With Britain scheduled to leave the European Union on April 12, May is expected to convene a cabinet meeting on Tuesday (April 2). Her mission will be to seek a way of breaking the impasse between warring politicians. May is expected, trying for a fourth time, to get her under-fire Brexit deal through parliament later this week. Her deal, also known as the Withdrawal Agreement, has been rejected in the House of Commons for three times since January. Members of Parliament spent hours Monday debating a list of four Brexit options, ending in a series of votes which resulted in all of them being rejected. It was the second time within days that the British parliament had taken the unusual step of taking control of business in the Commons, a task usually managed by the ruling government. The first round of unbinding "indicative vote" was conducted on March 27, in which none of MPs' eight proposed options secured a majority, but among them, the proposed options about a customs union with the … [Read more...] about Spotlight: British PM to consider next steps as MPs fail to break Brexit deadlock – Xinhua
National party mps
Pheu Thai Party leads Thai election in terms of MP seats
More than 50 million Thais cast their ballots in the general election. (Photo: AFP) Bangkok (VNA) – With 94 percent of the votes counted, Pheu Thai Party of exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra won the most MP seats at 135 while the Palang Pracharath of current Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha came second with 98 seats, the Bangkok Post and the Nation reported on March 24. The Bhumjaithai and Democrat Parties came third and fourth with 39 and 34 seats, respectively. However, unofficial results direct from the Election Commission (EC), Palang Pracharath was leading with more than 7.1 million votes, followed by Pheu Thai with over 6.9 million votes, Future Forward Party with 4.4 million votes, Bhumjaithai with 2.6 million, and Democrat Party with over 2.1 million. With such results, Thai media said that Prayuth Chan-ocha could stay in power. The general election in Thailand, the first since the military coup in 2014, took place on March 24 with over 50 million … [Read more...] about Pheu Thai Party leads Thai election in terms of MP seats
Lieutenant General Bui Van Thanh loses all Party posts
Lieutenant General Bui Van Thanh loses all Party postsThe Saigon Times Daily Lieutenant General Bui Van Thanh, Deputy Minister of Public Security - PHOTO: VNA HCMC – The Politburo, the Party’s most powerful body, decided today, July 28, to remove Lieutenant General Bui Van Thanh, Deputy Minister of Public Security, from all Party posts for infringements of regulations on land management and protection of state secrets. The Government news website reported that Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong today presided over a meeting of the Politburo and the Secretariat of the Party Central Committee to deliberate sanctions against Bui Van Thanh and two other generals. The discipline comes just a day after the Party Central Committee’s Inspection Commission proposed taking sanctions against Lieutenant General Bui Van Thanh. In his capacity as member of the Central Party Committee of the Ministry of Public Security (MPS), Deputy Minister of the MPS in … [Read more...] about Lieutenant General Bui Van Thanh loses all Party posts
Nearly 600 graft cases detected since 2016: MPS
Nearly 600 graft cases detected since 2016: MPSThe Saigon Times Daily General view of a Central Steering Committee on Anti-Corruption conference in Hanoi on June 25 - PHOTO: VNA HCMC – Deputy Minister of Public Security Senior Lieutenant-General Le Quy Vuong has said that since 2016 police have prosecuted 589 graft cases with more than 1,400 people involved. Delivering a report on the handling of anti-corruption cases at a national conference on anti-corruption in Hanoi on June 25, Vuong said these people had face charges of economic rule violations and corruption. The conference was chaired by Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, who is also head of the Central Steering Committee on Anti-Corruption, according to local media reports. Notably, the number of cases found in 2017 rose by a staggering 49.6% from the year earlier. The situation showed no sign of abating in the first quarter of this year, with the number rising by 33% against the year-ago period, said … [Read more...] about Nearly 600 graft cases detected since 2016: MPS
Force high ranking officials to publicize tax returns, Vietnam MP says
Officials should make public their personal income tax declarations and be punished if they are found to be inaccurate or false, a lawmaker said Wednesday. Nguyen Lan Hieu was speaking at a National Assembly session discussing proposed changes to Vietnam’s Anti-Corruption law. A draft amendment states that officials who fail to report their assets and incomes accurately or fail to clearly explain their origins will be slapped with a 45 percent personal income tax or a fine of 45 percent of the value of inaccurately reported or unexplained assets and incomes. Officials can also be prosecuted and have their assets seized if their declarations are inaccurate or if they are found in possession of assets from illegal activities. Hieu felt the law could go further. “Why don’t we force officials in high positions to publicize their personal income taxes? That way, the people and authorities can monitor them better,” he said. However, some delegates said forcing … [Read more...] about Force high ranking officials to publicize tax returns, Vietnam MP says