Year: 2019

A shallow tremor Thursday sent terrified residents of northeastern Pakistan onto the streets, days after a powerful quake killed 38 people and caused widespread damage in the area. The tremor stretched already-frayed nerves in Mirpur, in Pakistani-controlled Kashmir, as fears of aftershocks from Tuesday’s quake sent hundreds into the streets and put local hospitals on alert. The US Geological Survey put the quake at 4.7 magnitude and 10 kilometres (six miles) deep, adding that it had struck just four kilometres outside of Mirpur. City residents huddled in streets following the quake, some still barefoot, while others recited verses from the Koran. “It’s hell. I am running to save my life,” Mohammad Bilal told AFP moments after the tremor. “I thought most of the building would have tumbled down,” said Sagheer Ahmad. “Allah is very kind to us.” Dozens of patients were evacuated from the main government hospital in Mirpur, some in wheelchairs or on stretchers. Dr Farooq Noor, the medical superintendent at the hospital, told AFP that 93 people were brought in after the tremor. Most were swiftly discharged with minor wounds or shock, but some with head injuries and broken limbs were admitted, he added. The city’s hospitals were already packed with hundreds injured by the quake earlier in the week. ‘Poor construction’ The tremor came as rescuers continued to pick through toppled buildings to reach victims from Tuesday’s earthquake. “You can see we have no arrangements, we don’t have any place to live, have nothing to eat, we …

A Jewish civil rights group has added dozens of new entries to its online database of hateful symbols, slogans and memes that white supremacists have adopted and spread. The “OK” hand gesture is one of the images that the Anti-Defamation League has added to its hate symbols database. Online trolls have used the gesture to dupe viewers into perceiving it as a “white power” symbol, but the ADL says far-right extremists also are using it as a sincere expression of white supremacy.   California Synagogue Shooting Suspect Pleads Not Guilty to Hate Crimes The man suspected of killing a woman in a shooting at a Southern California synagogue pleaded not guilty to federal hate crime charges Tuesday. John T. Earnest spoke twice during the brief hearing — to acknowledge his name and to say he agreed with his court-appointed attorney’s decision against seeking bail. Earnest, 19, is charged with bursting into the Chabad of Poway synagogue on April 27 and opening fire with an assault rifle, killing one and injuring three.    Peter Ko, an assistant U.S. attorney, told the judge that the government had not decided whether to seek the death penalty. The database additions also include “Happy Merchant,” an anti-Semitic meme that depicts a stereotypical image of a Jewish man rubbing his hands together.   ADL launched the database in 2000 to help law enforcement officers and others recognize signs of extremist activity. It has grown to nearly 200 entries. …

The fate of Emmanuel Macron’s presidency of France may lie in the fate of his planned overhaul of the retirement system, which has already prompted strikes and protests. Knowing that it’s not going to be the easiest of sells following the yellow vest movement that brought France to a near-standstill last winter, Macron is embarking Thursday on a “Tour de France” of meetings to try to convince skeptical workers that reform is exactly what France’s stretched and hugely complicated pension system needs to survive into the long-term.     Here’s a look at the planned changes, and why they are generating debate:  France old-age pension system The country’s retirement system has its roots in 1673 and the reign King Louis XIV. Initially for royal marines, the system swelled to include civil servants in the wake of the French Revolution at the end of the 18th century. Military personnel were added in 1831, followed by others over the decades to come, before employees in the private sector were finally added in 1930.   Now, all French retirees receive a state pension. The average French pension this year stands at 1,400 euros per month ($1,500 per month) once taxes are deducted. But that average masks an array of different pension regimes. In total, there are 42 pension regimes.  So many special regimes   The easy bit: Employees from the private sector are affiliated to the overall system. The account for around 7 of 10 workers.   The more complicated bit: many professions …

Scores of protesters chanted slogans outside a stadium in Hong Kong where embattled city leader Carrie Lam held a town hall session on Thursday aimed at cooling down months of demonstrations for greater democracy in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory. The community dialogue with 150 participants, selected randomly from over 20,000 applicants, was the first since massive protests began in June sparked by an extradition bill that the government has now promised to withdraw. Protesters have refused to stop demonstrating until other demands including direct elections for the city’s leaders and police accountability are met. Riot police carried equipment including shields, pepper spray and tear gas canisters into Queen Elizabeth Stadium in the Wan Chai area. Authorities also set up X-ray machines and metal detectors to ensure participants did not bring banned items inside such as umbrellas, helmets and gas masks — gear used by protesters. Protesters gather outside Queen Elizabeth Stadium in Hong Kong, Sept. 26, 2019, chanting slogans outside the venue as embattled leader Carrie Lam began a town hall session aimed at cooling down months of pro-democracy demonstrations. The security measures came as hundreds of students and others formed human chains at roads near the stadium, chanting slogans expressing their demands. Some protesters later marched outside the stadium and continued chanting slogans as the dialogue began. In her opening remarks, Lam expressed hope that the two-hour dialogue would help bring change for a better Hong Kong. The session, broadcast live, was the first in a series of dialogues …

A 5.8 magnitude earthquake shook Istanbul on Thursday but authorities said no immediate damage was reported in Turkey’s financial and cultural center. Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority said the earthquake struck in the Sea of Marmara at 1:59 p.m. (1059 GMT) at 7 kilometers  (4.4 miles) deep. The official Anadolu news agency, quoting the Istanbul governor’s office, said there were no reports of damage. Turkish media showed children being evacuated from schools and city residents waiting outside their homes. Turkey is crossed by fault lines and is prone to earthquakes. In 1999, A 7.4 magnitude earthquake in western Turkey killed more than 17,000 people. Experts have long warned a major earthquake is expected to hit Istanbul, Turkey’s most populous city with more than 15 million residents. A smaller earthquake of 4.6 magnitude was felt in Istanbul on Tuesday. …

Israel’s president has asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to try to form a new government after last week’s deadlocked elections that have paralyzed the country. The office of President Reuven Rivlin made the announcement after meeting Wednesday with Netanyahu and his primary challenger, Benny Gantz. Rivlin has the responsibility of selecting the candidate he believes has the best chance of forming a coalition government after neither Netanyahu nor Gantz captured the required support of the parliamentary majority. Rivlin mediated two previous meetings this week between the politicians, hoping to reach a deal between Netanyahu’s conservative Likud party and Gantz’s centrist and liberal Blue and White alliance. FILE – Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz delivers a statement in Tel Aviv, Israel, Sept. 19, 2019. The talks ended, though, because of disagreements over who should lead a new unity government. Gantz has said he would not participate in a Netanyahu-led government because of the prime minister’s legal problems. Netanyahu is desperate to remain as prime minister amid an ongoing corruption investigation against him. The country’s attorney general recommends charging Netanyahu fraud, bribery and breach of trust stemming from a number of scandals. Netanyahu, who denies any wrongdoing, is scheduled to appear before the attorney general next week, after which a decision on the charges is expected. Final election results announced Wednesday show the Blue and White won 33 seats in the 120-seat parliament, one more than the Likud’s 32 seats. Even with the support of other allies, both parties remain …

The decision by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to launch an impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump has complicated what already was Trump’s uncertain road to re-election next year.  Public opinion polls suggest Trump is in a weaker position for re-election than most other incumbent presidents have been, and he is counting on a strong economy and loyal supporters to overcome what is expected to be an intense turnout of motivated Democratic voters next year. …

VOA Burmese Service contributed to this report The U.S. House of Representatives has passed legislation aimed at advancing efforts to hold senior Myanmar leaders accountable for crimes committed against Rohingya and other ethnic minorities. The BURMA act was approved on Tuesday and now goes to the Senate for consideration. Andy Levin, D-Mich, arrives for member-elect briefings on Capitol Hill in Washington, Nov. 15, 2018. “Journalists, activists and anyone who is willing to use their voice to call out wrong doing must be protected. That is why Congresswoman Ann Wagner and I introduced the Burma Political Prisoners Assistance Act, Rep. Andy Levin (D) said. “This bill calls for the release of political prisoners and prisoners of conscience in Burma and directs our State Department to bolster its works to achieve this act.” Amnesty International urged the Senate to act on the legislation.  “Over two years have passed since the world witnessed atrocities committed against Rohingya women, men, and children. Yet the U.S. Congress has so far failed to speak with a united voice on the issue. Further inaction by the U.S. sets a terrible precedent for other countries and risks emboldening the Myanmar military to continue committing crimes across the country,” Amnesty International USA’s Asia Pacific Advocacy Manger Francisco Bencosme said. Last month, A U.N. fact-finding mission concluded that the Myanmar military intended to perpetrate genocide on ethnic Rohingya Muslims when it drove hundreds of thousands of them from the country in 2017. More than 700,000 Rohingya fled Myanmar’s northern Rakhine …

Sentences against four of the once most powerful men in Algeria were handed down in the middle of the night by a military tribunal in Blida after a trial which lasted two days. Former intelligence chiefs Bachir Tartaq and Mohamed Mediene were given 15-year sentences, alongside former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s brother and right-hand man, Said. Former Defense Minister Khaled Nezzar received a 20-year sentence in absentia. FILE – An Algerian man reads a local newspaper, En-Nahar, bearing a picture for the first time of former Algerian intelligence chief General Mohamed Mediene, better known as General Toufik, on the front cover in the capital, Algiers, Sept. 13, 2015. The four men, along with well-known politician Louisa Hanoun, were accused of “conspiring against the army” by allegedly meeting with a foreign intelligence chief to determine who would succeed ailing former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. Bouteflika was forced to step down in April. Two presidential elections have been postponed since then, as a widespread popular uprising roils the country. Acting President Abdel Qader Bensalah recently set Dec. 12 as the date for new elections, and appointed members of an electoral commission to oversee the vote. Deputy Defense Minister General Ahmed Gaid Salah — said to be the most powerful man in the country — says the military will remain neutral and not try to influence the election. FILE – Algerian chief of staff Gen. Ahmed Gaid Salah presides over a military parade in Algiers, July 1, 2018. He added that the appointment of a …

A threat by Donald Trump to pull the United States out of the global postal system could lead to a “nightmare scenario” of mail going undelivered, packages piling up and American stamps no longer being recognized abroad, the U.N. postal agency said. The Universal Postal Union (UPU) has been holding an emergency meeting in Geneva to persuade Washington not to follow through on a threat to quit the agency, which sets rules to ensure mail gets delivered around the globe. The Trump administration says it wants to charge other countries more than UPU rules now permit to have letters and packages delivered in the United States. It has set a deadline of next month for rates to be raised or it will quit. Universal Postal Union (UPU) Director General Bishar Hussein attends a press conference during an extraordinary congress of the UPU in Geneva, Sept. 24, 2019. “It is really a nightmare scenario,” the UPU’s secretary-general, Bishar Hussein, told a news conference, noting that no country had ever left since the agency was founded nearly 150 years ago. It now has 192 members. “If the United States leaves, you’ll get those piles, because somehow every country has to figure out how to send mail to the United States. … A major disruption is on the way if we don’t solve the problem today.” Were the United States to quit the UPU, U.S. stamps would no longer be valid abroad, he said. He said he was “very optimistic” that a compromise …

Sweeping goals to end poverty, inequality and other global ills are being derailed by climate change, conflicts and violence, the head of the United Nations told world leaders in New York on Tuesday, calling for a “decade of action.” Sustainable development needs more financing, investment in health and education, and broader access to technology to succeed, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said at the first high-level review of the global goals adopted in 2015. Launched with great fanfare and optimism, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agreed by the 193 U.N. member states set out an ambitious “to-do” list tackling conflict, hunger, land degradation, gender inequality and climate change by 2030. But assessments of their progress have been bleak. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addresses the Climate Summit in the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York. “Let us be clear: we are far from where we need to be. We are off track,” Guterres said. “Deadly conflicts, the climate crisis, gender-based violence and persistent inequalities are undermining efforts to achieve the goals. “Uneven growth, rising debt levels, heightened global trade tensions are creating new obstacles to implementation. Another assessment came on Tuesday from global business leaders who complained of being hampered by political uncertainty and market constraints in their efforts to contribute to the goals’ progress. Four in 10 chief executives said political uncertainty was slowing or stalling their efforts, and a third said closing global markets and limits on free trade were hindrances, according to a study by …

House and Senate leaders are reacting along party lines to Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s announcement of a Trump impeachment inquiry. Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is accusing Democrats of having a “predetermined conclusion” about Trump’s guilt, calling Tuesday’s developments part of an “impeachment parade in search of a rationale.” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivers remarks during a weekly Senate Luncheon press conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Sept. 24, 2019. “It simply confirms that House Democrats’ priority is not making life better for the American people, but their nearly three-year-old fixation on impeachment.” McConnell’s statement came just after he was part of the Senate’s unanimous consent agreement that the whistleblower’s complaint be immediately handed over to the House and Senate Intelligence Committees. McConnell’s House counterpart, Republican Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, says Democrats are still bitter about losing the 2016 presidential election and have wanted to impeach Trump from “day one.” FILE – House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-MD) addresses a National Press Club luncheon in Washington, Aug. 7, 2019. But the Democratic chairman of the House Oversight Committee, Elijah Cummings, reminded Republicans that history will show they ignored their duty to the Constitution if they “close their eyes and put party over country.” He called Trump’s alleged appeal to another government to interfere in a U.S. election “an affront to the Constitution and a grave breach of his oath of office.” Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren has been calling for Trump’s impeachment for months …

A former U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency officer who admitted he betrayed his country for financial gain was sentenced on Tuesday to 10 years in federal prison for attempted espionage on behalf of China, the U.S. Justice Department said. Ron Rockwell Hansen, 60, of Syracuse, Utah, pleaded guilty in March to trying to pass classified U.S. national defense information to China, and admitted to receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars as an agent for the Beijing government. FBI agents arrested Hansen in June 2018 as he was on his way to the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to board a flight to China, the Justice Department said. This photo released by the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office shows Ron Rockwell Hansen, a former U.S. intelligence officer who pleaded guilty to trying to sell secrets to China. As part of his guilty plea, Hansen acknowledged soliciting U.S. national security information that he knew China would find valuable from a fellow Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) case officer, and agreeing to sell that information to the Chinese. The documents he received from the DIA officer related to U.S. military readiness. Hansen also admitted to having advised the DIA case officer how to record and transmit the documents without detection, and how to hide and launder any funds received as payment for those secrets. Unbeknownst to Hansen, the case officer reported his conduct to the DIA and acted as an FBI informant in the case. Hansen, who is fluent in Mandarin Chinese and Russian, was hired by …

Opera singer Placido Domingo on Tuesday dropped out of a performance at the Metropolitan Opera in New York while disputing accusations of sexual misconduct leveled by several women in the classical music world. Domingo, one of the world’s leading tenors, was due to appear in “Macbeth” on Wednesday. He also suggested he would never perform at the Met again. “While I strongly dispute recent allegations made about me, and I am concerned about a climate in which people are condemned without due process, upon reflection, I believe that my appearance in this production of Macbeth would distract from the hard work of my colleagues both on stage and behind the scenes. As a result, I have asked to withdraw and I thank the leadership of the Met for graciously granting my request,” the Spanish singer said in a statement. “I am happy that, at the age of 78, I was able to sing the wonderful title role in the dress rehearsal of Macbeth, which I consider my last performance on the Met stage,” he added. More than three dozen singers, dancers, musicians, voice teachers and backstage staff have said in the past month that they had witnessed or experienced inappropriate behavior by the singer at different opera houses over the last three decades. …