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VOA news. I'm Christopher Cruise reporting.
Flags on U.S. government buildings across the country will be flown at half-staff over the next three days to honor the victims of the Pittsburgh synagogue massacre. President Trump calls the move "a mark of solemn respect for the victims of the terrible act of violence." He also ordered flags lowered at all U.S. embassies, consular offices, military facilities, and Naval ships. Interfaith vigils were held from coast-to-coast Sunday and in many Canadian cities. A number of National Football League games held moments of silence before kickoff. The Vancouver Canucks professional hockey team also paused before their game with the Pittsburgh Penguins in Vancouver to remember the dead. And the Eiffel Tower in Paris was darkened Sunday night. Officials in Pittsburgh are calling what happened at the Tree of Life synagogue a "hate crime," saying suspected gunman Robert Bowers shouted anti-Jewish threats as he opened fire. Bowers was armed with an AR-15 assault rifle and three handguns. The man who was arrested and charged with mailing at least 13 packages containing explosive devices to critics of President Trump is expected to make his first court appearance on Monday. Cesar Sayoc is a man with a long criminal record. He now faces five serious charges. The Democratic Republic of Congo's Health Ministry said Sunday that children are dying from Ebola at an unprecedented rate largely because of poor sanitary practices at clinics run by traditional healers. The Health Ministry says of 120 confirmed Ebola cases in the city, at least 30 are under 10 and 27 of them have died. This is VOA news. U.S. Homeland Security chief Kirstjen Nielsen had a blunt message Sunday to a migrant caravan slowly moving north through Mexico toward the United States. She told Fox News she would tell them "Do not come." She said, "There's a right and legal way to enter this country," by filing U.S. asylum claims while they are in Mexico. "This is about the rule of law." Nielsen said, "We have a crisis on the border," with U.S. officials apprehending 1,500 to 1,700 migrants a day as they cross into the United States. Separately, Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis said Pentagon officials are working out details on the deployment of several hundred troops to the southern U.S. border. They will join more than 2,000 members of the National Guard already deployed to the area who are providing support for Border Patrol agents. Voters in Brazil chose a new president Sunday. Observers say the country may be set to elect a far-right candidate. His opponents say his victory would threaten one of the world's largest democracies. Sunday's election is the second and final round of voting in the Brazilian presidential selection process. The first round of voting on October 7 narrowed the field of candidates to two. Public anger in Brazil has grown as Latin America's largest economy has been stuck in recession since 2014, as the political establishment has been rocked by a high-level corruption scandal, and as crime and murder rates have spiked. Voters in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia chose a new president Sunday. There were 25 candidates. If none of them wins more than 50 percent of the votes, a runoff between the two top vote getters will be held no later December 1. The Black Sea country is transitioning to a parliamentary form of government. And the top story of the hour, police investigating the shooting at a Jewish religious center in the eastern city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that left 11 people dead say the suspected gunman shouted anti-Jewish threats as he opened fire on Saturday morning. 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. |