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This is VOA News. I'm Joe Ramsey.
A trio of U.S. military cargo planes delivered almost 37,000 more meals to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday. American officials admit it's still just "a drop in the bucket" compared to the desperate need of civilians caught in the war between the Hamas terror group in Israel. VOA national security correspondent Jeff Seldin has more. Hours after U.S. cargo planes airdropped more food into Gaza, Defense Secretary Loyd Austin hosted Israeli War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz and pressed Israel to do more. Pentagon press secretary Major General Pat Ryder: "Certainly we want to see more aid being delivered via ground routes." There's still the question of helping distribute the aid once it arrives. "At this point in time, there are no plans to send any U.S. forces into Gaza." Ryder says any U.S. involvement in the delivery of aid to Gaza by sea would be limited to a supporting role. Jeff Seldin, VOA News, Washington. Haiti's embattled prime minister has landed in Puerto Rico as he tries to return to Haiti to quell a surge in violent gang attacks. Henry was expected to travel to the Dominican Republic later to fly to Haiti, but the government of the Caribbean nation closed its air borders as gangs in Haiti continue to escalate their attacks on key targets such as prisons and the main international airport. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday welcomed the International Criminal Court's arrest warrants for two top Russian commanders for suspected war crimes in Ukraine. In a video address, Zelenskyy said Russia's Long-Range Aviation and Black [fleet] Sea Fleet carry out "a terrorist campaign against our state and people," strikes against "our energy and civilian infrastructure." This is VOA News. Swedish and Finnish soldiers are taking part in a large NATO exercise intended to test the military alliance's ability to reinforce places such as the Nordic far north. Reuters correspondent Sean Hogan reports. In the snow of Finland's high north, Swedish and Finnish troops take part in NATO's biggest exercise since the end of the Cold War. Soldiers from the two countries have trained together for years, but that's now taken on a new dimension as they both integrate deeper into NATO. Finland joined last year, while Sweden now stands poised for entry. Sweden's neutrality lasted through two world wars and the Cold War, but Russia's invasion of Ukraine pushed them towards the alliance. Reuters correspondent Sean Hogan. Russia's spy master says that opposition leader Alexei Navalny died of natural causes, a statement that appears to reflect the Kremlin's efforts to deal with international outrage over the death of President Vladimir Putin's fiercest foe. The director of the Foreign Intelligence Service, a top Russian intelligence agency, made the statement in an interview broadcast Tuesday by Russian state television. He didn't name the cause of Navalny's death in a remote Arctic penal colony or give any other details. Russian authorities still haven't announced the cause of his February 16 death, and many Western leaders blamed it on Putin, an accusation the Kremlin angrily rejects. It's so-called Super Tuesday in the U.S., the biggest single day delegate hall for either party heading toward November's general election. AP correspondent Sagar Meghani reports. Unlike past years, this is essentially Super Tuesday in name only. Both the Democratic and Republican bids are effectively sealed, with Joe Biden and Donald Trump easily winning most every contest so far. Saint Anselm College's Chris Galdieri expects more of the same. "Rather than some suspense to the outcome." Neither man will get enough delegates to become the presumptive nominee today, though they will move that much closer to a historic rematch - one many voters like Sean Cunningham in North Carolina, don't want. "Unfortunately, I'm not a big fan of Trump. Not a big fan of Biden. Those seem to be the two choices we're gonna have." Come November, "I guess I'm leaning Biden." For a simple reason. "I like Trump the least out of the two." Sagar Meghani, Washington. Chinese and Philippine Coast Guard vessels collided on Tuesday in the disputed South China Sea, slightly injuring 4 Filipino crewmen in a new confrontation that unfolded as Southeast Asian leaders gathered for an Asian summit where alarm over Beijing's aggression at sea was expected to be raised. I'm Joe Ramsey, VOA ... |