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VOA news. I'm Christopher Cruise reporting.
Russia and Turkey have agreed to create a demilitarized zone in Syria's Idlib region to separate Syrian government forces from rebel fighters. Idlib is one of the last remaining areas resistant to the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. About half of the population of three million are already displaced from other areas and international observers have voiced concerns that a government offensive would lead to further displacement and a massive loss of civilian life. But on Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin made an announcement after a lengthy meeting in Sochi with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan that a demilitarized zone will be established by October 15. The United States claims Russia is "cheating" on the economic sanctions against North Korea. Associated Press correspondent Warren Levinson reports. At a special meeting of the Security Council, U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley accused Russia of avoiding the sanctions by giving North Korea coal and oil via ship-to-ship transfers evading port security. She said Moscow's also pressuring sanctions monitors to ignore the violations. "Russian corruption is like a virus. It is impeding our ability to achieve complete denuclearization in North Korea." Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia accused Washington of relying only on force to get the North to give up its nuclear program. "Sanctions cannot replace diplomacy in the event," he said. Warren Levinson, New York. A huge storm that left a trail of death and destruction in its path from the Philippines to southern China is moving out of the region. More than 2.4 million people had been evacuated from China's Guangdong province before the storm arrived. It's China's most populous province. In Hong Kong, the storm blew out windows and affected all modes of transportation. This is VOA news. Heavy flooding and high winds from a powerful storm that spread across the southeastern U.S. has caused at least 17 deaths since Thursday. Some parts of North Carolina have received about 100 centimeters of rain. Totals of about 50 centimeters have been reported across wider areas. The Trump administration is drastically cutting the number of refugees it lets into the country. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday announced that 30,000 refugees will be allowed in the United States in 2019 that would be the lowest number admitted since the program was established in 1980. A new study says two million teenagers in the U.S. are vaping marijuana. Associated Press correspondent Ed Donahue reports. A school-based survey shows 1 in 11 middle school and high school students have used an e-cigarette-like device to smoke pot. Vaping is generally considered less dangerous than smoking, because burning tobacco or marijuana generates chemicals that are harmful to the lungs. There is little research so far on the impact of e-cigarettes. A researcher with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says cannabis use among young people can have an adverse effect on learning and memory and may hold back later academic achievement and education. Students who said they lived with a tobacco user were more likely than others to report vaping marijuana. I'm Ed Donahue. The Commission of Inquiry on Burundi says it's worried about the persistent and widespread violations of human rights in Burundi, some of which it says a crimes against humanity. Correspondent Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from Geneva. The Commission accuses members of the National Intelligence Service, including senior officials and the police, of serious violations. It also expresses concern by the growing role played by the youth militia, the Imbonerakure, in controlling the population. The government of Burundi has refused to cooperate with the Commission, declaring its members persona non grata. The Commission has collected more than 400 testimonies from victims and witnesses in neighboring countries, as well as remotely from Burundians residing in the country. Guatemala says it will not allow the head of the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala to return to the country, defying an order by the constitutional court. Late Sunday, the country's top court ruled that President Jimmy Morales must let Ivan Velasquez back into the country. But Interior Minister Enrique Degenhart announced Monday that the administration would defy the court order. Morales has come under international condemnation for announcing in late August that he was closing the commission. 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. |