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Hi, I'm VOA's Alexis Strope with your worldwide news update.
Lebanese health authorities say that Israel has launched dozens of intense airstrikes across Lebanon's northeastern farming villages on Friday, killing at least 52 people and wounding 72 others. Hospital officials in central Gaza said Palestinians recovered the bodies of 25 people killed in a barrage of Israeli aerial attacks that began Thursday. The latest violence comes against the backdrop of the Biden administration's renewed diplomatic push days before the U.S. election to reach temporary cease-fire deals. Israel has stepped up its offensive against Hamas's remaining fighters in Gaza, pulverizing areas in the north and raising fears of worsening humanitarian conditions for civilians still there. Meanwhile, Pentagon press secretary Major General Pat Ryder said in a statement Friday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is sending additional bomber aircraft and Navy warships to the Middle East to bolster the U.S. presence in the region. It comes as an aircraft carrier and its warships are preparing to leave. Gaza's polio vaccination campaign is moving into its delayed third phase. The campaign was launched September 1 after a baby was partially paralyzed in the first polio case in 25 years. VOA's Christina Menenti has more. According to aid organizations, the third phase of a delayed polio vaccination campaign in Gaza will begin on Saturday after the rollout was derailed by Israeli bombardments, mass displacement and lack of access. The humanitarian pause to conduct the campaign had been agreed, but WHO and the United Nations children's agency, UNICEF, said the area covered by the agreement had been substantially reduced from the previous pause in September and would now cover only Gaza City. COGAT, the Israeli Army's Palestinian Civilian Affairs Agency, said it was helping to coordinate the three-day campaign and once it was complete, there would be an assessment to decide whether the schedule would be extended. Christina Menenti, VOA News. This is VOA News. Spanish rescuers opened a temporary morgue in a convention center and battled to reach areas still cut off on Friday as the death toll from catastrophic floods rose to 205 people in Europe's worst weather disaster in five decades. Reuters correspondent Alice Rizzo has more. (... the mini)ster overseeing regional cooperation told a press conference dozens of people are still unaccounted for. To support rescue efforts, some 500 soldiers have been deployed to search for the missing and assist survivors. With about 75,000 homes still without electricity, firefighters are siphoning fuel from abandoned cars to power generators to get domestic supplies back on. The storm dumped a year's worth of rain in just eight hours on Tuesday night, causing rivers to overflow and washing away roads, rail lines and bridges. Reuters correspondent Alice Rizzo. Bolivian President Luis Arce has condemned the seizure of three military units by supporters of former President Evo Morales. Earlier on Friday, the armed forces had urged those responsible for the takeover to immediately and peacefully abandon the facility and warned that anyone who takes up arms against the country will be considered a traitor. U.S. elections can have far-reaching consequences and are watched closely by the rest of the world. Kate Bartlett spoke to analysts about what a win by either presidential candidate, Kamala Harris or Donald Trump, could mean for Africa. Here's Ray Hartley, research director of South African think tank, the Brenthurst Foundation. "I think that a Trump presidency would reinforce America's isolationist approach in international affairs and that might not be good for trade." But other analysts think that whichever candidate wins, general U.S. policy toward Africa won't differ radically. Here's Ebenezer Obadare, senior fellow for Africa studies at U.S. research organization, the Council on Foreign Relations. "I don't think one administration is likely to differ much from another strictly in terms of the Africa policy." Analysts say while both Harris and Trump have generally ignored Africa over the course of their campaigns, whoever becomes America's next president would do well to keep up engagement with the continent. Kate Bartlett, VOA News, Johannesburg. A powerful bomb attached to a motorcycle has exploded near a vehicle carrying police officers assigned to protect polio workers in restive southwest Pakistan, killing nine people, including five nearby children. A police official says the attack occurred Friday in Mastung in Balochistan province. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. That wraps up this update, but the world and news never stop. For additional updates, visit our website. I'm Alexis Strope, VOA News. |