Former Trump Adviser Page Tells Panel About 2016 Russia Trip

A former foreign policy adviser to President Donald Trump’s campaign has acknowledged in testimony to Congress that he had contact with a high-level Russian official while on a trip to Russia last year, according to a transcript released Monday. Carter Page, an unpaid adviser who left the campaign before Trump was elected, told the House …

Papua New Guinea Court Rejects Bid to Restore Water, Food to Detention Center

Papua New Guinea’s Supreme Court rejected an application on Tuesday to restore water, electricity and food supply to an Australian-run detention center in which nearly 600 men have been barricaded for a week, refusing to move. The men in the Manus Island facility have defied attempts by Australia and Papua New Guinea to close the …

Hong Kong Democracy Activists Win Last Chance to Appeal Jail Terms in Highest Court

An appeal against the controversial jailing of three young democracy activists will be heard in Hong Kong’s highest court in January, after the Court of Final Appeal decided on Tuesday to allow it. Hong Kong’s appeals court jailed Joshua Wong, 21, Alex Chow, 27, and Nathan Law, 24, leaders of the Chinese-ruled city’s democracy movement, …

North Korea Dominates Trump – Abe Talks in Tokyo

North Korea has dominated two days of talks between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. President Donald Trump. Abe told reporters Monday all options are on the table to respond to North Korea’s weapons development, while Trump reiterated that the U.S. government stands in solidarity with allies in the region, especially Japan. VOA’s White …

Australia Proposes Lawmakers Prove They’re Not Dual Citizens

Australia’s prime minister on Monday proposed making all lawmakers prove they are not dual citizens in a move that could threaten the stability of his own government.   The High Court last month disqualified five lawmakers, including two government ministers, because they breached a 116-year-old constitutional ban on foreign citizens sitting in parliament, creating an …

Typhoon Damrey Kills At Least 49 People in Vietnam

A powerful typhoon that blasted Vietnam’s south-central coast has killed at least 49 people, left more than a dozen missing and caused extensive damage to the region. 19 people are still missing, including nine crew members of cargo ships that sank off the coast of Khanh Hoa province, the Vietnam Disaster Management Authority said in …

Belarusian Opposition Commemorates Soviet Regime Victims

Dozens of Belarusian opposition activists marched to Kurapaty, a site near Minsk, on November 5 to honor at least 30,000 people who were killed and buried there by the Soviet secret police under dictator Josef Stalin in the 1930s and ’40s. Organized by the opposition Belarusian Popular Front (BPF), the march was sanctioned by the …

Saudi-led Coalition Intensifies Airstrikes on Houthis after Intercepting Ballistic Missile

Saudi Arabia and its allied forces launched a new wave of airstrikes on targets in neighboring Yemen, where Riyadh has been leading a military alliance against Iran-backed Shi’ite Houthi militant forces since March 2015. Alhurra reported the airstrikes targeted the National Security building and the Ministry of Interior and other positions Sunday in the capital, …

Simmering Tension Between Islamic School, Government Led to Protests in Eritrea

Unusual acts of defiance against government demands led to protests last week in Eritrea’s capital, Asmara, according to experts who study the region. The rare protests were the culmination of nearly two years of back-and-forth between the Ministry of Education and leaders of the Diaa Islamic School of Asmara, who defied government orders aimed at …

Saudi Arabia: Missile Intercepted Near International Airport

Saudi Arabia on Saturday intercepted a ballistic missile fired at the international airport northeast of Riyadh, its state media said. The statement came after reports that a loud explosion had been heard in the area. Unconfirmed reports said the missile came from Yemen, where Saudi Arabia is leading a military alliance against the armed Houthi …

Zimbabwe Court Orders American Held on Charges of Undermining Mugabe, Subversion

A court in Zimbabwe on Saturday ordered a U.S. citizen held in jail while she faces allegations of subversion and undermining the authority of President Robert Mugabe. The American, Martha O’Donovan, who works for a Zimbabwe online TV station, was arrested Friday after police converged on her house with a search warrant during a dawn …

US Orders Staffers to Leave Somalia Over ‘Specific Threat’

The United States has ordered all non-essential employees of its mission to Somalia to leave the capital, Mogadishu, citing “specific threat information” against them. The statement issued Saturday by the U.S. State Department relates the threat information to Mogadishu International Airport, protected by African Union Troops and run by a Turkish firm. “Due to specific …

NYC Police Collect Evidence for Possible Weinstein Arrest Warrant

The New York City Police Department said Friday that it had a credible narrative from an unidentified woman who has made a rape allegation against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein and was gathering evidence for a possible arrest warrant. Reuters requests for comment from Weinstein’s representative and his attorney were not immediately answered. Robert Boyce, the …