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Voice of America
UNRWA Chief Says Israeli Pressure, Funding Freeze Threaten Agency
United Nations — The head of the embattled U.N. agency that assists Palestinian refugees warned Thursday that it is at a "breaking point," and its ability to assist millions of Palestinians is "seriously threatened."
"It is with profound regret that I must now inform you that the Agency has reached breaking point, with Israel’s repeated calls to dismantle UNRWA and the freezing of funding by donors at a time of unprecedented humanitarian needs in Gaza,"...
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Iraqi Court’s Decision Threatens to Undermine Kurdish Autonomy
washington — A recent decision by Iraq’s top court has raised concerns among Kurdish groups about the future of their autonomous region in the north.
The country’s Supreme Court on Wednesday issued several rulings regarding the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), including one related to the autonomous region’s election law.
The court ruled that KRG’s provincial election law’s article about the minority quota was deemed "unconstitutional." The current law, adopted in 1992 and...
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4 Charged in US Court With Transporting Iranian-Made Weapons
richmond, virginia — Four foreign nationals were charged Thursday with transporting suspected Iranian-made weapons on a vessel intercepted by U.S. naval forces in the Arabian Sea last month. Two Navy SEALs died during the mission.
The criminal complaint unsealed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Richmond alleges that the four defendants — who were all carrying Pakistani identification cards — were transporting suspected Iranian-made missile components for the type of weapons used by...
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US Making Plan for Palestinian State After War Ends in Gaza
Although fighting in Gaza shows no sign of ending soon, the international community is looking at the day-after scenario in the Gaza Strip. The United States says it wants to see a demilitarized Palestinian state headed by a revitalized Palestinian Authority. Israel continues to reject the idea. Linda Gradstein reports for VOA from Jerusalem.
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Humanitarians Call for Urgent Cease-Fire in Gaza as Situation Becomes More 'Desperate'
United Nations — The United Nations' top Middle East envoy told the U.N. Security Council after a visit to the Gaza Strip this week that what he saw was "shocking and unsustainable," and that the humanitarian situation is "desperate."
"I cannot stress enough how urgently we need a deal that will bring about a humanitarian cease-fire and the release of hostages," Tor Wennesland told the council Thursday from Jerusalem.
On Tuesday, the 15-nation...
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Houthis to Step Up Red Sea Strikes, Use 'Submarine Weapons,' Leader Says
DUBAI / ADEN / LONDON — Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis claimed responsibility for an attack on a U.K.-owned cargo ship and a drone assault on a U.S. destroyer on Thursday, and they targeted Israel's port and resort city of Eilat with ballistic missiles and drones.
The statement by a Houthi representative on social media site X came shortly after the group's leader said it was ramping up attacks on ships in the Red Sea and other waters — including with new "submarine...
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Turkey’s Erdogan Eyes Key Role in Postwar Gaza
As Israeli forces close in on the Gaza Strip's last main population center and international pressure grows for cease-fire, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is eyeing a key role in the postwar future of the Palestinian enclave. Analysts warn, though, that Erdogan's staunch support for Hamas will spur Israeli resistance. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul.
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Iran Begins First Election Campaign Since 2022 Mass Protests
TEHRAN, IRAN — Candidates for Iran's parliament began campaigning Thursday in the country's first election since the bloody crackdown on the 2022 nationwide protests that followed the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody.
State television said 15,200 candidates will compete for a four-year term in the 290-seat chamber that hardliners have controlled for two decades.
That is a record number and more than twice the candidates who contested the 2020 election, when...
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Israel: New Attempts Under Way to Reach Gaza Cease-Fire Deal With Hamas
united nations — Israel says new attempts are underway to reach a cease-fire with Hamas to temporarily halt fighting in Gaza and secure the release of the 100 or so hostages still being held by the militants.
Those attempts include sending negotiators on Friday to truce talks in Paris, Israeli media reported. The head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence service will lead the group.
Earlier, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told U.S. Mideast envoy Brett McGurk on Thursday that the...
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US Strikes Houthi Missile Sites in Yemen
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Humanitarian Agencies Call On Israel to Provide Aid to Palestinians
United Nations — The heads of 19 United Nations agencies and partner organizations expressed their frustration in a joint statement Wednesday, calling on Israel "to fulfill its legal obligation" to provide food and medical supplies and facilitate aid operations to Gaza, and for world leaders to prevent an even worse catastrophe from happening.
"Diseases are rampant. Famine is looming. Water is at a trickle. Basic infrastructure has been decimated," the humanitarian...
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WHO Chief Calls Gaza a 'Death Zone'
united nations — The Israeli military said Wednesday that it had carried out airstrikes in northern and southern Gaza, as the head of the World Health Organization said the enclave had become a “death zone.”
Israeli media reported that the Israel Defense Forces had announced the death of one soldier killed Tuesday in heavy fighting in northern Gaza, bringing to 237 the number of troops killed in the offensive against Hamas.
The IDF said it had carried out strikes against Hamas targets in...
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Iran Accuses Israel of Sabotage Attack on Natural Gas Pipeline
Dubai, UAE — Iran's oil minister on Wednesday accused Israel of a sabotage attack on an Iranian natural gas pipeline last week that caused multiple explosions on the line, further raising tensions between the regional archenemies against the backdrop of Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The accusations by Iran Oil Minister Javad Owji come as Israel has been blamed for a series of attacks targeting Tehran's nuclear program.
The "explosion of the gas pipeline was...
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Iran Dismisses Plan by UN Atomic Agency Leader to Visit in March
DUBAI — Iran's nuclear chief on Wednesday dismissed a suggestion that the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, would visit Iran next month but instead invited Grossi to a conference in Tehran in May.
Grossi said this week Iran was continuing to enrich uranium well beyond the needs for commercial nuclear use and said he planned to visit Tehran next month to tackle the "drifting apart" of relations between the IAEA and the Islamic Republic.
But...
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Red Sea Conflict Hits Egypt, Other Parts of the Region
cairo — Egypt's economy is facing serious hurdles after revenue from the country's most strategic asset — the Suez Canal — has dropped by nearly half. Attacks by the pro-Iranian Houthi militia group on ships passing by Yemen has made merchant ships avoid the Red Sea and the canal.
The Greek-flagged grain ship Sea Champion was slightly damaged Wednesday by two ballistic missiles fired by the northern Yemen-based Houthi group, which says it is attacking Western ships in solidarity...
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Israeli Airstrikes Hit Northern, Southern Gaza
United Nations — The Israeli military said Wednesday it carried out airstrikes in northern and southern Gaza, a day after the United States vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution that called for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire, scaled up aid access and rejected the forced displacement of Palestinians.
The Israel Defense Forces reported killing dozens of militants, including in the Khan Younis area of the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said...
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US MQ-9 Drone Shot Down by Houthis
Pentagon — The Pentagon has confirmed that Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen shot down a MQ-9 Reaper drone on Monday.
“A U.S. MQ-9 was downed or went down off the coast of Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen, in the Red Sea. Initial indications are that it was shot down by a Houthi surface-to-air missile,” Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters in response to a question by VOA.
Earlier, a U.S. official requesting anonymity to discuss national security issues had...
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