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Jerusalem — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office says the Israeli leader will undergo surgery on Sunday for a hernia.  Netanyahu's office said the hernia was discovered during a routine checkup, and that the prime minister will be under full anesthesia and unconscious for the procedure.  Justice Minister Yariv Levin, a close confidant who also holds the title of deputy prime minister, will serve as acting prime minister during the operation, the office said.  Netanyahu, 74, has kept a full schedule throughout Israel's nearly six-month-long war against Hamas, and his doctors have said he is in good health.  Last year, however, doctors acknowledged he had concealed a long-known heart problem after they implanted a pacemaker.  

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Islamabad — The Taliban government in Afghanistan confirmed Sunday that they had detained "a number of foreign citizens, including two Americans” for allegedly violating their laws.  Zabihullah Mujahid, the chief Taliban spokesperson, told the state-run Afghan radio they had informed the United States about the detention of its citizens. He did not provide any additional details, nor did he reveal the nationalities of the other foreign detainees. Relatives and U.S. officials have identified one of the Americans in custody as Ryan Corbett, while the identity of the second person was not disclosed. This is the first time the Taliban has publicly acknowledged the detention of two American nationals. So far, they had only reported the arrest of Corbett. He was taken into custody in August 2022, a year after the Islamist group regained power in Afghanistan following the withdrawal of U.S.-led Western troops after nearly 20 years of war with the then-insurgent Taliban. Corbett’s family has lately stepped-up calls for President Joe Biden’s administration to do more to secure his safe and early release. According to CNN, Corbett was able to call his wife Anna and their three children last week for the fifth time since his detention. “It was a disturbing call,” Anna Corbett told the U.S. media outlet Thursday. “It was hard to hear Ryan losing hope. He’s been held now almost 600 days and he had a change in his mindset about it,” she told the U.S. news network. Anna said that Corbett’s physical health had been deteriorating, “and now that his mental health is going down, it’s just super scary for the kids and I.” The U.S. State Department spokesperson said Thursday that it was working to secure the release of all American citizens “wrongfully detained” abroad. Mathew Miller told reporters he “cannot imagine the pain” the families were “going through, and the grief that they’re suffering, and how difficult it must be knowing that their loved one is going through such a tragic hardship.” He said that U.S. officials in meetings with Taliban representatives had “continually pressed” them to release all American detainees immediately and unconditionally. “We have made clear to the Taliban that these detentions are a significant obstacle to positive engagement, and we will continue to do that. We are using every lever we can to try to bring Ryan and these other wrongfully detained Americans home from Afghanistan,” he added.   Corbett and his family had lived in Afghanistan for years before being evacuated during the August 2021 Taliban takeover. He ran and supervised humanitarian projects for nongovernmental organizations, focusing on health and education. Corbett returned to Afghanistan twice in 2022 and was detained by the Taliban on his second trip but has not been charged with any crimes, according to his family. "The Biden administration has done little to secure Ryan’s release despite continued reports of his deteriorating health while held in deplorable conditions,” U.S. Representative Michael McCaul, the House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman, said in a March 27 statement. 

New Delhi — At a massive rally held in the Indian capital, top leaders of an opposition alliance accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party of undermining democracy by intimidating and arresting political rivals. The “Save Democracy” rally took place Sunday in New Delhi as India heads into a phased general election set to begin April 19. It was held days after the arrest of a key opposition leader, the chief minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal, by the federal Enforcement Directorate on corruption charges over granting liquor licenses. Kejriwal is a staunch Modi critic. Leaders of the INDIA alliance, which has been formed by about two dozen opposition parties, criticized Modi, saying he was decimating the opposition by using federal agencies to target its leaders with corruption probes and crippling their ability to campaign against the BJP. “Opposition leaders are being intimidated and arrested — this is match-fixing,” the leader of the main opposition party, Rahul Gandhi, said. "This is not an ordinary election. This election is to save the country, protect our constitution," Gandhi told the huge crowd. He said if the BJP wins the election, “it will set the country on fire.” The BJP has said it denies targeting opposition officials. Before Kejriwal was detained earlier in March, another chief minister was arrested on corruption charges in January. Meanwhile, the Congress Party has accused the government of “tax terrorism,” saying its bank accounts have been frozen by the tax department, leaving it starved of funds to conduct its election campaign. Opposition leaders also accused the Modi government of undermining democratic institutions. "The country is headed toward autocracy. This one-man government is taking the country to ruin," another opposition leader of the Shiv Sena party, Uddhav Thackeray, said. Sunday’s rally was the first major show of solidarity by the INDIA alliance that was formed last year to jointly fight Modi, who is widely expected to win a third term. Many of the parties in the alliance are regional rivals and have struggled in recent months to come together on a common platform raising questions over their ability to counter the BJP. Political analysts said the parties did put up a united front at Sunday’s rally. “The rally was fairly successful but it is it is very difficult to say what will be its response on the ground, and whether people will start looking at an alternative that is not driven by the Hindu nationalist ideology of BJP and not so centered around the personality of Modi,” political analyst Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay said. On the same day as the opposition rally, Prime Minister Modi launched his party’s election campaign in Meerut city in Uttar Pradesh, a hugely consequential state that sends 80 lawmakers to parliament. Accusing previous governments of corruption, he said his fight against graft will continue. “Modi will not be stopped. Action will be taken against every corrupt politician,” he said. Modi said his government had lifted 250 million people out of poverty and he was fast tracking economic development in the country. “The 2024 election is not only for a new government but for making India a developed country,” he said. Analysts say Modi has built his appeal on a platform of muscular Hindu nationalism and a raft of welfare programs such as federal funding for construction of toilets and homes for millions of poor people. “Modi is the clear frontrunner, that is what all the surveys so far show. But at the same time, I will not call the election until the last vote is counted because Indian elections can throw up surprises,” according to Mukhopadhyay.

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LIVERMORE, Calif. — Most fast food workers in California will be paid at least $20 an hour beginning Monday when a new law is scheduled to kick in giving more financial security to an historically low-paying profession while threatening to raise prices in a state already known for its high cost of living. Democrats in the state Legislature passed the law last year in part as an acknowledgement that many of the more than 500,000 people who work in fast food restaurants are not teenagers earning some spending money, but adults working to support their families. That includes immigrants like Ingrid Vilorio, who said she started working at a McDonald's shortly after arriving in the United States in 2019. Fast food was her full-time job until last year. Now, she works about eight hours per week at a Jack in the Box while working other jobs. “The $20 raise is great. I wish this would have come sooner,” Vilorio said through a translator. “Because I would not have been looking for so many other jobs in different places.” The law was supported by the trade association representing fast food franchise owners. But since it passed, many franchise owners have bemoaned the impact the law is having on them, especially during California's slowing economy. Alex Johnson owns 10 Auntie Anne's Pretzels and Cinnabon restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area. He said sales have slowed in 2024, prompting him to lay off his office staff and rely on his parents to help with payroll and human resources. Increasing his employees' wages will cost Johnson about $470,000 each year. He will have to raise prices anywhere from 5% to 15% at his stores, and is no longer hiring or seeking to open new locations in California, he said. “I try to do right by my employees. I pay them as much as I can. But this law is really hitting our operations hard,” Johnson said. “I have to consider selling and even closing my business,” he said. “The profit margin has become too slim when you factor in all the other expenses that are also going up.” Over the past decade, California has doubled its minimum wage for most workers to $16 per hour. A big concern over that time was whether the increase would cause some workers to lose their jobs as employers' expenses increased. Instead, data showed wages went up and employment did not fall, said Michael Reich, a labor economics professor at the University of California-Berkeley. “I was surprised at how little, or how difficult it was to find disemployment effects. If anything, we find positive employment effects,” Reich said. Plus, Reich said while the statewide minimum wage is $16 per hour, many of the state's larger cities have their own minimum wage laws setting the rate higher than that. For many fast food restaurants, this means the jump to $20 per hour will be smaller. The law reflected a carefully crafted compromise between the fast food industry and labor unions, which had been fighting over wages, benefits and legal liabilities for close to two years. The law originated during private negotiations between unions and the industry, including the unusual step of signing confidentiality agreements. The law applies to restaurants offering limited or no table service and which are part of a national chain with at least 60 establishments nationwide. Restaurants operating inside a grocery establishment are exempt, as are restaurants producing and selling bread as a stand-alone menu item. At first, it appeared the bread exemption applied to Panera Bread restaurants. Bloomberg News reported the change would benefit Greg Flynn, a wealthy campaign donor to Newsom. But the Newsom administration said the wage increase law does apply to Panera Bread because the restaurant does not make dough on-site. Also, Flynn has announced he would pay his workers at least $20 per hour.

Windsor, England — Britain's King Charles greeted well-wishers in an impromptu walkabout after an Easter church service in Windsor on Sunday, his first appearance at a public royal event since his cancer diagnosis was announced in February.  A smiling Charles, 75, accompanied by Queen Camilla, shook hands with scores of people gathered outside St George's Chapel, the resting place of his late mother Queen Elizabeth.  Charles had postponed all previous public engagements since Buckingham Palace announced he was to undergo treatment for an unspecified form of cancer. The illness was found in tests after he had a corrective procedure for an enlarged prostate in January.  While the king attended church on Sunday, his son Prince William and his family did not. William's wife Kate said earlier this month she was undergoing preventative chemotherapy after cancer was discovered following abdominal surgery in January.  The king, wearing a dark overcoat, and queen waved to onlookers when they arrived at the chapel by car from their residence at Windsor Castle.  The queen was wearing a green coat dress and an emerald and diamond brooch that was the late queen's.  Some of the onlookers wished Charles good health, while others said "Happy Easter."   The king said: "You're very brave to stand out here in the cold."   A woman who spoke to the king said he seemed "very well."  Buckingham Palace has not confirmed any future public engagements for the king, but his eagerness to meet people on Sunday will be taken as a positive sign about his health.   Also attending the annual service were the king's sister, the Princess Royal, and brother, the Duke of Edinburgh, accompanied by their spouses.  The Duke of York, who was removed from royal duties in 2022 due to his friendship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, was also present.  Charles has kept up with the bulk of his non-public state duties such as greeting foreign officials and holding regular meetings with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.  Last week the king did not attend an annual Maundy Thursday service but issued an audio message which aired at the event in which he expressed his sorrow at not being there and wished the public a Happy Easter. 

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.

Beirut — As the Lebanese Christian village of Rmeish marks its first Easter since the Gaza war erupted, residents say a parallel confrontation between Hezbollah and Israel is dragging them into a conflict they did not choose. Like many Christians elsewhere in southern Lebanon, residents are angry and fearful their homes could be caught in the cross-fire and their families forced to flee -- permanently -- from their ancestral villages near the Lebanon-Israel border. Earlier this week, a Rmeish resident confronted a group of armed men trying to launch rockets at Israel from within the village. Some villagers rang church bells to sound the alarm, and the armed men moved off to fire rockets from another neighborhood, according to mayor Milad al-Alam and Rmeish residents. "What we've been saying for the last six months is: among our own homes, keep us neutral. Any strike in return would have brought huge losses," Alam told Reuters. Hezbollah began launching rockets from hilltops and villages in southern Lebanon at Israel on Oct. 8 in support of its Palestinian ally Hamas, which carried out a cross-border attack into Israel the previous day that triggered a fierce Israeli land, air and sea offensive on the Gaza Strip. The villagers' resentment reflects criticism from Christian clerics and politicians opposed to Hezbollah, who have long accused the group of undermining the state through its possession of a controversial arsenal that outguns the national army, and of monopolizing decisions of war and peace. "We have nothing to do with this war. Do they (Hezbollah) want to displace us?" said a 40-year-old resident of Rmeish who asked not to be identified, fearing that criticizing Hezbollah could bring reprisals. Iran-backed Hezbollah, which holds sway over much of the Lebanese state, denied its fighters had tried to launch rockets from Rmeish.  More than a dozen sects coexist in a precarious balancing act in tiny Lebanon, reflected in a power-sharing system that reserves government posts by religion. The presidency and central bank governor – two top posts reserved for Maronite Christians – have been vacant since Oct. 2022 and July 2023 respectively due to divisions over choosing successors. 'No say' in system Hundreds of thousands of Lebanese have been displaced both internally and to foreign countries by conflict and hardship over the last century, with the 15-year civil war seeing killings and kidnappings according to sect. Some 90,000 people have been displaced from southern Lebanon since the conflict broke out in October. Christian lawmaker Ghada Ayoub, who represents a constituency in the south and hails from the anti-Hezbollah Lebanese Forces party, told Reuters that Christians were standing up to Hezbollah "because it is encroaching on their presence," and that the war was deepening fissures in Lebanese politics. "The question is now: are there even any shared points left that we can carry on with – that we can build a state with?" she said. The area most impacted by the shelling is the border strip, home to about a dozen Christian villages including Rmeish. They are nestled in rolling hills of olive groves, pine trees and tobacco fields -- now too dangerous to plant or harvest due to shelling. "The areas around us were really affected – there have been strikes 500, 600 meters away. Our harvests have been ruined," said Joseph Salameh, a local official in the town of Klayaa, about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) from Lebanon's southern border. Lebanon was already hit hard by a financial meltdown that began in 2019. With tourists staying away due to bombing, shops closed and schools shuttered or sheltering thousands displaced by the fighting, villages across the predominantly Shi'ite Muslim south have been dealt another severe economic blow, prompting fears among locals of a Christian exodus. "Now the war has added to it and is encouraging our children to leave. … Christians are no longer able to take on more than others because the problems of this country have become too many," Salameh said. Lebanon's top Christian clerics have also sounded the alarm in weekly sermons. Maronite Patriarch Boutros al-Rai called early on in the Gaza war for Lebanon to stay on the sidelines and more recently said war had been "imposed" on Christians. Mounting outcry Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of Beirut Elias Audi asked earlier this month if it was fair for "one faction of Lebanese to decide on behalf of everyone, and take unilateral decisions that not all Lebanese agree on." With outcry mounting, Hezbollah's main Christian ally the Free Patriotic Movement has even ramped up criticism, saying its nearly two-decade alliance with Hezbollah had been "shaken." "The main problem that arose recently was crossing the limits of defending Lebanon and getting involved in a conflict in which we cannot make decisions," FPM head Gebran Bassil said. Their alliance had provided Hezbollah with supporters from a religious community outside its traditional base, but the pair have split over several issues in the last two years – including who should be Lebanon's next president. Michael Young at the Carnegie Middle East Center said Bassil's comments were an attempt to gain some leverage over Hezbollah by signaling a rift – but also reflected Christian unease with the status quo. "The mood among the Christian community is almost a psychological divorce from the system. They don't feel that they have a say in the system and in a way it's true -- Hezbollah is in control of much of the system," Young told Reuters.

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.

NEW DELHI — The Indian government said it was rescuing its citizens who were lured into employment in Cambodia and were being forced to participate in cyber fraud schemes. The Indian Embassy in Cambodia is working with Cambodian authorities and has rescued and repatriated about 250 Indians, including 75 in the last three months, India's Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a statement Saturday. Jaiswal was responding to Indian news reports that stated more than 5,000 Indians are trapped in Cambodia and being forced to carry out cyber frauds on people back home. "We are also working with Cambodian authorities and with agencies in India to crack down on those responsible for these fraudulent schemes," Jaiswal said. The Indian government and its embassy in Cambodia have issued several advisories informing them about such scams, the spokesperson said. The Cambodian Embassy in India did not respond immediately to a request for comment Sunday. 

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Vatican City — Pope Francis on Sunday celebrated Easter Mass with tens of thousands of Catholics at Saint Peter's Square in Vatican City before his traditional blessing, as concerns persist over his health. The 87-year-old arrived in a wheelchair to preside over the Mass from 10 a.m. (0800 GMT) in cloudy and windy weather, with the events broadcast live around the globe. Francis will pronounce the "Urbi et Orbi" (To the City and the World) blessing at midday where he is expected to bring up the international conflicts raging worldwide. For Christians, Easter Sunday marks the resurrection of Jesus Christ and is the culmination of Holy Week, a major part of the Catholic calendar followed by 1.3 billion people. The pope on Saturday presided over the Easter Vigil at the Vatican in front of some 6,000 people from around the world, a day after his last-minute cancellation at a major Good Friday procession revived questions about his health. He delivered a 10-minute homily in Italian, speaking without any undue difficulty and condemning "the walls of selfishness and indifference" in the world. At the end of the 2½-hour service he showed little sign of fatigue, taking time to greet and bless some of the worshippers. In a brief statement Friday, the Vatican had said that "to preserve his health ahead of tomorrow's vigil and the Easter Sunday Mass, Pope Francis will this evening follow the Way of the Cross at the Colosseum from the Santa Marta Residence," where he lives. Health concerns The last-minute decision raised questions about how long Francis can continue to lead the Catholic Church. A Vatican source told AFP on Friday there was "no particular concern" about his health and the decision to pull out had been "simply a measure of caution." The Argentinian Jesuit had also canceled his participation in the "Via Crucis" in 2023, but that followed a three-day hospital stay for bronchitis, and was announced well ahead of time. Weeks later, he underwent a hernia operation. Up until Friday, the pope had attended his various engagements throughout the week, but he recently appeared tired and has sometimes delegated speaking roles to colleagues. Francis, who never takes holidays, made his last trip in September, to the southern French city of Marseille. In December, he canceled a much-anticipated attendance at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai. His next scheduled trip is to Venice on April 28. The Vatican has not yet confirmed a planned trip to Asia and Pacific Ocean nations for this summer. Francis has previously left the door open to stepping down if he can no longer do the job. That would follow the example of his immediate predecessor, Benedict XVI, who in 2013 became the first pope since the Middle Ages to voluntarily step aside. But in a memoir published this month, Francis wrote that he did "not have any cause serious enough to make me think of resigning." 

MOSCOW — Russia has imposed a "counter-terrorism operation" regime in the southern region of Dagestan, detaining three people by Sunday morning, Russian news agencies reported, citing the National Anti-Terrorism Committee. Russia is on high alert following a mass shooting at a concert hall in Moscow on March 22 -- the deadliest attack in the country in 20 years with at least 144 killed. "Security agencies detained three bandits who were planning a number of terrorist offenses. During the inspection of the places where they  were detained, automatic weapons, ammunition and an improvised explosive device ready for use were found," the committee said Sunday. Earlier the committee said that suspected criminals had been blocked by security services in several flats in residential areas of the regional capital, Makhachkala, and one of the biggest cities in the republic, Kaspiysk. There were no civilian casualties and no losses among the law enforcement personnel. The operation continues, the committee said.

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New Delhi — Top leaders of India's opposition coalition and thousands of supporters rallied in the capital Sunday, decrying "autocracy" in protest at the arrest of a senior colleague ahead of general elections. Arvind Kejriwal, chief minister of Delhi and a key leader in an opposition alliance formed to compete against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was detained earlier in March in connection with a long-running corruption probe. Kejriwal's government is accused of receiving kickbacks while handing out liquor licenses to private companies. Kejriwal, 55, denies the charges. "The country is headed towards autocracy," Shiv Sena party leader Uddhav Thackeray, a former chief minister of Maharashtra state, told cheering crowds on Sunday. "This one-man government is taking the country to ruin." Nearly a billion Indians will vote to elect a new government in six-week-long parliamentary elections starting on April 19, the largest democratic exercise in the world. Many analysts see Modi's reelection as a foregone conclusion, partly due to the resonance of his assertive Hindu-nationalist politics with members of the country's majority faith. Several leaders of the two dozen political parties of the INDIA opposition alliance -- the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance -- are expected to address the rally. India's main financial investigation agency, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which arrested Kejriwal, has launched probes into at least four other state chief ministers or their family members. While Modi enjoys high levels of support, critics accuse him of using law enforcement agencies to intimidate opposition leaders. All the investigations involve political opponents of Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The flag-waving crowd also held up posters showing Kejriwal behind bars, with large numbers of police watching.

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.