| White House blocks reporters from a briefing, shrugging off another unwritten custom Posted: 25 Feb 2017 02:24 PM PST ![White House blocks reporters from a briefing, shrugging off another unwritten custom]( "White House blocks reporters from a briefing, shrugging off another unwritten custom") Several major news outlets, including the New York Times, CNN, and the Los Angeles Times, were blocked from an off-camera press briefing on Friday, igniting furious criticism from media organizations. The White House said it was adhering to ordinary press customs by holding an "expanded pool," but observers call the incident another sign of the troubled relationship between President Trump and the media. A restricted non-televised briefing, or "gaggle," replaced an earlier-planned full, on-camera briefing in the official White House briefing room, reported Politico.
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| Obama for president – of France? Posted: 25 Feb 2017 11:21 AM PST ![Obama for president – of France?]( "Obama for president – of France?") Apparently American Democrats are not the only ones missing Barack Obama. Some citizens of France have launched a new grassroots campaign called "Obama17" that is seeking 1 million signatures in the next three weeks, to convince the former US President to run for president in France. Amid a presidential election marked by scandals and surprises, the organizers hope the campaign, though not serious, could be a voice for the people calling for change – just as many other campaigns have done before.
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| Southeast Asian security on surer footing, In defense of referendums – but reformed, The misconception of lone wolf far-right terrorists, A fresh start for Somalia?, The resonance of Obama's farewell speech Posted: 25 Feb 2017 03:00 AM PST ![Southeast Asian security on surer footing, In defense of referendums – but reformed, The misconception of lone wolf far-right terrorists, A fresh start for Somalia?, The resonance of Obama's farewell speech]( "Southeast Asian security on surer footing, In defense of referendums – but reformed, The misconception of lone wolf far-right terrorists, A fresh start for Somalia?, The resonance of Obama's farewell speech") "[Japanese] Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's summit with U.S. President Donald Trump reinforced the security guarantees iterated by U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis on his visit to Japan and South Korea the week before...," writes Stephen R. Nagy.
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| Readers write: Marmalade origin, rugby injuries, correct punishment Posted: 25 Feb 2017 03:00 AM PST ![Readers write: Marmalade origin, rugby injuries, correct punishment]( "Readers write: Marmalade origin, rugby injuries, correct punishment") The Dec. 19 essay in The Home Forum, "Marmalade worthy of Paddington Bear," mentions quince as only one of the fruits used to make marmalade, but it didn't give the origin of the word "marmalade." Marmalade in Portugal, explains my husband, who was born and brought up there, is made from the marmelo, which is quince.
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| Kim Jong-nam killed by nerve agent, Malaysian police say, putting spotlight on chemical weapons Posted: 24 Feb 2017 04:37 PM PST ![Kim Jong-nam killed by nerve agent, Malaysian police say, putting spotlight on chemical weapons]( "Kim Jong-nam killed by nerve agent, Malaysian police say, putting spotlight on chemical weapons") Kim Jong-nam, the North Korean Supreme Leader's estranged and exiled half-brother, was killed by a VX nerve agent, which is classified by the United Nations as a weapon of mass destruction, Malaysian police said on Friday. This latest development in Mr. Kim's assassination, which South Korean and US officials have said they believe was decreed by Pyongyang, is another reminder of the regime's secretive chemical weapons program, often overshadowed by its nuclear missile testing. "The reported use of VX reminds us that not only is the North's nuclear-missile threat serious but so are its asymmetric threats, including biochemical weapons and cyber that are all part of the regime's Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) tool kit," Duyeon Kim, a fellow at Georgetown University's Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, told The New York Times on Friday.
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