The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Thursday confirmed private sales to China of 68,000 tonnes of soybeans for the 2019/20 marketing year, the first such purchase by a private buyer since the trade war between the world’s two largest economies broke out more than a year ago. It was the first new soybean purchase by China since a 544,000-tonne sale was announced in late June, and the first since Beijing offered to exempt five private crushers in the country from 25-percent import tariffs on U.S. beans arriving by the end of the year. In its weekly export sales report, the USDA also said China bought 66,800 tonnes of soybeans for 2018/19 delivery, including 62,000 tonnes that had previously been listed as headed for unknown destinations. But China also canceled previous purchases totaling 72,900 tonnes for the current marketing year, USDA said. Widespread market rumors last week suggested that a large Chinese crusher purchased a small number of soybean cargoes for shipment in October from terminals in the U.S. Pacific Northwest, traders said. Prices for soybeans shipped to Asia from the PNW this autumn are lower than prices for beans shipped from rival exporter Brazil if China’s import tariffs are removed, …

If U.S. President Donald Trump is unlike anyone who’s occupied the Oval Office, the same could be said of new British Prime Minister Boris Johnson when it comes to 10 Downing Street. Both are unpredictable and unconventional. Their readiness to break with custom and their checkered personal lives — let alone their distinctive hairstyles — have attracted comparisons. Both have surfed populist political waves to power. The U.S. president sees an affinity, lauding Johnson as “Britain Trump.” And there are high expectations among Trump supporters and British Brexiters that the Anglo-American relationship is about to be spruced up in new ways. Their aides talk enthusiastically of a revived relationship that has been buffeted in the past two years. As Brexit Storm Gathers, Britain Looks to Trump for Hope video player. FILE – Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt appear on BBC TV’s debate with candidates vying to replace British PM Theresa May, in London, Britain, June 18, 2019. Campaigning to replace May, Johnson offered the highest form of flattery by imitating Trump, echoing some of the U.S. leader’s slogans, promising among other things to “make Britain great again.” Both men share a disdain for the European Union — although Johnson is …

When Lee Kyung Eon and her friend recently scrapped their plans to go to Japan for their summer vacation and paid $135 penalty for canceling plane tickets, they joined a growing public campaign in South Korea to boycott Japanese goods and services. ”We intended to do something that is unhelpful to Japan even a little bit,” said Lee, a 26-year-old office worker in Bundang city, just south of Seoul. “Many people told us we did something really good … but some with strong patriotic spirits said we shouldn’t boast of things that we have to do.” A widespread anti-Japan boycott has gained ground in South Korea since Tokyo on July 1 tightened its control of exports of three chemicals used to manufacture semiconductors and display screens — key export items for South Korea. The boycott could worsen as Japan is expected to expand its export curbs to other materials as early as Friday by removing South Korea from a list of countries granted preferential trade status. South Korea accuses Japan of retaliating over local court rulings last year that ordered two Japanese companies to pay compensation to former Korean employees for forced labor during Tokyo’s 1910-45 colonization of the Korean …

In India’s northern state of Himachal Pradesh, a burgeoning monkey population poses a huge threat to agriculture, prompting many to abandon farming. Displaced by shrinking forests and rapid growth of urban centers, the animals raid farms in search of food, destroying crops worth millions of dollars. Agriculture experts are teaching farmers how to overcome the problem. Anjana Pasricha reports how Magroo village in the Himalayan state has benefitted. …

The office of Somalia’s president says he is giving up his United States citizenship but it is not immediately clear why. A statement posted on Twitter on Thursday says President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed made the decision voluntarily, with lawyers involved. It says Somalia’s constitution allows for dual citizenship. Many in Somalia’s diaspora have it after fleeing the country long gripped by conflict. Mohamed lived for many years in the United States, working as a New York state transportation department official in Buffalo before being elected Somalia’s president in February 2017.   During his time in office the U.S. has dramatically increased airstrikes against the Somali-based al-Shabab extremist group, re-established its diplomatic presence in Somalia and even presented Mohamed with a trucker cap that said “Make Somalia Great Again.” …

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Thursday called the move by the United States to sanctions Iran’s foreign minister “childish.” In a televised speech, Rouhani said the United States claims to want to negotiate with Iran without any preconditions, “and then they sanction the foreign minister.” “This is obviously a highly unusual action,” a senior Trump administration official acknowledged when discussing the U.S. action against Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. The executive order accuses Zarif of acting or purporting to act on behalf of his country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was recently added to the U.S. Treasury Department’s Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List. “And today, President (Donald) Trump decided enough is enough,” a senior U.S. official told reporters on a background briefing conference call. “We will continue to build on our maximum pressure campaign until Iran abandons its reckless foreign policy that threatens the United States and our allies.” The United States “is sending a clear message to the Iranian regime that its recent behavior is completely unacceptable,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. “At the same time, the Iranian regime denies Iranian citizens’ access to social media, Foreign Minister Javad Zarif spreads the regime’s …

Seeking diplomatic solutions to foreign conflicts. Immigration reform with aid for Central America. Trade deals that help U.S. workers, but do not involve trade wars. Democratic candidates used their time on the debate stage in Detroit to spell out policy initiatives that would represent a departure from Trump administration approaches, all while making the case they can beat the incumbent president in the 2020 election. As might be expected among candidates from the same political party, there was a lot of general agreement about how to deal with big issues. But with 20 candidates split into two 10-person debates, nationally known names sought to maintain their leads in polls while others voters might not be as familiar with worked to generate the interest their campaigns badly need. That led to a lot of sparring among the candidates and even direct questioning of each other’s records and proposals, particularly focused on the current favorites in the race — former Vice President Joe Biden, Senator Bernie Sanders and Senator Elizabeth Warren. Democratic presidential hopeful U.S. Senator from California Kamala Harris delivers her closing statement flanked by former Vice President Joe Biden during the Democratic primary debate hosted by CNN at the Fox …

At least 32 people were killed in an attack on a military parade in the Yemeni port city of Aden Thursday, security and medical sources said. Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement said it launched missile and drone attacks Thursday on a military parade in Aden, the seat of the Saudi-backed government, killing several people including a commander. A Reuters witness saw nine bodies on the ground after an explosion hit a military camp belonging to Yemeni forces backed by the United Arab Emirates, which is a member of the Saudi-led military coalition battling the Houthis. A pro-government military source said a commander was among those killed. “The blast occurred behind the stand where the ceremony was taking place at Al Jalaa military camp in Buraiqa district in Aden,” the witness said. “A group of soldiers were crying over a body believed to be of the commander.” The Houthi’s official channel Al Masirah TV said the group had launched a medium-range ballistic missile and an armed drone at the parade, which it described as being staged in preparation for a military move against provinces held by the movement. The parade “was being used to prepare for an advance on Taiz and Dalea,” …

Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden was center-stage for Wednesday’s Democratic presidential debate, and Biden often found himself under attack by several of his nine rivals on stage.  But Biden was quick to counter-attack in what was a free-wheeling debate and also made an impassioned case that he is the Democrat best positioned to defeat President Donald Trump next year. VOA National Correspondent Jim Malone has more on the second night of the second round of Democratic debates.   …

A war of words continues between U.S. President Donald Trump and a powerful Democratic lawmaker investigating the Trump White House, Congressman Elijah Cummings of Maryland. The president has criticized the legislator’s Baltimore district in comments that many have denounced as racist. Today, like many urban centers, Baltimore struggles to deal with racial unrest, crime, economic inequality and high unemployment.  VOA’s Carolyn Presutti visited Baltimore and has this report.   …

Divers and environmentalists found an unpleasant surprise in Aegean waters near Greece and are working to fix it.  What looked like colorful coral turned out to be a plastic wasteland, just one of many challenges delicate marine ecosystems face. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi dives in for a look. …

The prospect of Britain crashing out of the European Union with no deal at the end of October is creating a tumultuous first few weeks in office for Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The British pound sterling is plunging, and there are warnings of widespread disruption. As Henry Ridgwell reports from London, Johnson is looking for help across the Atlantic to a like-minded ally in the White House.   …

The son and heir of al-Qaida founder Osama bin Laden is presumed dead, apparently killed in a U.S.-supported operation, according to reports. Officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, confirmed the suspected death of Hamza bin Laden, believed to be in his 30s, Wednesday as first reported by NBC News. The New York Times subsequently reported the younger bin Laden had been killed within the past two years in an operation that involved the U.S. in some capacity. But officials told the Times the government had yet to confirm his death and refused to share additional details. The U.S. had been offering a reward of up to $1 million for information leading to the capture or death of Hamza bin Laden, who was by his father’s side when al-Qaida launched the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks against New York’s World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Groomed from an early age According to letters found at Osama bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, Hamza bin Laden had been groomed from an early age to one day take command of his father’s terror group. The correspondences, recovered by U.S. forces following the raid that killed Osama bin Laden in May 2011, also …

The number of anti-Semitic incidents in Britain rose in the first half of the year, according to a charity Thursday that cited alleged anti-Semitism in the opposition Labour party as a contributing factor. The Community Security Trust (CST) said in a report it had recorded 892 incidents, an increase of 10% from the year-ago period and a record for the January to June period. A 46% rise in the number of online incidents was the most obvious single factor explaining the overall increase, it added. The CST, which has been logging anti-Semitic incidents in Britain since 1984 and provides security for the Jewish community in Britain, said the highest monthly totals of such incidents came in February and March. “They occurred when issues relating to Jews and anti-Semitism were prominent in news and politics due to the continuing controversy over anti-Semitism in the Labour Party,” it added in a statement. Lawmakers leave Labour February saw nine lawmakers leave the Labour Party, some of whom cited anti-Semitism as a prominent reason for their decision, it noted. The CST said it had recorded 25 incidents in February and 30 in March that were examples of, or related to, arguments over alleged anti-Semitism …

U.S. immigration officials have added a senior Venezuelan government official to their list of the 10 most wanted fugitives. Tareck El Aissami is Venezuela’s former vice president and is currently its industry minister. Immigration and Customs Enforcement posted a picture of El Aissami on its Twitter account Wednesday, captioned, “Have you seen this most wanted fugitive? He’s wanted for international narcotics trafficking.” The photo comes with a warning to civilians against trying to arrest him or anyone else on the most wanted list. The U.S. accuses El Aissami of overseeing or partially owning “narcotics shipments of more than 1,000 kilograms from Venezuela on multiple occasions, including those with the final destinations of Mexico and the United States.” He is also accused of avoiding various U.S. sanctions imposed on Venezuela because of the country’s dire political situation. The United States and about 50 other countries back opposition leader Juan Guaido’s efforts to drive President Nicolas Maduro from power. Guaido accuses Maduro of stealing last year’s election for another term and helping drive Venezuela to economic ruin through corruption and failed socialist policies. …

A U.S. delegation led by White House senior adviser Jared Kushner held talks Wednesday with Jordan’s King Abdullah II about ways to revive the Mideast peace process.  The Americans are seeking to finalize details of a proposed $50 billion economic development plan for the Palestinians, Jordan, Egypt and Lebanon. Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt and Brian Hook, the U.S. special representative for Iran and senior adviser to the U.S. secretary of state, are part of the delegation, which will also visit Israel, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. In Amman, Abdullah reaffirmed his position that the establishment of a Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem as its capital, alongside Israel is the only way to resolve the long-simmering crisis, a statement from Jordan’s royal court said. The king also said that any peace plan needed to be implemented in accordance with the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, which called on Israel to pull back from all land it occupied in 1967 in exchange for normalized Israeli-Arab relations.  Presidential advisers Jared Kushner, center left, and Jason Greenblatt, third left, meet with Jordan’s King Abdullah II, center right, and his advisers, in Amman, Jordan, May 29, 2019.  Jordanian political analyst Osama al-Sharif said that while Jordan’s …

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson could see his working majority in parliament reduced to one when voters in a rural Welsh parliamentary seat go to the polls Thursday in his first electoral test as leader. The pro-European Union Liberal Democrats are the bookmakers’ favorites to win the vote in Brecon and Radnorshire, triggered when Conservative lawmaker Chris Davies was ousted by a petition of constituents after being convicted of falsifying expenses. Brecon is a region where sheep outnumber people many times over and where the prospect of steep EU tariffs being slapped on its Welsh lamb exports in a no-deal Brexit have prompted widespread concern among farmers. Wafer-thin majority Johnson’s government already relies on the support of a small Northern Irish party for its wafer-thin majority, with just a handful of rebels in his own Conservatives needed to lose key votes, as his predecessor Theresa May repeatedly found. May stepped down after her Brexit deal with the EU was rejected three times by parliament. Johnson has said he plans to renegotiate that deal but that Britain will leave the bloc Oct. 31 with or without an agreement, potentially setting himself up for a fight with parliament, which has pledged to …

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee on Wednesday backed General John Hyten to be the second-highest ranking U.S. military official, a day after he denied sexual assault allegations against him.  The vote was 20-7 in favor of Hyten’s becoming the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.  Hyten, the outgoing commander of the U.S. military’s Strategic Command, must still be confirmed by the full Senate. A date for that vote has not been announced.  FILE – Army Col. Kathryn Spletstoser, who has accused Air Force Gen. John Hyten of sexual misconduct, speaks to reporters following Hyten’s confirmation hearing, July 30, 2019. Hyten on Tuesday vehemently denied the sexual assault allegations against him at his confirmation hearing. His accuser, Army Colonel Kathryn Spletstoser, sat quietly in the room during the hearing, occasionally shaking her head in disagreement, and afterward told reporters that Hyten had lied to the senators under oath.  An official Air Force investigation did not substantiate the accusations against Hyten.   Hyten’s nomination has posed a challenge to the Senate, which for years has criticized the military for failing to do enough to combat sexual assault in its ranks.  …

In a rare and dramatic move, the United States has imposed sanctions against the top diplomat of a foreign country. “This is obviously a highly unusual action,” a senior administration official acknowledged when discussing the U.S. move against Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif. The executive order accuses Zarif of acting or purporting to act on behalf of his country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was recently added to the U.S. Treasury Department’s Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List. “And today, President [Donald] Trump decided enough is enough,” a senior U.S. official told reporters on a background briefing conference call. “We will continue to build on our maximum pressure campaign until Iran abandons its reckless foreign policy that threatens the United States and our allies.” The United States “is sending a clear message to the Iranian regime that its recent behavior is completely unacceptable,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. “At the same time, the Iranian regime denies Iranian citizens’ access to social media, Foreign Minister Javad Zarif spreads the regime’s propaganda and disinformation around the world through these mediums.”   In a statement, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the action is “another step toward denying …

Members of the LightSail 2 team declared their mission a success in a teleconference Wednesday. The citizen-funded spacecraft is the highest-performing solar sail to date and the first to demonstrate the ability to orbit Earth in a controlled way.    “This is a very exciting day for us, and for me personally,” said Bill Nye, chief executive officer  of the Planetary Society, the organization behind the mission. “This idea that you could fly a spacecraft with nothing but photons is surprising, and for me, it’s very romantic that you could be sailing on sunbeams.”    LightSail 2 is the latest demonstration of solar sail technology, which uses the gentle pressure of photons — the particles of light — on a lightweight, reflective surface to propel a craft through space, similar to the way the wind pushes a sailing ship across the ocean. However, instead of canvas, solar sails are made of thin sheets of Mylar, the same crinkly silver material often used for helium-filled balloons.  Faster speeds   Although the pressure of the sun’s rays is no greater than the weight of a paperclip dropping on the sail, sunlight is a constant source of energy. Scientists expect that as long as sunlight reaches them, solar sails will keep accelerating to …

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in Thailand for an ASEAN summit that comes just hours after North Korea’s latest ballistic missile test, the second launch by Pyongyang in less than a week. Pompeo will host a U.S.-ASEAN meeting Thursday with his counterparts in Bangkok, saying many of them share a vision for security, peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific.  He will also deliver a speech on U.S. economic engagement in the region.  On the way to Thailand, Pompeo was asked when U.S. talks with North Korean officials will resume. “There’s been a little bit of preliminary work to be done. I never want to set a date, [but] I hope before too long, we will have Special Representative [Stephen] Biegun sitting with what I think will be a new counterpart from North Korea.” The State Department has confirmed that Biegun will be part of the U.S. delegation in Bangkok. In the past, the annual ASEAN security meeting was used as an opportunity for talks between U.S. and North Korean officials, but North Korea has signaled that its top diplomat may not attend this year. Pompeo said he will be meeting with his Chinese counterpart, and that they would talk about a …

A woman whose 1-year-old daughter died weeks after they were released from an immigration detention center in Texas filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the private prison company that operates the facility. Lawyers for Yazmin Juarez are demanding $40 million from CoreCivic in the complaint filed in federal court in San Antonio. It’s the third legal claim they have filed related to the death of Yazmin’s daughter, Mariee, in May last year. The deaths of children detained by border agents have drawn national attention as have the conditions in border facilities where in some cases dozens of children have been held together at a time. Yazmin Juarez testified on July 10 before a U.S. House panel as photos of Mariee were displayed on television screens. Some lawmakers wiped away tears as she spoke. CoreCivic operates the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement family detention center at Dilley, Texas, the largest facility of its kind. Juarez’s lawyers say CoreCivic allowed poor conditions to fester at the 2,400-bed facility. ”We don’t believe that it’s ever appropriate to jail small children,” said Stanton Jones, a lawyer for Juarez. “At a minimum, if CoreCivic is making huge amounts of money to run a jail for children, …

The Federal Reserve cut interest rates on Wednesday for the first time since 2008, citing concerns about the global economy and muted U.S. inflation, and signaled a readiness to lower borrowing costs further if needed. Financial markets had widely expected the quarter-percentage-point rate cut, which lowered the U.S. central bank’s benchmark overnight lending rate to a target range of 2% to 2.25%. In a statement at the end of its latest two-day policy meeting, the Fed said it had decided to cut rates “in light of the implications of global developments for the economic outlook as well as muted inflation pressures.” Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell walks to the podium during a news conference in Washington, July 31, 2019. The Fed said it will “continue to monitor” how incoming information will affect the economy, adding that it “will act as appropriate to sustain” a record-long U.S. economic expansion. The decision drew dissents from Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren and Kansas City Fed President Esther George who argued for leaving rates unchanged. Both have raised doubts about a rate cut in the face of the current expansion, an unemployment rate that is near a 50-year-low, and robust household spending. On the …

President Donald Trump has welcomed Mongolia’s president, Khaltmaa Battulga, to the White House for talks focused on trade. Wednesday’s visit is the first by a Mongolian president since June 2011, the last time a leader of the landlocked country between Russia and China came to the White House. Trump administration officials say they want to explore ways to help the East Asian nation diversify its trade flows since about 90 percent of Mongolia’s trade must go through China. Trump and Battulga are also expected to discuss defense and security matters, among other issues.   Battulga is a populist business tycoon and ex-judo champion whose meeting with Trump follows a recent visit to Mongolia by Trump’s national security adviser, John Bolton. …