Month: November 2019

The United States and South Korea announced Sunday they will postpone upcoming military drills in an effort to bolster a stalled peace push with North Korea, even as Washington denied the move amounted to another concession to Pyongyang. The drills, known as the Combined Flying Training Event, would have simulated air combat scenarios and involved an undisclosed number of warplanes from the United States and South Korea. In deference to Pyongyang, the exercises had already been reduced in scale and scope from previous years, but North Korea still objected to them regardless. Effort to enable peace U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said the U.S. and South Korean militaries would remain at a high state of readiness despite the move, and he denied that the decision to postpone the drills was…

A new report by leading health and safety agencies finds millions of sanitation workers in developing countries are forced to work under horrific conditions that put their health and lives at risk. Sanitation workers everywhere occupy the lowest rung of society and are stigmatized and marginalized because they do the dirty work that other people do not want to do.   The report's authors - the International Labor Organization, the World Health Organization, the World Bank and WaterAid – say they hope to raise awareness on the plight of sanitation workers and the dehumanizing conditions under which they are forced to work. For example, the report says that many sanitation workers aren’t given the safety training or equipment needed to protect them when handling effluent or fecal sludge. World Health…

Authorities in Haiti said late Friday they are investigating allegations that a group of male inmates raped 10 women in a makeshift jail in the northern city of Gonaives. Prosecutor Serard Gazius told The Associated Press that more than 50 men broke out of their cells last week and overpowered police officers guarding the inmates, adding that an unknown number of them are suspected of raping 10 of 12 women being held in the same facility but in separate cells. He said the male and female inmates were being held in a former United Nations facility because the original prison was destroyed years ago and a new one hasn’t been built. Gazius said the women were scared and have yet to identify the suspects, adding that they have received medical…

It's looking like an anti-robocall bill will be sent to President Donald Trump this year, helping tackle an infuriating problem in the U.S. House and Senate leaders said Friday they've reached an agreement in principle on merging their two bills against robocalls. The House bill had gone further than the Senate one. Details about what's in the final bill are still to come, but legislators say it will require phone companies to verify that phone numbers are real, and to block calls for free. It will also give government agencies more ability to go after scammers. It's the latest effort in a crackdown, building on steps by state attorneys general and the Federal Communications Commission as well as the phone companies. Phone companies have been rolling out verification tools after…

Tunisia took a step forward Friday in forming a new government following rollercoaster October elections, with the moderate Islamist Ennahda party proposing a prime minister from its own ranks to lead it.  Former junior agriculture minister, Habib Jemli, 60, will now have two months to form a government. If he fails to do so, newly elected President Kais Saied can tap another candidate. Still, it remains uncertain whether any future government emerging from a politically fractured parliament — along with an untested president — can tackle the country’s massive economic and employment challenges. With Tunisia considered the Arab Spring’s first and so far only relative success story, this latest twist in its bumpy post-revolutionary path is being closely watched abroad. Some analysts hail last month’s elections — where disaffected voters…

Taiwan and the United States have sent their first joint trade delegation to one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies as tiny, often impoverished countries keep turning instead to China, a source of aid for the developing world but a perceived threat to both delegation organizers.   In the first week of November, the delegation visited Saint Lucia, one of just 15 nations that recognize Taiwan diplomatically instead of China. They assessed ways offshore businesses could help the Caribbean country with infrastructure, trade and investment, the government-run Central News Agency in Taipei said.   “The way to consolidate diplomatic relationships is multi-dimensional,” Taiwan Foreign Ministry spokesperson Joanne Ou said. “It should be an effort across different domains, and investment is one of them. We hope that it will help. We do hope…

United Airlines is removing the grounded Boeing 737 Max from its schedule until March 4, two months longer than previously planned.                     The change follows similar moves by American and Southwest, and reflects further delays in Boeing's work to fix the plane after two deadly crashes.                     United said Friday that without the planes, it will cancel 56 flights a day in January, February and early March, down from 93 a day this month.                     United has 14 Max jets. All Max planes have been grounded since March, after crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia killed 346 people.                     Boeing is fixing flight-control software and computers that played a role in the crashes. Boeing expects regulators to approve changes in pilot-training in January, clearing the way for…

Rights groups and the U.S. Embassy on Thursday called for the Cambodian government to drop the charges against two former Radio Free Asia reporters who were arrested in 2017 and released on bail a year ago. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, center, greets his government officers during the country's 66th Independence Day from France, at the Independence Monument in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2019. The calls came to mark the second anniversary of the Nov. 14, 2017, arrest of former Radio Free Asia journalists Uon Chhin and Yeang Sothearin as part of Prime Minister Hun Sen's crackdown on the media, civil society groups and the political opposition before the 2018 elections. The two faced espionage charges, and on Oct. 3, when Phnom Penh Municipal Court Judge Im Vannak had been…

Amazon.com Inc. will protest the Pentagon's decision to award a $10 billion cloud computing contract to Microsoft Corp., The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, citing a statement.    Amazon did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.    A challenge to the Defense Department's award announced last month was widely expected by legal experts, analysts and consultants, especially after President Donald Trump publicly derided Amazon's bid for the high-stakes contract.    Trump had said in August that Amazon's bid for the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure Cloud (JEDI) contract was under review by his administration after complaints from other companies.    Amazon was considered a favorite for the contract, part of a broader digital modernization process of the Pentagon, before Microsoft emerged as the surprise winner.  ...

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' office announced that a special envoy would be sent to Bolivia to support a "peaceful resolution" to its current crisis after military leaders called on the Bolivian president to resign over election irregularities.  Former U.N. special envoy to Colombia Jean Arnault will act as the U.N. envoy to Bolivia to engage with "all Bolivian actors," and attempt to support peaceful elections in the country. Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for Guterres, announced that "the secretary-general remains deeply concerned about developments in Bolivia. He reiterates his appeal to all Bolivians to refrain from violence and exercise utmost restraint." FILE - Jean Arnault, then the the U.N. secretary-general's special representative for Colombia, speaks in Funza, Colombia, Sept. 22, 2017. Former President Evo Morales served as president of the South American…

U.S. President Donald Trump became the third president in modern U.S. history to face open impeachment hearings Wednesday. Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives called two key State Department witnesses to begin making the case that Trump abused the power of his office by allegedly pressing Ukraine for information that would help him in the 2020 election.  VOA's Congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson has more on the first day of hearings and Republican response from Capitol Hill.   ...

Fresh protests erupted Wednesday in Bolivia just hours after opposition Sen. Jeanine Áñez was sworn in as interim president. The United States recognized Áñez as Bolivia's temporary president. The country's longtime leader, Evo Morales, said he was removed by a coup and that he would continue to fight. He spoke from Mexico where he was granted asylum. The leftist leader resigned  Sunday after weeks of protests over a disputed presidential election result. VOA's Zlatica Hoke reports Morales still has supporters in his country, especially among indigenous Bolivians. ...

U.S. President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met at the White House Wednesday but did not reach resolutions on major irritants to bilateral relations including Turkey's recent incursion into northern Syria and its purchase of Russian military hardware. White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has this report.   ...

North Korea's supreme decision-making body has lashed out at planned U.S.-South Korean military drills and warned that the United States will face a "bigger threat and harsh suffering" if it ignores North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's end-of-year deadline to salvage nuclear talks. The North's State Affairs Commission said Wednesday that the drills would violate agreements between Kim and President Donald Trump on improving bilateral relations and compel North Korea to raise its war readiness. Kim is chairman of the commission, which he established in 2016 following years of efforts to consolidate his power and centralize governance. The statement is North Korea's latest expression of displeasure over the military drills and slow pace of nuclear negotiations with Washington. The talks have stalled over disagreements on disarmament steps and sanctions relief.…

Spanish police said Wednesday they have been unable to locate a Venezuelan former spymaster wanted by the United States for extradition on charges of drug trafficking. Police told The Associated Press that its officers have been unable to find Maj. Gen. Hugo Carvajal. News website El Español reported on Friday that a Spanish court had reversed an earlier ruling throwing out the U.S. arrest warrant and that it had ordered authorities to proceed with the extradition request. A spokesman for the National Court said Wednesday that no decision on the case has been made public at this time. Carvajal’s lawyer, Maria Dolores de Arguelles, said her client couldn’t be considered a fugitive because the defense has not been officially notified of the court ruling granting the extradition, and no court…

Russia's Embassy to Washington says it has lodged a formal diplomatic protest after Israel extradited a Russian national to the United States, where he is suspected of stealing more than $20 million from U.S. consumers through credit card fraud. In a Wednesday Facebook statement, the embassy also accused Washington of "hunting" Russian citizens across the world. The statement said that Russia had formally sent an official note to the U.S. State Department, demanding Aleksei Burkov's rights be respected. The U.S. Justice Department says Burkov was "charged with wire fraud, access device fraud, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, computer intrusions, identity theft, and money laundering" in the Eastern Court in Virginia on November 12. "According to court documents, Burkov allegedly ran a website called "Cardplanet" that sold payment card numbers…

Mark Sanford, a former governor of South Carolina, abandoned his longshot bid on Tuesday to challenge President Donald Trump for the 2020 Republican presidential nomination. Sanford, 59, announced he was dropping out of the race at an event in New Hampshire, which holds the first Republican presidential primary, his hometown newspaper, The Post and Courier, reported. Sanford's bid to challenge the sitting president for the Republican nomination failed to gain much traction since he threw his name into the ring two months ago. His departure from the race leaves two other Republicans waging longshot bids to win the Republican nomination -- former Massachusetts governor William Weld and former Illinois congressman Joe Walsh. Sanford was governor of South Carolina from 2003 to 2011, and served two separate stints in the House…

Clashes between protesters and riot police continued well into Tuesday night at a prominent Hong Kong university, extending one of the more violent stretches in the five months of demonstrations. Police fired rounds of tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and students responded by throwing bricks and gasoline bombs. Clashes continued until police eventually used a water cannon truck and then began a retreat. The weekday clashes — thus far unusual for the Hong Kong protests which have largely occurred on weekends — followed a day of chaos as protesters erected barricades on roads and subway tracks. Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam called the protesters who threw Tuesday's rush hour commute into chaos "extremely selfish." Dozens of passengers aboard a commuter…

Jordan’s King Abdullah visits one of two small parcels of land which, until recently, was leased to Israel as part of the neighbors’ 1994 peace agreement. Jordan's decision not to renew the lease was made at a time of brewing tensions between the peace partners. Jordanians blame Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for antagonizing the relationship, with action against Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa Mosque and the detention of Jordanian citizens, among others.   During Monday’s visit to Baqura, a 81-hectare enclave along the Jordan River in Jordan’s north, King Abdullah tweeted that "Jordan's sovereignty over its territory is above all other considerations." Jordan announced last year that it would not renew its peace treaty annexes with Israel on Baqura and al-Ghamr that gave Israeli farmers free access to the Jordan's sovereign land.…

Guinea President Alpha Conde announced on Monday that he was replacing his security minister following deadly protests against suspected efforts by Conde to extend his mandate. Conde, 81, is due to step down next year when his second and final five-year term expires, but he has refused to rule out running again and asked his government in September to look into drafting a new constitution. Conde's opponents fear a new constitution could be used as a reset button on his presidency, allowing Conde to run again like other African leaders who have amended or changed constitutions in recent years to stay in power. Protests in Conakry, the capital, and the bauxite-mining north against such a move have resulted in at least 13 deaths over the past month. The presidential statement…

Iraqi officials expressed "deep regret" on Monday at the death of protesters during weeks of unrest but defended Baghdad's handling of the situation. Nearly 300 people have been killed in Iraq since the protests against political corruption, unemployment and poor public services began on Oct. 1. At a U.N. review of member states' human rights records in Geneva, diplomats from several countries accused the Iraqi government of using excessive force. Justice Minister Farooq Amin Othman acknowledged there had been "individual violations" by members of the law enforcement agencies but said they were being investigated. "...We would like to express our deep regret for the number of people killed," he told international diplomats gathered at what the U.N calls the Universal Periodic Review. "Our constitution guarantees peaceful assembly and the objective…

The Ukrainian military and Russia-backed separatist rebels have completed a pullback of troops and weapons from an area in eastern Ukraine embroiled in a conflict that has killed more than 13,000 people, officials said Monday. The disengagement near Petrivske that began Saturday followed a recent similar withdrawal in another section of the frontline, where separatists and Ukrainian forces have been fighting since 2014. Ukraine's military said Ukrainian forces completed the pullback in Petrivske at midday Monday. The disengagement of forces in eastern Ukraine was seen as a key step to pave the way for a summit of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany on ending the conflict. Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed plans for holding the summit with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in a phone call Monday, according to the Kremlin.…

Authorities declared a state of emergency across a broad swath of Australia's east coast on Monday, urging residents in high risk areas to evacuate ahead of looming "catastrophic" fire conditions. Bushfires burning across New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland states have already killed three people and destroyed more than 150 homes. Officials expect adverse heat and wind conditions to peak at unprecedented levels on Tuesday. Bushfires are a common and deadly threat in Australia’s hot, dry summers but the current severe outbreak, well before the summer peak, has caught many by surprise. "Everybody has to be on alert no matter where you are and everybody has to be assume the worst and we cannot allow complacency to creep in," NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian told reporters in Sydney. The country's most…

The United Nations Assistance Mission to Iraq warned Sunday of the need for timely, tangible results in the government's response to protests that began in early October, and offered a roadmap to address some of the demonstrators' demands. The U.N. office issued a statement saying that within a week the government should release all protesters who have been detained since October 1 and accelerate efforts to identify and prosecute those responsible for using excessive force against protesters. It said there should be public calls for those in the region and elsewhere in the world with influence in Iraq to respect the country's sovereignty and not interfere with its internal affairs. UNAMI also called for the finalization of a framework for electoral reform and for anti-corruption action by the country's political…

A Hong Kong police officer shot at masked protesters on Monday morning, hitting at least one in the torso, as anger sparked by the recent death of a student spilled into the rush hour commute. The shooting, which was broadcast live on Facebook, is the latest escalation in more than five months of seething pro-democracy protests that have engulfed the international financial hub and battered its reputation. Footage showed a police officer drawing his sidearm in the district of Sai Wan Ho as he tried to detain a masked person at a junction that had been blocked by protesters. Another unarmed masked individual then approached the officer and was shot in the chest area, quickly falling to the ground, clutching their left side. Seconds later, two more live rounds were…

Pope Francis says he intends to go to South Sudan, where efforts are underway to salvage a peace deal. In public remarks Sunday, Francis also urged the African nation's leaders to find “consensus” for the good of the country. South Sudan President Salva Kiir and opposition leader Riek Machar last week agreed to postpone forming a coalition government for 100 days to resolve security and governance issues. Francis didn't detail his travel plans, only saying “I must visit” South Sudan “this year.” The pope travels to Asia later this month. In past years, he has spoken of a hoped-for pilgrimage to South Sudan. Francis referred to a visit by the two leaders at the Vatican this year, when he got down on his knees to entreat them to preserve peace.…

U.N. monitors report scores of civilians are being killed and wounded, and thousands are fleeing their homes as violence and human rights abuse escalate in northern and northeastern Syria.    In just the last five days, at least 92 civilians have been killed in these two separate battles.  The U.N. human rights office reports most of the deaths have occurred in Syria's northeastern Kurdish-controlled area, which is under assault by the Turkish military.   It says 49 people have been victims of airstrikes, ground-based strikes and summary executions.  These have been carried out by opposing Turkish-affiliated armed groups and Kurdish armed groups.  It says another 31 civilians have been killed by roadside bombs in populated areas, most likely planted by groups opposing the Turkish military offensive. Rupert Colville, spokesman for…

Voters are going to the polls Sunday in Romania for the country's presidential election. Analysts say incumbent Klaus Iohannis will likely be returned to office in a runoff vote. Centrist liberal Iohannis, unlike some other Eastern European leaders, has not embraced nationalism. Polls indicate he will receive 40% of the votes Sunday. His toughest competition is expected to come from former Prime Minister Viorica Dancilla, leader of the Social Democrats. If no one receives 50% of Sunday's ballots, there will be a second round of voting November 24.       ...