Sunday, December 18, 2016
Donald Trump says 'no new deals' after postponing business conflicts briefing
Donald Trump’s long-awaited announcement on how he intends to separate his business conflicts from his presidential responsibilities has been postponed until January, though a late-night tweet hinted at at least one new detail.
On Monday night, Trump said his company would make “no new deals” during his time in office.
In a series of posts, Trump wrote: “Even though I am not mandated by law to do so, I will be leaving my businesses before January 20th so that I can focus full time on the presidency. Two of my children, Don and Eric, plus executives, will manage them. No new deals will be done during my term(s) in office.”
In a third tweet, Trump affirmed that he intended to hold a fresh conference on his financial conflicts at a later date. He wrote: “I will hold a press conference in the near future to discuss the business, Cabinet picks and all other topics of interest. Busy times!”
Trump has not formally taken questions from a group of reporters since 27 July.
The media conference regarding his real estate and intellectual property holdings was originally planned for 15 December and was announced by Trump on Twitter on 30 November.
Trump has long faced major ethical issues surrounding his holdings, which include a number of hotels and golf courses, as well as royalties from the NBC reality television show The Apprentice.
Although Trump’s attorney, Michael Cohen, has said in the past that the president-elect would put his assets into “a blind trust”, Cohen also insisted that Trump’s three oldest children, Donald Jr, Ivanka and Eric, would administer the trust.
All three are on Trump’s transition team – and Ivanka, in particular, has played a hands-on role advising her father. She joined the president-elect in a meeting with Japanese prime minister, Shinzo Abe, in mid-November and alsoparticipated in a phone call that Trump held with Argentina’s president, Mauricio Macri, less than a week after the election. The Trump Organization has long been involved in a development project in Buenos Aires.
The president-elect’s various holdings present a variety of possible conflicts of interest. Although federal ethics laws do not directly apply to the presidency, Trump risks a constitutional violation under the emoluments clause. That provision found in Article I, Section 9, Clause 8 of the US constitution provides that “no person holding any office of profit or trust under them shall, without the consent of the Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state”.
Trump’s foreign investments, as well as foreign governments doing business at his hotel, could be considered a violation. The Washington Post reported in November that foreign diplomats were already planning on frequenting the president-elect’s Washington hotel in attempt to court favor with the new administration.
The media conference is not the first major one that the president-elect has postponed. In early August, Trump pledged that his wife, Melania Trump, would hold a conference to address questions about her immigration status that were raised during the campaign. That conference was never held.
Wednesday, December 14, 2016
Tuesday, December 13, 2016
Sunderland vs. Chelsea: Team News, Preview, Live Stream and TV Info
Sunderland will be seeking to turn the Premier League table upside down on Wednesday night at the Stadium of Light, as they face a formidable Chelsea team.
After the hugely disappointing 3-0 loss to Swansea City last time out, the Black Cats are back at the bottom of the pile, just two points off safety. However, given Chelsea, three points clear at the summit, are chasing their 10th league win in a row, it’d be a huge surprise to see Sunderland pick up a victory here.
Nevertheless, these types of contests are always fascinating, and you can bet the home crowd will be behind the men in red and white.
Here’s the latest team news ahead of this one, the key viewing details and a look ahead to how the match is likely to pan out.
Monday, December 12, 2016
Brexit will undermine London's legal standing, barristers warn
Brexit could undermine London’s status as a highly profitable international legal centre, according to the Bar Council, which represents barristers in England and Wales.
The warning comes as lawyers seeking to prevent the UK from leaving the single market by upholding the right to remain in the European Economic Area (EEA) formally lodged notice on Monday of a fresh appeal against the government at the high court.
Peter Wilding, the man credited with inventing the term Brexit in 2012, said the group British Influence expected that its claim against the Department for Exiting the European Union could be heard as early as next February.
The Bar Council’s report, The Brexit Papers, is intended to draw the government’s attention to the financial and professional dangers of removing the UK entirely from close relationships with European jurisdictions.
“The reputation of England and Wales as the pre-eminent destination for international dispute resolution will be damaged if appropriate steps are not taken to ensure that the position as to the jurisdiction of the English courts and the enforcement of English judgments are protected,” the Bar Council working party led by Hugh Mercer QC says.
“A great deal of the attractiveness of the UK in general, and London in particular, as a hub for business (particularly financial services) … will be considerably diminished if steps are not taken to ensure an adequate legal framework is put in place to ensure that English judgments and jurisdiction clauses are effectively and efficiently enforced.”
The report refers to cases in which claimants are being advised not to choose English jurisdiction clauses in their contracts where previously they would have been almost an automatic choice. Some cases that would normally be launched in England are being started in other EU jurisdictions due to uncertainty over the ultimate enforceability of English judgments.
The UK legal services market generates £25.7bn a year in revenue and employs 370,000 people. It produced £3.3bn of net export revenue last year.
In the short to medium term Brexit may benefit lawyers whose legal advice is sought in a period of uncertainty, but the long-term prospects are not as good.
“The enduring international appeal of the UK for its legal standing will depend on the ability of UK lawyers to provide legal services, including representation, to clients across the EU and elsewhere,” the Bar Council says.
British Influence, one of whose founders was the Labour peer Peter Mandelson, is launching its legal challenge against the government department headed by David Davis. Lord Mandelson is no longer involved with the group.
The government and the European commission maintain that the UK will leave the EEA at the moment it leaves the EU.
Article 127 of the EEA agreement requires contracting parties, which include the UK, to give at least 12 months’ notice before leaving. That suggests a separate departure process from article 50 of the EU treaty, which was disputed in the supreme court.
British Influence pointed to the European Economic Area Act 1993, which enshrines the EEA in UK domestic law.
“We note that the Conservative party general election manifesto of 2015 commits to keeping Britain in the single market,” British Influence said. “Just as the Conservative party promised to hold a referendum and honour the result, then, it also effectively promised to keep us in the single market. Leaving the EU is compatible with remaining in the single market.”
Peter Wilding said: “This is not stopping Brexit, this is shaping it. The country demands a win-win, smart Brexit, not a lose-lose ideological hard Brexit which will damage the UK, damage Europe and for which there is no need and no mandate.
“I support the article 127 campaign because we need to lead, not leave, the common market, which the UK founded. Continued membership of the common market was a Conservative manifesto promise, respects the referendum red lines and avoids the cliff edge which British business fears. So staying in the single market helps not hinders the government.”
Responding to the latest legal threat, a government spokesman said: “The UK is party to the EEA agreement only in its capacity as an EU member state. Once the UK leaves the EU, the EEA agreement will automatically cease to apply to the UK.”
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Donald Trump delays announcement about future of his business holdings
Donald Trump’s long-awaited announcement on the future of his business enterprises has now been postponed until January.
The Guardian can confirm that the president-elect’s press conference on what he will do with his real estate and intellectual property holdings will not take place as originally planned on 15 December. The cancellation of the press conference, which was announced by Trump on Twitter on 30 November, was first reported by Bloomberg News.
Trump has long faced major ethical issues surrounding his holdings, which include a number of hotels and golf courses, as well as royalties from the NBC reality television show The Apprentice. Although Trump’s attorney, Michael Cohen, has said in the past that the president-elect would put his assets into “a blind trust”, Cohen also insisted that Trump’s three oldest children, Donald Jr, Ivanka and Eric, would administer the blind trust. All three are on Trump’s transition team – and Ivanka, in particular, has played a hands-on role advising her father. She joined the president-elect in a meeting with Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe in mid-November and also participated in a phone call that Trump held with Argentina’s president Mauricio Macri less than a week after the election. The Trump Organization has long been involved in a development project in Buenos Aires.
The president-elect’s various holdings present a variety of possible conflicts of interest. Although federal ethics laws do not directly apply to the presidency, Trump risks a constitutional violation under the Emoluments clause. That provision found in Article I, Section 9, Clause 8 of the US constitution provides that “no person holding any office of profit or trust under them shall, without the consent of the Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state”.
Trump’s foreign investments, as well as foreign governments doing business at his hotel, could be considered a violation. The Washington Post reported in November that foreign diplomats were already planning on frequenting the president-elect’s Washington hotel in attempt to court favor with the new administration.
The press conference is not the first major one that the president-elect has postponed. In early August, Trump pledged that his wife, Melania Trump, would hold a press conference to address questions about her immigration status that were raised during the campaign. That press conference was never held.
Further, Trump has not formally taken questions from a group of reporters since 27 July .
UK naive to expect easy ride in Brexit trade talks, says Lords report
Britain is naive to expect a “free lunch” in trade negotiations with the EU, according to a scathing House of Lords report that calls for a transition phase to ease the pain.
“The notion that a country can have complete regulatory sovereignty while engaging in comprehensive free trade with partners is based on a misunderstanding of the nature of free trade,” said the cross-party group of peers.
The report, the second of six parliamentary studies on the mechanics of Brexit out this week, also accuses the government of underestimating the consequences of its limited negotiating position.
“We recognise that the government is engaging with industry stakeholders but are not convinced that the level of engagement and expertise within government are commensurate with the scale of this unprecedented task, particularly given the government’s commitment to trigger article 50 by the end of March 2017,” wrote the Lords’ EU internal market and EU external affairs sub-committees.
Peers took evidence on four main options facing the government: remaining in the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) like Switzerland or Norway, a more limited Turkish-style position inside the customs union, a free trade agreement (FTA) similar to that negotiated by Canada or falling back on the system of international tariffs agreed by the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
But expert witnesses warned that all the options involved weighing up the economic benefits of trade against lost political independence, leaving no foreseeable scenario where Britain was in a stronger position outside the single market. “There is no free lunch,” said Dr Ulf Sverdrup, director of the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs.
Far from escaping the protectionism of “Fortress Europe”, as some Brexit supporters have promised, walking away entirely and relying on the WTO tariff regime could both push up food prices and introduce huge uncertainty for UK farmers who would have to fight to inherit quotas agreed under opaque WTO “schedules”.
“There will be much more severe restrictions in certain sectors, primarily agriculture, than we face at the moment as a member of the single market,” said Richard Eglin, a senior trade advisor with the law firm White and Case.
“While the UK could unilaterally decide to lower its tariffs on agricultural goods, this could complicate the process of agreement to its schedules and reduce its leverage in future FTA negotiations, as the UK would be less able to offer preferential terms to other countries,” explained the report.
Other British companies, such as airlines, faced a devastating loss of competitive advantage if the UK moves abruptly from the single market without some form of negotiated trade agreement to replace it. Aviation “is hardly touched upon by WTO commitments”, said Piet Eeckhout, a professor of EU law at University College London, while in the single market “you have a full single market in aviation”, where “any EU airline … can perform freely any flights across the European internal market”.
Government witnesses said they were keeping an open mind about different approaches to the problem and were confident of a strong negotiating position.
George Bridges, under-secretary of state at the Department for Exiting the EU (DExEU), told the committee that the government was looking at all the options, though favoured a bespoke UK agreement, because “we perceive ourselves as being in a unique position as regards the EU”. Lord Bridges said he wanted an agreement that would allow the UK to control its borders and laws and provide “the freest possible relationship as regards trade for our businesses”.
Sunday, December 11, 2016
Burst pipe leaves 150 north London homes under water
A burst water main has forced hundreds of residents to evacuate their homes in north London.
About 350 people from 150 properties had to flee after a 30-inch pipe burst in Northwold Road, Stoke Newington, on Sunday, leaving nearby streets under 3ft (1 metre) of water.
Thames Water said it had begun a full investigation into the incident, which followed similar instances of mains bursting in Blackheath in south-east London, on Saturday, and in Islington, north London, last Monday.
Bob Collington, director of Thames Water, said it had been an “extremely difficult week”.
He added: “I am personally devastated for those customers who have suffered flooding so close to Christmas. We are doing everything we can to help them and will make sure they are not left out of pocket for what has happened.
“The bursts are a clear reminder that we need to keep investing in our ageing and sometimes fragile network, with many pipes in London well over 100 years old.”
Friday, December 9, 2016
Errigle Inn, Belfast
Opened on 13 December 1935, this family-owned pub has always backed Christmas enthusiastically. A big old space of five self-contained bars – each fully glitzed with Christmas lights and decorations – the Errigle offers something for everyone at this time of year, whether you want to catch a band or some comedy upstairs; watch the Boxing Day football; meet family and friends in the lively main bar; or enjoy the peace of the wood-panelled Oak Room – which dispenses an impressive range of craft bottle and cask beers. Star names such as Magic Rock and Beavertown are stocked alongside Irish craft pace-setters Knockout or Farmaggedon, and – any day now – the Errigle will unveil its canning machine, which will allow drinkers to take their favourite draught beers home.
• Pint from £3.90. 312-320 Ormeau Road, 028-9064 1410, errigle.com. Open Mon-Sat 11.30am-1am, Sun 10am-midnight
Whitelock’s, Leeds
Whitelock’s, Leeds
“It’s got a Christmassy feel all year round,” insists general manager David Herbert, and you can kind of see what he means. Hidden down a ginnel in the city centre, this low-ceilinged, historic (established in 1715) Leeds classic is – with its splendid period interior and glowing coal fire – a self-contained pocket of good cheer; a cocoon of boozy comfort in a cold, harsh world. Its adjacent sister bar, the Turk’s Head, pushes a more radical line in craft beer but Whitelock’s is no slouch. Alongside its traditional real ales you will now find cask beers from adventurous UK micros and two craft keg lines pouring Northern Monk’s Eternal session IPA and Thornbridge’s Jaipur.
• Pint from £3.60. Turks Head Yard, 0113 245 3950, whitelocksleeds.com. Open Mon-Thurs 11am-midnight, Fri-Sat 11am-1am, Sun 11am-11pm
The Brewery Tap, Chester
The Brewery Tap, Chester
• Pint from £3.10. 52-54 Lower Bridge Street, 01244 340999, the-tap.co.uk. Open Mon-Sat noon-11pm, Sun noon-10.30pm
The Marble Arch, Manchester
The Marble Arch, Manchester
Looking for sanctuary far from the madding Christmas crowds? Then take a short walk down Rochdale Road to this extraordinary pub. Designed by Salford architect (and Manchester Guardian art critic) Alfred Darbyshire, its Victorian tiled interior is stunning. Now owned by the excellent Marble Brewery, the pub is popular with craft beer fans – and postal workers from the nearby sorting office – who are as warm and welcoming as the pub’s gas fire. Marble’s darker seasonal specials will be appearing on the pumps this month, such as Extra Porter and Chocolate Marble. On Christmas Eve, everyone gets a mince pie and a free half of Stouter (a port-laced stout).
• Pint from £3.20. 73 Rochdale Road, 0161-832 5914, on Facebook. Open Sun-Thurs noon-11pm, Fri-Sat noon-midnight
Top 10 festive pubs in the UK
The Sheffield Tap, Sheffield
Train stations are rarely as convivial as they are at Christmas. People are heading home for the holidays. Giddy colleagues are parting after long, boozy afternoons. Many are, basically, “in their cups” and far happier and chattier than normal. There are few better places to soak up this atmosphere than the Sheffield Tap, a beautiful Edwardian Grade II-listed refreshment rooms on Sheffield station, now reborn as a craft beer hub. Beyond its tapped beers – brewed on-site on a small gleaming copper kit – the Tap tends to focus on the best new-wave northern breweries. It is particularly tight with Derbyshire’s Thornbridge. Don’t blame us if you miss your train. Or the next one.
• Pint from £3.20. 1B Sheffield Station, Sheaf Street, 0114 273 7558,sheffieldtap.com. Open Sun-Thurs 11am-11pm, Fri-Sat 10am-midnight
• Pint from £3.20. 1B Sheffield Station, Sheaf Street, 0114 273 7558,sheffieldtap.com. Open Sun-Thurs 11am-11pm, Fri-Sat 10am-midnight
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