Firefighters battled hundreds of bushfires across Australia Thursday as scores of blazes sprang up in new locations, triggering warnings that it was too late for some residents to evacuate. As thick smoke blanketed the most populous city of Sydney for a third day, residents were urged to keep children indoors, stepping up pressure on Prime Minister Scott Morrison to tackle climate change. By early afternoon, dozens of fires were burning across the southeastern state of Victoria and temperatures of 40.9 Celsius (105.6 F) in Melbourne, its capital, matched the hottest day on record in 1894, Australia’s weather bureau said. This picture taken and released courtesy of Petra Johansson, Nov. 21, 2019, shows the orange ski from dust storms caused by bushfires in Mildura in Victoria state. Authorities warned residents of towns about 50 km (31 miles) north of Ballarat, the state’s third largest city, that it was too late for them to evacuate safely. “You are in danger, act now to protect yourself,” fire authorities said in an alert. “It is too late to leave. The safest option is to take shelter indoors immediately.” Blazes across several states have endangered thousands of people, killing at least four people this month, …

The Pentagon on Thursday denied a South Korean news report saying that the United States was considering a significant cut to its troop numbers in South Korea if Seoul does not contribute more to the costs of the deployment. “There is absolutely no truth to the Chosun Ilbo report that the U.S. Department of Defense is currently considering removing any troops from the Korean Peninsula,” Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said in a statement, referring to Secretary Mark Esper, who earlier Thursday had said he was unaware of any such planning. “Secretary Esper was in South Korea this past week where he repeatedly reiterated our ironclad commitment to (South Korea) and its people. News stories such as this expose the dangerous and irresponsible flaws of single anonymous source reporting. We are demanding the Chosun Ilbo immediately retract their story.”  In the story, Chosun Ilbo quotes a diplomatic source as saying the U.S. is preparing to withdraw one brigade. A typical U.S. military brigade numbers about 3,000 to 4,000 troops. There are about 28,500 U.S. troops currently stationed in South Korea, which remains technically in a state of war with nuclear-armed neighbor North Korea following their 1950-1953 conflict. U.S. Defense Secretary Mark …

U.S. diplomat Gordon Sondland told the impeachment panel investigating President Donald Trump Wednesday that despite the president’s denial, U.S. aid to Ukraine was conditioned on investigations benefiting Trump’s personal political interests. Sondland’s testimony could mark a pivotal turning point in the impeachment inquiry in the U.S. House of Representatives. VOA’s congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson reports from Capitol Hill on the explosive testimony that could impact Trump’s future in office.   …

Syrian forces shelled a displaced-persons camp in rebel-held Idlib Wednesday, killing at least 15 civilians, anti-government activists said. The missiles set a number of tents on fire; two missiles fell just outside a maternity hospital in the camp in Qah, near the border with Turkey. The White Helmet rescue group said six children were among the dead. Idlib province in northwestern Syria is the last major section of the country still under rebel control. A Russian-brokered truce in August intended to de-escalate the attacks by both sides has just about totally collapsed. …

With urban populations surging around the world, cities will struggle to keep residents safe from fast-growing heat risks turbo-charged by climate change, scientists and public health experts warned this week. Heat is already the leading cause of deaths from extreme weather in countries including the United States. The problem is particularly severe in cities, where temperature extremes are rising much faster than the global average, they said. Even today, areas where the world’s population is concentrated, such as in Asia’s cities, are seeing warming of four times the global average temperature increase, a Lancet report on health threats from climate change noted this week. “It’s a worldwide problem — in cities in North America, Europe, Asia, Africa,” said Joy Shumake-Guillemot, who leads a joint climate and health office in Switzerland for the World Health Organization and World Meteorological Organization. In coming decades, urban warming “is going to put populations in a position where they’re exposed to temperatures they’re not acclimated to, cities are not built for and social systems are really not prepared to deal with,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Cities are often “heat islands” — hotter than surrounding rural areas — because their vast expanses of concrete …

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday after touring a plant that assembles Apple Inc computers that he was considering whether to exempt the U.S. company from tariffs on imports from China. “We’re looking at that,” Trump said in answer to a reporter’s question about the tariffs, after touring a plant in Austin, Texas, with Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook that assembles the company’s Mac Pro desktop computers. Cook, who has a strong relationship with Trump, has sought relief for Apple from the U.S. tariffs, which are part of a months-long tit-for-tat trade war between the world’s largest economies. “The problem we have is you have Samsung. It’s a great company but it’s a competitor of Apple, and it’s not fair if, because we have a trade deal with Korea — we made a great trade deal with South Korea — but we have to treat Apple on a somewhat similar basis as we treat Samsung,” Trump said. Apple announced in September it would make its new Mac Pro computers in Austin. The announcement came days after U.S. trade regulators approved 10 out of 15 requests for tariff exemptions filed by Apple amid a broader reprieve on levies on computer parts. …

The Iranian government’s reaction to protests against a gas price hike has been turning increasingly deadly. Security forces have reportedly opened fire at protesters in various cities across the country. Here is a look at the recent developments that triggered the nationwide protests in Iran. …

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman urged arch-rival Iran on Wednesday to abandon an expansionist ideology that has “harmed” its own people, following violent street protests in the Islamic republic. A wave of demonstrations erupted in the sanctions-hit country on Friday after an announcement that petrol prices would be raised by as much as 200 percent with immediate effect. “We hope the Iranian regime chooses the side of wisdom and realises there is no way to overcome the international position that rejects its practises, without abandoning its expansionist and destructive thinking that has harmed its own people,” the king told the consultative Shura Council. The region’s leading Shiite and Sunni powers have no diplomatic ties and are at odds over a range of issues, including the wars in Syria and Yemen. “The kingdom has suffered from the policies and practises of the Iranian regime and its proxies,” King Salman said, quoted by the foreign ministry, reiterating that Riyadh does not seek war but is “ready to defend its people”. Saudi leaders regularly accuse Iran of stirring conflicts by supporting Shiite movements in the region. Tehran denies the charges and in turn says Riyadh supports radical Islamist groups. King Salman said he hoped …

Divinity schools do not just teach about religion and prepare students to be a chaplain or to follow a pastoral route. These schools have a far larger role to play in a society. Sahar Majid has more in this report narrated by Kathleen Struck. …

Britain’s Prince Andrew has announced he will step down from his public duties because of the controversy over his involvement with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, who committed suicide in prison earlier this year. A statement from Buckingham Palace, issued Wednesday, said the scandal has become a “major disruption” to the royal family’s work and to the charities associated with Prince Andrew, a younger brother to heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles. In the statement, Andrew said he had asked Queen Elizabeth II if he could “step back from public duties for the foreseeable future” and said she had given her permission. FILE – Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Andrew attend at Royal Ascot Day Five at Ascot Racecourse in Britain, June 22, 2019. The 59-year-old prince, also known as the Duke of York, has denied allegations he had sex with a 17-year-old girl procured by Epstein. He drew widespread criticism for an interview aired Saturday on the BBC, in which he expressed no compassion for the victims of Epstein’s alleged sex trafficking. Epstein, previously convicted of sexual offenses, was awaiting trial on new charges of child sex trafficking when he hanged himself in his cell. “I continue to unequivocally regret my …

Ex-Military Chief Benny Gantz informed Israeli President Reuven Rivlin on Wednesday that he has failed to form a coalition government, almost guaranteeing Israelis will head to the polls for the third time this year after political deadlock has paralyzed the government. “I have turned every stone in an attempt to form a government that leads the State of Israel to a different leadership, unfortunately it was not enough” said Gantz on Twitter. All lawmakers have 21 days for coalition talks before new elections are announced. Any member of Israel’s Knesset, with the backing of 61 lawmakers, could be nominated to receive the president’s mandate. This is the first time in the nation’s history that candidates selected by the president have failed to form a government. The political stalemate began after elections in April and September. Current Premier Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party and Gantz’s centrist Blue and White party both won approximately the same number of seats to become the largest parties in the legislature. Neither party had an apparent path, however, to form the 61-seat majority required in Israel’s Knesset. President Rivlin gave Netanyahu the first chance to form a coalition government with smaller parties. After Netanyahu announced he …

Uber will allow passengers and drivers in Brazil and Mexico to record audio of their rides as it attempts to improve its safety record and image. The ride-hailing company plans to pilot the feature in cities in both countries in December. It eventually hopes to launch it in other markets, including the United States, although it has no timeline for possible expansion. The feature will allow customers to opt into recording all or select trips. Recordings will be stored on the rider or driver’s phone and encrypted to protect privacy, and users will not be able to listen to them. They can later share a recording with Uber, which will have an encryption key, if they want to report a problem. Whether the recording feature will deter violent behavior to help riders and drivers is unknown. But Uber stands to benefit because the recordings could help the company mitigate losses and reign in liability for incidents that flare up between drivers and passengers. For example, if a shouting match erupts between a driver and passenger, and both accuse the other of being verbally abusive, the recording could help Uber determine where fault lies after the incident, mitigating any kind of …

President Donald Trump is getting out of Washington during the House impeachment probe. He’s headed to Texas to tour an Austin plant that produces Apple’s Mac Pro computer. It’s Trump’s second visit to Texas in recent weeks as he highlights job growth in a state crucial for Republicans in 2020, both in terms of money and votes. Trump’s visit follows Apple’s announcement in September that it would continue manufacturing the Mac Pro in Austin. The move came once the Trump administration agreed to waive tariffs on certain computer parts made in China. Apple CEO Tim Cook pitched Trump on the problem that higher tariffs posed for Apple. Trump has said, “it’s tough for Apple to pay tariffs if they’re competing with a very good company that’s not.”   …

Israeli kingmaker politician Avigdor Lieberman on Wednesday refused to endorse a candidate for prime minister, blaming both the contenders engaged in a tense standoff that has paralyzed Israeli politics and pushing the country toward a likely third election in less than a year. Lieberman’s comments came ahead of a midnight deadline for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s rival, Benny Gantz, to form a coalition. Without Lieberman, Gantz appears unable to secure the required majority in parliament to be prime minister. If Israel is forced into a third election, it would be entering uncharted waters, with opinion polls already predicting a very similar deadlock. But a new campaign could benefit the embattled Netanyahu, who is expected to be indicted on corruption charges in the coming weeks. Netanyahu would be best-positioned to fight any charges from the prime minister’s office. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, meets with heads of Israeli settlement authorities at the Alon Shvut settlement, in the Gush Etzion block, in the occupied the West Bank, November 19, 2019. Lieberman, who heads a small secular, ultranationalist party, triggered the September election after refusing to join Netanyahu’s traditional allies of hard-line and religious parties following earlier elections in April. The do-over …

The son of former German president Richard von Weizsaecker was stabbed to death while he was giving a lecture at a hospital in Berlin where he worked as a head physician, police said Wednesday. A 57-year-old German man is in custody after he jumped up from the audience at the Schlosspark-Klinik and attacked Fritz von Weizsaecker with a knife on Tuesday evening. An off-duty police officer in the audience who tried to stop the attack was seriously wounded and had to undergo surgery. Von Weizsaecker died at the scene despite immediate attention from colleagues. “We cannot yet say anything about the attacker’s motive,” said police spokesman Michael Gassen. Police said later that the man, who was not a patient at the hospital, had been questioned overnight. Police were also investigating if von Weizsaecker or his family had received threats in the past. The 59-year-old was the son of one of Germany’s most esteemed presidents. Richard von Weizsaecker became West Germany’s head of state in 1984 and when the country was unified, became the first president of the new nation, serving until 1994. He died in 2015. Fritz von Weizsaecker was one of the ex-president’s four children. His sister Beatrice posted …

Two Spaniards who were among a group of five convicted earlier this year of raping a woman each were Wednesday sentenced to three years and three months more in prison for having made videos of the rape with their phones. A regional court in Pamplona also fined them 5,670 euros ($6,280) on Wednesday for the seven videos and two photographs they made of the rape. The five, who had a WhatsApp group named “La Manada,” or “The Animal Pack,” were imprisoned for 15 years by the Supreme Court in June for raping an 18-year-old woman during Pamplona’s San Fermin festival in 2016. The case earned renown because lower courts convicted them of lesser crimes. Four of the five are also on trial for allegedly sexually abusing another woman in 2016.   …

The fate of four Eritrean football players seeking asylum in Jinja, Uganda, remains uncertain, weeks after they fled their hotel during a tournament.   The players had been set to compete with the Eritrean National Team in the Cecafa Under-20 Challenge Cup in October. For the past six weeks, they have been moving from house to house to avoid being caught by Eritrean agents in Uganda, their lawyer told VOA. Kimberley Motley, an American attorney dealing with international law and representing the four men, said they fear being returned to Eritrea, where they could face imprisonment and torture. “They simply want to be able to live free in a country that is not going to imprison them, and which is a great fear that they have if they’re sent back to Eritrea. And they’re very fearful that they will be sent back by the Ugandan authorities,” Motley said. Eritrean under-20 soccer players Hermon Fessehaye Yohannes, Simon Asmelash Mekonen, Hanibal Girmay Tekle, and Mewael Tesfai Yosief talk together in a house where they are staying in Uganda. Ugandan officials didn’t respond to VOA’s requests for updates on the footballers’ case. “They’ve been in hiding,” Motley said. “They’ve been moving from place …

The Israeli military says its warplanes struck dozens of Iranian and Syrian military targets outside of Damascus Wednesday in retaliation for a rocket attack on the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights the day before. The military says the targets, including surface-to-air missiles, weapons depots and troop headquarters, belonged to Iran’s elite Quds force, the overseas arm of the regime’s Revolutionary Guards. Syria’s state-run media said two civilians were killed in the airstrikes, but the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says it has learned that 11 people died in the strikes.   Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement Wednesday that he has “made clear that whoever hurts us, we will hurt them.” …

Pope Francis arrived in Bangkok on Wednesday to begin a tour of Thailand and Japan, beginning a mission to boost the morale of those countries’ tiny minority Catholic communities and speak about issues of concern including human trafficking and peacemaking. He is expected to highlight his admiration in Thailand for the community’s missionary ancestors who brought the faith to this Buddhist nation centuries ago and endured bouts of persecution as recently as the 1940s. Francis was greeted by Surayud Chulanont, former prime minister and head of King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s Privy Council. His warmest welcome, however, came from his second cousin, Sister Ana Rosa Sivori, who has been a missionary in Thailand since the 1960s and will serve as his translator during his time here. On stepping down from the plane, the first thing Francis did – even before his official welcome from Surayud – was to hug his cousin. He also met about a dozen children in traditional hilltribe attire. One wearing an elaborate headdress came forward with a huge smile on her face and hugged him. He also received an artillery salute. Francis’ three-day visit to Thailand, followed by three days in Japan, will be a welcome break for …

The U.S. military said Wednesday two of its service members were killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan. The cause of the crash is under investigation, however preliminary reports do not indicate it was caused by enemy fire, according to an official announcement. The latest fatalities bring the number of American soldiers killed this year in war-related activities in Afghanistan to at least 18. Earlier, the Taliban insurgency claimed its fighters shot down a U.S. military Chinook helicopter in the eastern Afghan province of Logar. A Taliban spokesman said the helicopter was sent to raid an insurgent base in the area. It was difficult to ascertain from independent sources whether the insurgent group was referring to the same incident. Taliban battlefield claims of attacks on U.S.-led foreign forces in Afghanistan are often inflated. Separately, an overnight Taliban raid on a military base in northern Kunduz province has killed at least 13 Afghan forces and wounded several others. Afghan media reported the attack occurred in the Imam Sahib district. The Taliban took responsibility for carrying out the deadly attack, saying insurgent fighters also seized military equipment from the base. The violence comes a day after a high-profile prisoner swap between the …

U.S. Ambassador to the E.U. Gordon Sondland on Wednesday will be the most high-profile witness to appear before the U.S. House of Representatives as it holds public hearings on the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump. Sondland is set to testify in the morning, followed by career Pentagon official Laura Cooper and Undersecretary of State David Hale Wednesday afternoon. Former White House adviser Fiona Hill and career foreign service officer David Holmes are to testify Thursday. On Tuesday Jennifer Williams, an aide to Vice President Mike Pence, and Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the National Security Council’s top Ukraine expert, former U.S. Special Envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker and former NSC official Tim Morrison testified. All nine have testified previously in closed-door hearings about Trump’s efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate his political rival, former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, who had served as a board member of a Ukraine natural gas company, and probe a discredited conspiracy theory regarding the 2016 president election. Three of the nine listened in on the July 25 phone conversation between Trump and Ukraine’s president. Democrats hope the hearings will sway public opinion in favor of impeachment.  Republicans have used them to …

The U.S. House Intelligence Committee is set to hear impeachment inquiry testimony Wednesday from a key actor in President Donald Trump’s alleged effort to pressure Ukraine for incriminating information on his political rivals as Democrats continue to build their case for impeaching the U.S. leader. U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland will become the first witness with a direct line of communication to the  president to testify in public to the Democratic-led impeachment inquiry. According to the testimony of other witnesses, Sondland spoke to Trump multiple times from mid-July to mid-September and could shed light on whether Trump abused his power by making U.S. security aid to Ukraine contingent on Kyiv’s agreement to investigate Burisma, an energy company on which the son of former Vice President and political rival Joe Biden had served as a board member. Sondland will likely face tough questioning from Democratic and Republican lawmakers after he revised his previous closed-door testimony to say there was a link between the withholding of $391 million in aid to Ukraine and the investigations Trump wanted. He testified in October that he knew of no preconditions to the assistance. A text message between Ambassador Kurt Volker, former special …

In 1990, a bikini-clad Madonna wrapped in a U.S. flag urged MTV viewers to vote in Senate elections as the youth television network partnered with a “Rock the Vote” campaign that mixed pop culture and politics. Thirty years on, with Millennials and Gen Z poised to outnumber the Baby Boomer generation for the first time in a U.S. presidential election, MTV on Tuesday launched its most ambitious turnout campaign ever, reaching beyond celebrities to tap into burgeoning youth activism. The year-long “+1thevote”  initiative across MTV’s multiple TV platforms, social media and live events includes plans to open new polling stations at college campuses, sponsor school proms that host registration drives, and integrate voting messages into shows. “You need to look no further than the climate change strikes and what is happening in the streets to see that this is a fired-up generation,” said Brianna Cayo Cotter, SVP of social impact for MTV and its affiliate platforms VH1, CMT and Logo. “But they have to vote in this election to take that passion and turn it into political power. That’s the aim of this campaign – how do we help young people, who are so passionate but for whom voting today …