Strong quake rattles central Italy: "The town isn't here"

August 24, 2016

AMATRICE, Italy (AP) — A strong earthquake struck central Italy early Wednesday, collapsing homes on top of residents as they slept. At least 10 people were reported dead in two hard-hit towns that were partially demolished.

"The town isn't here anymore," Amatrice mayor Sergio Pirozzi said. The magnitude 6 quake struck at 3:36 a.m. (0136 GMT) and was felt across a broad swath of central Italy, including Rome where residents of the capital felt a long swaying followed by aftershocks.

The hardest-hit towns were Amatrice and Accumoli near Rieti, some 80 kilometers (50 miles) northeast of Rome. The center of Amatrice was devastated, with entire palazzos razed to the ground. Rocks and metal tumbled onto the streets and dazed residents huddled in piazzas as aftershocks continued into the early morning hours.

As daylight dawned, residents, civil protection workers and even priests began digging out with shovels, bulldozers and their bare hands, trying to reach survivors. The Italian Geological service put the magnitude at 6.0. The U.S. Geological Survey reported the magnitude at 6.2 with the epicenter at Norcia, about 170 kilometers (105 miles) northeast of Rome, and with a relatively shallow depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles).

The mayor of the quake-hit town of Accumoli, Stefano Petrucci, said at least six people had died there, including a family of four, and two others. "There are deaths," he told state-run RaiNews24. In Amatrice, the ANSA news agency reported two bodies had been pulled from one building. The Rev. Fabio Gammarota told ANSA another three were killed in a separate collapse.

Amatrice Mayor Pirozzi told state-run RAI radio and Sky TG24 that residents were buried under collapsed buildings, that the lights had gone out and that heavy equipment was needed to clear streets clogged with debris.

The office of Premier Matteo Renzi tweeted that heavy equipment was on its way. In 2009, a 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck in the same region and killed more than 300 people. The earlier earthquake struck L'Aquila in central Italy, about 90 kilometers (55 miles) south of the latest quake.

A 1997 quake killed a dozen people in the area and severely damaged one of the jewels of Umbria, the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi, filled with Giotto frescoes. The Franciscan friars who are the custodians of the basilica reported no immediate damage from Wednesday's temblor.

Winfield reported from Rome.

Greece returns 14 migrants to Turkey under EU deal

August 18, 2016

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greek authorities have returned to neighboring Turkey 14 migrants over the past two days, bringing to nearly 500 the total of people sent back under this year's deal between the European Union and Turkey.

The public order ministry says four Pakistani and two Algerian nationals who had entered Greece illegally were taken back by boat from the eastern island of Lesbos Thursday. Another eight Syrians were returned Wednesday on a chartered plane, again from Lesbos.

More than a million refugees and other migrants have reached Greece in smugglers' boats from Turkey since the beginning of 2015, on their way to Europe's prosperous heartland. Since the EU-Turkey deal came into effect on March 20, the flow has slowed down to just over 10,000 people — 482 of whom have been returned.

Sarkozy to run for French presidency next year

August 22, 2016

PARIS (AP) — France's former conservative president Nicolas Sarkozy announced Monday he is running for the presidency again in next year's elections, an awaited move that is expected to lead to a tough battle with rivals from his own camp.

In an extract of a book released on his Facebook page and Twitter account, Sarkozy wrote: "I have decided to be a candidate to the 2017 presidential election." "I've felt I had the force to wage this battle at a so tormented time of history," he added.

Sarkozy, 61, is expected to lead a campaign based on hardline ideas on immigration and security in a country marked by recent attacks carried out by Islamist extremists. The attacks have prompted a national debate about the place of Islam — France's No. 2 religion — in a strictly secular society. With his strategy, Sarkozy hopes to grab some votes from the far-right National Front, whose leader Marine Le Pen has already announced her candidacy for the presidency.

In recent interviews, Sarkozy has said he wants to widen the 2004 ban on the Muslim headscarf in public schools to also include universities. In the name of secularism, he has also said he opposes pork-free options proposed by many school canteens for Muslim and Jewish children, and he has suggested that children born in France to parents staying illegally in the country shouldn't be granted French nationality.

Sarkozy must first win the primaries organized by the French right in November where he's expected to face tough competition. The former prime minister under Jacques Chirac in the 1990s, Alain Juppe, 71, is the current favorite in the polls. Other contenders from the conservative party include Sarkozy's own former prime minister, Francois Fillon.

Sarkozy lost the presidential election to Socialist Francois Hollande in 2012 after his first term. When he left the Elysee Palace, he said he was leaving politics and would find a different way to serve his country.

Yet he made a successful comeback in 2014, winning the leadership of the conservative party, known at the time as the UMP. He explained he was moved to return to politics by the "hopelessness, anger and lack of future" that he sensed among the French. Since then the party changed its name to "the Republicans."

Since 2010, Sarkozy's name has been mentioned in several legal cases relating to corruption and influence-peddling, but he has never been convicted of wrongdoing or been sent to trial. Last February he was handed preliminary charges for suspected illegal overspending on his failed 2012 re-election campaign.

The French presidential election will take place in two rounds in April and May next year. The race remains wide open with primaries to be organized by the left in January. Unpopular Hollande has not said if he will run for re-election.

Syrian refugees support each other in Britain

August 21, 2016

LONDON (AP) — A summer rainstorm pounded down on the eaves of Christ the Saviour church hall in London as Fardous Bahbouh poured tea and set up the makeshift classroom where she teaches some 25 Syrian refugees how to ask for directions in English, shop for groceries and navigate British norms in making new friends.

Bahbouh's class is part of a larger Facebook community called "Ahlan Wa Sahlan" — Arabic for welcome — one of many small local efforts that have sprung up across Britain to help migrants who have made their way to the country after fleeing civil war in Syria.

"Being a refugee myself, I know how it feels to be away from home and having no option to return," said Bahbouh on a recent Thursday. A language teacher in her 30s from Syria, she was studying for a master's degree here when war broke out and prevented her from going home. Now she teaches others as a way of giving back to those who helped her.

As the U.K. struggles to implement its commitment to resettle more than 20,000 Syrians, the government is counting on charities and community groups to help the newcomers adjust to life in Britain. The Home Office has for the first time set up a program to allow local organizations to sponsor refugees and the agency's website directs volunteers to migrant charities that need their help.

While Britain initially resisted international pressure to accept large numbers of refugees, more than 9,000 Syrians have filed for asylum in the U.K. since 2011. That is a tiny fraction of the 1.1 million Syrians who registered throughout Europe during the same period, including almost 377,000 in Germany alone, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Local groups say they can be incubators for programs, providing a blueprint for transition that will help larger efforts succeed. After all, local communities are fundamental to the success of any resettlement effort, said Maurizio Albahari, author of "Crimes of Peace: Mediterranean Migrations at the World's Deadliest Border," and a social anthropologist at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.

"By working to facilitate every aspect of refugee resettlement, local communities quietly but steadily demonstrate to all levels of government that the arrival of refugees is neither unwanted nor impractical, and that xenophobia cannot be taken for granted," Albahari said.

One of the groups that is already serving refugees is Citizens UK, which helps them get health care, schooling and housing. Bekele Woyecha, a community organizer and former refugee from Ethiopia, said individuals — not the central government —have taken the lead.

"This is a county known for offering sanctuary," Woyecha said. "We want to keep that tradition." In addition to language classes, Ahlan Wa Sahlan hosts social events, such as recent communal meal during Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting. Such occasions are important, because they offer the newcomers a chance to talk about home and speak with others who share similar stories about the war and the treacherous journey they faced to get here.

All ages and walks of life are represented in Ahlan Wa Sahlan: An elderly painter pulled from the rubble of Aleppo, a shy newlywed couple, and Karam AlHabbal, who dreams of going to a British university and becoming a pilot.

Confident and funny, his English is already so good that he volunteers to help others. He has just turned 18 and gained residency status but will reveal few details of his travels to Britain for fear of endangering others.

"I have a normal life now I've come to a safe country." he said. "My country has been destroyed." At a picnic in London's Regent's Park, in the shadow of the golden dome of London's Central Mosque, Bahbouh's group meets once again. This time, bikes and biscuits replace notepads and pens.

Bahbouh arrived with two decorated cream cakes to celebrate AlHabbal's birthday and new residency status, and the aspiring pilot rushed to upload photos on Instagram. Some of the young men took selfies in the sunshine, while another sat on the grass and broke into a melancholy Arabic song.

From the outside, they looked like any other group of Londoners enjoying a picnic on a rare day of sun, but they were also compatriots helping one another navigate a new society and piece together a new life.

While Bahbouh's group can't replace the jobs, property and prospects the refugees left behind in Syria, she is trying to replenish the intangible assets of love, hope and confidence. "I am optimistic," Bahbouh said. "No war lasts forever."

Lithuania receives surplus vehicles from the Netherlands

Vilnius, Lithuania (UPI)
Aug 18, 2016

Lithuania is touting its bilateral military partnership with the Netherlands, which has resulted in the procurement of surplus military vehicles.

Over the past six months, Lithuania has received about 200 combat and medium-lift Mercedes-Benz GD vehicles, trucks and other military vehicles from the Netherlands to supplement and update the Baltic country's military fleet.

The vehicles were delivered in several phases and more equipment is scheduled for delivery this year and next under the $7.89 million deal.

"This is the second military equipment procurement contract between Lithuania and the Netherlands," Lithuania's Ministry of National Defense said. "In 2012-2013 the Lithuanian Armed Forces bought vehicles, communications containers and airport service equipment (to replace outdated and not cost-efficient equipment then used in the Lithuanian Armed Forces) from the Netherlands Armed Forces for a good price."

Lithuanian Minister of National Defense Juozas Olekas and Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Lithuania Bert van der Lingen were meeting in the country Thursday to celebrate the successful cooperation between the two countries and future cooperation.

Source: Space War.
Link: http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Lithuania_receives_surplus_vehicles_from_the_Netherlands_999.html.

Obama to become first US president to visit Laos

Washington (AFP)
Aug 18, 2016

President Barack Obama will visit Laos next month, a first for a US president, in a trip that begins with a G20 summit in China, the White House said Thursday.

The September 2-9 tour will be the president's 11th visit to Asia since he took office in 2009.

Obama has made a "pivot" to the region a pillar of US foreign policy. Next month's swing will come about five months before the Democratic president steps down after two four-year terms.

In Laos, which this year holds the presidency of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Obama will participate in the US-ASEAN Summit and East Asia Summit from September 6 through 8.

The East Asia meeting will include the major regional powers such as China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and Russia.

"President Obama will be the first US president to visit Laos," the White House noted.

Secretary of State John Kerry has visited Laos, which has strained ties with the US, twice this year -- in January to prepare for Obama's arrival and in July for ASEAN meetings.

Kerry raised issues related to the devastation caused by US bombings during the Vietnam War and the future of Southeast Asia in the face of an increasingly assertive China.

Laos became the world's most-bombed country per capita from 1964 to 1973 as the United States tried to cut supplies flowing to North Vietnamese fighters during the Vietnam War.

More than two million bombs were dropped. About 30 percent did not explode and some 50,000 people died by the end of the war.

In January, Washington and Vientiane discussed beefing up a US program to clear mines and disarm unexploded devices.

Before the Laos visit, Obama will attend his last meeting of leaders of the Group of 20 economic powers, on September 4-5 in Hangzhou in eastern China.

There Obama will also hold "in-depth" meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the White House said in a statement.

The leaders of the world's superpowers will discuss "a wide-range of global, regional, and bilateral issues," it said.

At the last US-China strategic and economic talks, in Beijing in June, the two sides clashed over human rights and China's expansion in the South China Sea while proclaiming cooperation on climate change.

Source: Space War.
Link: http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Obama_to_become_first_US_president_to_visit_Laos_999.html.

Alaskan town votes to relocate as climate change submerges island

By Shawn Price
Aug. 18, 2016

SHISHMAREF, Alaska, Aug. 18 (UPI) -- The Alaskan village of Shishmaref narrowly voted to abandon their island and relocate to the mainland due to the effects of climate change, a town official said.

The 89-to-78 vote Wednesday makes Shishmaref, north of the Bering Strait, one of the first towns in the United States to move due to climate change. Melting sea ice is raising ocean levels and will submerge the island in a few decades.

The town dates back approximately 500 years according to Donna Barr, secretary of the Shishmaref Council.

Relocation would cost at least $180 million and residents will still have to choose a new location at a town meeting later, the Shishmaref city clerk's office said.

"About 15 years ago, they estimated the cost at $180 million, but I would figure it's much higher now," Barr said. "We don't see the move happening in our lifetime because of the funding."

The Army Corps of Engineers has identified nine Alaskan villages at imminent risk because of erosion and rising seas. They have been urged to move, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Another 200 to 300 villages face similar risks in the next few decades, the Corps said.

The village of Newtok, about 370 miles south of Shishmaref, has already voted to move using state and federal funds from HUD, spokeswoman Maria Gonoa said.

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2016/08/18/Alaskan-town-votes-to-relocate-as-climate-change-submerges-island/2091471512295/.

Obama administration to end use of private prisons

August 18, 2016

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department says it's phasing out its relationships with private prisons after a recent audit found the private facilities have more safety and security problems than ones run by the government.

Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates has instructed federal officials to significantly reduce reliance on private prisons. As of December 2015, more than 22,000 federal inmates — or about 12 percent of the total — were in private facilities. That's according to report this month from the Justice Department's inspector general.

The government began to rely on private prisons in the late 1990s due to overcrowding. In her memo Thursday, Yates says the decline in the prison population over the past three years contributes to the decision not to renew private prison contracts.

South Sudan government recruited child soldiers, UN says

August 19, 2016

JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — South Sudan's government has recruited child soldiers in the past week to prepare for a renewed conflict, according to an internal United Nations document obtained by The Associated Press.

The document says a senior politician appointed by President Salva Kiir led the recruitment of an entire village of boys using intimidation. Some were as young as 12 years old. It was not clear how many children were involved.

Armed groups in South Sudan often coerce children to join their ranks by threatening to confiscate their family's cattle, a key source of wealth and status in this pastoral society. The U.N. document indicates that the recruitment of children took place shortly after the U.N. Security Council a week ago approved sending an additional 4,000 peacekeepers to the East African country to protect civilians after renewed fighting in the capital, Juba, last month.

Separately, UNICEF on Friday announced that at least 650 children have joined armed groups in South Sudan this year alone. Around 16,000 child soldiers have been recruited since civil war began in December 2013.

Army spokesperson Lul Ruai Koang said youth who join the military are not forced. He said he was not aware of the recent recruitment of children. South Sudan's military and opposition forces have made repeated promises to address allegations of child recruitment, but both sides have continued recruiting since July's outbreak of violence, according to Justin Forsyth, UNICEF's deputy executive director.

"They believe they can easily control and manipulate young minds," Forsyth said. The children then "can commit atrocities, and they will do what they are told." Child soldiers are defined as anyone recruited to join armed groups under the age of 18, and the International Criminal Court considers the recruitment of those under 15 to be a war crime.

In an interview this month in Unity state, one former child soldier said he had expected to do cooking and cleaning in the army when he joined at age 16 but instead was sent to fight on the front lines.

"If you go to the front line, two things would happen: either you will kill someone or you will be killed," he said. He was released from the army a few months ago, one of more than 1,000 child soldiers who have been demobilized from different armed groups as part of a UNICEF program.

"I was not happy because I was given a gun when I was so young," the teen said. "If you are afraid, the commander will beat you." Since the outbreak of civil war, children have been recruited at an expedited rate to protect their communities, according to Joseph Manytuel, the governor of Northern Leich state.

"When you are in a crisis, whoever is ready to join will not be left alone," Manytuel told the AP from Bentiu earlier this month. Last year, President Barack Obama issued a partial waiver to South Sudan from the Child Soldiers Prevention Act of 2008, allowing the U.S. to continue military assistance to support South Sudan's peace process.

Duterte threatens to withdraw Philippines from UN, hits US

August 21, 2016

DAVAO, Philippines (AP) — The Philippines' brash-talking president has threatened to withdraw his country from the United Nations in his latest outburst against critics of his anti-drugs campaign that has left hundreds of suspects dead.

President Rodrigo Duterte ridiculed the U.N. as inutile, and lashed at U.S. police killings of black men. He pointed early Sunday to the haunting image of a bloodied child pulled from the rubble of a missile-struck building in the Syrian city of Aleppo to hit U.N. and U.S. inability to stop such deadly conflicts while he said he comes under fire for the deaths of criminals.

Duterte also pressed allegations against a Philippine senator and critic, accusing her of having an affair with her driver whom he linked to illegal drugs.

Philippines receives first Japanese coast guard vessel

Manila (AFP)
Aug 18, 2016

The Philippines received the first of ten coast guard vessels from Japan Thursday, the coastguard said, as the two countries boost security ties in the face of their separate maritime disputes with China.

The 44 metre (144 foot) BRP Tubbataha has arrived in Manila, the Philippines coast guard said in a statement, adding that it will be used for search and rescue, law-enforcement and transport purposes.

They did not specify where it would be deployed.

This is the first of 10 Philippine coast guard ships being built in Japan, supported by Japanese aid money, as the former World War II foes seek to boost defense ties in the face of growing Chinese aggression in the South China Sea.

Japan -- the Philippines' top source of development aid -- said this month it would give Manila two additional patrol vessels, and that it was discussing the possible lease of surveillance aircraft.

Japan and China are locked in a long-running dispute over uninhabited islets in the East China Sea. Manila and Beijing have overlapping claims in the South China Sea.

The Philippines has been seeking closer defense ties with Japan as well as traditional allies like the United States and Australia in a bid to boost its capabilities against regional giant China.

The Philippine military and coast guard are among the region's weakest.

Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and his Philippine counterpart Perfecto Yasay last week called on China to observe the rule of law in settling maritime disputes.

This came after a UN-linked tribunal ruled in July that China's claim to most of the South China Sea was invalid, handing a sweeping diplomatic victory to the Philippines.

Beijing vowed to ignore the decision, and the Philippines and China have been preparing for direct talks to ease tensions.

Source: Space War.
Link: http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Philippines_receives_first_Japanese_coast_guard_vessel_999.html.

Samba, reflections and pride in final Rio Olympics party

August 22, 2016

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Shaking to samba and expressing a sense of longing with uniquely Brazilian words, Olympians and fans said goodbye to the Rio Games with one last big bash that was both revelatory and a sigh of relief.

The closing ceremony Sunday celebrated the 16-day spectacle that was the Rio Games, which combined numerous highlights with ugly and even bizarre episodes that sometimes overshadowed competition. Cariocas — as Rio's residents are known — weren't swayed by the issues that led up to these Olympics, and braved rain and strong winds on the final night to cap their moment in the worldwide spotlight.

While South America's first Olympics are over, safely and with a grandiose finale, many problems remain. Still, Brazil showed Sunday it still definitely knows how to party. "These were marvelous Olympic Games in the 'marvelous city,'" said International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, playing off the "cidade maravilhosa" nickname of Brazil's postcard city of inviting coastlines, year-round sun and lush tropical vegetation.

While the stadium erupted in applause at that declaration, a few minutes later there were boos of sadness when Bach announced: "I declare the Games of the XXXI Olympiad closed." The closing ceremony in iconic Maracana Stadium was also meant to take care of some business — formally signaling the transition to the 2020 Summer Olympics in Japan.

But Sunday's party was all about Brazil, designed to be more low-key than the opening, which focused heavily on Rio. The ceremony featured original footage of Alberto Santos Dumont, the man that Brazilians recognize as the inventor of the airplane. The theme, "Brazilians can do with their bare hands," was a nod to the emerging economy of the world's fifth most populous nation.

Dressed in colorful feathers, dozens of dancers formed in the shape of the arches of Lapa, a popular area of Rio akin to Roman ruins, then morphed to make the shape of iconic Sugarloaf before quickly changing again, this time to the official 2016 symbol.

Samba legend Martinho da Vila, whose tunes make their way into many popular telenovelas, sang "Carinhoso," or "Affectionate." Olympians poured in under light rain, waving their flags while many shook their bodies to samba-infused pop that made the stadium feel like a Carnival parade. Britain's athletes wore shoes with soles that lit up in changing colors of red, white and blue, while Tongan taekwondo athlete Pita Taufatofua danced onstage in a grass skirt as a DJ performed, reprising a moment that captured attention when he carried the flag for his country during the opening ceremony.

The show widened its lens to greater Brazil, a massive country with a land mass slightly larger than the continental United States. There was a tribute to cave paintings of some of the first inhabitants of the Americas, in Serra da Capivara, in Northeastern Brazil, today one of the nation's poorest regions.

Spectators watched performers shake it to frevo, a frenetic dance that — if it's even possible — makes high-octane samba seem like a staid ballroom affair. Holding small umbrellas, dancers jumped and marched while performing acrobatics.

They shook it to "Vassourinhas," which means "small brooms," a popular song that was also the name of a famous club in the northeastern city of Recife. The show also built performances around "saudade," which means anything from longing for someone to sadness to remembering good times. It is one of the most important words in Brazilian Portuguese. Lights flashed translations for the word in many languages, and a group of women sang "Mulher Rendeira," or "Lace-making Woman," a nod to the country's African heritage. Brazil was the last country in the Americas to outlaw slavery, in 1888.

The games had many memorable moments, both for Brazilian competitors at home and athletes from around the world. Soccer-crazed Brazil got partial payback against Germany, winning gold two years after a 7-1 World Cup semi-final shellacking that left Brazilians fuming. American gymnast Simone Biles asserted her dominance with four golds, swimmer Michael Phelps added five more to up his staggering total to 23 and the world's fastest man, Usain Bolt, put on his usual show with three golds just days before turning 30 years old.

But there were also ugly episodes, like American swimmer Ryan Lochte's fabricated story about a harrowing robbery that was actually an intoxicated-fueled vandalism of a gas station bathroom, and bizarre issues like Olympic diving pools going from crystal blue to gunky, algae green — at a time when Rio's water quality in open waters is one of the biggest local environmental issues.

With the games over, Brazilians now return to problems that have long consumed the country of 200 million people. The economy is mired in its worst recession in decades, and later this week the Senate is expected to begin the trial on whether to permanently remove suspended President Dilma Rousseff, who was impeached in May for breaking fiscal rules in her managing of the federal budget.

There's widespread expectation that the games in Tokyo, one of the world's richest, most recognizable, cosmopolitan cities, will run more smoothly than they have in Rio. But there's also worry in Japan over whether the Olympics will eventually further drag down an economy that has been struggling for decades.

The governor of Tokyo, Yuriko Koike, accepted the flag from International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach and Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes, signaling the transition. Many people, from Brazilians to IOC members, will analyze how things went for the Rio Games in the months ahead. But on Sunday, one strong sentiment was relief — that despite some problems, overall the games went well.

That wasn't a given going in. The Zika virus scared away some competitors and tourists, rampant street crime in Rio and recent extremist attacks around the world raised fears about safety and Brazil's political crisis, and the economic angst behind it, threatened to cast a pall over the competitions.

"We are very resilient, we didn't leave anything important unaddressed," said Augusta Porto, 36, a translator and Rio resident. "We can welcome people despite the serious problems that we have faced in the recent past."

After Rio risk, Olympic officials can learn lessons

August 21, 2016

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Taking the Olympics to Rio de Janeiro was always considered a bit of a risk. Now that South America's first games are drawing to a close, the question is: Did the gamble pay off?

The answer, according to experienced Olympic officials and experts, is a mixed bag. Yes, Brazil managed to pull it off under difficult economic and political conditions, with the sports competitions, venues, athletes, friendly hosts, television images and Rio's scenic backdrops all rising to the occasion.

Yet, behind the scenes, these were also troubled Olympics that fell short in other areas — empty seats, ticket fiascos, organizational mishaps, spread-out venues, green water, street crime, traffic chaos and lack of a clear Olympic feel in the parks.

The Olympics on TV are never the same as the Olympics on site. That's been the case more than ever this time, reminiscent of the 1996 Games in Atlanta, where great sporting moments contrasted with lost buses, failures in the technology system and other off-the-field problems.

"This has been probably a little below the expectations of the experts, but will have televised well for the 99.9 percent of the population of the world that experiences the Olympics," senior Canadian IOC member Dick Pound said.

International Olympic Committee vice president John Coates of Australia acknowledged the games have not run as smoothly as desired. "It's been difficult," he said. "To be fair, some of that was because of the economic and political background on which the games are being held."

For Olympic historian David Wallechinsky, attending his 17th games, the shortage of volunteers, lack of Olympic signage and other logistical glitches have outweighed the well-run competitions and welcoming Brazilian people.

"I think these games will be seen in the continuum of Atlanta, Athens, Rio — the ones that didn't work out," he said. "One just hopes the lessons are learned." But the games must also be judged from a local perspective. Many Brazilians and Rio residents — known as Cariocas — will feel pride over how they've put on the world's biggest sports event and will cherish their moments on the global stage.

And, for the host country, the games are ending on a delirious high— with a gold medal in men's soccer. Brazilian fans wanted more than anything to finally win the top Olympic prize that has eluded them in their national sport.

Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes said the Olympics have been a catalyst for building new public transport lines and renovating the port area, insisting that no white elephants will be left behind. Comparing Rio to the richer cities that lost out for the 2016 Games would be misguided, he said.

"We come from a tropical experience, the Latin ways of Brazil, which sometimes made the IOC members a little bit crazy," Paes said. "If you want to be fair to Rio, you cannot compare us to Tokyo, to Chicago, to Madrid. These are cities that have much better infrastructure. They come from developed countries. You have to compare Rio to Rio."

When Rio was chosen as host city seven years ago, IOC members were convinced the time had come to take the games to South America. Brazil was a rising economic force at the time. But local organizers quickly fell behind in preparations and were forced into an Athens-like mad dash to catch up.

Then, over the last two years, the economy plummeted into its worst recession in 80 years, the country was engulfed by a massive corruption scandal centering on the state-run oil company Petrobras, and the president was suspended and sent for impeachment.

"It's also a games in the middle of reality, not organized in a bubble," IOC President Thomas Bach said Saturday. "They were games in a city where there are social problems and social divisions. ... The IOC has shown that it is possible to organize games also in countries which are not at the top of the GDP rankings."

The athletes produced the goods — Bolt with three more gold medals to take his career tally to nine, Michael Phelps with five more golds for a total of 23, and gymnast Simone Biles with four golds. But the games also were marred by the bad behavior — and concocted stories — of Ryan Lochte and his U.S. swimming teammates.

For all the drumbeat of bad news in the months ahead of the Olympics, two of the biggest issues caused barely a ripple. The Zika virus, which had led some scientists to call for the games to be postponed or moved, was hardly mentioned. Worries over Rio's sewage-filled waters did not hamper the competitions, with only a handful of athletes falling ill.

Elsewhere, there were embarrassing setbacks, mostly during the first week: the green water that marred the diving and water polo events; the windows of a media bus shattered in an attack; foreign team officials and government ministers mugged in the street; volunteers who never showed up or just quit.

"It's just not acceptable with seven years in advance not to signs ready, not to have volunteers who know anything, as friendly as they may be," Wallechinsky said. Arguably the most damaging drawback was the lingering issue of empty seats. Some venues, such as tennis, basketball, swimming and gymnastics, drew good crowds and produced a lively atmosphere. But others suffered from lesser turnouts and lack of buzz. The track and field stadium was a quarter- or half-full for some sessions; the stands were not even completely packed for Usain Bolt's gold medal races.

The long distances and travel times between the three main venue clusters meant there was no single area where large, colorful crowds could congregate and produce a Carnival atmosphere. For the future, Olympic officials believe greater oversight and concrete benchmarks are needed to make sure organizers are on time and delivering as promised. Pound said the IOC and international federations should carry out a "forensic analysis" after Rio on what worked, what didn't and why.

"Going forward, the IOC has to learn from the experience in Rio if it wants to take the games to places other than settled, affluent cosmopolitan cities," IOC vice president Craig Reedie said. "We should train the city well in advance. We have to work out how better to prepare them and help them."

A star's birth holds early clues to life-potential

Moffett Field CA (SPX)
Aug 19, 2016

Our solar system began as a cloud of gas and dust. Over time, gravity slowly pulled these bits together into the Sun and planets we recognize today. While not every system is friendly to life, astronomers want to piece together how these systems are formed.

A challenge to this research is the opacity of dust clouds to optical wavelengths (the ones that humans can see). So, astronomers are experimenting with different wavelengths, such as infrared light, to better see the center of dense dust clouds, where young stars typically form.

Recently, astronomers used data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope - a powerful space observatory launched in 2003 that observes the Universe in infrared light - to look at a molecular cloud called L183, which is about 360 light-years away in the constellation Serpens Cauda (the serpent). Their goal was to see how light scattering affects the view of the cloud at the mid-infrared wavelength of 8 microns (um). Ultimately, the astronomers hope to use this data to get a better look inside the clouds.

"One thing we have to do is evaluate the mass that is sitting in the center of the cloud, which is ready to collapse to make a star," said co-author Laurent Pagani, a researcher at the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) in Paris, France.

His former doctoral student, Charlene Lefevre, led the research. Their work was recently published in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics under the title, "On the importance of scattering at 8?um: Brighter than you think." Funding for the research came from CNRS and the French government.

Penetrating the dust

Dust clouds are tough to see through not only because of the dust itself, but also because the gases present are not very visible in telescopes observing in the infrared. Clouds are mainly made up of hydrogen and helium, which emit no radiation in the infrared or millimeter wavelengths. These two elements make up 98 percent of the mass of the cloud, meaning most of it is escaping any kind of measurement.

To get around this measurement problem, astronomers use proxies such as dust. Dust is roughly 1 percent of the cloud's mass, but it is best measured at the edges of the cloud. Dust abundance can be inferred through the extinction of starlight. Since we can also measure the quantity of molecular hydrogen via ultraviolet absorption at the edge of the clouds, the dust abundance is derived with respect to molecular hydrogen. Once "calibrated," the dust mass is measured throughout the cloud, providing the molecular hydrogen gas and the cloud mass.

For this project, Pagani and his team attempted to measure the amount of dust absorption at 8 microns for the cloud L183. It's common to find light at this wavelength throughout the galaxy, making it a potential measuring tool for different clouds. By measuring the absorption, scientists can estimate how much light is coming from the front of the cloud to the back of the cloud; in other words, by how much the light from the background is diminished.

In so doing, astronomers hope to gain a better understanding about how young stars form. Other, unrelated studies of dust clouds are also looking at where elements - including those grouped in molecules associated with life, such as water - are situated in young solar systems.

More mysteries

The method appears to work, but there are limitations, the researchers concluded. Different types of dust clouds appear to be more or less sensitive to different wavelengths of light, making it difficult to see what is inside this region.

"There is not only absorption, but also scattering [in L183], and this scattering diminishes the contrast," Pagani said. "You have the light that is absorbed by the dust, but the dust is also emitting or scattering light towards the observer. It looks less deep than it actually is, if you don't take into account the scattering."

Lefevre was able to use the 8-micron scattering model correctly to fit other observations of the cloud. However, if she tried to observe using other wavelengths - such as 100 microns or 200 microns - she saw a very different picture concerning dust absorption. It's possible that some of the measurements were affected by ice on the dust, which was not accounted for by her radiative transfer model, Pagani said.

More work will be required. The two researchers (Lefevre is now a post-doctoral researcher at IRAM, the international Institute for Millimeter Radio-Astronomy but still working with Pagani) are using more grain types to try different methods to measure clouds at various wavelengths. "If this works, we know what kind of grains work in the clouds," Pagani said. "If it doesn't work, we have to talk to the theoreticians to modify [the models] to fit the observations."

Source: Space Daily.
Link: http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/A_stars_birth_holds_early_clues_to_life_potential_999.html.

US astronauts prepare spacewalk to install new docking port

By Kerry Sheridan
Miami (AFP)
Aug 19, 2016

With more private spaceship traffic expected at the International Space Station in the coming years, two US astronauts are set to embark on a spacewalk Friday to install a special parking spot for them.

Americans Jeff Williams and Kate Rubins will step outside the orbiting laboratory to attach an international docking adapter launched aboard a SpaceX Dragon cargo ship last month.

NASA describes the equipment as "a metaphorical gateway to a future" that will allow a new generation of US spacecraft -- the first since the space shuttle program ended in 2011 -- to carry astronauts to the space station.

The docking adapter will be the first of two such additions to the space station. The second is expected to be shipped in 2018.

ISS operations integration manager Kenneth Todd called the installation a "very significant milestone on the path to establishing commercial crew capability."

Built by Boeing, the circular adapter measures around 42 inches (one meter) tall and about 63 inches (1.6 meters) wide.

The adapters will work with Boeing's CST-100 Starliner and SpaceX's Crew Dragon, two spaceships under construction that are planned to ferry astronauts to the space station.

The docking adapter is more sophisticated than past equipment because it will allow automatic parking instead of the current grapple and berthing process managed by astronauts.

It also has fittings that will enable the space station to share power and data with the spacecraft.

- Early morning start -

The spacewalk is set to start at 8:05 am (1205 GMT) with veteran NASA astronaut Williams emerging from the space station airlock on his fourth career spacewalk.

Flight engineer Rubins will be making her first venture outside the ISS.

But the work will be hardly brand new for her. She has already practiced the necessary maneuvers, including mating the cables, in NASA's neutral buoyancy laboratory in Houston.

A series of spacewalks last year have helped prepare the groundwork for the adapter's arrival.

The space station's robotic arm pulled the docking adapter from the trunk of the SpaceX Dragon cargo ship on Wednesday, placing it inches away from the station's Harmony module, where it will be installed.

Once the spacewalkers -- also known as extravehicular (EV) crew -- are outside the space station, an extension of the Canadarm2 robotic arm, called the "Dextre" Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM), will push the bulky adapter even closer to its installation point.

The plan is for the robotic manipulator to push the adapter into place so the astronauts will have only to tether it.

The operation will remain delicate, however, because the SPDM is highly sensitive to external pressure, lead spacewalk officer Glenda Brown said.

"This is the first time that the EV crew members have actually taken a handoff from the SPDM," she told a news conference this week.

"We have to be very careful about putting loads into the SPDM," she added.

"In space, it has got a lot of capability, but on the ground it can barely support its own weight."

- Second spacewalk planned -

NASA is planning a second spacewalk on September 1 for a separate operation to retract one of the thermal radiators outside the space station.

Astronauts unsuccessfully tried to push it back into position last year, Todd said.

"We will go back here in a couple of weeks and restow that guy for its final time."

However, a problem with an American spacesuit that appeared to allow water to build up inside an astronaut's helmet in January has been resolved, he added.

Tests on the suit back on Earth showed an apparent flaw in a piece of hardware called a sublimator, which manages condensation in the suit's heating and cooling loops.

Although it worked well in simulation tests, a blockage in a secondary set of holes might still react differently in zero gravity, Todd said.

The issue was not as severe as a spacesuit breakdown in 2013 that flooded Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano's helmet, forcing him to end his spacewalk early, he added.

NASA has been using the same spacesuits for some 30 years, continuing to study what makes them work and fail, Todd said.

"We are still learning how to use this suit and how to care for them in a zero-gravity environment -- and it is not the same as what we do on the ground."

Source: Space Daily.
Link: http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/US_astronauts_prepare_spacewalk_to_install_new_docking_port_999.html.

Venus-like Exoplanet Might Have Oxygen Atmosphere, but Not Life

Boston MA (SPX)
Aug 19, 2016

The distant planet GJ 1132b intrigued astronomers when it was discovered last year. Located just 39 light-years from Earth, it might have an atmosphere despite being baked to a temperature of around 450 degrees Fahrenheit. But would that atmosphere be thick and soupy or thin and wispy? New research suggests the latter is much more likely.

Harvard astronomer Laura Schaefer (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, or CfA) and her colleagues examined the question of what would happen to GJ 1132b over time if it began with a steamy, water-rich atmosphere.

Orbiting so close to its star, at a distance of just 1.4 million miles, the planet is flooded with ultraviolet or UV light. UV light breaks apart water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen, both of which then can be lost into space. However, since hydrogen is lighter it escapes more readily, while oxygen lingers behind.

"On cooler planets, oxygen could be a sign of alien life and habitability. But on a hot planet like GJ 1132b, it's a sign of the exact opposite - a planet that's being baked and sterilized," said Schaefer.

Since water vapor is a greenhouse gas, the planet would have a strong greenhouse effect, amplifying the star's already intense heat. As a result, its surface could stay molten for millions of years.

A "magma ocean" would interact with the atmosphere, absorbing some of the oxygen, but how much? Only about one-tenth, according to the model created by Schaefer and her colleagues. Most of the remaining 90 percent of leftover oxygen streams off into space, however some might linger.

"This planet might be the first time we detect oxygen on a rocky planet outside the solar system," said co-author Robin Wordsworth (Harvard Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences).

If any oxygen does still cling to GJ 1132b, next-generation telescopes like the Giant Magellan Telescope and James Webb Space Telescope may be able to detect and analyze it.

The magma ocean-atmosphere model could help scientists solve the puzzle of how Venus evolved over time. Venus probably began with Earth-like amounts of water, which would have been broken apart by sunlight. Yet it shows few signs of lingering oxygen. The missing oxygen problem continues to baffle astronomers.

Schaefer predicts that their model also will provide insights into other, similar exoplanets. For example, the system TRAPPIST-1 contains three planets that may lie in the habitable zone. Since they are cooler than GJ 1132b, they have a better chance of retaining an atmosphere.

Source: Space Daily.
Link: http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Venus_like_Exoplanet_Might_Have_Oxygen_Atmosphere_but_Not_Life_999.html.

Russia marks 25 years since failed Soviet coup

August 19, 2016

MOSCOW (AP) — Several dozen Russians gathered on Friday for a protest reunion to mark the 25th anniversary of a coup attempt which heralded the demise of the Soviet Union, a holiday ignored in official circles because of its revolutionary, anti-establishment nature.

On Aug. 19, 1991, eight hard-line Communist leaders seized power from Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, declaring him ill. In fact, Gorbachev was under arrest. Thousands of Muscovites took to the streets to protest against the coup and the clout of the powerful security services.

The defeat of the coup several days later set in motion the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and is widely regarded as a triumph of democracy and civil liberties in Russia. Those who opposed the coup 25 years ago gathered on a rainy Friday evening outside the Russian White House — a massive government building where Boris Yeltsin, at the time the president of the Russian constituent republic within the Soviet Union, famously climbed atop a tank to defy the coup in possibly the most cinematic moment of the August resistance.

Several dozen, mostly elderly or middle-aged people mingled outside the White House, some of them carried Russian flags and photographs of the 1991 protests. Lyudmila Skryabina, a nanny from St. Petersburg, said she takes a vacation every year to come to Moscow for this reunion.

Skryabina said she is proud that she had stood at the makeshift barricades at the same spot 25 years ago but is disappointed in today's political regime, economic hardships and what she calls the cynicism of the government — "this flag-waving patriotism as if things are so great right now."

Earlier this week, Moscow city hall refused to give protesters permission to march from the White House to the tunnel where three protesters were killed 25 years ago, the only victims of the otherwise bloodless coup. Most of the August 1991 celebrations, lectures and exhibitions this weekend were organized by the grass-roots movement and a foundation established to honor the legacy of Yeltsin, who died in 2007.

Unlike the lavish state-sponsored celebrations of Victory Day, which marks the Soviet army's victory over Nazi Germany in the Second World War, the government largely ignores the day which is largely regarded as the birthday of a new Russia.

Skryabina said that during Yeltsin's presidency, from 1991 to 1999, there was always a government presence and wreaths at the cemetery where the three protesters killed in the coup are buried. "Now every time I come here I call my friends and ask: 'Are they going to allow us at all?'''.

The government has in recent years tightened its grip on public gatherings, and several dozen people were sent to prison for minor offenses at an opposition rally the day before Putin's inauguration in May 2012.

Many Russians who opposed the coup have grown disillusioned with democracy, which they have come to associate with the hardships of the initial years of the dismantling of the Soviet state and a transition to the market economy. The August 1991 events are rarely discussed and remembered in the media, leaving a younger generation largely ignorant of what happened 25 years ago.

A survey by the authoritative Levada pollster released earlier this month showed that only 50 percent of Russians could identify what happened on Aug. 19, 1991. At that time, President Vladimir Putin was an ally of St. Petersburg Mayor Anatoly Sobchak, a fierce coup opponent, but Putin's KGB past keeps him from honoring this landmark event, analysts say.

Both Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev were visiting Crimea, which was annexed from Ukraine in 2014, and did not come to lay the flowers at the monument of the three killed protesters in Moscow.

"Aug. 19-21 could have been become a symbol of a new Russian state," Pavel Aptekar said in an opinion piece in the respected Vedomosti daily on Friday. "The three August days of 1991 remind the establishment that people could disobey their orders and hold the government accountable. In the past 25 years the government has transformed into one that is appalled by the very possibility."

The otherwise Kremlin-friendly Moskovsky Komsomolets daily published an opinion piece on Friday titled "25 years since the loss of freedom" and illustrated by a cartoon showing a hand with a KGB emblem wrestling a Russian flag away from a group of people.

"August 1991 brought about a stunning wave of enthusiasm, you felt there was no mountain high enough," Alexander Minkin wrote. "Those who had power and a unique historical opportunity drop in their lap turned out to be unworthy: they stole and drank the country away, the country and its future. And this still goes on."

Mark Galperin, 48, was a rare person at the reunion outside the White House who was not there in 1991. He carried a placard that read: "Let's repeat August 1991." "I was a student but I was apolitical, but right now I'd like to revive what was here in August. We need a democratic revolution again," he said.

Russian cat adopts abandoned baby squirrel monkey from zoo

August 23, 2016

MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian cat has adopted a baby squirrel monkey after he was abandoned by his mother at a zoo, comforting the little primate by letting him cling to her back for warmth. Tatyana Antropova, the director of the zoo in the Siberian city of Tyumen, says she took the newborn monkey home three weeks ago after his mother refused to carry him on her back.

To Antropova's surprise, her 16-year-old cat Rosinka accepted the baby, who is called Fyodor. By now, though, the elderly cat is getting a bit tired of the little monkey because he "is getting naughty" and "has started biting and pinching her."

The cat just has to hold out for another month, when Fyodor will go back to the zoo to live with other squirrel monkeys.

Taiwan drops 'China-centric' curriculum after protests

Taipei (AFP)
June 1, 2016

Taiwan's new government has repealed controversial changes to the high school curriculum that led to widespread protests last year over what critics said was "China-centric" education.

The order to overturn the changes comes less than two weeks since the China-skeptic Democratic Progressive Party was sworn in, replacing the Beijing-friendly Kuomintang (KMT) government.

Outgoing president Ma Ying-jeou oversaw an unprecedented rapprochement with Beijing -- while new president Tsai Ing-wen has said she will maintain the "status quo" with China.

Ties have rapidly cooled since she won the presidency in January vowing to restore Taiwanese pride.

Education ministry officials said the decision on the curriculum, made late Tuesday, had been taken in response to public sentiment.

Dozens of angry students broke in to the education ministry in central Taipei last July over amendments to the curriculum brought in by the KMT, which they said favored China's view of the island's history.

Taiwan split from China in 1949 after a civil war and is self-ruling, but Beijing still sees the island as part of its territory awaiting reunification -- by force if necessary.

Arrests of the protesting students sparked demonstrations across the island, stoked by the suicide of one young activist.

At least 100 protesters were camped out at the ministry for six days.

Deputy education minister Lin Teng-chiao told AFP Wednesday the panel that had made the original changes was "not representative" of the island and the procedure was "not proper".

The protests over the curriculum came as concerns grew, especially among the young, over increased Chinese influence.

Curriculum changes disputed by protesters included a reference to Taiwan being "recovered by China" instead of "given to China" after the end of Japanese occupation in 1945.

The 50-year period of Japanese rule is also referred to as an era when "Japan occupied" the island, replacing the previous phrase "Japan governed".

"We're glad to see the outcome, which could not have been possible without the efforts of many people," leading activist Lin Fei-fan said.

"One person even died for this cause," he said.

Source: Sino Daily.
Link: http://www.sinodaily.com/reports/Taiwan_drops_China-centric_curriculum_after_protests_999.html.

Turkey in Africa 'for a win-win relationship'

17 August 2016 Wednesday

Turkey’s ties to Africa are centuries-old and based on a “win-win relationship”, Esra Demir, Turkish ambassador to the Ivory Coast has told Anadolu Agency.

"Since 2002, the number of our embassies in Africa has risen from 17 to 39. It is therefore obvious that we show great interest in our African friends. But it is not only economically – we are in a win-win relationship which will continue and intensify," she said.

Talking about economic cooperation, the ambassador said:

"The Turkish and Ivorian presidents had set a goal – a trade volume of one billion dollars by 2020. We have noticed that we are moving towards this direction. During the first half of 2016, the trade volume increased from $183 to $219 million, an increase of 20 percent compared to last year."

Demir also welcomed the solidarity of shown by several African leaders to Turkey and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the aftermath of the July 15 coup attempt.

She sincerely thanked the Ivorian president Alassane Ouattara and Foreign Minister Albert Toikeusse Mabri for their messages of support.

On another level, the Turkish diplomat denounced the reservations of some Western countries on measures taken by the state against those accused of involvement in the attempted coup, stressing that the Turkish people expected a different reaction from those who say they “are apostles of democracy”.

“The Turkish people showed maturity and courage by taking to the streets. There were 240 people who died in the shootings but the citizens did not give up and they were successful… It was later expected that countries should show solidarity.

“But this was not the case. Instead of support; the heroic struggle of the Turkish people has seen a lot of criticisms. That is not easy to digest,” Demir said.

She added that "none of these countries who present themselves as apostles of democracy came to visit the half-destroyed parliament or the people who had gathered spontaneously under bombardment the night of the coup attempt".

Terrorism

Regarding the fight against terrorism, Demir said that Turkey and several African countries, including the Ivory Coast, have to cooperate in the exchange of information in order to maintain stability and security.

In this regard, she said she had informed the Ivorian authorities of the presence in the country of “dangerous nuclei,” namely the Fetullah Terrorist Organization or FETO, accused of being the instigator of the Turkish coup attempt. She added it is the Ivorian decision makers who will settle on what measures are to be taken.

"Children who come out from the institutions of this conspirator [a reference to Fetullah Gulen] become his unconditional followers… We must therefore be vigilant," warned Demir.

Asked whether Turkey would be able to overcome difficulties in securing the closure of Gulen-linked institutions in the Ivory Coast, the ambassador said that her country was always ready to support friendly states.

Focusing instead on obstacles related to Gulen’s extradition by the United States, Demir said that procedure is still ongoing.

"We have prepared the file, there are a lot of confessions and many testimonies are in it. We have not yet received a negative response but it will continue. We expect his extradition as soon as possible," she said.

Source: World Bulletin.
Link: http://www.worldbulletin.net/headlines/176264/turkey-in-africa-for-a-win-win-relationship.

Turkey to release 38,000 from jail; frees space for plotters

August 17, 2016

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey issued a decree Wednesday paving the way for the conditional release of 38,000 prisoners, the justice minister said — an apparent move to reduce its prison population to make space for thousands of people who have been arrested as part of an investigation into last month's failed coup.

The decree allows the release of inmates who have two years or less to serve of their prison terms and makes convicts who have served half of their prison term eligible for parole. Some prisoners are excluded from the measures: people convicted of murder, domestic violence, sexual abuse or terrorism and other crimes against the state.

The measures would not apply for crimes committed after July 1, excluding any people later convicted of coup involvement. Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said on his Twitter account the measure would lead to the release of some 38,000 people. He insisted it was not a pardon or an amnesty but a conditional release of prisoners.

The government says the July 15 coup, which led to at least 270 deaths, was carried out by followers of the movement led by U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen who have infiltrated the military and other state institutions. Gulen has denied any prior knowledge or involvement in the coup but Turkey is demanding that the United States extradite him.

The Turkish government declared a state of emergency and launched a massive crackdown on Gulen's supporters in the aftermath of the coup. Some 35,000 people have been detained for questioning and more than 17,000 of them have been formally arrested to face trial, including soldiers, police, judges and journalists.

Tens of thousands more people with suspected links to Gulen have been suspended or dismissed from their jobs in the judiciary, media, education, health care, military and local government. The government crackdown has raised concerns among European nations and human rights organizations, who have urged the Turkish government to show restraint.

Turkish police raid 44 companies in probe into failed coup

August 16, 2016

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey's state-run news agency says police have launched simultaneous raids on 44 companies suspected of providing financial support to U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen's movement.

Turkey accuses Gulen of being behind the July 15 failed coup, a claim Gulen denies. The Anadolu Agency says Tuesday's raids in Istanbul's Umraniye and Uskudar districts came after authorities issued warrants to detain 120 company executives as part of the investigation into the coup attempt. The agency did not identify the companies searched.

The government has launched a massive crackdown on suspected supporters of Gulen's movement. More than 35,000 people have been detained for questioning while tens of thousands of others have been dismissed from government jobs, including in the judiciary, media, education, health care, military and local government.

Poland plans prison terms for using term 'Polish death camp'

August 16, 2016

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — The Polish government approved a new bill on Tuesday that foresees prison terms of up to three years for anyone who uses phrases like "Polish death camps" to refer to Auschwitz and other camps that Nazi Germany operated in occupied Poland during World War II.

The bill aims to deal with a problem the Polish government has faced for years: foreign media outlets — and even U.S. President Barack Obama — referring to the Nazi camps as "Polish." The Justice Ministry said the Cabinet of Prime Minister Beata Szydlo approved the legislation during a weekly session on Tuesday. It is expected to pass easily in the parliament, where the nationalistic right-wing ruling Law and Justice party enjoys a majority.

Poles fear that as the war grows more distant younger generations across the world will incorrectly assume that Poles had a role in running Auschwitz, Treblinka and other German death camps, a bitter association for a nation that was occupied and subjected to brutality that left some 5.5 million Polish citizens dead during the war, about 3 million Jews and 2.5 million non-Jews.

"It wasn't our mothers, nor our fathers, who are responsible for the crimes of the Holocaust, which were committed by German and Nazi criminals on occupied Polish territory," Zbignew Ziobro, the justice minister, said Tuesday. "Our responsibility is to defend the truth and dignity of the Polish state and the Polish nation, as well as our fathers, our mothers and our grandparents."

Many Poles support such legislation and feel that it differs little from laws that some countries, including Poland and Germany, have that make Holocaust denial a crime. However, critics note that the government will ultimately be powerless to punish people outside of Poland, those most likely to use such language. They fear its true intent is to repress historical inquiry within Poland into Polish behavior toward Jews. Though the Polish state never collaborated with the Nazis, there were some Poles who killed Jews or identified them to the Germans. That subject is anathema to the country's nationalistic leadership, which has an official "historical policy" of promoting knowledge of the heroic episodes in Poland's past.

There were also Poles who risked their lives to help Jews. The Israeli Holocaust museum Yad Vashem has recognized more than 6,000 Poles as "Righteous Among the Nations" for rescuing Jews, more than from any other country.

The bill had been under discussion for many months and originally foresaw a prison term of up to five years. The version approved Tuesday is milder. The Justice Ministry says that prison terms of up to three years would be reserved for those who intentionally slander Poland's good name by using terms like "Polish death camps" or "Polish concentration camps." Those who use such language unintentionally would face lesser punishments, including fines.

PA: Czech schools to stop defining Jerusalem as capital of Israel

August 17, 2016

The Czech Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports notified the Palestinian Authority embassy in Prague of their decision to stop using educational textbooks that refer to Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, a statement released by the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said yesterday.

Palestinian Ambassador to the Czech Republic Khalid Al-Atrash confirmed that the textbook used since 2011 would not be used in schools anymore unless the publishers correct the statement that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.

The decision was made after the Palestinian embassy contacted Czech ministers and requested that they amend the textbooks.

According to international frameworks for a two-state solution, East Jerusalem is internationally recognized as the capital of any future Palestinian state.

Source: Middle East Monitor.
Link: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20160817-pa-czech-schools-to-stop-defining-jerusalem-as-capital-of-israel/.

Renowned chef feeds Rio's homeless with excess Olympic food

August 16, 2016

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Twelve hours ago, Fagner Dos Santos ate his last meal: two hardened bread buns and coffee. For much of the past decade, the 33-year-old has been battling drug addiction while living on the streets of Rio. When he eats at all, it's usually at a grungy soup kitchen or after picking through the trash.

Now he and some 70 other homeless men are feasting on a three-course meal courtesy of one of the world's top chefs. On the menu: Ossobuco with buttery baroa potatoes topped off with a gelato dessert. "Who would've thought food made for the cream of society would be served to a group of homeless men?" dos Santos said, gazing at the open, art-filled dining room and waiters in prim orange aprons that for a short while transported him away from his tough life.

The gastronomic destination is the brainchild of Italian master chef Massimo Bottura. Using leftover ingredients from Olympic caterers and other local partners, Bottura created a gourmet soup kitchen, RefettoRio Gastromotiva , that for a week now has been serving up meals to Rio's homeless population. The name is a play on the Latin word reficere, meaning "to restore," and a nod to the communal dining rooms known as refectories that are a mainstay of monasteries.

With questions swirling over the $12 billion price tag of South America's first Olympics, Bottura wanted to make a statement about the games' sustainability by taking on one symbol of Olympic waste: the more than 230 tons of food supplied daily to prepare 60,000 meals for athletes, coach and staff.

"This is a cultural project, not a charity," said Bottura, who runs the Michelin three-star Osteria Francescana in Modena. "We want to rebuild the dignity of the people." Bottura said he was inspired by Pope Francis' advocacy for the poor and modeled his project on a similar one he organized last year in an abandoned theater during the Milan world's fair. His aim is to educate people about food waste in order to help feed the 800 million in the world who are hungry.

It's a message that resonates in Rio. Over the past year, as Brazil plunged into its deepest recession in decades, the city's homeless population has struggled. In June, facing a financial calamity, Rio's state government had to close or cutback service at 16 meal centers. The splurge on the Olympics has only heightened a sense of abandonment among the homeless, with many reporting being repeatedly removed by police from the city's recently cleaned-up Lapa district, where Bottura's restaurant is located.

In contrast to the government-run centers, where meals are served on prison-like food trays with throw-away cups, the Refettorio is an epicurean's delight, complete with designer wood tables, oversized photos of the staff by French artist JR and a long mural of the Last Supper dripping in chocolate by Vik Muniz, one of Brazil's top-selling artists.

At night the space, built of corrugated plastic on a run-down lot donated by the city, looks like a lit-up box. For the Olympics launch, Bottura assembled a tour de force of local and international celebrity chefs. Once the games are over, the project will morph into a lunchtime restaurant, proceeds of which will fund evening meals for the homeless.

Beneficiaries are selected by groups like one that runs a shelter for transvestites who work as prostitutes on Lapa's libertine streets. Working the kitchen are graduates of local partner Gastromotiva, a nonprofit cooking school that has turned hundreds of Brazilians from the country's neglected favelas into cooks.

For many of the diners at RefettoRio, the food is unlike anything they've tasted before. But it's the royal treatment they relish most. "Just sitting here, treated with respect on an equal footing, makes me think I have a chance," said Valdimir Faria, an educated man who found himself alone on Rio's streets, in a downward alcoholic spiral, after his marriage and life in a city hours away fell apart.

As dinner service got underway Sunday, a disheveled man identifying himself only as Nilson removed a few radish slices from his eggplant panzanella salad and deposited them in a plastic bucket holding a squeegee kit.

"I thought it was paper," he laughed, while trading a boisterous "grazie, grazie" with Bottura. Sunday's meal was prepared by chef Rafael Costa e Silva, who normally dishes up fixed-price meals for $150 a head at his swank Lasai bistro in Rio. While he makes a living catering to the rich, he said he'll never forget the experience of serving the poor.

As dinner wound down, Costa e Silva emerged from the kitchen to thank his guests. It was Father's Day in Brazil, and so for many of the men gathered who talked about life's wrong turns and their estrangement from family, emotions ran high.

"What you've enjoyed is a simple meal but one made with lots of love and care," Costa e Silva said before the dining hall broke into applause. He wiped a tear from his cheek and continued. "We wanted you to feel spoiled — for at least one night."

25 years on, Russians tell of how they defeated a coup

August 17, 2016

MOSCOW (AP) — The KGB major was on vacation in the Russian countryside in August 1991 when he woke up to a radio broadcast announcing a state of national emergency. The bulletin contained something else: a secret code phrase for intelligence officers, summoning them back to their posts immediately.

On Aug. 19, 1991, a group of eight senior hard-line Communist leaders, including the KGB chairman, had seized power from Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, declaring that Gorbachev was unable to continue as head of the party due to illness.

In fact, Gorbachev was under arrest and the "Gang of Eight" intended to roll back his reformist policies of glasnost and perestroika, which they believed had set the Soviet Union on a path of disaster.

For a few days, the fate of the superpower hung in the balance. When KGB Maj. Valery Shiryayev arrived in Moscow and got on the phone, his supervisor was anything but enthusiastic about the coup. "These are people who have no idea what they're doing," he declared to the major. "They're doomed, and the coup will be over in two days."

Shiryayev's boss turned out to be right. As the 25th anniversary of the August Coup draws near this Friday, The Associated Press has talked to participants and witnesses of those critical days when Muscovites turned out to defend the spirit of democracy that Gorbachev had unleashed, and many Soviet officers defied their orders and sided with the people, ensuring that that the plotters failed.

Nevertheless, the Aug. 19 failed coup was a turning point in modern Russian history. It set in motion the dissolution of the Soviet Union and provided a moment of glory for Boris Yeltsin, at the time the president of the Russian constituent republic within the USSR, who is remembered for climbing atop a tank to defy the coup. Overshadowing Gorbachev as the man of the moment, Yeltsin emerged the indisputable leader of a new Russia and eventually became its first democratically elected president.

Today's president, Vladimir Putin, who succeeded Yeltsin in 1999, owes his position to the failed coup, but he would come to mourn the Soviet empire's collapse that followed as "the greatest geopolitical catastrophe" of the 20th century.

In the summer of 1991, Gorbachev was making a last-ditch effort to hold the Soviet Union together by approving a plan to recognize the sovereignty of Russia and the other 14 Soviet republics in exchange for preserving a central Soviet government.

With the treaty set to be signed on Aug. 20, the plotters decided to act. Led by KGB Chairman Vladimir Kryuchkov, they put the vacationing Soviet president under house arrest in Crimea. As hundreds of armored vehicles began to roll toward Moscow on the plotters' orders, Yeltsin, his security chief Alexander Korzhakov and his closest advisers got into their cars and headed for the seat of his Russian government, a tall modern building known as the White House. On the way, they overtook one tank after another.

Korzhakov recalled how their mood changed when Yeltsin's staff saw crowds of supporters of the legitimate government around the White House: "At this point everyone began to feel calm and confident that the people, Muscovites, were on our side."

Among the protesters that day was an 18-year-old geology student, Leonid Ragozin, who ignored his parents' pleas not to go to the barricades. "When I got to the White House, I saw all those people, thousands and thousands of people who were standing in lines, making human shields," he said.

Ragozin said it was raining heavily, yet hundreds of people were walking around with tea kettles and pots of food to sustain the protesters. The coup leaders had ordered newspapers not to print and put a gag on television, meaning for Yeltsin it was nearly impossible to get his message of defiance out.

When Dmitry Sokolov, Yeltsin's personal photographer and employee of the state news agency TASS, took pictures of the tanks outside the White House the TASS photo desk told him: "Why do we need them? We have pictures of the State Emergency Committee."

It was Yeltsin who pushed him to find a foreign news organization that would get the pictures out, Sokolov recalled. Some of the protesters tried to talk to crews of the tanks that had rumbled to the White House. One of these conversations persuaded an officer and the crews of the six tanks under his command to switch sides.

Maj. Sergei Yevdokimov's battalion had been wakened at 6 a.m. and ordered to head to Moscow. Nobody knew what a tank battalion was supposed to be doing in the heart of the nation's capital and Yevdokimov suspected something was wrong.

"When we arrived at the White House and found out what was happening, I decided I would not do anything that could cause loss of life," he said. Later, Yeltsin's right-hand man, Alexander Rutskoi, asked him about the plotters, Yevdokimov said. "Do you realize they are criminals? Will you help us?" Rutskoi asked.

"I do. I will," Yevdokimov replied, despite the risk of prison. Across Moscow, KGB staff faced a similar dilemma. Shiryayev had reported to work, but since he was formally on vacation he did not have to go out and arrest pro-reform lawmakers as his colleagues had been ordered to do.

They did not do it, however. Instead, they invented ways to evade the orders, he recalled. "We soon found people who had a birthday on that day and just got drunk. This was a purely Russian solution," Shiryayev said. "How can they punish you for drinking on duty? They can reprimand you, they can fire you, lower your military rank, they could destroy your career — but this won't send you to prison."

Shiryayev said dozens of his colleagues got drunk, called in sick or spent hours outside the building smoking and drinking tea rather than participating in the coup. "Everyone realized this was a catastrophe. We were asked to obey absolutely unlawful orders that could have led to a civil war in Russia," he said.

Within two days, it was clear that headquarters employees were not obeying their boss, the KGB chairman Kryuchkov. Yeltsin received a phone call from the plotters, who said they were calling off the troops and sending for Gorbachev.

Shiryayev recalled seeing the stooped figure of Kryuchkov hurrying across the inner courtyard at KGB headquarters into his black limousine and driving away. Smokers in the courtyard shouted, "Scumbag, are you happy now?" and pelted him with cigarette butts.

Shiryayev resigned from the KGB in 1994 and is now deputy director at Novaya Gazeta, a rare independent Russian newspaper. Kryuchkov was arrested, along with six other coup plotters, but all were amnestied in 1994 and some later returned to government service. The eighth plotter committed suicide before he could be arrested.

By the end of 1991, the Soviet Union was officially dissolved and a new Russia was born. Under Putin, the Russian political system has taken a clear turn back toward authoritarian rule. He also has tried to restore elements of the old empire, by recentralizing power, restoring control over the media, rebuilding the military and reclaiming a global role.

Those who remember the August 1991 crisis, however, say the totalitarian state of old is gone for good. "The current political regime is repressive, but freedom is not only about voting for political parties," said Ragozin, now a freelance journalist. "It's about being able to choose your lifestyle, about being able to travel, choose your profession. That was largely absent in the Soviet Union, which was a truly totalitarian state."

Anniversaries of the coup attempt over the years have become low-key occasions, in sharp contrast to the shows of might that Russia puts on for Victory Day, which celebrates the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. This year, however, the anniversary will be marked with a series of events in Moscow, including lectures, concerts and exhibitions.

Fate took a curious twist for some of those who helped defeat the coup. Yeltsin resigned suddenly on New Year's Eve of 1999, catastrophically unpopular by then. A bodyguard who stood next to him on the tank, Viktor Zolotov, was recently appointed chief of the National Guard, a powerful new security agency created by Putin for dispersing anti-government protests.

Yeltsin fired Korzhakov in 1996 during his re-election campaign. He later won election to Russia's parliament, but has since retired. Yevdokimov, the tank commander, received no hero's welcome when he returned to his home base outside Moscow and was soon sent to work in an enlistment office.

"There was talk around me, 'You violated your oath' and things like that. But I thought those who sided with the coup broke their oath," he said. "I stayed true to my oath. The president was illegally ousted."

Massive dam project at center of China-Myanmar talks

August 18, 2016

BEIJING (AP) — Efforts by Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi this week to bolster ties with her country's dominant northern neighbor China may hinge on whether she can resolve the fate of a massive, Chinese-funded dam project blocked by overwhelming local opposition.

Suu Kyi was to be greeted with a formal welcome ceremony on Thursday as part of a visit ending Sunday that will include talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang. It's her first trip to China since her party won a historic majority last year.

Now leading Myanmar with the title of state counselor, Suu Kyi is a Nobel Peace Prize winner who spent 15 years in house arrest under Myanmar's former military junta, which was supported for years by the authoritarian Communist Party-led government in Beijing. But analysts say Suu Kyi has shown pragmatism and a desire to re-order Myanmar's relationship with China, its top trading partner and a major investor, while also reaching out to the United States, Europe and Japan.

Key to both sides is the $3.6 billion Myitsone dam project in northern Myanmar, funded by Chinese power interests but suspended in 2011 by Myanmar's former military-backed president, Thein Sein. A spokesman for Myanmar's foreign affairs department said China was expected to raise the dam dispute this week.

China sees the dam as an important part of a national strategy to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels and meet its targets to cut pollution. It has pursued a charm offensive in Myanmar partly to push for construction to resume.

But opponents in Myanmar, also known as Burma, say the reservoir created by the Myitsone dam would create massive flooding on the Irrawaddy River, endangering ecologically sensitive areas and displacing thousands of people. They also question the previous arrangement of China taking 90 percent of the dam's power, while nearly 70 percent of Myanmar has no access to electricity, according to the World Bank.

The dam is one of several Chinese-backed projects stalled due to protests from Myanmar citizens newly emboldened to speak out following democratic reforms, part of a larger backlash against China's economic domination of its poor southern neighbor.

Suu Kyi's government recently announced a commission to review all hydroelectric projects along the Irrawaddy. Zhao Gancheng, director of the Asia-Pacific Center at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, said that announcement might be a signal that a compromise was possible.

"To handle it well will help create a favorable condition for future trade and economic development between the two countries," Zhao said. "Otherwise, obstacles will emerge in attracting investment from China in the future and that is not what the new Burmese government and Aung San Suu Kyi want to see."

Aaron Connelly, a research fellow for East Asia at the Lowy Institute for International Policy in Sydney, said Suu Kyi could offer an alternative plan that mollifies China and at least some of the opposition in Myanmar.

"That would be the question on the Myanmar side," Connelly said. "Is there something that can be offered that meets the expectations, but does not create a lake the size of Singapore on the Irrawaddy?"

Suu Kyi remains an icon to many of the people of Myanmar, and that may give her the standing to seek a deal that allows the dam to go forward under different circumstances, Connelly said. She is also likely to seek more cooperation from China as her government begins a peace conference at the end of August with ethnic minorities from the region where the dam is planned, and may tie the two issues together, Connelly said. China has been involved previously in negotiations between the government and Kachin rebels, who have fought for decades in regions near the Chinese border.

"She constantly surprises in what she's willing to do in terms of political agreements that she's willing to strike, and because she's such a singularly popular figure," he said. "She can potentially make a deal here that would be very unpopular and bounce back from that."

Beijing supports the peace process because "a politically stable and economically prosperous Myanmar is in China's best interests," China's official Xinhua News Agency said in an editorial Wednesday. "Given the fact that a strong China-Myanmar partnership is important for both sides, it is welcome that Suu Kyi, a key figure in the Myanmar government and the leader of the ruling party, plays a greater role in helping secure a healthy Myanmar-China relationship," Xinhua said.

China considers Myanmar strategically important as a gateway to the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal, and wants to secure oil and gas pipelines running across the country to the Chinese border. Along with stalled projects, friction between the countries has erupted over fighting between Myanmar's military and ethnic minority rebels along the border that has killed Chinese farmers and sent a flow of refugees into China.

Associated Press writer Esther Htusan in Yangon, Myanmar, and researcher Yu Bing in Beijing contributed to this report.

New Taiwan president omits one-China policy in first speech

May 20, 2016

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — New Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen has omitted mentioning the one-China policy in her inaugural address, a move likely to anger Beijing. Tsai said In her speech Friday that she respected the "joint acknowledgements and understandings" reached between the sides at a landmark 1992 meeting seen by China as underpinning all subsequent contacts and agreements.

However, Tsai made no explicit mention of the concept that Taiwan is a part of China that Beijing says is crucial to the entire relationship. Tsai said she wants all current contacts to continue and will work to maintain peace and stability between the sides.

Beijing claims Taiwan as its own territory and has threatened to invade the island if it formally breaks from the mainland. The sides split amid civil war in 1949.

Taiwan plans missile deployment in disputed islands

Taipei (AFP)
Oct 13, 2011

Taiwan's defense minister has backed a plan to deploy advanced missiles in the South China Sea over concerns that rival claimants to disputed islands are building up their arms, a legislator said Thursday.

Kao Hua-chu endorsed a proposal passed by the country's defense committee Wednesday demanding coastguard units in Taiping and the Pratas islands -- claimed by China -- be armed with Chaparral or Tien Chien I missiles.

"Minister Kao made it clear that he supports the proposal," he was quoted as saying in a statement released by Lin Yu-fang, the legislator from the ruling Kuomintang who pushed for the deployment.

Apparently mindful of rising regional tensions, Kao said the Taiwanese coastguards may need advanced weaponry rather than the Chaparral which Taiwan first acquired in the 1980s.

"Perhaps Tien Chien I or more advanced air defense missile systems should be given priority since the Chaparral is pretty old," Kao said.

The plan came following a report in July which found that Taiwan's coastguards in the contested waters were vulnerable amid mounting tensions.

Taiwan, Vietnam, Brunei, China, Malaysia, and the Philippines claim all or part of the Spratlys, which could lie on top of large oil reserves.

The Taiwanese coastguard currently has a 130-strong garrison on Taiping, the biggest island in the Spratlys archipelago.

Lin said the proposed ground-to-air missile deployment would be legitimate, citing the ministry's recent report on the military buildups by Vietnam and other neighboring countries in the area.

Vietnam has deployed thousands of marines in the zone, backed Russia-made Su-27SK and Su-30MK2 fighter jets, Lin cited the report as saying.

"In stark contrast, the Taiwanese coastguards are only equipped with 20-mm air defense guns," he said in a statement.

The defense ministry added that in case of military conflicts, Taiwanese coastguards could hardly defend themselves against the Philippine forces equipped with naval gunboats, Lin added.

Source: Sino Daily.
Link: http://www.sinodaily.com/reports/Taiwan_plans_missile_deployment_in_disputed_islands_999.html.

Japan's ruling coalition wins election, promises revival

July 10, 2016

TOKYO (AP) — Japan's ruling coalition was a clear winner in Sunday's parliamentary elections, preliminary results and Japanese media exit polls indicated, paving the way for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to push ahead with his economic revival policies, but also possibly changing the nation's postwar pacifist constitution.

Half of the seats of the less powerful upper house were up for grabs. There had been no possibility for a change of power because the ruling coalition, headed by Abe's Liberal Democratic Party, already controls the more powerful lower house, but the balloting was a key gauge of how much support Abe's coalition has among the public. The opposition had called on voters to show their rejection of Abe's position to have a more assertive military role for Japan.

According to the exit polls, the Liberal Democrats won 57 to 59 seats among the 121 that were contested. Its coalition partner Komeito won about 14 seats. Combined with other conservative politicians, the coalition may win a two-thirds majority in the upper house, which would be critical to propose a referendum needed to change the constitution. Japanese broadcaster NHK reported that the Liberal Democrats may clinch the majority on their own.

Final results of the balloting aren't expected until early Monday. Abe showed up before TV cameras at party headquarters, all smiles, to pin red flowers, indicating confirmed wins, next to his candidates' names written on a big board.

"I am honestly so relieved," he told NHK, promising new government spending to help wrest the economy out of the doldrums in a "total and aggressive" way. He declined to give the amount for the spending. He also said discussions should start on changing the constitution to work out details.

With their pro-business policies, the Liberal Democrats have ruled Japan almost continuously since World War II, and until recently enjoyed solid support from rural areas. The few years the opposition held power coincided with the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disasters that devastated northeastern Japan. The opposition, however, fell out of favor after being heavily criticized for its reconstruction efforts.

Robert Dujarric, professor and director of the Institute of Contemporary Asian Studies at Temple University Japan in Tokyo, said the win reflected voters' disenchantment with the opposition, rather than their excitement about Abe's policies.

"The public is old. It doesn't want change," he said. "It doesn't want what Japan really needs — more structural reform, less money for the old and more funding for families and children." The Japanese constitution, written by the United States after Japan's defeat in World War II, limits its military to a self-defense role, although Japan has a well-equipped modern army, navy and air force that work closely with the U.S., Japan's most important ally. Many members of Japan's military don't anticipate becoming involved in overseas wars, expecting that their work will be limited to disaster relief.

But some Japanese agree with Abe's views on security because of growing fears about terrorism, the recent missile launches by North Korea and China's military assertiveness. Sunday's was the first major election since Japan lowered the voting age from 20 to 18, potentially adding 2.4 million voters. Although "manga" animation and other events were used to woo young voters, results from early and absentee voting pointed to a low turnout, highlighting how many young Japanese are disillusioned with mainstream politics.

Masses of people have come out against nuclear power since the March 2011 Fukushima catastrophe. But that has not weakened Abe in recent elections, although he has made clear that he is eager to restart reactors that were idled after the nuclear disaster, the worst since Chernobyl, and make atomic energy a Japanese export.

Abe had repeatedly stressed during his campaign that his "Abenomics" program, centered on easy lending and a cheap yen to encourage exports, is still unfinished, and that patience is needed for results.

"I voted hoping the economy of the country gets better," Jiro Yonehara, a "salaryman," as company employees are called, said after emerging from a voting booth. "I think the economy is still hitting bottom, and I hope it gets better even just a bit so that my life gets easier."

Tetsuro Kato, professor of politics at Waseda University, said the election showed an opposition in shambles. He said some members of the opposition may defect to the ruling coalition, as some agree with Abe's views. The opposition leadership will likely have to resign to take responsibility for the election defeat, as their platform failed to appeal to the public, he said.

Even so, Abe won't rush to change the constitution, hoping for better timing because the recent strengthening of the yen, a minus for exports, and concerns about global growth are weighing on the economy, according to Kato.

Yukio Edano, the legislator who ran the campaign for the main opposition Democratic Party, acknowledged that winning back people's trust has been difficult, but said the public agreed with his party's message that Abenomics wasn't working for regular people.

"But people felt we did not offer enough of an alternative," he told NHK TV.