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From Washington, this is VOA news. I'm David DeForest reporting. Austria approves strict asylum laws.
The bill permits the Austrian government to declare a "state of emergency" if migrant numbers suddenly rise. The law also stipulates that asylum seekers would be turned back directly at the border, including those from war-torn countries like Syria. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is concerned about actions such as the one taken by Austria. "Such policies and measures negatively affect the obligations of member states on the international humanitarian law and European law." :Ban Ki-moon. An airstrike in Syria has destroyed a hospital in Aleppo supported by Doctors Without Borders. At least 20 people were killed in the bombing. Among the dead were two doctors, including the last pediatrician working in rebel-controlled areas of Aleppo. The airstrike was part of a violent 24 hours in Aleppo which saw more than 60 people killed in fighting between Syrian forces and rebels. United Nations envoy Staffan de Mistura says the February cessation of hostilities that he helped negotiate "hangs by a thread" and could totally collapse at any time. North Korea has apparently test-fired an intermediate-range missile. The missile is believed to have crashed seconds after takeoff in what appears to be the second such failure in a matter of weeks. Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger has denied signing any agreement with the Chinese government that would allow China to occupy the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea. Meanwhile, the U.S. is increasing cooperation with Asian allies to counter China's assertive behavior in the South China Sea. Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Thursday. This is VOA news. U.S. Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump says Democrat Hillary Clinton would have no chance at the presidency except that she is playing what he called the "woman's card" in hopes of becoming the first female U.S. president. Trump campaigned Thursday in Indiana, which he sees as crucial to winning the nomination. "With a long way to go although we don't have a long way if I can win in Indiana. If I win, it's over. It's over. If we win in Indiana, it's over." Opinion polls show Democrat Hillary Clinton has about a nine percent advantage over Trump [worldwide] nationwide, rather. U.S. economic growth slowed in the first few months of 2016. A report Thursday by the Commerce Department shows growth in that period was much slower than the last quarter of the year - only at an annual rate of one and one-half percent. The South Sudanese government and opposition officials say they are moving closer to forming a transitional government. President Salva Kiir's spokesman said the current cabinet will likely be dissolved "any time now." He said Mr. Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar are finalizing consultations on the formation of a transitional government. The United Nations Security Council removed a 12-year-old arms embargo on Ivory Coast Thursday and renewed the U.N. peacekeeping mission in the country for another year. The embargo was imposed in 2004 after the country's civil war. The Iraqi government has shut down the Al-Jazeera office in Baghdad Iraq's Communications and Media Commission decided to revoke the news agency's license and close its office for one year effective Wednesday. The government cited what it called Al-Jazeera's "continuing violations" of the rules issued to regulate coverage of "the war on terror." Iraqi authorities have long believed Al-Jazeera's media coverage as hostile to Iraq's Shi'ite majority and too friendly toward the Islamic State group. Hundreds of protesters demonstrated outside the U.S. embassy in Myanmar Thursday over its use of the term Rohingya to describe the country's ethnic Muslim group. The protesters, [joined some] joined by some Buddhist monks, are calling on the group to be referred to as "Bengalis," insisting they are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. Turkey says it has arrested 12 people in connection with Wednesday's bomb attack in the northwestern city of Bursa, in which 13 people were wounded. The state-run news agency said police detained 12 people in the town [and] as well as in Istanbul and two other cities. A female bomber blew herself up Wednesday near a mosque in Bursa's historic district, a popular tourist destination. There has been no claim of responsibility. In Washington, I'm David DeForest. That's the latest world news from VOA. |