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Singer and actress Sofia Carson closes 2024 with her first action film role and a duet of the holiday classic “White Christmas” with Andrea Bocelli. Carson reflected on her bicultural roots and humanitarian work to VOA’s Veronica Villafane.

The carrier had reported an issue affecting its entire system with millions traveling for the holiday

US forces strike Islamic State militants in eastern Syria 

Syria’s regime change is sparking celebrations — and anxiety

The cancellation of Christmas festivities is a severe blow to the town's economy as tourism accounts for an estimated 70% of Bethlehem’s income — almost all of it from the Christmas season

Famine conditions were confirmed in Abu Shouk and al-Salam, two camps for internally displaced people in al-Fashir, the besieged capital of North Darfur, as well as two other areas in South Kordofan state

Violent protests called by opposition candidate to intensify 

Iraq's Shiite Battalion of Sayyid al-Shuhada, a militia with close ties to Iran, is known for its aggression toward Israel. But the group on Monday announced a suspension of further attacks to avoid provoking an Israeli retaliation. Salam al-Zubaydi, the spokesperson of Iraq's Shiite al-Nasir Coalition, told VOA, "Any armed groups conducting attacks from the Iraqi territory will be considered rebelling against the state and will put Iraq at risk of being targeted by the United States and...

Iraq and Turkey have previously signed major agreements on key issues such as security, economy, and border and water management. However, experts say those relations will be challenged going forward because of Turkey's active role in toppling the Syrian regime, which was closely allied with the Iraqi Shiite factions that make up most of the Iraqi government.   Click here for the full story in Kurdish.

The Kurdistan Regional Government has filed a lawsuit against a number of prominent people on social networks such as Snapchat and TikTok, accusing them of using social media far from the high values of Kurdistan society. According to a document obtained by VOA, a member of the prosecutor's office in Irbil filed a complaint with the prosecutor's office demanding legal action against those who “are far from all morality, social values and etiquette. The media and culture spread a culture of...

By teaching its citizens how to critically engage with media content to debunk hoaxes, mis- and disinformation, as well as to produce content of their own, Finland wants to promote media literacy as a civic skill

Japan is neighbors with an increasingly assertive China and a nuclear-armed North Korea that has been deepening military ties with Russia

The vessel, built in 2009 and called ‘’Ursa Major,’’ was controlled by Oboronlogistika, a company that is part of the Russian Defense Ministry's military construction operations, which had previously said it was en route to the Russian far eastern port of Vladivostok.

The intercepts took place in the Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi, Kyiv, Poltava, Sumy and Zaporizhzhia regions, Ukraine’s air force said.

Haitian and Colombian officials agreed at a bilateral Council of Ministers meeting in Colombia on December 21 that the two nations would collaborate on issues of security, food and education, among others. Click here for the full story in Creole.

Panama has for decades maintained full sovereignty over the interoceanic canal that runs through the country. Now, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has said that his government could try to regain control over the canal. What do the mutual agreements say about this possibility? Click here for the full story in Spanish. 

Following the collapse of Bashar al-Assad's regime, Turkey is threatening a military action against the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces. The SDF warns that assaults by Turkish proxies hinder their efforts to combat IS and their ability to control thousands of IS foreign and local members held at Syria prisons. Click here for the full story in Kurdish.