Syria’s top diplomat on Saturday demanded the immediate withdrawal of American and Turkish forces from the country and said his government reserves the right to defend its territory in any way necessary if they remain. Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem’s remarks …
The British-flagged oil tanker that was seized by Iran in July has docked in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates early Saturday, according to ship-tracking websites and pool reporters. The Stena Impero, which had been held off Bandar Abbas for …
Seemingly low voter turnout marked presidential elections in Afghanistan Saturday, even as security forces managed to maintain relative calm across the country, despite dire warnings from the Taliban. At least four civilians and three security personnel were killed across the …
The United Nations reports human rights violations in both government and separatist-controlled areas of eastern Ukraine continue with impunity. The report, which was examined by the U.N. human rights council this week also documents violations perpetrated by the Russian occupiers …
At least 44 people were killed and thousands moved to relief camps because of flooding caused by torrential rains in northern India’s Uttar Pradesh state, officials told AFP Saturday. Densely populated regions on the banks of two main rivers in …
An urban climber known as the “French Spiderman” has climbed a high-rise building in the German city of Frankfurt and now faces a fine for his effort. It took Alain Robert 20 minutes to scale the 153-meter (502-foot) Skyper building …
US Rejects Request From Iran’s Zarif to Visit UN Envoy in New York Hospital Unless Prisoner Released
The United States rejected a request by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to visit Iran’s United Nations ambassador in a New York hospital where he is being treated for cancer, the U.S. State Department and Iranian U.N. mission said …
Joseph Wilson, the former ambassador who set off a political firestorm by disputing U.S. intelligence used to justify the 2003 Iraq invasion, died Friday, according to his ex-wife. He was 69. Wilson’s died of organ failure in Santa Fe, …
Mourners gathered at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Friday to pay their respects to former President Jacques Chirac, whose death unleashed a flood of tributes to a charismatic but complex giant of French politics. Chirac, president from 1995 …
A surge in brutal attacks by armed groups in northwest Nigeria is sending thousands of refugees fleeing to Niger, the United Nations refugee agency says. More than 40,000 Nigerians have fled to Niger over the last 10 months, creating a …
U.S. President Donald Trump took to Twitter again Friday to lash out at the media and the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee as a formal impeachment inquiry moved forward in Congress over allegations Trump solicited Ukraine’s president to investigate …
Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives began the formal process of impeaching U.S. President Donald Trump this week. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the first step in the impeachment process Tuesday, following reports that a whistleblower filed a complaint …
The head of Zimbabwe’s Doctors Association has left the country for urgent medical treatment in South Africa after being held captivity, during which his medical team says he was poisoned. Police tried to block his departure even though he had …
Losing a job is seldom a good thing. Repeatedly losing that job on the same day sounds nightmarish. Get ready to feel sorry for a person who does not exist. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi plugs us in to an alternate reality created …
Health experts warn we are due for a cataclysmic pandemic — they just don’t know when it will happen. The warning was delivered this week to world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly by a special global health monitoring group …
Seven Catalan separatists arrested on suspicion of planning violent attacks have been charged with belonging to a “terrorist organisation” and remanded in custody, Spanish judicial authorities said on Thursday. The seven were among nine people detained on Monday on accusations …
An Iranian woman sentenced in the United States for violating sanctions against Tehran was released and has returned home, her lawyer told AFP Thursday, following her country’s unsuccessful attempt at a prisoner swap. A judge in Minneapolis sentenced Negar Ghodskani …
The United States is pressing other countries to join its proposed International Religious Freedom Alliance, in what diplomat Sam Brownback calls “the most significant” new human rights initiative in a generation. “We’re going to call like-minded nations together and ask …
A Jewish civil rights group has added dozens of new entries to its online database of hateful symbols, slogans and memes that white supremacists have adopted and spread. The “OK” hand gesture is one of the images that the Anti-Defamation …
The fate of Emmanuel Macron’s presidency of France may lie in the fate of his planned overhaul of the retirement system, which has already prompted strikes and protests. Knowing that it’s not going to be the easiest of sells following …
Scores of protesters chanted slogans outside a stadium in Hong Kong where embattled city leader Carrie Lam held a town hall session on Thursday aimed at cooling down months of demonstrations for greater democracy in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory. The …
It’s been a bad year for dengue fever, a painful, debilitating virus that is surging in the Philippines, Bangladesh, Vietnam and other nations. There is no cure for dengue, which is spread by mosquitos. However, scientists are enlisting a bacteria …
In an earlier time, boxes on wheels raced on American streets. Now, an energy drink company sponsors motorless, homemade car races around the world. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi takes us on this bumpy ride through Jordan. …
Faith Aweko of Uganda describes herself as a “waste-preneur.” She has come up with an innovative way to transform discarded plastic bags into backpacks for everyday use. Halima Athumani reports from the town of Mpigi. …