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This is VOA News. I'm Joe Ramsey.
Ukraine said on Tuesday its biggest cross-border assault of the war to date had taken control of 74 settlements in Russia's region of Kursk and was still advancing, making gains of [one of three] one to three kilometers in the last 24 hours. Ukraine blindsided Moscow by pouring thousands of troops into the western Russian region of Kursk last week in a surprise operation that has given Ukraine its biggest battlefield gains since 2022 after months on the back foot. Israelis continued to be on edge on Tuesday, waiting for expected retaliation almost two weeks after the assassinations of two senior militant leaders allegedly by Israel. Linda Gradstein reports for VOA from Jerusalem. Both Hamas and Hezbollah have promised a response to the recent assassination. Israeli security officials say Hezbollah has more than 150,000 rockets that can reach most of Israel. In April, Iran attacked Israel directly for the first time with hundreds of rockets, most of which were shot down by Israel, the United States or Jordan. Israeli analysts are expecting a bigger, wider attack this time. The situation is further complicated by a new round of indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas for a cease-fire and release of hostages seized by Hamas in the October attack. The U.S. has been warning Iran that retaliation against Israel could derail those negotiations. Linda Gradstein, VOA News, Jerusalem. Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado said on Tuesday she is working to make President Nicolás Maduro accept a negotiated government transition after the disputed July 28 presidential election, in which Venezuela's National Electoral Council declared Maduro the winner. This is VOA News. A Ugandan court has found former Lord's Resistance Army commander Thomas Kwoyelo guilty of 44 out of 78 war crimes charges brought against him. Halima Athumani reports from Gulu, Uganda. The LRA was founded by Joseph Kony, who led the rebellion from 1986 to 2005 against President Yoweri Museveni's government. The group was accused of carrying out multiple massacres. Kony is still at large. Kwoyelo, now 50, was captured in 2009 in the Democratic Republic of Congo and has been in detention since. The charges against him included murder, kidnap with intent to murder, pillaging, cruel treatment, torture, rape, and crimes against humanity. Halima Athumani, for VOA News, Gulu, Uganda. Media organizations in Senegal have staged a blackout day to protest a government crackdown they say targets them directly and is aimed at curtailing press freedoms in the West African country. The development on Tuesday comes as tensions have been rising between media organizations and the government, triggering international concerns over press freedoms in one of Africa's most stable democracies. Separately, Senegal's main media companies have accumulated massive debt over the years, threatening the sector's economic survival. United Nations agencies warn Sudan is at a breaking point after more than 15 months of conflict because of what they call a crisis of neglect. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from Geneva. The United Nations children's agency reports the extent of the horrors and atrocities inflicted upon children in Sudan is going unnoticed because it is not being reported. UNICEF says the crimes committed against children go unnoticed because aid agencies have very limited access to the country's hotspots. And it says the news that trickles out is not good. Speaking from the capital Khartoum, UNICEF spokesman James Elder says he's spoken to people who have witnessed the suffering and violence to which children are being subjected. Lisa Schlein, for VOA News, Geneva. Heavy rain made about 10 percent stronger by human-caused climate change triggered the landslides that killed more than 200 people in southern India last month, a team of international scientists has concluded. The landslides on July 30 were the region's worst disaster since 2018. The study released on Wednesday found that single-day monsoon downpours there have become 10 percent heavier because of climate change. I'm Joe Ramsey. |