Washington — The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S., a senior administration official said Tuesday. The shipment was supposed to consist of 1,800 2,000-pound (900-kilogram)…
read moreWASHINGTON — The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation must make sweeping changes to address widespread sexual harassment and other misconduct, according to an independent report released on Tuesday that raises questions about the future of the banking regulator’s leadership. The report, prompted by a Wall Street Journal investigation, cited accounts from more than 500 people, including some…
read moreWASHINGTON — U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration has been holding up certain Boeing-made arms shipments to Israel, four sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, in what two of them said was an apparent political message to the close U.S. ally. The shipments, which have been delayed for at least two weeks, involved Boeing-made Joint Direct…
read moreThe world is watching students on U.S. college campuses protest Israel’s conduct in the war in Gaza. Global reactions to the demonstrations, including to students’ arrests vary from pride and solidarity to alarm and condemnation. VOA’s Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports from the State Department. …
read moreThe US and Turkey have resumed security cooperation talks, and analysts say Turkish forces are poised to fill a vacuum should American forces pull out of Syria. Pentagon officials say there are no plans for a withdrawal, but analysts point to signs it may happen. Meanwhile, the speculation is causing concern among Kurdish forces in…
read moreBEIRUT — The United States has repatriated 11 of its citizens from sprawling camps in northeastern Syria that house tens of thousands of family members of suspected Islamic State militants, the U.S. State Department said Tuesday. The repatriation was the largest Washington has carried out from the camps to date, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken…
read moreNEW YORK — Pro-Palestinian protesters who had been blocked by police from accessing an encampment at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Monday broke through fencing, linked arms and encircled tents that remained there, as Columbia University canceled its university-wide commencement ceremony following weeks of pro-Palestinian protests. Sam Ihns, a graduate student at MIT studying mechanical…
read moreThere are six months left in the U.S. presidential race between Democratic President Joe Biden and Republican candidate Donald Trump. VOA Correspondent Scott Stearns looks at what is ahead for the campaigns in the run-up to Election Day.] …
read moreWASHINGTON — An American soldier has been arrested in Russia and accused of stealing, according to two U.S. officials. The soldier, who is not being identified, was stationed in South Korea and was in the process of returning home to the United States. Instead, officials said he traveled to Russia. The officials spoke on the condition…
read moreNew York — Columbia University is canceling its large university-wide commencement ceremony amid ongoing pro-Palestinian protests but will hold smaller school-based ceremonies this week and next, the university announced Monday. “Based on feedback from our students, we have decided to focus attention on our Class Days and school-level graduation ceremonies, where students are honored individually alongside…
read moreMexico City — Thieves killed two Australians and an American on a surfing trip to Mexico to steal their truck, particularly because they wanted the tires, authorities said Sunday. Baja California state prosecutors released grisly details of the slayings but have not yet officially confirmed the identity of the bodies. They said family members of the…
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