ANKARA, TURKEY — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken began talks with Turkey’s top diplomat Friday after reassurances that Ankara would never allow any let-up in the fight against rebels in Syria following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad. Blinken began meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan at 9:40 a.m., a U.S. official said. He flew…
read moreLOS ANGELES — The former head of a notorious Syrian prison was charged Thursday in the United States with torturing opponents of the now-collapsed government of Bashar al-Assad, the Justice Department said. Samir Ousman Alsheikh, 72, who has been in the U.S. since 2020, allegedly ran Damascus Central Prison — known colloquially as Adra Prison —…
read moreDAMASCUS, SYRIA — An American who disappeared seven months ago into former Syrian President Bashar Assad’s notorious prison system said early Friday he was released by the “liberators” who arrived in Damascus a day after the longtime ruler fled the capital. Travis Timmerman called his release a “blessing” when he spoke to The Associated Press from…
read moreNew York — The man charged with killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was not a client of the medical insurer and may have targeted it because of its size and influence, a senior police official said Thursday. NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told NBC New York in an interview Thursday that investigators have uncovered evidence…
read moreTop aides to U.S. President Joe Biden are in the Middle East this week, to push for a ceasefire in Gaza and to deal with the fallout in Syria following the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad. The visits come amid military maneuvers from neighboring countries including U.S. allies Israel and Turkey. White House Bureau Chief…
read moreU.S. President-elect Donald Trump said Wednesday he plans to have Kari Lake, a politician and former Arizona journalist, appointed head of the international government-funded broadcaster Voice of America. Trump announced on his social media platform Truth Social that Lake would be appointed director of VOA. Lake is a close political ally of the president-elect and…
read moreWASHINGTON — The FBI should have done more to collect intelligence before the Capitol riot even though the bureau did prepare for the possibility of violence on Jan. 6, 2021, according to a watchdog report Thursday. It also said no undercover FBI employees were present that day and none of the bureau’s informants was authorized to…
read moreHow much U.S. foreign assistance is allocated and where it goes are two key questions as the Trump administration prepares to take office in January. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias looks at some sectors where cuts are expected and others that may be a priority. …
read moreNew York — President-elect Donald Trump rang the opening bell Thursday at the New York Stock Exchange after being recognized for the second time by Time magazine as its person of the year. The honors for the businessman-turned-politician are a measure of Trump’s remarkable comeback from an ostracized former president who refused to accept his election…
read morePresident-elect Donald Trump’s pledge to carry out the largest deportations in US history raises questions about its feasibility and its legality. VOA’s immigration correspondent Aline Barros reports on how the U.S. military may be involved in those plans. …
read moreWASHINGTON — Following the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government, the Biden administration said it would fully support a transparent and inclusive transition process toward a nonsectarian government accountable to the Syrian people. “The transition process and new government must also uphold clear commitments to fully respect the rights of minorities, facilitate the flow of…
read moreWASHINGTON — The Pentagon on Wednesday flatly dismissed claims by a U.S. lawmaker that Iran might be launching drones over New Jersey from a “mothership” off the East Coast. “There is no truth to that,” said Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh. “There is no Iranian ship off the coast of the United States and there’s no so-called…
read moreALEXANDRIA, Virginia — A CIA analyst charged with leaking top-secret details ahead of a planned Israeli attack on Iran earlier this year will remain jailed pending trial, a judge ordered Wednesday. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles overruled a magistrate who said last week that Asif Rahman, 34, of Vienna, Virginia, could be…
read moreALTOONA, PENNSYLVANIA — The gun found on the suspect in the killing of United Healthcare’s CEO matched shell casings found at the site of the shooting, New York City’s police commissioner said Wednesday. Suspect Luigi Mangione’s fingerprints also matched a water bottle and a protein bar wrapper that police found near the scene and say the…
read moreGREEN LAKE, WISCONSIN — A Wisconsin man who faked his own drowning and left his wife and three children and was believed to have been in Eastern Europe willingly returned to the U.S. after roughly four months and is in custody, a sheriff said Wednesday. Ryan Borgwardt “came back on his own” because of his family,…
read moreWASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is heading to Jordan and Turkey Wednesday to rally regional countries around an aligned vision for Syria’s future following the ousting of longtime authoritarian ruler Bashar al-Assad. Blinken will travel to Aqaba, Jordan, and Ankara, Turkey, and meet leaders to discuss developments in Syria, Israel, Gaza, Lebanon and…
read moreBiden approves national security memo on China, Iran, North Korea and Russia ahead of Trump’s return
Washington — President Joe Biden has approved a new national security memorandum ahead of Donald Trump’s return to the White House that could serve as a road map for the incoming administration as it looks to counter growing cooperation among China, Iran, North Korea and Russia, the White House said Wednesday. Biden administration officials began developing…
read morePORTLAND, Maine — The U.S. East Coast was beginning a whiplash-inducing stretch of weather on Wednesday that was rainy, windy and potentially dangerous, due in part to an atmospheric river and developing bomb cyclone. Places like western Maine could see freezing rain, downpours, unseasonably high temperatures and damaging winds — all in the span of a…
read moreCAIRO — Sudan has become the “biggest humanitarian crisis ever recorded” after 20 months of devastating war between rival generals, the International Rescue Committee said in a report released Wednesday. “The country accounts for 10% of all people in humanitarian need, despite being home to less than 1% of global population,” the New York-based organization said…
read moreWASHINGTON — The Biden administration says it is in touch with all rebel groups in Syria following the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad and wants the process of forming a new government to be led by Syrians. White House national security communications adviser John Kirby spoke with VOA Turkish’s White House correspondent Begum Donmez Ersoz and…
read moreWASHINGTON — A shield law known as the PRESS Act that would give journalists greater federal protections failed to pass the Senate on Tuesday evening after it was blocked by Senator Tom Cotton. Shield laws protect journalists from being forced by the government to disclose information such as the identities of sources. The PRESS Act…
read moreNew York — U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday tapped Federal Trade Commissioner Andrew Ferguson to lead the federal consumer protection and antitrust agency. Ferguson has said the agency should tackle perceived censorship of conservative viewpoints online. If social media platforms collaborate to suppress such views or advertisers coordinate to pull business from platforms such as…
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