Month: January 2017

More than 1,000 foreign service officers and civil service personnel of the U.S. State Department have now signed a dissent document about the president’s recent order on refugees’ travel restrictions, sources told VOA on Tuesday.​ The number of signatures, if it does total some 1,000, is “unprecedented” and about 20 times the number of dissenters …

Read more “Over 1,000 State Department Personnel Officially Dissent to Immigration Order”

The first two weeks of Donald Trump’s presidency have seen him sign a number of documents setting out policy on issues ranging from the travel ban, his order demanding that two regulations be rescinded for every one passed, to the rollback of the Affordable Care Act, and removing the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership. …

Read more “Executive Orders: How Presidents Make History”

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has defended the implementation of President Donald Trump’s executive order restricting immigration, saying “we cannot gamble with American lives.” “This is not a travel ban, this is a temporary pause that allows us to review the existing refugee and vetting visa system.” Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said. He …

Read more “Homeland Secretary Defends Immigration Ban, Denies Targeting Muslims”

The OSCE said renewed fighting around the eastern Ukrainian town of Avdiyivka between government troops and Russia-backed separatists has sparked a humanitarian emergency. The group said that 17,000 civilians were left without power and heat due to heavy shelling. (RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service) …

Just days after Baku’s Court for Serious Crimes handed down lengthy prison terms to 18 men charged with plotting a coup d’etat at the behest of Iran, the unequivocally pro-Western political movement ReAl (Republican Alternative) has been accused of agreeing to collaborate with, and accepting funding from, Iranian diplomats. …

One Iranian family is just one of many who have been hit hard by U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order barring foreign nationals from seven, mostly Muslim, countries from entering the United States for at least 90 days. …

On Wednesday, January 25, events in Mogadishu showed again why the Somali capital might be the most dangerous city in the world for journalists. Reporters had rushed to the Dayah Hotel after al-Shabab militants detonated a truck bomb at the hotel’s main gate and then stormed the premises, exchanging gunfire with security guards. The entire …

Read more “To Get Story, Somali Journalists Risk Bullets and Bombs”

Women earned a number of barrier-breaking Oscar nominations this year, but overall representation of women in Oscar-nominated behind-the-scenes categories fell two percent according to a report from the Women’s Media Center published Monday. The report, authored by awards blogger Sasha Stone, noted landmark achievements — like how Jackie composer Mica Levi became the first women …

Read more “Behind-the-camera Female Oscar Nominees Falls 2 Percent”

Women earned a number of barrier-breaking Oscar nominations this year, but overall representation of women in Oscar-nominated behind-the-scenes categories fell two percent according to a report from the Women’s Media Center published Monday. The report, authored by awards blogger Sasha Stone, noted landmark achievements — like how Jackie composer Mica Levi became the first women …

Read more “Behind-the-camera Female Oscar Nominees Fall 2 Percent”

During last year’s presidential campaign, Donald Trump’s supporters were thrilled with the idea that he would become Washington’s “disrupter-in-chief.” Less than two weeks into his presidency, no one could dispute that Trump is doing all he can to follow through on that pledge. Since his inauguration January 20, Trump has moved quickly to deliver on …

Read more “Trump Brings Whirlwind of Change in Early Days”

Peter Plasman showed up at the Netherlands’ national electoral commission’s offices Monday to register one of the more unusual parties bidding to take part in the upcoming Dutch election — a party for people who don’t vote. Plasman was hardly an exception when it came to flouting convention. A record 81 parties have expressed interest …

Read more “Dutch Elections, Anyone? 81 Parties Make It a Quandary”

U.S. State Department personnel who have a problem with President Donald Trump’s immigration order “should either get with the program or they can go,” White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters Monday. “This is about the safety of America.” Spicer acknowledged that the dissent memo circulating among foreign service officers and other State Department employees …

Read more “White House Brushes Off Foreign Service Dissent Over Immigration Order”

DULLES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, Virginia — Travelers filing out of the airport international exit on January 30 were greeted with smiles, signs, and songs on the third day of protests against President Donald Trump’s temporary ban on foreign travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries. Dozens of demonstrators lined the corridor leading out of the international arrivals hall …

Read more “Dulles Dispatch: Protesters Greet Travelers With Smiles As U.S. Travel Ban Confusion Persists”

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has confirmed that Iran conducted a ballistic-missile test on January 29 in apparent violation of a UN Security Council resolution. …

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has moved to bar Russian athletes from participating in qualifiers for the 2018 Winter Paralympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. …

Thousands of people marched through the Romanian capital of Bucharest and other cities to protest government plans to pardon corrupt politicians and decriminalize other offenses. …