U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is headed back to the Middle East to visit multiple countries, including Israel. The Islamic State group claims responsibility for the explosions in Iran. And smaller, faster, stronger: a new generation of semiconductors heralds a new era for electronics.
AMMAN, JORDAN — Jordan on Thursday launched airstrikes inside Syria against suspected warehouses and hideouts of Iranian-backed drug smugglers, Jordanian and regional intelligence sources said. The army has stepped up a campaign against drug dealers after protracted clashes last month with dozens of infiltrators from Syria linked to pro-Iranian militias who crossed its border with weapons and explosives. The sources told Reuters that jets bombed the suspected home of a leading drug dealer in... Читать дальше...
On Thursday, a Houthi drone boat laden with explosives blew up in the Red Sea as it attempted to attack ships traversing international waters. VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb has more on how the U.S. and other nations are responding to these attacks.
white house — South Africa is taking the war in Gaza to a top global court, accusing Israel of genocide in a lengthy court filing that the International Court of Justice is preparing to hear next week. Israel says the filing constitutes "blood libel," and the White House dimisses it as "meritless." More than 22,000 Palestinians have perished since the start of Israel's offensive on Gaza, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. U.S. officials have previously cast doubt on those figures, noting that the ministry is run by Hamas... Читать дальше...
ISLAMABAD — The United States said Thursday that it expects the upcoming national elections in Pakistan to be conducted in a manner that is both free and fair and follows the country's laws. The South Asian nation of about 241 million people is scheduled to hold parliamentary elections on February 8. But the democratic process has been marred by widespread allegations of pre-poll rigging. "It's not for the United States to dictate to Pakistan the exact specifics of how it conducts its election,"... Читать дальше...
As the media focus on the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, rights groups say Israel has created an increasingly hostile environment for Palestinians in the West Bank by stepping up violence and arrests. In the territory’s Jenin refugee camp, reporter Henry Wilkins speaks to residents picking up the pieces after a sustained and aggressive incursion by the Israel Defense Forces.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is heading back to the Middle East late Thursday to visit multiple countries, including Israel, amid rising fears that the conflict is spreading. Tensions have surged between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah after a deputy Hamas leader was killed in Beirut on Tuesday. VOA's Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports.
WASHINGTON — At a time when growing numbers of young Americans are diagnosed with mental health conditions, media are looking at ways to cover the issue more responsibly. Data shows a rise in young adults being diagnosed with conditions such as depression or anxiety. But media reports of public incidents involving mental health sometimes use damaging language, experts say. Terms such as “unhinged” or “erratic” — language used to describe a homeless man killed on the New York subway last year — are held up as poor examples of coverage. Читать дальше...
seoul, south korea — The young daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is seen as her father's likely heir apparent, South Korea's spy agency said Thursday, its first such assessment on the preteen who was unveiled to the outside world a little more than a year ago. There has been intense outside debate and speculation about her, reportedly about 10 years old and named Ju Ae, since she made her first public appearance in November 2022, when she watched a long-range missile test launch with her father. Читать дальше...