RIETI, Italy — Ella Anthony knew it was time to leave her native Nigeria when she escaped an abusive, forced marriage only to face angry relatives who threatened to turn her in to police because she was gay. Since Nigeria criminalizes same-sex relationships, Anthony fled a possible prison term and headed with her partner to Libya in 2014 and then Italy, where they both won …
What is the celebrity ‘blockout’ over the war in Gaza?
NEW YORK — Some social media users are calling out celebrities for what they say is inaction in the face of a humanitarian crisis in Gaza — and they’ve taken to a “blockout” to pressure the stars to take a stand. For the blockout, users put a block on seeing any and all content from the accounts of certain celebrities on social media platforms including X, …
Islamabad would like Beijing to talk to Kabul on terrorism, Pakistani minister says
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistan’s minister for planning and development, Ahsan Iqbal, says his country is not opposed to Afghanistan’s inclusion in a Chinese-funded mega-development project, but would like Beijing to persuade Kabul to crack down on terrorist groups operating on its soil against Islamabad. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s new government, which took office in March, is anxious to revive the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor or CPEC – …
Islamabad would like Beijing to talk to Kabul on terrorism, Pakistani minister says
Pakistan’s new government is trying to ramp up work on the multi-billion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. VOA Pakistan bureau chief Sarah Zaman speaks with Pakistan’s Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal about why Chinese companies should invest in Pakistan given the country’s poor economic and security conditions. Camera: Wajid Asad, Malik Waqar Ahmed …
War disrupts Gaza children’s education, with no end in sight
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Atef Al-Buhaisi, 6, once dreamed of a career building houses. Now, all he craves is to return to school. In Israel’s war with Hamas, Atef’s home has been bombed, his teacher killed and his school in Nuseirat turned into a refuge for displaced people. He lives in a cramped tent with his family in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, where he …
In Spain, Argentine president snubs officials, courts far-right
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Even before kicking off a three-day visit to Madrid on Friday, Argentina’s libertarian President Javier Milei stirred controversy, accusing the socialist government of bringing “poverty and death” to Spain and weighing in on corruption allegations against the prime minister’s wife. In such circumstances, a typical visiting head of state may strive to mend fences with diplomacy. Not Milei. The brash economist has …
Pro-Palestinian protesters rally in Washington to mark painful past, present
WASHINGTON — Hundreds of protesters rallied within sight of the U.S. Capitol, chanting pro-Palestinian slogans and voicing criticism of the Israeli and American governments as they marked a painful present — the war in Gaza — and past — the exodus of about 700,000 Palestinians who fled or were forced from what is now Israel when the state was created in 1948. About 400 demonstrators braved …
Armed ethnic group says it captured Myanmar town; Rohingyas flee
BANGKOK — A powerful ethnic armed group fighting Myanmar’s military government in the country’s western state of Rakhine claimed Saturday to have seized a town near the border with Bangladesh, marking the latest in a series of victories for foes of the country’s military government. Members of the state’s Muslim Rohingya ethnic minority, targets of deadly army-directed violence in 2017, appear to have been the main …
Iraq parliament fails to elect speaker; job empty since November
Baghdad, Iraq — Iraq’s lawmakers failed to elect a speaker Saturday as neither of the two main candidates secured a majority during a tense session of parliament. It is the latest in a series of failed attempts to replace the former head of parliament who was dismissed in November, with political bickering and divisions between key Sunni parties derailing every effort so far. Saturday’s vote was …
China vows to punish critical Taiwanese commentators, families for ‘slander’
Taipei, Taiwan — China’s Taiwan Affairs Office this week vowed to punish five well-known Taiwanese media commentators and their families for “fabricating false, negative information” about China and “provoking [a] hostile cross-strait confrontation.” The sharp rebuke was made at a news briefing Wednesday by TAO spokesperson Chen Binhua in response to a reporter’s question that China was looking at punitive measures for what it called “famous …
Climate activists glue themselves at Munich airport
BERLIN — Six climate activists broke through a security fence at the Munich airport Saturday and glued themselves to access routes leading to runways, temporarily halting flights. The activists from the group Last Generation were protesting flying as the most polluting form of transportation, said the German news agency dpa. Police detained the six. Some 60 flights were canceled during the disruption that lasted a couple …
Vietnam Communist party names security minister as president
HANOI, VIETNAM — Vietnam’s Communist Party has named police minister To Lam president, the government said Saturday, and nominated a new head of the parliament in a major leadership reshuffle. Unprecedentedly for a one-party nation once known for its stable politics, two state presidents and a parliament speaker have stepped down in less than 18 months, all for unspecified “wrongdoing” amid a major antigraft campaign that …
Iranian Nobel laureate faces new trial, Mohammadi family says
PARIS — Jailed Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi faces a new trial over accusations she made against security forces of sexually assaulting female prisoners, her family said Saturday. The trial, due to begin Sunday, relates to an audio message she shared from prison in April with supporters in which she decried a “full-scale war against women” in the Islamic Republic. She is charged in …
Film director Rasoulof fled Iran on foot, newspaper says
London — Film director Mohammad Rasoulof made an “exhausting and extremely dangerous” walk across a mountainous borderland to avoid being jailed in Iran on national security charges, he told The Guardian newspaper. Rasoulof said Monday he had fled Iran after a court sentenced him to eight years in jail, of which five were due to be served, over his new film “The Seed of the Sacred …
Different views across Taiwan Strait as new president prepares to lead
Kinmen, Taiwan — Standing on the shore of Taiwan’s Kinmen island, Taiwanese tourists snap photos of the skyline of China’s Xiamen city that is clearly visible across the sliver of water separating them. For the best view of Xiamen’s skyscrapers, visitors stand on a beach where anti-landing spikes jut out — a reminder of when the island was a battlefield front line after Chinese nationalists fled …
Taliban raise death toll to 6 in gun attack on Western tourists
ISLAMABAD — The Taliban government said Saturday that the death toll from an overnight gun attack on Western tourists in central Afghanistan had risen to at least six, including three Spaniards. Interior Ministry spokesperson Abdul Mateen Qani said in a video statement that the Friday evening shooting in Bamiyan city by unknown assailants left three Afghans dead. He said that four foreigners and three Afghans were …
Court orders suspect in Slovak PM shooting be detained
PEZINOK, Slovakia — The man accused of attempting to assassinate Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was ordered to remain behind bars Saturday. Fico is in serious but stable condition after surviving multiple gunshots, officials said. Slovakia’s Specialized Criminal Court ordered the detention of the suspect after prosecutors said they feared he could flee or carry out other crimes if set free, a court spokesperson said. The …
China investigates agriculture minister for corruption
Beijing — A Chinese official responsible for agricultural affairs is under investigation for corruption, state media reported Saturday, as President Xi Jinping’s extensive anti-graft campaign continues to bring down high-level figures. Tang Renjian, the head of China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, is “suspected of serious violations of discipline and law,” state broadcaster CCTV said. The report did not include details on the specific violations …
Fighting rages in Gaza’s Rafah after first aid delivery via pier
Rafah, Gaza Strip — Heavy clashes and bombardment Saturday rocked Gaza’s southern city of Rafah, witnesses said, as the Israeli military announced the first 310 pallets of humanitarian aid had entered the besieged territory via a U.S.-built pier. More than 10 days into what the Israeli military called a “limited” operation in Rafah, fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants has also flared again in Gaza’s …
Yemen’s Houthi rebels say they’ve downed another US drone
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Friday claimed to have shot down an American drone, hours after footage circulated online of what appeared to be the wreckage of an MQ-9 Reaper drone. Early Saturday, a vessel also came under attack in the Red Sea. The two incidents likely represent just the latest attacks by the Houthis as they press their campaign over the …
How much will aid from US pier project help Gaza?
washington — A U.S.-built pier is in place to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza by sea, but no one will know if the new route will work until a steady stream of deliveries begins reaching starving Palestinians. The trucks that will roll off the pier project installed Thursday will face intensified fighting, Hamas threats to target any foreign forces and uncertainty about whether the Israeli military …
Israel says senior Palestinian militant killed in Jenin
Ramallah, WEST BANK — The Israeli military said on Saturday it killed a senior Palestinian militant during an air strike on an “operations center” in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin. “A number of significant terrorists were inside the compound,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement posted to Telegram. It said the strike by a fighter jet and helicopter killed Islam Khamayseh, a …