Month: December 2019

Peru´s labor watchdog has found McDonald’s Corp.’s Latin America franchisee Arcos Dorados guilty of six “very serious” violations of local safety and health laws following the deaths of two employees in a  restaurant kitchen.  The Labor Ministry’s regulating body proposed that the company be fined $254,000 over the deaths.  Arcos Dorados, which operates all 29 McDonald’s restaurants in Peru, did not respond immediately to a request for comment.  Alexandra Porras, 18, and Carlos Campo, 19, were electrocuted earlier this month in Lima while cleaning a kitchen. Protesters have taken to the streets carrying posters bearing the victims’ photos and slogans reading: “Justice for Alexa and Gabriel.”  They were a couple who had been working for the fast-food chain for several months, according to their families.  The government has improved business health and safety regulations in response to the case, Labor Minister Sylvia Caceres said at a news conference Thursday. The current system of one inspection of companies per year is being replaced by as many spot inspections as are necessary, she said.  “We have to discourage companies that violate labor standards,” Caceres said, adding that further measures were under consideration.  Arcos Dorados, which operates McDonald’s restaurants throughout South America and the Caribbean, said last week that McDonald’s stores in Peru would remain closed until it finished its own investigation into what happened.  …

Japan will send a warship and patrol planes to protect Japanese ships in the Middle East as the situation in the region, from which it sources nearly 90% of its crude oil imports, remains volatile, a document approved by the cabinet showed Friday. Under the plan, a helicopter-equipped destroyer and two P-3C patrol planes will be dispatched for information-gathering aimed at ensuring safe passage for Japanese vessels through the region. If there are any emergencies, a special order would be issued by the Japanese defense minister to allow the forces to use weapons to protect ships in danger. Friction between Iran and the United States has increased since last year, when U.S. President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of a 2015 international nuclear deal with Iran and re-imposed sanctions on it, crippling its economy. In May and June, there were several attacks on international merchant vessels, including the Japanese-owned tanker Kokuka Courageous, in the region, which the United States blamed on Iran. Tehran denies the accusations. FILE – A hole the U.S. Navy says was made by a limpet mine is seen on the damaged Panama-flagged, Japanese-owned oil tanker Kokuka Courageous, anchored off Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, June 19, 2019. Japan, a U.S. ally that has maintained friendly ties with Iran, has opted to launch its own operation rather than join a U.S.-led mission to protect shipping in the region. Last week, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe briefed visiting Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Tokyo’s plan to send naval …

Tesla Inc entered into agreements with lenders in China for a secured term loan facility of up to 9 billion yuan ($1.29 billion), according to a regulatory filing on Thursday. The electric car maker said it has also signed agreements for an unsecured revolving loan facility of up to 2.25 billion yuan, adding that both the loans will be used for its Shanghai car plant.  China Construction Bank Corp, Agricultural Bank of China , Shanghai Pudong Development Bank and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China are the lenders, according to the filing. Besides construction and production at the Shanghai factory, the loan may also be used to repay the 3.5 billion yuan debt due to be repaid on March 4 next year. The factory, which is Tesla’s first car manufacturing site outside the United States, is the centerpiece of its ambitions to boost sales in the world’s biggest auto market and avoid higher import tariffs imposed on U.S.-made cars. Reuters reported earlier this week that Tesla and a group of China banks had agreed to a new 10 billion yuan, five-year loan facility for the automaker’s Shanghai car plant, citing sources familiar with the matter. …

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has repeatedly expressed concern to Washington over U.S. visa delays for officials from Russia and other countries, a U.N. spokesman said Thursday after Moscow accused Guterres of turning a blind eye. Moscow says Washington has deliberately delayed issuing visas to Russian officials traveling to the U.N. headquarters in New York, a move Russia has said could further damage strained relations. The Russian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday accused Guterres of ignoring the U.S. visa delays. “For many months, the Secretary-General and the United Nations Legal Counsel have repeatedly conveyed their concerns and the legal position of the Organization to senior representatives of the host country,” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement. Dujarric said Guterres and his team continued to follow the matter closely. The latest report from the U.N. committee on relations with the United States — as host of U.N. headquarters in New York — noted that other countries including China, North Korea, Iran, Syria and Cuba had also complained about U.S. visa delays. According to the report, the United States said it takes its responsibilities as U.N. host country seriously but added that Washington “reserved the right to exclude individuals in certain limited cases where there was clear and convincing evidence that the individual was traveling to the host country primarily for purposes that were outside the scope of United Nations business and were prejudicial to the host country’s national security.”   …

War Dracula is a stage play by a group of Afghan theater actors in Kabul. The theme of the play revolves around the damage and consequences of the decades-long war in Afghanistan. VOA’s Haseeb Maudoodi filed this report from Kabul, narrated by Bezhan Hamdard. …

Inside a hotel ballroom near the nation’s capital, a U.S. Army officer with battlefield experience told 120 state and local election officials that they may have more in common with the military strategists than they might think. These government officials are on the front lines of a different kind of high-stakes battlefield — one in which they are helping to defend American democracy by ensuring free and fair elections. “Everyone in this room is part of a bigger effort, and it’s only together are we going to get through this,” the officer said. That officer and other past and present national security leaders had a critical message to convey to officials from 24 states gathered for a recent training held by a Harvard-affiliated democracy project: They are the linchpins in efforts to defend U.S. elections from an attack by Russia, China or other foreign threats, and developing a military mindset will help them protect the integrity of the vote. A booklet held by military and national security officials during an exercise for state and local election officials to simulate different scenarios for the 2020 elections, in Springfield, Va., Dec. 16, 2019. Election security worries The need for such training reflects how elections security worries have heightened in the aftermath of the 2016 election, when Russian military agents targeted voting systems across the country as part of a multipronged effort to influence the presidential election. Until then, the job of local election officials could had been described as something akin to …

Botswana’s former President Ian Khama is strongly denying allegations of corruption and voicing his concerns about the direction of the country. In an interview with VOA’s Nightline Africa radio program, Khama said claims made by the administration of current President Mokgweetsi Masisi that he misappropriated billions in the local currency are “laughable.” He said he plans to take the matter to court. Khama said the false accusation is payback by members of the ruling party for his decision to campaign against them in the recent presidential election. The party, the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), was founded by Khama’s father. “The only reason that this was done was because a few months ago I resigned from the ruling party. Because they had abandoned our democratic credentials that we have had such a good reputation with up to this point in time,” he told VOA. Botswana had an election in October where Khama campaigned against the ruling party. “They swore that they would ‘get at me and fix me’ in their own words for having done that,” he said. Earlier this month, Jako Hubona, of Botswana’s Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime, accused Khama and two other former high-ranking officials of transferring state funds to personal bank accounts in South Africa and Hong Kong. Only one official, senior intelligence officer Weleminah Maswabi, has been formally charged so far. Botswana’s president Mokgweetsi Masisi attends the World Economic Forum Africa meeting at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, Sept. 4, 2019, in Cape Town. …

Hundreds of anti-government protesters and their supporters gathered outside a tiny restaurant in Hong Kong for an unconventional Christmas dinner, sharing paper plates piled high with food under neon street signs. “Hong Kongers are more united this Christmas (than) in previous years,” said Glory, the 31-year-old owner of Kwong Wing Catering, as he dished out noodles, fried chicken, and pasta from silver trays. “Actually there is no Christmas atmosphere (this year), but there is a strong sense of unity,” he said. All of the food on offer Wednesday was free and prepared by the restaurant or donated by several sponsors. Outside the eatery, hundreds of customers, many of them off-duty protesters, waited in line as tourists and other shoppers crowded the popular Tsim Sha Tsui area. Protesters queue for a free Christmas dinner offered by a local restaurant in Hong Kong, Dec. 25, 2019. Jeanette, a 22-year-old university student, slurped bubble tea and pudding with her friend Yoyo as they discussed their holiday plans. They would normally spend Christmas with their families, but felt this year had to be different. Both women said they had been involved in peaceful protests since the summer. “We’re all family now,” said Jeanette, looking around at all of the other supporters eating around her. “We’re here because we want to support this shop, which has supported so many teenagers and protesters on the front line,” said Yoyo between mouthfuls of pudding. Kwong Wing Catering is one of many businesses that are part of the …

Singapore police are investigating an Indian national for allegedly being involved in a public protest against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s controversial citizenship law.  Unauthorized public assemblies and protests over political situations in other countries are banned in Singapore.   Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to Indian streets to protest the citizenship law enacted by Modi’s Hindu nationalist government that provides non-Muslim minorities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who moved there before 2015 a pathway to Indian citizenship.  Singapore police said following a report on December 24 they were investigating a 32-year-old male Indian national for participating in “a public assembly without a police permit” at the Marina Bay waterfront financial and tourist district.   “He allegedly carried out the activity in Marina Bay, to show his opposition to India’s Citizenship Amendment Bill,” police said in a statement late Wednesday.  The statement did not give any more details of the assembly. Local media reported the man posted a picture of himself on social media with a placard “to express his unhappiness.”  The police said organizing or participating in a public assembly without a police permit in Singapore is illegal and that they would not grant any permit for assemblies that advocate political causes of other countries.  …

Rebels in Myanmar’s Rakhine region said a captured official from Aung San Suu Kyi’s ruling party has died, two weeks after being taken for organizing protests against genocide accusations faced by Myanmar at the World Court.  The Arakan Army rebels said Buthidaung National League for Democracy (NLD) Chairman Ye Thein, the most senior civilian official to die in the growing insurgency, was killed Monday in an attack on the rebels by Myanmar’s army.  There was no independent confirmation.  The incident underscored the increasing loss of government control in a region that came to world attention when 700,000 Rohingya Muslims fled to Bangladesh to escape an army crackdown on a different rebel group in 2017.  The Arakan Army said its positions had come under attack from Myanmar’s army.  “Due to big explosions, some detainees died and some were wounded. The NLD chairman from Buthidaung, Ye Thein, died on scene,” the Arakan Army said in the statement. It said he had been taken prisoner on December 11.  Tens of thousands of people have been displaced in Rakhine since clashes between the Arakan Army and the army began around a year ago.  The insurgents, whose forces are from the largely Buddhist Rakhine people, are fighting for greater autonomy. The say they have no links to the Rohingya rebel group whose attacks sparked the 2017 army crackdown that led to the accusations of genocide brought against Myanmar at the International Court of Justice by The Gambia.  The Arakan Army is among several ethnic armed factions that have said they support the case against Myanmar.  Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s de facto ruler, personally led Myanmar’s defense against the accusations at hearings in The Hague earlier this month.  The army made no comment on the report of the NLD official’s death. NLD party …

Areas of Australia that have been ravaged by deadly wildfires experienced temporary relief on Wednesday, but oppressive conditions are expected to return this weekend. About 5 million hectares (12.35 million acres) of land have burned nationwide over the past few months, with nine people killed and more than 950 homes destroyed. New South Wales, the country’s most populous state, has received the brunt of the damage, with around 850 homes razed in the state. Parts of New South Wales, including Sydney, experienced cool and damp conditions on Christmas Day, but more than 70 fires continued to burn across the state. New South Wales has been in a seven-day state of emergency, which was to expire on Wednesday night. Australia Faces Catastrophic Fire Conditions Catastrophic conditions as Australia’s brutal bushfire season continues About 2,000 firefighters and 400 firetrucks battled the blazes in more favorable conditions, but high temperatures are set to return. Sydney is forecast to hit 31 degrees Celsius (88 Fahrenheit) on Sunday, while the city’s western suburbs could reach 41 C (106 F). Fire danger ratings remained very high in northwestern New South Wales, and were between high and moderate for the rest of the state. Australia’s NSW Faces Catastrophic Fire Conditions Authorities asked people to delay travel, at the start of what is normally a busy Christmas holiday period, warning of the unpredictability of the fires In his annual Christmas message, Prime Minister Scott Morrison paid tribute to the families of the two firefighters — Geoffrey Keaton, 32, …

Mongolia was once solely a land of nomadic communities moving from location to location, depending on the season. One tribe that has lived in the isolated mountains in the north of the country for generations is the Tsaatan. As the country urbanizes and cities continue to grow, the government has rezoned land on which they were previously free to roam. As Libby Hogan reports from northern Mongolia, young Tsaatan people now face the choice of moving to the city or staying and continuing a traditional nomadic life. …

Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki flew to Addis Ababa Wednesday for his first meeting with the Ethiopian prime minister since Abiy Ahmed won the Nobel Peace Prize for initiating a thaw between the sparring neighbors. Eritrea and Ethiopia fought a border war in 1998-2000 that left an estimated 80,000 dead before a prolonged stalemate took hold. Shortly after he came to power last year, Abiy, 43, stunned observers at home and abroad by reaching out to Isaias and creating momentum for a peace deal. Abiy welcomed Isaias at Addis Ababa’s Bole International Airport, Ethiopia’s state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate said. “During his stay in Ethiopia, the Eritrean president is expected to meet with Ethiopian officials to discuss bilateral issues,” Fana said. Isaias was accompanied by Foreign Minister Osman Saleh and Yemane Gebreab, a presidential advisor, according to a post on Twitter by Eritrean Information Minister Yemane G. Meskel. “The two leaders will discuss enhancement of important bilateral & regional matters,” Yemane wrote. Abiy’s office and a spokesman for Ethiopia’s foreign affairs ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. After the two leaders first met and embraced on the tarmac in Asmara, the Eritrean capital, last year, they reopened embassies, resumed flights and held a series of meetings across the region. But the initial optimism fueled by these gestures has faded, and citizens of both countries complain that they are still waiting for meaningful change. FILE – Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali receives medal and diploma from Chair of …

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Tunisia on Wednesday in a surprise visit for talks with his Tunisian counterpart, his office said, in the first visit by a head of state since Tunisian presidential elections in the autumn. The visit comes as Turkey has ramped up efforts to strike deals with nations on the Mediterranean, where Ankara has been at odds with Greece over resources off the coast of the divided island of Cyprus. Last month, Turkey signed a maritime delimitation agreement with Libya’s internationally recognized government, a move that enraged Greece. Athens says the deal violates international law, but Ankara says it aims to protect its rights in the region and is in full compliance with maritime laws. In a statement, Erdogan’s office said he was accompanied by his foreign and defense ministers, as well as his intelligence chief. It provided no further details on the content or purpose of the talks. The visit is the first by a head of state to Tunisia since the election of President Kais Saied in October, after Tunisian parliamentary elections. As part of its expanded cooperation with Tunisia’s neighbor Libya, Ankara also signed a military-cooperation deal with Fayez al-Serraj’s Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA). Erdogan has said Turkey may deploy troops in support of the GNA, which has been fighting off a months-long offensive by Khalifa Haftar’s forces to the east of the country. On Tuesday, Presidential Spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said Turkey may need to draft a bill to send troops …

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday launched a 60-billion-rupee ($842 million) plan to tackle water shortages in the country’s seven heartland states where agriculture is a mainstay. India, the world’s second-most populous country, faces the worst long-term water crisis in its history as demand outstrips supply, threatening farm output and overall economic growth in Asia’s third-largest economy. Almost every sector of the $2.6 trillion economy is dependent on water, especially agriculture, which sustains two-thirds of India’s 1.3 billion people. “Water shortages in the country not only affect individuals and families; the crisis also has an effect on India’s development,” Modi said. “We need to prepare the new India to deal with every single aspect of the crisis.” The plan launched by Modi would help replenish ground water and boost overall availability in Rajasthan, Karnataka, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat states, which produce staples such as rice, wheat, sugar and oilseeds. India is the world’s leading producer of an array of farm goods, and nearly 60% of the irrigation for agriculture comes from ground water, mainly through electric water pumps. Subsidised electricity gives farmers an incentive to pump out more water, a key reason behind fast-depleting water tables in the vast country. Supplying clean drinking water to millions of poor people and reviving moribund irrigation projects were a key part of Modi’s policies for India, where the monsoon accounts for nearly 70% of the annual rains needed to water farms and recharge aquifers and reservoirs. Nearly …

Hopes for a peaceful Christmas were dashed in Hong Kong Tuesday after riot police fired tear gas and protesters set fire at various locations across the city that has been roiled by civil unrest for more than six months. Large crowds had gathered in several shopping malls and a busy tourist area in response to online calls to voice their discontent with the government and to demand greater democracy. The anti-government movement in Hong Kong, sparked by a controversial extradition law, has entered the seventh month and shows no signs of abating. Protesters say they will not give up unless the government meets their political demands, which include universal suffrage and an independent investigation into police brutality.     After 9 p.m. local time, police fired several rounds of tear gas in a popular tourist area, Tsim Sha Tsui, to disperse protesters — including outside the luxury Peninsula Hotel.  Hundreds had gathered to disrupt traffic earlier and riot police warned they were taking part in an illegal assembly. A riot police officer shoots a tear gas to disperse anti-government demonstrators protesting on Christmas Eve in Hong Kong, Dec. 24, 2019. The gas covered a large area, engulfing buses and other traffic in the tourist spot adorned with Christmas illuminations. Families with young children were seen covering their faces as they hurried away. Police ordered people gathered on the scenic harbor front to leave, although many appeared to be just celebrating Christmas. As riot police pushed along the seafront, a young child …

The Pentagon is looking into reducing or even withdrawing US troops from West Africa, part of a worldwide redeployment of military forces, the New York Times reported Tuesday. There are between 6,000 and 7,000 US troops in Africa, mainly in West Africa but also in places like Somalia. The U.S. presence includes military trainers as well as a recently built $110 million drone base in Niger, the Times said. A withdrawal would also end U.S. support for French military efforts in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso in their war along with local troops against Al-Qaeda and Islamic State group jihadists. The Pentagon supports them by providing intelligence, logistical support and aerial refueling at an annual cost to the Pentagon of some $45 million a year, the Times said. France has had a major military presence in Mali since 2013, when it launched an intervention against Al-Qaeda-linked jihadists who had overrun the country’s north.   …