【876-879】美参议院否决特朗普急令&维也纳又是最宜居城市&埃塞俄比亚航空飞行记录器送法国检查&马来西亚就金案继诉越南女
FILE - A Border Patrol agent walks towards prototypes for a border wall in San Diego, California, Feb. 5, 2019.
Twelve Republican senators on Thursday joined Democrats to vote against American President Donald Trump’s declaration of a national emergency.
The vote for the resolution to end the border emergency passed in the U.S. House of Representatives last month.
The 59-41 Senate vote, however, is short of the two-thirds majority that will be needed to overturn Trump’s veto.
Minutes after the Senate vote, Trump wrote on Twitter, “VETO!”
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The 1976 National Emergencies Act gives presidents special powers to declare an emergency during a crisis. Congress can end a state of emergency with a joint resolution. If the president vetoes the resolution, Congress would need two-thirds of lawmakers to vote to end the declaration.
Thursday’s vote marked the first time that Congress has rejected a presidential emergency under the act.
The vote was also one of the few times that the Republican-controlled Senate has voted against Trump’s position. But it is the second time this week; on Wednesday, the Senate voted to end U.S. support of the Saudi-led coalition’s war in Yemen.
Trump declared a national emergency last month to get the money needed to build a wall along the nation’s border with Mexico. Trump had demanded $5.7 billion to build the wall. But Congress, which is powered with making spending decisions, only provided $1.4 billion for barriers.
Republican Senators Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Rand Paul of Kentucky had already announced their opposition to Trump’s emergency declaration. On Thursday, Senators Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and Mitt Romney of Utah joined them.
Senator Alexander said Trump’s action was “inconsistent with the U.S. Constitution that I took an oath to support.” He added that Congress has the power to control spending.
Senator Romney was the Republican Party’s 2012 presidential nominee. He said in a statement that Trump’s declaration is “an invitation to further expansion and abuse by future presidents.”
Democrats have long said there is no emergency at the border. They say Trump issued his declaration only to secure his campaign promise to “Build the Wall.”
After the president’s veto, the strongest chance of blocking Trump’s emergency order is likely to be through legal action taken by Democratic state attorneys general, environmental groups and others.
Hai Do wrote this story for Learning English with additional reports from the Associated Press. Ashley Thompson was the editor.
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Words in This Story
inconsistent - adj. not in agreement with something
oath - n. a formal and serious promise to do something
AS IT IS
Vienna Is the Most Livable City, Again
March 14, 2019
The city of Vienna is seen during a sunny day from mount Kahlenberg, Austria March 12, 2019. Picture taken March 12, 2019.
The Austrian capital, Vienna, is known for its museums, palaces and ease of living. The city of 2 million people was recently identified as having the world's highest quality of life for the tenth year in a row. That opinion comes from Mercer, a consulting agency that does a yearly Quality of Living Ranking.
Measuring quality of life is not a simple job. In a statement, Mercer said the agency looks at many factors. For example, researchers measure how easily people can use public transport, such as buses and trains. They ask whether drivers can move well on the roads. They ask if houses and apartments are available at a good price, and whether children can go to international schools. They think about whether people in the city can enjoy music, theater, restaurants and sports. And, they look for a healthy political and social climate.
In total, the agency considered 39 factors in 10 areas to name Vienna the winner. Vienna has also been ranked number one on other quality of life measurements, such as the Economist's Global Liveability Index.
Also ran
Other top cities on Mercer's list included Zurich, Auckland, Munich and Vancouver.
The 10 cities at the bottom of Mercer’s list did not change from the previous year. Baghdad ranked last, followed by Bangui in the Central African Republic and Sanaa, Yemen's capital.
American cities did not do very well on quality of life rankings this year.
"All US cities covered in the analysis fell in the rankings this year, with Washington DC (53) the biggest faller," noted Mercer's statement.
I'm John Russell.
Francois Murphy reported on this story for Reuters. John Russell adapted it for Learning English. Kelly Jean Kelly was the editor.
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Words in This Story
ranking – n. a list of people or things that are ordered according to their quality, ability, size, etc.
factor – n. something that helps produce or influence a result : one of the things that cause something to happen
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AS IT IS
Malaysia Continues Case Against Vietnamese Woman in Kim Killing
March 14, 2019
Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong, center, is escorted by police as she leaves Shah Alam High Court in Shah Alam, Malaysia, March 14, 2019. (AP Photo)
Malaysia's attorney-general ordered the continuation of the murder case against a Vietnamese woman accused of killing the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Government lawyers announced the decision in court Thursday.
Prosecutor Iskandar Ahmad did not explain the decision to continue the trial of Doan Thi Huong. She is now the only person on trial for the murder, following the decision earlier this week to drop charges against an Indonesian woman, Siti Aisyah.
Huong’s lawyer and Vietnam's ambassador to Malaysia both criticized the decision. They had hoped the charges would also be dropped for Huong.
Ambassador Le Quy Quynh said he was "very disappointed" with the decision. He said Vietnam's justice minister had written to Malaysia’s chief attorney asking for Huong’s release. He added that Vietnam would continue to ask for her release.
Huong's lawyer, Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, told the court that the decision was "perverse." He said government lawyers were being unfair to Huong, because her case was similar to Aisyah’s situation.
Teh said, "Very obviously, there is discrimination.”
Both Huong and Aisyah were accused of putting a poisonous nerve agent on Kim Jong Nam's face at the Kuala Lumpur airport on February 13, 2017.
Both women have said they thought they were taking part in a prank for a television show. They were the only people arrested for the crime, after four North Korean suspects fled the country the same morning Kim was killed.
Both women were charged separately, but the charge against them is the same -- that they worked with the four North Korean suspects to murder Kim.
Last August, a High Court judge found there was enough evidence to show that Aisyah, Huong and the four North Koreans had worked together on a plan to kill Kim.
Lawyers for both women argued that they were pawns in a political assassination with clear links to the North Korean Embassy in Kuala Lumpur. They also said that government lawyers failed to prove that the women had aimed to kill Kim. Under Malaysian law, intent to kill is critical to a murder charge.
Huong's lawyer had sought a delay for the trial Thursday. Teh said Huong was unwell and needed medical treatment. He said Huong only slept one hour each night since Aisyah's release. He added she was not in a position to answer questions from both sides.
When the judge asked Huong if she was unwell, Huong said she was suffering from tension and stress.
"I have no idea what is going on," Huong said in the courtroom Thursday.
The judge agreed to delay the trial until April 1, but warned there should not be any more delays after that. The defense part of the trial was to have started Monday.
Huong cried as she spoke to Vietnamese Embassy officials after Thursday's court hearing ended.
In Huong's village in Vietnam, her family was extremely sad and disappointed.
"I had hoped for good news today, but…there is none…I had hoped my daughter would be freed like the Indonesian woman," said her father, Doan Van Thanh.
Huong could face a death sentence if she is found guilty of the charges.
Another lawyer for Huong urged Malaysia’s attorney-general to explain why he dropped the case against Aisyah but not Huong.
During the prosecution part of the trial, expert witnesses said that poisoning caused Kim's death. The nerve agent was found on his face, in his eyes and on his clothes. It was also found on the women’s clothes.
Experts have said the case against Aisyah appeared weaker since there was no video evidence of her with Kim at the airport. There was security camera video of Huong with Kim.
Prosecutors have said the women were trained killers who knew they were holding poison. They said the women held their hands away from their bodies and went to separate restrooms to wash their hands afterwards.
The defense part of the trial is expected to discuss the role of the four North Koreans, who fled the country and are believed to now be home in Pyongyang.
I'm Susan Shand.
The Associated Press reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for VOA Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor.
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Words in This Story
prosecutor – n. a lawyer who represents the side in a court case that accuses a person of a crime and who tries to prove that the person is guilty
perverse – adj. wrong or different in a way that others feel is strange or offensive
prank – n. a trick that is done to someone usually as a joke
pawn – n. a person or group that does not have much power and that is controlled by a more powerful person or group
stress – n. something that causes strong feelings of worry or anxiety
disappointed - adj. feeling sad, unhappy, or displeased because something was not as good as expected or because something you hoped for or expected did not happen
AS IT IS
Ethiopian Airlines Flight Recorders Sent to France for Examination
March 14, 2019
Ethiopian relatives of crash victims mourn at the scene where the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 crashed shortly after takeoff Sunday, killing all 157 on board, near Bishoftu, south-east of Addis Ababa, in Ethiopia Thursday, March 14, 2019. (AP Photo)
The flight recorders from an Ethiopian Airlines plane that crashed Sunday have arrived in France to be studied.
The aircraft, a Boeing 737 Max 8, went down six minutes after leaving Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa. All 157 people on the plane were killed. The crash has led more than 40 countries to ground 737 Max 8 planes or refuse to let the aircraft fly into their airspace.
Another 737 Max 8 crashed similarly in Indonesia last October. The Lion Air plane went down 13 minutes after takeoff from Jakarta, killing 189 people.
Some countries began grounding Boeing’s 737 Max 8 hours after the Ethiopian Airlines crash. The United States Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, did so Wednesday. Officials said they had discovered new satellite information and evidence showing that movements of the Ethiopian Airlines plane were very similar to the Lion Air aircraft that crashed.
Officials at Lion Air have said sensors on the 737 Max 8 had been producing false information on flights that took place before the crash. The sensor issue caused the plane to go into a downward position, the officials said.
Ethiopian Airlines CEO Tewolde Gebremariam said its pilots had received special training on how to deal with the sensor problem. “After the Lion Air crash, questions were raised, so Boeing sent further instructions that it said pilots should know,” he said.
Boeing said it supported the FAA’s decision to ground 737 Max 8 planes, even though it continues to have what it called “full confidence” in the safety of the model.
Ethiopia is leading the investigation of Sunday’s crash. But France’s air accident investigation group, the BEA, will examine the plane’s flight information recorders, or black boxes. The BEA has a lot of experience with international air crashes, and is often sought in Airbus plane crashes because Airbus is based in France.
A BEA spokesman told Reuters he did not know what condition the black boxes were in. “First we will try to read the data,” he said. He added that the examination could take several days.
The victims in Sunday’s crash came from 35 counties.
On Thursday, about 200 angry family members walked out of a briefing by officials from Ethiopian Airlines. They said the airline was not providing enough information. Officials said a call center had been operating 18 hours a day to serve the families’ needs.
Some family members who lost loved ones decided to go to the crash site themselves.
I’m Bryan Lynn.
Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from the Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse. Caty Weaver 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
instruction – n. direction or order
confidence – n. feeling or belief that you can do something well or succeed at something
data – n. information or facts