Tag: Americas

VOA Immigration Weekly Recap, Dec. 17–24

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Editor’s note: Here is a look at immigration-related news around the U.S. this week. Questions? Tips? Comments? Email the VOA immigration team: ImmigrationUnit@voanews.com. Chinese Still Largest Group of Foreign Students in US Students from China retained their position in 2023 as the largest group of international students in the United States. Despite a slight dip, China is still the leading country of origin for foreign students pursuing an education in the U.S. VOA’s immigration reporter Aline Barros has more. As Holidays Approach, Migrants Face Eviction From New York City Shelters…

Milei’s Government Pays IMF Without Tapping China Currency Swap

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On Thursday, Argentina’s new government sent to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) its scheduled debt payment, thanks to a loan from the CAF – the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean. In doing so, the government of Argentina’s new president, Javier Milei, avoided tapping into a currency swap line Beijing was preparing to make available, with strings attached. Since Milei’s victory on November 19, and his inauguration on December 10, intense maneuvers between Buenos Aires and Beijing appear to have taken place, largely under the radar. Among the…

Canada intelligence operation put diplomats in legal ‘grey zone’ – report

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A controversial intelligence-gathering program run by Canada’s foreign affairs ministry operates in a “distinctly grey zone”, puts its officers at risk and breaches global diplomatic conventions, says a damning watchdog report. Canada’s global security reporting program (GSRP), a critical part of the foreign ministry’s security and intelligence footprint overseas, places officers in countries with “poor human rights records” including Ethiopia, India, Egypt, Turkey, Israel and China. The program has received renewed scrutiny in recent months following reports that Michael Spavor, a Canadian jailed in China for nearly three years, was…

Canada Expands Probe of Asia Multilateral Bank

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Ottawa, Ontario —  Canada is broadening a probe of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and freezing its participation in the multilateral organization indefinitely, the government said Friday. Ottawa had temporarily suspended its involvement in the AIIB in June after a whistleblower asserted that China’s ruling party pulls the strings at the bank. The AIIB, a project pushed by Chinese President Xi Jinping, was launched in 2016 to counter Western dominance of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. It has 106 global members, including Australia, Canada, France and Germany.…

Argentina Not Joining BRICS Despite Xi’s Personal Letter to Milei

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Argentine President-elect Javier Milei’s foreign minister-designee has announced that Argentina will not be joining BRICS, an international grouping of countries increasingly seen as being led by Beijing in its bid to challenge initiatives led by Western, democratic nations. The announcement Thursday by Diana Mondino marks a reversal of a key decision made by the outgoing government that was seen as pulling Buenos Aries ever closer to China’s orbit. It also comes despite a personal letter Chinese communist leader Xi Jinping wrote and had hand-delivered to Milei last week. The incoming…

Biden Highlights Efforts with China, Mexico to Combat Fentanyl

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WASHINGTON —  U.S. President Joe Biden highlighted “strong international coordination” by his administration to halt the flow of fentanyl and the ingredients used to produce the deadly drug following his diplomatic engagements with leaders of China and Mexico last week. “We’ve focused on prevention, harm reduction, treatment and recovery,” he said on Tuesday during a meeting at the White House to address the scourge of the illicit drug that has killed more than 200,000 Americans in recent years. “But this challenge also has roots outside our borders, outside the borders…

Canada-China detention feud reopened after claims of ‘unwitting’ espionage

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A simmering diplomatic feud prompted by China’s detention of two Canadian citizens has been reopened after one of the men claimed he was arrested for unknowingly passing on intelligence to Canada and its allies. The Globe and Mail reported Michael Spavor is seeking a multi-million dollar settlement from Canada’s federal government, alleging he “unwittingly” provided intelligence on North Korea to fellow Canadian Michael Kovrig, who then shared that information with Canada and Five Eyes allies. The two men were arrested in 2018 shortly after Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou was detained…

One shared dream of China and America | Letter

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It is symbolic that the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit took place in San Francisco, a place of significance in the history of US-China relations and both nations’ narratives (‘Planet Earth is big enough for two’: Biden and Xi meet for first time in a year, 15 November). From 1848, San Francisco became the first Chinatown, the de facto capital of the Chinese in America. This was the time of the conquest of the west, when, just annexed from Mexico, California became a symbol of the American dream, helped by…

Countries in Crisis Top Recipients of Chinese Aid

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Islamabad —  Russia, Venezuela and Pakistan are the top three recipients of Chinese development funding in the past two decades, but the crisis-riddled countries may be losing attraction for Beijing. China is moving to protect its global investments under the Belt and Road Initiative, according to a study released this week by AidData, a research lab at the U.S. university, William and Mary. The research shows that China gave $1.34 trillion dollars in grants and loans for more than 20,000 projects to 165 low-income and middle-income countries between 2000 and…

Countries in Crisis Top Recipients of Chinese Funds

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Islamabad —  Russia, Venezuela and Pakistan are the top three recipients of Chinese development funding in the past two decades, but the crisis-riddled countries may be losing attraction for Beijing. China is moving to protect its global investments under the Belt and Road Initiative, according to a study released this week by AidData, a research lab at the U.S. university, William and Mary. The research shows that China gave $1.34 trillion dollars in grants and loans for more than 20,000 projects to 165 low-income and middle-income countries between 2000 and…