A state of emergency has been declared in two eastern Sudan states after at least eight protesters were killed in mass demonstrations against rising prices. Thousands of protesters marched in cities and towns across Sudan Thursday, angry over widespread corruption and the rising costs of basic goods, including bread. Eyewitnesses in al-Qadarif said men wearing…
read moreNorth Korea’s human rights record is emerging as the latest issue separating Washington and Pyongyang, as denuclearization talks have stalled. Often condemned as having one of the worst human rights records in the world — in a 2017 report, the U.S. State Department called the violations “egregious” — North Korea has rejected such criticisms, calling them…
read moreA Honduran migrant who had recently been deported from the United States was shot and killed a few blocks from his home, his family said Wednesday, in another sign of the dangers faced by migrants fleeing Central American gangs. Nelson Espinal, 28, was shot 15 times on Tuesday night shortly after leaving his home in the capital Tegucigalpa, said his…
read moreThe independent U.S. central bank raised borrowing rates Wednesday for the fourth time this year, dismissing President Donald Trump’s contention that policymakers ought not tinker with the country’s robust economy, the world’s largest. The Federal Reserve board voted 10-0 after a two-day meeting to increase its benchmark short-term interest rate — which is the rate…
read moreThe attorney general for Washington, D.C., said Wednesday that the nation’s capital had sued Facebook over reports involving Cambridge Analytica’s use of data from the social media giant. “Facebook failed to protect the privacy of its users and deceived them about who had access to their data and how it was used,” Attorney General Karl Racine said in a statement. “Facebook…
read moreThe White House’s announcement that U.S. troops are withdrawing from Syria caught U.S. lawmakers by surprise and angered some of President Donald Trump’s top allies on Capitol Hill. “I can’t tell you that it is the right time [to withdraw from Syria], because I didn’t know this was going to happen,” Senate Armed Services Committee…
read moreThe United States and China blamed each other for the crisis in the world trading system during a two-day “trade policy review” of the United States at the World Trade Organization. The Chinese representative to the WTO, Hu Yingzhi, accused the United States of deforming the rules of world trade, which is having a detrimental…
read morePoland has signed a long-term deal with a U.S. company for supplies of liquefied natural gas as part of an effort to reduce its dependence on Russian energy, the two sides announced on Wednesday. Port Arthur LNG, a subsidiary of San Diego-based Sempra Energy, and Poland’s state gas company PGNiG jointly announced the agreement for…
read moreFacebook defended its data sharing practices Wednesday after a report revealing that certain partners of the social network had access to a range of personal information about users and their friends. The New York Times late Tuesday reported that some 150 companies — including powerful partners like Amazon, Microsoft, Netflix and Spotify — could access…
read moreThe European Union on Wednesday gave U.S. President Donald Trump two months to name an ombudsman to tackle EU citizens’ complaints under a data protection deal sealed by predecessor Barack Obama’s team. Brussels has previously sought assurances the Trump administration is committed to the deal to protect Europeans’ personal data held in the United States…
read moreNevada became the first state in the U.S. with an overall female majority in the Legislature on Tuesday when county officials in Las Vegas appointed two women to fill vacancies in the state assembly. The appointments of Democrats Rochelle Thuy Nguyen and Beatrice “Bea” Angela Duran to two Las Vegas-area legislative seats give women 51…
read moreThe U.S. has had its share of famous on-screen dogs, from Lassie to Benji. In China, the big-screen star is a lovable mutt named ‘Juice.’ But Juice is getting on in years, so what’s a movie company to do? Turn to cutting-edge biotech, of course. VOA’s Kevin Enochs reports. …
read moreA federal judge in Washington Tuesday postponed sentencing for President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, but not before giving him a scolding (tongue lashing) over his crime. Flynn pleaded guilty last year to lying to investigators with the Russia probe led by special counsel Robert Mueller. Flynn is being given more time…
read moreThe U.S. Senate on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved legislation to decrease America’s substantial prison population by lowering some mandatory federal sentences, giving inmates added opportunities to earn reductions in jail time, and encouraging prisoners to better themselves so they are less likely to return to crime upon release. Passing 87-12, the First Step Act was hailed…
read moreThe Boring Company, Elon Musk’s underground transit venture, planned an unveiling of its first tunnel Tuesday, two years after the billionaire entrepreneur complained about Los Angeles traffic and vowed to “just start digging” as a remedy. Musk has advertised his 2-mile (3.2 km) tunnel as the first step toward developing a high-speed subterranean network for…
read moreA French actor and a self-taught inventor have designed a low-tech machine that converts plastic waste into diesel and petrol, which they say could help fight pollution and provide fuel for remote communities in developing countries. Proponents of plastics-to-fuel technology say the sector could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars in the next five…
read moreEvery Brazilian, including current and former members of the armed forces, will have to compromise under the next administration’s pension reform plan, a former general set to become government minister said in an interview. Retired General Carlos Alberto dos Santos Cruz told Reuters in Brasilia last week that it was “inadmissible” in today’s world for…
read moreGreek lawmakers approved the heavily indebted country’s budget for 2019 late Tuesday, the first since Greece exited an eight-year bailout program. The budget lawmakers passed with a 154-143 vote still is heavy on austerity measures to ensure Greece registers a hefty surplus, in compliance with its debt relief deal with international creditors. Earlier Tuesday, government…
read moreThe finance committee of Mexico’s lower house of Congress on Tuesday rapidly approved the revenue section of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s 2019 draft budget, auguring speedy passage in the legislature his party controls. Lopez Obrador’s leftist government only unveiled the budget proposal on Saturday night. It met with a positive initial response from financial…
read moreThe World Bank has approved a $750 million loan guarantee for Ukraine, President Petro Poroshenko said on Twitter on Tuesday, calling it proof of his nation’s “tangible progress on the reform path.” The World Bank, International Monetary Fund and other bodies support Ukraine with loan agreements conditional on Kiev passing reforms and tackling corruption. The…
read moreSaudi Arabia plans to increase state spending by 7 percent next year in an effort to spur economic growth that has been hurt by low oil prices, according to a 2019 state budget announced by King Salman on Tuesday. Spending is projected to rise to an all-time high of 1.106 trillion riyals ($295 billion), from…
read moreThe European Union’s top diplomat called Tuesday on Kosovo to lift tariffs on goods from Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina as tensions rise between the former Serbian territory, and the EU and NATO. Kosovo last month slapped a 100-percent tax on Serbian imports, apparently in retaliation after its bid to join the international police organization, Interpol, failed…
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