World

  Pakistan police officers stand guard outside a factory where two Chinese nationals were shot, in Karachi on November 5, 2024. ISLAMABAD — Authorities in Pakistan said Tuesday that a local security guard at a factory in the southern port city of Karachi shot and injured two Chinese nationals, the third attack this year in the country targeting workers from China. Zia ul Haq Langar, the home minister of the Sindh province, of which Karachi is the capital, confirmed the shooting incident, saying it took place in an industrial area. He said an investigation was underway. Police officials reported that a “heated argument” and subsequent “scuffle” with the Chinese workers prompted the guard to open fire on them. The foreigners were taken to ...

  FILE - This file photo taken on May 28, 2024 shows Takao Doi, an astronaut and special professor at Kyoto University, holding the world's first wooden satellite, named LignoSat, during a press conference at the university's campus in Kyoto. KYOTO, JAPAN — The world\'s first wooden satellite, built by Japanese researchers, was launched into space on Tuesday, in an early test of using timber in lunar and Mars exploration. LignoSat, developed by Kyoto University and homebuilder Sumitomo Forestry, will be flown to the International Space Station on a SpaceX mission, and later released into orbit about 400 km (250 miles) above the Earth. Named after the Latin word for "wood," the palm-sized LignoSat is tasked to demonstra...

  FILE- Pigeons fly past the dome of India's Supreme Court building in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016. NEW DELHI — India plans to overhaul its criminal sentencing norms to counter accusations of arbitrary punishment, sources said, following public outrage over the 2022 rape conviction of a man within 30 minutes of trial, by a judge who handed him the death penalty. A higher court in the eastern state of Bihar later overturned the conviction and ordered a retrial, saying the man had been denied the opportunity to defend himself and the judge had acted in "utmost haste." It also called for more training for the judge. In response, the government plans to develop a grading system to ensure punishment matches the crime...

  FILE - Police fired tear gas during a protest in Abuja, Nigeria, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. Thousands of mostly young people poured onto the streets across Nigeria on Thursday as they protested against the country's worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation. Abuja, Nigeria — Nigerian President Bola Tinubu ordered the immediate release Monday of some 29 minors detained during anti-government protests in August after their court trial sparked outrage and widespread condemnation. The protesters faced treason charges punishable by death according to Nigerian law. But human rights groups saaid recent suppression of protesters is an attempt by authorities to stifle dissent. Nigeria\'s information minister, Mohammed Idris, told reporters ...

  Somali Americans in Minneapolis, Minnesota, participate in an October 19, 2024, Town Hall conducted by VOA Somali Service. MINNEAPOLIS, MN — Somali Americans in Minnesota last month took part in a town hall involving Democratic and Republican party representatives encouraging them to participate in the 2024 election, arguing the stakes are high for them and their grandchildren. During a VOA town hall event in Minneapolis, Somali Americans listened to remarks by panelists from both political parties, who answered questions about the economy, immigration, and foreign policy, explaining what their candidate would do to win the votes of Somali Americans. Economic policy While many Somali Americans are traditionally Democratic-leaning, ther...

  FILE - Indian Muslim children read the Quran at a madrasa or a religious school, in Bangalore, India, Oct. 3, 2015. NEW DELHI — India\'s Supreme Court set aside on Tuesday an order that banned Islamic schools in the country\'s most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, providing a breather to thousands of students and teachers. In March, the Allahabad High Court had scrapped a 2004 law governing the schools, called madrasas, saying it violated the constitutional tenet of secularism, and directing that all their students be moved to conventional schools. By setting aside the March order, the Supreme Court allowed the 25,000 Muslim schools to operate in the northern state, however, providing relief to 2.7 million students and 10,000 teachers....

  FILE - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in New Delhi, Sept. 9, 2023. The two have denounced the violence that erupted Sunday at several locations in suburban Toronto, including a Hindu temple. Canadian officials pressed charges against three people Monday, following the violence that erupted Sunday at a Hindu temple near Toronto where Sikh activists staged a Pro-Khalistan demonstration, according to a Reuters report. Local police say a 43-year-old man was charged with causing a disturbance and assaulting a peace officer and a 23-year-old man was charged with assault with a weapon. Meanwhile, a 31-year-old man was charged with mischief. In addition, police say they have been made aware of the...

  FILE - Chinese sailors sit in rows during a tour arranged for foreign journalists, a day before the opening of the West Pacific Naval Symposium in Qingdao in eastern China's Shandong province, April 21, 2024. BEIJING — In an unusual warning, China\'s navy told young officers and personnel that they could get ensnared by online dating scams and virtual gambling if they let down their guard, exposing themselves to security risks and undermining the military. Addressing those born from 1990 who are "becoming the core of the army," the People\'s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy said in a social media post that young soldiers should avoid revealing their military identity online as they could be "extremely easy" targets o...

  Rubble lies at the site of a restaurant that was damaged in Israeli strikes on Baalbek, Lebanon, Nov. 4, 2024. The death toll in Lebanon surpassed 3,000 Monday in the 13-month-long conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, with the vast majority killed since hostilities dramatically escalated in mid-September and Israel invaded south Lebanon on October 1. The Lebanese health ministry said more than 13,000 people have also been wounded. More than a million people have been displaced in the tiny country. Israel says the dead include hundreds of Hezbollah members. It also succeeded in assassinating the group’s top leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and several senior commanders. In Israel, 72 people have been killed by Hezbollah rocket and drone attac...

  Former President of Botswana Mokgweetsi Masisi, right, hands over his office to newly elected President Duma Boko at the Office of the President, Gaborone, Botswana, Nov. 4, 2024. gabarone, botswana — Botswana’s newly elected leader, Duma Boko, says Africa can draw vital lessons from his country’s smooth transfer of power. Boko spoke after the Botswana Democratic Party, which had ruled the country since independence in 1966, suffered a crushing defeat in last week’s elections. Addressing the media after an official handover of office Monday, Boko praised outgoing President Mokgweetsi Masisi for ensuring a seamless transfer of power. Boko’s party, the Umbrella for Democratic Change, will form the next government. “Botswana today, sends ...