Croatia seeks to redirect migrants toward Hungary, Slovenia

September 18, 2015

TOVARNIK, Croatia (AP) — Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic said Friday his nation is overwhelmed by a huge influx of migrants and will redirect people toward Hungary and Slovenia as they move north in hopes of reaching more prosperous European countries.

It wasn't immediately clear how Croatia's move would solve the situation since both Hungary and Slovenia are taking steps to keep migrants out, deepening a crisis as people seek a route to refuge. Huge numbers of people have surged into Croatia after Hungary erected a barbed wire-fence on its border with Serbia and took other tough measures to stop them from using it as a gateway into Western Europe. Croatia represents a longer and more difficult route into Europe, but those fleeing violence in their homelands had little choice.

Many of the migrants are Syrians and Iraqis fleeing war and are seeking safety and prosperity in Germany and elsewhere in Western Europe. Milanovic said that Croatia can no longer register people in accordance to European Union rules, but will let them pass through. He suggested it will transfer them to the borders, primarily to the Hungarian border.

"What else can we do?" he said at a news conference. "You are welcome in Croatia and you can pass through Croatia. But, go on. Not because we don't like you but because this is not your final destination."

Croatia closed all but one of its border crossings with Serbia after straining to cope with more than 14,000 migrants who have entered the country after Hungary closed its border. Still, the country's prime minister insisted that the country was not sealing off its border and would not do so. Milanovic said Croatia is simply overwhelmed by a situation which has "gone far beyond our capabilities." He appealed to the European Union to step in and help.

"We are calling on the EU to realize that Croatia will not be a hot-spot," he said. "We have a heart but we also have a brain." Serbian officials, fearing the closure in Croatia would block thousands of migrants inside the country, protested Zagreb's move. Aleksandar Vulin, Serbia's social affairs minister, said Serbia will take Croatia to international courts if the international border crossings remain closed, arguing that it should have been prepared for the influx.

"We will not pay the price of someone else's incapability," Vulin said. "I am sorry to see that Croatian humanity and solidarity lasted just two days." However, despite the border closures, many continued entering Croatia through cornfields. Women carrying children and people in wheelchairs were among the thousands rushing in the heat in hopes of finding refuge.

One of the more desperate situations was unfolding in the eastern Croatian town of Beli Manastir, near the border with Hungary. Migrants slept on streets, on train tracks and at a local gas station. People were scrambling to board local buses, without knowing where they were going.

Mandica Yurisha, a Croatian Red Cross volunteer, said it was clear nobody wanted to remain in Croatia. "The first thing they ask is where is the train to Slovenia and Germany," Yurisha said. "We don't know how to answer this question, and I see that they are very nervous and very tired."

Some have made their way north to Slovenia already. Around 100 people crossed into Slovenia from Croatia and were being held at a makeshift processing center in the border town of Berizce. But Slovenia has also been returning others to Croatia and has stopped all rail traffic between the two countries. Slovenian police have intercepted dozens of migrants who tried to cross through the forests overnight into the country from Croatia.

Meanwhile, Hungary started building another razor-wire fence overnight, this time along a stretch of its border with Croatia to keep migrants from entering the country there. The migrants would prefer the quicker route to Europe through Hungary, instead of taking the longer route through Slovenia.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban said the first phase of the 41-kilometer (25-mile) barrier will be completed on Friday, with coils of razor wire being laid down before an actual fence goes up. In addition, he said he would deploy 1,800 soldiers and 800 police to the border with Croatia over the next days to keep out migrants.

He lashed out at those in the West who have criticized his handling of the migrant crisis. "The critical voices from there are not calming down," Orban said, adding that European politics and media are governed by a "suicidal liberalism" that "puts our way of life at risk."

There was little hope in sight for thousands of people stranded on the doorstep to Western Europe. "Returning back to our country is impossible, because we have no financial means or the moral strength to go back home," said Abu Mohamed who fled Idlib in Syria, leaving his wife and children behind in the hopes of making it to Europe.

He said Europeans have nothing to fear from people like himself. "We are coming with our modest Islamic perspectives. Terrorism remains back home, terrorism is not coming with us," he said. "We were the victims and oppressed back home in our societies."

Kirka reported from Zagreb, Croatia; Associated Press writers Dusan Stojanovic in Batina, Croatia; Jovana Gec in Belgrade, Serbia; and Vanessa Gera and Pablo Gorondi in Budapest, Hungary, contributed to this story.

Joy as migrants flood into Austria; tears for those kept out

September 19, 2015

SZENTGOTTHARD, Hungary (AP) — Migrants following a well-worn path into Western Europe used to know exactly where they wanted to go and how to get there. Not anymore.

Their journey has morphed into an exhausting, chaotic, unpredictable mess as Balkan states close their borders and squabble over how to respond to the unprecedented wave of humanity flowing across their territories.

Hungary's decision to shut its border with Serbia on Sept. 15 set off a chain reaction in Croatia and Slovenia that has forced people fleeing violence in their homelands to rush from one European border to the next as they desperately try to find their way north before the rules change again.

Some 10,000 migrants flooded into Austria on Saturday after days of being shuttled from one country to another or seeing their paths blocked by border guards with dogs, razor-wire fences, barricaded bridges or riot police. Some were sent on chaotic trips from Serbia through Croatia, over to Hungary and up to Austria.

Hungary's foreign minister accused Croatia of dumping hundreds of migrants upon his country in buses, while Slovenia's prime minister accused Croatia of failing to fulfill its European responsibilities.

Tens of thousands more migrants are expected to enter Europe as people fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia cross the seas from Turkey to Greece and head north through Macedonia, Serbia and Hungary.

"I have no idea where this journey will bring me, because I do not know which border after Serbia will be open," Mustafa Alrufay, a 26-year-old from Iraq, said Saturday at a refugee camp in Gevgelija, Macedonia. "I also have no idea in which country I'll be accepted and find secure shelter to live and work."

About 5,000 migrants a day are passing through Macedonia, according to the European Union. In the dangerous waters of the Mediterranean, the Italian coast guard said Saturday it had coordinated the rescue of 4,343 migrants from smugglers' boats off the coast of Libya in just one day. Adding to the tally, a Norwegian vessel rescued another 335 people. The Greek coast guard said a 5-year-old girl found in the sea off the island of Lesbos died after her boat sank. Fourteen others are missing.

Migrants have long taken death-defying trips across the Mediterranean to reach Europe, relying largely on smugglers to guide them. But Hungary's decision to close the border with Serbia is forcing them to plot entirely new routes.

The first choice for many was to head west through Croatia to Slovenia, but the Slovenian government closed its border as well and stationed riot police to block some bridges. That left hundreds in limbo and led others to cross into Hungary from Croatia.

People-traffickers knew of Hungary's plans to close the border and were prepared to try different routes, according to Maurizio Albahari, author of a book on Mediterranean migrations and a social anthropologist at the University of Notre Dame.

But most people on the trek north aren't paying to get all the way to Germany. They do some of the journey on their own, skirting roadblocks as they arise. They compare notes on Facebook, where the "Guardians of the Homeless" group claims 100,000 members. They watch the news, they talk to journalists.

"Everyone among them knew that Hungary would finish building their fence on the 15th, so the urge to beat the deadline added to the chaos," Albahari said. "Additionally, there's the expectation the EU will come up with more stringent measures early next week, and that is adding to the haste of people who feel they risk being stuck where they don't want to."

Pain and uncertainty drained away from the face of Adeeb Jaafri, a theater student from Damascus, as he arrived Saturday in Heiligenkreuz im Lafnitztal in Austria. "Right now, I feel like I've been born anew. Now I don't even see these long queues in front of me," he said, pointing to scrums to board buses. "It makes no difference to me whether I am delayed whether I stay here two days. The important thing is that I've finally arrived. And that I am now finally safe."

Others raised their arms in joy as they crossed the border, a milestone in their epic journey to safety. But for many, the chaos and uncertainty continues. Some families were separated as they fought for space on buses. Others were not allowed across.

On the Hungarian side of the border with Austria, Hala Khatib of Damascus and her three daughters wept uncontrollably. "I want to go to Germany. My husband is in Germany. I've come here all alone to this country. Please let me go," she sobbed. "I am exhausted. Me and my children, we're exhausted."

Many waited as long as 12 hours to be allowed forward. At border spots in half a dozen countries, thousands set up camp with no food or water or slept on the streets, exposed to heat in the day and the cold at night. In Turkey, riot police pushed back hundreds of migrants who were trying for the second day to reach the country's western border with Greece and Bulgaria. Police in Slovenia said more than 1,000 migrants had entered the country, but many others were still waiting at the border.

Croatia demanded help in the form of a more unified approach from the European Union. The country of 4.2 million has seen more 20,700 migrants arrive since Wednesday. "This will not stop. This is a bitter river, a river of desperate and embittered people that will not stop flowing," Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic said Saturday while touring the community of Beli Manastir near the border with Hungary. "They will use (this route) all the time unless the problem is solved at the source."

Hungary's military, meanwhile, announced another solution to Europe's immigration crisis: calling up 500 reservists to reinforce its borders.

Kirka reported from Zagreb, Croatia. Dalton Bennett in Harmica, Croatia, Vanessa Gera and Alex Kuli in Budapest, and Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin contributed to this story.

Guatemalans vote for new president amid corruption scandal

September 07, 2015

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — An uncomfortable challenge confronted Guatemala's presidential candidates on Sunday: trying to win the votes of a nation that has put the last elected leader in court custody.

Most are old-guard candidates picked to run before energized prosecutors backed by a mass anti-corruption movement toppled the previous administration. Many voters are so skeptical that they campaigned for the election itself to be postponed to give them a new crop of choices.

Leading in most polls with roughly 30 percent backing is Manuel Baldizon, a wealthy 44-year-old businessman and longtime politician. His running mate is accused by prosecutors of influence trafficking, but as a candidate enjoys immunity from prosecution.

Guatemalans were also voting for vice president, members of Congress and the Central American Parliament, and local authorities for municipalities nationwide. Polls closed in the early evening. In the presidential race, Baldizon's most competitive rivals were television comedian Jimmy Morales, who has never held elective office, former first lady Sandra Torres and Zury Rios, the daughter of a former dictator accused of genocide.

If none of the 14 candidates reaches 50 percent, a runoff will be held Oct. 25. A key question is the level of protest vote in the face of a corruption scandal that has forced President Otto Perez Molina and Vice President Roxana Baldetti to resign. Both are currently in custody, accused of being involved in a customs kickback scheme.

Activists urged voters to go to the polls wearing black clothes of mourning, abstain or cast null ballots. On the streets, it's hard to find a campaign poster that hasn't been covered with insults. Tens of thousands had joined demonstrations asking for the vote to be postponed.

Baldizon, who finished second in the last presidential race, initially campaigned on the slogan "It's his turn" — a reference to the fact that the last four elections have been won by the previous runner-up. It struck many critics as a display of what's wrong with the country's politics. At protests, demonstrators have chanted: "It's not your turn."

Baldizon has acknowledged Guatemalans' disgust with crime, corruption and impunity. His campaign website vows a "modernization of the democratic state" to reform government and combat poverty and social inequality.

But after Baldizon's campaign blew past the legal ceiling on electoral costs, he ignored orders to stop spending. Morales, 46, boasts of his outsider status and says he is part of the uprising against corruption. He has promised greater transparency, including media review of government contracts.

Torres, 59, divorced former President Alvaro Colom ahead of the last presidential race to try to get around rules barring presidential relatives from running, but was still ruled ineligible. A businesswoman and longtime political party figure, she is proposing a coalition government to respond to the concerns of outraged citizens.

Rios, 47, is the daughter of former dictator Efrain Rios Montt, who faces charges of crimes against humanity for killings by security forces during his 1982-83 regime. She emphasizes her experience from 16 years in Congress, where she promoted laws against discrimination and drug and human trafficking.

One of the first to vote was President Alejandro Maldonado, who was vice president before he swore in to office this week after Perez Molina's resignation. He said it was citizens' responsibility to vote, and then for elected officials to live up to their duty.

Businessman Salvador Paiz said the political crisis touched off by corruption scandals will encourage the public to keep a close eye on the next crop of elected officials. "I see a government that is going to be much more monitored by Guatemalan society, and I think that's great. ... Today we Guatemalans are coming out with courage to denounce acts of corruption," Paiz said.

Attorney General Thelma Aldana said authorities had received about 1,200 complaints related to the election, including the burning of some ballots in the municipality of Patzun, north of the capital.

Guatemala voters choose new president amid fraud scandal

September 06, 2015

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — An uncomfortable challenge confronts Guatemala's presidential candidates on Sunday: trying to win the votes of a nation that has put the last elected leader in court custody.

Most are old-guard candidates picked to run before energized prosecutors backed by a mass anti-corruption movement led the collapse of the outgoing administration. Many voters are so skeptical that they campaigned for the election itself to be postponed to give them a new crop of choices.

Leading in most polls with roughly 30 percent backing is Manuel Baldizon, a wealthy 44-year-old businessman and longtime politician. His running mate is accused by prosecutors of influence trafficking, but as a candidate enjoys immunity from prosecution.

Baldizon's most competitive rivals are television comedian Jimmy Morales, who has never held elective office, former first lady Sandra Torres and Zulia Rios, the daughter of a former accused of genocide.

If none of the 14 candidates reaches 50 percent, a runoff will be held Oct. 25. A key question is the level of protest vote in the face of a corruption scandal that has forced President Otto Perez Molina and Vice President Roxana Baldetti to resign. Both are currently in custody, accused of being involved in a customs kickback scheme.

Activists are urging voters to go to the polls wearing black clothes of mourning, abstain or cast null ballots. On the streets, it's hard to find a campaign poster that hasn't been covered with insults. Tens of thousands had joined demonstrations asking for the vote to be postponed.

Baldizon, who finished second in the last presidential race, initially campaigned on the slogan "It's his turn" — a reference to the fact that the last four elections have been won by the previous runner-up. It struck many critics as a display of what's wrong with the country's politics. At protests, demonstrators have chanted: "It's not your turn."

Baldizon has acknowledged Guatemalans' disgust with crime, corruption and impunity. His campaign website vows a "modernization of the democratic state" to reform government and combat poverty and social inequality.

But after Baldizon's campaign blew past the legal ceiling on electoral costs, he ignored orders to stop spending. Morales, 46, boasts of his outsider status and says he is part of the uprising against corruption. He has promised greater transparency, including media review of government contracts.

Torres, 59, divorced former President Alvaro Colom ahead of the last presidential race to try to get around rules barring presidential relatives from running, but was still ruled ineligible. A businesswoman and longtime political party figure, she is proposing a coalition government to respond to the concerns of outraged citizens.

Rios, 47, is the daughter of former dictator Efrain Rios Montt, who faces charges of crimes against humanity for killings by security forces during his 1982-83 regime. She emphasizes her experience from 16 years in congress, where she promoted laws against discrimination and drug and human trafficking.

Burkina Faso coup leader says he will hand back power

September 22, 2015

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso (AP) — The Burkina Faso general who seized power in a coup last week apologized to the nation Monday and said he would hand over control to a civilian transitional government after the military warned that its forces would converge on the capital and forcibly disarm the soldiers behind the power grab.

Gen. Gilbert Diendere said his presidential guard unit "confirms our commitment to giving power back to civilian authorities," in a communique issued to journalists. That was one of the key conditions of a draft agreement that resulted from weekend negotiations with regional mediators, but it had been unclear until his announcement whether the junta would abide by those terms.

Diendere, who led the presidential guard under longtime leader Blaise Compaore until he was forced from power in a popular uprising last year, said the compromises were necessary to avoid further bloodshed. The risk of clashes could lead to "chaos, civil war and massive human rights violations," he said.

Earlier Monday, the heads of the National Armed Forces warned that troops would disarm the presidential guard. While they said soldiers aimed to do so without spilling blood, the ultimatum raised the specter of clashes on the streets of Ouagadougou.

"We demand that they put down their weapons and rejoin Camp Sangoule Lamizana," the statement said, promising that the returning soldiers and their families would be protected. People gathered at sunset cheering on the highway as they waited for the anticipated entry of Burkina Faso's regular army, who vowed to disarm the presidential guard known as the RSP.

The soldiers who seized power last week are seen as loyal to ex-President Blaise Compaore. Diendere, the general installed as president Thursday, is a former top aide to the ousted leader. Junta members said they were angered that members of Compaore's former ruling party couldn't take part in elections that were set for Oct. 11. Compaore was president for 27 years, and his bid to further extend his rule prompted massive street protests that led to his ouster.

The mediators led by the presidents of Senegal and Benin announced a plan late Sunday that calls for new elections by the end of November. The plan drafted by mediators is supposed to go before the West African regional bloc known as ECOWAS in Nigeria on Tuesday.

The streets of Ouagadougou remained tense Monday, and many demonstrators said they felt the ECOWAS compromise plan was too lenient on the junta. France, meanwhile, suspended all military, civilian and financial cooperation with Burkina Faso until civilian authority is restored.

French President Francois Hollande announced the suspension in a statement. He also threatened sanctions against anyone who opposes democratic elections, saying he would lobby European partners to do the same.

Hollande spoke Monday with Senegalese President Macky Sall about West African regional efforts to restore calm in Burkina Faso, a former French colony that maintains commercial and military ties with France.

The U.S. State Department warned U.S. citizens against traveling to the country and advised those who are there to leave as soon as possible.

Associated Press journalist Ludivine Laniepce in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; Angela Charlton in Paris and Baba Ahmed in Dakar, Senegal contributed to this report.

Violence erupts at Burkina Faso hotel where mediators gather

September 20, 2015

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso (AP) — Violence has erupted at the main hotel in Burkina Faso's capital where talks are taking place with regional mediators after last week's coup.

One group of protesters opposed to the new regime chanted "No to military rule" while another group chanted its support for the junta. Soldiers protected two opposition leaders from an angry mob that had tried to stop them from entering the hotel.

Tensions are running high in Burkina Faso following the announcement last week of a coup that deposed a transitional government which was organizing national elections for Oct. 11. The country's president of 27 years, Blaise Compaore, was ousted late last year in a popular uprising.

Burkina Faso: Mediators hint at post-coup breakthrough

September 20, 2015

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso (AP) — West African mediators late Saturday hinted at a breakthrough in Burkina Faso's political crisis after a military coup brought a general to power less than a month before scheduled elections.

But at a press conference, Benin President Thomas Boni Yayi did not give any details on a potential deal, instead saying only that a "good decision" would be announced Sunday. Earlier Saturday, anti-coup demonstrators burned tires at roadblocks in Burkina Faso's capital and shouted slogans denouncing Gen. Gilbert Diendere, who was named leader of the country on Thursday after members of the elite Presidential Security Regiment stormed a government meeting and detained the acting president and prime minister. Though soldiers had used live rounds to repress earlier demonstrations, they had little presence in Ouagadougou on Saturday, emboldening demonstrators who cried out "Homeland or death!"

At least 10 people have been killed and more than 100 injured in the crackdown on anti-coup demonstrations in recent days, a worker at the Yalgado Ouedraogo Hospital in Ouagadougou said Saturday. The worker spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.

Gen. Pingrenoma Zagre, the army chief, issued a statement Saturday condemning all violence against civilians and urging soldiers to act "with professionalism." He called on civilians to "trust the armed forces" as they worked to resolve the crisis.

The coup derailed a yearlong transition process that followed the fall of longtime President Blaise Compaore during a popular uprising last October. In addition to the Ouagadougou protests, unrest has also flared in other regions of the country, with angry crowds burning the homes of some Compaore supporters.

Elections were supposed to be held Oct. 11, but Diendere, a former top Compaore aide, has said that date is too soon. The optimism voiced Saturday by Boni Yayi and Senegal President Macky Sall, who also participate in the talks, stood in stark contrast to their comments about the crisis less than 24 hours earlier.

Late Friday night, after a full day of meetings, Sall noted that the rival camps had shown little will to negotiate. Officials in the transition have insisted that the junta's departure was non-negotiable.

The coup was swiftly condemned by former colonial power France, the United States, the United Nations and the African Union, which suspended Burkina Faso on Friday.

Associated Press journalist Ludivine Laniepce contributed to this report from Ouagadougou.

Burkina Faso junta frees interim president after coup

September 18, 2015

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso (AP) — Burkina Faso's military on Friday released the country's interim president who was detained during a coup that dissolved his government. The prime minister remained under house arrest.

The coup was led by members of a presidential guard still loyal to ex-President Blaise Compaore, who was ousted in a popular uprising last October after he angered people with an attempt to prolong his 27-year rule.

The junta released a statement Friday saying that Michel Kafando had been freed from military custody. The former U.N. ambassador had been chosen to lead the political transition after Compaore's resignation until elections could be held. Kafando's government had organized national elections for Oct. 11.

The presidential guard detained Kafando and the prime minister on Wednesday, and declared early Thursday that the transitional government had been dissolved. On Friday, Gen. Gilbert Diendere — a former top aide to Compaore who was named on Thursday as the country's military leader — said he had met with members of the international community to establish dialogue and to seek a long-term solution to the country's political crisis.

The coup has been met with sharp international criticism. U.S. National Security Adviser Susan Rice said Washington would "review our foreign assistance to Burkina Faso in light of evolving events." "We are deeply disappointed that the self-interested actions of a few are threatening the historic opportunity that the people of Burkina Faso have to cast their ballots and build a new future for the country," Rice said in a statement.

Burkina Faso hosts French special forces and is an important ally of France and the United States in the fight against Islamic militants in West Africa. The coup sparked protests in the streets of the capital, and the presidential guard opened fire with live ammunition, witnesses said late Wednesday. Associated Press journalists saw the bodies of at least six victims at a morgue on Thursday.

3 space station astronauts safely return to Earth

September 12, 2015

MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian space capsule landed safely in Kazakhstan on Saturday, bringing home a three-person crew from the International Space Station, including a record-breaking Russian cosmonaut.

Russia's Gennady Padalka, Andreas Mogensen of the European Space Agency and Aidyn Aimbetov of Kazakhstan landed on the steppe just two minutes before sunrise and were feeling fine. Their Soyuz TMA-16M capsule touched down on schedule at 0651 local time (0051 GMT) Saturday, 146 kilometers (90 miles) southeast of Dzhezkazgan, in what a NASA commentator called a "bull's-eye landing."

Padalka has completed his fifth mission for a world record of 879 total days in space, more than two months longer than the previous record holder, Russian cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev. Padalka spent 168 days on this most recent stint, while Mogensen, from Denmark, and Aimbetov each spent 10 days in orbit. Both Mogensen and Aimbetov were the first astronauts from their countries to fly into space.

Helicopters and off-road vehicles rushed to the landing area as the capsule, charred by a fiery plunge through the Earth's atmosphere, descended under an orange-and-white parachute. Rescue personnel quickly extracted the smiling crew from the capsule's hatch and put them in reclining chairs as medics checked their condition.

NASA's Scott Kelly and Kjell Lindgren remain on the station along with Russia's Mikhail Kornienko, Sergei Volkov and Oleg Kononenko and Japan's Kimiya Yui.

Russia and Japan to continue discussions on peace treaty

September 21, 2015

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia says it's ready for more talks with Japan on a long-delayed peace treaty, but it firmly stands its ground on the two nations' territorial dispute.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said after Monday's talks with visiting Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida that Moscow's approach to the territorial dispute has remained unchanged. The ministers did agree, however, to hold bilateral consultations on a peace treaty in early October.

The dispute over the islands called the southern Kurils in Russia and the Northern Territories in Japan has kept them from signing a peace treaty ending their World War II hostilities. Lavrov also noted the Japanese legislation loosening post-World War II constraints placed on its military, saying the move worried some of Japan's neighbors. He also voiced concern about U.S.-Japanese missile defense ties.

Russians with Western ties increasingly branded 'traitors'

September 19, 2015

MOSCOW (AP) — When Gennady Kravtsov sent a cover letter to a Swedish company, he reasoned that, even if a job didn't come of it, he at least would know whether his engineering skills were valued outside Russia.

Instead, he found himself charged with treason and facing a possible 15 years in prison. Kravtsov worked for Russia's GRU military intelligence agency from 1990 to 2005 as a radio engineer in satellite intelligence. For five years after he quit, he was barred from leaving Russia or taking certain security jobs because of the sensitive nature of the work. But when that period was up he sent a cover letter to a Swedish company he found online. Nothing ever came of it.

In 2013, Russian counter-intelligence officers asked Kravtsov about the contact, and last year grabbed him on the street and threw him in jail. The Russian government increasingly has portrayed any cooperation with foreign companies or nationals as a potential security threat, a throwback to Soviet times when any interaction with foreigners aroused suspicion. The eclectic group of Russians charged with treason this year includes a mother of seven, a Sochi traffic controller, a Black Sea Fleet sailor, a Siberian police major, a Russian Orthodox Church employee, a Moscow university lecturer and a retired nuclear scientist. The variety of suspects is not in itself evidence of a harsher crackdown, but Russia is clearly widening its net on treason and hauling in the most people in years.

Nine people, including Kravtsov, were arrested in Moscow in 2014 on suspicion of treason, according to the Moscow City Court. Across Russia, 15 people were convicted of treason last year, nearly four times as many as the year before, Russian Supreme Court data show.

The stepped up campaign against suspected traitors follows a Kremlin move in 2012 to expand the definition of treason to include undefined "assistance" to a foreign government, which rights activists have warned could lead to abuse.

"If you look at it, any person who has talked to a foreigner and said something bad about the government can be sent to prison," said veteran human rights defender Lev Ponomarev. Kravtsov's lawyer, Ivan Pavlov, has handled treason cases for 20 years, but he has never had as many clients as he has now.

"They look for enemies and they find them. These are various people, from a breastfeeding mother to former intelligence agents," Pavlov said. "The mood in law enforcement agencies, how aggressive they are, their zeal to intensify their search and prosecute (more people) stem from the developments in Ukraine and Russia's position in the world."

He said "every single treason case" he has seen recently has a connection to the crisis in Ukraine — where the government is fighting a pro-Russia insurgency — either because the person had traveled there or had some personal ties.

Russia is returning to old Cold War tactics in other ways as well. In July, the Nizhny Novgorod State University fired its vice rector, an American who had lived in Russia for two decades, after a state television program criticized him for hanging portraits of American scientists on university walls. When state media seek to discredit Russia's marginalized opposition, they often accuse them of being too cozy with Western diplomats.

It is the treason campaign that perhaps most evokes the repression of the Soviet era. "At first I thought he was the only 'spy' in prison," said Kravtsov's wife, Alla Kravtsova. "Then I realized it was a war-time campaign. A campaign to catch spies had begun and Gena was at the right time in the right place with his stupid letter."

Pavlov is barred from discussing details of Kravtsov's case, but he said that prosecutors are accusing his client of revealing his job description at the GRU, as well as information about the military capability of the Tselina-2 radio surveillance system. Kravtsov's defense argued that since the satellite, invented in the 1970s, has not been in use since 2000, information about it should not be classified. The lawyer himself has been kept in the dark about much of the case, he said, and the defense was helpless since the government list of classified information is classified as well.

Kravtsov's case was heard at the Moscow City Court, with the trial proceeding behind closed doors. Kravtsov's wife turned up at every hearing, even though she was not allowed in. She stood outside, straining to listen through the door and waiting to get a glimpse of her husband whenever it opened.

Prosecutors on Monday asked the court to sentence the 47-year-old Kravtsov to 15 years in prison. The verdict is expected next Monday. Kravtsov, a father of two, quit his GRU job in 2005 because he felt that the military intelligence agency was wasting money and his talent, his wife said. He got a job at a think tank in Moscow, but once the five-year ban on travel and employment in security-related jobs expired, he started exploring other options.

His wife said he sent a letter to the Swedish firm, using an online program to translate it into English, and soon got a reply that the company was not interested. "He just wanted to find out whether his skills were in demand elsewhere or he should get new training and work somewhere else," Kravtsova said.

In 2013, he wrote one more letter, "a cry for help," as his wife described it. She said he mailed a letter addressed to the Belarusian defense minister saying he was frustrated with the decline of his field in Russia and wanted a job in Belarus, a former Soviet republic that remains a close ally of Moscow.

A few months later, in July 2013, Russian counter-intelligence officers approached him on the street. "They came for him, showed him their ID on the street, as in Stalinist times," Kravtsova said. "They didn't even let him go home, but put him in the car and took him to their office."

She said the FSB officers asked him about the email to Sweden and seized his computer the same evening. For the next year, Kravtsov dutifully answered the investigators' calls and went to meet with them whenever they asked, although there were no charges against him. His wife said the investigators told him he was free to travel, but just after the family bought a package tour to Greece, Kravtsov was arrested on the street, his arms pinned behind his back.

The FSB, the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, did not respond to a written request for comment. Both of Kravtsov's children, 4-year-old Vasilisa and 8-year-old Anton, know that their father is in prison. His wife said that when Anton was asked in school why his father no longer comes to pick him up, the boy said: "He's in prison, but don't be afraid, he's a political one."

Pavlov thinks that senior Kremlin officials no longer have to send orders to their subordinates to crack down on dissent or to be on the lookout for spies, because the political system has taken on a life of its own.

"Every official on every level, from investigators to judges, they feel it; they don't need anyone to pick up the phone and call them," the lawyer said. "Everyone knows what to do."

Ruling party candidates win all slots in Russian election

September 14, 2015

MOSCOW (AP) — Candidates from the ruling United Russia party have won the governor's seat in all 21 regions where an election was held, as well as in 11 regional legislatures, election officials said on Monday.

An independent election monitor said the results showed the government's strong grip on politics in Russia and the difficulties faced by opposition and independent candidates. Early results released Monday showed only one of the 21 United Russia candidates got less than 50 percent of the vote.

Sunday's vote was largely perceived as a dress rehearsal ahead of the parliamentary election next year. The RPR-Parnas opposition party, which was allowed for run for a regional parliament in only one region, the largely rural Kostroma, polled just under 2 percent of the vote. The turnout across Russia was largely under 50 percent.

Ilya Yashin, an RPR-Parnas leader in Kostroma, conceded defeat on Monday. "We did an honest job fighting against the giant machine," he said on Facebook. "We've lost. Parnas' actual result, not counting ballot-stuffing and fraud ... is higher than the official one, but not significantly."

The independent election monitor Golos said in a report Monday that the vote demonstrated the lack of political competition in Russia and showed the government's control over the results, from independent candidates being barred from running to not giving the opposition any air time for campaigning.

"The results of the election were overwhelmingly predetermined by decisions and actions of the current government and election authorities ... as early as at the stage of nominating and registering candidates and parties," the report said.

Golos said it received more than 200 complaints on Sunday about violations at the vote which included voters casting ballots multiple times as well as the hampering of election monitors' work.

Hundreds of Russians protest destruction of demon sculpture

September 13, 2015

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) — About 300 people have held a protest in Russia's second-largest city over the destruction of a century-old bas-relief of the demon Mephistopheles and called for greater protection of other historical buildings and parks they say are under threat.

The sculpture was a small landmark in St. Petersburg, a city noted for striking architecture. Its destruction by unknown vandals in August raised fears of growing religious intolerance in Russia. Also last month, activists ransacked an exhibition of non-conformist artists in Moscow, shouting that the works offended Christians.

Alexander Kobrinsky, a St. Petersburg lawmaker who took part in Sunday's protest, said the objective was "to defend our city from vandals, construction companies and even religious organizations." Irina Kruglova, a 67-year-old protester, said she came "to defend my city from vandalism and greed."

New Australian prime minister says government remains strong

September 15, 2015

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia's prime minister-designate Malcolm Turnbull on Tuesday assured the country that his government remained strong despite an internal party revolt that made him the nation's fourth leader in little more than two years and will leave deep divisions in his administration's ranks.

Turnbull will be sworn in as Australia's 29th prime minister on Tuesday after a surprise ballot of his conservative Liberal Party colleagues voted 54-to-44 on Monday night to replace Prime Minister Tony Abbott only two years after he was elected. Turnbull's elevation has cemented a culture of disposable leaders as the new norm in Australian politics since the 11-year reign of the Prime Minister John Howard ended in 2007.

"There's been a change of prime minister, but we are a very, very strong government, a very strong country with a great potential and we will realize that potential working very hard together," Turnbull told reporters as he left his Canberra apartment on Tuesday morning.

"This is a turn of events I did not expect, I have to tell you, but it's one that I'm privileged to undertake and one that I'm certainly up to," he added. Turnbull, a 60-year-old former journalist, lawyer and merchant banker known for his moderate views, was party leader for two years before he was ousted in 2009 by Abbott by a single vote in a similar leadership ballot.

Abbott, a 57-year-old former Roman Catholic seminarian, has been described as the most socially conservative Australian prime minister in decades, while Turnbull is considered not conservative enough by the right wing of the party.

Turnbull's return to the helm will likely lead to a major cabinet reshuffle, with Treasurer Joe Hockey and Defense Minister Kevin Andrews among the ministers who publicly supported Abbott. Andrews, a senior figure in the party's right wing, on Tuesday argued that he should retain his defense portfolio.

Andrews challenged Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, a Turnbull supporter, for the Liberal Party's deputy leadership on Monday night, but was defeated by a vote of 70 to 30. "I did it as a way of reaching out and saying to him that I can work with him, that I believe other people like me can work with him, and that's what we've got to do," Andrews told the Australian Broadcasting Corp in explaining his challenge to Bishop. "There's always hurt and frustration and grief at these circumstances. That's natural. That's human."

Abbott has yet to make public whether he intends to quit or stay on in politics. Unlike Abbott, Turnbull has supported Australia making polluters pay for their carbon gas emissions to reduce the nation's greenhouse gas emissions and legalizing gay marriage.

But Bishop said the government's policies would not change without consultation with Liberal Party lawmakers. "The policies remain until they're changed and they're only changed through a process of discussion and consultation with the party room," she said.

She said the party had moved against Abbott because he had not made good on a promise made in February to improve the government's standing in opinion polls within six months. "He asked for six months to turn things around. Well, seven months later a majority of the party room felt he hadn't done that," Bishop said.

The political turbulence comes as Australia enters its record 25th year of continuous economic growth. However a cooling mining boom that helped Australia avoid recession during the global financial crisis has slashed tax revenue and slowed growth while a hostile Senate has blocked key parts of the government's financial agenda.

The Liberals were elected in 2013 as a stable alternative to the then-Labor government. Labor came to power under Kevin Rudd at elections in 2007, only to dump him for his deputy Julia Gillard in 2010 months ahead of elections. The bitterly divided and chaotic government then dumped Gillard for Rudd just months before the 2013 election.

Successive opinion polls showed that the government was likely to lose at elections in September next year under Abbott's leadership. Opinion polls show that Turnbull is more popular than Abbott, but many of those who prefer him vote for the center-left Labor Party.

Party ousts Australian PM Abbott for more moderate rival

September 14, 2015

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia's beleaguered prime minister was ousted from power in an internal party ballot on Monday as the ruling conservative party attempts to win back a disenchanted public by replacing the nation's polarizing, gaffe-prone leader with his more moderate rival.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott lost a leadership ballot by members of his party, who voted 54 to 44 to replace him with former Liberal Party leader and Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Liberal Party whip Scott Buchholz told reporters. Turnbull had called for a leadership ballot earlier Monday amid flagging opinion polls for the 2-year-old conservative coalition government.

The change in leadership continues an extraordinarily volatile period in Australian politics. Turnbull becomes Australia's fourth prime minister in just over two years. The political turbulence comes as Australia enters its record 25th year of continuous economic growth. However a cooling mining boom that helped Australia avoid recession during the global financial crisis has slashed tax revenue and a hostile Senate has blocked several key parts of the government's financial agenda.

The change at the helm will also likely lead to a major cabinet reshuffle, with Treasurer Joe Hockey, Finance Minister Mathias Cormann, Defense Minister Kevin Andrews and Employment Minister Eric Abetz among ministers who publicly supported Abbott against the Turnbull challenge.

Abbott's former Liberal Party deputy, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, who supported Turnbull's bid, was re-elected party deputy. She defeated Andrews 70 votes to 30. The Liberals were elected in 2013 as a stable alternative to the then-Labor government. Labor came to power under Kevin Rudd at elections in 2007, only to dump him for his deputy Julia Gillard in 2010 months ahead of elections. The bitterly divided and chaotic government then dumped Gillard for Rudd just months before the 2013 election.

Before Rudd was elected in 2007, John Howard was in power for almost 12 years. Monday night's contest pitted a man who has been described as the most socially conservative Australian prime minister in decades against a challenger some think is not conservative enough.

Unlike Abbott, Turnbull supports gay marriage, wants Australia to replace the British monarch with an Australian president as head of state, and backs a policy of making polluters pay for their carbon gas emissions.

"This country needs strong and stable government and that means avoiding at all costs Labor's revolving-door prime ministership," Abbott told reporters before the ballot, referring to the opposition Labor Party that changed its prime minister twice in three years.

"The prime ministership of this country is not a prize or a plaything to be demanded. It should be something which is earned by a vote of the Australian people," he added. Turnbull earlier said the government was doomed to defeat with Abbott as leader.

"Ultimately, the prime minister has not been capable of providing the economic leadership our nation needs," Turnbull told reporters. "He has not been capable of providing the economic confidence that business needs."

Nick Economou, a Monash University political scientist, was before the ballot the arty had done "done enormous damage to themselves" through the challenge. The government has trailed the opposition in a range of opinion polls since April last year. Abbott survived a leadership challenge from within his party in February that was prompted by those polls and what some say were questionable judgments he made. At the time, Abbott asked his colleagues to give him six months to improve his government's popularity.

That deadline passed without a change in polling. General elections are due around September next year. Turnbull, a 60-year-old former lawyer and merchant banker known for his moderate views, has long been considered Abbott's chief rival. Turnbull was opposition leader for two years before he lost a party-room ballot by a single vote to Abbott in 2009. His downfall was his belief that Australia should make polluters pay for their greenhouse gas emissions, a position that split the coalition.

Opinion polls show that Turnbull is more popular than Abbott, but many of those who prefer him vote for the center-left Labor Party. Turnbull is the type of classical liberal that has become rare in the oddly named party, which has been overrun by conservatives in recent decades. It was called the Liberal Party when it was established in the early 1940s because it believed in individual freedoms, while their Labor opponents favored state control and heavy regulation.

Abbott and Turnbull are both Rhodes scholars. Abbott, a 57-year-old former Roman Catholic seminarian, has long suffered an image problem, particularly among women. He is regarded as gaffe-prone and old-fashioned in his views on women's place in society.

Turnbull is a self-made multimillionaire regarded by some as arrogant and has been nicknamed "The Silvertail," an Australian term for wealth and privilege.