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Hi, I'm VOA's Alexis Strope with your worldwide news update.
Celebrations in Syria continue as the U.S. looks to help shape the country's transition. AP Washington correspondent Sagar Meghani reports. At Damascus' historic main mosque, one of the world's oldest, thousands gathered, with one saying Syria is now one of the world's happiest countries. Another says there's both hope and fear about what comes next. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's touring the Mideast to help shape Syria's transition. In Turkey, he said there's broad agreement with the U.S. on what needs to happen in Syria, starting with the interim government "- one that is inclusive and non-sectarian, ..." Later in Baghdad, Blinken stressed ISIS cannot be allowed to re-emerge in Syria, saying Iraqis know that better than anyone. "Having put Daesh back in its box, we can't let it out, ..." Sagar Meghani, Washington. Moaz Mouraab returned to his family in Tripoli, Lebanon after spending 17 years in Syria's notorious prison system. Reuters correspondent ??? has more. The former journalist and father of two was transiting through Syria on a trip from Lebanon to Iraq when he was detained on May 20, 2007. He was one of the thousands of people who spilled out of Syria's notorious prison system. Mouraab says his family didn't know if he was alive for years after his capture and that his wife and children never saw him. "Now, of course, I disappeared for two years. My family didn't know anything about me at all. And it wasn't until more than two and a half years later that they found out that I was alive. After about five years, I saw my mother for the first time." Mouraab says he was accused of belonging to a terrorist organization and that investigators would use various physical and psychological torture methods on him. That was Reuters correspondent ???. This is VOA News. The Trump transition team wants the incoming administration to drop a car crash reporting requirement opposed by Elon Musk's Tesla. According to a document seen by Reuters, the move could cripple the government's ability to investigate and regulate the safety of vehicles with automated driving systems. Reuters correspondent Lisa Bernhard has more. According to the document seen by Reuters, Trump's team called the car crash reporting measure a mandate for, quote, "excessive data collection." Reuters could not determine what role, if any, Musk may have played in crafting the recommendations or the likelihood that the administration would enact them. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a trade group representing most major automakers except Tesla, has also criticized the crash reporting requirement as burdensome. In addition to ditching the reporting rule, Trump's team recommended the incoming administration liberalize autonomous vehicle regulation and enact, quote, "basic regulations to enable development of the industry." That was Reuters correspondent Lisa Bernhard. The U.N. Security Council has expressed deep concern at the recent decision by Afghanistan's Taliban rulers to ban women from medical education. That could leave millions of women and girls without health care in the future. Authorities previously had not confirmed reports that the Taliban's leader ordered educational institutions to stop providing medical courses for women. In Afghanistan, women and girls can only be treated by female doctors and health professionals. French President Emmanuel Macron named key ally François Bayrou as his fourth prime minister of 2024 on Friday, but the scale of the challenge facing the veteran centrist was immediately clear as the Socialist Party refused to join his coalition government. Reuters correspondent Alice Rizzo has more. Bayrou now faces a task of trying to steer legislation through a hung parliament comprising three warring blocs. "It is," he said, "a long road." Bayrou's priority will be passing a special law to roll over the 2024 budget. The temporary legislation is needed to avoid a U.S.-style government shutdown at the start of 2025. It is 7intended to act as a stopgap until (the) parliament passes a more permanent budget bill drafted by a new government. That was Reuters correspondent Alice Rizzo. An America man from Dallas, Texas, who tried to fly overseas to join the Russian military and fight against Ukraine has been sentenced to six months in prison for violating the terms of his probation for storming the U.S. Capitol four years ago. Kevin Loftus, a 56-year-old veteran of the U.S. Army, declined to address the court before a federal judge sentenced him on Friday. Prosecutors said Loftus was stopped from boarding an October 28 flight from Dallas to Turkey when Turkish Airlines identified a "security flag" associated with him. That wraps up this update, but the world and news never stop. For additional updates, visit our website. I'm Alexis Strope, VOA News. |