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I'm VOA's Joe Ramsey with your worldwide news update.
U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Tuesday the United States is deeply concerned by the loss of life in an Israeli attack on a residential building in northern Gaza. "This was a horrifying incident with a horrifying result." Gaza's Health Ministry said at least 93 Palestinians were killed and missing and dozens wounded in an Israeli strike on a residential building in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya on Tuesday. "It is another reminder of why we need to see an end to this war." Israeli lawmakers have voted to ban the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, from operating within Israel, raising fears this will further worsen the already dire humanitarian situation in Gaza. Reuters correspondent Sean Hogan reports. The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees employs thousands of people who run the enclave schools, its primary healthcare clinics and other social services, as well as distributing humanitarian aid. Israeli lawmakers on Monday banned the agency from operating within Israel. The move raises concerns about UNRWA's ability to provide relief in Gaza and has alarmed Western allies who fund it. Since Israel launched its war following the October 7 attacks in 2023, nearly the entire Gazan population now relies on UNRWA for basics, including food, water and hygiene supplies. The U.N. said in August that nine UNRWA staff may have been involved in the October 7 attacks and fired them. Israeli authorities have long called for the agency to be dismantled, arguing it fosters anti-Israeli sentiment among its staff and in its wider social mission. UNRWA strongly disputes this characterization. Reuters correspondent Sean Hogan. This is VOA News. Russia test-fired missiles over distances of thousands of kilometers on Tuesday to simulate what it called a "massive" nuclear response to an enemy first strike. Russia has been signaling for weeks to the West that Moscow will respond if the United States and its allies allow Kyiv to fire long-range missiles deep into Russia. NATO said Monday that North Korea has sent troops to western Russia, something Moscow has not denied. Thousands of Russians, including soldiers, have sought asylum in the West since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, although only a fraction of their applications have been approved. However, France this month allowed several Russian army deserters to enter the country to seek refugee status. Henry Ridgwell reports. Alexander, who does not want to give his family name for fear of political retaliation, was a soldier in the Russian army. He is now living in the French city of Caen, along with his wife, Irina. In January 2022, as Russia was preparing its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Alexander was told his unit was heading to Russian-occupied Crimea for military exercises. He eventually managed to flee the army. A French court ruled in 2023 that Russians who refused to fight can claim refugee status, but most are unable to travel overseas to lodge an asylum application. In a landmark case, France this month granted permission for Alexander and Irina, along with eight other Russians, to enter the country and apply for asylum. The decision followed months of advocacy and campaigning by organizations like Russie Libertes, which encourage Russians to desert the army. Henry Ridgwell, VOA News, London. Donald Trump is celebrating his weekend rally at Madison Square Garden, a rally that featured crude and racist insults. AP correspondent Sagar Meghani reports. Trump says there's never been an event so beautiful. " an absolute love fest and it was my honor to be involved." He's also used "lovefest" to describe the Capitol riot. Speaking today at his Florida resort, Trump did not mention the event's racist comments about Latinos, Jews, Palestinians or Black people, nor sexual insults against Kamala Harris and Hillary Clinton, nor this: "There's literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. Yeah, I think it's called Puerto Rico." The Trump campaign distanced itself from the joke, but not the other comments. Sagar Meghani, Washington. That wraps up this update, but the world and news never stop. For additional updates, visit our website. I'm Joe Ramsey, VOA News. |