‘Children are now freezing to death’: harrowing updates from Gaza
Tragically in the last month alone, eight newborns have died of hypothermia and 74 children have already died amid the brutal conditions of winter in 2025. “We enter this New Year carrying the same horrors as the last – there’s…
More than 125,000 refugees return to Syria in desperate conditions
Leading calls for the international community to “move from words to action” to help the country’s most vulnerable returnees urgently, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said that many families have little shelter and few economic prospects. “In recent weeks, there…
Ukraine: Zaporizhzhia attack marks highest civilian casualties in nearly two years
Thirteen civilians were killed, and 110 injured, when two aerial bombs struck an industrial facility in the southern city. This marks the largest number of casualties the HRMMU has recorded since a residential building in Dnipro city was struck on…
Resilience of Ukrainians remains high, as UN maps aid and reconstruction needs for 2025
It has been almost three years since the 24 February 2022 full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has killed thousands of civilians and destroyed vital infrastructure, putting the economy under enormous strain. The UN has recorded more than 28,000 civilian…
UN chief offers condolences amid devastating wildfires in California
The fires, described as some of the worst in the city’s history, have burned thousands of acres, destroyed homes and left firefighters battling to contain multiple blasts in unprecedented conditions. “The Secretary-General is shocked and saddened by the widespread devastation…
Russian shellings kill four in Ukraine
Four people were killed in shellings in Ukraine on Thursday, regional officials said. In Donetsk region, where Russia is slowly advancing westward, regional Governor Vadym Filashkin said on Telegram that two people were killed by Russian shelling in the town…
New research shows a quarter of freshwater animals are threatened with extinction
WASHINGTON — Nearly a quarter of animals living in rivers, lakes and other freshwater sources are threatened with extinction, according to new research published Wednesday. “Huge rivers like the Amazon can appear mighty, but at the same time freshwater environments…
US to pledge $500M for Ukraine as Austin hosts his final Ramstein meeting
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin held bilateral meetings Thursday with his Ukrainian and British counterparts Wednesday before hosting the Ukraine Defense Contact Group one last time. VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb is traveling with Austin as the U.S. is…
US to pledge $500M for Ukraine at Ramstein meeting
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, GERMANY — The United States is providing Ukraine with $500 million in additional weapons and equipment from its existing military stockpiles, in what officials told VOA will be the final military aid package before President Joe Biden…
VOA Persian: Iran rejects claims of obstruction in 2020 downing of Ukrainian airliner
An Iranian official on Wednesday rejected accusations of judicial obstruction in the case of a Ukrainian passenger plane downed by Iran over Tehran five years ago. Critics and victims’ families say Iran’s lack of transparency, frequent contradictions and repeated false…