Month: December 2019

A piece of paper no bigger than a business card could enrich struggling coffee farmers and their soil, a growing challenge as temperatures rise and prices fluctuate.    Enveritas, a U.S. nonprofit, signed an agreement with International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) on Thursday to pilot the AgroPad, which analyzes soil samples remotely and quickly.    Powered by artificial intelligence, the AgroPad can perform a chemical analysis in 10 seconds, reading nitrate or chloride levels from a drop of water or small soil sample, said IBM.    Enveritas plans to provide the devices for free to farmers in coffee-growing regions of Latin America and Africa, and IBM said it aims to make them affordable for everyone. Its target production cost: less than 25 cents.    The nonprofit, which works with 100,000 farms, mills and estates in Latin America and Africa,…

President Donald Trump said on Thursday the United States may take action on trade with countries that are not contributing enough to NATO. Trump, fresh from a trip to London for a meeting of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, has been pushing member countries to contribute more to the organization. The U.S. president said a lot of countries were getting close to the goal of 2 percent of the Gross Domestic Product for NATO contributions. "A lot of countries are close and getting closer. And some are really not close, and we may do things having to do with trade. It's not fair that they get U.S. protection and they're not putting up their money," he said. Trump and French leader Emmanuel Macron clashed over the future of NATO on…

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Wednesday led hundreds of people in a march against corruption, calling corrupt people parasites who steal public wealth. Museveni said to end corruption, leaders must develop the economy. “Commercial agriculture, industry services and ICT, because that’s how we can create jobs and wealth and income so that our people do not have a material basis for acute need, which forces them to be corrupt,” Museveni said. President Yoweri Museveni addresses a gathering that had participated in the anti-corruption walk in Kampala, Uganda, Dec. 4, 2019. (Halima Athumani/VOA News) Critics note that last year, Transparency International ranked Uganda as one of the most corrupt countries in Africa, below Kenya, Mauritania and Nigeria. Action Aid International-Uganda says Museveni marching against corruption is ironic, because his government is…

The Alyn Pediatric Rehabilitation Hospital in Jerusalem offers innovative therapies for children with serious injuries. They treat children (and parents) from diverse national, cultural and religious backgrounds, preparing them to cope with their special needs in their home communities. Linda Gradstein reports from Jerusalem. ...

The highly anticipated final chapter in the Skywalker film saga will feature a significant role for Princess Leia, the beloved "Star Wars" character played by late actress Carrie Fisher. Writer and director J.J. Abrams said he had enough unused footage of Fisher from the filming of 2015 movie "The Force Awakens" to make Leia a key player in "The Rise of Skywalker," the "Star Wars" film that debuts in theaters on Dec. 20. Fisher died in 2016 at age 60. "We couldn't tell the story without Leia," Abrams said in an interview on Wednesday. "She's the mother of the villain of the piece. She's in a sense the mother of the resistance, the rebellion, the leader, the general." "Her role is, I would say, integral," he added. "This is not…

Iran's President Hassan Rohani has called for the release of protesters who were arrested in recent demonstrations against a sharp hike in gas prices if they were unarmed and simply voicing their opinion. "Religious and Islamic clemency should be shown and those innocent people who protested against petrol price hikes and were not armed...should be released," Rohani said in a televised speech on December 4. Protests erupted on November 15 after the government announced a fuel price hike of up to 200 % but were quickly stifled by security forces who also imposed a week-long near-total Internet blackout. Earlier this week rights group Amnesty International said at least 208 people were killed in the crackdown, a number that is "evidence that Iran's security forces went on a horrific killing spree."…

NATO leaders are gathering at a golf resort outside of London Wednesday to present a united front amid bitter differences over terrorism, Turkey and increased burden sharing with the United States. The 29 leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump, posed for a traditional "family" photograph before retreating for the planned three-hour meeting.  The leaders are expected to release a statement afterwards promising to focus more attention on the challenges posed by Russia and rising superpower China.   On the sidelines of the meeting Wednesday, Trump met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.  The White House said "the  two Presidents discussed the importance of Turkey fulfilling its alliance commitments, further strengthening commerce through boosting bilateral trade by $100 billion, regional security challenges, and energy security." A day earlier, leaders had gathered…

China has expressed anger over passage of a bill by the U.S. House of Representatives that calls for official actions against Beijing over its crackdown on millions of ethnic Muslims.   By a vote of 407-to-1, the Democratic-led chamber approved the Uighur Act of 2019 Tuesday which condemns the detention of an estimated one million Uighurs, Kazahks and other ethnic Muslims in so-called "re-education camps" in the remote western province of Xinjiang.  The bill directs various U.S. government agencies to prepare reports on China's treatment of the Muslim minorities, and calls on President Donald Trump to impose sanctions on Chinese officials deemed responsible for the mass detentions, specifically Chen Quanguo, the ruling Communist Party's chief in Xinjiang. Beijing has denied that it is detaining the Uighurs against their will, maintaining…

Nevada's powerful casino workers' Culinary Union will hold a series of town halls next week with Democratic presidential candidates Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden, the group said Tuesday. The town halls in Las Vegas on Dec. 9-11 are designed to give the White House hopefuls a chance to pitch themselves to the bartenders, housekeepers and other workers in the city's famed casinos. Their Culinary Workers Union Local 226 is considered one of the most influential endorsements in Nevada, the third state to weigh in on the Democratic presidential race. The union's secretary-treasurer Geoconda Arguello-Kline said the group has not yet decided if it will endorse anyone in the primary but is listening to candidates and telling them what workers want. The union's 60,000 members are mostly women and…

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he supports the demonstrations in Iran and urged the world to watch the Iranian government's violent effort to quash protests that he says have killed “thousands of people.” Speaking in London, where he is attending the NATO leaders summit, Trump said, “Iran is killing thousands and thousands of people right now as we speak.” He added they were killed “for the mere fact that they're protesting,” and he called it a “terrible thing.” Trump was mum on what, if anything, the U.S. could do in response to the violence, but he said, “I think the world has to be watching.” Later, during a meeting, Trump misheard a question when he said he did not support the protesters. The president also sent out a tweet…

Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak was a "victim" of the multimillion-dollar 1MDB scandal that saw state coffers drained on his watch, his lawyer said Tuesday, as the ex-premier gave evidence in his own fraud trial. Huge sums were stolen from sovereign wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad, allegedly by the ex-prime minister and his cronies, and spent on everything from high-end real estate to artwork. Najib's coalition was ousted at the polls last year after six decades in power, largely due to public anger over the scandal. He has since been arrested and hit with dozens of charges linked to the looting of the investment vehicle. "Najib is not part of the conspiracy. He is a victim as much as others in the 1MDB scandal," his lawyer Muhammad Shafee Adbullah…

Twitter is updating its global privacy policy to give users more information about what data advertisers might receive and is launching a site to provide clarity on its data protection efforts, the company said on Monday. The changes, which will take effect on Jan. 1, 2020, will comply with the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). The California law requires large businesses to give consumers more transparency and control over their personal information, such as allowing them to request that their data be deleted and to opt out of having their data sold to third parties. Social media companies including Facebook and Alphabet's Google have come under scrutiny on data privacy issues, fueled by Facebook's Cambridge Analytica scandal in which personal data were harvested from millions of users without their consent.…

Tens of millions of people in southern and eastern Africa are facing emergency food insecurity partly caused by climate change – with half of them children, according to the charity Save the Children. The area has been hit by extreme cyclones, flooding and drought in recent months - and scientists warn the region is warming much faster than other parts of the world. As Henry Ridgwell reports, aid agencies are calling on world leaders meeting at the climate conference in Madrid to commit to bigger cuts in greenhouse gases. ...

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter was admitted to a hospital in the southern U.S. state of Georgia over the weekend with a urinary tract infection. The 95-year-old statesman "is feeling better and looks forward to returning home soon," Deanna Congileo, a spokeswoman for The Carter Center said Monday. Carter was released from the hospital last week after undergoing surgery to relieve pressure on his brain caused by bleeding from a fall. Carter has overcome several health challenges in recent years. He was diagnosis with melanoma in 2015 but recovered after receiving radiation and immunotherapy. A fall last spring required him to get hip replacement surgery. Two separate falls last month required 14 stitches and caused a pelvic fracture. Carter, who was in the White House from 1977 to 1981, is…

The United States reportedly flew a reconnaissance plane over South Korea on Monday, marking the second intelligence-gathering flyover this week, according to an aviation tracker cited by several South Korean news sources. The aircraft — thought to be an RC-135W — was first reported on Twitter flying west to east across South Korea at an altitude of around 31,000 feet at approximately 8:26 a.m. The spy plane was spotted by Aircraft Spots, an account that monitors military aircraft movements.  The same account reportedly identified a U.S. Air Force U-2S plane flying over Seoul on December 1, while South Korean media reported similar recent flights by U-2S, EP-3C, E8C and RC-135V jets. The United States’ most recent reconnaissance flight took place just days after North Korea launched its 13th projectile this…

Clashes sparked by suspected cartel gunmen in a northern Mexican town killed 20 people this weekend, authorities said, putting more pressure on Mexico's president to curb gang violence after the United States vowed to label the gangs terrorists. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, mindful of efforts by U.S. President Donald Trump to designate Mexican drug gangs as terrorist groups, repeated on Sunday that he would not accept any intervention from abroad, while doubling down on his strategy of trying to contain the cartels. But the killings clouded celebrations marking Lopez Obrador's first year in office, which were buffeted by a march in Mexico City by thousands of people protesting the violence. The government of the northern state of Coahuila said local security forces killed 14 gunmen on Saturday and Sunday,…

The White House says it will not participate in Wednesday impeachment hearing by the House Judiciary Committee. Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler invited U.S. President Donald Trump and his counsel to attend the committee's first hearing as the impeachment inquiry moves into its next phase. While no one expected Trump to attend - he plans to be at a NATO summit near London this week - White House counsel Pat Cipollone is also declining the invitation. "We cannot fairly be expected to participate in a hearing while the witnesses are yet to be named and while it remains unclear whether the Judiciary Committee will afford the president a fair process through additional hearings," Cipollone said in a letter to Nadler late Sunday. Cipollone said he will reply by the end of…

Albania's prime minister is asking the international community for financial aid and expert assistance following last week's earthquake. Edi Rama said at a Cabinet meeting Sunday, "Simply, this is humanly impossible to do this [reconstruction] alone." He said the budget is being reshaped to deal with the earthquake's aftermath, but Albania still needs international support.   Rama said he has written to U.S. President Donald Trump to ask for help. U.S. and European Union civil engineers are working with local experts in Albania to assess the damage.   Rescuers from France and Switzerland operate at a collapsed building after the 6.4-magnitude earthquake in Durres, western Albania, Nov. 29, 2019. The mayor of Durres, one of the hardest hit towns, resigned Sunday after public outcry about remarks she made that she…

Britain's politicians are bracing for a two-day visit to London by U.S. President Donald Trump and wondering how the trip may affect the most volatile and toxic British election in decades, one likely to shape the country for generations. Trump arrives in London Monday for a two-day trip to attend what's shaping up to be a fiery NATO summit, hosted by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. With 10 days to go before Britons vote in their third general election in less than four years, the ruling Conservatives are enjoying healthy opinion poll leads, which suggests they have a chance to pull off a 68-seat majority in the House of Commons. However, Johnson's aides are fearful of risking anything that could upset their momentum and reverse the trend. They worry the…

Britain's political leaders sparred Sunday over who is responsible for the early release of a convicted extremist who launched a stabbing attack in central London that left two dead and injured three. The argument centers over the early release from prison of Usman Khan, who served roughly half his sentence before being set free. He was able to stab five people before being shot dead by police despite conditions imposed on his release that were supposed to protect public safety. After a one-day pause out of respect for victims, the Friday attack is dominating the political scene as the Dec. 12 election nears, shifting the focus, at least for the moment, from Brexit and the National Health Service to issues of security and criminal justice. Prime Minister Boris Johnson on…