Month: January 2018

Decades after their friendship became another casualty of war in the former Yugoslavia, Bosnian screenwriter Abdulah Sidran talked about his bitter break with acclaimed filmmaker Emir Kusturica. …

After nine months of captivity in separatist-controlled eastern Ukraine, Anatoly Polyakov stayed in Ukraine to help former POWS, leaving behind his home in Russia. …

Incumbent Czech President Milos Zeman has won the most votes but not enough to win Czech presidential election in the first round. …

Riot police used tear gas on protesters in Athens, Greece, on Friday, as thousands of people gathered in the streets to demonstrate against a new austerity bill coming up for a vote Monday. The police deployed tear gas when a small group of demonstrators tried to enter the parliament building. No arrests or injuries were …

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The on-again, off-again effort to decide the future of almost 800,000 undocumented youths in the United States swung wildly from Thursday to Friday, with one of the top Republicans in Congress calling President Donald Trump’s reported use of an expletive to disparage some immigrants’ home countries “unfortunate” and “unhelpful.” House Speaker Paul Ryan joined politicians from both parties …

Read more “What’s Next for Immigration Reform After Trump Profanity?”

President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer brokered a $130,000 payment to a porn star to prevent her from publicly discussing an alleged sexual encounter with Trump, according to a report Friday in The Wall Street Journal. Trump met Stephanie Clifford, whose goes by the name Stormy Daniels in films, at a golf event in 2006 — a year …

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he Russian Interior Ministry has reportedly issued a list of approved travel destinations for its employees for 2018. They still can’t vacation in the United States or the EU, it seems, but much of the former Soviet Union is still in play. …

U.S. President Donald Trump says he will extend sanctions relief granted to Iran under its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, leaving the accord intact for now, but he also targeted a high-profile Iranian for new nonnuclear sanctions. …

With Turkmenistan in its worst economic crisis in decades, President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov has announced plans to spend $500 million on two luxury hotels. …

War takes its toll, not only on humans but on wildlife as well. Researchers at Princeton University investigated the consequences of 65 years of war on animal populations in Africa. The new study found that during armed conflict, the number of large animals like elephants, rhinos and giraffes decreases. VOA’s Deborah Block has the story. …

Read more “Wildlife Become Casualties of War”

A paraplegic rock climber in Hong Kong is China’s first-ever nominee for the world’s greatest moment in sports. The wheelchair user hopes to inspire his countrymen and others living with disabilities to overcome the challenges that stand between them and their dreams. Arash Arabasadi reports. …

U.S. President Donald Trump has canceled his planned trip to London. Trump put all speculation about the visit to rest with a tweet shortly before midnight Thursday. “Reason I canceled my trip to London is that I am not a big fan of the Obama Administration having sold perhaps the best located and finest embassy …

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The U.S. Justice Department said it is setting up a new team to investigate alleged drug trafficking by Hizballah, the Iran-backed Lebanese Shi’ite group that the United States has branded a terrorist organization. …

Leaders of Greece and Macedonia say they have been working hard to settle their decadeslong dispute over the name Macedonia. …

A series of moderate earthquakes struck near the Iran-Iraq border and other areas of Iran on January 11, most of them occurring in the same region hit by a major quake in November that killed over 530 people. …