The Trump statement is bound to increase pressure on Maduro to step down.
Vice President Pence calls him a dictator whose election was unfair.
President Trump's former personal attorney Michael Cohen has postponed his February 7 public testimony before Congress because his lawyer said of ongoing threats against Cohen's family from President Trump.
Lanny Davis said "this is a time where Mr. Cohen had to put his family and their safety first." He said the delay was also due to his client's continued cooperation with special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the election.
You can find more on these and other late breaking and developing stories, from around the world, around the clock, at voanews.com and on the VOA news mobile app. I'm Christopher Cruise, VOA news.
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Vice President Pence calls him a dictator whose election was unfair.
President Trump's former personal attorney Michael Cohen has postponed his February 7 public testimony before Congress because his lawyer said of ongoing threats against Cohen's family from President Trump.
Lanny Davis said "this is a time where Mr. Cohen had to put his family and their safety first." He said the delay was also due to his client's continued cooperation with special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the election.
You can find more on these and other late breaking and developing stories, from around the world, around the clock, at voanews.com and on the VOA news mobile app. I'm Christopher Cruise, VOA news.
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@voanewscaststextVOA news. I'm Christopher Cruise reporting.
The United States Senate will vote on Thursday on two competing bills to end a partial government shutdown although observers say the bills stand little chance of passing.
Associated Press Washington correspondent Sagar Meghani reports.
The votes will come a day before about 800,000 federal workers are due to miss a second paycheck.
The bills are based on President Trump's proposal to trade border wall money for temporary immigrant protections and on a Democratic-controlled House bill that would reopen the government for a while but does not have wall funding.
Both are designed to pressure lawmakers into crossing party lines to end the shutdown.
The first has to how united Republicans are behind the president's insistence that the government stay closed until he gets wall money and whether Democrats are wavering in rejecting his demand.
Mr. Trump says he will make an alternative speech after Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi told them there will be no State of the Union address in Congress next week, an action he is calling a disgrace.
He told reporters "she doesn't want to hear the truth. She doesn't want the American public to hear what's going on."
The president said the decision not to allow the address before [Chambers of Commerce] Congress, that is, until the government shutdown ends "is a great blotch on the incredible country that we all love."
He said her action would be remembered as "a very, very negative part of history," and then said that the Democrats have "become a very, very dangerous party for this country."
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is in Moscow for talks with Russia's leader Vladimir Putin.
The visit is taking place at the same time as Turkish forces are preparing a major military operation against the Syrian YPG Kurdish militia, an ally of American forces in Syria.
This is VOA news.
@voanewscaststextThailand's Election Commission has set March 24 as the date for the country's first general elections since the 2014 military coup that toppled the government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.
Lawmakers in Hong Kong on Wednesday considered a bill that would make disrespecting China's national anthem a crime.
The bill recommends a three-year prison sentence and a fine of more than $6,300 for anyone found publicly and intentionally disrespecting the anthem.
The U.N. refugee agency says thousands of Nigerian refugees are fleeing to Chad to escape a surge of violence in northeastern Nigeria's Borno state.
Correspondent Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from UNHCR headquarters in Geneva.
Fierce clashes between government forces and armed militants from the radical Islamic group Boko Haram erupted in late December in Borno state's Baga town near the Chadian border. The U.N. refugee agency reports an estimated 6,000 Nigerian refugees have fled for their lives over the past month, many paddling across Lake Chad to reach safety.
The UNHCR says most of the new arrivals are women and children. Many describe their desperation to escape the violence after receiving threats of retaliation and intimidation following militant attacks.
Boko Haram seeks to destroy Nigeria's secular state and establish an Islamic state under Shariah law.
President Trump says he is recognizing the opposition leader in Venezuela as the country's president.
Associated Press correspondent Warren Levinson reports.
The president says the U.S. government is recognizing opposition leader Juan Guaidó as the interim president of Venezuela. The once prosperous South American oil-producing country has been battered by years of hyperinflation, economic decline and political turmoil.
Guaidó, the president of Venezuela's National Assembly, declared himself interim president.
Venezuelans have been marching in the streets, demanding the resignation of President Nicholás Maduro, who has returned to office this months after a disputed election.
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@voanewscaststextThis is VOA news. I'm David Byrd in Washington.
The U.S. Senate has defeated two bills that could have ended a partial government shutdown which is headed into its 35th day.
As AP's Warren Levinson reports, the vote came as 800,000 federal workers faced a second straight payless payday.
First, the Senate voted on a Republican bill that would have committed $5.7 billion to the building of a southern border wall and made some concessions to immigrant groups. It needed 60 votes to pass. It got 50.
Then, the Senate took up a Democratic proposal to reopen the government for two weeks while bargainers work on breaking the stalemate that has kept doors closed since before Christmas. The approach was the same Republicans voted for last month before being undercut by the president. It got 52 votes.
Meanwhile, the shutdown continues as more than 800,000 workers face a second payless payday.
I'm Warren Levinson.
A U.S. Senate committee has subpoenaed President Donald Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen to testify, one day after Cohen said he was postponing an appearance that was scheduled for Feb. 7.
Cohen said Wednesday he was putting off his highly anticipated public testimony in part because of threats by President Donald Trump and his lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, against his family.
Lanny Davis is Cohen's attorney. He told ABC's "Good Morning America" that Congress should censure both Trump and Giuliani.
"A resolution of censure when the president of the United States indisputably intimidates and obstructs justice to prevent a witness from testifying is in order. So is a federal criminal investigation of Rudy Giuliani for witness tampering, calling out a man's father-in-law and wife in order to intimidate the witness."
Both Trump and Giuliani have urged the Justice Department to investigate Cohen's father-in-law for crimes they did not specify but allege involvement in organized crime.
For more, visit our website voanews.com. This is VOA news.
@voanewscaststextThe United States is rallying nations in the Western Hemisphere to isolate Venezuela's disputed President Nicholás Maduro as an increasing number of countries declared their support for National Assembly President Juan Guaidó as the country's new leader.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in remarks to the Organization of American States on Thursday, urged all members to recognize Guaidó as Venezuela's new leader and pledge support for the country's democratic transition.
"All OAS member states must align themselves with democracy and respect for the rule of law. All member states who have committed to uphold the Inter-American Democratic Charter must now recognize the interim president."
In a speech to the Venezuelan Supreme Court, a defiant President Maduro said that U.S. President Donald Trump is trying to bring in his own de facto government in Venezuela.
He said "let there be no doubt that Donald Trump in all his madness believes himself to be the world's policeman, believes that he is the boss of Latin America and the Caribbean."
Maduro said he has spoken by phone with Russian President [Vladimidi...] Vladimir Putin, that is, who assured him that, in Maduro's words, "you have the unwavering support of Russia more than ever."
Felix Tshisekedi was sworn in Thursday as the Democratic Republic of Congo's new president, marking the first peaceful transfer of power in the country's history.
In his inaugural address, the new president pledged to build a strong and unified nation.
He said, "We want to build a strong Congo with its cultural diversity and its attachment to the mother land, a Congo turned toward its development in peace and security, a Congo for all in which everyone has a place."
Tshisekedi's victory in the December 30th election was a surprise to many pre-election polls had indicated that businessman Martin Fayulu would be the winner.
Fayulu challenged the official results in court, saying he had won the election, but Congo's Constitutional Court denied his request for a recount.
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A new analysis of temperatures showed that last year was cooler than the three provisos years but was still the fourth warmest in history.
AP's science writer Seth Borenstein has details.
Last year was the fourth warmest year on record and records go back 160 some years. It was slightly cooler than 2017, 2016 and 2015 because of natural variabilities, things like El Niño and La Niña.
The trend is still up, up, up over the decades. It's sort of like climbing a mountain. You don't always go up. You chart it. It's going up and down a bit, but overall, you're going up.
AP's Seth Borenstein.
For more, visit our website voanews.com. I'm David Byrd, VOA news.
@voanewscaststext
AP's science writer Seth Borenstein has details.
Last year was the fourth warmest year on record and records go back 160 some years. It was slightly cooler than 2017, 2016 and 2015 because of natural variabilities, things like El Niño and La Niña.
The trend is still up, up, up over the decades. It's sort of like climbing a mountain. You don't always go up. You chart it. It's going up and down a bit, but overall, you're going up.
AP's Seth Borenstein.
For more, visit our website voanews.com. I'm David Byrd, VOA news.
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@voanewscaststextThis is VOA news. I'm David Byrd in Washington.
U.S. President Donald Trump has endorsed a three-week spending bill on Friday, clearing the way for Congress to pass legislation that will end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.
AP's Sagar Meghani reports from the White House.
After insisting for weeks, the shutdown would continue until Democrats gave in to his demand for border wall money.
"I will sign a bill to open our government for three weeks," giving bipartisan lawmakers three weeks to discuss border security spending.
The bill ending the shutdown does not have any wall money and Democrats say the president gave in to their demand that the government reopen with no conditions.
"Hopefully now, the president has learned his lesson."
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says he is hopeful for a deal in the next three weeks.
The president says if that one doesn't have money for a wall, he'll declare a national emergency and build it.
Sagar Meghani, Washington.
On Capitol Hill, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that she is glad that the 35-day-long shutdown is finally over.
"I'm sad it's taken this long. I'm glad that we've come to a conclusion today as to how we go forward in the next, in the next three weeks."
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said he is hopeful that negotiations can succeed.
"Democrats are firmly against the wall. But we agree on many things, such as the need for drug inspection technology, humanitarian aid, strengthening security at our ports of entry. And that bodes well for finding an eventual agreement, the fact that we have so many areas where we can agree."
The Senate has unanimously passed the legislation to reopen the government Friday afternoon. The House is expected to follow suit within the next hour.
For more on these stories, log on to our website voanews.com. You can also follow us on the VOA mobile app. This is VOA news.
@voanewscaststextOne of President Donald Trump's key aides, Republican strategist Roger Stone, was arrested and indicted in Florida Friday.
Stone is now the sixth Trump associate to be charged in special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe.
AP correspondent Shelly Adler reports.
Roger Stone was charged with lying to Congress and obstructing the Mueller probe.
"He is accused of being a conduit between someone in the Trump campaign and WikiLeaks to facilitate the information that WikiLeaks had about Hillary Clinton, about the DNC."
Former federal prosecutor David Weinstein on what is now the sixth Trump aide charged in the Mueller probe.
"The question remains if these are the people that the president was surrounding himself with, what does that say, about him as both the candidate and as the president."
Shelly Adler, Washington.
After appearing in court, a defiant roger Stone said that his arrest was politically motivated. Stone said that he was falsely accused of making false statements to the House Intelligence Committee and said he would be fully vindicated.
"There is no circumstance whatsoever under which I will bear false witness against the president, nor will I make up lies to ease the pressure on myself. I look forward to being fully and completely vindicated."
A longtime "dirty trickster" Stone has publicly denigrated the Mueller investigation and echoed President Trump's descriptions of it as a witch hunt.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says that every country should recognize opposition leader Juan Guaidó, whom he called the legitimate leader of Venezuela.
Speaking at the State Department Friday afternoon, Pompeo said that Guaidó is the only legitimate leader of the South American country in keeping with Venezuela's constitution.
"This week, the Venezuelan people have rejected former President Maduro's illegitimate rule. Consistent with Venezuela's constitution, and with the support of the Venezuelan people and the National Assembly, Juan Guaidó has declared himself the interim president of Venezuela."
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Pompeo has called for a special meeting of the U.N. Security Council to discuss the South American country's political crisis.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday that his country will oppose U.S. policy in Venezuela. Russia and China, major creditors for Venezuela, have said the United States should not meddle in internal affairs.
And Greek lawmakers have ratified a deal with Macedonia, ending a nearly three-decade-long dispute between the neighbors in which the Balkan country will be renamed North Macedonia.
Greece's parliament narrowly passed the agreement, 153-146. It normalizes relations between the two countries and paves the way for North Macedonia to join NATO and the European Union.
For more, visit our website. I'm David Byrd, VOA news.
@voanewscaststext
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday that his country will oppose U.S. policy in Venezuela. Russia and China, major creditors for Venezuela, have said the United States should not meddle in internal affairs.
And Greek lawmakers have ratified a deal with Macedonia, ending a nearly three-decade-long dispute between the neighbors in which the Balkan country will be renamed North Macedonia.
Greece's parliament narrowly passed the agreement, 153-146. It normalizes relations between the two countries and paves the way for North Macedonia to join NATO and the European Union.
For more, visit our website. I'm David Byrd, VOA news.
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@voanewscaststextThis is VOA news. I'm David Byrd in Washington.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged the international community to support the Venezuelan people and recognize the interim government of opposition leader Juan Guaidó.
VOA's Margaret Besheer reports from the U.N.
Secretary Pompeo called the Maduro regime an "illegitimate mafia state" and criticized countries including Russia, China, Iran and Cuba for supporting him.
Several European governments, including Britain, Spain, Germany and France, said Saturday that they would recognize 35-year-old opposition leader and head of the democratically-elected National Assembly Juan Guaidó as president if no election is called within eight days.
Guaidó declared himself interim president on January 23. But powers, Russia and China, and several left-leaning Latin states have expressed support for Maduro, who was sworn in for a second six-year term on January 10 following elections that many voters boycotted and whose results have been challenged both domestically and internationally.
Margaret Besheer, VOA news, the United Nations.
The United States and the Taliban may have reached an agreement on a plan for American troops to leave Afghanistan.
Reuters correspondent Gavino Garay has details.
As part of the deal, the Taliban's sources said they offered assurances that Afghanistan will not be allowed to be used by al-Qaeda and Islamic State militants to attack the United States and its allies, a key demand of Washington.
News of progress on the deal comes as the Taliban, a hardline Islamic group that controls nearly half of Afghanistan, continues to stage nearly daily attacks against the Western-backed Afghan government and its security forces.
The Taliban says they will finalize a timeline for a cease-fire in Afghanistan but will only open up talks with Afghan representatives once the cease-fire is implemented.
It is not known if a draft acceptable to both sides has been completed or when it might take effect.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that there was encouraging news from U.S. talks.
This is VOA news.
@voanewscaststextBrazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Saturday flew over a disaster area following a dam burst in an iron ore mine. The death toll has now grown to 34.
Reuters Matthew Larotonda has details.
The torrent is said to have hit at lunchtime on Friday and tore through the mine's cafeteria and offices.
This is not the first major disaster linked to the mine's owner, either, a corporation called Vale SA. Three years ago, Brazil suffered the worst environmental catastrophe in its history when another dam burst at a mining project that Vale was partnered in poured toxic waste into a river. Nineteen people were killed in that incident.
Vale's chief executive said from Rio de Janeiro that Saturday's disaster was a "human tragedy" but may have worse environmental damage this time.
Matthew Larotonda of Reuters.
Pope Francis celebrated Mass Saturday in the centuries-old colonial Cathedral Basilica of Santa Maria la Antigua, telling Panama's priests and nuns to try to find joy in their work despite what he called "the wounds of the church's own sin."
In his homily, Francis spoke frankly about the pressures, frustrations and anxieties facing priests and nuns dealing in a rapidly changing world where sometimes the Catholic message seems to have no place.
He said, "The weariness of hope comes from seeing a Church wounded by her own sin, which so often failed to hear all those cries that echoed the cry of the Master: 'My God, why have you forsaken me?'"
The pope made his address as part of World Youth Day, the Catholic Church's international youth rally held every two to three years.
Now that the U.S. government shutdown is over, economists say that the U.S. economy will likely resume its steady growth. But AP correspondent Ben Thomas reports some scholars will take time to heal.
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Most analysts estimate that the partial shutdown shaved a few tenths of a percentage point from economic growth in the first quarter. While growth should rebound, they say some of the money federal workers and contractors didn't spend on items such as movie tickets, restaurants and travel will never be made up. Federal workers will receive backpay. However, some contractors may not.
S&P Global Ratings estimates the economy lost $6 billion thanks to the shutdown, and while that sounds sizable in a $19 trillion-plus economy, it's a relatively negligible sum.
Ben Thomas, Washington.
And a government-appointed panel on Saturday recommended that Germany stop burning coal to generate electricity by 2038 at the latest as part of efforts to curb climate change.
I'm David Byrd, VOA news.
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S&P Global Ratings estimates the economy lost $6 billion thanks to the shutdown, and while that sounds sizable in a $19 trillion-plus economy, it's a relatively negligible sum.
Ben Thomas, Washington.
And a government-appointed panel on Saturday recommended that Germany stop burning coal to generate electricity by 2038 at the latest as part of efforts to curb climate change.
I'm David Byrd, VOA news.
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@voanewscaststextVOA news. I'm Christopher Cruise reporting.
Venezuelan opposition leader and self-declared interim president Juan Guaidó is offering amnesty to soldiers who back democracy and reject the current Maduro government.
At a news conference on Sunday, Guaidó said, "We are waiting for you, the soldiers of Venezuela. We are waiting for you and the commitment you have to our constitution."
Opposition followers - some shouting "Soldier friend, you're the only one missing" - handed out leaflets describing the amnesty plans at military and police posts.
Some of the soldiers threw away the paper or tore it up. But many Venezuelan military members have said they and their families are tired of the severe shortages of food and other basics.
Meanwhile, President Nicholás Maduro insisted Sunday the military is on his side as he watched military exercises using Russian-built rocket-propelled grenades and anti-aircraft machine guns.
The Trump administration has lifted sanctions levied on Russian firms linked to the oligarch Oleg Deripaska despite a push by Democrats in the United States to keep the sanctions in place.
The Democrats and several Republicans had argued that the companies in question were under the control of Deripaska. But the U.S. Treasury Department said Sunday that the firms had reduced Deripaska's direct and indirect shareholding stake in these companies and severed his control.
It said the move ensured that most directors on the boards of the companies would be independent directors including Americans and Europeans with no ties to Deripaska.
Supporters of keeping the sanctions in place [argued] have argued that even with reduced ownership, Deripaska would continue to exert control.
This is VOA news.
@voanewscaststextTwin bombings Sunday at a cathedral in the restive southern Philippines killed 20 people and wounded more than 80. Police say earlier death tolls were incorrect because of double counting.
In a statement, the government said it would hunt down the attackers "until every killer is brought to justice and put behind bars." The statement said, "the ruthless perpetrators" will be shown "no mercy."
A hotel wall collapsed during a wedding celebration in Peru on Sunday, killing at least 15 people.
The national civil defense chief said dozens of people who had been dancing were caught under the collapsing wall and a roof early Sunday at the Alhambra hotel in the Andean city of Abancay in southern Peru.
At least 30 people had been pulled from the debris with injuries and were being treated at a nearby hospital.
The city had been battered by five days of rains, which led to the collapse of the wall.
Brazilian officials on Sunday resumed the search for hundreds of missing people after a massive dam collapsed on Friday. The search was suspended for several hours Sunday over fears that a second dam was at risk of breaching.
At least 37 people have been confirmed dead following the dam burst in the southeastern city of Brumadinho, which caused a mudslide that may have buried hundreds of mine workers who were eating lunch.
About 250 employees of the mine are still missing and are feared dead.
Some federal agencies in the U.S. are reopening after a 35-day-long shutdown came to an end. Most of them will be open by Monday. Some museums and national parks will reopen on Tuesday.
Aides to President Trump on Sunday challenged opposition Democrats to prove they want tough security on the southern border with Mexico now that the longest-ever partial government shutdown has ended and the clock is ticking on a three-week window for negotiations.
[Donald] President Trump's acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney told Fox News on Sunday "This is a chance for Democrats to see if they believe in border security" to thwart illegal immigration and stop the flow of illicit drugs. Mulvaney said President Trump would secure the border "with or without Congress," including by declaring a national emergency if he has to.
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He said the White House is [seeking Democra...] "seeing Democrats starting to agree with the president" on the need for a wall.
You can find more on these and other late breaking and developing stories, from around the world, around the clock, at voanews.com and on the VOA news mobile app. I'm Christopher Cruise, VOA news.
@voanewscaststext
You can find more on these and other late breaking and developing stories, from around the world, around the clock, at voanews.com and on the VOA news mobile app. I'm Christopher Cruise, VOA news.
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@voanewscaststextVOA news. I'm Christopher Cruise reporting.
Federal prosecutors have unsealed two separate indictments against China's Huawei Technologies, its chief financial officer and several affiliates for financial fraud and theft of American intellectual property.
This is FBI Director Christopher Wray: "The charges unsealed today are the result of years of investigative work by the FBI and our law enforcement partners. Both sets of charges expose Huawei's brazen and persistent actions to exploit American companies and financial institutions, and to threaten the free and fair global marketplace.
As you can tell from the number and magnitude of the charges, Huawei and its senior executives repeatedly refused to respect U.S. law and standard international business practices."
The announcement comes amid trade tensions between the United States and China and stepped up U.S. scrutiny of Chinese economic espionage.
The Trump administration is imposing sanctions on Venezuela's state-run oil company. It says it wants to preserve the assets for the Venezuelan people.
National Security Advisor John Bolton said at the White House on Monday Venezuelans have had enough of oppression and economic hardship caused by President Nicholás Maduro and his regime.
Canada will host an "urgent" meeting of the Lima Group to talk about the political crisis in Venezuela.
The group includes Canada and 13 Latin American countries. It will convene on February 4 in Ottawa to discuss how to support opposition leader Juan Guaidó, who declared himself interim leader of Venezuela despite disputed President Nicholás Maduro's victory in 2018 elections.
This is VOA news.
@voanewscaststextThe EU will soon launch an alternative channel to send money to Iran that would sidestep U.S. sanctions against the Islamic republic.
Associated Press correspondent Charles De Ledesma reports.
The channel, the "special purpose vehicle," or SPV, is part of EU efforts to keep alive an international agreement aimed at curbing Iran's nuclear ambitions. The future of the U.N. pact with Iran was thrown into doubt when President Donald Trump pulled out last year slamming it as a "horrible, one-sided deal."
Now German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas says the EU's aim with the SPV is to ensure that "business not sanctioned by the U.S. can be upheld, and that there is a suitable instrument for international payments."
The U.S. special representative for Afghan reconciliation is urging direct talks between the Taliban and the Kabul government.
Zalmay Khalilzad told The New York Times that he was confirming details in a draft peace deal aimed at ending the 17-year-long conflict in the country.
He said in Kabul that the deal framework would have to be "fleshed out before it becomes an agreement," but he stressed the Taliban "have committed to do what is necessary that would prevent Afghanistan from ever becoming a platform for international terrorist groups or individuals."
Turkey's foreign minister on Monday met with the U.N. judicial expert investigating the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi
The investigator will be in Turkey until Saturday for a series of meetings, including one with Istanbul's chief prosecutor.
Hundreds of thousands of American government workers returned to work on Monday after almost five weeks of being home. But some of them fear another shutdown could happen.
Associated Press correspondent Ben Thomas reports.
President Trump puts the odds of congressional negotiators crafting a deal to end the standoff over a border wall at "less than 50-50."
Trump tells The Wall Street Journal he really doesn't think they'll strike a deal he'd accept. And he is pledging to build a wall either way using executive powers to declare a national emergency if necessary.
Asked whether he thought the president was willing to go through a second shutdown, acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney told CBS's "Face the Nation" "Yeah, I think he actually is."
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The spending bill Trump signed Friday funds the shuttered agencies only until February 15.
Facebook says it's tightening up requirements for political adds in the European Union ahead of bloc-wide elections scheduled for the spring.
It's the latest effort by the company to fight misinformation on its platforms.
The rules it imposed are similar to those the company put in place last year in the United States, Britain and Brazil.
You can find more on these and other late breaking and developing stories, from around the world, around the clock, at voanews.com and on the VOA news mobile app. I'm Christopher Cruise, VOA news.
@voanewscaststext
Facebook says it's tightening up requirements for political adds in the European Union ahead of bloc-wide elections scheduled for the spring.
It's the latest effort by the company to fight misinformation on its platforms.
The rules it imposed are similar to those the company put in place last year in the United States, Britain and Brazil.
You can find more on these and other late breaking and developing stories, from around the world, around the clock, at voanews.com and on the VOA news mobile app. I'm Christopher Cruise, VOA news.
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Boko Haram, which wants to set up its own Islamic State based on Shariah law, reportedly has killed more than 20,000 people and forced more than two million to flee their homes since the insurgency began in 2009.
Lisa Schlein, for VOA news, Geneva.
Apple's group-chat function in its FaceTime app has been disabled after users said there was a security glitch.
AP's Matt Small reports.
Apple says that Group FaceTime is temporarily unavailable after reports surfaced about a bug that could allow an iPhone user calling another iPhone device through Group FaceTime to hear audio from that device even if the second person didn't accept the call.
The bug comes as an embarrassment for the company that's trying to distinguish itself by stressing its commitment to users' privacy.
I'm Nicole Livas, VOA news.
@voanewscaststext
Lisa Schlein, for VOA news, Geneva.
Apple's group-chat function in its FaceTime app has been disabled after users said there was a security glitch.
AP's Matt Small reports.
Apple says that Group FaceTime is temporarily unavailable after reports surfaced about a bug that could allow an iPhone user calling another iPhone device through Group FaceTime to hear audio from that device even if the second person didn't accept the call.
The bug comes as an embarrassment for the company that's trying to distinguish itself by stressing its commitment to users' privacy.
I'm Nicole Livas, VOA news.
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@voanewscaststextThis is VOA news. I'm Nicole Livas.
U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton warned Venezuela's attorney general there may be "serious consequences" after the prosecutor asked the country's Supreme Court to keep opposition leader Juan Guaidó from leaving the country.
Attorney General Tarek William Saab also asked the court to block Guaidó's financial accounts as he launched a criminal investigation into his activities against President Nicholás Maduro's socialist government.
Saab said the probe is linked to unrest that came after Guaidó declared himself the country's legitimate president last week.
On Monday, Washington imposed sanctions on PDVSA, Venezuela's government-owned oil company.
The U.S. has condemned the 2018 election in which Maduro won another term.
A notepad carried by Bolton has the Pentagon facing questions about whether American troops will go to South America.
AP Washington correspondent Sagar Meghani explains.
At a White House news conference yesterday, Bolton was holding a yellow bad with the words "5,000 troops to Colombia."
Here at the Pentagon, "I didn't bring a notepad today."
Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan tried to laugh off a question about whether U.S. troops will indeed go to Colombia or elsewhere in the region amid political upheaval in neighboring Venezuela. "I haven't discussed that with Secretary Bolton."
Reporters here asked if he had other talks or could rule it out. "I'm not commenting on it."
Asked about Bolton's note, the White House said simply "All options are on the table."
Sagar Meghani, at the Pentagon.
Beijing demanded Tuesday that Washington back off what it called an "unreasonable crackdown" on the maker of smartphones and telecom gear. This follows U.S. criminal charges on Monday against Chinese electronics giant Huawei and several of its officials for allegedly stealing technology, secrets and violating Iran sanctions. That followed the detention in Canada of a top company official who's now awaiting possible extradition to the U.S.
Huawei has denied any wrongdoing.
This is VOA news.
@voanewscaststextBritish Prime Minister Theresa May has won a few weeks to salvage a Brexit deal but headed toward a clash with the European Union on Tuesday by promising to overhaul the divorce agreement she spent a year and a half negotiating with the bloc.
Trying to break the U.K.'s deadlock, she got Parliament's backing for a bid to rework an Irish border guarantee which May and the EU both approved, and which the bloc insists cannot be changed.
U.S. President Donald Trump's longtime ally Roger Stone pleaded not guilty Tuesday in Washington D.C. federal court. He faces seven charges linked to the release of hacked emails about Trump's Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, during the 2016 presidential campaign.
AP correspondent Eric Tucker reports Tuesday's arraignment was very brief.
Stone who we know obviously is very loud and boisterous and gregarious was very quiet and reserved and polite in the courtroom. The only time he spoke was to answer, "Yes, Your Honor," about whether he understood the proceedings and the consequences of reneging on his bond conditions.
The U.N. migration agency says more than 130 migrants were thought to be missing after two boats capsized Tuesday off the tiny East African nation of Djibouti. Local police found five bodies.
Witnesses said the boats were overloaded and large waves caused them to tip over.
The United Nations is launching a three-year Humanitarian Response Strategy with the Nigeria Regional Refugee Response Plan. It will assist millions of victims of Boko Haram attacks and hundreds of thousands of refugees.
VOA's Lisa Schlein reports.
The bulk of the appeal, $848 million, will assist 6.2 million vulnerable people in Nigeria's northeastern Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states. They have been the hardest hit by the decade-long crisis between Boko Haram and Nigeria's government forces.
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