Illustrative photo (Source: internet) Hanoi (VNA) – Leaders of the Vietnam Union of the Friendship Organisations (VUFO) and Vietnam – US Friendship Association hosted a delegation of US legislative assistants in Hanoi on April 16. The delegation consists of 10 assistants to US senators and congressmen from the Democrat and Republican parties on a working visit to Vietnam from April 12 to 20 The trip is part of a programme themed “Vietnam-US comprehensive partnership for peace and prosperity” and aims at boosting ties between the two nations and their parliaments in various areas, including trade collaboration, alleviation of war consequences, the East Sea issue, response to climate change and cybersecurity. At the meeting, VUFO President Nguyen Phuong Nga said the visit will help delegates obtain knowledge on Vietnam’s socio-economic and political affairs. People-to-people exchange has been an important factor in Vietnam – US relations, she … [Read more...] about VUFO leader receives US legislative assistant delegation
Leader republican party
Summit disaster or no, most Republicans dare not trash Trump
Some Republicans spoke out forcefully against President Donald Trump's handling of this week's summit with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. But most GOP lawmakers held their tongue on account of one person: Trump himself. Privately, Republican lawmakers say they tend to agree with the widely held assessment that the U.S. leader blew it in Helsinki, where critics say he betrayed his intelligence chiefs and took a submissive posture before Russia's KGB-agent-turned-president. But many of those same Republicans, particularly those facing re-election fights in November's mid-terms, fear that speaking out forcefully against Trump now would amount to political suicide, according to strategists and experts who engage with them. Even as bipartisan backlash forced Trump and the White House into a series of embarrassing reversals and clarifications, the majority in the party that controls Congress appeared unwilling to deviate publicly from their leader. Such is Trump's stranglehold on the … [Read more...] about Summit disaster or no, most Republicans dare not trash Trump
Trump urges Republicans to fix family separation crisis
Viet Nam News WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump told Republican lawmakers Tuesday, June 19, he backed their efforts to craft an immigration solution that ends the politically toxic practice of separating families on the US-Mexico border. Just hours after doubling down on his administration’s much-derided policy that triggers separations of migrant children from their parents, Trump braved frustrated and in some cases angry fellow Republicans to assure he wanted their swift resolution to the crisis. While top officials have stood by Trump’s "zero tolerance" approach, insisting children are being held in humane conditions, criticism has swelled from international rights groups, Christian evangelicals, former US first ladies and the president’s own Republican Party. Democrats who have visited minors in detention in Texas and California describe crying children held in cage-like conditions behind chain-link fencing, with no idea when … [Read more...] about Trump urges Republicans to fix family separation crisis
In complete reversal, Trump revives summit with North Korean leader
In complete reversal, Trump revives summit with North Korean leader North Korean envoy Kim Yong Chol talks with U.S. President Donald Trump as they walk out of the Oval Office after a meeting at the White House in Washington, U.S., June 1, 2018 – PHOTO: REUTERS WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - President Donald Trump, in a complete reversal, said on Friday he will hold a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on June 12 in Singapore in the latest twist in the high-stakes diplomacy over eliminating Pyonyang’s nuclear arms program. Eight days after cancelling the unprecedented summit, citing Pyongyang’s “open hostility,” Trump welcomed North Korea’s former intelligence chief - currently under punitive U.S. sanctions - to the White House Oval Office, afterward exchanging smiles and handshakes, patting his arm in a friendly gesture. “Good meeting today. I think it’s a great start,” Trump said after conferring for about 90 minutes … [Read more...] about In complete reversal, Trump revives summit with North Korean leader
Ex-French leader Sarkozy in legal fight to avoid trial over campaign finance
PARIS — The Paris appeals court announced Wednesday it will rule in September on whether former French leader Nicolas Sarkozy should stand trial on charges of illicit financing of his failed 2012 presidential campaign, one of several legal inquiries which have dogged the rightwing politician since he left office. The court made the announcement after hearing lengthy arguments from Sarkozy’s legal team seeking to avoid a potentially embarrassing public ordeal as well as up to a year in prison if convicted. The appeals court said it will decide on September 20 whether to uphold the decision of a judge last year ordering the trial. Prosecutors claim Sarkozy spent nearly 43 million euros (US$51 million) on his lavish re-election bid -- almost double the legal limit of 22.5 million euros -- via fake invoices. Sarkozy has angrily denounced the charges, saying he was unaware of the fraud by executives at public relations … [Read more...] about Ex-French leader Sarkozy in legal fight to avoid trial over campaign finance