Turkey hit targets in northern Syria, responding to shelling by Syrian government forces that killed at least four Turkish soldiers, the Turkish president said Monday. A Syrian war monitor said six Syrian troops were also killed. The exchange, which came hours after a large Turkish military convoy entered …
In the real world, political primaries are looming, impeachment is ongoing and heavy news never seems to stop. But during commercial breaks in the Super Bowl, advertisers did their best to serve up an antidote heavily spiked with fun. True, political ads did invade the game, with President Trump and …
The Somali government has declared a national emergency over a locust upsurge which is spreading in the East Africa region. The Somali Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation Said Hussein Iid said the desert locust poses a “major threat” to the country’s already fragile food security situation. The first wave of …
While much of the political world focused on Iowa and its caucuses Monday that kick off the election season, President Donald Trump has his mind on a Democratic candidate who’s skipping the early-voting state. Trump used a Super Bowl pregame interview with Fox New Channel’s Sean Hannity to make a …
Key U.S. Republican senators are saying that President Donald Trump’s request to Ukraine to launch an investigation to benefit himself politically was wrong, but did not amount to a significant enough offense to convict him on impeachment charges and remove him from office. Trump has for months described as “perfect” …
Russia has been dodging U.N. sanctions and hiring North Korean workers to push back against the U.S.-led maximum-pressure policy, while supplementing the shrinking labor supply in its Far East, experts say. “Russia and, to a certain extent, China do not want to completely follow the U.S. sanctions lead,” said Ken …
Former communications minister Mohammed Allawi was named prime minister-designate by rival Iraqi factions Saturday after weeks of political deadlock. The choice came as the country has been weathering troubled times, including anti-government protests and the constant threat of being ensnared by festering U.S.-Iran tensions. The selection of Allawi, 66, to …
A Connecticut opera singer charged with using an SUV to blast through barricades outside President Donald Trump’s Florida estate, drawing law enforcement gunfire, refused to appear in court Saturday, delaying her initial appearance. Palm Beach County Judge Ted Booras said Hannah Roemhild’s first hearing would be held Monday if she …
The impact of climate change on Australia’s unprecedented bushfire crisis will be examined by an independent inquiry set up by the New South Wales state government. The six-month inquiry will look at the causes of the bushfires, as well as how the state of New South Wales prepared and reacted …
The Afghan Taliban’s turbulent negotiations with the United States on a peace deal have ground to a halt over differences on how to reduce insurgent violence. The latest standoff in the peace process, being hosted by Qatar, comes amid a sharp increase in Taliban attacks on U.S.-backed Afghan government forces over …
U.S. forces in northeast Syria again prevented Russian military convoys from touring near the Iraqi border on Friday, in what locals described as an increased escalation between both sides over freedom of navigation in the predominantly Kurdish region. A VOA reporter saw American Humvees patrolling the main road of al-Malikiyah town, also known as Derik, in …
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo vowed Friday that the Trump administration would not waver in its support for Ukraine and denied charges at the heart of President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial. Pompeo met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Friday and denied allegations that vital military aid and a White …
India’s boycott of Malaysian palm oil over Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s rebuke of New Delhi’s handling of Kashmir and Muslim migrants may deal a heavy blow to Malaysia’s economy this year, the more so if it expands to other key commodities. But some economists say the nominally punitive move may …
It’s the final days of the campaign for Democratic presidential hopefuls to win the hearts and minds of voters in Iowa, but so far none of the candidates still in the race have earned University of Iowa student Nick Pryor’s support. “Ah, I’m still undecided at this point,” he told …
There were questions about quid pro quos and whisteblowers, the Constitution and an unpublished book. Senators in President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial posed dozens of questions to White House lawyers and to House Democrats prosecuting the case. The questions, written on paper and read aloud by Chief Justice John Roberts, …
U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Thursday defended President Donald Trump’s response to American troops being diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries from Iran’s missile strike, saying he cared about the service members. Last week, Trump appeared to play down the injuries, saying he “heard that they had headaches and a …
The spotlight on brain injuries suffered by American troops in Iraq this month is an example of America’s episodic attention to this invisible war wound, which has affected hundreds of thousands over the past two decades but is not yet fully understood. Unlike physical wounds, such as burns or the …
A municipal appeals court in Phnom Penh has upheld a lower-court ruling to continue investigating a pair of former Radio Free Asia reporters on espionage charges. Journalists Yeang Sothearin and Uon Chhin, who were detained for “illegally collecting information for a foreign source” in November 2017, had recently filed a …
Nigerian twin girls conjoined in the chest and abdominal regions are now living normal lives, weeks after being successfully separated at the state-owned National Hospital. Medical experts say the operation was the most complicated case of conjoined twins separation in Nigeria. Timothy Obiezu reports from Nassarawa, near Abuja. …
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will come to the U.N. Security Council in February to press the Palestinian case against President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace plan. Abbas will undertake a round of shuttle diplomacy in the next two weeks, starting Saturday in Cairo at a meeting of Arab League …
Members of the U.S. Senate will spend Wednesday asking their questions about the issues involved in the impeachment of President Donald Trump, after spending parts of six days listening to a group of lawmakers from the House of Representatives make a case for convicting the president and his lawyers arguing …
Lawyers for US President Donald Trump closed their defense Tuesday, telling the 100 senators weighing his removal from office he did nothing wrong in his dealings with Ukraine. The first phase of the Senate impeachment trial comes to a close amid a fight over admitting new evidence and witnesses – …
The Pentagon on Tuesday raised to 50 the number of U.S. service members who suffered traumatic brain injuries in Iran’s missile strike earlier this month on an Iraqi air base, the third time the number of injuries has been increased. The new casualty total belies President Donald Trump’s initial claim …
The U.S. Justice Department is denying aNew York Times report about former national security adviser John Bolton and Attorney General William Barr having concerns about President Donald Trump and perceptions he was granting personal favors to the leaders of China and Turkey. “There was no discussion of ‘personal favors’ or …
Officials in Afghanistan say a pre-dawn Taliban in northern Afghanistan has killed at least 13 policemen. The attack comes as the insurgent group is engaged in days of talks with the United States on a possible reduction in hostilities to advance their stalled peace process. A local official told VOA …
The impeachment trial of U.S. President Donald Trump resumed Monday amid reports of new evidence that could change Republican senators’ vote for witness testimony later this week. A New York Times report revealed former National Security Advisor John Bolton alleges Trump personally told him he conditioned aid to Ukraine on …