The tributes to late U.S. Senator John McCain resumed on Thursday with a memorial service in his home state of Arizona.
As AP's Sagar Meghani reports, McCain was praised by those in and out the Republican Party, including former Vice President Joe Biden.
Biden says he's been thinking about why McCain's death has hit the nation so hard. Yes, he was a senator, presidential candidate and war hero. But Biden says it was something less tangible.
"I think it's because they knew John believed so deeply and so passionately in the soul of America."
Biden says it was McCain's optimism that made him special. "Made John a giant among all of us."
Earlier, speakers referred to McCain as America's hero.
His body left Arizona for the last time and will lie in state at the U.S. Capitol before being buried Sunday.
Sagar Meghani, Washington.
U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to withdraw from the World Trade Organization if, in his words, "they don't shape up." Trump made the comment during an Oval Office interview with Bloomberg News Thursday.
Last month, Trump said the United States had been treated very badly by the WTO and that the Geneva-based organization needs to change their ways.
Trump has complained the U.S. is being treated unfairly in global trade and has blamed the WTO for allowing that to happen. He has also warned that he could take action against the global body although he has not specified what form that action could take.
The WTO was set up in 1994 as part of a U.S.-led effort to create a forum to resolve major trade disputes.
For more on these stories and the rest of the day's news, visit voanews.com. This is VOA news.
The United Nations is issuing a stark warning about a potential catastrophic loss of life if Syrian forces with Russian support mount a full-scale military assault to retake Idlib province.
Lisa Schlein has details from Geneva.
Nearly 3 million people are crammed into the small rebel-held enclave. About half that population includes displaced people who have fled from previous areas of conflict, many of them women and children.
U.N. Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura says all these lives are at stake because there is no other Idlib. He says there is no other place where people can go.
De Mistura is calling for patience before rushing into military action. He says time is needed to devise ways to save the civilian population.
Lisa Schlein, for VOA news, Geneva.
The Trump administration told Russia Thursday to stop what it believes is the harassment of international shipping vessels in the Sea of Azov and Kerch Strait, saying that Moscow's alleged actions are an attempt to weaken Ukraine's economy.
State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement "Russia's actions to impede maritime transit are further examples of its ongoing campaign to undermine and destabilize Ukraine, as well as its disregard for international norms."
The U.S. has accused Russia of delaying commercial ships since April and stopping at least 16 commercial ships from reaching Ukrainian ports.
The Kremlin did not immediately respond to the U.S. statement.
The U.N. refugee agency reports it is scaling up its operations in Yemen to meet the urgent needs of thousands of Yemenis displaced by fighting in the strategic port city of Hodeidah.
More than 300,000 people have fled their homes since the Saudi-led coalition began its military offensive in June to capture the Houthi-held port city.
The U.N. refugee agency says that increased fighting is heightening the danger for civilians trying to leave conflict areas. William Spindler is a UNHCR spokesman.
"Most prominent among them are the specific needs of children who may be separated from their families, and of women, who may be at risk of sexual harassment and violence either during flight or when living in overcrowded settings."
Spindler says that more than 70,000 of those most in need have been identified and the U.N. is working to supply them with a wide range of assistance.
Mourners streamed into a Detroit church on Thursday to pay their respects to the late Aretha Franklin.
New Bethel Baptist Church is where the woman known as the Queen of Soul got her start as a gospel singer.
Franklin's invitation-only funeral will be held Friday at Greater Grace Temple.
For more on these stories, visit our website voanews.com. I'm David Byrd, VOA news.
