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I'm VOA's Joe Ramsey with your worldwide news update.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Israel's forces will stay in a buffer zone on the Syrian border for the foreseeable future. AP correspondent Sagar Meghani reports. Standing atop Mountain Hermon, Netanyahu said Israeli troops will remain until another agreement is found to ensure the Jewish state's security. He was apparently the first time a sitting Israeli leader stepped foot that far into Syria. Israel's capture of the demilitarized area in Syrian territory is drawing criticism that it's violated a 1974 cease-fire setting up the buffer zone. U.N. spokesman Stéphane Dujarric says a deal is a deal. "... occupation is occupation. Whether it lasts a week, a month or a year, it remains occupation." Sagar Meghani, Washington. Amid conflicting reports about Russia's future in Syria, Russian military assets are on the move in Latakia, the home province of fallen dictator Bashar al-Assad and his father. VOA's Heather Murdoch reports. Trucks and airplanes move off this Russian military base in the Latakia province of Syria. In the news and on the streets, there are conflicting reports about where they're going. Some say they are leaving Syria. Others say they are not. A nearby neighborhood still has shops with signs in Russian catering to soldiers' needs. Some locals tell us they fear minority groups in Syria will be in danger without Russian protection. After the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime more than a week ago, others say the Russians' move is a sign that the war is ending. Russia was a close ally of the Assad government entering the Syrian civil war to defend the regime in 2015. Heather Murdoch, VOA News, Latakia, Syria. This is VOA News. A senior U.S. military official said on Tuesday that a couple hundred North Korean troops fighting alongside Russian forces against Ukraine had been killed or wounded in battle in the Kursk border region. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to provide a U.S. assessment of the war, didn't provide details on exactly how many had been killed. The official says the North Korean forces don't appear to be battle-hardened, which contributes to the number of casualties they've had. The man accused of killing an American healthcare executive was charged on Tuesday with murder as an act of terrorism. AP correspondent Haya Panjwani reports. "The defendant is charged with one count of murder in the first degree and two counts of murder in the second degree, including one count of murder in the second degree as an act of terrorism." :Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg at a news conference. Luigi Mangione was already charged with murder in the killing of Brian Thompson, but this terror allegation brought forward by Bragg is new. "This was a frightening, well planned, targeted murder. That was intended to cause shock and attention and intimidation." Thompson, who was 50, was shot dead as he walked to a Manhattan hotel where Minnesota-based UnitedHealthcare, the United States' biggest medical insurer, was holding an investor conference. I'm Haya Panjwani. Residents of New Jersey and other eastern U.S. states have been saying for weeks they are seeing thousands of unidentified drones flying overhead. Reuters correspondent Jillian Kitchener reports. The phenomenon has sparked conspiracy theories and demands from lawmakers and some state officials for investigations into what soaring overhead on the East Coast. Since November, hundreds of people have shared photos and videos online. The majority of reported sightings have come from New Jersey. But people in Maryland, Virginia, Massachusetts and New York have reported seeing them, as well. The White House and the FBI have said the objects pose no threat. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a recent interview that there was no question New Jersey residents were seeing some drones, though he said at least some of the sightings were of manned aircraft. New York Governor Kathy Hochul called on Congress to enact stricter rules for drones, while New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy asked President Joe Biden for more resources to investigate the sightings. Some lawmakers have suggested that foreign countries could be dispatching the drones. Reuters correspondent Gillian Kitchener. 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. |