VOA NEWS

October 16, 2019

This is VOA news. I'm Joe Parker.



The Trump administration is pressing Turkey to end its military action in Syria.

AP correspondent Mike Gracia reports.

Facing mounting criticism for the pull-out of U.S. troops from Syria that preceded Turkey's ongoing military assault, the Trump administration is on the defensive.

Speaking to reporters outside the White House late Monday, Vice President Mike Pence pushed back on the charge that President Trump gave Turkey the go-ahead for its offensive.

"The United States of America did not give a green light to Turkey to invade Syria." Pence added that in a call with Turkish leader Erdoğan earlier Monday Trump called for an immediate end to Turkey's military action in Syria.

Mike Gracia, Washington.

And the administration now puts the blame on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for the resurgence of Islamic State, a growing humanitarian crisis and possible war crimes.



The Texas police officer who shot and killed a black woman in her home has been charged with murder. Aaron Dean was arrested just hours after he resigned from the Fort Worth police force on Monday.

"... an open structure call is something that you will typically park down the street and approach cautiously ...."

Edwin Kraus is the police chief for Fort Worth, Texas.

"Had the officer not resigned, I would have fired him for violations of several policies, including our use of force policy, our de-escalation policy and unprofessional conduct."

Late Monday, Dean was released from jail after paying $200,000 bail bond.

Dean, who is white, shot 28-year-old Atatiana Jefferson, who is black, through a house window on Saturday after a neighbor called a non-emergency police line to report Jefferson's front door had been left open. Jefferson was in the house with her 8-year-old nephew.

The Texas police officer who shot and her was arrested just hours after he resigned from the force.

One of the officers can be heard yelling, "Put your hands up, show me your hands" before a shot is heard.



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A dozen Democratic presidential candidates will be on stage for the party's next primary debate Tuesday in the state of Ohio.

This will be the fourth Democratic debate since June and will feature the largest group on stage for a single debate. Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard and Tom Steyer, a former hedge fund investor and environmental activist, will join the ten Democrats who took part in the previous debate in September.

It is unlikely that the impeachment inquiry targeting President Donald Trump will be a major focus of discussion this evening.



At least one Republican lawmaker is once again calling for open testimony after a former aide to President Trump testified during a closed session of the impeachment inquiry. Fiona Hill, the senior director for European and Russian affairs on President Trump's National Security Council until July when she left the White House, was expected shed light into the dismissal of the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch, who testified last week also in closed session.

Republican Congressman Lee Zeldin questions the validity of the ongoing impeachment inquiry by House Democrats.

"... this was another day in Adam Schiff's kangaroo court. This morning we put a request in with the parliamentarian were still waiting for an answer which House rule governs any of this. I've asked Adam Schiff this at the beginning of the second deposition. We've now made the request this morning to the parliamentarian this morning. We're waiting for an answer."

Mr. Trump in a late July phone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked for a favor that Ukraine investigate the Bidens and reach out to Rudy Giuliani and President Trump's attorney general William Barr that prompted the impeachment inquiry proceedings.



Spain's Supreme Court on Monday jailed nine Catalan separatist leaders for between 9 and 13 years for their role in a failed independence bid, with more Jillian Kitchener from Reuters.

Before Madrid stepped in to impose direct rule, the nine Catalan leaders were jailed for sedition while another three were convicted of disobedience and not given prison sentences. All were cleared of the gravest charge - rebellion.

After its ruling, the Supreme Court issued a European arrest warrant for Carles Puigdemont, the former regional head of Catalonia who lives in self-imposed exile in Belgium.

He called the sentences an "atrocity" and said now is the "time to react like never before."

Spain's government has said it's ready to take direct control of Catalonia once again if secessionist leaders there break the law.



For more on all these stories, visit our website at voanews.com. I'm Joe Parker, VOA news.