World

  Commuters make their way amid smog in Lahore on Nov. 2, 2024. KARACHI — Unprecedented air pollution levels in Pakistan\'s second-largest city of Lahore prompted authorities to take emergency measures on Sunday, including issuing work-from-home mandates and closing primary schools. The city held the top spot on a real-time list of the world\'s most polluted cities on Sunday after recording its highest ever pollution reading of 1900 near the Pakistan-India border on Saturday, based on data released by the provincial government and Swiss group IQAir. The government has shut primary schools for a week, advising parents to ensure children wear masks, said Senior Minister of Punjab Marriyum Aurangzeb during a press conference, as a thick b...

  Indian paramilitary soldiers move toward the site of a gun battle in Srinagar, Indian-controlled Kashmir, on Nov. 2, 2024. SRINAGAR, INDIA — Three suspected militants were killed Saturday in separate gunbattles in Indian-controlled Kashmir, officials said Saturday. India’s military in a statement said soldiers intercepted a group of militants in a forested area in southern Anantnag district Saturday, leading to a gunbattle that killed two rebels. In a separate incident in the disputed region’s main city of Srinagar, police and paramilitary soldiers killed a militant in an exchange of gunfire after troops cordoned off a neighborhood on a tip that he was hiding in a house. Police said two soldiers and two police were injured in the fighti...

  FILE - Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan attends a joint press conference with Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, at Tahrir Palace in Cairo, Aug. 5, 2024. Nairobi — Turkey on Sunday said it was committed to deepening relations with Africa, which it and called on to back diplomatic support for Palestinians, as it held its latest African summit in Djibouti. Turkey has invested heavily across Africa in recent years, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan carrying out 50 visits to 31 countries during his two decades in power. Fourteen African countries attended the latest ministerial meeting in the tiny Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti this weekend. They included Angola, Chad, Comoros, Republic of Congo, Egypt, Equatorial Gu...

  A man holds a Mozambican flag as demonstrators march during a protest against the results of the 2024 presidential election in Maputo on Nov. 2, 2024. MAPUTO, MOZAMBIQUE — Police in Mozambique fired tear gas and rubber bullets Saturday as they dispersed protests in several cities over a disputed presidential election, according to local sources and AFP reporters. Unrest has rocked the southern African nation since an October 9 election, which was won by the ruling Frelimo party, in power since 1975, but denounced as fraudulent by opposition parties. Election observers, including some from the European Union, have noted irregularities and denounced violence before, during and after the vote. The leading opposition candidate, Venancio Mon...

  A batch of electrical vehicles for sale parked at a car yard in Addis Ababa, Oct. 3, 2024. ADDIS ABABA — As the price of fuel soared in Ethiopia earlier this year, Awgachew Seleshi decided to buy an electric car. That aligned with the government\'s new efforts to phase out gas-powered vehicles. But months later, he\'s questioning whether it was the right decision. He faces a range of issues, from the erratic supply of electricity in Addis Ababa, the capital, to the scarcity of spare parts. “Charging my car has been a challenge," the civil servant said. “Spare parts that are imported from China are expensive, few mechanics are able to fix such cars and the resale value of such cars is poor.” Seleshi\'s troubles point to wider c...

  FILE - A Ukrainian prisoner of war embraces a loved one after being released as part of a prisoner swap in an undisclosed location in Ukraine, in this handout picture obtained from the Ukrainian Presidential Press Service via Reuters on Oct. 19, 2024. MOSCOW — Kyiv called on Moscow on Sunday to provide a list of Ukrainian prisoners of war ready for a swap after Russia accused Ukraine of sabotaging the exchange process. In requesting the list of Ukrainians from his Russian counterpart, Ukrainian human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets wrote on his Telegram messaging channel: "We are always ready to exchange prisoners of war!" Kyiv and Moscow have frequently exchanged prisoners since Russia\'s full-scale invasion of its smal...

  A man cycles backdropped by Moldovan and Gagauz flags in Comrat, the capital of Gagauzia, an autonomous part of Moldova, Nov. 2, 2024, ahead of a presidential election runoff taking place Nov. 3. CHISINAU, Moldova — Moldovans are casting votes in a decisive presidential runoff Sunday that pits pro-Western incumbent Maia Sandu against a Russia-friendly opponent, as ongoing claims of voter fraud and intimidation threaten democracy in the European Union candidate country. In the first round held October 20, Sandu obtained 42% of the ballot but failed to win an outright majority. She will face Alexandr Stoianoglo, a former prosecutor general, who outperformed polls in the first round with almost 26% of the vote. Polling stations opened Sun...

  FILE - A B-52 Stratofortress conducts a flyover during a 'Salute to America' event on the South Lawn of the White House, July 4, 2020, in Washington. Washington — American B-52 bombers have arrived in the Middle East, the U.S. military said Saturday, a day after Washington announced their deployment in a warning to Iran. "B-52 Stratofortress strategic bombers from Minot Air Force Base\'s 5th Bomb Wing arrived in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility," the military command for the Middle East and surrounding countries said in a post on social media. The United States announced Friday evening that it was sending the bombers, fighter and tanker aircraft and ballistic missile defense destroyers to the Middle E...

  Demonstrators gathered in front of the Israeli Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, Israel, call for the release of Israeli hostages held captive since the October 7 attacks by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip, Nov. 2, 2024. Tel Aviv, Israel — Hundreds of protesters in Tel Aviv, Israel, voiced their frustration with the government Saturday for failing to secure a truce to bring the remaining hostages in Gaza home. Flag-waving demonstrators in the country\'s commercial hub held placards with slogans including "Deal now," "Stop the war" and "We won\'t abandon them," and beat drums and chanted "Why are they still in Gaza?" "There have been countless opportunities to end this crisis, and each o...

  During an interview with VOA in Washington, Mariana Katzarova, the U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in Russia, said Russia's "the state-sanctioned system of torture" is being used as "a tool" to control the country's people, Oct. 29, 2024. washington — Mariana Katzarova, United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in Russia, reported Tuesday on the human rights situation in Russia at the U.N. General Assembly in New York, describing torture as Moscow\'s main tool of repression. In an interview with VOA, Katzarova detailed how the Russian government has turned brutality into the new norm and how Russians are persecuted for their anti-war views. This interview has been edited for clarity and bre...