Wednesday, August 31, 2016

PKG: Trump heads to Mexico amid confusion over his immigration policy


Now to the United States….or, to be more accurate, to Mexico.


Because Donald Trump is heading to Mexico City for a hastily-arranged meeting with President Enrique Pena Nieto.


The meeting will take place just hours before Mr. Trump is due to make what his campaign says will be a major speech on immigration.


The Republican Presidential candidate is under pressure to clarify his views on the issue, after he seemed to dilute some of his policy proposals over the past week.


Our Washington Correspondent Simon Marks reports.


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It is one of the iconic images of the US Presidential election campaign so far.

A photograph, Tweeted by Donald Trump on May the 5th this year….Cinco de Mayo, a major holiday for Mexicans in the United States.

In the picture, Mr. Trump can be seen tucking in to a lunchtime Taco Bowl at Trump Tower in New York.

The caption reads:  "I love Hispanics!"

Widely derided since then, the image was seen to be widely at odds with a Presidential candidate who has described Mexican immigrants as "criminals, murderers and rapists"….people he plans literally to wall out of America.


AXX


"Build the wall" has become a chant that accompanies Donald Trump at every campaign rally.

But now, he'll fly over the Mexican border…land in Mexico City…and meet President Enrique Pena-Nieto at his office, Los Pinos.

Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway claimed in an interview on NBC that it's a bold move.


AXX


And Donald Trump's running mate Mike Pence went further….telling Fox News this is just the start of a series of ongoing conversations between the Trump campaign and the Mexican government.


AXX


The Mexican President is under enormous pressure to put a substantial flea in Donald Trump's ear…if not to send him packing.

Mexicans have been taking to social media in large numbers to insist the Republican candidate is not welcome in their country…not now….not ever.


AXX


But Donald Trump's decision to head south comes at a time when there are enormous questions about just how tough his immigration policy will be.

Time and again he's spoken on the campaign trail of building walls, deporting immigrants, even breaking families apart.

But over the last week he's wobbled on that message….under pressure from Republicans like Wisconsin Congressman Sean Duffy.

In his battleground state, he doesn't think a policy of deporting 11 million people is a viable political proposal.


AXX


So when he flies back from Mexico, Donald Trump will head straight to Arizona for a speech his campaign aides say will dispel any doubts about where he stands.

He's got quite a task ahead of him.

Disappointed conservatives are already calling him "Amnesty Don"…a reference to their fear that, like President Obama, he might be planning to grant amnesty to some immigrants who have lived illegally in the US for years.

The Trump campaign says that's not the plan….but Mr. Trump himself has been so inconsistent on the issue, he's got a raft of confusion to try and clear up on a day that will see appearances on both sides of America's border with Mexico.


SOC


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Refugees welcome in German fire departments

More than a million refugees arrived in Germany last year, fleeing war and persecution in their home countries.

One place they're finding jobs is at the country's many volunteer fire departments, which have struggled in recent years to find new recruits.

Ira Spitzer reports.

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VO#1 - Refugee Carine Tcholita from Cameroon is making sure that her fire truck is in good working order. It's part of her training as a volunteer firefighter, a job she signed up for not long after arriving in Germany a year ago. She says has it has helped smooth the transition to life in the small town of Fuerstenwalde, near the Polish border.

SOT, Carine Stephanie Tcholita, Refugee Firefighter
"Color is not a problem here. Nationality is not a problem here. We are together. The same person, family here."

VO#2 - But getting a job hasn't just been positive for her.Volunteering to work in fire departments is a long-standing tradition for Germans. But in recent years, those departments have struggled with declining numbers. Fuerstenwalde's fire chief Joern Mueller explains.

SOT Joern Mueller, Fire Chief, Fuerstenwalde
"We've been trying for several years to increase the number of recruits for the volunteer fire department. We don't think of them as refugees, we think of them as people. It doesn't matter what nationality they are."

VO#3 - It's estimated that around fifty volunteer fire departments nationwide now include refugees. Integration remains a a controversial issue in this country though. According to a recent poll, just over half of Germans don't believe that refugees will be able to successfully integrate. Felix Krautkraemer of the right wing newspaper Junge Freiheit is one of those who questions Germany's refugee polices.

SOT, Felix Krautkraemer, Online Editor, Junge Freiheit
"The asylum laws are that you give someone protection and asylum while someone is persecuted in their home country. But when the conflict in their country is over, these people should return/So to really integrate them, you have to ask how necessary that is."

VO#5 - Carine's not quite ready to be deployed yet, but says it's not the dangerous work that's holding her back. Her biggest challenge right now is improving her German. But she hopes to be putting out real fires soon, in the country she now calls home. Ira Spitzer, Fuerstenwalde Germany

//ENDS
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Tuesday, August 30, 2016

UN Refugee Agency Chief Grandi calls for Urgency in South Sudan Refugee Crisis.

intro

The United Nations High Commissioner for refugees Filippo Grandi says he's concerned the South Sudan refugee crisis is receiving little attention from international funders.

The UNHCR chief  is in Uganda to better understand the South Sudan refugee problem .

ISABEL NAKIRYA REPORTS FROM KAMPALA.

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SCRIPT

VO 1 Filippo Grandi visiting refugee camps in Northern Uganda before meeting government officials.

VO 2 The UN refugee agency chief says the condition of refugees in the camps is worrying and more life saving assistance should be given.

VO 3 But funding for this refugee crisis has proven harder to find than for others unfolding elsewhere in the world, says grandi.

SOT 1: Filippo Grandi - UNHCR CHIEF
"It's unacceptable that the UN refugee appeal for south sudan refugee appeal regionally is funded to the tune of 25% when all the attention is put on other refugee influxes. I am not saying other influxes should not receive attention, i am saying this one should receive equal."


VO 4 Since fighting broke out in July, over 90,000 South Sudan refugees have crossed into Uganda according to UNHCR.

VO 5 Uganda's primier  Ruhakana Rugunda warns that more people will continue to flee their homes and calls for more support for the peace process

SOT 2 : Ruhakana Rugunda, Uganda Prime Minister
"What people want is peace, we should endeavor regionally, internationally, bilaterally to work for peace in the countries concerned"


VO 6 According to UNCHR, Uganda is the 3rd largest refugee hosting country in Africa.
Most refugees come from South Sudan, Dr Congo and Burundi

ENDS.
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Germany mulls partial burqa ban

The debate over a so-called partial 'burqa ban' in Germany is intensifying after several ministers recently proposed that people should not be allowed to cover their faces in places like courtrooms or schools. 

Opponents see the proposed ban as a step backward in the government's attempts to integrate society.

Ira Spitzer reports from Berlin.

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VO#1 - Few items of clothing have been as controversial as THIS. Women covering their faces for religious reasons has been at the centre of an ongoing debate in Europe. Now the question has come to is being asked in Germany, as part of security proposals following several attacks this summer. 

SOT, Safter Cinar, Turkish Union of Berlin-Brandenburg 
"This is all a very senseless discussion. In France, there's been a burka debate for five years and that's where the recent worst terror attacks in Europe have taken place. This doesn't have anything to do with security."

VO#2 Thats Safter Cinar, of the Turkish Union of Berlin-Brandenburg. While there are no exact statistics, full-face coverings are estimated to be worn by around just a few hundred women in Germany, a tiny fraction of the more than four million Muslims living here. Still, proponents of the partial ban argue that a face veil is demeaning to women, hinders integration and should be banned in places where coexistence is necessary, such as schools. Cinar and others say a ban sends the wrong message though, especially to Muslim refugees who may feel like it is an attack on their religion.

SOT, Safter Cinar, Turkish Union of Berlin-Brandenburg 
"It definitely doesn't encourage people here to feel included and as a part of this society. It does real damage in that way."
   
VO#4 If a partial ban were approved, Germany would join France, Belgium and the Netherlands who have passed similar laws in recent years. Some influential German politicians have strongly criticised the proposal though and it's unclear how much broader support there is. Gero Neugebauer is a political scientist.

SOT, Gero Neugebauer, Political Scientist
"You have to make compromises and these compromises mean that some rules will be diminished and some won't make it at all, In any case it won't be fast process."

VO#5 With two state elections coming next month, and federal ones next year, whether to ban the burqa, is now a key election issue. Ira Spitzer, Berlin.

//ENDS
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Monday, August 29, 2016

Gene Wilder obituary

US actor Gene Wilder has died at the age of 83, his family confirmed.

The comic actor was best known for his role in Willy Wonker & the Chocolate Factory. He also starred in films such as Blazing Saddles, The Producers and Young Frankenstein.

Our North America Correspondent Harry Horton looks back at his life.

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Friday, August 26, 2016

Clinton attacks Trump's embrace of 'radical fringe'

Hillary Clinton says a "radical fringe" is taking over the Republican party under Donald Trump.

In a blistering attack, Mrs. Clinton connected Mr. Trump to white nationalists and hate groups.

Meanwhile, the Republican nominee called his rival a "bigot".

From Washington, Harry Horton has more details...


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Thursday, August 25, 2016

25th August: 100 years of America's National Parks

The National Park Service is celebrating 100 years of protecting America's history and natural wonders for all to enjoy.

The National Park Service runs and protects everything from the grounds of the White House to Yosemite and Yellowstone.

Our U.S. correspondent Priscilla Huff participated in one of the more unusual and modern celebrations.

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TAKE SOUND IN

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY NATIONAL PARK SERVICE!!!"

TRACK
These fourth graders from Randle Highlands Elementary school in Southeast Washington  are some of the folks excited to celebrate 100 years of the National Park Service.
And as part of the celebrations, they can do something special.
Mike Litterst is a spokesman for the National Park Service,

TAKE MIKE
"We are attempting to create the world's largest living national park service arrowhead. The arrowhead is the distinctive logo of the National Park Service, so we've got 1,000 of our closest friends, we're passing out colored umbrellas, and we're going to arrange them on the grounds of the Washington monument.

TRACK
And take lots of pictures
Those pictures  - and those taken by famed naturalist  photographer Ansel Adams helped fuel a 
 a vision first set forth first 100 years ago by President Theodore Roosevelt
Who said
The nation behaves well if it treats the natural resources as assets which it must turn over to the next generation increased and not impaired in value. Conservation means development as much as it does protection."

It's a message repeated by U.S President Barack Obama today

TAKE OBAMA
"As we look ahead, the threat of climate change means that protecting our public lands and waters is more important than ever.  Rising temperatures could mean no more glaciers in Glacier National Park.  No more Joshua Trees in Joshua Tree National Park.  Rising seas could destroy vital ecosystems in the Everglades, even threaten Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty." 

TRACK
The newest park is in Maine,
 the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument 
more  87,00 acres, including the East Branch of the Penobscot River 
Visitors will be able to sail, hike, fish, and even snowshoe.
Pat Hierl can't wait to travel to this newest park
she's part of a group that makes it a mission to visit ALL of the national parks and monuments. 

TAKE PAT
"Now we have to  plan trips to Maine!"

TRACK
43 members of National Park Travelers Club have made it to platinum level - visiting all of the parks and getting inked stamps in their national park service passport books to prove it

TAKE PAT
"Cuz the national parks have all the best stuff. I started at Rocky Mountain, when I first started getting vacations, when I got a real job. And i quickly discovered that the National Park Service has really interesting places, place to go and things to do, as opposed to shopping or..."

TRACK
Some national parks are big - such as  the Grand Canyon
Some national parks are small - such as the Civil War Nurses memorial - just outside my office building. It's a sculpture with a small flower bed.
Some National parks everyone wants to visit - such as Lafayette Park - where all tourists stop to take photos of the White House.
Some have hardly any visitors - such as the dry Tortugas off Florida, where my colleague Rebecca just visited.
There's something for everyone, says Glorious Broughton -
Her exercise class meets on the National Mall.

TAKE GLORIOUS BROUGHTON
"You can take in a lot of the sights, like the Washington monument. There are so many things that you can see while you are exercising so  it fits in quite nicely, I think."

TRACK
And those very excited fourth graders?
If they go to every kid in a park dot OH-R-GEE - they can get a free pass to visit any national park during the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service.
Priscilla Huff, Washington.

***ENDS***
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Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Donald Trump Mute On Africa Policy

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has called for an "America First" approach to US foreign policy, which includes a suggestion to ban certain immigrant groups from entering the country. But even with the US election months away, Mr. Trump has remained tight lipped about how he plans to maintain strong ties with international allies including Africa. Patrice Howard reports from Los Angeles.

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Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Can Trump's message on trade and steel win him Pennsylvania?

In the lead up to US presidential election, the Republican nominee Donald Trump is promising voters in Pennsylvania he'll rip up trade deals and bring jobs back to America.

The state was once at the heart of manufacturing in the United States. But the decline of the coal and steel industries has made Trump's message quite appealing to some voters in the area.

Our reporter Harry Horton visited Pennsylvania to find out more.

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Monday, August 22, 2016

Olympics draw to a close in Rio

After 17 days of competition, the closing ceremony at the Rio Olympics thas taken place. The games have seen some incredible sporting accomplishments, but also plenty of controversy. From Rio, John Bevir (BEAVER) reports

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Friday, August 19, 2016

Artwork documents AIDS epidemic

How do you represent the worst disease of our time through art? That's the central question of a first-of-a-kind exhibition in New York looking at the AIDS epidemic.

Expressing rage and anguish but also hope, the exhibition aims to raise awareness of a disease greatly changed but still present in today's society.

Nick Harper reports from New York.

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TAKE VO
125 pieces of art spanning 35 years. The length of the AIDS epidemic.
This is the work of rage, anguish and loss.
Often created by artists who are HIV positive, or who went on to die as a result of AIDS.
TAKE VO
Born in 1986 Pacifico Silano is one of the youngest artists here. He was inspired by his uncle who died of AIDS in 1989.

TAKE SOT - Pacifico Silano, Artist
"After he passed away it was as if he had never existed in my family. And I was left with these lingering questions of who was my uncle, why was he forgotten and what did I have in common with him. So he really was the entry point for me to find a way to find this neglected forgotten history."

TAKE VO
His work, 'Pages of a Bluebook Magazine' shows just the faces of 100 male models from a pornographic magazine. Staring out, they challenge the viewer to remember them.

TAKE VO
Indeed, so much of the exhibition documents that sense of loss.
Like this workout bench covering from a San Francisco gay gym. A Turin shroud for the AIDS generation.
TAKE VO
Other works turn the artist into the subject, to show the full impact of AIDS. As the curator of the Bronx Museum Sergio Bessa explains.

TAKE SOT - Sergio Bessa, Curator, Bronx Museum
"He was a very very promising photographer back then. And these are probably some of the last photographs that he did of himself and it's documenting himself in the hospital."

TAKE VO
Much has changed in the years since the disease was first discovered. Drugs have improved, life expectancies increased. And subsequently, people have forgotten.

TAKE SOT - Sergio Bessa, Curator, Bronx Museum
"Anyone who was around in the 80s and remembers how scary and hopeless so many people felt in the early days of the epidemic, compared to now you can maybe see that young people don't really have a measure of how impactful that was."

TAKE VO
The subject of stigma is also covered. Like with this textbook dispelling popular myths about transmission. A reminder that this virus was once scarily misunderstood.
TAKE VO 
With over 125 works of art this exhibition provides a huge array of artistic responses to the AIDS epidemic. In many of the works of arts you can see the artists grappling with the disease, often within their own lives. It's hoped therefore that people who come to the exhibition will challenged to think differently about AIDS, both personally and artistically.

SOC
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Campaigners plan to 'Wall In Trump'

Donald Trump's plan to build a 'wall' on the border of Mexico has been one of his central campaign promises. 

But another campaign is planning to build a wall of their own... a wall of sandbags directly opposite Donald Trump's New York hotel.

Nick Harper reports from New York.

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Trump natsound - "We're going to build a wall, it's going to be built." "We will build a wall, we will build a wall." "Build that wall, build that wall, build that wall…"

TAKE VO
Donald Trump's campaign has been all about the wall.
But here's another wall he might not be so keen on.
[video] natsound - "This wall is going to be big. If we reach our funding goal it'll be 3 feet wide, 4 feet tall, and 200 feet long."
TAKE VO
And here's the location: right in front of his main New York hotel, on the edge of Central Park.
TAKE VO
David Haggerty and Mara Gonzalez Malagon, part of the 'Wall In Trump' team, are here for a final site-inspection.

David Haggerty - "We decided that we were going to shut off his stream against the stream of the American dream, and use his own words against him, in hopefully an outlandish form that people when they see it and hear about it get really excited about it."

TAKE VO
Mara now lives in New York, but originally comes from Mexico.

Mara Gonzalez Malagon - "I think it's a responsibility for me to step up and give a voice to my people. / And it hurts to see that we are being put into a category that is the lowest of the low, and I think it's unfair."  

TAKE VO
It's taken months of planning, conversations with 15 agencies, and finding a company who can deliver and then pick up 10,000 25-pound sandbags.
TAKE VO
But all of this costs money, about $60,000 that the campaigners are hoping to get in through donations. But with the build day fast approaching they still about four fifths of that total to raise."

TAKE VO
But in diverse, immigrant-rich New York, Trump's own plan seems on shaky ground.

VOXES
"It's the most utterly absurd thing I've ever heard. I mean the Game of Thrones wall would be more realistic than what he's talking about."
"I mean we try to tear down walls not build them."
"This is a country that's full of immigrants. He's just not insulting Mexico he's insulting everybody."

TAKE VO
The 'Wall In Trump' campaign plans to build it wall on August 30th .
And they hope their idea will spread to other cities, to make a very physical statement about what side of the fence they're on.
SOC
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19th August: US Candidates policy toward Africa - a work in progress

As America's presidential race unfolds, observers in Africa are waiting to learn what policies Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton could adopt towards the continent should she win the White House in November.

President Barack Obama made a significant impression on Africa during his eight years in office, now that legacy may soon be passed to the first female Commander in Chief.

Our Washington correspondent, Priscilla Huff has more. 

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TRACK
Hillary Clinton has a long foreign policy track record as U.S. Secretary  of State
But her campaign website does not currently mention Africa, just the fight against the Islamic State
which has expanded to the continent.
Professor Krista Johnson is in the Africa Studies Department at Howard University.
She thinks Hillary Clinton has already given plenty of clues of what her policy toward Africa might be.

SOT Kirsta Johnson 
"She has tended to be very supportive of aggressive interventions on the continent of Africa.//In 2006 Hillary Clinton supported sending UN troops into the Darfur region to address the crisis there. And then again in 2011 she supported and in fact promoted the use of NATO to bomb Libya, and that resulted in the assassination of Muammar Gaddafi."

TRACK
Both candidates have indicated that targeting extremist groups would be a priority
although Donald Trump likes to criticize Hillary Clinton for failing to call it radical islamic terrorism.
Howard University's Krista Johnson:

SOT - Krista Johnson 
" The Democratic Party platform mentioned some areas were we can suggest that perhaps there will be a stronger emphasis in particular for example in combating security threats such as Boko Haram and Al Shabaab in East Africa".

TRACK
U-S President Barack Obama's father was from Kenya
His White House has made developing capacity in Africa a priority, and President Obama has made sure he interacts with the African leaders of the future
launching the Young African Leaders Initiative and the Nelson Mandela Washington fellowship
programs now in their third year.
Earlier in August, President Obama addressed 1,000 young Africans gathered in Washington.

SOT - Obama
"As you are watching our election, I want you to know that one of the things that leaders in Washington agree on, on both sides of the political aisle -Republicans and Democrats- is the importance of a strong American partnership with the nations and peoples of Africa. That's true today. I'm confident it will be true for years to come". 
TRACK
Hillary Clinton is likely to agree.
But Donald Trump is another matter, saying he wants to renegotiate trade deals - which might include AGOA - the African Growth and Opportunity Act - and has made it clear, he wants to put America first.
Priscilla Huff, Washington

***ENDS****
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Thursday, August 18, 2016

18th August: Donald Trump's foreign policy & protests


Donald Trump says he isn't going to change, or pivot, that his supporters won't trust him if he does.

But his foreign policy stances have been attacked repeatedly, especially from members of this own party.

Earlier this month, fifty former Republican national security advisors warned that Donald Trump would be the "most reckless president in US history".

Our U.S. correspondent Priscilla Huff has more on the questions about Donald Trump's foreign policy, starting with Hillary Clinton:

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[TAKE CLINTON UPSOT]
"Do you really think Donald Trump has the temperament to be commander-in-chief?"

TRACK
Rival Hillary Clinton has repeated criticized the Republican nominee.
- but in this unpredictable American presidential election, 
now people within Donald Trump's own party have questioned his readiness for office.
It's Trump's comments on topics such as nuclear weapons, Russia, and the middle east that's got the political establishment so worried.
Here's a sample of the questionable foreign policy statements made by Donald Trump:

[TAKE SOT]
SUPER: DONALD TRUMP, REPUBLICAN NOMINEE

"When people like me, I like them. Even Putin, you know, Putin! They want me to disavow Putin."
[TAKE SOT]
"I call President Obama and Hillary Clinton the founders of Isis. They're the founders."
[TAKE SOT]
"Now I didn't say anything about letting Japan nuke. But I did say 'perhaps if we can't do the right deal they one way might have to take care of themselves.' And if that means they need to get nuclear weapons…"

TRACK
It's statements like these which prompted 
 fifty former Republican national security advisers to sign signed a  letter criticising Donald Trump's presidential bid. 
In it they say Donald Trump would pose a threat to national security if elected president, and he'd be the most reckless commander in chief in US history."
Eric Edelman served as U.S. Ambassador to Turkey and Finland, and was a top advisor in the George W. Bush administration.

[TAKE SOT]
"He seems to fundamentally lack an understanding of nuclear deterrents. These weapons exist essentially to preclude other countries from using it. Now it's true that that means that the credibility of our willingness to use them is important, but he seems not to understand that as well."

TRACK
Donald Trump has said he is his own best advisor
and these Republican advisers from former administrations
are exactly the people who 
 helped create the threats the United States now faces today.
He's also had his first intelligence briefing, 
issuing a statement repeating the goals of  improving immigration screening and standards to keep out radicals, 
for starters on how to stamp out the Islamic State.
But Republicans who have been national security insiders are not convinced that Trump is listening 
That's one reason why Ambassador Eric Edelman is worried about America's treaty obligations, for starters

[TAKE EDELMAN SOT]
A guarantee that says, if they are attacked, by a hostile power, an attack on them is like an attack on teh United States and would elicit a response from the United States. Mr Trump says, he wouldn't necessarily make good on those committments, he would consider whether the ally have been living up to their side of the bargain. This is profoundly unsettling.

TRACK
Following the recent shakeup in Donald Trump's campaign staff,
the expectation is that the Republican nominee will focus more on his nationalist message,
make America great again,
a slogan which doesn't fit the globalized reality of the 21st century.
Priscilla Huff, Washington.

***ENDS***


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Monday, August 15, 2016

Donald Trump calls for 'extreme vetting' of immigrants to US

Donald Trump says the United States will undertake "extreme" immigration vetting if he's elected President.

In a major policy speech in Youngstown, Ohio, Mr Trump outlined his policies to fight what he called "radical Islamic terrorism". 

The Republican nominee said the US would "end nation building" and hold an international conference on combatting terrorism.

From Washington, Harry Horton reports.

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Sunday, August 14, 2016

PKG: In blistering attack, Trump blames media for campaign failures

It was another very difficult weekend for Donald Trump, who is now blaming the media for his beleaguered campaign for the White House.


The Republican Presidential candidate says that if US journalists were being fair to him, he'd be 20 points ahead of Hillary Clinton in the polls.


As it is, he's trailing her nationally by around 8 points and in some of the swing states where the election will be won or lost she has an even larger advantage than that.


Our US Correspondent Simon Marks reports.


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With most media organizations already preparing Donald Trump's political obituary, it is now open season in the war between the Republican Presidential candidate and the reporters  covering him.

In a firestorm of day-long activity on Twitter, Mr. Trump insisted that his political problems are entirely the fault of American reporters.

"My rallies are not covered properly" he wrote, calling the media "disgusting and corrupt".

"It is not", he claimed "freedom of the press" when reporters "are allowed to say and write whatever they want even if it is completely false".

What appears particularly to have stuck in his craw was a lengthy piece in the New York Times disclosing attempts by those close to Donald Trump to persuade him to strike a more reasoned tone on the campaign trail.

Instead, his campaign director Paul Manafort was sent onto CNN to claim Mr. Trump's problems lie at the media's door.


AXX


There is absolutely no evidence to suggest - as Mr. Trump claimed - that if he was receiving a more favorable press he would be 20 points ahead of Hillary Clinton in the polls.

Certainly he's done nothing to convince a slew of top Republicans who also appeared on America's Sunday talk shows to explain why they can't vote for him.

Senator Susan Collins of Maine says she's now eyeing the Presidential bid of Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson.


AXX


And former Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, a Republican who served in George W. Bush's cabinet, says he can't vote for Donald Trump either.


AXX


Caught in the middle of all of this, Donald Trump's running mate Governor Mike Pence of Indiana.

Unlike his boss, he plans to release his tax returns publicly….like every Presidential  and Vice Presidential candidate in memory.

And also unlike his boss, he seems very uncomfortable with the Trump campaign's ban on some leading media outlets including The Washington Post.

Governor Pence told Fox News he's trying to get the ban lifted.


AXX


Piling in, top Democrats who say if Donald Trump wants to change the national conversation and focus on substantive issues, he should be their guest.

Former CIA Director….and Hillary Clinton's leading attack dog….Leon Panetta.


AXX


And so another week begins.

Make no mistake, the Republican Presidential campaign is in turmoil.

And Donald Trump made it very clear this weekend that if there are efforts inside the campaign to try and get him to dial back his rhetoric and stop shooting from the hip….they are absolutely doomed to fail.


SOC




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Friday, August 12, 2016

Hillary Clinton seeks to draw contrast with Donald Trump's economic vision

Hillary Clinton has laid out her economic vision for America and accused her rival Donald Trump of wanting to build an economy for himself and his friends.

In a speech in Michigan the Democratic nominee sought to present a contrast between her policies and those of her Republican rival.

From Washington, Harry Horton has more details.



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Thursday, August 11, 2016

Clinton says Trump incited violence with 'Second Amendment' remarks

Hillary Clinton has accused Donald Trump of the "casual inciting of violence" against her after it was reported that the Secret Service has spoken to him about a comment he made on the campaign trail on Tuesday.

Mrs. Clinton told supporters that "words matter" after another day of uproar concerning Mr. Trump's suggestion that gun owners might find a way of preventing her from appointing supreme court judges.

From Washington, Harry Horton reports

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Tuesday, August 9, 2016

PKG: Trump accused of inciting gun violence to stop Hillary Clinton

Republican campaign managers are denying that Donald Trump suggested gun owners in the United States might want to turn to violence in a bid to stop Hillary Clinton from becoming President.


He made the controversial comments at a rally in North Carolina.


The Clinton campaign said the comments were "dangerous".


Our US Correspondent Simon Marks reports that one former head of the CIA says Donald Trump is lucky not to have been arrested over them.


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Donald Trump cannot help himself in more ways the one.

He can't help himself improve his position in the polls…because he can't help himself from saying anything that comes into his mind.

And so it was in North Carolina Tuesday.

Another rally….another ad libbed speech…another refusal to work from any kind of prepared text.

And another enormous gaffe….as he appeared to suggest that supporters of the Second Amendment - that's the bit of the US constitution that protects the rights of gun owners in America….might want to get creative in their attempts to stop Hillary Clinton from becoming President.


AXX


He made those comments with a glint in his eye….seemingly aware that he was suggesting an act of gun violence could stop Mrs. Clinton in her tracks.

But his campaign, which went into total crisis mode, insisted he had once again been misunderstood.

He merely meant to suggest that gun owners could use their political power at the ballot box this November, according to a Trump spokesman.

The Clinton campaign was having none of it - accusing Mr. Trump of dangerous talk and saying no Presidential candidate should ever promote violence….especially in a country with such a long history of political assassination.


CLIP


General Michael Hayden is a former head of the CIA.

He told CNN that Donald Trump is lucky not to be facing possible charges over the remark.


AXX


The truth is that violent language is no stranger to Donald Trump rallies.

On a daily basis, his supporters give voice to the view that Mrs. Clinton should be locked up…and sometimes strung up or otherwise disposed of violently.

He himself has also made violent threats against protesters who have disrupted his speeches.

None of this is doing anything to improve his standing in the polls, with the election increasingly looking like a one horse race.

And leaving Donald Trump, as the man who can't help himself or control himself as this unprecedented election continues.


SOC

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Voting Rights in Virginia for former felons


In the United States, millions of Americans are banned from voting due to their criminal record. In Virginia, a group of former felons who have served their time have been fighting for their right to head to the polls. Our correspondent Andrea Arenas has more on their story. 

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VO #1: 
 
Two years ago Kelvin Manurs was released from prison and regained many freedoms...but he is still subject to a state law aimed at excluding him from the democratic process... Kelvin cannot vote.  
In response, he's created an organization called "Arm and Arm" aimed at changing this. They met recently at a local barbershop in Arlington Virginia. 

 
SOT 
Kelvin Maurs, Exec. Dir., Arm and Arm 
"If I feel a part of an institution, an organization or a nation, I am a whole less likely to go against that institution, organization or nation." 
 
VO
Virginia is one of three states where former felons are permanently blocked from voting. 

Over the past 40 years, the prison population in the United States has increased dramatically, which prevents an estimated 5.8 million people from being able to vote this election season.
  
These laws impact minorities most – since their rate of imprisonment is disproportionately high compared to whites. 

One in every 13 African Americans has lost the right to vote as opposed to one in every 56 non-black voters.

Barbershop owner and "Arm and Arm" group member Wein Miles says the laws are unfair.
 
SOT 
Wein Miles, Barbershop Owner
"The problem that I have, especially with the voting rights, is that I am a convicted felon. I changed my life around, I am positive, I have a barbershop.. I am an owner now, and I can't vote to this day. 

VO  
Virginia's governor Terry McAuliffe has made it a personal campaign to get ex-offenders back in voting booths.
He has been extending individual pardons to ex offenders ever since the State's Supreme court rejected his effort to restore voting rights to re entering citizens. 

Arm and Arm organizer Licia White is among those who has re gained the right to vote. 
 
SOT
Licia White, Arm and Arm organizer
"I am 38 years old and this is going to be the first time I am going to vote." 
 
VO
Virginia is a so-called "swing state" –  where competition between Republican and Democratic candidates is fierce. 
This means, the votes of felons could tip the balance, and help decide who ends up in the White House.

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Trump seeks to change focus after bad week

Donald Trump has detailed his economic plan in a speech in Detroit. He said he would bring new jobs and prosperity to America.

Meanwhile fifty senior Republican national security experts have warned that Trump "would be the most reckless president" in US history.

Harry Horton reports from Washington.

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Posted by at

Monday, August 8, 2016

PKG: New candidate emerges in White House race

There's a new candidate in the race for the White House.


Evan McMullin, a little-known Republican, has stepped forward to launch an independent bid for the White House in what he says is an attempt to stop Donald Trump from winning the keys to the Oval Office.


But our US Correspondent Simon Marks says Mr. McMullin might be a little bit late to the party.


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It is fair to say that outside his immediate family, most Americans have never heard of Evan McMullin.

And yet, out of nowhere his decision to run for the US Presidency was the hot topic on morning television in the United States.


AXX


So here's what we know:  he is a Republican, backed by the "Never Trump" movement….a group of party members who will do anything possible to try and stop Donald Trump from reaching the Oval Office.

He has no public profile whatsoever, but that may be due to the fact that he used to work for the CIA.

Until recently was the Chief Policy Director for Republicans in the House of Representatives.

He has been very critical of Donald Trump on social media, and in this speech earlier this year at a university in Pennsylvania, said the 2016 election is a big moment for the United States.


AXX:  "I believe that our country is at an important point in our history and that the decisions we make over the next year will drive of course  the direction that our country takes".


TRX:  Hardly a unique thought.

In a letter announcing his candidacy for the White House, he says it's never too late to do the right thing.

But that's not necessarily true.

There are already a slew of third party candidates vying for the Presidency, including Gary Johnson of the Libertarian Party….he's polling at about 8 per cent nationally…..and Jill Stein of the Green Party, polling at around 3 percent.

Mr. McMullin….with no organization, no funding, and no clear manifesto….will be lucky to pull anything like those numbers.

His candidacy then has been intriguing to Washington insiders as a further example of Republican frustration with Donald Trump.

But he may not prove to be much more than that.


SOC


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Thursday, August 4, 2016

PKG: Trump accused of inventing "facts" on campaign trail

Donald Trump has been accused of making more spurious claims on America's campaign trail, further worrying Republicans who now fear his Presidential bid is doomed.


He told a rally in Maine that he had seen a videotape showing 400 million dollars in cash being delivered to the Iranian government on the orders of the Obama administration….even though no such tape is believed to exist.


Our US Correspondent Simon Marks reports.


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Donald Trump went into great detail about the videotape.


AXX


Remarkable, given that no tape has ever surfaced nor been seen by the American public.


AXX


And that wasn't the only invented assertion.

He claimed people saw bombs in the home of the San Bernardino attackers and didn't report them to police.

Again, no such witnesses are believed to exist.

Republican leaders, already deeply troubled by Mr. Trump's earlier performances on the campaign trail this week, have been left facing a raft of questions about whether there is any way to replace him as the party's Presidential candidate.

And imagine being Donald Trump's running mate, Governor Mike Pence of Indiana.

He was confronted by an 11 year old boy during a rally in North Carolina,


AXX


The latest polls show Hillary Clinton opening up a commanding lead over Donald Trump nationally….and in key battleground states like Michigan and Pennsylvania.

And those numbers are underpinned by evidence that the Trump campaign is in trouble, even with constituencies that were once its bedrock.

A small group of military veterans held a rally on Capitol Hill on Thursday to announce their opposition to him….among them, Nate Torani.


AXX


With a growing number of Americans taking that position, the Trump campaign needs to work some major magic if it's to turn things around and get its candidate to focus, be disciplined, and stop making things up on the campaign trail.


SOC


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