Waching daily Aug 28 2018

A top Iranian military commander says his country has full control of the Persian Gulf

and the United States Navy does not belong there.

The commander, General Alireza Tangsiri, is head of the navy for Iran's Revolutionary

Guards.

Iran's Tasnim news agency reported his comments.

"We can ensure the security of the Persian Gulf and there is no need for the presence

of aliens like the U.S. and the countries whose home is not in here," Tangsiri said.

He added that "All the carriers and military and non-military ships will be controlled

and there is full supervision" of the waterway.

Iran has suggested it could take military action in the Gulf to block oil shipments

by other countries.

That suggestion came after the U.S. government announced this month it was ordering new economic

sanctions against Iran.

The sanctions followed a U.S. decision in May to withdraw from a 2015 deal between Iran

and world powers.

President Donald Trump approved the withdrawal from the agreement, which he has strongly

criticized.

The sanctions seek to increase pressure on Iran, as U.S. officials seek a new deal to

limit Iran's nuclear activities and missile program.

A U.S. military official said earlier this month that one reason the U.S. keeps navy

ships in the Gulf is to "ensure the free flow of commerce in international waterways."

The head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari, warned Monday

that nations unfriendly to Iran would not succeed in possible conflicts in the Gulf.

"The enemies are strictly avoiding any conflict with Iran because they know it will not be

beneficial for them," the Tasnim news agency reported Jafari as saying.

Also on Monday, Iran appealed to the United Nation's top court in an effort to get the

U.S. sanctions lifted.

Iran brought the case to the U.N.'s International Court of Justice.

Lawyers representing Iran said the U.S. measures are already severely harming Iran's economy

and threatening the wellbeing of its citizens.

In a written statement about the case to the U.N. court, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo

called the claims "meritless."

Pompeo said that Iran's legal effort was an attempt "to interfere with the sovereign rights

of the United States."

Those rights, he said, include the lawful placing of economic sanctions, which he said

"are necessary to protect national security."

I'm Bryan Lynn.

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report.

Scientists in Australia say they have developed the world's first blood test to find a deadly

skin cancer in its early stages.

They say the test could save thousands of lives each year.

Currently, to check for all kinds of skin cancers, doctors examine or remove a small

piece of patients' skin.

But researchers say the new blood test can detect one of the deadliest kinds of skin

cancer, melanoma, sooner than other methods.

In a trial involving about 200 people, the blood test found early stages of melanoma

in more than 80 percent of cases.

Professor Mel Ziman is the leader of the Melanoma Research Group at Edith Cowan University in

Perth, Western Australia.

Her group conducted this trial.

"If a thin melanoma is identified early and it's removed, you have a 98 to 99 percent

chance of five to ten years survival."

Researchers explain that the sooner doctors find melanoma, the better.

They say that if a thin melanoma is identified early and removed, patients have a 98 to 99

percent chance of surviving for the next five to ten years.

However, survival rates from melanoma drop sharply if the skin cancer is in later stages

and has spread to other organs.

The World Health Organization says about 132,000 people are diagnosed with melanoma every year.

Australia and New Zealand have the highest rates.

The website for the Melanoma Institute Australia says that in 2014, more than 1,400 Australians

died from melanoma.

And in 2017, that number rose to more than 1,800.

We get melanoma mainly by exposure to ultraviolet radiation.

Patients often have had a lot of exposure to the sun and a history of sunburn.

On its website, the WHO says decreasing ozone levels is making the problem worse.

The site adds that "as the atmosphere loses more and more of its protective filter ... and

more solar UV radiation reaches the Earth's surface, more people will get skin cancer."

The new blood test works by detecting something called auto-antibodies.

The website for the National Cancer Institute in the United States defines auto-antibody

as an antibody made against substances formed by a person's own body.

The body naturally forms auto-antibodies when cancerous cells start to appear.

In a statement to the press, Ziman explains that with melanoma, the human body makes these

auto-antibodies very early.

She says the new blood test takes advantage ofthat fact.

However, she warns, "melanoma is very hard to diagnose."

Researchers are planning more tests for the Australian blood test.

They say they hope to improve its accuracy to 90 percent.

The blood test could be available within five years.

Researchers have said the test will not detect other types of skin cancers.

It will only find melanoma.

Other health experts say the results of the trial should be considered with care.

They urge people to keep checking their skin for early signs of skin cancer.

Ziman says she hopes the new blood test will lead to more people checking their skin.

She says that if the new blood test is available at a person's yearly check-up, patients might

get skin examinations more often.

And more examinations might lead to more early detections of melanoma.

"So that's what we are hoping to achieve is that people will feel more comfortable going

for skin checks.

So, it will just up the number of people that are aware and able to get their melanoma identified

earlier."

And that's the Health & Lifestyle report.

I'm Anna Matteo.

United Nations investigators are accusing the military in Myanmar of carrying out numerous

crimes last year during its campaign against Rohingya Muslims.

Myanmar's armed forces carried out mass killings and rapes of Rohingya with "genocidal intent,"

the U.N. investigators said.

They added that the commander-in-chief and five generals should be tried under international

law for the most serious crimes.

In a report, they urged the U.N. Security Council to set up a court to try suspects

or send their cases to the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

They said that the Security Council should restrict arms to Myanmar and order targeted

sanctions to punish individuals most responsible for crimes.

The investigators blamed Myanmar's de facto leader, Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San

Suu Kyi, for failing to use her "moral authority" to protect civilians.

They said her government was partly to blame for the crisis.

It accused the government of letting hate speech continue, destroying documents and

failing to protect minorities from crimes against humanity and war crimes.

The report also criticized Facebook for letting the world's largest social media business

be used to spread violence and hatred.

The company reacted on Monday by announcing that it was blocking 20 Myanmar officials

and groups found by the U.N. to have "committed or enabled serious human rights abuses."

A military spokesman, Major General Tun Tun Nyi, said he could not immediately comment

on the U.N. report.

He spoke to the Reuters news agency.

The Myanmar government was sent a copy of the report before it was made public.

One year ago, the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army attacked 30 Myanmar police stations and

a military base.

To answer the attacks, government troops launched operations against suspected rebels and their

supporters in Rakhine state.

About 700,000 Rohingya fled the area to escape the violence.

Most are now living in refugee camps in neighboring Bangladesh.

The U.N. report said the military action, which included setting fire to villages, was

"disproportionate to actual security threats."

The U.N. panel said the crimes were "similar in nature" to genocidal crimes in other countries.

Myanmar's government has rejected most claims of violence made against the security forces

by refugees.

The government has built centers to help refugees return to the country, but U.N. aid agencies

say it is not yet safe for them to do so.

The United Nations defines genocide as acts meant to destroy a national, ethnic, racial

or religious group in whole or in part.

Such a designation is rare, but has been used in countries such as Bosnia, Rwanda and Sudan.

The U.N. panel also said there was enough information to support "the investigation

and prosecution of senior officials in the (army)" to determine if they were responsible

for a genocide.

The head of the panel is Marzuki Darusman of Indonesia.

He said that the commander-in-chief of Myanmar's military, Min Aung Hlaing, should resign until

there is an investigation into his part in the violence.

The list of generals also includes Brigadier-General Aung Aung, commander of the 33rd Light Infantry

Division, which directed operations in the village of Inn Din, where 10 Rohingya captive

boys and men were killed.

Those killings were discovered by two Reuters reporters, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo.

They were arrested last December by the government for violating Myanmar's Official Secrets Act.

A ruling in their trial was expected on Monday, but has been postponed until September 3.

In April, seven soldiers were sentenced to 10 years in prison for taking part in the

Inn Din killings.

The U.N. investigators spoke with 875 suspected victims and witnesses in Bangladesh and other

countries.

They examined documents, videos and satellite images.

Years of state-sponsored discrimination against Rohingya had resulted in "oppression from

birth to death," the report said.

The Rohingya see themselves as native to Rakhine state.

They are considered migrants by Myanmar's Buddhist majority and are denied citizenship.

In March, the panel's members had accused Facebook of permitting it to be used to support

violence.

The report said the social media company should have acted quicker.

On Monday, Facebook said in a statement: "The ethnic violence in Myanmar has been truly

horrific.

Earlier this month, we shared an update on the steps we're taking to prevent the spread

of hate and misinformation on Facebook."

I'm Jonathan Evans.

Pope Francis said Sunday that he had read the letter from a former Vatican official

that calls for the Roman Catholic Church leader's resignation.

However, the Pope told reporters he would not say a single word about the letter's contents.

He said the letter "speaks for itself."

Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano wrote the 11-page document and had released it to Catholic media

groups earlier in the day Sunday.

In the letter, Vigano accuses Pope Francis of having known for years about sex abuse

reports involving former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of the United States.

Last month, the Pope accepted McCarrick's resignation following the release of evidence

that he had abused a child.

It was the first resignation of a Cardinal in connection with sex abuse claims.

Vigano wrote that the Pope "must acknowledge his mistakes."

He also said Francis should resign to honor the Church's policy of rejecting abuse or

hiding of abuse.

Vigano served as the Vatican Ambassador to the United States from 2006 to 2011.

He said he told Francis about the accusations against McCarrick in June 2013.

Vigano wrote that the current Archbishop of Washington, Cardinal Donald Wuerl, also received

information from the Vatican about McCarrick.

Wuerl's spokesman denied the accusation.

The letter was released during the Pope's two-day trip to Ireland.

Pope Francis opened a service Sunday in Dublin by asking for forgiveness for the "scandal

and betrayal" felt by victims of sex abuse by Catholic clergy.

Organizers had been expecting a crowd of 500,000 people, but only about 200,000 gathered.

Among them were protesters of the Catholic Church.

Demonstrator Maggie Lawler expressed dissatisfaction with the Pope's message.

"Apologies don't really go far enough.

There needs to be accountability.

People need to answer questions, they need to stand up, be responsible for their actions."

Protester Elaine Murphy agreed with Lawler.

She described Francis' apology Sunday as "empty."

The Pope also met privately in Ireland with a group of abuse victims.

I'm Caty Weaver.

American Senator John McCain will be buried at the U.S. Naval Academy where he began his

military service more than 60 years ago.

The former Navy pilot, prisoner of war, congressman, presidential candidate and senator died at

the age of 81 after a yearlong battle with brain cancer.

A private burial service next Sunday will bring to a close nearly a week of events to

honor McCain.

McCain will lie in state Wednesday at the Capitol building of his home state Arizona.

A funeral will be held Thursday.

Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden will speak at the service.

On Friday, McCain will lie in state at the U.S. Capitol, where the public can pay their

respects.

On Saturday, his body will pass the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and arrive for a funeral

at the Washington National Cathedral.

Former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, the two men who defeated McCain in

his campaigns for the presidency, are expected to speak at the service.

U.S. President Donald Trump is not expected to attend any of the services.

Two administration officials told the Associated Press that McCain's family had asked Trump

not to attend.

McCain and Trump had clashed several times in the past.

In 2015, as a presidential candidate, Trump questioned McCain's public image as a war

hero who was imprisoned by the North Vietnamese.

Trump said, "He's not a war hero.

He was a war hero because he was captured.

I like people who weren't captured."

McCain later condemned Trump's policy toward Russia.

He called Trump's joint press conference earlier this year in Finland with Russian President

Vladimir Putin "one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory."

The Washington Post reported that Trump rejected the publication of a statement members of

his administration wrote to praise McCain.

The president sent out a Tweet instead.

It said, "My deepest sympathies and respect go out to the family of Senator John McCain.

Our hearts and prayers are with you."

The American flags at the White House were lowered to half-staff to honor McCain.

That means the flags were lowered to half of the usual height.

The U.S. Flag Code notes that flags are to be lowered to half-staff "on the day of death

and the following day for a Member of Congress."

However, presidents often sign proclamations to extend that period of time.

By Monday morning, the flags at the White House were back to full-staff.

A leading veterans group sharply criticized the move.

Later in the day, Trump released a statement.

It read, "I respect Senator John McCain's service to our country and, in his honor,

have signed a proclamation to fly the flag of the United States at half-staff until the

day of his interment."

Words honoring McCain came in from around the world.

From Vietnam, Tran Trong Duyet said, "When I learnt about his death early this morning,

I feel very sad.

I would like to send condolences to his family.

I think it's the same feeling for all Vietnamese people as he has greatly contributed to the

development of Vietnam-U.S. relations."

Duyet ran the prison that kept McCain after his plane was shot down over Hanoi during

the Vietnam War.

Many Vietnamese paid respects to the senator at the U.S. Embassy.

They included Vietnam's Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh.

Others left flowers at Truc Bach Lake where McCain crashed his plane.

French President Emmanuel Macron commented on Twitter.

He said that McCain "was a true American hero.

He devoted his entire life to his country."

Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, praised McCain's support for the Jewish state.

He said, it came "from his belief in democracy and freedom."

And Germany's chancellor, Angela Merkel, called McCain "a tireless fighter for a strong trans-Atlantic

alliance.

His significance went well beyond his own country."

I'm Ashley Thompson.