worldwide news
Moldova’s government has called on the United Nations to discuss the withdrawal of Russian troops from its breakaway Transdniester region at the upcoming General Assembly session next month. …
U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis arrived in Kyiv on August 23, as international officials confirmed that a cease-fire in eastern Ukraine timed to the start of the new school year would begin in two days. …
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says President Donald Trump has empowered U.S. commanders to make decisions based on conditions on the ground in Afghanistan, and that will alter the dynamics in the United States’ longest war. But as VOA’s Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports, he also acknowledges it may be a war the U.S. cannot …
Read more “Tillerson: New Strategy Will ‘Turn the Tide’ From Losing Battle in Afghanistan”
Starbucks coffee shops recently installed the fastest Wi-Fi we regular folks can enjoy. It’s a blazing 9 megabits per second. But researchers in the Netherlands have some Wi-Fi that leaves that in the dust. VOA’s Kevin Enochs reports. …
Oil is the main revenue source in Alaska. This year, the trans-Alaska pipeline celebrated 40 years of service. From Alaska, VOA’s Natasha Mozgovaya looks at the history of North America’s largest oil field. …
The United States sent its first shipment of anthracite coal to Ukraine from the U.S. port Baltimore on August 22 under a deal designed to increase Ukraine’s energy security. …
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he will discuss with Russian President Vladimir Putin his concerns about Iran’s military presence in Syria. …
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has called on Russia and the Vatican to help fend off a U.S. “military threat,” and said he will soon go to Moscow to visit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. …
North Korea on Tuesday described President Donald Trump as a leader who frequently tweets “weird articles of his ego-driven thoughts” and “spouts rubbish” to give his assistants a hard time. The North’s official Korean Central News Agency made the comments in response to tough talk in Washington and Seoul over threats posed by Pyongyang’s nuclear …
Read more “North Korea: Trump Tweets ‘Weird Articles,’ ‘Spouts Rubbish’”
The Trump administration has rejected a coal industry push to win a rarely used emergency order protecting coal-fired power plants, a decision contrary to what one coal executive said the president personally promised him. The Energy Department says it considered issuing the order sought by companies seeking relief for plants it says are overburdened by …
Read more “Trump Rebuffs Coal Industry; CEO Claims Promise Broken”
Iran’s new telecommunications minister says Twitter is ready to talk about unblocking access to the microblogging site. The state-owned IRAN newspaper quoted Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi on Tuesday as saying Twitter has “officially announced readiness to talk with Iran for resolving the problems.” San Francisco-based Twitter did not immediately respond to a request …
Read more “Report: Iran says Twitter ready to Talk on Unblocking Site”
If the Russian government doesn’t quickly start doing more to combat the spread of HIV infections and to treat those already infected, activists say, the country can expect 20,000 AIDS deaths this year and more in the following years. …
Kazakh authorities say they have detained eight Syrian nationals they said were caught using doctored Bulgarian passports when entering and leaving Kazakhstan. …
A fire that tore through a neighborhood whose residents have reportedly received threats has killed at one person, authorities say. …
Every August, tens of thousands of Egypt’s Coptic Christians and Egyptian Muslims take buses and trains to the Virgin Mary Monastery in Assiut. This year, Muslims were banned from attending the event by the Egyptian authorities. The monastery is believed to have been visited by the Holy family when they fled Israel out of fear …
The White House says U.S. President Donald Trump will deliver a major address to the nation on August 21 to explain “the path forward for America’s engagement in Afghanistan and South Asia.” …
Islamic State militants continue counterattacking from their remaining strongholds in Raqqa, Syria, as coalition-backed forces advance to recapture the city. Families fleeing the fighting often have no place to go but to camps desperately short of clean water, food and medicine. VOA’s Heather Murdock is on the scene in Raqqa and in the Ain Issa …
Read more “Militants Counterattack as Airstrikes Pound Raqqa”
Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl has decided be to tried by a judge — not a military jury — on charges that he endangered comrades by walking off his post in Afghanistan. Bergdahl’s lawyers told the court in a brief filing last week that their client chose trial by judge alone, rather than a panel of officers. …
Read more “Bergdahl Chooses to Have Trial Heard by Judge, Not Jury”
Spanish police have confirmed that fugitive Barcelona van-attack suspect Younes Abouyaaqoub has been shot dead. …
The Vatican’s secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, has arrived in Moscow for an official visit slated to include a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. …
Four children from Sudan whose parents are believed to have been killed fighting for Islamic State in the Libyan city of Sirte last year were handed over to the Sudanese consul on Sunday for return to their country. Sirte was a stronghold for Islamic State from 2015-2016, when Libyan forces backed by U.S. air strikes …
Read more “Sudanese Children of IS Militants Released in Libya”
Lebanese band Mashrou’ Leila’s blend of indie rock and lyrics about social and political injustice has won a passionate following among fans seeking an alternative to Arab pop with its romantic themes. But securing a firm footing in the Middle East has been difficult for the band. Jordanian authorities cancelled its concert in June, for …
Read more “Stifled in Middle East, Lebanese Band Finds Audience in West”
The U.S. Navy destroyer USS John S. McCain has been involved in a collision with a merchant ship east of Singapore, near the Strait of Malacca. The U.S. 7th Fleet released a statement early Monday that the guided-missile destroyer collided with the Alnic MC at about 6:20 local time. The John S. McCain was damaged, …
Australia defeated Iran 79-56 to claim the championship of the FIBA Asian Cup basketball tournament on August 20 in Beirut. …