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Pentagon — Ukraine is receiving five additional air defense systems to protect its sovereign territory, including three additional Patriot batteries from the United States, Germany and Romania. U.S. President Joe Biden announced the five systems as NATO members commemorated the 75th anniversary of the alliance during a summit in Washington. Allies marked the anniversary at Mellon Auditorium, the site of the original signing of the North Atlantic treaty that established the defensive bloc in 1949. Topping the summit agenda is support for Ukraine’s battle against Russia’s illegal invasion. The Netherlands and other partners are donating Patriot components to build a fourth Patriot battery, while Italy is donating an additional SAMP-T system, according to a joint statement Tuesday by the leaders of the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, Romania and Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told NATO members in April that Ukraine needed a minimum of seven Patriot or other high-end air defense systems to counter Russian air strikes. NATO allies say they are coordinating closely with Kyiv to make these systems available as soon as possible. They also said they are working to make another announcement about additional strategic air defense systems for Ukraine later this year. “Not even our support for Ukraine has been a given,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday. “The reality is there are no cost-free options with an aggressive Russia as a neighbor. There are no risk-free options in a war, and remember, the biggest cost and the greatest risk will be if Russia wins in Ukraine.” Since the U.S. Congress approved new aid for Ukraine following months of delays, the United States has provided Ukraine with hundreds of millions of dollars in equipment pulled from U.S. stockpiles, including the additional Patriot battery announced Tuesday and multiple rounds of long-range missiles known as ATACMS, two U.S. officials told VOA. The ATACMS have a range of up to 300 kilometers (about 185 miles) and nearly double the striking distance of Ukraine’s missiles. In addition, the U.S. has provided billions of dollars of funding for Kyiv’s long-term defense needs, including last week’s $2.2 billion Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative package that is being used to purchase interceptors for NASAMS (medium-range ground-based air defense system) and Patriot air defense systems for Ukraine. 

Kourou, France — Europe's new Ariane 6 rocket successfully blasted off for the first time on Tuesday, releasing satellites into orbit and restoring the continent's independent access to space. European space efforts have suffered a series of blows, including four years of delays on Ariane 6, that have robbed the continent of its own way to launch missions into space for the past year.  But with the successful inaugural flight of Europe's most powerful rocket yet, European space chiefs were keen to move on from recent setbacks.  "It's a historic day for Europe," European Space Agency head Josef Aschbacher said.   "Europe is back," announced Philippe Baptiste, head of France's CNES space agency.  Surrounded by jungle on the South American coast, the rocket launched from Europe's spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana at 4 p.m. local time (1900 GMT).  The crew in the Jupiter control room, located 17 kilometers from the launch site, portrayed calm.  Then head of operations Raymond Boyce announced, "propulsion nominal," meaning that the launch was going as planned.  Applause rang out in the room.  Even louder applause came a little over an hour later, when the rocket successfully delivered microsatellites into orbit.  NASA chief Bill Nelson on X welcomed the "giant leap forward" for the ESA.  But Martin Sion, the CEO of the rocket's manufacturer ArianeGroup, emphasized that "the mission is not yet complete."  It will only be fully completed when the reusable Vinci engine in the rocket's upper stage has fallen back into Earth's atmosphere.  This is expected around three hours after liftoff.  Since the last flight of its workhorse predecessor, Ariane 5, a year ago, Europe has had to rely on rivals such as Elon Musk's U.S. firm SpaceX.  Ariane 6 will be able to place satellites in geostationary orbit 36,000 kilometers (22,369.36 miles) above Earth, as well as satellite constellations a few hundreds of kilometers up.  The first flight was carrying a payload of university microsatellites, various experiments and two atmospheric re-entry capsules that will be jettisoned near the end of the mission.  The last of three ignitions of the Vinci engine will be to shoot the Vinci engine back down into the Pacific Ocean, so it does not contribute to the space debris cluttering Earth's orbit.  After months of analyzing the rocket's inaugural launch, a first commercial flight is expected before the end of the year.  The next challenge will be to "successfully ramp up" the number of flights, ESA space transportation director Toni Tolker-Nielsen said.  Six launches are scheduled for next year, and eight for 2026. 

U.S. lawmakers returned to the nation’s capital this week for the first time since President Joe Biden’s debate against presumptive presidential Republican nominee Donald Trump in June. Katherine Gypson reports on calls from Capitol Hill for Biden to step aside. Kim Lewis contributed to this report.

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New York — Purdue Pharma on Tuesday received U.S. court approval for a 60-day freeze on lawsuits against its owners — members of the wealthy Sackler family — in its first court appearance since a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling upended its bankruptcy settlement.   U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane granted an injunction at a court hearing in White Plains, New York, saying that a litigation cease-fire will give Purdue a chance to renegotiate a comprehensive settlement of lawsuits alleging that its painkiller OxyContin spurred an opioid addiction crisis in the U.S.   The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on June 27 that Purdue Pharma's bankruptcy settlement cannot shield the Sacklers, who did not file for bankruptcy themselves, over their role in the nation's deadly opioid epidemic.  The ruling sent Purdue back to the drawing board after nearly five years in bankruptcy and imperils billions of dollars in funding that the company and the Sacklers had promised to pay toward addressing the harms from the crisis.  Lawsuits against Purdue and Sackler family members by state and local governments, as well as by individual plaintiffs, have accused them of fueling the opioid crisis through deceptive marketing of its pain medication. The company pleaded guilty to misbranding and fraud charges related to its marketing of OxyContin in 2007 and 2020.   Purdue's bankruptcy has stopped the opioid lawsuits from proceeding against the Stamford, Connecticut-based drugmaker since 2019, and Purdue has extended that legal protection to the Sacklers, as well.  Purdue's attorney, Marshall Huebner, said the company will engage in "a high-speed, high-stakes mediation" with the Sacklers, state and local governments and other stakeholders. Protecting the Sacklers during a "modest" 60-day negotiating period will give Purdue a real chance to negotiate a new bankruptcy settlement and put money toward stopping opioid overdoses and treating addiction, Huebner said.  "Every single day of delay continues to come at a tragic, tragic cost," Huebner said.  Several stakeholders expressed hope for a settlement but said mediation should not be extended beyond the 60-day schedule proposed by Purdue.  "It is essential to all parties in this case that we bring this five-year Chapter 11 case to a conclusion," said Kenneth Eckstein, an attorney representing a coalition of state and local governments.   During the hearing, Lane also appointed two mediators to aid settlement talks, including retired bankruptcy judge Shelley Chapman, who brokered a previous deal under which the Sacklers agreed to pay up to $6 billion to settle the opioid lawsuits. Eric Green will serve as the other mediator.   If mediation fails, Purdue has said a court-appointed committee representing its creditors should be allowed to sue the Sacklers over claims they drained more thabn $11 billion from the company and that their conduct made Purdue liable for other lawsuits.  The Sacklers have said the creditors' proposed litigation is counterproductive and based on "factual errors." Members of the family have denied wrongdoing and would fiercely oppose any litigation if the settlement talks break down, their attorneys said.   "No one is assured of a recovery in this court or any other court," said Gerard Uzzi, an attorney representing members of the Sackler family.   Purdue's previous bankruptcy settlement was supported by attorneys general from all 50 states, local governments and most of the individual opioid victims who voted on it.   But it has also had detractors such as Carrie McGaha, who has had repeated overdoses and said Tuesday that individuals have been placed at the "bottom of the heap" throughout Purdue's bankruptcy.  

Moki Edwin Kindzeka — Lawmakers with the ruling Cameroon People's Democratic Movement passed a law on Tuesday extending their term of office for one year. The lawmakers were elected in 2020 to serve a five-year term expiring on March 10, 2025. But this week, President Paul Biya asked his government to pass a bill extending terms for all 180 members of Parliament by 12 months — well into 2026. Biya's Cameroon People's Democratic Movement — also known as CPDM — holds 156 of parliament's 180 seats. Government officials say Cameroon's constitution gives Biya the power to consult the Constitutional Council and ask parliament to vote on extensions and postpone elections whenever circumstances warrant. Joshua Osih, a lawmaker and president of the opposition Social Democratic Front, disagrees. Osih said the Social Democratic Front Party he leads strongly condemns as undemocratic the law extending the mandate of parliamentarians, postponing parliamentary elections in Cameroon from February 2025 to February 2026. He said the Cameroon government had five years to prepare for fresh polls in 2025 and should not give the impression that it was taken by surprise. Opposition and civil society groups say Biya ordered CPDM lawmakers to vote on the bill because it makes it difficult for some main opposition leaders, including Maurice Kamto of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement Party (CRM), to be a candidate in presidential elections expected in October 2025. Opposition says win was stolen Kamto claims he won Cameroon's October 7 presidential polls and that his victory was stolen by Biya. In 2020, his party did not take part in local council and parliamentary elections claiming that Biya had planned to rig the polls in favor of CPDM. Cameroonian laws state that a political leader who aspires to be president must be in a political party that has at least a municipal councilor or is represented by a lawmaker in parliament. Kamtos' CRM party has neither. The CRM said it expected to take part in February's local and parliamentary elections to be able to endorse Kamto. Kamto said the law extending the term of parliamentarians, along with a presidential decision postponing local elections, is another ploy by 91-year-old Biya to remain leader for life. Kamto said he wants to reiterate to the government of Cameroon that his party and followers will not tolerate plans by Biya to stay in power. He said Biya and his government should not continue to take civilians for granted by abusing democratic rights and ruling the country with an iron fist. Kamto said he will disrupt the elections if his rights are abused but did not say how. The government said joint local council and parliamentary elections will take place in 2026 after presidential elections in 2025. Kamto said although Cameroon laws make it possible for presidential aspirants who are not endorsed by political parties to run, submitting 300 signatures from influential politicians, including former ministers, traditional rulers and religious leaders, as the law states, is very difficult. He said the leaders are either scared of Biya or are his political partners. Biya has not said if he will be a candidate. But last March, CPDM supporters marched in the streets urging the world's oldest leader to run for office in the 2025 presidential election, potentially extending his more than four-decade rule. They said Biya is the only one who can bring peace and development to Cameroon, but the opposition says Biya must leave office after running Cameroon for decades. Biya rules with an iron fist and is not ready to relinquish power until he dies, opposition and civil society say. But Biya's supporters say he is a democrat and has won all elections since Cameroon's 1990 return of multi-party politics. If reelected, Biya will rule up to 2032. By then, he will be 98 years old.

washington — The U.S. intelligence chief on Tuesday accused Iran of egging on protests inside the United States against the Gaza war, including by paying demonstrators. Avril Haines, the director of national intelligence, stressed she was not alleging that Americans taking to the streets against Israel or U.S. policy were insincere or doing Iran's bidding, but said Tehran was stepping up efforts. "In recent weeks, Iranian government actors have sought to opportunistically take advantage of ongoing protests regarding the war in Gaza, using a playbook we've seen other actors use over the years," Haines said in a statement. "We have observed actors tied to Iran's government posing as activists online, seeking to encourage protests and even providing financial support to protesters," she said. "The freedom to express diverse views, when done peacefully, is essential to our democracy, but it is also important to warn of foreign actors who seek to exploit our debate for their own purposes," she said. Iran's clerical state supports Palestinian militants Hamas, whose massive attack on Israel on October 7 has triggered a relentless Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip. Iranian state-backed media seized on pro-Palestinian protests that swept U.S. campuses and accused the United States of hypocrisy in the crackdowns on some of the demonstrations. Iran, an arch-nemesis of the United States since the 1979 Islamic revolution toppled the pro-Western shah, has faced frequent charges of trying to target dissident voices in the West. The United States has repeatedly condemned what it calls disinformation campaigns by China and especially Russia, including through deceptive social media posts.

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.

The debris on the site has a serial number of the Russian long-range Kh-101 strategic cruise missile. The Russian military launched it and destroyed Okhmatdyt Children's Hospital in Ukraine's capital Kyiv.

Washington is engaged in wide-ranging efforts to halt arms trafficking to Haiti involving law enforcement agencies, federal and local legislatures, the State Department and the White House.

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.

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan has halted the expulsion of undocumented migrants from Afghanistan after discussions with the chief of the United Nations refugee agency.  Filippo Grandi, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, or UNHCR, wrapped up his three-day visit Tuesday and called for "a bolstering of efforts towards longer-term solutions" for Afghans in Pakistan.   A post-visit UNHCR statement said, "Grandi expressed appreciation that the 'Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan' had been suspended and sought assurances that it would remain on hold."  A senior Pakistani official who was knowledgeable about Grandi's meetings with leaders in Islamabad confirmed to VOA that Pakistan had halted deportation of Afghans. However, the official did not specify the duration of the suspension. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly to the media.   "Our message to Grandi was that the international community should fulfill its responsibility for the upkeep and repatriation of Afghan refugees. It's a shared responsibility and shouldn't be left to Pakistan to lift the entire burden," the official said.  The decision to suspend the evictions of Afghans was taken on "humanitarian grounds" because of deteriorating economic and humanitarian conditions facing impoverished, war-ravaged Afghanistan, said Pakistani and U.N. officials.   During his visit, Grandi met with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and other senior Pakistani officials, and his talks mainly focused on the fate of about 3 million Afghans.   According to Pakistani and U.N. officials, of those, about 1.3 million are officially declared refugees, nearly 900,000 hold Afghan citizenship cards, and the remainder are without documents, or their visas have expired while waiting to seek asylum in third countries after fleeing the August 2021 Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.  Repatriation action  Pakistan unleashed a crackdown last November on all foreigners illegally staying in the country, citing a dramatic rise in militant attacks and attributing them to people residing among the refugee populations. The move has largely targeted more than 1 million Afghan migrants and asylum-seekers who lack legal documents or valid visas.   Pakistani and Afghan officials say close to 600,000 Afghans have been repatriated to their homeland since the deportation campaign started.   During his stay in Pakistan, Grandi also traveled to Afghan refugee localities in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, including its capital of Peshawar, and met with their representatives.  "In the meantime, as Pakistan continues to host some 3 million Afghans, all solutions need to be explored in addition to voluntary repatriation, including third-country resettlement and longer-term solutions within Pakistan," concluded the UNHCR statement.  Islamabad maintains that anti-Pakistan militant groups entrenched in sanctuaries in Afghanistan have stepped up attacks against Pakistani security forces and civilians since the Taliban returned to power in the neighboring country three years ago.   Taliban authorities have criticized the expulsion of Afghans from Pakistan and dismissed allegations they are allowing militants to use Afghan soil to threaten neighboring countries and beyond.