Month: November 2019

The U.N. refugee agency plans to cut the number of migrants staying at an overcrowded transit center in Libya’s capital, a spokesman said Saturday. Libya is a major waypoint for migrants fleeing war and poverty in Africa and the Middle East to Europe. “The situation…

Climate activists protested at open-pit coal mines in eastern Germany, pouring onto the premises to urge the government to immediately halt the use of coal to produce electricity. The news agency dpa reported that police estimated more than 2,000 people took part Saturday at sites…

Three international organizations have ended an official visit to Cameroon with a call for efforts to restore security, justice and the conditions for the resumption of normal life in English-speaking northwest and southwest regions of the country hit by the separatist crisis that has killed…

U.S. border protection officials in San Diego said Friday that 20 people had been rescued from flooded drainage pipes west of the San Ysidro Port of Entry.  A Border Patrol agent found three people trying to enter the United States illegally late Thursday near a drainage tube…

Twitter Chief Executive Jack Dorsey has wrapped up of a trip to Africa by pledging to reside on the continent next year for up to six months.  Dorsey tweeted this week: "Africa will define the future (especially the bitcoin one!). Not sure where yet, but…

The conflict in Syria created a global humanitarian crisis, with millions displaced and millions more fleeing to other countries. Turkish military operations that began in early October may be creating a new wave of displacement. Where are these Syrians going? VOA's Turkish service filed this report, narrated…

The widespread African tradition of giving cash and gifts to a bride’s family before marriage, known as a “bride price,” critics say degrades women by putting a monetary value on a wife. A recent case in Nigeria ended in suicide, underscoring the financial pressure. But,…

Southern Africa is experiencing one of the worst droughts in years, with more than 40 million people expected to face food insecurity because of livestock and crop losses. Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Zimbabwe have declared it an emergency. In semi-arid Botswana, the farmers are reeling…

A former Buddhist monk has died in eastern Tibet after setting himself on fire this week to protest China’s repressive rule, a spokesperson for the monastery told VOA Tibetan Service. Yonten, a 24-year-old former monk at Kirti Monastery in Amdo Ngaba, in the western China…

A Russian-backed bank payment card, introduced after Western sanctions upended Russia's financial system five years ago and prompted Visa and Mastercard to deny electronic services to some of the country's leading banks, is set for its European debut on London Wednesday, when a pilot project…

China summoned the U.S. ambassador in Beijing Thursday to "strongly protest" President Donald Trump's signing of bills on Hong Kong's human rights. Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng told Ambassador Terry Branstad the move constituted "serious interference in China's internal affairs" and described the action…

Iran on Thursday condemned the burning of its consulate in southern Iraq hours earlier, which came amid an escalation in Iraq's anti-government protests that erupted nearly two months ago.                     Violence across southern Iraq had continued throughout the night, with security forces killing 16…

A TikTok post by a young woman, pretending to give eyelash curling advice while actually condemning China's crackdown on Muslims in Xinjiang, has gone viral on the Chinese-owned app that has been accused of censoring anti-Beijing content. The clip by US teen Feroza Aziz, who…

The enemy next door. Plugged In takes you to the Iraqi town of Shoura, once controlled by the Islamic State. Now, Shoura's residents are trying live side-by-side with the wives and children of the ISIS fighters who terrorized the town. VOA Middle East Correspondent Heather Murdock brings us the story…

At least three workers were injured in an early morning explosion on Wednesday that sparked a blaze at a Texas petrochemical plant, the latest in a series of chemical plant accidents in the region. An initial explosion at a TPC Group complex in Port Neches,…

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has agreed to expand its anti-bias training and expressly forbid anti-Semitism in campus policies as part of an agreement with the U.S. Education Department following complaints about a March conference featuring a rapper accused of anti-Jewish bias.…

Many new refugees in America experience culture shock when they first arrive in the United States.  Many have to deal with a new language, culture, and even holidays. But settled refugees can play a big role in helping new arrivals adapt to life in the…

Critics say the widespread African tradition of giving cash and gifts to a bride's family before marriage, known as a "bride price," degrades women by putting a required, monetary value on a wife. In Nigeria, the financial pressure in a recent case ended in suicide,…

Israel's attorney general Avichai Mandelblit says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can stay on as head of government even after he was indicted last week for alleged corruption. Although Cabinet ministers are required to step down after an indictment, the laws about a prime minister are…

Turkish riot police used force to break up a march by thousands of women calling for what they call an "end to impunity" for men guilty of violence against women. Police stopped more than 2,000 from marching up Istikal Street in Istanbul’s main shopping district.…

A Lebanese-born business tycoon says he is donating Hitler's top hat and other Nazi memorabilia he won at an auction to an Israeli Jewish group to keep the stuff out of the hands of neo-Nazis. Abdallah Chatila, who made his fortune in diamonds and Swiss…

Feature films on slavery have been part of Hollywood since the beginning of the film industry in United States. However, only recently, movies on slavery have been told from the perspective of the slaves, and now, with the film "Harriet" from the perspective of a…

When politicians try to win votes by blaming foreigners for stealing jobs, economists say they ignore technology, which is what is really replacing many of these jobs. However the issue remains that many workers and small businesses do not benefit from foreign trade as much…

Hong Kong pro-democracy forces won a landslide victory in local elections Sunday. Though primarily symbolic, the vote represents a stunning rebuke to Beijing, as VOA’s Bill Gallo reports from Hong Kong. ...

Devin Nunes, the top Republican on the Congressional committee investigating President Donald Trump, refused to answer questions Sunday as to whether he met with a former Ukrainian official to gather information on the son of former vice president Joe Biden. A lawyer representing Lev Parnas,…

Machine gun fire answers rock-throwing protesters. Motorcycle-riding Revolutionary Guard volunteers chase after demonstrators. Plainclothes security forces grab, beat and drag a man off the street to an uncertain fate. As Iran restores the internet after a weeklong government-imposed shutdown, new videos purport to show the…

More than three dozen people are reported dead in a series of security-related incidents in Afghanistan, including a fatal attack on a U.N. vehicle in the capital, Kabul. Several of the dead were civilians. Afghan officials said Sunday that Taliban rebels assaulted a security outpost…

Iraqi security forces fired rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse crowds of protesters Saturday, killing two people in a third day of fierce clashes in central Baghdad, security and hospital officials said.    Two protesters were struck with rubber bullets and died instantly and…