Former Ivory Coast First Lady Acquitted of Crimes Against Humanity

A court in Ivory Coast found former first lady Simone Gbagbo not guilty Tuesday of crimes against humanity allegedly committed during the 2011 post-election violence. Gbagbo was not in court when the verdict was announced. Prosecutors have 60 days to appeal. They had called for life in prison. Gbagbo was accused of leading a cell …

Nunes Controversy Could Stall House Russia Inquiry

Embattled House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes threw a formerly bipartisan investigation of Russian election interference into doubt Tuesday, as he rejected calls for his recusal and stopped the committee’s work for the rest of the week. Nunes cancelled a closed-door briefing with FBI Director James Comey and NSA Director Admiral Mike Rogers, deepening the …

Hip Hop Star Fetty Wap at Scene of New Jersey Shooting That Left 3 Wounded

Authorities say hip-hop star Fetty Wap was at the scene of a shooting in his New Jersey hometown that left three people wounded.   The shooting happened at a 24-hour deli in Paterson at about 5 a.m. Sunday.   Investigators say the rapper, whose real name is Willie Maxwell, and several friends are not suspects …

Police Disperse Anticorruption Rally In Moscow

Russian police dispersed demonstrators in downtown Moscow and arrested the anticorruption rally organizer, opposition leader Aleksei Navalny, on March 26. Navalny called for protests in cities across Russia to condemn corruption after his anticorruption foundation published an investigation into property owned by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in Russia and abroad. (RFE/RL’s Russian Service) …

US-backed Fighters to Pause Military Action Near Syria Dam

U.S.-backed forces in northern Syria said Monday they will pause military operations near a major dam held by the so-called Islamic State group in order to allow engineers to fix any problems after conflicting reports about its stability. The decision by the Syrian Democratic Forces came a day after conflicting reports over whether civilians had …

New HK Chief Pledges to Unite a Divided Society

Hong Kong has selected Carrie Lam to be the city’s first-ever female chief executive, sealing an election that many saw as a foregone conclusion and not a democratic race.  In her victory speech Sunday, Lam pledged to mend political rifts across the city’s political spectrums.  But her victory is largely shunned by the city’s democracy …

Navalny Defiant After Arrest At Moscow Protest

Russian opposition leader and anticorruption campaigner Aleksei Navalny was defiant after his arrest in Moscow, pledging to organize mass legal challenges against the detention of around 1,000 people at protests across Russia and to take part in the 2018 presidential election. Navalny, who was speaking on March 27, was fined $350 for taking part in …

Russians In Krasnoyarsk, Novosibirsk Protest Corruption

Hundreds of Russians joined anticorruption rallies in the cities of Krasnoyarsk and Novosibirsk on March 26. The demonstrations were called by activist and opposition leader Aleksei Navalny after his antigraft foundation had published an investigation into property owned by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in Russia and abroad. (RFE/RL’s Russian Service) …

German Chancellor Center-Right Party to Win State Election, Exit Polls

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s center-right party won a state election by large margin, exit polls said Sunday, in an early setback to center-left hopes of unseating her in the September national vote. Early results from the voting in Saarland state had Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) leading with 40 percent while the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) …

Republicans Try to Regroup after Health Care Debacle

The coming week will see Republicans attempting to regroup and reignite momentum behind a conservative agenda that failed its first major test of 2017: repealing and replacing former President Barack Obama’s signature health care law. VOA’s Michael Bowman reports, last week’s legislative train wreck showed that, despite controlling the White House and both houses of …