by Mirits

Thousands in Ireland still without power as officials say Storm Eowyn cleanup will take time 

London — Ireland called in help from England and France on Sunday as repair crews worked to restore power to hundreds of thousands of people after the most disruptive storm for years. More than 1 million people in Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland were left without electricity after Storm Eowyn roared through on Friday. In Ireland, which suffered the heaviest damage, the wind snapped telephone poles, ripped apart a Dublin ice rink and even toppled a giant wind turbine. A wind gust of 183 kph was recorded on the west coast, breaking a record set in 1945. The state electricity company, ESB Networks, said that more than 300,000 properties in Ireland still had no power on Sunday, down from 768,000 on Friday. The Irish military was also helping out, but the company said that it could be two more weeks before electricity is restored to everyone. Irish Minister for Social Protection Dara Calleary said authorities were “throwing everything at it.” “We’re bringing additional people from England today and we’re looking for people from France, additional technicians,” he told broadcaster RTE. “What we’re focused on is getting our infrastructure back up, getting our power back up, getting our water and connectivity back up as soon as is possible.” Another 75,000 people were still without power on Sunday in Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom and neighbors the Republic of Ireland. At least two people died during the storm. Kacper Dudek, 20, was killed when a tree fell on his car in County Donegal in northwest Ireland, local police said. Police in Scotland said that a 19-year-old man, who hasn’t been named, died in a hospital on Saturday after a tree fell on his car in the southwestern town of Mauchline on Friday. More rainy and windy weather battered Britain and Ireland on Sunday, with a gust of 132 kph recorded at Predannack in southwest England. …

by Mirits

Pope Francis warns of ‘scourge of antisemitism’ ahead of Holocaust Remembrance Day 

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis warned of the “scourge of antisemitism” in his Angelus prayer on Sunday, the eve of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, noting it marks 80 years since the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp.  “The horror of the extermination of millions of Jewish people and others of different faiths during those years must never be forgotten or denied,” Francis said, citing the example of Hungarian-born poet Edith Bruck, who lives in Rome.  He noted that many Christians were also killed in Nazi concentration camps, “among whom there were numerous martyrs.”  “I renew my appeal for everyone to work together to eradicate the scourge of antisemitism, along with every form of discrimination and religious persecution,” Francis said.  “Together, let us build a more fraternal, just world, educating young people to have hearts open to all, in the spirit of fraternity, forgiveness, and peace,” he added.  The pontiff also launched an appeal for an end to the civil war in Sudan, which began in April 2023, saying it is causing “the most severe humanitarian crisis in the world, with dramatic consequences even in South Sudan.”  The pope also expressed concern for the situation in Colombia’s Catatumbo region, where many civilians have been killed by clashes between armed groups, which have forced over 30,000 people to leave their homes. …

by Tage

Thousands wait to return to northern Gaza, Trump urges Jordan, Egypt to take Palestinians 

Cairo — Tens of thousands of Palestinians waited, blocked on the road, to return to their homes in northern Gaza on Sunday, voicing frustration after Israel accused Hamas of breaching a ceasefire agreement and refused to open crossing points.  A day after a second exchange of Israeli hostages held in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, the holdup underlined the risks hanging over the truce between the militant group and Israel, longtime adversaries in a series of Gaza wars.  In central areas of Gaza, columns of people were waiting along the main roads leading north, some in vehicles and some on foot, witnesses said.  “A sea of people is waiting for a signal to move back to Gaza City and the north, people are fed up and they want to go home,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a displaced person from Gaza City. “This is the deal that was signed, isn’t it?”  “Many of those people have no idea whether their houses back home are still standing. But they want to go regardless, they want to put up the tents next to the rubble of their houses, they want to feel home,” he told Reuters via a chat app.  On Sunday, witnesses said many people had slept overnight on the Salahuddin Road, the main thoroughfare running north to south and on the coastal road leading north, waiting to go past the Israeli military positions in the Netzarim corridor running across the center of the Gaza Strip.  Vehicles, trucks and rickshaws were overloaded with mattresses, food, and with the tents that used to shelter them for over a year in the central and southern areas of the enclave, and volunteers were distributing water and food.  Under the agreement worked out with Egyptian and Qatari mediators and backed by the United States, Israel was meant to allow Palestinians displaced from the homes in the north to return to their homes.  But Israel said that Hamas’ failure to hand over a list detailing which of the hostages scheduled for release is alive or to hand over Arbel Yehud, an Israeli woman taken hostage during the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 meant it had violated the agreement.  As a result, checkpoints in the central Gaza Strip would not be opened to allow crossings into the northern Gaza Strip, it said in a statement. Hamas issued a statement accusing Israel of stalling and holding … “Thousands wait to return to northern Gaza, Trump urges Jordan, Egypt to take Palestinians “ →

by Mirits

Belarusians vote in election to extend Lukashenko’s 30-year rule 

MINSK — Belarusians voted on Sunday in an election set to hand President Alexander Lukashenko a seventh term, prolonging his three-decade authoritarian rule.    Lukashenko — a 70-year-old former collective farm boss — has been in power in reclusive, Moscow-allied Belarus since 1994.    Speaking after casting his vote in the capital Minsk, the self-avowed “dictator” dismissed critics of his rule and said he could release political prisoners as long as they asked him for a pardon.    Lukashenko suppressed mass protests against his rule after the last election in 2020. He has since allowed Moscow to use Belarusian territory to invade Ukraine in 2022.    All of Lukashenko’s political opponents are either in prison — some held incommunicado — or in exile along with hundreds of thousands of Belarusians who have fled since 2020.    Exiled opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who ran against Lukashenko in 2020, dismissed Sunday’s vote as a “farce.”    “What is happening in Belarus today is a farce,” she told reporters in Warsaw, branding Lukashenko “a criminal who has seized power” and calling for the release of all political prisoners and free and faIr elections.    In a rambling press conference, Lukashenko called his country a “brutal democracy” and said “we don’t put pressure on anyone and we won’t silence anyone.”    He also dismissed the idea of speaking to exiled opponents like Tikhanovskaya.    “What would I have to talk to them about?” he said.    He said exiles had made their own choices, adding that “we didn’t push anyone out of the country.”    Thousands fled Belarus in 2020 and 2021 as authorities embarked on a huge crackdown, with more than 1,000 people now in prison.    Belarusians value ‘peace’    Most people in Belarus have only distant memories of life in the landlocked country before Lukashenko, who was 39 when he won the first national election in Belarus since it gained independence from the Soviet Union.    Criticism of the strongman is banned in Belarus. Most people AFP spoke to in Minsk and other towns voiced support for him.    The other candidates running against Lukashenko have been picked to give the election an air of democracy and few know who they are.    In Minsk, 74-year-old pensioner Nadezhda Guzhalovskaya, who described herself as a “patriot,” voted for Lukashenko because of a lack of other options.    “Maybe everything here is not perfect, we don’t have … “Belarusians vote in election to extend Lukashenko’s 30-year rule “ →

by Mirits

Facebook scammers use fake VOA article to push Russian cryptocurrency scheme

When American conservative commentator Tucker Carlson interviewed Russian IT entrepreneur Pavel Durov in April, he had an additional unexpected audience: scammers. After the video was published, a phony Russian-language transcript of the interview tried to attract “investors” to a cryptocurrency scheme that promised monthly earnings of $13,000. That scheme came to VOA’s attention because its creators used a copy of a VOA Russian article page in their attempts to defraud internet users. It is one of many examples of legitimate media outlets being exploited for fraudulent purposes. These schemes buy advertising using Facebook accounts — often hacked without the user’s knowledge — spanning countries like the Philippines, Mexico and Afghanistan. The strategy and rhetoric follow a pattern, according to Jordan Liles, at American fact-checking site Snopes.com. “There are so many scams online that pose as legitimate publishers,” he told VOA. “Name any publisher – they’ve probably been used in scams to try to fool people who don’t look at their web address bar.” There is no indication that Durov or Carlson is involved in the scheme. VOA reached out to them for comment but received no response. In a statement, Facebook parent company Meta told VOA it takes scams seriously. “Fraud is a problem that’s always persisted with new technology,” the company wrote. “But that’s exactly why Meta always has — and always will — take a hard line against scams, fraud and abuse in all of its forms to help keep it off of our platforms.” Scammers have previously posed as Voice of America, using deepfakes in two separate cases that targeted VOA Russian journalists. Those cases relied on artificial intelligence. In contrast, the Durov scam takes a distinctly low-tech approach: It uses a Q&A-style text transcript in Russian that falsely claims to be a “continuation” of Carlson’s interview. The founder of Russian social media site VKontakte and messenger app Telegram, Durov is a well-known tech entrepreneur. That makes him harder to impersonate. According to an April 2024 report by the Microsoft Threat Analysis Center, while deepfakes of public figures “are relatively routine,” they also tend not to be believable. Layers of lies  At the center of the cryptocurrency scam impersonating VOA is an intriguing promise and a trail of stolen accounts spanning the globe. The fake story claims that Durov told Carlson about his latest creation: ProTON-Invest, an open program that will allow even the least financially literate … “Facebook scammers use fake VOA article to push Russian cryptocurrency scheme” →

by Mirits

Indonesia showcases returned artifacts it had sought for decades from Netherlands

JAKARTA, INDONESIA — Centuries-old stone Buddha statues and precious jewelry repatriated by the Dutch government to its former colony are on display at Indonesia’s National Museum, providing a glimpse into the country’s rich heritage that the government had struggled to retrieve. The collection is part of more than 800 artifacts that were returned under a Repatriation Agreement signed in 2022 between Indonesia and the Netherlands, said Gunawan, the museum’s head of cultural heritage. The objects are not just those looted in conflict but also those seized by scientists and missionaries or smuggled by mercenaries during the four centuries of colonial rule.  “I was so amazed that we have all of these artifacts,” said Shaloom Azura, a visitor to the museum in Jakarta. She hoped other historical objects can be repatriated too, “so we don’t have to go to the Netherlands just to see our own cultural heritage.” The agreement to return cultural objects was inspired by the new era of global restitution and repatriation efforts. In 2021, France said it was returning statues, royal thrones and sacred altars taken from the West African nation of Benin. Belgium returned a gold-capped tooth belonging to the slain Congolese independence hero Patrice Lumumba. Cambodia in 2023 welcomed the return of priceless stolen artifacts that had been seized during periods of war and instability. Many of the items returned so far have come from the United States. And the Berlin museum authority said it would return hundreds of human skulls from the former German colony of East Africa. The Dutch government announced the same year the return of the Indonesian treasures and looted artifacts from Sri Lanka. Few objects made it back before deal was struck The repatriation “is not something out of the blue” but followed a lengthy process, said I Gusti Agung Wesaka Puja, former Indonesian ambassador to the Netherlands who also headed the government’s team tasked to recover the objects. He said negotiations with the Dutch government have been ongoing since Indonesia’s independence in August 1945, but it was only in July 2022 that Indonesia formally requested the return of its cultural objects with a list of specific items. “This repatriation is important for us to reconstruct history that may be lost or obscured or manipulated,” Puja said. “And we can fill the gap of the historical vacuum that has existed so far.” The Dutch government in 1978 returned the famous 13th-century … “Indonesia showcases returned artifacts it had sought for decades from Netherlands” →

by Mirits

Polls open in Belarus with Lukashenko set to extend 30-year rule

MINSK, BELARUS — Belarusians began voting on Sunday, with President Alexander Lukashenko expected to cruise to victory unchallenged for a seventh term, prolonging his three-decade authoritarian rule. Lukashenko — a 70-year-old former collective farm boss — has been in power in reclusive, Moscow-allied Belarus since 1994. Polls opened at 8 a.m. (0500 GMT) in Minsk’s first presidential vote since Lukashenko suppressed mass protests against his rule in 2020. He has since allowed Moscow to use Belarusian territory to invade Ukraine in 2022. The opposition and the West said Lukashenko rigged the last vote and the authorities cracked down on demonstrations, with more than a thousand people still jailed. All of Lukashenko’s political opponents are either in prison — some held incommunicado — or in exile along with tens of thousands of Belarusians who have fled since 2020. “All our opponents and enemies should understand: do not hope, we will never repeat what we had in 2020,” Lukashenko told a stadium in Minsk during a carefully choreographed ceremony on Friday. Belarusians value ‘peace’ Most people in Belarus have only distant memories of life in the landlocked country before Lukashenko, who was 39 when he won the first national election in Belarus since it gained independence from the Soviet Union. Criticism of the strongman is banned in Belarus. Most people AFP spoke to in Minsk and other towns voiced support for him. The other candidates running against Lukashenko have been picked to give the election an air of democracy and few know who they are. In Minsk, 74-year-old pensioner Nadejda Gujalovskaia, who described herself as a “patriot,” voted for Lukashenko because of a lack of other options. “Maybe everything here is not perfect, we don’t have democracy,” said Gujalovskaia. The fate of Ukraine was also on her mind. “I don’t want a Maidan [uprising] here,” she said, referring to the social unrest that erupted in Ukraine in 2013, eventually leading to the ousting of pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych. That set Kyiv’s new pro-European government on a collision course with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who in 2014 seized Crimea and then eight years later launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In 2022, Russian troops entered Ukraine from several directions, including from Belarus. The following year, Russia sent tactical nuclear weapons to the country, which borders NATO countries. “Thanks to our president there is peace in this country,” Irina Lebedeva, repeating the government’s narrative, which … “Polls open in Belarus with Lukashenko set to extend 30-year rule” →

by Tage

Trump discussing TikTok purchase with multiple people; decision in 30 days

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE — U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday he was in talks with multiple people over buying TikTok and would likely have a decision on the popular app’s future in the next 30 days. “I have spoken to many people about TikTok and there is great interest in TikTok,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One during a flight to Florida. Earlier in the day, Reuters reported two people with knowledge of the discussions said Trump’s administration is working on a plan to save TikTok that involves tapping software company Oracle and a group of outside investors to effectively take control of the app’s operations. Under the deal being negotiated by the White House, TikTok’s China-based owner, ByteDance, would retain a stake in the company, but data collection and software updates would be overseen by Oracle, which already provides the foundation of TikTok’s Web infrastructure, one of the sources told Reuters. However, in his comments to reporters on the flight, Trump said he had not spoken to Oracle’s Larry Ellison about buying the app. Asked if he was putting together a deal with Oracle and other investors to save TikTok, Trump said: “No, not with Oracle. Numerous people are talking to me, very substantial people, about buying it and I will make that decision probably over the next 30 days. Congress has given 90 days. If we can save TikTok, I think it would be a good thing.” The sources did say the terms of any potential deal with Oracle were fluid and likely to change. One source said the full scope of the discussions was not yet set and could include the U.S. operations as well as other regions. National Public Radio on Saturday reported the deal talks for TikTok’s global operations, citing two people with knowledge of the negotiations. Oracle had no immediate comment. The deal being negotiated anticipates participation from ByteDance’s current U.S. investors, according to the sources. Jeff Yass’s Susquehanna International Group, General Atlantic, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Sequoia Capital are among ByteDance’s U.S. backers. Representatives for TikTok, ByteDance investors General Atlantic, KKR, Sequoia and Susquehanna could not immediately be reached for comment. Others vying to acquire TikTok, including the investor group led by billionaire Frank McCourt and another involving Jimmy Donaldson, better known as the YouTube star Mr. Beast, are not part of the Oracle negotiation, one of the sources said. Oracle … “Trump discussing TikTok purchase with multiple people; decision in 30 days” →

by Tage

Rubio threatens bounties on Taliban leaders over detained Americans

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday threatened bounties on the heads of Afghanistan’s Taliban leaders, sharply escalating the tone as he said more Americans may be detained in the country than previously thought. The threat comes days after the Afghan Taliban government and the United States swapped prisoners in one of the final acts of former U.S. President Joe Biden. The new top U.S. diplomat issued the harsh warning via social media, in a rhetorical style strikingly similar to his boss, President Donald Trump. “Just hearing the Taliban is holding more American hostages than has been reported,” Rubio wrote on X. “If this is true, we will have to immediately place a VERY BIG bounty on their top leaders, maybe even bigger than the one we had on bin Laden,” he said, referring to the al-Qaida leader killed by U.S. forces in 2011. Rubio did not describe who the other Americans may be, but there have long been accounts of missing Americans whose cases were not formally taken up by the U.S. government as wrongful detentions. In the deal with the Biden administration, the Taliban freed the best-known American detained in Afghanistan, Ryan Corbett, who had been living with his family in the country and was seized in August 2022. Also freed was William McKenty, an American about whom little information has been released. The United States in turn freed Khan Mohammed, who was serving a life sentence in a California prison. Mohammed was convicted of trafficking heroin and opium into the United States and was accused of seeking rockets to kill U.S. troops in Afghanistan. The United States offered a bounty of $25 million for information leading to the capture or killing of Osama bin Laden shortly after the September 11, 2001, terror attacks, with Congress later authorizing the secretary of state to offer up to $50 million. No one is believed to have collected the bounty for bin Laden, who was killed in a U.S. raid in Pakistan. Harder line on Taliban? Trump is known for brandishing threats in his speeches and on social media. But he is also a critic of U.S. military interventions overseas and in his second inaugural address Monday said he aspired to be a “peacemaker.” In his first term, the Trump administration broke a then-taboo and negotiated directly with the Taliban — with Trump even proposing a summit with the … “Rubio threatens bounties on Taliban leaders over detained Americans” →

by Tage

Trump wants Jordan and Egypt to accept more refugees

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE — President Donald Trump said Saturday he’d like to see Jordan, Egypt and other Arab nations increase the number of Palestinian refugees they are accepting from the Gaza Strip — potentially moving out enough of the population to “just clean out” the war-torn area to create a virtual clean slate. During a 20-minute question-and-answer session with reporters aboard Air Force One on Saturday, Trump also said he’s ended his predecessor’s hold on sending 907-kilogram bombs to Israel. That lifts a pressure point that had been meant to reduce civilian casualties during Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza that is now halted by a tenuous ceasefire. “We released them today,” Trump said of the bombs. “They’ve been waiting for them for a long time.” Asked why he lifted the ban on those bombs, Trump responded, “Because they bought them.” Trump has built his political career around being unapologetically pro-Israel. On his larger vision for Gaza, Trump said he had call earlier in the day with King Abdullah II of Jordan and would speak Sunday with President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi of Egypt. “I’d like Egypt to take people,” Trump said. “You’re talking about probably a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing and say, ‘You know, it’s over.’” Trump said he complimented Jordan for having successfully accepted Palestinian refugees and that he told the king, “I’d love for you to take on more, ‘cause I’m looking at the whole Gaza Strip right now, and it’s a mess. It’s a real mess.” He said of such a mass movement of Palestinians, “it could be temporary or long term,” adding that the area of the world that encompasses Gaza, has “had many, many conflicts” over centuries. “Something has to happen,” Trump said. “But it’s literally a demolition site right now. Almost everything’s demolished, and people are dying there.” He added: “So, I’d rather get involved with some of the Arab nations, and build housing in a different location, where they can maybe live in peace for a change.” There was no immediate comment from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office. Trump has offered nontraditional views on the future of Gaza in the past. He suggested after he was inaugurated on Monday that Gaza has “really got to be rebuilt in a different way.” The new president added then, “Gaza is interesting. It’s a phenomenal location, … “Trump wants Jordan and Egypt to accept more refugees” →

by Tage

CIA: COVID likely originated in a lab, but agency has ‘low confidence’ in report

WASHINGTON — The CIA now believes the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic most likely originated from a laboratory, according to an assessment released Saturday that points the finger at China even while acknowledging that the spy agency has “low confidence” in its own conclusion. The finding is not the result of any new intelligence, and the report was completed at the behest of the Biden administration and former CIA Director William Burns. It was declassified and released Saturday on the orders of President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the agency, John Ratcliffe, who was sworn in Thursday as director. The nuanced finding suggests the agency believes the totality of evidence makes a lab origin more likely than a natural origin. But the agency’s assessment assigns a low degree of confidence to this conclusion, suggesting the evidence is deficient, inconclusive or contradictory. Earlier reports on the origins of COVID-19 have split over whether the coronavirus emerged from a Chinese lab, potentially by mistake, or whether it arose naturally. The new assessment is not likely to settle the debate. In fact, intelligence officials say it may never be resolved, due to a lack of cooperation from Chinese authorities. The CIA “continues to assess that both research-related and natural origin scenarios of the COVID-19 pandemic remain plausible,” the agency wrote in a statement about its new assessment. Instead of new evidence, the conclusion was based on fresh analyses of intelligence about the spread of the virus, its scientific properties and the work and conditions of China’s virology labs. Lawmakers have pressured America’s spy agencies for more information about the origins of the virus, which led to lockdowns, economic upheaval and millions of deaths. It’s a question with significant domestic and geopolitical implications as the world continues to grapple with the pandemic’s legacy. Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Saturday he was “pleased the CIA concluded in the final days of the Biden administration that the lab-leak theory is the most plausible explanation,” and he commended Ratcliffe for declassifying the assessment. “Now, the most important thing is to make China pay for unleashing a plague on the world,” Cotton said in a statement. China’s embassy in Washington did not immediately return messages seeking comment. Chinese authorities have in the past dismissed speculation about COVID’s origins as unhelpful and motivated by politics. While the origin of the virus … “CIA: COVID likely originated in a lab, but agency has ‘low confidence’ in report” →

by Tage

Haitian leader: Trump administration’s deportation plans will be ‘catastrophic’

ROME — The president of Haiti’s transitional presidential council said the Trump administration’s decisions to freeze aid programs, deport migrants and block refugees will be “catastrophic” for Haiti. Leslie Voltaire made the comment in an interview with The Associated Press in Rome on Saturday following a meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican. He visited the pope to ask for help for Haiti. “I’m knocking on the doors of people who love Haiti. The pope loves Haiti, and he is eager to help,” Haiti’s interim president said. The pontiff and Voltaire discussed the dire situation in Haiti where gangs have killed civilians and operate across the Caribbean nation with impunity. Half of Haiti’s 11.4 million people are already hungry, according to Voltaire, and losing humanitarian assistance will make the situation dramatically worse. “Trump said that Haiti is a ‘shithole,’ so I don’t think he will care about Haiti,” Voltaire said, noting that thousands of people are already being repatriated from the Dominican Republic every week and gangs are terrorizing the populace. With the new U.S. policies, “the situation will be catastrophic.” During his first administration, President Donald Trump used blunt language to question why the U.S. would accept immigrants from Haiti and other countries in Africa. At the time, the White House did not deny his remark but issued a statement saying Trump supports immigration policies that welcome “those who can contribute to our society.” Voltaire said there are roughly 1.5 million Haitians in the United States and roughly 150,000 who were accepted under a program called the “Temporary Protection System.” “Trump says that he will expel all of them,” Voltaire said, adding that Haiti, which is already struggling with hunger and internally displaced people, cannot handle the influx. In a report released this month, the U.N. migration agency said internal displacement within Haiti has tripled over the last year and now surpasses 1 million people. The situation has been largely caused by gang violence in the Caribbean country. The new figure provided by the International Organization for Migration represents a record for Haiti. IOM said that “relentless gang violence” in Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince has fueled a near-doubling of displacement in the city and a collapse of health care and other services and worsening food insecurity. About 200,000 people have been forcibly returned to Haiti over the last year mostly from the Dominican Republic. Voltaire and his transitional government have … “Haitian leader: Trump administration’s deportation plans will be ‘catastrophic’” →

by Tage

US migrant deportation flights arrive in Latin America

GUATEMALA CITY, GUATEMALA — U.S. military planes carrying dozens of expelled migrants arrived in Guatemala, authorities said Friday, as President Donald Trump moved to crack down on illegal immigration.  A total of 265 Guatemalans arrived on three flights — two operated by the military, and one a charter, the Central American country’s migration institute said, updating earlier figures.  Washington also sent four deportation flights to Mexico on Thursday, the White House press secretary said on X, despite multiple U.S. media reports that authorities there had turned at least one plane back.  The Mexican government has not confirmed either the arrival of flights or any agreement to receive a specific number of planes with deportees.  But Mexico’s foreign ministry said Friday it was ready to work with Washington over the deportation of its citizens, saying the country would “always accept the arrival of Mexicans to our territory with open arms.”  The flights came as the White House said it had arrested more than 1,000 people in two days with hundreds deported by military aircraft, saying that “the largest massive deportation operation in history is well underway.”  Some 538 illegal immigrant “criminals” were arrested Thursday, it said, followed by another 593 on Friday.   By comparison, under Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden deportation flights were carried out regularly, with a total of 270,000 deportations in 2024 — a 10-year record — and 113,400 arrests, making an average of 310 per day.  ‘Bad, hard criminals’  The Guatemalan government did not confirm whether any of the migrants arrested this week were among the deportees that arrived Friday.  “These are flights that took place after Trump took office,” an official in the Guatemalan vice president’s office told AFP.  A Pentagon source told AFP that “overnight, two DOD (Department of Defense) aircraft conducted repatriation flights from the U.S. to Guatemala.”  Early Friday the White House posted an image on X of men in shackles being marched into a military aircraft, with the caption: “Deportation flights have begun.”  Trump told reporters that the flights were to get “the bad, hard criminals out.”  “Murderers, people that have been as bad as you get. As bad as anybody you’ve seen,” he said.  Friday’s deportees were taken to a reception center at an air force base in Guatemala’s capital, away from the media.  Crackdown a campaign promise Trump promised a crackdown on illegal immigration during the election campaign and began his second … “US migrant deportation flights arrive in Latin America” →

by Mirits

Italy’s Meloni defends repatriation of Libyan warlord wanted by ICC

ROME — Italy’s prime minister addressed growing criticism Saturday of the repatriation of a Libyan warlord wanted by the International Criminal Court, as Giorgia Meloni cited an appeals court order and security concerns. The repatriation of Ossama Anjiem to Libya, a key partner in Europe’s efforts to keep migrants from crossing the Mediterranean and landing on its shores, sparked outrage from human rights groups and questions from Italy’s opposition parties. Meloni said her government will ask the ICC to clarify why it took months to issue the arrest warrant for Anjiem, also known as Ossama al-Masri, and why it was issued only after he traveled through at least three European countries. “Al-Masri was released by an order of Rome’s Court of Appeal … It was not a government choice,” Meloni told journalists during a trip to Saudi Arabia. Italy has close ties to Libya’s internationally recognized government in Tripoli and relies on it to patrol its coasts and prevent migrants from leaving. Any trial of al-Masri in The Hague could bring unwanted attention to Italy’s migration policies and its support of Libya’s coast guard. Al-Masri leads the Tripoli branch of the Reform and Rehabilitation Institution, a notorious network of detention centers run by the government-backed Special Deterrence Forces. He was arrested Sunday in Turin, where he reportedly attended the Juventus-Milan soccer match the night before. The ICC warrant, dated the day before his arrest, accused al-Masri of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Mitiga prison, starting in 2015, that are punishable with life in prison. The court said he was accused of murder, torture, rape and sexual violence. The prison holds political dissidents, migrants and others. Human rights groups for years have documented abuses in Libyan detention facilities where migrants are kept. The ICC said the arrest warrant was transmitted to member states Saturday, including Italy, and that the court had told Italy to contact it “without delay” if it ran into problems cooperating with the warrant. But Rome’s court of appeals ordered al-Masri freed Tuesday, citing a “procedural error” in his arrest. The ruling said Justice Minister Carlo Nordio should have been informed ahead of time since the ministry handles all relations with the ICC. Al-Masri was sent to Libya aboard an aircraft of the Italian secret services. The ICC said it had not been given prior notice of the appeals court’s decision, as required, and was “yet … “Italy’s Meloni defends repatriation of Libyan warlord wanted by ICC” →

by Mirits

Tens of thousands protest Germany’s far right as Musk endorses AfD 

HALLE, GERMANY — Tens of thousands of Germans rallied Saturday against the far right ahead of next month’s legislative elections, as U.S. tech billionaire Elon Musk again endorsed the anti-immigrant AfD party. Musk, speaking by video link, told thousands of AfD supporters gathered in the eastern city of Halle that their party was “the best hope for the future of Germany.” AfD supporters at the rally shouted their approval as party co-leader Alice Weidel looked on smiling. Meanwhile, protesters against the AfD turned out in cities across Germany. The largest gatherings took place in Berlin and Cologne, police revising their turnout figures upward to 35,000 and 40,000 respectively. The protesters in Berlin used their mobile phones to form “a sea of light for democracy” in front of the Brandenburg Gate, holding letters forming the word “Resistance.” AfD polling a record AfD is polling at about 20% before Germany’s February 23 elections, a record for a party that has shattered a decades-old taboo in post-war Germany against supporting the far right. The mainstream conservative CDU/CSU alliance leads with about 30%, with CDU leader Friedrich Merz the favorite to become chancellor after the elections. Musk, a close associate of U.S. President Donald Trump, told the AfD rally the election was important. “I think it could decide the entire fate of Europe, maybe the fate of the world,” he said. Musk has rattled European politicians in recent weeks with comments on his social platform X supporting AfD and far-right politicians in other countries, including Britain. Like Trump, the AfD opposes immigration, denies climate change, rails against gender politics, and has declared war on a political establishment and mainstream media it claims limit free speech. Peaceful protests The anti-AfD rallies took place in about 60 towns following calls from a variety of organizations, attracting more people than the police expected. The protests passed peacefully, with banners saying, “Nazis out” or “AfD is not an alternative,” a reference to the far-right party’s full name “Alternative for Germany.” The CDU’s Merz also came in for criticism. Many protesters fear he is tempted to break his party’s policy of refusing to enter into coalition talks with the AfD. There was also a protest in the southern city of Aschaffenbourg, where a deadly knife attack recently by an Afghan migrant further inflamed the debate over immigration. Several thousand also turned out in the eastern city of Halle, where the … “Tens of thousands protest Germany’s far right as Musk endorses AfD “ →

by Mirits

VOA Russian: Exiled Russian artists raise funds to help Ukraine 

More than 50 exiled Russian artists who left the country for Europe to escape the war have raised more than $100,000 in an online charity auction. The funds will be sent to various Ukrainian initiatives aimed at helping Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war or providing assistance to those still residing close to the front line.     Click here for the full story in Russian. …

by Tage

US Senate confirms Noem as homeland security secretary

WASHINGTON — The Senate confirmed Kristi Noem as homeland security secretary Saturday, putting the South Dakota governor in charge of a sprawling agency that is essential to national security and President Donald Trump’s plans to clamp down on illegal immigration.  Republicans kept the Senate working Saturday to install the latest member of Trump’s national security team. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was confirmed in a dramatic tie-breaking vote Friday night, joining Secretary of State Marco Rubio and CIA Director John Ratcliffe. The Senate will next vote Monday evening on Scott Bessent’s confirmation as treasury secretary.  Noem, a Trump ally who is in her second term as governor, received some support from Democrats on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee when it voted 13-2 to advance her nomination earlier in the week. Republicans, who already hold the votes necessary to confirm her, have also expressed confidence in her determination to lead border security and immigration enforcement.  “Fixing this crisis and restoring respect for the rule of law is one of President Trump and Republicans’ top priorities,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Republican from South Dakota, said Friday. “And it’s going to require a decisive and committed leader at the Department of Homeland Security. I believe Kristi has everything it takes to undertake this task.”  Democrats are split on how to handle border enforcement and immigration under Trump, with some warming to his hard-line stand.  Still, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said he would vote against Noem. He pointed to “bipartisan solutions to fix the mess at our border,” adding that Noem “seems headed in the wrong direction.”  The homeland security secretary oversees U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Citizenship and Immigration Services. Beyond those agencies, the department is also responsible for securing airline transportation, protecting dignitaries, responding to natural disasters and more.  Trump is planning major changes to how the department functions, including involving the military in immigration enforcement and reshaping the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Those plans could immediately put Noem in the spotlight after the new president visited recent disaster sites in North Carolina and California on Friday.  During her Senate hearing, Noem was repeatedly asked by Democratic senators whether she would administer disaster aid to states even if Trump asked her not to.  Noem avoided saying she would defy the president, but she told lawmakers, “I will deliver the programs according … “US Senate confirms Noem as homeland security secretary” →

by Tage

Trump proposes ‘getting rid of FEMA’ while touring disaster areas

LOS ANGELES — U.S. President Donald Trump surveyed disaster zones in California and North Carolina on Friday and said he was considering “getting rid of” the Federal Emergency Management Agency, offering the latest sign of how he is weighing sweeping changes to the nation’s central organization for responding to disasters. In fire-ravaged California, the state’s Democratic leaders pressed Trump for federal assistance that he’s threatened to hold up, some setting aside their past differences to shower him with praise. Trump, in turn, pressured local officials to waive permitting requirements so people can immediately rebuild, pledging that federal permits would be granted promptly. Instead of having federal financial assistance flow through FEMA, the Republican president said Washington could provide money directly to the states. He made the comments while visiting North Carolina, which is still recovering months after Hurricane Helene, on the first trip of his second term. “FEMA has been a very big disappointment,” the Republican president said. “It’s very bureaucratic. And it’s very slow.” Trump was greeted in California by Governor Gavin Newsom, a Trump critic whom the president frequently disparages. The duo chatted amiably and gestured toward cooperation despite their history. “We’re going to need your support. We’re going to need your help,” Newsom told Trump. “You were there for us during COVID. I don’t forget that, and I have all the expectations we’ll be able to work together to get a speedy recovery.” Newsom has praised Trump before when looking for help from the federal government. In the early months of the coronavirus pandemic, he called Trump “thoughtful” and “collaborative.” Trump flew over several devastated neighborhoods in Marine One, the presidential helicopter, before landing in Pacific Palisades, a hard-hit community that’s home to some of Southern California’s rich and famous. Accompanied by first lady Melania Trump, he walked a street where all the houses have burned, chatting with residents and police officers. It takes seeing the damage firsthand to grasp its enormity, Trump said after. The fires, which continue to burn, could end up being the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history. “It is devastation. It really is an incineration,” Trump said. Trump’s brief but friendly interaction with Newsom belied the confrontational stance he signaled toward California earlier in the day. Even on the plane en route to Los Angeles, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was using Trump’s disparaging nickname for the governor, “Newscum,” and telling reporters, … “Trump proposes ‘getting rid of FEMA’ while touring disaster areas” →

by Tage

How the oldest known Hebrew book landed in a Washington museum

In 2016, Herschel Hepler was browsing Google Images to practice his paleography — the study of historical writing systems — when he stumbled upon an eerily familiar photo that would lead to a groundbreaking discovery. “I recognized it immediately and said, ‘That’s a manuscript in our collection,’” Hepler, a curator at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, recalls. The museum had recently acquired the manuscript — a rare Jewish prayer book — believing it to be part of the famous Cairo Geniza, a trove of ancient Jewish documents uncovered in a Cairo synagogue in the late 19th century. But the black and white picture in Tablet magazine described the manuscript as a “16th to 17th century Hebrew book of Psalms, said to be from the Bamiyan area” of central Afghanistan. Stunned by the revelation, Hepler set out to verify it. Tracking down the author of the Tablet article, British historian and archaeologist Jonathan Lee, Hepler confirmed that Lee had in fact found the book in an Afghan warlord’s possession in 1998 and photographed the cover and two inside pages. “Without Jonathan’s documentation from his trip to Bamiyan in 1998, we would still be assuming this is probably from the Cairo Geniza,” Hepler said. But if Hepler was surprised to learn about the book’s origin in the remote mountains of Afghanistan, Lee was equally stunned when Hepler revealed that the manuscript had been carbon-dated to at least the 9th century. “At that point, I realized that the discovery was of major importance,” Lee said via email. Recognizing their combined expertise — Hepler in Hebrew manuscripts and Lee in Afghan history — the duo joined forces and invited in other experts. Their yearslong research not only established the manuscript as the oldest-known Hebrew book but also unearthed evidence that Jews had lived in Afghanistan — and along the ancient Silk Roads — for longer than historians previously believed. But the thrill of discovery was dampened by the realization that the manuscript had probably been smuggled out of war-torn Afghanistan and bought on the antiquities market. At the time, the museum, founded by the Green family, owners of the Hobby Lobby arts and craft company, was still reeling from its acquisition of artifacts smuggled from Iraq and Egypt. The museum faced a significant challenge: Before it could showcase it to the world, it needed to legitimize its ownership of the manuscript. This … “How the oldest known Hebrew book landed in a Washington museum” →

by Mirits

Moldovan president visits Kyiv to talk energy, security

KYIV, UKRAINE — Moldovan President Maia Sandu visited Kyiv on Saturday for talks with Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy amid growing tensions in Transnistria, a pro-Russian separatist enclave of Moldova that neighbors Ukraine. The territory, which has a population of half a million, has seen heating, hot water and electricity cut-offs since the start of the year because a Kyiv-Moscow gas transit contract that had allowed Russian gas to flow there has expired. “We’ll discuss security, energy, infrastructure, trade and mutual support on the EU path,” Sandu wrote on X as she arrived in the Ukrainian capital. There was a demonstration in Transnistria on Friday to call on Moldova to facilitate the transit of Russian gas and end the energy crisis, local media reported. Transnistria used to receive gas from Russia via a pipeline that crossed Ukraine and Moldova. Kyiv has refused to renew the transit contract, which expired on Jan. 1, abruptly ending Russian gas supplies to Transnistria, which has declared a state of emergency. The rest of Moldova has been spared gas cuts thanks to gas and electricity imports from neighboring Romania. With Ukraine’s struggle against a Russian invasion nearly in its fourth year, Moldova is afraid the conflict could expand onto its territory in case of Russian attempts to destabilize Transnistria. In an interview with AFP, Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean on Wednesday accused Moscow of trying to generate “instability” in Moldova. He said the crisis could only be resolved if Russian troops stationed in Transnistria since a war against Moldova in 1992 are pulled out. …

by Tage

Buoyed by Trump’s promises, Uzbeks seek closer ties to US

TASHKENT, UZBEKISTAN/WASHINGTON — Uzbekistan is expected to push to deepen relations with the United States in the coming year, a position that is broadly popular among Uzbeks across the country, VOA found during a recent reporting trip. With more than 37 million people, Uzbekistan, Washington’s strategic partner in Central Asia, accounts for more than half of the population of the region, which includes Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. “I understand that the U.S. prefers dealing with us in the C5+1 format — five republics plus Uncle Sam — but we want more bilateral attention, at least for now,” said Sherbek Artikov, a young Uzbek hoping to study political science in America. Artikov is aware that many of his fellow Uzbeks are often denied U.S. visas and that hundreds of them have been deported since 2019 as undocumented immigrants. Yet, he remains optimistic: “I believe over time, Washington will see that Uzbeks are not only reliable strategic partners but also hardworking, compassionate people — both as migrants and visitors.” In recent conversations with a VOA reporter traveling across Tashkent, Ferghana, Bukhara, Samarkand, and Surkhandarya, most Uzbeks expressed enthusiasm about U.S. President Donald Trump’s return to the White House. They hoped his administration would foster stronger connections with the people of Uzbekistan, not just its government. From journalists and activists to entrepreneurs and educators, they want Trump to fulfill his promises to end the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. “We are a peaceful region, despite the continuous turmoil in neighboring Afghanistan, but these conflicts deeply trouble us,” said Zuhra Amonova, an English teacher in Bukhara. Calls for new approach As relations between Washington and Central Asian nations have evolved, there have been some calls by American experts for creating a new diplomatic approach, shifting the U.S. government away from grouping the countries with South Asian nations and instead aligning them more with the Caucasus. Veteran bureaucrats who have worked with these regions at the State Department and the Pentagon told VOA that Washington’s view of this part of the world has increasingly been seen through a Russian lens since the U.S. exit from Afghanistan. Ikboljon Qoraboyev, a professor at Maqsut Narikbayev University in Astana, Kazakhstan, says the Central Asia-Caucasus proposal reflects the region’s crucial role between China and Russia and the growing significance of the Middle Corridor, a transit route across the Caspian Sea that carries goods westward to European markets. … “Buoyed by Trump’s promises, Uzbeks seek closer ties to US” →

by Mirits

One of last Auschwitz survivors makes telling the stories his mission

HAIFA, ISRAEL — Naftali Furst will never forget his first view of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, on Nov. 3, 1944. He was 12 years old. SS soldiers threw open the doors of the cattle car, where he was crammed in with his mother, father, brother, and more than 80 others. He remembers the tall chimneys of the crematoria, flames roaring from the top. There were dogs and officers yelling in German “Get out, get out!” forcing people to jump onto the infamous ramp where Nazi doctor Josef Mengele separated children from parents. Furst, now 92, is one of a dwindling number of Holocaust survivors able to share first-person accounts of the horrors they endured, as the world marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazis’ most notorious death camp. Furst is returning to Auschwitz for the annual occasion, his fourth trip to the camp. Each time he returns, he thinks of those first moments there. “We knew we were going to certain death,” he said from his home in Haifa, northern Israel, earlier this month. “In Slovakia, we knew that people who went to Poland didn’t return.” Strokes of luck Furst and his family arrived at the entrance to Auschwitz on Nov. 3, 1944 -– one day after Nazi leader Heinrich Himmler ordered the cessation of the use of the gas chambers ahead of their demolition, as the Soviet troops neared. The order meant that his family wasn’t immediately killed. It was one of many small bits of luck and coincidences that allowed Furst to survive. “For 60 years, I didn’t talk about the Holocaust, for 60 years I didn’t speak a word of German even though it’s my mother tongue,” said Furst. In 2005, he was invited to attend the ceremony to mark the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Buchenwald, where he was liberated on April 11, 1945, after being moved there from Auschwitz. He realized there were fewer and fewer Holocaust survivors who could give first-person accounts, and he decided to throw himself into memorial work. This will be his fourth trip to a ceremony at Auschwitz, having also met Pope Francis there in 2016. Some 6 million European Jews were killed by the Nazis during the Holocaust — the mass murder of Jews and other groups before and during World War II. Soviet Red Army troops liberated Auschwitz-Birkenau on Jan. 27, 1945, and the day … “One of last Auschwitz survivors makes telling the stories his mission” →

by Tage

App provides immediate fire information to Los Angeles residents

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA — From his home in northern California, Nick Russell, a former farm manager, is monitoring the Los Angeles-area fires. He knows that about 600 kilometers south, people in Los Angeles are relying on his team’s live neighborhood-by-neighborhood updates on fire outbreaks, smoke direction, surface wind predictions and evacuation routes. Russell is vice president of operations at Watch Duty, a free app that tracks fires and other natural disasters. It relies on a variety of data sources such as cameras and sensors throughout the state, government agencies, first responders, a core of volunteers, and its own team of reporters. An emergency at his house, for example, would be “much different” from one at his neighbor’s house .4 kilometers away, Russell said. “That is true for communities everywhere, and that’s where technology really comes in.” Watch Duty’s delivery of detailed localized information is one reason for its success with its 7 million users, many of whom downloaded the app in recent weeks. It acts as a virtual emergency operations center, culling and verifying data points. Watch Duty’s success points to the promise that technologies such as artificial intelligence and sensors will give residents and first responders the real-time information they need to survive and fight natural disasters. Google and other firms have invested in technology to track fires. Several startup firms are also looking for ways to use AI, sensors and other technologies in natural disasters. Utility firms work with Gridware, a company that places AI-enhanced sensors on power lines to detect a tree branch touching the line or any other vibrations that could indicate a problem. Among Watch Duty’s technology partners is ALERTCalifornia, run by the University of San Diego, which has a network of more than 1,000 AI-enhanced cameras throughout the state looking for smoke. The cameras often detect fires before people call emergency lines, Russell said. Together with ALERTCalifornia’s information, Russell said, “we have become the eyes and ears” of fires. Another Watch Duty partner is N-5 Sensors, a Maryland-based firm. Its sensors, which are placed in the ground, detect smoke, heat and other signs of fire. “They’re like a nose, if you will, so they detect smoke anomalies and different chemical patterns in the air,” Russell said. Watch Duty is available in 22 states, mostly in the western U.S., and plans to expand to all states. While fire has been its focus, Watch Duty also plans to … “App provides immediate fire information to Los Angeles residents” →

by Tage

Trump says US government is behind California during visit to fire-stricken state

U.S. President Donald Trump said the federal government is standing behind California 100% in the aftermath of devastating wildfires and said during a visit to the state on Friday that he would come back as much as needed. “The first lady and I are in California to express a great love for the people of California,” Trump told a gathering of local leaders at a fire station in Los Angeles’ Pacific Palisades neighborhood. The neighborhood was one of the worst hit by the recent fires, with rows of homes left in ashes. Trump participated in a walking tour of the area earlier in the day and also surveyed recovery efforts from a helicopter as firefighters in the Los Angeles area continued to confront multiple blazes amid high winds and dry conditions. “I don’t think you can realize how rough it is, how devastating it is, until you see it,” Trump said after the tour. The Palisades Fire is about 77% contained and has burned through nearly 9,500 hectares of land, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Trump has criticized California leaders for water policies that he says have exacerbated the recent wildfires. He said before traveling to California that he would “take a look at a fire that could have been put out if they let the water flow, but they didn’t let the water flow.” California Governor Gavin Newsom has rejected the president’s assertion, and other state legislators have said the fierce wildfires placed extreme demand on a municipal system not designed to battle such blazes. Newsom greeted Trump as he arrived on the tarmac in Los Angeles on Friday. The two were cordial and shook hands. “I have all the expectations we’re going to be able to work together,” Newsom said. Trump responded: “We’re going to get it fixed.” During the gathering with community leaders, Trump said that Los Angeles residents who lost homes should be allowed back onto their properties immediately, challenging Mayor Karen Bass to speed up the cleanup process. “People are willing to get a dumpster and do it themselves and clean it up. There is not that much left, it is all incinerated,” Trump said. Bass said, “the most important thing is for people to be safe,” but promised residents should be able to return home within the week. Trump promised that federal permits to rebuild would be granted promptly … “Trump says US government is behind California during visit to fire-stricken state” →

by Mirits

Russian deepfake videos target Ukrainian refugees, including teen

New online videos recently investigated by VOA’s Russian and Ukrainian services show how artificial intelligence is likely being used to try to create provocative deepfakes that target Ukrainian refugees.  In one example, a video appears to be a TV news report about a teenage Ukrainian refugee and her experience studying at a private school in the United States. But the video then flips to footage of crowded school corridors and packets of crack cocaine, while a voiceover that sounds like the girl calls American public schools dangerous and invokes offensive stereotypes about African Americans.  “I realize it’s quite expensive [at private school],” she says. “But it wouldn’t be fair if my family was made to pay for my safety. Let Americans do it.”  Those statements are total fabrications. Only the first section — footage of the teenager — is real.  The offensive voiceover was likely created using artificial intelligence (AI) to realistically copy her voice, resulting in something known as a deepfake.  And it appears to be part of the online Russian information operation called Matryoshka —‚ named for the Russian nesting doll — that is now targeting Ukrainian refugees.  VOA found that the campaign pushed two deepfake videos that aimed to make Ukrainian refugees look greedy and ungrateful, while also spreading deepfakes that appeared to show authoritative Western journalists claiming that Ukraine — and not Russia — was the country spreading falsehoods.  The videos reflect the most recent strategy among Russia’s online disinformation campaign, according to Antibot4Navalny, an X account that researches Russian information operations and has been widely cited by leading Western news outlets.  Russia’s willingness to target refugees, including a teenager, shows just how far the Kremlin, which regularly denies having a role in disinformation, is prepared to go in attempting to undermine Western support for Ukraine.  Targeting the victims   A second video targeting Ukrainian refugees begins with real footage from a news report in which a Ukrainian woman expresses gratitude for clothing donations and support that Denmark has provided to refugees.  The video then switches to generic footage and a probable deepfake as the woman’s voice begins to complain that Ukrainian refugees are forced to live in small apartments and wear used clothing.  VOA is not sharing either video to protect the identities of the refugees depicted in the deepfakes, but both used stolen footage from reputable international media outlets.   That technique — altering … “Russian deepfake videos target Ukrainian refugees, including teen” →