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The United States announced more than $8 billion worth of military assistance for Ukraine on Thursday during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's visit to Washington, two U.S. officials said on Wednesday. Former US president Donald Trump on Wednesday accused Ukraine's leader of refusing to "make a deal" to end his country's war with Russia. The Israeli army chief says the military is preparing for a possible ground operation in Lebanon. And meet the Bicycle Mayor of Cape Town.

PITTSBURGH — U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris said on Wednesday she would offer tax credits to domestic manufacturers and invest in sectors that will "define the next century," as she detailed her economic plan to boost the U.S. middle class. Speaking at the Economic Club of Pittsburgh in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, the Democratic candidate in the November 5 presidential election said she would give tax credits to U.S. manufacturers for retooling or rebuilding existing factories and expanding "good union jobs," and double the number of registered apprenticeships during her first term. Harris also promised new investments in industries like bio-manufacturing, aerospace, artificial intelligence and clean energy. Harris' speech, which lasted just under 40 minutes, did not detail how these policies would work. She highlighted her upbringing by a single mother, in contrast with former President Donald Trump, the wealthy son of a New York real estate developer. "I have pledged that building a strong middle class will be the defining goal of my presidency," Harris said, adding that she sees the election as a moment of choice between two "fundamentally different" visions of the U.S. economy held by her and her Republican opponent, Trump. The vice president and Trump are focusing their campaign messaging on the economy, which Reuters/Ipsos polling shows is voters' top concern, as the election approaches. The divide between rich and poor has grown in recent decades. The share of American households in the middle class, defined as those with two-thirds to double that of median household income, has dropped from around 62% in 1970 to 51% in 2023, Pew Research shows. These households' income has also not grown as fast as those in the top tier. Harris said she was committed to working with the private sector and entrepreneurs to help grow the middle class. She told the audience that she is "a capitalist" who believes in "free and fair markets," and described her policies as pragmatic rather than rooted in ideology. Harris in recent months has blunted Trump's advantage on the economy, with a Reuters/Ipsos poll published on Tuesday showing the Republican candidate with a marginal advantage of 2 percentage points on "the economy, unemployment and jobs," down from an 11-point lead in late July. Trump discussed his economic plan in North Carolina on Wednesday and said Harris' role as vice president gave her the chance now to improve the economic record of the Biden administration. "Families are suffering now. So if she has a plan, she should stop grandstanding and do it," he said. While Trump has proposed across-the-board tariffs on foreign-made goods -- a proposal backed by a slim majority of voters -- Harris is focusing on providing incentives for businesses to keep their operations in the U.S. Boosting American manufacturing in industries such as semiconductors and bringing back jobs that have moved overseas in recent decades have also been major goals for Biden. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act -- all passed in 2021 and 2022 -- fund a range of subsidies and tax incentives that encourage companies to place projects in disadvantaged regions.

TALLAHASSEE, Florida — An enormous Hurricane Helene swamped parts of Mexico on Wednesday as it churned on a path forecasters said would take it to Florida as a potentially catastrophic storm with a surge that could swallow entire homes, a chilling warning that sent residents scrambling for higher ground, closed schools, and led to states of emergency throughout the Southeast. Helene's center was about 735 kilometers southwest of Tampa, Florida, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said, and the hurricane was expected to intensify and accelerate as it crosses the Gulf of Mexico toward the Big Bend area of Florida's northwestern coast. Landfall was expected sometime Thursday evening, and the hurricane center said by then it could be a major Category 4 storm with winds above 208 kph. Tropical storm conditions were expected in southern Florida on Wednesday night, spreading northward and encompassing the rest of Florida as well as Georgia and South Carolina through Thursday night. The storm was moving north at 19 kph with top sustained winds of 140 kph Wednesday evening. Helene could create a life-threatening storm surge as high as 6.1 meters in parts of the Big Bend region, forecasters said. Its tropical storm-force winds extended as far as 555 kilometers from its center. The fast-moving storm's wind and rain also could penetrate far inland: The hurricane center posted hurricane warnings well into Georgia and tropical storm warnings as far north as North Carolina, and it warned that much of the Southeast could experience prolonged power outages, toppled trees and dangerous flooding. "Just hope and pray that everybody's safe," said Connie Dillard, of Tallahassee, as she shopped at a grocery store with thinning shelves of water and bread before hitting the highway out of town. "That's all you can do." One insurance firm, Gallagher Re, is expecting billions of dollars in damage in the U.S. Around 18,000 linemen from out of state staged in Florida, ready to help restore power. Airports in St. Petersburg, Tallahassee and Tampa were planning to close on Thursday, and 62 hospitals, nursing homes and assisted living facilities evacuated their residents Wednesday. Georgia activated 250 National Guard soldiers for rapid deployment. State game wardens, foresters and Department of Correction teams will help provide swift-water rescues and other emergency responses. State meteorologist Will Lanxton said tropical storm-force winds are expected throughout Georgia. Lanxton said metro Atlanta hasn't seen sustained tropical storm winds since Hurricane Irma in 2017. "I think we're going to see some significant power outages, probably nothing like we've seen, because it's 159 counties wide," said James Stallings, director of the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency. In Tallahassee, where stations started to run out of gas, 19-year-old Florida A&M student Kameron Benjamin filled sandbags with his roommate to protect their apartment before evacuating. Their school and Florida State shut down. "This hurricane is heading straight to Tallahassee, so I really don't know what to expect," Benjamin said. As Big Bend residents battened down their homes, many saw the ghost of 2018's Hurricane Michael. That storm rapidly intensified and crashed ashore as a Category 5 that laid waste to Panama City and parts of the rural Panhandle. On Wednesday, the National Weather Service posted an urgent warning for residents along Apalachee Bay: "There is a danger of catastrophic and unsurvivable storm surge for Apalachee Bay," it said. "Storm surge may begin to arrive as early as late Wednesday night ahead of the winds. This forecast, if realized, is a nightmare surge scenario for Apalachee Bay. Please, please, please take any evacuation orders seriously!" "People are taking heed and hightailing it out of there for higher ground," said Kristin Korinko, a Tallahassee resident who serves as the commodore of the Shell Point Sailboard Club, on the Gulf Coast about 48 kilometers south of Tallahassee. For toughened Floridians who are used to hurricanes, Robbie Berg, a national warning coordinator for the hurricane center, advised: "Please do not compare it to other storms you may have experienced over the past year or two." Helene is forecast to be one of the largest storms in breadth in years to hit the region, said Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach. He said since 1988, only three Gulf hurricanes were bigger than Helene's predicted size: 2017's Irma, 2005's Wilma and 1995's Opal. Areas 160 kilometers north of the Georgia-Florida line can expect hurricane conditions. More than half of Georgia's public school districts and several universities canceled classes. And for Atlanta, which is under a tropical storm watch, Helene could be the worst strike on a major Southern inland city in 35 years, said University of Georgia meteorology professor Marshall Shepherd. "It's going to be a lot like Hugo in Charlotte," Shepherd said of the 1989 storm that struck the North Carolina city, knocking out power to 85% of customers as winds gusted above hurricane force. Landslides were possible in southern Appalachia, with catastrophic flooding predicted in the Carolinas and Georgia, where all three governors declared emergencies. Rainfall is possible as far away as Tennessee, Kentucky and Indiana. Parts of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula were under hurricane warnings as Helene wound between it and the western tip of Cuba and into the Gulf of Mexico. The storm formed Tuesday in the Caribbean, and it flooded streets and toppled trees as it passed offshore and brushed the resort city of Cancun. In Cuba, authorities moved cattle to higher ground and medical brigades went to communities often cut off by storms. The government preventively shut off power in some communities as waves as high as 5 meters slammed Cortes Bay. In the Cayman Islands, schools remained closed as residents pumped water from flooded homes. In the U.S., federal authorities positioned generators, food and water, along with search-and-rescue and power restoration teams. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis warned that Helene could be as strong as a Category 4 hurricane when it makes landfall. The state was providing buses to evacuate people in the Big Bend region and taking them to shelters in Tallahassee. But near Florida's center, outside Orlando, Walt Disney World said its only closures Thursday would be the Typhoon Lagoon water park and its miniature golf courses. Helene is the eighth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which began June 1. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted an above-average Atlantic hurricane season this year because of record-warm ocean temperatures. In the Pacific, former Hurricane John reformed Wednesday as a tropical storm and was strengthening as it threatened areas of Mexico's western coast. Officials posted hurricane warnings for southwestern Mexico. John hit the country's southern Pacific coast late Monday, killing at least two people, triggering mudslides, and damaging homes and trees. It grew into a Category 3 hurricane in a matter of hours and made landfall east of Acapulco. It reemerged over the ocean after weakening inland.

tunis, tunisia — A Tunisian court sentenced presidential candidate Ayachi Zammel to six months in prison on Wednesday on charges of falsifying documents, his lawyer told Reuters, the second prison sentence against him in a week, days before the presidential election.  The verdict highlights rising tensions ahead of the election, amid opposition and civil society groups' fears of a rigged election aimed at keeping President Kais Saied in power.  Zammel was sentenced to 20 months in prison last week on charges of falsifying popular endorsements.  "It is another unjust ruling and a farce that clearly aims to weaken him in the election race, but we will defend his right to the last minute," Zammel attorney Abdessattar Massoudi told Reuters.  Zammel was among only three admitted candidates competing for the position of president alongside incumbent Saied and Zouhair Magzhaoui.  Political tensions in the North African country have risen ahead of the October 6 election since an electoral commission named by Saied disqualified three prominent candidates this month amid protests by opposition and civil society groups.

The war in Ukraine, Sudan’s humanitarian crisis, and an escalation between Israel and Hezbollah dominated the second day of the United Nations General Assembly meetings. VOA U.N. Correspondent Margaret Besheer reports.

HONG KONG — A Hong Kong court is due to sentence two former editors on Thursday who have been found guilty of sedition after publishing articles about the national security crackdown in the city under China — a ruling that has prompted an international outcry. In a landmark case about media freedom, Chung Pui-kuen and Patrick Lam of the now-defunct Stand News media outlet were convicted last month — the first time that journalists have been found guilty of sedition since the handover of Hong Kong from Britain to China in 1997. Chung, 55, and Lam, 36, had pleaded not guilty. Stand News, once Hong Kong's leading online media outlet, was known for its hard-hitting reports about the city's 2019 pro-democracy protests and later the national security crackdown. Under Hong Kong law, they could be jailed for up to two years. Liz Throssell, a spokesperson for the U.N. Human Rights Office, said the office was calling on Hong Kong authorities to review the court's decision in line with obligations under international human rights law. Twenty-three member states of the Media Freedom Coalition, including the U.S., U.K. and Canada, have similarly signed a statement, urging "Hong Kong and China authorities to abide by their international human rights commitments and legal obligations, and to respect freedom of the press and freedom of speech in Hong Kong." A spokesperson for Hong Kong's government said in a statement that the government "strongly disapproved of and rejected the fact-twisting remarks and baseless smears" by the coalition. Hong Kong and Chinese officials have said the security clampdown —which has included tighter laws — has been needed to maintain stability after the pro-democracy protests. During the 57-day trial, the prosecution argued that Stand News had acted as a political platform to promote "illegal" ideologies and incited readers' hatred against the Chinese and Hong Kong governments. Chung wrote in a letter to the court that some Hong Kongers "care about the freedom and dignity of everyone in the community and are willing to pay the price of losing their own freedom." "Recording and reporting their stories and thoughts truthfully is an unavoidable responsibility for journalists," Chung wrote. Lam wrote that "the only way for journalists to defend press freedom is to report." Stand News was raided by police in December 2021 and its assets were frozen, leading to its closure.

islamabad — Pakistan reported Wednesday that the International Monetary Fund, or IMF, had approved a crucial $7 billion loan for the cash-strapped nation struggling to meet its external financing needs. In a statement issued by his office, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif "expressed satisfaction" and hailed the IMF's approval of the much-needed loan. He also thanked Kristalina Georgieva, the IMF chief, and his own economic team for successfully negotiating the agreement, the statement said. The Washington-based global lender was expected to release a separate statement. Pakistani media reports said the IMF had agreed to the 37-month loan agreement for the South Asian nation under the Extended Fund Facility and authorized the immediate release of the first tranche of nearly $1.1 billion. Sharif, who is in New York for the U.N. General Assembly session, told Pakistani media representatives before Wednesday's approval that his government had met all of the lender's conditions. He stated that the lender had "set stringent conditions" for the loan program preliminarily agreed to in July. The prime minister credited Pakistan's longtime allies, China, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, with helping Islamabad finalize the IMF deal, but he did not elaborate. Pakistan was required to seek an extension on existing $5 billion, $4 billion and $3 billion cash loan agreements from Riyadh, Beijing and Abu Dhabi to fulfill a critical IMF condition. Islamabad reportedly has committed not to repay more than $12 billion in debt to three allied nations and Kuwait during the 37-month IMF program period. The new $7 billion loan is Pakistan's 25th IMF program since it gained  independence in 1947 — the highest number acquired by any country. "We are committed to ensuring this is the last time we seek such financial support from the IMF," Sharif reiterated while speaking to Pakistani media in New York. However, critics remain skeptical about his assertions. Experts blame chronic economic mismanagement, corruption, repeated dictatorial military regimes, and the failure of successive elected governments to introduce much-needed reforms for the financial troubles facing Pakistan, a nuclear-armed country of more than 240 million people. Islamabad has managed its external funding needs in the past with loans, economic support from its long-standing allies and IMF financial assistance. Historic inflation Experts describe Pakistan's latest economic crisis as the most prolonged. Inflation reached historic levels, pushing the country to the brink of default on its external payments before an IMF bailout helped avert the crisis last summer. Inflation has since eased, and credit ratings agency Moody's has upgraded Pakistan's local and foreign currency issuer and senior unsecured debt ratings, citing improved macroeconomic conditions and moderately better government liquidity and external positions. The Sharif administration also has ramped up efforts to increase its tax intake in line with the IMF requirements, despite protests by traders and opposition parties over the new tax scheme and high energy rates. The Asian Development Bank, or ADB, said in a Wednesday report that Pakistan's economic outlook hinges on continued and effective economic reform. It expected the IMF loan program to enhance the country's macroeconomic stability, consolidate public finances, expand social spending and protection, and rebuild foreign exchange, among other things. "The new government has committed to the necessary stabilization and structural reforms but faces challenges owing to elevated political and institutional tensions and the prospects of social unrest from a steep drop in real incomes," the ADB warned. Pakistan's economic troubles have deepened because of the political turmoil that hit the country in April 2022 when then-Prime Minister Imran Khan was removed from office through a controversial opposition-led parliamentary vote of no confidence. Khan, who has been imprisoned for more than a year on contentious charges, is the most popular politician in Pakistan. His Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Party has been organizing anti-government protests. The party alleges that election authorities rigged the February 8 parliamentary polls to hinder Khan-backed candidates from winning and helped military-backed parties' allies to form a coalition government, charges Sharif and army officials deny. Some information for this report came from Reuters.

new york — President Joe Biden is turning to Africa in the sunset of his presidency. In the space of one day, in front of world leaders, he elevated Sudan's conflict to a priority, announced he would travel to Angola and endorsed adding two seats for African countries to the U.N. Security Council. In his valedictory speech to the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday, Biden made several brief overtures to the African continent — reminding world leaders of the evils of South Africa’s apartheid regime, calling for an end to Sudan’s grueling conflict and citing urgency in combating an mpox outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. But these two short lines may have the most weight: “The U.N. needs to adapt to bring in new voices and new perspectives,” he said. “That’s why we support reforming and expanding the membership of the U.N. Security Council.” For years, African leaders have called for a seat at this table. But critics point out that Washington does not support a critical privilege enjoyed by the current permanent members of the Security Council: veto power. Cameron Hudson, a senior fellow in the Africa Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, says African nations are puzzled by Biden’s position. “This is really, I think, an unfinished project of his, probably more words than reality,” he told VOA. The fact that Biden supported council membership for them but not veto power "has left Africans scratching their heads." John Fortier, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, said it mattered that Biden used this platform to call for an end to Sudan’s raging 17-month conflict, but he doubted whether that call would provoke action. Trying to elevate issue “This is one of the conflicts that is serious but has not been getting world attention, and I think his pointing to it is really to elevate it in world consciousness but not yet to really know how we're going to see an end to this,” Fortier said. This conflict has displaced millions of people and sparked a near-famine. And so, analysts say, it matters that the American president is putting pressure on the warring parties. “I think Biden genuinely wants to alleviate the humanitarian crisis and resolve the conflict in Sudan,” said Daniel Volman, director of the African Security Research Project, in an email to VOA. “But I think he is reluctant to press countries like Egypt and the [United Arab] Emirates that are arming the generals, because they are key allies during the Gaza war. “Also, Biden is being driven by pressure from some members of Congress to take stronger and more effective action. I think he will take some limited action, like the new funds for humanitarian aid just announced, but I don't think this will yield significant results.” And finally, Biden’s off-camera announcement that he will visit Angola next month allows him to keep his promise to visit the continent. But again, Hudson wondered how this long-delayed visit would land. “Coming, as it does, at the very tail end of his administration, without much to, I think, really celebrate in terms of his involvement in Africa, I think the visit will ring rather hollow,” Hudson said. Biden has four months left in his presidency.

cairo — Sudan's former autocratic President Omar al-Bashir, who ruled for 30 years before he was toppled in a popular uprising and then jailed by the country's military rulers, has been transferred to a medical facility in northern Sudan, his lawyer said Wednesday.  Since war broke out in April last year between the Sudanese military and its rival, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the 80-year-old al-Bashir has been held at a military facility on the outskirts of the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.  His lawyer, Mohamed al-Hassan al-Amin, told The Associated Press that al-Bashir was transferred on Tuesday and would get proper care at a better-equipped hospital in the town of Merowe, about 330 kilometers north of Khartoum.  Al-Bashir's health had deteriorated recently, the lawyer said, adding that the former strongman suffers from age-related complications and high blood pressure.  "He needs regular checks and follow-ups," al-Amin said over the phone, "but his condition is not critical."  Al-Amin said that Sudan's former Defense Minister Abdel-Rahim Muhammad Hussein — who was also arrested soon after al-Bashir — also was transferred to the same facility. He suffers from heart-related problems, the lawyer said.  The office of Sudan's military spokesman declined to comment when contacted by the AP.  Al-Bashir ruled Sudan for three decades, despite wars and sanctions, before he was overthrown during a popular uprising in 2019. He is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for genocide and other crimes committed during the conflict in Sudan's western Darfur region in the 2000s.  The ICC has indicted both al-Bashir and Hussein on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Darfur, where the government's campaign was marked by mass killings, rape, torture and persecution. Some 300,000 people were killed and 2.7 million were driven from their homes.  Sudan's military rulers — now themselves fighting to stay in power in a bitter conflict with the rival RSF — declined ICC requests that al-Bashir and others wanted by the world court be handed over for trial.  Al-Bashir, Hussein and others were held in a Khartoum prison before being taken to a fortified military base after the prison was attacked by the RSF in April last year. Another former official, Ahmed Harun, who is also wanted by the ICC, walked away after the prison was attacked. His whereabouts are unknown.  The latest war in Sudan has devastated Khartoum and many other urban areas and also has been marked by atrocities, such as mass rape and ethnically motivated killings. The United Nations and international rights groups say these acts also amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, especially in Darfur, which has been facing a bitter onslaught by the RSF.  The war has killed at least 20,000 people and left tens of thousands wounded, according to the United Nations. Rights groups and activists say the toll is much higher.  The conflict has also forced some 10 million people to flee their homes in Sudan — about a quarter of the country's population, according to the International Organization for Migration. Of them, more than 2 million have been driven abroad, mostly to neighboring Chad, South Sudan and Egypt, the IOM said. 

WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris will visit the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona on Friday as her campaign tries to turn the larger issue of immigration from a liability into a strength and hopes to counter a line of frequent, searing political attacks from former President Donald Trump.  Her campaign announced Wednesday that Harris would be in Douglas, Arizona, across the border from Agua Prieta, Mexico.  Trump has built his campaign partly around calling for cracking down on immigration and the southern border, even endorsing using police and the military to carry out mass deportations should he be elected in November. Harris has increasingly tried to seize on the issue and turn it back against her opponent, though polls show voters continue to trust Trump more on it.  Trump wasted little time reacting to word of Harris' trip. He told a rally crowd in Mint Hill, North Carolina, that Harris was going to the border "for political reasons" and because "their polls are tanking."  "When Kamala speaks about the border, her credibility is less than zero," Trump said. "I hope you're going to remember that on Friday. When she tells you about the border, ask her just one simple question: "Why didn't you do it four years ago?"  That picks up on a theme Trump mentions at nearly all of his campaign rallies, scoffing at Harris as a former Biden administration "border czar," arguing that she oversaw softer federal policies that allowed millions of people into the country illegally.  President Joe Biden tasked Harris with working to address the root causes of immigration patterns that have caused many people fleeing violence and drug gangs in Central America to head to the U.S. border and seek asylum, though she was not called border czar.  Since taking over for Biden at the top of the Democratic presidential ticket, Harris has leaned into her experience as a former attorney general of California, saying that she frequently visited the border and prosecuted drug- and people-smuggling gangs in that post. As she campaigns around the country, the vice president has also lamented the collapse of a bipartisan border security deal in Congress that most Republican lawmakers rejected at Trump's behest.  Harris has worked to make immigration an issue that can help her win supporters, saying that Trump would rather play politics with the issue than seek solutions, while also promising more humane treatment of immigrants should she win the White House.  In June, Biden announced rules that bar migrants from being granted asylum when U.S. officials deem that the southern border is overwhelmed. Since then, arrests for illegal border crossings have fallen.  Despite that, a new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research released this month found that Trump has an advantage over Harris on whom voters trust to better handle immigration. This issue was a problem for Biden, as well: Illegal immigration and crossings at the U.S. border with Mexico have been a challenge during much of his administration. The poll also found that Republicans are more likely to care about immigration.

JDEIDET YABOUS, Syria — Families fleeing the escalating conflict in Lebanon poured into Syria in growing numbers on Wednesday, waiting for hours in heavy traffic to reach the relative safety of another war-torn country.  U.N. officials estimated that thousands of Lebanese and Syrian families had already made the journey. Those numbers are expected to grow as Israel targets southern and eastern Lebanon in an aerial bombardment that local officials say has killed more than 600 people this week, at least a quarter of them women and children. Israel says it is targeting Hezbollah fighters and weapons.  Lines of buses and cars extended for several kilometers from the Syria border beginning on Monday, and some families were seen making the journey on foot. Once in Syria, people waited hours more to be processed by overwhelmed border officials, and relief workers handed out food, water, mattresses and blankets.  "Many will have to spend the night outdoors waiting their turn," Rula Amin, a spokesperson for the U.N.'s refugee agency, said in a statement.  Amin said some of the people arriving from Lebanon had visible injuries suffered from recent attacks.  The cross-border flow was a striking reversal in fortunes given that Lebanon is still hosting more than 1 million Syrian refugees who fled the war in their country that began in 2011. That's when an initially peaceful anti-government uprising was met by a brutal government crackdown and spiraled into an ongoing civil war.  In the Syrian border town of Jdeidet Yabous, some families sat glumly on the side of the road when Associated Press journalists visited the area. Some used their bags as seats, waiting for taxis, buses or relatives to pick them up. Many said they had spent eight or nine hours in traffic just to get into Syria.  Before crossing the border, crowds packed into a government office to be processed by immigration officers and, in the case of Syrian citizens, to change $100 to Syrian pounds before entering — a measure imposed in an attempt to prop up the local currency by bringing more dollars into the country. Because of the sudden spike in demand, the supply of Syrian pounds at the border ran short.  Some were returning refugees, like Emad al-Salim, who had fled Aleppo in 2014. He was living in the southern coastal city of Tyre when Monday's bombardment began. He gathered his wife and six children and fled again.  "There were houses destroyed in front of me as we were coming out," he said. "It took us three days to get here."  Nada Hamid al-Lajji returned with her family after seven years in Lebanon with her husband. They are from eastern Syria, but al-Lajji said she doesn't know if they will return there.  "Where am I going to go?" she said. "I don't even have a house anymore. I don't know where I will go."  Many Lebanese families were also fleeing. Mahmoud Ahmad Tawbeh from the village of Arnoun in the country's south had come with an extended family of 35 people, planning to stay in a rented house in a Damascus suburb.  "We left with difficulty. There were a lot of bombs dropping above our heads," he said. Five or six houses in the village were destroyed and several neighbors were killed, he said.  For many in Lebanon, particularly those living in the Bekaa Valley in the east, Syria appeared to be the quickest route to safety. Israeli strikes across the country this week have wounded more than 2,000.  Many of the Lebanese arriving at the border refused to speak to journalists or would not give their full names because of the sensitivity of the situation. One woman from the town of Harouf in southern Lebanon, who gave her family name, Matouk, said she had come with her brother's wife, who is Syrian, to stay with in-laws.  Several families near where they lived were killed, she said, and she was worried about her father and siblings who she had left behind.  While the war in Syria is ongoing, active fighting has long been frozen in much of the country. Lebanese citizens, who can cross the border without a visa, regularly visit Damascus. And renting an apartment is significantly cheaper in Syria than in Lebanon. Even before the latest escalation, some Lebanese had rented in Syria as a Plan B in case they needed to flee.  Apart from those who fled the war, many Syrians come to Lebanon for work or family reasons, and regularly cross the border.  However, many of those who came as refugees have been reluctant to return out of fear they could be arrested for real or perceived ties to the opposition to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad or forcibly conscripted to the army. If they leave Lebanon, they could also lose their refugee status.  Earlier this week, Assad issued an amnesty for crimes committed before September 22, including for those who dodged compulsory military service.  He had issued similar amnesties over the past years, but they largely failed to convince refugees to return, as have efforts by Lebanese authorities to organize "voluntary return" trips.

johannesburg — South Africa is planning a massive mouse eradication project on a sub-Antarctic island to try to stop the invasive species from wiping out the precious seabirds that nest there. Marion Island, in the southern Indian Ocean almost 2,000 kilometers from Cape Town, is a remote and windswept South African territory that’s home to extensive bird life, including the wandering albatross. But those birds face an unusual threat: predatory mice that have been feasting on their chicks. The mice are an accident of history, but their population has been increased by climate change. “The mice were introduced accidentally in the early 1800s," said Anton Wolfaardt, a conservationist who is leading the program to eradicate the mice. "They came ashore - they were essentially stowaways on the vessels of the early seal hunters that visited the island.” Huge jump in population As the island has grown warmer and drier because of climate change, it has also grown more favorable for the mice. Now, by the end of the summer, the mouse population will have increased by 500 percent, he said.    It was only fairly recently that researchers on Marion observed the mice preying on chicks, but the phenomenon has increased.  The rodents are such a threat now, Wolfaardt said, "that experts predict that 19 of the 29 bird species on Marion Island face local extinction in the presence of mice.”  Elsa van Ginkel, a researcher who was employed by the University of Pretoria to collect data on the island last year, said the island region was "truly out of this world. Walking among wandering albatross chicks every day and watching them grow into fledglings - wow, just wow, it’s an absolute privilege.” But they are slowly being wiped out. “These fledglings have no means of defending themselves from a mouse that actually starts eating it alive," van Ginkel said. "It’s quite horrific.” So Birdlife South Africa, a nongovernmental organization, and South Africa’s forest, fisheries and environment department are planning a major intervention to try to save the seabirds and restore the island to its natural state.  Wolfaardt is heading the initiative, which is still seeking funding and is scheduled to take place in a few years.   “Very simply, the operation involves broadcasting a specialized rodenticide bait, from bait spreader buckets that are slung beneath helicopters that are guided by GPS technology,” he said. The pellets of rodent poison won’t negatively affect the rest of the flora and fauna on the island, experts say.   A similar project has been undertaken before. In the 1940s, feral cats were introduced to Marion Island to try to control the mice, but then the felines started preying on the seabirds.   The cats were successfully eradicated in the early 1990s, although that, of course, left the mice to flourish.

Madrid — Mexican president-elect Claudia Sheinbaum angered Spain on Wednesday by barring its King Felipe VI from her swearing-in ceremony, accusing him of failing to acknowledge harm caused by his country's conquest of Mexico five centuries ago. The decision prompted Spain to boycott the event altogether, with its Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez calling the Mexican decision "inexplicable" and "totally unacceptable." Mexico's outgoing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in 2019 sent a letter to the king asking that he "publicly and officially" acknowledge the "damage" caused by the 1519-1521 conquest, which resulted in the death of a large part of the country's pre-Hispanic population. "Unfortunately, this letter was never replied to directly, as should have been the best practice in bilateral relations," Sheinbaum said in a statement. Mexico had in July invited just Sanchez to the swearing-in ceremony on October 1, the statement added. The Spanish foreign ministry said in a statement that the government "has decided not to participate in the inauguration at any level.” "Spain and Mexico are brotherly peoples. We cannot therefore accept being excluded like this," Sanchez said later in a news conference on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York. "That is why we have made it known to the Mexican government that there will be no diplomatic representative from the Spanish government, as a sign of protest." Mexico published the guest list a week ago for the inauguration of Sheinbaum, who will be the country's first woman president following her left-wing ruling party's landslide June election victory. King Felipe VI was not on the list, which includes regional leftist leaders, as well as U.S. first lady Jill Biden. Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles told journalists in Madrid on Wednesday: "The head of state, the king of Spain, always attends all swearing-in ceremonies and therefore we cannot accept that in this case he should be excluded." While Mexico and Spain have close historical and economic links, relations between the Latin American nation and its former colonial ruler have been strained since Lopez Obrador — an ally of Sheinbaum  took office in 2018. He has frequently complained about Spanish companies operating in Mexico and twice declared during his mandate that his country's relations with Spain were "on pause". Madrid has rejected his demand for an apology for the events of the Spanish conquest five centuries ago. Sanchez said on Wednesday, without elaborating, that Spain had "already explained its position on the subject." The socialist premier expressed "great frustration" at Sheinbaum's decision, saying that he considered Mexico's leaders to be "progressive" like his government.

Oslo, Norway — Norwegian police on Wednesday said they had arrested a man on suspicion of incitement to commit crimes against humanity in Cameroon, where a radio station identified him as "separatist leader" Lucas Cho Ayaba.  The Kripos police unit that deals with war crimes and crimes against humanity said in a statement that it had arrested "a man in his 50s" on Tuesday, but did not name him.  "Norwegian police have arrested the separatist leader Lucas Cho Ayaba. He is implicated in atrocities committed in the northwest and southwest," said CRTV radio station.  Two sources had earlier told AFP that Ayaba, 52, was the man arrested.  Cameroon has been gripped since 2016 by a bloody conflict in its two anglophone regions, in the northwest and southwest, between separatists and state forces.  The conflict was sparked by the brutal suppression of peaceful protests in the anglophone regions by long-time President Paul Biya.  "Kripos considers that the suspect is playing a central role in the ongoing armed conflict in Cameroon," the Norwegian police statement said.  The anglophone community, which has long complained of marginalization and discrimination, makes up about 20% of the largely francophone central African country.  Ayaba is the leader of the Ambazonia Defense Forces, one of the main armed groups operating in the anglophone areas.  International NGOs accuse both the armed separatists and government forces of abuses.  More than 6,000 people have been killed and at least a million displaced during the conflict, the International Crisis Group has said.  A lawyer representing victims of the conflict filed a complaint in the United States against Ayaba and the Norwegian state.  In February, the lawyer, Emmanuel Nsahlai, also petitioned the International Criminal Court to launch an investigation.  Ayaba was a former student union activist in the 1990s and holds German nationality.  It was the first time that Norway had arrested someone on suspicion of inciting crimes against humanity.  If convicted, he could face 30 years in prison.