WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA — President-elect Donald Trump on Friday added the 27 countries that make up the European Union to the list of trade partners he’s threatening with tariffs — unless the group takes steps to import more U.S. goods. “I told the European Union that they must make up their tremendous deficit with the…
read moreBETHLEHEM, PENNSYLVANIA — On Christmas Eve in 1741, Moravian settlers named this Pennsylvania city after the biblical birthplace of Jesus. Nearly 300 years later, Moravians continue celebrating their Christmas season traditions in Bethlehem. They include the “putz,” a Nativity scene that tells the story of Christ’s birth with miniature wooden figurines, the making of thousands of…
read moreHAVANA — Thousands of Cubans joined a protest Friday in front of the U.S. Embassy in Havana that was led by President Miguel Diaz-Canel and ex-leader Raul Castro against Washington’s long-standing trade blockade. “We are marching now to tell the U.S. government to let the Cuban people live in peace. Down with interference!” Diaz-Canel told a…
read moreWASHINGTON — Foreign workers seeking U.S. jobs enjoyed near-guaranteed visa success in fiscal year 2024, with immigration authorities approving more than 97% of H1-B visa applications, as reported by the National Foundation for American Policy. The was the second-highest approval rate in more than a decade. But the exceptionally high success rate could soon end if…
read moreWASHINGTON — After two failed attempts to pass a bill to fund the U.S. government, the U.S. House passed a stopgap bill to fund the federal government through March. The vote was 366 to 34, with one member voting present. All of the 34 votes against the bill were cast by Republicans. House Republicans reached an…
read morewashington — The United States has charged a Russian Israeli dual citizen over alleged involvement with the Lockbit ransomware group, the Justice Department said Friday. Rostislav Panev, 51, was arrested in Israel in August and is awaiting extradition to the United States, the department said. Panev was a developer at Lockbit from its inception in 2019…
read moreThe United States last month formally opened a permanent military base in Poland, part of NATO’s missile defense system amid rising tensions with Russia. The Polish defense minister says the base is a testament to Polish-American cooperation. VOA Eastern Europe Bureau Chief Myroslava Gongadze reports from Redzikowo, Poland. …
read moreLONDON — It’s a photo that sent a tremor through British politics: Elon Musk flanked by British politician Nigel Farage and a wealthy backer, in front of a gilt-framed painting of a young Donald Trump. Taken this week at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, the image suggested that Musk, a key player in the incoming U.S.…
read moreUNITED NATIONS — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced $200 million in new humanitarian funding for the Sudanese people at a high-level Sudan meeting he chaired Thursday at the U.N. Security Council, bringing total U.S. support to Sudan to more than $2.3 billion since fighting began among rival generals in April 2023. U.S. Special Envoy…
read moreThe National Building Museum has unveiled a new exhibition featuring over 2,500 rare artifacts. It’s called “Visible Vault: Open Collections’ and offers a glimpse into the history of architecture and construction. Maxim Adams has the story. Camera: Sergii Dogotar …
read moreWASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump has signaled eagerness to wrap up the war in Gaza as quickly as possible, even as the outgoing Biden administration continues its last-ditch diplomatic push for a ceasefire deal. Earlier this week, Trump said if the hostages held by Hamas are not home by Jan. 20, 2025, the date of his…
read moreLOS ANGELES — China’s ruling Communist Party used an agent in California to influence state politics, U.S. prosecutors said Thursday as they unveiled criminal charges against a Chinese national. FBI agents arrested Yaoning “Mike” Sun, 64, at his home in Chino Hills, near Los Angeles, on charges that he acted as an agent for a…
read moreA hastily negotiated bill to keep the government open failed Thursday, after Democrats and some Republicans objected to a deal to extend the debt ceiling through 2027. The changes came after President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk rejected a bipartisan agreement to fund the government through next March. VOA’s congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson has more.…
read moreThe U.S. Defense Department’s annual report on China’s military power, released this week, says the PLA is accelerating modernization, but it still faces several operational challenges in executing a rapid and decisive invasion of Taiwan. Click here for the full story in Mandarin. …
read moreRepublicans in the U.S. Congress teed up a vote on Thursday for a new spending package that would avert a looming government shutdown, this time with the support of President-elect Donald Trump, who scuttled a prior bipartisan version. It was not clear whether the measure would survive an evening vote in the House of Representatives.…
read moreWASHINGTON — Immigration has been a defining challenge of the Biden presidency, marked by record numbers of asylum-seekers and other migrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border. President Joe Biden pledged to modernize the nation’s immigration system and rebuild a refugee resettlement program that had hit historic lows under the previous administration. But despite issuing a record…
read moreWASHINGTON — A senior White House official on Thursday said nuclear-armed Pakistan is developing long-range ballistic missile capabilities that eventually could allow it to strike targets outside of South Asia, including in the United States. In his stunning revelation about the onetime close U.S. partner, deputy national security adviser Jon Finer said Islamabad’s conduct raised “real…
read moreATLANTA, Georgia — A state appeals court on Thursday removed Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from the Georgia election interference case against Donald Trump and others but did not dismiss the indictment, leaving the future of the prosecution uncertain. The case against Trump and more than a dozen others had already been largely stalled for…
read moreHOLLIDAYSBURG, Pennsylvania — The suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO will return to New York to face murder charges after agreeing to be extradited Thursday during a court appearance in Pennsylvania where he was arrested last week after five days on the run. Luigi Mangione waived a preliminary hearing on the Pennsylvania charges in exchange…
read moreNEW YORK — U.S. life expectancy jumped last year, and preliminary data suggests there may be another — much smaller — improvement this year. Death rates fell last year for almost all leading causes, notably COVID-19, heart disease and drug overdoses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report released Thursday. That translated to…
read moreWASHINGTON — The Commerce Department’s efforts to curb China’s and Russia’s access to American-made advanced computer chips have been “inadequate” and will need more funding to stymie their ability to manufacture advanced weapons, according to a report published Wednesday by the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. The Biden administration imposed export controls to limit the ability…
read moreU.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Lindsey Graham have warned of bipartisan sanctions against Turkey if it rejects a ceasefire proposal from the U.S. and a plan by Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander Mazlum Abdi to establish a demilitarized zone in Kobani. The senators argue that Turkey’s attacks on Kurdish allies in Syria undermine regional…
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