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I'm VOA's Joe Ramsey with this worldwide news update.
Hamas said Monday it will delay the further release of hostages in the Gaza Strip after accusing Israel of violating a fragile cease-fire. AP correspondent Joe Fetterman has more from Jerusalem. This does not mean an end to the cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, but this is by far the biggest test so far to this deal. The two sides agreed last month to halt their fighting, 15 months of fighting, for a period of six weeks. Hamas says that Israel has not kept its side of the deal. It says that Israel is continuing to strike targets in Gaza, and it's also not allowing enough aid into the territory. Israel denies these allegations. But Hamas says that it is not going forward with the next scheduled hostage release that was set for Saturday when three men were to be released. This comes at a sensitive time for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The last release, three men came home looking emaciated and very weak, and there is a lot of public pressure in Israel for him to move forward with this deal and to bring home as many hostages as possible. AP correspondent Joe Fetterman. U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday said Palestinians in Gaza would not have a right to return under his plan for U.S. ownership of the war-torn territory that contradicts other officials in his administration who have sought to argue Trump was only calling for the temporary relocation of its population. When asked if Palestinians in Gaza would have a right to return to the territory, Trump said, "No, they wouldn't." Trump made his comments in an interview with Fox News less than a week after he floated his plan for the U.S. to take control of Gaza and turn it into the, quote unquote, "Riviera of the Middle East." His plan has been blasted by U.S. allies and adversaries alike. This is VOA News. Protesters continue to gather outside the U.S. Agency for International Development on Monday after Elon Musk and President Trump made moves to dismantle the agency charged with delivering humanitarian assistance overseas. AP correspondent Haya Panjwani reports. William Whelan, a retired USAID employee, says that he worked for the agency to help starving people worldwide. "This program helped people not only who faced starvation, but it helped Americans. So I find it hard to believe that Americans wouldn't understand the mutual benefit." A federal judge dealt Trump and Musk their first big setback in their dismantling of the agency, ordering a temporary halt on plans to pull thousands of agency staffers off the job. Haya Panjwani, Washington. A U.S. district judge found Monday that the Trump administration hasn't fully followed his order to unfreeze federal spending and told the White House to release billions of dollars in funding. AP correspondent Sagar Meghani reports. The judge says the White House has violated his order from late last month, noting continued struggles to get federal money for things like early childhood education and HIV research. He says a broad, categorical and sweeping federal funding freeze is likely unconstitutional and is ordering the administration to release all the money in a suit filed by nearly two dozen states, including Maryland. "Thank goodness for the courts," where Senator Chris Van Hollen says a flurry of illegal Trump actions has drawn a flurry of legal challenges. "I've never seen so many temporary restraining orders issued in such a short period of time against the U.S. government." Sagar Meghani, at the White House. President Trump on Monday said he has ordered the treasury secretary to cease production of the one cent coin known as the penny. Reuters correspondent Jillian Kitchener reports. After more than 200 years in circulation, the U.S. penny, the smallest denomination of American currency, may have run out of luck. In a Truth Social post, President Trump said the one cent coin is not worth the metal it's printed on, saying pennies actually cost more than two cents to make and that he instructed his treasury secretary to stop producing new ones. Supporters of the penny have argued that it helps keep consumer prices lower and is a source of income to charities. Others say the one cent coin is a nuisance that ends up being discarded. Reuters correspondent Jillian 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. |