U.S. Congress negotiators finish drafting border security bill-aide The Saigon Times Daily U.S. President Donald Trump listens next to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross during a Cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, U.S., February 12, 2019 – PHOTO: REUTERS WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - U.S. lawmakers late on Wednesday completed writing a border security bill that was expected to deny President Donald Trump’s request for US$5.7 billion to help build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, with the Senate and House of Representatives expected to vote on the bill Thursday. A House Democratic aide said the final draft of the legislation was circulating among a group of 17 negotiators and was expected to be made public soon. The aide added that the Senate would first vote on the bill sometime on Thursday. If it passes there, the House would then vote on final approval that evening, which would clear it for signing into law by Trump by a Friday deadline. Without the … [Read more...] about U.S. Congress negotiators finish drafting border security bill-aide
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U.S. lawmakers meet on border security, scrambling to avert shutdown
U.S. lawmakers meet on border security, scrambling to avert shutdownThe Saigon Times Daily A U.S. Capitol police officer patrols the West Front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., February 6, 2019 – PHOTO: REUTERS WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - The top four Democratic and Republican congressional negotiators on border security funding resumed talks on Monday, with the possibility of another partial U.S. government shutdown looming if they fail to reach a deal by a Friday deadline. The talks, which had broken down over the weekend, restarted in the U.S. Capitol just hours before a scheduled rally in the Texas border city of El Paso, where President Donald Trump will promote his promised wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, a proposal opposed by Democrats. An anti-wall protest will greet the Republican president, led by hometown Democrat Beto O’Rourke, the former congressman who is considering running for his party’s 2020 presidential nomination after gaining … [Read more...] about U.S. lawmakers meet on border security, scrambling to avert shutdown
Golden Triangle’s drug production expands, diversifies amid opioid concerns
The region could emerge as a hub for synthetic opioids like fentanyl. Asia Pacific counter-narcotics police met in Myanmar’s capital Naypyitaw on Wednesday to negotiate a new strategy to strangle the supply of chemicals used in synthetic drug production. The Golden Triangle centred on Myanmar’s conflict-ridden north has exported illicit drugs to the world for decades. While opium cultivation and heroin trafficking has slumped in recent years, synthetic drug manufacturing - especially methamphetamine - has soared. UNODC regional representative Jeremy Douglas said the boom was “like nothing we have ever seen before, and it has required a matching surge in precursor chemicals.” Seizures of methamphetamine sourced from the region have leapt since 2016, with consignments of the highly addictive drug intercepted in South Korea and New Zealand and most countries in between. The price of methamphetamine - both in crystal and pill form - has fallen in many countries … [Read more...] about Golden Triangle’s drug production expands, diversifies amid opioid concerns
U.S. food safety agency asserts Vietnamese tra fish quality compatibility
U.S. food safety agency asserts Vietnamese tra fish quality compatibilityBy Trung Chanh Workers check the weight of tra fish fillets at a Vietnamese seafood producer – PHOTO: TRUNG CHANH CAN THO – The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) under the United States Department of Agriculture has proposed the Office of the Federal Register amend the Siluriformes fish inspection regulations to list Vietnam as a country eligible to export Siluriformes fish and fish products to the United States. Vietnamese catfish, under the Siluriformes order, mainly tra fish (Pangasius), will be qualified to be shipped to the United States if the proposal is approved. The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers told The Saigon Times today, September 17, that after receiving the proposal from the FSIS, the Federal Register posted a draft, seeking feedback for the request. The FSIS proposed this action because the agency had reviewed Vietnam’s laws, regulations … [Read more...] about U.S. food safety agency asserts Vietnamese tra fish quality compatibility
Shrimp exporters urged to prepare for stricter U.S. rules
Shrimp exporters urged to prepare for stricter U.S. rulesThe Saigon Times Daily Farmers are seen harvesting shrimp. Vietnamese shrimp exporters urged to prepare for stricter rules in the U.S. market - PHOTO: VGP HCMC - Vietnamese shrimp exporters need to immediately make preparations to comply with the U.S. Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP) which will be put in place by the end of this year, the Government news website reported, citing Celeste Leroux, an expert from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). At a seminar with NOAA and members of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers in HCMC on August 1, Leroux said Vietnamese enterprises shipping shrimp and abalone stateside must provide records from harvest to point of entry into the U.S. Unlike the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, NOAA will not send experts to Vietnam to inspect and monitor shrimp processing firms or take shrimp samples when shipments arrive in U.S. ports … [Read more...] about Shrimp exporters urged to prepare for stricter U.S. rules