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 …
Seasonal rains have brought relief from the haze that blanketed much of Malaysia and Singapore. The toxic air disrupted life for tens of millions of people. Face masks were a common site across Malaysia in September as people tried to protect themselves. (D. Grunebaum/VOA) Face masks were in common usage …
The world’s first female spacewalking team made history high above Earth on Friday, floating out of the International Space Station to fix a broken part of the power network. As NASA astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir emerged one by one, it marked the first time in a half-century …
Amnesty International said in a report Friday that Turkish military forces and a coalition of Turkish-backed Syrian armed groups have shown a “shameful disregard for civilian life” during the offensive into northeast Syria. According to the account, the “serious violations and war crimes” include “summary killings and unlawful attacks that …
Despite a U.S.-brokered cease-fire agreement, fighting continued Friday in northeast Syria. Loud bangs and gunfire could be heard, and smoke could be seen rising over the town of Ceylanpinar, a day after Turkey and the U.S. agreed to a five-day cease-fire in Turkey’s offensive against Kurdish fighters. Turkey considers the …
The portion of Americans with no religious affiliation is rising significantly, in tandem with a sharp drop in the percentage that identifies as Christians, according to new data from the Pew Research Center. Based on telephone surveys conducted in 2018 and 2019, Pew said Thursday that 65% of American adults …
China says two Americans involved in a teaching exchange program were detained three weeks ago near Shanghai for allegedly “illegally moving people across borders.” Alyssa Petersen, who attended the Idaho campus of Brigham Young University from 2014 to 2017, was being held in a Chinese jail outside Shanghai, according to …
New health classes and government partnerships with not-for-profits focused on menstrual health are improving education for girls in Zambia. In 2017, the government announced it would distribute free sanitary pads to girls in some rural and underserved areas. Two years later, menstrual hygiene management classes have been introduced in schools, …
U.S. President Donald Trump’s Iran policy came under strong criticism at a Senate hearing in which Democrats and some Republicans accused him of emboldening Iran by pulling U.S. troops out of Syria. Trump’s Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook, the sole witness at Wednesday’s Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, rebuffed …
A Cuban man who had sought asylum in the United States has died while being held at an immigration jail in Louisiana. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials confirmed Wednesday that Roylan Hernandez Diaz, 43, had died at a private detention facility of an apparent suicide. Hernandez Diaz applied for …