VOA NEWS

November 25, 2018

This is VOA news. I'm David Byrd in Washington.



Mexico's incoming government says it does not plan to assume the role of safe third country for migrants seeking asylum in the United States after Andrés Manuel López Obrador is sworn in as president December 1.

Incoming Interior Minister Olga Sánchez said in a statement Saturday that "There is no agreement of any sort between the incoming Mexican government and the U.S. government."

She said the future government's principal concern related to the migrants is their well-being in Mexico.

The Washington Post reported Saturday that the Trump administration had won support from the president-elect's team for asylum seekers to wait in Mexico while their claims move through U.S. courts.



The Trump administration has presented the government facilities for immigrant youths are being detained as caring and safe places for children. But as AP correspondent Ben Thomas reports, the reality can be something quite different.

About 14,000 immigrant children are currently detained in more than 100 facilities around the nation. The Trump administration has presented those facilities as caring, safe places for children.

But records obtained by The Associated Press indicate they may be overtaxed, with children acting out, sometimes hitting each other or trying to escape, while staff members struggle to deal with escalating problems.

Doctors warned that detaining children for long periods of time can be traumatic, particularly for those who have undertaken long dangerous journeys fleeing violence and poverty.

Operators of facilities along the border maintain they are reporting problems and are committed to correcting them even as the number of children in such facilities multiplies.

I'm Ben Thomas.



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The second leg of the Copa Libertadores football final between Argentine clubs River Plate and Boca Juniors was suspended Saturday after Boca players were hurt when their bus was attacked outside the stadium by River fans.

The president of the South American Football Confederation told reporters that one cannot play in these conditions.

The match was rescheduled for Sunday, kicking off at 20:00 UTC.

Earlier, the match had been delayed when the Boca team's bus was damaged and several players injured when River fans threw rocks and other objects [as] at the bus as it entered the stadium.

Boca and River drew on the first leg 2-2 November 11.



Police fired tear gas and turned water cannon on protesters in Paris who were angry over rising fuel costs and President Emmanual Macron's economic policies.

Reuters correspondent Francis Maguire reports.

This weekend marks the second of so-called "yellow vest" protests across France. This time, they converged on the French capital's iconic Champs-Élysée.

Some clashed with police. About 3,000 officers were sent to prevent the demonstrators from reaching the president's Élysée Palace nearby.

The protesters are opposed to taxes Macron introduced last year on diesel and gasoline, which are designed to encourage people to shift more environmentally friendly transports. Alongside the tax, the government has also offered incentives to buy green or electric vehicles.

Reuters correspondent Francis Maguire.



European Council President Donald Tusk and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez agreed to a deal Saturday on the future of Gibraltar, removing a key obstacle one day before European Union ministers meet to endorse the Brexit deal.

Spain had demanded changes to the agreement and an accompanying declaration on a new EU-Britain relationship to clarify that the future of Gibraltar be decided in direct talks between Madrid and London.

But Gibraltar's Chief Minister Fabian Picardo said that his country has no interest in being under Spanish control.

"We are not interested in any dilution of our sovereignty. We are not interested in allowing for even the remotest concession to Spanish sovereignty, jurisdiction or control."

Spain does not currently have veto power on the Brexit agreement, but it could prevent any free-trade deal between Britain and the European Union, which would require the approval of all 27 EU member states.



And archaeologists in Egypt discovered a new tomb from the pharaonic age in Luxor. The site contained the mummies of a priest and his wife as well as several colorful sarcophagi, paintings and thousands of statutes.



I'm David Byrd, VOA news.