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I'm VOA's Joe Ramsey with your worldwide news update.
Israel launched dozens more airstrikes into neighboring Syria over the weekend. VOA's Arash Arabasadi has more. The Israeli military launched hundreds of airstrikes into Syria in the week that passed since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad's regime. Israel says the strikes targeting strategic weapons and military infrastructure are essential for its security, so rebel groups cannot use them. Rebel chief and de facto Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, calls that a false pretext. But he adds his group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, has no interest in engaging in a new conflict. The focus instead, he says, is on rebuilding the nation. The United States and other governments have designated HTS as a terrorist organization. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made an unannounced trip to the region this week and discussed the future of Syria. The European Union will meet this week to discuss engagement with Syria and the country's rebuilding. Arash Arabasadi, VOA News. South Korea's acting president, Han Duck-soo, moved on Sunday to reassure the country's allies and calm financial markets a day after President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached and suspended from his duties over a martial law attempt. Reuters correspondent Diane To reports. Yoon has been suspended from his presidential duties since Saturday's vote. He's also under criminal investigation over the martial law order. Han, a longtime technocrat who was Yoon's prime minister, is now trying to undo the political crisis as acting president. On Sunday, he spoke with U.S. President Joe Biden by phone, according to the White House and Han's office. Reuters correspondent Diane To. This is VOA News. Officials said on Sunday that several hundred people, maybe even thousands, may have been killed by Cyclone Chido in the French archipelago of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean. Reuters correspondent Zachary Goelman reports. Cyclone Chido swept through Mayotte overnight, according to the French Meteorological Administration. The forecaster said the storm damaged makeshift housing, government buildings and a hospital, adding it was the strongest storm in more than 90 years to hit the islands. Mayotte's islands have been a focal point for illegal immigration from nearby Comoros. In recent decades, thousands have attempted to cross from Comoros on the east coast of Africa to Mayotte, which has a higher standard of living and access to the French welfare system. According to the French Interior Ministry, over 100,000 undocumented migrants live in Mayotte. Some 77 percent of the people in Mayotte live below the French poverty line. The cyclone went on to hit northern Mozambique on Sunday. Reuters correspondent Zachary Goelman. The head of Russia's Chechnya said on Sunday a Ukrainian drone struck a campus belonging to Russia's National Guard as Kyiv continues pushback after a mass air attack from Moscow. AP correspondent Karen Chammas reports. Footage on social media showed a drone swooping low over the Chechen capital Grozny before exploding. No casualties were reported. Chechen leader Ramzan Kadirov pledged revenge on Ukrainian forces and said he had ordered a missile strike against military facilities in Kharkiv in retaliation for the attack. The claim could not be independently verified. I'm Karen Chammas. The leader of the U.S. Senate wants to use advanced technology to identify drones in the New York, New Jersey area. AP correspondent Julie Walker reports. Amidst the fear and bewilderment about drones buzzing over parts of New York and New Jersey, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer urging the feds to use the Robin Radar Systems for its advanced 360-degree technology that also tracks drones back to a landing spot. "If you see a drone in your air over your home, you should not have to shake an eight ball to see what it is. There ought to be better technology and there is. We need that technology here." Schumer also says he's working to pass a bill to give local law enforcement more tools. Meanwhile, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Sunday they have the power to incapacitate drones but need those authorities "expanded" and continues to say that drones don't appear to be linked to foreign governments. Julie Walker, New York. 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. |