Government World Magazine | Government related news stories and press releases

Jun222017

Press Releases: State Department Amendments to the Terrorist Designations of Hizballah and al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula

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Media Note

Office of the Spokesperson

Washington, DC

June 21, 2017

The Department of State has amended the designation of Hizballah as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) under section 1(b) of Executive Order (E.O.) 13224 and as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) under Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act to add aliases including Lebanese Hizballah, which is frequently used to refer to the group, as well as the Foreign Relations Department (FRD) and the External Security Organization (ESO), key components of the terror organization. The Department of State has also amended the designation of al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) as an SDGT under section 1(b) of E.O. 13224 and as an FTO under Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act to add the aliases Sons of Abyan, Sons of Hadramawt, Sons of Hadramawt Committee, Civil Council of Hadramawt, and National Hadramawt Council.

U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with Hizballah or AQAP, and all property and interests in property of the organizations subject to U.S. jurisdiction are blocked. In addition, knowingly providing, or attempting or conspiring to provide, material support or resources to the organizations is prohibited.

Hizballah, which was originally designated as an FTO in 1997, operates through, among other parts of the group, its branches the FRD and the ESO, also known as the Islamic Jihad Organization. The FRD maintains Hizballah’s public presence around the world. The branch is led by senior Hizballah member Ali Damush, designated by the Department of State as an SDGT in January 2017. The FRD is involved in covert operations around the globe, which include recruiting, fundraising and gathering intelligence on behalf of Hizballah.

Hizballah’s ESO was established by now-deceased Hizballah leader Imad Mughniyah and was led by Talal Hamiyah as of September 2012. The branch is responsible for planning and carrying out Hizballah attacks outside of Lebanon. The attacks have primarily targeted Israelis and Americans.

Sons of Abyan, Sons of Hadramawt, Sons of Hadramawt Committee, Civil Council of Hadramawt, and National Hadramawt Council all serve as proxies or cover organizations for AQAP, which was designated as an FTO in 2010. AQAP uses these proxies to help govern the territories it controls, and to manage issues such as administration, economics, security, and building relationships with citizens.

Today’s actions notify the U.S. public and the international community that the terrorist organizations Hizballah and AQAP operate under and/or are known by a variety of other names. Terrorism designations expose and isolate organizations and individuals, and result in denial of access to the U.S. financial system. Moreover, designations can assist or complement the law enforcement actions of other U.S. agencies and other governments.

A list of State Department-designated FTOs and SDGTs is available here: http://www.state.gov/j/ct/list/index.htm.

Jun222017

Press Releases: Secretary Tillerson and Secretary Mattis Host the U.S.-China Diplomatic and Security Dialogue

USAUnited States • Democrats • OECD – United States • Republicans • White House

Notice to the Press

Office of the Spokesperson

Washington, DC

June 20, 2017

The U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Defense will host the inaugural U.S.-China Diplomatic and Security Dialogue (D&SD) on June 21, 2017, at the Department of State.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis will join Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi and General Fang Fenghui, Chief of the People’s Liberation Army’s Joint Staff Department, along with members of the U.S. delegation and their Chinese colleagues for the D&SD.

There will be a camera spray preceding the dialogue and a joint press availability following the dialogue. The camera spray will be pooled press and the press availability will be open press.

The joint press availability with Secretary Tillerson and Secretary Mattis will begin at 2:55 p.m.

Pre-set time for video cameras: 1:45 p.m. from the 23^rd Street Entrance.

Final access time for still photographers and journalists: 2:30 p.m. from the 23^rd Street Entrance.

The event will be streamed live on www.state.gov, Facebook.com/usdos and BNET. Follow @StateDept, @USAsiaPacific, and #USChina for more information.

Media representatives may attend this event upon presentation of one of the following: (1) A U.S. Government-issued identification card (Department of State, White House, Congress, Department of Defense or Foreign Press Center), (2) a media-issued photo identification card, or (3) a letter from their employer on letterhead verifying their employment as a journalist, accompanied by an official photo identification card (driver’s license, passport).

For further information, please contact the Press Office at 202-647-2492.

Jun222017

Obamacare is Failing the American People

USAUnited States • Democrats • OECD – United States • Republicans • White House

The previous Administration sold Obamacare to the American people through a series of empty promises. Premiums were supposed to drop, but instead they have soared by nearly $3,000. Choices were supposed to multiply, but instead they disappeared, leaving one third of American counties with only one insurer in 2017. The public was supposed to learn to love Obamacare, but 6.5 million Americans chose to pay $3 billion in penalties to the IRS instead of buying health insurance in 2015.

These are the facts about Obamacare, and no one understands them better than Vice President Mike Pence. As a Congressman, he watched the Obama Administration make untenable claims about the future benefits of Obamacare. As the Governor of Indiana, he saw the failure of Obamacare unleashed on state insurance markets across the country. And as a man of integrity and compassion, he understands that the real tragedy of Obamacare is found in the personal stories of millions of hardworking Americans who have been locked out of the healthcare system, and are unable to access the care they need.

In a recent speech to the Department of Health and Human Services, Vice President Pence told the story of one of those Americans—Julie Champine from Milwaukee, Wisconsin—and reaffirmed our Administration’s continued commitment to repealing and replacing Obamacare. You can hear Julie’s story and learn more facts about the collapse of Obamacare in the video above.

Jun222017

Nearly 30 Million Americans Still Without Health-Insurance Coverage

USAUnited States • Democrats • OECD – United States • Republicans • White House

In just the first few months of this year, nearly two million people dropped their Obamacare coverage. According to a new report released by the Administration, 12.2 million people signed up for coverage through the Obamacare exchanges in 2017. But enrollment has already fallen to just 10.3 million people.

“The American people know a bad deal when they see one, and that’s why they’re avoiding Obamacare like the plague.”

Vice President Mike Pence

Obamacare: The Facts

Obamacare is failing the American people. After projecting to cover 23 million people in 2010, it has covered less than half that. Despite the inaccurate forecasts of the previous administration, a mere 10.3 million Americans had Obamacare coverage on March 15, 2017. Nearly 30 million Americans are still without health-insurance coverage. Vice President Pence is optimistic that the new administration can, and will, do better.

“Under President Donald Trump, we will rescue the American people from the disaster of Obamacare and give the American people the world-class healthcare that they deserve.”

Vice President Mike Pence

Jun222017

Boy’s death triggers controversy over safety of shared bikes

GovWorldMagEast Asia

A report from Beijing-based BigData Research showed the number of shared bicycle users exceeded 18 million as of the end of 2016 and is expected to approach 50 million by the end of this year. [Photo/China.org.cn]

The case of a boy who fell down while riding a shared bike and died in Central China has drawn people’s attention to safety problems of shared bicycles, hnr.cn reported.

Photo shows bikes that users can easily ride or park under the sharing scheme. [File photo: sohu.com]

The boy, whose name has not been revealed, was reportedly 12 or 13 years old. Witnesses said he and other boys were riding yellow bicycles at high speed and practicing drifting on a steep road in Zhengzhou, Henan province, when the accident happened on Sunday. The bicycles are run by Ofo.

Though the accident is under investigation, some said the boys illegally used the bicycles after cracking the password of the mechanical locks on the bicycles.

Users of Ofo bikes first need to pay via their mobile phones before they are sent the password that unlocks the bicycle.

Many primary students in Zhengzhou, however, showed that they can unlock the Ofo bicycles without the password, with one student unlocking four bicycles out of the 10 locked ones, according to the report.

According to law, those under 12 are not allowed to ride bicycles on roads. As Ofo’s mechanical lock has long been criticized for its lax features, many question who should be held responsible for the safety of juveniles who illegally use the bicycles.

“I think the parents should be held responsible,” said Liu Ming, a resident of Zhengzhou. He said he once saw his 9-year-old son riding the yellow bicycle and warned him.

Another resident, surnamed Wu, agreed on the importance of guardian’s role but suggested that Ofo should change its mechanical locks into safer ones. Shared bicycles on other platforms use smart locks, which are hard to illegally break.

An Ofo employee said the company has launched bicycles with smart locks in Beijing and will introduce the new version in other regions of the country in the future.

If somebody dies due to quality defects or poor management of the shared bicycle, the company should take the responsibility, said lawyer Zhang Shaochun.

But if the minor cracked the password then the juvenile and the guardian should take the main responsibility, Zhang added.