Voice of America’s immigration news

rome — Police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse violent demonstrators in Rome as tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters took to the streets in major European cities and around the globe Saturday to call for a cease-fire as the first anniversary of the Hamas attacks on Israel approached. Huge rallies were held in several European cities, with gatherings expected to continue over the weekend and peak on Monday, the date of the anniversary. In Rome, several thousand demonstrated peacefully Saturday afternoon until a smaller group tried to push the rally toward the center of the city, in spite of a ban by local authorities who refused to authorize protests, citing security concerns. Some protesters, dressed in black and with their faces covered threw stones, bottles and paper bombs at the police, who responded with tear gas and water cannons, eventually dispersing the crowd. At least 30 law enforcement officers and three demonstrators were injured in the clashes, local media reported. The rally in Rome had been calm earlier, with people chanting "Free Palestine, Free Lebanon," waving Palestinian flags and holding banners calling for an immediate stop to the conflict. In London, thousands marched through the capital to Downing Street amid a heavy police presence. The atmosphere was tense as pro-Palestinian protesters and counterdemonstrators, some holding Israeli flags, passed one another. Scuffles broke out as police officers pushed back activists trying to get past a cordon. At least 17 people were arrested on suspicion of public order offenses, supporting a proscribed organization and assault, London's Metropolitan Police said. In the northern German city of Hamburg, about 950 people staged a peaceful demonstration with many waving Palestinian and Lebanese flags or chanting "Stop the Genocide," the DPA news agency reported, citing a count by police. Two smaller pro-Israeli counterdemonstrations took place without incident, it said. Several thousand protesters gathered peacefully at Paris' Republique Plaza in a show of solidarity with the Palestinian and Lebanese people. Many were waving Palestinian flags while holding posters reading "stop the genocide," "free Palestine," and "hands off Lebanon." Pro-Palestinian demonstrators also gathered at New York's Times Square to call for a cease-fire, chanting "Gaza!" to a drumbeat. Some wore keffiyeh scarfs, waved Palestinian and Lebanese flags and held a large cardboard image of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with red paint symbolizing blood across his face. Rallies were also planned in several other cities in the United States as well as in other parts of the world, including Denmark, Switzerland, South Africa and India. In the Philippines, dozens of left-wing activists protested near the U.S. Embassy in Manila, where police prevented them from getting closer to the seaside compound. In Indonesia's capital, Jakarta, thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters marched to the heavily guarded U.S. Embassy on Sunday. Authorities blocked roads leading to the embassy with razor wire and concrete barriers as more than 1,000 police were deployed around the compound. Pro-Israeli demonstrations are expected to be held Sunday because Jews across the world are still observing Rosh Hashana, or the Jewish new year. This year, emotions will be high for many given that the midpoint of the 10 days spanning Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur is October 7 — the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attack that killed 1,200 Israelis and triggered the ongoing war in Gaza. High security alerts Security forces in several countries warned of heightened levels of alert in major cities, amid concerns that the escalating conflict in the Middle East could inspire new terror attacks in Europe or that the protests could turn violent. Pro-Palestinian protests calling for an immediate cease-fire have repeatedly taken place across Europe and around the globe in the past year and have often turned violent, with confrontations between demonstrators and law enforcement officers. Italian authorities believed that the timing of Saturday's rally in Rome risked the October 7 attack being "glorified," local media reported. Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi also stressed that, ahead of the key anniversary, Europe is on high alert for potential terror attacks. "This is not a normal situation. … We are already in a condition of maximum prevention," he said. Ben Jamal, director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign in Britain, said he and others will keep organizing marches until action against Israel is taken. "We need to be out on the streets in even bigger numbers to stop this carnage and stop Britain being drawn into it," Jamal said. In Berlin, a march is scheduled from the Brandenburg Gate to Bebelplatz on Sunday. Local media reported that security forces have warned of potential overload because of the scale of protests. German authorities pointed to increasing antisemitic and violent incidents in recent days. Earlier this week in France, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau warned the country's regional prefects, expressing concern about possible tensions and saying that the terrorist threat was high. Thousands rally in Washington About 3,000 people demonstrated within sight of the White House. Amid a heavy police presence, the protesters gathered at Lafayette Park, the same site as 2020 protests against police brutality and the killing of George Floyd. "Resistance is justified when people are occupied!" they chanted. One speaker on stage called October 7, 2023, "the day that Gazans finally broke out of their prison." The crowds then marched through downtown, with police closing streets ahead of them. Protesters carried signs criticizing the Biden-Harris administration's handling of the issue. One read: "Abandon Harris '24." Law student Annette Tunstall said she considered voting Democratic after Biden stepped down and Harris became the candidate. But she lost faith after pro-Palestinian voices were muzzled at the Democratic National Convention, she said. "I really wanted to feel like I could vote for her in good conscience," Tunstall said. "I don't think it would have taken a lot for thousands of pro-Palestinian people to hold their nose and vote for Harris." A tense and bloody year On October 7 last year, Hamas launched a surprise attack into Israel, killing 1,200 Israelis, taking 250 people hostage and setting off a war with Israel that has shattered much of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. More than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed since then in Gaza, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between fighters and civilians. Nearly 100 Israeli hostages remain in Gaza, with fewer than 70 believed to be alive. Israelis have experienced attacks — missiles from Iran and Hezbollah, explosive drones from Yemen, fatal shootings and stabbings — as the region braces for further escalation. In late September, Israel shifted some of its focus to Hezbollah, which it seeks to push back from its border in parts of south Lebanon where the group is entrenched.

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — An Israeli strike on a mosque in the Gaza Strip early Sunday killed at least 19 people, Palestinian officials said, as Israel intensified its bombardment of northern Gaza and southern Beirut in its widening war on Iran-allied militant groups across the region. Israel is still battling Hamas in Gaza nearly a year after its October 7 attack and has opened a new front against Hezbollah in Lebanon, which has been trading fire with Israel along the border since the war in Gaza began. Israel has also vowed to strike Iran itself after it launched a ballistic missile attack on the country last week. The widening conflict risks drawing in the United States, which has provided crucial military and diplomatic support to Israel, as well as U.S.-allied Arab countries that host American forces. Iran-allied militant groups in Syria, Iraq and Yemen have also joined in with long-distance strikes on Israel. Strikes across Gaza and new evacuation orders The strike in Gaza hit a mosque where displaced people were sheltering near the main hospital in the central town of Deir al-Balah. Israel said it targeted a Hamas command and control center embedded among civilians, without providing evidence. An Associated Press journalist counted the bodies at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital morgue. Hospital records showed that the dead were all men, while another man was wounded. Israel also once again ordered evacuations in northern Gaza, where it has repeatedly carried out major air and ground operations against Hamas only to see the militants regroup. "We are in a new phase of the war," the military said in leaflets dropped over the area. "These areas are considered dangerous combat zones." Avichay Adraee, a spokesman for the Israeli military, said it has expanded the so-called humanitarian zone in southern Gaza, urging people to head there. The zone includes sprawling tent camps where hundreds of thousands of people have already sought refuge, and Israel has carried out strikes inside it against what it says are fighters sheltering among civilians. Palestinian residents reported heavy Israeli strikes across northern Gaza. The Civil Defense, first responders who operate under the Hamas-run government, said several homes and buildings had been hit and they were not able to reach them because of the bombardment. Many posted about the airstrikes and mourned their relatives on social media. Imad Alarabid said in a Facebook post that an airstrike on his home in Jabaliya killed a dozen of his family members, including his parents. The latest strikes add to the mounting Palestinian death toll in Gaza, which is nearing 42,000, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and militant deaths, but many of the dead were women and children. Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people in the October 7 attack and took another 250 hostage. They are still holding around 100 captives, a third of whom are believed to be dead. Heavy bombardment of southern Beirut In Beirut, airstrikes lit up the skyline and loud explosions echoed across the southern suburbs, known as the Dahiyeh, throughout the night, as Israel struck what it said were Hezbollah militants sites. The strikes reportedly targeted a building near a road leading to Lebanon's only international airport and another formerly used by the Hezbollah-run broadcaster Al-Manar. Israel's military confirmed it was striking targets near Beirut and said about 30 projectiles had crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory, with some intercepted. Hezbollah said it successfully targeted a group of Israeli soldiers in northern Israel "with a large rocket salvo, hitting them accurately." It was not possible to confirm the claim. At least 1,400 Lebanese, including civilians, medics and Hezbollah fighters, have been killed and 1.2 million driven from their homes in less than two weeks. Israel says it aims to drive the militant group away from its border so that tens of thousands of Israeli citizens can return to their homes. Iranian-backed Hezbollah, the strongest armed force in Lebanon, began firing rockets into Israel almost immediately after Hamas' October 7 attack, calling it a show of support for the Palestinians. Hezbollah and Israel's military have traded fire almost daily. Last week, Israel launched what it said was a limited ground operation into southern Lebanon after a series of attacks killed longtime Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and most of his top command. The fighting is the worst since Israel and Hezbollah fought a monthlong war in 2006. Nine Israeli soldiers have been killed in ground clashes that Israel says have killed 440 Hezbollah fighters. It is not possible to verify battlefield reports from either side. Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, told reporters in Damascus that "we are trying to reach a cease-fire in Gaza and in Lebanon." The minister said Middle Eastern and other countries had put forward initiatives, without elaborating. Araghchi spoke a day after the supreme leader of Iran praised its recent missile strikes on Israel and said it was ready to do it again if necessary. On Saturday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said "Israel has the duty and the right to defend itself and respond to these attacks, and it will do so." On Lebanon, he said "we are not done yet."

miami — A storm system that was brewing in the Gulf of Mexico earlier Saturday has strengthened into Tropical Storm Milton, with forecasters warning it could intensify into a hurricane headed to Florida next week. Tropical Storm Milton is about 355 kilometers north-northeast of Veracruz, Mexico, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said in a 1:25 p.m. EDT advisory. Though no coastal watches or warnings were in effect, the hurricane center said the Florida Peninsula, the Florida Keys, Mexico's Yucatan peninsula and the northwestern Bahamas should monitor the system’s progress. The storm is forecast to strengthen and bring the risk of life-threatening impacts to portions of Florida's West Coast next week, with hurricane and storm-surge watches likely being in effect Sunday. Parts of Florida are expected to have heavy rainfall beginning Sunday. The rainfall will bring the risk of flash, urban, and areal flooding, along with some river flooding. "There is an increasing risk of life-threatening storm surge and wind impacts for portions of the west coast of the Florida Peninsula beginning late Tuesday or Wednesday. Residents in these areas should ensure they have their hurricane plan in place, follow any advice given by local officials, and check back for updates to the forecast," the center said. Looking farther east, Leslie has strengthened into a hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean but isn’t threatening land, forecasters said. The storm was located Saturday about 1,170 kilometers west-southwest of the southernmost Cabo Verde Islands and had maximum sustained winds of 120 kph. There were no coastal watches or warnings in effect. Meanwhile, Hurricane Kirk remained a Category 4 major hurricane, and waves from the system were affecting the Leeward Islands, Bermuda, and the Greater Antilles, forecasters said. The storm's swells were expected to spread to the East Coast of the United States, the Atlantic Coast of Canada and the Bahamas on Saturday night and Sunday. Forecasters warned the waves could cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions. Kirk was expected to weaken starting Saturday, the center said. Though there were no coastal warnings or watches in effect for Kirk, the center said those in the Azores, where swells could hit Monday, should monitor the storm's progress. Kirk was about 1,570 kilometers east-northeast of the northern Leeward Islands with maximum sustained winds of 209 kph. The storms churned as rescuers in the U.S. Southeast searched for people unaccounted for after Hurricane Helene struck last week, leaving behind a trail of death and catastrophic damage. 

budapest, hungary — Thousands of protesters gathered outside the headquarters of Hungary's public media corporation Saturday to demonstrate against what they say is an entrenched propaganda network operated by the nationalist government at taxpayer expense.  The protest was organized by Hungary's most prominent opposition figure, Peter Magyar, and his upstart TISZA party, which has emerged in recent months as the most serious political challenge for Prime Minister Viktor Orban since he took power nearly 15 years ago.  Magyar, whose party received nearly 30% of the vote in European Union elections this summer and is polling within a few points of the governing Fidesz party, has been outspoken about what he sees as the damage Orban's "propaganda factory" has done to Hungary's democracy.  "What is happening here in Hungary in 2024, and calling itself 'public service' media, is a global scandal," Magyar told the crowd in Budapest on Saturday. "Enough of the nastiness, enough of the lies, enough of the propaganda. Our patience has run out. The time for confrontation has come."  Observers say press freedom under threat Both Hungarian and international observers have long warned that press freedom in the Central European country was under threat, and that Orban's party has used media buyouts by government-connected business tycoons to build a pro-government media empire.  Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders estimates that such buyouts have given Orban's party control of some 80% of Hungary's media market resources. In 2021, the group put Orban on its list of media "predators," the first EU leader to earn the distinction.  On Saturday, Balazs Tompe, a protester who traveled several hours to attend the demonstration, called the state media headquarters a "factory of lies."  "The propaganda goes out at such a level and is so unbalanced that it's blood boiling, and I think we need to raise our voices," he said. "It's nonsense that only government propaganda comes out in the media that is financed by the taxpayers."  'Public only hears from one side' A retired teacher from southern Hungary, Agnes Gera, said dissenting voices were censored from the public media, limiting Hungarians' access to information about political alternatives.  "It's very burdensome and unfortunate that the system works this way where the public only hears from one side and don't even know about the other side," she said.  Magyar demanded the resignation of the public media director, and echoed complaints from many opposition politicians that they are not provided the opportunity to appear on public television to communicate with voters.  He called his supporters to another demonstration on October 23, a national holiday commemorating Hungary's failed revolution against Soviet domination in 1956.  

Beijing — China said Saturday that it has evacuated 215 of its nationals from Lebanon, where Israel has been carrying out intense bombardments since last month, resulting in more than 1,100 deaths.  This week, Israel said its troops launched "ground raids" into parts of southern Lebanon, a stronghold of Iran-backed Hezbollah, following days of heavy strikes on areas across the country where the group holds sway.  Israel has recently shifted its focus to securing its northern border with Lebanon, where there have been near-daily clashes since Hezbollah launched strikes in support of its Palestinian ally Hamas, after that group's October 7 attack.  Several countries have launched operations to remove their nationals from Lebanon in the wake of the ground raids, including Russia, France, Spain, Germany and the U.K.  "So far, 215 Chinese citizens have been safely evacuated from Lebanon in two batches under the organization and arrangement of the Chinese government," Beijing's foreign ministry said in a statement given to Agence France-Presse.  "The Chinese Embassy in Lebanon continues to carry out its mission in Lebanon and will continue to assist the Chinese citizens there in taking security measures," it added.  The ministry did not say where the evacuated Chinese nationals had been taken.  According to Lebanese authorities, more than 1,110 people have been killed in the country since the escalation in Israeli bombardment on September 23, while more than 1 million people have been forced to flee their homes.   On Wednesday, China urged world powers to prevent the conflict from "further deteriorating" after Iran fired a barrage of missiles at Israel, which warned it would make Tehran "pay" for the attack. 

bangkok — Chiang Mai, Thailand's northern city popular with tourists, was inundated by widespread flooding Saturday as its main river overflowed its banks following heavy seasonal rainfall.  Authorities ordered some evacuations and said they were working to pump water out of residential areas and clear obstructions from waterways and drains to help water recede faster.  Dozens of shelters were set up across the city to accommodate residents whose homes were flooded. The Chiang Mai city government said the water level of the Ping River, which runs along the eastern edge of the city, was at critically high levels and was rising since Friday.  However, the provincial irrigation office Saturday forecast that the water level was likely to remain stable and recede to normal in about five days.  Elephants aid one another Thai media reported that efforts to evacuate elephants and other animals from several sanctuaries and parks on the outskirts of the city were continuing Saturday. About 125 elephants along with other animals were taken to safety from the Elephant Nature Park, from where some escaped on their own to seek higher ground. About 10 animal shelters in the area have been flooded.  Video posted online by the park vividly illustrate that care and compassion are not solely human traits.  The video shows several of the park’s resident elephants fleeing through rising, muddy water to ground less inundated. Three of them dash through the deluge with some ease but, according to the park, a fourth one is blind and was falling behind. It showed greater difficulty passing through wrecked fencing.  Its fellows appear to call out to it, to guide it to their sides.  High water hampers evacuation efforts Efforts to evacuate more animals were hampered by the high water, while more rain is forecast.  Chiang Mai Governor Nirat Pongsitthavorn said that the latest flooding, the second in six weeks, exceeded expectations.  Thailand's state railway suspended service to Chiang Mai, with trains on the northern line from Bangkok terminating at Lampang, about 1 1/2 hours ride to the south. Chiang Mai International Airport said Saturday it was operating as usual.  Flooding was reported in 20 Thai provinces Saturday, mostly in the north. At least 49 people have died and 28 were injured in floods since August, the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation said.  In the Thai capital Bangkok, the government said Saturday it will let more water flow out of the Chao Phraya Dam in the central province of Chai Nat over the next seven days, as it risks exceeding it capacity. The release of the water may affect residents downstream who live near waterways in Thailand’s central region, including Bangkok and the surrounding areas.

paris — Several people, including a child, died while trying to cross the English Channel from France to England, French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said Saturday.  Attempts to cross the channel in small, overloaded boats are frequent despite strong currents in what is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.  "Smugglers have the blood of these people on their hands and our government will step up the fight against these mafias that organize these deadly crossings," Retailleau said on social media platform X.  Fourteen people were on the boat. One was flown by helicopter to a hospital after a search and rescue operation was conducted Saturday morning, local maritime authorities said.  The incident was the latest in a series this year, including one last month in which 12 migrants died when their boat capsized in the channel. 

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran has emerged as a twofold concern for the United States as it nears the end of the presidential campaign.  Prosecutors allege Tehran tried to hack figures associated with the election, stealing information from former President Donald Trump's campaign. And U.S. officials have accused it of plotting to kill Trump and other ex-officials.  For Iran, assassination plots and hacking aren't new strategies.  Iran saw the value and the danger of hacking in the early 2000s, when the Stuxnet virus, believed to have been deployed by Israel and the U.S., tried to damage Iran's nuclear program. Since then, hackers attributed to state-linked operations have targeted the Trump campaign, Iranian expatriates and government officials at home.  Its history of assassinations goes back further. After the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran killed or abducted perceived enemies living abroad.  A history of hacks  For many, Iran's behavior can be traced to the emergence of the Stuxnet computer virus. Released in the 2000s, Stuxnet wormed its way into control units for uranium-enriching centrifuges at Iran's Natanz nuclear facility, causing them to speed up, ultimately destroying themselves.  Iranian scientists initially believed mechanical errors caused the damage. Ultimately though, Iran removed the affected equipment and sought its own way of striking enemies online.  "Iran had an excellent teacher in the emerging art of cyberwarfare," noted a 2020 report from the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies in Saudi Arabia.  That was acknowledged by the National Security Agency in a document leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden in 2015 to The Intercept, which examined a cyberattack that destroyed hard drives at Saudi Arabia's state oil company. Iran has been suspected of carrying out that attack, called Shamoon, in 2012 and again in 2017.  There also were domestic considerations. In 2009, the disputed reelection of hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sparked the Green Movement protests. Twitter, one source of news from the demonstrations, found its website defaced by the self-described "Iranian Cyber Army." There's been suspicion that the Revolutionary Guard, a major power base within Iran's theocracy, oversaw the "Cyber Army" and other hackers.  Meanwhile, Iran itself has been hacked repeatedly. They include the mass shutdown of gas stations across Iran, as well as surveillance cameras at Tehran's notorious Evin Prison and even state television broadcasts.  Low costs, high rewards  Iranian hacking attacks, given their low cost and high reward, likely will continue as Iran faces a tense international environment surrounding Israel's conflicts with Hamas and Hezbollah, Iran's enrichment of uranium to near weapons-grade levels, and the prospect of Trump becoming president again.  The growth of 3G and 4G mobile internet services in Iran also made it easier for the public — and potential hackers — to access the internet. Iran has more than 50 major universities with computer science or information technology programs. At least three of Iran's top schools are thought to be affiliated with Iran's Defense Ministry and the Guard, providing potential hackers for security forces.  Iranian hacking attempts on U.S. targets have included banks and even a small dam near New York City — attacks American prosecutors linked to the Guard.  Hacking attempts rely on phishing While Russia is seen as the biggest foreign threat to U.S. elections, officials have been concerned about Iran. Its hacking attempts in the presidential campaign have relied on phishing — sending many misleading emails in hopes that some recipients will inadvertently provide access to sensitive information.  Amin Sabeti, a digital security expert who focuses on Iran, said the tactic works.  "It's scalable, it's cheap and you don't need a skill set because you just put, I don't know, five crazy people who are hard line in an office in Tehran, then send tens of thousands of emails. If they get 10 of them, it's enough," he said.  For Iran, hacks targeting the U.S. offer the prospect of causing chaos, undermining Trump's campaign and obtaining secret information.  "I've lost count of how many attempts have been made on my emails and social media since it's been going on for over a decade," said Holly Dagres, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council who once had her email briefly hacked by Iran. "The Iranians aren't targeting me because I have useful information swimming in my inbox or direct messages. Rather, they hope to use my name and think tank affiliation to target others and eventually make it up the chain to high-ranking U.S. government officials who would have useful information and intelligence related to Iran."  Iran's killings, abductions abroad  Iran has vowed to exact revenge against Trump and others in his former administration over the 2020 drone strike that killed the prominent Revolutionary Guard General Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad.  In July, authorities said they learned of an Iranian threat against Trump and boosted security. Iran has not been linked to the assassination attempts against Trump in Florida and Pennsylvania. A Pakistani man who spent time in Iran was recently charged by federal prosecutors for allegedly plotting to carry out assassinations in the U.S., including potentially of Trump.  Officials take Iran's threat seriously given its history of targeting adversaries.  Even before creating a network of allied militias in the Mideast, Iran is suspected of targeting opponents abroad, beginning with members of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi's former government. The attention shifted to perceived opponents of the theocracy, both in the country with the mass executions of 1988 and abroad.  Outside of Iran, the so-called "chain murders" targeted activists, journalists and other critics. One prominent incident linked to Iran was a shooting at a restaurant in Germany that killed three Iranian-Kurdish figures and a translator. In 1997, a German court implicated Iran's top leaders in the shooting, sparking most European Union nations to withdraw their ambassadors.  Iran's targeted killings slowed after that, but didn't stop. U.S. prosecutors link Iran's Revolutionary Guard to a 2011 plot to kill the Saudi ambassador to Washington.  

wellington, new zealand — A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck near New Zealand's capital city of Wellington, government seismic monitor GeoNet said on Sunday, but initial reports indicated there were no injuries or significant damage.  The quake hit at 5:08 a.m. on Sunday (1608 GMT on Saturday) striking 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) west of Wellington at a focal depth of 30 km (19 miles).  GeoNet said more than 37,000 people had reported feeling the shake, some as far north as Auckland in the North Island.  GeoNet said there was no tsunami warning as a result of the quake.  A spokesperson for Fire and Emergency New Zealand said the service had not received any calls for assistance.  Government-owned Radio New Zealand said there were no reports of significant damage or reports of injury. 

damascus, syria — Iran 's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi renewed his call for cease-fires in both Gaza and Lebanon on Saturday as he held talks with his country's Syrian allies. “The most important issue today is the cease-fire, especially in Lebanon and in Gaza,” he told reporters. “There are initiatives in this regard, there have been consultations that we hope will be successful.” Araghchi's visit to Damascus, his first since he took office in August, comes almost a year after the Iran-backed Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel, triggering war in Gaza. The conflict has also drawn in Iran's Lebanese ally, Hezbollah and on September 23 Israel sharply intensified its campaign against the militant group. “The purpose of my trip to Damascus is to continue consultations regarding the developments in the region,” Araghchi said. His meetings in the Syrian capital followed a visit to Beirut Friday during which he voiced support for a truce in Lebanon acceptable to Hezbollah "simultaneously with a cease-fire in Gaza." Araghchi traveled to Damascus by air after Lebanon said an Israeli airstrike Friday severed the main international highway linking the two countries. Israel said its strike was aimed at preventing the flow of weapons to Hezbollah from neighboring Syria. Iran has been a staunch ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad throughout the civil war that erupted in 2011 following the suppression of antigovernment protests.

geneva — The United Nations warns Lebanon’s displacement crisis is deepening as aid agencies scramble to protect and assist tens of thousands of people fleeing for safety. The warning was made amid a surge in airstrikes as Israel’s “limited, localized and targeted” operation against Hezbollah militants intensifies in scale and scope. “As the humanitarian situation deteriorates, UNHCR is reinforcing supplies of core relief items to meet increasing needs and prepare for further escalation, said Rula Amin, the U.N. refugee agency’s senior communications advisor for the Middle East and North Africa. Speaking from the Jordanian capital, Amman, she told journalists in Geneva Friday that “the volatile security situation and ongoing Israeli airstrikes are delaying relief supplies,” noting that an airlift carrying life-saving medical trauma kits and a shipment of over 20,000 thermal blankets was delayed. The Lebanese government estimates a million people have become displaced inside the country since Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, and war broke out in Gaza. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), 400,000 people have become displaced in the last two weeks. Of those, more than 165,000 are living in 800 collective shelters across the country. “These are schools that the government has urgently opened,” Mathieu Luciano, the IOM’s head of office in Lebanon said. Speaking on a video link from Beirut, he said, “The situation is really deteriorating rapidly. Hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes in the past two weeks. The roads are jammed with traffic. People are sleeping in public parks, on the street and the beach.” He said the numbers of displaced “continue to rise as heavy shelling continues in the South, in the Beqaa, in Beirut and other regions in the country. In addition to internal displacement, tens of thousands of Lebanese, but also Syrians, are leaving the country,” both through legal and irregular means.” The Syrian Arab Red Crescent says more than 185,000 people have fled to Syria. That number has markedly decreased since an Israeli airstrike Friday cut off vehicle access at the key Masnaa border crossing. “A huge crater was created in the no man’s land between the Syrian and the Lebanese side, so it is very hard for vehicles, for people to go through this crossing,” the UNHCRs Amin said, adding that some people, “determined to flee crossed on foot.” Israel said it targeted the border crossing with Syria to stop Hezbollah “from smuggling weapons into Lebanon.” Despite the complexities, Amin said that Syrian authorities are keeping the border open as people continue to flee from Lebanon to Syria through Masnaa and three other border points. She observed that Syrian refugees are faced with the difficult decision of returning to the country they fled throughout the past 13 years or staying in Lebanon. “Due to the bombings, lack of adequate shelters, lack of access to services,” she said, the Syrian refugees have to choose whether “to stay in Lebanon with the growing risk on their life, or to go back and cross the border to Syria with all the other risks in mind.” “It seems from the numbers of people we have been seeing is that at this point they felt that the risks from the bombings is high” and they are going back, said Amin. “Some 60% of new arrivals are children and adolescents. Some of the children have arrived on their own, without family members,” she said. “As they flee the bombings, families arrive with profound emotional fatigue, some requiring urgent medical care. The majority of new arrivals head to their towns and villages of origin to join relatives.” In its daily update on the humanitarian crisis in Lebanon, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, says over the past two weeks, “conflict related deaths have increased by more than 200% to 1,699, with more than 9,781 injuries. At the same time, UNICEF says that more than 690 children have been injured in Lebanon “as the conflict has dramatically escalated in recent weeks.” Aid agencies are scaling up their humanitarian operations to provide shelter for the homeless, food for the hungry and medical care for the sick and injured. The UNHCR and SARC are supporting authorities in transporting thousands of the most vulnerable from the borders to their final destinations. “But the suffering of those who cross does not end at the border,” Amin stressed. “After 13 years of crisis, many are going back to destroyed homes, damaged infrastructure and crippled basic services. They have arrived with no resources for their basic needs. “Inside Syria, there are still more than 7.2 million people displaced internally and the country is going through a deep economic crisis.” IOM official Luciano said his agency has scaled up immediate lifesaving assistance, providing essential relief items as well as protection services and health support to the IDPs. He highlighted the plight of Lebanon’s 180,000 immigrant workers, many of whom are female domestic workers, coming from Ethiopia, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Sudan, Bangladesh and the Philippines. “They have been deeply affected by violence in the country,” he said. “We are receiving increasing reports of migrant domestic workers being abandoned by their Lebanese employer, either left on the streets or in the homes,” he said. “We have received increased requests from migrants seeking assistance to return home, and from several member states to help evacuate their citizens from Lebanon.” “This will require significant funding, which we currently do not have,” he said, noting that the IOM is appealing for $32.46 million to assist 400,000 people affected by the crisis over the next three months. That is apart from the U.N.’s inter-agency flash appeal for nearly $426 million to deliver lifesaving assistance to more than 1 million people directly affected and/or displaced by the crisis in Lebanon.

kyiv, ukraine — Ukrainian forces said they shot down a Russian fighter plane Saturday while Russia claimed it made gains in Ukraine’s east. The Russian bomber was shot down near the city of Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk province, head of the Kostiantynivka Military Administration Serhiy Horbunov was quoted as saying by Ukraine’s public broadcaster, Suspilne. Photos showed charred remains of an aircraft after it landed on a house that caught fire. Also in the partially occupied Donetsk province, Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed Saturday that it had taken control of the village of Zhelanne Druhe. If confirmed, the capture would come three days after Ukrainian forces said they were withdrawing from the front-line town of Vuhledar, some 33 kilometers (21 miles) from Zhelanne Druhe, following a hard-fought two-year defense. Although unlikely to change the course of the war, the loss of Vuhledar is indicative of Kyiv’s worsening position, in part the result of Washington's refusal to grant Ukraine permission to strike targets deep inside Russian territory and preventing Kyiv from degrading Moscow’s capabilities. Zelenskyy to present victory plan to allies Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday that he will present his “victory plan” at the Oct. 12 meeting of the Ramstein group of nations that supplies arms to Ukraine. “We will present the victory plan — clear, concrete steps towards a just end to the war. The determination of our partners and the strengthening of Ukraine are what can stop Russian aggression,” he wrote on X, adding that the 25th Ramstein meeting would be the first to take place at the leaders’ level. Zelenskyy presented his plan to U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington last week. Its contents have not been made public but it is known that the plan includes Ukraine’s membership in NATO and the provision of long-range missiles to strike inside Russia. Russia shells southern Ukraine Meanwhile, two people died in Russian shelling in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region, regional Governor Ivan Fedorov said. Ukraine’s air force said Russia had launched three guided missiles and 13 attack drones at Ukraine overnight into Saturday. It said the missiles were intercepted, three drones were shot down over the Odesa region and 10 others were lost. Nine people were wounded when a Ukrainian drone struck a passenger bus in the city of Horlivka in the partially occupied Donetsk region, the city’s Russian-installed Mayor Ivan Prikhodko said. Russia’s Defense Ministry said Saturday that air defenses shot down 10 Ukrainian drones overnight in three border regions, including seven over the Belgorod region, two over the Kursk region, and one over the Voronezh region.

seoul, south korea — A large fireworks festival in South Korea drew a massive crowd Saturday, snarling traffic through its busy capital, prompting police to deploy 2,400 officers and sending hotel room rates above $7,400. The popular annual event has taken on a serious public safety dimension as memory is still fresh of a Halloween night disaster two years ago that killed 159 mostly young people in a crush of crowd packed in a dense entertainment district. Many of the more than 1 million spectators who were expected to watch the 90-minute show were camping out since midnight to secure a spot with a view of the event scheduled to start at 7:20 p.m. (1020 GMT) over the Han River that runs through Seoul. Oh Soo-taek, 64, who said he has been coming to the festival with his wife for three years, found the place already crowded when they got there at 2 p.m. but said it was exciting to be part of an event bringing so many families and friends together. "We had that big accident two years ago so it's so good to see the organizers and the police and everyone helping each other and keeping order." Many restaurants, bars and hotel rooms on Yeouido island on the river and on its banks with a view of the fireworks by teams from Japan, South Korea and the United States had been booked days ahead. High-floor suites at one luxury hotel on Yeouido were sold out Saturday at nearly double the normal rate, despite the less than perfect view of the fireworks they offered, a reservation official said. The event is hosted by the Hanwha conglomerate, which has grown from a dynamite maker to a global defense contractor. Its team participates in a fireworks performance as part of the festival. Authorities took no chances on security, as spectators poured into an area the size of several city blocks on and near Yeouido, the country's main financial center and a dense commercial and residential district. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo directed police, emergency services and the safety and health ministries to be on full alert with a focus on crowd control and also asked for spectator cooperation to ensure order. The precaution comes as the country still grapples with the 2022 Halloween disaster in Seoul's Itaewon nightlife district blamed on failed crowd control. On Monday, the police chief of that district was convicted of negligence and sentenced to three years in prison in the first such verdict against a senior public official over the disaster.

washington — Transgender rights, the regulation of “ghost guns” and the death penalty highlight the Supreme Court's election-season term that begins Monday, with the prospect of the court's intervention in voting disputes lurking in the background. The justices are returning to the bench at a time of waning public confidence in the court and calls to limit their terms to 18 years that have wide support, including the backing of Democratic President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the party's White House nominee. Whether by design or happenstance, the justices are hearing fewer high-profile cases than they did in recent terms that included far-reaching decisions by the 6-3 conservative majority on presidential immunity, abortion, guns and affirmative action. The lighter schedule would allow them to easily add election cases, if those make their way to the high court in the run-up to the Nov. 5 election between Republican Donald Trump and Harris, or its immediate aftermath. “I think there are legal issues that arise out of the political process. And so, the Supreme Court has to be prepared to respond if that should be necessary,” Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson told CBS News last month in an interview to her promote new memoir Lovely One. The court's involvement in election disputes might depend on the closeness of the outcome and whether the justices' intervention would tip the outcome, David Cole, the outgoing legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union, said at a recent Washington event. “I don’t think the court wants to get involved, but it may have to,” Cole said. The court turned away multiple challenges from Trump and his allies to the results of the 2020 election that he lost to Biden. It's been nearly a quarter-century since the Supreme Court effectively decided the 2000 presidential election, in which Republican George W. Bush edged Democrat Al Gore. When the justices gather Monday morning on a date set by federal law, they will shake hands with each other as they always do. Just after 10 o'clock, they will emerge from behind freshly cleaned heavy red drapery and take their seats on the curved mahogany bench, Chief Justice John Roberts in the center chair and his eight colleagues seated in order of seniority. There are likely to be smiles and shared private jokes. But the friendliness of that moment will not sweep away tensions that have barely been concealed. During the summer, two justices, Elena Kagan and Jackson, voiced support for toughening the new ethics code that so far lacks a means of enforcement. The leak to The New York Times of the contents of a memo Roberts wrote last winter that outlined his approach to the court's presidential immunity decision “was nothing short of shocking,” Supreme Court lawyer Lisa Blatt said last week at a Washington preview of the coming term. Two years ago, Politico obtained the draft decision overturning Roe v. Wade, the landmark abortion case. "Something does feel broken,” Blatt said. Describing her experience arguing before the court, she said, some justices “just seem visibly frustrated.” Important cases dot the court's calendar, beginning Tuesday. The court will take up a challenge to a Biden administration attempt to regulate hard-to-trace “ghost guns” that had been turning up at crime scenes in increasing numbers. The Supreme Court jumped into the case after the conservative 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals invalidated the regulation. Last term, conservatives voted 6-3 to strike down a gun regulation that had banned bump stocks, an accessory that allows some weapons to fire at a rate comparable to machine guns. Bump stocks were used in the nation’s deadliest modern mass shooting in Las Vegas. A day after the guns case, the justices will take up the latest twist in Oklahoma death row inmate Richard Glossip's long quest for freedom. His case is the rare instance in which prosecutors are conceding mistakes in the trial that led to Glossip’s conviction and death sentence. The highest-profile case on the agenda so far is a fight over transgender rights that is focused on state bans on gender-affirming care. It probably will be argued in December. Republican-led states have enacted a variety of restrictions on health care for transgender people, school sports participation, bathroom usage and drag shows. The administration and Democratic-led states have extended protections for transgender people. The Supreme Court has separately prohibited the administration from enforcing a new federal regulation that seeks to protect transgender students. The case before the high court involves a law in Tennessee that restricts puberty blockers and hormone therapy for transgender minors. About half the states have enacted similar restrictions. Also on tap for the late fall is an appeal from the adult entertainment industry to overturn a Texas law that requires pornographic websites to verify the age of their users. Only about half the court’s calendar for the term has been filled, and several big cases could be added. Among those is a push by Republican-led states and conservative legal outlets to further restrict federal agencies. The immediate target is the method the Federal Communications Commission has used to fund telephone service for rural and low-income people and broadband services for schools and libraries. The case, which the administration has appealed to the Supreme Court, could give the justices the opportunity to revive a legal doctrine known as nondelegation that has not been used to strike down legislation in nearly 90 years. Several conservative justices have expressed support for the idea of limiting the authority Congress can delegate to federal agencies.