國際時事政治選舉新聞張貼及討論區（五）

U.S. could halt refueling of Saudi-led coalition aircraft: officials

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-yemen-refueling/u-s-could-halt-refueling-of-saudi-led-coalition-aircraft-officials-idUSKCN1NE2LJ

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States could soon halt refueling of aircraft from the Saudi-led coalition engaged in Yemen, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Friday, a move that would end one of the most divisive aspects of U.S. assistance to the Saudi war effort.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, acknowledged an end to U.S. in-air refueling was under consideration by both countries and could be at least in part a result of Saudi Arabia’s ability to handle its own refueling.

It was not immediately clear what had prompted the change, which comes at a time of international outrage over the murder of U.S.-based Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and after Democratic and Republican lawmakers threatened to take action in Congress next week over the refueling operations.

Brexit explained: What is the problem with the Irish border?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cfI5on5n84

Jo Johnson quits as minister over Theresa May's Brexit plan

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/nov/09/jo-johnson-quits-as-minister-over-theresa-mays-brexit-plan-boris

Theresa May’s hopes of winning parliament’s backing for her Brexit deal have been plunged into fresh doubt after Jo Johnson resigned from the government and accused her of offering MPs a choice between “vassalage and chaos”.

Four months after his Brexiter brother Boris quit as foreign secretary, the remainer MP for Orpington, and erstwhile transport minister, said he could not vote for the deal that May is expected to bring back to parliament within weeks, and instead would throw his weight behind a second referendum.

“It has become increasingly clear to me that the withdrawal agreement, which is being finalised in Brussels and Whitehall even as I write, will be a terrible mistake,” he wrote in an online article.

He said the public were being offered “an agreement that will leave our country economically weakened, with no say in the EU rules it must follow and years of uncertainty for business” or a no-deal Brexit “that I know as a transport minister will inflict untold damage on our nation.

“To present the nation with a choice between two deeply unattractive outcomes, vassalage and chaos, is a failure of British statecraft on a scale unseen since the Suez crisis.”

Sri Lanka's president calls snap election in bid to end power struggle

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/09/sri-lanka-president-dissolves-parliament-in-bid-to-end-power-struggle

Sri Lanka has plunged deeper into crisis after president Maithripala Sirisena called a snap election, leaving the country facing a further two months of damaging political paralysis with a pair of bitter rivals claiming to run his government.

In what opponents condemned as an illegal move, Sirisena dissolved the country’s parliament on Friday in a gamble that a new election will secure backing for his preferred candidate as prime minister, over an ousted premier who has refused to leave.

Sirisena signed a decree dismissing the island’s 225-member assembly and scheduled parliamentary elections for 5 January, nearly two years ahead of schedule.

Hours earlier Sirisena’s party admitted it did not have enough votes to support former president Mahinda Rajapakse against rival claimant and ousted premier Ranil Wickremesinghe, who has refused to leave his post.

The two have been battling for the prime minister’s post for two weeks as international concern grows over the mounting turmoil.

There was no immediate comment from Wickremesinghe, but his United National Party, or UNP, said it will challenge Sirisena’s sacking of the legislature.

Germany, France, Britain, U.S. and Saudi Arabia listened to Khashoggi tapes, Erdogan says

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-khashoggi-turkey/germany-france-britain-u-s-and-saudi-arabia-listened-to-khashoggi-tapes-erdogan-says-idUSKCN1NF0EQ

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey has given recordings on the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi to Saudi Arabia, the United States, Germany, France and Britain, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday.

Turkish sources have said previously that authorities have an audio recording purportedly documenting the murder.

Speaking ahead of his departure for France to attend commemorations to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of World War One, Erdogan said Saudi Arabia knows the killer of Jamal Khashoggi is among a group of 15 people who arrived in Turkey one day ahead of the Oct. 2 killing.

Lebanon's Aoun vows to find solution over government impasse

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-lebanon-government/lebanons-aoun-vows-to-find-solution-over-government-impasse-idUSKCN1NF0C7

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanese President Michel Aoun said on Saturday that a solution would be found to a political row that has blocked the formation of a new national unity government for more than six months since a general election in May.

The country is in dire need of a government able to implement economic reforms that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) says are necessary.

The last sticking point surrounds Sunni Muslim representation in the country’s cabinet where the 30 seats must be allocated along sectarian lines.

The powerful Shi’ite Muslim group Hezbollah says one of its Sunni allies must be represented in the government to reflect the gains they made in the election.

But Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri, who is Lebanon’s main Sunni politician and enjoys Western backing, has ruled out allocating any of his cabinet seats to them.

Mid-term elections 2018: Florida orders recount of votes

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46166980

Florida has ordered a machine recount of votes for state governor and senator following Tuesday's closely fought mid-term elections, officials say.

Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner said that as unofficial results in both races had fallen within a margin of 0.5%, a recount was required by law.

The two ballots are among the most important yet to be decided.

US President Donald Trump responded to the news by accusing Democrats of trying to "steal" the elections.

In the race for Florida's Senate seat, unofficial results revealed a gap of just 0.15% between the votes for Democrat Bill Nelson and Republican Rick Scott.

Democrat Andrew Gillum had already conceded the state governorship, but Ron DeSantis' lead for the Republicans later narrowed to 0.41%.

Armistice Day: Macron urges world leaders to reject nationalism

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-46168105

French President Emmanuel Macron has urged world leaders marking the centenary of the World War One Armistice to reject nationalism.

Addressing leaders in Paris - including US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin - he described it as a "betrayal of patriotism".

"By saying 'our interests first and never mind the others' you stamp out the most precious thing a nation has - its moral values," he said.

Events are taking place worldwide.

Several world leaders also held bilateral meetings at the events. Mr Putin told journalists he had a brief conversation with Mr Trump and that it went well.

Israelis 'kill Hamas commander' in Gaza exchange of fire

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-46174912

Six Palestinians including a local Hamas commander have been killed during an Israeli operation in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian officials say.

Israel's military said one if its soldiers had been killed and another wounded in "operational activity" by special forces in the strip.

The clashes took place east of Khan Younis, in the south of the territory.

Rocket-warning sirens later sounded in southern Israel and several rockets fired from Gaza were shot down.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to cut short his visit to Paris for events to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of World War One and return on Sunday evening, his office said in a statement.

A spokesman for Hamas, the militant Islamist group that dominates Gaza, described the incident as a "cowardly Israeli attack".

The senior militant killed was named as Sheikh Nur Barakeh, a commander of the Izzedine al-Qassam brigades, the Hamas military wing, in Khan Younis.

Australian government slips further behind Labor: Newspoll

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-australia-politics/australian-government-slips-further-behind-labor-newspoll-idUSKCN1NG0W4

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s Liberal-National Coalition has lost more ground to the front-running Labor Party opposition months before an election, with most gains since he became leader in August erased, a poll showed on Monday.

Labor is now ahead of the Coalition 55 percent to 45 percent on a two-party preferred basis, up a point from a Newspoll two weeks earlier. An election is due by May 2019.

In a survey involving all political parties, the Coalition’s support fell by 1 percentage point to 35 percent, while Labor gained a point to 40 percent.

Morrison’s own ratings, which dropped after the Coalition lost a by-election for the seat of former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, fell further into negative ground even after he toured Queensland last week appealing to voters in crucial regional seats.

He has sunk to a net satisfaction rating of -8. Negative net satisfaction means more people are dissatisfied than satisfied with the person. The drop follows comments last week from Turnbull calling for an explanation on why he was dumped as leader. Morrison said it was because Turnbull had failed to connect with ordinary Australians.

Labor leader Bill Shorten’s rating slipped to -15 from -13, according to the Newspoll.

Central American migrants resume their march toward U.S. border

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-immigration/central-american-migrants-resume-their-march-toward-u-s-border-idUSKCN1NG00A

QUERETARO, Mexico (Reuters) - Hundreds of Central American migrants resumed their march north through Mexico on Saturday, en route to the U.S. border where President Donald Trump has effectively suspended the granting of asylum to migrants who cross illegally.

Trump’s Friday order, which went into effect on Saturday, means that migrants will have to present themselves at U.S. ports of entry to qualify for asylum and follow other rules unveiled on Thursday that seek to limit asylum claims.

“It doesn’t matter what rules (Trump’s) government imposes we cannot go back to our countries. I have a bullet in my arm and another in my shoulder. If I go back home, it’d be better for me to go with a casket,” said 30 year-old Julio Caesar from Honduras, who declined to give his last name.

The caravan, made up mostly of Hondurans, started north again on Saturday morning following a rest of four days in Mexico City.

Florida Republican Scott asks that ballots be guarded in Senate race recount

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election/florida-republican-scott-asks-that-ballots-be-guarded-in-senate-race-recount-idUSKCN1NG0VI

(Reuters) - Florida Republican Governor Rick Scott, whose lead has narrowed in the state’s U.S. Senate race, filed more lawsuits against local election officials on Sunday, asking a judge to order police to impound voting machines and ballots when they are not in use.

On Saturday, a machine recount began in the race between Scott and incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Bill Nelson in one of the most closely watched swing-state contests in last Tuesday’s congressional elections.

Each side has accused the other of trying to subvert democracy in an echo of the drama in the 2000 presidential vote recount that unfolded for weeks in Florida.

By the time the U.S. Senate election recount was ordered, Scott’s lead had shrunk to 12,500 votes, or 0.15 percent, below the threshold under which a machine recount is automatically triggered under state law.

Scott’s lawsuit on Sunday targeted election supervisors in Democratic-leaning Broward and Palm Beach counties. It asked a judge to issue an emergency injunction for the county sheriffs and Florida Department of Law Enforcement to seize all voting machines, tallying devices and ballots when they are not being used until the end the end of the recount and any related litigation is over.

The Races That Are Still Too Close To Call

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-16-races-still-too-close-to-call/

In Arizona, Democratic Rep. Kyrsten Sinema has a roughly 1.4-percentage-point lead over Republican Rep. Martha McSally. An analyst in the secretary of state’s office estimated Saturday that 264,000 votes have yet to be counted statewide — including more than 36,000 in blue-leaning Pima County and 198,000 in Maricopa County (the Phoenix area).

In Florida, Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson initially appeared to have conceded on election night (his opponent, Republican Gov. Rick Scott, also claimed victory) but reversed course after continued vote-counting in Broward and Palm Beach counties narrowed Scott’s lead to just 0.15 percentage points, or 12,562 votes.

Finally, as we expected, the special U.S. Senate election in Mississippi will proceed to a runoff on Nov. 27 as none of the candidates secured 50 percent of the vote on Tuesday.

Five of the races are in California: specifically, the 10th, 39th, 45th, 48th and 49th districts.

Although some networks have called the Georgia 7th District, Democrat Carolyn Bourdeaux has not yet conceded and has even indicated it may go to a recount.

With most of the vote counted in the Maine 2nd District, Republican Rep. Bruce Poliquin has declared he received more votes than Democratic state Rep. Jared Golden — but neither received a majority, so Maine’s new system of ranked-choice voting will decide the winner.

Democrat Andy Kim declared victory in the New Jersey 3rd District on Wednesday night, but Republican Rep. MacArthur has not yet conceded.

The New Mexico 2nd District was supposedly in the bag for Republican state Rep. Yvette Herrell — until Wednesday night, when absentee ballots from Doña Ana County unexpectedly put Democrat Xochitl Torres Small into a 1-percentage-point lead.

Like in Georgia, some but not all news outlets have called the New York 22nd for Democratic Assemblyman Anthony Brindisi.

In the New York 27th District, Republican Rep. Chris Collins appears to have defeated Democratic Grand Island Town Supervisor Nate McMurray.

重未夠票，睇來民主黨又要搵多幾箱票先得

Swedish center-right leader bids to form government against the odds

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sweden-politics/swedish-center-right-leader-bids-to-form-government-against-the-odds-idUSKCN1NH109

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - The leader of Sweden’s center-right will ask parliament for a mandate to form a minority two-party government, he said on Monday, but admitted chances of success were slim.

Moderate party leader Ulf Kristersson looks almost certain to lose his bid to create a government with the Christian Democrats as the other two members of his four-party Alliance oppose any set-up that would require support from the far-right Sweden Democrats.

“I have chosen to go ahead with this despite the obvious risk that this will not win acceptance in parliament,” Kristersson told a news conference. Parliament is due to vote on the proposal on Wednesday.

Parliament Speaker Andreas Norlen called the vote in the hope of breaking deadlock in parliament since a September election left the right- and left-wing blocs nearly equal in size and the shunned anti-immigration Sweden Democrats with the balance of power.

Bulgaria becomes latest EU state to shun U.N. migration pact

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-un-migrants-bulgaria/bulgaria-becomes-latest-eu-state-to-shun-u-n-migration-pact-idUSKCN1NH1D9

SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria on Monday joined the growing ranks of European Union nations opposed to a United Nations pact that aims to regulate the treatment of migrants worldwide.

The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migrationwas approved in July by all 193 member nations except the United States, which backed out last year. It followed the biggest influx of migrants into Europe since World War Two, many fleeing conflicts in the Middle East and beyond.

However, the right-wing governments of Hungary and Austria have since said they will not sign the final document at a ceremony in Morocco in December over concerns that it will blur the line between legal and illegal migration. Poland, the Czech Republic and now Bulgaria have signaled they may follow suit.

May stares into Brexit abyss as domestic opposition mounts

https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu/may-stares-into-brexit-abyss-as-domestic-opposition-mounts-idUSKCN1NH140

LONDON/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit strategy came under attack from all sides on Monday, increasing the risk that her plan for leaving the EU will be voted down by parliament and thrust the United Kingdom towards a potentially chaotic “no-deal” Brexit.

In a sign that Brexit talks could go down to the wire, EU sources said they want clarity from London by the end of Wednesday at the latest if there is to be a summit this month to approve a Brexit deal.

May’s compromise plan, which seeks to maintain close trade ties with the EU in the future, is facing opposition from Brexiteers, pro-Europeans, the Northern Irish party that props up her government, and even some of her own ministers.

“I think it’s the worst of all worlds,” former education minister Justine Greening, who supported staying in the EU in the 2016 Brexit referendum, told BBC radio, adding that she did not think there was any chance it could get through parliament.

A British official voiced pessimism about the possibility of a breakthrough with the EU this week due to continued deadlock on the issue of the border between British-ruled Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland.

CSU chief Horst Seehofer to step down as party leader

https://www.dw.com/en/csu-chief-horst-seehofer-to-step-down-as-party-leader/a-46253011

Germany's Interior Minister Horst Seehofer confirmed he will quit as the head of the Christian Social Union (CSU), the Bavarian sister party to Angela Merkel's CDU.

Seehofer confirmed this at an appointment in Bautzen on Monday, during a visit to a joint office of state and federal police in the eastern state of Saxony.

He had previously told party officials of his intentions over the weekend. Rumors had circulated that Seehofer might also resign from his role as interior minister, but speaking to reporters on Monday he denied these claims.

"I am the federal interior minister and will continue to serve in that role," he said.

Seehofer said he was stepping down to make way for a renewal within the CSU. He also said that the party's poor performance in last month's state elections in Bavaria was not "the main reason" for his resignation.

A new party leader is due to be elected at a conference early next year.

Separatist leaders voted back in disputed east Ukraine election

https://www.dw.com/en/separatist-leaders-voted-back-in-disputed-east-ukraine-election/a-46262217

The interim leaders of the self-proclaimed "People's Republics" of Luhansk and Donetsk in Ukraine's eastern Donbass region were confirmed in office as expected in a poll on Sunday that has been condemned by Kyiv and the West.

The two leaders, Denis Pushilin in Donetsk and Leonid Pasechnik in Luhansk, won the votes with 61 and 68 percent respectively, local election officials said on Monday..

Both men have called for closer ties with Russia, and analysts say the poll will cement Moscow's hold on the disputed regions, which have broken away from the central Ukrainian government in Kyiv amid a civil conflict that has killed more than 10,000 people since 2014.

Trump seeks end of Florida recount as Republicans' leads shrink

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election/trump-seeks-end-of-florida-recount-as-republicans-leads-shrink-idUSKCN1NH1U8

TAMPA, Fla./WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday urged Florida election officials to end a recount and declare his fellow Republicans the winners of disputed races in last week’s elections as a judge urged both parties to be careful with unsubstantiated allegations of fraud.

As Florida officials scrambled to review more than 8 million ballots by Thursday, Trump, without providing evidence, cast doubt on the recount process.

Leads by the Republican candidates in the races for a U.S. Senate seat and the governor’s office shrank as more ballots were tallied following last Tuesday’s elections. State law mandates recounts in elections where the margin of victory is within 0.5 percentage point.

Trump called for an end to the recount even though state rules allow election officials to wait 10 days for absentee ballots submitted by registered voters living outside the United States, including active-duty military personnel.

U.S. Treasury's Mnuchin spoke with China Vice Premier Liu: WSJ

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-china-tariffs/u-s-treasurys-mnuchin-spoke-with-china-vice-premier-liu-wsj-idUSKCN1NH2NO

(Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has resumed discussions with China Vice Premier Liu He, with the two speaking by telephone on Friday, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing sources.

The conversation did not lead to any breakthrough, the WSJ reported. (on.wsj.com/2B1RSZx).

A U.S. Treasury spokesman did not immediately respond to a query about the report.

Brexit talks in endgame, says Theresa May

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-46188790

Negotiations over the UK's departure from the EU are "now in the endgame", Theresa May says.

Addressing the Lord Mayor's Banquet in the City of London, the prime minister said the talks were "immensely difficult", but the sides were working "through the night" to make progress.

"This will not be an agreement at any cost," the PM added.

Mrs May will address her cabinet on Tuesday, with some ministers believed to want a change of plan.

On Monday night, some cabinet ministers met for drinks in International Trade Secretary Liam Fox's office to discuss Brexit, including no-deal plans and the sticking point of the Irish "backstop".

Sinema wins Arizona Senate race

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/12/2018-arizona-senate-election-sinema-mcsally-984928

Democratic Rep. Kyrsten Sinema was declared the winner in Arizona’s Senate race against Republican Rep. Martha McSally on Monday.

Arizona’s Senate race isn’t over. But Kyrsten Sinema should be feeling awfully good about her chances.

Down narrowly on election night, the Democratic congresswoman overtook Republican Martha McSally two days later and has since padded her lead to more than 38,000 votes as mail-in ballots have been tallied. She increased her lead by around 6,000 votes after new ballots were counted Monday.

At this point, it would take a stunning reversal for the Republican to mount a comeback, since the vast majority of outstanding votes are in areas of the state where Sinema is ahead, in some cases by significant margins.

Even some Republicans have begun to acknowledge the increasing likelihood of defeat.

There are still approximately 175,000 votes left to be counted after the new batch was released Monday evening. But McSally would have to win more than 60 percent of the remaining votes to eke out a victory; she currently trails 49.7 percent to 48 percent.

Brexit: UK and EU ‘agree text’ of draft withdrawal agreement
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-46188790

A cabinet source told the BBC that the document has been agreed at a technical level by officials from both sides after intensive discussions this week.

A special cabinet meeting will be held at 14:00 GMT on Wednesday as Theresa May seeks ministers’ backing.

The PM has been meeting ministers in Downing Street for one-to-one talks on the draft agreement.

There is no additional Northern Ireland-only backstop - but sources wouldn’t be drawn on any specific arrangements for Northern Ireland on rules and regulation within the UK-wide one, she added.

Leading Brexiteers, such as Boris Johnson and Jacob Rees-Mogg, immediately criticised what has been reported to be in the draft agreement, saying it would keep the UK under EU control.
Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party, which gives Theresa May vital support in key votes, said it would be a “very, very hard sell”.

Brexit negotiations latest

https://www.bbc.com/news/live/uk-politics-46200010

Watch again: Theresa May gets a laugh at start of PMQs

https://twitter.com/BBCPolitics/status/1062678360399269888