Search teams Sunday found the bodies of the last three missing people at the site of a golf ball factory fire in southern Taiwan, bringing the death toll to 10, according to Taiwanese media reports.Launch Technologies, the operator of the plant, is a major global supplier of golf balls.Four of the victims were firefighters. Taiwan's Central News Agency, quoting a Pingtung County fire official, said an explosion Friday caused part of the building to collapse about 6:10 p.m., trapping firefighters and workers under rubble, A second explosion followed 20 minutes later.Two bodies were found Sunday morning and the final one was recovered in the afternoon. About 100 people were injured in the blaze at Pingtung Technology Industrial Park. The fire was not extinguished until the next day. The cause remained unclear.Taiwan is a major manufacturer of golf balls with factories supplying major brands including Callaway, TaylorMade, Bridgestone, Mizuno and Wilson, according to the 2021 annual repor

NASA's first asteroid samples fetched from deep space parachuted into the Utah desert Sunday to cap a seven-year journey.In a flyby of Earth, the Osiris-Rex spacecraft released the sample capsule from 63,000 miles (100,000 kilometers) out. The small capsule landed four hours later on a remote expanse of military land, as the mothership set off after another asteroid.Scientists estimate the capsule holds at least a cup of rubble from the carbon-rich asteroid known as Bennu but won't know for sure until the container is opened. Some spilled and floated away when the spacecraft scooped up too much and rocks jammed the container's lid during collection three years ago.Japan, the only other country to bring back asteroid samples, gathered about a teaspoon in a pair of asteroid missions.The pebbles and dust delivered Sunday represent the biggest haul from beyond the moon. Preserved building blocks from the dawn of our solar system 4.5 billion years ago, the samples will help scientists bette

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with Djiboutian leaders and the president of Somalia in Djibouti on Sunday, marking his first trip to Africa as Secretary of Defense amid continued violence in the region. Later in the week, he will travel to Kenya and Angola.Djibouti is home to the U.S. military's major base on the continent, and Austin said Camp Lemonier was "critical" to "countering violent extremism and supporting security throughout the region."He added that the U.S. is proud to partner with Djiboutian forces and African Union forces in support of neighboring Somalia, where al-Shabab militants are increasingly resistant amid ongoing military operations against the group.Al-Shabab is the main branch of al-Qaida on the continent.Somalia faced recent setbacks in its fight against al-Shabab after a deadly attack on the town of Cowsweyne on August 26. The incident left dozens of government soldiers dead and resulted in a hasty retreat from front lines and towns previously capture

United Nations investigators say that human rights violations and abuse in Syria are sowing the seeds for further violence and radicalization, despite diplomatic efforts to stabilize the situation in the country, including through its re-admission to the League of Arab States.The three-member Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria presented this bleak outlook Friday to the U.N. Human Rights Council.Reacting to the commission assessment, a majority of the 42 countries in the meeting expressed deep concern about continuing alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes by the Syrian regime."Nearly 12 years in, the parties to this conflict continue to perpetrate war crimes and to violate basic human rights," Paulo Pinheiro, commission chair told the council."Today, Syrian youth are fleeing the country in droves, leaving behind a fragmented state, a crippled economy and destroyed homes," he said. "They no long feel they have a future in their own country."The U.N. estimat

President Joe Biden is set to announce the opening of new U.S. embassies on Cook Islands and Niue on Monday as the Democratic administration aims to demonstrate to Pacific Island leaders that it remains committed to increasing American presence in the region.The announcement about the new diplomatic missions in the South Pacific comes as Biden prepares to welcome leaders to Washington for the two-day U.S.-Pacific Island Forum Summit. Talks are expected to heavily focus on the impact of climate change in the region.Biden has put a premium on improving relations in the Pacific amid rising U.S. concern about China's growing military and economic influence. Plans about the embassies were confirmed by two senior administration officials who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity before the formal announcement.White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden would use the summit to strengthen "ties with the Pacific Islands and discuss how we address complex global challenge

Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Sunday the likelihood was rising that ethnic Armenians would flee the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh and blamed Russia for failing to ensure Armenian security.If 120,000 people go down the Lachin corridor to Armenia, the small South Caucasian country could face both a humanitarian and political crisis."If proper conditions are not created for the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh to live in their homes and there are no effective protection mechanisms against ethnic cleansing, the likelihood is rising that the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh will see exile from their homeland as the only way to save their lives and identity," Pashinyan said in address to the nation."Responsibility for such a development of events will fall entirely on Azerbaijan, which adopted a policy of ethnic cleansing, and on the Russian peacekeeping contingent in Nagorno-Karabakh," he said, according to a government transcript.He added that the Armenian-Russian strat

Ethiopia's Tigst Assefa shattered the women's marathon world record in Berlin on Sunday, lopping off more than two minutes from the previous best to clock an official time of two hours 11 minutes and 53 seconds.Assefa, who had set a course record with a personal best last year, set a blistering early pace, gradually shaking off any competition to pulverize Kenyan Brigid Kosgei's record of two hours 14 minutes and four seconds set in 2019.Remarkably, her splits were faster after the halfway mark."I knew I wanted to go for the world record but I never thought I would do this time," said the 26-year-old, a former 800-metre runner. "It was the result of hard work."With her time she set a marker for next year's Paris Olympics while also almost certainly nailing down a spot on the Ethiopian Olympic team for 2024."I have set a mark now. The decision does not lie with me but with officials. It is up to the National Committee to select me for the team."Her remarkable victory overshadowed men's

A populist far-right politician is the front-runner in a mayoral race Sunday in the German city of Nordhausen, best known as the location of the Nazi concentration camp Mittelbau-Dora.Joerg Prophet of the Alternative for Germany party, won 42.1% of the vote in the first round of the election earlier this month. His opponent, independent incumbent candidate Kai Buchmann, had just 23.7%.The prospect of a far-right mayor holding a revisionist version of Germany's Holocaust past has not gone unnoticed by Holocaust survivors and people who work in Germany to combat discrimination.Jens-Christian Wagner, director of the Buchenwald and Mittelbau-Dora Memorials Foundation, told AFP that an AfD mayor would not be welcome at commemorative events.Agence France-Presse reports that Prophet posted in a blog in 2020 that the Allied forces liberated Mittelbau-Dora because they were interested only in the site's rocket and missile technology."Everything I hear," Wagner said, "suggests that Prophet will

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has admitted she had hoped to do "better" on controlling irregular migration, which has surged since her far-right party won historic elections a year ago."Clearly we hoped for better on immigration, where we worked so hard," she said in an interview marking the win, broadcast late Saturday on the TG1 channel. "The results are not what we hoped to see. It is certainly a very complex problem, but I'm sure we'll get to the bottom of it."Meloni's post-fascist Brothers of Italy party was elected largely on a promise to reduce mass migration into Italy.But the number of people arriving on boats from North Africa has instead surged, with more than 130,000 recorded by the interior ministry so far this year -- up from 70,000 in the same period of 2022.After 8,500 people arrived on the tiny island of Lampedusa in just three days earlier this month, Meloni demanded the European Union do more to help relieve the pressure.Brussels agreed to intensify existing

Kosovo's prime minister, Albin Kurti, said Sunday that a police officer was killed and another was wounded in an area of the country near Serbia. The prime minister said "masked professionals armed with heavy weapons" opened fire on police in the northern village of Banjska in Leposavic.European Union-facilitated talks in Brussels between Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, designed to normalize ties between the countries, collapsed earlier this month. Tensions have been running high in Kosovo since May, when violent clashes followed a disputed local election. The 1998-1999 war between Serbia and its former province, Kosovo, killed more than 10,000 people, mostly Kosovo Albanians. Kosovo unilaterally declared independence in 2008 but Belgrade has refused to recognize the move.Some information for this report came from The Associated Press.

A second shipment of Ukrainian wheat reached Turkey on Sunday, according to Agence France-Presse. Russia had threatened to attack vessels headed to or from Ukraine. However, Ukraine is now testing shipping waters controlled by NATO members Bulgaria and Romania. The Palau-flagged ship is headed to Egypt.Gasoline and diesel customers of Russia have "highly likely" experienced local shortages, the British Defense Ministry said Sunday in its daily intelligence update on Russia's invasion of Ukraine.The ministry said Russia suspended almost all diesel and gasoline exports on Thursday "to stabilize its internal markets." That move, according to the ministry, "will almost certainly" further limit supplies globally.The shortages are "unlikely" a direct result of the war but are instead "probably" caused by several factors, including "short term increases" in agricultural demands, the summer maintenance needs of refineries, and "attractive" export prices.Countries currently depending on Russia

One policeman was killed and another wounded in north Kosovo early Sunday, according to authorities, during an armed attack on a patrol as it approached a blocked road near the border with Serbia."As soon as they arrived in the vicinity of the place where the blockade was reported, the police units were attacked from several different positions with an arsenal of firearms, including hand grenades and shoulder-fired missiles," police said in a statement.Kosovo's prime minister, Albin Kurti, was quick to condemn the attack, calling the ambush an act of terrorism."The attackers are professionals with masks and armed with heavy weapons. We condemn this criminal and terrorist attack," Kurti wrote on social media."Organized crime with political, financial and logistical support from officials in Belgrade is attacking our country," he added.Tensions have been smoldering for months following the Pristina government's decision to install ethnic Albanian mayors in four Serb-majority municipaliti

In an ultra-sterile room at a secure factory in Kansas City, U.S. government technicians refurbish the nation's nuclear warheads. The job is exacting: Each warhead has thousands of springs, gears and copper contacts that must work in conjunction to set off a nuclear explosion.About 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) away in New Mexico, workers in a steel-walled vault have an equally delicate task. Wearing radiation monitors, safety goggles and seven layers of gloves, they practice shaping new warhead plutonium cores by hand.And at nuclear weapons bases across the country, troops as young as 17 keep 50-year-old warheads working until replacements are ready. A hairline scratch on a warhead's polished black cone could send the bomb off course.The Associated Press was granted rare access to key parts of the highly classified nuclear supply chain and got to watch technicians and engineers tackle the difficult job of maintaining an aging nuclear arsenal. Those workers are about to get a lot busie

As Republican-led states have rushed to ban gender-affirming for minors, some families with transgender children found a bit of solace: At least they lived in states that would allow those already receiving puberty blockers or hormone therapy to continue.But in some places, including Missouri and North Dakota, the care has abruptly been halted because medical providers are wary of harsh liability provisions in those same laws one of multiple reasons that advocates say care has become harder to access even where it remains legal."It was a completely crushing blow," said Becky Hormuth, whose 16-year-old son was receiving treatment from the Washington University Gender Center at St. Louis Children's Hospital until it stopped the care for minors this month. Hormuth cried. Her son cried, too."There was some anger there, not towards the doctors, not toward Wash U. Our anger is towards the politicians," she said. "They don't see our children. They say the health care is harmful. They don't k

A group of migrants from China surrendered to a Border Patrol agent in remote Southern California as gusts of wind drowned the hum of high-voltage power lines. They joined others from Ecuador, Brazil, Colombia and elsewhere in a desert campsite with shelters made from tree branches.Their arrival this week was another sign that agents have become overwhelmed in recent days by asylum-seekers on parts of the U.S. border with Mexico. In tiny Eagle Pass, Texas, the arrival of 6,000 migrants prompted authorities to close one of the town's two official border crossings. Border crossings have closed recently for similar reasons in San Diego and El Paso, Texas.After a dip in illegal crossings that followed new asylum restrictions in May, President Joe Biden's administration is again on its heels. Democratic mayors and governors are seeking more relief for hosting asylum-seekers, and Republicans are seizing on the issue ahead of 2024 elections.The Homeland Security Department said Wednesday it w

Israeli forces shot and killed two Palestinians in a pre-dawn raid in the West Bank Sunday, the Palestinian health ministry said, as the army confirmed it carried out "counterterrorism" activity in the occupied territory."Two Palestinians were killed by live Israeli bullets..." in the town of Tulkarem, the ministry said, while the army confirmed a soldier had been "moderately injured by gunshot fragments" during clashes in the Nur Shams refugee camp near the town.The Palestinian health ministry identified the two killed as Osaid Abu Ali, 22, and Abd al-Rahman Abu Daghash, 32.Troops dismantled an "operational command center" inside a building in the camp and also uncovered a large number of explosive devices, the army said in a statement."During the activity, suspects opened fire and hurled explosive devices at the forces who responded with live fire," the army said.

The Philippines on Sunday accused China's coast guard of installing a "floating barrier" in a disputed area of the South China Sea, saying it prevented Filipinos from entering and fishing in the area.Manila's coast guard and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources "strongly condemn" China's installation of the barrier in part of the Scarborough Shoal, Commodore Jay Tarriela, a coast guard spokesperson, posted on the X social media platform, formerly Twitter.The barrier "prevents Filipino fishing boats from entering the shoal and depriving them of their fishing and livelihood activities," he said.The Chinese Embassy in Manila did not immediately reply to requests for comment.China claims 90% of the South China Sea, overlapping with the exclusive economic zones of Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and the Philippines. Beijing seized the Scarborough Shoal in 2012 and forced fishermen from the Philippines to travel further for smaller catches.Beijing allowed Filipino fishermen to retu

The first gold medals at the Asian Games were all won by host nation China on Sunday in rowing, shooting and wushu after President Xi Jinping opened the two-week multisport extravaganza in a colorful ceremony.China claimed the first gold when Zou Jiaqi and Qiu Xiuping dominated the women's lightweight double sculls rowing final to kick off an expected medal rush for the hosts in Hangzhou.The Chinese pair finished in 7 minutes 6.78 seconds, with Uzbekistan's Luizakhon Islamova and Malika Tagmativa taking silver, almost 10 seconds behind."I am very excited as it's my first Asian Games," said Zou, clutching her gold medal."Stepping on to the podium today is a new starting point to help us prepare for next year's Paris Olympics," said Qiu.Indonesia's Chelsea Corputty and Rahma Mutiara Putri won bronze at the Fuyang Water Sports Centre.The hosts then doubled up on the rowing lake as the men's lightweight double sculls gold was won by Fan Junjie and Sun Man, who finished five seconds clear o

Armenia called on Saturday for the immediate deployment of a U.N. mission to monitor human rights and security in Nagorno-Karabakh amid signs that aid may be arriving in the breakaway region under a fragile cease-fire.Azerbaijan on Wednesday declared a cease-fire after forcing Armenian separatist forces to accept the full return of Karabakh, an ethnic Armenian enclave, to Azeri control. Armenians there say they fear persecution if they remain.Karabakh, internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, has been run by a breakaway administration since a war in the early 1990s amid the breakup of the Soviet Union. Azerbaijan has promised to protect the Armenians' rights but says they are free to leave if they prefer."The international community should undertake all the efforts for an immediate deployment of an interagency mission by the U.N. to Nagorno-Karabakh with the aim to monitor and assess the human rights, humanitarian and security situation on the ground," Armenian Foreign Ministe

At the annual meeting of world leaders last year, the U.N. chief sounded a global alarm about the survival of humanity and the planet. This year, the alarm rang louder and more ominously, and the message was even more pressing: Wake up and take action right now.Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' assessment, delivered in his no-nonsense style, aimed to shock. We are becoming "unhinged," he said. We are inching closer to "a great fracture." Conflicts, coups and chaos are surging. The climate crisis is growing. Divides are deepening between military and economic powers, the richer North and poorer South, East and West. "A new Rubicon" has been crossed in artificial intelligence.Guterres has spoken often on all these issues. But this year, which he called "a time of chaotic transition," his address to leaders was tougher and even more urgent. And looking at his previous state-of-the-world speeches, it seems clear he has been headed in this direction for quite some time.In his first addre

Sofia Oliveira was 12 years old when catastrophic wildfires in central Portugal killed more than 100 people in 2017. She "felt it was now or never to raise our voices" as her country appeared to be in the grip of deadly human-caused climate change.Now a university student, Sofia and five other Portuguese young adults and children between 11 and 24 years of age are due on Wednesday at the European Court of Human Rights, where they are accusing 32 European governments of violating their human rights for what they say is a failure to adequately address climate change. It's the first climate change case filed with the court and could compel action to significantly slash emissions and build cleaner infrastructure.Victory for them in Strasbourg would be a powerful instance of young people taking a legal route to force their governments to adopt a radical recalibration of their climate measures.The court's rulings are legally binding on member countries, and failure to comply makes authoritie

The surge of migrants crossing the U.S. border from Mexico has pushed the city of El Paso, Texas, to "a breaking point," with more than 2,000 people per day seeking asylum, exceeding shelter capacity and straining resources, its mayor said Saturday."The city of El Paso only has so many resources and we have come to ... a breaking point right now," Mayor Oscar Leeser said.The crush of largely Venezuelan asylum-seekers is part of a larger swell of immigrants who traveled dangerous routes on buses and cargo trains to Mexican border towns near San Diego, California, and the Texas cities of El Paso and Eagle Pass.Migrant numbers had plummeted in recent months, and the recent dramatic increase has generated a new wave of political attacks on U.S. President Joe Biden heading into the 2024 election.Lesser told a news conference that El Paso plans to open a new shelter, and on Saturday chartered five buses to take migrants to New York, Chicago and Denver.Republican governors in Texas and Florid

The climactic end of a seven-year voyage comes Sunday when a NASA capsule is to land in the Utah desert, carrying to Earth the largest asteroid samples ever collected.Scientists have high hopes for the sample, saying it will provide a better understanding of the formation of our solar system and how Earth became habitable.The Osiris-Rex probe's final, fiery descent through Earth's atmosphere will be perilous, but the U.S. space agency is hoping for a soft landing, around 9 a.m. local (15H00 GMT), in a military test range in northwestern Utah.Four years after its 2016 launch, the probe landed on the asteroid Bennu and collected roughly nine ounces (250 grams) of dust from its rocky surface.Even that small amount, NASA says, should "help us better understand the types of asteroids that could threaten Earth" and cast light "on the earliest history of our solar system," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said."This sample return is really historic," NASA scientist Amy Simon told AFP. "This is

A 58-year-old man this week became the world's second patient to receive a transplant of a genetically modified pig heart, the latest milestone in a growing field of medical research.Transplanting animal organs into humans, called xenotransplantation, could offer a solution to the chronic shortage of human organ donations. More than 100,000 Americans are currently on waiting lists for organ transplants.Both heart procedures were carried out by experts from the University of Maryland School of Medicine, with the first patient dying two months after his transplant last year due to "a multitude of factors including his poor state of health" prior to the operation, the university said in a statement Friday.'Now I have hope'The latest operation took place Wednesday with patient Lawrence Faucette. He was ineligible for a donated human heart due to pre-existing vascular disease and internal bleeding complications.Without the experimental transplant, the father of two and Navy veteran was faci

Thousands of migrants have made their way illegally into Greece from Turkey, using rickety rafts to cross the Aegean, the narrow waterway between the two countries.United Nations data in September shows sea arrivals have already more than doubled the roughly 12,000 migrants who were caught trying to illegally enter Greece last year. Illegal entries along the land border and the massive Evros River that snakes along the rugged frontiers of the two countries in the northeast also count record increases of more than 65 percent in the last two months alone, police said."Much of this has to do with favorable weather conditions, and the receding levels of the Evros River that makes crossings easier," saidDimitris Petrovic,Deputy Regional Governor of Evros, Greece.Many of the migrants are spotted and rounded up by soldiers and border police, but police officials such as Alexandros Sfeliniotis said human traffickers have become increasingly ruthless."They have even begun recruiting minors, pay

A small drone flits over opened earth, and an explosion appears on the video feed.The drone has just dropped a grenade into a trench in Ukraine. The images were being projected on a giant screen in the Netherlands, in front of NATO military officers and defense company executives.These drones being used against Ukrainian forces are "small, fast" and finding a way to defend against them is "complex," says Willem Koedam, a former Dutch air force officer turned expert for NATO's C-UAS unit, which looks at anti-drone defenses.The solution may be complex, but it's not impossible.Representatives from 57 companies visited a military base in the Dutch town of Vredepeel to present their systems to the NATO brass.The systems they offer are designed to counter threats ranging from off-the-shelf drones available to the public to the Iranian Shahed drones used by Russia's forces.Using nets"The best way to kill a Shahed is a jet" meaning a jet-propelled drone said Ludwig Fruhauf, head of DDTS, a G

Ethiopia said Saturday it had begun a second round of talks with Egypt and Sudan over a controversial mega-dam built by Addis Ababa on the Nile, long a source of tensions among the three nations.Ethiopia this month announced the completion of the fourth and final filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, prompting immediate condemnation from Cairo, which denounced the move as illegal.Egypt and Sudan fear the massive $4.2 billion dam will severely reduce the share of Nile water they receive and had repeatedly asked Addis Ababa to stop filling it until an agreement was reached.For years at loggerheads over the issue, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed agreed in July to finalize a deal within four months, resuming talks in August.Ethiopia's foreign ministry wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the three countries had opened a second round of negotiations in Addis Ababa."Ethiopia is committed to reaching a negotiated and amicable so

At least 34 people died in Benin near Nigeria's border on Saturday when a contraband fuel depot exploded into flames, sending up a black cloud of smoke into the sky and leaving dozens of charred bodies at the site, a government official and residents said.The blaze erupted at a warehouse for smuggled fuel in the southern Benin town of Seme Podji, where cars, motorbikes and tricycle taxis came to stock up on fuel, according to local residents.Nigeria is a major oil producer and fuel smuggling is common inside the country and along its borders, with illegal refineries, fuel dumps and pipelines sometimes causing fires."I am still in shock. We heard people screaming for help. But the intensity of the flames was too much for people to try to approach," said Innocent Sidokpohou, a local carpenter."I got gas for my motorbike to go do my shopping. I left and barely 5 meters away I heard an explosion. When I turned around it was all black smoke."Benin's Interior Minister Alassane Seidou told re

If you listen to the African leaders addressing the United Nations General Assembly this year, the message is emphatic and unanimous: The continent is done being a victim of a post-World War II order. It is a global power and must be partnered with not sidelined.Most of Africa has logged a lifetime of independence roughly 60 years and the continent of more than 1.3 billion people is more conscious of the challenges stifling its development. There's also a new boldness that comes with the African Union's G20 seat."We as Africa have come to the world, not to ask for alms, charity or handouts, but to work with the rest of the global community and give every human being in this world a decent chance of security and prosperity," Kenyan President William Ruto said.In recent years, Africa has been clear about its capacity to become a global power, from efforts to tackle climate change at home such as the existential threat of climate change upending lives and livelihoods in the region, de

Even after escalating its strike against Detroit automakers on Friday, the United Auto Workers union still has plenty of leverage in its effort to force the companies to agree to significant increases in pay and benefits.Only about 12% of the union's membership is so far taking part in the walkout. The UAW could, if it chose to, vastly expand the number of workers who could strike assembly plants and parts facilities of General Motors, Ford and Stellantis, the owner of the Jeep and Ram brands.Yet the UAW's emerging strategy also carries risks for the union. By expanding its strike from three large auto assembly plants to all 38 parts distribution centers of GM and Ford, the UAW risks angering people who might be unable to have their vehicles repaired at service centers that lack parts.The union's thinking appears to be that, by striking both vehicle production and parts facilities, it will force automakers to negotiate a relatively quick end to the strike, now in its second week. To do

Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni said Saturday an airstrike by the east African country's military had killed members of an Islamic State (IS)-allied rebel group including a key person responsible for bomb attacks in Uganda's capital. The strike was carried out in neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo on September 16 and intelligence gathered after the strike had confirmed members of group, Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), had been killed, he said. "A lot of terrorists were killed, including the notorious Meddie Nkalubo, who has been the author of the bombs in Kampala," Museveni said in a statement referring to Uganda's capital.He did not say how many were killed. In December 2021 Uganda launched an operation in eastern Congo against ADF but the group still carries out attacks both against civilians and military targets in Congo and Uganda. In two of the group's most devastating attacks in Uganda, suicide bombings in 2021 outside a major police station in Kampala and near the parli

Lebanon's army said it fired tear gas at Israeli forces over the border Saturday in response to smoke bombs fired at its troops, though Israel said Lebanon started the confrontation.Tensions have flared along the frontier this summer, with rockets fired at Israel during flare-ups of Israeli-Palestinian violence, and members of the heavily armed Lebanese group Hezbollah or its supporters facing off with Israeli forces."Elements of the Israeli enemy violated the withdrawal line and fired smoke bombs at a Lebanese army patrol that was accompanying a bulldozer removing an earthen berm erected by the Israeli enemy north of the withdrawal line, the blue line, in the Bastra area," the Lebanese army said in a statement.The current demarcation line between the two countries is known as the Blue Line, a frontier mapped by the United Nations that marks the line to which Israeli forces withdrew when they left south Lebanon in 2000."The Lebanese patrol responded to the attack by firing tear bombs .

At least 15 people were killed in a truck bombing Saturday in the central Somali town of Beledweyne, among the dead are five police officers. Witnesses and officials said a big truck loaded with explosives detonated in the afternoon near a security checkpoint, damaging buildings. "The explosion rocked the entire city and sent huge plumes of black smoke into the air," Abdi Mumin, a resident in the town told VOA. Speaking to VOA, Beledweyne District Commissioner Omar Osman Alasow confirmed the attack and the death of a number of civilians. "Our security forces, who had been tipped about the truck, were in the middle of inspection when it detonated," he said. "Three government soldiers and nearly a score of civilians were killed in the attack and many others injured." Witnesses put the number of police officers killed in the attack at five. Beledweyne Deputy District Commissioner Abdullahi Salah said that rescue operations were still in progress. "We cannot provide an exact number of casu

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in the Ghanaian capital Accra on Saturday for a third day of anti-government protests linked to economic hardship that have led to dozens of arrests.Protesters, some waving placards or the Ghanaian flag, decried the high cost of living and a lack of jobs as they marched under the watch of riot police. The gold-, oil- and cocoa-producing nation has been battling its worst economic crisis in a generation brought on by spiraling public debt."The average Ghanaian can't afford three square meals [per day] ... the government doesn't care," said 24-year-old unemployed protester Romeo, who like others at the demonstration was wearing a red beret.Police blocked the road to prevent protesters approaching Jubilee House, the seat of the presidency, which organizers Democracy Hub have vowed to occupy.On Thursday, police said 49 people had been detained for unlawful assembly and violating the public order act on the first day of the three-day action. There was no s

The ethnic Armenian leadership of breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh said on Saturday that the terms of their cease-fire with Azerbaijan were being implemented, with work proceeding on the delivery of humanitarian aid and evacuation of the wounded.Earlier, the Karabakh Armenians held another round of talks with Azerbaijani officials in the town of Shusha, three days after the cease-fire that followed a 24-hour offensive in which Baku retook control of the mountainous region.Work is underway to restore electricity supplies by September 24, the Karabakh Armenians said in a statement that also referred to "political consultations" on the future of the region, which they call Artsakh, and its 120,000 Armenian residents.Russia's defense ministry said that, under the terms of the cease-fire, the Armenian separatists had begun handing over their weapons to Azerbaijan, including more than 800 guns and six armored vehicles. Moscow has 2,000 peacekeepers in the area.With Armenians suffering serious shor

Three Palestinians were wounded in clashes along the Israel-Gaza border Saturday, Palestinian officials said, as the Israeli military said it was striking Hamas targets in Gaza in response to riots.In what appears to be a renewed wave of violence on the border, Palestinians in Gaza have been holding protests along the separation fence for eight consecutive days, breaking from a period of relative calm. Youths have thrown stones and improvised explosive devices at Israeli troops, who have responded with live fire.The Israeli military said in a statement it had struck Hamas targets "adjacent to the security border in the Gaza Strip," in response to riots and shots being fired at soldiers.Gazans say the demonstrations are to protest issues including the treatment of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails and Jewish visits to the Al Aqsa Mosque compound, a site holy to both Muslims and Jews, who know it as the Temple Mount.The chief of the Hamas group, which rules Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, who

Editor's note: Here is a look at immigration-related news around the U.S. this week. Questions? Tips? Comments? Email the VOA immigration team: [email protected]. Texas City Sees Jump in Irregular Migrant CrossingsU.S. immigration authorities reported a significant uptick in unauthorized border crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border Thursday, particularly in areas such as Eagle Pass, Texas, where the mayor has issued a state of emergency. U.S. Border Patrol officers apprehended about 9,000 migrants along the entire border in a 24-hour period, according to media reports on Wednesday. VOA asked the Border Patrol to confirm the number of apprehensions, but an official, who spoke on background, said they were waiting to release monthly migrant encounter numbers. VOA's immigration reporter Aline Barros has the story.New York Mayor Urges UN Leaders to Act on Migration CrisisNew York City is hosting world leaders at the United Nations this week. But it is also facing a crisis because b

Chinese President Xi Jinping opened the COVID-19-delayed 19th Asian Games on Saturday in the city of Hangzhou during a shiny and at times raucous opening ceremony on Saturday.Spectators in the city's 80,000-capacity stadium let out a huge roar as Xi was introduced and walked in to sit with visiting dignitaries, including International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.The Games, delayed a year because of China's measures to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, will be the country's biggest sporting event in over a decade in several metrics, with around 12,000 athletes from 45 nations competing in 40 sports.After the Chinese flag was brought out, the first team out was Afghanistan, whose female athletes, based abroad due to sport for women being banned by the Taliban, walked together with their male counterparts. Their flag-bearers carried the tricolor flag for Afghanistan which is used by international resistance movements and shunned by the Taliban.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called on the Polish government Saturday to clarify allegations about a cash-for-visas deal for migrants that has roiled Polish politics, as a debate about immigration heats up in Germany.The demand from Scholz marks stepped-up rhetoric from Poland's powerful western neighbor, coming just days after sources said Germany summoned the Polish ambassador and Interior Minister Nancy Faeser spoke to her Polish counterpart on the topic.Since earlier this month, the Polish government has been facing accusations by opposition parties that it was complicit in a system in which migrants received Polish visas at an accelerated pace without proper checks after paying intermediaries.Arrivals to Poland could easily cross into other European Union countries given that borders are open.Poland's government has written to the European Union's security commissioner to say that the scandal was an exaggerated "media fact" timed to discredit the ruling nationalists in a tough ba

China's President Xi Jinping on Saturday said he will seriously consider visiting South Korea, Yonhap news agency reported, as part of efforts to support peace and security on the Korean Peninsula.Separately China Central Television, or CCTV, reported that Xi had told South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Saturday that China is willing to work to promote a strategic partnership between the two countries.Xi, who has not visited South Korea since 2014, held talks with Han in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou before the opening ceremony of the Asian Games on Saturday.The commitment to cooperation came ahead of scheduled trilateral talks in Seoul on Tuesday involving senior officials from China, Japan and South Korea, which are intended to pave the way for the first summit between the three countries in four years.Xi told Han he would welcome such a summit at an opportune time and would seriously consider visiting South Korea, Yonhap reported.A Chinese statement did not mention Xi

Former FBI official Charles McGonigal pleaded guilty on Friday to accepting $225,000 from Albanian-American Agron Nezaj, a former Albanian intelligence officer who McGonigal admitted was helping him foster relationships in Albania to help lay the groundwork for future business opportunities in the country.According to court documents, Nezaj became an informant for the FBI's investigation into McGonigal's contacts in Albania.In Washington, McGonigal faced a nine-count indictment charging him with failing to report cash payments, contacts with foreign officials and trips to Europe he took with Nezaj in 2017 and 2018 that neither he nor the FBI paid for.The guilty plea was entered in U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia in Washington, based on a deal between prosecutors and McGonigal's lawyers. He pleaded guilty to one count of the indictment concealing material evidence and prosecutors dropped the other eight counts.The settlement means the case will not go to trial.McGoniga

Here are some of the Native American-related stories making headlines this week:Lawmakers seek to combat child abuse, neglect and family violenceThe U.S. House of Representatives this week passed the Native American Child Protection Act to help Native American communities respond to and head off family violence and child abuse.Introduced by Representative Ruben Gallego, the Native American Child Protection Act revises programs that were originally established in 1990 and passed as part of then-Senator John McCain's Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention Act.Its provisions are aimed at helping tribes develop programs to identify, investigate and prosecute cases of child abuse, child neglect and family violence."For too long, Congress has failed to uphold its promise to address the disproportionate levels of child abuse in tribal communities," said Gallego, former chairman of the House Subcommittee on Indigenous Peoples of the U.S. "My bipartisan Native American Child Pro

At least three people were injured early Saturday after a landslide in western Sweden resulted in the opening of a massive sinkhole.Cars and at least one bus skidded off the E6 highway near the small Swedish town of Stenungsund.The highway has been closed in both directions.

"People who are at risk of drowning when abandoned on the waves must be rescued," Pope Francis said Friday in Marseille, France, at a memorial dedicated to sailors and migrants. Francis described efforts to stop the migrants from being rescued as "gestures of hate."Migrants from Africa and the Middle East often board rickety watercraft to Europe in hopes of a better life there or elsewhere.The first stop for many of them is often the Italian island of Lampedusa. Recently, the island has been overwhelmed with thousands of migrants.Often the migrant boats are abandoned at sea by their smugglers.Rescue groups are sometimes prohibited by some European countries from rescuing the migrants or are delayed in their rescue missions."And so this beautiful sea has become a huge cemetery, where many brothers and sisters are deprived even of the right to a grave," Francis said Friday of the Mediterranean Sea, where tens of thousands of migrants have died.The leader of the Roman Catholic Church than

Two prominent Chinese activists were tried for subversion Friday in Guangzhou in a closed-door proceeding, while supporters and activists criticized Chinese authorities for putting on a "sham trial" and calling for their immediate release.Independent Chinese journalist Huang Xueqin, who became prominent after covering China's #MeToo Movement, and labor rights activist Wang Jianbing were arrested by Chinese police in September 2021 in Guangzhou. They were charged with "inciting subversion of state power" the following month.Huang and Wang have been in detention for two years without trial and their supporters only learned about the date and location of the trial this week. In a Sept. 17 statement, a group of their supporters accused authorities of fabricating charges against Huang and Wang and intentionally delaying the trial."We are outraged that the authorities keep delaying the trial," the supporters said on a webpage dedicated to the case.Analysts say the case reflects Beijing's par

The experience of one of Russia's most prestigious airborne regiments highlights the "extreme attrition and high turnover" rates in Russia's deployed military, including its senior ranks, the British Defense Ministry said Saturday in its daily intelligence update on the Russian invasion of Ukraine.Three successive commanders of the 247th Guards Air Assault Landing Regiment have either resigned or been killed, it said. First, Colonel Konstantin Zizevsky, a unit commander, was killed near the beginning of the Russian invasion. Then, Colonel Vasily Popov was "likely killed" in the "heavily contested Orikhiv sector," early this month, according to the intelligence report.Meanwhile, Colonel Pytor Popov "likely resigned" his command of the 247th in August, the report said, after protesting the military's failure to recover the bodies of Russian casualties.Ukraine claimed responsibility for a missile attack Friday on the headquarters of Russia's navy in Crimea, delivering a major blow for Mos

Hungary Quietly Hosts Xinjiang Official Sanctioned by the US for Alleged Human Rights AbusesHungary's discreet hosting of Erkin Tuniyaz, a U.S. sanctioned Xinjiang official accused of human rights abuses, aligns with China's soft power strategy to whitewash the Uyghur genocide and boost business ties, according to experts. Experts stress the need for unified action against abuses, emphasizing accountability over providing a platform for officials like Tuniyaz. Speculation hints at a connection to plans for a chemical materials warehouse, considering the surge of Chinese battery producers in Hungary.US Lawmakers Urge Strict Enforcement of Uyghur Human Rights and Forced Labor LawsU.S. lawmakers are pushing for strict enforcement of the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act (UHRPA) and the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) in response to concerns of an ongoing genocide in Xinjiang, China. They seek sanctions against those involved in human rights abuses and forced labor targeting Uyghur

A longshot candidate for governor in the U.S. state of Missouri and his supporters describe his use of a flamethrower at a recent "Freedom Fest" event outside St. Louis as no big deal. They said it was a fun moment for fellow Republicans who attended, and that no one talked about burning books as he torched a pile of cardboard boxes.But after the video gained attention on social media, State Sen. Bill Eigel said he would burn books he found objectionable, and that he'd do it on the lawn outside the governor's mansion. He later said it was all a metaphor for how he would attack the "woke liberal agenda.""From a dramatic sense, if the only thing in between the children in the state of Missouri and vulgar pornographic material like that getting in their hands is me burning, bulldozing or launching (books) into outer space, I'm going to do that," Eigel said in an interview with The Associated Press. "However, I would I make the point that I don't believe it's going to come to that."Experts

Tropical Storm Ophelia was expected to make landfall on the North Carolina coast early Saturday morning with the potential for damaging winds and dangerous surges of water, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.Life-threatening flooding caused by the weather system was forecast for parts of eastern North Carolina and southeastern Virginia, the center said in an update at 11 p.m. Friday.Ophelia was about 115 kilometers south of Cape Lookout, North Carolina, and heading north-northwest at 19 kph late Friday after spinning into tropical storm during the afternoon.The system had maximum sustained winds of 113 kph with some higher gusts, but was forecast to weaken after landfall, the hurricane center reported.Ophelia was expected to turn north Saturday and then shift northeast on Sunday. The storm promised a weekend of windy conditions and heavy rain up to 18 centimeters in parts of North Carolina and Virginia and 5-10 centimeters in the rest of the mid-Atlantic region through Sunday.A st

From a White House podium in May, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas outlined new legal pathways to the United States for Venezuelans and others, along with a "very clear" message for those come illegally."Our borders are not open. People who cross our border unlawfully and without a legal basis to remain will be promptly processed and removed," he said.On Wednesday, Mayorkas announced temporary legal status for an estimated 472,000 Venezuelans who had arrived in the country as of July 31 including some who ignored his stern warnings and came illegally. Circumstances change, but the Biden administration's sharp expansion of Temporary Protected Status may complicate its messaging.Many Venezuelans will migrate to the United States with or without prospects for TPS, a 1990 law that empowers the Homeland Security secretary to grant eligibility for work permits in renewable increments of up to 18 months to people whose home countries are deemed unsafe due to natural disast

Somalia is facing a dilemma over plans to continue a drawdown of peacekeepers from the country by a deadline of the end of 2024 because it's not known whether the country's poorly equipped security forces can put down al-Shabab militants' security threat to the government by that time.Hussein Sheikh Ali, national security adviser for Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, wrote to the United Nations requesting a 90-day delay in the second phase of the departure of African Union Transition troops in Somalia.Somalia "formally requests a technical pause in the drawdown of the 3,000 African Union Transition in Somalia uniformed personnel by three months," the letter read.According to the letter, if continued under the current plan, the pullout would mean the departure of 3,000 troops by the end of September.A diplomatic source in the government who requested anonymity because of a lack of authority to comment on the issue confirmed to VOA the authenticity of the letter. The source said th

Amid stalled progress on gun control legislation in the U.S. Congress, President Joe Biden announced the creation of a new federal office for gun violence prevention. Vice President Kamala Harris will lead it. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara reports.