Issues in the News - Voice of America

It’s expected that the new U.S. Trump administration may force Russia and Ukraine to sit down and negotiate. In anticipation of that, both sides escalated their war efforts this past week. We speak with Jim Townsend, adjunct senior fellow in the Center for a New American Security Transatlantic Security Program. The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants on Thursday for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister and Hamas officials, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Leila Sadat, Washington University Professor of International Criminal Law and Special Advisor on Crimes Against Humanity to the ICC Prosecutor help us understand what it means.

Donald Trump wins a second term as president. Are there parallels from the founding fathers of our country? We speak with author and presidential historian Lindsey Chervinsky, executive director of the George Washington Presidential Library, whose latest book is Making the Presidency: John Adams and the Precedents That Forged the Republic. Also, this week, clashes between climate activists and big oil at the UN climate conference in Azerbaijan. We talk with correspondent in Chermaine Lee, who is at the conference in Azerbaijan.

What will a Donald Trump presidency look like in terms of foreign affairs. He has summarized his approach as peace through strength, remains critical of NATO and has repeatedly praised authoritarians. Could his approach help end the war in Ukraine, bring peace to the middle east and help the U.S. as the world realigns? The pre-election polls indicated it was a tight race, giving Kamala Harris a slight edge. But in the end, American voters chose Donald Trump. A look at what led to Trump’s decisive win.

As election day approaches, U.S. officials issue warnings about potential violence from domestic extremists. The concerns go beyond election day into January and the inauguration. Also, as America continues to become more ethnically diverse as divisions over immigration and the nation’s division deepen. It’s become a major theme in the presidential campaign.

An ominous report from the UN paints a dire picture about the direction the planet is heading without immediate climate action. The report says if the current pace continues it will result in global warming of more than 3 degrees Celsius by the end of the century. Will abortion play a role in the U.S. presidential election? Former President Donald Trump takes credit for overturning the U.S. Supreme Court decision which guaranteed the right to abortions in the U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris has promised to reinstate a national abortion protection law.

South Korea’s spy agency says North Korea has sent 1,500 special forces troops to Russia for training and likely deployment for combat in the war in Ukraine. The allegation comes a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he believed 10,000 North Korean soldiers could join the war, based on intelligence information. The U.S. expresses concern. We talk with VOA National Security Correspondent Jeff Seldin and Naoko Aoki, a political scientist at RAND.

The week began with a somber milestone in the Middle East marking the one-year anniversary of the October 7th Hamas attack on Israel as the region edges closer to all-out war. Reflecting on the past year and what the future holds, a conversation with John Lyndon, Executive Director of the Alliance for Middle East Peace. Two massive hurricanes that hit the United States became the poster child for climate change. We talked with Michael Wehner, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Fears of a wider regional war in the Middle East may already be a reality after Iran’s missile attack and Israel’s military operations targeting militants on two fronts. Could the U.S. be dragged into war? After months of working toward a peace agreement and warnings of a wider war, what if anything can the Biden Administration do? We get perspective from Bruce Riedel, with the Brookings Institution’s Center for Middle East Policy. Intensifying hostilities come just days ahead of the one-year mark of the October 7 Hamas massacre in southern Israel that sparked the war in Gaza.

World leaders meeting in New York this week for the U.N. General Assembly were contending with multiple escalating global conflicts. Israeli Prime Minister vowed to continue targeting Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, dimming hopes for a ceasefire and raising fears it could spiral into an all-out regional war. The speech came a day after Palestinian President Abbas urged the UN to stop the war in Gaza, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy traveled to New York to sit down with Former President Donald Trump after meetings with President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Tensions are reaching a boiling point between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Rocket fire pounded northern Israel Friday while Israeli warplanes carried out intense airstrikes on southern Lebanon, including a rare strike on the Beirut suburbs. A Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel shares his concerns for a broader regional conflict. The crisis will be one of many complex global issues world leaders will confront next week at the UN General Assembly. And what does Israel’s expanding military operation mean for any sort of ceasefire deal and the fate of the hostages still being held in Gaza? We’ll speak with a member of the Hostages Family Forum.