Month: July 2019

A Republican senator blocked a bipartisan bill that would have made sure that a fund providing compensation to 9/11 workers would remain viable until 2090.  Rand Paul of Kentucky questioned the bill's 70-year time frame and said any new spending should be offset by corresponding cuts so the U.S. government's $22 trillion debt does not continue to grow.  "It has long been my feeling that we need to address our massive debt in the country," Paul said on the Senate floor Wednesday. "And, therefore, any new spending ... should be offset by cutting spending that's less valuable. We need to at the very least have this debate." Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., speaks during a town hall meeting during a campaign stop in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. Presidential hopeful…

Bolivia, which has one of South America's highest rates of women being killed because of their gender, has declared femicide a national priority and will step up efforts to tackle growing violence, a top government rights official said on Tuesday. Since January authorities have recorded 73 femicides - the killing of a woman by a man due to her gender - in the highest toll since 2013. The murders amount to one woman killed every two days. "In terms of the femicide rate, Bolivia is in the top rankings," said Tania Sanchez, head of the Plurinational Service for Women and Ending Patriarchy at Bolivia's justice ministry, despite legal protections being in place. A 2013 law defined femicide as a specific crime and provided tougher sentences for convicted offenders. "We are…

An FBI analysis of crudely made pipe bombs mailed to prominently critics of President Donald Trump has concluded they wouldn't have worked, according to a report made public Tuesday. The January report on the analysis was filed in Manhattan federal court, where U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff is scheduled to sentence Cesar Sayoc in September after the Florida man pleaded guilty to explosives-related charges in the scary episode weeks before midterm elections last year. Sayoc, 57, faces a mandatory 10-year prison term and up to life. Sayoc has repeatedly said he never intended to injure anyone, a claim that his lawyers will likely argue was supported by the report. The FBI said the devices wouldn't have functioned because of their design, though it couldn't be determined whether that was…

Country singer Luke Combs was just 6 years old when his mom and grandmother snuck him into his first concert by hiding him in the backseat of their car so he could go see Vince Gill play at a minor league baseball stadium.   It came full circle for the singer-songwriter from North Carolina when Gill came out to formally induct Combs, 29, into the Grand Ole Opry on Tuesday night in Nashville, Tennessee.   Combs, who has taken country music by storm in the last two years with hit after hit off his debut major label record, told reporters backstage before the induction that he actually didn't get to see Gill finish that performance 23 years ago.   "I actually missed my favorite song that night because I started…

Facebook's ambitious plan to create a financial eco-system based on a digital currency faces questions from lawmakers, as it's shadowed by negative comments from President Donald Trump, his treasury secretary and the head of the Federal Reserve. Congress begins two days of hearings Tuesday on the currency planned by Facebook, to be called Libra, starting with the Senate Banking Committee. Meanwhile, a House Judiciary subcommittee will extend its bipartisan investigation of the market power of Facebook, Google, Amazon and Apple. Trump tweeted last week that the new currency, Libra, “will have little standing or dependability.” Both Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Fed Chair Jerome Powell have expressed serious concerns recently that Libra could be used for illicit activity. The Treasury Department has “very serious concerns that Libra could be misused…

The European Union is preparing to impose more sanctions on Venezuela targeting officials who are accused of being involved in torture and other human rights violations. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said in a statement Tuesday that it is working with the U.N. to make sure that human rights are respected in Venezuela following reports of abuses by the security forces.   Mogherini said that ``the EU is ready to start work towards applying targeted measures for those members of the security forces involved in torture and other serious violations of human rights.''   The EU has had measures in place since 2017, including an embargo on arms and on equipment for internal repression.  It also slapped 18 officials with travel bans and asset freezes. ...

Monsoon flooding and landslides continued to cause havoc in South Asia on Tuesday, with the death toll rising to 78 in Nepal and authorities in neighboring northeastern India battling to provide relief to over 4 million people in Assam state, officials said. Nepal’s National Emergency Operation Center said more than 40,000 soldiers and police were using helicopters and roads to rush food, tents and medicine to thousands of people hit by the annual flooding. Rescuers also were searching for 32 missing people. In Bangladesh, more than 100,000 people were affected by flooding in the north and forecasters warned that major rivers continued to swell across the country. Rivers burst their banks in the northern district of Lalmonirhat, marooning villages, news reports said, quoting local water board officials. In the Indian…

Ethiopia's Amhara Democratic Party (ADP) named the security adviser to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed as head of the restive Amhara region on Monday after his predecessor was killed in a violent attempt to seize power there. Dozens were killed in fighting during the foiled coup by a rogue state militia in Amhara that claimed the life of regional president Ambachew Mekonnen and other top officials. The same night, the army's chief of staff and a retired general accompanying him were killed in the capital Addis Ababa in a related attack, the government said. The ADP said on its Facebook page that it had nominated Abiy's security adviser Temesgen Tiruneh as Ambachew's successor in Amhara. The party controls the Amhara regional government and is also one of four in Abiy's national…

Aid workers in Uganda say armed conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo has doubled the flow of refugees since June, straining humanitarian funding. Many of the DRC refugees brave the harsh waters of Lake Albert on the Uganda border to make the crossing to safety. Halima Athumani reports from Sebagoro Landing Site in southwestern Uganda. ...

Guatemala said on Sunday it would postpone President Jimmy Morales' visit to Washington to discuss Guatemala's potential designation as a 'safe third country' for asylum seekers, stressing it had no plans to sign such an agreement. In a statement, Guatemala said the planned meeting between Morales and U.S. President Donald Trump this week had been postponed until the Guatemalan Constitutional Court had ruled on legal challenges. Last week, five former senior officials appealed to the court to block any agreement with the United States that would declare Guatemala a 'safe third country.' Under such a deal, Guatemala would be obliged to offer asylum to migrants who entered its territory en route to the United States. Migrants from Honduras and El Salvador heading to the U.S.-Mexican border overland usually cross into…

A healthy lifestyle can cut your risk of developing Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia even if you have genes that raise your risk for these mind-destroying diseases, a large study has found. People with high genetic risk and poor health habits were about three times more likely to develop dementia versus those with low genetic risk and good habits, researchers reported Sunday. Regardless of how much genetic risk someone had, a good diet, adequate exercise, limiting alcohol and not smoking made dementia less likely. “I consider that good news,” said John Haaga of the U.S. National Institute on Aging, one of the study’s many sponsors. “No one can guarantee you’ll escape this awful disease” but you can tip the odds in your favor with clean living, he said. Results…

Police and protesters are gearing up for a fight in Hawaii as construction is set to begin on a massive telescope on Mauna Kea, the islands' highest peak, considered sacred by some native Hawaiians. State officials said the road to the top of Mauna Kea mountain on the Big Island will be closed starting Monday as equipment is delivered to the construction site. Scientists chose Mauna Kea in 2009 after a five-year, worldwide search for the ideal site for the largest telescope in the Northern Hemisphere. Construction was supposed to begin in 2014 but was halted by protests. Opponents of the $1.4 billion telescope will desecrate sacred land. According to the University of Hawaii, ancient Hawaiians considered the location kapu, or forbidden. Only the highest-ranking chiefs and priests were allowed…

In the early hours of Monday, India is set to launch a mission to an uncharted area of the moon, marking a significant milestone in its steadily expanding ambitions in space. If successful, India would become the fourth country to land a probe on the moon after the United States, Russia and China and secure its place as a leading space-faring nation. India’s most powerful rocket launcher is scheduled to carry the Chandrayaan-2, which means “moon vehicle” in Sanskrit, from Sriharikota in eastern India. It will have a lunar orbiter, lander and rover. The real test of the mission will come about 50 days later, around Sept. 6, when the lander will attempt a controlled landing on the lunar surface at the South Pole of the moon, which no country…

Barry, which made landfall as a hurricane Saturday along the Louisiana Gulf Coast, quickly weakened to a tropical storm. The storm made landfall in Louisiana near Intercoastal City, according to the National Hurricane Center, which warned that Barry is likely to bring dangerous storm surges, plus strong winds and heavy rain that could cause “life threatening flooding” in parts of the Gulf Coast and the Lower Mississippi Valley. The storm had been expected to dump up to 50 centimeters (nearly 20 inches) of rain throughout the state by Sunday. The main threat from the storm is expected to be its flood potential rather than its high winds. Robyn Iacona-Hilbert walks through her flooded business after Hurricane Barry in Mandeville, La., July 13, 2019. On Saturday night, Gov. John Bel Edwards…

The power of song can heal the hearts and bring people together.  A girls' chorus named Pihcintu sings to do just that.  Most members are from war-torn countries and refugee camps around the world. Together they sing as one and spread a message of hope. VOA's June Soh caught up with the group in Washington and has this story narrated by Carol Pearson    ...

This story originated in VOA's Russian Service. WASHINGTON — Sometimes history has a funny way of confounding its chroniclers. In a recent Financial Times interview, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared the liberal world order obsolete. Sitting with reporters at the Kremlin hours before attending the Group of 20 summit in Osaka, Japan, where he roundly condemned open-door policies toward migrants, the Russia leader decried "the so-called liberal idea" as a moribund enterprise at odds with "traditional values" of ordinary people the world over. "Our Western partners have admitted that some elements of the liberal idea, such as multiculturalism, are no longer tenable," Putin said, criticizing immigration policies of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and touting President Donald Trump's continued push to build a wall as part of a broader crackdown on migrants.…

The UN Human Rights Office is calling on Yemen’s Appellate Court to dismiss the death sentences handed down on 30 people earlier this week by the Houthi authorities in the capital Sana’a. Most of the 30 men sentenced to death are academics, students and politicians.  The UN human rights office says they have been affiliated with the Islah party, a group that has been critical of the Houthis.   The Houthi rebels, believed to be backed by Iran, have been at war with the Saudi-backed Government of Yemen for more than four years. Human rights spokeswoman, Ravina Shamdasani says the men have been languishing in prison since their arrest in 2016.   She says they were charged in 2017.  While they have had dozens of hearings in court since then, she…

A team of researchers across three universities is working on a cell-killing machine invisible to the naked eye. “We want to be bacteria’s worst nightmare,” said James Tour, T.T. and W. F. Chao Professor of Chemistry at Rice University in Houston. He is also a professor of materials science and nanoengineering, and computer science. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria pose one of the biggest threats to global health, according to the World Health Organization. Researchers at Rice University, Durham University in Britain and North Carolina State University may have discovered a way to fight antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Harmful Bacteria's Worst Nightmare May Be a Microscopic Drill video player. EmbedCopy Harmful Bacteria's Worst Nightmare May Be a Microscopic Drill They’re experimenting with tiny, manmade nanomachines that can drill into a cell, killing it. The machines…

Islamic State media operatives appear to have regrouped, at least in part, intent on showing the world that the terror organization is living up to its motto of “remaining and expanding” despite its lack of a physical caliphate. For almost a month, the group’s core media channels have been pumping out a series of videos showing fighters pledging allegiance, or renewing their pledges, to IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.   Intelligence officials and analysts say, so far, the group, also known as ISIS or by its Arabic acronym, Daesh, has produced and disseminated eight of these videos under the title, “The Best Outcome is for the Pious.”   The video series “aims at proving that ISIS has not been defeated and that its militants in several parts of the world…

South Sudanese opposition leader Riek Machar has agreed to a face-to-face meeting with President Salva Kiir, a step that could energize the lagging talks on a government for the civil war-wracked country. In a letter dated July 8 and sent to President Kiir's security adviser, Tut Gatluak, Machar said he is ready to talk with the president as long as he can freely move about in South Sudan. The Kiir administration invited Machar to meet with Kiir after the government and opposition groups missed a May deadline to form a transitional government of national unity. The period was extended for another six months. In the letter viewed by VOA, Machar said he will meet Kiir to discuss the challenges of implementing pre-transition activities since recent months have passed “without substantial…

Editor's note: We want you to know what's happening, why and how it could impact your life, family or business, so we created a weekly digest of the top original immigration, migration and refugee reporting from across VOA. Questions? Tips? Comments? Email the VOA immigration team: ImmigrationUnit@voanews.com. U.S.: Undocumented people on alert for federal immigration raids, again. For the second time in a month, there is talk of federal raids to detain undocumented immigrants across the United States. It's a fearful time for those who are vulnerable. U.S.: Break in the border spike A months-long increase in border apprehensions reversed in June, shortly after the U.S. brokered a migration deal with Mexico amid threats of a tariff. It’s also the time of year when temperatures creep up in the southwestern…

Women in the Syrian city of Raqqa say their lives have changed dramatically after U.S.-backed forces freed their city from the Islamic State terror group. ...

Women in the Syrian city of Raqqa say their lifestyle drastically changed after U.S.-backed forces freed their city from the Islamic State terror group. The Syrian Democratic Forces liberated the city in October 2017. Since then, Raqqa residents have been determined to bring a sense of normalcy back to their city, which was once the de facto capital of IS's self-proclaimed caliphate.  Throughout the partially restored market in downtown Raqqa, shops selling women's clothing and cosmetics now openly showcase their merchandise, something unthinkable during IS rule. "Now, I can exhibit anything I want in front of my store," said a 37-year-old man who owns a women's boutique.   "When Daesh was here, we had to hide things like revealing clothes and lingerie in the back of the store. Men couldn't…

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan could be facing his biggest political challenge, with the resignation of his former economic czar Ali Babacan threatening to split his ruling AKP Party. Party discontent is escalating amidst economic malaise and deteriorating human rights. "Under the current conditions, Turkey needs a brand-new vision for its future," Babacan said Monday upon resigning. "It has become inevitable to start a new effort for Turkey's present and future. Many of my colleagues and I feel a great and historic responsibility toward this effort." New political party Babacan is expected to launch a new political party as early as September. A founding member of AKP, Babacan served as foreign and economy minister in the early years of the party's rule. He is widely credited with presiding over Turkey's economic transformation…

Ride-hailing application Uber, after successful launches in Ghana and Nigeria, is looking to expand in West Africa to Senegal's capital, Dakar.  But in a city full of taxis, and drivers without smartphones, the Silicon Valley company will have to overcome a lot of challenges to make a profit.  From Dakar, VOA's Esha Sarai reports. ...

The world is dealing with climate refugees, people whose homes have been inundated by rising sea levels. But in Wales, residents of one seaside town are confused and angry because of a political decision to let nature have its way and let the town sink back into the sea. VOA's Kevin Enochs reports. ...

U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta has defended a plea deal he helped broker with Jeffrey Epstein in 2008 in Florida. The billionaire financier, who socialized with U.S. President Donald Trump and former President Bill Clinton, is detained in New York where federal prosecutors have charged him with sex trafficking of minors between 2002 and 2005. Acosta is under pressure to step down because as U.S. attorney in Florida, he agreed to a mild sentence for Epstein. VOA's Zlatica Hoke reports.   ...

A Spanish court ruled on Wednesday that singer Julio Iglesias was the father of a 43-year-old man, resolving a paternity dispute that had lasted three decades after the singer refused to take a DNA test. Javier Sanchez-Santos was born in 1976 to Portuguese dancer Maria Edite Santos. The ruling that he is the son of Iglesias can still be appealed. Iglesias, 75, has sold more than 300 million records in 14 languages, making him the best-selling Latin artist ever. He turned to singing after a car accident in 1963 that ended his burgeoning career as a soccer player. He has eight other children. Three were born out of his marriage to Isabel Preysler and five with his wife Miranda Rijnsburger. ...