Individuals long familiar with the inner workings of Puerto Rico’s publicly owned power authority say it should come as no surprise that the island was left entirely without electric power by Hurricane Maria or that, more than two months later, more than half its residents are still without electricity. The late September storm hit theRead more
Some relatives of crew members on a missing Argentine submarine are asking to be plaintiffs in a judicial investigation of the disappearance, saying they want to ensure the case is fully studied. Luis Tagliapietra said Thursday that he joined the case because he believes the navy has withheld information and lied to the families ofRead more
British lawmakers and officials have reacted angrily to President Donald Trump’s retweeting of anti-Muslim videos initially posted by a far-right British leader who has been convicted of hate speech. Trump remains unrepentant for the tweets, and the situation has escalated with members of parliament. VOA’s Jeff Custer reports from Washington. …Read more
Turkey hosts the largest number of refugees in the world, and three million of them are Syrians. Most live in towns and cities across the country. But this year, a series of clashes between Turks and Syrians could be a sign that for some Turks, patience is running out. Earlier this year, Istanbul witnessedRead more
Venezuela’s chief prosecutor says two former top oil bosses have been arrested as part of a widespread crackdown on corruption. Attorney-General Tarek Saab said former Oil Minister Eulogio del Pino and Nelson Martinez, former president of state oil company PDVSA, were arrested early Thursday. Both had been removed from their positions Sunday by President NicolasRead more
French President Emmanuel Macron fears Islamist militants have scored military and symbolic victories in West Africa while a regional military force has struggled to get off the ground, a French presidential source said on Thursday. To help get the new G5 Sahel force operating effectively, he said, France has invited the United States to aRead more
Denmark has detained a 43-year-old Russian national at Moscow’s request pending an international extradition, Danish prosecutors said Thursday. Henriette V. Norring from the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions said Russia now has to make a formal extradition request. She says Denmark will consider the request “thoroughly,” adding any extradition “will only be possibleRead more
The Kremlin voiced dismay Thursday over the withdrawal of a Russian state-funded TV station’s credentials in the U.S. and warned of a quick retaliation. A committee that governs Capitol Hill access for broadcast journalists on Wednesday withdrew credentials for Kremlin-funded RT after the company complied earlier this month with a U.S. demand that itRead more
Protests were growing in Honduras as incumbent President Juan Orlando Hernandez emerged with a slim lead Thursday for re-election following a reported computer glitch that shut down vote counting for several hours. Challenger Salvador Nasralla has alleged fraud and said he won’t respect the official results. He’s watched an initial five-point lead diminish in recentRead more
The International Labor Organization says a majority of the world’s population, four billion people, have no social protection, leaving them mired in an endless cycle of poverty. The report says 45 percent of the global population is covered by at least one social benefit. But that leaves 55 percent without any social protection, a situationRead more
Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said Wednesday that Trump administration demands for a U.S.-specific automotive content requirement in NAFTA were “not viable,” and he declined to specify when Mexico would formally respond. At a news conference following a series of meetings with senior U.S. trade officials and lawmakers in Washington, Guajardo said that Mexico wasRead more
The international effort to find a missing Argentine submarine has come up empty after scouring more than two-thirds of the search area, the navy spokesman said Wednesday. The final contact with the ARA San Juan, which had 44 crew members aboard, was Nov. 15. Two weeks later, the search is focused on a patch ofRead more
Broadcast reporters for Russian state-funded TV channel RT will no longer be able to report daily from the U.S. Capitol. A committee that governs Capitol Hill access for broadcast journalists has withdrawn credentials for RT after the company complied earlier this month with a U.S. demand that it register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.Read more
Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro — who is battling a crippling economic crisis in his oil-rich, cash-poor nation — will seek re-election next year, Vice President Tareck El Aissami said Wednesday. In 2018, “we will have, God willing, people willing, the re-election of our brother Nicolas Maduro as president of the republic,” El Aissami told aRead more
Rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas agreed Wednesday to delay final transfer of power of the Gaza Strip from Hamas to the Western-backed Palestinian government by 10 days to Dec. 10 to allow time to “complete arrangements,” officials said. The factions signed a reconciliation deal brokered by Egypt last month after Hamas agreed to handRead more
The anti-nuclear group which won the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize accused the United States, Britain and France on Wednesday of snubbing its disarmament work by planning to send only second-rank diplomats to the award ceremony next month. “It’s some kind of protest against the Nobel Peace Prize,” Beatrice Fihn, director of the International Campaign toRead more
Colombia’s palm oil industry and big businesses have pledged to eliminate deforestation from their supply chains as the country battles to reverse the growing destruction of its tropical rainforests. The commitment signed this week makes Colombia the first country in the world to launch its own chapter of the Tropical Forest Alliance 2020, a globalRead more
A former Egyptian prime minister living in the United Arab Emirates says he will return to his country to contest the 2018 presidential elections. Ahmed Shafiq, a former air force general who briefly headed a government after longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak was ousted in a 2011 uprising, says in a video posted to YouTube WednesdayRead more