The first night of the second round of Democratic presidential candidate debates took place in Detroit Tuesday. The candidates answered questions on a range of issues, including health care, recent mass shootings, immigration and foreign trade. Here are some quotes from each candidate: Steve Bullock, in responding to a discussion on gun violence, discussed a personal … continue reading -> “Democratic Debates: Top Quotes by Each Candidate”
Christy Lee contributed to this report which originated on VOA’s Korean Service. The National Defense University, an institution funded by the U.S. Department of Defense, has published a journal article suggesting Washington should share its nuclear tactical missiles with Japan and South Korea to deter North Korea’s growing nuclear threat to East Asia and the … continue reading -> “Article Suggests Nuclear Sharing with Japan, S. Korea to Deter N. Korean Threat”
Story updated on July 31, at 12:18 am. U.S. health care policies took center stage Tuesday night at the Democratic presidential candidates’ debate, with more moderate challengers attacking Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, the leading progressives looking to oust President Donald Trump in the 2020 election. Warren and Sanders have both called for a … continue reading -> “Senators Warren, Sanders Under Attack at Democrats’ Presidential Debate”
As U.S.-China trade talks are set to begin, U.S. President Donald Trump is warning China against negotiating a deal after the 2020 U.S. presidential election — declaring a delayed agreement would be less attractive than a deal reached in the near term. “The problem with them waiting … is that if & when I win, … continue reading -> “Trump Warns China to Negotiate Trade Deal Now Rather Than Later”
A top U.N. official warned Monday that Yemen’s devastating five-year civil war has knocked the country back 20 years in terms of development and access to education. Yemen was already the Arab world’s poorest nation before the war, which has killed tens of thousands of people. In 2014, rebels known as Houthis took over the … continue reading -> “UN Official Says War in Yemen Knocked Country Back 20 Years”
Former Tehran mayor Mohammad Ali Najafi was sentenced to death after being convicted of murdering his wife, the judiciary said Tuesday, after a high-profile case that received extensive media coverage. A prominent reformist, Najafi was found guilty of shooting dead his second wife Mitra Ostad at their home in the capital on May 28, said … continue reading -> “Ex-Tehran Mayor Sentenced to Death over Wife’s Murder”
Iraqi officials are displaying stolen artifacts from the country’s rich cultural heritage that were recently recovered from Britain and Sweden. Many archaeological treasures from Iraq, home of the ancient “fertile crescent” considered the cradle of civilization, were looted during the chaos that followed the 2003 U.S. invasion and whisked out of the country. Now Iraq … continue reading -> “Iraq Displays Stolen Artifacts Recovered From UK, Sweden”
The International Monetary Fund says the cumulative decline of the Venezuelan economy since 2013 will surpass 60% and is among the deepest five-year contractions the world has seen over the last half century. Alejandro Werner is director of the IMF’s Western Hemisphere Department. He describes the Venezuelan decline as a “historical case” because it is … continue reading -> “IMF: Venezuela’s Economic Decline Among Most Severe Globally”
The United States is not ruling out working-level talks with North Korean officials on the sidelines of Southeast Asian regional meetings in Thailand this week, with experts noting Pyongyang’s recent missile launch is unlikely to reverse Washington’s current diplomatic efforts. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will arrive in Bangkok on Aug. 1, where he … continue reading -> “North Korea, South China Sea Top Agenda as Pompeo Heads to Asia”
Cuban government and Communist Party officials attended funeral services for Roman Catholic Cardinal Jaime Ortega on Sunday in a testament to his success in elevating the Church’s position on the Caribbean island after the fall of the Soviet Union. Cuban First Vice President Salvador Mesa and two other top leaders on the Communist Party Politburo … continue reading -> “Cuban Officials Attend Funeral Services for Cardinal Ortega”
Boko Haram militants killed at least 65 people at a funeral in northeastern Nigeria, local officials said Sunday, revising the earlier death toll of 23. “It is 65 people dead and 10 injured,” said Muhammed Bulama, the local government chairman. Bulama said he thought the attack was in revenge for the killing of 11 Boko … continue reading -> “Nigeria: 65 Killed in Attack by Boko Haram Militants”
Brazil deployed police to a remote Amazon village on Sunday after reports it had been overrun by armed miners following the murder of an indigenous leader, officials and tribal chiefs said. The violence in an area of the northern Amapa state controlled by the Waiapi tribe comes as Brazil’s indigenous people face growing pressures … continue reading -> “Brazil Police Probe Tribal Leader’s Killing, Village Invasion”
The remaining signatories to the Iran nuclear deal will meet in Vienna on Sunday to try again to find a way of saving the accord after the U.S. pulled out, amid mounting tensions between Tehran and Washington. Envoys from Britain, France, Germany, China, Russia and Iran will take part in the meeting, which comes a … continue reading -> “Iran Nuclear Deal Nations to Meet, Seek Way to Save Pact”
Protesters and police prepared Sunday for a likely showdown in central Hong Kong, one day after clashes led to 11 arrests and left at least two dozen injured in an outlying district toward the border with mainland China. A midafternoon rally has been called at Chater Garden, an urban park in the financial district and … continue reading -> “Hong Kong Protesters, Police Prepare for Another Clash”
When Ugnius Zilinskas came to Kenyon College in Ohio to play on the basketball team, he was welcomed with open arms. “They kind of take you as a family member,” said the student from Kedainiai, Lithuania. Zilinskas, a junior, is one of roughly 27,000 foreign students who play on U.S. college sports teams, out of … continue reading -> “Navigating US College Athletics as a Foreign Student”
The head of a Sudanese investigative committee said on Saturday that 87 people were killed and 168 wounded on June 3 when a sit-in protest was violently broken up by security forces. Fath al-Rahman Saeed, the head of the committee, said 17 of those killed were in the square occupied by protesters and 48 of … continue reading -> “Sudan Says 87 Killed, 168 Wounded When June 3 Protest Broken up”
Georgia allowed its election system to grow “way too old and archaic” and now has a deep hole to dig out of to ensure that the constitutional right to vote is protected, U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg said Friday. Now Totenberg is in the difficult position of having to decide whether the state, which plans … continue reading -> “Judge Could Order Georgia to Use Paper Ballots This Fall”
Bahrain has executed two men convicted of terrorism offenses. The executions were carried out despite objections from international human rights groups. The French news agency AFP reports that the two men were killed by firing squad Saturday. Rights groups have identified the men as Ahmad al-Malali and Ali al-Arab. Human Rights Watch says both men … continue reading -> “Bahrain Kills 2 Men Despite Objections Of Rights Groups”
The U.S. Justice Department said on Friday it is approving T-Mobile US Inc’s $26 billion takeover of rival Sprint Corp, clearing a major hurdle to a deal that would merge the nation’s third and fourth largest wireless carriers. The companies have agreed to divest Sprint’s prepaid businesses including Boost Mobile to Dish Network Corp in … continue reading -> “US Justice Department Approves $26 Billion Sprint, T-Mobile Merger”
A top Sudanese editor who heads the main journalists’ union has been detained, the union said Thursday, calling on Sudan’s military rulers to free him or put him on trial. The detention of Sadiq al-Rizaigi came as the military said it had arrested a top general, several security officers and Islamist leaders over a failed … continue reading -> “Sudan Detains Top National Journalist”
The U.N. refugee agency says up to 150 refugees and migrants are believed to have lost their lives Thursday in a shipwreck on the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Libya. If confirmed, the UNHCR says the shipwreak will be the biggest on the Mediterranean Sea since May 2017, when 156 people died off the … continue reading -> “Up to 150 Dead in Migrant Shipwreck Off Libya”
American cities including Atlanta, Miami and New Orleans that set goals to slash planet-warming greenhouse emissions are lacking the data to measure their progress, scientists said in a new report. Some 40% of U.S. cities that committed to cutting emissions are unable to assess their programs because costly tallies of their emissions are inadequate, said … continue reading -> “Report: Many US Cities Cannot Measure Climate Emissions Progress”
WASHINGTON – Observations of light coming from a star zipping in orbit around the enormous black hole at the center of our galaxy have provided fresh evidence backing Albert Einstein’s 1915 theory of general relativity, astronomers said Thursday. Researchers studied a star called S0-2, boasting a mass roughly 10 times larger than that of … continue reading -> “Star Orbiting Black Hole Lends Support to Einstein’s Theory “
An unprecedented number of families have been coming to the southern border over the past year, straining government resources and resulting in dangerously overcrowded detention facilities. From October through the end of June, the Border Patrol apprehended more than 688,000 people, more than half of them families and unaccompanied children. Although people from around the … continue reading -> “By the Numbers: Migration to US-Mexico Border”
Electric power is slowly returning in Venezuela after a devastating blackout that ground activity to a virtual halt in a country beleaguered by a protracted political power struggle. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi reports that the Trump administration is renewing calls for the departure of embattled socialist ruler Nicolas Maduro, who remains defiant, insisting that conditions in Venezuela … continue reading -> “Electricity Returns to Parts of Venezuela after Outages Plunged Much of the Country into Darkness”