Turkey could still get hit with U.S. sanctions, part of the continuing fallout over its decision to accept delivery of Russia’s S-400 air defense system in July.   “They are not out of the woods on imposition of sanctions,” State Department Assistant Secretary for Political-Military Affairs R. Clarke Cooper told reporters in Washington Thursday.  “All the options are on the table,” he said, adding Washington has no timeline for making a decision. R. Clarke Cooper, Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs, is seen in an official State Department photo.  Tensions between Turkey, a key U.S. and NATO ally, and Washington have been growing over the past year, sparked in part by U.S support for some Kurdish forces in Syria in the fight against the Islamic State terror group. But Ankara’s decision to go ahead with purchase of the advanced, Russian-made air defense system has been equally thorny.   For months, the U.S. had warned Ankara that by accepting the S-400, it was jeopardizing its relationship and risked losing its role as a key partner in the production of the F-35 joint strike fighter, the most advanced in the U.S. fleet.   Following Russia’s July delivery of the S-400, the …

The CEOs of more than 100 companies are stepping into the nation’s gun debate, imploring Congress to expand background checks and enact a strong “`red flag” law.   In a letter sent to the Senate on Thursday, CEOs from businesses including Airbnb, Twitter and Uber asked Congress to pass a bill to require background checks on all gun sales and a strong red flag law that would allow courts to issue life-saving extreme risk protection orders.   The country’s law on background checks needs to be updated, the CEOs argued, saying the current law doesn’t reflect how people buy guns today.   The New York Times was first to report on the letter .   The CEOs’ letter comes after shootings at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, as well as those in West Texas and Dayton, Ohio.   Walmart earlier this month decided to discontinue sales of certain gun ammunition and also will discontinue handgun sales in Alaska.   The retailer is further requesting that customers refrain from openly carrying firearms at its Walmart and Sam’s Club stores unless they are law enforcement officers. However, it said that it won’t be changing its policy for customers who have permits …

Heads of state from Turkey, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Pakistan and Germany are expected to join more than 1,200 diplomats, humanitarians, academics, and refugees in the first Global Refugee Forum, to be held in mid-December in Geneva. The forum, which will be hosted by the U.N. refugee agency and Swiss government, aims to seek better, more sustainable solutions for the global refugee crisis at a time when many countries are closing their doors to refugees and asylum seekers.  The U.N. refugee agency says war and persecution have forcibly displaced a record-breaking 71 million people from their homes. More than one-third are refugees. Eighty-five percent of them live in developing countries. Only 15 percent have found refuge in rich, industrialized countries. One year ago, the U.N. General Assembly affirmed a Global Compact on Refugees in which the world agreed to address the refugee situation in a new and better way. The UNHCR’s director of the forum, Daniel Endres, said it hopes to build on this watershed moment. He said the aim is to move away from tackling refugee situations through short-term, emergency methods toward more predictable, systematic, and sustainable responses. “The new model in dealing with refugee situations means really we have to move …

Mexican Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard said Thursday that Mexico’s government doesn’t agree with a U.S. Supreme Court order that would block migrants from countries other than Mexico and Canada from applying for asylum at U.S. borders. Speaking at President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s daily news conference, Ebrard said that Mexico has a different policy when it comes to asylum seekers and would never implement such a rule. He also described a Tuesday meeting in Washington about Mexico’s progress in slowing the flow of mostly Central American migrants trying to reach the United States. Lopez Obrador added that he spoke by phone with President Donald Trump on Wednesday. He said relations between the two countries were very good and Trump recognized Mexico’s efforts. Mexico cracked down on migrants crossing the country after Trump threatened crippling tariffs on all Mexican imports in late May. Mexico deployed the National Guard to the southern and northern borders and tried to contain migrants to the southern part of the country.  It also accepted the expansion of the “Remain in Mexico’” policy, under which the U.S. has sent thousands of asylum applicants back across the border to wait in Mexico.   …

Venezuela’s former military spy chief has told a Spanish court that he won’t waive extradition to the U.S. to face drug trafficking and other charges. Retired Maj. Gen. Hugo Carvajal, a supporter of Hugo Chavez who turned against the late Venezuelan president’s successor, Nicolas Maduro, is attending an extradition hearing Thursday in Spain’s National Court. Prosecutors in New York allege that Carvajal used his high office to coordinate the smuggling of around 5.6 tons of cocaine from Venezuela to Mexico in 2006. He is also accused of giving weapons to and protecting Colombian guerrillas. Carvajal was arrested in the Spanish capital in April, nearly one month after he fled from Venezuela after publicly throwing his support behind Maduro’s opponents. He claims that the charges are politically motivated. …

Yahoo Japan Corp. announced on Thursday a tender offer worth an estimated 400 billion yen ($3.7 billion) for Zozo Inc., a Japanese online retailer started by a celebrity tycoon. Zozo Chief Executive Yusaku Maezawa told reporters at a Tokyo hotel that he was stepping down to devote more time to training for a trip to the moon in 2023. He has plans to ride on Elon Musk’s Space X rocket. Maezawa owns nearly 37% of the company and will sell nearly 93 million of his more than 112 million shares, according to the plan. Yahoo Japan will own up to 50.1% under the tender offer, set for early October, it said. Maezawa, known for lavish spending on artworks by Jean-Michel Basquiat and a Stradivarius violin, said he also intends to announce later plans for another business. “I was so moved by that feeling of building something from scratch,” he said of starting his company 21 years ago when he still lived with his parents. “I want to thank all the employees for supporting and following someone who is so lacking like me. We laughed and we cried together. We had fun,” he said, choked with emotion. Maezawa, 43, started out …

Cuba’s president says the island is facing an energy crisis due to critical shortages of diesel fuel, which he blames on U.S.-imposed economic sanctions. President Miguel Diaz-Canel said Wednesday on state-run television that the “distribution of products” will be hampered due to cutbacks in transportation and power generation, but said Cuba was not facing a “special period,” referring to the economic crisis the communist island endured after the fall of the Soviet Union.  Diaz-Canel said a supply ship was due to arrive on Saturday with a new shipment of diesel fuel. The president said the fuel shortages were due to increased sanctions imposed by the Trump administration, which is trying to pressure Havana to turn away from Venezuela, its main ally and benefactor.  The administration has taken measures against companies that transport oil from Venezuela to Cuba.   Economic Minister Alejandro Gil said some state-run industries would have to cease production due to the fuel shortages.     …

China on Thursday extended the latest gesture of good will in the ongoing trade dispute with the United States, as the world’s two largest economies prepare for high-level trade talks. Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesman Gao Feng said China was looking into purchasing U.S. agricultural goods such as pork and soybeans. Gao said China welcomes good will actions from the Trump administration, and that China hopes the two sides will continue to create favorable conditions for the trade negotiations. On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced he was postponing tariffs on $250 billion in Chinese goods from Oct. 1 to Oct. 15. FILE – China’s Vice Premier Liu He speaks with U.S. President Donald Trump during a trade meeting in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, April 4, 2019. He said on Twitter that Chinese Vice Premier Liu He had asked for the delay because of celebrations for the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China on Oct. 1. Trump’s announcement came after China said earlier Wednesday it is exempting a handful of U.S. products from the next round of its sanctions set to begin Sept. 17. They include shrimp, a cancer-fighting machine, industrial grease and assorted …

On the 18th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks against the United States, President Donald Trump says the U.S. is “hitting the enemy” in Afghanistan harder than ever before. This just days after he announced he had canceled peace talks with the Taliban at Camp David. Some lawmakers and experts say Trump should be giving  greater priority to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani than the militants. VOA’s Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine has more from the State Department.   …

Increased costs for aluminum and steel, and lower prices for crops, mostly attributable to tariffs, are forcing many American farmers to hold off purchasing large, expensive equipment.  VOA’s Kane Farabaugh reports from this year’s Farm Progress Show in Decatur, Illinois, farmers want new equipment that uses the latest technology but are struggling to afford it and encounter obstacles getting loans from banks.   …

This story originated in FILE – Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, listens during a Senate Armed Services Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, July 21, 2015. Senator Mike Lee, a Republican of Utah, however, received his visa for the Russian leg of the trip in what some are calling a Kremlin decision to curry favor with FILE – Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani arrives at the Trump National Golf Club Bedminster clubhouse in Bedminster, N.J., Nov. 20, 2016. Last week, The Washington Post published an editorial slamming the Trump White House for FILE – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks during a meeting with law enforcement officers in Kyiv, Ukraine, July 23, 2019. Taylor also discussed an impending meeting between Trump and Zelenskiy. “They are in the process of scheduling it now,” he said. “They will both be in New York for the U.N. General Assembly and that will take place in two weeks. President Trump has meetings that he’s scheduling and President Zelenskiy has meetings he’s scheduling, so it’s a matter of making those schedules fit.” The last meeting between sitting U.S. and Ukrainian presidents was in April 2016, when former president Barack Obama met with former Ukrainian President Petro …

Surfing is an ancient Polynesian art that became a craze in the U.S. and Australia in the 1950s. In the U.S., California and Hawaii were ground zero for surf culture, and surf-based movies and music are still a thing. And these days, people aren’t the only ones surfing. Khrystyna Shevchenko visited a unique surfing school. Anna Rice narrates her story.   …

Arab citizens of Israel make up 20% of the population and could play a role in making up the government coalition. They have never joined a government in Israel’s history, but some say it may be time to change. Linda Gradstein reports for VOA from Jerusalem.   …

U.S. President Donald Trump Wednesday announced action against flavored electronic cigarettes, which have been linked to breathing problems, lung damage and death. Vaping has become popular, as many considered it healthier than smoking. Flavors such as mint, bubble gum or ice cream attracted young people. But a spike in serious lung problems and deaths linked to vaping have alarmed officials. VOA’s Zlatica Hoke reports the Trump administration is preparing a ban on all flavored e-cigarettes.   …

KEMMERER, WYOMING — A six-foot-tall plastic Tyrannosaurus rex stands guard outside Robert Bowen’s fossil shop on Pine Street in downtown, Kemmerer, Wyo., in the state’s southwest corner. “One of the fun things about some of the fossils is, they tell stories,” Bowen said, pointing to a fossilized stingray hanging on the shop wall. The beautifully preserved disc-shaped skeleton has a chunk missing from its left side. “He got a little too close to a turtle or an alligator,” he explained. “You can see the elongated bite mark.” The town of Kemmerer calls itself “Wyoming’s Aquarium in Stone.” Quarries just outside town yield schools of fossilized fish with just a few taps of a chisel. A freshwater lake covered the region 50 million years ago. The backbone of the town’s economy, however, is a different kind of fossil: fossil fuel. A coal mine feeds the Naughton Power Plant just outside town. “It’s huge for us, as far as our economy,” said Bowen, who sits on the town council. The plant and the mine provide about 400 jobs and the bulk of the tax base in the town of about 3,000 people. So it sent a shudder through the community late last year …

VOA’s Russian Service contributed to this report. WASHINGTON — The 10 leading U.S. Democratic presidential candidates are debating Thursday night, but the focus is likely to be on the three top-polling contenders — former Vice President Joe Biden and Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders. The other seven will have to scramble to try to edge their way into the top tier of challengers. The nationally televised debate in Houston, Texas, is the third in a string of Democratic presidential debates ahead of next year’s party election contests to pick a nominee to face President Donald Trump, the Republican incumbent trying to win a second White House term in the November 2020 national election. The three-hour debate is the first since late July. It also is only a single encounter this time on one night rather than two consecutive nights. Ten more trailing candidates failed to meet Democratic Party requirements to merit a spot on Thursday’s debate stage — campaign donations from at least 130,000 people and at least 2% support in four polls across the U.S. or in states with the earliest voting next year. U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren speak on the first night of the …

The National Collegiate Athletic Association is urging the governor of California not to sign a bill that would allow college athletes to be paid. The NCAA, which regulates all U.S. college student athletes, released a letter Wednesday that said the bill “would erase the critical distinction between college and professional athletics” and would “negatively impact more than 24,000 California student-athletes across three divisions.” The organization urged California Governor Gavin Newsom to not allow the bill to become law. Newsom has not said whether he will sign the bill. The bill, known as the Fair Pay to Play Act, would allow student athletes to hire agents and negotiate payments for the use of their name, image or likeness. While college athletes are often offered extremely lucrative scholarships, the NCAA does not allow them to be paid. The organization says it is studying the issue of paying student athletes and if the policy is to change, it wants the change to happen on a national scale. The bill has the support of Los Angeles Lakers basketball star LeBron James, who skipped college to be able to play professionally. But California colleges have sided with the NCAA, saying the passage of the bill …

President Donald Trump is postponing tariffs on $250 billion in Chinese goods as a “gesture of good will.” Trump made the announcement in a late Wednesday tweet, saying Chinese Vice Premier Liu He asked for the delay in time for the People’s Republic of China’s 70th anniversary Oct. 1. The increase in tariffs from 25% to 30% was supposed to take effect on that date. They are now set for Oct. 15. There has been no response so far from Beijing. Trump’s announcement came after China said earlier Wednesday it is exempting a handful of U.S. products from the next round of sanctions set to begin Sept. 17. They include shrimp, a cancer-fighting machine, industrial grease and assorted chemicals. FILE – A butcher waits for customers at a market in Beijing, July 10, 2019. China is taking steps to boost pork supplies as prices soar ahead of a slew of upcoming holidays, including a celebration to mark Communist China’s 70th anniversary. Midlevel negotiators plan to meet later this month to prepare for the first high-level trade talks between the United States and China since July. The talks are set to open next month in Washington. Both sides are hoping to …

Outside observers will not be allowed without permission inside tent courts in South Texas where the Trump administration is processing thousands of migrants forced to wait in Mexico, U.S. officials said Wednesday. The first hearings under the so-called “Remain in Mexico” program began Wednesday in Laredo, Texas. A small number of migrants will have hearings before the tents in Laredo and Brownsville officially open next week. The “Remain” program, which the U.S. ramped up this summer with Mexico’s cooperation, has been credited by American officials with driving down the number of migrant apprehensions at the southern border, a key goal of President Donald Trump. But immigration advocates say they’re concerned people seeking asylum and other migrants will be denied fair hearings. Laredo, Texas and Nuevo Laredo, Mexico Immigration hearings usually open U.S. officials Wednesday said outside observers including the news media will not be allowed into the tents without permission. Under U.S. Department of Justice rules, immigration court hearings are generally open to the public, though immigration judges can close some hearings for privacy reasons or to protect “the public interest.” One official said the government might allow potential observers to submit applications “as we move forward.” The officials briefed …

Thailand’s Constitutional Court announced Wednesday that it had declined to hear a case accusing the country’s prime minister of violating the constitution by omitting a sentence from the oath of office he and his government took before King Maha Vajiralongkorn.    The issue raised questions about the legitimacy of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha’s government, which took office in July.    Prayuth failed to include the phrase “I will also uphold and comply with the constitution of the kingdom in every aspect.” It was unclear whether the omission was accidental or intentional.    A statement from the court Wednesday said it lacked jurisdiction because the oath was a matter between the executive branch and the king.     It also mentioned that the king had issued a royal message, delivered late last month but dated the day of the oath-taking, that encouraged Cabinet members to perform their duties according to the oath they swore.    The king as a constitutional monarch is supposed to have no political role but holds a great amount of influence.     The court’s decision appeared to preclude further legal challenges of Prayuth’s omission. The lower house of Parliament is supposed to debate the matter on Sept. 18 at the request of the …

Divers on Wednesday recovered the body of the last missing victim of a boat fire off the California coast that killed 34 people. The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office announced the end of the search on Twitter, saying it was “relieved to report” the final victim had been found. Authorities were still doing DNA tests to confirm the identities of seven of the victims. FILE – Vans carry the victims of a predawn fire that sank a commercial diving boat off the coast of Santa Barbara, Calif., Sept. 2, 2019. New safety bulletin Earlier in the day, the Coast Guard announced it has issued new safety recommendations in the wake of the tragedy near Santa Cruz Island, such as limiting the unsupervised charging of lithium-ion batteries and the use of power strips and extension cords. The bulletin also suggests that owners and operators of vessels review emergency duties with the crew, identify emergency escapes, check all firefighting and lifesaving equipment onboard, and look at the condition of passenger accommodation spaces for “unsafe practices or other hazardous arrangements.” The cause of the Sept. 2 fire has yet to be determined. Salvage efforts to recover the Conception, which authorities have said is …

The U.S. Supreme Court granted a request by President Donald Trump’s administration to fully enforce a new rule that would curtail asylum applications by immigrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, a key element of his hardline immigration policies. The court said the rule, which requires most immigrants who want asylum to first seek safe haven in a third country through which they had traveled on their way to the United States, could go into effect as litigation challenging its legality continues. Liberal Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg dissented. The rule, unveiled on July 15, requires most immigrants who want U.S. asylum to first seek asylum in a third country they had traveled through on their way to the United States. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Aug. 16 limited a federal judge’s injunction blocking the rule to the nine Western states over which it has jurisdiction including the border states of California and Arizona. That had left open the possibility that the rule could be applied in the two other border states, Texas and New Mexico. The American Civil Liberties Union and others who challenged the administration’s policy in federal court said it violates U.S. …

Facebook and its partners have asked financial authorities in Switzerland to evaluate their plan to create a new digital currency to be called Libra. Facebook unveiled a proposal in June to create a digital currency similar to Bitcoin for global use. The company said it would set up a nonprofit association headquartered in Geneva with its partners to oversee Libra, putting it under Swiss regulatory authority. The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority said Wednesday that the Libra Association has requested an “assessment” of its plan. The authority, known as FINMA, says the proposal has to meet anti-money laundering requirements and other strict standards. That includes obtaining a “payment-system license” that makes the association responsible for bearing “the returns and risks associated with the management of the reserve.”   …

Officials in the Bahamas say 2,500 people are listed as missing more than a week after Hurricane Dorian ravaged Abaco and Grand Bahama islands. Authorities say a number of those unaccounted for may be staying in shelters or were evacuated from the islands. They say official lists are still being drawn up. “Everyone on the islands [is] missing someone. It’s totally devastating,” an Abaco tour guide said Wednesday. The guide said she has not seen a number of friends and several cousins since the storm. The death toll from Dorian stands at 50, but as the search for victims goes on, officials expect that number to climb substantially. Commercial flights to Abaco were set to resume on a limited schedule Wednesday, but authorities say relief flights and evacuation planes have priority. Early estimates say the Category 5 hurricane — the strongest storm to ever strike the Bahamas — caused about $3 billion in damage.   …