Strategically located in the south edge of Damascus, the Mazzeh air base was destroyed by Israeli airstrikes after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime more than a week ago. The airport was used by the Syrian army during the entire 13 years civil war that engulfed the country. The remains of aircraft and air defense air systems are still scattered around the air base, but …
Trump pushes for conflict-ending Ukraine-Russia ‘deal’
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump says the leaders of Ukraine and Russia should be “prepared to make a deal” to end the brutal conflict that has consumed Ukraine since 2022. He also slammed President Joe Biden’s decision to allow Ukraine to strike inside Russian territory with U.S.-provided weapons – hinting that when he takes office, he may reverse that move. VOA’s Anita Powell reports from Washington. …
HRW report: Israel committing genocide by depriving Gaza civilians of water
A new report Thursday from New York-based advocacy group Human Rights Watch, or HRW, has accused Israel of committing genocide for intentionally depriving civilians in Gaza of an adequate water supply, likely resulting in the deaths of thousands. The 179-page report published on the group’s website outlines how, since the war between Israel and the militant group Hamas began in October 2023, Israeli authorities and …
US ambassador: US arms manufacturers could help boost Vietnam’s capabilities
HANOI, VIETNAM — U.S. weapons manufacturers could work with Vietnamese counterparts to help build Vietnam’s armed forces, the U.S. ambassador to the southeast Asian country said on Thursday. “Our goal is to ensure that Vietnam has what it needs to defend its interests at sea, in the air, on the ground and in cyberspace,” U.S. Ambassador Marc Knapper said at an international arms expo in the …
France’s Macron visits cyclone-devastated Mayotte as residents plead for aid
MAMOUDZOU, MAYOTTE — French President Emmanuel Macron arrived Thursday in the Indian Ocean archipelago of Mayotte to survey Cyclone Chido’s destruction and was immediately confronted with a firsthand account of devastation across the French territory. “Mayotte is demolished,” Assane Haloi, a security agent, told Macron after he stepped off the plane. Macron had been moving along in a line of people greeting him when Haloi grasped …
UN chief names Mexican lawyer to determine fate of Syria’s missing
UNITED NATIONS — U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Thursday that he is appointing the former head of Mexico’s National Search Commission to head an independent mechanism for determining the fate of tens of thousands of missing and forcibly disappeared persons in Syria. “We pledge our support to those who continue to live with the agony of uncertainty,” Guterres said of the families of the missing. In …
China lets Sweden, Finland, Germany, Denmark board ship in cable breach case
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK — China has allowed representatives from Germany, Sweden, Finland and Denmark to board a Chinese bulk carrier at the center of an investigation into Baltic Sea cable breaches, the Danish foreign minister said on Thursday. The Yi Peng 3 vessel is wanted in Sweden for questioning over a breach of two undersea fiber-optic cables in November and has been stationary in waters nearby for …
White House: NATO membership necessary for Ukraine security guarantees but invitation decision up to next president
WASHINGTON — As President Joe Biden’s administration prepares to transfer power to the incoming team of President-elect Donald Trump, VOA Ukrainian Iuliia Iarmolenko spoke with Michael Carpenter, the National Security Council director for Europe. Carpenter discussed the Biden administration’s final efforts to strengthen Ukraine and why it would take more time and resources from Washington to start successful negotiations between Ukraine and Russia. VOA: In September, …
Putin says Assad ouster not a defeat for Russia
Russian President Vladimir Putin Thursday rejected the notion that the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad represented a defeat for Russia. Putin said during his annual news conference that Russia had “achieved our goals” in Syria, where it rushed to provide direct military support for Assad’s government more than nine years ago to help push back rebel fighters. Russian forces operated out of a network …
Vietnam police arrest suspect in Hanoi cafe fire that killed 11
Hanoi — Police in Vietnam have arrested a man suspected of starting a blaze that killed 11 following an argument with staff in a Hanoi cafe, authorities said on Thursday, while two of seven pulled from the flames were admitted to hospital. In a statement, police said the man had confessed to using gasoline to set Wednesday’s fire on the ground floor of the three-story cafe, …
Malaysian court acquits wife of ex-PM of money laundering, tax evasion
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA — Malaysia’s High Court on Thursday acquitted Rosmah Mansor, the wife of jailed former Prime Minister Najib Razak, of money laundering and tax evasion, citing insufficient grounds to charge her. Najib and Rosmah have been the subject of multiple graft investigations since Najib’s surprise election defeat in 2018, when voters’ fury over his alleged role in a multibillion-dollar scandal at state fund 1Malaysia …
Russian officials report oil refinery fire after Ukraine targets border regions with dozens of drones
Officials in Russia’s Rostov region reported a fire Thursday at an oil refinery after a wave of attacks from several dozen Ukrainian aerial drones. Rostov acting Governor Yuri Slyusar said on Telegram that the fire happened at the Novoshakhtinsk refinery and was later extinguished. Slyusar reported one person was injured in the attack. Russia’s Defense Ministry said Thursday it destroyed 36 Ukrainian drones over Rostov, …
Israeli airstrikes hit Yemen
Israel’s military said Thursday it carried out airstrikes against Houthi militant targets in Yemen. A military spokesperson said the strikes targeted energy and port infrastructure used by the Houthis as part of their “military action.” Houthi-run media reported attacks in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, and the Red Sea port city of Hodeida, and that the strikes hit a power station and an oil facility. A …
Expert: Several African governments unaware of young workers in Russian drone factories
WASHINGTON — They were promised a chance to earn money, get an education abroad, and gain work experience. Instead, they found themselves assembling military drones in Russia and, in one case, subjected to a Ukrainian drone strike. A series of investigative reports has shed light on a Russian labor recruitment program that has allegedly lured young African women to work at an industrial park in provincial …
VOA Mandarin: Assad’s fall affects Russia’s popularity
With the sudden fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime and the beginning of Russia’s withdrawal from Syria, Moscow’s great power prestige and ambitions have suffered another blow, following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. Click here to see the full story in Mandarin. …
Expert: North Korea accelerating production, transfer of arms to Russia
UNITED NATIONS — An independent weapons expert told the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday that North Korea is procuring parts for missiles from third countries and producing and transferring them to Russia faster than previously thought, for use in its war against Ukraine. Jonah Leff, who heads Conflict Armament Research (CAR), an independent organization that tracks weapons used in conflicts, said his researchers documented remnants of …
NATO chief aims to put Ukraine in position of strength for peace talks with Russia
BRUSSELS — NATO’s secretary-general said he wants to discuss ways to put Ukraine in a position of strength for any future peace talks with Russia during a meeting Wednesday with Ukraine’s president and a small number of European leaders. But Mark Rutte appeared frustrated at growing speculation in NATO capitals about when those peace talks might start and whether European peacekeepers would be involved, saying that …
Thailand joins other Asia nations in battle against cheap Chinese imports
Bangkok — For many countries in Southeast Asia, Chinese investment and tourism are key to their economies. However, cheap low-quality Chinese products that are flooding markets across the region are also raising concerns about how they are undercutting local businesses, experts say. That is forcing countries like Thailand to find ways to combat onslaught of low-priced goods. Last year, bilateral trade between Thailand and China was …
Manhattan man pleads guilty to helping establish secret Chinese police station in New York City
NEW YORK — A Manhattan resident has pleaded guilty to helping establish a secret police station in New York City on behalf of the Chinese government. Chen Jinping, 60, entered the guilty plea on a single count of conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government in Brooklyn federal court on Wednesday. Matthew Olsen, an assistant attorney general in the U.S. Justice Department, said …
Pakistani village grapples with loss after migrant boat capsizes off Greece
Washington — “Ehtisham was the darling of the family. He was very fond of cricket. His only obsession was that one day he would go to Europe and poverty would end at home.” This is a statement from Fazlur Rehman, a close relative of 35-year-old Ehtisham Anjum, who went missing after a migrant boat he was in capsized in Greek territorial waters on Saturday. According to …
Future uncertain for Syria’s Kurds amid potential Turkish offensive
Turkey is chief among local, regional and global powers seeking to fill the power vacuum following the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Dec. 8. Ankara is poised to be one of the biggest winners in post-Assad Syria. Despite being in a military alliance with the United States via the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Turkey’s main target in Syria is also the United States’ …
Simmering tensions in Balkans open new opportunity for Turkey
Russia has long considered the Balkans a part of its sphere of influence, but its current focus on its war in Ukraine is creating a power vacuum in the region and giving an opportunity for Turkey to expand its role. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul. …
US repatriates 3 Guantanamo detainees, one held 17 years without charge
WASHINGTON — The United States has transferred two Malaysian detainees at the Guantanamo Bay U.S. military prison to their home country after they pleaded guilty to charges related to deadly 2002 bombings in Bali and agreed to testify against the alleged ringleader of that and other attacks, the Pentagon said Wednesday. Prosecutors say Mohammed Farik bin Amin and Mohammed Nazir bin Lep worked for years with …
Analysts: Syrian rebels adopt approach similar to Taliban’s to seek international recognition
Washington — While the international community is setting conditions for the new rulers in Syria, the leading rebel group has taken a conciliatory approach, similar to one the Taliban adopted in Afghanistan, to seek international recognition, say analysts. Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, met with the U.N. special envoy for Syria on Sunday and emphasized “rapid …