Year: 2019

From celebrities to paparazzi, media crews to music bands, hundreds gathered and attended the fourth annual Slemani International Film Festival in Sulaymaniyah city of Iraqi Kurdistan. This year, 154 films from 78 countries are competing to win awards in different categories. VOA’s Rebaz Majeed has more in this report narrated by Bezhan Hamdard.    …

The Human Life Protection Act, passed in May, will impose a near-total ban on abortions in Alabama starting in November 2019. Court challenges make it unlikely the bill will be allowed to go into effect, but it is one of many recently passed state laws that ban abortion and make no exceptions for victims of rape or incest. Andrey Nazarbekian traveled to Huntsville where the only abortion clinic in the state still operates.   …

Editor’s note: Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was named Friday as this year’s winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. In late May, he gave his first interview to a Western news organization when he spoke to the Voice of America’s Horn of Africa service reporter Eskinder Firew, in Addis Ababa, in Amharic. These highlights from their conversation have been edited for brevity and clarity. For the past year, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has led Ethiopia through dramatic changes. Entrenched ethnic tensions and complex regional conflicts have posed ongoing challenges to the young leader’s reform agenda, but he remains resolute in his desire to make the most of his time in office. Abiy spoke to VOA’s Eskinder Firew about Ethiopia’s relationship with neighbor Eritrea, judicial reforms and the imprint he hopes to leave. Eskinder Firew: On the occasion of your first anniversary as prime minister, you said, “I am only planning to elevate Ethiopia to high standards, awaken the public and lift up a country that is hanging its head. I don’t have any other ill intentions other than that.” What did you mean by that? Abiy Ahmed: I don’t believe that it’s proper to stay in power for long periods of time. And as long as I have power, I believe that I should use that to change people’s lives. But within my efforts working to bring change, there may be errors — but all of my intention and action is aimed at elevating Ethiopia. My agenda is not to …

Labor rights advocates are warning that an Oct. 1 U.S. ban on imports from a Malaysian rubber glove maker over evidence of forced labor won’t be the country’s last if employers fail to act quickly to mend conditions for long-suffering migrant workers. Washington announced the ban on the Malaysian firm WRP Asia Pacific along with products from four other countries because of evidence that they were being made with forced labor. Other companies and commodities include a Chinese apparel maker and gems from Zimbabwe’s Marange Diamond Fields. The importers hit with the U.S. “withhold release orders” can either re-export the shipments that have arrived or prove that they were not made with forced labor to get them through customs. “Our message here is clear,” Brenda Smith, executive assistant commissioner in U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Trade, told reporters in Washington. “If you are a trading partner that does not abide by and uphold your commitments to end child or forced labor, the U.S. will do what it takes to protect vulnerable workers from exploitation, safeguard American jobs and create a fair and level playing field for companies and countries that do play by the rules.” Andy Hall, a migrant worker rights specialist, told VOA that forced labor remains “systemic” throughout Malaysia’s manufacturing sector. He said he helped with the U.S. probe of WRP and was told by U.S. authorities that several more Malaysian companies in the rubber glove industry and others, more than a dozen in all, were …

French carmaker Renault dismissed its chief executive officer on Friday, overhauling its leadership once again after the jailing of its previous chairman and CEO. It came days after Nissan, with which Renault shares a deep alliance, named a new CEO, indicating the two companies were intent on cleaning house after a scandal over former chief Carlos Ghosn rattled their upper ranks. The decision by the board to dismiss Thierry Bollore was effective immediately. Bollore replaced Ghosn after the former CEO was jailed in Tokyo in last November on charges of falsifying financial reports in under-reporting compensation and breach of trust. Ghosn, who led the Nissan-Renault alliance, is currently awaiting trial and denies wrongdoing. The company said Bollore will be replaced on an interim basis by current Chief Financial Officer Clotilde Delbos. Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard will become president during the interim period. Renault owns 43% of Nissan but their alliance came under strain after Ghosn’s jailing. Renault considered a merger offer from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles that would have created the world’s third-largest automaker, but the talks fell apart due to concern over Nissan’s role. …

More small scale farmers in central Kenya have switched from growing food crops to planting and harvesting an herbal stimulant known locally as “Muguka” – a variety of the drug, Khat.  The farmers say they now make almost three times as much from growing the drug instead of food crops, but the local county government wants farmers to create a balance between producing “Muguka” and food.  Rael Ombuor has more from Embu, Kenya. …

EMBU, KENYA – More small scale farmers in central Kenya have switched from growing food crops to planting and harvesting an herbal stimulant known locally as “Muguka” – a variety of the drug, Khat.  The farmers say they now make almost three times as much from growing the drug instead of food crops, but the local county government wants farmers to create a balance between producing “Muguka” and food.  Rael Ombuor has more from Embu, Kenya. 41-year-old Wilkister Njeri grows Muguka at her farm in Embu county in central Kenya. It is the crop that puts food on the table and will provide, she hopes, the money to send her 18-year old son to college next year.     She used to farm maize, but it was not profitable.  “I used 5,000 Kenya shillings to plough, I bought fertilizer worth 3,000 Kenya shillings and two bags of maize, one of which cost 700 Kenya shillings,” she says. ” Everything cost me more than 10,000 Kenya shillings but I did not harvest anything. We got little rain, and that happened for about two seasons.”   Wilkister cleared her maize and planted Muguka in two of her three acre farm. She now makes on average 20,000 Kenyan shillings, or about $190 (U.S. dollars) a week.   Muguka is a variety of Khat that is a green and bushy. It is a stimulant that produces a mild high when chewed.  The crop is fast growing and does well in the semi-arid lowlands of …

Sudan’s ruling council has appointed the country’s first woman chief justice. The appointment is seen as another step forward for female representation in the new transitional government.  The Sovereign Council has officially confirmed the pick of Neemat Abdullah as chief justice of the country’s judiciary, a first in Sudan and the entire Arab world. Many in Sudan see the appointment as a major step forward for Sudanese women. Researcher and politican Nahid Jabrallah, the founder of the Sima center for children, said the appointment of Judge Neemat Abdullah is a victory for Sudanese women and very symbolic of Sudanese women’s participation in the 30-year fight [against Bashir].  It also shows a commitment to women and women’s issues. Sudan’s Copts See Hope in Appointment of First Christian Sudanese Copts who fled Bashir era begin returning with new hopes for equal rights Abdullah was initially appointed chief justice soon after military leaders and the opposition signed a power-sharing agreement in August.  She was quickly replaced, only to be re-appointed after huge street protests. The demonstrators demanded an unbiased judiciary, which they think Abdullah can provide based on her background. She has been a judge in the High Court for years, and has never been a part of a political party, unlike most judges at her level, the majority of whom were loyalists to ousted president Omar al-Bashir. At the recent U.N. General Assembly, Sudanese Prime Minister Abdullah Amok praised women’s role in the protests that toppled Bashir and ensured there would be …

The Swedish Academy’s decision to bestow the 2018 Nobel Prize in literature on Polish author Olga Tokarczuk has given a rare morale boost to liberal Poles only three days before a national election that is likely to be won by the country’s right-wing populist party. Tokarczuk, 57, is a literary celebrity in Poland, whose reputation has risen fast in the English-speaking world, particularly after she won the Man Booker International prize in 2018 for her novel “Flights.” She won the Nobel for what the prize committee said was “a narrative imagination that with encyclopedic passion represents the crossing of boundaries as a form of life.” Polish Author Tokarczuk and Austria’s Handke Win Nobel Literature Prize The Swedish Academy did not name a winner for the prize last year following accusation of sexual abuse and other wrongdoing by people connected to the academy But she is not loved by all in her native land. She has been criticized by Polish conservatives _ and received death threats _ for criticizing aspects of the country’s past, including its episodes of anti-Semitism. Some of her works have celebrated the rich ethnic heritage of Poland, which was a cultural and religious melting pot before the Nazi German genocide during World War II and the postwar resettlement of ethnic populations. Her very appearance, with a dreadlock style known as a “plica Polonica” or Polish tangle, which has roots in Polish history, makes her stand out as a progressive icon as the country’s leadership seeks to put …

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has denied that his American counterpart, Donald Trump, tried to blackmail him. Claims that Trump requested a corruption investigation into Hunter Biden, son of Democrat Joe Biden – in return for military aid – are the subject of an impeachment inquiry in the United States. Henry Ridgwell has more from Kyiv. …

Migrants, returned to Mexico to await their U.S. asylum hearings, block the Puerta Mexico international border crossing bridge to demand a faster asylum process, in Matamoros, Mexico, Oct. 10, 2019. U.S. border officials shut down two bridges between the United States and Mexico early Thursday after hundreds of mostly Central American migrants protested at the ports of entry. The demonstration occurred in Matamoros, the Mexican city across from Brownsville, Texas. “Bridge traffic at Gateway International Bridge and B&M International Bridges was temporarily halted at about 1:30 a.m. after a group of 250 to 300 migrants without entry documents had gathered at the midpoint of the Gateway Bridge,” a U.S. Customs and Border Protection official told VOA. Traffic at the B&M International Bridge resumed roughly two hours later. But traffic at Gateway Bridge remained closed in both directions more than seven hours later, the CBP official said. Mexican media at the scene reported the protesters were primarily Honduran and attempted to cross into the U.S. as a single large group overnight. They were demanding immediate processing of their requests for asylum in the United States, according to a report from Mexico City-based radio, MVS Noticias. Photos posted by Mexican journalists on social media show men and women standing or lying down on the bridge. Sigue cerrado el puente nuevo internacional migrante centro americanos lo mantienen bloqueado a #Matamoros#Tamaulipaspic.twitter.com/Oe00D3TtCF — Esteban Martinez (@Martinez1MX) October 10, 2019 Brownsville is one of the ports of entry where a temporary U.S. court was built to …

To mark World Mental Health Day, the International Committee of the Red Cross is calling for greater psycho-social support for millions of people caught in violence and armed conflict. A survey finds more than one in five people in conflict-affected areas live with a mental health condition ranging from depression and anxiety to post-traumatic stress.  That is three times more than the general population worldwide. Despite the growing problem, the International Committee of the Red Cross says mental health conditions among people subjected to war and violence are generally overlooked. It warns the hidden wounds will have long-term, even life-threatening impacts, if left untreated. Ida Andersen is ICRC lead psychologist for Africa. She works with people in crisis in countries such as Nigeria, the Central African Republic, Burundi and South Sudan.  She says people exposed to extreme violence often have sleep disorders, including insomnia or nightmares. Some suffer from schizophrenia, become overly aggressive or have suicidal tendencies. She tells VOA on Skype from Nairobi that mental health needs for victims of war are as important as water, food and shelter. She says therapeutic help must be part of an integrated response. “Mental health and psycho-social needs need to be considered along with other needs and the response to them should occur simultaneously…It is about providing what is needed as soon as it is needed,” said Andersen. Andersen says talking about problems is what works best with adults in distress. Drawing, however, works best with children. “We carry out these mental …

A woman who worked at NBC News claimed that Matt Lauer raped her at a hotel while on assignment for the Sochi Olympics, an encounter the former “Today” show host claimed was consensual. The claim outlined by Brooke Nevils in Ronan Farrow’s book, “Catch and Kill,” puts a name and details behind the event that led to Lauer’s firing by NBC in 2017. It also provoked the first public response from Lauer, who said in a defiant and graphic letter made public by his lawyer that “my silence was a mistake.” Variety first reported Nevils’ charges after obtaining a copy of Farrow’s book. The Associated Press typically does not identify alleged victims of sexual assault, unless they step forward publicly as Nevils has done. Nevils, who was working for Meredith Vieira in Sochi, met her for drinks one night and Lauer joined them. Nevils said she had six shots of vodka and wound up going to Lauer’s room. “It was nonconsensual in the sense that I was too drunk to consent,” Nevils told Farrow, according to Variety.  In his letter, Lauer admitted to his extramarital affair with Nevils. He said on that night in Sochi that they consensually performed a variety of sexual acts. “She was a fully enthusiastic and willing partner,” he wrote. “At no time did she behave in a way that made it appear she was incapable of consent. She seemed to know exactly what she wanted to do.” Lauer’s defense of his behavior extends beyond his …

The United States has taken custody of two Islamic State prisoners accused of taking part in beheading American journalists in 2014, The Washington Post reports. The two men were taken from a Kurdish-run prison in northern Syria, where Kurdish forces can no longer guarantee they can keep detaining the prisoners after the Turkish military incursion. The Post said the two are Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh. They were allegedly part of a quartet of British-born Islamic militants who their hostages dubbed “The Beatles.” One U.S. official told the Post the two have been taken to Iraq, while another simply said they are in U.S. military custody but would not say where they are. “The Beatles” were led by an IS militant named Mohammed Emwazi, nicknamed “Jihadi John.” Emwazi beheaded American journalist James Foley, Israeli American journalist Steven Sotloff and U.S. aid worker Peter Kassig before a TV camera in 2014. “The Beatles” are also suspected of murdering other Western hostages. Emwazi was killed in a U.S. drone strike in 2015. A fourth “Beatle” is in a Turkish prison. Kurdish forces captured Kotey and Elsheikh, who have dened taking part in the executions. They told The Washington Post in a prison interview last year that their role was to carry out ransom negotiations. If the two are brought to the United States for trial, they could be charged as conspirators in hostage-taking resulting in death — a charge that carries a possible death sentence, according to the Post. President Donald Trump …

Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi on Wednesday announced a cabinet reshuffle, declared three days of national mourning and said those who shot protesters would be punished as he sought to quell anti-government unrest that has roiled Iraq for days. Authorities fear that violence, which has killed more than 110 people, mostly protesters angry at government corruption, could spiral, leading war-weary Iraq towards more civil strife. Protests erupted in Baghdad last week and soon spread to southern cities. Abdul Mahdi’s government has sought to address demonstrators’ grievances. However, a package of reforms announced by the government — including more job opportunities, subsidies and housing — is unlikely to satisfy Iraqis; nor is a cabinet reshuffle, likely to feature many of the same faces despised by protesters as an out-of-touch political elite. “We will ask parliament to vote tomorrow on changes to ministries,” Abdul Mahdi said at a news conference, adding that the government would be referring the names of hundreds of corrupt officials to the judiciary for investigation. Abdul Mahdi’s government will seek to weather the storm, however, backed by powerful Iran-aligned armed groups and political factions determined to preserve the status quo. Internet blackout Authorities have used an internet blackout, arrests of protesters and targeting of reporters to try to stem further unrest. At least 110 people have been killed and more than 6,000 wounded in the capital and the south, since the security forces started cracking down on demonstrators. Reuters journalists have witnessed protesters killed and wounded by …

After decades of being banned from attending men’s sporting events, Iran’s female soccer fans are celebrating the fact they will be able to attend their national team’s upcoming World Cup qualifier against Cambodia. “I got a ticket, I will go to the stadium!” tweeted a woman, adding: “Can you believe I’m saying this?” The game at Tehran’s Azadi Stadium Thursday will be the first time since shortly after Iran’s Islamic Revolution in 1979 that women can watch a men’s match without needing special, rare invitations or being forced to sneak in disguised as men. The milestone comes following years of campaigning by women’s rights activists and increased pressure from FIFA — world soccer’s governing body — that intensified following the tragic death in September of a woman who set herself alight after being charged over a failed attempt to enter a stadium to watch her favorite team. The announcement that some 3,500 segregated seats of the nearly 80,000 at the stadium would be reserved for women led to a joyous reaction from long-suffering followers of the sport. Women — as well as men — have been celebrating on social media by posting copies of their tickets for the much-anticipated match, with the tickets reserved for women selling out within minutes after going on sale on October 4. One woman said that, although she’s 35 years old, this is the first time she has bought a ticket to a soccer match. “All those years when I understood football I wished I …

President Donald Trump predicts his impeachment battle with House Democrats will wind up before the U.S. Supreme Court. The president spoke to reporters Wednesday, a day after the White House says it is refusing to participate in the Democratic-led inquiry into whether he should be impeached. Trump did not say exactly what House leaders must do if they want his cooperation. But he said he would cooperate “if they give us our rights” and Republicans “get a fair shake.” On Twitter, he called the impeachment probe a “Total Scam by the Do Nothing Democrats.” Great support from GOP in fighting the Radical Left, Do Nothing Democrats! https://t.co/qjskHYkQpD — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 9, 2019 Among the gripes spelled out in the White House letter is a complaint that Democrats are denying Trump and his Republican supporters in the House the opportunity to question witnesses and see the evidence the Democrats have. The White House calls the impeachment inquiry “unconstitutional” and demands the full House be allowed to vote on whether there should be an inquiry. But there is no rule preventing the House from looking into allegations of illegal activity by a president before deciding whether to bring actual articles of impeachment to a vote. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is surrounded by reporters as she arrives to meet with her caucus at the Capitol in Washington, after declaring she will launch a formal impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi called …