U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper says he wants to see American ground-based intermediate-range conventional missiles deployed to Asia. Speaking to reporters on his first international trip as head of the Defense Department, Esper said the weapons were important due to the “the great distances” covered in the Indo-Pacific region. …
Pakistan has accused rival India of breaching international humanitarian laws by using “cluster munitions” in the latest cross-border skirmishes in Kashmir, saying the weapons killed at least two civilians and injured 11 others on the Pakistani side of the divided region. The allegations come a day after India again rejected …
The U.N. refugee agency welcomes the closure of three detention centers in Libya but voices concern about the whereabouts and fate of the refugees, asylum seekers and migrants who were held in the facilities. The U.N. refugee agency has been advocating for the release of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants …
Another scientific study has confirmed that trees can have a far-reaching effect in stemming global warming by removing large amounts of carbon from the atmosphere. Tree-planting advocates say this is something they’ve known for decades, and the world is finally getting the message. Mike O’Sullivan has more from Los Angeles. …
There are 48 insects included on the U.S. Endangered Species List, and the only way any insect has ever come off the list is through extinction. This is especially troubling for the world’s butterfly populations, which have declined by 20% in the last decades. Erika Celeste takes us to visit …
Indian security officials on Friday said they had found evidence of attacks planned by Pakistani military-backed militants on a major Hindu pilgrimage in the disputed Muslim-dominated region of Kashmir. Tension has run high in the mountainous region since a vehicle laden with explosive rammed into an Indian police convoy on …
U.S. job growth slowed in July and wages picked up moderately, which together with an escalation in trade tensions between the United States and China could give the Federal Reserve ammunition to cut interest rates again next month. The Labor Department’s closely watched monthly employment report on Friday came a …
Air strikes on Syria’s northwestern Idlib region stopped on Friday after the government announced it had agreed a truce following more than three months of deadly bombardment of the jihadist-held region. But the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor also reported tit-for-tat artillery attacks by regime and opposition forces …
Poland on Thursday scrapped its personal income tax for young employees earning less than $22,000 a year, as part of a drive to reverse a brain drain and demographic decline that’s dimming the prospects of a country that is otherwise experiencing strong economic growth. A new law by the right-wing …
The heat wave that smashed high temperature records in five European countries a week ago is now over Greenland, accelerating the melting of the island’s ice sheet and causing massive ice loss in the Arctic. Greenland, the world’s largest island, is a semi-autonomous Danish territory between the Atlantic and Arctic …
Plugged In with Greta Van Susteren examines the global cancer crisis and the search for a cure. Insights from Dr. J. Leonard Lichtenfeld, Chief Medical and Scientific Officer for the American Cancer Society; Cary Adams, CEO of the Union for International Cancer Control; and Dr. Otis Brawley, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor …
The United States does not plan to make changes to a military drill with South Korea, a senior U.S. defense official said Wednesday, despite a series of North Korean missile launches intended to pressure Seoul and Washington to stop joint exercises. The U.S. and South Korean militaries are planning to …
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate on Wednesday confirmed Kelly Craft, a Republican donor who is currently ambassador to Canada, as ambassador to the United Nations, despite opposition from Democrats who criticized President Donald Trump’s nominee as not having sufficient experience for the post. The Senate backed Craft 56 to 34, largely along party lines, moving to …
Germany has rejected the U.S. call to join an international mission to protect maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. The United States had asked Germany to join France and Britain in a mission to secure shipping through the strait, the narrow maritime passage through which international tankers transport at …
The first night of the second round of Democratic presidential candidate debates took place in Detroit Tuesday. The candidates answered questions on a range of issues, including health care, recent mass shootings, immigration and foreign trade. Here are some quotes from each candidate: Steve Bullock, in responding to a discussion on …
Christy Lee contributed to this report which originated on VOA’s Korean Service. The National Defense University, an institution funded by the U.S. Department of Defense, has published a journal article suggesting Washington should share its nuclear tactical missiles with Japan and South Korea to deter North Korea’s growing nuclear threat …
Story updated on July 31, at 12:18 am. U.S. health care policies took center stage Tuesday night at the Democratic presidential candidates’ debate, with more moderate challengers attacking Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, the leading progressives looking to oust President Donald Trump in the 2020 election. Warren and Sanders …
As U.S.-China trade talks are set to begin, U.S. President Donald Trump is warning China against negotiating a deal after the 2020 U.S. presidential election — declaring a delayed agreement would be less attractive than a deal reached in the near term. “The problem with them waiting … is that …
Former Tehran mayor Mohammad Ali Najafi was sentenced to death after being convicted of murdering his wife, the judiciary said Tuesday, after a high-profile case that received extensive media coverage. A prominent reformist, Najafi was found guilty of shooting dead his second wife Mitra Ostad at their home in the …
The move to dismantle the Jason scientific panel follows other Trump administration efforts to abolish or delay the work of independent groups that have been a staple of the U.S. government for decades. U.S. officials say many panels simply add bureaucracy and costs. Opponents of the closures see the change …
The International Monetary Fund says the cumulative decline of the Venezuelan economy since 2013 will surpass 60% and is among the deepest five-year contractions the world has seen over the last half century. Alejandro Werner is director of the IMF’s Western Hemisphere Department. He describes the Venezuelan decline as a …
Syrian troops made advances on the ground in northern Syria on Monday, seizing a hilltop village and a nearby town from insurgents in the first breakthrough for President Bashar Assad’s forces following weeks of intensive air and artillery bombardment. The area has been repeatedly targeted in recent days as …
A large crowd bid a final tearful farewell to an Italian police officer who was stabbed to death in Rome last Friday. Two American teenagers are in custody in connection with the killing. Relatives, friends, colleagues and top political leaders attended the service in the officer’s hometown of Somma Vesuviana, …
Boko Haram militants killed at least 65 people at a funeral in northeastern Nigeria, local officials said Sunday, revising the earlier death toll of 23. “It is 65 people dead and 10 injured,” said Muhammed Bulama, the local government chairman. Bulama said he thought the attack was in revenge for …
Brazil deployed police to a remote Amazon village on Sunday after reports it had been overrun by armed miners following the murder of an indigenous leader, officials and tribal chiefs said. The violence in an area of the northern Amapa state controlled by the Waiapi tribe comes as Brazil’s …
The woman slated to replace Puerto Rico’s governor after he steps down next week said on Sunday she does not want the job. “I reiterate, I have no interest in occupying the position of governor,” Justice Secretary Wanda Vazquez wrote on Twitter. “It is a Constitutional dictum. I hope that …