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I'm VOA's Joe Ramsey with your worldwide news update.
A Syrian opposition war monitor said on Tuesday that Israel carried out a wave of heavy airstrikes across Syria as its troops advanced deeper into the country. The Israeli defense minister announced that his forces had destroyed Syria's Navy. Israel acknowledged pushing into a buffer zone inside Syria following the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad. But it remained unclear if its soldiers had gone beyond that area, which was established more than 50 years ago. Israel denied it is advancing on the Syrian capital of Damascus. Israeli officials have said they are striking military assets to prevent them from falling into the hands of the hands of extremists. The United States said Tuesday it would recognize and support a new Syrian government that renounces terrorism, destroys chemical weapons stocks and protects the rights of minorities and women. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took the witness stand Tuesday for the first time in his long-running trial on corruption charges. AP correspondent Tia Goldenberg reports from Tel Aviv. Netanyahu is accused of fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in three separate cases. He denies wrongdoing. In one of those cases, he's accused of accepting cigars and champagne from a billionaire Hollywood producer. In the others, he's accused of trading regulatory favors with media moguls in exchange for positive media coverage. During his testimony to a packed Tel Aviv courtroom, Netanyahu spoke at ease. He said he didn't even like champagne and that he hardly gets to finish his cigar because of his workload. A verdict in the trial isn't expected until 2026 and then Netanyahu can appeal to the Supreme Court. AP correspondent Tia Goldenberg. This is VOA News. Pro-democracy and human rights groups say more than 100 people were killed in Sudan when eight barrel bombs hit a market in North Darfur on Monday. Reuters correspondent Angela Johnston reports. One activist said that while there are typically a few soldiers in the market in town, most of those present were civilians and that some bodies were too charred or mutilated to identify. The army has frequently targeted towns in North Darfur with airstrikes as it fights the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, for control of the state capital. The Army denied responsibility for the attack on the market but insisted it had the right to target any location used by the RSF for military purposes. The conflict has been turning increasingly bloody as cease-fire efforts have stalled and crises elsewhere have dominated world attention. Both sides have targeted densely populated civilian areas in the 20-month-old war. The United Nations has said more than 30 million people are in need of aid and some 12 million have fled their homes. Reuters correspondent Angela Johnston. Prosecutors are suggesting various ways to keep U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's historic hush money conviction on the books. AP correspondent Norman Hall reports. The proposals include freezing the case until Trump is out of office or agreeing that any future sentence wouldn't include jail time. Another idea, closing the case with a notation that acknowledges his conviction but says that he was never sentenced and that his appeal wasn't resolved because presidential immunity. The last option is adopted from what some states do when a criminal defendant dies after being convicted but before appeals are exhausted. Trump is pressing for the case to be thrown out. I'm Norman Hall. The suspect in the killing of an American healthcare executive struggled with deputies and shouted while arriving for a court appearance on Tuesday, a day after he was arrested. AP correspondent Haya Panjwani reports. The suspect in the killing of the UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting shouted at reporters as he entered court in Pennsylvania. "It's completely out of touch and an insult to the intelligence of the American people and their lived experience!" Deputies struggled with Luigi Nicholas Mangione and pushed him inside the courthouse for a brief hearing. Mangione's defense lawyer Thomas Dickey told the court that he wouldn't waive extradition to New York, but instead wanted a hearing on the issue. Mangione was arrested in Pennsylvania after a McDonald's customer recognized him and notified an employee. I'm Haya Panjwani. 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. |