Month: February 2018

A series of muggings, armed robberies and confrontations during Rio de Janeiro’s Carnival celebrations are underscoring the deteriorating security situation in the city.  TV Globo on Wednesday showed videos of gunfire between rival drug gangs, teenagers punching tourists in areas usually considered relatively safe and a policeman narrowly escaping after several people attacked him in front of his home. Rio state Gov. Luiz Fernando Pezao acknowledged there weren’t enough police on hand during the first couple days of Carnival, though more than 17,000 policemen worked in Rio state each day during the festivities.  “We were not prepared. There was a …

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Brett McGurk, the U.S. special presidential envoy for the global coalition to counter the Islamic State group, talks with VOA about where the fight against Islamic State goes next. …

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Brett McGurk, the U.S. special presidential envoy for the global coalition to counter the Islamic State group, has been meeting with partners in Kuwait this week, looking to build on the gains the alliance has made in countering and, in many instances, crushing IS militants in Iraq and Syria. VOA’s U.N. Correspondent Margaret Besheer spoke with McGurk about where the fight against Islamic State goes next.   Besheer: “Special Envoy, welcome. So you just had this meeting here in Kuwait. Is there a long-term political and strategic road map for countering ISIS and making sure it doesn’t regroup and re-emerge in Iraq …

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Turkey’s military incursion into Syria against a Kurdish militia has received overwhelming support, according to a new Turkish opinion poll. The poll conducted by A&G found Operation Olive Branch, the name of the military operation, had 90 percent support among the Turkish population. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been unwavering in his message that Operation Olive Branch is a national struggle.  “Only Allah is victorious, and faith is more important than arms. If needed, we’ll fight against the world,” he said Wednesday to an enthusiastic parliament. Turkey’s mainstream media have all rigidly echoed Erdogan’s stance, following a patriotic line with …

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Hearings have wrapped in Sierra Leone from claimants accusing mining company Tonkolili Iron Ore of human rights abuses. The allegations against the company, formerly a subsidiary of African Minerals Limited (AML), cover incidents in 2010 and 2012 in the northern region of Tonkolili in Sierra Leone. Kelly Conteh, one of the witnesses, knows he is lucky to be alive. He was one of the people shot in a police crackdown in 2012 on the outskirts of Bumbuna where AML was based. The company’s workers were protesting low wages and working conditions. Conteh was not one of them. He got caught …

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Blowing whistles and horns, thousands of Slovenian teachers rallied for higher wages on Wednesday in the latest in a string of strikes and protests by public sector workers in the small European Union country. Most schools in Slovenia remained closed because of the one-day strike that drew an estimated 40,000 teachers. The strike follows earlier walk-outs by health care employees, police and firefighters. More than 10,000 people gathered at a central square in the capital, Ljubljana, holding colorful banners and union balloons and flags. Participants were bused in from all over Slovenia. “This government must surely know that the level …

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Actress Minnie Driver has resigned from her role as an Oxfam celebrity ambassador and corporate backers demanded accountability as the aid organization sought to address allegations that senior staff members working in crisis zones paid for sex among the desperate people the group was meant to serve. The star of “Good Will Hunting” said she will no longer support the organization following its response to a sex abuse scandal in Haiti after its 2010 earthquake. Britain’s top development official has savaged the leadership of Oxfam for its handling of the scandal. Driver tweeted: “All I can tell you about this …

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When a Vatican court convicted a Chilean predator priest of sex crimes, it went out of its way to affirm the credibility of his victims. Their testimony had been consistent and corroborated, while their motives in coming forward had been only to “free themselves of a weight that had tormented their consciences,” the tribunal said.   One key witness in the Rev. Fernando Karadima’s 2010 trial is preparing to testify again, this time in a spinoff case with potentially more significant consequences. Juan Carlos Cruz’s allegations of a cover-up raise questions about Pope Francis’ already shaky track record on preventing …

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Dutch Foreign Minister Halbe Zijlstra resigned Tuesday after admitting he had lied about attending a 2006 meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Zijlstra went before members of parliament and said he had decided to step down because the foreign minister’s credibility must be “beyond doubt.” He held the position for about four months. Prime Minister Mark Rutte faced questions about why he had not made the lie public despite having known about it for several weeks. He said he underestimated the impact it would have. Parliament held a no-confidence vote Tuesday, but Rutte easily survived. The scandal involving Zijlstra risks …

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Top U.S. intelligence officials say Russian President Vladimir Putin is targeting the U.S. midterm elections this November. Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats told the Senate Intelligence Committee Tuesday the United States is “under attack,” with Russia and other adversaries engaging in cyber warfare to degrade American democratic institutions. VOA’s Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports from the State Department. …

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Pilot error as well as malfunctioning sensors likely caused a passenger jet to crash in Russia, killing all 71 people on board, investigators say. After studying An-148’s flight data recorder, the Interstate Aviation Committee said that Sunday’s crash near Moscow occurred after the pilots saw varying data on the plane’s two air speed indicators. The flawed readings came because the pilots failed to turn on a heating unit before the takeoff, the committee said.  The plane’s captain reportedly didn’t want to defrost the aircraft before flying.  The procedure is optional and the crew’s decision is based mainly on the weather …

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