With erratic rainfall in Costa Rica playing havoc with her harvest, Maura Lupario reorganized her farm to ensure it could keep feeding her family – including getting her husband to give up his harvesting job at a banana company 50km away. Like millions of indigenous farmers around the world, she always relied on her traditional knowledge. But increasingly unpredictable weather, linked to climate change, has upended her usual sowing and harvesting times, leading to lower yields. “Before, you already knew in which months you could grow beans,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation from her farm in Yorkin Indigenous Reserve on Costa Rica’s southern border with Panama, which is home to about 500 Bribri people. “But there are changes now. If we sow on the dates we used to, the rain comes early and we can no longer collect on time. You can’t be sure anymore,” said Lupario, who is about 30 years old and has two children. It is becoming riskier to plant native varieties of beans, cocoa and corn as erratic rains can make crops flower early, leading to major production losses, locals said. Costa Rica is committed to addressing climate change, with forests covering about half of …

Putting her stamp on the health care issue that worries consumers the most, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday unveiled an ambitious plan to lower drug prices for seniors on Medicare and younger people with private insurance. Pelosi, D-Calif., would empower Medicare to negotiate prices for the 250 costliest drugs, including insulin. Pharmaceutical companies that refuse to negotiate could face steep penalties. Additionally, drugmakers that hike prices beyond inflation would have to pay rebates to Medicare. The plan would limit copays for seniors covered by Medicare’s “Part D” prescription drug program to $2,000. And Medicare-negotiated prices would be available to other buyers, such as employer health plans. The plan is Pelosi’s marker in what’s shaping up as a high-stakes negotiation to determine if a drug pricing compromise can pass Congress this year or if Democrats and Republicans will take their differences into the 2020 elections. The sweeping legislation leans left politically and appears to be tailor-made for Pelosi’s Democratic majority in the House. But in a signal that Pelosi wants a deal, it also incorporates ideas from the Trump administration and from Republican and Democratic senators. A solid majority of Americans, regardless of partisan affiliation, says lowering prescription drug costs …

Jump by jump, 98-year-old D-Day veteran Tom Rice is nudging closer to his goal of leaping out of planes at age 100.   The American who caused a sensation in June by parachuting into Normandy for the 75th anniversary of the 1944 D-Day landings was at it again on Thursday.   This time, his landing zone was in the Netherlands.   Rice, strapped to a younger parachutist who steered the canopy, jumped as part of commemorations for massive airborne landings September 1944.   He described their jump as “perfect” and said: “I’m going to do it until I’m 100.”   Rice jumped with the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division on D-Day.   Thursday’s jump with hundreds of parachutists was to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Operation Market Garden, a 1944 land-and-airborne thrust through the Netherlands.   …

African children are being left further and further behind and will make up more than half of the world’s poor by 2030, according to a new report. The stark warning comes as more than 150 world leaders prepare to attend the U.N. Sustainable Development Summit in New York beginning Sept. 25 to work on tackling global poverty. The United Nations has agreed on 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). No. 1 on the list is eradicating extreme poverty by 2030. But the world will fall well short of that target, according to the report by Save the Children and the Overseas Development Institute, which delivers a devastating verdict on global efforts to eradicate extreme poverty among children in Africa. “On our projection, children in Africa will account for around 55% of all extreme poverty in the world by 2030,” said Kevin Watkins, chief executive of Save the Children UK. African Children Will Make up Half of World’s Poor by 2030 video player. A child, who fled with others from his village in northern Burkina Faso following attacks by assailants, eats inside a school on the outskirts of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, June 15, 2019. The report criticizes African governments for failing to …

With no clear winner from Israel’s national election, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Thursday for his main challenger Benny Gantz to join in forming a unity government. In a video message, Netanyahu said that although he had campaigned for establishing a right-wing government, “the election results show that this is not possible.” He called for cooperation and urged Gantz to quickly set up a “broad unity government.” Gantz, of the centrist Blue and White Party, has said he would not join a unity government as long as Netanyahu remains head of the Likud Party.  A spokesman said Gantz would make his own statement later Thursday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressees his supporters at party headquarters after elections in Tel Aviv, Israel, Sept. 18, 2019. No majority Both parties fell short of the 61 seats needed to form a majority in the 120-seat Parliament.  With nearly all the votes counted Thursday, Blue and White had 33 seats to Likud’s 31, with their broader coalitions still falling short of a majority. Avigdor Lieberman is seen as a potential kingmaker in the absence of a majority party.  Lieberman, head of a party called Yisrael Beytenu (Israel is Our Home) supported primarily by …

In India’s tourist city of Jaipur, state authorities and civil society groups have launched a major campaign to end the use of child labor as growing numbers of young boys are trafficked into the city from poorer states. They are put to work to make handcrafted products that have made the city a magnet for shoppers from all over the country.  Anjana Pasricha has a report. …

The city of Huntington Park in the state of California has hired a new police office to patrol local parks. It’s always on duty and monitors the park 24 hours a day to make sure things are in order. Khrystyna Shevchenko met with this supercop and watched him work. Anna Rice narrates her story.    …

A quiet strip of land in northern Syria contains a volatile mix of troops from various nations and militias allied with some of those countries, but viewed as enemies by others.  In an attempt to keep this powder-keg from blowing up, the U.S. and Turkey brokered a deal last month to create a “safe zone” between Turkey and Kurdish areas. But Turkey now says the original deal still leaves it in danger, and analysts warn there is no long-term strategy to peaceful coexistence.  VOA’s Heather Murdock has this story from Manbij and al-Bab in Syria. …

A new poll shows Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren surging into second place in the Democratic presidential race behind former Vice President Joe Biden.  The NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll found Biden leading the Democratic field with 31% support, followed by Warren at 25% and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders in third place with 14%. VOA National correspondent Jim Malone has the latest on the Democratic primary race from Washington. …

The American Dream is many things to many people. For the Savchuk family who came to the U.S. from Ukraine more than 15 years ago, achieving their dream meant opening a small business and making a decent living. VOA’s Iryna Matviichuk met with the family and saw their dream come true.   …

Israelis went to the polls again this week, but unofficial results show another deadlock. Neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of the Likud Party nor challenger Benny Gantz of the Blue and White party can form a governing coalition. Many in Israel say the two large parties must unite despite their differences. Linda Gradstein reports for VOA from Jerusalem.   …

U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered additional sanctions against Iran after receiving reports that Tehran is most likely responsible for Saturday’s attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities. The president said Wednesday that he had directed Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to stiffen existing sanctions. He also named his fourth national security adviser  Wednesday. VOA’s Zlatica Hoke reports.   …

Three former executives of Tokyo Electric Power Co. have been acquitted in Tokyo District Court on criminal charges related to the 2011 meltdown of three reactors at the Fukushima nuclear plant in northeastern Japan. Prosecutors had accused former TEPCO chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata and former vice presidents Sakae Muto and Ichiro Takekuro of professional negligence for failing to act on studies that showed Fukushima could be at risk from the threat of a tsunami. The trio was also accused of causing the deaths of more than 40 people who died after having been forced to evacuate the area near the plant. Katsumata, Muto and Takekuro were the only people facing criminal prosecution involving the disaster. Prosecutors had asked the court to sentence each executive to five years in jail in a trial that lasted more than two years. A powerful 9.0 magnitude earthquake in March 2011 triggered a massive tsunami that killed 20,000 people and caused the meltdown of Fukushima’s three nuclear reactors in northeastern Japan, making it the world’s worst nuclear crisis since the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.   …

Prospects for peace in Afghanistan appeared more remote Thursday after an attack on a government building in eastern Afghanistan killed nine and the Taliban warned of attacks on polling centers just days ahead of the country’s planned elections. The latest spate of bombings across Afghanistan, including an attack earlier this week targeting President Ashraf Ghani, follow the collapse of peace talks between the United States and the Taliban. Moreover, there are the concerns that the ever-growing anger and animosity may make it that much more difficult that an eventual deal, including the Afghan government, if reached, will ever take hold. Of particular concern to some U.S. officials is the fate of about 60,000 full-time Taliban fighters who would be forced to lay down their weapons and find a new way of life, likely within the communities they once battled. “The reintegration of former fighters into society — a complex and long-term process with social, economic, political, security and humanitarian dimensions —will be critical for Afghanistan to achieve lasting peace and stability, a goal crucial to U.S., coalition and Afghan interests,” according to a newly released report by the Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR). How to …

A federal judge in Miami has denied bail for a former American Airlines mechanic accused of sabotaging a jetliner with 150 aboard. Judge Chris McAliley ordered Abdul-Majeed Marouf Ahmed Alani to remain behind bars because of what the judge says is new evidence of possible Islamic extremist sympathies. Prosecutors say Alani’s brother in Iraq may have ties to Islamic State and Alani himself allegedly made statements about Allah using “divine powers” to harm non-Muslins. But for now, the only charge against Alani is “willfully damaging, destroying, or disabling” a commercial aircraft. Prosecutors say Alani glued a piece of Styrofoam inside the nose of the aircraft in mid-July to disable a component allowing the pilots to gauge its speed and other information. The aircraft flashed an error message just before takeoff from Miami to Nassau, Bahamas, and the pilots returned to the gate. Alani told police he was angered over stalled labor talks between American Airlines management and mechanics and hoped that stopping the plane would lead to extra work and overtime pay. Alani’s attorney says that even if the plane had taken off, it would have been safe to fly. Judge McAliley disagreed, telling Alani “What you did with this …

It’s an uneasy night on Bermuda as Hurricane Humberto threatens to lash the island with fierce winds and heavy rains. Humberto is a strong Category 3 storm with top sustained winds of 195 kilometers (120 miles) per hour. The storm was centered north of Bermuda Wednesday night moving east-northeast at 31 kph (20 mph). Bermuda is under a hurricane warning with forecasters predicting the storm will pass very close to the island overnight Wednesday into Thursday before it starts to weaken. Bermuda’s National Security Minister Wayne Caines ordered everyone off the streets as evening approached. All non-emergency medical procedures in Bermuda’s hospitals are postponed and evening flights to and from the island have been canceled. …

Democratic and Republican U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday cited progress in talks with the Trump administration aimed at ensuring passage of a new U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, but said more work was needed. House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal, a Massachusetts Democrat, and the ranking Republican on the committee, Kevin Brady of Texas, separately told reporters the two sides were exchanging information. “We’re making substantial progress,” Neal said. “We believe it might take a couple of more exchanges (with the White House), but the thinking is certainly being refined. And we think we’re making headway.” U.S. Vice President Mike Pence on Tuesday said he believed Congress would pass the agreement this year. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi later said Democrats were aiming to ratify it, but still had concerns about enforcement. The Trump administration has been pressing for swift approval of the trade deal, but House Democrats are demanding better mechanisms to enforce labor and environmental standards, and to ensure that the deal does not lead to higher drug prices. Brady said U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has offered “some pretty strong steps” to address Democrats’ concerns. However, he added, “there is still more work to do.” All eight living former Secretaries …

Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives introduced a stopgap government funding bill Wednesday that would maintain current spending levels until Nov. 21 and avoid a government shutdown when funding expires at the end of this month. A vote is expected in the House Thursday, Democratic aides said. The measure was the result of talks between both parties in both chambers. House majority leader Steny Hoyer said earlier Wednesday that he hoped Senate passage would swiftly follow approval by the House. “Once we pass the (continuing resolution) … I’m hopeful that the Senate will take it up, that we’ll have agreement and that we will send it to the president, that the president will sign it,” said Hoyer, the No. 2 House Democrat. Deal passed in July In July, Congress passed a two-year budget and debt deal that authorized discretionary defense and non-defense programs, but lawmakers still need to pass annual legislation to fund agencies and avoid a government shutdown at the end of the month. Last December and January, the government shuttered for more than a month after President Donald Trump initially refused to sign a spending bill if it did not include funding for a wall along the …

In a hearing Wednesday to examine the spread of extremism online and the effectiveness of measures taken to prevent violent content, leaders from Facebook, Twitter and Google faced tough questions from U.S. lawmakers, accentuating the positive steps taken, while acknowledging the work remaining. Policy representatives from the social media giants told members of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation that their companies had made significant progress in curbing bigotry and extremist content on their platforms. Senators suggested the companies could do much more, however, as part of their “digital responsibility” to prevent terrorists and extremists from using the internet to encourage violence. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., takes the stage during a rally in Tupelo, Miss., Nov. 26, 2018. “No matter how great the benefits to society these platforms provide, it is important to consider how they can be used for evil at home and abroad,” Sen. Roger Wicker, a Mississippi Republican, said in an opening statement, citing incidents in which white nationalists and Islamic State sympathizers used social media to radicalize and post their crimes. The role of social media companies has come under scrutiny in recent months in the aftermath of assorted high-profile mass shootings that were posted online. Following a …

Efforts to secure prisons holding thousands of captured Islamic State fighters appear to be on the verge of crumbling, a development that could help strengthen the terror group’s efforts to re-emerge in Syria and Iraq.    For months, officials have said the prisons, run by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, were “good enough” to hold the fighters, many of whom were captured following the fall of Baghuz, the terror group’s last Syrian stronghold, in March.    But as efforts to repatriate IS foreign fighters to their countries of origin have stalled, and as thousands more wait to face some sort of justice, fears are growing that the prisons may be reaching a breaking point.   FILE – Syrian Democratic Forces fighters watch illumination rounds light up Baghuz, Syria, as the last pocket of Islamic State militants is attacked, March 12, 2019. “There are not prisons controlled by forces in northeast Syria that can house 10,000 ISIS fighters,” Chris Maier, director of the Pentagon’s Defeat IS Task Force, told reporters Wednesday, using another acronym for the terror group.    “This is not sustainable over time,” he added, noting that the United States’ anti-IS coalition partners “share that assessment.”    Many of the prisons are buildings, like schools, that were quickly converted …

Qatar Airways hit turbulence Wednesday, posting a net loss for the year to March 2019 of $639 million which the airline blamed on key markets closing their airspace to Doha. The United Arab Emirates, which was a key market for the Gulf carrier, along with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt, have enforced an economic boycott of Qatar since June 2017. They accuse Doha of links to extremist groups and being too close to Iran, Riyadh’s regional arch-rival — charges Qatar denies — and have closed their airspace, borders and markets to Doha. The year to March 2019 was “a challenging year and while it is disappointing that [Qatar Airways Group] has registered a net loss of 2.3 billion Qatari riyals [$639 million] — attributable to the loss of mature routes, higher fuel costs and foreign exchange fluctuations — the underlying fundamentals of our business remain extremely robust,” the airline said in a statement. Growth The flag carrier said it had added 31 new destinations “since the start of the illegal blockade,” both making use of aircraft formerly used on its popular regional routes as well as new planes. “The airline’s fleet grew by 25 aircraft to a point where it …

Canada reported its first hospitalization for severe respiratory illness linked to vaping Wednesday, following an outbreak in the U.S. that has killed seven people and sickened hundreds.    The Middlesex-London Health Unit said in a statement that “a youth has been diagnosed with severe respiratory illness that has been linked to the individual’s use of vaping products.”    Medic Christopher Mackie told a news conference that the London, Ontario, high school student, who vaped daily, was admitted to a local hospital intensive care unit but has since recovered.    “As far as we’re aware, this is the first case of vaping-related illness that’s been reported in Canada,” he said.    E-cigarettes have been available in the U.S. and Canada since 2006 and are sometimes used to aid in quitting smoking traditional tobacco products such as cigarettes.    Despite a ban in Canada on selling vaping products to youths, adolescents’ use of them has skyrocketed in recent years.  More restrictions weighed   Health Minister Ginette Petitpas-Taylor said the Canadian government was looking at further banning of vaping advertising and certain flavors that may be appealing to young people.    “At the end of the day, my number one priority is protecting our youth,” she said. “We want to …

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday ruled out meeting Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido if he attends next week’s General Assembly, despite the support he has among most Western and Latin American nations. “No, that’s not being planned,” the U.N. chief told a news conference about the annual global summit when asked if he would meet Guaido. FILE – Venezuela’s National Assembly President and self-proclaimed interim President Juan Guaido speaks to the press in Caracas, Venezuela, Sept. 16, 2019. He added, however, that the United Nations maintained “regular contact” with Venezuela’s opposition. More than 50 nations recognize Guaido as the interim president, but leftist leader Nicolas Maduro’s government holds Venezuela’s U.N. seat and enjoys backing from Security Council members Russia and China. Guterres said that the United Nations will not be the setting for negotiations between Maduro and the opposition. But he voiced hope for a resumption of dialogue between the government and opposition sponsored by Norway, which broke down last month. Maduro petition FILE – Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro speaks during the IX anniversary of the Bolivarian Military University of Venezuela in Caracas, Sept. 3, 2019. Maduro, who presides over a crumbling economy that has caused millions to flee …

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met Wednesday with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah, insisting that Iran was responsible for the attacks Saturday on Saudi oil installations.  Saudi TV showed Pompeo arriving at Jeddah airport late in the afternoon, before meeting with the crown prince. “Iran is behind the attacks and not Yemen’s Houthis,” said the secretary, who was due to fly later in the day to the United Arab Emirates to meet UAE Crown Prince Mohammed Ben Zayed.  Saudi Defense Ministry spokesman Col. Turki al-Maliki told journalists at a press conference earlier that 18 drones and seven cruise missiles had hit the two Saudi oil facilities. Three other missiles fell short of their targets, he said, and he displayed photos of those. “This attack did not originate from Yemen, despite Iran’s best effort to make it appear so,” al-Maliki said. “Their collaboration with their proxy in the region to create this false narrative is clear. Secondly, the attack was launched from the north and unquestionably sponsored by Iran.”  He stopped short of saying the missiles had been launched from Iranian territory, despite accusing Tehran of being behind the attacks. Journalists film what Saudi military spokesman Col. Turki al-Maliki said was evidence of Iranian weaponry used in the attack on Saudi Aramco’s facilities in Abqaiq and …