VOA News for Thursday, October 1st, 2020
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This is VOA news. Via remote, I'm Diane Roberts.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made a new effort Wednesday to reach agreement on a long-stalled coronavirus relief package before Congress adjourns so lawmakers can campaign ahead of the November 3 presidential election.
The two discussed details of the aid plan that could send more money to American families and businesses, restore unemployment aid to millions of unemployed workers laid off because of the coronavirus pandemic, provide assistance to state and local governments, and offer liability protection to businesses.
The sticking point in the discussions is the extent of the aid.
The U.S. Senate passed a budget bill Wednesday that avoids an imminent government shutdown and extends funding weeks beyond the November 3 presidential election after Democrats reached a deal with the White House and Republicans.
The bipartisan text, which easily cleared the Senate a week after it passed the House of Representatives, now goes to the White House.
President Donald Trump needs to sign the stop-gap measure by 11:59 p.m. Wednesday to avoid a partial government shutdown as fiscal year 2021 technically begins October 1.
Armenia and Azerbaijan vowed to keep fighting and rejected international calls for negotiations Wednesday as clashes over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region raged for a fourth day.
Two explosions were heard around midnight in the breakaway province's capital as sirens sounded. [Russia] Residents said the city had been attacked by drones.
Streets were dark with public lighting shut off, although some shops were open in the city, which local authorities said came under fire when fresh violence erupted Sunday.
Moscow said Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron had called for a "complete" halt to fighting in Karabakh.
This is VOA news.
The United States Wednesday blacklisted what it called "key enablers" of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government, reinforcing efforts to push Damascus back to U.N.-led negotiations to end Syria's nearly ten-year civil war.
The United States imposed sanctions on additional 13 entities and six individuals, including the governor of the Central Bank of Syria, in this fresh round of sanctions aimed at cutting off revenue for Assad's government. The actions freeze any U.S. assets of those blacklisted and generally bar Americans from dealing with them.
Washington already bans exports to Syria and investment there by Americans.
Wednesday U.S. President Donald Trump's administration slapped sanctions on a powerful Cuban general and business leader in its latest move to heap pressure on the Communist island weeks ahead of the elections.
The Treasury Department took action against Luis Alberto Rodríguez López-Calleja, a son-in-law of former president Raul Castro, who heads a conglomerate with wide economic interests including hotels affiliated with the military.
Authorities in Spain's Balearic Islands battling a rapid transmission of COVID-19 in the tourism magnet of Ibiza announced 15 days of new restrictions starting Friday. AP correspondent Charles De Ledesma reports.
Officials say restaurants, bars, gyms and places of worship will only be allowed to host 25 percent of their normal capacity and social gatherings will be kept at five people maximum and playgrounds will remain closed.
Existing measures have only managed to bring down the rate of infections slightly. The goal is to protect the future of tourism in the archipelago. Ibiza is itself a magnet for many tourists attracted by its beaches and world-famous nightlife.
I'm Charles De Ledesma.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has called for a $(7).37 billion bailout package for London's transport operator in an attempt to keep the capital's transport system going for the next 18 months, this reported by the Financial Times.
Khan, who serves as the chairman of Transport for London, has requested for the financial package in his submission to the government's spending review as passenger numbers continue to plunge due to the coronavirus pandemic-induced strict measures on public transport, the newspaper said.
Sierra Leonean anti-corruption investigators requested to interview ex-president Ernest Koroma Wednesday, a spokesperson said, after the government pledged to recover funds allegedly embezzled under his watch.
The move follows the end of a year-long graft probe into Koroma and his former ministers in March.
Via remote, I'm Diane Roberts, VOA news.

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