World

  Former U.S. President and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump greets local Muslim leaders who endorsed him onstage during a campaign rally at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi, Michigan, on Oct. 26, 2024. WASHINGTON — In the run up to the presidential election, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign has increased its outreach to Arab and Muslim Americans, particularly in battleground state Michigan. But it is her Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump, who has made surprising gains with this group that makes up a significant portion of voters angry over President Joe Biden’s policies on the Gaza war. On Friday, Trump is expected to visit a halal cafe in Dearborn, Michigan, a city dubbed the Arab capital...

  FILE - Participants walk in front of a banner for the Future Investment Initiative conference, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Oct. 24, 2018. For the first time in years, the Middle East and North African region is seeing a surge in interest from international investors. Major companies like Google, Microsoft and Adobe recently took part in one of the largest technology events in the region when Dubai hosted Expand North Star 2024, which attracted over 6,500 exhibiting companies, 1,800 startups and 1,200 investors from 180 countries. Over the last year, more than half of all investors in regional startups have come from outside, reflecting how attractive the Middle East and North Africa, or MENA, have become for those seeking new areas for gro...

  FILE - Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu speaks after being given the German-Turkish Friendship Award "Kybele 2019" in Berlin, Nov. 8, 2019. istanbul — Turkey\'s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday sued the main opposition leader and Istanbul\'s powerful mayor over allegedly slanderous remarks made at a protest rally a day earlier, the Anadolu news agency reported. Filed on Friday, the two separate lawsuits targeted Ozgur Ozel, head of the Republican People\'s Party (CHP), and Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, also a top party official. One accused Ozel of "publicly insulting the president" and "clearly committing a crime against the reputation and honor of the office of the presidency." The second suit alle...

  FILE - Palestinians crowd together as they wait for food distribution in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Nov. 8, 2023. new york — A new U.N. report warned Thursday that conflict, climate and economic stress are driving severe hunger and in some cases famine conditions, in 22 countries and territories, with no likelihood for improvement in the next six months. “So, you have conflict impacts, climate impacts in the same countries, as well as both the combination of the two turns into economic devastation for people,” Arif Husain, chief economist of the World Food Program, said of the main drivers of the hunger crises to reporters in a video briefing. The situation is most severe in the Gaza Strip, Sudan, South Sudan, Haiti and Mali, where mi...

  Clinicians get ready to administer mpox vaccines during the launch of the vaccination campaign at the General Hospital of Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, on Oct. 5, 2024. geneva — More than 50,000 people have so far been vaccinated against mpox in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, the World Health Organization\'s chief said on Friday. The outbreak is still not under control, the African Union\'s health watchdog warned a day earlier, appealing for resources to avoid a "more severe" pandemic than Covid-19. More than 1,100 people have died of mpox in Africa, where some 48,000 cases have been recorded since January, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC). The majority of dea...

  Yonas Nugus of Maychew, Ethiopia, had the highest score on the national university entrance exam for the 2022-23 academic year, scoring 675 out of 700 possible points. First, it was the COVID-19 pandemic that halted education in the Tigray region, and then, a deadly war, claiming many lives and displacing hundreds of thousands. Tenth-graders Yonas Nugus and Helen Berhe escaped with their families when their school in the town of Maychew was closed due to the war. Education was the last thing on their minds at the time, but they said they did not give up hope. “The situation seemed hopeless and never-ending. It was tough to overcome, but we managed to get through it,” said Yonas, who like Helen recently completed a national exam and qual...

  Women pass a sticker advertising abortion pills on a sidewalk in Johannesburg, South Africa, on June 28, 2023. Abortion policy and availability are among the issues that could be affected by the winner of the Nov. 5, 2024, U.S. presidential election. JOHANNESBURG — Whoever U.S. voters choose as their next president — former President Donald Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris — the election has global implications, with the probability it will affect other economies, foreign conflicts and personal freedoms, analysts told VOA. South African independent political analyst Asanda Ngoasheng said the winner could usher in policies that affect ordinary people in Africa. “I hope that as Americans vote, they’re aware that whatever decision the...

  People walk past campaign tents of Moldova's incumbent President and presidential candidate Maia Sandu and presidential candidate Alexandr Stoianoglo in Chisinau, Moldova Oct. 30, 2024. Moldova\'s Constitutional Court on Thursday validated the results of last month\'s referendum, formally recognizing the country\'s decision to join the European Union. The "yes" result, however, was an incredibly close one, much closer than polls had predicted, and the road toward EU membership for Moldova is not expected to be smooth either. Supporters of the measure attribute the much closer than expected result to Russian meddling in the run-up to the vote held on October 20, together with the presidential election. Both campaigns were ...

  When the U.S. Department of Treasury imposed sanctions on three companies belonging to Denis Postovoy on Wednesday, it was yet another move to break up what U.S. authorities say was an international scheme to violate sanctions. A month earlier, on September 16, law enforcement officials arrested the 44-year-old Russian national in Sarasota, Florida. He was charged with conspiring to violate sanctions on Russia, commit smuggling, commit money laundering and defraud the United States. According to the indictment, Postovoy used an international network of companies to export dual-use microelectronic components from the United States to Russia –– potentially spare parts for military drones used in the Kremlin’s war against Ukraine.   Denis Postovoy Postovoy is ...

  People clean mud from a shop affected by floods in Chiva, Spain, on Nov. 1, 2024. CHIVA, SPAIN — The death toll from historic flash floods in Spain climbed to least 205 people Friday, with many more believed to be missing, as the initial shock gave way to anger, frustration and a wave of solidarity. Spanish emergency authorities said 202 of the victims were in the Valencia region, and officials warned that more rain was expected in the next days. The damage from the storm Tuesday and Wednesday recalled the aftermath of a tsunami, with survivors left to pick up the pieces as they mourned loved ones lost in Spain’s deadliest natural disaster in living memory. Many streets were still blocked by piled-up vehicles and debris, in some cases t...