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Voice of America
US Lawmakers Concerned About Escalating War in Middle East
U.S. President Joe Biden is weighing responses to the death of three U.S. service members in Jordan in a Sunday drone strike the White House attributed to Iranian-backed militias. The attack has many U.S. lawmakers concerned about increasing U.S. military involvement in the Middle East following the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel. Katherine Gypson and Saqib Ul Islam have more.
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UN Relief Agency Says It Might Have to Shut Down Gaza Operations
The U.S. says it needs to see "fundamental changes" before resuming funding to the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees. The U.S. and 15 other donor countries suspended aid after Israel alleged that agency staff were involved in the October 7 Hamas terror attack. VOA's Cindy Saine reports.
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Pressure Growing on Netanyahu to Accept Hamas Hostage Deal
New polls show that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is increasingly unpopular, and a majority of Israelis surveyed say he must step down once the war ends. Linda Gradstein reports for VOA from Jerusalem. Camera: Ricki Rosen
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Iran Begins Building 4 More Nuclear Power Plants
Tehran — Iran began construction on four more nuclear power plants in the country's south, with expected total capacity of 5,000 megawatts, the official IRNA news agency reported Thursday.
Iran seeks to produce 20,000 megawatts of nuclear energy by 2041.
The country has one active nuclear power plant, a 1,000 megawatt plant that went online with help from Russia in 2011. It's also building a 300-megawatt plant in the oil-rich Khuzestan province, near the western border with...
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Pentagon Hints at Stronger Response Against Iranian Proxies
Washington — U.S. forces are preparing to hit Iran-backed proxies across the Middle East with increased intensity in response to a drone attack on a base in Jordan that killed three U.S. soldiers and injured more than 40 others.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, speaking to reporters for the first time since he was hospitalized January 1 for complications from prostate cancer surgery, called the attack against sleeping quarters at Tower 22 in northeastern Jordan "egregious,"...
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Gunmen Take Hostages at US Company's Factory in Turkey in Apparent Protest of Gaza War
Gunmen Take Hostages at US Company's Turkish Factory in Apparent Protest of Gaza War
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Biden Sanctions Violent West Bank Settlers
Warren, Mich.; Washington — U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday visited Michigan to meet with union autoworkers (UAW) crucial to his reelection bid in the important swing state that is also home to the highest number of Arab Americans.
On the same day he issued an executive order to sanction individuals who support settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.
His administration says the action reflects a “holistic approach” to the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, that has...
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Analysts: Yemen’s Houthi Targeting of Red Sea Shipping May Have Larger Aims
Amman, Jordan — Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who have been targeting ships in the Red Sea and disrupting one of the world’s most important shipping lanes, may have other motives for their aggression beyond supporting Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, some analysts say.
The Houthis have been harassing ships in the neighboring Red Sea — especially U.S. and British vessels, but also any that they believe are headed to Israel — since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war in October.
The...
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UN: Gaza Crisis Deepens as Donor Nations Cut Aid
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India Deploys Unprecedented Naval Might Near Red Sea
NEW DELHI — India has deployed at least a dozen warships east of the Red Sea to provide security against pirates and has investigated more than 250 vessels as Western powers focus on attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis, Indian officials said.
India has not joined the U.S.-led task force for the Red Sea and does not have any warships there. But it currently has two frontline warships in the Gulf of Aden and at least 10 warships in the northern and western Arabian Sea, along with...
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US Strikes Multiple Drones in Yemen, American Official Says
WASHINGTON — The United States struck up to 10 unmanned drones in Yemen that were preparing to launch, a U.S. official said late on Wednesday, amid escalating tensions from the war in Gaza spreading through the region.
A U.S. Navy ship also shot down three Iranian drones and a Houthi anti-ship ballistic missile in the Gulf of Aden, the U.S. military's Central Command said in a statement. There were no injuries or damage reported, it said.
The Iran-aligned Houthi militants, who control...
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Kataib Hezbollah Should Take US Warning ‘Seriously,’ White House Says
The White House — National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby warned that Kataib Hezbollah, an Iran-backed group based in Iraq, should take "seriously" the Biden administration's determination to respond to Sunday's drone attack by Iran-backed militants that killed three American soldiers on a U.S. base in Jordan.
VOA White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara spoke with Kirby following Kataib Hezbollah's Tuesday announcement that it is suspending all military...
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Islamic State Trying to Rise Under the Radar
Washington — The Islamic State terror group, whose name once inspired fear across swaths of the Middle East and beyond, may be seeking to regain its reputation, pushing a new campaign it says is focused on killing the group’s enemies wherever they can be found.
Starting with its claim of the terror attack on the Iranian city of Kerman on January 3, killing nearly 90 people, Islamic State social media accounts have quickly pumped out claims for some 100 other attacks across Africa, the...
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China Circumspect After International Court Ruling on Israel
Johannesburg, South Africa — In a carefully worded response this week, China voiced its support of the U.N.’s International Court of Justice, or ICJ, ruling that orders Israel to desist from the killing of Palestinians in Gaza. Experts tell VOA that privately China has reservations about the use of such courts to deal with allegations of genocide, which could have awkward implications for Beijing.
“We hope that the ICJ’s provisional measures can be effectively implemented,” said Foreign...
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Turkish Assault on Syrian Kurdish Forces Fuels Talk of American Pullout
Turkish warplanes continue to pound U.S.-backed Kurdish forces in Syria that are fighting Islamic State militants. As Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul, Turkey’s assault is fueling speculation among observers that Washington could be preparing to pull out and cut back its support for Kurdish forces in Syria.
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With Bonfires, Hope, Iran's Minority Zoroastrians Mark Sadeh Holiday
TEHRAN, Iran — Lighting fires that brightened the night sky, followers of Iran's minority Zoroastrian religion marked the Sadeh festival in several cities Tuesday, celebrating the end of the coldest winter days.
Every year on January 30, Zoroastrians gather after sunset to celebrate the 50 days and 50 nights remaining until spring. Sadah, which means "the 100," is an ancient feast from when the religion was the dominant faith in the powerful Persian empire, which collapsed...
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US Targets Iranian, Hezbollah Financial Network With Sanctions
WASHINGTON — The United States imposed sanctions on three entities and one individual based in Turkey and Lebanon on Wednesday for giving "critical financial support" to a financial network used by Iran's Quds Force, or IRGC-QF, and Lebanon's Hezbollah.
"These entities have generated hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of revenue from selling Iranian commodities, including to the Syrian government," the U.S. Treasury Department said in a...
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Red Sea Container Shipping Down 30% Over Attacks, IMF Says
Dubai, United Arab Emirates — Container shipping through the Red Sea has dropped by nearly one-third this year as attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels continue, the International Monetary Fund said Wednesday.
"Container shipping ... has declined by almost 30%," said Jihad Azour, director of the IMF's Middle East and Central Asia department, adding that "the drop in trade accelerated in the beginning of this year."
The Iran-backed Houthis have launched more than 30...
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Israel Calls to Disband UNRWA
Israel calls for disbanding UNRWA, the United Nations agency that aids Palestinians, after Israel presented evidence that at least 12 UNRWA staffers participated in the October 7 massacre. Several major donors have suspended funding. Palestinians say that UNRWA fills a vital role in distributing humanitarian aid in Gaza. Linda Gradstein reports for VOA from Jerusalem. (Camera: Ricki Rosen; Produced by: Bakhtiyar Zamanov)
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