VOA NEWS

October 31, 2019

This is VOA news. I'm Marissa Melton.



Two career U.S. diplomats on Wednesday are telling the impeachment inquiry targeting President Trump that the president held a deeply negative view of Ukraine as a corrupt country.

Catherine Croft was working as a Ukraine specialist on the National Security Council at the White House. She said she received multiple unexplained calls from Robert Livingston, a former U.S. Republican lawmaker turned lobbyist, telling her that the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine should be fired.

On Tuesday, U.S. Army officer Alexander Vindman, a member of the White House National Security staff, said he alerted his superiors because he was so concerned when Mr. Trump urged Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden.

Some Republicans have voiced anger over those comments. AP's Sagar Meghani has more.

Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman was in full uniform with decorations including a Combat Infantry Badge and a Purple Heart after being wounded in Iraq.

He came to the U.S. as a toddler from the former Soviet Union and some Trump allies are trying to discredit him.

Former GOP Congressman Sean Duffy appeared to question Vindman's loyalty on CNN by saying he has "an affinity" for Ukraine. Number three House Republican Liz Cheney says enough. "... we need to show that we are better than that as a nation."

And while the GOP may not agree with Vindman, criticizing his patriotism is shameful. "... we're talking about decorated veterans who have served this nation, who have put their lives on the line."

Sagar Meghani, at the White House.



Reports from the Iraqi city of Karbala say gunmen opened fire on anti-government protesters overnight, killing 18 and wounding hundreds.

Some witnesses say the attackers were Iraqi security personnel though that has not been confirmed.

One report puts the number of wounded at well over 800.

Karbala's governor denies anyone was killed.



This is VOA news.



A new wildfire has broken out in Southern California near the Ronald Reagan Library and that area is being evacuated.

Meanwhile, large numbers of Californians are coping with power blackouts meant to prevent more wildfires.

With more, here is AP correspondent Rita Foley.

Pacific Gas and Electric is blacking out about a million and a half residents in about 30 counties to keep high winds from knocking down power lines and starting more fires.

This is the third shutoff in a week.

Collin Davis works at a grocery store north of San Francisco that had closed for the time being because the power's off.

"Everybody's losing money. The companies are losing money. The employees are losing money."

Jennifer ??? owns a store in northern California and she understands why PG&E is doing has but

"long term, we're gonna have a better solution than just ...."

I'm Rita Foley.



The United Nations refugee agency says tens of thousands of Syrian Kurds have been displaced by the Turkish invasion of their lands and that even more are in need of humanitarian aid.

Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from Geneva.

The offensive began after the U.S. Trump administration announced it was withdrawing U.S. troops who have been allied with the Syrian Kurds in the region. The Kurds, who have lost thousands of people in fighting against Islamic State militants, have accused Washington of betraying them.

The UNHCR reports nearly 180,000 Syrian Kurds, including some 80,000 children, have been displaced since the start of the Turkish assault. Dozens of civilians reportedly have been killed. The U.N. estimates 1.3 million people in the region are in need of humanitarian assistance.

The U.N. refugee agency reports women and children comprise around three-quarters of the Syrian refugees in the two camp sites in Iraq.

Lisa Schlein reporting for VOA from Geneva.

The U.S. House has passed a bipartisan resolution condemning Turkey for its invasion of Kurdish territory and alleged human rights abuses against the Kurds.



The British Parliament has approved Prime Minister Boris Johnson's call for the country's first December election in almost a century is an effort to break the continuing political logjam over Brexit, London's once again delayed departure from the European Union.

Meanwhile, a British thinktank says Boris Johnson's Brexit proposal would push the British economy down 3.5 percent below what it would be if London stayed in the EU.



The Chilean president has announced that his country will no longer host the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in mid-November because of anti-government protests in Santiago.

President Trump had been expected to attend that summit and to meet with Xi Jinping of China.



I'm Marissa Melton. This is VOA news.