Month: March 2018

The European Union says it is not clear whether the bloc will be exempt from U.S. President Donald Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs. EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem said Friday in Brussels, “We hope that we can get confirmation that the EU is excluded from this.” Trump signed proclamations Thursday imposing a 25 percent tariff …

Read more “EU Seeks Clarity on Trump Tariffs”

A Kazakh businessman jailed in a politically charged case escaped from custody for a few hours but is back behind bars, authorities say. …

Shukufa Haideri has been boxing for 10 years. She says other Afghan women must “get out of the house, fight, learn, and do sports.” …

So far, 114 children in the U.S. have died from influenza or a flu-related illness, and the flu season is not yet over. Most of those children had not been vaccinated against the virus, Dr. Anne Schuchat, acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said. In her testimony Thursday before a House …

Read more “Flu Vaccines More Effective for Children Than for Adults”

U.S. President Donald Trump’s surprise acceptance of an invitation to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang “by May” to discuss ending the North’s threatening nuclear program was met with a mixture of cautious optimism and skepticism. Chung Eui-yong, the head of South Korea’s National Security Office, announced the agreement late Thursday. …

Read more “Trump-Kim Jong Un Summit News Met With Cautious Optimism”

Britain’s interior minister has visited the scene where former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter were found unconscious in a southern English city after a suspected nerve-agent attack. …

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has re-affirmed the U.S. commitment to Africa, two months after President Donald Trump’s reported derogatory comments about the continent. “I think the United States commitment to Africa is quite clear in terms of the importance we place on the relationship,” said Tillerson at the African Union headquarters in Addis …

Read more “Tillerson Reaffirms US Commitment to Africa”

Capitol Hill’s sharp divide on immigration extended to the Trump administration’s decision to sue California for shielding undocumented immigrants, with numerous Democratic lawmakers blasting the Justice Department’s action and many Republicans applauding it. “It’s very disturbing,” California Senator Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, told VOA on Thursday. “It’s all unnecessary.”   …

Read more “Cheers, Jeers on Capitol Hill for Lawsuit Targeting California’s ‘Sanctuary’ Policies”

A court on Thursday convicted a musician-turned-newspaper columnist of “knowingly and willingly” aiding the network led by U.S.-based Mulim cleric Fethullah Gulen and sentenced him to three years and one month in prison, Turkey’s state-run news agency reported.   Singer Atilla Tas, who wrote a newspaper column and became a social media phenomenon for posting …

Read more “Turkey: Musician, Journalists Sentenced for ‘Terror’ Links”

The top U.S. military commander in Europe warned that the Balkans are facing increased covert and overt pressure from Russia, and that Washington and NATO need to do more to keep the region from destabilizing. …

A new Telegram account from a Russian-language troll in St. Petersburg’s nefarious troll factory who says he spends his days “s****ing in the comment boxes.” …

Several hundred women marched in Kyiv on March 8, demanding equal rights in a demonstration on International Women’s Day. …

In a protest against China’s rule of Tibet,  a Tibetan man set  himself on fire Wednesday and died in Meruma Township in Ngaba County, Sichuan Province, eastern Tibet.  Tibetan sources and social media said Tsekho, a father of two, set himself ablaze around 5 p.m. local time.  Tsekho’s protest occurred just days before the anniversary of …

Read more “Another Tibetan Man Dies in Fiery Protest”

Sierra Leone’s main opposition leader called for calm Wednesday night after his supporters engaged in running street battles with police, resulting in at least one injury at the end of an otherwise peaceful day of polling in the West African nation. “I want every Sierra Leonean to behave themselves in a very peaceful manner so …

Read more “Sierra Leone Roiled by Unrest After Polls Close”

Florida state lawmakers gave final passage on Wednesday to a gun-safety package that raises the legal age for buying rifles and imposes a three-day waiting period on all firearms sales, while also allowing the arming of some public school personnel. The bill was spurred by the shooting rampage three weeks ago that left 17 students …

Read more “Florida Lawmakers Pass Gun-School Safety Bill 3 Weeks After Massacre”

An Iranian woman who removed her Islamic head scarf on a Tehran street has been sentenced to two years in prison, local media report. …