Melbourne Meth Bust: Customs Agents Charged in Australia’s Record Drug Seizure
▶️ Police have carried out Australia's largest ever onshore seizure of methamphetamine, worth $840 million and found by Australian Border Force agents in an April shipment from Thailand to Melbourne.
👉 The agents found 1.6 tons of methamphetamine, along with 37 kilograms of heroin, in vacuum-sealed packages hidden inside stereo speakers shipped from Thailand to Melbourne in the country's largest ever onshore seizure of the drug also known as "ice."
Two customs agents have been charged in connection with the seizure, police said Thursday, December 4.
Police arrested two men and a woman on Wednesday following raids in suburban Melbourne, Australia's second-largest city.
"Two of the three were customs agents. They are trusted insiders within the industry," Australian Federal Police deputy commissioner Neil Gaughan said.
He added they were not government employees, but rather private contractors.
"They used their position of trust to circumvent the border controls that exist within Australia," he was quoted as saying by national broadcaster ABC.
Police said they were cooperating with authorities in Thailand where an investigation is ongoing. (AFP)
December 05, 2019
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First Spitfire to Circle the Globe Arrives Home
An original Spitfire plane came home to Britain after a four month, 37,000 kilometer trip around the world, Thursday, December 5, becoming the first-ever of its kind to make the trip.
The iconic World War II fighter was 76-years-old and visited 24 countries on its journey, landing exactly four months after it took off on August 5.
British aviators Matt Jones, 46, and Steve Brooks, 58, took turns at the wheel over 74 flight legs.
The final leg of the journey was one hour and 57 minutes from Lelystad in the Netherlands back to the Silver Spitfire’s hanger in Chichester. (AFP)
December 05, 2019
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8 Dead After Gas Blast Destroys House in Poland
Officials in southern Poland said a house collapsed in a gas explosion, Wednesday, December 4, killing eight people, including four children.
Around 200 rescuers spent Thursday morning scouring the debris to find the bodies.
The house in the mountain resort of Szczyrk was totally destroyed in the explosion, the Silesian Fire Brigade said. Rescue workers are attempting to find potential survivors.
A spokesman for Poland’s gas company Ziemowit Podolski said a damaged local gas pipeline was most likely the cause of the explosion. (AP)
December 05, 2019
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Woman in Indonesia Flogged for Pre-Marital Sex in Aceh, Banned Under Sharia Law
▶️ An Indonesian woman is whipped in public on charges of engaging in sexual relations, in Aceh, Thursday December 5.
👉 Two Indonesian men and a woman were whipped in Indonesia's Aceh province after they were found guilty of having pre-marital sex, a serious crime under under the conservative region's Islamic law. (AFP)
December 05, 2019
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Police Fire Tear Gas at French Protesters During Nationwide Strike
French police fired tear gas at protesters in the city of Nantes, Thursday, December 5, during a massive nationwide strike against French President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform plans.
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READ MORE: The Eiffel Tower shut down, France's vaunted high-speed trains stood still and teachers walked off the job as unions launched nationwide strikes and protests Thursday over the government's plan to overhaul the retirement system.
Paris authorities barricaded the presidential palace and deployed 6,000 police as activists, many in yellow vests representing France's year-old movement for economic justice, gathered for a major march through the capital.
Organizers hope for a mass outpouring of anger at President Emmanuel Macron for his centerpiece reform, seen as threatening the hard-fought French way of life. Macron himself remained “calm and determined” to push it through, according to a top presidential official.
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LINK: https://www.voanews.com/europe/france-shuts-down-mass-strike-hits-trains-eiffel-tower
December 05, 2019
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Cambodian-American Fighter Punching For the Top
An MMA fighter of Cambodian decent has never set her foot in her mother’s homeland, but now she is using her fighting career to reconnect with the country that her mother told her about when she was a child. VOA’s Chetra Chap reports
Originally published at - https://morigin.voanews.eu/a/cambodian-american-fighter-punching-for-the-top/5194021.html
December 05, 2019
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Trump Vows to Designate Mexican Cartels as Terrorist Groups
U.S. President Donald Trump appears intent on following through with his plan to formally designate Mexican drug cartels as terrorist organizations. His announcement has put the Mexican government on the defensive. VOA’s Ardita Dunellari looks at the political impact of such a move and its effect on bilateral relations with Mexico.
Originally published at - https://morigin.voanews.eu/a/trump-vows-to-designate-mexican-cartels-as-terrorist-groups/5193562.html
December 05, 2019
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Disabled Jewish and Arab Children Treated Together in Jerusalem Hospital
The Alyn Pediatric Rehabilitation Hospital in Jerusalem offers innovative therapies for children with serious injuries. They treat children (and parents) from diverse national, cultural, and religious backgrounds, preparing them to cope with their special needs in their home communities. Linda Gradstein reports from Jerusalem.
Originally published at - https://morigin.voanews.eu/a/disabled-jewish-and-arab-children-treated-together-in-jerusalem-hospital/5193589.html
December 04, 2019
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House Democrats: Trump Abuse of Power Impeachable Offense
Congressional Democrats launched the next step in the impeachment of U.S. President Donald Trump Wednesday, hearing testimony from legal scholars on what the U.S. Constitution says about the standards for impeaching and removing a president from office. The House Judiciary Committee hearings take lawmakers a step closer to a vote on Articles of Impeachment, measures that if passed would lead to a Senate trial. VOA's congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson has more from Capitol Hill.
Originally published at - https://morigin.voanews.eu/a/house-democrats-trump-abuse-of-power-impeachable-offense/5193612.html
December 04, 2019
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Moscow Denies Involvement in Killing of Chechen Rebel in Germany
Moscow denies any involvement in the shooting death of a former Chechen rebel commander in Berlin in August. The Russian government Wednesday condemned Germany's decision to expel two Russian diplomats over the case. Germany has accused Russia of failing to assist in the investigation. VOA's Zlatica Hoke reports the attack on the Chechen rebel in Germany has been compared to the attempt on the life of a former Russian spy in Britain last year.
Originally published at - https://morigin.voanews.eu/a/moscow-denies-involvement-in-killing-of-chechen-rebel-in-germany/5193667.html
December 04, 2019
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President Donald Trump Returns to US Following NATO Summit in UK
U.S. President Donald Trump arrived back in the United States, Wednesday, December 4, after attending NATO’s 70th anniversary summit in the UK. (AP)
December 04, 2019
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Capitol Christmas Tree Lit in Washington
▶️ 🎄 This year's Christmas tree in front of the United States Capitol was lit Wednesday, December 4.
👉 Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi was joined by other representatives and several children to countdown to the official lighting ceremony.
This year’s tree traveled over 2,414 kilometers from the Carson National Forest in northern New Mexico.
It’s an 18-meter blue spruce that is adorned with thousands of ornaments made by New Mexico school children and community members. (AP)
December 04, 2019
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Report: US Life Expectancy Declines
A new study is sounding the alarm on the decline in life expectancy in the United States. Based on the data analysis report, life expectancy had increased by almost 10 years over the course of nearly six decades - from close to 70 years old to just shy of 79 years - but it has dropped for 3 consecutive years since 2014. VOA Correspondent Mariama Diallo spoke to the co-author of the study and has this report.
Originally published at - https://morigin.voanews.eu/a/report-us-life-expectancy-declines/5193070.html
December 04, 2019
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Winter Storm Ravages the United States
Heavy snowfall barreled across the United States, Tuesday, December 3, causing flight delays and blocking highways.
Videos shot during a flight from Boston, Massachusetts to Los Angeles, California show the long-lasting snowfall from inside a plane.
The storm that started on the West Coast ahead of Thanksgiving, the busiest U.S. travel holiday, slowly rolled across the entire country, drenching some areas with rain, blanketing others with snow and blasting still others with winds. Three tornadoes were reported northwest of Phoenix. (Reuters)
December 04, 2019
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Uganda's Museveni Criticized for Leading March Against Corruption
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni led a march against corruption Wednesday, but critics were quick to dismiss the march as a publicity stunt. Uganda has one of the worst rankings in the world for corruption, with activists pointing fingers at the highest levels of government. Halima Athumani reports from Kampala.
Originally published at - https://morigin.voanews.eu/a/uganda-s-museveni-criticized-for-leading-march-against-corruption/5193067.html
December 04, 2019
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Rainstorm Causes Accidents, Slows Traffic in Southern California
▶️ A rainstorm in Los Angeles slowed traffic and caused several accidents, Wednesday, December 4.
👉 The California Highway Patrol said a semi-truck jackknifed, leaving its 13,600 kilograms trailer partially hanging off an overpass. Officials said the driver was taken to a hospital, suffering minor injuries.
It took several tow-trucks to remove the semi. (AP)
December 04, 2019
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Gaza Lights Up Its Christmas Tree
▶️ 🎄 Palestinian Christians attended the lighting of a Christmas tree in Gaza City, Tuesday, December 3. (AFP)
December 04, 2019
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Democratic Presidential Field Shrinks with Departure of Harris and Bullock
The Democratic presidential field continues to shrink. The latest casualty is California Senator Kamala Harris, who withdrew from the 2020 race on Tuesday. Earlier, Montana Governor Steve Bullock also ended his campaign. Former Vice President Joe Biden leads a cluster of four contenders near the top of national public opinion polls, but there is still plenty of uncertainty about where the Democratic race is headed. VOA's Jim Malone has more from Washington.
Originally published at - https://morigin.voanews.eu/a/democratic-presidential-field-shrinks-with-departure-of-harris-and-bullock/5192936.html
December 04, 2019
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Syria Civil Defense: Children and Baby Pulled From Rubble After Air Strikes on Syrian Village
▶️ Footage provided by the Syria Civil Defense, also known as the White Helmets, shows rescuers scrambling to pull young children from the rubble of a collapsed building after an alleged barrel bomb hit the structure in Idlib, Wednesday, December 4.
👉The previous day, artillery fire from the Turkish-controlled area in the town of Tal Rifaat in northwest Syria’s Aleppo governorate, killed at least ten civilians and injured 21 others, according to local sources.
Ibrahim Haftaro, the head of Avrin Hospital in the region, told VOA that eight children, between 7-15 years of age, were among the Kurdish civilians killed in the Monday attack.“The majority of those killed, eight of them, are children; one is an elderly man over 60 years of age, and the other is a woman,” Haftaro said, adding that among the injured, two were in a critical condition. (VOA/Reuters)
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LINK: https://www.voanews.com/extremism-watch/children-among-10-kurdish-civilians-killed-shelling-turkish-controlled-area-syria
December 04, 2019
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NATO at 70 | Plugged In with Greta Van Susteren
This week on “Plugged In with Greta Van Susteren" for December 4, 2019: NATO at 70.
Amid the friendly handshakes, uncertainty grows over America’s commitment to Europe’s collective security. Does NATO still work and is mutual defense still the best strategy for peace? Guest host Mil Arcega and the "Plugged In team" examines, on “NATO at 70.”
Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pluggedinwithgreta/
December 04, 2019
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Thailand is trying a creative solution to reduce the number of pedestrian accidents by painting 3D, or “levitating,” zebra crossings that force drivers to take a second look. The painting was made by students and volunteers. (Reuters)
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An Afghan woman holds a child as she sits besides a tent in Khost province, Afghanistan, Monday, December 2.
Since the fall of the Taliban-regime in Afghanistan in 2002, there have been approximately 1.2 million internally displaced Afghans throughout the country.
There are nearly 3 million Afghans who are refugees in neighboring Pakistan. (UN/VOA) 📷:AFP
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Actress and honoree Priyanka Chopra Jonas arrived, Tuesday, December 3, at the UNICEF Snowflake Ball in New York, as the United Nations Children’s Fund honored her with the Danny Kaye Humanitarian Award for more than a decade’s work with UNICEF. She currently serves as the organization's global Goodwill Ambassador for Child Rights.
Others at the fundraiser included actress and singer Sofia Carson, fashion model and UNICEF ambassador Halima Aden, fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg, recording artist Genesis Jones, model Flaviana Matata and rock band Walk the Moon. (AP)
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U.S. President Donald Trump concludes his trip to London to attend the NATO summit, Wednesday, December 4.
A video provided by the White House Twitter shows Trump's trip packed with bilateral meetings, a reception at Buckingham Palace, and meetings with heads of states and governments.
The summit marked the 70th anniversary of NATO with leaders of 29 member states gathering together in one place.
Despite tackling multiple issues, the leaders are not any closer to resolving serious disputes over the future of NATO, often described as the greatest military pact the world has ever known.
Trump pressed hard for the Europeans to share much more of the burden and costs of NATO.
For some the more immediate and pressing problem had to do with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who despite his decision to buy Russia’s S-400 air defense system, still is demanding the West join his campaign against Syria’s Kurds, who teamed up with the U.S., Britain and France to defeat the Islamic State terror group. ▶️:@whitehouse -
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📷: Palestinian women take part in a marathon calling for an end to violence against women, in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on December 1. (AFP)
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U.S. President Donald Trump stands with NATO member leaders, French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in London, as they attend the NATO summit.
The White House posted the photo on Twitter, Tuesday, December 3.
While NATO leaders are professing unity as they gather for a summit near London, several seem to have been caught in an unguarded exchange on camera apparently gossiping about U.S. President Donald Trump's behavior.
In footage recorded during a reception in London at Buckingham Palace Tuesday evening, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was seen standing in a huddle with French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Britain's Princess Anne, daughter of Queen Elizabeth II.
After Johnson asked Macron, “is that why you were late?” Trudeau could be heard saying ”he was late because he takes a 40-minute press conference off the top.” That appeared to be a reference to Trump's long and unscheduled question-and-answer session with journalists earlier Tuesday.
Trudeau also said: “You just watched his team's jaws drop to the floor.” Trump wasn't mentioned by name during the exchange.
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📷: U.S. President Donald Trump arrived back in the United States, Wednesday, December 4, after attending NATO’s 70th anniversary summit in the UK. (AP)
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China has expressed anger over passage of a bill by the U.S. House of Representatives that calls for official actions against Beijing over its crackdown on millions of ethnic Muslims.
By a vote of 407-to-1, the Democratic-led chamber approved the Uighur Act of 2019 Tuesday which condemns the detention of an estimated one million Uighurs, Kazahks and other ethnic Muslims in so-called "re-education camps" in the remote western province of Xinjiang. The bill directs various U.S. government agencies to prepare reports on China's treatment of the Muslim minorities, and calls on President Donald Trump to impose sanctions on Chinese officials deemed responsible for the mass detentions, specifically Chen Quanguo, the ruling Communist Party's chief in Xinjiang.
Beijing has denied that it is detaining the Uighurs against their will, maintaining that the camps are “vocational training centers” designed to combat terrorism and extremism and to teach new skills.
In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters that any nation that seeks to interfere in China's internal affairs will pay a price.
#uighurs #uighurmuslims #china #US #voanews
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🇺🇸🇹🇷Pictures taken and released on December 4, 2019 by the Turkish Presidential Press service show Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and US President Donald Trump during a bilateral meeting as part of the NATO summit at the Grove hotel in Watford, northeast of London. 👉 US President Donald Trump held a previously unannounced bilateral meeting with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the NATO summit.
Turkey has faced criticism among the allies at the London meeting and has threatened to impede a stronger defense policy for the Baltic states and the head-to-head was not on Trump's published agenda.
"The presidents discussed the importance of Turkey fulfilling its alliance commitments, further strengthening commerce through boosting bilateral trade by $100 billion, regional security challenges, and energy security," a White House official said.
Some of Turkey's western allies, particularly France, have sharply criticized Ankara's operation in northern Syria, which has targeted the Kurdish militia fighters who helped defeat the Islamic State group. (AFP)
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World leaders participate in a round table meeting during a NATO leaders meeting at The Grove hotel and resort in Watford, Hertfordshire, England, Wednesday, December 4. 👉 As NATO leaders meet and show that the world's biggest security alliance is adapting to modern threats, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg is refusing to concede that the future of the 29-member alliance is under a cloud. (AP)
#voanews #natosummit #england🇬🇧 #britain #leaders #meeting
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▶️Leaders of NATO nations arrived for a summit in London on Wednesday, December 4, amid very public infighting between some of the biggest member countries. 👉 The leaders are due to publish a declaration underlining their commitment to NATO on its 70th birthday, and to show that the alliance is adapting to modern threats and potential new adversaries like China. (AP)
#voanews ##natosummit #London #UK #leaders #summit
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📷: Traders gather at a fruit market in Lahore, Pakistan, Wednesday, November 27. (AFP)
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