Updated Aug. 10, 2019, 10:15a.m. Financier Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges in New York, a former law enforcement official said Saturday. He was found in his cell at the Manhattan Correctional Center Saturday morning, according to the officials, who was briefed on the matter but spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to discuss it publicly. The medical examiner’s office in Manhattan confirmed Epstein’s death. Epstein’s arrest last month launched separate investigations into how authorities handled his case initially when similar charges were first brought against him in Florida more than a decade ago. U.S. Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta resigned last month after coming under fire for overseeing that deal when he was U.S. attorney in Miami. The 66-year-old had pleaded not guilty and was facing up to 45 years in prison if convicted. A little over two weeks, Epstein was found on the floor of his jail cell with bruises on his neck early, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity. At the time, it was not clear whether the injuries were self-inflicted or from an assault. Epstein’s arrest drew national attention, particularly focusing …

Ozaguin, considered the most popular singer-songwriter in the Central African Republic, recently came to the U.N.’s European headquarters in Geneva to awaken the world to the struggles faced by his country, which has been mired in civil war since 2012.  Ozaguin sings about the difficulties confronting his people.  He sings about the constant search for food in a country where insecurity prevents people from farming and harvesting their crops.  He sings about people fleeing into the bush to escape the violence of armed groups.  He sings about the same armed groups manipulating vulnerable people into doing their bidding so they can feed their families. Violence in C.A.R. Sends Thousands Fleeing A recent flare-up in violence in northwest Central African Republic has sent thousands fleeing for their lives. The U.N. refugee agency reports more than 5,000 refugees from CAR have arrived in southern Chad since December 27. The new year is off to a bad start for thousands of people forced to flee clashes involving armed groups in the northwestern CAR town of Paoua. The U.N. refugee agency reports an estimated 5,600 refugees have fled to Chad. The musician and activist recounts the difficulties he, himself, has faced in life.  He …

Malta says it is willing to take in 39 migrants rescued in the Mediterranean Sea early Saturday by a Spanish NGO’s ship. Malta said, however, it would not take the 121 people who were already on the vessel who were plucked from the sea last week. Malta said its military had already mounted an effort to rescue the 39.   Proactive Open Arms, the migrant rescue group, recovered the 39 instead and has refused to disembark the group if Malta does not take the group of 121 migrants. Malta said in a statement that the larger group was rescued in “an area where Malta is neither responsible nor the competent coordinating authority.  Malta can only shoulder its own responsibility since other solutions are not forthcoming.” Oscar Camps, the founder of Proactive Open Arms, said Malta’s decision not to take the 121 migrants has “caused a serious security problem” on the ship.  “The anxiety of these people is unbearable.” Actor Richard Gere who brought food and water to the ship Friday, said, “The most important thing for these people here is to be able to get to a free port, to be able to get off the boat, to start a …

Indian officials say at least 42 people have been killed in landslides and flooding caused by heavy rains.   Emergency officials say 100,000 people have been evacuated. The Indian state of Kerala has been worst hit, but Karnataka and Maharashtra states are also affected. June to September is India’s monsoon season which brings the heavy rains that farmers depend on, but the rains also bring heavy death and destruction. …

In the 4½ months since U.S.-backed forces declared victory over the Islamic State terror group’s last shred of territory in Syria, there has been a steady drumbeat of doubt. One by one, military leaders, diplomats and experts began raising concerns, aiming to convince policymakers that for all of the success in rolling back IS’s self-declared caliphate, the group was far from dead. “This is not the end of the fight,” U.S. Special Representative for Syria Ambassador James Jeffrey warned, just days after the victory celebrations in Syria in late March. “That will go on,” he said. “It is a different type of fight.” FILE – Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, center, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, U.S. Special Representative for Syria Engagement James Jeffrey, and Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, at Esenboga Airport in Ankara, Oct. 17, 2018. A series of new reports, citing intelligence from United Nations member states, the U.S. military and other sources, now indicate it is a fight that IS is increasingly well-positioned to win. “As long as it can gain revenue, it will remain a danger,” the Rand Corp. declared Thursday in “Return and Expand?” a report on the terror group’s finances and prospects …

A fuel tanker exploded in Tanzania on Saturday, killing 57 people and injuring 65, many of whom were siphoning petrol from the vehicle, which had crashed, state broadcaster TBC Taifa said. The explosion occurred around 200 km (120 miles) west of the capital Dar es Salaam. “We have been saddened by reports of an accident involving a fuel truck in Morogoro, which caught fire and burnt several people,” government spokesman Hassan Abbasi said on Twitter.   …

Eighteen people were killed and 14 were missing in eastern China Saturday in a landslide triggered by a major typhoon, which caused widespread transportation disruptions and the evacuation of more than 1 million people, state broadcaster CCTV reported. Typhoon Lekima made landfall early Saturday in the eastern province of Zhejiang with maximum winds of 187 km (116 miles) per hour, although it had weakened from its earlier designation as a “super” typhoon, the official Xinhua news agency reported. Thousands of flights were canceled in eastern China, according to the country’s aviation regulator, with most flights into and out of Shanghai’s two major airports canceled Saturday afternoon, their websites showed. China’s weather bureau Saturday issued an orange alert, its second highest, after posting a red alert Friday, when the storm forced flight cancellations in Taiwan and shut markets and businesses on the island. The deadly landslide occurred about 130 km north of the coastal city of Wenzhou, when a natural dam collapsed in an area deluged with 160 millimeters (6.3 inches) of rain in three hours, CCTV reported. The storm was moving northward at 15 kph and was gradually weakening, Xinhua reported, citing the weather bureau. People walk in the rainstorm as …

Pro-democracy demonstrations are continuing in Hong Kong for a 10th straight weekend, despite the government’s refusal to issue permits for all but one of the marches. The weekend rallies got an early start when activists decided to stage a three-day demonstration at the airport, beginning Friday. There are citywide protests Saturday. Families, many of them with strollers, joined the “Guard The Children” march Saturday. It was the only planned demonstration to have received a permit. A children’s alphabet leaflet was distributed, with A for “angry,” D for “demonstration” and P for “protest.” “We have to tell children about the current situation in Hong Kong, and educate them about what the right kind of society is,” Faye Lai told the French news agency AFP. Lai attended the demonstration with her 3-year-old niece. China has claimed the protests in Hong Kong are funded by the West, but has failed to produce evidence other than supportive statements about the demonstrations from some Western politicians. “Hong Kong poses a serious problem for the Chinese government,” Steve Tsang, director of the China Institute at London’s School of Oriental and African Studies, told the Associated Press. “It can’t allow the protesters to challenge its authority or …

Amanda Browder works with fabrics of all kinds. But, instead of creating clothing for people, she “dresses up” buildings with her unique style of installation art. Maxim Moskalkov has the story.   …

More than a year has passed since protests against changes to Nicaraguas pension program turned into a full scale socio-political crisis. The government crackdown by President Daniel Ortega has resulted in more than 200 deaths, and forced more than 65,000 people to leave the country. Among them journalists who say they’ve been targeted. But even though they’re not there, many of these journalists are still sending the news back home. VOA reporter Cristina Caicedo Smit has the story.   …

For many years, the United States has been issuing advisories, warning potential travelers about countries plagued by terrorism or armed conflict.  But now, Amnesty International, Japan, Uruguay and other countries are warning about the danger of travel to the U.S., citing gun violence. This sparked a response from President Donald Trump, as VOA’s Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports from the State Department.   …

This story originated in FILE – Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny, right, argues with a man in a military uniform, left, as opposition activist Leonid Volkov, center, listens during a rally in Novosibirsk, Siberia’s biggest city, Russia, June 7, 2015. Russian ‘projection’ Shortly after Thursday’s court ruling was announced, Navalny’s web site posted security camera footage of Russian Investigative Committee officials, Moscow’s equivalent of the FBI, entering FBK headquarters accompanied by masked guards in tactical gear. Other investigators raided the homes of FBK attorneys Vyacheslav Gimadi, Alexander Pomazuyev, Evgeny Zamyatin and Vladlen Los. Agents also searched the homes of FBK video-producer Vitaly Kolesnikov and regional manager Anastasia Kadetova, and called in other FBK representatives for questioning. “Everything is done according to this logic,” Volkov told VOA, explaining that just as a pro-Kremlin legislator who stands accused of murder would call for murder charges against an opposition figure, it was members of the State Duma’s financial crimes committee who filed the motion to bring money laundering charges against Navalny’s group. “Allegations we’ve ‘laundered a billion rubles’ are being levied by the very officials whose homes we’ve proven are worth literally millions of dollars,” he said. “Thieves make accusations of theft; murderers make …

Prosecutors on Friday filed a terrorist threat charge against a 20-year-old man who said he walked into a Missouri store wearing body armor and carrying a loaded rifle and handgun to test whether Walmart would honor his constitutional right to bear arms. The incident, just days after 22 people were killed during an attack at another Walmart in El Paso, Texas, caused a panic at the Springfield, Missouri, store. Dmitriy Andreychenko walked through filming himself with his cell phone Thursday afternoon. No shots were fired and Andreychenko was arrested after he was stopped by an armed off-duty firefighter at the store. “Missouri protects the right of people to open carry a firearm, but that does not allow an individual to act in a reckless and criminal manner endangering other citizens,’’ Greene County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Patterson said in a statement announcing the charge. Patterson compared the man’s actions to “falsely shouting fire in a theater causing a panic.” Dmitriy Andreychenko, 20, panicked shoppers fled a Walmart in Springfield, Missouri, after Andreychenko, carrying a rifle and wearing body armor walked around the store. If convicted, the felony charge of making a terrorist threat in the second degree is punishable by up …

The suspect accused of carrying out last week’s mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, told police after the shooting that he had been targeting Mexicans, according to authorities. A police affidavit released Friday said the suspect, Patrick Crusius, confessed to the shooting after getting out of his car and surrendering to police, saying, “I’m the shooter.” The affidavit from Detective Adrian Garcia said Crusius waived his right to remain silent and, after being taken into police custody, “The defendant stated his target (was) Mexicans.” Crusius is accused of shooting and killing 22 people and wounding two dozen others last Saturday. Online post Shortly before the attack, authorities believe Crusius posted online, expressing anger about a “Hispanic invasion” of the United States. Authorities said Crusius drove more than 10 hours from his hometown near Dallas, Texas, to the predominantly Hispanic border city of El Paso to carry out the shootings. Eight of the dead were Mexican nationals. Family members of the victims gathered at funerals on either side of the border Friday to remember their loved ones. Also Friday, top Trump administration officials met with social media giants, including Facebook, Twitter and Google to discuss ways to reduce …

NEW YORK — Confronted with allegations that he orchestrated a sex-trafficking ring that delivered girls to him and his high-profile acquaintances, financier Jeffrey Epstein repeatedly refused to answer questions to avoid incriminating himself, according to court records released Friday.    Epstein’s responses emerged in a partial transcript of a September 2016 deposition stemming from a defamation lawsuit. The transcript was included in hundreds of pages of documents placed in a public file by a federal appeals court in New York.    The deposition happened almost three years before Epstein’s July 6 arrest on sex-trafficking charges in a case that has brought down a Cabinet secretary and launched fresh investigations into how authorities dealt with Epstein over the years. The 66-year-old has pleaded not guilty.    Epstein was asked in the videotaped deposition whether it was standard operating procedure for his former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, to bring underage girls to him to sexually abuse.    Epstein replied “Fifth,” as he did to numerous other questions, citing the Constitution’s Fifth Amendment that protects people against incriminating themselves.    He also was asked whether Maxwell was “one of the main women” he used to procure underage girls for sexual activities.  “Fifth,” he replied.  …

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO – Puerto Rico’s streets have remained so quiet since Wanda Vazquez took over as governor following weeks of turmoil that one can again hear the island’s famous coqui frog singing at night.    The protests that led to the resignation of Gov. Ricardo Rossello a week ago and continued on a smaller scale until the Supreme Court removed his chosen successor have dissipated. Also gone are the sounds of cowbells and whistles, as well as most of the angry graffiti that covered streets in the colonial district of Puerto Rico’s capital that was ground zero for the demonstrations.    People who took to the streets to express disgust with government mismanagement and corruption were united in focusing their anger on Rossello, but now he is gone and there isn’t a common thread on how to proceed. Some Puerto Ricans are urging more protests. Others say people should take a step back and analyze what they want from officials. Yet others wish for stability and say Vazquez should be given a chance. Some worry about who might replace her.  Coming weeks are key   “Many people rose up, and after they accomplished what they did, they’re asking, …

GARDEN GROVE, CALIFORNIA – The suspect in a Southern California stabbing rampage that left four people dead and two injured pleaded not guilty Friday to murder, attempted murder and other counts.  Zachary Castaneda was arrested Wednesday by police responding to two hours of slashing and stabbing attacks in Garden Grove and Santa Ana.  Authorities said Castaneda, 33, was covered in blood when he was taken into custody after walking out of a 7-Eleven store and dropping a knife and a gun that he’d cut from the belt of a security guard he’d just killed.  The 11 felonies filed against Castaneda also included assault with a deadly weapon to cause great bodily injury, aggravated mayhem, robbery and burglary.  He was arraigned in his jail cell instead of court. Kimberly Edds, a spokeswoman for the Orange County district attorney, could not immediately say why.  Castaneda had been kept in restraints when detectives tried to interview him.  “He remained violent with us through the night,” Garden Grove Police Chief Tom DaRe said. “He never told us why he did this.”  Information about his defense attorney was not immediately available.  Neighbors killed Authorities on Friday said Gerardo Fresnares Beltran, 63, was fatally stabbed in his Garden Grove apartment. His …

A federal judge in Virginia ruled Friday that a school board’s transgender bathroom ban discriminated against a former student, Gavin Grimm. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Arenda Wright Allen in Norfolk is the latest of several nationwide that have favored transgender students facing similar policies. But the issue remains far from settled in the country as a patchwork of differing policies governs the nation’s schools. The Gloucester County School Board’s policy required Grimm to use girls’ restrooms or private bathrooms. The judge wrote that Grimm’s rights were violated under the U.S. Constitution’s equal protection clause as well as under Title IX, the federal policy that protects against gender-based discrimination. “There is no question that the Board’s policy discriminates against transgender students on the basis of their gender noncomformity,” Allen wrote. “Under the policy, all students except for transgender students may use restrooms corresponding with their gender identity,” she continued. “Transgender students are singled out, subjected to discriminatory treatment, and excluded from spaces where similarly situated students are permitted to go.” Similar claims Allen’s ruling will likely strengthen similar claims made by students in eastern Virginia. It could have a greater impact if the case goes to an appeals court …

An Iranian woman has pleaded guilty in the United States of trying to illegally export technology to her home country.    Negar Ghodskani, 40, entered her guilty plea Friday in federal court in the northern state of Minnesota.      According to court documents, Ghodskani worked for a Tehran company, Fana Moj, from 2008 to 2011 and established with a co-defendant another company in Malaysia that operated as a front for Fana Moj.      As part of the conspiracy, Ghodskani falsely represented herself as an employee of the Malaysian company in order to acquire export-controlled technology from the United States. In her guilty plea, Ghodskani said she concealed the ultimate destination for the technology.    The U.S. Department of Justice said Fana Moj was designated by the U.S. Treasury Department in 2017 as a company “providing financial, material, technological or other support for, or goods or services in support of,” Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.     Ghodskani was arrested in Australia in 2017 and had fought her extradition for several years.      A co-defendant in the case, Alireza Jalali, pleaded guilty in November 2017 and was sentenced in March 2018.  …

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA — The Trump administration says it won’t approve warning labels for products that contain glyphosate, a move aimed at California as it fights one of the world’s largest agriculture companies about the potentially cancer-causing chemical.    California requires warning labels on glyphosate products — widely known as the weed killer Roundup — because the International Agency for Research on Cancer has said it is “probably carcinogenic.”    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency disagrees, saying its research shows the chemical poses no risks to public health. California has not enforced the warning label for glyphosate because Monsanto, the company that makes Roundup, sued and a federal judge temporarily blocked the warning labels last year until the lawsuit could be resolved.    “It is irresponsible to require labels on products that are inaccurate when EPA knows the product does not pose a cancer risk,” EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said in a statement. “We will not allow California’s flawed program to dictate federal policy.”   State law California’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act, approved by voters in 1986, requires the government to publish a list of chemicals known to cause cancer, as determined by a variety of outside groups that include …

Anjana Pasricha contributed to this report. India eased restrictions Friday in Kashmir to allow the Muslim-majority population to attend Friday prayers, but protests still broke out in the disputed region.    Kashmir has been in an unprecedented five-day lockdown, depriving the region of any communications access, since India’s government announced it was revoking Kashmir’s special constitutional status.    Officials in Kashmir said residents in Srinagar were allowed to pray Friday at area-specific mosques.   A man lies in a hospital bed after being shot with pellets during clashes between Indian police and those protesting the Indian government’s scrapping of Kashmir’s special status, in Srinagar, Aug. 9, 2019. Witnesses in the city’s Soura area said a large group of people tried to start a protest but were pushed back by security forces who used tear gas and pellets.     A police officer, who requested anonymity since he was not authorized to speak to reporters, told the Reuters news agency that 12 people were taken to a hospital with pellet injuries. He put the number of people trying to protest at 10,000.  Mosque off limits   Authorities in Kashmir did not allow residents to congregate at Srinagar’s historic Jama Masjid mosque, which usually draws thousands of people …

Updated: Aug. 9, 2019, 7:09 p.m. North Korea has launched another round of projectiles into the sea off its east coast, its fifth such test in just over two weeks, according to South Korea’s military. The launch came hours after U.S. President Donald Trump said he received another “beautiful letter” from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and reiterated he isn’t concerned about Pyongyang’s short-range ballistic missiles tests. South Korea’s military says the projectiles were fired from near the Hamhung area in eastern North Korea. It isn’t clear how far the weapons traveled. North Korea has regularly launched short-range ballistic missiles into the sea the past two months. Pyongyang is angry about the resumption of joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises that began Monday. Trump said Kim’s latest letter expressed displeasure about the “war games.” “And as you know, I’ve never liked it either,” Trump told reporters Friday. “I’ve never liked it. I’ve never been a fan. You know why? I don’t like paying for it. We should be reimbursed for it.” Trump earlier this week announced in a tweet that South Korea had agreed to pay “substantially” more for the cost of U.S. troops in South Korea. South Korea refuted …

For many teens, the last year of high school is a time of excitement filled with studies, athletics and dances. But young Eritreans spend the year at a military camp preparing for mandatory conscription and indefinite national service, where they face physical and mental abuse.    A new report by Human Rights Watch offers the most detailed look to date at Eritrea’s conscription system, which forces young people to complete their final year of high school in the desert town of Sawa at a facility that’s part school, part boot camp.    The report, They Are Making Us Into Slaves, Not Educating Us, draws on interviews with 73 former secondary school students and national service teachers to provide details on what happens in the camp.    HRW found that authorities at Sawa keep students under military command throughout the year, beat them for minor infractions and force them to perform labor. Teachers at the camp are not much older than the students. Since they are compelled to serve at the camp, they are often indifferent or absent.  Impossible ‘to be a student’   In an interview with VOA, Laetitia Bader, a researcher at Human Rights Watch, said the system makes young people …

An envoy of U.S. President Donald Trump suggested on Friday that Chancellor Angela Merkel’s unwillingness to boost defense spending might give the United States no choice but to move American troops stationed in Germany to Poland. The comments by Richard Grenell, the U.S. ambassador to Germany, signal Trump’s impatience with Merkel’s failure to raise defense spending to 2% of economic output as mandated by the NATO military alliance. “It is offensive to assume that the U.S. taxpayers continue to pay for more than 50,000 Americans in Germany but the Germans get to spend their [budget] surplus on domestic programs,” Grenell told the dpa news agency. Germany’s fiscal plans foresee the defense budget of NATO’s second-largest member rising to 1.37% of output next year before falling to 1.24% in 2023. FILE – U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump greet U.S. troops at Ramstein Air Force Base, Germany, Dec. 27, 2018. Eastern European countries like Poland and Latvia, fearful of Russia after it annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, have raised their military spending to the 2% target, drawing praise from Trump who wants Germany to do the same. Deteriorating relations U.S. complaints about Germany’s defense spending pre-date Trump …