Month: January 2017

An anti-corruption watchdog is highlighting a link between inequality and government corruption with the release of its annual global index, saying people are increasingly looking to populist leaders who promise to tackle corruption, but are likely to make the situation worse. “In countries with populist or autocratic leaders, we often see democracies in decline and …

On Tuesday, the Senate approved the fourth nominee put forth by President Donald Trump for key posts in his administration, Governor Nikki Haley as America’s U.N. ambassador. VOA’s Michael Bowman reports from Capitol Hill, where Republicans are accusing Democrats of delay tactics, while Democrats insist they are doing their job as the Constitution mandates. …

Japan scrambled fighter jets to intercept three Russian military aircraft that were approaching the country’s borders on January 24, Tokyo’s Defense Ministry said. …

Iran returned to the race for a prestigious Oscar award on January 24 with the psychological thriller The Salesman. …

U.S. media are reporting that President Donald Trump, starting on January 25, will order sweeping anti-immigration measures, including a temporary ban on refugees and suspension of U.S. visas for citizens of Syria, Iraq, Iran, and other Muslim countries. …

Prominent Kazakh journalist Bigeldy Gabdullin has been found guilty of extortion and sentenced to five years of “freedom limitation.” …

Russian, Turkish, and Iranian officials meeting in Kazakhstan have agreed to create a mechanism to monitor the fragile Syrian cease-fire. …

Governments and business in Asia are preparing to place greater focus on regional trade and economic prospects, following the U.S. decision to withdraw from the 12 nation Trans Pacific Partnership agreement or TPP. Analysts say alternative multilateral trade pacts including the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which includes China, may fill the ‘vacuum’ left by …

NATO’s chief and new U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis have discussed military spending and combating terrorism, the source of criticism of the alliance by President Donald Trump.   NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg’s office said Tuesday that the two men “agreed on the fundamental and enduring value of NATO for the security of both Europe and …

Filmmaker Roman Polanski has abandoned plans to preside over the French equivalent of the Oscars, after protests from France’s women’s rights minister and feminist groups prompted by decades-old U.S. sex charges against him.   It’s a surprising setback for the 83-year-old director, a Holocaust survivor who is widely respected in France and whose film career …

Your daily roundup. …

Four months ahead of Iran’s presidential election, the absence of a clear challenger to face incumbent Hassan Rohani has led to talk that the gray-bearded clerics who dominate Iran’s opaque system might bet on a woman. …

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

Some fans approach football with near religious fervor, and Christian preachers in Africa have been converging on Gabon, hoping to capitalize on the excitement surrounding the Africa Cup of Nations tournament and send out a message for peace.    One hundred singers from seven Pentecostal churches lead people to dance at the Boulevard Triomphal in …

Rebel factions and representatives of the Syria government joined peace talks in the Kazakh capital, Astana, that began on January 23. The negotiations, facilitated by Russia, Iran, and Turkey, were fraught from the beginning, with Syria’s UN ambassador referring to the rebel fighters as terrorists. ((RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service and Current Time TV, Reuters, AP) …

New White House press secretary Sean Spicer is holding his first formal news briefing Monday after making a string of inflated claims about the size of the crowd Friday at President Donald Trump’s inauguration. Late Saturday, Spicer told reporters, “This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period, both in person and around …

There was an emotional reunion in Sarajevo when German photographer Bjorn Steinz decided to track down Elvis — whom he last saw as a 6-year-old boy during the 1990s Bosnian war. (Marija Arnautovic and Alen Fukelj, RFE/RL’s Balkan Service) …

Energy ministers from OPEC and Russia say they have agreed on a method to monitor compliance of a deal to slash oil output designed to eliminate a two-year glut and boost market prices. …

The National Football League’s Atlanta Falcons have reached the Super Bowl championship game for only the second time in team history. The Falcons won the National Football Conference title Sunday by overpowering the visiting Green Bay Packers, 44-21. That earns them the right to play in Super Bowl LI (51) in two weeks in Houston …

During Islamic State’s two-and-a-half-year rule of eastern Mosul, many forms of communication were banned, with rule breakers facing imprisonment or death.  Despite the danger, the Internet was still available in much of the city.  From his home in Mosul, Bilal Ahmed, 27, tells VOA the story of how he kept his neighborhood online through beatings …

Former President Jimmy Carter, who lost his bid for reelection in 1980, currently holds the record for the longest post White House career of any former U.S. president. As VOA’s Kane Farabaugh reports, despite partisan rancor that defined much of the 2016 presidential election, the former president is taking a conciliatory approach to the new …

Iran has sentenced an Iranian-British woman accused of trying to overthrow the Islamic republic’s government to five years in prison. …

The United States says it is in the “very beginning” of discussing plans to move its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. …

In India’s southeastern state of Andhra Pradesh, at least 27 people were killed and scores injured in a train accident Saturday night. Railway officials said eight coaches of the train derailed and fell of the track around 11 p.m. local time as it passed through a remote district when most people were sleeping. Operations were …

The centerpiece of Intel’s booth at the recent National Retail Federation show in New York City was undoubtedly the massive Mach 2XS commercial printer by Japanese manufacturer Shima Seiki.  At nearly 3 meters wide and 1.37 meters tall, the printer was hard to miss. The small crowd that had gathered around it though, was more …

These days, shopping often involves the internet, a laptop or smartphone. As more and more consumers choose virtual carts over physical ones, retailers are employing flashy technologies and augmented reality to entice customers back into stores. VOA’s Tina Trinh has more from New York. …