President Donald Trump spoke with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on Friday to discuss the ongoing feud between Qatar and several Arab states, a conflict that some are calling the worst Gulf Arab crisis in years. Trump and Erdogan talked by phone to discuss how to resolve the dispute “while ensuring all countries work together to stop terrorist funding and to combat extremist ideology,” …
US Travel Ban Implementation Moves Ahead with Little Protest
President Donald Trump’s modified travel ban has been implemented with little immediate protest as immigration lawyers gathered at U.S. airports to aid travelers from six affected countries. The U.S. activated the new rules Thursday evening, requiring visa applicants from six majority-Muslim nations to have a “bona fide” relationship with a family member or business in the U.S. to be admitted into the country. Before the …
House Immigration Votes Build on Trump Campaign Promises
The U.S. House of Representatives took the first steps Thursday toward fulfilling two key Trump campaign promises: strengthening penalties on undocumented immigrants who return to the U.S. after being deported and cutting federal funds to so-called sanctuary cities – those that choose not to work with immigration agents. VOA’s congressional reporter Katherine Gypson looks at what that will mean for grieving families and for undocumented …
Trump, Moon Present Unified Front Against North Korea
President Donald Trump on Friday declared the U.S. has run out of patience with North Korea, as he met with his South Korean counterpart at the White House. Speaking in the Rose Garden alongside South Korean President Moon Jae-in, Trump vowed a “determined response” against Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs. “The era of strategic patience with the North Korean regime has failed,” Trump said, referring …
MSNBC ‘Morning Joe’ Hosts Fire Back at Trump Twitter Blasts
“Morning Joe” hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski said Friday that President Donald Trump lied about their December encounter in a tweet and that his “unhealthy obsession” with their program doesn’t serve his mental health or the country well. The two MSNBC personalities postponed a vacation in order to respond to Trump’s tweet, which drew broad condemnation a day earlier because he called Brzezinski “crazy” …
Think Tank: China Builds New Military Facilities on South China Sea Islands
China has built new military facilities on islands in the South China Sea, a U.S. think tank reported Thursday, a move that could raise tensions with Washington, which has accused Beijing of militarizing the vital waterway. The Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI), part of Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies, said new satellite images show missile shelters and radar and communications facilities being built …
The Next Silicon Valley? Head to France
France is known worldwide for its wine, food and culture, but under its new president, the French are aiming to be the new global hub for tech startups. President Emmanuel Macron has said he wants to build a version of Silicon Valley in France. His administration has launched pro-business initiatives that are loosening government restrictions and encouraging entrepreneurs to launch their startups in the country. …
Former Texas Senator Nominated as NATO Ambassador
U.S. President Donald Trump has nominated a former member of the U.S. Senate from Texas to become the next ambassador to NATO. Kay Bailey Hutchison, 73, served in the Senate for 20 years beginning in 1993, when she won a special election to fill a vacant seat. Since stepping down in 2013, she has practiced law for a firm in Houston that also has former …
Turkish Envoy to Greek Cypriots: Hope for Removal of Troops ‘a Dream’
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has told Greek Cypriots to stop dreaming that 35,000 Turkish forces will leave the divided island. “This is their dream. They should wake up from this dream and they should abandon this dream,” he said Thursday at U.N.-sponsored peace talks in Crans-Montana, Switzerland. Cavusoglu said the current round of talks should be the last attempt to resolve the decades-old dispute …
Trump Nominates Indiana Health Chief as Surgeon General
President Donald Trump on Thursday nominated an anesthesiologist to become the next U.S. surgeon general. Dr. Jerome Adams is the current health commissioner of Indiana, appointed by Vice President Mike Pence when he was the governor of that state. If confirmed, Adams would replace Rear Admiral Sylvia Trent-Adams, the acting surgeon general, who took over for Vivek Murthy, whom Trump dismissed in April. In Indiana, …
US Approves First Arms Sale to Taiwan Under Trump
The State Department has approved arms sales to Taiwan worth a total of $1.4 billion, the first such deal with the self-governing island since President Donald Trump took office, officials said Thursday. The sale will anger China, which regards Taiwan as part of its territory. It comes at a delicate time for relations between Washington and Beijing over efforts to rein in nuclear-armed North Korea. …
Travel Ban, First On, Then Off, Is Back — But It’s Different
President Donald Trump’s first, temporary ban on travelers from seven majority-Muslim nations was short-lived, but it sparked confusion, panic and anger that lasted through months of court rulings. The Supreme Court is now taking up the case in the fall. In the meantime, the government can enforce parts of a second version of Trump’s order. So what’s new this time? BANNED FOREIGNERS Old order: …
Climate Change Up Close: Southern, Poor Counties to Suffer
Poor and southern U.S. counties will get hit hardest by global warming, according to a first-of-its-kind detailed projection of potential climate change effects at the local level. The study, published Thursday in the journal Science, calculates probable economic harms and benefits for the more than 3,100 counties in the United States under different possible scenarios for worldwide emissions of heat-trapping gases. It looks at agriculture, …
Driver Arrested for Targeting French Mosque Worshippers
French police say a man has been arrested trying to drive into a crowd outside a mosque in the Paris suburb of Cretiel. No one was hurt in the incident Thursday. The unidentified driver was unable to get past barriers surrounding the mosque, police said. Le Parisien newspaper reported that the man said he wanted to avenge attacks by Islamic State group extremists that have …
Migrants Disillusioned With French Asylum Process Return to Calais
Somali teenager Abdulaziz Ahmad hunkered down in the sand dunes outside Calais, once again plotting how to reach Britain, eight months after French government bulldozers cleared a sprawling migrant camp in the northern port town. In October, Ahmad, 17, was rehoused in a reception center in Rennes, in the western Brittany region, and began the process of seeking asylum. He soon became disillusioned with the …
Turkish-German Relations Plummet with Berlin Banning Erdogan Rally in Germany
A new dispute between Ankara and Berlin has arisen, with the Turkish president being refused permission to hold a rally for ethnic Turks while he is attending the G20 summit next week in Germany. “We don’t have the police forces available to ensure security, given the G20,” said German Foreign Minister Sigma Gabriel. “But I also told them [Turkey] openly that such an appearance was …
South Korea President Praises U.S. Trade Deal that Trump Denounced
South Korean President Moon Jae-in Wednesday defended his country’s free trade agreement with the United States, which U.S. President Donald Trump denounced in the past as a “job killing deal.” Moon addressed a pro-free trade audience of business leaders and lawmakers at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on the first day of his presidential visit to Washington. He will meet with Trump at the White …
Federal Survey: Half of Hate Crimes Go Unreported
The majority of hate crimes experienced by U.S. residents over a 12-year period were not reported to police, according to a new federal report released Thursday that stoked advocates’ concerns about ongoing tensions between law enforcement and black and Latino communities. More than half of the 250,000 hate crimes that took place each year between 2004 and 2015 went unreported to law enforcement for a …
Panel Rejects Attempt by Democrats to Get Trump Travel Costs
The GOP-led House Armed Services Committee narrowly defeated a bid by Democrats late Wednesday to compel the Air Force to detail how much has been spent on trips that President Donald Trump has made to his Florida estate and other properties he owns. Republicans denounced the measure as “gotcha politics” and an attempt to litigate the 2016 election. But Democrats fired back, saying Trump has …
US Farmers Plow Through Uncertain Trade Environment
It’s been a tough stretch for Illinois farmer Wendell Shauman. His costs for everything from fertilizer to seed have increased, but the price for his crops have not. During the last four years, Shauman’s income has dropped, and he was hoping that ending the U.S. trade embargo with Cuba would give his bottom line a little boost. “Cuba’s a logical market,” he explained to VOA …