Voice of America’s immigration news

Move would expose all of China’s vast array of exports to the U.S. — $427.2 billion worth in 2023 — to higher levies

It’s expected that the new U.S. Trump administration may force Russia and Ukraine to sit down and negotiate. In anticipation of that, both sides escalated their war efforts this past week. We speak with Jim Townsend, adjunct senior fellow in the Center for a New American Security Transatlantic Security Program. The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants on Thursday for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister and Hamas officials, accusing them of...

Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh confirmed that Russia had indeed launched an experimental intermediate-range ballistic missile into Ukraine on November 21. She told reporters that Washington "was notified through nuclear threat reduction channels shortly before the launch."  See the full story here.

The United States has sanctioned Russia’s Gazprombank, the lender built around the country’s gas exporting giant, as well as dozens of other financial institutions. The new measures are expected to further curtail Moscow’s use of the international financial system. See the full story here.   

The U.S. Treasury Department is investigating the relationship between JPMorgan and a hedge fund said to be part of a network overseen by Hosein Shamkhani, the son of Ali Shamkhani, Bloomberg reported. Ali Shamkhani is a longtime close ally of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. See the full story here.

With statistics indicating more of the country's skilled workforce is leaving or planning to leave, accelerating Iran’s longtime “brain drain,” Hosein Simayei Sarraf, the Iranian minister of science, has admitted that "25% of university professors" have emigrated in recent years. Iran’s government has cracked down on professors and students in universities who are suspected of supporting “Women, Life, Freedom” protests.  See the full story here.

Many Chinese nationals are taking advantage of Australian student visas as a means to secure long-term employment. On major Chinese social media platforms, advertisements promoting "half-work, half-study" programs have proliferated, luring so-called "fake students" to Australia in search of work opportunities.   See the full story here.

Four years after the implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Law, pro-democracy political parties in Hong Kong are facing unprecedented political pressure. Following the sentencing of 45 pro-democracy figures to severe penalties for conspiring to subvert state power, two major pro-Beijing newspapers on Thursday issued strong condemnations of Hong Kong's largest pro-democracy party, the Democratic Party.   Analysts believe this signals that Beijing is issuing a final ultimatum to...

Online threats in North Macedonia, physical attack in Montenegro show dangers female journalists confront, say watchdogs

NATO allies are preparing for a potentially turbulent transatlantic relationship after the election as U.S. president of Donald Trump, who has questioned NATO’s relevance and berated allies for not spending more on defense. But as Henry Ridgwell reports, many member are calling to spend more.

Discussion aimed at ending postelection unrest

Amid doubts Trump will continue strong US support for Kyiv, Poland urges Europe to take greater responsibility for regional security

As China and the US vie for influence in South America, Brazil's strategic decisions could reshape the region’s economic and political future

The COP29 climate summit presidency released a draft finance deal on Friday that would have developed nations take the lead in providing $250 billion per year by 2035 to help poorer nations - a proposal that drew criticism from all sides. We talked with Professor Gregory Keoleian with the School for Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan.

President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to serve as the next U.S. secretary of state is Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican who has been in the Senate since 2011 and serves on the chamber’s foreign relations and intelligence committees. VOA’s chief national correspondent Steve Herman has more.

Finish police arrested Simon Ekpa and four others for suspected terrorism financing and inciting deadly violence in Nigeria

According to the United Nations, more than 1.4 million girls in Afghanistan have been affected by the education ban

The nomination of the former Florida attorney general and Trump loyalist comes after former Congressman Matt Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration for the AG job

International observers independently report a sharp increase in violent attacks on civilians, including by the junta’s forces, with the conflict spilling over to new territories.