News in Brief
MOSCOW (VOA News) -- A pro-Kremlin Russian TV network is planning to air a mini-series about Chernobyl, one suggesting a CIA saboteur was behind the 1986 Soviet-era nuclear disaster in Ukraine, which left up to a million people exposed to radiation.
The Kremlin was angered by the recent, highly acclaimed HBO five-part mini-series on Chernobyl, which lauded the self-sacrificing bravery of those who battled to contain the fire and mitigate the effects of a reactor meltdown, but also detailed Soviet-era mismanagement, the delayed response and the denial for years by Soviet officials of a design fault.
The officials at the time tried to place the blame for the deadly explosion solely on the mishandling of a test by a handful of incompetent plant managers.
***
WASHINGTON (AP) — Three days after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a deal with Mexico to stem the flow of migrants at the southern border, the two countries appear unable to agree on exactly what’s in it.
Stung by criticism that the agreement mostly ramps up border protection efforts already underway, Trump on Monday hinted at other, secret agreements he says will soon be revealed.
"We have fully signed and documented another very important part of the Immigration and Security deal with Mexico, one that the U.S. has been asking about getting for many years,” Trump wrote Monday, saying it would "be revealed in the not too distant future.”
Not so, said Mexican Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard, holding up a paper and pointing to the previously announced details. He told reporters the two countries agreed on two actions made public Friday and said if those measures didn’t work to slow migration, they would discuss further options.
"There is no other thing beyond what I have just explained,” he said.
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BERLIN (AP) — The European Union has published EU-wide rules on drones to provide a clear framework for what is and isn’t allowed, improve safety and make it easier for drone users to operate their craft in another European country.
The European Aviation Safety Agency said Tuesday that the new rules will come into force from July 2020, giving member countries and operators time to prepare. The rules will override any relevant existing national rules.
EASA said the rules specify that new drones must be "individually identifiable,” allowing authorities to trace a particular drone if needed. They will also allow operators authorized in one EU country to fly their craft in others.
EASA Executive Director Patrick Ky said that "common rules will help foster investment, innovation and growth in this promising sector.”
***
BANGKOK (Reuters) -- A fishing boat carrying more than 60 Rohingya Muslims was found beached on an island in southern Thailand on Tuesday, officials said.
The passengers - 28 men, 31 women and five children - were stranded on Rawi island in Tarutao National Park in Thailand’s southern Satun province after the boat suffered engine trouble, a park official told Reuters.
Scores of Rohingya Muslims have boarded boats in recent months to try to reach Malaysia, part of what authorities fear could be a new wave of people smuggling by sea after a 2015 crackdown on trafficking.
A Satun government official said the passengers would be transferred to the mainland.
"Everyone will be investigated in order to see whether they are victims of trafficking or illegal immigrants,” said the official who declined to be named.
More than 700,000 Rohingya crossed into Bangladesh in 2017 fleeing an army crackdown in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, according to U.N. agencies.
Myanmar regards Rohingya as illegal migrants from the Indian subcontinent and has confined tens of thousands to sprawling camps in Rakhine since violence swept the area in 2012.
***
MADRID (Reuters) -- Spain’s Socialists agreed on Tuesday to cooperate on forming a government with far-left party Podemos, stopping short of announcing a coalition as they explore a combination of options for securing a majority in parliament.
The Socialists won a national election in April but only a minority of seats, leaving Spain’s political landscape deeply fragmented.
Acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, invited last week by King Felipe VI to seek a mandate for government, threatened on Monday to call another election if opposition parties blocked his efforts to form one.
Sanchez met on Tuesday with Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias.
Even combined, their two parties lack a majority of parliamentary seats, but Iglesias told journalists that both men were optimistic, and he was hopeful that the meeting could "translate into a more concrete, progressive agreement” on government.
Iglesias wants Podemos to be part of a ruling coalition, an idea Sanchez has so far rejected.
***
KIEV (Reuters) -- Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has asked parliament to sack General Prosecutor Yuri Lutshenko and to appoint a former Ukrainian envoy to NATO, Vadym Prystaiko, as new foreign minister, a presidential official said on Tuesday.
"The law on the prosecutor’s office says that the prosecutor can only be a person who has ... an experience in the field of law. Lutsenko doesn’t have this experience,” Ruslan Ryaboshapka told reporters.
The Kremlin was angered by the recent, highly acclaimed HBO five-part mini-series on Chernobyl, which lauded the self-sacrificing bravery of those who battled to contain the fire and mitigate the effects of a reactor meltdown, but also detailed Soviet-era mismanagement, the delayed response and the denial for years by Soviet officials of a design fault.
The officials at the time tried to place the blame for the deadly explosion solely on the mishandling of a test by a handful of incompetent plant managers.
***
WASHINGTON (AP) — Three days after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a deal with Mexico to stem the flow of migrants at the southern border, the two countries appear unable to agree on exactly what’s in it.
Stung by criticism that the agreement mostly ramps up border protection efforts already underway, Trump on Monday hinted at other, secret agreements he says will soon be revealed.
"We have fully signed and documented another very important part of the Immigration and Security deal with Mexico, one that the U.S. has been asking about getting for many years,” Trump wrote Monday, saying it would "be revealed in the not too distant future.”
Not so, said Mexican Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard, holding up a paper and pointing to the previously announced details. He told reporters the two countries agreed on two actions made public Friday and said if those measures didn’t work to slow migration, they would discuss further options.
"There is no other thing beyond what I have just explained,” he said.
***
BERLIN (AP) — The European Union has published EU-wide rules on drones to provide a clear framework for what is and isn’t allowed, improve safety and make it easier for drone users to operate their craft in another European country.
The European Aviation Safety Agency said Tuesday that the new rules will come into force from July 2020, giving member countries and operators time to prepare. The rules will override any relevant existing national rules.
EASA said the rules specify that new drones must be "individually identifiable,” allowing authorities to trace a particular drone if needed. They will also allow operators authorized in one EU country to fly their craft in others.
EASA Executive Director Patrick Ky said that "common rules will help foster investment, innovation and growth in this promising sector.”
***
BANGKOK (Reuters) -- A fishing boat carrying more than 60 Rohingya Muslims was found beached on an island in southern Thailand on Tuesday, officials said.
The passengers - 28 men, 31 women and five children - were stranded on Rawi island in Tarutao National Park in Thailand’s southern Satun province after the boat suffered engine trouble, a park official told Reuters.
Scores of Rohingya Muslims have boarded boats in recent months to try to reach Malaysia, part of what authorities fear could be a new wave of people smuggling by sea after a 2015 crackdown on trafficking.
A Satun government official said the passengers would be transferred to the mainland.
"Everyone will be investigated in order to see whether they are victims of trafficking or illegal immigrants,” said the official who declined to be named.
More than 700,000 Rohingya crossed into Bangladesh in 2017 fleeing an army crackdown in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, according to U.N. agencies.
Myanmar regards Rohingya as illegal migrants from the Indian subcontinent and has confined tens of thousands to sprawling camps in Rakhine since violence swept the area in 2012.
***
MADRID (Reuters) -- Spain’s Socialists agreed on Tuesday to cooperate on forming a government with far-left party Podemos, stopping short of announcing a coalition as they explore a combination of options for securing a majority in parliament.
The Socialists won a national election in April but only a minority of seats, leaving Spain’s political landscape deeply fragmented.
Acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, invited last week by King Felipe VI to seek a mandate for government, threatened on Monday to call another election if opposition parties blocked his efforts to form one.
Sanchez met on Tuesday with Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias.
Even combined, their two parties lack a majority of parliamentary seats, but Iglesias told journalists that both men were optimistic, and he was hopeful that the meeting could "translate into a more concrete, progressive agreement” on government.
Iglesias wants Podemos to be part of a ruling coalition, an idea Sanchez has so far rejected.
***
KIEV (Reuters) -- Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has asked parliament to sack General Prosecutor Yuri Lutshenko and to appoint a former Ukrainian envoy to NATO, Vadym Prystaiko, as new foreign minister, a presidential official said on Tuesday.
"The law on the prosecutor’s office says that the prosecutor can only be a person who has ... an experience in the field of law. Lutsenko doesn’t have this experience,” Ruslan Ryaboshapka told reporters.