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VOA news. I'm Christopher Cruise reporting.
Mandatory evacuation orders are in effect for coastal areas of some southeastern U.S. states as forecasters and officials urge people to prepare for devastating winds and heavy rains from an approaching powerful hurricane. The governor of South Carolina has ordered the entire coastline to evacuate, predicting as many as one million people could flee. President Trump says the federal government and the military are standing by to help. Associated Press Washington correspondent Sagar Meghani reports from the Pentagon. The president says the federal government's "absolutely totally prepared" and ready to help. Here at the Pentagon, defense chief Jim Mattis says the military standing by. "The warning orders are out and the units are alerted: Better to be ready to go in the wake of it," specifying help with the wall of water Florence is expected to unleash on the eastern seaboard. While the military's ready to help, it's also been taking care of its own. "We've sortied or are in the process of sortieing our ships and aircraft out of the Norfolk area and out of the Carolinas." Sagar Meghani, at the Pentagon. Pope Francis will meet Thursday with American Catholic Church leaders to talk about the church's sexual abuse scandal in the United States and the coverup of years of allegations against hundreds of priests. Chinese officials have written new regulations that would severely restrict religious content online, including images or even descriptions of religious activities. The regulations are part of China's ever stronger restrictions on religion, especially for followers of Islam and Christianity. The new rules would only allow members of officially licensed organization to post certain kinds of religious content, according to a draft document published online by the bureau of religious affairs. This is VOA news. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres appealed Tuesday for the parties in Syria to avoid a full-scale battle for Idlib. Some 3 million civilians are living in the northwestern governorate, and the U.N. has repeatedly warned that there will be a humanitarian catastrophe if there is a military escalation there. Correspondent Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from Geneva. A spokesman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Jens Laerke, says conversations with Syrian officials indicate the government is intent on retaking this last rebel-held enclave and will push for a military solution. He calls this a very scary prospect. "We are saying that this has the potential to be the worst crisis, humanitarian crisis in the 21st century because that is frankly what it looks like, if it goes ahead with a full-scale military operation." Lisa Schlein, for VOA news, Geneva. Zimbabwe has declared a cholera emergency in the capital, Harare, after 20 people died and more than 2,000 cases were related to the waterborne diseases such as salmonella, typhoid and cholera. Correspondent Columbus Mavhunga reports for VOA from the capital. Zimbabwe's new health minister, Obadiah Moyo, on Tuesday told reporters that poor water supply, blocked sewers, and a failure to collect waste were making a cholera outbreak in the capital worse. In Budiriro, one of the most affected areas, people say they have yet to receive clean water. A 2008 cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe lasted over a year and killed about 5,000 people. Columbus Mavhunga, for VOA news, Harare. The rapidly warming ties between Eritrea and Ethiopian have taken another step forward. Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed opened two checkpoints two decades after they were closed. About a million protesters gathered in Barcelona Tuesday to demand independence from the Spanish government for the Catalonia Region. Regional leader Quim Torra encouraged people earlier this week to march on the region's national holiday to protest the imprisonment of separatist leaders who implemented a [succession] secession referendum last October. That referendum led the regional parliament to declare independence a year ago. Spain, however, has remained in control of the wealthy northwestern region despite the declaration and has been prosecuting and imprisoning many of the region's political leaders. You can find more on these and other late breaking and developing stories, from around the world, around the clock, at voanews.com and on the VOA news mobile app. I'm Christopher Cruise, VOA news. |