Author: Fworld
China, South Korea Protest US Tariffs on Washing Machines, Solar Panels
23/01/2018
China and South Korea are protesting U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to impose steep tariffs on washing machines and solar panels, a move that is fueling concerns in Asia that more U.S. protectionist measures are forthcoming. South Korean Trade Minister Kim Hyun-chong called the tariffs “excessive” and said they violate World Trade Organization rules. Kim …
US Asks Turkey to Show Restraint in Syria
23/01/2018
The United States is expressing concern about Turkey’s offensive in northern Syria and top officials are appealing for restraint and expressing concern the conflict could spread. At Monday’s White House briefing, Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the U.S. understands Turkey’s “legitimate security concerns” and is “committed to working with Turkey as a NATO ally.” …
US Aid Chief Visits Raqqa Amid Stabilization Push
22/01/2018
The U.S. government’s aid chief, Mark Green, made an unannounced visit to Raqqa in Syria on Monday, the most senior U.S. civilian official from the Trump administration to visit the war-struck northern city months after it was retaken from Islamic State. Green was accompanied by the head of the U.S. Central Command General Joseph Votel, …
US Special Envoy for Ukraine Confirms Russia Talks
22/01/2018
U.S. Special Envoy for Ukraine Kurt Volker says he is scheduled to hold a new round of talks with Russian presidential aide Vladislav Surkov in Dubai on Jan. 26. Volker told VOA’s Ukrainian Service that he will arrive in eastern Ukraine on Wednesday and stop in Kyiv on Thursday, before heading to Dubai to discuss …
US Jerusalem Decision in Focus as Pence Visits Israel
22/01/2018
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence is in Israel for talks Monday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and an address to the Knesset as part of his four-day tour of the Middle East. Senior White House officials said the vice president would be discussing the U.S.-Israeli relationship, ways to counter Iranian influence in the region, and …
Key California Highway Reopens After Deadly Mudslide
22/01/2018
A coastal highway in California has reopened nearly two weeks after it was swamped by a massive mudslide that killed 21 people. Highway 101, a key north-south route in California, was shut down after it was covered by 12 feet of mud after the deadly mudslide on January 9. Officials had promised a day earlier …
Women’s Marches Continue in Las Vegas, European Cities
21/01/2018
A day after women commemorated the one-year anniversary of the Women’s March in the United States, thousands of people marched in solidarity Sunday throughout Europe and Australia. A rally touting the message “Power to the Polls” also began in Las Vegas, Nevada, Sunday morning, where activists and members of Congress are expected to speak, with …
Marches Draw Hundreds of Thousands Across the US
21/01/2018
Demonstrators gathered in cities across the United States, and around the world, to call for equal rights in pay and health care, to denounce sexual harassment and to encourage women to run for office. As VOA’s Kane Farabaugh reports, this year’s “Women’s March” isn’t just a protest. Organizers hope it’s a nationwide call to action. …
FACT CHECK: Trump Disdained Jobless Rate, Now Loves It
21/01/2018
Donald Trump, the presidential candidate, would not like the way Trump, the president, is crowing about today’s unemployment rate. He’d be calling the whole thing a “hoax.” Trump raised a red flag about declining jobless numbers during his campaign, denying President Barack Obama any credit. Trump noted that the jobless rate masks the true employment …
Mudslides Take Heavy Toll on Immigrants in California Town
21/01/2018
Oprah Winfrey and Rob Lowe give Montecito its star power, but it’s people like Antonio and Victor Benitez who keep the wealthy Southern California community running. The Mexican brothers are gardeners and part of the town’s working-class immigrant population, which suffered outsized losses from the recent mudslides that killed at least 21, injured dozens and …
Kidnapped Americans, Canadians Released in Nigeria
20/01/2018
Nigeria’s Kaduna state police command says two Americans and two Canadians kidnapped by gunmen on Tuesday have been released. Police say the four were kidnapped along Kwoi-Jere road in the Kagarko local government area, Kaduna state. The gunmen are reported by Nigeria’s Vanguard newspaper to have killed two Nigerian policemen who were escorting the foreigners. …
With New US Defense Strategy Prioritizing ‘Great Power Competition,’ Mattis Heads to Asia
20/01/2018
On Friday, ahead of his trip this weekend to Asia, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis unveiled a major shift in U.S. defense priorities. “We will continue to prosecute the campaign against terrorists that we’re engaged in today, but great power competition, not terrorism, is now the primary focus of U.S. national security,” Mattis said during …
Mattis Traveling to SE Asia, Amid Shift in Pentagon Strategy
20/01/2018
U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is traveling to Indonesia and Vietnam – two countries that have taken a bolder stance than others against China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea. The trip comes as the Pentagon refocuses its priorities on what it calls the “great power competition” with China and Russia. More from VOA’s …
US to Seek Death Penalty Against Man Accused of Killing Chinese Scholar
20/01/2018
U.S. prosecutors said Friday they would seek the death penalty for a former University of Illinois graduate student charged with kidnapping and killing a visiting scholar from China. Brendt A. Christensen, 28, of Champaign, Illinois, is charged with the June 9, 2017, killing and abduction of Yingying Zhang, 26, an international scholar at the university. …
Former IBM Developer Sentenced for Espionage, Theft of Trade Secrets
20/01/2018
A former software engineer for IBM in China has been sentenced to five years in prison for stealing the source code for highly valuable software developed by the tech company, the U.S. Justice Department announced Friday. Xu Jiaqiang, 31, was sentenced Thursday by a federal judge in White Plains, New York, months after he pleaded guilty …
At One-year Mark, Trump Foreign Policy Seen as Conventional
20/01/2018
International opinion polls indicate that one year into Donald Trump’s presidency, America’s standing in the world is at a low point. But notwithstanding his tweets and rhetoric, analysts say, Trump’s foreign policy has turned out to be mostly conventional. “Despite all the bombast that has made life more anxious and unsettled than it perhaps needs …
Tracking Shoes Help Keep Kids Safe
19/01/2018
The worst nightmare for parents is probably a child wandering off and getting lost. And for parents who want to keep their kids within their reach and still give them a chance to play freely and be adventurous, a New York company is offering a solution. Faiza Elmasry has the story. Faith Lapidus narrates. …
Debate Over Abortion, as 45th Pro-Life Rally Takes Place in Washington
19/01/2018
The 45th annual March for Life rally takes place Friday in Washington. President Trump says he will speak at the anti-abortion event from the White House. The rally also coincides with the 45th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, a Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion in the United States. Pro-choice supporters favor the law, while …
Trump’s First Year: Strong Economy but Weak Polls
19/01/2018
President Donald Trump marks his first year in office Saturday, Jan. 20. Trump’s tumultuous first year was unlike any other in recent U.S. political history, and 2018 could offer more of the same. VOA National correspondent Jim Malone has more from Washington. …
Turkey says US ‘Inconsistent’ on Syrian Border Force
18/01/2018
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Thursday the United States has made inconsistent statements about its plans to create a Kurdish-led Syrian border guard and called on Washington to stand with Turkey against the emergence of such a force. Turkey has reacted angrily to the U.S.-led coalition’s stated plans to form a 30,000-strong Kurdish-led …
Syria Responds to Tillerson’s US Military Engagement Pledge
18/01/2018
Syria’s Foreign Ministry said Thursday the U.S. military’s presence in Syria is an act of aggression and a violation of sovereignty. The comments came after U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson outlined plans in a speech Wednesday for the United States to remain engaged diplomatically and militarily in Syria long after the defeat of the …
Trump Considering ‘Big Fine’ Against China in Trade Dispute
18/01/2018
President Donald Trump said Wednesday the United States was considering a big “fine” as part of a probe into China’s alleged theft of intellectual property, the clearest indication yet that his administration will take retaliatory trade action against China. In an interview with Reuters, Trump and his economic adviser Gary Cohn said China had forced …
Trump Says Russia Helping N.Korea Skirt Sanctions; Pyongyang Getting Close On Missile
17/01/2018
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday Russia is helping North Korea get supplies in violation of international sanctions and that Pyongyang is getting “closer every day” to being able to deliver a long-range missile to the United States. “Russia is not helping us at all with North Korea,” Trump said during an Oval Office …
AP Sources: White House Directed Bannon Silence in House Interview
17/01/2018
Steve Bannon’s attorney relayed questions, in real time, to the White House during a House Intelligence Committee interview of the former Trump chief strategist, people familiar with the closed-door session told The Associated Press. As lawmakers probed Bannon’s time working for President Donald Trump, Bannon’s attorney Bill Burck was asking the White House counsel’s …
Apple to Build 2nd Campus, Hire 20,000 in $350B Pledge
17/01/2018
Apple is planning to build another corporate campus and hire 20,000 workers during the next five years as part of a $350 billion commitment to the U.S. economy. The pledge announced Wednesday is an offshoot from the sweeping overhaul of the U.S. tax code championed by President Donald Trump and approved by Congress last month. …
US Ups Pressure on African Nations to Cut N.Korea Ties, Trade
17/01/2018
As relations get hotter between the United States and North Korea, U.S. officials say they are trying to cut off Pyongyang’s income sources any way they can, especially on the African continent. The U.S. argues that every penny, won, rand and franc that flows into North Korea from African countries is used to further North …