President Joe Biden’s top Mideast envoy said Wednesday he’s hopeful about negotiations with Hezbollah to bring the conflict along Israel’s northern border to an end, although fighting continues, and an end appears nowhere in sight in Gaza. Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate blocked legislation Wednesday night that would have sent certain armaments to Israel – a…
read morePresident-elect Donald Trump has nominated longtime ally Republican Representative Matt Gaetz for the nation’s top law enforcement position, attorney general of the United States. As VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson reports, Gaetz is expected to face a tough confirmation process. …
read morecolumbia, south carolina — A parole board decided unanimously Wednesday that Susan Smith should remain in prison despite her plea that God has forgiven her for killing her two young sons 30 years ago by rolling her car into a South Carolina lake while they were strapped in their car seats. It was the first parole…
read moreInflation-weary consumers should see the cost of their classic Thanksgiving dinner gobble less of their paychecks this year, largely because Americans are buying less of the meal’s centerpiece dish, turkey. The price tag of the traditional holiday meal, which also includes cranberries, sweet potatoes and stuffing, has dropped for a second consecutive year, according to…
read moreThe U.S. House of Representatives Ethics Committee failed Wednesday to reach agreement on whether to release findings from its nearly finished investigative report on former Republican Representative Matt Gaetz, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general. The panel’s chair, Republican Representative Michael Guest, emerged from a lengthy committee meeting, saying, “There was no agreement by…
read moreSome U.S. weapons deliveries to Ukraine may take place after President Joe Biden’s term ends in January, Pentagon officials tell VOA, noting it will take time for certain capabilities to arrive in Ukraine. “As you know, some equipment and some systems can get to Ukraine very quickly, and you’ve seen that happen within days or…
read moreBAKU, Azerbaijan — Human-caused climate change made Atlantic hurricanes about 29 kilometers per hour (18 miles per hour) stronger in the last six years, a new scientific study found Wednesday. For most of the storms — 40 of them — the extra oomph from warmer oceans made the storms jump an entire hurricane category, according to…
read moreNEW YORK — Distant, ancient galaxies are giving scientists more hints that a mysterious force called dark energy may not be what they thought. Astronomers know that the universe is being pushed apart at an accelerating rate and they have puzzled for decades over what could possibly be speeding everything up. They theorize that a powerful,…
read moreWASHINGTON — Pakistan’s top cleric has declared that virtual private networks, or VPNs, are unlawful, igniting a debate on privacy rights and access to information amid a government crackdown on the internet. Allama Raghib Naeemi, head of the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII), issued a decree saying it makes no difference whether a VPN is registered…
read moreU.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin this week visited the Philippines, where he met with its president and his defense counterpart to highlight the expansion and modernization of two countries’ alliance in just a few short years. VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb has more. …
read moreSEATTLE — What was expected to be one of the strongest storms in the northwest U.S. in decades arrived Tuesday evening, knocking out power and downing trees across the region. The Weather Prediction Center issued excessive rainfall risks beginning Tuesday and lasting through Friday as the strongest atmospheric river — a large plume of moisture —…
read moreWASHINGTON — Pakistan’s top cleric has declared that virtual private networks, or VPNs, are unlawful, igniting a debate on privacy rights and access to information amid a government crackdown on the internet. Allama Raghib Naeemi, head of the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII), issued a decree saying it makes no difference whether a VPN is registered…
read moreNew Orleans, Louisiana — The teaching of America’s racial history is dividing voters as state governments and federal judges weigh in on what is known as critical race theory. “What we are seeing is that America is having a very public argument about how to discuss race in our country,” explained Stanford law professor Ralph Richard…
read moreCHEYENNE, Wyoming — A state judge on Monday struck down Wyoming’s overall ban on abortion and its first-in-the-nation explicit prohibition on the use of medication to end pregnancy. Since 2022, Teton County District Judge Melissa Owens has ruled consistently three times to block the laws while they were disputed in court. The decision marks another victory…
read moreLondon — As the COP29 climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan enters its final days, there are growing frustrations over the apparent lack of progress toward securing a deal on climate finance, which is seen as a crucial step in reducing emissions and limiting global warming. Mukhtar Babayev, Azerbaijan’s COP29 president, called on delegates to show more…
read moreMANILA, Philippines — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Tuesday condemned China’s dangerous actions against the Philippines and renewed a warning that the United States would defend its treaty ally if Filipino forces come under an armed attack in the increasingly volatile waters. During a visit to the Philippine province of Palawan next to the disputed…
read moreRIO DE JANEIRO — With just two months remaining in President Joe Biden’s administration, the United States is ramping up financial, military and diplomatic support for Kyiv’s effort to defend itself against Russian aggression. At the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where Biden and leaders of 20 of the world’s largest economies are meeting,…
read moreArtificial intelligence was much discussed and demonstrated at the Africa Tech Festival in Cape Town, South Africa earlier this month. The conference highlighted how technology is changing industries on the continent. Vicky Stark filed this report. …
read moreNEW YORK — Arthur Frommer, whose “Europe on 5 Dollars a Day” guidebooks revolutionized leisure travel by convincing average Americans to take budget vacations abroad, has died. He was 95. Frommer died from complications of pneumonia, his daughter Pauline Frommer said Monday. “My father opened up the world to so many people,” she said. “He believed…
read moreNAIROBI, KENYA — The spread of a mosquito in East Africa that thrives in urban areas and is immune to insecticide is fueling a surge in malaria that could reverse decades of progress against the disease, experts say. Africa accounted for about 95% of the 249 million malaria cases and 608,000 deaths worldwide in 2022, according…
read moredubai/washington — The U.S. special envoy to Sudan traveled to the African country for the first time on Monday to seek an increase in the flow of aid to millions of people in need and an end to a devastating war. Tom Perriello, who was named Washington’s envoy for Sudan in February, traveled to Port Sudan…
read moreThe U.S. House of Representatives Ethics Committee is set to meet Wednesday to decide whether to release its investigative report on former Representative Matt Gaetz, who was accused of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use before he was picked by President-elect Donald Trump to be attorney general in his new administration. Several U.S. senators, Democrats…
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