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Russia has been pushing disinformation campaigns targeting U.S. health campaigns in Africa. Egountchi Behanzin, a French Togolese activist, has been exposed in several investigations for discrediting U.S. and Western health campaigns in favor of Russia.

Syrian human rights group says likely more than 100,000 are dead 

Proposal follows similar national plan to battle antisemitism that Biden unveiled in May 2023

This week marks the 30th anniversary of war

Victim might have been targeted because of company’s size, influence

Top aides to U.S. President Joe Biden are in the Middle East this week, to push for a ceasefire in Gaza and to deal with the fallout in Syria following the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara has this report.

Potential for ‘serious and lasting damage’ that goes beyond education and to health care for women

South Korean lawmakers pushed December 7 to impeach Yoon for the failed martial law declaration

Far-right successes were driven by concerns over immigration, inflation and the war in Ukraine

In an interview with Time magazine, published to mark President-elect Donald Trump’s second time being chosen as "Person of the Year," he addressed a question about Iran’s alleged plot to assassinate him and the possibility of war with Iran during his second term. Trump responded, “Anything can happen.”  Click here for the full story here in Persian.

Iranian signer Parastoo Ahmadi made headlines after posting a video of herself performing in Iran. The video, shared Wednesday night, shows her singing without wearing the mandatory hijab - a bold act in Iran, where strict dress codes and restrictions on women’s public performances are enforced.  While internet users have praised Ahmadi’s courage, Iran's judiciary announced, without naming her, that a legal case has been filed against her. Click here for the full story here in Persian.

Support for far-right parties in Europe continued to grow in 2024. Analysts say the trend was driven by concerns over immigration, inflation and the war in Ukraine. Henry Ridgwell has more.

President-elect Donald Trump has been named Person of the Year by Time magazine, ringing the opening bell Thursday at the New York Stock Exchange. Time editors noting the choice was a measure of Trump's remarkable comeback from an ostracized former president who refused to accept his election loss four years ago to a president-elect who won the White House decisively in November. As Trump marked the ceremonial start of the day’s trading, the magazine cover featuring him was projected onto a...

The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday passed the annual defense authorization bill, sending the mammoth measure to the Senate for consideration.  Representative Mike Rogers, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said the legislation would help the U.S. better deter China.   Click here for the full story in Mandarin. 

China’s Communist Party wrapped up its two-day Central Economic Work Conference on Thursday, where the ruling party signaled bolder stimulus measures for 2025. However, analysts tell VOA Mandarin that they have little of substance beyond slogans. Economists say the  measures appear to be “very incremental and lack detail,” which may suggest that the ruling Communist Party is “out of ideas.” Click here for the full story here in Mandarin.

The Russian anti-war committee, a group founded by Putin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky and other Russian politicians who were forced into exile after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, is expanding its work to help hundreds of thousands of ordinary Russians who have also fled their country. The group is trying to help Russians in unfamiliar countries, from Lithuania and Britain to Georgia and Montenegro. Click here for the full story in Russian.     

On the 30th anniversary of the first Chechen war that became a turning point in Russia's modern history, VOA Russian interviewed Abubakar Yangulbayev, the 32-year-old outspoken exiled Chechen activist and personal enemy of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov. Yangulbayev says Russia's storming of Grozny in December 1994 was a war against democracy in Chechnya that then developed into Putin's war against democracy in Russia as a whole. Click here for the full story in Russian.     

Anger in the Syrian capital is palpable as families search for loved ones who are now missing or have died in their fallen government’s brutal prison system. At a rally in Damascus, VOA’s Heather Murdock reports that crowds are calling for the execution of ousted President Bashar al-Assad.

Analysts call for justice for decades of crimes against media and call on militant group to respect press freedoms