That inspector general, Michael Atkinson, has said in letters to top lawmakers that the whistleblower’s complaint Online Cigarettes Store USA was credible and urgent. Though Joseph Maguire, the acting Director of National Intelligence, did not believe he had to notify the Intelligence committees of the complaint as required by law, he nevertheless testified before lawmakers on Sept. 26 that the whistleblower “followed the steps every step of the way.” The United States rejected China's request on Monday for $2.4 billion in compensatory sanctions for alleged U.S. failure to comply with a World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling, sending it to arbitration, Geneva trade official said.
WTO appeals judges said in July the United States did not fully comply with a WTO ruling about tariffs it put Newport Cigarettes Shop on Chinese solar panels, wind towers, and steel cylinders. They said Beijing could impose retaliatory sanctions if Washington did not remove the tariffs.
Washington has challenged the ruling and at WTO's Dispute Settlement Body on Monday it objected to the $2.4 billion sought, sending the matter to WTO arbitration to decide on the amount, the trade official said. The case dates to the Obama era but highlights continuing White House complaints about the WTO.Hong Kong authorities barred high-profile pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong from an election, and the city's leader ruled out political solutions before the end of the violent protests gripping the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.
The developments Tuesday were likely to further widen divisions in Hong Kong, which has been wracked by more than four months of unrest driven in part by demands for political reform. Hong Kong's leader, Carrie Lam, also warned that the Asian financial hub was on the brink of an economic recession.
A returning officer notified Wong his nomination as a candidate in next month's elections was ruled invalid, according Newport box 100s cigarettes to a copy of the letter Wong posted on his Twitter account .
"The decision to ban me from running for office is clearly politically driven," Wong told reporters. He said Beijing was pressuring Hong Kong election officials to carry out political screening but it would backfire.