VOA News By Ken Bredemeier WASHINGTON – U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday dismissed as irrelevant questions about how imminent a threat Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani posed to American interests in the Middle East when Trump ordered a drone strike that killed him. Trump offered no evidence supporting his claim that Soleimani was about […]readmore
By Associated Press SACRAMENTO, CALIF. – Ride-share company Uber and on-demand meal delivery service Postmates sued Monday to block a broad new California law aimed at giving wage and benefit protections to people who work as independent contractors. The lawsuit filed in U.S. court in Los Angeles argues that the law set to take effect Wednesday […]readmore
By Reuters PRAGUE – A Slovak court handed a 15-year prison sentence to a man charged with facilitating the murder of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak in 2018 in a plea deal on Monday, a spokeswoman said. The killing of Kuciak and his fiancee, both 27, at their home outside Bratislava in February 2018 sparked mass protests […]readmore
By AFP WASHINGTON – A partial new U.S.-China trade agreement will be signed in the middle of next month, U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday, announcing that he will also then travel to China for continued talks. «I will be signing our very large and comprehensive Phase One Trade Deal with China on January 15,» Trump […]readmore
By VOA News People across the world are gathering for traditional celebrations to welcome the year 2020. Revelers in New Zealand and other Pacific islands were among the first to celebrate the new year with fireworks displays. Events elsewhere in the world are being overshadowed by other concerns, including in Australia where the fireworks show […]readmore
By VOA News Hundreds of Iraqi protesters stormed the perimeter of the U.S. embassy compound in Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone, setting fire to one of its gates with some reportedly entering the building. Most of those involved in the attack appear to belong to pro-Iranian Shi’ite parties, which are upset about a U.S. airstrike on […]readmore
Congress Approves Bipartisan NDAA to Enhance National Security, Support Troops, & Deliver Victories for Working Families NDAA authorizes funding for 2 Virginia-class submarines; expands paid family leave for millions of workers; includes major military housing reforms; accelerates national security innovation, eliminates ‘widow’s tax’ on Gold Star families, and strengthens cyber defenses and oversight WASHINGTON, DC […]readmore
by AP SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO – European space officials on Tuesday postponed the launch of a three-year mission to study planets in other solar systems shortly before it was due to blast off. The European Space Agency announced that the launch from Kourou, French Guiana, of the Characterising ExOPlanets Satellite (CHEOPS) mission would be […]readmore
By Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate voted Tuesday to slap sanctions on companies working on Russia’s Nord Stream pipeline, sending a bill to President Donald Trump that is sure to antagonize European nations counting on the project’s natural gas. The measure, inserted into a huge annual defense spending bill, passed 86 to eight after […]readmore
by VOA News The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear a case that would allow cities to make it a crime to sleep on the streets. The court let stand a ruling by a ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in San Francisco, which struck down a […]readmore