World

  FILE - Shipping containers and gantry cranes are seen at a port in Lianyungang, in eastern China's Jiangsu province on Aug. 7, 2024. Influential members of Congress, including the senator poised to become secretary of state in the incoming Trump administration, are pressing hard to revoke China’s Permanent Normal Trade Relations with the U.S. Commonly known as “Most Favored Nation” status, PNTR means that Chinese goods being imported into the United States are granted the most advantageous terms that the country offers when it applies tariffs and other restrictions. China was granted PNTR in 2000, as it prepared for entry into the World Trade Organization. Since then, some of the advantages the status confers have been stripped awa...

  FILE - Chinese and U.S. flags are seen in this illustration created on Jan. 30, 2023. Chinese hackers are positioning themselves in U.S. critical infrastructure IT networks for a potential clash with the United States, a top American cybersecurity official said Friday. Morgan Adamski, executive director of U.S. Cyber Command, said Chinese-linked cyber operations are aimed at gaining an advantage in case of a major conflict with the United States. Officials have warned that China-linked hackers have compromised IT networks and taken steps to carry out disruptive attacks in the event of a conflict. Their activities include gaining access to key networks to enable potential disruptions such as manipulating heating, ventilation and air-cond...

  Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a meeting with Defense Ministry leaders, representatives of the military-industrial complex and developers of missile systems at the Kremlin in Moscow, Nov. 22, 2024. (Pool Photo via AP) Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh confirmed that Russia had indeed launched an experimental intermediate-range ballistic missile into Ukraine on November 21. She told reporters that Washington "was notified through nuclear threat reduction channels shortly before the launch." See the full story here.   By：VOA

  Irish mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor arrives at court for a civil trial on allegations against him of sexual assault, in Dublin, Nov. 19, 2024. dublin — Irish mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor sexually assaulted a woman at a party in Dublin in 2018 and must pay her nearly 250,000 euros ($259,950) in damages, a jury decided on Friday. The jury of eight women and four men reached its verdict in the civil trial at Ireland\'s high court after six hours and 10 minutes of deliberation. The plaintiff, Nikita Hand, alleged that McGregor sexually assaulted her on Dec. 9, 2018, and that another man, James Lawrence, did the same, the court heard during two weeks of evidence. The jury found that Lawrence did not assault Hand. McG...

  A map of part of the Balkans, including North Macedonia and Montenegro. washington — Menacing incidents aimed at two female journalists in Europe within one week underscore the threatening environment for media, say analysts. In the first incident, in North Macedonia, journalist Miroslava Simonovska received threats online from a fake Facebook profile bearing her name and image. The threats included messages that read “We are following you” and “We are taking pictures of you,” according to the Coalition for Women in Journalism, or CFWIJ. The second incident was more violent. Montenegrin journalist Ana Raickovic was physically attacked by a local businessman. Raickovic, editor of the crime section for the daily newspaper Pobjeda, was th...

  FILE - Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski speaks to reporters during his visit in Kyiv, Dec. 22, 2023. Europe must be ready to fill the potential gaps in funding and weapons for Ukraine that may arise when U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes office, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said Friday. In an exclusive sit-down interview with VOA Eastern European Bureau chief Myroslava Gongadze, Sikorski noted that Trump and fellow Republicans appear reluctant to continue robust U.S. support for Ukraine, and he said it would be crucial to leverage frozen Russian assets to sustain Ukraine\'s defense. Sikorski also called on EU nations to increase defense spending to meet the challenges posed by Russia’s aggression. Sikorski sa...

  In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un delivers a speech during an opening ceremony of a defense exhibition in Pyongyang, North Korea, Nov. 21, 2024. SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA — Russia gave North Korea anti-air missiles in exchange for deploying troops to support Moscow\'s war in Ukraine, Seoul\'s top security adviser said Friday. The United States and South Korea have accused the nuclear-armed North of sending more than 10,000 soldiers to help Russia fight Ukraine, with experts saying Kim Jong Un was eager to gain advanced technology, and battle experience for his troops, in return. Asked what Seoul believes Pyongyang has received for the troops, top security advisor Shin Won-sik said: "It...

  FILE - Two students from China take photos at the University of Sydney, in Sydney, Australia, Aug. 11, 2020. Many Chinese nationals are taking advantage of Australian student visas as a means to secure long-term employment. On major Chinese social media platforms, advertisements promoting "half-work, half-study" programs have proliferated, luring so-called "fake students" to Australia in search of work opportunities. See the full story here.   By：VOA

  FILE - The logo of Russia's Gazprombank, a subsidiary of state energy giant Gazprom, is seen at its office in Moscow, April 27, 2022. The United States has sanctioned Russia’s Gazprombank, the lender built around the country’s gas exporting giant, as well as dozens of other financial institutions. The new measures are expected to further curtail Moscow’s use of the international financial system. See the full story here.   By：VOA

  FILE - Estonia's Kaja Kallas, nominee for European Union High Representative and Vice President for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, speaks during her hearing at the European Parliament in Brussels on Nov. 12, 2024. VIENNA, AUSTRIA — Kaja Kallas, the European Union\'s next foreign policy chief, is already sending signals that she will take a tough stance on Russia and China and be an advocate for a strong alliance between Europe and America. Kallas spoke to the European Parliament for the first time in her new role at a hearing on November 12, where she stressed that the EU will be steadfast in its commitment to support Ukraine against Russian aggression. She begins her five-year term as the High Representative of the Union fo...