South Korea said on Saturday it is demanding the North further investigate the killing of a South Korean fisheries official and suggested the two countries undertake a joint probe into the shooting incident.”We have decided to demand the North carry out a further probe and request a joint investigation if necessary,” South Korea’s presidential office said in a statement after a National Security Council meeting late Friday.South Korea will continue its own investigation because of “discrepancies” in the explanations the North has provided about the shooting, the statement said.The South’s main opposition People Power Party said Saturday that Kim’s apology was not genuine. It called on President Moon Jae-in’s government to present the case to the International Criminal Court and the U.N. Security Council.North Korean leader Kim Jong Un offered a rare public apology Friday after the killing of the South’s civilian official near the countries’ disputed sea border.South Korea’s military on Thursday accused North Korean forces of shooting and cremating the official, who Seoul believes may have been trying to defect to the North.According to a statement announced by South Korea’s presidential office, Kim is “greatly sorry” for disappointing South Koreans over the incident. The statement said the death was “unsavory” and “should not have happened.”The 47-year-old went missing Monday from his patrol boat about 10 kilometers south of the de facto inter-Korean border. Seoul officials suspect the man, who had reportedly struggled with debt and other personal issues, jumped overboard with a flotation device.After being intercepted at sea by North Korean troops, the man was questioned, shot to death, doused with oil, and set on fire, apparently all on orders from a superior, according to the South Korean military’s version of events.North Korea gave a different account. It says the border troops, following anti-coronavirus guidelines, fired 10 gunshots at the man from a distance. When they approached his flotation device, they found only blood. They then set the floating device on fire, the statement said.Rare apologyNorth Korea’s apology was delivered to Seoul by the North’s United Front Department, a ruling party body that handles inter-Korean ties. The letter expressed hope that “trust and relations” between the two Koreas will not be hurt.It is extremely rare for North Korea to apologize. Following some past killings of South Korean civilians, the North expressed “regret,” often later blaming Seoul for the incidents.With Kim’s apparent apology, the risk of escalation has been reduced, said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul. He says the killing could have led to “tit-for-tat violations” of a military agreement meant to reduce tensions along the frontier.“The shooting incident was also turning South Korean public opinion against offering peace and humanitarian assistance to Pyongyang. Kim’s diplomatic move avoids a potential fight in the short-term and preserves the option of reaping longer-term benefits from Seoul,” he added.The shooting incident is awkwardly timed for South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who this week used a video speech at the United Nations General Assembly to call for an end-of-war declaration between North and South Korea. He also called for coronavirus-related cooperation.The left-leaning Moon, who wants to improve ties with Pyongyang before he leaves office in 2022, has been trying to convince the North to return to the dialogue and cooperation that marked the beginning of his five-year term.Moon-Kim lettersSouth Korea on Friday revealed that Kim recently exchanged letters with Moon, the first known recent dialogue between the two leaders.In a letter dated September 12, Kim expressed sympathies for South Koreans battling the coronavirus, as well as recent typhoons.“I sincerely wish for everyone’s well-being,” Kim said in the letter, which was released in full by the South Korean Blue House. Moon had sent Kim a message on September 8, according to Seoul.Earlier this year, North Korea cut communications channels with the South and blew up the two countries’ de facto embassy after complaining about South Korean activists who launched balloons filled with anti-Pyongyang propaganda across the border.In June, Kim unexpectedly called off the pressure campaign. Since then, North Korea has been primarily focused on domestic issues, such as the coronavirus pandemic and devastating floods.Coronavirus lockdownNorth Korea has since issued “shoot-to-kill” orders to prevent the coronavirus from entering the country from China, the top U.S. commander in South Korea, General Robert Abrams, said earlier this month.The coronavirus-related security zones were first reported by the Daily NK, a Seoul-based news website with sources in North Korea. The outlet said the new rules stipulated that anyone “breaking rules or disrupting public order near the border will be shot without warning.” The rules apply to all areas of the country, it said.“North Korea is locked down almost as in a wartime situation to prevent COVID-19 outbreaks,” said Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.North Korea for months said it had no coronavirus infections, but eventually backed away from that assertion.In July, a 24-year-old man who had fled North Korea swam back into the country, after being accused of rape in South Korea. That incident prompted the North to lock down a border area, ostensibly because of coronavirus concerns.
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French authorities launched an anti-terrorism investigation Friday after an attacker stabbed two people in Paris near the former offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.In an interview with France 2 television station, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said the attack was “clearly an act of Islamist terrorism.””Manifestly, the method was one of an Islamist terrorist,” he said. “There is little doubt this is a new bloody attack against our country, against journalists, against our society, which you already mentioned in your report… a great amount of difficulties and emotions over the past few years and I would like the extend my support to them as well.”Darmanin said the chief suspect in Friday’s stabbings came to France, apparently from Pakistan, three years ago as an unaccompanied minor.France’s counterterrorism prosecutor, Jean-Francois Ricard, said the young man was arrested with another person not far from where the attack took place.Ricard said the attacker did not know the victims — a woman and a man from a documentary production company on a smoke break.The motivation for the attack and whether it had any connection to Charlie Hebdo is unclear.Islamist militants attacked the Charlie Hebdo offices in 2015, killing 12 people.A terrorism trial for 14 people accused of being accomplices in that attack is currently going on in Paris.Charlie Hebdo angered many Muslims by publishing cartoons featuring the Prophet Muhammad, and ahead of the trial it recently reprinted some of the same cartoons.Last week, police moved the magazine’s head of human resources from her home after she was the target of death threats around the start of the trial.
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Avoiding any major mistakes is a principal goal for President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden in their first debate Tuesday, September 29. VOA’s Steve Redisch looks at some of those historic debate moments that shaped U.S. politics.
Camera: Kane Farabaugh
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American rap star and third-party U.S. presidential candidate Kanye West visited Haiti on Friday, Haitian President Jovenel Moise announced on Twitter.“I’m with famous American rapper Kanye West who just arrived in the country to visit Labadee and l’Ile de la Tortue. I wish him a great visit,” Moise tweeted.The post, which included four photos, show both the president and West wearing face masks.The purpose of West’s visit to the Caribbean nation remains unclear. He has not posted anything about it on his official Twitter account, @kanyewest. President Moise’s tweet provided no further details.According to local media, the rap star, 43, landed Friday morning at the Cape Haitien international airport and was met there by the president. Official Haitian greeters, fans, airport workers and members of the press crowded into the small airport’s diplomatic lounge to catch a glimpse of West, who was wearing a lilac hoodie, dark pants and his signature sneakers. President Moise accompanied him on a visit to two picturesque islands.Labadee island, located off the coast of Cape Haitien in Haiti’s north, is a resort predominantly frequented by foreign tourists. The island is leased by Royal Caribbean cruise lines and features turquoise waters, sandy beaches and an assortment of water rides.Ile de la Tortue (Tortuga island) is also a popular tourist destination off Haiti’s northwestern coast.Cape Haitien, where West landed, is Haiti’s second-largest city. It is home to the renowned historical site, Citadelle Laferriere, a 19th century fortress that was instrumental in the slave revolution to gain independence from France in 1804.This is the rap star’s second jaunt to the Caribbean in a week. The Miami Herald reported that West made a visit last week to Jamaica, where he was accused of breaking COVID-19 protocols after photos surfaced of him without a face mask with reggae music star Buju Banton.West announced his candidacy for U.S. president on July 4, 2020, and is officially on the ballot for the November election in 11 states.
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As the global COVID-19 death toll approaches 1 million, it is possible the figure could double before a viable vaccine becomes widely available, the World Health Organization said Friday. WHO Emergency Program Director Mike Ryan, noting that the current COVID-19 death toll stands at more than 980,000 deaths worldwide in less than nine months, said reaching 2 million deaths is “certainly unimaginable.” But, he added, it’s “not impossible” given all that would be involved in getting a vaccine ready and distributed.Ryan said countries should do all they can to keep the death toll down.”Remember, we have things we can do now to drive transmission down and drive down the number of deaths,” he said. Seminar Kibir, a health lab technician, processes analysis of some nasal swab samples to test for COVID-19 at the Hospital of Argenteuil, north of Paris, Sept. 25, 2020.Meanwhile, the agency expressed concern about the trend of rising cases in many European countries. WHO’s technical lead for COVID-19, Maria Van Kerkhove, said that part of these increased numbers is due to better detection of the virus.However, she added, “What is worrying to us is an increase in hospitalizations and an increase in bed occupancy for hospitalizations and also in ICUs [intensive care units].” Kerkhove warned that this is a concern because the region is about to enter its influenza season, and “these trends are heading in the wrong direction.” She said, however, that most nations are in a much better situation than they were a few months ago in terms of addressing the virus, reducing transmissions and saving lives. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also released a detailed plan for its Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT) program, designed to develop treatments and vaccines and make them available globally. Tedros says the goal of the program is to distribute 2 billion doses of any viable vaccine worldwide by the end of next year. He said ACT still needs $35 billion in funding, and he appealed to nations for their support. Tedros said that while that is a lot of money, “in the context of arresting a global pandemic and supporting the global economic recovery, it’s a bargain.”He said $35 billon is less than 1 percent of what G-20 nations have already committed to their domestic economic stimulus packages.
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A Zimbabwean opposition activist who faces trial for making allegedly false claims of torture by suspected state security agents was ordered Thursday into two weeks’ detention to undergo a mental health evaluation.Joana Mamombe was ordered by Judge Bianca Makwande to be evaluated by government doctors to ensure that she can stand trial in October. An official at Chikurubi maximum security prison, where Mamombe has been confined, told VOA the assessment could take place there or in a designated clinical setting.Mamombe is one of three young female activists arrested May 13 for engaging in anti-government protests during the coronavirus lockdown. The women, including Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova, say they were taken from Harare police custody by unidentified men who tortured and sexually abused them. The women were missing for almost two days, then were left on a road near Bindura, a town about 90 kilometers northeast of the capital.The women face charges of breaking lockdown restrictions, trying to incite violence, and making false accusations of abduction, torture and sexual abuse. They all had been imprisoned at Chikurubi but have been free on bail.FILE – Signage at the Chikurubi maximum security prison just outside Harare, June 3, 2019. (Columbus Mavhunga/VOA)All three are members of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change-Alliance (MDC-Alliance). Mamombe represented the capital area of Harare West in Zimbabwe’s Parliament for almost three years until July, when she and a handful of other MDC-Alliance lawmakers were recalled by new party leadership.Admitted to hospitalMamombe failed to report for a court hearing in Harare last week. An arrest warrant was issued but canceled after Mamombe’s doctor submitted evidence that Mamombe had been admitted to a local hospital for health issues.Prosecutor Michael Reza then sought a court order for her mental evaluation. The government has suggested Mamombe is feigning mental illness to avoid having to stand trial.On Thursday, Alec Muchadehama, an attorney with Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights who is representing Mamombe, told VOA Zimbabwe, “She is now a prisoner. She was on bail but now she can no longer get medical help on her own.”The attorney said he was seeking Mamombe’s release on bail.MDC-Alliance spokesman Clifford Hlatywayo protested Mamombe’s detention. In a tweet Thursday, he rhetorically asked, “How can you transfer a sick young lady from a hospital bed to the cold floors of Chikurubi prison? This persecution and abuse of civilians must end now.”’Signs of rehearsal’Zimbabwe’s home affairs minister, Kazembe Kazembe, in June released a statement contending that the three activists were being stage-managed by “regime change” proponents in organizations such as Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights and Zimbabwe Doctors for Human Rights.”Without at all preempting due process of the law, their three statements show glaring signs of rehearsal and even possible coaching, which may not stand up to rigorous cross examination,” Kazembe said.The U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and groups including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have called upon Zimbabwe’s government to respect human rights and to investigate the women’s claims.This report originated in VOA’s Zimbabwe service.
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The attorney for Breonna Taylor, a Black emergency medical worker who was killed by white police officers last March in Kentucky as they carried out a botched drug raid, said Friday that a grand jury’s decision not to bring homicide charges against the officers was an example of systemic racism that persists in America.“There seems to be two justice systems in America, one for Black America and one for white America,” said Benjamin Crump at a news conference in Louisville. “It underscores what we’ve been saying all along.”Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, also denounced the grand jury’s decision, saying in a statement the decision underscored “why I have no faith in the legal system. The police and law were not made to protect us Black and brown women.”Palmer said she “knew” Kentucky Attorney General David Cameron “would never do his job” and added, “The system as a whole has failed Breonna.”Taylor’s family and Crump repeated a call for Cameron to release a transcript of the grand jury proceedings.A billboard sponsored by O, The Oprah Magazine, is on display with a photo of Breonna Taylor, in Louisville, Kentucky, Aug. 7, 2020.McConnell defends probeU.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky defended the investigation in a speech Thursday on the Senate floor, saying Cameron “conducted exactly the kind of thorough, impartial investigation that justice demands.” He called protests in Louisville in which two police officers were shot “more evidence of the lawlessness, riots and violence that has plagued American cities too often this year.”Crump tweeted earlier Friday that he was hopeful a federal investigation into Taylor’s killing would produce charges against the officers. “We hope the FBI investigation finally gets justice for Bre and her family,” he said in reference to Breonna.The news conference was held hours after protests erupted for a second night Thursday in Louisville in response to the grand jury’s decision. Some protesters smashed windows, and police said at least 24 people were arrested.More than a hundred protesters took refuge in the First Unitarian Church after the start of a nighttime curfew.Earlier Thursday, there were some tense moments when a group of armed white people confronted the protesters, but no shots were fired.Breonna Taylor family attorney Ben Crump speaks during a news conference, Sept. 25, 2020, in Louisville, Kentucky.’No easy answer’Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer said at a news conference Thursday, “What do we do with this pain?”  The mayor added that there is “no easy answer to that question.”Taylor was killed when police entered her apartment on a “no-knock” drug raid, authorized to allow police to burst into a dwelling without warning to keep evidence from being destroyed. No drugs were found in Taylor’s apartment.However, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron said Wednesday that a neighbor of Taylor’s heard police announce their presence before entering Taylor’s apartment and that their entry was not deemed a “no-knock” raid.Cameron said the officers “were justified in their use of force” after Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, who said he heard no announcement by the police, opened fire at them first when they entered the apartment, thinking they were intruders.Attention is being focused on Taylor’s shooting and other cases following the death earlier this year of George Floyd, a Black man, after a white police officer in Minneapolis pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck. Floyd’s death sparked protests around the world about social injustice.
 
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The U.S. space agency NASA released the results of its first-ever agency-wide economic impact study Friday, indicating its work generated more than $64 billion for the U.S. economy last year. In a release on its official website, NASA said through all its activities during fiscal year 2019, the agency supported more than 312,000 jobs nationwide, and generated an estimated $7 billion in federal, state and local taxes throughout the country. NASA said it commissioned the study to better understand how the U.S. economy benefited from its work and paid back the investment by the federal government. FILE – NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine speaks at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., May 23, 2020.In the release, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said the study provides numbers and data to illustrate how taxpayer investment of one-half of one percent of the total federal budget in America’s space program pays off, in both a stronger economy and through advances in science and technology. The study showed that every state in the country saw some benefit from NASA activities, with 43 states seeing an economic impact of $10 million or more, and eight showing an impact of $1 billion or more. The analysis also showed that NASA’s “Moon to Mars” program alone generated $14 billion in economic output, brought in $1.5 billion in tax revenue and supported more than 69,000 jobs. The study said the program is expected to double those figures next year. The program aims to return people to the moon by 2024, and use it as a base for operations to Mars and elsewhere. The economic impact study also showed NASA has generated more than 2,000 technologies since 1976. The study was conducted by the Nathalie P. Voorhees Center for Neighborhood and Community Improvement at the University of Illinois at Chicago. 
 
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On Red Carpet this week, we hear from Nigerian painter Clement Colors on what inspires his artwork. We also have a recap of the virtual Emmy Awards and how the Coronavirus pandemic has affected the music industry. These stories and more on the show this week. 
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A new survey indicates more than 80% of people living in Britain with COVID-19 symptoms or who have had contact with someone who has tested positive are ignoring self-isolation guidelines.
 
The survey, released Friday and conducted by Kings College London and the National Health Service (NHS), found that only 18.2% of people who reported having symptoms of COVID-19 in the previous seven days have stayed isolated since their symptoms developed, and only 11.9% requested a COVID-19 test.
 
The research also shows fewer than half those surveyed were able to identify the symptoms of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus.
 
The research also found that only 10.9% of people told to self-isolate after close contact with a COVID-19 case had done so for 14 days as required.
 
In a statement, the survey’s senior author, Kings College researcher Dr. James Rubin, said the research indicated that while the public seems to have good intentions to adhere to the test, trace and isolate guidelines, financial constraints are the most common reason given for non-compliance, among other factors.
 
Britain this week introduced fines of up to $12,780 for breaking self-isolation rules, and it is offering nearly $640 in support payments to low-paid workers who lose income from quarantining.
 
The study shows other reasons for non-compliance ranged from not knowing government guidance to being unable to identify the symptoms.
 
Kings College says the data was collected through surveys conducted among 30,000 people living in Britain between March and August of this year.
 
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Колишній секретар Ради національної безпеки і оборони Олександр Данилюк став директором Національного депозитарію України, заявляє пресслужба НДУ 25 вересня.

Відповідне рішення наглядова рада ухвалила на засіданні 24 вересня, йдеться в заяві.

«Головою Наглядової ради ПАТ «НДУ» було обрано незалежного директора – Олександра Данилюка, який має значний професійний досвід, знання та компетенцію, необхідні для ефективної роботи Наглядової ради НДУ. В 2019 році Олександр займав посаду Секретаря РНБОУ, а з квітня 2016 року по червень 2018 року обіймав посаду Міністра фінансів України. Заступником голови Наглядової ради обрано представника акціонера НБУ – Миколу Селехмана», – повідомляє НДУ.

Новий склад наглядової ради НДУ був обраний 4 серпня. Перше засідання нового складу учасників НДУ відбулося 3 вересня.

Національний депозитарій – орган, створений в 1999 році, який відповідає за облік всіх емісійних цінних паперів (окрім тих, що належать до компетенції Національного банку), ведення реєстрів власників іменних цінних паперів та контроль в галузі депозитарної діяльності.
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Кабінет міністрів вже затвердив фінансування передпроєктних та проєктних робіт – міністр інфраструктури
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Protests erupted for a second night Thursday in Louisville, Kentucky, in the aftermath of a grand jury’s decision not to bring homicide charges against any of the three white police officers who carried out a drug raid that led to the shooting death last March of Breonna Taylor, a Black woman who was an emergency medical worker.Demonstrators took to Louisville’s downtown streets Thursday night to express their anger and frustration with the grand jury’s decision. Some protesters smashed windows. Police said at least 24 people were arrested.More than 100 protesters took refuge in the First Unitarian Church after the start of a night-time curfew.Earlier Thursday, there were some tense moments when a group of armed white people confronted the protesters, but no shots were fired.Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer said at a news conference Thursday, “What do we do with this pain?” The mayor added that there is “no easy answer to that question.”Taylor was killed when police entered her apartment on a “no-knock” drug raid, authorized to allow police to burst into a dwelling without warning to keep evidence from being destroyed.However, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron said Wednesday that a neighbor of Taylor’s heard police announce their presence before entering Taylor’s apartment and that their entry was not deemed a “no-knock” raid.Cameron said the officers “were justified in their use of force” after Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, who says he heard no announcement by the police, opened fire at them first when they entered the apartment, thinking they were intruders.No drugs were found in Taylor’s apartment.Attention is being focused on Taylor’s shooting and other cases following the death earlier this year of George Floyd, a Black man who died while in police custody in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Floyd’s death sparked protests around the world about social injustice. 
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Aviation officials say a business jet reported stolen in Mexico made a stop in Venezuela before crashing and catching fire in Guatemala. Drugs and some weapons were found at the crash site.Prosecutors in Guatemala said at least two bodies were found at the crash site Wednesday on a hidden air strip.Mexico’s Civil Aviation Agency said three thieves flew off with the plane after gaining access to it under the guise they were mechanics who were going to perform a flight test and maintenance check.Guatemalan investigators are still trying to determine what caused the plane to go down.The Associated Press reports Guatemala confiscated more than 50 aircraft last year on suspicion of transporting drugs.  
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