Barack Obama is urging Canadians to reelect Prime Minster Justin Trudeau, an apparently unprecedented endorsement of a candidate in a Canadian election by a former American president. Obama tweeted Wednesday that he was proud to work with Trudeau and described him as a hard-working, effective leader who takes on big …
Protesters and police clashed late on Tuesday in Barcelona during rallies against the jailing of nine Catalan separatist leaders, with the unusually tense confrontations turning into a major challenge for Spanish and regional authorities. Protesters threw cans, stones and flares at riot police, and set garbage containers and cardboard on …
Rescue workers in Japan searched for the missing on Wednesday as the death toll from one of the worst typhoons to hit the country rose to 74, public broadcaster NHK said, many drowned by flooding after scores of rivers burst their banks. Public broadcaster NHK said 12 were missing and …
China’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday that Beijing resolutely opposed new measures passed by the U.S. House of Representatives related to the Hong Kong protests and urged lawmakers to stop interfering. China’s relationship with the United States will be damaged should the legislation become law, foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang …
The toll of death and destruction from a typhoon that tore through central and northern Japan climbed Tuesday, as the government said it was considering approving a special budget for the disaster response and eventual reconstruction. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told a parliamentary session that the number of deaths …
Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday, as part of a Mideast tour aimed at strengthening ties between Moscow and this longtime U.S. ally amid tensions in the wider Persian Gulf. Abu Dhabi’s powerful crown prince, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, met Putin at the airport …
Hong Kong pro-democracy advocates are urging the U.S. Congress to pass a human rights bill that could impose trade sanctions on this international financial center, a measure that critics say could cause more harm than good. At a massive pro-American, pro-democracy rally on Monday evening in central Hong Kong, …
President Donald Trump is trying to influence votes on ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars.” Trump on Monday tweeted that viewers should vote for former White House press secretary Sean Spicer. The president called Spicer a “good guy” and wrote “he has always been there for us!” Spicer tweeted his …
Rescue workers and search dogs are gingerly moving through a dangerously unstable building in New Orleans that partially collapsed over the weekend. They were looking Monday for the only person still unaccounted for following Saturday’s disaster at a hotel under construction at the edge of the French Quarter. Two people …
A retired soldier who was shot in the head while searching for Army Pvt. Bowe Bergdahl has died. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports 46-year-old Master Sgt. Mark Allen of Loganville, Georgia, died Saturday. His obituary says he died from complications of an injury sustained while serving in Afghanistan. Allen …
American Simone Biles became the most decorated gymnast in world championship history on Sunday when she won the beam and floor finals to take her career tally to 25 medals. Soon after securing a convincing victory on the beam in Stuttgart to overtake Belarusian Vitaly Scherbo’s record tally of 23 …
Parents of the British teen killed when his motorcycle collided with car allegedly driven by an American diplomat’s wife are on their way to the U.S. hoping to seek justice. Harry Dunn, 19, died in August in near the Croughton Royal Air Force base in Northhamptonshire, which is used by …
California has become the first U.S. state to ban all production and sale of animal fur products. Governor Gavin Newsom signed the bill that will make it illegal to make, sell and even donate any new item made using animal fur starting in 2023. The bill excludes used items, taxidemy …
There are more than a dozen candidates running against U.S. President Donald Trump in the next presidential race, but one Democrat who is standing out in the Asian American community is entrepreneur, Andrew Yang. He may not be one of the top three candidates in the Democratic Party, but he …
Banned Books Week happens every year as many children in America begin a new school year. In honor of the occasion, local libraries organize readings of Harry Potter, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, To Kill A Mockingbird and hundreds of other novels. Despite many of them being considered classical literature, they …
There are thousands of Venezuelans stranded at the border after the Ecuadorian government imposed new rules that bar people from entering the country without a visa. But many of the refugees are stuck because they can’t afford the $50 fee to get a visa. VOA’s Celia Mendoza reports from the …
A second evacuation flight of 123 asylum-seekers from Libya landed in Rwanda late Thursday at Kigali International Airport. Most of the 123 are young Africans who were detained in Libya on their way to Europe. They have been taken to a transit facility in Gashora, where the United Nations refugee …
Hong Kong pro-democracy demonstrations Saturday were smaller and less disruptive than recent massive rallies that shut down much of the city. The largest event on Saturday was a march that included thousands of protesters in the Mong Kok shopping district in Kowloon, across from the business and financial centers …
Ali Javanmardi from VOA’s Persian Service contributed to this report from Irbil. The World Food Program says more than 100,000 people have been displaced so far by the Turkish invasion of northern Syria. The agency said the those displaced have come from the towns of Ras al-Ayn and Tal Abyad. …
VOA Connect Episode 91 – We learn that the transition to cleaner energy isn’t always about climate change, as coal miners in the American West are finding out. Yet those working in and running unprofitable mines are having to rethink their future, too, adapting their skills to survive. Also on …
As coal companies are shutting down in Gillette, Wyoming, workers in the coal industry have lost their jobs. We talk to some of the people most affected by all the coal plants shutting down. Reporter/Camera: Steve Baragona …
We go to Kemmerer, Wyoming to find out how residents are handling the move away from coal, and hear from economist Robert Godby who offers an explanation as to why the state has been so slow to transition to coal alternatives. Reporter/Camera: Steve Baragona …
Sixteen-year old Faithwins Iwuh — who is sometimes referred to as Nigeria’s Greta Thunberg — wants Nigeria to contribute to the global fight against climate change. To achieve this, she started planting trees around her school and neighborhood, and recycles used plastic bags into shower caps. Iwuh says she has …
The Trump administration Thursday proposed a rewrite of rules for dealing with lead pipes contaminating drinking water, but critics say the changes appear to give water systems decades more time to replace pipes leaching dangerous amounts of toxic lead. Contrary to regulatory rollbacks in many other environmental areas, the administration …
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is threatening to “open the gates” to millions of refugees to enter Europe as criticism grows over Turkey’s ongoing military operation against a Syrian Kurdish militia. “Hey, European Union! Pull yourself together,” Erdogan said at a meeting of party supporters Thursday. “I repeat it: If …
VOA’s Victoria Macchi contributed to this report. The Trump administration is touting a drop in enforcement actions along the U.S.-Mexico border for a fourth straight month as proof it is successfully reducing illegal immigration into the United States. “This administration’s strategies have brought about results — dramatic results,” Acting Customs …