|
This is VOA News. I'm Joe Ramsey.
Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina stepped down on Monday amid widening unrest. AP correspondent Charles De Ledesma reports. Bangladesh's prime minister has resigned and fled the country after weeks of protests against a quota system for government jobs descended into violence and grew into a broader challenge to her 15-year rule. Thousands of demonstrators stormed the official residence and other buildings associated with her party and family on Monday. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's departure threatens to create even more instability in the nation on India's border already dealing with a series of crises. Amid security concerns, the capital's main airport has suspended operations. I'm Charles De Ledesma. The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah said it launched a drone attack early on Monday on northern Israel that the Israeli military said wounded two Israeli troops. The violence came amid fears of an all-out regional war following the killings last week of a senior Hezbollah commander in Lebanon and the Hamas terrorist group's top political leader in Iran. The Iranian-backed Hezbollah said it targeted a military base in northern Israel in response to attacks and assassinations by Israel in several villages in southern Lebanon. Hundreds of Somalis gathered at Lido Beach in Mogadishu on Monday to condemn the recent deadly attack on a beach hotel. Somalia's health minister said on Sunday the Friday attack left 37 dead and over 200 injured. The Somali government says it organized the protest to honor the victims and show solidarity with those affected by the attack. This is VOA News. Venezuela is launching a criminal probe against the opposition leaders contesting last month's election for inciting police and military officials to break the law, the country's top prosecutor said, as security forces target people they say commit violence crimes during recent election protests. The announcement by the country's attorney general followed a letter posted on social network X by opposition candidate Edmundo González and leader María Corina Machado calling for security forces to stand by the people and respect the results of the election they say they won. President Nicolás Maduro's assertion that he won a third term in the July 28 vote has triggered angry protests from Venezuelans across the country over the last week, demanding Maduro step down and a Gonzáles' win be honored. Wall Street's main indexes plunged on Monday amid a global stock market meltdown. Reuters correspondent Lisa Bernard reports. The sell-off in the U.S. pummeled the Magnificent Seven stocks including Apple, Nvidia and Amazon - the main drivers of the S&P 500's gains this year - set to lose a combined $650 billion in market value. It follows U.S. economic data last week, including a weaker-than-expected jobs report, that stoked recession fears. Bond yields slipped as investors bet the U.S. Federal Reserve would now need to cut interest rates more aggressively than expected to spur economic growth. Reuters correspondent Lisa Bernard. Storm Debbie made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane in Florida's Gulf Coast early on Monday morning with heavy rains and winds around 125 kilometers per hour. Reuters correspondent Emma Jehle reports. Debbie is on track to unleash a week of torrential rain and catastrophic flooding across the southeast. The Hurricane Center predicted Debbie would move offshore into the Atlantic by Tuesday night, but then restrengthen and come back inland to unleash torrential rains on the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina later in the weeks. Forecasters expect four to seven major Atlantic hurricanes in the 2024 season, which would exceed the record-breaking 2005 season that included Hurricane Katrina. Climate scientists believe global warming from burning fossil fuels has raised the temperature of the oceans, making storms bigger and more devastating. Reuters correspondent Emma Jehle. A U.S. judge ruled on Monday American tech giant Google violated antitrust laws, spending billions of dollars to create an illegal monopoly and become the world's default search engine, the first big win for federal authorities taking on Big Tech's market dominance. The ruling paves the way for a second trial to determine potential fixes, possibly including a breakup of Google parent Alphabet. I'm Joe Ramsey. |