CAST’s former secretariat secretary interrogated in court about graft

21:37, November 07, 2019

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  Former Trump adviser next in line to be asked about Ukraine

  (File Photo: AP)President Donald Trumps top adviser for Russian and European affairs is leaving his job at the White House just as hes scheduled to testify before the House impeachment investigators, a senior administration official said.Tim Morrison owes his job at the National Security Council to Trump, but his testimony Thursday inthe House impeachment inquirymight be central to a push to remove the president from office.A senior administration official said Wednesday that Morrison "has decided to pursue other opportunities." The official, who was not authorized to discuss Morrisons job and spoke only on the condition of anonymity, said Morrison has been considering leaving the administration for "some time."Morrison has been in the spotlight since August whena government whistleblowersaid multiple U.S. officials had said Trump was "using the power of his office to solicit interference from a foreign country in the 2020 U.S. election."Now its his turn in the impeachment probes hot seat.Morrison, tall and lean with an authoritative voice, will be asked to explain that "sinking feeling" he got when Trump demanded that Ukraines president investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and meddling in the 2016 election.Morrison, who is in his 40s, is a political appointee in the Trump White House, brought on board byformer national security adviser John Boltonto address arms control matters and later shifted into his current role as a top Russia and Europe adviser. It was there that he stepped into the thick of an in-house squabble about the activities of Trumps personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, who had been conversing with Ukrainian leaders outside of traditional U.S. diplomatic circles.Known as a "hawk" in national security circles, Morrison is set to be the first political appointee from the White House to testify before impeachment investigators. The prob...

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  Secretariat of Alliance of International Science Organizations officially kicks off in N China

  The ceremony of the Secretariat of Alliance of International Science Organizations kicks off in Beijing on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2019 (Photos: ANSO)The ceremony of the Secretariat of Alliance of International Science Organizations (ANSO) in Huairou Science City (HSC) was held in Beijing on Thursday, where the participants reached a consensus on the interaction between ANSO and HSC to serve the building of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).Bai Chunli, President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Liu Yinchun, Deputy Secretary-General of the Beijing Municipal Government, attended the ceremony and delivered speeches. Dai Binbin, Secretary of Huairou District Communist Party Committee, and Secretary of Communist Party Work Committee of Huairou Science City, presided over the ceremony.Co-sponsored by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the People’s Government of Beijing Municipality, the opening ceremony was co-organized by ANSO, the People’s Government of Huairou District and the Administrative Committee of Huairou Science City.The important decision to settle the ANSO Secretariat in HSC on its first anniversary was made under the care and support of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council. The aim is to vigorously promote the building of ANSO, to inject new impetus into the internationalization and new development of HSC, and is of great significance for HSC to build its international academic environment and enhance its international influence.On November 4, 2018, ANSO was formally established in Beijing. It is the first comprehensive and substantive international scientific and technological organization founded by the national academies of sciences, national scientific research institutions, universities and international organizations of the countries and regions along the Belt and Road under the framework of the BRI.Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to the establishment of the alliance, in which Xi pointed out, “Scientific and tech...

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  US secretary of state to visit Germany

  (Photo: AP)WASHINGTON, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit Germany later this week, said the US State Department on Tuesday.Pompeo will travel to Germany from Nov. 6 to 8, during which he will engage in a full program with the German government and civil society in commemorating the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, a senior State Department official said in a briefing.During his visit, Pompeo will meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, and other senior German officials, according to the briefing.Washington and Berlin, the two NATO allies, currently have disagreements on a range of issues such as the latters defense spending, the Iran nuclear issue as well as the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project, which has been staunchly supported by Germany and Russia.