South Korea court finds former officials guilty of forcible return of N. Koreans
Voice of America
North Korean defectors stage a rally denouncing the deportation of North Korean fishermen in Seoul, South Korea, Nov. 12, 2019. The sign reads: "Apologize for the government of Moon Jae-in who deported the defectors."
A South Korean court found four former government officials guilty on Wednesday of forcibly repatriating two North Korean fishermen in 2019, despite their intention to defect, in a case that provoked criticism from global human rights activists.
FILE - Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev delivers a speech during the Heads of State of Central Asia Summit session in Astana, Kazakhstan, Aug. 9, 2024. (Kazakhstan's Presidential Press Service/handout via AFP)
This photograph shows a damaged hospital following a Russian drone strike in Odesa on Feb. 19, 2025.
FILE - U.S. President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak deliver remarks on the Australia - United Kingdom - U.S. (AUKUS) partnership,in San Diego, California March 13, 2023.
President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One, Feb. 19, 2025, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, after returning from Florida.
After Russia's drones attacked Odesa, Ukraine, this week, thousands in the city were left in the dark, Feb. 19, 2025.
A meeting at the World Trade Organization in Geneva, Feb. 19, 2025. The WTO on Wednesday described its discussions on trade tensions as "constructive," after China accused the U.S. of imposing "tariff shocks" that could upend the global trading system.
These handout pictures released by the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities on Feb. 19, 2025, show the entrance to the tomb of King Thutmose II in Luxor in southern Egypt.
Governor Omid Khoshnaw told VOA that many Sunni Arab leaders live in Irbil, benefiting from the security and quality of life in the Kurdish capital.
The Koolboks website's home page on Feb. 19, 2025, offers the company's solar-powered freezer. Koolboks also produces refrigerators and other cooling devices.
FILE - Afghanistan's minister for refugees Khalil Ur-Rahman Haqqani, center, looks on as he arrives to inspect a refugee camp near the Afghanistan-Pakistan Torkham border in Nangarhar province on Nov. 2, 2023.
Candles with the pictures of Pope Francis are seen outside Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome, Feb. 19, 2025, where the pontiff has been hospitalized since Feb. 14. FILE - Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni arrives at The Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris on Feb. 17, 2025. A group of children from a primary school pray for Pope Francis in front of the statue Pope John Paul II outside Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome, Feb. 19, 2025. Faithful pray for Pope Francis' health during a Mass in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Feb. 18, 2025.
A Chinese coast guard ship moves through seas within the Philippines' Exclusive Economic Zone on Jan. 13, 2025. (Philippine Coast Guard via AP) FILE - A Philippine navy helicopter takes off after a military exercise on Nov. 6, 2024, off Loaita island, locally called Kota island, in the disputed South China Sea, Philippines.
Head of the Presidential Office of Ukraine Andriy Yermak meets with U.S. Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia Keith Kellogg, in Kyiv, Feb. 19, 2025. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via Reuters) Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gives a press conference in Kyiv on Feb. 19, 2025.