China

WASHINGTON — Iran is likely to respond to new attacks from Israel or additional Western sanctions by edging ever closer to crossing the nuclear threshold, according to a just-released U.S. intelligence assessment. The unclassified report, issued Thursday by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, finds that while Tehran is not currently poised to build a nuclear weapon, it is undertaking activities “that better position …

The Israeli military killed at least 39 Palestinians in strikes across Gaza, medics said on Thursday, including at least 20 people killed in an attack that set ablaze tents sheltering displaced families in a camp. Israeli strikes also hit a hospital in the north, killing a 16-year-old boy who used a wheelchair, among others, according to the hospital’s director. Strikes were also reported in Gaza …

The human rights group Amnesty International has accused Israel of committing acts of genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza – the first time the organization has leveled such an accusation during an active conflict. Israel strongly rejects the claim, as Henry Ridgwell reports. …

Southeast Asia’s online scamming industry and the human trafficking behind it keeps growing. Experts say there are hundreds of thousands of victims. Dave Grunebaum reports. Video: VOA. Graphic video: Pertubuhan Kebajikan Al-Ehsan Islamiah Malaysia. Warning: Video includes disturbing content. …

Baku, Azerbaijan / Washington — International rights organizations and Western governments are calling on the Azerbaijani government to release prominent human rights defender Rufat Safarov. “The arrest of Rufat Safarov on trumped-up fraud and hooliganism charges is another glaring example of the Azerbaijani authorities’ relentless efforts to silence dissenting voices in the country,” Amnesty International said in a Wednesday statement. Safarov, a former prosecutor who heads …

Humanitarian aid efforts are underway for tens of thousands of Syrians displaced by a surge in fighting between rebels and the government in northwest Syria. Many of the internally displaced persons, or IDPs, come from the Aleppo, Afrin and Shahba regions and are fleeing to Raqqa and Tabqa in the north and east of Syria. Resources are stretched thin, though, according to an official from …

UNITED NATIONS — U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Thursday that developments in Syria over the last week are “grave and dramatic,” and it is “high time” for all parties in the country to “engage seriously” to resolve the nearly 14-year-long conflict. “Tens of thousands of civilians are at risk in a region already on fire,” Guterres told reporters. “We are seeing the bitter fruits of a …

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA — The young man has been handcuffed to the ceiling, beaten until his buttocks turned purple, and received electric shocks to his feet. That’s how his captors treat him inside a scam compound in Myanmar where he has been trapped since October, according to his mother, who showed VOA a photograph sent by her son’s captors of what she says is his beaten …

Pacific Island nations are arguing before the International Court of Justice, calling for an advisory opinion on the legal obligations of countries to fight climate change. This comes after COP29, where richer nations pledged $300 billion in annual climate finance by 2035, a figure critics say is insufficient. As VOA’s Jessica Stone reports, the cost of climate inaction is most acute for Pacific Islanders. Camera: …

Syria’s military said it has withdrawn its forces from the central city of Hama after intense fighting with insurgent forces, marking another major defeat for President Bashar al-Assad in the country’s ongoing civil war. The army issued a statement Thursday that it was redeploying its troops outside Hama to protect the city’s civilian population. The rebels said earlier Thursday they had entered the city and …

Turkish-backed Syrian rebels’ lightning victories are threatening to stoke tensions among Turkey, Iran and Russia — the main outside players in Syria’s 13-year-long civil war. But some analysts predict diplomacy could prevail, as Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul. …

AMMAN, Jordan — Syrian rebels said on Thursday they had started pushing into Hama, a major city where pro-government forces backed by intense Russian airstrikes are trying to stave off a new rebel victory and halt the insurgents’ lightning advance.   Rebel commander Hassan Abdul Ghany posted on social media that the insurgents had begun to penetrate Hama. State media had earlier reported that pro-government forces …

Seoul, South Korea — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is now facing impeachment after a shock bid to suspend civilian rule. But he is far from the first South Korean president to see his rule descend into acrimony and scandal.  Here is a recap of the downfalls of previous South Korean leaders. 2016: Park impeached, jailed In December 2016, Park Geun-hye, president since 2013, was …

  Seoul, South Korea  — Leaders of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s political party say they will not back a motion by the opposition party to impeach the embattled president over his short-lived attempt to impose martial law. Han Dong-hun, the leader of the conservative People Power Party, called Yoon’s shock decision this week “unconstitutional” when speaking to reporters Thursday, and said he had asked the …

JAKARTA, INDONESIA — Members of the Southeast Asian regional bloc ASEAN are planning to hold a ministerial meeting in Thailand later this month to discuss the crisis in member-nation Myanmar, Indonesia’s foreign ministry spokesperson Roy Soemirat told reporters Thursday. At the invitation of current ASEAN host Laos, the meeting will talk about ways to approach the crisis which has gripped Myanmar since a 2021 military coup, …

HONG KONG — Hong Kong leader John Lee said on Thursday he had replaced two senior officials in an unexpected move that he said would maximize social and economic benefits and help the city “catch up” with other tourism destinations. Hong Kong has struggled to revive its appeal among international tourists after sometimes violent mass protests in 2019 and strict travel rules imposed during the COVID-19 …

Residents and authorities in the Iraqi city of Mosul are concerned that a recent offensive by rebel groups in northwestern Syria could spill across the border and reignite fighting in Northwestern Iraq, an area controlled by Islamic State militants from 2014 to 2017. VOA’s Kawa Omar reports from Mosul. Bezhan Hamdard narrates the story. …

Many Israelis will remember 2024 as the year that more than 100 Israeli hostages spent in captivity after being kidnapped by Hamas last year. Until the hostages are free, some analysts say Israelis remain trapped in the trauma of October 7. Linda Gradstein reports from Jerusalem. VOA footage: Ricki Rosen. …

Taipei, Taiwan — China’s recent unveiling of its prototype of a 6-ton tiltrotor unmanned aerial vehicle is stirring up debate over its potential use in combat.    The drone, the Lanying R6000, is purportedly intended for nonmilitary uses, but concept drawings that displayed Chinese military logos on the wings and body of the aircraft sparked worries that it may be used for military transportation, surveillance, reconnaissance …

Peshawar/Karachi, Pakistan — Milk from buffalo is creating controversy in Pakistan as the country finalizes an agreement with China to export the product.   Much of Pakistan’s milk production comes from buffalo. And recently, Pakistani milk producer Fauji Foods Limited, which is owned by the military, agreed to an export deal with China’s Royal Group. The deal comes at time of rising inflation in Pakistan, sparking …

BEIRUT — Syria said Wednesday its counteroffensive has pushed back insurgents attempting to advance to the strategic central city of Hama, while the insurgency says it captured more Syrian troops and Iran-backed militants in fierce battles. The latest flareup in Syria’s long civil war comes after forces opposed to Syrian President Bashar Assad over the past few days captured large parts of the northern city of …

Taipei, Taiwan — In the past year an economic downturn, persistent youth unemployment and a property crisis have plagued China at home. Abroad, Beijing has expanded its cooperation with Russia despite warnings from Western leaders that a closer alliance between the two countries is a source of growing concern. In 2024, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin held three bilateral meetings. The two …

Iranian Nobel Peace laureate Narges Mohammadi has been temporarily released from prison on medical grounds, her lawyer said Wednesday. Mostafa Nili said on the social media platform X the release would last three weeks and was connected to an operation Mohammadi had last month to remove a benign tumor. Mohammadi has been imprisoned since November 2021 in relation to her work against the wearing of …

Palestinian medics said Israeli airstrikes killed at least five people Wednesday in the central Gaza Strip. The Israeli military also said Wednesday it made a number of arrests after Israeli settlers attacked several towns in the occupied West Bank. The Israel Defense Forces said the violence included settler attacks on the village of Beit Furik where settlers hurled stones and wounded two border police. Settler …