App provides immediate fire information to Los Angeles residents
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA — From his home in northern California, Nick Russell, a former farm manager, is monitoring the Los Angeles-area fires. He knows that about 600 kilometers south, people in Los Angeles are relying on his team’s live neighborhood-by-neighborhood updates…
Russian deepfake videos target Ukrainian refugees, including teen
New online videos recently investigated by VOA’s Russian and Ukrainian services show how artificial intelligence is likely being used to try to create provocative deepfakes that target Ukrainian refugees. In one example, a video appears to be a TV news…
Lunar New Year travel offers boost to China’s economic woes
China’s annual mass migration ahead of the Lunar New Year will peak with billions of trips anticipated during this year’s holiday, which begins Tuesday. An estimated 9 billion trips are expected. This year’s holiday lasts from Jan. 28 through Feb….
Human rights expert welcomes clemency for Indigenous activist Leonard Peltier
The Executive Grant of Clemency, signed on Sunday just hours before Mr. Biden left office, commutes Mr. Peltier’s life sentences to home confinement, allowing him to receive proper medical care and reconnect with his community, the Special Rapporteur said in…
DR Congo emergency: Fears that regional capital Goma faces attack
“We are deeply alarmed at the heightened risk of an attack by the M23 armed group on Goma, the capital of North Kivu, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo…Any such attack on Goma risks catastrophic impacts on hundreds of…
Russia, Ukraine report large-scale overnight drone attacks
Officials in Ukraine say Russia launched a barrage of drones in an overnight attack Friday killing at least two civilians, wounding several others and damaging commercial and residential buildings. The interior ministry said two victims were killed by drone debris…
Trump to global businesses: Make products in US or pay tariffs
President Donald Trump laid out his approach to foreign investment to the world’s largest gathering of global business leaders, offering investors a take-it-or-leave-it deal to build in the U.S. or face stiff tariffs. VOA White House Correspondent Anita Powell reports….
Trump signs executive orders on AI, cryptocurrency and issues more pardons
WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order related to AI to “make America the world capital in artificial intelligence,” his aide told reporters in the White House’s Oval Office. The order sets a 180-day deadline…
Trump pressures Russia to end Ukraine war as Kremlin shrugs off sanction threats
Just days into his presidency, Donald Trump is intensifying pressure on Russia to begin peace talks with Ukraine. On Thursday, Russia dismissed Trump’s threats of new sanctions and tariffs on the Kremlin if it refused to end the war. VOA’s…
US lawmakers seek to end China’s special trade status, import exemption
WASHINGTON — U.S. lawmakers introduced a bipartisan bill on Thursday that would revoke China’s preferential trade status with the United States, phase in steep tariffs and end the “de minimis” exemption for low-value Chinese imports. The bill, introduced by John…