Turkey seeks to boost peace talks with Kurds

July 08, 2014

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish lawmakers debated legislation Tuesday to restart a stalled peace process with the Kurdish rebels — a development that could also help Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan win Kurdish votes as he seeks election as president next month.

Erdogan, who has dominated Turkish politics for more than a decade, declared last week that he's running for president. Votes from Kurds — who make up an estimated 20 percent of Turkey's 76 million people — would be key to achieving his ambition of becoming Turkey's first directly elected head of state.

The Turkish government began talking with the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, in 2012 with the aim of ending a three-decade long conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of lives. In 2013, Kurdish rebels declared a cease-fire and began withdrawing fighters from Turkey into bases in northern Iraq but the withdrawal came to a halt in September after the PKK accused Erdogan of not increasing Kurdish rights as promised.

If passed, the legislation would give the Turkish government the power to take the measures it deems necessary to advance the talks, including steps to grant amnesty to Kurdish militants who lay down arms. Officials involved in talks with the rebel group — still formally designated as a terrorist organization — would be immune from prosecution.

Abdullah Ocalan, the PKK's jailed leader, has welcomed the proposed legislation as a "historic development," according to Kurdish legislators who visited him on his prison island off Istanbul last week.

Erdogan, 60, who has been in power since 2003, is barred by internal party rules from running as premier again. He is hoping to move to the presidency — which would keep him at Turkey's helm for at least five more years.

Over 30 Turkish truck drivers freed in Iraq

July 03, 2014

BAGHDAD (AP) — Islamic militants have released at least 30 Turkish truck drivers who they captured in Iraq last month, relatives and a private Turkish news agency said Thursday.

Militants from the al-Qaida-inspired group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant seized the truck drivers on June 9 in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. Nihal Simsek, the wife of one driver and the mother of another, told The Associated Press on Thursday that she had spoken to her husband, Ramazan Simsek, who confirmed the truck drivers were freed.

She said the drivers were heading toward Arbil in Iraq's northern Kurdish region and would cross into Turkey in the evening. A Turkish Foreign Ministry official said there were "positive developments" concerning the truck drivers but would not confirm the report by the Dogan news agency until it was certain all of the drivers were free and safe. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government rules that bar civil servants from speaking to journalists without prior authoritization.

The exact number of kidnapped drivers was unclear. The Dogan report cited 32, while Turkish officials at the time said the kidnapping involved 31 truck drivers. The militants also seized 49 people from the Turkish consulate in Mosul three days later. There was no immediate word on any release for them.

The group known as ISIL or ISIS has recently overrun parts of Iraq and Syria. "ISIL has released our drivers, but our trucks are still in their hands," the Dogan news agency quoted truck company owner, Mehmet Kizil, as saying. "But that doesn't matter as long as they safely return to their families."

Mehmet Guzel in Istanbul contributed.

Turkish PM seeking presidential post

July 01, 2014

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey's ruling party on Tuesday nominated Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to run in Turkey's first directly elected presidential race in August, announcing his candidacy to thousands of cheering supporters.

The move could keep Erdogan, who has dominated Turkish politics for more than a decade, at Turkey's helm for at least five more years. Erdogan, 60, has been in power since 2003 but is barred by internal party rules from running as prime minister again. The leader, who has presided over Turkey's economic ascent but has also provoked outrage for the increasingly authoritarian tack he has taken recently, has long been rumored to have presidential ambitions.

The Turkish presidency is a largely symbolic post, but Erdogan has said he favors a system that gives the president more powers. He failed to muster sufficient support to make constitutional changes for an all-powerful president but has suggested that, if elected, he would fully use latent presidential powers, including the right to call Cabinet meetings, so that he can rule Turkey with as much authority as he has enjoyed as premier.

In a speech immediately after his nomination, Erdogan said, if elected, he would continue to expand Turkey's economy, work to expand democracy and advance Turkey's bid to join the European Union. He also pledged to press ahead with peace efforts to end a 30-year conflict with the Kurdish rebels.

"I will be the president of all of the people, whether they vote for me or not," Erdogan said. Erdogan's candidacy was announced by Mehmet Ali Sahin, a deputy chairman of the ruling party, who said the Turkish leader was unanimously nominated by all of the party's legislators in parliament.

The Turkish leader remains popular despite allegations of corruption that he says were orchestrated by followers of a moderate Islamic movement. President Abdullah Gul, whose term ends Aug. 28, said Sunday that he would not seek re-election.

Two of Turkey's main opposition parties — the secular Republican People's Party and the right-wing Nationalist Movement Party — are fielding Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, the soft-spoken former head of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, for the race.

A party championing Kurdish and other minority rights nominated Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtas as its candidate on Monday. It is the first time that Turks will vote directly for their president. Parliament chose presidents in the past. The two-round elections are set for Aug. 10 and 24.

Presidency move comes with some peril for Erdogan

July 01, 2014

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — After more than a decade in power, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan dominates Turkish politics like a one-man-show.

He has defanged the once supreme military, reshaped the judiciary and cowed the press. Now, at the peak of his power, he has announced he is running for president — a role he intends to shape into the most powerful job in Turkey.

"For the past 10 years he has had the last say in every issue," says Sukru Kucuksahin, columnist for Hurriyet newspaper. "Whatever he says goes." Erdogan's announcement Tuesday comes some six weeks before the first round of the presidential election. But as he closes in on becoming Turkey's first directly-elected president, Erdogan's own maneuvering leaves him ironically in a position where he may not control the agenda.

Erdogan engineered a constitutional change for a direct vote as the first of a two-step move to bolster his status as Turkey's pre-eminent leader. But the second step — his aspiration to increase the powers of the presidency — stalled as he failed to build a coalition big enough to enact the change.

Now Erdogan has signaled that he intends to combine the mandate of presidential victory with the force of his own personality to rule Turkey, even with constitutionally limited powers. Erdogan has asserted that the hitherto largely symbolic post has dormant powers that he intends to use, including the right to convene and chair Cabinet meetings. That would put him in the room when the prime minister's most important decisions are made.

He also seems set to handpick a friendly prime minister with the hope that he can still largely control parliament from afar. Perhaps the only political figure with competing stature in Turkey, current President Abdullah Gul, has said that he does not intend to seek the premiership because he does not want to be a caretaker prime minister beholden to Erdogan.

If Erdogan is elected, his Justice and Development Party — AKP — will appoint an interim prime minister to serve until next year's parliamentary elections. Erdogan hopes that the party will win an overwhelming victory in that election, one that is big enough to enact changes to bolster the presidency. The conundrum is that a strong prime minister would help secure such an election victory, but might also exert independent leadership.

Given that uncertainty, Erdogan cannot count on changing the constitution. And Turkish history has at last two troubled examples of prime ministers who sought to maintain control of parliament after they moved to the Cankaya Palace — presidential residence in Ankara. Suleyman Demirel and Turgut Ozal, also attempted to engineer friendly prime ministerial appointments, only to see their parties collapse under new prime ministers.

Erdogan appears to have more control of his party than either Demirel or Ozal ever had. But in transitioning to the presidency, he will lose some of the overt levers he has enjoyed as prime minister. Crucially, he will no longer control the Interior and Justice Ministries that recently helped him survive a corruption scandal. Erdogan has claimed that the allegations were part of a coup attempt by a fifth column in the justice system, controlled by Fethullah Gulen, a moderate Islamist preacher living in the U.S. who was once a close ally of the prime minister.

Numan Kurtulmus, a senior deputy to Erdogan in AKP, who is often mentioned as a possible prime minister, said in an interview that the image of Erdogan as a rising autocrat is misplaced. He says it stems mostly from the fecklessness of the opposition, which did not even name a presidential opponent to Erdogan until June 16. The party is more than Erdogan, he says, and his personal power stems from repeated election wins.

"If we talk about creating a one-man democracy. This is just not true," he says. "But the people who oppose the government have no one to turn to in the parliament." He notes that Erdogan's rule has given new voice to millions of Turks, especially outside urban centers, who were marginalized under the rule of earlier secularist governments. Reforms championed by Erdogan have bolstered minority rights and reined in the extreme human rights abuses of the military. The benefits of a surging economy have been shared widely. "Wherever you look you will find marvelous achievements," he says. "Erdogan has personally created very strong leadership, and he has convinced the majority of people to back a democratic project."

Others say there are only a few checks left in the Turkish political system to limit Erdogan's whims. The country's top Constitutional Court has recently rolled back actions by Erdogan's government, including its blockage of Twitter and it could also weigh in on any attempt to expand the powers of the presidency. The last check may be whether he pulls off his gambit to reshape the Turkish political system and rule supremely as president.

"He wants to be next Turkish president in control of the executive and legislative branches of the government with a long shadow on the judiciary and every other major political power in the country," says Ersin Kalaycioglu, professor of Political Sciences at Sabanci University in Istanbul.

Syrian opposition plans bring refugees home

16 August 2014 Saturday

The Syrian opposition has announced plans to resettle refugees in areas not blighted by conflict.

The Syrian National Coalition, an umbrella group of parties opposed to the regime of Bashar al-Assad, said on Friday that Syrians who had sought refuge in neighboring countries would return to rebel-controlled regions of Syria.

Coalition spokesman Khalid Hodja told reporters in Istanbul: “We have an important project called 'Returning to Syria'. It aims to resettle the Syrian people who have fled to neighboring countries in secure regions inside Syria.”

Hodja said the plan, for which he did not give a timetable, would require the support of neighboring countries and the international community.

He also called for a no-fly zone inside Syria.

There are approximately 4 million Syrian refugees living outside Syria in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq, according to the coalition. More than 1 million have crossed into Turkey since April 2011.

Source: World Bulletin.
Link: http://www.worldbulletin.net/news/142580/syrian-opposition-plans-bring-refugees-home.

Palestinian unity scores concessions from Israel in Cairo

Daoud Kuttab
August 14, 2014

The decision by the Palestinian delegation in Cairo to extend the cease-fire another five days and the statements by its head, Azzam al-Ahmad, that most issues for a permanent agreement have been resolved point to a breakthrough of sorts.

Gazans appear to be on the verge of seeing the gradual lifting of a cruel and inhumane siege that has been going on for seven years, leaving the question as to what made the Israelis change their position.

Palestinian unity, best articulated by what looks now like a smart decision by President Mahmoud Abbas to create a unified delegation headed by a PLO official, of all factions including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, has made a major contribution. And while this unity has made a contribution, there was clear strength in the Palestinian negotiating team that was never seen during the nine-month political negotiations between chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat and Israeli Minister of Justice Tzipi Livni.

The difference between the two sets of negotiations was certainly not the individuals or the parties involved, but the very fact that Palestinian negotiators were able to walk away from the talks if the Israelis didn’t take them seriously. Even though the Cairo talks were indirect, it was obvious from anyone following them that they were much more productive than the US Secretary of State John Kerry-sponsored meetings.

A Jordanian columnist of Palestinian origin, Orayb Rantawi, points out the need for any negotiations to be backed up by a position of strength. “The first and most important lesson is that resistance of all kinds including armed resistance is not a useless act.” After giving the Palestinian unity his second lesson, Rantawi insists that negotiations without the backing of elements of strength are a “failed option.”

Palestinian leaders in Ramallah, whom the Jordanian author criticizes as “lazy,” have refused to give up security cooperation and preferred to talk about “peaceful popular resistance,” but have done little to make this option an effective option that is taken seriously by the Israelis.

Supporters of Palestine around the world as well as in Palestine and nearby Arab countries have taken up the need to boycott Israel economically as a translation of the need to send a message to the Israelis that the illegal and unacceptable occupation will cost Israel financially and politically.

In the West Bank, the boycott of Israeli-produced products that have a Palestinian alternative has been resurrected as a result of the war on Gaza. The largest supermarket in Ramallah has publicly stated that they have cleared all their shelves of any Israeli products. Other stores are putting stickers on Israeli products to make sure that customers are aware of the origin of these products.

In Jordan, a group of women have launched a Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) group, Al-Monitor has learned. Other BDS branches that have been established based on a call by Palestinian organizations in 2005 seem to be gaining power and credibility.

Regardless of the method of resistance that Palestinians pursue, it's now obvious that negotiations for the sake of negotiations, as Rantawi has argued, are a waste of time. Any new negotiation must be part of a national Palestinian strategy that can produce the desired results.

Such a strategy will not be easy to come by and should not be cooked quickly. Using the newly discovered unity, Palestinians of all walks of life — both current members of political and guerrilla factions as well as independents — need to take time out and agree on a strategy that is doable and one that can produce the desired results. Such a discussion might lead to actions that will require sacrifices and therefore the need for a national buy-in is absolutely necessary.

It's unfair that Palestinians in Gaza continue to pay this extraordinary price while fellow Palestinians including the leadership enjoy life in air-conditioned offices and a relaxed lifestyle. Such a strategy might require the suspension or even the end of the current Palestinian-Israeli security cooperation. It might also point to the need to dissolve the current Palestinian government and give the keys of running the occupation to the Israelis. It makes little sense that the Palestinian leadership is assigned to do all the Israeli security’s dirty work in the occupied territories, while the Israelis keep the land without having to pay the cost of its occupation.

Any such well-thought strategy that gains a national buy-in shouldn’t be made as a mere tactic. The Israelis will quickly see through any such tactic and ignore it. It must be a serious effort and the leaders must be willing to go all the way in carrying it. Of course, this might require a change of the current leadership.

If we have learned anything from the most recent war on Gaza, it is that Palestinians can extract serious concessions from the Israelis if they are united, determined and willing to pay the heavy price that freedom requires. Independence and freedom will not be given to Palestinians on a silver plate. It has to be earned on the ground.

Source: al-Monitor.
Link: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/08/palestinian-unity-israel-gaza-war-negotiations-ceasefire.html.

Uzbek Islamic studies students complain of university scandal

12 August 2014 Tuesday

Islamic Studies students applying to study at Tashkent University in Uzbekistan have described their university entry exam as a 'scandal' after they found questions probing their opinions regarding the Central Asian state's secular laws.

One applicant wrote a letter to the Ozodlik radio station complaining that the questions asked were based upon anti-Islamic policies, leaving students in a dilemma.

According to the letter, the university asked questions regarding the students' opinion on the headscarf and whether they felt it was necessary in today's day and age. The student complained that had one answered 'no', they answer would go against their religion, but if they said 'yes', they would fall at odds with the state, which bans headscarves in public buildings.

Another question asked students what 'Islamic groups' they were aware of, which applicants considered to be a trick question to find out their political opinions.

A representative from the university admitted to the radio station that these questions were asked and that they had been selected by the university's professors.

Although Islam is by far the dominant religion in Uzbekistan, with Muslims constituting 90-96% of the population, political expressions of Islam as well as open displays of Islamic symbols are largely suppressed in the country.

Source: World Bulletin.
Link: http://www.worldbulletin.net/news/142384/uzbek-islamic-studies-students-complain-of-university-scandal.

1,000-year-old Islamic cemetery found in Spain

13 August 2014 Wednesday

Researchers in Spain have unearthed a 1,000-year-old Islamic burial ground which they believe could provide up to two centuries worth of information on the region's Islamic history.

After two weeks of digging in the town of Alcázar de San Juan in the Ciudad Real province, researchers from the University of Castilla-La Mancha University have found an ancient Islamic necropolis containing seven bodies.

Project leader Víctor López Menchero told The Local that all of the bodies are positioned facing towards Mecca and is one of the few pieces of evidence that Muslims lived in Castilla-La Mancha.

Islam has had a fundamental presence in the culture and history of Spain. The religion was present in modern Spanish soil from 709 until 1614 beginning with Arab rule and ending with the expulsion of the Moriscos of Al-Andalus.

Source: World Bulletin.
Link: http://www.worldbulletin.net/news/142447/1000-year-old-islamic-cemetery-found-in-spain.

Protests call for end to US military base move in Japan

Tokyo (AFP)
Aug 14, 2014

Demonstrators rallied in Japan's southern Okinawa island chain Thursday, calling for work to stop on the long-stalled relocation of a controversial US military base.

About 200 protesters shouted and held placards that read "no new base" outside Camp Schwab, where workers started on the first phase of plans to build new runways for military planes -- part of a wider relocation that is expected to take about five years.

Television footage showed yellow buoys being placed in the water to designate off-limit zones ahead of drilling surveys planned for next week, despite widespread objections from many Okinawans who bristle at the heavy US military presence.

"We are extremely angry about this work, which tramples on the feelings of Okinawan people," Hiroshi Ashitomi, a protest organizer, told AFP by telephone.

"We will continue our protest until they stop construction," he added.

Coastguard ships were deployed to the area as small boats filled with protestors approached the site. There were no immediate reports of arrests or injuries.

Hosting the bulk of some 47,000 US service personnel in Japan, the strategically situated island chain is a crucial part of the US-Japan security alliance amid simmering tensions in East Asia, but there is widespread local hostility to the military presence.

Local media reported Thursday that Japan had paid some 380 million yen ($3.7 million) over the past decade in compensation for accidents caused by US military personnel or civilian employees.

The payouts, which mostly cover road traffic accidents but also include robberies and rapes, will likely further fuel public resentment of what is perceived as the imbalanced nature of the military relationship between the US and Japan that dates back to 1960.

The expansion of Camp Schwab is part of a long-delayed plan to move the US Marines' Futenma Air Station from a crowded urban area of Okinawa to sparsely populated Nago Bay.

Some personnel would move to Camp Schwab while others would be shifted to different military bases in Japan and abroad.

Tokyo and Washington agreed on the move back in 1996, but the deal never went ahead because of opposition from Okinawan residents.

In December, local officials approved a scheme that could accommodate the new facilities at Camp Schwab in exchange for a huge development package from Tokyo to boost the local economy, which is heavily reliant on tourism.

Susumu Inamine, re-elected in January as Nago mayor on a fiercely anti-base platform, said he was "infuriated" at the work that started on Thursday.

"We strongly protest this outrageous move by the Japanese government and are determined to block any construction of a new base," he said in a statement.

The local mayor does not have power to stop the base expansion, but he could theoretically block access to local roads and other facilities key to the work.

Source: Space War.
Link: http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Protests_call_for_end_to_US_military_base_move_in_Japan_999.html.

Ukraine: inspectors to check Russian convoy

August 15, 2014

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine says a team of several dozen of its customs and border service officials will inspect a Russian aid convoy parked just beyond its border.

Sergei Astakhov, an assistant to the deputy head of Ukraine's border guard service, said the cargo would be inspected in the presence of representatives from the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Russian news agencies said Russia was prepared to present all necessary documentation and to hand over the cargo to the Red Cross.

Ukraine claims to take town on Russian aid route

August 14, 2014

AMENSK-SHAKHTINSKY, RUSSIA (AP) — In a diplomatic game of chicken, a large Russian aid convoy rolled toward the Ukrainian border on Thursday — but it was heading toward a crossing controlled by pro-Russian rebels instead of a government post as Ukraine had demanded.

Ukraine's government threatened to block the convoy if the cargo could not be inspected and announced it was organizing its own aid shipment to the war-wracked separatist region of Luhansk. Later, it also declared it had taken the eastern town of Novosvitlivka, which lies just south of Luhansk, which means it could block the Russian aid from reaching the war-wracked city.

Ukraine suspects the convoy could be a pretext for a Russian military invasion or further support for the pro-Russian rebels it has been fighting since April. The Russian convoy of more than 200 vehicles had been parked at a military depot in the southern Russian city of Voronezh since late Tuesday amid disagreement over how and where the aid could be delivered to eastern Ukraine, where government troops are battling armed separatists.

But on Thursday, the white-tarped trucks, some flying the red flag of Moscow and accompanied by military vehicles, drove down a winding highway through sunflower fields and green hills then turned west toward the rebel-held border crossing of Izvaryne.

But the trucks soon pulled off about 28 kilometers (17 miles) from the border and parked in a large field where dozens of beige tents had been set up. Drivers in matching delivery outfits got out and relaxed, making it unclear whether the convoy would cross into Ukraine later in the day or spend the night on Russian soil.

The route suggested Russia was intent on not abiding by a tentative agreement to deliver aid to a government-controlled border checkpoint in the Kharkiv region, where it could more easily be inspected by Ukraine and the Red Cross. Moscow has insisted it coordinated the dispatch of the goods, which it says range from baby food and canned meat to portable generators and sleeping bags, with the International Committee of the Red Cross.

ICRC spokeswoman Anastasia Isyuk said talks between the organization, Ukraine and Russia were continuing but she could not confirm where the Russian convoy was headed. "The plans keep changing, the discussions are going ahead and we will not confirm for sure until we know an agreement has been reached," Isyuk said in Geneva.

Russia's Foreign Ministry says the convoy has 262 vehicles, including about 200 trucks carrying aid. Russian President Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, addressed hundreds of lawmakers Thursday in the Black Sea resort of Yalta in Crimea, which was annexed by Russia from Ukraine in March. He did not speak specifically about the convoy.

In a relatively subdued address, Putin said Russia's goal was "to stop bloodshed in Ukraine as soon as possible." Moscow should improve life in Ukraine "without building a wall from the West," he said, but asserted that Russia would "not allow anyone to treat us with arrogance."

The Ukrainian government in Kiev countered Putin's aid convoy by announcing one of its own. Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Maxim Burbak said three convoys totaling 75 trucks were transporting 800 tons of humanitarian aid from Kiev and the cities of Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk — including grain, sugar and canned food — destined for Luhansk.

Leaders in Ukraine and the West have accused Moscow of providing arms and expertise to the pro-Russian rebels in east Ukraine, who have been battling government forces since April. Moscow has denied those charges, but the breakdown in communication over the aid has stoked fears of Russian intervention.

Ukrainian forces have stepped up efforts in the last few weeks to dislodge the separatists from their last strongholds in Donetsk and Luhansk, and there was more heavy shelling overnight. The sounds of artillery fire and blasts could be heard all over Donetsk. Shells hit two shopping complexes in the city, authorities said, urging citizens to stay off the streets.

Valentina Smirnova, a resident of Donetsk, cleaned up broken glass and rubble Thursday in her damaged kitchen. "My son left and now I am staying with my daughter. I don't know what to do afterwards. Where should I run to after that? Please tell me!" she said, tears welling up.

The U.N.'s human rights office in Geneva announced Wednesday that the death toll in eastern Ukraine had nearly doubled in the last two weeks. It said its "very conservative estimates" showed the overall death toll rose to at least 2,086 people as of Aug. 10, up from 1,129 on July 26.

Nataliya Vasilyeva in Yalta, Crimea, Laura Mills in Moscow, Peter Leonard in Kiev, Ukraine, and John Heilprin in Geneva contributed to this report.

Germany flies humanitarian aid to Iraq

August 15, 2014

BERLIN (AP) — Five German air force planes have taken off for Iraq with 36 tons of humanitarian aid to help civilians uprooted by fighting in the north of the country.

Air force spokesman Capt. Andre Hesse said the planes left early Friday carrying drinking water, blankets, medicine and food to be unloaded in Irbil and handed over to U.N. organizations. Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen said earlier this week that Germany was planning to also send non-lethal military aid such as vehicles, night-vision gear and bomb detectors.

In an interview with German daily Bild published Friday, Von der Leyen was quoted as saying that "weapons are already being delivered by other nations; we are examining at present what other military equipment we can send."

France to send weapons to Kurds in Iraq

August 13, 2014

PARIS (AP) — Calling the situation in Iraqi Kurdistan "catastrophic," France said Wednesday it would start supplying arms to the Kurdish forces fighting Sunni extremists from the Islamic State group.

Paris and London have agreed to coordinate their actions on both humanitarian aid and arms, the office of President Francois Hollande said. It said the French president spoke with British Prime Minister David Cameron Wednesday evening and agreed on the need for an "extremely rapid response," but didn't clarify whether Britain outright consented to furnish weapons to the Kurds, who are trying to push back radicals of the IS group.

Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius refused to specify the type of arms France would deliver, saying only they would be "sophisticated." The sudden announcement that arms would begin to flow within hours underlined France's alarm at the urgency of the situation in Iraq, where the IS group fighters are threatening the autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq.

The shipping of French arms follows the United States' increased role in fighting back the Islamic extremists, including air strikes to protect U.S. personnel and stop fighters from moving on civilians again.

Senior American officials say U.S. intelligence agencies are directly arming the Kurds. On Tuesday, 130 U.S. troops arrived in the Kurdish capital of Irbil on what the Pentagon described as a temporary mission to coordinate plans to help trapped Yazidi civilians on Mount Sinjar.

Any French military strikes would need prior approval from the U.N. Security Council, a standard French position, and would take place only if conditions are right, Fabius said. A French diplomat close to the situation would not exclude eventual French strikes in an "evolving situation." The diplomat asked not to be named because the person was not authorized to publicly discuss French policy.

France says its arms shipment was coordinated with the Iraqi government. French authorities have pushed other European Union members to do more to aid Christians and other minorities being targeted by the Islamic State group extremists.

EU foreign ministers will hold an emergency meeting Friday to coordinate their approach to the crisis and to endorse the European arms shipments already announced, the EU said Wednesday. Cameron cut short his vacation to chair a session of the U.K. emergency security committee.

He declined to say whether the Chinook helicopters being deployed to the region would be used to evacuate displaced people but said detailed plans were being put together to get the besieged minorities off of Mount Sinjar.

The turmoil stems from the quick advance of the IS group and allied Sunni militants across northern and western Iraq in June. The insurgency seized Iraq's second largest city, Mosul, and routed Iraq's beleaguered armed forces. Thousands of people have been killed and more than 1.5 million have been displaced by the violence.

Associated Press writers Elaine Ganley and Sylvie Corbet in Paris, Juergen Baetz in Brussels and Danica Kirka in London contributed to this article.

Russian police checking IDs of Muslim women in Crimea

15 August 2014 Friday

Police in Crimea have reportedly started targeting Muslim women with headscarfs with identification checks ahead of Russian president Vladimir Putin's to the Black Sea peninsula on Thursday.

Muslim women in the capital Simferopol (Akmescit) and Bakhchysarai accused Russian police of pulling women with headscarfs over for passport checks and treating them as if they were 'enemies' on their Facebook profiles.

Eider Ismailov, the assistant mufti of Crimea, said that the Islamic Religious Affairs authority in Crimea had not received any official complaints, but said the measures may have been taken for security reasons.

“This shows that Russian police do not trust headscarfed women and see them as a separate group the the general public. This is nothing but an insult against our beliefs as Muslims,” Ismailov said.

Meanwhile, madrasas (religious schools) in Crimea are being searched for banned reading materials, another assistant mufti, Esadullah Bairov, told the Qirim News Agency.

Three madrasas were searched during August 13, ahead of a law that will come into force in 2015 that bans a number of popular Islamic books.

“The book are removed as a warning, as the law is not in force in Crimea yet. Still no extremist literature was found in Crimean madrasas that were searched,” Bairov said.

Some Islamic books that have been banned include the work of popular 20th century Turkish scholar Said Nursi and the famous 'Fortress of the Muslim' book of supplications of the Prophet Muhammad, which was collected by ancient Muslim scholar Saeed bin Ali bin Wahf Al-Qahtani. A certain biography of the Prophet Muhammad is also banned.

Around 300,000 Muslims in Crimea, mainly native Crimean Tatars, are having to adjust to new laws enforced by Russia after their homeland was annexed from Ukraine following a referendum in March.

CRIMEAN TATARS 'TARGETED'

Since the annexation in March, around 3,000 Crimean Tatars have left the peninsula for mainland Ukraine.

The U.N. has also pointed to the erosion of human rights in Crimea, which remains under the occupation of pro-Russian militias who particularly threaten the Crimean Tatars.

Crimean Tatars have complained that they have been targeted for speaking their Turkic language in public and have had their homes marked by pro-Russian militiamen.

The Crimean Tatar Mejlis (Parliament) was also threatened with closure after they organized protests for former Mejlis head Mustafa Jemilev, who has been barred from entering the peninsula for five years along with current leader Refat Chubarov.

Earlier this month, Qirim News Agency general coordinator Ismet Yuksel was also given the same five-year ban.

The Crimean Tatars have largely opposed the annexation of Crimea by Russia, fearing a repeat of the events of 1944 when they were completely expelled as part of former Soviet dictator Josef Stalin's policy.

They gradually started returning in the early 1990s after the fall of the Soviet Union, but still live as a minority in their homeland as they were displaced by ethnic Russian settlers who migrated there later on.

Since the annexation, Russia has been granting Russian citizenship to the people of Crimea in replacement of their Ukrainian nationality. Crimean Tatars, who have campaigned to reject Russian citizenship, reserve the right to remain as Ukrainian citizens, but will by default become foreigners in their homeland.

Source: World Bulletin.
Link: http://www.worldbulletin.net/news/142566/russian-police-checking-ids-of-muslim-women-in-crimea.

Huge Turkish carpet made of flowers in Brussels

15 August 2014 Friday

In celebration of the 50th anniversary since the first Turkish migrant workers arrived in Belgium, a huge Turkish carpet made of flowers has been placed in the middle of a popular touristic square.

The carpet measuring 75 meters by 25 meters was put together by up to 100 people in the capital Brussels, which hosts around 220,000 Turks.

Welcoming the carpet as an important step in promoting Turkish art and culture, Brussels mayor Yvan Mayeur announced the display at Grand Place Square, which will last until August 17, as a gesture of good will to the country's Turkish population.

Source: World Bulletin.
Link: http://www.worldbulletin.net/news/142578/huge-turkish-carpet-made-of-flowers-in-brussels.

Candidate's sudden death transforms Brazil race

August 14, 2014

SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil's political landscape was being redrawn Thursday, a day after a small plane crash killed a top presidential candidate less than two months before the election.

The death of politician Eduardo Campos in a plane that smashed into a white-collar neighborhood in the port city of Santos is reshuffling the candidates and voter preferences, and could further complicate president Dilma Rousseff's re-election, analysts say.

Political observers say Campos' socialist party is expected to declare his running mate Marina Silva, one of the country's most popular politicians, as its presidential candidate in the coming days. "If she runs, it becomes a more competitive race. It increases the likelihood of a runoff happening," said Joao Augusto de Castro Neves, Latin America director for the Eurasia Group consulting firm. "It would be a pretty close race to see who is going to be the runner up."

The other main candidate, Aecio Neves, has been showing in polls as a strong second choice after Rousseff. The election had been shaping up to be a two-candidate race, leaving Campos out of the runoff. But experts are now saying that the next polls could show Silva, a former Environment Ministry and presidential candidate, beating Neves, and possibly setting the two female politicians head to head in a second round.

"(Marina) could be the springboard needed to overcome the tragedy and become a viable candidate in a second round," wrote Paula Cesarino Costa, a columnist for Folha de S. Paulo. The crash put campaigns on halt and politicians are avoiding any comments on the Oct. 5 race so they are not seen as insensitive to the deaths of 49-year-old politician, four of his aides and two pilots.

The 56-year-old Silva hasn't hinted that she will take the lead as the Brazilian Socialist Party nominee. Brazilian law gives parties 10 days to choose a substitute in the case of a candidate's death. The party could still choose another candidate, more loyal to the base, or decide not to run and support the president or her main opponent.

A longtime evangelical Christian, Silva surprisingly won 20 million votes when she ran for president as the Green Party candidate in 2010. An outsider of Campos' party, she joined his ticket last October after she was unable to set up her own party in time to run against for president.

Along with garnering a possible sympathy vote after the crash, some experts say Silva could exploit dissatisfaction among Brazilians. She gained a strong base after the mass protests that swept Brazil last year and won international praise for her efforts in helping preserve the Amazon rainforest as environment minister.

Rousseff, the hand-picked successor of former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, has seen her popularity flag in recent months slowing economic growth, high taxes and poor public services — although she has remained the strongest candidate. A survey by the Ibope polling agency released over the weekend said 38 percent of those questioned supported Rousseff, while 23 percent were for Neves and 9 percent backed Campos.

Meanwhile, a day after the Cessna 560XL traveling from Rio de Janeiro to the city of Guaruja went down, firefighters and investigators were still picking through the wreckage. They were trying to recreate the path of the crash that damaged more than 10 buildings and also slightly injured at least five people. Officials have said the plane was trying to land in bad weather but a federal investigation was opened to determine the exact cause.

S. African activists to join Gaza Freedom Flotilla

15 August 2014 Friday

A number of South African activists are expected to join the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), made up of rights groups from several countries determined to sail to the Gaza Strip in defiance of Israel's years-long naval blockade on the coastal enclave.

"In South Africa, over 50 people want to take part in the flotilla," Ismail Moola of the Palestine Solidarity Alliance (PSA) told Anadolu Agency.

He said they were considering high-profile South African figures for the venture.

Moola could not give names of those who will be going on the boat from South Africa, until they receive full clearance from the ports and also know the size of the boat that they will be using.

"We can't give you the names until we complete a selection process of who we are taking," he said.

"We are currently seeking clearance from various ports, including Turkey and Cyprus," asserted the activist.

He said many people have expressed interest in going to Gaza on the flotilla.

Omar Abdulkadir, a Johannesburg resident, is one of them.

"I am ready to leave my work and family and go to Gaza if selected to be part of the group," he told AA.

Abdulkadir believes the Palestinians have a "just cause" and is willing to contribute to it.

The FFC, a solidarity movement formed in 2010 with the aim of ending the Israeli siege of Gaza, met this week in Istanbul, Turkey.

There, the group decided to challenge Israel's naval blockade and take badly needed humanitarian aid to the besieged coastal territory sometime later this year, following more than a month of devastating Israeli attacks.

At least 1959 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed and more than 10,000 injured in Israel's devastating onslaught.

The Israeli offensive has left a trail of massive material destruction, including thousands of homes, buildings, schools and mosques.

Palestinians and Israelis are now observing a five-day Egypt-brokered ceasefire, which came into effect in the early hours of Thursday.

A key Palestinian demand during indirect talks with Israel in Cairo was the lifting of the siege on Gaza.

Israel has imposed a watertight siege on the Gaza Strip since 2007.

"The blockade must end," said Moola. "The people of Gaza cannot go on suffering."

Four years ago, the Israeli navy attacked the Mavi Marmara, the lead ship in a Gaza-bound humanitarian aid flotilla, killing ten activists, including nine Turkish nationals and a Turkish-American citizen.

South Africans have held several protests since Israel began its onslaught on Gaza in early June.

Most of them empathize with the Palestinian struggle for nationhood, having faced similar conditions during South Africa's apartheid era.

Last week, nearly 200,000 people demonstrated outside the parliament building in Cape Town to demand that their government take "decisive diplomatic action" against the self-proclaimed Jewish state for its ongoing offensive in Gaza.

Source: World Bulletin.
Link: http://www.worldbulletin.net/palestine/142550/s-african-activists-to-join-gaza-freedom-flotilla.

Russia lets Ukraine inspect aid convoy

August 15, 2014

KAMENSK-SHAKHTINSKY, Russia (AP) — Russia let Ukrainian officials inspect an aid convoy on Friday and agreed to let the Red Cross distribute the aid around the rebel-held city of Luhansk, easing tensions and dispelling Ukrainian fears that the aid operation is a ruse to get military help to separatist rebels.

In violation of an earlier tentative agreement, Russia had sent the convoy of roughly 200 trucks to a border crossing under the control of pro-Russia separatists, raising the prospect that it could enter Ukraine without being inspected by Ukraine and the Red Cross. Ukraine vowed to use all means necessary to block the convoy in such a scenario, leading to fears of escalation in the conflict.

Adding to the tensions, a dozen Russian armored personnel carriers appeared early Friday near where the trucks were parked for the night, 28 kilometers (17 miles) from the border. But the two sides reached agreement Friday morning, and 41 Ukrainian border guards and 18 customs officials began inspecting the Russian aid at the border crossing, defense officials in Kiev said in a statement. Sergei Astakhov, an assistant to the deputy head of Ukraine's border guard service, said Red Cross representatives would observe the inspections.

Both sides also said that the aid deliveries themselves would be carried out exclusively by the Red Cross. Laurent Corbaz, the International Committee of the Red Cross' director of operations in Europe, described a tentative plan in which the trucks would enter Ukraine with a single Russian driver each — as opposed to the crew of several people currently in each truck — accompanied by a Red Cross worker. In line with Red Cross policy, there would be no military escort, he said.

Corbaz said the plan foresees the aid being delivered to a central point in rebel-held territory, then distributed through the region. It was unclear how long the operation might last, but "it's not going to be solved in one week," he said.

The details were still being negotiated by all sides, including the insurgents, Corbaz said in Kiev, and the Red Cross still had not received the security guarantees it needs to proceed. The presence of aid distribution points in Luhansk and other rebel-held areas could have the effect of dampening the force of the assault by Ukrainian government troops.

Meanwhile, Ukraine proceeded with its own aid operation in the Luhansk area. Trucks sent from the eastern city of Kharkiv were unloaded Friday morning at warehouses in the town of Starobilsk, where the goods will be sorted and transported further by the Red Cross. Starobilsk is about 100 kilometers (60 miles) north of Luhansk.

Jim Heintz and Peter Leonard in Kiev, Ukraine, and Lynn Berry in Moscow contributed to this report.