Twenty-five Malian soldiers have been killed and 60 are missing after suspected jihadists attacked two army camps in central Mali on Monday, the government said in a statement. The toll is among the highest suffered by Malian forces this year as they struggle to contain militant groups with links to al-Qaida or Islamic State that have set up operations in parts of Mali from where they launch attacks across the Sahel. The authorities earlier said military posts at Boulkessi and Mondoro had been targeted, but did not indicate the number of casualties. “Among the ranks of the FAMA (Malian Armed Forces) the provisional toll is 25 killed, four wounded …  around 60 missing and heavy equipment losses,” the government said Tuesday. In response, the army has launched a joint operation with forces from neighboring Burkina Faso, backed up by French troops stationed in the region, it said. The West African country has been in conflict since 2012 when Islamists hijacked an ethnic uprising by Tuaregs in the north. More recently, the violence has moved to central Mali, where fighting between farmers and herders has surged this year. Jihadist groups have exploited ethnic rivalries in Mali and its neighbors to boost …

More than 1,000 migrants and refugees have died in the Mediterranean Sea this year, the sixth year in a row that this “bleak milestone” has been reached, the United Nations said on Tuesday. The U.N. refugee agency UNHCR called for European Union (EU) member states to reactivate search and rescue operations and acknowledge the crucial role of aid groups’ vessels in saving lives at sea. “The tragedy of the Mediterranean cannot be allowed to continue,” Charlie Yaxley, spokesman of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said in a statement. The bodies of five migrants were found on Morocco’s Atlantic coast near Casablanca on Monday, bringing to 12 the number killed when their boat capsized on Saturday, the state news agency reported. The EU struck a deal with Ankara in 2016 to cut off refugee and migrant flows to Greece from Turkey. Departures, now also diverted largely via Libya and other parts of North Africa, have fallen sharply from a peak of more than 1 million in 2015 to some 78,000 so far this year, UNHCR figures show. “Of course the number of people attempting to cross the Mediterranean are much lower. So, that points to the fact that the …

Ex-Israeli military chief Benny Gantz has called off Wednesday’s meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in another setback in efforts to form a unity government. Gantz said the preconditions for the talks were not met. But he said a meeting could be rescheduled for later this week. Netanyahu’s Likud Party said it is “stunned” by Gantz’s decision to cancel the talks, calling on him to show some responsibility and avoid the possibility of yet another election. Gantz’s centrist Blue and White party won 33 seats in last month’s parliamentary election, while Likud finished with 32 seats. This was the second election this year where no party won enough seats to form a coalition government. Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, right, shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, Sept. 25, 2109. Israeli President  Reuven Rivlin had asked Netanyahu to try to put together a coalition that would extend his record as Israel’s longest-serving prime minister. But Gantz said he refuses to be part of any government headed by Netanyahu, who is facing corruption charges. The prime minister’s lawyers will attend closed-door hearings with Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit Wednesday as they hope to avoid an indictment. If Netanyahu fails to …

President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign and the Republican National Committee raised $125 million in the third quarter of the year, a presidential fundraising record. The pro-Trump effort said Tuesday that it has raised more than $308 million in 2019 and has more than $156 million in the bank. Republicans aim to use the fundraising haul to fight off Democrats’ impeachment effort. Former President Barack Obama and the DNC raised just over $70 million in the third quarter of 2011. “President Trump has built a juggernaut of a campaign, raising record amounts of money at a record pace,” said Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale. RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel credited Democratic attacks on Trump for motivating supporters to donate in record numbers. “We are investing millions on the airwaves and on the ground to hold House Democrats accountable, highlight their obstruction, and take back the House and reelect President Trump in 2020,” she said. The fundraising announcement comes as the pro-Trump efforts launched their first major advertising campaign of the cycle. Trump’s team aims to devote $1 billion to his reelection. Last week, as House Democrats launched their impeachment effort, the Trump campaign announced it would spend $8 million to air an …

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau may be renowned internationally for his youthful persona and social media savvy, but even before the embarrassment of his recent blackface makeup scandal there were concerns about the support he needs from younger voters to win reelection. Young Canadians wanting change after nearly 10 years of Conservative government played a critical role in electing Trudeau and his center-left Liberals in 2015, when he promised to tackle climate change, legalize marijuana and reform the electoral system — issues that resonated with younger voters. The trouble for the 47-year-old Trudeau, pollsters say, is that these same voters are now frustrated after a series of Liberal scandals as well as the government’s decision to buy an oil pipeline in an attempt to shore up Canada’s key fossil fuels industry. The party is in a statistical tie with the opposition Conservatives in polls ahead of the Oct. 21 vote. FILE – Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau greets Swedish climate change teen activist Greta Thunberg before a climate strike march in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Sept. 27, 2019. Trudeau — who spent Friday marching alongside thousands of young Canadians at a climate strike in Montreal after meeting teenage activist Greta Thunberg …

U.S. manufacturing activity tumbled to a more than 10-year low in September as lingering trade tensions weighed on exports, further heightening financial market fears of a sharp slowdown in economic growth in the third quarter. The survey from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) on Tuesday came on the heels of data last week showing a cooling in consumer spending in August. The economy’s fading fortunes have been attributed to the Trump administration’s 15-month trade war with China, which has sapped business confidence and undermined manufacturing. Ironically, manufacturing has borne the brunt of the trade tariffs, which the White House says are necessary to protect industries from what it says is unfair foreign competition. President Donald Trump blames the Federal Reserve, in particular Chair Jerome Powell, for the manufacturing sector’s malaise. FILE – Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell presents the monetary policy report to the Senate Banking Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, July 11, 2019. “As I predicted, Jay Powell and the Federal Reserve have allowed the Dollar to get so strong, especially relative to ALL other currencies, that our manufacturers are being negatively affected,” Trump wrote on Twitter shortly after the ISM survey was published. “Fed Rate too …

Ukraine on Tuesday signed much-anticipated accords with separatists from the country’s east, Russia and European monitors that agree a local election can be held in separatist-controlled territory, paving the way for peace talks with Moscow. The signing at a meeting in the Belarusian capital of Minsk was largely seen as the new Ukrainian government taking a major step toward resolving the prolonged armed conflict in eastern Ukraine that has killed more than 13,000 people and displaced more than 1 million since 2014. Ukrainian nationalists protested the development, with hundreds gathering on Kyiv’s Maidan, the square that symbolizes Ukraine’s resistance to Russian influence. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said at a briefing in Kyiv that the country agreed to a snap local election in the east, which has been controlled by Russia-backed separatists since April 2014. He sought to dispel fears about excessive concessions to the separatists, saying the election would be held only when Ukraine regains control of all its borders with Russia. “There won’t be any elections under the barrel of a gun,” Zelenskiy said in response to criticism that his administration bowed to Russia’s demands. “There won’t be any elections there if the troops are still there.” Separatist leaders …

Citing an escalation of violence by Islamic State-affiliated women, supervisors at the al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria are calling on the international community to find a solution for thousands of such women and children who are being held at the overcrowded refugee camp. VOA’s Mutlu Civiroglu reports from the al-Hol camp.   …

An Iowa judge has upheld voter ID as allowable under the Iowa Constitution but struck down as unconstitutional portions of a 2017 voting reform law challenged by a Hispanic civil rights group and an Iowa State University student. The law signed by former Gov. Terry Branstad requires voters to show certain forms of identification when voting at the polls, provide an identification number on absentee ballot applications and allows county auditors to reject ballots if they believe signatures don’t appear to match a voter signature on record. The League of United Latin American Citizens of Iowa and ISU student Taylor Blair sued Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate in May 2018 challenging the law as unconstitutional saying it could lead to voter suppression and disenfranchise voters, especially Latinos who vote absentee in large numbers. District Court Judge Joseph Seidlin said in a ruling filed Monday that the state may require a voter ID at the polls. “The evidence presented simply did not demonstrate that the burden on young voters, old voters, female voters, minority voters, poor voters and voters who are Democrats to show an approved form of identification at the polls is appreciably greater than the rest of the …

The European Leagues group and FIFPro, the global network of national unions, said Tuesday they will make country-by-country agreements “over the course of the coming two seasons.” European governing soccer body UEFA also wants better awareness of concussion after incidents in its games in March involving Lyon goalkeeper Anthony Lopes and Switzerland defender Fabian Schaer.    The campaigns come as soccer’s rule-making body IFAB is being urged to explore the idea of temporary substitutes to replace players being assessed for a head injury. “This is a critical issue for our players’ long term wellbeing,” said Jonas Baer-Hoffmann, general secretary of FIFPro’s Europe division. “Other sports such as rugby or American football have been able to improve the management of and awareness for concussions significantly in their sports. Football needs to now follow suit.” European Leagues and FIFPro want domestic league rules to incorporate international standards of “concussion management procedures on the field as well as return to play protocols.” Team medical staff could get access to live broadcast footage to help identify injuries quickly. Disciplinary measures are being considered “such as the requirement of further training and education.” Pre-season training will be offered to teams, medical staff and referees. European …

A decreased birthrate in Hawaii has larger population and economic implications for the state now and in the future, officials said.   Recent data show the number of babies born in Hawaii has been declining for a decade, which follows a national trend, Hawaii Public Radio reported Monday.   Hawaii’s current birthrate is 10% lower than in 2008.   The economic effects include reports by at least two Oahu hospitals of decreases in work shifts for maternity ward nurses and a reduction in new nurse hiring.   The decrease in the number of babies could also lead to a drop in the amount of Hawaii workers and taxpayers in the future, officials said.   Two of the factors behind the decline are fewer women of child-bearing age and women who can give birth having fewer children than in previous generations, said Eugene Tian, the state of Hawaii’s chief economist. The lower birthrate has contributed to a decrease in the state’s population. The number of people leaving now outpaces new arrivals, which results in a net decrease in population when combined with a falling birthrate and normal aging, officials said.   Stronger economic conditions and cheaper living options on the U.S. …

The U.N. refugee agency is urgently warning that thousands of asylum seekers on three Greek Aegean islands must be moved to the mainland to prevent the dangerously overcrowded conditions in the camps from worsening. The surge of new sea arrivals hit a peak in September.  That is when more than 10,200 asylum seekers — mostly Afghan and Syrian families — landed on the Greek islands, the highest monthly number in three years. The U.N. refugee agency reports this has just worsened conditions on the islands of Lesvos, Samos and Kos, which host 30,000 asylum seekers. A fire broke out Sunday in the Moira center on Lesvos, killing one woman and heightening tensions.   Following the fire, the residents became angry and physically clashed with the police at the center, which houses 12,600 asylum seekers, five times its capacity. UNHCR spokeswoman Liz Throssell says similarly overcrowded and deteriorating conditions exist on the other islands as well. “Keeping people on the islands in these inadequate and insecure conditions is inhumane and must come to an end. The Greek government has said that alleviating pressure on the islands and protecting unaccompanied children are priorities, which we welcome … but urgent steps are needed …

A white former Dallas police officer who said she fatally shot her unarmed, black neighbor after mistaking his apartment for her own was found guilty of murder on Tuesday.   A jury reached the verdict in Amber Guyger’s high-profile trial for the killing of Botham Jean after six days of witness testimony but just a handful of hours of deliberation.   The basic facts of the unusual shooting were not in dispute throughout the trial. In September 2018, Guyger walked up to Jean’s apartment – which was on the fourth floor, directly above hers on the third – and found the door unlocked. She was off duty but still dressed in her police uniform after a long shift when she shot Jean with her service weapon. The 26-year-old accountant had been eating a bowl of ice cream before Guyger entered his home. A photo of victim Botham Jean leans against Judge Tammy Kemp’s bench during the murder trial of former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger, in Dallas, Texas, Sept. 24, 2019.  Jean, who grew up in the Caribbean island nation of St. Lucia, came to the U.S. for college and starting his career as an accountant. His shooting drew widespread …

The speaker of Nepal’s parliament, one of the country’s leading Communist Party leaders, resigned Tuesday following allegations that he raped a government worker at her home while he was intoxicated. In the letter of resignation, Krishna Bahadur Mahara said he wants to make it easier for an independent and unbiased investigation of the allegation. Police refused to comment. News reports said the woman accused Mahara of entering her house Sunday night while her husband was away and assaulting her. An earlier statement issued by Mahara’s office said the allegation was baseless and that he had stepped out of his official residence for only two hours in the afternoon and was home on Sunday evening. It said the woman had been refused a position in Mahara’s office and was likely angry as a result. Mahara was elected speaker of the House of Representative last year after the Communist Party of Nepal won a majority of the seats in elections in November 2017. Mahara was a leading figure of the Maoist rebels who fought a violent campaign against the government between 1996 and 2006. The Maoists entered United Nations-monitored peace talks in 2006, ending their armed revolt, and joined mainstream politics. Mahara …

Ukraine’s leader isn’t just trying to charm U.S. President Donald Trump — he’s set his sights now on Tom Cruise, too. Mission impossible? Maybe not — Cruise is studying possible Ukrainian locations for an upcoming film, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office. Zelenskiy tapped his roots as a TV and film comedian when hosting Cruise in the Ukrainian presidential headquarters Monday night. As Cruise walked in, he said “You’re good-looking!” according to video excerpts released Tuesday by his office. The Hollywood star laughed and said “it pays the bills.” Zelenskiy joked about how exhausting it is to be president, and mentioned the stalled peace process for conflict-ravaged eastern Ukraine. The video excerpts included no mention of Trump or the U.S. impeachment inquiry in which Ukraine plays a starring role.   …

At least 11 Afghan police officers were killed in Balkh province in northern Afghanistan when the Taliban attacked police checkpoints Monday night, according to the governor’s spokesman, Monir Ahmad Farhad. However, he rejected the Taliban’s claim it had captured the district. Balkh police spokesman Adil Shah Adil said only two security checkpoints had collapsed in the attacks. Meanwhile, intense fighting continues in another province in the north, Jawzjan, where 30 police and armed locals, “including the district governor and the district police chief, have been held under siege by the Taliban for the past two days in the Darzab district,” according to local Tolo News outlet. “Lotfullah Azizi, Jawzjan provincial governor, said that the district capital is under the Taliban’s control and that the Afghan forces are pinned down close to the district bazaar,” Tolo reported on its website. The attack follows Taliban threats that contributed to a historic low turnout in the country’s fourth presidential election Saturday. The country’s security forces were able to keep the situation under relative control but voters chose to stay home nonetheless. The process of collecting ballots and counting them in Afghanistan is long and complicated. Preliminary voting results are not expected for a …

Egypt is displaying a gilded ancient coffin returned to the country last week from New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art after U.S. investigators determined to be a looted antiquity.   The coffin once held the mummy of Nedjemankh, a priest in the Ptolemaic Period some 2,000 years ago. It was put on display on Tuesday at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Cairo.   U.S. Charge d’Affaires Thomas Goldberger attended the ceremony.   Antiquities Minister Khaled el-Ananni said the repatriation of this “unique, wonderful” artifact shows a “very strong solidarity” beteen Egypt and the U.S.   The Met bought it from a Paris art dealer in 2017 for about $4 million and made it the centerpiece of an exhibition. It was removed in February. The Met has apologized to Egypt.   …

The brother of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has been sentenced to five years in prison for corruption and bribery. Gholamhossein Esmaili, a spokesman for the judiciary, told reporters on Tuesday that Hossein Fereidoun, Rouhani’s brother, might face further charges in another case, though he gave no details. The semiofficial Fars news agency quoted “an informed source” as saying that “Fereidoun allegedly paid money to certain individuals in charge of bribing banks and other influential sectors of the economy for large sums.” Two years ago, more than 46 lawmakers called on Rouhani to present his brother to the judiciary to face “financial corruption charges.” That demand echoed statements at the time by Rouhani’s rivals in which they accused Fereidoun — a member of the president’s inner circle who has been called his “eyes and ears” — of corruption.   …

Monsoon rains in India were 10% above average in 2019 and the highest in 25 years as seasonal rainfall continued longer than expected, the weather department said on Monday. Extra June-September monsoon rainfall will help farmers expand areas under winter-sown crops such as wheat, rice rapeseed and chick peas, improving their earning potential and helping revive tepid rural demand that has stung Indian economic growth. The longer monsoon could also restock reservoirs and help replenish ground water, helping assuage water shortages in pockets of the country of 1.3 billion people. But heavy rainfall in some areas has damaged summer-sown crops like cotton, soybean and pulses that are close to harvest. The monsoon delivers about 70% of India’s annual rainfall and determines the yield of rice, wheat, sugarcane and oilseeds, such as soybeans. Farming accounts for about 15% of India’s $2.5 trillion economy but employs more than half of its people. “Even in the first half of October, above average rainfall is expected due to a delay in the withdrawal of the monsoon,” said an official with the India Meteorological Department (IMD), declining to be named as he was not authorised to speak with media. The monsoon generally begins in June …

Former national security adviser John Bolton says North Korea will never give up its nuclear weapons voluntarily. In his first speech after being ousted from the Trump administration, Bolton said North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un will do “whatever he can to keep a deliverable nuclear weapons capability.”  Bolton’s talk Monday coincided with a North Korean envoy’s address to the United Nations General Assembly in which he accused the United States of “provocations” that hamper the progress of talks on the situation in the region. VOA’s Zlatica Hoke reports. …

The controversy over U.S. President Donald Trump’s phone call with the Ukrainian president continues, with Trump threatening both the whistleblower who outlined a detailed complaint about Trump’s actions as well as the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee who is now leading the impeachment inquiry. White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has the latest. …

British-registered companies have facilitated North Korean efforts to evade international sanctions, according to an investigation by the London-based Royal United Services Institute. The report reveals how British companies are being used to operate cargo ships smuggling coal out of North Korea. Henry Ridgwell has more from London. …

Botswana has started offering free anti-retroviral therapy (ARV) to foreign sex workers, following a decision to extend treatment to non-citizens. An estimated 30,000 foreigners living in Botswana are HIV positive, and most are sex workers. Until now, the southern African nation was one of only few countries that did not offer treatment to non-citizens. From Gaborone, Botswana, Mqondisi Dube has more. …

Japan’s national sales tax was raised to 10% from 8% on Tuesday, amid concerns that the long-delayed move could derail the fragile growth path of the world’s third largest economy. Officials said ample measures were taken to cushion the impact of the hike after previous tax increases – a 2-point increase to 5% in 1997 and another to 8% in 2014 – brought on recessions. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe postponed this hike twice but said it was unavoidable given rising costs for elder care and a growing national debt as the population ages and shrinks. After decades of fiscal deficits that have taken the debt to more than twice the size of the economy, Abe has promised a return to balance by 2025, but that will require growth to be sustained at a healthy pace. The sales tax hike coincided with the release of data showing business sentiment among large manufacturers worsening in September to its worst level since 2013. The result was better than expected, but the outlook is forecast to deteriorate further by December’s quarterly report of the Bank of Japan’s survey, called the “tankan.” “Particularly affected are producers of basic materials, reflecting recent commodity market movements, as …