At the Tribeca Film Fest in New York, filmmakers are mining current and historical events for inspiration. For tech-savvy youth, it’s one way to ensure the lessons of history won’t be forgotten. Tina Trinh reports.
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Day: June 4, 2019
Lawmakers in Washington DC met Tuesday to discuss facial recognition software. Law enforcement says the technology helps to identify and track suspected criminals. But privacy advocates say the technology intrudes on the privacy of average citizens who aren’t lawbreakers. Arash Arabasadi reports from Washington.
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VOA’s Michael Bowman contributed to this story.
President Donald Trump said Tuesday he is “more likely” than not to impose a new 5% tariff on imported products from Mexico next week.
Trump offered his assessment at a London news conference with British Prime Minister Theresa May.
He made his comments even as U.S. and Mexican officials were in Washington talking about tariffs and the surge of Central American migrants traveling through Mexico to reach the United States.
“Mexico should step up and stop this invasion into our country,” Trump said, contending that “millions and millions” of undocumented migrants from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador are entering the U.S. to escape poverty and violence in their homelands.
“I think Mexico will step up and do what they need to,” Trump said. “I want to see security at our border and great trade. We are going to see if we can do something, but I think it’s more likely the tariffs go on, and we will probably be talking during the time that the tariffs are on.”
Trump has threatened to increase the tariffs monthly in 5% increments if the migration is not curbed.
Some Republican lawmakers, normally political allies of Trump, are wondering whether to try to pass legislation to block his imposition of the tariff. They fear the extra taxation would be passed on to U.S. consumers in the form of higher retail prices on an array of goods, including automobiles and farm produce.
But Trump said, “I think if they do that, it’s foolish,” citing his high political standing among Republican voters, even as surveys in the U.S. show that overall, American voters disapprove of his performance as president.
Bob Carter, Toyota’s head of sales for North America, said in a letter sent to news agencies that the new tariffs on Mexico could cost the U.S. car industry billions.
Sixty-five percent of the popular Tacoma pickup truck that Toyota plans to sell in the United States is imported from a Mexican plant.
Talks between the U.S. and Mexico started Monday. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo plans to meet with Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard on Wednesday at the White House.
Ebrard says he believes a deal can be reached to avoid tariffs, but if not, Mexico plans to announce its response Thursday. It is unclear exactly what the Trump administration considers sufficient migration control to cancel the tariffs.
Mexican officials say they could only go so far in meeting Trump’s demand to block migrants’ passage through Mexico. The officials specifically ruled out a “third safe country” agreement requiring U.S. asylum-seekers to first apply for refuge in Mexico.
“There is a clear limit to what we can negotiate, and the limit is Mexican dignity,”said Mexico’s ambassador to the United States, Martha Barcena.
U.S. lawmakers sharply criticized Trump’s latest tariff tactic aimed at a major U.S. trading partner.
“This [tariffs] is not a popular concept,” said Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, adding that his state is Mexico’s biggest export market.
Another Republican, Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt, expressed concerns that trade friction could harm a newly negotiated free trade pact between the United States, Mexico and Canada.
“I’m not a big advocate of tariffs, and I’d like to get the USMCA agreement approved. I don’t see how the addition of a tariff [on Mexican goods] right now helps make that happen,” Blunt told VOA.
“Mexico is a critical trading partner of the United States,” Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland said. “You put up barriers, it’s going to end up costing us jobs, and it’s going to cost consumers.”
Cardin added that Trump’s threatened tariff “would be counterproductive,” as far as boosting U.S. border security.
“If we need cooperation on the southern border, they [Mexican officials] are not going to give us cooperation. Why bother if we’re going to have an antagonistic relationship?” Cardin said.
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No more Nutella?! French workers are threatening as much, bringing the world’s biggest Nutella factory to a near-standstill in a showdown over salary negotiations.
Tensions have been mounting at the site in Villers-Ecalles in Normandy, where activists from the Workers’ Force union have been barring trucks from entering or leaving the factory for a week.
The plant produces a staggering 600,000 jars of the chocolate and hazelnut spread every day — a quarter of the world’s production of a product cherished by children and adults alike.
After six days of failed efforts to end the standoff, Nutella owner Ferrero on Monday started threatening fines for workers involved in the blockade, according to a company statement.
But that didn’t deter unions. Workers’ Force says 160 of the factory’s 350 workers are taking part in a walkout to demand 4.5% salary increases, one-time 900-euro bonuses and better working conditions.
“It’s war, anger is mounting,” union activist Fabien Lacabanne said in a statement.
He said the company agreed to a 1.7% raise for the lowest paid workers, and one-time bonuses between zero and 400 euros, which unions say isn’t enough given rising living costs. Unions also complain of deteriorating factory conditions and increasing pressure to be more productive.
Italian-owned Ferrero said it is trying to protect workers who aren’t on strike, and wants to resume dialogue — but not until the workers stop blocking the factory.
The next negotiation meeting is scheduled for June 13.
French workers frequently go on strike during salary negotiations and occasionally resort to more dramatic methods. The last strike to hit the Villers-Ecalles factory was in 2011.
The action comes amid anger among many low-income French workers at pro-business policies by President Emmanuel Macron seen as favoring the rich — and that prompted the yellow vest protest movement.
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Cameroon’s forest tribes have long depended on insects to supplement their diets. The palm weevil grub, a fat worm found in palm trees, is such a popular source of protein that it has squirmed out of the forests and onto the plates at popular restaurants.
In Cameroon’s capital, some unusual ingredients are wiggling into city kitchens.
At Le Cercle Municipal restaurant, Chef Emile Engoulou cooks palm weevil grubs to create dishes of international standard.
Engoulou says they are the best protein that exist and they have not even finished making an inventory of all the benefits they obtain by eating the palm tree worms.
For people used to eating meat and fish, finding worms on their dinner plate can be a shock.
But the palm weevil grub can also be a pleasant surprise for many consumers like Paul Ndom.
He says the service is very well done, the dish well prepared and they are enjoying it. He says he hadn’t seen this way of cooking yet, but that it is great.
The high demand from chefs has led to a shortage of palm weevil grubs.
Villagers like Valentin Bidja, who used to gather the grubs in the forest, see it as an opportunity for people in rural areas.
Bidja says when they raise worms in the village, it is less stressful and more profitable and that in the village, they spend less energy.
The growing popularity of the grub in Cameroon, Chef Engoulou says, has made it several times more expensive than beef.
“When we do gastronomy in Cameroon, we need authentic, natural, organic and precious ingredients. I often like to say that the palm tree worm is the equivalent in Africa of caviar in Europe,” he said.
People already eat palm weevil in other African countries and in South America and Southeast Asia. Only time will tell if it climbs onto menus in Europe and beyond.
Michael Bowman contributed to this report.
Mexico warned Monday that President Donald Trump’s threatened new tariff on its exports to the United States would hurt both countries’ economies and cause even more Central American migrants to travel through Mexico to reach the United States.
At the start of talks in Washington, Mexican officials said they could only go so far in meeting Trump’s demand to block migrants’ passage through Mexico to avert Trump’s imposition of a 5% tariff next week. The officials specifically ruled out a “third safe country” agreement requiring U.S. asylum-seekers to first apply for refuge in Mexico.
”There is a clear limit to what we can negotiate, and the limit is Mexican dignity,” Mexico’s ambassador to the United States, Martha Barcena, said.
Barcena added that U.S. tariffs “could cause financial and economic instability,” reducing Mexico’s capacity to address the flow of migrants and “offer alternatives” to people fleeing Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.
Mexican officials contended that an additional quarter million migrants could try to reach the U.S. if the tariff is imposed, on top of the tens of thousands already reaching the southern U.S. border each month.
Trump showed no sign of softening his demand as he tweeted during a visit to London.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador remained confident the two sides would reach an agreement, telling reporters Monday that he was optimistic.
He said his government would not engage in confrontation, and would always defend those who migrate out of necessity due to violence or a lack of food or job opportunities. He also remained positive that no matter what happens in the dispute with the United States, Mexico has “exception, extraordinary,” people and can push through any adversity.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Mexican Foreign Relations Secretary Marcelo Ebrard are due to hold further talks about the dispute on Wednesday.
U.S. lawmakers returning to Washington after a weeklong congressional recess sharply criticized Trump’s latest tariff tactic aimed at a major U.S. trading partner.
“This (tariffs) is not a popular concept,” Republican Sen. John Cornyn said of public opinion in Texas, which he represents. “Mexico is our biggest export market.”
Another Republican, Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt, expressed concerns that trade friction could harm a newly negotiated free trade pact between the United States, Mexico and Canada.
“I’m not a big advocate of tariffs, and I’d like to get the USMCA agreement approved,” Blunt told VOA. “I don’t see how the addition of a tariff (on Mexican goods) right now helps make that happen.”
“Mexico is a critical trading partner of the United States,” Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland said. “You put up barriers, it’s going to end up costing us jobs, and it’s going to cost consumers.”
Cardin added that Trump’s threatened tariff “would be counterproductive,” as far as boosting U.S. border security.
“If we need cooperation on the southern border, they (Mexican officials) are not going to give us cooperation. Why bother if we’re going to have an antagonistic relationship?” Cardin said.
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California officially gave its blessing to coffee Monday, declaring the beverage does not pose a “significant” cancer risk.
The rule, proposed a year ago by regulators, means coffee won’t have to carry ominous warnings that the beverage may be bad for you.
The state took the rare move after a Los Angeles judge found Starbucks Corp. and other companies failed to show that benefits from drinking coffee outweighed risks from a byproduct of the roasting process.
That ruling put the industry in jeopardy of hefty civil penalties and in the position of either developing a process to remove the chemical or warning consumers about the risk of cancer.
The chemical in question, acrylamide, is on a list that California says causes cancer, though other groups classify it as a “probable” carcinogen.
Under a law passed more than three decades ago by California voters, products that contain chemicals that cause cancer or birth defects must warn consumers about those risks.
The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, which implements the law, concluded there was no significant risk after a World Health Organization review of more than 1,000 studies and found inadequate evidence that coffee causes cancer. Further, it concluded coffee reduces the risk of some types of cancer.
“Coffee is a complex mixture of hundreds of chemicals that includes both carcinogens and anti-carcinogens,” said Sam Delson, a spokesman for the agency. “The overall effect of coffee consumption is not associated with any significant cancer risk.”
It was the first time the state has declared such a brew of chemicals safe despite the presence of carcinogens, Delson said.
The coffee industry cheered the rule.
“This is a great day for science and coffee lovers,” said William Murray, president and chief executive of the National Coffee Association USA.
“With this news, coffee drinkers around the world can wake up and enjoy the smell and taste of their coffee without hesitation.”
The Council for Education and Research on Toxics, which successfully sued the coffee industry in a case that has dragged on more than eight years in Los Angeles Superior Court, will challenge the validity of the state’s regulation in court, said attorney Raphael Metzger.
Metzger, who represents the small nonprofit in its lawsuit against Starbucks and about 90 coffee companies, said the regulation was adopted in violation of state law and disregards the statutes the agency is supposed to implement. He said the regulation can’t be applied retroactively to nullify the judge’s ruling.
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Two-time Olympic champion Caster Semenya is temporarily allowed to compete without lowering her testosterone levels, following a ruling by Switzerland’s supreme court.
The court ordered the International Association of Athletics Federations to temporarily suspend their regulations until the organization makes its arguments to the court.
The suspension of the IAAF regulations is the latest in a line of legal disputes between the South African 800-meter runner and the governing body for track and field.
Hyperandrogenism
In April 2018, the IAAF put in places rules requiring women with higher-than-normal testosterone levels — known as hyperandrogenism — to artificially lower the hormone level in their bodies if they wanted to compete in distance races between 400 meters to a mile.
“This is an important case that will have fundamental implications for the human rights of female athletes,” Dorothee Schramm, the Swiss-based lawyer leading Semenya’s appeal, said after the ruling.
Semenya challenged the regulation and ultimately lost her case in the Court of Arbitration for Sport last month.
“Necessary, reasonable, proportionate”
The court then acknowledged that the IAAF regulations were discriminatory, but that the regulations were “necessary, reasonable and proportionate means of achieving the IAAF’s aim of preserving the integrity of female athletics in the restricted events.”
Following the CAS ruling, Semenya appealed to the Switzerland supreme court. Semenya is still appealing the CAS ruling to get the IAAF testosterone rules permanently stricken.
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