國際時事政治選舉集中理性討論區（三）

European politicians got millions to lobby for pro-Russian government in Ukraine

http://www.dw.com/en/european-politicians-got-millions-to-lobby-for-pro-russian-government-in-ukraine/a-42721849

US President Donald Trump's former campaign manager Paul Manafort paid a group of unnamed European politicians $2 million (€1.6 million) to lobby for a pro-Russian government in Ukraine, according to an indictment filed by US special counsel Robert Mueller on Friday.

The superseding indictment accused Manafort of wiring the money to the politicians — collectively called the "Habsburg group" — in 2012 and 2013 to give "independent assessments" favorable of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych's government.

The group was meant to "act informally and without any visible relationship" to the Ukraine government, a memorandum written by Manafort in June 2012 read.

Although Mueller's indictment does not name any of the European politicians, the AP news agency previously reported that Manafort had worked with Firma Mercury LLC, a US-based lobbying firm that had employed former Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer.

Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder came under heavy fire after leaving office in 2005 for what some observers saw as overly close ties to Russia, including to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who Schröder once called a "flawless democrat."

After leaving office, Schröder took up a high-level position at Nord Stream on the recommendation of Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom. In 2017, Schröder took a seat on the board of Russian energy company Rosneft, which was facing EU sanctions over Russia's annexation of Crimea in early 2014.

North Korea sanctions: Donald Trump announces 'largest ever' package

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/feb/23/north-korea-sanctions-trump-announces-largest-ever-package

Donald Trump announced on Friday a new package of measures against North Korea aimed at cutting off smuggling routes and warning that if sanctions fail, the next phase would be “very unfortunate for the world”.

The new US sanctions are aimed at ships and trading companies around the world being used to smuggle oil into North Korea, and coal and other products out of the embattled nation, in defiance of a UN-imposed embargo. The US and its allies believe the smuggling allows the regime to continue to finance its nuclear weapon and missile programs.

The Trump administration scored its greatest diplomatic victory so far in September by persuading the UN security council to impose its strongest sanctions to date on the Pyongyang regime in response to its sixth nuclear test and a series of long range missile tests.

Those sanctions included a cap on North Korean oil imports. However, since then, western intelligence sources have reported a string of ship-to-ship transfers of fuel in international waters by sanctions-busting ships.

However, no Russian ships or entities have been sanctioned in the new set of measures, despite reports in December that Russian ships had been involved in illegal ship-to-ship fuel transfers.

EU's Tusk says UK Brexit plans 'based on pure illusion'

http://www.dw.com/en/eus-tusk-says-uk-brexit-plans-based-on-pure-illusion/a-42721328

European Council President Donald Tusk on Friday called reported British plans for post-Brexit relations with the bloc as "based on pure illusion."

May and senior cabinet members agreed in a meeting on Thursday to Britain's plans for relations with the EU-27 after it officially leaves the bloc in March 2019. Media reports suggest the UK wants to align with the EU on some trade issues but diverge in other areas.

The EU also wants to maintain a seamless border between Ireland, an EU member, and Northern Ireland, a difficult task if Britain were to leave the customs union.

May is struggling with divisions within her Conservative Party between those that want a "clean break" and others who want to maintain close ties to the EU.

又ban乜柒

今次又ban乜撚野

今次係永久bam，屌佢老母臭屄

pish

Multiple attacks in Afghanistan leave many dead

http://www.dw.com/en/multiple-attacks-in-afghanistan-leave-many-dead/a-42723248

Taliban militants attacked an Afghan army post overnight on Friday, killing at least 18 soldiers, Afghanistan's defense ministry confirmed Saturday.

"A large number of Taliban [jihadists] attacked an army outpost and we lost 18 soldiers and two were wounded," said Dawlat Waziri, spokesman for the Ministry of Defense.

The Taliban, which has increased their violent attacks across the country, claimed responsibility for the attack.

At least two people were killed and more than seven wounded when an "Islamic State" bomber detonated his explosives in Kabul's diplomatic area Saturday.

Florida shooting: Firms abandon NRA amid consumer boycott

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-43173753

Several US companies have cut ties with the National Rifle Association (NRA) amid calls for a boycott of businesses linked to the powerful gun lobby in the wake of the Florida school shooting.

The firms include car rental giants Hertz and Enterprise, which had offered discounts for NRA members.

The murder of 17 people has prompted renewed calls for tighter gun controls.

Florida Republican Governor Rick Scott has backed calls to raise the minimum age for buying a gun from 18 to 21.

Mr Scott has been widely seen as an ally of the NRA who has previously opposed stricter laws in the state. However, he has come under mounting pressure to respond to the demands of students who survived the shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

On Thursday, the family-owned First National Bank of Omaha said it would not renew NRA-branded credit cards, citing "customer feedback". Enterprise Holdings, which owns the rental car brands Alamo, Enterprise and National, also said discounts offered to NRA members would end on 26 March.

Myanmar: Bombs explode in capital of restive Rakhine state

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-43179794

Three bombs have exploded in Sittwe, the capital of Myanmar's restive Rakhine province, police say.

A police officer was slightly injured in the blasts. It was unclear who was behind them, police said.

One of the bombs went off near the home of a local official. The others went off near a court and a record office.

U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem to open in May, State Department announces

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/23/us-embassy-in-jerusalem-to-open-may-423406

The United States will open its new Embassy in Jerusalem in May, a spokeswoman announced Friday, delivering earlier than expected on a longstanding yet controversial pledge made by President Donald Trump.

“In May, the United States plans to open a new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem,” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement. “The opening will coincide with Israel’s 70 anniversary.”

Trump announced last year he’d move the U.S. diplomatic compound from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem over strong objections from Palestinian officials. Jerusalem’s status remains a sticking point in peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, with each side seeking to claim the city as its capital in any two-state solution.

Last month, Vice President Mike Pence told the Israeli Parliament that the new embassy would open “before the end of next year.”

支持侵侵
支持濕清

UN Security Council votes in favour of 30-day Syria ceasefire

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/02/security-council-votes-favour-30-day-syria-ceasefire-180224192352205.html

The UN Security Council has voted in favour of a resolution calling for a 30-day ceasefire in Syria.

The unanimously approved resolution, passed on Saturday, will allow for aid deliveries and medical evacuations to take place.

The vote, held at around 2:30pm local time (19:30 GMT), had been delayed by more than 24 hours due to disagreements between Russia and other Security Council members over the wording of the resolution.

Democratic memo: FBI was investigating Trump campaign associates weeks before receiving dossier

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/24/democratic-memo-gop-fbi-trump-campaign-423446

The FBI team investigating the 2016 Trump campaign's contacts with Russians had already opened inquiries into multiple people connected to the campaign when it received a controversial dossier alleging illicit ties between then-candidate Trump and the Kremlin, a Democratic memo released by the House Intelligence Committee revealed Saturday.

The dossier, compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele, wasn't provided to the FBI's counterintelligence team until mid-September 2016, according to the memo. By then, the counterintelligence investigation into Trump's campaign was seven weeks old. "The FBI had already opened sub-inquiries into ... individuals linked to the Trump campaign," according to the findings of the committee's nine Democrats.

The committee posted the heavily redacted 10-page document Saturday after weeks of wrangling between the panel’s top Democrat, Rep. Adam Schiff, and Justice Department officials over the contours of classified material he hoped to release.

Trump on Saturday called the memo a "bust," tweeting: "The Democrat memo response on government surveillance abuses is a total political and legal BUST. Just confirms all of the terrible things that were done. SO ILLEGAL!"

The memo also reveals that the FBI’s application to spy on Page — and three subsequent renewals — were approved by four different judges, all appointed by Republican presidents.

In addition, the memo suggests the FBI corroborated elements of Steele’s dossier pertaining to Page when it sought renewals. It also emphasizes that the bureau didn’t rely on the dossier’s most salacious allegations to obtain a warrant to spy on Page.

自爆

唔係，只係講多少少野，不過未睇晒份memo

不過，如果冇新料，呢單野應該冇咩後續

Kurdish Syrian ex-leader Salih Muslim arrested in Prague

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/02/kurdish-syrian-leader-salih-muslim-arrested-prague-180225113027893.html

Salih Muslim, a prominent former leader of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) in Syria, has been arrested in the Czech capital, according to Turkish security officials and the PYD.

Party officials in northern Syria confirmed his arrest to Al Jazeera over the phone, adding that it was not clear if he would be handed over to Turkey.

Muslim was arrested in Prague on Saturday, Turkish officials told state-run Anadolu news agency on condition of anonymity.

Turkey considers the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) in Syria and its armed wing, the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), to be "terrorist groups" with ties to the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

The arrest came after Turkey called on the Czech Republic to arrest the former co-leader and sent warrants for his arrest to Prague, Turkish officials said.

Syrian forces begin new offensive in Eastern Ghouta

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/02/syrian-forces-offensive-eastern-ghouta-180225071935104.html

Syrian government forces have launched a ground and air offensive in Eastern Ghouta, witnesses said, hours after the UN Security Council voted unanimously in favour of a resolution calling for a 30-day ceasefire in Syria.

President Bashar al-Assad's forces began fighting opposition groups from multiple fronts in the rebel-held enclave near Damascus on Sunday morning, while Syrian warplanes continued to shell the besieged area for the eighth consecutive day.

The biggest group is Free Syrian Army-linked Jaish al-Islam that says it has captured and killed "a number of soldiers" as they tried to make their way inside the city, Al Jazeera's Osama Bin Javaid said.

North Korea willing to hold talks with US, says South Korea

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-43189691

North Korea is willing to hold talks with the US, South Korea says.

The announcement came after Gen Kim Yong-chol met South Korean President Moon Jae-in before the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics.

US President Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka also attended the ceremony, but US officials have ruled out meeting the North Korean delegation.

The US says North Koreans pulled out of a meeting with Vice-President Mike Pence during the opening ceremony.

According to Mr Moon's office, he said North Korea was "very willing" to hold talks with the US.

It added that the North had "agreed that inter-Korea talks and North-US relations should improve together".

Pyongyang has not yet commented. But it has often said it is willing to talk without any preconditions.

However, the US has insisted that concrete steps towards denuclearisation take place first.

Brexit: UK Labour Party to advocate remaining in EU customs union

http://www.dw.com/en/brexit-uk-labour-party-to-advocate-remaining-in-eu-customs-union/a-42737730

The Brexit adviser to the UK opposition Labour Party, Keir Starmer, said Sunday that the party unanimously favored remaining in the EU customs union in order to cushion the potential economic blow caused by Brexit.

Starmer told the BBC that although an exit from the EU's current customs setup was inevitable with Brexit, the UK should negotiate a new deal that "will do the work of the customs union."

"It's really important for our manufacturing base," he said. "And nobody can answer the question how you keep your commitment to no hard border in Northern Ireland without a customs union.

The policy shift finally gives the Labour Party a markedly different approach to Brexit than the one favored by Prime Minister May, who has repeatedly insisted that the UK will leave both the EU customs union and single market.

May's hard-line stance, however, has divided senior figures in her party and the Cabinet over what Britain's relationship with the EU should look like after it leaves the bloc in March 2019.

Merkel's CDU votes on German coalition deal after new cabinet picks

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-politics/merkels-cdu-votes-on-german-coalition-deal-after-new-cabinet-picks-idUSKCN1GA01L?

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany’s Christian Democrats (CDU) meet on Monday to approve a coalition deal with the Social Democrats (SPD), a move that will take their leader, Angela Merkel, a step closer to a fourth term as chancellor in Europe’s biggest economy.

The party conference follows Merkel’s announcement of her CDU picks for a new, younger cabinet intended to revive the party, which has descended into rows about how to respond to the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) .

Merkel is to address CDU delegates at the meeting before the vote on the deal, which is expected to go through easily.

The conference will also vote on the appointment of her close ally Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer as CDU general secretary, who is widely seen as her preferred successor. Dubbed “mini-Merkel” by some media, the Saarland state premier, 55, shares many of Merkel’s views - but not all.

Angela Merkel names CDU members of possible German cabinet

http://www.dw.com/en/angela-merkel-names-cdu-members-of-possible-german-cabinet/a-42736405

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

That quote, attributed alternately to the ancient Chinese general Sun Tzu and the Renaissance writer and philosopher Machiavelli, might have been on German Chancellor Angela Merkel's mind on Sunday evening as she announced the six members of her conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) whom she would like to serve in her next cabinet — if her grand coalition with the Social Democrats (SPD) is approved.

Of the six names on her list, the one that stands out most is Jens Spahn, the chancellor's nominee for health minister. The 37-year-old not only represents a new political generation, but was also heavily critical of Merkel's welcoming policy toward refugees, and is rumored to have even met with leaders of the CDU's allied Bavarian party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), and the center-right Free Democrats for informal brainstorming sessions about a post-Merkel political order.

Spahn is something of an oddball in the Merkel-led CDU. He is far more conservative than the chancellor. His nomination drew immediate criticism from the opposition Left party and Greens, who say he's far too close to Germany's mighty pharmaceutical industry.

Merkel may have made a tactical concession by naming Spahn, but she picked allies and politicians who reflect her own moderate, pragmatic style of governing for the other ministries.

The most powerful of the CDU's cabinet posts, the head of the Economy Ministry, went to 59-year-old Peter Altmaier (bottom right in photo). The political veteran served as the head of the Chancellery in Merkel's last cabinet and is regarded as one of her closest political friends and supporters.

歐洲動態: ＣＤＵ保守派新星入閣

https://europechinese.blogspot.hk/2018/02/blog-post_26.html

ＣＤＵ黨魁兼德國總理默克爾（Angela Merkel）在２５日宣佈了會委任哪６名ＣＤＵ成員進入默克爾第４內閣（如果ＳＰＤ通過與ＣＤＵ／ＣＳＵ合組新一屆政府的話），其中最受矚目的任命是３７歲副財長施潘（Jens Spahn；本文照片全部來自ＡＲＤ）出任衛生部長。

施潘是ＣＤＵ黨內保守一翼的明日新星，上位野心極大，在難民政策上一直公開批評默克爾的政策。在ＣＤＵ、ＣＳＵ及ＳＰＤ宣佈達成組閣協議時，當時傳聞中的內閣名單沒有施潘的名字，這令外界愕然，因為默克爾第４內閣已被視為默克爾最後一屆總理、用來協助ＣＤＵ潛在黨魁兼總理接班人上位，而施潘是十分明顯有機會接班的人選，如果沒了施潘，會被視為默克爾刻意把批評她的黨內人士排除出去。

如今委任施潘入閣，反映默克爾向ＣＤＵ內保守派妥協。而且，委任他出掌衛生部，算待他不薄。施潘２００２年２２歲就當選國會議員至今，政治根據地是北威州（Nordrhein-Westfalen），在２０１５年出任副財長前，他在國會大部份議政工作集中在衛生事務，因此盛傳他一直想在新內閣擔任衛生部長，作為他競逐一個重要政壇職位的平台。不過，在目前組閣中，基於區域、性別等其他考慮下，曾傳出原副衛生部長Annette Widmann-Mauz升任，而她的資歷較施潘更好，因此施潘近日不斷公開談論教育事務，被視為退而求其次，為了入閣而願意轉當教育部長。最終他如願出任他最想擔任的職位。

Russia vetoes UN Yemen resolution targeting Iran

http://www.dw.com/en/russia-vetoes-un-yemen-resolution-targeting-iran/a-42751326

Russia has vetoed a UN Security Council resolution that would have put pressure on Iran for failing to prevent its missiles from being used in the Yemeni conflict. The Security Council subsequently voted unanimously in favor of a resolution drafted by Russia, which omitted Iran and the findings of UN report that said Iranian-made missiles had been found in Yemen.

Both resolutions were meant to renew the sanctions imposed on Yemen, which were set to expire on Monday. The original resolution that named Iran was drafted by the UK, with the consultation of the United States and France, and was based on the findings of a January report produced by a UN panel of experts.

Russia has questioned the expert's report, with Russia's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia referring to its findings as "uncorroborated conclusions and evidence which requires verification." Nebenzia added that Russia could not vote for a resolution that included such findings, as it would be "dangerous" and "escalate regional tensions."