國際時事政治選舉集中理性討論區（三）

Driver kills 10, injures 15 plowing van into Toronto sidewalk crowd

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-canada-van/driver-kills-10-injures-15-plowing-van-into-toronto-sidewalk-crowd-idUSKBN1HU2IY

TORONTO (Reuters) - A driver deliberately plowed his white Ryder rental van into a lunch-hour crowd in Toronto on Monday, killing 10 people and injuring 15 along a roughly mile-long (1.6-km) stretch of sidewalk thronged with pedestrians, police said.

Although the attack had the hallmarks of recent deadly vehicle assaults by Islamic State supporters in the United States and Europe, federal officials said it did not represent a larger threat to national security.

Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders identified the suspect as Alek Minassian, 25, who he said had not previously been known to authorities. Police, who quickly arrested Minassian, do not know his motives.

Video footage shot by a bystander showed police arresting a suspect at the scene as he shouted: “Kill me” and pointed an unidentified object at a policeman.

The officer replied, “No, get down.”

When the suspect said, “I have a gun in my pocket,” the officer responded: “I don’t care. Get down.”

Cambridge Analytica Files: academic tells MPs his work had no value - Politics live

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/blog/live/2018/apr/24/cambridge-analytica-kogan-barnier-says-eu-needs-more-clarity-from-uk-over-its-brexit-demands-politics-live?

Kogan俾國會文化委員會質詢緊

Senate delays Ronny Jackson's VA confirmation hearing

https://politi.co/2vFSAep

Lawmakers have delayed the confirmation hearing for Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson, President Donald Trump's choice to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs, amid growing concern on Capitol Hill about Jackson’s past and as the White House scrambles to save his nomination.

The Senate hearing, initially set for Wednesday, has been postponed pending an investigation into allegations against him, a congressional source with direct knowledge of the matter said.

Now, new information about Jackson’s past — including allegations of misconduct in leading the White House physician’s office and overprescribing medication, according to multiple people briefed on the issue — could derail the nomination entirely.

希望の党と民進党は４月24日、新党協議会を国会内で開催。新党名を「国民民主党」、通称「国民党」と決定。希望の党の玉木雄一郎代表は、「国民が第一の政治を目指すためにゼロからスタートする。そんな思いで新しい党名の下で力を合わせて頑張っていきたい」と表明。

https://mobile.twitter.com/kibounotou
兩黨加埋係眾議院一共六十四席

国民党

https://www.facebook.com/TheStraitsTimes/photos/a.10150602946322115.373647.129011692114/10155280312882115/?type=3&theater

Cabinet reshuffle: Younger ministers to head two-thirds of ministries, says PM Lee

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/cabinet-reshuffle-younger-ministers-head-two-thirds-ministries-10171084
https://youtu.be/lrsfKAnwFSk

SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has said that the "extensive" reshuffle to the Cabinet announced on Tuesday (Apr 24) means that the Singapore Government's leadership transition is well underway.

"Cabinet is a live grouping. I regularly have to move ministers around, appoint new ones from the backbenches, promote some office holders, and from time to time retire others," he wrote in a Facebook post shortly after the changes were unveiled.

"This year’s reshuffle is more extensive than usual. Three long-serving ministers are retiring. Many office holders elected in recent elections are getting new or expanded portfolios. I have decided to stretch the younger ones, giving many of them two ministries and additional responsibilities."

Republican Lesko wins Arizona special election

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/04/24/gop-looking-to-break-special-election-losing-streak-550112

Republican Debbie Lesko won the House special election in Arizona Tuesday night, holding off a closer-than-expected Democratic challenge in a district that President Donald Trump won by 21 points in 2016.

Lesko had 53 percent of the vote when The Associated Press called the race an hour after the polls closed, with over 155,000 early votes tallied. Democrat Hiral Tipirneni had 47 percent of the vote.

Former Rep. Trent Franks triggered the 8th Congressional District special election in 2017 when he resigned amidst allegations of sexual impropriety, and the GOP remained in control of the race to retain his seat from the get-go. National Republican groups poured in more than $1 million into the district to boost Lesko and prevent another special election from getting out of hand.

“Republicans shouldn't be hitting the alarm, they should be slamming it," said Mike Noble, a GOP pollster based in Arizona. He added: "This district isn't supposed to be competitive, and so to see this margin, especially with the Republicans pouring in resources here -- again, it's a tough year."

Toronto van attack: Alek Minassian praised 'incel' killer

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43883052

A van driver accused of killing 10 people in Toronto posted to Facebook minutes before the attack to praise killer Elliot Rodger and refer to the misogynistic "incel" Reddit group.

Alek Minassian, 25, was charged on Tuesday with 10 counts of murder and 13 counts of attempted murder.

Police say he appeared to intentionally strike pedestrians after mounting a busy pavement in a rental van.

He was arrested several blocks away after a tense standoff with police.

Mr Minassian's Facebook post, which the social network has confirmed as real, praised Elliott Rodger, a 22 year old from California who killed six people in a shooting rampage through Isla Vista, California in 2014 before turning the gun on himself.

The term "incel" refers to a now-banned group on the message site Reddit, used by Rodger, where young men discussed their lack of sexual activity and attractiveness to women - often blaming women for the problem.

Macron pitches new Iran deal to sweeten existing agreement for Trump

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/24/trump-iran-deal-macron-new-agreement-white-house-visit

Emmanuel Macron has proposed negotiations on a “new deal” aimed at curbing Iran’s military power and regional activities, to exist alongside a three year-old agreement that restricts the country’s nuclear programme.

Amid the pageantry of a state visit laced with some characteristically undiplomatic touches from Donald Trump, the French president offered the idea of a new deal at a joint White House press conference with his US counterpart as a way of salvaging the 2015 agreement, which Trump has threatened to leave.

The offer seemed calculated to appease the US president’s discontent with the current agreement, the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Programme of Action (JCPOA) by proposing a broader initiative to tackle other elements of Iran’s challenge in the region, particularly its ballistic missile programme, and its military role in Syria.

Saving the Iran nuclear deal would be a diplomatic coup for Macron, who has taken a political gamble in befriending a US president who is deeply unpopular in Europe.

He said that while the JCPOA restricted Iran’s major nuclear activities until 2025, a new deal would go further, imposing a permanent check on those activities, while also limiting the country’s development of ballistic activities, and its military operations across the region, particularly in Syria.

The new agreement would include regional powers, like Russia and Iran, who are involved in the Syrian conflict.

Italy’s PD signals openness to talks with 5Stars

https://www.politico.eu/article/italy-democratic-party-open-to-talks-with-5star-movement/

Italy’s center-left Democratic Party (PD) said Tuesday it may be open to coalition talks with the 5Star Movement, if the anti-establishment party breaks off contact with the center right.

After meeting Roberto Fico, the president of the Chamber of Deputies — Italy’s lower house of parliament — the PD’s acting leader Maurizio Martina said he would consider discussions with the 5Stars if “there is no longer any possibility of an agreement between the 5Stars, League and the centre right,” according to Reuters. The 5Stars have previously indicated they could consider the PD as a coalition partner.

The statement comes after weeks of political impasse since March 4’s inconclusive national election, in which a center-right alliance including the League and Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia won the most votes, but the 5Stars emerged as the largest single party.

Exclusive: Russian civilians helping Assad use military base back home - witnesses

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-russia-military/exclusive-russian-civilians-helping-assad-use-military-base-back-home-witnesses-idUSKBN1HW0LX

MOLKINO, Russia (Reuters) - The Kremlin says it has nothing to do with Russian civilians fighting in Syria but on three recent occasions groups of men flying in from Damascus headed straight to a defense ministry base in Molkino, Reuters reporters witnessed.

Molkino in southwestern Russia is where the Russian 10th Special Forces Brigade is based, according to information on the Kremlin website.

The destination of the Russians arriving from Syria provides rare evidence of a covert Russian mission in Syria beyond the air strikes, training of Syrian forces and small numbers of special forces troops acknowledged by Moscow.

More than 2,000 Russian contractors are fighting to help Syrian forces recapture land from their opponents, several sources, including one contractor, have said.

The contractors are transferred by Syrian airline Cham Wings, the sources said.

Reuters reporters saw a Syrian Cham Wings charter flight from Damascus land at the civilian airport in Rostov-on-Don on April 17 and watched groups of men leave the terminal through an exit separate from the one used by ordinary passengers.

Russia to deliver new air defense systems to Syria: RIA

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-russia-missiles/russia-to-deliver-new-air-defense-systems-to-syria-ria-idUSKBN1HW10Q

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia plans to deliver new air defense systems to Syria in the near future, RIA news agency cited Russia’s Defence Ministry as saying on Wednesday.

The ministry added it plans to study a U.S. Tomahawk cruise missile captured by Syrian forces in a recent attack, in order to improve Russia’s own missiles, RIA reported.

In power for 15 years, Iraq's Shi'ites split ahead of crucial vote

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iraq-election-shiites/in-power-for-15-years-iraqs-shiites-split-ahead-of-crucial-vote-idUSKBN1HW0TM

BASRA/NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - United in their fight against Saddam Hussein’s oppression for decades, Iraq’s Shi’ites have become deeply fragmented and disillusioned with their leaders after 15 years in power.

In Iraq’s Shi’ite heartlands, many who once voted blindly along sectarian lines are now turning their ire against the Shi’ite-led governments they say have failed to repair crumbling infrastructure, provide jobs or end the violence.

The divisions within the community now risk splitting the Shi’ite vote in a May 12 election, which could complicate and delay the formation of a government, threaten gains against Islamic State and let Iran meddle further in Iraq’s politics.

Under the informal power-sharing arrangement in place since Saddam’s fall, the prime minister has always come from the Shi’ite majority with a Kurdish president and a Sunni speaker.

In the past, while no party has won enough seats to govern alone, there has typically been one Shi’ite leader with enough support to shape a ruling coalition government.

This time there are three Shi’ite frontrunners: incumbent Haider al-Abadi who has promoted a more inclusive government, his overtly sectarian predecessor Nuri al-Maliki who failed to inspire unity and Hadi al-Amiri, a military commander close to Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards seen as a war hero by many.

About 60 percent of Iraqis are 27 or younger and many young people in urban areas say they want a secular government, underscoring the split within the Shi’ite voter base.

又到民主黨

Northern Ireland pushes Brexit talks toward fresh crisis

https://www.politico.eu/article/northern-ireland-pushes-brexit-talks-toward-fresh-crisis/

LONDON — The divide at the heart of the Brexit talks is no closer to being bridged — and now there’s a new clash over when it needs to be solved.

With the two sides preparing to resume negotiations next week, the mismatch over the substance and timing of a solution to the Northern Irish border problem threatens to drag the talks back toward a fresh crisis. Add to that a closely watched House of Commons vote Thursday that, while not binding on the government, will indicate the scale of support among MPs for tearing up Theresa May’s red line on leaving the EU customs union.

But if the customs red line remains, he and his officials have warned a breakthrough on Ireland must be found before June’s European Council summit if there is to be any chance of completing a final divorce deal by October. That’s the deadline agreed by both sides to give the European and U.K. parliaments time to ratify the exit treaty.

A new U.K. offer, which one official familiar with the negotiations said could include an “all Ireland” deal on agriculture as well as a new customs package, could help clear the way for significant progress on the outlines of a future U.K.-EU trading relationship, the official said.

The problem: Britain says no such third customs offer is forthcoming. One Cabinet minister, asked whether the EU was right to expect a significant British move on customs, replied: “No.”

The current backstop proposal, put forward in draft legal text by the European Commission, was dismissed by May as “unacceptable.” The proposal would mean keeping Northern Ireland within the EU’s “customs territory” and aligned to single market rules and regulations, effectively creating a border in the Irish Sea with the rest of the U.K.

Infographic: Breaking down the EU budget

https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-budget-battle-multiannual-financial-framework-graphics-gunther-oettinger/

Politico 出咗個關於EU budget的infographics，可以睇到唔同國家的貢獻同收穫，佔該國的GDP等等

歐洲動態: 如何挨到２０２０？

https://europechinese.blogspot.hk/2018/04/blog-post_26.html

// 來自中央政府執政黨人民黨（ＰＰ）、西班牙馬德里自治區區長Cristina Cifuentes（圖為ＲＴＶＥ影片截圖）在２５日宣佈辭職，直接理由是她在２０１１年涉嫌在超市高買的影片流出，但她過去一個月已陷入騙取碩士的醜聞，當地傳媒都批評她早應下台，而且現在以高買影片作為辭職的理由是錯誤。 //

// 人民黨目前陷入嚴重的貪污醜聞困擾，超過５０名人民黨前要員正面對貪污案件官司或已被判入獄，包括Cifuentes的前一任馬德里區長，而本身沒爆出貪污醜聞的Cifuentes與涉貪的黨友劃清界線（包括前一任馬德里區長），所以當地政壇認定，高買影片是由人民黨內部流出，打擊Cifuentes，一方面是另一派系的報復，另一方面是有人認為她苟延殘喘只會累及全黨，但她又死不離職，因此有這種手法逼走她。 //

// 除了貪污，另一個要注意的背景是人民黨民望。踏入２０１８年，已經有不少民調顯示，以加泰統派親商勢力起家的公民黨（Ｃｓ）已取代人民黨，成為全國支持度最高的政黨，支持度大概２５％—３０％，人民黨的支持度只有第二。同時，馬德里自治區是人民黨重要票倉。如果人民黨支持度一直落後，而在馬德里的基本盤瓦解，更多支持者轉投公民黨，公民黨黨魁利韋拉（Albert Rivera）有機會取代拉海，成為下任首相。//

唔貼太多，大家可以上歐洲動態的Blog支持吓佢

中興華為出面有好多討就唔詳細貼內容，俾Link大家參考吓

Huawei Said to Be Probed by FBI for Possible Iran Violations

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-25/fbi-is-said-to-probe-huawei-for-possible-sanctions-violations

China Invites Foreign Cash to Build a World-Class Chip Industry

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-25/china-invites-foreign-cash-to-build-a-world-class-chip-industry

The surprise announcement comes as U.S.-China tensions simmer

Dealing With China’s High-Tech Ambitions

https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-04-25/how-the-u-s-should-handle-china-s-high-tech-ambitions

But the U.S. and its partners have two pressing and legitimate concerns. First, China is seeking technological superiority in fields — artificial intelligence, robotics, autonomous vehicles, augmented reality — that will be crucial for military, not just civil, innovation. The U.S. and its allies need to maintain their edge on the battlefield.

Second, China isn’t playing by the rules. It wants access to other countries’ markets and technologies but is slow to grant access to its own. And its technological push has often relied on questionable or outright illegal methods — from rampant cyber-theft of commercial and military secrets, to subtler violations of the spirit if not always the letter of the country’s obligations as a member of the World Trade Organization.

Najib Predicts He'll Extend Grip on Power in Malaysia Election

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-25/najib-predicts-better-win-after-2013-vote-scare-1mdb-mistakes

Five years after leading his party to its narrowest victory yet, Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak says he’s expecting a “better result” in an election that will pit him against his one-time mentor.

Najib, in his first interview with international media in more than three years, discussed the turbulent period which saw a scandal over a multi-billion dollar state investment fund spawn global probes. He now faces potentially his toughest fight in prolonging his coalition’s six decades in office, in an election that has become highly personal: A contest against the man who helped bring him to power in 2009, and a battle for the hearts of the country’s key voters, ethnic Malays.

“We are reasonably confident of a good result,” Najib, 64, said. “There is no movement for changing the government, I don’t see that. That’s not saying we will win with a huge majority, no I am not going to predict that, but I am going to say that we are reasonably sanguine about the result.”

Looking back, Najib said, 1MDB had governance issues but “you cannot just accuse somebody of being a thief or anything unless there is evidence.’’

“It’s been cleared, there’s been no wrongdoing -- I stand by it,’’ Najib said. He acknowledged “some reputational damage’’ both to Malaysia and his own government.

“I would have probably not had that kind of business model, probably I would make sure tighter supervision,” he said of 1MDB. “But we all learn from our mistakes.’’

https://goo.gl/gtZQUT

Trump長年嘅私人律師Cohen係今日正入紙話自己將會plead the fifth

In case有人唔知咩係plead the fifth, plead the fifth即係疑犯援引美國憲法第五修正案嘅「不得o係刑事案被被逼自證其罪」("nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself")嘅權利, 簡單啲講, 即係有權唔答可能令自己自爆嘅問題, 亦因此通常會被視為身有屎嘅表現

正如Trump上年講:

The mob takes the Fifth, if you're innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?

(c&p上面句嘢去google就會有一堆youtube source)

Trump不愧係Trump圈子最佳嘅批評者
(btw,佢自己都plead the fifth過 )

史上首次有現任總統嘅代表律師, 因處理總統同AV女星私人糾紛(非法NDA, 掩口費, 恐嚇etc)上被民事檢控; 總統私人律師係處理總統私人問題嘅案件上再plead the fifth亦係史無事例

但係心水清嘅人會發現, 第五修正案權利係唔包民事案, 係民事案plead the fifth實際係對自己不利

但係民事案嘅證詞可以第日係刑事案用, 所以佢應該係戴定頭盔, 想棄車保帥

根據過往經驗，今次選舉都應該係巫統勝利，永續執政。

不過有冇巴絲打講講點解馬來西亞人可以容忍巫統咁耐，尤其係納吉貪污醜聞不斷