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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in an interview Monday that he didn’t speak with President Donald Trump “from the position of a quid pro quo” last summer. Zelenskiy says, “That’s not my thing. . I don’t want us to look like beggars.”Trump later claimed Zelenskiy had said Trump had done nothing wrong. But Zelenskiy didn’t go that far.The Ukrainian leader spoke to Time ahead of the first round of expected peace talks with Russia Dec. 9 in Paris — the two countries have been embroiled in war along the Ukraine border for the past five years.Zelenskiy, a former comedian turned politician, has been in office for barely six months and his conversations with Trump are the topic of intense scrutiny in the U.S., with their July 25 phone call at the center of the House impeachment inquiry into President Trump.Zelenskiy was asked whether there was a connection between Trump’s decision to block military assistance to Ukraine and the two investigations he asked Zelenskiy to do. One was on possible meddling by Ukraine in the 2016 elections, the other was about the family of Democratic rival, Joe Biden.FILE – U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a bilateral meeting with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on the sidelines of the 74th session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York, Sept. 25, 2019.“Look I never talked to the president from the position of a quid pro quo,” Zelenskiy said. “But you have to understand. We’re at war. If you’re our strategic partner, then you can’t go blocking anything for us. I think that’s just about fairness. It’s not about a quid pro quo.”Trump later told reporters as he departed Monday for London for the NATO summit that Zelenskiy’s comments should be “case closed,” mischaracterizing the interview by saying that Zelenskiy had come out and said “very strongly that President Trump did absolutely nothing wrong.”Zelenskiy also said when leaders like Trump call his country corrupt, it sends a concerning message.“Everyone hears that signal,” he said. “Investments, banks, stakeholders, companies, American, European, companies that have international capital in Ukraine, it’s a signal to them that says, Be careful, don't invest.' Or,Get out of there.”’When asked whether he had any trust in Russian President Vladimir Putin going into the peace talks next week, he said: “I don’t trust anyone at all.”“Politics is not an exact science,” Zelenskiy said.
 
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Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday signed legislation allowing individuals to be labeled foreign agents, drawing criticism from rights groups that say the move will further restrict media freedoms in the country.An initial foreign agent law was adopted by Russia in 2012, giving authorities the power to label non-governmental organizations and human rights groups as foreign agents – a term that carries a negative Soviet-era connotations.But the expansion of the definition of foreign agent to include private individuals now raises fresh concerns about the ability of independent journalists and bloggers to operate in the country.Several rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, had called for the initiative to be dropped as it was being approved by lawmakers.Under the law, all material published by an individual who receives funds from abroad will be labeled as having been distributed by a foreign agent. The law also says that any individual who distributes foreign media could be labeled a foreign agent.Rights groups and other organizations designated by the Russian justice ministry as foreign agents can be subjected to spot checks and face bureaucratic scrutiny.Russian law also requires so-called foreign agents to submit regular reports on their funding, objectives, how they spend their money and who their managers are. 
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U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday accused Cuba and Venezuela of attempting to hijack democratic protests in Latin America, vowing that Washington would support countries trying to prevent unrest in the region from turning into riots.Amid recent demonstrations in a number of countries in the region, Pompeo stepped up allegations that Cuba and Venezuela had helped stir up unrest but offered few specifics to back his comments.Pompeo cited recent political protests in Bolivia, Chile, Colombia and Ecuador and said that Colombia had closed its border to Venezuela out of concern that protesters from the neighboring country would enter.”We in the Trump administration will continue to support countries trying to prevent Cuba and Venezuela from hijacking those protests and we’ll work with legitimate (governments) to prevent protests from morphing into riots and violence that don’t reflect the democratic will of the people,” Pompeo told an audience at the University of Louisville, in Kentucky.U.S. relations with communist-ruled Havana have deteriorated since President Donald Trump took office in January 2017. His administration has steadily rolled back parts of the historic opening under Trump’s Democratic predecessor, Barack Obama.The tension has focused especially on Havana’s support for Venezuela’s socialist President Nicolas Maduro, who has overseen an economic collapse and stands accused by the United States of corruption and human rights violations.The United States and more than 50 other countries have recognized Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as the legitimate president. Guaido invoked the constitution to assume a rival presidency in January, arguing Maduro’s 2018 re-election was a sham.But Maduro retains the support of the military, runs the government’s day-to-day operations and is backed by Russia, China and Cuba.In his speech on Monday, Pompeo said Maduro was “hanging on” and would continue to work to suppress the Venezuelan people, but that he was confident the Venezuelan president’s leadership would end.”The end will come for Maduro as well. We just don’t know what day,” Pompeo said. 
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Amazon said Monday it has removed “Christmas ornaments” and other merchandise bearing the images of Auschwitz that had been available on its online site.Amazon said in a statement that “all sellers must follow our selling guidelines” and that those who do not will be removed.The move comes after the Auschwitz-Birkenau state museum on Sunday appealed to Amazon to remove the merchandise, which also included an Auschwitz bottle opener and a Birkenau “massacre” mouse pad.It said that, “Selling ‘Christmas ornaments’ with images of Auschwitz does not seem appropriate. Auschwitz on a bottle opener is rather disturbing and disrespectful.”Many others on Twitter voiced outrage.On Monday, the state memorial said it was still calling on another online outlet, Wish Shopping, to stop selling the products.Nazi Germany killed 1.1 million people at the death camp, most of them Jews, during its occupation of Poland during World War II. 
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When Usman Khan left prison last December after serving half of a 16-year sentence for his part in a plot to blow up the London Stock Exchange, and for planning to establish a terror training camp in Pakistan, he was thought to be making good progress towards being de-radicalized and was seen as a poster boy for Britain’s rehabilitation programs.Cambridge University, which ran one of the programs Khan attended, was even considering offering him a place to study.But now following 28-year-old’s dramatic knife attack Friday on London Bridge during a university-sponsored justice event, which left two people dead and three seriously injured, the early release of convicted terrorists, as well as de-radicalization programs, are coming under immediate scrutiny amid accusations that militants are gaming the rehabilitation system and hoodwinking authorities.Some criminal justice experts say Khan played the rehabilitation system cleverly to secure his release and to lull his probation officers into allowing him to travel unsupervised from his home in the English county of Staffordshire to London for the justice event, where he killed two rehabilitation tutors, 25-year-old Jack Merritt and 23-year-old Saskia Jones.“Despite the monitoring he was subjected to, he was able to convince everyone he was well on the way to being a reformed character,” according to Harry Fletcher, a criminal justice expert and campaigner for victims’ rights. Khan’s attack wasn’t opportunistic, but deliberately planned, say British counter-terror officials.With fears mounting that other recently freed terrorists may also be playing the system, a crackdown has been launched that’s likely to see a large number of them returned to prison. One of Khan’s close associates, 34-year-old Nazam Hussain, who was freed from jail the same day as the London Bridge killer, was re-arrested Sunday on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts.At least 74 freed terrorists are being vetted again, according to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who said in a broadcast interview Sunday that they all needed to be “properly invigilated so as to make sure there is no threat to the public.”Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson, center, Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, right, and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan take part in a vigil in memory of the attack victims, at Guildhall Yard in London, Dec. 2, 2019.Freed terrorists are required to follow a strict set of rules, including not using the Internet, not associating with former accomplices, observing a curfew and attending only approved mosques. They are required to wear electronic ankle tags so their movements can be monitored. Khan wore one during Friday’s attack which unfolded at a conference near London Bridge sponsored by Cambridge University’s “Learning Together” program, which aims to help assist in the rehabilitation of violent offenders.An election issueThe London Bridge attack, which ended after the knife-wielding Khan was confronted by conference attendees, including former offenders, and staff and shot dead by police, is dominating election campaigning with Johnson quick to go on the attack and blame previous Labour governments for the system of early release for convicted terrorists.Johnson says violent offenders “must serve every day of their sentence, with no exceptions.” He added: “If you are convicted of a serious terrorist offense, there should be a mandatory minimum sentence of 14 years – and some should never be released.”Labour politicians have hit back, saying it is recent Conservative spending cuts that are to blame and have called for a full investigation into Khan’s prison sentence and subsequent release. And Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the main opposition Labour party, says convicted terrorists should “not necessarily” automatically serve their full prison sentences. “I think it depends on the circumstances and it depends on the sentence but crucially depends on what they’ve done in prison,” Corbyn said.But amid the political party wrangling, criminal justice professionals and lawmakers who have built up expertise on de-radicalization say knee-jerk reactions and politicization of the challenge will not help improve rehabilitation programs or answer difficult questions surrounding their effectiveness and whether a militant can be de-radicalized.Police officers patrol the scene in central London, Dec. 1, 2019, after a knife attack on London Bridge.Programs’ efficacy in questionSome prison experts have warned for months about a lack of rigor with the programs but have also raised concerns about the resources being devoted to de-radicalization, arguing much more money needs to be spent. Among them, former top prosecutor Nazir Afzal, who says Friday’s terror incident could have been avoided.“What makes me angry is that for some years we have been talking to the government, not just me but many others, about these de-radicalization programs. These programs are delivered by well-meaning people on a shoe-string and are under-resourced and involve the ticking of boxes, but no ticked box has saved anybody’s life,” he says.Others say more fundamental thinking needs to be done and it is not just a question of resources. “Our judicial system isn’t able to cope. We try to rehabilitate but the two people who were killed were people who were trying to help to give this person a second life and yet he wanted to kill. We need to better understand the mindset of somebody like that,” Tobias Ellwood, a Conservative lawmaker and former army officer, told Sky News.Former prison governor, Ian Acheson, who in 2015 led an independent review of how Islamist militants are handled by the country’s prisons and probation system, says the entire system is deeply flawed, marked sometimes by naïveté and a “toxic combination of arrogance, defensiveness and ineptitude.” He complained in his report that the “screening tools to detect and programs to tackle radicalized behavior were rudimentary in-house creations with former terrorist offenders telling us how easy courses were to ‘game.’”  He argues Britain’s criminal justice system is “unsuited to managing the risk of religious extremists with a martyrdom complex coming from a moral universe far away from the professionals responsible for their management.”But writing in The Times newspaper, Acheson said “it would be a shame — possibly counterproductive — to go for the punitive response that the public will understandably demand. Few terrorists will be locked up forever and we need to ensure that those released have a chance to recant their hateful beliefs and join society again.” 
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U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that he will immediately restore tariffs on U.S. steel and aluminum imports from Brazil and Argentina.”Brazil and Argentina have been presiding over a massive devaluation of their currencies, which is not good for our farmers. Therefore, effective immediately, I will restore the Tariffs on all Steel & Aluminum that is shipped into the U.S. from those countries,” Trump said in a tweet.Trump also urged the Federal Reserve to prevent countries from gaining an economic advantage by devaluing their currencies.”The Federal Reserve should likewise act so that countries, of which there are many, no longer take advantage of our strong dollar,” Trump tweeted “Lower Rates & Loosen – Fed!”, he said……Reserve should likewise act so that countries, of which there are many, no longer take advantage of our strong dollar by further devaluing their currencies. This makes it very hard for our manufactures & farmers to fairly export their goods. Lower Rates & Loosen – Fed!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 2, 2019Trump has repeatedly urged the Fed to lower rates to below zero, arguing that negative rates in Europe and elsewhere give those countries a competitive advantage.However, Fed policymakers have been reluctant to take the unorthodox policy steps tried by other global central banks. The U.S. central bank’s policymaking committee holds its next meeting on Dec. 10-11.
 
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What does Brexit have to do with Vietnam? It seems a strange question, but there are several ways that Britain’s planned divorce from the European Union would be likely to affect the Southeast Asian nation.These effects can be put in three broad categories. First, Vietnam has finished negotiating a trade agreement with the EU, but Brussels appears too preoccupied to ratify the agreement until it has tied up Brexit once and for all. Second, if Britain is out of the EU, then some European products would become more expensive, so British consumers would look for cheaper alternatives, such as from Vietnam. And third, Britain has been looking for new trade agreements to join if it is no longer in the EU bloc, and that includes joining a major agreement already signed by Vietnam.That agreement, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, formerly known as the TPP, includes nations around the Asia Pacific and used to include the United States until President Donald Trump pulled the country out in 2017. When Britain first suggested the idea of joining the TPP, in 2018, it was met with a lot of raised eyebrows — Britain is not a Pacific power, after all. However, the idea subsequently received support from Japan, the TPP member with the biggest gross domestic product, which said it would welcome Britain with open arms. Vietnam is the TPP member with the lowest GDP per capita.It makes sense that Vietnam would want to do more trade with Britain, Frederick Burke, who is the managing partner of Baker & McKenzie, a law firm in Ho Chi Minh City, said at a company conference last month.“It’s a good market, it’s a good opportunity,” he said.Brexit would mean that some European products would no longer have preferential access to the British market, so Vietnam could step in and compete with those products. For instance some British business interests in Vietnam believe Vietnamese tennis shoes and garments would become competitive against Romanian products, Burke said.“The UK is not the same as the American economy but it’s about a third of that, and so it’s very substantial, second biggest economy in Europe,” he said. “So it’s a very good opportunity for Vietnam.”Finally, the third impact may not be quite as favorable to Vietnam. Efforts to finalize the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, or EVFTA, have dragged on for years. The same can be said of Brexit, which was approved in a British referendum in 2016 but has yet to happen. Brussels is far more preoccupied with Brexit than with the Vietnam agreement, so it appears that Hanoi will have to wait.Most recently, analysts expected the vote on the pact with Vietnam to happen this coming January — then again, Brexit has also been pushed to the same month. And if Brexit does not end up taking place in January, it does not look like the Vietnam vote will take place either.“Things could be delayed eventually with the delay of the Brexit, which has been extended to the end of January,” Alain Cany, who is the country chairman of Jardine Matheson Vietnam, a conglomerate that covers areas from restaurants to engineering, as well as a former chairman of the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam, said. “So it [EVFTA ratification] might be postponed.”
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Clashes sparked by suspected cartel gunmen in a northern Mexican town killed 20 people this weekend, authorities said, putting more pressure on Mexico’s president to curb gang violence after the United States vowed to label the gangs terrorists.President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, mindful of efforts by U.S. President Donald Trump to designate Mexican drug gangs as terrorist groups, repeated on Sunday that he would not accept any intervention from abroad, while doubling down on his strategy of trying to contain the cartels.But the killings clouded celebrations marking Lopez Obrador’s first year in office, which were buffeted by a march in Mexico City by thousands of people protesting the violence.The government of the northern state of Coahuila said local security forces killed 14 gunmen on Saturday and Sunday, after a major gunfight broke out in the small town of Villa Union near the Texas border. Earlier, the state government had said police had shot dead 17 cartel members.Four police were also killed in the shootouts, which broke out around midday on Saturday, sparking fresh criticism of the government’s approach to handling the powerful gangs.The bodies of two unarmed civilians apparently murdered by the gunmen were also recovered, the government said.Riding into town in a convoy of heavily armed pickups, gunmen sprayed the offices of the mayor of Villa Union with bullets and fought police for more than 1 1/2 hours as gunfire echoed through the streets.More than 60 gunmen took part in the fight and 17 of their vehicles were seized, Coahuila’s government said.A number of the gunmen, who were suspected members of the Cartel of the Northeast from Tamaulipas state, were killed by state police in pursuit of the raiding party after it fled the town, authorities said.The events in Villa Union add to a series of recent security lapses that have raised questions about Lopez Obrador’s policy.During a speech in front of tens of thousands of supporters on his first anniversary as president, Lopez Obrador again said Mexico would handle its security problems, after Trump’s comments.”We won’t accept any kind of intervention, we’re a sovereign, free country,” the veteran leftist said in Mexico City’s Zocalo central square. Trump’s remarks have stirred concerns in Mexico that Washington could try to take unilateral action to crush the drug cartels. U.S. Attorney General William Barr is due to visit the country next week to discuss cooperation on security.Criticism at home and abroad has focused on the Nov. 4 massacre by suspected cartel gunmen of nine women and children of U.S.-Mexican origin from Mormon communities in northern Mexico, and the armed forces’ release of a captured son of drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman under threats from his gang in the city of Culiacan.Critics accuse Lopez Obrador of caving in to the cartels, but he defended the release of Ovidio Guzman, saying it had prevented unnecessary bloodshed.”Our adversaries can say we showed weakness, but nothing is more important than people’s lives,” he said. The protest march united opposition politicians with grieving members of the U.S.-Mexican LeBaron family, who lost loved ones in the killings in the state of Sonora.”We’re not against the president, we’re against the security policies that have been used until now, because they haven’t worked,” said Julian LeBaron, a relative of the victims.Overnight, law enforcement agents captured several people suspected of involvement in those murders, the attorney general’s office of Sonora said.Homicides reached record levels in Mexico last year and are on track to surpass that total this year.Lopez Obrador has also presided over a slowdown in the economy, which has stagnated in 2019.Yet while there has been some erosion of support for him, most recent opinion polls show he remains popular.
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An Irish citizen, who converted to Islam, traveled to Syria to join Islamic State and ended up marrying a British militant, has been arrested on arrival at Dublin airport Sunday.Lisa Smith, 38, who served in the Irish Defense Forces before going to Syria, had been deported from Turkey with her 2-year-old daughter.”On her arrival in Dublin, Lisa Smith was met by An Garda Síochána,” Irish Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan said, using the Irish name for the national police force.  “This is a sensitive case and I want to reassure people that all relevant state agencies are closely involved.”Irish Deputy Prime Minister Simon Coveney told Irish national broadcaster RTE that officials had been trying to repatriate Smith since learning of her presence in a refugee camp in March. He said the primary concern was for the toddler who is an Irish citizen because of her mother’s nationality. The child is now with Smith’s relatives in Dundalk.Authorities plan to question Smith extensively before deciding on what action to take. She has denied fighting for IS or training female soldiers for the militancy.Many European countries and the United States have resisted bringing back their citizens who joined Islamic State. 
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Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat told the nation Sunday night that he would resign in January, following pressure from angry citizens for the truth about the 2017 car bombing that killed an anti-corruption journalist.In a televised message, Muscat said he had informed Malta’s president that he will quit as leader of the governing Labor Party on Jan. 12 and that “in the days after I will resign as prime minister.”Hours earlier, nearly 20,000 Maltese protested outside a courthouse in the capital, Valletta, demanding that he step down in the largest such turnout of nearly daily protests in recent weeks.“As prime minister, I promised two years ago that justice would be done in the case of the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia,” Muscat said, beginning his speech, adding that “today I am here to tell you that I kept my word.”But the slain reporter’s family contended Muscat’s departure won’t satisfy those in the nation who are determined that corruption and cronyism between politicians and business figures be rooted out.“People will be out in the streets again tomorrow,” tweeted one of her sons, Matthew Caruana Galizia, who is also a journalist.Muscat contended that “justice is being done.”He noted that in addition to three people arrested soon after the bombing for carrying out the actual attack, now there is “someone accused of being the principal person behind this killing.”A photo shows a TV set broadcasting an address to the nation by Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, in Valetta, Malta, Dec. 1, 2019.Muscat was referring to prominent Maltese businessman Yorgen Fenech, who on Saturday night, was arraigned on charges of alleged complicity in the killing and of allegedly organizing and financing the bombing. Fenech entered pleas of innocence.Muscat’s former chief of staff Keith Schembri was allegedly linked to the killing. Schembri was among government members targeted by Caruana Galizia’s investigative reporting. Schembri, who resigned last week, was arrested in the probe but later released. He denies wrongdoing.The prime minister said the investigation continues.The slain reporter had written extensively about suspected corruption in political and business circles on the European Union nation, an attractive financial haven for many investors.Among her targets were those in Muscat’s political inner circle, including those in his Cabinet. Caruana Galizia was the subject of lawsuits by some of her subjects, including in government. While many celebrated her as an anti-corruption champion, some on the island whose dealings she exposed scorned her work.“I reiterate my deepest regret that a person, who, with all her positive and negative qualities and contribution toward the democracy of our country, was killed in such a brutal way,” Muscat said.“The sensations of genuine sadness and anger for this murder are justified. And I will never accept that someone conveys a signal that in any way he or she is justifying this murder,” the prime minister said.Muscat used his speech to praise his tenure’s achievements, including strong economic growth and civil rights, including legalized marriage and adoption for same-sex couples.Referring to the reporter’s slaying, the prime minister said, “This case cannot define everything that our country is and what we have accomplished together.”The political opposition seized on the resentment toward the government tangible in the protests.“Muscat does not understand the anger of the people,” said Adrian Delia, leader of the opposition Nationalist Party. Nor does he understand “political responsibility,” Delia contended.FILE – People look at the makeshift memorial to assassinated anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia on the Great Siege Monument after the police blocked off access to it, in Valletta, Malta, April 22, 2018.“He did not understand that Daphne Caruana Galizia’s murder took place because of the sluggishness of our institutions,” Delia said after Muscat’s speech.European Parliament lawmakers are due to visit Malta in coming days, amid concerns about the functioning of rule of law on the Mediterranean island nation.Muscat struck a defensive note, saying, “Our institutions are strong, and they function.”Labor has a comfortable majority in Parliament, indicating that a new party leader could become premier without the need for a national election. That could thwart the opposition conservative party’s hopes to rule the nation.Muscat, first elected as prime minister in 2013, is serving his second term.Fenech had requested immunity from prosecution promising to reveal information about government officials. His bid for immunity was rejected first by Muscat on his own and later by Muscat’s Cabinet.Participants in Sunday’s protest carried photos of the slain journalist as well as placards with the last words she wrote on her blog shortly before getting into her car, which was blown up near her home. “The situation is desperate,” she had written referring to what she unearthed with her digging into suspected widespread corruption in Malta’s political and business circles. On the placards, protesters added the word “still” before “desperate.”Affixed to the courthouse gates were copies of a photo of Schembri posing the alleged middleman was unclear where and when the photo was taken.The alleged go-between, Melvin Theuma recently was granted immunity from the prosecution in exchange for giving details on who was behind the bombing.Also angering Muscat’s opponents was the reinstatement on Sunday of Chris Cardona as economy minister. Cardona had suspended himself last week after being questioned by the police investigating the murder. Like Schembri, Cardona has always insisted he is extraneous to the case.
 
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A passenger bus plunged off a bridge onto a frozen river in Siberia on Sunday, killing 19 of the more than 40 people on board, authorities said.A tire on the bus burst as it was crossing the bridge over the Kuenga river in eastern Siberia’s Zabaikalsky region.The vehicle, which was traveling from Sretensk to Chita and carried 40 passengers, skidded off the road and onto the ice.”Nineteen people died and 21 received various injuries,” the office of the governor of the Zabaikalsky region said in a statement.Two preschool-aged children were reportedly among the dead.National television broadcast footage of the mangled wreckage of the bus, which lay upside down on the snow-covered ice surrounded by ambulances and fire engines.Nineteen people including a 12-year-old girl were hospitalized.More than 70 people and two helicopters with medics were involved in the rescue operation, officials said.Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev told his deputy Tatyana Golikova to do everything to help the families of the victims, the government said.”The head of government expressed condolences to the families of those who died,” the government said in a statement.The Investigative Committee, which probes serious incidents, said it had opened a criminal inquiry into a possible violation of traffic safety rules.The head of the powerful Investigative Committee, which reports directly to President Vladimir Putin, demanded a “detailed investigation” into the deadly accident.Officials said the driver — who died in the crash — had years of experience.Local authorities launched a crowd-funding campaign to help the victims and their families.Road accidents are common in Russia, often due to alcohol, the poor state of roads and failure to observe traffic rules.However, the number of road deaths has gone down in recent years, to around 20,000 per year.  
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President Donald Trump is heading to London this week to attend the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Leaders Meeting. Forged at the start of the Cold War, NATO is celebrating its 70th anniversary and the summit is designed to affirm the strength of the alliance. But European leaders are bracing for Trump ahead of the meeting as they continue to question Washington’s commitment to NATO. White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has this report from London. 
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The devastating impact of global warming that threatens humanity is a pushback from Nature under assault, U.N. chief Antonio Guterres warned Sunday ahead of a key climate conference.”For many decades the human species has been at war with the planet, and now the planet is fighting back,” he said, decrying the “utterly inadequate” efforts of the world’s major economies to curb carbon pollution. “We must stop our war against nature, and science tells us we can do it.”Guterres flagged a U.N. report to be released in a few days confirming the last five years are the warmest on record, with 2019 likely to be the second hottest ever.”Climate-related disasters are becoming more frequent, more deadly, more destructive,” he said on the eve of the 196-nation COP25 climate change talks in Madrid.Every year, air pollution associated with climate change kills seven million people, he noted, adding that human health and food security are at risk.The U.N. chief’s comments were clearly aimed at the handful of countries responsible for more than half of global greenhouse gas emissions, though he did not call them out by name.President Donald Trump has set in motion the process that would see the United States withdraw from the Paris deal by the end of the year, and other major emitters — China, India, Russia and Brazil — have given scant indication that they will deepen their commitments.Guterres singled out the European Union as playing a constructive role, saying the 28-nation bloc could help lead the way towards a net-zero global economy by 2050.The Paris Agreement calls for capping global warming at under two degrees Celsius, and 1.5C if feasible.But current national pledges — if carried out — would see global temperatures rise by at least 3C, a recipe for human misery, according to scientists.Despite growing public pressure, the 12-day negotiating session is likely to remain technical in nature, focused on finalizing the “rulebook” for the Paris Agreement, which becomes operation at the end of next year.Climate change is no longer a long-term problem, Guterres said.”We are confronted now with a global climate crisis and the point of no return is no longer over the horizon — it is in sight and hurtling towards us.” 
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Congolese dancing and singing enlivened St. Peter’s Basilica on Sunday, as Pope Francis celebrated a special mass for Catholics from the violence-wracked African nation and denounced arms suppliers for helping to fuel the conflict.
The whoops of joy and the chorus of rhythmically-swaying Congolese approaching the altar with symbolic gifts at the mass’ offertory section made for vivid contrast with the solemnity of most religious ceremonies at the Vatican basilica.
Francis decided to celebrate the mass to mark the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Catholic Congolese Community in Rome.
The mass was conducted using a special rite approved by the Vatican in 1988 entitled the “Congolese Missal for the dioceses of Zaire,” the former name of Congo. The Vatican noted that Popes Paul VI and John Paul II had encouraged, as the Vatican put it, “opening the liturgy to the cultural values of the people” of Congo.
In his homily, Francis prayed that conflict cease, noting that peace was “gravely threatened in the east of the country.” He decried weapon suppliers, lamenting “conflicts fed by those enriching themselves with arms.”
Recently, rebels in eastern Congo have targeted Ebola response workers, compounding difficulties in containing the outbreak.
Francis noted that many in the pews Sunday had left their homes and loved ones to come to Italy in search of a better life. In an apparent reference to hostility by many Italians to arriving refugees and migrants, the pope said: “The church is the house of God. Here, then, always feel at home.”
Francis’ expressed desires to visit Congo as well as South Sudan have so far been thwarted by persistent violence in those countries. He recently said he hoped to visit South Sudan in 2020 if conditions permit a pilgrimage.
At Mass’ end, a Congolese nun, Sister Rita Mboshu Kongo praised Francis for showing “fatherly attention and a great openness for the churches that are on the peripheries” and for his “constant worry” about migrants, the poor and others on society’s margins.
The nun decried what she called “total silence on the global lev to the killings of some six million Congolese people in the last 20 years” in conflict and turmoil.
Some of the Congolese faithful in the basilica “don’t know where their relatives are, don’t know if they are alive or dead,” Sister Mboshu Kongo told the pope.    
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Environment ministers and experts from nearly 200 countries meet in Madrid Monday for annual United Nations climate talks. Presided by Chile and hosted by Spain, the so-called Cop 25 follows a raft of alarming studies — and real-life evidence — of climate change’s potentially catastrophic fallout. From the Spanish capital, Lisa Bryant reports for VOA this might be the last year the U.S. is part of the talks.
 
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Representatives of nearly 200 countries begin annual climate talks in Madrid Monday, shadowed by alarming evidence of a deepening climate crisis and the looming exit of the United States from a global pact to fight it.A pair of grim United Nations reports published in recent days underscore the scope and real-life impact of insufficient climate action — underscored by global protests Friday in the latest show of people power.“Climate change is becoming real in ways people hadn’t imagined earlier,” said Simon Buckle, climate change head at the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). “Maybe they were thinking the impacts would be a long way in the future. They’re not; they’re here.”Presided over by Chile, which bowed out of hosting the meeting after social unrest at home, this latest meeting — known by its acronym COP 25 — aims to finalize rules for implementing the 2015 Paris climate pact.Environmentalists hope it will also set the stage for countries to beef up their greenhouse gas-cutting commitments at next year’s conference in the Scottish city of Glasgow.WATCH: 195 Nations Meet in Madrid for Climate Talks
195 Nations Meet in Madrid for Climate Talks video player.
FILE – Bundled up against cool temperatures, Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg speaks to several thousand people at a climate strike rally, Oct. 11, 2019, in Denver. The rally was staged in Denver’s Civic Center Park.Hitting homePeople have also taken to the streets in record numbers this past year, demanding climate action. Greta Thunberg and Extinction Rebellion are becoming household names, while clean energy use is growing rapidly on the back of plummeting costs.“We’re seeing increased attention to this crisis,” Waskow, of WRI, said. “People are seeing ways in which hurricanes, floods and droughts are really affecting them. They’re waking up to that and need to see change.”Environmentalists point to other positive signals. Last month, the European Investment Bank announced it would no longer finance fossil fuel projects by the end of 2021. Meanwhile, new EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a “Green Deal” plan to achieve net zero carbon emissions regionally by 2050.To be effective, governments must craft climate policies that focus on broader social well-being, Buckle, of OECD, said.“We’ve got to stop thinking that this is an environmental problem,” he said. “This is a fundamental problem for our whole way of development.”So far this year, dozens of countries have promised more ambitious commitments to cutting greenhouse gases. But together, they account for only a small share of global emissions.“We really need the big players to do their part,” Waskow said. “This is really where the rubber is going to meet the road.”
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Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar’s Fine Gael party failed to win any of the four by-elections held to fill parliamentary vacancies Saturday, a blow ahead of a general election he plans to hold in the next six months.The governing center-right party had held one of the seats left empty after four lawmakers successfully ran for European elections in May. Its main rival Fianna Fail captured two of the seats, a gain of one, while left-wing Sinn Fein and the Green Party added a lawmaker each in the 158-seat Irish parliament.The Fine Gael-led minority government has ruled through a cooperation deal with Fianna Fail that they extended last year as the uncertainty created by Britain’s protracted exit from the European Union kept either side from calling an election.Both have identified the second quarter of 2020 as their preferred date to go to the polls again and, with the two dominant parties of Irish politics closely matched in most opinion polls, whoever edges it will likely lead another minority government.A boost for rivalsWhile a gain was good news for center-right Fianna Fail, Sinn Fein’s win in one of two Dublin contests was also a welcome boost for Ireland’s third-largest party whose political ascent suffered a major setback at local elections in May. Fine Gael and Fianna Fail both refuse to govern with Sinn Fein, the former political wing of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), meaning the resurgent Greens could decide whether Varadkar or Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin heads up the next minority administration if little divides their parties.The Green Party’s first-ever by-election win followed a strong showing at European and local polls in May, part of a growing trend for environmental parties around many parts of Europe with climate change becoming a top concern.Not a fatal day“All round it’s probably not a good day for the government but not fatal, governments do tend to lose these by-elections but it does call into question the wisdom of having four by-elections possibly just a few months before a general election, because the momentum is with other parties now,” said Theresa Reidy, a politics lecturer at University College Cork.“In a general election, though, we will still be looking at Leo Varadkar versus Micheal Martin for who will be Taoiseach (prime minister).”
 
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Mexican security forces killed at least five suspected cartel gunmen in a shootout Saturday in a town near the U.S. border, authorities from the northern state of Coahuila said, during a moment of heightened bilateral tension over violent gangs. The Coahuila attorney general’s office said in a statement that state security officials shot the five suspects during clashes in the small town of Villa Union, about 40 miles (65 km) southwest of the border city of Piedras Negras. Around midday, heavy gunfire began ringing out, and a convoy of armed pickup trucks could be seen moving around Villa Union, according to video clips posted by social media users. Others showed plumes of smoke rising from the town. They also posted photos of burned-out vehicles and the Villa Union mayor’s office riddled with bullet holes. Reuters could not vouch for the authenticity of the video or photos. Lopez Obrador: No help neededThe outbreak of violence occurred during a testing week for the government of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who on Friday said he would not accept any foreign intervention in Mexico to deal with violent criminal gangs. Lopez Obrador said Mexico would handle the problem. Earlier in the week, U.S. President Donald Trump said he planned to designate Mexican cartels as terrorist groups, sparking concerns the move could serve as a prelude to a U.S. effort to intervene unilaterally in Mexico. U.S. Attorney General William Barr is due to visit Mexico next week to discuss cooperation over security. Lopez Obrador took office a year ago pledging to pacify the country after more than a decade of gang-fueled violence. A series of recent security lapses has raised questions about the left-leaning administration’s strategy. Criticism has focused on the November 4 massacre of nine women and children of U.S.-Mexican origin, and the armed forces’ release of a captured son of drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman under pressure from cartel gunmen in the city of Culiacan. Coahuila has a history of gang violence, though the homicide total in the state is well below where it was seven years ago. National homicide levels are pushing record levels. 
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Corruption, poor economies, political autonomy and personal freedom are among the many issues driving demonstrators’ demands for reform around the world.Demonstrators clash with riot police during a protest demanding greater social reform from Chilean President Sebastian Pinera, Nov. 12, 2019.Chile. Protests began in October in the capital, Santiago, over proposed hikes in subway fares. Protests soon spread around the country, with Chileans demanding income equality, better health care and more money for education. At least 22 people have been killed.Colombia. Protests began in November over a list of issues, including lack of a national economic plan, corruption and the killing of human rights activists. Protests have drawn more than 250,000 people. At least three people have been killed.Czech Republic. In November, more than 200,000 people in Prague demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Andrej Babis over allegations of fraud.Ecuador. Protests and riots erupted in October over President Lenin Moreno’s austerity measures that proposed ending fuel subsidies and cutting the benefits and salaries of civil servants. The protests ended after indigenous groups and the Ecuadorian government reached a deal.Egypt. Rare protests were held in Cairo, Alexandria and several other cities Sept. 20 and 27, accusing top officials of using public funds for personal fortunes. More than 4,000 people — including 11 journalists and more than 100 children and foreigners — were arrested.FILE – Yellow Vests protesters march on the Champs Elysees avenue in Paris. France’s yellow vest protesters remain a force to be reckoned with five months after their movement started.France. In November, thousands protested, demanding changes in stagnant wages, rising prices and income inequality. More than 145 people were arrested.Haiti. In February, protesters in Port-au-Prince demanded the resignation of President Jovenel Moïse. They also demanded a transitional government and the prosecution of corrupt officials. At least 40 people have been killed since September.Hong Kong. Protests began in March opposing a proposed bill that would have allowed Hong Kong citizens to be extradited to mainland China. The protests quickly turned into wider calls for democracy. Approximately 2 million people participated in a rally June 16. Two people have died since March.Indonesia. In September, students in major cities protested the weakening of the Corruption Eradication Commission. At least two were killed. Protesters also demanded the government overturn new laws that penalized people for insulting the president, and banned extramarital sex, and gay and lesbian relations.People walk past buildings that were burned during recent protests, in Shahriar, Iran, some 40 kilometers (25 miles) southwest of the capital, Tehran, Nov. 20, 2019.Iran. In November, protests erupted across Iran after the government announced a 50% increase in gasoline prices. More than 140 protesters have been killed in 22 cities. More than 1,000 have been arrested in a nationwide crackdown.Iraq. Since October, anti-corruption protests have been held in Baghdad and the south of the country. By the government’s own count, more than 350 people have died and nearly 1,000 have been injured.Lebanon. Since October, protesters throughout the country have demanded an end to corruption, calling for a new government made up entirely of “technocrats,” or non-politicians. Protesters also demanded more jobs and improved services such as electricity, water and health care.Russia. Since summer, approved and unapproved protests have occurred in Moscow, sparked by the city council elections from which opposition candidates were barred. More than 1,500 protesters have been arrested, some sentenced to long prison terms. Demonstrators now demand the release of jailed protesters.Spain. Pro-independence demonstrators in the Catalonia region flooded the streets in October after nine separatist leaders were given long prison sentences for holding an illegal referendum in 2017.
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Apple says it will reevaluate how it identifies “disputed borders” after receiving criticism for displaying Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula as part of Russia on maps and weather apps for Russian users. 
 
Apple spokeswoman Trudy Muller told Reuters on Friday that the U.S. technology giant was “taking a deeper look at how we handle disputed borders.” 
 
Muller said Apple made the change for Russian users because of a new law that went into effect inside Russia and that it had not made any changes to its maps outside the country. Review of law
 
“We review international law as well as relevant U.S. and other domestic laws before making a determination in labeling on our maps and make changes if required by law,” she told Reuters. 
 
Muller added that Apple “may make changes in the future as a result” of its reevaluation of the policy, without being specific. 
 
Russian and Ukrainian embassies in the United States did not immediately return requests for comment. 
 
When using the apps from the United States, Ukraine, and in parts of Europe, no international borders are shown around the peninsula. 
 
After the reports surfaced of the appearance of Crimea as part of Russia, the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington told RFE/RL that it had sent a letter to Apple explaining the situation in Crimea and demanding that it correct the peninsula’s designation. 
 
It also said on Twitter that “let’s all remind Apple that #CrimeaIsUkraine and it is under Russian occupation — not its sovereignty.” 
 
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystayko tweeted, “Apple, please, please, stick to high-tech and entertainment. Global politics is not your strong side.” Applause from Russia
 
Vasily Piskarev, who chairs the Russian State Duma’s Committee on Security and Corruption Control, welcomed Apple’s move, saying, “They have brought [their services] in line with Russian law.” 
 
“The error with displaying Crimean cities on the weather app has been eliminated,” Piskarev told reporters. 
 
Competitor Google Maps has designated Crimea differently over the years depending on the user’s location, listing it as Russian for Russian users and Ukrainian for most others. 
 
“We make every effort to objectively depict the disputed regions, and where we have local versions of Google Maps, we follow local legislation when displaying names and borders,” a Google spokesperson told Tech Crunch magazine. Troops entered in 2014
 
Russia took control of Crimea in March 2014 after sending in troops, seizing key facilities and staging a referendum dismissed as illegal by at least 100 countries. 
 
Moscow also backs separatists in a war against government forces that has killed more than 13,000 people in eastern Ukraine since April 2014. 
 
The international community does not recognize Moscow’s annexation of Crimea, and the United States and European Union have slapped sanctions on Russia over its actions against Ukraine. 
 Reuters and the Crimea Desk of RFE/RL’s Ukrainian service contributed to this report. 
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Maltese prosecutors on Saturday charged a prominent local businessman as being an accomplice to the murder of anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in a 2017 car bombing on Malta. 
 
Yorgen Fenech, a Maltese hotelier and director of the Maltese power company, was also charged in the evening courtroom hearing with being an accomplice to causing the explosion that killed the 53-year-old reporter as she drove near her home. 
 
Magistrate Audrey Demicoli asked Fenech to enter pleas. He replied that he was pleading innocent, and he was remanded in custody. MaltaThe reporter’s family has alleged that Fenech has ties to close associates of Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, including his recently resigned chief of staff. 
 
It wasn’t immediately clear if Muscat might resign amid increasing calls by citizens on the island, including Caruana Galizia’s family, for him to step down. Muscat, in power since 2013, has said he will speak after the investigative case is complete. 
 
“What we now expect is the prime minister to leave office and to leave Parliament,” Corinne Vella, one of the slain reporter’s sisters, told The Malta Independent after the arraignment of Fenech. Investigations urgedVella also called for Muscat as well as his former chief of staff, Keith Schembri. to be “properly investigated” for their “possible involvement in Daphne’s assassination.” 
 
Schembri quit his government post a few days earlier. He had been taken into custody for questioning but was later released. 
 
Two of Muscat’s ministers also were questioned and have resigned. They, along with Schembri, have said they are innocent of wrongdoing. 
 
Caruana Galizia wrote shortly before her death that corruption was everywhere in political and business circles in the tiny EU nation. 
An alleged go-between in the bombing has received immunity from prosecution for alerting authorities to Fenech’s purported involvement. 
 
Three men have been in jail as the alleged bombers, but no trial date for them has been set. 
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Climate activists protested at open-pit coal mines in eastern Germany, pouring onto the premises to urge the government to immediately halt the use of coal to produce electricity.The news agency dpa reported that police estimated more than 2,000 people took part Saturday at sites near Cottbus and Leipzig and that some of the demonstrators scuffled with police. Three officers were reported slightly injured at the Janschwaelde mine near Cottbus. The mine operators, Leag und Mibrag, filed police reports asking for an investigation and possible charges.Burning coal releases carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas blamed by scientists for global warming. The German government plans to end the use of coal by 2038 and spend 40 billion euros ($44 billion) on assistance for the affected mining regions.
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The search and rescue operation for earthquake survivors in Albania has ended, Prime Minister Edi Rama said Saturday.The small town of Thumane, experienced the highest death toll from Tuesday’s quake with 26 people killed, six of whom belonged to one family, and all but one under age 30. They were buried Friday.In the port city of Durres – 30 kilometers west of the capital, Tirana — the quake killed 24.  One person also died in Kurbin.In all, 51 people died, including seven children. Nine-hundred were injured.  More than 5,000 people are without shelter; and 1,200 buildings were destroyed in the 6.4-magnitude quake and the aftershocks that followed.  
 Relatives surround some of the coffins during the funeral of six members of the Cara family, killed during an earthquake that shook Albania, in Thumane, Albania, Nov. 29, 2019.Seismologist Rexhep Koci told VOA that while there is the likelihood for more aftershocks, but they would be weaker.Neighboring countries provide assistanceThe European Union sent crews to help with search and rescue immediately following the quake and now the Albanian government has asked for experts to help assess the damage.
 Volunteers distribute food at a makeshift camp in Durres, after an earthquake shook Albania, November 29, 2019.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.”More than 200 military troops from Albania, Kosovo, Italy, Greece, Montenegro, Serbia, Croatia, France, Turkey, Switzerland, Romania, North Macedonia, the EU and the United States, participated in the search and rescue operation.People spontaneously came from Kosovo, operating mobile kitchens, gathering donations and opening their homes. About 500 homeless Albanians are staying in a camp set up by Kosovo’s government in the city of Prizren. On Friday alone, individuals and businesses from Kosovo delivered 100 tons of much needed necessities.Remembering victimsTirana residents turned out in the city center to honor the victims, placing candles in a makeshift memorial near the statue of Albanian national hero Gjergj Kastrioti, known as Skanderbeg.
Vigil for quake victims in Tirana, Nov 29 video player.
Embed” />Copy LinkVigil for quake victims in TiranaThe state of emergency declared Wednesday for Durres and Thumane was extended to the heavily damaged town of Lac. Prime Minister 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 fiance, Kristi Reci, whose entire family — both parents and her brother — died in Durres.A rescue dog is seen on a collapsed building in Durres, after an earthquake shook Albania, November 29, 2019.Physician Shkelqime 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 Lac.
 
The earthquake struck two days before Albania’s 107th independence day. 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.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 close to $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 Durres, Pellumb Sulo reported from Lac.  
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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said people convicted of terrorism offenses should not be allowed out of prison early after it was revealed the London Bridge attacker was released from jail last year before the end of his sentence.Wearing a fake suicide vest and wielding knives, Usman Khan went on the rampage on Friday afternoon at a conference on criminal rehabilitation beside London Bridge.“I think that the practice of automatic, early release where you cut a sentence in half and let really serious, violent offenders out early simply isn’t working, and you’ve some very good evidence of how that isn’t working, I am afraid, with this case,” Johnson said on Saturday.
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