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VOA news. I'm Christopher Cruise reporting.
Zimbabwe is retrieving and burying bodies as Mozambique begins three days of national mourning for the victims of a cyclone. AP correspondent Charles De Ledesma reports that aid has begun arriving in the region among the early responders, India. The full number of cyclone victims and the extent of the damage done will only be known when torrential floodwaters recede. Persistent rains are forecast so it will be days before the plains of Mozambique drain toward the Indian Ocean. Zimbabwe's president will visit the hard-hit mountain community on the eastern border with Mozambique. Officials say some 300 people may have died in Zimbabwe as a result of the floods. Mozambican officials say its death toll is 200 and rising. A reporter earlier in the week predicted the full number to be more like 1,000. I'm Charles De Ledesma. And the U.N. World Food Program said it was transporting enough aid for 600,000 people. The U.N. said it has allocated $20 million from its Central Emergency Response Fund and is urging other donors to contribute. As New Zealand police continue to work with families to positively identify those slain in last Friday's attack at two mosques in Christchurch, members of the community buried their dead Wednesday and tried to press forward with their lives. Two of the 50 victims were laid to rest in Memorial Park Cemetery Wednesday. As of late Tuesday, 21 of the 50 had been identified and were being made available to be released to their families. A United Nations court has increased to life in prison the sentence for convicted Bosnian Serb war criminal Radovan Karadžić after hearing his appeal of the original sentence. He appeared Wednesday before the International Criminal Tribunal in The Hague. This is VOA news. The U.S. special representative for Venezuela, Elliott Abrams, has been meeting in Rome for talks on the political crisis in the South American country. Correspondent Sabina Castelfranco reporting for VOA says while the talks were inconclusive, there are suggestions they were fruitful. Following a meeting with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, Abrams said, "We did not come to a meeting of the minds, but the talks were positive in the sense that I think both sides emerged with a better understanding of the other's views." The two sides remain at odds over the legitimacy of Venezuelan President Nicholás Maduro. The United States has recognized self-declared President Juan Guaidó as Venezuela's legitimate leader, while Russia continues to recognize Mr. Maduro. Officials in Afghanistan have delayed the country's presidential election for a second time, setting September 28 as the new date for the ballot. They also announced Wednesday that provincial council elections in all 34 Afghan provinces will also be held on the same date. Malawi's Electoral Commission has officially launched campaigning for May elections with calls for an end to political violence. Malawians will be choosing lawmakers in the National Assembly and voting for president. The new head of the Environmental Protection Agency in the U.S. says climate change is not the world's biggest environmental threat. That came as news to many people in the world's scientific community. AP Washington correspondent Shelley Adler reports. The battle over the environment continues, with EPA Andrew Wheeler telling CBS News that climate change is "an important issue" but he adds most of the threats it poses are "50 to 75 years out." Chris Field runs for the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment. "It is true that if we don't do anything, we'll face catastrophic risks 50 years from now. But the time to address those catastrophic risks 50 years from now is today. If we wait even five years, it's too late." Other climate scientists see the necessity for broad and immediate action to address global warming and the U.N. says "now is the defining moment to do something about it." Shelley Adler, Washington. President Trump told reporters at the White House on Wednesday that tariffs on China are likely to remain in place for a while even if a trade deal is reached. He said the talks are "coming along nicely. We're taking in billions and billions of dollars right now in tariff money, and for a period of time," he said, "that will stay." He said of China, "They've had a lot of problems living by certain deals." 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. |