With the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad, Turkey sees an opportunity to send home up to 4 million Syrians who came there during Syria’s civil war, amid growing public hostility toward the refugees. Many of those interviewed in Istanbul, however, have built new lives in Turkey and say that with no guarantees of safety or livelihood, they are not ready to return. Dorian Jones reports.
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A Russian missile attack on the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia killed at least 13 people Wednesday and injured dozens more, Ukrainian authorities reported.

The attack came minutes after regional Governor Ivan Fedorov warned that “high-speed missiles” and “glide bombs” were heading toward the Zaporizhzhia region.

Bodies of the victims and people injured in the attack were strewn across a road and adjacent paved areas next to damaged public transportation facilities. The debris hit a tram and a bus with passengers inside, Ukraine’s prosecutor general’s office said.

High-rise apartment blocks, an industrial facility and other infrastructure were damaged in the attack. Emergency workers were trying to resuscitate a man while raging flames, smoke and burned cars could be seen in the background.

Russian troops used two guided bombs to hit a residential area, Fedorov told reporters. He said at least four of the injured were rushed to a hospital in serious condition. Fedorov said Thursday would be an official day of mourning.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on X, “There is nothing more cruel than launching aerial bombs on a city, knowing that ordinary civilians will suffer.”

As he often has, Zelenskyy urged Ukraine’s Western allies to step up pressure on Russia.

Russia regularly carries out airstrikes on the Zaporizhzhia region, which its forces partially occupy. Moscow claims to have annexed the Ukrainian region along with four others, including Crimea, which it unilaterally seized in 2014.

Ukraine hits fuel depot

Earlier Wednesday, the Ukrainian military said it struck a fuel storage depot deep inside Russia near Engels in the Saratov region about 600 kilometers east of the Ukrainian border. The attack caused a huge fire at the facility, which supplies an important Russian air base.

Ukraine’s General Staff said, “The damage to the oil base creates serious logistical problems for the strategic aviation of the Russian occupiers and significantly reduces their ability to strike peaceful Ukrainian cities and civilian objects. To be continued.”

Russian officials acknowledged a major drone attack in the area and said authorities had set up an emergency command center to fight the fire.

Ukraine’s General Staff said the attack hit the depot that supplied a nearby airfield used by aircraft that launch missiles across the border into Ukraine, a statement on Facebook said.

Ukraine has been developing its own arsenal of domestically produced long-range missiles and drones capable of reaching deep behind the front line as it faces restrictions on the range that its military can fire its Western-supplied missiles into Russia.

Zelenskyy said last year that his country has developed a weapon that could hit a target 700 kilometers away. Some Ukrainian drone attacks have hit targets more than 1,000 kilometers away.

Meanwhile on Wednesday, outgoing U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said any future deal to end the war in Ukraine would need to build into it deterrence to prevent Russia from once again attacking Ukraine.

Speaking in Paris, Blinken warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin would try to use any ceasefire in Ukraine to refit Russian forces and eventually attack Ukraine again.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
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Ukrainian forces carried out what Russian officials said Wednesday was a mass drone attack on the Saratov region, causing damage to an industrial enterprise.

Saratov Governor Roman Busargin said the attack targeted the neighboring cities of Saratov and Engels, an area that is home to an airbase for Russian bomber planes.

The General Staff of Ukraine’s military said on Telegram its forces hit a Russian oil depot in Engels that provides fuel to the airbase.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said it destroyed 11 Ukrainian drones in the Saratov region, but did not say anything about damage in the area.

Ukrainian drone attacks are typically focused on the areas directly along the Ukraine-Russia border, with some targeting regions further into Russia. Saratov is located in southwestern Russia about 450 kilometers from Ukraine.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday it also destroyed 21 total Ukrainian drones over Kursk, Rostov, Belgorod, Bryansk, Krasnodar, Volgograd and the Sea of Azov.

Ukraine’s military said Wednesday that Russian attacks overnight included 64 drones mostly targeting areas in central Ukraine.

Air defenses destroyed 41 of the drones over the Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv, Poltava, Sumy and Zhytomyr regions, the Ukrainian air force said.

Officials in Sumy said the attacks damaged a house and injured one person.

Some information for this report was provided Reuters
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Italian journalist Cecilia Sala was freed from an Iranian prison Wednesday and was flying home, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s office said.

Her release came three weeks after she was detained in Tehran while working on a journalist visa.

Iran had accused Sala of “violating the law of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

Meloni’s office praised the “intensive work on diplomatic and intelligence channels” in securing Sala’s release.

Iran has denied any link between Sala’s detention and the arrest of an Iranian businessman days earlier days by Italian authorities. The United States accused the Iranian of illegally supplying drone parts used in an attack that killed three U.S. service members in Jordan. Iran has denied involvement in the strike.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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With temperatures dipping below freezing this week in Moldova’s Russian-backed breakaway region of Transnistria, the end of an agreement to ship natural gas from Russia through Ukraine has led to rolling blackouts, idle factories and a lack of hot water.

Ukraine decided not to renew a five-year gas transfer deal with Russia’s state-controlled energy giant Gazprom. The agreement, which was negotiated before the February 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, allowed natural gas shipments across Ukrainian territories to countries in Europe.

Before the war, Russian pipelines supplied 40% of Europe’s natural gas. Now, that figure is about 8%, according to data from the European Commission.

Ukraine’s energy minister, Herman Halushchenko, confirmed Kyiv had stopped the transit “in the interest of national security,” according to The Associated Press. 

The European Commission has repeatedly emphasized that ending the transfer of Russian natural gas across Ukraine was not a surprise and that countries had time to prepare for it. 

But in Transnistria, a sliver of territory wedged between the Dniester River and the Ukrainian border, the end of the agreement is a serious matter. The pro-Russia separatist enclave, which fought against Moldova in 1992, declared a state of emergency over the end of the shipments.

Moldova’s Foreign Ministry told VOA in a statement that parts of the country west of the Dniester River — which includes most of Moldova’s population and the nation’s capital, Chișinau — was preparing to stop supplies from Russia and has been buying gas on European markets, albeit at a higher price. 

Moldovan authorities said they offered to help the breakaway region obtain gas from European markets. In response, Transnistria’s “Foreign Ministry” claimed Moldova was attempting “to manipulate public opinion by providing false information.” 

In a statement issued on January 6, it said: “Transnistria has not received any specific forms of assistance or adequate practical support from the Moldovan side. There is none today.”

Moldova’s pro-Western prime minister, Dorin Recean, said that by “jeopardizing the future of the protectorate it has supported for three decades in an attempt to destabilize Moldova, Russia is demonstrating the inevitable outcome for all its allies: betrayal and isolation.”

“We view this as a security crisis aimed at allowing pro-Russian forces to return to power in Moldova and use our territory as a weapon against Ukraine, with which we share a 1,200-kilometer border,” Recean said.

“The Moldovan government remains committed to supporting all citizens with simple solutions for those in the Transnistrian region. Alternative energy solutions such as biomass systems, generators, humanitarian aid and basic medical supplies are ready to be delivered if the separatist leadership accepts support,” he added.

Oazu Nantoi, a member of the Moldovan parliament, said he also believes that Transnistria is refusing help from official Moldovan authorities on the Kremlin’s orders.

Nantoi told VOA that most of Moldova is supplied until March.

“There, we are no longer dependent on Gazprom’s monopoly. We can buy gas at market prices,” he said. “Sometimes these prices bite, but Gazprom cannot influence consumption.”
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The eldest son of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump arrived in Greenland on Tuesday for a private visit that heightened speculation that the incoming U.S. administration could seek to take control of the mineral-rich Danish territory.

The Danish state broadcaster reported that Donald Trump Jr.’s plane landed in Nuuk, capital of the vast and icy territory that has some 57,000 residents. Local media broadcast footage of him walking across a snowy tarmac.

In a statement, Greenland’s government said that Trump Jr.’s visit would take place “as a private individual” and not as an official visit and that Greenlandic representatives would not meet with him. Greenland is an autonomous territory that’s part of Denmark.

Mininguaq Kleist, permanent secretary for the Greenland Foreign Affairs department, told The Associated Press that authorities were informed that Trump Jr. would stay for about four to five hours.

Neither Trump Jr.’s delegation nor Greenlandic government officials had requested a meeting, Kleist said.

The visit nonetheless had political overtones.

The president-elect recently voiced a desire — also expressed during his first presidency — to acquire the territory in the Arctic, an area of strategic importance for the United States, China, Russia and others.

The world’s largest island, Greenland sits between the Atlantic and Arctic oceans and is home to a large U.S. military base. It is 80% covered by an ice sheet.

“I am hearing that the people of Greenland are ‘MAGA.’ My son, Don Jr., and various representatives, will be traveling there to visit some of the most magnificent areas and sights,” the president-elect posted on his social media site Monday night, referring to his “Make America Great Again” slogan.

“Greenland is an incredible place, and the people will benefit tremendously if, and when, it becomes part of our nation,” Trump wrote. “We will protect it, and cherish it, from a very vicious outside world. MAKE GREENLAND GREAT AGAIN!”

Greenland Prime Minister Mute Egede has called for independence from Denmark, saying in a New Year’s speech that it would be a way for Greenland to free itself from its colonial past. But Egede has also said he has no interest in Greenland becoming part of the United States, insisting that the island is not for sale.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Tuesday that the future of Greenland would be decided by Greenland and called the United States Denmark’s most important ally.

Denmark’s King Frederik X has been asserting the kingdom’s rights to Greenland as well as the Faroe Islands, a self-governing archipelago located between Iceland and Norway in the North Atlantic Ocean.

Last month, the king changed Denmark’s coat of arms to include fields that represent Greenland and the Faroe Islands. Greenland is represented by a silver bear with a red tongue. The royal announcement noted that since 1194, the royal coat of arms “visually symbolized the legitimacy and sovereignty of the state and the monarch.”

“We are all united and each of us committed for the Kingdom of Denmark,” the king said in his New Year’s address, adding: “all the way to Greenland.”

During his first term, the U.S. president-elect mused about purchasing Greenland, which gained home rule from Denmark in 1979. He canceled a scheduled trip to Denmark in August 2019 after its prime minister dismissed the idea.

Reviving the issue in a statement last month as he announced his pick for U.S. ambassador to Denmark, Trump wrote: “For purposes of national security and freedom throughout the world, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity.”

Trump’s eldest son has become a prominent player in his father’s political movement and has served on his presidential transition team, helping to select the people who will staff the incoming White House.
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WASHINGTON — U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday held an omnibus press conference at his Florida estate, where he explained his stances on key foreign policy issues as he prepares to take office in two weeks.

He forcefully called for the release of hostages seized in Israel more than a year ago by militant group Hamas, saying, emphatically — six times — that “all hell will break loose” otherwise.

The Palestinian group’s stunning terror attack on civilians in Israel sparked a brutal conflict that has since inflamed the region and killed tens of thousands of civilians.

His Middle East envoy had, moments before, joined Trump at the podium to brief reporters on his recent high-level talks in the region, saying that his team was “on the verge” of a deal and that he would travel back in coming days.

“I don’t want to hurt your negotiation,” Trump said to Steve Witkoff. “But if they’re not back by the time I get into office, all hell will break out in the Middle East, and it will not be good for Hamas, and it will not be good, frankly, for anyone.”

On Ukraine, he expressed interest in meeting with Russia’s leader and repeated his vow to get the conflict in Ukraine ”straightened out.” Trump has not explained how he would do this.

When asked about a key demand in Ukraine’s peace plan — that it be allowed to join NATO — Trump said, “My view is that it was always understood” that Ukraine would not be admitted to the security alliance.

He repeated his tariff threats against Canada and Mexico and his line that Canada should be a U.S. state, and he floated a name change, saying: “We’re going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.”

Thessalia Merivaki, an associate teaching professor at Georgetown University, said Trump often uses bluster as a strategy.

“So, Trump has a record of just floating controversial ideas and positions to attract attention and generate interest and media coverage,” she said.

Foreign policy

Trump has not said how the United States will acquire control of Greenland, the large North American island that is an autonomous territory of Denmark. On Tuesday, he repeated his stance that “we need them for economic security.”

When asked directly if he would commit to not use military or economic coercion to back his increasingly voluble desire for control of Greenland and, also, the Panama Canal, Trump replied: “I can’t assure you on either of those two.”

Trump has accused Panama of violating the treaty under which the U.S. ceded control of the famous canal more than four decades ago, under then-President Jimmy Carter.

“Giving the Panama Canal to Panama was a very big mistake,” Trump said. “Giving that away was a horrible thing, and I believe that’s why Jimmy Carter lost the election.”

Trump added that he liked Carter “as a man.” He is expected to attend Carter’s national funeral on Thursday in Washington. President Joe Biden will deliver the eulogy.

First day and beyond

Trump also said he would be “making major pardons” on his first day in office, when asked about his previous vow to issue clemency to some of the more than 1,500 people charged with crimes in connection to the riot on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

He also repeated past commitments to loosen what he called the “quagmire” of U.S. environmental regulations and smooth the path for billionaire investors.

He described his reelection victory as a “landslide” for winning the Electoral College and the popular vote, although official results show he did not win the majority of the ballots, as third-party candidates shaved off votes. He promised to have future election results counted earlier on election night.

He repeated his vow to “drill, baby drill” on his first day in office by reversing Biden’s recent orders seeking to protect against offshore drilling.

He accused Biden of botching foreign policy, saying, “Now I’m going into a world that’s burning.”

Trump will assume office Jan. 20.

Patsy Widakuswara contributed to this report.
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Paris — Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder of France’s far-right National Front who was known for fiery rhetoric against immigration and multiculturalism that earned him both staunch supporters and widespread condemnation, has died. He was 96.

Jordan Bardella, president of the National Rally as the party is now known, confirmed Le Pen’s death in a post on social media platform X on Tuesday.

A polarizing figure in French politics, Le Pen’s controversial statements, including Holocaust denial, led to multiple convictions and strained his political alliances.

Le Pen, who once reached the second round of the 2002 presidential election, was eventually estranged from his daughter, Marine Le Pen, who renamed his National Front party, kicked him out and transformed it into one of France’s most powerful political forces while distancing herself from her father’s extremist image

Despite his exclusion from the party in 2015, Le Pen’s divisive legacy endures, marking decades of French political history and shaping the trajectory of the far right.

His death came at a crucial time for his daughter. She now faces a potential prison term and a ban on running for political office if convicted in the embezzling trial currently underway.

A fixture for decades in French politics, the fiery Jean-Marie Le Pen was a wily political strategist and gifted orator who used his charisma to captivate crowds with his anti-immigration message.

The portly, silver-haired son of a Breton fisherman viewed himself as a man with a mission — to keep France French under the banner of the National Front. Picking Joan of Arc as the party’s patron saint, Le Pen made Islam, and Muslim immigrants, his primary target, blaming them for the economic and social woes of France.

A former paratrooper and Foreign Legionnaire who fought in Indochina and Algeria, he led sympathizers into political and ideological battles with a panache that became a signature of his career.

“If I advance, follow me; if I die, avenge me; if I shirk, kill me,” Le Pen said at a 1990 party congress, reflecting the theatrical style that for decades fed the fervor of followers.

Le Pen had recently been exempted from prosecution on health grounds from a high-profile trial over his party’s suspected embezzlement of European Parliament funds that opened in September. Le Pen had 11 prior convictions, including for violence against a public official and antisemitic hate speech.

French judicial authorities placed Le Pen under legal guardianship in February at the request of his family as his health declined, French media reported. He had been in frail health for some time.
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Paris — France on Tuesday commemorated the victims of the deadly assault on the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine 10 years ago that began a spate of Islamist militant attacks on the country and stoked a debate on press freedoms that still rages today.

Two masked al Qaeda-linked gunmen with assault rifles stormed what were then the offices of Charlie Hebdo and killed 12 people. The attackers sought to avenge the Prophet Mohammad nearly a decade after the atheist and frequently provocative weekly published cartoons mocking the Prophet.

The killings spurred an outpouring of national sympathy expressed in the slogan “Je Suis Charlie” (I am Charlie) and prompted an impassioned debate about freedom of expression and religion in secular France.

“There were scenes I will never forget,” former French President Francois Hollande told Reuters. “We had to act and we did so responsibly, aware that we weren’t finished and that there would be other tragedies. And there were.”

President Emmanuel Macron and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo will lead the commemorations, which include a wreath-laying ceremony and a minute’s silence at three locations in the capital.

Al Qaeda’s Yemen branch had placed Charlie Hebdo’s then editor, Stephane Charbonnier, on its “wanted list” after the magazine first ran the images of the Prophet Mohammad in 2006.

Two attackers born and raised in France stormed Charlie Hebdo’s offices on Jan. 7, 2015, spraying gunfire. They killed eight members of the editorial team, including Charbonnier, and four other people before being shot dead by police.

Over the next two days, another French-born man killed a policewoman and four Jewish hostages in a kosher supermarket in a Paris suburb. He was also shot dead by police.

More than 250 people have been killed in France in Islamist violence since then, laying bare the struggle the country has faced to counter the threat posed by militants.

Freedom of speech

The anniversary has prompted renewed reflection in France about press freedoms. Hollande expressed concern that there was growing self-censorship stemming from fear.

“Should we publish drawings, project certain images, or compile reports when we know they may hurt personalities or communities? There is a form of self-censorship that has taken root,” he said.

Charlie Hebdo published a special edition to mark the anniversary, depicting a man sitting on the butt of gun in front of the word “Indestructible!” on its cover.

“Today the values of Charlie Hebdo — such as humor, satire, freedom of expression, ecology, secularism, feminism, to name a few – have never been so under threat,” it said in an editorial.

Charlie Hebdo’s no-taboo journalism divides France. For Muslims any depiction of the Prophet Mohammad is blasphemous.

Critics of Charlie Hebdo accuse it of crossing the line and straying into Islamophobia by repeatedly publishing cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad. The magazine denies this and says it lampoons all religions, including Christianity.
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