Year: 2019

The Sengwer, an indigenous hunter-gatherer community in western Kenya, presented a petition Monday morning to the government in Nairobi demanding the return and protection of what they call their ancestral lands. The community says it faces threats of eviction as Kenya's government takes over conservation…

Steve Herman contributed to this report. Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives have issued subpoenas to the Pentagon and White House budget office as part of their impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, requesting documents relating to Trump's decision to withhold military aid to…

The U.N. high commissioner for refugees is calling for urgent action to resolve the global forced displacement crisis as increasing numbers of people flee conflict, natural disasters and grinding poverty. Filippo Grandi was speaking at the opening of UNHCR’s annual weeklong refugee conference. Forced displacement…

The U.N. high commissioner for refugees is calling for urgent action to resolve the global forced displacement crisis as increasing numbers of people flee conflict, natural disasters and grinding poverty. In recent years, nearly 71 million people have been uprooted from their homes. More than…

French and German attempts to end the conflict in east Ukraine risk increasing tensions that were already rising in the European Union over how to handle Russia and which could complicate peace efforts. Progress at talks between Russian and Ukrainian envoys have raised hopes of…

Britain's Boris Johnson urged French President Emanuel Macron on Sunday to "push forward" to secure a Brexit deal and told him  the EU should not be lured into the mistaken belief that the U.K. would stay in the EU after Oct.31, the prime minister's office…

Rip Taylor, the madcap mustached comedian with a fondness for confetti-throwing who became a television game show mainstay in the 1970s, has died. He was 84. Taylor died Sunday in Beverly Hills, California, publicist Harlan Boll said. The man who would become known worldwide as…

A homeless man wielding a long metal bar rampaged through New York City’s Chinatown early Saturday attacking other homeless people who were sleeping, killing four and leaving a fifth with serious injuries, police said. Police recovered the weapon, which was still in the suspect’s hands…

A witness in the murder trial of a white Dallas police officer who fatally shot her black neighbor has been killed in a shooting, the Dallas Morning News reported, citing authorities. The newspaper reported that authorities said Joshua Brown, who lived in the same apartment…

Caviar, a food associated with luxury, is being produced for the first time in Madagascar. The product makes consumers in faraway France happy, and provides hundreds of jobs in this African country.  VOA's Jim Randle has our story.   ...

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Saturday defended the Trump administration's approach to Ukraine that is at the center of an impeachment inquiry. He rejected allegations it was at best inappropriate or at worst an illegal abuse of power for which Congress should remove…

U.S. President Donald Trump has asked for a substantial cut in the National Security Council staff, Bloomberg reported late on Friday, citing five people familiar with the plans. The step was described by some sources cited in the report as part of an effort from…

A global education fund is providing tens of thousands of Sahelian children in crisis with a quality education, bringing hope to boys and girls who have known nothing but violence and sorrow in their young lives. Education Cannot Wait, a funding mechanism set up at…

Wayne Lee contributed to this report. WHITE HOUSE — U.S. President Donald Trump, in his latest remarks explaining his requests to foreign governments to investigate his political opponents, is asserting he has a constitutional duty to fight corruption. "This is not about politics. This is…

The office of the U.N. high commissioner for human rights has harshly criticized Iraq's deadly crackdown on people protesting against corruption, lack of jobs and basic services, including electricity and clean water. At least 42 people reportedly have been killed in a series of demonstrations…

VOA Connect Episode 90 -  Explore some old-time pastimes, from riding a steam locomotive, to watching a wingwalker take to the sky, and digging into the original Buffalo wings. Plus, see how one small town reinvented itself to become an artist's paradise ...

European cheese makers complained Thursday of being held "hostage" in a transatlantic trade battle that had nothing to do with them after the United States slapped 25% tariffs on the sector in retaliation for state aid to aerospace group Airbus. The dismayed reaction came a…

Google pledged Thursday to help train a quarter of a million people for technology jobs, adding its name to a White House initiative designed to get private companies to expand training opportunities for Americans. CEO Sundar Pichai announced the commitment during an appearance with White…

Tanzania denied Thursday it was withholding information from the World Health Organization (WHO) on suspected cases of Ebola, saying it was not hiding any outbreak of the deadly disease in the country. “Ebola is known as a fast-spreading disease, whose impact can be felt globally.…

A somber commemoration marking the first anniversary of the slaying of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was held Wednesday in Istanbul just a few meters from the Saudi consulate where he was dismembered. Khashoggi’s brutal killing sparked widespread international condemnation of Saudi Arabia, with calls for…

Scores of senior doctors in Zimbabwe’s public hospitals have threatened to strike starting Thursday, if the government fails to meet their demand for better salaries and working conditions. They would join hundreds of their junior counterparts, who’ve been on strike since September 3 for the…

The sloth - a super slow tree dweller that spends most of its life hanging upside down - isn't on an endangered species list.  But human activity hasn't  been kind to the popular creature who lives in the tropical rain forests of Central and South…

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has acknowledged he was on the telephone call that triggered the impeachment investigation into President Donald Trump. “I was on the phone call,” Pompeo confirmed Tuesday at a news conference in Rome, without offering details about what was said…

Malaysian singer-songwriter, Yuna fourth album “Rouge” was released this summer. The album has a pop and R&B feel because she wanted to bring back the feel of old records -- old vinyl. She is best known for the collaboration with Usher on her breakout single,…

In Hong Kong there are growing concerns the government is condoning the excessive use of force against pro-democracy demonstrators after police shot a student protester on Tuesday. More than 100 people were injured during Tuesday's mass demonstrations in Hong Kong. Police fired water cannons and…

A federal judge has rejected the Trump administration's bid to dismiss lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of a 2017 decision to downsize two sprawling national monuments in Utah.   U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan's written decisions issued Monday night means the legal challenges seeking to…

Ukraine's president said Tuesday that no one explained to him why millions of dollars in U.S. military aid to his country was delayed, shrugging off suggestions that President Donald Trump froze the funding to pressure Ukraine to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden. Ukrainian President Volodymyr…

A strike by the United Auto Workers union has caused a parts shortage, forcing General Motors to shut down its pickup truck and transmission factories in Silao, Mexico. Spokesman Dan Flores confirmed that production at the factories ended Tuesday morning, affecting 6,000 workers. The plant…