washington — Multinational corporations in China are facing a dilemma in 2024: Stay, or walk away because of the growing risks of doing business there? Beijing’s increased scrutiny of Western firms over the past year alarmed international investors at a time of growing tensions between the United States and China. "De-risking" became the byword for wary enterprises. Anna Ashton, director of the China corporate affairs program at the Eurasia Group, a global political risk consulting firm, told VOA Mandarin in a phone interview... Читать дальше...
jerusalem — Israel's Supreme Court on Monday struck down a key component of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's contentious judicial overhaul, a decision that threatens to reopen the fissures in Israeli society that preceded the country's ongoing war against Hamas. Those divisions were largely put aside while the country focuses on the war in Gaza, which was triggered by a bloody cross-border attack by Hamas. Monday's court decision could reignite those tensions, which sparked months of mass protests... Читать дальше...
BERLIN — German authorities said Monday they detained another suspect in connection with an alleged threat of an attack on the world-famous Cologne Cathedral over the holidays, bringing the overall number of people detained in connection with the alleged plot to five. The latest suspect, a 41-year-old German-Turkish man, was detained Sunday night in the western city of Bochum in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Police detained three people Sunday morning and one man last week. All the detained... Читать дальше...
DUBAI — Iran's Alborz warship has entered the Red Sea, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported Monday, at a time of soaring tensions on the key shipping route amid the Israel-Hamas war and attacks on vessels by forces allied to Tehran. Tasnim did not give details of the Alborz's mission but said Iranian warships had been operating in open waters to secure shipping routes, combat piracy and carry out other tasks since 2009. Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis have been targeting vessels in the... Читать дальше...
N'Djamena, Chad — Chad's transitional president General Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno on Monday appointed a former leading opposition leader, who recently returned from exile, as prime minister. Succes Masra, president of The Transformers party, was a long-time opponent of the Deby dynasty but returned to Chad in November after reaching an agreement with its military leaders. Days before last month's referendum on a new constitution -- which saw 86 percent of participants vote "yes" Masra publicly urged supporters to vote in favor... Читать дальше...
ALBANY, N.Y. — New York's minimum-wage workers had more than just the new year to celebrate Monday, with a pay bump kicking in as the clock ticked over to 2024. In the first of a series of annual increases slated for the Empire State, the minimum wage increased to $16 in New York City and some of its suburbs, up from $15. In the rest of the state, the new minimum wage is $15, up from $14.20. The state's minimum wage is expected to increase every year until it reaches $17 in New York City and its suburbs... Читать дальше...
JUBA — Six people including a senior local administrator were killed in an ambush by armed men in the Abyei region claimed by both Sudan and South Sudan, local officials said. The oil-rich region experiences frequent bouts of violence, where rival factions of the Dinka ethnic group — Twic Dinka from South Sudan's neighboring Warrap State, and Ngok Dinka from Abyei — are locked in a dispute over the location of an administrative boundary. Abyei Deputy Chief Administrator Noon Deng and his... Читать дальше...
London — Nearly 30,000 migrants crossed the Channel to Britain from mainland Europe in small boats in 2023, an annual drop of more than a third, government figures released Monday showed. However, the unauthorized arrivals of 29,437 people on the southeast English coast remains the second largest yearly tally since officials began publishing the numbers in 2018. The perilous journeys across one of the world's busiest shipping lanes have become a huge political problem for the Conservative government... Читать дальше...
DHAKA — A court in Bangladesh on Monday sentenced Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus to six months’ imprisonment for labor law violations, prosecutors said, a case his supporters have claimed is politically motivated. Yunus, 83, and his Grameen Bank won the 2006 peace prize for their work to lift millions out of poverty by granting tiny loans of under $100 to the rural poor of Bangladesh, pioneering a global movement now known as microcredit. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, however, accused him of 'sucking... Читать дальше...
EAGLE PASS, Texas — Before settling in New York City like thousands of other migrants this year, Abdoul, a 32-year-old from West Africa, took an unexpected detour: Weeks in a remote Texas jail on local trespassing charges after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. "I spent a lot of hours without sleeping, sitting on the floor," said Abdoul, a political activist who fled Mauritania, fearing persecution. He spoke on the condition that his last name not be published for fear of jeopardizing his request for asylum. Читать дальше...
RAMALLAH — Thousands of doses of vaccines against childhood diseases including polio and measles have begun entering the Gaza Strip to help deal with a growing health emergency in the besieged enclave, the Palestinian health ministry said on Monday. Israel's ground offensive has effectively stopped normal health services in Gaza, including vaccinations against highly contagious childhood diseases that had been brought under control by mass immunization programs. The ministry said supplies, estimated... Читать дальше...
Chinese President Xi Jinping has renewed his threat to take over the democratic island of Taiwan, while, while Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen called for peaceful coexistence with Beijing. The new year comments come just ahead of the Taiwan presidential election that could have a big impact on China-Taiwan relations. More from VOA’s Bill Gallo in Taipei, Taiwan.
Bangkok — Thailand has seen an eventful year filled with twists and turns that has reshaped the country’s political and societal landscape. A new government has ended nearly a decade of military rule, but the wishes of Thai people remain unfulfilled. Thailand saw a return to power for the Pheu Thai party, now led by real estate tycoon Srettha Thavisin, following the May general elections. Pheu Thai’s pathway to government meant they had to form a coalition including pro-military parties after... Читать дальше...
Taipei, Taiwan — Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen used her last New Year’s address Monday to urge both sides of the Taiwan Strait to resume “healthy and orderly exchanges,” emphasizing that the only option for Taiwan is to keep safeguarding democracy and peace. “We also hope the two sides will jointly seek a long-term and stable way of peaceful coexistence under peace, parity, democracy and dialogue,” she said during the speech, which came one day after Chinese leader Xi Jinping said China would “surely be reunified” with Taiwan. Читать дальше...
Pristina, Kosovo — A long-awaited European Union's visa liberalization scheme allowing Kosovo nationals to travel to Europe's borderless zone without a visa came into force Monday. The new regime, which came into force at midnight (2300 GMT Sunday), enables Kosovars to travel to the passport-free Schengen zone without a visa for periods of up to 90 days in any 180-day period. Kosovo, with a population of 1.8 million, was the last of the six countries in the Western Balkans to get the waiver.... Читать дальше...
Washington — Artificial intelligence represents a mixed blessing for the legal field, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts said in a year-end report published Sunday, urging "caution and humility" as the evolving technology transforms how judges and lawyers go about their work. Roberts struck an ambivalent tone in his 13-page report. He said AI had potential to increase access to justice for indigent litigants, revolutionize legal research and assist courts in resolving cases more quickly... Читать дальше...
