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Israeli Airstrike Hits Hezbollah Stronghold in Northeast Lebanon
BEIRUT — An Israeli airstrike deep in northeastern Lebanon early Sunday wounded at least three people, a local official said.
The airstrike near the city of Baalbek, a stronghold of Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group, was the latest to hit the area in recent weeks.
The strike occurred a few minutes after midnight and wounded three people according to Baalbek's mayor, Bachir Khodr, who posted the news on X.
It was not immediately clear what was hit. The strike came hours after...
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Ignoring Syrian Crisis Risks Destabilizing Region, Experts Say
GENEVA — More than 13 years after Syria erupted into civil war, the United Nations says the country has become a more dangerous place for civilians, noting that the oppressive government of President Bashir al-Assad that sparked the flames of conflict remains in power and continues to escalate hostilities on multiple fronts.
“The Syria crisis remains one of the most deadly to civilians in the world. Hostilities continue to plague various parts of Syria and have recently seen a sharp spike,...
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UN Chief Calls Blocked Gaza Aid 'Moral Outrage'
Gaza Strip, Palestinian Territories — During a visit to the Rafah crossing Saturday, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said blocked aid to Gaza is a “moral outrage.”
“Here from this crossing, we see the heartbreak and heartlessness of it all. A long line of blocked relief trucks on one side of the gates, the long shadow of starvation on the other,” Guterres said.
“That is more than tragic. It is a moral outrage,” he said.
In his remarks, Guterres called for an immediate humanitarian...
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China’s Renewables, Oil Consumption Fit Gulf States, Analysts Say
Tel Aviv, Israel — During China’s annual national legislature this month, Premier Li Qiang announced plans to construct more solar and wind farms as well as hydropower projects.
China is already the world’s largest producer of renewable energy and also holds near-monopolies on the globe’s renewable energy manufacturing and supply chain. Last year alone China produced more solar panels than the U.S. has ever produced in total.
China’s dominance in electric vehicle battery components and...
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US Says It Struck 3 Houthi Underground Storage Sites in Yemen
Washington — The U.S. military said Friday it had struck three underground storage facilities used by Yemen's Houthis, as the Iran-backed rebels continue to launch attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.
U.S. forces "conducted self-defense strikes against three Houthi underground storage facilities in Iranian-backed Houthi terrorist-controlled areas of Yemen," Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement.
It said U.S. forces had also "successfully engaged and destroyed...
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Book Reviews: ‘An American Dream,’ by David Finkel; ‘A Dangerous Country,’ Ron Kovic; ‘Diplomats at War’ Charles Trueheart.
Three new books track the pain that persists among American soldiers and diplomats in the aftermath of war.
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At UN, Russia and China Veto US Effort at Gaza Cease-Fire
UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. Security Council failed again Friday to demand a Gaza cease-fire after Russia and China vetoed a U.S.-drafted resolution supporting a halt to the fighting.
"Russia and China simply did not want to vote for a resolution that was penned by the United States, because it would rather see us fail than see this council succeed," U.S. Ambassador Linda-Thomas Greenfield said.
Eleven of the 15 council members supported the U.S. text, Algeria joined Russia and...
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UN to Vote on Resolution Calling for Immediate Cease-Fire in Gaza
UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations Security Council is set to vote on a United States-sponsored resolution declaring that "an immediate and sustained cease-fire" in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza is "imperative" to protect civilians and enable humanitarian aid to be delivered to more than 2 million hungry Palestinians.
U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said she was optimistic that the new, tougher draft resolution would be approved Friday by the 15-member...
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UN Fact-Finding Mission Seeks Extension, But Tehran’s Allies Could Force Termination
Washington — U.N.-appointed international legal experts who investigated Iran’s suppression of a women’s rights movement that erupted in September 2022 are appealing for more time to do their work, but objections from Tehran’s allies could terminate their mission next month.
The chairperson of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran, Sara Hossain, made the appeal Monday in Geneva, where she and her two counterparts presented their first in-depth report to the U.N. Human...
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No Need for US Waiver to Build Gas Pipeline With Iran, Pakistan Says
islamabad — Pakistan said Thursday that it does not need a waiver from U.S. sanctions to build its portion of a pipeline to import natural gas from Iran.
"It is a segment of the pipeline which is being built inside Pakistani territory. So, we do not believe that at this point there is room for any discussion or waiver from a third party," Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said in response to a VOA question at the weekly news briefing.
Donald Lu,...
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Berlin Summons Iran Ambassador Over 2022 Synagogue Plot
BERLIN — Germany on Wednesday said it had summoned the Iranian ambassador over an attempted arson attack on a synagogue in 2022 that Berlin believes was planned with the help of Tehran.
A German Iranian national was sentenced in December to two years and nine months in prison in the plot to attack a synagogue in the western German city of Bochum.
The 36-year-old, identified only as Babak J., had planned to target the synagogue but ended up throwing an incendiary device at an adjacent...
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American Muslim Groups Plan to Boycott White House Ramadan
American Muslim leaders outraged by President Joe Biden's support of Israel say they will not take part in White House Ramadan and Eid celebrations this year as they demand the administration push for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza. As White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara reports, this is not the first time American Muslims’ anger has overshadowed Ramadan at the White House.
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White House Pressures Israel on Planned Invasion of Rafah
President Biden has asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to send a team to Washington to “discuss ways to target Hamas without a major ground operation in Rafah.” Netanyahu insists that going into Rafah is the only way to destroy Hamas. Linda Gradstein reports for VOA from Jerusalem. Camera: Ricki Rosen.
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China Envoy Meets Hamas Leader as Beijing Steps Into Israel Conflict
Tel Aviv, Israel — China's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday acknowledged a meeting between its diplomat Wang Kejian and the political leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, on Sunday in Qatar to discuss the conflict in Gaza. In a short statement, the ministry said Wang and Haniyeh discussed the conflict but did not elaborate.
The meeting is the first announced to have taken place between the Chinese envoy and Hamas since the militants attacked Israel on October 7,...
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American Muslim Groups Plan to Boycott White House Ramadan
WASHINGTON — American Muslims outraged by President Joe Biden's support of Israel say they will not take part in White House Ramadan and Eid celebrations this year as they continue to demand that the administration push for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza.
Should an invitation come, it's "widely understood" that American Muslim community leaders and organizations will decline, said Robert McCaw, director of the Government Affairs Department at the Council on...
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South Africa Accuses US Congress of Adding it to a New ‘Axis of Evil’ Over Israel Genocide Case
WASHINGTON — South Africa seeks to limit the damage to its relations with Washington caused by its legal challenge to Israel’s assault on Gaza, a South African official said on Tuesday.
Naledi Pandor, who is South Africa's minister of international relations and cooperation, is in Washington seeking to sway members of the U.S. Congress from a proposed law that would further strain U.S. ties to Africa’s most vibrant democracy and a major mining, banking and manufacturing hub.
“I think...
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UN Rights Chief Warns Israel's Restriction of Aid Could Be War Crime
UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations human rights commissioner said Tuesday that the looming famine in the Gaza Strip is the result of Israel's restriction on the entry and distribution of humanitarian aid, and he warned it could amount to a war crime.
"The extent of Israel's continued restrictions on the entry of aid into Gaza, together with the manner in which it continues to conduct hostilities, may amount to the use of starvation as a method of war, which is a war...
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