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This is VOA News. I'm Joe Ramsey.
Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Caracas on Monday to express their discontent with Nicholás Maduro's recent victory in the presidential election. Men and women of all ages, including many teenagers, burned barricades, blocked roads and banged pots and pans in various neighborhoods, accusing Maduro of fraud. Riot police were deployed to face protesters, shooting tear gas at them. Israel's leader is vowing retaliation after a weekend rocket attack killed a dozen children and teens in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. AP correspondent Sagar Meghani reports. Standing near the soccer field where the children died, Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel cannot overlook the attack and its response will come. In an unusual move, Hezbollah denied any role in the strike. The group and Israel have been exchanging fire almost daily since October amid fears the weekend strike will turn that into an all-out war. White House national security spokesman John Kirby says "there's still time ... for diplomacy" while Israel has every right to respond to the attack. He says the U.S. is urging restraint. Sagar Meghani, Washington. Ukrainian soldiers said on Monday Russian forces have overrun two frontline villages in the eastern Donetsk region. The relentless assaults are part of a Kremlin summer push to overwhelm battlefield defenses there. The villages lie about 30 kilometers northwest of Avdiivka, a city the Russian army seized in February, its last major triumph in the war. Russia's eastern onslaught is fu[eled] by its heavy advantage in soldiers and weaponry. It has repeatedly forced the Ukrainians to pull back from defensive positions to avoid being captured or killed. This is VOA News. British police say two children have died and 11 other people have been injured in a stabbing in northwest England. AP correspondent Karen Chammas reports. Police and ambulances swarmed the scene at Southport, a seaside town near Liverpool. Police called the stabbing a "major incident," adding that they detained a man and seized a knife. The BBC and other media reported that the attack happened at a community center where a Taylor Swift-themed dance and yoga event for primary school aged children was scheduled. An eyewitness said he saw between 7 and 10 bleeding children running from the building. He said they were all about age 10 and had stab wounds on their necks, backs and chests. Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the attack "horrendous and deeply shocking." Karen Chammas, London. Former South African President Jacob Zuma was expelled on Monday by his former African National Congress party after he formed a new political party that contested the country's recent elections. Zuma's MK party received nearly 15 percent of the national vote and became the third largest party in the country. That contributed significantly to the ANC losing its parliamentary majority for the first time since it came into power in 1994. The White House announced on Monday U.S. President Joe Biden wants to make sweeping reforms to the country's Supreme Court, remaking one of America's most powerful institutions. Reuters correspondent Zachary Goelman reports. Biden wants Congress to adopt an 18-year term limit for Supreme Court justices. The nine members of the court currently enjoy lifetime appointments. Legislation would be required to impose term limits and an ethics code on the Supreme Court. But it is unlikely to pass the current divided Congress. Biden will also propose a constitutional amendment that makes clear that having served as president does not guarantee immunity from federal criminal indictment, trial, conviction or sentencing. That's after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in July that Trump cannot be prosecuted for actions that were within his constitutional powers as president in a landmark decision recognizing for the first time any form of presidential immunity from prosecution. Reuters correspondent Zachary Goelman. The FBI says former U.S. President Donald Trump has agreed to be interviewed as part of its investigation into his attempted assassination, a special agent said on Monday. The expected interview with the 2024 Republican presidential nominee is part of the FBI standard protocol to speak with victims of federal crimes during investigations. The FBI says Trump was struck by a bullet or (a) bullet fragment during the July 13 assassination attempt at a campaign rally. Download the VOA News mobile app. I'm Joe Ramsey. |