UK's Labor Party: We will immediately recognize the state of Palestine

May 28, 2017

Britain’s Labor Party announced in its 2017 elections manifesto that if elected in June, the party would immediately recognize the state of Palestine.

A Labor government will immediately recognize the state of Palestine

The manifesto stated that the party was committed to a two-state solution to solve the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict, adding that “there can be no military solution to this conflict.”

Both Israel and Palestine must “avoid taking action that would make peace harder to achieve,” the manifesto continued, referencing the need to end the decade-long Israeli siege on the Gaza Strip, the half-century Israeli occupation of the West Bank, and Israel’s continued settlement expansions.

It added that Hamas, the de facto leaders in the besieged Gaza Strip, must also end rocket and “terror attacks,” in order for leaders to enter “meaningful negotiations” and develop a “diplomatic resolution.”

Earlier this month, the United Kingdom’s House of Lords released a statement that strongly criticized the British government’s “very degrading, dismissive attitude” towards international efforts to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and suggested that it take a stronger stance to advance a two-state solution, including recognizing a state of Palestine.

Source: Middle East Monitor.
Link: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20170528-uks-labour-party-we-will-immediately-recognise-the-state-of-palestine/.

UK Labor leader links terror to wars as campaign resumes

May 26, 2017

LONDON (AP) — Four days after a suicide bombing plunged Britain into mourning, political campaigning for a general election in two weeks resumed Friday with the main opposition leader linking acts of terrorism at home to foreign wars like the one in Libya.

Labor Party leader Jeremy Corbyn risked being assailed for politicizing the Manchester Arena attack that killed 22 people by claiming that his party would change Britain's foreign policy if it takes power after the June 8 vote by abandoning the "war on terror."

"Many experts, including professionals in our intelligence and security services, have pointed to the connections between wars our government has supported or fought in other countries, such as Libya, and terrorism here at home," Corbyn said in his first speech since Monday night's atrocity.

National campaigning had been on hold to honor the victims of the arena bombing. Salman Abedi, the bomber who struck the Ariana Grande concert, had strong links to Libya. His parents were born and lived there before moving to Britain in the early 1990s. They eventually returned with several of their six children, and Abedi traveled there to visit his family on occasion.

Prime Minister Theresa May, who was attending a summit of the Group of Seven in Sicily, offered a blistering critique of Corbyn's position when she was asked about it at a news conference. May said that while she was at the summit rallying support for the fight against terrorism, "Jeremy Corbyn has said that terror attacks in Britain are our own fault, and he has said that just a few days after one of the worst terror attacks" in the country's history.

"There can never, ever, be an excuse for terrorism," she said, adding "the choice people face at the general election has become starker." While Corbyn could alienate some voters with his comments, he is trying to win back the many Labor supporters who turned away from the party in the aftermath of then Prime Minister Tony Blair's decision to join the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Blair's backing of President George W. Bush brought more than 1 million protesters into the streets. When the rationale for war failed to pan out because weapons of mass destruction were not found in Iraq, Blair's popularity faded badly after a string of election victories.

When home-grown terrorists attacked London subway and bus lines in 2005, some blamed Britain's involvement in the Iraq war. Corbyn's speech reflects the view that Britain's actions overseas are at least in part responsible for the increase in extremist attacks.

The Labor Party under Corbyn has consistently trailed Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservatives in the polls, but has begun to make gains in the last week. It is unclear how the worst attack in Britain in more than a decade will impact voter sentiment.

Grande, meanwhile, said that she would return to Manchester for a benefit concert to raise money for the victims and their families. The American singer didn't announce a date for the concert. "Our response to this violence must be to come closer together, to help each other, to love more, to sing louder and to live more kindly and generously than we did before," Grande said in a statement .

Grande suspended her Dangerous Woman world tour and canceled several European shows after the bombing. The tour will restart June 7 in Paris. British police investigating the Manchester bombing made two new arrests Friday while continuing to search 12 properties.

A total of nine men are being held on suspicion of offenses violating the Terrorism Act. Their ages ranged from 18 to 44. A 16-year-old boy and a 34-year-old woman who had been arrested were released without charge, police said.

Authorities are chasing possible links between the Abedi and militants in Manchester, elsewhere in Europe, and in North Africa and the Middle East. Britain's security level has been upgraded to "critical" meaning officials believe another attack may be imminent.

Manchester Police Chief Ian Hopkins said substantial progress has been made but detective work remains. Abedi, a college dropout who had grown up in the Manchester area, was known to security services because of his radical views. His parents came to Britain early in the 1990s.

He reportedly was in contact with family members just before the attack. The names of the people in custody have not been released. No one has yet been charged in the bombing. London police say extra security is being added for major sporting events this weekend including the FA Cup soccer final at Wembley Stadium.

Chief Superintendent Jon Williams said Friday extra protection measures and extra officers are being deployed throughout the capital because of the increased terrorist threat level. He said fans coming to soccer and rugby matches this weekend should come earlier than usual because of added security screening.

Williams said "covert and discrete tactics" will also be in place to protect the transport network. British police working on the case have resumed intelligence-sharing with U.S. counterparts after a brief halt because of anger over leaks to U.S. media thought by Britain to be coming from U.S. officials.

British officials say that have received assurances from U.S. authorities that confidential material will be protected. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in London Friday that the U.S. accepts responsibility for the leaks.

At the mosque that Abedi attended in Manchester, director of trustees Mohammed el-Khayat told worshipers that police would be told if anyone shows signs of having been radicalized. "The police will be the first to know," he said before Friday afternoon prayers. He strongly condemned the attack and said radical views will not be tolerated.

Thamir Nasir, who has attended the mosque for nine years, remembered seeing Abedi there, but said he didn't know him very well. "This does not represent Islam," Nasir said of the concert bombing. "And it doesn't represent our community, and for sure doesn't represent this mosque here....This center is one of the most open — open to the community. So everyone here is shocked. We could not really sleep that night knowing that this happened in Manchester."

Despite the increased threat level throughout the country, and the addition of extra armed police and soldiers, the country's top counter-terrorism police officer urged Britons not to hide away indoors during the upcoming holiday weekend, which finds much of the country enjoying fine weather.

"Go out and enjoy," Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley said.

Rob Harris reported from Manchester. David McHugh contributed from Taormina, Sicily.

English wedding: Pippa Middleton marries as royals look on

May 21, 2017

ENGLEFIELD, England (AP) — Two likely future British kings were there, along with one of the world's most photographed women, the often-adorable Prince Harry, a multilingual tennis legend and a brash TV reality star.

But all eyes were on Pippa Middleton on Saturday as she walked down the aisle of a 12th-century church wearing a custom hand-embroidered gown with a tiara and long veil to marry hedge fund manager James Matthews.

Reporters, photographers and camera crews invaded the small village of Englefield west of London, home to St. Mark's Church, and nearby Bucklebury, where a lavish reception was being held Saturday night at the estate of the bride's parents, Michael and Carole Middleton.

Middleton, 33, is not royalty. But the star-studded wedding took on some aspects of a royal wedding, with well-wishers gathering outside the church grounds hoping for a glimpse. She arrived in a vintage Jaguar to enter the church on the arm of her father. Older sister Kate, also known as the Duchess of Cambridge, looked after the page boys and bridesmaids, who were all under five years old and included her own children, Prince George, 3, and Princess Charlotte, 2.

Prince William and Prince Harry, decked out in formal morning suits, seemed relaxed as they strolled into the church and were greeted by the groom's well-known brother, Spencer Matthews, a star on the TV show "Made in Chelsea."

Matthews, 41, smiled broadly and sported elegant formal wear set off by a pale blue vest. The new couple emerged from the church an hour later. The children dropped flower petals in their path before the couple celebrated their union with a kiss. Then it was off for champagne and, later, a short spin in a different Jaguar.

Ingrid Seward, editor of Majesty Magazine, said the Middletons could take pleasure in the day: Their first daughter, Kate, had married a future king, and their second daughter, Pippa, had married an extremely wealthy, charming and handsome man.

"You can't do better than that," she said. Matthew and Pippa briefly dated in 2012 but became serious last year. He proposed during a visit to the enchanting Lake District, setting in motion what is being called the society wedding of the year.

The wedding plan was not without risks — including having such young children in the wedding party. But George and Charlotte — and the rest of the page boys and bridesmaids — did extremely well in public, winning hearts along the way in their custom-made outfits.

Roger Federer and his wife Mirka were among the guests. Pippa had kept the identity of her wedding designer a secret until she stepped out wearing a fitted, dramatic frock by English designer Giles Deacon.

The dress had a high neckline and a corseted bodice, with draping to the front and a heart-shaped detail in the back. Deacon said the lace bodice was embroidered with pearl details over a layered organza-and-tulle underskirt.

"It was a privilege to show the craftsmanship that my team produces in London and a real testament to Pippa's support of British fashion," he said. Kate, so often the center of attention as she performs her royal duties or poses for the cover of Vogue, gracefully ceded the spotlight to her younger sister. The Duchess of Cambridge wore a long-sleeved, blush pink Alexander McQueen dress.

She focused on making sure the young page boys and bridesmaids behaved, once raising her finger to shush the rambunctious youngsters. Harry did not bring his girlfriend, American actress Meghan Markle, to the crowded church ceremony. She may attend the private reception.

The bride's parents built an elaborate glass marquee on their estate in Bucklebury for the reception and guests were advised to bring two outfits so they could change after the wedding ceremony. The airspace above both villages was closed to prevent intrusive press crews from flying overhead or launching drones to get video footage.

Middleton was relatively unknown until her figure-hugging bridesmaid gown attracted attention at the 2011 royal wedding of Kate and Prince William. That sparked completely unfounded rumors that she was dating Prince Harry.

She has written a book about entertaining and columns for Vanity Fair while also working at her parents' lucrative "Party Pieces" business.

Greek, Turkish Cypriots link arms across border for peace

May 27, 2017

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Dozens of Greek and Turkish Cypriots have linked arms across a U.N.-controlled buffer zone cutting across ethnically divided Cyprus' capital of Nicosia to voice their support for a reunification agreement.

Beating drums, blowing whistles and singing traditional Cypriot folk songs, the demonstrators said real peace lies in the hands of ordinary people from both sides of the divide as the Mediterranean island's reunification talks appear to be faltering.

Protesters said Saturday's event was to remind politicians not to let ordinary people down. On Friday, a U.N. envoy called off meditation efforts with the island's Greek Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci after failing to find "common ground" on convening a final summit for an overall reunification deal.

But officials insisted talks haven't collapsed.

Austrian party picks new leader, early elections likely

May 14, 2017

VIENNA (AP) — Austria's junior government coalition partner chose a new leader Sunday and gave him the unprecedented authority he demanded as a condition for leading his party into expected early elections this fall.

Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz told reporters that senior officials of his People's Party agreed to let him choose all ministers of any government he would head, as well as to nominate candidates for parliament that would include party outsiders.

Speaking after a closed meeting, Kurz said that the gathering also agreed to contest at least the next elections under a name change. Instead of the People's Party, Kurz and other candidates would now run under the "List Sebastian Kurz - the new People's Party."

"We have decided to start a movement," Kurz told reporters. "We're going to rely on proven forces from within the People's Party, but at the same time we're going to bring new people on board." The power grab is significant in a party where provincial governors have historically had an outsize say in running federal affairs, including pushing through ministerial appointments and overriding major policy decisions by the federal leader.

With few exceptions, that has led party heads to resign in frustration in recent decades. The latest, Reinhold Mitterlehner, threw in the towel Wednesday after less than three years as party leader and vice chancellor.

The center-right People's Party is now a distant third among voters. But Kurz, a telegenic 30-year old, regularly tops political popularity polls. That is due in part for his embrace of a harder line on immigrants and other positions of the right-wing Freedom Party, which leads in voter support. But he avoids that party's xenophobic polemics, as he walks the line between keeping People's Party supporters and attracting Freedom Party backers.

Acceptance of Kurz's demands reflects recognition by the party's power-brokers that refusal would mean an almost certain slide in voter support. The often cantankerous People's Party-Social Democratic coalition has shown increased signs of fraying over the past months. Still, Social Democratic Chancellor Christian Kern had resisted People's Party calls to move up elections from next year.

But as People's Party officials gathered Sunday he told state broadcaster ORF: "I assume that there will certainly be an election this fall."

Associated Press writer Geir Moulson in Berlin, and AP video journalist Philipp Jenne in Vienna, contributed to this report.

Sweden drops case but WikiLeaks' Assange is not in the clear

May 19, 2017

LONDON (AP) — Swedish prosecutors have dropped their investigation into a rape allegation against Julian Assange, almost seven years after it began and five years after the WikiLeaks founder sought refuge inside Ecuador's London embassy.

Assange's Swedish lawyer Per E. Samuelson declared Friday that "this is a total victory for Julian Assange. He is now free to leave the embassy when he wants." But the picture is more complicated than that.

HAS ASSANGE BEEN EXONERATED?

No. The investigation began after two women accused Assange of sexual offenses during a 2010 visit to Stockholm — allegations he denies. Sweden asked Britain to extradite Assange for questioning, and in June 2012 he sought refuge in Ecuador's London embassy to avoid arrest.

After that, the investigation stalled. Swedish prosecutors dropped cases of alleged sexual misconduct when the statute of limitations ran out in 2015, leaving only the rape allegation. Marianne Ny, the Swedish director of public prosecutions announced Friday that she was dropping the rape case because there is no prospect of bringing Assange to Sweden "in the foreseeable future" and it is "no longer proportionate" to maintain the European arrest warrant.

She told a news conference in Stockholm that the investigation could be reopened if Assange returns to Sweden before the statute of limitations lapses in 2020. Ny said the case was not being dropped because Assange has been found innocent.

"We don't make any statement of guilty or not," she said.

IS ASSANGE FREE TO LEAVE THE ECUADOREAN EMBASSY?

Sweden has revoked a European Arrest Warrant for Assange, so British police are no longer seeking him for extradition. But there is also a warrant issued by a British court after he skipped bail in June 2012.

London's Metropolitan Police force says that it "is obliged to execute that warrant should he leave the embassy." The maximum sentence for that offense is a year in prison.

Assange said Friday that "my legal staff have contacted the U.K. authorities and we hope to engage in a dialogue about what is the best way forward."

Ecuador, which has granted Assange asylum, says it will step up diplomatic efforts to gain him safe passage to the Latin American country.

ARE THERE OTHER CHARGES AGAINST ASSANGE?

That's unclear. Assange suspects there is a secret U.S. indictment against him for WikiLeaks' publication of leaked classified American documents, which has infuriated U.S. officials. CIA Director Mike Pompeo has branded WikiLeaks a "hostile intelligence service," and Attorney General Jeff Sessions said last month that Assange's arrest is a priority.

Both U.S. and British officials have declined to comment on whether there is a warrant for Assange's arrest.

Assange told reporters Friday he would be happy to discuss his case with the U.S. Department of Justice.

DOES SWEDEN'S ACTION MAKE ASSANGE SAFER?

Some legal experts say it makes his position less secure. Until Friday, Britain was bound to honor Sweden's extradition request before any warrant from the United States. That is no longer the case.

Lawyer David Allen Green, who has followed the case, tweeted: "Once outside embassy, Assange more at risk from any U.S. extradition attempt than if he had gone to Sweden."

Assange could fight any U.S. extradition request in the British courts, a process that could take years.

WHITHER WIKILEAKS?

WikiLeaks' release of classified material has continued unabated during Assange's five years in the Ecuadorean embassy. On Friday, the group released what it said were new details of CIA cyberespionage tools.

South Sudan soldiers face trial for deadly hotel rampage

May 30, 2017

JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — South Sudanese soldiers accused of a horrific attack on foreign aid workers during the country's civil war are facing trial almost a year later, with the possibility of a death sentence.

Twelve of the 20 soldiers accused of rape, torture, killing and looting during the attack on the Terrain hotel compound were in court Tuesday. The assault came during fresh fighting in the capital, Juba, in July.

An investigation by The Associated Press last year showed that dozens of soldiers broke into the compound and terrorized residents and staff while the nearby United Nations peacekeeping mission did not respond to pleas for help. Five foreigners reported being gang-raped, and one local journalist was shot in the head and killed as others were forced to watch.

The U.N. secretary-general later fired the commander of the U.N. peacekeeping mission over its response to the attacks on the hotel compound and elsewhere. The trial is a test of South Sudan's ability to hold its soldiers accountable. It is expected to last several weeks, with the next court date scheduled for June 6.

If convicted of rape, the soldiers could face up to 14 years in prison. If convicted of murder, they could be sentenced to death. It was not immediately clear how the soldiers would plead. The prosecution said it "absolutely" has the necessary evidence to convict the accused, citing testimony from witnesses and victims including an American man who was shot in the leg.

"We expect the same as from any normal trial," said Michael Woodward, the British former manager of the Terrain and the only witness to testify Tuesday. "We want justice for the victims, compensation for what was looted and we want this to serve as an example for people who commit similar crimes."

South Sudan's military marked the start of the trial by announcing it is committed to "human rights, the rule of law and the transparency of the legal system." The start of the trial comes shortly after a new U.N report that exposed potential war crimes by the army in soldiers' targeting and killing of dozens of South Sudanese civilians. The international community has repeatedly expressed concern about impunity for widespread abuses in the civil war, which is well into its fourth year and has left tens of thousands dead.

Nigeria: Too soon to close camps for Boko Haram's displaced

May 17, 2017

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) — Camps for tens of thousands of people displaced by Boko Haram will have to stay open beyond the end of this month as Nigeria's military continues to fight the extremists in so-called liberated areas, officials say.

The governor of the northern state of Borno, Kashim Shettima, told reporters on Tuesday that it is not yet safe to return people to their homes in many places across the region. The government's goal was to close all of the camps by the end of May. The humanitarian crisis is considered one of the worst in the world.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari late last year declared Boko Haram "crushed," but the military now says operations continue to clear the extremists from their strongholds. "What we are doing now is mop-up of the fleeing Boko Haram terrorists who are running into the fringes of the forest as well as border areas," said Maj. Gen. Lucky Irabor, who commands the counterinsurgency operation in the northeast.

Boko Haram continues to carry out suicide bombings in the Borno capital, Maiduguri, and has attacked the military in more remote areas. Hundreds of people have been killed since Buhari's declaration. On Monday, police said three female suicide bombers detonated on the route between Maiduguri and the city of Bama, killing two people and injuring six.

Maiduguri is home to more than a dozen camps for those displaced by Boko Haram's eight-year insurgency. Tens of thousands of people have been killed over the years. The United Nations refugee agency says 1.8 million have been displaced within Nigeria, with roughly one-third of them living in camps.

The insurgency also has spilled into neighboring countries. "We will not wait till eternity. We are very optimistic that very soon the entire Borno will be safe enough for full habitation," Shettima said.

UN report shows hundreds of Central African Republic abuses

May 30, 2017

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — A sweeping new United Nations report identifies hundreds of human rights violations in Central African Republic since 2003 that may amount to war crimes, including massacres, gang rapes and entire villages burned to the ground.

Tuesday's report comes amid growing fears that the country terrorized by multiple armed groups is once again slipping into the sectarian bloodshed that left thousands dead between late 2013 and 2015. U.N. investigators highlight more than 600 abuses over a 12-year period, and are urging both prosecution and the creation of a truth and reconciliation commission. While the report refrains from identifying the alleged perpetrators unless they are already the subject of sanctions or an arrest warrant, those identities are known and are being kept in a confidential database, officials said.

"In documenting the violations and abuses of the past, we hope to galvanize national and international efforts to protect and bring justice to the victims of these crimes," said Parfait Onanga-Anyanga, the U.N. special representative for the country.

The International Criminal Court is already examining abuses dating back to 2003 in Central African Republic. While the U.N. report does not characterize the worst sectarian violence as genocide, it does "identify facts which may warrant further investigation to determine whether the elements of the crime may have been met."

Central African Republic exploded into violence in late 2013 after mostly Muslim rebels from the Seleka coalition terrorized civilians in the capital until the Seleka leader stepped down from power. A mainly Christian militia that arose in opposition to the rebels then carried out horrific violence against Muslim civilians in retaliation, even though few of them supported Seleka in the first place.

At one point, Muslims were stoned to death with rocks by mobs in the street, at times decapitated and mutilated. Those fleeing for their lives in truck convoys to the country's north and beyond to Chad were slain by mobs in many cases.

Violence ebbed with the installation of a civilian transitional government and with the arrival of U.N. peacekeepers who replaced a regional force. The country held fairly peaceful national elections in 2016, though this year has seen an explosion of sectarian conflict in areas previously untouched by such tensions such as the southeast.

The fragile peace is in many ways maintained by separation. Many towns no longer have Muslim communities after people fled and never returned. Mosques have been destroyed. More than 500,000 people remain internally displaced while others remain in neighboring Chad, Cameroon and Congo, officials said.

While Tuesday's report urges justice to be done, it also offers a grim view of the challenges: Armed groups still control more than half the country. Most courts were looted and destroyed during the rampant violence by armed groups.

"The number of police personnel, their equitable deployment across the country and the resources available to them, considering the country's vast geography, are wanting," the report says. "Magistrates appointed to the courts in many of the provinces and other judiciary personnel often choose to remain in Bangui because of insecurity and a lack of amenities for their work and welfare. Virtually all the country's lawyers are based in Bangui."

Any criminal proceedings must include those equipped to work with sexual violence survivors, the report says. More than 650 victims were reported between December 2013 and July 2014 alone. In one case, a single victim was raped by up to 20 perpetrators, the report says.

It references the recent case of former Chadian dictator Hissene Habre as one possible example. Habre was convicted last year of crimes against humanity in a special court set up Senegal. The charges included rape and forced sexual slavery carried out by subordinates under the legal principle of "command responsibility."

Tuesday's report says the violence committed by the mostly Muslim Seleka rebels could constitute crimes against humanity, along with the retaliatory violence carried out by the mostly Christian anti-Balaka against Muslim civilians.

A "campaign of killings and persecution" by government soldiers against civilians in the north-central and northwest regions between 2006 and 2009 also could constitute crimes against humanity, it says.

3 vie for top WHO post in UN health agency election

May 20, 2017

GENEVA (AP) — A British physician, an Ethiopian former health minister and a Pakistani expert in non-communicable diseases are the three finalists vying for the top job at the World Health Organization in an election on Tuesday, aspiring to land a key U.N. post that confers great power to set worldwide medical priorities — and great responsibility as the world's go-to person when emergencies like Ebola, Zika and SARS strike.

For the first time, WHO's governing body made up of 194 member states will choose from three candidates — not one pre-selected by its executive board, as in past years. The closed-door vote is perhaps the highlight event of the 10-day World Health Assembly, which will also lay out strategies on issues like the fight against polio, preparedness for pandemic flu, and antimicrobial resistance.

Many are looking for further reform at WHO after the decade-long tenure of Dr. Margaret Chan, a politically savvy native of Hong Kong whose tenure nonetheless has been blighted by a flawed response to the Ebola outbreak in three west African countries that killed more than 11,000 people.

Politics, as much as policy prescriptions, will be in the minds of many government envoys as voting begins Tuesday afternoon. Here's a look at the candidates for the next five-year term starting July 1:

David Nabarro: The British physician led the U.N. response to some of the biggest health crises in recent years, including bird flu and Ebola. Although he has years of experience dealing with outbreaks, critics say his decades of work at WHO make him too much of an insider and that he may be unable to introduce the radical change needed to overhaul the agency.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus: A former health minister from Ethiopia, he would be the first WHO director-general from Africa and is believed to have wide support from many African member states. Ghebreyesus is credited with expanding Ethiopia's health system and helping introduce initiatives that cut malaria deaths. The only non-medical doctor in the running, he has also been dogged by allegations that he covered up cholera outbreaks during his administration, despite international regulations requiring countries to report outbreaks of the bacterial disease.

Sania Nishtar: A Pakistani doctor, she has worked on non-communicable diseases for years and once served as a government minister responsible for issues including health, science and information technology. Unlike her competitors, Nishtar has little experience with outbreaks. During her campaign, she issued 10 pledges for action, including "transparency and accountability in all areas of its work" and a promise that the WHO leadership "will not be subject to special interests."

Philippines pounds militants; civilians found shot dead

May 28, 2017

MARAWI, Philippines (AP) — Philippine forces launched fresh airstrikes Sunday to drive out militants linked to the Islamic State group after days of fighting left corpses in the streets and hundreds of civilians begging for rescue from a besieged southern city.

The crisis inside Marawi, home to some 200,000 people, has grown increasingly dire as the militants showed unexpected strength, fending off the army and soldiers who went house-to-house in search of gunmen.

The violence prompted President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday to declare 60 days of martial law in the southern Philippines, where a Muslim separatist rebellion has raged for decades. But the recent violence has raised fears that extremism is growing as smaller militant groups unify and align themselves with IS.

Thousands of civilians have streamed out of Marawi and more than 2,000 were still trapped inside the city. Many sent desperate text messages begging to be rescued and reporting that their homes had been destroyed, said Zia Alonto Adiong, an official in Lanao del Sur province, one of the country's poorest.

Speaking at an evacuation center outside Marawi, Saddat Liong said his house was hit by mortar fire and burned to the ground. Liong, his wife and eight children lost everything, he said — even their cooking pots.

"I feel that we've lost our city," he said. Military spokesman Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla said combat operations were still going on but the militants were weakening. "We believe they're now low on ammunition and food. Compared to the initial days, there has been increasingly less resistance from the militants within Marawi," he said, speaking by phone from the capital, Manila.

As the government retakes much of the city, the scope of the battle is becoming clearer. Padilla said Sunday the bodies of four men, three women and a child were found near a road close to the Mindanao State University in Marawi.

Eight other men were found gunned down and thrown in a shallow ravine early Sunday in Marawi's Emi village, said police officer Jamail Mangadang. A paper sign attached to one of the men indicated the victims "betrayed their faith," he said.

He identified the men as civilians. Marawi is a mostly Muslim city. In addition to the civilian deaths, Padilla said 61 militants, 11 soldiers and four police were among the dead. The violence erupted Tuesday night when the government launched a raid to capture Ipsilon Hapilon, who is on Washington's list of most-wanted terrorists. But the operation went awry and militants rampaged through the city, torching buildings and battling government forces in the streets.

A priest and several worshippers were taken hostage. There was no word on their condition.

Philippines forces hit militants; civilians wave white flags

May 27, 2017

MARAWI, Philippines (AP) — Philippine military jets fired rockets at militant positions Saturday as soldiers fought to wrest control of a southern city from gunmen linked to the Islamic State group, witnesses said. Civilians waved flags from their windows to show they are not combatants.

The city of Marawi, home to some 200,000 people, has been under siege by IS-linked militants since a failed raid Tuesday night on a suspected hideout of Isnilon Hapilon, who is on Washington's list of most-wanted terrorists. Isnilon got away and fighters loyal to him took over parts of the city, burning buildings and seizing about a dozen hostages, including a priest. Their condition is unknown.

The violence prompted President Rodrigo Duterte to declare martial law in the country's south, where a Muslim rebellion has raged for decades. "I saw two jets swoop down and fire at rebel positions repeatedly," Alexander Mangundatu, a security guard, told The Associated Press in Marawi as a plume of black smoke billowed in the distance. "I pity the civilians and the women who were near the targeted area. They're getting caught in the conflict and I hope this ends soon."

Military spokesman Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla said government forces are working to "clear the city of all remnants of this group." He said some civilians refused to evacuate because they want to guard their homes, which is slowing down the government operations.

"But that's fine as long as civilians are not hurt," Padilla said. On Friday, Duterte ordered his troops to crush the militants, warning that the country is at a grave risk of "contamination" by the Islamic State group.

At least 44 people have died in the fighting, including 31 militants and 11 soldiers, officials say. It was not immediately clear whether civilians were among the dead. The violence has forced thousands of people to flee and raised fears of growing extremism.

Duterte told soldiers in Iligan, a city near Marawi, that he had long feared that "contamination by ISIS" loomed in the country's future, using the acronym for the Islamic State group. "You can say that ISIS is here already," he said.

He gave his troops a free hand to wrest control of Marawi. "You can arrest any person, search any house without warrant," said Duterte, who has been criticized for the deaths of thousands of people in a crackdown on illegal drugs.

Still, he also offered dialogue to militants who are not on the streets fighting. "We can still talk about it," Duterte said. "But those who are out-and-out terrorists, and you cannot be convinced to stop fighting, so be it. Let us fight."

Hapilon is still hiding out in the city under the protection of gunmen who are desperately trying to find a way to "extricate" him, the country's military chief said. "Right now, he is still inside (the city)," Gen. Eduardo Ano told the AP. "We cannot just pinpoint the particular spot."

He said Hapilon suffered a stroke after a government airstrike wounded him in January. Ano predicted that the military operation will take about a week as soldiers go house to house to clear the city of militants.

"We will make this their cemetery," he said. "We have to finish this." In a sign that the long-standing problem of militancy in the south could be expanding, Solicitor General Jose Calida said foreigners were fighting alongside the gunmen in Marawi, including Indonesians and Malaysians.

Ano also said foreign fighters were believed to be inside, but he was more cautious. "We suspect that but we're still validating," he said. With much of Marawi a no-go zone, confusion reigned. One local police chief told the AP on Friday that he was fine — two days after Duterte announced he had been beheaded by militants.

Hapilon, an Islamic preacher, is a commander of the Abu Sayyaf militant group who pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group in 2014. He also heads an alliance of at least 10 smaller militant groups, including the Maute, which have a heavy presence in Marawi and were instrumental in fighting off government forces in this week's battles.

All of the groups are inspired by the Islamic State group, but so far there is no sign of significant, material ties. Washington has offered a $5 million reward for information leading to Hapilon's capture.

'This is a democracy': Int'l court may be next for Duterte

May 16, 2017

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte acknowledged Tuesday that allegations he induced extrajudicial killings in his war on drugs could be raised to the International Criminal Court after an impeachment case failed in the House of Representatives.

"Yeah, he can go ahead. He is free to do it. This is a democracy," Duterte said in reaction to a lawmaker saying he was considering bringing a case against the Philippine leader to the court in The Hague, Netherlands.

The impeachment complaint killed by a House committee Monday accused Duterte of multiple murders and crimes against humanity for adopting a state policy of inducing police and vigilantes into killing more than 8,000 suspected drug users and dealers outside the rule of law. The complaint also accused him of corruption, unexplained wealth, and taking a "defeatist stand" against China's in the territorial row in the South China Sea.

"It is true that there are deaths — is there a drug war where no one is killed?" Duterte said. "But not in the character and kind that I was dished out, including ordering the killing of a child." The dismissal of Rep. Gary Alejano's complaint was widely expected since the House is dominated by Duterte allies. But the president's critics hope the procedure could bolster a lawsuit filed against him by a Filipino lawyer before the ICC for alleged extrajudicial killings by showing that domestic efforts to stop Duterte have failed.

The dismissal of the complaint, filed in March, bars any new impeachment case against Duterte until next March. Since taking office in June, Duterte's war on drugs has killed 7,000 to 9,000 suspected drug dealers and addicts, according to human rights groups. The government refutes that, releasing data on May 2 showing nearly 4,600 people have been killed in police anti-drug operations and homicides found to be drug-related.

During Monday's hearing, Rep. Rodolfo Farinas, the majority floor leader, asked Alejano repeatedly if he had personal knowledge of allegations he made in his complaint. Alejano said he had no personal knowledge as a witness, but that he had personal knowledge as a complainant based on official records, affidavits of witnesses and Duterte's public pronouncements. Several lawmakers pointed to that distinction to say Alejano's allegations were hearsay.

Forty-two of 49 committee members then voted to declare the complaint insufficient in substance. A frustrated Alejano told reporters that he'll discuss with his colleagues from the Magdalo party whether they should file their own complaint before the ICC.

He said it was clear that the impeachment procedure "was railroaded" and that the House "is not independent."

Peru organizes 2019 Pan Am Games in wake of deadly flooding

May 21, 2017

Construction for the 2019 Pan American Games is way behind schedule. But that's a secondary problem. The quadrennial event in Lima, Peru, has no sponsors, no marketing and is relying on a $1.2 billion budget financed by the national government.

"This is the biggest challenge I have today — the sponsors," Neven Ilic, the president of the Pan American Sports Organization, told The Associated Press. "Now we have to go to the market to find sponsors."

Peru is organizing the largest sports event in its history — in the wake of the worst flooding in recent memory. Flooding earlier this year in the north of the country, and in Lima, killed more than 100 and displaced thousands. President Pedro Pablo Kuczysnki has put reconstruction costs at up to $9 billion, raising questions about the propriety of big spending on a two-week sports event.

Supporters like Kuczysnki say the country can afford both, while critics point out that last year's Olympics in Rio de Janeiro generated as much bad news as good. Nine months after the games ended, Rio organizers still owe creditors about $30 million. Many venues are abandoned, searching for events and money for maintenance.

"Peru has accepted being the host of the Pan American Games," Kuczysnki told reporters. "It would be a real tragedy not to keep our pledge and dedicate all the needed resources to the reconstruction, and to the Pan American Games."

Elected last month as president of the regional sports body PASO, Ilic has been lobbying in Lima for several weeks to get everyone behind the project. Lima Mayor Luis Castaneda said the games should be cancelled when the floods hit in March. Since then, he's said they should go ahead.

"We know everything about all the problems they have, but today I think they are ready," said Ilic, a Chilean and grandson of Croatian immigrants. He termed the construction schedule "tight, very short" and said all venue and related construction needed to start in September.

The biggest project is an athletes' village composed of seven 20-story towers. A metro line is also just 15 percent completed. The country's comptroller said last month that 40 percent should be done at this stage.

Ilic said he'll look to some of the IOC's big sponsors like Coca-Cola as potential clients. "First, we have to have a good proposal to present," he said. Seeking expertise, the Peruvian government signed an agreement with Britain to line up British companies to help deliver security, construction, and event management.

Ilic has promised "no white elephants." "We have asked them to please build (venues) in accordance with your reality, your culture," Ilic said. "They don't have big stadiums, big construction." The continental championships open July 26, 2019, and will attract 7,000 athletes from Alaska to Argentina. For many it's a qualifying event for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The last two Pan Am Games were in Toronto in 2015, and Guadalajara, Mexico, in 2011. Rio hosted the 2007 edition, which it used to lobby for the Olympics. Rolando Arellano, the president of Lima-based Arellano Marketing, said most Peruvians were unaware the games were coming, and few "know what that means."

He said the commitment to the Pan Am Games has put the government in a bind. "If the government spends on this, they can be seen as insensitive to other problems," Arellano told AP. "But if they don't, they will lose their image. Either way, they are not in a very comfortable position."

The Peruvian capital is also host in September to the International Olympic Committee, which will meet to pick either Paris or Los Angeles as the venue for the 2024 Olympics. There was also pressure to cancel that event.

These meetings take place with scandal hovering over Peru's national Olympic committee. Jose Quinones was disqualified last year by a Peruvian government body as president of the local Olympic committee with reports suggesting he misappropriated $3.3 million. Peru is to elect a new president in June.

Fransicso Boza, the secretary general of the Peruvian Olympic Committee, is also being investigated by a prosecutor on corruption charges. He was Peru's flagbearer in the Rio Olympics and an Olympic silver medalist in shooting in the 1984 Olympics.

"Peru has seen a lot of progress in the last 15 years, so we must show off our development," Arellano said. "This puts Lima and Peru in the international news. That could be a big win. Of course, you are not sure you are going to gain only goodwill."

Associated Press writer Franklin Briceno in Lima contributed to this report.

With Macron on board, Paris 2024 bid is 'ready right now'

May 14, 2017

PARIS (AP) — Paris bid leaders want to capitalize on the sense of optimism surrounding new President Emmanuel Macron to beat Los Angeles and secure the Olympic Games in 2024 , not 2028. With the IOC currently assessing a proposal to award the next two Olympics — one to each city — Paris officials insist the French capital city is the right choice for 2024.

The 39-year-old Macron, France's youngest-ever president, officially took office on Sunday as the IOC evaluation commission started a three-day visit to Paris. "Our team has a new member, the new President of France, Emmanuel Macron," bid leader Tony Estanguet said on Sunday. "He's been a fantastic supporter of our bid from the beginning. He will be with us all the way to Lima and hopefully beyond."

Los Angeles and Paris are the only two bidders left for the 2024 Games, which will be awarded in September at a meeting of Olympic leaders in Peru. The race began with five cities, but Rome, Hamburg, Germany, and Budapest, Hungary, all pulled out.

The IOC has four vice presidents looking into the prospect of awarding the 2024 and 2028 Games at the same time in September. "We have one goal during these few days: to convince you that Paris is the right city, with the right vision, at the right moment," Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo said. "The right city with world-class venues and accommodation, and the best public transport in the world, ready right now."

International Olympic Committee members were in Los Angeles earlier this week to meet with the U.S. bid leaders and inspect their planned venues. While Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti appeared at least willing to consider hosting the 2028 Olympics if the city isn't awarded its first choice of 2024, Hidalgo said Paris is set for the earlier edition.

"With financial and political stability and support, we are ready right now," Hidalgo said. "At the right moment, as the no risk option." The French government has pledged one billion euros ($1.1 billion) of support for the Paris bid and Macron is expected to confirm that amount. If Paris is awarded the 2024 Games, the infrastructure budget is expected to total 3 billion euros, with operational costs of 3.2 billion euros.

Paris also plans to underline the compactness of its plans to make the difference. According to the bid dossier, 84 percent of the athletes will be able to reach their competition venues in less than 25 minutes, and more than 70 percent of the proposed venues are existing facilities, with a further 25 percent relying on temporary structures.

Paris, which last staged the Olympics in 1924, failed in bids for the 1992, 2008, and 2012 Games. With the pro-business and pro-EU Macron, Paris bid leaders have a strong supporter. The new president has already thrown his weight behind Paris' bid, telling IOC President Thomas Bach over the phone of its "expected benefits for all French people."

Macron won't attend Sunday's night gala dinner with IOC members in Paris but is expected to meet with the evaluation commission on Tuesday before they leave. IOC members started their visit with discussions on Paris' proposals that will be followed by venue visits on Monday and further meetings on the final day.

NATO top brass recommend joining anti-IS coalition

May 17, 2017

BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO top brass are recommending that the military alliance join the international coalition fighting the Islamic State group. U.S. President Donald Trump has demanded that NATO do more to combat terrorism.

NATO Military Committee head General Petr Pavel said Wednesday that "there is a merit for NATO becoming a member of that coalition." Pavel said armed forces chiefs agreed "that NATO can and should do more" to increase the capacity of Iraq and other countries fighting IS to better defend themselves.

NATO's role could include training local forces and helping to build militaries and institutions. NATO countries do not want the alliance engaged in active combat against Islamic State militants, even though all are individual members of the anti-IS coalition.

Trump is scheduled to meet NATO leaders in Brussels next week.

Reformists sweep Tehran municipal vote as Rouhani wins Iran

May 22, 2017

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Reformist candidates have reportedly swept municipal elections in the Iranian capital, taking all 21 seats in Tehran as moderate President Hassan Rouhani won a second term. Iranian state television reported Monday that Mohsen Hashemi Rafsanjani, a son of the influential late former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, won more than 1.7 million votes to come in first among the candidates.

The result means reformists can replace Tehran Mayor Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, who had been a presidential candidate before withdrawing to support hard-line cleric Ebrahim Raisi. Iranian municipal councils choose mayors and decide on budgets and development projects. Iranian media reports suggest reformists won big in other areas as well.

Rouhani, a cleric whose administration struck the 2015 landmark nuclear deal with world powers, decisively won a second term in Friday's election.

Iran: Rouhani leads initial count; over 70 percent turnout

May 20, 2017

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's incumbent President Hassan Rouhani had a commanding 58 percent lead over his rivals in an initial and partial count of votes in the election, according to official figures announced Saturday morning.

Deputy Interior Minister Ali Asghar Ahmadi told journalists in a televised news conference that more than 40 million Iranians voted in Friday's election. That puts turnout above 70 percent. The strong margin for Rouhani may be enough to give him an outright victory and avoid a two-person runoff next Friday. In 2013, Rouhani won the presidential election with nearly 51 percent of the vote. Turnout for that vote was 73 percent.

Election officials repeatedly extended voting hours until midnight to accommodate long lines of voters, some of whom said they waited hours to cast their ballots. Friday's vote was largely a referendum on Rouhani's more moderate political policies, which paved the way for the landmark 2015 nuclear deal that won Iran relief from some sanctions in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program.

The 68-year-old has come to embody more liberal and reform-minded Iranians' hopes for greater political freedom at home and better relations with the outside world. Preliminary vote tallies have him ahead with 14.6 million votes, out of 25.1 million counted so far.

His nearest challenger is hard-line cleric Ebrahim Raisi, with 10.1 million votes. The two other candidates left in the race, Mostafa Mirsalim, a former culture minister, and Mostafa Hashemitaba, a pro-reform figure who previously ran for president in 2001, respectively have 297,000 and 139,000 votes each.

Iran has no credible political polling to serve as harder metrics for the street buzz around candidates, who need more than 50 percent of the vote to seal victory and avoid a runoff. Iran's president is the second-most powerful figure within Iran's political system. He is subordinate to the country's supreme leader, who is chosen by a clerical panel and has the ultimate say over all matters of state.

It is still a powerful post. The president oversees a vast state bureaucracy employing more than 2 million people, is charged with naming Cabinet members and other officials to key posts, and plays a significant role in shaping both domestic and foreign policy.

All candidates for elected office must be vetted, a process that excludes anyone calling for radical change, along with most reformists. No woman has ever been approved to run for president. Ahmadi said the Interior Ministry hopes to have final results later Saturday.

Iranians turn out in large numbers for closely watched vote

May 20, 2017

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Millions of Iranians voted late into the night Friday to decide whether incumbent President Hassan Rouhani deserves another four years in office after securing a landmark nuclear deal, or if the sluggish economy demands a new hard-line leader who could return the country to a more confrontational path with the West.

The Islamic Republic's first presidential election since the 2015 nuclear accord drew surprisingly large numbers of voters to polling stations, with some reporting waiting in line for hours to cast their votes. Election officials extended voting hours at least three times at the more than 63,000 polling places to accommodate the crowds.

Four candidates remain in the race. But for most voters only two mattered, both of them clerics with very different views for the country's future: Rouhani and hard-line law professor and former prosecutor Ebrahim Raisi.

Rouhani is a political moderate by Iranian standards, but the 68-year-old has come to embody more liberal and reform-minded Iranians' hopes for greater political freedom at home and better relations with the outside world.

His supporters are also hoping he can make better progress on improving the economy, a key issue on the minds of the country's 56 million eligible voters. Many say they are yet to see the benefits of the nuclear deal, which saw Iran limit its contested nuclear program over the objection of hard-liners in exchange for the lifting of some sanctions.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the most powerful man in Iran, symbolically cast the election's first vote. He called for a large turnout, saying "the country is in the hands of all people." In Tehran, whose liberal and affluent voters form the bedrock of support for Rouhani, lines at some precincts were much longer than those in his 2013 win. Analysts have suggested a high turnout will aid Rouhani in securing a second four-year term.

"I am happy I could vote for Rouhani," said Zohreh Amini, a 21-year-old woman studying painting at Tehran Azad University. "He kept the shadow of war far from our country." Voters who spoke to The Associated Press from the cities of Bandar Abbas, Hamadan, Isfahan, Rashat, Shiraz and Tabriz also described crowded polling places.

The turnout may have spooked Raisi's camp, who filed a complaint to authorities over what they called "election violations" even before the polls closed, according to a report by the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

Tehran Friday prayer leader Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Movahedi Kermani urged voters to elect someone who won't be a "hostage" to Western governments and their culture. "The next president should not be someone who makes the enemies happy when he is elected," said Kermani, who is an adviser to Khamenei.

Rouhani has history on his side in the election. No incumbent president has failed to win re-election since 1981, when Khamenei himself became president. The 56-year-old Raisi, who heads an influential religious charitable foundation with vast business holdings, is seen by many as close to Khamenei. Raisi has even been discussed as a possible successor, though Khamenei has stopped short of endorsing anyone.

Raisi won the support of two major clerical bodies and promised to boost welfare payments to the poor. His populist posture, anti-corruption rhetoric and get-tough reputation — bolstered by his alleged role condemning inmates to death during Iran's 1988 mass execution of thousands of political prisoners — hold appeal for conservative rural and working-class voters.

"Rouhani has turned our foreign policies into a mess and damaged our religion," said Sedigheh Davoodabadi, a 59-year-old housewife in Iran's holy city of Qom who voted for Raisi. "Rouhani gave everything to the U.S. outright" in the nuclear deal.

Both candidates urged voters to respect the outcome of the vote. Mostafa Hashemitaba, a pro-reform figure who previously ran for president in 2001, and Mostafa Mirsalim, a former culture minister, also remain in the race.

Iranians overseas were also voting in over 300 locations, including 55 in the U.S., where more than 1 million Iranians live. Hard-liners remain suspicious of America, decades after the 1953 U.S.-engineered coup that toppled Iran's prime minister and the 1979 U.S. Embassy takeover and hostage crisis in Tehran. President Donald Trump's tougher stance on Iran has stoked concern as well, though his administration this week took a key step toward preserving the Obama-era nuclear deal.

Iran's political system combines conservative clerical oversight and state control over large parts of the economy with tightly regulated but still hotly contested elections for key government posts. All candidates for elected office must be vetted, a process that excludes anyone calling for radical change, along with most reformists. No woman has ever been approved to run for president.

The president of the Islamic Republic oversees a vast state bureaucracy employing more than 2 million people, is charged with naming Cabinet members and other officials to key posts, and plays a significant role in shaping both domestic and foreign policy. But he remains subordinate to the supreme leader, who is chosen by a clerical panel and has the ultimate say over all matters of state.

The race has heated emotions and pushed public discourse in Iran into areas typically untouched in the tightly controlled state media. That includes Rouhani openly criticizing hard-liners and Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard, a paramilitary force now involved in the war in Syria and the fight against Islamic State militants in neighboring Iraq. Rouhani also found his vehicle besieged by angry coal miners during a visit to a northern mine struck by a deadly explosion earlier this month.

But authorities worry about tempers rising too high, especially after the 2009 disputed re-election of former hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that saw unrest, mass arrests and killings. Authorities barred Ahmadinejad from running in Friday's election, and Khamenei warned this week that anyone fomenting unrest "will definitely be slapped in the face."

That hasn't stopped those at Rouhani rallies from shouting for the release of the house-arrested leaders of the 2009 Green Movement. Opposition websites have said Green Movement leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mahdi Karroubi both have endorsed Rouhani against Raisi. Rouhani promised in his 2013 campaign to free the men, but that pledge so far remains unfulfilled.

Mohammad Khatami, another reformist who served as Iran's president from 1997 to 2005, also has endorsed Rouhani and received a raucous welcome when he voted, according to a clip shared on social media.

Iranian authorities say they believe the vote will exceed a 70 percent turnout.

Associated Press journalists Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran, Ebrahim Noroozi in Qom, Iran, and Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.

Polls open in first Iran presidential vote since atomic deal

May 19, 2017

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranians began voting Friday in the country's first presidential election since its nuclear deal with world powers, as incumbent Hassan Rouhani faced a staunch challenge from a hard-line opponent over his outreach to the West.

The election is largely viewed as a referendum on the 68-year-old cleric's more moderate policies, which paved the way for the nuclear accord despite opposition from hard-liners. Economic issues also will be on the minds of Iran's over 56 million eligible voters as they head to more than 63,000 polling places across the country. The average Iranian has yet to see the benefits of the deal, which saw Iran limit its contested nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of some sanctions.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the most powerful man in Iran, symbolically cast the election's first vote and called on Iranians to turn out in huge numbers for the poll. "Elections are very important and the fate of the country is in the hands of all people," he said.

After casting his ballot, Rouhani said whomever the voters elect as president should receive all of the nation's support. "Any candidate who is elected should be helped to accomplish this heavy responsibility," Rouhani said. "Anyone who is elected must be helped from tomorrow with unity, happiness and joy."

Rouhani has history on his side in the election. No incumbent president has failed to win re-election since 1981, when Khamenei became president himself. That doesn't mean it will be easy, however. Rouhani faces three challengers, the strongest among them hard-line cleric Ebrahim Raisi, 56.

Raisi, a law professor and former prosecutor who heads an influential religious charitable foundation with vast business holdings, is seen by many as close to Khamenei. Raisi has even been discussed as a possible successor to him, though Khamenei has stopped short of endorsing anyone.

Raisi won the support of two major clerical bodies and promised to boost welfare payments to the poor. His populist posture, anti-corruption rhetoric and get-tough reputation — bolstered by his alleged role condemning inmates to death during Iran's 1988 mass execution of thousands of political prisoners — are likely to energize conservative rural and working-class voters.

Mostafa Hashemitaba, a pro-reform figure who previously ran for president in 2001, and Mostafa Mirsalim, a former culture minister, also remain in the race. Iran's political system combines conservative clerical oversight and state control over large parts of the economy with tightly regulated but still hotly contested elections for key government posts. All candidates for elected office must be vetted, a process that excludes anyone calling for radical change, along with most reformists. No woman has been approved to run for president.

The president of the Islamic Republic oversees a vast state bureaucracy, is charged with naming cabinet members and other officials to key posts, and plays a significant role in shaping both domestic and foreign policy. But he remains subordinate to the supreme leader, who is chosen by a clerical panel and has the ultimate say over all matters of state.

The race has heated emotions and pushed public discourse in Iran into areas typically untouched in the tightly controlled state media. That includes Rouhani openly criticizing hard-liners and Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard, a paramilitary force now involved in the war in Syria and the fight against Islamic State militants in neighboring Iraq. Rouhani also found himself surrounded by angry coal miners who beat and threw rocks at his armored SUV during a visit to a northern mine struck by an explosion earlier this month that killed at least 42 people.

But authorities worry about tempers rising too high, especially after the 2009 disputed re-election of former hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that saw unrest, mass arrests and killings. Authorities barred Ahmadinejad from running in Friday's election, and Khamenei days ago warned anyone fomenting unrest "will definitely be slapped in the face."

That hasn't stopped those at Rouhani rallies from shouting for the house-arrested leaders of the 2009's Green Movement. Opposition websites have said Green Movement leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mahdi Karroubi both have endorsed Rouhani against Raisi. Rouhani promised in his 2013 campaign to free the men, but that pledge so far remains unfulfilled.

Mohammad Khatami, another reformist who served as Iran's president from 1997 to 2005, also has endorsed Rouhani. Supporters of the two leading candidates honked, blared music and held pictures of the hopefuls out of car windows on the traffic-clogged and heavily policed streets of Tehran late into the night Thursday, ignored a ban on campaigning in the final 24 hours before the vote.

Voting is scheduled to run until 6 p.m., though Iran routinely extends voting for several hours in elections. Iranian authorities say they believe the vote will exceed a 70 percent turnout.

Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.

India imposes security lockdown in Kashmir to stop protests

May 28, 2017

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Government forces have enforced strict curfew in parts of Indian-controlled Kashmir after Indian soldiers killed a prominent rebel commander in the disputed region. Armed police and paramilitary soldiers on Sunday patrolled deserted streets and ordered residents indoors in the region's main city of Srinagar and other towns to stop anti-India protests.

Thousands of people assembled in southern Tral area to take part in the funeral of the rebel leader Sabzar Ahmed Bhat, chanting slogans calling for Kashmir's freedom from Indian rule. One civilian was killed and dozens of others injured as massive anti-India protests and clashes followed the killings across Kashmir on Saturday. Eight militants were shot dead by security forces.

India and Pakistan administer part of Kashmir, but both claim the territory in its entirety.

Protesters march in Venezuela, destroy Chavez statue

May 07, 2017

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Women banged on pans and some stripped off their white shirts Saturday as they protested Venezuela's socialist government in an event the opposition billed as a "women's march against repression." As they marched, local media carried a video showing people toppling a statue of the late President Hugo Chavez the day before in the western state of Zulia.

Thousands of women took over streets in major cities all around the South American country. Wearing the white shirts of the opponents of country's increasingly embattled government, the women sang the national anthem and chanted, "Who are we? Venezuela! What do we want? Freedom!"

Some sported makeshift gear to protect against tear gas and rubber bullets. Others marched topless. One woman came in her wedding dress. As they have near-daily for five weeks, police in riot gear again took control of major roads in the capital city. Clashes between police and protesters have left some three dozen dead in the past month.

Local news media carried a video circulating on Twitter of the Chavez statue being pulled down. The media reported that students destroyed the statue as they vented their anger with the food shortages, inflation and spiraling crime that have come to define life here.

Several young men could be seen bashing the statue that depicted the socialist hero standing in a saluting pose, as onlookers hurled insults as the late president. Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez on Friday denounced the protest movement, and said opposition "terrorists" were attempting a kind of nonconventional warfare.

The protest movement has drawn masses of people into the street nearly every day since March, and shows no sign of slowing. On Saturday, some of the women marchers approached soldiers in riot gear to offer them white roses and invite them to join the cause.

"What will you tell your kids later on?" one woman asked. In a call with the president of Peru, U.S. President Donald Trump addressed the deteriorating situation in Venezuela. A statement from the White House's Office of the Press Secretary said Trump underscored to President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski that "the United States will work together with Peru in seeking to improve democratic institutions and help the people of Venezuela."

In Ukraine, feeling grows that the east is lost to Russia

May 05, 2017

MINSK, Belarus (AP) — Leonid Androv, an electrician from Kiev, was drafted into the Ukrainian army and spent a year fighting Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine after the conflict broke out in 2014. Now, like many other Ukrainians, he is ready to accept that those lands are lost.

"The Russians are in charge there and they are methodically erasing everything Ukrainian. So why should I and impoverished Ukraine pay for the occupation?" said Androv, 43. Long unthinkable after years of fighting and about 10,000 deaths, Ukrainians increasingly are coming around to the idea of at least temporarily abandoning the region known as the Donbass, considering it to be de facto occupied by Russia.

This would effectively kill the Minsk peace agreement brokered by Germany and France, which aims to preserve a united Ukraine. The Minsk agreement is still firmly supported both by the West and Russia, as German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin affirmed at their meeting this week.

The 2015 agreement, which Ukraine signed as its troops were being driven back, has greatly reduced but not stopped the fighting, while attempts to fulfill its provisions for a political settlement have failed.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko still stands by Minsk. In recent months, however, his government has moved to isolate the east by blocking trade and shutting off supplies of electricity and gas, demonstrating that it now considers the industrial region to be Moscow's problem.

Several factions in the Ukrainian parliament have introduced legislation that would designate those territories outside of Kiev's control as "occupied." "We should call a spade a spade and recognize the Russian occupation of Donbass," said Yuriy Bereza, a co-author of the legislation. Bereza, who commanded one of the volunteer battalions that fought in the east, called it necessary to preserve the state.

The likelihood of the legislation coming up for a vote is low, given the government's reluctance to formally acknowledge the loss of these territories. Almost half of Ukrainians, however, favor declaring the separatist-controlled areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions to be occupied, according to a poll conducted by the Razumkov Center.

Under Minsk, the two regions are to remain part of Ukraine but with "special status." They would have the right to hold their own elections. Those who fought against the Ukrainian army would receive amnesty.

These provisions have little popular support. The poll found that only 22 percent of Ukrainians were ready to grant the Donbass this "special status," while 31 percent of respondents said they found it difficult to answer. The poll, conducted in January among 2,018 people across Ukraine, had a margin of error of 2.3 percentage points.

"It is obvious that Ukrainian society supports the isolation and blockade of the Donbass. And this is exactly what is dictating President Poroshenko's behavior," said Razumkov Center sociologist Andrei Bychenko. "If Poroshenko plans to seek a second term, he has to think about the mood of society, not about the expectations of the West."

Poroshenko was elected after mass protests led to the ouster of Ukraine's Russia-friendly president in early 2014 and put the country on a path toward closer integration with the West. While still speaking about a united Ukraine, Poroshenko's government last month shut off electricity supplies to Luhansk over unpaid debts. Kiev already had stopped supplying gas to both the Luhansk and Donetsk regions and in March, Poroshenko imposed a trade blockade on the regions beyond Kiev's control.

Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters this was "one more step by Ukraine to rid itself of these territories." Although Russia quickly annexed the Crimean Peninsula at the start of the conflict, Putin has made clear he has no interest in annexing eastern Ukraine.

"The Kremlin has tried to push this cancerous tumor back into Ukraine, using Donetsk and Lugansk as a Trojan horse to manipulate Kiev," said Russian political scientist Andrei Piontkovsky. "But the Ukrainian government has had enough sense not to let it happen."

Putin, speaking to journalists Tuesday after talks with Merkel, responded angrily to a suggestion that perhaps it was time for a new peace agreement since the Donbass already had de facto separated from Ukraine.

"No one has severed these territories. They were severed by the Ukrainian government itself through all sorts of blockades," Putin said. Russia was forced to support Donbass, he added, noting that it was "still supplying a significant amount of goods, including power, and providing coke for Ukrainian metallurgical plants."

Putin and Merkel both said that despite the problems they saw no alternative to the Minsk agreement. Sergei Garmash is among the 2 million people who have left their homes in eastern Ukraine. He said there is almost nothing Ukrainian left in Donetsk, which now uses Russian rubles, receives only Russian television and survives thanks to Russian subsidies.

"Ukrainian politicians need to be brave and legally recognize this territory as occupied by Russia. This will force Moscow to pick up the bill. And the more expensive this adventure will be for the Kremlin, the sooner it will walk away," said Garmash, 45, who now lives in Kiev.

Moscow sends humanitarian convoys to the Donbass every month and pays the salaries and pensions of people who live there. Russia also supports the separatist military operations, although the Kremlin continues to deny that it sends arms and troops.

Russia has been hurt economically by sanctions imposed by the West over the annexation of Crimea and support for the separatists. "Public opinion has swung sharply toward the isolation of Donbass, and for the Kiev government it is an opportune time to shift all the expenses of the 'frozen conflict' to Moscow," said Vladimir Fesenko, head of the Penta Center of Political Studies in Ukraine.

"Of course the war in Donbass was incited by Russia to slow Ukraine's move toward Europe," Fesenko said. "But no Ukrainian politician can publicly give up on Crimea and Donbass and recognize them as part of Russia."

Androv, the Kiev electrician, said the problem is that no one knows what to do with Donbass. Likening it to a suitcase with no handle, he said: "It's too heavy to carry, but it's a shame to throw it away."

World's oldest standing army has 40 new Swiss Guards

May 06, 2017

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The world's oldest standing army has 40 new members after a Vatican Swiss Guard swearing-in ceremony. Each man took a loyalty oath Saturday evening in a ritual-rich ceremony in the St. Damaso courtyard of the Apostolic Palace. The May 6 date commemorates the day in 1527 when 147 guardsmen died while protecting Pope Clement VII during the Sack of Rome.

Earlier Saturday, Pope Francis told the Guards they're called to "another sacrifice no less arduous" — serving the power of faith. The recruits, who enroll for at least two years, must be single, upstanding Swiss Catholic males younger than 30.

Wearing blue-and-gold uniforms and holding halberds — spear-like weapons — they are a tourist delight while standing guard at Vatican ceremonies. Their main duty is to protect the pope.

Poles protest their populist govt with large rally in Warsaw

May 06, 2017

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Thousands of Poles marched through Warsaw on Saturday to protest the policies of the populist ruling party under Jaroslaw Kaczynski, describing them as attacks on the country's democracy.

Speakers at the "March of Freedom" said the government under the conservative Law and Justice party has eroded the independence of Poland's courts and other institutions to such an extent that the country would not be accepted into the European Union or NATO today if it didn't already belong.

"We will not allow Kaczynski to take us out of Western Europe. Together we will defend freedom," said Jacek Jaskowiak, the mayor of Poznan, a city in western Poland. The event was organized by the opposition Civic Platform party, but other opposition parties and the Committee for the Defense of Democracy, a civic organization, also took part.

They are concerned about how Law and Justice has consolidated power since taking office in 2015. The party has eroded the independence of the courts and the public media in a way that has also alarmed the EU.

Kaczynski said Saturday that the protesters were misguided. "Freedom exists in Poland and only those who do not perceive reality can question that," he said. City Hall, which is under the control of Civic Platform, estimated that 90,000 people took part in the protest. The police, under the government's command, put the number at 12,000.

Either way, it was much smaller than the 240,000 who protested against the government in May 2016. Separately, a yearly pro-EU parade called the Schumann Parade also took place Saturday in Warsaw.

Kosovo government loses no-confidence vote, coalition fails

May 10, 2017

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Kosovo's government on Wednesday lost a no-confidence vote, setting the scene for an early election following months of political deadlock over a border demarcation deal that critics say would mean a loss of territory for the tiny Balkan country.

Prime Minister Isa Mustafa's coalition government lost in a 78-34 vote, with three abstentions and five lawmakers not present. The outcome means that the government has collapsed about a year before an election was due.

Kosovo President Hashim Thaci formally dissolved the parliament within hours of the vote. He has invited political parties to a consultation, and is now expected to set a date for a parliamentary election within 30 to 45 days. The existing Cabinet will continue to run the country until then.

Opposition parties have blamed Mustafa's Cabinet for being unable to carry out its program and pass important laws. "The country is badly governed. The country needs a new government," said Valdete Bajrami of the opposition Initiative for Kosovo party, which proposed the no-confidence motion.

The government has been hobbled by its inability to secure a parliamentary majority to back a border demarcation deal with neighboring Montenegro. The United States has pressed Kosovo to pass a border demarcation deal with neighboring Montenegro, which remains the last obstacle before the European Union accepts to let Kosovar citizens travel visa-free in its Schengen member countries.

The deal was signed in 2015, and Mustafa withdrew a draft ratification bill last year. The opposition has claimed that Kosovo would lose territory under the agreement, an accusation denied by the government and local and international experts.

Before the vote, Mustafa had argued that the consequence of a no-confidence vote would be "the country's destabilization through creating a lack of trust in institutions, and an institutional vacuum."

The 2 ½-year-old governing coalition was made up of Mustafa's Democratic League of Kosovo, which holds the second-largest number of seats in the 120-seat parliament. The Democratic Party of Kosovo of Speaker Kadri Veseli currently has the most members in parliament.

The partnership was formed as a last resort when neither of two parties was able to form a Cabinet on its own after the 2014 parliamentary election. The no-confidence vote suggests a breakdown between the two governing partners. Speaker Veseli posted a tweet on Wednesday afternoon saying Kosovo needs a new beginning and the no-confidence vote would "open exciting new chapters of our history."

Veseli posted a video message informally launching a parliamentary election campaign, blaming Mustafa for the no-confidence vote. Mustafa responded that his government and party prevented "state degradation and released it from crime claws."

The United States embassy in Pristina pledged its continuing "steadfast support for Kosovo, its citizens, and its path to full Euro-Atlantic integration." Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008. It is recognized by 114 countries, but not by Serbia.

Semini reported from Tirana, Albania.

Czechs rally against country's president, finance minister

May 10, 2017

PRAGUE (AP) — Tens of thousands of people rallied on Wednesday in the Czech Republic's capital and other major cities against President Milos Zeman and Finance Minister Andrej Babis. The protesters gathered at Wenceslas Square in downtown Prague demanded Babis' firing and Zeman's resignation in the latest development of the Czech political crisis.

The public demonstrations follow Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka asking the president last week to get rid of the finance minister over his unexplained business dealings, especially charges that he hadn't properly explained suspicions that he avoided paying taxes.

Babis, one of the richest people in the country, has denied wrongdoing and refused to resign. He owned two major national newspapers, a radio and the Agrofert conglomerate of some 250 companies before he transferred them to a fund earlier this year after a new law limited the business activities of government ministers.

Zeman so far has refused to fire his ally, claiming the government's three-party ruling coalition first would have to dissolve their coalition agreement. Sobotka's left-wing Social Democrats are rivals of Babis' ANO centrist movement in a parliamentary election scheduled for October. ANO is a favorite to win the most seats, paving the way for Babis to become the next prime minister.

Zeman invited the leaders of the coalition parties to discuss the political crisis late Wednesday. Meanwhile, the lower house of Parliament approved a resolution alleging that Babis had "repeatedly lied" to the public and "misused his media" empire to damage his opponents.

The vote on the resolution followed a long and heated debate over recordings recently posted on social media that appeared to capture Babis and a journalist from his newspaper planning a press campaign against his rivals, including the Social Democrats.

Babis said Wednesday he "made a huge mistake" by meeting with the man in the recordings, but claimed it was a provocation to discredit him. The journalist was fired. Babis is sometimes dubbed the "Czech Berlusconi," a comparison to former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, the media tycoon who dominated Italian politics for many years.

Nighttime vandals smash some 70 headstones at Rome cemetery

May 12, 2017

ROME (AP) — Vandals have struck overnight at Rome's largest cemetery, smashing and shattering some 70 headstones and memorial monuments. Rome Mayor Virginia Raggi decried the rampage at Verano Cemetery as a "vile deed." Officials said Catholic and Jewish headstones were among the smashed monuments.

Glass frames of loved ones decorating graves were shattered, and flower vases toppled. Italian news reports said investigators suspect that a group of youths slipped into the cemetery when it was closed at night and vandalized the tombstones.

Dutch group says it will soon start cleaning up ocean trash

May 11, 2017

UTRECHT, Netherlands (AP) — A Dutch foundation aiming to rid the world's oceans of plastic waste says it will start cleaning up the huge area of floating junk known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch within the next 12 months, two years earlier than planned.

The Ocean Cleanup aims to use long-distance floating booms that act like coastlines to gather plastic as it drifts on or near the surface of the water while allowing sea life to pass underneath. The plan originally was to anchor the barriers to the sea bed with a system used by oil rigs, but the organization said Thursday it now will use anchors that float beneath the water's surface, making it much more efficient.

The Ocean Cleanup, founded by Dutch university dropout Boyan Slat, announced that testing of the first system will start off the U.S. West coast by the end of the year and barriers will be shipped to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch between California and Hawaii in the first half of 2018, two years ahead of the organization's earlier schedule. The patch is a huge area of the ocean where swirling currents concentrate the trash.

"At the ocean cleanup we always work with nature. So instead of going after the plastic, we let the plastic come to us, saving time, energy and cost," Slat, a shaggy-haired 22-year-old, told The Associated Press.

Floating barriers concentrate the plastic garbage at a central point where it can be fished out of the water and shipped back to dry land for recycling. The organization discovered that the barriers are more efficient if they are allowed to slowly drift instead of anchoring them to the sea bed.

Free-floating barriers begin to act like the plastic they aim to snare, so "the cleanup systems will automatically gravitate to those places where most plastic is," Slat said. "And that now causes the efficiency to be a lot higher because there is just more plastic in front of these systems and therefore we can now clean up 50 percent of the patch in just five years' time."

The innovative system is the brainchild of Slat, who decided to dedicate himself to cleaning up the world's oceans after he went scuba diving in Greece at the age of 16 and saw more plastic bags than fish.

The young entrepreneur's system is making waves among America's super-rich philanthropists. Last month, his foundation announced it had raised $21.7 million in donations since November, clearing the way for large-scale trials at sea. Among donors were Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel.

Nancy Wallace, director of the Marine Debris Program at the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said much of the garbage in the world's oceans is found throughout the water column — at different depths. That would likely put some of it out of reach of Slat's barriers.

However she applauded The Ocean Cleanup for bringing the issue to a broad public. "The more people are aware of it, the more they will be concerned about it," Wallace said. "My hope is that the next step is to say 'what can I do to stop it?' and that's where prevention comes in."

The organization's barriers don't catch tiny plastic particles floating in the ocean, but Slat says that by scooping up larger garbage like fishing nets, crates and other rubbish, they prevent those items breaking down into smaller particles that can be eaten by fish and other wildlife.

"Of course we will never get every last piece of plastic out of the ocean," Slat said. "There will always be a size that's too small to clean up but it's really about cleaning up the bulk — as much as possible for as little costs as possible."

Crime a battleground for German parties ahead of key vote

May 12, 2017

DUISBURG, Germany (AP) — Sarah Philipp is handing out red carnations to women browsing the lingerie stall at a quiet street market in Duisburg, adding a bright dash of color to the otherwise gray surroundings. The 34-year-old is hoping to defend her seat at Sunday's election for the regional assembly of Germany's westernmost state, which includes Bissingheim, an area built for railways workers serving the mighty steel and coal industry that once dominated the city.

The vote is a final test of the country's political mood before a general election in September and many of the issues on voters' minds in North Rhine-Westphalia are mirrored at the national level. Recently released figures on crime showing a sharp rise in violent offenses by migrants have propelled the topic to the forefront again, with nationalist parties seeking to capitalize on voters' fears.

Philipp, whose Social Democratic Party has governed North Rhine-Westphalia for the past seven years, is defensive when the topic comes up. "People tell us they feel less safe, but this isn't borne out by statistics," she says. At the same time, Philipp acknowledges that voters' fears need to be taken seriously: "You can't ignore the fact that safety is a very emotional issue."

Although Germany remains one of the safest countries in the world, a number of violent incidents have stoked angst about crime. Some of the most prominent cases have involved foreigners who had recently come to Germany as asylum-seekers.

Official figures show that while overall crime decreased slightly from 2015 to 2016, violent crime worsened. Non-Germans also accounted for a greater share of criminal suspects last year, with the biggest increase seen in the category of 'Zuwanderer' — comprising asylum applicants, people granted temporary permission to remain in the country and those resident illegally.

Zuwanderer make up 2 percent of the population yet accounted for 8.6 percent of all criminal suspects in 2016, up from 5.7 percent the year before. Easily overlooked in the broad statistics is that many of the violent crimes involved altercations in crowded refugee homes. The recent influx of migrants was also skewed toward teenage boys and young men, a population that experts say is disproportionately responsible for violent crime the world over.

The migrants who stand the greatest chance of being allowed to remain in Germany — Syrians being the biggest-single group — were underrepresented in the crime statistics. Young men from North Africa and some sub-Saharan African countries, who are unlikely to get permission to stay, have among the highest crime rates.

One of those was Anis Amri, 24, a Tunisian involved in small-time drug dealing and other petty crime until authorities decided to deport him. Before his paperwork came through, Amri stole a truck and killed 12 people at a Christmas market in Berlin. The Islamic State group later claimed responsibility.

The Berlin truck attack and a series of high-profile sexual assaults attributed to migrants over the past year appeared to support the dire predictions of critics of the government's decision under Merkel to allow in over a million asylum-seekers since 2015.

"Much of the violence we're seeing is due to the asylum and migration policy of Angela Merkel," says Marcus Pretzell, the regional head of Alternative for Germany, a nationalist party that is looking to make North Rhine-Westphalia the 13th state where it has political representatives.

A good result on Sunday would be seen as a sign that the party stands a good chance of entering the Bundestag for the first time in the Sept. 24 national election. Pretzell's party has been fanning fear of crime and migrants with a poster alluding to the sexual assaults that took place in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia's biggest city, on New Year's Eve 2015. Hundreds of women were groped and robbed, mostly by men from North Africa.

The failure by Cologne police to spot and stop the assaults prompted an outcry in Germany at the time. Merkel's party accused the state's left wing government of being lax on crime and branded governor Hannelore Kraft's most loyal aide, responsible for policing, a "security risk."

"There's a general sense of insecurity among voters, especially women, that's playing a role in this campaign," says Ina Scharrenbach, a regional lawmaker for Merkel's party, which currently is part of the opposition in North Rhine-Westphalia's parliament but is polling well.

Scharrenbach was part of the parliamentary inquiry into the New Year's assaults in Cologne. She cites measures to crack down on crime that the Christian Democrats introduced at the national level — where they share power with the Social Democrats — but denies that 'Merkel's refugees' are the main problem.

Instead, she blames the regional government for neglecting whole districts in large cities — of which this state of 18 million has many. One of those districts, Duisburg-Marxloh, made headlines last month when a 14-year-old boy was stabbed to death in a fight.

"We need to give people in these areas the feeling that the state isn't looking away," Scharrenbach says. Arnold Plickert, the regional head of Germany's biggest police union GdP, acknowledges that authorities ignored the problems in Marxloh and elsewhere for too long, but says a zero-tolerance policy is now in force.

"For the past year-and-a-half, we have been massively increasing police in these areas," Plickert says. "If someone fails to use their car indicator, listens to loud music or throws a cigarette butt on the ground, the police will ensure that the law is enforced."

But he says police and prosecutors can only solve part of the problem. Integrating migrants is key to turning crime trends around in the medium and long term, he says. "You have to say whoever comes to Germany needs to follow our rules," says Plickert. "And if they don't, then you draw a line and deport them."

Such tough talk is increasingly heard from all parties in Germany — and some migrants too. "If statistics make clear that crime is linked to migration then we need to look closely at it, but without emotion, empirically, scientifically," says Mohammed Assila. The Moroccan-born social worker has for years worked to prevent young Muslims from turning to Islamic radicalism and is familiar with all of the debates about immigration and crime.

Assila advocates a dual strategy: Offering migrants job training and education, and clearly spelling out the consequences for legal transgressions. "Repression but also prevention," agrees Philipp, the Social Democrat. "You have to do one, but you can't forget the other."

Merkel's conservative party does well in German local vote

May 08, 2017

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives came in first Sunday in a local election seen as a warm-up for her bid for a fourth term in a national election in the fall. The results in the small northern state of Schleswig-Holstein were a blow to her main national challenger, Social Democrat Martin Schulz, whose party's governing coalition was ejected from office there.

The Social Democrats had governed the region of 2.8 million people since 2012 in coalition with the Greens and the small SSW party of the region's Danish majority. Exit polls and early returns broadcast by ARD television showed Merkel's Christian Democrats, headed by local candidate Daniel Guenther, were in the lead with 32.8 percent of the vote, ahead of the second-place Social Democrats who had 26.7 percent.

Defeated Social Democratic governor Torsten Albig called it "a bitter day." Preliminary estimates indicated the Christian Democrats could form a 42-seat majority in the region's 69-seat parliament with the Greens and the pro-business Free Democrats. Or they could form a left-right coalition with the Social Democrats.

The Social Democrats would in theory have enough seats in a coalition with the Free Democrats and the Greens. Local Free Democrat leader Wolfgang Kubicki called that outcome "unlikely," however. The anti-immigration Alternative for Germany party barely cleared the 5 percent hurdle to get into parliament and thus now has seats in 12 of Germany's 16 legislatures. But it won't play a direct role in forming the local government because other parties refuse to work with it.

Regardless of the outcome of local coalition talks, the result was a damper on the mood among Social Democrats and unexpected good news for Merkel. Polls had suggested a neck-and-neck race. The Social Democrats surged in national polls after Schulz, a former European Parliament president, was nominated as Merkel's challenger in January, but the party's ratings have since sagged. The latest polls show them trailing Merkel's conservatives by about eight points.

Nationally the Social Democrats play second fiddle in a governing coalition headed by Merkel, who became chancellor in 2005. Schulz could take over as chancellor if the Social Democrats come in ahead of Merkel in the national vote on Sept. 24.

The Schleswig-Holstein vote comes a week before an election for the regional parliament in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's largest region and home to Schulz, although he is not on the ballot. The two local elections are the last ballots before the national contest.