Another Democrat has entered the 2020 race for the White House. Retired Navy admiral and former Pennsylvania congressman Joe Sestak announced his candidacy Sunday on his website. He introduced himself to voters by telling them “I wore the cloth of the nation for over 31 years in peace and war, from the Vietnam and Cold…
read moreU.S. President Donald Trump says he is “not looking for war” with Iran and willing to negotiate with its leaders without preconditions, but that under no circumstances can the Islamic Republic be allowed to mass a nuclear weapons arsenal. Trump told NBC’s Meet the Press show that if the U.S. went to war with Iran,…
read moreThe ruling party candidate in the re-run of Istanbul’s mayoral election, Binali Yildirim, has conceded defeat to opposition candidate Ekrem Imamoglu. Sunday’s vote was held because election authorities controversially annulled Imamoglu’s initial historic election victory in March on a technicality after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan disputed the defeat of his candidate. Electoral authorities rejected Erdogan’s…
read moreIndia says it is proud of its secular credentials as it rejected a U.S. report that said that religious freedom in the country has come under attack in recent years. The latest U.S. State Department Report on International Religious Freedom released Friday said that right wing Hindu-groups claiming to protect cows that Hindus consider holy…
read moreU.S. President Donald Trump won under the U.S. electoral college system but lost the popular vote. His approval ratings have consistently been below 50 percent. Yet in a recent interview with TIME Magazine, Trump said he doesn’t need to reach out to independent voters because his “base is so strong.” Who makes up Trump’s base,…
read moreThe White House on Saturday outlined a $50 billion Middle East economic plan that would create a global investment fund to lift the Palestinian and neighboring Arab state economies, and fund a $5 billion transportation corridor to connect the West Bank and Gaza. The “peace to prosperity” plan, set to be presented by White House…
read moreAmid increasingly tense China-U.S. relations, a U.S. official alluded to China but did not specifically name China regarding “risks” and “challenges” imposed by approaches to dam building and cross-border riverine practices in the Mekong region. At a workshop in Phnom Penh by the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace (CICP), the U.S. Embassy’s chargé d’affaires, Michael…
read moreNorth Korean leader Kim Jong Un has received a personal letter from U.S. President Donald Trump and is contemplating its contents, North Korean state media reported Sunday. The official Korean Central News Agency posted a picture of a pensive Kim holding a letter, apparently with White House letterhead. The report quoted Kim as praising its…
read morePresident Donald Trump has a silent partner behind several of the accomplishments he likes to boast about: Barack Obama. Despite assailing his Democratic predecessor for waging a “cruel and heartless war on American energy,” for example, Trump can brag about U.S. energy supremacy thanks to the sector’s growth in the Obama years. And the Obama-Trump…
read moreIn a surprise move, President Donald Trump said he would push back by a couple of weeks the raids planned for Sunday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). “At the request of Democrats, I have delayed the Illegal Immigration Removal Process (Deportation) for two weeks to see if the Democrats and Republicans can get…
read moreThe World Health Organization says nearly half of the world’s population is at risk of contracting malaria. Efforts to fight the disease take two paths, fighting the disease itself and fighting the mosquitos that carry the disease. University of Maryland researchers are testing a novel new way to kill mosquitos in Burkina Faso. VOA’s Kevin…
read moreMuslims started settling in America in the 1600s. From the Northeast to Midwest, they have left their mark on U.S. history. Even in some Midwestern states where few Muslims live, there are historic milestones of their presence. Muslim homesteaders in Ross, North Dakota, built a mosque in the 1920s, making it one of the first…
read moreIstanbul votes again in a mayoral election Sunday, after authorities voided an opposition victory in March that ended 15 years of control by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s AKP Party. The CHP’s Ekrem Imamoglu, a once-obscure opposition figure, pulled off the political upset, but it was eventually undone by Turkey’s president, who cited mistakes in the…
read moreU.S. President Donald Trump said Friday he intends to nominate Army Secretary Mark Esper to be secretary of defense, the White House said in a statement. Esper takes over as acting defense secretary Monday following the resignation of Patrick Shanahan, who is stepping down after media reports emerged this week of domestic violence in his…
read moreU.S. President Donald Trump has ordered immigration enforcement officials to conduct a mass roundup of migrants who have received deportation orders, in an operation that is expected to begin Sunday, according to U.S. media reports. The operation, first reported by The Washington Post, would target up to 2,000 families in large cities that are major…
read moreMissouri’s Department of Health and Senior Services rejected a license renewal Friday for a Planned Parenthood clinic in St. Louis, but the clinic can temporarily continue to provide abortions. The rejection was the latest development in a long legal battle over the state’s last remaining abortion clinic. The health department told Planned Parenthood of the…
read moreIf you want to know what’s trending in news, health, sports and lifestyle, then tune in to Africa 54. Airing Monday through Friday, this 30-minute program takes a closer look at the stories Africans are talking about, with reports from VOA correspondents, and interviews with top experts and analysts. Africa 54 also serves viewers with…
read moreJoin us every Wednesday as Shaka and his guests discuss topics of special interest to Africans, including politics, economic development, press freedom, health, social issues and conflict resolution. Broadcast Schedule Straight Talk Africa is broadcast live every Wednesday from 1830-1930 UTC/GMT simultaneously on radio, television and the Internet. Join the Discussion Find us…
read moreLast week, the Office of Special Counsel, a little-known government watchdog, declared Kellyanne Conway a “repeat offender” of the federal Hatch Act and recommended that President Donald Trump fire her. Conway had used her perch as presidential counselor to lambaste Democratic candidates in media interviews, a clear violation of the law, which prohibits government employees…
read moreA Washington watchdog group on Thursday accused Ivanka Trump, U.S. President Donald Trump’s daughter and one of his White House advisers, of using her Twitter account for both government and political commentary, a violation of U.S. federal law. The Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington group said that in the early stages of Trump’s…
read moreAn ally of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and a Democrat who flipped a Republican district have joined calls for impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump. Rep. Jan Schakowsky says in a Twitter video Trump “certainly has committed all kinds of offenses that meet the standard” for a formal charge by the House. Rep. Sean Casten…
read moreAn ally of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and a Democrat who flipped a Republican district have joined calls for impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump. Rep. Jan Schakowsky says in a Twitter video Trump “certainly has committed all kinds of offenses that meet the standard” for a formal charge by the House. Rep. Sean Casten…
read more