WASHINGTON — The National Mall in Washington was lined with hundreds of portable toilets Monday, but it’s unlikely many of the portable restrooms got much use. They had been set up for the hundreds of thousands of people who were expected to watch as Donald Trump took the oath of office to become the 47th president…
read moreAyaz Gul — President-elect Donald Trump says that future financial assistance to Afghanistan will be contingent upon the return of U.S. military equipment by the Taliban leaders currently in power. Trump’s remarks at a Sunday rally in Washington on the eve of his January 20 inauguration have heightened uncertainty regarding his administration’s stance on the…
read moreBad Bunny released his latest album, which mixes urban and Afro-Caribbean rhythms. Between sad and joyful stories, the artist opens a space for social criticism that focuses on Puerto Rico’s identity, traditions and current challenges. Click here for the full story in Spanish. …
read moreWashington — TikTok restored services to users in the United States on Sunday after briefly blocking access due to a U.S. law banning the social media platform based on national security concerns. The situation played out amid the change in U.S. administrations as President-elect Donald Trump said he would seek to “extend the period of time…
read moreBengaluru, India — Within five hours, while sitting at home in India, retired professor Kamta Prasad Singh handed over his hard-earned savings to online fraudsters impersonating police. The cybercrime known as “digital arrest” — where fraudsters pose online as law enforcement officials and order people to transfer huge amounts of money — has become so rampant…
read moreWASHINGTON — When President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in as president of the United States inside the Capitol’s rotunda, he will do so facing a bust of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. on the federal holiday commemorating King’s legacy. It’s a disquieting contrast for some civil rights advocates who wish to fulfill the late reverend’s…
read moreSEOUL, SOUTH KOREA — South Korea pledged on Monday a record amount of financing support for exporters to mitigate any negative impact from changes in U.S. trade policies as Donald Trump was poised to be sworn in for his second presidency. The government plans to provide 360 trillion won, or $247.74 billion, worth of policy financing…
read moreVoters prioritized the economy in the 2024 election, sending Donald Trump back to the White House. But what economic legacy is Joe Biden passing on to the new administration? “It’s the economy, stupid.” Coined by political strategist James Carville, these famous words have become synonymous with U.S. election success since 1992. Despite the growing influence…
read moreSAN FRANCISCO — If it feels like TikTok has been around forever, that’s probably because it has, at least if you’re measuring via internet time. What’s now in question is whether it will be around much longer and, if so, in what form? Starting in 2017, when the Chinese social video app merged with its competitor…
read moreDamascus, Syria — The mother of American journalist Austin Tice, who was taken captive during a reporting trip to Syria in August 2012, arrived in Damascus to step up the search for her son and said she hopes she can take him home with her. Tice, who worked as a freelance reporter for The Washington…
read moreFor the first time in U.S. history, a president-elect will welcome foreign leaders for one of the most American political traditions — the peaceful transfer of power. President-elect Donald Trump invited Chinese President Xi Jinping and conservative world leaders such as Argentine President Javier Milei and Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni to the inauguration. Xi sent…
read moreAfter President Joe Biden announced a ban on oil and gas drilling off most of the U.S. coastline in early January, President-elect Donald Trump quickly vowed to reverse it after he takes office on January 20. But there is one section of the California coast that has gained more permanent protection from drilling – a…
read moreA hallmark of the nearly 250-year American democracy is the quadrennial peaceful transfer of presidential power, and it is set to unfold again on Monday, with Donald Trump, the 45th president until he lost his 2020 reelection bid, set to be inaugurated as the country’s 47th leader after winning last November’s election. Millions of Americans…
read moreA calm environment prevails in the United States as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office Monday. Even though the presidential race stood out for the heated rhetoric, there are some who expect Trump will adopt a conciliatory tone in his inaugural speech. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias reports. (Videographer: Saqib Ul-Islam, Carolyn Presutti) …
read moreWashington — President Joe Biden on Sunday posthumously pardoned Black nationalist Marcus Garvey, who influenced Malcolm X and other civil rights leaders and was convicted of mail fraud in the 1920s. Also receiving pardons were a top Virginia lawmaker and advocates for immigrant rights, criminal justice reform and gun violence prevention. Congressional leaders had pushed for…
read moreWashington — TikTok said Sunday it was restoring service to users in the United States after the popular video-sharing platform went dark in response to a federal ban that President-elect Donald Trump said he would try to pause by executive order on his first day in office. Trump said he planned to issue the order to…
read moreWashington — President-elect Donald Trump said Sunday that he plans to issue an executive order that would give TikTok’s China-based parent company more time to find an approved buyer before the popular video-sharing platform is subject to a permanent U.S. ban. Trump announced the decision in a post on his Truth Social account as millions of…
read moreWASHINGTON — The U.S. Treasury Department on Friday imposed sanctions on alleged hacker Yin Kecheng and cybersecurity company Sichuan Juxinhe Network Technology Co., accusing both of being involved in a series of hacks against American telecom companies. The intrusions, known under the name Salt Typhoon, have allegedly exposed a huge swath of Americans’ call logs to…
read moreIt is one of the 20th century’s most memorable images: a naked girl, screaming, running from a napalm bombing during the Vietnam War. More than a half-century later, a new documentary is calling into question who took it — and the retired Associated Press photographer long credited for the photo insists it was his, while…
read moreWASHINGTON — TikTok stopped working in the United States late on Saturday and disappeared from Apple and Google app stores ahead of a law that takes effect Sunday requiring the shutdown of the app used by 170 million Americans. President-elect Donald Trump said earlier in the day he would “most likely” give TikTok a 90-day reprieve…
read moreWhen Donald Trump returns to the White House on Monday, his family circle will look a little different than it did when he first arrived eight years ago. His youngest son, Barron, was in fifth grade back then. He’s now a college freshman who towers over his 1.8-meter-plus dad. Granddaughter Kai, who was 9 in…
read moreWASHINGTON — Donald Trump arrived in Washington on Saturday night ahead of his second inauguration as president. Trump flew in on a U.S. military C-32 aircraft from West Palm Beach, Florida, with his wife, Melania Trump, and their son, Barron, on a flight dubbed Special Air Mission 47 — a nod to Trump becoming the 47th…
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