https://www.voanews.com Voice of America is an international news and broadcast organization serving Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia, Russia, the Middle East and Balkan countries https://www.voanews.com/Content/responsive/VOA/en-US/img/logo.png https://www.voanews.com en 2026 - VOA 60 Thu, 29 Oct 2026 09:58:28 -0400 Pangea CMS – VOA France and Real Madrid soccer star Kylian Mbappé is facing a backlash in China after commercial sponsors cut ties with him over comments he made about China's founding leader Mao Zedong. https://www.voanews.com/a/mbappe-real-madrid-forced-to-apologize-over-dictator-comment-about-chinas-mao-zedong-20261028/8216232.html https://www.voanews.com/a/mbappe-real-madrid-forced-to-apologize-over-dictator-comment-about-chinas-mao-zedong-20261028/8216232.html Wed, 28 Oct 2026 17:37:03 -0400 VOA Mandarinwebdesk@voanews.com (Si Yang) The sister of former Russian detainee Stephen Hubbard says her brother's condition is better than the family expected. The 74-year-old American was released from Russia after more than four years in detention and returned to the United States last week. https://www.voanews.com/a/former-russian-detainees-sister-says-stephen-hubbard-escaped-hell/8216170.html https://www.voanews.com/a/former-russian-detainees-sister-says-stephen-hubbard-escaped-hell/8216170.html Wed, 28 Oct 2026 17:16:37 -0400 VOA Russianwebdesk@voanews.com (VOA Russian) The Tehran Revolutionary Court has sentenced Jafar Panahi, the renowned Iranian director and filmmaker, to five years and one month in prison. The court also ordered the total confiscation of all his property, a two-year ban on social media activity, and a two-year travel ban. https://www.voanews.com/a/renowned-iranian-filmmaker-sentenced-to-prison-asset-confiscation/8216128.html https://www.voanews.com/a/renowned-iranian-filmmaker-sentenced-to-prison-asset-confiscation/8216128.html Wed, 28 Oct 2026 13:50:06 -0400 VOA Persianwebdesk@voanews.com (VOA Persian) Russian defense-linked companies are beginning to embed production inside China, acquire Chinese intellectual property and use Chinese equipment to sustain manufacturing at home, according to Washington-based research organization Center for Advanced Defense Studies (C4ADS). https://www.voanews.com/a/china-russia-defense-ties-move-upstream-as-beijing-gains-russian-know-how-20261028/8216050.html https://www.voanews.com/a/china-russia-defense-ties-move-upstream-as-beijing-gains-russian-know-how-20261028/8216050.html Wed, 28 Oct 2026 11:38:48 -0400 VOA Mandarinwebdesk@voanews.com (Adrianna Zhang) A senior American official has reiterated President Donald Trump's recent threats to resume military action against Iran's Islamic regime if refuses to stop its threatening activities. https://www.voanews.com/a/us-official-to-voa-on-iranian-regime-unless-they-change-their-ways-rapidly-we-will-soon-finish-the-job/8215755.html https://www.voanews.com/a/us-official-to-voa-on-iranian-regime-unless-they-change-their-ways-rapidly-we-will-soon-finish-the-job/8215755.html Wed, 28 Oct 2026 08:47:17 -0400 VOA Persianwebdesk@voanews.com (VOA Persian) North Korea’s human rights situation has not improved over the past decade and has deteriorated significantly in some key areas, including the use of the death penalty, a senior U.N. human rights official told VOA.   https://www.voanews.com/a/un-official-says-north-koreas-human-rights-situation-has-not-improved-over-past-decade/8215797.html https://www.voanews.com/a/un-official-says-north-koreas-human-rights-situation-has-not-improved-over-past-decade/8215797.html Tue, 27 Oct 2026 17:19:43 -0400 VOA Koreanwebdesk@voanews.com (Sangjin Cho) The United Nations Development Program in Afghanistan said Tuesday in a post on X that the large-scale return of Afghans has added “pressure on jobs, essential services and infrastructure.” UNDP adds that between 2023 and 2025, about 4.9 million Afghans returned to the country. https://www.voanews.com/a/un-large-scale-return-of-afghan-refugees-strains-afghan-economy/8215803.html https://www.voanews.com/a/un-large-scale-return-of-afghan-refugees-strains-afghan-economy/8215803.html Tue, 27 Oct 2026 17:14:33 -0400 VOA Dariwebdesk@voanews.com (VOA Afghan) The exhibition The Declaration’s Journey, which explores the influence of the U.S. Declaration of Independence on historical events over the past 250 years, includes Ukraine’s Declaration of Independence, displayed alongside declarations from other nations. https://www.voanews.com/a/the-museum-of-the-american-revolution-in-philadelphia-now-speaks-ukrainian/8215691.html https://www.voanews.com/a/the-museum-of-the-american-revolution-in-philadelphia-now-speaks-ukrainian/8215691.html Tue, 27 Oct 2026 14:00:40 -0400 VOA Ukrainianwebdesk@voanews.com (Olga Valchyshen) The crossing was closed Wednesday, October 21, until further notice. Iraqi authorities cited technical and security concerns, but the decision has drawn growing opposition from influential Iran-aligned factions within Iraq's political establishment. https://www.voanews.com/a/iraqs-closure-of-iran-border-crossing-fuels-protests/8215389.html https://www.voanews.com/a/iraqs-closure-of-iran-border-crossing-fuels-protests/8215389.html Mon, 26 Oct 2026 18:33:27 -0400 VOA KurdiVOA Kurdishwebdesk@voanews.com (Samira Ali Mandi) The Department of War has designated Chinese-funded Confucius Institutes on American university campuses as a national security threat. China's Foreign Ministry responded Monday, saying it opposed what it called “smears and stigmatization” targeting the institutes. https://www.voanews.com/a/pentagon-designates-confucius-institute-in-us-as-national-security-threat-20261026/8215393.html https://www.voanews.com/a/pentagon-designates-confucius-institute-in-us-as-national-security-threat-20261026/8215393.html Mon, 26 Oct 2026 17:35:27 -0400 VOA Mandarinwebdesk@voanews.com (VOA Mandarin) The Afghan Taliban called Pakistan’s airstrikes in Afghanistan “an act of aggression and crime in violation of all accepted principles.” https://www.voanews.com/a/pakistan-defends-attacks-on-afghanistan-denies-civilian-casualties/8215391.html https://www.voanews.com/a/pakistan-defends-attacks-on-afghanistan-denies-civilian-casualties/8215391.html Mon, 26 Oct 2026 17:33:07 -0400 VOA Pashtowebdesk@voanews.com (VOA Afghan) University enrollment among men in Afghanistan in 2026 has fallen nearly one-third from levels before the Taliban’s takeover, while women’s enrollment has remained at zero for the third consecutive year. https://www.voanews.com/a/afghanistan-sees-drop-in-mens-university-enrollment-as-women-remain-barred/8215395.html https://www.voanews.com/a/afghanistan-sees-drop-in-mens-university-enrollment-as-women-remain-barred/8215395.html Mon, 26 Oct 2026 16:51:24 -0400 VOA Dariwebdesk@voanews.com (VOA Afghan) Two North Korean oil tankers sanctioned by the United Nations Security Council have been repeatedly spotted off China’s coast, according to the public record by vessel-tracking Marine Traffic website, raising concerns that they may be circumventing sanctions while continuing to operate at sea.  https://www.voanews.com/a/two-un-sanctioned-north-korean-tankers-spotted-repeatedly-off-china/8215347.html https://www.voanews.com/a/two-un-sanctioned-north-korean-tankers-spotted-repeatedly-off-china/8215347.html Mon, 26 Oct 2026 14:25:17 -0400 VOA Koreanwebdesk@voanews.com (Jiha Ham) In its annual Freedom on the Net 2026 report, U.S.-based nonprofit Freedom House gave Iran just 9 points out of 100, placing it alongside China and Myanmar among the world’s worst countries for internet freedom. https://www.voanews.com/a/mobile-internet-tariffs-in-iran-rise-by-40/8214639.html https://www.voanews.com/a/mobile-internet-tariffs-in-iran-rise-by-40/8214639.html Fri, 23 Oct 2026 16:33:21 -0400 VOA Persianwebdesk@voanews.com (VOA Persian) Mohammad Younus Mohmand, Vice President of the Afghan Chapter of the Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that the bilateral trade has fallen by about 95 percent. https://www.voanews.com/a/afghanistan-pakistan-trade-declines-sharply-as-border-crossings-remain-closed/8214502.html https://www.voanews.com/a/afghanistan-pakistan-trade-declines-sharply-as-border-crossings-remain-closed/8214502.html Fri, 23 Oct 2026 12:35:05 -0400 VOA Dariwebdesk@voanews.com (Fawzia Ahsan) North Korea has continued to expand and renovate detention facilities across the country, while estimates of the number of prisoners held in its political prison camps vary widely, reflecting the limited information available about the secretive system. https://www.voanews.com/a/north-koreas-secretive-prison-camps-building-the-case-for-accountability/8214236.html https://www.voanews.com/a/north-koreas-secretive-prison-camps-building-the-case-for-accountability/8214236.html Thu, 22 Oct 2026 18:04:23 -0400 VOA Koreanwebdesk@voanews.com (Soyoung Ahn) Emtedad said Branch 2 initially sentenced Fallah to death on the charge of “destruction with the intent of confronting the Islamic government” for causing about $180 in damage to the door of the Rasht judiciary building. https://www.voanews.com/a/iran-based-news-site-says-supreme-court-upholds-death-sentence-for-political-prisoner-months-after-granting-him-reprieve/8214185.html https://www.voanews.com/a/iran-based-news-site-says-supreme-court-upholds-death-sentence-for-political-prisoner-months-after-granting-him-reprieve/8214185.html Thu, 22 Oct 2026 16:44:58 -0400 VOA Persianwebdesk@voanews.com (VOA Persian) The U.S. has rejected China's claim that a U.S. warship trespassed its territorial waters and urged Beijing to halt its "aggressive" maneuvers in the South China Sea. https://www.voanews.com/a/us-rejects-chinas-claim-of-unauthorized-trespassing-after-warship-sails-through-disputed-reef-20261022/8214168.html https://www.voanews.com/a/us-rejects-chinas-claim-of-unauthorized-trespassing-after-warship-sails-through-disputed-reef-20261022/8214168.html Thu, 22 Oct 2026 14:55:47 -0400 VOA Mandarinwebdesk@voanews.com (VOA Mandarin) The WHO said so far this year, 48 positive cases of the wild poliovirus have been registered globally, 42 of which are in Afghanistan and six in Pakistan. https://www.voanews.com/a/8214068.html https://www.voanews.com/a/8214068.html Thu, 22 Oct 2026 13:28:19 -0400 VOA Pashtowebdesk@voanews.com (VOA Afghan) The U.S. State Department has added a wrongful detention warning to its travel advisory for mainland China, cautioning that Americans face a serious risk of being detained without a fair legal process. https://www.voanews.com/a/us-adds-wrongful-detention-warning-to-china-travel-advisory/8213783.html https://www.voanews.com/a/us-adds-wrongful-detention-warning-to-china-travel-advisory/8213783.html Wed, 21 Oct 2026 17:49:30 -0400 VOA Mandarinwebdesk@voanews.com (Sharon Wu)