國際時事政治選舉新聞張貼及討論區（五）

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/sep/12/pro-brexit-tory-mps-openly-discuss-how-to-get-rid-of-theresa-may-michael-gove?CMP=fb_gu

Conservative MPs have openly discussed methods of ousting the prime minister at a private meeting of hardline Brexiters.

At the gathering on Tuesday night of the European Research Group (ERG) of more than 50 Eurosceptic MPs, sources said MPs in the Thatcher room in Portcullis House discussed the timing of a possible confidence vote in the prime minister if she did not ditch her Chequers plan.

One said there was “an utter lack of dissent” in the room about the need to replace May. “They ran through the ‘how to’ options. It was not a question of ‘should do’,” they said.

After a feverish night of mounting dissent in Westminster, the environment secretary, Michael Gove, called for calm. “The critical thing is we need to make sure there is unity in the Conservative party behind the prime minister,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Wednesday.

Juncker: UK can’t ‘choose’ what it is part of after Brexit

https://www.politico.eu/article/juncker-uk-cant-choose-what-it-is-part-of-after-brexit/

European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker today shot down the U.K. government’s negotiating position on Brexit, saying it could not “choose” the parts of the EU it wanted to remain a part of and discard the rest.

In his annual state of the union speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Juncker said he regretted Brexit “deeply,” but reinforced the uncompromising message that has been delivered by chief negotiator Michel Barnier in recent weeks on key aspects of Theresa May’s Brexit plan.

“[We] ask the British government to understand that someone who leaves the Union cannot be in the same privileged position as a member state. If you leave the Union, you are of course no longer part of our single market, and certainly not only in the parts of it you choose,” said Juncker, referring to the U.K. proposal that it remain within the single market for goods but not services.

The Commission president also offered encouragement for May that the EU would offer Britain a unique deal. “I welcome Prime Minister May’s proposal to develop an ambitious new partnership for the future, after Brexit. We agree with the statement made in [May’s country residence] Chequers that the starting point for such a partnership should be a free-trade area between the United Kingdom and the European Union,” he said.

“The United Kingdom will never be an ordinary third country for us. The United Kingdom will always be a very close neighbor and partner, in political, economic and security terms,” Juncker added.

European Parliament approves Hungary censure motion

https://www.politico.eu/article/european-parliament-approves-hungary-censure-motion/

STRASBOURG — The European Parliament passed a motion on Wednesday declaring that Hungary is at risk of breaching the EU’s core values, triggering a disciplinary process that could exacerbate deep divisions within the bloc.

The assembly passed the motion with 448 votes in favour to initiate the so-called Article 7 process, citing concerns about the independence of the judiciary, corruption, freedom of expression, academic freedom, the rights of minorities and migrants and other issues. A total of 197 members of the European Parliament opposed the motion and 48 abstained.

The vote reflected a divide within the EU, between those who stress that it is a community of liberal values and leaders such as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who has championed the idea of “illiberal democracy.” Broadly speaking, major Western European governments such as France and Germany along with the European Commission are in the former camp while governments in Central and Eastern Europe are in the latter.

The Article 7 process can lead to a member country being stripped of its right to vote in the Council of the European Union. Things are unlikely to get that far with either Poland or Hungary, however, as it would require the unanimous approval of other member countries — and multiple EU governments do not want to take that step.

May suggests EU will only get part of promised £39bn from UK if there's no Brexit deal - Politics live

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/blog/live/2018/sep/12/pmqs-may-corbyn-tory-leadership-brexit-gove-issues-call-for-unity-at-brexiter-anger-against-may-intensifies-politics-live

In answer to a question from a Conservative MP, Theresa May effectively told MPs that, if the UK leaves the EU without a deal, the EU won’t get the £39bn “divorce payment” agreed in the joint report published by both sides in December.

Some Tory Brexiters say that, if there is no agreement, the UK should leave without paying a penny. May is not supporting this line, and she did not say that today. Like Philip Hammond, who addressed this point in evidence to peers yesterday, she accepts that the UK has some legal obligations to the EU and that it would have to pay up regardless of whether or not there is a deal.

But quite what those legal obligations would be remains unclear. Today, in response to the question from Chris Philp, May implied that the £39bn was a generous offer - she suggested the UK was paying more than it had to, in the interests of good will - and she implied that, without a deal, the UK would certainly not be getting the full amount.

今日個PMQ應該幾正，CON backbencher 都幾多問題

PM to discuss no-deal Brexit plans

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-45501007

The prime minister is to hold a special three-hour cabinet meeting to discuss preparations for a no-deal Brexit.

The government is also due to publish guidance on issues such as mobile phone roaming charges, driving licenses and passports in the event of the EU and the UK not reaching an agreement.

The Brexit secretary has said the UK will not pay its financial settlement to the EU in a no-deal scenario.

He said the government was "stepping up" its contingency planning.

Theresa May's proposals, set out after a Chequers summit in July, are fiercely opposed by some Tory MPs and the EU has also expressed reservations.

Pussy Riot activist Pyotr Verzilov 'in hospital'

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-45505064

Pyotr Verzilov, an activist with Russian protest group Pussy Riot, is reported to have been taken to hospital in a serious condition.

Relatives speaking to the Meduza website said they believed he may have suffered poisoning but there is no official word on his condition.

He reportedly fell ill after a court hearing on Tuesday for fellow Pussy Riot activist Veronika Nikulshina.

Mr Verzilov was one of the activists who invaded the World Cup final pitch.

Ms Nikulshina told Meduza that Mr Verzilov had complained of losing his sight, "then the ability to talk, then the ability to walk".

Trump signs order to punish foreign meddlers in US votes

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-45503498

US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order authorising sanctions against any countries or individuals found interfering in US elections.

The order instructs the intelligence community to monitor and report on attempts to disrupt election infrastructure as well as propaganda.

The directive itself is not a sanction, but imposes bans or restrictions on suspected culprits.

Mr Trump has been criticised for his response to alleged Russian meddling.

There is some frustration among lawmakers that Mr Trump's executive order could undercut congressional efforts to deter any election meddling in the US by foreign powers, according to CBS News.

At a press briefing following the executive order, National Security Adviser John Bolton said the move was "intended to be a very broad effort to prevent foreign manipulation" of US politics, US media reported.

Venezuela's Maduro travels to China in search of fresh funds

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-china/venezuelas-maduro-travels-to-china-in-search-of-fresh-funds-idUSKCN1LS2UL

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is traveling to China to discuss economic agreements, as the crisis-struck OPEC nation seeks to convince its key Asian financier to disburse fresh loans.

“I am going with great expectations and we will see each other again in a few days with big achievements,” the leftist leader said on Wednesday in a state broadcast from the airport, without providing details.

Venezuela’s Information Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

China’s Foreign Ministry, in a brief statement carried by the official Xinhua news agency, said Maduro would visit from Thursday until Saturday at the invitation of President Xi Jinping. It gave no other details.

U.S. invites China to trade talks as tariffs loom: White House adviser

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-china/u-s-invites-china-to-trade-talks-as-tariffs-loom-white-house-adviser-idUSKCN1LS2YU

WASHINGTON/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - The Trump administration has invited Chinese officials to restart trade talks, the White House’s top economic adviser said on Wednesday, as Washington prepares to further escalate the U.S.-China trade war with tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods.

Larry Kudlow, who heads the White House Economic Council, told Fox Business Network that U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had sent an invitation to senior Chinese officials, but he declined to provide further details.

“There’s some discussions and information that we received that the Chinese government – the top of the Chinese government wished to pursue talks,” Kudlow said. “And so, Secretary Mnuchin, who is the team leader with China, has apparently issued an invitation.”

Two people familiar with the effort said Mnuchin’s invitation was sent to his Chinese counterparts, including Vice Premier Liu He, the top economic adviser to Chinese President Xi Jinping, for talks in coming weeks.

German Catholic priests abused thousands of children

https://www.dw.com/en/german-catholic-priests-abused-thousands-of-children/a-45459734

A study commissioned by the German Bishops Conference examined 3,677 cases of abuse allegedly perpetrated by clergy nationwide, German magazine Der Spiegel reported on Wednesday. The universities of Giessen, Heidelberg and Mannheim were involved in the research, which implicated 1,670 priests in sexual abuse spanning from 1946 to 2014.

The report comes amidst a resurfacing of abuse and cover-up allegations against the Catholic Church around the world. Pope Francis has apologized and pledged to support victims in their search for justice, but he has also been singled out for inaction against abuser priests in the past.

The victims in Germany were predominantly male and more than half of them were 13 years of age or younger. Every sixth case involved a rape, and in three-quarters of the cases, the victim and perpetrator knew each other through the church.

More cases could exist, the study cautions, noting that the figures represent a conservative estimate. German newspaper Die Zeit reported that researchers were not allowed to look at original church files but relied on information provided by the dioceses.

Salisbury novichok suspects say they were only visiting cathedral

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/sep/13/russian-television-channel-rt-says-it-is-to-air-interview-with-skripal-salisbury-attack-suspects

The two men identified as suspects in the Salisbury nerve agent attack have appeared on Russia’s state-funded TV station RT, claiming they visited the “wonderful” English city as tourists to see its cathedral.

In their first interview since being charged in the UK with attempted murder, the men said they may have approached Sergei Skripal’s house by accident on 4 March, but denied that they were carrying any poison or that they had committed any crime.

“Our friends had been suggesting for a long time that we visit this wonderful town,” said a man who identified himself on air as Alexander Petrov.

On Wednesday Vladimir Putin told reporters that Russian officials had identified the two men and that they were “civilians”. He also said that they should come forward to tell their side of the story.

Over 25 minutes, a visibly nervous Petrov and Boshirov gave cursory details of a two-day trip to the UK.

In the interview, the men confirmed they were the people in the CCTV images, indicating Russia was no longer planning to deny the veracity of video evidence released by Scotland Yard, but just to argue it had been misinterpreted.

Boshirov said the two had gone to visit Salisbury Cathedral, noting its high spire. “There’s the famous Salisbury Cathedral, famous not just in Europe, but in the whole world,” he said. “It’s famous for its 123-metre spire, it’s famous for its clock, the first one [of its kind] ever created in the world, which is still working.”

“We arrived in Salisbury on 3 March and tried to walk through the town, but we lasted for only half an hour because it was covered in snow,” Petrov told RT editor Margarita Simonyan. “We specifically went there [again] to see the Old Sarum [Stonehenge] and the cathedral and decided to finish this thing on March 4,” he added.

Boshirov said that the two spent just an hour in Salisbury on 3 March “mainly because of the lags between trains”.

“We were just taking in the English gothic [style],” he said. “Nobody shows that part,” Petrov added, noting the CCTV stills mostly showed the two men at railway stations.

Men claiming to be Salisbury novichok attack suspects speak to Russian state TV

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuVHP-LnnWQ

German spy chief passed info to AfD: report

https://www.dw.com/en/german-spy-chief-passed-info-to-afd-report/a-45472180

The relationship between Germany's domestic spy chief, Hans-Georg Maassen, and the Alternative for Germany (AfD) came under renewed scrutiny on Thursday, when it was revealed that the head of the domestic intelligence service, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), had passed on information from his yearly report to the far-right populist party ahead of its publication.

AfD Bundestag member Stephan Brandner confirmed to public broadcaster ARD that Maassen had given him "numbers from the report" at a personal meeting on June 13, five weeks before it was released.

"We talked about different figures that are in there," Brandner told ARD, including the number of Islamist extremists in the country. The BfV is tasked with tracking extremist groups inside Germany and determining whether they represent a danger, and brings out a report on its findings every summer.

Maassen has already faced intense pressure after an interview in which he questioned whether videos showing far-right violence in Chemnitz were authentic, directly contradicting Chancellor Angela Merkel's statements.

Even before Thursday's revelation, opposition parties had called on Maassen to resign over suspicions that he harbors right-wing sympathies and has a too-close relationship with the AfD. But until now he has been backed by his boss, conservative Interior Minister Horst Seehofer.

Skripal suspects' tourist claims 'offensive to victims'

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-45512471

Claims the suspects in the poisoning of a Russian ex-spy were only in the UK as tourists are "deeply offensive to the victims", the UK government has said.

The two men told the state-run RT channel they had travelled to Salisbury on the recommendation of friends.

The UK believes the men are Russian military intelligence officers who tried to kill ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in March.

The Skripals survived being poisoned by the nerve agent Novichok, but Dawn Sturgess - a woman not connected to the original attack - died in July after being exposed to the same substance.

"The lies and blatant fabrications in this interview given to a Russian state-sponsored TV station are an insult to the public's intelligence," Prime Minister Theresa May's spokesman said.

"More importantly, they are deeply offensive to the victims and loved ones of this horrific attack. Sadly, it is what we have come to expect."

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt tweeted: "Time to stop the fake TV shows - the world has found Russia out on this."

Paul Manafort reportedly close to Mueller plea deal to avoid second trial

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/sep/13/paul-manafort-trump-mueller-plea-deal-reports

Paul Manafort, Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman, is close to reaching a plea deal with prosecutors to avoid a second trial on further criminal charges, according to reports.

Manafort was said to be nearing an agreement with Robert Mueller, the special counsel, who had been preparing to prosecute him in Washington DC this month on charges including conspiracy, money laundering and witness tampering.

Manafort, 69, was last month convicted of eight counts in a fraud case brought by Mueller’s office in Virginia. The veteran Republican operative could be sentenced to decades in prison for those crimes.

ABC News reported on Thursday evening that Manafort was likely to enter a guilty plea in court on Friday, bringing an end to several weeks of negotiations between his lawyers and Mueller’s team. The next hearing in the case was rescheduled to 11am on Friday, an entry in the court docket said.

Several other news outlets later reported that Manafort was close to reaching a deal. Attorneys for Manafort did not respond to requests for comment.

It was not clear whether Manafort would agree to cooperate with Mueller’s inquiry into Russian interference in the 2016 election. He was previously reported to be resisting Mueller’s demands for information relating to Trump in return for a deal.

Washington Post Live: Hurricane Florence lashes into N.C. coast
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6GksMVm0NA[/quote]

China's foreign minister, head of state planner met with Venezuela's Maduro

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-venezuela/chinas-foreign-minister-head-of-state-planner-met-with-venezuelas-maduro-idUSKCN1LU0O9

BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s foreign minister and the head of the National Development and Reform Commission held a meeting on Friday with visiting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

Relevant departments and companies from the two nations signed multiple agreements during the meeting, the ministry said, without giving details.

Maduro is visiting China to discuss economic agreements as the crisis-struck oil producer seeks to convince China to disburse fresh loans.

Exclusive: India's Iran oil purchases to fade ahead of U.S. sanctions

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-iran-oil-exclusive/exclusive-indias-iran-oil-purchases-to-fade-ahead-of-u-s-sanctions-idUSKCN1LU0UW

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian refiners will cut their monthly crude loadings from Iran for September and October by nearly half from earlier this year as New Delhi works to win waivers on the oil export sanctions Washington plans to reimpose on Tehran in November.

India’s loadings from Iran for this month and next will drop to less than 12 million barrels each, after purchases over April-August had been boosted in anticipation of the reductions.

The United States is renewing sanctions on Iran after withdrawing from a nuclear deal forged in 2015 between Tehran and world powers. Washington reimposed some of the financial sanctions from Aug. 6, while those affecting Iran’s petroleum sector will come into force from Nov. 4.

India, Iran’s No.2 oil client behind top buyer China, does not recognize the reimposed U.S. sanctions, but winning a waiver from the restrictions is a must for New Delhi to protect its wider exposure to the U.S. financial system.

India’s oil ministry in June told refiners to prepare for a “drastic reduction or zero” imports from Iran from November.

India lifted about 658,000 barrel of oil per day (bpd) from Iran in April-August, according to data obtained from trade sources by Reuters, and the cuts projected for September and October would drop the daily average over those two months by about 45 percent to 360,000-370,000 bpd.

https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2018-midterm-election-forecast/senate/

Key Race:

Texas: Cruz (R) vs O'Rourke (D)

FLorida: Nelson (D) vs Scott (R)

Nevada: Heller (R) vs Rosen (D)

North Dakota: Heitkamp (D) vs Cramer (R)

Paul Manafort: Trump's ex-campaign chair agrees to cooperate with Mueller

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/sep/14/paul-manafort-trumps-ex-campaign-chair-strikes-plea-deal-with-special-counsel

Paul Manafort, Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman, has agreed to cooperate with Robert Mueller’s inquiry into Russian interference in the 2016 election, in a move that could cause legal trouble for the president.

The dramatic development in the Trump-Russia saga was announced at a court hearing in Washington DC on Friday morning, where Manafort confessed to two criminal charges as part of a plea deal. “I’m guilty,” he said.

Manafort signed a 17-page plea agreement that said he would assist government prosecutors with “any and all” matters, and brief officials about “his participation in and knowledge of all criminal activities”. He also agreed to turn over documents and testify in other cases.

Trump’s team tried to dismiss speculation that Manafort could incriminate the president. Sarah Sanders, the White House press secretary, told reporters the case was “totally unrelated” to Trump. In a statement, Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani said: “The president did nothing wrong.”

Still, the agreement amounted to a major coup for Mueller, who has for 16 months been investigating Russia’s covert intervention in the 2016 campaign and any links to members of Trump’s team. US intelligence agencies have concluded that the Kremlin worked to boost Trump’s bid for the White House.

Trump 'orders further China tariffs'

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-45527935

US President Donald Trump has instructed staff to move forward with the next round of tariffs on Chinese goods, US media have reported.

The tariffs are expected to apply to about $200bn worth of imports from China, including electronic parts and consumer goods such as handbags.

It remains unclear when the new import taxes - which could be as high as 25% - will go into effect.

Officials are reportedly still working on the final list of products.

President Trump ordered his staff to start preparing the tariffs this summer, escalating a dispute over what the US says are China's unfair trade practices, such as state subsidies.

The new duties would add to tariffs the US has already imposed on $50bn in Chinese goods as part of that dispute, as well as tariffs that China levied on $50bn in US goods in retaliation.

Friday's news reports that Mr Trump has ordered the US to proceed with further tariffs quoted administration sources. There has so far been no formal announcement.

Pompeo accuses Russia of actively working to undermine North Korea sanctions

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-usa-pompeo-russia/pompeo-accuses-russia-of-actively-working-to-undermine-north-korea-sanctions-idUSKCN1LU2N5

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Russia on Friday of actively working to undermine international sanctions on North Korea and said the enforcement of the steps was essential to convince Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons.

“Russia has actively attempted to undermine the U.N. Security Council resolutions, the work of the ... committee at the U.N. that evaluates compliance with sanctions,” Pompeo told a news briefing at the State Department.

Pompeo spoke after U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley accused Moscow on Thursday of seeking to cover up breaches of U.N. sanctions on North Korea by Russians by pushing for changes to an independent report on sanctions violations.

Pompeo said he hoped the U.N. sanctions committee would “publish the original document that they intended to publish which shows clear activities related to sanctions and sanctions violations.”

“The United States is as committed as ever to continuing to enforce those U.N. Security Council resolutions. We believe they are central to President Trump’s efforts to convince Chairman Kim that full, final denuclearization of the Korean peninsula is necessary,” he said.

Pompeo slams Kerry for 'inappropriate' meetings with Iran officials

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-usa-pompeo-russia/pompeo-accuses-russia-of-actively-working-to-undermine-north-korea-sanctions-idUSKCN1LU2N5

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday lambasted his predecessor, John Kerry, for meetings with Iranian officials in back-channel talks and accused him of “actively undermining” the Trump administration’s policy toward Tehran.

“What Secretary Kerry has done is unseemly and unprecedented,” Pompeo told a news conference, adding that he “ought not to engage in that kind of behavior. It’s inconsistent with what the foreign policy of the United States is, as directed by this president. It is beyond inappropriate.”

Pompeo’s sharp criticism of Kerry comes a day after President Donald Trump accused the former secretary of state of “illegal” meetings on Iran in a late-night tweet.

“John Kerry had illegal meetings with the very hostile Iranian Regime, which can only serve to undercut our great work to the detriment of the American people. He told them to wait out the Trump Administration! Was he registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act? BAD!” Trump said on Twitter.

Iraq parliament elects Sunni lawmaker al-Halbousi as speaker, breaking deadlock

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iraq-politics/iraq-parliament-elects-sunni-lawmaker-al-halbousi-as-speaker-breaking-deadlock-idUSKCN1LV0BH

ERBIL/SULAIMANIYA, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraq’s parliament elected Sunni lawmaker Mohammed al-Halbousi as speaker on Saturday, marking an important step toward establishing a new government four months after an inconclusive national election.

Parliament had been due to elect a speaker and two deputies during its first meeting on Sept 3, but failed to do so as lawmakers were unable to determine which competing bloc had the most seats.

Halbousi’s election marks the start of a 90-day process outlined in the constitution, designed to eventually lead to a new government.

Lawmakers must next elect a new president and task the leader of the largest bloc to form a government as prime minister. But a dominant bloc has yet to emerge, against a backdrop of shifting political alliances.

Halbousi defeated former Defence Minister Khaled al-Obeidi, winning the position with 169 votes, according to Shi’ite lawmaker Husham al-Suhail. Iraq’s parliament contains 329 seats.

Russian warships hold drills in Bering Sea in huge military exercise

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-wargames/russian-warships-hold-drills-in-bering-sea-in-huge-military-exercise-idUSKCN1LU1K6

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian warships held drills in the Bering Sea which separates Russia from Alaska, part of Moscow’s biggest military maneuvers since the fall of the Soviet Union, footage aired by the Ministry of Defence showed on Friday.

The Vostok-2018 (East-2018) drills, which run until Sept. 17, are taking place in Siberia and in waters off Russia’s eastern coast, involving 300,000 troops, over 1,000 military aircraft and two naval fleets.

The drills are taking place at a time of heightened tension between the West and Russia, and NATO has said it will monitor the exercise closely, as will the United States which has a strong military presence in the Asia-Pacific region.

President Vladimir Putin inspected the war games on Thursday, vowing in a speech to soldiers to strengthen the Russian army and supply it with new generation weapons and equipment.