时事经纬
23-05-09
奥巴马：停止削减海军预算
奥巴马总统说，他已停止削减海军预算，并加强建设海军陆战队，保持美国军事优
势，提高军人待遇，给军人小孩更好照料和其他福利。
尼泊尔温和派共产党人将组阁
尼泊尔议会选择温和派共产党领导人内帕尔担任总理，以结束历时几个星期的政局
动荡。马达夫
库马尔内帕尔星期六在加德满都的投票中无人反对。内帕尔领导的尼泊尔共产党（联合马列）是该国几个共产党之一。毛派议员把推选新领导人的行动称作闹剧，他们在投票前退出了会场。
美阿军队缴获数十吨鸦片
美国和阿富汗军方官员说，他们破坏了阿富汗南部的一个主要的贩毒网络，缴获了
75吨罂粟种子，以及数吨其它毒品和用来将鸦片制成海洛因的化学品。在四天的鏖
战中，60名激进分子被打死，其中大约一半人是在对赫尔曼德省一个村庄的空袭中
被炸死。赫尔曼德省是反叛份子的大本营和毒品活动中心。战斗主要集中在马尔杰
的一个大市场，大部分毒品在这里缴获。联合国官员说，在星期五晚间的空袭之前，该地区的平民被护送撤出。
朝鲜或在东海岸试射地对地导弹
一政府消息人士22日表示，自朝鲜两三天前宣布咸镜道一带的东海岸禁止船只航行
以来，咸镜道一带的东海岸一直有安装移动发射台的车辆频繁来回。从朝鲜目前的
军事动向来看，朝鲜很有可能试射短程导弹而不是远程导弹。
中国在南亚修建海港引发美国担忧
美国德国马歇尔基金会专家丹尼尔.特文宁5月20号在国会听证会上说，中国在在巴
基斯坦、缅甸以及孟加拉国等国修建深水港、对印度洋周边地区的渗透、中国积极
发展远洋海军能力等等，将改变印度洋周边的权力平衡。特文宁说，印度洋上的航
线一直由美国海军控制，世界70%的石油供应经由这些航线，因此自由航行对美国的战略至关重要：确保美国在波斯湾的能源供应，为阿富汗的美军提供供给，遏制伊朗，在泛中东地区、非洲之角保持威慑力。
在中国对巴基斯坦的贸易和投资问题上，特文宁指出，巴基斯坦与中国的密切关系，加大了美国在巴基斯坦的反恐难度。他说，美国对巴基斯坦的援助附带严格条件，导致巴基斯坦转向北京寻求额外援助，从而影响了美国对巴基斯坦控制。巴基斯坦作为中国武器最大的买主，也使美国希望巴基斯坦军方把战略重点转向反恐和对付反叛力量的努力复杂化。
日本拟立法明确规定北方四岛为固有领土
日本执政党22日批准了将北方领土明确规定为“我国固有领土”。由于共产党等在野党也将赞成，法案可能在本届国会内通过。从法律上规定北方四岛为日本领土，旨在提高国民对领土返还运动的关心。
美国Bankunited银行破产 今年最大银行破产案
联邦监管机构周四接管了陷入困境的佛罗里达州储蓄银行BankUnited FSB 。Federal
Deposit Insurance Corp或为该银行支付49亿美元，仅次于IndyMac的110亿。
FDIC及新银行同意分担约107亿美元资产未来可能发生的损失。新管理层还同意注入9亿美元资金，对该银行进行资本结构重组。
奥巴马签署信用卡改革法案
奥巴马22日签署了国会此前通过的信用卡改革法案。这份法案禁止信用卡公司提高卡债的利率，除非是借款人拖欠还款60天以上。如果持卡人在紧接著的6个月里按时还款，那信用卡公司必须将利率恢复到原来的水平。法案还禁止信用卡公司对消费者通过电话还款等还款方式收取额外费用。法案要求信用卡公司向21岁以下申请人发放信用卡时，必须得到申请人本人有能力还款或父母愿意代其还款的证明；并要求信用卡公司给予新发放信用卡的促销性利率必须维持6个月不得提高。将近80%的美国人持有信用卡。
通用汽车公司再获40亿美元政府贷款
美国通用汽车公司22日宣布，公司又从美国财政部获得40亿美元贷款。至此，通用
已经从美国政府累计获得194亿美元贷款援助。
资金流出“避风港”致美元走弱
IHS Global Insight经济学家布莱恩.贝休恩说，美元走弱显示出投资者对世界经济，
尤其是巴西、拉美、印度和中国这样的新兴市场的信心开始回升，所以他们开始抽
出美元，在这些市场进行投资。他们认为这些市场的投资风险在降低。
标准普尔首席经济学家韦斯说，人们开始对美国政府越积越高的债务感到担忧。他
们担心政府无力还债。这将意味著利率会调涨。这是他们抛售美元和美国国债的另
一个原因。
标普警告英国有可能下调其信用评级
北京10万余套政策房年内入市 相关政策将出台
北京市去年共有800万平方米政策性住房开工建设，其中廉租房项目26个，面积50.3万平方米；经适房项目24个，面积301.5万平方米；限价房项目24个，面积451.5万平方米。竣工后至少将有10万套政策房上市销售。
2007年推出的530万平方米，总计5.3万套政策性住房中，已在去年完成销售近5万套，剩余房源计划在6月前全部完成销售。市政府已经制定出计划，将从今年起至2011年的三年时间内，解决28万户困难家庭的住房问题。
上海拟弹性延长退休年龄
在国家做出统一规定之前，上海将适时推出延迟办理申领基本养老金手续的弹性政
策，即先不实行强制性的延长退休年龄的规定，而由单位和个人协商确定是否延迟
办理申领基本养老金手续。延长退休年龄使得缴费年限增加，同时也缩减养老金的
支出，有助于缓解养老基金的赤字。上海今年计划增加养老金支出60多亿元，而上
海市今年公共收入1100多亿元，增长率为5%左右--增长的公共收入不足以弥补增加的养老金支出。
台湾澎湖列岛欲靠赌场振兴旅游业
今年1月台湾修改相关法律准许开设赌场。澎湖将于8月进行居民投票，通过后交由
台湾立法院审议--预计年内完成相关的法律程序。澎湖县计划在2013年前后使赌场
开张--预期中国大陆、日本、韩国及台湾本岛每年有500万人次的游客前来旅游。从上海、南京等地乘直航班机到澎湖只需45分钟。
中国即将成立国际铁矿石交易中心
Troops enter Mingora, fierce street fights erupt
Chief military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said
parts of Mingora had already been cleared and that 17
militants, including an important commander, were killed
during the most recent fighting of Pakistan's northwest
offensive.
The ground assault on Mingora, a city with an estimated
population of around 300,000 - of whom many have fled -
marks the most crucial part of the military's blistering
offensive against the Taliban in the scenic valley.
The military reported intense exchanges of fire and said one
would-be suicide bomber was shot dead and that another
'suicide vehicle' rigged with explosives had been destroyed.
Pakistani troops had been slowly tightening their
encirclement of the city for days and Abbas said Saturday
that militant supplies had been cut off. 'Mingora was
surrounded from four directions and militant supplies were
cut off,' Abbas told a news conference.
The prospect of an assault on Mingora, which has loomed for
days, has raised fears of a bloody battle and the
possibility of civilian casualties. US-based Human Rights
Watch earlier this week quoted residents as saying the
Taliban had mined Mingora and 'prevented many civilians from
fleeing, using them as 'human shields' to deter attack.'
US drone attacks counter-productive: Gilani
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said attacks by US drones
on Pakistani territory were ‘counter-productive’ because
they undermined Islamabad's efforts to isolate militants.
‘Our policy is to isolate militants from the local tribes,
but drone attacks unite them.’
CIA director Leon Panetta defended the use of unmanned
aircraft to target Al-Qaeda militants and said President
Barack Obama's policies had severely disrupted the network's
leadership.
Islamabad publicly opposes drone attacks, saying they
violate its territorial sovereignty and deepen resentment
among the populace. Since August 2008, more than 40 such
strikes have killed around 420 people.
US to provide military aid to Lebanon
Washington will provide Lebanon with fighter jets,
helicopters, tanks and unmanned aerial vehicles. Biden said
Friday that future US aid to Lebanon depends on the outcome
of upcoming elections, a warning aimed at Iranian-backed
Hizbullah as it tries to oust the pro-Western faction that
dominates government.
US officials have said before they will review aid to
Lebanon depending on the composition of the next government,
apparently meaning military aid. "The election of leaders
committed to the rule of law and economic reform opens the
door to lasting growth and prosperity as it will here in
Lebanon," Biden said. The US "will evaluate the shape of our
assistance programs based on the composition of the new
government and the policies it advocates."
The Shiite group has only 14 seats in the 128-seat
parliament, but got the veto power after a show of force a
year ago when its gunmen overran Sunni neighborhoods in
Beirut. Hizbullah and its allies have a total of 58 seats,
while the Western-backed majority holds 70. The coalition
dominated by the heavily armed Hizbullah stands a good
chance of winning, which could increase the influence of its
sponsors Iran and Syria in the region.
U.S., Afghan forces kill 60 in drug raid: military
The troops were fighting for control of Loy Cherah Bazaar in
Helmand's Marjeh city, where they found 75 tonnes of poppy
seeds, more than 17 tonnes of morphine, opium and heroin,
and caches of weapons and equipment, the military said in a
statement.
Afghanistan produces more than 90 percent of the world's
opium, most of it in the Taliban's southern heartland. U.S.
military officials have estimated the opium trade provides
between $80 million and $400 million a year to the Taliban.
Assad: Israel the 'major obstacle' to peace in Middle East
According to AFP, the Syrian leader blamed Israel for the
failure of the indirect peace talks, saying that "the
failure of the peace process is a blatant demonstration that
Israel is the major obstacle to peace."..."Our experience
with Israel during indirect peace negotiations mediated by
Turkey is further proof of this," The Syrian president went
on to defend the right of Palestinians and Syrians to use
force against Israel. "The failure of political methods to
recover their legitimate rights gives them the right of
resistance," he reportedly said.
Syria: Israel's Iranophobia plot to sow discord
The Syrian Foreign Minister urges certain Arab countries not
to be deceived by Israeli media hype which tries to spread
Iranophobia in the Middle East. “Iran, as a member of the
Organization of Islamic Conference, has stood behind Arabs
and supported our demands,” Walid al-Muallim told Syrian TV
ahead of an OIC ministerial meeting in Damascus.
With the main goal of diverting international attention from
a peace settlement with the Palestinians, Israeli officials
have strived to disseminate the idea of a so-called “Iranian
threat” throughout the Arab world to create divisions
between Arabs and Iran.
As Israel rages, US plans for Iran war re-emerge
As Washington gets updates on Israeli plans to strike Iran,
US President Barack Obama orders the Pentagon to rejuvenate
contingency plans for the use of military in Iran.
Despite the prospects of diplomatic engagement with Tehran
over its nuclear program, Defense Secretary and Pentagon
chief Robert Gates said Friday that the White House has not
ruled out the possibility of a military strike if diplomacy
was to fail.
"Presidents always ask their military to have a range of
contingency plans available to them," Gates told NBC
television. "And all I would say is that, as a result of our
dialogue with the president, we've refreshed our plans and
all options are on the table."
In a turnabout from the policies of the Bush administration,
President Obama says he seeks to diplomatically engage Iran
over its disputed nuclear program.
The defense secretary's remarks come shortly after a visit
by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington.
Netanyahu told Obama that Israel reserves the right to take
unilateral military action against Iran, refusing to make a
promise to follow the US lead.
Netanyahu's visit to the US has raised fears that the US
president may have failed to avert an impending war in the
volatile Middle East.
Obama won't present peace plan in Cairo
The White House denied on Friday that details of a new
Middle East peace plan will be publicly revealed by
President Barack Obama during his upcoming trip to Cairo
next month.
Speaking to reporters during a briefing at the White House,
Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said that although remarks
about the peace process will be impossible to avoid, the
main thrust of the president's speech will be America's
relationship with the Muslim world.
Iran slams US-proposed Afghan political shakeup
Iran raises the alarm over an Afghan political restructuring
amid reports of a possible appointment of a US diplomat to a
key post in Afghanistan. To address Tehran's deep concern
Iran's ambassador to Afghanistan, Hossein Fada-Maleki, met
with Afghan President Hamid Karzai earlier this week, IRNA
reported on Friday.
"Nobody is better aware of the political structure of
Afghanistan than the Afghans themselves," the Iranian envoy
told the President, expressing support for the changes based
on the viewpoints of the people of Afghanistan, rather than
those of foreign forces.
A spokesman for President Karzai, Siyamak Herawi, rejected
the claim. "We are not aware of this. We cannot confirm
this. There is no truth in it."
Under Afghanistan's constitutional law, there is no role for
a prime minister or "chief executive" and the president
appoints all regional governors and other top officials
under a strong, centralized system.
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