Mass protests, a last-minute venue change and talk of climate tipping points are adding some unplanned drama to this year’s international talks on tackling global warming.Delegates from almost 200 countries had planned to put the finishing touches to the rules governing the 2015 Paris accord, ironing out a few wrinkles left over from last year’s conference in Katowice, Poland, and setting the scene for a major review of their efforts in 2020.But then Brazil pulled its offer of hosting the talks and stand-in Chile, rattled by anti-government protests, canceled five weeks before the meeting. Next, President Donald Trump served formal notice that the United States was quitting the Paris accord, delivering a symbolic blow to one of his predecessor’s signature achievements.And scientists? Well, they didn’t have any good news either. Study after study published in recent months has underscored the rapid pace of global warming and the need to cut emissions of greenhouse gases as soon as possible.Against that backdrop, the Dec. 2-13 meeting in Madrid has gained fresh urgency.Spain’s Energy and Environment Minister Teresa Ribera poses before an interview with Reuters at the ministry headquarters in Madrid, Nov. 25, 2019.“We have to do more in less time,” said Spain’s environment minister Teresa Ribera, whose country stepped in on short notice to host the talks, saying it wanted to support “constructive multilateralism” in the wake of Chile’s announcement and the U.S. withdrawal.Organizers expect around 25,000 visitors, including heads of state, scientists, seasoned negotiators and activists to attend the two-week meeting.Carbon marketsThe main items on the agenda include finalizing rules on global carbon markets and agreeing how poor countries should be compensated for destruction largely caused by emissions from rich nations.Proposals to create a worldwide market for emissions permits have been around for decades. The idea is that putting a price on carbon dioxide — the main greenhouse gas — and gradually reducing the available permits will encourage countries and companies to cut their emissions, notably by shifting away from fossil fuels toward renewable energy sources.The European Union and some other jurisdictions already operate limited emissions trading systems, but efforts to roll these out worldwide have been hampered by fears that the lack of robust and transparent rules could corrupt the market.“It would be great news to finalize this issue,” said Ribera. But she warned that the “solvency and integrity of the system” was a concern. “If we cannot complete it correctly, it’s better to lay the ground for later completion.” That view was echoed by Yamide Dagnet, a former EU climate negotiator now with the Washington-based environmental think tank World Resources Institute.Loss and damageThe question of compensating poor countries for environmental destruction, technically referred to as loss and damage, is also likely to be sensitive, Dagnet said. Attributing specific weather disasters such as hurricanes and floods, or slow but irreversible changes like sea level rise and desertification, to climate change remains a delicate issue given the potential sums involved.Concerns about the cost of climate change are growing on all fronts. Trump cited financial demands on the United States as one of the reasons for quitting the Paris accord; European countries have hesitated to raise fuel prices for fear of sparking yellow vests-style protests like those seen in France; meanwhile, businesses are beginning to consider the price not just of reducing emissions but also of failing to do so.Scientists say the time to act is now, if the world wants to meet the goal set in Paris of keeping global warming well below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit), ideally 1.5C by the end of the century. By some measures average temperatures have already increased by one degree Celsius since pre-industrial times, with the sharpest rise occurring in the last few decades.Tipping points“Global warming is going faster,” said Johan Rockstrom, co-director of Germany’s Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. “Climate impacts are occurring earlier and we are approaching potentially irreversible thresholds earlier than we previously thought.”Rockstrom and several colleagues recently warned that the world is heading for several “tipping points” that could sharply accelerate the pace of climate change. They include deforestation in the Amazon and the decline of ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica.Ribera, whose formal title is interim minister for ecological transition, indicated that European Union leaders may try to send a strong signal during the meeting that the bloc is prepared to make sharper cuts to its emissions than previously pledged. A recent proposal to aim for “climate neutrality” by 2050 failed to win support from all of the EU’s 28 member states, including the host of last year’s talks, Poland.
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Supporters cheered late Friday as once-powerful opposition leader and two-time Peruvian presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori left the prison where she had been held while being investigated for alleged corruption. Peru’s Constitutional Tribunal approved her release.Smiling broadly, the daughter of jailed ex-President Alberto Fujimori walked out of the women’s prison in the Lima district of Chorrillos and was handed a bouquet of roses by her husband, Mark Villanella, who had been on a hunger strike demanding her release.Keiko Fujimori called her 13-month prison stay the “most painful time of my life, so the first thing I want to do now that I am on the street is thank God for giving me the strength to resist.”Odebrecht accusationsShe was freed by the Constitutional Tribunal in 4-3 vote earlier this week. The magistrates noted the decision on a habeas corpus request does not constitute a judgment on her guilt or innocence with regards to accusations she accepted money from Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht. Fujimori could still be returned to a cell.Dozens of riot police were present in case of protests by opponents who have called her release another blow for entrenched impunity for the corrupt in the South American country. But most of the people outside the prison were her supporters.“The Constitutional Tribunal has corrected a great damage done to us in a process filled with abuses and arbitrariness,” Fujimori said.Changed political landscapeThe 44-year-old, who was jailed in October 2018, faces a radically different political landscape outside of prison.Her Popular Force party held a majority in congress until September, when President Martin Vizcarra dissolved the legislature in a popular move he described as necessary to uproot corruption. The conservative Popular Force will participate in January legislative elections, but Fujimori is not expected to be a candidate and analysts predict that her party could fare poorly in the voting.As party leader, Fujimori helped fuel the impeachment of former President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski for lying about his ties with Odebrecht. But now Fujimori herself has been ensnared by a corruption scandal that has toppled political and businesses leaders around Latin America.Corruption allegations have hit all of Peru’s presidents between 2001 and 2016.Prosecutors accuse Fujimori of laundering $1.2 million provided by Odebrecht for her 2011 and 2016 presidential campaigns. They opened an investigation into the campaigns after seeing a note written by Marcelo Odebrecht, head of the Brazilian mega-company, on his cellphone that said: “increase Keiko to 500 and pay a visit.”Fujimori denies the accusations and says prosecutors and Peru’s election body have received Popular Force’s accounting books for inspection.Striking downfallHer jailing capped a striking downfall for a politician who went from presidential daughter, to powerful opposition leader, to within a hair’s breadth of the presidency.Fujimori’s father, a strongman who governed Peru from 1990 to 2000, remains a polarizing figure. Some Peruvians praise him for defeating Maoist Shining Path guerrillas and resurrecting a devastated economy, while others detest him for human rights violations. He is serving a 25-year sentence for human rights abuses and corruption.She tried to follow in her father’s presidential footsteps and forge a gentler, kinder version of the movement known as “Fujimorismo.”She finished second in the 2011 election and five years later lost in a razor-thin vote, coming within less than half a percentage point of defeating Kuczynski.
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Albanians began the week on a high note, as they prepared to celebrate the country’s Independence Day, and finished it in heartbreak, Friday burying loved ones who perished in the worst earthquake to hit the Balkan country in decades.Forty-nine people died, including seven children ages 2 to 8, and 900 were injured; 5,200 people are without shelter; and 1,200 buildings were destroyed in the 6.4-magnitude quake Tuesday. The panic has been palpable as people refuse to go home. They also have been rattled by several aftershocks, including one that registered at 5.0.Seismologist Rexhep Koçi told VOA that while there was the likelihood for more aftershocks, they would be increasingly weaker.The port city of Durrës, 33 kilometers west of the capital, Tirana, saw the highest death toll, with 25 people killed. Farther north, in the small town of Thumanë, the quake killed 23 people, six of whom belonged to one family, and all but one younger than 30. They were buried Friday. One person also died in the nearby small town of Kurbin.WATCH: A vigil for quake victims in Tirana
Vigil for quake victims in Tirana, Nov 29 video player.
Embed” />Copy LinkTirana residents turned out in the city center to honor the victims, placing candles in a makeshift memorial by the statue of Albanian national hero Gjergj Kastrioti, known as Skanderbeg.The state of emergency declared Wednesday for Durrës and Thumanë was extended to the heavily damaged town of Laç. Prime Minister Edi Rama said he made the decision after opposition leader Lulzim Basha suggested it. Rama appeared to put on hold the acrimony often on display between the two political rivals.“In this case, our concerns and ideas converge,” Rama said, inviting the opposition to participate in the Committee for Earthquake Relief.For Rama, the tragedy hit close to home as his office confirmed that among the dead was his son Gregor’s fiancée, Kristi Reçi, who died along with her parents and brother in Durrës.Volunteers distribute food at a makeshift camp in Durres, after an earthquake shook Albania, Nov. 29, 2019.Helping handsAs search-and-rescue operations were closing, with one person unaccounted for in Durrës, providing aid to survivors has become the focus.WATCH: Drove Video of Aid Distribution in Durres, Albania
DRONE VIDEO – AID DISTRIBUTION DURRES, ALBANIA video player.
Embed” />Copy LinkPhysician Shkëlqime Ladi said doctors are on hand to help with immediate needs.“We are focusing more on the psychological aspect of the affected. Their psychological state is aggravated,” she told VOA in Laç.In Durrës, volunteers and residents are offering condolences and support.“We feel very bad for the families, people who have lost their lives. If needed, we can take people in. We have a house, it is not a problem at all,” Durrës resident Hysen Mnalla told VOA.Erald Peposhi is one of a group of students from Tirana who went to Durrës to help. They delivered 180 meals and 300 sandwiches.“We are here to help those who are left homeless. As you can see, there are people that need food, and we hope the situation improves soon,” he said Friday.A rescue dog is seen on a collapsed building in Durres, after an earthquake shook Albania, Nov. 29, 2019.For the second time since the earthquake, the European Union has activated its Civil Protection Mechanism to help Albania.Right after the earthquake, EU sent crews from Greece, Italy and Romania to help with search and rescue and now the government has asked for experts to help assess the damage.EU Ambassador to Albania Luigi Soreca said Friday that the European Union and its member states are standing with Albania and working nonstop to provide assistance “in this very difficult moment.”“It is a week of deep sorrow and tragedy for Albania,” Soreca said in a statement. “Our heartfelt condolences go once again to the Albanian people and especially to the families, friends and communities of those who have lost their lives.”Neighboring Kosovo, Italy, Greece and Montenegro have sent in crews. The United States has also offered help.A woman carries her belongings from a damaged house in Thumane, western Albania, Nov. 29, 2019.‘Repaying the help I received in 1999’Her voice trembling and in tears, Emine Imeri, a volunteer from the Drenica region in Kosovo, told VOA in Thumanë the situation reminded her of 20 years ago when Albania welcomed thousands from Kosovo as they fled ethnic cleansing by Serbian forces in the Balkans conflict.“The entire Drenica, the entire Kosovo, has mobilized. We regret that we had to repay the favor in such circumstances. We would have preferred to repay what they did for us 20 years ago for a happy occasion,” she said.She also said she hoped the aid they brought would help.“People took their coat off their back to send it here,” she said.It was just one example of the outpouring of help from the new country, 90% of whose population are ethnic Albanians.People spontaneously came from Kosovo, operated mobile kitchens, gathered donations and opened their homes for those in Albania wanting to find shelter or to escape the aftershocks. On Friday alone, individuals and businesses from Kosovo delivered 100 tons of much needed necessities.Kosovo’s Security Force sent troops across the border to help, and outgoing Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj allocated 500,000 euros for earthquake relief. He visited Durrës on Friday, as did his likely successor, Albin Kurti.Kosovo President Hashim Thaçi visited Thumanë the day after the tragedy.Subdued independenceThe earthquake struck two days before Albania’s 107th anniversary of independence. There was no celebration, but a show of solidarity gave solemnity to the day.Albanian President Ilir Meta and Prime Minister Rama, who have been fighting bitterly over political matters, appeared together in Vlora Thursday, where independence was declared.The Independence Day coincided this year with the U.S. Thanksgiving Day, and many Albanian Americans rallied to collect donations, holding several fundraisers to help one of the poorest countries in Europe.“I am so heartbroken for my people back home, for those who have lost lives and loved ones,” New York City Assemblyman Mark Gjonaj, an Albanian American, told VOA.Marko Kepi, of the Albanian American organization Albanian Roots, organized a fundraiser that raised nearly $1 million in less than a day.“This fundraiser is simply to help those who have lost their homes and to help those families who lost their loved ones, do whatever we can so they can have some sort of peace of mind, that they are not alone, they have support and they are not going to be left out in the street,” he said.Armand Mero reported from Tirana, Ilirian Agolli reported from Durrës, Pëllumb Sulo reported from Laç.
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An assailant in the Netherlands has stabbed three people on a busy shopping street in The Hague.Police launched a manhunt to search for the suspect after the attack Friday evening.National broadcaster NOS, citing unnamed sources, said, “At this moment, there is no indication of a terrorist motive.”Police said the victims are receiving treatment at a local hospital.They said the stabbing happened in an area near the city’s historic center that was busy with holiday shoppers.The attack comes just hours after an assailant wearing a fake explosive device stabbed several people in London, before police officers fatally shot him.
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The French government summoned the Turkish ambassador Friday to seek explanations after his president described French President Emmanuel Macron as “brain dead.”Ahead of a NATO summit next week that both men will attend, tensions have mounted around Turkey’s military operation in Syria, and its role within the trans-Atlantic defense alliance, which is also a member of the fight against so-called Islamic State.Macron, complaining of a U.S. leadership vacuum, recently lamented the “brain death” of NATO and says the allies need “a wake-up call.” And on Thursday, he reiterated criticism of Turkey’s operation in northeast Syria against Kurdish fighters who were crucial in the international fight against IS extremists.“I respect the security interests of our Turkish ally … but one can’t say that we are allies and demand solidarity, and on the other hand, present allies with a fait accompli by a military intervention which jeopardizes the action of the coalition against IS,” Macron said at a meeting with the NATO chief, Jens Stoltenberg.The comments angered Turkey’s leadership and prompted President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to shoot back Friday: “You should get checked whether you’re brain dead.”“Kicking Turkey out of NATO or not, how is that up to you? Do you have the authority to make such a decision?” Erdogan asked, characterizing Macron as “inexperienced.”Turkey also criticized Macron for agreeing to talks with a Syrian Kurd politician whom Ankara considers an extremist.The French Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Ambassador Ismail Hakki Musa was summoned Friday to explain “unacceptable statements … that have no place in Turkish-French relations and cannot substitute for the necessary dialogue between the two countries.”An official in Macron’s office said that NATO allies are expecting “clear answers” from Turkey about its intentions in Syria.The Macron-Erdogan spat comes amid other problems within NATO that are expected to come to the fore at next week’s summit in London, including U.S. President Donald Trump’s complaints that other members don’t spend enough on defense and differences over the alliance’s post-Cold War mission.
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Venezuelans flocked to shopping centers in Caracas, the country’s largest city, on Friday to take advantage of the first “Black Friday” discounts in recent memory, as socialist President Nicolas Maduro’s government loosens controls in the face of an economic crisis.For the first six holiday seasons of his presidency, Maduro attempted to keep consumer goods prices low despite galloping inflation with strict enforcement of price controls. This year, with the OPEC nation facing crippling U.S. sanctions on its oil industry, the government has left retailers more or less alone.“My sister saw it on social media and said, ‘Look, there are 70% discounts at the Sambil,’ and we came running,” said Elizabeth Diaz, a 42-year-old bank worker from the city of Los Teques some 35 km (22 miles) from Caracas’ Sambil mall, where she was waiting in line outside a toy store to buy gifts for her three grandchildren.“Discounts are the only way, because with prices through the roof one can’t afford anything,” she said.Malls and small retailers across the country advertised discounts of up to 80% on goods from shoes to electronics, hoping an influx of Christmas shoppers could compensate for weak sales so far in Venezuela’s sixth straight year of economic contraction.In January, the government said it would make price controls more “flexible” and loosen a complex, longstanding system of currency controls. That has led to a wider circulation of foreign currency, as Venezuelans turn to the dollar to protect their earnings against a fast-devaluing local bolivar.The reforms, however, have not revived the economy. Inflation in the nine months through September was 4,680% while commercial activity fell 39.2% in the first quarter compared with the same period last year, according to the most recent central bank data. A migration wave that has seen more than 4 million Venezuelans flee the country has continued unabated.But the contours of Venezuela’s economic crisis have shifted. While price controls once led to bare supermarket shelves and long lines, stores are now better stocked but with goods whose prices are far beyond the reach of those who earn the minimum wage of less than $10 per month.“Sales are down 50% so far this year, so we decided to do Black Friday to get people excited and boost sales,” said Rosmary Mogollon, 42, who works at a shoe store in Maracaibo, Venezuela’s second-largest city, which has been hard-hit by blackouts and gasoline shortages this year.Stores in the western city of San Cristobal joined the rest of the country in offering discounts, but thousands of its residents streamed across the Colombian border to go shopping in the nearby city of Cucuta, where Black Friday has long been a mainstay.But in the rest of the country, Reuters witnesses and retailers said attendance was above average for normally moribund shops – though a far cry from the frenzy often associated with the event elsewhere in the world.“It’s a way for people to forget about the gasoline lines and the whole crisis,” said Maria Sakhr, who works at a toy store in the western city of Barquisimeto that was offering 20% discounts.
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President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Friday that he would not permit an armed foreign intervention a century after Mexico was last invaded, reflecting fears of U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to designate the country’s drug cartels as terrorist groups. Designating groups as foreign terrorist organizations is aimed at disrupting their finances by imposing U.S. sanctions. While it does not directly give authority for overseas military operations, many Mexicans are nervous it could lead to unilateral U.S. action against gangs. “Since 1914 there hasn’t been a foreign intervention in Mexico, and we cannot permit that,” Lopez Obrador said at a news conference, referring to the U.S. occupation of the port of Veracruz 105 years ago. U.S. troops also entered Mexico in 1916, chasing revolutionary Pancho Villa after he killed U.S. citizens. Trump has repeatedly offered military assistance to help combat the cartels, but Mexico has consistently declined the offer, even after the gangland massacre of a U.S.-Mexican family this month. “Armed foreigners cannot intervene in our territory,” Lopez Obrador said, instead offering more cooperation with the United States on fighting drug gangs, which have shown their power in a series of battles with security forces and civilians in recent months. U.S. Attorney General William Barr will visit Mexico next week to discuss security cooperation, Mexico’s foreign minister said earlier.The U.S. Embassy in Mexico did not respond to a request for comment. Tariff threatThe growing pressure on criminal gangs comes after Trump this year forced Mexico’s hand on immigration by threatening to impose tariffs on Mexican exports to the United States. Lopez Obrador conceded to a U.S. initiative launched in January called the Migrant Protection Protocols that has forced nearly 59,000 migrants to wait in Mexico for their U.S. immigration court hearings. He also sent the newly formed National Guard, created to tackle Mexico’s spiraling gang-fueled violence, to Mexico’s borders to help stop migrants from reaching U.S. soil. While the two countries already work together extensively  on combating cartels, some U.S. security officials have said they find it harder to work with Lopez Obrador’s government, which took office a year ago. Gladys McCormick, a security analyst at Syracuse University in New York, said she expected Lopez Obrador and Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard to “put up more of a fight on this issue.” “Ebrard is waiting to hear from Barr on what precisely such a designation will entail for Mexico, given the lack of details and precedent such designation carries,” she said. 
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Three people were wounded in a stabbing in The Hague’s main shopping district Friday night, and police were searching for at least one suspect, authorities said.Police spokeswoman Marije Kuiper told The Associated Press in a telephone interview that it was still too early to say where a terror motive was to blame for the attack. The area was busy at the time as shoppers looked for Black Friday holiday deals.Kuiper said it was unclear whether any of the injuries were life-threatening.The Hague police said in a statement that they were looking for a man, about 45 to 50 years old, in a grey jogging suit.The stabbing happened in the heart of The Hague shopping district where supermarket chains and luxury shops were all lit up with early Christmas decorations. Adding to the festive spirit was the lure of Black Friday, when retailers offer consumers special discounts at a time when many are seeking family presents.Police sealed off a wide perimeter behind which onlookers were kept at bay. There was no hint of panic among the public soon after the stabbing.The Netherlands had already been shocked by a similar stabbing in Amsterdam a year ago when two Americans were injured in a knife attack that prosecutors say had a “terrorist motive.”Earlier Friday in London, a man wearing a fake explosive vest stabbed several people, killing two, before he was tackled by members of the public and then fatally shot by officers on London Bridge, authorities said.
 
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Poland’s government is calling for the resignation of the head of the audit office amid a swelling scandal over his contacts and dealings.Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said Friday he has read a classified report on the dealings and financial status of Marian Banas and expects him to resign. The right-wing ruling party also said its powerful leader, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, wants Banas to go.Banas insisted the allegations were “lies” and continues in his job. Under the constitution, he cannot be fired.Government critics say the stalemate exposes the chaos that the ruling Law and Justice party has brought to the state, with policies of ignoring the constitution and undermining judicial independence and the democratic system of checks and balances.Banas, a former finance minister and tax administration head, was nominated and praised as “crystal clean” by the ruling party and approved by parliament as head of the Supreme Audit Office in August.But recent media reports said a house that he owned in the southern city of Krakow was rented at the time to an apparent sex business; the reports he was required to make as a state official of his financial status were incomplete; and his former subordinates at the finance ministry claimed sales tax that was not due.The state Anti-Corruption Office on Friday notified prosecutors of irregularities in Banas’ financial reports, alleging he has failed to list all of his property and real estate.Banas denies allegationsBanas said he “categorically” denied the allegations and declared he was ready to give all needed explanations.Morawiecki said if Banas won’t resign, the government has a Plan B, which he did not disclose.Opposition parties warned they would not help Law and Justice, which won power in 2015, end the impasse it had built.They claimed the ruling party had failed to properly vet Banas for the sensitive job, while being quick to punish and discredit various judges who had criticized the party’s policies and defended judicial independence.
 
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China’s ambassador to Canada on Friday called on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government to “correct its mistake” of detaining Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou last year on a US extradition warrant.Ambassador Cong Peiwu issued the statement after visiting Meng at her mansion in Vancouver, where she is under house arrest pending an extradition trial scheduled to start in January.Cong said that he stressed to Meng that Beijing is “determined to protect the just and legitimate rights and interests of its citizens and enterprises, and will continue to urge the Canadian side to correct its mistake and take measures to solve the issue as soon as possible.””We expect (Meng) to go back to China safe and sound at an early date,” he said.Meng’s arrest last December during a layover at Vancouver’s international airport triggered an escalating diplomatic row between Canada and China.Within days, China detained two Canadians — former diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor — in apparent retaliation, and subsequently blocked billions of dollars worth of Canadian canola and meat shipments, before restoring imports of the country’s beef and pork earlier this month.Canada, meanwhile, enlisted the support of allies such as Britain, France, Germany, the United States and NATO to press for the release of its two citizens.When he met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi at a G20 meeting in Japan last weekend, Canada’s new foreign minister, Francois-Philippe Champagne, called their release an “absolute priority.”But Cong, who was posted to Ottawa in September, told Canadian media that Meng’s release was a “precondition” for improved relations.Canada has previously declared the arrests of Spavor and Kovrig “arbitrary.” Others have gone further, tarring it as “hostage diplomacy.”The pair, held in isolation until June when they were formally charged with allegedly stealing Chinese state secrets and moved to a detention center, have been permitted only one 30-minute consular visit per-month.Describing their harsh detention conditions, The Globe and Mail newspaper, citing unnamed sources, reported that Kovrig’s jailers at one point seized his reading glasses.Since being granted bail soon after her arrest, Meng has been required to wear an electronic monitoring anklet and abide by a curfew, but she is free to roam within Vancouver city limits under the gaze of a security escort.Her father, Huawei founder Ren Zengfei, told CNN that she’s “like a small ant caught between the collision of two giant powers.”He described her spending time in Vancouver enjoying painting and studying, adding that her mother and husband routinely travel to Canada to care for her.
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British police cleared the area around London Bridge in the center of the British capital on Friday following a stabbing and shooting incident that left several people wounded.Police said one man had been detained, and witnesses reported seeing a man shot by armed officers.The Metropolitan Police force said officers were called just before 2 p.m. Friday “to a stabbing at premises near to London Bridge.”They said a man was detained and “a number of people have been injured.” London Ambulance Service said it had crews on the scene.At this stage, the circumstances relating to the incident at #LondonBridge remain unclear. However, as a precaution, we are currently responding to this incident as though it is terror-related.One man has been shot by police. We will provide further information when possible.— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) November 29, 2019Witnesses reported seeing what appeared to be fighting on the bridge and hearing several gunshots. Sky News reported that police had shot the apparent attacker.Amanda Hunter said she was on a bus crossing the bridge when she heard shots.”(The bus) all of a sudden stopped and there was commotion and I looked out the window and I just saw these three police officers going over to a man,” she told the BBC.”It seemed like there was something in his hand, I’m not 100% sure, but then one of the police officers shot him.”BBC reporter John McManus was in the area and said he saw figures grappling on the bridge. He said: “I thought it was initially a fight,” but then shots rang out.London BridgeOne video posted on social media showed two men struggling on the bridge before police pulled a man in civilian clothes off a black-clad man on the ground.Other images showed police, guns drawn pointing at a figure on the ground in the distance.Scores of police descended on the area and ushered people away from the bridge, which links the city’s business district with the south bank of the River Thames.Cars and buses on the busy bride were at a standstill, with a white truck stopped diagonally across the lanes. Video footage showed police pointing guns at the truck before moving to check its container.British Transport Police said London Bridge station, one of the city’s busiest rail hubs, was closed and trains were not stopping there.City of London Police, the force responsible for the business district, urged people to stay away from the area.London Bridge was the scene of a June 2017 attack when Islamic State-inspired attackers ran down people on the bridge, killing two, before stabbing several people to death in nearby Borough Market.In March 2017, an attacker fatally struck four people with a car on nearby Westminster Bridge then fatally stabbed a police officer before security forces shot and killed him in a courtyard outside Parliament.
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NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Friday that European allies and Canada are spending even more than previously thought on defense, just days before U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to demand once more that other leaders boost their military budgets.Trump meets with his NATO counterparts in London on Dec. 3-4. The previous two NATO summits were dominated by his allegations that other allies are not pulling their weight. While they do not owe the United States any money, Washington does spend more on defense than all its allies combined.In what appears to be a pre-emptive political strike, Stoltenberg said that European allies and Canada are now projected to increase spending on their national military budgets by around $130 billion between 2016 and 2020. Previously, the figure was forecast to be “more than $100 billion.””The trend is up. Year by year we are increasing, and year by year we are adding billions to our defense spending,” Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels, where the 29-member trans-Atlantic military alliance has a new billion-dollar headquarters.NATO countries agreed in 2014 to halt the defense spending cuts they introduced after the Cold War and boost their budgets in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to unilaterally annex the Crimean Peninsula in Ukraine.The aim was for each ally to be spending at least 2% of their GDP on defense by 2024. Stoltenberg said that Bulgaria has now joined a list of nine member countries that respect that target.It’s the third day in a row that NATO has announced some new budget or defense measure likely to please Trump. On Wednesday, Stoltenberg unveiled a new contract for an upgrade of the alliance’s aging fleet of U.S.-made surveillance planes worth $1 billion.Then on Thursday, he said that Washington will in future pay less into NATO’s common budget for running its headquarters and other operations. That budget is worth about $2 billion. Germany and Washington will from next year each pay 16% — a 6% bonus for the U.S.Germany, often a target of Trump’s ire, is forecast to reach just 1.5% of GDP by 2024 but does intend to move to 2% by around 2031. Indeed, Berlin’s hike in contributions to its national defense budget accounts for around 20% of the $130 billion increase trumpeted by Stoltenberg.French President Emmanuel Macron has said he hopes NATO leaders can move beyond the seemingly endless spending debate next week and focus on important strategic interests, like who the alliance’s adversaries are, how to cope with an unpredictable member like Turkey and improve ties with Russia.
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For medieval history buffs, the Czech town of Kutna Hora has two great attractions: St. Barbara’s Church, often called a cathedral because of its grandeur, and the Sedlec Ossuary, located beneath the Cemetery Church of All Saints outside the town. St. Barbara’s is one of the best examples of Gothic architecture in central Europe and is a UNESCO world heritage site. But visitors are more attracted to the ossuary, a chapel containing bones of more than 40,000 people, arranged in decorative patterns. Those decorations are now being dismantled so that the centuries-old bones can be cleaned while the church undergoes a renovation. VOA’s Zlatica Hoke reports how it is done.
 
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In a British election dominated by Brexit, young voters who had no say in the country’s decision to leave the European Union could hold the key to victory. That is, if they can be bothered to vote.It has long been a truth in British politics that young people vote in lower numbers than older ones. In the last election in 2017, just more than half of under-35s voted, compared to more than 70% of those older than 60.But that may be changing. According to official figures, 3.85 million people registered to vote between the day the election was called on Oct. 29 and Tuesday’s registration deadline _ two-thirds of them under 35. The number of new registrations is almost a third higher than in 2017.Amy Heley of Vote for your Future, a group working to increase youth participation, says the figure is “really encouraging, and shows that politics has been so high profile recently that it is encouraging more young people to vote.”Moderator Julie Etchingham addresses Conservative leader Boris Johnson and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, left, during a televised debate ahead of the general election in London, Nov. 19, 2019.New voters are unimpressedThat doesn’t mean, however, that young voters like what they see. Many appear unimpressed with the choice between Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservatives, the main opposition Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn and a handful of smaller parties.“I think they’re all unlikeable,” said Callum Nelson, a 21-year-old law student attending a question session with local candidates at his London college. “I’m tempted to exercise my right to spoil my ballot.”About 46 million people are eligible to vote in the Dec. 12 election to fill all 650 seats in the House of Commons, including hundreds of thousands who were too young to take part in the U.K.’s 2016 Brexit referendum. Britain’s voting age is 18, although Labour and other parties, including the centrist Liberal Democrats and environmentalist Greens, want it lowered to 16.The current election campaign is a product of that 2016 vote, in which Britons decided by 52%-48% to leave the European Union after more than four decades of membership.The European Union’s Chief Brexit Negotiator Michel Barnier, right, and Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament’s Brexit steering group coordinator, attend a Brexit meeting at the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium, Oct. 2, 2019.More than three years on, the country remains an EU member. Johnson pushed for the December election, which is taking place more than two years early, in hopes of winning a majority and breaking Britain’s political impasse over Brexit. He says that if the Conservatives win a majority, he will get Parliament to ratify his Brexit divorce deal and take the U.K. out of the EU by the current Jan. 31 deadline.Labour says it will negotiate a new Brexit deal, then give voters a choice between leaving on those terms and remaining in the bloc. It also has a radical domestic agenda, promising to nationalize key industries and utilities, hike the minimum wage and give free internet access to all.While most opinion polls give Johnson’s Conservatives a substantial lead overall, the surge in new young voters is good news for Labour, which is seeking to defy the odds and win a general election for the first time since 2005.Young voters are more likely than their older compatriots to oppose Brexit, which will end Britons’ right to work and live in 27 other European nations and will have a major — though as yet unknown — economic impact.Other issuesMatt Walsh, a senior lecturer in journalism at the University of Cardiff, said young voters also strongly back abolition of tuition fees and stronger action against climate change, both policies “at the center of the offer that the Labour Party is putting forward to young people.”Labour’s strategy “is to try and grab those missing voters, get them registered and get them to vote and support Labour policies,” he said.Labour is spending more than its main rival on social media ads, churning out a stream of memes and messages on Facebook and Instagram. It is also outspending the Conservatives on Snapchat, whose users tend to be younger than those on the other networks. Twitter has banned all political advertising.Labour also pushed to get young people to register to vote before the Nov. 26 deadline, spreading the message through tweets from celebrity supporters, including grime artist Stormzy. Corbyn posted a link to the government’s voter registration website 26 times on Twitter and 31 times on Facebook in the month before the deadline. Johnson, in contrast, didn’t post the link or the word “register” at all on Twitter, and just once on Facebook.While some analysts are forecasting an electoral “youthquake,” others are cautious. This is a rare winter election, and turnout could suffer if Dec. 12 is a wet, cold day. It’s also difficult to know how much the voters’ decision will be motivated by Brexit and how much by domestic issues.“At this point, I’m kind of sick of Brexit,” said Susie Chilver, a first-year politics student at the University of Bristol, in southwest England. “So, the things that are swaying it for me are things like social housing, and things like health care, more about social issues than foreign policy.”Konstantinos Matakos, senior lecturer in the department of political economy at King’s College London, said there is an assumption that young voters are “leaning more Labour.” But he says their geographical spread, and whether they show up on polling day, will ultimately determine their impact on the outcome.“It’s not a straightforward assumption to say that this surge in the registration rates will undoubtedly benefit Labour in terms of gaining electoral seats,” he said.Some young voters agree that Labour shouldn’t take their support for granted.“People think that students will definitely vote for Labour,” said Molly Jones, a 19-year-old student at London’s Westminster Kingsway College. “But a lot of them who I’ve spoken to, it’s not like that. They will vote for the Liberal Democrats, or the Greens, or even the Conservatives.“All the parties are just a mess at the moment, and all the leaders are terrible,” she said. “It makes it really hard to vote for someone — you just hold your nose and vote.”
 
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NATO leaders are preparing to gather in London for a two-day meeting Tuesday to mark the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the alliance, but growing tensions among members could overshadow the celebrations.The war in Syria and the ongoing Russian threat will serve as the backdrop to the summit. Fellow NATO members the United States and Turkey came close to confrontation in northern Syria last month, rattling the alliance.”The position of Turkey in the North Atlantic alliance is a difficult one,” said Jonathan Eyal of the Royal United Services Institute in London in an interview with VOA this week.”Turkey’s decision to become involved in military operations in the Middle East against the wishes of most of its allies, including the United States, [and] Turkey’s decision to buy Russian military equipment … [are] riling with many countries in Europe.”NATO members say it’s better to have Turkey inside than outside the alliance.”NATO is about European security, it’s not about coordinating policies in the Middle East,” Eyal said.Where American troops once kept the peace, Russian forces now patrol northern Syria. The U.S. withdrawal has fueled concerns over America’s commitment to NATO. French President Emmanuel Macron recently called the alliance “brain dead” and urged Europe to create its own security architecture. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, left, is welcomed by French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Nov. 28, 2019.The comments elicited a sharp rebuke from NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg this week.”European unity cannot replace transatlantic unity. We need both. And we have to also understand that, especially after Brexit, the EU cannot defend Europe,” Stoltenberg told reporters.Europe still sees Russia as the biggest threat following its 2014 forceful annexation of Crimea and ongoing campaigns of espionage, cyberwarfare and disinformation.European concerns over the U.S. commitment to Article 5 of the NATO treaty, on collective defense, are not borne out by facts on the ground, Eyal said.”The reality is the Pentagon’s spending in Europe is increasing, the number of U.S. troops is increasing.”The deployment of U.S. troops in Europe is seen differently in Moscow.”Some of the Eastern European nations are trying to get American boots on the ground despite the fact that Article 5 should cover their security, which suggests that they trust the United States more than they trust NATO,” Andrey Kortunov of the Russian Council on International Affairs in Moscow told VOA in a recent interview.U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly demanded that European NATO members “share the burden.” Germany on Wednesday pledged to meet the NATO defense spending target of 2% of GDP, but only by the 2030s.”The U.S. president should be credited with actually banging the table hard enough for the United States to be heard,” Eya said, “This is, and it’s important sometimes to repeat the cliché, the most successful alliance in modern history.”NATO will hope that is cause for celebration as leaders gather for its 70th anniversary.
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Residents remained on edge Thursday in the earthquake-stricken areas of Albania, as aftershocks continued to rattle the area.Thursday afternoon, another 5.0-magnitude quake was registered near the city of Thumane just hours after authorities called off search-and-rescue operations in the area after recovering the bodies of the last people who had been reported missing.The 6.4-magnitude temblor that struck Tuesday caused the most devastation in Thumane, where 23 people were killed, including seven from one family.“God let us keep two (members of the family) but took seven from us,” survivor Sul Cara told VOA. “Now we are focused on paying our respects to the dead, as honor and tradition demands of us. We will try our best to show strength as we send off seven loved ones to burial. This is a heavy tragedy to bear, but at the same time we have found strength in the outpouring of support, not just from this town but from the whole country.”Albanians sit at a makeshift camp in Durres, Nov. 28, 2019, after an earthquake shook Albania.The death toll rose to 47 as search operations continued in other locations, but rescuers are increasingly pessimistic survivors will be found.Residents in many neighborhoods remain in tents or have chosen to move in with relatives in other towns, as authorities warn that buildings remain unsafe.Dangerous aftershocksAlbanians should heed the warnings, Stanford University geophysics professor Ross Stein told VOA’s Albanian Service.Stein said that the days, even months after a major earthquake, aftershocks are a very serious threat.“The risk of another large shock today is much higher than it was a few days ago before the 6.4 struck. The likelihood of a large aftershock is much higher than the likelihood of the same shock had there not been a main shock at all,” he said.Stein, who has extensively studied seismic activity in the Balkans, said Tuesday’s earthquake was not a surprise from a geological point of view. He said Albania is “the most seismically active part of the Balkan region,” which has exhibited historically “larger and more frequent earthquakes even than Italy.”The seismic activity is the reason for Albania’s natural beauty, he said.“The reason why Albania is so beautiful is because it has this wonderful hill-valley topography and that is produced because the region is being compressed to the east and west. Think of a carpet and you’re a pushing a carpet across the floor and you’re producing folds,” Stein said.A rescue dog searches for survivors in a collapsed building in Durres, Nov. 28, 2019, after an earthquake shook Albania.Quake preparationBut despite the area’s history of earthquakes, scientists can’t predict where and when the next one will strike.The only possible thing people can do, he said, is have a good preparation strategy.He said there is a need to prioritize earthquake protections, “and the region around Tirana and along the coast of Albania have the highest hazard and indicate to us, in a broad sense, this is where we need to focus our attention.”Thursday marked Albania’s 107th independence anniversary. President Ilir Meta called on his countrymen to use the moment “to help heal the wounds caused by the earthquake.”
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Germany intends to strengthen its laws against anti-Semitic crimes as part of the government’s response to a deadly attack in the eastern part of the country. Justice Minister Christine Lambrecht told parliament Thursday of her planned amendment to the country’s current law that would make anti-Semitism an aggravating factor for hate crimes in the nation’s criminal code.Currently, discrimination against particular groups is considered an aggravating factor, but the law does not specifically refer to Jews. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) defines hate crimes or “bias crimes” as those “motivated by intolerance towards certain groups in society.” “We have to send a clear signal against anti-Semitism,” Lambrecht told lawmakers. 
 
A proposed change to the law would need to be approved by parliament, where the government holds a majority of seats.  Halle attackThe change is part of the government’s strategy to tackle anti-Semitism in the country following a deadly October attack in Halle, Germany. A gunman opened fire on a kebab shop after failing to storm a synagogue on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur. The shooter killed a customer in the shop and a passerby. FILE – An apparent explosives cache is seen in a bag inside the vehicle used by a gunman in an attack on a synagogue in Halle, Germany, Oct. 9, 2019, in this still image taken from the gunman’s helmet camera video stream.The shooter confessed to German police that he was motivated by right-wing extremism and anti-Semitism. Other elements of the plan are stricter gun control measures and requirements for social media companies to report hate speech to authorities. The police plan to establish a new department that would collect the reported content and the internet addresses of the posters. The attack was part of a greater trend of crimes against Jews in the country. 
Anti-Semitic offenses rose by almost 10 percent in Germany last year, with violent attacks going up more than 60 percent, according to preliminary police data released in February. Police recorded 1,646 violations motivated by hatred against Jews, the highest level in a decade. Perceived rise in anti-SemitismIn addition to rising hate crimes, studies show a perceived increase in anti-Semitism in German society. After the Halle attack, a survey sponsored by public broadcaster ARD showed 59% of voting-age Germans believed that anti-Semitism was spreading in their communities. More than a quarter of Germans hold anti-Semitic beliefs, according to a study by the World Jewish Congress. “I am ashamed that Jews in Germany no longer feel safe and that so many are even thinking of leaving the country,” said Lambrecht. 
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The top U.S. commander in Latin America and the Caribbean says illicit narcotics money is now a “big part” of financing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government.“If you’re a cartel leader, you now see an easy pathway through Venezuela into commercial shipping and air to distribute your product, and Maduro and his illegitimate regime are getting a cut,” Admiral Craig Faller, the commander of U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), told VOA in an exclusive interview.He added that illicit narcotics trafficking through Venezuela is now making it more difficult for the United States and its allies to detect, monitor and interdict illegal drugs.SOUTHCOM helped interdict 280 metric tons of illegal drugs last year, and U.S. drug deaths were down for the first time in 25 years, albeit only a decrease of 5%. “We had very, an excellent year in 2019, Fiscal Year ‘19, but it’s never enough. We’ve got to be able to do more on the interdiction,” Faller said.The interview, edited for brevity, is below:Admiral Craig Faller, U.S. Southern Command: We’re making an important and good progress in the (drug) interdiction. A lot of this is assisted with our partners, and there’s no better partners than El Salvador. El Salvador is actively engaged in defending the homeland of the United States, helping us stop the flow of illicit drugs.Carla Babb, VOA: If we were to lose the access that we have the partnership with El Salvador, what would that do? Would we be blind in the war on drugs on the Pacific?Faller: It’s critical that we have our access, our placement and the information that we gain here in the maritime patrol aircraft that hub out of here are absolutely essential in piecing that together. Would we be blind? We wouldn’t be blind, but we would, we would be degraded in our ability to see the picture. And that would impact the interdictions, which would impact lives and families in the United States. We had very, an excellent year in 2019, Fiscal Year ‘19, but it’s never enough. We’ve got to be able to do more on the interdiction. We’ve got to be able to put more pressure on the supply side, and our really good partners like the Colombians have stepped up. I was out eradicating coca with Colombian Defense Forces, and they’re working hard because they know how important this is for the United States, and it also affects their security.VOA: Is 2019 shaping up to be a record year for the amount of drugs collected?Faller: We’re analyzing the statistics. We had it, we had success. We made a difference. We know we saved lives. It’s too early to say where that number will come, but the team worked hard because they know how important the mission is. And we worked hard with our partners. That’s key. Between 40 and 50% of our introductions were partnerships with countries like El Salvador, Guatemala, Colombia, where we work together.No one nation can go alone when it comes to the security of this neighborhood, this hemisphere of ours — it’s our neighborhood, these are our neighbors. We are all Americans. And so that’s been one of the real areas of progress is the amount of partnership, the amount that other nations have stepped up to really get in this because they know that flow of material through El Salvador affects their security as well.VOA: And so when we talk about the making a difference, drug deaths are down in the United States for the first time in 25 years. What do you make of that?Faller: It is a whole government effort. I credit that to the hard work of our team at SOUTHCOM. The Coast Guard — our United States Coast Guard — is critical in that and they have really stepped up in a way that should make every single American proud. Our Navy has supplied critical assets like the P/8. So this, this team working together and the partners. Our security cooperation programs have developed partnerships with El Salvador. These are professionals that we trust. That don’t succumb to corruption and do the right thing. And they’re working with us because it’s important to both of our countries.VOA: Now, you had mentioned recently earlier this month that drug trafficking in Venezuela had increased by about 50%. What exactly does that look like for the war on drugs, the US war on drugs?Faller: The illegitimate Maduro regime, at the expense of his people, it’s sad, has facilitated an increase of all types of illicit activity.  And that’s drug flow, that’s terrorism, it’s illegal mining. This drug flow has been part of that. So if you’re a cartel leader, you now see an easy pathway through Venezuela into commercial shipping and air to distribute your product, and Maduro and his illegitimate regime are getting a cut. Maduro does whatever it takes to keep his team in self in power, and this is a big part of keeping his finances going–illicit narcotics money.VOA: So how does that affect us?Faller: It complicates our ability to interdict narcotics, because when it leaves Venezuela, it could leave hidden in cargo of a commercial fishing vessel, commercial ship or in a commercial airliner or an airplane. And that complicates our ability to detect, monitor and interdict certainly, and we see that particularly in the air and on the sea that those pathways have increased. And that’s to the advantage of Maduro and no one else.VOA: And you said recently also that Venezuela is exacerbating the situation in your region. What did you mean by that exactly?Faller: So the migration, now close to 5 million, has strained the social services of the hemisphere. So that’s one. Certainly the illicit narcotics traffic that is now a pathway that makes it more difficult for all of us to detect, monitor and interdict is another.The ties to Cuba, ties to Russia, the ties to Iran and to some extent China are unhelpful as they work to prop up the illegitimate regime and support a nation that’s not a democracy. Our response has been primarily in planning and the deployment of the United States Naval Ship (USNS) Comfort two times in one year. Where (USNS) Comfort has brought hope to the people that need it the most, those that are affected by that crisis and the social systems. Unfortunately, it hasn’t gone to where it’s needed the most in Venezuela because it’s not a democratic nation and we can’t port our, bring our ship in there to provide the Comfort. With hope, maybe one day.VOA: You mentioned the two deployments. Is there anything more than the U.S. military can do? I mean, this is a real crisis. People are starving.  People are, you know, have nowhere to go. I believe the number of Venezuela’s refugees are going to surpass the number of Syrian refugees in 2020. It’s expected to grow to that large of a number. What more can the military do?Faller: It’s, having been out there on the (USNS) Comfort a couple times and seeing the face of the people and how it’s tearing apart moms and dads, and we’re looking at Thanksgiving here and we brought them hope. So, our military working with the rest of our government is bringing hope, and we’re with the people of Venezuela. I think there’s a lot, there’s a lot in that.Beyond that we’re planning for a range of contingencies. It’s what you expect us to do. It’s what our chain of command has asked us to do so we would be ready. I won’t go into any more detail than that. There’s going to be a day after. There’s going to be a legitimate government. (It) can’t happen soon enough for the people of Venezuela, unfortunately. And when that happens, they’ve got to restore social services, sewage, water, electricity, everything else that the inept, corrupt, illegitimate Maduro regime has destroyed and ruined. They’ve all got to be built up. It’s not a military role there, but we would be in support of that to provide the types of things that militaries do: planning, perhaps some lifts, whatever we’re asked to do.VOA: You mentioned hope, and so that makes me think about another crisis that we have — not just the Venezuelan refugees, but we’ve got the people trying to get to the United States from here, from Honduras. You’ve spoken to your counterparts. What are these countries doing to try to alleviate the problems that are sending these migrants to the US border?Faller: Earlier this year, we had the opportunity to go out in some neighborhoods in El Salvador and Honduras and sat with some young men and women that had participated in a caravan, gone all the way up into Mexico and come all the way back down. They came all the way back down and returned. And so you ask them, “Why do you leave your home?” And it’s all, it’s basic. It’s no hope, didn’t feel safe, no food, no job.“Didn’t you know it was going to be dangerous?” We knew. But when you don’t have anything and you need something, you move out. “Why’d you come back?” Because it was even more dangerous along that migration route than what we expected. And with assistance, they had found employment and were gaining some hope. And so there’s a complex array of factors that go into this. And when I meet with military members, militaries in these countries, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, they’re in support of their government.They’re doing their part to try to explain to the people that this isn’t the best option. It’s hard to convince somebody that doesn’t have any food that it’s not the best option. But we’re seeing progress, the numbers are down. And we’re working hard to do our part in the U.S. military, Southern Command, and work with our partners. A lot of that is sharing information, looking for where the migration intersects with other illicit activity. So there is a connection between transnational criminal organizations that principally work in the counter, in the narcotics to other illicit. They’ll do whatever they can to make a buck. And if that means working with illegal migration of people, they’ll do it.VOA: Do we have teams that are targeting these criminals?Faller: We assist our partners at the US Embassy in sharing information, intelligence primarily, about what we know and what we don’t know. And then we work in some partner capacity building — building intelligence networks, surveillance that supports the nation, But it’s all assistance.VOA: Should we do more than that? Should we do more than information sharing? Should we go outside the wire ourselves?Faller: I think we’re doing exactly what we should be doing. And these, the nation’s, this is primarily a policing effort for the partner nations or border nation. And most of their militaries are in support of that. And that’s, I think, the right balance. And I don’t, I don’t think we should be in actively engaged in that. Look at a nation like El Salvador. These (are) extremely capable armed forces. They fought with us in Iraq. They fought with us in Afghanistan. And they currently are deploying a helicopter company to Mali as part of the UN peacekeeping mission. A lot of their force right now is focused inward to help their police, but they truly understand that they play a role regionally and beyond and that’s because the training and assistance that we provide.VOA: We’re here in El Salvador where China has been courting El Salvador, trying to put a port here. Does it concern you as a military officer that China could be this close to the United States?Faller: I don’t ask for partners that choose. I don’t, but we do talk about values, democracy, human rights, rule of law, respect, integration of women and non-commissioned officers into our formations. And we see it the same. These officers and enlisted have been trained with us and trained in U.S. schools. We are on the same page, the same sheet of music when it comes to those basic principles. I do then pivot and I say, “China’s going to come dangling some very attractive offer, perhaps, but remember where they stand on all those things democracy rules based order, respect for property. And you make a choice.”VOA: What is the biggest threat now in the region? And then where does the concern of the rising violence–we look at Bolivia, right now and we see violence. Are you concerned that that could go from protest to something bigger?Faller: There’s a vicious circle of threats that affect the security of the United States that jeopardize a peace and prosperity and democracy right here in our neighborhood. Right here. And that vicious circle is on young governments. These are young democracies, civil wars within our lifetime right here. They have young, emerging institutions, and institutions are the strength of our democracy, like the United States military. They’re susceptible, these young institutions here, to corruption. They’re susceptible to transnational criminal organizations, which breed on corruption and will deal in anything they can to make themselves a buck and stay powerful and strong. And they’re often better funded than the security institutions that they face here. Those external powers that we talked about — China, Russia — they thrive on those same sorts of conditions. And that’s a threat.  
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London police are defending the decision not to pursue a full investigation of allegations made against Prince Andrew by a woman who says she was trafficked by the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.Police acknowledged Thursday that they received a complaint in 2015 from a woman alleging she was the victim of trafficking for sexual exploitation.The woman, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, has said she was trafficked by Epstein and had sex three times with Prince Andrew starting in 2001, including once in London. She says she was 17 when they first had sex.Metropolitan Police Commander Alex Murray said police concluded in 2016 after looking into the matter and consulting prosecutors that the London-based force was the wrong agency to investigate.“Following the legal advice, it was clear that any investigation into human trafficking would be largely focused on activities and relationships outside the U.K.” he said.The London police, he added, would not be the “appropriate authority” to investigate.Epstein, a wealthy financier, died in prison in August in what the New York City coroner ruled as a suicide. He faced trafficking charges.The Met’s Murray said police reviewed its decision after Epstein’s death and decided not to change policy.Andrew, 59, has repeatedly denied the allegations, most recently during a televised interview broadcast nearly two weeks ago in which he lost public support by defending his friendship with Epstein and by not expressing sympathy for Epstein’s many young female victims. The prince has since stepped down from royal duties because of the scandal.A television interview with Giuffre is scheduled to be broadcast Monday in Britain. She has said Andrew must take responsibility for what he’s done.Murray also said that London police have not received a formal request for assistance from other law enforcement agencies investigating the case.U.S. officials are still looking into the case and a number of civil lawsuits against Epstein’s estate are in progress. 
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Dozens of French activists blocked an Amazon warehouse south of Paris in a Black Friday-inspired protest, amid increased opposition to the post-Thanksgiving sales phenomenon that has seen a group of French lawmakers push to ban it altogether.Protesters from climate group Amis de la terre (Friends of the Earth) spread hay and old refrigerators and microwaves on the driveway leading to the warehouse in Bretigny-sur-Orge on Thursday. They held signs in front of the gates reading “Amazon: For the climate, for jobs, stop expansion, stop over-production!”The activists were later dislodged by police.More demonstrations are expected as Black Friday looms into view. French climate groups are planning “Block Friday” demonstrations Friday.Their objections are garnering some support within France’s National Assembly. Some French lawmakers want to ban Black Friday, which has morphed into a global phenomenon even though it stems from a specifically U.S. holiday: Thanksgiving Thursday.A French legislative committee passed an amendment Monday that proposes prohibiting Black Friday since it causes “resource waste” and “overconsumption.”The amendment, which was put forward by France’s former environment minister, Delphine Batho, will be debated next month. France’s e-commerce union has condemned it.On Europe 1 radio Thursday, France’s ecological transition minister, Elisabeth Borne, criticized Black Friday for creating “traffic jams, pollution, and gas emissions.”She added that she would support Black Friday if it helped small French businesses, but said it mostly benefits large online retailers.
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When opposition leader Keiko Fujimori leaves prison, her supporters will applaud her freedom and her detractors will lament what they consider more impunity for the corrupt, but the reality is the future is far from clear for the woman who twice almost won Peru’s presidency.The Constitutional Tribunal narrowly approved a habeas corpus request to free Fujimori from detention while she is investigated for alleged corruption. But the magistrates noted the 4-3 decision does not constitute a judgment on her guilt or innocence with regards to accusations she accepted money from Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht.The daughter of imprisoned former President Alberto Fujimori — who herself was jailed in October 2018 — could be returned to a cell.“Although the Constitutional Tribunal has freed her for a strictly procedural matter, it has not absolved her of any of the charges, and it also did not dismiss the new charges made by the Public Ministry,” political analyst Iván García Mayer said.It is unclear when Fujimori will be freed, but authorities said after Monday’s court ruling that it could happen later in the week.The 44-year-old will leave prison to a changed political landscape, facing the tough task of rebuilding her political party and career, both of which have been eroded by scandals. Her Popular Force party held a majority in congress until September, when President Martín Vizcarra dissolved the legislature in a popular move he described as necessary to uproot corruption.The conservative Popular Force will participate in January legislative elections, but Fujimori is not expected to be a candidate and some expect the party to fade in the vote.As leader of Popular Force, Fujimori managed to undermine the government of Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, fueling the impeachment of the now imprisoned ex-president for lying about his ties with Odebrecht.But now Fujimori herself has been ensnared by a corruption scandal that has toppled political and businesses leaders around Latin America.In 2016, Odebrecht recognized in a plea agreement with the U.S. Justice Department that it paid some $800 million in bribes to officials throughout the region. The bribes included some $29 million in Peru for public works contracts during the administrations of President Alejandro Toledo and two of his successors. Corruption allegations have hit all of Peru’s presidents between 2001 and 2016.Prosecutors accuse Fujimori of laundering $1.2 million provided by Odebrecht for her 2011 and 2016 presidential campaigns. They opened an investigation into the campaigns after seeing a note written by Marcelo Odebrecht, head of the Brazilian mega-company, on his cellphone that said: “increase Keiko to 500 and pay a visit.”Fujimori denies the accusations against her and says prosecutors and Peru’s election body have received Popular Force’s accounting books for inspection.Her jailing capped a striking downfall for a politician who went from first lady at age 19, to powerful opposition leader, to within a hair’s breadth of the presidency.Hundreds of mostly young people protested Monday’s ruling freeing her, calling it another demonstration of impunity for the corrupt.But Fujimori’s supporters have painted “Free Keiko” signs around Lima. Her husband, Mark Villanella, had been on a more than week-long hunger strike outside the jail holding Fujimori.Fujimori’s father, a strongman who governed Peru from 1990 to 2000, remains a polarizing figure. Some Peruvians praise him for defeating Maoist Shining Path guerrillas and resurrecting a devastated economy, while others detest him for human rights violations. He is serving a 25-year sentence for human rights abuses and corruption.Keiko Fujimori assumed the role of first lady following the traumatic divorce of her father and Susana Higuchi.She graduated in business administration from Boston University in 1997 and returned to the United States in 2000 to obtain a master’s degree in business from Columbia University.She tried to follow in her father’s presidential footsteps and forge a gentler, kinder version of the movement known as “Fujimorismo.”She finished second in the 2011 election and five years later lost in a razor-thin vote, coming within less than half a percentage point of defeating Kuczynski.Now, emerging into a new Peru with a dissolved congress and widespread dislike for political elites, Fujimori faces a tough situation, analysts say.She “is in a very bad position; it will be very difficult for her to recover because the immense majority believe she really committed acts of corruption,” said analyst and sociologist Fernando Rospigliosi.“She is not going to recover in the medium term,” he said.
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NATO leaders are preparing to gather in London for a two-day meeting Tuesday to mark the 70th anniversary of the foundation of the alliance. The war in Syria  and the ongoing threat from Russia  will serve as the backdrop to the summit. But as Henry Ridgwell reports, growing tensions between members could overshadow the anniversary celebrations.
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Turkey’s foreign minister has called on NATO to support Ankara’s security concerns, accusing allies of backing Baltic countries’ security concerns but dismissing threats to Turkey from Syrian Kurdish fighters.      Mevlut Cavusoglu made the comments Thursday. He confirmed media reports that said Turkey was blocking a NATO defense proposal for the Baltic nations and Poland until the alliance supports Turkey’s concerns relating to the Kurdish fighters, which Ankara considers to be terrorists.
       
Cavusoglu said: “We are not against NATO’s retaliation plans for the Baltic nations but (NATO) should also want for Turkey what it wants for the Baltics.”
       
He said the NATO chief was working to overcome the dispute.
       
A plan to defend the Baltic nations in case of a Russian attack needs the backing of all member states.
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