Author: Fworld

Moore Targets Female Accusers as Critics Decry Intimidation

Ever defiant, Republican Roy Moore’s campaign on Thursday lashed out at the women accusing him of sexual misconduct, declaring “let the battle begin.” Women’s advocates decried the talk as worn intimidation tactics in a desperate attempt to keep his imperiled Senate bid alive. Moore ignored mounting calls from Washington Republicans concerned that Moore may not …

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Russia’s Failing WADA Compliance Risks Korea Olympics Ban

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has refused to reinstate Russia’s Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA), declaring it to still be non-compliant with the global sports watchdog’s rules and raising the risk Russian athletes could be banned from the South Korean-hosted Winter Olympics in February 2018. At a meeting in Seoul Thursday, WADA’s Foundation Board approved the recommendation …

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UN Security Council Faces Rival Plans for Renewing Syria Chemical Weapons Inquiry

The United Nations Security Council is set to vote Thursday on rival U.S. and Russian proposals for extending the mandate of a body set up to investigate chemical weapons attacks in Syria. Authorization for the Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM) will expire at the end of the day unless it is renewed. The U.S. mission to …

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US Lifts Ban on Import of Elephant Trophies from Zambia, Zimbabwe

The Trump administration is preparing to allow hunters to import the remains of elephants they kill in the southern African nations of Zambia and Zimbabwe. The decision reverses a ban imposed in 2014 by the Obama administration. In a statement issued Wednesday, a spokesperson for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said it is reversing …

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Trump in Political Maelstrom Over Moore Senate Candidacy

U.S. President Donald Trump is facing a political maelstrom over Alabama Republican Senate nominee Roy Moore, whether to join prominent Republicans in trying to force him to end his candidacy in the wake of sexual misconduct accusations from four decades ago. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Speaker Paul Ryan and two former Republican presidential …

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Airbus to Sell 430 Planes to Indigo for $49.5 Billion

Airbus announced on Wednesday that it will sell 430 airplanes to U.S. firm Indigo Partners for $49.5 billion in the European firm’s biggest deal ever. The announcement came at the Dubai Air Show and the deal includes 273 A320neos and 157 A321neos. The airlines that use the aircraft will include Frontier Airlines, JetSMART of Chile, …

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Employers Hire Sexual Harassment Trainers

Recent accusations of sexual misconduct by Hollywood movie mogul Harvey Weinstein is impacting the upper echelons of the business world. The “Weinstein Effect” has men in powerful positions facing similar accusations. It is also increasing awareness about where the line is between friendly banter to more uncomfortable, and sometimes criminal motives. VOA’s Carolyn Presutti takes …

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Stars Sign On to Support UNICEF World Children’s Day

David Beckham, Millie Bobby Brown and Hugh Jackman are among celebrities and world leaders announced Tuesday as participants and official supporters of the UNICEF initiative World Children’s Day. The organization said events around the globe will focus on child takeovers to mark the day Monday, including a gathering at the United Nations in New York. …

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Behind the Doors of Immigrant Detention

The first room in the former warehouse, now a detention center, is a waiting area where visitors check in and wait to see whether they will be allowed to visit a detainee. Security screening is similar to that at an airport checkpoint. Visitors must show identification and leave belongings in a locker. No phones. No …

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New Wisconsin Law Allows Children Under 10 to Hunt

Children younger than 10 years old are now allowed to carry guns and hunt in Wisconsin. A bill signed into law Saturday by Republican Governor Scott Walker last week went into effect Monday, easing restrictions on children who are hunting while accompanied by trained, licensed adults. The new law eliminates a previous age restriction and …

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New Russia Probe Details Likely to Dominate Sessions Hearing

Attorney General Jeff Sessions returns to Capitol Hill this week amid growing evidence of contacts between Russians and associates of President Donald Trump, bracing for an onslaught of lawmaker questions about how much he knew of that outreach during last year’s White House campaign. The appearance before the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday follows a …

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North Korea Says US Carrier Groups Raise Nuclear War Threat

North Korea warned Monday that the unprecedented deployment of three U.S. aircraft carrier groups “taking up a strike posture” around the Korean peninsula is making it impossible to predict when nuclear war will break out. North Korea’s U.N. ambassador, Ja Song Nam, said in a letter to Secretary-General Antonio Gutteres that the joint military exercises …

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Mattis: US to Fight Islamic State in Syria ‘As Long As They Want to Fight’

The U.S. military will fight Islamic State in Syria “as long as they want to fight,” Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Monday, describing a longer-term role for U.S. troops long after the insurgents lose all of the territory they control. As U.S.-backed and Russian-backed forces battle to retake the remaining pockets of Islamic State-held …

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In Technological Step Forward, Supreme Court Puts Filings Online

Surely but slowly, the Supreme Court is entering the 21st century. The court is making new legal filings available online starting Monday, years behind the rest of the federal court system. Can livestreamed audio of arguments and even televised sessions be far behind? Yes, they can. But advocates of court openness will take what they …

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Trump Promises ‘Major Statement’ on Trade After Trip

Two became three as a scheduled Monday morning meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was expanded to include Japan’s Shinzo Abe. The change underscored the growing three-way relationship concerning regional security, especially regarding how to respond to North Korea’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs, as well as countering …

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Regional Leadership Raises Image of Once-erratic Philippine President

Just 14 months ago, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte called former U.S. President Barack Obama a “son of a whore,” prompting Obama to avoid meeting his Philippine counterpart at an Association of Southeast Asian Nations meeting in Laos. But times have changed. Now that association, better known as ASEAN, is meeting in Manila and Duterte is …

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Controversial Da Vinci is New York Auction Season Star

What is the only Da Vinci painting on the open market worth? A Russian billionaire believes he was swindled when he bought it for $127.5 million. This week he’ll find out if he was right. “Salvator Mundi,” a painting of Jesus Christ by the Renaissance polymath Leonardo da Vinci circa 1500, is the star lot …

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Chairman: House Won’t Agree to Nix Property Tax Deduction

The chairman of the House’s tax-writing committee said Sunday that he’s confident that chamber won’t go along with the Senate’s proposal to eliminate the deduction for property taxes, setting up a major flashpoint as Republicans in the House and Senate aim to put a tax cut bill on President Donald Trump’s desk before Christmas.   …

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In Florida, All Eyes on Puerto Rican Voters After Maria

The arrival of more than than 130,000 Puerto Ricans in Florida since Hurricane Maria has some officials anticipating a political shakeup in a battleground state dominated by the Republican party.   Both parties are actively courting new arrivals to Florida, which President Donald Trump won last year by 112,000 votes out of 9.6 million cast. …

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Nuclear Deal ‘Not Negotiable,’ Iran Tells France

Iran’s nuclear deal is “not negotiable,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bassam Ghassemi said Saturday in response to remarks by the French president. Emmanuel Macron called for vigilance toward Tehran over its ballistic missile program and regional activities, in an interview published Wednesday by the Emirati daily Al-Ittihad. “We have told French leaders on several occasions …

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N. Korea Slams Trump for Trying to Halt Its Nuclear, Missile Programs

North Korea denounced U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday for trying to halt the North’s nuclear and missile programs. The North Korean Foreign Ministry issued its first official statement on Trump’s trip to Asia, saying it “is a warmonger’s trip for confrontation with our country, trying to remove our self-defensive nuclear deterrent.” Pyongyang also accused …

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US Honors 20 Million Former Service Members on Veterans Day

U.S. President Donald Trump honored the nation’s veterans Saturday, saying in a video message they are “this country’s greatest national treasure.” “On this wonderful Veterans Day, I want to express the incredible gratitude of the entire American nation to the millions and millions of veterans that bravely defended our nation in uniform, and the strong …

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US, South Korea Begin Drills in Warning to the North

The United States and South Korea started joint naval exercises Saturday that will involve three U.S. aircraft carriers in what military officials describe as a clear warning to North Korea. The four-day drills that began in waters off South Korea’s eastern coast come as President Donald Trump continues a visit to Asia that has been …

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UN Security Council to Discuss Venezuela Crisis

U.N. officials say the United States and Italy have organized an informal U.N. Security Council meeting on Venezuela aimed at preventing the crisis in that country from turning into a security threat. U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley will chair the informal meeting Monday, which will include addresses from U.N. human rights chief Zeid Ra’ad al Hussein …

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Report: US Marine Killed in Niger Found With Head Wound, Arms Bound

The Washington Post is reporting that the body of 25-year-old La David Johnson, one of the four U.S. servicemen killed last month in Niger by militants, was found with arms bound, apparently executed, according to villagers. The Post said Friday that two villagers in the remote village of Tongo Tongo told reporters some children found …

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US Immigration Enforcement Agency Seeks to Double in Size by 2023

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is considering a hiring surge that would more than double the agency’s size in the coming six years to nearly 46,000 employees, surpassing previously published estimates, according to a government contracting-related document released this week. In a “Request for Information” Wednesday seeking input from the private sector about staffing services …

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