Category: News

Illegal drug use is on the rise around the world according to a new UN report. How bad is it and what is being done to stop the spread of dangerous and increasingly deadly drugs? Former US "Drug Czar" Gil Kerlikowske and Ben Westhoff, author of…

The U.N. Commission of Inquiry on Burundi said Wednesday that the country, following years of political turmoil, was primed for a genocide.     The commission's warning, contained in its latest report on human rights in Burundi, was based on an analysis developed by the U.N. Office for the Prevention of Genocide and the Responsibility to Protect.…

Argentine economists sharply hiked 2019 inflation forecasts and cut their gross domestic product outlook for the year, according to a central bank poll released on Tuesday, following a wave of  political uncertainty that beat the local peso down 26% in August. The survey came two…

Saber Sessi was working the night shift at a municipality vehicle depot in Carthage, Tunisia, when he signed off on five bulldozers in the early hours of July 9. Unbeknownst to him, the intended target for those bulldozers was his home. "I opened the gate,…

Hurricane Dorian will likely avoid landfall in Florida, but that does not mean residents of the Sunshine State or anywhere else along southeastern U.S. coast can relax. Forecasters say Dorian is getting bigger and will move "dangerously close" to Florida and Georgia Tuesday through Wednesday…

People in the Bahamas experienced another hellish night as the center of powerful Hurricane Dorian sat stationary on the northern edge of Grand Bahama Island and pounded the area with fierce winds and the flooding effects of heavy rains and storm surge. Dorian made landfall…

East Timor is marking the 20th anniversary of a referendum that ended 24 years of Indonesian occupation and delivered independence, but that also sparked a bloody rampage by pro-Jakarta militias who killed 1,500 people and pushed another half-a-million out of their homes. The capital has…

Peru plans to beef up security at its border with Ecuador to prevent illegal immigration, after stricter entry requirements for Venezuelans led to a 90% drop in legal crossings, a government official said on Monday. More than 850,000 Venezuelans have fled their homeland for Peru…

Libya's airport authorities say they have closed the only functional airport in the capital, Tripoli, a day after it was hit by shelling amid clashes between rival armed groups fighting for control of the city. Nasr al-Din Shaab el-Ain, the head of Tripoli's civil aviation…

Tunisia's 26 presidential candidates have launched their campaigns in a political climate marked by uncertainty, money laundering allegations and worries about violent extremism. There is no clear front-runner as campaigning began Monday for the Sept. 15 first-round vote to replace Tunisia's first democratically elected president,…

Iran is for the first time acknowledging that a rocket explosion took place at its Imam Khomeini Space Center, with an official saying a technical malfunction caused the blast.   Government spokesman Ali Rabiei made the statement on Monday in comments broadcast by Iranian state…

Hurricane Dorian, a powerful category 5 Atlantic storm, is battering the northern Bahamas and headed toward the southeastern U.S. state of Florida. VOA's Mike O’Sullivan reports, a key emergency official expects the storm to weaken before affecting the U.S. coastline but says disruptions from wind,…

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said the United States will continue to support Ukraine in the country's conflict with Russia and its right to full territorial integrity. Washington "stands with the people of Ukraine and most especially since 2014, we have stood strongly for the…

Hurricane Dorian, a dangerous Category 5 storm, made landfall in the northwestern Bahamas Sunday, slamming the island with 295 kilometer an hour winds. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Dorian is the strongest hurricane in modern history to hit the area and warned "catastrophic conditions"…

A list of some of the deadliest mass shootings in the United States in the last two years:    — Aug. 31, 2019: Five people were killed in West Texas in shootings in the area of Midland and Odessa.    — Aug. 4, 2019: A…

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U.S. President Donald Trump’s next round of tariffs on Chinese imports is scheduled to take effect Sunday, escalating the trade war between the world’s two largest economies with a big hit to consumer goods. Trump has targeted about $300 billion in annual goods imports from…

While most migrants who arrive at America's southern border are from the Northern Triangle countries of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, the U.S. Border Patrol in Texas' Del Rio Sector reports apprehending people from more than 50 countries in the last year. VOA's Ramon Taylor…

In Russia, countrywide celebrations have been held to mark the 350th anniversary of the national flag. Yet, only 50 percent of respondents polled in a recent survey could correctly name the sequence of the colors on the flag. Russia recently saw a surge of patriotic…

Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg took her Friday school strikes to the gates of the United Nations, surrounded by hundreds of other young activists, calling on adults to take action on climate change. Thunberg will speak at a climate change summit of world leaders next month…

This week, on #VOAOurVoices: from afro beats and South Africa’s hypnotic gqom music, to the Ivorian sounds of Coupé-Decalé, African artists continue to reinvent the rhythms of Africa – and the world is taking note. This week, our hosts are joined by David Vandy, from…

The first legal challenge to prevent British Prime Minister Boris Johnson from suspending Parliament has been delayed in a Scottish court. The Court of Session in Edinburgh refused Friday to take immediate legal action to prevent Johnson from suspending Parliament for several weeks during part…

Police in Hong Kong have arrested three prominent pro-democracy activists, ahead of a major protest that had been planned for Saturday. The march had already been called off by organizers after an appeals board denied permission. Joshua Wong, founder of political party Demosisto, was arrested…

A large scientific study into the biological basis of sexual behavior has confirmed there is no single "gay gene" but that a complex mix of genetics and environment affects whether a person has same-sex sexual partners.  The research, which analyzed data on DNA and sexual experiences from almost half a…

The U.S. Special Representative to Venezuela Elliot Abrams told reporters at the State Department that America is "ready for change in Venezuela," and that embattled President Nicolas Maduro leaving power is a critical part of the country being able to move forward toward free elections…

U.S. President Donald Trump’s national security adviser visited Belarus Thursday, receiving an enthusiastic welcome from its autocratic leader who has faced Western criticism over the nation’s democratic record. John Bolton met with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who has ruled the nation of 10 million with…

Democratic U.S. Senators Chris Coons and Chris Van Hollen last week endorsed taking action to head off a possible Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, lauded an innovative Ugandan approach to resettling war refugees, and called for greater political openness in Uganda. The senators…

CNN has apologized for a misleading headline that appeared on its website during its coverage Sunday of the Hong Kong riots. At one point, a headline reading “Police Use Petrol Bombs and Water Cannons Against Hong Kong Protesters” flashed on the screen. According to Hong…