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I'm VOA's Joe Ramsey with your worldwide news update.
Officials say Ukraine fired several American-supplied longer-range missiles into Russia, marking the first time Kyiv has used such weapons since the start of the war. A Telegram channel affiliated with the Ukrainian military posted a video on Tuesday that it says shows a U.S.-supplied missile being fired from an undisclosed location in Ukraine. The Kremlin said Tuesday that it shot down five Army Tactical Missile System missiles and damaged a sixth and that debris fell on an unspecified Russian military facility in the Bryansk region. The use of the long-range missiles came as Russian President Vladimir Putin formally lowered Moscow's threshold for using nuclear weapons. U.S. officials said on Tuesday the Pentagon will send Ukraine at least $275 million in new weapons. It comes as President Joe Biden's administration works to do as much as it can to help Kyiv fight back against Russia in the remaining two months before president-elect Donald Trump takes office. Trump has vowed to quickly end the war. U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein held what he called "very constructive talks" with Lebanese officials in Beirut on Tuesday about a possible cease-fire in the Israel-Hezbollah war. "Today we can continued to significantly narrow the gaps." Hochstein visited Lebanon's capital a day after Hezbollah reportedly gave a positive response to a U.S. draft proposal to end the 13-month war, which the Lebanese group launched to support Hamas and Gaza. The U.S. proposal could see Israeli ground forces leave Lebanon and Hezbollah militants withdraw away from the Israeli border. More Lebanese army troops and U.N. peacekeepers would be sent to a buffer zone in southern Lebanon as part of the deal. This is VOA News. New York prosecutors who secured the first ever criminal conviction of a former U.S. president said on Tuesday the hush money case against Donald Trump should not be dismissed in light of his election victory. Reuters correspondent Jillian Kitchener reports. Seventy-eight-year-old Trump had been scheduled to be sentenced on November 26. But Justice Juan Merchan last week put all proceedings on hold at the request of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, and prosecutors raised the possibility of a four-year pause in proceedings, which could resume after Trump leaves the White House. In May, a jury found Trump guilty of falsifying business records to cover up a $130,000 payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. The money was meant to buy her silence before the 2016 election about a sexual encounter she says she had with Trump. Trump denies the affair and pleaded not guilty at trial. Trump's lawyers urged Merchan to dismiss the case, arguing that having it loom over Trump while he was president would cause what they called "unconstitutional impediments" to his ability to govern. Reuters correspondent Jillian Kitchener. The U.S. government has recognized Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo González as the president-elect of the South American country, months after President Nicholás Maduro claimed to have won the July election. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken recognized González on Tuesday in a post on X in which he also demanded respect for the will of Venezuelan voters. The Biden administration has said González earned the most votes in the disputed July 28 election. Brazilian police announced on Tuesday the arrests of five people suspected of involvement in an alleged plan to kill then President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in 2022, days before he took office. Reuters correspondent Angela Johnston reports. Brazilian police say President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva could have been killed before his inauguration in 2023. They uncovered a military plot to kill the then president-elect days before he took office and stage a coup. The Army confirmed current and retired military officers were arrested, including one who was a member of former President Jair Bolsonaro's cabinet. Documents seized by police show how the plan was to shoot or poison Lula and his vice president-elect, put retired army generals and other officials in charge and then hold new elections. Lula defeated Bolsonaro in the 2022 election. Reuters correspondent Angela Johnston. That wraps up this update, but the world and news never stop. For additional updates, visit our website, voanews.com. I'm Joe Ramsey, VOA News. |