國際時事政治選舉集中理性討論區（三）

Russia announces Syria ceasefire to establish 'humanitarian corridor' in Eastern Ghouta

http://www.dw.com/en/russia-announces-syria-ceasefire-to-establish-humanitarian-corridor-in-eastern-ghouta/a-42745874

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday ordered a daily "humanitarian pause" to airstrikes in Eastern Ghouta near Damascus, said Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, according to Russian news agencies.

The ceasefire comes amid calls from the international community to implement a nationwide cessation of hostilities as the humanitarian situation worsens on the ground.

What the ceasefire entails:

The ceasefire is aimed at establishing a "humanitarian corridor" to allow civilians to exit from Eastern Ghouta, considered one of Syria's last rebel strongholds.

It will begin on Tuesday and last from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. local time (07:00 to 12:00 UTC), according to the order.

In agreement with the Syrian regime, the Russian Defense Ministry said it will help evacuate the sick and injured.

Angela Merkel's CDU approves grand coalition deal

http://www.dw.com/en/angela-merkels-cdu-approves-grand-coalition-deal/a-42742684

As expected, delegates at the CDU party conference in Berlin on Monday approved by a wide margin the grand coalition agreement with the Social Democrats (SPD), with only 27 of the 975 delegates voting against it. Beforehand, Chancellor Angela Merkel urged her fellow party members to support the deal.

Merkel acknowledged that although the conservatives won last September's national election, their share of the vote declined by around 7 percent in what she "called the difficult, unprecedented situation" of a far-right populist party, the Alternative for Germany (AfD), entering to the Bundestag.

Delegates at the CDU conference also voted by a large majority to elect former Saarland State Premier Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer as the party's secretary general. The 55-year-old is a close Merkel ally, who some observers say could be the next chancellor.

係咪永續默EE

3月4日先知，因為SPD先會就組閣開票，當中以Youth-wing比較反對GroKo，但似乎通過機會比較大。不過默EE好有可能唔會做足。

如果 SPD唔過，應該會minority government，然後會有好大機會重新投票。

South Korean prosecutors seek 30 years' jail for ousted Park as supporters demand her release

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-southkorea-politics-park/south-korean-prosecutors-seek-30-years-jail-for-ousted-park-as-supporters-demand-her-release-idUSKCN1GB0FJ?

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean prosecutors on Tuesday sought a 30-year jail term for former President Park Geun-hye who was ousted last year amid an influence-peddling scandal as supporters braved the winter cold outside the Seoul court demanding her immediate release.

Park, 66, was dismissed in March after being impeached and is standing trial on charges of bribery, abuse of power and coercion in a case that rocked the country’s business and political elite. She denies wrongdoing.

The prosecution’s recommendation came two weeks after Choi Soon-sil, a longtime friend of Park who was at the center of the scandal, was jailed for 20 years for taking bribes from “chaebol”, or conglomerates, including electronics powerhouse Samsung and retail giant Lotte.

Prosecutors are also seeking a 118.5 billion won ($127.1 million) fine for Park, who has been detained since March 31 last year.

Thai PM now says election to be held no later than Feb 2019

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-thailand-politics/thai-pm-now-says-election-to-be-held-no-later-than-feb-2019-idUSKCN1GB0QS

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha on Tuesday said a general election he had promised to hold in November would take place “no later” than February 2019, the latest delay to anger critics of the government.

The junta has promised and postponed elections several times since its 2014 coup overthrew a civilian government. The latest date was set for November but last month the military-appointed legislature changed the election law, pointing to further delay.

“Now I will answer clearly, an election will take place no later than February 2019,” Prayuth, who is under growing pressure both at home and abroad to return to civilian government, told reporters in Bangkok, the capital.

Slovakia shocked by killing of journalist and partner

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-43202124

A Slovak investigative journalist and his partner have been murdered in a suspected assassination linked to the journalist's work.

Jan Kuciak, 27, and Martina Kusnirova were shot dead at the weekend at home in Velka Maca, a village 65km (40 miles) east of the capital Bratislava.

It was "most likely related to the journalist's investigative work", a police commander said.

Kuciak had written about alleged tax fraud involving luxury apartments.

There were protests last year over Interior Minister Robert Kalinak's alleged business dealings with a property developer. The minister denied wrongdoing and an investigation into suspected fraud was dropped.

The killings prompted Prime Minister Robert Fico to convene an emergency meeting with security chiefs, including Mr Kalinak.

Czech court releases Salih Muslim, preventing Turkey extradition

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/02/czech-releases-salih-muslim-preventing-extradition-turkey-180227105106092.html

A court in Czech Republic has released Salih Muslim, a former Kurdish Syrian leader, despite Ankara's official request for him to be extradited, according to Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency.

Muslim, a prominent former leader of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) in Syria, was arrested in the Czech capital of Prague on Saturday at Turkey's request.

Turkey had asked the authorities in Prague to extradite him with a file explaining the arguments for the request, Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag said on Monday.

According to state-run Anadolu news agency, the file for extradition recalls that a high court in Ankara had filed a case against Muslim for a deadly attack carried out in the capital in 2016.

Saudi Arabia fires top army chiefs in military shake-up

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/02/saudi-arabia-fires-top-army-chiefs-military-shake-180227054218368.html

Saudi Arabia's King Salman has fired his top military commanders and reshuffled his cabinet in a shake-up of key security and government ministries.

Those dismissed include the Saudi army's chief of staff, and the heads of the ground and air defence forces.

No official reason has been given for Tuesday's overhaul, but it comes as Saudi Arabia faces growing criticism against the military coalition it leads in the Yemen war.

The developments also come amid a series of changes led by country's 32-year-old Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), who has vowed to transform both Saudi Arabia's culture and economy.

MBS was appointed crown prince in June 2017 when King Salman, his father, implemented a major government shake-up.

"This development tells us one thing: the new king [MBS] is coming sooner rather than later," Zweiri told Al Jazeera.

"It seems that he’s setting the platform for his son to rule – we’ve witnessed serious changes to the economy, attempts to fight corruption and so on,” he added, explaining that Saudi Arabia has a strategy it is following in Yemen and that a government reshuffle does not necessarily mean it’s policy in the war would change.

Up to 30 people, including four children, are believed to have been killed in Papua New Guinea's 7.6-magnitude earthquake, local media reports.
The quake hit the provinces of Southern Highlands and Hela, a remote and heavily forested area 560km north-west of Port Moresby, early on Monday, cutting off communication and transport connections.
At least 13 people were believed to have been killed in Mendi, the capital of Southern Highlands, and 18 others died in the Kutubu and Bosave areas, PNG's Post Courier newspaper reported, citing Hela provincial administrator William Bando.
More than 300 people were reportedly injured

死得多過花蓮地震，但個國家無存在感，香港傳媒無報導

係，而且死亡人數一定會上升

仲有石油公司都已經暫時停產

Fighting resumes in eastern Ghouta despite 'humanitarian pause'

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/27/russia-humanitarian-pause-eastern-ghouta-syria-enclave

Airstrikes and rocket fire continued into the night on Tuesday, after a five-hour lull ordered by Vladimir Putin failed to allow aid to reach the rebel-held Syrian enclave of eastern Ghouta and raised fresh doubts about the sincerity of the Russian-led humanitarian pauses.

Residents and activists said the violence continued despite claims that a humanitarian corridor would be opened from 9am to 2pm daily to allow civilians to escape and food and medicine to be brought in.

“Only the fighter planes have been reduced, but the shelling and land-to-land rockets are continuing,” said Nour Adam, an activist in the area. “None of the families or civilians have come out of the bomb shelters because nobody trusts the regime or the Russians.”

Macedonia puts four options forward to resolve name dispute


Macedonia has put forward four options to settle the decades-long dispute with Greece over its name, the country’s prime minister, Zoran Zaev, said on Tuesday.

Macedonia and its larger southern neighbour, Greece, have agreed to step up negotiations this year to resolve the disagreement which has frustrated Skopje’s long-held ambitions to join Nato and the European Union.

“The suggestions are: Republic of North Macedonia, Republic of Upper Macedonia, Republic of Vardar Macedonia and Republic of Macedonia (Skopje),” Zaev said following a western Balkans summit in London.

Emmanuel Macron takes on unions to cut rail workers’ rights

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/26/emmanuel-macron-takes-on-french-unions-to-cut-rail-workers-rights

Emmanuel Macron is to push through sweeping reforms to France’s vast state rail system and cut rail workers’ special employment rights – tackling one of France’s riskiest political issues.

Any question of overhauling the SNCF state railway company has always proved controversial, with the train network grinding to a virtual halt for weeks when trade unions opposed changes to rail staff’s benefits in 1995.

But the French prime minister, Édouard Philippe, said that the government would quickly push through changes by special executive decree without a vote in parliament if necessary. Trade unions are discussing possible strikes on 12 March and will join bigger public sector strikes on 22 March.

The main issue for Macron is that the French state rail operator is struggling under debts of €46.6bn (£41bn) – bigger than those of a small country such as Iceland or Croatia, but still in line with the large debt of rail networks in places such as Britain, where the track operator, Network Rail, is facing its own financial woes.

Unions had expressed fears of privatisation after an advisory report 10 days ago suggested turning SNCF into an autonomous company backed by public funds. Philippe insisted on Monday that privatisation was not on the cards. He said the SNCF would remain state-owned: it was part of French people’s heritage and “will stay that way”.

However he was firm on cutting rail workers’ special employment status. Many French rail workers have jobs for life and, in some cases, the right to retire in their 50s – a decade earlier than other public workers. Under government plans, these historical privileges would not be applied to new rail staff.

Jared Kushner has access to top secret intelligence withdrawn – reports

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/feb/27/jared-kushner-security-clearance-downgrade-secret-classified-information

Jared Kushner has had his security clearance downgraded, according to reports on Tuesday, leaving the senior adviser and son-in-law to Donald Trump without direct access to top secret intelligence and sensitive documents that include the president’s daily brief.

Kushner was notified of the downgrade in a memo on Friday, along with other White House aides who had access to the highest-level interim clearances, Politico and others reported on Tuesday.

Kushner and the aides previously held what is known as Top Secret/SCI-level clearances, which provided them with unfettered access to classified information and some of the country’s most guarded secrets.

The president has the unilateral authority to share classified information as he sees fit, including with his son-in-law, despite the clearance downgrade.

One reason that Kushner has been unable to obtain clearance has been his extensive contacts with foreign officials, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday, citing unnamed government officials.

The report said that officials in four foreign countries – the United Arab Emirates, China, Israel and Mexico – have discussed ways to manipulate Kushner based on his business debts and inexperience.

話說火雞想問美國買f35替換f16，我睇都幾難成事
問俄佬買埋佢啲飛機囉

一早就唔應該俾呢條契仔有access，根本係鬼黎

侵侵根本冇人用

N Korea 'providing materials to Syria chemical weapons factories'

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-43219614

North Korea has been sending equipment to Syria that could be used to make chemical weapons, a UN report says.

Some 40 previously unreported shipments were made between 2012 and 2017, the report found. Materials included acid-resistant tiles, valves and pipes.

The report - yet to be released - said N Korean missile specialists had been seen at Syrian weapon-making centres.

The allegations follow new reports of chlorine being used by Syrian forces, which the government denies.

But a confidential report, compiled by a UN Panel of Experts which assesses North Korea's compliance with UN resolutions, found evidence of illicit supplies sent to Syria.

Seen by the BBC, the report details the "innovative evasion techniques" used by North Korea to send items such high-heat, acid-resistant tiles, corrosion-resistant valves and thermometers.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani offers Taliban peace talks and political recognition

http://www.dw.com/en/afghan-president-ashraf-ghani-offers-taliban-peace-talks-and-political-recognition/a-42764769

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani offered the Taliban unconditional peace talks and the possibility of political recognition during an international conference in Kabul on Wednesday.

"The government offers peace negotiations to the Taliban without any conditions," Ghani said at the second "Kabul Process" conference. The first Kabul Process took place in 2017.

Officials from 25 countries are attending the event to discuss ways to end a more than 16-year-old conflict between the US-backed Afghan government and the Taliban. The Islamist militant group ruled Afghanistan before a US-led alliance forcibly removed it from power 2001.

President Ghani has regularly called the Taliban "terrorists" and "rebels" in the past. At last year's Kabul Process conference, he warned the Taliban that peace talks were not "an open-ended offer" and that it was the group's "last chance" to accept talks.

But speaking on Wednesday, he laced his offer with a less belligerent tone: "Taliban leaders and all members, the decision is in your hands. Accept peace, come to the negotiating table and let us build this country together."

Theresa May rejects EU's draft option for Northern Ireland

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-43224785

A draft legal agreement published by the EU proposes a "common regulatory area" on the island of Ireland after Brexit, if solutions cannot be found.

Mrs May said "no UK prime minister could ever agree" to this.

The EU says the controversial "backstop" option is not intended to "provoke" the UK.

Unveiling the draft agreement, EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier called on the UK to come up with alternatives.

He said the text was "no surprise" and was just a legally-worded assessment of what had been agreed so far.

"The draft legal text the commission have published would, if implemented, undermine the UK common market and threaten the constitutional integrity of the UK by creating a customs and regulatory border down the Irish Sea, and no UK prime minster could ever agree to it," she said.

According to the draft text, it would involve an "area without internal borders in which the free movement of goods is ensured", covering customs, VAT, energy, agriculture, goods and other sectors.

The Irish government said this option was "very much a default and would only apply should it prove necessary".

EU 真係

都痴撚線，由呢啲事都睇到歐盟真係好撚濕鳩

Fourth Reich 你估流㗎？