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London — China’s demand for road and air transport fuels may have passed its peak, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said Thursday, citing data showing that the country’s consumption of gasoline, gasoil and jet fuel declined marginally in 2024.  Combined consumption of the three fuels in China last year was at 8.1 million barrels per day (bpd), which was 200,000 bpd lower than in 2021 and …

PARIS — Syria’s foreign minister will attend an international conference in Paris on Thursday as regional and Western powers seek to shield the country during its fragile transition amid ongoing instability across the region. Asaad Hassan al-Shibani is leading a delegation for a first trip to the European Union since the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad and days after President Emmanuel Macron invited Syria’s U.N.-sanctioned President Ahmed …

Seoul — South Korea’s suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol will get another hearing next week before judges decide on whether to formally remove him from office over his martial law decree, the country’s Constitutional Court said Thursday. The former prosecutor has remained defiant throughout weeks of hearings, blaming a “malicious” opposition for his December bid to suspend civilian rule. The attempt only lasted six hours as …

Seoul — As a high school junior in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, Daneel Kutsenko never gave much thought to China. Last month, though, as the U.S. government prepared to ban TikTok – citing national security concerns about its Chinese ownership – Kutsenko downloaded RedNote, another Chinese video-sharing app, which he felt gave him a new perspective on China. “It just seems like people who live …

The militant group Hamas expressed its commitment to a ceasefire with Israel on Thursday, as mediators worked to preserve the halt in fighting amid accusations of violations and threats of a return to war. “We are not interested in the collapse of the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, and we are keen on its implementation and ensuring that the occupation (Israel) adheres to it …

While mediators were working to preserve a fragile ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, Israel called up military reservists and the nation’s defense minister echoed U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat that “all hell would break out” if hostages were not released Saturday. A Hamas official told The Associated Press there were positive signals three hostages would be released as planned, but the group was waiting …

U.S. Democratic lawmakers said Wednesday the Trump administration’s freeze of U.S. foreign assistance might permanently damage America’s security and standing abroad. Republicans counter that the review of U.S. Agency for International Development programs is necessary to combat waste and fraud. VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson has more. …

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea is dismantling a facility at its Mount Kumgang resort used for hosting meetings between families separated after the Korean War, South Korea said on Thursday, in the latest sign of strained tensions between the two Koreas. The Unification Ministry, which handles affairs between the nations, urged Pyongyang to immediately stop the action at the site near the border on North …

After the autonomous administration of northeast Syria decided to allow the residents of the Arisha camp in southern Hasakah to return to their homes, a number of families are preparing to return. People in the camp, home to more than 2,700 Syrian families from the Deir Ezzor region, are returning to their homes after eight years of displacement. Click here for the full story in …

Human rights groups say that Pzhman Sultani, who was arrested during protests in Bokan, Iran, has been sentenced to death for premeditated murder by a court in West Azerbaijan province. Rights groups say the trial was unfair and did not follow international legal standards. They also say the defendants were not allowed to have their own lawyers. Activists believe Sultani was punished for giving medical …

WASHINGTON — More than 260 foreign nationals have been rescued from online scam operations in Myanmar and handed over to authorities in Thailand. The rescue is part of an escalating crackdown on human trafficking and cyber fraud along the two countries’ border. A Myanmar insurgent group, the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army, which recently raided scam centers in the region, handed the victims over to Thai authorities …

On Sunday, violence erupted at a security checkpoint outside of the Kurdistan Region’s capital Irbil after security forces prevented hundreds of protesting teachers from Sulaymaniyah and Halabja provinces from entering the city. The teachers, who are still waiting to receive their December salary payments, told VOA it was their right to take their protests to Irbil as the capital of the Kurdistan Region. Police, however, …

Shaida Sayad, a university graduate from Sirwan district in Kurdistan’s Halabja province, has harnessed her scientific skills and practical experience to create over 20 types of cosmetics, soaps, softeners, and other women’s products. Her journey is a testament to the power of women in science and their role in driving progress and innovation. Click here for the full story in Kurdish. …

STATE DEPARTMENT — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to depart Thursday for Munich and later this week will visit the Middle East amid an intensive diplomatic push to end Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, as well as efforts to follow up on U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan for the post-war Gaza Strip.  Preparations are also underway for Rubio to hold talks with his counterparts …