World

  FILE - Israeli soldiers take position as they enter the UNRWA headquarter during a ground operation in Gaza, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. Geneva — A report by the United Nations human rights office, which accuses Israel Defense Forces of committing grave violations of international law in Gaza, many of which could amount to war crimes, has been met with a rebuke from Israel. "The State of Israel categorically rejects the recent update report by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation in the Gaza Strip," said a statement issued by the Israeli mission in Geneva on Friday. "OHCHR fails to accurately reflect the realities on the ground, and disregards the extensive role of Hamas and other terrorist or...

  FILE - Chadian soldiers arrive at the Koundoul market, 25 kilometers from N'Djamena, on Jan. 3, 2020, upon their return after a monthslong mission fighting Boko Haram in Nigeria. The military killed scores of Boko Haram fighters in airstrikes on Nov. 8, 2024, the government said. YAOUNDE, CAMEROON — Chadian military airstrikes killed scores of Boko Haram fighters and injured several dozen more in the Lake Chad Basin, President Mahamat Idriss Deby said Friday. Chad planned the operation against the Islamist militant group after Boko Haram fighters killed 40 Chadian soldiers in an attack on a military garrison last month. About 700 Chadian soldiers celebrated as air force fliers returned to Kaiga Kindira, an island in the Lake Chad B...

  FILE - A convoy of Israeli armored military vehicles leaves the Gaza Strip through the Kissufim crossing into Israel, Sept. 12, 2005. Israel said Nov. 8, 2024, that it is preparing to open the crossing amid pressure for more humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip. Israel says it is opening a new humanitarian aid crossing into the Gaza Strip amid mounting U.S. pressure to get more assistance to Palestinians struggling with shortages of food and shelter since the Israel-Hamas war began. In a joint statement Friday, the Israel Defense Forces and COGAT, the agency coordinating Israeli government activities in occupied territories, said they are preparing to open the Kissufim crossing. The statement, released on social media account X, said the ...

  Children stare at the destruction following an Israeli strike in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on Nov. 7, 2024. GENEVA — The U.N. Human Rights Office said on Friday nearly 70% of the fatalities it has verified in the Gaza war were women and children, and condemned what it called a systematic violation of the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law. The U.N. count covers the first seven months of the Israel-Hamas conflict in the Gaza Strip that began more than a year ago. The 8,119 victims verified by the U.N. Rights Office in that seven-month period is considerably lower than the toll of over 43,000 provided by Palestinian health authorities for the full 13 months of conflict. But the U.N. breakdow...

  Lower Shabelle, Somalia, where a Somali official reports that a drone crashed. The U.S. military says it is investigating what caused an army drone to crash in southern Somalia this week. The military\'s Africa Command, known as AFRICOM, confirmed the incident in a post Friday on social media platform X. “A U.S. Army operated MQ-1C crashed in southern Somalia at approximately 12:40 PM local on Nov. 5,” AFRICOM said. “An investigation is ongoing, although the crash does not appear to be the result of any attempt to shoot down the aircraft.” AFRICOM said it will release more information as it becomes available. AFRICOM did not disclose the exact location of the crash, but a Somali official said he was told a drone crashed in an ar...

  At least 11 Somali regional and federal government forces were killed in fierce fighting on Wednesday in the south of the country, officials said. The fighting occurred in the vicinity of Wayaanta, about 60 kilometers southwest of Kismayo, Jubaland state, after the government forces attacked a suspected gathering spot for the al-Shabab militants. Three officials with direct knowledge of the fighting who requested not to be identified because they are not allowed to speak with media told VOA Horn of Africa that 11 regional and government soldiers were killed, and more than 20 others injured. One of the officials claimed more than 20 al-Shabab militants also were killed in the encounter. An operation by the Somali forces last year in the s...

  China's Finance Minister Lan Fo'an speaks at a press conference on a plan to boost the economy at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Nov. 8, 2024. BEIJING — China on Friday approved a 6 trillion yuan ($839 billion) plan to help local governments refinance their mountains of debt, in the latest push to rev up growth in the world\'s second largest economy. The plan will be implemented over the next three years, Xu Hongcai, vice-chairman of the National People\'s Congress\'s financial and economic committee, said at a news conference Friday. Finance minister Lan Fo\'an estimated that the hidden debt of local governments was 14.3 trillion yuan ($2 trillion) at the end of 2023. Hidden debt refers to debt that has not been di...

  FILE - Nigerien soldiers patrol at the border with Nigeria, March 25, 2015. Nigerian defense officials warned Nov. 7, 2024, that a new insurgent group has infiltrated the country's northwestern region after Niger’s 2023 coup joint disrupted military patrols along the border. Abuja, Nigeria — Nigerian security analysts are voicing concerns after defense officials on Thursday warned of a new insurgent group known as the Lakurawas, operating mainly in the country\'s northwestern region. Authorities said the group originated from the Sahel region, particularly Mali and Niger, after last July\'s coup in Niger disrupted joint military patrols along the Nigerian border. Nigerian defense officials announced the discovery to journalists in...

  Hindu devotees gather by the river Brahmaputra and offer prayers to the setting sun during Chhath festival in Guwahati, northeastern Assam state, India, Nov. 7, 2024. NEW DELHI — Tens of thousands of Hindu devotees flocked to rivers and bodies of water across India to pray to the sun god as part of the Chhath festival this week. In Noida, on the outskirts of the capital New Delhi, families gathered at the Yamuna river, which is covered with white toxic foam as a result of pollutants discharged from nearby industries. Women in brightly colored saris waded into the knee-deep water flecked with blobs of white foam. Some carried a coconut or other fruits as an offering to thank Lord Surya, the god of the sun, for sustaining life on earth a...

  The entrance to the tiny settlement of Trump Heights in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, where the Israeli residents are welcoming the election of their namesake, Nov. 7, 2024. RAMAT TRUMP, Golan Heights — Israeli residents of "Trump Heights" are welcoming the election of their namesake, hoping Donald Trump\'s return to the U.S. presidency will breathe new life into this tiny, remote settlement in the central Golan Heights. During his first term, Trump became the first and only foreign leader to recognize Israel\'s control of the Golan, which it seized from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war. Israel thanked him by rebranding this outpost after him. But a large-scale influx of new residents never materialized after that 2019 ce...