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Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

PRETORIA, South Africa — South Africa marked 30 years since the end of apartheid and the birth of its democracy with a ceremony in the capital Saturday that included a 21-gun salute and the waving of the nation's multicolored flag. But any sense of celebration on the momentous anniversary was set against a growing discontent with the current government. President Cyril Ramaphosa presided over the gathering in a huge white tent in the gardens of the government buildings in Pretoria as head of state. He also spoke as the leader of the African National Congress party, which was widely credited with liberating South Africa's Black majority from the racist system of oppression that made the country a pariah for nearly a half-century. The ANC has been in power ever since the first democratic, all-race election of April 27, 1994, the vote that officially ended apartheid. But this Freedom Day holiday marking that day fell amid a poignant backdrop: Analysts and polls predict that the waning popularity of the party once led by Nelson Mandela is likely to see it lose its parliamentary majority for the first time as a new generation of South Africans make their voices heard in what might be the most important election since 1994 next month. "Few days in the life of our nation can compare to that day, when freedom was born," Ramaphosa said in a speech centered on the nostalgia of 1994, when Black people were allowed to vote for the first time, the once-banned ANC swept to power, and Mandela became the country's first Black president. "South Africa changed forever. It signaled a new chapter in the history of our nation, a moment that resonated across Africa and across the world." "On that day, the dignity of all the people of South Africa was restored," Ramaphosa said. The president, who stood in front of a banner emblazoned with the word "Freedom," also recognized the major problems South Africa still has three decades later with vast poverty and inequality, issues that will be central yet again when millions vote on May 29. Ramaphosa conceded there had been "setbacks." The 1994 election changed South Africa from a country where Black and other nonwhite people were denied most basic freedoms, not just the right to vote. Laws controlled where they lived, where they were allowed to go on any given day, and what jobs they could have. After apartheid fell, a constitution was adopted guaranteeing the rights of all South Africans no matter their race, religion, gender or sexuality. But that hasn't significantly improved the lives of millions, with South Africa's Black majority that make up more than 80% of the population of 62 million still overwhelmingly affected by severe poverty. The official unemployment rate is 32%, the highest in the world, and more than 60% for young people between the ages of 15 and 24. More than 16 million South Africans — 25% of the country — rely on monthly welfare grants for survival. South Africa is still the most unequal country in the world in terms of wealth distribution, according to the World Bank, with race a key factor. While the damage of apartheid remains difficult to undo, the ANC is increasingly being blamed for South Africa's current problems. In the week leading up to the anniversary, countless South Africans were asked what 30 years of freedom from apartheid meant to them. The dominant response was that while 1994 was a landmark moment, it's now overshadowed by the joblessness, violent crime, corruption and near-collapse of basic services like electricity and water that plagues South Africa in 2024. It's also poignant that many South Africans who never experienced apartheid and are referred to as "Born Frees" are now old enough to vote. Outside the tent where Ramaphosa spoke in front of mostly dignitaries and politicians, a group of young Black South Africans born after 1994 and who support a new political party called Rise Mzansi wore T-shirts with the words "2024 is our 1994" on them. Their message was that they were looking beyond the ANC and for another change for their future in next month's election. "They don't know what happened before 1994. They don't know," said Seth Mazibuko, an older supporter of Rise Mzansi and a well-known anti-apartheid activist in the 1970s. "Let us agree that we messed up," Mazibuko said of the last 30 years, which have left the youngsters standing behind him directly impacted by the second-worst youth unemployment rate in the world behind Djibouti. He added: "There's a new chance in elections next month."

LOS ANGELES — On a recent afternoon, Grant Oh zigzagged across the University of Southern California campus as if he was conquering an obstacle course, coming up against police blockade after police blockade on his way to his apartment while officers arrested demonstrators protesting the Israel-Hamas war. In many ways, the chaotic moment was the culmination of a college life that started amid the coronavirus pandemic and has been marked by continual upheaval in what has become a constant battle for normalcy. Oh already missed his prom and his high school graduation as COVID-19 surged in 2020. He started college with online classes. Now the 20-year-old will add another missed milestone to his life: USC has canceled its main commencement ceremony that was expected to be attended by 65,000 people. His only graduation ceremony was in middle school and there were no caps and gowns. "It's crazy because I remember starting freshman year with the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which came after senior year of high school when the Black Lives Matter protests were happening and COVID, and xenophobia," he said "It feels definitely surreal. It still shocks me that we live in a world that is so fired up and so willing to tear itself apart." Oh, who is getting a degree in health promotion and disease prevention, added that his loss of a memorable moment pales in comparison to what is happening: "At the end of the day, people are dying." College campuses have always been a hotbed for protests from the civil rights era to the Vietnam war to demonstrations over apartheid in South Africa. But students today also carry additional stresses from having lived through the isolation and fear from the pandemic, and the daily influence of social media that amplifies the world's wrongs like never before, experts say. It's not just about missed milestones. Study after study shows Generation Z suffers from much higher rates of anxiety and depression than Millennials, said Jean Twenge, a psychologist and professor at San Diego State University, who wrote a book called "Generations." She attributes much of that to the fact that negativity spreads faster and wider on social media than positive posts. "Gen Z, they tend to be much more pessimistic than Millennials," she said. "The question going forward is do they take this pessimism and turn it into concrete action and change, or do they turn it into annihilation and chaos?" Protesters have pitched tents on campuses from Harvard and MIT to Stanford and the University of Texas, Austin, raising tensions as many schools prepare for spring commencements. Hundreds of students have been arrested across the country. Inspired by demonstrations at Columbia University, students at more than a dozen U.S. colleges have formed pro-Palestinian encampments and pledged to stay put until their demands are met. The campus will be closed for the semester at California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, which has been negotiating with students who have been barricaded inside a campus building since Monday, rebuffing an attempt by the police to clear them out. USC announced Thursday that it would be calling off its main graduation ceremony after protests erupted over not only the Israel-Hamas war but the school's decision earlier this month to call off the commencement speech by its valedictorian Asna Tabassum, who expressed support for Palestinians. Officials cited security concerns. "By trying to silence Asna, it made everything way worse," Oh said, adding that he hopes there will be no violence on graduation day May 10 when smaller ceremonies will be held by different departments. Maurielle McGarvey graduated from high school in 2019 so was able to have a ceremony but then she took a gap year when many universities held classes only online. McGarvey, who is getting a degree in screenwriting with a minor in gender and social justice studies at USC, called the cancellations "heartbreaking," and said the situation has been grossly mishandled by the university. She said police with batons came at her yelling as she held a banner while she and fellow demonstrators said a Jewish prayer. "It's definitely been like an overall diminished experience and to take away like the last sort of like typical thing that this class was allowed after having so many weird restrictions, so many customs and traditions changed," she said. "It's such a bummer." She said the email by the university announcing the cancellation particularly stung with its link to photos of past graduates in gowns tossing up their caps and cheering. "That's just insult to injury," she said. Students at other universities were equally glum. "Our grade is cursed," said Abbie Barkan of Atlanta, 21, who is graduating from the University of Texas in two weeks with a journalism degree and who was among a group of Jewish students waving flags and chanting at a counter-protest Thursday near a pro-Palestinian demonstration on campus. University of Minnesota senior Sarah Dawley, who participated in pro-Palestinian protests, is grateful graduation plans have not changed at her school. But she said the past weeks have left her with a mix of emotions. She's been dismayed to watch colleges call in police. But she said she also feels hope after having gone through the pandemic and become part of a community that stands up for what they believe in. "I think a lot of people are going to go on to do cool things because after all this, we care a lot," she said.

LAGOS, Nigeria — When a small number of cases of locally transmitted malaria were found in the United States last year, it was a reminder that climate change is reviving or migrating the threat of some diseases. But across the African continent malaria has never left, killing or sickening millions of people. Take Funmilayo Kotun, a 66-year-old resident of Makoko, an informal neighborhood in Nigeria's Lagos city. Its ponds of dirty water provide favorable breeding conditions for malaria-spreading mosquitoes. Kotun can't afford insecticide-treated bed nets that cost between $7 and $21 each, much less antimalarial medications or treatment. For World Malaria Day on Thursday, here is what you need to know about the situation in Africa: Malaria is still widespread The malaria parasite mostly spreads to people via infected mosquitoes and can cause symptoms including fever, headaches and chills. It mostly affects children under 5 and pregnant women. Vaccine efforts are still in early stages: Cameroon this year became the first country to routinely give children a new malaria vaccine, which is only about 30% effective and doesn't stop transmission. A second vaccine was recently approved. On Thursday, WHO announced that three African countries — Benin, Liberia and Sierra Leone — were rolling out vaccine programs for millions of children. Cases of resistance to antimalarial drugs and insecticides are increasing, while funding by governments and donors for innovation is slowing. Living conditions play a role, with crowded neighborhoods, stagnant water, poor sanitation and lack of access to treatment and prevention materials all issues in many areas. And an invasive species of mosquito previously seen mostly in India and the Persian Gulf is a new concern. A growing problem Globally, malaria cases are on the rise. Infections increased from 233 million in 2019 to 249 million in 85 countries in 2022. Malaria deaths rose from 576,000 in 2019 to 608,000 in 2022, according to the World Health Organization. Of the 12 countries that carry about 70% of the global burden of malaria, 11 are in Africa and the other is India. Children under 5 constituted 80% of the 580,000 malaria deaths recorded in Africa in 2022. COVID-19 hurt progress The fight against malaria saw some progress in areas such as rapid diagnostic tests, vaccines and new bed nets meant to counter insecticide resistance, but the COVID-19 pandemic and a shift in focus and funding set back efforts. A study published in Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease last year said COVID-19-induced lockdowns led to disruptions at 30% of rural community health service points across Africa. Malaria cases started spiking again, breaking a downward trend between 2000 and 2019. That downward trend could soon return, according to the WHO. A warming world and new frontiers Africa is "at the sharp end of climate change," and the increasing frequency of extreme weather events causes havoc in efforts to combat malaria in low- and middle-income regions, Peter Sands, the executive director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, warned in December. In 2023, the WHO's World Malaria Report included a chapter on the link between malaria and climate change for the first time, highlighting its significance as a potential risk multiplier. Scientists worry that people living in areas once inhospitable to mosquitoes, including the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro and the mountains of eastern Ethiopia, could be exposed. In Zimbabwe, which has recorded some of its hottest days in decades, malaria transmission periods have extended in some districts, "and this shift has been attributed to climate change," said Dr. Precious Andifasi, a WHO technical officer for malaria in Zimbabwe.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

MEXICO CITY — Mexican journalists held a vigil and protest Saturday a day after one of their colleagues was slain in the southern state of Morelos. They demanded a transparent investigation into the case and vented anger over the dangers news workers face in Mexico, which is one of the world's deadliest countries for journalists. Dozens joined in the demonstration over the killing of Roberto Figueroa, who covered local politics and gained a social media following through satirical videos. After disappearing Friday morning, he was found dead inside a car in his hometown of Huitzilac in Morelos, a state south of Mexico City where drug-fueled violence runs rampant. He was the first journalist to be killed this year in Mexico, which is the most dangerous country for journalists in the Western Hemisphere and has the highest number of missing journalists in the world, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, a press freedom watchdog. Mexican prosecutors promised a serious investigation, and the Morelos state government strongly condemned the killing. But in a country where press activists say pervasive corruption and impunity long have endangered reporters, Figueroa's colleagues carrying signs saying "Investigation now!" and chanting outside government offices in Morelos said they were losing patience with authorities. "Neither the state government nor the attorney general do anything to stop the crimes that are multiplying," Jaime Luis Brito, a correspondent for left-wing magazine Proceso wrote in a statement of protest. "No one in Morelos is safe. ... Every day we count victims." Mexican media said Figueroa was abducted by gunmen after taking his daughters to school in in Huitzilac, which is about 70 kilometers from Mexico City. The kidnappers called his family demanding a ransom in exchange for his life, but he was killed even though Figueroa's wife delivered the payment, the reports said. Police discovered Figueroa's body along a dirt road Friday night. Prosecutors declined to discuss details or the case or speculate on who killed him and why. Media workers are regularly targeted in Mexico, often in direct reprisal for their work covering topics like corruption and the country's notoriously violent drug traffickers. Figueroa focused his reporting in recent months on the upcoming Mexican elections. His colleagues described him as critical of governance in Morelos. Since 2000, 141 Mexican journalists and other media workers have been slain, at least 61 of them in apparent retaliation for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists says. All but a handful of the killings and abductions remain unsolved. "Impunity is the norm in crimes against the press," the group said in its report on Mexico last month.

Baghdad — Iraq's parliament passed a bill on Saturday criminalizing same-sex relations, making them punishable by up to 15 years in prison, a move rights groups condemned as an "attack on human rights." Transgender people would be sentenced to three years in jail under the amendments to a 1988 anti-prostitution law, which were adopted during a session attended by 170 out of 329 lawmakers. A previous draft had proposed capital punishment for same-sex relations, which campaigners had called a dangerous escalation. The new amendments enable courts to sentence people engaging in same-sex relations to between 10 to 15 years in prison, according to the document seen by AFP. Gay and transgender people in Iraq already face frequent attacks and discrimination. They also set a minimum seven-year prison term for "promoting" same-sex relations and a sentence ranging from one to three years for men who "intentionally" act like women. The amended law makes "biological sex change based on personal desire and inclination" a crime and punishes transgender people and doctors who perform gender-affirming surgery with up to three years in prison. Homosexuality is taboo in Iraq's conservative society, however there had not previously been a law that explicitly punished same-sex relations. Members of Iraq's LGBTQ community have been prosecuted for sodomy or under vague morality and anti-prostitution clauses in Iraq's penal code. "Iraq has effectively codified in law the discrimination and violence members of the LGBTI community have been subjected to with absolute impunity for years," said Amnesty International's Iraq researcher Razaw Salihy. "The amendments concerning LGBTI rights are a violation of fundamental human rights and put at risk Iraqis whose lives are already hounded daily," Salihy added. The amendments also ban organizations that "promote" homosexuality and punish "wife swapping" with a prison sentence of 10 to 15 years. "The law serves as a preventive measure to protect society from such acts," lawmaker Raed al-Maliki, who advanced the amendments, told AFP. He said passing the new amendment was postponed until after Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani's visit to the United States earlier this month. The United States and the European Union oppose the law and "we didn't want to impact the visit," he said. "It is an internal matter and we do not accept any interference in Iraqi affairs." The U.S. State Department is "deeply concerned" about the legislation, spokesperson Matt Miller said Saturday, adding that the law threatens those most at risk in Iraqi society and "undermines the government's political and economic reform efforts." LGBTQ Iraqis have been forced into the shadows, often targeted with "kidnappings, rapes, torture and murders" that go unpunished, according to a 2022 report by Human Rights Watch and the IraQueer non-governmental organization. Human Rights Watch's Iraq researcher Sarah Sanbar said the new law "is a horrific development and an attack on human rights." "Rather than focusing on enacting laws that would benefit Iraqis — like passing the draft domestic violence law or draft child protection law — Iraq is choosing to codify discrimination against LGBT people," she said. 

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

santiago, chile — Armed assailants ambushed and killed three law enforcement officers in southern Chile on Saturday before setting their car on fire, authorities said, the latest attack on police to revive security concerns in the South American country.  It remains unclear who carried out the assault on Chile's national police force in the Biobio region some 400 kilometers (about 250 miles) south of Santiago, the capital. But a long-simmering conflict between the Mapuche Indigenous community and landowners and forestry companies in Biobio and Chile's Araucania region farther south has intensified in recent years. That has prompted the government to impose a state of emergency and deploy the military to provide security.  "There will be no impunity," Chilean President Gabriel Boric said, declaring three days of national mourning Saturday, after firefighters dousing the burning police car made the grisly discovery.  The spate of bloodshed has tested Boric, who came to power in 2022 promising to ease tensions in the region, where armed Mapuche activists long have stolen timber and attacked forestry companies that they claim invaded their ancestral lands, among other targets like churches and national institutions.  But the Indigenous community's distrust of authorities has deepened, spurring violence even as Boric's administration has touted its success in reducing Chile's national homicide rate by 6%, according to government figures from 2023 published earlier this week.  "This attack goes against all the enormous strides that have been made," said Interior Minister Carolina Toha, a center-left former mayor of Santiago appointed as minister in late 2022 to boost Boric's position as his approval ratings dipped.  Describing the assailants as "terrorists," Boric traveled south to personally offer condolences to the victims' families. The Carabineros, Chile's national police force, said they were "working to the best of our abilities" to catch the assailants but declined to comment on possible leads.  The killing had been well planned, early reports suggest, timed to coincide with National Police Day, celebrating the 97th anniversary of the establishment of the Carabineros in Chile. It was the second such fatal attack on the force this month.  The Carabineros' general director, Ricardo Yanez, told reporters the officers had been dispatched in response to fake distress calls from the rural road, where they were met with a barrage of gunfire.  "This was not coincidental, it was not random," Yáñez said of the ambush.  In Chile, around 1 in 10 citizens identify as Mapuche, the tribe that resisted Spanish conquest centuries ago and was only defeated in the late 1800s after Chile won its independence. Large forestry companies and farm owners control an estimated 500-700 kilometers (about 435 miles) of the land originally belonging to the Mapuche, many of whom now live in rural poverty. 

london — Former U.S. President Donald Trump said he is ready to renew a right-wing alliance with Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban if he wins the presidential election in November.     The presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee made the comments in an address to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Europe, which was held in Budapest on Thursday and Friday.  The conference has long been a powerful force in right-wing American politics. The first European edition of the conference was held in Budapest in 2022 and has been an annual fixture since.     Orban, the host and keynote speaker, received a standing ovation as he told the audience that conservatives had a chance to seize power in a major election year.   "These elections coincide with major shifts in world political and geopolitical trends. The order of the world is changing, and we must take our cause to triumph in the midst of these changes. … Make America great again, make Europe great again! Go Donald Trump, go European sovereigntists!" Orban told a delighted crowd.  He claimed that liberal forces were trying to silence the political right.   "This is what they are doing with the conservatives in the progressive liberal European capitals. The same thing is happening in the United States when they want to remove [former] President Donald Trump from the ballot with court rulings," he said.  'Battling to preserve our culture' In a recorded address to the conference, Trump said he was ready to renew a conservative alliance with Orban.   "Together we're engaged in an epic struggle to liberate our nations from all of the sinister forces who want to destroy them," Trump said. "Every day we're battling to preserve our culture, protect our sovereignty, defend our way of life and uphold the timeless values of freedom, family and faith in Almighty God."   "As president I was proud to work with Prime Minister Orban — by the way, a great man — to advance the values and interests of our two nations," Trump said.      Orban's critics, including most of his European Union allies, accuse him of overseeing a backsliding of democracy. The Hungarian prime minister sees an opportunity to hit back, said Zsolt Enyedi, a political analyst at Central European University in Budapest.    "Orban has an ambition to change the discourse, so he's not simply someone who is, who cares about staying in office, but he also wants to have an impact on the ideological climate, and he thinks that by sponsoring particular friendly parties, governments and intellectual clubs and initiatives, he will emerge as the leader of this conservative movement and that can counterbalance the fact that the mainstream in Europe and in liberal democracies hates him," Enyedi told VOA.  Another of the keynote speakers at the CPAC conference was the Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, who is facing anti-government protests at home over a controversial proposed foreign agent law, which has been widely compared to similar Russian legislation. The EU has said the law would be incompatible with Georgia's membership in the bloc.  "(Kobakhidze) at the moment is turning his country more and more toward Russia, trying to in a way turn his back on the European Union, and interestingly, he is welcome at a club that is supposed to stand for the interest of the West. So, these kinds of strategic alliances are possible, because all speak the language of culture wars," Enyedi said.  Orban faces challenges at home While right-wing parties are expected to do well in June's European parliamentary elections, Orban's Fidesz party is battling an economic crisis alongside a series of political scandals.   The U.S. presidential election is set for November 5. Polls suggest a tight race between Trump and incumbent Joe Biden. 

cairo — After the latest attack in the Red Sea on a British oil tanker, a top Houthi official in the Yemeni capital is vowing to attack U.S. interests across the region, including military bases on the east coast of Africa in Djibouti, Eritrea and elsewhere. Some commentators think this is part of an Iranian strategy to increase Tehran's influence in the Middle East. Arab media reports that Yemen's Houthis — who control much of the north of the country and part of its Red Sea coast —attacked a British oil tanker, the Andromeda Star. U.S. military sources indicated the ship was slightly damaged by three missiles fired by the Houthis. A U.S. drone struck targets in Yemeni territory controlled by the Houthis to retaliate. The Houthis' military spokesperson, Yehya Saree, claimed in a video statement aired by Arab media that Houthi forces "hit the Andromeda Star directly," and that the Houthis' air defenses also shot down a U.S. drone flying over Houthi-controlled territory. He said that [Houthi forces] fired the "appropriate-sized missiles" to target the ship, hitting it directly, adding that Houthi air defense units also shot down a U.S. MQ-9 drone over the Houthi bastion of Saadeh in the far north of Yemen. Official threatens US A top Houthi political official in Sana’a, Hussein al Ezzi, also threatened the U.S. in a tweet Saturday, saying that his group — which controls the capital, but is not recognized by most countries as the official government of the country — "will attack U.S. interests or targets all across the region." Sky News Arabia, based in the United Arib Emirates, claimed the Houthis "may attack U.S. military forces in Djibouti, Eritrea or Somalia." It is not clear that the Houthis have the technology to undertake such a feat. London-based Iran analyst Mehrdad Khonsari told VOA that he thinks Tehran is agitating its Houthi militia proxies to keep the focus off Iran's most important regional ally, Hezbollah, in Lebanon, which he thinks Israel would like to destroy or severely damage. "Exerting pressure on the Americans and the Europeans – including raising insurance costs – are important to Iran at this time to try to prevent the Israelis or the Americans or Europeans from dealing with issues of much, much greater concerns to [Tehran]: namely the potential Israeli degradation of Hezbollah, which would mean the collapse of Iran's entire regional policy and proxy policy," said Khonsari. Khattar Abou Diab, who teaches political science at the University of Paris, argued that he thinks Iran is using all of its proxy forces, including Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, and Iraq's pro-Iranian Shi'ite militias, to "maintain a strong position in an eventual negotiation with the U.S. after the 2024 elections, if President Joe Biden is re-elected. He said that Iran is pulling the strings and agitating its militia forces across the region to tell Hamas (in Gaza) that we are not letting you down, and to eventually have the upper hand when it comes time to go to the negotiating table after U.S. elections in 2024. Abou Diab went on to assert that Iran has "two main objectives, the first being to continue with its nuclear program and the second is that, with all the ongoing anarchy in the region, everyone had forgotten about Iran's nuclear program as it increases its uranium enrichment capacity. "Finally," he argued, "Iran is waiting to negotiate with the Biden administration, as it did with the Obama administration, a new nuclear agreement." Joshua Landis, who heads the Middle East studies program at the University of Oklahoma, told VOA the conflict in Gaza is causing side effects on multiple fault lines in the Middle East, as well as the rest of the world. Meanwhile, in Cairo, Egypt continued Saturday to try and broker an agreement between Hamas and Israel to bring a cease-fire to the Gaza conflict. Most regional observers, however, are not optimistic about a breakthrough.

Beirut — Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah movement said Saturday it had targeted northern Israel with drones and guided missiles after cross-border Israeli strikes killed three people, including two of its members. A statement from the group said it "launched a complex attack using explosive drones and guided missiles on the headquarters of the Al Manara military command and a gathering of forces from the 51st Battalion of the Golani Brigade." The Israeli army said its Iron Dome air-defense system "successfully intercepted a suspicious aerial target that crossed from Lebanon into the area of Manara in northern Israel." The army also "struck the sources of fire" of several anti-tank missiles launched from Lebanon into the Manara border area, it added. Lebanon's National News Agency later reported that an Israeli airstrike on a house in Srebbine village had wounded 11 people, one seriously. Earlier Saturday, Israeli fighter jets "struck a Hezbollah military structure in the area of Qouzah in southern Lebanon," the army said in a statement. The border between Lebanon and Israel has seen near-daily exchanges of fire since the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza began nearly seven months ago. In two separate statements earlier Saturday, Hezbollah mourned the deaths of two fighters from the villages of Kfar Kila and Khiam. It said they had been "martyred on the road to Jerusalem," the phrase it uses to refer to members killed by Israeli fire. Overnight Saturday to Sunday Hezbollah said it had launched dozens of rockets at the Israeli military base at Meron, northern Israel. The group said it was in reprisal for Israeli attacks on civilian homes at several places in southern Lebanon, including Kfar Kila and Srebbine. An Israeli army statement said its Iron Dome system had succeeded in intercepting missiles fired toward northern Israel from Lebanon's al-Manara region. It added that it had fired at "military infrastructure" in the village of Srebbine. Hezbollah has intensified its targeting of military sites in Israel since tensions soared between Israel and Iran over the bombing of Tehran's Damascus consulate on April 1, widely blamed on Israel. 

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

LONDON — Two Russian journalists were arrested by their government on extremism charges and ordered by courts there on Saturday to remain in custody pending investigation and trial on accusations of working for a group founded by the late Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny. Konstantin Gabov and Sergey Karelin both denied the charges. They will be detained for at least two months before any trials begin. Each faces a minimum of two years in prison and a maximum of six years for alleged "participation in an extremist organization," according to Russian courts. They are the latest journalists arrested amid a Russian government crackdown on dissent and independent media that intensified after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than two years ago. The Russian government passed laws criminalizing what it deems false information about the military, or statements seen as discrediting the military, effectively outlawing any criticism of the war in Ukraine or speech that deviates from the official narrative. A journalist for the Russian edition of Forbes magazine, Sergei Mingazov, was detained on charges of spreading false information about the Russian military, his lawyer said Friday. Gabov and Karelin are accused of preparing materials for a YouTube channel run by Navalny's Foundation for Fighting Corruption, which has been outlawed by Russian authorities. Navalny died in an Arctic penal colony in February. Gabov, who was detained in Moscow, is a freelance producer who has worked for multiple organizations, including Reuters, the court press service said. Reuters did not immediately comment on the ruling by the court. Karelin, who has dual citizenship with Israel, was detained Friday night in Russia's northern Murmansk region. Karelin, 41, has worked for several outlets, including The Associated Press. He was a cameraman for German media outlet Deutsche Welle until the Kremlin banned the outlet from operating in Russia in February 2022. "The Associated Press is very concerned by the detention of Russian video journalist Sergey Karelin," the AP said in a statement. "We are seeking additional information." Russia's crackdown on dissent is aimed at opposition figures, journalists, activists, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and ordinary Russians critical of the Kremlin. A number of journalists have been jailed in relation to their coverage of Navalny, including Antonina Favorskaya, who remains in pretrial detention at least until May 28 following a hearing last month. Favorskaya was detained and accused by Russian authorities of taking part in an "extremist organization" by posting on the social media platforms of Navalny's Foundation. She covered Navalny's court hearings for years and filmed the last video of Navalny before he died in the penal colony. Kira Yarmysh, Navalny's spokesperson, said that Favorskaya did not publish anything on the Foundation's platforms and suggested that Russian authorities have targeted her because she was doing her job as a journalist. Evan Gershkovich, a 32-year-old American reporter for The Wall Street Journal, is awaiting trial on espionage charges at Moscow's notorious Lefortovo Prison. Both Gershkovich and his employer have vehemently denied the charges. Gershkovich was detained in March 2023 while on a reporting trip and has spent more than a year in jail; authorities have not detailed what, if any, evidence they have to support the espionage charges. Alsu Kurmasheva, an editor for the U.S. government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Tatar-Bashkir service, was taken into custody on Oct. 18 and charged with failing to register as a foreign agent while collecting information about the Russian military. Later, she was also charged with spreading "false information" about the Russian military. A court in Tatarstan ordered her to remain behind bars at least until June 5. The Russian government has also cracked down on opposition figures. One prominent activist, Vladimir Kara-Murza was sentenced to 25 years. 

Former U.S. President Donald Trump says he is ready to renew a right-wing alliance with Hungary’s Viktor Orban if he wins the election in November. The presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee made the comments in an address to the CPAC conservative conference in Budapest. As Henry Ridgwell reports, analysts say Orban seeks a global conservative movement that is hoping for success at the ballot box in a crucial election year.

madrid — Thousands of supporters and members of Spain's Socialist party rallied outside the party's national headquarters in Madrid on Saturday to show support for Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and urge him not to step down.  Sanchez stunned Spain when he announced Wednesday that he was canceling his itinerary while he considers whether to resign after what he described as a "smear campaign" against his wife. He said he would reveal his plans Monday.  Sanchez's shocking announcement came hours after a Spanish judge opened a preliminary investigation into allegation of corruption made against Sanchez's wife by a group aligned with right-wing interests. The Spanish leader said the allegations were "spurious" and that they formed the worst attack in what he described as an orchestrated campaign to discredit him by targeting his family. The Madrid regional prosecutor's office recommended the allegations be thrown out.  The crowd packing the downtown street of Madrid on Saturday shouted, "You are not alone!" and waved party flags. Socialist leaders and the leaders of other left-wing parties have urged Sanchez not to resign. Prime minister since 2018, Sanchez has more than three years left of his term.  The right-of-center opposition Popular Party, however, said Sanchez's behavior was a desperate attempt to draw attention away from his wife and win support in upcoming regional and European elections. 

Washington — Security was tight Saturday at the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner where President Joe Biden will make what is a traditionally lighthearted address amid protests and boycott calls over the conflict in Gaza. A long list of VIP guests, including journalists and celebrities from Chris Pine to Molly Ringwald, arrived in black-tie attire as demonstrators waving Palestinian flags and shouting slogans such as "You have blood on your hands" rallied near the entrance to the Washington Hilton hotel. At the banquet, in keeping with longstanding tradition, interrupted during the Donald Trump years, Biden will sit on the dais keeping a steady smile on his face as a guest comedian rips into him. The event comes as Biden's has been shadowed for months by protesters angry over U.S. support for the Israeli military offensive in Gaza. He has been met by shouts of "Genocide Joe" and noisy calls for an immediate cease-fire. More than two dozen Palestinian journalists this week issued an open letter urging their American colleagues to boycott the dinner. "You have a unique responsibility to speak truth to power and uphold journalistic integrity," the letter said. "It is unacceptable to stay silent out of fear or professional concern while journalists in Gaza continue to be detained, tortured and killed for doing our jobs." According to the New York-based Committee for the Protection of Journalists, at least 97 journalists — including 92 Palestinians — have been killed since war erupted on October 7 with Hamas's invasion of southern Israel. At least 16 others have been wounded. The group Code Pink, part of an anti-war coalition planning demonstrations, said it intended to "shut down" the dinner to protest "the complicity of the Biden administration in the targeting and killing of Palestinian journalists by the Israeli military." It said its action would be "nonviolent" but offered no details. The gala dinner and a surrounding series of society events are taking place as the Gaza protest movement has been spreading to colleges across the country, and as police crackdowns on some campuses have led to hundreds of arrests. This year's comedian will be Colin Jost, a longtime writer and actor with NBC's Saturday Night Live. The 81-year-old Biden will follow with his own speech, sure to include some self-mockery, some ribbing of the press and, no doubt, some sharp-elbowed jabs at Trump, his presumptive opponent in November's presidential election. The annual dinner has been organized since 1920 by the influential White House Correspondents' Association, which honors top reporters and awards journalism scholarships. Last year, 2,600 people attended. The association declined an AFP request to comment on the boycott call and the planned demonstration.