietnam War rather than making a greater investment in anti-poverty efforts.

“This is where the civil rights movement stands today. We will err and falter as we climb the unfamiliar slopes of steep mountains, but there is no alternative, well-trod, level path,” King wrote. “There will be agonizing setbacks along with creative advances. Our consolation is that no one can know the true taste of victory if he has never swallowed defeat.”
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Ukraine reports downing 93 Russian drones

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Ukraine’s military said Monday it shot down 93 of the 141 drones that Russian forces launched overnight in attacks targeting regions across the country.

The intercepts took place over the Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Khmelnytskyi, Kirovohrad, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Poltava, Sumy and Vinnytsia regions, Ukraine’s air force said.

Dnipropetrovsk Governor Serhiy Lysak said on Telegram that Russian attacks, which also included artillery and missiles, damaged four high-rise buildings.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Monday it destroyed more than 30 Ukrainian aerial drones late Sunday and early Monday.

Kaluga Governor Vladislav Shapsha said on Telegram that falling debris from a destroyed drone sparked a fire at a business that was quickly extinguished.

In Belgorod, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said a drone attack hit a car, injuring a woman. The Ukrainian assault also damaged six houses, Gladkov said.

Russian air defense also shot down drones over the Bryansk, Kursk, Ryazan, Oryol and Tatarstan regions.

Some information for this report was provided by Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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The state of the economy: What is Donald Trump inheriting? 

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Voters prioritized the economy in the 2024 election, sending Donald Trump back to the White House. But what economic legacy is Joe Biden passing on to the new administration? 

“It’s the economy, stupid.” Coined by political strategist James Carville, these famous words have become synonymous with U.S. election success since 1992. 

Despite the growing influence of issues like immigration, climate change and foreign policy, many voters still prioritize economic factors when casting their ballots. 

President-elect Donald Trump claimed he made “the greatest economy in U.S. history” during his first term and vows to do so again in 2025. But a lot depends on what a president inherits from his predecessors. 

Low unemployment rates and a soaring stock market built under former President Barack Obama’s administration following the 2008 financial crisis gave Trump a strong foundation the first time around. 

So, what economic legacy will Trump inherit from Biden? 

Simply put, high employment rates, strong GDP growth and low inflation often characterize a healthy economy. 

The country was still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic when Biden was sworn in, but the last four years have proven resilient. 

Biden’s administration created almost 16 million new jobs in America — a key sign of positive economic growth. 

That good news was overshadowed for many Americans by inflation, which reached a 40-year high in 2022, with prices increasing by 9.1%. That impacted people’s purchasing power and made everyday items feel expensive. 

 

Annual inflation has now eased to around 3% but is still higher than the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, and prices for many items remain significantly higher than at the end of Trump’s first term.

While real wages have since increased in America, workers may still feel the strain of stubbornly high grocery prices.

This was a global issue linked to supply chain challenges and Russia’s war with Ukraine, and ordinary people paid the price. But massive deficit spending under Biden to head off the threat of a major recession also contributed.

Biden has preferred to emphasize the promising picture of the jobs market he’s passing on, noting that the United States recorded its lowest unemployment rate in more than half a century during his term. 

About 2.7 million jobs were lost during Trump’s first term, partially due to the COVID-19 pandemic. So, he’ll face pressure to turn that legacy around. But Trump has already suggested mass layoffs across federal departments during his second term, which could increase unemployment rates if implemented. 

Another broad signal of a healthy economy is the increased value of goods and services, or GDP, which shows whether an economy is growing. 

The United States has long had the largest GDP in the world, surpassing nations such as India and China. 

GDP rose 7.6% during Trump’s first administration and increased by 11.8% under Biden, suggesting a strong post-pandemic recovery. 

Generally speaking, Biden’s economic legacy is one of high employment, recovering GDP and declining inflation.

But no president ever inherits a clean slate. The federal debt stands at $36.1 trillion, and public opinion about the economy is, at best, lukewarm. 

Some financial experts predict inflation may continue declining in 2025, but a broader context of geopolitical tensions, trade wars and climate change may also shape America’s financial future. 

Trump’s task will be to sustain economic momentum while navigating the complexities of a rapidly evolving world. 

 
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Indonesia’s Mount Ibu erupts more than 1,000 times this month

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Ternate, Indonesia — A volcano in eastern Indonesia has erupted at least a thousand times this month, according to an official report Sunday as efforts were underway to evacuate thousands of villagers living near the rumbling mountain.

Mount Ibu, on the remote island of Halmahera in North Maluku province, sent a column of smoke up to four kilometers (2.5 miles) into the sky in an eruption Wednesday.

Indonesian officials raised its alert status to the highest level and called for the evacuation of 3,000 people living in six nearby villages.

It was one of 1,079 eruptions by the volcano recorded since Jan. 1 by Indonesia’s Geological Agency, sending columns of ash reaching between 0.3 and 4 kilometers above its peak, according to the agency’s data gathered by AFP.

The latest big eruption occurred Sunday at 1:15 a.m. local time as it spewed a towering cloud of ash 1.5 kilometers into the air.

“The ash was grey, with moderate to thick intensity, drifting southwest. A loud rumbling sound was heard all the way to Mount Ibu Observation Post,” the agency said in a statement.

It added that the volcano had erupted 17 times on Sunday alone.

Despite deciding to evacuate affected villagers, local authorities had only managed to evacuate 517 residents as of Sunday, pledging to persuade those who remained to stay in safe shelters.

Many have refused to evacuate, arguing that they were used to the situation and were in harvest season.

“There might be economic considerations, as many residents are in the middle of harvesting crops. However, we will continue to educate the community and encourage them to evacuate,” said Adietya Yuni Nurtono, Ternate district military commander in charge of a safe shelter.

Mount Ibu, one of Indonesia’s most active volcanos, has shown a significant increase in activity since last June.

Residents living near Mount Ibu and tourists have been advised to avoid a five- to six-kilometer exclusion zone around the volcano’s peak and to wear face masks in case of falling ash.

As of 2022, around 700,000 people were living on Halmahera island, according to official data.

Indonesia, a vast archipelago, experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity as it lies along the Pacific Ring of Fire.

Last November, Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki, a 1,703-meter (5,587-foot) twin-peaked volcano on the tourist island of Flores erupted more than a dozen times in one week, killing nine people in its initial explosion.

Mount Ruang in North Sulawesi province erupted more than half a dozen times last year, forcing thousands from nearby islands to evacuate.
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Pope calls for Gaza ceasefire to be ‘immediately respected’

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Vatican City — Pope Francis called Sunday for a ceasefire in Gaza to be “immediately respected,” as he thanked mediators and urged a boost in humanitarian aid as well as the return of hostages.

“I express gratitude to all the mediators,” the Argentine pontiff said shortly after the start of a truce between Israel and Hamas began.

“Thanks to all the parties involved in this important outcome. I hope that, as agreed, it will be immediately respected by the parties and that all the hostages will finally be able to go home to hug their loved ones again,” he said.

“I pray so much for them, and their families. I also hope that humanitarian aid will even more quickly reach… the people of Gaza, who have so many urgent needs,” Francis said.

“Both Israelis and Palestinians need clear signs of hope. I hope that the political authorities of both, with the help of the international community, can reach the right two-state solution.

“May everyone say yes to dialogue, yes to reconciliation, yes to peace,” he added.

A total of 33 hostages taken by militants during Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel are scheduled to be returned from Gaza during an initial 42-day truce.

Under the deal, hundreds of Palestinian prisoners are to be released from Israeli jails.

The truce is intended to pave the way for an end to more than 15 months of war sparked by Hamas’ attack, the deadliest in Israeli history.

It follows a deal struck by mediators Qatar, the United States and Egypt after months of negotiations, and takes effect on the eve of Donald Trump’s inauguration as U.S. president.
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23-year-old American loses nearly all eyesight defending Ukraine

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At 23, American Army veteran Manus McCaffery volunteered to join the fight against Russian aggression in Ukraine. In 2022, a Russian shell left him partially blind, but despite his wounds he continues to fight for those on the front lines. Ivanna Pidborska met with McCaffery. Anna Rice narrates her story. VOA footage by Iurii Panin.
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4 Moroccan truck drivers disappear on Burkina-Niger border

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Rabat, Morocco — Four Moroccan truck drivers went missing Saturday as they crossed the restive border area between Burkina Faso and Niger, according to a source from the Moroccan Embassy in Burkina Faso and a Moroccan transport union.

Three trucks, one carrying a spare driver, disappeared as they drove without an escort from Dori in Burkina Faso to Tera in Niger, an area known for jihadi threats, the diplomatic source said.

Junta-led Burkina Faso and Niger are battling Islamist militant groups linked to al-Qaida and Islamic State, whose insurgencies have destabilized Sahel states in West Africa over the past decade.

The Moroccan diplomatic source said the embassy was working together with Burkina Faso authorities to find the drivers.

Authorities in Burkina Faso have been organizing security convoys to escort trucks in the border area to protect against militant attacks, the source said.

The trucks set off after waiting for a week without getting an escort, Echarki El Hachmi, secretary general of Morocco’s transporters’ union, told Reuters.

The trucks, loaded with infrastructure equipment, departed weeks ago from Casablanca heading to Niger, he said.

El Hachmi urged more protection in areas of high risk as the number of Moroccan trucks crossing the Sahel continues to rise.

Earlier this month, a convoy of Moroccan trucks was attacked on the Malian border with Mauritania, although there were no casualties, El Hachmi said.
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Heavy snow, frigid Arctic blast put 70 million across US under winter storm warnings 

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Boston — Tens of millions of residents along the East Coast are bracing for several centimeters of snow Sunday followed by dangerously cold temperatures that will take hold in much of the country from the Northern Plains to the tip of Maine.

Winter storm warnings issued by the National Weather Service have already gone into effect for parts of the Mid-Atlantic through Monday morning, with the forecast projecting up to 15 centimeters of snow. Warnings will begin in New England on Sunday afternoon, with parts of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine and Connecticut seeing as much as 25 centimeters of snow.

Marc Chenard, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in College Park, Maryland, projected that as many as 70 million residents will be under some kind of winter storm hazards warning in the coming days including in New England and the Mid-Atlantic. Large cities like Philadelphia, New York and Boston could see several centimeters of snow this evening with the highest totals being outside of major cities.

“There will certainly be some more hazardous road conditions anywhere from D.C. up the whole I-95 corridor and then inland from there later today and tonight,” Chenard said. “Then it gets quite cold behind that. By Monday morning, any roads that haven’t been treated or cleared will still likely be some hazardous travel conditions.”

Return of the Arctic blast

But the snow is just the start of a chaotic week of weather.

Much of the eastern half of the United States will be enduring some of the coldest temperatures this winter, if not for several years.

An area from the Rockies into the Northern Plains will see colder than normal temperatures starting Sunday into the coming week, with temperatures dropping to minus 34 degrees C to minus 48 C on Sunday and Monday. Wind chills of minus 40 C were already being clocked in parts of North Dakota and Minnesota. Sub-zero wind chills are forecast to reach as far south as Oklahoma and the Tennessee Valley.

The cold weather forecast for Monday for Washington, D.C., prompted President-elect Donald Trump’s inaugural ceremony to be moved inside the U.S. Capitol Rotunda.

“It’s going to be a cold day in Washington, D.C. on Monday. That’s for sure,” Chenard said, noting temperatures will be in the 20s with wind gust upwards of 48 kph.

As happened earlier this month, this latest cold snap comes from a disruption in the polar vortex, the ring of cold air usually trapped about the North Pole.

The cold air will moderate as it moves southward and eastward, but the central and eastern U.S. will still be cold with highs in the teens and 20s on Monday into Tuesday, Chenard said. The Mid-Atlantic and Northeast also will have highs in the teens and 20s, lows in the single digits and below minus 18 C and wind chills below zero.

Unusual wintry mix

The colder temperatures will reach down into the South early this week, where as many as 30 million people starting Monday could see a wintry mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain. The unusual conditions are expected to stretch from Texas into northern Florida and the Carolinas. Impacts are expected to start in Texas on Monday night and spread across the Gulf Coast and Southeast on Tuesday into Wednesday.

A combination of frigid air with a low pressure system over the Gulf is behind the storm, which could bring heavy snow just south of the Interstate 20 corridor across northern Louisiana and into Mississippi and a mix of snow, sleet, and freezing rain near the Interstate 10 corridor from Houston to Mobile, Alabama.

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry on Saturday issued a state of emergency in advance of the wintry weather. He encouraged Louisianans to be prepared and to monitor the weather forecast.
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Money laundering fears hang over Thailand’s online gambling plans 

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BANGKOK  — Thailand’s plans to legalize online gambling are raising fears that criminal gangs will use the industry to move and launder their illicit proceeds as they have done with gambling operators in neighboring countries.

Prasert Jantararuangtong, Thailand’s minister of digital economy and society, said last week that a bill could be ready within a month. Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, widely seen as a major force behind the current government, led by his daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra, avidly endorsed the idea as well last week.

The averred impetus for the push has been both economic and legal.

Thaksin claimed a regulated online gambling industry could net the government nearly $3 billion in annual revenue. By bringing an industry already operating in the shadows into the light, Prasert said the move could also drive out the criminals currently behind many of the betting sites.

“The goal is to regulate underground gambling operations, bringing them into the legal framework and ensuring proper taxation,” Prasert told reporters.

The push for online gambling is moving ahead as the government is preparing to legalize physical casinos inside integrated resorts featuring hotels, shopping malls and other entertainment. A related bill is due for debate in the National Assembly soon, after winning approval from the prime minister’s Cabinet on Monday.

Gambling in Thailand is currently restricted to betting on state-run horse races and an official lottery.

Many have been warning that expanding the scope of legal gambling in Thailand, especially online, is rife with risk.

Bringing underground gambling operations under government regulation can do some good, Benedikt Hofmann, deputy representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, told VOA.

“But it also opens the door for ostensibly legitimate investments and use of the system by criminal actors for their illicit purposes, especially in a region rife with such actors. As we have seen in the Philippines, creating legal licensing and regulatory frameworks for gambling operators, like the POGO scheme, did not prevent the system from being taken over by highly problematic actors,” he said.

The Philippines launched POGO, the Philippines Offshore Gaming Operator, in 2016 to license online gambling operators, but shut down the program last year. In a state of the nation address in July, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the industry had morphed into a hotbed of cyberscamming, money laundering and human trafficking.

Hofmann said online gambling sites often spring up from physical casinos and can turbocharge their criminal activities.

“Taking advantage of the online space, these operations function around the clock and are theoretically accessible from anywhere in the world, so the reach and volume of both licit and illicit funds processed are much larger. They also offer easier ways to integrate crypto transactions and reduce customer touchpoints, making them highly attractive for money laundering,” he said.

In a 2023 report, the UNODC said Southeast Asia’s transnational crime syndicates had effectively turned the region’s casinos and online betting sites into their own shadow banking network, using them to move and launder tens, if not hundreds, of billions of dollars a year in earnings from illegal gambling, drug trafficking, cyberscams and other organized crime.

Besides the Philippines, many of those casinos and betting sites operate just across the border from Thailand in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.

Amanda Gore, director of the Center for Global Advancement and a forensic accountant who has investigated financial crime around the world, said Thailand’s neighborhood puts the country at high risk of having its own online gambling industry exploited.

“Because they’ve got the same sort of geographical issues … the drug trafficking, the organized crime; it’s all in that area. So, they’re going to have to be extremely strict, and if they’re not then it’s probably going to end up going the same way as the Philippines,” she told VOA.

Gore said the operators behind these online gambling sites often move from jurisdiction to jurisdiction in search of the most permissive conditions, and warned that some of those recently shut out of the Philippines could look to Thailand next unless it passes strong laws and backs them up with strict enforcement.

“The key is going to be whether they have a strong enforcement presence behind those regulations and laws as well, because if they don’t, I think it’s going to be very, very vulnerable to the criminal groups in the region, particularly from the money laundering perspective,” she said.

Government officials have said they are aware of the risks and insisted they would only roll out the casinos and online gambling licenses with the necessary guardrails, but they have yet to provide any details.

Spokespersons for the prime minister’s office and the ministries of interior and digital economy and society did not reply to VOA’s requests for elaboration.

Rangsiman Rome, an opposition lawmaker in Thailand’s House of Representatives who chairs the committee on national security, told VOA that he supports the legalization of casinos and a limited online gambling industry in principle but believes the government is not yet up to the task of managing either safely.

“The current law, including law enforcement, is not enough to protect Thai society from the gray capital, the mafia or … money laundering,” he said. “Because now the money laundering already happens, it happens every day, and it looks like the Thai authorities don’t know how to stop this.”

Rangsiman said the government should give itself, lawmakers and the public more time to study and debate the pros and cons before pressing ahead, and that it should focus on rooting out the corruption in the agencies that would be tasked with enforcing any new laws on casinos and gambling first.

Thailand has arrested dozens of police officers for running or protecting underground gambling operations in recent years.

“We see a lot of corruption that happens in Thailand, so we have to fix this before we allow the casinos,” Rangsiman said.

Gore suggested Thailand study well-established gambling commissions such as the United Kingdom’s, which she said could offer useful lessons on how to sanction operators that fail to follow the rules.

The UNODC’s Hofmann said Thailand should also focus on making sure its regulators carefully vet casino investors and players, and consider foregoing online gambling and cryptocurrency payments altogether.

“Even then, risks will remain,” he said, “as we have seen with organized crime infiltrating casino sectors around the world.”
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Chili paste heats up dishes and warms hearts at northeastern Tunisia’s harissa festival

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NABEUL, Tunisia — For years, Tunisians have been picking bright red peppers, combining them with garlic, vinegar and spices and turning them into a saucy spread called harissa. The condiment is a national staple, found in homes, restaurants and food stalls throughout the coastal North African nation.

Brick-red, spicy and tangy, it can be scooped up on bread drizzled with olive oil or dabbed onto plates of eggs, fish, stews or sandwiches. Harissa can be sprinkled atop merguez sausages, smeared on savory pastries called brik or sandwiches called fricassées.

In Nabeul, the largest city in Tunisia’s harissa-producing Cap Bon region, local chef and harissa specialist Chahida Boufayed called it “essential to Tunisian cuisine.”

“Harissa is a love story,” she said at a festival held in honor of the chili paste sauce in the northeastern Tunisian city of Nabeul earlier this month. “I don’t make it for the money.”

Aficionados from across Tunisia and the world converged on the 43-year-old mother’s stand to try her recipe. Surrounded by strings of drying baklouti red peppers, she described how she grows her vegetables and blends them with spices to make harissa.

The region’s annual harissa festival has grown in the two-plus years since the United Nations cultural organization, UNESCO, recognized the sauce on a list of items of intangible cultural heritage, said Zouheir Belamin, the president of the association behind the event. He said its growing prominence worldwide was attracting new tourists to Tunisia, specifically to Nabeul.

UNESCO in 2022 called harissa “an integral part of domestic provisions and the daily culinary and food traditions of Tunisian society, adding it to a list of traditions and practices that mark intangible cultural heritage including Ukrainian borscht and Cuban rum.

Already popular across North Africa as well as in France, the condiment is gaining popularity throughout the world from the United States to China.

Seen as sriracha’s North African cousin, harissa is typically prepared by women who sun-dry harvested red peppers and then deseed, wash and ground them. Its name comes from “haras” – the Arabic verb for “to crush” – because of the next stage in the process.

The finished peppers are combined with a mixture of garlic cloves, vinegar, salt, olive oil and spices in a mortar and pestle to make a fragrant blend. Variants on display at Nabeul’s Jan. 3-5 festival used cumin, coriander and different spice blends or types of peppers, including smoked ones, to create pastes ranging in color from burgundy to crimson.

“Making harissa is an art. If you master it, you can create wonders,” Boufayed said.
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ASEAN tells Myanmar junta peace, not election, is priority

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LANGKAWI, MALAYSIA — Southeast Asian nations told Myanmar’s military government on Sunday its plan to hold an election amid an escalating civil war should not be its priority, urging the junta to start dialogue and end hostilities immediately.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations called on the warring sides in member nation Myanmar to stop the fighting and told the junta’s representative to allow unhindered humanitarian access, said Malaysia’s foreign minister as the country takes over chairing ASEAN this year.

“Malaysia wants to know what Myanmar has in mind,” Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan told a press conference after a ministerial retreat on the island of Langkawi.

“We told them the election is not a priority. The priority now is to cease fire.”

Myanmar has been in turmoil since early 2021 when its military overthrew the elected civilian government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, triggering pro-democracy protests that morphed into a widening armed rebellion that has taken over swaths of the country.

Despite being battered on multiple fronts, its economy in tatters and dozens of political parties banned, the junta plans this year to hold an election, which critics have widely derided as a sham to keep the generals in power through proxies.

Malaysia announced the appointment of former diplomat Othman Hashim as special envoy on the crisis in Myanmar, where the United Nations says humanitarian needs are at “alarming levels,” with nearly 20 million people — more than a third of the population — needing help.

Mohamad said Othman would visit Myanmar “soon.”

South China Sea a concern

Othman is tasked with convincing all sides in Myanmar to implement ASEAN’s five-point peace plan, which has made no progress since it was unveiled months after the coup.

ASEAN has barred the ruling generals from attending its meetings over their failure to comply. Myanmar is represented by a senior diplomat.

“We want Myanmar to adhere to the Five-Point Consensus, to stop hostilities and have dialogue, it’s very simple,” Mohamad said. “What we want is unhindered humanitarian aid that can reach all in Myanmar.”

Malaysia takes the chair of the 10-member bloc as it contends not only with the conflict in Myanmar but with Beijing’s assertiveness in the South China Sea, the site of heated confrontations between ASEAN member the Philippines and China, a major source of the region’s trade and investment.

Vietnam and Malaysia have also protested over the conduct of Chinese vessels in their exclusive economic zones, which Beijing says are operating lawfully in its waters.

China claims sovereignty over most of the South China Sea, a conduit for about $3 trillion of annual shipborne trade. China and ASEAN have committed to drafting a code of conduct for the South China Sea, but talks have moved at a snail’s pace.

Mohamad said ministers welcomed progress so far but “highlighted the need to continue the momentum to expedite the code of conduct.”

The foreign minister of U.S. ally the Philippines told Reuters on Saturday it was time to start negotiating thorny “milestone issues” for the code, including its scope, whether it can be legally binding and its impact on third-party states.  
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US Treasury Department imposes sanctions on Chinese company over Salt Typhoon hack

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WASHINGTON — The U.S. Treasury Department on Friday imposed sanctions on alleged hacker Yin Kecheng and cybersecurity company Sichuan Juxinhe Network Technology Co., accusing both of being involved in a series of hacks against American telecom companies.

The intrusions, known under the name Salt Typhoon, have allegedly exposed a huge swath of Americans’ call logs to Chinese spies and rattled the U.S. intelligence community. In some cases, hackers are alleged to have intercepted conversations, including between prominent U.S. politicians and government officials. Some lawmakers have described them as the worst telecom hacks in U.S. history.

In a statement, the Treasury described Sichuan Juxinhe Network Technology Co. as a hacking company with strong ties to China’s Ministry of State Security, an intelligence agency. It said that Yin Kecheng was based in Shanghai, had worked as a hacker for more than a decade, and also had ties to the MSS. It further alleged he was tied to the recent breach at the U.S. Treasury.

Reuters was not immediately able to reach Yin Kecheng or Sichuan Juxinhe. China’s embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Beijing routinely denies responsibility for cyberespionage campaigns. 
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Papua’s noken bag symbolizes knotted legacy of resilience, identity 

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JAYAPURA, Indonesia — The woman carries bananas, yams and vegetables in a knotted bag on her head as she wanders through a market in a suburban area of Jayapura in eastern Indonesia. 

Even in the Papua capital and bigger cities of the province, a noken bag where people carry their daily essentials is a common sight. 

The distinctive bag, handcrafted from natural fibers like tree bark or leaves, is woven and knotted with threads of Papuan heritage. The U.N. cultural agency UNESCO recognized the traditional bag as needing urgent safeguarding in 2012 because there are fewer crafters making noken and more competition from factory-made bags. 

Crafter Mariana Pekei sells her handmade bags daily in Youtefa market in Jayapura, along with other women from her village. 

“It is difficult to craft from the tree bark,” Pekei said. 

They collect the raw materials from melinjo trees or orchids, facing dangers like mosquitoes in the forest. They then process the material into thread fibers, including by spinning the fibers together in their palms and on their thighs, which can cause wounds and scar their skin. 

“If it’s made of yarn, we can craft, knot it directly with our hands,” Pekei said. 

The price of noken depends on the material as well as the craftsmanship. A small bag can be made in a day, but the bigger ones require more creativity from the maker and more precision and patience. 

Sometimes, the noken is colored by using natural dyes, mostly light brown or cream with some yellowish brown. 

“Those are the color of Papuan people and the Papuan land,” Pekei said. 

With its seemingly simple yet intricate winding technique and the symbolism it holds, the noken has become a valuable item passed down from generation to generation. 

For people from outside Papua, noken are much desired and can be found easily at markets or souvenir stores. Despite the high transportation costs, crafters often journey from their remote villages to Jayapura, determined to sell their noken and share their craft with the city. 

But more than just a practical tool for carrying goods or souvenir, Pekei said that a noken serves as a powerful cultural symbol, representing the resilience, unity and creativity of the Papuan people.
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As Trump returns to White House, his family circle looks different

Posted on by SeeUS

When Donald Trump returns to the White House on Monday, his family circle will look a little different than it did when he first arrived eight years ago.

His youngest son, Barron, was in fifth grade back then. He’s now a college freshman who towers over his 1.8-meter-plus dad. Granddaughter Kai, who was 9 in 2017, is now an aspiring social media influencer and impressive golfer. Grandson Joseph, who posed in Trump’s lap with a Lego model of the White House last time, is 11 now.

After working in his first administration, the most prominent relatives in Trump’s political sphere, daughter Ivanka and her husband, Jared, are now in Florida.

Family members can provide presidents with a ready source of moral and sounding-board support, companionship and even relief from the world’s problems.

The president-elect has five children — three of whom are married — from his marriages to Ivana Trump, Marla Maples and current wife Melania Trump. He has 10 grandchildren, with an 11th on the way.

A look at Trump’s family circle, then and now:

Melania Trump, Trump’s wife

THEN: She spent the opening months of Trump’s term at the family’s Manhattan penthouse so that 11-year-old Barron wouldn’t have to switch schools in the middle of the year. After moving to the White House, she traveled around the United States and to other countries, alone and with Trump, partly to promote her “Be Best” children’s initiative while fiercely guarding her privacy.

NOW: She avoided active campaigning during Trump’s 2024 run, limiting her public appearances to key moments, such as the campaign’s launch, the Republican National Convention and election night. She released a self-titled memoir late last year and will be the subject of a documentary distributed by Amazon Prime Video that is expected to be released this year. While some doubt that Trump’s 54-year-old wife will spend much time at the White House, she said on Fox News’ Fox & Friends that she has already packed and picked out the furniture she wants to take to the executive mansion.

Donald Trump Jr., Trump’s eldest son

THEN: Trump’s eldest son, now 46, campaigned for his father in 2016 and 2020.

NOW: Trump Jr.’s influence has grown to the point that he lobbied his father to choose close friend JD Vance for vice president. He also pushed for former Democratic Representative Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the president-elect’s picks for director of national intelligence and health and human services, respectively. Trump Jr. helps run the family real estate business and is an honorary chairman of Trump’s transition. He has a podcast and has said his role is to prevent “bad actors” from getting into the administration. He recently flew on his father’s airplane to Greenland; the president-elect has expressed a desire to take control of the mineral-rich Danish territory.

Trump Jr. has five children — or “smurfs,” as he sometimes refers to them — with his former wife, Vanessa Trump. They are Kai Madison, 17; Donald John III, 15; Tristan Milos, 13; Spencer Frederick, 12; and Chloe Sophia Trump, 10.

Ivanka Trump, Trump’s eldest daughter

THEN: Ivanka, 43, campaigned for her father in 2016 and moved her family from New York City to Washington to work in his White House as a senior adviser. She was on the campaign trail in 2020, too, but she and her family moved to Florida and retreated from the spotlight after his loss.

NOW: As Trump geared up for the 2024 run, Ivanka announced that she loved and supported him but was getting out of politics to focus on her husband and their three kids. She did, however, join her father and other family members on election night and when he rang the bell at the New York Stock Exchange in early December after Time magazine named him Person of the Year.

Ivanka and her husband have three children: Arabella Rose, 13; Joseph Frederick, 11; and Theodore James Kushner, 8.

Eric Trump, Trump’s second son

THEN: The 40-year-old helped run the family business and participated in his father’s campaigns.

NOW: Eric is also an honorary chair of the transition and a close adviser to his father. But he continues to focus more on running the family business. In September, he and his brother started a crypto platform called World Liberty Financial, and their father helped launch it in an interview on the X social media platform.

Eric and his wife, Lara, have two children: Eric Luke, 7, and Carolina Dorothy Trump, 5.

Tiffany Trump, Trump’s youngest daughter

THEN: Trump’s daughter with second wife Marla Maples was 23 and a recent University of Pennsylvania graduate who kept a low profile when Trump was first elected.

NOW: She was more present in the 2024 campaign but still largely avoids the spotlight. Tiffany, 31, and her husband, Michael Boulos, are expecting their first child this year. Boulos is a businessman who traveled with Trump in the final stretch of the campaign. His father is Massad Boulos, a Lebanese American businessman who helped Trump with the influential Arab American community in the swing state of Michigan. Trump has named Massad Boulos to be a senior adviser on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs.

Barron Trump, Trump’s youngest son

THEN: At the start of Trump’s first term, Barron and his mother stayed at the family’s Trump Tower penthouse in Manhattan so he could finish his school year. When they got to Washington, his soccer net appeared in what’s known as the first lady’s garden.

NOW: Barron, 18, is a freshman New York University business student. His parents and Trump campaign officials credit him for recommending podcasts popular with young men that the president-elect appeared on during the campaign. Barron will have a bedroom in the White House, Melania Trump said on Fox & Friends.

“I’m very proud of him, about his knowledge, even about politics and giving an advice to his father,” his mother said on the program. “He brought in so many young people. He knows his generation.”

Lara Trump, Trump’s daughter-in-law

THEN: Trump’s daughter-in-law, 42, campaigned for him during all his runs. After Trump lost to Democrat Joe Biden in 2020, she considered running for a U.S. Senate seat from her home state of North Carolina but ultimately decided against it. She became a Fox News commentator.

NOW: As Trump revved up his 2024 campaign, he installed his daughter-in-law as co-chair of the Republican National Committee, where she was a TV-ready advocate overseeing fundraising, voter outreach and the party’s “election integrity” initiative. She stepped down from the RNC after the election and removed her name from consideration as a possible successor to Florida Senator Marco Rubio, Trump’s choice for secretary of state.

Lara Trump is passionate about fitness and has her own line of activewear.

Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law

THEN: Kushner, 44, was also a key figure in Trump’s 2016 campaign. He joined his wife in the White House as a senior adviser, a role that included working on U.S. policy toward Israel and the broader Middle East.

NOW: Kushner has stepped out of the political spotlight — but his father could soon step in. Trump announced after the election that he intends to nominate Charles Kushner, a real estate developer, to be U.S. ambassador to France. The elder Kushner was pardoned by Trump in December 2020 after he pleaded guilty years earlier to tax evasion and making illegal campaign contributions.

Kai Trump, one of Trump’s granddaughters

THEN: Kai was in elementary school when her grandfather became president.

NOW: Donald Trump Jr.’s 17-year-old granddaughter is an aspiring social media influencer. Her behind-the-scenes video from election night garnered 3.7 million views on YouTube. Other posts related to her grandfather have been watched millions more times on TikTok. Kai delivered her first public speech at the Republican convention and is an avid golfer who sometimes plays with her grandfather.

Arabella Kushner, one of Trump’s granddaughters

THEN: Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner’s daughter was 6 when her grandfather showed China’s Xi Jinping a video of her, in a traditional Chinese dress, belting out Chinese-language songs.

“It’s very good, right? She’s very smart,” Trump said. Xi responded that Arabella was her grandfather’s “little angel” and a “messenger of China-U.S. relations.”

NOW: Arabella is 13 and enjoys singing, playing the piano, horseback riding and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, according to a social media post from her mother.
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Niger journalist held after channel suspended, association says

Posted on by SeeAF

NIAMEY, NIGER — A major journalist in Niger was in custody Saturday, an association said, a day after the private TV channel he runs was suspended following a report critical of the military-led regime.

Seyni Amadou, editor in chief of Canal 4 TV, has been arrested, said CAP-Medias-Niger, which represents media workers in the country.

On Friday, Niger’s communications ministry announced the channel had been taken off the air for a month.

State television channel Tele Sahel said Canal 3 TV had been punished “for violating the rules of ethics and deontology.”

Canal 3 told AFP in a statement that the suspension was “linked to a broadcast on the ranking of ministers” in the government of Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, a civilian appointed by the military regime.

In the report’s ranking, Zeine was placed first and several of his ministers were called the “soft underbelly” of the government.

CAP said in a statement Friday it regretted Amadou’s arrest and detention and called for the rights of journalists to be respected.

“Never in the history of media regulation in Niger has the decision to suspend a media been taken by the executive, including in so-called exceptional periods,” it added.

CAP called on Communications Minister Sidi Raliou Mohamed to reconsider his decision.

Niger lies 80th out of 180 countries on the 2024 Press Freedom Index published by Paris-based media rights campaigners Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

Already in November, another journalist at Canal 3, Serge Mathurin Adou, was detained and later convicted on allegations he attempted to destabilize fellow junta-led Sahel nation Burkina Faso.

General Abdourahamane Tiani, the chief of Niger’s powerful presidential guard, in 2023 ousted president Mohamed Bazoum, a key ally of the West in fighting jihadis in sub-Saharan Africa.

Since the coup, Niger’s military rulers have turned their back on former colonial power France and forged ties with fellow juntas in Burkina Faso and Mali, as well as with Russia.

It has also blocked international channels including Radio France International (RFI), France 24 and the BBC. 
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Macron praises World War II French Resistance activist, author

Posted on by SeeEU

PARIS — France’s President Emmanuel Macron has paid tribute to former French Resistance activist and author Genevieve Callerot, who has died at age 108.

Callerot, who was among the last survivors of the groups that fought the country’s World War II occupation by Nazi Germany, died Thursday in a care home in Saint-Aulaye-Puymangou, a town in the Dordogne region of southwestern France where she had lived since childhood, according to local media reports.

A statement from the presidential Elysee Palace said Macron offered “his heartfelt condolences to her loved ones, to all those who were illuminated by her solar presence, and finally to those whose lives she saved.”

Callerot “takes with her a little piece of France, a certain France that is tough on suffering and intimidation, tender toward the beauty of the world, as quick to raise its fist in the face of oppression as it is to extend its hand,” the statement said.

Born in 1916, Callerot was 24 when France surrendered to Adolf Hitler’s invasion forces in June 1940, an event “which forever marked her life and revealed her to herself,” the statement said.

It said she and her family joined a Resistance network that smuggled people across the demarcation line that separated Nazi-occupied areas that included Paris, northern France and the country’s Atlantic seaboard and the so-called free zone governed by the French Vichy administration that collaborated with the Nazi occupiers.

She participated in the escape of 200 men and women, including Jews and American and British war-wounded, “whose lives she saved with anonymous heroism, and who often never knew what they owed” her, Macron’s office said. It said German forces took her into custody three times — twice releasing her for lack of evidence and holding her in prison for several weeks the third time.

She and her husband worked as farmers after the war.

When she was 67, she published her first novel — Les cinq filles du Grand-Barrail, or The Five Girls of Grand-Barrail — about a family of sharecroppers. 
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Trump ‘most likely’ will give TikTok 90-day extension to avoid US ban

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U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said Saturday that he “most likely” would give TikTok 90 more days to work out a deal that would allow the popular video-sharing platform to avoid a U.S. ban.

Trump said in an NBC News interview that he had not decided what to do but was considering granting TikTok a reprieve after he is sworn into office Monday. A law that prohibits mobile app stores and internet hosting services from distributing TikTok to U.S. users takes effect Sunday.

Under the law passed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden last year, TikTok’s China-based parent company had nine months to sell the platform’s U.S. operation to an approved buyer. The law allows the sitting president to grant an extension if a sale is in progress.

“I think that would be, certainly, an option that we look at. “The 90-day extension is something that will be most likely done, because it’s appropriate. You know, it’s appropriate,” Trump told “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker in a phone interview. “We have to look at it carefully. It’s a very big situation.

“If I decide to do that, I’ll probably announce it on Monday,” he said.
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Swedish forces in Latvia make their largest NATO deployment to date

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WARSAW, POLAND — Hundreds of Swedish troops arrived in Latvia on Saturday to join a Canadian-led multinational brigade along NATO’s eastern flank, a mission Sweden is calling its most significant operation so far as a member of the Western defense alliance.

A ship carrying parts of a mechanized infantry battalion arrived early Saturday in the port of Riga, the Latvian capital, escorted by the Swedish air force and units from the Swedish and Latvian navies, the Swedish armed forces said in a statement.

Latvia borders Russia to its east and Russia ally Belarus to its southeast. Tensions are high across Central Europe due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Sweden’s armed forces said that the mission of 550 troops will contribute to the alliance’s deterrence and defense efforts and ensure stability in the region, and that it “marks Sweden’s largest commitment yet since joining NATO” last year.

Commander Lieutenant Colonel Henrik Rosdahl of the 71st Battalion said he felt great pride in contributing to the alliance’s collective defense.

“It’s a historic day, but at the same time, it’s our new normal,” he said.

The Swedish troops join one of eight NATO brigades along the alliance’s eastern flank. The battalion is stationed outside the town of Adazi, near Riga.

Sweden formally joined NATO in March as the 32nd member of the trans-Atlantic military alliance, ending decades of post-World War II neutrality and centuries of broader nonalignment with major powers as security concerns in Europe spiked following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Finland also abandoned its longstanding military neutrality to join NATO in April 2023.
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Nigeria fuel tanker truck blast kills at least 60

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MAIDUGURI, NIGERIA — At least 60 people were killed and more injured in northern Nigeria on Saturday when a fuel tanker truck overturned and spilled the cargo, which exploded, the Federal Road Safety Corps said.

The accident in Niger state follows a similar blast in Jigawa state in October that killed 147 people, one of the worst such tragedies in Africa’s most-populous nation.

Kumar Tsukwam, FRSC sector commander for Niger state, said most of the victims were impoverished residents who had rushed to scoop up the spilled gasoline after the truck overturned.

“Large crowds of people gathered to scoop fuel despite concerted efforts to stop them,” Tsukwam said in a statement.

“Suddenly, the tanker burst into flames, engulfing another tanker. So far 60 corpses [have been] recovered from the scene.”

Tsukwam said firefighters put out the blaze.

Such accidents have become common in Africa’s largest oil producer, killing dozens of people in the country grappling with its worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation.

The price of fuel in Nigeria has soared more than 400% since President Bola Tinubu scrapped a decades-old subsidy when he took office in May 2023.
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Gaza ceasefire set to begin one day before Trump’s inauguration

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WHITE HOUSE — Israel’s Cabinet approved a deal for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release, with 24 ministers voting in favor and eight ministers rejecting the agreement. The deal is scheduled to be implemented beginning Sunday.

The deal to end the fighting between Israel and Hamas was achieved after more than a year of negotiations, with mediation from the United States, Qatar and Egypt. President Joe Biden first endorsed the deal in May. The warring parties agreed to it on Wednesday, and it was subsequently approved by the Israeli Cabinet early Saturday in Israel.

Starting midday on Monday when President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated, it will be up to his administration to see that the deal is enforced.

The agreement has three phases, each of which will last six weeks. The terms of phases two and three are still being negotiated, but under phase one the cessation of hostilities is expected to continue if six weeks pass before the next phase is finalized.

Phase one includes withdrawal of Israeli forces from densely populated areas and more aid for Gaza, as well as the release of some Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons and some hostages held by Hamas, including Americans. The U.S. and other Western countries have designated Hamas as a terrorist group.

The release of American hostages is a “fundamental component” of Trump’s interest in ending the war swiftly, according to Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, nonresident senior fellow with the Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council’s Middle East Programs.

Whether Trump will sustain pressure for the deal to proceed to phase two, when all of the hostages are set to be released, and to phase three, when reconstruction of Gaza will begin, remains to be seen, Alkhatib told VOA.

Alkhatib expressed concern that after the first phase Trump will be “so disinterested” in Gaza that the agreement will amount to “little more than a freezing of the conflict.” This would be disastrous for Palestinians in Gaza and the goal of Palestinian statehood, he added.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said late Friday that he had received “unequivocal guarantees” from both Biden and Trump that if negotiations on phase two fail, Israel “will return to intense fighting with the backing of the United States.”

Hamas militants killed about 1,200 people and captured about 250 hostages in their Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that sparked the current war. Israel says Hamas is still holding 101 hostages, including 35 the military says are dead.

Israel’s counteroffensive in Gaza has killed more than 46,000 Palestinians, according to the territory’s health ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count.

Two-state solution

The Biden administration’s goal has been Palestinian statehood under the two-state solution. This could pave the way to bringing Saudi Arabia into the Abraham Accords — the 2020 deal brokered under the first Trump administration that normalized diplomatic relations between Israel and its Arab neighbors, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

Biden had sought to expand the accords to include Saudi Arabia, which maintains it will not consider normalizing relations until Israel commits to a “credible path” to a Palestinian state. Washington and Riyadh had been exploring the expansion through a package that would include, among other offers, American security guarantees for the Saudis. Those efforts stalled after the Oct. 7 Hamas onslaught.

Now Trump appears to be aiming to use the momentum of the Gaza ceasefire to add Saudi Arabia into the accords.

“We will continue promoting PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH throughout the region, as we build upon the momentum of this ceasefire to further expand the Historic Abraham Accords,” Trump posted on social media Wednesday following the announcement that a ceasefire deal has been reached.

Saudi Arabia has never formally recognized Israel since its creation in 1948. As a de facto leader of the Arab and Islamic world, Riyadh’s recognition would represent a breakthrough for the Jewish state.

Trump’s main objective now is to ensure that whatever happens in Gaza does not prevent him from securing that deal, while Israel’s goal is to ensure whatever happens in Gaza doesn’t prevent cooperation with the U.S. over Iran, said Jonathan Rynhold, head of the department of political studies at Bar Ilan University.

“So, I’m not sure that it makes sense to think beyond the first phase at this point,” Rynhold told VOA.

Trump and Israel will “work out their positions on Gaza precisely against the shadow of those two things,” he added.

Trump’s role in securing the deal

In the same social media post Wednesday, Trump took credit for his role in securing the ceasefire.

“This EPIC ceasefire agreement could have only happened as a result of our Historic Victory in November, as it signaled to the entire World that my Administration would seek Peace and negotiate deals to ensure the safety of all Americans, and our Allies,” Trump wrote.

For months the Biden administration has progressively included Trump’s team in peace talks, beginning with an Oval Office meeting a week after Trump won the election. At that Nov. 13 meeting, Biden proposed that they work together to push the deal through.

“We’ve sent a signal to the incoming team that we’re prepared to work with them on this issue,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters that day.

Shortly after, Sullivan and Biden’s top Middle East adviser, Brett McGurk, began coordinating with their successors on the Trump team, Mike Waltz and Steve Witkoff, said a senior administration official who spoke with reporters on background Wednesday.

The Biden official said that in the final days leading up to the ceasefire, Witkoff worked in tandem with McGurk in an “almost unprecedented,” cross-administration partnership that was “highly constructive, very fruitful.” But he declined to elaborate on Witkoff’s and Trump’s role in securing the deal, other than saying that the presidential transition provided a “natural” deadline for a diplomatic breakthrough.

Pressure on Israel

Critics have accused Biden of failing to use U.S. military support as leverage over Netanyahu to reach a deal or moderate Israel’s campaign that has taken tens of thousands of Palestinian lives.

Publicly, Biden officials have largely echoed Israel in faulting Hamas for the failure of the talks. But some Israeli security officials and many observers also blame Netanyahu for blocking progress, including by repeatedly introducing fresh demands in negotiations.

With Trump’s victory, Netanyahu’s calculations may have changed, said Laura Blumenfeld, senior fellow at the Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies.

“Trump injected a kind of fear factor into this process that was missing before,” she told VOA. “He can’t triangulate anymore the way he would play Biden off of the Republican Congress. There’s nowhere for Netanyahu to run, nowhere to hide, and so he took this deal he couldn’t refuse.”

Trump’s pressure may have also created space for Netanyahu to resist ultimatums from far-right allies who had threatened to leave his governing coalition if a ceasefire deal is made, which would mean an end to the prime minister’s term.

Eight Israeli far-right politicians, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, rejected the deal but it is still unclear whether they will leave the coalition.

“Netanyahu finally called their bluff,” Blumenfeld said. “Or maybe actually, Trump called Netanyahu’s bluff, because he was using these right-wing Cabinet members all along as an excuse not to make the concessions that he didn’t want to make.”

VOA’s Natasha Mozgovaya contributed to this report.
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Australia declares disaster in areas of storm-hit east

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SYDNEY — Authorities declared a natural disaster Saturday in parts of eastern Australia where gales have toppled trees and knocked out power to tens of thousands of homes.

Heavy rain, lightning and winds as strong as 100 kph have swept across Sydney and other areas of New South Wales since Wednesday.

With many power lines felled, about 30,000 properties remained without electricity Saturday — down from a peak of more than 260,000, said the state’s emergency services minister, Jihad Dib.

“This is an incident that is affecting the whole state,” he told reporters.

Emergency services had responded to more than 7,000 incidents around New South Wales, he said.

“We know that it has not been an easy thing to go through.”

Disasters had been declared so far in three local government areas, he said, unlocking support for people seeking emergency housing, essential items, repairs and clean-ups.

Electricity network Ausgrid said 140,000 customers had lost power Wednesday and another 68,000 since Friday, with some areas experiencing winds of up to 100 kph.

Police reported that an elderly man was killed in the storms when his car was hit by a tree on Wednesday in Cowra, about 230 kilometers west of Sydney. 
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Ukraine officials say 4 killed in Russian strike on Kyiv

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Ukrainian officials say at least four people were killed early Saturday in a nighttime Russian attack in the capital, Kyiv.

Timur Tkachenko, head of the Ukrainian capital’s military administration said on Telegram that the deaths occurred in the city’s Shevchenkivsky district.  He said the Holosiivsky district on the west bank of the Dnipro River that runs through the city and the Desnyansky district on the opposite bank were hit with falling debris.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said air defenses were in operation around the city.

On Friday, a Russian missile attack killed at least four people and injured at 14 others in the southern-central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his daily address.

“Such strikes, such losses, simply would not have happened if we had received all the necessary air defense systems that we have been talking about with our partners for such a long time and that are available in the world,” he said.

Earlier Friday, Zelenskyy, who was born in Kryvyi Rih, condemned the attack on Telegram. “Each such terrorist attack is another reminder of who we are dealing with. Russia will not stop on its own — it can only be stopped by joint pressure,” he said.

The attack also damaged an educational facility and two five-story buildings, officials said.

VOA was unable to independently verify the reports.

Meanwhile, a Ukrainian drone attack late Friday ignited a fire at an industrial site in Russia’s Kaluga region, about 170 kilometers from the shared border.

“As a result of a drone attack in Lyudinovo, a fire broke out on the territory of an industrial enterprise,” regional Governor Vladislav Shapsha posted on Telegram.

Agence France-Presse reported that unverified videos on unofficial Russia social media showed what they said was the attack targeting an oil depot.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has previously said he would be able to stop the war in Ukraine in one day, but he has not specified how he would do so.

Trump aides recently said the new plan is to end the war within the first 100 days of the administration.

Some information in this report came from Reuters and Agence France-Presse. 
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Fires scorched campuses across Los Angeles. Now many schools seek places to hold classes

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LOS ANGELES — Days after losing her home in the same fire that destroyed her Los Angeles elementary school, third-grader Gabriela Chevez-Munoz resumed classes this week at another campus temporarily hosting children from her school. She arrived wearing a T-shirt that read “Pali” — the nickname for her Pacific Palisades neighborhood — as signs and balloons of dolphins, her school’s mascot, welcomed hundreds of displaced students.

“It feels kind of like the first day of school,” Gabriela said. She said she had been scared by the fires but that she was excited to reunite with her best friend and give her hamburger-themed friendship bracelets.

Gabriela is among thousands of students whose schooling was turned upside down by wildfires that ravaged the city, destroying several schools and leaving many others in off-limits evacuation zones.

Educators across the city are scrambling to find new locations for their students, develop ways to keep up learning, and return a sense of normalcy as the city grieves at least 27 deaths and thousands of destroyed homes from blazes that scorched 63 square miles (163 square kilometers) of land.

Gabriela and 400 other students from her school, Palisades Charter Elementary School, started classes temporarily Wednesday at Brentwood Science Magnet, about 5 miles (8 kilometers) away. Her school and another decimated Palisades elementary campus may take more than two years to rebuild, Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said.

‘There’s a lot of grief’

Students from seven other LAUSD campuses in evacuation zones are also temporarily relocating to other schools.

As Layla Glassman dropped her daughter off at Brentwood, she said her priority after her family’s home burned down was making sure her three children feel safe and secure.

“We have a roof over our heads. We have them back in school. So, you know, I am happy,” she said, her voice cracking. “But of course, there’s a lot of grief.”

Many schools have held off on resuming instruction, saying their focus for now has been healing and trying to restore a sense of community. Some are organizing get-togethers and field trips to keep kids engaged in activities and with each other as they look for new space.

The Pasadena Unified School District kept all schools closed this week for its 14,000 students. It offered self-directed online activities but said the work was optional.

Between 1,200 and 2,000 students in Pasadena Unified School District are known to be displaced but the number could be as high as as 10,000 based on heat maps of where families lived, district Superintendent Elizabeth Blanco said Thursday. The district aims to reopen some schools by the end of next week and have all students back in classrooms by the end of the month.

Schools that did not burn down were damaged by falling trees, debris, ash and smoke that requires extensive cleaning and environmental testing, she said. Hundreds of school staff members citywide lost their homes or had to relocate, compounding the challenges.

Some schools are passing on online learning altogether.

“We all did COVID. We did online instruction. We saw the negative impacts,” said Bonnie Brimecombe, principal of Odyssey Charter School-South, which burned to the ground. Families have been dropping their children off at the local Boys and Girls Club so students can be with each other, she said.

A total of 850 students attend her school and a sister school in Altadena, Odyssey Charter School-North, which emerged undamaged but is still expected to remain closed for months. At least 40% of the students lost their homes in the fire, she said, making it especially urgent for their well-being to find new space and resume school as soon as possible. “At this point we are trying to reopen in-person the very first day that we can,” she said.

Possible long-term effects

Over the long term, disruptions can have profound effects on students’ learning and emotional stability.

Children who experience natural disasters are more prone to acute illness and symptoms of depression and anxiety, research shows.

Keeping students together as the two LAUSD elementary schools are doing is the best approach, said Douglas Harris, a Tulane Univeristy professor who studied the effects of Hurricane Katrina on schools and academic outcomes. But given how many people are relocating because of the fires, he said it’s unlikely all classes will look the same.

“I wonder how many kids are showing up to the new school buildings based on how dispersed they might be,” Harris said. “It’s going to be difficult and it’s going to take a long time.”

‘I feel so out of it’

Among the schools seeking space for temporary classrooms is Palisades Charter High School, which has 3,000 students. Nestled between Sunset Boulevard and the Pacific Coast Highway, “Pali High” is the kind of California school that Hollywood puts on the big screen and has been featured in productions including the 1976 horror movie “Carrie” and the TV series “Teen Wolf.”

Most of the buildings are still standing, but about 40% of the campus was damaged, officials said. The school is looking into other campuses, nearby universities and commercial real estate spaces that would allow all its students to stay together until it’s safe to return, said principal and executive director Pamela Magee. The school delayed the start of the second semester until Tuesday and will temporarily revert to online learning.

Axel Forrest, 18, a junior on the lacrosse team, is planning to gather with friends for online school. His family home is gone and for now they are at a hotel near the Los Angeles airport.

“I feel so out of it, every day. Do I cry? Do I mourn the loss of my home and school? I am trying not to think about it,” he said. The longer school is out, the more idle time his mind has to wander.

“As time is passing I’m realizing this is going to be my reality for the next year or two. I am not going to have anywhere to live permanently for a while,” he said. “And what am I going to do for school now? It’s going to be online but for how long? Where will the temporary campus be? How far away is it?”

At Oak Knoll Montessori, educators have been holding meetups for its 150 students at locations including museums, parks, and a library in an effort for students to find some joy. The fire destroyed the school and several dozen students lost their homes.

The only thing that survived the fire was the school’s chicken coop, and its five chickens.

“The chickens have been a nice beacon of hope,” said Allwyn Fitzpatrick, the head of school. “All the buildings blew up. We have nothing. Not one chair.”

Fitzpatrick has found a potential new location for the school and hopes to reopen before the end of the month.

“We have been trying to focus all our attention on the children and how we can temporarily help them normalize all this. Which is an insurmountable task,” Fitzpatrick said.
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