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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.

tehran, iran — Police in Iran shut down the Turkish Airlines office in the capital of Tehran, Iranian media reported Tuesday, after female employees there apparently refused to wear the mandatory headscarf, or hijab, in an act of defiance of the country's law. The semi-official Tasnim news agency said police officers went to the Turkish Airlines office in Tehran on Monday to issue what is called a first warning over the "non-observance of hijab" by the company's employees. However, the employees — who are Iranian nationals — reportedly "made trouble for the police officers," prompting the closure. The Tasnim report said police subsequently sealed the office over the employees' behavior. According to Tasnim, the Turkish Airlines office will be allowed to reopen on Wednesday and resume business as usual, something that the police did not confirm. The report further said that police would not seal any business due to the non-observance of hijab but issue first warnings. There was no immediate comment from the Turkish Airlines over the incident in Tehran. An open defiance of the headscarf law erupted into mass protests across Iran following the September 2022 death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after her arrest by the country's morality police. While those demonstrations appear largely to have cooled, the choice by some Iranian women to remain uncovered in the street poses a new challenge to the country's theocracy. Iranian authorities have over the past years shuttered hundreds of businesses across the country — from shops, restaurants to pharmacies and offices — for quietly allowing their female employees to forgo wearing the hijab. That enforcement was intensified in the months running up to Iran's presidential election in June to replace the late President Ebrahim Raisi who died in a helicopter crash a month earlier. The fracas at the Tehran office of the Turkish Airlines took place on the same day as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called Iran's President-elect Masoud Pezeshkian to congratulate him on his win in Iran's presidential runoff last week. Pezeshkian bested hard-liner Saeed Jalili in the election by promising to reach out to the West and ease enforcement on the country's mandatory headscarf law after years of sanctions and protests squeezing the Islamic Republic. The state-run IRNA news agency quoted Tehran Prosecutor Ali Salehi as saying that no legal proceedings or ruling had been issued regarding the sealing the Turkish Airlines office in Tehran. Iran and Turkey have maintained good relations and in 2023, the volume of bilateral trade between the two stood at $5.4 billion. Turkey is also a popular tourist destination for Iranians, with some 2.5 million visiting last year. Turkish Airlines is a favored carrier among Iranians because of the shorter travel time to the United States and Canada, compared to other long-haul flights from Arab countries in the Persian Gulf.

OKLAHOMA CITY, oklahoma — Former Senator Jim Inhofe, a conservative known for his strong support of defense spending and his denial that human activity is responsible for the bulk of climate change, has died. He was 89.  Inhofe, a powerful fixture in Oklahoma politics for more than six decades, died Tuesday morning after suffering a stroke during the July Fourth holiday, his family said in a statement.  Inhofe, a Republican who underwent quadruple bypass heart surgery in 2013 before being elected to a fourth term, was elected to a fifth Senate term in 2020, before stepping down in early 2023.  'The greatest hoax' Inhofe frequently criticized the mainstream science that human activity contributed to changes in the Earth's climate, once calling it "the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people."  In February 2015, with temperatures in the nation's capital below freezing, Inhofe brought a snowball on to the Senate floor. He tossed it before claiming that environmentalists focus attention on global warming as it kept getting cold.  As Oklahoma's senior U.S. senator, Inhofe was a staunch supporter of the state's five military installations and a vocal fan of congressional earmarks. The Army veteran and licensed pilot, who would fly himself to and from Washington, secured the federal money to fund local road and bridge projects, and criticized House Republicans who wanted a one-year moratorium on such pet projects in 2010.  "Defeating an earmark doesn't save a nickel," Inhofe told the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce that August. "It merely means that within the budget process, it goes right back to the bureaucracy."  He was a strong backer of President Donald Trump, who praised him for his "incredible support of our #MAGA agenda" while endorsing the senator's 2020 reelection bid. During the Trump administration, Inhofe served as chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee following the death of Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona.  Closer to home, Inhofe helped secure millions of dollars to clean up a former mining hub in northeast Oklahoma that spent decades on the Environmental Protection Agency's Superfund list. In a massive buyout program, the federal government purchased homes and businesses within the 104-square-kilometer region of Tar Creek, where children consistently tested for dangerous levels of lead in their blood.  Republican U.S. Representative Frank Lucas, the senior member of the Oklahoma congressional delegation, called Inhofe a true public servant.  "His long career in the United States House and Senate serves as a testament to his strong moral compass and innate desire to better his home state," Lucas said in a statement  In 2021, Inhofe defied some in his party by voting to certify Democrat Joe Biden's victory in the presidential election, saying that to do otherwise would be a violation of his oath of office to support and defend the Constitution. He voted against convicting Trump at both of his impeachment trials.  Worked in business, public service Born James Mountain Inhofe on Nov. 17, 1934, in Des Moines, Iowa, Inhofe grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and received a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Tulsa in 1959. He served in the Army between 1956 and 1958 and was a businessman for three decades.  He was elected to the state House in 1966 and two years later to the state Senate, where he remained during unsuccessful runs for governor in 1974 and for the U.S. House in 1976. He then won three terms as Tulsa mayor starting in 1978.  Inhofe went on to win two terms in the U.S. House in the 1980s, before throwing his hat into a bitter U.S. Senate race when longtime Senator David Boren resigned in 1994 to become president of the University of Oklahoma. Inhofe beat then-U.S. Representive Dave McCurdy in a special election to serve the final two years of Boren's term and was reelected five times.  Boren, a Democrat, said he and Inhofe worked together in a bipartisan manner when both were in the state Legislature. He later defeated Inhofe in a race for governor.  "While we ran against each other for governor, we were opponents but never enemies and remained friends," Boren said in a statement. "I hope we can rebuild that spirit in American politics."  Frequent flyer Inhofe was a commercial-rated pilot and flight instructor with more than 50 years of flying experience.  He made an emergency landing in Claremore in 1999, after his plane lost a propeller, an incident later blamed on an installation error. In 2006, his plane spun out of control upon landing in Tulsa; he and an aide escaped injury, though the plane was badly damaged.  In 2010, Inhofe landed his small plane on a closed runway at a rural South Texas airport while flying himself and others to South Padre Island. Runway workers scrambled, and Inhofe agreed to complete a remedial training program rather than face possible legal action.  He later sponsored legislation that expanded the rights of pilots when dealing with Federal Aviation Administration disciplinary proceedings.  Inhofe is survived by his wife, Kay, three children and several grandchildren. A son, Dr. Perry Dyson Inhofe II, died in November 2013, at the age of 51, when the twin-engine aircraft he was flying crashed a few miles north of Tulsa International Airport. 

Tehran — Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard forces have dismantled armed bandits in the northwest of the country, state TV reported Tuesday. The report said ground forces of the Revolutionary Guard, known as IRGC in West Azerbaijan province, dismantled a counter-revolutionary terrorist team that was planning to enter Iran from its northwestern borders. Several members of the team were killed and wounded in the operation, and their equipment was confiscated by the Guard, said the state TV.  The Guard warned that any action against the security and territorial integrity of Iran would be met with a decisive and firm response, it added.  The TV report did not elaborate on the exact location of the operation.  The province has borders with two countries, Turkey and Iraq. The border with Turkey is 550 kilometers long.  The area has seen occasional fighting between Iranian forces and Kurdish separatists as well as militants linked to the extremist Islamic State group.  In 2022, Iran's intelligence forces dismantled the biggest spy network affiliated with Israel that allegedly tried to hire thugs to carry out sabotage in the country.

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.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wants Russia to be part of talks with Syria on the return of millions of refugees. Erdogan’s call this week for dialogue with Syria follows a spate of protests and rioting by Turks who want their government to stop hosting refugees from Syria’s 13-year-old civil war. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul.

By Robin Lundh, Research Manager and Karen Aho, Consultant A new National Bureau of Economic Research working paper confirms that immigration continues to benefit American workers. The study finds that recent increases in immigration to the United States correlate with more jobs and higher wages for U.S.-born workers. “Even when these two groups [immigrants and […]

The post Immigrants Do Not Displace US Workers or Reduce Wages appeared first on Immigration Impact.

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.

geneva — U.N. agencies have condemned a wave of Russian missile attacks Monday on densely populated areas of Ukraine that has killed dozens of people and forced the evacuation of hundreds of children from a hospital in the capital city Kyiv, severely damaged by a probable “direct hit” by a Russian missile. “Yesterday’s massive missile attacks across Ukraine, including the horrifying strike on Okhmatdyt, Ukraine’s largest children’s referral hospital, once again lay bare the disastrous consequences of the war waged against Ukraine by the Russian Federation,” Volker Türk, high commissioner for human rights said. Türk who presented his latest report on the situation in Ukraine to the U.N. human rights council Tuesday, said he was “outraged by the sight of children, already so vulnerable in war, suffering the terror of attack while receiving medical treatment.” He said May saw the highest monthly verified civilian casualty number in nearly a year, with 174 civilians killed and 690 injured because of the Russian ground offensive and aerial strikes. Speaking from Kyiv Tuesday, Danielle Bell, the head of the U.N. human rights monitoring mission in Ukraine, called the attack on the hospital “one of the most egregious” that we have seen since the onset of the full-scale invasion. She told journalists in Geneva, “We have assessed the factors and the likelihood that it was a direct hit of a KH101 missile launched by the Russian Federation, which suggests that it was a direct hit.” “Analysis of the video footage and assessment made at the incident site indicates a high likelihood that the children’s hospital suffered a direct hit rather than receiving damages due to an intercepted weapons system.” Bell said, “We do not have the competence to make the determination with 100 percent certainty whether it was a direct hit or not,” but added that “our military experts visited the site yesterday and observed damages at the site that were consistent with a direct hit.” Russia has denied targeting the hospital, claiming it was hit by a Ukrainian air defense missile. The Okhmatdyt hospital is one of two hospitals in Kyiv that treat children and women that came under fire Monday. The United Nations reports deadly strikes also hit civilian infrastructure and key energy infrastructure facilities in the cities of Kryvyi Rih, Pokrovsk and Dnipro. Ukrainian authorities report Russian airstrikes killed at least 41 people and injured more than 190. At the time of the attack, 670 child patients, mainly inpatients, were at the hospital together with more than 1,000 medical staff. Joyce Msuya, acting undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, said 27 civilians, including four children, reportedly were killed and 117 people, including seven children, were injured. “The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights is verifying figures while rescue workers, hospital staff and volunteers continue to clear rubble in search for people trapped under debris,” she said. Monitoring Mission head Danielle Belle said the casualty toll would have been much higher had the staff not moved the children to a bunker Monday morning when the air raid sirens went off. “The explosion destroyed the toxicology department where children were receiving dialysis only minutes before the missile impacted. The attack also damaged the intensive care, surgical and oncology wards,” she said, emphasizing that 600 children, many suffering from cancer and kidney disease, have been transferred to other hospitals in and around Kyiv. “This terrible attack shows that nowhere is safe in Ukraine,” Bell said. Echoing that sentiment, Catherine Russell in a statement Monday said that “Hospitals should be safe havens, and they are afforded a special level of protection under international law. “Civilians, including children and the facilities and services they rely on, must always be protected,” she said. Unfortunately, data from the World Health Organization show that far from being protected, civilians are being flagrantly attacked and prevented from receiving health care. Since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, WHO has verified 1,882 attacks on health care facilities, resulting in 150 deaths, 379 injuries and 1,624 impacted health facilities. It says 40% of these attacks affected primary health care, impeding Ukrainians from accessing basic health facilities. “Attacks on health care deprive vulnerable populations of urgently needed care, undermine health systems, and jeopardize long-term public health goals,” WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic said. “Attacks on civil infrastructure, particularly energy sources and transmission centers, have caused power outages and disruptions in the water supply. This increases the risk of waterborne disease outbreaks and undermines the surveillance system’s ability to detect and respond timely to possible cases of waterborne, foodborne and other infectious diseases,” he said. In his intervention at the U.N. human rights council, human right chief Türk called on Russia immediately “to cease its use of armed force against Ukraine” and to “scrupulously respect international humanitarian and human rights law.” “My office will continue meticulously to monitor, document and report on the ground realities of this awful war, including in occupied territory,” he said. “Accountability must be served.”

The NATO summit begins Tuesday in Washington; NATO’s leaders are expected to discuss Ukraine, Russia and global security. This, as Kyiv recovers from an emotionally devastating attack on the main children’s hospital in the city. The United Nations Security Council is also discussing Ukraine and Monday’s attack. Plus, Narendra Modi is in Moscow and a look at an Italian plan to ease illegal migration across the Mediterranean.