VOA NEWS

September 17, 2019

This VOA news. I'm Jim Bertel.



U.S. President Donald Trump says the U.S. is "locked and loaded" after the attack on Saudi oil facilities.

And analysts are warning that if the price of oil stays at record highs, it could further risk a global recession.

Reuters Michelle Hennessy reports.

"Locked and loaded," that's the message from President Donald Trump, who said the U.S. was primed after weekend attacks on the world's largest oil-processing facility in Saudi Arabia.

Trump tweeted on Sunday, saying "There is reason to believe that we know the culprit."

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also took to Twitter, blaming Iran for the attack on state oil giant Aramco, instead of Yemen's Houthi rebels who have claimed responsibility.

So far, Iran has denied involvement in the strikes, which have wiped out five percent of global oil production but have warned they're ready for full-fledged war.

It's inflaming investor concerns about the state of U.S.-Iran relations and stability in the Middle East.

That's Reuters Michelle Hennessy reporting.



Tunisians voted Sunday to select their next president among some two dozen candidates with unofficial results suggesting two outsider candidates are ahead.



Members of the United Auto Workers union began a strike Monday against General Motors as the two sides remain apart on the terms of a new contract.

Talks are set to resume today, but plants that make cars and parts in nine states will be closed with nearly 50,000 workers off the job.



Forecasters say the east coast of Florida will likely escape damage as Tropical Storm Humberto is expected to remain well offshore through Wednesday.

Earlier, forecasters had said that it was already moving away from the Bahamas, which is still reeling from Hurricane Dorian.



This is VOA news.



Purdue Pharma, the maker of prescription painkiller OxyContin, has filed for bankruptcy protection in a U.S. court.

The company is facing numerous lawsuits from local and state governments and other plaintiffs alleging it aggressively marketed dangerous, addictive painkillers that helped fuel the opioid crisis in the United States.

AP's Julie Walker has more.

The bankruptcy filing comes days after Purdue Pharma reached a tentative settlement, which could be worth up to $12 billion overtime, with many of the more than 2,000 local and state governments across the country that are suing the company over its role in the opioid crisis.

But the holdouts include more than half the states and some of them are expected to object to the settlement in bankruptcy court and continue their lawsuits against the Sackler family, which owns the company.

I'm Julie Walker.



There was more violence in Hong Kong Sunday as protests that started over a now-revoked extradition bill entered into the 99th day.

Reuters Matthew Larotonda has more.

Protesters in Hong Kong threw bricks at police and Molotov cocktails on Sunday, capping another weekend of violence in the city. Police responded with water cannon and tear gas.

The protests are in their fourth month.

The withdrawal of the controversial Chinese extradition bill that sparked the civil unrest hasn't stopped it. Instead, it's morphed into broader demonstrations against Beijing and erosion of the island's autonomy.

Protesters are also pleading for help from the West.

That's Reuters Matthew Larotonda reporting.



The World Health Organization is calling for urgent action to end bad health care practices around the world. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from Geneva on the findings of the report.

The World Health Organization reports one in ten patients is harmed in high-income countries. It says 134 million patients in low-and-middle-income countries are harmed because of unsafe care leading to 2.6 million deaths annually. WHO notes most of these deaths are avoidable.

Neelam Dhingra-Kuram is WHO coordinator of Patient Safety and Risk Management.

"... in the health care facilities in the system, there is lack of patient safety culture. So, lack of open communication, lack of systems to learn from mistakes and errors."

Besides the avoidable and tragic loss of life, patient harm leads to economic losses of trillions of dollars globally each year.

Lisa Schlein, for VOA news, Geneva.



Thirty-six people are missing after a boat sank in the Congo River on the outskirts of Kinshasa. Police say 76 people survived.



For more on this story or any of today's news, please visit us at voanews.com or download the VOA mobile app. In Washington, I'm Jim Bertel, VOA news.