Mexico’s finance minister defended the 2020 budget proposal Monday, insisting that his tax revenue and spending projections are credible, despite concerns that the underlying forecasts for growth and oil output are overly optimistic. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s second budget since winning office last year aims to boost spending on welfare programs, security and state oil company Pemex, while also eschewing new taxes or fuel price hikes. FILE – Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador gestures during an official event in Sabinas, in Coahuila state, Mexico, May 4, 2019. “We have presented a realistic budget, without underestimating income or expenditures,” Finance Minister Arturo Herrera told a news conference. “For a very long period, income was underestimated in a more or less systematic way, so that there was always surplus income at the end of the year.” The administration cautiously freed up more funds for spending, targeting a primary fiscal surplus of 0.7% of gross domestic product (GDP). The figure was less ambitious than earlier targets, but feasible in the view of economists. There was less confidence in Herrera’s forecast that Mexico could achieve growth of 1.5%-2.5% next year after three consecutive quarters of economic stagnation through June. ‘Relatively optimistic’ “It’s …

New satellite images published Monday by the European Space Agency show an increase in air pollution in the Brazilian Amazon while fires burned in the region last month. Several maps showed more carbon monoxide and other pollutants in August than in the previous month, when there were fewer fires. The agency said fires released carbon dioxide once stored in the Amazon forests back into the atmosphere, potentially having an impact on the global climate and health. Burning continues in the Amazon despite a 60-day ban on land-clearing fires that was announced last month by President Jair Bolsonaro. Data from Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research showed the number of fires in all of Brazil has surpassed 100,000 so far this year, up 45 percent compared to the same period in 2018. FILE – A fire burns a tract of the Amazon jungle in Agua Boa, Mato Grosso state, Brazil, Sept. 4, 2019. Renata Libonati, a professor in the department of meteorology at the Rio de Janeiro Federal University, said that aside from gases, the burning of forests also released particles into the atmosphere, which can lead to an increase in respiratory problems, especially among young children and the elderly. Particles …

Barcelona could cut deaths from air pollution and improve quality of life by implementing in full a plan to calm traffic and free up space for residents, researchers said Monday. The compact Spanish city is home to more than 1.6 million people and is plagued by contaminants and noise largely due to heavy density of traffic, as well as lack of greenery. A study by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), published in the journal Environment International, found the city of Barcelona could prevent 667 premature deaths every year if it created 503 “superblocks” as first proposed. The superblocks — which keep cars out of designated areas in the city and develop public space in streets — have been complex to roll out, with only six put in place so far. “What we want to show with this study is that we have to go back and put the citizen at the center of … urban plans, because the health impacts are quite considerable,” said lead author and ISGlobal researcher Natalie Mueller. As a city with the highest traffic density in Europe, Barcelona also needed to make it easier for people to commute in from the wider metropolitan area by …

The American Medical Association on Monday urged Americans to stop using electronic cigarettes of any sort until scientists have a better handle on the cause of 450 lung illnesses and at least five deaths related to the use of the products. The AMA, one of the nation’s most influential physician groups, also called on doctors to inform patients about the dangers of e-cigarettes, including toxins and carcinogens, and swiftly report any suspected cases of lung illness associated with e-cigarette use to their state or local health department. The recommendation followed advice from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday for people to consider not using e-cigarette products while it investigates the cause of the spate of severe lung illnesses associated with vaping. Many, but not all, of the cases have involved those who used the devices to vaporize oils containing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive component of cannabis. CDC officials said some laboratories have identified vitamin E acetate in product samples and are investigating that as a possible cause of the illnesses. Public health experts have not found any evidence of infectious diseases and believe the lung illnesses are probably associated with a chemical exposure. Megan Constantino, 36, …

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Monday he was looking forward to a completed U.S.-Japan trade agreement at the United Nations General Assembly in New York later this month. In a posting on Twitter, Pompeo said, “Progress made on the U.S.-#Japan trade deal at the G7 Summit will further our strong economic partnership: a huge win for both nations.” He said the two countries had reached consensus on agricultural, digital and industrial issues, adding, “Looking forward for a completed deal at UNGA.” Pompeo’s tweet expanded remarks made Friday by White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow, who told Fox Business Network that the trade accord reached with Japan “may be finished and announced in its entirety at the U.N. meetings coming up in a couple of weeks.” The United States and Japan last month agreed in principle on core elements for a trade deal that U.S. President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said they hoped to sign in New York on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly meeting. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer last month said the deal covered agriculture, industrial tariffs and digital trade. Auto tariffs would remain unchanged. …

Donning face paint and holding glittery signs, fans of Taylor Swift flocked to Paris on Monday for the American pop star’s “City of Lover” concert. Tickets for the concert, which is Swift’s only performance promoting her new album “Lover,” were not for sale, but were distributed through contests worldwide. Fans who won tickets in competitions online, through radio stations and music companies, came from as far away as Japan and Mexico to see Swift perform at the French capital’s Olympia Music Hall. Fans of Taylor Swift wait in line to enter the Olympia Theatre prior to her concert performance in Paris, France, Sept. 9, 2019. Hoping to catch a glimpse of Swift as she arrived, some hopeful fans, who colloquially call themselves “Swifties,” had come to the venue without having tickets to the concert. “We are very sad because we have four friends standing in the back from Germany who don’t have tickets,” 28-year old Finne told Reuters TV. “So, we’re happy for us but we’re very sad we can’t share this experience with them.” Swift’s new album has already broken records in China, with over one million total streams, downloads and sales within a week of its release. The …

U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross threatened to fire top weather experts for contradicting President Donald Trump’s faulty forecast of Hurricane Dorian striking Alabama, The New York Times reported Monday. While a very early forecast map by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration showed a slight chance Dorian would sweep across Alabama, all revised forecasts said the state would see no impact from the storm. FILE – Neil Jacobs, far right, attends a briefing about Hurricane Dorian with President Donald Trump, left, and other officials at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Washington, Sept. 1, 2019. When Jacobs objected, Ross said political appointees at NOAA would be fired. The threat was followed by an unsigned NOAA press release last Friday criticizing the National Weather Service’s Birmingham, Alabama, office for contradicting Trump. The press release also disavowed forecasts showing Alabama would be safe. According to the newspaper, an unnamed administration official said Alabama forecasters were only looking to embarrass the president and had no concern for the safety of the people of the state. The official provided no evidence to back his conclusion. There has been no comment from the Commerce Department or White House. Scientists inside NOAA are reportedly outraged at the …

Congressional Democrats are pressing President Donald Trump to intervene with Senate Republicans and demand passage of a bipartisan bill to expand background checks for gun purchases. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said Trump’s “urgent, personal intervention is needed to stem the endless massacres of our fellow Americans by gunfire.” They implored Trump in a letter released Monday to “seize this moment when your leadership and influence over Republicans in Congress on the issue of guns is so critical.” Trump must not “squander” the opportunity for meaningful action on gun violence “by acceding to NRA-backed proposals or other weak ideas that will do nothing to stop the continuing, horrific spread of gun violence,” the Democrats said. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., right, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., call for a Senate vote on the House-passed Bipartisan Background Checks Act to address gun violence, at the Capitol in Washington, Sept. 9, 2019. The letter came as Congress returned to the Capitol from a six-week break, with gun violence legislation at the top of the agenda. A group of U.S. mayors, meanwhile, urged lawmakers to approve the House-passed background checks bill, which would expand …

The United Nations’ chief human rights official said Monday that millions of Venezuelans continue to suffer rights violations, including dozens of possible extrajudicial killings carried out by a special police force.   Nongovernmental organizations report that the Special Action police force carried out 57 suspected extrajudicial killings in July alone within Caracas, Michelle Bachelet said in an oral presentation on Venezuela to the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva. FILE – A member of the Bolivarian militia holds up a sign that reads in Spanish: “Bachelet tell the truth” during a protest against Michelle Bachelet, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, in Caracas, Venezuela, July 13, 2019. Bachelet’s presentation followed a scathing written report issued in early July that drew a government backlash. It found a “pattern of torture” under the government of President Nicolas Maduro and citing violations like arbitrary detention, extrajudicial killings, sexual violence and enforced disappearances. Bachelet’s latest presentation noted some areas of progress, while pointing to more cases of human rights violations and declining conditions as more than 4 million Venezuelans have fled a country beset by hyperinflation that leaves monthly minimum wages equal to $2.   While Bachelet said she had called for officials …

Small-scale farmers in Ghana are using drones for crop surveillance in a bid to increase yields and incomes. Farmers’ cooperatives embrace the technology as a step toward efficiency. Some however, feel the technology is too expensive and may shut out poor farmers. Sarah Kimani has the story from Accra. …

Jacqueline Stewart has been named host of Turner Classic Movies’ silent movie program “Silent Sunday Nights,” making her the network’s first African American host in its 25 year history.   TCM on Monday announced the hiring of Stewart, a professor of cinema and media studies at the University of Chicago who has specialized in the racial politics of film preservation. She will make her TCM debut on Sunday.   “I hope that as a host at TCM that my presence there will interest a greater diversity of viewers to see what there is to watch,” Stewart said in an interview. “If my presence on TCM gets people interested in film history, especially young people of color, to look at a body of work that they might not think would resonate with them, that’s really important.” For years after the network’s founding in 1994, Robert Osborne was the sole host on TCM. In 2003, Ben Mankiewicz joined the network. But only recently has TCM expanded the number of personalities that introduce and give context to the classic films that air on its commercial-less network. Last year, Alicia Malone became the first female host on TCM. Also added in recent years were …

Former Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe’s body will lie in state at two different stadiums in the capital city for three days, the information minister said Monday, but she did not announce where he would be buried on Sunday. Mugabe, an ex-guerrilla chief who took power in 1980 when the African country shook off white minority rule and ruled for decades, died on Friday at a hospital in Singapore. He was 95. Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said in a statement that the government has dispatched Vice President Kembo Mohadi and other senior officials and family members to Singapore to accompany Mugabe’s body home. The body will arrive in the country “any time on Wednesday,” she said. The body will lie in state at Harare’s Rufaro Stadium and then at the National Sports Stadium, also in the capital, she said. Mutsvangwa said Mugabe would be buried on Sunday but she did not say where he will be buried, saying more updates will be provided “as more information on the program trickles in.” Presidential spokesman George Charamba and deputy information minister Energy Mutodi at the weekend said the former authoritarian ruler would be buried at the National Heroes’ Acre, a monumental burial site …

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Monday he sees no threat of a U.S. recession, even as several indicators appear to be signaling that the world’s largest economy is slowing. Job growth in the U.S. slowed to 130,000 in August, well below the 223,000 average monthly gain in 2018. The U.S. economy advanced at a yearly rate of 2% in the April-to-June period, down from the 3.1% expansion in the first three months of the year. The data, along with falling business investment and ongoing trade disputes with China and Europe, have fueled talk of a U.S. economic downturn. But Mnuchin told Fox News, “I don’t see in any way a recession.” He said, “There’s no question there’s been a considerable slowdown in the world economy both in China and in Europe. But as you look at the U.S., we continued to be the bright spot. We have not seen any impact on the U.S. economy.” he added. While U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping have engaged in a tit-for-tat tariff war on hundreds of billions of dollars of exports heading to each others’ shores, Mnuchin held out hope of progress in reaching a trade deal with …

After Boris Johnson won the Conservative party contest in July to succeed Theresa May as Britain’s prime minister, U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed his victory, praising him as “Britain Trump.” Since entering Downing Street, Johnson seems to be paying the American leader the highest form of flattery by imitating Trump’s political and media tactics, echoing his populist campaign memes and embracing political disruption as a key tactic to wrong-foot opponents, galvanize core supporters and maneuver Britain out of the European Union, which May failed to do. But Britain isn’t the United States. Will adopting Trump-like behavior backfire on Johnson? FILE – Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks in the Parliament in London, Britain, Sept. 3, 2019, in this still image taken from Parliament TV footage. Critics accuse Johnson of slipping away from constitutionality and trying to relocate the Conservative party on the populist right, a wrenching maneuver that has triggered a conflict within the party between the its pro-EU and Brexit wings. Loyalists say these are not normal times in Britain and so the unconventional is needed. They argue Johnson’s abrasive strategy — which has included threats to defy the law, which he repeated Monday  — will work to his …

The Sept. 11 memorial at ground zero has been evolving as the 18th anniversary of the attacks approaches.   This year, when nearly 3,000 victims’ names are read aloud there Wednesday, a half-dozen stacks of stone will quietly salute an untold number of people who aren’t on that list.   The granite slabs were installed on the memorial plaza this spring . They recognize an initially unseen toll of the 2001 terror attacks: firefighters, police and others who died or fell ill after exposure to toxins unleashed in the wreckage.   Caryn Pfeifer’s husband, firefighter Ray Pfeifer, died in 2017 of cancer. It developed after he spent months searching the rubble for remains.   She says the new 9/11 Memorial Glade gives families like hers a place to “think about everybody.” …

Thousands of students formed human chains outside schools across Hong Kong on Monday to show solidarity after violent weekend clashes between police and activists pushing for democratic reforms in the semiautonomous Chinese territory. The silent protest came as the Hong Kong government condemned the illegal behavior of radical protesters” and warned the U.S. to stay out of its affairs. Thousands of demonstrators held a peaceful march Sunday to the U.S. Consulate to seek Washington’s support, but violence erupted hours later in a business and retail district as protesters vandalized subway stations, set fires and blocked traffic, prompting police to fire tear gas. Hong Kong’s government agreed last week to withdraw an extradition bill that sparked a summer of protests, but demonstrators want other demands to be met, including direct elections of city leaders and an independent inquiry into police actions. Protesters in their Sunday march appealed to President Donald Trump to “stand with Hong Kong” and ensure Congress passes a bill that would impose economic sanctions and penalties on Hong Kong and mainland China officials found to suppress democracy and human rights in the city. Hong Kong’s government expressed regret over the U.S. bill, known as the Hong Kong Human …

British Airways has canceled almost all its flights for 48 hours, affecting as many as 195,000 travelers, due to a strike by pilots over pay. The U.K.’s flagship carrier said in a statement Monday that it had “no way of predicting how many (pilots) would come to work or which aircraft they are qualified to fly.” As a result, it said it had “no option but to cancel nearly 100%” of its flights for the duration of the strike. British Airways operates up to 850 flights a day. London’s sprawling Heathrow Airport was most affected by the work stoppage as it is the airline’s hub and is used for many of the company’s long-haul international flights. The sprawling departure area at Heathrow Terminal 5 was almost empty, with only a handful of BA flights set to leave on Monday. There were no queues at any of the check-in desks or security gates and only a handful of people waiting on benches. The terminal is typically quite busy. British Airways said it stands ready to return to talks with the pilots’ union, Balpa, and that it has offered all affected customers full refunds or the option to rebook. The airline had …

A divisive fight over the future of a crude-oil pipeline across Minnesota is pinning presidential candidates between environmentalists and trade unions in a 2020 battleground state, testing their campaign promises to ease away from fossil fuels. Progressive candidates Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders have condemned a Canadian company’s plan to replace its old and deteriorating Line 3 pipeline, which carries Canadian crude across the forests and wetlands of northern Minnesota and into northern Wisconsin. They’ve sided with environmental and tribal groups that have been trying to stop the project for years, arguing that the oil should stay in the ground. Others candidates — including home-state Sen. Amy Klobuchar and front-runner Joe Biden — have remained largely silent, mindful that such projects are viewed as job creators for some of the working-class voters they may need to win the state next year. The fight illustrates a hard reality behind the Democratic candidates’ rhetoric on climate change. For months, Democrats vying for the White House have sounded strikingly progressive on the issue, endorsing ambitious targets for reducing carbon emissions and putting forward sweeping proposals for investing in the green jobs of the future. But the debate often glosses over the harder, more …

President Donald Trump’s rally in North Carolina will serve as a measure of his clout in trying to elect a Republican to the House in a closely watched special election that’s seen as a tossup race. It will be his first campaign rally since a tough end of summer that saw slipping poll numbers, warning signs of an economic slowdown and a running battle over hurricane forecasts.   Trump will visit the state Monday night on the eve of the House election. He enjoys wide popularity within his own party, but a GOP defeat in a red-leaning state could, when combined with a wave of recent bad headlines, portend trouble for his reelection campaign.   The rally may also pose a different sort of test: It will be held just over a 100 miles from the site of a Trump rally in July where “send her back” chants aimed at a Somali-born American congresswoman rattled the Republican Party and seemed to presage an ugly reelection campaign.   Trump’s appearance Monday on behalf of Republican Dan Bishop is shaping up as a test of the president’s pull with voters. The special election could offer clues about the mindset of Republicans in …

Russian voters handed setbacks to Kremlin-affiliated candidates in Moscow and other local elections nationwide — losses that came despite a near total ban on opposition candidates that sparked a summer of street protests and mass arrests in the capital.   With most of the vote counted, returns showed pro-Kremlin candidates lost over a third of seats in the race for Moscow’s city council — suggesting a plan by the opposition to consolidate votes around targeted opponents of the Kremlin had been relatively successful.  Meanwhile, Kremlin-backed candidates appeared poised to hold on to the important governor posts in 16 regions, including Russia’s second capital, Saint Petersburg. The independent election monitoring organization Golos reported  “the mass use” of cash incentives and busing of voters to election precincts in Siberia and the Far East.  It also complained of a lack of access by vote monitors and journalists to precincts.  Ella Pamfilova, the head of Russia’s Election Commission, who had been subject of a mysterious attack on the even of the vote, accused Golos of reproducing claims of fraud from previous elections.  The closely watched Moscow elections — which have been marred by past vote rigging —proceeded largely without incident.  Several videos, however, circulated on social media showing ballot …

Hezbollah said Monday its fighters shot down an Israeli drone over southern Lebanon. The militant group said in a statement it used “suitable weapons” to take down the drone, and that the aircraft was in its possession. The Israeli military reported one of its drones went down in the same area, but did not specify a cause.  Israel said it was a “simple drone” and that there were no concerns about important information being taken from it. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah warned last month that his fighters would attack any Israeli drones that entered Lebanese airspace. The development comes a week after Hezbollah and the Israeli army traded fire for the first time in years as Hezbollah launched anti-tank missiles into Israel and the Israeli forces responded with artillery. The two sides fought a month-long war in 2006. …

The Bahamians are burying their dead and looking for survivors after Category 5 storm ravaged parts of the archipelago leaving 70,000 homeless …

In the Western world, millions of people enjoy camping as an outdoor activity. The goal is to get away from the crowded city and spend a night or two in the remote countryside. Similarly, thousands of Pakistanis find themselves in the remote region of Shandur Valley to get away from the norm. VOA’s Abdur Razzaq recently visited a camping site and filed this report narrated by Bezhan Hamdard …

Access to education in Bangladesh’s Rohingya refugee camps is limited at the early primary school level. So alternative life skills training is being offered to help fill the gap. Teenage refugees are being taught skills that will help them earn money and cope with daily difficulties. Steve Sandford in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh speaks to young female refugees about the project.  …