Voice of America’s immigration news

The investigation into a midair collision between a jetliner and U.S. Army helicopter just outside of the U.S. Capital has begun. There were no survivors. The American Airlines jet had 64 passengers and crew onboard. The Blackhawk helicopter had a crew of three. The two aircraft collided as the passenger jet was on its final approach to Reagan National Airport and crashed into the Potomac River. We spoke with William Angelley, an aviation crash attorney and former Navy pilot about the...

Academics have bold ideas for Los Angeles as it recovers from the Eaton and Palisades fires

WASHINGTON — A key Republican senator on Thursday said he was struggling with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s nomination by President Donald Trump to run the top U.S. health agency, saying he had reservations about the nominee's "misleading arguments" on vaccines.    "Your past of undermining confidence in vaccines with unfounded or misleading arguments concerns me," Republican Senator Bill Cassidy, a physician from Louisiana, told Kennedy.  "I have been struggling with the nomination," he...

Leslie Voltaire, president of Haiti's Transitional Council, says the armed gangs who have terrorized Haitians for months have "taken a step back." Voltaire credited the national police force and the Kenyan-led multinational force for the progress made in confronting gang violence. Click here for the full story in Creole.     

Despite the Hong Kong government's optimistic projection about Hong Kong's economic recovery, vendors and shoppers at the New Year's Eve's Market at Victoria Park, the biggest of its kind in Hong Kong, told VOA they were pessimistic about economic prospect in the Year of the Snake. Click here for the full story in Mandarin.

All passengers are feared dead after an American Airline jet carrying 60 passengers and four crew members collided midair with a U.S. Army helicopter with three soldiers onboard late Wednesday. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara has the story.

As the new Trump administration's domestic and foreign agenda comes into focus, significant shifts are occurring in Washington. From immigration to foreign aid, numerous policies are being adjusted to align with the administration's plan for the U.S. government.

The number of travelers using public transportation is expected to hit a record high during next week's Chinese Spring Festival. But amid the increased demand for such service, fares appear to have fallen. Train tickets have seen a nearly 90% drop in price, while airfares have declined up to 70%. What is driving the demand/price imbalance behind next week's travel rush? Click here for the full story in Mandarin.

After the brief diplomatic standoff between Presidents Gustavo Petro and Donald Trump, relations between Colombia and the United States face an uncertain outlook.  Will this clash have consequences for the future? Click here for the full story in Spanish.

A decades-old U.S. government ban on federally licensed firearms dealers selling handguns to adults under the age of 21 is unconstitutional, a U.S. appeals court held on Thursday, citing recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings expanding gun rights. The ruling by the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals marked the first time a federal appeals court has held that the prohibition violated the right to keep and bear arms enshrined in the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment. The...

A conversation with Ambassador Matthew Klimow, the former top U.S. diplomat in Turkmenistan, takes a deeper look into a country often described as one of the most closed and repressive in the world. Klimow argues that there has been noticeable progress in Turkmenistan and that significant factors must be considered in U.S. policy toward the nation.‪ Click here for the full story in Uzbek.  

Burkina Faso has an outstanding external debt estimated at more than $10 billion. Additionally, it owes China an unknown amount of money. A vast majority of its mining fields are owned by French, Russian, Canadian, British and Australian mining companies.

The European Union, which is strengthening political and economic cooperation with the governments of Central Asia, hopes to see civil society become more active in the region. The EU's ambassador to Kazakhstan, Aleshka Simkic, emphasized that the EU is interested in close cooperation with governments, as well as civil society activists, and believes that the result of such cooperation will be one of the main factors leading to the development of the region. Click here for the full story...

Observers say bad blood between the Congolese and Rwandan presidents could derail any ceasefire talks

White House 'Border Czar' Tom Homan explains to VOA that law-abiding immigrants in the country legally are not the focus of the crackdown

Azerbaijan and Turkey are stepping up efforts to secure a land corridor between their countries through Armenia. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul.

Police say suspect contended his daughter began creating 'objectionable' content on the social media platform when she lived in the US

Trump's executive order establishes a White House task force to plan what he says will be a 'grand celebration'

Measures seek to fulfill some of president's core campaign promises around education, though it's unclear how much power he has to enact them