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United Nations — Israel’s prime minister told the U.N. General Assembly Friday that Israel is “winning” in its fight against terrorists and their patrons in Iran who perpetrated the October 7 terror attacks on his country.  “I have a message for the tyrants of Tehran,” Benjamin Netanyahu said. “If you strike us, we will strike you. There is no place – there is no place in Iran that the long arm of Israel cannot reach, and that's true of the entire Middle East.”  He said Israel’s soldiers have fought with “incredible courage and with heroic sacrifice” for the past 11 months.  “And I have another message for this assembly and for the world outside this hall: We are winning,” said Netanyahu.  The Israeli prime minister took the stage to a mix of boos and cheers from the gallery, where some visitors are permitted. A stream of diplomats rose from their seats and left the hall as he strode onto the stage.  But Netanyahu was not fazed.  He said Hamas must go, and he would not accept their participation in any post-war Gaza governing structure.  “Just imagine, for those who say, well, Hamas has to stay, it has to be part of a post-war Gaza. Imagine in a post-war situation in World War II. Imagine allowing the defeated Nazis in 1945 to rebuild Germany,” he told the U.N. General Assembly. “It's inconceivable. It's ridiculous. It didn't happen then, it's not going to happen now.”  Turning to Lebanon, where there has been a dangerous and deadly escalation between Israel and Iranian-backed Hezbollah fighters in the past week, Netanyahu said Israel must also defeat them so thousands of Israeli citizens can return to their homes in northern Israel.  “I've come here today to say enough is enough!” he said. “We won’t rest until our citizens can return safely to their homes. We will not accept a terror army perched on our northern border able to perpetrate another October 7-style massacre.”  Shortly after Netanyahu spoke, the Israel Defense Forces hit what they said is Hezbollah's headquarters in Beirut's southern suburbs.    The Israeli leader characterized the situation in the region as a battle between the forces of good and evil – Israel battling the evil forces of terrorism in the Middle East.  “Yes, we're defending ourselves, but we're also defending you against the common enemy that, through violence and terror, seeks to destroy our way of life,” he said.  The prime minister condemned countries that have accused Israel of genocide in Gaza. And he sought to get ahead of possible arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court at The Hague – they have been sought by the chief prosecutor for Netanyahu and his defense minister Yoav Gallant over their prosecution of the war and civilian suffering, saying it all comes down to antisemitism.  “The real war criminals are not in Israel, they're in Iran. They're in Gaza, in Syria, in Lebanon, in Yemen,” said Netanyahu.  Despite his hard line, the Israeli prime minister said his government wants peace. He pointed to the success of the Abraham Accords, brokered by former U.S. President Donald Trump,  that led to peace pacts with the UAE, Morocco, Bahrain and Sudan. While landmark agreements, they are all nations Israel has never fought a war with.  Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addressed the assembly the day before Netanyahu and called for an end to his people’s suffering.  "Stop this crime. Stop it now. Stop killing children and women. Stop the genocide. Stop sending weapons to Israel,” said Abbas. “This madness cannot continue. The entire world is responsible for what is happening to our people in Gaza and the West Bank.”  Shortly before Netanyahu spoke Friday, Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob told the assembly that he had met two Palestinian girls – Sara and Rand – who told him they just wanted a normal life and asked for his help. He said he was fulfilling his promise to bring their message to New York.  “I want to say this out loud and clear to the Israeli government: Stop the bloodshed! Stop the suffering! Bring the hostages home and end the occupation!” Golob said to loud applause.  “Mr. Netanyahu, stop this war now!” he said, slamming his hand on the podium.  Pakistan’s prime minister spoke just before Netanyahu. He said the war in Gaza is the “systematic slaughter of innocent people.”  “We must act now and demand an immediate end to this bloodshed,” Muhammad Sharif said to applause. 

American and European diplomats called on the Tanzanian government to abide by fundamental human and civil rights, which is a universal value and does not imply interference in the nation’s domestic affairs.

The foreign policy positions of the two vice presidential candidates are coming into sharper focus. Democratic nominee Tim Walz and Republican nominee JD Vance present distinctly different approaches to global challenges. These contrasting views underscore how each candidate’s foreign policy priorities could influence America's role on the world stage.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia — Ethnic Chin refugees from Myanmar in Malaysia are accusing the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR of abuse and of not providing necessary protection, potentially putting lives at risk.  Hundreds of members of the Alliance of Chin Refugees held a demonstration Thursday outside the UNHCR office in Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur.   Chins, most of whom are Christians, are an ethnic and religious minority in Buddhist-majority Myanmar who face repression that has led to violent conflicts there. In recent decades, waves of ethnic Chins have fled the country, many to Malaysia.  U.N. figures from last month show there are about 27,250 ethnic Chin refugees and asylum-seekers in Malaysia registered with UNHCR. But James Bawl Thang Bik, chairman of the Alliance of Chin Refugees, told VOA on Thursday there are tens of thousands more who are not registered.   He also said the UNHCR takes too long to make decisions for asylum-seekers who have applied for refugee status. “The process can take years,” he said.   VOA asked UNHCR Malaysia how long it typically takes for an applicant to get a decision on their case but did not receive an immediate answer.  Further complicating matters, Malaysia has not signed the United Nations refugee convention and does not officially recognize refugees, viewing them as illegal immigrants.  UNHCR registration provides some protection that typically prevents arrest, but the refugees are still not allowed to attend government schools or work legally — although many take off-the-books jobs, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation by employers, according to migrant rights groups.  James Bawl Thang Bik said that after Myanmar’s 2021 coup approximately 50 ethnic Chin Myanmar soldiers and police officers fled to Malaysia because they refused to fight for Myanmar's military. He said some of them have been arrested and are in detention in Malaysia because they lack UNHCR documentation.   “If these former soldiers and policemen get sent back to Myanmar their lives could be in danger,” he said.  “UNHCR needs to prioritize these types of cases and register them quickly.”  UNHCR documentation also gives refugees access to medical care at public hospitals for lower prices than what foreigners typically pay but the Alliance of Chin Refugees said asylum-seekers without UNHCR documentation frequently need medical treatment but cannot get it.   “The UNHCR needs to meet with these people immediately and give them the necessary status and documentation,” Bik said, mentioning cases of people with broken bones and serious infections.  Responding to media inquiries after Thursday’s demonstration, the United Nations refugee agency released a written statement that said: “UNHCR wishes to emphasize that we recognize the frustration felt by many refugee communities living in the complex protection environment in Malaysia where they lack legal status, are unable to access legal work or formal education. … UNHCR is doing its utmost to protect and assist refugees. This includes prioritizing protection and assistance interventions for highly vulnerable refugees.”  Additionally, Bik said he has received reports about security guards outside the UNHCR office punching and kicking ethnic Chins trying to get in without appointments.   UNHCR responded in its written statement saying it has “zero tolerance” for this type of treatment but also said: “At this time, we have not received any reports of abuse by security personnel from any individual refugee from the Chin Community.”   The alliance chairman dismissed the UNHCR’s response as false. “We have told them about mistreatment many times,” he said. 

Washington — Former President Donald Trump is set to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in New York on Friday, amid increased skepticism of U.S. support for Ukraine’s war efforts from the Republican presidential nominee and lawmakers loyal to him. Trump announced the meeting at a press conference Thursday, which was confirmed for VOA by Zelenskyy’s team. The meeting comes a day after the Ukrainian leader met with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris Thursday to discuss U.S. support for the war in Ukraine. Tension has been brewing between the two leaders. Trump is known for his skeptical remarks on U.S. involvement in Ukraine and claims that he can quickly end the conflict by making a deal between Ukraine and Russia, if elected. During a campaign event on Wednesday, Trump slammed Zelenskyy for making "little, nasty aspersions" toward him. He appeared to be referring to Zelenskyy’s comments in a recent New Yorker magazine article that Trump “doesn’t really know how to stop the war even if he might think he knows how.” Trump suggested the Ukrainian leader together with the Biden administration are at fault for prolonging the war that followed Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. “Biden and Kamala allowed this to happen by feeding Zelenskyy money and munitions like no country has ever seen before,” Trump said in North Carolina. He argued that Kyiv should have made concessions to Moscow before Russian troops attacked, asserting that Ukraine is now “in rubble” and in no position to negotiate the war’s end. “Any deal — the worst deal — would’ve been better than what we have now,” said Trump. The former U.S. president has repeatedly said he wants the Russia-Ukraine war to end but has not stated whether he wants Kyiv to win or keep all its territories. His position stands in contrast with that of Biden and Harris, who have championed American aid and military support for the embattled country. “Ukraine will prevail, and we'll continue to stand by you every step of the way,” Biden said Thursday as he met with Zelenskyy at the White House. During her meeting with Zelenskyy, Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, reiterated the administration’s support for Kyiv’s war efforts and underscored that it is up to Ukraine to decide how the war will end. Without mentioning his name, Harris criticized Republican vice-presidential nominee JD Vance, whose proposal to end the war would mean Ukraine had less territory and would not join NATO. “These proposals are the same of those of Putin, and let us be clear, they are not proposals for peace,” she said. “Instead, they are proposals for surrender, which is dangerous and unacceptable.” Vance suggested in a recent interview that Ukraine and Russia halt fighting and create a demilitarized zone at the current battle lines. Kyiv would need to adhere to a neutral status and stop its bid to join NATO. Zelenskyy, in the same New Yorker interview, said that Vance’s plan would “give up” Ukrainian territory, calling Trump’s running mate “too radical.” “His message seems to be that Ukraine must make a sacrifice,” he said. “The idea that the world should end this war at Ukraine’s expense is unacceptable.” Zelenskyy, who has been in the United States since Sunday to attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York, was scheduled to depart Thursday but extended his visit as Trump announced the meeting. Partisan politics On Wednesday, congressional Republicans loyal to Trump demanded that the Ukrainian leader fire his ambassador to the United States, Oksana Markarova, for organizing Zelenskyy's visit earlier this week to an ammunition factory in Pennsylvania, a hotly contested battleground state in the November U.S. presidential election. Zelenskyy met with the Democratic governor of the state, Josh Shapiro. In a letter to Zelenskyy, Republican House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson said the visit to the factory that made munitions for Ukraine was a “partisan campaign event designed to help Democrats” that amounts to “election interference.” The White House called Johnson’s letter a “political stunt” and pointed out that Zelenskyy recently met the Republican governor of Utah, Spencer Cox, in a “similar event.” Ahead of Zelenskyy’s visit, the U.S. administration announced $8 billion in new aid for Ukraine. In a statement, Biden said the aid includes a Patriot missile battery and missiles, as well as air-to-ground munitions and a precision-guided glide bomb with a range of up to 130 kilometers. The White House said no announcement was imminent regarding Ukraine’s request for weapons donors to allow Ukrainian forces to use the weapons to strike targets deeper inside Russia.

Veteran politician Shigeru Ishiba is set to become Japan’s next prime minister. The outspoken Ishiba won the leadership race in Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Friday. The 67-year-old has a reputation for irking his conservative colleagues, as VOA’s Bill Gallo reports from Seoul, South Korea.

Panama has begun deporting migrants who cross the dangerous Darien Gap from Colombia into Panama as part of an agreement with the United States signed in July. Veronica Villafane narrates this story by Oscar Sulbaran.

After Russia invaded Ukraine, Yuliia Lebedynska moved to Brussels with her daughter and granddaughter. She was an entrepreneur in Ukraine but in Belgium, she found herself in a Ukrainian women’s choir.  Valentina Vasileva has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. Camera: David Gogokhia  

The mayor of New York City, Eric Adams, has been indicted on multiple corruption charges by the U.S. government. Aron Ranen has the story from the Big Apple.

BRUSSELS — s the war in Ukraine enters a critical period, the European Union has decided that it must take responsibility for what it sees as an existential threat to security in its own neighborhood and is preparing to tackle some of the financial burden, perhaps even without the United States. EU envoys have been working in Brussels this week on a proposal to provide Ukraine with a hefty loan package worth up to $39 billion. It was announced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during a trip to Kyiv last Friday. “Crucially, this loan will flow straight into your national budget," she told President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “It will provide you with significant and much-needed fiscal space. You will decide how best to use the funds, giving you maximum flexibility to meet your needs.” Zelenskyy wants to buy weapons and bomb shelters and rebuild Ukraine's shattered energy network as winter draws near. In international matters, particularly involving major conflicts, the EU rarely moves ahead without the U.S., but it hopes this decision will encourage others to come forward. Russian troops and an election close in Almost 1,000 days since their full-scale invasion, Russian forces are making advances in the east. Ukraine’s army has a shaky hold on part of the Kursk region in Russia, which has provided a temporary morale boost, but as casualties mount it remains outmanned and outgunned. On the political front, Zelenskyy hopes to secure support for a “victory plan” that might force Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table. He’s trying to persuade U.S. President Joe Biden and other allies to help strengthen Ukraine’s hand in any future talks. But a U.S. election looms, and polls suggest that Donald Trump might return to the White House in January. Trump has been critical of U.S. aid to Ukraine. On Wednesday, he said Zelenskyy should have made concessions to Putin before the invasion began in February 2022. Most of the 27-nation EU fears that a Putin victory would lead to deep uncertainty. Russia’s armed forces are depleted and currently incapable of another war, but the prospect of a future land grab in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania or Poland remains. Reworking a G7 loan plan The EU loans are part of a plan by the Group of Seven major industrialized nations to take advantage of interest earned on about $250 billion worth of frozen Russian assets, most of them held in Europe. These windfall profits are estimated at around $5 billion to $6 billion a year. The profits underpin the G7 plan. The EU would stump up $20 billion, the U.S. $20 billion, and Canada, Japan and the U.K. $10 billion together, for a combined total of $50 billion. The scheme expires at the end of the year, before the next U.S. president takes office. Now, amid differences over how long the Russian asset freeze should be guaranteed, the EU has decided to go it alone. Its offer of up to $39 billion in loans accounts for almost the entirety of the U.S. share as well. The U.S. wants to ensure that the assets are locked away for at least three years to guarantee the income. But EU member Hungary insists this should only happen in 6-month increments. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán styles himself as a peacemaker and is too close to Putin for many of his partners' comfort. The other 26 EU countries feel they must move now because time is running out. Evolving alliance with the United States The U.S. election is just weeks away. The Europeans are wary of Trump’s unpredictability and are testing scenarios to help protect themselves from the kind of battering, like tariff hikes, their economies received during his past presidency. But they also see the Democrats as more inward looking these days. Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act left European leaders fuming over rules that favored American products. China and war in the Middle East are the foreign policy priorities of Democrat or Republican candidates alike, and for now the U.S. is in the grip of election campaign fever. The EU hopes that Vice President Kamala Harris, if she is elected president, would enter the loan program as previously planned and reduce the EU's financial burden. But that remains an open question for now, and EU members say Ukraine’s position is too precarious to hesitate. Political delays in the U.S. Congress last year over a $60 billion support package starved Ukrainian troops of weapons and ammunition for months, resulting in “real consequences on the battlefield,” in the words of NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. Pressing ahead on pressing needs Helping Ukraine in military terms is a challenge for the Europeans. They could not do it alone, and cannot match the U.S. transport, logistics and equipment superiority, despite progress in ramping up their defense industries to supply arms and ammunition. But the world’s biggest trading bloc does wield economic might. It has already given Ukraine about $132 billion since the full-scale invasion started. Within weeks it appears ready to provide tens of billions more, even though going it alone is not in the EU's DNA. “I do not know what the Americans, the United States with the new presidency, will do or not,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Tuesday. But, he said, “as long as the Ukrainians want to resist, we have to support them. Otherwise, we will make a historical mistake.” The Biden administration did announce Wednesday that the U.S. will send Ukraine a major military aid package, including cluster bombs and an array of rockets, artillery and armored vehicles. A U.S. official also said billions of dollars more in assistance would arrive over the coming months. Meanwhile, deliberations on the EU's share of the G7 loan package will be high on the agenda of a summit of the bloc's leaders in Brussels on October 17-18.

JERUSALEM/BEIRUT — Israel will continue to discuss cease-fire proposals for Lebanon in the days ahead, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday, as Washington warned that further escalation would only make it harder for civilians on both sides to return home. Israel's foreign minister on Thursday rejected global calls for a cease-fire with the Iran-backed Hezbollah group and pressed ahead with airstrikes that have killed hundreds in Lebanon and heightened fears of a regional war. An Israeli strike on Friday killed nine members of a family, including four children, in the Lebanese border town of Shebaa, mayor Mohammad Saab told Reuters. Israeli attacks have killed more than 600 people in Lebanon since Monday, the health ministry says. Hezbollah said it had fired rockets into Israel on Friday at Kiryat Ata near the city of Haifa some 30 kilometers from the border, and the city of Tiberias, declaring the attacks a response to Israel strikes on villages, cities and civilians. Though Israeli air defenses have shot down many of Hezbollah's rockets, limiting the damage they've done, the group's attacks have shut down normal life across much of northern Israel as more areas fall into its crosshairs. The Israeli military said it had intercepted four unmanned aircraft that crossed from Lebanese territory into the maritime space off the coast of Rosh Hanikra at the Lebanese border. The conflict between Israel and the heavily armed Hezbollah is their worst in more than 18 years and part of the spillover that has swept through the Middle East as a result of the Gaza War. Syrian state media reported that an Israeli airstrike on Friday killed five soldiers in Syria, where Israel has intensified a years-long campaign aimed at rolling back the influence of Iran and Hezbollah. The United States and France proposed on Wednesday an immediate 21-day truce across the Lebanese-Israeli border, and said negotiations continued, including on the sidelines of a United Nations meeting in New York. Netanyahu said on Friday that Israeli teams had meetings to discuss the U.S. ceasefire proposals on Thursday and would continue discussions in the days ahead, adding that he appreciated the U.S. efforts. "Our teams met [September 26] to discuss the U.S. initiative and how we can advance the shared goal of returning people safely to their homes. We will continue those discussions in the coming days," he said in a statement. On Thursday, after Netanyahu left for New York where he is attending the United Nations General Assembly, his office issued a statement saying the prime minister had ordered Israeli troops to continue fighting with full force in Lebanon. His statement made no reference to the comments of Foreign Minister Israel Katz, who on Thursday rejected ceasefire proposals, or other Israeli politicians who have echoed that position, saying only that there had been "a lot of misreporting around the U.S.-led ceasefire initiative." Blinken stresses importance of cease-fire  Israel says its campaign aims to secure the return home of tens of thousands of Israelis who have been forced to evacuate areas near the Lebanese border over the last year of hostilities. Hezbollah began firing at Israel on October 8 as the Gaza war began, declaring solidarity with the Palestinians. Hezbollah has said it will only cease fire when Israel's Gaza offensive ends. In Lebanon, more than 90,000 people have been reported as newly displaced this week, according to the U.N. International Organization for Migration, or IOM, adding to more than 111,000 already uprooted by the conflict. The U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said 30,000 people had crossed from Lebanon into Syria in the last few days, 80% of them Syrians. Well over a million Syrians fled to Lebanon during the Syrian civil war that erupted in 2011. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Israel further escalation would only make it harder for civilians to return home on both sides of the border, the State Department said. "The Secretary discussed the importance of reaching an agreement on the 21-day cease-fire across the Israel-Lebanon border," the State Department said in a statement on Thursday, referring to talks between Blinken and Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer. "He underscored that further escalation of the conflict will only make that objective [of civilian return] more difficult." The State Department added that Blinken also discussed efforts to reach a cease-fire in Gaza and steps that Israel needs to take to improve delivery of humanitarian assistance in the enclave where nearly the entire 2.3 million population is displaced and faces a hunger crisis.  

NEW YORK — Donald Trump is set to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as public tensions have been rising between the two over Ukraine's defense against Russia's invasion.  Trump said Zelenskyy asked for the meeting. The visit is set for about 9:45 a.m. Eastern Time at Trump Tower in New York, less than a day after Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump’s Democratic opponent, met with the Ukrainian leader and expressed unwavering support.  “I look forward to seeing him tomorrow,” Trump said in a press conference Thursday. “I believe I will be able to make a deal between President [Vladimir] Putin and President Zelenskyy, quite quickly.”  The meeting is highly anticipated and comes as Election Day nears, with Trump and Harris taking sharply different positions on backing Ukraine in the third year of its war with Russia.  Trump argues Putin would never have invaded had he been president while derisively calling Zelenskyy a “salesman” for getting U.S. assistance for Ukraine. Trump has in recent days praised Russia’s historic military victories and insisted the U.S. needs “to get out” and end its involvement with Ukraine.  Friday's meeting almost wasn't scheduled despite Zelenskyy’s office saying something had been planned during the Ukrainian leader’s visit to the U.N. General Assembly, during which he is making his endgame pitch to allies.  In an interview with The New Yorker magazine that was published earlier this week, Zelenskyy implied Trump does not understand and oversimplifies the conflict. The Ukrainian leader said Trump's running mate JD Vance was “too radical” and had essentially advocated for Ukraine to “make a sacrifice” by “giving up its territories.”  Trump ripped Zelenskyy and Ukraine on two separate occasions this week. Speaking Wednesday in North Carolina, Trump referred to Ukraine as “demolished” and its people as “dead.”  “Any deal — the worst deal — would’ve been better than what we have now,” Trump said. “If they made a bad deal, it would’ve been much better. They would’ve given up a little bit and everybody would be living, and every building would be built and every tower would be aging for another 2,000 years.”  Meanwhile, Harris on Thursday stood alongside Zelenskyy and said Trump's push for Ukraine to quickly cut a deal to end the war were “not proposals for peace,” but “proposals for surrender.” Trump on Thursday said he was not advocating for a surrender.  While Trump and Vance have long been skeptics of U.S. backing for Ukraine, other Republican allies of the former president have backed Kyiv's defense against Moscow's invasion and argue supporting Ukraine is in America's interest.  One ally of both Ukraine and Trump is Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. At a closed-door meeting Zelenskyy had with senators on Capitol Hill, also on Thursday, Graham stood up and said he had been talking to Trump about the Ukrainian president, according to a person familiar with the situation and granted anonymity to discuss the private meeting.  Graham told those in the room he would talk to Zelenskyy privately about his conversations with Trump, the person said. As the meeting came to a close, Graham pulled Zelenskyy aside and the two had a private conversation.  Graham is close to the former president, despite an on-again-off-again relationship, and has often played a role as an intermediary on various subjects. He did not respond to a message seeking comment Thursday.