VOA’s Khalid Mafton and Mohammad Habibzada contributed to this story. With the United States aiming for a potential deal with the Afghan Taliban by September, analysts and Afghan officials are skeptical that a comprehensive deal could be reached when the Afghan government has yet to hold direct talks with the Taliban. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said last month, during his visit to Afghanistan and the region, that the U.S. is hoping for a peace deal in Afghanistan before Sept. 1. “I hope we have a peace deal before Sept. 1st. That’s certainly our mission set,” Pompeo told reporters in Kabul. “We have made real progress and are nearly ready to conclude a draft text outlining the Taliban’s commitments to join fellow Afghans in ensuring that Afghan soil never again becomes a safe haven for terrorists,” Pompeo added. FILE – A handout photo released by the official Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Feb. 26, 2019, shows Qatari officials, center, taking part in meeting between the U.S. delegation, left, and the Taliban delegation in Doha. Unrealistic? But some experts charge that expecting a comprehensive deal by September is “unrealistic.” “It is quite unrealistic, to say the least, to think that …

An Oregon state senator who was among the Republican lawmakers who fled the Capitol last month to scuttle a vote on a bill to fight climate change faces a conduct hearing over remarks tinged with threats of violence about any efforts to force the senators to return. Senator Brian Boquist, who is a former U.S. Army special forces officer, ahead of the Republicans’ departure said on June 19 to the state Senate’s Democratic president: “If you send the State Police to get me, hell is coming to visit you personally.” Governor Kate Brown, a Democrat, enlisted the State Police on June 20 to try to bring Republicans back to the Capitol, but ultimately the Democratic-sponsored bill died. By fleeing the Capitol, the Republican senators prevented a vote from being held because, under Senate rules, there were not enough lawmakers present for legislation to be voted on. The state Senate’s Special Committee on Conduct will hold a hearing on Monday over Boquist’s comments. Boquist also told a reporter from a Portland television station that if police came looking for him, “Send bachelors and come heavily armed.” The Senate Special Committee agenda for Monday calls for its two Democrats and two Republicans …

Iraq is celebrating the UNESCO World Heritage Committee’s decision to name the historic city of Babylon a World Heritage Site in a vote in Azerbaijan. Friday’s vote comes after Iraq bid for years for Babylon to be added to the list of World Heritage Sites. The city on the Euphrates River is about 85 kilometers (55 miles) south of Baghdad. The 4,300-year-old Babylon, now mainly an archaeological ruin and two important museums, is where dynasties have risen and have fallen since the earliest days of settled human civilization. Parliament speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi and Minister of Culture Abdul-Amir al-Hamadani congratulated the Iraqi people on the announcement. The vote comes years after the Islamic State group damaged another Iraq World Heritage site in the country’s north, the ancient city of Hatra.   …

Alaskans who routinely pack knit caps and fleece jackets in summer on Friday were swapping them for sunscreen and parasols amid a prolonged heatwave.  Residents of Anchorage and other south-central cities completed a fifth week of above-normal temperatures, including a record high 90 degrees (32.22 Celsius) on Thursday in the state’s largest city. On Friday, as temperatures dipped just slightly, Anchorage resident Lucy Davidson sought relief with her grandchildren at a beach at Goose Lake. She said she picked up a portable air conditioner at a garage sale six years ago. It had not been used some summers, but it’s getting a workout lately. “That thing has been a blessing,” Davidson said. “It stays on non-stop.” The temperature Thursday in Anchorage hit 90 degrees (32.22 Celsius) at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, 5 degrees higher than the city’s previous recorded high of 85 degrees (29.44 Celsius). Three other Alaska locations, Kenai, Palmer and King Salmon, set or tied all-time high temperature records on Thursday. A high pressure ridge over much of south-central Alaska is strengthening and responsible for the record temperatures, National Weather Service meteorologist Bob Clay said. Anchorage’s average high temperature for July 4 is 75 degrees (23.89 Celsius), …

PARIS — France wants the world’s leading industrial economies to double funding for girls’ education in the Sahel at a summit next month in the French town of Biarritz.   Speaking Friday in Paris at the headquarters of the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, French President Emmanuel Macron laid out initiatives to increase educational and economic opportunities for women, with a special focus on Africa’s Sahel region.    Macron, whose country currently holds the presidency of the Group of Seven advanced economies, challenged fellow G-7 members to not only increase their financial commitment to girls’ education in the Sahel but also to make sure funds are spent efficiently and make a difference.    Macron also denounced anyone seeking to deny girls an education, including on religious grounds. Keeping girls at home, he said, was a form of modern slavery.  Fighting inequality   The French president spoke at the end of a two-day meeting that brought together development and education ministers from G-7 nations under the broader theme of fighting inequality, which is the goal of France’s G-7 presidency.    UNESCO’s director general, Audrey Azoulay, said that while gender parity in education is increasing worldwide, it’s lagging in some places, including conflict zones. In some …

Justice Department attorneys confirmed Friday that they were still working to add a citizenship question to the census, although they did not provide a new rationale for doing so, a requirement the Supreme Court set last week.    In a Maryland court filing, the Justice attorneys said they had been “instructed to examine whether there is a path forward, consistent with the Supreme Court’s decision, that would allow for the inclusion of the citizenship question on the census.”  Critics have said adding such a question could suppress the count of minorities.    Before the filing, President Donald Trump said he was considering “four or five” ways to add the citizenship question to the census.    “We are working on a lot of things, including an executive order,” Trump told reporters Friday outside the White House. He also said that “we could start the printing [of census forms] now and maybe do an addendum after we get a positive decision.”   In court, however, Justice attorneys said the Commerce Department had not yet adopted a new rationale for the citizenship question.  “In the event the Commerce Department adopts a new rationale for including the citizenship question on the 2020 Decennial Census consistent with the decisions of the …

A life-size rough wooden sculpture of U.S. first lady Melania Trump was unveiled Friday near her hometown of Sevnica in southeastern Slovenia. Commissioned by Berlin-based American artist Brad Downey and carved with a chainsaw by local folk artist Ales Zupevc, the statue serves as a — perhaps wry — accompaniment to Downey’s exhibition in the capital Ljubljana exploring Melania’s roots in the small Alpine country. The blocky, rustic figure was cut from the trunk of a living linden tree — whose base forms a tall plinth — in a field beside the Sava River in the village of Rozno, 8 km (5 miles) from Sevnica. There is no attempt at an accurate likeness, to the point where the gallery in Ljubljana appears uncertain how seriously to take the statue. “Perhaps we are simply trying vigorously to make sense of things that might only be a slapstick prank,” it says in a leaflet. “Who knows?” Although the statue’s face is rough-hewn and unrecognizable, the figure is shown clothed in the pale blue wraparound coat that Melania wore at Donald Trump’s inauguration as U.S. president. FILE – President Donald Trump waves as he walks with first lady Melania Trump during the inauguration …

Democratic 2020 hopeful Elizabeth Warren says that if elected president she would sign executive orders aimed at addressing the wage and employment leadership gap for women of color, punishing companies and contractors with historically poor records on diversity and equality by denying them contracts with the federal government. The Massachusetts senator detailed her latest plan Friday in a post on Medium, positioning her ideas as moral and economic imperatives. It’s the latest in a parade of proposals that have become a trademark of her 2020 Democratic presidential bid and helped boost her in the primary polls, particularly among black women. “Our economy should be working just as hard for women of color as women of color work for our economy and their families,” Warren wrote. “For decades, the government has helped perpetuate the systemic discrimination that has denied women of color equal opportunities. It’s time for the government to try to right those wrongs — and boost our economy in the process.” Warren’s plan comes on the eve of her appearance at Essence Fest, an annual music and cultural conference that is the largest gathering of black women in the country, with an expected 500,000 attendees. Also expected to speak …

A Russian think tank with links to an infamous troll farm says that two of its employees have been detained in Libya. The Foundation for the Protection of Traditional Values said in a statement Friday that its employees, including well-known spin doctor Maxim Shugaley, have been kept in custody in Libya since May. The think-tank did not explain the nature of the charges but insisted that its employees did not interfere in elections in Libya. The foundation is chaired by the man who has edited an English-language website which is part of a media empire run by President Vladimir Putin’s ally Yevgeny Prigozhin. Prigozhin and some of his employees have been indicted by U.S. special investigator Robert Mueller last year as part of a probe into the 2016 election interference. …

VOA Connect Episode 77 – Stories about people who are on a path they didn’t foresee, the career of a successful musician and the benefits of vinyl records …

The average monthly student loan payment is about $400 a month in the United States.  Eddy Encinales, who used student loans to pay for college, talks to us about the effects of the debt and toll it takes trying to make her monthly payments and plan for her future.   Reporter/Camera: Deepak Dobhal.   …

Find out why records are staging a comeback! *Insert record scratching sound effect.*   VOA Ukrainian; Reporter: Alina Golinata; Camera: Konstantin Golubchik; Adapted by: Zdenko Novacki. …

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister Theresa May have joined a high-level meeting in Poland that seeks to reassure Western Balkans nations aspiring to join the European Union that support for their accession remains strong, despite symptoms of a loss of momentum. The meeting in Poznan has brought together foreign, interior and economy ministers from some EU nations and from membership candidates Montenegro, Serbia, North Macedonia and Albania, as well as potential candidates Bosnia and Kosovo. The troubled Western Balkans nations are seeking EU reassurance after some leaders in the 28-member bloc have spoken against the enlargement and there is no set time frame for it. Poland is the host because it currently presides over the so-called Berlin Process that brings Western Balkan nations together with EU members.   …

James Samuel Harris Sr. loves to play the blues!  He says music is his gift from God.  Watch this People in America profile about the 91 year old musician, his road to success and how he earned the nickname “Cornbread.”   Executive Producer: Marsha James; Camera: Kaveh Rezaei. …

Thousands of Algerians took to the streets Friday to demand new democratic leadership and celebrate their country’s hard-fought independence from colonial France.  Amid extra-high security and resurgent anger at authorities, crowds wearing Algerian flags on their shoulders, heads and waists poured into the capital Algiers for Friday’s protest on what is a national holiday to mark Algeria’s 1962 independence. It’s the 20th straight week of demonstrations in a revolt that helped drive out longtime President Abdelaziz Bouteflika in April. Protesters were also venting their indignation at the arrests last week of several activists brandishing Berber emblems and of Lakhdar Bouregaa, a veteran of Algeria’s independence war. Authorities accused the activists of threatening Algeria’s unity by celebrating Berber identity. They also say the 82-year-old veteran is damaging the army’s morale by criticizing the powerful military chief. At Friday’s march, authorities deployed an unusually large number of police, who confiscated Berber flags from protesters entering the city. Police surrounded the plaza at the central post office that has been a nucleus of the revolt. Protesters hope Friday’s demonstration breathes new life into the movement, which is divided over how to achieve lasting change.    “Yes to a civilian state! No to a …

The U.K. competition watchdog on Friday launched an investigation into Amazon’s purchase of a big stake in food delivery service Deliveroo, a move that suggests authorities are taking a harder line on the expansion of Big Tech. While the deal had not been billed as a takeover by Amazon, the Competition and Markets Authority said it has “reasonable grounds for suspecting” that the agreement could “result in Amazon and Deliveroo ceasing to be distinct.”   The investigation will put on hold any plans to merge its operations with Deliveroo, whose delivery bikes and scooters are ubiquitous in many major cities. Besides Britain, it also operates in several countries in Europe and Asia, including Germany, France, Italy and Australia. The investigation comes as the regulator is taking a more activist role in seeking to protect consumers in an evolving marketplace. “This type of deal is right in the CMA’s area of interest at the moment – large tech incumbents like Amazon investing in smaller rivals – so called “killer acquisitions,” said Nicole Kar, head of the London Competition Practice at law firm Linklaters.   “You might not think there is much competition between Deliveroo and Amazon right at present given Deliveroo …

Danish prosecutors have charged three men under Denmark’s anti-terror laws on suspicion of buying drones and components with the purpose of delivering them to the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq where they were to be used “in combat actions.”      Prosecutor Kristian Kirk says the three men, aged 30, “deliberately and systematically obtained lots of small parts and components, which together could have become powerful weapons for terrorists.” Kirk says “it may sound like shopping lists for a hobby project [but] it is dead serious.” He said Friday that the men — two of them Danish citizens — bought “hobby planes, drones and thermal cameras as well as components, tools and accessories” in Denmark between 2013 and 2017.     A trial is scheduled in September in Copenhagen. …

BMW says CEO Harald Krueger is stepping down and that the company’s board will meet later this month to discuss a successor. Friday’s news comes after BMW lost money on its automotive business in the first quarter of the year after the company was hit by a 1.4 billion euro ($1.6 billion) charge for an anti-trust case and by higher upfront costs for new technology. A company news release quoted Krueger as saying he would like to pursue “new professional endeavors.” Krueger’s contract was due to expire in 2020. …

An Italian humanitarian group whose boat has been barred from docking in Lampedusa said the health of the 54 migrants it rescued at sea is rapidly deteriorating, prompting fears of another standoff with Italy’s populist government. Mediterranea Saving Humans said Friday in a tweet that its sailing boat ALEX was off Italy’s southernmost island of Lampedusa, just outside Italian territorial waters, and that it has been banned from entering Italian jurisdiction by ministerial decree. The migrants aboard the ship include 11 women, three of whom are pregnant, and four children. The pregnant women were given ultrasounds. Given the condition of those on board, the NGO has requested that the migrants, rescued from a rubber dinghy Thursday off Libya, be transferred to Italian or Maltese patrol boats. It said in light of the condition of the migrants that it couldn’t make the trip to the Mediterranean island of Malta itself. Malta said Thursday that it will take the migrants in a deal with Italy to take an equal number already in Malta. The deal appears aimed at avoiding what would be the 21st standoff between Italy’s populist government and humanitarian groups rescuing migrants at sea. In a tweet, the group said …

The June jobs report being released Friday will likely help determine whether the U.S. economy has stabilized or is gradually weakening. The evidence is conflicting. Consumer spending has solidified. Home sales are rebounding. But America’s manufacturing sector is slowing along with construction spending. Growth in the services sector, which includes such varied industries as restaurants, finance and recreation, slowed in June. Economists have estimated that the government will report that employers added 164,000 jobs in June, according to data provider FactSet. That would roughly match the average monthly gain this year and would mark a healthy rebound from the meager 75,000 jobs that were added in May. For June, the unemployment rate is expected to hold at 3.6% _ the lowest level since 1969 _ for a third straight month. The slowdown in hiring during May suggested that employers had grown more cautious in the face of weaker global growth, political showdowns over trade and, perhaps, some difficulty in finding enough qualified workers at the wages companies are willing to pay.  “Most economists have been expecting payrolls to slow down for a couple of years now,” said Stephen Stanley, chief economist at Amherst Pierpont Securities. “With all of the low-hanging …

President Donald Trump celebrated the story of America as “the greatest political journey in human history” in a Fourth of July commemoration before a soggy but cheering crowd of spectators, many of them invited, on the grounds of the Lincoln Memorial. Supporters welcomed his tribute to the U.S. military while protesters assailed him for putting himself center stage on a holiday devoted to unity. As rain fell on him, Trump called on Americans to “stay true to our cause” during a program that adhered to patriotic themes and hailed an eclectic mix of history’s heroes, from the armed forces, space, civil rights and other endeavors of American life. He largely stuck to his script, avoiding diversions into his agenda or re-election campaign. But in one exception, he vowed, “Very soon, we will plant the American flag on Mars,” actually a distant goal not likely to be achieved until late in the 2020s if even then. President Donald Trump applauds during an Independence Day celebration in front of the Lincoln Memorial, July 4, 2019, in Washington. Crowd-drenching downpour A late afternoon downpour drenched the capital’s Independence Day crowds and Trump’s speech unfolded in occasional rain. The warplanes and presidential aircraft he …

Every year, the United States Supreme Court issues decisions in around 70 cases, rulings that can profoundly affect American society for generations to come. But the powerful high court also considers a handful of cases with far-reaching consequences for the citizens, businesses and governments of other countries. This year the court decided at least five such cases. They include whether Indian farmers and fishermen can sue the private sector arm of the World Bank in federal U.S. court and whether an undocumented student from the United Arab Emirates can be convicted for illegally possessing firearms. Here is a look at them:   FILE – An iPhone with Twitter, Facebook and other apps, May 21, 2013. U.S. internet companies are taking a harder look at their policies that have promoted free expression around the world. Apple Inc. v. Pepper In a big win for iPhone users, the Supreme Court allowed an antitrust lawsuit against the global tech giant to proceed. In the 2013 lawsuit, four iPhone users accused Apple of unfairly raising app prices through its monopoly of the App Store. The iPhone maker asked a federal court to throw out the lawsuit, arguing the users could not sue the company …

U.S. government lawyers are scrambling to meet a court ordered Friday afternoon deadline to offer a plausible rationale for including a citizenship question on the country’s 2020 census, or stipulate that it is no longer seeking to put the controversial question on the survey. U.S. federal courts and states that challenged the Trump administration’s decision to include the citizenship question on the census are asking for clarity after the Departments of Justice and Commerce suddenly reversed what had been an acceptance of finalizing the questionnaire without inquiring about citizenship status. The Supreme Court has ruled that the government’s reasoning for including the citizenship question did not meet standards for a clear explanation of why it should be asked during the count of people in the United States that takes place every 10 years. Trump tweets The matter seemed further settled Tuesday when the DOJ and Commerce Department made public statements and comments in legal cases that the process of printing the census was going forward without a citizenship question in order to meet deadlines for carrying out the count on time. But with a series of tweets, President Donald Trump injected uncertainty back into the process as he proclaimed, “We …

The stepson of Malaysian ex-Prime Minister Najib Razak pleaded not guilty Friday to laundering $248 million from the 1MDB state investment fund, becoming the third person in his family to face charges in the scandal. Hollywood producer Riza Aziz was freed on bail a day after being detained by anti-graft officials. He was solemn as he appeared in court to be charged with receiving the illicit funds between 2011 and 2012 in the U.S. and Singapore. The charge sheets said the money was misappropriated from 1MDB and channeled into bank accounts of his Hollywood company Red Granite Pictures Inc., which produced films including the Martin Scorsese-directed “The Wolf of Wall Street.” Riza, 42, was charged with five counts of money laundering, and he could face up to five years in prison, a fine or both, on each count if he is convicted. Three family members charged Najib set up the 1MDB fund to finance development in Malaysia, but it accumulated billions in debts and U.S. investigators allege at least $4.5 billion was stolen from the fund and laundered by Najib’s associates. Public anger over the alleged corruption contributed to the shocking election defeat of Najib’s long-ruling coalition last year, and …