Death toll in Czech mine explosion increases to 13

December 21, 2018

PRAGUE (AP) — The death toll in a methane explosion at a black coal mine in northeastern Czech Republic has increased to 13, a mining company said Friday. OKD mining company spokesman Ivo Celechovsky said that 12 of the dead were Polish nationals while one was Czech, correcting information given earlier that said there were 11 Poles and two Czechs.

A further 10 miners were injured in the explosion Thursday afternoon at the CSM mine near the town of Karvina. Polish President Andrzej Duda declared Sunday a day of national mourning for the victims of the tragedy. Flags in Poland will be lowered to half-staff on public buildings and large sporting and entertainment events will be canceled.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and his Czech counterpart Andrej Babis have offered their condolences to the families of the victims. The two leaders visited the mine on Friday. "To our knowledge ... there is a fire underground, very high temperature, very high risk of subsequent explosions," Morawiecki said.

The Polish leader visited two injured miners at the University Hospital in the nearby city of Ostrava. One of them was in critical condition with burns over 50 percent of his body, hospital spokeswoman Nada Chattova said.

Another miner was release after being treated in Karvina. "I wish to express words of deepest sympathy to all the close victims of the mining disaster in Karvina," Morawiecki said. "This is a huge tragedy for all Poles and Czechs. On this difficult day, we strongly show our solidarity and sense of national community."

The explosion occurred about 800 meters (2,600 feet) underground. OKD executive director Boleslav Kowalczyk said efforts to recover the bodies were continuing on Friday despite a fire in the mine. Authorities have been investigating the accident.

Bohuslav Machek, spokesman for the Czech mining authority said the level of methane in the mine was at least 4.5 times the allowed level at the time of the explosion. Easily ignitable methane is naturally present at black coal mines, posing a threat for miners.

A previous version of this story was corrected to show that the mine is called CSM, not CSA.

Vanessa Gera in Warsaw contributed to this report.

Venice to charge day-trippers for access to city center

December 31, 2018

MILAN (AP) — A measure in Italy's 2019 budget law will allow the local government in Venice to charge day-trippers for access to the city's historic center as a way to help defray the considerable costs of maintaining a popular tourist destination built on water, the mayor said.

Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro said late Sunday on Twitter that the new visitors' tax would "allow us to manage the city better and to keep it clean" and "allow Venetians to live with more decorum." The City Council will be responsible for setting the charge and determining the collection method. The mayor's office said it would vary from 2.50 euros to 10 euros per person, with exemptions for students, people traveling briefly to Venice for work or business and regional residents.

Overnight visitors will not be assessed the new levy. They are currently charged a small "stay" tax per night that varies according to such criteria as season, location and the ages of guests. Official estimate that as many as 30 million people visit Venice each year, with about one-fifth spending at least one night in the historic center of the city, which excludes islands in the lagoon and a mainland.

Brugnaro said the substantial cost of cleaning and maintaining security has so far been paid "only by Venetians." Many natives have been forced to the mainland due to the high cost of living, and the huge influx of tourist also from cruise ships has contributed to wear and tear on the delicate architecture, which also endures frequent flooding caused by high winds.

City officials emphasized that the cost of maintaining public buildings in Venice's historic center is one-third higher than on the mainland due to materials having to be brought in by boat and sometimes taken on hand-carts through the city's narrow mazes of streets. Cleaning also must be done by hand.

The extra funds also will cover security costs, including the deployment of 150 local police officers every Sunday and the 350 officers on duty for holidays like New Year's Eve and Carnival, and to erect walkways during periods of flooding.

The mayor of Florence, another Italian art city struggling with over-tourism, called for a law that would allow all major Italian tourist destinations to assess visitor fees. "Florence and the other touristic cities are not less-deserving," Italian news agency ANSA quoted Mayor Dario Nardella as saying. "This is a norm that discourages hit-and-run tourism, which creates problems and inconveniences in the city without being counterbalanced by positive effects."

Florence now can collect a maximum of 5 euros a night from overnight guests, according to the mayor. Nardella said he was also disappointed that the authorization Venice received does not address the use of private residences as tourist lodgings, which he said "is threatening the residential nature of the historic centers of all the Italian art cities."

Quake from Mount Etna volcano jolts Sicily; 10 injured

December 26, 2018

ROME (AP) — A quake triggered by Mount Etna's ongoing eruption jolted eastern Sicily before dawn Wednesday, slightly injuring 10 people and prompting frightened Italian villagers to flee their homes. Italy's Civil Protection officials said the quake, which struck at 3:19 a.m., was part of a swarm of some 1,000 tremors, most of them barely perceptible, linked to Etna's volcanic eruption this week.

The quake struck north of Catania, the largest city in the eastern part of the Mediterranean island, but no injuries or damages were reported there. Italy's national seismology institute said it registered a magnitude of 4.8 and occurred at a relatively shallow depth, 1 kilometer (0.6 mile) under the mountain's surface.

The temblor damaged some rural homes, including structures that had been abandoned years ago, toppled a Madonna statue in a church in the town of Santa Venerina and opened up cracks on a highway, which was closed for inspection, Rai state radio said.

One 80-year-old man was safely extracted from the rubble of his home, the Italian news agency ANSA said. A woman told state radio that a heavy armoire in her home had toppled over, trapping her sister, who was then safely pulled out by her father. In another house, a ceiling collapsed.

"Etna remains a dangerous volcano, and this country of ours is unfortunately fragile," government undersecretary Vito Crimi said, adding there were no fatalities and 10 slight injuries. The quake was also felt in the upscale Sicilian resort town of Taormina.

The Civil Protection agency said temporary shelters were being set up for people whose houses were damaged or who were too alarmed to return to their homes. In recent days, Etna's latest eruption has been shooting volcanic ash, heavy smoke and lava stones into the air, coating roads and homes nearby with ash. A new fracture has opened near Etna's southeast crater and lava has been flowing down an uninhabited slope.

Etna, the largest of Italy's three active volcanoes, has been particularly active since July.

Sicilian airport reopens amid Mount Etna's latest eruption

December 25, 2018

ROME (AP) — Italy's Catania airport resumed full operations a day after an ash cloud from Mount Etna's latest eruption forced it to shut down, while fiery red lava could be seen shooting from the volcano in eastern Sicily on Tuesday.

Ashes coated streets and sidewalks in the mountain towns of Zafferana Etnea and Santa Venerina. No evacuations of residents, many of whom work on farms or in tourism, were ordered. At least 300 tremors rattled the slopes of the volcanic mountain during a three-hour span early Monday, including a magnitude 4.3 seismic shake, Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology said.

Tremors continued Tuesday, but they were less powerful. A new, 2-kilometer (1.25 mile) fissure opened up Monday on a stretch of uninhabited slope near Mount Etna's southeast crater. On Monday, hikers were brought down from the volcano's higher elevations for their safety.

Etna has been particularly active since July. Another volcano, Stromboli, on an inhabited Italian island of the same name and part of an archipelago north of Sicily, has shown increased activity of late, Italy's national Civil Protection agency said Monday.

Genoa announces $229M project to replace collapsed bridge

December 18, 2018

MILAN (AP) — Genoa's mayor on Tuesday announced that a 202-million-euro ($229 million) project by hometown architect Renzo Piano inspired by a naval ship has been chosen to replace the Morandi Bridge that collapsed last summer, killing 43 people.

The project will be carried out by three Italian firms, construction firm Salini Impregilo, state-run shipbuilder Fincantieri's infrastructure subsidiary and the Italferr state railway subsidiary, which will be charged with engineering aspects.

Mayor Marco Bucci said construction will take 12 months and the bridge should be completed, although not yet accessible, by the end of 2019. The bridge will no longer carry the name of Morandi, the architect who constructed the reinforced concrete structure that collapsed, but Bucci didn't indicate a new name.

Piano's project incorporates weight-bearing columns that resemble the bow of a ship, and will be illuminated by 43 lamps casting a light shaped like ships' sails and representing each of the victims. Piano will also be the project's technical supervisor.

The bridge crosses a densely populated area and is a key artery for much of northern Italy, including the port city of Genoa, the Ligurian coast and southern France. The decree awarding the three companies the project specified that necessity of having a project using weight-bearing columns and not stay cables "in respect for the psychological aversion that matured in the city after the collapse of the Morandi Bridge," which included metal support cables that snapped during the collapse. The cause of the Aug. 14 tragedy still hasn't been determined, but prosecutors are investigating poor maintenance or design flaws in the 51-year-old structure as possible hypotheses.

Salini Impregilio has extensive experience constructing bridges, including a replacement of the Gerald Desmond Bridge in Long Beach, California, the Unionport Bridge being built in New York and the second bridge over the Bosphorus Strait.

Salini Impregilo and Fincantieri have formed a new company called Peregnova to oversee the project, which they said would take 12 months to complete following demolition of the old structure, which hasn't yet started. Salini Impregilo said that the new Genoa bridge over the Polcevera River will have a 1.1-kilometer-long (1,200-yard) continuous steel deck with 20 spans and 19 elliptical piers.

Fincantieri will build the steel structures at its Genoa-Sestieri shipyard and a facility near Verona, and transport elements to the worksite for assembly and welding, which the shipbuilder said would reduce operations to a minimum.

Salini Impregilo CEO Pietro Salini said the company would work "to relaunch the city as quickly as possible and send a strong message to the entire country. Public works can kickstart the economy and start to create jobs again."

Italy's far-right minister visits Israel, drawing criticism

December 12, 2018

JERUSALEM (AP) — One of Europe's most divisive political figures, Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, opened his visit to Israel Tuesday with warm words of support for his hosts, condemning Hezbollah as a "terrorist" organization and denouncing rising waves of anti-Semitism in Europe.

Salvini is in Israel for a two-day visit that has prompted criticism over his far-right policies and anti-migration views. He kicked off his trip with a tour of Israel's northern border with Lebanon, where the Israeli army has uncovered tunnels it says were built by Hezbollah for attacks. He told a gathering of journalists in Jerusalem on Tuesday that no country would tolerate enemy tunnels infiltrating its territory.

"I call terrorists what they are, which is terrorists," he said. He said he was "very proud" of the Italian soldiers serving in UNFIL, the U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon, which is headed by an Italian general.

Salvini, best known for bashing the European Union and cracking down on African and Arab asylum-seekers, said his government "fights anti-Semitism in every way and every form wherever it is." He blamed Europe's resurgent anti-Semitism on "immigration from Islamic countries."

The leader of Italy's populist League party, Salvini exploded onto the scene just months ago, but already exerts outsized influence on Italy's prime minister and dominates the political conversation. Opinion polls show him surging in popularity as he stokes anti-immigrant anxiety and positions himself at the forefront of the nationalist movements sweeping Europe. In recent months, Salvini has made international headlines by tightening criteria for humanitarian protection and refusing to allow rescue boats packed with African migrants to dock at Italy's ports.

Salvini is set to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday and tour the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial. Pro-refugee activists rejecting his tough stance on migrants are expected to protest at the memorial during his visit.

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin turned down a meeting with Salvini, his office said, citing a full schedule and declining further comment. Opposition lawmakers have praised Rivlin's decision, interpreting it as a rebuke of Salvini's views.

Salvini brushed off the backlash Tuesday, saying, "I smile when I hear criticism from the left in Italy and in Israel," and that whoever is bothered by his visit "will have to get over it." Salvini's remarks frequently drawn outrage from the Italian Jewish community. The president of Italy's Union of Jewish Communities, Noemi Di Segni, criticized the minister's move to abolish an anti-racism law last summer, expressing concern at the government's "radicalization." The Jewish Union has also slammed Salvini over his announcement that he would conduct a census of Roma in Italy, saying he was awakening memories of racial hatred and fascist tendencies during World War II.

Emmanuel Navon, senior fellow at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategic Studies, said Israel's embrace of Salvini and "rebellious European governments" allows it to gain leverage over Western European powers, which have traditionally sympathized with the Palestinians, pressed for renewed peace talks and sought to block recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital in the European Union.

"Israel needs to take advantage of this big divide in Europe right now," Navon said. "People are uncomfortable with it, but this is in Israel's national interest." Netanyahu has recently welcomed a string of contentious nationalist leaders to Israel, including Hungary's authoritarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, whose past remarks have been interpreted as anti-Semitic, and Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, widely accused of committing human rights abuses. Netanyahu has also promised to participate in the swearing-in ceremony of hard-right Brazilian president-elect Jair Bolsonaro.

Gray Milan has ambitious plans to be cleaner, greener

December 09, 2018

MILAN (AP) — If Italy's fashion capital has a predominant color, it is gray — not only because of the blocks of neoclassical stone buildings for which the city is celebrated, but also due to its often-gray sky, which traps pollution.

But Milan now wants to shift its color palette toward green. The city has ambitious plans to plant 3 million new trees by 2030 — a move that experts say could offer relief from the city's muggy, sometimes tropical weather.

Projects like architect Stefano Boeri's striking Vertical Forest residential towers, completed in 2014 near the Garibaldi train station, aim to improve not only air quality but the quality of life for Milan residents.

Italian police question witnesses in deadly disco stampede

December 09, 2018

ROME (AP) — Italian police are questioning more witnesses to find who sprayed an irritant, triggering a deadly stampede in an overcrowded disco in a town near the Adriatic port of Ancona. Police Col. Cristian Carrozza of the Ancona Carabinieri on Sunday declined to confirm Italian media reports that investigators had identified a juvenile as the alleged sprayer. He told RaiNews24 that police had questioned more than 80 witnesses to Saturday's pre-dawn stampede at the Blue Lagoon disco in Corinaldo and would speak to dozens more.

Five teens, all minors, and a mother who accompanied her child to the rap concert at the disco were killed in the stampede. More than 50 concertgoers were injured, with seven still in very serious condition Sunday.

Investigators say hundreds more tickets were sold than the disco could handle.

6 dead, dozens hurt in nightclub stampede on Italy's coast

December 08, 2018

ROME (AP) — A stampede of panicked concertgoers, many of them young teenagers, at a disco on Italy's central Adriatic coast killed six people, all but one of them minors, and injured some 50 others early Saturday, authorities said.

The dead included three girls and two boys and an adult woman, a mother who had accompanied her daughter to the disco in Corinaldo, near Ancona, where a rapper was set to perform, Ancona Police Chief Oreste Capocasa said.

The bodies of the trampled victims were all found near a low wall inside the disco, Ancona Firefighters Cmdr. Dino Poggiali told Sky TG24 News. Asked about survivors' accounts that at least one emergency exit door was blocked or didn't work, Poggiali said that it was too early in the investigation to know if any safety violations might have played a role. He said that when rescuers arrived, all the doors of the discos were open.

He said he didn't have any immediately confirmation from survivors that the use of an irritating spray, like pepper spray, had set off the panic. Fourteen of the injured were in serious condition, and some 40 others less seriously injured, Poggiali said. Some of those with minor injuries were treated and released from a hospital, he said. Firefighters had concentrated on giving first aid to survivors, stretched out on the road outside the club, before starting their investigation, Poggiali said.

The Italian news agency ANSA said the audience at Italian rapper Sfera Ebbasta's concert at the Lanterna Azzurra nightclub panicked and ran for the exits after someone sprayed a substance similar to pepper spray.

"It was a mess. The bouncers were getting the persons out," one unidentified witness told RAI state radio. "I went out the main door. People fell, one after the other, on top of each other. Absurd." A 16-year-old boy told ANSA that disco patrons were dancing while awaiting the start of the concert when the stampede erupted. The boy, who was being treated at a hospital, said that at least one of the emergency exits was locked when he tried to flee.

Authorities didn't immediately say how old the victims were, but RAI state radio said the deceased mother was 40, and that about 1,000 people were inside when the stampede began. Carabinieri paramilitary police were investigating the cause, in addition to fire officials.

Police arrest 84 in European crackdown on Italian mob

December 05, 2018

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Hundreds of police in Germany, Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands arrested at least 84 suspected mobsters and seized around 2 million euros ($2.3 million) Wednesday in a series of coordinated raids targeting a powerful Italian organized crime syndicate.

"Today we send a clear message to organized crime groups across Europe," said Filippo Spiezia, vice president of Eurojust, the EU prosecution agency that coordinated the raids. "They are not the only ones able to operate across borders; so are Europe's judiciary and law enforcement communities."

It was the second significant mob takedown in as many days. On Tuesday, Italian authorities said they had dismantled the rebuilt upper echelons of the Mafia in the Sicilian capital of Palermo by arresting 46 people, including the man presumed to have taken over as provincial kingpin.

Wednesday's raids were the culmination of a two-year investigation codenamed Pollino against the powerful 'ndrangheta criminal group on allegations of cocaine trafficking, money laundering, bribery and violence, said Eurojust.

The 'ndrangheta is Italy's most powerful criminal organization, eclipsing by far Sicily's Cosa Nostra or the Naples area Camorra. The Hague-based agency said the massive probe was the biggest of its kind in Europe. Some 4 tons of cocaine were traced during the investigation. Cocaine and ecstasy pills also were seized in Wednesday's raids.

Italian police hailed the cooperation between European police forces and Eurojust's coordination, saying it was an important new crime-fighting tactic that allowed investigators in different countries to share information in real time.

But Italy's top Mafia prosecutor, Federico Cafiero De Raho, also sounded a note of caution, saying the raids only scratched the surface of the powerful 'ndrangheta, whose tentacles and illicit activities, including huge cocaine trafficking operations, were spread all over the world.

Speaking in The Hague, Cafiero de Raho said the arrests "are nothing for 'ndrangheta. There are thousands of people who should be arrested and billions of euros that should be seized." A leading expert on the 'ndrangheta, Catanzaro-based Prosecutor Nicola Gratteri, recently said the Calabrian-based 'ndrangheta syndicate has for years been buying up hotels, restaurants and other properties in Belgium, the Netherlands, France and Germany to both launder some of the billions of dollars it rakes in through cocaine trafficking, as well as invest that money to start "clean" businesses and earn even more revenue.

Eurojust said Italian authorities arrested 41 suspects, mainly in Calabria. In Germany, federal police said there had been multiple arrests in the early morning raids on premises linked to the southern Italy-based organized crime group. The focus was on the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia, which borders the Netherlands and Belgium, and Bavaria to the south.

Five suspects were arrested in the Netherlands, where prosecutors got the ball rolling for the investigation in 2014 with probes into two Italian restaurants, and more suspects were detained just over the border in Belgium.

Eurojust said those arrested Wednesday included "high-ranking members of the mafia network."

David Rising in Berlin and Frances D'Emilio in Rome contributed to this report.

Hungary's Orban wants anti-migration forces to prevail in EU

January 10, 2019

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary's objective for the upcoming European Parliament elections is for "anti-immigration forces" to become a majority in all European Union institutions, including Parliament and the EU's executive Commission, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Thursday.

Orban, who won a third consecutive term in April with an electoral campaign based on anti-immigration policies, predicted that there would be two civilizations in Europe — one "that builds its future on a mixed Islamic and Christian coexistence" and another in Central Europe that would be only Christian.

"In the next 15-20 years, as well, migration will be the most important question of fate on the continent and, within that, Hungary," Orban told reporters. Orban also said that he had "great hopes" for budding cooperation between Italy and Poland, both of which oppose immigration, and said he continues to view hard-line Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini as "my own hero."

Salvini was in Warsaw on Wednesday in an attempt to forge an alliance with Poland's ruling populists ahead of the European Parliament elections in May, expressing hopes that an "Italian-Polish axis" would replace the current "French-German axis."

While Salvini said he and Jaroslaw Kaczynski, Poland's ruling party leader, agreed on most issues, Polish officials seemed to signal some reservations at hooking up with Salvini, who is seen in Poland as too friendly to Russia.

During his news conference Thursday — an infrequent event — Orban deflected questions on corruption, repeating his defense that he does not involve himself with business matters, and refused to address the growing wealth of his friends and family.

Lorinc Meszaros, a childhood friend who until a few years ago worked as a gas fitter, was named last month by the Hungarian edition of Forbes magazine as Hungary's wealthiest person, with an estimated fortune of over $1.3 billion.

AP correspondent Vanessa Gera in Warsaw, Poland, contributed to this report.

Protesters in Hungary reject Orban's nationalist government

December 21, 2018

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Thousands of people marched in anti-government protests Friday in Budapest, upset over labor law changes, increasing corruption and limits on academic freedom under Prime Minister Viktor Orban's nationalist government.

The protests, which started last week, have given the country's fragmented opposition a chance to work together as they challenge Orban, who has led the country with increasing powers since 2010. The satiric Hungarian Two-Tailed Dog Party hosted a downtown march Friday night in the Hungarian capital with speeches, chants and signs critical of Orban.

One sign said "I want to give birth to a stadium," poking fun at two of Orban's preoccupations: Increasing the nation's birthrate and filling the country with white-elephant sports facilities. Protesters gathered outside Parliament and marched to the offices of President Janos Ader in Buda Castle to rebuke him for signing the labor changes as well as other legislation creating a new court system under government control.

The new courts will hear most cases involving the state, from taxation issues to electoral disputes, so having them under government control creates a sharp conflict of interest and reduces their independence.

Since returning to power eight years ago, Orban has been reshaping Hungary. New laws governing the media and churches have been enacted while the state has an ever-increasing presence in all walks of life, from industry to the arts and sports.

With unorthodox policies, Orban's governments have sought to centralize control and shore up the Hungarian economy, which a decade ago needed to be bailed out by the International Monetary Fund. His Fidesz party remains popular, securing a third consecutive two-thirds majority in April.

Emboldened by his latest big majority in parliament, Orban has forced a Budapest-based university founded by billionaire philanthropist George Soros to move most of its programs to Vienna. He retains his fiery rhetoric against migrants and has refused to join a new European Union public prosecutor's office focusing on fraud and corruption.

However, the recent protests have invigorated the opposition. The catalyst for the protests was a new labor code dubbed the "slave law" by critics and approved by lawmakers on Dec. 12. It would increase the number of overtime hours employers could ask workers to put in voluntarily, essentially bringing back a six-day work week, and allow overtime payments to remain unpaid for up to three years.

"I think the slave law is a spark, with the protest banner saying 'We've had enough' capturing it best," said Csaba Toth of the Republikon Institute think tank. On Monday, several opposition lawmakers were physically expelled from the state TV headquarters after spending the night in the building trying to get their demands read on air.

Akos Hadhazy, an independent lawmaker who was among those assaulted by security guards, said Hungary was now closer to becoming a dictatorship. Government officials, meanwhile, called on the opposition to respect the law.

Opposition lawmakers were silenced by parliamentary authorities during the labor law bill's debate and government-party legislators swept aside in a single vote some 2,800 amendments to the bill. The opposition also attempted to delay the vote by blocking access to the speaker's podium and blowing whistles and sounding sirens during the vote, all to no avail.

"Whatever we try to do within the normal parliamentary framework — like presenting amendments or draft laws or debating in the committees — falls on deaf ears and everything is forcefully brushed aside," said Timea Szabo, a lawmaker with the Dialogue party.

"We have reached the point where we simply have to resort to other means, within the frame of non-violence" she said. Lawmakers and supporters from a wide range of parties — from the nationalist Jobbik party to the Socialist Party, as well as the new Momentum party and others — have been participating in the protests.

"For now it's a fragile cooperation, but we are working to strengthen it," Szabo said. "The mere fact that we have reached the point at the end of 2018 that we can cooperate with Jobbik on some issues is a great result. Our hope is that in the long term it can result in a new kind of cooperation."

There have been few effective protests against Orban since 2010, although the government scrapped plans for a tax on internet usage after several rallies in 2014 by mostly students. "There is an emerging unity of the opposition and you can also see the unions and the civil organizations working together. All that might result in something," Toth said, noting that national elections aren't scheduled until 2022. "Any attempt to go against the government starts with the opposition solidifying its own base."

Hadhazy was confident that after a break for the holidays, enthusiasm among government critics would remain strong. "These protests have shown that people are truly very dissatisfied ... we are already now preparing for a large protest on January 5," Hadhazy said.

Gorondi, based in Budapest, reported from Buenos Aires.

Anti-government protesters mass for 5th day in Hungary

December 18, 2018

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — A few thousand demonstrators gathered in freezing temperatures outside Hungary's state broadcaster Monday night in a fifth day of protests against the right-wing government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

Lawmakers from all opposition parties took to a temporary podium to declare they would continue protests until they are allowed to read out their demands on state television. The protests were sparked by a new labor law that in essence enables the return of a six-day work week, if an employee agrees, with overtime payments potentially unpaid for up to three years.

But the demands of protesters have expanded to include cleaning up state corruption, creating an independent judiciary and ensuring neutral state media. "We will continue with protests all the while our demands are not read out over state media. We are not going anywhere," Timea Szabo, a Parliament member for the small, centrist Dialogue party, told the crowd.

"The law has not been trampled on in such a way here for 30 years," she said, apparently referring to the roughing up of some legislators by security guards at the MTVA building early Monday. Demonstrators repeatedly chanted slogans like "We won't leave" and "They are lying day and night!"

Legislators charged that police took orders from private security guards in forcing them out of the MTVA building, rather than protect their right to enter a public building. Agnes Vadai of the Democratic Coalition, a center-left party, told The Associated Press that she had been manhandled by security guards.

"This is nonsense," she said of the lack of help from police officers. "It's their obligation to protect all Hungarian citizens, regardless of their position." The group of 10 lawmakers had entered the building insisting on the right to read their five demands live on air, including the revocation of the labor law.

The government has defended the law, saying it will ease the shortage of workers, most especially in the booming auto and manufacturing sectors, and enable employees to earn more money as they wish. Orban's allies have denounced the protests as the work of liberal groups financed by Hungarian-American financier George Soros. The Open Society Foundations, an organization founded by Soros, again denied that Monday.

"The Hungarian people are protesting against their government because they have legitimate grievances. Nobody believes Viktor Orban's false assertion that George Soros is behind these protests," the group said in a statement.

Greece hauls abandoned, half-sunken ships out of the sea

January 03, 2019

ELEFSINA, Greece (AP) — The hulking remains of a cargo ship rise up through the water, listing to one side with a rusting hull exposed, its glory days of sailing the world's seas and oceans long gone.

This is just one of dozens of abandoned cargo and passenger ships that lie semi-submerged or completely sunken in and near the Gulf of Elefsina, an industrial area of shipyards and factories near Greece's major port of Piraeus.

Now Greek authorities have begun to remove the ships, some of which have been there for decades, saying they are both an environmental hazard and a danger to modern shipping. "We are speaking about 27 shipwrecks and potentially ... 12 harmful and dangerous ships," said Charalampos Gargaretas, the chief executive officer of Elefsina Port Authority. "(It's) a tragic situation."

From the port of Piraeus to the island of Salamina that lies off of Elefsina, the sea is littered with 52 such shipwrecks, said Dimosthenis Bakopoulos, head of Greece's Public Ports Authority. "You don't have to be a scientist to understand that the shipwrecks are an environmental bomb that degrades the environment of the nearby municipalities," Bakopoulos said, adding that some of the ships were still leaking petroleum products into the sea.

But the process has been wrought with difficulties. The owners of the ships vary from individuals to inheritors to companies registered in countries ranging from Greece to the Marshall Islands, Britain and Honduras. Some have gone bankrupt, some are no longer traceable, officials say. So authorities have put in motion a process where the abandoned ships can be appropriated by the state.

Salvage companies then take over the job of breaking up the ships and removing the remains — a job they undertake free of charge to the state in return for being able to sell the metal for scrap. Another problem Greek authorities have faced is the lack of licensed ship-breaking yards in the area, and some opposition from locals who fear the environmental impact of large ships being demolished in their area.

"It is the sins of many years which we now have come (to solve)," said Gargaretas. "We are trying in a very short period of time and with huge bureaucratic and legal hurdles to remove all these ships from the area."

Sinking Greek village highlights nation's addiction to coal

December 19, 2018

PTOLEMAIDA, Greece (AP) — If earthquakes struck in slow motion, the results might be visible in a place like the Greek village of Anargyri, a hardscrabble enclave in a black landscape gutted by coal mining.

The village in northern Greece once had more than 400 people. Now it has fewer than 50, after being torn apart over decades. Its roads are slowly buckling, its door frames have shifted, its walls and home foundations have cracked beyond repair. Residents are leaving not in panic but out of desperation.

One after another, the tiny villages in Greece's lignite belt have been destroyed by mining as the ground becomes too unsteady to hold homes upright. Bells at one church in the area are not rung regularly for fear of causing more cracks in the walls.

Cattle farmer Michalis Bitas first noticed the damage to homes in Anargyri in 1986. "That's when mining started locally. It slowly began to eat up the houses before it went on to eat us up too," he said.

Bitas is from one of the few dozen households in the village who have refused a power company's offer to move them to a rented apartment in a nearby town. These villagers are demanding full compensation for their homes — a right only granted by law if mining occurs directly below a settlement.

"I have sheep and machinery. What am I supposed to do? Move them into an apartment?" Bitas said. Heavy-duty coal excavators and vehicles on the horizon near the village look like toy trucks, dwarfed by the scale of the blackened mining fields.

Greek is still hooked on coal, despite warnings about the dire consequences of global warming issued both by a new scientific report and experts at the recent U.N. climate talks in Poland and despite ambitious European Union-wide targets to replace coal use with renewable energy.

Greece is currently the world's 12th largest producer of lignite — known as brown coal — mining 36 million tons annually, according to U.S. federal government energy data. Lignite is a low-grade coal that throws off higher carbon dioxide emissions than black coal. It is often burned near where it is mined since its low energy density makes it too expensive to transport very far.

Nearly a third of Greece's electricity is produced by coal-fired plants and the country has no phase-out plan to stop using domestically produced coal, unlike most parts of Western Europe. Despite abundant wind and sun, only around 15 percent of Greece's energy is produced by renewable sources. Most of its reduction in coal use in recent years has been offset by an increased use of imported natural gas.

Under measures hammered out with Greece's bailout creditors, the state-controlled power company, PPC, will privatize three coal-fired electricity plants, prolonging their life. Also, contrary to many of its EU neighbors, Greece is on course to expand its dependence on oil and gas as the nation tries to attract overseas investment to counter a financial crisis that lasted nearly a decade. The Greek government has embarked on a major exploration drive for oil and gas off its western and southern coasts.

The oil and gas ventures have alarmed environmental groups, which have issued an urgent plea to the Greek government to reverse its course and switch investments to the renewable sources like solar and wind power.

"We must act directly to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but our country is moving in the opposite direction," a letter addressed to Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said. It was signed by 34 environmental and human rights groups, including Greenpeace, the World Wide Fund for Nature, Amnesty International and Doctors Without Borders.

Greece is planning to invest "in fossil fuels for decades, along with worrying delivery of hundreds of thousands of square kilometers, on and offshore, for hydrocarbon extraction," the letter said. "This would surrender the country to the nightmare consequences of climate change."

In Anargyri, despite the destruction of their homes, residents have mixed feelings about coal, since PPC is a key employer that provides 5,000 local jobs. The other attraction is that lignite, mined domestically, is not vulnerable to financial market swings or geopolitical shocks, unlike imported oil and gas, which in Greece mostly comes from Russia.

"Clearly, lignite activity will be reduced and will be replaced by other sources of energy, renewable sources of energy," PPC executive Konstantinos Theodoridis told The Associated Press. "But lignite will continue to be a strategic fuel that, in any geopolitical instability, is the only energy-producing fuel that is absolutely controlled by our country," he said.

Germany: Local leader of far-right party attacked, wounded

January 08, 2019

BERLIN (AP) — A local leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany was attacked and seriously wounded by several men in the northwestern city of Bremen, an assault that drew condemnation Tuesday from some of the party's fiercest opponents.

Bremen police said they believe the attack on Frank Magnitz, a lawmaker in Germany's national parliament who leads the party's local branch, was politically motivated. They called for witnesses to the attack around 5:20 p.m. Monday near a city theater to come forward.

Magnitz was beaten over the head with an unidentified object by at least three men wearing dark clothing and hoods or hats, who then fled, police said. Two workers who were loading a car nearby found him lying on the ground and called an ambulance. The 66-year-old was hospitalized.

The party, known by its German acronym AfD, said earlier Tuesday that Magnitz was ambushed after he left a local newspaper's new year's reception, beaten unconscious with a piece of wood and then kicked in the head as he lay on the ground.

Bremen, Germany's smallest state, holds a regional election on May 26, the same day as European Parliament elections in which AfD hopes to make gains. Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman, Steffen Seibert, wrote on Twitter that "the brutal attack on lawmaker Frank Magnitz in Bremen must be strongly condemned. Hopefully police will quickly succeed in catching the perpetrators."

Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, a center-left politician who has been a strong critic of AfD, tweeted that "violence must never be a means of political confrontation — no matter against whom or what the motives are."

"There is no justification for this," he said, calling for those responsible to be punished. That was echoed by other politicians from established parties, including prominent Green party politician Cem Ozdemir, who said that AfD must be countered by legal means, not violence. "Anyone who fights hatred with hatred always lets hatred win in the end," he wrote on Twitter.

AfD is represented in all of Germany's 16 state parliaments. It entered the national parliament in 2017 and is currently the biggest opposition party there. AfD views the country's established political parties with contempt, and the feeling is mutual.

"The cowardly and life-threatening attack against Frank Magnitz is the result of constant agitation against us by politicians and media," party co-leaders Alexander Gauland and Joerg Meuthen said in a statement.

AfD took 10 percent of the vote in Bremen in the 2017 national election, below its nationwide result of 12.6 percent. Bremen is not considered a stronghold of the six-year-old party, unlike three states in Germany's ex-communist east that hold regional votes in September and October.

Germany has seen other attacks on politicians in recent years. In 2015, a far-right extremist stabbed in the neck a leading mayoral candidate for Cologne, who at the time was in charge of housing refugees. Henriette Reker was elected mayor the following day while in an induced coma and took office about a month later.

In 2017, a man with a knife attacked the mayor of Altena in western Germany. The mayor was known for voluntarily taking in more asylum-seekers than the small town was obliged to.

Dug in at roundabouts, yellow vest protesters keep up fight

January 11, 2019

SENLIS, France (AP) — The roundabout outside Senlis in the northern Oise region close to the busiest of France's highways is more than just asphalt with cars and trucks circling around it. With its makeshift grocery, camp beds and community spirit, the large central island about 60 kilometers (35 miles) north of Paris has been transformed over the past two months into an encampment where dozens of yellow vest protesters gather day in, day out to organize their long-standing fight against the French government.

Like the reflective fluorescent safety vests, occupied roundabouts have become a trademark of the protest movement shaking up France that was initially triggered by the rising cost of fuel but has since morphed into a broader anti-government revolt.

Despite a call last month from French authorities to free the traffic circles, and the 10 killed in road accidents since the protests started, yellow vest activists have continued to occupy roundabouts. Before a ninth straight weekend of planned protests in Paris and across France, demonstrators in Senlis are adamant they are digging in for the long haul.

"We've got all we need to hold a siege," said Nicole, a 64-year-old retiree in charge of running the grocery. Most of the people interviewed by The Associated Press this week in Senlis declined to give their full names for fear of being identified by police. At least two of them have been arrested and detained during previous demonstrations in Paris that have often turned violent.

Fearing more incidents, France authorities are preparing to deploy around 80,000 officers across the country on Saturday. Nicknamed "Mini Little Mouse" by other protesters, Nicole cooks the fresh vegetables donated by yellow vest supporters, makes coffee for all and ensures that the pasta and rice are properly stored in the wooden shelves in the makeshift building.

For her and many protesters, money is the biggest problem. "They (the government) took 30 euros from my pension, this is not normal," she said, her voice drowned out by the noise of the truck drivers driving around the roundabout and honking in support of the protest. "I've worked for 41 years. I'm not robbing anyone. I'm demanding my due."

Nicole says her income is about 800 euros a month. It's a frosty morning across much of France but the vibes are warm on the roundabout. Nicole and her companions have set up a fire pit where they can stand around and enjoy the warmth of the flames. After hanging on through the festive season, they say they won't leave the roundabout unless President Emmanuel Macron's government gives in to their demands.

"Have a look, we've got a petanque court," said Michel, a 69-year-old retiree, referring to the boules sports very popular in the country. "It feels good here. We call this place the yellow vest camping. Come back in July, we'll have a swimming pool!"

On a more serious note, 29-year-old Tristan says he would be more than happy to return home. He has been involved in protests since Nov. 17 and has been banned from traveling to Paris during weekends to attend demonstrations in the French capital after he was arrested in possession of a gas mask.

Employed in the construction industry, Tristan works weekends, does frequent nights shifts and earns extra money through overtime. He said he was pleased by Macron's decision to abolish taxes on overtime pay, but wants to continue his protest for others.

"I'm fighting for my grandmother who is struggling to make ends meet, for my sister who has three children and can't get back to work because she is being told she will make less money than what she makes today, for my mother who is being forced to leave her apartment, and for my friend who is on the minimum wage and can't make it," he said.

Facing a plethora of demands ranging from the re-introduction of France's wealth tax, called the ISF, on the country's richest people to the implementation of popular votes that allow citizens to propose new laws, Macron has so far struggled to find a solution to the crisis.

"He's doing nothing in the short term," complained Claude, who is currently unemployed after being fired by a major European transport company. "In December when he spoke on TV, if he had announced the re-introduction of the ISF, it would have been a strong signal."

Macron's latest idea of a three-month national debate as a way for the government to hear and to respond to the movement's central complaints is being mocked on the roundabout. "I don't believe in this big debate," said Michel, a 61-year-old wearing a hat with the acronym RIC, for Citizens' Initiative Referendum, the popular vote he wants to be introduced. "Getting the RIC would be wonderful."

Many of those protesting in Senlis said they feel neglected and abandoned by politicians. Over the years, they have voted across the political spectrum, from Marine Le Pen's extreme right party to the far left. And every time, they have been disappointed.

"The RIC could be a solution," Tristan said. "I don't want Macron to leave. It would not change anything. What we want is to be listened to, not just every five years when the presidential election takes place."

Saudi woman fleeing alleged abuse heads for asylum in Canada

January 12, 2019

BANGKOK (AP) — An 18-year-old Saudi woman who said she was abused by her family and feared for her life if deported back home left Thailand on Friday night for Canada, which has granted her asylum, officials said.

The fast-moving developments capped an eventful week for Rahaf Mohammed Alqunun. She fled her family while visiting Kuwait and flew to Bangkok, where she barricaded herself in an airport hotel to avoid deportation and grabbed global attention by mounting a social media campaign for asylum.

Her case highlighted the cause of women's rights in Saudi Arabia, where several women fleeing abuse by their families have been caught trying to seek asylum abroad in recent years and returned home. Human rights activists say many similar cases go unreported.

Alqunun is flying to Toronto via Seoul, South Korea, according to Thai immigration Police Chief Surachate Hakparn. Alqunun tweeted two pictures from her plane seat. One with what appears to be a glass of wine and her passport and another holding her passport while on the plane with the hastag "I did it" and the emojis showing plane, hearts and wine glass.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed his country had granted her asylum. "That is something that we are pleased to do because Canada is a country that understands how important it is to stand up for human rights and to stand up for woman's rights around the world and I can confirm that we have accepted the U.N.'s request," Trudeau said.

Several other countries, including Australia, had been in talks with the U.N.'s refugee agency to accept Alqunun, Surachate said earlier in the day. "She chose Canada. It's her personal decision," he said.

Canada's ambassador had seen her off at the airport, Surachate said, adding that she looked happy and healthy. She thanked everyone for helping her, he said, and added that the first thing she would do upon arrival in Canada would be to start learning the language. She already speaks more than passable English, in addition to Arabic.

The office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees welcomed Canada's decision. "The quick actions over the past week of the government of Thailand in providing temporary refuge and facilitating refugee status determination by UNHCR, and of the government of Canada in offering emergency resettlement to Ms. Alqunun and arranging her travel were key to the successful resolution of this case," the agency said in a statement.

It wasn't immediately clear what prompted Alqunon to choose Canada over Australia. Australian media reported that UNHCR had withdrawn its referral for Alqunon to be resettled in Australia because Canberra was taking too long to decide on her asylum.

"When referring cases with specific vulnerabilities who need immediate resettlement, we attach great importance to the speed at which countries consider and process cases," a UNHCR spokesperson in Bangkok told The Associated Press in an email reply on condition of anonymity because the person wasn't authorized to discuss the case publicly.

Australia's Education Minister Dan Tehan said Saturday that Australia had moved quickly to process her case but Canada decided to take her in. He added that, ultimately, the outcome was a good one. "She's going to be safe," he said.

Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch, cited Alqunun's "courage and perseverance." "This is so much a victory for everyone who cares about respecting and promoting women's rights, valuing the independence of youth to forge their own way, and demanding governments operate in the light and not darkness," he said in a statement.

Alqunun was stopped Jan. 5 at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport by immigration police who denied her entry and seized her passport. She barricaded herself in an airport hotel room and took her plight onto social media. It got enough public and diplomatic support that Thai officials admitted her temporarily under the protection of U.N. officials, who granted her refugee status Wednesday.

Alqunun's father arrived in Bangkok on Tuesday, but his daughter refused to meet with him. Surachate said the father — whose name has not been released — denied physically abusing Alqunun or trying to force her into an arranged marriage, which were among the reasons she gave for her flight. He said Alqunun's father wanted his daughter back but respected her decision.

"He has 10 children. He said the daughter might feel neglected sometimes," Surachate said. Canada's decision to grant her asylum could further upset the country's relations with Saudi Arabia. In August, Saudi Arabia expelled Canada's ambassador to the kingdom and withdrew its own ambassador after Canada's Foreign Ministry tweeted support for women's right activists who had been arrested. The Saudis also sold Canadian investments and ordered their citizens studying in Canada to leave.

No country, including the U.S., spoke out publicly in support of Canada in that spat with the Saudis. On Friday, Trudeau avoided answering a question about what the case would mean for relations with the kingdom, but he said Canada will always unequivocally stand up for human rights and women's rights around the world.

Canadian officials were reluctant to comment further until she landed safely in Canada. Alqunun had previously said on Twitter that she wanted to seek refuge in Australia. Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne met Thursday with senior Thai officials in Bangkok. She later said Australia was assessing Alqunun's resettlement request.

Payne said she also raised Australia's concerns with Thai officials about Hakeem al-Araibi, a 25-year-old former member of Bahrain's national soccer team who was granted refugee status in Australia in 2017 after fleeing his homeland, where he said he was persecuted and tortured.

He was arrested while vacationing in Thailand in November due to an Interpol notice in which Bahrain sought his custody after he was sentenced in absentia in 2014 to 10 years in prison for allegedly vandalizing a police station — a charge he denies. Bahrain is seeking his extradition.

Al-Araibi's case is being considered by Thailand's justice system, she said.

Gillies reported from Toronto. Associated Press video journalist Samuel McNeil in Sydney contributed to this report.

Congo runner-up claims victory, will file election challenge

January 11, 2019

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Congo runner-up Martin Fayulu announced on Friday he will file a court challenge to the presidential election results, while his opposition coalition asserted he actually received 61 percent of the vote according to the findings of the influential Catholic Church's observers.

Fayulu spoke to hundreds of supporters who gathered in the capital, Kinshasa, to denounce what they called "the people's stolen victory." A heavy police presence was on hand. A businessman and vocal campaigner against Congo's widespread corruption, Fayulu accuses outgoing President Joseph Kabila of making a backroom deal with the surprise declared winner, largely untested opposition leader Felix Tshisekedi.

The Catholic Church, the rare authority that many Congolese find trustworthy, has said its 40,000 election observers in all polling stations found a different winner from the official results but it has not given details. Diplomats briefed on the findings say they found Fayulu won easily.

The church's findings showed Tshisekedi received just 18 percent of the vote, just ahead of ruling party candidate Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, Fayulu's coalition asserted. Fayulu urged that Congo's electoral commission publish detailed results, polling station by polling station, and said he would file his court challenge on Saturday morning. He blew kisses to the crowd.

"Those who have been silly enough to publish false results, we will challenge them," he said. Congolese face the extraordinary situation of an election allegedly rigged in favor of the opposition after Kabila's preferred candidate, Shadary, did poorly in the polls.

The electoral commission early Thursday announced that Tshisekedi had won with 38 percent of the vote while Fayulu received 34 percent. "Change cannot be negotiated behind closed doors and power only comes from the ballot, there is no other way," said Fayulu supporter Jean Otaba, 28. "You can see there is no massive celebration despite the announcement. That's because it is not the truth."

This could be Congo's first peaceful, democratic transfer of power since independence in 1960, but observers have warned that a court challenge could spin the long-troubled country into chaos. Some Fayulu supporters have worried that the constitutional court could invalidate the results, keeping Kabila in power until a new election.

There are two options, electoral commission president Corneille Nangaa told the U.N. Security Council on Friday: The official results are accepted or the vote is annulled. Congo's 80 million people have been largely calm, though police said three people were killed in Kikwit city on Thursday as people protested the results. Some students protested in the city of Mbandaka on Friday.

Internet service in Congo, cut off the day after the Dec. 30 vote, has not yet been restored. Careful statements by the international community, including African regional blocs, have not congratulated Tshisekedi, merely taking note of official results and urging peace and stability in a country with little of it. The foreign ministers of France, Belgium and Britain raised concerns. The United States said "we await clarification of questions which have been raised regarding the electoral count."

Some observers wondered whether the international community would be content with any change of power after pressuring Kabila over two years of election delays. "Imperfect elections which guarantee post-election stability are getting more accepted than credible elections that result in refusal of power transfer and conflict!" Arnold Tsunga, Africa director with the International Commission of Jurists rights group, mused on Twitter.

Tshisekedi had not been widely considered the leading candidate. Long in the shadow of his father, the late opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi, he startled Congo last year by breaking away from the opposition's unity candidate, Fayulu, to stand on his own.

Fayulu, a former Exxon manager and Kinshasa lawmaker, was a vocal activist during the turbulent delay in Congo's election, insisting it was time for Kabila to go as many feared the president would find a way to stay in office and protect his vast assets obtained from Congo's staggering mineral wealth.

Fayulu was backed by two popular opposition leaders barred by the government from running. The difference between Tshisekedi and Fayulu in official results was some 684,000 votes. Some observers said the 1 million voters who were barred at the last minute, with the electoral commission blaming a deadly Ebola virus outbreak, could have made the difference. Elsewhere, election observers reported numerous problems including malfunctioning voting machines and polling stations that opened hours late.

Several Congo analysts said it appeared Kabila made a quiet agreement with Tshisekedi, saying Fayulu would have posed more of a threat to his interests and allies and that Tshisekedi was more malleable. Tshisekedi took over as head of Congo's most prominent opposition party only in early 2018, a year after his father's death.

After results were announced, Tshisekedi said Kabila would be an "important partner" in the power transition. "Felix Tshisekedi has been compromised," said Tamuzi Mandar, a local official with Fayulu's Lamuka coalition. "What is finally revealed is that he is not opposition. His father was, but not him."

"Felix betrayed the people by licking Kabila's plate," said Joel Ituka Kuzembe, 25, who said he spent nine months in prison for participating in the protests that demanded that Kabila step down. Kabila has ruled since 2001 in the Central African nation rich in the minerals key to smartphones around the world. He is barred from serving three consecutive terms but has hinted that he could run again in 2023.

"There is a lot of sadness in the country," said Bob Vonda, 35, a lawyer. "You can see people are not celebrating, apart from a very small part. People feel they have been robbed."

Associated Press writer Saleh Mwanamilongo in Kinshasa contributed.

Congo's surprise election result could face court challenge

January 10, 2019

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Congo appeared on the cusp of its first peaceful transfer of power with the surprise victory Thursday of opposition candidate Felix Tshisekedi, despite clear signs that a rival opposition leader actually won in a landslide.

With no major protests in the capital and limited violence elsewhere in the vast Central African country, the population seemed to be choosing stability over credibility, accepting Tshisekedi's win and the end to President Joseph Kabila's long and turbulent rule.

But a court challenge to the results could spin the country into chaos, observers warned. The influential Catholic Church, which deployed 40,000 observers at all polling stations, said official results did not match its findings, and diplomats briefed on them said rival opposition candidate Martin Fayulu won easily.

Fayulu alleges that Kabila engineered a backroom deal with the largely untested Tshisekedi to protect his power base in a country with staggering mineral wealth. An outspoken campaigner against Congo's widespread graft — it ranked 161th among 180 countries in Transparency International's latest index — Fayulu denounced the official results as "robbery."

He called on people to "rise as one man to protect victory." As night fell, scores of police with automatic rifles and tear gas launchers were positioned along a road in Kinshasa leading to the Kingabwa neighborhood, a Fayulu stronghold. One vehicle was filled with military personnel in combat gear.

Despite the heavy security presence, the nation of 80 million remained largely calm. Some protest violence was reported in Kikwit, a Fayulu stronghold, where police said three people were killed. Police also confirmed "agitations" in Congo's third-largest city, Kisangani, but said they were quickly brought under control.

It was not immediately clear whether Fayulu would challenge the election results in court. Candidates have two days after the announcement to file challenges and the constitutional court has seven days to consider them before results are final.

Careful statements by the international community did not congratulate Tshisekedi, merely taking note of official results and urging peace and stability in a country with little of it. Observers appeared to be watching for the reactions of Fayulu's supporters.

Two diplomats said all major election observation missions, including those of the African Union and the Southern African Development Community, showed similar results to those of the Catholic Church. The diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press.

Tshisekedi, who received 38 percent of the vote according to official results, had not been widely considered the leading candidate. Long in the shadow of his father, the late opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi, he startled Congo last year by breaking away from the opposition's unity candidate, Fayulu, to stand on his own.

Fayulu, a former Exxon manager and Kinshasa lawmaker, received 34 percent of the vote in the official results. He was a vocal activist during the two-year delay in Congo's election, insisting it was time for Kabila to go. Fayulu was backed by two popular opposition leaders barred by the government from running.

Even before the election announcement, some observers suggested that Kabila's government might make a deal with Tshisekedi as hopes faded for ruling party candidate Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, who received just 23 percent of the vote.

Many Congolese objected to Shadary, suspecting that he would allow Kabila to continue to rule from behind the scenes and protect his vast assets. Several Congo analysts agreed that it appeared Kabila made a quiet agreement with Tshisekedi, saying Fayulu would have posed more of a threat.

"If Fayulu and his allies, with their own independent security and financial networks, had taken power they would have changed the power structure of Congo and definitively ousted Kabila and his clan," said Patrick Smith of the newsletter Africa Confidential. "Tshisekedi, with his weaker network, looks like being the junior partner in his accommodation with the Kabila establishment."

Pierre Englebert, a fellow at the Atlantic Council's Africa Center, said Tshisekedi would be more malleable and might allow Kabila's network to continue. "One possibility for today's result is that once the regime saw the catastrophic mistake Kabila had made by nominating Shadary, it scrambled to come up with a Plan B. Enter Tshisekedi," Englebert wrote in an analysis . Tshisekedi "has wavered at times in his opposition to the regime and is far from having his late father's intransigence."

By breaking away from the opposition coalition supporting Fayulu, Tshisekedi "positioned himself to bargain with the regime," Englebert wrote. "But if the history of the Kabila regime and its tight control on the state and its security apparatus are any indication, the ... new president-elect is likely to end up on the losing end of this bargain."

Western powers appeared wary. Britain's foreign secretary said he was "very concerned about discrepancies" in Congo's results, adding that the United Nations Security Council would discuss the matter on Friday. France's foreign minister bluntly cast doubt on the official results and Belgium's foreign minister expressed concern. There was no immediate United States comment.

The delayed results, 10 days after the Dec. 30 vote, came after international pressure to announce an outcome that reflected the will of the people, with the U.S. threatening sanctions. The largely peaceful election faced numerous problems as many voting machines that Congo used for the first time malfunctioned. Dozens of polling centers opened hours late as materials went missing. Most alarming to many Congolese, some 1 million of the country's 40 million voters were barred from participating, with the electoral commission blaming a deadly Ebola virus outbreak.

The difference between Tshisekedi and Fayulu in official results was some 684,000 votes. Some observers said the barred voters could have made the difference. Congo's government cut internet service the day after the vote to prevent speculation on social media. It remained off in parts of the country on Thursday.

Some Congolese weary of Kabila's 18-year rule, the two turbulent years of election delays and years of conflict that killed millions said they simply wanted peace. Some said they would be happy as long as Fayulu or Tshisekedi won, recalling the violence that followed past disputed elections.

Kabila has ruled since 2001 in the troubled nation rich in the minerals key to smartphones around the world. He is barred from serving three consecutive terms, but until he announced last year that he would step aside many Congolese feared he'd find a way to stay in office.

Now Congo faces a new leader who is little known after spending many years in Belgium and standing behind his outspoken father. The 56-year-old Tshisekedi took over as head of Congo's most prominent opposition party in early 2018, a year after his father's death.

Gleeful Tshisekedi supporters who took to the streets in Kinshasa to celebrate said they were happy to see Kabila step down. "This is the coronation of a lifetime," said the deputy secretary-general of Tshisekedi's party, Rubens Mikindo. "This is the beginning of national reconciliation."

Associated Press journalists Saleh Mwanamilongo and David Keyton in Kinshasa, Andrew Meldrum in Johannesburg and Angela Charlton in Paris contributed.

Thai police: Canada, Australia willing to accept Saudi woman

January 11, 2019

BANGKOK (AP) — Several countries including Canada and Australia are in talks with the U.N. refugee agency on accepting a Saudi asylum seeker who fled alleged abuse by her family, Thai police said Friday.

Thailand's immigration police chief, Surachate Hakparn, told reporters the U.N. was accelerating the case, though he gave no indication of when the process would be complete. Rahaf Mohammed Alqunun was stopped at a Bangkok airport last Saturday by Thai immigration police who denied her entry and seized her passport.

While barricading herself in an airport hotel room, the 18-year-old launched a social media campaign via her Twitter account that drew global attention to her case. It garnered enough public and diplomatic support to convince Thai officials to admit her temporarily under the protection of U.N. officials.

The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees granted her refugee status on Wednesday. Alqunun's case has highlighted the cause of women's rights in Saudi Arabia. Several female Saudis fleeing abuse by their families have been caught trying to seek asylum abroad in recent years and returned home. Human rights activists say many similar cases have gone unreported.

By Friday, Alqunun had closed down her Twitter account. Sophie McNeill, a reporter with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation who got in contact with Alqunun while she was stuck in the airport hotel room and has kept in touch with her, said Friday in a Twitter posting that Alqunun "is safe and fine."

"She's just been receiving a lot of death threats," McNeill wrote, adding that Alqunun would be back on Twitter after a "short break." Alqunun had previously said on Twitter that she wishes to seek refuge in Australia.

Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne met with senior Thai officials in Bangkok on Thursday. She later told reporters that Australia is assessing Alqunun's request for resettlement but there was no specific timeframe.

Payne said she also raised Australia's concerns with Thai officials about Hakeem al-Araibi, a 25-year-old former member of Bahrain's national soccer team who was granted refugee status in Australia in 2017 after fleeing his homeland, where he said he was persecuted and tortured.

He was arrested while on holiday in Thailand last November due to an Interpol notice in which Bahrain sought his custody after he was sentenced in absentia in 2014 to 10 years in prison for allegedly vandalizing a police station — a charge he denies. Bahrain is seeking his extradition.

Al-Araibi's case is being considered by Thailand's justice system, she said.