After election, Kenya-born legislator heads to Minnesota capitol

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MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA — Huldah Momanyi Hiltsley made history November 5 by becoming the first Kenyan-born immigrant elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives. She describes her victory as a testament to resilience, determination and the realization of the American dream. Standing in the State Capitol for the first time on the morning of her orientation, Hiltsley told VOA she was overwhelmed with emotions and eager to start her journey as an elected official. “I am super excited,” Hiltsley said. “Today is orientation day for new legislators, and to be standing in this Capitol as an African immigrant woman is a tremendousmore

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As data center industry booms, English village becomes battleground

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ABBOTS LANGLEY, England — Originally built to store crops from peasant farmers, the Tithe Barn on the edge of the English village of Abbots Langley was converted into homes that preserve its centuries of history. Now, its residents are fighting to stop a development next door that represents the future. A proposal to build a data center on a field across the road was rejected by local authorities amid fierce opposition from villagers. But it’s getting a second chance from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government, which is pursuing reforms to boost economic growth following his Labour party’s election victory inmore

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EV industry watching Musk’s role in tariff fixing

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New Delhi — The electric vehicle industry is closely watching to see how Tesla boss Elon Musk, who played a key role in the victory of Republican President-elect Donald Trump, will use his influence with the incoming president to steer the industry’s future. At stake are several issues including the new administration’s approach to tariffs on Chinese EVs and tax credits. In anticipation of decisions favorable to Tesla, shares in the company rose 27% after the election result was announced, taking its market capitalization to $1 trillion. During the campaign, Trump said he would increase tariffs on Chinese goods and rollmore

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Who is Trump’s new chief of staff? Susie Wiles will be 1st woman to hold post

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With her appointment as chief of staff to President-elect Donald Trump, Susie Wiles moves from a largely behind-the-scenes role of campaign co-chair to one of the most prominent positions in a new White House administration. The 67-year-old will become the first woman to serve in the post for any U.S. president when she assumes the role as the president’s closest adviser in January. In announcing his decision Thursday, Trump said Wiles is “tough, smart, innovative, and is universally admired and respected.” It was his first appointment since winning Tuesday’s election against Vice President Kamala Harris. “It is a well deservedmore

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India optimistic about Trump presidency, worried about trade, tariffs

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NEW DELHI — As India looks ahead to President-elect Donald Trump taking charge in Washington, there is optimism the strategic relationship built by the two countries in recent years will strengthen. India also hopes to benefit if Trump takes a less confrontational approach to Russia, say analysts. New Delhi also is bracing for turbulence in trade ties, though, which could be affected by Trump’s “America first” agenda. In his congratulatory message posted on social media platform X, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Trump “my friend” and said, “I look forward to renewing our collaboration to further strengthen the India-U.S. Comprehensivemore

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How Trump won 

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washington — Political polls leading up to this week’s U.S. presidential election showed a tight race between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. But Trump pulled off a resounding win across several demographic groups, securing critical battleground states that often determine the outcome of U.S. presidential contests. Trump held on to his base of voters while making gains with several groups that traditionally vote for Democrats, including young Black men, Latino men and young people, according to an analysis by The Associated Press.   “They came from all corners — union, nonunion, African American, Hispanic American, Asian American,more

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Long list of potential Cabinet appointees awaits Trump team’s vetting 

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When the ballots were counted and the presidential race was called for Donald Trump early Wednesday morning, another race immediately began: the 11-week sprint to staff a new administration that will need to be ready to take over the management of the country on January 20. A president’s administration includes thousands of appointees, but in the first weeks after the election, the focus will be identifying the people who will make up the president’s Cabinet. The Cabinet traditionally includes the vice president and the leaders of the 15 departments of the executive branch, such as the State and Treasury departments.more

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Why Trump won

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Political polls leading up to this week’s U.S. presidential election showed a tight race between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. But Trump pulled off a resounding win across several demographic groups. VOA’s Dora Mekouar looks at how he won. …

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Trump names campaign manager as his chief of staff 

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washington — President-elect Donald Trump has named Susie Wiles, the de facto manager of his victorious campaign, as his White House chief of staff, the first woman to hold the influential role.  Wiles is widely credited within and outside Trump’s inner circle for running what was, by far, his most disciplined and well-executed campaign, and was seen as the leading contender for the position. She largely avoided the spotlight, even refusing to take the mic to speak as Trump celebrated his victory early Wednesday morning. She resisted the formal title of campaign manager, avoiding becoming a target, given Trump’s history ofmore

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What does Trump’s election victory mean for NATO, Europe?

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Allies in Europe are debating what Donald Trump’s win in the U.S. presidential election could mean for their security and economy. Trump’s first term in office was characterized by often turbulent relations with EU and NATO partners. As Henry Ridgwell reports, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has amplified Europe’s concerns over the transatlantic alliance. …

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In Africa, some excited about Trump return, others worried

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Reactions in Africa to Donald Trump’s return to the White House are mixed. Some are excited and eager to see what comes next, while others remember the former president’s first term and don’t expect much from a new Trump administration regarding Africa. VOA Nairobi Bureau Chief Mariama Diallo has this report. Contributor: Juma Majanga; Camera: Amos Wangwa …

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Turkish leader sees opportunity in Trump’s election

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is sometimes at odds with Western leaders but has made no secret of what he says were his warm dealings with President-elect Donald Trump during the U.S. leader’s first term. Observers say he is now looking to those warm ties as an opportunity to end regional conflicts, but also to ask for greater U.S. cooperation against Kurdish separatists, as Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul. …

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Donald Trump’s transition starts now. Here’s how it will work

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Washington — Donald Trump ‘s impending return to the White House means he’ll want to stand up an entirely new administration from the one that served under President Joe Biden. His team is also pledging that the second won’t look much like the first one Trump established after his 2016 victory. The president-elect now has a 75-day transition period to build out his team before Inauguration Day arrives on Jan. 20. One top item on the to-do list: filling around 4,000 government positions with political appointees, people who are specifically tapped for their jobs by Trump’s team. That includes everyone frommore

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Can honeybees and dogs detect cancer earlier than technology? 

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Washington — Researchers at Michigan State University recently discovered that honeybees, with their keen sense of smell, can sniff out lung cancer on a patient’s breath. “Our world is visual. Insects’ world is all based on smell, so their sense of smell is very, very good,” says Debajit Saha, assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Michigan State University, who was part of a team that published research on the discovery last month. “There is quite a bit of research that shows that when some cancer grows inside our body, our breath actually changes. Our research does show that honeybees can detectmore

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Trump moving quickly to consider key appointments

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U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is moving quickly to consider appointments to key positions in his new White House administration and could name some choices within days. Trump, fresh off his decisive victory over Vice President Kamala Harris in Tuesday’s presidential election, has been huddling with aides at his oceanside Mar-a-Lago retreat in Florida to mull over his options. Even before the election, transition chiefs Howard Lutnick and Linda McMahon met with some potential candidates for top-notch jobs, either in the White House or to head the government’s Cabinet-level departments and an array of other agencies. Trump aides also have preparedmore

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In historic shift, American Muslim and Arab voters desert Democrats

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In a historic shift, Muslim and Arab Americans broke with two decades of Democratic loyalty, splitting most of their votes between President-elect Donald Trump and third-party candidates in Tuesday’s presidential election The exodus, fueled by anger over the Biden administration’s handling of the war in Gaza, helped Trump win key battleground states as he defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in the race for the White House. Less than half of the Muslim voters who voted backed Harris, according to an exit poll of more than 1,000 voters by the Council on American Islamic Relations. Most voted for either a third-partymore

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Canada orders TikTok’s Canadian business to be dissolved but won’t block app

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Canada announced Wednesday it won’t block access to the popular video-sharing app TikTok but is ordering the dissolution of its Canadian business after a national security review of the Chinese company behind it. Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne said it is meant to address risks related to ByteDance Ltd.’s establishment of TikTok Technology Canada Inc. “The government is not blocking Canadians’ access to the TikTok application or their ability to create content. The decision to use a social media application or platform is a personal choice,” Champagne said. Champagne said it is important for Canadians to adopt good cybersecurity practices, includingmore

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Taiwan braces for uncertainty following Trump’s victory

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Taipei, Taiwan — Leaders from China and Taiwan have congratulated Donald Trump’s national election victory, despite growing uncertainty about how his second presidential term might impact dynamics across the Taiwan Strait. Chinese President Xi Jinping urged China and the United States to find the right way to get along in the new era, to benefit ‘’both countries and the wider world.” He hopes the two sides will “uphold the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, strengthen dialogue and communication, properly manage differences and expand mutually beneficial cooperation,” according to a readout released by China’s official Xinhua News Agencymore

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Australia proposes ‘world-leading’ ban on social media for children under 16

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sydney — The Australian government will legislate for a ban on social media for children under 16, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Thursday, in what it calls a world-leading package of measures that could become law late next year. Australia is trying out an age-verification system to assist in blocking children from accessing social media platforms, as part of a range of measures that include some of the toughest controls imposed by any country to date. “Social media is doing harm to our kids and I’m calling time on it,” Albanese told a news conference. Albanese cited the risks tomore

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China expects bumpy relations with the US under Trump

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Taipei, Taiwan — Following U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s sweeping victory, Chinese netizens said they expect the U.S. to increase trade tensions with China while analysts say Washington’s efforts to counter China’s expansion might weaken under a second Trump administration. Throughout his presidential campaign, Trump has vowed to impose tariffs, between 60% to 200%, on Chinese products on several occasions. During an interview with Fox News on February 4, Trump said he would impose more than 60% tariffs on Chinese imports but emphasized he wasn’t going to start a trade war with China. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Trumpmore

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