Syrian Government Forces Gain Ground In Aleppo Province
Syrian state media say government troops have gained ground and widened their control over villages formerly held by Islamic State (IS) militants in the northern part of the country. …
U.S. Budget Director Confirms Plans For ‘Dramatic’ Cut In Foreign Aid
The U.S. budget director has confirmed that the Trump administration will propose “fairly dramatic” reductions in U.S. foreign aid when it submits its fiscal 2018 budget later this month. …
Emails From Pence’s Time as Governor Delivered in Indiana
Thirteen boxes of emails from Vice President Mike Pence’s term as Indiana governor have been turned over to state government, about two months after an earlier attempt didn’t work, a spokesman said. Attorneys for Pence delivered the emails Thursday to be archived for public review as required under Indiana law, The Indianapolis Star reported. The …
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Syrian Army Presses Offensive Against IS Near Turkish Border
Syrian news reports say government forces pressed forward Saturday in pursuit of Islamic State extremists in northern Syria, gaining control of 15 more villages near the Turkish border and slowing a rival push against IS fighters by Turkish-backed Syrian rebels. Monitors from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Syrian offensive, launched after last …
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Nature Plays Starring Role in Florida Everglades
National parks traveler Mikah Meyer says visiting Everglades National Park in southern Florida was like stepping back in time. Time standing still “It’s this huge section of [protected] land … it takes up the entire southwestern corner of Florida and essentially before human interaction, everything south of Orlando looked like the Everglades.” Join Mikah …
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Doctors Alarmed by a Post-Antibiotic Future
Unless new antibiotics are developed quickly, people will once again die from common infections. The World Health Organization on Feb. 27 issued an urgent call for scientists to develop these new drugs, and for governments to fund the research. VOA’s Carol Pearson reports. …
Galleries Worldwide Showcase Artists at New York’s Armory Show
Art lovers from around the world descend on New York City every March for several art fairs. One of the longest running and most popular fairs is the Armory Show, which hosts more than 200 galleries from 30 countries. For visitors, who are expected to reach 65,000 this year, the Armory Show cements New York …
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EU Foreign Policy Chief Met With Booing By Some In Serbian Parliament
The European Union’s foreign policy chief was met with booing and pro-Russia chants in the Serbian parliament when she called for integrating the Western Balkans into the European bloc on March 3. …
Pentagon Says Al-Qaeda In Yemen Targeted With Over 30 Air Strikes
U.S. warplanes launched over 30 air strikes in Yemen this week in a sustained assault on Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the Pentagon said on March 3. …
Iran Said Seeking Russian Cruise Missiles Ahead Of Weapons Ban Expiration
Iran already is negotiating to buy cruise missiles from Russia and is likely to make other major weapons purchases when a UN ban on selling Iran sophisticated weapons expires in 2020, a U.S. intelligence report finds. …
Ukraine’s Tax Chief Targeted In Corruption Probe
Ukraine’s tax and customs service chief has been suspended from his post amid a graft investigation that marks a rare attempt to prosecute a senior official on suspicion of corruption. …
Airstrike Kills Key Afghan Taliban Commander
Senior Taliban officials say a suspected American drone strike has killed a key Taliban commander who told captured U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl “Don’t come back to Afghanistan” moments before releasing him to the U.S. military in a prisoner swap three years ago. The U.S. military, however, told VOA Friday, “Neither U.S. forces Afghanistan nor …
Mother Of Late Russian Sailor Seeks Pay Denied By Military
Sailor Vladimir Shalayev died of heart failure shortly after returning from a Russian naval mission off the coast of Syria. His mother, Vera Shalayeva, is now engaged in a legal battle with the military, which denies that Shalayev served in a combat mission and refuses to grant the payment that Shalayeva says their family deserves. …
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Yemen Airstrikes Target Al-Qaida
Yemeni officials and witnesses say the U.S. military has launched airstrikes on suspected al-Qaida targets in southern Yemen for a second straight day. Yemeni officials say the home of an al-Qaida leader was one of the targets in the pre-dawn attack Friday in Wadi Yashbam in Shabwe province. Attacks were also carried out in neighboring …
The Daily Vertical: When It All Began
The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect the views of RFE/RL. …
Ukraine’s Tax and Customs Chief Accused of Embezzling Millions
Ukrainian anti-corruption agencies plan to detain the head of the tax and customs service, Roman Nasirov, over the alleged embezzlement of around 2 billion hryvnias ($75 million), a senior prosecutor said Friday. Television footage showed an unconscious-looking Nasirov being stretchered into an ambulance and taken to Kyiv’s Feofania hospital late Thursday. Reporters said he had …
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EU Ambassadors Agree To Prolong Sanctions On Yanukovych, Associates
European Union ambassadors have decided to prolong asset freezes imposed by Brussels against Ukraine’s former President Viktor Yanukovych and 14 of his associates. …
Russian Observers Parse US President’s Congressional Speech
President Donald Trump did not utter the word “Russia” In his address to the U.S. Congress earlier this week. Still, observers in Moscow zeroed in on parts of his speech, including this one: “America is willing to find new friends, and to forge new partnerships, where shared interests align.” President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, …
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After Alleged VX Nerve Agent Use by North Korea, What Response Should Follow?
Kim Jong Nam, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, was killed February 13 when two women smeared a liquid that Malaysian authorities say is VX nerve agent on his face at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Indonesian Siti Aisyah and Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong have been charged with murder, a crime that …
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China Supports WTO After Washington Criticizes Trade Organization
China’s government says it will support the World Trade Organization, arguing that an “open and unbiased” trading system benefits global economic growth and is in everyone’s interest. Beijing’s comments come just a day after the Trump administration said it might not comply with WTO rulings it judged to violate American national sovereignty. Wednesday, the administration …
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Russia Says Syrian Forces Recapture Palmyra From Islamic State
Moscow says Syria’s armed forced have recaptured the ancient city of Palmyra from Islamic State (IS) militants. …
NATO Officials Begin Georgia Visit
Georgia’s military held medical evacuation drills as NATO officials began a two-day visit to discuss closer cooperation. (RFE/RL’s Georgian Service) …
US House, Senate Letters Back Asia Military Funding Proposal
A bipartisan group of U.S. members of Congress has backed a proposal for $7.5 billion of new military funding for U.S. forces and their allies in the Asia-Pacific region, where tensions have risen over China’s territorial ambitions and military buildup. Five members of the U.S. House of Representatives and eight senators from both the Democratic …
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Iran’s Major Naval Exercise, Missile Tests a ‘Standard Practice’
Iran has wrapped up a large-scale naval exercise involving missile tests at a time of heightened tension with the United States. The U.S. downplayed the Iranian maneuvers as a “standard practice.” Iranian state media said the navy drill that ended Tuesday spanned 2 million square kilometers of the Arabian Sea, extending to the entrances of …
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