Saudi Arabia says it will reopen Yemen airports, seaports

November 13, 2017

CAIRO (AP) — Saudi Arabia said Monday that the Saudi-led coalition fighting Shiite rebels in Yemen will begin reopening airports and seaports in the Arab world's poorest country, days after closing them over a rebel ballistic missile attack on Riyadh.

The announcement from the Saudi mission at the United Nations came after the coalition fighting Yemen's rebels, known as Houthis, and their allies faced widespread international criticism over the closure, with the U.N. and over 20 aid groups saying it could bring millions of people closer to "starvation and death."

"The first step in this process will be taken within 24 hours and involves reopening all the ports in areas controlled by" Yemen's internationally recognized government, which the coalition backs, the mission's statement said.

Those ports are in Aden, Mocha and Mukalla. For ports in rebel-held or disputed territories, like Hodeida, the mission said it had asked the U.N. to send a team of experts to discuss ways to make sure weapons can't be smuggled in.

The Saudi-led coalition hopes that will prevent "the smuggling of weapons, ammunitions, missile parts and cash that are regularly being supplied by Iran and Iranian accomplices to the Houthi rebels," the statement said.

Saudi Arabia announced it shut down all ports after a Nov. 4 ballistic missile attack on Riyadh near its international airport by the Houthis. Saudi Arabia and the United States have accused Iran of supplying the ballistic missile used in that attack, saying the missiles bore "Iranian markings." The Houthis have denied that.

For its part, Iran long has denied offering any arms to Yemen, though it has backed the Houthis and highlighted the high civilian casualties from the Saudi-led coalition's campaign of airstrikes.

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

Huge rally in Barcelona demands jailed separatists' release

November 11, 2017

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of people backing Catalonia's bid to secede from Spain packed the streets in downtown Barcelona Saturday to demand the release of jailed separatist leaders.

The rally's grassroots organizers called for 10 prominent members of the secessionist movement in the northeastern Spanish region to be freed from prison. Eight former members of Catalonia's dissolved Cabinet and two activists are in jail while Spanish authorities investigate their alleged roles in promoting an illegal declaration of independence last month in violation of Spain's Constitution.

A separate court in Madrid granted bail on Thursday to another six Catalan lawmakers also being investigated over the secession push. "We want to tell the world that we want freedom for our prisoners and freedom for Catalonia," Agusti Alcoberro, the vice president of grassroots group National Catalan Assembly, told the crowd in Barcelona, the region's capital.

Barcelona's police said 750,000 people attended the rally. Many of the protesters carried pro-independence "estelada" flags, with its white star and blue triangle superimposed over the traditional red-and-yellow Catalan colors. Many also held signs saying in Catalan "Freedom Political Prisoners" and wore yellow ribbons as a symbol of their demands.

"They (Spanish authorities) are violating many rights of freedom against our people and we come here to say that we are against that and to demand the release of our prisoners who are in prison unjustly," said 30-year-old engineer Joan Carles Roses.

Family members of the jailed separatists read messages from their loved ones to the crowd at the conclusion of the march. Also on Saturday, the pro-independence Republic Left party announced that its jailed leader Oriol Junqueras will be its top candidate for the upcoming regional elections on Dec. 21. The Catalan party is including other jailed leaders in its list for the regional parliament. Polls show that Republic Left is favored to win the upcoming ballot, although it won't secure an outright majority.

The Catalan conflict is the worst constitutional crisis to threaten Spain in nearly four decades. A day after Catalonia's Parliament voted in favor of a declaration of independence on Oct. 27, Spain's government activated extraordinary powers given to it by the Senate to fire the region's government, dissolve its parliament and call local elections.

While those separatist leaders now in jail obeyed a summons to appear in court in Madrid, deposed Catalan president Carles Puigdemont and four of his former ministers fled to Belgium, where they now await an extradition hearing to return them to Spain.

Addressing the rally in Barcelona via a video message shown on a large screen, Puigdemont said: "We need you all to be very active. We want to hear your voice, both those of us in Brussels and those in prison."

Puigdemont and his fellow separatists claim that a referendum on secession held on Oct. 1 gave them a mandate for independence, even though it had been prohibited by the nation's highest court, failed to meet international standards and was boycotted by anti-independence parties. Less than half of the electorate turned out to vote, and the referendum was also disrupted by brutal police raids.

No foreign power has recognized Catalonia's claim to independence. The European Union has warned that an independent Catalonia would be cast out of the 28-nation bloc. The most recent regional elections and opinion polls show that Catalonia's 7.5 million residents are roughly split over remaining a part of Spain or going their own way. Most pro-independence supporters feel that the Catalan language and culture would have a better chance of flourishing in a separate state and that their economic prospects would be improved.

The business sector has so far not been convinced, with over 2,000 companies transferring their headquarters out of the northeastern region in recent weeks for fears of being pushed out of the common EU market.

The Spanish Constitution says the nation is "indivisible" and that questions of national sovereignty should be addressed by the national Parliament in Madrid.

AP television producer Hernan Munoz contributed to this report.

Ousted Caracas mayor reaches Spain after fleeing Venezuela

November 18, 2017

MADRID (AP) — The ousted mayor of Caracas pledged to spread his protest against Venezuela's socialist government across the world as he arrived in Spain on Saturday, a day after escaping from house arrest and slipping past security forces into Colombia.

After embracing his wife and two daughters with a Venezuela flag draped over his shoulder, Antonio Ledezma said he was going to continue to fight Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from exile. "I am going to dedicate myself to traveling the world, to spread the hope of all Venezuelans to escape this regime, this dictatorship," Ledezma said. "Venezuela isn't on the verge of an abyss, it has fallen into the abyss."

Maduro, for his part, called Ledezma a "vampire flying around the world." Ledezma, 62, was removed as mayor of Caracas and detained in 2015 on charges of plotting to oust Maduro. He was one of the leaders of anti-government in protests that rocked Venezuela in 2014 that also led to the jailing of other prominent opponents, including his former cellmate Leopoldo Lopez, who remains under house arrest.

Ledezma's flight from Bogota landed early Saturday in Madrid where besides his family, he was greeted by the former president of Colombia, Andres Pastrana, and the former Venezuelan ambassador, Fernando Gerbasi.

Ledezma said he "felt freedom" upon touching Spanish soil and hopes to meet with Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy before starting his global tour. He did not say what countries he plans to visit. "Venezuela is completely collapsing. We can't wait any longer," he said. "We don't have any resources left, only our morale."

Ledezma told The Associated Press on Friday that his decision to flee was driven by threats intended to force the opposition to resume negotiations with Maduro's government. After slipping past intelligence police officers stationed 24 hours a day outside his residence, he passed through several police checkpoints in a long journey by car to Colombia. Colombian immigration authorities said Ledezma entered the country legally across the Simon Bolivar Bridge.

Ledezma, who thanked both Spanish and Colombian authorities for what he described as their warm welcomes, was elated after his escape. "I've lived out a James Bond movie," Ledemza said. "I made this route of more than 24 hours, passing 29 control points, checkpoints, crossing paths, accepting all the risks, and in every moment I always thought about the value of freedom."

Slovenia's president wins second term in runoff election

November 12, 2017

BLED, Slovenia (AP) — Slovenia's President Borut Pahor was re-elected to a second term Sunday after winning a runoff election against a former comedian who currently serves as the mayor of a northern town.

Pahor, 54, a veteran politician known as the "King of Instagram" for his frequent use of social media, won 53 percent of the vote to challenger Marjan Sarec's 47 percent, results from Slovenian election authorities showed after a completed preliminary count.

Pahor thanked voters and vowed to further boost their faith in democracy. He congratulated his opponent for his performance. "I will be a president of all," Pahor said. "I'll bring people together and build on what brings us closer."

Pahor is only the second Slovenian president to win a second term in office since the country gained independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991. The country of 2 million people in Central Europe is the birthplace of U.S. first lady Melania Trump and known for its Alpine mountains and lakes.

A former model like the U.S. first lady, the telegenic, blue-eyed politician has held a number of public posts and was Slovenia's prime minister before he first was elected president in 2012. Sarec was a well-known satirical comedian before entering politics in 2010 to run for mayor in Kamnik. He conceded defeat and congratulated Pahor on Sunday night, but said his success as a relative political newcomer showed Slovenian citizens wanted change.

"I'm proud to have had a possibility to run against the premiere league," Sarec said at his headquarters in Kamnik. "My result is good. It speaks for itself." Analysts had warned that Sarec's ability to make it into the runoff showed Slovenians' discontent with established politicians. Critics accused Pahor of avoiding taking stands on important issues.

Election authorities said less than 42 percent of eligible voters cast ballots in Sunday's election. Slovenia's official STA news agency says that's the lowest turnout for a presidential race since Slovenia split from the former Yugoslavia in 1991.

Key topics facing Slovenia include the economy, a border dispute with Croatia and the future of the European Union, which Slovenia joined in 2004. Slovenia's presidency carries no executive powers, but the office-holder proposes a prime minister and his or her opinion on important issues holds weight. Pahor and Sarec, while both centrists, clashed on issues such as the privatization of Slovenia's biggest bank and the composition of the country's anti-corruption body.

After voting Sunday, Pahor complained that he has been falsely viewed as a populist — which he says he is not — while Sarec was trying to assume the role of a "statesman." Pahor suggested that the "change of roles" cost him public support.

In his victory speech, Pahor, who has sought to portray himself as a unifier president, also said that he will strive to help solve problems and bridge any divisions that might exist in the Slovenian society.

Ali Zerdin contributed from Ljubljana, Slovenia and Dusan Stojanovic contributed from Belgrade, Serbia.

Polish far-right march goes global, drawing people from afar

November 10, 2017

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Fascists and other far-right extremists are set to assemble Saturday in Warsaw for a march that has become one of the largest gatherings in Europe and perhaps beyond for increasingly emboldened white supremacists.

The march held on Poland's Nov. 11 Independence Day holiday has drawn tens of thousands of participants in recent years. Extremists from Sweden, Hungary, Slovakia and elsewhere now join Polish nationalists in a public display of xenophobic and white supremacist views since the event began on a much smaller scale in 2009.

The slogan for this year's event is "We Want God," words from an old religious Polish song that President Donald Trump quoted in July while visiting Warsaw. Trump praised Poland for what he described as the country's defense of Western civilization.

Rafal Pankowski, head of the anti-extremist association Never Again, says that despite the reference to God, the march shouldn't be viewed as inspired by religious beliefs. Far-right "neo-pagans" plan to take part along with Roman Catholic groups.

"We know that Donald Trump is not the most religious man, and I think that most of the organizers are not very religious, either," Pankowski, a sociologist, said. "But they use Christianity as a kind of identity marker, which is mostly about being anti-Islam now."

The Warsaw march has grown so large it might be the world's biggest assembly of far-right extremists, he said. The organizers include the National-Radical Camp, the National Movement and the All Polish Youth, radical groups that trace their roots to anti-Semitic groups active before World War II.

In a sign of the rally's international reach, American white supremacist Richard Spencer was scheduled to speak at a conference in Warsaw on Friday — until the Polish government said Spencer wasn't welcome in the country. The far-right conference still is being held.

The emergence of Central Europe as a crucible for neo-fascism carries a number of paradoxes. The region, once stuck behind the Iron Curtain, has seen impressive economic growth since Poland, Hungary and other countries threw off communism, embraced capitalism and joined the European Union and NATO.

Few of the Muslim refugees and migrants who have arrived in Europe since 2015 have sought to settle in that part of the continent, preferring Germany and other richer countries in the West. Nonetheless, anti-migrant views run high.

Political scientist Miroslav Mares, an expert on extremism at Masaryk University in the Czech Republic, said Central Europeans hear about attacks by Islamic extremists in France, Germany and England and fear that "beyond the borders is a state of chaos and war" that could envelop them.

While extremist movements often thrive during hard times, the quality of life is better than ever now in a region that has known wars, occupation and oppression. "Central Europe is living the happiest time in its history," said Grigorij Meseznikov, president of the Institute for Public Affairs, a think tank in Slovakia. "Never was life in this region as prosperous as it is today."

But like others in the era of globalization, many people feel frustrated that the improving economy hasn't benefited them. There are complaints that wages remain much lower than in the West while inequality has grown since the end of communism.

"If you look at Slovakia, the situation 25 years ago was much worse. There was high inflation and unemployment higher than 20 percent, yet we didn't have a fascist party in the parliament," Meseznikov said. "Today, we really have a functioning economy, low inflation, declining unemployment; we are in the EU and NATO. ... And nevertheless there are fascists in the parliament."

Mares thinks a lot of the disappointment stems from a tendency by Czechs and their neighbors to compare their financial situations to those of Germans and others in the West, rather than looking east to much poorer Belarus and Ukraine and feeling encouraged by how far they have come.

The frustrations, combined with a souring mood toward established elites, have helped far-right parties in recent elections in Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic. In Poland and Hungary, right-wing governments promote tough anti-migrant policies and historical whitewashing to glorify their nations.

Meseznikov also sees Russia's encouragement of anti-European Union and anti-American views that spread on social networks as part of a "toxic mixture" behind the growth of the far-right. It could be years before the tide ebbs and reverses, according to Pankowski, the Polish expert.

Sociological data show that the generation of Poles that only has known democracy is more prone to xenophobic and far-right nationalism than their parents' generation, with younger Poles paradoxically "turning their backs on democratic values," he said.

"I think many of them will keep those far-right views inside them for decades to come," Pankowski said. "It's not an issue that will disappear."

Sicilian town had long, bloody past before "Godfather" fame

November 17, 2017

CORLEONE, Sicily (AP) — Corleone is a Sicilian medieval hill town whose bloody past began generations before "The Godfather" novels and films borrowed its name for a fictional Mafia don. It is the birthplace of several convicted real-life Mafia bosses, among them Salvatore "Toto" Riina, the reputed "boss of bosses," who died Friday at 87 in a prison ward of a northern Italian hospital.

Corleone has witnessed recent signs of rebellion against an entrenched Mafia culture where religious pageants pay tribute to reigning mob bosses, with processions stopping outside the dons' homes. A town square is named after two top anti-Mafia magistrates slain by Cosa Nostra bombings in 1992. Inaugurated in 2000, an anti-Mafia museum, together with the International Center for Anti-Mafia documentation, also educates visitors about the fallen heroes in the war against the Sicilian crime syndicate.

When native son Riina was arrested in 1993 in Palermo, schoolchildren ran into Corleone's streets in joy, rallying behind a banner that read "Finally" — their jubilation a reflection of a new and burgeoning resistance to the Mafia by a younger generation of Sicilians.

But the Mafia's grip on the town isn't easily removed. Corleone's City Hall is currently run by authorities sent from Rome's Interior Ministry after the municipal government was dissolved by government decree due to Mafia infiltration. Local public contracts have long been a traditional source of income for Cosa Nostra.

Whether the end of the Riina era will spell change for Corleone was unclear for its citizenry. Whoever his successor as the top Mafia boss may be, "I know for sure there is still a (Mafia) mentality here that we need to dismantle," said Mario Alfieri a Corleone pharmacist.

An employee of the anti-Mafia museum, Lorena Pecorella, noted that Riina died in prison, "where it was right for him to die." She said the town's negative heritage as a synonym for the Mafia will be difficult to eradicate.

"We know the negative heritage he is leaving us young people," she said. Old-timers in the town can recall when in the 1950s and 1960s, parents warned children to come home straight from school because Mafia rivalry was exploding into a killing nearly every day. Riina's predecessor as a top boss, Luciano Liggio, emerged from a string of bloody murders, including one series triggered by the killing of a Mafia don who was a prominent town physician.

Sinn Fein's divisive leader to step down after over 30 years

November 19, 2017

LONDON (AP) — Gerry Adams, the divisive politician known around the world as the face of the Irish republican movement as it shifted from violence to peace, announced Saturday that he was stepping down as leader of Sinn Fein next year after heading the party for over 30 years.

The 69-year-old veteran politician — who has been president of Northern Ireland's second-largest party since 1983 — told the party's annual conference in Dublin he would not run in the next Irish parliamentary elections.

"Leadership means knowing when it is time for change and that time is now," he said, adding the move was part of an ongoing process of leadership transition within the party. A divisive figure, some have denounced Adams as a terrorist while others hail him as a peacemaker.

He was a key figure in Ireland's republican movement, which seeks to take Northern Ireland out of the U.K. and unite it with the Republic of Ireland. The dominant faction of the movement's armed wing, the Provisional IRA, killed nearly 1,800 people during a failed 1970-1997 campaign to force Northern Ireland out of the U.K. It renounced violence and surrendered its weapons in 2005.

Although many identify Adams as a member of the IRA since 1966 and a commander for decades, Adams has long insisted he was never a member. Adams was key in the peace process that saw the signing of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement and the formation of the power-sharing government in Northern Ireland.

Many believe Sinn Fein's popularity among voters is hampered by the presence of leaders from Ireland's era of Troubles. The party is expected to elect a successor next year. Current deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald was seen as a favorite to succeed Adams.

Greeks clean up, mourn after floods kill 16; 4 still missing

November 16, 2017

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Rescue crews scoured floodwaters Thursday for residents missing after flash floods cut a swathe of destruction near the Greek capital, killing at least 16 people and tossing cars into buildings like toys.

The hardest-hit area from Wednesday's flooding was Mandra, a modest working-class district on the western outskirts of Athens. Most of the fatalities occurred there. Authorities said about 500 homes and businesses were damaged in the area.

"There is huge damage. Inestimable damage," Mandra Mayor Ioanna Kriekouki told local media. The disaster was among the worst to hit the Greek capital in decades, and the government declared a day of national mourning. Flags across the country flew at half-staff Thursday, including at the ancient Acropolis landmark in Athens.

Wednesday's flash floods, which came after a severe overnight storm, turned streets into raging torrents of mud and debris, carried away vehicles, collapsed walls of houses and businesses and submerged a section of a major highway.

Four people remained missing Thursday night, the fire department said after crews recovered the body of a man from the flooded basement of his home in the nearby Nea Peramos district. Two other missing men were found alive earlier in the day.

Those still missing were reportedly all motorists, and search and rescue efforts were concentrating along the flooded highway. Twelve of the 23 people injured remained hospitalized, including an 82-year-old woman listed as being in serious condition in an intensive care unit, the National Health Operations Center said.

Residents of the worst-hit areas struggled to clean up the devastation. Cars upended by the torrents lay piled on top of each other or flung against buildings. Some houses and businesses with collapsed walls had their interiors exposed to the elements. Rubble, twisted metal, household goods and smashed vehicles lined the roads.

"As you can see, everything is a mess," Mandra resident Katerina Sideri said. More storms lashed the Greek capital on Thursday, temporarily severing traffic on one of Athens' main central avenues, although they did not cause flash floods.

Nearly all the injuries and fatalities occurred in Mandra and the surrounding area. Twelve of the dead were found there, while the coast guard recovered the bodies of two men who were swept out to sea by the flood.

The ages of the people killed ranged the mid-30s to the 80s. Most drowned, a coroner at the hospital told local reporters, while some appeared to have been struck by debris. The victims included a truck driver swept away by floodwater, a hunter and several people who died in their flooded homes.

Local municipalities provided hotel rooms for those left homeless. The Merchant Marine Ministry said it was making arrangements for a cruise ship to provide temporary accommodation. It also said plans were being made with Greece's army and navy to provide water tankers to supply clean water to residents.

The fire department said Thursday it had received 660 calls for help to pump water from flooded homes and businesses since Wednesday morning, while it had rescued 88 people trapped in houses and vehicles.

Separately, the fire department said that following heavy rainfall around the northern town of Katerini, near Mount Olympus, it had received 300 calls for help.

Srdjan Nedeljkovic in Mandra, Greece, contributed.

Germany's Merkel looks to future despite coalition chaos

November 21, 2017

BERLIN (AP) — Chancellor Angela Merkel's chances of cobbling together a government in Germany's current parliament look slim. But the long-time leader is already signaling that she will run in any new election and it appears far too early to start writing Merkel off.

Merkel's trademark calm was on display hours after coalition talks collapsed. She brushed aside suggestions that she was a lame duck, telling ARD television that she was "a woman who has responsibility and is ready to continue taking responsibility." Her pre-election commitment to serve another four years stands, she added.

Merkel has good reasons not to be too worried about her future for now, despite recent setbacks. Germany's Sept. 24 election wasn't kind to Merkel's conservative Union bloc, whose vote tally of 32.9 percent was its worst since the first post-World War II election in 1949. But it was still easily the biggest group — far ahead of challenger Martin Schulz's center-left Social Democrats, whose disastrous 20.5-percent showing left them facing an uphill struggle to rebuild support.

While hardly helpful, the result hasn't yet triggered any serious questioning of Merkel's position inside the party. After 12 years as chancellor and 17 as her Christian Democratic Union's leader, the 63-year-old still has no obvious successor who could match her broad party support and appeal to a wide public, or indeed who is prepared yet to make a move against her.

"Merkel has not suffered yet," because she has "stayed true to her style of politics," said Manfred Guellner, the head of the Forsa polling agency. Over the years, Merkel has won widespread acceptance, though not necessarily enthusiasm, with a combination of ideological flexibility, calm decision-making and personal modesty. She has been able to overcome, or at least muddle through, sticky patches — most recently, the aftermath of her 2015 decision to allow in large numbers of asylum-seekers.

While it remains unclear who will get the blame if Germans have to vote for the second time in a few months, it was the pro-business Free Democrats who walked out of coalition talks and the Social Democrats who have refused even to contemplate them.

"She is not really being called into question," said Thorsten Faas, a political science professor at Berlin's Free University. The poor election result in part reflected the fact that "it was clear to voters that Merkel would remain chancellor," so many voted for other parties or stayed home, he added.

"The Union knows very well that switching to another person now, in this awkward situation, is not an alternative," Faas said. "What can happen to her? For now, she stays in office (and) she can be comparatively relaxed about new elections."

The only other option, assuming that other parties can't be persuaded to negotiate a coalition, would be an unprecedented minority government. Merkel says she doesn't want that. "I don't have a minority government in my plans," she said Monday. "I don't want to say never today, but I am very skeptical and I think that new elections would then be the better way."

The chancellor could benefit from a wish for stability in a new election. Or more voters could turn against mainstream parties, boosting the nationalist and anti-migrant Alternative for Germany's 12.6-percent vote share from September. Either way, it appears likely that — as in this parliament — no plausible coalition would be possible without Merkel's conservatives.

Polls so far have shown little change from the September result. It's hard to tell whether and how that will change; one potential factor is a leadership struggle inside the Christian Social Union, the Bavaria-only sister to Merkel's CDU, which has been simmering since that party performed particularly badly in the election.

On Tuesday, parliament speaker Wolfgang Schaeuble added his voice to an appeal by Germany's president, who is holding a round of meetings with party leaders, for politicians to show more readiness to compromise.

"We can be of different opinions as to how we should be governed, but it is clear that we must be governed," Schaeuble, a prominent member of Merkel's party, told lawmakers. "This is a test, but not a crisis of the state," he said. "The task is big, but it can be solved."

Merkel to meet German president after coalition talks fail

November 20, 2017

BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel is to meet with the country's president after talks on forming a new government collapsed in the night, raising the possibility of new elections. Merkel will meet President Frank-Walter Steinmeier later on Monday to brief him on the negotiations and discuss what comes next.

Preliminary coalition talks broke down late Sunday after the pro-business Free Democrats bowed out of the negotiations with Merkel's conservative bloc and the left-leaning Greens. Beside the possibility of new elections, Merkel could attempt to continue her current coalition with the Social Democrats — which that party has said it will not do — or she could try to go ahead with a minority government.

Free Democrats leader Christian Lindner told reporters his party pulled out of the weekslong talks rather than further compromise its principles.

Macron takes Europe's center stage while Merkel falters

November 21, 2017

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron looks like the last, best hope to salvage a unified Europe, as Britain drifts away and Germany bogs down. The role of knight in shining armor is one Macron relishes, whether he's standing up to U.S. President Donald Trump on climate change, mediating in Mideast crises or crusading to make Paris the world's newest financial capital.

Yet pitfalls await. The inexperienced 39-year-old must surmount many hurdles to transform France into the kind of superpower economy that could drive the rest of Europe toward prosperity. And instead of leaving Macron alone in the spotlight as Europe's superstar, German Chancellor Angela Merkel's troubles in forming a coalition at home may in fact drag him down with her.

"Macron can only really lead Europe if he is in full cooperation with Germany," said Simon Tilford, deputy director of the Centre for European Reform. "France needs an engaged, cooperative Germany." A divided, inward-looking Germany hobbles Macron's ambitious hopes of revitalizing the European Union and its shared currency through things like a banking union and harmonizing taxes. These ideas were always a hard sell in Germany, and Merkel is now too weakened to push them through.

The mood was somber in Macron's office the morning after Merkel's failure to form a coalition Sunday night. France wants "its principal partner to be stable and strong," a presidential official said. But Macron isn't giving up, and instead sees Merkel's difficulties as "reinforcing" the need for France to take initiatives to strengthen the EU, the official said.

In a Europe looking for direction, many see Macron as a much-needed captain. He's energetic, telegenic and forward-looking. He has a big head and big ideas, and doesn't apologize or flinch when critics target his "Jupiter-like" tendencies.

In just six months in power, he's secured support for a more robust European defense operation and rules cracking down on cheap labor, and pushed multinationals to pay more taxes. At European summits, he commands attention, and other leaders seek audiences with him — rivals and supporters alike.

"Along with Merkel, they are the only two leaders of any real stature in Europe at present," notably with Britain, Italy and Spain mired in other troubles, Tilford said. Macron also vaunts French grandeur — hosting Vladimir Putin in Versailles and inviting Trump to dine in the Eiffel Tower. And Macron's administration has openly lobbied to leech financial activity away from London when Britain quits the EU.

Macron cried victory when the EU voted Monday to move the European Banking Authority from Britain to Paris. "It's the recognition of France's attractiveness and commitment to Europe," he tweeted. It was based on luck as much as anything — Paris beat Dublin based on a paper draw from a bowl to break their tie. But it was a clear boost to Macron's efforts to make Paris into a post-Brexit financial capital. It also fits his vision for a more simplified, concentrated EU, since Paris already hosts the European Securities and Markets Authority.

Foreign companies welcomed the move, even if it remains to be seen which European city — if any — is first in line to replace the City of London as the continent's financial hub. Macron's status as leader of a united Europe will depend heavily on whether France's economic recovery picks up speed and joblessness goes down at last. He's just beginning to dismantle labor laws that have long scared investors away — and is already angering much of the French electorate in the process.

But Macron's success also depends heavily on Germany. In recent years, "the German engine was spinning at full speed while the French engine was practically at a halt. Now, there is uncertainty about the German engine just at the moment when the French engine is ignited again with President Macron," European Parliament member Alain Lamassoure said on Europe-1 radio.

"It is in all of Europe's interest that Germany comes out of this political crisis as soon as possible."

Bardot or de Beauvoir? France in bind over Weinstein fallout

November 19, 2017

PARIS (AP) — France, the country of both Brigitte Bardot and Simone de Beauvoir, is in a bind over where seduction ends and sexual harassment begins. Since the allegations of rape and sexual harassment emerged against Hollywood film producer Harvey Weinstein, the country synonymous with love has been torn between the image of both female icons in addressing the issue of sexual harassment and violence against women.

Many have wondered if France can address men's behavior toward women without throwing out its Don Juan national identity. "France is a country of men who love women," writer Guillaume Bigot, who has written about the Weinstein fallout in France, told The Associated Press. "Seduction is a profound part of our national identity ... the culture of the 'French lover' and the 'French kiss' is in danger because of political correctness."

Many women in France reject his viewpoint, favoring instead the writings of French feminist de Beauvoir on the oppression of women. Even before the hashtag #metoo went viral, a cruder French version — #balancetonporc ("squeal on your pig") — appeared online prompting a deluge of anonymous accounts from women denouncing alleged abusers with unprecedented openness. It seemed to signal that France would lead the way in the fight against harassment, with the posts that numbered in the hundreds of thousands and spoke of ubiquitous sexism and predation in France's culture, political and business worlds.

But so far, it appears the Don Juanists — or Bardotists — have prevailed. Although the accused include a former French minister, the former president of the Young Socialists party, a former TV news editor and the founder of a startup school, most have denied the allegations. More significantly, no powerful figures in France have lost their jobs or reputations.

Philosopher Bernard Henri-Levy has criticized the online movement, saying it's unfair to compare alleged attackers to "pigs." French defenders of seduction have warned against a puritanical, American-style backlash that could demonize romance.

Bigot pointed to France's national symbol — the young, busty Marianne — as proof of the French state-sponsored obsession with looking at beautiful women, noting that in 1969, sex bomb Bardot was chosen as Marianne's physical embodiment. Others chosen to represent her include siren Catherine Deneuve and supermodel Laetitia Casta.

French Culture Minister Francoise Nyssen, meanwhile, has provoked ire by defending director Roman Polanski amid calls to cancel a screening of his movies at a French cultural institute. Nyssen urged the French "to not condemn the work" of the Polish-born director who in the 1970s pleaded guilty to having sex in the U.S. with a 13-year-old girl whom he plied with champagne and Quaaludes. The institute said its role was not to moralize.

This year, Polanski was even honored as president of the Cesar awards, France's answer to the Oscars. In another dispute, Justice Minister Nicole Belloubet provoked consternation by suggesting a legal minimum age of 13 for sexual consent "is worth considering." Activists protested in Paris to demand that the age of consent be set at 15.

Such perceived apathy has triggered an outcry from French feminists, who laud the U.S. outpouring against harassment and accuse France of having normalized sexism. "Often in France, we hide behind the idea of gallantry for men. But this is constructed to make us hide the violence and think it is seduction," said prominent feminist Caroline de Haas.

She called the French government's response to the allegations of sexual harassment "radio silence" when compared with other countries such as Britain or the U.S. For decades, France has seen it as a point of honor to separate the public and private lives of French politicians and artists. Some say this culture has protected men such as former President Francois Mitterrand, who had a mistress and secret love child, and Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former International Monetary Fund chief accused by a New York hotel maid of sexual assault.

French President Emmanuel Macron has urged women to speak out against sexual assault, and moved quickly to strip Weinstein of the Legion of Honor award he won for producing the Oscar-winning French film "The Artist."

"We must change the whole way of thinking of our society. We must calm the impulses of domination that some men have, this sexual violence," Macron said Friday. But feminists say symbolic moves are not enough to combat the engrained sexism in France, where many appear to be confused about the line between flirtation and harassment.

The author of a French essay on seduction had to spell it out in an interview with the Madame Figaro magazine last week that harassment isn't ever positive. "A harasser is a predator, not a seducer," said Gilles Lipovetsky.

Macron unveils plan to boost French youth, fight extremism

November 14, 2017

PARIS (AP) — President Emmanuel Macron says the French government itself fueled homegrown Islamic extremism by abandoning its poorest neighborhoods — and he's promising tough and "sometimes authoritarian" new measures to combat radicalization.

Macron unveiled a multibillion-euro plan Tuesday to help France's troubled banlieues — suburban regions where crime flourishes and job opportunities are scant, especially for minorities with origins in former French colonies.

More than 5 million people live in France's poorest neighborhoods, where unemployment is 25 percent — well above the nearly 10 percent national average. For those under 30, the prospects are even worse — more than a third are officially unemployed.

Macron's answer is to provide grants for poor youths to launch startups, double the funding for public housing, expand child care, improve public transport in isolated or poor neighborhoods, offer subsidies for companies that hire disadvantaged youth and hire more local police officers.

Macron's predecessors also spent billions to try to fix the banlieues, and failed. But he's undeterred, and says the stakes are increasingly high. "Radicalization took root because the state checked out" and abdicated its responsibilities in impoverished neighborhoods, Macron said — leaving extremist preachers to fill the void.

Radical recruiters argued "I will take care of your children, I will take care of your parents ... I will propose the help that the nation is no longer offering," Macron said. Several extremist attackers who have targeted France in recent years were raised in troubled French social housing. The head of domestic French intelligence agency DGSI, Laurent Nunez, said Tuesday that nearly 18,000 people in France are on radicalism watch lists, a growing number.

Macron said his government will present about 15 measures to fight radicalization and will close "unacceptable structures" that promote extremism and "try to fracture us." Macron spent three hours Monday talking to residents in Clichy-sous-Bois, a Paris suburb where the death of two boys fleeing police led to weeks of nationwide riots in 2005, an eruption of anger over discrimination, isolation and joblessness.

On Tuesday, he visited Tourcoing in northern France, taking selfies with residents and promoting local technology entrepreneurs. Labeled by critics as the "president of the rich" for his business-friendly economic vision, Macron insisted Tuesday that his strategy will only succeed if companies hire minorities and the poor.

He promised measures to name and shame companies found to discriminate when hiring, to ensure help for teenagers seeking internships, and to include poor youths in French technology incubators. Some proposals are small but significant, such as state aid to keep libraries open later, so young people have a safe place to be after dark in dangerous neighborhoods.

European cities battle fiercely for top agencies leaving UK

November 19, 2017

BRUSSELS (AP) — Brexit is still well over year away but two European cities on Monday will already be celebrating Britain's departure from the European Union. Two major EU agencies now in London — the European Medicines Agency and the European Banking Authority — must move to a new EU city because Britain is leaving the bloc. The two prizes are being hotly fought over by most of the EU's other 27 nations.

Despite all the rigid rules and conditions the bloc imposed to try to make it a fair, objective decision, the process has turned into a deeply political beauty contest — part Olympic host city bidding, part Eurovision Song Contest.

It will culminate in a secret vote Monday at EU headquarters in Brussels that some say could be tainted by vote trading. The move involves tens of millions in annual funding, about 1,000 top jobs with many more indirectly linked, prestige around the world and plenty of bragging rights for whichever leader can bring home the agencies.

"I will throw my full weight behind this," French President Emmanuel Macron said when he visited Lille, which is seeking to host the EMA once Britain leaves in the EU in March 2019. "Now is the final rush."

At an EU summit Friday in Goteborg, Sweden, leaders were lobbying each other to get support for their bids. The EMA is responsible for the scientific evaluation, supervision and safety monitoring of medicines in the EU. It has around 890 staff and hosts more than 500 scientific meetings every year, attracting about 36,000 experts.

The EBA, which has around 180 staff, monitors the regulation and supervision of Europe's banking sector. With bids coming in from everywhere — from the newest member states to the EU's founding nations — who gets what agency will also give an indication of EU's future outlook.

The EU was created as club of six founding nations some 60 years ago, so it's logical that a great many key EU institutions are still in nations like Germany, France and Belgium. But as the bloc kept expanded east and south into the 21st century, these new member states see a prime opportunity now to claim one of these cherished EU headquarters, which cover everything from food safety to judicial cooperation to fisheries policy.

Romania and Bulgaria were the last to join the EU in 2007 and have no headquarters. Both now want the EMA — as does the tiny island nation of Malta. "We deserve this. Because as we all know, Romania is an EU member with rights and obligations equal with all the rest of the member states," said Rodica Nassar of Romania's Healthcare Ministry.

But personnel at the EMA and EBA are highly skilled professionals, and many could be reluctant to move their careers and families from London to less prestigious locations. "You have to imagine, for example, for the banking authority, which relies on basically 200 very high-level experts in banking regulatory matters to move to another place," said Karel Lannoo of the CEPS think tank. "First of all, to motivate these people to move elsewhere. And then if you don't manage to motivate these people, to find competent experts in another city."

As the vote nears, Milan and Bratislava are the favorites to win the EMA, with Frankfurt, and perhaps Dublin, leading the way for the EBA.

Norway's king hospitalized with infection

November 19, 2017

HELSINKI (AP) — Norway's royal palace says King Harald has been hospitalized with an infection and remains in satisfactory condition with improving health. The royal palace said in a short statement Sunday that the 80-year-old monarch is being treated at an Oslo hospital where he was taken Friday but didn't disclose further details.

In January 2016, Norway celebrated Harald's 25th anniversary as monarch of the Scandinavian country. Harald became king when his father Olav died on Jan. 17, 1991. The Norwegian king has a ceremonial role and isn't part of the government.

Harald celebrated his 80th birthday in February.

Robert Mugabe resigns as Zimbabwe's president after 37 years

November 21, 2017

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe, who once vowed to rule for life, resigned on Tuesday, succumbing to a week of overwhelming pressure from the military that put him under house arrest, lawmakers from the ruling party and opposition who started impeachment proceedings and a population that surged into the streets to say 37 years in power was enough.

The capital, Harare, erupted in jubilation after news spread that the 93-year-old leader's resignation letter had been read out by the speaker of parliament, whose members had gathered to impeach Mugabe after he ignored escalating calls to quit since a military takeover. Well into the night, cars honked and people danced and sang in a spectacle of free expression that would have been impossible during his years in power, whose early promise after the end of white minority rule in 1980 was overtaken by economic collapse, government dysfunction and human rights violations.

"Welcome to the new Zimbabwe!" people chanted outside the conference center where the lawmakers had met. "This is the best day of my life," one man declared as euphoric citizens celebrated on top of cars, clustered around a tank and shook hands with soldiers who were hailed as saviors for their role in dislodging Mugabe, a once-formidable politician who crushed dissent or sidelined opponents but, in the end, was a lonely figure abandoned by virtually all his allies.

"Change was overdue. ... Maybe this change will bring jobs," said 23-year-old Thomas Manase, an unemployed university graduate. It was a call echoed by many, and which pointed to the challenges ahead for Zimbabwe, which used to be a regional breadbasket but has since suffered hyperinflation, cash shortages, chronic mismanagement and massive joblessness. And, while Zimbabweans seemed almost universally united in their wish to see an end to the Mugabe era, the hard work of building institutions and preparing for what they hope are free and fair elections scheduled for next year has yet to begin.

Mugabe, who was the world's oldest head of state, said in his resignation letter that legal procedures should be followed to install a new president "no later than tomorrow." "My decision to resign is voluntary on my part and arises from my concern for the welfare of the people of Zimbabwe and my desire for a smooth, non-violent transfer of power," Mugabe said in the message read out by parliamentary speaker Jacob Mudenda.

Recently ousted Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa was to take over as the country's leader within 48 hours so that he can move "with speed to work for the country," said a ruling party official, Lovemore Matuke. Mnangagwa, who fled the country after his Nov. 6 firing, "is not far from here," Matuke added.

Mugabe's resignation ended impeachment proceedings brought by the ruling ZANU-PF party after its Central Committee voted to oust him as party leader and replace him with Mnangagwa, a former justice and defense minister who served for decades as Mugabe's enforcer, a role that earned him the moniker, "Crocodile." Many opposition supporters detest Mnangagwa and believe he was instrumental in the army killings of thousands of people when Mugabe moved against a political rival in the 1980s.

So far, Mnangagwa has used inclusive language, saying in a statement before Mugabe's resignation that all Zimbabweans should work together to advance their nation. "Never should the nation be held at ransom by one person ever again, whose desire is to die in office at whatever cost to the nation," Mnangagwa said.

Zimbabwe's military commander, Gen. Constantino Chiwenga, warned people not to target old adversaries following Mugabe's resignation. "Acts of vengeful retribution or trying to settle scores will be dealt with severely," he said.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Zimbabweans to maintain calm. The U.S. Embassy in Zimbabwe said Mugabe's resignation "marks an historic moment" and that "the path forward" should lead to free and fair elections. British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said Mugabe was "a despot who impoverished his country" and his exit is a "moment of joy" for Zimbabwe.

The end for Mugabe came when his wife, Grace Mugabe, positioned herself to succeed her husband, leading a party faction that engineered Mnangagwa's ouster. The prospect of a dynastic succession alarmed the military, which confined Mugabe to his home last week and targeted what it called "criminals" around him who allegedly were looting state resources — a reference to associates of the first lady.

In his early days as leader, after a long war between black guerrillas and the white rulers of Rhodesia, as Zimbabwe was known before independence, Mugabe stressed education and built new schools. Tourism and mining flourished. But in 2000, violent seizures of thousands of white-owned farms began, causing agricultural production to plunge. A land reform program was supposed to take much of the country's most fertile land and redistribute it to poor blacks, but Mugabe instead gave prime farms to ZANU-PF leaders and loyalists, relatives and cronies.

As the years went by, Mugabe was widely accused of hanging onto power through violence and vote fraud, notably in a 2008 election that led to a troubled coalition government after regional mediators intervened. Still, he cast himself as a voice of pride and defiance in modern Africa, a message that resonated in many countries that had experienced Western colonialism or intervention.

Mugabe once said he wanted to rule for life, expressing a desire to live until he is 100 years old. He also said he was ready to retire if asked to do so by his supporters. A year ago, he said: "If I am to retire, let me retire properly."

Zimbabwe ruling party says Mugabe goes or impeachment starts

November 19, 2017

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe's ruling party Central Committee fired longtime President Robert Mugabe as party leader Sunday, saying that if he doesn't resign as the country's president by noon Monday they will begin impeachment proceedings when Parliament resumes the following day.

Clinging to his now virtually powerless post, Mugabe was set to discuss his expected exit with the army commander who put him under house arrest days ago, in a second round of negotiations. But the world's oldest head of state was increasingly isolated in his lavish mansion, with allies departing, arrested or, like his wife, now expelled from the ruling party.

A day after huge crowds rallied peacefully in the capital, Harare, for the 93-year-old Mugabe to go, members of the ruling party's Central Committee stood, cheered and sang as Mugabe was recalled. Meeting chair Obert Mpofu referred to him as "outgoing president" and called it a "sad day" for Mugabe after 37 years in power.

"He has been our leader for a long time and we have all learned a great deal from him," Mpofu said. But Mugabe "surrounded himself with a wicked cabal" that brought him down. The meeting replaced Mugabe as party chief with the vice president whose firing nearly two weeks ago led the military to step in, and recalled the unpopular first lady Grace Mugabe as head of the women's league.

That former vice president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, is expected to lead a new government after the ruling party named him as its nominee to take over as the country's president when Mugabe goes. Without the military's intervention, the first lady likely would have replaced Mnangagwa as vice president and been in a position to succeed her husband.

The party accused the first lady of "preaching hate, divisiveness and assuming roles and powers not delegated to the office." She was removed as head of the women's league. The party's decisions will be formalized at a special congress next month.

Impeaching the president is the next step when Parliament resumes Tuesday, and lawmakers will "definitely" put the process in motion, the main opposition's parliamentary chief whip told The Associated Press.

Innocent Gonese with the MDC-T party said they had been in discussions with the ruling ZANU-PF party to act jointly. "If Mugabe is not gone by Tuesday, then as sure as the sun rises from the east, impeachment process will kick in," Gonese said.

The ruling party Central Committee also expelled several high-level members close to the first lady, including minister of higher education Jonathan Moyo, finance minister Ignatious Chombo, Mugabe's nephew Patrick Zhuwao, local government minister Saviour Kasukuwere, foreign affairs minister Walter Mzembi and several others.

Mugabe's talks with army commander Constantino Chiwenga are the second round of negotiations on an exit as the military tries to avoid accusations of a coup. Zimbabwean officials have not revealed details of the talks, but the military appears to favor a voluntary resignation by Mugabe to maintain a veneer of legality in the political transition. Mugabe, in turn, could be using whatever leverage he has left to try to preserve his legacy as one of Africa's liberation leaders or even protect himself and his family from possible prosecution.

Chris Mutsvangwa, head of the country's liberation war veterans, said he was concerned that the military could end up opening fire to protect Mugabe from protesters. He vowed to "bring back the crowd" if the president didn't step aside.

"We would expect that Mugabe would not have the prospect of the military shooting at people, trying to defend him," Mutsvangwa said. "The choice is his." Sunday's negotiations do not appear to include the South African government delegation that took part in the first round. The southern African regional bloc will hold a four-country summit in Angola on Tuesday to discuss the Zimbabwe situation.

On Saturday, most of Harare's population of 1.6 million poured into the streets in an anti-Mugabe demonstration that just days ago would have brought a police crackdown. They clambered onto tanks moving slowly through the crowds, took selfies with soldiers and surged in the thousands toward the State House building where Mugabe held official functions, a symbol of the rule of the man who took power after independence from white minority rule in 1980.

The euphoria came after years of watching the once-prosperous African nation fall into decay, with a collapsing economy, repression of free speech, disputed elections and international sanctions. Even as concerns remained about who next would be in charge and what freedoms might be available if the military lingers in power — or if Mnangagwa succeeds his longtime ally Mugabe as leader — people reveled in the rare chance to express themselves freely.

Let us have this moment, Zimbabweans said. If the next leader becomes trouble, they vowed to return to the streets again.

Zimbabwe army has Mugabe and wife in custody, secures capital

AP, AFP and Reuters
Wednesday 15 November 2017

HARARE, Zimbabwe: At least three explosions were heard in Zimbabwe’s capital early Wednesday and military vehicles were seen in the streets after the army commander threatened to “step in” to calm political tensions over 93-year-old President Robert Mugabe’s possible successor. The ruling party accused the commander of “treasonable conduct.”

An army source confirmed it is in charge of a paramilitary police support unit depot in Harare and has disarmed police officers there.

“They are now in charge of all armory, all gates and roads leading in or out of the camp. Arcturus Road (which leads to the camp) is closed and all Support Unit details with guns have been disarmed,” the source said.

The US Embassy closed to the public and encouraged citizens to shelter in place, citing “the ongoing political uncertainty through the night.” The British embassy issued a similar warning, citing “reports of unusual military activity.”

For the first time, this southern African nation is seeing an open rift between the military and Mugabe, the world’s oldest head of state who has ruled since independence from white minority rule in 1980. The military has been a key pillar of his power.

The Associated Press saw armed soldiers assaulting passers-by in the early morning hours in Harare, as well as soldiers loading ammunition near a group of four military vehicles. The explosions could be heard near the University of Zimbabwe campus.

HARARE, Zimbabwe: Zimbabwe’s army said Wednesday it has President Robert Mugabe and his wife in custody and is securing government offices and patrolling the capital’s streets following a night of unrest that included a military takeover of the state broadcaster.

The night’s action triggered speculation of a coup, but the military’s supporters praised it as a “bloodless correction.”

Armed soldiers in armored personnel carriers stationed themselves at key points in Harare, while Zimbabweans formed long lines at banks in order to draw the limited cash available, a routine chore in the country’s ongoing financial crisis. People looked at their phones to read about the army takeover and others went to work or to shops.

In an address to the nation after taking control of the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, an army spokesman said early Wednesday the military is targeting “criminals” around Mugabe, and sought to reassure the country that order will be restored.

Meanwhile South Africa on Wednesday urged Zimbabwe to resist any “unconstitutional changes.”

President Jacob Zuma “has expressed hope that developments in Zimbabwe would not lead to unconstitutional changes of government,” said a statement released in Pretoria.

Zuma appealed for “the country to resolve the political impasse amicably and has urged the Zimbabwean defense force to ensure... the maintenance of peace,” it added.

South Africa is an influential neighbor of Zimbabwe, with millions of Zimbabweans living in the country to seek work and flee Mugabe’s regime.

It was not clear where Mugabe, 93, and his wife were Wednesday but it seems they are in the custody of the military. “Their security is guaranteed,” the army spokesman said.

“We wish to make it abundantly clear that this is not a military takeover,” the army statement said. “We are only targeting criminals around (Mugabe) who are committing crimes that are causing social and economic suffering in the country in order to bring them to justice.”

The spokesman added “as soon as we have accomplished our mission, we expect that the situation will return to normalcy.” The army spokesman called on churches to pray for the nation. He urged other security forces to “cooperate for the good of our country,” warning that “any provocation will be met with an appropriate response.”

The statement called on troops to return to barracks immediately, with all leave canceled.

Overnight, at least three explosions were heard in the capital, Harare, and military vehicles were seen in the streets.

The military actions appear to put the army in control of the country. Army commander Constantino Chiwenga had threatened on Monday to “step in” to calm political tensions. Mugabe’s ruling ZANU-PF party responded by accusing the general of “treasonable conduct.” But now Chiwenga appears to be in control.

The army has been praised by the nation’s war veterans for carrying out “a bloodless correction of gross abuse of power.” The military will return Zimbabwe to “genuine democracy” and make the country a “modern model nation,” said Chris Mutsvangwa, chairman of the war veterans’ association, told The Associated Press in Johannesburg.

Mutsvangwa and the war veterans are staunch allies of Emmerson Mnangagwa, who was fired from his post of vice president by Mugabe last week. Mnangagwa fled Zimbabwe last week but said he would return to lead the country.

The US Embassy closed to the public Wednesday and encouraged citizens to shelter in place, citing “the ongoing political uncertainty through the night.” The British Embassy issued a similar warning, citing “reports of unusual military activity.”

For the first time, this southern African nation is seeing an open rift between the military and Mugabe, the world’s oldest head of state who has ruled since independence from white minority rule in 1980. The military has been a key pillar of his power.

Mugabe last week fired Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa and accused him of plotting to take power, including through witchcraft. Mnangagwa, who enjoyed the military’s backing and once was seen as a potential president, fled the country and said he had been threatened. Over 100 senior officials allegedly supporting him have been listed for disciplinary measures by a faction associated with Mugabe’s wife, Grace.

The first lady now appears positioned to replace Mnangagwa as one of the country’s two vice presidents at a special conference of the ruling party in December, leading many in Zimbabwe to suspect that she could succeed her husband. Grace Mugabe is unpopular with some Zimbabweans because of lavish spending as many struggle, and four people accused of booing her at a recent rally were arrested.

The president reportedly attended a weekly Cabinet meeting Tuesday as the military vehicles were first sighted. It was not clear where his wife was.

On Monday, army commander Constantino Chiwenga issued an unprecedented statement saying purges against senior ruling ZANU-PF party officials, many of whom like Mnangagwa fought for liberation, should end “forthwith.”

“We must remind those behind the current treacherous shenanigans that when it comes to matters of protecting our revolution, the military will not hesitate to step in,” the army commander said. The state-run broadcaster did not report on his statement.

Showing a generational divide, the ruling party’s youth league, aligned with the 52-year-old first lady, on Tuesday criticized the army commander’s comments, saying youth were “ready to die for Mugabe.”

On Tuesday night the ruling party issued a statement accusing the army commander of “treasonable conduct,” saying his comments were “clearly calculated to disturb national peace and stability” and were “meant to incite insurrection.” It was not clear whether the commander still had his post.

State broadcaster Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation read out part of the ruling party statement late in the nightly news, which was led by a report on regional tourism.

The army spokesman was not immediately available for comment.

“Yes, given the past two weeks’ political events, it is tempting to speculate that there is a connection between the deployment of military personnel and the comments of the army chief of staff on an ‘intervention’ — but there are very real dangers of violence breaking out as a result of rampant and unfounded speculation,” African Defense Review analyst Conway Waddington wrote Tuesday evening, saying there appeared to be no other signs of an “organized coup” and that it could have been an act of intimidation instead.

Mugabe in the past has warned military commanders from interfering in succession politics. “Politics shall always lead the gun, and not the gun politics. Otherwise it will be a coup,” he told supporters in July.

Frustration has been growing in once-prosperous Zimbabwe as the economy collapses under Mugabe. The country was shaken last year by the biggest anti-government protests in a decade, and a once-loyal war veterans association turned on the president, calling him “dictatorial” and blaming him for the economic crisis.

“Mnangagwa was held out by many as the best hope within ZANU-PF for piloting an economic recovery,” analyst Piers Pigou with the International Crisis Group wrote Tuesday.

Now, “Mugabe will have to employ all his guile if he intends to ensure continued accommodation with the armed forces.”

Source: Arab News.
Link: http://www.arabnews.com/node/1193606/world.

Rival US and Russian resolutions defeated on Syria weapons

November 17, 2017

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Rival U.S. and Russian resolutions to extend the mandate of experts trying to determine who was responsible for chemical attacks in Syria were defeated Thursday at a heated Security Council meeting that reflected the deteriorating relations between Washington and Moscow.

The result of the two votes means that the expert body — the Joint Investigative Mechanism known as the JIM — will cease operations when its current mandate expires at midnight Thursday. The U.S., its allies and human rights groups called it a serious blow to efforts to hold accountable those responsible for carrying out chemical weapons attacks in Syria.

During a three-hour drama, Russia first vetoed the U.S. draft resolution which was supported by 11 of the 15 Security Council members. Bolivia joined Russia in voting "no" and China and Egypt abstained.

Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia withdrew the Russian resolution over Moscow's insistence that it be voted on second not first as required under council rules. But using another council rule, Bolivia then resubmitted and called for a vote on that resolution.

It failed to receive the minimum nine "yes" votes required for adoption. Only Russia, China, Bolivia and Kazakhstan voted in favor while seven council members voted against and four abstained. Japan late Thursday proposed a 30-day extension of the JIM and the Security Council was expected to discuss it on Friday.

At the heart of the dispute was the demand by Russia, Syria's most important ally, for major changes in the way the JIM operates and the U.S. insistence that the JIM's current mandate and independence be preserved.

After the votes, the United States and Russia blamed each other for ending the JIM's operations, both insisting they wanted it to continue. "To my Russian friends, the next chemical weapons attack is on your head," U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley said. "By not having a JIM, you are basically telling the entire world that chemical weapons are OK to use. That's what we should be embarrassed about today."

Russia's Nebenzia shot back saying: "Today it became absolutely clear we need a robust professional mechanism that will help to prevent the threat of chemical terrorism in the region, and you need a puppet-like structure to manipulate public opinion — which on the basis of false information will time after time accuse the Syrian government of violating international norms."

Those who voted against the Russian resolution put forward by Bolivia "bear the full brunt of responsibility for the cessation of the operations of the JIM," Nebenzia said. Russia has been highly critical of the JIM's findings that the Syrian government used chlorine gas in at least two attacks in 2014 and 2015, and used sarin in an aerial attack on Khan Sheikhoun last April 4 that killed about 100 people and affected about 200 others who survived the nerve agent.

Syria repeated its denial of using chemical weapons. The JIM has also accused the Islamic State extremist group of using mustard gas in 2015 adsnd again in September 2016 in Um Hosh in Aleppo. Nebenzia accused the JIM of "fundamental flaws" in blaming President Bashar Assad's government for the attacks.

He cited its use of "remote working methods" and failure to visit Khan Sheikhoun, "focusing solely on dubious testimony from opposition and even terrorist groups, the disregard for the whole range of rules and methods provided for under the Chemical Weapons Convention."

Haley countered that Russia and its allies "want a JIM that doesn't have independence." "They want a JIM that doesn't have reporting," she said. "They want a JIM that they can micromanage, or that any member can micromanage."

Haley noted that this was the 10th veto by Russia to support Syria. "You have to realize when a country is playing games with people's lives," she said. "That's exactly what is happening here. And it's been happening for 10 times."

The vote took place against the backdrop of the military and political situation in Syria, where Assad's forces have gained the upper hand. A new round of U.N.-hosted Syrian peace talks is scheduled to start in Geneva on Nov. 28.

Haley said: "The only thing that today has proved is that Russia cannot be trusted in the political process with Syria." "Russia will not be a good and trusted actor because they want to control who's at fault," she said. "They want to control what happens. They want to control that area because they want to work with Iran and Syria to make sure that they have it all under control."

Nebenia said Haley "betrayed what was trying to be hidden all the time, but in fact the whole thing was envisaged and invented to show that Russia should not be trusted in the Syrian political process."

"It's not coincidental," he said, "because the political process in Syria is ... slowly gaining momentum and Russia is very instrumental in it. And so this is the very opportune moment to tell that Russia should not play the role here."

Nebenzia said he didn't think Thursday's votes would affect the Geneva talks which Russia supports.

Russia drafts legislation targeting foreign media

November 14, 2017

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian lawmakers submitted legal amendments Tuesday that would allow the government to register international media outlets as foreign agents, a retaliatory move to a demand the U.S. made to a Russian TV channel.

The amendments, which are set to be voted on Wednesday, came after the Russian state-funded RT registered with the U.S. Justice Department as a foreign agent following pressure from the U.S. government.

U.S. intelligence agencies have alleged that RT served as a tool for the Kremlin to meddle in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Russia has denied any interference. The amendments under consideration in Russia were proposed by lawmakers in the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian legislature. Deputy Speaker Pyotr Tolstoy said the revisions would give the Justice Ministry authority to register foreign media outlets as foreign agents.

Following the registration, the news outlets would be subject to requirements that already apply to foreign-funded non-governmental organization under a 2012 law on foreign agents. The law requests all groups that receive foreign funding and engage in vaguely defined political activities to register as foreign agents. Critics of the law have said the definition of political activity is so loose that it could be used against almost any non-governmental organization.

The law was approved after a slew of massive anti-Kremlin protests in Moscow in 2011-2012. President Vladimir Putin accused the U.S. of instigating them. At the same time, Putin has harshly criticized the U.S. demand regarding the RT channel as an attack on freedom of speech. He said Russia would retaliate.

The amendments to cover non-Russian media outlets are on a rapid course. The State Duma is set to approve them on Wednesday. They would then go pass quickly to the upper house and then to Putin for signing.

It wasn't immediately clear how the proposed amendments would be applied. They are broadly phrased to allow the government to declare practically any foreign media outlet as a foreign agent. But Russian officials and lawmakers emphasized Tuesday that they would take a measured approach, one strictly proportionate to the U.S. action.

Leonid Levin, head of the Duma's committee for information, emphasized that the amendments were a framework intended to provide a legal basis for government action. "It will up to the Justice Ministry to decide whom to list as foreign agents," Levin said. "I expect the amendments to be applied strictly quid pro quo in response to the moves against Russian media."

Andrei Klimov, the head of a panel established by the upper house of the Russian parliament to investigate alleged foreign interference in Russian affairs, also said the Russian government's application of the foreign media rules would be selective and mirror actions by the United States.

At the same time, Klimov kept the door open for broader restrictions in the future, saying lawmakers will ponder prospective legislation to restrict foreign nationals' involvement in Russia's affairs.

Legislation to be drafted next year could define the status of foreigners involved in "undesirable activities" in Russia, as well as Russians engaging in "undesirable cooperation" with them, Klimov said.

The Committee to Protect Journalists, a New York-based independent press freedom watchdog, criticized the U.S. Department of Justice order for the RT to register as a foreign agent as a "bad idea." "This is a shift in how the law has been applied in recent decades, so we have little information about how its reporting requirements might affect individual journalists," CPJ North America Program Coordinator Alexandra Ellerbeck said. "We're uncomfortable with governments deciding what constitutes journalism or propaganda."

At the same time, the Committee to Protect Journalists urged Russia not to take retaliatory steps. "It's outrageous that the Russian government, which has attacked, undermined, and stifled independent media, and failed to properly investigate the murders of leading independent journalists in the country, is now threatening measures to curtail the work of international media organizations," CPJ Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator Nina Ognianova said in a statement.

Ognianova added that while the U.S. move on RT was "ill-advised," Russia also would be amiss "to use it as a pretext to justify punitive action."

More than 200 killed in Iran-Iraq border tremor

2017-11-13

TEHRAN - More than 200 people were killed and hundreds more injured when a 7.3-magnitude earthquake shook the mountainous Iran-Iraq border triggering landslides that hindered rescue efforts, officials said Monday.

The quake hit 30 kilometers (19 miles) southwest of Halabja in Iraqi Kurdistan at around 9.20 pm (1820 GMT) on Sunday, when many people would have been at home, the US Geological Survey said.

On Monday morning, Iran gave a provisional toll of more than 200 dead, while only six others were reported killed on the Iraq side of the border.

"There are 207 dead and around 1,700 injured", all in Iran's province of Kermanshah, Behnam Saidi, the deputy head of the Iranian government's crisis unit set up to handle the response to the quake, told state television.

Mojtaba Nikkerdar, the deputy governor of Kermanshah, said authorities there were "in the process of setting up three emergency relief camps".

Iran's emergency services chief Pir Hossein Koolivand said it was "difficult to send rescue teams to the villages because the roads have been cut off... there have been landslides".

The official IRNA news agency said 30 Red Cross teams had been sent to the quake zone, parts of which had experienced power cuts.

In Iraq, officials said the quake had killed six people in the northern province of Sulaimaniyah and injured around 150.

Footage posted on Twitter showed panicked people fleeing a building in Sulaimaniyah, as windows shattered at the moment the quake struck, while images from the nearby town of Darbandikhan showed major walls and concrete structures had collapsed.

In Sulaimaniyah, residents ran out onto the streets and some damage to property was reported, an AFP reporter there said.

"Four people were killed by the earthquake" in Darbandikhan, the town's mayor Nasseh Moulla Hassan told AFP.

A child and an elderly person were killed in Kalar, according to the director of the hospital in the town about 70 kilometers (40 miles) south of Darbandikhan, and 105 people injured.

- Residents flee homes in Turkey -

The quake, which struck at a relatively shallow depth of 25 kilometers, was felt for about 20 seconds in Baghdad, and for longer in other provinces of Iraq, AFP journalists said.

On the Iranian side of the border, the tremor shook several cities in the west of the country including Tabriz.

It was also felt in southeastern Turkey, "from Malatya to Van", an AFP correspondent said. In the town of Diyarbakir, residents were reported to have fled their homes.

The quake struck along a 1,500 kilometer fault line between the Arabian and Eurasian tectonic plates, a belt extending through western Iran and into northeastern Iraq.

The area sees frequent seismic activity.

In 1990, a 7.4-magnitude quake near the Caspian sea in northern Iran killed 40,000 people and left 300,000 more injured and half a million homeless. Within seconds the quake reduced dozens of towns and nearly 2,000 villages to rubble.

Thirteen years later, a catastrophic quake struck the ancient southeast Iranian city of Bam, famed for its mud brick buildings, killing at least 31,000 people and flattening swathes of the city.

Since then, Iran has experienced at least two major quake disasters, one in 2005 that killed more than 600 and another in 2012 that left some 300 dead.

More recently, a 5.7-magnitude earthquake near Iran's border with Turkmenistan in May killed two people, injured hundreds and caused widespread damage.

Source: Middle East Online.
Link: http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=85904.