Tag: Meeting

(CNN)Beijing residents who are putting up with extra security checks and traffic restrictions this week for the annual meeting of the country's lawmakers are doing so without the usual compensation of glorious blue skies. The Chinese capital was choking on smog Tuesday morning, even as the city's environment bureau said an orange air pollution warning issued over the weekend was due to be lifted as the situation improved. An orange alert, the second-highest on the city's four-tier system, advises elderly people and children to remain indoors. During an orange alert, outdoor construction work is halted, and limited traffic restrictions are introduced in order to cut down on the amount of pollutants being added to the poisonous air. Beijing is currently hosting the annual meeting of lawmakers known as the "Two Sessions." Sunday was the first day of the annual Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, a body that nominally advises on laws and policy and whose members include numerous retired officials and celebrities. That puts it in the US Environmental Protection Agency's "very unhealthy" category. In the past, major political events in Beijing have been greeted with blue skies, as the Chinese authorities shut down factories in neighboring provinces and limit traffic to ensure clean air. A study in 2016 said the practice came at a severe cost, however, as production is ramped up to compensate for economic losses incurred during the shut down. This week's pollution will be particularly embarrassing for Beijing's government, as it has actually seen a marked progress in recent years in terms of tackling smog, with numerous measures taken to cut down on pollutants.

Describing Jagan as his family friend, the actor said he called on him to congratulate him on successful completion of his 'padyatra'. The actor met Jaganmohan Reddy, who is the leader of Opposition in Andhra Pradesh Assembly, at the latter's Lotus Pond residence in Hyderabad. Speculation was also rife that he could have met Jagan on behalf of someone close to him to seek an Assembly or MP ticket from Guntur in Andhra Pradesh. Nagarjuna told reporters that he is not keen on politics. He said there was no politics in his meeting with Jagan. The YSRCP chief is hopeful of coming to power in the state after he recently completed a 429-day-long padayatra covering 3,648 km. YSRCP leaders claim that Jagan had reached out to two crore people during the padayatra, covering 134 out of 175 Assembly constituencies in the state. Jagan had set out on the padayatra on November 6, 2017, from his hometown Idupulapaya in Kadapa district. Meanwhile, asked about the meeting between Jagan and Nagarjuna, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader and Guntur MP Galla Jayadev told reporters, “I am neither in YSRCP or in Hyderabad, so I can’t comment on the meeting. Me and Nagarjuna are good friends.

Chanda McGuffin, Co-founder of RISE, said the conversation was long overdue. said McGuffin. On Monday, McGuffin said Augusta County Democratic Committee Chair, Frank Nolen wrote a Facebook post that he did not believe the picture on Northam's yearbook page was racist. "A picture of a white man and black man standing together as brothers is not racism. "A picture of a klansman and black man standing together means to me reconciliation." WHSV reached out to Nolen but he did not have further comment. The organizers of RISE have called on Nolen to step down. "For him to come out in favor of Northam is dishonoring to this area and the black community in this area," said McGuffin. Community members joined in the conversation, discussing the history of slavery and racism in America and activism. "The black voter is tired of getting put on the back burner."

At a cabinet meeting prior to the briefing, Trump warned that parts of the government would could remain closed for a “a long time” without a deal. “We’re asking the president to open up government,” Nancy Pelosi, who is expected to assume the speakership of the House of Representatives on Thursday, said after the briefing with Trump. Why would he not do it?” The shutdown was triggered by Trump’s demand that Congress allocate more than $5bn in taxpayer money to build a wall along the 2,000-mile border between the US and Mexico – a concession Democrats refuse to make. The shutdown, which entered its 12th day on Wednesday, has affected nearly 800,000 federal workers. The incoming House Republican leader, Kevin McCarthy, said Trump invited leaders back to the White House on Friday. The Republican-controlled Senate passed a spending bill last month that would have funded the government through 8 February without money for a border wall. But Republican leaders in the House refused to hold a vote on the measure. On Capitol Hill after the briefing on Wednesday, Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, told reporters that it could take “weeks” to break the stalemate and that Wednesday’s meeting did not produce “any particular progress”. Schumer said he implored Trump to reopen the government while they debated their differences over the border wall. “We asked him to give us one good reason – I asked him directly,” Schumer said.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday abruptly canceled his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin two days before they were scheduled to sit down on the sidelines of the G20 summit. #CNN #News

A Russian participant in the notorious meeting held by Donald Trump’s son at Trump Tower last year had business ties to a man who was believed by US authorities in a 2000 US government report to have links to former Soviet intelligence officials. Irakly Kaveladze was identified this week as the eighth attendee of the June 2016 meeting, which has become central to questions over Russian interference in last year’s presidential election. Eighth person at Trump Jr meeting was accused of money laundering Read more Trump’s son, Donald Jr, agreed to the meeting after being told by email that he would be given damaging information about Hillary Clinton, their Democratic opponent, as part of an effort by the Russian government to support Trump. Kaveladze, a 52-year-old executive at a Moscow-based property firm with ties to Trump, was found in a 2000 US Government Accountability Office report to have created hundreds of shell companies for a $1.4bn scheme that US investigators suspected was used to launder Russian money through American banks. In a telephone interview this week, Goldstein, 53, denied having ties to intelligence agencies in Russia or the former Soviet Union. They were joined by Rinat Akhmetshin, a Russian American political operative and former military officer. Kaveladze’s attorney, Scott Balber, did not respond to questions about the $1.4bn money transfer system involving Russian funds. Goldstein says that Johansons did not work with the bank he founded or during any time that Goldstein had an interest in the merged bank and that he had never met nor spoken with Johansons. In 1996, according to the GAO investigators, Goldstein’s company signed a contract with a company owned by Kaveladze for Kaveladze to introduce potential banking customers to Goldstein’s company, and then open bank accounts for them at Commercial Bank, where Goldstein was director of private banking and international banking. The GAO passed their findings to law enforcement agencies but no charges were ever brought.

In a closed-door meeting with evangelical leaders Monday night, President Donald Trump repeated his debunked claim that he had gotten "rid of" a law forbidding churches and charitable organizations from endorsing political candidates, according to recorded excerpts reviewed by NBC News. But Trump cited this alleged accomplishment as one in a series of gains he has made for his conservative Christian supporters, as he warned, "You're one election away from losing everything that you've got," and said their opponents were "violent people" who would overturn these gains "violently." "Now one of the things I'm most proud of is getting rid of the Johnson Amendment," the president said. The president doesn't have the power to repeal a law — only Congress can do that. Trump said to the religious leaders at the White House: "Now you're not silenced anymore. The Johnson Amendment doesn't prohibit individual speech, and it has rarely been enforced. Trump "doesn't have the legal authority to overturn the Johnson Amendment," Magarian said. In the beginning of his private remarks to the evangelical leaders, Trump cited a comment he said was made by Robert Jeffress, a Southern Baptist leader who is one of his religious allies "I had the great Robert Jeffress back there. He added: "Hopefully I've proven that to be a fact in terms of the second part. Trump added, to applause: "They say Merry Christmas a lot right now.

President Donald Trump's stunning news conference Monday next to Russian President Vladimir Putin, during which he failed to back the US intelligence community's assessment that Russia interfered in the 2016 election over Putin's denial, is being widely panned by Democrats, former intelligence chiefs, and Republican critics like Sens. Today, there a few new voices in the pool of condemnations, most notably ones who typically supported Trump in the past like House Speaker Paul Ryan and Reps. Liz Cheney and Trey Gowdy. "There is no question that Russia interfered in our election and continues attempts to undermine democracy here and around the world," said Ryan, a Republican from Wisconsin, in a statement. (He did not answer a question on whether he would tell Trump that he disagreed with him.) "Russia interfered in the 2016 election," Hatch said in a statement. From the President on down, we must do everything in our power to protect our democracy by securing future elections from foreign influence and interference, regardless of what Vladimir Putin or any other Russian operative says. Jones also said he would be “adamantly opposed” to Republican efforts to impeach Rod Rosenstein, calling him “a man of integrity and quality.” He said last week’s hearing with Peter Strzok was “stupid” for Republicans. Republican senator: Trump's remarks doubting in his intelligence team were not helpful Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine, said she "strongly disagrees" with President Trump’s comments at the summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin and reaffirms congressional support for the intelligence community. His tweet come as he faces a flood of criticism over his remarks at a news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Finland. “As the Leader has said many times, Russia is not our friend, and he agrees with the findings of the intelligence community regarding Russia's efforts to interfere in our elections.

It follows Boris Johnson’s departure on Monday when he became the second cabinet minister to resign in 24 hours, claiming Britain was “headed for the status of colony”. Cabinet: who's in and who's out David Davis Goes to the backbenches after kicking off the ministerial reshuffle with his resignation as Brexit secretary over Theresa May's negotiation plans. “At least half a dozen people made that point and the prime minister responded, too – what is good for the country is a Conservative government.” Earlier, Downing Street announced Johnson’s resignation as foreign secretary, just minutes before May addressed MPs about the softer Brexit plan agreed at Chequers on Friday. Many of the prime minister’s supporters believe she would win a contest and cement her authority; but May would face a leadership challenge if she lost, with Johnson among the potential candidates. Asked whether May would contest a no confidence vote, a Downing Street source said simply: “Yes.” The Guardian view on Boris Johnson’s resignation: good riddance to a national embarrassment | Editorial Read more Asked whether May was confident that the rest of her cabinet backed the negotiating position agreed at Chequers, which is due to be fleshed out in a white paper later this week, he added: “There is no reason to think otherwise.” The carefully choreographed meeting last week resulted in a deal May believed her cabinet had signed up to, which would create a “UK-EU free trade area” for goods, governed by a “common rule book”. Johnson was the cabinet minister most closely associated with Vote Leave’s controversial claim that Brexit would deliver an extra £350m a week for the NHS. Davis was replaced as Brexit secretary by fellow leaver Dominic Raab. One senior Brexiter suggested more resignations could follow in the coming weeks and months. “If you’d told me two hours ago that this is how we’d end the day, I’d have bitten your hand off.” As Johnson’s resignation was announced, Labour MPs were being briefed about the government’s soft Brexit plan by May’s de facto deputy, David Lidington, in a sign that Downing Street is beginning to accept that it will need to draw on cross-party support to get her plans through parliament, without the backing of hardline Brexiters.

After a long day of talks at Chequers, the cabinet has agreed what Theresa May hailed as a “collective position for the future of our negotiations” on Brexit. It might yet be modified amid Brussels objections or MPs’ concerns but below is the plan as agreed, as set out in a government statement: Harmonisation on goods The statement says the UK will “maintain a common rulebook for all goods” including agricultural products after Brexit, with the UK committing via treaty on continued harmonisation, thus avoiding border friction. However, the proposal says protections in areas such as the environment, employment laws and consumer protection would not fall below current levels. Joint jurisdiction of rules The plan proposes what is termed a “joint institutional framework” for interpreting UK-EU agreements, to be carried out in each jurisdiction by the respective courts. This would see the UK and EU avoid hard borders by being treated as a “combined customs territory”. Under this, the UK would apply domestic tariffs and trade policies for goods intended for the UK, and their EU equivalents for goods heading into the EU. The statement says the new arrangements would prevent a hard Irish border, ensuring the “backstop” elements of the initial withdrawal agreement would not be needed. The plan, it adds, would still give the UK an independent trade policy, with the ability to set its own non-EU tariffs and to reach separate trade deals. It also promises to end the role of the ECJ in UK affairs. This is version one.