Weeklong protests that have shaken Ecuador and driven its government from the capital threaten to aggravate wider regional tensions, with President Lenin Moreno accusing Venezuela and its allies of scheming to foment the unrest. Moreno suggested in a speech broadcast Monday that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro had plotted with Ecuador’s former leftist leader, Rafael Correa, to stir up the nationwide protests that were sparked by IMF-ordered austerity measures, including the elimination of fuel subsidies in the oil-producing nation. FILE – Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro gestures as he speaks during a news conference in Caracas, Venezuela, Sept. 30, 2019. Maduro “has activated a destabilization plan together with Rafael Correa,” Moreno said. “They are the ones who are behind this coup attempt.” Maduro, who has also been accused of encouraging unrest in Peru and Colombia — where the FARC rebel movement threatens to renew its insurgency — laughed off the allegations Thursday. “It seems all I have to do is twitch my moustache to topple a government. Let me think of what governments I will topple next,” he joked. Correa, who is now living in self-imposed exile in Belgium, similarly ridiculed suggestions he is involved in the protests. “They say I am …

The Trump administration is suspending a tariff hike on $250 billion in Chinese imports that was set to take effect Tuesday, and China agreed to buy $40 billion to $50 billion in U.S. farm products as the world’s two biggest economies reached a cease-fire in their 15-month trade war. The White House said the two sides made some progress on the thornier issues, including China’s lax protection of foreign intellectual property. But more work will have to be made on key differences in later negotiations, including U.S. allegations that China forces foreign countries to hand over trade secrets in return for access to the Chinese market. Chinese Vice Premier Liu He leaves after a ministerial-level trade meeting at the Office of the United States Trade Representative, in Washington, Oct. 11, 2019. The U.S. and Chinese negotiators have so far reached their tentative agreement only in principle. No documents have been signed. President Donald Trump announced the trade truce in a White House meeting with the top Chinese negotiator, Vice Premier Liu He. The news followed two days of talks in Washington. “You’re very tough negotiators,” Trump said to the Chinese delegation. Trump has yet to drop plans to impose tariffs …

VOA’s Dorian Jones in Istanbul contributed to this report. WHITE HOUSE — The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is loading “very powerful” sanctions to impose on Turkey for its attacks on Syrian territory, but it is not yet pulling the trigger. “If Turkey does something they shouldn’t be doing we will put on sanctions the likes of which very few countries have ever seen before,” the president told reporters Friday. “We don’t want them killing a lot of people.” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced earlier in the day that Trump is signing an executive order to dissuade Turkey from any further offensive military action in northeast Syria. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin takes a question from a reporter after announcing the threat of sanctions on Turkey in the Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, Oct. 11, 2019. Trump, according to Mnuchin, is concerned about the potential targeting by Turkish forces of civilians, civilian infrastructure, and ethnic or religious minorities. “Also, the president wants to make very clear that Turkey not allow even a single ISIS fighter to escape,” Mnuchin told reporters at the White House. Asked twice by VOA on the White House South Lawn what would prompt …

VOA Connect Episode 91 – We learn that the transition to cleaner energy isn’t always about climate change, as coal miners in the American West are finding out. Yet those working in and running unprofitable mines are having to rethink their future, too, adapting their skills to survive.  Also on the show this week, looking back on Andy Warhol and how his artwork still resonates today. …

As coal companies are shutting down in Gillette, Wyoming, workers in the coal industry have lost their jobs.  We talk to some of the people most affected by all the coal plants shutting down.   Reporter/Camera:  Steve Baragona …

We go to Kemmerer, Wyoming to find out how residents are handling the move away from coal, and hear from economist Robert Godby who offers an explanation as to why the state has been so slow to transition to coal alternatives. Reporter/Camera: Steve Baragona …

Representative Casey Becker, Speaker of the House in Colorado, helped create a program to help those most impacted by power plant shutdowns   transition to another job. Find out how local workers, who are filled with angst about their future, feel about the change.   Reporter/Camera: Steve Baragona   …

BK ROT is New York City’s first bike-powered food waste service that collects organic waste from households and businesses and transforms it into compost material for use in farming and gardening.   Reporter: Nina Vishneva, Camera: Aleksandr Barash, Adapted by: Martin Secrest …

Former South African president Jacob Zuma will face trial on corruption charges after a court on Friday dismissed his application to halt the case for good. The ruling means further scrutiny of a 1999 arms deal in which Zuma is accused of receiving bribes from French arms manufacturer Thales. The charges were raised more than a decade ago but withdrawn, then reinstated after the National Prosecuting Authority announced there were sufficient grounds to bring Zuma to trial. He was president from 2009 to 2018, when he was forced to resign by the ruling African National Congress party amid separate allegations of corruption linked to the controversial Gupta family. The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday announced sanctions against three Gupta family members. Zuma’s legal team has argued that his court case has been prejudiced by long delays and that there has been political interference in his prosecution. Zuma has denied wrongdoing and can appeal Friday’s ruling. He made no public statements, slipping out quietly instead of addressing a crowd of supporters as in past court appearances. His successor, President Cyril Ramaphosa, has vowed to crack down on the widespread graft that has eroded support for the ANC, which has ruled the …

This week join Auriane Itangishaka and Ayen Bior for a special edition of #VOAOurVoices from Kampala, Uganda. In partnership with NBS TV, Sabrina Agasha and Bahati Hilda, NBS media personalities, guest co-host for a candid discussion on social media and social change. We explore the influence of social media on daily life, its use for social and political impact, entrepreneurship, and its unintended consequences. We also flip the script on #WomentoWatch and feature prominent social media accounts ran by women. …

The climate action movement known as “Fridays for Future” has spread to Nigeria, where it is being led by a 16-year-old school girl, Faithwins Iwuh.  The movement started by a Swedish teenager, Greta Thunberg, now has millions of school children worldwide, who are demanding immediate action to counteract global warming. For VOA, Timothy Obiezu has more from Abuja. …

Ronald sacrificed his lunchtime to join the protest in a Hong Kong park. He quivered at the prospect of communing with hundreds of like-minded office workers stirred by the organizers’ rallying cry, “Revolution is a duty!” He was on time. He was wearing a new black face mask. He was fired up. He was ready. He was also utterly alone. Confused, shocked and more than a little sad as he gazed unbelieving around the empty park with a grand total of exactly one protester, him, the office intern drew this conclusion: Hong Kong’s establishment-shaking protest movement, which has plunged the international business hub into crisis and seemed to have boundless reserves of determination, energy, creativity and popular support, might finally be losing a little steam as it enters its fifth month. “No one showed up! Only me! Wearing a mask to show off! This is quite disappointing,” said the 20-year-old.   Ronald wouldn’t give his surname. Not because he was afraid to, he insisted, but to spare any embarrassment for friends who might read somewhere that he’d answered the call to rally Wednesday lunchtime amid the skyscrapers of Hong Kong’s central business district and feel ashamed they’d not made the …

Editor’s note: Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was named Friday as this year’s winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. In late May, he gave his first interview to a Western news organization when he spoke to the Voice of America’s Horn of Africa service reporter Eskinder Firew, in Addis Ababa, in Amharic. These highlights from their conversation have been edited for brevity and clarity. For the past year, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has led Ethiopia through dramatic changes. Entrenched ethnic tensions and complex regional conflicts have posed ongoing challenges to the young leader’s reform agenda, but he remains resolute in his desire to make the most of his time in office. Abiy spoke to VOA’s Eskinder Firew about Ethiopia’s relationship with neighbor Eritrea, judicial reforms and the imprint he hopes to leave. Eskinder Firew: On the occasion of your first anniversary as prime minister, you said, “I am only planning to elevate Ethiopia to high standards, awaken the public and lift up a country that is hanging its head. I don’t have any other ill intentions other than that.” What did you mean by that? Abiy Ahmed: I don’t believe that it’s proper to stay in power for long periods …

America’s first cannabis café has opened its doors to customers in Los Angeles. The main ingredient in almost everything on the menu is marijuana. Angelina Bagdasaryan visited the new venue and has more in this report narrated by Anna Rice. …

An international panel of air safety regulators Friday harshly criticized the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) review of a safety system on Boeing Co’s 737 Max jet that was later tied to two crashes that killed 346 people. The Joint Authorities Technical Review (JATR) was commissioned by the FAA in April to look into the agency’s oversight and approval of the so-called MCAS anti-stall system before the fatal crashes. “The JATR team found that the MCAS was not evaluated as a complete and integrated function in the certification documents that were submitted to the FAA,” the 69-page report said. “The lack of a unified top-down development and evaluation of the system function and its safety analyses, combined with the extensive and fragmented documentation, made it difficult to assess whether compliance was fully demonstrated.” Boeing’s top-selling airplane has been grounded worldwide since a March 10 crash in Ethiopia killed 157 people, five months after a Lion Air 737 MAX crashed in Indonesia, killing 189 people on board. The JATR draft report, obtained by Reuters ahead of its release Friday, also said the FAA’s long-standing practice of delegating “a high level” of certification tasks to manufacturers like Boeing needs significant reforms to …

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2019 in recognition of his efforts to end his country’s long-running border conflict with Eritrea. The Norwegian Nobel Institute Friday also praised the “important reforms” that Abiy, Ethiopia’s leader since April 2018, has launched at home.  Chairwoman Berit Reiss-Andersen said some people may consider it too early to give him the prize, but “it is now that Abiy Ahmed’s efforts need recognition and deserve encouragement.” Abiy, 43, took office after widespread protests pressured the longtime ruling coalition and hurt one of the world’s fastest growing economies. Africa’s youngest leader quickly announced dramatic reforms and “Abiymania” began.  Eritrea peace In a move that caused surprise in the long-turbulent Horn of Africa region, he said Ethiopia would accept a peace agreement with Eritrea, ending one of Africa’s longest-running conflicts.  Within weeks, Eritrea’s longtime leader, visibly moved, visited Addis Ababa and communications and transport links were restored. For the first time in two decades long-divided families made tearful reunions.  The improving relations led to the lifting of United Nations sanctions on Eritrea, one of the world’s most reclusive nations. But Ethiopia’s reforms appear not to have inspired any in Eritrea, …

After seeking asylum in the United States at the Mexican border, Pablo Sanchez was placed in a detention center and is now facing what has become an increasingly common scenario under President Donald Trump: deportation to Cuba. Since the end of the Obama administration, the number of Cubans deported from the U.S. has increased more than tenfold to more than 800 in the past year as the Trump administration enforces a new policy inked just days before it took over. It is also imposing its own sharp limits on who is eligible for asylum. That’s an unwelcome development for growing numbers of asylum-seeking Cubans who had long benefited from a generous U.S. approach and their government’s unwillingness to take its people back. For decades, Cubans fleeing the communist-governed island had for the most part enjoyed unique privileges. Even after the cold war ended, they were given a certain path to legal residence once they touched U.S. soil through the policy known as “wet foot, dry foot.” No more wet foot, dry foot But an agreement reached during the final days of the Obama administration ended that and required Cuba to take back citizens who receive deportation orders going forward and …

China’s state press and internet were notably lacking in fresh attacks on the NBA Friday, in a possible sign that authorities were working to de-escalate a bitter political row. The American basketball league suffered a ferocious backlash after Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey voiced support for Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests on Twitter. But after adoring fans cheered on the Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets in a Shanghai exhibition game Thursday night, China’s censors and propaganda machine avoided further inflaming the issue. In contrast to days leading up to the pre-season game, when state media editorials ripped into the NBA for interfering in Chinese affairs, the government-controlled press barely mentioned the issue Friday. Chinese fans react during a preseason NBA basketball game between the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers at the Mercedes Benz Arena in Shanghai, China, Oct. 10, 2019. For the first time in several days, none of the top-trending items on dominant social media platform Weibo were centered around attacks on the league. China’s internet is heavily censored, and the ruling Communist Party directs social media outlets to block or downplay content it does not like. Beijing allows citizens to vent online when it serves party …

U.S. President Donald Trump says the U.S. mission of defeating Islamic State in Syria is accomplished and that he plans to keep Turkey in line through economy and not military power. Trump told reporters Thursday that there are no U.S. combat forces in Syria and he does not think Americans would want to send thousands of troops to fight there. Turkey’s assault on Kurdish-held villages in northern Syria has sparked an exodus of civilians from their homes and is threatening to exacerbate a humanitarian crisis in the region. VOA’s Zlatica Hoke reports.   …

Antigovernment protests and unrest in Hong Kong continues after nearly four months. Among those affected by the turmoil are about 400,000 foreign domestic workers, mostly women from Indonesia and the Philippines. VOA’s Patsy Widakuswara brings this report from Hong Kong.    …

Evolutionary biologists know that humans have traces of DNA that go back millions of years, well before humans were human. But thanks to some amazing new high-resolution imagery, scientists can now see how that ancient DNA shows up, then disappears in early human embryos. VOA’s Igor Tsikhanenka reports. …

As the effects of climate change continue to ravage the planet, one of the world’s most diverse ecosystems is in trouble. But locals are fighting back, planting trees to cover the scars left by deforestation. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi follows this story to the treetops.   …

A powerful typhoon was forecast to bring 2 feet of rain and damaging winds to the Tokyo area this weekend, and Japan’s government warned people Friday to stockpile supplies and evacuate before it’s too dangerous.  The Rugby World Cup and other events were canceled for Saturday, and flights and train services halted. “In order to protect your own life and your loved ones, please try to start evacuating early before it gets dark and the storm becomes powerful,” Meteorological Agency forecast department chief Yasushi Kajihara told a news conference. Kajihara said Typhoon Hagibis resembled a typhoon that hit the Tokyo region in 1958 with heavy rains and left a half-million houses flooded. More than 1,200 people died in that storm. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Cabinet is to hold a disaster management meeting later Friday.  “The government is doing the utmost to prepare for the approaching typhoon,” disaster management minister Ryota Takeda told reporters, and urged people to prepare early and obtain food and water.  Men look at fishing boats as surging waves hit against the breakwater while Typhoon Hagibis approaches at a port in town of Kiho, Mie Prefecture, Japan, Oct. 11, 2019. Economy Minister Isshu Sugawara urged hospitals and …