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London — The British government said Monday it is suspending exports of some weapons to Israel because they could be used to break international law. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said there is a “clear risk” some items could be used to “commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law.” He told lawmakers the decision related to about 30 of 350 export licenses for equipment “that we assess is for use in the current conflict in Gaza," including parts for military aircraft and drones and items used for ground targeting. Lammy said it was “not a determination of innocence or guilt” about whether Israel had broken international law, and was not an arms embargo. Britain is among several of Israel’s longstanding allies whose governments are under growing pressure to halt weapons exports because of the toll of the 11-month-old war in Gaza, which has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory. British firms sell a relatively small number of weapons and components to Israel. Earlier this year the government said military exports to Israel amounted to 42 million pounds ($53 million) in 2022. The U.K.’s center-left Labour government, elected in July, has faced pressure from some of its own members and lawmakers to apply more pressure on Israel to stop the violence. In the election the party lost several seats it had had been expected to win to pro-Palestinian independents after leader Keir Starmer initially refused to call for a cease-fire shortly after Israel retaliated for the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas militants that killed about 1,200 people. In a departure from the stance of its Conservative predecessor, Starmer’s government said in July that the U.K. will not intervene in the International Criminal Court’s request for an arrest warrant against Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Starmer also restored funding for the United Nations’ Palestine relief agency UNRWA, which had been suspended by his Conservative predecessor Rishi Sunak’s government in January. Lammy, who has visited Israel twice in the past two months as part of Western efforts to push for a cease-fire, said he was a “friend of Israel,” but called the violence in Gaza “horrifying.” "Israel’s actions in Gaza continue to lead to immense loss of civilian life, widespread destruction to civilian infrastructure, and immense suffering," he said.

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Islamabad — Taliban authorities in Afghanistan reported Monday that a suicide bomb blast in Kabul killed at least six people, including a woman, and wounded 13 others. Police confirmed the deadly attack in the Afghan capital, saying it occurred in the city's southwestern Qala Bakhtiar area when a suicide bomber detonated explosives strapped to his body. Kabul police spokesperson Khalid Zadran wrote on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that the victims were civilians and that investigations into the attack were ongoing. He shared no further details. There were no immediate claims of responsibility, but the Afghan offshoot of the Islamic State, IS-Khorasan, is the primary suspect. The terrorist outfit has taken credit for almost all recent attacks in Kabul and elsewhere in Afghanistan.  Taliban officials say their sustained counterterrorism operations have "almost decimated" IS-Khorasan, and it has no "physical presence" in the country. The United States and regional countries dispute these claims.  “We know that we can't turn a blind eye to the threats from organizations such as ISIS-K and that we must keep a relentless focus on counterterrorism,” Pentagon press secretary Major General Pat Ryder told reporters in Washington last week while reiterating U.S. worries about the growing threat of terrorism in Afghanistan. He used an acronym for IS-Khorasan.  

LONDON — The growing mpox outbreaks in Africa that triggered the World Health Organization's emergency declaration are largely the result of decades of neglect and the global community's inability to stop sporadic epidemics among a population with little immunity against the smallpox-related disease, leading African scientists said Tuesday. According to Dr. Dimie Ogoina, who chaired WHO's mpox emergency committee, negligence has led to a new, more transmissible version of the virus emerging in countries with few resources to stop outbreaks. Mpox, also known as monkeypox, had been spreading mostly undetected for years in Africa before the disease prompted the 2022 outbreak in more than 70 countries, Ogoina said at a virtual news conference. "What we are witnessing in Africa now is different from the global outbreak in 2022," he said. While that outbreak was overwhelmingly focused in gay and bisexual men, mpox in Africa is now being spread via sexual transmission as well as through close contact among children, pregnant women and other vulnerable groups. And while most people over 50 were likely vaccinated against smallpox — which may provide some protection against mpox — that is not the case for Africa's mostly young population, who Ogoina said were mostly susceptible. Mpox belongs to the same family of viruses as smallpox but causes milder symptoms like fever and body aches. It mostly spreads through close skin-to-skin contact, including sex. People with more serious cases can develop prominent blisters on the face, hands, chest and genitals. Earlier this month, WHO declared the surging mpox outbreaks in Congo and 11 other countries in Africa to be a global emergency. On Tuesday, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said there were more than 22,800 mpox cases and 622 deaths on the continent and that infections had jumped 200% in the last week. The majority of cases and deaths are in Congo, where most mpox infections are in children under 15. Dr. Placide Mbala-Kingebeni, a Congolese scientist who helped identify the newest version of mpox, said diagnostic tests being used in the country did not always pick it up, making it hard to track the variant's spread. In May, Mbala-Kingebeni, who heads a lab at Congo's National Institute for Biomedical Research, published research showing a new form of mpox that may be less deadly but more transmissible. The noted mutations suggested it was "more adapted to human transmission," he said, but the lack of tests in Congo and elsewhere complicated efforts to monitor outbreaks. The new variant has been detected in four other African countries as well as Sweden, where health officials said they have identified the first case of a person this month with the more infectious form of mpox. The person had been infected during a stay in Africa. WHO said that available data to date does not suggest that the new form of mpox is more dangerous but that research is ongoing. Marion Koopmans, a virologist at Erasmus Medical Centre in the Netherlands who has been studying mpox, said scientists were now seeing some significant impacts of the disease, noting that pregnant women were miscarrying or losing their fetuses and that some babies were being born infected with mpox. Ogoina, a professor of infectious diseases at Niger Delta University in Nigeria, said that in the absence of vaccines and drugs, African health workers should focus on providing supportive care, like ensuring patients have enough to eat and are given mental health support, given the stigma that often comes with mpox. "It's very, very unfortunate that we have had mpox for 54 years and we are only now thinking about therapeutics," he said. Mbala-Kingebeni said strategies previously used to stop Ebola outbreaks in Africa might help, given the limited numbers of shots expected. He said authorities have estimated Africa needs about 10 million doses but might only receive about 500,000 — and it's unclear when they might arrive. "Finding a case and vaccinating around the case, like we did with Ebola, might help us target the hot spots," he said. Koopmans said that given the urgent need for vaccines in Africa, waiting for more doses to be produced was unrealistic. "The short term [question] really is about, who has vaccines and where are they to be best used next?" she said. Spain's health ministry announced Tuesday that it would dip into its mpox vaccine stockpile to donate 20% of its supply, about 500,000 doses, to African countries battling mpox. "We consider it senseless to accumulate vaccines where they are not needed," Spain's health ministry said in a statement, adding Spain will recommend to the European Commission to propose that all member states also donate 20% of their vaccine stock. Spain's donation alone is more than what the European Union, vaccine Bavarian Nordic and the U.S. have pledged. Last week, Africa CDC said the EU and Bavarian Nordic had promised 215,000 mpox vaccines while the U.S. said it was donating 50,000 doses of the same vaccine to Congo. Japan has also donated some doses to Congo. Meanwhile, the U.S. on Tuesday donated 10,000 doses of mpox vaccines to Nigeria where mpox has been common, making the vaccines the first to arrive in Africa since the global emergency was declared. The country has had a few dozen cases this year.

In New York, aspiring fashion designers often attend colleges like the Fashion Institute of Technology or Parsons School of Design. But for those without the means or access to higher education, a Harlem-based fashion incubator – a company that helps new fashion designers grow and learn the business – is providing alternative paths to the industry. VOA’s Tina Trinh shows us two emerging talents. Camera: Tina Trinh 

Washington — A Chinese bookstore reopened in Washington on Sunday, six years after the Chinese government forced it to close its doors in Shanghai. JF Books was teeming with books — and customers — when it opened its doors in Washington’s Dupont Circle neighborhood. In the storefront, the shop’s name is displayed in English and Mandarin in neon green lights. The sporadic rain was perhaps fitting considering the bookstore’s namesake “jifeng” means “monsoon” in Mandarin. The bookstore is located next to Kramers, an indie bookstore that has been a Washington fixture for decades. Yu Miao, who runs JF Books, says he hopes his bookstore becomes an institution for the local community, too. “I hope the bookstore can establish a connection between people in the Chinese community, and this connection could be established through knowledge,” Yu told VOA shortly before the shop opened for business. “Also, I hope the bookstore’s function can go beyond the Chinese community. It can also contribute to the local community.” The shop sells Chinese-language books from Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, in addition to a selection of English-language books. It will also regularly host speakers for events. Founded in Shanghai in 1997 as Jifeng Bookstore, the shop ran into trouble in 2017 when its landlord said the lease couldn’t be extended. The bookstore looked for a new location, but the prospective landlords at each potential site received warnings or notifications from the government. Jifeng Bookstore is one of several independent bookstores that Beijing has forced to close in recent years. The fact that bookstores have become a battleground underscores the Chinese government’s broader repression of free expression and crackdown on anything deemed to be critical of the government, according to Sophie Richardson, the former China director at Human Rights Watch. “[Chinese President] Xi Jinping and his government have clearly targeted a great deal of hostility at scholars,” Richardson told VOA at the bookstore. “Their books are regarded as potential threats, and so the party does what the party knows how to do, which is to send people into exile, to send them to jail, to shut down bookstores.” China’s Washington embassy did not immediately reply to VOA’s email requesting comment for this story. Gesturing at the throngs of people who were looking at books about everything from Chinese history to science, Richardson, who is now a visiting scholar at Stanford, added that there is a clear hunger for Chinese books. “It’s amazing to see this clear demand for this kind of material in an environment where people can get it free of fear of persecution,” she said. That’s another reason why Yu wanted to reopen the bookstore: It can be difficult to find Chinese-language books in the United States, he said. “And so, I think there must be many others that have the same concern,” he said. When Jifeng Bookstore closed its doors in 2018, Yu never expected it to reopen. “I thought it was closed, then its story ended,” Yu said. “I never imagined to reopen the bookstore.” Now, JF Books has joined a rising number of independent Chinese bookstores that are being opened by members of the diaspora in cities around the world. They sell books and hold discussions about politics and history in a way that the Chinese government has stifled inside China. JF Books already has scheduled three speakers for September. Howard Shen, a graduate student at Georgetown University, told VOA that he’s especially excited about the upcoming events. “It’s such a big thing in the Chinese speaking community in D.C. We are all very excited to have this bookstore. It’s such a meaningful place for all Chinese in the world who love freedom,” said Shen, who is from Taiwan.  One corner of the store features farewell messages that customers wrote back when the store was forced to shutter in 2018. Leading up to the bookstore’s second floor, photos on the wall memorialize the bookstore’s two-decade history in Shanghai. At the top of the staircase, photos show the bookstore’s final day in 2018. “Jifeng Bookstore will soon depart from Shanghai,” the caption of one photo reads, “but the monsoon will continue to blow.”

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Tehran — Jailed Iranian activist and former Cabinet member Mostafa Tajzadeh, a prominent figure of the Islamic Republic's reformist camp, has been charged with "propaganda" against the state, local media said Monday. Tajzadeh, jailed since July 2022 in Tehran's notorious Evin prison, served as deputy interior minister under the presidency of Mohammad Khatami, a reformist who oversaw a rapprochement with the West between 1997 and 2005. He was sentenced to five years in prison in October 2022 on charges of "plotting against state security" among others, his lawyer said at the time. Reformist daily Ham-Mihan said Monday that new charges had been brought against Tajzadeh, accusing him again "of plotting against state security" and "propaganda against the Islamic Republic." He had already spent a total of seven years behind bars, having been arrested in 2009 alongside other reformist leaders following the reelection of hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a vote contested by the opposition. Tajzadeh, an outspoken commentator on national politics via social media channels operated by his relatives, said in a letter "that he would not appear in court" in the new case, according to Ham-Mihan. If convicted, Ham-Mihan said, Tajzadeh could face up to six more years in jail. In recent years, he has urged democratization and called on authorities to enact "structural changes" in the Iranian political system.

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Seoul, South Korea — President Yoon Suk Yeol boycotted the formal opening of South Korea’s parliament Monday as his squabbles with the opposition deepen over allegations of wrongdoing by top officials and his wife. It’s a tradition for South Korean presidents to deliver a speech at opening ceremonies for National Assembly sessions, and Yoon is the first to skip the event since the country’s transition from a military dictatorship to democracy in the late 1980s. Yoon, a conservative who narrowly won the election in 2022, has struggled to navigate a parliament controlled by liberals who have stymied his agenda and called for investigations into allegations of corruption and abuse of power involving his wife and government officials. President Yoon also faces declining approval ratings as concerns grow over his government’s ability to deal with a worsening job market, soaring household debt and a prolonged strike by thousands of doctors that is straining medical services. Asked about his decision to skip the legislature’s opening ceremony, Yoon’s office said lawmakers must first “normalize the National Assembly, which over issues demands for special prosecutor investigations and impeachments,” before inviting Yoon. A senior presidential official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity during a background briefing, said it was difficult for Yoon to attend when lawmakers were expected to greet him with “verbal abuse and picketing demonstrations.” “They aren't hesitating to call the president's family member a murderer and conspiracies about martial law are continuing to circulate in the National Assembly," she said. Jo Seoung-lae, spokesperson of the main opposition Democratic Party, said Yoon’s refusal to attend the ceremony displayed his “arrogance” and disregard for the assembly’s role to check and balance the executive branch. “It’s impossible to produce results in national governance without having respect for the National Assembly,” assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik said during the opening ceremony as he lamented Yoon’s absence. Following parliamentary elections in April in which the liberals extended their majority, the current assembly began meeting in May. But its official opening ceremony was delayed for months because of political bickering. Opposition lawmakers are pushing for an investigation by special prosecutors into allegations that top government and military officials tried to cover up the circumstances surrounding the death of a marine who drowned during a search for flood victims in 2023. They want another independent investigation into allegations that Yoon’s wife, Kim Keon Hee, was involved in stock price manipulation and violated the country’s antigraft law by receiving a luxury handbag from a Korean American pastor. Yoon has denied any legal wrongdoing by his wife. In August, Yoon’s office angrily demanded an apology after Democratic Party lawmaker Jeon Hyun-heui labeled Kim as a “murderer” over the death of a senior official from the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, who was reportedly involved in the commission’s review of the handbag scandal. Opposition lawmakers had raised suspicions on whether the commission was pressured into closing the review in June, when it concluded that the antigraft law provides no grounds for punishment for the spouses of public officials. The death of the former commission official, who was reportedly found with a note, is still being investigated. Yoon in May and July rejected consecutive bills calling for special prosecutors to investigate the marine’s death, describing the allegations as groundless and politically motivated. Yoon and his party also criticized the opposition’s move to hold a parliamentary hearing in July to address online petitions signed by tens of thousands calling for his impeachment. South Korea’s Constitution limits a president to a single five-year term, so Yoon cannot seek reelection.

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Kinshasa, DRC — Heavy gunfire rang out early Monday morning from Congo’s largest prison in the capital, Kinshasa, as inmates tried to break out from the overcrowded facility, authorities said. Congolese government spokesperson Patrick Muyaya confirmed on X that there was an "an attempted escape.” Local media reported security forces killed some of those who tried to flee. The gunfire from inside the prison started around midnight, residents said. By Monday morning, the road leading to the prison had been cordoned off by security forces. “Security services are on site to restore order and security [and] the population of Kinshasa is urged not to panic,” Muyaya said. Videos purporting to be from inside the prison showed several bodies on the ground. The Makala prison, which is Congo’s main penitentiary with a capacity for 1,500 people, holds over 12,000 inmates most of whom are awaiting trial, Amnesty International said in its latest country report. It has recorded previous jailbreaks, including in 2017 when an attack by a religious sect freed dozens of inmates. Authorities had been trying to reduce overcrowding, with dozens of inmates released in recent months. There was no public comment about Monday's incident yet from Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi, who is in China on an official visit. Justice Minister Constant Mutamba called the attack a “premeditated act of sabotage” that was carried out against efforts to improve the condition of prisons. “Investigations are underway to identify and severely punish those who instigated these acts of sabotage. They will receive a stern response,” Mutamba said. The minister also announced a ban on the transfer of inmates from the prison and said authorities will build a new prison, among other efforts to reduce overcrowding.

washington — As North Korea's nuclear and missile programs become increasingly sophisticated, U.S.-based experts see the United States shifting the focus of its diplomacy from the pursuit of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula to one of deterrence.  Officially, the U.S. State Department insists that denuclearization remains the primary goal of the United States and South Korea, a policy that is unlikely to change regardless of the outcome of the November U.S. presidential election.  But in a series of email interviews with VOA Korean, more than half a dozen experts said they saw scant hope that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un could be persuaded to give up his growing nuclear arsenal and that the U.S. must concentrate instead on seeing that it is never used.   "I think, in practical terms, most Americans believe we have little choice at this point but to prioritize deterrence, at least for the foreseeable future," said Michael O'Hanlon, director of foreign policy research at the Brookings Institution in Washington, in an email to VOA Korean this week.   Robert Peters, research fellow for nuclear deterrence and missile defense at the Heritage Foundation, told VOA Korean via email that American politicians on both sides of the political spectrum are questioning whether North Korea would even consider abandoning its nuclear weapons.  "I think there is little appetite in either political party to seek denuclearization with North Korea, given the failures of the late 2010s," Peters said, referring to the collapse of the nuclear talks between former U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who met three times in 2018 and 2019.  "I think all sides recognize that Kim will not give up nuclear weapons at any price."   Shifting priorities  Negotiations over North Korea's nuclear program between Washington and Pyongyang have been nearly nonexistent since October 2019.  Peters added, "Bottom line — without question, the ground has shifted regarding how we think about the North Korean nuclear threat."   Gary Samore, former White House coordinator for arms control and weapons of mass destruction during the Obama administration, said Washington's shift in direction was inevitable.  "The U.S. government has been forced to place more emphasis on deterrence over denuclearization because Kim Jong Un has shown no willingness to negotiate a nuclear deal or even meet with the U.S. to discuss denuclearization," Samore told VOA Korean via email.  "Instead, North Korea has continued to advance its nuclear and missile program, and the U.S. has responded by strengthening military cooperation with the ROK and Japan, including joint efforts to enhance extended deterrence."  ROK stands for Republic of Korea, the official name of South Korea.   Denuclearization of North Korea is now viewed in Washington as a "mission impossible," said Bruce Bennett, a senior defense analyst at the RAND Corporation.  "I think it is fair to say that the U.S. government is now more focused on deterrence, which is largely succeeding, than on denuclearization," Bennett told VOA Korean via email.  "This change does not mean that the U.S. and ROK have abandoned trying to negotiate for denuclearization, which North Korea steadfastly refuses to do, but rather that our governments no longer see denuclearization as a viable solution to the North Korean nuclear weapon threat."  Markus Garlauskas, director of the Indo-Pacific Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council, told VOA Korean via email it was "fully appropriate" that Washington has been paying more attention in recent years to deterring North Korean aggression than attempting to negotiate denuclearization.  "I have long argued that Kim Jong Un does not intend to give up his nuclear weapons, that the nuclear weapons and missile capabilities of North Korea have grown and will continue to grow, meaning that we in the United States and its allies must adjust our strategy and policy accordingly," he said.  "We should not let hopes of negotiations get in the way of making tough decisions to improve deterrence," added Garlauskas, who served as the U.S. national intelligence officer for North Korea from 2014 to 2020.  He stressed, however, that "accepting the reality that North Korea is nuclear-armed and will remain so while under Kim Jong Un's leadership" does not mean that the U.S. should or would give up denuclearization as a goal.  "Our principled stand can and should remain that North Korea must comply with U.N. Security Council resolutions by halting its nuclear and ballistic missile programs and relinquishing its nuclear weapons, and I do think there is still broad agreement on that in Washington," Garlauskas said.  Commitment to denuclearization  Sydney Seiler, who until last year was the national intelligence officer for North Korea on the U.S. National Intelligence Council, said the U.S. should keep denuclearization as a priority, adding that "denuclearization and deterrence are not mutually exclusive."  "We have a responsibility on a day-by-day basis to deter provocative actions, coercion, blackmail and even possible invasion by North Korea and have been doing so for the last 70 years of armistice," said Seiler, who is now a senior adviser on Korean affairs at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.  "Successfully ensuring deterrence does not mean abandoning the goal of the denuclearization of North Korea," he told VOA Korean via email.  Robert Abrams, a retired U.S. Army four-star general who served as commander of U.S. Forces Korea from 2018 to 2021, emphasized that a strategy of deterrence should be clearly differentiated from the goal of denuclearization.  "The U.S. strategic deterrent was never about stopping the North Korean regime from developing their own nukes," Abrams told VOA Korean in an August 20 email.  "Sanctions and diplomatic efforts were intended to stop North Korea's nuclear program. The strategic deterrent is to deter North Korea from ever using nuclear weapons, and that has obviously been very successful."  Officially, Washington reiterates that denuclearization of North Korea remains a goal of the U.S.-South Korea alliance.  "The United States and the ROK continue to pursue the shared objective of the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," a State Department spokesperson told VOA Korean via email this week. "We believe that the only effective way to reduce nuclear threats on the peninsula is by curbing the proliferation of nuclear weapons."  But the spokesperson stressed that deterrence was also a crucial element of U.S. policy toward North Korea.  "At the same time, the United States and the ROK will continue working together to strengthen extended deterrence in the face of increasingly aggressive DPRK rhetoric about its nuclear weapons program," the spokesperson said.  He added that the 16-month-old Washington Declaration "reinforces the fact that any nuclear attack by [North Korea] against [South Korea] will be met with a swift, overwhelming and decisive response from the United States."  In April 2023, U.S. President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol adopted the Washington Declaration, which outlines a series of measures to deter North Korea's nuclear weapons use.

los angeles, california — Halloween has arrived earlier than ever at major U.S. theme parks, as operators such as Disney, Six Flags, and Universal Studios seek to expand their reach and build on consumers' love of spooky costumes and scares.  Theme park operators have introduced a range of attractions, live performances, merchandise and food and beverages in August — before summer has ended and well before the October 31 holiday — to take advantage of the surging popularity of Halloween. These holiday-themed efforts come at a time when domestic theme park attendance has slumped, following a surge in demand after COVID.   Edithann Ramey, chief marketing officer at Six Flags, told Reuters that the theme parks saw attendance gains and increases in guest spending in 2023 when it introduced attractions based on the horror films "SAW" and "The Conjuring."  The offerings were so successful that the theme park company has been investing more in Halloween experiences, Ramey said.  "It's become this time of the year that's grown in explosive ways," Ramey said. "It's become a billion-dollar industry in the last five years." Jakob Wahl, chief executive for the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, said Halloween has become one of the strongest selling points for parks that cater to young people and families.   "We actually see a growth every year in terms of Halloween events, not only North America, but across the world," Wahl said.   Disney starts season in August Walt Disney's parks started the Halloween season earlier than ever this year with "Mickey's Not So Scary Party" beginning on August 9 and running through the end of October.   The Oogie Boogie Bash, a separately ticketed event named for the "Nightmare Before Christmas" villain, sold out this year in 11 days, Disney said. Its popularity prompted the company to push the release date to August 25 from September 5.  "We've seen from our guests in years past that there's a demand for them to come and enjoy that season with us," said Tracy Halas, creative director of Disney Live Entertainment.   Six Flags also kicks off Halloween early this year, on September 14, with a new experience called "Saw: Legacy of Terror" celebrating the 20th anniversary of the "SAW" horror movie franchise.   Following the $8 billion merger of Six Flags and former rival Cedar Fair, which created the nation's largest amusement park operator, with 42 parks across 17 states, Six Flags is increasing its investment in Halloween.   That includes adding Hollywood-themed experiences to Six Flags Fright Fest based on Netflix's science fiction series, "Stranger Things," as well as horror films "Texas Chainsaw Massacre," and "The Conjuring." Universal adds 'Ghostbusters' haunted house  Comcast-owned Universal Studios 2024 Halloween Horror Nights in Orlando runs from August 30 to November 3, the longest season they've ever had. The company did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.  Universal is adding a "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire" haunted house to its Halloween programming alongside the first attraction inspired by horror franchise, "A Quiet Place."   Universal also aims to attract guests at Universal Studios Japan with a new 4D show in collaboration with the anime television series "Chainsaw Man."   Both Universal Orlando and Japan will add cast members dressed as the antagonists called Death Eaters to haunt Diagon Alley during Horror Nights.   Disney villain Cruella de Vil hosted a "Let's Get Wicked" celebration at Hong Kong Disneyland in 2022, which received an industry award and returns this year.  

A U.S. Supreme Court decision in June makes it easier for communities across the nation to fine and arrest people living and sleeping in public spaces. That has left many of America’s hundreds of thousands of homeless people in a difficult situation. Angelina Bagdasaryan looks at what California is doing to address the problem. Anne Rice narrates. Camera: Vazgen Varzhabetian

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Dubai, UAE — Suspected attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels targeted two ships in the Red Sea on Monday, authorities said, near where crews hope to salvage a tanker loaded with oil and still ablaze after another assault by the group. The attacks are believed to be the latest in the Iranian-backed rebels’ campaign that has disrupted the $1 trillion in goods that pass through the Red Sea each year over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip as well as halted some aid shipments to conflict-ravaged Sudan and Yemen. Meanwhile, the efforts to salvage the still-burning Sounion seek to head off the potential ecological disaster posed by its cargo of 1 million barrels of crude oil. In Monday's first assault, two projectiles hit the vessel, and a third explosion occurred near the ship, the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said. “Damage control is underway,” the UKMTO said. “There are no casualties onboard and the vessel is proceeding to its next port of call.” The timing of the attack and coordinates offered by the UKMTO corresponded to the reported path of the Panama-flagged oil tanker Blue Lagoon I, now traveling south through the Red Sea to an unlisted destination. The Blue Lagoon I was coming from Russia's port of Ust-Luga on the Baltic Sea and had been broadcasting that it had Russian-origin cargo on board. In recent months, the Blue Lagoon I traveled to India, which gets more than 40% of its oil imports from Russia despite Moscow's ongoing war on Ukraine and the international sanctions it faces over it. The Greek-based firm operating the ship could not be immediately reached. Later Monday morning, the UKMTO reported a second attack off the Houthi-controlled port city of Hodeida. The private security firm Ambrey said an aerial drone hit a merchant ship, though no damage or injuries were reported. The attack happened only a few kilometers from where the Blue Lagoon I attack occurred, Ambrey said. The Houthis did not immediately claim responsibility for the attacks. However, it can take the rebels hours or even days to acknowledge their assaults. The Houthis have targeted more than 80 vessels with missiles and drones since the war in Gaza started in October. They seized one vessel and sank two in the campaign that also killed four sailors. Other missiles and drones have either been intercepted by a United States-led coalition in the Red Sea or failed to reach their targets. The rebels maintain that they target ships linked to Israel, the U.S. or the U.K. to force an end to Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the conflict, including some bound for Iran. Meanwhile Monday, a salvage effort appeared to be under way to tow away the Sounion oil tanker, which was earlier hit by the Houthis and abandoned by its crew. Jamel Amer, an official with the Houthis, wrote online Saturday that tug boats assigned to pull the Sounion away should arrive Sunday. However, NASA fire satellites showed a blaze at the site of where the Sounion had been abandoned on Monday morning. The Sounion was carrying some 1 million barrels of oil when the Houthis initially attacked it on Aug. 21 with small arms fire, projectiles and a drone boat. A French destroyer operating as part of the European Union’s Operation Aspides rescued the Sounion’s crew of 25 Filipinos and Russians, as well as four private security personnel, after they abandoned the vessel and took them to nearby Djibouti. Last week, the Houthis released footage showing they planted explosives on board the Sounion and blew them up in a propaganda video, something the rebels have done before in their campaign.

Mbabane, Eswatini — Eswatini’s King Mswati III's plans to wed Nomcebo Zuma, the daughter of former South African President Jacob Zuma, as his 16th wife. Political analysts dismiss the union's geopolitical impact but see its potential in strengthening ties between the two leaders. A royal delegation from Eswatini, also known as Swaziland, visited Jacob Zuma’s homestead at Nkandla in July in accordance with tradition, marking the start of Mswati’s marriage proposal to Zuma. Political analyst Mandla Hlatshwayo sees this union as a strategic move, cementing economic and political interests. "President Zuma's role and capacity to be a major ambassador for Swaziland or the Swazi royal family is a noncontestable issue and has become even far more important in my view with the development or the emergence of MK [uMkhonto weSizwe] as a political party with President Zuma as its absolute president."  Sicelo Mngomezulu, a Swazi-born, South Africa-based lawyer, downplays the political impact of the marriage, arguing that Zuma's diminished role in South African politics renders him unable to influence Swazi politics. However, he foresees the marriage "strengthening bilateral relations between the king of Swaziland and the former president, as we know by now that the former president of South Africa and king are actually business partners in some shape or form ... and so, we expect that part of their relationship will actually blossom." Zuma is expected to go on trial on multiple corruption and racketeering charges next April. He has pleaded not guilty. Meanwhile, Mswati has been criticized for his controversial polygamy and lavish lifestyle. Former Eswatini lawmaker Mduduzi Simelane points out the king’s wedding will be expensive. "Firstly, this high-profile wedding, with its steep dowry of 100 cattle and R2 million [2 million rands, or USD $113,300] and all the other hidden costs associated with a wedding of this nature, puts a significant strain on Swaziland’s economy. Secondly, within royal circles, this union has also been met with internal opposition among the royal wives. ... This marriage will cause an uproar." Eswatini High Court lawyer Sibusiso Nhlabatsi agrees that whether seen as a strategic union of two powerful families or a personal decision to extend influence and financial gain, the king’s marriage to Nomcebo Zuma will have a lasting impact on the two nations’ ties, for better or worse.

Warsaw, Poland — Decades after they were killed, Poland held a state burial on Monday of the remains of more than 700 victims of Nazi Germany's World War II mass executions that were recently uncovered in the so-called Valley of Death in the country's north. The observances in the town of Chojnice began with a funeral Mass at the basilica, leading to an interment with military honors at a local cemetery of the victims of the Nazi crimes. The remains were contained in 188 small wooden coffins with ribbons in national white and red colors across them. Relatives of the victims, an aide to President Andrzej Duda, local authorities and top officials of the state National Remembrance Institute, which carried out and documented the exhumations, took part in the events. “We want to give back memory, we want to give back dignity to the victims of the crimes in Chojnice,” presiding Bishop Ryszard Kasyna said. Duda sent a message saying that the deaths weren't in vain and will always be held in the national memory, because the only reason they were killed by the Nazis was the fact that they were Polish. The remains of Polish civilians, including 218 asylum patients, were exhumed in 2021-2024 from a number of separate mass graves on the outskirts of Chojnice. Personal belongings and documents helped identify around 120 of the victims of an execution in early 1945. Among them were teachers, priests, police officers, forestry and postal workers, and landowners. Historians have established that the Nazis, shortly after invading Poland on Sept. 1, 1939, executed some of the civilians, in a drive to subdue the nation. The remains of another 500 victims are from the January 1945 execution, when the Germans were fleeing the area. Bullets and shells from handguns used by German forces were found in the graves. Experts will continue to comb the area for more mass graves of the so-called Pomerania Crime. Poland lost 6 million citizens, or a sixth of its population, of which 3 million were Jewish, in the war. The country also suffered huge losses to its infrastructure, industry and agriculture.