Voice of America’s immigration news


Voice of America is an international news and broadcast organization serving Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia, Russia, the Middle East and Balkan countries
Updated: 57 min 13 sec ago
China to build world's largest hydropower dam in Tibet
It could affect millions downstream in India and Bangladesh
Israeli strike kills 5 journalists, Palestinian channel says
Israel said it struck Islamic Jihad militants
Dozens feared dead in Kazakhstan plane crash.
Dozens feared dead after a plane crash in rural Kazakhstan. Kyiv residents spent Christmas morning in bomb shelters amid Russian airstrikes. A new report says that media freedoms in Zambia are under attack. 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. Plus, a new kind of high-tech agriculture in South Africa.
French authorities rescue 107 migrants crossing Channel
At least 73 migrants have died trying to cross the Channel to Britain in 2024
Desalination plant quietly resumes operations in Gaza
Process of restarting plant in Deir el-Balah, in central Gaza, involved both Israeli and Palestinian stakeholders who could have a hand in the territory's future
Taiwan Defense Ministry warns new laws could have 'serious impact' on security
Taiwan's opposition parties, which hold a majority in parliament, last week passed legislation to shift spending from the central government to local municipalities
Turkey's soaring costs creating 'lost generation' of children
Persistently high inflation, exacerbated by economic policies and currency depreciation, has left families unable to afford basic needs
Asia to mourn tsunami dead with ceremonies on 20th anniversary
On Dec. 26, 2004, a massive earthquake off Indonesia generated a series of massive waves that killed 226,408 people
Finland-Estonia electricity cable outage is latest Baltic Sea incident
Head of operations of the Finnish electricity grid tells broadcaster that 'possibility of sabotage cannot be ruled out'
Kosovo appeals panel lets ethnic Serb party run in parliamentary election
Panel overturns decision by Central Election Commission, which declined to certify Srpska Lista because of its nationalist stance and close ties to neighboring Serbia
VOA Mandarin: American-born Mongolian girl fights for Southern Mongolia's freedom
New York — Temulun Togchug, 17, born to a Mongolian couple who fled to the United States, recently stood before the U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China in Washington to testify about the worsening human rights situation in Southern Mongolia. With conviction, Temulun shared with U.S. lawmakers the efforts by the Chinese Communist Party to erase Mongolian heritage and culture in her family homeland.
Click here for the full story in Mandarin.
VOA Mandarin: Chinese graduate school applications drop as youth unemployment rises
Graduate school applications in China have declined for the second consecutive year, with 500,000 fewer applicants for the 2025 entrance exams compared with the previous year. Simultaneously, competition for civil service positions has intensified, signaling a societal shift away from the traditional "degree obsession."
Click here for the full story in Mandarin.
Trial moved for man accused in Trump assassination attempt in Florida
Ryan Routh's trial will begin Sept. 8 instead of the previously scheduled Feb. 10 start date
Religious commonalities amid holiday season of global conflict
Lights, music and Christmas decorations light up the spirits in parts of the world struggling with conflict. While many of the world’s trouble revolves around religion, we talk with someone who says there’s more commonality among the world’s major religions than there is difference. We’re joined by Harvard Divinity School professor of comparative theology Francis X. Clooney.
More than 1,500 prisoners escape in Mozambique amid post-election unrest
Among those trying to escape, 33 were killed and 15 were wounded in clashes with prison staff
Desi Bouterse, dictator convicted of murder who ruled Suriname, dies at 79
Supporters applauded Bouterse for his charisma and populist social programs; his opponents knew him as a ruthless dictator who was convicted of extrajudicial killings
Clashes between Islamists now in power in Syria and Assad's supporters leave casualties
The details of how the fighting erupted and who instigated the confrontation were not immediately known