VOA NEWS June 09+10, 2018
From Washington, this is VOA news.
I'm David Byrd reporting.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime
Minister Justin Trudeau said that progress has been made in negotiations over
trade and tariffs. Speaking at the G-7 meeting in Quebec, Trump said that
"a lot of progress" has been made in negotiations on the North
American Free Trade Agreement. "And we've made a lot of progress today.
We'll see how it all works out. We've made a lot of progress. It could be that
NAFTA will be a different form. It could be with Canada, with Mexico,
one-on-one. Much simpler agreement, much easier to do. I think better for both
countries but we're talking about that among other things." Their sit-down
comes days after Trump announced tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from the
European Union, Canada and Mexico, and as talks over NAFTA appear to have
ground to a halt. Trudeau has called the new tariffs "totally
unacceptable" and said they would permanently alter the bilateral
relationship.
Anthony Bourdain, the globe-trotting celebrity chef and food
critic, is dead at the age of 61. Bourdain was found dead Friday morning by his
friend, chef Éric Ripert, in Bourdain's hotel room in France. He was working on
an upcoming episode of his CNN series "Parts Unknown." According to
the network, Bourdain committed suicide. Amanda Kludt is the editor in chief of
the Eater website. "I think he was a brilliant social commentator, so he
was an entertainer, he was a writer. But he also can get to the heart of any
issue no matter what it was and he was to ??? speaker's mind and also examine
himself and ??? thoughts on an issue." Bourdain is the second high-profile
celebrities to take their own life this week. Fashion designer Kate Spade
hanged herself in her New York apartment.
This is VOA news.
The International
Criminal Court Friday overturned the war crimes conviction of former Democratic
Republic of Congo Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba, a huge blow to prosecutors
that could also impact politics in his home country. Presiding Judge Christine
Van den Wijngaert said that Bemba, once the leader of Congo's main opposition
party, could not be held criminally responsible for crimes carried out by
troops under his control in CAR in 2002 and 2003. The judge said that trial
judges had failed to consider his efforts to stop crimes committed by his
Movement for the Liberation of Congo once he became aware of them. "In
relation to the remaining criminal acts, it enters an acquittal because the
errors found with respect to necessary and reasonable measures extinguish his
responsibility in full. The hearing is now adjourned." Bemba was one of
only four people convicted by the permanent war crimes court in its 16 years of
operation. He had been convicted of murder, rape and pillage for actions by
fighters he sent to Central African Republic to back CAR's then-President
Ange-Felix Patasse. It was another day of violent protests on the border
between Israel and Gaza Friday. Gaza health officials say at least four
demonstrators were killed and hundreds wounded. Robert Berger has more from
Jerusalem. Thousands of Palestinians held marches on the Gaza border,
culminating two months of weekly Friday protests aimed at breaking an Israeli
and Egyptian blockade. As demonstrators approached the border, they were confronted
by Israeli troops. Soldiers fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the
crowds and snipers used live ammunition to prevent a breach of the border
fence. Robert Berger, for VOA news, Jerusalem. Five new members were elected to
the U.N. Security Council Friday. U.N. General Assembly President Miroslav
Lajčák announced the new members Friday afternoon. "Having obtained a
required two-thirds majority and the large number of votes, Belgium, the
Dominican Republic, Germany, Indonesia and South Africa are elected members of
the Security Council for a two-year term beginning on the 1st January, 2019.
The five will join the 15-nation body responsible for maintaining international
peace and security beginning January 1st of next year. Wall Street finished the
week with an up day. All three major indices were higher.
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I'm David Byrd, VOA news.
That's the latest world news from VOA.
From
Washington, this is VOA news.
I'm David Byrd reporting.
U.S. President Donald
Trump left Quebec on Saturday after attending the G-7 summit and he is on his
way to Singapore for a summit with North Korea leader Kim Jong Un. Trump warned
on Saturday that his meeting with Kim in Singapore is a "one-time
shot" for the reclusive North Korean leader as they discuss Pyongyang
giving up its nuclear weapons. "I think that very quickly I'll know
whether or not something good is going to happen. I also think I'll know
whether or not it will happen fast." The Trump administration is seeking
the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. In exchange, Pyongyang
is believed to be seeking relief from international sanctions. President Trump
said that he has instructed his representatives not to sign the final
communiqué at their G-7 summit after remarks by Canada's Prime Minister Justin
Trudeau. Trudeau had said earlier Saturday that all seven parties to the summit
had agreed on the final communiqué, but he added the Trump administration
tariffs on Canada, the EU and Mexico are insulting and that Canada would
retaliate with its own tariffs if the U.S. policy did not change. In response,
President Trump took to Twitter, saying he had "instructed U.S.
Representatives not to endorse the summit final Communiqué as we look at
Tariffs on automobiles flooding the U.S. Market!" He called the Canadian
leader's comments "Very dishonest and & weak." The Trump
administration recently angered allies including Canada, Mexico and the EU by
announcing increased tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum imports.
This is VOA
news.
The U.N. Children's Fund is warning that heavy rains and flooding in
Somalia are putting hundreds of thousands of children at high risk of disease
and death. Lisa Schlein has details from Geneva. The U.N. Children's Fund
reports about half of the 230,000 people who have been displaced by floods
since April are children. It says people are living in congested, unsanitary
conditions that breed disease. UNICEF spokesman Christophe Boulierac warns
acutely malnourished children living under such conditions are at great risk of
falling ill and dying. UNICEF reports acute malnutrition rates among displaced
children have exceeded the emergency threshold of 15 percent and have reached
as high as 21 percent. Lisa Schlein, for VOA news, Geneva.
Meanwhile, humanitarian
agencies are warning that a possible attack by the Saudi-led coalition on
Yemen's port city of Hodeidah could put the lives of one-quarter of one million
people at risk. Jens Laerke is a spokesman for the Office of the Coordination
of Humanitarian Affairs. He says that a military attack or siege on the
Houthi-held port of Hodeidah will impact hundreds of thousands of innocent
civilians. "The U.N. and its partners estimate that as many as 600,000
civilians are currently living in and around Hodeidah. Humanitarian
organizations have rushed to develop a contingency plan. In a prolonged worst
case, we fear that as many as 250,000 people may lose everything, even their
lives." Saudi Arabia began bombing Houthi rebels in support of the Yemeni
government in March of 2015. Since then, the U.N. estimates more than 10,000
people have been killed, mostly due to airstrikes. The Taliban announced
Saturday that it would halt offensive operations against Afghan government
security forces across the country during the three days of Eid al-Fitr
festivities to mark the end of Ramadan. The cease-fire coincides with the
unilateral, week-long stoppage of anti-Taliban operations by Afghan President
Ashraf Ghani starting Tuesday. A presidential spokesman said Saturday the
government would welcome any Taliban steps that would lead to reduce bloodshed
in the country. This will be the first time since 2002 that the Islamist
insurgency will cease hostilities in Afghanistan, where it currently controls
or contests nearly half of 407 Afghan districts. And at the Belmont Stakes
horse race in Elmont, New York, Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Justify
became the 13th horse in history to win all three races.
I'm David Byrd in
Washington.
That's the latest world news from VOA.
