Pope Francis said he is focused on fighting corruption in the Catholic Church, despite the challenges.”I know I have to do it (fight corruption), I was called to do it, but it will be the Lord to decide if I did well or not. Sincerely, I am not very optimistic,” he said during an interview Friday with Italian news agency AdnKronos.Pope Francis also said he is not deterred by criticisms in whatever area, noting he takes them “on board because it can lead to self-examination.” He added he will not let himself be “dragged down by every non-positive thing written about the pope.”In 2013, Pope Francis was elected by cardinals on a mandate to clean up the Vatican’s finances, after a series of corruption scandals.Last month, Francis fired a former top Vatican official, Cardinal Angelo Becciu, for alleged embezzlement in the purchase of a luxury London building for the Vatican. Becciu has denied all accusations.A former worker of Becciu, 39-year-old Cecilia Marogna, was released Friday after spending at least two weeks in jail. Marogna is awaiting a judge’s decision on extradition from the Vatican.Francis says he is worried the “cases of malfeasance, of betrayals” hurt believers of the Catholic faith.
…
Month: October 2020
‘Our Heart Breaks’: South Digs Out From Zeta’s Wrath
Trees on top of buses and cars. Roofs ripped off homes. Boats pushed onto the highway by surging seawater. Hundreds of thousands of people left in the dark.The remnants of Hurricane Zeta were far from land over the Atlantic on Friday, but people across the South were still digging out from the powerful storm that killed six people.The wind effects of Zeta, which came ashore in Cocodrie, Louisiana, and barreled northeast, were felt all the way from the Gulf Coast to southern New Jersey. At the height of the outages, as many as 2.6 million people were without power across seven states from Louisiana to Virginia. Utility crews were out assessing the damage and fixing it.In Louisiana, one of the hardest hit areas was Grand Isle, a barrier island community south of New Orleans. Governor John Bel Edwards called the damage there “catastrophic” and ordered the Louisiana National Guard to fly in soldiers to assist with search-and-rescue efforts.Dodie Vegas, who with her husband owns Bridge Side Marina on Grand Isle, said damage was minimal at their waterside complex of cabins, campgrounds and docking facilities, but the rest of the island wasn’t so lucky.”As far as you can see, going down the island, the power lines are cracked in half,” she said by phone Thursday after riding out the storm with family. She described torn-off roofs and scattered debris: “The middle of the island looks like a bomb was dropped.”Members of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers survey levee damage along Grand Isle, La., Oct. 30, 2020. Gov. John Bel Edwards says the damage from Hurricane Zeta was “catastrophic” in Grand Isle, a barrier island community south of New Orleans.FatalitiesA man was electrocuted in New Orleans, and four people died in Alabama and Georgia when trees fell on homes, authorities said, including two people who were pinned to their bed. In Biloxi, Mississippi, a man drowned when he was trapped in rising seawater.Officials repeatedly stressed that the risks were not over — pointing out that fatalities often come after a storm has passed, from things like breathing toxic generator fumes or being electrocuted by downed power lines.Zeta was the 27th named storm of a historically busy year, with more than a month left in the Atlantic hurricane season. It set a new record as the 11th named storm to make landfall in the continental U.S. in a single season, well beyond the nine that hit in 1916. And the coronavirus pandemic has only made things more difficult for evacuees.”Our heart breaks because this has been a tough, tough year,” said Edwards, whose state has taken the brunt of the hurricanes.Every storm is different, and with Zeta the biggest threat was its winds. The hurricane intensified quickly and was just shy of a major, Category 3 storm when it hit the Louisiana coast.The howling gale toppled trees and knocked limbs off stately oaks in New Orleans, and in Mississippi the storm surge whipped up by the winds tossed a shrimping boat into a front yard.Olivia Mancing and Zachery Quale talk outside Flora Gallery and Coffee Shop near a downed tree in the street after Hurricane Zeta swept through New Orleans, Oct. 29, 2020.Trees block roadsMayor Sheldon Day of Thomasville, Alabama, said hundreds of trees fell in roads and on homes, while some gas station canopies blew over.”At one point, every major thoroughfare was blocked by trees,” Day said.Many people were still assessing the damage.Keith Forrest of Bridge City, Louisiana, was launching a boat with his nephew in Lafitte, Louisiana, on Thursday to try to get to his fishing camp.”I got a phone call because the roof blew off one camp,” Forrest said.With just a few days until the November 3 election, there were concerns about whether the storm would affect voters’ ability to get to the polls.Far fewer early voters showed up after the storm in Pascagoula, Mississippi, a court clerk said, and power failures in two Georgia counties disrupted voting. In Louisiana, getting power back to polling centers was a priority, as was letting voters know quickly if there were any changes to locations come Tuesday.In Georgia, a group of civil rights organizations asked the governor to extend early voting hours Friday.A collapsed building is seen after Hurricane Zeta swept through New Orleans, Oct. 29, 2020.No electricity, no workIn the remote area of Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, commercial fisherman Acy Cooper said his boats survived the storm. But without electricity, he feared operations could be shut down as long as two weeks.”Without no lights, none of the docks can work,” he said. “Everything’s automated now — the scales and the conveyors.”The heightened storm activity has focused attention on climate change, which scientists say is causing wetter, stronger and more destructive storms.And as bad as the 2020 hurricane season has been, it isn’t over. Forecasters said disturbed air off the northern coast of South America could become a tropical depression and head toward Nicaragua by early next week — a forecast not lost on Louisiana’s governor.”Let’s not pray it on anybody else,” Edwards said. “Let’s just pray it away from us.”
…
US Coronavirus Cases Set to Reach 9 Million
Coronavirus infections in the U.S. are poised to reach 9 million Friday after daily cases in the country on Thursday reached a record high 88,521, according to Johns Hopkins University.
The 9 million milestone in the U.S. is set to be reached just 15 days after the total number of infections reached 8 million.
Dozens of U.S. states set records Thursday for new infections in a single day, including the midwestern states of Illinois, Wisconsin and Ohio, according to Hopkins. Record daily highs were also reported in Texas, California and Florida.
The rising tide of new coronavirus cases worldwide is forcing leaders to consider new lockdown measures to contain an increase in infections.
British Foreign Minister Dominic Raab said in an interview with BBC television Friday a national lockdown in his country is not inevitable to prevent the further spread of the disease, adding that a localized approach would be efficient if rules for each area were strictly observed.
Raab’s statment followed announcements by leaders of France and Germany earlier in the week to impose new lockdowns.
French President Emmanuel Macron announced a nationwide monthlong lockdown that will take effect Friday. Macron said restaurants, bars, cafes and other nonessential businesses will be closed, while citizens will be allowed to leave their homes only for work, shopping and doctor appointments.
Officials in Paris said people eager to escape the effects of the new lockdown created traffic jams Thursday evening with a total length of 730 kilometers.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced a set of similar measures in her own monthlong lockdown which takes effect Monday. In addition to restaurants and bars, all gyms, theaters and opera houses will be shut down under Merkel’s order, while the majority of businesses, shops and hair salons will be allowed to remain open.
Schools in both nations will remain open during their respective lockdowns.
The restrictions were announced by Macron and Merkel as both nations struggle with a record number of new COVID-19 cases almost every day.
France and Germany joined several other European nations that have been forced to impose a new set of restrictions to deal with a second and growing wave of the virus as the cold weather season approaches in the Northern Hemisphere.
Ukraine reported Friday a record 8,312 new COVID-19 cases in the previous 24 hours, up from the October 23 high of 7,517, with total infections at 378,729. The deaths also jumped by a record 173, for a toll of 7,041.
In Japan, the health ministry said Friday that the coronavirus cases topped 100,000, nine months after the first case was reported in mid-January. Japan has more than 1,700 deaths.
European countries, meanwhile, are calling on the global community to grant the World Health Organization greater authority to independently investigate outbreaks after the pandemic exposed the agency’s deficiencies.
After European Union ministers met to discuss the matter, German Health Minister Jens Spahn said Friday that countries should give the agency more political and financial support.
The WHO does not have the authority to independently investigate epidemics, forcing it to rely on countries to approve their lists of suggested experts and to abide by the agendas developed by them.
As of Friday, there are more than 45 million total coronavirus cases worldwide, including over 1.18 million COVID-19 deaths. India has reached the milestone of over 8 million cases, second only to the U.S.
…
Powerful Quake in Aegean Sea Leaves 6 Dead; Buildings Toppled in Turkey, Greece
Officials in Greece and Turkey say rescue efforts are continuing into the night after a powerful earth struck Friday in the Aegean Sea between the Turkish coast and the Greek island of Samos, killing at least 14 people and injuring hundreds amid collapsed buildings and flooding caused by a minor tsunami.
Video clips showed several damaged buildings, some partially or completely collapsed, as emergency services attended the scene.
Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency reported12 people died, one due to drowning, while 419 people were injured.
On the Greek island of Samos two teenagers, a boy and a girl, were found dead in an area where a wall had collapsed. Haluk Ozener, director of the Istanbul-based Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute, reported a small tsunami struck the Seferihisar district south of Izmir, the city in western Turkey that was the worst affected.
Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency said search and rescue operations continued at 17 collapsed or damaged buildings. Izmir’s governor said 70 people had been rescued from under the rubble.
The European-Mediterranean Seismological Center said the quake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.9 with an epicenter 13 kilometers north-northeast of Samos and 32 kilometers off the coast of Turkey. The United States Geological Survey put the magnitude at 7.0. It is common for preliminary magnitudes to differ in the early hours and days after a quake.
Multiple aftershocks struck the region.
Turkey’s official Anadolu news agency said three injured people were pulled from the wreckage of a building in Izmir. Izmir mayor Tunc Soyer told CNN Turk that about 20 buildings collapsed. The city is the third largest in Turkey with about 4.5 million residents.
Media reports say the quake was felt as far away as Britain and Bulgaria.
…
US Private Investment Initiatives Pump Billions Into Africa
How big is the U.S. commitment to Africa?
Let us count the ways, says Victoria Whitney, chief operating officer of the Prosper Africa initiative, launched in 2018. She says that in the past year, the initiative, which spans 17 U.S. government agencies, has facilitated more than $22 billion worth of deals in more than 30 African countries, with agreements focusing on small and medium-sized African businesses.
This week, she announced new measures that aim to harness private U.S. investment and pour it into African entrepreneurship.
“This new continent-wide program is going to provide a really wide range of services – think business consulting and transition facilitation, targeted policy interventions, really the core tenets of the Prosper Africa Initiative – and is expected to deliver billions more dollars in exports and investment and create hundreds of thousands of jobs by 2026,” she told journalists in a teleconference. “I really think this new program is going to be a game changer.”
Prosper Africa is one of many U.S. government initiatives aimed at bringing private investment into the continent.
The International Development Finance Corporation is the federal government’s development finance institution. It works on financing private development projects in lower- and middle-income countries. Since its launch at the beginning of 2020, it has invested more than $8 billion in 300 projects in Africa, along with the U.S. Agency for International Development, which is working on $10 billion worth of deals.
“Adam Boehler, Prosper Africa’s executive chair as well as CEO of the DFC, he describes it really well in the way that he does,” Whitney said. “He said, for years we lacked the type of investment infrastructure to really be on the board. And when people would sort of say, where is the United States, well, we didn’t have the best answer. But because of the BUILD Act, because of Prosper Africa, we do have an answer. We’re saying, we’re new but we’re big time, as he had said, and you’re going to see much, much more from us.”FILE – Construction cranes tower over the Rosebank suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa, Sept. 4, 2018.Martyn Davies, managing director of emerging markets and Africa at Deloitte, told VOA he’s noticed an increase in private investment initiatives from American investors, and that it makes sense.
“I think there was previously a lot stronger interest in the infrastructure, and infrastructure assets, but I think the challenges of navigating through often challenging public-sector bureaucracies … has resulted in a dampening, I think, to an extent, of some of the infrastructure plays,” he said. “I think, however, going forward, I think U.S. multinationals remain incredibly well positioned, especially in terms of brand recognition and the like, toward the African continent.”
Sean Cairncross, CEO of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, another U.S. government initiative, is working to build a global investment platform to attract U.S. capital to Africa. Investing in African entrepreneurs, he said, just makes sense, and aligns with this administration’s foreign policy.
“This partnership is well-aligned with our key priorities, which is seeking new and innovative opportunities for blended finance,” he said. “It’s a priority that this administration is, like I say, 100% behind and the interagency coordination on this is, I think, an unheralded piece of the Trump administration’s foreign development push.”
Whitney acknowledges that the world of investment seems abstract and complicated. So, she said, here’s a real-life example of how the program has worked for one Ghanaian entrepreneur:
“Eugenia Akuete first started a shea cosmetics company, and she turned to USAID for technical assistance as well as some market intelligence, matchmaking, and networking support,” Whitney said. “And then she also received seed capital and technical assistance from USADF, both Prosper Africa leading partners. And she attended numerous USAID-sponsored training sessions and conferences.”
Today, she said, Akuete’s products are available in more than 1,000 Target stores in the U.S. And on the continent, 10,000 shea nut pickers have jobs.
…
German Third Quarter Economy Grows 8.2 Percent
German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier expressed optimism Friday when data for the third quarter of 2020 showed the German economy bounced back strongly compared to the previous three months, when the country was hit by the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
At a news conference in Berlin, Altmaier said figures from the Federal Statistical Office indicate the country’s gross domestic product grew by 8.2% from July to September compared to the second quarter, “well above” expectations, and the government now expects a full-year decline in GDP of 5.5%, down from the September forecast of a 5.8%.
Altmaier said the good third quarter suggests the German economy can continue to grow even during a pandemic. He said that also gives the government hope as it faces a second wave of COVID-19 and heads into what could be difficult winter months.
Germany is set to enforce new restrictions on Monday, closing bars, restaurants and other “leisure” sections of the economy to slow the current surge in infections.
Altmaier told reporters, as optimistic as he is, the recovery is “subject to further developments of the pandemic.”
But, he added, “we have a real chance of achieving this growth.”
Altmaier said he expects the economy to fully recover from the pandemic by 2022.
…
Hit Hard by Pandemic, South Korean Churches Find New Ways to Worship
In South Korea, one of the main ways the coronavirus has spread is through cluster infections in religious communities. That has forced many religious groups to adapt to new ways of worship, as VOA’s Bill Gallo reports from Seoul.
…
2 Same-sex Couples in Military Marry in First for Taiwan
Two lesbian couples tied the knot in a mass wedding held by Taiwan’s military on Friday in a historic celebration with their peers.
Taiwan is the only place in Asia to have legalized same-sex marriage, with more than 4,000 such couples marrying since the legislation passed in May 2019. The mass wedding, which included 186 mixed-sex couples, was the first time same-sex couples have been wed and celebrated at a military ceremony.
Both couples viewed their ceremonies with a sense of responsibility towards representing the LGBT community.
“We are hoping that more LGBT people in the military can bravely stand up, because our military is very open-minded. In matters of love, everyone will be treated equally,” said Chen Ying-hsuan, 27, an army lieutenant who married Li Li-chen, 26.
Chen wore a rainbow wristband and said she has always been open about her sexual orientation while serving.
The ceremony at an army base in the northern city of Taoyuan was brief. The couples took part in a parade and then exchanged rings in front of an audience of family members and their senior officers.
Yumi Meng, 37, and her wife, army Maj. Wang Yi, 36, wiped back tears as they exchanged rings. Meng wore sneakers under her wedding dress, while Wang wore her officer’s uniform. They each carried a pride flag throughout the ceremony.
Meng’s parents had not come to the celebration, but both of Wang’s parents as well as her teacher came out to support the couple.
“I really feel that this is a huge breakthrough for the military because before gay people really had to go through a lot,” said Amy Chao, mother to Wang. “Perhaps for heterosexual couples, it’s just a paper, but it’s very important for gay couples, if you’re sick or have to have a major surgery, if you don’t have this, then you are nothing, you can’t make a decision.”
Since same-sex marriage became legal in Taiwan, 4,021 such couples have married, with 69% of them lesbian couples, according to the most recent government data.
The military seemed an unlikely institution to be the site of a same-sex marriage, but in recent years has opened up, said Victoria Hsu, the Co-founder of Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights. “We hope this is a good sign to show that the armed forces’ attitude towards the LGBT community is becoming more supportive than before in Taiwan.”
That attitude was on full display Friday as it welcomed dozens of reporters to the wedding.
“Our attitude is that everyone should be treated equally, and we congratulate each and every couple, and this shows that our military’s position is open-minded, progressive and with the times,” Lt. Gen. Yang An told reporters at the wedding.
…
Culture War Erupts in Poland After Court Decision to Ban Most Abortions
Women’s rights activists have called a national strike and thousands of people have joined demonstrations to protest a decision by Poland’s Constitutional Court to ban nearly all abortions. Roderick James narrates this report filed by Pablo Gonzalez in Warsaw for VOA.
Camera: Pablo Gonzalez
Video editor: Henry Hernandez
Contributor: Ricardo Marquina
…
Tanzania Opposition Rejects Early Election Results
The political opposition is rejecting early results of Tanzania’s presidential and parliamentary election, saying the vote was illegitimate due to widespread fraud. Presidential challenger Tundu Lissu called on the international community not to accept figures emerging from Wednesday’s voting.
One day after Tanzanians cast votes in Wednesday’s election, opposition figures in the East African country said they reject the whole election process.
Lissu told reporters Thursday in Dar es Salaam that results were full of irregularities and called on international bodies to take action.
“We are asking our people to take this matter into their own hands through peaceful, mass, and democratic action and protests. We are asking regional and international [bodies] that sent observers here, particularly the African Union. We ask those who sent observers to observe this election, not to confer any recognition to these illegitimate results,” Lissu said.
The ruling party and government spokespeople have said they’ll have no comment until after all votes are counted.
Tanzania’s National Election Commission (NEC) chairman Semistocles Kaijage dismissed the reports of pre-ticked ballots as false and advised citizens to ignore them. He said there have been some reports circulating on social media regarding the presence of pre-ticked ballot papers in Kawe, Pangani and Kigoma constituencies.Kaijage noted that those reports of the allegations have not yet been submitted to the National Electoral Commission. He urged all citizens to ignore those reports, saying they are invalid and unproven.
Early results show the majority of votes going to the ruling CCM party, led by President John Magufuli.
Absalom Kibanda, a political analyst, says that although it is very early to talk about a ruling party victory, as there are 264 constituencies, it’s a bad beginning and a bad sign to opposition parties. If that continues, he added, Tanzanians may find that they have very weak opposition parties in the coming parliament, compared to the previous period of five or 10 years.
The official, final election results are expected later Friday.
…
Trump, Biden Head to Battleground States Friday
With just a few days until voters cast the last ballots in the U.S. presidential election, the top candidates are focusing their campaign efforts Friday in four midwestern battleground states. President Donald Trump will campaign in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin, while former Vice President Joe Biden will campaign in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa.Michigan has 16 electoral votes, Minnesota and Wisconsin have 10 each, and Iowa 6.WATCH: Blue states and Red states Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
Democratic U.S. presidential nominee and former Vice President Joe Biden greets suporters at a drive-in, Get Out the Vote campaign stop in Tampa, Florida, Oct. 29, 2020.Biden slams Trump over ‘super spreader events’
Biden criticized President Trump for holding packed rallies amid the coronavirus pandemic where most attendees are not wearing masks, calling them ”super spreader events.” The president is “spreading more than just coronavirus. He’s spreading division and discord,” Biden said at a second drive-in rally later in the day in Tampa that was cut short by a rain shower. Trump, addressing a large crowd in a stadium parking lot in Tampa, again predicted heavy Republican voter turnout — “a great red wave” — on November 3. “We’re going to win this election so big. You watch,” the president predicted. Trump had been scheduled to hold another rally later Thursday in North Carolina, but because of “very bad weather,” including high winds, the event was postponed until Monday, he told reporters.U.S. President Donald Trump gestures as he speaks during a campaign rally outside Raymond James Stadium, in Tampa, Florida, Oct. 29, 2020.Trump touts coronavirus vaccine
Trump, in his speech in Tampa, also said the country would have a vaccine for COVID-19 “in a few weeks,” promising that “seniors will be first in line to have it.” In Florida, people over the age of 65 this year could comprise about a third of those voting for president. In every election since 1996, the winner of Florida has won the presidency. The winner there earns 29 of the 270 electoral votes needed to clinch the election. According to an Unprecedented early voting numbers
More than 80 million people had already voted as of Thursday, well above half of the overall 2016 vote count, which was 138.8 million. About two-thirds of America’s early voters have mailed in or dropped off their ballots, and the rest voted in person at polling places throughout the country. Biden voted Wednesday in Wilmington, Delaware, while Trump cast his ballot Saturday at a library in West Palm Beach, Florida, near his Mar-a-Lago resort. Voting experts say voter turnout for the contest between the Republican Trump and Democratic challenger Biden could be the highest percentage of the electorate since 1908, when 65% of the country’s eligible voters cast ballots.
…
Pompeo Wraps of 5-Nation Asia Visit in Vietnam, with Recurring Anti-China Theme
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo wrapped up a five-nation visit of Asia in Vietnam Friday, repeating the theme that the U.S. is against China’s encroachment on sovereign nations of Southeast Asia, Asia and the Indo-Pacific regions.
Pompeo Friday was greeted by Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc in the capital Hanoi as the countries celebrate 25 years of U.S.-Vietnam relations.
Pompeo told Phuc the United States has enormous respect for the Vietnamese people and the country’s sovereignty.
In a statement issued after the visit, the State Department said “Secretary Pompeo underscored support for the sovereignty of Southeast Asian nations, international law, and a free and open Indo Pacific.”
The top U.S. diplomat also made a point of reinforcing U.S. support in pushing back on China during earlier stops in India, Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Indonesia.
Prior to Pompeo’s arrival to the Vietnam, the State Department issued a statement critical of China reneging on promises with other Mekong countries and for territorial claims in the South China Sea. Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan all have rival claims to the South China Sea, through which a third of global shipping passes.
The Trump administration has been openly critical of China’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, and its adoption of policies that exercise aggressiveness behavior towards its smaller neighbors.
…
Australian Inquiry Recommends Sweeping Changes to Handle Catastrophic Bushfires
A high-level report into Australia’s devastating “Black Summer” bushfires warns that natural disasters are becoming “more complex, more unpredictable, and more difficult to manage.”The Royal Commission, a high-level public inquiry into Australia’s bushfires, said the Black Summer fires of 2019 occurred during Australia’s hottest and driest year on record. According to the commission’s final report, more than 24 million hectares of land were burned. Thirty-three people died, and more than 3,000 homes were destroyed.The commission was set up in February to examine how Australia could become more resilient in the face of natural calamities.It has identified climate change as a key factor in an increasingly dangerous future. It warned that extreme weather had already become more frequent and intense because of climate change, bringing with it floods and bushfires.In the report released Friday, the inquiry said traditional firefighting methods might be no match for catastrophic fire conditions in the years and decades to come, when Australia would likely have more hot days and fewer cool days.The commission offered 80 recommendations, including the need for a national aerial firefighting fleet. Water-bombing aircraft are operated by individual states and territories, and the commission called for greater across-the-board cooperation between federal and local authorities. An integrated country-wide early warning system to alert residents was also recommended.David Littleproud, the minister for emergency management, said the report also advised harnessing firefighting techniques successfully used by Indigenous Australians.“It also brings into light the role that First Australians can play, and I have said this when this disaster first hit us back at the start of the year, is that our First Australians have a significant role to play in educating us and working with the new science to make sure that were can prepare better for particular bushfires in the future,” he said.Aboriginal methods involve the lighting of small so-called “cool” fires in specific areas during the early dry season between March and July. The flames burn slowly, reducing vegetation that can feed wildfires and that creates fire breaks.Australia’s federal, state and territory leaders will soon discuss the Royal Commission’s recommendations. Campaigners are urging them to adopt all of the recommendations and do more to address the impact of climate change.
…
Walmart Pulls Firearms, Ammunition from US Store Floors as Civil Unrest Flares
Walmart Inc removed firearms and ammunition from U.S. store floors this week to protect customers and employees as tensions across the country have been rising, the world’s largest retailer said on Thursday.The move comes days before the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 3, with many worried that the result could be contested or spark violence.”We have seen some isolated civil unrest and as we have done on several occasions over the last few years, we have moved our firearms and ammunition off the sales floor as a precaution for the safety of our associates and customers,” a Walmart spokesperson said. The company does not have a date for when it will place the guns and ammunition back on the shelves, he added.The Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer, which sells firearms in approximately half of its more than 5,000 U.S. stores, will still sell the items upon request, it said.Retailers have been on edge after people earlier this year smashed windows, stole merchandise and, at times, set stores ablaze in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Portland and other U.S. cities. In an another trend that has fed concern, gun sales in the United States this year have reached record highs, and more first-time buyers have purchased firearms recent months.In June, Walmart pulled firearms and ammunition from some U.S. sales stores amid nationwide protests over the death of an unarmed black man, George Floyd, while in police custody in late May.Last year, the retailer stopped selling ammunition for handguns and some assault-style rifles in all its U.S. stores.It has also in the past called for a strengthening of background checks for gun buyers and action to take guns out of the hands of those who pose a risk of violence.Shares of the retailer were trading roughly flat after the bell.
…
Rescuers in Vietnam Search for Dozens Missing after Deadly Landslides
Rescuers in Vietnam are searching villages for dozens of people missing after a typhoon described by officials as the most powerful to hit Vietnam in 20 years triggered landslides, killing at least 35 people.The state-run Vietnam News Agency reported Thursday that nearly two dozen people managed to escape in Tra Van and Tra Leng villages.Dozens more are still unaccounted for in those communities in Quang Nam province, where houses were buried by landslides.The news agency said rescuers uncovered eight bodies Thursday in Tra Van.Officials fear the death toll will rise as regions cut off by storm damage become more accessible.Typhoon Molave struck Vietnam late Wednesday with winds at 150 kph, killing more than a dozen fisherman and leaving several more missing.People in the mountains of Quang Nam province are still trying to recover from landslides and floods that killed 136 people earlier this month.Nguyen Hai Anh, the secretary general of Vietnam Red Cross, said the back-to-back disasters in central Vietnam have affected the lives of more than 7 million people, including just over 1 million people directly impacted by Typhoon Molave.
…
Ivorian Refugees in Ghana Fear Increased Electoral Violence
Ivory Coast’s 2010 election violence killed 3,000 people and sent thousands more fleeing into Ghana. Now, many of those refugees fear the Ivorian election this Saturday could spark new unrest, as Stacey Knott reports from Ampain Refugee Camp.
Camera: Stacey Knott Produced by: Stacey Knott
…
Ivory Coast Voters Choose Country’s Next President Saturday
Ivory Coast voters will decide Saturday whether President Alassane Ouattara will claim a controversial third term.During his final campaign rally Thursday, Ouattara told thousands of supporters to vote and not allow themselves to be prevented from voting, telling them to protect polling stations.Concerns about election violence have grown in recent weeks following demonstrations and attacks. The home of top opposition candidate Pascal Affi N’Guessan was set on fire and an office of his Ivorian Popular Front party was attacked.Two other candidates, former president Henri Konan Bedie, leader of the Democratic Party of the Ivory Coast, and Independent candidate Kouadio Konan Bertin, are seeking to unseat Quattara.Quattara decided to seek reelection in August following the July death of his favored successor, Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly.Quattara rejected claims by opponents, who said his run for a third term violated the constitution, arguing the two-term limit does not apply to him under a new constitution adopted in 2016.
…
Activists Hail Canadian Parliamentary Committee Report on Uighur ‘Genocide’
After the Canadian parliamentary Subcommittee on International Human Rights concluded last week that China’s treatment of the Uighurs in the Xinjiang region amounts to genocide, some experts and international human rights activists say the international community could be entering a new phase of action to hold officials in Beijing accountable.In its Oct. 21 statement, the committee said the detention of nearly 2 million Uighurs and other Turkic Muslims, forced labor, “pervasive” state surveillance and repressive control were “a clear attempt to eradicate Uighur culture and religion.”“Based on the evidence put forward during the Subcommittee hearings, both in 2018 and 2020, the Subcommittee is persuaded that the actions of the Chinese Communist Party constitute genocide as laid out in the Genocide Convention,” the committee said in a news release.The U.N. Genocide Convention defines genocide as acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.Kyle Matthews, executive director of the Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies at Concordia University, said the committee’s move represents the first time a national legislative body has described the treatment of Uighurs in China as genocide.“This will put pressure [on] the executive branch of government to follow suit and respond accordingly,” Matthews told VOA.Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline.Download File360p | 8 MB480p | 11 MB540p | 15 MBOriginal | 36 MB Embed” />Copy Download AudioChina has been accused internationally of arbitrary detention, forced indoctrination and torture of over a million Uighurs and other Turkic Muslims in internment camps in Xinjiang since 2017.Approval by governmentThe committee called on the Canadian government to recognize the campaign as genocide, condemn China, and sanction officials involved in “grave human rights abuses.” It also asked the government to push for international access to the region and support organizations raising awareness on Uighurs.Committee chair Peter Fonseca told VOA that the suggestions included in the statement were “a unanimous proclamation on the part of the multiparty members of the subcommittee.”He said the committee report will be presented to the Foreign Affairs Committee, which can approve or reject its findings.Some experts say the findings are likely to proceed further in the country’s legislative branch and be presented to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Cabinet for approval.“The government has often followed the suggestions of the committee,” Ilan Orzy, director of operations at the Raoul Wallenberg Center for Human Rights, told VOA.Orzy said the Canadian government followed such a proceeding with regard to the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar.Canada recognized the actions by Myanmar authorities against the Rohingya minority as genocide in September 2018.The Canadian government has yet to announce whether it will act on the committee suggestions. In a statement shared with VOA, Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne said his government takes genocide allegations “very seriously.”“We will continue to work in close collaboration with our allies to push for these to be investigated through an international independent body and for impartial experts to access the region so that they can see the situation firsthand and report back,” Champagne said.‘‘We remain deeply disturbed by the troubling reports of human rights violations in Xinjiang and have publicly and consistently called on the Chinese government to end the repression of Uighurs,” he said.‘Vocational training’China rejects the claim that it is running a repressive campaign against Turkic minorities in Xinjiang. Beijing officials say they have sent Uighurs who were “poisoned” by religious extremism or who lagged behind in society to “vocational training centers” to deradicalize them and teach them new work skills.Last Thursday, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian called the committee’s statement “groundless” and called on Canada to stop interfering in China’s internal affairs under the pretext of Xinjiang-related matters.“The so-called genocide in Xinjiang is a rumor and a farce fabricated by some anti-China forces to slander China,” Zhao said at a press conference.Some observers charge that a possible move by the Canadian government to approve the committee findings and recognize the Uighur genocide could encourage other countries to follow suit.U.S. stanceLast Friday, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, a Foreign Relations Committee member, urged the U.S. government to formerly recognize the issue as genocide.Tuesday, a bipartisan group of senators introduced a resolution to declare the Uighur campaign genocide.Peter Irwin, a senior program officer at the Washington-based Uyghur Human Rights Project, told VOA that those resolutions show the international community is ready to go beyond condemnation of China’s policies in Xinjiang toward holding party officials accountable.“The Canadian [parliamentary] subcommittee, to their credit, took the time to study the issue intensively, calling witnesses and analyzing reports, and concluded that what’s happening amounts to genocide,” Irwin said.Dolkun Isa, president of the Munich-based World Uyghur Congress, said that discussions of genocide-labeling means those countries understand the severity of the Uighur situation, and their policymakers are willing to adjust their responses to the crisis.“There is growing momentum to recognize the situation as a genocide, and the decision of the subcommittee has greatly contributed to that. It is our hope that this move will be the start of a more meaningful and concrete push by the international community to demand that China stops the Uighur genocide,” Isa told VOA.
…
California Voters to Decide Gig Economy’s Fate
Voters in California are deciding on an initiative that would keep people who work in the so-called gig economy as independent contractors, not employees. Michelle Quinn reports.
Camera: Matt Dibble and Deana Mitchell Producer: Matt Dibble
…
Early Voting Begins in Myanmar Election
Despite Myanmar’s growing coronavirus caseload and continuing unrest in some areas, early voting began Thursday for the November 8 general election, which involves nearly 100 political parties and contests for the upper and lower houses of the national, state and regional governments.Early voters include citizens unable to return to their constituencies because of COVID-19 restrictions, and voters older than 60 in townships under stay-at-home orders, according to the Union Election Commission (UEC). A total of 1,171 seats are being contested,
according to the Myanmar President U Win Myint casts his ballot, Oct. 29, 2020, during early voting in his country’s election. (VOA Burmese Service)Win Myint, 68, is also running for the national Lower House, where he holds a seat representing Tamwe Township that he secured in the 2015 general election.Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) is widely expected to be returned to power in the vote. The Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) is expected to dominate the nominations for seats in the military bloc.If Suu Kyi’s party wins, she will resign from her constituency to form a government. The winner of a by-election will then represent Kawhmu Township.Suu Kyi said on Monday that the government was well-prepared for the election, despite the COVID-19 outbreak. According to the Myanmar State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi casts her ballot, Oct. 29, 2020, during early voting in her country’s elections. (VOA Burmese Service)The UEC was criticized for favoring the NLD because many voters in the restive states support ethnic parties, according to a statement released October 18 by the Kachin State People’s Party, Kayah State Democratic Party, Karen National Democratic Party, Chin National League for Democracy and Mon Unity Party.It is unclear when voters in these areas will be allowed to vote. “The Union Election Commission is making decisions affecting people’s right to choose their representatives without an iota of transparency,” Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director for Human Rights Watch, said Wednesday. “Myanmar’s election commission needs to fully explain the basis for its decisions on each of the affected townships, which affect the voting rights of 1.5 million largely ethnic minority people.”Thet Naing, in Sittwe; Htet Aung Khant in Mandalay, and VOA Burmese journalists in Naypyidaw, Agga Non, Mon State and Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.
…
Falwell Sues Liberty University, Says School Hurt his Reputation
Jerry Falwell Jr. has sued Liberty University, alleging the evangelical school founded by his late pastor father damaged his reputation in a series of public statements that followed his resignation as president and chancellor in August amid a series of scandals.The lawsuit filed in Lynchburg Circuit Court on Wednesday includes claims of defamation and breach of contract. It alleges that Liberty officials accepted what Falwell says are false claims about his involvement in an extramarital affair between his wife and a business partner of the couple’s and moved quickly to destroy his reputation.”When Mr. Falwell and his family became the targets of a malicious smear campaign incited by anti-evangelical forces, Liberty University not only accepted the salacious and baseless accusations against the Falwells at face value, but directly participated in the defamation. This action seeks redress for the damage Liberty has caused to the reputation of Mr. Falwell and his family,” the lawsuit says.K. Todd Swisher, Circuit Court clerk for the city of Lynchburg, provided The Associated Press with a copy of the complaint, which contains a limited number of redactions in sections pertaining to Falwell’s employment agreement. Swisher said there would be a hearing within a week for a judge to consider whether an unredacted version of the complaint should remain sealed.Liberty spokesman Scott Lamb said the school, which had not yet been served with the lawsuit, would have a formal statement in response later Thursday, but no statement was released. The school’s board of trustees has been meeting this week.An attorney for Falwell did not respond immediately to a telephone message left Thursday, and Falwell did not respond to a voicemail and text seeking comment.Allegations about affairFalwell left Liberty in August after Giancarlo Granda, a younger business partner of the Falwell family, said he had a years-long sexual relationship with Falwell’s wife, Becki Falwell, and that Jerry Falwell participated in some of the liaisons as a voyeur.Although the Falwells have acknowledged that Granda and Becki Falwell had an affair, Jerry Falwell has denied any participation. The couple allege that Granda sought to extort them by threatening to reveal the relationship unless he was paid substantial amounts of money.Before his resignation, Falwell had already been on an indefinite leave of absence after an uproar over a photo he posted on social media of him and his wife’s pregnant assistant, both with their pants unzipped.Falwell said it was taken in good fun at a costume party during a vacation, but critics saw it as evidence of hypocrisy by the head of an institution that holds students to a strict moral code of conduct.Shortly after Falwell’s departure, Liberty announced it was opening an independent investigation into his tenure as president, a wide-ranging inquiry that would include financial, real estate and legal matters.Earlier this month, the school identified Baker Tilly US as the firm handling the investigation and announced the launch of a website to “facilitate the reporting of potential misconduct to the investigative team.”Falwell has declined to answer questions from the AP about the size of the exit package he received from the university but has discussed the issue with other news organizations, which reported that he was set to receive $10.5 million. However, Liberty said in a statement last month that it paid Falwell two years of base salary and disputed “media reports regarding the size and terms” of Falwell’s contract.In an August interview with the AP, Falwell said that the school’s board had been “very generous to me” but raised concerns that they were “being influenced by people who really shouldn’t have a say” about the future direction of Liberty.In the lawsuit, Falwell claimed that Liberty “turned on” him after Granda went public with his allegations, forcing his resignation. The lawsuit also says Liberty rejected Falwell’s attempts “to reach an amicable resolution,” forcing Falwell to turn to court to “restore his reputation.”‘No one should be fooled’The lawsuit says Liberty’s statements have harmed not only Falwell’s reputation but also his future employment prospects and business opportunities. Falwell now has a “drastically reduced ability” to attach his name to business and charity organizations, and he has stopped receiving previously frequent invitations to appear on TV to discuss Liberty, evangelicalism and politics, the lawsuit says.Reached for comment on the lawsuit, Granda said via email that he stands by his previous statements.“Jerry is attempting to portray himself as a victim,” Granda said. “No one should be fooled.”The lawsuit further alleges that “Liberty’s actions are antithetical to the teachings of Christ.” Falwell’s attorneys charge the university with hurting its own standing and that of the broader evangelical community “by playing right into the hands of sinister operatives with ulterior motives.”
…
Six Dead as Tropical Storm Zeta Moves Through Southeastern US
Tropical Storm Zeta left six people dead and a trail of destruction in its wake as it brought high winds and heavy rain from the U.S. Gulf Coast across the mid-Atlantic states.In its latest report, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said Zeta was on the Virginia-North Carolina border with sustained winds of 85 kph (53 mph) and was swiftly moving to the northeast.Zeta made landfall as a powerful Category 2 hurricane in Louisiana on the U.S. Gulf Coast.Will Arute, who lives New Orleans, said it sounded like a bomb went off when part of a large oak snapped outside his home and crashed into his car and a corner of his home, The Associated Press reported.“I did not anticipate this to happen. It was pretty intense along the eye wall when it went through here,” he said.Northern Virginia and Washington were expected to get 2 to 7 centimeters (about 1 to 3 inches) of rain.Earlier, Zeta made a nearly direct hit on the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, but was also felt farther east in Atlanta, Georgia. It was a very strong Category 2 storm with maximum winds of about 175 kph (109 mph).At least six deaths have been attributed to the storm. Four people died in Alabama and Georgia when trees fell on homes, the AP reported. Two of the dead were pinned to their bed when a tree crashed through their home, according to Gwinnett County, Georgia, fire officials.Boat owner Ricky Mitchell, left, surveys damage to his boat that Hurricane Zeta washed up against a home in Lakeshore, Miss., Oct. 29, 2020.In Mississippi, Leslie Richardson, 58, drowned when he was trapped in rising seawater in Biloxi after taking video of the raging storm, Harrison County Coroner Brian Switzer told the AP. And in New Orleans, a 55-year-old man was electrocuted by a downed power line, a Louisiana coroner said.The website PowerOutage.us says the storm left millions without electricity across seven states, including more than 553,000 in Georgia, 414,000 in Alabama, and 444,000 Louisiana.Zeta became the fourth hurricane to hit Louisiana this season and the 11th named storm to hit the U.S. mainland this year. It tied a record set in 2005 as the 27th named storm in a season. The hurricane center says that record may fall in coming days because a weather disturbance in the southern Caribbean has a 60% chance of becoming the 28th named storm of the season.
…
Ukraine’s Zelenskiy Promises Action as Allies Sound Alarm Over Reform Rollback
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy promised swift action on Thursday and warned Ukraine could lose international aid and support after a Constitutional Court this week ruled to abolish some anti-corruption laws. The court said it saw as excessive the punishment set for false information on officials’ asset declarations and struck down some critical powers of the key anti-graft body NAZK, which in turn said the court had destroyed the anti-corruption system. Ukraine’s patchy performance on reforms and tackling entrenched corruption has derailed a $5 billion program agreed in June with the International Monetary Fund at a time its economy is in sharp downturn due to the COVID-19 pandemic. FILE – The International Monetary Fund logo is seen in Washington, April 21, 2017.The European Union’s delegation to Kyiv warned that its financial assistance was tied to Ukraine’s performance on corruption. A further deterioration could threaten Ukraine’s prized visa-free access to the EU countries, a member of the European Parliament’s foreign affairs committee has warned. “We will not have money. We will not have support. Projects on which agreement was reached will be canceled, as well as World Bank support. We will have a big hole in the budget,” Zelenskiy said in a statement. “The recent decisions of the [court] undermine trust in Ukraine, outrage Ukrainians,” he said in a separate post on Twitter, adding that he wanted new legislation introduced as soon as possible to rectify the situation. The United States, Canada, Britain and the European Union have backed Ukraine with aid and sanctions on Russia after the 2014 Maidan street protests that ousted a Kremlin-backed leader but have repeatedly pressed Kyiv to quicken the pace of reforms. “The G-7 ambassadors are alarmed by efforts to undo the anti-corruption reforms that followed the Revolution of Dignity,” a statement said. “Too much progress has been made, Ukraine must not go back to the past.” In a separate statement, the EU said the court decision “calls into question a number of international commitments which Ukraine assumed in relation to its international partners, including the EU.”
…
Trump’s Border Wall and Other Tools Border Agents Use
President Donald Trump promised to build a southern border wall when he campaigned four years ago, and he spoke about it again during the last presidential debate of 2020. VOA’s Elizabeth Lee has this update on the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border.Camera: Spike Johnson, Christian von Preysing Produced by: Elizabeth Lee
…