Notices by Voice of America (voanews@mastodon.social)

📷: World leaders attend a commemoration event marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi German Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and extermination camp in Brzezinka, Poland, Jan. 27, 2025.

https://www.voanews.com/a/auschwitz-liberation-at-80-survivors-world-leaders-mark-milestone/7952314.html
#voanews

Hamas militants on Saturday released four female Israeli soldiers they held captive for 15 months to the Red Cross, in a planned exchange for 200 Palestinian prisoners or detainees in Israel.

https://youtu.be/Q2VSnXpLwRg?si=wY5A3kCFCZjf04mA

U.S. immigration agents rounded up undocumented migrants as well as American citizens in a raid of a Newark, New Jersey, worksite on Thursday that the city's mayor said involved detaining a military veteran and violations of the people's rights.

https://www.voanews.com/a/us-agents-raid-new-jersey-worksite-as-trump-escalates-immigration-crackdown/7948613.html

📷 : U.S. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden welcome Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Douglas Emhoff as they arrive at the White House in Washington, D.C., on January 20, 2025, before the arrival of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.

https://www.voanews.com/a/washington-braces-for-trump-inauguration/7942899.html

#VOAInauguration2025 #voanews

📷: Displaced Palestinians walk past the rubble as they attempt to return to their homes, on the day the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas takes effect, in the northern Gaza Strip, Jan. 19, 2025.

https://www.voanews.com/a/netanyahu-says-ceasefire-will-not-begin-unless-hamas-provides-list-of-hostages-/7942164.html
#voanews

SpaceX launched its Starship, the world’s largest rocket, on a test flight Thursday, but it broke apart after a thrilling booster catch at the pad. Communication was lost 8 1/2 minutes into the flight as the engines shut down one by one. Visitors in Turks and Caicos captured footage of debris streaking across the sky, leaving a colorful smoke trail.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVpoeLznFMQ
#voanews

Once controlled by a U.S.-backed Kurdish militia, the strategic Syrian city of Manbij is now in the hands of a Turkish-supported military group. Nearby battles continue to rage and a vast network of tunnels built by Kurdish forces has been uncovered beneath the city. VOA’s Heather Murdoch takes us inside one of these tunnels.

https://youtube.com/shorts/tFaFJiM3dso
#voanews

Magnitude 6.9 earthquake rattles southwestern Japan, followed by tsunami warning

https://www.voanews.com/a/earthquake-rattles-southwestern-japan-followed-by-tsunami-warning/7934799.html
#voanews

▶️ Auckland has become the first major city to welcome 2025, with thousands of revelers counting down to the new year and cheering at colorful fireworks launched from New Zealand's tallest structure, Sky Tower, and a spectacular downtown light show.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWJq7-c8izM
#voanews

Aviation experts said Thursday that Russian air defense fire was likely responsible for the Azerbaijani plane crash the day before that killed 38 people and left 29 survivors injured.

https://youtu.be/D0pmtRjQ_Jw
#voanews

Putin falsely boasts of having military alliances with 'most countries around the world'

https://www.voanews.com/a/putin-falsely-boasts-of-having-military-alliances-with-most-countries-around-the-world-/7915028.html

📷: Ukrainian paratroopers of the 80th Separate Galician Air Assault Brigade participate in the presentation of a 7.5-meter Trident, a Ukrainian national symbol, made of “didukh,” in Lviv, Dec. 23, 2024.

https://www.voanews.com/a/ukrainian-forces-destroy-36-russian-drones/7912194.html

China-Russia Arctic cooperation a US national security concern

https://www.voanews.com/a/china-russia-arctic-cooperation-a-us-national-security-concern/7899904.html

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said Wednesday he plans to have Kari Lake, a politician and former Arizona journalist, appointed head of the international government-funded broadcaster Voice of America.

Trump announced on his social media platform Truth Social that Lake would be appointed director of VOA. Lake is a close political ally of the president-elect and a former anchor for a Fox News television station in Phoenix, Arizona.

https://www.voanews.com/a/trump-names-kari-lake-as-choice-for-voa-director/7899195.html

Footage from VOA's Turkish Service shows Syrian refugees in Turkey and Lebanon celebrating the fall of ousted President Bashar Assad on Sunday.

Joyful crowds are seen waving the three-starred Syrian revolutionary flag and chanting anti-Assad slogans reminiscent of the earliest days of the Arab Spring uprising before Assad’s brutal crackdown and the rise of an insurgency plunged the country into a nearly 14-year civil war.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qVOPkCLZuU
#voanews

📷: President Joe Biden and Chief Operating Officer of Lobito Atlantic Railway Nicolas Gregoire tour the Lobito Port Terminal in Lobito, Angola, Dec. 4, 2024.

👉 President Joe Biden got a first-hand look Wednesday at a U.S.-financed rail project that connects his personal love of railroads with his desire to leave a legacy in Africa that will outlive his administration.

https://www.voanews.com/a/biden-to-visit-us-financed-angolan-rail-hub/7886623.html

📷: Protesters hold EU and Georgian national flags during a demonstration in front of the Parliament building, against the government's decision to delay European Union membership talks amid a post-election crisis, in Tbilisi, Georgia, Dec. 1, 2024.

https://www.voanews.com/a/over-40-people-hospitalized-in-georgia-during-protests-over-suspension-of-eu-talks-/7883123.html
#voanews

‘We have taken risks to tell the stories,’ says press freedom awardee

https://www.voanews.com/a/we-have-taken-risks-to-tell-the-stories-says-press-freedom-awardee/7873482.html

Leaders of the world's largest economies ended their two-day G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro with a statement supporting the priorities of the Global South: climate change, poverty reduction and taxing billionaires.

https://www.voanews.com/a/g20-wraps-highlighting-global-south-issues/7870178.html
#voanews

President Joe Biden has for the first time authorized the use of U.S.-supplied long-range missiles by Ukraine to strike inside Russia, according to people familiar with the matter.

The decision is a major U.S. policy shift and comes as Biden is about to leave office and President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to limit American support for Ukraine and end the war as soon as possible.

https://www.voanews.com/a/reports-biden-for-the-first-time-oks-ukraine-s-use-of-us-supplied-long-range-missiles-in-russia-/7867055.html
#voanews