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Iraq

White House shows no indication of restricting weapons for Israel

Voice of America - Thu, 04/04/2024 - 04:12
washington — U.S. weapons sales to Israel have been under increased scrutiny amid outrage over the reported deaths of tens of thousands of people in Gaza since the start of the war, including seven aid workers killed in an Israeli airstrike this week. President Joe Biden said in a statement on Tuesday that he was "outraged and heartbroken" by the deaths, his latest stern rebuke of Israel's war conduct. Israel said the strike was "unintentional" and promised an...
Categories: Iraq

Iran turning its prisons into 'killing fields,' says Amnesty

Voice of America - Thu, 04/04/2024 - 03:41
PARIS — Iran has turned its prisons into sites of mass killing with at least 853 people executed in the Islamic republic in 2023, over half of them on drug-related charges, Amnesty International said on Thursday. The London-based group said in a report that stronger international action was needed to halt the rise in executions, otherwise "thousands" risked being hanged in the coming years. The Iranian authorities have "persisted with their state-sanctioned killing spree...
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Britain says Gaza situation ‘intolerable,’ demands investigation into Israeli airstrike

Voice of America - Thu, 04/04/2024 - 03:12
Britain has called for an immediate investigation into an Israeli airstrike that killed seven aid workers in the Gaza strip, amid mounting global anger over Monday’s attack. Three of the dead were British citizens, as Henry Ridgwell reports from London.
Categories: Iraq

UN says children denied access to aid in world’s war zones

Voice of America - Thu, 04/04/2024 - 00:50
New York — Children are being denied access to lifesaving humanitarian assistance in conflict zones around the world in a blatant disregard for international law, a senior U.N. official said Wednesday. “Let me be very clear: The Geneva Conventions and the Convention on the Rights of the Child contain key provisions requiring the facilitation of humanitarian relief to children in need,” Virginia Gamba, the U.N. envoy on children and armed conflict, told a meeting of the Security...
Categories: Iraq

US says UN not venue to negotiate Palestinian statehood

Voice of America - Thu, 04/04/2024 - 00:17
Washington — The United States on Wednesday opposed a Palestinian push for full membership at the United Nations, with Washington saying it backed statehood but after negotiations with Israel.  "We support the establishment of an independent Palestinian state," U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters.  "That is something that should be done through direct negotiations through the parties, something we are pursuing at this time, and not at the United...
Categories: Iraq

Israeli war Cabinet member calls for September elections amid Gaza war

Voice of America - Wed, 04/03/2024 - 21:36
JERUSALEM — Israel war Cabinet member Benny Gantz on Wednesday called for national elections in September, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government faces pressure at home and abroad over the war in Gaza. "We must agree on a date for elections in September, toward a year to the war if you will," Gantz said in a televised briefing. "Setting such a date will allow us to continue the military effort while signaling to the citizens of Israel that we will soon renew...
Categories: Iraq

US ‘outraged’ over Israeli strike that killed 7 aid workers

Voice of America - Wed, 04/03/2024 - 05:35
White House national security spokesman John Kirby says the U.S. was "outraged" over the Israeli airstrike that killed seven workers with a Washington-based charity, and he called on Israel to do more to ensure civilians and humanitarian aid workers are protected. VOA’s Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports from the State Department.
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Netanyahu vows to close Al-Jazeera news network in Israel

Voice of America - Wed, 04/03/2024 - 02:53
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he will shut down the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera news network’s operations in Israel under a new law that allows the closure of foreign networks deemed a threat to national security. Linda Gradstein reports for VOA from Jerusalem. Camera: Ricki Rosen.
Categories: Iraq

Hezbollah threat creates ghost towns in Northern Israel

Voice of America - Tue, 04/02/2024 - 22:29
As rocket fire from Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group intensified in northern Israel, towns along the Israel-Lebanon border emptied, with no plan for its thousands of residents to return. From Metula, Israel, Pilar Cebrian reports on the ghost towns left behind. Narration by Veronica Villafane.
Categories: Iraq

Syrian Kurds say US presence important to regional stability

Voice of America - Tue, 04/02/2024 - 21:59
Amuda, Syria — Thirteen years after the start of Syria’s conflict, countless woes remain for millions of Syrians. For people in the Kurdish-majority northeast, one concern tops all else: whether neighboring Turkey will carry out another ground invasion that could put an end to their semiautonomous region, carved out in the wake of the civil war.  “People here have been accustomed to shortages of electricity and water, lack of basic services and bad infrastructure, but one thing that they...
Categories: Iraq

US anti-Muslim incidents hit record high in 2023 due to Israel-Gaza war, advocacy group says

Voice of America - Tue, 04/02/2024 - 21:56
Washington — Reported discrimination and attacks against Muslims and Palestinians reached a record high in the U.S. in 2023, driven by rising Islamophobia and bias as the Israel-Gaza war raged late in the year, data from an advocacy group showed on Tuesday. Complaints totaled 8,061 in 2023, a 56% rise from the year before and the highest since the Council on American-Islamic Relations began records nearly 30 years ago. About 3,600 of those incidents occurred from October to December, CAIR...
Categories: Iraq

Blinken urges swift, impartial investigation into Israeli strike that killed aid workers in Gaza

Voice of America - Tue, 04/02/2024 - 21:16
State Department — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday that the United States has urged Israel to promptly investigate an Israeli airstrike in Gaza that resulted in the deaths of seven humanitarian workers. Blinken reiterated the call for Israel to prioritize the protection of civilian lives. "We've spoken directly to the Israeli government about this particular incident. We've urged a swift, a thorough and impartial investigation to understand exactly what...
Categories: Iraq

Thousands of Israelis join anti-government protests

Voice of America - Tue, 04/02/2024 - 01:08
JERUSALEM — Thousands of Israelis took to the streets in Jerusalem on Monday, continuing a three-day protest against the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and demanding new elections.  The protests have gathered in intensity as the war in Gaza nears the end of its sixth month and anger at the government's handling of the 134 Israeli hostages still held by the Islamist movement Hamas in Gaza has grown.  "We're here to protest. To ask for having elections as soon...
Categories: Iraq