Voice of America’s immigration news

Under "Decree 147," all tech giants operating in Vietnam are required to verify users' accounts via their phone numbers or Vietnamese identification numbers, and store that information alongside their full name and date of birth.

On Tuesday, the Labor Prosecutor’s Office released videos of the dorms where the construction workers were staying, which showed beds with no mattresses and rooms without any places for the workers to store their personal belongings.

Kharkiv Mayor Igor Terekhov said on Telegram there was a series of explosions in the city.

China will vigorously promote the reform of the commercial housing sales system, and expand the scope of urban village renovation beyond the addition of one million units, the report said.

Christians in Israel celebrate a more somber and subdued Christmas this year. Ukrainians mark Christmas as well with prayers for peace, and the Vatican was filled with excitement on Christmas Eve as the faithful gathered to witness Pope Francis inaugurate the Holy Year by unlocking the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica. Syrian refugees in Europe are worried about their future following the fall of Bashar al-Assad. The incoming Trump administration inherits efforts by the U.S. space agency,...

The case of the children, aged 11 to 15, who went missing on December 8, has shaken the people of Ecuador

NEW DELHI — Shyam Benegal, a renowned Indian filmmaker known for pioneering a cinema movement that tackled social issues in the 1970s, has died after chronic kidney disease. He was 90.  His contribution to cinema was recognized as a director, editor and screenwriter. He came into the limelight with films — Ankur (1974), Nishant (1975), Manthan (1976) and Bhumika (1977) — that challenged mainstream Bollywood by dealing with the social realities of a poor nation.  Benegal died Monday at...

A Chinese professor has sparked widespread outrage after asking a visiting Kazakh diplomat during a think tank event how to make Chinese women "obediently have children." The controversial remark, made in mid-November, surfaced online recently, triggering a wave of anger across China, particularly among women.  Click here for the full story in Mandarin. 

Financial markets, ratings agencies and European Commission are pushing France to bring down its deficit, to comply with European Union rules limiting debt and keep borrowing costs from spiraling

In early December, China tightened export controls on dual-use goods to the United States. A recent report warns that this ban could disrupt the production of over 20,000 components used by the U.S. military, particularly in naval systems and nuclear missile technology.  Click here for the full story in Mandarin. 

Launched in August 2018, the spaceship is on a mission to help forecast space-weather events that can affect life on Earth

The intense weekslong clashes come at a time when Syria, battered by over a decade of war and economic misery, negotiates its political future following half a century under the Assad dynasty's rule

For 92 years, the Hollywood Christmas Parade has featured celebrities and performers. This year, the parade includes the Divas and Drummers of Compton, a non-profit group working to give inner city kids an opportunity to learn performing arts. Genia Dulot reports from Los Angeles.

A video posted online by reporters trapped inside hospital showed what appeared to be two lifeless bodies of men on stretchers, their clothes bloodied

President of Hostage Aid Worldwide speaks at Damascus news conference but does not offer information on where Tice might be

Famine is reported to be spreading in Sudan amid relentless war between the military and a notorious paramilitary group that devastated the country and created the world’s largest displacement crisis. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, The or IPC -- a global hunger monitor Tuesday said it detected famine in five areas, including in Sudan’s largest displacement camp, in North Darfur province, where famine was found for the first time in August. A conversation with Michelle...

Return of former drug trafficker Fabio Ochoa to Colombia following his deportation from United States has reopened old wounds among victims of Medellín cartel, with some expressing dismay at Colombian authorities' decision to let Ochoa walk free.

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis kicked off the 2025 Holy Year on Tuesday, inaugurating a celebration of the Catholic Church that is expected to draw some 32 million pilgrims to Rome in a test of the pope's stamina and the ability of the Eternal City to welcome them.  From his wheelchair, Francis knocked a few times, and the great Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica swung open. He was wheeled across the threshold as bells tolled across Rome and the choir inside the basilica began Christmas Eve...

As he prepares to take office in less than a month, President-elect Donald Trump has threatened to reassert U.S. control over the Panama Canal, and he renewed calls to buy Greenland from Denmark. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara has this report.