Canadian police said Wednesday that sudden whiteout conditions most likely triggered a massive pileup involving about 200 vehicles south of Montreal. There were no immediate reports of deaths, but Quebec provincial police said about a dozen people were sent to hospitals with minor to serious injuries after the midday crash in La Prairie, Quebec. …
A group of more than 1,100 U.S. military veterans from all five branches have signed a statement lashing out at President Donald Trump for firing Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman from the National Security Council. Vindman testified before a House committee during the Trump impeachment hearings in November. He expressed his …
The Yazidi religious minority in Iraq is seeking to gain enough support in the Iraqi parliament for a draft law that provides support and rehabilitation for the community, particularly the female members who escaped Islamic State abduction. The Yazidi Female Survivors Law was referred to the Iraqi parliament by the …
An international appeals court in the Netherlands has ordered Russia to pay $50 billion in compensation to shareholders of the former oil company, Yukos. It is the latest chapter in a long-running saga that came to define Russia’s political and business climate in the early years of Russian President Vladimir …
U.N. rights chief Michelle Bachelet said Tuesday civilians are at “higher risk than ever” in Syria as forces backing the government carry out an offensive to take back territory in the northwestern part of the country. Speaking in Geneva, Bachelet called for all parties involved in the fighting to institute …
Spain on Tuesday was searching for some 143 people missing on five migrant boats en route to the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean, according to Spain’s maritime rescue service. A Civil Guard plane was searching for the boats near the islands of Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, off the …
A roadside bombing targeted a police vehicle in northwestern Pakistan on Tuesday, killing a policeman and wounding three others, officials said. The police were assigned to escort health workers during an anti-polio vaccination campaign in the region. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing in Kolachi, a …
For decades, the Uighur imam was a bedrock of his farming community in China’s far west. On Fridays, he preached Islam as a religion of peace. On Sundays, he treated the sick with free herbal medicine. In the winter, he bought coal for the poor. But as a Chinese government …
Former South Sudanese rebels in t-shirts and sandals marched alongside government forces in a display meant to reassure international monitors that progress is being made on tasks related to forming a long-delayed unity government. But the casual nature of the forces gathering at a camp near the capital Juba on …
“Be yourself” is the advice former British prime minister Theresa May gave to the Global Women’s Forum in Dubai on Monday, explaining how she had risen to the top job despite refusing to conform to masculine traditions in politics. “I did my politics a different way from the men,” she …
Queen, Adam Lambert, Alice Cooper and Michael Buble have played at a huge concert Sunday to support bushfire victims in Australia. More than 70,000 people attended the televised ‘Fire Fight Australia’ event in Sydney. “Mama, just killed a man,” said Queen Adam Lambert. “Put a gun against his head. Pulled …
Syrian government forces Sunday took control of several villages in the northwestern province of Idlib and the neighboring province of Aleppo, in a continuing push to retake territory from rebels. Local sources reported that forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime captured several villages near the town of Khan …
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Sunday that he doesn’t believe the U.S. will pursue war with his country, because it will harm President Donald Trump’s 2020 reelection bid. Rouhani said that Trump knows that war with Iran will “ruin” his chances of winning the 2020 U.S. presidential election. The Iranian …
Almost two decades have passed since the tragedy of September 11, 2001. The heroic actions of the first responders have become the stuff of legend. But one story is not well known — the story of the dogs who worked alongside firefighters and rescuers in the rubble of New York …
Naomi Pomeroy is a young, successful chef working in Portland, Oregon. When she got into the business, she knew it was traditionally dominated by men, but that didn’t stop her. Today she is an award-winning professional, owner of a restaurant simply called Beast. She is also the author of a …
Reports one day suggest the respiratory outbreak in China might be slowing, the next brings word of thousands more cases. Even the experts have whiplash in trying to determine if the epidemic is getting worse, or if a backlog of the sick is finally getting counted. Continuing questions about the …
Airbus said Saturday it “deeply regrets” the U.S. decision “to increase tariffs on aircraft imported from the EU.” The European aerospace corporation said in a statement the new tariffs would heighten “trade tensions between the US and the EU, thereby creating more instability for US airlines that are already suffering …
The cruise ship that was allowed to dock in Cambodia after being turned away at five other ports by authorities fearful of the spread of the deadly new virus from China disembarked passengers for a second day on Saturday so they can fly home. After being stranded at sea for …
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo defended Saturday his nation’s global role despite misgivings in Europe, vowing that Western values would prevail over China’s desire for “empire.” Pompeo was seeking to reassure Europeans troubled by U.S. President Donald Trump’s “America first” rhetoric, ambivalence over the transatlantic NATO military alliance and …
New York prosecutors told jurors that Harvey Weinstein abused his power and lacked empathy in a closing argument on Friday at the former movie producer’s weeks-long rape trial, a milestone of the #MeToo movement. Setting the stage for the jury to begin deliberating next week, Assistant District Attorney Joan Illuzzi …
Kenyan police killed 107 people last year, according to a report released Friday from a coalition of Kenyan human rights groups. Most of those killed were young men from slum areas, also called informal settlements. “Sixty-nine percent of those who were killed were youth between ages of 18 and 35,” …
Federal prosecutors have declined to charge former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, closing an investigation into whether he lied to federal officials about his involvement in a news media disclosure, McCabe’s legal team said Friday. The decision resolves a criminal investigation that spanned more than a year and began with …
The U.S. and the Taliban have negotiated a proposal for a seven-day reduction in violence. Confirmation from the Trump administration came after NATO leaders discussed the way forward in Afghanistan at a defense meeting in Brussels. VOA’s Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb was there with Defense Secretary Mark Esper and has …
U.S. Attorney General William Barr says President Donald Trump’s tweets about the Justice Department, its people, and its cases “make it impossible for me to do my job.” This surprising statement from one of the president’s most steadfast allies came Thursday, days after Barr’s Justice Department overruled its own prosecutors …
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is raising alarm over an “increase in the harassment” of journalists in Armenia, who the watchdog says are being subjected to defamation suits and attacks on their right to protect their sources. “We are disturbed by the tendency for Armenian media to be sued or prosecuted,” …
China has replaced the head of its office overseeing matters in Hong Kong, making him the most senior Beijing-appointed official to lose his job in the wake of sometimes-violent anti-government protests in the Chinese-controlled territory. China’s Human Resources Ministry announced Thursday that Zhang Xiaoming would be removed as director of …