Voice of America’s immigration news

WASHINGTON — The U.S. on Monday eased some restrictions on Syria's transitional government to allow the entry of humanitarian aid after Islamist insurgents ousted Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad last month. The U.S. Treasury Department issued a general license lasting six months that authorizes certain transactions with the Syrian government, including some energy sales and incidental transactions. The move does not lift sanctions on the nation that has been battered by more than a...

The Treasury reported late last month that an unspecified number of computers had been compromised by Chinese hackers

Following the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham's (HTS) takeover of the government in Syria, everyday life has become tense in Malula, an ancient Christian town in the Damascus countryside, for over a week.   The tensions have escalated but stopped short of turning into a clash between Muslims and the majority Christians in the town. Some residents claim that the tensions derive from sectarian differences within the community while others say that the tensions arose from a feud between a Muslim family...

The release of a video capturing a confrontation between a young woman and a cleric over compulsory hijab laws at Mehrabad Airport on Monday has triggered a wave of reactions on social media. The video shows the woman using the cleric’s turban as a scarf in protest. Click here for the full story in Persian.    

A human rights organization has released a list of 54 "security and political prisoners" sentenced to death in Iran. According to the list, at least 24 individuals have been sentenced to death in the Revolutionary and Criminal Courts of Tehran, while 20 others received death sentences in courts in the provinces of Khouzestan, Razavi Khorasan, West Azarbaijan, Sistan and Balouchestan, and Kordestan.  According to a new report by the Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRAI), published on...

China’s intensifying gray-zone tactics against Taiwan raise concerns about the People's Armed Police (PAP) potentially playing a key role in a Taiwan invasion. Scholars suggest the PAP could conduct decapitation operations, seize strategic sites and enforce martial law, framing actions as "police operations" to complicate international responses. This ambiguity aims to undermine the legitimacy of neighboring countries supporting Taiwan.  Click here for the full story in Mandarin. 

A major natural gas pipeline supplying Russian energy to Europe ran dry Wednesday after Ukraine stopped Moscow’s six-decade supply in the hopes of hurting Russia financially. The planned move marks the end of an era in which many European countries kept warm using gas pumped by Russia. Ukraine is losing up to $1 billion a year in transit fees it charged Russia to use its pipeline. That’s less than the $5 billion Gazprom, Russia’s state-owned energy giant, is set to lose annually in gas...

Repression against the LGBTQ+ community in 2024 intensified after the Russian Supreme Court's decision in January to recognize the “International LGBT Movement” as an extremist organization came into force. Last year was marked by the first criminal cases under articles on extremism, the first arrests for “extremist symbols” in the form of rainbow paraphernalia, and heavy fines for “LGBT propaganda.” VOA Russian spoke to human rights activists about these repressions and what will happen to...

President-elect Donald Trump appeared to side with technology bosses Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy in a row over H1B visa program that brings skilled workers to the U.S., even though he's previously been critical of the program. How is it going to affect Chinese talents who intend to stay in the U.S.?   Click here for the full story in Mandarin.   

The illegal drug Captagon was a major moneymaker for the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad

The annually updated list, formally mandated under US law, in all has designated 134 Chinese companies as working with the country’s armed forces

A look at the best news photos from around the world.

Musk has recently posted a demand for a public inquiry into cases of child sexual abuse; an inquiry was held under the previous Conservative government, though many of the recommendations it made in 2022 have yet to be implemented

Myroslav Pylypchuk tells VOA how he lost his leg in an encounter with a Russian tank, and how he started his life over in Ohio

A major winter blast of snow, ice, wind and plunging temperatures in the U.S. stirred dangerous travel conditions from central and southern states all the way to the East Coast early Monday, prompting schools and government offices in several states to close, The Associated Press reported.

A statement was issued on Sunday but did not specify when the operation took place

Appointment marks a major step in Francis’ aim to give women more leadership roles in governing Catholic Church

United States is finalizing steps to lift barriers on civil nuclear cooperation with Indian firms, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan says in New Delhi, calling it a significant step in cementing bilateral partnership between two countries

“College Deserts” – areas where high schools are located more than 30 miles away from the nearest community college – leave large groups of people unable to pursue higher education because of transportation problems, Lexi Lonas Cochran writes in The Hill.  Most college deserts are in the Southern U.S., with a recent study in Texas showing that long commuting distances discourage many potential students from attending college. (December 2024)