Five years ago, a car bound for the Ho Chi Minh City airport from downtown might get stuck in a couple of quick jams, costing just an extra minute. Now big swathes of the Vietnamese financial center are congested, and not just during rush hour. That stationary traffic, with engines …
North Korea may have stormed away from nuclear talks with the United States, set an end-of-year ultimatum, and fired missiles at a record pace in the second half of this year. But that is not stopping U.S. President Donald Trump from portraying his outreach to North Korean leader Kim Jong …
It has captured the attention of teenagers, celebrities and global brands. And now U.S. lawmakers and regulators are interested in TikTok, the video app downloaded by 1 billion people. According to Reuters, the U.S. government is launching a national security review into the Chinese company ByteDance’s 2017 acquisition of U.S. …
As the US House of Representatives continues to march forward with an impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump, voters are speaking out in the political battleground state of Wisconsin. VOA’s Kane Farabaugh has more from Madison …
The U.N. Security Council on Monday joined regional voices calling for restraint and dialogue to end the latest political crisis in the West African nation of Guinea-Bissau. Guinea-Bissau President Jose Mario Vaz triggered the latest escalation in an ongoing power struggle with the ruling PAIGC (African Party of the Independence …
President Donald Trump’s longtime accounting firm must hand over eight years of his tax returns to New York prosecutors, a U.S. appeals court ruled Monday in the latest setback for Trump in his tenacious efforts to keep his finances secret. The ruling by the New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court …
Dense, noxious smog enveloped the Indian capital and surrounding area Sunday, causing residents to suffer from burning eyes, sore throats, and shortness of breath. Pollution levels in New Delhi hit a three-year high, forcing 37 flights to be diverted from the city’s international airport due to low visibility. The Central …
Democrats and Republicans continue to spar as the US House of Representatives prepares for public hearings in the impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi reports from Washington …
Dozens of Iraqi protesters attacked the Iranian consulate in the Shiite holy city of Karbala on Sunday, scaling the concrete barriers ringing the building, bringing down an Iranian flag and replacing it with the Iraqi flag, eyewitnesses said. Security forces fired in the air to disperse the protesters who threw …
Anti-government protesters attacked the Hong Kong office of China’s official news agency in a show of anger against Beijing after chaos broke out downtown on Saturday, with police firing tear gas to repel gasoline bombs. Streets in the upscale Causeway Bay shopping area and nearby Victoria Park were clouded in …
Illegal loggers ambushed a group of indigenous forest guards in Brazil’s Amazon, killing one and injuring another, authorities said Saturday. A logger also died in the attack Friday night in Maranhao, a northeastern state, according to FUNAI, a state agency that represents indigenous interests. Paulo Paulino Guajajara, who died after …
A supply ship rocketed toward the International Space Station on Saturday with sports car parts, an oven for baking cookies and a vest to protect against radiation. Northrop Grumman launched its Cygnus capsule for NASA from Wallops Island, Virginia. The 8,200-pound shipment (3,700 kilograms) should reach the orbiting lab …
GISBORN, NEW ZEALAND – New Zealand has launched an official campaign to revive the indigenous Maori language. The ambitious project is part of an official strategy that sees the revival of the language as a key part in national identity and reconciliation. The language has been surprisingly resilient on its …
A land mine explosion in Afghanistan claimed the lives of 9 children Saturday as they walked to school, according to police. Spokesman Khalil Asir said the mine detonated in the northeastern province of Takhar, killing the children, who were nine to 12 years old. Asir said the Taliban planted …
Hong Kong police Saturday fired tear gas in an effort to disperse protesters whose rallies in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory show no signs of subsiding. Saturday marked the 22nd consecutive weekend of pro-democracy protests in the territory’s streets. Friday, Shen Chunyaok, the director of the Hong Kong, Macao and Basic …
The United Nations global climate meeting next month will take place in Madrid rather than Chile, which had to bow out as host on short notice, officials said Friday. U.N. climate chief Patricia Espinosa said representatives of the body that organizes the annual conference had accepted Spain’s offer to host …
The Washington Nationals will not have to travel far, or wait all that long, to visit the White House, as the World Series champions have a get-together planned with President Donald Trump on Monday. Typically, teams wait until the following season when they are in Baltimore or Washington to visit …
Spaniards are voicing outrage after five men were acquitted of rape on the grounds that their 14-year-old victim had been unconscious at the time. The Barcelona-based court ruled Thursday that the men were guilty of the lesser crime of sexual abuse and sentenced them to 10-12 years and fined …
The Nationals’ World Series victory Wednesday night has brought together fans in a city deeply divided by the impeachment inquiry against U.S. President Donald Trump. The Washington Nationals defeated the Houston Astros 6-2 on Wednesday in the seventh game of Major League Baseball’s World Series, earning the team’s first championship …
The United States says it is still looking for ways to block a proposed natural gas pipeline connecting Russia and Germany, after the Danish government this week cleared away one of the last legal obstacles to the project, known as Nord Stream 2. “The Department of Energy strongly believes that …
The FBI says it is investigating more than 2,000 cases tied to groups designated by the United States as foreign terrorist organizations, a figure that reflects the persistent threat posed by outfits such as al-Qaida and Hezbollah. There are currently 68 individual groups on the U.S. State Department’s list of …
U.S. President Donald Trump’s attended two fundraisers this week, raking in millions of dollars for the Trump 2020 and House Republican campaigns. The events, both held at Trump’s own properties in Washington and Chicago are drawing continued scrutiny and charges of ethics violations that the president brushes aside. White House …
Chile canceled the hosting of two important international meetings in the capital, Santiago, because of ongoing protests across the South American country. Chile’s President Sebastián Piñera said Wednesday his country will not host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in November or the COP25 environmental summit in December, as his …
A fire swept through a Pakistani train Thursday killing at least 46 people, police said, after a gas canister passengers were using to cook breakfast exploded. The fire destroyed three of the train’s carriages near the town of Rahim Yar Khan in the south of Punjab province. District police chief …
Indonesia is about the closest thing left to a liberal democracy in Southeast Asia, so analysts had high hopes that President Joko Widodo could promote civil rights and transparency, while steering an open economy to more global trade. As the president enters his second term this month, however, those expectations …
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn were set to trade barbs over Brexit and public spending Wednesday when they face off in Parliament for the last time before a Dec. 12 general election. The House of Commons on Tuesday approved an early election in hopes of …