Greek villagers' secret weapon: Grow your own food

July 04, 2015

KARITAINA, Greece (AP) — Ilias Mathes has protection against bank closures, capital controls and the slashing of his pension: 10 goats, some hens and a vegetable patch.

If Greece's financial crisis deepens, as many believe it must, he can feed his children and grandchildren with the bounty of the land in this proud village high in the mountains of the Arcadia Peloponnese.

"I have my lettuce, my onions, I have my hens, my birds, I will manage," he said, even though he can no longer access his full pension payment because of government controls imposed six days ago. "We will manage for a period of time, I don't know, two months, maybe three months, because I also want to give to our relatives. If they are suffering, I cannot leave them like this, isn't that so?"

The production of food and milk gives villagers in many parts of Greece a small measure of confidence — and a valuable buffer. But that doesn't mean the financial cut-off doesn't cause headaches. Some in Karitaina have to pay 40 euros in taxi fares to get to and from the nearest banks just to withdraw 60 euros, the maximum daily amount for those with bank cards.

The bus to Megalopoli, the town with the bank, was shut down — a victim of austerity. Many of those who used to drive are now too unwell to do so. The majority who live here are retirees, shrouding the town in eerie quiet broken only by the constant birdsong and the sporadic shouting of people arguing about the financial crisis at a vine-shaded café in the town square.

Despite the collective sense that a catastrophe of some type stares Greece in the face, the country's strong tradition of hospitality remains intact. Mathes won't let a visitor leave without a bundle of fresh vegetables and some "trachanas" and "chilopites," types of local pasta his family makes by hand.

Many believe the ability to help one another with food gives Karitaina, with about 30 year-round residents and 100 in the long, drowsy summer, a better chance of surviving than city dwellers coping with the same anxieties. Rural Greek communities have age-old survival tactics that allow them to weather storms such as World War II deprivation and natural disasters. They will need to draw on them deeply, as Greece's current problems are unlikely to go away soon — whatever the outcome of the referendum Sunday on whether to accept the latest bailout proposals, which call for more austerity cuts to already razor-thin public services.

"In the village it's easier to live," said Ionnis Psilas, who is saddled with debts he says he can never repay after the failure of his car import business. "You can get products from neighbors and give them some. In Athens you are strangers. But the crisis has affected the village very much. We are trying but there is no money here. I lived very well and now I have nothing."

He said he would like to vote "200 times no" against the proposed bailout deal, which would impose still more austerity measures on a country that has endured five years of dire cutbacks. He admires Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras for defying European leaders and the International Monetary Fund by urging citizens to reject the deal, a course that could cause Greece to tumble out of the eurozone.

The town, topped by the dramatic remains of a 13th Century castle, has played an important role in Greek history, with its residents among the first to rise up during the war for independence from the Ottoman Empire that began in 1821. Its distinctive Byzantine churches and stone-wrought homes — and the magnificent view of the mountains, rivers and valleys — won it a place on the back of the 5,000 drachma bill before the Greek currency was phased out when the euro was introduced in 2002.

Some have high hopes of a return to the drachma if Greece abandons the euro. Divisions in the village over whether to be in or out of the eurozone are so pronounced that those who back the bailout proposal sit at one table at a village café while those opposed sit at another, a gulf of empty tables separating them.

Anxiety is in the pine-scented mountain air. No one seems confident the banks will re-open anytime soon despite government assurances that their pensions and savings are secure. It is a vital issue because one retiree's monthly pension commonly supports several generations, since so many adults cannot find work.

Some have decided to get by on what they have at home rather than spend a chunky amount to venture to Megalopoli, 17 kilometers (10 miles) away, to try to get more cash from the bank. Pancyotis Theodoropoulos, 85, said he did not want to spend the 40 euro taxi fare to go the bank to withdraw 120 euros, an amount authorized by the government this week for emergency payments to pensioners like him who do not have bank cards.

"I'm living on the pension from last month," he said in a whisper-soft voice. "I'll try to go next week. Of course I'm upset. The government has swindled our pension funds." Some local taxi drivers have cut the price in half for Karitaina pensioners, reducing the transport bite. The cost was not nearly as big a factor before the capital controls came in because people could withdraw their entire pensions at once, usually taking home some 250 to 800 euros.

The retired farmers in this remote region have relatively low pensions compared to other workers, but many get their payments under a special system that allows the Hellenic Postal Agency to deliver the cash directly to their homes.

That has been a godsend since the bank closures, because armored trucks containing cash have delivered funds directly to the post office without going through the shuttered banks, said Keke Bakoyanni, a postal worker who distributes the pensions paid this way and also runs a shop in the village.

The system broke down early in the week when no payments were made — she had to come to Karitaina empty-handed to tell villagers there was nothing for them — but then resumed, with amounts being paid in full, not limited by the new controls.

"I was surprised," she said, sounding mystified by the unpredictability of the improvised system. "People here were lucky, they are the only ones in Greece who got their full pension. This is the old traditional way of getting pensions. "

But she said the controls imposed on most pensioners have stripped them of their pride: "Going to the bank every day for 60 euros makes people feel they have lost their integrity."

Parliament approves referendum; Greece's future in balance

June 28, 2015

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece's parliament voted early Sunday in favor of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' motion to hold a July 5 referendum on creditor proposals for reforms in exchange for loans, with the country's future in the eurozone looking increasingly shaky.

Tsipras' surprise call stunned Greece's international debt negotiators, and the country took a big step closer to falling out of the euro currency union after fellow eurozone member states refused to extend its bailout program past its expiry date on Tuesday, leaving Greece on the brink of financial chaos.

In the streets of Greece, worried people queued outside banks for cash from dawn to dusk after Tsipras' announcement in the early hours of Saturday, after billions of euros had already been emptied in the preceding weeks.

Greece has a 1.6 billion euro ($1.8 billion) debt due to the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday and its bailout program expires the same day, after which it is unclear how the country might survive financially.

The referendum is set for next Sunday with the question on whether to accept proposed reforms needed to get bailout loans from other eurozone countries and the IMF. The government is advocating a rejection of the proposals.

The radical left-wing leader accused the creditors of using blackmail and ultimatums against his proud but struggling people. European officials and all Greek opposition parties except the extremist far-right Golden Dawn party called his move for a vote a foolish and rash gambit that effectively ended negotiations to keep Greece financially afloat.

The sudden move comes after five months of stalemated negotiations, with Tsipras accusing creditors of trying to strong-arm his country into taking harsh austerity measures he says would hammer an economy already on its knees after months of creditor-demanded spending cuts and tax hikes.

"They didn't ask us to agree, they asked us to surrender our political dignity," Tsipras said during a tumultuous and nearly 13-hour parliamentary session that cumulated in a vote just before 3 a.m. Sunday. Out of parliament's 300 lawmakers, 178 voted in favor and 120 against, with two people absent.

He insisted the Greek side had "exhausted every limit" of concessions so there could be an agreement, adding that "perhaps some saw that as a weakness." The referendum move further crumbled already strained relations between Greece and its European partners.

Tsipras said the Greek people would vote against a deal next Sunday. "This no will also be a big yes, a big yes to the decision of the Greek government to reject an ultimatum that insults the Greek people."

Tsipras dismissed harsh criticism from other European countries on his decision. "The referendum will take place as scheduled, next Sunday, whether our partners want it or not," he said. Eurozone finance ministers earlier rejected Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis' request for a one-month extension to the bailout program, with Varoufakis then leaving the meeting.

"It's a sad day for Europe, but we will overcome it," he said. The other 18 finance ministers then huddled without him to assess how to minimize the damage from the Greek crisis on their currency. "Our institutions are and will be prepared to take any action if needed," said top eurozone official Jeroen Dijsselbloem of fears that financial turbulence might extend to the rest of the currency bloc. Fellow ministers spoke candidly about the risks of a Greek exit from the euro in a way that would have been inconceivable only weeks ago.

The ministers stressed Greece remained in the eurozone for now, and Dijsselbloem said "the eurogroup stands ready to reconvene to take appropriate decisions where needed, in the interest of Greece as euro area member."

Without a bailout program extension or more loans from creditors, Greece is likely to be in arrears on a debt payment due the same day. Its banks face the risk of collapse. "The Greek authorities have asked for a month extension. But in that month there can be no disbursements," Dijsselbloem said. "How does the Greek government think that it will survive and deal with its problems in that period? I do not know."

France's finance minister, Michel Sapin, stressed a deal was still possible and that he was ready to act as a go-between among Greece and the creditors after relations neared a breaking point. Dijsselbloem refused to slam the door full shut. "The door is open. It was not the institutions that walked away from the last talks last night."

Now much will depend on whether the European Central Bank will accept to continue to prop up Greek banks even after the country's bailout program expires. It would be under huge pressure to stop using eurozone taxpayer money to keep alive the banks if there is no prospect for a deal.

The eurozone finance ministers suggested Greece should take steps to stabilize its financial system — code for putting limits on cash withdrawals and money transfers. If Greece's banks collapse, the government would have to support them itself. Penniless, it would have to revert to printing a new currency, effectively drawing the country out of the euro union.

The ECB's governing council will meet "in due course" to assess the situation, most likely this Sunday, officials said. While Greece's government is recommending a "no" vote on the referendum, Varoufakis noted "the high possibility that the Greek people will vote against the advice of the Greek government."

What would happen in that case — whether Greece would have to leave the euro or try to renegotiate with creditors — is unclear. An exit from the euro would put Greece through a new era of economic pain. With the new currency less valuable than the euro, the government would have to write off a chunk of its foreign loans — mainly owed to eurozone countries — and many companies and households would go bankrupt. Experts predict a long and deep recession in a country that has already been through five years economic depression.

The uncertainties of all this would roil European and global markets, though experts are divided on the extent. Some say Europe is better equipped to handle a Greek euro exit, but others say it is unclear what might happen. The euro dropped in value slightly on international markets after the referendum was called.

Casert reported from Brussels. Demetris Nellas, Thanassis Stavrakis and Paris Ayiomamitis in Athens, Greece, and Derek Gatopoulos and Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed.

Greek prime minister puts bailout deal to referendum July 5

June 27, 2015

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece's fraught bailout talks with its creditors took a dramatic turn early Saturday, with the radical left government announcing a referendum in just over a week on the latest proposed deal — and urging voters to reject it.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras announced the July 5 referendum in a televised address to the nation, following an emergency meeting of his cabinet. "The Greek government has been asked to accept a proposal that places new unbearable burdens on the Greek people," Tsipras said. "Right now, we bear an historic responsibility concerning ... the future of our country. And this responsibility obliges us to answer (the bailout creditors') ultimatum based on the sovereign will of the Greek people."

The move radically raises the stakes in Greece's confrontation with its increasingly irate creditors, whom Tsipras accused of seeking to "humiliate the country," demanding new pension cuts, sales tax hikes and labor market reforms.

Worried Greeks have been pulling their money out of banks for months, and an estimated 4 billion euro left Greek banks last week. Queues were seen forming outside several Athens cash machines and fuel stations late Friday and early Saturday.

Giorgos Pistevos, a retired bank employee, was in a queue withdrawing money at 3 am in the northern suburb Vrilissia, where many cash machines had 5 to 25 people waiting. "I withdrew the (daily) limit, 700 euros, and then I went for a second try, but it won't give me any more," he told The Associated Press. "I'll try again tomorrow."

Pistevos said he went home after midnight and switched on the TV. "As soon as I saw (the news), I went straight to the bank because we don't know what will happen," he said. Tsipras said he would ask creditors Saturday for an extension "of a few days" to Greece's bailout program, which expires on Tuesday. In theory, without an extension, the country will lose access to any remaining bailout funds.

The referendum announcement also raises severe questions over whether the debt-crippled country will be able to remain solvent and in the 19-state eurozone. Greece desperately needs a deal with its creditors. Without a 7.2 billion euro ($8.07 billion) bailout loan installment — which would only be available if there is a deal — the country will be unable to make a 1.55 billion euro payment to the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday, and even bigger payments later July.

A Greek official close to the bailout negotiations said the country was unlikely to pay the IMF on Tuesday, adding that IMF rules allow a certain period during which a country is considered to be in arrears.

By essentially defaulting on its debt mountain, Greece would likely see its banks collapse, as they depend on emergency European Central Bank funding. The government could soon run out of cash, face huge difficulties in paying pensions and civil servant salaries — and that could force it to leave the eurozone and adopt a weak national currency. But the country imports most key consumer goods, whose cost would rocket beyond most Greeks' reach under a new currency.

Teneo Intelligence analyst Wolfgango Piccoli said Tsipras' move places Greece in "entirely uncharted waters." In a note, he said it also raises the risk of the country leaving the euro to "at least 50 percent," more than double the previous level.

Greek opposition parties — except for the Nazi-inspired Golden Dawn — expressed horror at the referendum. Conservative main opposition leader Antonis Samaras accused Tsipras' radical left government of advocating an exit from the eurozone and the European Union.

"Mr Tsipras has led the country to an absolute impasse," he said. "Between an unacceptable agreement and leaving Europe." But government officials insisted that the referendum would not be about currency change.

"It's not a question of yes or no to the euro ... euro or drachma," Defense Minister Panos Kammenos told state ERT TV, referring to the old Greek currency. "There is no process for Greece to leave the euro," he added, referring to eurozone rules which contain no provision on a country being forced out of the currency club.

An emergency session of Parliament will be called at noon Saturday to ratify the decision. The government has enough lawmakers to carry the vote. "The question will be acceptance or rejection of (the bailout creditors') proposal" for a new deal, Tsipras said. His government had already said it rejected the latest proposals from representatives of the European Commission, ECB and IMF.

Later on Saturday, finance ministers from the 19-member eurozone were expected to meet in Brussels for what had been billed as a last attempt to reach a mutually agreed deal. Athens said its senior bailout negotiators will meet Saturday with ECB head Mario Draghi.

Development Minister Panayiotis Lafazanis urged Greeks after the late-night cabinet meeting to vote against the creditors' proposal. "The answer of the Greek people will be a resounding no," he told reporters. "All Greeks will vote no."

State Minister Nikos Pappas echoed the sentiment. "Our people will vote no, you will see," he said. "This is a very good night ... the Greek people will soon be able to decide" for themselves. The surprise announcement follows days of frantic negotiations with the EC, ECB and IMF in Brussels. On Friday, officials in Brussels said Athens had agreed to key reforms that are close to what creditors have demanded.

The creditors in return offered Greece a five-month extension to its bailout program. According to the text of the creditors' proposals seen by The Associated Press, Athens was offered an extension to its bailout program through November, with loans worth 15.5 billion euros. That includes the 7.2 billion euros from the existing rescue program and money left over from a bank rescue fund.

The European Central Bank has been supporting the Greek banks — and frequently increased that aid this week as they struggled to cope with the drain of deposits. But it would be under pressure to pull the plug on the banks if Greece's bailout program expired and there was no prospect of a financial rescue for the country.

Government officials early Saturday dismissed fears of a bank meltdown or imposition of capital controls. It remains unclear whether the referendum would be legitimate, as Greece's constitution bans such votes on fiscal matters, and how the government would handle the result.

"It is at this point difficult to see how this situation could end well for Athens," Piccoli said. "Even if a majority were to back the proposal, the question is whether a government now openly opposed to the agreement would be able and willing to implement the attached reform conditions. Equally, if the "No" camp wins, it is entirely unclear at this point what the government's plan B would look like."

Greece has survived on bailouts, conditional on deep reforms and spending cuts, since it lost the confidence of money markets in 2010. But the austerity measures worsened a punishing recession, pushed unemployment well over 25 percent and cost the average Greek at least a third of their income.

Elected in January, Tsipras' government has long been adamant it would not impose any new austerity measures, after cuts made in previous years put the country through years of recession and caused mass unemployment and poverty.

His concessions to creditors have mainly consisted of tax increases, mainly on businesses. Creditors worried that, while such taxes might spare the poor in the short-term, it would hurt the overall economy too much.

Pistevos, at the northern Athens bank queue, said he expected the referendum to be "very divisive." "I think the results will be unpredictable and in the end, the referendum will end up being a yes or no to Europe," he said. "The question isn't whether we stay in the euro. We're already out of that. We could end up out of Europe."

Thanassis Stavrakis and Elena Becatoros in Athens contributed

EU leaders agree to relocate 40,000 migrants

June 26, 2015

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders agreed Friday to relocate 40,000 refugees from Italy and Greece to other EU countries over the next two years, in an effort to share the burden of a growing migrant crisis.

EU President Donald Tusk said the agreement was reached after an overnight summit to show "solidarity with frontline countries." French President Francois Hollande said the EU will also resettle 20,000 refugees, mostly from Syria and Iraq, who are currently in camps outside the EU.

The migrant crisis has caused tensions among EU countries, and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi made an emotional plea to the leaders for help. More than 114,000 migrants have been plucked from the Mediterranean trying to reach Europe so far this year, according to the International Organization for Migration. Some 2,600 have died or gone missing during the often-perilous sea crossing.

The EU wants to oblige member countries to share the 40,000 Syrians and Eritreans requiring international protection who are expected to arrive in Italy and Greece over the next two years. But many of the 28 nations are refusing to have migrant numbers dictated to them from Brussels.

The leaders did not spell out any quotas for how many refugees each country will take. EU interior ministers will finalize the plan next month. Tusk said a final agreement must also include support for Hungary, which has received a third of all EU asylum-seekers since the beginning of the year.

Eurozone leaders to hold emergency summit on Greece

June 18, 2015

LUXEMBOURG (AP) — The eurozone's 19 leaders have been summoned to an emergency summit next week after talks about Greece's bailout ended in acrimony on Thursday, intensifying fears that the country was heading for bankruptcy and an exit from the euro.

Donald Tusk, who chairs meetings of European leaders, called them to Brussels on Monday evening to "urgently discuss the situation of Greece at the highest political level" — frustrated at the lack of progress less than two weeks before a big payment Athens has to make to the International Monetary Fund.

It will be one of, if not, the most important meeting In the euro's 16-year existence. Greece's future in the currency, which it joined in 2002, could very well be at stake when Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras faces his peers, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande.

"The key emergency, in my view, is to restore a dialogue with adults in the room," IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said. However Lagarde's comment is interpreted, the decision to call the summit is a clear sign that relations between Greece and its creditors are as strained as at any time since Athens was first bailed out five years ago.

Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis acknowledged that relations have reached a low point. "There is a lack of trust in the eurogroup," he said after a meeting where he claims he brought a "radical, innovative proposal."

Details of the offer were unclear, but Lagarde said "it cannot be about smoke and mirrors; it has to be tangible proposals." Greece is running out of time to secure a deal to get the money it needs to meet upcoming debt payments. First and foremost it has to pay around 1.6 billion euros ($1.8 billion) to the IMF on June 30.

With the clock ticking, Lagarde said Greece's debt obligation is not up for negotiation. "There is no period of grace of one or two months as I have read here and there," she said. "It's due on June 30."

Without a deal that would unlock the remaining cash — about 7.2 billion euros ($8.21 billion) — in its bailout fund, Greece faces bankruptcy. If no solution is found by the end of the month, it could be left to its own devices without even the support of the European Central Bank to prop up the country's banks. Since Greece is effectively broke and relying on outside help, it may have no option other than to introduce a new currency — most likely the centuries-old drachma — to pay wages, salaries and pensions.

Fears over the country's financial future, whether in the euro or not, have been a key driver across financial markets recently, notably in Greece itself. On Thursday, stocks in Europe advanced before the outcome of the talks in Luxembourg was known.

Uncertainty about the future is also having an impact on the day-to-day decisions of the Greeks themselves. There have been increasing signs that people are withdrawing money from banks in increasing amounts, raising fears that the government will be forced to put up controls on the free flow of capital.

Varoufakis wouldn't be drawn on the possibility of so-called capital controls but said the deposit outflow started in December, before the radical left Syriza party came to power following elections in January.

"On the question of capital controls, permit me to say that they are the precise antithesis of a monetary union, a monetary union that contemplates capital controls is one that has failed in its duty," he said.

As Thursday's meeting broke up, at least 7,000 people gathered outside Parliament in central Athens in a peaceful rally backing membership in the currency zone and the European Union. Varoufakis and others claimed a deal was still possible.

The eurozone's top official, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, insisted that he and his peers were "very committed" to keeping Greece in the eurozone, despite the lack of progress in recent weeks. "Greece needs to become financially independent," he said. "Any deal that simply doesn't deliver that ... would be also a bad deal for the Greek people ... But it will also require politicians that are prepared to tell the truth to their people."

Relations between the Greek government, which was elected on a promise to bring an end to the crippling austerity demanded since 2010 in return for the bailout money, and its creditors have worsened significantly over the past few days, with each side blaming the other in more and more robust language for the impasse.

It's now got to the stage that officials are openly talking about a Greek exit from the euro and of the contingency plans being put in place. Even Tsipras' visit to Russia Thursday over a gas deal stoked speculation that he may be seeking alternative financing for Greece with Moscow.

Varoufakis said the government accepts that fundamental reforms are needed, arguing that those pursued in recent years have led to huge economic hardship, including high debt, unemployment, poverty and emigration.

"There is no question that Greece needs to make adjustments," he said. "The question for us is: What kind of adjustments?" Perhaps the main reason why there has been no meeting of minds is the Greek government's insistence that its burden is addressed alongside the bailout. It wants some sort of restructuring of the debt burden, which stands at near 180 percent of annual GDP. That could take the form of lower interest rates on the debt or extending the date by which the debts have to be repaid.

"Dealing with the debt repayments of a highly indebted nation state that has no access to markets and that has no access to devaluation is of the essence of rendering that economy stable and sustainable," said Varoufakis.

Dijsselbloem said the eurozone stands by its 2012 commitment to "consider further measures and assistance," but only if Greece meets all its reform promises.

Nicholas Paphitis in Athens contributed to this report.

Thousands march in central London to protest austerity

June 20, 2015

LONDON (AP) — Thousands marched in central London Saturday to protest against British government austerity programs and spending cuts in a massive show of force meant to win attention to the plight of the poor.

The march began with a festive mood. Red flares exploded as the rally got underway at the Bank of England, sending plumes of scarlet smoke through the financial district's narrow and winding streets. Brass musicians offered a tune as demonstrators waved placards, balloons and banners on the way to Parliament Square

The event is intended to vent outrage, albeit peacefully, over the Conservative government's plan to slash millions of pounds in public spending to address the deficit, which ballooned after the nation rescued its troubled banks during the 2008 financial crisis.

Social activists, union leaders and campaign groups joined forces to protest cuts in public services, welfare and education that are expected when the government unveils its budget next month. Demonstrators argue the public is being punished for a crisis it did not cause.

"I am fed up with all the main parties saying they are going to promote austerity," Lindsey German, a senior official of the Stop The War Coalition. "They have made the rich richer and the poor poorer and they're going to continue."

Singer Charlotte Church brandished an "End Austerity Now" placard and said she wanted to take part in solidarity with others who believed cuts had gone too far. Comedian Russell Brand was also among the thousands taking part.

"It will be the start of a campaign of protest, strikes, direct action and civil disobedience up and down the country," said Sam Fairbairn of the People's Assembly, which is organizing the protests. "We will not rest until austerity is history, our services are back in public hands and the needs of the majority are put first."

Africans seeking better lives pass through Ethiopian town

July 05, 2015

METEMA, Ethiopia (AP) — The mood in the border town of Metema these days is quiet and watchful.

Dozens of houses on the hot, dusty main road that stretches from Ethiopia into Sudan look like they have been hastily closed. Guards grimly patrol the border, stopping anyone who looks to be trying to cross the border illegally. The nightclubs and bars are emptier than usual, although they still attract Sudanese who are not allowed to drink alcohol in their own country under Shariah law.

Metema, with about 100,000 people, is one of a handful of towns across the region that serve as feeders for a booming trade in migrants from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia and Sudan, many hoping to make their way to Europe. Life here is now a cat-and-mouse game: The authorities are cracking down, yet the migrants just keep coming, often risking death.

Since 30 Ethiopian Christians who passed through Metema were killed by the Islamic State group in Libya a few months ago, the Ethiopian government has become far more vigilant. It claims it has detained 200 smugglers across the country, and police say about 28 of them are from Metema.

The effect of the crackdown is clear in this town. But while the flow of migrants is down from about 250 a day, it's still strong at 100 to 150, according to Teshome Agmas, the mayor. "It's just a pity that people choose to endanger their lives in an effort to move out of their country and work in inhumane conditions abroad," he said.

Getachew Merah, a rail-thin 30-year-old aspiring migrant from Ethiopia, agreed to talk to the Associated Press, but only outside Metema, because he was afraid police would arrest him. He has made three unsuccessful attempts to cross into Sudan, and is now trying again.

Merah said his father is dead and his mother lives in extreme poverty in a rural village in the Amhara region. He added that he has tried just about every job in Ethiopia, working as a butcher, a guard, an assistant in a heavy-duty truck, a laborer carrying oil back and forth from between Sudan and Ethiopia and more. But he simply can't get enough money to change his life or his family's.

He hopes to earn money in Libya to send back to his family, and eventually return to start his own business. Three times before, Sudanese police arrested him and sent him back to Ethiopia. Each time, he said, he didn't have enough money in his pocket to bribe the police. So this time, he is planning to enter Sudan as a daily laborer on a farm and earn about $150 — enough for bribes — and then disappear into the forest to reach the capital, Khartoum.

"I'm tired of working in Ethiopia," said Merah, who was clearly nervous. "I know the dangers of living now in Libya, especially with the ISIS news. But I want to risk it all and try my luck." Close to 80 percent of Metema's businesses are run by smugglers and their affiliates, according to Sister Hamelmal Melaku of the Ethiopia Higher Clinic. They smuggle charcoal, oil, fruit and, of course, people. With the government sweep-out, migrants are no longer showing up at the clinic, and the temporary shelter built for migrants in the middle of the town sits idle.

"I think it won't be an exaggeration if I say that the town is totally out of the government's control," she said. With Metema under surveillance, the smugglers are now changing their tactics, according to Abraraw Abeje, police assistant inspector. He said they are now "dumping" the migrants in forests and mountainous areas, and then forcing them to resume their journey into Sudan on foot or in packed vehicles.

Like the migrants, the suspected smugglers say they are poor. Adamo Anshebo is under detention in Metema as a suspected kingpin, which he denies. "I came here after selling all my property to receive and take back home to my sick child, who was working in Sudan," he said. There is no way to tell if it is the truth.

Poverty in Ethiopia fell significantly from 44 percent in 2000 to 30 percent more than a decade later, according to a World Bank report in January. However, the country remains one of the world's poorest and is ruled by an authoritarian government. More than 96 percent of people in the country's rural areas are still barely eking out a living, according to Oxford University's poverty index.

Ethiopia is also a pass-through point for most Eritreans traveling to Europe, according to the U.N. refugee agency. While exact numbers vary, Eritreans make up one of the largest groups of migrants crossing the Mediterranean, coming second in number only to Syrians. Somalis are third.

According to accounts from several migrants and officials, here is how the trade works. The smugglers operate in and from all parts of Ethiopia. While major smugglers stay in cities like Addis Ababa, the capital, affiliates known as "shaqabas" operate in and around small towns like Metema, Moyale to the south and Afar in the northeast.

The migrants say they are not asked for money in Metema, because they could easily be robbed or lose it. Instead, they are charged upon arrival in Khartoum or other Sudanese cities. The final payment is made once they reach the Libyan coast and, in many cases, depart for Europe. The trip to Europe can cost as much as $5,000. Often the migrants don't carry all their money for fear of being robbed, so payment is made through their families, via hand transfer to the smugglers or affiliates in their hometowns.

In a statement written to The Associated Press, Metema officials said they have repatriated more than 1,100 migrants arrested while trying to cross to Sudan illegally. The letter said they come from all parts of Ethiopia, especially the south, as well as Eritrea. Ethiopian immigration officials on the Sudan border confirm that some of the migrants are foreigners, and more now from South Sudan because of the ongoing conflict there.

Other migrants tell similar stories of poverty. Two women in their 20s traveling together, who refused to give their names for fear of their safety, said their only reason for migration is economic. They, too, said they wanted to work abroad, then return home to help their families and start their own business. Both have not worked in Ethiopia since completing high school.

Another young man, Abinet Yirga, 23, said his job in a billboard advertising company in Addis Ababa did not even leave him with enough money to buy clothes. He said two years ago, he was out of work for many months, which led to a feud with his father. He is now in Metema waiting to cross the border.

"I don't know when I will travel to Sudan and then to Libya to go to Europe, because I don't have any money now," he said. "But I've decided I have to change my life whatever the cost is, even if it means life or death."

Burundians vote in parliamentary elections marred by unrest

June 29, 2015

BUJUMBURA, Burundi (AP) — Burundians voted Monday in parliamentary elections marked by an opposition boycott and the threat of violence in the capital.

The polls closed at 5 p.m. local time and "the elections went well," said Prospere Ntahorwamiye, a spokesman for the electoral commission. He said counting would start immediately and the results would probably be announced on Tuesday.

There was heavy security across the city. In the Musaga neighborhood, which has seen violent protests against President Pierre Nkurunziza's bid for a third term, few civilians were seen at the polls as mostly police and soldiers lined up to vote. No one was injured when a grenade exploded in the middle of the main road in Musaga, sending residents scampering for safety, said witness Pacifque Irabona.

About 3.8 million people had been expected to vote, according to the electoral commission, but it appears a boycott by 17 opposition groups kept the turnout low, especially in Bujumbura. The voting took place despite calls by the international community for a postponement until there is a peaceful environment for credible elections.

Nkurunziza's government insisted an indefinite postponement would create a dangerous political vacuum that might cause even more chaos. Bujumbura has suffered unrest since the ruling party announced on April 26 that Nkurunziza would be its candidate in presidential elections scheduled for July 15.

Nkurunziza's supporters say he is eligible for a third term because he was chosen by lawmakers — and not popularly elected — for his first term, and the constitutional court has ruled in the president's favor.

The street protests boiled over in mid-May, leading to an attempted military coup that was put down quickly. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who had called for elections to be delayed, said Monday he expressed serious concern to key leaders about voting going ahead while all opposition parties are boycotting. Both the vice-president and parliament speaker have condemned and criticized Nkurunziza and left the country.

While the United Nations and the U.N. Development Program have withdrawn electoral support to Burundi, Ban said a U.N. observation team is observing the election process.

Associated Press writer Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed.

Burundi envoy says elections will go ahead

June 27, 2015

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Burundi's U.N. ambassador said Friday that elections will go ahead over the next month, saying 95 percent of the country wants to vote and not remain hostage to a "radical minority" that keeps seeking postponements.

Albert Shingiro told a Security Council meeting that another postponement would plunge the government into a constitutional vacuum. 'The government simply cannot accept to tumble head first into an institutional vacuum, into a chasm," he said. "We're going to move forward to elections on Monday.

Agathon Rwasa, a leading opposition candidate, said earlier Friday that elections should be postponed until conditions to make the polls free and fair are met. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, expressing deep concern at the political and security environment in Burundi, also appealed to the government on Friday to seriously consider the proposal by the African Union and groups in the region to further postpone the elections in order to create conditions for an "inclusive, peaceful and transparent" vote, his spokesman said.

But Shingiro said Monday's election for communal representatives, the July 15 presidential election and the election of senators on July 25 are "the latest possible dates which will respect the constitution."

Burundi has experienced weeks of unrest since the ruling party's April 26 announcement that President Pierre Nkurunziza will run for a third term in office. At least 77 people have died in street protests opposing Nkurunziza's bid for a third term. The street protests boiled over in mid-May, leading to an attempted coup.

Rwasa, who is vying for the presidency as an independent candidate, said elections should not be held in current conditions, characterized by insecurity and by lack of freedom of expression and movement. There is intimidation and assassination of opposition figures, and more than 127,000 people have fled the country for fear of violence, he said in a telephone interview.

Rwasa said Nkurunziza should withdraw his candidacy which violates the constitution's two-term limit for presidents. He said the opposition is not boycotting elections as they did in 2010 but wants a postponement and dialogue with the government until the issues impeding democratic polls are resolved.

"We are for a credible process. It is clear that the so-called elections are not going to be credible," he said. The Security Council adopted a presidential statement Friday reiterating "its deep concern regarding the grave security and political situation in Burundi" ahead of elections. U.N. diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity because consultations were private, said the council did not mention a postponement of elections because Russia insists that elections are an internal matter for the government.

The council welcomed African efforts to address the crisis and the resumption of talks between all the Burundian parties. Shingiro said the government is doing its best to come up with concessions, "but the opposition ... are spoiled children, who desire absolutely everything." He said the government is not in a position to accept more concessions.

To improve security and create a climate "conducive for the elections," he said law enforcement agencies have collected 100,000 weapons from groups affiliated to political parties and is accelerating collections.

Lederer reported from the United Nations. Associated Press writer Tom Odula contributed to this report from Nairobi, Kenya

Israeli navy peacefully intercepts Gaza-bound vessel

June 29, 2015

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's navy intercepted a Swedish vessel attempting to breach a naval blockade of the Gaza Strip early Monday and was redirecting it to an Israeli port, the military and the activists said.

The military said that after exhausting all diplomatic efforts, the government ordered it to block the vessel. Israeli naval forces boarded the Marianne ship and searched it in international waters without needing to use any force, the military said.

The ship was carrying about 20 activists, including Israeli Arab lawmaker Basel Ghattas and former Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki. Three other ships that were part of the original flotilla reversed course before encountering the Israeli navy.

The Freedom Flotilla group posted a photo on Twitter apparently showing a group of its activists onboard a ship. It said in the post that Israeli forces intercepted the Marianne and it was currently en route to Ashdod port. The ship was expected to arrive in Ashdod in 12 to 24 hours.

Petros Stergiou, a member of flotilla's media team in Athens, said the group would continue its acts of protest until the blockade of Gaza was lifted. "Once again, the Israeli state commits an act of state piracy in the Mediterranean Sea," he said. "The government continues this policy of non-tolerance, which means that it will continue to enforce the collective punishment against the 1.8 million people in Gaza."

A 2010 Israeli raid against a Gaza-bound flotilla left nine Turkish pro-Palestinian activists dead. It sparked international criticism of Israel and delivered a serious blow to its previously close ties with Turkey.

Israel has maintained a blockade of Gaza since Hamas militants took power in 2007. Islamic militants in the coastal strip have fired thousands of rockets toward Israel and have repeatedly tried to smuggle in arms through the sea.

While Israel insists there is no siege, there are severe restrictions on Palestinian movement and trade, with virtually no exports. The international community, including the United Nations, has repeatedly called for an end to the blockade.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the naval blockade of Gaza is in accordance with international law and has been endorsed by a United Nations committee. "This flotilla is nothing but a demonstration of hypocrisy and lies that is only assisting the Hamas terrorist organization and ignores all of the horrors in our region," he said. "We are not prepared to accept the entry of war material to the terrorist organizations in Gaza as has been done by sea in the past."

Israel says it transfers about 800 trucks a day into Gaza and recently brought in more than 1.6 million tons of goods. It says it assists in hundreds of humanitarian projects, through international organizations, including the building of hospitals and clinics.

Sri Lankan leader dissolves Parliament, calls August polls

June 27, 2015

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka's President Maithripala Sirisena dissolved the Parliament loyal to his predecessor and called fresh elections in August in an attempt to consolidate power and carry out his promise of reforms.

Sirisena issued the notice at midnight Friday announcing the election for the 225-member Parliament for Aug. 17. Sirisena won the January presidential election against Mahinda Rajapaksa on a pledge of full-scale political reforms, but has faced resistance from lawmakers in implementing his program. It includes reducing powers of the presidency and changes to the electoral system.

A majority of the lawmakers in the dissolved Parliament belonged to the United People's Freedom Alliance, which Rajapaksa led until his defeat. Sirisena is also keen to secure cooperation of a new Parliament ahead of an internal investigation into war crimes allegations in the final stages of the country's civil war.

In March, Sirisena secured postponement of a United Nations report on the alleged atrocities by promising a domestic investigation. The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights is expected to release the report in September.

Calling an election ahead of the report is also an apparent bid to deny Rajapaksa an opportunity to come back to power by stirring up nationalism. Rajapaksa is still popular with the country's majority Sinhalese, who oppose international involvement in Sri Lanka. He is also considered a war hero among Sinhalese for ending the three-decade civil war in 2009.

The conflict ended after government troops crushed the separatist Tamil Tiger rebels, who fought for a separate state for the ethnic minority Tamils.

Former Russian PM Yevgeny Primakov dies at 85

June 26, 2015

MOSCOW (AP) — Former Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov, whose career included desperate but unsuccessful diplomatic efforts to avert wars in Iraq and NATO's bombing of Yugoslavia, has died. He was 85.

President Vladimir Putin on Friday offered condolences to Primakov's family, Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. He added that the president saw Primakov as "a statesman, an academic and a politician who has left a very big heritage" and that he always wanted to hear Primakov's view on global issues.

The cause of death wasn't immediately known. With his slow, rumbling speaking manner, hooded eyes and a face whose default expression was a sly smile, Primakov, a seasoned political scholar and Middle East expert, looked like the embodiment of an insider operative for a country full of opaque intrigues.

Primakov began his career on a classic Soviet path. Trained as an Orientalist, he worked as a journalist for a decade-and-a-half in the Middle East for Soviet radio and the Communist Party newspaper Pravda, positions widely seen to be covers for espionage work.

He later moved through an assortment of senior academic positions and joined the political scene in 1989, when he became chairman of one of the chambers of the Soviet parliament, helping spearhead Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev's political reforms.

As the international drumbeat for war against Iraq increased in 1990, Gorbachev sent Primakov as an envoy to Iraq, drawing on his deep knowledge of the Middle East. He was said by some to be the outsider whom Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein knew best and trusted the most.

Gorbachev in a statement praised Primakov for "defending the country's interests with both resolve and flexibility." In 1991, Primakov was named head of Russia's foreign intelligence service and held the job for five years before becoming foreign minister. As Russia's top diplomat, he was regarded as a firm but pragmatic supporter of Russian interests as the country agonized over its loss of superpower status. He worked hard to dilute the United States' perceived unilateral dominance of world affairs.

After being appointed prime minister in 1998 following Russia's bruising financial crisis, Primakov tried to prevent the NATO air war against Yugoslavia over the Kosovo crisis. He was heading to the United States on official visit in March 1999 when he learned that Washington decided to launch the air raids, and ordered his pilots to turn the plane back while it was already halfway over the Atlantic, a bold move that helped bolster his popularity at home.

Primakov lost the premier's job in May 1999 while the NATO bombing campaign was still going on. By many accounts, President Boris Yeltsin feared Primakov's rising influence and popularity. Primakov was widely seen as a top contender to succeed Yeltsin, but sensationalist criticism of him and his alleged poor health on television controlled by supporters of Putin deflated his aspirations. By the time Putin became acting president when Yeltsin stepped down in the closing hours of 1999, Primakov's chances of election had vanished.

Putin nonetheless continued to tap Primakov's expertise in tackling global crises. He made Primakov Russia's top envoy to Iraq to try to stave off the brewing war in 2003. Primakov also was among those who tried to mediate with Chechen terrorists who seized a Moscow theater and hundreds of hostages in 2002.

Primakov also continued to wield considerable influence as the chairman of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce, a Russian business advocacy group, a post he held from 2001 to 2011. Primakov is survived by his wife, his daughter and grandchildren. Funeral arrangements were not immediately known.

Vladimir Isachenkov contributed to this report.

Armenian president suspends electricity hikes behind protest

June 27, 2015

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — The president of Armenia on Saturday suspended hikes in household electricity rates in an effort to end the protests that have blocked the capital's main avenue for six straight days. The demonstrators, however, didn't disperse.

President Serzh Sargsyan said the government would bear the burden of the higher electricity costs until an audit of the Russian-owned power company could be completed. At least some of the money appeared to be coming from Moscow, where the protests have caused great concern.

Some of the protest organizers called for demonstrators to remain on the street until the rate hikes were completely annulled, but they said the decision on whether to continue the protest would be made Sunday evening.

Thousands of protesters have blocked Yerevan's main avenue since Monday, their numbers steadily increasing throughout the week to a peak of about 15,000. In recent days, the protest has looked more like a street party, with the mostly young demonstrators dancing and singing national songs.

Armenia is closely allied with Russia, which maintains a military base in the former Soviet nation. Russian companies control most of its major industries, including the power grid, which the protesters claim is riddled with corruption.

Sargsyan's announcement followed a meeting the night before with Russian Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov, who co-chairs a Russian-Armenian economic commission. During the meeting, they agreed to an audit of the electricity company, but this didn't satisfy the protesters.

Sargsyan said Saturday the 17-percent electricity hike was necessary to support the power grid and therefore he was ordering the government to cover the cost. He said this wouldn't be done at the expense of social payments, a sensitive issue in a country where one third of the population of 3 million is below the official poverty line.

Instead, the president said the money would come from the security budget. "Of course our security problems are far from being resolved, and that's an understatement, but today's atmosphere of suspicion and distrust I also see as a problem of security and a very serious problem," he said in a statement released by his office. "It needs to be resolved."

Also as a result of the meeting with Sokolov, Russia agreed to loan Armenia $200 million to help modernize its military, according to Sargsyan's office. In another concession, Russia agreed to allow Armenia to try a Russian soldier accused of killing seven members of an Armenian family in January.

Armenia remains locked in a conflict with Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. A cease-fire in 1994 ended a six-year war, but attempts to negotiate a peaceful settlement have stalled and fatal shootings occur frequently along the buffer zone.

The conflict also resulted in the closure of Armenia's borders with Azerbaijan and its ally Turkey, which has hobbled the economy of the landlocked country. Angered by the electricity hikes, about 5,000 protesters marched on the presidential residence on Monday evening. When they were blocked by police, they sat down on the road for the night, taking police by surprise. In the early hours of Tuesday, riot police used water cannons to disperse them and arrested nearly 240 people, but by that evening even more protesters had gathered. Since then, the police have stood by peacefully.

Only a few hundred protesters have remained on the street around the clock, with the numbers swelling again in the evenings. The protests, organized largely through social media, have become popular on Twitter with the hashtag #ElectricYerevan.

Armenia standoff continues peacefully

June 26, 2015

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Demonstrators danced and sang on the Armenian capital's main avenue Friday as a protest against a hike in electricity prices continued for a fifth straight day.

Hundreds of protesters gathered on the road, separated from police by a barricade of large trash containers. Others sheltered from sweltering heat under roadside trees and umbrellas. Following Monday's unsuccessful attempt to end the protest by force, authorities have taken a wait-and-see approach and police didn't interfere with the demonstrations.

There was no end in sight, however, to the worst unrest the ex-Soviet nation has seen in years as the government rejected the protesters' demand to reverse the price hike. Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan hasn't yet commented on the situation. He has offered to meet with the protest leaders, but they have refused.

Sargsyan's premier said the government will not roll back the hike and offered compensation to the poorest families, a proposal the demonstrators angrily dismissed. Despite the tough stance taken by the government so far, independent analysts expect authorities to eventually compromise.

Armenia's power grid is controlled by a Russian electricity giant, and other Russian companies own key industrial assets in the nation of 3 million. Armenia also hosts a Russian military base and is a member of Moscow-led security bloc and an economic alliance.

Some Russian politicians have raised suspicions that the West was behind the protests, allegations that angered the demonstrators. The Kremlin, however, has steered clear of such claims. On Friday, the protest looked more like a party than a political protest, with mostly young demonstrators singing and dancing.

Protest organizers made demonstrators keep the avenue clean and kept alcohol away. Armen Antonian, one of the rally organizers, dismissed comparisons with protests in Ukraine that ousted a Russia-friendly president.

"We came here dancing, and we will leave dancing too," he said.

Pair of lions kept as pets by Gaza family arrive in Jordan

July 05, 2015

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Two young lions that had been kept as pets in a Gaza refugee camp traveled Sunday to Jordan where their final destination will be a wildlife sanctuary.

A Gaza family had bought the lions as cubs from a local zoo that was damaged in last year's war between Israel and Gaza's rulers from the Islamic militant Hamas group. The family kept Mona and Max in their small home in the crowded Rafah refugee camp.

The lions and their handlers arrived in Jordan on Sunday evening after leaving Gaza earlier in the day, said Dr. Amir Khalil of the British charity Four Paws. The journey hit an unexpected delay on Friday when Four Paws made its first attempt to take the lions out of Gaza, via the Erez crossing with Israel.

Israel and Egypt have severely restricted travel in and out of Gaza since Hamas seized the territory in 2007. Cogat, the branch of the Israeli military that handles movement from Gaza to Israel, said the animals and their entourage showed up without prior notification after the crossing was already closed Friday. For several hours, the one-year-old cats were trapped in no-man's land when Hamas denied their re-entry back into Gaza.

The group eventually checked into a Gaza hotel to wait for the crossing to reopen Sunday. Mona and Max were tied next to their crates in the hotel's garden.