Former Tehran mayor Mohammad Ali Najafi was sentenced to death after being convicted of murdering his wife, the judiciary said Tuesday, after a high-profile case that received extensive media coverage. A prominent reformist, Najafi was found guilty of shooting dead his second wife Mitra Ostad at their home in the …
The move to dismantle the Jason scientific panel follows other Trump administration efforts to abolish or delay the work of independent groups that have been a staple of the U.S. government for decades. U.S. officials say many panels simply add bureaucracy and costs. Opponents of the closures see the change …
The International Monetary Fund says the cumulative decline of the Venezuelan economy since 2013 will surpass 60% and is among the deepest five-year contractions the world has seen over the last half century. Alejandro Werner is director of the IMF’s Western Hemisphere Department. He describes the Venezuelan decline as a …
Syrian troops made advances on the ground in northern Syria on Monday, seizing a hilltop village and a nearby town from insurgents in the first breakthrough for President Bashar Assad’s forces following weeks of intensive air and artillery bombardment. The area has been repeatedly targeted in recent days as …
A large crowd bid a final tearful farewell to an Italian police officer who was stabbed to death in Rome last Friday. Two American teenagers are in custody in connection with the killing. Relatives, friends, colleagues and top political leaders attended the service in the officer’s hometown of Somma Vesuviana, …
Boko Haram militants killed at least 65 people at a funeral in northeastern Nigeria, local officials said Sunday, revising the earlier death toll of 23. “It is 65 people dead and 10 injured,” said Muhammed Bulama, the local government chairman. Bulama said he thought the attack was in revenge for …
Brazil deployed police to a remote Amazon village on Sunday after reports it had been overrun by armed miners following the murder of an indigenous leader, officials and tribal chiefs said. The violence in an area of the northern Amapa state controlled by the Waiapi tribe comes as Brazil’s …
The woman slated to replace Puerto Rico’s governor after he steps down next week said on Sunday she does not want the job. “I reiterate, I have no interest in occupying the position of governor,” Justice Secretary Wanda Vazquez wrote on Twitter. “It is a Constitutional dictum. I hope that …
Protesters and police prepared Sunday for a likely showdown in central Hong Kong, one day after clashes led to 11 arrests and left at least two dozen injured in an outlying district toward the border with mainland China. A midafternoon rally has been called at Chater Garden, an urban park …
When Ugnius Zilinskas came to Kenyon College in Ohio to play on the basketball team, he was welcomed with open arms. “They kind of take you as a family member,” said the student from Kedainiai, Lithuania. Zilinskas, a junior, is one of roughly 27,000 foreign students who play on U.S. …
Canned soup, canned tuna, and pasta, among other things — everything you’ll find in an average American pantry, yet these little pantries are not in someone’s home but in the streets, open and accessible to anyone who needs them. Free Little Pantry is behind this initiative, a grassroots organization that was …
The head of a Sudanese investigative committee said on Saturday that 87 people were killed and 168 wounded on June 3 when a sit-in protest was violently broken up by security forces. Fath al-Rahman Saeed, the head of the committee, said 17 of those killed were in the square occupied …
Georgia allowed its election system to grow “way too old and archaic” and now has a deep hole to dig out of to ensure that the constitutional right to vote is protected, U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg said Friday. Now Totenberg is in the difficult position of having to decide …
Bahrain has executed two men convicted of terrorism offenses. The executions were carried out despite objections from international human rights groups. The French news agency AFP reports that the two men were killed by firing squad Saturday. Rights groups have identified the men as Ahmad al-Malali and Ali al-Arab. Human …
The U.S. Justice Department said on Friday it is approving T-Mobile US Inc’s $26 billion takeover of rival Sprint Corp, clearing a major hurdle to a deal that would merge the nation’s third and fourth largest wireless carriers. The companies have agreed to divest Sprint’s prepaid businesses including Boost Mobile …
A top Sudanese editor who heads the main journalists’ union has been detained, the union said Thursday, calling on Sudan’s military rulers to free him or put him on trial. The detention of Sadiq al-Rizaigi came as the military said it had arrested a top general, several security officers and …
The U.N. refugee agency says up to 150 refugees and migrants are believed to have lost their lives Thursday in a shipwreck on the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Libya. If confirmed, the UNHCR says the shipwreak will be the biggest on the Mediterranean Sea since May 2017, when …
The South African unit of cigarette maker Philip Morris International opened its first flagship store in Johannesburg on Thursday, as it tries to grow demand in Africa for its alternative heated tobacco product IQOS. The store in Sandton gives Philip Morris access to tourists and business people from Africa who …
Amazon’s ramped up spending on speedier delivery for its Prime customers helped to accelerate its sales in the second quarter. But it also crimped its profits. The Seattle-based company reported Thursday that its sales soared a better-than-expected 20% in the quarter. But it posted a profit for the three-month period …
Chevron, the last U.S. oil company operating in Venezuela, said Thursday it hopes to be able to remain in the Latin American nation as the Trump administration mulls whether to renew its license, expiring on Saturday, to do business there. The administration said a decision will be made soon on …
Britain’s new Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the Conservative Party leader, began assembling his political team as soon as he took office Wednesday. New Cabinet members include the country’s first ethnic minority person to head the Treasury and several women. VOA’s Zlatica Hoke reports Johnson’s first day on the job was …
Former special counsel Robert Mueller told members of Congress Wednesday that his investigation into Russian interference in the last presidential election did not exonerate U.S. President Donald Trump of allegedly trying to thwart the investigation. As Mike O’Sullivan reports, Mueller’s comments before two congressional committees drew very different responses from Republicans …
In a deeply divided political atmosphere, Democrats and Republicans had hoped special counsel Robert Mueller’s testimony before two House committees would be a turning point for the Trump administration. Amid the circuslike atmosphere on Capitol Hill, both parties appeared to dig in further on the issue of whether the president …
Both Russia and China are denying their military aircraft violated South Korea’s territorial airspace during a joint air patrol Tuesday. The alleged violation happened near a disputed group of islands claimed by both South Korea, which calls it Dokdo, and Japan, which calls it Takeshima. South Korea’s Defense Ministry …
The U.S. Justice Department said on Tuesday it was opening a broad investigation of major digital technology firms into whether they engage in anticompetitive practices, the strongest sign the Trump administration is stepping up its scrutiny of Big Tech. The review will look into “whether and how market-leading online platforms …
U.S. Congresswoman Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, who has been the target of some of President Donald Trump’s fiercest attacks, has called on supporters to confront racism and false accusations while at the same time remain focused on defeating Trump in the 2020 presidential election. Omar spoke to Muslim American democratic …