Voice of America’s immigration news

Israel has taken over a buffer zone on its border with Syria. The ethics report on former Florida Representative Matt Gaetz reveals that he paid tens of thousands of dollars to women for drugs and sex. The Kenyan interior ministry has established a special security team to deal with the growing violence against women and girls. A look at what President-elect Donald Trump should expect from North Korea in his second term, and a look back on the year between India and China. Plus, President...

Decision now lies with President Joe Biden, who opposes $15B deal, as does President-elect Donald Trump

Nayib Bukele had pushed for measure to boost economic growth, but environmental groups opposed it

Ecuador's President Daniel Noboa says his government will not cover up for anyone involved in disappearance

Volcano has been very active since 1983 and erupts relatively regularly

Pope Francis formally inaugurates the 2025 Holy Year, reviving ancient church tradition encouraging faithful to make pilgrimages to Rome, amid new security fears following a Christmas market attack in Germany

Russia recently expanded punishment against independent journalists and activists that the Kremlin designated as "foreign agents," with Moscow charging a prominent exiled reporter, Tatyana Felgengauer, on criminal counts in absentia. The State Duma passed the law severely limiting the ability of "foreign agents" to get income from inside Russia. VOA Russian spoke to several people named "foreign agents" who said they expected repressions to ramp up further. Click here for the full story...

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to repeal President Joe Biden's executive order on artificial intelligence security, setting the stage for deregulation for AI companies by nominating pro-business, pro-startups Silicon Valley leaders. The nomination of Jacob Helberg, an outspoken China critic, for a key State Department post indicates Trump’s intention to lead over China in AI, according to analysts. “We're likely to see quite a great focus on countering China when it comes...

Following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria, Captagon production sites have been exposed. The Syrian opposition claims that former President Assad and his brother Maher Assad ran the production sites. Captagon is a low-cost, amphetamine-like drug. Muhammed Fares, who once owned a factory in the Damascus countryside to produce potato chips, tells VOA Turkish how his factory was used in Captagon production by the Assad forces. Click here for the full story in Turkish.

Relatives of people who were arrested for various reasons, such as supporting armed groups in Syria and planning bomb attacks in Lebanon for this purpose, protested in downtown Beirut on Sunday. The Islamic Group, a Lebanese Sunni Muslim political party, organized the demonstration. The protesters claimed that their family members were arrested and unfairly accused because they were Sunni. They also protested the conditions in Lebanese prisons and alleged that the arrests were taken...

Mehraveh Khandan, the daughter of detained civil activist Reza Khandan, confirmed that he had begun a hunger strike Monday over the conditions of his detention in Iran. In an Instagram post, Mehraveh Khandan said, “My father was transferred from the quarantine section to the general prison ward. However, he is being held in the prayer room, which is part of the public area and lacks adequate conditions, even for sleeping.” Reza Khandan has previously spoken out against the mandatory...

Medical charity says up to 5,000 people were crossing the border every day

China's stock market has experienced a tumultuous year. As 2024 draws to a close, the Chinese government has rolled out a series of fiscal incentives, including implementing a moderately loose monetary policy. Analysts believe these measures indicate significant downward pressure on the Chinese economy. Analysts say that while the stock market may see a "slow bull" trend due to ongoing interest rate cuts, in the long term there are still no clear signs of substantial recovery for China's...

For Syria's diaspora in Europe and rights advocates, vanishing welcome mat is triggering alarm; many refugees say they fear returning

At least 134 men and 73 women, most of them elderly residents accused of witchcraft, were killed in less than a week of mass executions, abductions and raids by the Wharf Jeremie gang

Former president was admitted Monday to MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington

A 7-year-old boy required surgery after being hit in the chest with a drone that fell from the sky

International hunters pay up to $50,000 to obtain a license; next season begins in April

US President-elect Donald Trump cited fentanyl as part of his justification to impose sweeping tariffs on Canadian imports

Japanese automakers Nissan and Honda have announced plans to work toward a merger that would catapult them to a top position in an industry in the midst of tectonic shifts as it transitions away from its reliance on fossil fuels. Japanese automakers face a strong challenge from their Chinese rivals and Tesla as they make inroads into markets at home and abroad. We talk to University of Massachusetts Professor of Marketing M. Berk Talay.