VOA News for 23 June 2013 - 20130623
Channel: ListenAndReadAlong
Date: 23/06/2013

Thanks to http://gandalf.ddo.jp/ for audio and text
VOA NEWS  Sunday June 23rd, 2013  
From Washington, this is VOA news.  Turkish police disperse demonstrators in Istanbul's Taksim Square, and the U.S. files extradition papers on Edward Snowden from Hong Kong.  I'm Vincent Bruce reporting from Washington.
In Turkey, protesters threw carnations at police who turned water cannon on the demonstrators in Istanbul's Taksim Square.
Turkish police dispersed the thousands, saying they were in defiance of a government order.
Many of the protesters said they came out to pay respect to four people killed in the almost month-long protests.
Taksim Square has been the scene of anti-government protests for most of June and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has threatened to use the army to disperse the demonstrators.
The White House says the U.S. government has asked Hong Kong to extradite Edward Snowden, a former government contractor facing espionage charges for exposing secret U.S. surveillance programs.
National Security Adviser Tom Donilon, speaking to CBS radio, cited an extradition treaty and historically good diplomatic ties with the semi-autonomous Chinese city.
Earlier Saturday, a senior administration official warned that any failure on the part of Hong Kong to act on the U.S. request will complicate a bilateral relations.
A new political party, Agang, has launched Saturday in South Africa.  It means "to build" in the Sotho language and its leader plans to challenge Nelson Mandela's ANC party.
VOA's Emilie Iob reports from Pretoria.
Mamphela Ramphele, the leader of Agang, wants to make it   she is here to start the political fight against the ANC, which has been ruling South Africa since 1994 and the end of apartheid.
Ramphele articulates her program around reducing poverty, improving the education system, and also tackles corruption.
"Corruption is a culture of impunity that has spread throughout government and society."
Despite recent scandals, the ANC remains very popular among South Africans, largely due to the role it played to end the white minority rule known as apartheid, back in the early 1990s.
Emilie Iob for VOA news, Pretoria.
More on the story at voanews.com.
A plea for calm by Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff failed to deter protesters who again took to the streets on Saturday.
Thousands of demonstrators chanted and waved banners in Belo Horizonte.  Smaller rallies took place on Saturday in several other cities.
Some of the protests have targeted the billions of dollars being spent for Brazil to host next year's World Cup, this month's Confederations Cup as well as the 2016 Olympic summer games.
[U.S. president] U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says Western and Arab opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad pledged to provide additional support to Syrian rebels at a "Friends of Syria" meeting in Qatar Saturday.
Kerry says ministers from 11 countries committed to giving rebels more military or humanitarian aid in a bit to end two years of fighting that have killed tens of thousands of Syrians.
Kerry says while the U.S. is stepping up assistance to Syrian rebels, the best way to resolve the conflict is through negotiations.
President Barack Obama says he will unveil his agenda for fighting climate change in a speech on Tuesday.  As VOA's Kent Klein reports, Mr Obama's plan will rely largely on executive action, rather than legislation.
Mr. Obama announced his plans in a web video posted online on Saturday.
"This Tuesday, at Georgetown University, I will lay out my vision for where I believe we need to go."
Mr. Obama has not revealed details of his plan.  White House officials have suggested they will include encouraging renewable energy and energy-efficient appliances and buildings.
"There is no single step that can reverse the effects of climate change.  But when it comes to the world we leave our children, we owe it to them to do what we can."
Environmental legislation has encountered stiff opposition in Congress, so the president is expected to propose a series of executive actions.  Many of them are likely to be carried out by the Energy Department and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Kent Klein, VOA news, Washington.
Hundreds of people are reported stranded or missing after flashfloods and landslides initiated by a monsoon in northern India.
According to forecasters, heavy rainfall is expected to continue for days in the area.
President Obama is calling on lawmakers to support legislation to fix the nation's broken immigration system.
In his weekly address early Saturday, Mr. Obama says the immigration bill being debated in the Senate strengthens border security, increases penalties against traffickers and creates a pathway to citizenship.
I'm Vincent Bruce, VOA news.