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United Nations — Haiti’s transitional prime minister assured the international community Wednesday that his violence-plagued nation is at the “dawn of a new era,” and he expressed confidence that a Kenyan-led police mission would help subdue gangs terrorizing the island nation. “Our country is at a crucial turning point in our history,” Prime Minister Garry Conille told a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Haiti. “We find ourselves facing a huge challenge but also an excellent opportunity to restore peace and security in our nation.” He said 12,000 armed gang members are holding Haiti’s population of 12 million people hostage, and he welcomed the arrival on June 25 of the first police contingent from Kenya. It will lead a multination security support mission of about 2,500 police officers expected to deploy to help Haiti’s police stabilize the country. “We will restore our territory house by house, neighborhood by neighborhood,” Conille said. “This isn’t just a security operation; it is a renaissance of the national spirit.” Conille, 58, a physician and former UNICEF and international development official, was elected in May by the Presidential Transitional Council to lead the transitional government and took up his post on June 3. “At this decisive juncture, no project, be it economic or political, can be tackled without addressing the security issue,” he said, acknowledging the many challenges facing the new government. The latest U.N. report on Haiti, issued last Thursday, says gang intimidation and attacks have displaced 578,000 people, mostly in and around the capital, Port-au-Prince, with the majority fleeing to rural areas in the south and north. Murders are up significantly. The U.N. political mission in Haiti, known as BINUH, said in the first five months of this year, 3,252 people have been killed — an increase of 800 people over the last five months of 2023. Kidnappings are also high, with nearly 1,000 abductions between January and May 2024. At least 80% of Port -au-Prince is no longer under the control of the Haitian authorities, and violence is spreading to other parts of the country. The Haitian National Police, or HNP, have been targeted and attacked, and 20 officers have been killed so far this year. Gangs also have demolished three police stations and three prisons. The humanitarian situation is equally bleak. Nearly 5 million Haitians are in emergency or worse levels of food insecurity, and more than 275,000 children under age 5 are likely to suffer from acute malnutrition by the end of this year. The United States is the largest funder of the multinational security support force — also known as the MSS — having pledged more than $300 million focused on logistics, equipment and training. “The Haitian people deserve, at long last, to live in peace — to go to work, school or a house of worship without the threat of violence,” U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said in the council. In helping restore security to Haiti, the MSS will also be helping to create conditions for the holding of credible elections. Haiti hopes to hold them no later than February 2026. The multinational security support mission has been beset with delays, including court challenges in Kenya and a shortage of funding. Haiti has been in turmoil since the July 7, 2021, assassination of President Jovenel Moise at his home in the Port-au-Prince suburb of Petion-Ville. Armed gangs now control much of the capital and have spread to other parts of the country, where they have carried out massacres, kidnappings, human trafficking and sexual violence.

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.

tehran, iran — Iranian presidential candidates on Tuesday discussed the impact of economic sanctions imposed on their country by the United States and other Western nations and presented their proposals for reviving a nuclear deal with world powers. It was the second — and last — live debate on state television pitting little-known reformist Masoud Pezeshkian and Saeed Jalili, a hard-line former nuclear negotiator, ahead of Friday's runoff election in which voters will choose a successor for the late President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in May in a helicopter crash. Pezeshkian, a cardiac surgeon, said that sanctions imposed by the West have badly hurt Iran's economy. He cited the 40% inflation over the past four years and the increasing poverty rates. "We live in a society in which many are begging on the streets," he said, adding that his administration would immediately work to try to get sanctions lifted and vowed to repair the economy. As he did the day before, Pezeshkian said he would find a solution to revive a nuclear deal with world powers by discussing the plan with the country's parliament and finding possible alternatives. "No government in history has been able to flourish inside a cage," he said, referring to the impact of sanctions on Iran's spiraling economy. Former President Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate, in 2015 struck a nuclear deal with world powers that capped Iran's uranium enrichment in return to lifting sanctions. But, in 2018, President Trump pulled the U.S. out from the landmark deal abruptly restoring harsh sanctions on Iran. Jalili, who strongly opposed the 2015 deal, said during Tuesday's debate that the U.S. must honor its commitments on par "with the commitments we fulfilled." He condemned his opponent for not having any plans for getting sanctions lifted and said he would resume talks about a nuclear deal. Jalili, who is known as the "Living Martyr" after losing a leg in the 1980s Iran-Iraq war and is famous among Western diplomats for his haranguing lectures and hard-line stances, also pledged to support the country's stock exchange by providing insurance to stocks as well as financial support to local industries. Both candidates pledged to revive the economy, provide energy subsidies to poor people and facilitate importing cars while supporting the domestic auto industry. They did not elaborate on the source of funds they will need to fulfill their promises. Iran will hold a runoff presidential election Friday, only its second since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, after no one won last week's election outright. Iranian law requires that a winner gets more than 50% of all votes cast. Only 39.9% of the voting public cast a ballot, and more than 1 million of those 24.5 million ballots were later rejected — typically a sign of people feeling obligated to head to the polls but wanting to reject all the candidates.

TEL AVIV — “Thank goodness she got her hug,” was the first thought that went through my mind when news of Liora Argamani’s death was announced Tuesday morning. Liora, born Lee Tchuin Hung in Wuhan, China, was former Israeli hostage Noa Argamani’s mother. She battled brain cancer for years and succumbed to the disease in a Tel Aviv hospital overnight Monday. I met Liora Argamani in October, mere days after her daughter was abducted by Gaza militants from the NOVA dance party she was attending with her boyfriend Avinatan Or. A video of the younger Argamani and her boyfriend’s abduction and her mother’s plea for Noa’s life as she was forcibly driven on a motorbike toward Gaza went viral. On the day I visited the Argamani family home in Israel’s Beer Sheba desert, dozens of family members, social workers, community members, Noa Argamani’s closest friends and clergy affiliates were moving around inside the house and on the front patio. A professional caretaker helped Liora navigate, pushing her walker with one arm while moving to a private room for our interview. Her other arm was in a sling. A friend of the family confided: “Her brain cancer relapsed. She battled it for years and it went into remission but now it’s back and as you can see, it’s affecting her arm and she has lost a lot of weight.” Liora was born in Wuhan and moved to Israel after meeting her future husband, Yaakov. Noa, their only child, was born and brought up in Israel. Liora spoke to me in Mandarin because she hoped that despite her lapsed Chinese citizenship, an appeal might be seen by someone in China’s government who might be motivated to intervene on Noa’s behalf and pressure Hamas for her daughter’s release. Liora was composed and smiled brightly throughout most of the interview as she described the “strong, bold qualities” she felt certain would guarantee her daughter’s survival in captivity. She disclosed information about Noa’s growing up and showed me pictures of a toddler and elementary-school-age Noa. Liora also shared her vision of a reunion. “I’ve imagined that scene so many times,” she said, her face brightening with a broad smile. “First, I’ll give her a very big hug. And for sure we’ll need to give her a big party.” As the months dragged on and the war in Gaza expanded with scant information about the fate of hundreds of Hamas-held hostages, a party, hug and hope seemed remote. Noa was not among 105 hostages released in November 2023 as part of an Israel-Hamas deal. In late November, Liora released a video appeal to her captors. “I have cancer, brain cancer,” she said in a message recorded while sitting in a wheelchair in a Tel Aviv apartment near her cancer treatment clinic. Liora Argamani appeared gaunt and exhausted in the clip. “I don’t know how much time I have left. I wish for the chance to see my Noa at home,” she beseeched. At that stage, no sign of life from Noa had surfaced from Gaza. Then in mid-January, Hamas released a propaganda video showing hostages Itai Svirsky, Yossi Sharabi and Noa Argamani calling directly for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop the war in Gaza and save their lives. In March, Liora Argamani released a second video appeal, this time directed at U.S. President Joe Biden. Face swollen beyond recognition and right eye squeezed shut due to seeming neurological side effects caused by the terminal cancer, Argamani struggled to speak in mixed Hebrew and English. “I’m asking you, Joe Biden. I don’t have much time left in this world. It may be my last wish. I am really begging you. Please help me.” Two months later, Hamas released another propaganda recording — this time of Noa’s voice — urging Tel Aviv residents to take to the streets in protest until a hostage release was secured. “Please don’t let Netanyahu and his government kill us,” she said in the recording. Eight days later, Noa Argamani and three other hostages were rescued by the Israeli army in a dramatic raid after eight months in captivity. According to members of the unit that carried out the operation, one of Noa’s first questions after being secured was whether her mother was still alive. Hours after being helicoptered from Gaza to freedom, Noa was flown to her mother’s bedside at Tel Aviv’s Ichilov hospital. Undergoing de-briefings and mental and physical recovery from eight months of Hamas captivity, Noa Argamani has remained in seclusion since the rescue. Last Saturday night, the younger Argamani broke her silence with the release of a video message played to thousands of attendees at a Tel Aviv Hostage Release rally. Calling for a deal to secure the release of 116 hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza, Argamani spoke of her experience. “As an only child to my parents — and a daughter to a mother with a terminal illness — my biggest worry in captivity was for my parents,” she shared in the video message. Two days later, her mother succumbed to her disease. Although hospital officials declined to clarify the level of Liora’s awareness of Noa’s return, a spokesperson said she believes Liora felt her presence and the warmth of her daughter’s embrace.

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ISLAMABAD — Police in Pakistan said Wednesday that a roadside bomb blast near the border with Afghanistan tore through a vehicle, killing a former senator and his four companions. Initial police investigations concluded that suspected militants used a remote-controlled device to detonate an improvised explosive device in the troubled Bajaur district, noting that it was aimed specifically at the slain former member of the upper house of parliament, Hidayatullah Khan. No group immediately took responsibility for the deadly bombing. Militants affiliated with outlawed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, and a regional Islamic State affiliate, known as IS-Khorasan, routinely target security forces and pro-government tribal elders and politicians in Bajaur and surrounding districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The TTP denied involvement in Wednesday’s attack but reiterated that its violent campaign is targeting only Pakistani security forces and those working for them. Anti-terror drill with US The bombing in Bajaur occurred while military personnel from Pakistan and the United States were participating in a two-week-long joint counterterrorism exercise in another part of the turbulent province, located about 160 kilometers (100 miles) northwest of Islamabad. The bilateral drill began on June 29 at the National Counter Terrorism Center in the town of Pabbi in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with infantry companies from both countries participating. It is designed to “exchange tactical skills at combating the menace of terrorism at sub-unit level,” a Pakistani military media wing announcement said Wednesday. “The exercise is aimed at sharing counter-terrorism experiences besides refining drill procedures vital for counter-terrorism operations,” the statement said. Terrorist attacks have sharply surged in Pakistan, killing hundreds of civilians and security forces in recent months. Pakistani military and police have stepped up counter-militancy operations in violence-hit parts of the country, killing scores of TTP and insurgents linked to other groups. Islamabad accuses the ruling Taliban in Afghanistan of providing sanctuaries to TTP and even facilitating their cross-border attacks. Taliban government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid reiterated Wednesday that they are not allowing anyone to use Afghan soil to threaten Pakistan or any other countries. Mujahid said, while addressing a news conference in Kabul, that Pakistani authorities should stop pointing fingers at Afghanistan for what he described as their internal security problems.

paris — France on Wednesday expelled an Iranian suspected of influence peddling on behalf of Tehran and having links to the Revolutionary Guard’s ideological army, his lawyer and Iranian officials said. The deportation of Bashir Biazar, reportedly a former senior figure in state television in Iran, frustrated Paris-based activists who last month filed a torture complaint against him. Biazar had been held in administrative detention since the beginning of June and was subject to a deportation order from the French interior ministry. Mohammad Mahdi Rahimi, the head of public relations for the office of the Iranian president, wrote on X that Biazar "has been released and is on his way back to his homeland." He said Biazar had been "illegally arrested and imprisoned in France a few weeks ago." But a representative of the French interior ministry, speaking at a hearing earlier Wednesday, said Biazar was an "agent of influence, an agitator who promotes the views of the Islamic Republic of Iran and, more worryingly, harasses opponents of the regime." The representative accused Biazar of filming journalists from Iranian opposition media in September in front of the Iranian consulate in Paris after an arson attack on the building. French authorities also accused him of posting messages on social networks in connection with the war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza in which he denounced "Zionist dogs." During the hearing, his lawyer Rachid Lemoudaa said that the expulsion order was based on assumptions and that his client's comments fell within the scope of "freedom of expression." "I have never been made aware of any threat whatsoever" posed by Biazar, he added. Biazar has been described by the London-based Iran International television channel as a former official for Iranian state broadcaster IRIB. Iranian state media have described him as a "cultural figure." The case has emerged at a time of heightened tensions between Paris and Tehran, with three French citizens, described by France as "state hostages," still imprisoned in Iran. A fourth French detainee, Louis Arnaud, held in Iran since September 2022, was suddenly released last month. Activist group Iran Justice and victims of human rights violations filed the torture complaint against Biazar last month in Paris. It accuses Biazar of complicity in torture because of his past work with IRIB, describing him as a former director of production there. The complaint referred to the regular broadcasts by Iranian state television of statements by, and even interviews with, Iranian or foreign prisoners, which activists regard as forced confessions. "It is incomprehensible ... that no legal proceedings have been initiated" against Biazar, Chirinne Ardakani, the Paris-based lawyer behind the complaint, told AFP. She said there were "serious indications" implicating Biazar "in the production, recording and broadcasting of forced confessions obtained clearly under torture." "Nothing is clear in this case," she added. The French citizens still held in Iran are Cecile Kohler, a teacher, and her partner Jacques Paris, detained since May 2022, and another man identified only as Olivier. Kohler appeared on Iranian television in October 2022 giving comments activists said amounted to a forced confession. Amnesty International describes Kohler as "arbitrarily detained ... amidst mounting evidence Iran's authorities are holding her hostage to compel specific action[s] by French authorities."

Israel annexes more land in the West Bank as Israeli military forces continue their assault near Rafah and shoppers in a northern Israeli mall are stabbed in terror attack. Russia targets Dnipro in heavy airstrikes and American law makers weigh in on Ukraine joining NATO. Vladimir Putin is at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Kazakhstan, a deadly stampede in India and violent weather in the Caribbean.

Russian propagandists used a tactic called disinformation laundering enforced with generative AI technology to fabricate fake news that seems believable. Bugatti told Polygraph.info that Olena Zelenska is not their customer, and she did not purchase a supercar.

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.

Despite 20 years of government treatment programs and a Taliban-imposed ban on poppy cultivation, opium addiction rates continue to rise in Afghanistan. Some Afghans who are addicted to drugs say the Taliban should crack down harder on the sales and purchase of illicit drugs. Mohammad Zaman Sohail has this report from Jalalabad, narrated by Shaista Sadat Lami. Contributors: Anne Ball and Rahim Gul Sarwan

Turkey’s bid to join the BRICS trading group is likely a topic discussed between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the two-day Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Kazakhstan on Wednesday. As Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul, the bid has Erdogan playing a delicate balancing act in his relations with both Washington and Moscow.

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.