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DBliss Media at December 02, 2018 0
US President Donald Trump says he wants to hold a second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in early 2019 (AFP/File / SAUL LOEB)

US President Donald Trump said Saturday he hoped to organize a second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in early 2019, perhaps as soon as January or February.

Trump told reporters traveling home to Washington with him aboard Air Force One from Argentina that "three sites" were in consideration for the meeting, a follow-up to their historic summit in Singapore in June.

"I think we're going to do one fairly (soon) -- you know, into January, February, I think," said Trump, who had been in Buenos Aires for the Group of 20 summit.

"We're getting along very well. We have a good relationship."

In the Argentine capital, Trump held separate bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday that primarily focused on trade, but the US leader said Xi he had agreed to work with him "100 percent" on North Korea.

When asked Saturday if he would ever host the North Korean leader in the United States, Trump replied: "At some point, yeah."

In June, Trump and Kim opened up a face-to-face dialogue after months of trading military threats and pointed barbs.

The two leaders signed a vaguely worded document on denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, but progress has since stalled as Washington and Pyongyang spar over the meaning of the document.

North Korea has taken few concrete steps to abandon its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was due to meet with a top North Korean official in early November, but the meeting was abruptly put off, with Pyongyang insisting that Washington ease sanctions.

On Friday, Trump discussed the situation with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on the sidelines of the G20 summit. Read More...
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DBliss Media at December 02, 2018 0
The 'yellow vest' protests started over high fuel taxes (AFP / Alain JOCARD)

French President Emmanuel Macron led a crisis meeting on Sunday after anti-government protests in Paris that left 263 people injured and widespread destruction around the capital.

Macron met with the prime minister, interior minister and top security service officials at the presidential palace in Paris after flying in from the G20 summit in Argentina.

He earlier visited the Arc de Triomphe, a monument to France's war dead, and other scenes of violence where he paid tribute to the police but was also booed by sections of the crowd.

Paris police said 412 people were arrested on Saturday during the worst clashes for years in the capital and 378 were still in custody.

A total of 133 had been injured, including 23 members of the security forces who battled rioters for most of the day in some of the most famous parts of the capital.

"I will never accept violence," Macron told a news conference in Buenos Aires before flying home.

"No cause justifies that authorities are attacked, that businesses are plundered, that passers-by or journalists are threatened or that the Arc du Triomphe is defiled," he said.

As protests took place across the country, a motorist died overnight after crashing a van into traffic which had built up due to a "yellow vest" demonstration in Arles, southern France, a local prosecutor said Sunday.

The so-called "yellow vest" anti-government protests that have swept France over the last fortnight were sparked initially by a rise in taxes on diesel.

In a separate incident, a motorway pay booth was set on fire by arsonists in southern France near the city of Narbonne, a judicial source told AFP Sunday. Five people were taken into custody, a prosecutor said.

The main north-south motorway in eastern France, the A6, was also blocked by protesters near the city of Lyon on Sunday morning, its operator said.

The capital was calm, however, but as groups of workers moved around cleaning up the mess from the previous day, the scale of the destruction became clear.

Around famous areas including the Champs-Elysees, the Louvre museum, the Opera and Place Vendome, smashed shop windows, broken glass and the occasional burned-out car were testament to the violence.

Dozens of cars were torched by the gangs of rioters, some of whom wore gas masks and ski goggles to lessen the effects of tear gas which was fired continually by police.

One person was in a critical condition after protesters pulled down one of the huge iron gates of the Tuileries garden facing the Louvre museum, crushing several people.

Nearly 190 fires were put out and six buildings were set alight, the interior ministry said.

At the Arc de Triomphe graffiti had been daubed, with one slogan saying: "The yellow vests will win."

- What response? -

Over the last few weeks, the "yellow vest" movement has morphed into a broad opposition front to Macron, a 40-year-old pro-business centrist elected in May 2017. Read More...
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DBliss Media at December 02, 2018 0
US President Donald Trump (R) and China's Xi Jinping (L-center) and their delegations met at the conclusion of the G20 summit for their key trade talks (AFP / SAUL LOEB)


US President Donald Trump and China's Xi Jinping agreed Saturday to suspend any new tariffs in the escalating trade war between the world's two largest economies, even if huge existing duties will remain in place.

Following more than two hours of dinner talks between the two leaders, the White House said an increase of tariffs from 10 to 25 percent due to kick in on January 1 would now be put on hold, providing room for intense negotiations.

The agreement, hashed out over steak in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires, lowers the temperature in a conflict that has spooked world markets.

The two leaders, who were in Buenos Aires for a summit of the G20 countries, called it "a highly successful meeting," a White House statement said.

"The principal agreement has effectively prevented further expansion of economic friction between the two countries and has opened up new space for win-win cooperation," said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

"It's an incredible deal," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on the flight home to Washington, adding it would have an "incredibly positive impact" on American farmers.

- Partial truce -

Under the agreement, Trump is shelving a plan to raise existing tariffs of 10 percent to 25 percent from the start of next year.

Xi avoids further immediate pressure on China's slowing economy, while Trump -- scarred by last month's midterm elections that saw the Democrats regain control of the House of Representatives -- can ease damage to agricultural US states that export to China, particularly soybean producers.

"China will be buying massive amounts of product from us," Trump said after the talks.

For Beijing-based political consultant Hua Po, "this was a rare opportunity for China" to capitalize on what they saw as Trump's compromised position after the midterms.

"At this time, it was acceptable for China to maintain some bottom lines while making some major concessions."

But Brad Setser, a former Treasury official and now senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, told Bloomberg that much remains to be done.

"The hard part is finding the basis for a real deal that settles the broader issues rather than agreeing on a pause," Setser said.

The truce is only partial.

Some $50 billion worth of Chinese imports already face 25 percent tariffs, while the 10 percent tariffs -- which target a massive $200 billion in goods -- will also remain in effect.

Meanwhile, China has targeted $110 billion worth of US imports for tariffs.

If there is any further retaliation, Trump has warned, he will slap punitive duties on the remaining $267 billion in Chinese goods coming to the United States.

And Saturday's truce also contained an ultimatum.

The White House made clear that the 10 percent tariffs would still leap up to 25 percent if China doesn't meet US demands in 90 days.

These include China stopping a host of trade barriers, intellectual property theft and other actions that Washington say make fair trade impossible.

Tough negotiations lie ahead, but Trump was upbeat.

"This was an amazing and productive meeting with unlimited possibilities for both the United States and China," he said in a statement.  Read More...
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DBliss Media at December 01, 2018 0
The violence escalated after crowds began gathering at the Arc de Triomphe, where they found the Champs Elysees on lockdown by police manning barricades and water cannons (AFP / Alain JOCARD)


Groups of masked protesters battled police through clouds of tear gas near Paris' Champs Elysees Saturday as thousands took part in a third weekend of "yellow vest" demonstrations, which have morphed from anger over fuel taxes into a broader anti-government movement.

The violence broke out early after crowds began gathering at the Arc de Triomphe, where they found the Champs Elysees on lockdown by police manning barricades and water cannons.

While several dozen protesters were allowed to pass after an ID check and search, many others, often wearing gas masks or ski goggles, remained behind and fought with police, who responded with rounds of tear gas.

Demonstrators, some wielding slingshots, threw rocks, construction barricades and even paint at police in protective gear and helmets, with some officers seen spattered with yellow liquid.

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, visiting the Paris police's command centre, said at least 107 people were arrested in Paris among the estimated 5,500 protesters. Some 8,000 were counted in the city last Saturday.

Ten people were injured, including three of the 5,000 police officers mobilised in Paris, junior interior minister Laurent Nunez told BFM television.

An acrid odour of tear gas and smoke from burning cars and trash containers filled the air in the areas near the clashes.

Stores and restaurants along the famous avenue as well as surrounding streets had boarded up windows, anticipating a repeat of the clashes last Saturday which President Emmanuel Macron compared to "war scenes".

Chantal, a 61-year-old pensioner who came from an eastern Paris suburb, said she was avoiding the "hooligans" but was determined to send President Emmanuel Macron a message on the rising costs of living.

"He has to come down off his pedestal," she said under cold rain on the Champs Elysees. "Every month I have to dip into my savings."  Read More...
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DBliss Media at December 01, 2018 0
Former US president George Bush -- seen here in 1992 -- served one term as head of state before being defeated by Democrat Bill Clinton (AFP/File / J. David AKE)


Former US president George H.W. Bush, who guided America through the end of the Cold War and launched the international campaign to drive Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein's forces from Kuwait, died Friday at his home in Houston. He was 94.

Tributes quickly poured in for the 41st US president -- a decorated World War II pilot, skilled diplomat and onetime CIA chief who also saw his son George follow in his footsteps to the Oval Office.

Bush's passing comes just months after the death in April of his wife Barbara -- his "most beloved woman in the world" -- to whom he was married for 73 years.

"Jeb, Neil, Marvin, Doro and I are saddened to announce that after 94 remarkable years, our dear Dad has died," former president George W. Bush said in a statement.

"George H.W. Bush was a man of the highest character and the best dad a son or daughter could ask for," he said.

Bush is survived by his five living children -- a sixth child, daughter Robin, died of leukemia before her fourth birthday -- and 17 grandchildren.

He died "at home in Houston surrounded by family and close friends," family spokesman Jim McGrath told AFP.

Bush suffered from Parkinson's disease and had used a wheelchair for several years. He had been in and out of hospital in recent months, including right after Barbara's death.

Funeral arrangements will be announced in due course, McGrath said.

The former president, a Republican, is expected to lie in state in the US Capitol and then be buried at his presidential library in Texas, where students held a candlelight vigil early Saturday, local media reported.

President Donald Trump, who was in Argentina attending a G20 summit of world leaders, hailed Bush's "sound judgment, common sense, and unflappable leadership."

"Through his essential authenticity, disarming wit, and unwavering commitment to faith, family, and country, President Bush inspired generations of his fellow Americans to public service," Trump said in a statement.

At the White House, the American flag flew at half-staff early Saturday. Read More...
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DBliss Media at December 01, 2018 0
Participants of the G20 Leaders' Summit in Buenos Aires, pose for the family photo on November 30, 2018 (AFP / Alexander NEMENOV)


G20 leaders on Friday opened annual talks rent by the deepest divisions since their first summit 10 years ago, as US President Donald Trump came under fire and Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler came in from the cold.

Trump was attacked for destroying the group's past unity on trade and climate change. But he won a breakthrough with the signing of a new trade pact for North America and, having ignited a trade war with China, touted "good signs" ahead of a dinner with President Xi Jinping.

The summit began in the Argentinian capital with a traditional "family photo" by the leaders of a group whose relationships range from warm and friendly to chilly and distrustful.

Outside, as Argentina goes through a painful economic crisis, protesters gathered to denounce the government for spending freely on the summit while the public endures rocketing inflation and unemployment.

They paraded with signs attacking Trump and the International Monetary Fund, whose largesse is keeping Argentina afloat at the cost of hard-hitting austerity measures.


Russian President Vladimir Putin, under pressure himself after his security forces seized three Ukrainian ships, set the tone for a combative two days by condemning the "vicious" use of sanctions and trade protectionism.

The target was clear, as Trump -- who canceled a planned meeting with Putin in Buenos Aires -- tears up the stability promoted by the G20 powers when they first convened in November 2008 in the grip of financial crisis.

Putin's attack, and similar criticism of Trump's isolationist stance by French President Emmanuel Macron, capped an incident-packed buildup to the G20 that included flare-ups over Ukraine and Saudi Arabia.

- Long-lost friend -

Putin grinned broadly and welcomed Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman like a long-lost friend with an enthusiastic hand-shake after the group photo, where Trump looked on somberly and Xi stood impassively.  Read More...
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DBliss Media at November 30, 2018 0
Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman greet each other with an effusive handshake at the G20 Leaders' Summit in Buenos Aires, on November 30, 2018 (G20 ARGENTINA/AFP / HO)


Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman showed himself to be no pariah Friday at the G20 summit, with a beaming Vladimir Putin welcoming him but European leaders warning him over the killing of a dissident journalist.

Less than two months after Saudi Arabia outraged allies when a hit team murdered Jamal Khashoggi in the kingdom's Istanbul consulate, Prince Mohammed flew into Buenos Aires to take his place among leaders of the top 20 global economies, a sign that he intends to remain firmly in charge.

In an image that quickly went viral online, Russian President Putin and the 33-year-old prince grinned broadly and gave each other an effusive handshake as if they were long-lost friends reunited at the G20.

Their embrace comes amid reports that Russia and Saudi Arabia have reached a pact to cut oil production when the OPEC cartel meets on December 6 in Vienna, to help shore up collapsing crude prices.

But the prince appeared to receive a more critical reception from French President Emmanuel Macron, who was overheard on a microphone voicing concerns.

"Don't worry," Prince Mohammed is heard saying in English to the French leader, who responds, "I do worry. I am worried."

The clip was partially inaudible and the context of the exchange was not entirely clear.
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DBliss Media at November 17, 2018 0
The US assessment that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (pictured October 2018) was behind the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi directly contradicts the conclusions of a Saudi prosecutor, which exonerated the prince of involvement (AFP/File / FAYEZ NURELDINE)


The US Central Intelligence Agency has concluded Saudi's powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was behind the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, US media reported Friday, citing people close to the matter.

The US assessment directly contradicts the conclusions of a Saudi prosecutor one day prior, which exonerated the prince of involvement in the brutal murder.

But The Washington Post, which broke the story, said the CIA found that 15 Saudi agents flew on government aircraft to Istanbul and assassinated Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate.

Queried by AFP, the CIA declined to comment.

Khashoggi, a Post columnist, had gone to the consulate to obtain documents necessary to marry his Turkish fiancee.

Saudi Arabia -- which quickly dismissed the reported CIA findings -- has repeatedly changed its official narrative of the October 2 murder, first denying any knowledge of Khashoggi's whereabouts and later saying he was killed when an argument degenerated into a fistfight.

In the latest version presented by the Saudi prosecutor on Thursday, a 15-member squad was formed to bring Khashoggi back from Istanbul "by means of persuasion" -- but instead ended up killing the journalist and dismembering his body in a "rogue" operation.

The CIA scrubbed multiple intelligence sources, the Post said, among them a phone call between the prince's brother -- the Saudi ambassador to the United States -- and Khashoggi.

The ambassador reportedly told the late journalist that he would be safe to go to the consulate in Istanbul and get the papers he needed.

- 'Some things you can't do' -

But a Saudi embassy spokesperson said that Ambassador Khalid bin Salman had never discussed "anything related to going to Turkey" with Khashoggi.

"Amb Prince Khalid bin Salman has never had any phone conversations with (Khashoggi)," the statement posted on the ambassador's Twitter account said.

"The claims in this purported assessment is false," it said.

Meanwhile, the US intelligence agency also said in determining the crown prince's role it considered him a "de facto ruler" in Saudi Arabia: "The accepted position is that there is no way this happened without him being aware or involved," the Post quoted an official as saying.

That official dubbed Prince Mohammed a "good technocrat" -- but also someone unpredictable who "goes from zero to 60, doesn't seem to understand that there are some things you can't do."

The New York Times later reported that the CIA findings were also based on calls from the kill team to one of the crown prince's senior aides.

But the paper said that while the intercepts showed Prince Mohammed was working to lure Khashoggi to Saudi Arabia, the crown prince had not said in the calls that he wanted Khashoggi killed.

The NYT cited officials as saying US and Turkish intelligence as of yet has not found direct evidence connecting the prince to Khashoggi's killing.

The CIA conclusions nevertheless threaten to further fray relations between Washington and key ally Riyadh, which has sought to end discussion of the murder and rejected calls for an international investigation.

On Thursday, the US Treasury slapped sanctions on 17 people, including close aides of Prince Mohammed, suggesting a coordinated effort between Riyadh and Washington to pre-empt the threat of harsher actions from an outraged US Congress.

US President Donald Trump has shied from directly blaming the Crown Prince but on Friday agreed with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that "any cover up of the incident should not be allowed."


By AFP
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DBliss Media at November 15, 2018 0
Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May said cabinet approval of a draft Brexit agreement was a 'collective decision' (AFP / Ben STANSALL)


British Prime Minister Theresa May won the support of her bitterly divided cabinet on Wednesday for a draft divorce deal with the European Union that has put both Brexit and her leadership at stake.

May emerged from a five-hour meeting with ministers that had sent the value of the pound gyrating to announce she had the government's "collective" backing to move ahead with the plan.

"The collective decision of cabinet was that the government should agree the draft withdrawal agreement and the outline political declaration," May said outside her Downing Street office.

A spokesman said the meeting ended without any explicit threats of resignation and everyone unwinding with a glass of wine and some snacks.

But the embattled leader conceded that she could face even stronger resistance when she takes the 585-page text to parliament for approval next month.

Rumours of ministers quitting and a plot by eurosceptic MPs in May's own party to unseat her saw the pound plunge one percent in a wild hour of trading that ended with the currency on the upswing.

The European Union's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said the divorce was making "decisive progress" that still required "lots and lots of work".

The blueprint agreed on Tuesday capped a year and a half of politically fraught negotiations aimed at unwinding nearly 46 years of British EU membership.

- Deal, no deal or no Brexit -

Its announcement saw May come under attack from both those backing a cleaner break with Europe and those dreading a future in which Britain strikes out on its own.

May's government is split between the two camps -- as is parliament and much of the country.

The premier said she engaged in an "impassioned debate" with her ministers -- and that there "will be difficult days ahead".

But she added: "The choice before us is clear.

"This deal, which delivers on the vote of the (2016) referendum, which brings back control of our money, laws and borders, ends free movement, protects jobs, security and our union -- or leave with no deal, or no Brexit at all."

May did not explain how Brexit might still not happen on March 29 -- a possibility rooted on passionately by many of those who lost the 2016 vote by a 52-48 margin. Read More...
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DBliss Media at November 15, 2018 0
POOL/AFP/File / CHRISTIAN HARTMANN


An angry Donald Trump removed a senior advisor Wednesday after First Lady Melania Trump demanded her sacking, with more heads set to roll in a White House reshuffle triggered by infighting and setbacks in the midterm elections.

Melania Trump made the extremely rare demand for deputy national security advisor Mira Ricardel to be fired on Tuesday, saying "she no longer deserves the honor of serving in this White House."

The protocol-busting move followed a falling out that press leaks say was partly linked to a dispute over seating arrangements on the plane that took the first lady for a tour of African countries in October. Ricardel was also reportedly blamed for negative news coverage of Melania Trump.

The first lady got her way Wednesday when presidential spokeswoman Sarah Sanders announced that Ricardel "departs the White House to transition to a new role within the Administration."

The start to the second half of Donald Trump's first term is enveloped in gloom as the president surveys the damage from the midterms, tension with some of America's closest allies, and now turmoil inside the administration.

On Wednesday, he was quoted by right-wing website The Daily Caller saying that a wider reshuffle is coming.

"A lot of people want to come in, a lot of politicians who have had very successful careers want to come in," he said.

- 'Adult in the room' -

The biggest name on the chopping block, according to multiple US media reports, is chief of staff John Kelly.

A retired Marine Corps general, he has often been referred to as "the adult in the room" during Trump's drama-prone administration, even if critics say he has done little to temper the president's most damaging outbursts.

Now Kelly's days are numbered, according to the unconfirmed but mounting leaks to US media.

His position, tenuous for months, has been undermined further by reports that he also clashed with Melania Trump -- a relatively backstage first lady who has rarely made her influence so obviously felt as this week.

Melania Trump was angry that Kelly had refused to promote some of her aides, reports say.

Nick Ayers, a 36-year-old chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence and renowned political consultant, is reportedly high on the list to replace Kelly.

Another expected reshuffle casualty is Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, a Kelly ally who oversees the politically sensitive task of carrying out Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration.

Trump told The Daily Caller he'll make "a decision on homeland shortly."

Among Nielsen's critics has been National Security Adviser John Bolton, who last month was widely reported to have erupted in a shouting match with Kelly right outside the Oval Office over her performance.


By AFP
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DBliss Media at October 29, 2018 0
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has headed the CDU for 18 years (AFP / Tobias SCHWARZ)

Germany's Angela Merkel will not run for re-election as leader of her centre-right CDU, sources said Monday, in the clearest sign yet that the veteran chancellor is preparing her eventual exit after voters again punished her fragile coalition in a regional poll.

However, German media reported that Merkel had told a meeting of top brass in the Christian Democratic Union that she did intend to stay on as chancellor, a mandate set to run until 2021.

Merkel, who has headed the CDU for 18 years, had until now always indicated that she believed the posts of party leader and chancellor should be held by the same person.

"She will not stand again for the chairmanship of her party," a source within the Christian Democratic Union told AFP.

Merkel had been widely expected to be reelected as CDU chief at a party congress in December.

She is due to give a press conference at 1:00 pm (1200 GMT).

The surprise news comes a day after the CDU and its junior federal coalition partner the Social Democrats (SPD) suffered heavy losses in an election in the state of Hesse, just two weeks after a similar drubbing in Bavaria.

Both polls have been seen as damning verdicts on the right-left "grand coalition" in Berlin which has lurched from crisis to crisis, often over the hot-button issue of migration.

- 'Mistake' to cling to power -

With her authority badly weakened by last September's inconclusive general election and ongoing squabbles in her unhappy coalition, the chancellor has faced mounting calls to prepare Germany for the post-Merkel era.

Die Welt reporter Robin Alexander said the path could now be clear for Merkel's chosen heir, CDU general secretary Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, to take the reins if no other credible candidate emerges by December.

"The two women have taken back the momentum, because none of their opponents were ready for this," he tweeted.

The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung said on Sunday it would be "a mistake" for Merkel to cling to power.

"By passing the baton of her own free will she would show that she knows the same thing everyone knows: the end of her chancellorship is approaching."

German media reported that Merkel had told her party's top brass that she did intend to stay on as chancellor, a mandate set to run until 2021 (AFP/File / Jean-Christophe VERHAEGEN)

Merkel's 13 years as chancellor have piled up baggage from repeated compromise-laden "grand coalitions" with the SPD, as well as a fateful 2015 decision to keep Germany's borders open, ultimately allowing in more than one million migrants.

The mass arrivals are credited with fuelling the rise of the far-right, but Merkel has resisted calls to steer the CDU further rightward in response.

Railing against the newcomers, the far-right anti-immigrant AfD is now the biggest opposition party in the Bundestag, and has seats in all of Germany's state parliaments.

AfD leader Joerg Meuthen hailed news of Merkel's eventual exit as "good news" and said he expected her to also "give up her chancellorship soon".

- Coalition hammered -

No party has haemorrhaged more support in recent years than the SPD, which has wilted as the junior partner governing in Merkel's shadow.

Preliminary final results showed both of the formerly dominant parties being hit with losses of around 11 percentage points in Hesse, western Germany, compared with the last election in 2013, although the CDU still claimed first place with 27 percent of the vote.

The SPD plunged to its worst result in decades to tie for second place with the up-and-coming ecologist Greens, each at 19.8 percent.

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) meanwhile took 13.1 percent to enter the Hesse state legislature for the first time.

That result would allow the current state government of the CDU and Greens to continue, albeit with a thinner majority.

- SPD ultimatum -

SPD chief Andrea Nahles said on Monday her centre-left party, Germany's oldest, had failed "to break free from the government" and stand out in its right.

She said the SPD would now propose a "discussion paper" in Berlin demanding concrete progress on key issues over the next year, including pension rights and better childcare, before deciding whether to remain in the coalition.

The unstable government almost collapsed twice over the summer, notably when Merkel restrained hardline Interior Minister Horst Seehofer's attempts to toughen up migrant policy.

Increasing numbers of SPD members have been calling for the party to quit government and lick its wounds in opposition, as it is presently polling below AfD nationwide, at 15 percent to the far-right's 16 percent.


By AFP
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DBliss Media at October 29, 2018 0
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been leader of the CDU for 18 years (dpa/AFP/File / Bernd von Jutrczenka)


Chancellor Angela Merkel will not stand again as leader of her centre-right CDU, a party source told AFP Monday, a clear sign that the German leader is preparing for her eventual succession after a series of regional vote defeats.

National news agency DPA said she planned to remain chancellor even as she gives up the top party job.

"She will not stand again for the chairmanship of her party" when it meets at a congress in December to elect a new leader, said the source within the Christian Democratic Union.

Merkel has chaired the CDU for 18 years and has until now insisted that the presidency of the party went hand in hand with the chancellorship post.

In power as chancellor for 13 years, Merkel has become greatly weakened since last year's general election, when voters handed her an inconclusive result that forced her to form an uneasy coalition with the centre-left Social Democrats.

Over the last two weeks, voters in the states of Hesse and Bavaria also punished her party and coalition allies CSU and SPD in two separate regional elections.

Merkel is due to hold a press conference at 1 pm (12 GMT).


By AFP
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DBliss Media at October 29, 2018 0
"The situation for Merkel is grave," according to German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung (AFP/File /)

German Chancellor Angela Merkel faced a bitter political reality on Monday after the parties in her fragile coalition suffered heavy losses in a key regional election and a junior partner made threats to quit.

Sunday's blow for Merkel's conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Social Democrats (SPD) in Hesse was the latest state poll marred by the image of the right-left "grand coalition" government limping from crisis to crisis at a federal level.

"The situation for Merkel is grave," daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung said late Sunday. "Now the question is whether we'll soon have to write 'in liquidation' after her coalition."

Preliminary final results showed both of the formerly dominant parties being hit with losses of around 11 percentage points in Hesse, western Germany, compared with the last election in 2013, although the CDU still claimed first place with 27 percent of the vote.

Meanwhile, the SPD tumbled to a tie for second place with the up-and-coming ecologist Greens, each at 19.8 percent.

Showing political gains was the far-right anti-immigrant party Alternative for Germany (AfD) which took 13.1 percent of the vote to enter the Hesse state legislature for the first time.

That result would allow the current state government of CDU and Greens to continue, albeit with a thinner majority.

- 'Unacceptable' -

Merkel's first order of business when she speaks at 1pm (1200 GMT) in Berlin will be bucking up the Social Democrats, who have threatened to leave the federal coalition that many blame for years of disappointing electoral setbacks.

That would almost certainly trigger fresh elections and perhaps the end of Merkel's political career.

"The state of the government is unacceptable," SPD general secretary Andrea Nahles said on Sunday, demanding from the CDU a "clear, binding roadmap for politics in the interest of the citizens".

She was seeking to strike a sober contrast to the highly personal internal quarrels of the conservative camp in recent months.

The ruling parties are like "two people drowning while chained to each other," political scientist Hans Vorlaender of the University of Dresden told public broadcaster ARD.

The government almost collapsed twice over the summer, notably when Merkel restrained hardline interior minister Horst Seehofer's attempts to toughen up migrant policy.

Armed with Nahles's checklist, by September 2019 the SPD "will be able to see whether this government is still the right place for us", the party leader said in an implicit threat to the chancellor.

After federal elections in September 2017 defined by sharp drops for both the centre-right and left and the appearance of the far-right in the Bundestag (parliament) for the first time, the SPD agreed only reluctantly to back Merkel yet again.

- Rendez-vous in December -

Increasing numbers of SPD members are calling for the party to quit government immediately and lick its wounds in opposition, as it is presently polling below AfD nationwide, at 15 percent to the far-right's 16 percent.

But Merkel also has to shore up support among her own party, where more and more members are calling her leadership into question.

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer -- widely seen as the chancellor's anointed successor -- spoke of a "very painful" night for the CDU in Hesse.

It was the second regional vote in quick succession to disappoint the conservative camp, after a battering in Bavaria two weeks ago.

Merkel's 13 years in power have piled up baggage from repeated compromise-laden "grand coalitions" with the SPD, as well as a fateful 2015 decision to keep Germany's borders open, ultimately allowing in more than one million migrants.

The mass arrivals are credited with fuelling the rise of the far-right, but Merkel has resisted calls to steer the CDU further rightward in response.

Although there are many months before the next regional poll, a vote touching the chancellor more personally is slated for December, when she must stand for reelection as party chief.

"In Merkel's situation, clinging on would be a worse mistake" than giving up the party presidency, conservative daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung commented late Sunday.

"By passing the baton of her own free will she would show that she knows the same thing everyone knows: the end of her chancellorship is approaching."


By AFP
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DBliss Media at October 27, 2018 0
In this file photo taken on October 16, 2018 US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo meets with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir in Riyadh on the Khashoggi crisis (POOL/AFP/File / LEAH MILLIS)


Riyadh Saturday dismissed Ankara's calls to extradite 18 Saudis wanted for the murder of critic Jamal Khashoggi, as Washington warned the crisis risked destabilising the Middle East.

"The individuals are Saudi nationals. They're detained in Saudi Arabia, and the investigation is in Saudi Arabia, and they will be prosecuted in Saudi Arabia," Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told a regional defence forum in Bahrain.

He was responding to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who on Friday renewed his call for the 18 men to be extradited for trial in Turkey.

Khashoggi, 59, who had lived in self-imposed exile in the United States since 2017, vanished after entering the consulate on October 2 to obtain paperwork for his marriage to his Turkish fiancee.

Gruesome reports have alleged that he was murdered and his body dismembered by a team sent from Saudi Arabia to silence the Washington Post columnist, who had criticised Saudi's powerful Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.

After weeks of denials, Riyadh has sought to draw a line under the crisis with an investigation.

Prince Mohammad, heir to the oil-rich nation's throne, publicly denounced the murder as "repulsive", while the Saudi prosecutor acknowledged for the first time this week that based on the evidence of a Turkish investigation the killing had been "premeditated".

- 'Undermining stability' -

But US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis, who was also addressing the Manama forum, warned that "the murder of Jamal Khashoggi in a diplomatic facility must concern us all greatly".

"Failure of any nation to adhere to international norms and the rule of law undermines regional stability at a time when it is needed most," he stressed.

Saudi authorities have arrested 18 men wanted by Ankara following the international furore over Khashoggi's murder, which was reportedly carried out in the consulate by a team which flew to Istanbul.

Five intelligence chiefs have been sacked, including two who were part of the crown prince's inner circle.

The journalist's murder has generated international outrage and undermined Riyadh's relations with the United States and other Western governments.

But the Saudi foreign minister vowed Saturday "we will overcome it."

"The issue, as I said, is being investigated. We will know the truth. We will hold those responsible accountable. And we will put in place mechanisms to ensure it doesn't happen again," Jubeir told the defence forum.

On Thursday, CIA Director Gina Haspel briefed US President Donald Trump on the latest developments in the investigation after a fact-finding mission to Turkey.

Pro-government Turkish media said intelligence officers showed Haspel video images and audio tapes of Khashoggi's killing gathered from the consulate.

- 'Savagery' -

But the body of Khashoggi, who was once an insider in Saudi royal circles, remains missing.

"You need to show this body," Erdogan insisted on Friday, indicating that his country had more evidence about the killing to reveal.

The Turkish president, who has stopped short of directly blaming the Saudi government, added the 18 suspects must know who killed Khashoggi and repeated his call for the men to be tried in Turkey.

"The culprit is among them. If that is not the case, then who is the local conspirator? You have to tell," he said.

"Unless you tell, Saudi Arabia will not be free from this suspicion."

Khashoggi's fiancee Hatice Cengiz said in a TV interview on Friday that she never would have let him enter the consulate if she had thought that "Saudi Arabia authorities would hatch a plot" to kill him.

"I demand that all those involved in this savagery from the highest to the lowest levels are punished and brought to justice," Cengiz told the Haberturk television station.

She said she had not been contacted by Saudi officials and was unlikely to go to Saudi Arabia for any funeral there if Khashoggi's missing body is found.


By AFP
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