Los Angeles — A California law that bans people from carrying firearms in most public places will take effect on New Year's Day, even as a court case continues to challenge the law. A U.S. district judge issued a ruling Dec. 20 to block the law from taking effect, saying it violates the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and deprives people of their ability to defend themselves and their loved ones. But on Saturday, a federal appeals court put a temporary hold on the district judge's ruling. Читать дальше...
Israel’s prime minister says the war on Hamas is far from over. This, as the increasingly widening conflict spills into 2024. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi has the story.
Vatican City — Tributes were paid Sunday on the first anniversary of the death of Pope Benedict XVI, with Pope Francis praising his love and wisdom and Benedict's private secretary expressing hope he might one day be declared a saint. Benedict, the first pope to retire in six centuries, died last Dec. 31 at the age of 95 in the Vatican monastery where he spent 10 years as a pope emeritus. He is buried in the grottoes underneath St. Peter’s Basilica. Speaking at the end of his weekly noon blessing... Читать дальше...
COPENHAGEN — Denmark's Queen Margrethe II will abdicate on January 14 next year after 52 years on the throne and will be succeeded by her eldest son Crown Prince Frederik, she said her annual New Year's speech on Sunday. The 83-year-old queen, who took over the throne in 1972, is the longest-serving monarch in Europe following the death of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022. In February, she underwent successful back surgery. "The surgery naturally gave rise to thinking about the... Читать дальше...
Islamabad — Militant attacks across Pakistan killed around 500 civilians and a similar number of security forces in 2023, the highest number of fatalities the country has experienced in six years, according to a new report released Sunday. Northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and southwestern Baluchistan provinces bordering Afghanistan accounted for most of the terror attacks and the resulting casualties, the report by the Islamabad-based independent Center for Research and Security Studies, or CRSS, said. Читать дальше...
Berlin — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz took a helicopter flight Sunday to check the flooded regions in the northwest of the country, where rivers have swelled and overflowed homes, roads and fields after weeks of heavy rain. In recent days, hundreds of people have been evacuated from affected areas in northern and eastern Germany as a precaution. Scholz landed in the morning in the town of Verden in Lower Saxony where dikes along rivers were soaked with water and close to bursting in some parts of the state. Читать дальше...
Seoul — The South Korean capital, Seoul, received the biggest single-day snowfall recorded in December for more than 40 years Saturday but there have been no reports of any weather-related deaths or injuries. The country's weather agency said Sunday that 12.2 centimeters (4.8 inches) of snow fell on Seoul the previous day, the heaviest since 1981. The Korea Meteorological Administration said a heavy snow advisory was issued for Seoul's entire area Saturday before it was lifted later in the day. Читать дальше...
Nairobi — The leader of Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Sunday visited Djibouti, which is leading regional efforts to broker a cease-fire after more than eight months of war. The Horn of Africa nation is the latest stop on Mohamed Hamdan Daglo's first trip abroad since fighting erupted between the RSF and the Sudanese army in mid-April. His regional tour — which has also taken him to Ethiopia and Uganda — comes as diplomats scramble to broker a meeting between Daglo and his rival... Читать дальше...
Dubai, United Arab Emirates — Iranian-backed Houthi militants attacked a Maersk MAERSKb.CO container vessel, prompting the company to pause all sailing through the Red Sea for 48 hours, Maersk said on Sunday. The attack was the latest by Houthi militants in Yemen, who have been targeting vessels in The Red Sea to show their support for Palestinian Islamist group Hamas fighting Israel in Gaza. U.S. Navy helicopters sank three of four small boats used by the militants to attack the Maersk Hangzhou... Читать дальше...
Niamey — Eleven people were killed in weekend attacks by suspected jihadists on two villages near Niger's border with Burkina Faso, Niger's defense ministry said on Sunday. "The terrorists on several motorcycles broke into the villages of Amara and Loudji," some 30 kilometers [19 miles] southeast of Bankilare, "where they attacked peaceful citizens, killing 11," a ministry statement said. The killings came as Nigerien defense and security forces on Friday carried out "multiple air-land offensives,"... Читать дальше...
Beirut, Lebanon — More than 4,360 people, including combatants and civilians, were killed in Syria’s civil war in 2023, in the thirteenth year since fighting began, a war monitor said on Sunday. The figure was an increase on 2022, when 3,825 people were killed. That was the lowest annual death toll since the conflict began in 2011 with the government's brutal crackdown on peaceful pro-democracy protests, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. This year's count included 1,889 civilians... Читать дальше...
Kinshasa — A group of opposition presidential candidates in the Democratic Republic of Congo asked supporters on Sunday to take to the streets to protest after provisional results of the disputed election are released. Congo's election commission is due on Sunday to release full provisional results from the Dec. 20 presidential election. The opposition has alleged widespread irregularities, which they say have enabled fraud. "We categorically reject the sham elections... and its results," the... Читать дальше...
Beans, rice, greens and round things are on the menu
Top Pakistani politicians saw their fortunes take a turn in 2023. As Pakistan heads to much-delayed polls in February amid an environment of repression, observers note the military remains a strong factor in the country's political landscape. VOA’s Pakistan Bureau Chief Sarah Zaman reports from Islamabad. VOA footage by Wajid Asad.
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — The doctors gave Shaimaa Nabahin an impossible choice: lose your left leg or risk death. The 22-year-old had been hospitalized in Gaza for around a week, after her ankle was partially severed in an Israeli airstrike, when doctors told her she was suffering from blood poisoning. Nabahin chose to maximize her chances of survival, and agreed to have her leg amputated 15 centimeters (6 inches) below the knee. The decision upended life for the ambitious university student... Читать дальше...
washington — A U.S. destroyer shot down two anti-ship ballistic missiles fired from Yemen on Saturday as it responded to a call for help from a container ship that was hit in a separate strike, the U.S. military said. The missiles were launched from territory controlled by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, the U.S. Central Command said in a social media post, describing it as the 23rd illegal attack by the Houthis on international shipping since November 19. The Houthis have repeatedly targeted... Читать дальше...
MEXICO CITY — Mexico and Venezuela announced Saturday that they have restarted repatriation flights of Venezuelans migrants in Mexico, the latest move by countries in the region to take on a flood of people traveling north to the United States. The move comes as authorities say at least 10,000 migrants a day have been arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border, many of them asylum-seekers. It also comes as a migrant caravan of thousands of people from across the region — largely Venezuelans — has trekked through southern Mexico this week. Читать дальше...
london — Two-time Oscar-nominated actor Tom Wilkinson, who starred in "The Full Monty" — a movie about a group of unemployed steel workers who launched new careers as strippers — died suddenly on Saturday. The British actor's death was confirmed in a statement released by his agent on behalf of his family. He was 75. "It is with great sadness that the family of Tom Wilkinson announce that he died suddenly at home on December 30. His wife and family were with him." Wilkinson was nominated... Читать дальше...
MEXICO CITY — Venezuela said Saturday it will keep nearly 6,000 troops deployed until a British military vessel sent to neighboring Guyana leaves the waters off the coast of the two South American nations. In a video posted to X, Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino appeared surrounded by military officers in front of a map of Venezuela and Guyana, a former British colony. Padrino said the forces are "safeguarding our national sovereignty." "Armed forces have been deployed not just in the east of the country... Читать дальше...
