U.S. President Donald Trump will visit India early next week to meet his counterpart, Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Both sides are already managing expectations by saying they will not be signing a big trade deal. Still, the visit will be full of pomp and circumstance, with Trump already touting the massive crowds expected to turn up for him. White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara takes a look at what we can expect in this meeting between leaders of the world’s two most populous democracies.

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May Lee is a certified organic farmer in Minnesota.
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The seven-day “reduction of violence” deal promised by the Taliban will begin on Friday night, a senior U.S. State Department official said, without specifying the exact time. That will start the countdown to the signing of a peace agreement between the Taliban and the United States at the end of the month.
    
That peace agreement, to be signed in Doha, Qatar, on Feb. 29, will pave the way for a withdrawal of U.S. troops and intra- Afghan negotiations. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the peace agreement will also lead to an eventual permanent cease-fire.
    
“We are preparing for the signing to take place on February 29,” Pompeo said in a statement. “Intra-Afghan negotiations will start soon thereafter, and will build on this fundamental step to deliver a comprehensive and permanent ceasefire and the future political road map for Afghanistan.”
    
The State Department official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the deal.
    
But the road ahead is fraught with difficulties.
   
It’s still not clear who will represent Kabul at the negotiation table for the intra-Afghan talks, considered a key pillar in finding a lasting peace in the war-torn country. The Afghan election commission earlier this week declared President Ashraf Ghani the winner of the presidential elections held in September but his rivals quickly denounced his win.
    
The Taliban have refused to talk to Ghani’s government and also denounced the election results, saying they will talk to government representatives but only as ordinary Afghans
    
Pompeo’s statement did not say who would participate in the intra-Afghan negotiations from Kabul, saying only that “intra-Afghan negotiations will start soon” after the signing in Doha “and will build on this fundamental step to deliver a comprehensive and permanent cease-fire and the future political road map for Afghanistan.”
    
The Taliban issued their own statement on the reduction of violence deal.
    
“Both parties will now create a suitable security situation in advance of agreement signing date, extend invitations to senior representatives of numerous countries and organizations to participate in the signing ceremony, make arrangements for the release of prisoners, structure a path for intra-Afghan negotiations with various political parties of the country and finally lay the groundwork for peace across the country with the withdrawal of all foreign forces,” the Taliban said in a statement Friday.
    
The Taliban added that they will not allow “the land of Afghanistan to be used against security of others so that our people can live a peaceful and prosperous life under the shade of an Islamic system.”

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As Nevada Democrats flock to their presidential caucuses Saturday afternoon, this Western state’s growing Latino vote could play an important factor in the outcome. According to Pew Research, more than 1 in 4 Nevadans is of Latin American descent, and roughly 328,000 of them are eligible to vote. As VOA’s Carolyn Presutti found, while all candidates hope to attract the Hispanic vote, some are more successful than others.

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The Nina and Pinta have arrived along Mississippi’s Gulf Coast, sailing into a Biloxi harbor as spectators lined a pier, aiming their phones out to the horizon.

Christopher Columbus sailed across the Atlantic on the Nina on his three voyages of discovery to the New World beginning in 1492.

The original Nina was last heard from in 1501, but this replica, which was finished in 1991, serves as a floating museum. It was built entirely by hand, without the use of power tools, and is considered to be the most historically accurate Columbus ship replica ever built.

The Pinta replica was built in Brazil and launched in 2005 to accompany the Nina on travels. It’s a larger version of the archetypal “caravel,” the term for a Portuguese ship used by Columbus and many early explorers.

While in port, the ships will be open for public tours, beginning Thursday. They are scheduled to leave Biloxi on Monday, March 2.

After a week-long stop in Gulf Shores, Alabama, beginning March 4, the ships will head to Florida, where they have scheduled stops in Fort Walton Beach, Venice, Vero Beach and Fernandina Beach.

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Victoria Coates, a top official on the National Security Council, is being reassigned amid fallout over the identity of the author of the inside-the-White House tell-all book by “Anonymous.”
    
Coates, who serves as national security adviser for the Middle East and North Africa, will be joining the Department of Energy as a senior adviser to Secretary Dan Brouillette, the NSC announced Thursday.
    
The move comes amid renewed speculation about the author of the book, “A Warning,” and a New York Times essay that were deeply critical of President Donald Trump, written under the pen name “Anonymous.”
    
But a senior administration official insisted the move had nothing to do with the speculation, saying top White House officials reject rumors that have circulated in recent weeks suggesting Coates is the author. The move, they said, has been in the works for several weeks.
   
“We are enthusiastic about adding Dr. Coates to DOE, where her expertise on the Middle East and national security policy will be helpful,” Brouillette said in a statement. “She will play an important role on our team.”
   
“While I’m sad to lose an important member of our team, Victoria will be a big asset to Secretary Brouillette as he executes the President’s energy security policy priorities,” Robert C. O’Brien, who leads the NSC, added.
    
The move also comes as the president has been working to rid the administration of those he deems insufficiently loyal in the wake of his acquittal on impeachment charges. Since then, Trump has ousted staffers at the National Security Council and State Department and pulled the nomination of a top Treasury Department pick who had overseen cases involving Trump’s former aides as a U.S. attorney.
    
At the same time, Trump has been bringing back longtime aides he believes he can trust as he heads into what is expected to be a bruising general election campaign.
    
Trump this week renewed questions about the identity of “Anonymous” when he told reporters that he knew who it was. Asked whether he believes the person still works at the White House, Trump responded: “We know a lot. In fact, when I want to get something out to the press, I tell certain people. And it’s amazing, it gets out there. But, so far, I’m leaving it that way.”
    
White House spokesman Hogan Gidley declined to say Wednesday why, if Trump knows the person’s identity, they would still be working in his administration.
    
In the book, published by the Hachette Book Group in November, the writer claims senior administration officials considered resigning as a group in 2018 in a “midnight self-massacre” to protest Trump’s conduct, but ultimately decided such an act would do more harm than good.

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The soon-to-be acting chief of the United States’ intelligence agencies says he won’t be on the job for long.

In a tweet Thursday, U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell confirmed he is taking the post only on a temporary basis and that, “The President will announce the Nominee (not me) sometime soon.”

Correct. Acting. The President will announce the Nominee (not me) sometime soon. https://t.co/9ShqB2eXea

— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) February 20, 2020

The U.S. has been without a permanent director of national intelligence since mid-August of 2019, when  Dan Coats officially stepped down following a series of public clashes with President Donald Trump over intelligence assessments.

But so far there is no word from the White House on just when a permanent replacement will be nominated.

In the meantime, Grenell is set to take over from current acting Director Joseph Maguire, who by law cannot continue in an acting capacity beyond March 12.

Trump first announced the move to Grenell in a tweet late Wednesday.

I am pleased to announce that our highly respected Ambassador to Germany, @RichardGrenell, will become the Acting Director of National Intelligence. Rick has represented our Country exceedingly well and I look forward to working with him. I would like to thank Joe Maguire….

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 20, 2020

In a statement Thursday, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham praised Grenell and his qualifications for the role.

“He has years of experience working with our Intelligence Community in a number of additional positions, including as Special Envoy for Serbia-Kosovo Negotiations and as United States spokesman to the United Nations,” Grisham said, adding, “He is committed to a non-political, non-partisan approach as head of the Intelligence Community, on which our safety and security depend.”

An administration official also confirmed to VOA that Grenell will keep his job as ambassador to Germany and continue to serve as special envoy for peace negotiations between Serbia and Kosovo as he leads national intelligence efforts.

Grenell, known as a staunch Trump loyalist, caused a stir in Germany upon assuming his diplomatic post, saying that he wanted to “empower other conservatives throughout Europe, other leaders.”

Some German lawmakers viewed the comments as unusually interventionist and Germany’s Foreign Ministry demanded an explanation.

Germany Asks US Envoy to Explain Comment on ‘Empowering’ Conservatives

Germany is asking the new U.S. ambassador to Berlin, an outspoken supporter of President Donald Trump, for an explanation of his comment that he wants to “empower” European conservatives.

The German Foreign Ministry says it plans to question Ambassador Richard Grenell when he makes his inaugural visit to the ministry on Wednesday, asking him to “explain how he wants his statements to be understood.”

On Sunday, the Breitbart.com website, a right-wing U.S.

Grenell has also been especially outspoken about what he says are the dangers of doing business with the Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei, urging Germany not to become a Huawei customer because of suspicions the company installs spyware in its products at the bidding of Beijing.

Despite White House accolades, the move is not sitting well with some former intelligence officials or with some key lawmakers, who cite Grenell’s lack of intelligence experience and the president’s refusal to name a permanent director.

“The president is marginalizing the position by refusing to nominate someone to be confirmed,” said James Clapper, who served as director of national intelligence under President Barack Obama.

“It is bad for continuity and stability,” Clapper told VOA. “The over-arching message is the president simply doesn’t care, and simply wants a hood ornament loyalist sitting in the chair.”

The vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Democrat Mark Warner, also criticized the selection of Grenell on Twitter.

“It appears the President has selected an individual *without any intelligence experience* to serve as the leader of the nation’s intelligence community in an acting capacity,” Warner wrote, further accusing Trump of engaging in “an effort to sidestep the Senate’s constitutional authority to advise & consent on such critical positions.”

It appears the President has selected an individual *without any intelligence experience* to serve as the leader of the nation’s intelligence community in an acting capacity… https://t.co/Yvq5UVSPpA

— Mark Warner (@MarkWarner) February 20, 2020

Initially, following Dan Coats’ resignation almost eight months ago, Trump announced he would nominate Republican Congressman John Ratcliffe, one of the newer members of the House Intelligence Committee, to serve in a permanent capacity; but, Ratcliffe withdrew from consideration following questions about his credentials and experience.  

Instead, Trump turned to Joseph Maguire, a former Navy SEAL who had been serving as director of the National Counterterrorism Center.

US Intelligence in Transition, Remains Focused for Now on Facts

New, acting director of national intelligence promises US intelligence agencies will continue to provide policymakers with factual, unbiased assessments — amid fears of politicization

Maguire won praise from lawmakers and former intelligence officials for his stated commitment to avoid politics and “speak truth to power,” long seen as a critical function of the U.S. intelligence community. “

I think Joseph Maguire did as well as he could, under difficult circumstances, to stave off corruption of the intelligence community’s mission,” said Paul Pillar, a former senior CIA officer now with Georgetown University.

But with Grenell stepping in, Pillar is voicing concern.

“Grenell not only has no intelligence experience, which is a negative, but is very much a partisan fighter and ideologue,” he said. “Having Grenell as acting DNI promises to politicize the intelligence community more than it has been to date so far under Trump.”

President Trump has had a rocky relationship with the U.S. intelligence community after it concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.    

On several occasions, he publicly clashed with his intelligence chiefs, once lambasting them on Twitter for being “extremely passive and naïve.”

Trump Takes Aim at Intelligence Chiefs Via Tweet-Storm

U.S. President Donald Trump took to Twitter Wednesday, appearing to reignite his long-standing feud with the country’s intelligence agencies by belittling their assessments on Islamic State, North Korea and Iran.In a series of posts, Trump claimed responsibility for key improvements while calling out his intelligence chiefs for being “extremely passive and naïve.”“When I became President, ISIS was out of control in Syria & running rampant. Since then tremendous progress made, especially over last…

VOA’s White House Bureau Chief Steve Herman and White House correspondent Patsy Widakuswara contributed to this report

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A federal judge on Thursday sentenced President Donald Trump’s longtime confidant Roger Stone to 40 months in prison, about half as long as the prosecutors’ original recommendation for a term of seven to nine years.

But Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the United States District Court of Washington ruled that the sentence would not be imposed until Stone has exhausted his efforts for a new trial. Stone’s lawyers say he deserves a retrial because one of the jurors who convicted him was biased against Trump.

The sentence amounts to a setback for Stone and Trump, who called the seven to nine years recommended by Justice Department prosecutors “horrible and very unfair,” and later praised Attorney General William Barr for “taking charge of a case that was totally out of control and should not have been brought.”

The president Thursday again weighed in on the trial on Twitter Thursday before the sentence was announced, suggesting that his conviction on charges of lying to Congress was unfair.

“They say Roger Stone lied to Congress.” @CNN OH, I see, but so did Comey (and he also leaked classified information, for which almost everyone, other than Crooked Hillary Clinton, goes to jail for a long time), and so did Andy McCabe, who also lied to the FBI! FAIRNESS?

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 20, 2020

AG’s involvement in case questioned

Barr’s extraordinary decision last Tuesday to overturn the recommendation prompted four career prosecutors assigned to the case to withdraw in protest, and fueled concerns about the Justice Department’s historic independence from political influence.

Congressional Democrats demanded an investigation. More than 2,000 former Justice Department officials called on Barr to resign. And an association of federal judges summoned an emergency meeting to address concerns about political meddling in the country’s historically independent system of justice. That meeting was postponed on Wednesday.

Barr has defended his involvement in the case, saying he found the recommended sentence excessive and did not discuss it with Trump. He reportedly threatened to resign this week after Trump defied his request to stop tweeting about the Justice Department. A department spokeswoman said late Tuesday that Barr has no plans to resign.

The charges

Stone was convicted in November 2019 of seven counts of obstruction of justice, witness tampering and lying to Congress about his efforts during the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign to obtain stolen emails of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton from the anti-secrecy website, WikiLeaks.

Stone, 66, is a veteran Republican operative who helped pave the way for Trump’s unforeseen ascent to the White House. A self-described “dirty trickster” with a taste for loud suits and colorful language, Stone has known Trump since the late 1970s and later encouraged Trump to run for president.

Mueller investigation

His criminal case stemmed from former special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe of suspected ties between Trump campaign associates and Russia during the 2016 presidential election, an investigation Trump continues to blast as a “witch hunt” and a “hoax.”

Given Trump’s belief that Stone fell victim to a phony investigation, the sentencing has heightened speculation that Trump will issue a pardon to spare his friend any prison time.

Trump has not ruled out pardoning Stone, but in recent days, he’s batted away questions about clemency for his friend.

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After being flown from China to San Diego, California, 160 people were quarantined on a military base for two weeks while doctors determined if they were infected with the Coronavirus. VOA spoke to some of them when they were finally released. For VOA, Christina Shevchenko has more from San Diego in this report narrated by Anna Rice.

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German police say several people were shot to death in the city of Hanau on Wednesday evening.

The dpa news agency reported that police said people were killed but it was not clear exactly what was behind the incident. It also was not immediately clear how many people were dead.

Hanau is near Frankfurt.

Regional public broadcaster Hessischer Rundfunk reported, without citing sources, that an attack took place in a hookah lounge in the center of the city. It said witnesses reported hearing eight or nine shots and seeing at least one person lying on the ground.

The perpetrator or perpetrators then apparently went to another part of the city, where shots were fired in another hookah lounge, the broadcaster said.

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Canadian police said Wednesday that sudden whiteout conditions most likely triggered a massive pileup involving about 200 vehicles south of Montreal. 

There were no immediate reports of deaths, but Quebec provincial police said about a dozen people were sent to hospitals with minor to serious injuries after the midday crash in La Prairie, Quebec. 

Firefighters from La Prairie said two people were still trapped Wednesday afternoon, and authorities were trying to stabilize a diesel spill before extracting them from the wreckage. 

Those two people were considered to be in serious condition. 

The crash occurred around 12:30 p.m. on a stretch of Highway 15 that runs along the St. Lawrence River. The pileup of vehicles stretched for about a kilometer. 

Strong winds

Transport Minister Francois Bonnardel told reporters in Quebec City the pileup took place in an area where heavy winds come off the river, creating sudden blizzard-like conditions. 

“People were driving, there were strong winds … and, suddenly, you couldn’t see anything,” Bonnardel said. ”And then, well, the pileup started.” 

Two snow removal operations took place in the area in the hour before the incident, he noted. 

Bonnardel said the highway isn’t known for particular safety issues and 65,000 vehicles use the southbound part of it daily. 

The transport minister said he’d await the results of an investigation before deciding if any measures needed to be taken. 

Dozens need towing

Police spokesman Sergeant Stephane Tremblay said about 50 vehicles were able to drive away from the collision, but 75 others would need to be towed. Numerous vehicles were mangled, including several large trucks. 

About 150 people were taken by bus to a nearby community center for treatment and to be picked up. 

Tremblay said police crash experts would study what caused the pileup. 

A school bus was also involved in the pileup, but none of the high school students on board were injured, said Andree Laforest, the province’s acting public security minister. 
 

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A group of more than 1,100 U.S. military veterans from all five branches have signed a statement lashing out at President Donald Trump for firing Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman from the National Security Council.

Vindman testified before a House committee during the Trump impeachment hearings in November. He expressed his concerns about Trump’s drive to push Ukraine to investigate Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.

The Military Times newspaper published the statement, whose signatories invited other veterans to add their names.

The statement said the president’s “actions and insults” toward Vindman “appear to be motivated by nothing more than political retribution, and deprives the White House of expertise necessary to defend our collective national security.”

Long-standing U.S. military code of conduct requires servicemen and women to report wrongdoing and illegal acts through the proper military channels. But U.S. law forbids them from speaking out in public.

The veterans say Trump knows this and believes he can verbally attack Vindman with “impunity.”

“We consider President Trump’s sustained attacks on an active duty Army officer … to be an affront to the constitution that we have all sworn to uphold. We are speaking out precisely because neither LTC Vindman nor his fellow active-duty service members can,” the statement said.

The veterans’ statement also criticizes what they say is Trump’s association with those they call war criminals, his public threat of war crimes, and minimizing the traumatic brain injuries some troops suffered in January’s Iranian missile attack on a military base in Iraq.

The White House has not yet responded to the statement.

The Ukrainian-born Vindman was the NSC’s Director for European Affairs until he was reassigned three weeks ago.

The White House said Vindman was not fired and gave the official reason for his reassignment as downsizing within the NSC.

However, Trump has publicly accused Vindman of being a poor worker who did “a lot of bad things,” including allegations of leaking classified information — charges Vindman’s supporters deny.

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