In a rare and dramatic move, the United States has imposed sanctions against the top diplomat of a foreign country. “This is obviously a highly unusual action,” a senior administration official acknowledged when discussing the U.S. move against Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif. The executive order accuses Zarif of acting or purporting to act…
read moreFormer U.S. Vice President Joe Biden will be center stage as U.S. Democratic presidential candidates take part in a debate for a second consecutive night to make the case they are the party’s best hope to defeat U.S. President Donald Trump when he seeks re-election in 2020. Biden is currently the front-runner for the Democratic…
read moreEthiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and his guest, director of the World Food Program David Beasley, planted tree seedlings on Tuesday in a salute to Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Initiative, which seeks to combat climate change through mass tree planting. Volunteers in the Horn of Africa state planted 350 million trees in the past week in…
read moreBoat cruises on the Potomac River in the Washington, D.C. area are a popular way to see famous monuments and other landmarks. But a special cruise gives dogs a chance to relax on a scenic trip with their owners. VOAs Deborah Block takes us on a cruise for canines. …
read moreThe first night of the second round of Democratic presidential candidate debates took place in Detroit Tuesday. The candidates answered questions on a range of issues, including health care, recent mass shootings, immigration and foreign trade. Here are some quotes from each candidate: Steve Bullock, in responding to a discussion on gun violence, discussed a personal…
read moreStory updated on July 31, at 12:18 am. U.S. health care policies took center stage Tuesday night at the Democratic presidential candidates’ debate, with more moderate challengers attacking Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, the leading progressives looking to oust President Donald Trump in the 2020 election. Warren and Sanders have both called for a…
read moreCalifornia’s Democratic governor signed a law Tuesday requiring presidential candidates to release their tax returns to appear on the state’s primary ballot, a move aimed squarely at Republican President Donald Trump. But even if the law withstands a likely legal challenge, Trump could avoid the requirements by choosing not to compete in California’s primary. With…
read moreAs U.S.-China trade talks are set to begin, U.S. President Donald Trump is warning China against negotiating a deal after the 2020 U.S. presidential election — declaring a delayed agreement would be less attractive than a deal reached in the near term. “The problem with them waiting … is that if & when I win,…
read moreA top U.N. official warned Monday that Yemen’s devastating five-year civil war has knocked the country back 20 years in terms of development and access to education. Yemen was already the Arab world’s poorest nation before the war, which has killed tens of thousands of people. In 2014, rebels known as Houthis took over the…
read moreFormer 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 capital on May 28, said…
read moreThe 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 as a move to silence…
read moreU.S. President Donald Trump Monday further escalated racially charged attacks, calling a prominent African American civil rights activist a “con man.” This came after Trump criticized an African American congressman over the weekend, when he tweeted that the lawmaker’s district in the city of Baltimore, Maryland, is what the president called a “disgusting, rat and…
read moreA crowded field of Democratic presidential candidates will square off in a second round of debates Tuesday and Wednesday nights in the U.S., with 20 contenders looking for a breakout moment to make the case that they are the party’s best of hope of defeating President Donald Trump in the 2020 election. The two debates…
read moreA Tanzanian investigative journalist, Erick Kabendera, was abducted Monday from his home on the outskirts of Dar es salaam, the country’s business capital. A leading Tanzanian newspaper Mwananchi reports that Kabendera who writes for local and international newspapers was abducted Monday evening by people who are said to be police officers. Police have immediately denied…
read moreIraqi officials are displaying stolen artifacts from the country’s rich cultural heritage that were recently recovered from Britain and Sweden. Many archaeological treasures from Iraq, home of the ancient “fertile crescent” considered the cradle of civilization, were looted during the chaos that followed the 2003 U.S. invasion and whisked out of the country. Now Iraq…
read moreThe 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 “historical case” because it is…
read moreDemocratic Party presidential candidates will try to distance themselves from their rivals as they jockey for position in Democratic debates in Detroit this week. Mike O’Sullivan reports that progressive standard-bearers Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren will share the stage on Tuesday, and frontrunner Joe Biden will fend off attacks Wednesday as 10 of 20 candidates…
read moreIn a series of tweets over the weekend, U.S. President Trump lashed out against one of his most vocal Democratic critics, attacking Congressman Elijah Cummings and calling the Maryland lawmaker’s district “a disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess.” The comments sparked backlash from critics calling the language racist and unacceptable. VOA’s Elizabeth Cherneff has more.…
read moreCuban government and Communist Party officials attended funeral services for Roman Catholic Cardinal Jaime Ortega on Sunday in a testament to his success in elevating the Church’s position on the Caribbean island after the fall of the Soviet Union. Cuban First Vice President Salvador Mesa and two other top leaders on the Communist Party Politburo…
read moreBoko 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 the killing of 11 Boko…
read moreBrazil 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 indigenous people face growing pressures…
read moreUpdated July 28, 9:03PM; VOA’s National Security Correspondent Jeff Seldin contributed to this report. U.S. President Donald Trump has announced his national intelligence chief, Dan Coats, is resigning after two years on the job and frequent policy clashes with the White House. Coats tendered his resignation in a letter to Trump dated Sunday. Trump tweeted…
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