Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Names and faces

-

■ Visiting Morocco for the first time, Ivanka Trump received a warm welcome Thursday from housewives, widows and other women who are benefiting from new laws that allow them to own land. Trump is a senior White House adviser who works on women’s issues and has sought through an initiative to encourage developing countries to help women build wealth and financial independen­ce by owning land or other property. Working in partnershi­p with Millennium Challenge Corp., a U.S. aid agency, Morocco has updated its land titling laws and earned the three-day visit from the U.S. president’s daughter. At an olive grove in a region north of the capital, Rabat, she met four women who had inherited or bought land — something they previously could not do. Trump later strolled into a ceremony as participan­ts banged drums and blew horns. “When you invest in women, they invest back into their families and communitie­s and countries flourish,” said Trump, who is visiting Morocco to promote the Women’s Global Developmen­t and Prosperity initiative, a U.S. government program she spearheads that has a goal of helping 50 million women in developing countries advance economical­ly by 2025. The initiative focuses on helping women develop job skills and succeed as entreprene­urs, along with changing cultures and laws. She held back-to-back meetings with Prime Minister Saad-Eddine El Othmani and Foreign Affairs Minister Nasser Bourita and also spoke by telephone with King Mohammed VI to thank him for “meaningful recent legal reforms to advance gender equality in Morocco,” she said on Twitter. Dressed in a glittering champagne-colored caftan on loan from the king, Trump capped the night at an intimate dinner party on the palace grounds, hosted by Princess Lalla Meryem.

■ Election Day has passed, but Michelle Obama is still trying to get out the vote. The former first lady announced that Selena Gomez, Liza Koshy, Shonda Rhimes, Megan Rapinoe, Tracee Ellis Ross and Kerry Washington have signed on as co-chairmen of the national organizati­on When We All Vote. Obama is already a co-chairman, along with Lin-Manuel Miranda, Faith Hill, Tom Hanks and wife Rita Wilson, and basketball star Chris Paul. When We All Vote, a nonprofit, describes itself as a nonpartisa­n group dedicated to increasing voter participat­ion. The announceme­nt Thursday marks a year until the 2020 elections, which includes the presidenti­al race. Hanks said “registerin­g new voters is an act of hope and taking part in the American idea.” He added that voting guarantees the blessings of “liberty for the grandkids.”

 ?? AP/JACQUELYN MARTIN ?? Ivanka Trump (left) and Princess Lalla Meryem of Morocco prepare to greet dinner guests Thursday at the Royal Guest House in Rabat, Morocco.
AP/JACQUELYN MARTIN Ivanka Trump (left) and Princess Lalla Meryem of Morocco prepare to greet dinner guests Thursday at the Royal Guest House in Rabat, Morocco.
 ??  ?? Obama
Obama

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States