Washington — Families of Americans wrongfully detained in foreign countries called Tuesday on the Biden administration to share more information about their loved ones and to step up efforts for their release. "My father, Jamshid Sharmahd, is a German American national who has been held hostage in Iran for three years and he is on a death row now. Our government has unfortunately failed to bring him back, has failed to engage and talk to us," Gazelle Sharmahd told VOA on the sidelines of a Foreign Affairs Committee roundtable Tuesday. Читать дальше...
TAIPEI, TAIWAN — Jeremiah Manele, a former foreign minister and career diplomat, was elected the Solomon Islands’ new prime minister Thursday, winning 31 out of 49 votes from the newly elected National Parliament. Some analysts say the result means the Solomon Islands under the new government will likely maintain its pro-China foreign policy agenda while adopting a less confrontational approach to handle its relationship with Western democracies, including Australia, the United States and New Zealand. Читать дальше...
Police remain on Columbia University’s campus, even after clearing out student protesters and their encampment. But questions remain about how the university and the students move forward. Tina Trinh reports from New York.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has met with Israeli leaders in his push for a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas. Violence and chaos erupt on campuses as protesters and counter-protesters clash over the war in Gaza. South Korea held talks on joining a part of the AUKUS defense deal between the U.S., Britain and Australia. We talk with Naoko Aoki, an associate political scientist at the RAND Corporation. The average income of people around the world will be cut by one-fifth because of climate change. Читать дальше...
WASHINGTON — Hackers who breached UnitedHealth's tech unit in February potentially stole data from a third of Americans, the largest U.S. health insurer's CEO told a congressional committee on Wednesday. Two congressional panels grilled CEO Andrew Witty about the cyberattack on the company's Change Healthcare unit, which processes around 50% of all medical claims in the U.S. The breach has caused widespread disruptions in claims processing, impacting patients and providers across the country. Читать дальше...
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has wrapped up his Middle East trip without an announcement of a cease-fire or hostage deal between Israel and Hamas. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Blinken during their meeting Wednesday that he would not accept an end to the war in Gaza as part of any hostage deal, and that a planned military operation on the city of Rafah would happen whether there was a cease-fire deal or not. VOA’s senior diplomatic correspondent Cindy Saine reports.
The U.S. state of Florida has a new law banning most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. In this presidential campaign, Donald Trump is defending the right of states to regulate reproductive rights. Joe Biden says that decentralized authority threatens women’s lives. VOA correspondent Scott Stearns has the story
A Japanese diplomat’s act of defiance during World War II saved thousands of lives. It's also the focus of an ongoing effort by an American musician to pay tribute to the “Japanese Schindler.” VOA’s Kane Farabaugh has more from Skokie, Illinois.
phoenix — Democrats secured enough votes in the Arizona Senate on Wednesday to repeal a Civil War-era ban on abortions that the state's highest court recently allowed to take effect. Voting wasn't complete but the Senate had the 16 votes it needed to advance the bill. Fourteen Democrats in the Senate were joined by two Republican votes in favor of repealing the bill, which narrowly cleared the Arizona House last week and is expected to be signed by Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs. The near-total ban... Читать дальше...
