|
This is VOA News. I'm Tommie McNeil.
Israel has ordered new evacuations in Rafah. The southern city in Gaza's considered the Palestinian territory's last refuge. That's forcing tens of thousands of people to move as the military prepares to press closer to the city's crowded center. More than half of Gaza's population has been sheltering in Rafah. Israel's defying growing criticism from close ally, the United States, and others. The U.S. says Israel's use of [i...] arms likely violated international law but evidence is incomplete. VOA's Alexis Strope. [U.S. special operations command...] [In a post on social media site ...] And [special] AP correspondent Jennifer King reports U.S. special operations face both forced cutbacks and the need for high-tech skills. ... or having to do more with less as they face general U.S. military cutbacks, taking with them lessons from the war in Ukraine, leaders of the commandos deployed for sensitive missions and counterterrorism want to add more high tech experts to their teams while still cutting overall forces by 5,000 troops over the next five years. In an AP interview, Special Operations Commander General Bryan Fenton says they're eyeing plans to increase the size of Green Beret teams to add technical abilities like computer experts who could reprogram drones on the fly. Some changes under consideration are influenced by what the U.S. is learning from partners like Britain's Royal Forces as they help Ukraine's military battle Russia. Jennifer King, Washington. Flash floods from unusually heavy seasonal rains in Afghanistan have killed more than 300 people and destroyed over 1,000 homes, according to the U.N. food agency. World Food Programme said it was distributing fortified biscuits to the survivors of many of the floods. More at voanews.com. This is VOA News. The Russian Defense Ministry says Moscow's forces have captured five villages in a renewed ground assault in northeastern Ukraine. Associated Press journalists in the city of Vovchansk described multiple buildings destroyed after Russian airstrikes and barrages of Grad rockets. The village is lying in a contested "gray zone" on the border of Ukraine's Kharkiv region with Russia. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says fighting was still ongoing in various settlements. AP correspondent Mimmi Montgomery reports Iran's hardliners have won most of the remaining seats in parliamentary elections and runoffs. Hardliners are firmly in charge after Iran's parliamentary election. Iran's hardliners have won most of the remaining seats in an election runoff to give them full control over the country's parliament. According to an Associated Press tally, the results and that of the previous vote in March gives hardliners more than 230 of the 290 seats in parliament. Authorities are so far not sharing details on the turnout. Hardliners in Iran seek more cultural and social restrictions based on Islamic Sharia, including limiting women's rights. Politicians calling for change in the country's government, known broadly as reformists, were generally barred from running in the election. I'm Mimmi Montgomery. And AP correspondent Julie Walker reports on the latest in a Sean "Diddy" Combs alleged rape case occurring in New York. Sean "Diddy" Combs is asking a judge to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that he and two other men raped a 17-year-old girl in a New York recording studio in 2003. The federal court filing Friday is the latest piece of pushback against a series of lawsuits and a criminal sex-trafficking investigation against the 54-year-old rapper and music mogul. In their motion to dismiss the lawsuit, Combs and his lawyers argue that a New York City law that the suit is filed under is trumped by a New York state law that makes the suit too old. The filing says the lawsuits allegations are "false." An attorney for the plaintiff says the motion is just a desperate attempt by Combs to avoid accountability. Julie Walker, New York. More than 1,000 protesters marched on Saturday against Tesla and the planned expansion of its factory in Germany close to Berlin. The organizers Disrupt Tesla criticized, among other things, the expansion of the clearing of 50 hectares of forest to build a freight train station and the groundwater protection zone. And they are also concerned the plans could be approved against the will of the local community. I'm Tommie McNeil, VOA News. |