Month: May 2018

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has expressed hope that Greece and Macedonia can find a solution to a decades-old dispute over the name of the former Yugoslav republic so that an invitation to join the alliance can be issued to Skopje. …

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke with VOA Persian Director Setareh Derakhshesh Thursday afternoon to discuss the Trump administration’s plans for a new security framework aimed at ending Iran’s nuclear program. They also discussed recent protests in Iran, and the administration’s efforts to free Americans being held by the government. Setareh: Secretary Pompeo, thank you …

Read more “VOA Persian Interview: Secretary of State Pompeo on Iran”

A coalition of conservation groups sued the Trump administration on Thursday, accusing the government of slashing protections for migratory birds. At issue is the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which the National Audubon Society and other plaintiffs say has been undermined. In the past, the act helped hold parties responsible for actions that killed or injured …

Read more “US Conservationists Sue Trump Administration Over Migratory Bird Policy”

Pakistan rejected Friday U.S. assertions American diplomats in the country are being mistreated as relations between the two uneasy allies in the “war on terrorism” continue to deteriorate. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo raised the issue Wednesday about the treatment of U.S. diplomats serving in Pakistan during a Senate panel hearing. “My officers, our state …

Read more “Pakistan Denies Mistreating US Diplomats”

Many governments worry about what to do with citizens returning from combat abroad in the ranks of extremists. Kyrgyzstan, which suddenly ramped up its roundups of returning “jihadists,” thinks it has an answer. …

The remote Pankisi Gorge in northeastern Georgia, home to a Muslim minority, was once the site of a military crackdown against Chechen fighters. More recently, the region has seen some of its young men leaving to fight in Syria and Iraq. But many residents are trying to shake the association with militancy and say all …

Read more “Georgia’s Pankisi Gorge Struggles With Stigma Of Extremism”

Two dying Ebola patients were spirited out of a Congo hospital by their relatives on motorcycles, then taken to a prayer meeting with 50 other people, potentially exposing them all to the deadly virus, a senior aid worker said Thursday. Both patients were vomiting and infectious and died hours after the prayer session in the …

Read more “Dying Ebola Patients Flee to Congo Prayer Meeting”

Nations that remain in the Iran nuclear deal meet on Friday for the first time since U.S. President Donald Trump left the pact, but diplomats see limited scope to salvage it after Washington vowed to be tougher than ever on Tehran. British, Chinese, French, German and Russian officials will try to flesh out with Iran’s …

Read more “‘No Illusions’ as Iran Nuclear Deal Countries Set to Meet Friday”

A jury has decided Samsung must pay Apple $539 million in damages for illegally copying some of the iPhone’s features to lure people into buying its competing products. The verdict reached Thursday is the latest twist in a legal battle that began in 2011. Apple contends Samsung wouldn’t have emerged as the world’s leading seller …

Read more “Jury: Samsung Owes Apple $539M for Copying iPhone”

Syrian state media says a military airport near Homs has come under missile attack from “enemy” fire. …

The Siberian village of Loschinka is plagued by alcoholism and unemployment, all-too-common symptoms of Russia’s crumbling countryside. So why did Russian President Vladimir Putin get every vote here during the recent presidential election? …

U.S. Ambassador to Moscow Jon Huntsman says he has experienced “frustration” due to the reluctance of some Russian officials to meet with him because of the state of affairs between the two countries. …

Opposition politicians and watchdog groups have criticized Kosovo’s parliament for nominating a man convicted of corruption in neighboring Serbia to be a judge on Kosovo’s Constitutional Court. …

VOA Contributor Greta Van Susteren interviews former US Ambassador to Pakistan Ryan Crocker, who explains why Pakistan sees everything through an India prism and why China’s investment in Pakistan may turn out to be helpful for the United States. …

VOA Contributor Greta Van Susteren interviews former Pakistan President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, who said Pakistan has been a “most loyal ally” of the United States, but the US “ditches” Pakistan when it’s politically convenient and favors Pakistan’s enemy, India. …

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on May 24 met with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in Beijing, highlighting the importance of dialogue between China and Germany amid shared concerns over trade with the United States and Washington’s withdrawal from a landmark nuclear deal with Iran. …