A Kurdish family in Syria’s northeastern city of Hasakah is anguished by news that 31-year-old Ali Wezir set himself on fire Wednesday outside a United Nations building in Geneva, Switzerland. Wezir, a Syrian Kurdish refugee residing in Germany, suffered burns on 80% of his body after setting himself on fire …
Climate change continues leaving its mark on the world’s oceans. Water levels are rising along with temperatures. Warmer waters supercharge some marine life’s reproduction rates, putting other species’ very survival at risk. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi takes us under the sea. …
In international diplomacy, sports can sometimes act to bridge bitter divides between longstanding rivals. A similar unifying force could be at work, at least temporarily, in America’s politically polarized capital city. VOA’s Brian Padden reports, Democrats and Republicans are coming together to support the Washington Nationals baseball team playing in …
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence criticized American companies for selling out U.S. values to protect their access to China’s profitable markets. In a speech on trade Thursday, Pence singled out Nike and the National Basketball Association (NBA) for ignoring the abuses of the Chinese Communist Party. VOA’s Zlatica Hoke reports. …
The International Red Cross has warned of an imminent “humanitarian catastrophe” at an overcrowded makeshift migrant camp on Bosnia’s border with Croatia and asked for urgent relocation of its occupants to a safer area. In a statement Thursday, it said the Vucjak camp, which has been named “The Jungle” by …
The European Parliament on Thursday awarded the Sakharov Prize for human rights to Uighur intellectual Ilham Tohti, who has been sentenced to life imprisonment in China for “separatism”. The outspoken former professor of economics at a Beijing university was sentenced in 2014 by Chinese courts in a trial that provoked …
U.S Defense Secretary Mark Esper says Turkey’s offensive against Kurds in northeastern Syria was “unwarranted” and Ankara is “heading in the wrong direction” after its agreement with Russia to jointly patrol a “safe zone” in the region. “Turkey put us in a very terrible situation,” Esper said at the German …
A second U.S. resident has pleaded guilty this week to federal charges stemming from an elaborate visa fraud scheme to bring Armenians to the United States under the guise of being folk dance performers. Armenian national and California resident Hrachya Atoyan, 32, took part in an illegal transnational network that …
As Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg sought to allay lawmakers’ concerns Wednesday about the planned launch of a global digital currency, House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters renewed her call to halt the launch and even suggested the company should be broken up. During testimony before the committee, Zuckerberg acknowledged …
A top U.S. Census Bureau official says the agency has pivoted away from verifying addresses and is now kicking off a campaign to recruit and hire as many as a half million temporary workers to help with the largest head count in U.S. history next spring. Timothy Olson, the agency’s …
Iran will not be allowed to participate in any international judo competitions until it allows its athletes to face Israelis. The International Judo Federation (IJF) on Tuesday issued an indefinite ban “until the Iran Judo Federation gives strong guarantees and prove that they will respect the IJF Statutes and accept …
Boeing is replacing the head of its commercial-airplanes division as it struggles with a crisis created by two deadly crashes of its newest airliner. Boeing said Tuesday that Kevin McAllister is out as chief executive of Boeing Commercial Airplanes. He is being replaced by Stanley Deal, leader of Boeing’s services …
The king of Thailand has stripped his royal consort of her titles less than three months after they were bestowed upon her. An announcement in the Royal Thai Government Gazette said 34-year-old Sineenat Bilaskalayani was stripped of all her titles and military ranks for being “ambitious” and trying to “elevate …
Canadian news outlets are predicting that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party will win a second term in office, but will have to do so as a minority government. As of late Monday night, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation said Trudeau’s Liberals were either elected or leading in 146 of …
Iran says it has given the U.S. a list of detained Iranians whom it wants to be freed in a prisoner swap, drawing a vague public response from U.S. officials who have sought to discuss the issue with Tehran. Speaking to reporters Monday in Tehran, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Abbas …
A senior Israeli official attended a maritime security conference in Bahrain on Monday in another sign of Gulf Arab nations and Israel transcending longtime enmities to focus on a perceived common threat from Iran. Israel, which regards Sunni Muslim Gulf states as natural allies against Shi’ite Muslim Iran, has formal …
Sudanese activists are calling for mass protests in the capital, Khartoum, and elsewhere across the country to demand the disbanding of former President Omar al-Bashir’s National Congress Party. The Sudanese Professionals’ Association, which spearheaded the uprising against Bashir’s rule, says Monday’s protests will also renew demands to step up …
The Duke and the Duchess of Sussex said in a joint interview with ITV news filmed during their tour in Africa earlier this month and aired Sunday, that they would not let British tabloids destroy their life. Prince Harry told ITV that most of what is published in the British …
Three U.S. soldiers were killed and three others injured in the state of Georgia Sunday in an accident involving the armored combat vehicle they were in, the military said in a statement. The army provided no details on the nature of the accident, which is under investigation, except to say …
Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney on Sunday defended his claim that President Donald Trump did not withhold nearly $400 million in military aid to Ukraine in order to get Kyiv to undertake investigations of Democratic rivals and the 2016 election. Mulvaney told reporters last week there was …
Influential Iraqi Shi’ite leader Moqtada al-Sadr has given his supporters the green light to resume anti-government protests, after the movement was interrupted following a deadly crackdown. Protests shook Iraq for six days from October 1, with young Iraqis denouncing corruption and demanding jobs and services before calling for the downfall …
Swiss voters elect their parliament this weekend, a challenge for the populist right that has been dominant until now and an opportunity for green parties as environmental concerns have swept up much of Europe this year. Political analyst Pascal Sciarini of the University of Geneva cited a “great unknown” in the …
Zana Omar reports for VOA from Qamishli that the International Red Cross and the Red Crescent traveled to Ras al-Ayn to extract the wounded civilians from the hospital there that had been under siege from the Turkish incursion into the region — both before and after the cease-fire. …
Long after more flamboyant colleagues flamed out of President Donald Trump’s favor amid ethics scandals, low-profile and folksy Rick Perry survived in the Cabinet in part by steering clear of controversy. Until now. The former Texas governor said Thursday that he was quitting as energy secretary by year’s …
Chile’s president declared a state of emergency in Santiago Friday night and gave the military responsibility for security after a day of violent protests over increases in the price of metro tickets. “I have declared a state of emergency and, to that end, I have appointed Major General Javier Iturriaga …