Sudanese women were a driving force during months of protests that ousted veteran autocrat Omar al-Bashir, but the sexual violence they endured risks being forgotten with the signing of a power-sharing deal, women’s rights activists said Thursday. Action must be taken to address scores of rapes committed during a deadly crackdown by security forces in June and ongoing sexual harassment on Sudan’s streets today, they said. “There has been much recognition for the role that women have played in Sudan’s revolution, but now no one is addressing the sacrifices we have made,” said Hala Al-Karib of the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa. “We have numerous cases of rape committed by security forces, but still the same perpetrators are out on the streets of Sudan today, harassing and intimidating women — and nothing is being done to stop them,” she said from Khartoum. FILE – Sudanese women march with a national flag during a rally in the capital Khartoum, June 30, 2019. Military council denies charges The Sudanese Embassy in Nairobi was not immediately available to comment. The military council has previously denied that rape took place. From students and academics to housewives and street traders, women came out …

House lawmakers voted Wednesday to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. In a vote that mostly followed party lines, House members passed the Raise The Wage Act, the first minimum wage increase since 2009. The measure has not yet come up in the Senate. The bill would more than double the national minimum wage over the next 6 years, a marked increase from the current $7.25 federal minimum wage. The bill would also raise the minimum wage for tipped employees to the same level from the current $2.13 an hour. In the 231-to-199 vote, three Republican representatives joined the majority and voted for the bill, while six Democrats voted against it. “This is about workers, it’s about their economic and financial security and today is a bright day because it affects so many people in our country,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters at a news conference. Skepticism While the vote was nearly unanimous by Democrats, some members were skeptical. Democrats Tom O’Halleran of Arizona and Stephanie Murphy of Florida introduced an amendment that would mandate the Government Accountability Office to track the bill’s effects and report to the House before the entire wage increase is implemented. …

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday that China’s mistreatment of its Uighur Muslim minority had created one of the most significant human rights crises in contemporary world history.    Speaking at a conference on religious freedom in Washington, Pompeo said, “China is home to one of the worst human rights crises of our time” and that “it is truly the stain of the century.”    The nation’s top diplomat also accused Chinese government officials of intimidating countries to keep them from attending the conference and said the U.S. had “taken note” of the countries that succumbed to China. While not naming them, Pompeo urged the countries to “find the courage” to stand up to China.    Pompeo said earlier this week that representatives of more than 100 countries would attend the three-day conference that ends Thursday, but a State Department spokesman could not confirm the number.    “We know the Chinese government called countries specifically to discourage participation,” the spokesman said, but “we cannot prove the exact number they successfully impacted.” FILE – Uighurs and their supporters protest in front of the Permanent Mission of China to the United Nations in New York, March 15, 2018. The Chinese …

Anti-corruption officials in Pakistan have arrested former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi for allegedly evading an ongoing investigation into corruption charges against him. The former Pakistani leader is the latest in a series of high-profile opposition politicians targeted under the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan who accuses his predecessors of corruption and stashing away billions of dollars to foreign bank accounts.  Abbasi together with several members of his opposition Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) was on his way to address a news conference in the eastern city of Lahore on Thursday, when he was taken into custody by a team of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), the state anti-corruption body. Authorities later took the former prime minister to Islamabad, where he will appear before an anti-corruption court on Friday, said NAB officials. Abbasi served as prime minister from August 2017 to May 2018. NAB officials explained that the arrest stemmed from a case related to the award of a major liquefied natural gas (LNG) import contract when Abbasi was serving as the federal minister for petroleum and natural resources. They said Abbasi had been repeatedly summoned for questioning sessions, including one on Thursday, but he did not appear. Former Pakistani …

U.S. President Donald Trump is disavowing chants of “send her back” at his political rally which were heard when he questioned the loyalty of U.S. Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, a war refugee from Somalia. “I was not happy when I heard that chant,” Trump said to reporters in the Oval Office, adding he disagreed with it. Asked why he did not try to stop the chant at the event on Wednesday evening in North Carolina, the president replied: “I think I did – I started speaking very quickly.” Omar when asked about Trump on Thursday by reporters outside the Capitol, replied, “I believe he is fascist.” She asked: “Because I criticized the president, I should be deported?” Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., a target of racist rhetoric from President Donald Trump, walks from the House to her office following votes, at the Capitol in Washington, July 18, 2019. Omar is one of four new Democratic Party members of Congress who are women of color who have repeatedly been attacked by Trump since Sunday on social media and in public comments. The congresswoman posted a tweet late Wednesday featuring a picture of herself wearing a hijab and seated in the speaker’s chair in …

Botswana’s government is to appeal a High Court judgement which overturned colonial-era laws against gay sex – the first decriminalization of homosexual relations through the courts in Africa.   Botswana’s conservative and religious communities have welcomed the possible repeal of the ruling while the gay community and rights groups have decried the appeal as a step backwards. The country’s gay community and rights activists celebrated on June 11, when the High Court became the first in Africa to overturn colonial-era laws against gay sex. But the victory could be short-lived as Botswana’s attorney general is to appeal the ruling. Botswanan musician Motswafere Sithole is one of the country’s few openly gay public figures. “My heart was saddened by that, I felt mortified.  We were moving forward; we were making progress, but now it is like we are two steps back.” Botswana’s conservative and religious communities, however, have welcomed the government’s move against legalizing gay sex, which they deem immoral, according to Thuso Tiego, pastor at Tiego Ministries. “This is a challenge, it’s not normal.  That is not how God wanted human beings to be like.  I am happy that the state has stood up and said there was an error.” …

A German humanitarian ship captain who eluded an Italian effort to block her from docking at an Italian port with migrants onboard has called for the European Commission to do its best to avoid new political standoffs. Carola Rackete, captain of the Dutch-flagged Sea-Watch 3, was questioned by Italian prosecutors in the Sicilian city of Agrigento on Thursday for allegedly aiding illegal immigration. Rackete was arrested June 29 for entering the Italian port of Lampedusa, ignoring a block imposed by far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini. She was also accused of hitting an Italian border police boat as she disembarked 40 migrants who were rescued off Libya and spent over two weeks at sea in a political standoff. A judge overturned the arrest three days later, saying the captain had acted to save lives. But Rackete is still under investigation for entering Italian waters despite a direct order not to. “I’ve been very happy to be able to explain all the details of the rescue operation carried out on June 12,” Rackete said. “I hope that the European Commission, after the election of the new parliament, will do its best to avoid this kind of situation and that all the countries …

Hundreds of Sudanese have joined protests condemning a deadly crackdown last month, as tensions remain high despite recent progress toward a power-sharing deal with the ruling military council. The Sudanese Professionals’ Association, which has spearheaded months of protests, says security forces fired tear gas to disperse Thursday’s demonstrations in the capital, Khartoum. There were no reports of serious injuries.   The military overthrew long-ruling autocrat Omar al-Bashir in April, but the protesters remained in the streets, calling for a swift transition to civilian rule. On June 3, security forces dispersed their main sit-in, killing scores of protesters.   The pro-democracy movement and the military signed a document outlining a power-sharing deal on Wednesday but remain divided on key issues, including whether military leaders should be immune from prosecution over last month’s violence. …

Just a year ago India was forecast to become the world’s third largest automobile market overtaking Japan, but the industry is now grappling with its worst slump in over a decade. As Anjana Pasricha reports from Gurgaon, a business hub near New Delhi, the plummeting fortunes of the $ 100 billion auto industry reflect a broader slowdown in India’s economy, which grew at its slowest pace in nearly five years in the first quarter of the year. …

Setting aside their usual bickering, South Korean liberal and conservative parties on Thursday vowed to cooperate to help the Seoul government prevail in an escalating trade row with Japan.   After a meeting between the parties’ leaders and South Korean President Moon Jae-in at Seoul’s presidential office, they announced plans to create a “pan-national” emergency body to respond to tighter Japanese trade controls on certain technology exports to South Korea.   The meeting came amid growing concerns in South Korea that Japan’s trade curbs, which could possibly be expanded to hundreds of trade items in coming weeks, would rattle its export-dependent economy.   South Korean political leaders urged Japan to immediately withdraw the measures they described as “unjust economic retaliation” that would seriously harm bilateral relations and cooperation.   The leaders of conservative parties also called for Moon to take more aggressive diplomatic steps, such as pushing for a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe or sending a special envoy to Japan. Earlier on Thursday, South Korea’s central bank lowered its policy rate for the first time in three years to combat a faltering economy that faces further risks created by the trade row with Japan. “Japan’s export restriction …

Fifty years after humans first set foot on the moon, the rock samples collected by Apollo astronauts are being studied by volcanologists who believe what they learn could help predict eruptions on Earth more accurately. Faith Lapidus reports. …

Australia’s annual influenza season started unusually early in 2019, and already there are more than 144,000 confirmed cases. At least 231 people have died, so far, including some children, although most of the victims were frail, elderly Australians. This year is likely to be one of Australia’s most severe for influenza, and the government, worried about a vaccine shortage, has ordered 400,000 more doses. Dr. Chris Zappala, vice president of the Australian Medical Association, hopes the community can cope. “We’ve had millions and millions of vaccines through the country already, and we hope it’s enough. I think we can put some trust in the epidemiologists who do this every year. Remember, what’s happened here is we’ve got an extremely wily organism that mutates and makes things difficult,” Zappala said. Multiple flu viruses circulate each year, and they are broadly grouped into two types: A and B. A particularly potent strain may well be to blame for an early start to Australia’s influenza season. Experts hope it will end before its usual peak in August, the last month of winter. But Professor Brendan Murphy, Australia’s Chief Medical Officer, says it is hard to tell. “The one thing you can say definitely …

A man screaming “You die!” burst into an animation production studio in Kyoto, Japan, and set it on fire early Thursday, authorities said, killing 13 people and leaving at least 10 more presumed dead.  Kyoto fire department official Kazuhiro Hayashi says 36 others have been injured, some of them critically. Most were workers at Kyoto Animation, known for mega-hit stories featuring high school girls. The fire broke out in the three-story Kyoto Animation building in Japan’s ancient capital of Kyoto, after the suspect sprayed an unidentified liquid to accelerate the blaze, Kyoto prefectural police and fire department officials said. Hayashi said firefighters found 13 people dead on the first and second floors, and later found more than 10 people presumed dead on the top floor of a three-story building. Firefighters were still searching inside the building in case anyone else was left behind, he added.   The suspect was also injured and taken to a hospital, officials said. Police are investigating the man on suspicion of arson. Social media video grab of smoke billowing from a fire at the Kyoto Animation studio in Kyoto Survivors who saw the attacker said he was not their colleague and that he was screaming “(You) die!” …

U.S. officials say Turkey’s purchase of Russian S-400 defense system is ‘inconsistent’ with its commitments to NATO …

Scientists are finally closing in on a goal they’ve spent years trying to achieve: a blood test to screen people for possible signs of Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias. At an international conference in Los Angeles, July 14-19, different research groups will present evidence to show how far they’ve progressed. Faith Lapidus reports.   …

India’s monsoon rains were 20% below average in the week ending on Wednesday, as rainfall was scanty over the central, western and southern parts of the country, the weather office said, raising concerns over the output of summer-sown crops. Monsoon rains are crucial for farm output and economic growth, as about 55% of India’s arable land is rain-fed, and agriculture forms about 15% of a $2.5 trillion economy that is the third biggest in Asia. Soybean- and cotton-growing central regions received 68% less rainfall in the week, while the rubber- and tea-growing southern state of Kerala received 71% lower rainfall, data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) showed. Overall, India has received rains that were 16% less than average since the monsoon season began on June 1. …

U.S. President Donald Trump, who has made religious freedom a centerpiece of his foreign policy, met Wednesday with victims of religious persecution from countries like China, Turkey, North Korea, Iran and Myanmar. Trump counts evangelical Christians among his core supporters and the State Department is hosting a conference on the topic this week that will be attended by Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Four of the 27 participants in the Oval Office meeting were from China, the White House said: Jewher Ilham, an Uighur Muslim; Yuhua Zhang, a Falun Gong practitioner; Nyima Lhamo, a Tibetan Buddhist; and Manping Ouyang, a Christian. Ilham told Trump her father was one of many Uighurs “locked up in concentration camps” in the Xinjiang region and that she had not spoken with him since 2017. China sanctions possible The Trump administration has been weighing sanctions against Chinese officials over the treatment of the Uighurs, including the Communist Party chief of Xinjiang, Chen Quanguo, but has so far held back amid Chinese threats of retaliation. Relations between the United States and China are already tense over a tit-for-tat trade war, with the United States alleging that China engages in unfair trading …

Police have begun arresting protesters gathered at the base of Hawaii’s tallest volcano, Mauna Kea, to stop the construction of a giant telescope on what they say is their most sacred ground. Protest leader Kealoha Pisciotta told The Associated Press that police had arrested 30 elders, called kupuna in Hawaiian, on Wednesday.   Some of the elders used canes and strollers to walk, while others were taken in wheelchairs to police vans. Those who could walk on their own were led away with their hands in zip ties. The elders were among about 2,000 people blocking the road to the summit of Mauna Kea in an attempt to stop construction material and workers from reaching the top.  The $1.4 billion Thirty Meter Telescope is expected to be one of the world’s most advanced.  Opponents of the the telescope say it will desecrate sacred land. According to the University of Hawaii, ancient Hawaiians considered the location kapu, or forbidden. Only the highest-ranking chiefs and priests were allowed to make the long trek to Mauna Kea’s summit above the clouds. Supporters of the telescope, however, say it will not only make important scientific discoveries but bring educational and economic opportunities to Hawaii.  …

The U.S. Air Force has a warning for the more than 1 million people who have signed up to “storm Area 51” in search of aliens as part of an internet joke that has gone viral.  “Any attempt to illegally access the area is highly discouraged,” the Air Force said in a statement Wednesday.  The Air Force said it does not discuss its security measures and that the test and training range, known as Area 51, provides “flexible, realistic and multidimensional battle space” for testing and “advanced training in support of U.S. national interests.” The Facebook event “Storm Area 51, They Can’t Stop All Of Us,” invites people to attempt to run into the mysterious site at 3 a.m. September 20.  “If we Naruto run, we can move faster than their bullets,” the event description says, referring to a Japanese manga character known for running with his arms stretched out backward and his head forward.  Area 51 is part of the vast Nevada Test and Training Range. It has been the subject of conspiracy theories that say the U.S. military keeps aliens and UFOs there. After decades of government officials refusing to acknowledge Area 51, the CIA released declassified documents …

Nearly 1,000 solar energy companies have sent a letter to Congress, urging it to extend the tax credits for solar energy projects, which begin to phase out starting next year. “If you want to show a commitment to addressing climate change, you extend the solar ITC [investment tax credit],” Solar Energy Industries Association President Abigail Ross Hopper wrote. She called the solar tax credit for homes and industries that switch to solar power one of the most successful clean energy tax policies ever created — leading to more than 200,000 American jobs and $140 billion in solar power investment “As we debate long-term solutions, now is not the time to abandon the single most successful policy on the books to deploy clean energy in the near term,” Hopper wrote. Congress passed the solar energy tax credit in 2005 and President George W. Bush signed it into law.  It was extended in 2015, but is set to start being phased out next year, so that by 2022, the tax credit will be 10% for businesses and zero for private homes. But some lawmakers oppose another extension because of a deal they made with oil interests who promised not to fight the temporary …

The heat wave that has been roasting much of the U.S. in recent days is just getting warmed up, with temperatures expected to soar to dangerous levels through the weekend. Communities are preparing by offering buildings as cooling centers and asking residents to check in on relatives and neighbors. Officials also are concerned about smog, which is exacerbated by the heat and makes it more difficult for certain people to breathe, including the very young, the elderly and people with asthma or lung diseases. More than 100 local heat records are expected to fall Saturday, according to the National Weather Service. Most won’t be record daily highs but record-high nighttime lows, and that lack of cooling can be dangerous, meteorologists say. Temperatures in parts of the East won’t drop below the mid- to upper-70s or even 80 degrees (26.7 Celsius) at night, he said. The heat wave will likely be “short and searing,” said Greg Carbin, forecast branch chief for the weather service’s Weather Prediction Center. A high-pressure system stretching from coast to coast is keeping the heat turned on. The heat and humidity are made to feel worse by the large amount of moisture in the air coming from …

The lawyer and family of Shakil Afridi, the Pakistani physician who helped the United States track down former al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, told VOA that Afridi continues to suffer in prison under dire conditions. Qamar Nadeem, Afridi’s lawyer, expressed optimism that the fate of his client would be discussed during the planned meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan next week at the White House. “Dr. Afridi can’t sleep properly, due to harsh conditions and sweltering heat, as there is no window in the cell where he is kept,” Nadeem said. “Imran Khan is visiting the U.S., but if Dr. Afridi remains in pain, then I think the visit won’t be a success.” Speaking to VOA, Jamil Afridi, Shakil Afridi’s brother, expressed frustration that the doctor’s case has not been resolved in more than eight years. “President Trump and the U.S. government should have resolved this issue by now,” he told VOA. Jamal Afridi said he last visited his brother, who he says has become very weak, July 6. “He cannot rest during the day, nor can he sleep at night. He is in great pain,” he said. FILE – Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran …

A Republican senator blocked a bipartisan bill that would have made sure that a fund providing compensation to 9/11 workers would remain viable until 2090.  Rand Paul of Kentucky questioned the bill’s 70-year time frame and said any new spending should be offset by corresponding cuts so the U.S. government’s $22 trillion debt does not continue to grow.  “It has long been my feeling that we need to address our massive debt in the country,” Paul said on the Senate floor Wednesday. “And, therefore, any new spending … should be offset by cutting spending that’s less valuable. We need to at the very least have this debate.” Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., speaks during a town hall meeting during a campaign stop in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. Presidential hopeful New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand had offered the bill for unanimous consent, which would have fast-tracked its approval.  Under Senate rules, an objection from a single senator can block a measure offered via unanimous consent, which is what Paul did.  A spokesperson for Paul later told The Hill that Paul “is not blocking anything,” adding that he is “simply seeking to pay for it.” The bill, which easily passed in the House …