Recent efforts by the governments of Australia and New Zealand to tackle online extremism has renewed the debate over the threat of radicalization on the internet, with some analysts seeing new opportunities for states and tech giants for a joint action. Australian officials earlier this week enacted what they are calling the world’s first law to curb online extremism, as authorities ordered five websites to remove extremist content or face prosecution. The offending websites are all based outside Australia, the country’s eSafety commission told the Financial Times. The commission is charged with investigating and removing such content. In neighboring New Zealand, a self-avowed white supremacist in March opened fire at two mosques and gunned down 51 people while livestreaming his actions on Facebook. On Monday, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey met with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in Wellington to discuss what his company can do to help eliminate violent extremist content on its platform. FILE – People visit a memorial for victims of a shooting at the Masjid Al Noor mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, March 18, 2019. The meeting was a part of Ardern’s efforts through Christchurch Call, a pledge by 18 countries and eight technology companies in Paris on …

At two of the world’s biggest coal mines, the finances got so bad that their owner couldn’t even get toilet paper on credit. Warehouse technician Melissa Worden divvied up what remained of the last case, giving four rolls to each mine and two to the mine supply facility where she worked. Days later, things got worse. Blackjewel worker Melissa Worden, poses for a photo in Gillette, Wyo., Sept. 5, 2019. When Blackjewel shut down Belle Ayr and Eagle Butte mines, July 1, 2019, people thought they would reopen. “I don’t think we’ll ever be that naive again,” she said. Mine owner Blackjewel LLC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection July 1. Worden at first figured the accounts would get settled quickly and vendors of everything from copy paper to parts for house-sized dump trucks would soon be back to doing normal business with the mines. “The consensus was: In 30 days, we’ll look back on this, and we made it through, and we’ll be up and running, and it’s a fresh start,” Worden said. What happened instead has shaken the top coal-producing region in the United States like a charge of mining explosive. Blackjewel furloughed most of its Wyoming employees …

It’s been a rocky week in Afghanistan peace talks, and NATO’s operational commander said allies “anticipate increased violence” on the ground as Afghan presidential elections inch closer. U.S. Air Force Gen. Tod Wolters, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), told a small group of reporters that Afghan elections “probably won’t be perfect,” but the 29-member North Atlantic alliance will “plan and execute to the ends of the Earth” to try to make the September 28 vote as safe as possible. “There has been a lot of drama associated with Afghanistan, and at this very moment the signal we send to our NATO partners is the U.S. is committed, NATO is committed, and the mission still remains,” Wolters said on the sidelines of the latest NATO Military Committee in Chiefs of Defense Session. FILE – U.S. Air Forces in Europe Commander Tod D. Wolters speaks during NATO Baltic ceremony in Siauliai, Lithuania, Aug. 30, 2017. British Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach, chairman of NATO’s military chiefs, added Saturday that there was “no division” on that commitment. “We went into Afghanistan together, and any changes we will make together,” Peach said. Peace talks between the U.S. and the Taliban collapsed late …

A senior Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) intelligence officer arrested this week for allegedly stealing sensitive documents oversaw an investigation into the laundering of stolen Russian funds, Canadian media reported Saturday. The Globe and Mail said Cameron Ortis’ arrest was linked to a major corruption case that was first revealed by Sergei Magnitsky, who went public with details of a $230 million fraud scheme allegedly run by senior Russian interior ministry and tax officials. Ortis was as recently as August said to be overseeing an inquiry into whether some of the money was funneled through Canada, the newspaper reported. “Ortis, director-general of the RCMP’s National Intelligence Coordination Centre, was planning to meet for a second time with the legal team pursuing the matter alleging more than $14 million in Russian fraud proceeds were tied to Canada,” The Globe and Mail said, citing an unnamed source. FILE – Sergei Magnitsky publicly disclosed a $230 million fraud scheme allegedly run by senior Russian officials. He died in 2009 after 11 months in prison. Ortis’ involvement in the case came after William Browder, a British financier and former investor in Russia whom Magnitsky worked for, filed a complaint with the RCMP in 2016. …

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson likened himself to the unruly comic book character The Incredible Hulk late Saturday in a newspaper interview in which he stressed his determination to take Britain out of the European Union on Oct. 31.  The Mail on Sunday reported that Johnson said he would find a way to circumvent a recent Parliament vote ordering him to delay Brexit rather than take Britain out of the EU without a transition deal to ease the economic shock.  “The madder Hulk gets, the stronger Hulk gets,” Johnson was quoted as saying. “Hulk always escaped, no matter how tightly bound in he seemed to be — and that is the case for this country. We will come out on October 31.”  Britain’s Parliament has repeatedly rejected the exit deal Johnson’s predecessor, Theresa May, negotiated with the EU, and this month rejected leaving without a deal — angering many Britons who voted to leave the bloc more than three years ago.   No ‘backstop’ Johnson has said he wants to negotiate a new deal that does not involve a “backstop,” which would potentially tie Britain against its will to EU rules after it leaves in order to avoid checks on the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.  The EU has so far insisted on the backstop, and Britain has not presented …

The Afghan government will consider making a “legitimate” peace with insurgents only after national elections are held this month, an official told reporters Saturday, despite the atmosphere of political uncertainty following the sudden halt in U.S.-Taliban peace talks.    President Donald Trump abruptly called off talks to end American’s longest war last week. The Afghan government was largely shut out of the negotiations and was concerned that any finalized U.S.-Taliban deal would delay the elections while a national unity government was formed, forcing the exit of President Ashraf Ghani.    “Nothing will impede the presidential election from happening,” said the Afghan presidential spokesman, Sediq Seddiqi.    He said that a peace deal with the Taliban could come only after holding the presidential election scheduled for Sept. 28. “Legitimacy of peace cannot be achieved without elections,” he said.  Security concerns   Sediqqi also suggested that there will be a “big change” toward improving security across the country ahead of the voting. The Taliban, who consider the Afghan government a U.S. puppet, have warned Afghans not to vote and have said polling stations will be targets.    Sediqqi pointed to a Taliban delegation’s visit to Russia, just days after Trump called off talks, to say the insurgents are faced with a “political failure” of their …

The American Film Festival in Deauville, France, awarded its top prize to Annie Silverstein’s Bull, jury president Catherine Deneuve announced Saturday.    Silverstein’s first full-length feature, which was also selected for the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes film festival in May, was awarded Deauville’s Grand Prize, as well as the festival’s Critics Award and the Louis Roederer Foundation Revelation Prize.    The film “paints an extremely fair and disturbing picture of Donald Trump’s America, America abandoned by its policies whether in school or in health,” said actress Anna Mouglalis, head of the Revelation jury.   Bull tells the story of 14-year-old Kris from Houston, Texas, who after trashing her neighbor’s house in a fit of youthful defiance seems destined to follow in her mother’s footsteps to the state penitentiary.    To make amends, Kris is forced to help Abe Turner, an ex-bull rider scraping by on the Texas rodeo circuit, with errands at home and at his work. While traveling with Abe, she discovers a passion for bull riding. Yet, bad influences back home lure her back into delinquent ways.    Gerard Lefort, head of the Critics Award jury, described the film as a “captivating story with a staggeringly mature performance by …

The Bahamian government has discontinued a tropical storm warning as Humberto moves away from the island nation struggling to recover from Hurricane Dorian.    The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Tropical Storm Humberto was expected to become a hurricane by Sunday night or early Monday but wouldn’t threaten land by the time it intensified to that strength.    Officials warned that the storm could still cause dangerous swells in the northwest Bahamas and along the coasts of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina later this weekend and early next week.     At 5 p.m. EDT, the storm was located about 70 miles (113 kilometers) north of Great Abaco Island. Humberto was moving 7 mph (11 kph) north-northwest with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph (80 kph).  …

U.S. President Donald Trump said Saturday that he had spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about a possible mutual defense treaty between the two nations, a move that could bolster Netanyahu’s re-election bid just days before Israelis go to the polls.  “I had a call today with Prime Minister Netanyahu to discuss the possibility of moving forward with a Mutual Defense Treaty, between the United States and Israel, that would further anchor the tremendous alliance between our two countries,” Trump said on Twitter.  He added that he looked forward to continuing those discussions later this month on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly session in New York.  Netanyahu thanked Trump, saying in a tweet that Israel “has never had a greater friend in the White House,” and adding that he looked forward to meeting at the U.N. “to advance a historic Defense Treaty between the United States and Israel.”  Close race seen The timing of Trump’s tweet, just days before Israel’s election on Tuesday, appeared aimed at buttressing Netanyahu’s bid to remain in power by showcasing his close ties to Trump.  Opinion polls predict a close race, five months after an inconclusive election in which Netanyahu declared himself the winner but failed to put together a coalition government.  FILE – Benny Gantz, the leader of Blue …

Tunisians will choose Sunday from no fewer than 26 candidates in the country’s second democratic presidential elections — moved up several weeks by July’s death of President Beji Caid Essebsi.   But this first round, which precedes legislative elections and a likely runoff presidential vote, will take place against the backdrop of a stagnating economy and a sense that the country’s 2011 “Jasmine” revolution has failed to deliver on its promise.  The experience of final Friday night rallies in downtown Tunis was a bit like going candidate shopping. Crowds backing the moderate Islamist Ennahda Party packed one section of the iconic Habib Bourguiba Avenue, dancing and waving flags.    Farther down were supporters of leftist candidates Hamam Hammami and Mongi Rahoui.  Supporters of leftist candidate Mongi Rahoui dance at a final rally, in Tunis, Tunisia, Sept. 13, 2019.(L. Bryant/VOA) And finally, fans of businessman Nabil Karoui, considered a strong contender despite — and maybe partly because of — his being detained on corruption charges.    Posters lining the streets of the capital offered a dizzying choice, identifying candidates by number, 1 to 26, as well as by name.  University student Fellah Ferchichi, 25, couldn’t decide whom to vote for.    “You have three or four people all the same, like [Prime Minister] Youssef Chahed is the top one now, and you have Kais Said,” Ferchichi said. “And especially you have a woman, like Selma Loumi [Rekik].”  Businesswoman Mouna Belaid was voting for female candidate …

The flag-draped coffin had arrived, followed by black-clad family members, their heads bowed. Several dozen suited dignitaries marched in, chests puffed out. Military members stood rigid and proud. All of the pomp and circumstance one would expect at the memorial for a man hailed as an African icon was in place Saturday for the final public sendoff for Robert Mugabe. But there was just one thing missing: A crowd. Final Public Sendoff for Zimbabwe’s Mugabe Draws Light Turnout video player. Members of the public sit in the stands during the state funeral for former president Robert Mugabe, at the National Sports Stadium, in the capital Harare, Zimbabwe, Sept. 14, 2019. Mugabe, the first president of independent Zimbabwe, died last week at the age of 95, after ruling for 37 years. In attendance were a smattering of African heads of state and former heads of state – but no major leaders from outside the continent. Those who came included leaders like Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo – who has ruled Equatorial Guinea with an iron fist since 1979 – and Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, the son of independent Kenya’s first president. They praised Mugabe for fighting to liberate his country from the …

Congo’s National Ebola Response Committee says confirmed Ebola deaths in the east of the sprawling African nation are nearing 2,000 and confirmed cases of the virus have exceeded 3,000. The committee released the latest numbers Friday after a discussion in Goma by the Catholic Church and the Anglican Church about efforts to help stem the spread of Ebola in communities. A mistrust of health workers and widespread security issues still threaten the fight against the second deadliest outbreak of Ebola in history in a region where armed groups have fought for decades over the mineral-rich land. The committee reported 3,002 confirmed Ebola cases with 1,974 deaths.   The World Health Organization said Friday they recorded the lowest weekly incidence of Ebola since March 2019 with 40 new cases, but said it was unclear if this positive trend would continue.   …

While the political and economic crisis worsens in Venezuela, countries in the Western Hemisphere continue to be economically impacted by migrants seeking refuge and asylum. To help alleviate some of the burden, the United States Navy has deployed the Comfort hospital ship to assist countries like Colombia, Ecuador and Costa Rica. VOA’s Cristina Caicedo Smit visited the ship on one of its last stops, Trinidad and Tobago. …

The White House said Saturday that the son of al-Qaida founder Osama bin Laden has been killed in a U.S. counterterrorism operation in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region. The White House said in a statement, “The loss of Hamza bin Ladin (Laden) not only deprives al-Qaida of important leadership skills and the symbolic connection to his father, but undermines important operational activities of the group.” The younger bin Laden was described by the White House as “the high-ranking al-Qaida member” who was “responsible for planning and dealing with various terrorist groups.” Some media organizations previously reported earlier this summer Hamza bin Laden had been killed about two years ago, but it was not confirmed by the administration of President Donald Trump until Saturday. Hamza bin Laden was believed to have been in his 30s.   His father declared war against the U.S. in 1996 and was the mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks on the United States. U.S. Navy SEALs killed him in a raid on a house in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in 2011.   …

Italy has agreed to allow rescue ship Ocean Viking to disembark 82 migrants in the southern port of Lampedusa, the SOS Mediterranee charity which runs the vessel said Saturday. “The Ocean Viking just received instructions from the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre of Rome to proceed to Lampedusa,” SOS Mediterranee tweeted. “An ad hoc European agreement between Italy, France, Germany, Portugal and Luxembourg has been reached to allow the landing,” said French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner, referring to the division of the migrants between the five countries. “We now need to agree on a genuine temporary European mechanism.” Castaner added. The Ocean Viking was on its second mission and was shuttling between Malta and Italy for nearly two weeks, seeking a port to land the migrants. Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders), which runs the ship jointly with SOS Mediterranee, said the group comprised 58 men, six women and 18 children. The Ocean Viking had rescued 356 migrants on its first mission.   Italy is trying to set up an automatic system for distributing migrants rescued in the Mediterranean between European countries, diplomatic sources said recently. Such a deal would put an end to the case-by-case negotiations over who will take …

The International Organization for Migration reports it has repatriated 127 African and Asian migrants stranded in Libya under difficult, brutal conditions. Tripoli’s Mitiga International airport was shut down last Sunday after being hit by missiles. For safety reasons, IOM’s chartered plane with 127 migrants aboard took off earlier this week from Misrata, about a two-hour drive east of the Libyan capital. From there, the passengers, which included women and children, flew to Istanbul and then onwards to their home countries.  Missions from 15 countries in Africa and Asia, including Gambia, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Bangladesh and Egypt were involved in the complex, risky operation. IOM spokeswoman, Safa Msehli told VOA stranded migrants is a reference to those those who either are held in Libyan detention centers or are living freely in urban areas across the country. “In detention centers across Libya we have close to 5,000 migrants that are still detained.  In Libya alone, according to IOM Libya’s DTM (Displacement Tracking Matrix), there are over 600,000 migrants, a lot of whom – not only due to the current context of war – but a lot of whom have arrived in Libya and remain without a solution,” Msehli said.   Libya’s …

Pakistan said Saturday four of its soldiers were killed and another was injured when “terrorists” from across the Afghanistan border opened fire at two locations. The deadliest of the shootings occurred in the remote Dir district where Pakistani troops were building a border fence when they came under attack from the other side, killing three soldiers and injuring another. The military’s media wing said another soldier was killed when “miscreants” from the Afghan side ambushed a routine border patrol party late Friday in North Waziristan district. It added that two of the assailants were also killed in an exchange of fire. Cross-border militant attacks are not uncommon on Pakistani troops constructing a fence along the country’s nearly 2,600 kilometer border with Afghanistan. Islamabad began the unilateral fencing of the largely porous frontier two years ago to plug hundreds of informal crossings that were encouraging terrorist infiltration in both directions. Military officials expect the massive border project will be in place by end of next year, addressing to a large extent mutual concerns of illegal crossings of both militants and drug traffickers. Pakistan has complained that anti-state militants linked to the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, have taken refuge in “ungoverned” Afghan …

The World Food Program has launched its biggest relief operation this year to aid thousands of Rohingya refugees whose possessions have been swept away in the torrential rains that hit Cox’s Bazaar in Bangladesh this week. In the space of 24 hours, the WFP has delivered food to 16,000 Rohingya refugees who have lost everything in the heavy rains that have wreaked havoc in the camps.  The agency reports it also has provided food aid to more than 800 people from the host community displaced by the flooding. Bangladesh is a low-lying country prone to flooding during the monsoon season, which is set to last until October.  However, the amount of rain that battered the region in just one day this week is by any measure extreme and devastating. WFP spokesman Herve Verhoosel told VOA a colleague on the ground has described the depth of grief experienced by families who have lost the few belongings they have managed to acquire in the camps.  More than 700,000 Rohingya refugees have fled violence and persecution in Myanmar since August 2017, many with nothing more than the clothes on their backs. Citing one family as an example, Verhoosel described the refugees’ predicament as …

VOA reporters Victoria Macchi and Ramon Taylor spoke with a broad sampling of migrants and asylum-seekers in early August. Many departed their home countries months before U.S. policy changes went into effect, under assumptions that no long apply. All are awaiting immigration court hearings. Here are some of their stories. …

VOA reporters Victoria Macchi and Ramon Taylor spoke with a broad sampling of migrants and asylum-seekers in early August. Many departed their home countries months before U.S. policy changes went into effect, under assumptions that no long apply. All are awaiting immigration court hearings. Here are some of their stories. …

VOA reporters Victoria Macchi and Ramon Taylor spoke with a broad sampling of migrants and asylum-seekers in early August. Many departed their home countries months before U.S. policy changes went into effect, under assumptions that no long apply. All are awaiting immigration court hearings. Here are some of their stories. …

Baton-wielding Hong Kong police moved in to break up scuffles Saturday between pro-China protesters and those denouncing perceived Chinese meddling at the start of rallies planned for across the city after months of often violent unrest. The pro-China demonstrators chanted “Support the police” and “China, add oil” at a shopping mall in the Kowloon Bay area, adapting a line used by anti-Hong Kong government protesters and loosely meaning: “China, keep your strength up.” “Hong Kong is China,” one woman shouted at passers-by who shouted obscenities in return in an angry pushing and pulling standoff, marked more by the shouting than violence. The clashes spilled out on to the streets, with each confrontation captured by dozens of media and onlookers on their smart phones. Police detained several people. Pro-democracy activists hold signs and form a human chain on Lion Rock in Hong Kong, Sept. 13, 2019. Thousands of the activists used torches, lanterns and laser pens to light up two of the city’s hillsides in protest during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Mid-Autumn Festival Protesters complaining about perceived Chinese interference in the former British colony came out in the hundreds across the territory Friday, singing and chanting on the Mid-Autumn Festival, in contrast …

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now reports 380 confirmed and probable cases of lung disease associated with e-cigarette use, or vaping. The agency Friday also confirmed six deaths because of e-cigarettes. Until recently, most teens weren’t concerned about vaping. In fact, one brand of e-cigarettes, Juul, advertised that vaping was safer than regular cigarettes, but vaping is what sent Adam Hergenreder to the hospital. “I’m 18 years old and my lungs are like a 70-year-old’s,” he said. Vaping products for sale are seen at a shop in New York, Sept. 10, 2019. Many teens have no idea what chemicals they are inhaling, according to Dr. Robert Glatter, an emergency room physician. “Every time they vape, and bring this aerosol into their lungs, it’s not water vapor,” he said, “it has chemicals, including aldehydes and special alcohols that are produced as a result of heating these solvents that are in the vaping liquids.” In looking at 150 different e-liquids, scientists found about 200 different chemicals. The effect on the body is unknown. The chemicals are approved by a government agency, but they are approved for consumption, not for inhaling. A study at the University of North Carolina School …

President Donald Trump has pegged his re-election bid on the strength of the U.S. economy. Amid growing concerns of a potential slowdown, the president insists the economy is strong, at the same time he’s pushing for growth by floating another potential round of tax cuts and urging the Federal Reserve to slash interest rates further. White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has this report. …