Kenyatta like Buhari, seeks return of looted funds
News & Trends •
source63 desperate to recover stolen wealth president uhuru kenyatta of kenya has taken after president muhammadu buhari clamouring for repatriation of loots stashed overseas1 kenyatta and his visiting swiss counterpart mr. alain berset on monday in nairobi oversaw the signing of an agreement that clears the way for the recovery of assets1 these assets were acquired through corruption and crime in kenya and stashed in foreign countries1 the agreement called a framework for the return of assets from corruption and crime in kenya fracck is also supported by the united kingdom and the jersey island1 it would create a mechanism for kenya to recover money stolen by corrupt individuals and hidden in the three countries switzerland the united kingdom and jersey island1 buhari african union au anti-corruption czar has led the way for other african countries to fight corruption in its facets1 the framework which is in line with the united nations convention against corruption provides the principles to guide the recovery of stolen assets1 in the spirit of the global forum on asset recoverys principles for disposition and transfer of confiscated stolen assets in corruption cases returns should proceed in a transparent and accountable manner with the mutual consent of both kenya and the partner offering the return said the new agreement 1 to avoid complications of asset recovery the framework says that recovery should follow executable judgments1 a steering committee comprising the executive office of the president the attorney general the national treasury the assets recovery agency ethics and anti-corruption agency and envoys or representatives representing the partner countries will be established to implement the deal1 the agreement also has a provision to allow other nations willing to cooperate with kenya in the recovery of stolen assets to join1 kenyatta said the signing of the agreement at state house in nairobi was part of his resolve to eliminate corruption in the country1

Swiss to strengthen ties with Kenya
News & Trends •
source63 switzerland has started diplomatic forage in kenya to strengthen trade economic and political relations1 the president of the swiss confederation mr. alain berset arrived in kenya on sunday for a three-day official visit to open new vistas and cement existing relations1 berset will hold bilateral talks with president uhuru kenyatta and the two leaders are also expected to explore areas of collaboration under kenyattas big four agenda1 the agenda is food security affordable housing manufacturing and universal healthcare according to state house in nairobi1 the areas of cooperation highlighted for the visit include the swiss development agencys work in kenyas arid and semi-arid lands regions as well as the swiss for life project in kakuma refugee camp which is home to thousands of south sudanese refugees1 other areas of cooperation are igad-switzerland cooperation and swiss support to kenyas big 4 health pillar1 it would be recalled that early this year the swiss embassy inaugurated in kenya its new embassy building in nairobi1

China, African trade hits $170b yearly
News & Trends •
source63 chinas bilateral cooperation with africa has grown phenomenally in the past 40 years with trade leaping from 765 million to 170 billion a year1 the minister said this has therefore made china africas largest trading partner during the last few decades1 in the same period chinese investment in africa reached a cumulative 110 billion1 chen said africas debt to her country is economically sustainable and should be no cause for alarm1 chinas deputy foreign minister chen xiaodong said the growth was on the basis of interlocking interests since 19781 china is attentive to the situation in africa and seeks to help the continent to contain the risks of debt and relieve the pressure of payment the minister pointed out1 the minister said that beijing also encourages companies in her country to do more investments as well as to explore new models such as public-private partnerships1 china the official said understands the importance of debt sustainability in africa thereby helping the continent to improve its investment environment1 chinas investments on the continent range from zambian power plants egyptian trade deals cobalt mines in congo rail links in east africa and infrastructure in equatorial guinea1 chen made the announcement in beijing on wednesday at the opening session of the 7th forum of the china-africa expert committee1

Another PDPs bigwig defects to APC
News & Trends •
source63 mr. sunday akinniyi former chief whip of ekiti state house of assembly has defected from the peoples democratic party pdp to the all progressives congress apc ahead of the state governorship election on july 142 he accused the outgoing governor of disrespect for top leaders of pdp2 he said that the alleged high-handedness was causing internal crisis and mass defection of influential members of pdp to the opposition2 the lawmaker representing ikere constituency ii said at the kayode fayemi campaign secretariat in ado ekiti said he got the blessing of critical stakeholders in my constituency before taking the step2 he explained that he decided to join the governorship campaign of dr fayemi because fayose treated the olukere of ikere ganiyu obasoyin with disdain and reneged on his promise to give him recognition and staff of office2 he alleged that fayose neglected his constituents in major projects executed in ikere ekiti2 governor fayose said i should bring olukere to him which i did. he promised that he will ask the council of traditional rulers to go to olukeres palace and examine the place and make recommendations on how best they can recognise his stool which they did2 akinniyi defected on tuesday with the excuse that he joined apc due to high-handedness of governor ayodele fayose2 all the projects he did in ikere including the dualisation were concentrated in constituency i. i used to raise issues about this and that was why they removed me as the chief whip instead of the allegation of docility and sleeping at plenary they levelled against me2 apart from all these the pdp had been in constant crises and now irreversibly divided and polarised to the extent that more than half of its members have moved out of the party in recent times to join apc2 as a democrat i cannot continue to remain in a party that had been polarised by internal crises because my continued stay will not allow me to effectively represent my people2 he declared that after consultations with leaders and people of his constituency he had resigned his membership of the pdp due to irreconcilable breaking into factions of the party in ekiti following the rancorous governorship primary2 i view of this i use this opportunity to announce my defection to apc from effect from today june 26 20182 last week a former deputy majority leader of the assembly ebenezer alagbada of iseorun had also joined the fayemi campaign2 a former pdp governorship aspirant and chieftain of pdp prince dayo adeyeye also defected to apc2 the obas turned in their report and governor fayose never acted on it. rather than recognising olukere they set him up for murder and put him in detention and that was why i decided not to support the governorship candidate professor kolapo olusola2

Zimbabwe: Mnangagwa blames rally attack on Grace Mugabe faction
News & Trends •
source63 emmerson mnangawa the president of zimbabwe has blamed an apparent assassination attempt at a political rally last weekend on a faction led by grace mugabe the wife of the ousted president robert mugabe1 the 75-year-old leaderthat led to the resignation of mugabe after a rule of 37 years stopped short of blaming the former first lady directly1 killed two people and injured 49. both vice-presidents were slightly injured in the blast as were several other top officials in the ruling zanu-pf party1 manangagwa earlier said the attack had been calculated to achieve a bloodbath and destabilise the ongoing electoral programme1 the upcoming parliamentary and presidential election is the latest turning point in the most tumultuous few months in almost four decades of zimbabwes political history1 though the poll on 30 july is realistically a two-horse contest between zanu-pf against the movement for democratic change mdc the longstanding opposition more than 20 candidates are contesting the presidency1 my hunch without evidence is that the people who aggrieved by the new dispensation are the g40 so that is the logical conclusion mnangagwa told the bbc1 i think this is a political action by some aggrieved persons by the current democratic dispensation in the country. he added1 mnangagwa told bbc in an interview that he believed the so-called g40 faction was responsible for the grenade thrown at the podium in the white city stadium in bulawayo on saturday afternoon1 the november takeover came after mnangagwa was sacked as vice-president by the ailing 94-year-old autocrat a move that he and zimbabwes powerful military saw as clearing the way to power for the 54-year-old first lady and her supporters1 a number of previous alleged assassination attempts have been blamed on the g40 by mnangagwa and his supporters including an apparent poisoning last year. no evidence has emerged to implicate any individual or group1 mnangagwa told the bbc thatwas politically immature and was easily used by a tool who wanted to get at me1 many of those who were close to the former first lady have fled1 opposition leaders infear the bombing may serve as a pretext for aby the government or the military in the southern african state1 manangwa said such concern was unfounded1 there is no need for a security crackdown this is a criminal activity but of course we must make sure the population is protected and only when we have got them are we going to be able to assess the extent to which the network is spread1 there is much bitter history between the current presidentand a close aide to mugabe for decades and the g40 faction1

Panel to probe Plateaus killings
News & Trends •
source63 barely four days after the deadly attacks that left 86 people dead plateau state house of assembly set up a seven-man special committee to probe the attacks in parts of the state1 the committee is to investigate the remote and immediate causes of the attacks identify the perpetrators ascertain the number of communities affected and the extent of destruction and make appropriate recommendations1 the speaker of the house mr peter azi directed the committee to report back its findings in four weeks1 the committee was set up followed a motion moved at plenary by mr peter ibrahim member representing jos barikin ladi constituency1 ibrahim narrated the incident saying that his constituents have been under siege by gunmen suspected to be herdsmen since last saturday1 mr speaker it is no longer news that my constituency has been under siege for the past few days leading to loss of lives and property1 by my count we have lost more than 200 lives many severely injured and a lot of houses and farmlands destroyed1 as i speak sir a lot of my constituents are reported missing and thousands displaced since the ugly incident started1 i have on several occasions brought cases of attacks and killings in my constituency before this honourable house unfortunately they have never stopped1 he panel is headed by mr yusuf gagdi to investigate the weekends killings in 11 villages in barikin ladi local government area and some villages in bokkos and riyom1 the lawmaker called for the investigation of security operatives in the area urging the government to intensify effort at ending the incessant attacks1 contributing mr ysufu gagdi member representing kantana constituency described the spate of attacks that have led to the loss of many lives as unfortunate1 gagdi a former deputy speaker of the assembly also expressed displeasure at the role of government and security agents at restoring peace to the state1 no matter the level of physical infrastructure no matter how beautiful our schools hospitals roads and others are without peace and tranquillity all is in vain1 so our government must make it a point of duty to ensure the security of lives and property for anything short of that means the government has failed he said1 in his submission the minority leader of the house mr daniel dem called for a review of the security architecture in the state1 according to him the people have lost confidence in the security agencies deployed in the state stressing the need for a change in strategy1 he therefore urged the state government to set up a civilian joint task force to build confidence in the people in the affected areas1 so i wish to urge this honourable house to as a matter of urgency act fast and salvage my people he said1

Another PDPs bigwig defects to APC
News & Trends •
source63 mr. sunday akinniyi former chief whip of ekiti state house of assembly has defected from the peoples democratic party pdp to the all progressives congress apc ahead of the state governorship election on july 142 he accused the outgoing governor of disrespect for top leaders of pdp2 he said that the alleged high-handedness was causing internal crisis and mass defection of influential members of pdp to the opposition2 the lawmaker representing ikere constituency ii said at the kayode fayemi campaign secretariat in ado ekiti said he got the blessing of critical stakeholders in my constituency before taking the step2 he explained that he decided to join the governorship campaign of dr fayemi because fayose treated the olukere of ikere ganiyu obasoyin with disdain and reneged on his promise to give him recognition and staff of office2 he alleged that fayose neglected his constituents in major projects executed in ikere ekiti2 governor fayose said i should bring olukere to him which i did. he promised that he will ask the council of traditional rulers to go to olukeres palace and examine the place and make recommendations on how best they can recognise his stool which they did2 akinniyi defected on tuesday with the excuse that he joined apc due to high-handedness of governor ayodele fayose2 all the projects he did in ikere including the dualisation were concentrated in constituency i. i used to raise issues about this and that was why they removed me as the chief whip instead of the allegation of docility and sleeping at plenary they levelled against me2 apart from all these the pdp had been in constant crises and now irreversibly divided and polarised to the extent that more than half of its members have moved out of the party in recent times to join apc2 as a democrat i cannot continue to remain in a party that had been polarised by internal crises because my continued stay will not allow me to effectively represent my people2 he declared that after consultations with leaders and people of his constituency he had resigned his membership of the pdp due to irreconcilable breaking into factions of the party in ekiti following the rancorous governorship primary2 i view of this i use this opportunity to announce my defection to apc from effect from today june 26 20182 last week a former deputy majority leader of the assembly ebenezer alagbada of iseorun had also joined the fayemi campaign2 a former pdp governorship aspirant and chieftain of pdp prince dayo adeyeye also defected to apc2 the obas turned in their report and governor fayose never acted on it. rather than recognising olukere they set him up for murder and put him in detention and that was why i decided not to support the governorship candidate professor kolapo olusola2

Falae blames north for herders crisis
News & Trends •
source63 chief olu falae secretary to the military government of ibrahim babangida has blamed the states in the north for the crisis caused by herdsmen in nigeria1 he spoke in an interview on a political programme that would be aired on monday1 the problem of the herdsmen has been exacerbated by the failure of many of the state governments in the north to take care of the needs of the herdsmen1 according to him the needs of the herdsmen were thoroughly met during the days of late sir ahmadu bello the then premier of the northern region and sardauna of sokoto1 the former minister of finance recalled that during the period there were grazing reserves while all kinds of facilities were provided for the herdsmen and their cattle1 he highlighted some of the factors responsible for the crisis to include the reduction in size of the lake chad1 falae a victim of the crisis was kidnapped for days by by herdsmen in september 2015 in akure the ondo state capital1 the police had confirmed that the abductors demanded a n100 million as ransom before they would release the elder statesman1 the 79-year-old national chairman of the social democratic party sdp explained that state governments in the region abandoned the policy introduced by former leaders to take care of herders1 while the police have yet to identify the perpetrators of the attack falae blamed the incident on malice and hatred by some individuals1 in further reaction to the herdsmen crisis he repeatedly called on the federal government to take proactive steps in addressing the matter1 the elder statesman asked the government to tackle the depletion of the lake chad erosion as well as the boko haram insurgency among other challenges1 over one million people are herdsmen who earn their livelihood from the lake can no longer do so1 added to that are those uprooted by boko haram and then desertification has been continuously eroding the arable land in nigeria1 when you put all these factors together you find a tremendous pressure on herdsmen and their cattle and the response should have come from the state governments and the federal government to take care of their needs because they are nigerians who are entitled to their livelihood falae added1 falae was secretary to government of the federation from january 1986 to december 19901 he was briefly the finance minister in 1990 and he ran for president in nigerias third and fourth republics1 the former sgf suffered another loss in january 2018 when his farm was razed in the south-western state1

Algeria abandons 13,000 migrants in Sahara
News & Trends •
source63 here in the desert algeria has abandoned more than 13000 people in the past 14 months including pregnant women and children stranding them without food or water and forcing them to walk sometimes at gunpoint under temperatures of up to 118 degrees1 others disoriented and dehydrated wander for days before a u.n. rescue squad can find them1 untold numbers perish along the way nearly all the more than two dozen survivors interviewed by the associated press told of people in their groups who simply could not go on and vanished into the sahara1 women were lying dead men.. other people got missing in the desert because they didnt know the way said janet kamara who was pregnant at the time. everybody was just on their own1 her body still aches from the dead baby she gave birth to during the trek and left behind in the sahara buried in a shallow grave in the molten sand1 blood streaked her legs for days afterward and weeks later her ankles are still swollen. now in arlit niger she is reeling from the time she spent in what she calls the wilderness sleeping in the sand1 quietly in a voice almost devoid of feeling she recalled at least two nights in the open before her group was finally rescued but said she lost track of time1 i lost my son my child said kamara a liberian who ran her own home business selling drinks and food in algeria and was expelled in may1 another woman in her early twenties who was expelled at the same time also went into labor she said. that baby didnt make it either1 in niger where the majority head the lucky ones limp across a desolate 9-mile no-mans-land to assamaka less a town than a collection of unsteady buildings sinking into drifts of sand1 these migrants from across sub-saharan africa mali the gambia guinea ivory coast niger and more are part of the mass migration toward europe some fleeing violence others just hoping to make a living1 a european union spokesperson said the eu was aware of what algeria was doing but that sovereign countries can expel migrants as long as they comply with international law1 unlike niger algeria takes none of the eu money intended to help with the migration crisis although it did receive 111.3 million in aid from europe between 2014 and 20171 algeria provides no figures for the expulsions. but the number of people crossing on foot to niger has been increasing steadily since the international organization for migration started counting in may 2017 when 135 people were dropped at the crossing to as high as 2888 in april 20181 in all according to the iom a total of 11276 men women and children survived the march1 at least another 2500 were forced on a similar trek this year through the sahara into neighboring mali with an unknown number succumbing along the way1 the migrants the ap talked to described being rounded up hundreds at a time crammed into open trucks headed southward for six to eight hours to what is known as point zero then dropped in the desert and pointed in the direction of niger1 they are told to walk sometimes at gunpoint. in early june 217 men women and children were dropped well before reaching point zero fully 18 miles from the nearest source of water according to the iom1 algerias mass expulsions have picked up since october 2017 as the european union renewed pressure on north african countries to head off migrants going north to europe via the mediterranean sea or the barrier fences with spain1

Yoga antidote to drug addiction Priest
News & Trends •
source63 fr. joe pereira president of the mumbai ngo kripa foundation says that practicing yoga will help to combat drug addiction1 he was speaking to asianews ahead of the fourth international day of yoga which is being celebrated today1 he has been invited to give an address in london on an initiative on this subject organised by the parliamentary group all party uk in the house of lords1 the priest said that for 50 years he practiced the iyengar yoga method and had been a pupil of its founder bellur krishnamukari sundara iyengar1 in the same way for the past 30 years his foundation has used yoga to help in the rehabilitation of people with alcohol and drug problems1 the kripa foundation offers an intense program of yoga and meditation designed especially for people who undergo treatments and recovery sessions [from drug addiction]1 todays celebration is deeply felt not only in india but in various parts of the world1 social networks abound with photos of indian premier narendra modi as he leads an exercise of 55 thousand volunteers in dehradun uttarakhand1 howeveron the claim that the practice leads to the divine emphasizing instead the beneficial effects on body and physical health1 kripa foundation is an ngo that cares for aids patients and drug addicts1 responding to the perplexities that a catholic priest who teaches yoga raises he replies1 first of all i have been practicing iyengar yoga for 50 years1 after the second vatican council the catholic church has received elements of spirituality from the religions of the whole world1 in my work with drug addicts i have found that the answer to the thirst for love and god is fulfilled through the discipline of the body1 with the body as a temple of the spirit of god everyone has a journey towards god within his own self1 i love the catholic church he concludes because it is truly catholic it welcomes this discipline within contemplative practice he said1 he said he would continue to use yoga for the two dimensions of drug addiction and contemplative prayer1 he added that the kripa model is now used all over the world as a tool for recovery1 i will propose to the english parliamentarians to implement the same method also in the united kingdom .he added1 according to the indian priest meditation and yoga have the power to help us get in touch with the true inner self and to transcend the world of prakriti and of materialism and to operate from a level of awareness which brings us to our essential uniqueness1

South Korea to ban killing of Dogs
News & Trends •
source63 a revised animal protection law that aims to ban killings of dogs has been proposed by lawmakers in seoul1 it also mandates people in slaughtering business to prepare measures to minimize sufferings of animals in a killing1 the current law doesnt force suffering preventions but states that slaughtering should not cause fear or stress to animals1 this proposed bill aims to ban arbitrary killings of animals and stop any gruesome acts of killing1 the proposed legislation seeks to prohibit unlawful killings of animals such as dogs and cats that are not categorized as livestock1 across the country dogs are raised and slaughtered for the dog meat trade but are not regulated by the sanitary processing of livestock act said lee so-young pyos secretary officer1 eating dog meat has been practiced for many pears here. however it has met criticisms for the horrific conditions and ways in which dogs are raised treated and later killed for the dog meat trade1 as dogs fall into the gray area in the law there are still many cases in which dogs are slaughtered cruelly in unreported places lee so-young secretary of lawmaker pyo chang-won of the democratic party of korea told upi1 this revised law responds to the growing interest in animal protection and the need for a legislation that would offer practical measures to prevent animal abuse and illegal killings said lee1 it will give lawful protection to animals and ban any killings of animals that fall into the gray area of the current animal protection law pyo chang-won of the democratic party of korea said in the press statement1

Kim Jong Un brought own toilet to summit with Trump
News & Trends •
source63 north koreas kim jong un has brought with him his own portable toilet to singapore ahead of the tuesday summit with u.s. president donald trump1 while officials remainas to what exactly will come out of tuesdays unprecedented discussions mr. trump has stated that he wants to strike a deal to get the pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons1 south korean news agencyreported that when kim arrived in singapore on an air china boeing 747 and was accompanied by an il-76 transport plane carrying food his bullet-proof limousine and a1 accordingly to lee yun-keol who worked in a north korean guard command unit before defecting to south korea in 2005 thats par for the course1 rather than using a public restroom the leader of north korea has a personal toilet that follows him around when he travels lee yun-keol told the1 the reason they are protecting against a literal info dump1 president trump and north koreas kim jong un are both in singapore for their highly anticipated summit the first of its kind between a u.s. president and a leader of north korea1 similar travel considerations are reportedly made whenever the north korean leader conducts on-site inspections of military bases and state-run factories across the country1 in fact according to the south korean news agency daily nk there is a customised bathroom built into kims convoy of vehicles at all times1 the restrooms are not only in kim jong uns personal train but whatever small or midsize cars he is traveling with and even in special vehicles that are designed for mountainous terrain or snow a source in south pyongan province1 familiar with kims escort command toldin 2015. there are multiple vehicles within the convoy so that people cannot tell which one he is in and there is a separate car that acts as his restroom1 so in this respect at least it seems this historic summit is no different than kims other excursions1 he simply always uses a personal highly guarded toilet in loo of public facilities1 the leaders excretions contain information about his health status so they cant be left behind lee yun-keol explained1

Im ready to meet Trump says Putin
News & Trends •
source63 russian president vladimir putin said that he is ready to hold a summit with president trump whenever the u.s. is ready the ap reports1 putin during a visit to china also welcomed trumps call to bring moscow back into the g71 he said that he shares trumps concern about the escalation of an arms race between the u.s. and russia1 the u.s. president has repeatedly said that its reasonable to hold such a meeting1 as soon as the u.s. side is ready the meeting will take place depending of course on my working schedule1

Trump offers condolences to Bourdains family
News & Trends •
source63 president donald trump has extended his condolences to anthony bourdains family and remembers him as quite a character1 i think it is sad i want to extend to his family my heartfelt condolences it was very shocking when i woke up this morning to hear that anthony bourdain is dead1 i enjoy his show he was just a character he said1 us celebrity chef anthony bourdain host of cnns food-and-travel-focusedtelevision series died at the age of 611 the cause of death was suicide the network said in a statement1 he was found dead in a hotel room in strasbourg france where he had been working on an upcoming episode of his program the network said1 bourdains death was the second suicide this week of a high-profile american figure1

Everything ready for summit with Korean leader says Trump
News & Trends •
source63 u.s. president donald trump says on thursday that everything was ready to go for the next week summit with the korean leader kim jong-un1 trump made the remarks when he welcomed japanese prime minister shinzo abe at the white house for preparatory talks before the summit1 the summit is all ready to go trump told reporters. its all going along very fine. i hope it continues on this track1 trump and abe were to hold a joint press conference at the white house at about 200 pm local time before heading to canada for what promises to be a tense group of seven g7 summit clouded by the us leaders controversial trade tariffs1 but before tackling the thorny trade issue trump expressed unbridled optimism about his june 12 summit with kim in singapore1 his enthusiasm to hold the meeting with kim has reportedly prompted concerns in tokyo that a hasty deal between the us and north korea would leave japan exposed to a perceived north korean missile threat1 japan has been anxiously watching ever since a thaw began first between pyongyang and seoul and then between north korea and the us1 japan also reportedly fears that trump could eventually agree to reduce us military forces in south korea leaving japan which has been highly dependent on us military protection since tokyos defeat in world war ii to fend for itself1

Alice Marie Johnson granted clemency by Trump
News & Trends •
source63 president has announced he commuted the life sentence of alice marie johnson a 63-year-old serving for a first-time nonviolent drug offense on wednesday1 kardashian has spent months using her platform . she met with the president to discuss the possibility of revisiting johnsons sentence1 i would like to thank president trump for his time this afternoon kardashian visit in may1 it is our hope that the president will grant clemency to ms. alice marie johnson who is serving a life sentence for a first-time non-violent drug offense1 johnson wasfor helping a multimillion-dollar cocaine ring something johnson said she and was unable to support her family1 in an op-ed titledfor cnn johnson wrote that her life began to spiral out of control after the loss of her son and her divorce1 trumps decision comesdays after reality star spoke with the about prison reform and sentencing1 this was a road i never dreamed of venturing down. i became what is called a telephone mule passing messages between the distributors and sellers1 i participated in a drug conspiracy and i was wrong1 the white house released a statement on wednesday commending johnson for her ability to rehabilitate herself in prison1 johnsons clemency was supported by her warden arcala washington-adduci who told the white house she is a model inmate who is willing to go above and beyond in all work tasks1 while this administration will always be very tough on crime it believes that those who have paid their debt to society and worked hard to better themselves while in prison deserve a second chance the white house statement read1 i made the biggest mistake of my life to make ends meet and got involved with people selling drugs johnson wrote in her cnn piece1

Trump considers pardoning Alice Marie Johnson
News & Trends •
source63 the u.s president donald trump is reportedly considering1 she was sentenced to lifewithout parolein 1996 despite it being her first offence1 kardashian first read about her case in october 2017 and began tweeting about it describing the sentence as so unfair1 on may 30 she travelled to dc to meet the president and plead for clemency1 johnson a great-grandmother from memphis tennessee who became an ordained minister behind bars has served more than 21 years in prison for a non-violent drug conspiracy offence1 john kelly the chief of staffand white house counsel donald mcgahn are described as being disturbed by the process according to two people familiar with the discussions1 mr kelly has reviewed johnsons background and her 1996 conviction and is not convinced she deserves a pardon an administration official told the newspaper1 mr mcgahn has also argued against the possible pardon as an unnecessary action by the president a second official said1 but the case seized upon by kardashian has become a cause celebre for prison reform advocates1 r trump but the decision has divided his cabinet1

Trumps team denies president plans to pardon himself
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source63 lawyers acting for donald trump say the us president has the power to pardon himself if charges arise from the investigation into russian collusion but has no plans to do so1 the claim made by trump lawyer rudy giuliani came soon afterpublished a confidential memo from two other white house lawyers to special counsel robert mueller1 in it trumps legal team say the president could not be acting illegally to obstruct the investigation because the us constitution empowers him to if he wished terminate the inquiry or even exercise his power to pardon1 part of muellers investigation into russian interference in the 2016 election is looking at whether mr trump sought to criminally obstruct it in particular with the sacking of ex-national security adviser michael flynn and former fbi director james comey says the1 giuliani made several tv appearances yesterday trying to distance trump from plans to use his presidential pardoning powers to clear himself1 i think the political ramifications of that would be tough giuliani said. pardoning other people is one thing. pardoning yourself is another1 former us attorney and cnn analyst preet bahara said it would be outrageous for a sitting president to pardon himself. i think if the president decided he was going to pardon himself i think thats almost self-executing impeachment he told1

Summit: Kim sends letter to Trump
News & Trends •
source63 a senior north korean official will on friday hand over a letter from the countrys leader kim jong un to u.s. president donald trump1 this is in a rare visit to the white house as the two sides try to put a derailed summit meeting back on track1 trump hopes to meet kim in singapore on june 12 and pressure him to give up his nuclear weapons although he conceded on thursday that might require more rounds of direct negotiations1 id like to see it done in one meeting trump told reuters. but often times thats not the way deals work1 theres a very good chance that it wont be done in one meeting or two meetings or three meetings. but itll get done at some point. he added1 leading the delegation to the white house on friday is kim yong chol a close aide of kim jong un1

Trump-Kim summit: Russian Foreign minister to visit North Korea
News & Trends •
source63 russias foreign minister sergei lavrov will visit north korea ahead of the trump-kim summit1 he is expected to hold talks with his counterpart about the situation on the korean peninsula the kremlin says1 it would be recalled that earlier this month president donald trump and north korean leader kim jong un were set to meet at a historic summit. then last thursday trump called it off1 but now in a remarkable turnaround it looks like that meeting could happen after all1 on saturday south korean president moon jae-in traveled to north korea for an part of the goal apparently was to make sure kim still wanted to meet the us president1 hours later the white house said it would send ato singapore to prepare for the possible trump-kim summit on june 12. and on sundayconfirmed that the us sent a delegation to the northern side of the korean border for talks with pyongyang1