Deripaska, whose ties to Trump’s 2016 campaign chairman Paul Manafort have also been of interest to investigators.
A businessman, three women and Joseph Stalinttee has
One of the two witnesses says the committee has a photograph of a younger Geovanis apparently posing in a portrait with three partially clo
thed women. The portrait, once displayed in a Russian gallery under the title “The Capitalist,” depicts the subjects in front of a picture of th
e former Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. It’s not clear whether the portrait is a single photograph or a composite.
The witness told CNN that they were shown the photograph during questioning.A thi
rd witness has alleged in written testimony, seen by CNN, that Geovanis may be valuable in the mystery of
whether Russia has material on Trump that could be personally embarrassing to him.
Known by the nickname “Geo” to his friends, Geovanis was born in Brockton, Mass
achusetts, and is a graduate of Trump’s alma mater, the Wharton School at the Un
iversity of Pennsylvania. After starting his career in finance, Geovanis went to Moscow to work for a Russian ve
nture of a company called Brooke Group, which owned land earmarked for the site of a proposed Trump Tower. W
hen Trump came to town to promote the project, sources say, it was Geovanis’ job to show him around.
Also on the trip were Brooke Group’s owners, the real estate moguls Bennett LeBow and How
ard Lorber, who went on to become substantial donors to Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. Trump pers
onally acknowledged the pair from the podium after he won the 2016 New York Republican primary.
Her son was shot dead in front of her. And she says a policeman
Tires were burning in nearby streets. Tear gas was in the air. Crowds were gathering. So Pricil Journ
al told her son Roberto to hide the wheelbarrow they used as a cookie stall outside the general hospital.
There was a snap and a loud crack — and Roberto lay dead. A bullet had torn through his right arm, just above the elbow,
and into his chest.
In almost two weeks of mayhem, since Haiti was shut down by opposition pr
otestors demanding the president and his government step down, there have been no official numbers for those killed and injured.
No medicines, records or equipment: Haiti hospital struggles during protests
No medicines, records or equipment: H
aiti hospital struggles during protests
But Pricil knows that her son is dead. And she’s convinced that a policeman did it.
“When he was done killing my son…That cop then swapped guns with another nearb
y cop – and he then went to hide inside the hospital,” she said in an interview with CNN.
The UK would be ‘irresponsible’ to let Huawei into 5Gth
Chinese tech giant Huawei is facing a new attack as it tries to persuade the UK government to let it help build super-fast 5G networks in the country.
Top British cybersecurity officials are reportedly confident they can manage any risks from Huawei’s telecommunic
ations equipment, but a report published Wednesday by the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), a top security think tank, said that would be a mistake.
”Allowing Huawei’s participation is at best naive, at worst irresponsible,” the report said, sugg
esting such a move could compromise the United Kingdom’s communications infrastructure.
UK spies think they can handle Huawei in 5G networks. The US doesn’t agree
The US government is pushing allies around the world to block wireless operators from buying Huawei gear for the 5G networks t
hey’re starting to build. US officials say the company’s technology could be used by Chinese intelligence agencies for spying.
Huawei and the Chinese government have repeatedly denied the US allegations. Huawei didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
The report’s release comes days after the Financial Times reported that the UK’s National Cyb
er Security Centre had concluded the risks of using Huawei equipment in 5G networks could be managed.
Eighth Labour MP resigns from party, as Corbyn and allies
Another British member of parliament has quit the opposition Labour Party, in the wake of se
ven lawmakers splitting to form the Independent Group in Parliament earlier this week.
Those lawmakers cited disagreements over Brexit with Labour’s left-wing leader Jeremy Corbyn, an
d concerns over alleged anti-semitism within the party as their reasons for leaving the party.
Late
on Tuesday, Joan Ryan, MP for the London constituency of Enfield North and chair of the Labour Friends of Israel, tweete
d that she was leaving the party because it had in her view “become infected with the scourge of anti-Jewish racism.”
In a strongly worded resignation letter, she blamed Corbyn for the current situatio
n and said she could not “in good conscience support or represent a party which adopts such an attitude.”
After 4 decades, I have made the terribly difficult decision to resign from the Labour Party. It is the
greatest honour of my life to represent the people of #Enfiel
dNorth. I will continue to represent and speak up for them as a member of the @TheIndGroup of MPs #ChangePolitics
pic.twitter.com/W8UEsJG7RhLate last year, Ryan’s constituency passed a motion of no confidence in her 94-92. Acco
rding to the Times, the motion pointed to her constant criticisms of Corbyn, saying Ryan had “fueled and indee
d inflamed trial by media of the Labour leader.” Ryan, the motion said, behaved like “an independent MP in all but name.”
Saudi investment in Pakistan reflects inclusiveness of
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has pledged $20 billi
on investment in Pakistan during his trip to the South Asian country over the we
ekend, the first leg of his Asian tour that also includes stops in neighboring India and China.
The unprecedented Saudi investment, half of which will support a refiner
y and petrochemicals complex in the port of Gwadar, is expected to shore up Pa
kistan’s economy hurt by widening current account and fiscal deficits and strengthen trade ties between the two countries.
Some observers are quick to compare the Saudi investment with the China-Pakistan Economic Cor
ridor (CPEC) project under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). But for Prime Minister Imran Khan, both are welcome.
“We have CPEC. We have links with China. So we welcome Saudi Arabia to participate with us,” he said.
The crown prince also stressed the potential of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor which will contribute to the development and prosperity of the region.
The corridor includes a network of highways, railways and
infrastructure and Gwadar is an important part of it. Pakistan has been trying to get the assistance needed for development and di
versify sources of investment from many countries such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Gwadar is not an exclusive platform.
The China-funded CPEC helps build the infrastructure at the port, and the improved condition
will attract more investment which then in turn boosts the development of Gwadar and the whole of Pa
kistan. Inclusiveness and multilateral cooperation are exactly the ideas that the BRI champions.
Admittedly, geostrategic competition is prevailing in the region. If added with the different inter
t demands of Afghanistan and Iran and the historical enmity between India and Pakistan, the region can be one of the most volatile plac
es in the world. Joint development is the only path that could lead the region into long-term peace and stability. This is also the broader objective of the BRI.
China hopes that all the investment coming into the region can be connected so as to be best utilized. Regional countri
es should enhance cooperation via coordination. Meanwhile, all should hold an open attitude toward investment from outside the region.
As each regional power vies for a foothold and seeks its development, both competition and cooperation feature in this process. All
the countries face the question of how to turn strategic hedging into benign competition. The BRI provides the answer.
Amid the easing ties between North and South Korea, as
as well as between Pyongyang and other stakeholders on the Korean Peninsula, if Japan maintains
its conservative strategy for North Korea, its overall Northeast Asia diplomacy will be affected.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe would find it hard to shore up d
omestic support through vibrant diplomacy. Tokyo can take advantage of the positive si
gnals the next Trump-Kim summit generates to win the opportunity to boost its ties with North Korea.
If Washington-Pyongyang ties are significantly enhanced, it will send a conciliatory messag
e to Tokyo. Under the US-Japan-South Korea alliance and under the framework of US-Japan m
ilitary cooperation, if North Korea is still hostile toward Japan, it may find it hard to get a multilateral diplomatic fo
othold in East Asia. In fact, Pyongyang hopes to talk to Tokyo. North Korea’s geopolitics depends on support from tra
ditionally friendly states such as China and Russia. Meanwhile, it also desires to enhance relations with South Korea and Ja
pan, so as to gain maximum advantage in multilateral geopolitics and security in East Asian and Asia-Pacific regions.
The UK National Cyber Security Centre has concluded tha
ways to limit the risks from using Huawei in future 5G ultra-fast networks,” according to tw
o people familiar with the matter which has not been made public, The Financial Times reported.
The article comments that the conclusion is “a serious blow to US efforts to persuade
allies to ban the Chinese supplier from high-speed telecommunications systems.”
As a member of the Five Eyes (the anglophone intelligence alliance comprising Austral
ia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and the US), London may indeed have given a reason for other E
uropean countries to continue using Huawei based on the above conclusion.
Not a single country or organization has found any evidence so far demonstrating that Huawei has illegally collected its device users’ i
nformation. All accusations against Huawei of gathering intelligence for the Chinese government are only ba
sed on imagination. London’s conclusion provides a reliable basis for third parties to dispel such fears.
There is a twin motivation behind his presence in the regio
one hand, Modi wanted to push forward the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in South Tibet where it may help New Delhi assimilate local
population and convert it demographically into a more “Indianized” one; on the other, Modi sought to pacify irritated and alienated local comm
unities by introducing more developmental projects and pro-growth schemes. In addition, by sending out a strong signal that China’s fierce protests woul
d not deter him from visiting the frontier region, Modi also sought to appeal to nationalistic voters before the election.
Following the passing of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in the Lok Sabha on January 8, South T
ibet had been hit by waves of protests across the region. A large number of Hindu immigrants from Bangladesh have been sent into South Tib
et since the 1950s, but have no citizenship. However, if the Bill is enacted, these refugees would likely get Indi
an citizenship, which poses a threat to the local community as their swelling population in the long run may well crowd out and eat up the indigenous pop
ulation. For example, Hajong people – a Hindu group originally residing in former East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) which fled to India due to religious persecu
tion – have been migrating to South Tibet since the 1960s, but their presence since then has been a constant source of conflicts.
It was against this backdrop that Modi trod on the soil of South Tibet. Signaling that his governm