Month: November 2019

Melania Trump is visiting a Boston hospital’s cuddling program that aims to help infants born dependent on drugs or alcohol. The first lady’s stop Wednesday at Boston Medical Center is part of her “Be Best” initiative. The hospital developed the program to nurture babies born with neonatal abstinence syndrome. The hospital also works with expectant mothers who misuse drugs or alcohol. Mrs. Trump told hospital administrators she hopes her visit will focus more attention on their work. She was joined by Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar. Dozens of workers at the hospital gathered outside to protest the first lady’s visit. Democratic U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley says the Trump administration’s tough stance on immigration is discouraging people from seeking health care for fear of arrest and deportation.   …

French actress Catherine Deneuve, 76, was admitted to hospital in Paris after suffering a “limited” stroke, French media reported. “Catherine Deneuve has suffered a very limited and therefore reversible ischemic stroke. Happily, her motor control has not been affected. She will need a few days’ rest,” French news wire AFP and French daily Le Parisien reported, quoting from a Deneuve family statement. A spokeswoman for Deneuve declined to comment. Nicknamed the “Ice Maiden” because of her exquisite, fragile beauty and detached manner, Deneuve became France’s leading screen actress and a top international star in the 1960s. FILE – President of the Jury at the 47th Cannes Film Festival, U.S. director and actor Clint Eastwood, left , and Vice President and French actress Catherine Deneuve are seen during a photo call, May 12, 1994. She won fame for her portrayal of an umbrella seller’s daughter in Jacques Demy’s 1963 musical “Les Parapluies de Cherbourg” (“The Umbrellas of Cherbourg”) for which she won the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival. In 1965, she triumphed as a frigid, schizophrenic woman in Polish director Roman Polanski’s harrowing “Repulsion” and in 1968, she was nominated for a BAFTA Best Actress award for her role in “Belle de Jour.” In 1993, she was nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award for her role in “Indochine.” Often described as the embodiment of French womanhood, Deneuve is a fixture at Paris fashion shows and is known for her biting wit. Last year, she and 99 other …

President Donald Trump is blasting the media for not reporting the name of a person who has been identified in conservative circles as the whistleblower who spurred the impeachment inquiry. Yet Trump has carefully avoided using the name himself. Exposing whistleblowers can be dicey, even for a president. For one thing, it could be a violation of federal law to identify the whistleblower. While there’s little chance Trump could face charges, revealing the name could give Democrats more impeachment fodder. It could also prompt a backlash among some Senate Republicans who have long defended whistleblowers. And, despite wanting the name to be disclosed, Trump sees some benefits to keeping it secret. The anonymity makes it easier for Trump to undermine the credibility of the person behind the complaint as well as the complaint itself, according to three officials and Republicans close to the White House not authorized to publicly discuss private conversations. It also allows him to bash the media for supposedly protecting the whistleblower. In recent weeks, a name has circulated in conservative media of a man said to be the whistleblower. The president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., on Wednesday tweeted a link to a story on the Breitbart website that used the name. He also included the name in his tweet. U.S. whistleblower laws exist to protect the identity and careers of people who bring forward accusations of wrongdoing by government officials. Lawmakers in both parties have historically backed those protections. The Associated Press typically does not reveal …

It’s been 30 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall, marking the beginning of the end to the Cold War and the Soviet Union. Plugged In with Greta Van Susteren examines the lessons learned and the invisible divisions left by the Wall on Germany and Europe in general. Correspondent Henry Ridgwell joins us from Berlin; former Secretary of State James Baker recounts the days surrounding the fall of the Wall and looks at the challenges we now face; correspondent Charles Maynes reports on German nationalism on the rise; and historian Hope Harrison from George Washington University. Aired November 6, 2019. …

Voting in U.S. state and local elections on Tuesday showed no evidence of successful tampering by any foreign government, the Justice Department and six U.S. security agencies said. But Russia, China, Iran and other adversaries of the United States will seek to meddle in U.S. elections moving forward, including through social media manipulation and cyberattacks, the agencies said. “While at this time we have no evidence of a compromise or disruption to election infrastructure that would enable adversaries to prevent voting, change vote counts or disrupt the ability to tally votes, we continue to vigilantly monitor any threats to U.S. elections,” a joint statement, signed by the heads of each agency, said. Cliff Smith, a Ridgeland, Mississippi, poll worker, offers a voter an “I Voted” sticker after they cast their ballot, Nov. 5, 2019. The agencies have increased efforts to protect elections and a new position was created within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to focus solely on U.S. election security. A January 2017 assessment by U.S. intelligence agencies found that Russia had meddled in the 2016 presidential election and its goals included aiding President Donald Trump. National security experts have said they believe foreign governments will again target the 2020 presidential election in an effort to influence U.S. voters. In February 2018, the Justice Department created the first ever Cyber Digital Task Force with the mission of protecting future U.S. elections from foreign interference.   …

From ex-prostitutes making jewelry out of bullet casing to drones delivering blood, rising numbers of businesses with a mission to help address social problems are emerging in Ethiopia as the economy opens up. An estimated 55,000 social enterprises operate in Ethiopia, the second-most populous country in Africa and fastest growing economy in the region where about a quarter of 109 million people live below the poverty line, according to the World Bank. But the number of ventures set up to do good is on the rise since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came in 18 months ago and vowed to open the economy to private investment, raising hopes of official recognition for the sector and easier access to funds. Kibret Abebe, one of Ethiopia’s best-known social entrepreneurs, said the sector would be boosted as Ethiopia hosts the 12th annual Social Enterprise World Forum (SEWF) this week, the first developing country to do so. “The economy is opening up and we are seeing more social enterprises in Ethiopia,” said Abebe, first president of Social Enterprise Ethiopia, which was set up last year to advance firms set up to do good that re-invest their profits into their work. “Scaling up has been a nightmare in Ethiopia and it’s been hard to collaborate with the government but I’m optimistic this will change as we have a lot of social problems to fix.” Ethiopia’s Education Minister Tilaye Gete said hosting SEWF, attended by more than 1,200 delegates from 50 or so countries, was a sign …

Brazil’s mining regulator on Tuesday blasted iron ore miner Vale SA for failing to disclose problems with a mining dam before a deadly collapse in January, saying this kept the agency from taking actions that could have saved lives. The dam in Brumadinho collapsed and flooded a nearby company cafeteria and the surrounding countryside with mining waste, killing more than 250 people. It was Vale’s second deadly dam collapse in less than four years. The regulator’s report on its probe into the disaster is the latest blow to the reputation of Vale, which is under criminal investigation over accusations that top executives ignored warning signs about the dam. Based on the report’s findings, ANM will now assess the iron ore miner with 24 new fines. Officials said that the amount of each fine is capped at around 6,000 reais ($1,500) under Brazilian law. The report detailed several problems that it said Vale should have reported. The first occurred in June 2018, seven months before the disaster, when the company installed horizontal drainage pipes and discovered sediment in the drainage water. This worrying sign should have been reported immediately, ANM officials told reporters in a briefing. Members of a rescue team search for victims after a tailings dam owned by Brazilian mining company Vale SA collapsed, in Brumadinho, Brazil, Jan. 28, 2019. “The serious fact is that when there is sediment it must be reported. Period. It wasn’t. If it had been communicated, the area would immediately have been submitted to …

One in four American high schoolers and one in 10 children in middle school have used an e-cigarette in the past 30 days, with most favoring those flavored with mint or menthol. The disturbing findings from two separate studies were published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. One, the 2019 National Youth Tobacco Survey by the Food and Drug Administration, found there are now 5.3 million young Americans who vape regularly, compared with about 3.6 million last year. The study found efforts by state and federal officials to discourage underage vaping are falling short, despite a prohibition on sale of e-cigarettes to anyone younger than 18 and a ban on all flavored vaping products, excluding mint and menthol. The study also found that Juul was the preferred brand of nearly 60% of high school students. Another study, led by researchers from the University of Southern California, found most young teens preferred the flavor of mint over menthol. The studies come as the federal government of considering a ban on all e-cigarettes flavored with anything other than tobacco. The findings “call for drastic action to be taken. We are in the midst of an e-cigarette crisis, the aftermath of which we could be dealing with for decades,” Erika Sward, spokeswoman for the American Lung Association, said. Juul, the best-selling vaping brand in the country, voluntarily stopped the sale of all its fruit and dessert flavored vaping products last month. But that move did not include mint and menthol flavors. …

The board of commissioners in Citrus County, Florida, denied a local library’s request for nearly $3,000 for a digital subscription to the New York Times, calling the newspaper “fake news.” “Fake news — I agree with President [Donald] Trump,” said commissioner Scott Carnahan at the October meeting. “I don’t want the New York Times in this county. I don’t agree with it. I don’t like ’em. It’s fake news, and I’m voting no. They can take that money and do something else with it.”   The commissioners didn’t debate the authorization of the funds, shrugging off the request, instead. “Why the heck would we spend money on something like that?” asked one commissioner. Citrus County’s four libraries already have a subscription to the Times’ print edition.  The decision received a swift response from the community, with most telling the Citrus County Chronicle newspaper that they opposed the move.  The commissioners have since reconsidered the issue.  “Our decision should have been impartial, instead of having it become a personal thing,” commissioner Brian Coleman told the Chronicle.   …

U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to tap Steve Biegun, the special representative for North Korea, as deputy secretary of state could spur Washington’s denuclearization talks with Pyongyang, said experts. “[Biegun’s] in a position now where he will have much more influence, and he will be able to guide things from a senior level at the State Department to really help shape policy, even more than as … a special representative for North Korea,” said David Maxwell, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Embed Copy Listen David Maxwell – “He’s in a position…North Korea” David Maxwell – “He’s in a position…North Korea” audio player. The White House announced Trump has nominated Biegun for the No. 2 spot at the State Department on Thursday, and soon after announced the Biegun nomination had been sent to the Senate. If the Senate approves his nomination, Biegun will replace John Sullivan, who was nominated to serve as the next U.S. ambassador to Russia. Biegun would then be the second highest-ranking official at the State Department after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. If Pompeo steps down from his post to run for a Senate seat as widely speculated, then Biegun would serve as acting secretary of state. As the deputy secretary, Biegun will continue in his role of overseeing diplomacy with North Korea, a senior U.S. official said. Experts think Biegun’s nomination signals the Trump administration’s effort to elevate the significance of engaging in talks with North Korea. “Making him the deputy …

North Korea on Tuesday lashed out at the United States for mentioning Pyongyang in its annual report on state sponsors of terrorism, saying the report is an example of Washington’s “hostile policy” that is limiting chances for dialogue. The U.S. State Department on Friday published its 2018 Country Reports on Terrorism. Though the report scaled back its criticism of North Korea from the previous year, it mentioned that the U.S. re-designated North Korea as a state sponsor of terror in 2017.  North Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejected the report as a “grave politically motivated provocation,” according to a statement in the state-run Korean Central News Agency.  “This proves once again that the U.S. preoccupied with inveterate repugnancy toward (North Korea) is invariably seeking its hostile policy towards the latter,” the statement said.  FILE – People watch a TV showing a file image of an unspecified North Korean missile launch during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Oct. 31, 2019. North Korea last month walked away from working-level nuclear talks, blaming the United States for not offering enough concessions. It has since threatened to resume nuclear or long-range missile tests.  The North Korean statement on Tuesday said it is an “insult” that the U.S. would issue the terrorism report, especially while U.S.-North Korea dialogue “is at a stalemate.”  “The channel of the dialogue between the DPRK and the U.S. is more and more narrowing due to such attitude and stand of the U.S.,” the …

Newly-announced U.S. sanctions targeting Iran’s construction sector have drawn a skeptical response from some Iran analysts who foresee the measures doing only limited harm to one of its top industries. In an Oct. 31 announcement, the Trump administration said it had imposed sanctions on Iran’s construction sector for being controlled “directly or indirectly” by the nation’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a military branch designated by U.S. officials as a terrorist organization earlier this year. FILE – Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi speaks at a media conference in Tehran, Iran, May 28, 2019. Iran sees itself as a victim, rather than a perpetrator, of terrorism. In a Saturday statement, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi denounced the U.S. sanctions on the nation’s construction industry as “economic terrorism” and said they reflected “weakness” and “failure in (American) diplomacy.” IRGC-controlled companies such as Khatam al-Anbiya dominate Iran’s construction sector. Previous U.S. administrations sanctioned Khatam al-Anbiya in 2007 and four of its affiliates in 2010. A State Department fact sheet said the new sanctions target international transactions with Iranian construction companies involving four specific commodities and products: raw and semi-finished metals, graphite, coal, and software for integrating industrial purposes. “If you look at this designation of Iran’s construction sector, it is very limited,” said Saeed Ghasseminejad, a researcher on Iran’s economy and financial markets at the Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD).  Speaking to VOA Persian, Ghasseminejad said Iranian construction companies typically produce their own basic commodities such as steel and cement rather …

Thousands of Chileans took to the streets again Monday to demand better social services, some clashing with police, as protesters demanded an end to economic inequality even as the government announced that weeks of demonstrations are hurting the country’s economic growth. The latest protest came after a short break in the weekslong wave of demonstrations in which 20 people have died in clashes amid looting and arson that forced the cancellation of two upcoming major international summits in what is considered one of Latin America’s wealthiest countries.  Most Chileans starting last week were on a long holiday weekend and Monday’s protest was relatively small compared to earlier demonstrations. But the thousands who turned out showed that protest movement did not appear to be fizzling.  Most demonstrators supporting the leaderless national movement marched peacefully, but some groups threw rocks and firebombs at riot police officers _ who responded with volleys of tear gas and water cannon blasts to try to disperse the crowds. The government said that at least six police officers were injured, including two who were attacked and set on fire with Molotov cocktails.  The demonstrations began last month after the government announced a hike in subway fares and transformed into a leaderless national movement with broader demands over education, health services and economic inequality. Santiago’s subway system has said that it has suffered nearly $400 million in damages, while businesses in Chile are estimated to have lost more than $1.4 billion in damages to arson, looting and lost …

The Islamic State terror group appears to be trying to show that momentum is building in support of its new leader, distributing photographs of fighters from various provinces and affiliates swearing allegiance. Since Saturday, IS media officials have posted a series of photos showing fighters from five of the group’s affiliates gathering to pledge bay’ah (allegiance) to Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi. BREAKING: #ISIS#Sinai releases photos showing fighters pledging bayah/allegiance to new ISIS leader Abu Ibrahim al #Hashimi al #Qurashi Via @siteintelgrouppic.twitter.com/xJGVPHa315 — Jeff Seldin (@jseldin) November 2, 2019 The first of the pledges came from IS-Sinai of IS distributing three photographs of about 25 masked fighters gathering in a sparsely wooded area in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, with guns raised. That release was followed hours later by a series of photographs showing a group of about seven or eight masked fighters, allegedly from Bangladesh, pledging their loyalty. IS media officials have since distributed more photographs, similarly showing masked gunmen from Yemen and Pakistan pledging allegiance. Photos from #ISIS of fighters in #Somalia, #Pakistan, #Bangladesh pledging bay’ah to al #Qurashi, courtesy of @JihadoScopepic.twitter.com/FOAaNJ72Es — Jeff Seldin (@jseldin) November 4, 2019 “Some of this is, we’re seeing some of the weaker affiliates rapidly realign with Islamic State,” said Katherine Zimmerman, project manager with the American Enterprise Institute’s Critical Threats Project.  “Four of the five are actually pretty small affiliates — Yemen, Somalia, Bangladesh and Pakistan — that haven’t really had a massive presence on the ground and don’t seem to have the sort …

As the US House of Representatives continues to march forward with an impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump, voters are speaking out in the political battleground state of Wisconsin. VOA’s Kane Farabaugh has more from Madison …

Iran’s nuclear chief announced Monday the country is operating dozens of advanced centrifuges in a move that further goes against the 2015 agreement the country signed with a group of world powers. Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, said told state television Monday that Iran was operating the IR-6 centrifuges, which allow the processing of uranium much faster than the IR-1 centrifuges Iran was allowed to used under the nuclear deal. Salehi also said Iran was working on the development of even faster centrifuges. The 2015 agreement called for Iran to limit its nuclear activity in response to allegations it was working on a nuclear weapons program.  Iran said its nuclear work was solely for peaceful purposes, but agreed to the conditions in exchange for badly needed relief from economic sanctions. Since U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from the agreement last year, Iran has taken several steps back from its commitments, including exceeding limits on the amount of enriched material it is allowed to stockpile and the level to which it is allowed to enrich uranium. Iran has complained the other signatories, particularly European nations, have not done enough to help it achieve sanctions relief after the United States imposed new sanctions. …