The United States has imposed visa restrictions on Chinese government and Communist Party officials it believes responsible for the detention or abuse of Muslim minorities in Xinjiang province, the U.S. State Department said on Tuesday. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo cited the decision of the Commerce Department on Monday to add 28 Chinese public security bureaus and companies — including video surveillance company Hikvision — to a U.S. trade blacklist over Beijing’s treatment of Uighur Muslims and other predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities. The visa restrictions “complement” the Commerce Department actions, he said. U.S. officials previously said the Trump administration was considering sanctions against officials linked to China’s crackdown on Muslims, including Xinjiang Party Secretary Chen Quanguo, who, as a member of the powerful politburo, is in the upper echelons of China’s leadership. The State Department announcement did not name the officials subject to the visa restrictions, but news of the action sent U.S. stocks down. Many analysts believe U.S. government actions make it much less likely that China and the United States will reach a deal this week to resolve a trade war. “The United States calls on the People’s Republic of China to immediately end its campaign of repression …

U.S. gymnastics star Simone Biles clinched a record-extending 15th world championship gold medal Tuesday as the Americans won the women’s team title in Stuttgart. Biles, 22, collected her 21st medal at the championships to become the most decorated women’s gymnast, taking her one clear of Russia’s Svetlana Khorkina. She also moved to within two medals of the all-time record held by Vitaly Scherbo of Belarus, a men’s gymnastics star in the 1990s. Team USA with Simone Biles, second right, celebrates winning the gold medal in the women’s team final at the Gymnastics World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany, Oct. 8, 2019. It was a fourth team title for Biles in an event the Americans have dominated for the last eight years. They claimed gold with a tally of 172.330, well ahead of the Russians who took silver with 166.529, while bronze went to Italy on 164.796. Biles played a key role in a commanding performance by the U.S., earning the most points in three of the four disciplines — the vault, balance beam and floor. She earned a loud cheer for landing the “Biles II” skill — a triple-twisting double back on the floor — keeping her pre-championship promise to perform …

The Supreme Court says police investigated two suspicious packages found near the court just before the justices were to hear arguments over LGBT rights. Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg says the packages were found Tuesday near an intersection between the court, the Capitol and the Library of Congress. Police cleared the plaza and the sidewalk in front of the court, which had been filling with people ahead of the high-profile arguments. The building remained open and was not evacuated, Capitol Police said. The incident was resolved around 10 a.m., police said.   …

The International Organization for Migration reports fatalities from a shipwreck Monday off the coast of the Italian island of Lampedusa has pushed the migrant death toll on the Mediterranean Sea this year to 1071. The boat, which capsized seven miles from the coast of Lampedusa, reportedly departed from Tunisia with between 50 and 55 people aboard.  Some of the 22 survivors of the accident testified passengers included 15 Tunisians, as well as West African migrants. Authorities say the Italian Coast Guard has recovered 13 bodies, all of them women, who came from Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso and Guinea.  International Organization for Migration spokesman Joel Millman says 17 migrants remain missing, including more women and at least two children.  He says the missing are believed to be nationals of Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Guinea Conakry and Tunisia. “IOM’s Missing Migrants Project reported Monday that these deaths bring to 15,750 the total number of dead, on this particular central Mediterranean route since 1 January 2014.  This is approximately 10 times the total lost on the Mediterranean’s eastern corridor linking the Middle East to Greece, and almost the same multiple of all deaths on the western route linking North Africa to Spain,” Millman said. …

Thousands of indigenous people converged on Ecuador’s capital on Tuesday as anti-government protests and clashes prompted the president to move his besieged administration out of Quito.      The South American country of 17 million appeared to be at a dangerous impasse, paralyzed by a lack of public transport and blockaded roads that were taking a toll on an already vulnerable economy.   Violence, which began last week when President Lenin Moreno’s decision to cut subsidies led to a sharp increase in fuel price, has persisted for days. Several oil wells ceased production totaling 65,000 barrels daily because protesters seized installations, the energy ministry said. On Monday, police abandoned an armored vehicle to protesters who set it on fire. Elsewhere, rioters smashed car windows, broke into shops and confronted security forces who fired tear gas to try to disperse swelling crowds.   Some video footage has shown police beating protesters on the ground. Opponents have accused Moreno’s government of human rights abuses in its attempts to quell the disturbances. Moreno said on national television late Monday that the government faces security threats and will operate from the port city of Guayaquil instead of Quito, the capital. He said he was …

The murder of a key local election observer in Mozambique a week before the presidential vote has caused an outcry, especially after police confirmed on Tuesday that several of the suspects were police officers.   “This is a serious – and chilling – escalation of election violence,” Human Rights Watch researcher Zenaida Machado said on Twitter.   Anastacio Matavel was shot dead Monday morning after leaving a training for national election observers in southern Gaza province. A police spokesman, Orlando Mudumane, confirmed to the Portuguese news agency Lusa that the four officers worked in special operations and that their commanders had been suspended.   The European Union election observer mission, one of several international observers, strongly condemned the murder. It also noted that violent clashes between political parties in the southern African nation have continued throughout the campaign “without a strong, clear and persistent condemnation” from the government or party leaders.   Mozambique’s presidential election is Oct. 15 and President Filipe Nyusi with the ruling Frelimo party seeks a second five-year term. The vote comes just two months after Nyusi and the opposition Renamo party signed a permanent cease-fire meant to stop the fighting that has flared sporadically in the …

Alyse and Elmer Sanchez were thrilled when they survived their “green card” interview, a crucial step in obtaining lawful status in the United States. She texted her family from the immigration office as relief washed over her: The officer had agreed that their marriage is legitimate. Moments later, Elmer was in shackles, detained pending deportation to his native Honduras, leaving her alone with their two little boys. “We feel it was a trap, a trick, to get us there,” Alyse said. The Sanchezes have joined five other couples in a class action accusing federal agents of luring families to marriage interviews in Baltimore, only to detain the immigrant spouse for deportation. Federal regulations allow U.S. citizens like Alyse to try to legalize the status of spouses like Elmer, who has been living in the country illegally. Thousands of families are doing it: Records show the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services approved 23,253 provisional unlawful presence waivers, the final documents spouses, children or parents of citizens need before leaving the country and applying to rejoin their families legally. But the American Civil Liberties Union says a growing number of officers have “cruelly twisted” the rules by detaining immigrant spouses following marriage …

It probably cannot quite be called the Uber for crime fighting. But that is the main public service mission now that the Uber of Southeast Asia, Grab Inc, has signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate with the Vietnamese police. Under the MOU (Memorandom of Understanding), announced on Monday, the police in Ho Chi Minh City will provide training in self defense and criminal law to drivers, while Grab Inc. will also provide education so its drivers should know how to look out for signs of criminal behavior and report it to the police. The cooperation raises questions about the line between personal privacy and public safety, as well as about the appropriate role for a private company or private individual in terms of policing efforts. “We are honored to work together with the Police Department to actively contribute to the fight against crime and make the lives of every citizen safer day by day,” Jerry Lim, the director of Grab Vietnam, said. “The coordination between the two parties not only contributes to ensure order and security in society but also protects the safety of Grab’s driver partners and customers.” Hotline The MOU also establishes a 24 hour hotline between …

French President Emmanuel Macron led a national tribute Tuesday to the four police employees slain in last week’s knife attack in Paris, calling them “victims of Islamic terrorism.” At a ceremony at the police headquarters where they were stabbed to death in last Thursday’s bloody rampage, a solemn Macron endured drizzle as he paid homage to the three police officers and one police administrator killed by their own colleague, a 45-year-old deaf technology administrator and Muslim convert. “They had made the choice to wear the uniform, to devote their lives to protecting others. They died in service, at work,” said Macron, who was also met privately with families of the victims. French prosecutors are investigating the killings as a potential act of terrorism as it transpired the knifeman likely had links with members of an ultra-conservative Islamic movement. “The whole nation (must) unite, mobilize, act… We will only win if our country gets up to fight against this underground Islamism that corrupts the children of France,” he added. He proposed establishing a “society of vigilance” to protect France, a country still reeling from numerous extremist attacks in recent years but he warned the French against “suspicion that corrodes.” Though Interior …

Former White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders defended President Donald Trump’s use of Twitter to get his message out and said Tuesday that the U.S. hopes that unrest in Hong Kong can be handled “both internally and peacefully.” Speaking at a forum in Taiwan, Sanders said it is “always positive to have such great access to the president and what his thinking is.” “I think the president has done a tremendous job, often going around the media and going directly to the American people, letting them know where he stands on a particular issue,” said Sanders, who no longer holds any position in Trump’s administration. Since leaving the White House in June, Sanders — one of Trump’s most ardent defenders — has been hired by Fox News to provide political commentary and analysis across all its properties. As press secretary for Trump, Sanders became known for quarreling with reporters who aggressively questioned her about any number of controversies involving the president. Sanders said Tuesday that U.S. policy toward the increasingly violent anti-government protests in Hong Kong has been consistent and a peaceful resolution is hoped for. Trump has been largely silent on the four-month-old demonstrations. “In terms of a specific …

The Sengwer, an indigenous hunter-gatherer community in western Kenya, presented a petition Monday morning to the government in Nairobi demanding the return and protection of what they call their ancestral lands. The community says it faces threats of eviction as Kenya’s government takes over conservation of the country’s forests and water supplies. Hundreds of members of the Sengwer, a community that lives in the Embobut forest, spent two days marching from their ancestral land in Kenya’s North Rift Valley to Nairobi in hopes of meeting President Uhuru Kenyatta. Dressed in traditional regalia, they sang traditional songs as they arrived in Nairobi with the petition to the government. 85-year-old Moses Leleu took part in the march. Leleu says, “As a community, we are yet to be recognized as a Kenyan tribe. That’s one of the main reason we are here. The second is that we have been evicted several times from our ancestral land. We are now living in a small portion in these lands and still face imminent eviction. We want to go back to the areas we have been evicted from and be recognized as the owners of our ancestral land.” Hunter-gatherer communities in Kenya are facing threat of …

It was by Vladimir Putin’s swashbuckling standards all rather low-key. There was no riding horses bare-chested or allegedly saving a television crew by shooting a tranquilizer dart at a wild tiger which obligingly appeared from out of nowhere in the woods. No stripping to the waist to wade deep in the waters of mountain rivers to catch fish. Nor was there was any flying on an ultralight alongside endangered Siberian white cranes supposedly nudging them on to their migration path. The Russian leader’s hike Monday on the eve of his 67th birthday in the Siberian wilderness seemed more contemplative than trailblazing — a contrast with other presidential birthdays. Accompanied by defense minister Sergei Shoigu, a 64-year-old Siberian native, as well as a state media crew, Putin is pictured picking mushrooms and sitting on an elevated spot overlooking the Yenisei River chatting. “Super,” he says to Shoigu, “we are a bit higher than the clouds.” The video and photographs lapped up by the Russian media seemed almost elegiac in tone. Is Putin preparing the country for change? Or was he and his aides using his 67th birthday as just another occasion to keep people guessing? It isn’t the first time that …

A teenager has traced her medical journey through several neurosurgeries by making art from her brain scans.  Mike O’Sullivan reports from Los Angeles that 16-year-old Tessa Carlisle is exploring the healing potential of art as she travels her own road to recovery. …

21-year-old Marilyn Zakarya is one of the players in the new Sudanese women’s football (soccer) league that launched last week (Sept 30).  Zakarya came from South Sudan to follow her dream in Khartoum.  But she is worried about whether Sudan’s conservative society will accept women’s football after decades of restrictions. Naba Mohiedeen reports from Khartoum. …

The NBA’s (National Basketball Association) Houston Rockets gained popularity in China in the early 2000s when the club signed Chinese star, Yao Ming.  That history threatened to unravel this weekend after the team’s general manager tweeted support for pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong.  The league and team both distanced themselves from his comments.  VOA’s Arash Arabasadi examines the controversy. …

Three U.S. House of Representatives committees are set to question Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, on Tuesday to find out more about the interactions between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian officials. The closed-door deposition is part of the ongoing impeachment inquiry in the House, which Trump on Monday again rejected as a “scam” perpetrated by Democrats who do not want him to win a second term in office next year. Sondland has become a prominent figure in the probe because of his efforts to get Ukraine to commit to investigate Trump’s potential presidential rival, former Vice President Joe Biden, and Biden’s son, Hunter. A whistleblower complaint that launched the impeachment inquiry says the day after Trump spoke by telephone with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Sondland and U.S. envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker met with the Ukrainian leader and other political figures. The whistleblower said that according to readouts of those meetings recounted by U.S. officials, “Ambassadors Volker and Sondland reportedly provided advice to the Ukrainian leadership about how to ‘navigate’ the demands that the President had made of Mr. Zelenskiy.” Gordon Sondland headshot, as US Ambassador to the European Union. Speaking to reporters Monday at the …

Iraqi President Barham Salih has condemned attacks on anti-government protesters and media after a week of demonstrations and related clashes left more than 100 people dead and 6,000 wounded. He called those committing the violence criminals and enemies, and used a televised address Monday to call for a halt to the escalation. Salih said Iraq had experienced enough destruction, bloodshed, wars and terrorism. The military admitted earlier Monday to using “excessive force” in confronting protesters in the Sadr City neighborhood of Baghdad. The government took the step of removing security forces from the area and handing over patrols to police.  Officials also pledged to hold accountable any member of the security forces who “acted wrongly.” The protests in Baghdad and in several southern Iraqi cities have grown from initial demands for jobs and improved city services, such as water and power, to calls now to end corruption in the oil-rich country of nearly 40 million people. Iraqi municipal workers clean up Tayaran Square in central Baghdad on Oct. 5, 2019 after a curfew was lifted following a day of violent protests. Iraq’s cabinet issued a new reform plan early Sunday in an effort to respond to the protests that have …

This article originated in VOA’s Persian Service. Published reports say a Chinese state energy company that appears to have pulled out of a natural gas project in Iran had been under pressure to do so because of U.S. sanctions against Tehran. Iranian oil minister Bijan Zanganeh announced the departure of China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) from the joint venture to develop Iran’s South Pars offshore gas field in comments Sunday reported by his ministry’s website. Zanganeh said Iranian company Petropars, which originally had partnered with CNPC and France’s Total on the project, will develop the gas field on its own. Total initially held a 50.1% stake in the joint venture announced in 2017, while CNPC had 30% and Petropars had 19.9%. Total withdrew from the project in August 2018 as the U.S. began reimposing sanctions on Iran to pressure it to negotiate a new deal to end its nuclear and other perceived malign activities. Neither CNPC nor the Chinese government made any comment about the South Pars project on Monday, a public holiday in China. But a Wall Street Journal report said CNPC executives previously had acknowledged that the company was struggling to find banks to transfer funds to Iran due …

The leading candidate to replace Justin Trudeau as Canada’s prime minister attacked him Wednesday during the second debate of the campaign, calling him a phony and fraud who can’t even recall how often he’s worn blackface.   Conservative party leader Andrew Scheer said Trudeau doesn’t deserve to govern Canada. Trudeau is seeking a second term in the Oct. 21 elections.     “Justin Trudeau only pretends to stand up for Canada,” Scheer said. “You know, he’s very good at pretending things. He can’t even remember how many times he put blackface on, because the fact of the matter is he’s always wearing a mask.” Green Party leader Elizabeth May, left, responds to a question as Justin Trudeau, Andrew Scheer, Maxime Bernier, Yves-Francois Blanchet and Jagmeet Singh look on during the Federal leaders debate in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada, Oct. 7, 2019. The blackface controversy surfaced last month when Time magazine published a photo showing the then-29-year-old Trudeau at an Arabian Nights party in 2001 wearing a turban and robe with dark makeup on his hands, face and neck. Trudeau was dressed as a character from “Aladdin.” Trudeau said he also once darkened his face for a performance in high school. A …

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday his administration’s proposal to boost the biofuels market next year would bring the amount of corn-based ethanol mixed into the nation’s fuel to about 16 billion gallons (60.6 billion liters). “We’ve come to an agreement and its going to be, I guess, about, getting close to 16 billion … that’s a lot of gallons. So they should like me out in Iowa,” he told a news conference. The U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program currently requires refiners to blend 15 billion gallons of ethanol per year, but the corn lobby has said the Environmental Protection Agency’s use of waivers means the actual volumes blended are lower than that. Trump’s EPA unveiled the plan here last week to boost U.S. biofuels consumption to help struggling farmers, but did not provide an exact figure. The plan cheered the agriculture industry but triggered a backlash from Big Oil, which views biofuels as competition. The deal is widely seen as an attempt by Trump, who faces a re-election fight next year, to mend fences with the powerful corn lobby, which was outraged by the EPA’s decision in August to exempt 31 oil refineries from their obligations under …

The Trump administration is putting 28 Chinese agencies and companies on what it calls its Entity List because of alleged human rights violations against Uighurs and other Muslim minorities. Groups on the list are forbidden from buying various high-tech parts and components from U.S. companies without U.S. government permission. The Commerce Department says all those on the list — including the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region security bureau — have been accused of being part of the Chinese government’s campaign of repression, arbitrary mass arrests, and spying against Muslim minorities. “The U.S. government and Department of Commerce cannot and will not tolerate the brutal suppression of ethnic minorities within China,” Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said. “This action will ensure that our technologies, fostered in an environment of individual liberty and free enterprise, are not used to suppress defenseless minority populations.” China denies any deliberate campaign to oppress Muslim minorities, saying it is targeting those it calls religious extremists. It also dismisses reports of brutal prison camps for Uighurs, calling them education camps and training centers where there is no mistreatment.   …

Utility giant Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) said it may be forced to cut power to most of Northern California later this week in order to prevent wildfires. Weather forecasters are predicting hot, dry offshore winds — known as Diablo winds — for the region Wednesday and Thursday. The National Weather Service has issued a fire weather warning. The utility said power could be shutoff in as many as 29 counties in the Bay Area, the coastal areas and the northern Central Valley. PG&E is exercising extreme caution after its power lines sparked a blaze that destroyed nearly 19,000 buildings, killed 85 people and ravaged the town of Paradise last year. Last month, the company paid $11 billion to insurance companies for claims stemming from wildfires sparked by its equipment in 2017 and 2018, including the one in Paradise.   …

After helping to defeat the Islamic State in Syria, the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) were put in charge of guarding Islamic State fighters — many of them foreigners to Syria — and their wives and children, with tens of thousands of fighters, women and children stuck in prisons or camps across northeastern Syria, U.S. officials said. For months, the U.S. has been urging countries, especially its Western allies, to take back and prosecute citizens who left to fight with IS, also known as ISIS or Daesh. They have also called up upon them to repatriate family members who traveled to or were born into the terror group’s self-declared caliphate.  But those calls have largely gone unheeded. President Donald Trump’s announcement Monday of a U.S. withdrawal from northern Syria, paving the way for a Turkish military operation against a Kurdish militia in the area, leaves unanswered what will happen to those imprisoned fighters and their families. Here are the numbers of fighters and their family members believed held in northeastern Syria: 11,000: Total estimated fighters in Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) custody, in more than 30 makeshift prisons, such as converted schools and hospitals, per U.S. officials. More than 2,000: Total …