VOA News/Jeff Seldin U.S. counterterrorism officials are sticking by their assessment that terror groups like Islamic State and al-Qaida are not actively trying to sneak operatives into the country from Mexico, despite claims by the White House and Homeland Security officials that «the threat is real.» «We do not see any evidence that ISIS or […]readmore
Patsy Widakuswara WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is pushing hard to portray the southern border with Mexico as an imminent «humanitarian and national security crisis» to win support for border wall funding in a fight with lawmakers that has brought the country to a 17-day partial government shutdown. Vice President Mike Pence, in a briefing to […]readmore
WASHINGTON, QAMISHLI — The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Monday confirmed the arrest of five Islamic State foreign fighters and the handover of five more to their governments in efforts to rid eastern Syria of the jihadists. In an interview with VOA, SDF spokesperson Mustafa Bali confirmed the five IS fighters, two Americans, two Pakistanis, and […]readmore
PORTLAND, Maine — U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will celebrate the citizenship of 29 children during a special citizenship ceremony Friday at the Children’s Museum and Theatre of Maine. USCIS Portland Maine Field Office Director Cindy Lembarra will administer a special Oath of Allegiance to the children and will present the children with their certificates of citizenship. […]readmore
VOA News/Ken Bredemeier & Chris Hannas U.S. President Donald Trump says he is addressing the nation Tuesday about the «humanitarian and national security crisis» on the country’s U.S.-Mexican border before traveling there Thursday for a firsthand look at efforts to thwart illegal immigration. Trump announced the prime-time nationally televised address Monday shortly after news […]readmore
VOA News U.S. military officials have confirmed that a U.S. airstrike last week killed one of the alleged masterminds of the USS Cole bombing which killed 17 sailors in 2000. «Our GREAT MILITARY has delivered justice for the heroes lost and wounded in the cowardly attack on the USS Cole. We have just killed the […]readmore
VOA News U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton is due to hold talks Monday in Turkey as the Trump administration seeks assurances that Turkish forces will not target Kurdish fighters allied with American forces. The visit to Turkey comes a day after Bolton said protection for the Kurdish fighters who have helped battle Islamic State […]readmore
VOA News WASHINGTON — White House officials and congressional aides will meet again Sunday to continue discussions about how to end the partial government shutdown that has affected hundreds of thousands of federal workers and caused delays and inconvenience for Americans. The shutdown has entered its third week. The crux of the discussions is border security. […]readmore
VOA News A U.S. trade delegation has arrived in Beijing. The group is in China to hold two days of talks, beginning Monday, focusing on how best to carry out an agreement reached by U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to postpone new tariff hikes. On December 1, the two leaders agreed […]readmore
VOA News Mexico has formally asked the United States for an «an exhaustive investigation» into a Jan. 1 incident in which U.S. agents fired non-lethal weapons into Mexico to stop migrants from breaching the border. In a statement released Thursday, the Mexican Foreign Ministry said it lamented any violent acts along its border and repeated […]readmore