Erdogan's election victory praised around world

25.06.2018

By Adel Abdelrheem Humaida Elfadol, Menna Ahmed and Abdel Rauof Arnaout

ANKARA

Prominent leaders and personalities from around the world on Monday continued to praise President Recep Tayyip Erdogan following his historic election win on Sunday.

Sudan's ruling National Congress Party said the Turkish election results indicate "Turkish nation's trust for AK Party and its alliances, and support for Erdogan and his party's policies."

The leader of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, Abdurrahman Mustafa also congratulated the president over his election victory "which revealed the Turkish people's confidence in Erdogan's leadership". Mustafa added he hopes Turkey would continue supporting Syrians in establishing their own democratic and independent country.

In a Twitter message, the chairman of Qatar-based International Union of Muslim Scholars, Yousef al-Qaradawi, congratulated Erdogan and the Turkish nation "for their success in the democracy wedding".

The general observer of the Muslim Brotherhood in Sudan, Awadallah Hassan, also congratulated Erdogan over his election success in a Facebook post.

Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim expressed his "heartiest congratulations" in a letter to the Turkish president, in which he said: "I also congratulate the people of Turkey for their peaceful participation in their nation’s democratic process."

Ibrahim said Erdogan’s victory was also a victory for the Muslim world "in portraying a modern and progressive face of Islam".

Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, the head of Jerusalem's Supreme Islamic Authority and the imam of the iconic Al-Aqsa Mosque, said Sunday's election results was the reaffirmation of the Turkish people's trust in President Erdogan.

"The election atmosphere in Turkey is a cultural indicator of the Turkish people.

"They have said their word and placed their trust in President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with all the objectivity and transparency," Sabri said.

Erdogan's success 'meant for all Muslims'

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, American Muslim opinion leaders said Erdogan's success meant a lot for the Muslims living around the globe.

The head of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Nihad Awad, congratulated the Turkish nation for the successful election, saying that a high voter turnout marked the polls.

Oussama Jamal, the secretary-general of the U.S. Council of Muslim Organizations, said the Turkish elections were held in democratic maturity and sent a message to the world.

The executive director of the Chicago-based charity Zakat Foundation, Halil Demir also said President Erdogan proved that he was not the president of his ruling AK Party, but the entire country.

Vladimir Potapenko, the deputy secretary-general of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization -- one of the observer organizations for Turkey's Sunday elections -- said in a news conference: "The elections is conducted in accordance with the legislation in force in Turkey, we confirm that all conditions necessary were provided for it."

He added that their mission termed the elections as "transparent, impartial and democratic".

Moulana Shabbier Ahmed Saloojee, the rector of Darul Uloom Zakariyya -- South Africa's largest Islamic university -- congratulated President Erdogan in a message.

"All Muslims in the world will continue to take benefit from President Erdogan’s leadership, together with the Turkish nation," he said.

Early Monday morning, Turkey's Supreme Election Council (YSK) announced that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan won absolute majority in the presidential election after 97.7 percent of ballot boxes were opened.

YSK head Sadi Guven also said Justice and Development (AK) Party, Republican People’s Party (CHP), Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) and Good (IYI) Party surpassed the 10 percent threshold in the parliamentary election.

Source: Anadolu Agency.
Link: https://www.aa.com.tr/en/turkey/erdogans-election-victory-praised-around-world/1186598.

What's next for Turkey after vote grants Erdogan vast powers

June 25, 2018

ISTANBUL (AP) — President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is ushering in a new era for Turkey after weekend elections saw him win a presidency granting him the vastly expanded executive powers he has long sought. But his governing party saw its parliamentary majority slip, leaving him reliant on the support of a small nationalist party.

Critics have reacted with alarm to Erdogan's victory, saying the results usher in what will effectively be one-man rule, putting someone with increasingly autocratic and intolerant tendencies at the helm of a strategically significant NATO country.

Here is a look at what's at stake, and what the election results mean for Turkey and its international relations.

ECONOMY

The fate of Turkey's increasingly shaky economy is critical, and much will depend on how Erdogan handles it. In his victory speech, he said his goal was to make his country one of the world's top 10 economies by 2023, the centenary of the Turkish Republic. But how he will achieve that is unclear.

Turkey has been hit by rising inflation and a struggling currency, which has lost about 20 percent of its value against the dollar since the start of the year. Although the country's economy grew by about 7 percent last year, analysts warn this was largely fueled by unsustainable grandiose construction projects.

"There are lots of fragilities. When we look at the overall macro picture, the inflation is high, exchange rate is high, interest rates are high, fiscal deficit is high, current account deficit is high," said economic analyst Ozlem Derici Sengul.

Fadi Hakura of the London-based Chatham House think tank predicted that Turkey is heading toward an economic crisis in the next five years, but noted there were no signs Erdogan would change course on the economy.

"He will continue pursuing the very populist economic policies that are leading Turkey to economic ruin," Hakura said. "There are no indications that Erdogan will reverse course in terms of his economic populist agenda."

"That means loosening the purse strings, restraining interest rates, and boosting construction and mega infrastructure projects, as well as supplying cheap credit to consumers and Turkish business. The very policies that are now degrading the value of the lira vis-a-vis the dollar and the euro," he said.

Erdogan, Hakura noted, is "obsessed with a super-high growth rate, way beyond the capacity of the Turkish economy. And that's what will lead to economic ruin in Turkey."

"He's pursuing Ferrari growth rates while being a ... mid-sized car," Hakura said.

DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS

The new system abolishes the prime minister's position, and grants the president power to appoint ministers, vice presidents and high-level bureaucrats, issue decrees, prepare the budget and decide on security policies. Erdogan, who set the changes in motion with a 2017 referendum, insists this will lead to greater stability and prosperity.

But many fear it puts too much power in the hands of the president in a country lacking the checks and balances of other presidential democracies, such as the United States or France.

"Turkey has cut off its ties with democratic values," said Muharrem Ince of the secular opposition Republican People's Party, who came in second in Sunday's presidential race. "It has transitioned to a one-man regime in the fullest sense."

France and the U.S. have independent judiciaries, a free press, independent institutions and party-based politics, noted Hakura of Chatham House.

"Those kinds of institutional checks and balances are non-existent ... or at least are very weak in Turkey," Hakura said. "One cannot say that the legal system in Turkey is independent. The national media is completely under government (control) or is loyal to Erdogan."

Sunday's elections took place under a state of emergency imposed by Erdogan's government after a failed 2016 coup. About 50,000 people have been jailed and more than 110,000 civil servants fired in the massive government crackdown. In the run-up to Sunday's vote, Erdogan had said he would lift the state of emergency if re-elected — something long called for by opposition figures and rights groups.

The candidate who came in third in the presidential election, Selahattin Demirtas, ran his entire campaign from a maximum security prison, where he is being held pending trial on terrorism charges he says are trumped up and politically motivated. The pro-Kurdish HDP party he ran for managed to win enough votes to enter parliament despite nine of its lawmakers, including Demirtas, and thousands of its party members being jailed.

"I think it's quite clear that human rights conditions in Turkey will probably worsen," given that the small nationalist party Erdogan has allied with, Devlet Bahceli's Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP, is even more to the right than Erdogan's Justice and Development Party, Hakura said. "There's no indication that Erdogan will relax the tightening environment that Turkey is now laboring under in terms of media freedoms, human rights and civil liberties."

FOREIGN POLICY

How the election results will affect Turkey's foreign policy will also be a closely watched topic. The country of 81 million people is a significant player on the regional stage, with often tricky, frequently changing relations with neighbors and allies.

The "elections haven't changed anything" regarding the country's international relations, said Kerem Oktem, a professor at the University of Graz in Austria, predicting a "continuation of not strategic but tactical foreign policy" in which Ankara veers toward Russia but doesn't distance itself completely from the West.

Erdogan has frequently taken a combative stance in recent years, particularly against the European Union and the United States following their criticism of his crackdown in the aftermath of the failed 2016 coup. Turkey's bid to join the EU has come to a stumbling halt, with no indication of renewed efforts to jump-start the process.

Relations with the U.S. have also faltered. Washington has been backing and arming a Kurdish militia in northern Syria to combat the Islamic State group, enraging the Erdogan government, which considers it a terror organization linked to a Kurdish insurgency in southeastern Turkey. More recently, the U.S. Congress raised objections to Turkey's purchase of F-35 fighter jets after Ankara said it was buying the Russian S-400 missile air defense system.

Ankara is also furious Washington has not extradited Fetullah Gulen, a U.S.-based cleric who Erdogan has accused of orchestrating the failed coup. Gulen denies involvement.

Turkey's relations with Russia have seen dramatic fluctuations, with ties recently warming following a long frosty period after Turkey shot down a Russian warplane taking part in the campaign to support Syrian President Bashar Assad's government in 2015. Russian President Vladimir Putin was among the first foreign leaders to congratulate Erdogan on his election win Sunday.

Turkey also has a significant stake in neighboring Syria, where it mounted a military operation in the north and now controls about 4,000 square kilometers (1,500 square miles) of Syrian territory.

Analysts Oktem and Hakura predicted a continuation of operations against Kurdish fighters in Syria and northern Iraq, with the latter noting that Erdogan's alliance with the nationalist MHP party would solidify the government's stance.

"If anything, the MHP is skeptical of the relations with the U.S. and would support a more robust military adventure" against Kurdish fighters in northern Iraq, Hakura said. "It's lukewarm towards Russia."

The alliance with the MHP will not bring about "any dramatic changes in Turkish foreign policy, except the bilateral relations with Europe and the United States will continue to be testy and challenging," he said.

Associated Press writers Zeynep Bilginsoy and Bram Janssen in Istanbul contributed to this report.

Turkey's victorious Erdogan set to assume sweeping powers

June 25, 2018

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has dominated Turkish politics for the past 15 years, prepared Monday to extend his rule and take on sweeping new powers after his victory in the country's landmark presidential and parliamentary elections.

Turkey's High Electoral Board declared Erdogan, 64, the winner of Sunday's votes, which usher in a new executive presidential system in which the prime minister's post is eliminated and executive powers are transferred to the president, who rules with only limited checks and balances.

The Turkish leader is accused by critics of adopting increasingly authoritarian tactics but is loved by supporters for bringing prosperity and stability. Erdogan may be facing rough times ahead, however, because analysts predict an economic downturn for Turkey amid rising inflation and a struggling currency.

His win could also deepen Turkey's rift with its Western and NATO allies, who are already concerned by the country's setbacks in democracy and human rights as well as Turkey's closer ties with Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin sent Erdogan a telegram on Monday, congratulating him on his victory, one of the first world leaders to do so.

Turkey's currency, the lira, rallied Monday over Erdogan's victory, which reduces instability in the short term. In his victory speech, Erdogan said he would work toward achieving his goal of making Turkey one of the world's top 10 economies by 2023, when the Turkish Republic marks its centenary.

He also pledged a more "determined" fight against outlawed Kurdish rebels and alleged members of a movement led by U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom he accuses of orchestrating a 2016 failed coup against his government. Gulen denies involvement.

Some 50,000 people have been arrested and more than 110,000 civil servants have been fired in a massive government crackdown that has taken place under a state of emergency imposed after the coup that is still in place.

"Turkey made its choice in favor of a more determined fight against the PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party) and (Gulenists)," Erdogan said. "We will go after terror organizations with stronger determination."

Under the new system, Erdogan himself will appoint ministers, vice presidents and high-level bureaucrats, issue decrees, prepare the budget and decide on security policies. According to unofficial results that have yet to be confirmed by the electoral board, Erdogan garnered 52.5 percent of the presidential vote, while his ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, won 42.5 percent of the parliamentary vote. Erdogan's closest contender, Muharrem Ince of the secular opposition Republican People's Party, won 30.7 percent support.

Erdogan's AKP fell short of winning a parliamentary majority but a better-than-expected performance by its nationalist ally should allow the party to control the 600-seat legislature. Ince, who complained that it was an unfair election, accepted Erdogan's victory during a news conference Monday.

"There are no significant differences between our records and the Supreme Election Council's records," Ince told reporters. "I accept the results of the elections." The former physics teacher, who led a robust campaign against Erdogan, called on him to end his divisive policies.

"Be the president of 81 million (Turks), embrace everyone," he said. "That's what I would have done if I had won." Still, the 54-year-old politician criticized Turkey's new system, saying: "Turkey has cut off its ties with democratic values... (Turkey) has transitioned to a one-man regime in the fullest sense."

Before the start of the news conference, Ince asked a crew from Turkey's state television TRT to leave the hall, criticizing the publicly-funded organization for ignoring the opposition's campaign rallies and not allowing other candidates equal airtime to Erdogan during the race. The TRT journalists left.

The pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party, whose presidential candidate Selahattin Demirtas was forced to campaign from jail, received the more than 10 percent of the vote Sunday, enough to win seats in parliament. In reaction, thousands of its supporters spilled into the streets in celebration.

In a series of Twitter postings, Demirtas praised the party's success in winning a projected 67 seats out of 600, according to unofficial results. "The fact that I was forced to campaign in detention conditions was the greatest injustice," Demirtas said. "While other candidates could stage 100 campaign rallies, I was able to send out 100 tweets."

Demirtas, who won 8.4 percent in the presidential race, has been in pre-trial detention since November 2016 on terror-related charges. He denies any wrongdoing. Luxembourg's foreign minister, Jean Asselborn, said Monday it was now up to Erdogan to decide whether Turkey's relations with the European Union will improve.

Margot Wallstrom, Sweden's foreign minister, said Turkey's democracy has shortcomings — she cited opposition leaders sitting in jail — but said Erdogan should be given the chance to do that. "We are hoping for the end of the state of emergency (in Turkey," she told reporters in Brussels.

Elena Becatoros and Zeynep Bilginsoy in Istanbul and Burhan Ozbilici in Ankara contributed.

Erdogan proclaimed winner of Turkey's presidential election

June 25, 2018

ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was proclaimed the winner early Monday of a landmark election that ushers in a government system granting the president sweeping new powers and which critics say will cement what they call a one-man rule.

The presidential vote and a parliamentary election, both held more than a year early, completed NATO-member Turkey's transition from a parliamentary system to a presidential one, a process started with a voter referendum last year.

"The nation has entrusted to me the responsibility of the presidency and the executive duty," Erdogan said in televised remarks from Istanbul after a near-complete count carried by the state-run Anadolu news agency gave him the majority needed to avoid a runoff.

The head of Turkey's Supreme Election Council, Sadi Guven, declared Erdogan the winner early Monday after 97.7 of votes had been counted. The electoral board plans to announce final official results on June 29.

Based on unofficial results, five parties passed the 10 percent support threshold required for parties to enter parliament, Guven said. "This election's victor is democracy, this election's victory is national will," Erdogan told a cheering crowd outside his party headquarters in Ankara early Monday, adding that Turkey "will look at its future with so much more trust than it did this morning."

Earlier, cheering Erdogan supporters waving Turkish flags gathered outside his official residence in Istanbul, chanting "Here's the president, here's the commander." "Justice has been served!" said Cihan Yigici, one of those in the crowd.

Thousands of jubilant supporters of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party, or HDP, also spilled into the streets of the predominantly Kurdish southeastern city of Diyarbakir after unofficial results from Anadolu showed the party surpassing the 10 percent threshold and coming in third with 11.5 percent of the parliamentary vote.

The HDP's performance was a success, particularly considering it campaigned with nine of its lawmakers, including its presidential candidate Selahattin Demirtas, and thousands of party members in jail. It says more than 350 of its election workers have been detained since April 28.

Revelers waved HDP flags and blared car horns. One party supporter, Nejdet Erke, said he had been "waiting for this emotion" since the morning. Erdogan, 64, insisted the expanded powers of the Turkish presidency will bring prosperity and stability to the country, especially after a failed military coup attempt in 2016. A state of emergency imposed after the coup remains in place.

Some 50,000 people have been arrested and 110,000 civil servants have been fired under the emergency, which opposition lawmakers say Erdogan has used to stifle dissent. The new system of government abolished the office of prime minister and empowers the president to take over an executive branch and form the government. He will appoint ministers, vice presidents and high-level bureaucrats, issue decrees, prepare the budget and decide on security policies.

The Turkish Parliament will legislate and have the right to ratify or reject the budget. With Erdogan remaining at the helm of his party, a loyal parliamentary majority could reduce checks and balances on his power unless the opposition can wield an effective challenge.

Erdogan's apparent win comes at a critical time for Turkey. He recently has led a high-stakes foreign affairs gamble, cozying up to Russian President Vladimir Putin with pledges to install a Russian missile defense system in the NATO-member country.

The president's critics have warned that Erdogan's re-election would cement his already firm grip on power and embolden a leader they accuse of showing increasingly autocratic tendencies. According to Anadolu, the near-complete results showed Erdogan winning an outright majority of 52.5 percent, far ahead of the 30.7 percent received by his main challenger, the secular Muharrem Ince.

The HDP's imprisoned Demirtas was in third place with 8.3 percent according to Anadolu. Demirtas has been jailed pending trial on terrorism-related charges he has called trumped-up and politically motivated.

But Ince said the results carried on Anadolu were not a true reflection of the official vote count by the country's electoral board. The main opposition party that nominated him for the presidency, the CHP, said it was waiting for the commission's official announcement.

Erdogan also declared victory for the People's Alliance, an electoral coalition between his ruling Justice and Development Party and the small Nationalist Movement Party, saying they had a "parliamentary majority" in the 600-member assembly.

The unofficial results for the parliamentary election showed Erdogan's Justice and Development Party, or AKP, losing its majority, with 293 seats in the 600-seat legislature. However, the small nationalist party the AKP was allied with garnered 49 seats.

"Even though we could not reach out goal in parliament, God willing we will be working to solve that with all our efforts in the People's Alliance," Erdogan said. The president, who has never lost an election and has been in power since 2003, initially as prime minister, had faced a more robust, united opposition than ever before. Opposition candidates had vowed to return Turkey to a parliamentary democracy with strong checks and balances and have decried what they call Erdogan's "one-man rule."

Erdogan enjoys considerable support in the conservative and pious heartland, having empowered previously disenfranchised groups. From a modest background himself, he presided over an infrastructure boom that modernized Turkey and lifted many out of poverty while also raising Islam's profile, for instance by lifting a ban on Islamic headscarves in schools and public offices.

But critics say he became increasingly autocratic and intolerant of dissent. The election campaign was heavily skewed in his favor, with opposition candidates struggling to get their speeches aired on television in a country where Erdogan directly or indirectly controls most of the media.

Ince, a 54-year-old former physics teacher, was backed by the center-left opposition Republican People's Party, or CHP. He wooed crowds with an unexpectedly engaging campaign, drawing massive numbers at his rallies in Turkey's three main cities of Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir.

More than 59 million Turkish citizens, including 3 million expatriates, were eligible to vote.

Fraser reported from Ankara. Bram Janssen in Istanbul, Sinan Yilmaz in Diyarbakir and Mehmet Guzel in Ankara contributed.

Turkey: Erdogan leading presidential race

June 24, 2018

ISTANBUL (AP) — Early partial results in Turkey's presidential elections Sunday showed incumbent Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the lead, with challenger Muharrem Ince in second place. The high-stakes presidential and parliamentary elections could consolidate Erdogan's grip on power or curtail his vast political ambitions. The vote will complete Turkey's transition to a new executive presidential system, a move approved in a controversial referendum last year.

For an outright win in the presidential race, Erdogan needs more than 50 percent of the vote to avoid a run-off on July 8. Turkey's official Anadolu news agency said that with 32 percent of the country's ballot boxes counted, Erdogan was at 57.7 percent of the vote, with Ince at 27.8 percent. Imprisoned candidate Selahattin Demirtas was garnering 5.9 percent.

In the parliamentary vote, with 13 percent of ballot boxes counted, Erdogan's People Alliance, which includes his AK party and a small nationalist party, stood at 64 percent, while the opposition Nation Alliance grouping together nationalists, secularists and a small Islamic-leaning party, was at 26.2 percent.

The pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party, or HDP, was below the 10 percent threshold to enter parliament, with 7.6 percent. Erdogan, 64, is seeking re-election for a five-year term with hugely increased powers under the new system, which he insists will bring prosperity and stability to Turkey, especially after a failed coup attempt in 2016 that has left the country under a state of emergency. His ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, is hoping to retain its majority in parliament.

Ince, speaking just after polls closed, warned civil servants involved in the vote count to do their jobs "abiding by the law" and without fear, suggesting they were under pressure by the government. He asked all Turks to be vigilant at polls and not be "demoralized" by what he called the possible manipulation of news.

Erdogan, who has been in power since 2003, has faced a more robust, united opposition this time. Opposition candidates vowed to return Turkey to a parliamentary democracy with strong checks and balances and have decried what they call Erdogan's "one-man rule."

Erdogan, who has never lost an election, is the most powerful leader since the founder of the Turkish republic, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. He remains popular in the conservative and pious heartland, having empowered previously disenfranchised groups.

From modest background himself, Erdogan has presided over an infrastructure boom that has modernized Turkey and lifted many out of poverty while also raising Islam's profile, for instance by lifting a ban on Islamic headscarves in schools and public offices.

Five candidates were running against Erdogan in the presidential race. "With these elections, Turkey is achieving a virtual democratic revolution," Erdogan told reporters after voting in Istanbul. He said turnout appeared to be high and that "no serious incidents" had occurred.

Ince, a 54-year-old former physics teacher, is backed by the center-left opposition Republican People's Party, or CHP. He has wooed crowds with an unexpectedly engaging campaign, drawing massive numbers at his rallies in Turkey's three main cities of Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir.

Also challenging Erdogan is 61-year-old former Interior Minister Meral Aksener, the only female presidential candidate in the race. She broke away from Turkey's main nationalist party over its support for Erdogan and formed the center-right, nationalist Good Party.

More than 59 million Turkish citizens, including 3 million expatriates, were eligible to vote. Erdogan called the election more than a year early in what analysts say was a pre-emptive move ahead of a possible economic downturn.

Turkey was also electing 600 lawmakers to parliament — 50 more than in the previous assembly. The constitutional changes have allowed parties to form alliances, paving the way for Ince's and Aksener's parties to join a small Islamist party in the "Nation Alliance" against Erdogan.

The head of Turkey's electoral commission said authorities had taken action following reports of irregularities at voting stations in southeastern Turkey. Videos posted on social media appeared to show people voting in bulk at a ballot box in the town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province.

Demirtas, the presidential candidate of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party, or HDP, was forced to run his campaign from prison, where he is being held in pre-trial detention on terrorism-related charges. He denies any wrongdoing, saying his imprisonment is politically motivated so Erdogan's government can stay in power.

The campaign coverage has been lopsided in favor of Erdogan who directly or indirectly controls a majority of Turkey's media. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe was monitoring the elections with over 350 observers. Election monitors criticized Turkey for denying entry to two monitors who Turkey accused of being politically biased.

Peter Osusky, head of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly delegation, told The Associated Press all observers "are strongly adhering to so-called code of conduct" regardless of their political opinions. Recent changes to electoral laws allow civil servants to lead ballot box committees. Ballot papers that don't bear the official stamps will still be considered valid — a measure that led to allegations of fraud in last year's referendum.

Citing security reasons, authorities have relocated thousands of polling stations in predominantly Kurdish provinces, forcing some 144,000 voters to travel further to cast their ballots. Some will even have to pass through security checkpoints to vote.

The vote took place under a state of emergency declared after the failed coup attempt, which allows the government to curtail civil rights. Some 50,000 people have been arrested and 110,000 civil servants have been fired under the emergency powers, which opposition lawmakers say Erdogan is using to stifle dissent.

The pro-Kurdish HDP has seen nine of its lawmakers and thousands of party members arrested by the government and says more than 350 of its election workers have been detained since April 28. __ Fraser reported from Ankara. Mehmet Guzel in Ankara contributed.

Erdogan seeks to cement power in Turkey's high-stakes votes

June 24, 2018

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey held high-stakes presidential and parliamentary elections on Sunday that could consolidate President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's hold on power or curtail his vast political ambitions.

Voters flocked to polling centers to cast ballots in an election that will complete Turkey's transition to a new executive presidential system, a move approved in a controversial referendum last year.

Erdogan, 64, is seeking re-election for a new five-year term with hugely increased powers under the new system, which he insists will bring prosperity and stability to Turkey, especially after a failed coup attempt in 2016 that has left the country under a state of emergency since then. His ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, is hoping to retain its majority in parliament.

Still, Erdogan — who has been in power since 2003 — is facing a more robust and united opposition this time. Opposition candidates have vowed to return Turkey to a parliamentary democracy with strong checks and balances and have decried what they calls Erdogan's "one-man rule."

Five candidates are running against Erdogan in the presidential race. Although Erdogan is seen as the front-runner, he must secure more than 50 percent of the vote Sunday for an outright win. If that threshold is not reached, a runoff could be held on July 8 between the leading two contenders.

Erdogan's main challenger is 54-year-old former physics teacher Muharrem Ince, who is backed by the center-left main opposition Republican People's Party, or CHP. Ince has wooed crowds with an unexpectedly engaging election campaign and his rallies in Turkey's three main cities of Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir drew massive numbers.

Also challenging Erdogan is 61-year-old former Interior Minister Meral Aksener. The only female presidential candidate, she broke away from Turkey's main nationalist party over its support for Erdogan and formed the center-right, nationalist Good Party.

Selahattin Demirtas, the candidate of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party, or HDP, was forced to run his campaign from prison, where he is being held in pre-trial detention on terrorism-related charges. Demirtas denies any wrongdoing, saying that his imprisonment is politically motivated so that Erdogan's government can stay in power.

Turkey will also be electing 600 lawmakers to parliament on Sunday — 50 more than in the previous assembly. The constitutional changes have allowed parties to form alliances, paving the way for Ince and Aksener's parties to join a small Islamist party in the "Nation Alliance" against Erdogan.

The pro-Kurdish HDP was left out of the alliance and needs to pass a 10 percent threshold to win seats in parliament. If it does that it could cost Erdogan's AKP and its nationalist ally in the "People Alliance" dozens of seats — leading it to lose its parliamentary majority.

More than 59 million Turkish citizens — including 3 million expatriates — are eligible to vote in Sunday's elections. Erdogan called the ballots more than a year earlier than scheduled in what analysts say was a pre-emptive move ahead of a possible economic downturn.

The campaign coverage has been lopsided in favor of Erdogan who directly or indirectly controls a majority of Turkey's media. They are also being held amid fears of possible irregularities. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe is monitoring the elections with as many as 350 observers.

Recent changes to electoral laws allow civil servants — people on the government payroll — to now lead ballot box committees and security forces can be called to polling stations. Citing security reasons, authorities have relocated thousands of polling stations in predominantly Kurdish provinces, affecting some 144,000 voters who will be forced to travel further to cast their ballots. Some of them will even has to pass through security checkpoints.

Ballot papers that don't bare the official stamps will still be considered valid — a measure that led to allegations of fraud in last year's referendum. The vote is taking place under a state of emergency declared in the aftermath of the failed coup attempt, which allows the government to curtail freedoms of assembly and press. Some 50,000 people have been arrested and 110,000 civil servants have been fired under the emergency powers. Opposition lawmakers say Erdogan's government is using the state of emergency to stifle dissent.

The pro-Kurdish HDP, which has seen nine of its lawmakers and thousands of party members arrested by the government, also says more than 350 members working on the election campaign have been detained since April 28.

Turkey heads to polls on Sunday

23.06.2018

Turkey is heading to the polls on Sunday for parliamentary and presidential elections with 56,322,632 registered voters and 180,065 ballot boxes across the country.

Voting will start at 8.00 a.m. local time (0500GMT) and will continue through 5.00 p.m. local time (1400GMT).

Voters will be able to cast their ballots after they show their ID cards or any other official identification document.

It is forbidden to enter the voting booth with cameras and mobile phones.

Voters will cast two separate ballot papers in the same envelope -- one for the presidential and the other for parliamentary elections.

After the voting ends, ballots cast for the presidential candidates will be counted first.

Voting at the customs gates which started on June 7, will also end at 5.00 p.m. local time (1400GMT) on Sunday.

Eight political parties are participating in the parliamentary elections that include the Justice and Development (AK) Party, the Republican People's Party (CHP), the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), the Free Cause (Huda-Par) Party, the newly formed Good (IYI) Party, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), the Felicity (Saadet) Party and the Patriotic (Vatan) Party.

Six candidates are running for president: Recep Tayyip Erdogan for People’s Alliance (Cumhur Ittifaki), formed by Turkey’s ruling AK Party and the MHP, Muharrem Ince for CHP, Selahattin Demirtas for HDP, Meral Aksener for Good (IYI) Party, Temel Karamollaoglu for Felicity (Saadet) Party, and Dogu Perincek for Patriotic (Vatan) Party.

Selling alcoholic beverages are banned from 06.00 a.m. (0300GMT) to 00.00 p.m. (2100GMT) while consumption of alcoholic beverages are also prohibited in public places.

In Istanbul, 38,480 police officers, four police helicopters, eight boats, 85 anti-riot water cannon vehicles, 90 armored vehicles and three drone teams will be on duty to provide security on Election Day.

Source: Anadolu Agency.
Link: https://www.aa.com.tr/en/todays-headlines/turkey-heads-to-polls-on-sunday/1182869.

Unusual level of support for President Erdoğan as Turkey goes to the polls

June 22, 2018

It is by no means certain who will be the occupant of Ankara’s Presidential Palace come Monday morning. There are no predictions by election pundits of a landslide win by one side or the other, but in the absence of an outright victory by one candidate in the first round on Sunday, a second round of polling will be held on 9 July.

Here in Istanbul, billboards of at least three main candidates appear on every highway and street corner. The 64-year old sitting President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party), has been photoshopped on every poster to look 20-years younger; his fair-haired rival, 54-year old Muharram İnce, a former science teacher from the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), grins in a portrait that makes it look as though he has just heard some good news. The third major candidate is the only female in the race; 61-year old Meral Akşener is the head of the Iyi (“Good”) Party and is portrayed with a slightly more serious demeanour, presumably designed to project authority.

In truth, this election is as much as about the perceptions of candidates as it about their policies. Erdoğan is the “strong leader”; the CHP candidate vows to “Make Turkey Secure”; and Akşener says “Turkey will be good”. The young millennial Turks who listen to Erdoğan’s speeches about growth and a stable economy are generally not old enough to remember the “bad old days” when the CHP’s man governed Istanbul. Erdoğan reminds audiences that rubbish used to lie uncollected in the streets and that the stench of rotting waste was “overpowering”. During a party-political rally in Istanbul’s Yenikapi area, in front of a crowd of about 700,000 people, Erdoğan produced a video illustrating his accomplishments and revealed his plans for a series of major infrastructure projects.

İnce derides Erdoğan as a “failed politician”. Standing before a partisan crowd estimated at 1.5 to 2 million in the western province of Izmir, alongside a huge poster — the size of a six-storey building — of the father of the nation, Kemal Ataturk, İnce promised to provide special economic packages to farmers, increase financial aid to pensioners, university students and teachers, as well reduce the price of diesel. He also promised to increase the minimum wage.

In almost every restaurant and café, conversations are dominated by “election fever” which has led to high temperatures for some and depression for others, while nobody is really certain about the outcome. Sadly, at least one heated discussion has turned to violence, leaving four people dead and eight injured in the south-east town of Suruc, when supporters of the outlawed Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) — an officially designated terrorist group — argued with an AK Party official.

The Kurdish issue remains a thorny one, with military campaigns against the PKK and it offshoots taking place in Qandil, northern Iraq, following similar offensives in Syria’s Afrin area just two months ago. However, while İnce’s CHP promises to address the problem, Erdoğan’s AK Party appeals to a sense of brotherhood and equality between all Turkish citizens, including the Kurds.

Erdoğan has won every election in the past 16 years but his party is taking nothing for granted. Relentless rallies attracting crowds of hundreds of thousands are being staged across the length and breadth of Turkey. Around 65 million people are registered to vote, including 3 million who will cast their votes in cities like Berlin, Amsterdam and other European capitals.

The fear is that Erdoğan and his ministers may be blamed for the perceived economic malaise which has resulted in a 5 per cent fall in the value of the Turkish Lira, and raised its benchmark interest rates to 17.75 per cent despite political efforts by the President to resist the increase. Government officials have been quick to point out that the country’s economy grew by 7.4 per cent in the first quarter of this year and tourism to Turkey is set to reach a record high of more than 40 million visitors by the end of 2018.

There are allegations of an international conspiracy with recent polls showing that 65 per cent of AK Party supporters believe that the decline of the lira is due to “an operation against Turkey by foreign powers.” Some are defending the lira enthusiastically by selling dollars, euros and gold. One local mayor gave a week’s holiday to municipal workers who sold more than US$500; a carpet dealer offered free rugs to anyone who exchanged more than $2,000; and a surgeon offered free horse rides to anyone who presented a receipt from currency exchange offices.

One of the enduring ironies of this election is that the opposition CHP’s stance over Israel appears to be even more hard-line than Erdoğan’s. Aside from the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador, Ankara has condemned Israel’s killing of at least 62 unarmed protesters in Gaza, with Erdoğan calling Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “terrorist”. The opposition, meanwhile, has promised to cut Israeli investment in Turkey and to return the compensation paid by Israel following its commando attack on the “Gaza Freedom Flotilla” in 2010, in which nine Turkish citizens on board the Mavi Marmara were killed; a tenth died later of his wounds.

Crucially, days after the diplomatic crisis between Israel and Turkey, the AK Party voted down a bill in Parliament that proposed cancelling all previous agreements with the Zionist state and severing economic ties.

It has thus not escaped the notice of the estimated 18-20,000 Jews who live in Turkey, some of whom frequent Istanbul’s Bet Yaakov Central Synagogue, and are eligible to vote that Erdoğan’s party’s policies — despite the President’s rhetoric — are a safer bet for Jewish interests than the proposed policies of the opposition.

The first results are expected around midnight local time (GMT+3) and into Monday morning, with the full extent of the outcome becoming clear or the announcement of a second poll expected around 8am (5am GMT). It promises to be an interesting weekend.

Source: Middle East Monitor.
Link: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20180622-unusual-level-of-support-for-president-erdogan-as-turkey-goes-to-the-polls/.

Turkey 'has 11 temporary military bases' in northern Iraq

21.06.2018

Turkey has 11 temporary military bases in northern Iraq, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Thursday.

Speaking in a live interview to private A Haber broadcaster, Yildirim also said 400 square-kilometers of the region has been cleared of terrorists.

"We are shelling Mt. Qandil through air operations at times. This time PKK terrorists are crossing into Iran when they are on the back foot," the prime minister said.

He added Turkey has no problem with Iran over its Qandil operation.

"We cleared the area in northwestern Syria's Afrin during Operation Olive Branch. We will do the same thing in Mt. Qandil area," the prime minister added.

On Jan. 20, Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch to remove YPG/PKK and Daesh terrorists from Afrin region. On March 18, Day 58 of the operation, Turkish troops, and Free Syrian Army members liberated the town of Afrin.

Turkey has been conducting a counter-terrorism operation in the area to clear it of PKK terrorists.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU.

The group’s three-decade-long terror campaign against Turkey has left more than 40,000 people dead, including numerous women and children.

About a possible joint operation with Iran, Yildirim said: "Iran expects to work with us all the time, including sharing intelligence, but it is naturally reluctant to launch a joint counter-terror operation within its borders."

Turkey-US relations

On relations between Turkey and the U.S., Yildirim said: "The reluctance over the extradition of FETO terrorist leader Fetullah Gulen is bothering us and our citizens' doubts about the U.S. are increasing. Less than 20 percent of our citizens rely on America, according to the field researches."

One of the main issues between the two sides is the U.S. cooperation with the PYD/YPG terrorist organization. "The U.S said we would part company with them [PYD/YPG] but did it happen?" he asked.

Speaking about the Manbij deal, Yildirim said: "In close cooperation, if the U.S. operates in Manbij in line with Turkey's concern, relations between Turkey and the U.S. may be normalized."

On June 12-13, Turkish and U.S. military officials agreed on a plan for ridding terrorists and stabilizing the northern Syrian city of Manbij during a preliminary meeting for implementation of the plan at the U.S. European Command in Stuttgart, Germany.

On June 18, Turkish and the U.S. troops started coordinated/independent patrols in the region, which are still ongoing.

Earlier on Wednesday, Turkish Armed Forces began a second round of patrolling in Manbij as part of its objective to rid the area of the YPG/PKK terror group.

Source: Anadolu Agency.
Link: https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/turkey-has-11-temporary-military-bases-in-northern-iraq/1180935.

Turkey's Erdogan seeks new term with greater powers

June 21, 2018

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Since he took office in 2003, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has given a name to each stage in his consolidation of power in Turkey. First he called himself the apprentice; then the journeyman; and latterly the master. Now, he says a new five-year term would elevate him to the role of "grandmaster" and help him make Turkey one of the world's top powers by the time the republic marks its centenary in 2023.

The most powerful and polarizing leader in Turkish history, Erdogan, 64, is standing for re-election in a presidential vote on Sunday that could cement Turkey's switch from a parliamentary to a presidential system, which was narrowly approved in a referendum last year. He would take an office with vastly expanded powers, in a system that critics have compared to one-man rule. His opponents have promised a return to a parliamentary system with a distinct separation of powers.

Opinion polls have put Erdogan several points ahead of his closest competitor in the presidential race. However, he would need to win more than 50 percent of the votes for an outright first-round victory and that looks less likely. Analysts say the outcome could be decided in a second round runoff on July 8.

Erdogan, who has never lost an election, is this time around facing more robust opposition figures and parties cooperating with each other in an anti-Erdogan alliance. For the first time ever, Turkey will elect a new parliament at the same time, but his Justice and Development party's election campaign has appeared a little flat and uninspired, focusing on past achievements and making odd campaign promises such as the creation of neighborhood "reading houses" offering free tea and cakes. Analysts even speak of the possibility of Justice and Development losing its majority in Parliament.

"(Erdogan) remains by far the most popular politician in Turkey," said Sinan Ulgen of the Istanbul-based EDAM think tank. "He is still the one that is the most likely to be elected, but it is not a foregone conclusion."

Erdogan called the presidential and parliamentary elections more than a year earlier than scheduled amid signs that the Turkish economy may be heading toward a downturn. Despite strong growth figures, inflation and unemployment have hit double-digit figures while the lira has lost some 20 percent of its value against the dollar since the start of the year.

Additionally, the polls are being held as nationalist sentiment is high following a Turkish military operation into a Syrian border enclave earlier this year that drove away Syrian Kurdish fighters that Turkey brands as terrorists. Turkey has recently intensified air raids on a suspected Kurdish rebel stronghold in northern Iraq, a move that could further rally votes for Erdogan.

The most powerful leader since the Turkish republic's founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Erdogan remains popular in Turkey's conservative and pious heartland. Many see in him a strong leader who stands up to the West, who brought stability, oversaw an infrastructure boom, who improved health care and relaxed strict secular laws, for instance allowing women to wear Islamic headscarves in schools and government offices.

His critics say Erdogan, in pursuit of power, is turning the NATO country that once hoped to join the European Union into an increasingly authoritarian state. They accuse him of curtailing democracy and freedom of speech by jailing opponents, including students, journalists and activists, especially following a failed military coup in 2016. A state of emergency declared after the coup attempt has led to the arrests of some 50,000 and seen more than 110,000 dismissed from government jobs.

Addressing crowds in an election rally in the city of Kahramanmaras on Thursday, Erdogan vowed to work harder to meet Turkey's goals for 2023 and beyond. "You know very well the level we (the AKP) have brought Turkey up to in the last 16 years. With God's permission we were able to serve you," Erdogan said. "In the coming five years you will see an Erdogan who scurries and buzzes about even harder to serve his people and country."

Erdogan's adviser Ilnur Cevik, in an interview with The Associated Press, rejected accusations that Erdogan is in pursuit of greater powers. "Erdogan is the man to deliver," Cevik said. "Erdogan does not have absolute power — he has the affection of the people."

The allied opposition — which includes the center-left and pro-secular Republican Peoples' Party, the center-right Good Party and the small Islamic Felicity Party — has vowed to roll back Erdogan's presidential system and to improve relations with allies and the European Union. Also challenging Erdogan is the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party, whose charismatic leader is running for president from jail.

Erdogan's AKP has formed an alliance with the far-right Nationalist Movement Party. Already in control of a majority of Turkey's media, Erdogan's government has changed electoral rules, raising fears that the elections may not be fair. The changes allow government officials to control polling stations, for polling places to be moved to new locations on security grounds and for ballot papers lacking an official stamp to be counted as valid.

Ismail Buyukcakar, who played soccer alongside Erdogan in the early 1970s in Istanbul's Camialti team, recalls a young man who had leadership qualities and oozed confidence. "He is a good fortune for Turkey. We need to take advantage of this good fortune," Buyukcakar said. "In my opinion, Turkey needs our president for another 20 years."

Associated Press reporters Ayse Wieting and Mehmet Guzel contributed from Istanbul.

Turkish expats continue voting in Europe

16.06.2018

Turkish expats in several European countries continued casting votes in Turkey’s presidential and parliamentary elections on Saturday.

The votes are being cast in the U.K., Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Sweden and Russia.

Germany, Austria, and France were among the first countries in Europe where voting began on June 7.

In Turkey, voters will go to the polls on June 24.

United Kingdom

In the U.K., the voting started at 9.00 a.m. local time (0800 GMT) in London’s Kensington Olympia Conference Center and Turkey’s Edinburgh Consulate General that will continue until June 19.

Turkey’s Consul general Cinar Ergin told Anadolu Agency the voting continued smoothly without any problem.

There are approximately 100,000 registered voters in the U.K., according to High Election Board figures.

Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia

The voting also started in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia on Saturday.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Turkey's Ambassador to Sarajevo Haldun Koc said that they have taken all the precautions to ensure that the electoral process in the embassy takes place in a transparent, fair, democratic and secure environment.

About 2,500 Turkish citizens are eligible to vote in Bosnia and Herzegovina and 2,518 registered voters in Macedonia, while the overall number in the entire Balkan states is about 30,000.

Meanwhile, Turkey's Ambassador to Macedonia Tulin Erkal Kara said that they have taken extraordinary security measures to provide a festive atmosphere for the elections.

"Our objective here is to hold peaceful elections," Kara said.

Voting in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia will continue until 09.00 p.m. (0700 GMT) local time on Sunday.

On the other hand, Turks in Serbia, for the very first time, will cast their votes on Sunday. Voters will be able to cast their votes from 09.00 a.m. local time (0700GMT) to 09.00 p.m. (1900 GMT) at Turkish embassy.

Sweden, Bulgaria

The voting also began in Sweden, where nearly 39,000 Turkish citizens are eligible to cast their votes..

The voting at the Kista Convention Center in Swedish capital Stockholm will continue until 08.00 p.m. (1800GMT) local time on June 17.

In Bulgaria, registered 8,500 voters are eligible to cast their ballots at diplomatic missions in Sofia, Plovdiv and Burgas until June 18.

Russia

In Russia, Turkish citizens began voting at Turkey’s embassy in Moscow and the consulate generals in Kazan, Novorossiysk and St. Petersburg.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Turkey’s Ambassador to Moscow Huseyin Dirioz said that there are 11,000 Turkish citizens eligible to cast ballots.

Over 3 million Turks living abroad are eligible to vote for the presidential and general elections.

Six candidates are running for president, while eight political parties are taking part in the parliamentary elections.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan has served as president since 2014 -- Turkey's first popularly-elected president. Before that, he served as prime minister from 2003 to 2014.

Should he win the June election, Erdogan would be Turkey's first leader under the presidential system.

Turkish citizens living abroad and traveling to Turkey this month can also cast their votes at custom gates until 5 p.m. local time on June 24.

*Ihvan Radoykov in Sofia, Atila Altuntas in Stockholm and Ali Cura from Moscow contributed to this story.

Source: Anadolu Agency.
Link: https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/turkish-expats-continue-voting-in-europe/1176471.

Investigators enter Saudi Consulate where writer vanished

October 15, 2018

ISTANBUL (AP) — A team of investigators entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Monday for what Turkish officials called a joint inspection of the building where Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi disappeared nearly two weeks ago.

The team arrived by unmarked police cars at the consulate and said nothing to journalists waiting outside as they entered the building. Police then pushed back journalists from the front of the consulate, where they've been stationed for days, setting up a new cordon to keep them away.

The makeup of the investigative team that entered the diplomatic compound was not immediately clear. International concern continues to grow over the writer's Oct. 2 disappearance. American lawmakers have threatened tough punitive action against the Saudis, and Germany, France and Britain have jointly called for a "credible investigation" into Khashoggi's disappearance.

A Foreign Ministry official had earlier said the team would visit the diplomatic post Monday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government regulations. Officials in Saudi Arabia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Turkish officials have said they fear a Saudi hit team that flew into and out of Turkey on Oct. 2 killed and dismembered Khashoggi, who had written Washington Post columns critically of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The kingdom has called such allegations "baseless" but has not offered any evidence Khashoggi ever left the consulate.

Such a search would be an extraordinary development, as embassies and consulates under the Vienna Convention are technically foreign soil. Saudi Arabia may have agreed to the search in order to appease its Western allies and the international community.

However, it remained unclear what evidence, if any, would remain nearly two weeks after Khashoggi's disappearance. As if to drive the point home, a cleaning crew with mops, trash bags and cartons of milk walked in past journalists waiting outside the consulate on Monday.

President Donald Trump has said Saudi Arabia could face "severe punishment" if it was proven it was involved in Khashoggi's disappearance. Trump tweeted Monday that he had spoken with Saudi King Salman, "who denies any knowledge" of what happened to Khashoggi.

"He said that they are working closely with Turkey to find answer," Trump wrote. "I am immediately sending our Secretary of State (Mike Pompeo) to meet with King!" On Sunday, Saudi Arabia warned that if it "receives any action, it will respond with greater action, and that the kingdom's economy has an influential and vital role in the global economy."

"The kingdom affirms its total rejection of any threats and attempts to undermine it, whether by threatening to impose economic sanctions, using political pressures or repeating false accusations," said the statement, carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency.

The statement did not elaborate. However, a column published in English a short time later by the general manager of the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya satellite news network suggested Saudi Arabia could use its oil production as a weapon. Benchmark Brent crude is trading at around $80 a barrel, and Trump has criticized OPEC and Saudi Arabia over rising prices.

Saudi media followed on from that statement in television broadcasts and newspaper front pages Monday. The Arabic-language daily Okaz wrote a headline on Monday in English warning: "Don't Test Our Patience." It showed a clenched fist made of a crowd of people in the country's green color.

The Saudi Gazette trumpeted: "Enough Is Enough," while the Arab News said: "Saudi Arabia 'will not be bullied'." The Arab News' headline was above a front-page editorial by Dubai-based real-estate tycoon Khalaf al-Habtoor, calling on Gulf Arab nations to boycott international firms now backing out of a planned economic summit in Riyadh later this month.

"Together we must prove we will not be bullied or else, mark my words, once they have finished kicking the kingdom, we will be next in line," al-Habtoor said. Already, international business leaders are pulling out of the kingdom's upcoming investment forum, a high-profile event known as "Davos in the Desert," though it has no association with the World Economic Forum. They include the CEO of Uber, a company in which Saudi Arabia has invested billions of dollars; billionaire Richard Branson; JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Jamie Dimon; and Ford Motor Co. Executive Chairman Bill Ford.

News that the CEO of Uber, Dara Khosrowshahi, would pull out of the conference drew angry responses across the region. The foreign minister of the neighboring island kingdom of Bahrain, Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, tweeted Sunday night that there should be a boycott of the ride-hailing app both there and in Saudi Arabia.

Late Sunday, Saudi King Salman spoke by telephone with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan about Khashoggi. Turkey said Erdogan "stressed the forming of a joint working group to probe the case." Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, said King Salman thanked Erdogan "for welcoming the kingdom's proposal" for forming the working group.

The king said Turkey and Saudi Arabia enjoy close relations and "that no one will get to undermine the strength of this relationship," according to a statement on the state-run Saudi Press Agency. While Turkey and the kingdom differ on political issues, Saudi investments are a crucial lifeline for Ankara amid trouble with its national currency, the Turkish lira.

Prince Mohammed, King Salman's son, has aggressively pitched the kingdom as a destination for foreign investment. But Khashoggi's disappearance has led several business leaders and media outlets to back out of the upcoming investment conference in Riyadh, called the Future Investment Initiative.

The Saudi stock exchange, only months earlier viewed as a darling of frontier investors, plunged as much as 7 percent at one point Sunday before closing down over 4 percent. On Monday, Riyadh's Tadawul exchange closed up 4 percent.

Concerns appeared to spread Monday to Japan's SoftBank, which has invested tens of billions of dollars of Saudi government funds. SoftBank was down over 7 percent in trading on Tokyo's stock exchange.

Khashoggi has written extensively for the Post about Saudi Arabia, criticizing its war in Yemen, its recent diplomatic spat with Canada and its arrest of women's rights activists after the lifting of a ban on women driving. Those policies are all seen as initiatives of the crown prince.

Fraser reported from Ankara, Turkey, and Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writer Yuri Kageyama in Tokyo contributed to this report.

Ukrainian nationalists honor WWII-era paramilitary group

October 15, 2018

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — About 10,000 people have marched through the capital of Ukraine in an annual nationalist commemoration of the formation of the World War II-era Ukrainian Insurgent Army. About 1,000 police officers were deployed for the Defender of Ukraine Day march. Demonstrators lit colorful flares and shouted slogans such as "We are returning Ukraine to Ukrainians."

There was a scuffle when riot police intervened to stop some protesters attempting to destroy a Soviet-era monument near the parliament building. The march in Kiev took place amid growing concern about radical far-right nationalists attacking Roma encampments and LGBT and women's rights activists.

Sunday was the 76th anniversary of the formation of the paramilitary group, known by the acronym UPA, that fought against the Soviet army, sometimes in collaboration with Nazi forces.

Irish border issued entangled with questions of identity

October 15, 2018

CARRICKCARNAN, Ireland (AP) — The land around the small Irish town of Carrickcarnan is the kind of place where Britain's plan to leave the European Union runs right into a wall — an invisible one that's proving inordinately difficult to overcome.

Somehow, a border of sorts will have to be drawn between Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom, and EU member Ireland to allow customs control over goods, produce and livestock once the U.K. has fully left the bloc.

That means the largely unpoliced and invisible Irish land border will become the boundary between the EU and the U.K. — raising vexing questions about trade and customs checks. Of all the thorny issues in Brexit negotiations, this has been the toughest, because the challenge of keeping trade running smoothly is deeply entangled with questions of identity: what it means to be from Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland's Catholic and Protestant communities remain divided decades after 30 years of conflict claimed around 3,700 lives. The peace agreement signed in 1998 provides people with the freedom to identify as Irish or British, or both. It helped dismantle Northern Ireland's once heavily-policed and militarized border with Ireland — and the last thing people want now is a new one.

"The peace process took identity and borders out of politics. Brexit has put them slap bang back into the middle again," lamented Northern Ireland business and strategy adviser Conor Houston. Talks between EU leaders and British Prime Minister Theresa May ran aground this week over the Irish border issue, and are trying to find ways forward ahead of a summit starting Wednesday.

The Northern Ireland-Ireland border zig-zags all over the map. It cuts around properties, veers over roads and dodges villages. People cross it when they leave home to visit their doctor or go shopping. It's mostly only visible when the speed signs change from kilometers to miles.

The dividing line stretches for 500 kilometers (312 miles) and is dotted with over 250 official road crossings, more than on Europe's entire eastern flank. A fine example of the Brexit conundrum is the Jonesborough Parish Church. A padlock secures the gate of this run-down Protestant place of worship in the U.K. An Irish flag flies in the cemetery next door, over the border. In the parking lot, a weather-beaten sign reads: "No EU Frontier in Ireland."

Not so long ago, 12 fortified watchtowers, 4 helicopter bases, a handful of army barracks and police stations dotted the countryside within a 10-mile (16-kilometer) radius. Border posts stood for authority and made easy targets for paramilitaries. So police came to guard the customs officers. Then the army was called in to protect the police.

Some think that modern technology — drones and cameras — can defeat old enmities. Others suspect they would be used for target practice. "For some, that will be seen as surveillance and a throwback to the troubles. Then you're going to have to decide how to protect those drones and cameras," said Peter Sheridan, a retired senior police officer with 32 years' experience in dealing with organized crime.

Still, Sheridan says politicians should not cave in to threats. "We cannot be pressured into decisions by those who wield the biggest stick," he said. About 65 kilometers (40 miles) to the north, in Northern Ireland's capital of Belfast, the barriers are far more visible. In many places, neighborhoods are still separated by high, graffiti-daubed "peace walls." Schools are mostly segregated.

The territory has the U.K.'s highest poverty, suicide and unemployment rates — and there are fears that Brexit might make things worse. "The tensions just can't be underestimated and it's absolutely pervasive" in parts of Belfast, said Angila Chada from Springboard, a group working with unemployed Protestant and Catholic young people.

It's not all bad news. Trade — mostly in the agricultural and food sectors — has doubled in the last 20 years and Northern Ireland's economy has steadily improved. Still, even in the best Brexit scenario, Aodhan Connolly of the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium notes there will be "a substantial new administrative burden."

More checks on goods crossing the border will mean more paperwork. That means delays, and delays create costs. "There is very little wiggle room for business. These costs will get passed onto the consumer," Connolly told reporters during a visit to Northern Ireland organized by the Irish government. "It's literally death by a thousand cuts. The food prices will go up, the fuel will go up, the shirt on your back."

Creating a "hard border" — something all parties want to avoid — would make things worse. On average, commercial vehicles cross the border 13,000 times each day. In the future, around 3,000 loads a day carrying beef, lamb, pork, poultry, eggs or dairy products might have to be stopped. Each check would take about 10 minutes, said Seamus Leheny from Freight Transport Association.

"We would have paralysis here on the border," he said. Whether customs and other checks could be done away from the border — at airports, ports, factories or markets — remains to be seen. In coming weeks, EU officials and the British and Irish governments must come up with a policy which guarantees that goods can be controlled without stifling the economy. Above all, the Brexit Irish border plan must respect the unique identities of Northern Ireland's people and not inflame tensions, as many fear it might.

Hungary: Ban on living in public areas taking effect

October 14, 2018

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — A constitutional amendment that prohibits people from living in public areas takes effect Monday in Hungary, but Ferenc Ribeny's biggest concern is the fate of his dog. The revision empowers police to issue warnings to anyone seen living rough. Penalties for homeless people who receive four warnings within 90 days include jail time or up to six months in a public works program.

Ribeny, 67, a former restaurant owner, has lived for a year on the streets of Budapest. His companion is Mazli, the terrier he got after his wife's death seven years ago. Ribeny said he has applied for a job at an animal shelter and inquired about occupying a shipping container that was converted into a home.

"I'm hoping it will work itself out, because otherwise I don't know what to do," Ribeny said during a meal at a daytime shelter Sunday. Without Mazli with him, "there's really no point in living." The seventh amendment to the Basic Law, as Hungary's Constitution is now called, was passed by lawmakers in June. Along with cracking down on the homeless, it includes articles meant to protect Hungary's Christian culture and greatly limit the chances of refugees receiving asylum.

Courts declared an earlier attempt by Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government to outlaw homelessness to be unconstitutional. Writing the ban into the Basic Law makes it harder to challenge legally. Advocates for the homeless say the ban and the threat of jail time for violators are unlikely to solve the homeless issue, especially when many of those on the streets need medical and psychological care most shelters can't provide.

More resources are needed to prevent people from becoming homeless and to house the ones that do end up with nowhere to stay, Shelter Foundation director Zoltan Aknai said. "There already have been several unsuccessful attempts for the current homeless care system to absorb those living in the streets," Aknai said. "Now, authorities are trying to achieve this with tougher measures."

The Hungarian government says 9,800 places are available nationwide in shelters for overnight stays and 19,000 in total and recently allocated 9.1 billion forints ($32.2 million) to help the homeless. Unofficial estimates say Budapest's homeless population is of 30,000.

"We are preparing to provide extra assistance to all those living in the streets," Ministry of Human Resources State Secretary Bence Retvari said about government efforts before winter arrives. Jutka Lakatos lives in a hut near an outlying industrial area with her husband, five dogs and other animals. She earns about $340 a month cleaning offices, considers herself too old to apply for public housing and says she wants to avoid the "inhumane" conditions of homeless shelters.

"I much prefer to choose the free life," said Lakatos, 64, a member of homeless advocacy group A Varos Mindenkie (The City Is For All.) "I don't have to fear lying on the floor like a herring and that if I roll over then 30 other people also have to roll over."

She hopes the constitutional amendment that outlaws living in public places won't be enforced strictly. "We trust that after an initial enthusiasm, they will acknowledge that it is totally pointless and nothing will come of it," Lakatos said.

Bavarian voters punish Merkel allies in state election

October 15, 2018

BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative allies lost their absolute majority in Bavaria's state parliament by a wide margin in a regional election Sunday, a result that could cause more turbulence within the national government.

The Christian Social Union took 37.2 percent of the vote, down from 47.7 percent five years ago. It was the party's worst performance since 1950 in a state vote in Bavaria, which it has traditionally dominated.

Constant squabbling in Merkel's national government and a power struggle at home have weighed on the CSU. It is traditionally a touch more right-wing than the chancellor's party and has taken a hard-line on migration, clashing with Merkel on the issue.

There were gains for parties to its left and right. The Greens won 17.5 percent to secure second place, double their support in 2013. The far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD, entered the state legislature with 10.2 percent of the vote.

Meanwhile, the center-left Social Democrats, Merkel's other national coalition partner in Berlin, finished in fifth place with a disastrous 9.7 percent, less than half what they received in 2013 and their worst in the state since World War II.

The CSU has governed Bavaria, the prosperous southeastern state that is home to some 13 million of Germany's 82 million people, for more than six decades. Needing coalition partners to govern is itself a major setback for the party, which exists only in Bavaria and held an absolute majority in the state parliament for all but five of the past 56 years.

"Of course this isn't an easy day for the CSU," the state's governor, Markus Soeder, told supporters in Munich, adding that the party accepted the "painful" result "with humility." Pointing to goings-on in Berlin, Soeder said, "It's not so easy to uncouple yourself from the national trend completely."

Still, he stressed that the CSU emerged as the state's strongest party with a mandate to form the next Bavarian government. He said his preference was for a center-right coalition. That would see the CSU partner with the Free Voters, a local conservative rival that made modest gains to win 11.6 percent.

The Greens, traditionally bitter opponents of the CSU with a more liberal approach to migration and an emphasis on environmental issues, are another possible partner. A pro-business party, the Free Democrats, scraped into the state legislature with 5.1 percent support but won't be needed to form a coalition.

The CSU has long leveraged its strength at the state level to punch above its weight in national politics. In Berlin, the party is one of three in Merkel's federal coalition government along with its conservative sister, Merkel's Christian Democratic Union, and the Social Democrats.

That government has been notable largely for internal squabbling since it took office in March. The CSU leader, Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, has often played a starring role. Back in Bavaria, a long-running CSU power struggle saw the 69-year-old Seehofer give up his job as state governor earlier this year to Soeder, a younger and sometimes bitter rival.

Seehofer has sparred with Merkel about migration on and off since 2015, when he assailed her decision to leave Germany's borders open as refugees and others crossed the Balkans. They argued in June over whether to turn back small numbers of asylum-seekers at the German-Austrian border, briefly threatening to bring down the national government.

The interior minister also featured prominently in a coalition crisis last month over Germany's domestic intelligence chief, who was accused of playing down recent far-right violence against migrants.

Seehofer has faced widespread speculation lately that a poor Bavarian result would cost him his job. He told ZDF television his party's election performance had causes in both Berlin and Munich. "Of course, I as party leader bear a share of responsibility for this result," Seehofer said, adding that he was prepared to discuss consequences for Sunday's outcome, but not immediately.

It remains to be seen whether and how the Bavarian result will affect the national government's stability or Merkel's long-term future. Any aftershocks may be delayed because another state election is coming Oct. 28 in neighboring Hesse, where conservative Volker Bouffier is defending the 19-year hold of Merkel's CDU on the governor's office. Bouffier has criticized the CSU for diminishing people's trust in Germany's conservatives.

The CDU's general secretary, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, said the party must show discipline and focus on Hesse. She acknowledged that the national government's woes have been unhelpful. "It is totally undisputed that the way we have treated each other in the coalition, and also the way we argued with each other in the summer, was anything but inspiring for the state election in Bavaria," she said.

Prince Harry and Meghan expecting their 1st child in spring

October 15, 2018

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Prince Harry and his wife, the Duchess of Sussex, are expecting their first child in the spring, Kensington Palace said Monday. The announcement came hours after Harry and the former Meghan Markle arrived in Sydney at the start of a 16-day visit to Australia, Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand. Hundreds of people gathered to catch a glimpse of the couple after they landed.

"Their royal highnesses have appreciated all of the support they have received from people around the world since their wedding in May and are delighted to be able to share this happy news with the public," the palace said in a statement.

After their arrival in Sydney, the prince and the former American actress held hands and walked out an airport rear entrance and into a car. Meghan, wearing skinny black pants and a black, burgundy trimmed coat, was smiling and clutching folders, while Harry gave a thumbs up to bystanders.

The announcement of the pregnancy confirms weeks of speculation from royal watchers about why Meghan was not joining Harry on his Sydney Harbour Bridge climb set for Friday. Harry, 34, and Meghan, 37 — along with Prince William and his wife, Kate, the duchess of Cambridge — have stepped to the fore in the last year as Queen Elizabeth II, 92, slightly reduces her public schedule.

Monday's announcement is welcome news in Britain, where Meghan has won many hearts since her engagement to Harry was announced last December. British Prime Minister Theresa May offered her "warmest congratulations" on the news, which provided a bit of relief from concerns about the stalled Brexit negotiations. "Wishing them all the best," May tweeted.

The baby would be seventh in line for the British throne. The royal couple started dating in July 2016 after they were introduced by friends, and Harry courted Meghan on a trip to Africa shortly afterward. They kept their relationship secret for several months but word eventually leaked to the British press.

They were married in May in a spectacular ceremony on the grounds of Windsor Castle that drew tens of thousands of people to Windsor and was watched by a global TV audience. Harry has become immensely popular in Britain, in part because of his military service and tireless work on behalf of wounded soldiers, and he has spoken often in recent years of his desire to settle down and start a family.

When the couple got engaged, Harry was asked about plans for children. "You know, I think one step at a time, and hopefully we'll start a family in the near future," he said. He said in 2015, before he met Meghan, that he would "love to have kids right now."

Meghan has also talked about wanting to have children. She said in a 2016 interview that becoming a mother was on her "bucket list." She was still acting in "Suits" at the time. "I can't wait to start a family, but in due time," she said.

Meghan, with her American roots and successful acting career, has been seen as a modernizing influence on the sometimes stodgy royal family, and she is credited by many for bringing happiness to Harry, who has long struggled to cope with the early death of his mother, Princess Diana.

Harry has broken new ground by talking openly about his mental health issues related to the death of his mother when he was only 12, and that candidness, which is part of a royal campaign to raise awareness about mental illness and end the stigma surrounding it, has brought the royals increased public backing.

The royal couple's trip Down Under is their only international tour since they were married, apart from a two-day visit to Ireland. Days after watching Harry's cousin Princess Eugenie tie the knot in a lavish ceremony in Windsor, the couple touched down in Sydney on an overcast morning after a regular Qantas Airways flight from London with a brief stopover in Singapore.

Sydney's weather is expected to be drizzly and cool on Tuesday, with showers forecast for most of the week. It won't be the first time Harry has had to brave the rain in Sydney. Last year, he made a whirlwind visit to cast his eye over the Invictus Games preparations, where he charmed his fans during torrential rain.

The couple's current tour coincides with the games, which start in Sydney on Saturday. The sporting event, founded by Harry in 2014, gives sick and injured military personnel and veterans the opportunity to compete in sports such as wheelchair basketball.

Harry and Meghan will attend the games' opening and closing ceremonies. In all, they have 76 engagements scheduled over 16 days in Australia, Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand. The royal couple was driven from the airport to Admiralty House, the official Sydney residence of Governor General Peter Cosgrove, who represents Australia's head of state, Queen Elizabeth II, Harry's grandmother. The couple had no official functions on Monday following the 17,140-kilometer (10,650-mile) flight that Qantas says takes 22 hours and 20 minutes.

Hundreds of well-wishers gathered with umbrellas outside the airport and Admiralty House in the hope of catching a glimpse of Harry and Meghan. The crowd cheered as the waving couple was driven through the gates of the harbor-side mansion.

U.S. President Donald Trump's representative in Britain, Ambassador Woody Johnson, tweeted: "Happy news to wake up to on a Monday morning - congratulations to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex!!" The royal couple's visit comes six months after Harry's father, Prince Charles, made his 16th official visit to Australia, primarily to open the 21st Commonwealth Games at Gold Coast city in Queensland.

Katz reported from London.

UK-EU Brexit deal hamstrung by Irish border issue

October 15, 2018

LUXEMBOURG (AP) — Britain and the European Union were still both refusing to blink Monday over the question of the Irish border in Brexit talks — only two days ahead of a summit once seen as the moment when they would have to reach deal on Britain's divorce from the bloc.

A flurry of diplomatic meetings over the weekend had raised hopes for a Brexit agreement, but they were derailed by the issue that has dogged the talks for months — how to ensure that no hard border is created between the EU's Ireland and Britain's Northern Ireland once Brexit happens on March 29.

The EU has proposed a "backstop" solution that would keep Northern Ireland in a customs union to avoid a hard border between it and Ireland if no other solution can be found. But British Prime Minister Theresa May says that would create "a border in the Irish Sea" and she won't accept it.

Britain is proposing instead to keep all of the U.K. in a customs union with the bloc — but only temporarily. Tying Britain to the EU on customs would limit the U.K.'s power to strike new trade deals around the world — a key goal of those who voted to leave the EU.

"I need to be able to look the British people in the eye and say this 'backstop' is a temporary solution," May told lawmakers in the House of Commons on Monday. Insisting that a Brexit divorce deal was "achievable," May said the border dispute should not "derail the prospects of a good deal and leave us with the no-deal outcome that no one wants."

"I do not believe the EU and the UK are far apart," she said. May is under intense pressure from her Conservative Party and its parliamentary allies not to give any more ground in Brexit negotiations.

May's political allies in Northern Ireland, the Democratic Unionist Party, stand ready to scuttle a Brexit deal over the Irish border issue. DUP Brexit spokesman Sammy Wilson said "it is probably inevitable that we will end up with a no-deal scenario" over Brexit.

The Irish border is an acutely sensitive issue, with some fearing any return to customs checks and other controls could revive tensions between Northern Ireland's Irish Catholic community and its British Protestant one. More than 3,700 people were killed in Northern Ireland amid 30 years of violence between the two groups and Britain, which ended with a 1998 peace deal.

Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said the delays were frustrating, and suggested that May was reneging on part of Britain's commitment, made in December, to ensure that there is no hard border on the island of Ireland.

He said that a backstop "cannot be time-limited." "Nobody wants to ever trigger the backstop, but it needs to be there as an insurance mechanism to calm nerves that we're not going to see physical border infrastructure re-emerging," Coveney said.

The border impasse makes it is almost impossible that EU leaders will reach a Brexit deal at their summit, which begins Wednesday. The British and EU parliaments need to approve any deal, a process that could take months ahead of Britain's official exit.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, perhaps the strongest voice in the EU, insisted Monday that May should not count on the EU to blink first for fear of losing valuable business. Merkel said Germany wants an orderly departure of Britain from the bloc "but not at any price."

EU negotiators and leaders have said that Britain should not seek to cherry-pick the best parts of staying in the EU without the costs and responsibilities. "We must not allow our single market, which is really our competitive advantage, to be destroyed by such a withdrawal," Merkel said told Germany's main exporters' association. "And if it doesn't work out this week, we must continue negotiating, that is clear — but time is pressing."

If Britain leaves the EU without an agreement on future relations, there could be chaos — tariffs would go up on trade, airlines could no longer have permits to fly between the two regions, and freight could be lined up for miles at border crossings as customs checks are restored overnight.

The EU has said it is willing to call an extra meeting in November if needed to seal a deal, but only if there was decisive progress this week. Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said Monday that "I figure November or December is the best opportunity for a deal."

"This is a dynamic situation," he said. As the chances of Britain crashing out of the EU without a deal rise, so do calls from pro-EU campaigners in Britain for a new referendum — dubbed a "People's Vote" — on whether to accept a divorce deal or stay in the bloc.

Several opposition lawmakers, and even a few Conservatives, stood in Parliament Monday to call for a new Brexit referendum. "We had a people's vote," May replied. "It was called the referendum and the people voted to leave."

Lawless reported from London. Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed.

Round of talks don't resolve Brexit problems ahead of summit

October 15, 2018

BRUSSELS (AP) — A flurry of talks between Britain and the European Union ended Sunday without a Brexit agreement, leaving the two sides three days to close a gap in their positions before a make-or-break summit.

An unscheduled, face-to-face meeting between EU negotiator Michel Barnier and British Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab, and a hastily scheduled meeting of 27 EU ambassadors in Brussels, had sparked speculation that the long-awaited deal was imminent.

Barnier dashed those hopes Sunday evening, writing on Twitter: "Despite intense efforts, some key issues are still open" in the divorce talks. The key stumbling block remains the need "to avoid a hard border" between Ireland and the U.K's Northern Ireland after Brexit, he said.

British Prime Minister Theresa May is under intense pressure from her Conservative Party and its parliamentary allies not to give any more ground in negotiations, especially on the border issue. The British government said in a statement issued Sunday night there were still "unresolved issues" but insisted negotiators had made "real progress" toward a divorce agreement.

The lack of a breakthrough on the border increased the chances that the Brexit negotiations will fail to produce an agreement spelling out how the EU will interact with its former member and vice versa. EU officials have warned that real progress is needed at the summit starting Wednesday.

The British government said it remained committed to making progress at the summit. An EU official said no further negotiations were planned before the leaders of EU countries convene in Brussels. Both sides previously agreed that a special November meeting — to be called only if there is enough progress this week —would be the deadline for reaching an agreement since Britain is set to leave the EU on March 29.

The EU and the U.K. are seeking an elusive compromise position on the difficult Irish border question ahead of the summit. The "Irish backstop" is the main hurdle to a deal that spells out the terms of Britain's departure from the EU and future relationship with the bloc.

After Brexit, the currently invisible frontier between Northern Ireland and Ireland will be the U.K.'s only land border with an EU nation. Britain and the EU agree there must be no customs checks or other infrastructure on the border, but do not agree on how that can be accomplished.

Raab, Britain's Brexit secretary, was not expected in Brussels on Sunday, but he made a last minute trip for an in-person meeting with Barnier. "With several big issues still to resolve, including the Northern Ireland backstop, it was jointly agreed that face-to-face talks were necessary," Raab's office said.

The EU's "backstop" solution — to keep Northern Ireland in a customs union with the bloc — has been rejected by Britain because it would require checks between Northern Ireland and the rest of the U.K.

The alternative — to keep the entire U.K. in a customs union until a permanent solution can be found — has outraged pro-Brexit members of May's divided government, who claim that approach would limit the country's ability to strike new trade deals around the world.

The idea is also anathema to the Democratic Unionist Party, a Northern Ireland Protestant party that props up May's minority government. So even if May strikes a deal with Brussels, she will struggle to get it past her government and Parliament at home.

Raab's predecessor, David Davis, wrote in the Sunday Times that May's plans for continued close economic ties with the EU even after Britain leaves the bloc is "completely unacceptable" and must be stopped by her ministers.

May is struggling to build a consensus behind her Brexit plans ahead of a Cabinet meeting Tuesday that will be followed by Wednesday's EU summit. If Davis' call for a rebellion is effective, the Cabinet meeting is likely to be fractious.

Davis and former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson resigned from May's Cabinet this summer to protest her Brexit blueprint. While all three are members of the ruling Conservative Party, the two men have become vocal opponents of May's plan, saying it would betray the Brexit vote and leave Britain tied to the EU without any say over its rules.

Johnson, who regularly uses his newspaper column in the Daily Telegraph to excoriate May's Brexit plan, said the EU's border backstop amounted to "a choice between the breakup of this country or the subjugation of this country, between separation or submission."

"It must be rejected, and it must be rejected now," he wrote in Monday's edition. May's Brexit plan has also been rejected by leaders of the main opposition Labour Party, further dimming the prime minister's hopes of winning parliamentary backing for any Brexit deal she reaches with EU officials.

Katz and Lawless reported from London.

South Korean President meets Macron on state visit to France

October 15, 2018

PARIS (AP) — South Korean President Moon Jae-in has met with French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss inter-Korean talks and bilateral issues. Moon, on a state visit to France, said he considers France, a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, as a key partner in efforts toward peace with North Korea.

Both leaders pledged to enhance economic and cultural cooperation between their countries in a joint news conference Monday in Paris. Moon is on a European trip which also includes Italy, Belgium and Denmark.

North and South Korea continued their push for peace Monday with high-level talks that resulted in a host of agreements, including a plan by the rivals for a groundbreaking ceremony this year on an ambitious project to connect their railways and roads.

Russian Orthodox Church breaks ties with Orthodoxy's leader

October 15, 2018

MOSCOW (AP) — The Russian Orthodox Church decided Monday to sever ties with the leader of the worldwide Orthodox community after his decision to grant Ukrainian clerics independence from the Moscow Patriarchate.

Metropolitan Hilarion said the Russian church's Holy Synod resolved to "''break the Eucharistic communion" with the Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. Under the leadership of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the patriarchate last week removed its condemnation of leaders of schismatic Orthodox churches in Ukraine. The decision marked a step toward establishing an ecclesiastically independent - or autocephalous - church in Ukraine.

The Orthodox Church in Ukraine has been under the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church since the late 1600s. Calls for the Ukrainian church's independence have increased since Moscow's 2014 annexation of the Crimean Peninsula and its support of separatist rebels fighting in eastern Ukraine.

Ukraine currently has three Orthodox communities - one answering to the Russian Orthodox Church and two schismatic churches. Metropolitan Hilarion, who heads the Russian Orthodox Church's foreign relations department, said after the Holy Synod's meeting in Minsk, Belarus on Monday that rupturing ties with the Ecumenical Patriarchate was a response to its "lawless and canonically void moves."

"The Russian Orthodox Church doesn't recognize those decisions and won't fulfill them," he said. "The church that acknowledged the schismatics has excluded itself from the canonical field of the Orthodoxy."

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, who is running for re-election in a March vote, has pushed Bartholomew to grant independence to the Ukrainian church. Ukrainian Orthodox Church Archbishop Yevstratiy denounced the Holy Synod's decision to sever ties with the Orthodox Church leader regarded as a "first among equals" as a move toward "self-isolation."

The Russian church voiced concern that the Istanbul-based patriarchate's action would deepen the religious rift in Ukraine and could spur the schismatic branches to try to take over church buildings. The Russian Orthodox Church expects Poroshenko to make good on his pledge that the Ukrainian government would ensure respect for the choices of those who want to retain unity with the Russian church.

Yuras Karmanau in Minsk, Belarus contributed to this report.