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Friday, April 28, 2017

After attack, France looks toward weekend presidential vote

April 21, 2017

PARIS (AP) — France began picking itself up Friday from another shooting claimed by the Islamic State group, with President Francois Hollande calling together the government's security council and his would-be successors in the presidential election campaign treading carefully before voting this weekend.

One of the key questions was if, and how, the attack that killed one police officer and wounded three other people might impact voting intentions. The risk for the main candidates was that misjudging the public mood, making an ill-perceived gesture or comment, could damage their chances. With polling just two days away, and campaigning banned from Friday at midnight, they would have no time to recover before polls open on Sunday. Candidates canceled or rescheduled final campaign events ahead of Sunday's first-round vote in the two-stage election.

On the iconic avenue in the heart of Paris, municipal workers in white hygiene suits were out before dawn Friday to wash down the sidewalk where the assault took place — a scene now depressingly familiar after multiple attacks that have killed more than 230 people in France in little over two years. Delivery trucks did their early morning rounds; everything would have seemed normal were it not for the row of TV trucks parked up along the boulevard that is a must-visit for tourists.

Hollande's defense and security council meeting was part of government efforts to protect Sunday's vote, taking place under already heightened security, with more than 50,000 police and soldiers mobilized, and a state of emergency in place since 2015.

The attacker emerged from a car and used an automatic weapon to shoot at officers outside a Marks & Spencer's department store at the center of the Champs-Elysees, anti-terrorism prosecutor Francois Molins said. Police shot and killed the gunman. One officer was killed and two seriously wounded. A female foreign tourist also was wounded, Molins said. The Islamic State group's claim of responsibility just a few hours after the attack came unusually swiftly for the extremist group, which has been losing territory in Iraq and Syria.

In a statement from its Amaq news agency, the group gave a pseudonym for the shooter, Abu Yusuf al-Beljiki, indicating he was Belgian or had lived in Belgium. Belgian authorities said they had no information about the suspect.

Investigators searched a home early Friday in an eastern suburb of Paris believed linked to the attack. A police document obtained by The Associated Press identifies the address searched in the town of Chelles as the family home of Karim Cheurfi, a 39-year-old with a criminal record.

Police tape surrounded the quiet, middle-class neighborhood and worried neighbors expressed surprise at the searches. Archive reports by French newspaper Le Parisien say that Cheurfi was convicted of attacking a police officer in 2001.

Authorities are trying to determine whether "one or more people" might have helped the attacker, Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet said. The attacker had been flagged as an extremist, according to two police officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to publicly discuss the investigation.

The gunfire sent scores of tourists fleeing into side streets. "They were running, running," said 55-year-old Badi Ftaïti, who lives in the area. "Some were crying. There were tens, maybe even hundreds of them."

The assault recalled two recent attacks on soldiers providing security at prominent locations around Paris: one at the Louvre museum in February and one at Orly airport last month. A French television station hosting an event with the 11 candidates running for president briefly interrupted its broadcast to report the shootings.

Conservative contender Francois Fillon, who has campaigned against "Islamic totalitarianism," said on France 2 television that he was canceling his planned campaign stops Friday. Far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, who campaigns against immigration and Islamic fundamentalism, took to Twitter to offer her sympathy for law enforcement officers "once again targeted." She canceled a minor campaign stop, but scheduled another.

Centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron offered his thoughts to the family of the dead officer. Socialist Benoit Hamon tweeted his "full support" to police against terrorism. The two top finishers in Sunday's election will advance to a runoff on May 7.

Associated Press Writers John Leicester, Angela Charlton and Raphael Satter in Paris, Jeff Schaeffer and Nadine Achoui-Lesage in Chelles, France, and Raf Casert in Brussels contributed to this report.

Topsy-turvy French election still has surprises in store

April 20, 2017

PARIS (AP) — A French presidential campaign that's been filled with unprecedented twists and turns still has surprises in store heading into Sunday's first-round vote. With voters in a rebellious mood and many hesitant to the end about their choices, the identities of the two candidates who will progress to a winner-takes-all May 7 runoff remain anyone's guess.

With 11 contenders — from far-left to far-right — for the 47 million registered electors to choose from, the election is a high-stakes test for the European Union and for populist leaders who would tear it down. Like Donald Trump in the United States, anti-establishment French populists Marine Le Pen and Jean-Luc Melenchon hope for an electoral electro-shock by surfing to power on voter disgust with politics as usual. Failure by both to qualify for round two would signal a receding of the populist wave that crashed over the European Union with Britain's vote last year to leave.

The months-long French campaign only seemed to grow weirder and more uncertain as polling day approached. A jobs-for-the-family financial scandal that punctured the Mr. Clean image and campaign of one-time front-runner Francois Fillon fueled the raging distrust between voters and their elected representatives. The siren call of Le Pen's 'France first' nationalist rhetoric, and Melenchon's late surge left Europe's second-largest country and third-biggest economy at a crossroads, with its future in the EU up for grabs.

The implosion of the ruling Socialist Party, with outgoing President Francois Hollande too unpopular to run again, and the stunning success of his former economy minister, Emmanuel Macron, with an upstart middle-way grassroots campaign without major party backing, threatened to dismantle postwar France's traditional left-right political divide. The threat of Islamic extremism after two years of attacks that killed more than 230 people, and with police thwarting what the government said was another planned attack this week, meant the vote was being held under heightened security, with more than 50,000 police and soldiers mobilized for Sunday. A state of emergency has been in place since 2015.

With the race too close to call, hesitant voters agonized over whether to follow their hearts or their heads in the first round, meaning either backing their candidate of choice or casting a strategic vote aimed at keeping out candidates they didn't want to have to choose between on May 7.

"It's complicated," real estate agent Felix Lenglin said during his lunch-time break in a Paris park. "We have to vote to stop the extremes but among the moderates, it's a really difficult choice." The nightmare scenario for global financial markets is a second-round duel between the equally sharp-tongued Le Pen and Melenchon. Victory for either could, in the wake of the Brexit vote, deliver a possibly knockout punch to the stated EU ambition of ever-closer union between the peoples of Europe because both want to tear up agreements that bind together the 28 EU states.

Melenchon says "the Europe of our dreams is dead." He proposes "disobeying treaties from the moment we take power" and negotiating new EU rules — followed by a referendum on whether France should leave the bloc it helped found. "We either change the EU or quit it," Melenchon's manifesto says.

The "totalitarian" EU has also long been one of Le Pen's pet hates and constant target for her virulent nationalist discourse. She wants an in-out referendum on France's EU membership, a new French franc to replace the common euro currency, and re-imposed French borders to staunch what she describes as out-of-control immigration. Like her father, National Front founder Jean-Marie Le Pen, in 2002, she hopes for an electoral coup by making the runoff. But pollsters suggest that, like him, she would likely lose on May 7 to any of the other top three opponents.

Or, alternatively, voters could step back from the brink of such radical change and opt for the more moderate Fillon, a conservative former prime minister, and Macron, an electorally untested former investment banker unknown to voters before his two-year stint as Hollande's business-friendly economy minister.

Their resilience has been among the election's many surprises: Fillon because his campaign seemed mortally wounded by revelations that his wife and children benefited from cushy, and allegedly illegal, publicly funded jobs and Macron because his startup electoral campaign caught fire despite hostility from the political establishment.

Macron's relative lack of government experience made some voters hesitant about putting him in charge of France's nuclear arsenal, its permanent seat at the U.N. Security Council, its fight against Islamic extremism and its role as a key player in international crises.

"The presidential costume is a bit big for him," said Paul Rousselier, a Paris banker who plans to vote for the 39-year-old anyway. "There's North Korea, Turkey, the thwarted (terror) attack — all things that could tip the vote."

Fillon and Macron's ambitions have also come at a broader political cost. Fillon's refusal to quit the race, as he'd previously said he would, in March when investigators pushed ahead with their probe into his family's jobs as parliamentary aides further discredited the political elite in the eyes of many voters.

By quitting Hollande's government to run as an independent, Macron also sucked away voters from the Socialist Party's candidate, Benoit Hamon. Hamon's near-irrelevance in the election's closing stages, with his poll numbers in freefall, presented Socialist electors with the dilemma of whether to "vote utile" — cast a useful vote for a candidate likely to make the second round — or waste it on Hamon's apparently doomed campaign.

"I'll be a bit like everyone and follow the opinion polls," said would-be Hamon voter Guillaume Deslandes, who was considering switching to Macron. "I'll hesitate to the end." Voting stations open at 8 a.m. Sunday, with initial TV projections of the outcome expected some 12 hours later, followed by official results.

Hundreds march against far-right French presidential hopeful

April 16, 2017

PARIS (AP) — Hundreds of demonstrators in France marched on Sunday to protest far-right National Front leader and presidential candidate Marine Le Pen, saying that basic freedoms would disappear if she were elected.

Some protesters threw firebombs at police during the march from suburban Aubervilliers to a Paris neighborhood where Le Pen is scheduled to hold a rally on Monday. Officers responded with tear gas during the small skirmishes.

Fernanda Marrucchelli said Le Pen's anti-immigration party "is fighting our essential freedoms, our rights, no matter if we are French or immigrant." A banner at the front of the march read "Paris-Suburbs Against the National Front. Marchers handed out tracts denouncing xenophobia and racism that they allege Le Pen and her anti-immigration party represent.

Anti-racism activist Omar Slauti said the fight against Le Pen should be in the streets, not the ballot box, denouncing the "extreme-right populism" that has spread around Europe. Le Pen, who wants to pull France out of the European Union, is one of the top contenders in France's first-round presidential vote on April 23. A presidential runoff is being held May 7 between the top two-vote-getters.

The far-right leader has worked to erase the image of racism and anti-Semitism that for years defined her party. She wants to restore a French identity that she claims has been erased by "massive immigration," mainly from former French colonies in Muslim North Africa.

Facebook targets 30,000 fake France accounts before election

April 14, 2017

PARIS (AP) — Facebook says it has targeted 30,000 fake accounts linked to France ahead of the country's presidential election, as part of a worldwide effort against misinformation. The company said Thursday it's trying to "reduce the spread of material generated through inauthentic activity, including spam, misinformation, or other deceptive content that is often shared by creators of fake accounts."

It said its efforts "enabled us to take action" against the French accounts and that it is removing sites with the highest traffic. Facebook and French media are also running fact-checking programs in France to combat misleading information, especially around the campaign for the two-round April 23-May 7 presidential election.

European authorities have also pressured Facebook and Twitter to remove extremist propaganda or other postings that violate European hate speech or other laws. Facebook ramped up its efforts against the spread of false news and misinformation on its service in December, a month after the U.S. presidential election. The company said at the time that it will focus on the "worst of the worst" offenders and partner with outside fact-checkers and news organizations to sort honest news reports from made-up stories.

It was accused of allowing the spread of false news in the months leading up to the U.S. election, which critics said may have helped sway the results in favor of Donald Trump. Since December, the company has broadened its efforts beyond the U.S.

Last week, it launched a resource to help users spot false news in 14 countries including the U.S., France and Germany. It's a notification, available for a few days, that leads users to a list of tips for spotting false news and ways to report it.

Facebook's other efforts include participating with other companies and tech industry leaders to establish a "news integrity" nonprofit organization to promote news literacy and increase the public's trust in journalism. A nascent Facebook Journalism Project , meanwhile, is a lofty effort to work with news organizations to develop products, provide tools for journalists and generally promote trust in news.

Macron's singular life could help make him France's president

April 13, 2017

LE TOUQUET-PARIS-PLAGE, France (AP) — From his teenage romance with a teacher to his recent ambition to become president, Emmanuel Macron often is described as unconventional and tenacious — traits that could make him France's next leader in an election marked by anti-establishment frustration.

The 39-year-old independent centrist was unknown to the French people until he became the country's economy minister three years ago. He never has held elected office. Yet through a combination of skill and timing, he now is considered the front-runner in the country's two-round presidential election on April 23 and May 7.

"He's a man who, when needed, can make decisions and who wants to make them," essayist-philosopher Olivier Mongin, a friend of Macron's for 18 years, said. Neighbors and friends in Paris and in Le Touquet-Paris-Plage, a chic coastal town where the candidate spends weekends, describe a man with exceptional listening skills who has followed an untraditional trajectory in both his public and private lives.

Macron is married to a woman 24 years his senior, the same age difference between U.S. President Donald Trump and his wife, Melania. The possible future first couple met when he was a student at the high school where she was a teacher.

Then known as Brigitte Auziere, a married mother of three children, she was supervising the drama club. Macron, a literature lover, was a member. Macron moved to Paris for his last year of high school, but promised to marry Brigitte.

They've been together ever since. She eventually moved to the French capital to join Macron and divorced. The couple finally married in 2007. Brigitte Macron is now campaigning by his side, as is one of her daughters, Tiphaine Auziere.

"He was always interested in public affairs, civic life, but I never heard him say he wanted to be president," step-daughter Auziere said. "However, I always saw him being involved..., saying there are some things that we should change in society in order to tackle injustices."

Mongin told The Associated Press that Macron's political determination also comes from his singular personal life. "He is someone who took risks in his life," Mongin said about Macron's decision to live out his love story with an older woman.

"His parents threw him out, he slammed the door. There is a life experience here, there is something a bit hard," Mongin added. Macron has an impressive curriculum vitae. He studied philosophy, was awarded for his skills as a pianist, attended France's elite Ecole Nationale d'Administration for graduate school and worked at Rothschild as a successful investment banker.

French people discovered Macron when he was nominated economy minister in August 2014, after two years as a top adviser to Socialist President Francois Hollande. As a minister, he rapidly became a love-it-or-hate-it topic during family meals around the country.

A package of economic measures to allow more stores to open Sundays and open up regulated sectors of the economy, known as the Macron law, drove tens of thousands of people to the streets for months of protests across France.

Outspoken, he fierily advocated for pro-free market policies even as many colleagues from the governing Socialists accused him of destroying worker protections. Yet he comes from a town with working-class roots — Amiens in northern France, where he was born, grew up, and met Brigitte.

Observers suggested Macron played a double game when he quit the Socialist government last year without telling Hollande his true ambitions. He launched his presidential bid in November before the unpopular president had announced whether he would seek re-election.

Macron's entry into the race is viewed as one of the main factors behind Hollande's decision not to pursue a second term. "What seduced a lot of people -and I think he is not a seducer- it's his capacity of putting forward an argument, taking time to speak, taking time to ponder," Mongin said.

For two decades Macron has divided his time between Paris, were he had his professional life, and weekends in Le Touquet-Paris-Plage, an elegant seaside resort. With roughly 4,000 permanent inhabitants — and several thousand more in summertime — the town is a tranquil place most of the year. Families recall socializing with the Macrons in the summer, drinking an aperitif on the beach while children played together.

Gregoire Campion, 62, has known the couple for about 20 years. He talks about Macron as "Manu, a cool guy, open-minded." "I thought it was a wonderful (love) story. On top of that he was very well-accepted by Brigitte's children," Campion said. "It's a proof of commitment, the same way as he commits himself for France."

Until recent months, Macron could be seen walking to the tennis club, taking out the garbage, shopping with his wife. Jacques Guilbert, a former member of the Socialist Party in his 60s, joined Macron's movement, En Marche! (In Motion!), created a year ago.

He said he was convinced by his "friendly" and "simple" style. "When you are facing him, he looks you in the eyes, and he listens to you without interrupting. And he answers you when you have finished," he explained.

Auziere said family is important to her step-father. Macron urged her and her longtime partner to get married, especially when their second child was born in 2015. At the time, they told him, laughing: "'No, we will (get married) when you are president of the Republic.' And he replied: 'I dare you!' So now we look silly if it ever happens!" she said.

The whole family plans to unite at a big rally in Paris on Monday — something common in U.S. campaigns but rare in France. Brigitte Macron doesn't hesitate to appear by her husband's side in front of the cameras.

Catherine Gaschka contributed from Paris

France election: Far-left Melenchon enjoys late poll surge

April 12, 2017

PARIS (AP) — With a bleed-the-rich video game and suggestions of a "Frexit," French far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon is rattling financial markets by rising in polls just 11 days before the country's presidential vote.

Melenchon's surge is the latest surprise in a roller-coaster campaign that's being closely watched around Europe and has featured a strong dose of anti-establishment populism. Most polling agencies still show that centrist Emmanuel Macron and far-right candidate Marine Le Pen are leading ahead of the April 23 first round presidential vote, with the top two vote-getters advancing to the May 7 presidential runoff. Yet Melenchon, once a distant fifth, has risen in recent polls to roughly third, about even with conservative presidential candidate Francois Fillon.

Melenchon's sharp-tongued wit and eloquent anti-capitalist rhetoric during the two presidential debates helped boost his standing among an electorate frustrated with France's traditional left and right parties, which have failed to create jobs or pull the country out of its economic stagnation.

Promising to heavily tax the rich and renegotiate France's role in the EU and trade pacts, Melenchon is also giving financial markets a new reason to worry. A possible French departure from the EU — a "Frexit" — would be devastating to the bloc.

Investors are growing more cautious ahead of the presidential election in the eurozone's second-biggest economy. The difference between the 10-year bond yields of France and Germany has risen to its widest in six weeks, as investors flock to the perceived safety of German debt.

"With the growing threat of Euroskeptic parties destabilizing the eurozone's unity weighing heavily on sentiment, the euro may be in store for further punishment," Lukman Otunuga of FXTM said Wednesday.

Melenchon, 65, is an unlikely iconoclast. He spent decades in mainstream politics, serving in a Socialist government and in parliament. He now leads a far-left alliance that includes the Communist Party.

Yet Melenchon tapped into the populist zeitgeist — and the social media revolution — years ago. An early Twitter user, he has mastered tweets targeting the world of finance. His YouTube channel - started for the 2012 presidential campaign, where he finished fourth — has garnered 21 million views. He's using holograms to broadcast election rallies to multiple cities at once.

And his campaign has generated new attention in recent days thanks to a goofy online game called Fiscal Kombat created by his supporters. The player — represented by a rudimentary caricature of Melenchon — grabs leading politicians and shakes them until money falls from their pockets. The money, presumably stolen from the masses, can then be used to build a more egalitarian economy.

His anti-EU, anti-globalization rhetoric echoes that of Marine Le Pen, his rival on the far right. But on immigration and Islam — key campaign issues — Melenchon is staking out the opposite ground from Le Pen.

At a Mediterranean Sea rally on Sunday, Melenchon held a moment of silence for the thousands of migrants killed trying to cross the sea in hopes of a better life in Europe. "Listen - it's the silence of the death," he told the crowd. "It is up to us to say that emigration is always forced exile, a suffering."

Calling himself the "candidate of peace," he's lobbying to quit NATO and denounced U.S. President Donald Trump's retaliatory missile strikes in Syria as a "criminal, irresponsible act." He's also campaigning hard for renewable energy — and wants French voters to eat more quinoa.

Thanks to his poll surge, Melenchon's rivals are increasingly attacking him instead of each other, saying he'd lead the economy to collapse. Some fellow leftists are frustrated that he and Socialist presidential candidate Benoit Hamon didn't join forces; together they enjoy more poll support than anyone else.

Melenchon's rise is also worrying French President Francois Hollande, a moderate Socialist who's so unpopular that he is not running for re-election. "This campaign smells bad," Hollande is quoted as saying in an interview being published Thursday in Le Point magazine, warning of the danger of "Melenchon-style" irresponsible populism.

While clearly enjoying the attention, Melenchon is also playing it down. "I'm doing the work that needs to be done," he told reporters. "It's the voters who will decide."

Anti-Brexit advocate launches tactical UK voting campaign

April 26, 2017

LONDON (AP) — Businesswoman Gina Miller, who took the British government to court in a successful bid to win Parliament a vote on Brexit, launched a campaign Wednesday to back pro-EU candidates at the ballot box.

Miller has raised 300,000 pounds ($385,000) in a week through crowd-funding for a campaign to support tactical voting in Britain's June 8 general election. Her group, Best for Britain, says it will fund candidates from any party who promise to keep "all options open" for Britain's exit from the European Union and are willing to vote against a bad deal.

Miller, 51, backed the losing "remain" side in last year's EU membership referendum, but the group says it is not trying to overturn the result — just to ensure that Britain gets the best possible future relationship with the bloc.

British Prime Minister Theresa May called an early election last week, urging voters to give her Conservative party a big majority to strengthen her hand in EU exit negotiations. All 650 seats in Parliament are now up for re-election. The Conservatives are hoping to increase their 330 seat tally — and the main opposition Labour Party is battling to hang onto its current 229 seats.

Supporters of the EU fear May's insistence that Britain must leave the bloc's single market in order to control the country's immigration will severely damage the British economy. Miller, a financial entrepreneur, was the lead plaintiff in a Supreme Court case demanding that May's government get parliamentary approval before triggering Brexit. The court agreed that May needed Parliament's approval — which was granted in March.

The court case made Miller one of the best-known foes of Brexit, and brought her online abuse and harassment. A 50-year-old aristocrat, Rhodri Colwyn Philipps, has been charged with making racially aggravated threats against the Guyana-born Miller.

"The abuse hasn't died down," Miller said. "Several people have tried to destroy me in every way — my reputation, my safety, whatever." "But at the same time I have a huge sense of responsibility" to those who supported her campaign, she said. "I have decided to embrace the idea that people think I have something to offer."

Back to the ballot box: UK lawmakers approve June 8 election

April 19, 2017

LONDON (AP) — British voters will be heading to polling stations for the third time since 2015, after lawmakers overwhelmingly backed Prime Minister Theresa May's call for a snap election on June 8. The parliamentary election comes less than a year after Britain voted to leave the European Union, and will likely be dominated by the political and economic upheaval spawned by Brexit.

May, who took office in July after an internal Conservative Party leadership race, wants the election to increase her majority in Parliament and consolidate her power as she faces both pro-EU opposition politicians and hard-core Brexit-backers inside her own party.

Lawmakers voted Wednesday by a resounding 522 to 13 to back May's call for an election, easily surpassing the two-thirds majority in the 650-seat House of Commons needed to trigger an early vote. May wasted no time, going from the vote in Parliament to kick off her campaign with a speech in to supporters northwestern England.

She said the Conservatives would provide "strong and stable leadership" for Brexit and beyond, and promising to wage "a positive and optimistic campaign." Earlier, May said holding an election in June, rather than as scheduled in 2020, would "deliver a more secure future for our country" as it negotiates its departure from the EU.

She said that waiting until 2020 would mean the "most sensitive" part of the two-year Brexit negotiations would come during the run-up to an election. "That would be in nobody's interest," May said. Now that lawmakers have approved the election, Parliament will be dissolved at midnight on May 2, 25 working days before election day.

The opposition Labour Party and Liberal Democrats welcomed the chance to put their policies to voters, though the Scottish National Party called the election a cynical political ploy. Its lawmakers abstained during Wednesday's vote.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the election "gives the British people the chance to vote for a Labour government that will put the interests of the majority first." Despite Corbyn's bravado, his party is demoralized and divided under his left-wing leadership and is expected to fare badly. Polls give the Conservatives a double-digit lead over Labour, and May is gambling that an election will deliver her a personal mandate from voters and produce a bigger Conservative majority.

May's Conservatives currently hold 330 House of Commons seats and Labour 229. Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said that, for May, calling the election is "the political equivalent of taking candy from a baby."

"She expects a coronation and not a contest," Farron said, urging voters to back his strongly pro-EU party to stop a Conservative landslide. The Lib Dems currently have just nine seats in Parliament. May dismissed criticism of her decision to call voters back to polling booths for the third time in just over 24 months. A national election in May 2015 was followed by the June 2016 referendum on EU membership.

She said the early ballot would strengthen Britain's negotiating hand with the 27-member EU. "Brexit isn't just about the letter that says we want to leave. It's about ... getting the right deal from Europe," May said.

EU officials say Britain's surprise election will not interrupt the bloc's preparations for Brexit talks — though they will slightly delay the start of negotiations. Leaders of EU states are due to adopt negotiating guidelines at an April 29 summit, and the bloc will prepare detailed plans for the talks with Britain by late May.

It had been hoped talks could start by the end of that month, but EU Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas said Wednesday that "the real political negotiations" with Britain would not start till after the June 8 election.

May ruled out participating in televised debates with other leaders. TV debates don't have a long history in British politics, but were a feature of the last two elections, in 2010 and 2015. "We won't be doing television debates," May said, adding that politicians should spend election campaigns "out and about" meeting voters.

One broadcaster, ITV, said it planned to hold a debate with or without the prime minister. Liberal Democrat leader Farron said that broadcasters should hold debates anyway, with an empty chair in May's place.

"The prime minister's attempt to dodge scrutiny shows how she holds the public in contempt," he said.

Danica Kirka in London and Raf Casert in Brussels contributed to this story.

UK leader calls for early election to boost Brexit bid

April 19, 2017

LONDON (AP) — Delivering the latest jolt in Britain's year of political shocks, Prime Minister Theresa May called Tuesday for a snap June 8 general election, seeking to strengthen her hand in European Union exit talks and tighten her grip on a fractious Conservative Party.

With the Labour opposition weakened, May's gamble will probably pay off with an enhanced Conservative majority in Parliament — but it's unlikely to unite a country deeply split over the decision to quit the EU.

May returned from an Easter break in the Welsh mountains to announce that she would make a televised statement on an undisclosed subject early Tuesday outside 10 Downing St. Speculation swirled and the pound plunged against the dollar amid uncertainty about whether she planned to resign, call an election or even declare war.

Since taking office after her predecessor David Cameron resigned in the wake of Britain's June 23 vote to leave the EU, May had repeatedly ruled out going to the polls before the next scheduled election in 2020. But on Tuesday, she said she had "reluctantly" changed her mind because political divisions "risk our ability to make a success of Brexit."

"We need a general election and we need one now," May said. "Because we have, at this moment, a one-off chance to get this done, while the European Union agrees its negotiating position and before the detailed talks begin."

For decades British prime ministers could call elections at will, but that changed with the 2011 Fixed-Term Parliaments Act, which established set polling days every five years. Now, the prime minister needs the backing of two-thirds of lawmakers and May said she would put her election call to the House of Commons on Wednesday.

"Let us tomorrow vote for an election. Let us put forward our plans for Brexit and our alternative programs for government and then let the people decide," May said. Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the main opposition Labour Party, welcomed May's announcement, making it very likely she will get lawmakers' backing for an election.

May's governing Conservatives currently have a slight majority, with 330 seats in the 650-seat House of Commons. With Labour demoralized and divided under left-wing leader Corbyn and the pro-EU Liberal Democrats holding just nine Commons seats, May is calculating that the election will bring her an expanded crop of Conservative lawmakers.

That would make it easier for her to ignore opposition calls for a softer EU exit — making compromises to retain some benefits of membership — and to face down hard-liners within her own party who want a no-compromise "hard Brexit" that many economists fear could be devastating.

Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London, said that even for a cautious politician like May, the temptation of an early election was irresistible. "She has a small majority, a big task ahead of her and a huge opinion poll lead," he said. "If you put all those things together they equal a general election."

Bale said a bigger majority would give May a new batch of loyal Conservative lawmakers and leave her less at the mercy of euroskeptics in her party "who otherwise could have made negotiations much more difficult."

May triggered a two-year countdown to Britain's exit from the EU last month, and high-stakes negotiations to settle divorce terms and agree on a new relationship are expected to start within weeks. European Council President Donald Tusk tweeted that he had a "good phone call" with May about the election, and the council said the bloc's Brexit plans were unchanged by the announcement. Leaders of EU states are due to adopt negotiating guidelines at an April 29 summit, and the bloc will prepare detailed plans for the talks with Britain by late May.

Labour, the second-largest party in Parliament, campaigned for Britain to remain in the EU, but Corbyn said he would respect voters' decision to leave. He said Tuesday that Labour's election platform in June would be for a more equal society and economy, and "a Brexit that works for all."

Polls give May's Conservatives a double-digit lead over Labour, which could have its worst election showing in decades. But the election still carries risk for May, with voters' potentially wary at being asked to go to the polls again, less than a year after the EU referendum.

"I think actually it makes her look a little bit arrogant and a little bit complacent," said Liberal Democrat lawmaker Alistair Carmichael. "She's taking people for granted already and voters never like that."

The strongly pro-EU Liberal Democrats have seen thousands of new members join since the referendum and are likely to make gains. Leader Tim Farron said Tuesday that only his party can prevent a "disastrous hard Brexit."

Rather than helping the country unite, the election could widen divisions within the United Kingdom. The U.K. voted 52 percent to 48 percent to leave the EU, but Scotland backed remaining by a large majority, and Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is seeking to hold a referendum on independence from the U.K.

Sturgeon said Tuesday that May was seeking "to crush the voices of people who disagree with her." It was "all the more important," she said, "that Scotland is protected from a Tory (Conservative) Party which now sees the chance of grabbing control of government for many years to come and moving the U.K. further to the right — forcing through a hard Brexit and imposing deeper cuts in the process."

The Scottish National Party currently holds 54 of Scotland's 59 seats in the British Parliament, making it the third-largest party there. Still, currency markets welcomed May's announcement as a harbinger of greater stability. The pound surged 0.7 percent against the dollar to $1.2658, recovering from a 0.4 percent drop an hour earlier as rumors swirled about the surprise statement.

Associated Press writer Danica Kirka in London contributed to this report.

Cyprus reunification talks restart, tough challenges ahead

April 11, 2017

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Against the backdrop of Turkey's referendum on expanding presidential powers, talks aimed at reunifying ethnically divided Cyprus were restarted Tuesday with rival leaders hoping to claw back diminished trust and lost momentum after a two-month halt.

But the United Nations-mediated negotiations still face difficult challenges, with the island's Greek Cypriot president accusing the breakaway Turkish Cypriot leader of backpedaling on key issues at Turkey's prompting after many months of solid progress.

The minority Turkish Cypriots, meanwhile, say Greek Cypriots pay lip service to their core demand of equal partnership in the running of an envisioned federation — especially on holding the federal presidency alternately.

It's still unclear if talks can result in a deal both sides can rally behind. Cyprus was split in 1974 when Turkey invaded following a coup mounted by supporters of union with Greece. A breakaway Turkish Cypriot state in the island's north is recognized only by Turkey which keeps more than 35,000 troops there.

With talks delving deeper, bargaining has become more complicated. President Nicos Anastasiades said Turkish Cypriot conditions on how they'll be represented in decision-making bodies would "paralyze" the state. Moreover, he said Turkey's demand that its citizens be granted the freedom to relocate and transfer money, services and goods to Cyprus as part of any peace deal would mean "Cyprus' takeover through peaceful means."

Compounding the difficulties is Turkey's condition for its troops and military intervention rights to stay in place after reunification, something that Turkish Cypriots say ensures their security but Greek Cypriots strongly reject.

Meanwhile, acrimony over legislation making a brief reference to a 1950 referendum on union with Greece mandatory in Greek Cypriot schools has sharpened divisions among Greek Cypriots. The legislation was reversed last week following Turkish Cypriot protests, but the move splintered Greek Cypriot opinion between those who saw it as necessary to get talks back on track and those who saw it as acquiescing to Turkey's will.

Anastasiades called the legislation kerfuffle a pretext for Akinci to halt talks ahead of Sunday's referendum on whether to concentrate more power in the hands of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who sought to project toughness in order to woo the nationalist vote.

Belarus march against nuclear power on Chernobyl anniversary

April 26, 2017

MINSK, Belarus (AP) — About 400 people have marched in Belarus' capital to mark the anniversary of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster and protest the construction of a nuclear plant in the country.

Wednesday was the 31st anniversary of the explosion and fire at the nuclear plant in neighboring Ukraine. The disaster spewed fallout-contaminated smoke over a wide swath of northern Europe. About a quarter of Belarus' territory was contaminated and a 2,200-square-kilometer (85-square-mile) sector of Belarus was declared unfit for human habitation.

The demonstrators said authorities are increasingly allowing crops to be grown on contaminated land. They also urged authorities to stop the construction of the nuclear plant, which will open in 2019.

Unlike recent opposition rallies that saw hundreds arrested, Wednesday's march in Minsk was sanctioned by authorities.

California Reaches Solar Milestone, Electricity Prices Turn Negative

Climate Nexus
12 April

Solar power met roughly half of California's electricity demand for the first time on March 11, according to new estimates from the federal Energy Information Administration (EIA).

EIA estimated that almost 40 percent of electricity on the grid between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. came from California's large-scale solar plants, with smaller solar installations on homes and businesses supplying the rest. When factored with other sources of clean energy in the state, renewable energy accounted for more than 55 percent of power on the grid on March 11.

The abundant supply of solar in California this winter and spring has driven wholesale prices near zero or into the negative during certain hours.

"In March, during the hours of 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., system average hourly prices were frequently at or below $0 per megawatthour (MWh)," the EIA said in its report.

"In contrast, average hourly prices in March 2013–15 during this time of day ranged from $14/MWh to $45/MWh. Negative prices usually result when generators with high shut-down or restart costs must compete with other generators to avoid operating below equipment minimum ratings or shutting down completely."

Source: EcoWatch.
Link: http://www.ecowatch.com/california-solar-energy-prices-2357256997.html.

Portland Commits to 100% Renewables, Joins 25 Other Cities

Lorraine Chow
12 April

The city of Portland and Multnomah County in Oregon are joining the growing list of communities transitioning entirely to renewable energy.

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury made the announcement Monday at the June Key Delta Community Center in North Portland—the site of a former gas station-turned green building.

Portland is likely the largest city in the U.S. to take this ambitious step, the Sierra Club told the Portland Business Journal. The two areas join 25 other communities that have made similar announcements.

According to Oregon Live, the plan involves meeting all electricity needs from renewable sources by 2035. To up the ante, fossil fuels for heating and transportation will also be phased out by 2050.

Wheeler acknowledged that this commitment would not be easy.

"They will be difficult to achieve," the newly elected mayor said.

"We're actually going to have to make deliberate steps, and deliberate investments, and deliberate policy changes in order for this to become a reality," Wheeler said, adding "and I'm committed to that."

Oregon Live noted that "the city and county can lead the way in some respects, but much of the heavy lifting will depend on utilities and the market for electric vehicles accelerating." For instance, utilities like Portland General Electric will have to quickly phase out coal and other fossil fuels.

As EcoWatch mentioned previously, committing to 100 percent renewables is not as far-fetched as it seems. The Solutions Project, which is aiming to make clean energy accessible and affordable for all, is advocating for towns, cities, states and even the whole country to convert its energy infrastructure to renewables.

The Solutions Project team published a study and roadmap illustrating how each U.S. state can replace fossil fuels by tapping into the renewable resources they have available, such as wind, solar, geothermal, hydroelectric, as well as small amounts of tidal and wave power.

The authors found that converting the nation's energy infrastructure into renewables is ideal because it helps fight climate change, saves lives by eliminating air pollution, creates jobs in the rapidly booming renewable energy sector and also stabilizes energy prices.

Source: EcoWatch.
Link: http://www.ecowatch.com/portland-commits-renewable-energy-2357245545.html.

UN set to wrap up Haiti peacekeeping mission in mid-October

April 13, 2017

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The Security Council is set to wrap up the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Haiti by mid-October after more than 20 years, in recognition of "the major milestone" the country has achieved toward stabilization following recent elections.

The council is scheduled to vote Thursday on a draft resolution that extends the mandate of the mission, known as MINUSTAH, for a final six months during which the 2,370 military personnel will gradually leave.

The resolution will create a follow-on peacekeeping mission for six months to be known as MINUJUSTH comprising 1,275 police who will continue training the national police force. It says the new mission should be operational when the old mission's mandate ends on Oct. 15.

The United States is currently reviewing the U.N.'s 16 far-flung peacekeeping operations to assess costs and effectiveness. U.S. ambassador Nikki Haley told the Security Council on Tuesday that thanks to recent elections in Haiti "the political context is right" for a new and smaller mission.

The draft resolution recognizes the country's return to "constitutional order" and major steps toward stabilization following presidential and legislative elections. But it also recognizes the need for international support to strengthen, professionalize and reform the police — and to help the country promote economic development and face the "significant humanitarian challenges" following Hurricane Matthew which struck last October.

The draft reiterates the need for security in the country to be accompanied by efforts to address "the country's extreme vulnerability to natural disasters." Sandra Honore, the U.N. envoy for Haiti, told the council on Tuesday that "Haiti's political outlook for 2017 and beyond has significantly improved" following elections. This has opened "a crucial window of opportunity to address the root causes of the political crisis" that preceded the elections and address "the many pressing challenges facing the country," she said.

The draft resolution says that MINUJUSTH, in addition to helping train the police, should assist the government in strengthening judicial and legal institutions "and engage in human rights monitoring, reporting and analysis."

It would also authorize the new mission "to protect civilians under imminent threat of physical violence" in areas where it's deployed and "to use all necessary means" to carry out its mandate in supporting and training Haiti's police.

'I cannot go back': South Sudan refugee clan begins new life

April 28, 2017

IMVEPI, Uganda (AP) — Eighty-year-old Alfred Wani walks across the wooden bridge over the Kaya River, the border between South Sudan and Uganda, clinging to his Bibles and family photo album, with his wife, three goats and 27 relatives in tow. Missing are a few sons (off fighting) and his cattle (stolen).

Alfred is one of more than 800,000 South Sudanese who have fled to Uganda since July. The civil war in South Sudan has killed tens of thousands and driven out more than 1.5 million people in the past three years, creating the world's largest refugee crisis.

The Bidi Bidi refugee camp in Uganda is now the biggest in the world, but Alfred is not going there. It's full. Imvepi is his destination, where the Ugandan government will issue him with a 50-square-meter (60-square-yard) plot of land and hope for a better life.

But that will take a week, two more camps and three more truck and bus rides with his clan and their salvaged belongings. Alfred walks two hours by foot to the first U.N. processing center for South Sudan refugees in the small Ugandan village of Busia. There, Alfred, a blind man named Ringo with two canes and countless others spend the night before being transferred by minibus to the Kuluba transit camp, 45 minutes down the road. It's set up to accommodate and dispatch more than 1,000 refugees a day.

Michael Lowe, Alfred's 28-year-old son, directs the women of their family to carry their belongings into the white tent they will share with Ringo and his wife, Charly Kenisha, for the next 48 hours. During that time, a well-oiled routine will take them through the hands of charities like the International Rescue Committee and Medical Teams International, who will do medical exams and vaccinations.

Alfred sits in a prized wooden chair carried from South Sudan while the grandchildren play. He opens his photo album. "These are my sons." He points at a fading color image showing five of his eight sons. Six are still fighting in South Sudan. "And this is my favorite photo . me and my bicycle."

Alfred, a farmer, shares a few regrets: "If I was young again, I would raise more cattle, and build a good house in concrete, and also pay for my kids' school. I didn't go to school and neither did my children."

In the morning, all the family's belongings are repacked and reloaded onto a truck for transport to Imvepi. More than 1,500 people will be transported in buses adorned with the word "Friends" on the side.

Sixty kilometers (36 miles) and two hours later, the convoy arrives at Imvepi, which is growing at a rate of over 2,000 refugees each day. Already a bustling town has emerged at the entrance to the processing camp, with locals offering vegetables, fish, clothing and cellphone credit at highly inflated prices.

In the morning, Alfred wakes up in pain. The night has been difficult, with no sleep and a bout of diarrhea. He spends the morning at the clinic, which makes it too late for his clan to move today. They will spend one more night in tent 7A. The clan includes eight heads of families, some orphans and several widows from the war or disease: A representative sample of South Sudan's rural society, squeezed into a tent.

As the line of trucks starts to fill up the next morning with goods and 500 people for the final leg of their journey, the clan sits amid their belongings under the broiling sun. More than 50 people in each pickup truck are driven the 15 kilometers (9 miles) to their plots of land on newly cleared dirt roads.

Peeking through the cover of the truck, Alfred can see the white tents that have mushroomed across the land, smell the smoke of their kitchen fires and hear the laughter of children. Soon he will be able to once again sit in his wooden chair, his trademark cowboy hat on his head, and call it home.

The next day, from his chair under an acacia tree, Alfred shouts his commands as his sons set up a tent. The sons cut branches from surrounding trees to build the frame of Alfred's dwelling. As the women and children settle in, Alfred and his wife, Kassa, reminisce.

"We met at home 70 years ago. No, 60! And this is my only wife," Alfred says. Alfred and Kassa have to move inside the unfinished tent with the others when a fierce storm moves in. They all cling to each other, 10 people on 5 square meters (54 square feet) of dirt floor.

Alfred whispers: "Are we going to get a solid house and not a tent?" Tens of thousands of the refugees already have built the type of brick homes that Alfred now desires to replace the mud hut in South Sudan he was forced to abandon.

The couple does not hold out hope of returning home to South Sudan. "I saw the killing, I saw burning houses, I saw the dead with their throats slashed," Alfred says, clutching his cowboy hat tightly. "I cannot go back and see it again."

South African opposition protests Zuma, who celebrates 75th

April 12, 2017

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Tens of thousands of South Africans on Wednesday marked the 75th birthday of President Jacob Zuma with a protest against him, pushing for his resignation because of scandals and his dismissal of a widely respected finance minister. The president, meanwhile, danced at a party where well-wishers said they loved him.

The rally in the capital, Pretoria, which followed nationwide protests on Friday, comes amid sharp criticism of Zuma within the ruling African National Congress party, although the president still commands the support of powerful ANC factions. Zuma, who is in his second five-year term after becoming president in 2009, has become a flashpoint for concerns about government corruption and mismanagement in one of Africa's most powerful economies.

"Take a permanent holiday!" said one protest sign mockingly wishing a happy birthday to Zuma. Some demonstrators carried a mock coffin covered with a South African flag. Crowds gathered at a central square and marched peacefully to the Union Buildings, which house Zuma's offices. Police estimated the crowd size in Pretoria at 30,000. Protest organizers said the number was higher.

The protest united groups with sharply different ideologies. The Democratic Alliance, the main opposition party, includes many members of the white minority that still controls much of the economy 23 years after the end of apartheid. The smaller Economic Freedom Fighters party, led by former ruling party member Julius Malema, says it seeks the rapid transfer of land and industry to South Africa's poor black majority.

"All political parties have come together to send one message," Malema said. "Zuma must leave office, and the soonest he does that, the better, because this country must recover economically." Later Wednesday, Zuma attended a birthday party for him in the Soweto area of Johannesburg, sitting in a high-backed armchair on a stage before dancing. Supporters praised him, saying he would overcome political challenges and serve out his term until 2019.

Zuma last month fired Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, who coincidentally turned 68 on Wednesday, in a Cabinet reshuffle. Some top ruling party leaders openly criticized the decision. Two agencies, Fitch and Standard & Poor's, responded by lowering South Africa's credit rating to below investment grade, raising concerns about a weakening currency and price increases in a country with high unemployment.

In a birthday message, the ruling party commended Zuma for his record as an anti-apartheid leader and tenure as president. Zuma spent 10 years in the same Robben Island prison where Nelson Mandela was held, but his anti-apartheid record has been overshadowed by scandals, including the spending of millions of dollars in state funds on his private home. He paid back some money after the Constitutional Court ruled against him last year.

On Monday, Zuma said many white demonstrators calling for his resignation are racist. Opponents described the remark as an affront to legitimate protest. Key allies, including the South African Communist Party and the country's biggest labor group, have urged Zuma to resign. The divided ANC, however, is seeking to project an image of unity and says it will defeat an opposition bid to oust Zuma in a parliamentary vote of no confidence.

A small opposition party has opened a court challenge to try to have the vote conducted by secret ballot, which analysts believe could allow some ANC lawmakers to vote against Zuma with less fear of reprisal from ruling party loyalists. The vote, originally scheduled for April 18, has been delayed pending the outcome of the legal challenge.

Israeli defense officials: Assad still has chemical weapons

April 19, 2017

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli defense officials said on Wednesday that Syrian President Bashar Assad still has up to three tons of chemical weapons. The assessment, based on Israeli intelligence, was revealed to reporters two weeks after a chemical attack in Syria killed at least 90 people. Israel, along with much of the international community, believes that Assad's forces carried out the attack.

A senior military official told reporters that the Israeli intelligence estimates that Assad has "between one and three tons" of chemical weapons. The assessment was confirmed by two other defense officials. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity under military briefing rules.

Assad has denied the allegations that he was behind the April 4 attack in the opposition-held town of Khan Sheikhun in Syria's southern Idlib province. The United States and many other nations have called the attack a chemical weapons attack and accused the Syrian government of responsibility. In response, the United States fired nearly 60 missiles at a Syrian air base it suspected of being the launching pad for the attack. Israel, which welcomed the U.S. strike, was notified two hours ahead of time, the military official said.

The Syrian government has been locked in a six-year civil war against an array of opposition forces. The fighting has killed an estimated 400,000 people and displaced half of Syria's population. Assad agreed in 2013 to declare and dispose of all his chemical weapons under U.N. supervision, but his forces have repeatedly been accused of using them since then.

The disarmament, which was carried out amid a chaotic conflict, has always been the subject of some doubt, and there is evidence that the Islamic State group and other insurgents have acquired chemical weapons.

A fact-finding mission from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, an international watchdog, is investigating the incident and is expected to issue a report within two weeks. Turkish and British tests also have concluded that sarin or a substance similar to the deadly nerve agent was used in the Idlib attack.

Syria agreed to give up its chemical weapons arsenal to avert U.S. strikes in September 2013, following a chemical weapons attack in the Damascus suburbs in August that year that killed hundreds of people and sparked worldwide outrage.

Ahead of disarmament, Assad's government disclosed it had some 1,300 tons of chemical weapons, including sarin, VX nerve agent and mustard gas. The entire stockpile was said to have been dismantled and shipped out under international supervision in 2014 and destroyed. The chemical weapons were shipped outside Syria and destroyed abroad, with the most toxic material disposed of at sea aboard a U.S. ship. But doubts began to emerge soon afterward that not all such armaments or production facilities were declared and destroyed.

Earlier this week, Assad's former chemical weapons research chief told Britain's The Telegraph that Syria had "at least 2,000 tons" of chemical weapons before the war and only declared 1,300. Former Brig. Gen. Zaher al-Sakat said the Syrian government still possessed hundreds of tons of chemical weapons.

Israel has largely stayed out of the civil war raging in its northern neighbor. But it has carried out a number air strikes against suspected arms shipments bound for Assad's ally Hezbollah in Lebanon, and in retaliation to errant fire into the Golan Heights.

Dozens still missing in Sri Lankan garbage collapse; 29 dead

April 17, 2017

MEETOTAMULLA, Sri Lanka (AP) — Rescuers were digging Monday through heaps of mud and trash that collapsed onto a clutch of homes near a Sri Lankan garbage dump, killing at least 29 people and possibly burying dozens more.

Hundreds had been living in the working-class neighborhood on the fringe of the towering dump in Meetotamulla, a town outside of Colombo, when a huge mound collapsed Friday night during a local new year celebration, damaging at least 150 homes.

By Monday morning, authorities had pulled 29 bodies from beneath the debris, according to lawyer Nuwan Bopage, who has worked with locals to protest the dump. Authorities were unsure how many more could still be trapped, but about 30 people were still reported missing, Bopage said.

Soldiers were digging with backhoes and shovels, as relatives of the missing pointed out where their houses once stood amid coconut, mango and banana trees. Those homes now lay in piles of collapsed concrete walls encased in a wall of mud up to 25 feet (8 meters) high and mixed with plastic bags, broken glass and other trash. Bicycles and auto-rickshaws, the three-wheeled vehicles used as local taxis, were crushed or lying topsy-turvy.

Rasika Sanjeewa, 41, his wife, two sons and a daughter had a narrow escape. Just as he stopped his auto-rickshaw and he and his family stepped to the ground, his daughter said the ground seemed to be moving beneath her feet.

"There was a strong wind from the side of the dump and my daughter shouted the mound is splitting. Suddenly one slice of the mound came crashing down. The whole area was shaking," Sanjeewa told The Associated Press on Monday.

Debris blocked their way but they waited and eventually found their way out. Sanjeewa's family had been heading to their friends' home to celebrate the new year. The home was buried and their friends, a mother and daughter who worked as laborers in the area, had died, Sanjeewa said.

The prime minister over the weekend vowed to shut down the dump, which has absorbed much of Colombo's garbage for several years as much of the capital has undergone extensive renovations. As the garbage piled up, the growing mound began threatening the tiny homes nearby, prompting residents to stage regular protests while complaining of health hazards.

"These people did not choose to live next to a dump. But they brought the garbage in and made this place horrible," said rickshaw driver Dilip Mirmal, 34, whose home was spared while those surrounding were completely subsumed, killing 23 of his neighbors.

"This is a government-made disaster," he said. "I have a mix of feelings, of anger, frustration and sorrow. We have been trying to protest and raise these issues, but no one was listening." Another 11 people injured in the garbage collapse were being treated in a hospital.

Supreme Court bans Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia

April 20, 2017

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia's Supreme Court on Thursday banned Jehovah's Witnesses from operating anywhere in the country, accepting a request from the justice ministry that the religious organization be considered an extremist group.

The court ordered the closure of the group's Russian headquarters and its 395 local chapters, as well as the seizure of its property. The Interfax news agency on Thursday quoted Justice Ministry attorney Svetlana Borisova in court as saying that Jehovah's Witnesses pose a threat to Russians.

"They pose a threat to the rights of citizens, public order and public security," she told the court. Borisova also said Jehovah's Witnesses' opposition to blood transfusions violates Russian health care laws.

Yaroslav Sivulsky, a spokesman for Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, said in a statement they are "greatly disappointed by this development and deeply concerned about how this will affect our religious activity."

Jehovah's Witnesses said they would appeal the ruling. Jehovah's Witnesses claim more than 170,000 adherents in Russia. The group has come under increasing pressure over the past year, including a ban on distributing literature deemed to violate Russia's anti-extremism laws.

Human Rights Watch criticized Thursday's decision as an impediment to religious freedom in Russia. "The Supreme Court's ruling to shut down the Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia is a terrible blow to freedom of religion and association in Russia," said Rachel Denber, deputy Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

The rights group also expressed concern that if the ruling takes effect, Jehovah's Witnesses could face criminal prosecution and punishment ranging from fines to prison time.

Scientists say 'alien' fungus threatens European salamanders

April 19, 2017

BERLIN (AP) — Europe's salamanders could be decimated by a flesh-eating alien species that has already wreaked havoc in some parts of the continent, scientists said in a study published Wednesday. Researchers who examined the impact of the alien invader — a fungus native to Asia — on fire salamanders in Belgium and the Netherlands found it to be lethal to the amphibians and almost impossible to eradicate.

The study published in the journal Nature Research provides a drastic warning to North America, where the fungus hasn't yet taken hold. "Prevention of introduction is the most important control measure available against the disease," said study co-author An Martel, a veterinarian at the University of Ghent, Belgium, who specializes in wildlife diseases.

The B. salamandrivorans fungus, which likely was imported to Europe by the pet trade — causes skin ulcers, effectively eating the salamander's skin and making it susceptible to secondary bacterial infections.

Martel and her colleagues began studying the effect of the fungus in early 2014, four years after it was first recorded in Europe. Within six months, the population of fire salamanders at the site in Robertville, Belgium, had shrunk to a tenth of its original size. Two years later less than one percent of the distinctive yellow-and-black patterned amphibians had survived, according to the study.

Sexually mature salamanders appeared to be particularly prone to becoming infected with the fungus due to their contact with other individuals, preventing them from producing new generations. Furthermore, researchers found the fungus was able to form spores with thick walls that allowed it to survive for longer and spread further, including on the feet of water birds.

Other amphibian species, including newts and toads, were also susceptible, either making them carriers of the fungus or ill themselves. Finally, infected animals failed to develop an immune response that might allow some of the salamander population to survive and ultimately prevail against its new foe, which has already been detected in 12 populations in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. Conservationists in the United States are already monitoring wetlands for signs of the fungus .

"For highly susceptible species like fire salamanders, there are no available mitigation measures," Martel told The Associated Press. "Classical measures to control animal diseases such as vaccination and repopulation will not be successful since there is no immunity buildup in these species and eradication of the fungus from the ecosystem is unlikely."

In a separate comment published by Nature, Matthew C. Fisher, an expert in fungal epidemiology at Imperial College London who wasn't involved in the study, backed the researchers' suggestion that the only way to save Europe's salamanders may be to keep a healthy population in captivity — at least until a cure is found.

"It is currently unclear how (the fungus) can be combated in the wild beyond establishing 'amphibian arks' to safeguard susceptible species as the infection marches relentlessly onwards," said Fisher.

European court rules against Russia over 2004 school siege

April 13, 2017

MOSCOW (AP) — The European Court of Human Rights ruled Thursday that Russia failed to adequately protect victims of a 2004 school siege in the city of Beslan that left more than 330 people dead, a verdict that Moscow said it would appeal.

The France-based court said authorities did not take necessary preventive measures to save lives. It said the security forces' use of tank cannon, grenade launchers and flame-throwers contributed to casualties among the hostages. It also noted failures to increase security before the attack despite imminent threats against schools in the area.

A group of 32 heavily armed radical Islamic militants seized the school on the first day of class on Sept. 1, 2004, herding more than 1,000 people into the gymnasium and holding them hostage for nearly three days. The siege ended in gunfire and explosions, leaving 334 dead, more than half of them children. Over 800 people were wounded.

The court ordered that Russia pay nearly 3 million euros ($3.2 million) in total compensation to the 409 Russians who brought the case to the ECHR; they include people who were taken hostage, or injured or are relatives of the hostages or those killed and injured.

The Russian Justice Ministry, announcing its intention to appeal, contended that the judges failed to grasp the gravity of the situation during the siege and specifics of efforts taken to free the hostages.

The ministry said the court's assessment of indiscriminate use of weapons by Russian special forces was groundless, citing results of an official Russian probe into the siege. Dmitry Peskov, the spokesman for President Vladimir Putin, also rejected the court's view of disproportionate use of force by the government, saying that "such hypothetical assessment is hardly acceptable."

He told reporters in a conference call that Russia, as a country that came under numerous terror attacks, can't accept the ruling. "Such wording is absolutely unacceptable for a country that came under attack," Peskov said.

"All the necessary legal action regarding this ruling will be taken," he added. The head of the Mothers of Beslan group, Aneta Gadieva, said the payment ordered was meager. "Somebody will get 5,000 euro, somebody will get 20,000 euro. That's a small sum in compensation for moral damages," she was quoted as telling state news agency Tass.

Chechen rebel warlord Shamil Basayev claimed responsibility for organizing the school siege. It came amid a particularly violent period in the Islamist insurgency that was connected with the fight between Russian forces and Chechen separatists. A week before the seizure, suicide bombers downed two Russian airliners on the same night, killing a total of 90 people, and another suicide bomber killed 10 people outside a Moscow subway station.

Jim Heintz in Moscow and Angela Charlton in Paris contributed to this report.