Rising HIV Infections See Iran Challenge Notions About Sex

In a square in a poor eastern Tehran neighborhood known for its drug addicts and dealers, psychologist Atefeh Azimi draws another drop of blood from a worried passer-by’s finger.

 

She works on a nearby bench, where a sign next to her in English and in Farsi urges the public to receive free voluntary counseling and HIV testing.

 

But her worries, as well as those of her aid group called Reviving Values, are not confined these days just to those sharing needles to inject heroin that comes across the border from Afghanistan’s thriving opium trade.

 

Iran has seen a surge in the number of HIV infections spread by sex, especially among its youth. What’s more, authorities say many have no idea that they are infected.

 

That has led to growing uncomfortable questions in the Islamic Republic, where sex outside of marriage is prohibited and those who practice it can face arrest and severe punishment.

 

Some have dared challenge the long-standing taboos in Iran surrounding sex, speaking publicly about the need for safe sex, sex education and regular HIV testing.

 

“Everybody has a very bad attitude toward this disease,” said Mahboobeh Zeinali, an HIV-positive woman living in Tehran. “They even think if they wash their hand where I do they can be infected, but they can’t.”

 

According to government estimates, 66,000 people out of Iran’s 80 million people have HIV, though about 30,000 of them have no idea they have the virus. Iranian authorities blame that on how little general knowledge many have about the virus.

 

By comparison, in the United States, government statistics suggest 1.1 million people live with HIV, with one in seven not knowing it.

 

More than 50 percent of those with HIV in Iran are between 21 and 35, said Parvin Afsar Kazerouni, the head of the Health Ministry’s AIDS department. That’s despite that age group representing about 28 percent of Iran’s population as a whole.

 

The number of those infected through sex continues to rise.

 

“If we look at five or six years ago, the rate of infection through sex was around 16 or 17 percent, to 20 percent at the most. … Now it is up to 40 percent or even more in some provinces,” Dr. Mohammad Mahdi Gouya, Iran’s deputy health minister, told The Associated Press. “This is an alert for us, the people and the officials. They are addressing this issue very seriously.”

 

Societal mores play a part in the rise of HIV infections. As a Muslim country, Iranian clerics preach against sex outside of marriage and sex isn’t often discussed among children and parents. Schools offer little sexual education as well.

 

Sex outside of marriage is illegal and some have been prosecuted for merely shaking hands with a member of the opposite sex under Iran’s strict interpretation of Islamic law, or Shariah. However, police rarely interfere with young couples in Tehran walking hand-in-hand and whispering to each other.

 

The government blames drugs in part for the increase in HIV infections — though not those narcotics that are injected with a needle.

 

“Ecstasy drugs, synthetic addictive drugs and amphetamine combinations dramatically and abnormally raise sexual desire,” Gouya said.

 

Views on sex are also changing in Iran.

 

Previously, Iran allowed so-called “temporary marriages” or “sigheh” — a legal contract under Sharia law that allows a couple to share a hotel room or travel together, though it’s not publicly or officially backed by the government. The contracts last anything between several hours to a few years but are increasingly abandoned in mainstream life in most of the Muslim world.

 

Lately, Tehran has seen a quiet move toward so-called “white marriages,” or couples living together before being married even though it remains illegal.

 

Mohammad Mohammadi Golpayegani, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s chief of staff, has criticized the practice, warning the “loose generation” that its offspring will “be illegitimate.”

 

Widespread access to satellite television, which in theory remains banned by authorities, also offers young Iranians access to images of Western culture, as does the internet.

 

About 60 percent of divorces across Iran come from those unhappy with sex in their marriages, said Mohammad Mahdi Labibi, a sociology professor at Tehran’s Azad University.

 

“When one of them is not satisfied, they will look for it outside their marriage,” in secret, Labibi said. Such “hidden sex increases the chance of being infected by any disease, including HIV.”

 

Prostitution also has been acknowledged by the government as a problem. Members of parliament have discussed the issue before, along with other “social problems,” according to Iranian media reports.

 

Today, Iran’s government treats some 10,000 people either infected with HIV or those with already developed AIDS, which weakens the immune system and gradually destroys the body’s ability to fight infections and certain cancers. It typically costs the government $16,000 a year to treat a patient, Gouya said.

 

Iranian society often ostracizes HIV-positive people, especially women.

 

“Most women here are in charge of their families, and unfortunately finding a job for them is very difficult,” said Najimeh Babagol, a psychologist who works with HIV-positive women. “Many of them get rejected went they reveal [they are HIV positive] at work. I can say this stigma and discrimination is the biggest problem they are facing.”

 

Khosro Mansourian, who leads the Reviving Values aid group, said sex education and better understanding can help solve that.

 

“Sex education should start from the kindergarten age,” he said. “Every child should have full knowledge about sexual characteristics so that they can protect themselves and especially learn they have the ability to say no.”

Gouya agrees that the young should have sex education.

 

“Our youth must learn about sexual issues in schools,” he said. “Prevention is much easier than treatment of AIDS.”

 

 

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Pope Speaks of Need for ‘Forgiveness’ in 1st Myanmar Mass

Pope Francis spoke of the need for “forgiveness” and avoiding “revenge” at a mass attended by tens of thousands of people in Myanmar’s biggest city, Yangon, on Wednesday.

He skirted direct mention of the persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority for the second time in his four-day visit, after talking generally of religious tolerance at a meeting with diplomats Tuesday.

Some 150,000 Catholics from across the country gathered at Kyaikkasan sports ground for the service, some arriving the night before to ensure their places.

“Today I am very blessed — not only me but all of Myanmar,” said Sister Lucy, a 22-year-old nun from far-flung Chin state, who got to the area at 5 a.m.

“We never dreamed that we would see his Excellency, but today we can see him,” she said.

In his first public mass in the country, Francis spoke of the many people in Myanmar who “bear the wounds of violence, wounds both visible and invisible.

“We think that healing can come from anger or revenge. Yet the way of revenge is not the way of Jesus,” he said.

The pope, an outspoken advocate for refugees, has defied the expectations of many in the West, who anticipated he would make public remarks on the Rohingya crisis.

More than 620,000 Rohingya, members of a long-persecuted Muslim minority, have fled to Bangladesh since August following a massive army crackdown.

Myanmar dismisses their stories of mass rape and killings as exaggerated, and the army has cleared itself of any abuses.

Previously, Francis has been an advocate for the minority, referring to them on occasion as “our Rohingya brothers and sisters.”

But papal advisers have counseled him not to speak about the issue while in Myanmar, for fear of a backlash against the some 650,000 Catholics in the country.

“This is the first time the pope is coming,” said Robert Nathan, one of about 70 Catholics born in Myanmar who traveled back for the celebrations.

He said Francis was right not to raise the plight of the Rohingya. “The government needs to sort out that problem,” he said.

But human rights advocates have urged him to speak out on behalf of the Rohingya, who are widely reviled as illegal immigrants within Myanmar.

“If the pope doesn’t use the word Rohingya, racist nationalists will see it as a victory, if he does, they will be upset and may protest. Which is better?” Mark Farmaner, head of Burma Campaign UK, said on Twitter.

Many in the audience in Yangon were happy he chose not to reference the crisis. He has said his primary purpose for the visit was to support the Christian population. The country recently established diplomatic relations with the Vatican.

Sister Lucy, the nun from Chin state, said she was happy Francis endorsed the charity work of Catholics in the country in his speech on Wednesday.

“He’s encouraging and appreciating. It helps us to keep up our work,” she said.

WATCH: Pope Francis in Myanmar

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North Korea Claims More Advanced ICBM Capable of Hitting US

North Korea’s test-firing of a new intercontinental ballistic missile, the first since September, has ratcheted up tensions as Pyongyang announced it can now hit the United States mainland with a warhead.

“The newly developed intercontinental ballistic missile Hwasong-15 has been successfully test-launched according to the political decision and strategic judgement of the Workers’ Party of Korea,” read an announcer Wednesday on North Korea’s state-run KRT television.

Following previous launches, the North has claimed its projectiles can hit any part of the continental United States, but this would be the first time it would be able to do so with this new type of upgraded missile, which both North Korean and U.S. officials said could fly higher than the ones the country has tested earlier.

North Korea “can hit US”

“The ICBM Hwasong-15 weapon system is an intercontinental ballistic rocket tipped with a super-large heavy warhead which is capable of striking the whole mainland of the U.S.,” said a statement carried by North Korea’s KCNA news agency.

The statement said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un watched the launch and then “declared with pride that now we have finally realized the great historic cause of completing the state nuclear force, the cause of building a rocket power.”

It was not immediately clear if Pyongyang was claiming to have mastered the capability of miniaturizing and mounting a nuclear warhead on an ICBM, which South Korean officials have said could happen within a matter of months. 

Analysts also question North Korea’s technical mastery of ICBM re-entry, which plays a key role in targeting. In the event of a launch at the U.S. mainland, U.S. missile defense systems would be employed. 

Nonetheless, North Korea’s stepped-up threat was acknowledged by the United States and its allies, who vowed to increase pressure on Pyongyang.

“It went higher frankly than any previous shot they have taken,” said the U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis. “It’s a research and development effort on their part to continue building ballistic missiles that can threaten everywhere in the world basically.”

Allies respond

Commenting on the North’s missile test, U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters “we will take care of it.” 

Trump did not elaborate but said there would be no change in the U.S. approach, which consists of “maximizing pressure” on North Korea and keeping all options on the table. 

“Nothing changed. Nothing changed. We have a very serious approach. Nothing’s changed. We take it very seriously,” added Trump. 

South Korea responded to North Korea’s missile test within minutes, test-firing missiles of its own as a warning to Pyongyang of Seoul’s rapid and precision response capabilities. 

Moon issued a stark warning to Pyongyang. 

“We must prevent the possibility that North Korea may misjudge the situation and threaten us with its nukes or the United States may consider a preemptive strike,” Yonhap news quoted the president saying through his spokesman Moon Young-chan. 

Moon said Pyongyang’s action endangered international peace and security. 

“South Korea and the United States, along with the international community, have no other choice but to continue applying strong pressure and sanctions.” 

Trump spoke separately by phone with Moon and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to discuss Pyongyang’s ICBM test and how best to respond. 

Abe called for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council.

DPRK’s defiance

North Korea’s ICBM test came just a week after the U.S. tightened sanctions against Pyongyang and Trump returned it to the U.S.’s list of “state sponsors of terrorism,” which some analysts believe could explain the timing of the test.

“While it can be argued that the DPRK was likely to test an ICBM in any case, the timing of this launch was unusual,” said Frank Jannuzi, President and CEO of the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation, in e-mailed comments to VOA. “DPRK missile testing is far more frequent in the spring than in the fall. I cannot help wondering whether Trump’s exquisitely poor timing on the terrorism list issue hasn’t squandered a chance to get dialogue started.”

Others argue Pyongyang wanted to demonstrate it would not bow to increased pressure. 

“Kim wants us to believe that the new pressure from the U.S. and China has not had an impact. At a minimum, it looks like it forced him to launch at night fearing a preemptive strike,” said Georgetown University Assistant Professor Dennis Wilder, who was National Security Council senior director for East Asian affairs during the George W. Bush administration.

“That he launched in the middle of the night was interesting – perhaps fear of pre-emption,” agreed Atlantic Council Senior Fellow Robert Manning. “But getting spun up every time he acts is dumb, counter-productive and helps Kim’s victim-threat narrative, boosting him internally.

Trump’s hysterical, ridiculous tweets and taunting of Kim were key instigators in creating this pseudo-crisis atmosphere,” Manning adds. 

“I would not blame or give credit to the president’s tweets,” countered David Maxwell, associate director of the Center for Security Studies at Georgetown University. “I do not think Kim Jong Un is ‘provoked’ by tweets. I think they conducted this test/strategic demonstration-not a provocation-for one or all of three reasons: A necessary test to advance the program, the regime believes it can gain some advantage in some way and domestic purposes in support of the military elite.” 

The key question, according to Maxwell, who is a retired special forces colonel with multiple tours on the Korean peninsula, is what advantage does Kim think he might be obtaining with a launch at this time or is he really responding to China’s actions, international and U.S. sanctions, a 60-day “moratorium,” or something else? And the second key question, he added, is how should the United States respond?

WATCH: How people reacted to Pyongyang’s latest missile launch

Nuclear deterrence

North Korea tested less powerful ICBMs in July and its sixth, and most powerful, nuclear device in September. Pyongyang says its nuclear and missile programs act as a strong deterrent to prevent an attack from the U.S., while analysts say the alleged U.S. threat is used by North Korea to maintain power over its people since fighting in the Korean War ended. 

Regardless of nuclear arms, all agree a return to war on the Korean peninsula would be devastating as the area around Seoul, which is within North Korea’s artillery range and home to half of South Korea’s population. South Korea and Japan have U.S. military bases while China and Russia share borders with North Korea. 

“I think that all actors are deterred and the constraints are robust and real,” says Troy University in Seoul analyst Daniel Pinkston. “And any unilateral military action by any actor in Northeast Asia to change the status quo militarily would fail miserably. That includes North Korea and all the other actors and stakeholders including the U.S. and China, Japan and South Korea, Russia. So, we’re kind of stuck in this sub-optimal equilibrium. Everyone is dissatisfied and doesn’t like it,” added Pinkston.

While tougher sanctions are on the horizon – raising the costs for Pyongyang’s defiance – many question whether it can be pressured into giving up its nuclear and missile programs. 

“These capabilities are not something that can be negotiated away,” says Pinkston. It’s part of their identity, it’s part of their national security policy. They view all of the U.N. Security Council resolutions prohibiting these activities as illegitimate and they will continue to challenge those U.N. Security Council resolutions and challenge the international community.”

But, Pinkston said the good news is that we have a lot of experience with deterrence. “We did it against a much more menacing adversary in the Soviet Union during the Cold War, we have much greater capabilities and resources and alliance partners and everything else. So, there’s no need to panic.” 

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European, African Leaders Meeting on Economic Cooperation and Security

European and African leaders are gathering Wednesday in Ivory Coast for a summit focused on issues that affect both continents, including economic cooperation, job creation, migration, and peace and security.

The two-day European Union-African Union summit in Abidjan is bringing together heads of state from 55 AU member states and 28 in Europe.

“We strive to enhance societal and political resilience on the continent for the benefit of current and future generations,” AU Commission Deputy Chairperson Kwesi Quartey said at a ministerial meeting ahead of the summit.

Governments on both continents have in the past few years faced the challenge of migrant flows through North Africa and across the Mediterranean Sea to Europe, with debates over resettlement and how to improve safety along the route that leaves thousands of people dead each year.

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said Tuesday that the summit is not itself a meeting on migration, but that the issue has to be addressed.

“We cannot close our eyes on the common responsibility we have to protect lives, save lives, open also regular channels for migration and mobility, offering economic alternatives to our young people in Africa, but first and foremost to dismantle the criminal networks that are making money out of sometimes slavery,” she said.

The EU said the summit will address a commitment to preparing young people for job opportunities by investing in education, science and skills development. There will also be a focus on promoting trade within Africa, as well as peacebuilding and preventing conflict

“I think that today the security challenges we are facing, starting from radicalism and terrorism to trafficking and criminal organizations, are binding us together and there are only common solutions if you want to have effective solutions,” Mogherini said.

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Tillerson Condemns Russia’s Aggression, Affirms US Commitment to Europe

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has condemned what he called Russia’s continued behavior toward its neighbors, especially Russia’s interfering in election processes and promoting non-democratic ideals. An analysts tells VOA’s Zlatica Hoke that the U.S. president’s support is crucial for the success of Tillerson’s mission.

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Who is the Next Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs

Irwin Steven Goldstein, President Donald Trump’s selection for under secretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs, is a communications and marketing executive with experience at large corporations as well as in government.

Goldstein was confirmed by a Senate voice vote and in the middle of November and is expected to start working at the State Department on December 4. 

At the time of his nomination by Trump, he was the senior vice president of BP Global Solutions, a New York consulting firm.

According to the bio on that company’s website, Goldstein “has a passion for building compelling brands and developing and executing communications strategies that connect diverse audiences.”

In a written statement to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee after his nomination, Goldstein wrote, “Those who seek to undermine America do so by spreading misinformation about our people and our objectives. We can fight these efforts by inspiring the world with our shared humanity and our great compassion.”

Moira Whelan, who served as the deputy assistant secretary for digital strategy at the State Department during the Obama administration, said Goldstein would be a potential lead in the fight to combat Russia’s dissemination of false information about the United States.

In an article last month in Foreign Policy magazine she wrote: “In September, U.S. President Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate Irwin Steven Goldstein as under secretary for public diplomacy at the State Department. He would be a key player in the effort to push back against Russian disinformation efforts around the world and in the United States.”

Goldstein’s qualifications do match those of his predecessors — former White House senior adviser Karen Hughes during George W. Bush’s administration and the former Time editor Richard Stengel during Obama’s.

His experience includes seven years as executive vice president and chief communications officer for TIAA, a Fortune 100 financial services firm providing retirement security to individuals in the not-for-profit sector.

Goldstein served as vice president and chief communications officer for Dow Jones/The Wall Street Journal during the period following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. In the administration of President George H.W. Bush, he was an assistant to the secretary and the director of public affairs at the U.S. Department of the Interior. He previously was a press secretary and chief of staff on Capitol Hill.

As senior vice president of BP Global Solutions, he advises start-up technology ventures in the transportation and health care spaces.

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Air Force: Failure to Report Texas Shooter’s Conviction ‘Not Isolated Incident’

The Air Force’s failure to report the Texas shooter’s domestic abuse offenses to civilian law enforcement was not an isolated incident, the military branch said Tuesday.

Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said Tuesday preliminary findings from a review after this month’s deadly shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas, by a disgraced former airman showed similar reporting lapses occurred at other Air Force bases.

The Air Force did not report the airman’s 2012 domestic violence conviction into the FBI’s database, as required by federal law and the Pentagon. Authorities say that measure, had it been properly entered, should have stopped the shooter from legally buying the rifle he used in the massacre.

“Although policies and procedures requiring reporting were in place, training and compliance measures were lacking,” Stefanek said.

The Air Force said it has implemented corrective measures to “prevent future occurrences,” and will implement additional actions in the next few weeks.

Among the new procedures is a leadership requirement to verify that information from applicable cases is registered with the FBI’s National Crime Information Center’s Interstate Identification Index.

The Air Force added that officials are correcting all identified failures to report to civilian law enforcement as they are discovered.

The disgraced former airman, Devin Kelley, murdered 26 people at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs on Sunday. He shot himself in the head after being wounded by a neighbor and chased by the neighbor and police.

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Report: North Korea Fires Ballistic Missile

North Korea launched an unidentified ballistic missile Tuesday.

South Korean Military officials are quoted as saying the missile flew on an eastward trajectory and that authorities are analyzing the launch in cooperation with the U.S. military.

“We detected a probable missile launch from North Korea. We will provide additional information as available,” Pentagon spokesman Army Col. Robert Manning said.

The United States is “not surprised” by the development, a U.S. intelligence official told VOA.

White House Press Secretary tweeted President Donald Trump “was briefed, while missile was still in the air, on the situation in North Korea.”

The last ballistic missile launch by North Korea was in September.  It is still unclear what type of missile was launched Tuesday.

In Japan, the Cabinet crisis team has been summoned for an emergency meeting.  Japan’s chief Cabinet secretary said Tokyo “strongly protests” the launch.

The latest North Korean launch comes as the U.S. and South Korea are preparing a five-day joint exercise called “Vigilant Ace” from December 4-8 with thousands of military personnel and more than 230 aircraft, including six F-22 Raptor fighter jets deployed to South Korea for the first time.

Pyongyang routinely condemns such military drills using belligerent language and military threats.

Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb, National Security correspondent Jeff Seldin, White House correspondent Steve Herman and Seoul correspondent Daniel Schearf contributed to this report

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Board OKs Plan for LeBron James’ ‘I Promise’ School in Akron

The school board in LeBron James’ Ohio hometown has approved the plan for a public school being created in partnership with the NBA star’s foundation.

 

The LeBron James Family Foundation says the “I Promise” School in Akron will be geared toward educating students who are at risk of falling behind. It will have longer days and begin classes in the summer — weeks before other district schools — to encourage information retention.

 

It’s scheduled to open next fall for third- and fourth-graders and add more grade levels in future years.

 

The idea is based on the foundation’s existing “I Promise” programs that encourage struggling students to stay in school.

 

Supporters cheered after the Akron School Board approved the school’s plan Monday.

 

New York-based production company Warrior Poets says it will soon begin filming a documentary series centered on the school in partnership with LeBron James’ production company SpringHill Entertainment.

 

 

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Native Americans Outraged Over Trump ‘Pocahontas’ Comments

Native Americans have taken to social media to criticize President Donald Trump for using a racial slur during a Monday White House ceremony honoring Fleming Begaye, Thomas Begay, and Peter MacDonald, three of the 13 Navajo Code Talkers still living.

“I just want to thank you because you’re very, very special people,” Trump said to the men who were recruited into the U.S. Marine Corps to transmit tactics and vital information in a language that was then incomprehensible to America’s World War II enemies.

WATCH: Trump comments to honorees

“You were here long before any of us were here — although we have a representative in Congress who they say was here a long time ago. They call her Pocahontas. But you know what? I like you. Because you are special,” Trump continued, touching MacDonald on the shoulder.

Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye described the incident as part of an “ongoing feud” between Trump and Elizabeth Warren, over her claims to have Native American heritage during her Senate campaign.

“In this day and age, all tribal nations still battle insensitive references to our people. The prejudice that Native American people face is an unfortunate historical legacy,” Begaye said. “As Native Americans, we are proud people who have taken care of this land long before there was the United States of America and we will continue to fight for this Nation.”

Navajo Nation Council delegate Amber Kanazbah Crotty cited the event as the “latest example of systemic, deep-seated ignorance” about Native Americans.

“The Navajo Code Talkers are not pawns to advance a personal grudge or promote false narratives,” Crotty said in a statement released Monday. “Such pandering dishonors the sacrifice of our national heroes.”

Dine Code Talkers secretary Debra Klecan posted on Facebook that the White House ceremony was the first time she had ever heard disparaging comments made against the Code Talkers.

“I’ve seen men and women of all ages break down in tears in honor and in awe of meeting them in person and they subsequently share their personal or family stories about how the Code Talkers affected their lives. It is too bad the president of the United States cannot do the same.”

In a personal Facebook message to Trump, Marty Thompson, whose great uncle Dennie Housteen was a Navajo Code Talker, demanded an official apology.

“There were three… Navajo Code Talkers standing and sitting with pride and dignity next to you. But, you Honor and Respect them with a…racist, derogatory comment about Pocahontas. Do you even know the true Pocahontas?” Thompson asked.

Jefferson Keel, president of the National Congress of American Indians, issued the following statement Monday:

“Today was about recognizing the remarkable courage and invaluable contributions of our Native code talkers. That’s who we honor today and everyday – the three code talkers present at the White House representing the 10 other elderly living code talkers who were unable to join them, and the hundreds of other code talkers from the Cherokee, Choctaw, Comanche, Lakota, Meskwaki, Mohawk, Navajo, Tlingit, and other tribes who served during World Wars I and II.”

Keel also called on the president to refrain from invoking Pocahontas in a way that “denigrates the legacy” of the 17th century Pamunkey woman, born Matoaka, who is credited with helping foster relations between Virginia tribes and early British colonizers.

“As a Marine Vet myself, I am keenly aware of how great a sacrifice these Navajo Marines made to the war effort,” said Ray Cook, former op/ed editor of Indian Country Today Media Network. “There is something basically wrong that a man would on one hand hand praise Native veterans and, on the other and in the same breath, denounce another person with a claimed Native background with a racial slur that is derogatory to Natives.”

Native Americans observers were quick to note that Monday’s ceremony took place beneath a portrait of Andrew Jackson, the seventh U.S. president and architect of the policy that forcibly drove thousands of Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek and Seminole tribe members from their homes to the West. Along the way, thousands died of cold, disease or hunger.

And as if all this weren’t insult enough, Oglala Lakota journalist and Native Sun News Today publisher Tim Giago cited Trump’s tone of voice.

“He talked down to Peter MacDonald and the other brave Navajo as if they were children,” he told VOA, expressing fear that this may have detracted from Code Talker Peter MacDonald’s speech.

In his speech, MacDonald urged the creation of a museum commemorating the Code Talkers and preserving their stories for future generations of Americans. And he praised America’s unity and diversity.

“We have different languages, different skills, different talents, and different religion. But when our way of life is threatened, like the freedom and liberty that we all cherish, we come together as one. And when we come together as one, we are invincible.”

White House Spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders, responding to questions from reporters Monday, said she didn’t believe calling Warren “Pocahontas” was a slur.

“I don’t think that it is [a racial slur] and I don’t think that was the President’s intent,” Sanders said.

“Look, I think that Sen. Warren was very offensive when she lied about something specifically to advance her career.  I don’t understand why no one’s asking about that question and why that isn’t constantly covered.”

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EPA Gathers Coal Country Comments About Climate Plan Repeal

The coal industry and environmentalists squared off Tuesday at a public hearing over the Trump administration’s planned repeal of an Obama-era plan to limit planet-warming carbon emissions.

The Environmental Protection Agency was holding the only scheduled hearing on the reversal in Charleston, West Virginia, capital of a state heavily dependent on coal mining. The hearing was expected to last two days.

 

The Clean Power Plan sought to ratchet down use of the dirtiest fossil fuel but never took effect because of lawsuits filed by coal companies and conservative-leaning states. Coal-fired power plants are a major source of the carbon emissions driving climate change.

 

Among those testifying was Bob Murray, chief executive Murray Energy Corp. He derided the Obama plan as an illegal power grab that has cost coal miners their livelihoods.

 

“The Clean Power Plan would devastate coal-fired electricity generation in America,” said Murray, whose company employs 5,200 miners and has 14 active coal mines. “This would impose massive costs on the power sector and on American consumers.”

 

Under the Obama administration, EPA held four multiday public hearings — in Washington, Atlanta, Pittsburgh and Denver — to collect feedback before issuing the Clean Power Plan in 2015. About two dozen conservative-leaning states and a battery of fossil-fuel companies immediately sued, successfully preventing the carbon reduction plan from taking effect before the election of Donald Trump, who as a candidate pledged to repeal it.

 

To head EPA, Trump appointed Scott Pruitt, a former Oklahoma attorney general who was among those who fought the Clean Power Plan in court. Pruitt has made a priority the delay and reversal of recent environmental regulations negatively impacting the profits of coal and petrochemical companies.

 

Though Trump, Pruitt and others have blamed environmental regulations for the loss of coal-mining jobs, the accelerating shift of electric utilities using cheaper and cleaner-burning natural gas is a primary culprit.

 

Pruitt has also sought to cast doubt on the consensus of climate scientists that the continued burning of fossil fuels is the main driver of global warming. Scientists say climate change has already triggered rising seas and more extreme weather, including killer heat waves, worsened droughts and torrential rains.

 

Pruitt did not attend Tuesday’s public hearing, which was presided over by three EPA employees.

 

The Sierra Club’s climate-policy director, Liz Perera, told them that the proposed repeal ignores scientific reality.

 

“This is about the kind of world that we want to leave for our children,” she said.

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US Senator Franken Apologizes, Sees Long Fight for Trust

Sen. Al Franken apologized Monday to “everyone who has counted on me to be a champion for women” as the Minnesota Democrat fought to bolster his support with his first Capitol public appearance since being drawn into a wave of sexual harassment accusations buffeting Congress.

Franken spoke as lawmakers began returning from an extraordinary weeklong Thanksgiving break that saw sexually tinged problems engulf two other legislators as well: Reps. John Conyers (D-Michigan) and Joe Barton (R-Texas). Those revelations were on top of allegations that Alabama Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl and sought romantic relationships with other teenagers when he was in his 30s four decades ago, which he has denied.

 

With harassment charges bringing down big names in the worlds of entertainment and journalism, Congress was adding widespread complaints about how it handles such incidents to its pile of year-end work.

 

A new allegation, indeed, surfaced late Monday against Conyers.

 

A former deputy chief of staff for Conyers said the veteran lawmaker had made unwanted sexual advances toward her, including inappropriate touching.

 

Deanna Maher, who ran a Michigan office for him from 1997 to 2005, told The Detroit News that there were three instances of inappropriate conduct.

 

She says the first was in 1997 during an event with the Congressional Black Caucus, when she rejected his offer to share a hotel room and have sex. She said the others involved unwanted touching in a car in 1998 and unwanted touching of her legs under her dress in 1999.

 

Conyers’ attorney Arnold Reed questioned why Maher continued to work for him after the alleged incidents.

 

Maher said she needed a job at age 57 and feared no one would hire her.

​In a brief appearance before reporters in Washington Monday, Franken stopped short of specifying how his memory differs from four women’s accounts of separate incidents in which he allegedly initiated improper sexual contact. He said he recalls “differently” one woman’s allegation that he forcibly kissed her but provided no detail, and said he doesn’t remember three other times women assert he grabbed their buttocks, citing “tens of thousands” of people he meets annually.

 

“But I feel that you have to respect, you know, women’s experience,” he said.

 

Franken said he’ll cooperate with an Ethics Committee investigation of his behavior. He said it will take “a long time for me to regain people’s trust” and said he hoped to begin that process by returning to work.

 

“I want to be someone who adds something to this conversation,” said Franken, a longtime liberal.

 

Looking for new ways for reporting, settlement

The House planned to vote Wednesday on a resolution requiring lawmakers and staff to annually complete anti-harassment training. Its chief sponsors included Reps. Barbara Comstock (R-Virginia) and Jackie Speier (D-California), who has said she was sexually assaulted by a male chief of staff as a House aide decades ago. The Senate approved a similar measure this month.

 

With many lawmakers – particularly women – pushing for more, the House Administration Committee planned a hearing next week on how to strengthen Congress’ processing of harassment allegations. Under the 1995 Congressional Accountability Act, complaints have been sent to an obscure Office of Compliance, which requires a lengthy counseling and mediation period and has allowed virtually no public disclosure of cases.

 

Rep. Gregg Harper (R-Mississippi) said the hearing will consider “ways to create a respectful reporting and settlement process” and said he expected legislation by early 2018. Comstock, also on that panel, said members are discussing whether federal funds should be spent to settle harassment suits and if people can be released from nondisclosure agreements.

 

Congress’ procedures drew intensified fire after a report last week by the news website BuzzFeed that Conyers’ office paid a woman more than $27,000 under a confidentiality agreement to settle a complaint in 2015 that she was fired from his Washington staff because she rejected his sexual advances. The money came from taxpayers, not Conyers himself.

Conyers, 88, the House’s current longest-serving member, has relinquished his post as top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, and the House Ethics Committee is reviewing the case. He’s denied the allegations.

 

Late Monday, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-California) said she’d met with a woman who described “unacceptable and disappointing” treatment from Conyers when she worked for the Judiciary panel in the 1990s. Melanie Sloan, an attorney, told The Washington Post last week that Conyers criticized her appearance and once attended a meeting in his underwear, but said she didn’t feel sexually harassed.

 

Conyers’ counsel has denied Sloan’s allegation. Pelosi said she believes Sloan and said the “ridiculous system” of secret settlements must be ended so accusers can speak to the Ethics committee.

 

Speier and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-New York) have introduced legislation requiring that lawmakers who settle harassment claims with the Office of Compliance repay the Treasury for the settlement. It would eliminate mandatory nondisclosure agreements as a condition for entering mediation and require public identification of offices that have settled cases.

 

Barton, a 32-year House veteran, has acknowledged sharing a nude photo of himself with an unidentified lover that was spread online. He’s accused her of threatening to make it public when he ended the relationship.

 

The woman told The Washington Post that she didn’t put it online and said the congressman threatened to go to the authorities if she exposed his conduct. Barton, 68, said he was separated from his second wife at the time and has apologized for not using “better judgment.”

 

Leeann Tweeden, now a Los Angeles radio news anchor, has said Franken forcibly kissed her on a USO tour and took a sexually suggestive photo while she was sleeping in 2006, before he entered the Senate. Three other women allege Franken grabbed their buttocks while posing with them for photos during campaign events in 2007, 2008 and 2010.

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Turkish Iranian Gold Trader Pleads Guilty, Cooperates with Prosecutors

Turkish-Iranian gold trader Reza Zarrab has pleaded guilty to unspecified charges in connection with an Iran sanctions busting scheme and is cooperating with U.S. prosecutors, officials said on Tuesday.

“I can confirm that the defendant has pleaded guilty,” said Nick Biase, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.

Zarrab was arrested last year and charged with conducting hundreds of millions of dollars of business transactions on behalf of the Iranian government and other Iranian entities between 2010 and 2015.

Eights others, including a former Turkish economy minister, Mehmet Zafer Caglayan, and a former deputy general manager of Halkbank, one of Turkey’s largest banks, Mehmet Atilla, have been indicted in the case.

All but Atilla remain at large. Atilla’s trial started on Monday with jury selection.

Zarrab has agreed to testify at Atilla’s trial as part of his guilty plea. Biase said Zarrab’s testimony could come as early as Tuesday.

Zarrab was released from a federal detention facility to an undisclosed location on November 8, sparking speculation he was cooperating with prosecutors in exchange for leniency.

The case has become a flashpoint in increasingly strained relations between the U.S. and Turkey. Turkish officials have called the case politically motivated and demanded Zarrab’s release.

Zarrab is alleged to have close ties to the governments of Turkey and Iran.

Sentencing has not been scheduled.

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Zimbabwe Struggles to Face Mugabe-Era Crimes

For 37 years under the iron-fisted rule of Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe has been battered by human rights abuses, endemic corruption, and mismanagement that sank the economy and reduced the nation’s once-strong agricultural sector to ruins.

The nation’s new president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, sees only one way forward for his wounded nation: forgiveness.

“I thus humbly appeal to all of us that we let bygones be bygones,” he said in his inaugural address last week, in which he described Mugabe as a mentor and father figure.

Mugabe’s government, in which Mnangagwa served as vice-president, was repeatedly accused of rigging elections, using force against opposition parties, jailing, beating and torturing critics, and other human rights violations. Endemic corruption grew especially intense after diamond fields were discovered in 2006.

Tuesday, Mnangagwa announced his government would allow a three-month amnesty for those willing to return state funds they took during the previous administration.

“Upon the expiry of the three-month window,” his edict read, “Government will proceed to effect arrest of all those who would not have complied with this directive.”

But just a day after the new president urged his nation to let go, the state jailed former Mugabe-era minister Ignatius Chombo on massive corruption charges. He is one of several Mugabe cronies to face what some critics are saying is political retribution, not true justice.

Equal justice?

Constitutional scholar Lovemore Madhuku is representing Chombo. He spoke to VOA outside the Harare Magistrates’ Court this week.

“I think that they are just using [Chombo] to try and portray an image of dealing with corruption and so forth. But the cases that my client is facing, these are very old cases,” he said. “…It’s just to harass him and try to create an impression that we are dealing with corruption.”

Human rights lawyers say there are worse crimes, and more serious culprits, who are being protected.

Renowned Zimbabwean human rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa told VOA she fears justice is not being applied equally. “If there are crimes that are being committed, everybody should in fact be put on trial,” she said. “It shouldn’t be selective at all. It shouldn’t depend on which faction you belong to, are you on our side, or the other side.”

Activist Patson Dzamara’s older brother Itai was abducted in 2015 for opposing Mugabe. He is still missing, and Dzamara told VOA he believes these high-profile trials are not targeting the real crimes. He says he’s angry, and wants accountability.

“The current president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, played a very major role,” he said. “And so he’s complicit. He is, or he was, a part of that arrangement in government. And for us to sweep that under the carpet, and say that was that and life just has to go on as though nothing happened, I don’t think it’s proper.”

Church role

At the Life and Liberty Church Zimbabwe, in central Harare, Bishop Noah Pashapa says he wants to encourage forgiveness, but understands why some people are not ready for it.

“I have not experienced what they experience that has gotten them to that place of finding it difficult to forgive,” said Pashapa, who says he led a delegation of church leaders to advise Mnangagwa on his inaugural address. “So I will appreciate how they feel and I will respect how they feel. And yet, I will seek to appeal to them to appreciate that, these things do happen. … Sadly, wherever we human beings struggle for power, they do bad things to each other.”

Pastor Chris Oparoacha says he looks to other African nations for guidance, like Zambia.

“Chiluba, who was the outgoing president, was not given any immunity. He had to pay for the crimes that he did,” Oparoacha says. “He might not be sentenced to prison, but whatever evil has been done, should be brought to light so those people are dealt with.”

There is, scholars agree, no clear way forward that will make all Zimbabweans happy. Justice and forgiveness, as many other African nations have learned, is a slow and complicated process.

South Africa’s post-apartheid Truth and Reconciliation Commission has come under criticism for being too easy on perpetrators and failing to adequately compensate victims. Sierra Leone’s post-war Truth and Reconciliation Commission worked in theory, scholars said, but the government failed to completely implement the commission’s recommendations.

 

 

 

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Zimbabwe Struggles to Face Mugabe-Era Crimes

For 37 years under the iron-fisted rule of Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe has been battered by human rights abuses, endemic corruption, and mismanagement that sank the economy and reduced the nation’s once-strong agricultural sector to ruins.

The nation’s new president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, sees only one way forward for his wounded nation: forgiveness.

“I thus humbly appeal to all of us that we let bygones be bygones,” he said in his inaugural address last week, in which he described Mugabe as a mentor and father figure.

Mugabe’s government, in which Mnangagwa served as vice-president, was repeatedly accused of rigging elections, using force against opposition parties, jailing, beating and torturing critics, and other human rights violations. Endemic corruption grew especially intense after diamond fields were discovered in 2006.

Tuesday, Mnangagwa announced his government would allow a three-month amnesty for those willing to return state funds they took during the previous administration.

“Upon the expiry of the three-month window,” his edict read, “Government will proceed to effect arrest of all those who would not have complied with this directive.”

But just a day after the new president urged his nation to let go, the state jailed former Mugabe-era minister Ignatius Chombo on massive corruption charges. He is one of several Mugabe cronies to face what some critics are saying is political retribution, not true justice.

Equal justice?

Constitutional scholar Lovemore Madhuku is representing Chombo. He spoke to VOA outside the Harare Magistrates’ Court this week.

“I think that they are just using [Chombo] to try and portray an image of dealing with corruption and so forth. But the cases that my client is facing, these are very old cases,” he said. “…It’s just to harass him and try to create an impression that we are dealing with corruption.”

Human rights lawyers say there are worse crimes, and more serious culprits, who are being protected.

Renowned Zimbabwean human rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa told VOA she fears justice is not being applied equally. “If there are crimes that are being committed, everybody should in fact be put on trial,” she said. “It shouldn’t be selective at all. It shouldn’t depend on which faction you belong to, are you on our side, or the other side.”

Activist Patson Dzamara’s older brother Itai was abducted in 2015 for opposing Mugabe. He is still missing, and Dzamara told VOA he believes these high-profile trials are not targeting the real crimes. He says he’s angry, and wants accountability.

“The current president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, played a very major role,” he said. “And so he’s complicit. He is, or he was, a part of that arrangement in government. And for us to sweep that under the carpet, and say that was that and life just has to go on as though nothing happened, I don’t think it’s proper.”

Church role

At the Life and Liberty Church Zimbabwe, in central Harare, Bishop Noah Pashapa says he wants to encourage forgiveness, but understands why some people are not ready for it.

“I have not experienced what they experience that has gotten them to that place of finding it difficult to forgive,” said Pashapa, who says he led a delegation of church leaders to advise Mnangagwa on his inaugural address. “So I will appreciate how they feel and I will respect how they feel. And yet, I will seek to appeal to them to appreciate that, these things do happen. … Sadly, wherever we human beings struggle for power, they do bad things to each other.”

Pastor Chris Oparoacha says he looks to other African nations for guidance, like Zambia.

“Chiluba, who was the outgoing president, was not given any immunity. He had to pay for the crimes that he did,” Oparoacha says. “He might not be sentenced to prison, but whatever evil has been done, should be brought to light so those people are dealt with.”

There is, scholars agree, no clear way forward that will make all Zimbabweans happy. Justice and forgiveness, as many other African nations have learned, is a slow and complicated process.

South Africa’s post-apartheid Truth and Reconciliation Commission has come under criticism for being too easy on perpetrators and failing to adequately compensate victims. Sierra Leone’s post-war Truth and Reconciliation Commission worked in theory, scholars said, but the government failed to completely implement the commission’s recommendations.

 

 

 

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Prince Harry, Markle to Wed in May at Windsor Castle

Britain’s Prince Harry and American actress Meghan Markle will be married at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle in May next year, Kensington palace said Tuesday.

“Her Majesty The Queen has granted permission for the wedding to take place in the chapel. The Royal Family will pay for the wedding,” the palace said in a statement, adding that further details about the wedding would be released “in due course”.

The couple officially announced their engagement a day earlier, posing for photographs on the grounds of Kensington Palace hours after the announcement. The two were engaged in London earlier this month, according to a statement.

Markle is best-known for her work in the television drama “Suits”.

The prince and the actress made their first public appearance in September in Toronto at the Invictus Games, a sports event for wounded veterans.

WATCH: How London reacted to news of royal engagement

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