Exxon Promises Air Pollution Controls in Settlement with US Government
31/10/2017
ExxonMobil has promised to upgrade pollution controls at eight of its manufacturing facilities along the U.S. Gulf Coast under an agreement it reached with federal authorities.
The petrochemical giant will spend about $300 million to install pollution controls at the plants to settle allegations that it violated U.S. environmental law by failing to properly monitor industrial flares at its petrochemical plants, resulting in illegal air pollution.
The U.S. Justice Department, in a statement, said the Exxon facilities — located in Louisiana and Texas — will operate new air pollution control and monitoring technology to reduce the harmful emissions.
“Once fully implemented, the pollution controls required by the settlement are estimated to reduce harmful air emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by more than 7,000 tons per year,” the DOJ said in a statement. “The settlement is also expected to reduce toxic air pollutants, including benzene, by more than 1,500 tons per year.”
The Justice Department describes VOCs as key components in the formation of smog, which can irritate lungs and inflame respiratory issues like asthma. Chronic exposure can lead to leukemia and adverse reproductive effects in women, the DOJ said.
Exxon also will be required to spend $1 million on a project to plant trees in Baytown, Texas, and purchase a $1.5 million mobile air quality monitoring vehicle for use by Louisiana’s environmental protection agency.
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Agents: Bergdahl Debriefs Were intelligence ‘Gold Mine’
31/10/2017
Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl was a “gold mine” of intelligence, helping the military better understand insurgents and how they imprison the enemy, two agents testified Tuesday as defense attorneys sought to show the soldier’s contributions since he was returned in a prisoner swap.
The testimony runs counterpoint to the case prosecutors presented at Bergdahl’s sentencing hearing, calling on severely wounded soldiers to offer gripping testimony about the injuries that troops suffered while searching for Bergdahl after he walked off his post in Afghanistan in 2009.
Bergdahl, who pleaded guilty to desertion and misbehavior before the enemy, testified Monday and apologized to the wounded. He faces up to life in prison. The military judge hearing the case has wide leeway in deciding Bergdahl’s punishment.
Amber Dach, who spent 16 years in military intelligence, was the primary analyst assigned to Bergdahl’s case for the five years after he disappeared. She described how eager he was to help intelligence officials at a hospital in Germany days after he was returned to U.S. authorities. Though his voice was weak and raspy, he helped authorities and even drew diagrams in his downtime to bring to his next debriefing session.
“He was very motivated to just downloading all of the details that he recalled,” she testified. “It was a gold mine. It really reshaped the way we did intel collection in the area.”
An official from the military agency that helps reintegrate former captives and develops survival training for service members testified that information Bergdahl provided him was invaluable.
Terrence Russell, a division chief for the Joint Personnel Recovery Agency, developed a 1,200-page transcript from debriefing Bergdahl that was turned into a database. The information produced reports on tactics used by insurgents and hostage-takers in the region that are still used by the military.
Russell said he’d like to learn even more from Bergdahl but the soldier’s legal case has impeded that.
“Can you give him to me tomorrow? I need him. I need him now,” he said to a defense attorney. “The fact that I can’t get that information is wrong. I need that.”
He said he’d like to add Bergdahl to a roster of about 30 or so Gulf War-era military captives who can provide videos or lectures to service members on captivity in recent conflicts.
“We don’t have very many examples coming out of Afghanistan,” he said.
He also reaffirmed previous statements that Bergdahl’s captivity was worse than any American prisoner of war has experienced since the Vietnam era.
Bergdahl has described the brutal conditions he faced, including beatings with copper wire and unending bouts of gastrointestinal problems brought on by squalid conditions. He said he was kept in a cage for four out of the five years in captivity after several escape attempts. He said his muscles became so weak he could barely stand or walk.
The 31-year-old soldier from Hailey, Idaho, was brought home by President Barack Obama in 2014 in a swap for five Taliban prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. Obama said at the time the U.S. does not leave its service members on the battlefield. Republicans roundly criticized Obama, and Donald Trump went further while campaigning for president, repeatedly calling Bergdahl a “dirty, rotten traitor” who deserved to be executed by firing squad or thrown out of a plane without a parachute.
Bergdahl’s sentencing hearing is expected to last several more days.
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AP Fact Check: Trump Marginalizes Adviser Snagged in Probe
31/10/2017
President Donald Trump is working to discredit and marginalize an adviser to his 2016 campaign who took steps to get “dirt” on Hillary Clinton from a Russian source close to the Kremlin. Trump branded George Papadopoulos “low level” and a “liar” Tuesday, a turnaround from describing him as an “excellent guy” when he joined his campaign team.
It’s become harder for Trump to speak dismissively of the Russia investigation now that his former campaign chief is under house arrest and Papadopoulos has pleaded guilty to lying about his Russian interactions. But he’s trying.
A look at statements by Trump and spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders after the special counsel’s investigation unsealed criminal charges against Paul Manafort and his business associate and revealed Papadopoulos’ plea:
Trump tweet Tuesday: “Few people knew the young, low level volunteer named George, who has already proven to be a liar.”
The Facts: Papadopoulos, though not senior, was not obscure. Trump named Papadopoulos to his foreign policy advisory council in March 2016, where he joined a short list of experts helping the candidate with international affairs.
“He’s an oil and energy consultant,” Trump told The Washington Post at the time. “Excellent guy.” Trump tweeted a photo of his March 31 advisory council meeting, with Papadopoulos among several advisers at the president’s table. Jeff Sessions, then a senator and now attorney general, was helping Trump’s campaign and attended at least two meetings of the advisory council with Papadopoulos also there.
Papadopoulos was based in London at the time but did not operate in a bubble.
In April 2016, he met a Russian professor close to the Russian government for breakfast in London and was told Moscow had “dirt” helpful to Trump, namely Clinton emails. Investigators said Papadopoulos emailed a Trump campaign policy adviser the next day, saying “Have some interesting messages coming in from Moscow about a trip when the time is right.”
Court filings say the adviser met later with an unidentified Russian woman who claimed to be related to Russian President Vladimir Putin and a third person who claimed connections with the Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry. The two men then exchanged emails about a possible meeting between Trump campaign aides and Russian government officials.
Altogether, this episode has provided evidence in the first criminal case connecting Trump’s team to alleged intermediaries for Russia’s government. Papadopoulos is cooperating with investigators.
His lie? He told the FBI his Russian interactions came before he joined Trump’s team. These steps came after he joined.
Trump tweet Monday: “Sorry, but this is years ago, before Paul Manafort was part of the Trump campaign.”
The Facts: Not true, according to the indictment.
Manafort and his associate Rick Gates are charged with criminal activities that go back to 2006 but extend to February of this year. The charges do not refer to Manafort’s activities with the campaign but rather accuse him of laundering money and conspiratorial acts before, during and after he was campaign chairman.
Manafort and Gates face 12 counts, which do deal largely with activities from 2006 to 2015, before Manafort joined the campaign in March 2016.
But both are charged with conspiring together and with others to knowingly and intentionally defraud and commit crimes against the U.S. from 2006 to this year.
And both are charged with conspiring together to make false statements and conceal crimes against the U.S., and to causing others to do so, from November 2016 to February 2017.
The indictment alleges that Manafort and Gates acted as unregistered agents of Ukraine’s former pro-Russia leader, government and party from 2006 to 2015. The indictment says that “from approximately 2006 through at least 2016, MANAFORT and GATES laundered the money through scores of United States and foreign corporations, partnerships and bank accounts.”
Manafort was hired in late March 2016 as the campaign’s manager for the Republican convention in July. He was promoted to campaign chairman in mid-May, after he had essentially assumed control, and then was pushed out August 19 when questions intensified about his lobbying for Ukraine interests.
This indictment emerged from the broad investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election and possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. It does not go to the heart of that matter.
Sanders: “Today’s announcement has nothing to do with the president, has nothing to do with the president’s campaign or campaign activity.” – briefing Monday.
The facts: It’s true that Trump himself isn’t wrapped up in the charges, but his campaign adviser is.
Sanders said Papadopoulos’ work for the campaign was “extremely limited. It was a volunteer position.”
Yet investigators said his position was significant to those who wanted to pass on information helpful to the campaign. The allegations unsealed Monday state “the professor only took interest in defendant PAPADOPOULOS because of his status with the Campaign.”
Sanders: “What the Clinton campaign did, what the DNC did was actually exchange money …. actually paying money for false information.” – briefing
The facts: She is right that the Clinton campaign and the Democratic Party hired a firm that came up with sensational allegations about Trump’s connections to Russia. The material is unverified. That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s false.
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РНБО: в Україні посилять антитерористичний і контррозвідувальний режими
31/10/2017
Відповідні доручення отримали Служба безпеки України, Національна поліція і Державна прикордонна служба – прес-служба РНБО
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FEMA: Disaster Relief Now Costing $200 Million Each Day
31/10/2017
The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency says the U.S. is spending more than $200 million each day on the response to three major hurricanes and huge wildfires.
FEMA Administrator Brock Long told a Senate oversight committee Tuesday the challenge presented by hurricanes Irma, Harvey and Maria is unprecedented in the history of his agency. He also noted costs from the recent wild fires in California, which Long called the worst devastation he has ever seen.
Long thanked the legislators for the $52 billion in emergency relief allocated so far, but said recovering from the recent spate of disasters will be tremendously expensive.
Long said he also needs additional legal authority from Congress to build the power grid in Puerto Rico back better than it was before.
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Росія: Лавров заявив, що заяви Волкера про миротворців на Донбасі суперечать зусиллям для врегулювання
31/10/2017
Міністр закордонних справ Росії Сергій Лавров заявив, що заяви спеціального представника Державного департаменту США у справах України Курта Волкера щодо очікуваної миротворчої місії ООН на окупованій частині українського Донбасу «прямо суперечать» зусиллям, яких докладають для врегулювання в регіоні в так званому «нормандському форматі» Німеччина, Франція, Росія і Україна.
За словами Лаврова, ідея Волкера полягає в тому, щоб «миротворці окупували… Донбас, узяли його в кільце, і тільки потім США підтримають дії президента (України Петра) Порошенка щодо виконання всіх його зобов’язань, включно з наданням Донбасові «особливого статусу за «формулою Штайнмаєра», яку два роки саботують Порошенко і його уряд».
Він уточнив, що слова «окупували» Волкер не вживав, але, за словами Лаврова, «суть така».
«Нам цілком очевидно, що як тільки окупаційні сили займуть весь Донбас, Порошенко і пальцем не поворухне, щоб зробити щось із того, що він обіцяв», – додав Лавров.
Крім того, він розкритикував слова Волкера, що незаконні збройні сепаратистські угруповання «ДНР» і «ЛНР», підтримувані Росією, не є учасниками врегулювання за мінськими домовленостями, і з ними не збираються узгоджувати питання можливої миротворчої місії ООН.
Лавров також критикував і те, що в Раді безпеки ООН досі не почалися переговори щодо російського проекту такої місії ООН, яка, на думку Москви, мала б обмежитися охороною місії ОБСЄ. При цьому він стверджував, що «Франція і Німеччина висловили інтерес до російського проекту», але «Україна заявила, що це не годиться».
Із критикою слів Волкера виступили 31 жовтня і в угрупованнях «ДНР» і «ЛНР», де заявляли, що без їхньої згоди ніяких сил ООН на Донбасі не буде. Вони також стверджували, ніби є «рівноправними партнерами» на переговорах про врегулювання в білоруському Мінську, на яких були свого часу укладені всі три головні мінські домовленості. «Пан Волкер, мабуть, не встиг ознайомитися з оригіналами мінських домовленостей», – заявили в цих угрупованнях.
30 жовтня в Україні «Громадське» телебачення оприлюднило текст узятого раніше інтерв’ю з Куртом Волкером, у якому той, серед іншого, заявив, що миротворці ООН повинні мати повний контроль над усією зоною конфлікту, а не лише над лінією зіткнення, і вільно пересуватися нею, моніторити відведення важкого озброєння в місця постійної дислокації і контролювати російсько-український кордон.
При цьому Волкер також наголосив, що всі три пакети мінських угод укладені «між Росією, Україною і ОБСЄ», і в цьому процесі «не місце» «так званим республікам», сказав спецпредставник, використавши самоназву угруповань «ДНР» і «ЛНР», що називають себе «республіками».
Така позиція збігається з позицією Києва щодо очікуваних миротворчих сил ООН на окупованій частині Донбасу. Натомість Росія домагається, щоб ці сили дислокувалися тільки поблизу лінії контакту в місцях, де працюють спостерігачі ОБСЄ, і мали за завдання тільки охорону цих спостерігачів. Франція і Німеччина, всупереч твердженню Лаврова, відразу відкинули такі обмеження, як і інші союзники України і сам Київ. У Раді безпеки ООН російську пропозицію, за повідомленнями дипломатів, через це так і не почали обговорювати глибоко. Україна наразі ще не подає свого проекту резолюції, бо тим часом далі узгоджує його зі своїми міжнародними партнерами.
Крім того, Україна ніколи не брала на себе ніяких зобов’язань щодо так званої «формули Штанймаєра», названої за іменем Франка-Вальтера Штайнмаєра, який свого часу був міністром закордонних справ Німеччини і очолював тоді ж ОБСЄ. Ця формула пропонує паралельне виконання безпекових і політичних пунктів мінських домовленостей. Україна твердо наполягає на необхідності спершу вирішити питання безпеки: припинення вогню, звільнення заручників, виведення російських військ і озброєнь із окупованих територій, роззброєння незаконних збройних формувань і передачу непідконтрольної частини українсько-російського кордону під контроль ОБСЄ чи місії ООН, – перш ніж можна буде переходити до місцевих виборів та інших політичних питань.
«Особливим статусом» для окупованої частини Донбасу в Росії, а також іноді на Заході називають особливий тимчасовий порядок місцевого самоврядування для цих територій, передбачений законом України. Цей закон, чинність якого нещодавно продовжили на рік, фактично так і не почав діяти через невиконання своїх зобов’язань Росією і підконтрольними їй сепаратистами.
Усі три мінські домовленості, оригінали яких свого часу публікувала ОБСЄ, підписані повноважними представниками ОБСЄ, України і Росії. Окремо нижче йдуть підписи і представників угруповань «ДНР» і «ЛНР», які названі лише на імена, бо ніяких офіційних посад вони не мають, і не є сторонами домовленостей. Росія ж твердить, що сторонами домовленостей є, мовляв, Україна і «республіки Донбасу», як вона називає ці угруповання, а сама Москва є нібито лише гарантом цих домовленостей і не має за ними ніяких зобов’язань, а тому не збирається їх виконувати.
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Kushner Partner All But Kills Plan for Fifth Ave Skyscraper
31/10/2017
The co-owner of a Fifth Avenue skyscraper controlled by the family of Jared Kushner says demolishing the tower to build luxury apartments is not practical and the building will likely remain as offices.
Vornado Realty Trust CEO Steven Roth told investors on Tuesday that the Kushner family’s plan to raise billions from investors to rebuild the tower is “not feasible.” He added that “it’s likely that the building will revert to an office building.”
The project drew criticism after media reports that the Kushner Cos. was negotiating with a Chinese insurer with ties to the ruling Communist Party, among other big foreign investors. Critics say such deals would raise conflicts of interest issues with Jared Kushner serving in the White House as an adviser to his father-in-law, President Donald Trump.
Глава МВС Аваков відкидає причетність свого сина до розтрати бюджетних коштів
31/10/2017
Міністр внутрішніх справ Арсен Аваков відкидає причетність свого сина Олександра до розтрати бюджетних коштів.
«Ні мій син, ні фірми, в яких він засновник, не мають і не мали ні копійки грошей з бюджету України. І Олександр Аваков пройде процедуру і доведе це в суді», – написав він на своїй сторінці в Facebook.
НАБУ 31 жовтня провело обшуки у рамках розслідування можливої розтрати державних коштів при закупівлі рюкзаків Міністерством внутрішніх справ, у результаті низки обшуків за підозрою в розтраті понад 14 мільйонів гривень затримали трьох людей: колишнього заступника міністра внутрішніх справ України, представника фірми-переможця тендеру на постачання рюкзаків та ще одну приватну особу.
Вирішується питання щодо повідомлення їм про підозру, додали у НАБУ.
Як повідомляла головний редактор програми «Схеми» (спільного проекту Радіо Свобода і телеканалу «UA:Перший») Наталка Седлецька, у рамках справи про «рюкзаки МВС» затримали сина міністра внутрішніх справ України Олександра Авакова і екс-заступника міністра внутрішніх справ Сергія Чеботаря.
За даними НАБУ, у 2015 році ці особи були причетні до закупівлі коштом Міністерства внутрішніх справ рюкзаків за ціною, суттєво вищою від середньоринкової. За даними досудового розслідування, товар не був поставлений вчасно і до того ж не відповідав вимогам, встановленим МВС, внаслідок чого державі було завдано збитків у розмірі понад 14 мільйонів гривень.
Натомість Міністерство внутрішніх справ України назвало «політичними, а не юридично обґрунтованими» дії НАБУ, яке 31 жовтня проводило обшуки в сина голови МВС Олександра Авакова і екс-заступника Арсена Авакова Сергія Чеботаря.
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Eurozone Recovery Helps Unemployment Fall to Near 9-Year Low
31/10/2017
Official figures show that the robust economic recovery across the 19-country eurozone persisted during the third quarter, helping unemployment fall to a near 9-year low.
Eurostat, the European Union’s statistics agency, said Tuesday that the eurozone economy grew by 0.6 percent during the July to September period. Though that’s slightly down on the stellar 0.7 percent tick recorded in the second quarter, it’s modestly higher than expectations for a 0.5 percent rise.
Separately, Eurostat said unemployment fell to 8.9 percent in September from 9.0 percent the previous month. That’s the lowest rate since January 2009.
Elsewhere, Eurostat said annual inflation in the eurozone dipped to 1.4 percent in October from 1.5 percent as the core rate, which strips out volatile items, surprisingly fell to 0.9 percent from 1.1 percent.
Турчинов закликав до рішучої відповіді на «виклик країні» – вбивство Окуєвої
31/10/2017
«Росія, продовжуючи агресію на сході України, розгорнула терор у глибокому тилу, знищуючи мужніх захисників нашої країни»
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Lobbying, Political Worlds of Paul Manafort Merge in Indictment
31/10/2017
For nearly 40 years, Paul Manafort has been one of Washington’s top lobbyists, paid millions of dollars to represent controversial figures from around the globe who needed to burnish their standing in the U.S. capital, including the Philippines’ Ferdinand Marcos, Zaire’s military dictator Mobutu Sese Seko and most recently Ukrainian strongman Viktor Yanukovych.
At the same time, he has been a Republican political operative, advising and serving an array of the party’s presidents since the 1970s. Just last year, he briefly was campaign chairman for the upstart candidacy of real estate mogul Donald Trump on his eventually successful run to the White House.
Now the lobbying and political worlds of the 68-year-old Manafort have achieved a merger of sorts.
A federal grand jury in Washington indicted him in a money-laundering scheme linked to his lobbying for Moscow-supported Yanukovych before the Kyiv leader was ousted in 2014 and fled to Russia in exile. The charges came as part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election aimed at undermining U.S. democracy and help Trump win.
By the end of Monday, Manafort was under house arrest, awaiting resolution of charges that could, if convicted, land him in prison for years.
The indictment against Manafort did not describe his tenure as Trump’s campaign chief and was related solely to lucrative lobbying transactions that predated the Trump campaign.
Trump was quick to note, “Sorry, but this is years ago, before Paul Manafort was part of the Trump campaign.”
After Manafort pleaded not guilty to the charges, his lawyer, Kevin Downing, told reporters, “I think you all saw today that President Donald Trump was correct. There is no evidence that Mr. Manafort or the Trump campaign colluded with the Russian government. Mr. Manafort represented pro-European Union campaigns for the Ukrainians and … was seeking to further democracy and to help the Ukraine come closer to the United States and the EU.”
Downing said, “Those activities ended in 2014 over two years before Mr. Manafort served in the Trump campaign.”
But Manafort was at the top of the Trump campaign for three months in 2016 and Mueller’s investigators are in the midst of a months-long investigation of trying to determine who had contacts with Russia in the long run-up to Trump’s upset win in the November election over former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. One person they could look to for answers is Paul Manafort.
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US Russia Probe Takes Dramatic Turn with Indictments, Plea Deal
31/10/2017
The special counsel investigation into possible collusion between President Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and Russia took a dramatic turn Monday with criminal indictments of two former Trump campaign officials, Paul Manafort and Rick Gates. Special Counsel Robert Mueller also revealed that a former Trump campaign aide, George Papadopoulos, pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI in connection with the Russia probe. VOA National correspondent Jim Malone has more from Washington.
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Indictment Against Manafort, Gates Details Elaborate Scheme
31/10/2017
The indictment against Donald Trump’s former campaign chief, Paul Manafort, and a longtime business associate alleged the two carried out an elaborate scheme that involved the use of a little-known outfit to mask years of lobbying on behalf of Ukraine’s former president, his pro-Russia political party, and the Ukrainian government.
Manafort and his former business partner, Rick Gates, are charged in a 12-count indictment including conspiracy, money laundering, and making false statements. The two could faces decades in prison if convicted, and both have pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The allegations do not include collusion with Russia during the presidential campaign.
The indictment was approved by a federal grand jury on Friday and unsealed after Manafort and his right-hand man and former Trump campaign adviser, Gates, turned themselves in to the FBI. It represents the first charges brought by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is looking into allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
Manafort’s consulting work for Ukraine started in 2006 when the Republican political strategist was retained by Ukraine’s pro-Russian Party of Regions to “advance its interests” in Ukraine. In 2010, Viktor Yanukovych, the party’s candidate, was elected president. Four years later, he fled to Russia following popular protests.
Eight-year lobbying campaign
The indictment alleges that during the eight-year period, Manafort and Gates “engaged in a multimillion-dollar lobbying campaign” in the U.S. on behalf of Yanukovych, the Party of Regions, and the Ukrainian government. The two hid their activities from U.S. authorities and used offshore accounts to launder millions of dollars in Ukrainian payments.
As part of their effort to mask their lobbying from U.S. authorities, the pair used a little-known outfit called the European Center for Modern Ukraine. The Brussels-based outfit called itself “an advocate for enhancing EU-Ukrainian relations” but in reality served as “a mouthpiece” for Yanukovych and his Party of Regions, according to the indictment. Manafort and Gates used the nonprofit to carry out lobbying and public relations campaigns, according to court records.
Manafort and Gates then hired two Washington, D.C., firms to lobby members of Congress about Ukrainian sanctions, the “validity” of Ukraine elections, and the “propriety” of Yanukovych’s imprisonment of his political rival, former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko.
“Manafort and Gates did so without registering and providing the disclosures required by law,” the indictment alleges.
The two lobbying firms are Podesta Group Inc. and Mercury LLC, the Associated Press reported last year. The Podesta Group is headed by Tony Podesta, the brother of John Podesta, who was campaign chairman for Hillary Clinton. Politico reported on Monday that Tony Podesta was stepping down from the firm.
To conceal the lobbying effort, Manafort and Gates allegedly arranged for the two lobbying firms to be ostensibly working for the European Center for Modern Ukraine, which in fact was “under the ultimate direction” of Yanukovych, the Ukrainian government and the Party of the Regions, according to the indictment.
Manafort and Gates are also accused of using their offshore accounts to secretly pay $4 million for a report about Tymoshenko’s trial commissioned by the Ukrainian government.
Ties to Trump
Manafort and Gates joined the Trump campaign in March 2006. Gates was later promoted as deputy campaign manager and Manafort served as campaign chairman. He was fired in August after reports of his lobbying for pro-Russia interests in Ukraine.
The Department of Justice began looking into Manafort’s and Gates’ lobbying for Ukraine last year. The indictment says the two partners told investigators in 2016 that they merely “provided an introduction” between the Brussels center and the Washington lobbying firms, and that their efforts “did not include meetings and outreach within the United States.”
In fact, according to the indictment, Manafort and Gates were deeply involved in the scheme. They had weekly phone calls and email communications with officials of the two companies, directed them on “specific lobbying steps,” received regular reports from them, and updated Yanukovych about the lobbying activities. For their efforts between 2012 and 2014, the firms were paid $2 million.
Charges
The charges against Manafort and Gates include conspiracy to defraud the United States, money laundering, failure to report foreign bank holdings to the U.S. Treasury Department, lobbying for a foreign government without registering with the Justice Department, and making false statements about their lobbying efforts.
Manafort and Gates are accused of serving as unregistered foreign agents of Ukrainian interests in violation of Department of Justice registration requirements.
Between them, Manafort and Gates controlled 17 domestic entities, 12 Cyprus-based entities and 3 other foreign entities, according to the indictment. In all, $75 million passed through the offshore accounts. Manafort is alleged to have laundered more than $18 million. Gates is accused of laundering more than $3 million from offshore accounts.
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Trump Expected to Nominate Powell for Fed Chair
30/10/2017
U.S. President is expected to nominate Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell as the next chairman of the central bank, senior administration officials said Monday.
Powell is a Republican centrist who appears inclined to continue the Fed’s strategy of gradual interest rate hikes.
But officials say Trump hasn’t made up his mind and could change it.
Powell would represent a middle-ground pick for Trump, who is also considering current Democratic Fed Chair Janet Yellen as well as Stanford University economist John Taylor and former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh.
Powell could, however, relax some of the stricter financial rules that were enacted after the 2008 financial crisis. Trump has complained that those rules have been too restrictive.
The decision over the Fed’s next leader is overshadowing this week’s meeting of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting.
Trump said Friday he has “someone very specific in mind” for the Fed. “It will be a person who, hopefully, will do a fantastic job,” Trump said in a short video message posted on Instagram and Twitter.
Many conservative members of Congress had been pushing Trump to select Taylor, rather than Powell, for Fed chairman. Taylor, one of the country’s leading academics in the area of Fed policy, would likely embrace a more “hawkish” approach — more inclined to raise rates to fight inflation than to keep rates low to support the job market. Taylor is the author of a widely cited policy rule that provides a mathematical formula for guiding rate decisions. By one version of that rule, rates would be at least double what they are now.
Yellen, who was selected as Fed chair by President Barack Obama, has been an outspoken advocate for the stricter financial regulations that took effect in 2010 to prevent another crisis.
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Blockchain Technology Could Unblock Southeast Asia
30/10/2017
Imagine you could swipe your phone over a piece of fish in the supermarket and instantly see secure records of its entire path through the supply chain, from the technique used by the fisherman who caught it in Indonesia to when it was shipped and how it was processed at a factory in your home country — all at the tap of a smartphone.
Trial projects such as that one are testing the potential of Blockchain technology to bring transparency to all sorts of notoriously inefficient or shadowy industries in Southeast Asia.
Blockchain, the technology that powers bitcoin, is an essentially unchangeable form of bookkeeping. It creates cryptographically chained signatures between blocks of information that are authenticated by users over a peer-to-peer distributed ledger — a public record that can be applied to any type of bookkeeping, not just cryptocurrencies.
“It removes the requirement for a centralized authority, and in a lot of the products that it’s being launched in, this centralized authority tends to be the government,” said Alisa DiCaprio, head of research at R3 — an enterprise banking software firm that uses distributed ledger technology.
In a region where the most important records — identity and ownership for instance — are often subjected to little or no external oversight, blockchain offers enormous potential benefits.
Erin Murphy, Founder and Principal of Inle Advisory Group, a Myanmar and emerging business advisory firm, said major Asian business hubs are looking to blockchain to clean up and simplify transactions.
“Ideally, we would want to see adoption of blockchain at an official level all across the region,” she said in an email. “But perhaps not surprisingly, the governments that are leading blockchain adoption are those that are already low-corruption.”
One of those governments, she said, is Singapore, which is working with major banks on a blockchain-based system to streamline and qualitatively improve their customer (KYC) processes.
In other countries, it is being used for completely different purposes. In the Philippines, a remittance market worth billions of dollars per month has been invaded by firms offering cheaper services built on blockchain, which people can access without a bank account..
“Any steps that get taken at first may not be viewed through an anti-corruption lens and may inadvertently tackle that issue; it will likely be viewed through a development lens to kickstart poverty alleviation and bringing sectors up to international standards that attract foreign investment,” Murphy said.
More than money
There are many trials with clear utility in Southeast Asia underway, including systems for land titling under development in Sweden and Japan.
In June, the United Nations unveiled a blockchain-based system built in partnership with Microsoft and Accenture that gives stateless refugees a permanent identity based on biometric data.
It’s also being explored for secure voting systems.
The blockchain-based app developed to track the supply chain of fish from Indonesia — Provenance — is now the basis of many other trials, including a project to create a similar system for the garment industry.
Online you can view the results of a pilot released in May this year that follows a piece of clothing — an Alpaca Mirror Jumper from London-based designer Martine Jarlgaard, from a farm in Dulverton, Britain, through every step of production into London with location, content and timestamps.
It is a long way, though, from realizing that something can be done to actually making it happen, DiCaprio of R3 said.
“The technical capability to do this exists in most developing countries,” she said. “You have engineers who can code on the blockchain. But the understanding of how to actually implement this from a business point of view is very poor.”
DiCaprio estimates it will take about five years before we actually see large-scale functioning applications and believes the most impactful will occur at the macro economic level.
“So for example one area that it’s moving very quickly is trade finance,” she said. “And trade finance, you’re generally talking about fairly large companies, generally in Asia mostly exporting or importing from or to the US or EU,.”
Faster, cheaper and more transparent transactions combined with reductions in the risks of lending and borrowing would flow to down to the village level, she added.
Subversion vs centralization
Blockchain proponents are divided by some sharply divergent values. Some see blockchain — whose slogan is “be your own bank,” as technology that can fundamentally upend a global financial system they believe is intractably corrupt.
“There is a serious opportunity for us here to remove money out of government,” said a Southeast Asia based bitcoin trader who would only give his alias FlippingABitCoin, fearing he could expose himself to physical theft.
Billions of people currently excluded from the formal banking system will be able to access global cryptocurrencies with no middle man using nothing more than a phone, he said.
“It will level out the playing field of power,” he said.
Another group of enthusiasts are encouraging the absorption of this technology by states, as demonstrated by Canada, Singapore, China and Germany, all of which are either exploring or conducting trials of their own central bank digital currencies using blockchain.
“In the long run, we believe if there is any threat at all to governments, it is that other governments will lead the way in adopting blockchain technologies in producing low-corruption, high-transparency, highly-secure digitized economic infrastructures that will attract business, investment and stakeholder confidence,” wrote Michael Hsieh, a non-resident affiliate at the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University, in an email.
“The societies who lead in the great fintech [financial technology] innovation race of the 21st century will siphon all the capital and productivity from those that lag,” he wrote.
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США: Манафорта звинуватили у відмиванні грошей, отриманих в Україні від «регіоналів»
30/10/2017
Пол Манафорт і його колега Річард Ґейтс, звинувачений разом із ним, заробили в результаті їхньої роботи в Україні десятки мільйонів доларів
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Спостерігачі: законодавство про місцеві вибори в Україні треба вдосконалити
30/10/2017
Комітет виборців України і громадянська мережа «Опора» вказують на недосконалість законодавства про місцеві вибори в Україні. Про це йдеться в їхніх попередніх висновках за результатами спостереження за першими місцевими виборами в об’єднаних територіальних громадах 29 жовтня 2017 року.
«Перші місцеві вибори у об’єднаних територіальних громадах підтвердили необхідність комплексного удосконалення законодавства про місцеві вибори, забезпечуючи належну правову визначеність виборчих процедур. Виборчий процес у 201 громаді супроводжувався неоднаковим застосуванням законодавства виборчими комісіями та іншими суб’єктами виборчого процесу», – заявляють спостерігачі «Опори».
У КВУ наголосили, що проведення виборів в умовах «неякісного законодавства» ускладнило належну організацію виборчого процесу.
«У першу чергу це стосується виборів в об’єднаних громадах з різних районів. Це питання досі залишається невирішеним, попри те, що Верховна Рада внесла відповідні зміни до законодавства. Зокрема, на рівні закону не врегульовано, які саме місцеві організації партій мають право висування кандидатів до ОТГ. Законодавча невизначеність створила суперечності в роботі виборчих комісій, які по-різному розглядали такі випадки. Також проблемою стали застарілі норми закону «Про місцеві вибори», що вимагають від кандидатів подавати декларацій в паперовій, а не електронній формі», – мовиться в заяві.
КВУ закликає Верховну Раду врегулювати ці й інші законодавчі прогалини до проведення наступних перших виборів у об’єднаних громадах.
29 жовтня в Україні в 201 об’єднаній територіальній громаді відбувалися перші вибори депутатів сільських, селищних, міських рад ОТГ і відповідних сільських, селищних, міських голів. Правом проголосувати на цих виборах могли скористатися понад 1,3 мільйона людей.
Результати виборів депутатів у одномандатних виборчих округах, а також виборів сільських, селищних і міських голів мають бути встановлені не пізніше як на пʼятий день з дня голосування, тобто до 3 листопада включно, результати ж виборів депутатів у багатомандатному виборчому окрузі – до 8 листопада.
У громадянській мережі «Опора» ввечері 29 жовтня повідомили, що явка виборців під час місцевих виборів в низці об’єднаних територіальних громад склала 48,2%, а суттєвих порушень, які можуть вплинути на результати виборів, не було.
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India’s New Afghan Trade Route Via Iran, Bypasses Pakistan
30/10/2017
Opening a new trade route to Afghanistan that bypasses Pakistan, India has dispatched its first consignment of wheat to the war torn country via the Iranian port of Chabahar.
The strategic sea route is a significant step in bolstering trade with Kabul that has been hampered because rival Pakistan does not allow India to transport goods to Afghanistan through its territory.
After the shipment was seen off by Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Afghan counterpart Salahuddin Rabbani via a joint video conference Sunday, the Indian government called it a “landmark moment.”
In the coming months, six more consignments of wheat totaling 1.1. million tons will be sent from India’s western port of Kandla to Chabahar. From the Iranian port it will be taken by road to Kabul.
The shipment comes days after U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, on a visit to New Delhi, allayed concerns that the Trump administration’s tough stand on Iran could pose a fresh stumbling block to India’s plans to develop the strategic Iranian port as a regional transit hub.
Easier connectivity to Afghanistan is key for India to step up its economic engagement with Kabul, which Washington has called for as part of its new policy to stabilize the war torn country.
And Chabahar port, in which India is investing $500 million to build new terminals, cargo berths and connecting road and rail lines, is the centerpiece of the strategy to improve linkages not just with Afghanistan, but also to resource-rich Central Asian republics.
“This is the first time that we are getting into Afghanistan through a route different than what traditional routes have been,” said South Asia expert Sukh Deo Muni at New Delhi’s Institute of Defense Studies and Analyses.
Indian leaders expressed optimism about the project, which is still a work in progress. Minister Swaraj called it the starting point of a journey that would spur the unhindered flow of commerce and trade throughout the region. Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted the launch of the trade route, “marks a new chapter in regional cooperation & connectivity.”
The sea route via the Iranian port is the second step taken by India to increase connectivity with Kabul. In June it opened an air freight corridor to provide greater access for Afghan goods to the Indian market.
The Chabahar port is seen as India’s answer to the Gwadar port in Pakistan being developed by China.
The project was conceived almost 15 years ago, but the plans were stalled for years due to U.S. led international sanctions on Iran. Their easing prompted India to sign a trilateral pact with Iran and Afghanistan last year to develop the port.
U.S. Secretary of State Tillerson indicated in New Delhi last week that fresh sanctions on Iran by the Trump administration would not pose a stumbling block to those plans.
“It is not our objective to harm the Iranian people, nor is it our objective to interfere with legitimate business activities that are going on with other businesses, whether they be from Europe, India or agreements that are in place that promote economic development and activity to the benefit of our friends and allies as well. We think there is no contradiction within that policy,” he told reporters in India.
Those words have been welcomed in New Delhi said analyst Muni. “I think there is a far more reassuring feeling in India vis-a-vis the Trump administration than what the initial thought was,” he said.
The shortest and most cost effective land routes between India and Afghanistan lie through Pakistan. However, due to longstanding rivalries between the two countries, India is not allowed to send any exports through Pakistani territory and Afghanistan is only allowed to send a limited amount of perishable goods through Pakistani territory to India.
Washington Waits for Criminal Charges in Probe of Russia Links to US Election
30/10/2017
Washington braced Monday for the potential unsealing of the first criminal charges linked to Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as President Donald Trump reiterated his stance that the underlying investigations are a “witch hunt.”
A federal grand jury on Friday approved charges in the probe led by special counsel Robert Mueller, according to several major news outlets that reported the indictment could be made public as soon as Monday.
There was no public indication of who is facing charges or what crimes are being alleged. Legal experts say the first charges could be against a peripheral figure in the case, with prosecutors using a common strategy to first build their case against lower level officials before focusing on more prominent people.
In addition to Mueller’s investigation, there are separate congressional probes into Russian meddling and possible links between Trump’s campaign and Russia.
The U.S. intelligence community concluded in early 2017 that Russian President Vladimir Putin personally directed a campaign to undermine U.S. democracy and help Trump win
Trump has insisted there was no collusion, including in a series of tweets Sunday in which he said Democrats and his election opponent Hillary Clinton are the ones who are guilty.
“The Dems are using this terrible (and bad for our country) Witch Hunt for evil politics, but the R’s [Republicans] are now fighting back like never before,” Trump wrote. “There is so much GUILT by Democrats/Clinton, and now the facts are pouring out. DO SOMETHING!”
He further blamed the Russia investigations for taking attention away from Republican efforts on tax reform.
“Is this coincidental? NOT!” Trump said.
Ty Cobb, a member of Trump’s legal team, said in a statement that Trump’s comments were not related to the developments in Mueller’s investigation.
“Contrary to what many have suggested, the President’s comments today are unrelated to the activities of the Special Counsel, with whom he continues to cooperate,” Cobb said.
Mueller is believed to be examining activities of two key Trump campaign officials, former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who was fired by Trump less than a month after he took office for lying to Vice President Mike Pence and other officials about his contacts with Russia’s ambassador to Washington, and Paul Manafort, who for a short time last year was Trump’s campaign manager and also had wide lobbying interests in Ukraine and links to Russia.
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10 кримінальних проваджень були відкриті у день місцевих виборів в Україні – поліція
30/10/2017
У Національній поліції України повідомили про відкриття 10 кримінальних проваджень через правопорушення в ході місцевих виборів, що відбулися 29 жовтня.
«Усього в рамках цього виборчого процесу до органів Національної поліції надійшло 207 повідомлень про різні події, з яких 136 – у день проведення виборів. Переважна більшість повідомлень була пов’язана з порушенням ведення передвиборної агітації та підкупом виборців (4 факти – ред.). За кожним із цих фактів поліцією проводиться детальна перевірка», – повідомили у поліції.
За даними правоохоронців, серед зафіксованих правопорушень були також 2 – за фактами незаконного використання виборчих бюлетенів, умисного знищення або пошкодження майна, по одному факту спричинення легких тілесних ушкоджень і перешкоджання законній професійній діяльності журналіста.
Найбільш резонансним інцидентом став напад на одну з виборчих дільниць на Дніпропетровщині, де були травмовані 2 поліцейських, повідомили в поліції.
«Правоохоронці затримали групу осіб зі зброєю, ймовірно, причетних до нападу на виборчу дільницю. Затриманих доставлено до відділу поліції для з’ясування усіх обставин», – додали в поліції, вказавши про можливу кримінальну справу за трьома статтями – хуліганство, перешкоджання здійсненню виборчого права та щодо погрози або насильства стосовно працівника правоохоронного органу.
У громадянській мережі «Опора» у неділю ввечері повідомили, що явка виборців під час місцевих виборів в низці об’єднаних територіальних громад склала 48,2%, а суттєвих порушень, які можуть вплинути на результати виборів, не було.
29 жовтня в Україні в 201-й об’єднаній територіальній громаді відбувалися перші вибори депутатів сільських, селищних, міських рад ОТГ і відповідних сільських, селищних, міських голів. Правом проголосувати на цих виборах могли скористатися понад 1,3 мільйона людей.
Результати виборів депутатів у одномандатних виборчих округах, а також виборів сільських, селищних і міських голів мають бути встановлені не пізніше як на пʼятий день з дня голосування, тобто до 3 листопада включно. Результати ж виборів депутатів у багатомандатному виборчому окрузі – до 8 листопада.
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US, ROK, Japan Call on North Korea to Refrain From Irresponsible Provocations
30/10/2017
Senior defense officials from the United States, South Korea and Japan met to discuss North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats.
The Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Joseph Dunford, hosted his counterparts – General Kyeong-doo Jeong of South Korea and Japanese Admiral Katsutoshi Kawano – at the U.S. Pacific Command headquarters in Hawaii Sunday.
“Together they called upon North Korea to refrain from irresponsible provocations that aggravate regional tensions, and to walk away from its destructive and reckless path of development,” Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Public Affairs Office said in a statement.
The three leaders also discussed multilateral and trilateral initiatives to promote long-term peace and stability in northeast Asia and to improve interoperability and readiness on a number of issues including mutual security, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, and cyber warfare.
Monday South Korea’s foreign ministry announced that its representative to the six-party nuclear talks will meet with his Chinese counterpart in Beijing Tuesday to exchange analyses on the current North Korean situation.
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Минулої доби на Донбасі поранень зазнав 1 військовослужбовець – штаб
30/10/2017
У зоні бойових дій на Донбасі упродовж 29 жовтня поранень зазнав один український військовослужбовець, повідомляє штаб української воєнної операції. За даними штабу, це сталося в районі Авдіївської промзони, у чоловіка – осколкове поранення, його стан оцінюють як задовільний.
«Наприкінці минулої доби у районі проведення АТО обстановка не зазнала суттєвих змін. Противник й надалі сконцентрував вогневу активність на донецькому напрямку, використовуючи переважно піхотне озброєння», – розповіли у штабі.
Повідомляється, що усього бойовики стріляли 15 разів, під їхній вогонь потрапили території біля Луганського, Світлодарська, Зайцева і Мар’їнки.
«Сили АТО вогнем у відповідь 10 разів жорстко пригнічували активність ворога», – повідомили у прес-центрі штабу АТО.
В угрупованні «ДНР» звинуватили українських військових 29 жовтня у обстрілах в Ясинуватій та Яковлівці. Там також заявили, що ЗСУ відкрили вогонь по школі в Олександрівці. Луганські сепаратисти заявили, що українська сторона 8 разів стріляла в бік підконтрольних угрупованню «ЛНР» територій.
Черговий режим припинення вогню, про який заявила 23 серпня Тристороння контактна група, мав почати діяти з 25 серпня, напередодні початку шкільного року, і стати постійним. Про перші його порушення сторони заявили вже через кілька хвилин після настання часу перемир’я.
Про перемир’я в зоні конфлікту на Донбасі домовлялися вже багато разів, досі жодного разу режим припинення вогню не втримувався. При цьому сторони щоразу заперечують свою вину в порушеннях і звинувачують протилежну сторону у провокаціях.
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Rural US Areas Look at Innovative Ways to Connect to the Internet
30/10/2017
More than 19 million Americans are still without home internet access…that according to the Federal Communication Commission. In Garrett County, Maryland, local leaders came up with an innovative plan to provide access to their community…VOA’s Lesya Bakalets reports on a creative approach to getting hard to reach customers on line.
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Вірус вразив 140 тисяч українців за один тиждень – Ранковий ефір Радіо Свобода
30/10/2017
Вірус вразив 140 тисяч українців за один тиждень;
У Гройсмана пропонують відмовитися від держстандартів;
Навіть Путін не підтримав незалежність Каталонії.
На ці теми говоритимуть ведучий Ранкової Свободи Юрій Матвійчук і гості студії: завідувач Центру грипу та гострих респіраторних інфекцій МОЗ України Тетяна Дихановська та президент Всеукраїнської ради захисту прав і безпеки пацієнтів Віктор Сердюк; голова правління Всеукраїнської асоціації захисту прав споживачів «Споживча довіра» Максим Гончар та старший юрист Eterna Law Артем Кузьменко; дипломат Маркіян Лубківський та експерт-міжнародник Геннадій Друзенко.
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Trump Tax Overhaul Under Intensifying Fire as Congress Readies Bill
29/10/2017
President Donald Trump’s plan for overhauling the U.S. tax system faced growing opposition from interest groups on Sunday, as Republicans prepare to unveil sweeping legislation that could eliminate some of the most popular tax breaks to help pay for lower taxes.
Republicans who control the U.S. House of Representatives will not reveal their bill until Wednesday. But the National Association of Home Builders, a powerful housing industry trade group, is already vowing to defeat it over a change for home mortgage deductions, while Republican leaders try to head off opposition to possible changes to individual retirement savings and state and local tax payments.
Trump and Republicans have vowed to enact tax reform this year for the first time since 1986. But the plan to deliver up to $6 trillion in tax cuts for businesses and individuals faces challenges even from rank-and-file House Republicans.
House and Senate Republicans are on a fast-track to pass separate tax bills before the Nov. 23 U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, iron out differences in December, send a final version to Trump’s desk before January and ultimately hand the president his first major legislative victory. Analysts say there is a good chance the tax overhaul will be delayed until next year.
The NAHB, which boasts 130,000 member firms employing 9 million workers, says the bill would harm U.S. home prices by marginalizing the value of mortgage interest deductions as an incentive for buying homes. The trade group wants legislation to offer a $5,500 tax credit but says it was rebuffed by House Republican leaders.
“We’re opposed to the tax bill without the tax credit in there, and we’ll be working very aggressively to see it defeated,” NAHB chief executive Jerry Howard told Reuters.
Republicans warned that the Trump tax plan is entering a new and difficult phase as lobbyists ramp up pressure on lawmakers to spare their pet tax breaks.
“When groups start rallying against things and they succeed, everything starts unraveling,” Senator Bob Corker, a leading Republican fiscal hawk, told CBS’ Face the Nation.
Anxiety in high-tax states
One of the biggest challenges involves a proposal to eliminate the federal deduction for state and local taxes (SALT), which analysts say would hit upper middle-class families in high income tax states such as New York, New Jersey and California. The states are home to enough House Republicans to stymie legislation.
The top House Republican on tax policy gave ground over the weekend, saying he would allow a deduction for some local taxes to remain.
“We are restoring an itemized property tax deduction to help taxpayers with local tax burdens,” House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady said in a statement.
But the gesture appeared to do little to turn the tide of opposition to SALT’s elimination.
“I’m not going to sign onto anything until the full package is fully analyzed by economists,” Representative Peter King of New York told the Fox News program Sunday Morning Futures. “The fact that we’re getting it at the eleventh hour raises real issues with me,” he added.
A lobby coalition representing state and local governments, realtors and public unions rejected Brady’s statement outright, saying the move would “unfairly penalize taxpayers in states that rely significantly on income taxes.”
House Republicans have also faced opposition from Trump and others after proposing to sharply curtail tax-free contributions to 401(k) programs and move retirement savings to a style of account that allows tax-free withdrawals, rather than the tax-exempt contributions that are popular with 401(k) investors.
House Republicans now say they could permit higher 401(k) contribution limits but continue to talk about tax-free withdrawals. “We will expand the amount that you can invest. But we’ll also give you an option to actually not be taxed later in life,” House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy told Fox News.
The current cap on annual 401(k) tax-free contributions is $18,000.
Corker said congressional tax committees seem to be falling short of their goal to eliminate $4 trillion in tax breaks to prevent the Trump plan from adding to the federal deficit.
“They’re having great difficulty just getting to $3.6 trillion,” said the Tennessee Republican, who has vowed to vote against tax reform if it increases a federal debt load that stands at more than $20 trillion.
Ohio’s Republican governor, John Kasich, told Fox News Sunday that spending on entitlement programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security should also be reviewed as part of the effort to pay for tax cuts.
“It may be separate from the tax bill, but it needs to happen,” Kasich said.
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12 затриманих у Jugendhub хлопців досі перебувають у військкоматі – адвокат
29/10/2017
На території військкомату у Києві досі перебуває 12 людей із затриманих у ніч на суботу в столичному клубі Jugendhub, повідомила Радіо Свобода адвокат клубу Ксенія Проконова.
«Із ними частково є зв’язок, частково – немає. Намагаємось до них потрапити. Там вони проходять медогляд і все інше», – зазначила вона.
За словами юристки, частину хлопців відпустили після втручання Уповноваженого з прав людини Верховної Ради з тим, щоб вони о 9 ранку з’явились у військкомати за місцем реєстрації. Водночас, не всі затримані – кияни, серед них, зокрема, є особа з реєстрацією в анексованому Криму, яка приїхала до Києва на кілька днів, додала вона.
«Наскільки я знаю, він досі перебуває там, йому інкримінують ухиляння від призову», – каже Проконова.
Частина із затриманих вночі після втручання омбудсмана залишились на території Київського міського та обласного збірного пункту Збройних сил добровільно, заявив у коментарі Радіо Свобода речник Уповноваженого з прав людини Михайло Чаплига.
«Людям повинні були надати можливість пройти медкомісію, а також отримати повістки, за якими вони добровільно можуть з’явитися до військкоматів. Тобто (ситуація – ред.) вже більш-менш пробує увійти у правове русло. Проте у нас є інформація про одну особу на зараз, яку таки утримували, і зараз ми цю інформацію перевіряємо і намагаємо вийти на контакт. І досі утримують там», – пояснив він.
За словами Чаплиги, усім цим людям можуть запропонувати пройти комісію і вручити повістки, далі вони повинні з’явитись до військового комісаріату, пройти відповідну комісію, де мають бути вивчені підстави, чи підпадають вони під призов, але «прямо з клубу» поза їхньою волею в армію відправити не дозволяє українське законодавство.
«Ми приймаємо заяви зараз. Звичайно, вони всі будуть зареєстровані. Відповідно, буде реакція на адресу міністра внутрішніх справ щодо грубих порушень Кримінального процесуального кодексу під час того, що відбувалося. По-друге, буде відповідний лист на адресу міністра оборони», – зазначає він.
В Міноборони наразі ситуацію не коментували.
Раніше 28 жовтня поліція повідомила, що в Києві її співробітники влаштували облаву на нічний клуб, у результаті якої затримали 17 осіб, вилуучивши у них вилучили речовини, схожі на наркотичні. Окрім того, за даними поліції, ще 32 молодих чоловіків доставили до військкомату.
Згідно із президентським указом, призов на строкову військову службу громадян України здійснюється у жовтні – листопаді 2017 року.
20 вересня Кабінет міністрів постановив, що чисельність громадян, які підлягають призову на строкову військову службу в жовтні-листопаді, становить 10 460 осіб.