Erdogan Vows to Extend Offensive to East Syria, North Iraq

March 19, 2018

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, buoyed by his army’s capture of a Kurdish stronghold in northwest Syria, threatened to extend the offensive against separatist Kurdish militants to eastern Syria and northern Iraq.

Turkey’s military will shift their campaign to several towns under the control of the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, including Manbij, Kobani, Tal Abyad, Rasulayn and Qamishli, “until this terror corridor is fully eliminated,” Erdogan said Monday. Turkey’s threat to attack Manbij, where U.S. troops are based, has put Ankara at loggerheads with Washington, and talks between the NATO allies have so far yielded no agreement. The U.S. also has a diplomatic presence in Kobani.

Erdogan on Sunday claimed victory in the cross-border operation he launched in January to expel the YPG from Afrin, a town along the Turkish border. While the loss of Afrin delivered a major blow to the YPG’s hopes to establish a contiguous autonomous region, Turkey has resolved to clear the separatist fighters from other areas near its frontier.

Turkish authorities see the YPG as an extension of PKK militants who have used bases in northern Iraq as a springboard for attacks on Turkish targets in a decades-long war for autonomy.

Erdogan Threat

Turkey has served notice to the Iraqi government in Baghdad that its forces would attack the major PKK camp on Mount Sinjar near the Syrian border unless Iraq takes action.

“If you are going to handle this, you do it,” Erdogan said in remarks directed at Iraq. “If you can’t handle it, then we may suddenly enter Sinjar one night and clear out the PKKs there.”

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said earlier that Turkish and Iraqi armies would carry out a joint offensive against the PKK bases in northern Iraq, probably after Iraqi elections set for May 12.

Turkey has had hundreds of troops deployed at the Bashiqa training based near the northern Iraqi city of Mosul since the end of 2014. It has also had a tank battalion stationed near the Iraqi frontier town of Bamerni for about two decades, and has frequently sent planes and troops across the border to target the PKK.

The U.S., meanwhile, expressed deep concern over reports that many residents had fled Kurdish-majority Afrin under threat of attack from the Turkish army and allied rebel forces.

“This adds to the already concerning humanitarian situation in the area, with United Nations agencies reporting a displaced population in or from Afrin district in the hundreds of thousands, who now require immediate shelter and other assistance to meet basic needs,” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in an emailed statement on Monday.

“We have repeatedly expressed our serious concern to Turkish officials regarding the situation in Afrin.”

Source: Bloomberg.
Link: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-19/erdogan-vows-to-extend-offensive-to-east-syria-northern-iraq.

Taliban announce cease-fire over Eid holiday for 1st time

June 09, 2018

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Afghan Taliban announced a three-day cease-fire over the Eid al-Fitr holiday at the end of the holy month of Ramadan, a first for the group, following an earlier cease-fire announcement by the government.

A statement released Saturday by the Taliban said that they would defend themselves in case of any attack. They say foreign forces are excluded from the cease-fire and Taliban operations would continue against them.

The statement added that the leadership of the Taliban may also consider releasing prisoners of war, if they promise not to return to the battlefield. Mohammad Haroon Chakhansuri, spokesman for the Afghan president, welcomed the cease-fire announcement during a news conference in Kabul.

"We hope that (the Taliban) will be committed to implementing their announcement of the cease-fire," he said. "The Afghan government will take all steps needed to make sure that there is no bloodshed in Afghanistan."

"The government of Afghanistan is hopeful that this process will become a long term process and will result in a sustainable peace," Chakhansuri added. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Thursday announced a weeklong cease-fire with the Taliban to coincide with the holiday.

A statement sent from the president's office on Thursday said the government's cease-fire will begin on 27 Ramadan, or June 12 on the Western calendar, and last through the Eid al-Fitr holiday, until around June 19, adding the cease-fire does not include al-Qaida or the Islamic State group.

The palace statement referred to a gathering of Afghanistan's top clerics last week in which they issued a decree against suicide attacks and called for peace talks. A suicide bomber struck just outside the gathering as it was dispersing, killing at least seven people and wounding 20 in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group.

The Taliban had denounced the gathering, insisting that its jihad, or holy war, against foreign invaders was justified. It instead urged the clerics to side with it against the "occupation." NATO has led international security efforts in Afghanistan since 2003. It wound down its combat mission in 2014 but its Resolute Support mission comprises almost 16,000 troops from around 40 countries.

The conflict has been at a stalemate for several years, and NATO's best chances of leaving lie in the Taliban agreeing to peace talks and eventually joining the government. The Trump administration has sent additional troops to try to change the course of America's longest war.

On Friday, senior U.S. officials said they will intensify combat against the Islamic State affiliate in the country during the Kabul government's temporary halt to attacks on the Taliban. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said this could, for example, allow the U.S. to partially shift the focus of aerial surveillance from the Taliban to IS fighters as well as al-Qaida extremists, who remain a threat 17 years after the U.S. invaded. Mattis spoke to reporters during a break in a NATO defense ministers meeting.

In the meantime, Taliban insurgents have continued to carry out attacks. Just hours before the Taliban's announcement, at least 17 soldiers were killed when their checkpoint came under attack by Taliban fighters in western Herat province, said Gelani Farhad, spokesman for the provincial governor.

Farhad said one soldier was wounded. He added that eight insurgents were killed and more than a dozen others were wounded in the gun battle in Zewal district. In northern Kunduz province, at least 13 local policemen were killed early Saturday when their checkpoint came under an attack by Taliban fighters, said Nematullah Temori, spokesman for the provincial governor.

Temori said seven others were wounded in Qala-e Zal district. Around 10 insurgents were also killed and nine others wounded during the battle, he said. In eastern Nangarhar province, a possible candidate for a district council seat was killed when his vehicle was destroyed by a sticky bomb Saturday, said Mohammad Nasim, Rodat district governor.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted on its news agency Aamaq website. Nasim said that Ghulam Mohiadin was a district level official for the education department and planned to run for the district council later this year.

Both the Taliban and Islamic state group are active in eastern Afghanistan, especially in Nangarhar. In northern Sari Pul, at least six public protection forces were killed after a checkpoint came under an attack by Taliban fighters, said Zabi Amani, spokesman for the provincial governor.

Amani said that seven other forces were wounded in the attack late Frday night near Sari Pul city. "Insurgents have set fire to two military Humvees as well as the checkpoint," he said. He said there was a report of a single Taliban casualty but the group has not commented.

Double Kabul suicide bombing kills 25, including journalists

April 30, 2018

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A coordinated double suicide bombing hit central Kabul on Monday morning, killing 25 people, including an AFP photographer and a cameraman for a local TV station, the Afghan police said.

At least 45 people were wounded in the twin attacks, according to Kabul police spokesman, Hashmat Stanekzai, who also added that four policemen were among those killed. The attack was the latest in a relentless string of deadly large-scale bombings and assaults that have struck in Kabul and elsewhere in Afghanistan so far this year. No one immediately claimed responsibility for Monday's attack, but both Taliban and Islamic State group are active and have repeatedly claimed attacks in Kabul.

The suicide blasts took place in the central Shash Darak area, which is home to the NATO headquarters and a number of embassies in Afghanistan. Stanekzai, the police spokesman, said the first suicide bomber was on a motor bike. The second explosion was meant to hit those rushing to the scene of the attack to help the victims of the first blast.

He said the second attacker was on foot, in a crowd of reporters that had rushed to the scene of the first attack, pretending to be one of the media. He then detonated his explosives while still among the reporters, the spokesman said, intentionally targeting journalists.

Agence France-Presse reported that the news agency's chief photographer in Kabul, Shah Marai, was among those killed. AFP said Marai died in a blast that struck a group of journalists who had rushed to the scene of the earlier suicide attack in Kabul.

Sediqullah Tawhidi, an official form the Afghan Journalist Safety Committee, said a cameraman form the local TOLO TV also was killed. Police officer Jan Agha said the journalists died in the second blast, which also wounded two police officers.

Kabul chief of police Dawood Amin said the area of Kabul that was targeted, which includes many foreign offices, was quickly sealed off and authorities were investigating. Mohammad Mousa Zahir, director of Wazir Akbarkhan Hospital, said several people suffering injuries from the blasts were being treated at the hospital.

The local Islamic State group affiliate and the more firmly established Taliban carry out regular attacks around the country, with the Taliban usually targeting the government and security forces and IS targeting members of the country's the Shiite minority, whom the affiliate perceives as apostates. Large-scale attacks by the Taliban and the Islamic State group have also hit the Afghan capital, the seat of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's government.

The relentless underscore the struggles that Afghan security forces have faced to reign in the militant groups since the United States and NATO concluded their combat mission at the end of 2014. Both groups want to establish strict Islamic rule in Afghanistan.

Last week, an Islamic State suicide bomber attacked a voter registration center in Kabul, killing 60 people and wounding at least 130 others. There were 22 women and eight children among the fatalities.

And the month before, an IS suicide bomber targeted a Shiite shrine in Kabul where people had gathered celebrating the Persian new year. That attack killed 31 people and wounded 65 others.

Moroccan protest leader's 20-year sentence sets off marches

June 28, 2018

TANGIERS, Morocco (AP) — Hundreds of protesters marched in Morocco's capital Wednesday to denounce the convictions of a charismatic protest movement leader and three other activists, all given the maximum prison sentence of 20 years over mass demonstrations touched off by the death of a fish seller.

The show of public anger over the convictions signaled anew that the discontent among Moroccans, originally anchored in the northern Rif region, was shared around the North African kingdom. Protesters in the capital, Rabat, gathered in front of the parliament building and then marched up a central avenue. Earlier in the day, there were protests in the northern town of Hoceima, the center of the Hirak Rif movement that represents the biggest challenge to the kingdom since the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings.

"Take us all to jail," "We are all Rif" and "State, beware" were among the chants repeated by the many hundreds of protesters in Rabat as dozens of police office surveyed the crowd. Hirak Rif leader Nasser Zefzafi and the three activists were convicted late Tuesday of threatening state security. Fifty other activists in the 2017 Hirak Rif protests received sentences ranging from one to 15 years for lesser charges.

Mohammed Ziane, who represented the activists before they suspended their legal defense, said they would appeal. "The verdict will certainly not comfort spirits, especially since the Hirak demands have not been met," Ziane said. "To send people to prison for 20 years for asking for their rights is clearly meant to scare. But we can already see it's not scaring people."

Protesters demanded that King Mohammed VI fulfill promises he made last year to build a school, a university and a hospital in the neglected Rif region. "May the people live, and may those who abuse power fall," protesters cried out.

Zefzafi's father told The Associated Press by telephone that his son received news of his conviction and sentence in a Casablanca prison five hours after the verdict. "He told me when I visited today that he doesn't care if they imprison him for 20 or 30 years as long as he still believes in the cause," Ahmad Zefzafi said.

He said his son smiled, adding that "hearing that the people are rallying behind him in protest makes him prouder to be where he is." The seeds of the protest began in October 2016 when an impoverished fish seller in the Berber Rif region was crushed to death trying to retrieve a valuable swordfish seized by police and tossed into a garbage truck.

Zefzafi, who was arrested in June 2017 after a manhunt, quickly became the movement's public face, demanding development and the creation of jobs in the Rif region, which has lagged economically. The uprising briefly spread to other parts of Morocco.

The Rif maintains a strong identity apart from Morocco, due largely to a brief stint as an independent republic from 1921-1926, when its legendary rebel leader, Abd el-Krim, defeated the Spanish army.

In 1959 and 1984, the current king's father, Hassan II, crushed uprisings in the Rif — and never set foot in the region. Son Mohammed has traveled there. Soon after the 2017 protests, the Moroccan monarch promised development projects for the region and pardoned some of the hundreds of protesters who had been detained.

Sirte urges its IDPs to return home

June 17, 2018

The Municipality of Sirte has called all the displaced people of the city in Libya and abroad to return to their city and open a new page.

On its Facebook page on Friday, the municipality said that it will coordinate with the Ministry of Local Government, the Ministry of Displacement and Displaced People’s Affairs, and the Ministry of Interior to facilitate the return of the displaced people of the city.

The municipality hinted in its statement to the possibility of providing passports to the citizens of Sirte displaced abroad who do not have one, calling on them to take this opportunity in the Eid to come to terms and move forward.

Source: The Libya Observer.
Link: https://www.libyaobserver.ly/inbrief/sirte-urges-its-idps-return-home.

Sudanese rebels are fighting alongside Dignity Operation in Libya's Derna

June 17, 2018

Militants from the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) headed by Minni Minnawi are fighting alongside Khalifa Haftar’s forces in the Libyan city of Derna, Sudanese news website Bajnews reported Saturday, confirming that a number of them were killed.

The news website quoted a cousin for one of the militants as saying that his relative was killed with other Sudanese rebels while fighting under Minnawi armed group to support Haftar's forces in Derna.

The website added that the family of the killed militant is currently receiving condolences on his death in Darfur.

The Sudanese Government has accused the armed rebel movements of fighting in Libya in exchange for military equipment and money; however, the SLM movement denied these allegations and confirmed their presence on Sudanese territory.

Source: The Libya Observer.
Link: https://www.libyaobserver.ly/inbrief/sudanese-rebels-are-fighting-alongside-dignity-operation-libya%E2%80%99s-derna.

Kuwait sentences lawmakers to prison over 2011 protest

July 08, 2018

KUWAIT CITY (AP) — Kuwait's highest court on Sunday ordered an opposition leader and two lawmakers imprisoned for 3 ½ years over the 2011 storming of parliament amid that year's Arab Spring protests, in a case involving nearly 70 politicians, activists and others.

Over a dozen people received prison time in the ruling by Kuwait's Court of Cassation, while the others were released on bail or found not guilty. Tiny, oil-rich Kuwait, which has a history of representational government and toleration for protests, has been caught up in a wider crackdown on dissent across the Gulf Arab states, whose monarchical rulers were alarmed by the pro-democracy protests that swept the region seven years ago.

Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, the ruling emir of the U.S.-allied nation, has said Kuwait must "protect our national unity and ward off the risks of sedition." The defendants were initially acquitted in the yearslong case, but a shock court decision in November resurrected the charges against them. That decision accused the defendants of using violence against police officers, destroying government property and inciting violence, charges they long have denied.

Among those sentenced Sunday to 3½ years was Musallam al-Barrack, an opposition leader who left prison in April 2017 after serving a two-year sentence on separate charges. Al-Barrack had left Kuwait before the sentencing. He could not be immediately reached for comment.

Two serving lawmakers, Waleed Tabtabai and Jamaan Herbish, both Islamists, received the same 3½-year sentence, along with six former legislators and five activists. Three others received two years in prison.

In a bid to insulate Kuwait from the unrest elsewhere in the region in 2011, the emir ordered 1,000 dinar ($3,559) grants and free food coupons for every Kuwaiti. That came on top of Kuwait's cradle-to-grave entitlements for it citizens, which the OPEC member is able to afford because it holds the world's sixth-largest known oil reserves — despite being smaller than the U.S. state of New Jersey.

Allegations swirled at the time that some lawmakers had been bribed $350 million by the government to sway their votes, along with rumors that they were involved in embezzling state funds. Kuwait's then-Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammed Al Sabah, Sheikh Sabah's nephew, who also faced allegations, survived a no-confidence vote.

Amid strikes and confrontations with police, protesters briefly entered parliament on Nov. 16, 2011, waving flags and singing the country's national anthem. The activists were initially charged after the storming of the parliament but a lower court in 2013 ruled they had no criminal intent during the incident. However, a surprise appeals court ruling last November sentenced dozens of defendants to prison terms of as much as nine years.

Since then, family members of those charged have held regular nightly protests in front of parliament. While anti-government protests are illegal across other Gulf Arab states, Kuwait has stood out among its neighbors for its representational politics dating back to the 1930s, making the court case that much more surprising.

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

Poland's isolation deepens as Supreme Court law takes effect

July 04, 2018

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland's international isolation and political uncertainty at home deepened on Wednesday as a purge of the Supreme Court's justices took effect, with the chief justice defiantly refusing to step down.

First President Malgorzata Gersdorf arrived for work as usual at the court in Warsaw, vowing to continue her constitutionally mandated term, which runs through 2020. The court's judges support this view.

A large crowd of anti-government protesters cheered Gersdorf on and vowed to defend the constitutional order and fight what they see as the erosion of their democratic system. Protesters gathered again at night in Warsaw and in another cities, with Lech Walesa, the legendary pro-democracy activist and Solidarity leader of the 1980s, addressing the cheering crowd in front of the Supreme Court building.

"He who breaks the constitution and the division of powers is a criminal, they are criminals," he said. "We must do everything to send these people away and vote to choose different people." While Gersdorf was allowed in to the modern glass Supreme Court building in Warsaw and oversaw a meeting with other judges, it was not clear how she could continue in her role following a new law that lowers the mandatory retirement age to 65 from the previous 70.

Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the ruling party leader, said in an interview published Wednesday by the Gazeta Polska daily that the judges' "action" will result in "shameful disaster" for them. An adviser to President Andrzej Duda insisted Gersdorf has no choice but to step down.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki faced a grilling in the European Parliament for what many European lawmakers see as Poland's violations of democratic standards with a broader overhaul of the judiciary that gives the ruling party vast political control over courts and judges.

Manfred Weber, a German member of the conservative European People's Party group, hailed Poland's great democratic legacy, praising the 10 million Poles who joined Solidarity in the struggle against communism in the 1980s.

"Their great achievement — a sovereign, democratic Poland — is at stake today," Weber said. He also mentioned the ruling party's transformation of state media into a propaganda tool and the prosecution of peaceful anti-government protesters, even as authorities have failed to act against nationalists who had attacked protesters.

Socialist leader Udo Bullmann praised Gersdorf for defending the Polish constitution, and criticized Morawiecki for dismantling "the last bastion of the judiciary in Poland." Guy Verhofstadt, president of an alliance of liberals, said that putting judges under political control was reminiscent of Soviet practices and that Poland should abandon its "illiberal" illusions.

"I ask you personally, really, to turn the wheel and bring Poland back into the family of democratic nations," Verhofstadt told Morawiecki. Morawiecki defended the changes the populist Law and Justice party has brought to the justice system, insisting his government is working to make judges more accountable to the democratic will of the people and that Poland's democracy "has never been as alive as it is today."

Though calm, he did not take the criticism well. "We are a proud nation and we know the price of freedom," he said. "It is not good when proud nations are being lectured to by others, because that produces deadlocks."

Speaking later to reporters he insisted the forced retirements were "perfectly in line with the constitution." In the debate, Morawiecki also got support from some who backed Warsaw's arguments that an overreaching EU was meddling in a sovereign state's internal affairs.

The new law is forcing approximately one-third of the court's 73 sitting judges to step down, unless they obtain special permission from the president to remain. After having taken control of common courts and the constitutional court, Law and Justice now takes control of the top court, which handles appeals for all civil and criminal cases and authorizes election results.

Protesters expressed fears the party will use its political sway over the court to falsify elections. "We have the right to live in a free country with a constitution," said Monika Czerniakowska, 50. She said once a government violates the constitution, "anything can happen. Look what's happening in Hungary. How far can we go?"

On Wednesday, 63 justices were working, meaning that 10 of the 27 being forced into retirement have accepted their retirement under the new law, according to the court's press office. "I still hope that the legal order will be restored in Poland," Gersdorf said as she arrived at the court.

The European Commission, which polices compliance with EU laws, opened an infringement procedure Monday against Poland over the Supreme Court law. Government critics now are putting their hopes in the EU to preserve the rule of law in their homeland — a message that was reflected in the chants and slogans at the protest.

New Czech government wins confidence vote in Parliament

July 12, 2018

PRAGUE (AP) — The new Czech government won a mandatory confidence vote in the lower house of Parliament early Thursday, ending months of political instability following October's general elections and giving the far-left Communists a role in governing for the first time since the country's 1989 anti-communist Velvet Revolution.

The government is led by populist billionaire Andrej Babis as prime minister. His centrist ANO (YES) movement won the election, but his first minority government lost a confidence vote in January and had to resign.

The government's creation took such a long time because most other parties in Parliament have been reluctant to enter a coalition with ANO because of fraud charges facing Babis, who denies wrongdoing.

Babis' second government is made up of ANO and leftist Social Democrat deputies and it also doesn't have a parliamentary majority. It was sworn in June 27. Babis struck a controversial power-sharing deal with the Communist Party to carve out the 105-91 vote early Thursday that put through the confidence measure required to govern,

Protesting the rising influence of the Communists, hundreds protesters rallied near the parliament building during the daylong debate. Thousands recently took to the streets to protest the planned pact with them.

The governing coalition and the Communists are united in rejecting any compulsory distribution of migrants in the European Union. Babis has also agreed to meet the Communist Party's demand to tax the compensation that the country's churches receive for property seized by the former Communist regime. The Communists are vocal opponents of the payment.

The deal between Babis and the Communists ensured the government's victory in the confidence vote but it is too vague to give a clear picture of the future influence of the Communists on the government.

The hardline party is vehemently opposed to NATO and has friendly ties with the ruling communists in Cuba, China and North Korea. The Communists also oppose the deployment of Czech troops abroad, particularly to the Baltics and Poland as part of NATO missions amid the tension between Russia and the West.

Along with its anti-migrant stance, the new government opposes setting a date for the Czech Republic to adopt the EU's common euro currency. The new Cabinet has been under the strong influence of pro-Russian President Milos Zeman, who is known for an anti-migrant rhetoric. It still doesn't have a proper foreign minister after Zeman rejected a candidate for the post over his purportedly sympathetic views of migration.

Czech PM inks power-sharing deal with Communists

July 10, 2018

PRAGUE (AP) — Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis signed a power-sharing deal with the far-left Communist Party on Tuesday in a move that will give the maverick party a role in governing for the first time since the country's 1989 anti-communist Velvet Revolution.

The agreement is meant to ensure the Communist Party's support for the coalition government led by Babis in a key, mandatory confidence vote in the lower house of Parliament on Wednesday. All governments must win such a vote to stay in power.

The government of Babis' centrist ANO (YES) movement and the leftist Social Democrats that was sworn in on June 27 doesn't have a majority in the house and needs the Communists' support to survive. The cooperation with the Communists is a controversial issue that recently prompted thousands of Czechs to rally against it.

Unlike most other communist parties in central Europe that have joined the left-wing mainstream in recent decades, the Czech party has maintained a hardline stance. It is vehemently opposed to NATO and has friendly ties with the ruling communists in Cuba, China and North Korea. The Communists also oppose the deployment of Czech troops abroad, particularly to the Baltics and Poland as part of NATO's mission amid the tension between Russia and the West.

The Communists insist Russia poses no threat. To win their support, Babis agreed with their demand to tax the compensation that the country's churches receive for property seized by the former Communist regime.

The Communist Party is a vocal opponent of the payment.

Greek court rules to extradite cybercrime suspect to France

July 13, 2018

THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — A Greek court agreed Friday to extradite to France a Russian cybercrime suspect who also is wanted on criminal charges in the United States and Russia. The court in the northern city of Thessaloniki ruled in favor of France's request for Alexander Vinnik, a former bitcoin operator who was arrested in Greece last year on a U.S.-issued international warrant.

Vinnik is appealing the decision, defense lawyer Ilias Spyrliadis said. France is seeking the 38-year-old for alleged cybercrime, money laundering, membership in a criminal organization and extortion. The Greek Supreme Court earlier approved Vinnik's extradition to the U.S. to stand trial for allegedly laundering billions of dollars using bitcoin.

French authorities accuse Vinnik of defrauding thousands of people worldwide, including about 100 French nationals, by launching cyberattacks through his bitcoin platform. They allege he used 20,643 bitcoins to launder around 133 million euros ($155 million.)

Vinnik has denied doing anything illegal. He remains jailed in Greece pending final decisions on his extradition. Meanwhile, Russian authorities sent a new request this month for Vinnik's extradition Russia initially sought Vinnik on lesser fraud charges, and a Greek court ruled for his extradition to Russia based on the first request. The second request raises the amount of money allegedly involved in the cyberfraud there to 750 million rubles ($12 million.)

Spyrliadis said a European warrant ordinarily would take precedence over others, giving France first dibs on prosecuting Vinnik. But he said in practice, it'll be up to Greece's justice minister to decide where Vinnik ends up.

Germany presents new, more restrictive migration plan

July 10, 2018

BERLIN (AP) — Germany's top security official on Tuesday unveiled his new plan on controlling and limiting migration, which he called a "turning point" in the country's asylum policy. The main goals of the 63-point "migration master plan" include the quick deportation of people living in Germany whose asylum applications have been rejected, who already registered for asylum in another European country or who have a criminal record, Interior Minister Horst Seehofer told reporters in Berlin.

Seehofer, who has long pushed Chancellor Angela Merkel to take a harder line against migrants, said the new plan also envisions placing all asylum-seekers in big centers to have their applications processed there. Asylum-seekers currently are mostly distributed to small asylum homes across the country, though some states have already introduced centers where hundreds of applicants need to stay for months while awaiting decisions.

The new plan also foresees that asylum applicants who previously registered in another EU country will be taken directly back to where they first entered the EU — primarily Greece and Italy. That issue had led to a clash between Seehofer and Merkel, who repeatedly insisted that Germany shouldn't act unilaterally by sending back asylum seekers to other European countries that would then have to bear the biggest burden of the influx. The controversy ended last week with a compromise in which Germany will have to make agreements with affected countries before sending back asylum seekers there.

"We prefer European solutions, but national solutions are not necessarily superfluous," Seehofer said. More than 1 million migrants entered Germany in 2015-2015, most of them from war-torn countries like Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq. While they initially received a friendly welcome in the country, the mood has turned and led to a backlash against migrants and helped fuel the rise of the nationalist Alternative for Germany. In the last two years, however, the numbers of newly arriving migrants in Germany have gone down sharply.

Seehofer's office reported Tuesday that the country saw a 16.4-percent decline in asylum applications in the first half of 2018 over the same period last year. There were 93,316 formal applications from January through June, 18,300 fewer than in the first half of 2017. The largest group seeking asylum was from Syria, with 22,520 applications, followed by Iraq with 9,015 applications and Afghanistan with 6,222.

In the first six months, German authorities decided on 125,190 applications, down nearly 70 percent from the same period of 2017, an indication that the backlog of cases is starting to be cleared. About 40,000 people were granted asylum or related protection, 45,000 were rejected and 40,000 cases were otherwise resolved, such as being withdrawn or sent to another European country for review.

Demonstrators march against Trump, mock with giant balloon

July 13, 2018

LONDON (AP) — A giant balloon depicting U.S. President Donald Trump as a screaming orange baby flew over London Friday as tens of thousands marched through the streets to protest the American leader's visit to the U.K.

The diaper-clad infant, with a quiff of hair and a mobile phone for tweeting, was the centerpiece of demonstrations protesting Trump's policies on issues ranging from immigration and race relations to women and climate change.

"Depicting Trump as a baby is a great way of targeting his fragile ego, and mocking him is our main motivation," said Matthew Bonner, one of the organizers. "He doesn't seem to be affected by the moral outrage that comes from his behavior and his policies. You can't reason with him but you can ridicule him."

Anger over Trump's visit has already had consequences. Just a week after Trump's inauguration, Prime Minister Theresa May invited the president for a state visit, the type of event that normally includes glittering horse-drawn carriages and a state dinner hosted by the monarch. That morphed into this two-day "working visit" with much less pomp and circumstance amid concern about security and crowds in central London.

Protest organizers say they plan to stage demonstrations in some 50 cities around the U.K. "We hope that wherever Donald Trump goes, he hears and sees the strength of a British opinion that rejects not just him as a person and however distasteful he is as a person, but the policies and politics that he represents," said Asad Rehman, organizer of UK Protests Against Trump's Visit.

Carrying placards reading "Dump Trump," and "Can't comb over sexism," joyous crowds blew whistles before starting from Portland Place heading toward Oxford Circus. Phil Bond, 65, a musician, said that he knows that it is unlikely that the demonstrations will make any difference to the president, but he believes people in the United States will notice. He said he just wants to add "my little drop of water to the 50 gallons."

Not everyone was protesting against Trump, however. Augustine Chukwuma Obodo, who wore a "Make America Great Again! hat and a Trump for president in 2020 shirt, said he wanted make clear that not everyone found the protest amusing. He said he wanted to add his voice to those who are more quiet, but believe Trump is doing a good job on issues such as pushing NATO members to pay more.

"America is not a cashpoint," he said. A march in support of Trump will start at the U.S. Embassy on the south bank of the River Thames and end near the prime minister's residence at Downing Street on Saturday.

Trump, in an interview with Britain's Sun newspaper, criticized London Mayor Sadiq Khan, saying he had not been "hospitable" to the U.S. government. Khan refused to block the Trump baby balloon. "I guess when they put out blimps to make me feel unwelcome, no reason for me to go to London," Trump said in an interview published Friday.

Khan, who has often been a target of Trump's ire, backed the protests but said those who want to cause trouble are not welcome. "The U.S. has always stood by our side as a beacon for tolerance, openness and respect. This protest is not anti-American - far from it. Most of those marching on Friday will love the United States, just as I do," Khan said. "But having a special relationship means that we expect the highest standards from each other, and it also means speaking out when we think the values we hold dear are under threat."

After his meetings in and around London, Trump will fly north for a round of golf at his Turnberry resort in Scotland. That won't help him escape protesters who have scheduled demonstrations outside the golf course, as well as George Square in Glasgow and near the U.S. consulate in Edinburgh.

William, Kate's third child Prince Louis christened

July 09, 2018

LONDON (AP) — The third child of Prince William and wife Kate was christened Monday at a royal chapel. The service for Prince Louis was attended by guests including Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, and newlyweds Prince Harry and Meghan.

Louis's siblings Prince George, 4, and Princess Charlotte, 3, also watched the ceremony at The Chapel Royal in St. James's Palace. Kate's parents and siblings were also there, including her sister Pippa Middleton, who is pregnant. Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip didn't attend.

Louis was dressed in a cream, frilly lace royal christening gown — a replica of the intricate robe made for Queen Victoria's eldest daughter in 1841. The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby welcomed the royals at the entrance to the chapel.

As Kate chatted to the archbishop while holding Louis, she could be heard describing her sleeping son as "very relaxed and peaceful." The duchess added, with a smile: "I hope he stays like this." The royal couple also named six close friends and family members to be godparents to Prince Louis, who was born in April.

Iran has no intention to leave Syria, top official says

July 13, 2018

MOSCOW (AP) — Iran has no intention of leaving Syria regardless of U.S. and Israeli pressure, a senior envoy to Iran's leader said Friday, reaffirming a tough stance on the issue expected to top the agenda of the upcoming U.S.-Russian summit.

The statement from Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, came in the wake of his meeting in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin. A day earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Putin that Israel wants Iran to leave Syria.

The high-level talks precede Monday's summit in Helsinki between Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump, who are set to discuss the Iranian presence in Syria. Both the U.S. and Israel want Iran to pull out of Syria, while Russia has warned it would be unrealistic to expect Iran to fully withdraw from the country.

A possible deal could see Syrian troops replacing Iranian forces and its proxy Hezbollah militia in the areas near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Velayati reaffirmed Iran's firm intention to maintain its presence in Syria, but skirted a question about a possible pullback from the border, saying only that Tehran won't bow to U.S. and Israeli coercion.

"We coordinate the Iranian presence in Syria with Russia and Syria," Velayati said during a meeting at Moscow's Valdai Club discussion platform. "We will be present there the way we consider necessary. Sometimes we will play our role in Syria open-handed, sometimes we will do it with our hands hidden."

While Velayati maintained a combative tone, his careful response reflected the intense diplomatic maneuvering ahead of the Helsinki summit. He expressed skepticism about the outcome of the meeting, repeating tough criticism of the U.S. and saying he didn't expect Trump to make any positive contribution to stabilizing the Middle East.

Velayati argued that Iran along with Russia helped stem fighting in Syria and prevented the country from falling to the Islamic State group and other militants, scoffing at the U.S. demands to leave. "We have come there without the Americans' permission and we won't heed their demands to leave," he said.

Velayati also strongly warned Russia against listening to the U.S. arguments about the Iranian presence in Syria. "I told the Russian officials: Now the Americans are telling you that the Iranians must leave Syria and tomorrow they will ask you what you are doing in Syria," he said. "They are trying to split our alliance."

Out as UK foreign secretary: One more twist in Boris saga

July 09, 2018

LONDON (AP) — The bombastic Boris Johnson is out as foreign secretary, but few if any suggest Monday's resignation means the last has been heard from one of the best known figures in British politics.

The politician, whose shaggy, unkempt appearance does little to mask fierce personal ambition, has broken with Prime Minister Theresa May over Britain's exit from the European Union — he favors a much harder, more radical break with the bloc — just as he fell out with college chum and Prime Minister David Cameron in 2016 when Johnson made the fateful decision to jump on the Brexit bandwagon.

The foppish Johnson — an articulate campaigner — helped lead Brexit forces to victory in the June 2016 referendum that effectively ended Cameron's career and set in motion more than two years of tortuous negotiations with the EU.

Now that he has resigned, and is no longer required to show loyalty to May, Johnson is likely to focus on his long-term goal of becoming prime minister. He is one of the most visible and vocal figures in the Conservative Party, but he has made more than a few enemies along the way, and no one knows if he can ultimately get the party's backing for the top spot the next time a vacancy arises.

His last big gamble came in February 2016, when he dramatically parted ways with Cameron. The safe course for the ambitious former London mayor would have been to back his longtime political ally Cameron's bid to keep Britain inside the EU in the referendum and let the prime minister sink or swim.

Instead, Johnson decided to lead the "leave" campaign and use his considerable clout to try to pry Britain out of the EU and, at the same time, push Cameron underwater — a tactic that eventually worked, even if it was May, and not Johnson, who moved into 10 Downing Street after the moving vans took Cameron's furniture away.

The 54-year-old Johnson has managed to use his disarranged, slightly comical hair as a helmet, shielding him from more serious scrutiny. It lets him come across as an unconventional politician even as he carved a straightforward political path, moving from elite colleges into journalism, then Parliament, then City Hall, finally back to Parliament and ultimately a major Cabinet position.

He is (almost) always willing to play the buffoon, not minding when he's photographed stranded on a zip line looking ridiculous and happy to speak extremely elementary Greek to Greek constituents. Johnson emphasizes his American connections with American visitors (he was born in New York City's posh Upper East Side) and talks comfortably about his Turkish great-grandfather with Muslims, sometimes pointing out that his ancestor studied the Quran.

Throughout his career, Johnson has managed to surmount the sort of gaffes that have brought other politicians down. In his newspaper days, Johnson called Africans "piccaninnies" and referred to people from Papua New Guinea as cannibals. As a member of Parliament, he offended an entire British city when he complained that people from Liverpool were wallowing in "victim status" after a Liverpudlian was taken hostage and slain in Iraq.

He has apologized — a lot — and seems to have been forgiven, a lot. Now he can add a stint as foreign secretary to his resume — and not many expect him to leave it at that.

Boris Johnson quits as UK's May faces mounting Brexit crisis

July 09, 2018

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Theresa May dug in her heels Monday after the resignation of two top government ministers over Brexit negotiations whipped up a storm that threatened to topple her fragile minority government

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson quit with a resignation letter accusing May of flying "white flags" of surrender in negotiations with the European Union. He said "the Brexit dream is dying, suffocated by needless self doubt "

Johnson followed Brexit Secretary David Davis out the door as a hard-won government consensus on future trade ties with the bloc disintegrated less than three days after it was forged, and nine months before Britain is due to leave the EU.

Davis resigned late Sunday, saying May's plan to maintain close trade and regulatory ties with the EU gave "too much away, too easily." If Davis's resignation rattled May, Johnson's shook the foundations of her government. The tousle-headed blond Johnson is one of Britain's best-known politicians, and one of the most prominent advocates for Brexit. Some euroskeptic lawmakers dream of replacing May with a staunch Brexiteer such as Johnson, a populist, polarizing figure who has never made a secret of his ambition to be prime minister.

"It is as though we are sending our vanguard into battle with the white flags fluttering above them," Johnson wrote in a letter that underscored his credentials as a champion of full-speed Brexit. "The government now has a song to sing," he said. "The trouble is that I have practiced the words over the weekend and find that they stick in the throat."

May named one of her most loyal ministers, Jeremy Hunt, to replace Johnson in the job of Britain's top diplomat. Hunt had been health secretary, and is a leading government backer of a compromise "soft Brexit."

May met with Conservative lawmakers in a packed room at Parliament, in a bid to calm the feverish atmosphere in the deeply divided party. Under Conservative Party rules, a confidence vote in a leader can be triggered if 48 Conservative lawmakers write a letter requesting one. But leading pro-Brexit lawmaker Jacob Rees-Mogg said he didn't think she would face a leadership challenge.

"My concern is about the policy rather than the individual," he said. With Britain due to leave the 28-nation bloc on March 29, 2019, EU officials have warned Britain repeatedly that time is running out to seal a deal spelling out the terms of the divorce and a post-split relationship.

Two years after Britain voted 52 percent to 48 percent to leave the European Union, May is trying to find a middle way between two starkly differing views —within her party and the country — of the U.K.'s relationship with Europe. Pro-Europeans want to retain close economic ties with the bloc and its market of 500 million people, while some, but not all, Brexit supporters want a clean break to make it possible to strike new trade deals around the world.

The resignations came just days after May announced Friday that she had finally united her quarrelsome government behind a plan for a divorce deal with the EU. Government unity began to fray within hours. Brexit-supporting lawmakers were angered by the proposals, saying they would keep Britain tethered to the bloc and unable to change its rules to strike new trade deals around the world. They also argued that the proposals breach several of the "red lines" the government had set out, including a commitment to leave the EU's tariff-free customs union.

In his resignation letter, Davis said the "'common rule book policy hands control of large swathes of our economy to the EU and is certainly not returning control of our laws in any real sense." Johnson said in his letter that May's plan to keep close economic ties with the bloc means Britain is heading for a "semi Brexit" that would leave Britain with the "status of a colony" of the EU.

May defended her Brexit plan to lawmakers in the House of Commons on Monday, with Johnson absent from his usual place on the Conservative front bench. She said she and the two departed ministers "do not agree about the best way of delivering our shared commitment to honoring the result of the referendum" in which U.K. voters opted to leave the EU.

May's plan seeks to keep the U.K. and the EU in a free-trade zone for goods, and commits Britain to maintaining the same rules as the bloc for goods and agricultural products. May said the plan would deliver frictionless trade with Europe and was the "only way to avoid a hard border" between the U.K.'s Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland. Working out how to keep the currently invisible border free of tariffs and customs checks has been a major stumbling block in negotiations.

Rebuffing claims that her proposals make too many concessions to the EU, May said her "smooth and orderly Brexit" would leave Britain free to make its own laws and trade deals. Britain and the EU hope to reach broad agreement by October so the national parliaments of the remaining countries can ratify a deal before Britain leaves. The timetable increasingly looks overly optimistic, and EU frustration with British division and chaos is growing.

European Council President Donald Tusk said Monday that "the mess caused by Brexit is the biggest problem in the history of EU-UK relations and it is still very far from being resolved." Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said the government was incapable of delivering Brexit.

"How can anyone have faith in the prime minister getting a good deal with 27 European Union governments when she can't even broker a deal within her own Cabinet?" he asked. May has hung on to power longer than many expected after she lost her majority in a June 2017 snap election that she had called in hopes of strengthening her hand in Brexit talks.

But May's allies fear more resignations may follow. Steve Baker, a junior Brexit minister, resigned along with Davis. May appointed staunchly pro-Brexit lawmaker Dominic Raab as the country's new Brexit secretary.Many pro-Brexit lawmakers were furious at what they saw as a sell-out of the clean Brexit they desire. Euroskeptic Conservative lawmaker Peter Bone said party activists felt "betrayed" by the government plan.

May was asked by an opposition lawmaker Monday whether she would contest a vote of confidence if one came rather than resign. "Nice try," she said with a touch of bravado. "But I'm getting on with delivering what the British people want."

Associated Press writers Lorne Cook and Raf Casert in Brussels contributed to this report.

Death toll climbs to 76 as heavy rains hammer southern Japan

July 08, 2018

HIROSHIMA, Japan (AP) — Searches continued Sunday night for victims of heavy rainfall that hammered southern Japan for the third straight day, as the government put the death toll at 48, with 28 others presumed dead.

Japanese government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said the whereabouts of 92 other people were unknown, mostly in the southern area of Hiroshima prefecture. More than 100 reports of casualties had been received, such as cars being swept away, he said. Some 40 helicopters were out on rescue missions.

"Rescue efforts are a battle with time," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters. "The rescue teams are doing their utmost." The Japan Meteorological Agency said three hours of rainfall in one area in Kochi prefecture reached an accumulated 26.3 centimeters (10.4 inches), the highest since such records started in 1976.

The assessment of casualties has been difficult because of the widespread area affected by the rainfall, flooding and landslides. Authorities warned that landslides could strike even after rain subsides as the calamity shaped up to be potentially the worst in decades.

In Hiroshima prefecture, water streamed through a residential area, strewn with fallen telephone poles, uprooted trees and mud. Some homes were smashed. A woman who was reported as missing after getting trapped in her car was found but was pronounced dead, Kyodo news service reported. In another area in Hiroshima, 12 people went missing when a residential area got sucked into a landslide, and one body was later found.

Kochi prefecture, on Shikoku, issued landslide warnings almost over the entire island. Public broadcaster NHK TV showed overturned cars on roads covered with mud. A convenience store worker, who had fled to a nearby rooftop, said water had reached as high as his head.

The Japanese government set up an emergency office, designed for crises such as major earthquakes. Military paddle boats were also being used to take people to dry land. Okayama prefecture said in a statement that four people had died, eight others were missing and 11 were injured, at least one of them seriously. Seven homes were destroyed, dozens more were damaged, while more than 570 were flooded.

Kyodo reported several deaths in a landslide in Hiroshima and more bodies were retrieved from collapsed housing in the ancient capital of Kyoto, both areas where the rainfall was heavy in the past few days.

Throughout the hard-hit areas, rivers swelled and parked cars sat in pools of water. Japan has sent troops, firefighters, police and other disaster relief. People have also taken to social media to plead for help.

China sentences veteran rights activist to 13 years' prison

July 11, 2018

BEIJING (AP) — China on Wednesday sentenced a veteran pro-democracy campaigner to 13 years in prison on vaguely defined subversion charges, one day after releasing the widow of a Nobel Peace Prize laureate after eight years of house arrest.

The People's Intermediate Court in the central city of Wuhan announced the sentencing of Qin Yongmin, whose activism dates back four decades, on its official website Wednesday. No further details were given and it was not immediately clear who was representing Qin in court.

On Tuesday, authorities allowed Liu Xia, wife of the late Nobel Prize winner Liu Xiaobo, to depart for Germany in response to what the Chinese Foreign Ministry called her own request to receive medical treatment. Liu had been held under house arrest since late 2010.

Coming during a visit by China's Premier Li Keqiang to Germany, Liu's release heartened foreign governments and human rights campaigners who point out that she had never been charged with or convicted of any crime.

Qin's sentencing, however, underscores China's hard line against anyone challenging the ruling Communist Party, which under leader Xi Jinping has launched the most sweeping crackdown on civil rights in years.

Having already spent more than two decades in detention, Qin was arrested most recently in 2015 but not tried until May this year. The 64-year-old became active in the pro-democracy movement in the late 1970s during a time of political opening, and was arrested for the first time in 1981 in the ensuing Communist Party crackdown on dissent, according to the group Chinese Human Rights Defenders.

Reached by phone, Qin's former lawyer, Ma Lianshun, called the ruling "completely illegal" and a violation of the constitution's guarantee of the right to free speech. He said the charges appeared to relate to writings Qin had posted online and published outside China.

"It is not a criminal activity. He was discussing the road that China can take and the corresponding methodology, which is within the boundary of his right to speech," Ma said. Ma said his firm ceased representing Qin on July 10, 2017, due to the sensitivity of his case. A 3-year-long campaign against legal activists that landed scores in detention has frightened many lawyers from taking on such causes.

His sentence is "a reminder that Xi Jinping's brutal crackdown on human rights continues," said Frances Eve, a researcher with Chinese Human Rights Defenders. Authorities denied Qin a fair trial, Eve said, proceeding with a hearing in May despite the man's poor health.

"The litany of abuses in his case, ranging from enforced disappearance, prolonged pre-trial detention, collective punishment of his wife, ill-treatment, and denied due process rights reinforces that there is still no rule of law in China," Eve said.

Qin's sentence also comes just a day after the EU and China concluded a human rights dialogue. In a statement sent Wednesday, the EU said that during the two-day talks, it emphasized the "deteriorating situation of civil and political rights in China, which has been accompanied by the detention and conviction of a significant number of Chinese human rights defenders."

Also Wednesday, the independent Unirule Institute of Economics said on Twitter that it was being evicted from its offices in Beijing despite holding a lease on the location until 2020. People associated with the think tank declined to comment or could not be reached, but last month it issued a report saying that state-run enterprises in China were unprofitable despite massive government support.

Unirule has also championed freedom of expression and due process and conducted symposiums on sensitive subjects such as the Chinese civil war that brought the communists to power in 1949. "Never before has Unirule been so alone in its fight for liberty in China, and the rule of law so jeopardized by the authorities that ordered such heinous act," the tweet said.

UN: 1 in 4 children live in country of conflict or disaster

July 10, 2018

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — A quarter of the world's children — about 535 million — are living in a country affected by conflict or disaster, the head of the U.N. children's agency said Monday. Henrietta Fore told a Security Council meeting on children and armed conflict that it is "almost beyond comprehension" that one of every four young people are caught in that situation.

She pointed to children and young people whose lives are being shattered by conflicts, including in Yemen, Mali and South Sudan. She also cited youngsters recruited to fight, killed by a land mine or an attack on their school, and "losing hope not only in their futures, but in the futures of their countries."

Sweden, which holds the Security Council presidency this month, organized the open meeting on the theme "Protecting Children Today Prevents Conflict Tomorrow" and sponsored a resolution unanimously adopted by the 15 members to strengthen U.N. actions to ensure the care and safety of youngsters.

"We are not doing nearly enough to protect our children," Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, who presided at the meeting, said, stressing that "350 million children are affected by armed conflict today."

The resolution states for the first time that children recruited or caught up in armed conflict should be treated primarily as victims, he said. It urges all countries "to consider non-judicial measures as alternatives to prosecution and detention that focus on the rehabilitation and reintegration for children formerly associated with armed forces and armed groups."

Lofven said the resolution also for the first time makes the point that the needs and vulnerabilities of girls and boys are different and stresses that access for all youngsters to education and physical and mental health care is essential.

It also sets out a framework to reintegrate children associated with armed groups or armed forces into society, which "places children as part of the solution, not part of the problem," he said. U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley told the council that "more than 60 percent of people in conflict-affected countries are under the age of 25." In countries like Afghanistan, an entire generation has never lived in peace, she said.

She stressed the importance of education as "a way to recover from conflict and prevent it in the future," warning that children who grow up uneducated, unskilled and resentful "will be prime targets for recruitment by extremists and armed groups."

Virginia Gamba, the U.N. special representative for children and armed conflict, said she is "profoundly shocked" by the more than 21,000 violations of children's rights in 2017 recently reported by the U.N., a significant increase from 2016.

"The majority of these despicable acts were perpetrated by armed groups although government forces and unknown armed actors played an important part," she said. "Each and every one of them led to unspeakable suffering for children, families and entire communities."

Gamba said the level and severity of the latest violations demonstrate the need for united action "to change the tide of history," including by focusing on prevention and reintegration "to break cycles of violence" against children.

Bigger is better? NATO opens up to Macedonia as rifts linger

July 11, 2018

BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO has invited Macedonia to start membership talks, a step toward adding its 30th member despite Russia's objection and a show of unity at a time of growing discord between the Trump administration and Europe.

The invitation Wednesday came at a NATO summit at which U.S. President Donald Trump demanded more military spending by some allegedly deadbeat allies, as countries like Canada and Britain committed more to new manpower than new money.

Macedonia was given a pathway to membership on condition that it finally iron out its years-long standoff over its name with Greece, which took a big step forward with their deal last month that could rename the country North Macedonia.

Macedonian voters and the Greek parliament still must sign off on that deal, which could also dissipate any Greek objections to the Skopje government's ambition to join the European Union. "Once all national procedures have been completed to finalize the name agreement, the country will join NATO as our 30th member," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said. "It cannot become a member if it doesn't change its name. That's in a way the simple choice, and that's up to the people."

Russia, NATO's most prominent rival, has bemoaned the possible addition of another alliance member — reviving Cold War-style tensions. Macedonia Prime Minister Zoran Zaev hailed the invitation but noted objections from Moscow.

"Very obviously, they are against our integration in NATO," he said during a panel talk on the sidelines of the summit. Zaev alleged "some activities" by Russia had attempted to thwart the deal, but he did not elaborate.

The overture toward expansion came amid a backdrop of strain in NATO, notably continued pressure by Trump on allies to shoulder a bigger share of military spending — including a swipe at Germany for being "captive" to Russia.

Instead of new money, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his country will lead NATO's new military training mission in Iraq, with up to 250 troops. Canada isn't meeting an informal alliance target for member states to devote at least 2 percent of their economic output to defense spending.

Prime Minister Theresa May of Britain, which is meeting that target, announced it would send 440 military personnel for a similar training mission in Afghanistan — by far the alliance's biggest foreign venture.

The pledges came as NATO has been keen to play a major role in the fight against terrorism and demonstrate its resilience against an aggressive Russia that has annexed Crimea and sown instability in Ukraine.

Canada's offer is part of NATO's attempt to help Iraq rebuild and ensure the Islamic State group can't gain a new foothold there. The commitment was part of the alliance's expansion of the number of trainers from around a dozen currently to several hundred operating out of the capital, Baghdad.

"Those sorts of tangible elements are at the heart of what NATO stands for," Trudeau said, in an apparent bid to outflank Trump's call for money. "You can try and be a bean counter and look at exactly how much this and how much money that, but the fundamental question is: is what you're doing actually making a difference?

The British commitment in Afghanistan came as NATO agreed to fund the Afghan army through 2024. Britain's addition will beef up efforts that are already training some 16,000 troops. "I think that shows when NATO calls, the U.K. is one of the first to step up," May told reporters.

In another show of resolve to Russia, the leaders rubber-stamped a plan to ready a crisis response contingent that can be rapidly deployed — 30 battalions, 30 air squadrons and 30 battleships within 30 days. It also endorsed two new command headquarters — in Norfolk, Virginia and Ulm, Germany — to help better move troops and equipment across the Atlantic and through Europe.

Questioned repeatedly about Trump's attacks on European allies and Canada, Stoltenberg acknowledged trans-Atlantic differences, but refused to say whether the U.S. leader's attacks were damaging the alliance.

"My task is to make sure that we stay together, so if I started to freely reflect on all possibilities, then I would undermine the unity of this alliance," Stoltenberg said. Trump's "America First" policies have exposed major differences between the U.S. and many parts of Europe on issues as diverse as climate change, trade and tariff policies, and the Iran nuclear deal that the U.S. leader has rejected.

Stoltenberg sought to depict his alliance as a force for unity that gives Washington a way to project power from Europe into Asia, the Middle East and Africa. "A strong NATO is good for Europe and good for the United States," he said. "Two world wars and a Cold War taught us that we are stronger together than apart."