Month: January 2017

The United Nations envoy on the conflict in Syria has postponed the next round of Geneva conflict-regulation talks by nearly two weeks. …

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly has said that would-be travelers from the seven Muslim-majority countries affected by U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent travel ban will be subject to “extreme vetting” in the future. …

The murky investigation of Russian intelligence officers reportedly facing treason charges has taken a fresh turn, with a report saying that two suspects are accused of collaborating with the CIA. …

Among all the applications (apps) on a mobile phone, there is a good chance a few were created by hackers at a hackathon. With the advent of the digital age, anyone with a good idea and the ability to code can be considered to be a hacker — someone who can produce innovations that were …

U.S. Democratic lawmakers on Monday strongly condemned President Trump’s executive order temporarily barring entry to people from seven Muslim-majority nations. The congressional protest on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court capped a weekend of demonstrations in front of the White House and at airports around the country. VOA’s Katherine Gypson has more from Capitol …

U.S.-based liberty-and-democracy watchdog Freedom House says threats to political rights and civil liberties are increasing as authoritarian governments gain strength and populist and nationalist forces rise in the West. …

The United Nations Security Council scheduled an urgent meeting for January 31 to discuss an Iranian ballistic missile test at the request of the United States. …

The Ukrainian soccer club Shakhtar Donetsk will play their future home games in the city of Kharkiv throughout the year, the club announced on January 30. …

The controversy over the U.S. government’s temporary travel ban for people from seven majority-Muslim countries continues, with individuals, groups and entire nations reacting against the policy. The White House on Monday defended the move as essential to secure the safety of Americans, and as a minor inconvenience for travelers from the affected nations. Critics say …

Russia’s foreign minister is suggesting that U.S. President Donald Trump did not raise the issue of human rights with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their telephone conversation on January 28. …

In the Russian Republic of Mordovia, Muslim Tatars are fighting for religious freedom in school. Students and teachers in the village of Belozerye are challenging officials who want to ban them from wearing head scarves. (RFE/RL’s Tatar-Bashkir Service) …

A massive backlash on social media in China has apparently led the United Nations to take down two Lunar New Year posts on refugees and poverty from their Chinese Weibo social media site. The microblog messages appeared to be aimed at boosting awareness, but many took the posts as a slight to China, arguing that …

Russia’s No.2 oil producer, Lukoil, is seeking opportunities for growth in the Middle East as Iran opens its oil fields to international partners, a senior executive says …

The recent exodus of Afghan refugees from Pakistan has also deprived the local carpet weaving industry of skillful labor. The Pakistani city Quetta, once known as a bustling market for Afghan carpets, is now left with only a handful of weavers. Even they are barely managing to survive due to economic challenges and fear of …

Malaysian authorities expanded the search for five Chinese tourists and a boat crew member still missing at sea Monday two days after their boat sank off Borneo island. Police also detained two crew members to assist the investigation. Three Chinese died but 22 people from the boat were rescued, most of them after huddling together …

Officials in Myanmar say a legal advisor to the country’s ruling National League for Democracy party has been shot dead outside Yangon’s international airport. Ko Ni, a prominent member of Myanmar’s Muslim minority, was gunned down as he was waiting for a taxi outside the airport.  He had just returned to Myanmar after an overseas …

A look at the best news photos from around the world. …

The White House on Sunday said the addition of President Donald Trump’s chief strategist, Steve Bannon, to regular meetings of the country’s top national security officials was essential to the commander in chief’s decision-making process.   Trump took steps Saturday to begin restructuring the White House National Security Council, adding the senior adviser to the …

U.S. President Donald Trump has reshuffled his National Security Council, ordering the inclusion of his controversial chief strategist in the key policy-making body. …

U.S. officials said 14 militants were killed, along with one U.S. service member, in a commando raid on an Al-Qaeda stronghold in Yemen. …

A British member of Parliament says he would be barred from entering the United States under President Donald Trump’s immigration clampdown. …

Protests broke out at several airports on Saturday, one day after President Trump signed an executive order temporarily banning the entry of refugees to the U.S. A dozen people were detained at New York’s JFK airport hours after the ban was enforced. Late Saturday, thousands gathered to protest the administration’s actions. …

An initial volley in a potential barrage of legal challenges to President Donald Trump’s new restrictions on immigration came on Saturday on behalf of two Iraqis with ties to U.S. security forces who were detained at New York’s JFK Airport. In a lawsuit filed in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, the men are challenging …

Iran says it will ban all U.S. citizens from entering the Islamic republic, in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order limiting immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries. In a statement Saturday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry directly linked its ban to Trump’s order, which Tehran called “an obvious insult to the Islamic world.” The statement predicted …

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says Afghanistan is experiencing a “large influx” of returning refugees that is severely testing the country’s ability to absorb so many displaced people. …

The first lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s new immigration restrictions has been filed after two Iraqis with ties to U.S. security forces in their homeland were detained at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. …