News in Brief
LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Bolivian President Evo Morales is calling for new elections following nationwide protests over a disputed vote that he claimed he had won.
Morales made the announcement Sunday after a preliminary report by the Organization of American States found irregularities in the Oct. 20 presidential elections.
Morales did not mention the OAS report. He called on all political parties and all sectors to help bring peace to the Andean nation after protests in which three people have been killed.
After the Oct. 20 vote, Morales declared himself the outright winner even before official results indicated he obtained just enough support to avoid a runoff with opposition leader Carlos Mesa.
But a 24-hour lapse in releasing vote results raised suspicions among opposition supporters that there had been fraud.
Morales made the announcement Sunday after a preliminary report by the Organization of American States found irregularities in the Oct. 20 presidential elections.
Morales did not mention the OAS report. He called on all political parties and all sectors to help bring peace to the Andean nation after protests in which three people have been killed.
After the Oct. 20 vote, Morales declared himself the outright winner even before official results indicated he obtained just enough support to avoid a runoff with opposition leader Carlos Mesa.
But a 24-hour lapse in releasing vote results raised suspicions among opposition supporters that there had been fraud.
***
LUCKNOW/AYODHYA, India (Reuters) -- Dozens of people in India have been detained on suspicion of publishing inflammatory social media posts and setting off celebratory firecrackers after the Supreme Court ruled to give a disputed religious site to Hindus, police said on Sunday.
The Supreme Court awarded the bitterly contested site in the northern town of Ayodhya to Hindus on Saturday, dealing a defeat to Muslims who also claim the land that has sparked some of the country’s bloodiest riots since independence.
In 1992, a Hindu mob destroyed the 16th-century Babri Mosque on the site, triggering riots in which about 2,000 people, most of them Muslims, were killed, but no major violence was reported after the court ruling on Saturday or on Sunday
About 37 people were arrested and 12 cases were registered in Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state and the site of the contested land, state police said.
At least one person was arrested in the state capital of Lucknow for making "inappropriate remarks” on social media and using threatening language.
The Supreme Court awarded the bitterly contested site in the northern town of Ayodhya to Hindus on Saturday, dealing a defeat to Muslims who also claim the land that has sparked some of the country’s bloodiest riots since independence.
In 1992, a Hindu mob destroyed the 16th-century Babri Mosque on the site, triggering riots in which about 2,000 people, most of them Muslims, were killed, but no major violence was reported after the court ruling on Saturday or on Sunday
About 37 people were arrested and 12 cases were registered in Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state and the site of the contested land, state police said.
At least one person was arrested in the state capital of Lucknow for making "inappropriate remarks” on social media and using threatening language.
***
SEOUL (Reuters) -- The United States is "very actively” trying to persuade North Korea to come back to negotiations, South Korea’s national security adviser said on Sunday, as a year-end North Korean deadline for U.S. flexibility approaches.
South Korea was taking North Korea’s deadline "very seriously”, the adviser, Chung Eui-yong, told reporters, at a time when efforts to improve inter-Korean relations have stalled.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in April gave the United States a year-end deadline to show more flexibility in their denuclearization talks, and North Korean officials have warned the United States not to ignore that date.
The window of opportunity for progress in dialogue with the United States was getting smaller, a senior North Korean diplomat said on Friday, adding that Pyongyang expects reciprocal steps from Washington by the end of the year.
U.S.-North Korea nuclear negotiations have been deadlocked with working-level talks in October ending fruitlessly.
South Korea has set up various contingency plans if the deadline passes without any positive outcome, Chung said, without elaborating.
South Korea was taking North Korea’s deadline "very seriously”, the adviser, Chung Eui-yong, told reporters, at a time when efforts to improve inter-Korean relations have stalled.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in April gave the United States a year-end deadline to show more flexibility in their denuclearization talks, and North Korean officials have warned the United States not to ignore that date.
The window of opportunity for progress in dialogue with the United States was getting smaller, a senior North Korean diplomat said on Friday, adding that Pyongyang expects reciprocal steps from Washington by the end of the year.
U.S.-North Korea nuclear negotiations have been deadlocked with working-level talks in October ending fruitlessly.
South Korea has set up various contingency plans if the deadline passes without any positive outcome, Chung said, without elaborating.
***
HONG KONG (Dispatches) -- Police fired tear gas to break up rallies as black-clad rioters blocked roads and trashed shopping malls across Hong Kong’s New Territories on Sunday on the 24th straight weekend of unrest.
Protesters vandalized a train station in the central new town of Sha Tin and smashed up a restaurant perceived as being pro-Beijing, overturning banqueting tables and smashing glass panels, two weeks before district council elections in the Chinese-ruled city.
Violence spilled out onto the streets of Tuen Mun outside the "V city” mall, with running battles between riot police and protesters.
"Radical protesters have been gathering in multiple locations across the territories,” police said in a statement. "They have been loitering in several malls and vandalizing shops and facilities therein, neglecting the safety of members of the public.”
***
Protesters vandalized a train station in the central new town of Sha Tin and smashed up a restaurant perceived as being pro-Beijing, overturning banqueting tables and smashing glass panels, two weeks before district council elections in the Chinese-ruled city.
Violence spilled out onto the streets of Tuen Mun outside the "V city” mall, with running battles between riot police and protesters.
"Radical protesters have been gathering in multiple locations across the territories,” police said in a statement. "They have been loitering in several malls and vandalizing shops and facilities therein, neglecting the safety of members of the public.”
***
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Republicans asked that former Vice President Joe Biden’s son and the whistleblower whose complaint triggered the impeachment inquiry into U.S. President Donald Trump be called to testify in public hearings that begin next week.
Democrats who control the U.S. House of Representatives, however, likely will reject appearances by Hunter Biden and the unidentified whistleblower in the hearings due to open on Wednesday.
Devin Nunes, the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, included the pair in a list of proposed witnesses that he sent in a letter to the panel’s Democratic chairman, Adam Schiff, published on multiple news websites.
In the letter, Nunes said the Democrats were pursuing a "sham impeachment process” that has mistreated Trump. Nunes also accused Schiff of fabricating evidence in order to cast "in a sinister light” the telephone call at the inquiry’s heart.
Trump used the July 25 call - a rough transcript of which was released by the White House - to press Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky to investigate the Bidens.
Democrats who control the U.S. House of Representatives, however, likely will reject appearances by Hunter Biden and the unidentified whistleblower in the hearings due to open on Wednesday.
Devin Nunes, the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, included the pair in a list of proposed witnesses that he sent in a letter to the panel’s Democratic chairman, Adam Schiff, published on multiple news websites.
In the letter, Nunes said the Democrats were pursuing a "sham impeachment process” that has mistreated Trump. Nunes also accused Schiff of fabricating evidence in order to cast "in a sinister light” the telephone call at the inquiry’s heart.
Trump used the July 25 call - a rough transcript of which was released by the White House - to press Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky to investigate the Bidens.
***
LONDON (Reuters) -- Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party has gained versus the opposition Labour Party over the past month, a poll published by the Independent newspaper showed on Sunday.
The opinion poll put the Conservatives on 37%, up from 31% a month earlier, while the opposition Labour Party saw their support rise to 29% from 26%. Support for the third-placed Liberal Democrats dropped to 16% from 20%.
Polling company BMG surveyed 1,504 British adults between Nov. 5 and Nov. 8.
The opinion poll put the Conservatives on 37%, up from 31% a month earlier, while the opposition Labour Party saw their support rise to 29% from 26%. Support for the third-placed Liberal Democrats dropped to 16% from 20%.
Polling company BMG surveyed 1,504 British adults between Nov. 5 and Nov. 8.