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As floodwaters recede in southern Brazil, a tragic scenario is unfolding with more than a half-million people displaced, 160 people confirmed dead, and nearly 100 still missing. For VOA, Yan Boechat went to the scene and has this report from Rio Grande do Sul. Camera: Yan Boechat

Norway, Ireland and Spain say they will recognize a Palestinian state. The historic but largely symbolic move further deepens Israel’s isolation. We talk to Michael Provence from the University of California San Diego. China is sending "lethal aid" to Russia for use in its war against Ukraine, Britain's defense minister Grant Shapps said on Wednesday. State visit for Kenya at the White House. And an airline where dogs fly first class and people are in coach.

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.

As a new president takes office in Taiwan, the island’s residents have mixed views on how well the new administration will handle Taipei’s relationship with Beijing. VOA’s William Yang reports from Taipei. Camera: William Yang.

The announcement by the International Criminal Court prosecutor that he is seeking arrest warrants for both Israeli and Hamas leaders on war crimes accusations has sparked outrage from both sides. Each says they resent the creation of a moral equivalence in the Gaza war. Ricki Rosen reports from Tel Aviv, Israel.    Camera: Ricki Rosen 

After international condemnation, Israel reversed its decision this week to cut The Associated Press’ live feed of Gaza. The action comes amid increasing challenges for journalists covering the Israel-Hamas war, say analysts. For VOA News, Cristina Caicedo Smit has the story.

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

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

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

TUNIS — A Tunisian court on Wednesday sentenced two journalists to one year in prison on charges of publishing false news that harms public security, a judicial official said, amid growing fears of a crackdown targeting all critical voices.  Mourad Zghidi and Borhan Bsaiss, both journalists with IFM radio, were detained this month over political comments made on the radio.  Tunisia has now imprisoned a total of six journalists, including Zghidi and Bsaiss, while dozens of others face judicial prosecution, according to the national journalists syndicate, which is the country's main union for journalists.   In May, police arrested 10 people, including journalists, lawyers and officials of civil society groups, in what Amnesty International called a deep crackdown targeting activists and journalists. Human Rights Watch has called on Tunisia to respect free speech and civil liberties.  "The judge decided to imprison them for a year following social media posts and radio comments that harm public security,” said Mohamed Zitouna, the Tunis court spokesperson.  Lawyers for Bsaiss and Zghidi were not immediately available for comment.  During his trial session, Bsaiss said, “I am a program presenter who presents all issues, and what I did was journalistic work.”   Zghidi also defended himself during the session.  “I did not make a mistake. .... My work requires analyzing the political and economic situation ... and I bear my responsibility,” he said.  Tunisian journalists gathered near the court on Wednesday, demanding an end to ongoing restrictions against journalists.  “Tunisia has become an open prison for journalists," said Zied Dabbar, head of the national journalists syndicate.  "Threats and restrictions facing journalists in Tunisia are unprecedented. We will move to escalation,” he added, without giving details.  Since Tunisia's 2011 revolution, the country has been considered one of the more open media environments in the Arab world.  But politicians, journalists and unions say freedom of the press faces a serious threat under the rule of President Kais Saied, who came to power following free elections in 2019.  Two years later, he shut down the elected parliament and moved to rule by decree. He also assumed authority over the judiciary, a step that the opposition called a coup.  Saied rejects accusations of authoritarian rule and says his steps aim to end years of chaos and corruption.

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.

COLUMBIA, South Carolina — Nikki Haley said Wednesday that she would be voting for Donald Trump in the general election, and she encouraged the presumptive Republican nominee to work hard to win support from those who backed her in the primary.  "I will be voting for Trump," Haley, Trump's former U.N. ambassador, said during an event at the Hudson Institute in Washington.  But Haley also made it clear that she felt Trump has work to do to win over voters who supported her during the primary campaign and continue to cast votes for her in ongoing primary contests.  "Having said that, I stand by what I said in my suspension speech," Haley added. "Trump would be smart to reach out to the millions of people who voted for me and continue to support me and not assume that they're just going to be with him. And I genuinely hope he does that."  Haley shuttered her own bid for the Republican nomination two months ago but did not immediately endorse Trump. Both candidates were sharply critical of each other during the primary.

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.

OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA — The U.S. Department of Justice sued Oklahoma on Tuesday, seeking to block a law that aims to impose criminal penalties on those living in the state illegally. The lawsuit in federal court in Oklahoma City challenges a law that makes it a state crime — punishable by up to two years in prison — to live in Oklahoma without legal immigration status. Similar laws passed in Texas and Iowa already are facing challenges from the Justice Department. Oklahoma is among several Republican-led states jockeying to push deeper into immigration enforcement as Republicans and Democrats seize on the issue. Other bills targeting migrants have been passed this year in Florida, Georgia and Tennessee. The Justice Department says the Oklahoma statute violates the U.S. Constitution and is asking the court to declare it invalid and bar the state from enforcing it. "Oklahoma cannot disregard the U.S. Constitution and settled Supreme Court precedent," U.S. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton, head of the Justice Department's Civil Division, said in a statement. "We have brought this action to ensure that Oklahoma adheres to the Constitution and the framework adopted by Congress for regulation of immigration." Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt called the bill necessary, saying the Biden administration is failing to secure the nation's borders. "Not only that, but they stand in the way of states trying to protect their citizens," Stitt said in a statement. The federal action was expected, as the Department of Justice warned Oklahoma officials last week the agency would sue unless the state agreed not to enforce the new law. In response, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond called the DOJ's preemption argument "dubious at best" and said that while the federal government has broad authority over immigration, it does not have "exclusive power" on the subject. "Oklahoma is exercising its concurrent and complementary power as a sovereign state to address an ongoing public crisis within its borders through appropriate legislation," Drummond wrote in a letter to the DOJ. "Put more bluntly, Oklahoma is cleaning up the Biden Administration's mess through entirely legal means in its own backyard — and will resolutely continue to do so by supplementing federal prohibitions with robust state penalties." Texas was allowed to enforce a law similar to Oklahoma's for only a few confusing hours in March before it was put on hold by a federal appeals court's three-judge panel. The panel heard arguments from supporters and opponents in April and will next issue a decision on the law's constitutionality. The Justice Department filed another lawsuit earlier this month seeking to block an Iowa law that would allow criminal charges to be brought against people who have outstanding deportation orders or who previously have been removed from or denied admission to the United States. The law in Oklahoma has prompted several large protests at the state Capitol that included immigrants and their families voicing concern that their loved ones will be racially profiled by police. "We feel attacked," said Sam Wargin Grimaldo, an immigration attorney who attended a rally last month wearing a shirt that read, "Young, Latino and Proud." "People are afraid to step out of their houses if legislation like this is proposed and then passed," he said. The Oklahoma Association of Chiefs of Police and the Metro Law Enforcement Agency Leaders issued a joint statement earlier this month saying they weren't involved in drafting the bill and raised concerns that it would put crime victims at risk because they might fear reporting to law enforcement. "This law has the potential to destroy the connections and relationships we have built within our local immigrant communities and set us back for many years to come," they said.

New York — A Michigan dairy worker has been diagnosed with bird flu — the second human case associated with an outbreak in U.S. dairy cows.  The patient had mild eye symptoms and has recovered, U.S. and Michigan health officials said in announcing the case Wednesday. The worker had been in contact with cows presumed to be infected, and the risk to the public remains low, officials said.  A nasal swab from the person tested negative for the virus, but an eye swab tested positive, "indicating an eye infection," the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement.  The first case happened in late March, when a farmworker in Texas was diagnosed in what officials called the first known instance globally of a person catching this version of bird flu from a mammal. That patient also reported only eye inflammation and recovered.  Since 2020, a bird flu virus has been spreading among more animal species — including dogs, cats, skunks, bears and even seals and porpoises — in scores of countries. The detection in U.S. livestock earlier this year was an unexpected twist that sparked questions about food safety and whether it would start spreading among humans.  That hasn't happened, although there's been a steady increase of reported infections in cows. As of Wednesday, the virus had been confirmed in 51 dairy herds in nine states, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department.  Fifteen of the herds were in Michigan. Health officials there have declined to say how many people exposed to infected cattle have been tested or monitored.  The virus has been found in high levels in the raw milk of infected cows, but government officials say pasteurized products sold in grocery stores are safe because heat treatment has been confirmed to kill the virus.  The new case marks the third time a person in the United States has been diagnosed with what's known as Type A H5N1 virus. In 2022, a prison inmate in a work program picked it up while killing infected birds at a poultry farm in Montrose County, Colorado. His only symptom was fatigue, and he recovered. That predated the virus's appearance in cows. 

Three European nations announced Wednesday that they intend to officially recognize Palestinian statehood, prompting a furious response from Israel, which is at war with Hamas militants in Gaza. Henry Ridgwell reports.