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BlackRock, which secured participation in two meetings, has recruited former chancellor George Osborne, while Citigroup, which employs former Conservative foreign secretary Sir William Hague, had three meetings. |
JCB, which has given over £3 million to the Conservatives since 2001 met Mr Davis via a roundtable event, while Odey Asset Management, which has given £219,000 to the Conservatives, met Brexit minister Lord Bridges in November last year. |
All in all, it meant Mr Davis's Brexit ministers and officials had six meetings with corporate lobbyists for every one held with civil society groups. |
Jean Blaylock, a campaigner at Global Justice Now, said: "The corporate bias that has been exposed in this list of meetings shows that we are veering dangerously towards a 'big business Brexit' rather than a Brexit that might take into account the wider needs of UK society. |
"Unless there is some sense of transparency and accountability in this process, there is every chance that the UK Government will use Brexit as an opportunity to do away will all manner of vital protections relating to labour rights, consumer standards and the environment." |
The report warns that the lack transparency on the British Government's meetings meant the visible corporate influence may be the "tip of the iceberg". |
It added: "The agendas, minutes and papers for all lobby meetings held by both the UK and EU negotiators are secret. |
"This is highly problematic as it means it's not known exactly who is in the room and what is being said." |
Data for meetings held by the EU's Brexit taskforce show that of 151 meetings held in eight months between October 2016 and May 2017, business lobbyists were present in 71 per cent. |
For every one NGO met, the taskforce met ten business lobbyists. For every one trade union met, it also met 15 corporates. Groups that had the most meetings were Business Europe and the Centre for European Reform, funded by corporate donors including Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, HSBC, Lloyds, Barclays, Cen... |
German interests were prominent in meetings held by Mr Barnier's team. BMW had three, while the country's Association for the Automotive Industry, Deutsche Bank and the German Mechanical Engineering Association had two meetings each. |
Corporate Europe Observatory's transparency campaigner Vicky Cann said: "Brexit will strongly affect people's private and professional lives in the UK, so it is vital that the process is as transparent as possible and that many different interests are consulted. |
"But we observe a strong corporate bias in the lobby meetings of both the UK and the EU Brexit negotiators. Civil society groups and SMEs have had far fewer opportunities to voice their needs, concerns, and proposals around Brexit." |
When Ms May first took office she promised to lead a government in the interests of ordinary people, intervening in markets where necessary and tackling corporate irresponsibility. |
But questions have been raised about the Prime Minister's commitment since the election, in particular with reports she has abandoned key parts of her corporate responsibility agenda - including measures to control excessive executive pay. |
A British Government spokesperson said suggestions of 'corporate bias' made in the report are "wholly inaccurate". |
He went on: "We are working hard to deliver an exit deal that works for the whole of society and the papers we published this week on civil judicial cooperation and dispute resolution are evidence of that. |
"Ministers have visited small businesses, civil society organisations and a wide range of other stakeholders up and down the country, engaging with them on their priorities for exit. |
"We are now intensifying this process as the negotiations proceed." |
Mr Juncker is set to deliver his state of the union address on September 13, in which he will flesh out options for Europe's future, stressing that citizens must be at the heart of the EU's decisions. |
Asked about its Brexit meetings, the European Commission pointed out that the Brexit taskforce only met lobbyists on the EU's transparency register. |
An official said the Commission wanted to understand the impact of Brexit on UK business and that it was important to meet people who had experience of supply chains and the effects of the loss of passporting rights on their business model. |
Labour's shadow Brexit secretary Keir Starmer told The Independent: "If we're going to get a Brexit deal that works for all parts of the economy and all regions of the country, it's vital that all voices are heard. |
"That means the Government need to do far more to listen to trade unions, NGOs, small businesses and wider community groups. It can't just be big business that has the ear of this government." |
Liberal Democrat Brexit spokesperson Tom Brake brands the situation "a disgrace", adding: "In their haste to ram through a hard Brexit, Conservative ministers are only hearing from the best-organised with the biggest pockets." |
Three up and coming musicians will be performing at the last Pints and Performers music night of the year. |
Jay Aldridge, Jasmin Donovan and My Girl The Winer will perform at The Rising Sun in Potton on Saturday November 25. |
First up is Jay Aldridge, he is an alternative acoustic rock singer songwriter from Hemel Hempstead. Earlier this year in March, Jay released his debut EP called Ideologies and has played at a number of venues in the local area. |
Second up is Jasmin Donovan, a singer songwriter who plays the acoustic guitar and is from Stevenage. She started performing from an early age in musical theatre and performing arts which eventually lead her to doing her own music. She is currently studying at the Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford but ultimate... |
Last up is My Girl The River from Bedford via Covington in Louisiana, they are a singer songwriting duo with Kristine Wilkinson Hughes on lead vocals and guitar and her husband Joe Hughes on the double bass. |
They have released one album and are currently working on their second album. Their music is americana, alternative country, folk and roots. |
Many of their songs are inspired by Kristine’s upbringing in the Deep American South. They have supported Laura Cantrell and Cale Tyson. In October 2016 they supported Suzanne Vega on her four date mini tour of the UK. In 2016 + 2017 they performed at the Isle of Wight Festival. |
The music starts at 9pm and finishes about 11.30pm with doors opening from 8pm. Entrance is free, but donations are welcome which goes directly to the musicians. For more details visit www.facebook.com/performerspints. |
Military push targets Tamil Tigers in the north as regional leaders meet in Colombo. |
Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara, Sri Lankan military spokesman said clashed with fighters in Tamil Tiger-held territory in the Mullaitivu, Vavuniya, Mannar and Welioya regions. |
However, the LTTE, which is fighting for an independent state for ethnic minority Tamils in the north and east of the country, said it had thwarted the offensive in Mallavi and Mullaiteevu. |
"At least 30 SLA soldiers were killed and more than 60 troopers sustained injuries in an intense fighting. Three dead bodies of SLA soldiers were also recovered by the Tigers," a statement from the group on a pro-LTTE website said. |
The website also posted pictures of dead bodies of the three soldiers and weapons captured during the operation. |
Sri Lanka's military also reported that Tamil Tiger fighters attacked troops in the eastern district of Ampara, where the military and the government had said they had wiped out the LTTE last year. |
Independent verification of the fighting is not possible because journalists are barred from the war zone and casualty figures reported by the sides differ wildly. |
The Tamil Tigers said it had declared a 10-day unilateral truce starting from July 26 as a goodwill gesture for the summit in Colombo. But the government dismissed the announcement saying it had not received official notification and was sceptical about the declaration. |
The two sides have been fighting for more than two decades and the conflict has claimed the lives of more than 70,000 people in that time. |
Leaders from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are expected to approve a series of measures aimed at combatting terrorism, including freezing funds. |
The summit is also set to approve the creation of a regional development fund and a food bank to cope with shortages caused by soaring prices. |
China's New Urban Legend That Turned Out Not To Be : The Two-Way For several hours today, a story went viral on the Chinese Internet that the new Communist equivalent of the emperor, President Xi Jinping, had pulled an old trick from an imperial playbook and traveled incognito among ordinary citizens. The legend of The... |
China's President Xi Jinping (center back) walks to his seat as he arrives at the opening ceremony of the annual Boao Forum in Boao, in southern China's Hainan province, on Sunday. |
In China, countless television soap operas have been based on the adventures of Emperor Kangxi, a Qing ruler in the 17th century who, according to legend, would slip off his yellow dragon-embroidered silk robes to travel incognito among his people. |
For several hours Thursday, a story went viral on the Chinese Internet that the new Communist equivalent of the emperor, President Xi Jinping, had pulled the same trick. |
At first it seemed that Ta Kung Pao, a Hong Kong daily, had a big scoop, with its tale of how taxi driver Guo Lixin had picked up Xi and ferried him to the Diaoyutai hotel, part of the state guesthouse. |
The story claimed that Guo realized this was no ordinary fare when, in response to the taxi driver's complaints about the pollution, the mystery passenger launched into a spirited defense of government policy. |
According to the newspaper, the driver asked, "Has anyone ever said that you look like General Secretary Xi?" Guo's passenger then chuckled, saying, "You are the first one to ever recognize me." |
The story went viral, though sharp-eyed netizens commented on how the handwriting on the message ("Safe Sailing") left for the driver by "President Xi" didn't seem to match known samples of presidential scrawl. |
At first, Beijing's traffic department confirmed the news. Then it was denied by the state news agency, Xinhua, which labeled it "fake news." Ta Kung Pao issued a groveling apology: "Such a major case of false news should absolutely never have happened." |
And so the newest urban legend of the Chinese President Who Took a Taxi was officially shut down. |
Not wasting any time, the censorship police have already ensured that "take a taxi" and "safe sailing" are banned searches on China's equivalent of Twitter. |
But perhaps even more interesting is just how many people wanted this story to be true. |
Apart from the historical parallels, such behavior would have been in line with the man-of-the-people moves that Xi has taken since taking over as Communist Party chief last November. |
He has declared war on official extravagance, calling for an end to big entourages and motorcades. The official banqueting policy of frugality has been dubbed "four dishes and a soup." |
And on China's version of Twitter, the story of Xi's taxi ride won him plaudits from many, with comments such as, "The king now cares more and more about the subjects' lives." |
But had President Xi really taken a taxi, it might not have been such a bad thing. Since 1949, China's top leaders have lived in Zhongnanhai, a leafy compound once part of the imperial Forbidden City. |
It is normally closed to outsiders, but after a decade of reporting in China, I had my first glimpse into this Communist Forbidden City on Saturday, when I accompanied the delegation of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who was meeting Chinese Premier Li Keqiang. |
The heart of Zhongnanhai is completely tranquil; an expanse of lake serves to silence the bustle of city life. For a scant half-hour, I experienced the dislocation of being physically isolated — partitioned off by walls and lakes — from the world outside. That is both an enormous privilege and an enormous problem for C... |
A motorist who filmed a fellow driver undercutting on a busy main road said he is “astonished" the police weren't interested in using his footage. |
The man, who lives in Cambridge and has asked not to be named, was driving on the A14 interchange towards Bar Hill on July 13, when he was overtaken by a blue car, which proceeded to undertake the vehicle in front in a risky high-speed manoeuvre. |
After realising he has captured the entire incident on his dash cam, he arranged to deliver the footage to Parkside Police Station, but when he had to cancel his appointment he was told they were no longer interested. |
He told the News : “They said somebody will ring you back, but nobody bothered. |
“I said this should have been dealt with, I think this is fairly important, and then they came back saying it wasn't a priority." |
After emailing the force to follow up on the incident he received a reply from Inspector Chris Savage on July 27. |
It said: “I'm sorry that the level of service provided to you has been inadequate. |
“In reviewing this case I took the view that we should have taken more details from you initially over the phone, created a more detailed record at that stage, but not set the expectation that seeing you in person was required." |
He added: “The incident should have been resolved at first contact with the details held on file, as a detailed investigation into an incident like this is not a priority. |
“Poor standards of driving are most effectively addressed by police officers on patrol. |
Trying to deal with concerns raised by members of the public retrospectively is very much more challenging." |
The driver said he was shocked by the response. |
“I was astonished, I couldn't believe it," he said. |
“You can clearly see the number plate, and they could have given him a token slap on the wrist. |
“You can bet your life that's not the first time he would have done something like that." |
A police spokesperson told the News : “Reports of dangerous driving can be made by calling 101 as soon after the event as possible. |
“If there is an immediate danger to other road users or pedestrians please call 101. |
“With motoring offences, videos filmed from dashboard mounted cameras are admissible as evidence, and assuming that the quality is good and the evidence can be corroborated the police will record, report and consider the circumstances of each case on its merits." |
6 acres approx 2.3 miles from town . Property previously had two manfactured homes. 2 septics, electric poles in place. Well on property and a storm shelter. |
Dakar — About two-thirds of patients in Congo's latest Ebola outbreak have been women, the World Health Organization said on Thursday, calling for more focus on gender in disease control and prevention. |
The outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo is the world's second largest and has infected 663 people so far, killing 407, according to health ministry data. |
In past Ebola outbreaks, including the largest which killed 11,300 people in West Africa in 2014-2016, the proportion of women and men affected was roughly equal, WHO experts said. This is the 10th outbreak recorded in Congo. |
"This is unexpected," said Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa, calling for more research. |
"It shows the role of women needs to be taken into account right from the get-go," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. |
Congo is a vast country where social roles vary significantly by region. In the North Kivu province fighting Ebola, women are leaders and often heads of households, said Julienne Anoko, a social anthropologist working for WHO. |
They are the ones who care for the sick, take them to the hospital if needed, and prepare bodies for burial, all of which expose them to greater risk of infection, she said. |
Girls often help their mothers with these tasks, and have also been infected at higher rates than boys, she added. |
Ebola spreads through contact with bodily fluids and causes haemorrhagic fever with severe vomiting, diarrhoea and bleeding. |
"Women have lots of social power. They take care of the whole community," Anoko told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. |
This contrasts with other countries that have battled Ebola, such as Guinea and Sierra Leone, where it is more common for men to accompany family members to hospital, she said. |
The part of Congo where Ebola has struck this time is an active conflict zone, where health workers have had to dodge bullets and been confronted by armed groups. A disputed election has stoked further fear and unrest. |
Many women have been mistrustful of male responders, but WHO has started to see success in spreading messages about the disease through local female leaders, said Anoko. |
"We need to increase the involvement of women," she said. |
WHO Africa director Moeti, the first woman to hold that position, said gender should play a bigger role in data analysis for outbreaks of all infectious diseases. |
"I think we really need to take this into account as a core part of our work on outbreak responses," she said. |
Around 46 per cent polling was recorded till 1 pm during elections for two Lok Sabha constituencies and bypolls to three Assembly seats in Goa. |
Voting for Goa's two Lok Sabha seats and three Assembly bypolls got underway at 7 am today. According to Chief Electoral Officer Kunal, a total of 11,35,811 voters, which includes 5,55,768 male voters and 5,80,043 female voters, are eligible to cast their vote at 1,652 polling stations across the coastal state. |
Goa Health Minister Vishwajit Rane has filed a police complaint, alleging an unidentified person has been trying to extort money by impersonating him. |
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