French president visits Qatar, deepening ties to Gulf

May 04, 2015

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — French President Francois Hollande, seeking to strengthen political and business ties with the energy-rich Gulf states, arrived in Qatar on Monday at the start of a two-nation trip that will include a visit to neighboring Saudi Arabia.

The trip comes as France and other world powers work to finalize a lasting nuclear deal with Iran by the end of June. Saudi Arabia and its Arab Gulf allies fear a deal and the sanctions relief it would bring could further embolden Iran, their regional rival.

The centerpiece of Hollande's visit to Qatar is the signing of a 6.3 billion euro ($7 billion) deal to sell 24 Rafale fighter jets to the natural gas-rich nation. The agreement, announced Thursday, makes Qatar the third overseas buyer of the delta-winged Rafale, manufactured by France's Dassault Aviation.

He was expected to hold talks with Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani during his visit before departing later in the day for Saudi Arabia. France and Qatar have deep economic ties. French energy giant Total SA is a major player in the OPEC member's energy industry, with interests in oil and liquefied natural gas projects.

Underscoring the importance of the energy sector, Total CEO Patrick Pouyanne met separately with both the emir and the Qatari prime minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser Al-Thani, on Monday. His talks with the emir focused on areas of joint cooperation and "prospects for enhancing them," according to the official Qatar News Agency.

Qatari state-linked investors, meanwhile, have taken a keen interest in France, pumping cash into luxury group LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton and football team Paris Saint-Germain. The country's state-backed Qatar Airways is a large buyer of jetliners made by French-based Airbus, with 180 of its planes on order.

The Rafale sale could add momentum to France's efforts to export the fighter. India announced plans to buy 36 Rafale jets earlier this month and Egypt bought 24 in February. The United Arab Emirates, which along with Saudi Arabia and Qatar is a member of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, is also considering buying the plane.

Hollande's visit to Qatar comes just days after a French prosecutor opened a preliminary investigation into allegations that French construction company Vinci seriously mistreated migrant workers in Qatar as the country prepares to host the 2022 World Cup. Vinci denies the allegations. Its Qatar subsidiary QDVC has contracts worth 2.2 billion euros ($2.4 billion) in Qatar.

On Tuesday, Hollande will be the guest of honor at a meeting of the GCC in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, according to his office. The GCC also includes Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman. Hollande is expected to hold bilateral meetings with a number of regional leaders during his visit.

Saudi Arabia is leading a coalition of Arab nations carrying out airstrikes against Iranian-backed rebels known as Houthis in Yemen, where a French hostage, a woman kidnapped on Feb. 24, is being held.

Saudi Arabia, Qatar and France are also members of the U.S.-led coalition targeting the Islamic State militant group with airstrikes in Iraq and Syria.

Conservatives look to be winners in surprise UK election

May 08, 2015

LONDON (AP) — The Conservative Party surged to a surprisingly commanding lead in Britain's parliamentary election, with returns Friday backing an exit poll's prediction that Prime Minister David Cameron would remain in 10 Downing Street. The opposition Labor Party took a beating, mostly from energized Scottish nationalists who pulled off a landslide in Scotland.

With Cameron's Conservatives on the cusp of winning a majority in the 650-seat House of Commons, the election result looked to be far better for him than opinion pollsters, or even his own party, had foreseen. The prime minister was beaming early Friday as he was announced the winner of his Witney constituency in southern England.

"This is clearly a very strong night for the Conservative Party," he said, stopping just short of declaring overall victory. "I want my party, and I hope a government that I would like to lead, to reclaim a mantle that we should never have lost — the mantle of one nation, one United Kingdom," Cameron said, vowing to counter the rise of Scottish nationalism with more powers for Scotland and Wales.

The opposition Labor Party, led by Ed Miliband, was routed in Scotland by the Scottish National Party, which took almost all of the 59 seats in Scotland. "What we're seeing tonight is Scotland voting to put its trust in the SNP to make Scotland's voice heard, a clear voice for an end to austerity, better public services and more progressive politics at Westminster," party leader Nicola Sturgeon told the BBC.

"The Scottish lion has roared this morning across the country," said former SNP leader Alex Salmond, who was elected in the seat of Gordon. Scottish Labor leader Jim Murphy insisted he would not resign despite losing his seat but Miliband's grip on the overall leadership seemed more tenuous, as the party failed to make predicted gains against the Conservatives across the rest of Britain.

"This has clearly been a very disappointing and difficult night for the Labor Party," said Miliband. "We haven't made the gains that we'd wanted in England and Wales and in Scotland we have seen a surge of nationalism overwhelm our party."

Miliband, who faced calls from within Labor to step down, said that whoever is prime minister would face the challenge of uniting the country after a divisive campaign. Cameron's coalition partner, the Liberal Democrat party, faced electoral disaster, losing most of its seats as punishment for supporting a Conservative-led agenda since 2010.

"It is now painfully clear that this has been a cruel and punishing night for the Liberal Democrats," said leader Nick Clegg, who did hold on to his own seat. He said he would discuss his future with colleagues later Friday.

Almost 50 million people were registered to vote in Thursday's election, one of the most unpredictable in decades. Opinion polls during the monthlong campaign had suggested the result was too close to call.

But an exit poll released as polls closed projected that the Conservatives would be well ahead, with around 316 seats — they would need 326 for a majority — and Labor on 239, while the Liberal Democrats would lose most of their seats.

The chief exit pollster, John Curtice of Strathclyde University, said it looked as if Conservative and Labor gains had canceled each other out across England and Wales, and that Labor had lost much of its support in Scotland to the SNP.

The survey was conducted by pollsters GfK and Ipsos MORI for Britain's broadcasters. As results rolled in overnight, the Conservative Party appeared to be in a commanding position to form the next government, either alone or by seeking partners from smaller parties. One result could be re-run of the Conservative-led coalition with the Liberal Democrats that has governed since 2010.

With 508 of 650 seats reporting, the Conservatives had 222 seats, Labor 203, the SNP 55 and the Liberal Democrats six. Votes in each constituency were counted by hand and the results followed a familiar ritual. Candidates — each wearing a bright rosette in the color of their party — line up onstage like boxers as a returning officer reads out the results.

But if the form was familiar, the results were often shocking. Among the early Scottish National Party winners was 20-year-old student Mhairi Black, who defeated Douglas Alexander, Labor's 47-year-old foreign policy spokesman and one of its most senior figures. Black is the youngest U.K. lawmaker since 13-year-old Christopher Monck entered Parliament in 1667.

The UK Independence Party ran third in opinion polls, but by early Friday had won only one seat because its support isn't concentrated in specific areas. Leader Nigel Farage said he would resign if he does not win the seat of Thanet South — an outcome that looked a distinct possibility.

Britain's economy — recovering after years of turmoil that followed the 2008 financial crisis — was at the core of many voters' concerns. The results suggest that many heeded Cameron's entreaties to back the Conservatives as the party of financial stability. Public questions at television debates made plain that many voters distrusted politicians' promises to safeguard the economy, protect the National Health Service from severe cutbacks and control the number of immigrants from eastern Europe.

In Whitechapel, one of London's poorest communities, voters struggling in the wake of the worst recession since the 1930s wanted a change in leadership. "The first priority is the economy, the second one is creating more jobs, and the third is living expenses — they're going higher and higher," said Shariq ul-Islam, a 24-year-old student.

But just a few minutes away in the City of London, the traditional financial district where many bankers earn enormous salaries, Christopher Gardner, a 34-year-old finance industry official, put his trust in the Conservatives.

"There are some issues that have been caused by austerity previously," he said. "They're the only people that I'm confident will resolve that."

Sylvia Hui, Paul Kelbie, Gregory Katz and Martin Benedyk contributed to this story.

Polls open in Britain's knife-edge national election

May 07, 2015

LONDON (AP) — Polls have opened in Britain's national election, a contest that is expected to produce an ambiguous result, a period of frantic political horse-trading and a bout of national soul-searching.

Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservatives and Ed Miliband's Labor Party are running neck-and-neck, and neither looks able to win a majority of Parliament's 650 seats. Many voters are turning elsewhere — chiefly to the separatist Scottish National Party, which will dominate north of the border, and the anti-immigrant U.K. Independence Party. UKIP is third in opinion polls but Britain's electoral system means it can win at most a handful of seats.

If no party wins outright, it may take days or weeks of negotiation to forge a workable government. Polls are open Thursday from 7 a.m. (0600GMT) until 10 p.m. (2100GMT).

A look at leading figures in the tight British election

May 07, 2015

LONDON (AP) — Britain's general election is on Thursday, and polls suggest the race between Labor and the Conservatives is too close to call. Here's a look at the leading figures in the campaign:

DAVID CAMERON: Prime Minister David Cameron of the Conservative Party is trying to preserve his place at the storied 10 Downing Street residence. He has led a coalition government for the past five years, steadfastly pursuing a fiscal austerity program aimed at bringing down Britain's budget deficit and high public debt. Cameron, 48, was educated at Oxford and worked in public relations before entering politics full time and becoming party leader in 2005. He brought the Conservatives back to power in 2010, when the party bested Labor despite failing to obtain an outright majority. He has been criticized for appearing lackadaisical on the campaign trail but has tried to fire up supporters by warning that his Labor rivals plan to team up with Scottish nationalists in a new government that would put the future unity of the United Kingdom at risk.

NICK CLEGG: Nick Clegg served as Deputy Prime Minister for the last five years but finds himself fighting hard to keep his seat in Parliament. His Liberal Democrats finished strong in the 2010 election but are struggling to maintain their strength in Parliament this time around. The 48-year-old party leader has sought to position the Liberal Democrats in the political center and says the party offers stability and reliability. He is an outspoken advocate of Britain maintaining its place in the European Union. He has studied political theory in the United States and worked as a journalist before entering politics. His personal popularity skyrocketed during the 2010 election, when he claimed to offer the only real choice for change.

NIGEL FARAGE: Nigel Farage, the leader of the UK Independence Party known as UKIP, has risen to prominence by calling for Britain to withdraw from the European Union and take strong steps to lower immigration into Britain. He says immigration has badly stretched public finances, put too much pressure on the National Health Service, and made English people feel uncomfortable in their own country. Farage, 51, is a member of the European Parliament and is fighting for a seat in the British Parliament representing South Thanet. If he fails to win, he has indicated he will step down as party leader. He founded a successful metal trading business in London's financial district before devoting himself to UKIP on a fulltime basis.

ED MILIBAND: Labour Party leader Ed Miliband surprised Britons by challenging his older brother David for the party leadership — and beating him — in 2010. He was seen before that as less experienced and less articulate than his better-known brother, but he mustered just enough support from labor unions to win. The 45-year-old Ed Miliband has struggled at times to project a forceful image and has been hampered by a sometimes awkward manner in front of TV cameras. Early in the campaign, he said he didn't mind being thought of as a geek and was confident he was tough enough to be prime minister. He attended Oxford and the London School of Economics and is the son of Jewish refugees who fled the Nazis. His father was a prominent Marxist intellectual and his home life was steeped in politics and philosophy.

NICOLA STURGEON: Nicola Sturgeon, leader of the surging Scottish Nationalist Party, has generated headlines throughout the campaign with her impressive debate performances and campaign skills. She is not running for Britain's Parliament, but leads Scotland's regional government as First Minister. The 44-year-old Sturgeon has been an articulate advocate for Scottish independence and has said that any British government without Scottish voices would not be legitimate. Her party is expected to win most of the 59 districts inside Scotland, giving it a powerful bargaining position in post-election negotiations. She is the daughter of an electrician and a dental nurse who became a lawyer after training at the University of Glasgow. She became leader of the SNP and first minister of Scotland in November after the party lost a hard-fought referendum on independence from the United Kingdom. Sturgeon's mentor, Alex Salmond, resigned after the failed campaign.

Populist Finns party to join coalition of 3 in Finland

May 07, 2015

HELSINKI (AP) — Finland's next likely prime minister, Center Party leader Juha Sipila, said Thursday he wants the populist Finns Party in a new three-member ruling coalition, the first time it would be in the government.

Sipila, who was tasked with forming a majority government after his party's election victory last month, said he will begin talks with the runner-up Finns Party and the conservative National Coalition Party, which led the previous government but came in third in the April 17 vote.

The main task of a new government is to revive the ailing economy in the midst of a three-year recession, with painful decisions needed for further spending cuts of at least 4 billion euros, the 54-year-old millionaire said.

Sipila described the three-party coalition, which would have a clear majority with 124 seats in the 200-member Parliament, as the "best option" of many alternatives. He said he wants a strong coalition capable "of making reforms and implementing those decisions."

The self-effacing former businessman, who entered politics four years ago, faces a delicate balancing act between staunchly pro-European former Prime Minister Alexander Stubb's conservatives and the anti-establishment Finns Party. The latter is led by maverick politician Timo Soini, who opposes bailing out Greece and wants to kick it out of the eurozone. He also wants restrictions on immigration.

Soini, who dropped out of government formation talks four years ago because of his party's opposition to bailouts, said he was confident the three parties could form a new government, but it was not immediately clear if he would be prepared to make any compromises.

Sipila said he will begin coalition talks on Friday, hoping to announce a new government by the end of the month.

Burundi: 3 killed as Burundi political protests continue

May 07, 2015

BUJUMBURA, Burundi (AP) — Protesters searched for and assaulted people suspected to be members of the ruling party's violent youth group on Thursday as the upheaval against President Pierre Nkurunziza's bid for a third term persisted with three more people reported killed.

One man fled under a hail of stones and took shelter in a covered sewer until army troops arrived and dispersed the mob by firing into the air. In another neighborhood, a protester was killed in clashes with police and the Imbonerakure youth group.

One person was killed in Kinama Commune when protesters confronted a group of Imbonerakure members, caught one and burning him; and in Commune Nyakabiga, another man was killed by a mob which accused him of being a member of Imbonerakure, witnesses told journalists.

Three people were killed and 13 wounded in the day's violence, according to the Burundi Red Cross. Protesters want Nkurunziza to drop his re-election bid, saying it is illegal. But the Constitutional Court ruled that he can seek a third term and his backers say he can seek re-election because for his first term, he was selected by Parliament and not by popular election. Burundi's constitution says the president should be elected by universal direct suffrage for a mandate of five years, renewable one time.

Protests have rocked Burundi's capital since the ruling party announced on April 25 that it had nominated Nkurunziza as its presidential candidate. Thursday's deaths bring the number of people killed in the protests to at least 13 and 216 wounded. More than 30,000 Burundians have fled to neighboring countries, fearing political violence.

Nkurunziza said the protests should stop immediately so the country can peacefully prepare for the June 26 elections. Opposition politician Audifax Ndabitoreye was arrested after a meeting between East African Community foreign ministers seeking to end the crisis and Burundi leaders at a hotel in the capital on Wednesday but was released later.

Associated Press Writer Edmund Kagire contributed to this report from Kigali, Rwanda