Colombians got their first glimpse Tuesday of a monument being constructed with weapons turned over by leftist rebels as part of an historic peace agreement ending more than five decades of bloody conflict. The work by artist Doris Salcedo is titled “Fragments” and consists of a simple floor of gray-colored tiles built with melted rifles.Read more
Hundreds of Iranians joined a street protest Tuesday in the central city of Isfahan to denounce the government’s handling of economic problems, including the record low value of Iran’s currency. Images verified by VOA Persian and sent by Isfahan residents showed protesters marching and chanting anti-government slogans in the city’s New Shapur district. Residents saidRead more
Yemen’s Houthi group said Tuesday that it would unilaterally halt attacks in the Red Sea for two weeks to support peace efforts, days after Saudi Arabia suspended oil exports through a strategic Red Sea channel following attacks on crude tankers last week. Yemen — where a Saudi-led coalition has been battling the Iranian-aligned Houthi movement in aRead more
Mexico is still preparing all options to respond to possible U.S. tariffs on car imports, Deputy Economy Minister Juan Carlos Baker said on Tuesday, despite U.S.-European talks last week that were supposed to have seen off the immediate threat. Last week European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said he had secured a “major concession” from PresidentRead more
Several foreign tourists were injured Tuesday when a train struck the rear of another train near the Incan ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru, a local police chief said. Police were trying to determine the cause of the accident, which occurred along a popular tourism route from the village of Ollantaytambo to Machu Picchu in southern Peru, said Eulogio Farfan,Read more
Dozens of people were injured when a packed Aeromexico-operated Embraer jet crashed right after takeoff in Mexico’s state of Durango on Tuesday, but authorities said most were not seriously hurt and there were no fatalities. The mid-sized jet was almost full, with 97 passengers and four crew members, when it came down at around 4Read more
Kosovo President Hashim Thaci ruled out on Tuesday partition of the country with Serbia along ethnic lines, an idea raised in Belgrade to settle a long-running dispute that is hindering both sides’ ambitions to join the European Union. Thaci is due to meet Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in Brussels after the summer break under an EU-sponsored dialogue that hasRead more
A key anti-government leader in Venezuela says the nation’s fractured opposition is advancing in its efforts to unite around a new plan of action. Henrique Capriles said in an interview this week with The Associated Press that meetings in recent weeks with other anti-government leaders had been productive. The former presidential candidate and former governorRead more
Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera said on Tuesday Tokyo had asked Russia to reduce its military activity on a disputed island chain in the Pacific after Moscow beefed up its forces there in response to what it sees as a potential threat. The territorial dispute over the islands, known as the Kuriles in Russia andRead more
Syria’s envoy to the United Nations on Tuesday railed against Turkey’s growing influence in the north, calling it an “occupation” and vowing to “expel” its troops. Turkey, a main backer of Syria’s opposition, has sent troops into northern Syria to battle the Islamic State group and Kurdish militants. It has also deployed troops in theRead more
Vladimir Putin has created a new directorate inside the Russian army to promote patriotism, evoking memories of a Soviet practice that once saw soldiers taught the precepts of Marxism and Leninism by political commissars. The move, approved by Putin in a presidential decree published Monday, will affect Russia’s around 1 million active military service peopleRead more
A Turkish court has rejected an appeal for U.S. pastor Andrew Brunson to be released from house arrest while being tried on terrorism charges. Brunson’s detention has become a pressing issue for the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, who has threatened sanctions as part of a pressure campaign to free the pastor. Brunson isRead more
With U.S.-Turkish ties deeply strained, Ankara’s relationship with Europe is warming. Berlin reportedly has invited Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for a state visit. At the same time, Erdogan is organizing a summit between France, Germany, and Russia to discuss Syria. This month, the Netherlands restored full diplomatic relations with Turkey after a bitter spatRead more
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has no intention of meeting his Iranian counterpart at an international gathering this weekend in Singapore, even as President Donald Trump says he is willing to talk with Tehran about its nuclear weapons development program. The top U.S. diplomat and Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif are both attendingRead more
The U.N. refugee agency says it is increasing humanitarian operations to meet the needs of thousands of refugees fleeing violence and persecution in Nicaragua. Most of the refugees are fleeing to Costa Rica. The U.N. refugee agency reports nearly 8,000 asylum claims by Nicaraguans have been registered since mid-April. That was when protests against aRead more
The U.N. human rights office is condemning multiple attacks by Islamic State militants against civilians last week, which reportedly killed and injured more than 200 people in the city of Sweida in southwest Syria. The U.N. agency reports scores of Islamic State militants went on a rampage, raiding homes in at least eight villages inRead more
An Israeli court jailed an Israeli Arab poet for five months on Tuesday after convicting her of incitement to terrorism for a poem and remarks she posted on social media during a wave of Palestinian street attacks. Dareen Tatour, 36, posted on Facebook and YouTube a video of herself reading out her poem “Resist, MyRead more
Iran said on Tuesday U.S. President Donald Trump was mistaken to expect Saudi Arabia and other oil producers to compensate for supply losses caused by U.S. sanctions on Iran, after OPEC production rose only modestly in July. The comments, from Iran’s OPEC governor, came a day after a Reuters survey showed OPEC production rose byRead more