The Republican National Convention ended Thursday night with a speech by the party's official presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump. He had been in the audience watching the convention all week, but Thursday was his first public speech since he was the target of an assassination attempt last Saturday. VOA's Senior National Washington Correspondent Carolyn Presutti brings us the sights and sounds from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Kim Lewis and Tatiana Koprowitz contributed to this report.
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — A faulty software update caused technological havoc worldwide Friday, grounding flights, knocking down some financial companies and news outlets, and disrupting hospitals, small businesses and government offices. The breadth of the outages highlighted the fragility of a digitized world dependent on just a few providers for key computing services. The trouble was sparked by an update issued by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike and affected only its customers running Microsoft Windows... Читать дальше...
TAIPEI, TAIWAN — China’s ruling Communist Party concluded a highly anticipated party conclave Thursday, promising to boost economic growth through comprehensive reform while reiterating the importance of maintaining national security. The Central Committee, in a communique at the end of the four-day, closed-door Third Plenum, laid out reform objectives to be completed by 2029, the 80th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China. The party’s top decision-making body also vowed to finish “building... Читать дальше...
Dhaka — Television news channels in Bangladesh were off the air and telecommunications were widely disrupted on Friday amid violent student protests against quotas for government jobs in which nearly two dozen people have been killed this week. There was no immediate word from the government. French news agency AFP reported that the death toll in Thursday's violence had risen to 32. Reuters had reported that 13 people were killed, adding to six dead earlier in the week, and could not immediately verify the higher number. Читать дальше...
This week, a look at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where former President Donald Trump makes a triumphant appearance after surviving an assassination attempt. On the other side of the aisle, President Joe Biden answers questions about his future.
Former President Donald Trump delivers his first speech since an assassination attempt. He accepted the Republican nomination for president. Officials in the Central African Republic say at least 300 rebels have dropped their weapons in the past month in an operation jointly organized by United Nations peacekeeping forces and government troops. And, the latest fashion statement at the Republican National Convention is fake ear bandages.
Taipei, Taiwan — China's ruling party has concluded the Third Plenum of its 20th Central Committee with a communique described as vague and cliché by China watchers, who said it lacks specific measures to address China's economic difficulties. Shi He-ling, an associate professor of economics at Monash Business School at Monash University in Caulfield, Australia, said the communiqué was disappointing and that its writers were completely unthinking. The 5,000-word communiqué, issued on Thursday... Читать дальше...
The U.S. military is dismantling the temporary pier it built to deliver aid to Palestinians in Gaza. But officials say the military will continue to help transfer aid for Gaza from Cyprus to the Israeli port of Ashdod. VOA Pentagon Correspondent Carla Babb reports.
washington — U.S. diplomats are working closely with African partners, the White House said Thursday, amid a fresh 15-day truce between the army and Rwanda-backed rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Experts on the ground say they're holding their breath, citing the dire humanitarian consequences of spiraling violence in this fragile region. The Biden administration believes this conflict in the northeast corner of the largest country in sub-Saharan Africa "poses a real threat to... Читать дальше...
nairobi, kenya — Kenya's High Court on Thursday suspended a police ban on protests in the capital, stating citizens have a right to demonstrate peacefully. Before the high court's decision, police had barred protests in Nairobi indefinitely, saying they lacked leadership that would ensure peaceful demonstrations. The suspension of the ban came before a planned protest, in which demonstrators were expected to march to the president's office calling for his resignation over poor governance. Acting police inspector general... Читать дальше...
beirut — A field commander in Hezbollah's elite Radwan Force was killed in an Israeli strike on south Lebanon, the Israeli military and two security sources said Thursday, the latest senior member of the group to be killed in months of tit-for-tat strikes across the border with Israel. Habib Maatouk had replaced another commander in the elite unit, Ali Ahmed Hassin, who was killed in April in an Israeli strike, the security sources said. The Israeli military said it had killed a Radwan Force... Читать дальше...
U.S. President Joe Biden faces physical and political isolation as he deals with COVID and as more Democrats urge him to step aside as the party’s nominee. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara reports.
AUSTIN, Texas — Employees of the largest housing provider for unaccompanied migrant children in the U.S. have repeatedly sexually abused and harassed children in their care over the past eight years, the Justice Department alleges. Southwest Key employees, including supervisors, have raped, touched or solicited sex and nude images of children since at least 2015, the DOJ alleged in a lawsuit filed Wednesday. At least two employees have been charged since 2020, according to the lawsuit. Based in Austin... Читать дальше...
washington — The head of the United Nations agency responsible for alleviating world hunger is heaping praise on the government of North Korea after a breakthrough visit to the reclusive country, the first from any official of a U.N. specialized agency since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019. Qu Dongyu, director general of the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), "commended the great achievement made by the DPRK people in agricultural development, food security and the Pyongyang... Читать дальше...
PARIS — France's divided National Assembly on Thursday kept a centrist member of President Emmanuel Macron's party as speaker after a chaotic early election produced a hung legislature. Speaker Yael Braun-Pivet, 53, has been at the head of the National Assembly since 2022 and she retained her post Thursday after three rounds of voting in the lower house of parliament. She received the support of Macron's centrist allies and of some conservative lawmakers seeking to prevent her leftist contender from getting the job. Читать дальше...
Though America has seen a number of political parties throughout its history, the two-party system of Democrats and Republicans still dominates the political process.
The U.S. does not allow conflict minerals in its territories. The United Nations accused Rwanda of supporting the M23 rebels in exchange for illegally mined Congo minerals.
LOS ANGELES — Bob Newhart, who fled the tedium of an accounting job to become a master of stammering, deadpan humor as a standup comedian and later as a U.S. television sitcom star, died on Thursday at the age of 94, his publicist said. Newhart died at his home in Los Angeles after a series of short illnesses, said his longtime publicist, Jerry Digney. Newhart had two hit shows — first playing a psychologist on "The Bob Newhart Show" from 1972 to 1978, and then portraying a Vermont innkeeper on "Newhart" from 1982 through 1990. Читать дальше...
Vice Presidential nominee J.D. Vance spoke at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday, laying out the party’s vision for America’s foreign policy. U.S. President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with COVID. A look at the media coverage of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump. The latest from Israel, more unrest in Nairobi and an update from Kyiv as President Zelenskyy is in England for the opening of the European Political Community meeting. Plus, a look at the potential of sea drones in modern warfare.
