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This is VOA news. I'm Marissa Melton.
The United States is preparing to pull all of its troops out of Syria. AP's Sagar Meghani has more. American troops are scrambling for the exits in Syria ahead of a full pullout. A U.S. defense officials says U.S. forces are consolidating their positions in northern Syria and getting ready to evacuate equipment. The withdrawal is raising questions including whether the Trump administration plans to keep pressuring the Islamic State militants in Syria and how it would do that without a troop presence. The defense official says among the options being considered, fighting the militants through a combination of air power and special operations forces based outside the country. In the meantime, President Trump is threatening big economic sanctions against Turkey for its invasion of northern Syria, an extraordinary step toward a NATO ally. Sagar Meghani, Washington. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday called for the immediate de-escalation of the situation in northeastern Syria as the humanitarian situation rapidly worsens. Guterres did not call for the offensive to end but he urged maximum restraint and said any military operation must fully respect international law, including the protection of civilians. Turkey began a military incursion into northeastern Syria on Wednesday, targeting the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces or SDF. Ankara considers the fighters to be terrorists aligned with separatists inside Turkey. Western countries view the SDF as a key ally in the fight against the self-described Islamic State terror group. Of the three million people living in northeastern Syria, the United Nations says 1.8 million were already in need of assistance before Turkey's incursion started last week. More on this and other stories is available online at voanews.com. This is VOA news. Hong Kong police said a homemade bomb was set off near a police car Sunday in a sharp escalation in violent protests that have been going on for months. The remote-controlled device caused no damage or injuries but was intended to injure all officers, according to a deputy police commissioner. The small bomb went off late Sunday as officers arrived to clear roadblocks set up by protesters in Kowloon district. While the vast majority of protests have been peaceful, there have been increasing incidents of violence, during which masked activists have vandalized businesses and the city's subway system and attacked police with bricks and homemade gasoline bombs. Ecuador's President Lenin Moreno said he struck a deal late on Sunday with indigenous leaders who've mobilized thousands of protesters against a decree that slashed fuel subsidies, agreeing to replace with one that does more to help the most needy. Michelle Hennessy reports. Celebrations in Ecuador as President Moreno agreed to axe his fuel subsidy cuts that sent transport and food prices soaring. Announcement of the cuts unleashed the worst unrest the country has seen in more than a decade with scenes the president had described as near-apocalyptic. Moreno reached a deal with indigenous leaders who led the protests after three hours of televised negotiations on Sunday. He's agreed to replace his decree with one that will help the most vulnerable Ecuadorians in exchange for the indigenous leaders to call off the protests, which left the capital Quito resembling a war zone. Half a dozen people have been killed during the protests, which forced the government out of the capital and led to Moreno imposing an indefinite curfew. That's Reuters Michelle Hennessy reporting. The U.S. Census Bureau is asking states for drivers' license information. Matt Small reports. The U.S. Census Bureau is asking all 50 states for drivers' license information months following an order by President Trump to collect citizenship data. A state Motor Vehicle Administrators Association says most, if not all, states have received requests from the Census Bureau for information that includes citizenship status, race, date of birth and addresses. The bureau also filed a formal request last month asking states to hand over records about recipients of public programs while the request doesn't explicitly mention citizenship information. Some observers say the timing suggests the connection to Trump's July executive order. The move comes after the U.S. Supreme Court blocked plans to include a citizenship question in the government's 2020 population count. Matt Small, Washington. I'm Marissa Melton. You're listening to VOA news. |