The U.S. fully endorsed Israel’s war aims in Gaza on Sunday, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying that Hamas “must be eradicated” and “cannot continue as a military or government force.” Rubio met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem at the start of a regional tour as the first phase of a tenuous Israel-Hamas ceasefire expires in two weeks, with the second …
Russian troops intensify attacks on Ukrainian forces in east, military says
KYIV — Russian troops have sharply stepped up their attacks in eastern Ukraine, Kyiv’s military said on Sunday, as a NATO official predicted Moscow would increase the pace and intensity of its assaults with talks to end the war approaching. The main attacks were concentrated near the imperiled logistics hub of Pokrovsk, Kyiv said, with U.S. and Russian officials expected to hold talks in the coming …
Austrian official says suspect in fatal stabbing attack had ‘Islamic terror motive’
VIENNA — Austrian authorities said the man accused of stabbing six passersby in broad daylight, killing a 14-year-old boy and wounding five others, was motivated by “Islamic terrorism.” The suspect, a 23-year-old Syrian man, was arrested after the attack in the southern city of Villach on Saturday. Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said Sunday he felt “anger about an Islamist attacker who indiscriminately stabbed innocent people here …
Iran’s early recordings revive forgotten sound heritage
TEHRAN, IRAN — In a century-old building in Tehran, Saeed Anvarinejad turned the dial of a vintage radio to tune into some of Iran’s earliest recorded sounds, some serving as reminders of the seismic changes that shaped the country’s history. Along with a team of fellow enthusiasts, he spent months tracking down the earliest recordings of Iranian music, speeches, interviews, theatrical plays, radio broadcasts and even …
With metal detectors, treasure hunters unearth pieces of British history
LONDON — When Malcolm Weale saw the tiny, dirt-covered object he’d unearthed in an English field, he knew it was something special. In his hand was a silver penny minted during the reign of Guthrum, a Viking commander who converted to Christianity and ruled eastern England in the ninth century as Athelstan II. For Weale, finding the first silver coin minted by a Viking ruler in …
Navalny supporters risk reprisals with memorial events a year after death
MOSCOW — A year after Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny died behind bars, his supporters were set to hold memorial events on Sunday, with some risking reprisals by visiting his grave in Moscow. Remembrance events will take place as Russia’s opposition movement — driven into exile by unprecedented repression — has been plagued by infighting and badly weakened since the loss of its figurehead. Exiled in …
Nun takes top Vatican job running city state administration
ROME — An Italian nun is taking over a top management job in the Vatican: Sister Raffaella Petrini was named Saturday as president of the Vatican City State, making her essentially the governor of the 44-hectare (108-acre) territory in Rome that is home to the Catholic Church. Petrini, 56, had previously been the secretary general of the Vatican administration, which among other things is responsible for …
US, Russia officials to meet in Saudi Arabia to start talks on Ukraine
MUNICH/WASHINGTON — U.S. and Russian officials will meet in Saudi Arabia in coming days to start talks aimed at ending Moscow’s nearly three-year war in Ukraine, a U.S. lawmaker and a source familiar with the planning said on Saturday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who met with U.S. Vice President JD Vance in Germany on Friday, said Ukraine was not invited to the talks in Saudi Arabia …
Lebanon says 25 arrested after attack on UN peacekeepers
BEIRUT — Lebanese authorities said Saturday that more than 25 people have been arrested following an attack on a United Nations convoy that wounded two peacekeepers, including the force’s outgoing deputy commander. U.N. and Lebanese officials have condemned Friday’s attack, which came as Hezbollah supporters blocked the road to the country’s only international airport for a second night over a decision by Lebanon to bar …
1 dead, 4 injured in stabbing spree by Syrian suspect in Austria
VIENNA — A 23-year-old man stabbed five passersby in southern Austria on Saturday in what police said was a random attack that left a 14-year-old dead, and four others injured. The suspect was detained in the city of Villach, where the attack took place, police said. He is a Syrian national with legal residence in Austria, they said. Two victims were seriously injured and two victims …
US citizen detained in Russia, accused of drug smuggling
MOSCOW — A Moscow court has ordered a U.S. citizen suspected of drug smuggling held in pre-trial detention for 30 days, the Moscow courts press service said Saturday, days after a Moscow-Washington prisoner swap that the White House called a diplomatic thaw and a step toward ending the fighting in Ukraine. The U.S. citizen, whom Saturday’s statement named as Kalob Wayne Byers, was detained after airport …
US counterterror official warns of growing global threat
WASHINGTON — A senior U.S. counterterrorism official is cautioning that the threat from global jihadists has expanded significantly, although the resources to counter them have declined. Sebastian Gorka, deputy assistant to President Donald Trump and senior director for counterterrorism, on Feb. 11 told a Washington conference organized by the American Foreign Policy Council that he based the current threat assessment on several factors. “Number one, jihadist …
G7 ministers link future Russia sanctions to good-faith talks
MUNICH — G7 foreign ministers agreed Saturday to continuing working together to get a strong peace deal for Ukraine with robust security guarantees and linked future sanctions on Russia to good-faith negotiations by Moscow. “Any new, additional sanctions after February should be linked to whether the Russian Federation enters into real, good-faith efforts to bring an enduring end to the war against Ukraine that provides Ukraine …
Iran orders probe into killing of university student during robbery
DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES — Iran’s vice president ordered a probe Saturday into the killing of a university student after a protest at Tehran University, state media reported. A report by the official IRNA news agency said First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref ordered security officials to probe the case “immediately.” The move came a day after angry students gathered in protest at a Tehran University …
Zelenskyy calls for creation of ‘Armed Forces of Europe’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for the creation of a unified European military force, saying the continent must be self-reliant amid a persistent threat from Russia and uncertainty about U.S. support — a situation he described as “this new reality.” “We must build the Armed Forces of Europe so that Europe’s future depends only on Europeans and decisions about Europe are made in Europe,” Zelenskyy …
Lebanon president vows punishment for attackers of UN peacekeeper
BEIRUT — Lebanese President Joseph Aoun vowed to punish the perpetrators of an attack on a United Nations peacekeeping convoy, with authorities set to hold an emergency meeting Saturday. The U.N. and Lebanese authorities have condemned Friday’s attack, which came as Hezbollah supporters for a second night blocked the road to the country’s only international airport over a decision barring two Iranian planes from landing there. …
Ukraine would have ‘low chance to survive’ without US support, Zelenskyy says
Ukraine would have a “very, very difficult” time surviving without U.S. military support to fend off Russia’s invasion, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a interview broadcast the night before he is scheduled to address the Munich Security Conference. “Probably it will be very, very, very difficult. And of course, you know in all the difficult situations, you have a chance,” he told NBC News. “But …
China, Cook Islands sign strategic partnership pact
TAIPEI, TAIWAN — China and the Cook Islands on Friday signed a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement, but the lack of transparency around the details has alarmed New Zealand, the South Pacific state’s closest democratic ally. While details of the agreement remain unclear, public statements from Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown and the islands’ Seabed Minerals Authority signaled that the Cook Islands and China would look …
Research finds ancient Egyptian mummies smell nice
LONDON — At first whiff, it sounds repulsive: Sniff the essence of an ancient corpse. But researchers who indulged their curiosity in the name of science found that well-preserved Egyptian mummies actually smell pretty good. “In films and books, terrible things happen to those who smell mummified bodies,” said Cecilia Bembibre, director of research at University College London’s Institute for Sustainable Heritage. “We were surprised at …
VOA Kurdish: ISIS families in Syria camp emboldened by new regime
About 40,000 individuals, primarily the wives, female relatives and children of male Islamic State suspects, are held in the al-Hol camp in northeast Syria. According to camp authorities, these Islamic State relatives have been celebrating the regime change in Syria, hoping it will lead to a Sunni Islamic system. Camp guards told VOA that since the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, ISIS …
Ukraine, US weigh critical minerals agreement
Ukraine’s vast reserves of critical minerals give it the potential to be a strategic supplier for the West. President Donald Trump is considering a deal that would continue U.S. support for Ukraine in the war against Russia in exchange for access to its minerals. That proposed agreement is set for discussion at the Munich Security Conference. Myroslava Gongadze has the story from Warsaw, with reporting …
Intelligence agencies close in on Islamic State caliph
WASHINGTON — A growing number of countries think they have unmasked the man running the Islamic State terror group’s global operations. A report issued this week by the United Nations Sanctions Monitoring Team, based on U.N. member state intelligence, said there is “growing confidence” that the IS caliph is Abdul Qadir Mumin, who also heads the terror group’s branch in Somalia. The importance of Mumin to …
Argentina court issues international arrest warrant for Myanmar military leader
washington — A court in Argentina has issued an international arrest warrant for Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, the commander in chief of Myanmar’s military, for his role in the 2017 genocide against the Rohingya. The court’s decision, announced Thursday, also lists two civilian leaders, including Aung San Suu Kyi, and 22 other military officials. Min Aung Hlaing, who leads Myanmar’s military junta after seizing power …
At Munich conference, Vance warns European allies of ‘threat from within’
U.S. Vice President JD Vance warned European leaders at the security conference in Munich, Germany, of the “threat from within,” arguing that their governments are censoring far-right speech and failing to control migration. His remarks came amid allies’ alarm over President Donald Trump’s decision to begin peace talks with Russia. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara has this report. …