Author: Fworld

The United States and the Taliban have both agreed to establish two “technical teams” to determine mechanisms for the withdrawal of all American and NATO troops from Afghanistan and for preventing terrorists from using Afghan soil against America and its allies. Chief Taliban negotiator, Mullah Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, has revealed the details after nearly …

The indictment of President Donald Trump’s longtime ally Roger Stone has raised new questions about just what special counsel Robert Mueller has uncovered during his 20-month investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election. One question is whether the indictment gets Mueller’s prosecutors any closer to the heart of the investigation: determining whether there …

Republican and Democratic U.S. lawmakers will try again to pass a resolution ending U.S. support for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, with a greater chance of success than when a similar measure passed the Senate last month. Republican Senator Mike Lee, Democratic Senator Chris Murphy and Independent Senator Bernie Sanders, who caucuses with the Democrats, …

North Korea is unlikely to give up all of its nuclear weapons and has continued activity inconsistent with pledges to denuclearize, U.S. national intelligence chief Dan Coats said on Tuesday, apparently contradicting President Donald Trump’s claims of big progress with Pyongyang. The director of national intelligence’s downbeat assessment, in testimony before a Senate committee, came …

The U.N. Children’s Fund is launching its largest-ever appeal for $3.9 billion in life-saving assistance for 73 million people, including 41 million children affected by conflict, natural disasters and other emergencies in 59 countries.  This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.  The U.N. Children’s Fund says 2019 …

Russia and China pose the biggest espionage and cyber attack threats to the United States and are more aligned than they have been in decades, the leader of the U.S. intelligence community told U.S. senators on Tuesday. While the two countries seek to expand their global reach, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said, some …

The White House says President Donald Trump wants to avert another partial U.S. government shutdown but remains committed to erecting new barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border, something most Democratic lawmakers still reject. “The president doesn’t want to go through another shutdown — that’s not the goal,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Monday at …

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Monday the United States expects significant progress this week in trade talks with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, but the two sides will be tackling “complicated issues”, including how to enforce any deal. The talks, scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday in Washington, will include a meeting between Liu …

Federal prosecutors on Monday unsealed two separate indictments against China’s Huawei Technologies, it’s chief financial officer and several affiliates for financial fraud and theft of American intellectual property. In a 13-count indictment unsealed in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, prosecutors charged the Chinese tech giant, its top financial officer, Wanzhou Meng, and two affiliates …

Popular musical romance “A Star Is Born” – featuring the powerhouse duo of Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga – leads the field for Sunday’s Screen Actors Guild Awards, which are seen as a major predictor of Oscars success. Hollywood’s A-listers including Gaga made their way up the silver carpet – in honor of the event’s …

With federal prosecutors expected to rest their case against Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman on Monday, lawyers for the accused Mexican drug kingpin have given few clues about how they plan to counter three months of testimony by more than 50 government witnesses. Among the tough choices they face are whether to call their own witnesses …

U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration on Sunday lifted sanctions on aluminum giant Rusal and other Russian firms linked to oligarch Oleg Deripaska, despite a Democratic-led push in the U.S. Congress to maintain the restrictions. Earlier this month, 11 of Trump’s fellow Republicans in the U.S. Senate joined Democrats in a failed effort to keep the …

Called the “greenest office building in the world,” the Bullitt Center in Seattle, Washington, generates its own electricity and its own water, collected from rain falling on the roof. Opened on Earth Day in 2013, the Bullitt Center has been nicknamed a “Living Building.” Natasha Mozgovaya visited the green building to see for herself what …

A New York disc jockey wearing a policeman’s uniform. The outfit is not a costume, it’s the work uniform of New York City Police officer who takes his hobby as a DJ seriously. Lieutenant Acu Rhodes says it started as a casual pastime, but quickly became a serious devotion. So serious that Rhodes, or DJ …

Hope that loved ones had survived a tsunami of iron ore mine waste from a dam collapse in Brazil was turning to anguish and anger over the increasing likelihood that many of the hundreds of people missing had died. By Saturday night, when authorities called off rescue efforts until daybreak, the death toll stood at …

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged the international community to support the Venezuelan people and recognize the interim government of opposition leader Juan Guaido as he stands up to disputed President Nicolas Maduro. “Now it is time for every other nation to pick a side,” Pompeo told the U.N. Security Council during a rare …

Three militia members convicted of taking part in a foiled plot to massacre Muslims in southwest Kansas were sentenced Friday to decades in prison during an emotional court hearing in which one of the targeted victims pleaded: “Please don’t hate us.” U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren sentenced Patrick Stein, the alleged ringleader, to 30 years …

The United States and the Taliban may have agreed on a plan for American troops to leave Afghanistan, sources privy to the development told VOA Saturday. In return, the insurgent group has given assurances that no international terrorist groups would be allowed to use Afghan soil to threaten America or any other country in future. …

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has appointed foreign policy veteran Elliott Abrams to be U.S. envoy to Venezuela, tasked with helping “restore democracy” to the South American nation.    Pompeo made the announcement Friday afternoon in Washington, ahead of a special session of the U.N. Security Council on Saturday. Pompeo said Abrams would travel …

The coalition of Latin American governments that joined the U.S. in quickly recognizing Juan Guaido as Venezuela’s interim president came together over weeks of secret diplomacy that included whispered messages to activists under constant surveillance and a high-risk foreign trip by the opposition leader challenging President Nicolas Maduro for power, those involved in the talks …

Potential Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg said Friday that Donald Trump’s presidency “cannot be helped” and was “dangerous” for the country. The former New York City mayor also described the partial government shutdown, now at a record 35th day, as “a complete failure of presidential leadership.” The billionaire businessman said that for fellow New Yorker …

The Trump administration on Friday will start forcing some asylum seekers to wait in Mexico while their cases proceed through U.S. courts, an official said, launching what could become one of the more significant changes to the immigration system in years.  The changes will be introduced at San Diego’s San Ysidro border crossing, according to …

The Illinois attorney general’s office has signaled it may be considering a rare sentencing-related appeal if it concludes a white Chicago police officer’s less-than-seven-year prison sentence in the slaying of black teenager Laquan McDonald was wrongly calculated. The office said in a brief statement emailed Thursday it is reviewing Jason Van Dyke’s sentence. With credit …

The World Refugee Council called Thursday for up to $20 billion stolen by government leaders and now frozen in the United States, Britain and other countries to be reallocated by courts to help millions of displaced people forced to flee conflict, persecution and victimization.    The council also called for people responsible for the growing …

Adam Crapser lives in limbo, a stranger in South Korea, the country of his birth. Forcibly separated from his wife, children and friends in America, he is isolated by language and culture, left alone to navigate this sprawling city he’s been expelled to four decades after being sent to adoptive parents in Michigan at age …

Amid ongoing deadly violence in Afghanistan, the country’s Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah is calling on the U.S. and the world not to give up on his people. President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed frustration with the 17-year U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan and is considering a major withdrawal of U.S. troops, with the Taliban carrying …