評論
打印
The world of this week
本周要聞
Politics
政治
Following a poor result for her party at a state election in Hesse, Angela Merkel announced that she will stand down as leader of her Christian Democratic Union in December, when the post is up for biennial election. She said she was willing to remain as Germany’s chancellor until 2021, when elections are scheduled to be called. But she may well not last until then. Her coalition partners, the Social Democrats, also suffered embarrassing losses in Hesse.
安格拉·默克爾(Angela Merkel)所在政黨在黑森州選舉中表現不佳，隨后她宣布，將于12月辭去基督教民主聯盟(Christian Democratic Union)領導人的職務，屆時該職位將進行兩年一次的選舉。她表示，愿意在2021年之前繼續擔任德國總理職務，2021年德國將舉行大選。但在那之前，她很可能撐不下去。她的聯盟伙伴社會民主黨在黑森州也遭遇了尷尬的失利。
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg upheld a decision by an Austrian court to fine a woman who had described Muhammad the Prophet as a paedophile, citing his marriage to a girl said in some accounts to be only six. Blasphemy is still a crime in Austria. Fans of free speech denounced the ruling.
位于斯特拉斯堡的歐洲人權法院維持了奧地利法院的一項判決，即對一名將先知穆罕默德描述為戀童癖的女子處以罰款，該女子稱穆罕默德與一名據說年僅6歲的女孩結婚。在奧地利，褻瀆神明仍然是一種犯罪行為。而言論自由的支持者譴責這一裁決。
Michael Higgins was re-elected as president of Ireland, a mostly ceremonial role he has held since 2011, with 56% of the vote. On the same day voters also opted to repeal Ireland’s long-standing constitutional ban on blasphemy.
邁克爾·希金斯(Michael Higgins)以56%的得票率連任愛爾蘭總統，自2011年以來，他一直擔任這一象征性職務。同日，選民還將投票決定是否廢除愛爾蘭憲法中關于褻瀆神明的長期禁令。
Philip Hammond, Britain’s chancellor of the exchequer, delivered a spend-and-please budget. A surprise windfall from increased tax revenues offered a chance for him to claim an end was in sight to eight years of austerity. Mr Hammond could have paid down more of the country’s debt pile, but instead chose to boost spending in selected government departments (mostly the National Health Service). The generous pledges are contingent on a smooth Brexit in March next year.
英國財政大臣菲利普·哈蒙德(Philip Hammond)提出了一項“支出滿意”財政預算。稅收增加帶來的意外之財讓他有機會宣稱，8年的緊縮時期即將結束。哈蒙德本可以償還更多的國家債務，但他選擇增加政府部門(主要是國家醫療衛生系統)的開支。不過，這些慷慨的承諾是否兌現取決于明年3月英國能否順利脫歐。
Turkey’s government announced a series of tax cuts, prompting more concern that it is not serious about fiscal discipline. The lira swooned.
土耳其政府宣布了一系列減稅措施，這使外界對政府不重視財政紀律的擔心甚囂塵上。土耳其貨幣里拉崩潰。
Stop the war coalition
停止戰爭聯盟
America’s secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, and secretary of defence, Jim Mattis, urged the warring parties in Yemen to stop fighting. America is losing patience with Saudi Arabia, an important ally, over its reckless and brutal handling of the war in Yemen, which has left millions at risk of starvation.
美國國務卿邁克·蓬佩奧和國防部長吉姆·馬蒂斯敦促也門交戰各方停止戰斗。美國對其重要盟友沙特阿拉伯逐漸喪失耐心，因為后者對也門戰爭的魯莽、野蠻處理方式導致數百萬人面臨饑餓的危險。
A Turkish prosecutor said that Jamal Khashoggi, a journalist, was strangled to death moments after he entered Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul in a planned killing. The allegation, which contradicts claims made by Saudi Arabia that Mr Khashoggi was accidentally killed in a struggle, will add to pressure on Muhammad bin Salman, the kingdom’s crown prince, to explain the events surrounding the murder.
一名土耳其檢察官表示，記者賈馬爾·卡舒吉(Jamal Khashoggi)進入沙特駐伊斯坦布爾領事館后被勒死。該指控與沙特方聲稱卡舒吉在斗毆中意外死亡的說法相矛盾，這將加大沙特王儲穆罕默德·本·薩爾曼出面解釋謀殺事件的壓力。
Another Saudi prince, Ahmed bin Abdulaziz, returned to the country from exile in London. Some speculate that he plans to challenge the authority of the crown prince; others that he hopes to reinforce it. As is usual with the cryptic kingdom, no one really has a clue.
另一位流亡英國的沙特親王艾哈邁德·本·阿卜杜拉阿齊茲(Ahmed bin Abdulaziz)返回沙特。有人猜測，他此番欲挑戰王儲（薩勒曼）的權威；其他人則猜測他希望鞏固王儲的權力。正如同這神秘王國一般，沒有人掌握真正的內情。
Binyamin Netanyahu made the first state visit by a prime minister of Israel to Oman in 22 years, a clear sign of the Jewish state’s warming relations with Arab countries. The trip raised eyebrows as Oman is close to Iran, Israel’s main rival.
以色列總理本亞明·內塔尼亞胡(Binyamin Netanyahu)對進行阿曼22年來的首次國事訪問，這是這一猶太國家與阿拉伯國家關系回暖的明顯跡象。由于阿曼與以色列的主要競爭對手伊朗關系密切，此次訪問讓外界驚訝。
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