After China’s DeepSeek gained global recognition, some argue that the U.S.-China rivalry in AI may be upended. In addition, the Chinese Communist Party is actively offering to help developing countries strengthen their AI capacity building. Observers said that China is selling its AI software to targeted regions, which can challenge U.S. AI and serve as a strategy for Chinese companies to get more business overseas. …
Pope Francis’ health condition is stable, Vatican says
Pope Francis “had a restful night,” and Thursday morning “got out of bed and had breakfast in an armchair,” the Vatican said in a statement. Francis was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital last week with bronchitis, which then developed into double pneumonia. Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni said Thursday that the pope now has focal pneumonia with limited areas of infection in the lungs. Bruni said …
European leaders push back on Trump’s claims Ukraine started war with Russia
The fallout from U.S. President Donald Trump’s comments criticizing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy continued Thursday, with Trump doubling down on his claim Zelenskyy is a dictator because he has not held elections since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson has reaction from around the world. …
EU official meets with Trump counterparts to resolve tariff threats
WASHINGTON — Hoping to head off a potential trade conflict, a top European Union official stressed the importance of active engagement and fairness in trade during a four-hour meeting with Trump administration officials. “The top objective as it was presented to us yesterday by our American partners is reciprocity,” Maros Sefcovic, the European commissioner for trade and economic security, told reporters at a Thursday briefing. Sefcovic …
VOA Mandarin: Inside Trump’s Gaza plan, implications to US-China rivalry
U.S. President Donald Trump has said, “The Gaza Strip would be turned over to the United States by Israel at the conclusion of fighting.” Beijing rebuffed those plans, saying it opposes forced displacement of Palestinians to neighboring countries. How will a Gaza takeover plan impact the U.S.-China competition in the Middle East? Click here for the full story in Mandarin. …
Authorities suspect militants are behind bus explosions in Israel; no injuries reported
JERUSALEM — A series of explosions on three buses in a parking lot rattled central Israel on Thursday in what authorities suspected was a militant attack. No injuries were reported. The explosions happened on a day when Israel was already grieving after Hamas returned the bodies of four hostages from Gaza. The bus explosions were reminiscent of bombings during the Palestinian uprising of the 2000s, but …
Azerbaijan suspends BBC
Azerbaijan’s government has ordered the suspension of the Azerbaijani operation of BBC News, the British news agency confirmed Thursday. In a statement, the BBC said it had made the “reluctant decision” to close its office in the country after receiving a verbal instruction from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “We deeply regret this restrictive move against press freedom, which will hinder our ability to report …
US envoy Kellogg, Zelenskyy talk in Kyiv
U.S. envoy Keith Kellogg met in Kyiv Thursday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but there was no immediate word on whether they had eased U.S.-Ukrainian relations after U.S. President Donald Trump and Zelenskyy traded barbs this week over Russia’s three-year war against Ukraine. Kellogg said upon arriving in the Ukrainian capital that he was there to listen to Zelenskyy’s views after officials in Kyiv voiced …
Creating inclusive Syrian government could help lift sanctions, UN envoy says
DAMASCUS, SYRIA — Creating an inclusive government in Syria in coming weeks will help determine whether Western sanctions are lifted as the country rebuilds after the ouster of former President Bashar al-Assad, the U.N. special envoy to Syria said Thursday. “What I’m hoping is that with a truly new inclusive government in place on the 1st of March, this will help us in lifting sanctions” imposed …
South Korea’s Yoon makes 2 court appearances
Impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol appeared in two Seoul courtrooms Thursday, first to hear criminal insurrection charges and then to face a Constitutional Court impeachment trial, both in connection with his short-lived, Dec. 3 imposition of martial law. Yoon was taken by motorcade from the Seoul Detention Center, where he is being held, to the Central District Court for the preliminary hearing on …
Hamas returns bodies of 4 Israeli hostages, including youngest
The bodies of four Israelis held hostage in Gaza returned to Israel on Thursday in the latest release under a ceasefire between Israel and the militant group Hamas. Hundreds of people gathered in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis where Hamas handed over four black coffins to the Red Cross, which carried them away in a convoy and delivered them to the Israeli military. …
North Korea rights groups face collapse amid US funding halt
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA — The vast majority of human rights groups focused on North Korea face an existential crisis after receiving notices from the U.S. government that their grant funds have been frozen, according to several sources among the predominantly Seoul-based NGOs. The National Endowment for Democracy, or NED, established by Congress to strengthen democratic institutions globally, and the State Department’s Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor …
EU approves $960 million in German aid for Infineon chips plant
BRUSSELS — The European Commission said Thursday it had approved 920 million-euro of German state aid, or $960 million, to Infineon Technologies for the construction of a new semiconductor manufacturing plant in Dresden. The measure will allow Infineon to complete the MEGAFAB-DD project, which will be able to produce a wide range of different types of computer chips, the Commission said. Chipmakers across the globe are …
China’s sprawling rail projects around Asia
TOKYO — Vietnam approved plans on Wednesday for a multibillion-dollar railway with China, boosting links between the two communist countries. Around the region, China has been financing railways under its Belt and Road Initiative, which funds infrastructure projects globally but has come under fire with a number of plans stalled or mired in controversy. Here are some of the key installments in Asia’s China-backed railway network: …
China says it’s ‘doing its best’ to push for tariff negotiations with EU
BEIJING — China has been “doing its best” to push for negotiations with the European Union over its tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles, a commerce ministry spokesperson said on Thursday, almost four months after the punitive import curbs took effect. The bloc voted to increase the tariffs to as much as 45.3% in October after the European Commission — which oversees EU trade policy — launched …
Crews in Ukraine’s Odesa region work to restore power after Russian attacks
Tens of thousands of people remained without power Thursday in the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa as a result of several days of Russian aerial attacks. Odesa Governor Oleh Kiper said on Telegram that crews were working to restore electricity service, and had brought 40,000 customers back online, with another 49,000 still without power. Russian attacks continued Thursday in multiple parts of Ukraine, including in …
VOA Persian: Iranian authorities raid homes of Baha’i minority, arrest 2
Iranian Intelligence agents raided the homes of 14 Baha’i citizens in Alborz and Qazvin provinces, arresting two individuals. According to the annual report of the Commission on International Religious Freedom last year, the Iranian government’s repression, violence, discrimination and social stigmatization of Baha’i citizens have intensified. Click here for the full story in Persian. …
Trump expects visit from Chinese President Xi without giving timeline
ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE/ WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he expected Chinese President Xi Jinping to visit the United States, without giving a timeline for his trip. Trump made the remarks to reporters on Air Force One and said “it’s possible” for the U.S. and China to have a new trade deal. A conversation or interaction between Xi and Trump is seen …
Rights groups: Iran executed 975 people in ‘horrifying’ 2024 escalation
PARIS — Iran executed at least 975 people last year in a “horrifying escalation” of its use of capital punishment, two human rights groups said on Thursday. Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) and French group Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM) said the figure was the highest since IHR began recording executions in Iran in 2008. The figure “reveals a horrifying escalation in the use of …
Australia, Papua New Guinea vow to strike defense treaty
SYDNEY — Australia said Thursday it will strike a defense treaty with Papua New Guinea, bolstering ties with a Pacific state that has been courted persistently by China. The historically close Pacific nations said in a joint statement they were committed to negotiating the treaty to deepen integration of their forces and make it easier to offer security support. “This will enable our two defense forces …
Thousands without power, heat in Odesa
Thousands of residents in Ukraine’s city of Odesa were without electricity or heating after Russia launched a massive drone attack for the second night in a row. In his address to the nation on Wednesday night, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said repair work was underway after 80,000 people lost power and the same number lost heating. Governor Oleh Kiper, writing on the Telegram messaging …
Trump’s comments on Ukraine draw mixed reaction from US lawmakers
U.S. President Donald Trump’s comments this week claiming Ukraine was responsible for starting the three-year conflict with Russia and calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “a dictator without elections” drew criticism from congressional Democrats and pushback from some members of the Republican Party. “Clearly, Vladimir Putin is responsible for this war,” Republican Senator Thom Tillis told reporters. “His decision has resulted in the murder, rape, torture …
VOA Persian: Activists protest death penalty outside Iran’s Evin prison
A group of civil rights activists and supporters of the “No to Execution Tuesdays” campaign gathered outside Evin Prison in Tehran, Iran, on Tuesday night, chanting slogans against capital punishment. Videos shared on social media on Wednesday show prominent activists, including Narges Mohammadi, Sedigheh Vasmaghi, Alieh Motallebzadeh, Kambiz Norouzzadeh, Hasti Amiri, Shaghayegh Moradi, Ali Nanvayi, Majid Mosafer and Elham Salehi, participating in the protest. Marking …
After decades in exile, Syria’s Jews visit Damascus
DAMASCUS, Syria — For the first time in three decades, Rabbi Joseph Hamra and his son Henry read from a Torah scroll in a synagogue in the heart of Syria’s capital Damascus, carefully passing their thumbs over the handwritten text as if still in awe they were back home. The father and son fled Syria in the 1990s, after then-Syrian president Hafez al-Assad lifted a travel …