Month: November 2019

The U.N. refugee agency plans to cut the number of migrants staying at an overcrowded transit center in Libya’s capital, a spokesman said Saturday. Libya is a major waypoint for migrants fleeing war and poverty in Africa and the Middle East to Europe. “The situation is very difficult, and we do not have the resources” because the center in Tripoli is at about twice its capacity, with some 1,200 migrants, Charlie Yaxley, a UNHCR spokesman, told The Associated Press. The UNHCR has asked those refugees not registered with the agency to leave the European Union-funded Gathering and Departure Facility, offering an assistance package that includes cash for an initial two months. “You will not be considered for evacuation or resettlement if you stay at the GDF,” the agency warned the…

Climate activists protested at open-pit coal mines in eastern Germany, pouring onto the premises to urge the government to immediately halt the use of coal to produce electricity. The news agency dpa reported that police estimated more than 2,000 people took part Saturday at sites near Cottbus and Leipzig and that some of the demonstrators scuffled with police. Three officers were reported slightly injured at the Janschwaelde mine near Cottbus. The mine operators, Leag und Mibrag, filed police reports asking for an investigation and possible charges. Burning coal releases carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas blamed by scientists for global warming. The German government plans to end the use of coal by 2038 and spend 40 billion euros ($44 billion) on assistance for the affected mining regions. ...

Three international organizations have ended an official visit to Cameroon with a call for efforts to restore security, justice and the conditions for the resumption of normal life in English-speaking northwest and southwest regions of the country hit by the separatist crisis that has killed over 3,000 people. The Commonwealth, African Union, and International Organization of La Francophonie delegation says it is convinced dialogue remains the preferred path for peace to return, but that the government should start implementing the recommendations of the last major national dialogue it organized. Some, however, have been critical of government efforts. <!--[if IE 9]><![endif]--><!--[if IE 9]><![endif]-->Thousands Flee Violence in Cameroon’s English-Speaking RegionsThe new violence has dashed hopes that schools would re-open this week, after being closed for three years Moussa Faki Mahamat, chairperson of…

U.S. border protection officials in San Diego said Friday that 20 people had been rescued from flooded drainage pipes west of the San Ysidro Port of Entry.  A Border Patrol agent found three people trying to enter the United States illegally late Thursday near a drainage tube about 3 kilometers west of the port of entry, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Border Patrol's parent agency. In a release, CBP said the three people told agents there were people trapped inside the drainage tubes, with water rising because of heavy rain in the area.  After a search, local emergency officials aided CBP agents in recovering 17 people, sending seven of them to a nearby hospital for medical care. About an hour later, three more people were discovered in the drainage…

Twitter Chief Executive Jack Dorsey has wrapped up of a trip to Africa by pledging to reside on the continent next year for up to six months.  Dorsey tweeted this week: "Africa will define the future (especially the bitcoin one!). Not sure where yet, but I'll be living here for 3-6 months mid 2020." The CEO of the social media giant did not say what he planned to do on the African continent. Twitter, which is based in San Francisco, did not offer more details on Dorsey's plans.  On Dorsey's recent trip, he visited entrepreneurs in Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa.  Dorsey, 43, co-founded Twitter with several other entrepreneurs in 2006. He ran the company until he was ousted in 2008 but was brought back seven years later to again lead the platform.…

The conflict in Syria created a global humanitarian crisis, with millions displaced and millions more fleeing to other countries. Turkish military operations that began in early October may be creating a new wave of displacement. Where are these Syrians going? VOA's Turkish service filed this report, narrated by Ege Sacikara.  ...

The widespread African tradition of giving cash and gifts to a bride’s family before marriage, known as a “bride price,” critics say degrades women by putting a monetary value on a wife. A recent case in Nigeria ended in suicide, underscoring the financial pressure. But, supporters of the bride price tradition uphold it as a cherished cultural and religious symbol of marriage. Saadatu Ahmed Manga is having a dye called lalle, or henna, painted on her body because she’s about to get married. The bride and her friends are getting ready. She says they went to the hairdresser, and now they are doing lalle. For every wedding, the bride does lalle. Lalle is a dye made of plants. It’s painted on the body in patterns that resemble flowers or shapes.…

Southern Africa is experiencing one of the worst droughts in years, with more than 40 million people expected to face food insecurity because of livestock and crop losses. Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Zimbabwe have declared it an emergency. In semi-arid Botswana, the farmers are reeling after the worst drought in a decade wiped out entire harvests and left the land littered with dead livestock. Two thirds of the crops planted last season failed, while Ngamiland, a rich beef producing region, has recorded nearly 40,000 cattle deaths. Rancher Casper Matsheka says there was no food or water, so his animals starved to death. “The goats died, as well as the cattle, as you can see the carcasses all over. We were really affected. If only the government could subsidize the prices…

A former Buddhist monk has died in eastern Tibet after setting himself on fire this week to protest China’s repressive rule, a spokesperson for the monastery told VOA Tibetan Service. Yonten, a 24-year-old former monk at Kirti Monastery in Amdo Ngaba, in the western China province of Sichuan, carried out his self-immolation Tuesday in Meruma township, spokesperson Kanyag Tsering said. He said China had imposed restrictions in the area, including cellphone use, slowing the gathering and dissemination of information about the incident. “We have no further information on whether the body of the deceased has been handed over to the family or not since all channels are now blocked,” the monastery said in a statement. There have been 156 self-immolations across Tibet over the past decade, 44 of which took…

A Russian-backed bank payment card, introduced after Western sanctions upended Russia's financial system five years ago and prompted Visa and Mastercard to deny electronic services to some of the country's leading banks, is set for its European debut on London Wednesday, when a pilot project will be launched in collaboration with the Dutch global payment company PayXpert. Moscow authorities hoped to get the MIR card accepted eventually in foreign markets, but progress has been slow outside Russia for the MIR payment system,  which operates outside of Western-controlled international financial systems such as Swift, which banks use to transfer money.   The pilot project with PayXpert "will lay the foundation for new promising trends in the foreign expansion of Russian payment cards,"  according to Vladimir Komlev, the head of Russia's National…

China summoned the U.S. ambassador in Beijing Thursday to "strongly protest" President Donald Trump's signing of bills on Hong Kong's human rights. Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng told Ambassador Terry Branstad the move constituted "serious interference in China's internal affairs" and described the action as a "serious violation of international law," a statement from the foreign ministry said.  He urged Washington to refrain from implementing the bills to "avoid further damage" to U.S.-China relations. President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Sunrise, Fla., Nov. 26, 2019. Trump Wednesday signed two separate bills backing pro-democracy demonstrators in Hong Kong, despite a trade deal in the balance and threats from Beijing. The House and Senate passed both bills last week nearly unanimously. One law requires the State Department to…

Iran on Thursday condemned the burning of its consulate in southern Iraq hours earlier, which came amid an escalation in Iraq's anti-government protests that erupted nearly two months ago.                     Violence across southern Iraq had continued throughout the night, with security forces killing 16 protesters and wounded 90 since Wednesday. Protesters closed roads while a large number of police and military forces were deployed across key oil-rich provinces. Protesters had set fire to the Iranian consulate in the holy city of Najaf late Wednesday. The Iranian staff were not harmed, and escaped out the back door.                     Anti-government protests have gripped Iraq since Oct. 1, when thousands took to the streets in Baghdad and the predominantly Shiite south. The largely leaderless movement accuses the government of being hopelessly…

A TikTok post by a young woman, pretending to give eyelash curling advice while actually condemning China's crackdown on Muslims in Xinjiang, has gone viral on the Chinese-owned app that has been accused of censoring anti-Beijing content. The clip by US teen Feroza Aziz, who describes herself as "17 Just a Muslim", had millions of views across several social media platforms by Wednesday. But Aziz said she has been blocked from posting on the hugely popular video platform TikTok for a month after uploading Sunday's clip slamming China, a claim disputed by the app. Part three to getting longer lashes #tiktok#muslims#muslimmemes#Uyghurmuslims#freepalestinepic.twitter.com/OoFpDpYPvj— feroza.x (@x_feroza) November 25, 2019 Human rights groups and outside experts say more than one million Uighurs and other mostly Muslim minorities have been rounded up in a network…

The enemy next door. Plugged In takes you to the Iraqi town of Shoura, once controlled by the Islamic State. Now, Shoura's residents are trying live side-by-side with the wives and children of the ISIS fighters who terrorized the town. VOA Middle East Correspondent Heather Murdock brings us the story of Shoura, an experiment in reconciliation. Air date: November 27, 2019.  ...

At least three workers were injured in an early morning explosion on Wednesday that sparked a blaze at a Texas petrochemical plant, the latest in a series of chemical plant accidents in the region. An initial explosion at a TPC Group complex in Port Neches, Texas, was followed by secondary blasts, shattering windows, blowing locked doors off their hinges and prompting officials to evacuate homes within a half-mile radius of the facility, which about 90 miles east of Houston. Toby Baker, head of the state’s pollution regulator, criticized the “unacceptable trend of significant incidents” in the region and pledged to review the state’s compliance efforts. The fiery blast follows others at petrochemical producers and storage facilities in Texas. A March blaze at chemical storage complex outside Houston burned for days…

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has agreed to expand its anti-bias training and expressly forbid anti-Semitism in campus policies as part of an agreement with the U.S. Education Department following complaints about a March conference featuring a rapper accused of anti-Jewish bias. The university announced the changes Monday after reaching a resolution with the department's Office for Civil Rights. The deal puts an end to the inquiry without any admission of wrongdoing on the school's part, and without any official finding from the department on the allegation of illegal discrimination. Interim Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz reiterated that the university will not tolerate any form of harassment, and he encouraged students and faculty to report any problems. "I reaffirm the university's commitment to creating a place where every member…

Many new refugees in America experience culture shock when they first arrive in the United States.  Many have to deal with a new language, culture, and even holidays. But settled refugees can play a big role in helping new arrivals adapt to life in the U.S. One example is the Ethiopian Community Center, which hosts a Thanksgiving meal every year for new refugees.  VOA's Shahnaz Nafees has more on the event. ...

Critics say the widespread African tradition of giving cash and gifts to a bride's family before marriage, known as a "bride price," degrades women by putting a required, monetary value on a wife. In Nigeria, the financial pressure in a recent case ended in suicide, underscoring those concerns. But supporters of the bride price tradition uphold it as a cherished cultural and religious symbol of marriage, as Chika Oduah reports from Yola, Nigeria. ...

Israel's attorney general Avichai Mandelblit says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can stay on as head of government even after he was indicted last week for alleged corruption. Although Cabinet ministers are required to step down after an indictment, the laws about a prime minister are not explicit. Mandelblit says Netanyahu can stay in office unless he is convicted and all his appeals are exhausted. Netanyahu is facing pressure from the opposition to resign after Mandelblit announced his indictment last week. Netanyahu is charged with allegedly taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, cigars, champagne, and jewelry from billionaire friends in exchange for personal favors, including helping one wealthy friend get favorable newspaper coverage. He also is accused of doing favors for a newspaper editor so the prime minister himself…

Turkish riot police used force to break up a march by thousands of women calling for what they call an "end to impunity" for men guilty of violence against women. Police stopped more than 2,000 from marching up Istikal Street in Istanbul’s main shopping district. Police fired pepper spray at the protesters with some witnesses reporting the use of tear gas and plastic bullets. No casualties or arrests were reported. March organizers say they are tired at what they believe are the relatively light sentences handed out to husbands and boyfriends who murder or abuse women. Women at the front of Monday's march spread out a banner reading "We cannot tolerate the loss of one more woman." A Turkish women's rights group says nearly 380 women have been killed so…

A Lebanese-born business tycoon says he is donating Hitler's top hat and other Nazi memorabilia he won at an auction to an Israeli Jewish group to keep the stuff out of the hands of neo-Nazis. Abdallah Chatila, who made his fortune in diamonds and Swiss real estate, paid $660,000 for the items last week. He says he bought the the hat and memorabilia intending to destroy it, but decided it was better to hand it over to the Keren Hayeson-United Israel Appeal. Along with the Nazi dictator’s hat, the items include a silver plated edition of "Mein Kampf," and a typewriter used by Hitler's secretary. Although Chatila says some Lebanese are criticizing him for helping the so-called enemy, his act was totally non-political. He said he "wished to buy these…

Feature films on slavery have been part of Hollywood since the beginning of the film industry in United States. However, only recently, movies on slavery have been told from the perspective of the slaves, and now, with the film "Harriet" from the perspective of a female slave.  “Harriet", the latest of antebellum dramas, focuses on Harriet Tubman a female runaway slave.  Tubman played a significant role in the so called "Underground Railroad", a human network helping enslaved African - Americans to flee to free American states and Canada. VOA’s Penelope Poulou has more. ...

When politicians try to win votes by blaming foreigners for stealing jobs, economists say they ignore technology, which is what is really replacing many of these jobs. However the issue remains that many workers and small businesses do not benefit from foreign trade as much as corporations do, and that is something Vietnam hopes to fix. Hanoi is trying to avoid the mistakes of the U.S., Britain, and other countries where lower income citizens felt left behind by global trade, and one part of its approach is to focus on small business loans. Vietnam hopes to make loans available to family businesses and other small businesses, which in many cases do not have the right connections or the expertise to get these loans. Last week the State Bank of Vietnam…

Hong Kong pro-democracy forces won a landslide victory in local elections Sunday. Though primarily symbolic, the vote represents a stunning rebuke to Beijing, as VOA’s Bill Gallo reports from Hong Kong. ...

Devin Nunes, the top Republican on the Congressional committee investigating President Donald Trump, refused to answer questions Sunday as to whether he met with a former Ukrainian official to gather information on the son of former vice president Joe Biden. A lawyer representing Lev Parnas, an indicted associate of Trump's personal lawyer, Rudolph Giuliani, has told multiple news outlets since Friday that Nunes met Ukraine's former top prosecutor Viktor Shokin in Vienna in 2018. The claim is controversial because Nunes did not disclose any such meeting while leading the Republican defense of President Donald Trump during related impeachment hearings. Speaking on Fox News Sunday morning, Nunes was asked point blank by the Fox news anchor whether he had met with Shokin. The congressman replied that he wanted to answer questions…

Machine gun fire answers rock-throwing protesters. Motorcycle-riding Revolutionary Guard volunteers chase after demonstrators. Plainclothes security forces grab, beat and drag a man off the street to an uncertain fate. As Iran restores the internet after a weeklong government-imposed shutdown, new videos purport to show the demonstrations over gasoline prices rising and the security-force crackdown that followed. The videos offer only fragments of encounters, but to some extent they fill in the larger void left by Iran's state-controlled television and radio channels. On their airwaves, hard-line officials allege that foreign conspiracies and exile groups instigated the unrest. In print, newspapers offered only PR for the government or had merely stenographic reporting at best, the moderate daily Hamshahri said in an analysis Sunday. They don't acknowledge that the gasoline price hike Nov.…

More than three dozen people are reported dead in a series of security-related incidents in Afghanistan, including a fatal attack on a U.N. vehicle in the capital, Kabul. Several of the dead were civilians. Afghan officials said Sunday that Taliban rebels assaulted a security outpost in central Daykundi province overnight, killing eight soldiers and wounding four others. Senior provincial authorities claimed the ensuing firefight also killed at least 20 assailants, though the Taliban disputed those claims. Meanwhile, doctors and residents in western Farah province said an Afghan government air strike has killed at least nine civilians and injured several others. The mainstream local TOLO news channel reported Sunday relatives took to the streets with bodies of the victims to protest and demand an immediate investigation into the deadly incident. In…

Iraqi security forces fired rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse crowds of protesters Saturday, killing two people in a third day of fierce clashes in central Baghdad, security and hospital officials said.    Two protesters were struck with rubber bullets and died instantly and over 20 others were wounded in the fighting on Rasheed Street, a famous avenue known for its old crumbling architecture and now littered with rubble from days of violence. Sixteen people have died and over 100 have been wounded in the renewed clashes. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.    At least 342 protesters have died in Iraq's massive protests, which started October 1 when thousands of Iraqis took to the streets to decry corruption and lack of services despite…