Windsor gears up for royal wedding, embraces Harry, Meghan

May 19, 2018

WINDSOR, England (AP) — Meghan Markle will have an heir to the British throne walk her down the aisle — and have her mother and friends on hand for support — when she marries Prince Harry at Windsor Castle.

Friday's announcement that Markle has asked her future father-in-law Prince Charles to offer a supporting elbow, stepping in for Markle's father after he became ill, meant arrangements were almost complete for Saturday's royal wedding.

The event's mix of royalty, celebrity, pomp and ceremony has drawn stratospheric levels of interest around the world and will be broadcast live to tens of millions. Kensington Palace said Prince Charles "is pleased to be able to welcome Ms. Markle to the royal family in this way" after Markle's father Thomas was unable to attend due to illness.

Thousands of well-wishers descended Friday on Windsor amid final preparations for the wedding, which has drawn royal fans and an international media throng to the castle town and royal residence 25 miles (40 kilometers) west of London.

Union Jacks have been unfurled, security barriers and police patrols put into place and fans were already camping out to capture the prime viewing positions for Saturday's royal carriage ride through the town.

Harry and Prince William, his brother and best-man, delighted royal fans when they emerged from Windsor Castle late Friday afternoon to greet well-wishers. If Harry was feeling nervous, he didn't show it. The smiling prince gave a thumb's up and answered "Great, thank you" when asked how he was feeling on the eve of his wedding. The 33-year-old prince accepted a teddy bear from one well-wisher as he chatted to people from Britain, the United States, Canada and elsewhere.

Tens of thousands of spectators, including many Americans who have come in support of the California-born Markle, are expected in Windsor to soak up the royal atmosphere. British police say they will be subject to airport-style security scanners and bag searches. Metal barriers have also been erected to stop vehicle attacks like the ones that killed several people on London and Westminster bridges last year.

Sniffer dogs and mounted patrols are also out and about, and well-wishers have been asked not to throw confetti when the newlyweds ride through town in a horse-drawn carriage Saturday. "It poses a potential security risk and it's a bit of a pain to clean up!" said Thames Valley Police.

Buckingham Palace also announced that Queen Elizabeth II's husband the Duke of Edinburgh will attend the royal wedding, just a few weeks after undergoing a hip replacement operation. Harry's 96-year-old grandfather has largely retired from public duties and it had not been clear earlier whether he would be well enough to attend.

Markle's mother, Doria Ragland, flew to England from her California home earlier in the week and had tea Friday with the queen at Windsor Castle. It was her first meeting with a head of state within whom she's about to share a family bond.

On Thursday, Ragland dined with William's family and a day earlier she met Charles and his wife Camilla. Ragland had been was the bookies' favorite to escort the bride down the aisle, but Charles has a lifetime of experience in appearing at large-scale public events amid intense scrutiny.

"I think some people will be disappointed — people who were looking forward to the historic moment of a woman walking her daughter down the aisle, and a woman of mixed race heritage from America. It would have made an historic shot," said royal historian Robert Lacey.

But, he added, "for Prince Charles, the future king, to walk a bride down the aisle, what more could Meghan dream of?" Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, who will conduct the wedding ceremony, said Charles is "a very warm person and that he's doing this is a sign of his love and concern and support. And I think it's wonderful. It's beautiful."

The archbishop also said Harry and Markle are "a very self-possessed couple" and the atmosphere in rehearsals has been "relaxed, laughing and enjoyable." It's not the first time a royal bride hasn't been walked down the aisle by her father. The monarch's sister, the late Princess Margaret, was walked down the aisle by Prince Philip because her father was dead. Queen Victoria walked two daughters down the aisle.

Roseline Morris, 35-year-old fan from Basildon, England, noted that Charles hasn't got a daughter himself. "He's never going to get the chance to walk a daughter down the aisle, so this will be nice for him as well," she said.

Having the father of the groom escort the bride is yet another twist in a royal wedding that is proving to be different from many others. Master baker Claire Ptak said Friday that the royal wedding cake — a three-part layered lemon and elderflower cake — will have an "ethereal" taste and be presented in a non-traditional way.

Markle will not have a maid of honor but there will be 10 young bridesmaids and page boys, including 4-year-old Prince George and 3-year-old Princess Charlotte, the elder children of William and his wife Kate.

The 600 invited guests include members of the royal family and celebrity friends of Harry and Meghan's including, it's rumored, Elton John. Also invited are several of Markle's co-stars from the legal TV drama "Suits."

The couple will be married by Welby in a Church of England ceremony, but the Most Rev. Michael Curry, the first black presiding bishop of the U.S. Episcopal Church, will also deliver a sermon. Curry — the son of an American civil rights activist and the descendant of African slaves — has spoken out for gay rights and plans to join a march on the White House next week to reject U.S. President Donald Trump's "America first" stance.

On Friday, Curry said seeing the couple up close, he saw "two real people who are obviously in love." "When I see them, something in my heart leaps," he said. "That's why 2 billion people are watching them."

Lawless reported from London. Danica Kirka contributed from London.

No clear winner: Mixed results in local English elections

May 04, 2018

LONDON (AP) — The two major parties have failed to deliver a knockout blow to one another in a series of English local elections. Results released Friday showed the left-leaning Labour Party, led by Jeremy Corbyn, has gained ground in some parts of England but was unable to dent Conservative Party strongholds in key parts of London.

Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative Party did not lose significant ground in the local results of city and town councils in many parts of England despite the party's weak showing in last year's general election.

Party chairman Brandon Lewis said the Conservatives did better than expected. Support for the right-wing U.K. Independence Party faltered badly after a series of leadership changes following its successful role in the 2016 referendum to take Britain out of the European Union.

Meghan and Harry choose horse-drawn carriage for wedding day

May 02, 2018

LONDON (AP) — It wouldn't be a royal wedding without a horse-drawn carriage. Royal officials say Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have chosen an open-topped Ascot Landau from the royal carriage collection to use in their wedding procession.

The couple's office said Wednesday that after their May 19 wedding the newlyweds will take the carriage, pulled by four horses, from Windsor Castle through the town center and back for their reception.

Thousands of people are expected to line the streets of the town west of London to see them. Kensington Palace says the couple hope it "will be a memorable moment for everyone who has gathered together in Windsor to enjoy the atmosphere of this special day."

If it rains, the couple will use the Scottish State Coach, which has a glass roof.

Turkey marks 1944 tragedy of Crimean Tatars

18.05.2018

ANKARA

Turkey on Friday remembered the deportation and ethnic cleansing of Crimean Tatars 74 years ago by the Soviet Union.

In a written statement, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hami Aksoy said that some 250,000 Crimean Tatar Turks were exiled thousands of kilometers away from their homeland on the night of May 17-18, 1944.

"Unfortunately, tens of thousands of Crimean Tatar Turks perished under the inhumane circumstances of this deportation," Aksoy said. "Many of them passed away in exile under harsh conditions. Today more than 100,000 Crimean Tatar Turks still live far from their homeland."

"On this occasion, we commemorate those who lost their lives during this exile and respectfully bow before their memory," Aksoy said.

He also marked the date of May 21, 1864, which is commemorated as the anniversary of the “Circassian Exile” tragedy.

"During the invasion of the Caucasus by Czarist Russia, hundreds of thousands of Caucasian people lost their lives. Many survivors were exiled from their homeland and had to take shelter in Anatolia. The pain of this tragedy is still alive," he said.

On May 18, 1944, tens of thousands of Crimean Tatars were deported to Central Asia by Joseph Stalin’s Soviet regime, which accused them of collaborating with occupying Nazi forces.

The Crimean Tatars were deported to various regions within Soviet territory, in particular Siberia and Uzbekistan. Almost half of the exiles, who endured long months of dire living conditions, are thought to have died of starvation and disease.

The exile continued until 1987, when the Soviet government allowed 2,300 Crimean Tatars to return to their homeland. Another 19,300 people followed in 1988.

Nearly 1.5 million Circassians were expelled from the region to the east of the Black Sea when it was overrun by Russia in 1864. Some 400,000-500,000 are believed to have died.

Most of the Circassian exiles were absorbed into the Ottoman Empire, settling as far away as present-day Jordan.

Source: Anadolu Agency.
Link: https://www.aa.com.tr/en/todays-headlines/turkey-marks-1944-tragedy-of-crimean-tatars/1149837.

Croats gather in Austria for controversial commemoration

May 12, 2018

BLEIBURG, Austria (AP) — Thousands of Croatian far-right supporters gathered in a field in southern Austria on Saturday to commemorate the massacre of pro-Nazi Croats by victorious communists at the end of World War II.

The controversial annual event was held amid a surge of far-right sentiment in Croatia, the European Union's newest member. For Croatian nationalists, the Bleiburg site symbolizes their suffering under communism in Yugoslavia before they fought a war for independence in the 1990s.

Tens of thousands of Croatians, mostly pro-fascist soldiers known as Ustashas, fled to Bleiburg in May 1945 amid a Yugoslav army offensive, only to be turned back from Austria by the British military and into the hands of revengeful anti-fascists. Thousands were killed and buried in mass graves in and around Bleiburg.

The Croatian Ustasha regime sent tens of thousands of Serbs, Jews, Gypsies and Croatian anti-fascists to death camps during the war. Top Croatian officials attended Saturday's gathering Saturday on a vast field surrounded by mountains. Croatian Catholic Church clergy held a Mass for the killed Croats.

"Awful crimes have been committed in the Bleiburg field," Croatian parliament speaker Gordan Jandrokovic said. "Today we are paying our respect to the victims, civilians as well as soldiers." Croatia's center-right government has been accused of turning a blind eye to the rising extremism and downplaying the crimes of the Ustasha regime. The policies have triggered protests from Croatia's minority Jewish and Serb communities.

Top Nazi hunter Efraim Zuroff said he tried to persuade Austria's conservative government to ban the rally, but without success. "It's absolutely outrageous that Austrian authorities allow an event like this to happen," Zuroff told The Associated Press by phone from Jerusalem. "In Austria, you are not allowed to brandish Nazi symbols, but they allow Ustasha symbols."

For the first time since the first massive commemoration was held in the 1990s, Austrian authorities on Saturday banned the Ustasha insignia to be worn at the event. Despite the ban, some participants brandished T-shirts bearing the Ustasha wartime call: "For the Homeland, ready!"

"The main culprit of the tragedy of those people was the British Army because they tricked the Croatian soldiers to disarm before they were handed over to (Yugoslav Communist leader Josip Broz) Tito," said Branko Mandic, one of the mourners.

A small anti-Fascist rally was held in the town of Bleiburg, with protesters displaying banners reading "Nazis Out!" Croatian officials repeatedly have denied backing policies that run counter to European Union standards, saying they are focused on major economic and social reforms and not the revival of the far-right sentiments.

Trump thrusts abortion fight into crucial midterm elections

May 19, 2018

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration acted Friday to bar taxpayer-funded family planning clinics from referring women for abortions, energizing its conservative political base ahead of crucial midterm elections while setting the stage for new legal battles.

The Health and Human Services Department sent its proposal to rewrite the rules to the White House, setting in motion a regulatory process that could take months. Scant on details, an administration overview of the plan said it would echo a Reagan-era rule by banning abortion referrals by federally funded clinics and forbidding them from locating in facilities that also provide abortions.

Planned Parenthood, a principal provider of family planning, abortion services and basic preventive care for women, said the plan appears designed to target the organization. "The end result would make it impossible for women to come to Planned Parenthood, who are counting on us every day," said executive vice president Dawn Laguens.

But presidential counselor Kellyanne Conway told Fox News that the administration is simply recognizing "that abortion is not family planning. This is family planning money." The policy was derided as a "gag rule" by abortion rights supporters, a point challenged by the administration, which said counseling about abortion would be OK, but not referrals. It's likely to trigger lawsuits from opponents, and certain to galvanize activists on both sides of the abortion debate going into November's congressional elections.

The policy "would ensure that taxpayers do not indirectly fund abortions," White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement. Social and religious conservatives have remained steadfastly loyal to President Donald Trump despite issues like his reimbursements to attorney Michael Cohen, who paid hush money to a porn star alleging an affair, and Trump's past boasts of sexually aggressive behavior. Trump has not wavered from advancing the agenda of the religious right.

Tuesday night, Trump is scheduled to speak at the Susan B. Anthony List's "campaign for life" gala. The group works to elect candidates who want to reduce and ultimately end abortion. It says it spent more than $18 million in the 2016 election cycle to defeat Hillary Rodham Clinton and promote a "pro-life Senate."

The original Reagan-era family planning rule barred clinics from discussing abortion with women. It never went into effect as written, although the Supreme Court ruled it was an appropriate use of executive power. The policy was rescinded under President Bill Clinton, and a new rule took effect requiring "nondirective" counseling to include a full range of options for women.

The Trump administration said its proposal will roll back the Clinton requirement that abortion be discussed as an option along with prenatal care and adoption. Known as Title X, the family-planning program serves about 4 million women a year through clinics, costing taxpayers about $260 million.

Although abortion is politically divisive, the U.S. abortion rate has dropped significantly, from about 29 per 1,000 women of reproductive age in 1980 to about 15 in 2014. Better contraception, fewer unintended pregnancies and state restrictions may have played a role, according to a recent scientific report .

Abortion remains legal, but federal family planning funds cannot be used to pay for the procedure. Planned Parenthood clinics now qualify for Title X family planning grants, but they keep that money separate from funds that pay for abortions.

Abortion opponents say a taxpayer-funded program should have no connection to abortion. Doctors' groups and abortion rights supporters say a ban on counseling women trespasses on the doctor-patient relationship.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said the administration action amounts to an "egregious intrusion" in the doctor-patient relationship and could force doctors to omit "essential, medically accurate information" from counseling sessions with patients.

Planned Parenthood's Laguens hinted at legal action, saying, "we will not stand by while our basic health care and rights are stripped away." Jessica Marcella of the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association, which represents clinics, said requiring physical separation from abortion facilities is impractical and would disrupt services for women.

"I cannot imagine a scenario in which public health groups would allow this effort to go unchallenged," Marcella said. But abortion opponents said Trump is merely reaffirming the core mission of the family planning program.

"The new regulations will draw a bright line between abortion centers and family planning programs, just as ... federal law requires and the Supreme Court has upheld," said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, a key voice for religious conservatives.

Kristan Hawkins of Students for Life of America said, "Abortion is not health care or birth control and many women want natural health care choices, rather than hormone-induced changes." Abortion opponents allege the federal family planning program in effect cross-subsidizes abortions provided by Planned Parenthood, whose clinics are also major recipients of grants for family planning and basic preventive care. Hawkins' group is circulating a petition to urge lawmakers to support the Trump administration's proposal.

Abortion opponents say the administration plan is not a "gag rule." It "will not prohibit counseling for clients about abortion ... but neither will it include the current mandate that (clinics) must counsel and refer for abortion," said the administration's own summary.

Associated Press writer David Crary in New York contributed to this report.

Trump's pull out from Iran deal deepens US isolation

May 09, 2018

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the landmark nuclear accord with Iran, abruptly restoring harsh sanctions in the most consequential foreign policy action of his presidency. He declared he was making the world safer, but he also deepened his isolation on the world stage and revived doubts about American credibility.

The 2015 agreement, which was negotiated by the Obama administration and included Germany, France and Britain, had lifted most U.S. and international economic sanctions against Iran. In exchange, Iran agreed to restrictions on its nuclear program, making it impossible to produce a bomb and establishing rigorous inspections.

But Trump, a severe critic of the deal dating back to his presidential campaign, said Tuesday in a televised address from the White House that it was "defective at its core." U.S. allies in Europe had tried to keep him in and lamented his move to abandon it. Iran's leader ominously warned his country might "start enriching uranium more than before."

The sanctions seek to punish Iran for its nuclear program by limiting its ability to sell oil or do business overseas, affecting a wide range of Iranian economic sectors and individuals. Major companies in the U.S. and Europe could be hurt, too. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that licenses held by Boeing and its European competitor Airbus to sell billions of dollars in commercial jetliners to Iran will be revoked. Certain exemptions are to be negotiated, but Mnuchin refused to discuss what products might qualify.

He said the sanctions will sharply curtail sales of oil by Iran, which is currently the world's fifth largest oil producer. Mnuchin said he didn't expect oil prices to rise sharply, forecasting that other producers will step up production.

Iran's government must now decide whether to follow the U.S. and withdraw or try to salvage what's left with the Europeans. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said he was sending his foreign minister to the remaining countries but warned there was only a short time to negotiate with them.

Laying out his case, Trump contended, "If we do nothing, we know exactly what will happen. In just a short period of time, the world's leading state sponsor of terror will be on the cusp of acquiring the world's most dangerous weapons."

The administration said it would re-impose sanctions on Iran immediately but allow grace periods for businesses to wind down activity. Companies and banks doing business with Iran will have to scramble to extricate themselves or run afoul of the U.S. government.

Meanwhile, for nations contemplating striking their own sensitive deals with Trump, such as North Korea, the withdrawal will increase suspicions that they cannot expect lasting U.S. fidelity to international agreements it signs.

Former President Barack Obama, whose administration negotiated the deal, called Trump's action "misguided" and said, "The consistent flouting of agreements that our country is a party to risks eroding America's credibility and puts us at odds with the world's major powers."

Yet nations like Israel and Saudi Arabia that loathed the deal saw the action as a sign the United States is returning to a more skeptical, less trusting approach to dealing with adversaries. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed Trump's announcement as a "historic move."

Trump, who repeatedly criticized the accord during his presidential campaign, said Tuesday that documents recently released by Netanyahu showed Iran had attempted to develop a nuclear bomb in the previous decade, especially before 2003. Although Trump gave no explicit evidence that Iran violated the deal, he said Iran had clearly lied in the past and could not be trusted.

Iran has denied ever pursuing nuclear arms. There was a predictably mixed reaction from Congress. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, said the Iran deal "was flawed from the beginning," and he looked forward to working with Trump on next steps. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, slammed Trump in a statement, saying this "rash decision isolates America, not Iran."

In a burst of last-minute diplomacy, punctuated by a visit by Britain's top diplomat, the deal's European members had given ground on many of Trump's demands for reworking the accord, according to officials, diplomats and others briefed on the negotiations. Yet the Europeans realized he was unpersuaded.

Trump spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron and Chinese leader Xi Jinping about his decision Tuesday. Hours before the announcement, European countries met in Brussels with Iran's deputy foreign minister for political affairs, Abbas Araghchi.

In Iran, many are deeply concerned about how Trump's decision could affect the already struggling economy. In Tehran, Rouhani sought to calm nerves, smiling as he appeared at a petroleum expo. He didn't name Trump directly, but emphasized that Iran continued to seek "engagement with the world."

The first 15 months of Trump's presidency have been filled with many "last chances" for the Iran deal in which he's punted the decision for another few months, and then another. As he left his announcement Tuesday, he predicted that Iranians would someday "want to make a new and lasting deal" and that "when they do, I am ready, willing and able."

Even Trump's secretary of state and the U.N. agency that monitors nuclear compliance agree that Iran, so far, has lived up to its side of the deal. But the deal's critics, such as Israel, the Gulf Arab states and many Republicans, say it's a giveaway to Tehran that ultimately would pave the way to a nuclear-armed Iran.

For the Europeans, Trump's withdrawal constitutes dispiriting proof that trying to appease him is futile. Although the U.S. and Europeans made progress on ballistic missiles and inspections, there were disagreements over extending the life of the deal and how to trigger additional penalties if Iran were found in violation, U.S. officials and European diplomats have said.

Associated Press writers Matthew Lee, Jill Colvin, Zeke Miller and Ken Thomas in Washington and Amir Vahdat and Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.

Burundi votes in referendum on extending president's power

May 17, 2018

BUJUMBURA, Burundi (AP) — Burundi's president joined long lines of voters Thursday in a referendum that could extend his rule until 2034, despite widespread opposition and fears that deadly political turmoil will continue.

"I thank all Burundians who woke up early in the morning to do this noble patriotic gesture," President Pierre Nkurunziza said after casting his ballot in his home province of Ngonzi. Nkurunziza had campaigned forcefully for the constitutional changes that include extending the length of the president's term from five years to seven. That could give him another 14 years in power when his current term expires in 2020.

Burundi's president is the latest in a number of African leaders who are changing their countries' constitutions or using other means to prolong their stay in power. Nkurunziza's opponents want him to go, saying he has ruled longer than Burundi's constitution allows. More than 1,200 people have been killed in protests since he decided in April 2015 to pursue a disputed third term.

Observers have expressed alarm at reported violence and intimidation of perceived opponents of the referendum in recent days, including threats of drowning and castration. A presidential decree criminalized calls to abstain from casting a ballot Thursday.

Bujumbura, the capital, had long lines of voters as security forces were deployed across the city. Five million people across the country were registered to vote. Voting appeared to be going smoothly in most areas, although activist group iBurundi, which monitors alleged abuses by authorities, reported some allegations of intimidation.

In one area in the central province of Karuzi, police "arbitrarily arrested" a representative of opposition group Amizero y'Abarundi who was there to observe the voting, iBurundi told The Associated Press.

Nkurunziza's main opponent, Agathon Rwasa of up Amizero y'Abarundi, condemned what he called irregularities in the vote. "Intimidations of all sorts are happening. There are some people who are going even to the voting booth to tell people how they must vote. This is contrary to the ethics of democracy and its spirit," Rwasa said.

The government was not immediately available to respond to the allegations. Polls were closing at 6 p.m. local time. It was not clear when final results would be announced. Tensions rose last week after unidentified attackers with machetes and guns carried out a massacre Friday in the rural northwest near Congo, killing 26 people, many of them children. The government blamed a "terrorist group." It is not clear whether the attack was related to Thursday's vote.

The 54-year-old Nkurunziza, a former rebel leader, rose to power in 2005 following a peace deal ending a civil war in which some 300,000 people died. He was re-elected unopposed in 2010 after the opposition boycotted the vote.

Nkurunziza in 2015 said he was eligible for a third term because lawmakers, not the general population, had chosen him for his first term. Critics called a third term unconstitutional as the deal ending the civil war says the president can be re-elected only once.

Hundreds of thousands of people fled the political violence that followed, sheltering in neighboring countries. International Criminal Court judges last year authorized an investigation into allegations of state-sponsored crimes.

The run-up to Thursday's referendum was "tainted by violence and increasing repression of dissent," according to Amnesty International, which suggested that Burundi's human rights situation is only getting worse.

Burundi's government strongly denies allegations it targets its own people, saying the charges are malicious propaganda spread by exiles. Authorities ahead of the referendum imposed temporary broadcasting bans on the BBC and Voice of America, citing alleged violations.

Muhumuza reported from Kampala, Uganda.

Right on time: North Korea adjusts time zone to match South

May 05, 2018

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea readjusted its time zone to match South Korea's on Saturday and described the change as an early step toward making the longtime rivals "become one" following a landmark summit.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un promised to sync his country's time zone with the South's during his April 27 talks with South Korean President Moon Jae-in. A dispatch from the North's Korean Central News Agency says that promise was fulfilled Saturday by a decree of the nation's Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly.

The Koreas used the same time zone for decades before the North in 2015 created its own "Pyongyang Time" by setting its clocks 30 minutes behind South Korea and Japan. It said at the time that it did so to root out the legacy of Tokyo's 1910-1945 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula, when clocks in Korea were changed to be the same as in Japan.

"Pyongyang Time" was created as tensions between the authoritarian country and the U.S. grew over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program and international sanctions aimed at dismantling it. But in recent months relations between the Koreas have warmed dramatically, with Kim and Moon pledging at their summit to rid their peninsula of nuclear weapons.

The meeting produced many steps toward reconciliation, including an agreement to resume reunions of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War, though it lacked a breakthrough in the nuclear standoff. Those details await Kim and President Donald Trump, who are expected to meet in the coming weeks.

KCNA earlier said Kim proposed returning North Korea to the South's time zone because it was "a painful wrench to see two clocks indicating Pyongyang and Seoul times hanging on a wall of the summit venue."

The news agency said resynchronizing North and South Korean time was "the first practical step" since the summit "to speed up the process for the north and the south to become one and turn their different and separated things into the same and single ones."

According to South Korea, Kim has said he'd be willing to give up his nukes if the United States commits to a formal end to the war and pledges not to attack the North. But his exact demands for relinquishing weapons that his nation spent decades building remains unclear.

Leaders of Japan, China, SKorea agree to cooperate on NKorea

May 09, 2018

TOKYO (AP) — China, Japan and South Korea agreed Wednesday to cooperate on ending North Korea's nuclear program and promoting free trade, two hot-button issues challenging their region. The agreements came at the first summit for the Northeast Asian neighbors after a hiatus of more than two years, bringing together Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

Abe said they discussed how they can get North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons, but he didn't provide any details. China and Japan, in particular, have differences over how best to achieve North Korea's nuclear disarmament.

The meeting comes amid a flurry of developments on the Korean Peninsula. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met Moon on April 27 and Chinese President Xi Jinping earlier this week, in a surprise visit to the Chinese coastal city of Dalian. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo flew to Pyongyang, North Korea's capital, early Wednesday to finalize details of a summit planned between President Donald Trump and Kim.

"We must lead the ongoing momentum toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and achieve peace and stability in Northeast Asia," Abe told a joint news conference in Tokyo. Japanese Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasutoshi Nishimura said the three leaders also agreed to work toward two free trade agreements, a free trade pact among themselves and the proposed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership with Southeast Asian nations.

Trump has threatened all three countries with tariffs in a bid to seek trade concessions from them. His moves have raised fears of a trade war between the U.S. and China. Li, the No. 2 official in China after President Xi Jinping, said earlier that free trade is a good way to promote a global economic recovery.

"We are willing to work with Japan and South Korea to jointly maintain regional stability and push forward the development of the three countries," he said before the meeting started. The leaders also agreed to hold trilateral summits on regular basis and set up a secretariat. The summits, which started in 2008, are supposed to be held annually, but Wednesday's was the first since November 2015.

Analysts say Japan is trying to showcase improved ties and cooperation with China and South Korea so its views will be represented in any negotiations with North Korea. Abe reiterated Japan's position that it would normalize ties with North Korea only if the latter took concrete steps toward abandoning its nuclear and missile programs and resolved the issue of Japanese abducted by North Korean agents.

Japan's leader was to hold talks separately with Moon and Li later Wednesday. Japanese officials said they plan to propose a free and peaceful East China Sea, but do not plan to raise contentious issues such as South Korean "comfort women" forced to provide sex to Japan's wartime military.

Moon is to leave Japan after half a day. After that, Abe will host a dinner and lunch for Li and join him on the northern island of Hokkaido on the final day of his four-day Japan visit. Japanese Foreign Ministry officials said they want to improve Japan's strained relations with China, with the eventual goal of realizing a visit by Xi.

While Japan, China and South Korea are closely linked economically, anti-Japanese sentiment runs deep in China and South Korea because of territorial and historical disputes dating back to Japan's colonization of the Korean Peninsula and invasion of China in the first half of the 20th century.

Israel hits dozens of Iranian targets in Syria after barrage

May 10, 2018

BEIRUT (AP) — The Israeli military on Thursday said it attacked nearly all of Iran's military installations in neighboring Syria in response to an Iranian rocket barrage on Israeli positions in the occupied Golan Heights, in the most serious military confrontation between the two bitter enemies to date.

Israel said the targets of the strikes, its largest in Syria since the 1973 war, included weapons storage, logistics sites and intelligence centers used by elite Iranian forces in Syria. It also said it destroyed several Syrian air-defense systems after coming under heavy fire and that none of its warplanes were hit.

Iranian media described the attacks as "unprecedented," but there was no official Iranian comment on Israel's claims. Israel has acknowledged carrying out over 100 airstrikes in neighboring Syria since the civil war erupted in 2011, most believed to be aimed at suspected Iranian weapons shipments bound for the Hezbollah militant group.

But in the past few weeks, Israel has shifted to a more direct and public confrontation with Iran, striking at Iranian bases, weapons depots and rocket launchers across Syria, and killing Iranian troops. Israel accuses Tehran of seeking to establish a foothold on its doorstep. Iran has vowed to retaliate.

Reflecting the scope of the overnight attacks, Russia's military said 28 Israeli jets were involved, striking at several Iranian and government sites in Syria with 70 missiles. It said half of the missiles were shot down.

Speaking at the Herzliya Conference, an annual security gathering north of Tel Aviv, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Israel would response fiercely to any further Iranian actions. "We will not let Iran turn Syria into a forward base against Israel," he said. "We, of course, struck almost all the Iranian infrastructure in Syria, and they need to remember this arrogance of theirs. If we get rain, they'll get a flood. I hope that we ended this chapter and that everyone understood."

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which closely monitors the civil war through sources inside Syria, said the overnight Israeli attacks struck several military posts for Syrian troops and Iranian-backed militias near the capital, Damascus, in central Syria and in southern Syria. The Observatory said the attacks killed 23 fighters, including five Syrian soldiers. It said it was not immediately clear if Iranians were among those killed.

The Syrian military said the Israeli strikes killed three people and wounded two, without saying if any Iranians or Iran-backed militiamen were among them. It said the strikes destroyed a radar station and an ammunition warehouse, and damaged a number of air defense units. The military said air defense systems intercepted "the large part" of the incoming Israeli strikes.

An Iranian state television presenter announced the Israeli strikes, sourcing the information to Syria's state-run SANA news agency. The broadcaster described the Israeli attack as "unprecedented" since the 1967 Mideast war.

Israel captured the Golan Heights in the 1967 war, annexing it in 1981 in a move not recognized internationally. In 1974, Israel and Syria reached a cease-fire and a disengagement deal that froze the conflict lines with the plateau in Israeli hands.

Damascus shook with sounds of explosions just before dawn, and firing by Syrian air defenses over the city was heard for more than five hours. Syria's state news agency SANA said Israeli missiles hit air defense positions, radar stations and a weapons warehouse, but claimed most incoming rockets were intercepted.

Russia sent forces to Syria to back President Bashar Assad in 2015. But Israel and Russia have maintained close communications to prevent their air forces from coming into conflict. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traveled to Moscow on Wednesday to meet with President Vladimir Putin and discuss military coordination in Syria.

Israel said early Thursday that Iran's Quds Force fired 20 rockets at Israeli front-line military positions in the Golan Heights. Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, a military spokesman, said four of the rockets were intercepted, while the others fell short of their targets. The incoming attack set off air raid sirens in the Golan.

Conricus said Israel was not looking to escalate the situation but that troops will continue to be on "very high alert." "Should there be another Iranian attack, we will be prepared for it," he said. It is believed to be the first time in decades that such firepower from Syria has been directed at Israeli forces in the Golan Heights.

Iran's ability to hit back further could be limited. Its resources in Syria pale in comparison to the high-tech Israeli military and it could also be wary of military entanglement at a time when it is trying to salvage the international nuclear deal.

Iran has sent thousands of troops to back Assad, and Israel fears that as the fighting nears an end, Iran and tens of thousands of Shiite militiamen will turn their focus to Israel. Earlier this week, Syrian state media said Israel struck a military outpost near Damascus. The Observatory said the missiles targeted depots and rocket launchers that likely belonged to Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard, killing at least 15 people, eight of them Iranians.

Last month, an attack on Syria's T4 air base in the central Homs province killed seven Iranian military personnel. On April 30, Israel was said to have struck government outposts in northern Syria, killing more than a dozen pro-government fighters, many of them Iranians.

Israel considers Iran to be its most bitter enemy, citing Iran's hostile rhetoric, support for anti-Israel militant groups and development of long-range missiles. President Donald Trump's withdrawal from the international nuclear agreement with Iran, with strong support from Israel, has further raised tensions.

Israel and Iran have appeared to be on a collision course for months. In February, Israel shot down what it said was an armed Iranian drone that entered Israeli airspace. Israel responded by attacking anti-aircraft positions in Syria, and an Israeli warplane was shot down during the battle.

But Thursday was the first time Israel openly acknowledged targeting Iran.

Heller reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press writers Zeina Karam in Beirut and Albert Aji in Damascus, Syria, contributed to this report.

Russian opposition leader Navalny gets 30-day jail sentence

May 15, 2018

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was ordered Tuesday to spend 30 days in jail for staging an unsanctioned protest in Moscow and resisting police, charges he dismissed as unlawful.

Navalny organized a series of protests on May 5 in the Russian capital and other cities before President Vladimir Putin's inauguration for a new term. Demonstrations under the slogan "He is not our czar" took place throughout the country.

Moscow's Tverskoy District Court convicted Navalny on charges of organizing an unauthorized rally and ordered him jailed for 30 days. Separately, he was also convicted of disobeying police during the rally and sentenced to 15 days, but that sentence would be counted as part of the 30 days under Russian law.

Navalny argued that the authorities' refusal to allow the protest was illegal and called the accusations against him "ridiculous and unlawful." The anti-corruption campaigner, who has become Putin's most visible political foe, already has served several weeks-long jail terms for organizing other protests.

The jail sentence could reflect the authorities' desire to keep Navalny behind bars to prevent him from staging more protests in the run-up to the World Cup hosted by Russia that could tarnish its opening on June 14.

Navalny tweeted from the courtroom that he was sentenced simply for "getting out on the street of my city and saying: 'I'm not your slave, and I will never be. I don't need a new Czar.'" "There is nothing pleasant about the arrest, but I'm ready to come out and repeat it as many times as needed until we get what we want," he said. "And I know I'm not alone."

Medvedev approved for new term as Russia's prime minister

May 08, 2018

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia's house of parliament has overwhelmingly approved Dmitry Medvedev for a new term as prime minister. Medvedev was nominated a day earlier by President Vladimir Putin, who was inaugurated for a fourth term as Russia's president. Putin signed a decree formalizing Medvedev's appointment soon after the parliamentary vote.

Medvedev has been prime minister since 2012, after four years serving as Russia's president while Putin switched to the premiership because of term limits. He is expected to make changes in the current lineup of deputy prime ministers and department ministers, but it wasn't clear Tuesday when those changes would be announced.

As prime minister, Medvedev will be responsible for implementing the ambitious plan for Russia's development that Putin issued after his inauguration. The plan calls for heightened efforts to diversify Russia's economy, which is now heavily dependent on oil and gas exports, by strengthening the technology sector and boosting agricultural exports.

Putin wants Russia to become one of the world's top five economies by the time his new term ends in 2024.

Putin vows to boost Russian economy as he begins 4th term

May 07, 2018

MOSCOW (AP) — Vladimir Putin on Monday launched his fourth term as president with an ambitious call to vault Russia into the top five global economies by developing its technological products and agricultural exports.

Putin, who has sought to restore Russia's military and diplomatic prominence on the world stage, focused almost entirely on domestic issues in his speech after taking the oath of office in a vast, vaulted Kremlin hall glittering with gold leaf.

Improving the economy following a recession partly linked to international sanctions will be a primary goal of his next six-year term, Putin said. "Russia should be modern and dynamic, it should be ready to accept the call of the times," he said in his inauguration speech to thousands of guests standing in three halls of the Grand Kremlin Palace.

Putin later issued an extensive decree calling for "acceleration of the technological development of the Russian Federation" and "creation of a high-performance export-oriented sector in the basic sectors of the economy, primarily in manufacturing and the agro-industrial sector."

The 65-year-old former KGB agent, who has led Russia for all of the 21st century either as president or prime minister, has been criticized for inadequate efforts to diversify the economy from its dependence on oil and gas exports or develop the manufacturing sector.

Russia's economy was hit hard by low world oil prices and sanctions connected to Moscow's 2014 annexation of Crimea and military involvement in the separatist uprising in eastern Ukraine, with the ruble losing half its value between 2014 and 2016.

The country recorded an anemic improvement in 2017, with gross domestic product rising 1.5 percent and the ruble recovering some of its value. But the currency dropped about 8 percent again last month after new U.S. sanctions.

In the decree, he foresaw Russia becoming one of the world's top five economies by the end of his term in 2024. That would require boosting GDP by some 50 percent; Russia currently places about 12th in rankings of world economies.

Putin made only a brief reference to global affairs in his speech, saying "Russia is a strong, active, influential participant in international life. The security and defense capability of the country is reliably ensured. We will give these matters the necessary constant attention."

He acknowledged that the challenges facing Russia were formidable "but we all remember well that, for more than 1,000 years of history, Russia has often faced epochs of turmoil and trials, and has always revived as a Phoenix, reached heights that others could not."

Putin was re-elected in March with 77 percent of the vote. He became acting president on New Year's Eve 1999 following the surprise resignation of Boris Yeltsin and won election to his first four-year term in 2000. Re-elected in 2004, he left office in 2008 because of term limits, but was named prime minister and continued to steer the country from that office. He returned as president in 2012 when the post was extended to six years.

Monday's pomp-filled inauguration was covered in assiduous detail on state television. It showed Putin working at his desk in his shirt sleeves, then donning a suit coat to begin a long, solitary walk through the corridors of the Kremlin's Senate building before boarding a limousine for a short drive to the Grand Kremlin Palace.

Thousands of guests stood in the three halls for the inauguration. One of the most prominent was former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who is now chairman of Russia's state oil company Rosneft and one of the most prominent Western voices arguing for an end to sanctions against Russia.

Schroeder stood with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, and Putin prominently shook hands with him after the speech. After the ceremony, Putin issued an order formally dissolving the Cabinet but nominated Medvedev to serve again as prime minister. The pro-Putin United Russia party that dominates the parliament said it would back Medvedev in a vote Tuesday, Russian news agencies reported.

Medvedev in turn made nominations for several deputy prime ministers, notably including Finance Minister Anton Siluanov as first deputy premier.

Nearly 1600 reported arrested in Russian anti-Putin protests

May 05, 2018

MOSCOW (AP) — Russians angered by the impending inauguration of Vladimir Putin to a new term as president protested Saturday in scores of cities across the country — and police responded by reportedly arresting nearly 1,600 of them.

Among those arrested was protest organizer Alexei Navalny, the anti-corruption campaigner who is Putin's most prominent foe. Police seized Navalny by the arms and legs and carried the thrashing activist from Moscow's Pushkin Square, where thousands were gathered for an unauthorized protest.

Police also used batons against protesters who chanted "Putin is a thief!" and "Russia will be free!" Demonstrations under the slogan "He is not our czar" took place throughout the country, from Yakutsk in the far northeast to St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad on the fringes of Europe.

The protests demonstrated that Navalny's opposition, although considered beleaguered by Russian officials and largely ignored by state-controlled television, has sizable support in much of the country.

"I think that Putin isn't worthy of leading this country. He has been doing it for 18 years and has done nothing good for it," said Moscow demonstrator Dmitry Nikitenko. "He should leave for good." OVD-Info, an organization that monitors political repression, said late Saturday that 1,599 people had been detained at demonstrations in 26 Russian cities. It said 702 were arrested in Moscow alone, and another 232 in St. Petersburg.

Moscow police said about 300 people were detained in the capital, state news agencies said, and there was no official countrywide tally. "Let my son go!" Iraida Nikolaeva screamed, running after police in Moscow when they detained her son. "He did not do anything! Are you a human or not? Do you live in Russia or not?"

Navalny was to be charged with disobeying police, an offense that carries a sentence of up to 15 days, news reports said, though when he would face a judge was not immediately clear. Navalny has served several multi-week stretches in jail on similar charges.

In St. Petersburg, police blocked off a stretch of Nevsky Prospekt as a crowd of about 1,000 marched along the renowned avenue. Video showed some demonstrators being detained. Putin is to be inaugurated for a new six-year term on Monday after winning re-election in March with 77 percent of the vote. Navalny had hoped to challenge him on the ballot but was blocked because of a felony conviction in a case that supporters regard as falsified in order to marginalize him.

In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert criticized the actions of the Russian police. "The United States condemns #Russia's detention of hundreds of peaceful protesters and calls for their immediate release. Leaders who are secure in their own legitimacy don't arrest their peaceful opponents for protesting," she tweeted.

Navalny has called nationwide demonstrations several times in the past year, and their turnout has rattled the Kremlin. Saturday's protests attracted crowds of hundreds in cities that are far remote from Moscow, challenging authorities' contention that Navalny and other opposition figures appeal only to a small, largely urban elite.

As he begins a new term, Putin pushes lofty goals for Russia

May 04, 2018

MOSCOW (AP) — If Vladimir Putin fulfills the goals he's set for his new six-year term as president, Russia in 2024 will be far advanced in new technologies and artificial intelligence, many of its notoriously poor roads will be improved, and its people will be living significantly longer.

There's wide doubt about how much of that he'll achieve, if any of it. Analysts assessing the prospects of his term that begins with Monday's inauguration often use the expression "neo-stagnation." And less than half of the population really trusts him, according to a state polling agency.

Putin won the new term, which will extend his rule in Russia to a quarter-century if he completes it, with an official tally of 77 percent of the vote in March. Although there were complaints of ballot-stuffing and other violations, his support was clearly high. Yet, when state pollster VTsIOM asked Russians a month later which politician they trusted to solve the country's problems, only 47 percent chose Putin.

The apparent discrepancy between the vote total and his trust rating suggests that Putin is important to Russians not so much for what he accomplishes but for what he is — the embodiment of their national identity.

"In this dichotomous world, the symbolic Putin is omnipotent, like St. George slaying the Western dragon, but the flesh-and-bones Putin is barely capable of solving Russians' everyday problems or preventing tragedies," Carnegie Moscow Center analyst Andrei Kolesnikov wrote last month.

Putin's strong suit is in projecting Russian power. The technology and lifespan improvements that he foresaw in his state-of-the-nation address shortly before the election didn't attract as much attention as his claim that Russia had developed an array of new and allegedly invincible nuclear weapons.

He is sure to continue to assert Russia's role on the world stage, apparently committed to military involvement in Syria until the bitter end and showing no signs of backing down from Moscow's support for separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine.

Although painful sanctions have been imposed on Russia for its annexation of Crimea, its involvement in eastern Ukraine and its alleged interference in the U.S. presidential election, Putin appears to be willing to pay the price, especially because rising world oil prices have restored some revenue. The economy has partially recovered from the depths of 2015-16 when the ruble lost half its value, but concerns persist about long-term prospects, especially if Russia is unable to boost its manufacturing sector and wean the economy off its overwhelming dependence on oil and gas exports.

The government reportedly is raising the age for state pensions as a way to cut expenditures. Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich is floating the prospect of raising income taxes by a couple of percentage points.

Dvorkovich, in fact, recently acknowledged that much of Russia's economic improvement is connected to a one-off: this summer's football World Cup. "I can say that without the World Cup, there would be no economic growth at the moment," he said.

If the money for domestic improvements is in doubt, so is the political will to implement them in Putin's new term. In the view of Andrew Wood, a Russia analyst at Britain's Chatham House, "the main objective of the incumbent regime is to protect its hold on power."

Thus, he wrote, "it will therefore continue between now and 2024 to follow the three main policy guidelines set by Putin in 2012: to do without significant structural economic reforms because of the political risks attached to them; to control the population; and to pursue 'great power' ambitions."

Putin's most prominent foe, anti-corruption campaigner Alexei Navalny, is calling for nationwide protests on Saturday, two days ahead of the inauguration. But Russia's opposition forces are likely to remain marginalized — routinely banned from holding demonstrations and all but ignored by the dominant state news media.

Since Putin's re-election, some notable protests have arisen: One was held over the fire at a Siberian shopping mall that killed 60 people, and a number of communities in the Moscow region also demonstrated over hazardous landfills.

Those actions, however, were focused on local and regional officials' ineptness or corruption, while Putin rises above it all. The main drama in Putin's new term may come not from what he does, but from what comes after him.

The constitution bars him from seeking a third consecutive term in 2024, and it's not clear if he'd want another one badly enough — he will be 72 — to risk trying to change the constitution to stay in office.

In a system where genuine political competition is truncated, overt jockeying to replace Putin is unlikely. Instead, he could bestow favor on a malleable successor and continue to run things from behind the scenes.

Significant moments in Putin's 18 years of power

May 04, 2018

MOSCOW (AP) — A look at some of the significant dates in Vladimir Putin's 18 years in power as Russia's president and prime minister: Dec. 31, 1999 — In a surprise address to the nation, President Boris Yeltsin announces his resignation and makes Putin, the prime minister he appointed four months earlier, the acting president.

May 7, 2000 — After winning election with about 53 percent of the vote, Putin is inaugurated for his first four-year term. May 11, 2000 — Tax police raid the offices of NTV, a popular independent channel noted for critical coverage of the Kremlin. It is the first salvo in moves against prominent independent media that have characterized the Putin era.

Aug. 12, 2000 — The Kursk submarine sinks with 118 people aboard, setting off the first widespread and sustained criticism of Putin. News media take him to task for remaining on vacation during the early period of the crisis and waiting five days before accepting Western offers of help.

Oct. 23, 2002 — Chechen terrorists take some 850 people hostage at a Moscow theater. Three days later, Russian special forces pump an unidentified gas into the theater to end the crisis, killing at least 130 hostages along with the terrorists. Putin defends the operation as having saved hundreds of lives.

Oct. 25, 2003 — Russia's richest man, oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, is arrested. Khodorkovsky was seen as a potential challenger to Putin. Khodorkovsky is later sentenced to 10 years in prison for tax evasion and fraud and his Yukos oil company dismantled, most of it acquired by state oil company Rosneft.

March 14, 2004 — Putin is elected to a second presidential term.

Sept. 1, 2004 — Islamic militants seize a school in Beslan. More than 300 people die in the chaotic explosions and shootout that end the siege two days later. Putin blames regional leaders' incompetence and announces that governors will be appointed rather than elected.

April 25, 2005 — Putin alarms international observers by describing the collapse of the Soviet Union as "the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century." Although Putin referred to the economic chaos and ethnic conflicts that followed the collapse, the statement is seen by many as revealing a neo-Soviet mindset.

Feb. 10, 2007 — In a speech at a conference in Munich, Putin turns away radically from earlier attempts to develop closer ties with the United States.

June 5, 2007 — Russia is chosen to host the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, a pet project of Putin. His personal presentation to the International Olympic Committee is seen as key to winning the prestigious event.

May 8, 2008 — Barred by the constitution from running for a third consecutive term, Putin is appointed prime minister by new President Dmitry Medvedev. He effectively remains the country's political leader.

Aug. 8-12, 2008 — Russia fights a short war with Georgia, gaining full control of the separatist Abkhazia and South Ossetia regions.

Sept. 24, 2011 — Medvedev calls for Putin to be nominated for a third term as president.

March 4, 2012 — Putin elected to a new presidential term, which is now six years long. Protests by tens of thousands before the election and on the eve of his inauguration lead to legislation harshening penalties for unauthorized political protests.

June 6, 2013 — Putin announces on Russian state television that he and his wife, Lyudmila, are divorcing.

March 18, 2014 — Russia annexes Crimea from Ukraine, after the Kremlin sends in troops without insignia following the ouster of Ukraine's Russia-friendly president, and stages a quick referendum on splitting from Ukraine. Although Russia denied involvement at the time, Putin admits a year later that he planned the annexation weeks previously, taking advantage of Ukraine's political chaos.

April 2014 — Fighting between Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed separatist rebels begins in eastern Ukraine, starting a war that has killed more than 10,000 people to date. Russia denies its troops are involved.

July 17, 2014 — A Malaysian airliner is shot down over Ukraine, killing all 283 aboard. Russia promotes several theories, but other investigators point to a Russian mobile missile-launcher.

Feb. 27, 2015 — Boris Nemtsov, a top figure of Russia's beleaguered political opposition, is gunned down on a bridge a few hundred meters from the Kremlin. Nemtsov was working on a report about Russian soldiers in eastern Ukraine.

Sept. 30, 2015 — Russia begins airstrikes in Syria. Putin says the action is necessary to destroy terrorist groups, but critics note it also helps Syria's President Bashar Assad hold on to power.

July 7, 2017 — Putin and President Donald Trump meet for the first time. Putin says he believes Trump accepted his denial of allegations that Russians meddled in the election that brought Trump to power.

March 1, 2018 — Putin says Russia has tested an array of new nuclear weapons invulnerable to enemy intercept.

March 18, 2018 — Putin wins a new, six-year term in office with a reported 77 percent of the vote.

Highway overpass collapses in India, killing 18 people

May 16, 2018

LUCKNOW, India (AP) — A highway overpass being built in north India collapsed, killing 18 people when an immense concrete slab slammed down onto the crowded road below, officials said Wednesday. Five injured people were pulled from the wreckage, police said. Two were seriously hurt.

Local media reports said four officials from the Uttar Pradesh state construction agency were suspended in the wake of the Tuesday collapse. Rescuers and crane operators worked through much of the night in the city of Varanasi to search for survivors and clear the wreckage, which had crushed cars, motorcycles and a bus. But fears that many more people were trapped were unfounded and the road was reopened Wednesday morning.

The slab appeared to be at least 50 feet (15 meters) long and 6 feet (2 meters) wide. "There was sudden rumble and within seconds we saw" the vehicles crushed, resident Ramesh Kumar Singh said in a telelphone interview. "It took at least a minute for the people around to realize what exactly had happened."

Most of those killed were in vehicles traveling beneath the overpass, said senior police officer P.V. Ramasastry. The state's top official ordered a probe into the collapse. He also announced a 500,000 rupee ($7,200) payment to families of those who died.

India has a long history of construction accidents caused by poor materials and inadequately trained workers. In 2016, a long stretch of elevated road being built through the city of Calcutta collapsed, killing 26 people and leaving 11 severely injured.

Prime Minister Narendra, whose political home is in Varanasi, said in a tweet that he was "extremely saddened" by the accident. "I pray that the injured recover soon." Varanasi, an ancient temple city on the banks of the Ganges River, is a center of pilgrimage for Hindus.

Poverty-stricken Armenians pin hopes on opposition

May 03, 2018

LUSAGYUGH, Armenia (AP) — The local tax inspector would visit Alik Stepanyan's small fishery in an Armenian mountain village every month to collect a bribe. Each time, Stepanyan would hand over 15 to 20 fish as a payoff to try to keep his business afloat. Last year, the 56-year-old farmer gave up.

"I just got angry and shut it down. I got tired of having to pay bribes," Stepanyan said. "I hope the new government will tackle corruption and poverty which are hurting us and making our lives difficult."

Corruption and poverty is what fed mass opposition protests in this landlocked Caucasus Mountains nation, ultimately forcing Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan to resign. He had ruled Armenia for a decade as president. But when term limits made it impossible for him to run again, Sargsyan pushed through an amendment to the constitution making the prime minister the most powerful position in Armenia. Parliament voted for Sargsyan as prime minister last month, which was largely viewed as his attempt to stay in power indefinitely.

Tens of thousands of indignant Armenians, led by former journalist and lawmaker Nikol Pashinian, took to the streets. Sargsyan resigned on April 23 after two weeks of protest rallies in the capital, Yerevan. Pashinian, whom the opposition has nominated to become prime minister, hasn't put forward any concrete political demands or agenda other than to topple the ruling elite, viewed by ordinary Armenians as encouraging nepotism and corruption.

But the protest leader's slogans resonated with Armenia's impoverished rural areas which are struggling for survival. Armenia is one of the poorest former Soviet nations. Nearly 12 percent of its population lives below the poverty line, eking out a living on as little as 1,530 drams ($3.20) a day or less.

Armenia, sandwiched between Georgia, Iran, Turkey and Azerbaijan, has relied on Russia for energy supplies and loans since the fall of the Soviet Union. Strained ties with Turkey and Azerbaijan have crippled the country's development, making energy imports, among other things, costly.

Poverty and unemployment in Armenia are particularly visible in rural areas like the village of Lusagyugh, about 60 kilometers (35 miles) north of the capital, where farmer Stepanyan lives. Work Is scarce in this picturesque village of 900 people which is nestled at the foot of Mount Aragats, Armenia's highest mountain. Local residents grow vegetables and raise cattle for food.

Stepanyan's family of six gets by thanks to two cows, a vegetable patch and Stepanyan's mother's monthly pension of 60,000 drams ($125). Stepanyan, whose eldest daughter regularly goes to Russia for odd jobs such as cleaning or babysitting, used to travel to Russia too for upholstery work. But several years ago he got homesick and returned to the village and tried to start a business.

He was immediately approached by tax inspectors who demanded that he pay amounts that were higher than anything he could hope to make from the small fish pond that he dug out on his plot of land. Stepanyan had agreed to give the local tax inspector fish instead of cash bribes, but after several months when fish were scarce and he still had to pay the tax inspector, he decided to shut down his business.

Armenians working abroad often support several family members back home, by sending them their paychecks: remittances account for about 14 percent of Armenia's gross domestic product. About a quarter of houses in Lusagyugh stand abandoned because villagers have left for Russia in search of work.

Samvel Zakaryan, a 20-year-old culinary student at a school in Yerevan, was in Lusagyugh recently on a break to help his family with some chores. He said five of his friends and his elder brother had gone to work in Russia because there are no job prospects in Armenia.

Zakaryan has taken part in the opposition protests in Yerevan, and supports Pashinian's nomination. "Several generations of Armenians have been going abroad for a better life," Zakaryan said as he poured out fodder to the rabbits and two cows, which feed the whole family. "Now we have finally begun to find confidence that we can build a better life in our country, a new Armenia that people aren't going to flee."

About 900,000 people who were born in Armenia, a country of 3 million, currently live abroad, according to the U.N. Population Fund. More than 10 percent of the population left the country during the decade that Sargsyan was in power.

"Emigration has served as a relief valve of sorts, providing an outlet for people's discontent while widespread poverty has allowed Sargsyan's clan to consolidate power," said Ruben Megrabyan, of the Armenian Center for International Studies.

Pashinian and his supporters have focused on toppling Sargsyan and proclaimed the fight against corruption as one of their main goals, but so far haven't offered any specific agenda to fix rampant corruption or widespread poverty.

Back in Lusagyugh, Stepanyan pins his hopes on the opposition to deliver change. "We will feel different when corruption is eradicated," he said, sitting by a campfire. "This is what the opposition wants, and these are fair demands."

Nataliya Vasilyeva in Moscow contributed to this report.

Armenian protest leader urges halt in demonstrations

May 02, 2018

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — The opposition lawmaker who has led weeks of mass demonstrations in Armenia called Wednesday for the protests to take a break after a surprising move by the ruling party appeared to clear the way for him to become prime minister.

On a fast-moving day of turmoil that began with crowds blocking roads, railways and the airport in the capital of Yerevan, the head of the ruling Republican Party's faction in parliament said it would vote May 8 for any prime minister candidate nominated by a third of the body's 105 members.

That effectively promised the job to protest leader Nikol Pashinian, just one day after parliament rejected him. Pashinian told a Wednesday evening rally that his Elk party and the two other opposition factions would nominate him on Thursday. Together, those parties hold 47 seats — well over the one-third mark set by the Republicans, who will not nominate a candidate of their own.

"Armenia will have a prime minister on May 8," Republican faction leader Vagram Bagdasarian said. In turn, Pashinian called for supporters not to protest on Thursday, saying: "Tomorrow, we will work in parliament."

Pashinian was the only candidate nominated in Tuesday's parliament vote for prime minister, but lost 45-55. The protests began April 13, plunging Armenia into political turmoil and leading to the resignation of Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan just days after his appointment.

Sargsyan had led the country as president for 10 years, but stepped down because of term limits. Soon thereafter, parliament named him prime minister under a new government structure that gave the post greater powers. Protesters said the move effectively allowed him to remain as leader indefinitely.

After he lost the vote in parliament, Pashinian called for Wednesday's nationwide strike. Earlier in the day, Pashinian warned the government not to bring troops to the capital to quell the demonstrations.

"Police and security services are neutral, and if they (government) will bring for example the army to Yerevan, all soldiers will come to us and they will join us. And there is no way for any solution by force," he said in an interview with The Associated Press.

Acts of civil disobedience took place elsewhere in the small former Soviet republic. Protesters occupied the city hall in Gyumri, Armenia's second-largest city, and some significant highways in the countryside became impassable. The highways are key conduits to Iran and Georgia; Armenia's two other borders, with Azerbaijan and Turkey, are closed.

The State Revenue Committee warned that the blockages could "present a serious blow to Armenia's food security" and urged protesters not to interfere with food deliveries. The national railway said it was suspending passenger service for Yerevan's suburban area because of protesters blocking the tracks.

About 300 demonstrators used cars to block the road to Armenia's main international airport, forcing many travelers to make long walks with their luggage to catch flights. In the AP interview, Pashinian said that by rejecting him as prime minister, the ruling party had dealt itself a fatal blow.

"I think that the Republican Party yesterday have made a suicide pact, as a party, as a whole," he said.

Associated Press writers Yuras Karmanau and Mstyslav Chernov in Yerevan, and Jim Heintz in Moscow contributed.

New naval command created to step up presence in Atlantic

May 05, 2018

WASHINGTON (AP) — Amid rising tensions with Russia, the Pentagon on Friday announced the official launch of a new naval command that will bolster the U.S. and NATO presence in the Atlantic Ocean. Outlines of the plan were approved at the February meeting of NATO defense ministers, as part of a broader effort to insure the security of the sea lanes and lines of communication between Europe and North America.

"The return to great power competition and a resurgent Russia demands that NATO refocus on the Atlantic to ensure dedicated reinforcement of the continent and demonstrate a capable and credible deterrence effect," said Johnny Michael, a Pentagon spokesman. He said the new NATO command "will be the linchpin of trans-Atlantic security."

The decision reflects escalating worries across Europe and within NATO over Russia's increased military presence and patrols in the Atlantic region. Under the new plan, the U.S. will set up NATO's new Atlantic Command headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters in February that "we have seen a much more assertive Russia, we have seen a Russia which has over many years invested heavily in their military capabilities, modernized their military capabilities, which are exercising not only conventional forces but also nuclear forces."

He said the new Atlantic Command will be vital for the alliance to be able to respond. NATO also created a new logistics command, which is expected to be located in Germany. At the same time, the U.S. Navy is re-establishing its 2nd Fleet command, which was eliminated in 2011 in a move to save costs. It was merged with the navy's Fleet Forces Command.

Adm. John Richardson, the chief of naval operations, said the move comes as the security environment "continues to grow more challenging and complex." The command will oversee ships, aircraft and landing forces on the East Coast and northern Atlantic Ocean, and will be responsible for training forces and conducting maritime operations in the region.

Restarting the command was recommended in the Navy study done following the two deadly ship collisions last year that killed a total of 17 sailors. The destroyer USS Fitzgerald struck a commercial ship off the waters of Japan in June, killing seven U.S. sailors. The destroyer USS John S. McCain collided with an oil tanker in coastal waters off Singapore in August, killing 10 U.S. sailors.

The Navy concluded that the two crashes, as well as a third collision in May and a ship grounding, were all avoidable, and resulted from widespread failures by the crews and commanders who didn't quickly recognize and respond to unfolding emergencies.

A report called for about 60 recommended changes to address the problems. They ranged from improved training on seamanship, navigation and the use of ship equipment to more basic changes to improve sleep and stress management for sailors.

The command will begin operations July 1. It will report to U.S. Fleet Forces, and will initially include 11 officers and 4 enlisted personnel. Those numbers will eventually increase to more than 250 personnel.

Catalonia's Puigdemont to be brought before judge in Germany

March 26, 2018

NEUMUENSTER, Germany (AP) — Catalonia's former president, Carles Puigdemont, was to be brought before a court in Germany on Monday for an initial hearing on whether he stays in custody, kicking off an extradition process that could take weeks.

The closed-doors hearing comes amid heightened tensions in the Spanish region following Puigdemont's arrest on a European warrant Sunday at a highway rest area south of the German-Danish border. Tens of thousands protested late Sunday in Barcelona and other Catalan towns, and some demonstrators clashed with riot police.

Spanish authorities accuse Puigdemont, 55, of rebellion and misuse of public funds in organizing an unauthorized referendum on independence for Catalonia. Prosecutors in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein wouldn't say where Monday's hearing would take place, and the timing also wasn't clear. The hearing will entail the court formally establishing Puigdemont's identity and determining whether he is kept in custody on a preliminary basis, said Wiebke Hoffelner, a spokeswoman for prosecutors.

The state court in Schleswig will decide at a later date whether to put Puigdemont in formal pre-extradition custody on the basis of documents provided by Spain. German government officials have stressed that the case is a matter for the judicial system, but declined to say Monday whether the government could ultimately overrule a court decision.

European rules call for a final decision on extradition within 60 days of the suspect's arrest, though a 30-day extension is possible, Justice Ministry spokeswoman Stephanie Krueger said. German news agency dpa said Puigdemont was taken to a prison in the town of Neumuenster on Sunday.

Spain was plunged into its worst political crisis in four decades when Puigdemont's government flouted a court ban and held an ad-hoc referendum on independence for the northeastern region in October.

The Catalan parliament's subsequent declaration of independence received no international recognition and provoked a takeover of the regional government by Spanish authorities. Spain originally asked for Puigdemont's extradition from Belgium after he fled there in October, but later withdrew the request until Spanish Supreme Court judge Pablo Llarena concluded his investigation last week.

In the meantime, Puigdemont was free to make trips to Denmark, Switzerland and Finland, in an effort to gain international support for the secessionist movement. The international arrest warrant for Puigdemont was reactivated on Friday, when he was visiting Finland. Spain has also issued five warrants for other separatists who fled the country.

It wasn't immediately clear why Puigdemont wasn't arrested earlier in his trip from Finland to Belgium. However, authorities examining a European arrest warrant need to check whether the offense a suspect is accused of committing is equivalent to a criminal offense in the country where he was arrested.

Germany's criminal code — unlike Belgium's — includes an offense that appears to be comparable to rebellion, the main accusation against Puigdemont. It calls for prison sentences for anyone who "undertakes, by force or through threat of force" to undermine the existence of the republic or change the constitutional order.

Puigdemont and other Catalan separatists argue that their movement has been entirely peaceful. Separatists condemned Sunday's street violence in Catalonia that led to 100 people, including 23 police agents, being treated for minor injuries.

German Interior Ministry spokesman Johannes Dimroth said Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office was informed Friday about the arrest warrant and, in parallel, the office's liaison officer in Madrid was informed that Puigdemont might enter the country.

Schleswig-Holstein's state interior minister, Hans-Joachim Grote, told NDR television that four other people who were in the car with Puigdemont were taken to a police station and then released. He didn't identify them.

Dimroth said that, in "abstract terms," Puigdemont could seek asylum in Germany because anyone can file such a request, but added that he couldn't say anything about the likelihood of him being granted asylum or whether Puigdemont had made any such request.

Puigdemont's Belgian lawyer, Paul Bekaert, argued on VRT television that there was "flagrant abuse by Spain of the European arrest warrant for political purpose, which is totally illegal." However, German government spokesman Steffen Seibert said in Berlin that "Spain is a democratic state of law."

"The German government remains convinced that this Catalonia conflict must be resolved within the Spanish legal and constitutional order," he said, noting Berlin's support for the "clear position" of the Spanish government in recent months.

Moulson reported from Berlin. Frank Jordans in Berlin contributed to this report.

Catalan ex-leader's capture in Germany sparks mass protests

March 25, 2018

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Five months after going on the run from Spanish authorities, Catalonia's former president was detained in Germany on an international warrant Sunday by highway police after the ardent separatist crossed the border with Denmark.

Carles Puigdemont's capture, aided by Spanish intelligence services, sparked protests of tens of thousands in Catalonia's main city of Barcelona and other towns in the wealthy northeastern corner of Spain. Some of the demonstrators clashed with riot police, leaving more than 50 civilians and police officers injured and leading to four arrests. Puigdemont will appear before a German judge on Monday.

Spain was plunged into its worst political crisis in four decades when Puigdemont's government flouted a court ban and held an ad-hoc referendum on independence for the northeastern region in October.

The Catalan parliament's subsequent declaration of independence received no international recognition and provoked a takeover of the regional government by Spanish authorities that they say won't be lifted until a new government that respects Spain's Constitution is in place.

Spain's state prosecutor office said it was in contact with its German counterparts to carry out its request to extradite Puigdemont to Spain, where he faces charges including rebellion that could put him in prison for up to 30 years.

In Barcelona, riot police shoved and struck protesters with batons to keep an angry crowd from advancing on the office of the Spanish government's representative. Police vans showed stains of yellow paint reportedly thrown by protestors. Reinforcements were called in after several hours to clear the neighboring streets, with protestors tossing street barriers and burning two garbage bins as they retreated.

Outside the city center, groups of demonstrators cut off traffic on four different stretches of highways. Police also used batons to keep back a crowd of a few thousand who had gathered in front of the Spanish government's representative in the city of Lleida.

German highway police stopped Puigdemont on Sunday morning near the A7 highway that leads into Germany from Denmark, police in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein said. German news agency dpa said that Puigdemont was taken to a prison in the northern town of Neumuenster. Dpa photos showed a van with tinted windows believed to be carrying Puigdemont as it arrived at the prison. Video footage also showed the same van leaving a police station in Schuby near the A7 highway.

State prosecutors in Schleswig said that Puigdemont will appear in court Monday in the northern German town to confirm his identity. It said in a statement that "the question of whether Mr. Puigdemont has to be taken into extradition custody will then have to be determined by the higher regional court in Schleswig."

German state prosecutor Ralph Doepper told RTL Television that Puigdemont has been "provisionally detained. He has not been arrested." "We are now examining the further procedure, i.e. tomorrow we will decide whether we will file a provisional application for detention with the competent district court, which could lead to extradition detention later on," Doepper said.

A Spanish police official told The Associated Press under customary condition of anonymity that Spain's National Center for Intelligence and police agents from its international cooperation division helped German police to locate Puigdemont.

A Spanish Supreme Court judge reactivated an international arrest warrant for Puigdemont on Friday when he was visiting Finland. Spain has also issued five warrants for other separatist who fled the country.

Ines Arrimadas, the leader of the pro-Spain Citizens party which has the most seats in Catalonia's Parliament, said that the chaos on the streets was "of a society broken in two" by the secessionist movement.

Arrimadas said: "Puigdemont knew that fracturing Catalan society into two parts, spending public money on illegal activities, provoking a political and institutional crisis without precedents and confronting a 21st-century democracy of the European Union was going to have consequences."

But the Catalan parliament speaker, the highest-ranking elected official in the region until it forms a government, made a televised address on Catalan public television to call for a united "democratic front" of political parties, labor unions and civil society organizations to respond to what he called "the thirst for revenge of the powers of the state."

Speaker Roger Torrent accused Spain's central authorities of "attacking the heart of democracy making a general cause against its political adversaries." Miquel Coca, a business owner in Barcelona, likewise vowed that the secession push wouldn't falter.

"All the negative inputs that we have received help us to unite the society even more," Coca said. "If we can't have this leader, well, then there will be another. This is a movement of the people, not of one person."

Polls show Catalonia's 7.5 million residents are equally divided over secession, although a majority support holding a legal referendum on the issue. Puigdemont, 55, is a former journalist and mayor of Girona who was thrust to the forefront of Catalonia's independence push when he was handpicked by predecessor Artur Mas to become regional president in 2016. He withstood intense political pressure from Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and Spain's courts as he piloted the secession bid.

Spain had originally asked for Puigdemont's extradition from Belgium after he fled there in October, but later withdrew the request until Spanish Supreme Court judge Pablo Llarena concluded his investigation this week. Llarena ruled that a total of 25 Catalan separatists would be tried for rebellion, embezzlement or disobedience.

In the meantime, Puigdemont was free to make trips to Denmark, Switzerland and Finland, as part of his effort to gain international support for the secessionist movement. Puigdemont was also able to successfully run a campaign as the head of his "Together for Catalonia" bloc in a regional election in December in which separatist parties maintained their slim majority in Catalonia's regional parliament.

All told, Puigdemont has become enemy No. 1 of Rajoy's conservative government and Spain's justice system. He had wanted to be re-elected as Catalonia's regional president — albeit while remaining abroad to avoid arrest — but eventually was stopped by a Spanish court.

Separatists in Catalonia are currently trying to elect a leader for the regional government before a two-month time limit is up and new elections are called. Spain's Constitution says the nation is "indivisible" and any changes to its top law must be made by its national parliament in Madrid.

Nine people who promote Catalan secession have been placed in pre-trial custody to prevent what Llarena considered a flight risk or intention to continue with independence efforts. Also, Spain's highest judicial authority condemned insults that appeared painted on the street near a house owned by Llarena in the Catalan town of Das. They called the Supreme Court judge a "fascist" and wrote the message that he is "not welcome in Das or anywhere."

Scottish police said Sunday that the lawyer of Clara Ponsati, a former Catalan regional minister also being sought by Spain, had been in contact and is preparing to be handed over to authorities. She had moved to Scotland from Belgium earlier this month.

Kirsten Grieshaber reported from Berlin. Aritz Parra in Madrid, and Renata Brito in Barcelona, contributed to this report.

Catalan separatist: Swiss model alternative to secession

March 18, 2018

GENEVA (AP) — Catalonia's fugitive ex-president says that independence for the Spanish region is not the "only option" for resolving Spain's worst political crisis in recent decades. Carles Puigdemont says that a moderate alternative could be adopting Switzerland's canton model, which presumably would give more self-rule to the already ample powers granted to Spain's regions.

Puigdemont said that "'is independence the only option?' Not at all, there are others of course, and perhaps among them, the Swiss model is perhaps the most effective and the most attractive." Puigdemont was speaking at the University of Geneva where he attended a film festival and forum on human rights Sunday.

This was just his second trip outside Belgium, where he has been residing since fleeing Spain following Catalonia's unsuccessful declaration of independence in October.

Angry families demand facts on deadly Venezuela jail riot

March 29, 2018

VALENCIA, Venezuela (AP) — Distraught families are clamoring for information about detained relatives following a fire that Venezuela's chief prosecutor says killed 68 people when it swept through the cells of the state police station.

Angry relatives fought with police outside the facility Wednesday after being unable to get any information on casualties from Wednesday's fire, which townspeople said erupted after a disturbance involving detainees. Officers used tear gas to disperse the crowd, and local officials would confirm only that there were fatalities.

Late Wednesday, Attorney General Tarek William Saab said on his official Twitter account that 68 people were dead and nearly all of them were prisoners. He said the dead included two women who were staying overnight at the station, but he didn't provide any further details.

Saab said four prosecutors had been named to determine what happened at the state police headquarters in Valencia, a town in Carabobo state about 100 miles (160 kilometers) west of Caracas. It was one of the worst jail disasters in Venezuela, where human rights groups complain about poor conditions in prisons and jails. A fire at a prison in the western state of Zulia killed more than 100 inmates in 1994.

With tears streaking cheeks, people waiting outside the station Wednesday said dozens of detainees had been kept in squalid conditions and they feared the worst for their loved ones. Some people buried their hands in their faces. Others had to be supported by friends and family as they collapsed in despair. Some wept quietly and clutched their hands in prayer.

"I don't know if my son is dead or alive!" cried Aida Parra, who said she last saw her son the previous day, when she took food to him. "They haven't told me anything." Nearby, National Guard troops wearing flak jackets and carrying rifles slung across their backs walked in and out of the station. Fire trucks and ambulances stood outside. Unused stretchers leaned against a wall.

A Window to Freedom, a nonprofit group that monitors conditions at Venezuela's jails and prisons, said preliminary but unconfirmed information indicated the riot began when an armed detainee shot an officer in the leg. Shortly after that a fire broke out, with flames growing quickly as the blaze spread to mattresses in the cells, it said. Rescuers apparently had to break a hole through a wall to free some of the prisoners inside.

Photos shared by the group showed prisoners being taken out on stretchers, their limbs frozen in awkward positions as skin peeled off. Carlos Nieto Palma, director of A Window to Freedom, said officials should be held accountable for failing to address the poor conditions in police station jails. The group said overcrowding has become common throughout Venezuela, with detainees being kept long past customary brief holding periods before being let go or sent to larger jails to await trial.

"It's grave and alarming," Nieto Palma said. "What happened today in Carabobo is a sign of that." Opposition lawmaker Juan Miguel Matheus demanded that the pro-government leader of Carabobo state inform relatives about what happened.

"The desperation of relatives should not be played with," he said. Clashes between prisoners and guards are not uncommon in Venezuela. Inmates are frequently able to obtain weapons and drugs with the help of corrupt guards and heavily armed groups control cellblock fiefdoms.

Venezuela AG says 68 dead after riot, fire at police station

March 29, 2018

VALENCIA, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela's chief prosecutor reported late Wednesday that 68 people died in a fire that swept through the cell area inside a police station, which townspeople said followed a disturbance by detainees being held there.

Attorney General Tarek William Saab said on his official Twitter account that nearly all the dead were prisoners. He said two women who were staying overnight at the station were also killed, but didn't provide any further details.

Saab said four prosecutors had been named to determine what happened at the state police headquarters in Valencia, a town in Carabobo state about 100 miles (160 kilometers) west of Caracas. It was one of the worst jail disasters in a country where human rights groups complain about bad prison conditions. A fire at a prison in the western state of Zulia killed more than 100 inmates in 1994.

Local authorities in Valencia had confirmed earlier only that there were fatalities, and said they were working to determine an exact number. They said they were not providing any estimates "out of respect for the families."

Angry relatives who gathered outside the station said dozens of detainees had been kept in squalid conditions at the station and expressed fear that their loved ones were dead. Dozens of men and women demanding to know if their loved ones had survived clashed with police officers in riot gear. Police used tear gas to disperse the crowd.

"I don't know if my son is dead or alive!" cried Aida Parra, who said she last saw her son a day before, when she went to deliver him food. "They haven't told me anything." A Window to Freedom, a nonprofit group that monitors conditions at Venezuela's jails, said preliminary but unconfirmed information indicated the riot began when an armed detainee shot an officer in the leg. Shortly after that a fire broke out, with flames growing quickly as the blaze spread to mattresses in the cells, it said. Rescuers apparently had to break a hole through a wall to free some of the prisoners inside.

Photos shared by the group showed prisoners being taken out on stretchers, their limbs frozen in awkward positions as skin peeled off. A Window to Freedom's director, Carlos Nieto Palma, said officials should be held accountable for failing to address deteriorating conditions in police station jails. The group said overcrowding has become common throughout the country as detainees are kept long past customary brief holding periods before being sent to other larger jails before trial or freed.

"It's grave and alarming," Nieto Palma said. "What happened today in Carabobo is a sign of that." Outside the police station, some relatives buried their hands in their faces as tears streamed down their cheeks. Others had to be held up with the support of friends and family as they collapsed in despair. Still others wept quietly and clutched their hands in prayer.

Nearby, National Guard troops wearing bullet-proof vests and carrying rifles across their backs walked in and out of the station. Fire trucks and ambulances stood outside, and unused stretchers leaned against a wall.

Opposition lawmaker Juan Miguel Matheus demanded that the pro-government leader of Carabobo state inform relatives about what had happened. "The desperation of relatives should not be played with," he said.

Clashes between prisoners and guards are not uncommon in Venezuela. Inmates are frequently able to obtain weapons and drugs with the help of corrupt guards and heavily armed groups control cellblock fiefdoms.