Month: December 2018

Russian prosecutors in St. Petersburg have indicted two former high-school science teachers who are accused of making drugs in an example of life imitating art. …

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is stepping down after 18 years as the party leader of the center-right Christian Democratic Union. In her farewell speech at the CDU congress Friday in Hamburg, Merkel thanked her staff and said the party “is never just one person by him or herself, but always all members together.” Merkel reminded …

Read more “German Chancellor Stepping Down as CDU Leader”

Provincial officials in Afghanistan’s western province of Herat say Taliban fighters staged a coordinated attack overnight on two Afghan army outposts, killing 14 Afghan soldiers and capturing another 21. …

The Taliban has killed at least 14 Afghan soldiers and taken more than 20 others hostage in the western Afghan province of Herat, which borders Iran, officials confirmed Friday. The latest violence coincided with a Taliban statement defending and boasting about its five-year Islamist rule in Afghanistan, which was ended 17 years ago by a …

Read more “Taliban Kills 14 Afghan Soldiers, Takes Many More Hostage”

MRI scans help doctors diagnose diseases or injuries without radiation. MRI technology uses powerful magnets, radio waves and a computer to make detailed pictures inside the body. This is especially important for heart patients. With an MRI, doctors can check to see if blood vessels are blocked. They can also check for heart damage after …

Read more “University of Missouri Works to Make a Better MRI”

Ivan Mankovsky runs a homeless charity in the southeastern Russian town of Khabarovsk. He’s converted old buses into shelters to help people get through the winter after their old shelter burned down. …

Many car companies are looking at adding sensors to monitor your vital signs while you drive. The University of Southern California’s Center for Body Computing, which is focused on digital health and innovation, brings together experts to look at the benefits and dangers of this next step in automotive design and technology. VOA’s Elizabeth Lee …

Read more “Cars that are too Smart may be too Dangerous”

Ukraine has used a gathering of foreign ministers of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to call for increased sanctions against Russia, accusing Moscow of stepping up “aggression” against Kyiv and sowing “instability and insecurity” in the OSCE region. …

Ecuador’s president has ramped up pressure on Julian Assange to leave his country’s embassy in London, saying Britain had provided sufficient guarantees that the WikiLeaks founder won’t be extradited to face the death penalty abroad. Lenin Moreno’s comments in a radio interview Thursday suggest that months of quiet diplomacy between the U.K. and Ecuador to …

Read more “Ecuador: Enough UK Guarantees for Assange to Leave Embassy”

Pakistan’s military says it is taking “every step” required to help the United States successfully achieve a political reconciliation in Afghanistan and exit the war-shattered country “as friend of the region, not as a failure.” The statement comes a day after U.S. special envoy for Afghan reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, visited Islamabad and sought cooperation from …

Read more “Pakistan Urges US to Leave Afghanistan ‘As Friend of the Region’”

Hosna Jalil, 26, has made history as the first Afghan woman to be appointed as a deputy minister in the Interior Ministry. But her critics say she is too young and inexperienced to be a leader in the country’s crucial security apparatus. …

City authorities in St. Petersburg have ruled that plaques commemorating victims of Soviet persecutions are “inexpedient” and “illegal” and should be removed from the streets. …

Dozens of workers were sickened Wednesday when a can of bear repellent was accidentally punctured at an Amazon warehouse in New Jersey.  Twenty-four people were hospitalized. One was in critical condition; the conditions of the others were not immediately known.  About 30 other workers were treated at the warehouse in Robbinsville, authorities said.  Robbinsville Township spokesman …

Read more “Dozens of Amazon Workers Sickened by Bear Repellent”

While this month marks the first anniversary of the Iraqi-proclaimed victory over the Islamic State (IS) terror group, U.S.-backed Iraqi forces are still trying to hunt down remaining IS militants as the extremist group returns to its insurgent roots.   In a televised address on December 9, 2017, former Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi announced the …

Read more “IS Signals Re-Emergence in Parts of Iraq”

Feverish media speculation had raged ahead of Robert Mueller’s sentencing recommendations for former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, fueled by hopes the court filing would provide fresh insight into the special counsel’s probe of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. What emerged instead from the heavily redacted document was a deepening mystery and …

Read more “Mueller Memo Adds to Russia Probe Mystery”

World leaders and dignitaries have gathered in the U.S. capital, Washington D.C., to pay their respects at the state funeral of former President George Bush …