【一蓮托生】國際時事政治選舉集中理性討論區（二）

Rohingya crisis: US diplomat quits advisory panel

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-42810776

Veteran US diplomat Bill Richardson has resigned from an international panel set up by Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi to advise on the Rohingya crisis.

He claimed the panel was a "whitewash" and accused Ms Suu Kyi of lacking "moral leadership" on the issue.

Myanmar's government has not responded, but another member of the panel said Mr Richardson's comments were unfair.

The military offensive that led to a mass exodus from Myanmar's northern Rakhine state has been described by the United Nations as a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing" - something Myanmar denies.

Khaled Ali withdraws from Egyptian presidential race

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/24/khaled-ali-withdraws-egyptian-presidential-race-abdel-fatah-al-sissi

The Egyptian presidential hopeful and rights lawyer Khaled Ali has quit the race, becoming the latest would-be candidate who either has bowed out or been forced to abandon a challenge to the president, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, before the March election.

Ali, a prominent socialist, had entered the race as a symbol of Egypt’s leftist revolutionary politics, but on Wednesday he told a press conference packed with supporters that “the opportunity for hope in this presidential election has gone”.

Ali’s decision came hours after Sisi submitted his nomination documents, and a day after the retired general Sami Anan – seen as a serious challenger to Sisi – was arrested by the military on a slate of charges after declaring his intention to run. Anan’s family said on Wednesday that his whereabouts remained unknown.

Trump says he's 'looking forward' to meeting Mueller's team in Russia probe

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/01/24/trump-looking-forward-to-meeting-mueller-team-russia-366994?lo=ap_b1

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he was “looking forward” to speaking to federal prosecutors as part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into ties between his 2016 campaign and Russia, adding that he would be willing to testify under oath.

“I’m looking forward to it, actually,” the president said when pressed on the matter, according to audio released by CNN and MSNBC. Trump added that a sit-down would be “subject to my lawyers.”

The president said in the impromptu and wide-ranging gathering with a group of reporters at the White House that they were discussing a time frame for the meeting in “about two or three weeks.” “Did Hillary do it under oath?” Trump replied, repeatedly asking reporters. “She didn’t do it under oath, but I would do it under oath.”

Padmaavat row: Hindu groups rally ahead of India's Bollywood epic release

http://www.dw.com/en/padmaavat-row-hindu-groups-rally-ahead-of-indias-bollywood-epic-release/a-42295313

Hundreds of supporters of fringe right-wing Hindu groups, like the Rajput Karni Sena, ran amok across several Indian states on Wednesday in a bid to stall the release of Bollywood film 'Padmaavat,' slated for Thursday.

Demonstrators, yet to watch the movie, accuse its director, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, of distorting history by depicting a romance between queen Padmaavati and 14th century Muslim ruler Alauddin Khilji.

The filmmakers deny the accusation and have offered to hold a special screening of the movie for the leaders of at least one of the right-wing groups.

Donald Trump warns Turkey over Syria incursion: White House

http://www.dw.com/en/donald-trump-warns-turkey-over-syria-incursion-white-house/a-42297988

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has again been urged to "de-escalate" his military assault on Afrin, a Kurdish enclave in northern Syria.

Following similar calls from other world leaders, US President Donald Trump spoke by phone to his Turkish counterpart on Wednesday, and called on the Ankara government to "limit its military action and avoid civilian casualties," according to a White House statement.

The Associated Press reported on Wednesday that the advancing Turkish troops are facing stiff resistance in Afrin, while the SOHR reported Turkish airstrikes had been witnessed in nearly 20 villages.

Czech presidential election on a knife-edge as challenger cries foul

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/25/czech-presidential-election-knife-edge-milos-zeman-jiri-drahos

Miloš Zeman, the populist Czech president, faces a fight for his political life in an election run-off against a pro-western liberal rival who claims he has been the victim of dirty tricks.

With the outcome on a knife-edge, Zeman’s challenger, Jiří Drahoš, a former head of the Czech Academy of Sciences who is campaigning to cement the Czech Republic’s place in the EU and Nato, says he has been smeared as a paedophile, communist collaborator and pro-immigrant elitist with ties to Angela Merkel.

The accusations could have a decisive effect, with opinion polls showing Drahoš has a slight edge over Zeman heading into the ballot, to be held on Friday and Saturday.

Trump plan to offer citizenship to 1.8m undocumented immigrants

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-42825431

The White House has outlined an immigration plan that would allow 1.8 million people to become US citizens in exchange for funding of a border wall.

The framework was described by a senior Trump aide in a conference call to Republicans ahead of legislative negotiations with Democrats.

The proposed bill, to be unveiled on Monday, requests $25bn (£17.6bn) in funds for a wall on the Mexican border.

A top Democrat this week vowed to oppose funding a wall.

退讓定係講數方法

講數，另外D冇證移民基本上都留咗幾年，俾埋citizenship 其實no harm, 而且會收窄chain immigration。

對侵侵而言，最緊要都係起牆

Trump tried to fire Mueller in June but White House counsel refused – report

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jan/25/trump-mueller-firing-june-white-house-counsel-quit

Donald Trump reportedly ordered the firing of special counsel Robert Mueller last June, but was persuaded against it after the White House counsel threatened to resign, according to a report in the New York Times.

The Times, citing four people familiar with the matter, said the president ordered the White House counsel Donald McGahn to fire Mueller, who is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election including possible contacts with the Trump campaign. McGahn refused and said he would resign before carrying out the directive.

Trump Ordered Mueller Fired, but Backed Off When White House Counsel Threatened to Quit

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/25/us/politics/trump-mueller-special-counsel-russia.html

WASHINGTON — President Trump ordered the firing last June of Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel overseeing the Russia investigation, but ultimately backed down after the White House counsel threatened to resign rather than carry out the directive.

After receiving the president’s order to fire Mr. Mueller, the White House counsel, Donald F. McGahn II, refused to ask the Justice Department to dismiss the special counsel, saying he would quit instead, the people said. Mr. McGahn disagreed with the president’s case and told senior White House officials that firing Mr. Mueller would have a catastrophic effect on Mr. Trump’s presidency. Mr. McGahn also told White House officials that Mr. Trump would not follow through on the dismissal on his own. The president then backed off.

Mr. McGahn was also concerned that firing the special counsel would incite more questions about whether the White House was trying to obstruct the Russia investigation.

Mr. Trump has significantly ratcheted back his criticisms of Mr. Mueller since he hired Mr. Cobb for his legal team in July. Since Mr. Cobb’s arrival, the White House has operated on the premise that the quickest way to clear the cloud of suspicion was to cooperate with Mr. Mueller, not to fight him.

2018 Election Calendar and Results List by NYT

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/us/elections/calendar-primary-results.html?

Angela Merkel's conservatives and SPD open formal 'grand coalition' talks

http://www.dw.com/en/angela-merkels-conservatives-and-spd-open-formal-grand-coalition-talks/a-42314402

Formal coalitions talks between German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU), their sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU) and the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) started on Friday.

The talks are aimed at forming what is commonly referred to as a "grand coalition," bringing together Germany's two largest parties to form a government.

What happens next: The talks are largely viewed as Merkel's last chance to form a stable government. If talks fail to produce a governing coalition, the CDU could try for a minority government, although fresh elections would be the most likely outcome. However, if she manages to pull together a "grand coalition," then it's onto governing Europe's largest economy.

Davos: Trump launches attack on 'predatory' trade

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-42835934

President Donald Trump has launched a fierce attack on "predatory" trade practices, warning trading partners at the World Economic Forum in Davos that the US will not tolerate unfair trade.

He said these predatory practices were distorting markets and the US "will no longer turn a blind eye".

Mr Trump said he would always put the US first when it came to trade, but "that does not mean America alone".

"The US is open for business," he told the world's finance leaders.

China to develop Arctic shipping routes opened by global warming

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-42833178

China has announced plans to develop shipping lanes through the Arctic to become a "Polar Silk Route".

Beijing said global warming meant viable shipping routes through the Arctic would become increasingly important for international trade.

It said China would work with Russia and other Arctic countries to develop the polar route. It is part of an ambitious bigger scheme to transform China's land and sea.

The north-east passage offers China a faster sea route to many ports than the current routes using, in many cases, the Suez or Panama canals.

Syrian rebels put their own aims aside to fight Turkey’s battles

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/26/syrian-rebels-aims-fight-turkey-battles-kurds

Abandoned by all other international allies and very nearly defeated, Syria’s armed opposition now finds itself waging a battle against Syrian Kurdish militias on behalf of Ankara, a patron that in recent months has pursued geopolitical and national security interests that are far more important to it than the opposition’s aim of ousting the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad.

It highlights the rebels’ deep dependence on Turkey, their one remaining benefactor, and the powerlessness of Syrians to determine the course of a civil war that has now lasted nearly seven years.

Interviews with nine Syrian rebel commanders and officials, most taking part in the Afrin campaign, show they are determined to stand by Turkey, the only country they say continued to support and train their forces despite global indifference.

But rebel officials and commanders interviewed by the Guardian say Turkey has helped them train thousands of fighters who could form the core of a unified rebel army, providing a lifeline in their battle against Assad. They say a victory in Afrin would open a ground corridor into Idlib province, controlled by HTS and under regime assault, allowing them to launch a full-scale attack to purge al-Qaida from the area.

'She clearly has no idea': Kenyan doctor condemned over bid to legalise FGM

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2018/jan/26/kenyan-doctor-condemned-over-bid-to-legalise-fgm

A Kenyan doctor has been accused of “trying to make history” after filing a controversial petition to legalise female genital mutilation.

Dr Tatu Kamau, who has held a number of high-level positions at the Ministry of Health, told a high court that Kenya’s 2011 ban on FGM was unconstitutional and discriminated against “national heritage”.

Kamau claimed that women who choose to harm their bodies through drink or cigarettes should also have the freedom to decide whether they are cut.

Kenya outlawed the long-standing practice in 2011. Sweeping provisions made it illegal to carry out or help someone to procure FGM. Failure to report the practice, or stigmatising a woman – or any man who marries or supports her – for not undergoing the procedure were also banned. Causing death by performing FGM became punishable with life imprisonment and a fine of 200,000 Kenyan shillings (£1,372).

Trump tried to fire Mueller in June but White House counsel refused – report

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jan/25/trump-mueller-firing-june-white-house-counsel-quit

Trump Ordered Mueller Fired, but Backed Off When White House Counsel Threatened to Quit

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/25/us/politics/trump-mueller-special-counsel-russia.html

Donald Trump denies report he tried to fire Robert Mueller in June

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jan/25/trump-mueller-firing-june-white-house-counsel-quit

Donald Trump has denied a report he ordered the firing of special counsel Robert Mueller last June, but was persuaded against it after the White House counsel threatened to resign.

The New York Times, citing four people familiar with the matter, said the president ordered the White House counsel Donald McGahn to fire Mueller, who is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election including possible contacts with the Trump campaign. McGahn refused and said he would resign before carrying out the directive.

“Fake news, folks, fake news,” Trump told reporters in Davos, when asked about the report.

Exclusive: Despite sanctions, North Korea exported coal to South and Japan via Russia-intelligence sources

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-missiles-coal-russia/exclusive-despite-sanctions-north-korea-exported-coal-to-south-and-japan-via-russia-intelligence-sources-idUSKBN1FE35N

PARIS/LONDON/MOSCOW (Reuters) - North Korea shipped coal to Russia last year which was then delivered to South Korea and Japan in a likely violation of U.N. sanctions, three Western European intelligence sources said.

But the secretive Communist state has at least three times since then shipped coal to the Russian ports of Nakhodka and Kholmsk, where it was unloaded at docks and reloaded onto ships that took it to South Korea or Japan, the sources said.

A Western shipping source said separately that some of the cargoes reached Japan and South Korea in October last year. A U.S. security source also confirmed the coal trade via Russia and said it was continuing.

Reuters could not independently verify whether the coal unloaded at the Russian docks was the same coal that was then shipped to South Korea and Japan. Reuters also was unable to ascertain whether the owners of the vessels that sailed from Russia to South Korea and Japan knew the origin of the coal.

Turkey's Erdogan says military operation to make big sweep east across Syria

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-turkey-syria/turkeys-erdogan-says-military-operation-to-make-big-sweep-east-across-syria-idUSKBN1FF1R0

ANKARA/BEIRUT (Reuters) - President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday Turkish forces would sweep Kurdish fighters from the Syrian border and could push all the way east to the frontier with Iraq -- a move which risks a possible confrontation with U.S. forces allied to the Kurds.

“Operation Olive Branch will continue until it reaches its goals. We will rid Manbij of terrorists, as it was promised to us, and our battles will continue until no terrorist is left until our border with Iraq,” Erdogan said in a speech in Ankara.

Czech election: Tight run-off between Zeman and Drahos

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-42832720

Czechs have been going to the polls in a tightly contested presidential election run-off, seen as a vote on the Czech Republic's direction.

The election sees pro-Russia and anti-immigration President Milos Zeman seeking a second five-year term against Jiri Drahos, a pro-EU academic with no previous political experience.

Polls suggest that 10% of voters are still undecided. Polling stations have closed but will reopen for a second day on Saturday.

In the first round, Mr Zeman had 38.6% of the vote while Mr Drahos won 26.6%. Most of the defeated candidates have since endorsed Mr Drahos.

The election has reflected divisions between low-income voters with lower education and those living in rural areas, who tend to vote for Mr Zeman, and wealthier and well-educated residents of bigger cities, who are likely to prefer Mr Drahos, correspondents say.

IMF chief warns Trump's tax cuts could destabilise global economy

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/jan/26/imf-chief-warns-trumps-tax-cuts-could-destabilise-global-economy

Donald Trump’s huge tax cuts are a threat to the stability of the global economy, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund has warned.

Christine Lagarde singled out Trump’s tax reforms as one of three risks that could destabilise the current economic recovery, especially given the boom in stock markets in the past year.

However, the IMF is concerned that cutting taxes will lead to a bigger US budget deficit, and that extra borrowing by the US Treasury will force up long-term American interest rates. As a result, it fears growth could be choked off in the longer term, making the stock market vulnerable to a sudden downward lurch.

Moscow police raid cinema showing The Death of Stalin

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/26/moscow-police-raid-cinema-the-death-of-stalin

Armed Russian police have raided an arthouse cinema in Moscow that defied a government ban on the screening of Armando Iannucci’s dark comedy The Death of Stalin.

Six police officers and a number of plainclothes officials arrived at the Pioner cinema on Friday after the midday screening of the film, which revolves around the bitter infighting after the death of Joseph Stalin in 1953. Officers would only confirm that they were carrying out an investigation.

The ban comes amid Stalin’s renewed popularity in Russia. Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, said last year that western countries were using the “excessive demonisation” of Stalin to attack Russia. In June, Russians named Stalin the “most outstanding person” in world history in a poll carried out by the Levada Centre, an independent polling firm in Moscow.

俄佬同支那

Venezuela opposition condemns action on presidential election

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-politics/venezuela-opposition-condemns-action-on-presidential-election-idUSKBN1FF1YB

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan opposition leaders on Friday condemned the sidelining of their coalition from upcoming presidential elections, saying it was trickery by President Nicolas Maduro’s administration to rig the vote in its favor.

The pro-Maduro Supreme Court’s move late on Thursday to exclude the coalition from registering in the vote placed yet another obstacle ahead of the already disparate opposition.

Two of Venezuela’s biggest opposition parties, Justice First and Democratic Action, announced on Friday they would put their names forward for registration over the weekend. However, Leopoldo Lopez’s party, Popular Will, was banned this week from registering.

Syrian opposition says will boycott Russia-brokered peace talks in Sochi

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-un/syrian-opposition-says-will-boycott-russia-brokered-peace-talks-in-sochi-idUSKBN1FG022

VIENNA (Reuters) - The Syrian opposition will not attend a peace conference Russia is hosting next week, a spokesman said on Saturday, dismissing the meeting as an attempt by the Syrian government’s close ally to “sideline” the current United Nations peace process.

He was speaking at the end of two days of U.N.-brokered talks between the Syrian government and opposition, after which the host said the United Nations had not decided whether to attend the conference in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

Western powers and some Arab states believe Sochi is an attempt to create a separate peace process that would undermine the United Nations’ efforts while laying the groundwork for a solution more suitable to Assad and his allies Russia and Iran.

Having regained the upper hand on the battlefield after nearly seven years of conflict, Assad appears unwilling to negotiate with his enemies at all, let alone step down as part of any peaceful solution as rebels and opposition groups have demanded.