Category: World

German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier has sharply criticized U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs and sanctions policies, saying such measures were destroying jobs and growth and that Europe would not bow to U.S. pressure regarding Iran. The United States has triggered a bitter tit-for-tat trade dispute with import tariffs meant to protect American jobs against what …

Read more “Germany: Trump’s Tariffs, Sanctions Destroy Jobs and Growth”

Afghans recall life under the Islamic State (IS) extremist group in northern Afghanistan, where residents accuse the militants of rape, forced marriages, and using child soldiers. …

Burkina Faso State TV reports that five gendarmes and one civilian have been killed between the rural communes of Boungou and Ougarou in the nation’s far east.   It reports the vehicle hit an explosive device late Saturday while gendarmes were escorting mining workers to their extraction site.   This comes as Islamic extremists are …

Read more “Suspected Jihadis Kill 6 in East Burkina Faso”

The battle for the eastern Afghan city of Ghazni has entered its third day as government forces and Taliban fighters engage in intense clashes, reports say. …

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has warned that Iranian officials are trying to head off a looming economic crisis with threats of “new rights-abusing policies,” including applying the death penalty for economic crimes. …

A wildfire in Southern California that began Monday grew to 85 square kilometers (33 square miles) in size Saturday as firefighters worked to keep the flames from engulfing residential areas in Holy Jim Canyon. Aircraft have been dumping pink fire retardant on homes in the Lake Elsinore area and other communities in the foothills of …

Read more “Crews Work to Protect S. California Homes from Holy Fire”

Clashes between Afghan government forces and the Taliban continue around the Afghan city of Ghazni on August 11, a day after Taliban militants stormed its center, officials said. …

In an about-face, U.S. Rep. Chris Collins is ending his re-election bid days after the Republican was charged with insider trading.   Collins released a statement Saturday morning saying his will suspend his campaign and finish the rest of his term. Collins was indicted Wednesday on charges he passed inside information about a biotechnology company …

Read more “Facing Indictment, US Congressman Ends Re-Election Bid”

It might sound like science fiction, but the general in charge of the U.S. military’s air transports across the globe says refueling and resupplying the military may soon be a job that’s literally out of this world. VOA Pentagon Correspondent Carla Babb has more. …

A top Iranian constitutional body has approved measures passed by parliament to bring the country more into line with international anti-money-laundering norms. …

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeated calls for Turks to sell dollars and euros to support the national currency, which has dropped sharply in value due to concerns over the economy and deteriorating relations with the United States. …

Dozens of airstrikes and shelling hit parts of the last swath of Syrian territory still held by rebels Friday, according to rebels, rescue workers and a war monitoring group, in a possible prelude to a full-scale government offensive. The U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said dozens of strikes from helicopters and warplanes had hit parts of Hama, Idlib and Aleppo provinces, …

Read more “Wave of Strikes Hits Syria’s Last Rebel-held Bastion”

The official European monitoring mission in eastern Ukraine has for the first time posted video footage showing convoys of trucks crossing from Russia into Ukraine and from Ukraine into Russia through a back road that has no border guards. …

A U.S. federal grand jury has indicted a U.S. citizen for attempting to join the Islamic State group. The grand jury in Chicago charged Faress Shraiteh with conspiracy to provide material support to the Islamic State and other crimes. Shraiteh is a U.S. citizen who used to live in Chicago and now lives in Israel. …

Read more “US Citizen Indicted for Trying to Join Islamic State”

Iranian security forces have beaten football fans chanting anti-government slogans at Tehran’s main sports stadium, in the first such confrontation since nationwide protests began last December. Friday’s incident happened at Azadi Stadium in the Iranian capital as fans gathered in the stands several hours before home team, Esteghlal, was due to kick off against visiting …

Read more “Police Beat Fans at Tehran Stadium Chanting ‘Death to Dictator’”

Russian officials have held out the tantalizing possibility they might allow a national referendum on the government’s much-hated proposal to raise retirement ages. But is it a red herring? …

The United Nations General Assembly has approved the appointment of former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet as the world body’s new human rights chief. …

Three South Korean firms imported coal from North Korea disguised as Russian products in violation of U.N. resolutions in a fresh sign of loosening sanctions, South Korea’s customs agency said Friday. Seoul has been examining nine cases of potential imports of North Korean coal, which would breach a resolution passed last August by the U.N. …

Read more “S. Korean Firms Imported N. Korean Coal in Sanctions Breach”

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev says that Moscow would consider it a “declaration of economic war” and would retaliate “economically, politically, or, if needed, by other means” if the United States imposes bans on Russian banks or their use of a particular currency. …

Prosecutors in the U.S. state of California say they are reviewing sexual assault allegations against actor Steven Seagal and two other celebrities, Harvey Weinstein and Anthony Anderson. …

Sunday marks the one year anniversary of the violent “Unite The Right” protests in Charlottesville, Virginia. Last year’s protest, organized by white supremacists upset over the removal of a statue of a Confederate hero, left one person dead and 19 injured. White nationalists are planning a protest to mark the occasion in Washington. Meanwhile, Virginia …

Read more “Charlottesville White Supremacist Protest Recalled One Year Later”

Yemen’s Shiite rebels say the death toll from Saudi-led coalition airstrikes on a crowded market and bus carrying school-aged children in the country’s north has risen to 50. VOA’s Mariama Diallo reports. WARNING: Graphic images. …

Taliban militants have launched an attack on the Afghan provincial capital of Ghazni and heavy fighting is under way as security forces try to repel them, officials say. …

The lone military identification tag that North Korea provided with 55 boxes of human remains last month belonged to Master Sgt. Charles H. McDaniel, an Army medic from Indiana who was killed in the opening months of the Korean War.   The Army on Wednesday handed McDaniel’s slightly corroded dog tag to his sons, Charles …

Read more “Sons Feel Mixed Emotions After N. Korea Returns Dad’s Dog Tag”