Month: August 2018

The Trump administration has cut funding to the U.N. agency that helps Palestinian refugees, calling the organization “irredeemably flawed.” The U.S. State Department ended decades of support to the organization Friday, saying “the administration has carefully reviewed the issue and determined that the United States will not make additional contributions to UNRWA (United Nations Relief …

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Residents of Mosul’s Old City are concerned about the education of their children ahead of the new school year as most classrooms in the district remain in ruins in the wake of the war against the Islamic State group. VOA’s Kawa Omar spoke to some residents in Mosul. …

Aleksandr Zakharchenko, who died in a bomb blast at a Donetsk cafe, was the pivotal leader in the Russia-backed insurgency in eastern Ukraine. But he was never more than a figurehead, not fully trusted in Moscow and despised in Kyiv. …

Paddy Ashdown, the former high representative to Bosnia-Herzegovina, says a proposed remaking of the border between Kosovo and Serbia along ethnic lines is a bad idea that could result in borders being redrawn all over the Balkans and used to justify land seizures in Ukraine. …

International students around the United States are learning about American college life in a special orientation week before classes start. Esha Sarai went to Rice University in Houston, Texas, to speak with some international students about their experience. …

U.S. President Donald Trump has stepped up his attacks on law enforcement agencies, warning that he may have to “get involved” in decisions amid “disgraceful” investigations being carried out by the Justice Department and FBI. …

Thousands of mourners have come to pay their respects to music legend Aretha Franklin, who will be laid to rest Friday in Detroit, Michigan. A star-studded roster of performers and speakers are scheduled to attend. From Washington, VOA’s Jill Craig has more. …

A piece of bone from a cave in Russia has yielded what may be the biggest archaeological find of the year, media reported on August 30. …

China is denying reports that it plans to deploy troops or establish a military base in Afghanistan, saying it is merely engaged in “normal military and security cooperation” with its neighbor. …

As Indonesia’s health ministry undertakes a huge campaign to immunize 70 million children against rubella and measles, critics say those efforts have been complicated by an edict issued by the country’s top Muslim clerical body, Indonesian Ulema Council, declaring some of the vaccine’s ingredients as forbidden by Islam. While the quasi-governmental body’s edict, a fatwa, …

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The head of the Slovak branch of a Russian motorcycle club known for its allegiance to the Kremlin has been fined a hefty amount for storing decommissioned military equipment, including a tank, on a former military base, Slovak media report. …

Italy, China, and Spain lead the way when it comes to the number of UNESCO* cultural and national heritage sites. …

Environmentalists are alarmed that President Donald Trump is following through on his campaign pledges to roll back Obama-era rules that tightened restrictions on greenhouse gases, promising the moves would lead to more American jobs and economic growth. At a recent rally in Charleston, West Virginia, under a “Trump Digs Coal” banner, the president announced plans …

Read more “Trump’s Environmental Policy Roll-back Alarms Activists”

Russia says it will launch major naval maneuvers in the Mediterranean Sea later this week, amid growing tensions between Moscow and the West over Syria. …

President Donald Trump has followed through on pledges to roll-back Obama-era rules that tightened restrictions on greenhouse gases, promising the moves would lead to more American jobs and economic growth. Trump’s proposal includes loosening restrictions to the American Clean Cars Standards and the Clean Power Plan. White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has more. …