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Secretary of State Antony Blinken is back in the Middle East. We visit the funeral for those killed in ISIS blast in Iran, and we visit the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank. We get an update on the situation in the Red Sea, plus the latest from Kyiv and the Korean Peninsula.

WASHNGTON — Mongolian police on Friday raided the office of a local news outlet in the country’s capital, Ulaanbaatar. The raid on the Zarig news website came as authorities filed more serious charges against its editor-in-chief, Unurtsetseg Naran, who has been in custody since December 4. Authorities initially arrested Unurtsetseg on accusations of spreading false information and contempt of court. She was ordered to be held in custody for one month, but a court in late December extended that period to two months. Since then, her lawyer told VOA, authorities have added more serious charges, including allegedly conspiring with foreign intelligence organizations. Unurtsetseg, who denies the charges against her, faces eight years in prison, said attorney Erkhembayar Purevdorj, who is representing the journalist. Speaking with VOA around 10:30 p.m. local time Friday, Erkhembayar said the raid on the media outlet’s office was ongoing. “It’s not necessary to raid the newsroom,” the lawyer said. “This action shows us that the law enforcement are not respecting human rights.” Mongolia’s Washington embassy did not immediately reply to VOA’s email requesting comment. The initial charges against Unurtsetseg, which her lawyer described as minor, related to a Facebook post in which the journalist had said it was inhumane to prolong the court hearing of an elderly individual, according to local reports. International and Mongolian press freedom groups have called for Unurtsetseg to be released. In a December statement, the International Federation of Journalists said it “urges the Mongolian authorities to release Unurtsetseg immediately, allow journalists in Mongolia to perform their work without interference, and ensure the press freedom and the freedom of speech is upheld.” Unurtsetseg is known in Mongolia as a journalist who is not afraid to hold officials accountable. While some say she has a brash “gotcha” style of journalism, others praised her investigative work, including coverage of companies that had defaulted on loans to the country’s Development Bank. “She’s a national debt collector, and she saved Mongolia from failing to pay foreign debt bond payments,” Khaliun Bayartsogt, an independent journalist in Ulaanbaatar, told VOA. While Unurtsetseg’s lawyer awaits details of Friday’s raid, he told VOA that for now the priority is securing Unurtsetseg’s release from pretrial detention. 

islamabad — Members of Pakistan’s senate passed a controversial resolution Friday calling for a delay in general elections just weeks before voters head to the polls. The non-binding resolution that quickly drew condemnation cited bad weather, a poor security situation and a rise in COVID-19 cases as reasons to postpone the February 8 vote by a few months. “The voter turnout in colder areas remains notably high during the moderate weather condition[s]. January and February are recognized as the coldest months in a majority of the areas [of] Baluchistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” said Dilawar Khan, an independent senator from Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, as he introduced the resolution. Khan also cited recent attacks on high-profile politicians in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and threat alerts issued by authorities asking politicians in the province to take precautions, as evidence that the environment was not conducive to holding general elections. Just 14 senators out of 100 members were present. Senate rules require one-fourth of the total Senate membership to be present for a quorum. While the majority of those present supported the resolution, major political parties as well as civil society advocates quickly rejected it. Calling it a “conspiracy,” Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, president of Lahore-based think tank Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency, or PILDAT, said the unexpected action taken by a few senators was an insult to the dignity of the parliament. “This is [an attempt] by a few people who deeply wish that Pakistan should not hold elections, the democratic process should not move ahead and Pakistan should stay stuck in this [uncertainty] and caretaker governments’ term be extended,” Mehboob said. Afnanullah Khan, a senator from former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's party, which won the violence-riddled 2013 election, told VOA there was no reason to delay elections. "We held elections when the situation in our country was much worse ... why can't we do so now?" Khan asked. Rumors of election delays have been swirling for months in Pakistan. Mehboob said the non-binding resolution, if considered for implementation, will have to be looked at in light of the country's laws and the constitution. The February vote is already coming after months of delay. The election should have been held by mid-November last year after the parliament elected in 2018 finished its term last August. Pakistan's constitution requires elections within 90 days of the parliament completing its five-year term. The February 8 date came only after the Supreme Court of Pakistan intervened to end a deadlock between the country’s independent election commission and the president’s office over who had the authority to call elections, and when to hold them. The South Asian nation of more than 240 million people has been run by a caretaker administration since August. The setup is meant to ensure free and fair elections but has been frequently accused of working in favor of pro-military political parties. The accusations stem from a military-backed crackdown on former Prime Minister Imran Khan's party. The incarcerated politician’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf party, or PTI, was deprived this week of its iconic election symbol, a cricket bat, while top leaders as well as hundreds of others saw their nomination forms rejected. While many of the rejections are being reversed by election tribunals, the PTI party has faced a severe crackdown since May last year when Khan’s supporters stormed military installations and properties to protest his arrest. Citing efforts to muzzle PTI, the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan this week said that there was little evidence to show the upcoming elections will be free, fair or credible. Murtaza Solangi, the caretaker information minister, has repeatedly rejected the charge that the administration is skewing the electoral landscape against PTI. Solangi, who also serves as the minister for parliamentary affairs, opposed Friday’s resolution in the senate. PTI called on the country's top court to take action against any efforts to delay the elections. Hours after the controversial resolution was passed, Senator Mushtaq Ahmed Khan of the religious political party Jamat-e-Islami introduced a counter-resolution calling for timely elections. He declared the demand to delay elections “unconstitutional and undemocratic.” In a hastily called press conference, Senator Sherry Rehman, representing Pakistan People’s Party, one of the major political parties, also rejected the call for delaying elections, saying “we should move on.” The security situation in Pakistan has deteriorated over the last year. Militant attacks across Pakistan killed about 500 civilians and more than 500 police and military personnel in 2023, according to a report by the Islamabad-based independent Center for Research and Security Studies.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

This week the United States Department of Justice unsealed formerly confidential documents pertaining to convicted sexual offender Jeffrey Epstein. Some of the documents mention big names, including former U.S. Presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton, Britain’s Prince Andrew and others. Aron Ranen reports on the story from New York City.

Nairobi — The Horn of Africa is facing two diplomatic crises. Somalia recalled its ambassador from Ethiopia and Sudan recalled its ambassador from Kenya. Both countries complain of alleged interference in their internal affairs and threats to their sovereignty. Experts warn that the two diplomatic crises, one between Kenya and Sudan, the other between Ethiopia and Somalia, could threaten the stability of East Africa. Sudan’s government, led by the head of the Sudanese Armed Forces, General Abdel Fatah al-Burhan, expressed its displeasure with Kenya after the government there gave a warm welcome to Burhan’s rival, the leader of Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti. Kenya received Dagalo Wednesday as part of its efforts to find a peaceful settlement to the nearly nine-month-old Sudan conflict. Angered by the move, Sudan’s government recalled its ambassador from Nairobi. Al-Burhan sees Kenya as favoring Hemedti in the conflict and has called for Nairobi not to be part of mediation efforts spearheaded by regional bloc IGAD. In the other crisis, Somali leaders were angered by the agreement this week between Ethiopia and the breakaway region of Somaliland. The deal would give landlocked Ethiopia access to the sea and allows it to establish a military base in Somaliland, which Somalia considers part of its territory. To protest the deal, Mogadishu recalled its ambassador from Addis Ababa. The head of the Horn Institute for Strategic Studies, Hassan Khannenje, explained what the latest diplomatic spats mean for a region that has a history of border disputes and conflicts. "For Sudan, it complicates efforts to mediate that conflict, considering Kenya has been a key player in the IGAD quartet," Khannenje said. "It also opens another area of potential conflict between Ethiopia and Somalia, considering that just in the recent week, Mogadishu had made efforts to restart the reconciliation talks with Hargeisa. What that does is it torpedoes all those efforts and sends the entire region into a tailspin with regard to diplomacy." Both Somalia and Sudan have long struggled with internal divisions and conflict, which have displaced millions. Nasong'o Muliro, an international relations and diplomacy lecturer in Kenya, said some foreign powers, including countries in the Gulf, are fueling the potential conflict between the African countries. "So many foreign actors are at play in the region, and it's creating alliances that are now also degenerating into inter-state conflicts because the Horn of Africa was basically suffering from internal conflict, but now, we see a spike of inter-state conflicts whether they are armed, but then they are conflict between states," Muliro said. Muliro said countries like Kenya and Ethiopia should not be taking advantage of the weak central governments in Sudan and Somalia to engage local leaders and pursue their own interests in those countries. "We are seeing a situation where the tradition that has been there of engaging the government of the day, no matter how weak it is, but now it's almost changing," Muliro said. "We are looking at Hemedti and Burhan and in any case, Africa should be behind Burhan but you can see that the states are selectively almost recognizing Hemedti.” The African Union and other international actors are calling for de-escalation of tensions and respect for each nation's territorial integrity and sovereignty.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

BAGHDAD — The Iraqi government is forming a committee to prepare the closing down of the U.S.-led international coalition's mission in the country, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani's office said Friday.  Sudani's statement came a day after a U.S. strike killed a militia leader in Baghdad, prompting anger among Iran-aligned groups that demanded the government end the presence of the coalition in Iraq.  "Government is setting the date for the start of the bilateral committee to put arrangements to end the presence of the international coalition forces in Iraq permanently," a statement from the prime minister's office said.  The committee would include representatives of the military coalition, a government official said.  The U.S. military launched Thursday's strike in retaliation against recent attacks on U.S. personnel, the Pentagon said.  The United States has 900 troops in Syria and 2,500 in Iraq on a mission it says aims to advise and assist local forces trying to prevent a resurgence of Islamic State, which in 2014 seized large parts of both countries before being defeated.  Iran-aligned militia groups in Iraq and Syria oppose Israel's campaign in the Gaza Strip and hold the U.S. partly responsible.  Sudani has limited control over some Iran-backed factions, whose support he needed to win power a year ago and who now form a powerful bloc in his governing coalition.  "We stress our firm position in ending the existence of the international coalition after the justifications for its existence have ended," Sudani was quoted as saying in the statement.  Islamic State claimed responsibility on Thursday for two explosions in Iran that killed nearly 100 people and wounded scores of others at a memorial for top commander Qassem Soleimani. 

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today issued policy guidance on how we analyze an employer’s ability to pay the proffered wage for immigrant petitions in certain first, second, and third preference employment-based immigrant visa classifications, including instances when the sponsored worker is changing employers.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

The Consumer Electronics Show, better known as CES, is back in Las Vegas [January 9 – 12] with more than 3,500 companies from around the globe showcasing the latest developments in artificial intelligence, health care, transportation and much more. VOA’s Julie Taboh gives us a preview. Video edit: Adam Greenbaum. Tina Trinh contributed to this report