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The White House says reports of an imminent attack by Iran on Israel is a real and viable threat. The U.S. and other countries warn their citizens against travel to the region. Families of hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza rallied outside the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv Friday, pleading for President Joe Biden to help secure the release of their loved ones. Russia’s war on Ukraine could also be reaching a dangerous turning point. A look at what it could mean for U.S. and European national security.

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Tucson, arizona — Former President Donald Trump urged Arizona lawmakers on Friday to swiftly "remedy" the state Supreme Court ruling allowing prosecutors to enforce a near-total abortion ban that he declared "went too far."  Trump has repeatedly expressed pride in his role in overturning the national constitutional right to an abortion by appointing three conservative justices to the U.S. Supreme Court during his one term as president. However, his messaging in the aftermath of the Arizona ruling that a ban on the books since 1864 is constitutional illustrates his struggle to neutralize what has become a potent political weapon for Democrats.  His comments Friday came hours before Vice President Kamala Harris was to speak about abortion rights in Tucson. President Joe Biden and his allies blame Trump for sharply curtailing abortion access, and the issue has become a major liability for the former president in one of the handful of swing states that could decide the November election.  Trump's demand for the state to ease its abortion law came just days after he said abortion rights should be left to the states to decide. At the time he added: "and whatever they decide must be the law of the land — in this case, the law of the state."  On Friday, he struck a firm note on what the state must decide.  "The Governor and the Arizona Legislature must use HEART, COMMON SENSE, and ACT IMMEDIATELY, to remedy what has happened," Trump wrote on Truth Social, his social media platform. "Remember, it is now up to the States and the Good Will of those that represent THE PEOPLE."  He did not call for a specific course of action, such as repealing or watering down the law. He did say that "ideally" abortion restrictions should include exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother.  "Arizona Legislature, please act as fast as possible!" Trump wrote.  Arizona Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs has called for the repeal of the abortion ban, and a handful of Republican legislators from battleground districts have supported that move. But the Republican majority in the state House shut down an attempted repeal on Monday amid shouts from Democrats of "Shame! Shame!"  The Legislature's most vocal critics of repealing the law are among the body's most devoted Trump supporters.  Under pressure over his role in eliminating the constitutional right to abortion, Trump tried to chart a middle course on Monday, releasing a video in which he said he proudly paved the way for the court's decision and that the matter should be left to states. He declined to endorse a national ban.  But the Arizona Supreme Court ruling the next day showed what can happen when the issue is left to states. The Arizona ruling paves the way for enforcement of a law first passed in 1864, which allows for the imprisonment of abortion providers at any stage of pregnancy unless the mother's life is at risk. It does not include exceptions for pregnancies that result from rape or incest.  "Nothing he says can undo the chaos and cruelty his actions have inflicted on women across America," Sarafina Chitika, a Biden campaign spokesperson, said Friday in response to Trump's latest comments. Arizona voters backed Biden in 2020 by fewer than 11,000 votes, just the second time in seven decades that the state voted for a Democrat, and both Trump and Biden see the state as a crucial battleground again this year.  According to AP VoteCast, a broad survey of the electorate, 61% of Arizona voters in the 2022 midterm elections said abortion should be legal in most or all cases. Just 6% said it should be illegal in all cases.  Two-thirds of midterm voters in Arizona said the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade was an important factor for their vote in that election.  About 6 in 10 Arizona voters in that election said they would favor a law guaranteeing access to legal abortion nationwide. 

new york — The judge in Donald Trump's hush money criminal case on Friday turned down the former president’s request to postpone his trial because of publicity about the case. It was the latest in a string of delay denials that Trump got from various courts this week as he fought to stave off the hush money case, set to begin Monday with jury selection. Among other things, Trump's lawyers had argued that the jury pool was deluged with what the defense saw as “exceptionally prejudicial” news coverage of the case. The defense maintained that was a reason to hold off the case indefinitely. Judge Juan M. Merchan wrote that Trump “appears to take the position that his situation and this case are unique and that the pre-trial publicity will never subside. However, this view does not align with reality." Pointing to Trump's two federal defamation trials and a state civil fraud trial in Manhattan within the past year, Merchan wrote that the ex-president himself “was personally responsible for generating much, if not most, of the surrounding publicity with his public statements" outside those courtrooms and on social media. “The situation defendant finds himself in now is not new to him and, at least in part, of his own doing,” the judge added. He said questioning of prospective jurors would address any concerns about their ability to be fair and impartial. Messages seeking comment were left with Trump’s lawyers. The Manhattan district attorney’s office, which is prosecuting the case, declined to comment. Trump to testify Trump, meanwhile, said Friday that he planned to testify at the trial, calling the case a “scam.” “All I can do is tell the truth,” Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. “And the truth is, they have no case.” Asked about jury selection, Trump said the process was “largely luck.” “It depends who you get,” Trump said. “It’s very unfair that I’m having a trial there,” he said, reiterating complaints he has made about the judge. In a court filing last month, Trump lawyer Todd Blanche had argued that “potential jurors in Manhattan have been exposed to huge amounts of biased and unfair media coverage relating to this case.” “Many of the potential jurors already wrongfully believe that President Trump is guilty,” Blanche added, citing the defense's review of media articles and other research it conducted. Blanche said the review found 1,223 articles published online about the case from mid-January to late February and that many of them “unfairly and improperly ‘demonized’ " Trump. However, a chart included in a defense submission included many mentions of terms relevant to the case, such as 207 references to “Manhattan Trial” and 142 to “Hush Money Payments.” Trump’s lawyers also blamed key prosecution witnesses Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels for driving negative coverage of Trump. They pointed to Cohen’s withering criticism of Trump on his podcasts and social media feeds and to publicity surrounding the release of a documentary about Daniels, which premiered last month on the NBC streaming service Peacock. 1 million to choose from Prosecutors contended that publicity wasn’t likely to wane, and that Trump’s own comments generated a lot of it. Prosecutors also noted that there are more than 1 million people in Manhattan, arguing that jury questioning could surely locate 12, plus six alternates, who could be impartial. Trump’s hush money case is the first of his four criminal indictments slated to go to trial and would be the first criminal trial ever of a former president. He is accused of doctoring his company’s records to hide the real reason for payments to Cohen, his former lawyer and fixer who helped the candidate bury negative claims about him during his 2016 campaign. Cohen’s activities included paying porn actor Daniels $130,000 to suppress her story of an extramarital sexual encounter with Trump years earlier, which Trump denies. Trump pleaded not guilty last year to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. His lawyers argue the payments to Cohen were legitimate legal expenses. Trump's lawyers had lobbed other, sometimes similar arguments for delays at an appeals court this week. One of those appeals sought to put the trial on hold until the appellate court could give full consideration to the defense's argument that it needs to be moved elsewhere, on the ground that the jury pool has been polluted by news coverage of Trump’s other recent cases. Trump's lawyers also maintain that the presumptive Republican presidential nominee faces “real potential prejudice” in heavily Democratic Manhattan. All this week's appeals were turned down by individual appellate judges, though the matters are headed to a panel of appeals judges for further consideration. Along with their claims about pretrial publicity, Trump’s lawyers took issue with the recent prosecution of former Trump Organization finance chief Allen Weisselberg for lying in the civil fraud case. They accused the Manhattan district attorney's office of deploying “unethical, strong-armed tactics against an innocent man in his late 70s” while turning “a blind eye” to perjury allegations against Cohen.  Merchan, whom Trump's lawyers accused of pressuring Weisselberg into a previous guilty plea, said the new claim “compels this court, again,  to express its continuing and growing alarm over counsel’s practice of making serious allegations and representations that have no apparent basis in fact — or at least are unsupported by a legitimate basis of knowledge.”

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washington — An inexperienced House speaker facing a brewing intraparty rebellion as he seeks bipartisan compromise to push through defense funding for Ukraine and Israel got a boost on Friday from the presumptive Republican party presidential nominee, Donald Trump. "He's doing a really good job under very tough circumstances," Trump, at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, said at the start of a news conference with House Speaker Mike Johnson. Trump suggested Republicans push for making additional U.S. military aid to Ukraine "in the form of a loan rather than a gift." Johnson, a Republican congressman from the state of Louisiana who has been House speaker since October, made no statement about the aid. But Trump's stance is likely to hold sway over many House Republicans. Johnson, according to Republican Representative Steve Scalise of Louisiana, has been negotiating with the White House about a package that would deviate from the Senate's $95 billion foreign security legislation. The most contentious elements involve aid for Ukraine, locked in a defensive war against Russia, and for Israel, which has been on the offensive in Gaza against Hamas. Johnson's job in jeopardy Johnson, relatively unknown on the national stage when he emerged as a compromise candidate among Republicans to become House speaker, finds his job in jeopardy. Republicans are bitterly divided on further U.S. military aid for Ukraine. "I'm not giving Ukraine any money, never have, never will," responded Representative Troy Nehls to a question from VOA's Ukrainian Service on Thursday. "Can anybody tell me what the strategy is for Ukraine?" Nehls — who is among the Republican lawmakers who falsely assert the 2020 presidential election was "rigged" in favor of President Joe Biden — predicted if Trump is again elected president in November, Russian forces "will be out of Ukraine by April 1st." Another Republican in the House, Keith Self of the state of Texas, wants any support for Ukraine tied to increased funding for security at the U.S. Southern border with Mexico. Self told VOA that while Kyiv awaits further aid from Washington, it should turn to European countries for help. "I think Europe is starting to realize that they need to take care of their own backyard," said Self, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. If Johnson is seen as acceding to the desires of Democrats, it would likely expand the number of Republican lawmakers dissatisfied with his leadership. Johnson is compelled to work with the Democrats on major legislation because his party retains a thin majority in the House. Democrats disagree about Israel The Democratic Party leader in the House, Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New Jersey, has suggested Democrats will help Johnson retain his position if the speaker helps push over the finish line the national security package sent by the Senate, where Democrats enjoy a majority, to the Republican-controlled House chamber. The Democrats face their own disagreement over the bill, with some opposing sending offensive weaponry from the United States to Israel while it engages in its campaign in Gaza that, according to the Hamas-controlled health ministry, has killed more than 33,000 Palestinians. "I'm looking at the possibility of a Ukraine-only [funding] bill" to avoid further delays, Representative Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat from the state of Washington who is chair of the left-wing congressional progressive caucus, told VOA's Ukrainian Service. Not aiding Ukraine "is malpractice on our part," according to Representative Madeleine Dean, who termed the hesitation among some lawmakers in both parties "literally un-American" and appeasing Russian President Vladimir Putin. "I can't tell you how strongly I feel about it, how upset and angry I am," the Pennsylvania Democrat added as she became emotional on the steps of the Capitol. The task of reaching consensus in the House rests primarily on the shoulders of Johnson, a hard-right litigator who voted against certifying the 2020 presidential election. The Trump loyalist is the least experienced speaker in nearly a century and a half. Johnson's visit on Friday to Trump's Florida resort home was seen as an attempt by the weakened House speaker to be shored up by the former president. Trump's backing has been pivotal for top Republicans to stay in their positions or gain them. His lack of support for the previously elected House speaker, Kevin McCarthy of California, and Republican National Committee Chair Ronna Romney McDaniel led to exits from their respective leadership jobs. Kateryna Lisunova on Capitol Hill contributed to this report.

tucson, arizona — U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday blamed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump for the loss of abortion rights in Arizona, three days after a court there upheld a 160-year-old ban on the procedure.  Arizona's conservative Supreme Court sent a shock wave through one of 2024's most competitive election states, which could swing the presidential race and determine control of the Senate.  Strategists in both parties said the ruling, which outlaws nearly all abortions, would push even Republican-leaning moderates toward Democrats, while also animating young voters and voters of color.  "We all must understand who is to blame: former President Donald Trump did this," Harris said before an audience that included reproductive health patients and providers in Tucson. "A second Trump term would be even worse ... . If Donald Trump gets the chance, he will sign a national abortion ban."  Trump, set to face President Joe Biden again in November's election, has distanced himself from the Arizona ruling. On Wednesday, he said the court had gone too far in reviving a near-total abortion ban, even while defending the Supreme Court decision that permitted states to restrict abortion.  "President Trump could not have been more clear. These are decisions for people of each state to make," said Karoline Leavitt, a Trump campaign spokesperson.  Biden beat Trump in Arizona by fewer than 11,000 votes out of 3.3 million ballots cast in 2020, the Democrat's narrowest margin of victory in any state.  Democrats think their opposition to restrictions on reproductive rights can help them secure another victory in the border state, where voters had been more focused on cost-of-living issues and immigration.  Biden has tasked Harris, a former prosecutor and senator, with leading the administration's reaction to the U.S. Supreme Court's 2022 ruling overturning abortion rights and with reaching core liberal voters undecided on a second, four-year term for the president.  The Supreme Court's decision overturning the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision was powered by a conservative majority that Trump installed.  Harris visited Phoenix, Arizona's capital, just last month to talk about abortion rights as part of a "Fight for Reproductive Freedoms" tour that has taken her to 20 states and included a visit to a Minnesota health clinic that offers abortion services.  U.S. Representative Ruben Gallego, an Arizona Democrat running for a U.S. Senate seat in the Western state, criticized his Republican opponent Kari Lake for previously backing the abortion ban even though Lake disavowed the court ruling to reinstate it.  Gallego traveled with Harris from Washington to Tucson and was set to hold another event on the topic in Phoenix later on Friday.  "We don't want this to be our brand. Arizona's a state that's got a booming economy," Gallego told reporters aboard Air Force Two. "Now we look like this state that is relegating our women back to the 1860 laws?"  The Biden campaign has aired an advertisement in Arizona in which a Texas woman tearfully describes almost dying after she was denied an abortion following a miscarriage. Across a black screen, the words "Donald Trump did this" flash as her sobs continue in the background.  Asked at the White House on Wednesday what he would say to the people of Arizona, Biden replied, "Elect me."  Biden ran on legalizing abortion, but Democrats did not deliver him such a bill when they controlled Congress by slim margins from 2021 to 2023.

islamabad, pakistan — Police in southwestern Pakistan said Friday that separatist militants blocked a national highway linking the country to Iran, kidnapped 11 travelers and then shot them all to death.     The deadly late-night violence occurred in the Noshki district of the sparsely populated Baluchistan province.      Habibullah Musakhail, the district deputy commissioner, confirmed the incident, saying a search by police and paramilitary forces later recovered the victims’ bodies from under a bridge. He added that nine passengers of a bus were among those killed.      Police said that about a dozen armed men had blocked the highway. After checking the national identification cards, the attackers stopped a bus and took nine passengers to the nearby mountains, where they were fatally shot.     Authorities said that the slain bus passengers were traveling from the provincial capital of Quetta to the border town of Taftan. They were identified as residents of Pakistan’s most populous province of Punjab. The identities of the other victims were not known immediately.     No one claimed responsibility for the Friday night killings in Baluchistan, which is rich in natural resources. Several ethnic Baluch outlawed groups are active in the province and routinely target security forces as well as settlers from other parts of Pakistan.      The so-called Baluch Liberation Army, or BLA, has taken credit for plotting many of the recent attacks.     Last month, BLA militants attacked a key Pakistan naval airbase and a government complex in Baluchistan within days of each other. The ensuing clashes killed several security force members and about a dozen assailants in both attacks.

LOS ANGELES — A federal judge Friday ordered the former longtime interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani released on $25,000 bond and mandated he undergo gambling addiction treatment. Ippei Mizuhara exploited his personal and professional relationship with Ohtani to plunder $16 million from the Major League Baseball player's bank account for years, prosecutors said, at times impersonating Ohtani to bankers so he could cover his bets and debts. Mizuhara only spoke to answer the judge's questions, saying "yes" when she asked if he understood several parts of the case and his bond conditions. Mizuhara, wearing a dark suit and a white collared shirt, entered the courtroom with his ankles shackled, but was not handcuffed. The judge approved his attorney's request to remove the shackles. Other bond conditions stipulate that Mizuhara cannot gamble, either electronically or in person, or go inside any gambling establishments, or associate with any known bookmakers. Mizuhara turned himself in Friday ahead of his initial court appearance. He is charged with one count of bank fraud and faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted. Prosecutors said there was no evidence that Ohtani was involved in or aware of Mizuhara's gambling, and authorities said Ohtani was cooperating with investigators. Mizuhara was not asked to enter a plea during Friday's brief court appearance in downtown Los Angeles. A criminal complaint filed Thursday detailed the alleged scheme through evidence that included text messages, financial records and recordings of phone calls. While Mizuhara's winning bets totaled over $142 million, which he deposited in his own bank account and not Ohtani's, his losing bets were around $183 million — a net loss of nearly $41 million. In a message to his illegal bookmaker on March 20, the day the Los Angeles Times and ESPN broke the news of the federal investigation, Mizuhara wrote: "Technically I did steal from him. It's all over for me." Major League Baseball opened its own investigation after the controversy surfaced, and the Dodgers immediately fired Mizuhara.

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PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — A transitional council tasked with choosing Haiti’s next prime minister and Cabinet was established Friday in a move supporters hope will help quell turmoil in the troubled Caribbean country, where most of the capital remains in the grip of criminal gangs. The formation of the council, announced in a decree published in a Haitian government gazette, was expected to soon trigger the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry, but a new provision said he would step down when a new premier was chosen. Henry did not immediately comment. Those awarded a seat on the council were Petit Desalin, a party led by former senator and presidential candidate Jean-Charles Moise; EDE/RED, a party led by former Prime Minister Claude Joseph; the Montana Accord, a group of civil society leaders, political parties and others; Fanmi Lavalas, the party of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide; the January 30 Collective, which represents parties including that of former President Michel Martelly; and the private sector. The two nonvoting seats were represented by someone from Haiti’s civil society and its religious sector.  “The establishment of the ... politically inclusive council signals the possibility of a new beginning for Haiti,” a Caribbean trade bloc known as Caricom, which helped form the council, said in a statement. It said that the council “will take the troubled country through elections to the restoration of the lapsed state institutions and constitutional government.” “It is also clear that one of the first priorities of the newly installed Presidential Council will be to urgently address the security situation so that Haitians can go about their daily lives in a normal manner; safely access food, water and medical services; children can return to school; women can move around without fear of horrific abuses; and so that businesses can reopen,” Caricom said. The published decree acknowledged what it called “a multidimensional crisis” that has worsened since the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise. It said the crisis has led to a “catastrophic humanitarian situation” and that Haiti is experiencing “unprecedented institutional dysfunction, which has led to a political impasse.” It also noted that Henry would present his resignation once a new prime minister was appointed. The decree, signed by Henry and his Cabinet, noted that no one who has been sanctioned by the U.N., opposes the deployment of a foreign armed force or plans to run in the next general election can be a member of the council. Inauguration date While an election date hasn’t been set, the decree stated that the president-elect must be sworn in on February 7, 2026, at the latest, and that the council will exercise presidential powers until then. The council also will be responsible for helping set the agenda of a new Cabinet and will appoint members to form a provisional electoral council, which is needed before elections are held. It also will establish a national security council whose responsibilities have not been decided. The decree does not set any deadlines for choosing a new prime minister or Cabinet, stating only that the council must “quickly” do so. The council will be based at the National Palace, and its mandate is supposed to end when a new president is sworn in, with no possibility of extension.  The United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti posted on X that it would continue to closely follow the political process. It called for international support for Haiti’s National Police, saying it was “essential to restore security and the rule of law.” “We reaffirm our commitment to supporting the country’s institutions in their efforts to restore democratic institutions,” Maria Isabel Salvador, the U.N. special envoy for Haiti, said in a statement. The council's creation comes a month and one day after Caribbean leaders announced plans to help form it. Friday’s development was cheered by those who believe the council could help steer Haiti in a new direction and help quell widespread gang violence.  More than 1,550 people were killed across Haiti and more than 820 injured from January to March 22, according to the U.N. While gangs have long operated throughout Haiti, gunmen organized large-scale attacks starting February 29. They burned police stations, opened fire on the main international airport that remains closed and raided the country’s two biggest prisons, freeing more than 4,000 inmates. The attacks were meant to prevent the return of Henry to Haiti. At the time, he was in Kenya pushing for the U.N.-backed deployment of a police force from the East African country. He remains locked out of Haiti. While the violence has somewhat subsided, gangs are still launching attacks throughout Port-au-Prince, especially in the downtown area, where they have seized control of Haiti's biggest public hospital.

Juba, South Sudan — Since gaining independence in 2011, South Sudanese residents have been working to build their country, the world's youngest nation. However, many citizens fear a technicality — the lack of a required National Identification Card — may block them from participating in the country's first planned democratic elections in December. Registration for the polls begins in less than two months. "I don't think they will allow those without an ID to vote," said a young man, who asked to be identified only as Alex for safety reasons. Alex, who is a resident of Magwi in the state of Eastern Equatoria, told VOA he has made repeated trips to the immigration offices in the capital, Juba, to get a National Identification Card. After three failed attempts, Alex became worried he would be locked out of the upcoming election. "The first challenge I face is the distance," he said. "Secondly is the finance, because traveling from this end to Juba is a bit costly." Leaders will identify voters Ter Manyang Gatwech, the executive director of the Center for Peace in Juba, said getting an ID card should be a routine matter. "Every citizen should have access to a national ID," said Gatwech. "This is a concern because getting an ID in this country is quite expensive. For you to vote, you must have ID." Gatwech said the government should give citizens national IDs free of charge. But South Sudan has no plans to issue ID cards to everyone. A spokesperson for the country's elections commission, George Lemi, said that during voter registration, the commission may hire local administrators to confirm people's identities. "To be eligible to vote, you must be 18 years and above," said Lemi. "You must be a national — which is having a national ID or passport." Lemi said that if one doesn't have an ID card and is South Sudanese, local leaders can "come and prove and identify you, to give you [a] way or to approve you." Elections set for December South Sudan's elections were originally scheduled for 2015, four years after it separated from Sudan. However, the country's civil war and delay in creating a constitution forced the election to be deferred several times. Now, according to the South Sudan 2023 National Elections Act, voter registration will begin six months before elections, in June. The elections are scheduled for December 22. For the first time, South Sudanese will get the chance to vote for a president, members of parliament, and several state and local offices.

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new york — Humanitarians said an international support conference next week for Sudan must be a success, as 18 million Sudanese face crisis levels of hunger while funding for lifesaving programs is running out. “It is essential that we get the levels of funding that will allow us to scale [up] to the extent required,” Michael Dunford, World Food Program regional director for East Africa, told reporters from Nairobi.   On Monday, ministers will gather in Paris for a two-part conference co-hosted by the European Commission, France and Germany. There will be discussions on how to move toward a political solution to the conflict, and a separate meeting of humanitarians and international donors for a humanitarian conference for Sudan and its neighbors. This will take place on the one-year anniversary of the outbreak of the civil war, which has seen food insecurity surge and millions displaced.  “As intense fighting continues, the humanitarian tragedy grows worse by the day,” Justin Brady, head of the U.N. office for humanitarian affairs in Sudan, told reporters from Port Sudan. “Already, nearly 5 million people are one step away from famine,” he said. “Recent analysis indicates that famine is expected in parts of Khartoum and Greater Darfur – especially in hard-to-reach areas.” Children are particularly affected, with an estimated 730,000 suffering from severe acute malnutrition. Brady said more than 200,000 children could die in the coming weeks and months if they do not receive urgent assistance. Humanitarians are especially worried because these are record-high numbers during the harvest season, when food should be available and affordable. But because of the yearlong war between rival Sudanese generals, farmers and pastoralists have fled and their crops and cattle have withered, died or been destroyed.    The lean season will be upon Sudan in June, and then the number of people who are acutely food insecure will likely grow from the current 18 million people. “This is why we are desperately concerned that the 5 million population in emergency levels of food insecurity are likely to move into catastrophic levels in the coming months,” said WFP’s Dunford. “This is really a very real risk of becoming the largest hunger crisis anywhere in the world — if not already.” Despite dangers, bureaucratic difficulties, funding shortages and other constraints, Brady says humanitarians have reached more than 8 million people with aid since the war started. That assistance is in jeopardy, though, as the U.N. humanitarian appeal for $2.7 billion is just under 6% funded. About $400 million is needed immediately so aid workers can pre-position supplies ahead of the lean season, and an additional $700 million to sustain the response in the coming months as humanitarians launch a famine prevention plan. Neither of the warring parties is expected to be represented at the Paris conference, but members of Sudanese civil society have been invited to participate. Sudan is now home to the world’s largest internal displacement crisis, with 6.3 million people forced from their homes in search of safety. Another 1.7 million have fled to neighboring countries. More than 70% of health facilities in conflict areas have stopped functioning.   

WASHINGTON — China has surged sales to Russia of machine tools, microelectronics and other technology that Moscow in turn is using to produce missiles, tanks, aircraft and other weaponry for use in its war against Ukraine, according to a U.S. assessment. Two senior Biden administration officials, who discussed the sensitive findings Friday on the condition of anonymity, said that in 2023 about 90% of Russia’s microelectronics came from China. Russia has used those to make missiles, tanks and aircraft. Nearly 70% of Russia’s approximately $900 million in machine tool imports in the last quarter of 2023 came from China. Chinese and Russian entities have also been working to jointly produce unmanned aerial vehicles inside Russia, and Chinese companies are likely providing Russia with the nitrocellulose used in the manufacture of ammunition, the officials said. China-based companies Wuhan Global Sensor Technology Company, Wuhan Tongsheng Technology Company and Hikvision are providing optical components for use in Russian tanks and armored vehicles. The officials said that Russia has received military optics for use in tanks and armored vehicles manufactured by Chinese firms iRay Technology and North China Research Institute of Electro-Optics, and that China has been providing Russia with UAV engines and turbojet engines for cruise missiles. Russia’s semiconductor imports from China jumped from $200 million in 2021 to over $500 million in 2022, according to Russian customs data analyzed by the Free Russia Foundation, a group that advocates for civil society development. Beijing is also working with Russia to improve its satellite and other space-based capabilities for use in Ukraine, a development the officials say could in the longer term increase the threat Russia poses across Europe. The officials, citing downgraded intelligence findings, said the U.S. has also determined that China is providing imagery to Russia for its war on Ukraine. The officials discussed the findings as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to travel to China this month for talks. Blinken is scheduled to travel next week to the Group of 7 foreign ministers meeting in Capri, Italy, where he's expected to raise concerns about China's growing indirect support for Russia as Moscow revamps its military and looks to consolidate recent gains in Ukraine. U.S. President Joe Biden has previously raised concerns directly with Chinese President Xi Jinping about Beijing indirectly supporting Russia’s war effort. While China has not provided direct lethal military support for Russia, it has backed it diplomatically in blaming the West for provoking Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to launch the war and refrained from calling it an invasion in deference to the Kremlin. China has repeatedly said it isn’t providing Russia with arms or military assistance, although it has maintained robust economic connections with Moscow, alongside India and other countries, amid sanctions from Washington and its allies. “The normal trade between China and Russia should not be interfered or restricted," said Liu Pengyu, spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in Washington. “We urge the U.S. side to refrain from disparaging and scapegoating the normal relationship between China and Russia.” Xi met in Beijing on Tuesday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who heaped praise on Xi's leadership. Russia’s growing economic and diplomatic isolation has made it increasingly reliant on China, its former rival for leadership of the Communist bloc during the Cold War. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who returned to Washington this week from a visit to Beijing, said she warned Chinese officials that the Biden administration was prepared to sanction Chinese banks, companies and Beijing’s leadership if they assist Russia’s armed forces with its ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Biden issued an executive order in December giving Yellen the authority to sanction financial institutions that aided Russia’s military-industrial complex. “We continue to be concerned about the role that any firms, including those in the PRC, are playing in Russia’s military procurement,” Yellen told reporters, using the initials for the People's Republic of China. "I stressed that companies, including those in the PRC, must not provide material support for Russia’s war and that they will face significant consequences if they do. And I reinforced that any banks that facilitate significant transactions that channel military or dual-use goods to Russia’s defense industrial base expose themselves to the risk of U.S. sanctions.” The United States has frequently downgraded and unveiled intelligence findings about Russia’s plans and operations over the course of the war with Ukraine, which has been fought for more than two years. Such efforts have been focused on highlighting plans for Russian misinformation operations or to throw attention on Moscow’s difficulties in prosecuting its war against Ukraine as well as its coordination with Iran and North Korea to supply it with badly needed weaponry. Blinken last year spotlighted intelligence that showed China was considering providing arms and ammunition to Russia. The White House believes that the public airing of the intelligence findings has led China, at least for now, to hold off on directly arming Russia. China's economy has also been slow to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic. Chinese officials could be sensitive to reaction from European capitals, which have maintained closer ties to Beijing even as the U.S.-China relationship has become more complicated.

washington — President Joe Biden is set to welcome Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani on Monday, with the threat of a Gaza war spillover looming in the background. Security officials are on guard against expected Iranian retaliation for an attack on its consulate in Damascus earlier this month.  On Friday, Iran-backed group Hezbollah launched a barrage of rockets and drones from southern Lebanon into northern Israel. While Hezbollah and Israel have exchanged frequent cross-border fire, the timing of the attacks may trigger a significant escalation of the conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, another Iran proxy.   Washington has been pressing Baghdad and other partners in the region to urge Iran to show restraint following the killing of seven Iranian military officers in an April 1 strike attributed to Israel. Tehran has made it clear that it will respond.   Biden on Friday warned Iran against any attack, saying the United States is “devoted to the defense of Israel.”  A potential escalation will be front of mind for Biden and al-Sudani, who are keen to prevent Israel’s war from spreading into Syria and Lebanon.  In the earlier months of the Gaza war, Iran-backed groups such as Kataib Hezbollah repeatedly targeted American troops in the region, including in an attack on a U.S. base in Jordan near the border of Iraq and Syria in January that killed three American soldiers and wounded more than 40 others.   Under pressure from Baghdad, shortly after the attack, Kataib Hezbollah announced it was suspending all its military operations against American troops.  The suspension of hostilities from Kataib Hezbollah and other anti-U.S. groups was a condition placed by the U.S. for the Iraqi prime minister’s visit, said Sajad Jiyad, a fellow from the Century Foundation think tank.   Troop withdrawal  A top goal in Washington for al-Sudani is progress toward an agreement on U.S. troop withdrawal from his country before a potential change in U.S. administration after the November election.  There are approximately 2,500 U.S. troops still deployed in Iraq, part of the global coalition formed in 2014 to defeat the Islamic State terror group, mostly focusing on counterterrorism roles. On Monday, a U.S.-Iraq military committee launched in January met to hash out a troop withdrawal timeline.  Biden administration officials have declined to provide details. However, in a background briefing to reporters Thursday, a State Department official said the U.S. has been “very satisfied” with its partnership with the Iraqi Security Forces and has seen “steady improvements” in their capabilities.  Energy independence  Biden and al-Sudani will also discuss “ongoing Iraqi financial reforms to promote economic development and progress towards Iraq’s energy independence and modernization,” the White House said in a statement announcing the visit. Washington wants Iraq to wean itself off Iranian energy despite routinely providing sanctions waivers to allow Baghdad to continue importing electricity from Iran. The State Department official said Iraqi reliance on Iranian electricity has “significantly decreased,” citing an Iraq-Jordan electricity project and ongoing talks for more electricity lines between Iraq and Saudi Arabia.  Baghdad is also set to ask Washington to ease restrictions on the flow of revenue from Iraq’s oil sales.   Since the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, the funds have been held in an Iraqi government account at the U.S. Federal Reserve System and distributed upon Baghdad’s request. Since late 2022, Washington has restricted its transfers to prevent money laundering benefiting Iran and Syria.  Baghdad will highlight its efforts on that front, focusing on “reform in the financial system, especially in the bank system,” Iraq’s Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein told VOA in a recent interview.  New phase of strategic partnership  Al-Sudani said he aims for a new phase of strategic partnership that “supports the sovereignty and independence of Iraq without forgoing fruitful cooperation between Baghdad and Washington.”  “Our discussions will emphasize the continued importance of our economic relationship, cooperation on combating money laundering and terrorist financing, and using political and diplomatic tools to defuse regional tensions,” the Iraqi prime minister wrote in a Foreign Affairs article ahead of his visit.  “The fight against terrorism will continue to be a central topic for both of our governments.”  The leaders are also set to discuss cooperation on oil and gas, Hussein said. “We are talking about American companies coming there and helping the Iraqis in these fields, as well as health, agriculture, high education.”  The State Department official confirmed that Biden would also raise the case of journalist Elizabeth Tsurkov, an Israeli-Russian citizen kidnapped in Iraq in 2023 by Kataib Hezbollah. Jeff Seldin, Hero Rahim and Farhad Pouladi contributed to this report.

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Gaborone, Botswana  — African diamond producers, led by Botswana, are demanding a review of the tracking and verification system that European Union and G7 nations introduced March 1. Under the arrangement, diamonds entering EU and G7 countries - which represent 70% of the global diamond market - have to be sent to Antwerp, Belgium, for certification, in an effort to prevent the importation of sanctioned Russian diamonds. The traceability initiative has resulted in clearance delays and disruption to the supply chain. African diamond producers argue that has resulted in added costs.  But Belgium and the EU say steps are being taken to minimize delays. A Belgian official told VOA the turnaround time for the certifications has improved, with all shipments processed within 24 hours. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, also said delays resulted from importers not providing the necessary documentary evidence. He said African countries were bearing no increase in production costs, because expenses were borne by the mining companies. “From the onset, we have taken the concerns raised by African diamond producers about the introduction of G7-EU sanctions against Russian diamonds seriously," the official said. "This is the reason why we have taken those concerns into account from the very beginning of our discussions and have tried to fully address them. "Belgian authorities have also reached out to a number of African producers between September 2023 and February 2024 to listen, explain and adjust the ongoing work on the implementation of sanctions against diamonds from the Russian Federation.”  An EU official responding to VOA inquiries also said African producers’ concerns were considered from the onset. She said meetings were held among the EU bloc’s representatives, the United States and Botswana's government. Botswana’s president, Mokgweetsi Masisi, recently said the EU and G7 countries had not officially responded to a letter from African producers regarding concerns about the new tracking system. The EU representative said the response had been delayed because it was being drawn up as a collective G7 reply. On Thursday, Masisi told France’s minister of state for development and international partnerships, Chrysoula Zacharopoulou, that G7 countries should reconsider the traceability initiative.  "Tell them that will be a regression in terms of our own development and an ominous threat to our own existence, and everything that we base our growth on," Masisi said. "We just think that because they did not engage sufficiently, they haven’t come to appreciate what the threats are to industry and to livelihoods and the economies.” Botswana is the world’s second-largest producer of diamonds after Russia. Its diamond exports last year were worth $7 billion.

geneva — A senior U.N. official warned of a catastrophic outcome for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians living precariously in war-torn Gaza if humanitarian aid delivery into the territory is not massively expanded in the coming days. "We have to have a system that allows us to be safe and protected when we deliver aid, and that is the responsibility of Israel as we operate in the territory that they occupy," said Jamie McGoldrick, outgoing U.N. humanitarian coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territories. Speaking Friday from Jerusalem, McGoldrick told journalists in Geneva that it was difficult and dangerous for aid workers to move around and deliver aid in Gaza, noting that a UNICEF vehicle was hit Tuesday by live ammunition while waiting to enter northern Gaza. That incident followed the April 1 killing by Israel of seven World Central Kitchen workers who were delivering aid to Gaza, and the attack upon and looting of a 14-truck World Food Program convoy destined for northern Gaza last month. Such developments illustrate that "the system that we use for our own protection and safety is not working," he said. Referring to the convoys that were attacked, McGoldrick said, "I think the humanitarian workers there then feared for their own safety. And as far as we know, the deconfliction and notifications system has got flaws. "We do not have communications equipment inside Gaza to operate properly as you would have in another situation, and secondly, we do not have a hotline or an emergency number to call in case of an emergency incident that arrives, and so it is important that we get that addressed." McGoldrick said he met with Major General Yaron Finkelman, head of the Southern Command of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), this week and presented him with a list of requests that would enable the delivery of humanitarian aid "safely, effectively and at the necessary scale throughout Gaza." He said he told the Israeli major general that "we are working in a very hostile area, without the possibility of contacting each other. We do not have radios. We do not have mobile networks. "If we have a serious security incident, we do not have a hotline. We have no way of communicating with the IDF that we are facing problems at a checkpoint or facing problems en route." McGoldrick said the major general told him that he would move things forward and that a member of the IDF would be part of a new humanitarian coordination and deconfliction cell to improve the situation of Palestinians in Gaza. "We have the commitment from the major general, and we are going to keep him to that commitment and make sure we get that set up and running as soon as possible," he said. McGoldrick noted that not enough aid was entering northern Gaza to satisfy the enormous needs of tens of thousands of people who have been deprived of food, medical care and other lifesaving essentials. "We can see by the health situation. We can see by the nutritional situation," he said. "Children are showing serious signs of malnutrition, and the fact that the IPC [Integrated Food Security Phase Classification] highlights that 70% of the population is in danger of slipping into famine, we need to see a change in that, but that is not happening." Another area of great concern, one that is uppermost in the minds of humanitarians, is a potential incursion by Israel into Rafah. McGoldrick said people he met on a visit to Gaza a few days ago were extremely worried about a possible offensive, concerns he shared with Finkelman. "We have been insisting since day one that we would require time to prepare and pre-position supplies to places where people might move," he said. "We cannot do that right now because we do not have enough supplies coming in on a regular basis. "We are barely able to feed the people and support the people currently. And if we were to add on another dimension of that contingency planning process for a Rafah incursion, we are nowhere ready for that," he said. To counter a health system that no longer is functioning, he said, WHO is setting up emergency medical field hospitals all the way up north and in the middle part of Gaza, to try to provide services "if Rafah gets locked into some sort of military incursion and we cannot operate from there." "We face a real dramatic situation ahead of us," he said. "And if there were to be a Rafah incursion, figures being mentioned are that of evacuating some 800,000 people from Rafah. There is no space as we see it right now where you can accommodate that number of people," he said. "We are ringing the alarm bells that we are nowhere near ready to address the needs.  We will not be part of helping any people move or be part of any evacuation, but we have to be ready to support them if they arrive at another destination," he said. "Some people have been displaced five or six times already."