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US not involved in Israeli strikes on Iran, Blinken says
The Biden administration said it was not involved in Israel’s predawn drone strike inside Iran on Friday. As White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara reports, both Iran and Israel appear to be heeding calls for de-escalation, at least for now.
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Israel-Iran conflict eases pressure on Biden to condition aid
washington — The threat of a wider war between Israel and Iran may give U.S. President Joe Biden more breathing room to provide military assistance to Israel without restrictions sought by progressive lawmakers of his own party.
Iran's massive April 13 aerial assault on Israel and Israel's more limited counterstrike early Friday have left the region on edge, fearing an escalation of the 6-month-old Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
An aid package is set to be voted on in the U.S. House...
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French police detain intruder at Iranian consulate in Paris
Paris, France — French authorities Friday detained a man suspected of entering the Iranian consulate in Paris and falsely claiming to be armed with an explosive vest, police and prosecutors said.
No explosives or arms were found on the man or the premises after he surrendered to police following the incident.
The man, born in 1963 in Iran, had been convicted for setting fire to tires in front of the entrance of the Iranian embassy in Paris in 2023, the Paris prosecutor's office...
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Tel Aviv, Tehran downplay Israeli airstrike on Iran
washington — Both Tel Aviv and Tehran downplayed Israel’s predawn aerial strike inside Iran on Friday, suggesting neither side wants to see the situation escalate into a full-scale regional conflict.
Israel offered no official comment on the incident.
Iran’s Islamic Republic News Agency, IRNA, reported only that, “citing an Iranian official,” an air defense system had been activated early Friday “after the sound of an explosion” was heard near a major air base in the central Isfahan...
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US not involved in Israeli strikes on Iran, says Blinken
White House — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday the United States was not involved in Israel’s predawn aerial strike inside Iran and declined to confirm reports that Washington was notified of Israeli plans shortly before the attack.
“The reports that you've seen, I'm not going to speak to that except to say that the United States has not been involved in any offensive operations,” he said during a press conference following a meeting of the Group of Seven (G7)...
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Israel conducts airstrike in Iran, US media say, citing Israeli, US officials
WASHINGTON — Israel carried out a predawn aerial strike inside Iran on Friday.
The New York Times and The Washington Post cited Israeli officials as saying Israel had carried out an airstrike in Iran. U.S. officials were cited by multiple news outlets as calling it a missile strike.
The location or target of the apparent Israeli strike was not immediately identified.
About an hour after the reports emerged, an Israeli military spokesperson contacted by VOA said he had no comment "at...
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Arrests of Pro-Palestinian protesters at Columbia University create more tension on campus
New York — More than 100 Columbia University students were arrested Thursday, culminating months of on-and-off student protests on campus since October 7 when the war between Israel and Hamas began.
Columbia has seen numerous protests with students voicing their support for Palestinians and against Israel's bombing of Gaza that has resulted in the deaths of about 33,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry.
The arrests were authorized by university President Minouche...
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US vetoes Palestinian bid for full UN membership
united nations — The Palestinians failed to pass a major hurdle in their renewed effort to seek full United Nations membership on Thursday when the United States vetoed a Security Council resolution recommending their admission.
“It remains the U.S. view that the most expeditious path toward statehood for the Palestinian people is through direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority with the support of the United States and other partners,” said U.S. Deputy U.N....
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Chinese official criticizes US for its UN votes on Gaza cease-fire
jakarta, indonesia — Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi criticized the United States on Thursday for its votes on previous United Nations resolutions for a Gaza cease-fire, following talks in Jakarta with his Indonesian counterpart, Retno Marsudi.
During the talks, Wang highlighted the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the Middle East, and he called on all parties to exercise restraint in the conflict.
“The conflict in Gaza has lasted for half a year and caused a rare...
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Turkey’s leader to visit Iraq in bid for support against Kurdish rebels
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan travels to Iraq next week for the first time in 12 years. Erdogan is looking for Iraqi support in his war on Kurdish rebels based in Iraq and as Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul, the visit also aims to counter Iran’s influence.
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Iran warns Israel against attacking nuclear sites
Tehran, Iran — A senior Revolutionary Guards general threatened on Thursday to target Israel's "nuclear facilities" if it strikes Iran’s sites, state media reported, anticipating retaliation for Tehran's weekend attack.
Israel has vowed a response to the Iranian aerial attack, which was mostly intercepted. World leaders have urged de-escalation.
Violence involving Iran-aligned groups across the Middle East has soared since the start of the Israel-Hamas war with the...
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Record flooding in Dubai grounds flights; airport working to fully resume operations
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Google fires 28 workers protesting contract with Israel
New York — Google fired 28 employees following a disruptive sit-down protest over the tech giant's contract with the Israeli government, a Google spokesperson said Thursday.
The Tuesday demonstration was organized by the group "No Tech for Apartheid," which has long opposed "Project Nimbus," Google's joint $1.2 billion contract with Amazon to provide cloud services to the government of Israel.
Video of the demonstration showed police arresting Google...
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Pakistan to host Iran's president Monday for official bilateral talks
Islamabad — Pakistan announced Thursday that Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi will pay a three-day official visit to Islamabad, starting April 22, as the neighboring countries seek to mend relations after an unprecedented exchange of antiterror missile strikes on each other’s territory.
“He is coming. We welcome them,” Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar told reporters in the Pakistani capital. “The visit is on the card for April 22nd, 23rd and 24th. We are obviously making full preparations for...
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At UN, Iran warns Israel against retaliation
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Egypt’s Rafah border: The costs of fleeing Gaza
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Egyptian firm offers escape from Gaza – for $5,000 a head
London/Cairo — From her home in Cairo, Etemad Abu Tahoun watches with terror as -- hour by hour -- the television news relays the devastation wrought on Gaza.
Her only son, 23-year-old Momen, is trapped in the Palestinian territory. A brief, broken video call confirms he is still alive – before the signal cuts off.
She is trying to crowdfund enough money to pay for her son’s escape.
"I will help him to escape from the killing," she said. "And his presence will be my...
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Chief of relief agency UNRWA pushes back against Israeli accusations
UNITED NATIONS — The head of the embattled U.N. agency that assists Palestinian refugees said Wednesday that as famine is taking hold across Gaza, the agency is facing an Israeli campaign to push it out of the occupied Palestinian territories and prevent it from carrying out its humanitarian mission.
"In Gaza, the government of Israel seeks to end UNRWA's activities," Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini told the U.N. Security Council. "The agency's requests to...
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Sister demands release of Israeli-Russian researcher kidnapped in Iraq
washington — As U.S. President Joe Biden was hosting Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani on Monday, a group of demonstrators held a protest outside the White House, demanding the release of a Princeton doctoral candidate kidnapped in Iraq a little over a year ago.
Elizabeth Tsurkov was abducted in Baghdad in March 2023 shortly after her arrival in the Iraqi capital. The dual Israeli-Russian citizen had traveled to Iraq to conduct fieldwork for her dissertation.
"We have tried...
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