20180502VoaLeb:
(1)Trump Administration Delays Tariffs on Some Countries
(2)Iran Bans Use of Telegram Messaging Service
(3)Study Finds Africans Among Best Educated US Immigrants
(4) The Making of a Nation (no transcript)
(1)Trump Administration Delays Tariffs on Some Countries
A worker stands among steel coil in a steel factory in Duisburg, Germany. The European Union criticized a recent move by the Trump Administration to delay tariffs on steel and aluminum products. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
U.S. President Donald has extended a period in which some countries will not pay import taxes, or tariffs, on some products.
His administration says it is giving trade negotiators 30 more days to work out a deal. The exemptions were to have ended on Tuesday May 1.
The tariffs have already been put into effect on China and Russia. But the European Union (EU), Canada and Mexico received exemptions from tariffs on their aluminum and steel exports to the U.S.
Trade partners not satisfied
The European Commission criticized the temporary extension in a statement Tuesday. The group said the EU has been willing to discuss the issue and “will not negotiate under threat.”
The commission said, “The U.S. decision prolongs market uncertainty, which is already affecting business decisions.” It added that the tariffs, which are meant to protect U.S. industry, cannot be justified by national security concerns.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke to Trump last week during a visit to the White House. She warned that trade relations between the allies could worsen if the EU does not receive a permanent exemption.
On Monday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned against placing tariffs on his country’s steel and aluminum. He said such measures could hurt the U.S. car and aerospace industries, which depend on imported materials.
Late Monday, the U.S. announced that it had reached a final deal with South Korea, which will receive a permanent exemption from the tariffs. It said that early agreements had been reached with Argentina, Australia and Brazil.
The Trump administration has said that some countries sell their steel and aluminum at unfairly low prices. And President Donald Trump has said this competition hurts U.S. industries that are important to national security.
The U.S. has placed a 25 percent tax on many steel imports and a 10 percent tax on aluminum as a result.
I’m Mario Ritter.
Lee, Schwartz, Hannas reported this story for VOA News. Mario Ritter adapted it for VOA Learning English. Hai Do was the editor.
_____________________________________________________________
Words in This Story
exemption –n. freedom from having to do what others are required to do
prolong –v. to cause something to continue for a longer time
uncertainty–n. the quality or state of being unsure
justified –adj. providing a good reason that something should be done or is right
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(2)Iran Bans Use of Telegram Messaging Service
FILE - Two men pose with smartphones in front of a screen showing the Telegram logos in this picture illustration taken Nov. 18, 2015.
Iran’s government has ordered internet service providers to block the messaging service Telegram.
Iranian state television said on Monday that the country’s judiciary approved the order in interests of national security. Iran has an estimated 40 million Telegram users – about half its population.
The Fars news agency said the blocking of Telegram should include a way to prevent users from accessing it with a virtual private network, or VPN, or any other software program. A VPN uses software to link to private computer networks outside the country to make it appear that the device or computer is based overseas.
Iran had been considering banning the service since January, when critics of the government’s economic policies demonstrated in many cities. Some Iranian officials accused the protesters of using Telegram to organize and briefly blocked the app.
The official website of Iran’s judiciary, Mizan, published details of the latest court order. It said the messaging service had been used to spread “propaganda against the establishment” and to organize “terrorist activities.”
At least 25 people were killed and more than 5,000 arrested during the demonstrations. The protests were eventually contained by Iranian military forces.
Iran blocks social media services like Facebook and Twitter, and limits information on other websites. The government says it blocks information it considers offensiveor criminal.
The order to block Telegram came nearly two weeks after Iranian President Hassan Rouhani banned government agencies from using the messaging service.
In a related development, thousands of people marched through Moscow on Monday to protest Russia’s blocking of Telegram. Some demonstrators denounced Russian President Vladimir Putin and the government. Many threw paper airplanes into the air. Telegram uses an image of a paper airplane as its trademark.
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny attended the protest. “Nothing can be forbidden to a normal person,” he told reporters. “I have my civic rights, and I don’t care about all these bans. I do everything I want, everything I find necessary, and everything I’m given the right to by the constitution.”
Russia began blocking Telegram two weeks ago after the company refused to obey an order to provide users’ encrypted messages to the government’s Federal Security Service (FSB).
Russian officials have said they need to read the messages to investigate the use of Telegram by violent extremist groups. But Telegram has repeatedly refused to surrender access to messages, arguing this would violate its users’ privacy.
A group of 26 international human rights and internet freedom organizations have signed a petition protesting Russia’s action. They say they see the restrictions as an attack by officials on internet freedom. They also note that the restrictions also affect other websites dealing with shopping, banking and travel.
I’m Bryan Lynn.
Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English. His story was based on information from VOANews.com, the Associated Press and Reuters. George Grow was the editor.
We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.
_____________________________________________________________
Words in This Story
access – v. to get near or gain use of something
network – n. system of computers connected together for the purpose of sharing information
offensive – adj. likely to make people angry or upset
trademark – n. the legal name of a company or product
forbidden – adj. not permitted
encrypted – adj. having electronic information changed into a secret system of letters, numbers or symbols to hide its meaning
shopping – n. the action of going to places where goods are sold
(3)Study Finds Africans Among Best Educated US Immigrants
U.S. flags hang outside a downtown building whose storefronts are made up of businesses started by African immigrants who have settled in Lewiston, Maine, March 17, 2017.
More than 2 million immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa live in the United States. A new study from the Pew Research Center finds that they are, on average, college-educated and employed. In fact, they are more likely than native-born Americans to have pursued advanced degrees. And they are employed at about the same rates as the general population.
The study is important for several reasons. First, it shows that most sub-Saharan Africans living in the U.S. do not fit a stereotype of a struggling, out-of-work person with little schooling.
The study also shows that the sub-Saharan African immigrant population is different in the U.S. than in Europe. For example, in the U.S. more than two out of three sub-Saharan African immigrants have at least some college education. In Britain, half do. In France, one in three do. And in Italy, only one in ten has had higher education.
In addition, sub-Saharan African immigrants in the U.S. are more likely than those in Europe to be working. The Pew study found that employment rates were about equal to the general population in each country. About 93 percent of sub-Saharan African immigrants in the U.S. are working, compared to 92 percent in Britain and 80 percent in Italy.
Monica Anderson is a researcher at Pew and one of the writers of the report. She told VOA that the research team wanted to compare the backgrounds of African immigrants in the U.S. to those in Europe.
“What we found is that the sub-Saharan African immigrant population [in the U.S.] really stands out, and that they are a very highly educated group,” Anderson said over the phone.
The Pew study is based on 2015 data from the U.S. Census Bureau and Eurostat’s Labor Force Survey.
Ease of reach
One reason for different backgrounds among sub-Saharan African immigrants isproximity, Anderson said – in other words, how close things are to each other. Europe is much easier to reach than the U.S. for low-income Africans. They can come by boat or other ways, whether or not the travel is safe. Hundreds of thousands have risked crossing the Mediterranean Sea to go to Italy or Greece.
In contrast, African immigrants coming to the U.S. often have the money to travel by plane, as well as permission to enter the country once they arrive.
They come to the U.S. for different reasons – to study, for employment opportunities, through family reunification programs. Some come to the U.S. as asylum seekers and refugees.
The State Department said that in 2015, Africans made up almost half of those invited to ask for immigrant visas through a lottery program.
And the Department of Homeland Security reported that in 2016, about one-third of refugees approved to enter the U.S. were from Africa.
Better off?
But previous research found that higher education and employment levels do not always mean a higher quality of life for African immigrants in the United States.
In 2015, researchers at Pew looked at black immigrants from Africa, the Caribbean, Central America and South America. Researchers found that that their medianhousehold income was more than $8,000 lower than the U.S. average.
They also owned homes at a rate less than the overall U.S. population, and were more likely to live below the poverty line.
The findings suggest that even though sub-Saharan African immigrants have high education and employment rates, they may not have all the opportunities other groups enjoy.
I'm Dorothy Gundy.
Salem Solomon reported this story for VOA. Xiaotong Zhou adapted it for Learning English. Kelly Jean Kelly was the editor.
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(2)Iran Bans Use of Telegram Messaging Service
FILE - Two men pose with smartphones in front of a screen showing the Telegram logos in this picture illustration taken Nov. 18, 2015.
Iran’s government has ordered internet service providers to block the messaging service Telegram.
Iranian state television said on Monday that the country’s judiciary approved the order in interests of national security. Iran has an estimated 40 million Telegram users – about half its population.
The Fars news agency said the blocking of Telegram should include a way to prevent users from accessing it with a virtual private network, or VPN, or any other software program. A VPN uses software to link to private computer networks outside the country to make it appear that the device or computer is based overseas.
Iran had been considering banning the service since January, when critics of the government’s economic policies demonstrated in many cities. Some Iranian officials accused the protesters of using Telegram to organize and briefly blocked the app.
The official website of Iran’s judiciary, Mizan, published details of the latest court order. It said the messaging service had been used to spread “propaganda against the establishment” and to organize “terrorist activities.”
At least 25 people were killed and more than 5,000 arrested during the demonstrations. The protests were eventually contained by Iranian military forces.
Iran blocks social media services like Facebook and Twitter, and limits information on other websites. The government says it blocks information it considers offensiveor criminal.
The order to block Telegram came nearly two weeks after Iranian President Hassan Rouhani banned government agencies from using the messaging service.
In a related development, thousands of people marched through Moscow on Monday to protest Russia’s blocking of Telegram. Some demonstrators denounced Russian President Vladimir Putin and the government. Many threw paper airplanes into the air. Telegram uses an image of a paper airplane as its trademark.
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny attended the protest. “Nothing can be forbidden to a normal person,” he told reporters. “I have my civic rights, and I don’t care about all these bans. I do everything I want, everything I find necessary, and everything I’m given the right to by the constitution.”
Russia began blocking Telegram two weeks ago after the company refused to obey an order to provide users’ encrypted messages to the government’s Federal Security Service (FSB).
Russian officials have said they need to read the messages to investigate the use of Telegram by violent extremist groups. But Telegram has repeatedly refused to surrender access to messages, arguing this would violate its users’ privacy.
A group of 26 international human rights and internet freedom organizations have signed a petition protesting Russia’s action. They say they see the restrictions as an attack by officials on internet freedom. They also note that the restrictions also affect other websites dealing with shopping, banking and travel.
I’m Bryan Lynn.
Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English. His story was based on information from VOANews.com, the Associated Press and Reuters. George Grow was the editor.
We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.
_____________________________________________________________
Words in This Story
access – v. to get near or gain use of something
network – n. system of computers connected together for the purpose of sharing information
offensive – adj. likely to make people angry or upset
trademark – n. the legal name of a company or product
forbidden – adj. not permitted
encrypted – adj. having electronic information changed into a secret system of letters, numbers or symbols to hide its meaning
shopping – n. the action of going to places where goods are sold