Year: 2019

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 leadership within the next two weeks.  It further said that within three months, a constitutional review committee should continue its work on potential amendments. The United States supported the U.N.’s proposals. A White House statement late Sunday cited serious concerns about attacks against protesters and internet blackouts. “Despite being targeted with lethal violence and denied access to the Internet, the Iraqi people have made their voices heard, calling for elections and election reforms,” said the White House press secretary. Iraq’s Human Rights Commission says at least 319 people have been killed since the protests began. Demonstrators have complained about corruption, lack of basic services and job opportunities, as well electricity outages.  Iraqi leaders have proposed some reforms but those have …

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 fired as the officer scuffled with another masked protester who fell to the ground. Both were detained by officers. Hong Kong police said live rounds were fired and that one person was struck. Hong Kong Protesters Vandalize Subway Station, Storm Mall Police made arrests across Hong Kong amid anger over demonstrator’s death and arrest of pro-democracy lawmakers A pool of blood could be seen near the first individual whose body initially appeared limp, although the person was later filmed conscious and even trying to make a run for it. The second man was conscious, shouting his name to reporters as he was handcuffed. Hospital authorities said three people were admitted from the incident, one with a gunshot wound. Commuter chaos …

Chancellor Angela Merkel led a series of commemorations in the German capital over weekend to mark the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, which divided the city during the Cold War until 1989. The wall was built by Communist East Germany to prevent its citizens fleeing to the capitalist west. As Henry Ridgwell reports, the hope and optimism in the years following the wall’s destruction have been replaced with fears over the resurgent tensions between Russia and the West …

Australian officials are warning of “catastrophic fire danger” as dozens of bushfires blazed in the state of New South Wales. As of early Monday, 64 fires were burning the New South Wales Rural Fire Service said in a tweet. Of those, more than 40 were out of control.  At 6am there’s 64 bush and grass fires across NSW, 40 not yet contained. Many of these fires won’t be contained ahead of tomorrow’s dangerous fire weather. Catastrophic fire danger has been declared for Tuesday in Sydney and Hunter areas. Use today to get ready. #nswrfspic.twitter.com/Qto5IF8PUH — NSW RFS (@NSWRFS) November 10, 2019 It warned residents in the area to expect conditions to get worse as high temperatures and gusting winds are forecast for Tuesday. “Don’t wait for the last minute and ring for a firetruck because it may not get there,” said Jeremy Fewtrell, deputy commissioner of New South Wales Fire and Rescue. “We just don’t want to lose more people.” Three people have been confirmed dead and more than 150 homes have been destroyed. New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian declared a state of emergency Monday. It will stay in place for at least a week.     …

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.       …

Britain’s biggest political parties are accusing each other of financial recklessness as they vie to win voters’ trust on the economy ahead of Britain’s Dec. 12 election.   The main opposition Labour Party accused the governing Conservatives on Sunday of spreading fake news with an eye-catching claim that Labour spending pledges will cost 1.2 trillion pounds ($1.5 trillion) over five years.   The figure is based on assuming a Labour government would implement every policy it has adopted in principle. Labour says not all those pledges will be in its official election platform.   Labour economy spokesman John McDonnell said the Conservative figure was “an incompetent mish-mash of debunked estimates and bad maths.”   Treasury chief Sajid Javid stood by the estimate, saying Labour’s proposals were “absolutely reckless.”     …

Jordan’s king announced Sunday that two pieces of land leased by Israel would be returned to the “full sovereignty” of Jordan as the two countries marked a chilly 25th anniversary of their landmark peace agreement. Israel has controlled the agricultural lands for over 70 years and had been permitted to lease the areas under the 1994 peace agreement, with the assumption that the arrangement would be extended once again. Even amid mistrust and a looming deadline, Israel was hoping a solution could be found. But King Abdullah II’s announcement to parliament seemed to put an end to that and Jordan is set to reclaim full control of the areas this week. “I announce the end of the annex of the two areas, Ghumar and Al-Baqoura, in the peace treaty and impose our full sovereignty on every inch of them,” he said. It marked a new blow to relations that began with great optimism but have steadily deteriorated. Following up on a historic interim peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians a year earlier, Israel’s then-prime minister, Yitzhak Rabin and the late King Hussein of Jordan signed a peace agreement on Oct. 26, 1994 with President Bill Clinton in attendance and all three leaders delivered moving speeches promising warm relations and a better future. It was only the second peace deal between Israel and an Arab country, following Egypt. The accord remains a vital strategic asset for both countries, who maintain tight security cooperation and joint economic projects. But with little …

Iran’s state TV is reporting that construction has begun on a second nuclear power reactor at its Bushehr plant amid heightened tensions over Tehran’s collapsing nuclear deal with world powers. Authorities began pouring concrete for the base of the reactor on Sunday in the presence of journalists in Bushehr, some 700 kilometers (440 miles) south from Iran’s capital, Tehran.  Bushehr relies on 4.5% enriched uranium, which Iran is producing in violation of its 2015 nuclear deal. That violation and others come after President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the accord over a year ago.   Bushehr’s first reactor came online in 2011 with the help of Russia. This new reactor similarly will be built with Russian help. Bushehr’s first reactor came online in 2011 with the help of Russia. This new reactor similarly will be built with Russian help.     …

Tens of thousands of people lined up on a 5-kilometer stretch in central Tokyo Sunday to catch a rare glimpse of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako. The motorcade was one of the final events of Naruhito’s ascension to the throne. FILE – Japan’s Emperor Naruhito, center, leaves at the end of the enthronement ceremony where he officially proclaimed his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, Oct. 22, 2019. Naruhito officially began his reign on the Chrysanthemum Throne in May, when his 85-year-old father, Emperor Emeritus Akihito, officially abdicated after four decades, citing failing health. Akihito, who succeeded his father, World War II-era Emperor Hirohito, was the first Japanese emperor to abdicate the throne in 200 years. The 30-minute parade Sunday began at the Imperial Palace.   Some onlookers had camped out overnight in an effort to see the Japanese royalty in a specially-designed Toyota convertible. The parade was originally scheduled for last month but was postponed in the wake of Typhoon Hagibis, a massive storm that left 80 dead. Security was extremely tight for the royal event.  “We’re at Disneyland levels of crowding,” a policeman said on a loudspeaker minutes before the parade began, “The security check won’t finish in time for you to see the parade.” Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government chose the name “Reiwa” for Emperor Naruhito’s reign, which the prime minister explained as culture created by and nurtured by people who “beautifully care about each other.”     …

A U.N. agency is urging the Iraqi government to address the grievances of its people or risk that the ongoing deadly protests across the country could spiral even further out of control. Since anti-government protests began Oct. 1, the U.N. Human Rights Office has documented 269 deaths and at least 8,000 injuries, including among members of the Iraqi security forces.  The agency blames the majority of these casualties on the use of live ammunition by security forces and private armed militia groups. U.N. human rights spokesman Rupert Colville says his agency also is following up on reports of multiple arrests of demonstrators and activists.  He says protesters and volunteers providing assistance during the demonstrations reportedly have been abducted by unknown perpetrators.   “We are also disturbed by the statement by the High Judicial Council in Iraq that the Federal Anti-terrorism Law would be applicable against those resorting to violence, sabotaging public property and using firearms against security forces.  Our concern is centered on the fact that these are acts of terrorism, which may be punishable by death,” Colville said. The agency is calling on the government to investigate the whereabouts of the people who have gone missing, to promptly investigate the killings and to prosecute all those responsible for these crimes. Colville says tensions are running very high. He says the relatives and friends of people who have been killed, abducted and otherwise abused are angry.  Unless their grievances are resolved, he told VOA. He said the protests and violence …

Hundreds of pilgrims Saturday from India’s minority Sikh community crossed the international border with Pakistan without a visa for the first time in 72 years to pay homage to one of their holiest shrines. The rare instance of cooperation to facilitate the religious journey comes amid a sharp deterioration in already tense ties between the nuclear-armed rival countries sparked by recent Indian actions in the disputed Kashmir region. Both India and Pakistan control portions of the Himalayan territory but claim it in its entirety. Indian pilgrims, including senior politicians and officials, traveled through a newly established 4.1-kilometer cross-border corridor, featuring fenced-off sides and leading straight to the shrine in the Pakistani town of Kartarpur in Punjab province. Known as the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, the temple is believed to have been built on the site where the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, spent last 18 years of his life before he died there in the 16th century. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan inaugurated the border corridor, just in time for the 550th anniversary of Guru Nanak’s birth on November 12. “I congratulate you and I am happy to be with you today to see that for the first time people can now come from India [through the corridor] to pay the homage,” Khan told thousands of Sikh devotees inside the newly built sprawling complex around the temple. The “historic” opening of the Kartarpur corridor, he said, is a testimony to Pakistan’s commitment to regional peace. “We believe the road to prosperity …

Are the West’s secrets safe in the hands of Britain’s politicians? It is a question Britain’s intelligence officers are asking themselves — so, too, their counterparts in the ‘Five Eyes’ intelligence-sharing relationship that includes the U.S., Australia, Canada and New Zealand. It’s a tie-up that’s been called the most successful espionage alliance in history. Not since the 1970s, when some British MI5 officers thought Labour Party leader Harold Wilson, who won four general elections, and his most trusted advisers were KGB assets have Britain’s spooks been so uneasy about their political masters. The worries about Wilson and his aides at that time provoked treasonous plots by conservative-leaning rogue elements of the security agencies, which even drew in members of Britain’s royal family. As Britain heads into its most consequential election possibly in the last 100 years, a vote that will determine whether Britain will leave the European Union or not, fears are mounting within the country’s security circles that Britons can’t trust their own leaders. This includes both those at the top of the country’s main opposition Labour Party as well as among the ruling Conservatives, a party once synonymous with Queen and Country. For the past year, a former head of Britain’s MI6 intelligence agency, Richard Dearlove, has led a chorus of intelligence warnings about Jeremy Corbyn, widely seen as Labour’s most leftwing leader since the 1920s, and his clique of advisers. Last month, Dearlove said in a TV interview he was “troubled” by Corbyn’s “past associations,” sparking a …

The U.N. children’s fund warns essential humanitarian programs for hundreds of thousands of children in Syria will have to be cut because it has run out of cash. With just eight weeks left until the end of the year, the U.N. children’s fund reports only 53 percent has been met of its $295 million appeal for 2019.  Unless this major funding shortfall is urgently closed, it reports many children will be denied the lifesaving assistance they need.   UNICEF spokeswoman Marixie Mercado says these forced cuts come at a particularly difficult time of the year. “With temperatures dropping quickly, UNICEF’s aim is to provide 578,000 children zero to 14 years old in camps, collective shelters, host communities and areas of acute need with crucial winter clothing.  At this point, we have funds for 356,000 children.  Without additional funding, 220,000 children will go without,” Mercado said.   UNICEF reports 5.5 million children across the country require assistance.  The agency is unable to help them all.  But Mercado noted it provides hundreds of thousands of Syria’s most vulnerable children with essential services that can make the difference between life and death for many.   “In northeast Syria, home to some of the most vulnerable children in the country, UNICEF’s work in 2019 has included vaccinating over half a million children, providing nearly 150,000 children with psychosocial support, and enabling over 100,000 children to enroll in formal education,” Mercado said.   Providing aid to children in this area has become more difficult since …

He was once called a Lost Boy but today, his official title is Councilor-Elect. Chol Majok won the 3rd District Common Council seat in Syracuse, New York, this week, becoming the first former refugee in city history to do so, according to Onondaga County’s Board of Elections. “One of the things that I am certain about is when you are not at the table where policy and decisions are being made, you are not counted, you are not part of that narrative,” said Majok. Majok arrived in Syracuse 18 years ago with other Lost Boys of Sudan — a group of 20,000 boys who were displaced or orphaned during the second Sudanese civil war in which about 2 million were killed. He was 16 years old and anxious to begin building his life. He lived in foster homes until he turned 18, and although he was there for just two years, he says the conditions he experienced in the system changed his life. “They are conditions that people in a first world country should not be in. So coupled with where I came from and what I saw, I just wanted something different,” he said. Chol Majok is pictured with his wife and children in a photo from his Facebook campaign page. Syracuse’s poverty rate is among the highest in the United States. About 32.6% of the population lives below the poverty line, according the latest figures by the U.S. Census Bureau. Crime, gun violence and high poverty rates once …

U.S. counterterrorism officials are increasingly worried Islamic State fighters captured as the terror group’s caliphate collapsed in Syria will find their way back to the battlefield. The concern, they say, is most acute for the approximately 2,000 foreign fighters who are being kept in a state of limbo, held in makeshift prisons run by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces as their home countries refuse to take them back. “We’ve gotten kind of fatalistic about this,” Russell Travers, acting director of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center, said Friday. “There’s a growing likelihood that eventually we could see many of these foreign fighters again when they’ve broken out of prison or been released,” he told an audience at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. “The greatest midterm concern is the retention of those prisoners and not bolstering the [Islamic State] ranks and not seeing a foreign fighter outflow from Syria.” For months, U.S. officials at the State Department and the Pentagon have urged countries, especially those who joined the coalition to defeat IS, to repatriate and prosecute their citizens or residents who left to fight for the self-declared caliphate. But those pleas have largely gone nowhere, as European countries especially have raised concerns, arguing their legal systems will not allow for the successful prosecution of IS fighters whose alleged crimes were committed thousands of kilometers away. A member of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) stands guard in a prison where men suspected to be afiliated with the Islamic State are jailed …

Since the start of the impeachment inquiry six weeks ago, more than a dozen current and former Trump administration officials have refused to testify before House of Representatives investigators, raising questions about Congress’ ability to summon key witnesses.    In the latest instance, acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney failed to show up for a scheduled deposition on Friday, despite a subpoena issued by the House Intelligence Committee.   Lawmakers’ strongest investigative tool is the subpoena — a legal order to appear before a congressional committee. But Congress has had mixed success over the years in utilizing this mechanism to compel testimony.    While Mulvaney, a former Republican House member, is unlikely to cooperate, more than a dozen other officials have stepped forward, in many cases after being subpoenaed.    With the testimony of these officials from the White House, the State Department and the Pentagon and other evidence, House Democrats appear confident they have enough to build a case that Trump abused his power when he pressed the president of Ukraine over the summer to investigate Trump’s political rivals while military aid to Ukraine was withheld.    Here are four things you need to know about congressional subpoenas:   FILE – Philip Reeker, U.S. acting assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, arrives to testify in the impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump, in Washington, Oct. 26, 2019. Reeker had been subpoenaed to testify. What is a congressional subpoena?    A congressional subpoena is similar to a grand jury …

The Libyan civil war has found a new battlefield: the halls of Washington. The eight-year conflict shows little sign of ending, and the warring governments are stepping up their efforts to influence policymakers in the United States. Crucial to these efforts, and the Libyan conflict as a whole, is the country’s oil output. Production currently stands at more than a million barrels a day, and the revenue is crucial to all aspects of the conflict. It funds the weapons, the militias, and the lawyers lobbying officials in the United States. Most of the oil is shipped to Western Europe, where Libyan oil retains an “outsized significance to the European market,” according to Dr. Cullen Hendrix, professor at the University of Denver and nonresident senior fellow at Peterson Institute for International Economics. Under army’s control Khalifa Haftar, center, the military commander who dominates eastern Libya, leaves after an international conference on Libya at the Elysee Palace in Paris, May 29, 2018. Most of the oil facilities are located in territory controlled by the Libyan National Army, led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, even as the revenue generated goes to Libya’s state-owned oil company, the NOC. The oil funds are then distributed through Libya’s central bank, which supplies only the U.N.-backed Government of National Accord (GNA). The LNA, representing the Tobruk-based House of Representatives (HoR), is currently sieging the GNA’s capital of Tripoli. The U.N. estimates more than 1,000 people have been killed in the seven-month siege alone. The siege is symptomatic of the international …

Three months after India’s central government abruptly stripped Indian-administered Kashmir of its autonomy, cut off internet service and censored media coverage of the situation, isolated reports from the northern territory indicate residents say the situation remains tense with a continuing heavy military presence.  In Srinagar, professor Hameeda Naeem told VOA that shops open only for a few hours early in the morning because of the atmosphere of fear and intimidation, with people mainly staying indoors.  “Drones are flying above our homes, the army is deployed at every corner, and they have already arrested thousands of young men to preempt them from potential agitation,” she said. FILE – Soldiers secure an area after a grenade blast that killed at least one person and injured 17 at a market in Srinagar, Nov. 4, 2019. India said that it is gradually loosening the blockade and will eventually lift a ban on internet use and phone lines. However, Kashmiris on both sides of the border told VOA they are still unable to communicate with their families. India revoked Kashmir’s status on Aug. 6 and overnight deployed a media blackout and heavy troop presence to head off possible unrest.  Shri Khaleel Ahmad, a coordinator with India’s National Human Rights Commission, told VOA that his commission keeps getting queries from Indians asking about what is going on inside Kashmir.  India said its restrictions are meant to protect Kashmiris and to prevent “terrorists” in Pakistan from taking advantage of the situation to incite violence. A spokesman for the ruling …

Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva walked out of prison Friday, a day after a Supreme Court ruling allowed for his release.    Hundreds of supporters of the former leftist leader gathered outside the Curitiba prison to greet da Silva, who had been serving time for corruption.    Da Silva, who is widely known as Lula, tweeted earlier Friday, “Lula Free,” along with a video of himself working out.    His release followed a Supreme Court ruling late Thursday that a defendant can be imprisoned only after all appeals to higher courts have been exhausted. Da Silva is still appealing the case that has left him detained since April 2018.    The former president received a sentence of nearly nine years for a bribery conviction and is one of many high-profile convicts in the  “Car Wash” investigation of public corruption. Da Silva denies any wrongdoing and has said the case against him was politically motivated.    Da Silva could still end up back in prison if he exhausts all his appeals.    The former president, who led the country from 2003 to 2010, had been favored to win the 2018 presidential election, but his conviction prevented him from running.  Led nation during boom The leftist ex-president led the country during an economic boom, and his Bolsa Familia welfare program helped lift millions from poverty and contributed to his 80% approval rating when he left office.    His supporters have criticized the fact that Sergio Moro, the judge who …

A student at a Hong Kong university who fell during protests earlier this week died Friday, the first student death in months of anti-government demonstrations in the Chinese-ruled city that is likely to be a trigger for fresh unrest. Chow Tsz-lok, 22, an undergraduate student at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, died of injuries sustained early Monday. The circumstances of how he was injured were unclear, but authorities said he was believed to have fallen from the third to the second floor in a parking garage when police dispersed crowds in a district east of the Kowloon Peninsula. Chow’s death is expected to spark fresh protests and fuel anger and resentment against the police, who are already under pressure amid accusations of excessive force as the city grapples with its worst political crisis in decades. Protesters pause for a moment of silence after disrupting a graduation ceremony at the University of Science and Technology and turning the stage into a memorial venue for Chow Tsz-Lok in Hong Kong, Nov. 8, 2019. Demonstrators had thronged the hospital this week to pray for Chow, leaving flowers and hundreds of get-well messages on walls and notice boards inside the building. Students also staged rallies at universities across the former British colony. “Wake up soon. Remember we need to meet under the LegCo,” said one message, referring to the territory’s Legislative Council, one of the targets of the protest rallies. “There are still lots of things for you to experience in …