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Hi, I'm VOA's Alexis Strope with your worldwide news update.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday announced another $135 million in aid for Palestinians. AP correspondent Karen Chammas reports. Speaking while on a visit to Doha in Qatar, Blinken has pressed Israel to allow more aid into the war-ravaged Palestinian territory. "... we all know that it's not enough to provide funding. It's not even enough to get the assistance to the borders of Gaza. What's so critical is that the aid gets to the people who need it." After Israeli forces killed top Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza last week, but neither side has shown any sign of moderating its demands. I'm Karen Chammas. A Lebanon donors' conference in Paris on Thursday has raised hundreds of millions of dollars for the war-battered country. VOA's Lisa Bryant has more from the French capital. Conference host, French President Emmanuel Macron, said families need shelter, children need nourishment and schooling, the wounded need care. Solutions must be found quickly, he said, especially to avoid further population displacements, which could create new divisions in the country. Acting Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati wanted more. "What we as Lebanese expect from the international community is the following: solidarity and cease-fire. Lebanon calls on the international community to come together and support efforts that will end the ongoing aggressions and enforce an immediate cease-fire." The Paris meeting additionally aimed to find ways to support the Lebanese army and the U.N. peacekeeping mission in the country, which includes a large number of European troops. Both the army and the peacekeeping mission say they have come under attack by Israel. Lisa Bryant, VOA News, Paris. This is VOA News. South Korea's Presidential Security Service said that trash dropped around the presidential compound on Thursday came from North Korean balloons. It comes as propaganda leaflets were found scattered on the streets of South Korean capital Seoul. Reuters correspondent Diane To reports. It appears to be the first instance of the North Korean government directly sending anti-South propaganda material across the border. Some of them made personal attacks on the South's President Yoon Suk Yeol and the first lady. They accused the Yoon government of failing its people and described the first couple as immoral and mentally unstable. Since late May, North Korea has been sending thousands of balloons, often carrying trash, into various parts of its southern neighbor. It said the move was to retaliate for propaganda leaflets sent the other way by activists in the South criticizing the North's leadership. Pyongyang has accused Seoul of being complicit. Reuters correspondent Diane To. The owner and manager of the cargo ship that caused the Baltimore, Maryland, bridge collapse have agreed to pay more than $100 million to settle a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Justice Department. The settlement comes a month after the Justice Department sued Dali owner Grace Ocean Private Ltd. and manager Synergy Marine Group, seeking to recover more than $100 million that the government spent to clear the underwater debris and reopen the city's port. U.S. President Joe Biden is set to apologize on Friday for a 150-year Indian boarding school policy. AP correspondent Ed Donahue reports. President Biden says this should have been done a long time ago. "... to make a formal apology to the Indian Nations for the way we treated their children for so many years." A government investigation documented nearly 1,000 deaths and 74 grave sites associated with more than 500 schools. In his apology, the president says "as a people who love our country," we "must remember and teach our full history even when it is painful." I'm Ed Donahue. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Friday that the transatlantic slave trade was "abhorrent" and that while history cannot be changed, it should be talked about. "I think we should be clear from the outset that the slave trade, slave practice was abhorrent and it's very important that we start from that place." Starmer was speaking in an interview on the sidelines of the Commonwealth heads of government meeting held on Samoa and intended by leaders and officials from 56 countries with roots in Britain's empire. The idea of reparations for transatlantic slavery is longstanding, but has recently been gaining momentum worldwide, particularly in the countries of the Caribbean community and more recently, the African Union. Opponents of reparation payments say countries should not be held responsible for historical wrongs, while those in favor say the legacy of slavery has led to vast and persistent racial inequality today. That wraps up this update, but the world and news never stop. For additional updates, visit our website. I'm Alexis Strope, VOA News. |