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New Delhi — India's navy said Friday it intercepted a fishing vessel in the Arabian Sea after a suspected hijacking, its latest anti-piracy operation after a spate of regional attacks on shipping.  Two Indian vessels had approached the Iranian-flagged FV Al Kamar 786 around 165 kilometers (103 miles) southwest of the Yemeni island of Socotra, not far from the eastern tip of Somalia.  An operation was "currently underway by the Indian Navy towards rescue of hijacked FV & its crew," the navy said in a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter.  The statement added that nine armed pirates were believed to have taken over the vessel. It did not say how many crew members were aboard.  India's navy has been deployed continuously off Somalia since 2008.  It stepped up anti-piracy efforts last year following a surge in maritime assaults, including in the Arabian Sea and by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels in the Red Sea.  This month, the Indian navy rescued 19 crew members off the Maltese-flagged cargo ship MV Ruen, which had been hijacked by Somali pirates in December.   On Saturday, it brought 35 Somali nationals accused of the hijacking to Mumbai aboard the warship INS Kolkata, which had led the rescue operation, to face a piracy trial in an Indian court. 

baghdad, iraq — Iraq said Friday that a power line would soon bring electricity from Jordan to the border area as authorities aim to diversify energy sources to ease the country's chronic outages. With its generating capacity ravaged by decades of conflict and underinvestment, Iraq has long relied on imports of gas and electricity from neighboring Iran. The 340-kilometer (210-mile) power line from Jordan will officially start operating on Saturday, the Electricity Ministry said in a statement. In a first phase, it will provide 40 megawatts of power to the Al-Rutbah area near the border. Its capacity will then be boosted to 150 MW and finally 500 MW to cover "several large parts" of Anbar province, west of Baghdad. Despite its vast oil reserves, Iraq suffers rolling power cuts that can last up to 10 hours a day, forcing those households that can afford it to subscribe to neighborhood generators as a backup. Iraq's imports from Iran are carefully monitored by the United States to make sure they do not breach U.S. sanctions on Tehran, which regularly cuts supply to punish nonpayment. Power outages are particularly severe in the summer, when temperatures regularly hit 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit) and demand for refrigeration and air conditioning surges. 

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MOSCOW — Russian prosecutors have asked the justice ministry to label Alla Pugacheva, the queen of Soviet pop music, as a "foreign agent," the state RIA news agency reported.  Pugacheva, 74, a Soviet and then post-Soviet icon, has criticized the war in Ukraine.  She is one of Russia's most famous people – known across generations for hits such as the 1982 song "Million Scarlet Roses" and the 1978 film "The Woman who Sings."  Pugacheva has in the past been feted by both President Vladimir Putin and his predecessor Boris Yeltsin. When Mikhail Gorbachev died in 2022, she praised the last Soviet leader for allowing freedom and rejecting violence.

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WASHINGTON — What is normally a time of celebration is turning to one of anxiety, as counterterrorism officials are on high alert for the Islamic State terror group to build on its deadly Moscow attack with new plots targeting Easter. Already, some European countries have issued heightened threat alerts while increasing security. Italy, in particular, cites the approach of the Easter holiday as one reason for additional concern. The latest propaganda from Islamic State, also known as IS or ISIS, has only served to reinforce such worries. In a statement Thursday marking 10 years since IS first announced its now-defunct caliphate in Iraq and Syria, spokesperson Abu Huthaifa al-Ansar called on followers to target “crusaders,” especially in Europe and in the United States. Even in its claim of responsibility for the attack near Moscow, the group’s Amaq news agency said its operatives have targeted a gathering of Christians. And this past January, IS claimed responsibility for an attack on a Catholic church in Istanbul that killed one person. IS also has a history of attacking Christians celebrating Easter, notably claiming responsibility for Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka in April 2019 that killed more than 300 people and wounded at least 500 more. “Easter and/or Easter-related activities would absolutely be high on the hit list for a potential attack,” said Colin Clarke, director of research at the global intelligence firm the Soufan Group. “ISIS is on a roll, and there could be a real push to sustain the momentum by launching another high-profile assault, especially on a symbolic target,” Clarke told VOA. “I'd also be concerned about Orthodox Easter the following weekend, and the logical place to look would be where ISIS has struck Christian targets before.” 'Substantial' threat risk Other countries, while acknowledging the threat, say they have long been on high alert for such plots and that sounding additional alarms will do little good. “The security authorities’ risk assessment of the Islamist threat in Germany has not yet changed as a result of the terrible attack in Moscow,” a German government spokesperson told VOA, speaking on the condition they not be named. “It was already high before,” the official added, calling the Islamic State’s Afghan affiliate “currently the most aggressive” of the terror group’s branches while adding it “currently poses the greatest Islamist threat in Germany.” Britain has taken a similar stance. “The threat level to the U.K. from terrorism is already currently substantial, meaning an attack is likely,” a spokesperson told VOA, speaking on the condition of anonymity. “This assessment has not changed.” In the United States, as well, nothing has changed. Last May, U.S. officials warned the country was stuck in a "heightened threat environment." In September 2023, the Department of Homeland Security’s annual threat assessment said the U.S. was at “high risk” for a terror attack, specifically pointing to the threat from the Islamic State's Afghan affiliate, also known as IS-Khorasan, ISIS-K, or ISKP. “We remain vigilant against the evolving threat posed by terrorist groups, including ISIS-K,” U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters Thursday. “We have maintained an unwavering focus.” US assessment The Pentagon issued a similar assurance. “The Department of Defense has not taken its eye off of ISIS,” press secretary Major General Pat Ryder said Thursday in response to a question from VOA. Recent U.S. intelligence assessments have portrayed IS as a terror organization that may be at a turning point, underscoring what the intelligence community’s annual threat assessment, issued earlier this month, described as “cascading leadership losses in Iraq and Syria.” But the same report warned that “regional affiliates will continue to expand.” And while the U.S. report cited a shift to Africa, U.S. and other current and former Western officials see IS leadership in Afghanistan as taking on a more prominent role. “Most plots that we are aware of go back to ISIS-K,” a former senior Western counterterrorism official told VOA earlier this year. There has been long-running concern about IS-Khorasan’s efforts to expand its sphere of influence beyond Afghanistan. Some Western officials and regional observers warn that as far back as 2021, the IS Afghan affiliate was seeking to seed Central Asian states such as Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan with small but highly capable cells and networks that could serve as the basis for future attacks. Aaron Zelin, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy who specializes in jihadism, said, “There was a large cohort of Central Asian foreign fighters that went to Syria last decade when IS was controlling territory there. So, those that survived were likely a backbone to this broader facilitation and plot/attack network. “There was also a smaller cohort of Central Asians that joined up with ISKP in Afghanistan,” Zelin told VOA. “Then there are Central Asian migrant communities in Russia that IS can recruit from in the same way they do with Arab migrant populations in Western Europe.” Focus on Central Asia One humanitarian official in Central Asia, who asked that their name be withheld because of fears they could be targeted, told VOA that IS has managed to establish small, high-quality cells and networks across the region. “The networks still exist, but they are not going to be recruiting more [big] numbers,” the official said, adding that there are signs that “the recruitment might happen more outside of Central Asia.” “The vulnerabilities and push factors [that move someone to join IS] are a lot stronger in Russia, especially in light of the current situation in Russia toward migrants,” the official said, noting those same factors exist across many European countries that host Central Asian diaspora communities. There are indications that IS-Khorasan has found ways to leverage other terror groups. Andrew Mines, a program specialist at the United States Institute of Peace, said, “ISKP doesn't just attract foreign recruits, it also cooperates with Central Asian-dominated groups like IMU [Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan] and … ETIM/TIP [Turkistan Islamic Party] to a more limited extent.” Mines told VOA that IS-Khorasan has proven to be adept at maximizing its resources. “ISKP has shown it is capable of receiving, training and deploying assets within and outside of Afghanistan, as well as using the ‘virtual planner’ and inspiration attack planning models.” Current and former officials say it is those types of capabilities, combined with high-profile attacks, such as the one near Moscow and January’s double suicide bombing in Kerman, Iran, that make IS-Khorasan a formidable threat even as some data suggest the affiliate’s exploits in Afghanistan itself have been on the decline. The IS-Khorasan attack in Russia, along with foiled plots in Germany late last year, both of which appear to have relied on ethnic Tajiks, could also be an indication that group’s efforts to build an extended network is coming to fruition. “This could even be the first sort of real flowering of a developed ISIL-Khorasan capability,” according to Edmund Fitton-Brown, a former senior U.N. counterterrorism official, using another acronym for the IS Afghan affiliate. And Fitton-Brown, now a senior adviser for the New York and Berlin-based Counter Extremism Project, worries IS leaders will want to capitalize on the momentum they likely see from this year’s successful terror attacks. “They got that attention for Iran. They've got a lot more attention for doing it in Russia. And they would get even more attention if they could bring off something on this scale in Western Europe,” he told VOA. “But whether they can bring it off is a question, because up to now there have been a lot of abortive attempts where they've had active terrorist plots in Western Europe, particularly in Germany, but they've been detected and prevented and disrupted,” Fitton-Brown said.

VOA Connect Episode 324 - Individuals dedicated to serving their communities.

Kids Give Back Kids is a nonprofit organization in Northern Virginia that provides volunteer opportunities for kids ages 6-12. We join them as young kids discover ways to give back to communities in need. Producer | Editor | Additional Camera: Lisa Vohra, Camera: Philip Alexiou

Nathan Harrington is a Washington, DC resident and nature lover. His nonprofit organization, Ward 8 Woods, strives to rejuvenate urban forests through picking up trash and enhancing the beauty and ecological health of more than 500 acres of forest. Producer | Camera | Editor: Linus Manchester

Come see "The Future of Orchids: Conservation and Collaboration" exhibition, featuring over 100 orchid varieties in the Robert and Arlene Kogod Courtyard. Find out the challenges facing wild orchids today and the dedicated efforts of scientists and conservationists working to ensure their future. Reporter | Camera | Producer: Zdenko Novacki

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More than two years into Russia's invasion, Ukraine faces shortages of not only ammunition but also soldiers. In response, more Ukrainian women are enlisting in the armed forces, and girls are choosing to pursue training to become military officers. Myroslava Gongadze has the story from the Ivan Bohun Military Lyceum in Kyiv. Video editor: Yeuhen Shynkar

Washington — Weaknesses in the power model built by Russian President Vladimir Putin were exposed by the state’s inability to protect people against last week’s terrorist attack on a Moscow concert hall or respond to advance warnings from Western special services, a Ukrainian defense spokesperson said Tuesday. Andriy Yusov, spokesperson for the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, told VOA’s Ukrainian Service that Putin's vulnerability became apparent, including to his closest circle. Yusov noted during an interview in Washington that the military intelligence of Ukraine has no reason not to trust the conclusions of the U.S. intelligence that the Islamic State-Khorasan group is responsible. Earlier, a U.S. State Department official confirmed to VOA that the United States gathered intelligence suggesting IS-Khorasan was planning an "imminent" attack in the Russian capital, leading to a warning earlier this month from the U.S. Embassy in Moscow. Russia continues to try to shift blame to Ukraine for the attack. On Tuesday, Russian media quoted Alexander Bortnikov, the director of Russia's FSB, saying that American, British and Ukrainian special services may be involved in the attack. Yusov once again denied Ukraine's involvement and suggested the attack itself and the Russian disinformation campaign around it might help the Kremlin to mobilize more Russians for war against Ukraine and recast Russia's image from an aggressor to a victim. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity. VOA: Putin and his subordinates are trying to tie the terror attack near Moscow with Ukraine. Considering their new arguments, do you have anything to add to the original response, denouncing it as nonsense? Andriy Yusov, spokesperson for the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense: [Russian minister of foreign affairs, Sergey] Lavrov's refusal to accept Interpol's aid in investigating this crime tells a lot. It is typical for Putin's regime to try to use any situation in their war against Ukraine, even such a tragedy. Ukraine unequivocally responded, saying that Ukraine is liberating its territory from invaders and fighting with the military; we are not at war with civilians. Anything else — whether Putin's regime was involved in the attack and to what extent because it did not take the necessary measures despite being warned, or whether there are other more compelling reasons to blame it — are matters of separate investigations. VOA: How much threat do you see in the Kremlin's attempts to blame this terrorism on Ukraine? Will it help them mobilize more soldiers and escalate the war? Yusov: Putin and Putin's Russia are waging a genocidal war against Ukraine, using the entire arsenal of weapons, except weapons of mass destruction. They destroy our critical objects of civil infrastructure, energy, cultural objects, social sphere and public health. Putin's tanks are killing our civilians and our defenders. What can they escalate? At the same time, they will try to mobilize the population politically. Also, they will try to use this terrorist attack to reset the image of Russia worldwide from an aggressor — a state that kills peaceful Ukrainians, attacks a neighbor that did not commit any aggressive actions and violates international humanitarian law — into the image of the victim. Putin is trying to do that today. But neither Putin, Lavrov, nor [Minister of Defense Sergei] Shoigu nor other killers look like victims. VOA: Can you tell us about the degree of cooperation between Ukraine's Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces and Russian volunteer battalions — Russian Volunteer Corps, Free Russia Legion and Siberia Battalion — when they operate on the territory of Russia? Do you plan the operations together and provide any support? Yusov: In Ukraine, these units operate within the framework of Ukrainian legislation and are components of our security and defense forces. These people help fight Putin's invaders, the Russian occupying army, within the ranks of our security and defense forces. They are citizens of the Russian Federation. Inside the Russian Federation, at home, they try to implement principles and values and fight for their rights, which Putin's dictatorship deprived them of. There, they act autonomously and independently. VOA: But military weapons, heavy weapons — they didn't buy them in a store. Yusov: The full-scale war lasted more than two years. These people captured many arms in the battle, including the Russian equipment used against the Russian army today. VOA: Do you see a practical benefit for the defense of Ukraine from their actions? Yusov: We can confirm that it benefits us. Undoubtedly, the military actions on the territory of the Belgorod and Kursk regions helped somewhat stabilize the situation in other areas of the front, diverted the enemy's forces and means and demonstrated the vulnerability of the Putin regime and its security forces. VOA: What is the primary purpose of your visit to Washington? Yusov: One of the tragic components of this genocidal war against Ukraine is the humanitarian aspect — thousands of kidnapped civilians. Russia kidnapped thousands of Ukrainian children. These are, of course, prisoners of war, both combatants and noncombatants, taken in violation of the Geneva Conventions. The International Committee of the Red Cross does not have access to their places of detention; there is no way to check the condition of our prisoners of war. Their rights are violated; they are abused and tortured. The world needs to know about it. Fortunately, many in the United States are ready to hear us — in the government, among nongovernmental public organizations and in mass media. One crucial component is increasing the pressure of the international community on Russia to comply with the Geneva Conventions. VOA: What about the military aid to protect Ukrainian territory from occupation and its consequences? Yusov: For sure, it is another aspect. Every meter of lost land means additional deaths of our civilian children and women; it means more hostages and prisoners of war. Also, we need assistance in verifying people on the territory of the Russian Federation who were kidnapped or illegally convicted — prisoners of war and civilians. In the end, bringing war criminals to justice is also important. Additionally, thousands of family members of those who are in captivity in Russia need support. Already, thousands of Ukrainians have returned from Russian captivity. They all need support and social, psychological and medical help. This is another subject of our interaction with our international partners.

Observers say Israel launches a new attack on Aleppo, killing more than 30 people and wounding others. The news comes as Prime Minister Netanyahu says Israel is ready to resume cease-fire talks with Hamas. Overnight, Russian forces launched 99 drones and missiles targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure while President Zelensky announced Ukraine is preparing for a new major Russian assault in the upcoming months. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken plans to go to France and Belgium next week to enhance unity among close U.S. allies in their support for Ukraine in its war against Russia and for Israel in its war against Hamas militants. Analysts say he faces a tough task. Russia on Thursday vetoed the annual renewal of a panel of experts that oversees the enforcement of long-standing United Nations sanctions against North Korea. VOA's Scott Walterman discusses with Gregg Brazinsky of George Washington University. And it's cherry blossom season in Washington D.C., and amidst the blooming trees along the Tidal Basin stands 'Stumpy,' a cherished figure among the 1,400 cherry blossom trees adorning the area's monuments.

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Seoul, South Korea — The future of international efforts to restrain Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program is in question after Russia voted on Thursday to dismantle a body meant to monitor the implementation of United Nations sanctions against North Korea.  Since its creation in 2009, the so-called “Panel of Experts” has played a key role in attempts to enforce U.N. Security Council resolutions against North Korea. Most notably, the eight-member panel produced regular reports outlining alleged violations of U.N. sanctions, keeping the issue in the public eye and prompting follow-up reporting by independent news outlets.  Though Security Council cooperation on North Korea had already eroded, and North Korea has steadily found ways to evade existing sanctions, the dismantling of the expert panel could remove remaining barriers to North Korea's weapons program and undermine global non-proliferation efforts.  How did we get to this point?  The Security Council first imposed sanctions on North Korea following its initial nuclear test in 2006. It expanded the measures as North Korea ramped up illicit weapons development in subsequent years.  As permanent, veto-wielding members of the Security Council, Russia and China voted for the North Korea sanctions. But as their respective ties with the United States deteriorate, both countries are calling for sanctions to be eased or lifted, leading to questions about whether the expert panel will survive.  During recent negotiations, Russia and China pushed to add “sunset” clauses to at least some of the North Korea sanctions, which would allow them to expire after a fixed amount of time if a consensus is not reached on their extension, according to several media reports.  With those efforts having apparently failed, Russia on Thursday voted against renewing the annual mandate of the expert panel, while China abstained from the vote. Without unanimous support, the panel’s mandate will expire on April 30.  Why did Russia kill the UN sanctions panel?   For years, Russia has argued that the North Korea sanctions are outdated and counterproductive. In Moscow's view, not only did the sanctions fail to persuade Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons, they instead created a humanitarian crisis in the country.   U.S. officials disagree, saying North Korea is to blame for spending vast sums of money on weapons rather than food for its people.  In recent years, Russia has grown bolder about conducting activities that may explicitly violate U.N. sanctions. Most notably, U.S. officials say Russia has imported at least 10,000 containers filled with North Korean munitions, including ballistic missiles, for use in its war in Ukraine.  Both Russia and North Korea deny the weapons transfers, despite mounting evidence in the form of commercial satellite photos appearing to show repeated deliveries of North Korean weapons.  Britain’s Financial Times newspaper this week reported that Russia also started supplying oil directly to North Korea in defiance of U.N. sanctions. In 2017, the Security Council imposed a strict limit on the amount of oil products North Korea can import.  By effectively killing the panel, Russia may be trying to make it easier to hide its sanctions-violating activities with North Korea, suggested U.S., South Korean and other Western diplomats who made public statements after Russia's Thursday vote.  “This is almost comparable to destroying a CCTV (closed circuit television) to avoid being caught red-handed," said Hwang Joon-kook, South Korea’s ambassador to the United Nations.  Russia itself has hinted at selfish motives. Asked Friday whether the vote means Russia has changed its policy regarding enforcement of U.N. sanctions, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, “Such a position is more in line with our interests. The talk was about a group of experts. The issue is that we do not agree with the practical aspects of this project.”  Will this move make it easier for North Korea to evade sanctions?   Possibly, according to many Western diplomats and analysts. One reason: The effort to gather and disseminate information about sanctions evasion could become more complicated.  Expert panel reports included “vast amounts of exclusive information from member states … as well as correspondence, photos and data obtained through panel communication with relevant parties,” Chad O’Carroll wrote on NK News, a North Korea-focused website he founded. “In many cases, journalists, private companies and individual governments lack the authority or clout to secure such materials.”  In the absence of the expert panel, Washington and its allies are vowing to find workarounds. At a briefing Thursday, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said the United States will continue to work to secure information about North Korea’s “pursuit of illegal weapons.”  “And we will continue to work to make that information public and make it available to other members of the Security Council,” Miller added.  Earlier this week, the United States and South Korea announced the formation of a task force meant to prevent North Korea from obtaining oil in violation of U.N. sanctions, which are imposed indefinitely.  Trilateral cooperation among the United States, Japan and South Korea may also increase, according to Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul.  “And more evidence of sanctions violations could be released to the public since the restraining influence Russia and China had over headline-generating reports will be gone with the U.N. panel of experts,” he added.  However, it is not clear if those smaller initiatives can replace the pressure created by a unified Security Council. If they cannot, many fear North Korea will more easily find the financial means to accelerate its nuclear buildup — perhaps even emboldening other countries to follow its example.  Hwang, the South Korean ambassador, said Russia’s vote represents a setback to the international non-proliferation regime.  “A permanent member of the Security Council and depository of the non-proliferation treaty completely abandoned its responsibility,” he said.