World

  This frame grab taken from video footage circulating on Chinese social media on Nov. 19, 2024 shows the scene where a car crashed outside the Yong'an primary school in Changde. (AFP photo / Chinese social media) BEIJING — A driver in an SUV plowed into students and pedestrians outside a primary school in southern China on Tuesday, leaving several people injured, state media said, as worries spread over a spate of violent attacks in the country over the past week. CCTV and other state media reported the SUV hit people outside a primary school in Changde city in Hunan province as students were coming in for the day. Many were injured, CCTV reported and police said they were sent to the hospital "as soon as possible," with none having sustained life-threatening injuries. Po...

  FILE - Members attend a session of the advisory Shura Council in Doha, Qatar, Oct. 26, 2021. Qataris have voted away the right to elect their own legislators, ending a short-lived experiment with participatory democracy in a region where authoritarian leadership is the norm. At the same time, voters have enshrined the role of international mediator in the constitution of the Persian Gulf nation, which has hosted peace talks involving parties ranging from the Taliban to Hamas to Israel. In a referendum held earlier this month, voters approved a package of constitutional amendments that revoked an earlier change providing for two-thirds of the seats in the nation’s legislature, the Shura Council, to be filled through popular elections. The Qatar News Agency said more than 90%...

  FILE - Arthur Frommer and his daughter, Pauline Frommer, pose among tourists in the Wall Street area in New York, May 20, 2012. NEW YORK — Arthur Frommer, whose "Europe on 5 Dollars a Day" guidebooks revolutionized leisure travel by convincing average Americans to take budget vacations abroad, has died. He was 95. Frommer died from complications of pneumonia, his daughter Pauline Frommer said Monday. "My father opened up the world to so many people," she said. "He believed deeply that travel could be an enlightening activity and one that did not require a big budget." Frommer began writing about travel while serving in the U.S. Army in Europe in the 1950s. When a guidebook he wrote for American soldiers ove...

  FILE - The sun rises near the Kariba Dam in Siavonga, Zambia, on Sept. 19, 2024. VICTORIA FALLS, ZIMBABWE — Zimbabwe and Zambia are holding a summit this week in Victoria Falls to identify ways to attract investors for energy projects and development. The talks come as the neighbors experience their worst recorded drought, which is drying up the Kariba Dam reservoir and causing hourslong power cuts. Speaking at the inaugural Zimbabwe-Zambia Energy Projects Summit, officials from both countries said depending so heavily on hydropower leaves them vulnerable to lengthy lapses in electricity. Recently, power outages reached 20 hours. They say they want to increase investment in wind and solar energy generation. Zimbabwean Vice Presid...

  This image was made from a video posted by a Telegram channel affiliated with the Ukrainian military on Nov. 19, 2024. The channel says it shows U.S.-supplied ATACMS missiles being fired from an undisclosed location in Ukraine. (Lachen Pyshe Telegram via AP) Ukraine said Tuesday it hit ammunition warehouses in the Bryansk region of Russia in a predawn strike, an attack the warring sides said for the first time involved the deployment of long-range U.S.-supplied ballistic missiles. The two sides disputed the effectiveness of the attack, which came two days after it was reported that President Joe Biden had reversed U.S. policy and approved use of the longer-range missiles as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine reached the 1,000-day mark. Two U.S. officials confirmed to VOA on Tuesda...

  U.S. special envoy Amos Hochstein speaks to the media after meeting with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, in Beirut, Nov. 19, 2024. A U.S. diplomat arrived Tuesday in Beirut to meet with Lebanese officials about a possible cease-fire agreement – reportedly approved by Hezbollah – that would end fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed group. Amos Hochstein was meeting with Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally who is mediating for the militants. Both the Lebanese government and Hezbollah have agreed to a proposal that was submitted last week and made some comments on the content, Ali Hassan Khalil, an aide to Berri, told Reuters on Monday. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would continue to conduct military operatio...

By Zachary Abuza2024.10.27 Communist systems are purported to be egalitarian and gender neutral. But in Vietnam, as with China, despite the lofty rhetoric, the country falls short in terms of its own stated goals and ideals. A handful of women have excelled in the Vietnamese corporate world, such as tycoon Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao. And Truong My Lan has set the bar for spectacular corporate scandals, receiving the death penalty and a life sentence in two cases involving fraud and money laundering at Van Thinh Phat and Saigon Commercial Bank. Vietnam, which celebrates women’s day on Oct. 20, is often touted for having some of the highest rates of female political participation in Southeast Asia. Based only on the metric of parliamentarians, with just under 30%, Vietnam does stand above its...

  Islamabad — Authorities in northwestern Pakistan reported Monday that militants ambushed a military convoy near the border with Afghanistan and killed at least eight soldiers. The attack occurred in Khyber, a volatile border district in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, targeting soldiers returning to their base after a counterinsurgency operation. The ambush left at least three soldiers injured, one of whom is in “serious” condition, multiple security officials said. They spoke anonymously to VOA because they were not authorized to discuss the details with the media. The ensuing clashes reportedly also left several assailants dead. The Pakistan military’s media wing did not immediately comment on the deadly attack or the reported casu...

  FILE - Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, center, casts his vote inside a polling station during the presidential election in Hargeisa, Somaliland, Wednesday, Nov. 13,2024. The Somaliland electoral commission announced Tuesday that opposition leader Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi “Irro” defeated incumbent Muse Bihi Abdi for the presidency of the breakaway region located on the Horn of Africa. Independent observers described the election as peaceful. Irro, candidate for the Waddani (National) party captured 63.92% of the vote, compared with Bihi’s 34.81%. A third candidate, Faysal Ali Warabe, received 0.74% of the votes. The election was originally scheduled to take place in 2022 but was delayed due to political differences. Bihi, who defeated...

  Elsa, the foster mother of defendant Hendrick Lui, holds a banner reading "The righteous shall live; the wicked shall perish" outside the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts building after the sentencing of 45 pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong, Nov. 19, 2024. Taipei, Taiwan — Hong Kong’s High Court on Tuesday sentenced 45 pro-democracy activists to up to 10 years in jail under subversion charges, marking an end to the largest national security case in Hong Kong under a sweeping law imposed by Beijing. Tuesday’s sentencing triggered widespread condemnation from countries around the world, with the United States, Britain and the United Nations urging Chinese and Hong Kong authorities to cease the politically motivated pros...