國際時事政治選舉新聞張貼及討論區（五）

Footage shows 'prison-like units' built for Rohingya on Bangladesh island

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/29/footage-shows-prison-like-units-built-for-rohingya-on-bangladesh-island

Exclusive footage obtained by the Guardian has revealed the stark concrete camps being built for the Rohingya on a sediment island in Bangladesh, as part of a controversial plan to relocate hundreds of thousands of refugees.

The development of Bhasan Char island has remained highly secretive but footage filmed undercover for the Guardian reveals the living conditions that will greet 100,000 Rohingya refugees, who could be brought to the island by the beginning of next year.

According to a plan by the Bangladesh government, some of the 700,000 Rohingya refugees who fled a brutal military crackdown in Myanmar and are now living in camps in Cox’s Bazar will be relocated to the island. Bhasan Char is a previously uninhabited and remote silt island in Bangladesh’s Meghna River, accessible only by boat.

As seen in the footage, which was filmed this month, families will be housed in concrete breeze-block rooms, which measure 2m x 2.5m, and have small barred windows. There is one bathroom per block, with each block made up of around 25 housing units, each unit for one family. While the relocation of the refugees to Bhasan Char was originally due to begin in October, it appears the building of the accommodation is still ongoing.

Yemen war: Vote in US Senate delivers rebuke to Trump

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46376807


The US Senate has advanced a measure to withdraw American support for a Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen, in a blow to President Donald Trump.

Many senators are unhappy with Mr Trump's response to the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary Jim Mattis had urged senators not to back the motion, saying it would worsen the situation in Yemen.

However, senators voted 63-37 to take forward the bipartisan motion.

Deutsche Bank headquarters raided over money laundering

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-46382722

The Frankfurt headquarters of Deutsche Bank have been raided by prosecutors in a money laundering investigation.

Germany's public prosecutor alleged that two staff members have helped clients launder money from criminal activities.

Police cars were seen outside the tower blocks that house the headquarters of Germany's biggest bank.

Other Deutsche offices in the city were searched in an operation involving about 170 police and officials.

Prosecutors are looking into whether Deutsche Bank staff helped clients set up offshore accounts to "transfer money from criminal activities".

Michael Cohen in court: Trump ex-lawyer admits lying to Congress

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46390368

US President Donald Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen has admitted he lied about a Trump property deal in Russia during the 2016 election.

Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress. He said he did so out of loyalty to Mr Trump.

Mr Trump said his former right-hand man was "lying" to prosecutors in the hope of receiving a reduced sentence.

A special counsel is investigating Russia's role in the 2016 election and whether Mr Trump colluded with it.

In August, Cohen pleaded guilty to violating finance laws during the 2016 election by handling hush money for Mr Trump's alleged lovers.

In abrupt switch, Trump cancels Putin meeting, cites Ukraine crisis

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-g20-argentina/g20-members-struggle-for-agreements-ahead-of-argentina-summit-idUSKCN1NY2HG

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday abruptly canceled a planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Argentina, registering his disapproval of Russia’s treatment of Ukraine and casting new uncertainty over U.S.-Russian ties.

Trump said he pulled out due to tensions over Russian forces opening fire on Ukrainian navy boats and then seizing them and their crew on Sunday near Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

His decision also comes as a federal investigation into his 2016 election campaign’s ties to Russia is intensifying. Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty on Thursday to lying to Congress about a proposed Trump real estate project in Russia.

Merkel's plane makes unscheduled landing after technical hitch

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-46394989

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will miss the opening of the G20 summit in Argentina after her plane was forced to land shortly after leaving Berlin.

Her office says Mrs Merkel and delegates made a safe, but unscheduled, landing in Cologne after the aircraft developed a technical problem.

The plane turned back while it was over the Netherlands, Germany's dpa news agency says.

Reports say Mrs Merkel will travel on to Buenos Aires on Friday.

No details were given about the technical problem.

Angela Merkel sidesteps military aid to Ukraine

https://www.dw.com/en/angela-merkel-sidesteps-military-aid-to-ukraine/a-46506216

Angela Merkel has reiterated Germany's support for Ukraine in the ongoing standoff between Russia and Ukraine over three ships seized on Sunday, though she did not threaten any further action against Russia, either in terms of military aid or sanctions.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko took to Germany's Bild newspaper to ask Merkel to send navy ships to the Sea of Azov "to provide security," and accused Russia of wanting "nothing less than to occupy the sea."

Speaking at the third German-Ukrainian Economic Forum on Thursday, the German chancellor did not offer any direct answer to Poroshenko's request. Instead, the chancellor reaffirmed Germany's commitment to Ukraine, and put the blame for the current crisis squarely on Russian President Vladimir Putin.

She pointed out that Russia and Ukraine agreed a shipping treaty in 2003 that grants both countries full use of the Kerch Strait leading into the Sea of Azov, although both sides also have rights of inspection in the waters. A bridge that Russia built to the annexed Crimean Peninsula has impeded the free movement of ships, Merkel said.

Towards the end of the speech, Merkel did suggest only one way that Germany might apply extra pressure on Russia: by suggesting that European countries reduce the amount of gas they buy from Russia via its various pipelines: Nordstream and Turkstream.

Brexit: How did we get here?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlK2hdanIT4

Canada, Mexico, U.S. sign new trade deal

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-g20-argentina-usmca-signing/canada-mexico-u-s-sign-new-trade-deal-idUSKCN1NZ1L6

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexico’s President Enrique Pena Nieto signed a new trade agreement on Friday known as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

Before he signed, Trudeau told Trump the two needed to keep working together to remove tariffs on steel and aluminum.

Ukraine bars Russian men aged 16-60 from entry

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-46397644

Ukraine will not allow Russian men aged 16-60 into the country following the imposition of martial law, Kiev says.

An exception would be made for "humanitarian cases" such as those travelling to funerals. Russia says it is not planning retaliatory measures.

Martial law has been imposed in 10 Ukrainian regions until 26 December.

The move came as Ukraine's president expressed fears of a Russian invasion after Russian forces seized three Ukrainian boats and 24 sailors.

Ukraine said Sunday's incident in the Black Sea was a flagrant violation of international law, while Russia says the vessels violated its territorial waters.

EU will extend Russia sanctions in December: Tusk

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-russia-tusk/eu-will-extend-russia-sanctions-in-december-tusk-idUSKCN1NZ1GM

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - The European Union will extend its existing economic sanctions on Russia next month, a top official with the bloc said on Friday after Moscow’s action against Ukraine’s navy in the Sea of Azov.

European Council President Donald Tusk will chair a summit of EU leaders on Dec. 13-14, which is due to roll over for another year the bloc’s measures against Russia’s defense, energy and banking sectors, punishment for Moscow’s role in the turmoil in Ukraine.

老布殊逝世
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Obituary: George HW Bush
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-12846094?

George HW Bush obituary
https://www.theguardian.com/global/2018/dec/01/george-hw-bush-obituary

The life and times of George H.W. Bush
https://video.foxnews.com/v/5775739928001/?#sp=show-clips

Remembering George H.W. Bush
https://abcn.ws/2rdxUFH

George H.W. Bush: World leaders honor late US president
https://www.dw.com/en/george-hw-bush-world-leaders-honor-late-us-president/a-46534468

Madagascar president concedes defeat in polls: statement

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-madagascar-election/madagascar-president-concedes-defeat-in-polls-statement-idUSKCN1O032C

ANTANANARIVO (Reuters) - Madagascar’s president, Hery Rajaonarimampianina, conceded defeat in his bid for a second term after managing a distant third in the first round of voting in the island’s presidential vote.

Rajaonarimampianina got just 8.82 percent in the November first round, the High Constitutional Court said on Wednesday, behind former presidents Marc Ravalomanana, who got 35.35 percent, and Andry Rajoelina, who got 39.23 percent.

He will not take part in the second round, due on Dec. 19. The court rejected his request to have the election canceled.

“The people’s choice must be respected,” Rajaonarimampianina said in a televised statement late on Friday. “If this is not respected, the authorities that will come after will not be stable.”

'Yellow vest' protesters clash with police in Paris, 24 arrested

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-protests/yellow-vest-protesters-clash-with-police-in-paris-24-arrested-idUSKCN1O02WU

PARIS (Reuters) - French riot police fired tear gas, stun grenades and water cannon at “yellow vest” protesters trying to breach security cordons on the Champs Elysees boulevard in Paris on Saturday ahead of a third rally against high fuel prices.

Police said 24 people had been arrested amid concerns that violent far-right and far-left groups were infiltrating the “yellow vests” movement, a spontaneous popular rebellion against diesel tax hikes and the high cost of living.

For more than two weeks, the “gilets jaunes” (yellow vests) have blocked roads in protests across France, posing one of the largest and most sustained challenges Emmanuel Macron has faced in his 18-month-old presidency.

Several hundred yellow vests converged under the Arc de Triomphe at the top of the Champs Elysees and sat down to sing La Marseillaise, France’s national anthem, and chanting, “Macron Resign!”

Brexit: Sam Gyimah resigns over Theresa May's 'naive' deal

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-46407249

A minister has resigned saying a row over involvement in the EU's Galileo satellite-navigation system shows the UK will be "hammered" in negotiations over a Brexit deal.

Science and universities minister Sam Gyimah quit after Mrs May said the UK was pulling out of Galileo.

The UK wanted to stay part of it but the EU said it would be banned from extra-secure elements of the project.

Mr Gyimah said it was a foretaste of the "brutal negotiations" to come.

He's the 10th member of government to resign over the agreement, which he dismissed as a "deal in name only".

He said he intends to vote against the deal negotiated with Brussels, and called for another referendum.

The UK's interests "will be repeatedly and permanently hammered by the EU27 for many years to come", Mr Gyimah said in a Facebook post setting out his reasons for resigning.

However, prominent Brexiteer and cabinet minister Michael Gove has defended Mrs May's plan, writing in the Daily Mail that leaving the EU is under "great threat" if the deal is rejected by MPs.

Alaska earthquake: Anchorage rocked by aftershocks

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46403405

A major 7.0 magnitude earthquake has struck Alaska, causing people to run from buildings and briefly prompting a tsunami alert for coastal areas.

The quake was centred about seven miles (11km) north of Anchorage, the largest city in the state, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).

A series of aftershocks was recorded following the initial shock, which had a depth of 40.9km, the USGS said.

Around 300,000 people live in Anchorage with 100,000 in the surrounding area.

The earthquake was reported at 08.29 local time (17.29 GMT), the USGS added. One of the more powerful aftershocks that followed minutes later had a magnitude of 5.7.

U.S.-China summit ends with signals of progress in defusing trade war
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-g20-argentina/u-s-china-summit-ends-with-signals-of-progress-in-defusing-trade-war-idUSKCN1O031C

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping held high-stakes trade talks in Argentina on Saturday, and both sides signaled they made progress toward defusing a damaging tariffs war between the world’s two largest economies.

With the United States and China locked in an economic dispute that has unnerved global financial markets and weighed on the world economy, Trump and Xi sat down with their aides for a working dinner at the conclusion of a two-day gathering of world leaders in Buenos Aires.

After the 2-1/2 hour meeting, White House chief economist Larry Kudlow told reporters the talks went “very well,” but offered no specifics as he boarded Air Force One headed home to Washington with Trump.

Suggesting that at least a partial truce may have been reached to reduce trade tensions, Chinese state television said “no additional tariffs will be imposed after January 1, and negotiations between the two sides will continue,” without giving details.

Spain far-right Vox party gains foothold in Andalusia election
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-46422036

A far-right party has won seats in a Spanish regional election for the first time since the country's military dictatorship ended in 1975.

The Vox party took 12 parliamentary seats in Andalusia on Sunday, beating expectations that it would win five.

Tough on immigration and Catalan separatism, Vox could be a kingmaker in a future coalition in Andalusia.

The governing Socialist Party still won more than any other party - 33 seats - but with a greatly reduced majority.

It may try to form a coalition with the left-wing Podemos, to fend off the centre- and far-right in the 109-seat parliament.

Vox's breakthrough in Spanish politics is the latest in a nationalist surge that has swept across Europe. Many had thought Spain was immune, because memories of life under a fascist dictatorship are still relatively fresh.

Macron tells PM to hold talks after worst unrest in Paris for decades
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-protests/macron-tells-pm-to-hold-talks-after-worst-unrest-in-paris-for-decades-idUSKBN1O1072

PARIS (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron ordered his prime minister on Sunday to hold talks with political leaders and demonstrators, as he sought a way out of nationwide protests after rioters turned central Paris into a battle zone.

Riot police on Saturday were overwhelmed as protesters ran amok in Paris’s wealthiest neighborhoods, torching dozens of cars, looting boutiques and smashing up luxury private homes and cafes in the worst disturbances the capital has seen since 1968.

The unrest began as a backlash against fuel tax hikes but has spread. It poses the most formidable challenge yet to Macron’s presidency, with the escalating violence and depth of public anger against his economic reforms catching the 40-year-old leader off-guard and battling to regain control.

After a meeting with members of his government on Sunday, the French presidency said in a statement that the president had asked his interior minister to prepare security forces for future protests and his prime minister to hold talks with political party leaders and representatives of the protesters.

Labour poised to move May confidence motion if she loses Brexit vote
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/dec/02/labour-poised-to-move-may-confidence-motion-if-she-loses-brexit-vote-keir-starmer

Labour would almost certainly seek a vote of no confidence in Theresa May’s government if she loses the key Commons vote on her Brexit deal in nine days’ time, Keir Starmer has said.

Setting out the likely choreography for opposition efforts if, as expected, May is defeated on 11 December, the shadow Brexit secretary said it seemed impossible that May could remain in office if she was defeated on her flagship policy.

“I think the prime minister, as we all know, is going to struggle between now and that vote,” Starmer told Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday show, saying that if she were to lose, May would have to outline her next move to the Commons.

“We need to see what that is. But it seems to me that if the prime minister has lost a vote of that sort of significance, then there has to be a question of confidence in her government,” he said. “I think it’s inevitable that we will seek to move that.

Emphasis on urgency as climate talks begin in coal city Katowice
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-climate-change-accord/emphasis-on-urgency-as-climate-talks-begin-in-coal-city-katowice-idUSKBN1O10H5

KATOWICE, Poland (Reuters) - Delegates from nearly 200 nations on Sunday began two weeks of talks to tackle deep political divisions at the most important U.N. meeting on global warming since the landmark 2015 Paris deal to shift away from fossil fuels.

Expectations are low that negotiations in Katowice, at the heart of Poland’s coal region, will fully resolve concerns laid out in reports over recent weeks on the severity of rising greenhouse gas emissions.

The political climate has also been transformed since the Paris agreement and the fragile global unity that brought about that accord has shattered.

“This is a very, very important conference,” U.N. climate chief Patricia Espinosa told reporters. “It also takes place in a scenario where we have clear signals about the urgency with which we need to address the issues of climate change.”

Georgia protests decry presidential 'election fraud'
https://www.dw.com/en/georgia-protests-decry-presidential-election-fraud/a-46542852

More than 20,000 protesters on Sunday gathered in the Georgian capital Tbilisi to protest the run-off presidential election, saying the vote had been rigged.

Earlier this week, Georgia elected its first female president, Salome Zurabishvili, who beat out opposition candidate Grigol Vashadze, who in turn enjoyed the backing of former president and fugitive Mikheil Saakashvili.

"People took to the streets today because the elections were rigged," said one protester identified as Gia.

Some protesters accused Georgian billionaire and founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party Bidzina Ivanishvili of stealing votes. "I am here to protest against election fraud," said a 63-year-old demonstrator.

Vashadze addressed the protesters in the capital, saying the election was a "criminal farce." The opposition "demands an early parliamentary election to be held in Georgia," Vashadze said, referring to the legislature.

Congress moves to delay shutdown fight

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/12/03/trump-meeting-pelosi-schumer-canceled-1037992

Congress is punting its shutdown fight over President Donald Trump's border wall until just before Christmas, delaying a brutal battle after the death of President George H.W. Bush essentially shut down the Capitol this week.

House leaders unveiled a bill Monday afternoon that will extend government funding until Dec. 21, moving a partial shutdown date two weeks down the road from this Friday's deadline.

And while lawmakers are hopeful that more negotiating time will help resolve a prolonged standoff around Trump's demand for $5 billion in wall funding, people in both parties lamented that two more weeks is unlikely to do much to change the overall dynamics of the impasse.

Trump names hardliner Lighthizer to be 'vigilant' in China talks

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/12/03/trump-china-relations-trade-pact-1037425

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, a longtime hardliner on China, has been tapped to lead the administration team that will be aggressively pressing Beijing to make extensive changes to its economy to address longstanding complaints by President Donald Trump.

“Mr. Lighthizer will be as vigilant as anybody in the business in monitoring this, and I hope it has a happy ending,” White House National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow told reporters on a conference call Monday afternoon.

Lighthizer will work in concert with other top administration officials to demand changes to address a litany of complaints that the U.S. has about China’s practices. The White House has accused China of “stealing” corporate trade secrets and technology, and earlier this year, the administration had produced a list of roughly 142 demands they wanted Beijing to address.

Lighthizer’s reputation as a hardened negotiator might help accomplish some of Trump’s goals. Two weeks ago, Lighthizer and his office released an update to a March report slamming China, saying the country has done little to improve the problems that the Trump administration has pointed to as a way of justifying U.S. tariffs.

Angela Merkel needs cheat sheet to recognize Australian PM

https://www.dw.com/en/angela-merkel-needs-cheat-sheet-to-recognize-australian-pm/a-46569530

German Chancellor Angela Merkel needed illustrated assistance to identify Australia's prime minister at the Argentina G20 meeting.

Australia has burned through so many prime ministers in recent years that Merkel openly resorted to a page of notes with a headshot as she sat next to Scott Morrison for a short bilateral meeting. After studying her notes for some time she started the conversation, during which she frequently checked her watch.

Morrison became the 30th prime minister of Australia in August after a botched attempt by prime minister 28, Tony Abbott, to replace his usurper Malcolm Turnbull — prime minister 29. In the ensuing leadership battle, Turnbull resigned and low-profile Morrison scooted ahead to take power while Abbott failed.