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 Fri, 23 Oct 2026 00:30:13 -0400 Pangea CMS – VOA 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) The United States has reiterated that wartime operational control, or OPCON, of allied forces on the Korean Peninsula will transition to South Korea only after mutually agreed conditions are met, despite renewed calls from Seoul to accelerate the process.  https://www.voanews.com/a/us-says-wartime-command-transfer-to-south-korea-remains-conditions-based/8213749.html https://www.voanews.com/a/us-says-wartime-command-transfer-to-south-korea-remains-conditions-based/8213749.html Wed, 21 Oct 2026 17:45:59 -0400 VOA Koreanwebdesk@voanews.com (Jiha Ham) The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said that it documented at least four killings and 14 arbitrary arrests and detentions of former Afghan security personnel. Despite the Taliban’s announcement of a general amnesty, former Afghan officials who return to the country remain at risk. https://www.voanews.com/a/former-afghan-soldiers-fear-deportation-from-iran/8213778.html https://www.voanews.com/a/former-afghan-soldiers-fear-deportation-from-iran/8213778.html Wed, 21 Oct 2026 17:25:17 -0400 VOA Dariwebdesk@voanews.com (Sahar Azimi) With a lull in the U.S. Iran conflict and the September completion of the withdrawal of American forces from Iraq, Iran appears to be increasing pressure on Iranian Kurdish opposition groups. https://www.voanews.com/a/iran-steps-up-pressure-on-kurdish-opposition-in-iraq/8213699.html https://www.voanews.com/a/iran-steps-up-pressure-on-kurdish-opposition-in-iraq/8213699.html Wed, 21 Oct 2026 15:59:38 -0400 VOA KurdiVOA Kurdishwebdesk@voanews.com (Samira Ali Mandi) During the meeting with the Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Rubio pledged government and private sector cooperation, with the announcement of 54 agreements and proposed projects. https://www.voanews.com/a/us-relations-with-central-asia-a-priority-says-secretary-rubio/8213399.html https://www.voanews.com/a/us-relations-with-central-asia-a-priority-says-secretary-rubio/8213399.html Tue, 20 Oct 2026 17:39:28 -0400 VOA Pashtowebdesk@voanews.com (VOA Afghan) For the first time ever, the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) Annual Meeting and Exposition in Washington hosted the Ukrainian Defense Tech Pavilion. The pavilion brought together 17 Ukrainian companies to showcase their aerial and ground drones, and their communications systems. https://www.voanews.com/a/ukraine-showcases-its-defense-tech-at-the-ausa-expo-2026/8213351.html https://www.voanews.com/a/ukraine-showcases-its-defense-tech-at-the-ausa-expo-2026/8213351.html Tue, 20 Oct 2026 17:36:48 -0400 VOA Ukrainianwebdesk@voanews.com (Oksana Bedratenko) Since the international express carrier DHL announced the suspension of services to North Korea in August, the country's mission to the United Nations in New York has become a key route for serving U.S. court documents tied to lawsuits against Pyongyang. https://www.voanews.com/a/with-direct-delivery-to-pyongyang-limited-us-litigants-turn-to-north-korea-un-mission/8213408.html https://www.voanews.com/a/with-direct-delivery-to-pyongyang-limited-us-litigants-turn-to-north-korea-un-mission/8213408.html Tue, 20 Oct 2026 17:33:56 -0400 VOA Koreanwebdesk@voanews.com (Jiha Ham) The Israeli leader went on to describe the issue as “a matter of our very existence, because if this regime acquires nuclear bombs, we will no longer exist. If we do not overthrow this regime, it will destroy us,” he said. https://www.voanews.com/a/israeli-prime-minister-tells-mossad-idf-military-intelligence-to-overthrow-islamic-republic/8213353.html https://www.voanews.com/a/israeli-prime-minister-tells-mossad-idf-military-intelligence-to-overthrow-islamic-republic/8213353.html Tue, 20 Oct 2026 17:25:24 -0400 VOA Persianwebdesk@voanews.com (VOA Persian) With two weeks until the November 3 midterm elections, the U.S., and China’s relationship is on the ballot in some closely contested races nationwide — from soybean exports and factory jobs to the cost of powering data centers. https://www.voanews.com/a/from-soybeans-to-data-centers-china-debate-hits-us-midterm-campaigns-20261020/8213314.html https://www.voanews.com/a/from-soybeans-to-data-centers-china-debate-hits-us-midterm-campaigns-20261020/8213314.html Tue, 20 Oct 2026 17:12:33 -0400 VOA Mandarinwebdesk@voanews.com (Lin Feng) A chilly rooftop in downtown D.C. was turned into a culinary battleground last weekend as more than a dozen cooks made their best versions of Borscht, a traditional Ukrainian dish. https://www.voanews.com/a/borscht-battle-in-washington-raises-funds-for-ukrainian-medics/8213387.html https://www.voanews.com/a/borscht-battle-in-washington-raises-funds-for-ukrainian-medics/8213387.html Tue, 20 Oct 2026 17:09:26 -0400 VOA Russianwebdesk@voanews.com (Andrey Nazarbekian) Iran's intelligence forces are continuing their crackdown on people who took part in the late December 2025 to January 2026 anti-regime protests.     https://www.voanews.com/a/iranian-security-forces-continue-crackdown-on-protestors-38-detained-in-qazvin/8212942.html https://www.voanews.com/a/iranian-security-forces-continue-crackdown-on-protestors-38-detained-in-qazvin/8212942.html Mon, 19 Oct 2026 16:18:01 -0400 VOA Persianwebdesk@voanews.com (VOA Persian) The Philippines has summoned China’s ambassador to protest remarks suggesting Beijing could easily defeat Manila in a conflict, escalating a diplomatic dispute amid tensions over the South China Sea. https://www.voanews.com/a/china-philippines-war-of-words-raises-south-china-sea-tensions-20261019/8212818.html https://www.voanews.com/a/china-philippines-war-of-words-raises-south-china-sea-tensions-20261019/8212818.html Mon, 19 Oct 2026 16:15:21 -0400 VOA Mandarinwebdesk@voanews.com (VOA Mandarin) Rabab Fatima is taking charge of the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan when the country faces growing human rights concerns and a worsening humanitarian crisis. https://www.voanews.com/a/un-envoy-begins-mission-in-afghanistan-amid-humanitarian-human-rights-challenges/8212939.html https://www.voanews.com/a/un-envoy-begins-mission-in-afghanistan-amid-humanitarian-human-rights-challenges/8212939.html Mon, 19 Oct 2026 16:12:03 -0400 VOA Pashtowebdesk@voanews.com (VOA Afghan) The United Nations Children's Fund or UNICEF is warning that more than four million Afghan children could need treatment for acute malnutrition in 2027. That is the highest number recorded in the past five years, highlighting the scale of a deepening humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.   https://www.voanews.com/a/more-than-4-million-afghan-children-could-need-malnutrition-treatment-in-2027-unicef-warns/8212974.html https://www.voanews.com/a/more-than-4-million-afghan-children-could-need-malnutrition-treatment-in-2027-unicef-warns/8212974.html Mon, 19 Oct 2026 16:01:00 -0400 VOA Dariwebdesk@voanews.com (VOA Afghan) Ukrainian skeleton racer and Olympian Vladyslav Heraskevych recently visited Washington, D.C., for the Ukraine Action Summit to advocate against Russian aggression. https://www.voanews.com/a/ukrainian-skeleton-racer-olympian-vladyslav-heraskevych-talks-about-sports-politics/8212890.html https://www.voanews.com/a/ukrainian-skeleton-racer-olympian-vladyslav-heraskevych-talks-about-sports-politics/8212890.html Mon, 19 Oct 2026 16:00:20 -0400 VOA Ukrainianwebdesk@voanews.com (Mariia Prus) United Nations Special Rapporteur Elizabeth Salmón has issued a stark warning regarding the worsening human rights situation in North Korea, highlighting an alarming expansion in the scope and application of the death penalty as a tool for social, political, and ideological control. https://www.voanews.com/a/north-korea---special-rapporteur/8212112.html https://www.voanews.com/a/north-korea---special-rapporteur/8212112.html Fri, 16 Oct 2026 16:20:56 -0400 VOA Koreanwebdesk@voanews.com (Young Gyo Kim, Sangjin Cho)