China launches new crew to its space station as it seeks to expand exploration

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JIUQUAN, China — China declared a “complete success” after it launched a new three-person crew to its orbiting space station early Wednesday as the country seeks to expand its exploration of outer space with missions to the moon and beyond. The Shenzhou-19 spaceship carrying the trio blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China at 4:27 a.m. local time atop a Long March-2F rocket, the backbone of China’s crewed space missions. “The crew condition is good and the launch has been successful,” the state broadcaster China Central Television announced. China built its own space station after being excludedmore

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For expats in Ukraine, election back in US hits home

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The outcome of the U.S. election and the possible changes in Washington’s foreign policy are of special significance to the 3 million American expatriates eligible to vote in next week’s U.S. presidential elections. In few places is that outcome more tangible than in Ukraine, where a few thousand Americans have, for various reasons, chosen to live after Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion. Lesia Bakalets speaks to several expatriates in Ukraine and sends this report from Kyiv. …

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US finalizes rule restricting investment in Chinese tech firms

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The Treasury Department on Monday finalized a new rule meant to prevent U.S.-based people and companies from investing in the development of a range of advanced technologies in China, thereby preventing Beijing from accessing cutting-edge expertise and equipment. The rule, which implements an executive order signed by President Joe Biden in 2023, focuses particularly on advanced semiconductors and microelectronics and the equipment used to make them, technology used in quantum computing, and artificial intelligence systems. When it takes effect on January 2, the rule will prohibit certain transactions in semiconductors, microelectronics and artificial intelligence. It also establishes mandatory reporting requirementsmore

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US court declines RFK Jr’s request to order 2 states to drop him from ballot

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The U.S. Supreme Court denied a bid Tuesday by former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be removed from the ballot in Wisconsin and Michigan for the Nov. 5 election. Kennedy has said he wants voters who would have backed him to cast ballots for the Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump.  The court declined Kennedy’s emergency requests to order the Wisconsin Elections Commission and Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson to take him off the ballot in those states. Michigan and Wisconsin are among a handful of closely contested states expected to decide the outcome of themore

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Judge dismisses Republican lawsuit targeting Pennsylvania overseas ballots

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A U.S. judge on Tuesday dismissed a Republican lawsuit seeking to force election battleground state Pennsylvania to strengthen its procedures for verifying ballots submitted by military and overseas voters.  Six Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives seeking reelection on November 5 had sued Pennsylvania’s top election officials on September 30. The Republicans had argued that the state was improperly exempting overseas voters from a requirement that their identity documents be verified, creating a vulnerability for fraudulent votes to be submitted.  Pennsylvania is one of a handful of closely contested states that are expected to decide the outcome ofmore

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Companies find solutions to power EVs in energy-challenged Africa

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NAIROBI, KENYA — Some companies are coming up with creative ways of making electric vehicles a more realistic option in power-challenged areas of Africa. Countries in Africa have been slow adopters of battery-powered vehicles because finding reliable sources of electricity is a challenge in many places. The Center for Strategic and International Studies described Africa as “the most energy-deficient continent in the world” and said that any progress made in electricity access in the last five years has been reversed by the pandemic and population growth. Onesmus Otieno, for one, regrets trading in his diesel-powered motor bike for an electric one.more

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With a week to go, Harris, Trump trade insults

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The highly contentious, tightly contested U.S. presidential election is now a week away. Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate, is set to deliver her so-called “closing argument” to voters in a Tuesday evening speech near the White House. Republican former President Donald Trump is campaigning in Pennsylvania, one of the seven political battleground states likely to determine the overall national outcome. Both candidates, each disparaging the other as unfit to lead the country for a new four-year term, are looking for any small advantage to woo the sliver of voters who have not made up their minds in whatmore

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Cryptocurrency promoters on X amplify China-aligned disinformation

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Washington — A group of accounts that regularly promote cryptocurrency-related content on X have amplified messages from Chinese official accounts and a China-linked disinformation operation covertly pushing Beijing’s propaganda toward Western social media users known as “Spamouflage”. Spamouflage accounts are bots pretending to be authentic users that promote narratives that align with Beijing’s talking points issues, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, China’s human rights record, the war in Ukraine and the conflict in Gaza. The cryptocurrency accounts were discovered by a joint investigation between VOA Mandarin and DoubleThink Lab, a Taiwan-based social media analytics firm. DoubleThink Lab’s analysis uncovered 1,153 accountsmore

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The potential impact of Trump’s tariff proposal

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Former U.S. President Donald Trump has proposed sweeping tariffs if elected for a second term: a 20% universal tax and 60% tax on goods from China. He argues that the policy will help create jobs, shrink the national debt and boost government revenue for public services, such as child care. Most economists, however, agree that it is ultimately U.S. consumers who will pay more. Economists also warn of unintended ripple effects that could do more harm than good to the U.S. economy. This explainer video explores how increased tariffs might affect U.S. buyers, domestic and foreign producers, and the budget.more

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Fast facts about the US election

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The U.S. presidential election takes place Nov. 5. Here is a primer on some basic facts and information regarding the election. Who is running in the US elections? Apart from the most prominent contest — the presidential race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump — there are myriad other races on the ballot, spanning national, state and local levels. All 435 seats in the House of Representatives are up for election as they are every two years, with members of the House serving two-year terms. In the Senate, where members serve six-year terms, 34 of themore

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US ballot boxes under attack; Homeland Security warns of ‘heightened, dynamic’ threat environment

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Washington — A series of attacks on ballot collection boxes across the United States is ratcheting up the pressure on state and local officials, who are hoping to oversee a safe and peaceful presidential election, both for early voting underway across much of the country and for when millions of Americans go to the polls next week. The Northwest U.S. state of Washington confirmed to VOA Monday that local police and the FBI are investigating reports of a suspected “incendiary device” that was placed in a ballot drop box in Vancouver, Washington, early Monday. Officials said no one was injured butmore

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Explainer: Where do Harris and Trump stand on social welfare?

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washington — With the U.S. presidential election coming November 5, the importance of social welfare — such as government-run programs for pensions and health care, known as Social Security and Medicare, along with affordable housing, and support for families — is again in the spotlight. More than 71 million people in the U.S. received benefits from programs administered in 2023 by the Social Security Administration, which helps retired workers and people with disabilities. But the Social Security Trust Fund and Medicare, a federal health insurance program for the elderly, are running out of funds, and without a new source of fundingmore

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Biden casts 2024 election ballot near his Delaware home

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NEW CASTLE, Delaware — President Joe Biden has cast an early ballot in the 2024 general election.  It’s a bittersweet moment for Biden, who decided to end his reelection campaign in July because of growing concerns about his health and Democrats’ worries about his chances of defeating former President Donald Trump. Biden voted on Monday at the state of Delaware Department of Elections, not far from his home outside Wilmington, Delaware at an early voting site, where voters were lined up on the street to cast ballots.  Biden chatted with voters as he waited in line to cast his ballot, andmore

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Missouri sports betting ballot measure highlights national debate about tax rates

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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The ads promoting a November ballot measure to legalize sports betting in Missouri tout the potential for millions of new tax dollars devoted to schools. If voters approve the measure, it’s a good bet they will see even more ads offering special promotions for bettors.  Many of those promotional costs — in which sportsbooks provide cash-like credits for customers to place bets — will be exempt from state taxes, effectively limiting the new revenue for education.  The Missouri ballot measure highlights an emerging debate among policymakers over how to tax the rapidly growing industry, which has spreadmore

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Trump headlines New York rally after allies’ racist remarks; Harris rallies in Philadelphia

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NEW YORK/PHILADELPHIA — Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump headlined a rally at New York’s Madison Square Garden on Sunday that began with a series of vulgar and racist remarks by allies of the former president.  Trump, a New York celebrity for decades, hoped to use the event at the iconic venue known for Knicks basketball games and Billy Joel concerts to deliver his closing argument against Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, even though the state last backed a Republican presidential candidate in 1984.  “I’d like to begin by asking a very simple question. Are you better off now than you were fourmore

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Former top aides call Trump a fascist; Vance calls them ‘disgruntled former employees’

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Former U.S. President Donald Trump, who is running for reelection, has been called a “fascist” and described as “unfit to serve” by several of his former top aides, but Trump vice presidential pick JD Vance on Sunday rejected the accusations. Meanwhile, the Democratic presidential campaign runs ads on the controversy in battleground states. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias reports. (Produced by: Henry Hernandez) …

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