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Alexandria, Virginia — A U.S. judge has tossed out a series of civil lawsuits against a Libyan military commander who used to live in Virginia and was accused of killing innocent civilians in that country's civil war. At a court hearing Friday, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema said she had no jurisdiction to preside over a case alleging war crimes committed in Libya, even though the defendant, Khalifa Haftar, has U.S. citizenship and lived for more than 20 years in the northern Virginia suburbs of the nation's capital as an exile from the regime of Moammar Gadhafi. The ruling was a significant reversal of fortune for Haftar. In 2022, Brinkema entered a default judgment against Haftar after he refused to sit for scheduled depositions about his role in the fighting that has plagued the country over the last decade. But Haftar retained new lawyers who persuaded the judge to reopen the case and made Haftar available to be deposed. He sat for two separate depositions in 2022 and 2023 and denied orchestrating attacks against civilians. Once a lieutenant to Gadhafi, Haftar defected to the U.S. during the 1980s. He is widely believed to have worked with the CIA during his time in exile. He returned to Libya in 2011 to support anti-Gadhafi forces that revolted against the dictator and killed him. During the country's civil war, he led the self-styled Libyan National Army, which controlled much of the eastern half of Libya, with support from countries including Russia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. He continues to hold sway in the eastern half of the country. In the lawsuits, first filed in 2019, the plaintiffs say family members were killed by military bombardments conducted by Haftar's army in civilian areas. The lawsuits also alleged that Haftar and his family owned a significant amount of property in Virginia, which could have been used to pay off any judgment that would have been entered against him. While the lawsuits were tossed out on technical issues over jurisdiction, one of Haftar's lawyers, Paul Kamenar, said Haftar denied any role in the deaths of civilians. "He's not this ruthless figure that everyone wants to portray him as," Kamenar said in a phone interview Sunday. Faisal Gill, a lawyer for plaintiffs in one of the three lawsuits that Brinkema tossed out Friday, said he plans to appeal the dismissal. Mark Zaid, lawyer for another set of plaintiffs, called Brinkema's ruling perplexing and said he believes that the court's jurisdiction to hear the case had already been established at an earlier phase of the case. "A U.S. citizen committed war crimes abroad and thus far has escaped civil accountability," Zaid said Sunday in an emailed statement. In court papers, Haftar tried to claim immunity from the suits as a head of state. At one point, the judge put the cases on pause because she worried that the lawsuits were being used to influence scheduled presidential elections in Libya, in which Haftar was a candidate. Those elections were later postponed.

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 York — Twelve news organizations on Sunday urged presumptive presidential nominees Joe Biden and Donald Trump to agree to debates, saying they were a "rich tradition" that have been part of every general election campaign since 1976. While Trump, who did not participate in debates for the Republican nomination, has indicated a willingness to take on his 2020 rival, the Democratic president has not committed to debating him again. Although invitations have not been formally issued, the news organizations said it was not too early for each campaign to say publicly that it will participate in the three presidential and one vice presidential forums set by the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates. "If there is one thing Americans can agree on during this polarized time, it is that the stakes of this election are exceptionally high," the organizations said in a joint statement. "Amidst that backdrop, there is simply no substitute for the candidates debating with each other, and before the American people, their visions for the future of our nation." ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox, PBS, NBC, NPR and The Associated Press all signed on to the letter. Biden and Trump debated twice in 2020. A third debate was canceled after Trump, then president, tested positive for COVID-19 and would not debate remotely. Asked on March 8 whether he would commit to a debate with Trump, Biden said, "it depends on his behavior." The president was visibly miffed by his opponent in the freewheeling first 2020 debate, at one point saying, "will you shut up?" Trump campaign managers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita said in a letter this past week that "we have already indicated President Trump is willing to debate anytime, any place and anywhere — and the time to start these debates is now." They cited the seven 1858 Illinois Senate debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas, saying "certainly today's America deserves as much." The Republican National Committee voted in 2022 to no longer participate in forums sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates. The Trump campaign has not indicated it would adhere to that but did have some conditions. The campaign managers said the commission selected a "demonstrably anti-Trump moderator" in then-Fox News host Chris Wallace in 2020 and wants assurances the commission debates are fair and impartial. The Trump campaign also wants the timetable moved up, saying that many Americans will have already voted by Sept. 16, Oct. 1 and Oct. 9, the dates of the three debates set by the commission. The Biden campaign declined comment on the news organizations' letter, pointing to the president's earlier statement. There was no immediate response from the Trump campaign. But on Saturday, Trump held a rally in northeast Pennsylvania with two lecterns set up on the stage: one for him to give a speech, the other to symbolize what he said was Biden's refusal to debate him. The second lectern had a placard that read, "Anytime. Anywhere. Anyplace." Midway through his campaign speech, Trump turned to his right and pointed to the second lectern. "We have a little, look at this, it's for him," he said. "See the podium? I'm calling on Crooked Joe Biden to debate anytime, anywhere, any place. Right there. And we have to debate because our country is going in the wrong direction so badly and while it's a little bit typically early we have to debate. We have to explain to the American people what the hell is going on," Trump said. C-SPAN, NewsNation and Univision also joined the letter calling for debates. Only one newspaper, USA Today, added its voice. The Washington Post declined a request to join. Certainly the broadcasters could use the juice that debates may bring. Television news ratings are down significantly compared with the 2020 campaign, although there are other factors involved, such as cord-cutting and the pandemic, that increased interest in news four years ago. There were no Democratic debates this presidential cycle, and Trump's refusal to participate in the Republican forums depressed interest in them.

The first criminal trial of a former U.S. president is set to begin this coming week in New York City. Donald Trump’s hush money case will start on Monday with jury selection. Separately, President Joe Biden, who is seeking reelection, will hit the campaign trail in Pennsylvania. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias has the details.

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 White House calls it an “incredible military achievement” that Israel, the United States and other partners succeeded in repelling “more than 300 drones and missiles” launched by Iran toward Israel. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi has more.

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.

Washington — China’s foreign ministry Sunday said it is "deeply concerned" about escalating tensions in the Middle East. Hours after Iran launched more than 320 warheads towards Israel in retaliation for a suspected Israeli strike on Tehran’s embassy in Damascus, China’s foreign ministry published a statement calling for the immediate implementation of a U.N. ceasefire resolution. “China expresses deep concern over the current escalation and calls on relevant parties to exercise calm and restraint to prevent further escalations. The ongoing situation is the latest spillover of the Gaza conflict." China has sought to play the role of mediator in the Middle East, last year helping to broker a deal that saw the restoration of diplomatic ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia. However Chinese companies have also been linked as suppliers for Iran’s military drone program, most recently in a U.S. Commerce department legal notice last week.   Online criticism of Israel On China’s biggest social network Weibo, the attack became the most discussed topics with over 140 million clicks and more than 23,000 comments in the hours after the news came out. It’s difficult to gauge the real reaction of Chinese Internet users since comments are routinely censored, but the majority of uncensored comments expressed opposition to Israel and the United States, and support for the Iranian attack on Israel. China’s official news agency “Central TV News” published a post on Iran’s attack under its Weibo account and attracted over 3,700 comments within one day. Many of the comments expressed doubts over Israeli reports saying that only one person was injured in Iran’s aerial barrage. A user with the handle “Pikachu and his AD calcium” said: “Israeli soldiers can only die with permission. No death or injuries, I don’t believe the news;” another one named  “Owen665996” said, “This is obviously Israel’s propaganda.” Israel said that its air defenses, aided by the United States and other countries, shot down 99% of the 320 warheads which were launched from places in Iran, Iraq, Syria and Yemen. The White House called collective defense efforts “an incredible military achievement.”  In contrast to the “mainstream” stance, some readers left supporting comments on the official account of the Israeli Embassy in Beijing. “Go Israel! Chinese with conscious support you to strike on terrorists,” said one Weibo user “Master of Minions.” Another one with the handle “Hello Hayek” said, “support Israel to strike back and rid the terrorist cult regime!” The Chinese Embassy in Iran posted on its website on the early morning of Apr 14 that it “once again reminds Chinese citizens and enterprises in Iran to closely follow the local security situation and the security reminders issued by the Embassy.” It urged Chinese citizens to “effectively enhance security awareness, always tighten the string of security precautions, resolutely avoid going to sensitive areas and densely populated places.”

WARSAW — Thousands of Polish opponents of abortion marched Sunday in Warsaw to protest recent steps by the new government to liberalize the predominantly Catholic nation’s strict laws and allow termination of pregnancy until the 12th week. Many participants in the downtown march were pushing prams with children, while others were carrying white-and-red national flags or posters representing a fetus in the womb. Poland’s Catholic Church has called for Sunday to be a day of prayer “in defense of conceived life” and has supported the march, organized by an anti-abortion movement. “In the face of promotion of abortion in recent months, the march will be a rare occasion to show our support for the protection of human life from conception to natural death,” a federation of anti-abortion movements said in a statement. They were referring to an ongoing public debate surrounding the steps that the 4-month-old government of Prime Minster Donald Tusk is taking to relax the strict law brought in by its conservative predecessor. Last week, Poland’s parliament, which is dominated by the liberal and pro-European Union ruling coalition voted to approve further detailed work on four proposals to lift the near ban on abortions. The procedure, which could take weeks or even months, is expected to be eventually rejected by conservative President Andrzej Duda, whose term runs for another year. Last month Duda vetoed a draft law that would have made the morning-after pill available over the counter from the age of 15. A nation of some 38 million, Poland is seeking ways to boost the birth rate, which is currently at 1.2 per woman — among the lowest in the European Union. Poland's society is aging and shrinking, facts that the previous right-wing government used among its arguments for toughening the abortion law. Currently, abortions are only allowed in cases of rape or incest or if the woman’s life or health is at risk. According to the Health Ministry, 161 abortions were performed in Polish hospitals in 2022. However, abortion advocates estimate that some 120,000 women in Poland have abortions each year, mostly by secretly obtaining pills from abroad. Women attempting to abort themselves are not penalized, but anyone assisting them can face up to three years in prison. Reproductive rights advocates say the result is that doctors turn women away even in permitted cases for fear of legal consequences for themselves. One of the four proposals being processed in parliament would decriminalize assisting a woman to have an abortion. Another one, put forward by a party whose leaders are openly Catholic, would keep a ban in most cases but would allow abortions in cases of fetal defects — a right that was eliminated by a 2020 court ruling. The two others aim to permit abortion through the 12th week.

A year since war broke out in Sudan, analysts foresee no end to the conflict and say the longer it drags on, the more likely Sudan will become a breeding ground for terrorist groups. VOA spoke via video to a volunteer at one of the last functioning hospitals in Omdurman. Henry Wilkins reports.