Turkey 'concerned' over Haniyeh terror listing

February 2, 2018

Turkey on Friday expressed concerns over the US decision to add Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh’s name to its terrorist blacklist.

In a written statement, Foreign Ministry’s spokesman Hami Aksoy said Turkey is “concerned that this decision of the US Administration, which disregards the realities on the ground, could undermine the Middle East Peace Process, including the efforts for intra-Palestinian peace and reconciliation.”

“We also hope that the decision will not have a negative impact on our country’s humanitarian assistance and economic development activities towards Gaza,” Aksoy said.

“It is obvious that this decision, which overlooks the fact that Hamas is an important reality of Palestinian political life, cannot make any contribution to the just, comprehensive and lasting settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”

On Wednesday, the US government dubbed Haniyeh a “specially designated global terrorist” and imposed a raft of sanctions against him.

On its website, the US State Department said Haniyeh had “close links with Hamas’ military wing and has been a proponent of armed struggle, including against civilians.”

The US Treasury Department, meanwhile, also added Haniyeh to its sanctions list, essentially freezing any US-based assets he might have.

The designation also bans individuals and companies from engaging in financial transactions with the Hamas leader.

Haniyeh has been a vocal critic of US President Donald Trump’s decision late last year to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital — a move that drew widespread condemnation and protests from across the Arab and Muslim world.

Washington’s recent policy decisions, Haniyeh said after the US move, had served to confirm that “the US Administration can no longer be considered an honest broker… in the so-called peace process.”

On Wednesday evening, Hamas slammed the US decision to add Haniyeh’s name to the terror blacklist, saying the move had revealed the “depth” of Washington’s longstanding bias towards Israel.

“This decision reveals the depth of US bias towards Israel, which has reached the level of a partnership in the aggression against our people,” Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem told Anadolu Agency by phone.

The move, he added, “specifically targets the Palestinian resistance.”

Source: Middle East Monitor.
Link: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20180202-turkey-concerned-over-haniyeh-terror-listing/.

UNICEF: 85% of Syrian children in Jordan live in poverty

February 26, 2018

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said that 85 per cent of Syrian refugee children in Jordan live below the poverty line.

In a statement released yesterday, the UN body said Syrian families are struggling to meet their basic needs, including feeding, educating and protecting their children.

According to the study, 94 per cent of Syrian children are under five years old and suffer from “multidimensional poverty”, meaning that they are deprived of a minimum of two out of the following five basic needs: education, health, water and sanitation, child protection and child safety.

Four out of ten Syrian families in host communities in Jordan are food insecure while 26 per cent are vulnerable to food insecurity.

“Forty-five per cent of children aged 0-5 years old do not have adequate health services, including vaccination,” it said.

UNICEF’s study revealed that 38 per cent of Syrian children are not enrolled in formal education or have dropped out of school because of distance, cost, lack of space or being bullied.

Moreover, 16 per cent of children aged 0-5 years old do not have birth certificates, which will present them with additional challenges and risks in the future.

It is estimated that Jordan hosts 1.3 million Syrians, only half of whom are registered refugees.

Source: Middle East Monitor.
Link: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20180226-unicef-85-of-syrian-children-in-jordan-live-in-poverty/.

Syria militias dissolving due to lack of funds

February 26, 2018

Syrian paramilitary groups fighting alongside the regime are being dissolved due to lack of funds, according to Syrian news agencies.

The Syrian Observer reported that thousands of Syrians fighting alongside militias loyal to President Bashar Al-Assad left their groups and joined regime forces because they were not getting paid. It’s believed that members of the militia groups have not received their salaries for six months.

A separate Syrian news agency reported over the weekend that as many as 10,000 fighters have not been paid for six months, and that about half of them have joined the regime’s army in the last few weeks.

Reports mentioned that the National Defense militia operating in eastern Homs countryside had been dissolved, leaving a very small number stationed at the checkpoints surrounding Al-Houla area and the northern Homs countryside.

A Syrian source commenting on the development learned that large numbers of these fighters who had joined the Syrian army were affiliated with the militia groups belonging to businessman Rami Makhlouf.

One disgruntled fighter who was a former member of the National Defense militia said: “I lost vision and half my hearing in the battles, my right arm was amputated, my body was splintered, I fought on most fronts until I was paralyzed, but I did not receive my salary for six months, and there is no income for me and my children except for the salary.”

A report by Syrian news agency Zaman Al Wasl claims that the problem around payment of militia groups was due to a combination of sharp differences between the leader and their founder in Homs and the expected end to the conflict which has seen fighting against opposition forces reduced with missions drying up for militia groups.

Regime loyalists are said to be demanding accountability of the leaders of the militias who stole millions of Syrian pounds while others paid with their lives to defend them and the Assad regime.

Some 5,400 troops are said to have joined the army over the past two months, mostly from the paramilitary forces in the eastern Homs countryside. The Syrian government opened offices in two centers is Homs to attract former militias.

Citing the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights the report claimed that since the start of the conflict in Syria, more than 119,000 pro-regime forces have been killed, including 62,000 troops, tens of thousands of loyalist militiamen, and 1,556 fighters from Hezbollah.

Source: Middle East Monitor.
Link: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20180226-syria-militias-dissolving-due-to-lack-of-funds/.

Gaza's first 'child friendly school' opens to students

March 1, 2018

Gaza got its first ever “child friendly school” yesterday on the ruins of Jamal Abdul Nasser School which was completely destroyed during Israel’s 2014 bombardment of the besieged enclave.

Serving 800 pupils, the new school was built by a Qatari education foundation and UN bodies with design input from children and the local community.

The school was opened by Al Fakhoora, a program of the Qatari funded initiative, Education Above All (EAA) Foundation. It was completed in partnership with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF).

Donors of the project are confident that Jamal Abdul Nasser School can now also serve as an emergency shelter for Internally Displaced People (IDPs) during times of conflict. In its press release, the EAA said that the new building is designed to be “environmentally friendly, child-centered and fully accessible for all students. Renewable energy is provided by solar panels, the design incorporates a double wall system, double-glazed, shatter-proof windows, and thermal insulation in the ceiling and floor.”

There are a number of distinctive additions to the school’s multi-purpose halls. “Features of the multipurpose buildings include: flexible learning spaces, an extensive library, IT facilities, breakout spaces, a multi-purpose sports facility and an on-site health facility, providing crucial psychosocial support and child protection services,” said EAA. “The halls are also specially designed to serve as emergency shelters for Internally Displaced People (IDPs) during times of conflict, with gender-sensitive accommodations, emergency power and water networks, and improved Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) facilities”.

Representatives from UNDP, UNICEF and EAA Foundation were all present at the school opening, as well as returning students from Al Fakhoora’s “Dynamic Future’s scholarship program”. EAA applauded the returning students who have previously completed their education as a result of Al Fakhoora funding.

“We are extremely proud to be part of building this innovative school in Gaza for a community who deserves the highest quality of education facilities. Education is a fundamental human right, one that is crucial to the future of the Palestinian state. By investing in their future, we enable these young people to play a key role in rebuilding their communities, unlocking their full potential,” Farooq Burney, executive director of EAA Foundation’s Al Fakhoora program, said.

The UN was equally effusive in its remarks. Roberto Valent, UNDP Special Representative of the Administrator, said: “UNDP welcomes the opening of the first child-friendly school in Gaza. We are confident that the school, with the support from Qatar Fund for Development, through Al Fakhoora, and in partnership with the Ministry of Education and UNICEF, will become a positive example of ensuring appropriate conditions for education. Most importantly, this model will ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all children and adolescents, with a focus on those left behind.”

UNICEF Special Representative Genevieve Boutin added: “The completion of work at the Jamal Abdul Nasser School is an opportunity to reflect on how this project has helped not only rebuild schools, but also catalyze additional investments in children and young people across Gaza, thanks to generous support from Al Fakhoora, a program of the Education Above All Foundation, and the Qatar Fund for Development.”

Boutin applauded the contributions of children in Gaza in the “design of a safer and more child-friendly school” adding: “We also supported the training of 400 school counselors and 10,000 teachers to provide students with crucial psychosocial support and child protection services, and help them develop life skills and peaceful conflict resolution techniques. All these efforts have contributed to a more positive learning environment, giving us all hope in a better future.”

Source: Middle East Monitor.
Link: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20180301-gazas-first-child-friendly-school-opens-to-students/.

'Qatar will not change policy even if blockade never ends'

March 1, 2018

A spokeswoman for the Qatari foreign ministry said yesterday that her country will not change its policy even if the blockade continues forever.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Lulwa Al Khater, made the remarks at the opening session of an international conference organized by the Middle East Dialogue Center in Brussels.

“The siege imposed on Qatar by regional players has accelerated our relations through several axes, the most important of which was the launching of the Qatari-US strategic dialogue,” Al Khater said, adding that the conference in Brussels “is an opportunity to refute the lies spread by the blockade countries and to respond to those who try to discredit Qatar.”

For his part, the Qatari Ambassador to Belgium, Abdul Rahman Bin Mohammed Al Khulaifi, said the siege gave Qatar power and it could overcome its consequences quickly, adding that the siege now has only effects on the social side while the state succeeded in maintaining its stability and security.

Al Khulaifi explained that Qatar has succeeded in finding alternatives and strategic partnerships to achieve its ambitions.

According to the ambassador, Doha has investments worth about $2 billion in Turkey, while Ankara will support the Qatari economy and participate in the 2022 World Cup projects.

Source: Middle East Monitor.
Link: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20180301-qatar-will-not-change-policy-even-if-blockade-never-ends/.

Polish law criminalizing some Holocaust speech takes effect

March 01, 2018

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A Polish law that makes it a crime to accuse the Polish nation of crimes that were committed by Nazi Germany took effect on Thursday, part of a larger effort by the nationalist authorities to harness history for its larger purpose of defending the country's honor and pride.

For years Polish officials have struggled to fight phrases like "Polish death camps" that are sometimes used abroad to refer to death camps that were built and operated by Nazi Germany on occupied Polish territory during World War II. Some Poles fear that as the war grows more distant, new generations will mistakenly come to believe that Poles were the perpetrators of the Holocaust.

The law, however, has sparked a crisis with Israel, where Holocaust survivors and officials fear its true aim is to repress research on Poles who killed Jews during World War II. That is something that Polish officials deny. They insist that the law, which calls for prison sentences of up to three years, will only punish those who publicly and "against the facts" accuse the Polish nation as a whole for crimes committed by the Germans.

As the law took effect Thursday, Polish and Israeli representatives were in Jerusalem holding a first working meeting toward resolving a standoff over the law. The law has also created tensions with Ukraine due to a provision that criminalizes denying the wartime crimes of Ukrainian nationalists, who killed up to about 100,000 Poles in wartime massacres.

Poland's president signed the law last month but also sent it to the constitutional court for review. Polish officials have said no criminal charges will be brought until the court has made its ruling, expected in several weeks.

But prosecutors are already looking for cases where Poland is defamed over its wartime activities. The law has also been criticized by the United States, which fears that it could stifle free expression and academic research, and has warned Poland that to go through with it could hurt Poland's strategic relationships with both the U.S. and Israel.

Recognizing the concern about the law in the United States, the government dispatched its foreign ministry's undersecretary of state, Marek Magierowski, to Washington this week to meet administration officials, lawmakers and Jewish groups to try to allay their fears.

Magierowski said Wednesday that the government had been surprised by the outcry over the legislation and allowed that Warsaw had not properly "prepared the groundwork" for explaining the law's intent and impact. At the same time, he said, media reports and comments from foreign politicians had "brutally misinterpreted" the law and its intent, hence the necessity of his visit.

Magierowski said Poland would never "whitewash" its history and the fact that some Poles did commit "ignoble acts" during World War II. But, he said the law gave the government a means to fight back when the country is accused of complicity in the Holocaust. Previous attempts to push back, such as protesting use of the phrase "Polish death camps," had been unsuccessful, he said.

"Those efforts had been fruitless," he said, adding that the new law is a necessary "legal tool to allow us to fend off the narrative of Polish complicity."

Matthew Lee in Washington contributed.

As Italy votes, Europe fears populist, euroskeptic gains

March 04, 2018

ROME (AP) — Italians voted Sunday in one of the most uncertain elections in years and one that could determine if Italy will succumb to the populist, euroskeptic and far-right sentiment that has swept through Europe.

The campaign was marked by the prime-time airing of neofascist rhetoric and anti-migrant violence that culminated in a shooting spree last month against six Africans. While the center-right coalition that capitalized on the anti-migrant sentiment led the polls, analysts predict the likeliest outcome is a hung parliament.

That will necessitate days and weeks of back-room haggling and horse trading to come up with a coalition government that can win confidence votes in Parliament. Just which parties coalesce from among the three main blocs — the center-right coalition, center-left coalition and the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement — will determine Italy's course.

"Basically it is very likely that, at the end of the day, none of these three groups will have an absolute majority and they will be forced to start talking to each other and see how to put together a coalition government," said Franco Pavoncello, dean of the John Cabot University in Rome.

More than 46 million Italians were eligible to vote from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. (0600-2200GMT), including Italians abroad who already mailed in ballots. Exit polls were expected after polls closed, projections sometime thereafter and consolidated results Monday.

With unemployment at 10.8 percent and economic growth in the eurozone's third-largest economy lagging the average, many Italians have all but given up hope for change. Polls indicated a third hadn't decided or weren't even sure they would vote.

"The situation is pretty bad," said Paolo Mercorillo from Ragusa, Sicily, who said he had decided not to even bother casting a ballot. "There aren't candidates who are valid enough." The 5-Star Movement hoped to capitalize on such disgust, particularly among Italy's young, and polls indicated the grassroots movement launched in 2009 by comic Beppe Grillo with the mantra for Italy's political establishment to "(expletive)-off" would be the largest vote-getter among any single party.

But the 5-Stars weren't expected to win enough to govern on their own, and they have sworn off forming coalitions. The movement's leader Luigi Di Maio has recently suggested he would be open to talking with potential allies, however.

Analysts predict the only coalition with a shot of reaching an absolute majority is the center-right coalition anchored by ex-Premier Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia party. The coalition includes the anti-migrant League and the nationalistic, neofascist-rooted Brothers of Italy party.

Berlusconi, 81, can't run for office because of a tax fraud conviction, but he has tapped European Parliament President Antonio Tajani, considered a pro-European moderate, as his pick if the center-right is asked to form a government.

League leader Matteo Salvini is gunning for the top job too though, and some pro-European analysts envision a possible "nightmare scenario" of an extremist alliance among the 5-Stars, the League and Brothers of Italy. The presence in Rome this weekend of Steve Bannon, right-wing populist architect of Donald Trump's White House campaign, was an indication of the stakes.

Roberto D'Alimonte of Rome's LUISS University said such an outcome would be "catastrophic" for the markets. But he said the 5-Stars will have to decide if they're going to join the right or the left if they're going to move from their longtime perch in the opposition to actually help govern.

"This will be the moment of truth," he said. With polls showing the center-left trailing, Democratic Party leader Matteo Renzi and the current premier, Paolo Gentiloni spent the final days of the campaign warning that the only way to guard against a turn to populists and extremists was to vote for the Democrats. Because Renzi alienated so many in the coalition, Gentiloni has been cited as a possible candidate for premier who would even be acceptable to some in the center-right.

A new law passed last year, ostensibly to make Italy more governable, calls for a combination of direct and proportional voting for both the lower Chamber of deputies, which has 630 seats, and the Senate, which has 315 seats.

A few quirks could affect the outcome, particularly for the 5-Stars. For starters, the names of about a dozen 5-Star candidates will appear on the ballot, but they no longer represent the party. After party lists were finalized, these 5-Stars were kicked out for a variety of sins. If they actually win, other parties can woo them away to beef up their own ranks.

Analysts have also warned that the ballot itself might confuse voters and result in a higher-than-usual percentage of invalid votes. While European capitals and Brussels were watching the outcome for its effects on policy and markets, some in Italy had more at stake personally. Even the three-time premier Berlusconi vowed in the heat of the campaign to repatriate 600,000 migrants if the center-right wins.

"Yes indeed I fear these results because I have arrived here with all my thoughts and dreams," said Musab Badur, an asylum seeker from Sudan who is living in a Milan shelter. "And I never thought that one day maybe I would have to go back or anything like that."

Rome blanketed by snow as Arctic storm sets seasonal records

February 26, 2018

ROME (AP) — The Arctic storm dubbed the "Beast from the East" saw temperatures across much of Europe fall Monday to their lowest level this winter and even brought a rare snowstorm to Rome, paralyzing the city and giving its residents the chance to ski, sled and build snowmen in its famous parks and piazzas.

Rome's schools were ordered closed, while train, plane and bus services were crippled. Italy's civil protection agency even mobilized the army to help clear slush-covered streets as a city used to mild winters was covered by a thick blanket of snow.

"Beautiful, beautiful!" marveled Roman resident Ginevra Sciurpa, who donned a fur hat and thick scarf to brave the cold. "Even though I'm not a child anymore, the enthusiasm for the snow is still the same. It is always beautiful, and above all I didn't have to go to work."

By noon the snow had all but melted, but freezing temperatures expected overnight prompted officials to close Rome schools on Tuesday for a second day and warn of continuing traffic and train chaos due to the ice that was already forming on slick cobblestone sidewalks and streets.

Parks that usually stay green through winter were blanketed white, giving eager Romans a rare opportunity to go sledding, snow-shoeing or skiing. Even the Circo Massimo became a hotspot for snowball fights, while Piazza Navona, with its famed Bernini fountains, turned into a snow-dusted winter wonderland.

Rome's Mediterranean climate and proximity to the sea usually result in mild winters, such that restaurants often keep outdoor seating open, albeit with space heaters, even through the coldest months of the year.

Elsewhere in Europe, the storm set dangerously low temperatures: Lithuanian officials said temperatures that plunged to as low as minus 24 degrees Celsius (minus 11 Fahrenheit) in some places were to blame for the deaths of at least three people over the weekend. Hospitals in Lithuania and Latvia have reported an uptick in people being treated for hypothermia and frostbite.

Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven's car skidded off the road in a snowstorm north of Stockholm and smashed into railing, one of several snow-related traffic accidents in Sweden. He was uninjured. Meteorologists in Germany, meanwhile, reported a record low for this winter of -27 C (-16.6 F) on the Zugspitze mountain in the Alps. Moscow, as well, recorded its coldest night this winter, with the mercury dipping to nearly -20 C (-4 F) on Sunday night.

Doctors in Britain warned that the already-stretched National Health Service may have trouble coping with extra patients affected by what meteorologists are forecasting will be days of cold and high winds. British Airways canceled a number of short-haul flights into and out of Heathrow Airport.

The intense winter weather has been dubbed "The Beast from the East" by British tabloids, citing the Siberian Arctic as the source of the frigid temperatures. The storm system has moved progressively south and west and is expected to bring continued cold and snow for several days over much of Europe.

In Croatia, about 1,000 soldiers joined in the clearing operations in the worst-affected areas, where over 1.5 meters (some 5 feet) were reported. While unusual, the U.N. weather agency says such late winter cold spells aren't exceptional.

Scientists say the big chill in Europe is partly caused by the fact that strong winds which normally keep cold air 'locked' over the Arctic have weakened, releasing icy blasts across the northern hemisphere. Similar sudden drops in temperature have occurred over North America in recent years and climate researchers say they could become more frequent as global warming further saps strength from the air currents around the pole.

Even as Europe shivers, temperatures in the Arctic itself have been unusually warm in recent weeks, the World Meteorological Organization said. The Cape Morris Jesup station on Greenland's northern tip recorded temperatures above freezing several times since mid-February.

Associated Press writer Nataliya Vasilyeva in Moscow, Jovana Gec in Belgrade, Serbia, Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin, Frank Jordans in Berlin, and Gregory Katz in London, contributed to this report.

Migrants on stalled route hide in Greek city's ancient walls

February 26, 2018

THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — The stone walls that cut through the old quarter of Greece's second-largest city defended Thessaloniki for more than 2,000 years. For a 24-year-old Pakistani immigrant, parts of the remaining ramparts mean survival.

Muhammed Adeel and other homeless men sleep in the old reinforced gun positions. Filthy blankets, rolled-up mattresses and empty food packaging fill the protected chambers that once housed cannon. "I came here with a dream, but I have nothing — no job, nowhere to live, nothing at all," Adeel said after a near-freezing night in a dome-shaped casemate.

The European Union struck a deal with Turkey nearly two years ago to halt the surge of asylum-seekers attempting the dangerous sea voyage from Turkey to the Greek islands, the most popular route to Europe at the time. The crackdown also left tens of thousands of newcomers confined to Greece's eastern islands or mainland camps during the long asylum application process.

Some desperate migrants, particularly those with slim chances of winning asylum, have turned to another route — heading overland through Turkey and wading across the heavily policed Evros River to neighboring Greece.

The land route's increasing appeal is clear. Greek police caught 1,072 people who had entered the country's Evros region illegally in October 2017, compared to 655 in the same month a year earlier. Adeel was among those who slipped through the cracks. The young man said he paid smugglers $2,500 to take him from Turkey to Thessaloniki, a trip that involved crossing the river and a six-hour ride hidden in the back of a truck.

His money and hope ran out in Thessaloniki, where destitute and homeless migrants number in the hundreds, afraid to seek help for fear of deportation. The vast majority hoped Greece was just a stepping-stone to more prosperous European countries. But when they got here they found the routes north into Europe closed off to keep them out.

With chances of successfully gaining asylum slim and jobs near impossible to find in a country where unemployment still runs at 21 percent, most get by in Greece as best they can while waiting for a way to smuggle themselves onward.

"Everyone in Pakistan has a dream. And everyone who makes it to (Europe) comes with hope of achieving something, to do something for their parents," Adeel said. Taking shelter in a tiny casemate built in medieval times and depending on food handouts from volunteers and charities is far from his dream. Adeel wants to make it to the economically stronger heart of Europe, where he believes he has a better chance of landing a job.

"This is not a future," he said. Border jumps usually get more expensive the farther into central Europe immigrants try to get. From Greece, they can expect to pay $3,000-4,000 for the next leg of their journey, according to multiple interviews conducted by the Associated Press.

That might be traveling across Greece's northern border by foot into Macedonia and from there to Serbia, hiding in an Italy-bound freight container or risking a flight with forged ID papers. It's a journey that remains out of reach for Kamran Misi, 33, a Pakistani immigrant who got stranded in Thessaloniki after he crossed the Evros River. Misi was homeless for six months until a church-run shelter took him in.

His goal now is to have something resembling a normal life. "When we came here, we came here with a lot of hopes," Misi said. "We had lot of dreams that we would find a peaceful life, a place to stay, and get work, whatever — like what all normal people need."

Elena Stamatoukou, a volunteer at Solidarity Now, a charity that serves both Greeks affected by their country's economic crisis problems and new immigrants, said the organization received aid requests in December from 289 people in Thessaloniki.

"They wanted shelter or legal advice, and all had one thing in common: They were homeless," she said. Many of Thessaloniki's migrants sleep rough in the same places as the city's resident homeless people — vacant buildings, park benches, abandoned construction sites, the main square.

"We go there at around 3 a.m., when there is nobody else around, and we leave very early," Muhammad Fiaz, an 18-year-old Pakistani who has spent more than five months wandering the streets of Thessaloniki.

"I want to go to Italy," he said. "But each time I try, the police arrest me."

Merkel in line for a fourth term after months of uncertainty

March 04, 2018

BERLIN (AP) — Germany ended months of political uncertainty Sunday when Chancellor Angela Merkel gained the support needed to preserve her governing coalition and secure a fourth term as leader of Europe's most powerful economy.

The center-left Social Democrats voted overwhelmingly to remain in a coalition with Merkel's conservative bloc, after difficult and drawn-out negotiations triggered by September's elections, which saw the rise of a new right-wing force in German politics and raised questions about Merkel's future.

Parliament is expected to meet March 14 to re-elect Merkel as chancellor, ending the longest time Germany has been without a new government after elections in its postwar history. Merkel has drawn flak from both left and right for maintaining an unabashedly centrist course since taking office in 2005. With the coalition approved, she can now turn her attention to tackling rising anti-immigrant sentiment in Germany while pushing forward efforts to reform the stumbling European Union.

"I congratulate the SPD on this clear result and look forward to continuing to work together for the good of our country," she said on Twitter. Merkel's survival drew cheers from her allies at home and abroad, with French President Emmanuel Macron declaring it "good news for Europe."

"France and Germany will work together in the coming weeks to develop new initiatives and advance the European project," Macron said in a statement. Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel expressed hope that the end of Germany's six-month political limbo would allow the EU to step up efforts to deal with such issues as immigration, security and trade.

In a veiled reference to the United States under President Donald Trump, Michel cited the threat of protectionism, the weakening of international cooperation and the issue of climate change as challenges the 28-nation bloc must face.

Merkel, who has proved herself a shrewd international negotiator during more than 12 years in office, faced her greatest challenge at home after deciding to allow over a million asylum-seekers into Germany since 2015. An anti-migrant party came in third in last year's election, upending Germany's traditional coalition calculus.

With Merkel's bloc and the second-place Social Democrats in government, the right-wing Alternative for Germany, or AfD, now represents the biggest opposition party in Parliament, giving it a prominent platform to attack the chancellor.

Its leaders have vowed to "hunt" Merkel, though so far AfD's novice lawmakers have stood out mainly by failing to grasp parliamentary procedures and putting forward motions all other parties reject. The Social Democrats were initially reluctant to extend their coalition with Merkel but eventually agreed to a deal that gives them control of the foreign, labor and finance ministries — three major portfolios — in return for supporting curbs on immigration.

Conservatives in Merkel's bloc have demanded the country of about 80 million take in no more than about 200,000 migrants a year. Immigration is expected to be a key issue in this fall's state election in Bavaria, where Merkel's allies fear the fallout from her open-door policies.

Some within the Social Democratic Party, particularly on the left, had argued that the party wouldn't benefit from propping up Merkel for another term. In the end, though, two-thirds of its 464,000 members voted in favor of the coalition deal.

Had the long-time German leader faced a "no" result, she would have been left with only two realistic options: forming a minority government or seeking a new election. "This was a really important democratic decision for our country," said acting Social Democrat leader Olaf Scholz, who is in line to become Germany's next finance minister and Merkel's deputy. The party will put forward six names for ministerial posts in the coming days.

In a first step at rejuvenating her party, Merkel has already named several up-and-coming figures to replace veteran ministers in the next Cabinet and backed Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer for a key post at the top of the party in what some commentators say could signal Merkel's preferred successor.

Cheers, protests as German court lets cities ban diesel cars

February 27, 2018

BERLIN (AP) — Handing environmentalists a landmark victory, a German court ruled Tuesday that cities can ban diesel cars and trucks to combat air pollution, a decision with far-reaching and costly implications in the country where the diesel engine was invented in the 1890s.

The ruling by the Federal Administrative Court stirred fears from motorists, auto dealers and other businesses worried about the financial impact. And Chancellor Angela Merkel's government scrambled to reassure drivers it would seek to prevent such drastic measures by pushing other ways to reduce urban pollution.

Diesel automobiles are a popular alternative to gasoline-powered ones in Germany, with about 9 million diesel cars and several million trucks, buses and other vehicles affected by the ruling. Overall, 1 in 3 passenger cars in Germany, home to such automakers as Daimler, Volkswagen and BMW, are diesel-powered, though the cleanest, most modern models would probably still be allowed even if cities decided on a ban.

"It's a great day for clean air in Germany," said Juergen Resch, head of the group Environmental Action Germany, which had sued dozens of German cities for failing to meet legally binding emissions limits.

While diesel cars produce less carbon dioxide and tend to get better mileage than gas-powered vehicles, they emit higher levels of nitrogen oxides, or NOx, contributing to respiratory illnesses and 6,000 deaths annually, according to government figures.

Two German states had appealed lower court decisions that suggested bans on particularly dirty diesel cars would be effective. Germany's highest administrative court rejected that appeal Tuesday, effectively instructing two cities at the center of the case — Stuttgart and Duesseldorf — to consider bans as part of their clean air plans.

What comes next is an open question. It's not clear whether cities will actually move to ban diesels. And if they do so, it remains to be seen whether automakers will be forced to upgrade exhaust and software systems or buy back vehicles; if the government will offer consumers incentives; or if owners will be left on their own, forced to bear the costs.

The Leipzig-based administrative court said cities won't be required to compensate drivers for being unable to use their diesel cars. Speaking on behalf of automakers, Matthias Wissmann, president of the German Association of the Automotive Industry, stressed that the government could ease the uncertainty by not leaving it to cities to decide on a case-by-case basis.

"We hope it comes to sensible national regulations," he said. European cities considering diesel bans like Copenhagen and Paris will be watching how the situation plays out in Germany as they make their own decisions.

Jeff Schuster, an analyst with the consulting firm LMC Automotive near Detroit, said diesel bans could spread to other polluted European cities. But he said the market in Europe, China and elsewhere was already headed in that direction because of the big push toward electric vehicles and the damage done by the Volkswagen diesel-emissions cheating scandal.

Diesels make up a smaller part of the American auto market, and so any bans in Europe would have little effect on the U.S., Schuster said. For the past two years in the U.S., only 2.7 percent of registered vehicles were diesel, according to Kelley Blue Book.

New diesel car sales in Germany were already declining in anticipation of the decision, and also because of the VW scandal. Used-car dealers fretted about what the ruling will mean for the vehicles on their lots.

"The prices as well as the demand are going down rapidly," said Marcel del Arbol, owner of R&M used car dealership in Frankfurt. "What happened today will bring the prices down even more. German car companies dipped on the stock market following the ruling but mostly recovered, with Volkswagen down 0.9 percent at the end of the day, BMW down 0.06 percent and Daimler up 0.2 percent.

Analysts said the ruling might actually prove to be a boon for the economy if drivers choose to upgrade their engines or buy new models. Merkel sought to downplay the prospect of widespread diesel driving bans, suggesting that many of the 70 German cities that regularly exceed pollution limits might be able to cut harmful emissions with other measures such as software upgrades in vehicles and converting bus and taxi fleets to electric power.

Experts, however, questioned whether bans can be avoided and accused the German government of ignoring the health problems caused by diesel for too long. Fritz Kuhn, the Green Party mayor of Stuttgart, home to automakers Daimler and Porsche, accused the government of leaving it to cities to clean up the mess by failing to provide a nationwide solution.

Political leaders stressed that diesel owners shouldn't have to shoulder the full burden of a ban. "The auto industry that caused the harmful emissions has to upgrade diesel engines at its expense," said Kai Wegner, a lawmaker who speaks for Merkel's party on urban issues.

The ruling alarmed groups representing small and medium-size companies. Diesels — first developed by Rudolf Diesel in Augsburg over a century ago — are a mainstay of many company fleets and are widely used by taxi companies and delivery services.

Berlin's Chamber of Commerce said companies in the capital would have to spend 240 million euros ($295 million) to replace their fleets if diesel cars were banned — enough to drive many out of business.

Associated Press writers Kerstin Sopke in Leipzig, Christoph Noelting in Frankfurt and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to this report.

Siberian snap claims lives in Europe, but also brings beauty

February 27, 2018

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — An extreme Siberian cold snap sweeping across Europe is claiming lives in Poland and Romania, but also dusted the ancient ruins of Pompeii with snow Tuesday and prompted Amsterdam authorities to prepare the city's iconic canals for ice-skaters.

The Red Cross said its emergency teams were sheltering and providing medical treatment to thousands of people as a blast of icy air from the northeast dubbed the "Beast from the East" continued to sweep across Europe.

Red Cross volunteers dug people out of snow-trapped homes in Croatia, staffed homeless shelters in Belgium and patrolled city streets with hot drinks and food for homeless people in places such as Spain and Italy that typically enjoy mild winters.

Britain, which is buffered by the Atlantic Ocean and tends to have temperate winters, saw heavy snow in some areas that disrupted road, rail and air travel and forced hundreds of schools to close. British Airways canceled a number of short flights while trying to preserve its long-haul schedule to and from London Heathrow Airport.

In Poland, police said five people died from the cold between Monday and Tuesday after temperatures dropped in some areas to -22 C (-7.6 F), bringing the country's winter total for deaths due to hypothermia to 58.

Authorities in some Polish cities and towns, especially in the east where temperatures were the lowest, installed coal heaters in the streets since most of the people who succumbed to the cold were homeless or drunk. Authorities in Warsaw also increased patrols, paying particular attention to people lying and sitting in the street.

Blizzards battered Romania, leaving scores of roads blocked by snowdrifts. Three deaths were reported there. Among the victims was a 65-year-old man found frozen to death outside his home in northern Romania.

In France, some migrants braved the chill with little more than tents and sleeping bags. In a makeshift camp along the banks of a canal running through northeast Paris, a group of largely Afghan migrants lit a small fire Tuesday morning to warm their hands after spending a sleepless night in temperatures that dropped below minus 5 C (23 F).

Germany also suffered one of its coldest nights of the winter. The mercury dropped below minus 10 degrees Celsius (14 Fahrenheit) in large parts of the country and to minus 30.4 C (minus 22 F) atop the country's highest peak, the Zugspitze in the Alps.

A day after Rome was blanketed with a thick pile of snow, the Eternal City all but returned to normal Tuesday. But the same storm traveled south overnight to Naples and the islands of Ischia and Capri, and left the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, leveled by molten lava nearly 2,000 years ago, coated with a light dusting of snow.

Naples city officials said they were misled by forecasts and ended up unprepared for the snow. In the Netherlands, authorities banned boats from some of Amsterdam's iconic canals so they would freeze over and residents could lace up ice skates and glide over the waterways for the first time since 2012.

The local water authority said it was also closing sluices and locks to hasten ice growth by slowing the movement of water.

Nicole Winfield in Rome, Mike Corder in The Hague, Netherlands, Greg Katz in London, Samuel Petrequin in Paris, Frank Jordans in Berlin, Alison Mutler in Bucharest and Monika Scislowska in Warsaw contributed.

EU prepares new Myanmar sanctions over Rohingya crackdown

February 26, 2018

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union foreign ministers have tasked the EU's top diplomat with drawing up a list of sanctions to slap on senior Myanmar military officers over rights abuses against the Rohingya minority.

The ministers on Monday also ordered EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini to propose ways to toughen an EU embargo blocking the provision of arms and equipment that could be used for internal repression.

They said the measures are needed "in light of the disproportionate use of force and widespread and systematic grave human rights violations committed by the military and security forces." About 700,000 Rohingya have fled towns and villages in Myanmar's northern Rakhine state since August to escape a military crackdown.

Negotiations for their return are underway but many fear their safety and well-being are not guaranteed.

Heavy winter weather batters UK, European mainland

February 28, 2018

LONDON (AP) — Persistent snow and freezing conditions from a Siberian cold snap snarled transit Wednesday and caused a handful of deaths across a swathe of Europe from Britain to the Balkans. In the U.K., where the weather system has been dubbed "the beast from the east," the weather office issued an alert for Scotland warning that heavy snow and strong wind would bring widespread damage, disruption and risk to life late Wednesday and early Thursday.

"People should ask themselves the question 'is this journey absolutely and utterly essential?' If not, do not travel," Scottish Transport Minister Humza Youssef said. The weather caused cancellations at Glasgow and Edinburgh airports, and Scottish Premiership soccer matches were canceled Wednesday.

Trains were canceled across the north and east of Britain and as far south as London, where several subway lines experienced severe delays, including the Piccadilly Line that links central London to Heathrow Airport.

Emergency officials said many drivers had to be rescued from stranded vehicles. Hundreds of schools were shut for a second day. The weather also forced hospitals to cancel elective procedures and outpatient care.

France's national weather agency, Meteo France, put a large part of the country on alert for dangerous levels of snow, ice and violent wind. Urging people to limit their movement, Meteo France said snowfall would continue until Friday.

Several deaths were attributed to the cold snap, including a 75-year-old man who fell through ice in the Netherlands, likely while skating. A 38-year old man was found dead on a frozen river in northern Germany amid continuing subzero temperatures across the country, according to German news agency dpa.

In Denmark, a 54-year-old man who suffered from dementia was found dead in the snow on the Baltic Sea island of Bornholm, police said. In southern Serbia, another man suffering from dementia was found frozen to death Wednesday after he disappeared from his home two days ago.

An elderly man died of cold when he went out to collect wood near Maribor in Slovenia, authorities there said. Temperatures in the country fell as low as -27 C (-16.6 F). Snowfall of up to 1.1 meters (3.6 feet) blanketed all of Albania, including a rare accumulation in the capital, Tirana. Many schools in the countryside did not have classes on Wednesday.

Snow has blocked many roads and damaged power pylons across Albania, leading to power cuts in many rural areas. In Kosovo, the Education Ministry closed all elementary and high schools Wednesday due to the extreme. Temperatures were expected to drop as low as minus 23 Celsius (minus 9.4 Fahrenheit).

Freezing weather also limited traffic and closed down schools in Croatia, with snow falling even along the Adriatic coast. The cold snap saw a snowman built in Venice's St. Mark's Square, while snow delayed Formula One testing at the Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona on Wednesday.

California Democrats reject anti-BDS legislation

March 1, 2018

California Democrats have rejected proposed legislation targeting the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign, in a further sign of a growing partisan divide in the US over Israel.

The developments were welcomed in a 28 February press release by the Progressive, Arab American and Veterans Caucuses of the California Democratic Party.

On 25 February, at their annual convention in San Diego, California Democrats approved a set of positions on pending legislation that includes opposition to the Israel Anti-Boycott Act, “a federal bill that would impose draconian penalties for boycotts regarding Israel under certain circumstances”.

California Democrats also backed a platform that excised a section from an earlier draft that would have had them “join the national Democratic Party in opposing any effort to delegitimise Israel, including at the United Nations or through the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement”.

“We hope and believe that…the tide is starting to turn against this concerted effort to stigmatize and suppress a form of nonviolent protest against Israeli government policies that is taking hold around the country,” said Iyad Alfalqa, chair of the Arab American Caucus.

The party also approved a recommendation from the Legislation Committee to support the Promoting Human Rights by Ending Israeli Military Detention of Palestinian Children Act, introduced by Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minn., “that would prevent the use of US tax dollars for the Israeli military’s ongoing detention and mistreatment of Palestinian children”.

Source: Middle East Monitor.
Link: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20180301-california-democrats-reject-anti-bds-legislation/.

US plans May opening for embassy in Jerusalem

February 24, 2018

The US plans to open its embassy in Jerusalem in May, the State Department said on Friday. This will coincide with the 70th anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba (Catastrophe) and the creation of the state of Israel in Palestine.

“We are excited about taking this historic step, and look forward with anticipation to the May opening,” said State Department Spokeswoman Heather Nauert. “The embassy will be gradually expanded in existing consular facilities in the Arnona neighborhood, while the search for a permanent site has already begun for a longer-term undertaking.”

Nauert added that the interim embassy will have office space for the ambassador and a small staff. An annex on the Arnona compound will be opened by the end of next year.

Trump administration officials said that Congress has been notified of the impending move. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson signed off on the security plan for the new embassy on Thursday.

According to Saeb Erekat, the Palestinian Authority’s chief negotiator, though, the US move shows a “determination to violate international law, destroy the two-state solution and provoke the feelings of the Palestinian people as well as of all Arabs, Muslims and Christians around the globe.”

Izzat Al-Reshiq of the Hamas Political Bureau said that this move “needs an urgent and strong Palestinian, Arab and Islamic response.” He called upon the PLO and Arab and Islamic states which recognize Israel “to withdraw their recognition immediately.”

Source: Middle East Monitor.
Link: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20180224-us-plans-may-opening-for-embassy-in-jerusalem/.

South Korea to send high-level officials to North for talks

March 04, 2018

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea's president will send a delegation led by his national security director to North Korea this week for talks on how to ease nuclear tensions and help arrange the restart of dialogue between Pyongyang and Washington, officials said Sunday.

They will be the first known South Korean special envoys travelling to Pyongyang in about 10 years. Their trip comes amid a rare moment of good will between the rivals stemming from the recent Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.

The 10-member delegation headed by national security director Chung Eui-yong is to fly to Pyongyang on Monday afternoon for a two-day visit that includes talks with unidentified senior North Korean officials. The discussions would deal with how to promote peace on the Korean Peninsula, improve ties between the Koreas and foster an environment to realize the resumption of talks between Pyongyang and Washington, President Moon Jae-in's office said.

After its Pyongyang trip, the South Korean delegation is to visit Washington to brief U.S. officials about its talks with North Korean officials, senior presidential official Yoon Young-chan said at a televised news conference. He said the South Korean delegation includes National Intelligence Service director Suh Hoon and Vice Unification Minister Chun Hae-sung.

U.S. officials have said North Korea must take serious disarmament steps before talks can restart, and North Korea has insisted it won't place its nuclear program on a negotiating table. In the past, South Korea sent special envoys to Pyongyang to reach breakthrough deals aimed at reducing animosities and securing higher-level talks. The Koreas' two past summit talks, one in 2000 and the other in 2007, were both held after ranking South Korean officials went to Pyongyang and worked out details of the summits in advance.

The last known South Korean special envoy to travel to Pyongyang was the country's intelligence chief, who visited a few months before the 2007 summit. During the Olympics, the Koreas fielded their first joint Olympic squad in women's ice hockey and had their athletes parade together during the opening ceremony.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un also sent senior officials including his influential younger sister to the start and close of the games, and they met Moon and conveyed Kim's invitation to visit Pyongyang for what would be the third inter-Korean summit. Those North Korean officials also told Moon that they were willing to restart talks with the United States.

President Donald Trump responded by saying talks will happen only "under the right conditions." Moon has yet to accept Kim's invitation to visit Pyongyang. During the Olympics, Moon only said that "let's not get too far ahead" on a summit and that the Koreas should create an unspecified "environment" for the talks.

Some experts say the North's outreach over the Olympics was an attempt to use improved ties with South Korea as a way to break out of diplomatic isolation and weaken U.S.-led international sanctions and pressure on the country.

Israel is now arming seven rebel groups in Syria

February 28, 2018

The illegal Israeli occupation of the Syrian Golan Heights has now been in place for more than 50 years. This substantial territory, part of southern Syria, was conquered by Israeli occupation forces in the 1967 war.

The majority of the Syrian population in the territory was then either expelled, or fled towards safety. Israel demolished their homes, buildings and entire villages in the Golan in order to build Jewish settlements where they once stood.

In 1981, in defiance of the United Nations and international law, Israel annexed the Golan Heights. This move – unrecognized even by Israel’s allies – was intended to solidify Israel’s de facto control of the occupied Syrian territory, giving it a gloss of legalistic self-recognition. What’s more, over the past few years Israel has used the cover of the long-running and bloody war in Syria to expand its control of the Golan, far into the rest of the south of its neighbor's sovereign territory; it wants as much control as possible.

As I wrote here last summer, Israel is now establishing a buffer zone in the south of Syria, extending from the Golan. Working with local proxies in the south, Israel is establishing what its front organisations claim is a “safe zone”.

That summer we learned that Israel was supporting a “border force” rebel group between the Golan and the rest of Syria to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars. In the years prior to that, Israel had worked to support Al-Qaeda-linked groups in the south of Syria. This support took the form of treating wounded fighters in Israeli hospitals across the border, before sending them back to Syria to fight the regime.

The latest news is that Israel’s arming of proxy forces in Syria seems to be escalating. A report in Tel Aviv newspaper Haaretz last week stated that Israel is now arming “at least” seven rebel groups in the Golan, which are “getting arms and ammunition from Israel, along with money to buy additional armaments.”

The groups in question all report a recent increase in Israeli aid. This comes in the wake of various states, including Jordan and the US, scaling down their armament operations in Syria. As Haaretz reported, “In January, the Trump administration closed the operations center the CIA ran in Amman, the Jordanian capital, which coordinated aid to rebel organisations in southern Syria. As a result, tens of thousands of rebels who received regular economic support from the US have been bereft of this support.”

The Israeli aim here seems to be twofold. First of all, it is to keep the armed forces of Iran and Hezbollah – the Syrian regime’s allies – away from the boundary line of the Golan. The quickest way to do this is to make sure that there is a feasible armed opposition in that area.

Secondly, Israel’s arms proliferation program is intended to promote its official strategic objective in the region; to “let both sides bleed” in order to prolong the war for as long as possible. Weakening Syria and its allies, Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Iran, is an important goal for Israel and its superpower backer, the United States. Even more important is the goal of making sure that the war carries on.

All of this is in addition to the general Israeli goal of controlling the maximum amount of land that it can grab and keep. The buffer zone that Israel is stealthily attempting to extend as much as 40 kilometers further into Syria is being achieved through front groups posing as supposedly “non-governmental” aid organisations, as well as covering the salaries of rebel fighters and sending funding to buy arms.

These bogus “civil society aid” groups backed by Israel in the south of Syria – extending its Golan occupation – are a front. In reality, they are a way to extend Israeli proxy control throughout the region.

All of this is very much out of the Israeli play book in Lebanon. Between 1982 and 2000, Israel illegally occupied the south of Lebanon. After the 1982 invasion — which reached as far as Beirut — Israel withdrew to a “buffer” zone in southern Lebanon. Instead of occupying the zone with Israeli soldiers, much of the work was handled by Lebanese proxy forces. These puppet armed groups oppressed the population on behalf of Israel. This soon led to armed resistance to the Israeli occupation, and it was in this environment that Hezbollah was born.

Israel illegally occupied the south of Lebanon until 2000, when the resistance led by Hezbollah drove out the main Israeli proxy, the so-called South Lebanon Army. Today, Israel is attempting to establish what is, in all but name, a “South Syria Army”. Whether it succeeds is questionable but, as the history of Lebanon shows, even if it does, Israel is unlikely to maintain control in the long run.

Source: Middle East Monitor.
Link: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20180228-israel-is-now-arming-seven-rebel-groups-in-syria/.

Russian presidential candidate Sobchak is doused with water

March 04, 2018

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian presidential candidate Ksenia Sobchak's campaign office says she was doused with water and knocked to the ground in an assault on Sunday. The incident came several days after Sobchak threw water on nationalist presidential candidate Vladimir Zhirinovsky during a televised debate.

According to a statement on Sobchak's campaign website, the man who threw water on her at the entrance of a Moscow hotel said "This is for Zhirinovsky." The statement said the man was detained by police and identified him as a staff member of the Moscow city council.

Sobchak, who rose to fame hosting a TV reality show, casts herself as the candidate for Russians fed up with current politics but has largely avoided personal criticism of President Vladimir Putin. Zhirinovsky, the 71-year-old leader of the ultranationalist Liberal Democratic Party, has won notoriety for his xenophobic statements. This will be the sixth time he has run for president.

Eight candidates are registered for Russia's March 18 presidential election, including Putin. With his approval ratings topping 80 percent and rivals trailing far behind, Putin is set to easily win a fourth term. Putin's most vocal critic, the 41-year-old opposition leader Alexei Navalny, has been barred from the race due to a criminal conviction that he calls politically motivated.

Putin vows to focus on improving Russian living standards

March 01, 2018

MOSCOW (AP) — President Vladimir Putin set a slew of ambitious economic goals, vowing to boost living standards, improve health care and education and build modern infrastructure in a state-of-the-nation address Thursday.

The televised speech was timed to closely precede the March 18 election, in which Putin is set to easily win a fourth term. The Russian leader's approval ratings top 80 percent despite an economic slowdown caused by continuing tensions with the West and a drop in global oil prices.

Speaking before an audience of top officials and lawmakers, Putin said that Russia needs to make a technological breakthrough to set the foundation for future successful development. He emphasized the need to focus on overcoming poverty, saying that 20 million Russians currently live below the official poverty line equivalent to some $180 a month.

Putin also said that Russia must take steps to improve the health care system and aim to increase the average life expectancy, currently at 73, to more than 80 in the next decade. He noted the need to encourage the development of Russia's vast territories, promising to double spending on new roads and invest in new transportation facilities and modern communications.

Australian amnesty nets 57,000 firearms and rocket launcher

March 01, 2018

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — More than 57,000 illegal firearms including a rocket launcher and machine guns were handed in during a recent Australian amnesty in which gun owners could surrender such weapons without penalty.

The government and some gun policy analysts were surprised by the large number of weapons that were surrendered in the first nationwide amnesty since 1996, when a lone gunman killed 35 people in Tasmania state and galvanized popular support for tough national gun controls.

A virtual ban on private ownership of semi-automatic rifles and a government-funded gun buyback cut the size of Australia's civilian arsenal by almost a third. The government said Thursday the three-month amnesty that ended in September collected 57, 324 firearms, including almost 2,500 semi-automatic and fully-automatic guns — the rapid-fire categories particularly targeted after the 1996 Port Arthur massacre.

"It was a very, very good result," Law Enforcement Minister Angus Taylor told The Associated Press. "This is another step in the process of making sure that we keep firearms out of the hands of criminals and gangs, and we keep Australians safe and secure," he added.

Taylor declined to comment on whether the United States and other countries should follow Australia's example after the recent Florida high school shooting that killed 17 people. "I'm not going to give advice to other countries. This is working for us," Taylor said, referring to national gun controls.

Before the amnesty, Sydney University gun policy analyst Philip Alpers predicted it would only collect "rubbish guns" that were not valued by legitimate gun owners or criminals. "It's a resounding success. I think it exceeded everybody's expectations. I was astonished," Alpers said on Thursday.

Key to the success over several state-based amnesties that have occurred since the 1996 massacre was that licensed gun dealers had agreed to act as collection points. In previous amnesties, the guns have had to be surrendered at police stations.

The amnesty report said a rocket launcher had been handed into a gun dealer rather than police. The dealer said he understood it had been found in a local garbage dump in Queensland state. Alpers said the surrender now of semi-automatic and automatic weapons that had been hidden in 1996 when they were banned suggested Australia's mindset on guns was shifting and that controls had gained popularity over two decades.

Most illegal guns in Australia are considered to be in the gray market, meaning they were not registered or surrendered as they should have been, but are not considered black market guns owned for the purpose of crime.

The danger of those markets merging became obvious in 2014 when a man who professed support for the Islamic State group took hostages in a Sydney cafe armed with a gray market shotgun. The gunman and two hostages were killed in a shootout with police.

A government inquiry into the siege recommended the government deal with illegal guns in the community.