Voice of America’s immigration news

As Russia pushed into northern Ukraine this week, the U.S. presidential race between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump remained focused on another foreign policy crisis -- the war in Gaza. As VOA’s congressional correspondent, Katherine Gypson, reports, keeping American attention on Ukraine could be difficult.

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

NEW YORK — The trial of Archegos founder Bill Hwang for alleged securities fraud and market manipulation opened in New York on Monday, and focused on the fund's spectacular 2021 implosion that cost large banks billions of dollars. The family-owned hedge fund run by Hwang had taken huge bets on a few stocks with money borrowed from banks, and when several of those bets turned sour, the fund was unable to meet "margin calls" to cover the losses. The 2021 collapse of the fund sent shock waves through financial markets and caused $10 billion in losses for Credit Suisse, Nomura, Morgan Stanley and other leading financial institutions. Hwang and Patrick Halligan, chief financial officer of Archegos, were both arrested by the FBI in April 2022. "Their alleged crimes jeopardized not only their own company but also innocent investors and financial institutions around the world," Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco told reporters at the time. The two men, who deny the charges, went on trial in Manhattan federal court. "Bill Hwang was a billionaire, and yet he risked nearly everything because he wanted more: more money, more success, more power," prosecutor Alexandra Rothman told the jury. Archegos was a "house of cards built on manipulation and lies," she was quoted as saying by The Wall Street Journal. 'Deceptive conduct'  Hwang and Halligan used the firm "as an instrument of market manipulation and fraud, with far-reaching consequences for other participants in the United States securities markets," according to the indictment.  Hwang and other conspirators, including head trader William Tomita, sought to defraud investors by convincing them that shares in the fund's portfolio were on the rise when in fact the stock price increases "were the artificial product of Hwang's manipulative trading and deceptive conduct that caused others to trade," the indictment said. They also repeatedly made "false and misleading statements" to convince others to trade with and extend credit to the firm, it said. The fund used derivatives to take large stakes in top Chinese companies such as Baidu, Tencent Music Entertainment Group and Vipshop Holdings, plus U.S. giants such as ViacomCBS and Discovery. The plan initially worked, and the fund tripled in size in just a year, while Hwang's personal fortune soared to $35 billion from $1.5 billion, turning him and the firm into "significant economic forces in the United States securities markets," the filing said. The move to inflate share prices caused the firm to expand rapidly, "increasing in value from approximately $1.5 billion with $10 billion in exposure in March 2020 to a value of more than $36 billion with $160 billion in exposure at its peak in March 2021," said the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the market regulator. Hwang studied in the United States and went to work for Tiger Management, rising to form his own Tiger Asia Management. In 2012, Hwang paid $44 million to settle with the SEC over an insider trading case and shuttered the firm.

mumbai, india — At least four people are dead, 61 injured and more than 40 feared trapped after a massive billboard fell during a rainstorm in India's financial capital of Mumbai on Monday, local officials said. The rainstorm was accompanied by gusty winds, causing the billboard, located next to a busy road in the eastern suburb of Ghatkopar, to collapse on some houses and a gas station. A rescue operation for the people remaining trapped under the billboard is ongoing. Fire services, police, disaster response officials and other authorities are all involved in the rescue efforts, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, the civic body that runs Mumbai, said on X. News channels and posts on social media showed the towering billboard billowing in the wind for a while before it gave way and crashed to the ground. The local weather department had predicted that moderate spells of rain, accompanied by gusty winds reaching 40-50 kilometers per hour were likely to occur in parts of Mumbai district on Monday. There were temporary flight disruptions at the Mumbai airport, with 15 flight diversions and operations suspended for a little over an hour, Asian News International, in which Reuters has a minority stake, reported. Mumbai, like several Indian cities, is prone to severe flooding and rain-related accidents during the monsoon season, which usually lasts from June until September every year.

islamabad — The United States and Pakistan have concluded their latest round of counterterrorism talks, agreeing to intensify their collaboration in the fight against terrorist organizations like the Pakistani Taliban and a regional Islamic State affiliate. Washington and Islamabad issued a joint statement simultaneously on Monday, saying the May 10 bilateral dialogue hosted by the U.S. was centered on tackling “the most pressing challenges to regional and global security.” The meeting came amid a recent surge in terrorism in Pakistan, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of people, including security forces. The violence is mostly claimed by Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), known as the Pakistani Taliban, who are believed to operate from sanctuaries in neighboring Afghanistan. “Pakistan and the United States recognize that a partnership to counter ISIS-Khorasan, TTP, and other terrorist organizations will advance security in the region and serve as a model of bilateral and regional cooperation to address transnational terrorism threats,” the statement read. The statement used an acronym for an Afghanistan-based Islamic State affiliate known as IS-Khorasan, which routinely carries out terrorist attacks in the country and beyond its borders. Pakistani and U.S. officials at Friday’s talks in Washington resolved to step up communication and continue collaboration “to detect and deter violent extremism through whole-of-government approaches.” According to the statement, the two sides stressed the importance of capacity building, including sharing technical expertise and best practices, providing investigative and prosecutorial assistance and enhancing border security infrastructure and training. Islamabad maintains that TTP-led terrorist attacks on Pakistani soil have intensified since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021 following the withdrawal of U.S.-led NATO forces after a 20-year counterterrorism mission. Pakistani authorities allege that members of the Afghan Taliban are facilitating TTP fighters in carrying out cross-border attacks. The Taliban government in Kabul denies the allegations, saying it is not allowing anyone to threaten other countries, including Pakistan, from Afghan soil. In a new report slated for release on Tuesday, the U.S. Institute of Peace has warned that Afghanistan “presents growing space for terrorist groups compared to the period before the U.S. withdrawal.” USIP published a summary of the study on its website, noting that ISIS-K poses “a rising threat with reach beyond the immediate region, greater than during the pre-withdrawal period,” and the TTP "has also returned as a regional security threat.” The report also stated that al-Qaida and its South Asia affiliate “continue to maintain ties with and receive support” from Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers.

washington — President Joe Biden on Monday issued an order blocking a Chinese-backed cryptocurrency mining firm from owning land near a Wyoming nuclear missile base.  The order forces the divestment of property operated as a crypto mining facility near Francis E. Warren Air Force Base. It also forces the removal of certain equipment owned by MineOne Partners Ltd., a firm that is partly owned by the Chinese state.  This comes as the U.S. is slated on Tuesday to issue major new tariffs on electric vehicles, semiconductors, solar equipment and medical supplies imported from China, according to a U.S. official and another person familiar with the plan.  The divestment order was made in coordination with the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States — a little-known but potentially powerful government agency tasked with investigating corporate deals for national security concerns that holds power to force the company to change.  A 2018 law granted CFIUS the authority to review real estate transactions near sensitive sites across the U.S., including F.E. Warren Air Force Base.  The order was vague about the specific national security concerns, with the Treasury Department saying only that there were issues with "specialized and foreign-sourced equipment potentially capable of facilitating surveillance and espionage activities" that "presented a significant national security risk."  According to CFIUS, the purchase was not filed with the body, as required, until after the panel received a public tip.  Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who serves as the chairperson of CFIUS, said the role of the committee is "to ensure that foreign investment does not undermine our national security, particularly as it relates to transactions that present risk to sensitive U.S. military installations as well as those involving specialized equipment and technologies."

pittsburgh — Dr. Cyril Wecht, a pathologist and attorney whose biting cynicism and controversial positions on high-profile deaths such as President John F. Kennedy's 1963 assassination caught the attention of prosecutors and TV viewers alike, died Monday. He was 93. Wecht's death was announced by the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts, which did not disclose a cause or place of death, saying only that he "passed away peacefully." Wecht's almost meteoric rise to fame began in 1964, three years after he reentered civilian life after serving a brief stint at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama. At the time, Wecht was serving as an assistant district attorney in Allegheny County and a pathologist in a Pittsburgh hospital. The request came from a group of forensic scientists: Review the Warren Commission's report that concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald, acting alone, assassinated Kennedy. And Wecht, with his usual thoroughness, did just that — the beginning of what became a lifelong obsession to prove his theory that there was more than one shooter involved in the killing. After reviewing the autopsy documents, discovering the president's brain had gone missing, and viewing an amateur video of the assassination, Wecht concluded the commission's findings that there was a single bullet involved in the attack that killed Kennedy and injured Texas Governor John Connally was "absolute nonsense." Wecht's lecture circuit demonstration detailing his theory that it was impossible for one bullet to cause the damage it did on that November day in Dallas made its way into Oliver Stone's movie "JFK" after the director consulted with him. It became the famous courtroom scene showing the path of the "magic bullet." Wecht's outspokenness on the Kennedy assassination, and the publicity he generated, later made him a go-to pathologist on dozens of other high-profile cases ranging from Elvis Presley to JonBenet Ramsey, the child beauty queen whose death remains unsolved. At the homicide trial of school head Jean Harris, accused of murdering "Scarsdale Diet" physician Herman Tarnower, Wecht testified unsuccessfully for the defense. His testimony at the trial of Claus von Bulow may have helped acquit Von Bulow of charges he tried to kill his heir wife, Sunny. After studying Elvis' autopsy report, Wecht concluded, and shared his findings on national television, that Presley had likely died of an overdose, not heart disease. His findings spurred Tennessee officials to reopen the case in 1994, though, in the end, the official cause of death remained unchanged. In the months preceding the O.J. Simpson homicide trial in 1994, Wecht was a frequent talk show guest, conjecturing on the "Today" show and "Good Morning America" about the significance of blood samples and other evidence. When Michael Jackson died in 2009, Wecht again took to the airwaves, discussing the deadly mix of drugs and sedatives that killed the King of Pop. Wecht detailed many of his cases in six books. In Cause of Death — a book authored by Wecht, his son Benjamin, and Mark Curriden, formerly a writer for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and The Dallas Morning News — attorney Alan Dershowitz praised the pathologist as the "Sherlock Holmes of forensic sciences." The son of a grocer, Wecht attended undergraduate school at the University of Pittsburgh and later received medical and law degrees from the same school. He served two stints as Allegheny County's coroner, ending his second in 2006, when he resigned after being indicted with fraud and theft charges. His first term, from 1970 to 1980, was also fraught. Then, too, he was accused of using county morgue facilities for his private forensic business while coroner. He paid $200,000 in restitution following a lengthy legal fight. He also served a four-year term as an Allegheny County commissioner. A run for U.S. Senate against John Heinz III in 1982 was unsuccessful.

new york — Less than three years ago, Mary Ann and David Giordano were taking turns lying on the living room floor with their Afghan hound, Frankie, hand-feeding the desperately ill dog anything she would eat.  She had developed severe kidney problems after contracting Lyme disease, despite being on medications meant to repel the ticks that carry the bacteria that cause it. Veterinarians weren't sure she would survive.  Yet on Monday, Frankie was at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show, healthy and ready to compete. She would face off against over a dozen other Afghan hounds — including the winner of last month's World Dog Show in Croatia — for a chance to advance to the next round of the United States' most prestigious canine event.  "It was really tough," Mary Ann Giordano said, her voice halting as she described Frankie's eight-month ordeal. "But she made it."  For all the pooch pageantry of Westminster — the coiffed poodles, the top-knotted toy dogs, the formality of dogs trotting around a ring — it's also an illustration of the bond people form with dogs, and what each will do for the other.  Like setting up an array of box fans and even a portable dehumidifier to get a puli's long, thick cords dry after a bath, a process that can take 24 hours, in Valarie Cheimis' experience. The cords form naturally, though owners aid the process by separating them.  Why go through all that?  "These are fun dogs. They're full of personality," Cheimis said as she petted Csoki, one of her pulik (the proper plural), ahead of ring time.  Sure, the Hungarian herding breed can be stubborn and barky, Cheimis said, but Csoki also looks after her geese and chickens at home in Kingfield, Maine, even lying down next to the goslings.  Mister, a bloodhound who won a merit award in his breed Monday, also puts his breed's ancient instincts to work. He's qualified to trail missing people, though his calls so far have been resolved before they got into the field, said co-owner, breeder and handler Renee Wagner of Niagara Falls, New York.  The 148th Westminster show kicked off Saturday with an agility competition — won by a mixed-breed dog for the first time since Westminster added the event in 2014. Nimble, the winner, was handled by Cynthia Hornor, who took the trophy with a border collie last year.  Monday marked the start of the traditional judging that leads to the best in show prize, to be awarded Tuesday night. Semifinals begin Monday night, pitting the winners of each breed against others in their "group," such as hounds or herding dogs.  The 2,500-plus first-round entrants range from tiny Yorkshire terriers to towering Great Danes. They include a newly added breed, the Lancashire heeler, represented Monday by a single contestant named Mando.  If he knew a lot was riding on his little shoulders, he didn't show it as he appeared in the first-round ring and someone in the audience yelled, "Yay! History!"  "He just has a rock-star attitude," handler Jessica Plourde said afterward.  The show also was a first for Alfredo Delgado and Maria Davila, who had traveled from Juncos, Puerto Rico, with their French bulldog, Duncan.  Their path started when Delgado's brother found a lost Frenchie. It was soon reunited with its owner, but Delgado was intrigued by the breed.  Fast-forward some years, and he was in the Westminster ring as Duncan's breeder, owner and handler, with Davila cheering him on.  "We made a dream come true to be here," Davila said afterward. "To share with experienced people in the ring — that was awesome."  Westminster routinely attracts a roster of dog showing's heavy hitters. This year's field includes Stache, a Sealyham terrier who won the National Dog Show televised last Thanksgiving, and Comet, a shih tzu who won the huge American Kennel Club National Championship that was televised on December 31.  Comet is "just everything you would want in a shih tzu," co-owner, breeder and handler Luke Ehricht said after Comet won his breed Monday morning. With a flowing coat like a vanilla-and-caramel ice cream sundae that's melting onto the table, the dog looked up at his handler with the sweet expression that's prized in the breed.  "He's a very sweet, loving dog" who knows when it's time to perform and when it's time to relax, said Ehricht, of Monclova, Ohio.  Later, Frankie, the recovered Afghan hound, and her littermate Belle stood side-by-side in their breed's ring. So did the Giordanos, an Annandale, New Jersey, couple who have been side-by-side since high school. David handled Frankie, while his wife led Belle.  Both dogs took jaunty spins around the ring, but neither won. Nor did the recent World Dog Show winner, named Zaida. The ribbon went to another highly ranked Afghan, named Louis.  "This breed's supposed to be 'the king of dogs,' and he knows he is," handler and co-owner Alicia Jones said.

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

Madrid — Uncovering a multimillion-dollar aid scandal in Venezuela took great personal and professional risks for the journalists involved. Roberto Deniz, a reporter with investigative media outlet Armando Info, and his colleagues were not daunted by the task, but they did pay a heavy personal cost. That toll — and their work exposing a scandal — are the focus of a new PBS FRONTLINE documentary "A Dangerous Assignment: Uncovering Corruption in Maduro's Venezuela" being released May 14. The documentary follows Armando Info as the Venezuelan media outlet uncovers a transnational scheme that it alleged benefited President Nicolas Maduro and others, including a businessman named Alex Saab. The revelations made Deniz and his editors targets of the Maduro government and forced the journalist into exile in 2018. His house was raided and he faces jail if he ever returns to his country. Despite everything, Deniz feels the risk was worth it. “The most important thing that this documentary shows is that we can see the real nature of Maduro’s regime. All this happened when Venezuela was going through its worst economic crisis,” he told VOA. Juan Ravell, the documentary’s director, said Deniz’s work was like a “detective story” that he felt compelled to turn into a film. “It sounds corny, but I am a fan of Roberto’s work. I wanted to show a little of how the sausage is made — the backstage work. How he takes a source on and verifies it with another source. It is about the craft of journalism and about the risks,” Ravell said. That journalism led to results, including an arrest and sanctions against Saab, whom the U.S. Treasury said had orchestrated a “vast corruption network” that let Maduro and his government “significantly profit from food imports and distribution.” Maduro himself has not directly referenced the reporting but he did publicly say that his government had fixed irregularities in the program, Deniz said. Aid scandal Maduro’s government created what was known as the CLAP program in 2016 to provide quality essential food items to Venezuelans hit by the nation’s economic crisis. But instead, Armando Info found, low-quality products were purchased. A chemical analysis conducted by the Institute of Food Science and Technology, at the Central University of Venezuela at the request of Armando Info, showed some powdered milk offered as part of the CLAP scheme was so low in calcium and high in sodium that a researcher noted it could not be classified as milk at all. Deniz and his colleagues also found that the CLAP initiative was enriching Saab, whom they said was the biggest contractor for the food program. When Saab sued for defamation after the first stories were published in 2017, Deniz fled Venezuela but continued the investigation from his new home in Colombia. From there, the story evolved into an international effort to bring Saab to justice. In 2019, the U.S. government indicted Saab on charges that he laundered $350 million. The businessman, who was arrested in Cape Verde in 2020 when his plane stopped to refuel, had said the charges were politically motivated. A federal prosecutor who met Saab says in the documentary that the businessman later admitted that he paid bribes to Venezuelan government officials in connection with the lucrative food contracts. “This is a story of corruption, of kleptocracy, on a scale the world has not seen,” Marshall Billingslea, a former U.S. Treasury official who helped build the case against Saab, told FRONTLINE, “The things [Saab] was doing on behalf of Maduro were unconscionable.” However, in December 2023, Saab was freed in a prisoner swap by the U.S. government in exchange for 10 Americans and several political prisoners. Parallel to efforts to bring charges against those allegedly involved in the corrupt aid scheme were attempts to file legal charges against the journalists who exposed it. In 2021, a criminal court in Caracas issued an arrest warrant for Deniz on charges of “inciting hate,” which is punishable by up to 20 years in prison. The ruling means he will not be able to return home while he faces these charges. Officials have also denounced the journalists. Most recently, Venezuela’s attorney general alleged in May that Armando Info was part of a “media structure” that used extortion to wage a dirty war against the government. “We have taken a lot of risks to do this investigation,” said Deniz, who had to leave his parents and a brother behind when he fled. “The most difficult thing about doing this job is the family. They suffer. It is not easy for them to understand how I continue. But as a journalist I have no choice but to continue.” “A Dangerous Assignment: Uncovering Corruption in Maduro’s Venezuela” premieres on Tuesday, May 14, on PBS and on YouTube.

As India goes to the polls, archrival Pakistan is closely watching. Islamabad is irked that Indian politicians have taken a tough stance on Pakistan to try to woo voters. VOA Pakistan Bureau Chief Sarah Zaman reports.

islamabad — When he heard that devastating floods hit his village in northern Afghanistan last week, farmer Abdul Ghani rushed home from neighboring Kunduz province where he was visiting relatives. When he got home, he found out that his wife and three children had perished in the deluge.  Two of his sons survived but another son, who is 11, is still missing. "I couldn't even find the road to my village," he said, describing how he turned back and went another way to reach his district of Nahrin in Baghlan province.  Across Baghlan, others like Ghani and survivors of the disaster were still searching for their missing loved ones and burying their dead on Monday.  "Roads, villages and lands were all washed away," Ghani said. His wife, his 7-year-old and 9-year-old daughters and a 4-year-old son died.  "My life has turned into a disaster," he said, speaking to The Associated Press over the phone.  The U.N. food agency estimates that the unusually heavy seasonal rains in Afghanistan left more than 300 people dead and thousands of houses destroyed, most of them in Baghlan, which bore the brunt of flooding on Friday.  Survivors have been left with no home, no land and no source of livelihood, the World Food Organization said. Most of Baghlan is "inaccessible by trucks," said WFP, adding that it is resorting to every alternative it can think of to get food to the survivors.  In a statement Sunday, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed condolences to the victims, adding that the world body and aid agencies are working with the Taliban-run government to help.  "The United Nations and its partners in Afghanistan are coordinating with the de facto authorities to swiftly assess needs and provide emergency assistance," the statement said.  The dead include 51 children, according to UNICEF, one of several international aid groups that are sending relief teams, medicine, blankets and other supplies. The World Health Organization said it delivered 7 tons of medicine and emergency kits to the stricken areas.  Meanwhile, the U.N. migration agency has been distributing aid packages that include temporary shelters, essential nonfood items, solar modules, clothing, and tools for repairs to their damaged shelters.  The latest disaster came on the heels of a previous one, when at least 70 people died in April from heavy rains and flash floods in the country. The waters also destroyed about 2,000 homes, three mosques and four schools in western Farah and Herat and southern Zabul and Kandahar provinces.

Juba, South Sudan — In a significant policy reversal, the government of South Sudan has responded to a U.N. appeal and reversed its decision to impose taxes and fees on humanitarian services and products. However, Titus Osundina, the U.N. Development Program’s deputy resident representative for South Sudan, told VOA that questions remain because some private suppliers and companies that provide services to the U.N. may still be taxed. "We need to see how that clarifies,” Osundina said. South Sudan's finance minister explained in a press release that while U.N. humanitarian organizations and diplomatic missions are tax-exempt, companies contracted by the U.N. Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) are not exempt because they are "profit-making entities" and are subject to taxes under the agreement the mission originally signed with South Sudan. As South Sudan's largest humanitarian agency, the United Nations conducts crucial air drops, feeding more than 16,300 people monthly, especially in regions grappling with food insecurity, conflict and natural disasters.   With nearly half the country's population facing acute food shortages and the looming threat of floods, the U.N. stressed that new taxes would have added $339,000 to the UNMISS monthly operational costs, affecting food and humanitarian assistance operations.   No figures have been released about how much the new taxes will cost the U.N. contractors.  Timo Olkkonen, who heads up the European Union delegation to South Sudan, one of the major international donors to the African country, said agencies need ample time and resources to prepare and deliver relief assistance. “We encourage all the stakeholders to resolve this issue so that the fuel and other essential items will be coming here for the service of the South Sudanese, and so that the humanitarian community and the U.N. can continue with their lifesaving and peacekeeping work,” Olkkonen said. The U.N.'s role in ensuring stability in South Sudan ahead of the upcoming national election in December highlights the urgency of resolving this issue promptly.  

Analysts say Russia is adopting a so-called hybrid approach to growing its strategic influence in the Arctic, through research, increased maritime activities and tourism. For the inhabitants of one remote Norwegian community, the announcement of a new boat bringing tourists from Russia means more than just a few extra visitors. Henry Wilkins reports from Svalbard, Norway.

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

BALTIMORE — Crews conducted a controlled demolition Monday to break down the largest remaining span of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.  The explosives flashed orange and let off plumes of black smoke upon detonation, and the span crumpled into the water in seconds. The longest trusses toppled away from the grounded Dali container ship and slid off its bow, sending a wall of water splashing back toward the ship.  It marked a major step in freeing the ship, which has been stuck amid the wreckage since it lost power and crashed into one of the bridge's support columns shortly after leaving Baltimore on March 26. The demolished span came crashing down on the ship's bow and remained resting on its deck for the past six weeks.  The collapse killed six construction workers and halted most maritime traffic through Baltimore's busy port. The controlled demolition will allow the Dali to be refloated and restore traffic through the port as the cleanup enters its final stages.  Once the ship is removed, maritime traffic can begin returning to normal, which will provide relief for thousands of longshoremen, truckers and small business owners who have seen their jobs impacted by the closure.  Officials previously said the Dali's 21-member crew would shelter in place aboard the ship while the explosives were detonated.  In a videographic released this week, authorities said engineers were using precision cuts to control how the trusses break down. They said the method allows for "surgical precision" and is one of the safest and most efficient ways to remove steel under a high level of tension.  The next step is for hydraulic grabbers to lift the resulting sections of steel onto barges.  The Dali crew members haven't been allowed to leave the grounded vessel since the disaster. Officials said they've been busy maintaining the ship and assisting investigators. Of the crew members, 20 are from India and one is Sri Lankan.  The National Transportation Safety Board and the FBI are conducting investigations into the bridge collapse.  Danish shipping giant Maersk had chartered the Dali for a planned trip from Baltimore to Sri Lanka, but the ship didn't get far. Its crew sent a mayday call saying they had lost power and had no control of the steering system. Minutes later, the ship rammed into the bridge.  Officials have said the safety board investigation will focus on the ship's electrical system. 

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