VOA NEWS

October 19, 2019

This is VOA news. I'm David Byrd.



As fighting eased between Turkish and Kurdish forces in northeast Syria, U.S. President Donald Trump expressed optimism Friday that a deal between Turkey and the United States will hold.

We get more from VOA's Steve Herman at the White House.

The situation on the ground in northeast Syria is very fragile, acknowledges the U.S. president who spoke to reporters at the White House on Friday after a telephone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

"And sometimes you have to go through some pain before you can get a good solution. But the Kurds are very happy about it. President Erdoğan and Turkey is satisfied with it."

Defense Secretary Mark Esper says no U.S. ground forces will be enforcing the safe zone during the agreed 120-hour pause in the fighting.

"No U.S. ground forces will participate in the enforcement of the safe zone."

Steve Herman, VOA news, at the White House.



Meanwhile, President Trump is battling his acting chief of staff after remarks Thursday that undermined the administration's defense in the congressional impeachment probe.

AP's Sagar Meghani has more.

Mick Mulvaney told reporters the administration withheld aid to Ukraine while pushing it to investigate the 2016 election.

"That's why we held up the money", essentially acknowledging what the president's been denying for weeks.

"There is no pro quo."

Hours later, Mulvaney claimed that's what he's said, the president's on his side.

"I think he clarified it."

But Republican Congressman Francis Rooney says "It's not an Etch a Sketch."

Mulvaney's statement cannot just be undone.

With others also worried, House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy's trying to contain the fallout.

"I think what Mick clarified in his statement was very clear," that there was not a quid pro quo, which is what McCarthy says witnesses in the impeachment probe have been saying behind closed doors.

Sagar Meghani, at the White House.



This is VOA news.



British Prime Minister Boris Johnson puts his last-minute Brexit deal to a vote in an extraordinary sitting of the British Parliament on Saturday.

AP correspondent Charles De Ledesma has more.

Johnson now needs to secure enough support to get the new EU divorce deal through the fractious British Parliament in a special sitting on Saturday and it's expected to be a knife-edge vote.

The Conservative Party doesn't have a majority in the 650-seat House of Commons so Johnson will have to rely on support from other parties and independent lawmakers to get over the line.

But one former ally, the DUP, says the deal is bad for Northern Ireland. The group's lawmakers are not expected to support it.

Charles De Ledesma, London.



Hong Kong is bracing for its 20th straight weekend of protests. As VOA's Anita Powell reports, neither the protesters nor the city's leader, Carrie Lam, appear ready to compromise.

On Friday, more than 1,000 people flooded the city's financial center, marching past banks and luxury stores, drawing hordes of curious onlookers and bringing traffic to a stop.

Many protesters did not provide their full names out of fear of retribution from law enforcement. Police have outlawed unauthorized protests and wearing of face coverings during public gatherings.

Young people have played a central role in these leaderless protests. One-third of the more than 2,200 people arrested have been under the age of 18.

More protests are planned this weekend though they have not received police permission. Protests are also planned for every weekend for the rest of the year - or until one of these entrenched sides gives in.

Anita Powell, VOA news, Hong Kong.



Demonstrators demanding Catalonia's independence and the release of separatist leaders from prison jammed downtown Barcelona Friday night as the northeastern Spanish region endured a fifth straight day of unrest.

The demonstrations were mostly peaceful though police did clash with a few hundred young protesters who hurled bottles, eggs and paint at the gates of the police headquarters in the city center.

Demonstrators also burned large trash containers before police responded with rubber bullets and tear gas.

Around 400 people, roughly half of them police officers, have been injured and 128 arrested since separatist sentiment surged on Monday. That was when the Supreme Court sentenced nine separatist politicians and activists to lengthy prison terms.



A down day on Wall Street, with all three major indices closing lower. The Dow lost 0.95 percent. The S&P dropped by 0.39 percent. The NASDAQ fell by 0.38 percent.



For more, be sure to visit our website voanews.com. I'm David Byrd, VOA news.