【300-304】Kansas Teenagers Out of Governor Race

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AS IT IS

Powerful Indonesian Earthquake Sends Vacationers Fleeing

August 08, 2018

Foreign tourists pull their suitcases as they walk past damaged buildings following a strong earthquake in Pemenang, North Lombok, Indonesia August 6, 2018 in this photo taken by Antara Foto. Antara Foto/Ahmad Subaidi/ via REUTERS

More than 130 people are now confirmed dead from a powerful earthquake that hit Central Indonesia on Sunday.

The numbers of dead and injured have risen since the 6.9 magnitude earthquake struck off the waters of Lombok Island. The quake also shook three small nearby islands called the Gilis, Bali, Sumbawa and parts of East Java.

Thousands of homes and other buildings were damaged. Indonesian officials say the quake displaced about 156,000 people on Lombok. They have been forced to stay in emergency shelters.

Empty stores, empty hotels

For years, Lombok has been a popular vacation getaway for Indonesians and foreigners alike. Days after the quake struck, the island’s coast looked unusually empty, with many stores and hotels closed.

Any hotels still open are refusing to accept new customers because of safety concerns. Eateries and underwater diving businesses have suspended operations on what is usually one of their busiest months of the year.

“It went from high season just a few days ago to absolutely nothing now,” says Howard Singleton. He owns a seaside restaurant in the west coast town of Senggigi. From his restaurant, customers can enjoy watching the sun setting behind a volcano on neighboring Bali.

Indonesian officials are still adding up earthquake losses. The National Disaster Mitigation Agency says the value of property destroyed and other damage could easily top $69 million.

Many vacationers fled Lombok after Sunday’s earthquake, which came a week after a 6.4 magnitude quake.

“We’ve had light earthquakes in the past, but never anything like this,” said Marcel De Rijk, owner of Puri Mas Resort. His seaside hotel and villa community will stay closed until September for repairs.

“I don’t think people will choose Lombok anymore this summer,” he said.

Cancellations of tour bookings for Lombok have increased, the Association of Indonesian Tours and Travel Agencies told Reuters.

Both experts and tourist businesses say the island’s economy will recover, but the next few months will be difficult.

Rescue team members prepare to find people trapped inside a mosque after an earthquake hit on Sunday in Pemenang, Lombok Island, Indonesia, August 8, 2018. REUTERS/Beawiharta

“Needs dollars now”

The quake could not have come at a worse time for Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who declared last month that Southeast Asia’s largest economy “needs dollars now.” He spoke at the start of a campaign aimed at strengthening the value of the rupiah, Indonesia’s money. The rupiah has lost about six percent against the United States dollar since the start of 2018.

Financial watchers say investors have been fleeing Indonesia and other emergingmarkets as U.S. interest rates rise and world trade tensions increase.

Widodo had ordered government ministers in July to find ways to build up Indonesia’s tourism industry, which is mostly underdeveloped.

Tourism was directly responsible for less than 2 percent of Indonesia’s economy in 2017. That is far less than Thailand and the Philippines, the World Travel and Tourism Council says.

Lombok is one of 10 areas that Indonesia hopes to develop. The ten are known as “the new Balis.”

Widodo has set a goal of raising tourism earnings to eight percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product. He also wants the number of foreigners visiting Indonesia to reach 20 million a year.

The disaster may be a blow to those targets, but officials say they are not worried.

Any effect on tourism from the earthquakes will be temporary and not affect the International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings on Bali in October, one official said.

Some Lombok business owners agree.

De Rijk pointed to the return of tourists after the 2002 bombings on Bali in which 202 people died.

“History shows that even after the worst scenarios...tourists will always come back. Lombok is such a beautiful place,” he said.

I’m Dorothy Gundy.

Foreign tourists sleep on the floor as they wait to depart from the Praya Lombok International Airport on the West Nusa Tenggara province on August 6, 2018.

Kanupriya Kapoor and Bernadette Christine Munthe reported this story for the Reuters news agency. George Grow adapted their report for VOA Learning English. His report includes information from VOANews.com. Hai Do was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.

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Words in This Story

magnitude – n. the intensity of an earthquake, as represented by a number

customer – n. a buyer; someone who purchases a good or service

villa – n. a small house where one can live when on vacation

tour – adj. of or involving travel

emerging markets – n. a term used to describe the economies of developing countries

Gross Domestic Product – n. the value of goods produced and services provided in a country during a year

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AS IT IS

Kansas Teenagers Out of Governor Race

August 08, 2018

FILE - Candidate for Kansas governor Tyler Ruzich, second from right, 17, of Prairie Village, Kansas, talks to students during a forum at Free State High School in Lawrence, Kan., Oct. 19, 2017.

The American state of Kansas held its primary election on Tuesday. Results from primaries determine which candidates will represent political parties in the general election in November.

Tyler Ruzich was one of the candidates for Kansas governor. He hoped to become the Republican Party’s nominee.

On Tuesday afternoon, he and his running mate went to their local voting station. Later, he held a watch party for friends and supporters.

-v1-

But Ruzich did not get to vote for himself -- or for anyone else. At just 17 years of age, he is still too young.

The minimum voting age in the United States is 18.

“You don’t have to vote to be a voter,” Ruzich told some of his friends at his election watch party. “Being here means you’re a voter...and that you’re standing by someone you support.”

Ruzich was not the only candidate too young to vote in the primary election. Seventeen-year-old Jack Bergeson ran as a candidate for the Democratic Party’s nomination. And Joseph Tutera, also 17, hoped to represent the Republican Party in November.

In total, six Kansas teenagers had declared their candidacy for governor. They did so after discovering last year that the Kansas constitution does not have a minimum age requirement to run for office.

Kansas has since passed a law requiring future candidates to be at least 18 years of age.

The teenage gubernatorial candidates gained national media attention. They also helped bring attention to voting issues in their state. The nonprofit organization Rock the Vote considers Kansas to be a “blocker” state. That means there are many barriers to voter registration.

None of the teenage candidates won their primary races on Tuesday. But they believe they inspired more young people to take part in elections and vote.

Joseph Tutera said the state saw a higher turnout than usual for primary elections.

“We’re actually having something like the highest voter turnout in 14 years for the primary and I’d like to think that’s because of me,” Tutera told VOA.

Jack Bergeson (right) and his running mate Alexander Cline.

Jack Bergeson conceded the Democratic primary race Tuesday night. He said even though he did not win, he met many of his goals.

“I was able to stand on a stage and debate a lot of the big names in the state and I was really able to show that there is a difference between the establishment and uncorrupted candidates,” Bergeson told VOA.

I'm Ashley Thompson.

Esha Sarai wrote this report for VOA News. Ashley Thompson adapted it for Learning English. Hai Do was the editor.

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Words in This Story

running mate - n. the person who runs with someone in an election (such as an election to choose a new president) and who is given the less important position (such as vice president) if they are elected

minimum - adj. the lowest number or amount that is possible or permitted

gubernatorial - adj. of or relating to the governor of a U.S. state or to the position of governor

concede - v. to admit that you have been defeated and stop trying to win

stage - n. a raised platform in a theater, auditorium, etc., where the performers stand

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Report: Russia Set Up Secret Oil Shipments to North Korea

August 08, 2018

FILE - A worker checks the valve of an oil pipe at an oil field owned by Russian state-owned oil producer Bashneft near the village of Nikolo-Berezovka, northwest of Ufa, Bashkortostan, Russia, Jan. 28, 2015. (REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin/File Photo)

A South Korean research group says Russia exported more oil to North Korea than previously reported.

A new report by the Seoul-based Asan Institute for Policy Studies suggests Russia set up a secret trading system to get around United Nations economic sanctions on North Korea.

The report centers on the activities of Russia’s Independent Petroleum Company (IPC). IPC was targeted by the U.S. Treasury Department in June 2017 for violating restrictions on oil exports to North Korea.

IPC was found to have sold large amounts of oil to Russian-linked companies, the report says. Some of the companies were used to cover up the oil exports to North Korea by falsifying information about which countries the supplies were shipped to.

The report says one North Korean state company was found to have bought nearly 623,000 tons of Russian oil worth $238 million between 2015 and 2017. The Asan group said it discovered the information in Russian customs documents.

But the Korea International Trade Association in Seoul had reported only about $25 million in Russian oil sales between 2015 and 2017.

In this file photo, piles of coal are seen in the Astafyev Cape area of the far eastern port of Nakhodka, Russia Sept. 5, 2017.

The report says the U.S. State Department estimates North Korea has been importing around 4 million barrels of crude oil and 4.5 million barrels of processed oil each year. And China is North Korea’s main oil supplier.

Go Myong-Hyun is a North Korea expert with Asan. He says smuggling has always been an important part of cross-border trading between North Korea and its close allies. He said, “What the Chinese government - and the Russian government to a lesser extent - have been doing, is to turn a blind eye to these activities."

More violations of international sanctions

The information from Asan came after a report in the Wall Street Journal accused Russia of possibly violating international sanctions another way. That report said Russia issued work permits to more than 10,000 North Korean laborers since September to work in Russia.

U.N. sanctions put in place in September of 2017 ban member countries from “providing work authorization” permits to North Korean workers.

Russian officials denied the newspaper report. Last week, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley said she found the story “credible.” She said “reports of Russia violating U.N. Security Council resolutions on North Korean laborers working abroad are deeply troubling.”

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley attends the United Nations Security Council session on imposing new sanctions on North Korea, in New York, U.S., Dec. 22, 2017

In December of 2017, the U.N. Security Council strengthened the sanctions. They cut North Korean oil imports by about one third, while placing a total export ban on coal and other mineral industries. The sanctions also affected $800 million in North Korean clothing manufacturing, as well as the country’s seafood industry.

There are signs the international sanctions have severely harmed North Korea’s economy over the past year. The Bank of Korea has estimated the sanctions banned about 90 percent of the country’s trade.

The restrictions aim to pressure North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons and missile programs. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un promised to work toward denuclearization during his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in Singapore in June.

I’m Jonathan Evans.

Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from Asan, Reuters and VOA News. Hai Do was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.

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Words in This Story

sanction – n. an order given to limit or stop trade under international law

barrel – n. large container used as a form of measurement

crude – adj. unprocessed; untreated

smuggling – n. to take something into or out of a place in an illegal or secret way

authorization – n. official permission for something

credible – adj. able to be trusted or believed

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AS IT IS

Candidate Likely to Become First Muslim Female in US Congress

August 08, 2018

Rashida Tlaib is one step closer to becoming the first Muslim female member of the United States Congress.

With almost all ballots counted, Tlaib led all candidates for the Democratic Party’s nomination in Michigan’s 13^th Congressional District. Tuesday’s primary election decides who will be on the ballot in November’s general election.

However, since there is no Republican or other candidates, Tlaib will be unopposed in November.

Ahlam Jbara lives in Chicago, six hours away by car from the Michigan congressional district in the city of Detroit. But she thought the Tlaib campaign was so important that she traveled all that way to be part of it. She said she identified closely with the candidate.

“As a Muslim American, as an Arab American, as a Palestinian American…I’m her, she’s me.”

Across the country, about 90 Muslim Americans are on ballots for elected office during this year’s elections. Many are running as Democrats hoping to become part of a so called “blue wave” for the party seeking to gain control of Congress.

Rashida Tlaib at her campaign headquarters in Detroit on August 7, 2018.

Tlaib is among 13 Muslim candidates running for office in Michigan. The Detroit Free Press newspaper notes that, of the candidates seeking election in Michigan’s primary elections, 24 are immigrants or children of immigrants. Tlaib is among them.

She has gained attention around the country, especially from Muslim American women who see her candidacy as a door opening.

“She’s turning out first time voters, not just youth, but others who are the first time voters who’ve been American citizens for a long time, even those who are born here but have never voted before because they didn’t have faith in their government.”

Jbara said Tlaib made a big effort to meet voters going door to door.

Tlaib said she was not well recognized by voters when she started. But, she said her campaign knocked on more than 50,000 doors.

The race was close until the end. Early Wednesday morning, Tlaib heard the news that she had received more votes than Detroit City Council President Brenda Jones. She then thanked everyone who had helped her and also her family.

“I want to thank my Mom, who is from a small village in the West Bank…” she said.

A former Michigan state lawmaker, Tlaib is expected to take the seat in the House of Representatives once held by John Conyers. The long-time lawmaker stepped down in December for health reasons as he faced accusations of sexual wrongdoing.

Tlaib is not the only Muslim American woman running who could serve in Congress. Somali American lawmaker Ilhan Omar is running in a primary election in Minnesota on August 14. She could join Tlaib in the next Congress.

I’m Mario Ritter.

Kane Farabaugh reported this story for VOA News. Mario Ritter adapted it for VOA Learning English with additional material from AP. Kelly Jean Kelly was the editor.

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Words in This Story

knock on –v. to hit (a door) in a forceful way, to gain attention

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.

*【304】AS IT IS

California May Face Worst Fire Season

August 08, 2018

Firefighters monitor a backfire while battling the Ranch Fire, part of the Mendocino Complex Fire, on Aug. 7, 2018, near Ladoga, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

The largest wildfire in California history took just 11 days to burn an area nearly the size of Los Angeles.

The fire is just one of several that could make this the worst fire season in American history.

Mark Hartwig is president of the California Fire Chiefs Association. He told the Associated Press that, “For whatever reason, fires are burning much more intensely, much more quickly than they were before.”

About 14,000 firefighters are working to contain the state’s 18 fires in the middle of an unusually hot, often windy summer. The firefighters come from communities across the United States and even as far away as New Zealand.

Some of the largest fires have started within the past few weeks as California has record setting temperatures. Historically, the worst months of wildfire season are still to come.

Last month, California’s Death Valley set a world record for the hottest month ever. The average temperature in July was 42.28 degrees Celsius. That is higher than the earlier world record, set last year, also in Death Valley.

California Governor Jerry Brown spoke about climate change last week. He said, “Since civilization emerged 10,000 years ago, we haven’t had this kind of heat condition, and it’s going to continue getting worse. That’s the way it is."

A firefighter works on an active fire on a hillside outside the village of Monchique, in southern Portugal's Algarve region, Monday, Aug. 6, 2018.

Wildfires in Europe

On the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, another major wildfire is burning in the Algarve area of Southern Portugal.

The Portuguese Civil Protection Agency said almost 1,300 firefighters were sent to the fire since it started last week. Last year, 109 people died as a result of the wildfires across Portugal.

Prime Minister Antonio Costa said that strong winds have slowed efforts to control the fire. But the hot weather that has covered much of Europe for weeks is starting to cool down. Weather experts said they expected a high temperature of 31 degrees Celsius for the Algarve on Wednesday.

I'm Anna Matteo.

The Associated Press reported this story. Hai Do adapted the AP report for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.

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