A long-awaited report by the Justice Department's watchdog Thursday found no indication that political bias affected decisions in the FBI's 2016 investigation into Hillary Clinton’s email server, but the review criticized agents and ex-FBI Director James Comey for violating bureau norms during the probe.
The department's inspector general turned up fresh evidence of FBI officials exchanging messages critical of President Donald Trump and of leaking to the media, and the report faulted the FBI for several weeks of inaction following the September 2016 discovery of emails relevant to its investigation on a laptop belonging to former Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner, who was married to a top Clinton aide.
Comey was singled out for withering criticism by Inspector General Michael Horowitz, including accusations of insubordination against top Justice Department officials and of making “a serious error of judgment” in notifying Congress shortly before the 2016 election that the FBI was re-opening its Clinton email probe. Comey later reiterated his recommendation that she not face charges, but Clinton has said the letter nonetheless helped cause her loss.
The report undercuts Trump's argument that the FBI, acting for political reasons, let Clinton off the hook over her use of a private email server as secretary of state. But it likely will fuel his claims that FBI agents were biased against him, and Trump could point to Horowitz's criticism of Comey as belated justification for the decision to fire him last year amid an FBI investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. He has long called the probe a "witch hunt."
The French Senate has approved a landmark overhaul of state rail operator SNCF, Senators passed the rail reform by a vote of 245 to 82, just a day after lawmakers in the National Assembly approved the final bill.
The vote in the National Assembly is a blow to the labour movement, which called three months of rolling strikes over the bill, the longest industrial action in over 30 years on French railways.
Analysts have compared the standoff between the centrist Macron and French railworkers with Margaret Thatcher's showdown with British miners in the 1980s.
A poll showed voters largely on board with the changes, unswayed by 30 days of strikes since early April that have caused headaches for millions of travellers on two days out of every five.
The SNCF has estimated the cost of the walkouts at 400 million euros ($470 million).
Labour leaders refused to concede victory on Wednesday, announcing that the strikes would continue as planned until June 28.
BEIJING/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has nearly completed a second list of tariffs on $100 billion in Chinese goods, as President Donald Trump prepares to enact an initial round of duties that is expected to trigger an in-kind response from Beijing, several sources said.
The second wave of products has been cued up as Washington prepares to announce on Friday a list of about $50 billion of goods to be targeted. They are part of Trump’s decision to go forward with “pretty significant” tariffs, an administration official said on Thursday.
The $100 billion list will be subject to the same public comment and hearing process as the $50 billion list, so it could take 60 days or more to put into effect, three sources familiar with the Trump administration’s thinking on tariff plans told Reuters.
The list is intended to minimize the impact on U.S. consumers and businesses by selecting goods where there are ample alternative supplies from other countries. Eliminating any impact may be impossible.
A Reuters analysis of U.S. Census Bureau import data in April showed that there were about 7,600 consumer and industrial goods still available for tariffs with a combined value of $101 billion in which China accounts for 40 percent or less of U.S. imports.
Filibuster_HK
2018-6-15 19:25:33
Afghanistan says Pakistani Taliban leader killed in air strike near border
JALALABAD, Afghanistan/PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani Taliban leader Mullah Fazlullah has been killed in a U.S.-Afghan air strike in Afghanistan, a senior Afghan Defence Ministry official said on Friday, a killing likely to ease tension between the United States and Pakistan.
The U.S. military said in Washington on Thursday it had carried out a strike aimed at a senior militant figure in the eastern Afghan province of Kunar, which is on the Pakistani border, and one U.S. official said the target was believed to be Fazlullah.
Fazlullah was Pakistan’s most-wanted militant, notorious for attacks including a 2014 school massacre that killed 132 children and the 2012 shooting of schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai, who was later awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
土木膠程師
2018-6-15 19:26:42
:^(
Filibuster_HK
2018-6-15 20:30:04
Trump announces tariffs on Chinese high-tech goods
President Donald Trump announced Friday he will move forward with 25 percent tariffs on Chinese technology imports worth roughly $50 billion. The move ramps up trade tensions between the two countries. Beijing will respond in kind to the American tariffs, a Chinese government spokesman said Friday.
Imports facing tariffs will primarily be products containing “industrially significant technologies” and others related to the Made in China 2025 initiative, the president said in a statement.
Statement by the President Regarding Trade with China
// My great friendship with President Xi of China and our country’s relationship with China are both very important to me. Trade between our nations, however, has been very unfair, for a very long time. This situation is no longer sustainable. China has, for example, long been engaging in several unfair practices related to the acquisition of American intellectual property and technology. These practices, documented in an extensive report published by the United States Trade Representative (USTR) on March 22, 2018, harm our economic and national security and deepen our already massive trade imbalance with China. //
// In light of China’s theft of intellectual property and technology and its other unfair trade practices, the United States will implement a 25 percent tariff on $50 billion of goods from China that contain industrially significant technologies. This includes goods related to China’s Made in China 2025 strategic plan to dominate the emerging high-technology industries that will drive future economic growth for China, but hurt economic growth for the United States and many other countries. The United States can no longer tolerate losing our technology and intellectual property through unfair economic practices. //
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海龜先生
2018-6-15 20:34:13
今次真係俾文在寅食正條水
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Filibuster_HK
2018-6-16 00:00:51
Paul Manafort: ex-Trump chair taken into custody after violating bail terms
Paul Manafort, formerly Donald Trump’s campaign chairman, was taken into custody on Friday after a federal judge determined he had violated the terms of his bail as he awaits trial on multiple federal felony charges.
Prosecutors alleged that Manafort sought to tamper with witnesses in his case by contacting them and attempting to coordinate testimony. Manafort is said to have told witnesses their work together to influence European politicians on behalf of Ukraine was restricted to Europe and did not happen in the US.
Prosecutors argued there was no way to guarantee that Manafort would comply with orders if not in custody. A lawyer for Manafort said the court could be clearer on on the nature of contact Manafort was permitted to have with potential witnesses.
As he was taken into custody, Manafort waved to his wife, according to reporters in the room. He was not placed in handcuffs.
伏羽忍冬
2018-6-16 01:14:09
Paul Manafort, formerly Donald Trump’s campaign chairman
^當記者問Trump呢單嘢, 佢答"Manafort has nothing to do with our campaign."
我屌
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一直等TY
2018-6-16 01:16:19
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字裡行間🇱🇧
2018-6-16 05:30:17
又係曬氣 同AFD一樣
根本原因係Arabs are the real Germans
Filibuster_HK
2018-6-16 11:01:42
Delhi's air pollution is now so bad it is literally off the chart
Smog more toxic than can be measured by monitoring devices has blanketed the Indian capital this week, months before the start of Delhi’s traditional “pollution season”.
A thick haze was visible across the city from Tuesday and some government pollution monitors have recorded concentrations of 999 – the highest they can measure – as dust storms kicked up in nearby Rajasthan state blanketed the region.
Though the billowing clouds of dust and sand were blamed for the immediate spike in pollution levels, the sight of dense smog engulfing Delhi months before winter has underscored a growing awareness that harmful air is a year-round problem for the city.
Air quality in Delhi usually begins to plummet in October when slower winds and cooler temperatures trap pollutants closer to the ground.
:^(
誰家柒頭無閪摸
2018-6-16 12:49:29
永續默EE
:^(
Filibuster_HK
2018-6-16 18:38:14
China announces retaliation against $50B in US goods
WASHINGTON — China announced today that it will respond in kind to new U.S. trade actions by targeting $50 billion in U.S. exports with its own 25 percent tariff.
In a tit-for-tat move, Beijing will impose tariffs starting July 6 on U.S. goods valued at $34 billion. That list includes agricultural products, automobiles, and aquatic products, according to an announcement from China’s finance ministry. It also released a list of $16 billion worth of U.S. goods that will face tariffs at a future date, just as the U.S. did. That tranche includes chemical products, medical equipment and energy products.
In its statement, China said the new U.S. tariffs violate World Trade Organization rules and threaten the interests of the Chinese government and its people.
The possibility of retaliatory tariffs have been particularly worrisome to farmers and parts of President Donald Trump’s rural base. A recent study by Ohio State University found that a farmer in Ohio could lose more than half of his annual net income if China imposes a 25 percent tariff on U.S. soybeans and corn.
Filibuster_HK
2018-6-16 18:41:51
Colombia's rampant corruption a hot topic in presidential vote
BOGOTA (Reuters) - Embezzled school meal funds, under-the-table vote payments and the extradition of Colombia’s own anti-corruption czar for taking bribes are just some of the brazen cases outraging voters ahead of Sunday’s presidential election.
As Colombians feel safer following a 2016 peace accord with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), voter focus has shifted to other electoral issues and a rash of high-profile corruption cases have taken center stage.
As Colombians feel safer following a 2016 peace accord with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), voter focus has shifted to other electoral issues and a rash of high-profile corruption cases have taken center stage.
Filibuster_HK
2018-6-16 18:42:39
Greece, Macedonia to sign name change accord June 17: Greek ministry
ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece and Macedonia will sign an accord on Sunday to change the name of the former Yugoslav republic, the Greek government’s press ministry said on Friday as the governments of both countries faced mounting opposition at home over the deal.
The accord would be signed in the Prespes region, a lake district which borders Greece, Macedonia and Albania by the two countries’ foreign ministers, the ministry said in a statement to media.
It gave no more precise location or time for the signing.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and his counterpart Zoran Zaev, who will also be in attendance, have agreed the country will officially be called the “Republic of Northern Macedonia”. It is currently known formally at the United Nations under the interim name “Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”.
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/06/14/fbi-conduct-trump-mueller-645588
A long-awaited report by the Justice Department's watchdog Thursday found no indication that political bias affected decisions in the FBI's 2016 investigation into Hillary Clinton’s email server, but the review criticized agents and ex-FBI Director James Comey for violating bureau norms during the probe.
The department's inspector general turned up fresh evidence of FBI officials exchanging messages critical of President Donald Trump and of leaking to the media, and the report faulted the FBI for several weeks of inaction following the September 2016 discovery of emails relevant to its investigation on a laptop belonging to former Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner, who was married to a top Clinton aide.
Comey was singled out for withering criticism by Inspector General Michael Horowitz, including accusations of insubordination against top Justice Department officials and of making “a serious error of judgment” in notifying Congress shortly before the 2016 election that the FBI was re-opening its Clinton email probe. Comey later reiterated his recommendation that she not face charges, but Clinton has said the letter nonetheless helped cause her loss.
The report undercuts Trump's argument that the FBI, acting for political reasons, let Clinton off the hook over her use of a private email server as secretary of state. But it likely will fuel his claims that FBI agents were biased against him, and Trump could point to Horowitz's criticism of Comey as belated justification for the decision to fire him last year amid an FBI investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. He has long called the probe a "witch hunt."