United States International News

FILE - In this file photo dated May 1, 2019, a woman and child sit on a hill overlooking the Euphrates River as families picnic on May Day, in Derik, Syria.

FILE - U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrive for a news conference in the White House on Feb. 4, 2025, in Washington.

FILE - Somali National Army soldiers stand guard against al-Shabab militants in the Middle Shabelle region in Somalia, Dec. 10, 2012. Somali officials say more than 100 militants were killed Feb. 20, 2025, during al-Shabab attacks on military bases in the region.

Cairo — Optimism in the Arab world that President Trump might bring a permanent end to the war in the Gaza Strip and, with it, stability to the tumultuous Middle East, soared as he was given a lion's share of the credit for ushering in the current ceasefire. But that hope has faded quickly since Mr. Trump suggested a plan to force Gaza's entire population out and to "take over" the decimated Palestinian territory to develop it as a vacation destination.

Hamas on Thursday put on a macabre handover ceremony in central Gaza to return the bodies of four Israeli hostages taken on October 7, 2023.

Pope Francis was first hospitalized for bronchitis, and was later diagnosed with bilateral pneumonia. On his 7th day in the hospital, Vatican News reported that he got out of bed for breakfast.

FILE - Geir Pedersen, the United Nations' special envoy to Syria, speaks to journalists in Damascus, Syria, Dec. 18, 2024. FILE - Syria's de facto leader Ahmad al-Sharaa walks in the presidential palace in Damascus, Dec. 28, 2024.

South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol attends a hearing at his impeachment trial over his short-lived imposition of martial law, at the Constitutional Court in Seoul, Feb. 20, 2025.

FILE - A poster of Taliban Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada is seen along a road in Kabul, Aug. 14, 2023. ICC chief prosecutor’s announced, Jan. 23, 2025, seeking arrest warrants for Akhundzada and a close associate accused of crimes against humanity.

Ivorian troops take part in a ceremony marking the handover to them of the French military base in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, on Feb. 20, 2025. The sign reads: "See you soon."

Mexico will never tolerate an invasion of its national sovereignty by the United States, President Claudia Sheinbaum warned Thursday after Washington designated Mexican drug cartels as terrorist organizations.

Ignored for most of its existence, the huge ice-bound island has been thrust into a geopolitical maelstrom. It’s trying to make the most of it.

FILE - The National Endowment for Democracy's Democracy Service Medal is displayed at the Library of Congress in Washington.

FILE- The "Visit Rwanda" logo is seen on the sleeve of Arsenal's Norwegian midfielder Martin Odegaard during a club friendly football match between Arsenal and Sevilla at the Emirates Stadium in London. July 30, 2022.

A Dutch court on Thursday sentenced four men to 25 years for the "honor killing" of a woman stabbed to death in broad daylight in front of her three-year-old daughter.

The remains were said to be of Shiri Bibas and her two children, Ariel and Kfir, as well as Oded Lifshitz, who was 83 when he was abducted.

FILE - German Economy Minister Robert Habeck and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock wear protective suits during their visit to the semiconductor manufacturer of Infineon Technologies AG in Dresden, Germany, July 13, 2023.

FILE - Workers inspect railway tracks, which serve as a part of the Belt and Road freight rail route in Sichuan province, China, March 14, 2019.

Khan Younis, Gaza Strip — Hamas on Thursday released the bodies of four Israeli hostages, said to include a mother and her two young children who have long been feared dead and had come to embody the nation's agony following the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas on Israel.

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.

An asteroid known as 2024 YR4 was discovered last December.

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.

Israel’s Hostages and Missing Families Forum said Wednesday that it had received the “heart-shattering news” that Shiri Bibas and her two young children, Ariel and Kfir, are among the four dead hostages expected to be released from Gaza on Thursday.

British nationals Craig and Lindsay Foreman have been detained in Iran and charged with espionage; they allegedly collected information in different parts of the country.

A group of anti-Israel demonstrators descended on an Orthodox Jewish neighborhood in Brooklyn on Tuesday leading to violent clashes and chaotic scenes, according to reports and video.

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.

Concern over a man who'd exhibited "fixated behavior" caused Emma Raducanu to approach the chair umpire in tears and take an unscheduled break in her second-round match at the Dubai Championships, the Women's Tennis Association said Wednesday. The incident unfolded three years after a man in Britain was convicted of stalking the star player at her family home.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would like to meet with Trump, a day after senior American and Russian officials held talks, excluding Kyiv.

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.

The U.N. human rights chief accused Rwanda-backed rebels in Congo of killing children and attacking hospitals and warehouses storing humanitarian aid.

FILE - A mining machine is seen at the Bayan Obo mine containing rare earth minerals, in Inner Mongolia, China, July 16, 2011.

Rio de Janeiro — Brazil's prosecutor-general on Tuesday formally charged former President Jair Bolsonaro with attempting a coup to stay in office after his 2022 election defeat, in a plot that included a plan to poison his successor and current President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and kill a Supreme Court judge.

A room is seen at Tavaksay colony, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Dec. 22, 2019. (Navbahor Imamova/VOA)

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, center, White House National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, right and U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff are seen after meeting with Russian officials, at Diriyah Palace, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Feb. 18, 2025.

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."

Brazil’s prosecutor-general Paulo Gonet has formally charged former President Jair Bolsonaro with attempting a coup to stay in office after his 2022 election defeat.

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman gestures during a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Feb. 17, 2025.

FILE - An interior view shows a pumping station of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium near the city of Atyrau, Kazakhstan, Oct. 12, 2017. A Ukrainian drone damaged a CPC pumping station in southern Russia, reducing oil flows by 30%-40%, Russian officials said.

Acting head of the Constitutional Court Moon Hyung-bae and other judges arrive for the impeachment trial of South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol at the Constitutional Court in Seoul, South Korea, Feb.18, 2025. Seok Dong-hyeon, a lawyer for South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol arrives for the impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court in Seoul, South Korea, Feb.18, 2025.

Map showing location of White Nile state, Sudan.