Eritrea has temporarily shut down nearly 450 private businesses, the latest in a series of moves that has sent shockwaves through the economy of the Red Sea nation. The closures were a response to companies hoarding cash and “failing to do business through checks and other banking systems,” according to a Dec. 29 editorial published…
read moreIran’s parliament is set to hold a special session as soon as Sunday to discuss the anti-government protests that began Dec. 28 and continued through this week. Iran’s ISNA news agency reported that Iran’s interior minister, head of intelligence and security council chief are all expected to attend. On the agenda are discussions of the…
read more1/7/2018 3:45 a.m. — Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said Sunday the country’s people and security forces had defeated unrest fomented by foreign enemies, as parliament and key security officials met to discuss the boldest challenge to the clerical establishment since 2009. “Iran’s revolutionary people along with tens of thousands of Basij forces, police and the Intelligence Ministry…
read moreThe Iranian town of Doroud should be a prosperous place — nestled in a valley at the junction of two rivers in the Zagros Mountains, it’s in an area rich in metals to be mined and stone to be quarried. Last year, a military factory on the outskirts of town unveiled production of an advanced…
read moreU.S. President Donald Trump is meeting with key Republican lawmakers and members of his cabinet at the Camp David presidential retreat to establish the administration’s 2018 legislative priorities and to devise a strategy for mid-term elections in November. “We’re going to Camp David with a lots of the great Republican senators, and we’re making American…
read moreU.S. President Donald Trump reiterated Saturday that he would not support legislation to protect hundreds of thousands of immigrants from deportation unless it included funding for a border wall and eliminates the visa lottery program and extended-family-based immigration. “We all want DACA to happen, but we also want great security for our country,” Trump said of…
read moreThe U.S. economy ended 2017 by adding 148,000 new jobs in December. Despite the modest gain, hiring was strong enough to suggest the economic momentum will continue. But while the national unemployment rate remained unchanged at a 17-year low of 4.1 percent, analysts say the pace of job growth may be slowing down. Mil Arcega…
read moreNearly 200,000 Salvadoran beneficiaries of Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, anxiously wait as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security weighs a decision whether to end the designated security program. Given precedent with beneficiaries from Haiti, Nicaragua and Sudan, TPS holders from El Salvador worry they may be next on Trump’s chopping block, despite a 16-year…
read more‘Fire and Fury,’ a new tell-all book about intrigue in the Trump White House, is the talk of political Washington. VOA White House correspondent Peter Heinlein reports that President Donald Trump is said to be furious with former adviser Steve Bannon, who is quoted as making some damning comments about the president and his family.…
read moreThe Trump administration this week has not shied away from expressing support for the thousands of Iranians who have taken to the streets to protest government corruption and economic hardship. And while U.S. officials have threatened targeted sanctions against those who crack down on demonstrators, President Donald Trump is facing a Jan. 13 deadline on…
read moreThe U.S. put Iran ‘on notice’ at the U.N. Security Council Friday, over anti-government protests in the Islamic Republic, where more than 20 people have been killed and scores arrested in the past week. VOA’s Margaret Besheer has more from the United Nations. …
read moreChances that a fix to a major microchip security flaw may slow down or crash some computer systems are leading some businesses to hold off installing software patches, fearing the cure may be worse than the original problem. Researchers this week revealed security problems with chips from Intel Corp and many of its rivals, sending…
read moreAn 892-pound (405-kilogram) bluefin tuna has sold for 36.5 million yen ($320,000) in what may really be Tsukiji market’s last New Year auction at its current site in downtown Tokyo, local media reports said Friday. The winning bid for the prized but threatened species at the predawn auction was well below the record 155.4 million…
read moreFollowing a tumultuous start to 2018, President Donald Trump left on Friday for a two-day retreat in Maryland with top Republicans to lay out legislative priorities for the year and discuss a strategy for pivotal November congressional elections. Two days after explosive comments by Trump’s former chief strategist, Steve Bannon, put the White House on the defensive, the president flew on…
read moreSenator Ben Cardin, the highest ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee spoke to VOA contributor Greta Van Susteren about Iran and North Korea during an interview Friday, Jan. 5, 2018. …
read moreU.S. President Donald Trump lashed out at the media Friday as a provocative new book hit the stands portraying the first year of his presidency as one in shambles, and him as childlike and possibly in need of psychiatric help. In a morning tweet, Trump did not mention author Michael Wolff or his sensational book…
read moreMichael Wolff’s a provocateur who’s said to love a brawl and once bemoaned the glare of the spotlight — and the bigger disappointment of watching it move on. Obscurity is a threat to Wolff no longer. His incendiary new book on President Donald Trump is drawn from what he said was regular access to the…
read moreThe United States Treasury has placed sanctions on four current or former Venezuelan officials associated with corruption or repression in Venezuela. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said in a statement, “President Maduro and his inner circle continue to put their own interests above those of the Venezuelan people. This action underscores the United States’ resolve to…
read moreU.S. employers added 148,000 jobs in December, a modest gain but still enough to suggest that the economy entered the new year with solid momentum. The unemployment rate remained 4.1 percent for a third straight month, the lowest level since 2000, the Labor Department said Friday. For all of 2017, employers added nearly 2.1 million…
read moreBritain should charge a 25-pence ($0.34) levy on disposable coffee cups to cut down waste and use the money to improve recycling facilities, a committee of lawmakers said Friday. Chains Pret A Manger, Costa Coffee, Caffe Nero and Greggs alongside U.S. firm Starbucks are among the biggest coffee-sellers in Britain, rapidly expanding in the last…
read moreThe United States says it is suspending security aid assistance to Pakistan until the country takes action against terrorist organizations, including the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani network, a move that was criticized by Islamabad. VOA State Department Correspondent Nike Ching reports. …
read morePresident Donald Trump directed his White House counsel to tell Attorney General Jeff Sessions to not recuse himself from the Justice Department’s investigation into potential ties between Russia and the Trump campaign, according to a person familiar with the matter. The conversation between Don McGahn, the president’s White House counsel, and Sessions took place on…
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