VOA NEWS

November 30, 2017

From Washington, this is VOA news. I'm Jonathan Jones reporting.



President Trump says "major sanctions" will be imposed on North Korea after the North tested an intercontinental ballistic missile. Experts say it's likely capable of hitting anywhere in the U.S. mainland.

In a tweet Wednesday, President Trump said he spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping about what Trump called the "provocative actions" of North Korea and he again promised that "the situation will be handled." He did not say any more.

North Korea on Wednesday said it had tested a missile and it was "tipped with a super-large heavy warhead which is capable of striking the whole mainland of the U.S."



Suspected militants attacked worshipers outside a Shi'ite Muslim mosque, killing at least one person and wounding four others late Wednesday in the Pakistani capital.

Police said four gunmen arrived on motorbikes at the mosque in Islamabad's I-8 residential [center] sector, that is, and opened fire on worshipers as they were coming out after their evening prayers.

Members of the minority Shi'ite community swiftly took to the streets to protest the violence and denounce the government for failing to protect them.

No one claimed responsibility for the violence. Security cameras installed around the mosque did capture video of gunmen spraying bullets using automatic weapons before fleeing the scene.

Militant groups from the majority Sunni Muslim population in Pakistan are blamed for being behind the sectarian violence. The rivalry between the two Muslim sects in the country has claimed thousands of lives over the years.



This is VOA news.



Zimbabwe's high court has acquitted a prominent pastor who was arrested for criticizing now former President Robert Mugabe.

Human rights groups say Wednesday's ruling is a clear message for the new government of President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Sebastian Mhofu reports for VOA from Harare.

Pastor Evan Mawarire ??? the air before smiling. Afterward, he spoke to reporters.

"So the citizens of Zimbabwe, none of us should ever be afraid to animate on constitution. Worst I'm elated and excited that the result.... I am saddened that this is what we have to be go through for freedoms and rights in our own nation. One does hope that as our country changes and begins to move forward, that things like this should never, ever be allowed to happen to the citizens of this nation."

Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights says Wednesday's ruling puts the new government on notice.

However, Mawarire's legal troubles are not over yet. If he faces another charge of that ??? follow his arrest in September of this year after he called for more anti-government protests, the debt has not been set for that trial."

Sebastian Mhofu, for VOA news, Harare.



President Trump has re-tweeted three inflammatory anti-Muslim videos that had been posted on Twitter by a far-right British politician, triggering condemnation, repudiation and fears of a backlash against Muslim Americans.

British Prime Minister Theresa May chastised Trump, saying he had been "wrong" to spread "hateful narratives" that "peddle lies and stoke tensions." In a statement read by a spokesperson, May called the Britain First party "the antithesis of the values of our country."



Two major American broadcasters were abruptly fired Wednesday over allegations of sexual misconduct.

NBC's Matt Lauer and public radio's Garrison Keillor are among the latest famous figures to either lose their jobs or fight for their political and professional survival because of alleged inappropriate behavior towards women.

NBC fired [Laura] Lauer just hours before he was to have taken up his regular chore as host of the early morning Today show.

Minnesota Public Radio gave no details of the allegations of Garrison Keillor, its flagship personality, fired him for what it calls "improper behavior."



There is more on these and other late breaking and developing stories from around the world at voanews.com. I'm Jonathan Jones reporting from the world headquarters of the Voice of America in Washington.

That's the latest world news from VOA.