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Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Irish anti-austerity protesters clash with police

September 18, 2013

DUBLIN (AP) — Hundreds of hard-line protesters opposed to Ireland's ongoing austerity program clashed with police and snarled rush-hour traffic in Dublin with a surprise seizure of a key bridge Wednesday.

The trouble on O'Connell Street, Dublin's major thoroughfare, and fighting with police outside the entrance to Ireland's parliament building reflected the rising divisions — both within the government and on the streets — over plans to continue with a five-year austerity program.

Police pinned down or pepper-sprayed several demonstrators as they tried to push their way through steel barricades and towards the parliament entrance, where politicians were arriving for their first debating session following a two-month summer recess.

Ireland's government on Oct. 15 is committed to unveiling a 2014 budget featuring 3.1 billion euros ($4 billion) in new cuts and tax hikes. The Irish already have endured five years of austerity following the collapse of their credit-driven Celtic Tiger boom in 2008.

But economists and government ministers are publicly divided over whether those 2014 cuts go too far, given Ireland's better-than-expected economic performance following its 2010 bailout by the European Union, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund. That so-called troika of international creditors three years ago provided Ireland loans worth 67.5 billion euros ($90 billion) when the colossal bill of Ireland's bank-rescue program overwhelmed the government's own ability to keep financing its debts.

The EU-IMF fund is running out by the end of the year, by which time Ireland hopes to resume affordable borrowing on bond markets. But many Irish believe they've already lost too much income and benefits to finance a bank-rescue program expected to cost Irish taxpayers close to 70 billion pounds, or nearly 20,000 euros ($26,000) for every man, woman and child in Ireland.

Protesters representing a range of socialist, Irish republican and anti-establishment interests converged on Leinster House, the parliament building, bearing signs demanding the imprisonment of reckless bankers deemed responsible for fueling a destructive 15-year property bubble that burst in 2008.

The demonstrators' anger rose after police used pepper spray to defend the security perimeter. Hundreds moved to nearby O'Connell Bridge, a key transport corridor, and the capital's major O'Connell Street thoroughfare. They easily outflanked a handful of officers and blocked both ends of the bridge as well as much of O'Connell Street, snarling rush-hour traffic along two narrow riverside roads. Some unfurled banners calling for banks not to evict mortgage defaulters from their homes, while others staged sit-down protests on the pavement and chatted on their cell phones.

Many commuters expressed disgust at the protesters as they became trapped on roads for two hours with no escape route. But police declined to use force to clear the demonstrators, who left voluntarily after dark.

Ireland's 2-year-old coalition government has won plaudits from troika creditors for its success in slashing deficits, but the government still is spending at least 10 billion euros ($13.35 billion)annually more than it collects in taxes. Ireland last year posted a deficit exceeding 8 percent of gross domestic product but hopes, with two more years of cutting and taxing, to reach the EU's official deficit limit of 3 percent by 2015.

While the major government party, the conservative Fine Gael, is committed to the 3.1 billion euro austerity target already agreed with troika creditors, its coalition partners in the left-wing Labour Party are insisting that such steep cuts are no longer necessary given Ireland's slowly improving economy and employment rate.

Greek workers start 48-hour public sector strike

September 24, 2013

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greek civil servants walked off the job Tuesday at the start of a 48-hour public sector strike, the second in as many weeks, to protest job cuts required for the country to continue receiving international rescue loans.

State school, tax office and hospital workers joined the strike, while ambulances services were to run with a reduced staff. Journalists joined in with a three-hour work stoppage, pulling any non-strike related news of the air.

But participation appeared low, with many services remaining open in central Athens, including post offices and some schools and tax offices. Thousands of people marched peacefully, chanting anti-austerity slogans through the center of the capital and in the country's second-largest city of Thessaloniki in the north.

Greece has been dependent on billions of euros in rescue loans from other European countries that use the euro as their currency, and from the International Monetary Fund since May 2010. In return, it has had to overhaul its economy and impose harsh austerity measures, including slashing salaries and pensions, introducing new taxes and repeatedly increasing existing ones.

The rescue loans are paid in installments after the country passes an inspection of its progress in reforms by the European Commission, European Central Bank and IMF, collectively known as the troika. The latest inspection began this week, with troika representatives meeting with the finance minister Sunday. Their approval is need for Greece to get the next installment, worth €1 billion ($1.35 billion), in October.

Under the terms of its bailout, Greece's government must suspend 12,500 workers on reduced pay by the end of the month. Those who cannot be absorbed into other public sector positions will lose their jobs.

The plan has led to extensive strikes by high school teachers shortly after the new academic year began this month, and has seen heated opposition by other civil service unions. Greece's economy has been battered by a deep recession, now in its sixth year, while unemployment has risen to the highest level in the EU, standing at above 27 percent, and at nearly 59 percent for those under the age of 25. The economy has shown small signs of improvement recently, however. Figures released Monday evening showed a primary budget surplus — income that excludes the cost of paying interest on debt — and a smaller deficit than targeted for.

The finance ministry's figures for the first eight months of the year showed Greece's state budget was posting a primary surplus of 2.86 billion euros ($3.86 billion), better than the target for a 2.49 billion-euro primary deficit.

The overall state budget deficit stood at 2.5 billion euros, compared with a target of 7.8 billion euros.

Greek police officials replaced in far-right probe

September 24, 2013

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Five senior police officers in Greece were replaced Monday after the government ordered urgent inquiries into alleged links between the far-right Golden Dawn party and the country's police and military.

The Public Order Ministry said the heads of the police's special forces, internal security, organized crime, firearms and explosives, and a rapid-response motorcycle division had been moved to other posts pending an investigation into weekend reports in the Greek media that police provided the party with assistance in alleged criminal activity.

Golden Dawn won nearly 7 percent of the vote in general elections last year, but is currently the subject of a criminal investigation following the murder last week of an anti-fascist rapper. The party angrily denies any involvement in the murder of rapper Pavlos Fyssas. A 45-year-old man, who authorities say has identified himself as a Golden Dawn volunteer, has been arrested for the murder and remains in police custody.

The government is seeking the prosecution of members of the far-right party under the country's anti-terrorism law and is preparing a legislative amendment that would see Golden Dawn's state campaign funding suspended if its lawmakers are accused of serious offences.

It describes the party as neo-Nazi and says it is behind a growing number of brutal street attacks against mostly Asian immigrants by far-right gangs. Monday's action was taken to "to ensure the absolute objectivity" of the police inquiry, the government said. Two less senior officers were also replaced, while a third was suspended, while regional police commanders of southern and central Greece resigned, citing personal reasons.

Separately, the Defense Ministry on Sunday ordered its own inquiry into the news reports that Golden Dawn members were receiving informal training from serving and reservist special forces officers in the Greek military.

Nikos Michaloliakos, the Golden Dawn leader, described the claims of paramilitary training and the government allegations linking his party to Fyssas' murder as "monstrous lies." "We are under an all-out and dirty attack from a system that is rotten," he said on a live webcast streamed on the party's Internet site.

"I am supposed to prove that I am not a criminal, not the mafia. But my question is: Is there any bigger criminal gang than those in power, who led the country to bankruptcy and handed over our national sovereignty?"

Golden Dawn, whose leaders in the past have expressed admiration for Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and use openly racist rhetoric against non-European immigrants, has seen a surge in support over the past two years as the country struggled through harsh economic crisis.

Its popularity in opinion polls has risen further since the last election in June 2012 — alarming mainstream political parties faced with municipal and European Parliament elections next year. A survey in the conservative Eleftheros Typos newspaper, published Monday, found a sharp dip in support for Golden Dawn over the past week, from 8.3 to 5.8 percent, with other parties broadly unchanged.

Anti-fascist protests across Greece turn violent

September 18, 2013

KERATSINI, Greece (AP) — Violent clashes broke out in several Greek cities Wednesday after a musician described as an anti-fascist activist was stabbed to death by a man who said he belonged to the far-right Golden Dawn party. More than 75 people were detained.

The death of Pavlos Fyssas, 34, drew condemnation from across Greece's political spectrum and from abroad. While the extremist Golden Dawn has been blamed for numerous violent attacks in the past, the overnight stabbing is the most serious violence so far directly attributed to a member.

Golden Dawn leader Nicholas Michaloliakos denied that the party had anything to do with the attack. Fyssas, a hip-hop singer whose stage name was Killah P, died in a state hospital early Wednesday after being stabbed twice outside a cafe in the Keratsini area west of Athens.

Police said a 45-year-old man arrested at the scene admitted to attacking Fyssas and said he belonged to Golden Dawn. A knife with traces of blood was found near his car. Clashes broke out Wednesday evening between riot police and thousands of protesters holding anti-fascist demonstrations in Fyssas' memory in Keratsini and another five cities.

In Keratsini, violence broke out near the scene of the stabbing, with hundreds of protesters attacking a nearby police station. The confrontation lasted more than two hours, with riot police using tear gas to repel youths, who set fire to trash bins and smashed up sidewalks with hammers to throw rocks at police.

The clashes left a busy suburban road strewn with rocks and smoldering trash for several hundred meters (yards). Traffic outside the busy port of Piraeus was disrupted as police cordoned off streets to stop protesters from reaching the area.

Similar scenes played out in Thessaloniki, Greece's second-largest city, where about 6,000 demonstrators marched. Greek media also reported violent clashes in the western city of Patras, the northeastern city of Xanthi, the central city of Larissa and in Chania on the southern island of Crete.

Authorities said 41 people were detained in Keratsini, and 36 in Thessaloniki. Earlier, friends of the victim and residents left flowers and candles at the spot of the attack, where blood still stained the sidewalk. The head of a small right-wing opposition party, Panos Kamenos of the Independent Greeks, was briefly assaulted by protesters when he attempted to visit the site.

Deputy Prime Minister Evangelos Venizelos, whose Socialist party is part of the coalition government, said Golden Dawn had "violence as its priority and must be dealt with as a criminal organization."

Hannes Swoboda, president of the Socialists and Democrats Group in the European Parliament, urged Greek authorities to examine banning the party altogether. "Golden Dawn's openly xenophobic, neo-Nazi hatred even goes as far as murdering political opponents. This is shocking and intolerable by any standards, and more so in a European Union country," he said.

The rights group Amnesty International called on authorities to prevent any further incidents. "Politically motivated violence of this kind is unacceptable anywhere, and history has shown the grim consequences if it goes unchecked," said Jezerca Tigani, Amnesty's deputy Europe and Central Asia program director. "The Greek authorities must send a clear message that attacks like this will not be tolerated."

The suspect, who was not named in accordance with Greek law, appeared before a prosecutor Wednesday evening along with his wife, who was arrested on suspicion of concealing evidence. Another couple also appeared in court on similar charges. Five prosecutors have been assigned to the case.

Golden Dawn, whose senior members have expressed admiration for Adolf Hitler although they deny being neo-Nazi, won nearly 7 percent of the vote in 2012 general elections. Recent opinion polls show its support has since risen to around 12 percent.

Party members and supporters, often clearly identifiable in black T-shirts and combat pants, have been suspected of beatings and stabbings across the country, usually of dark-skinned migrants. In January, two men identified as party sympathizers were arrested for the fatal stabbing of a Pakistani migrant worker.

But Wednesday's killing was the first attributed to a Golden Dawn member, and the most severe attributed to political rather than racial motives. "I am shaken by the event," said Public Order Minister Nikos Dendias, who cancelled a visit to Rome scheduled for Thursday. The killing and other recent violent incidents "show in the clearest possible way the intentions of the neo-Nazi creation."

Michaloliakos, the Golden Dawn head, said his party "unreservedly condemns the murder of the 34-year-old at Keratsini and denies any involvement of the party." "All the political parties must assume their responsibilities and not create a climate of civil war, giving a political character to a tragic event," he said.

Police spokesman Christos Parthenis said the suspect drove to the scene of an altercation between two groups of people, got out of the car and stabbed Fyssas. Friends of the victim told Greek media they had been attacked by a large group of men as they left the cafe.

Golden Dawn lawmaker Michalis Avranitis offered a different version of events, saying the victim and the suspect had initially argued about a soccer match. "Yes, this man, as it turns out, has declared himself to be a member of Golden Dawn. But Golden Dawn has 1 million supporters," Avranitis said in Parliament. "If, in a restaurant, two drunken idiots have a fight and someone is stabbed, should we look at their ideology and blame that?"

Elena Becatoros reported from Athens. Costas Kantouris contributed from Thessaloniki.

After victory, Merkel to form new government

September 23, 2013

BERLIN (AP) — Chancellor Angela Merkel won a stunning victory in Germany's elections, but she still faces the delicate work of forming a coalition government. She and top party officials were meeting Monday to talk strategy about reaching out to the center-left rivals they need to form a government.

Merkel's Union bloc scored its best result in 23 years Sunday to put her on course for a third term, winning 41.5 percent of the vote and finishing only five seats short of an absolute majority in the lower house. However, Merkel's coalition partner crashed out of Parliament.

Merkel looks likely to end up leading either a "grand coalition" government with the center-left Social Democrats of defeated challenger Peer Steinbrueck — reviving the alliance that ran Germany in her first term — or, less likely, with the environmentalist Greens.

"We have two possibilities: the Social Democrats or the Greens," Volker Kauder, the leader of her party's parliamentary group, told ARD public Television. "We will determine in our committees how the talks should go."

"We will provide our country with a strong government," Kauer added before heading into the talks. Merkel coalition partners in the last government, the pro-business Free Democrats, won only 4.8 percent of the vote. They fell short of the 5 percent needed to win seats in Parliament for the first time in Germany's post-World War II history, paying the price for frequent governing infighting and their failure to secure tax cuts they pledged before going into government four years ago.

Olaf Scholz, a top official of the Social Democrats, who were also meeting for talks about future possible government coalitions, did not want to express outright support for a "grand coalition" at this point.

"We don't know what the chancellor will do at this point," Kauder said. "She has the mandate to build a new government." Several weeks of negotiations are expected, whether Merkel forms a coalition with the Social Democrats or the Greens.

A look at Germany's voting system

September 22, 2013

BERLIN (AP) — Each of Germany's nearly 62 million eligible voters gets to make two crosses on the ballot paper in Sunday's parliamentary election — one for a directly elected representative and the other for a party.

Half of the seats in the lower house of parliament, or Bundestag, go to the directly elected lawmakers, one for each of the 299 constituencies. They are elected by a simple majority. The other 299 seats are allocated to candidates elected by party lists. The party vote is critical because it determines the percentage of seats each party wins in the lower house, which in turn selects the chancellor.

To share in the division of seats, a party must win 5 percent of the second type of vote or have at least three directly elected lawmakers. However, if any one party wins more seats through the direct vote than it would be allotted under the distribution based on the party vote, the system allows that party to keep the extra seats.

These extra seats, called "overhang" mandates, can bump up the number of lawmakers in parliament. The last election, in 2009, produced a parliament with 622 lawmakers rather than the minimum 598 — with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative bloc picking up 24 extra seats that padded her center-right coalition's majority.

In previous elections, it was possible for the extra seats to influence which coalition won power. That shouldn't be the case this time after the system was tweaked at the insistence of Germany's highest court — so other parties will also get extra seats, ensuring that the makeup of Parliament matches their percentage of the vote.

Once the votes have been counted, President Joachim Gauck will propose a chancellor to Parliament. That candidate needs to secure a majority of all lawmakers in the lower house to take office. If lawmakers fail to give a majority to one candidate in three tries, Gauck could appoint a minority government or dissolve Parliament.

Parliament is elected for a four-year term.

Merkel favored for 3rd term, faces tight outcome

September 21, 2013

BERLIN (AP) — She enjoys overwhelming popularity and leads an economy that's the envy of Europe. But Angela Merkel is in a fight to clinch a new term for her ruling coalition in Sunday's national election, with polls showing her center-right alliance on a knife-edge as her junior partner's support slumps.

Merkel and her conservative Christian Democratic Union appear likely to fend off a challenge from center-left rival Peer Steinbrueck and emerge as the biggest party in parliament's lower house, whose members choose the chancellor — making her the strong favorite to win a third term.

But no single party has won an absolute majority in Germany in more than 50 years. And surveys show Merkel's coalition partner, the pro-business Free Democratic Party, has fallen from the nearly 15 percent support it won in 2009 to about the 5 percent needed to keep any seats in Parliament.

If Merkel's alliance falls short of a parliamentary majority, the likeliest outcome is a switch to a Merkel-led "grand coalition" of her conservatives with Steinbrueck's Social Democratic Party, the same combination of traditional rivals that ran Germany from 2005-2009 in Merkel's first term.

That's unlikely to produce a radical change in policies. However, it could signal a subtle shift in emphasizing economic growth over the austerity that Germany has insisted on in exchange for bailing out economically weak European countries such as Greece.

Final results are due within hours of polls closing. But with margins so close, the country could still face weeks of horse-trading before a clear picture emerges about the makeup and policies of Germany's next government.

Merkel's center-right coalition might win re-election but "it will be very tight," said Oskar Niedermayer, a political science professor at Berlin's Free University. Much may depend on the turnout among the nearly 62 million voters — about 70 percent four years ago. Political leaders fought Saturday to mobilize their supporters and win over the undecided.

"I'm personally asking people in Germany to give me a strong mandate so that I can serve Germany for another four years, make policies for ... a strong Germany, for a country that is respected in Europe, that works for Europe; a country that stands up for its interests in the world but is a friend of many nations," Merkel said at a rally in Berlin.

Given Merkel's popularity — polls give her approval ratings of up to 70 percent — and the economic success enjoyed during what she calls "the most successful government since reunification" 23 years ago, it might seem surprising that the outcome appears so cloudy.

Merkel has won over Germans with her reassuring style, often appearing to be above the political fray. The eurozone's debt crisis has helped preserve her popularity, said Manfred Guellner, the head of the Forsa polling agency.

"She has repeatedly given people the feeling she's taking care that this abstract crisis doesn't rain down on their everyday lives," he said. Still, it is Merkel rather than her coalition that enjoys sky-high popularity. Voters haven't forgotten public coalition infighting that frequently marred the past four years. Much of the blame went to the Free Democrats.

A new party, Alternative for Germany, which calls for an "orderly breakup" of the euro common currency zone and appeals to socially conservative voters, may sap votes from the governing parties. State elections in Bavaria last Sunday set off alarms for the Free Democrats, who lost all their seats in the legislature. Since then, they've been angling for votes from Merkel's party since German voters cast two ballots — one for a specific parliamentary candidate and another for a party.

The Free Democrats were never strong in Bavaria but their disastrous showing gave heart to Merkel's rivals. "Tomorrow evening, you can be rid of the most inactive, backward-looking, quarrelsome but also loudest-mouthed government since German reunification," Steinbrueck told a rally in Frankfurt Saturday. "We can succeed."

Steinbrueck was referring to government infighting over issues such as the Free Democrats' promises of major tax cuts, which were never realized — as well as a much-criticized new benefit for stay-at-home parents the challenger pledges to scrap and the government's rejection of a national minimum wage, which he advocates.

Merkel's critics say she has failed to set any direction and presided over policy drift. Steinbrueck —who was once Merkel's finance minister and says he won't serve under her again — has quipped that if she were in his government, he would give Merkel "the ministry for vagueness."

However, Steinbrueck's center-left has struggled to generate momentum in the face of a healthy economy and a conservative campaign that largely skirted controversy, focusing squarely on Merkel's popularity.

"I have the impression that the (conservatives), Ms. Merkel as well, had an interest in not raising any big issues if possible," Steinbrueck said. Posters featuring a smiling Merkel declare simply: "Chancellor for Germany."

The opposition's campaign has been marred by problems ranging from criticism of Steinbrueck's high earnings on the lecture circuit to a much-mocked suggestion by his Green Party allies that canteens should introduce a meat-free "veggie day."

And Merkel has attacked plans by the Social Democrats and Greens to increase income tax for top earners, which she says would hurt the economy. Merkel has brushed aside concerns that a tight finish would weaken her position as Europe's strongest politician, noting that "majorities in Germany are very frequently narrow." She has said the current coalition would continue with "a majority, however big it is."

Who's who in Germany's election

September 20, 2013

BERLIN (AP) — Chancellor Angela Merkel is seeking a third term in Sunday's German election, when she faces a challenge from center-left rival Peer Steinbrueck. Leaders of Germany's smaller parties also will play a part in determining how Germany's next government looks. Here is a look at the major players.

ANGELA MERKEL, 59: Germany's chancellor since 2005, the first woman to lead the country and its first leader who grew up in communist East Germany. She also has broken with her predecessors in leading two different coalition governments: a "grand coalition" of right and left in her first term and a center-right alliance for the last four years.

Merkel has built up strong personal popularity as a consensual national leader credited with steering Germany through the 2008 financial crisis and protecting Germans from the eurozone debt crisis. That differs greatly from her negative image in much of Europe, where she's viewed as the enforcer of painful spending cuts and unpopular economic reforms.

The leader since 2000 of the conservative Christian Democratic Union, Merkel has frequently reached out to centrist voters, for example by abandoning military conscription and speeding up Germany's exit from nuclear power.

PEER STEINBRUECK, 66: Merkel's challenger from the Social Democrats, Germany's main center-left party. Steinbrueck was a well-regarded finance minister in Merkel's first term and was her co-pilot in combating the 2008 financial crisis.

Steinbrueck served in then-West German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt's chancellery in the late 1970s and later held a string of jobs in regional governments; he was the governor of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's most populous state, from 2002 to 2005 before losing an election there.

Steinbrueck has cultivated a plain-speaking image, once saying when he was finance minister that neighboring Switzerland faced the threat of the "cavalry" in a dispute over Germans' undeclared assets in Swiss banks. The image hasn't always had the desired effect: Shortly before the election, he drew criticism when a magazine published a photo of him holding out his middle finger in response to a question about campaign gaffes.

PHILIPP ROESLER, 40: Merkel's vice chancellor and economy minister; the leader since 2011 of the pro-market Free Democratic Party, the junior partner in the coalition government. Roesler became leader after his party made a much-criticized start to its time in government, failing to secure promised tax cuts. He has struggled to turn around its fortunes, but an unexpectedly strong performance in a January state election allowed him to wrong-foot critics and squash talk of another leadership change. Roesler portrays his party as a bulwark against tax hikes and a softer approach to the eurozone debt crisis.

Roesler was born in Vietnam and adopted by a German couple as a baby. JUERGEN TRITTIN, 59: The most prominent figure in the environmentalist Green party, the ally of Steinbrueck's Social Democrats. Environment minister from 1998-2005 under then-Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, when Germany set in motion plans to phase out nuclear power.

Trittin joined the Greens in 1980, the year the party was founded. He's a left-leaning favorite with activists, who chose him alongside centrist Katrin Goering-Eckardt to lead this year's election campaign. He is a co-leader of the Greens' parliamentary group.

GREGOR GYSI, 65: Germany's best-known ex-communist. One of the main movers behind the 2005 creation of the Left Party, a fusion of former East German communists and other hard-line leftists that has benefited from discontent over the past decade's welfare and labor-market reforms.

The charismatic Gysi says his party is the only one that stands out from the "consensus sauce" of German politics, but also has a strong pragmatic streak — he took his ex-communists into Berlin's regional government a decade ago and briefly served as economy minister there. However, his party, which is strongest in formerly communist eastern Germany, has thrived nationally on uncompromising opposition and looks unlikely to enter any federal government.

Which way now? Many possible outcomes in Germany

September 20, 2013

BERLIN (AP) — Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative bloc is strongly favored to win the biggest share of the vote in Sunday's German election, but the outcome will almost certainly produce a coalition. Since World War II Germany has been governed by coalitions except for about 18 months in the early 1960s. Who teams up with whom could change the country's direction subtly or sharply. A look at possible outcomes:

FOUR MORE YEARS Merkel's center-right coalition wins re-election. Merkel's conservative Christian Democratic Union and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union, joined forces at the beginning of Merkel's second term in 2009 with the pro-market Free Democrats. The traditional allies agree that Germany shouldn't increase taxes or introduce a national minimum wage and have taken a hard-nosed approach to Europe's debt crisis, demanding spending cuts and painful reforms from struggling countries in exchange for aid.

OLD FRIENDS — OR NEW — FOR MERKEL If there's no majority for a center-right government, several weeks of horse-trading are likely. The likeliest outcome is a second "grand coalition" of Merkel's conservatives and the center-left Social Democrats, the biggest opposition party. That combination ran Germany in Merkel's first term after an inconclusive 2005 election. The middle-of-the-road alliance is popular with voters but disliked by activists of both parties. The two sides differ over economic and social issues and, to some extent, over the best solution to Europe's debt crisis.

Merkel may also try to form a coalition with the environmentalist, left-leaning Greens. One major obstacle disappeared when Merkel decided to speed up the closure of Germany's nuclear power plants, but this untried alliance still looks highly unlikely. The parties are culturally far apart and have wide disagreements on economic policies — and Green leaders could struggle to get party members' approval.

STEINBRUECK TAKES OVER Challenger Peer Steinbrueck, a Social Democrat, wants a center-left coalition with the Greens — reviving the coalition that ran Germany from 1998 until 2005 under Merkel's predecessor, Gerhard Schroeder. This combination would mean a swing to the left on matters such as taxation and social policy; it might also be more open to pooling Germany's debt with that of other eurozone countries.

This coalition's chances of winning a majority look poor. Steinbrueck could try to add Merkel's allies, the Free Democrats — but they have ruled out the combination. The Social Democrats and Greens might be tempted to link up with the third opposition party, the Left Party. But both say they won't govern with the fusion of ex-communists and other hard-line leftists, which opposes eurozone bailout and reform policies, is against German troop deployments abroad and has prospered in all-out opposition.

WILD CARD: UPSTART EURO-SKEPTICS The new Alternative for Germany party advocates an "orderly breakup" of the eurozone. Its chances of winning the 5 percent support needed to win seats in Parliament are uncertain; if it does, it's hard to see anyone taking it into government.

IN THE BACKGROUND: THE UPPER HOUSE Whoever wins will be dealing with an upper house of Parliament dominated by the Social Democrats and Greens. The upper house represents Germany's 16 state governments and has swung leftward over recent years as Merkel's coalition lost a string of state elections. It has to approve most major legislation, so Merkel will have to keep haggling with her center-left opponents even if she doesn't go into government with them.

Bavaria's vote a prelude to German election

September 13, 2013

BERLIN (AP) — Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives hope to add momentum to the German leader's quest for a third term with a big state election win on Sunday in prosperous Bavaria — just a week before the whole country goes to the polls.

Germany's main opposition party has fielded its strongest Bavarian candidate in years in hopes of ousting from power the Merkel-allied Christian Social Union, the region's dominant force. But polls suggest that isn't likely to lift its performance much — just as it struggles to motivate voters nationally.

"We will sound the signal for victory nationwide," Bavarian governor Horst Seehofer, the CSU leader, said last weekend as he and Merkel launched the final phase of the conservatives' campaign. Seehofer's party — a key source of votes for Merkel in federal elections — has a point to prove: beyond extending its 56 years in charge of Bavaria, polls show that it can hope to win back an absolute majority in the state legislature it humiliatingly lost five years ago.

Bavaria is in strong economic health — making it difficult for the opposition to generate momentum for change. The southern German region of 12.5 million is a wealthy high-tech and industrial center, home to companies such as BMW, Siemens and Allianz. It has an unemployment rate of just 3.8 percent — the lowest of any German state, and well below the already-healthy national rate of 6.8 percent.

"Germans are doing better than people in most other countries on this Earth, and you'll understand if we say that Germany is doing well and Bavaria is doing a little bit better," Seehofer said recently.

As Merkel looks to a strong showing in Bavaria for support, her center-left challenger, Peer Steinbrueck, has been downplaying the vote's significance, insisting that "the federal election isn't being decided here."

His Social Democrats fielded well-known Munich Mayor Christian Ude as their candidate for governor, but prospects look poor for his hopes of ousting the CSU in a several-party alliance and his personal ratings trail Seehofer's badly.

Steinbrueck argues that people often vote differently in federal and state elections, and says the outcome "won't change anything" in his party's national election campaign. Manfred Guellner, the head of the Forsa polling agency, also is skeptical that the outcome in Bavaria will have more than a "minimal" impact on the national vote.

Merkel is heavily favored to emerge from the Sept. 22 national election with a third four-year term. Polls show Merkel's conservative bloc of her Christian Democrats and the Bavaria-only CSU leading the pack — though not by the 25-point margin or more the CSU enjoys in Bavaria.

However, they show her current center-right coalition roughly level with the combined opposition, with a lead of up to about 10 points over Steinbrueck's hoped-for alliance of his Social Democrats and the Greens. That suggests she may need a new coalition partner.

One potential problem is the weakness of the pro-market Free Democrats, Merkel's junior governing partner. In national polls, they're hovering around or just above the 5 percent support needed to win seats in Parliament; in Bavaria, they've been polling below that mark.

Seehofer, like Merkel, runs a coalition with the Free Democrats. Unlike her, he'd be happy to dump them and govern Bavaria alone as his party did for nearly a half-century until 2008. Post-World War II Germany has never had a single-party national government, but they were long a matter of course in socially conservative Bavaria.

Top Free Democrat Rainer Bruederle argues that his party has been a useful "corrective" to the CSU and told Focus magazine this week: "Horst Seehofer must not be allowed to govern alone." Seehofer has a populist touch and, like previous CSU leaders, often enjoys needling Merkel's party.

In this campaign, Seehofer has advocated a highway toll for foreign car drivers, which Merkel rules out. In the past, his party has talked particularly tough on Greece and other eurozone debt strugglers, and forced through — to some allies' annoyance — a new benefit program for stay-at-home parents.

Guellner noted the CSU has a tradition of attracting voters from the right to the center-left. "Over decades, the CSU succeeded in creating an identity, (that) Bavaria and the CSU were one entity," he said.

Meantime, Steinbrueck's Social Democrats are simply "nonexistent" in much of the state, he said.

Merkel, rival face off in German election debate

September 01, 2013

BERLIN (AP) — Chancellor Angela Merkel is to face her center-left rival in the only live televised debate of the campaign for Germany's Sept. 22 parliamentary election — with the challenger needing a good performance against the popular incumbent.

Recent surveys have given Merkel's conservative bloc a large lead over challenger Peer Steinbrueck's Social Democrats and suggested that her current center-right coalition can hope to win re-election. They've also given her a big advantage in personal popularity.

So far, Merkel's center-left opponents have struggled to land any blows on her and she has largely ignored her challenger. But Sunday night's 90-minute duel, broadcast live on several national channels, offers voters a chance to compare the candidates.

Merkel has benefited from a healthy economy and perceptions that she's managed Europe's debt crisis well.

Merkel's challenger pledges quick policy changes

August 29, 2013

BERLIN (AP) — Chancellor Angela Merkel's center-left challenger is pledging quick policy changes if elected next month, promising Thursday to introduce swiftly a national minimum wage and raise taxes for top earners as he seeks to reverse a daunting poll deficit.

Recent surveys have given the popular Merkel's conservative bloc a lead of up to 19 percentage points over Peer Steinbrueck's Social Democrats and suggested that her current center-right coalition can hope to win re-election on Sept. 22.

But Steinbrueck insisted that "absolutely nothing is decided," arguing that many voters are undecided and there are millions of former supporters his party can reach out to. He spoke as he presented his priorities for his first 100 days as chancellor — a list heavy on pledges to narrow the gap between haves and have-nots, designed to tackle perceptions that there's little difference between Germany's major parties.

"The direction of the compass is that Germany is economically strong because it can be socially fair," Steinbrueck told reporters. "Each depends on the other." Top of the list is a commitment to introduce a mandatory national minimum wage — which Germany, unlike many other countries, lacks — of 8.50 euros ($11.35) per hour. Steinbrueck also wants to increase the income tax rate on people earning above 100,000 euros per year to 49 from 42 percent, cut electricity taxes and crack down on tax evasion.

Merkel opposes tax increases, arguing that they would hurt the economy, and argues against a one-size-fits-all minimum wage — preferring sector-by-sector deals between employers and employees. Steinbrueck also is pledging to scrap a much-criticized new benefit for parents who choose to stay at home and invest the money in day-care facilities, increase pensions for the low-paid and drop rules forcing many children of immigrants to choose between German citizenship and that of their parents.

While Steinbrueck's 100-day agenda is largely domestic, it includes a pledge to press ahead with a European banking union — a key step to restoring confidence in Europe's financial system. Specifically, he wants progress on setting up a central authority to wind up failing European banks — something Merkel's government insists would require time-consuming changes to European treaties. Steinbrueck charged that Merkel's government "is filibustering and delaying."

Steinbrueck made clear that a center-left government wouldn't do everything differently in Europe's financial crisis. Merkel's government recently admitted Greece will need a third aid package, but opposes calls for Athens to be granted a second debt writedown following a debt restructuring deal agreed with private sector bondholders last year.

"I share the extreme reluctance" of the government to consider that, Steinbrueck said. He said another writedown would risk wiping out future investor confidence in Greek bonds and likely would burden taxpayers — "and you try explaining that to (our) citizens."

French military preparing for Syria operation

August 29, 2013

PARIS (AP) — France said openly Thursday for the first time that its military is preparing for a possible operation in Syria — but President Francois Hollande stopped short of announcing armed intervention over a suspected chemical weapons attack.

Expectations have been mounting that the United States, France and Britain are preparing military action against Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime after an apparent poison gas attack in Syria on Aug. 21. U.N. experts are currently in Syria investigating what happened.

Hollande does not need French parliamentary approval to launch military action that lasts less than four months. He appears to have a stronger hand than his U.S. and British counterparts, who are facing some resistance at home to a Syrian intervention amid questions over the attack.

While Hollande has spoken firmly against Assad's regime, the French military has been quiet about its plans. On Thursday, French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said: "The Armed Forces have been put in position to respond" if the president commits French forces to an international intervention in Syria.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said that France and its allies are preparing an "indispensable" response and that it should be "thought-out, proportionate and firm." Hollande on Thursday stressed the importance of a political solution and making the Syrian opposition a stronger alternative, notably with increased firepower.

"We will only achieve this if the international community is capable of bringing a stop to this escalation of violence, of which the chemical massacre is just one illustration," Hollande said after meeting Syrian opposition leader Ahmad al-Jarba.

France has a dozen cruise missile-capable fighter aircraft at military bases in the United Arab Emirates and the Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti. France's military was at the forefront of the NATO-led attacks on Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011, and led an intervention against extremists in Mali earlier this year.

French military officials confirmed that the frigate Chevalier Paul, which specializes in anti-missile and air-air capabilities, as well as the hulking transport ship Dixmude, had set off Thursday from the Mediterranean port of Toulon as part of normal training and operational preparations — but denied reports that the move was linked to a Syrian intervention.

Elaine Ganley in Paris contributed to this report.

Woman becomes 1st to row solo from Japan to Alaska

September 25, 2013

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A 28-year-old British adventurer became the first woman to row solo from Japan to Alaska, arriving late Monday at a small town in the Aleutian Islands after 150 days at sea.

"I have had some of the most intense and memorable months of my life out on the Pacific, it has been brilliant and brutal at the same time," Sarah Outen said in a statement. "And it has been a privilege."

Outen celebrated with a bottle of champagne in Adak, Alaska, and greeted community members and supporters, her first human contact in nearly five months, as first reported by the Anchorage Daily News.

She left Choshi, Japan, on April 27 and was at sea for 3,750 miles (6,034 kilometers). It is part of her plan for a global trek by an ocean rowing shell, kayak and bike. "I have pushed myself to my absolute limits both physically and mentally to make land here in Alaska, and body and mind are now exhausted," she said.

On Monday afternoon, Outen came within a half mile (800 meters) of the Alaska shore before winds and currents started pushing her onto the rocks. Her support team decided it was safer to tow her into Adak's small boat harbor.

On the row, she battled dangerous seas, and her boat, Happy Socks, capsized five times. She also fought the psychological battle of being alone. In the last few days, she almost hit a cargo ship after her radar failed, and battled cooling temperatures and increasing darkness.

Outen also tweeted about whiteout fog and exhaustion-induced hallucinations in the final, treacherous miles to Adak, the newspaper reported. But for Outen, who has a biology degree from Oxford University, seeing wildlife like albatross and whales made up for all the uncomfortable moments. According to the statement, the highlight was a shark circling her as she rowed.

Along the way, she also got engaged to her longtime girlfriend back home during a satellite phone call from the middle of the ocean. She had initially wanted to row from Japan to Canada, but the punishing weather caused a course change to Alaska.

Next spring, she plans to return to Adak with a teammate, Justin Curgenven, to continue the kayak trip to mainland Alaska. She will then bike across Canada and North America before attempting a solo row across the Atlantic Ocean to the United Kingdom.

Outen's first attempt at the crossing ended in 2012 when she and another ocean rower had to be rescued near Japan after their boats were badly damaged in a tropical storm. Before that, Outen became the youngest person and the first woman to row alone across the Indian Ocean in 2009, going from Australia to Mauritius.

Prince Harry loves being uncle, sees nephew smile

September 11, 2013

LONDON (AP) — Prince Harry says he loves being an uncle, telling children at an awards ceremony that he'd just witnessed the baby who may one day be king crack a smile.

Harry, who was pushed back to fourth-in-line to the British throne following the birth of his brother's son, Prince George, said Wednesday he'd just visited the 1 ½-month-old royal, who was taking a bath.

Harry told 9-year-old Nikki Christou that it was the "first time I've seen him smile." The prince seems to have warmed to his new family role, telling Mary Kirk, the mother of another child, that being an uncle was "fantastic."

The ceremony was hosted by the WellChild charity, which is dedicated to the needs of sick children and their families.

JK Rowling to pen new magic movie for Warner Bros

September 12, 2013

LONDON (AP) — J.K. Rowling's world of wizardry is coming back to the big screen — but without Harry Potter.

Film studio Warner Bros. announced Thursday that Rowling will write the screenplay for a movie based on "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," her textbook to the magical universe she created in the boy wizard's stories.

The story will focus on the book's fictitious author, Newt Scamander, and is anticipated to be the first in a series. Rowling said in a statement the movie "is neither a prequel nor a sequel to the Harry Potter series, but an extension of the wizarding world."

She said the story would begin in New York 70 years before the start of Harry Potter's tale. Screenwriting is the latest in a string of new ventures for Rowling since she finished writing the Harry Potter series, which has sold more than 450 million copies around the world.

She has published a novel for adults, "The Casual Vacancy," and written detective thriller "The Cuckoo's Calling" under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. Rowling said the idea for a "Fantastic Beasts" film had come from Warner Bros., and she soon realized she could not entrust another writer with her creation.

"Having lived for so long in my fictional universe, I feel very protective of it," she said. "I already knew a lot about Newt." "As I considered Warner's proposal, an idea took shape that I couldn't dislodge. That is how I ended up pitching my own idea for a film to Warner Bros."

As well as movies, Warner Bros. said "Fantastic Beasts" would be "developed across the studio's video game, consumer products and digital initiatives businesses." Warner Bros., a unit of Time Warner Inc., was behind eight Harry Potter movies, released between 2001 and 2011. Rowling did not write the screenplays for those films, which Warner Bros. says took in $7.7 billion at the global box office.

Since the film series wrapped up, the company has been involved in related ventures including a Harry Potter studio tour near London, Universal's Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park in Orlando, Florida, and the Pottermore website.

Warner Bros. also said Thursday it would be the worldwide distributor for a television adaptation of "The Casual Vacancy." The BBC is due to film the miniseries next year.

China's space station to open for foreign peers

Beijing (XNA)
Sep 23, 2013

China is willing to provide training and open the Chinese space station to foreign astronauts, senior space flight officials said.

"We would like to train astronauts from other countries and organizations that have such a demand, and we would be glad to provide trips to foreign astronauts," said Yang Liwei, deputy director of China Manned Space Agency. We will also welcome foreign astronauts who have received our training to work in our future space station."

Yang, China's first astronaut, who went into space in 2003, said many countries submitted proposals to the Chinese government during the development of the space station, hoping China would help train their astronauts and then send them to the station to conduct scientific experiments.

The effect of including foreign participants in our space programs is not only that these nations can send their people to outer space, but also that we will enable them to develop their own space projects."

Yang made the remarks during the five-day United Nations/China Workshop on Human Space Technology, which opened in Beijing on Monday.

A total of 150 participants from more than 20 nations and regions attended the conference. They are expected to discuss new space projects, microgravity research, international cooperation as well as awareness education for the public.

China has been involved in a host of cooperative projects with other nations, according to Yang.

China and Russia have collaborated on astronaut training, spacecraft technology and extra-vehicular suits, and we are cooperating with our French counterparts on a variety of experiments in astrobiology and space medicine," he said, adding that Chinese and German scientists also performed astrobiological experiments during the unmanned Shenzhou VIII mission in 2011.

Astronauts from the European Space Agency and their Chinese peers have visited each other's training facilities, laying a solid foundation for further communication.

The exchanges with other countries and organizations will make us familiar with their techniques and experiences, hence boosting our research and development of the space station."

Receiving congratulations on the 10th anniversary of his space mission, Yang said China is also determined to assist other developing economies in the space flight, noting that existing cooperative projects between China and developing economies focus on the application of astronautic and space technologies, and training for professionals.

He also said his agency has signed many agreements with universities in Hong Kong to conduct joint research on space technology, and they also have taken part in previous space activities.

Zhou Jianping, chief designer of China's manned space program, said the country will be able to rendezvous with other countries' spacecraft at the space station. China is also exploring the possibility of carrying out a joint rescue operation, according to Zhou.

China is now in an appropriate position to assist developing countries in building the capacity and capability of conducting space activities," said Mazlan Othman, director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs.

Many nations have realized that space is very important in the context of development, both globally and nationally, and China is a good example of how space can become a vital and crucial aspect of economic development."

Othman said China is doing well in sharing its experiences with other nations and declaring its intentions, leaving no doubt that its space endeavors are for peaceful purposes.

Othman said she is convinced that China will promote space exploration for all mankind with its resolve and huge investment.

I think China can lead in the international community's exploration of space. It has the political will to expand its manned space endeavors, and based on that will, China has ensured and set aside enough resources."

Cooperation to be expanded

Foreign delegates at a manned space conference said they look forward to expanding cooperation with China in the manned space initiatives.

China has developed and launched satellites for us, and we expect China could do more to help us develop our own space programs," Babatunda Rabin, from the Nigerian Space Agency, said on the sidelines of the United Nations/China Workshop on Human Space Technology.

Rabin said Nigeria is trying to use aerospace technologies to solve problems such as food security and prevalent diseases, which are areas where China can use its advanced technologies and rich experience to help his nation.

If China starts taking foreign astronauts to outer space, we would like to be the first candidate," said Ahmed Bilal, chairman of the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission. We also want to cooperate with China in remote sensing technology and educating the public about space."

Folk Horheck, an astrobiologist from Germany, said the event enables people like him whose work deals with space to learn more about China's astronautic and space research.

China has a long-range plan of building a space station, and this provides huge opportunities for the world to cooperate with China in space exploration," said Takao Doi, a space applications expert from the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs.

Source: Space Daily.
Link: http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Chinas_space_station_to_open_for_foreign_peers_999.html.

European countries to join in building particle accelerator in Russia

Moscow (UPI)
Aug 8, 2013

Germany, Bulgaria and three former Soviet republics say they have agreed to help Russia construct a heavy-ion collider in a Moscow suburb.

The parties signed a letter of intent Thursday to cooperate on building the collider, planned for 2017, on the premises of the already existing Nuclotron particle accelerator in the town of Dubna, RIA Novosti reported.

The collider is intended to accelerate and collide protons and relatively heavy ions such as gold to study a recently discovered phase of matter, a plasma of fundamental particles quarks and gluons, officials said.

The collider, dubbed NICA (Nuclotron-based Ion Collider fAcility), will involve scientists equipment and financing from Belarus, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Bulgaria and Germany, Viktor Matveyev, director of Russia's Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, said.

The new collider would be housed in the institute, he said.

The letter of intent "is a formal expression of interest of these countries in working out legal, organizational, scientific and financial issues that must be resolved to ensure the participation of these countries in the implementation of the NICA megaproject," Matveyev said.

Source: Space Daily.
Link: http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/European_countries_to_join_in_building_particle_accelerator_in_Russia_999.html.

Russia re-opens railway link with North Korea

RAJIN, North Korea
Sun Sep 22, 2013

(Reuters) - Russia re-opened a railway link with North Korea on Sunday, holding out the prospect of increased trade for the reclusive nation with its biggest neighbors after years of international sanctions.

Impoverished and squeezed by sanctions for conducting a series of nuclear and missile tests, North Korea has reached out to Moscow and Beijing for help to fill the gap left by the drying up of South Korean and U.S. economic assistance.

The head of Russia's state railway monopoly said the 54-km (34-mile) track from the Russian eastern border town of Khasan to the North Korean port of Rajin would export coal and import goods from South Korea and other Asian countries.

The link is part of a more ambitious plan for a railway line from Europe to Asia, which could offer faster freight transportation than alternative sea routes.

"This is part of a trans-Korean transport line that will link ... this region with Europe via Russian territory," Russian Railways chief Vladimir Yakunin said on a visit to Rajin to mark the completion of the railway line.

Russia's renovation of the line, which began in 2008, and construction of a container terminal in Rajin, hub of North Korea's Rason Special Economic Zone, are part of a deal reached in 2001 when late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il visited Russia.

Yakunin said the railway and container terminal, a project worth 9 billion roubles ($283 million), would work at a capacity of 4 million metric tons a year within two years.

(Reporting by Gleb Stolyarov; Writing by Alissa de Carbonnel; Editing by Mark Potter)

Source: Reuters.
Link: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/22/us-nkorea-rail-russia-idUSBRE98L0BB20130922.

Iranian president makes debut on world stage

September 25, 2013

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Iran's new president told world leaders Tuesday that the biggest danger in the Middle East is chemical weapons falling into the hands of "extremist terrorist groups" in Syria and he blamed the countries backing the opposition for fueling the civil war there.

The comment by Hasan Rouhani, in his first speech to the United Nations General Assembly, closely mirrored language used by the Iranian-allied Syrian regime, which refers to the opposition as terrorists. The U.S. and its allies, including Gulf nations Saudi Arabia and Qatar, have been supplying the Syrian opposition with weapons, aid and training.

Rouhani praised Syria's willingness to accept the international treaty barring the use of chemical weapons. And without naming nations, he warned that the "illegitimate and ineffective threat" to use military force in Syria "will only lead to further exacerbation of violence and crisis in the region."

Just a few weeks ago, President Barack Obama was considering launching a military strike on Syria to retaliate for a chemical weapons attack on Aug. 21 that the U.S. blamed on Bashar Assad's regime. But a U.S.-Russia deal to put Syria's chemical weapons under international control averted military action, at least for now.

Even as he sided with the Assad's regime, Rouhani also sent signals that Iran might be ready to negotiate with the West on its disputed nuclear program and talk to the United States after decades of frozen relations. He said "peace is within reach."

Rouhani spoke hours after Obama also addressed the General Assembly, saying the U.S. prefers to resolve its concerns over Iran's nuclear program peacefully but is determined to prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon.

Obama said he was "encouraged" that Rouhani received a mandate from the Iranian people to pursue a more moderate course, but added that "the diplomatic road must be tested." Rouhani's "conciliatory words will have to be matched by actions that are transparent and verifiable," Obama said.

Rouhani called his election over the summer a "wise choice of hope, rationality and moderation" and said every issue can be resolved through mutual respect and rejection of violence and extremism. He is considered a relative moderate amid the hard-line clerics who control Iran. But Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei holds the real power, deciding all important matters of state including the nuclear program.

Elements of Rouhani's speech were reminiscent of the anti-American rhetoric of his predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He was critical of how America projects power and called for a new world order without the U.S. as a superpower.

Like Ahmadenijad, Rouhani called for a new world order and criticized "the persistence of Cold War mentality and bi-polar division of the world into 'superior us' and 'inferior others." He criticized "the prevalent international discourse" that favors rich countries over poor.

This has led to the prevalence of "violent forms of xenophobia," Rouhani said, adding that "propagandistic and unfounded faith-phobic, Islamo-phobic, Shia-phobic, and Iran-phobic discourses do indeed represent serious threats against world peace and human security."

There had been some expectations that with both Obama and Rouhani addressing the U.N. on the same day, the two might meet briefly and even exchange handshakes and pleasantries — something that may have been seen as a dramatic step forward in relations that have been frozen since Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution

That didn't happen. But Rouhani said he listened to Obama's speech to the General Assembly and is open to talks. "Commensurate with the political will of the leadership in the United States and hoping that they will refrain from following the short-sighted interest of warmongering pressure groups, we can arrive at a framework to manage differences," he said.

"To this end, equal footing, mutual respect, and the recognized principles of international law should govern the interactions," he said, repeating themes often heard in Iranian political discourse. Unlike Ahmadinejad, who denied the Holocaust and called for Israel's destruction, Rouhani never mentioned Israel by name in his speech. But he was highly critical of the "occupation" of Palestine, saying: "Apartheid as a concept can hardly describe the crimes and the institutionalized aggression against the innocent Palestinian people."

Israel's delegation walked out of Rouhani's speech in protest, as it had done in previous years when Ahmadinejad spoke at the U.N. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Rouhani of "hypocrisy." He said in a statement after the speech that Iran participates in the slaughter of civilians in Syria — a reference to its support of Assad's regime — and in carrying out terrorist attacks around the world.

The United Nations has imposed four rounds of sanctions on Iran for its refusal to halt uranium enrichment — a process that can be used to make fuel for both nuclear weapons and nuclear energy. The U.S. and its allies have taken even more devastating measures targeting Iran's ability to conduct international bank transfers and to export oil.

"Unjust sanctions ... are intrinsically inhumane and against peace," Rouhani said. "It is not the states and the political elite that are targeted, but rather, it is the common people who are victimized by these sanctions."

The U.S. and its allies accuse Iran of seeking to develop a nuclear weapon. But Iran insists its nuclear program is purely peaceful — a point Rouhani reiterated by saying: "This has been, and will always be, the objective of the Islamic Republic of Iran."

Nuclear negotiations between Iran and six world powers have been stalled for months but Iran agreed to a new meeting this Thursday on the sidelines of the General Assembly. Rouhani reiterated Iran's right under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty to enrich uranium.

On the conditions that world powers recognize that right and insist that all nations' nuclear programs are for peace purposes only and Iran "is prepared to engage immediately in time-bound and result-oriented talks," he said.

"Nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction have no place in Iran's security and defense doctrine, and contradict our fundamental religious and ethical convictions," he claimed. "Our national interests make it imperative that we remove any and all reasonable concerns about Iran's peaceful nuclear program."

Syrian refugees land in Italy

(By Emily Backus) (ANSA) - Rome, August 26 - More Syrian refugees landed on Italian shores over the weekend in a humanitarian crisis that appears to be spilling even into Europe's lap.

Ninety-eight refugees from Syria on Saturday were intercepted by a patrol of Frontex, the European agency for cooperation and management of EU borders. They were aboard a ship at sea about 40 miles south of the Sicilian coastal town of Porto Palo. Twenty-five children and eight women were aboard. The Syrian refugees were among hundreds this weekend alone from distressed countries - Tunisia, Eritrea and Somalia - who risked their lives in dodgy vessels to be rescued near or found on Italian shores. Syrians have featured all summer long among migrants daring the sea from various parts of the Middle East and Africa, who are generally placed by Italian authorities in migrant detention centers for identification, processing, and possible expulsion. On a visit to the migrant island of Lampedusa last month, Pope Francis asked God to forgive European policy makers' indifference while hailing immigrants' efforts to seek better lives.

He also asked to mourn the many lives lost at sea.

Last week the UNHCR and UNICEF in Geneva said one million children have fled fighting in Syria, about three quarters of whom are under age 11. In the words of UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres, the survival and well-being of an entire generation of innocent children is at stake.

"The youth of Syria are losing their homes, their family members and their futures.

Even after they have crossed a border to safety, they are traumatized, depressed and in need of a reason for hope," he added. Children account for over half of the two million refugees who have fled Syria to Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt.

Syrians are arriving in North Africa and, embarking across the sea to Europe ever more often.

The price paid by Syrian children in the conflict - now in its third year - is enormous.

In addition to the one million child refugees, there are some two million displaced children in Syria. The UN estimates that at least 7,000 children have been killed in the conflict, while child refugees are often exposed to threats such as forced labor, early marriage and sexual exploitation.

Source: La Gazzeta.
Link: http://www.lagazzettadelmezzogiorno.it/english/syrian-refugees-land-in-italy-no647898/.