The U.S. Senate has voted again to block President Donald Trump’s national emergency declaration and his plan to divert $3.6 billion from military projects to extend wall construction along the U.S.-Mexico border. Despite the setback, Trump could win a larger narrative on border security — an important issue for his supporters going into next year’s election. White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has more.   …

It’s been a long, strange road for Rudy Giuliani, the hard-nosed prosecutor who gained fame as “America’s Mayor” for his leadership in New York City after the terror attacks on September 11, 2001. Once seen as a promising Republican presidential candidate himself, Giuliani is now trying to beat back accusations that he was a key player in an international scandal that has President Donald Trump facing an impeachment inquiry. Over the course of the past two years, Giuliani, 75, has held multiple meetings with officials from Ukraine as part of an effort to persuade that country’s government to open an investigation focused on former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, who served on the board of a Ukrainian energy company called Burisma Holdings. At the same time, Giuliani was pushing for a separate investigation into alleged cooperation between Ukrainian officials and Hillary Clinton’s campaign in the 2016 election, suggesting that Joe Biden had also played a role in that unproven conspiracy. FILE – U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton attend a ceremony to unveil a portrait honoring retiring Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 8, 2016. …

In March, special counsel Robert Mueller submitted his final report to Attorney General William Barr without answering the most tantalizing question: Did President Donald Trump attempt to obstruct the investigation into whether Russians meddled with the 2016 presidential election in Trump’s favor. Barr, the savvy veteran Republican lawyer, wasted no time in answering that question for the public: He and his deputy concluded there was no evidence of obstruction. Barr’s tactics triggered widespread criticism from the Democrats. But that maneuver enabled Trump to claim he had been totally exonerated in the investigation. Now, Barr finds himself in the thick of another controversy engulfing the president: an explosive whistleblower complaint by an intelligence officer that Trump pressured Ukraine to dig up political dirt on front-running Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden. A White House-released rough transcript of President Donald Trump’s July 25, 2019, telephone conversation with Ukraine’s newly elected president Volodymyr Zelenskiy, released Sept. 25, 2019. Barr is mentioned several times in both the nine-page complaint and a rough White House transcript of a July 25 call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Pressed Ukraine leader During that call, Trump repeatedly pressed Zelenskiy to talk to …

For many homeless people, finding shelter sometimes isn’t nearly as important as finding a meal. Providing food is the main mission of Manna House, a charity organization, where homeless and underprivileged people get breakfast and other services for free. Nilofar Mughal is giving a view from the inside of Manna House located in Baltimore in the state of Maryland.   …

President Donald Trump told two Russian officials in a 2017 meeting that he was not concerned about Moscow’s meddling in the U.S. election, which prompted White House officials to limit access to the remarks, the Washington Post reported Friday. A summary of Trump’s Oval Office meeting with Russia’s foreign minister and its ambassador to the U.S. was limited to a few officials in an attempt to keep the president’s comments from being disclosed publicly, the Post said, citing former officials with knowledge of the matter. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters. Whistleblower complaint A whistleblower complaint about a July phone call in which Trump urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate Democratic political rival Joe Biden is at the heart of the U.S. House of Representatives impeachment inquiry launched this week. A member of the U.S. intelligence community who filed the complaint against Trump said notes from other conversations the president had with foreign leaders had been placed on a highly classified computer system in a departure from normal practice in a bid to protect information that was politically sensitive, rather than sensitive for national security reasons. Trump’s 2017 meeting with Russian …

Afghans headed to the polls Saturday to elect a new president amid high security and Taliban threats to disrupt the elections, with the rebels warning citizens to stay home or risk being hurt. Still at some polling stations in the capital voters lined up even before the centers opened, while in others election workers had yet to arrive by poll opening time. Imam Baksh, who works as a security guard, said he wasn’t worried about his safety as he stood waiting to mark his ballot, wondering who he would vote for. “All of them have been so disappointing for our country,” he said. The leading contenders are incumbent President Ashraf Ghani and his partner in the 5-year-old unity government, Abdullah Abdullah, who already alleges power abuse by his opponent. Cameras crowded both men as they cast their vote, with Ghani telling voters they too had a responsibility to call out instances of fraud. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, center, speaks to journalists after voting at Amani high school, near the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sept. 28, 2019. Fear and frustration At least 15 people were wounded after a bomb attack on a local mosque where a polling station is located, …

The following reporters contributed to this report: Matiado Vilme, Yves Manuel, Dieuline Gedeus in Port-au-Prince, Jaudelet Junior Saint Vil in Fort Liberte, Innocente Desgranges in Petit Goave, Socrate Ameyes Jean Pierre, James Dorvil, Alexandre Joram in Miragoane, Junior Racine in St. Marc, Hernst Eliscar in Les Cayes WASHINGTON, PORT-au-PRINCE, GONAIVES, FORT LIBERTE, PETIT  GOAVE, MIRAGOANE, ST. MARC, LES CAYES – Haiti’s latest protests began with explosions when hundreds of Cite Soleil residents, a slum notorious for gang activity, drug dealing and kidnapping, attacked the local UDMO security force headquarters. They looted, carrying out furniture and other materials, then set fire to the building and police cars, prompting the explosions. A man poses with a painting after looting a shop during a protest to demand the resignation of president Jovenel Moise in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Sept. 27, 2019. “When you see the people in the street with nothing but their arms and legs, and the UDMO sees that and shoots and kills three people in Cite Soleil, we have to tell the residents to rise up and root out this government because Jovenel Moise has done nothing for us except kill us,” he said. Elsewhere in Port-au-Prince, protesters blocked roads with stones, …

U.S. health officials said Friday that their investigation into an outbreak of severe vaping-related illnesses was increasingly focused on products that contain the marijuana compound THC.    Most of the 800 people who got sick vaped THC, the ingredient in marijuana that causes a high, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But officials said they didn’t know whether the THC was the problem or some other substance added to the vaping liquid, such as thickeners.    “The outbreak currently is pointing to a greater concern around THC-containing products,” said the CDC’s Dr. Anne Schuchat.    So far, investigators have not identified a particular e-cigarette, vaping device, liquid or ingredient behind the outbreak. But officials say patients have mentioned the name Dank Vapes most frequently. Many of the people who got sick in Illinois and Wisconsin said they used prefilled THC cartridges sold in Dank Vapes packaging.  No single store or distributor   “It’s a generic product name that doesn’t really tie back to one store or one distributor,” said Dr. Jennifer Layden, chief medical officer for the Illinois Department of Public Health.    “Folks are getting it from friends or folks on the street, with no understanding of where it …

At the United Nations, the news is not often good. But Friday was different, and U.N. chief Antonio Guterres expressed what many at a high-level meeting on Sudan’s transition toward democracy after 30 years of dictatorship were feeling.    “This is clearly the happiest moment I have in this high-level week,” the secretary-general said. “If one year ago we were forecasting the possibility of this meeting, I think no one would believe. But the fact is we are here celebrating a new Sudan.”    Guterres reaffirmed U.N. support for Sudan and noted that the transition was not the destination, but the beginning of its journey.    Both he and AU Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat urged the lifting of all economic sanctions on Sudan, as well as its removal from the United States’ State Sponsors of Terrorism list.  Crucial step   Transitional Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok told the meeting that de-listing was vital.    “This is key to anything we can touch and do,” Hamdok said. “It is linked to the economy, it is linked to debt, to investment, but opening the country at large. We have to get understanding, and fast, from our American friends in de-listing Sudan. Sudan that is upholding good human rights, good governance, …

A U.S. judge on Friday blocked a Trump administration rule that sought to detain migrant families indefinitely, saying it was inconsistent with a 1997 court settlement that governs conditions for migrant children in U.S. custody. The 1997 settlement agreement, which originated in 1985 with a complaint brought on behalf of 15-year-old Salvadoran immigrant Jenny L. Flores, set standards for humane treatment of children in detention and ordered their prompt release in most cases. The Trump administration had hoped a new rule issued on Aug. 23 would supersede that settlement. “This regulation is inconsistent with one of the primary goals of the Flores Agreement, which is to instate a general policy favoring release and expeditiously place minors ‘in the least restrictive setting appropriate to the minor’s age and special needs,’” Judge Dolly Gee wrote in her ruling. ‘Loopholes’ President Donald Trump has made cracking down on immigration a hallmark of his presidency, and administration officials have repeatedly referred to the Flores agreement’s standards as “loopholes” that attract migrants by forcing authorities to release people pending their immigration hearings. The new regulation would have allowed the administration to hold families in detention centers until their cases are decided, a process that can …

Dieuline Gedeus in Port-au-Prince, Junior Racine in St. Marc and Sony Louis in Leogane contributed to this report. WASHINGTON / PORT-AU-PRINCE / ST. MARC. / LEOGANE, HAITI —Angry protesters in Cite Soleil, a slum in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, ransacked the headquarters of the security forces Friday as they again called for the resignation of President Jovenel Moise.   A mobile video sent to VOA’s Creole service showed protesters with chairs, gas drums and other items, walking out of the building. It was not clear if the security forces were in the building.    “In a few minutes we’re going to set fire to the base, because we’re not playing — we want Jovenel Moise to resign without conditions,” said a looter, who did not want to appear on camera.  Flaming roadblocks   Near Canal 11 Radio-TV station in Port-au-Prince, flaming tires and rocks blocked the road.    Opposition group Viv Ayiti (Long Live Haiti), in concert with the PetroChallengers, an assortment of anti-corruption young professionals and millennials, called for people to mobilize to demand the president’s resignation.   A masked protester wields a machete during a protest to demand the resignation of President Jovenel Moise in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Sept. 27, 2019. “We’ve reached the final phase of this second revolution and …

Sixty-six refugees from Sudan, Somalia and Eritrea were freed from detention in Libya and flown to Rwanda on Thursday, on a flight chartered by the U.N. refugee agency.   This was the first group of refugees to benefit from a so-called Emergency Transit Mechanism agreed to early this month by Rwanda, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees and the African Union.      U.N. refugee agency spokesman Babar Baloch told VOA his agency expected and hoped to continue the evacuations. He noted Rwanda’s refugee center has the capacity to care for 500 people.  “But it does not mean that Rwanda will only have 500,” he said. “We hope that as people come in, they are able to find solutions and move to safer locations. … And, we hope that in the coming days and weeks, we are able to fly out more refugees from Libya to safety.”     Baloch said the UNHCR had registered more than 3,000 refugees in Libyan detention centers. However, he noted, more than 5,000 refugees and migrants are being held under brutal, appalling conditions in government-run facilities.  26 children   He said 26 of the 66 refugees flown to Rwanda were children, nearly all of them unaccompanied. He said …

Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives began the formal process of impeaching U.S. President Donald Trump this week. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the first step in the impeachment process Tuesday, following reports that a whistleblower filed a complaint alleging Trump sought foreign interference into the 2020 election. What triggered House Democrats to begin a formal impeachment inquiry? Investigations into Trump’s administration and his campaign’s actions during the 2016 presidential election were already underway in six House committees at the beginning of this week. Many House Democrats already backed impeachment, but until this week opposition leaders had resisted calls for launching the impeachment inquiry. They believed such an inquiry had no chance of passing the Republican-led Senate and could end up hurting Democrats in the 2020 election. The new whistleblower report appears to have dramatically shifted the politics of the issue. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reads a statement announcing a formal impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Sept. 24, 2019. Several additional House Democrats came forward in support of an impeachment inquiry. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Tuesday the House would embark on the first step of the impeachment process to determine if Trump …

VOA Connect Episode 89 – Meet a homesteader who tries to get by on what he and his family make for themselves; a young seamstress who turns old clothes into fashionable new ones, and visit a church that has been turned into a brewery.   …

We head to the simple life at a homestead in Arkansas where Gary McWilliams and his family grow their own food. Along with milking cows, growing crops and raising chickens, he also owns a production company and hosts a YouTube show about farming the old-fashioned way.   Reporter/Camera: Gabrielle Weiss …

We talk to Jasmin Picariello, a designer who transforms plastic and aluminum into jewelry. She and her mom started Giulia Letzi, an online store that sells her jewelry along with handmade items from Italy. She is also the founder of Project META, where she collects plastic and aluminum from her local community and businesses to reduce landfill waste. Reporter/Camera:  June Soh   …

Meet Ellie Heath, an entrepreneur who is only a sophomore in high school. As a fashion designer, she makes one-of-a-kind, repurposed clothing using previously used fabric. She talks to us about the importance of having a creative outlet and how her mom encouraged her to pursue her dreams at a very early age.   Reporter: Faiza Elmasry, Camera: Adam Greenbaum …

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations on Friday that India was launching a campaign to stamp out the use of single-use plastics. “Even as I am addressing you today, a very large campaign is being started across the entire country to make India free of single-use plastic,” Modi, who wants to scrap such plastics by 2022, told the 193-member U.N. General Assembly. Officials told Reuters last month that India is set to impose a nationwide ban on plastic bags, cups and straws on Oct. 2.   …

Indonesia’s anti-graft commission on Friday arrested a former sports minister accused of stealing public money, as students across the country protested a new law that critics say will cripple the commission. Youth and Sports Minister Imam Nahrawi faces graft charges related to a National Sports Committee grant which he allegedly used for himself. He faces up to 20 years’ imprisonment if found guilty. Nahrawi resigned last week after the Corruption Eradication Commission announced that he was suspected of personally using the 26.5 billion rupiah ($1.8 million) grant. “I am ready to undergo my destiny,” Nahrawi told reporters before entering a car to be taken to a holding cell after being questioned by investigators. “Please pray for me in facing this destiny.” Commissioner Alexander Marwata earlier said Nahrawi is suspected of receiving about $1 million in bribes through his personal assistant, Miftahul Ulum, who was also named a suspect, between 2014 and 2018. He said Nahrawi allegedly asked for an additional $830,000 between 2016 and 2018. FILE – Plain-clothed police officers arrest a student protester during a rally in Makassar, South Sulawesi province, Indonesia, Sept. 26, 2019. His arrest came during a week of violent demonstrations by thousands of students across …

Students took to the streets across the globe in the hundreds of thousands Friday for a second wave of worldwide protests demanding swift action on climate change. The protests were inspired by Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg, who spoke to world leaders this week at a United Nations summit in New York. Friday’s rallies kicked off in New Zealand, where young people marched on Parliament in Wellington, holding one of the largest protests ever held there. Organizers in the capital were forced to change their security plans to accommodate the crowds, while thousands more marched in Auckland and other parts of the country. On the other side of the planet, more than 100,000 rallied in Italy’s capital, Rome, where protesters held up signs with slogans such as “Change the system, not the climate” or just the word “Future.” Activists demonstrate during a worldwide protest demanding action on climate change, in Milan, Italy, Sept. 27, 2019. Marches took place in about 180 locations across Italy, including the country’s financial hub of Milan where one banner read “How dare you!” — the accusation Thunberg, 16, leveled at world leaders during her U.N. speech in New York on Monday. The Italian Education Ministry said …

A U.S. airstrike in Libya has killed at least 10 Islamic State fighters, an official has told VOA. It is the third U.S. strike this month against the terror group in the southwestern Libyan town of Murzuq.  An airstrike Tuesday killed 11 IS militants, and another last week killed eight, according to U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM).  The strikes were carried out in coordination with the Libyan Government of National Accord to “deny them the ability to conduct attacks on the Libyan people,” William Gayler, director of operations at AFRICOM, said earlier this week. The deteriorating security situation in Libya has allowed militants affiliated with IS to expand their presence in ungoverned spaces of the desert in the country’s south. Troops affiliated with the Government of National Accord have been fighting forces led by strongman Khalifa Haftar, commander of the self-styled Libyan National Army. The fighting has left hundreds of people dead in Tripoli and in nearby cities and towns.  In recent months, IS has claimed responsibility for several deadly attacks against Libyan civilians and military personnel.   But as IS has become more emboldened by the current political chaos in Libya, U.S. officials tell VOA they have also made themselves an easier …

Hundreds of South African government employees have rallied in the capital in the latest outcry against the country’s high rates of rape and murder of women and children. People have marched in the thousands several times in recent weeks after the rape and murder of a university student sparked an online campaign called #AmINext. More than 100 rapes are reported every day in South Africa, and President Cyril Ramaphosa has called the country “one of the most unsafe places in the world to be a woman.” One government worker at Friday’s march in Pretoria, Zinhle Zungu, says that “we’re also urging the men to influence other men within their societies, to say this is not how women are meant to be treated.” A torch was lit in remembrance of victims. …

Russia said Friday it had detained more than 260 North Korean fishermen.  The fishermen, who were on several vessels, were detained for poaching. Russia took the men and their vessels to Russia’s Far East port of Nakhodka.  Russia says about 30,000 pounds of squid were also seized during the arrest.  Last week Russia detained other North Korean fishermen on vessels in the Sea of Japan in territory that Russia claims.  The fishermen clashed with Russian forces, injuring a Korean who later died from his wounds.  Russia summoned a North Korean diplomat after the Sea of Japan incident to state its “serious concern” about the event.  …

Mexico says it has reopened its investigation into the case of the disappearance 43 male student teachers. The students vanished five years ago, September 26, 2014. Thousands of people on Mexico City’s main square Thursday observed the anniversary of the disappearance. The original investigation was marred by allegations of incompetence, corruption and misconduct. It stained the administration of former president Enrique Pena Nieto whose administration said the students were murdered by drug traffickers who burned the students’ bodies and dumped their remains in a river. The traffickers were reported to believe the students were members of a rival gang. The disappearance led to massive street protests across Mexico against Pena Nieto, accusing him of failing to address the country’s chronic crime and insecurity problems. Mexico’s current President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador promised during his campaign to reopen the case.    …