Informing, engaging & connecting the people of the world. JULY 16, 2020

To view this newsletter online, please click here .

U.S., British and Canadian officials accused the Kremlin Thursday of being behind a massive, ongoing cyber hack aimed at stealing from Western pharmaceutical companies and academic institutions doing research into coronavirus vaccines and treatment therapies.

ON THIS DAY IN AMERICAN HISTORY On July 16, 1969, at 9:32 a.m. EDT, Apollo 11 lifts off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, beginning the historic trip to the Moon for astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin and Michael Collins. About one million people crowded highways, parking lots and beaches nearby to watch the historic moonshot. The launch was televised in 33 countries and an estimated 25 million Americans watched the lift-off on television. Twelve minutes after launch, Apollo 11 reached orbit and later began the 386,000-kilometer trip to the Moon.

In his first Persian-language tweet in months, President Donald Trump said the executions of three Iranians “sends a terrible signal to the world and should not be done!”

VIDEO: Across the Mekong Delta fishermen, farmers and their families are hoping the current wet season will end a long running drought. Its effects are being felt in Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and in Cambodia where rainfall has been far short of expectations.

The United States can keep pressure on the Islamic State terror group and build Iraq’s military capacity with fewer U.S. troops on the ground, the top commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East told VOA in an exclusive interview.

The Taliban said Thursday it has already released 845 Afghan security forces under an ongoing prisoner swap with the Kabul government and is working to free the remaining 155 in line with the insurgent group’s agreement with the United States.