Turkey launched airstrikes against Kurdish rebel targets in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region, after the killing of a Turkish diplomat there, state-run media quoted Turkey’s defense minister as saying on Friday. Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said Turkish jets on Thursday hit the Qandil mountains region in northern Iraq, where the leadership of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, is reported to be based. A Defense Ministry statement said airstrikes were also conducted Friday against alleged PKK targets in Iraq’s Karajak region. Akar said the offensive was launched after an employee of the Turkish Consulate in the city of Irbil was killed along with an Iraqi national in a gun attack at a Turkish-owned restaurant in the city on Wednesday. The diplomat has been identified as Osman Kose. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the shooting although suspicion fell on Kurdish militants.   In Irbil, a statement issued by security forces said the lead suspect in the investigation was a 27-year-old who hails from Turkey’s predominantly Kurdish city of Diyarbakir. The statement did not give further details, but said the suspect was already wanted by security agencies in Iraq’s Kurdish region.   Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency claimed that two …

Joe Biden was at a soul food restaurant in Los Angeles on Thursday when he blasted President Donald Trump’s “racist” taunts at a rally the night before. “This is about dividing the country,” the early Democratic front-runner, who has been criticized for his own handling of race , told reporters. “This is about dividing and raising the issue of racism across the country because that’s his base, that’s what he’s pushing.” Full Coverage: Election 2020 But Michael Fisher, an African American pastor from Compton who attended the event, warned Democrats to ignore Trump. “They should absolutely not respond to ignorance,” Fischer said. “They should stay focused on the issues.” That tension previews the uncomfortable balancing act Democrats will face in the nearly 16 months before Election Day. Trump’s escalating exploitation of racism puts the rawest divide in American life squarely on the ballot in 2020. Democrats are united in condemning his words and actions, but the question of how to counter them is much more complicated. The party’s passionate left wing is pressing for an all-in battle, arguing that candidates’ plans to combat racism are just as important as their proposals to provide health insurance to every American. But others …

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in Argentina where he is expected to rally support from Latin American leaders in the U.S. fight against Middle East militant groups. The top U.S. diplomat will deliver remarks Friday at the second Western Hemisphere Counterterrorism Ministerial meeting in Buenos Aires, where the challenges of terrorism in the hemisphere will be addressed. On Monday, Argentina’s Security Ministry officially designated the Lebanon-based Hezbollah militant group, which is supported by Iran, as a terrorist organization. The designation gives the U.S. another ally in its effort to develop a global coalition to contain Iran’s influence in the Middle East and beyond. Pompeo’s visit to Argentina coincides with the 25th anniversary of the bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people. The Argentine government has said Hezbollah was responsible for the attack. The secretary of state left Thursday to meet face-to-face with Latin American leaders  amid difficult negotiations with Mexico and Central American countries over how to best stem the flow of migrants to the southern U.S. border. Central American migrants prepare to board a bus as they voluntarily return to their countries, in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, July 2, 2019. Migration root …

Facebook says it plans to appeal German authorities’ decision to fine it 2 million euros ($2.3 million) under a law designed to combat hate speech. The Federal Office for Justice said July 2 Facebook failed to meet transparency requirements for handling hate speech complaints, and contended the company’s report for the first half of 2018 didn’t reflect the actual number of complaints about suspected illegal content. Facebook disputes that and says the legislation lacks clarity.   A Facebook statement Friday stressed its desire to comply fully with the German law and said the fine notice provided “some helpful new guidance.” It said it would appeal the decision “to get the clarity we need” but intends to drop the appeal and make necessary changes once it resolves the issue with German authorities.   …

A strong earthquake hit Friday near the Greek capital of Athens, causing residents to run into the streets in fear and firefighters to check for people trapped in elevators. The Athens Institute of Geodynamics gave the earthquake a preliminary magnitude of 5.1 but the U.S. Geological Survey tagged it as a magnitude of 5.3.  The Athens Institute says the quake struck at 2:13 p.m. local time (1113 GMT) some 23 kilometers (14.2 miles) north of Athens. Authorities inspected areas close to the epicenter by helicopter and police patrols but no deaths or serious injuries were reported. Government spokesman Stelios Petsas said one abandoned building had collapsed in a western district of Athens and that several other abandoned buildings had suffered serious damages in other parts of the city. ”There are no reports of serious injuries … I urge members of the public to remains calm, in Greece we are well acquainted with earthquakes,” he said. The quake caused limited power cuts and communication problems around Athens and the fire brigade reported receiving calls about people being trapped in elevators. The shock was caught live in the studios of state broadcaster ERT. The most powerful quake to hit the Greek capital …

Rain-swollen rivers in Bangladesh broke through at least four embankments, submerging dozens of villages and doubling the number of people fleeing their homes overnight to 400,000 in one of the worst floods in recent years, officials said Friday. Heavy rains and overflowing rivers have swamped 23 districts in northern and northwestern Bangladesh, officials said. At least 30 people have been killed since the floods began last week. “The government has opened more than 1,000 temporary shelters but due to deep waters and lack of communications, many people aren’t able to reach them,” Raihana Islam, an official in the flood-afflicted district of Bogra, told Reuters. Islam said scores of people had instead camped on embankments, railway lines and highways, where traffic has come to a standstill. Aside from concern over crops, authorities are also worried that rising flood waters could take a toll on livestock. Flooding severe South Asia receives monsoon rains between June and October that often lead to floods later in the season, but the intensity of the deluge in Bangladesh is uncommon. “The severity of the flood of this year is worse compared to recent years,” Ariful Islam, an executive engineer of Bangladesh Water Development Board, said. The …

Japan’s foreign minister Friday summoned South Korea’s ambassador and accused Seoul of violating international law by refusing to join in an arbitration panel to settle a dispute over World War II forced labor. South Korea had until midnight Thursday to respond to Japan’s request for a three-nation panel.  The neighboring countries are quarreling over South Korean court decisions ordering Japanese companies to compensate victims of forced labor during Japan’s 1910-1945 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. Foreign Minister Taro Kono said after summoning Ambassador Nam Gwan-pyo that Japan will “take necessary measures” against South Korea if interests of Japanese companies are harmed, without giving details. Their talks were held in an icy atmosphere, briefly turning confrontational. “It is extremely problematic that South Korea is one-sidedly leaving alone the situation that violates the international law, which is the foundation of our bilateral relationship,” Kono told Nam. “The action being taken by the South Korean government is something that completely overturns the order of the international community since the end of the World War II.” Protesters stage a rally denouncing the Japanese government’s decision on their exports to South Korea in front of the Japanese embassy in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, July …

About 60 percent of the world’s coral reefs are under stress from rising temperatures, according to the nonprofit group Reef Resilience Network. And new research shows just how devastating two heat waves were to coral in the Indian Ocean. VOA’s Kevin Enochs reports. …

South African musician Johnny Clegg, who was one of the loudest voices in pop during the anti-apartheid movement in the 1980s, has died at age 66 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.  The “White Zulu” — so named for his use of indigenous South African music and dance — is being widely mourned in South Africa. VOA’s Anita Powell reports from Johannesburg.   …

An area in northwestern Pakistan known for militant activities and the Taliban’s presence holds a special election Saturday. The vote is part of an effort that began last year to merge the former lawless tribal belt into a neighboring province. VOA’s Ayesha Tanzeem reports on how the change is impacting the region.   …

As Libya’s two rival governments fight for control of the capital, Tripoli, airstrikes and artillery fire continue to batter the city. Nearly 1,100 people have died and more than 100,000 have been displaced by the war. As VOA’s Heather Murdock reports from Tripoli, officials say if the fighting does not slow down, the country is headed toward “disaster.”   …

The governor of Puerto Rico is not backing down despite massive street protests in the capital, San Juan, demanding his resignation. Thousands of people have taken to the streets after Puerto Rico’s Center for Investigative Journalism published nearly 900 pages of leaked text messages in which Gov. Ricardo Rossello used homophobic and misogynistic language.  VOA’s Zlatica Hoke reports the governor said in a statement Thursday that his commitment to Puerto Rico is stronger than ever. …

This week, President Donald Trump came under fire for verbal attacks on four minority Democratic congresswomen. The House of Representatives condemned some of the president’s comments as racist. And Democrats remain divided over whether to try to impeach Trump or focus on defeating him in next year’s presidential election. The clash has plunged the country into an angry debate over race, immigration and political ideology, as we hear from VOA National correspondent Jim Malone in Washington.   …

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Updated July 19, 2019, 2:54 a.m. KABUL, AFGHANISTAN — An explosion Friday near a gate to the campus of Kabul University in the Afghan capital killed six people and injured at least 27 as students waited to take an examination, officials said. Afghan security forces are facing almost daily attacks by Taliban militants, despite reported progress in efforts by the United States to broker an end to Afghanistan’s nearly 18-year war. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Friday’s blast just hours after Taliban militants set off two car bombs outside police headquarters in the southern city of Kandahar, killing at least 12 and wounding more than 80. Health ministry spokesman Wahid Mayar said there were students among the 27 injured taken to hospital after the blast, which a student at the university campus said took place while a number of students waited to appear for an exam. A student at the university campus said the explosion happened when a number of students were waiting near the campus gate to attend an exam. One or two vehicles caught fire after the explosion. The university compound houses several hostels where many students stay …

The weather in Washington has been hot, sticky and relentless this week. So has the politics. In a period of a few days, the president of the United States told four members of Congress they could leave the country if they were unhappy and go back to the countries they came from, sparking passage of a House resolution that condemned some of his verbal and Twitter attacks as racist. In the same week, Democrats again broached the subject of impeachment, only to see the effort fail when many Democrats joined Republicans in voting to table, or put off, the issue. In sum, it has been a trying week for American democracy that has plunged the country into an angry debate over race, immigration and political ideology. Washington Consumed by Growing Political Divide Over Race, Ideology video player. FILE – U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar participates in a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Feb. 7, 2019. Omar told reporters Thursday she believes Trump is “fascist,” then added, “This is what this president and his supporters have turned the country into.” The group of female lawmakers also includes House members Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and …

U.S. lawmakers have sent a clear signal to Cambodian leaders that they have to reverse course on limiting democracy or face consequences. “The passage of the Cambodia Democracy Act is an important step toward holding Prime Minister Hun Sen and his cronies accountable for continuing to trample on the rights of the Cambodian people,” said Congressman Steve Chabot, a Republican from Ohio. Republican Congressman Ted Yoho of Florida introduced the bill in January after Cambodian authorities FILE – Phay Siphan, a Cambodian government spokesman, in VOA studio in Phnom Penh for Hello VOA. Cambodia expressed its regret for the passage of the legislation. “U.S. politicians’ intention on Cambodia always doomed to fail,” government spokesman Phay Siphan told VOA Khmer. “This legislation only aims to destroy democracy that Cambodia continues to strengthen that starts from election rights for the people. Secondly, this legislation aims to destroy efforts to build relationship and cooperation between the two peoples.” Cambodia’s senate called the bill “an interference into Cambodian affairs.” Democratic Congressman Alan Lowenthal of California said, “We’ve talked about how unhappy we are with him (Hun Sen) for getting rid of democracy, of keeping under house arrest Kem Sokha and exiling Sam Rainsy.” Lowenthal …

A 29-year-old former University of Illinois student will spend the rest of his life in prison for kidnapping and murdering a visiting Chinese scholar in 2017. When the jury deadlocked on whether Brendt Christensen should get the death penalty, federal Judge James Shadid automatically sentenced him to a life term with no chance of parole. Christensen kidnapped and murdered Yingying Zhang by beating her with a bat and cutting off her head. Her body has never been found. Zhang’s parents came from China to Peoria, Illinois, for the trial. They pleaded with Christensen to reveal where he put her body. “If you have any humanity left in your soul, please help us end our torment,” a family statement read. FILE – Ronggao Zhang, left, and Lifeng Ye, display a photo them with their missing daughter, Yingying Zhang, in Urbana, Ill., Nov. 1, 2017. In especially emotional testimony, Zhang’s mother lamented that she will never get to see her daughter wear a wedding gown and that her dreams of becoming a grandmother were smashed.  Shadid scolded Christensen for not addressing the Zhang family when he was given the chance.  Zhang was from a working-class Chinese family and she was studying at …

Canada and the European Union are close to agreeing on a possible temporary solution to a U.S. block on appeals in disputes at the World Trade Organization, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday. U.S. President Donald Trump is barring appointments to the WTO’s Appellate Body, saying its judges have overstepped their mandate and ignored their instructions. Unless the block is lifted, the world’s top trade court will be unable to hear appeals in international trade disputes after Dec. 11. Trudeau, speaking after a meeting with top EU officials in Montreal, said Canada backed existing attempts to restore a fully operational Appellate Body. “In the event that those efforts are unsuccessful, we need to be prepared. So we have been working with the European Union to find an interim fix,” he told a news conference. “After this summit we are closer to finalizing an agreement which would help preserve the function of an appeal system within the WTO until we find a more permanent solution.” The U.S. Trade Representative’s office declined to comment. Washington: WTO strays from pact Washington argues that the WTO’s dispute settlement system, particularly at the Appellate Body level, must be changed since it has “strayed extensively from …

President Donald Trump says he will nominate lawyer Eugene Scalia to be his new labor secretary. Scalia is the son of the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. He is a partner in the Washington office of the Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher law firm. Trump tweeted that Scalia “is highly respected not only as a lawyer, but as a lawyer with great experience working with labor and everyone else.” Trump’s previous labor secretary, Alexander Acosta, resigned last week. Acosta has come under renewed criticism for his handling of a 2008 secret plea deal with wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein, who is accused of sexually abusing underage girls.  …

White House bureau chief Steve Herman contributed to this report.    Iran signaled Thursday that it was willing to take steps to reduce the tensions over its nuclear program with the Trump administration.    Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told reporters in New York that Tehran would be open to more intrusive inspections of its nuclear program if Washington lifted its economic sanctions.     But the offer, which Zarif described as “a substantial move,” was met with a tepid response.     A senior administration official told VOA on background, “The president has repeatedly said he is willing to have a conversation with Iranian leaders. If Iran wants to make a serious gesture, it should start by ending uranium enrichment immediately and having an actual decision-maker attempt to negotiate a deal that includes a permanent end to Iran’s malign nuclear ambitions, including its development of nuclear-capable missiles.”    The Trump administration has been tightening sanctions on Iran since the U.S. withdrew from the 2015 multilateral nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Program of Action.  Washington’s objectives   Washington is trying to force Tehran to agree to stricter limits on its nuclear capacity, curb its ballistic missile program and end support for …

Mark LaMet and Lynn Davis contributed to this report. U.S. President Donald Trump has found his latest target for acerbic ridicule — a hijab-wearing Muslim newcomer to Congress named Ilhan Omar. She is a Somali refugee but naturalized U.S. citizen whom Trump views as something less than a patriotic red, white and blue American. Trump railed against the lawmaker Wednesday night at his 2020 re-election campaign rally in North Carolina. He stoked the packed crowd at a college basketball arena with his claims that she is proud of al-Qaida terrorists, blames the U.S. for the political crisis in Venezuela and launches “vicious anti-Semitic screeds.” FILE – Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, left, looks at a paper held by President Donald Trump about Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., as Trump speaks during a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House, July 16, 2019. “Send her back! Send her back!” the frenzied crowd of Trump supporters chanted as he paused to listen for 13 seconds but without responding. It was reminiscent of Trump’s 2016 campaign, when supporters regularly shouted, “Lock her up!” in a call to jail his opponent, Democrat Hillary Clinton, the former U.S. secretary of state. Back in …

The United States sanctioned two Iraqi militia leaders and two former Iraqi provincial governors it accused of human rights abuses and corruption, the U.S. Treasury Department said Thursday. The sanctions targeted militia leaders Rayan al-Kildani and Waad Qado and former governors Nawfal Hammadi al-Sultan and Ahmed al-Jubouri, the department said in a statement. “We will continue to hold accountable persons associated with serious human rights abuse, including persecution of religious minorities, and corrupt officials who exploit their positions of public trust to line their pockets and hoard power at the expense of their citizens,” Sigal Mandelker, Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said. The department said many of the actions that prompted the sanctions occurred in “areas where persecuted religious communities are struggling to recover from the horrors inflicted on them” by Islamic State, the militant group that controlled parts of Iraq for several years. Militia leaders The Treasury Department said Kildani is the leader of the 50th Brigade militia and is shown cutting off the ear of a handcuffed detainee in a video circulating in Iraq last year. It said Qado is the leader of the 30th Brigade militia, which engaged in extortion, illegal arrests and kidnappings. Sultan and Jubouri …

Taliban insurgents assaulted a provincial police headquarters Thursday in southern Afghanistan, killing at least 12 people and wounding more than 60 others. Officials said multiple heavily armed men wearing suicide vests stormed the well-guarded building in the center of Kandahar about 5 p.m. local time. The attack began with a suicide bomber detonating an explosives-packed vehicle at the main entrance to police headquarters. A large number of civilians were said to be among the casualties because the security installation is near residential areas. The siege was ongoing six hours later, according to residents and insurgent officials. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the violence, saying they had killed and injured dozens of security forces, though insurgent claims are often inflated. “Kandahar police headquarters initially came under a tactical bomb blast that enabled several martyrdom-seeking mujahedeen [holy warriors], equipped with heavy and light weapons, to enter the compound and launched [the] operation inside the [police] headquarters,” the group asserted in a statement. Other attacks This was the second deadly Taliban assault on government forces in as many days. On Wednesday, authorities said an insurgent attack in Badghis province killed more than 30 U.S.-trained Afghan commandos and captured an unspecified number of others. The slain forces reportedly had been …

As Algeria takes on Senegal in Friday’s Africa Cup of Nations final, a Paris exhibit takes the long view of soccer (football) — exploring its multi-faceted link to people and politics in the Arab world, and former colonial power France.  In a darkened room, children watch a replay of the 1998 world cup final that took place years before they were born. There’s the intent face of Zinedine Zidane, the star French player of Berber origin. He counted among France’s winning, multicultural team, that rallied the nation under the slogan “black, blanc, beur,” or “black, white, Arab.”  Children watch star player Zinedine Zidane of Algerian descent in replay of 1998 French World Cup victory. (Lisa Bryant/VOA) It’s one of the many snapshots of soccer’s powerful role in shaping history and society in the Arab world, featured in this exhibit titled: Soccer and the Arab World: The Revolution of the Round Ball. “Football in the Arab world is always linked to the history of the country and also linked to politics,” said show curator Aurelie Clemente-Ruiz. “Because in the stadium, the fans and even the team really reflect what’s happen in all society.” The show examines soccer’s role as a vehicle for political expression, …