Irish Anger Over Gaza Overshadows White House St. Patrick Celebration

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White House — U.S. President Joe Biden hosted Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar on Friday for the annual St. Patrick’s Day reception at the White House, amid calls to boycott the event by many in Ireland who are outraged by staunch U.S. support of Israel in its war against Hamas.

“Today celebrates 100 years, 100 years of diplomatic relations between Ireland and America,” Biden said in front of reporters at the top of his meeting with Varadkar. “May the hinge of our friendship never go rusty,” he added, quoting an Irish saying.

Varadkar noted the “strong relationship” between Ireland and the U.S. and said he is “keen” to discuss the situation in Gaza.

“My view is that we need a cease-fire as soon as possible to get food and medicine in, to get the hostages out,” he said. “We need to talk about how we can make that happen and move towards a two-state solution which I think is the onlyway we’ll have lasting peace and security.”

“I agree,” Biden said.

Varadkar has repeatedly called for an “immediate cease-fire,” a step that goes beyond the six-week halt in fighting that Biden is pushing for.

Speaking earlier this week in Boston, where almost a quarter of the city’s population claims Irish descent, the Irish prime minister cited Ireland’s “own painful history,” and said he intends to warn Biden and congressional leaders that if the West does not “see and respect the equal value of a child of Israel and a child of Palestine,” the rest of the world, particularly the Global South, will ignore calls to uphold “rules and institutions that are the bedrock of the civilized world.”

Polls show Ireland, a Catholic-majority European country, is one of the most pro-Palestinian nations in the world. Many Irish cite their own resistance against British rule as the reason for their support of the Palestinian struggle against Israeli occupation.

Varadkar’s visit comes amid shifting public sentiment among Biden’s Democratic Party on the war in Gaza. On Thursday, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in the U.S. and an avid supporter of Israel, stunned Israelis by condemning Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as an “obstacle to peace” and calling for new elections in Israel.

Biden told reporters that Schumer contacted senior White House officials before addressing the Senate on Israel. “He made a good speech, and I think he expressed serious concern shared not only by him, but by many Americans,” he said.

Biden and Varadkar discussed support for Ukraine’s push against Russian aggression amid a deadlock in the U.S. Congress over funding for Kyiv. The Irish leader added his voice to the chorus of European leaders urging House Republicans to pass the aid package.

Varadkar underscored he’s “very worried” about the progress of the war. “We don’t think that if Putin is successful in Ukraine, he’ll stop there,” he said.

Northern Ireland

First Minister of Northern Ireland Michelle O’Neill of Sinn Féin and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly of the Democratic Unionist Party or DUP are also in Washington to take part in St. Patrick’s Day celebrations.

The two aim to deliver the message that Northern Ireland is open for business following the recently restored power-sharing deal in Stormont or the Northern Ireland Assembly, after two years of political infighting between DUP, which favors continued governance with London, and Sinn Féin, which broadly supports reunification with Ireland.

Biden, who often cites his Irish heritage, has long advocated for the Good Friday Agreement, the 1998 peace deal that helped end 30 years of bloody conflict over whether Northern Ireland should unify with Ireland or remain part of the United Kingdom.

“I’m glad to see Northern Ireland’s Executive Assembly is up and running,” Biden said, calling it a “very positive step forward.

In his visit to Northern Ireland last year, the president promised that American businesses are ready to invest once power-sharing and stability is returned.
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Increasing Numbers Of Migrants Arriving In Ciudad Juarez

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Increasing numbers of migrants are arriving in Ciudad Juarez, the Mexican city directly across the U.S. border from Texas, according to immigration officials. They say warm spring weather and the temporary halt to a controversial Texas law are driving the increasing numbers. VOA’s César Contreras reports the story, narrated by Veronica Villafañe.
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Damaging Tornadoes Move Through Midwest, as Officials in Indiana Try to Confirm Deaths

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MADISON, Ind. — Authorities in Indiana said they were working to confirm reports of fatalities from a tornado that was part of storm system that also unleashed suspected twisters in parts of Ohio and Kentucky on Thursday, damaging homes and businesses.

Storm damage in Indiana was reported in the east central city of Winchester, according to Indiana State Police, who said they were working to confirm the deaths that had been reported to them.

Joseph Nield, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Indianapolis, said it was highly likely a tornado caused significant damage in the Winchester area, based on radar data and reports from storm spotters and local officials.

“It appears that is the most significant damage that we’ve had reported to us,” he said.

A Facebook post on the Winchester Community High School page said all the schools in that school district would be closed on Friday. Another post said the high school had electricity and was open for emergency use for people who “need somewhere warm and dry.”

Forecasters were also aware of damage in the Lakeview, Ohio, area and across the region and plan to survey the area Friday to confirm the tornado, said Scott Hickman, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Wilmington, Ohio.

A number of buildings in Lakeview were destroyed, Amber Fagan, the president and CEO of the Indian Lake Area Chamber of Commerce, told ABC 6 news.

“It’s pure devastation,” she said. “I have never seen anything like this in my entire life. “Our Lakeview municipal building is demolished. Our laundromat is gone. The old plastics building is just completely demolished. Downtown, it’s bad.”

A spokesperson for Logan County’s Emergency Management Agency confirmed the tornado. She said there were no confirmed reports of fatalities or injuries. Lakeview is in Logan County.

“We had a tornado strike here in Logan County. There is damage, it is still being assessed. We do have people on the ground, doing that work,” the spokesperson said, hanging up before spelling out her name to a reporter.

Earlier, storms damaged homes and trailers in the Ohio River communities of Hanover and Lamb in Indiana.

Jefferson County Sheriff Ben Flint said storms destroyed three or four single-family homes and four or five other structures and demolished several uninhabited campers along the river.

“We were fortunate that no one was injured,” Flint told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

Sgt. Stephen Wheeles of the Indiana State Police said a suspected tornado struck Jefferson County, damaging several homes and downing trees and power lines.

He posted photos on X, formerly known as Twitter, showing one home with its roof torn off and another missing roof shingles as well as an image of a baseball-sized hailstone.

Around 2,000 Duke Energy customers in Hanover lost power at one point during the storms, the company reported.

In Kentucky, Trimble County Emergency Management Director Andrew Stark said the storms damaged at least 50 structures, including homes.

“We have a whole bunch of damage,” Stark told the Courier Journal of Louisville.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear issued a statement saying a tornado touched down along the Indiana state border in Gallatin and Trimble counties and there were reports of a couple of minor injuries. He urged Kentuckians to stay aware of the weather as more storms were expected across the state Thursday evening and overnight.

“It does appear that there is some really significant damage, especially to the town of Milton in Trimble County,” Beshear said. “We think there are over 100 structures that are potentially damaged.”

The state’s emergency operations center was activated to coordinate storm response, Beshear said.

Large pieces of hail also was reported in parts of the St. Louis area this afternoon.

There were unconfirmed reports of tornadoes in Jefferson County, Missouri, and Monroe County, Illinois, but no immediate reports of damage.

Severe weather was possible into Thursday night from northeast Texas to Indiana and Ohio, the National Weather Service said on X. It issued a tornado watch for parts of Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas and Missouri until 9 p.m. Central Daylight Time.
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Husband of American Journalist Jailed in Russia Brings Campaign to Washington

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Washington — The husband and two daughters of an American journalist jailed in Russia are in Washington this week to call on the U.S. government to do more to help secure the reporter’s release. 

Alsu Kurmasheva, a dual U.S.-Russian national, has been jailed in Russia since October 2023 on charges of failing to register as a so-called foreign agent and spreading what Moscow views as false information about the Russian army. 

Kurmasheva is a Prague-based editor at the Tatar-Bashkir service of VOA’s sister outlet Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, or RFE/RL. The journalist and her employer reject the charges, which carry a combined maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.

Since Kurmasheva’s jailing, her husband, Pavel Butorin, has consistently called for her immediate release. He and their daughters traveled from Prague to Washington this week as part of the campaign to secure Kurmasheva’s release.  

“I’m here because I think that the U.S. government can and should do more for her release,” Butorin told VOA.  

Butorin is the director of Current Time TV, a Russian-language TV and digital network led by RFE/RL in partnership with VOA.

While in Washington, Butorin met with State Department officials, but he did not specify to VOA what was discussed during those meetings.  

“We are making — I will say, cautiously — some progress toward the designation of Alsu as a wrongfully detained American journalist,” Butorin said. “I appreciate the support and attention that Alsu’s case has been given by the administration.” 

For months, Butorin, RFE/RL and international press freedom groups have called on the State Department to declare Kurmasheva wrongfully detained, which would open up additional resources to help secure her release.  

Russia’s embassy in Washington did not immediately reply to a VOA email requesting comment.  

Kurmasheva is one of two American journalists jailed in Russia.  

The other — The Wall Street Journal’s Evan Gershkovich — has been jailed in Russia since March 2023 on espionage charges that he, his employer and the U.S. government deny. The 32-year-old is set to mark one year behind bars on March 29.

The State Department has declared Gershkovich wrongfully detained. 

A State Department spokesperson said U.S. officials have pressed the Russian government for access to Kurmasheva, but those requests have not yet been granted.

“We are deeply concerned about Alsu Kurmasheva’s detention,” the spokesperson told VOA in a statement.  

“The Department of State continuously reviews the circumstances surrounding the detentions of U.S. nationals overseas, including those in Russia, for indicators that they are wrongful,” the spokesperson said regarding a potential wrongful detention determination. 

“I’ve been, again, assured that Alsu’s case is a priority. I’ve heard U.S. officials say that they do think that she is a political prisoner, and they’re working hard on her release,” Butorin said.  

Butorin added that the most just resolution would be for Moscow to drop the charges against his wife, who initially traveled to Russia in May 2023 for a family emergency. Her passports were confiscated when she tried to leave the country in June, and she was waiting for them to be returned when she was detained in October.  

“The charges are absurd — spurious. She’s not a criminal. We know her as a devoted mother to her daughters,” Butorin said. He added that the situation has taken a toll on their two children. 

“My daughters have had to grow up very quickly over these past nine months. It’s been an incredibly stressful situation for our family,” he said. “They want their mother back.”
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Moscow Targets VOA Reporter in Latest Round of Sanctions Against Americans

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Washington — A Voice of America reporter was among more than 200 U.S. citizens sanctioned by the Russian government on Thursday.

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced Thursday that it was sanctioning Jeff Seldin, who covers national security at VOA. Seldin was among several reporters, including some from The Washington Post and The New York Times, to be included in this latest spate of sanctions against U.S. citizens. 

In total, 227 American citizens were included in this round of sanctions over what the Russian government said was “anti-Russian activity.” 

“Entry to the Russian Federation is closed to 227 Americans involved in the development, implementation and justification of the Russophobic course of the current U.S. administration,” the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement on its website.

The announcement came just one day before the beginning of presidential elections in Russia that President Vladimir Putin is almost certainly guaranteed to win. 

Other journalists who were sanctioned included The Washington Post’s Joseph Marks, Joseph Menn, Ellen Nakashima and Tim Starks. Robert Worth from The New York Times was also on the list.

Seldin directed VOA to the outlet’s public relations team, which did not immediately provide comment. 

Seldin isn’t the first VOA journalist to be sanctioned by Moscow. VOA’s former acting director, Yolanda Lopez, was sanctioned by the Russian government in May 2023. 

Government officials, including U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller, were included on the new list. The State Department did not immediately reply to VOA’s request for comment. 

Moscow also sanctioned a slew of professors from various universities including Harvard, Yale and Columbia. 

For Peter Clement, who teaches courses on Russian security policy at Columbia, being included in this round of sanctions didn’t come as a shock. 

“I wasn’t surprised. It’s consistent with past Russian policy to issue what they view as reciprocal sanctions,” Clement told VOA. 

The Kremlin has blocked more than 2,000 Americans from entering Russia in what it says is a response to U.S. sanctions against Russian individuals and companies.

The United States and other Western countries have hit Russia with a massive wave of sanctions in response to its war against Ukraine. 

Some information in this report came from Agence France-Presse. 
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