Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s recent plea for relief from decades-old debt to the United States appears to have little chance of success, regional analyst say. Cambodians, they say, would be better off seeking to restructure the debt, easing the repayment burden. But Hun Sen is sticking with his mantra and has repeatedly noted the… more
Director Joseph Clancy came out of retirement more than two years ago to take over the embattled agency amid a series of embarrassing scandals and security missteps. Clancy was made the interim director in late 2014 and President Barack Obama made the job permanent in early 2015. The agency announced his retirement in a tweet… more
Public tours of the White House are scheduled to resume on March 7. The tours had been temporarily suspended during the change in government and the beginning weeks of President Donald Trump’s administration. But first lady Melania Trump announced Tuesday that the popular tours will resume early next month. The tours of public… more
The secretary-general of the United Nations says he “deeply regrets” the United States’ decision to block a former Palestinian prime minister from leading the world body’s political mission in Libya. Antonio Guterres says that Salam Fayyad was “the right person for the right job at the right moment.” Guterres said: “I think it is a… more
With tensions between the United States and Iran mounting over Tehran’s test-firing of mid-range ballistic missiles, Iran’s hardliners appear emboldened. They talk now of having a chance of winning their country’s presidential election in May – or at least turning incumbent Hassan Rouhani into a lame-duck president, if he does manage to secure reelection. Observers… more
Lawyers for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl will try Monday to convince a judge that he cannot get a fair trial on charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy because of highly charged statements made by President Donald Trump. The pretrial hearing before a military judge at Fort Bragg is expected to focus on… more
A key aide to U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday the White House is considering “all of our options” in an effort to blunt a court ruling freezing Trump’s order to ban travel from seven majority-Muslim countries and block refugees from entering the United States. Senior policy adviser Stephen Miller said the three-week-old Trump administration… more
International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde voiced optimism Sunday that U.S. President Donald Trump’s planned tax cuts and construction spending would boost the American economy, but said they could cause trouble for the economies around the globe. Lagarde, speaking at the World Government Summit in Dubai, said, “From the little we know, and I will… more
The son of Iran’s last monarch is appealing to U.S. President Donald Trump to distinguish between the Iranian people and their Islamist rulers as the president considers whether to impose new restrictions on immigration to the United States. In an exclusive studio interview with VOA’s Persian Service, Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi said Iranians are sensitive… more
U.S. President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe are mixing business with pleasure on the second day of the multi-day summit between the two leaders. A day after Trump declared at the White House an alliance between the two countries is a cornerstone of peace in East Asia, Trump and Abe played golf… more
In his weekly radio address, U.S. President Donald Trump promised that the country’s immigration system will not be used as a ‘tool’ to advance the cause of foreign terrorists. “We will continue to fight to take all necessary and legal action to keep terrorists, radicals and dangerous extremists from ever entering our country,” Trump said.… more
Iraq won’t take part in any regional or international conflicts, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi told state TV Saturday. The comment came after Abadi had spoke in a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump during which tensions with Iran were mentioned. The call was the first between the two leaders. A political commentator close to… more
One of the major U.S. credit ratings agencies says the Trump administration represents a risk to international economic conditions and could alter global sovereign credit fundamentals. The Fitch Ratings agency says risks have increased because U.S. policy predictability has diminished under Donald Trump, raising the prospects of unanticipated policy changes that could have global economic… more
Lilo Schuster was in her mid-40s, single, and looking for love. After years of bad luck with dating, she, like millions of people across the globe, started using online dating sites to meet new people. A few years ago, she received what appeared to be a promising email on the dating site Match.com. The man… more
In late November, Lim Morn traveled to Washington, her first trip outside Minnesota since resettling there as a Cambodian immigrant in 1986. She made the trek to plead for the release of her son, Chheng Soeun, after he was detained in August by agents of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Chheng was marked for… more
The Google Chromebook, a type of stripped-down laptop, isn’t a practical mobile device for many people – mostly because it basically turns into an expensive paperweight whenever it can’t find a Wi-Fi connection. Yet Chromebooks have defied expectations and made major inroads in an unexpected environment – U.S. schools. In retrospect, that shouldn’t be… more
Donald Trump was an avid Twitter user during his campaign for the U.S. presidency, and in his nearly three weeks in office, he hasn’t stopped. While most of Trump’s 24.4 million followers like the immediacy the commander in chief’s tweets provide, others are more critical. “I don’t think there’s any connection between immediacy and sincerity.… more
The expected demise of transparency regulations for minerals and oil companies listed in the United States will not cloud the global drive for financial clarity in extractive industries, company executives told Reuters at an Africa mining conference. Efforts to shine a light on payments such companies make to foreign governments are considered key to eliminating… more
Senator Jeff Sessions was sworn in as the next U.S. attorney general Thursday at the White House, where he stressed that the U.S. needs a “lawful system of immigration” that serves the interest of the American people. President Donald Trump lauded Sessions with praise as he congratulated him on being sworn in, calling the new… more
Construction of the Dakota Access pipeline under a North Dakota reservoir has begun and the full pipeline should be operational within three months, the developer of the long-delayed project said Thursday, even as an American Indian tribe filed a legal challenge to block the work and protect its water supply. The Army granted Energy Transfer… more
Twitter, Incorporated reported its fourth-quarter losses nearly doubled from the same period in 2015. The online messaging company reported a quarterly loss of $167 million at the end of 2016. In 2015, the company reported a loss of $90 million over the same period. The business said revenues in the fourth quarter were up 1… more
Physicist Arthur Rosenfeld, who spearheaded breakthroughs in energy efficiency for lighting, refrigerators, televisions and other electronics while working at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, has died. He was 90. Rosenfeld died January 27 at his home in Berkeley, said Lawrence Berkeley National Lab spokeswoman Julie Chao. Rosenfeld was known to his colleagues as… more
We know that preventive care saves lives and money. The idea is that regular doctor visits can help catch diseases early, and avoid expensive emergency room visits. Soon, new technology will allow patients to do some preventive care at home, and send the results to their doctor. VOA’s Kevin Enochs reports …… more
China doesn’t even have a “separation of powers,” but that didn’t keep a prominent Chinese judge from weighing in when U.S. President Donald Trump lashed out at a federal judge who temporarily blocked the president’s executive order on immigration. Chinese Supreme People’s Court Judge He Fan called Trump an “enemy of the rule of law” for criticizing Judge James Robart. Under the… more
U.S. President Donald Trump spoke by telephone Tuesday with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and the White House described the 45-minute conversation as productive. The call came amid controversy over Trump’s order of a temporary travel ban on seven Muslim majority countries in which terrorist groups operate. Erdogan is usually among the first… more
President Donald Trump tweeted Wednesday that Nordstrom, which decided to stop selling Ivanka Trump’s clothing and accessory line, treated his daughter “so unfairly.” Nordstrom shares dropped after the tweet but later recovered. The department store chain had said last week that it made the decision based on the brand’s performance, and that each year it… more