By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST MinistriesSRI LANKA (ANS) – As fighting between the Sri Lankan army and Tamil rebels continues, Sri Lankan Christians have faced a recent trend of mob violence against Churches and individuals.
As fighting between the Sri Lankan army and Tamil rebels continues, Sri Lankan Christians have faced a recent trend of mob […]

Iraq: U.S. Media Starts Using ‘Civil War’ Label
WASHINGTON (RFE/RL) — Several major U.S. news organizations have decided to oppose the White House by declaring that Iraq is now in a “civil war.”
The use of the phrase comes as Washington waits anxiously for the report of a congressionally established bipartisan committee on what U.S. President George […]

STATE DEPARTMENT - The U.S. State Department has confirmed that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank Thursday to try to build momentum in Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts. U.S. officials are encouraged by this week’s Gaza cease-fire and conciliatory speech by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. VOA’s David […]

RIGA, LATVIA - Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and U.S. President George Bush meet in Jordan, Wednesday. Mr. Bush says terrorists are trying to bring down the government in Baghdad and he wants to know what the United States can do to help stop them.
President Bush flies to Jordan following a summit of the NATO […]

Second Ohio Man Pleads Guilty To Civil Rights Charges For Using Toxic Mercury To Intimidate Interracial Family 
WASHINGTON — Joseph Kuzlik, of Ohio, pleaded guilty today to federal civil rights charges for his role in violating the civil rights of an interracial family in Cleveland. He also pleaded guilty to making false statements to federal investigators. […]

Iraq: Do Amman Talks Signal A New Regional Approach?
WASHINGTON (RFE/RL) — Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is due to meet for two days on November 29 and 30 with U.S. President George W. Bush in Amman, Jordan.
The Amman talks come as Washington awaits the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group — a bipartisan U.S. commission […]

PRAGUE (RFE/RL) — Iraqi President Jalal Talabani is in the Iranian capital for a two-day visit that is expected to focus on security as violence continues to plague his own country.
Talabani was forced to delay the trip for two days as Baghdad, under curfew, mourned attacks that killed more than 200 people.
 
But the Iraqi president […]

TALLINN - U.S. President George Bush has arrived in Estonia, the start of a trip to Europe and the Middle East that will focus on conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns has the story from the Estonian capital Tallinn.
This is the first visit to Estonia by a U.S. president, and […]

Pakistani Christian acquitted of blasphemy charges discloses attempts to convert him to Islam 
 
By Sheraz Khurram Khan
Special Correspondent for ASSIST News Service in PakistanLAHORE, PAKISTAN (ANS) – A Pakistani Christian, Ranjha Masih, who was acquitted of blasphemy charges by High Court on November 10, has told the Centre for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS), after […]

WASHINGTON - The Rwandan government late last week severed all ties with France after a French judge issued an international arrest warrant for some officers in the Rwandan army. The warrant accused the officers of complicity in the assassination of former president Juvenal Habyarimana.  The government’s decision to sever ties with France was made at […]

WASHINGTON - Leaders in the Middle East say they are concerned about the potential for destabilization and chaos, amid competing influences in the region.  
Iraqi National Security Adviser Mowaffak Al-Rubaie was asked on the CNN program Late Edition Sunday about media reports that the Iraqi insurgency is able to sustain itself financially.
He acknowledged that was true, […]

WASHINGTON - U.S. President George Bush is preparing for talks this week in Jordan with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. VOA’s Paula Wolfson reports from the White House that both men will face pressure to curb violence in the region from their host, Jordan’s King Abdullah.
King Abdullah warns the situation in the Middle East is […]

RIYADH - U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney met with Saudi leader King Abdullah in Riyadh, the capital city of Saudi Arabia today. The Vice President is seeking the Sunni royal family’s influence and tribal connections to calm Iraq after an especially violent week.
A Saudi official said Cheney and Abdullah would discuss “the deteriorating situation in […]

WHITE HOUSE - When leaders of America’s Democratic party take charge of Congress in January they say they will press Iraq’s government to take more responsibility for its own security. VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns reports, President Bush says he is already moving in that direction ahead of planned talks in the coming week […]

Fighting a Different Kind of Terrorism
By Donna Rice Hughes, President, Enough Is Enough
HOLLYWOOD, CA (ANS) – The Congress and the nation can learn a fundamental lesson from Rep. Mark Foley’s resignation tragedy. Simply put, it is a wakeup call for our nation to open its eyes to a very real problem. Most Americans in all […]

JERUSALEM - Palestinian factions have proposed a truce with Israel aimed at ending months of fighting in the Gaza Strip. But Israel has rejected the offer, as we hear from Robert Berger at the VOA bureau in Jerusalem.
The ruling Hamas group and other Palestinian militant factions including Islamic Jihad have agreed to halt rocket attacks […]

WASHINGTON - Gold has a glittering appeal that fascinates people generation after generation.  While the famous gold rush in the middle of the 1800s, in the western U.S. state of California, was over long ago, modern-day prospectors on a quest for gold are drawn to the waters in the eastern state of Virginia.   But this […]

WHITE HOUSE - U.S. President George Bush visits Europe in the coming week for a summit with leaders of the NATO alliance. VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns will travel with the president and reports on what is expected from the meeting in Latvia. 
Afghanistan tops the agenda at the NATO summit as the Cold War […]

BEIRUT - Over half a million Lebanese mourners gathered in Beirut’s city center to honor slain Christian leader Pierre Gemayel, as government leaders and Arab dignitaries paid their last respects during funeral ceremonies at Beirut’s historic St. George cathedral. Edward Yeranian reports for VOA from Beirut.  
Hundreds of thousands of mourners carrying banners and waving Lebanese […]

Lebanon: Huge Crowds Gather For Politician’s Funeral
BEIRUT — The center of Beirut was a sea of cedar-tree flags today as Lebanon put on a show of patriotism for the funeral of Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel, the sixth opponent of neighboring Syria to be assassinated in the last two years.
The funeral took place in Beirut’s Maronite […]

Lebanon: Latest Crisis Renews Spotlight On Syria’s Role
PRAGUE(RFE/RL) — Today is Independence Day in Lebanon, normally a time for celebration.
But all festivities have been cancelled as Lebanon grapples with the fifth killing of an anti-Syrian politician in nearly two years.
Syria denies any role in these murders, and Damascus has strongly condemned Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel’s […]

UNITED NATIONS - The U.N. Security Council has approved a Lebanese government request for help investigating the assassination of cabinet minister Pierre Gemayel. VOA correspondent Peter Heinlein has details from our U.N. bureau.  
The 15-member Security Council responded swiftly to Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora’s request for assistance in the Gemayel murder probe.
Mr. Siniora wrote to […]

WASHINGTON - When a key cabinet official in Lebanon was gunned down in a Beirut street Tuesday, many were quick to blame the killing on Syria.  Syria has sharply denied involvement.  As VOA correspondent Gary Thomas reports, Syria may be the prime suspect, but there are other, less obvious suspects as well.
Syria may have had […]

WASHINGTON - Schoolchildren are taught that the first Thanksgiving took place in what is now Massachusetts in 1621. That historic event is described as a feast held by the English settlers at Plimouth Plantation to thank the Native people for helping them survive their first winter in their new home. But there are many people […]

WHITE HOUSE - U.S. President George Bush is preparing for America’s Thanksgiving holiday with the traditional pardon of two turkeys. VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns has the story.
Flyer and Fryer Turkey are not avian counterfeiters. Or international grain kingpins. The two white birds have committed no known crime against man or beast. Their only […]