As Trump clinched the Republican nomination, Manafort and those around him began preparing for a general election battle against Clinton.
The Russians did, too. The Internet Research Agency boosted its support of Trump — and disparagement of Clinton. Using stolen identities and bank account information, the troll farm also began buying political ads on social media services, according to Mueller.
“Donald wants to defeat terrorism ... Hillary wants to sponsor it,” read one. “Hillary Clinton Doesn’t Deserve the Black Vote,” read another.
Meanwhile, hackers with the GRU secretly implanted malicious software — called X-Agent — on the computer networks of the DNC and the DCCC. It allowed them to surreptitiously search through the political operatives’ computers and steal what they wanted. As the hackers roamed the Democratic networks, a separate group of Russian intelligence officers established the means to release their ill-gotten gains, registering a website, DCLeaks.com.
By May, the Democratic groups realized they had been hacked. The DNC quickly hired a private cybersecurity company, CrowdStrike, to identify the extent of the breach and to try to clear their networks of malware. But they kept it quiet until they knew more.
On the Trump campaign, Papadopoulos continued to push for a Trump-Putin meeting, unsuccessfully.
At the same time, another Russian outreach found a willing audience in Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr.
In early June, Trump Jr. exchanged a series of emails with a British publicist representing Emin Agalarov, a pop singer in Russia, whose father had partnered with the Trumps on the 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow. Emin Agalarov and Trump Jr. had become friendly, and the publicist, Rob Goldstone, had become a common intermediary between the two wealthy sons.
Over email, Goldstone brokered a meeting between Trump Jr. and a Russian lawyer. He said the lawyer had documents that could “incriminate” Clinton and they were being shared as part of the Russian government’s support of the Trump campaign. “Seems we have some time and if it’s what you say I love it especially later in the summer,” Trump Jr. wrote back.
The meeting was held at Trump Tower in Manhattan on June 9. Trump Jr. attended along with Manafort and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner. Participants in the room would later say the meeting was a bust, consumed by a lengthy discussion of Russian adoption and U.S. sanctions. To Trump Jr., the information wasn’t useful ammunition against Clinton. He was less concerned that it came from Russia.
Days later, on June 14, the DNC publicly announced it had been hacked, and pointed the finger at Russia.
By then, the Russian hackers had launched DCLeaks.com. According to Mueller , the DNC announcement accelerated their plans.
They created a fake online persona called Guccifer 2.0, which quickly took credit for the hack. Through Guccifer, the hackers masqueraded as a “lone Romanian hacker” and released caches of stolen material.
The efforts attracted the attention of WikiLeaks, the anti-secrecy group led by Julian Assange from his exile within Ecuador’s embassy in London.
On June 22, 2016, the group sent a private message to Guccifer: “Send any new material here for us to review and it will have a much higher impact than what you are doing.”
Over the next several weeks, WikiLeaks requested any documents related to Clinton, saying they wanted to release them before the Democratic National Convention when they worried she would successfully recruit Sanders supporters.
We “think trump has only a 25% chance of winning against hillary ... so conflict between bernie and hillary is interesting,” WikiLeaks wrote.
Using Guccifer, the Russian intelligence officers transferred the files to WikiLeaks, hoping for a big online splash.
They wouldn’t have to wait long.
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LEAKS AND CIGARS
July 22 was supposed to be a big Friday for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. The former secretary of state was planning to announce Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine as her running mate. The party’s convention was just days away.
But at 10:30 a.m. Eastern time, WikiLeaks stole the limelight, releasing more than 20,000 stolen DNC emails.
The cascade of stolen material was almost immediately picked up by American news outlets, conservative pundits and Trump supporters, who in the wake of Clinton’s FBI investigation for using a private email server, were happy to blast out anything with “Clinton” and “emails” in the same sentence.
So was Trump. After publicly questioning that Russia was behind the hack of Democratic groups, he took to the stage in Florida to make his famous call to Russia, “if you’re listening.” He would later begin praising WikiLeaks.
Smelling a possible political advantage, the Trump campaign reached out to Roger Stone, a close confidant of Trump’s who is known for his bare-knuckles brand of political mischief. Stone had been claiming to have connections to WikiLeaks, and campaign officials were looking to find out when Wikileaks would drop its next batch of documents.
According to an indictment against Stone, after the first release of DNC documents, “a senior Trump Campaign official was directed to contact Stone about any additional releases and what other damaging information” WikiLeaks had regarding Clinton’s campaign.
In August, Stone began claiming he had inside information into Assange’s plans. At the same time, he was privately sending messages to a radio host and a conservative conspiracy theorist — both of whom had claimed to have connections to WikiLeaks — seeking anything they knew. (No evidence has emerged that these messages made it to Assange).
That same month there was a meeting that went to the “heart” of the Russia investigation, according to a Mueller prosecutor. It involved Manafort, and it remains an enigma, at least to the public.
Court papers indicate Manafort had previously shared polling information related to the Trump campaign with Kilimnik, his old Russian pal. According to emails and court papers, Manafort — looking to make money from his Trump access — had also been in touch with Kilimnik about providing private briefings for the billionaire Deripaska. (There’s no evidence such briefings ever occurred).
Meeting with Manafort and Gates at New York’s Grand Havana Room cigar bar on Aug. 2, 2016, Kilimnik brought up a possible peace plan for Ukraine in its conflict with Russia. What happened at that meeting is in dispute and much of it remains redacted in court papers.
But the Mueller prosecutor would note: The men left separately to avoid unwanted attention.
As the campaign entered the final stretch and Trump’s advisers waited for the next WikiLeaks dump, Russian trolls— who had gained hundreds of thousands of social media followers — were barraging Americans with pro-Trump and anti-Clinton rhetoric, using Twitter hashtags such as ”#MAGA” and ”#Hillary4Prison.”
July 22 was supposed to be a big Friday for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. The former secretary of state was planning to announce Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine as her running mate. The party’s convention was just days away.
But at 10:30 a.m. Eastern time, WikiLeaks stole the limelight, releasing more than 20,000 stolen DNC emails.
The cascade of stolen material was almost immediately picked up by American news outlets, conservative pundits and Trump supporters, who in the wake of Clinton’s FBI investigation for using a private email server, were happy to blast out anything with “Clinton” and “emails” in the same sentence.
So was Trump. After publicly questioning that Russia was behind the hack of Democratic groups, he took to the stage in Florida to make his famous call to Russia, “if you’re listening.” He would later begin praising WikiLeaks.
Smelling a possible political advantage, the Trump campaign reached out to Roger Stone, a close confidant of Trump’s who is known for his bare-knuckles brand of political mischief. Stone had been claiming to have connections to WikiLeaks, and campaign officials were looking to find out when Wikileaks would drop its next batch of documents.
According to an indictment against Stone, after the first release of DNC documents, “a senior Trump Campaign official was directed to contact Stone about any additional releases and what other damaging information” WikiLeaks had regarding Clinton’s campaign.
In August, Stone began claiming he had inside information into Assange’s plans. At the same time, he was privately sending messages to a radio host and a conservative conspiracy theorist — both of whom had claimed to have connections to WikiLeaks — seeking anything they knew. (No evidence has emerged that these messages made it to Assange).
That same month there was a meeting that went to the “heart” of the Russia investigation, according to a Mueller prosecutor. It involved Manafort, and it remains an enigma, at least to the public.
Court papers indicate Manafort had previously shared polling information related to the Trump campaign with Kilimnik, his old Russian pal. According to emails and court papers, Manafort — looking to make money from his Trump access — had also been in touch with Kilimnik about providing private briefings for the billionaire Deripaska. (There’s no evidence such briefings ever occurred).
Meeting with Manafort and Gates at New York’s Grand Havana Room cigar bar on Aug. 2, 2016, Kilimnik brought up a possible peace plan for Ukraine in its conflict with Russia. What happened at that meeting is in dispute and much of it remains redacted in court papers.
But the Mueller prosecutor would note: The men left separately to avoid unwanted attention.
As the campaign entered the final stretch and Trump’s advisers waited for the next WikiLeaks dump, Russian trolls— who had gained hundreds of thousands of social media followers — were barraging Americans with pro-Trump and anti-Clinton rhetoric, using Twitter hashtags such as ”#MAGA” and ”#Hillary4Prison.”
By early October, Stone was looking for more. On Oct. 3, 2016, ahead of an expected news conference by Assange, Stone exchanged messages with Matthew Boyle, a writer at Breitbart who was close to Trump campaign strategist Steve Bannon.
“Assange — what’s he got? Hope it’s good,” Boyle wrote to Stone.
“It is,” Stone wrote back. “I’d tell Bannon but he doesn’t call me back.”
Hours later, Assange held a news conference in which he appeared to waffle on whether he would release additional documents about Clinton.
Bannon reached out to Stone: “What was that this morning???” Stone chalked it up to a “security concern” and said WikiLeaks would be releasing “a load every week going forward.”
By Oct. 7, the Trump campaign was embroiled in its own scandal. The Washington Post released audio of Trump bragging about sexually harassing and groping women. But within hours, WikiLeaks gave Trump’s team a break.
The first set of emails stolen from Podesta’s accounts popped onto WikiLeaks’ website. Stone’s phone lit up. It was a text message from a Bannon associate.
“well done,” it read.
___
A SERIES OF LIES
The first documented lie in the Russia investigation happened on Jan. 24, 2017, in the White House office of freshly appointed national security adviser Michael Flynn.
It was the Tuesday after Trump’s inauguration, and Flynn was settling in after a whirlwind presidential transition.
Since Trump’s victory in November, Flynn had become part of Trump’s inner circle — and the preferred contact between the Trump team and Russia. In late December, Flynn had asked Sergey Kislyak, Russia’s ambassador to the U.S., to reject or delay a U.N. vote condemning Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Days later, as the Obama administration imposed sanctions on Russia for election-meddling, Flynn implored Kislyak not to escalate a “tit-for-tat” fight over punishment imposed on Moscow for election interference.
But on that Tuesday, when FBI agents asked Flynn about those conversations, he lied. No, he said, he hadn’t made those requests of Kislyak.
Days later in Chicago, other FBI agents confronted Papadopoulos as he had just stepped out of the shower at his mother’s home. Though his mother would later say she knew it was a terrible idea, he agreed to go to their office for questioning, where he misled them about his conversations with Mifsud, the Maltese professor.
Months later — after Mueller’s May 2017 appointment — Cohen lied to Congress about the Trump Tower Moscow project, saying it ended much sooner than June 2016. Cohen would later say he was trying to be loyal to Trump and match the public messaging of a president who had adamantly denied any business dealings with Russia.
Even when Trump aides tried to come clean and cooperate with Mueller’s team, they couldn’t keep their stories straight.
As he was working out a plea agreement with Mueller, Gates lied to investigators about his and Manafort’s Ukrainian lobbying work. Manafort pleaded guilty and agree to cooperate but a judge later determined he had also misled Mueller’s team about several matters, including about his interactions with Kilimnik. Those lies voided the plea deal.
The deceptions played out as Mueller methodically brought criminal cases. He indicted the Russian hackers. He did the same to the troll farm. He exposed Manafort’s tax cheating and his illicit foreign lobbying, winning at trial and putting the 69-year-old political operative at risk of spending the rest of his life in prison. And one by one, his team got guilty pleas from Flynn, Papadopoulos and others .
Most recently, he indicted Stone, accusing him of witness tampering and lying to Congress about his efforts to glean information about the WikiLeaks disclosures. Despite emails showing him repeatedly discussing WikiLeaks with Trump advisers and others, Stone told lawmakers he had no records of that sort. (Stone has pleaded not guilty.)
“Assange — what’s he got? Hope it’s good,” Boyle wrote to Stone.
“It is,” Stone wrote back. “I’d tell Bannon but he doesn’t call me back.”
Hours later, Assange held a news conference in which he appeared to waffle on whether he would release additional documents about Clinton.
Bannon reached out to Stone: “What was that this morning???” Stone chalked it up to a “security concern” and said WikiLeaks would be releasing “a load every week going forward.”
By Oct. 7, the Trump campaign was embroiled in its own scandal. The Washington Post released audio of Trump bragging about sexually harassing and groping women. But within hours, WikiLeaks gave Trump’s team a break.
The first set of emails stolen from Podesta’s accounts popped onto WikiLeaks’ website. Stone’s phone lit up. It was a text message from a Bannon associate.
“well done,” it read.
___
A SERIES OF LIES
The first documented lie in the Russia investigation happened on Jan. 24, 2017, in the White House office of freshly appointed national security adviser Michael Flynn.
It was the Tuesday after Trump’s inauguration, and Flynn was settling in after a whirlwind presidential transition.
Since Trump’s victory in November, Flynn had become part of Trump’s inner circle — and the preferred contact between the Trump team and Russia. In late December, Flynn had asked Sergey Kislyak, Russia’s ambassador to the U.S., to reject or delay a U.N. vote condemning Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Days later, as the Obama administration imposed sanctions on Russia for election-meddling, Flynn implored Kislyak not to escalate a “tit-for-tat” fight over punishment imposed on Moscow for election interference.
But on that Tuesday, when FBI agents asked Flynn about those conversations, he lied. No, he said, he hadn’t made those requests of Kislyak.
Days later in Chicago, other FBI agents confronted Papadopoulos as he had just stepped out of the shower at his mother’s home. Though his mother would later say she knew it was a terrible idea, he agreed to go to their office for questioning, where he misled them about his conversations with Mifsud, the Maltese professor.
Months later — after Mueller’s May 2017 appointment — Cohen lied to Congress about the Trump Tower Moscow project, saying it ended much sooner than June 2016. Cohen would later say he was trying to be loyal to Trump and match the public messaging of a president who had adamantly denied any business dealings with Russia.
Even when Trump aides tried to come clean and cooperate with Mueller’s team, they couldn’t keep their stories straight.
As he was working out a plea agreement with Mueller, Gates lied to investigators about his and Manafort’s Ukrainian lobbying work. Manafort pleaded guilty and agree to cooperate but a judge later determined he had also misled Mueller’s team about several matters, including about his interactions with Kilimnik. Those lies voided the plea deal.
The deceptions played out as Mueller methodically brought criminal cases. He indicted the Russian hackers. He did the same to the troll farm. He exposed Manafort’s tax cheating and his illicit foreign lobbying, winning at trial and putting the 69-year-old political operative at risk of spending the rest of his life in prison. And one by one, his team got guilty pleas from Flynn, Papadopoulos and others .
Most recently, he indicted Stone, accusing him of witness tampering and lying to Congress about his efforts to glean information about the WikiLeaks disclosures. Despite emails showing him repeatedly discussing WikiLeaks with Trump advisers and others, Stone told lawmakers he had no records of that sort. (Stone has pleaded not guilty.)
In the backdrop of all this is Trump and his family.
Mueller’s grand jury heard testimony from several participants of the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting arranged by Trump Jr., but no charges have been filed.
The mercurial president himself has made no secret of his disdain for the Mueller investigation and his efforts to undermine it. Mueller has investigated whether any of Trump’s actions constituted obstruction of justice, but the special counsel hasn’t gone public with what he found.
And it’s unclear if he ever will.
Mueller’s grand jury heard testimony from several participants of the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting arranged by Trump Jr., but no charges have been filed.
The mercurial president himself has made no secret of his disdain for the Mueller investigation and his efforts to undermine it. Mueller has investigated whether any of Trump’s actions constituted obstruction of justice, but the special counsel hasn’t gone public with what he found.
And it’s unclear if he ever will.
quote quote下先發現篇文太長
sorry
sorry
Mueller: Manafort ‘brazenly violated the law’ for years
https://apnews.com/73ea05874b14439996546df7c8eebc03
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort committed crimes that cut to “the heart of the criminal justice system” and over the years deceived everyone from bookkeepers and banks to federal prosecutors and his own lawyers, according to a sentencing memo filed Saturday by special counsel Robert Mueller’s office.
In the memo, submitted in one of two criminal cases Manafort faces, prosecutors do not yet take a position on how much prison time he should serve or whether to stack the punishment on top of a separate sentence he will soon receive in a Virginia prosecution. But they do depict Manafort as a longtime and unrepentant criminal who committed “bold” crimes, including under the spotlight of his role as campaign chairman and later while on bail, and who does not deserve any leniency.
“For over a decade, Manafort repeatedly and brazenly violated the law,” prosecutors wrote. “His crimes continued up through the time he was first indicted in October 2017 and remarkably went unabated even after indictment.”
Citing Manafort’s lies to the FBI, several government agencies and his own lawyer, prosecutors said that “upon release from jail, Manafort presents a grave risk of recidivism.”
The 25-page memo, filed in federal court in Washington, is likely the last major filing by prosecutors as Manafort heads into his sentencing hearings next month and as Mueller’s investigation approaches a conclusion. Manafort, who has been jailed for months and turns 70 in April, will have a chance to file his own sentencing recommendation next week. He and his longtime business partner, Rick Gates, were the first two people indicted in the special counsel’s investigation. Overall, Mueller has produced charges against 34 individuals, including six former Trump aides, and three companies.
Manafort’s case has played out in stark contrast to those of other defendants in the Russia investigation, such as former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who prosecutors praised for his cooperation and left open the possibility of no jail time.
Manafort pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy arising from his Ukrainian political consulting work and his efforts to tamper with witnesses. As part of that plea, he agreed to cooperate with Mueller’s team, a move that could have helped him avoid a longer prison sentence. But within weeks, prosecutors say he repeatedly lied to investigators, including about his interactions with Konstantin Kilimnik, a business associate who the U.S. says has ties to Russian intelligence. That deception voided the plea deal.
The sentencing memo comes as Manafort, who led Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign for several critical months, is already facing the possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison in a separate tax and bank fraud case in Virginia. Mueller’s team endorsed a sentence of between 19.5 and 24.5 years in prison in that case.
Prosecutors note that the federal guidelines recommend a sentence of more than 17 years, but Manafort pleaded guilty last year to two felony counts that carry maximum sentences of five years each.
Prosecutors originally filed a sealed sentencing memo on Friday, but the document was made public on Saturday with certain information still redacted, or blacked out.
In recent weeks, court papers have revealed that Manafort shared polling data related to the Trump campaign with Kilimnik. A Mueller prosecutor also said earlier this month that an August 2016 meeting between Manafort and Kilimnik goes to the “heart” of the Russia probe. The meeting involved a discussion of a Ukrainian peace plan, but prosecutors haven’t said exactly what has captured their attention and whether it factors into the Kremlin’s attempts to help Trump in the 2016 election.
https://apnews.com/73ea05874b14439996546df7c8eebc03
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort committed crimes that cut to “the heart of the criminal justice system” and over the years deceived everyone from bookkeepers and banks to federal prosecutors and his own lawyers, according to a sentencing memo filed Saturday by special counsel Robert Mueller’s office.
In the memo, submitted in one of two criminal cases Manafort faces, prosecutors do not yet take a position on how much prison time he should serve or whether to stack the punishment on top of a separate sentence he will soon receive in a Virginia prosecution. But they do depict Manafort as a longtime and unrepentant criminal who committed “bold” crimes, including under the spotlight of his role as campaign chairman and later while on bail, and who does not deserve any leniency.
“For over a decade, Manafort repeatedly and brazenly violated the law,” prosecutors wrote. “His crimes continued up through the time he was first indicted in October 2017 and remarkably went unabated even after indictment.”
Citing Manafort’s lies to the FBI, several government agencies and his own lawyer, prosecutors said that “upon release from jail, Manafort presents a grave risk of recidivism.”
The 25-page memo, filed in federal court in Washington, is likely the last major filing by prosecutors as Manafort heads into his sentencing hearings next month and as Mueller’s investigation approaches a conclusion. Manafort, who has been jailed for months and turns 70 in April, will have a chance to file his own sentencing recommendation next week. He and his longtime business partner, Rick Gates, were the first two people indicted in the special counsel’s investigation. Overall, Mueller has produced charges against 34 individuals, including six former Trump aides, and three companies.
Manafort’s case has played out in stark contrast to those of other defendants in the Russia investigation, such as former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who prosecutors praised for his cooperation and left open the possibility of no jail time.
Manafort pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy arising from his Ukrainian political consulting work and his efforts to tamper with witnesses. As part of that plea, he agreed to cooperate with Mueller’s team, a move that could have helped him avoid a longer prison sentence. But within weeks, prosecutors say he repeatedly lied to investigators, including about his interactions with Konstantin Kilimnik, a business associate who the U.S. says has ties to Russian intelligence. That deception voided the plea deal.
The sentencing memo comes as Manafort, who led Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign for several critical months, is already facing the possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison in a separate tax and bank fraud case in Virginia. Mueller’s team endorsed a sentence of between 19.5 and 24.5 years in prison in that case.
Prosecutors note that the federal guidelines recommend a sentence of more than 17 years, but Manafort pleaded guilty last year to two felony counts that carry maximum sentences of five years each.
Prosecutors originally filed a sealed sentencing memo on Friday, but the document was made public on Saturday with certain information still redacted, or blacked out.
In recent weeks, court papers have revealed that Manafort shared polling data related to the Trump campaign with Kilimnik. A Mueller prosecutor also said earlier this month that an August 2016 meeting between Manafort and Kilimnik goes to the “heart” of the Russia probe. The meeting involved a discussion of a Ukrainian peace plan, but prosecutors haven’t said exactly what has captured their attention and whether it factors into the Kremlin’s attempts to help Trump in the 2016 election.
Like other Americans close to the president charged in the Mueller probe, Manafort hasn’t been accused of involvement in Russian election interference.
Venezuela crisis: Deadly border clashes as Maduro blocks aid
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-47346253
Deadly clashes broke out in Venezuelan border towns on Saturday, as President Nicolás Maduro blocked humanitarian aid from crossing from Colombia and Brazil.
Troops fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters who attempted to collect and transport the supplies.
A number of people were shot with live ammunition, human rights groups say. At least two people were killed.
The opposition wants the aid to go to people hit by the economic crisis, but Mr Maduro sees it as a security threat.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo condemned the attacks on civilians, which he blamed on "Maduro's thugs".
"Our deepest sympathies to the families of those who have died due to these criminal acts. We join their demand for justice," he said in a tweet following the clashes.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-47346253
Deadly clashes broke out in Venezuelan border towns on Saturday, as President Nicolás Maduro blocked humanitarian aid from crossing from Colombia and Brazil.
Troops fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters who attempted to collect and transport the supplies.
A number of people were shot with live ammunition, human rights groups say. At least two people were killed.
The opposition wants the aid to go to people hit by the economic crisis, but Mr Maduro sees it as a security threat.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo condemned the attacks on civilians, which he blamed on "Maduro's thugs".
"Our deepest sympathies to the families of those who have died due to these criminal acts. We join their demand for justice," he said in a tweet following the clashes.
Brexit: MPs to have vote by 12 March, says May
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-47348610
MPs will be able to have a fresh vote on the Brexit deal by 12 March, Prime Minister Theresa May has said.
Speaking as she travelled to an EU-Arab League summit in Egypt, Mrs May ruled out holding another so-called "meaningful vote" this week.
But she said "positive" talks with the EU were "still ongoing" and leaving on 29 March was "within our grasp".
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn accused the prime minister of "recklessly running down the clock".
In a tweet, he said the move was intended to "force MPs to choose between her bad deal and a disastrous no deal".
Labour, he said, would "work with MPs across the Commons to prevent no deal, break the deadlock and build support for our alternative plan".
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-47348610
MPs will be able to have a fresh vote on the Brexit deal by 12 March, Prime Minister Theresa May has said.
Speaking as she travelled to an EU-Arab League summit in Egypt, Mrs May ruled out holding another so-called "meaningful vote" this week.
But she said "positive" talks with the EU were "still ongoing" and leaving on 29 March was "within our grasp".
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn accused the prime minister of "recklessly running down the clock".
In a tweet, he said the move was intended to "force MPs to choose between her bad deal and a disastrous no deal".
Labour, he said, would "work with MPs across the Commons to prevent no deal, break the deadlock and build support for our alternative plan".
Cuba sees high turnout at polls for constitutional referendum
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cuba-constitution-referendum/cuba-sees-high-turnout-at-polls-for-constitutional-referendum-idUSKCN1QD0JJ
HAVANA (Reuters) - Cubans flocked to the polls on Sunday in a vote expected to approve a new constitution that institutes modest economic and social changes while maintaining the one-party socialist system.
By 2.00 p.m., 75 percent of the 8.7 million electorate had cast ballots, according to the national electoral commission. Results are due to be announced on Monday.
Debate over the constitution has dominated the country’s politics for months, even as it struggles with economic stagnation and as the deepening crisis in Venezuela brings its ally into the crosshairs of U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration.
White House national security adviser John Bolton ripped the referendum on Twitter as “another ploy of the Cuban regime to cover up its repression and tyranny.”
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said the vote was taking place as events in Venezuela showed the “imperialist threat” facing the region.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cuba-constitution-referendum/cuba-sees-high-turnout-at-polls-for-constitutional-referendum-idUSKCN1QD0JJ
HAVANA (Reuters) - Cubans flocked to the polls on Sunday in a vote expected to approve a new constitution that institutes modest economic and social changes while maintaining the one-party socialist system.
By 2.00 p.m., 75 percent of the 8.7 million electorate had cast ballots, according to the national electoral commission. Results are due to be announced on Monday.
Debate over the constitution has dominated the country’s politics for months, even as it struggles with economic stagnation and as the deepening crisis in Venezuela brings its ally into the crosshairs of U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration.
White House national security adviser John Bolton ripped the referendum on Twitter as “another ploy of the Cuban regime to cover up its repression and tyranny.”
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said the vote was taking place as events in Venezuela showed the “imperialist threat” facing the region.
US to delay further tariffs on Chinese goods
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47352657
President Donald Trump has announced that the US will delay imposing further trade tariffs on Chinese goods.
The rise in import duties on Chinese goods from 10% to 25% was meant to come into effect on Friday 1 March.
Mr Trump told reporters that the US and China had made "substantial progress" in trade talks over the weekend.
He added that he was planning a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Florida to cement the trade deal if more progress was made.
Following a week of mostly being flat, on Friday Wall Street shares rose slightly, after Chinese negotiators agreed to extend their stay in Washington DC.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47352657
President Donald Trump has announced that the US will delay imposing further trade tariffs on Chinese goods.
The rise in import duties on Chinese goods from 10% to 25% was meant to come into effect on Friday 1 March.
Mr Trump told reporters that the US and China had made "substantial progress" in trade talks over the weekend.
He added that he was planning a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Florida to cement the trade deal if more progress was made.
Following a week of mostly being flat, on Friday Wall Street shares rose slightly, after Chinese negotiators agreed to extend their stay in Washington DC.
GCHQ: Chinese tech 'threats' must be understood
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-47352079
The UK's cyber-security agency has warned that Britain must understand the potential "opportunities and threats" of using Chinese technology.
In a rare speech, GCHQ director Jeremy Fleming emphasised the need for better cyber-security practices in the telecoms industry.
"It's a hugely complex strategic challenge," he said.
The US is pressuring its allies to not use Chinese firm Huawei's technology to build new 5G networks.
Its officials are concerned that China could be using Huawei products to spy on other countries.
In his speech at an event in Singapore, Mr Fleming emphasised that the government was concerned about balancing the supply chain and ensuring that there was diversity in the telecommunications equipment supplier market.
"We have to understand the opportunities and threats from China's technological offer - understand the global nature of supply chains and service provision, irrespective of the flag of the supplier," he said.
"Take a clear view on the implications of China's technological acquisition strategy in the West, and help our governments decide which parts of this expansion can be embraced, which need risk management, and which will always need a sovereign, or allied, solution."
Stressing the need for stronger cyber-security across the telecoms sector, Mr Fleming said: "Vulnerabilities can and will be exploited. But networks should be designed in a way that cauterises the damage."
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-47352079
The UK's cyber-security agency has warned that Britain must understand the potential "opportunities and threats" of using Chinese technology.
In a rare speech, GCHQ director Jeremy Fleming emphasised the need for better cyber-security practices in the telecoms industry.
"It's a hugely complex strategic challenge," he said.
The US is pressuring its allies to not use Chinese firm Huawei's technology to build new 5G networks.
Its officials are concerned that China could be using Huawei products to spy on other countries.
In his speech at an event in Singapore, Mr Fleming emphasised that the government was concerned about balancing the supply chain and ensuring that there was diversity in the telecommunications equipment supplier market.
"We have to understand the opportunities and threats from China's technological offer - understand the global nature of supply chains and service provision, irrespective of the flag of the supplier," he said.
"Take a clear view on the implications of China's technological acquisition strategy in the West, and help our governments decide which parts of this expansion can be embraced, which need risk management, and which will always need a sovereign, or allied, solution."
Stressing the need for stronger cyber-security across the telecoms sector, Mr Fleming said: "Vulnerabilities can and will be exploited. But networks should be designed in a way that cauterises the damage."
Brexit: Theresa May under pressure to consider Brexit delay
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-47352446
Theresa May is facing growing calls to say she would delay Brexit rather than leave the EU if no deal is in place by the end of March.
A new plan from some Tory MPs suggests ministers postpone Brexit until 23 May "to conclude negotiations".
It is being suggested as an alternative to cross-party proposals which would see MPs take control of the process.
But Education Secretary Damian Hinds told the BBC delaying Brexit would only prolong uncertainty for business.
The prime minister is holding talks with EU leaders at a summit in Egypt, as she presses for more concessions to her deal.
Mrs May announced on Sunday that MPs will get a fresh vote on her deal by 12 March, vowing that leaving as planned 17 days later was "within our grasp".
But many MPs had wanted another so-called "meaningful vote" sooner than that, and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn suggested Mrs May was "running down the clock" until a time when MPs were forced "to choose between her bad deal and a disastrous no deal".
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-47352446
Theresa May is facing growing calls to say she would delay Brexit rather than leave the EU if no deal is in place by the end of March.
A new plan from some Tory MPs suggests ministers postpone Brexit until 23 May "to conclude negotiations".
It is being suggested as an alternative to cross-party proposals which would see MPs take control of the process.
But Education Secretary Damian Hinds told the BBC delaying Brexit would only prolong uncertainty for business.
The prime minister is holding talks with EU leaders at a summit in Egypt, as she presses for more concessions to her deal.
Mrs May announced on Sunday that MPs will get a fresh vote on her deal by 12 March, vowing that leaving as planned 17 days later was "within our grasp".
But many MPs had wanted another so-called "meaningful vote" sooner than that, and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn suggested Mrs May was "running down the clock" until a time when MPs were forced "to choose between her bad deal and a disastrous no deal".
口風又好似緊咗
Moldova: Pro-Russian party leads without majority
https://www.dw.com/en/moldova-pro-russian-party-leads-without-majority/a-47669559
Moldova's pro-Russian opposition Socialist party claimed a narrow lead, but no majority, in the country's national elections after almost all of the ballots had been counted on Monday win 31.35 percent of the vote.
The pro-European ACUM garnered 26.17 percent of Sunday's ballots and the incumbent Democratic Party was in third place at 24 precent.
Between the EU and Russia
The Socialist Party and pro-EU Democratic Party are fighting over Moldova's future.
Dodon has pledged to renegotiate a 2014 association agreement with the European Union if his party wins the vote. The Democratic Party, on the other hand, wants even closer ties to the bloc.
The Democratic Party-led coalition government has, however, lost support following a string of corruption scandals. It has also been accused of trying to rig the political system in its favor by introducing votes on direct mandates alongside votes on party lists.
https://www.dw.com/en/moldova-pro-russian-party-leads-without-majority/a-47669559
Moldova's pro-Russian opposition Socialist party claimed a narrow lead, but no majority, in the country's national elections after almost all of the ballots had been counted on Monday win 31.35 percent of the vote.
The pro-European ACUM garnered 26.17 percent of Sunday's ballots and the incumbent Democratic Party was in third place at 24 precent.
Between the EU and Russia
The Socialist Party and pro-EU Democratic Party are fighting over Moldova's future.
Dodon has pledged to renegotiate a 2014 association agreement with the European Union if his party wins the vote. The Democratic Party, on the other hand, wants even closer ties to the bloc.
The Democratic Party-led coalition government has, however, lost support following a string of corruption scandals. It has also been accused of trying to rig the political system in its favor by introducing votes on direct mandates alongside votes on party lists.
Nigeria election delay hurt confidence, probably cut turnout: U.S. observer
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nigeria-election/nigeria-election-delay-hurt-confidence-probably-cut-turnout-u-s-observer-idUSKCN1QE13K
ABUJA (Reuters) - A week-long delay in holding Nigeria’s presidential election before it took place on Saturday damaged public confidence in the process and probably reduced voter turnout, the U.S. observer mission said on Monday.
He spoke with early results about to start trickling in.It was unclear when a winner would be declared but the vote pitting President Muhammadu Buhari against businessman and ex-vice president Atiku Abubakar was expected to be Nigeria’s tightest since the end of military rule in 1999.
Buhari, 76, is a former military ruler seeking a second term on an anti-corruption platform, while Atiku, 72, has pledged above all to expand the role of the private sector. The outcome appeared to hinge on which man voters trusted most to revamp an economy still struggling from a 2016 recession.
At stake is the leadership of Africa’s top oil producer and biggest economy where a decade-long battle with Islamist militants concentrated in the northeast has made Nigeria pivotal to regional stability.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nigeria-election/nigeria-election-delay-hurt-confidence-probably-cut-turnout-u-s-observer-idUSKCN1QE13K
ABUJA (Reuters) - A week-long delay in holding Nigeria’s presidential election before it took place on Saturday damaged public confidence in the process and probably reduced voter turnout, the U.S. observer mission said on Monday.
He spoke with early results about to start trickling in.It was unclear when a winner would be declared but the vote pitting President Muhammadu Buhari against businessman and ex-vice president Atiku Abubakar was expected to be Nigeria’s tightest since the end of military rule in 1999.
Buhari, 76, is a former military ruler seeking a second term on an anti-corruption platform, while Atiku, 72, has pledged above all to expand the role of the private sector. The outcome appeared to hinge on which man voters trusted most to revamp an economy still struggling from a 2016 recession.
At stake is the leadership of Africa’s top oil producer and biggest economy where a decade-long battle with Islamist militants concentrated in the northeast has made Nigeria pivotal to regional stability.
Italy's centre-right leads in Sardinia vote, 5-Star fades
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-italy-politics-sardinia/italys-centre-right-leads-in-sardinia-vote-5-star-fades-idUSKCN1QE1ES
ROME (Reuters) - A centre-right candidate is poised to win a regional vote on the Italian island of Sardinia, replacing a centre-left administration and underscoring the struggles of the ruling 5-Star Movement, partial results showed on Monday.
The centre-right coalition includes the League party, headed by Matteo Salvini, which still runs with its traditional allies Forza Italia and Brothers of Italy in local elections, but governs nationally with the populist 5-Star.
The centre-right candidate Christian Solinas, a League senator, took around 47 percent in the Sunday vote, according to a very early tally, with the centre-left at about 35 percent and 5-Star at 10 percent — far below the 42.5 percent it got on the island in last March’s national election.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-italy-politics-sardinia/italys-centre-right-leads-in-sardinia-vote-5-star-fades-idUSKCN1QE1ES
ROME (Reuters) - A centre-right candidate is poised to win a regional vote on the Italian island of Sardinia, replacing a centre-left administration and underscoring the struggles of the ruling 5-Star Movement, partial results showed on Monday.
The centre-right coalition includes the League party, headed by Matteo Salvini, which still runs with its traditional allies Forza Italia and Brothers of Italy in local elections, but governs nationally with the populist 5-Star.
The centre-right candidate Christian Solinas, a League senator, took around 47 percent in the Sunday vote, according to a very early tally, with the centre-left at about 35 percent and 5-Star at 10 percent — far below the 42.5 percent it got on the island in last March’s national election.
After Putin's warning, Russian TV lists nuclear targets in U.S.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-nuclear-russia/after-putins-warning-russian-tv-lists-nuclear-targets-in-u-s-idUSKCN1QE1DM
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian state television has listed U.S. military facilities that Moscow would target in the event of a nuclear strike, and said that a hypersonic missile Russia is developing would be able to hit them in less than five minutes.
The targets included the Pentagon and the presidential retreat in Camp David, Maryland.
The report, unusual even by the sometimes bellicose standards of Russian state TV, was broadcast on Sunday evening, days after President Vladimir Putin said Moscow was militarily ready for a “Cuban Missile”-style crisis if the United States wanted one.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-nuclear-russia/after-putins-warning-russian-tv-lists-nuclear-targets-in-u-s-idUSKCN1QE1DM
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian state television has listed U.S. military facilities that Moscow would target in the event of a nuclear strike, and said that a hypersonic missile Russia is developing would be able to hit them in less than five minutes.
The targets included the Pentagon and the presidential retreat in Camp David, Maryland.
The report, unusual even by the sometimes bellicose standards of Russian state TV, was broadcast on Sunday evening, days after President Vladimir Putin said Moscow was militarily ready for a “Cuban Missile”-style crisis if the United States wanted one.
屌你連埋attachment成848頁, 癡撚線
我睇左正文嗰24頁, 同相關報導, 唔覺有重大新料爆出黎, 反而雖然有提到佢同Kilimnik恐嚇證人, 但唔見之前提到嘅將民調資料畀俄佬特工Kilimnik呢單, 即係一係o係redact左嗰part, 一係入左去第二啲charge(s), 但redact左嗰part唔關Kilimnik事, 我估係後者
so far檢控俄佬hacker嗰單Netyksho案最關事, 目前嘅檢控似乎都係築底為主, 用虛假文件, 偽證, 洗黑錢, 妨礙司法公正呢啲去build up日後要用嘅證據, 順便間接爆料公眾知
而Mueller似乎強調要拎Manafort黎祭旗:
Specific deterrence is thus at its height, as is general deterrence of those who would engage in comparable concerted criminal conduct. (p.2)
跟舉左幾個案例去支持, 最後係p.24係結論又再講一次:
The sentence in this case must take into account the gravity of this conduct, and serve to both specifically deter Manafort and those who would commit a similar series of crimes.
佢罪太多太重, 建議法官拎佢黎祭旗阻嚇後來者
我睇左正文嗰24頁, 同相關報導, 唔覺有重大新料爆出黎, 反而雖然有提到佢同Kilimnik恐嚇證人, 但唔見之前提到嘅將民調資料畀俄佬特工Kilimnik呢單, 即係一係o係redact左嗰part, 一係入左去第二啲charge(s), 但redact左嗰part唔關Kilimnik事, 我估係後者
so far檢控俄佬hacker嗰單Netyksho案最關事, 目前嘅檢控似乎都係築底為主, 用虛假文件, 偽證, 洗黑錢, 妨礙司法公正呢啲去build up日後要用嘅證據, 順便間接爆料公眾知
而Mueller似乎強調要拎Manafort黎祭旗:
Specific deterrence is thus at its height, as is general deterrence of those who would engage in comparable concerted criminal conduct. (p.2)
跟舉左幾個案例去支持, 最後係p.24係結論又再講一次:
The sentence in this case must take into account the gravity of this conduct, and serve to both specifically deter Manafort and those who would commit a similar series of crimes.
佢罪太多太重, 建議法官拎佢黎祭旗阻嚇後來者
Mohammad Javad Zarif: Iran's foreign minister announces resignation
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-47362962
Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has said he is stepping down, in a surprise announcement posted to his Instagram account.
He apologised for "shortcomings" during his time in government.
Mr Zarif played a prominent role in negotiating the landmark 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and major international powers.
But the future of the deal has been put into doubt after US President Donald Trump ended US involvement.
Mr Zarif's resignation was confirmed by Iran's state-run news agency, IRNA, which cited a spokesman for the foreign ministry.
It is not clear if his resignation will be accepted by President Hassan Rouhani, although the president's chief-of-staff tweeted to deny reports it had been accepted.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-47362962
Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has said he is stepping down, in a surprise announcement posted to his Instagram account.
He apologised for "shortcomings" during his time in government.
Mr Zarif played a prominent role in negotiating the landmark 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and major international powers.
But the future of the deal has been put into doubt after US President Donald Trump ended US involvement.
Mr Zarif's resignation was confirmed by Iran's state-run news agency, IRNA, which cited a spokesman for the foreign ministry.
It is not clear if his resignation will be accepted by President Hassan Rouhani, although the president's chief-of-staff tweeted to deny reports it had been accepted.
Nigeria election 2019: Muhammadu Buhari takes early lead
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-47363328
President Muhammadu Buhari has taken an early lead as votes are being counted in Nigeria's general election, amid allegations of manipulation.
Mr Buhari has won seven of Nigeria's 36 states, while his rival Atiku Abubakar took two states and the capital Abuja.
As results came in, Mr Abubakar's People's Democratic Party (PDP) alleged that there had been irregularities in the vote.
Party chair Uche Secondus called the count "incorrect and unacceptable".
He said there had been an "attempt by the government and other agencies to manipulate the result", but did not give any evidence.
The EU, US and African Union have all expressed concern about delays and logistical problems with voting on Saturday, but no independent observers have suggested fraud.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-47363328
President Muhammadu Buhari has taken an early lead as votes are being counted in Nigeria's general election, amid allegations of manipulation.
Mr Buhari has won seven of Nigeria's 36 states, while his rival Atiku Abubakar took two states and the capital Abuja.
As results came in, Mr Abubakar's People's Democratic Party (PDP) alleged that there had been irregularities in the vote.
Party chair Uche Secondus called the count "incorrect and unacceptable".
He said there had been an "attempt by the government and other agencies to manipulate the result", but did not give any evidence.
The EU, US and African Union have all expressed concern about delays and logistical problems with voting on Saturday, but no independent observers have suggested fraud.
Cardinal Pell found guilty of sexual offences in Australia
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-47366113
Cardinal George Pell has been found guilty of sexual offences in Australia, making him the highest-ranking Catholic figure to receive such a conviction.
Pell abused two choir boys in the rooms of a Melbourne cathedral in 1996, a jury found. He had pleaded not guilty.
The verdict was handed down in December, but it could not be reported until now due to legal reasons.
Pell is due to be sentenced on Wednesday. His lawyers say they will appeal against the conviction.
As Vatican treasurer, the 77-year-old cardinal is one of the Church's most powerful officials.
His trial was heard twice last year because a first jury failed to reach a verdict.
A second jury unanimously convicted him of one charge of sexually penetrating a child under 16, and four counts of committing an indecent act on a child under 16.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-47366113
Cardinal George Pell has been found guilty of sexual offences in Australia, making him the highest-ranking Catholic figure to receive such a conviction.
Pell abused two choir boys in the rooms of a Melbourne cathedral in 1996, a jury found. He had pleaded not guilty.
The verdict was handed down in December, but it could not be reported until now due to legal reasons.
Pell is due to be sentenced on Wednesday. His lawyers say they will appeal against the conviction.
As Vatican treasurer, the 77-year-old cardinal is one of the Church's most powerful officials.
His trial was heard twice last year because a first jury failed to reach a verdict.
A second jury unanimously convicted him of one charge of sexually penetrating a child under 16, and four counts of committing an indecent act on a child under 16.