Category: Світ

President Donald Trump’s choice to be secretary of the Navy, businessman Philip Bilden, said Sunday he was withdrawing from consideration for the post, citing concerns about privacy and separating himself from his business interests. Bilden’s withdrawal raises similar issues to that of Vincent Viola, Trump’s nominee for Army secretary who stepped aside earlier this month. …

Police say scores of headstones have been vandalized at a Jewish cemetery in Philadelphia. A police spokeswoman said preliminary estimates are that 75 to 100 graves were damaged at Mount Carmel Cemetery in the Wissinoming section of the city. WPVI-TV reported that a man who came to visit his father’s grave Sunday morning discovered headstones …

Iran’s former hardline president Mahmud Ahmadinejad has published an open letter in both English and Farsi to U.S. President Donald Trump, lauding the American leader for what he said was “truthfully describing the U.S. political system and electoral structure as corrupt.” The lengthy letter published Sunday also criticized Trump for his planned visa ban on …

The Pentagon wants to expand the military’s ability to battle al-Qaida-linked militants in Somalia, potentially putting U.S. forces closer to the fight against a stubborn extremist group that has plotted attacks against America, senior U.S. officials said. The recommendations sent to the White House would allow U.S special operations forces to increase assistance to the …

 A trans-Atlantic wave of puzzlement is rippling across Sweden for the second time in a week, after a prominent Fox News program featured a “Swedish defense and national security advisor” who’s unknown to the country’s military and foreign-affairs officials. Swedes, and some Americans, have been wondering about representations of the Nordic nation in the U.S. …

Democratic Party officials are poised to elect a leader to oversee the formidable task of rebuilding a Democratic Party that suffered a humiliating presidential election defeat at the hands of Republican Donald Trump. Four hundred and forty seven members of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) will vote in Atlanta Saturday to elect a new party …

Like other Afghan immigrants, Faisal Razmal thought he was leaving violence behind for a new life in the United States, considered the land of opportunity. After all, he survived an IED (improvised explosive device) blast in Kabul during five years as an interpreter for U.S. forces. Threats to his life were worth it, in his …

The U.S. administration’s new national security adviser has reportedly told his staff that Muslims who carry out terrorist acts are corrupting Islam, a departure from an ideological position held by other senior advisers to President Donald Trump. Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster told members of the National Security Council that the use of the term “radical …

Democratic senators are protesting the Trump Organization’s acceptance of a valuable trademark from the Chinese government without asking Congress first if doing so is constitutional. A group of 13 senators warned President Donald Trump in a letter Thursday that they intended to hold him accountable to his oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution. Additional Democrats …

Republicans in the U.S. Congress are working to overhaul the nation’s health care laws in their effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, considered by some to be one of former President Barack Obama’s most significant legislative achievements. U.S. media outlets reported details Friday of potential replacements for the health care law, frequently …

U.S. companies led by tech firms Yahoo, Apple and Microsoft have criticized the Trump administration’s decision to revoke Obama administration guidance that allowed transgender public school students to use the bathroom of their choice. Their statements evoked the opposition expressed by many businesses last year when North Carolina passed a law forcing transgenders to use …

The director of the Library of Congress wants to upgrade its technology to make its eclectic mix of materials available to people around the world. Carla Hayden became the director of the world’s largest library five months ago, becoming the first woman and first African-American to hold the job. (As part of Black History Month …

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and other top White House officials addressed the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) held Thursday near Washington. After a divisive election cycle, the event, in part, helps rally the Republican base around the Trump administration’s agenda. VOA’s Jesusemen Oni reports. …

U.S. President Donald Trump Tuesday explicitly condemned anti-Semitism, following a wave of bomb threats against Jewish community centers. But many Muslim-Americans are upset that the president hasn’t taken similar steps to address concerns about anti-Muslim sentiment, asVOA’s William Gallo reports. …

SpaceX made good on a 250-mile-high delivery at the International Space Station on Thursday, after fixing a navigation problem that held up the shipment a day.   Everything went smoothly the second time around as the station astronauts captured the SpaceX Dragon cargo ship as the two craft sailed over Australia. On Wednesday, a GPS …

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly meet Thursday with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and members of his cabinet, in what is expected to be the first in a series of high-level meetings focusing on drug trafficking, trade and immigration. The two key members of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet …

The U.S. navy said the strike group, including the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier the USS Carl Vinson, began “routine operations” in the South China Sea on Saturday amid growing tension with China over control of the disputed waterway. Defense ministry spokesman Ren Guoqiang said China had a grasp of the situation regarding the carrier group in …

Thousands of American conservatives are set to open their annual political conference Wednesday outside Washington, D.C., with the weight of President Donald Trump’s vision for the country’s future taking center stage. Trump is scheduled to speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Friday, and while those at the conference are likely excited about the …

The contest to head the Democratic National Committee remains fluid just days before activists meet to pick a new party chair. The tight race between former Labor Secretary Tom Perez and Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota marks the first heavily contested battle in recent history, a reflection of a newly energized Democratic party struggling to …

Two key members of President Donald Trump’s cabinet are hoping to soothe concern and anger about the new U.S. administration’s policies towards Mexico. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly meet Thursday with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and members of his cabinet, in what is expected to be the first …

Millions of people living in the United States illegally could be targeted for deportation — including people simply arrested for traffic violations — under a sweeping rewrite of immigration enforcement policies announced Tuesday by the Trump administration. Any immigrant who is in the country illegally and is charged with or convicted of any offense, or …

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday appeared evenly divided on the right of Mexican parents to file a lawsuit in American courts against a U.S. border agent who killed their teenage son by firing a shot across the U.S.-Mexican border. Justice Anthony Kennedy and other conservatives on the court voiced skepticism about the parents’ lawsuit, …

The White House press secretary on Tuesday defended President Donald Trump for labeling the press the “enemy of the American people” and accused some news organizations of purposely reporting biased, inaccurate information. At the daily press briefing, press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters that the president has “deep respect for the First Amendment and the …

First, his oldest son left for Texas.  Then his stepson headed south to join him.  Then the two daughters moved out of state.  Four out of five of Gary Steele’s children left their homestead in the midwest state of Kansas for jobs and a better economy.   “There’s nothing left here, you know.” And Steele told …

From marijuana-laced candy to body lotion infused with marijuana, this controversial plant is becoming a big business in the United States as more states make it mainstream.  Marijuana, also known as cannabis, is now legal in 28 U.S. states for either medical or recreational use. Of those states, four of them legalized recreational marijuana last …

Six teenagers have fallen through ice into an off-limits pond in New York’s Central Park but have been rescued.   It happened Monday evening at the southern end of the park.   Police say the 15- and 16-year-olds were on the ice when it gave way. A nearby sign said, “Danger Thin Ice Keep Off.” …