Amid highway protest, Greece hikes wages, eyes market return

January 28, 2019

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece announced plans to return to bond markets and increase the minimum wage Monday, amid protests against bailout-era measures by farmers who used tractors to block the country's main highway.

Authorities unveiled plans to issue a 5-year bond, a first market test since the end of Greece's international bailout in August. In a televised address, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said the minimum wage would be increased by nearly 10 percent starting next month — from 586 euros per month to 650 euros. A lower wage category for under-25 year-olds was scrapped.

"This is an essential but also a symbolic action — something owed to the people who bore the brunt of the (country's) bankruptcy and fiscal adjustment, whose lives, prospects and expectations were immersed into the darkness of the crisis," he said. "Now that the country is coming out of the crisis, we can gradually begin to heal the wounds."

The increase, while slightly larger than expected, does not restore the minimum wage to the 751-euro level it was in 2012, when huge cuts were imposed as part of Greece's bailout agreements. As Tsipras held the cabinet meeting, protesting farmers used more than 200 tractors to block Greece's main north-south highway outside the central city of Larissa. Drivers were forced to take a detour around the blockade using secondary roads.

The protesters are demanding that the government scrap tax increases and pension measures introduced during the bailout programs, and are seeking intervention to address what they describe as unfair market practices from large buyers.

"The government didn't listen to us and we need (market) prices that allow us to make a living," protest leader Rizos Maroudas told the AP. The Greek bond auction, meanwhile, is expected to take place as early as this week and raise up to 3 billion euros ($3.4 billion).

Greece has held off returning to debt markets due to financial turbulence created by a budget crisis in Italy. But borrowing rates eased in recent weeks and the government last week survived the threat of collapse over a vote in parliament to normalize relations with neighbor Macedonia. Representatives of Greece's international creditors also completed an inspection in Athens last week.

The yield on Greece's 10-year-bond edged down on Monday to 4.06 percent while shares on the Athens Stock Exchange were unchanged. Tsipras, whose left-wing government is trailing conservatives in opinion polls, is facing local government and European Parliament elections in May and must call a general election before October.

Kantouris reported from Thessaloniki, Greece

Greek lawmakers ratify Macedonia name-change deal

January 25, 2019

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greek lawmakers ratified an agreement Friday to end a nearly three decade-long dispute over neighboring Macedonia's name, in a landmark vote that will see the small country renamed North Macedonia and clear its path to NATO membership.

The deal passed with 153 votes in the 300-member parliament, two more than needed. It has faced fierce opposition in both countries, and recently cost Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras his parliamentary majority after a small right-wing party quit the governing coalition in protest. It passed with the support of independent lawmakers.

Tsipras' left-wing Syriza party holds 145 seats in parliament, six short of a majority. "Today is a historic day," Tsipras said. "Greece is safeguarding an important part of its history, its heritage of ancient Greek Macedonia. Today we are writing a new page for the Balkans."

Under the deal, Macedonia changes its name to North Macedonia, and Greece drops its objections to the country joining NATO and eventually the European Union. "Congratulations my friend Alexi Tsipras, together with our peoples we reached a historical victory," Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev tweeted.

The ratification was quickly welcomed by both NATO and the European Union. Friday's vote was "an important contribution to the stability and prosperity of the whole region," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg tweeted. "I look forward to the future Republic of North Macedonia joining NATO."

The ratification came after three days of acrimonious parliamentary debate and numerous street protests, some of which turned violent. A rally last Sunday saw tens of thousands of people gather outside parliament, with clashes erupting between groups of demonstrators and riot police.

Torrential rain and driving wind kept many protesters away on the final day of the debate. Scores of demonstrators who braved the weather conditions outside parliament chanted "traitors" as lawmakers voted inside.

Top EU officials said the ratification has "written a new page of our common EU future." European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, the EU's top diplomat and the senior official supervising the bloc's enlargement said it "took political courage, leadership and responsibility on all sides to resolve one of the most entrenched disputes in the region."

Greece has long argued use of the term Macedonia implied territorial claims on its own northern province of the same name. The issue has been a contentious one for decades, stymieing repeated rounds of U.N.-mediated negotiations and whipping up nationalist and patriotic sentiment in both countries.

Opposition has been particularly fierce in the northern Greek region of Macedonia, which borders the republic that claimed the same name after declaring independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991. Critics claimed the deal signs away their identity and a cultural heritage dating back to Alexander the Great more than 2,300 years ago.

More than 150 people have been detained for questioning since Thursday following violence at demonstrations against the deal in Athens and two towns in northern Greece. Most were released without charge.

At least two lawmakers from the governing the Syriza party have said their homes were targeted by violent demonstrators, while another was targeting in a firebombing that caused no injuries. Greece's tourism minister, an independent conservative who supports the government, said she had received multiple death threats.

Derek Gatopoulos in Athens, and Lorne Cook in Brussels, contributed to this report.

Thousands protest as Greek lawmakers debate Macedonia deal

January 25, 2019

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Thousands demonstrated in Greece's main cities and along the country's northern border Thursday against a deal to normalize relations with neighboring Macedonia, a day before lawmakers were expected to approve the agreement that would end a 27-year dispute over a historic name.

Police said as many as 2,500 protesters gathered outside parliament in central Athens as lawmakers debated a government deal that would lift objections to Macedonia joining NATO and potentially, the European Union, after the young country is renamed North Macedonia.

Protesters waved Greek flags and chanted "Hands off, Macedonia" while the session inside continued late in the night. A small number of people launched Molotov cocktails, rocks and flares at riot officers, who responded with tear gas and stun grenades.

The violence broke up the demonstration, and protesters drifted off, further discouraged by heavy rain. Police said they arrested 10 people and detained another 133 on suspicion of committing or planning acts of violence. A new protest has been called outside parliament Friday.

The agreement, strongly backed by western countries that want to limit Russian influence in the Balkans, has stirred patriotic sentiment, incensed nationalists and dismayed many in both Macedonia and Greece who think it gave away too much to the other side. Polls show that at least two in three Greeks are against it.

"Politicians come and go, but Macedonia will always be Greek," said Thanassis Godis, a speaker at the main Athens rally who is from the northern town of Kavala. "Their country is based on a lie. Our struggle isn't over."

Opposition is particularly fierce in the northern Greek region of Macedonia, which borders the former Yugoslav republic that claimed the same name after winning independence in 1991. Critics claim the deal will sign away their Macedonian identity and a cultural heritage dating back to the glorious days of Alexander the Great more than 2,300 years ago.

The ratification vote in parliament originally was scheduled for Thursday. Debate was extended until Friday to accommodate a large number of registered speakers, as opposition parties accused the government of making unacceptable concessions to Greece's small, landlocked Balkan neighbor.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras urged lawmakers to approve the agreement, already ratified by Macedonia's parliament, saying it was the best possible deal after years of deadlock. "Nationalism in the Balkans has led to disasters," Tsipras said. "And I believe the time has come to escape nationalism."

Opposition leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis, whose conservative New Democracy party leads in polls ahead of a national election later this year, rejected the deal as a "national defeat." He threatened to thwart Macedonia's EU membership drive if his party triumphs with voters.

About 1,500 police officers were on duty in Athens, fearing a repeat of riots during a protest outside parliament on Sunday, when far-right nationalists armed with clubs, gasoline bombs and rocks tried to invade the grounds of the building.

On Thursday, about 4,500 Communist Party supporters protested peacefully against the Macedonia agreement in another part of Athens. At the Evzones border crossing into Macedonia, hundreds of farmers and other local residents blocked traffic with their vehicles for hours.

The town of Polykastro, the closest to the border on the Greek side, shut down all municipal services for two hours in a symbolic show of opposition. "Flags are flying at half-staff, the (church) bells were ringing mournfully, because we don't want this deal to go through," said Mayor Christos Gountenoudis.

Several lawmakers from the governing Syriza party and others elected from northern constituencies who committed to backing the deal have faced intense pressure — including arson attacks and death threats — to reject the deal in Friday's vote.

Tourism Minister Elena Kountoura said she was one of the targets. "I have received photos of dead women, threatening phone calls, threatening messages on my cellphone and on the internet," she said, urging her political opponents to condemn the threats.

Some protesters Thursday tried to march to the homes of two Syriza lawmakers in the northern towns of Katerini and Drama, but were stopped by police. Also late Wednesday, arsonists tried to set fire to the home of another Syriza lawmaker in the northern town of Yiannitsa. Nobody was injured, and the fire service said damage was minor.

The lawmaker, Theodora Tzakri, said her family had been at home at the time of the petrol bomb attack, which she blamed on far-right activists opposed to the deal with Macedonia. Tsipras' government is expected to get support from a small number of opposition lawmakers in securing the 151 votes needed in the 300-member parliament for the agreement to be ratified.

He recently lost his parliamentary majority after his junior coalition partner, the right-wing Independent Greeks party, pulled out of the government due to objections over the name deal. The agreement will come into force once Greece ratifies it and then underwrites Macedonia's NATO accession application.

Costas Kantouris reported from Evzones, Greece. Derek Gatopoulos and Elena Becatoros in Athens contributed.

Macedonia deal: Police deploy ahead of Greek parliament vote

January 24, 2019

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Police in Athens braced for more protests Thursday as Parliament members prepared to vote on a landmark agreement with Macedonia, and demonstrators took to the streets and the ancient Acropolis.

A parliamentary debate was extended until Friday to accommodate a large number of speakers before the vote to finalize plans by Greece's neighbor to change its name to North Macedonia and further its bid to join NATO. Greece's tourism minister, a prominent supporter of the agreement, said she had received multiple death threats.

About 1,500 police officers took up positions around Athens ahead of several planned demonstrations opposing Greece's ratification of the agreement that would normalize relations between the two Balkan neighbors after decades of strain.

Early Thursday, protesters from the Greek Communist Party draped two giant banners opposing the deal over the walls of the ancient Acropolis. A Communist Party-backed union was planning a protest near the U.S. Embassy, while a separate rally was planned outside parliament Thursday evening to coincide with the parliamentary debate and vote.

A similar rally on Sunday by tens of thousands of protesters outside parliament turned violent, with demonstrators pelting riot police with Molotov cocktails, rocks, paint and metal bars. Police responded with heavy use of tear gas.

Opponents argue that the deal doesn't end a potential territorial threat to Greece's northern region, also called Macedonia. Because of the dispute, Greece has been blocking for years its neighbor's efforts to join NATO.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' government needs support from up to six opposition lawmakers to get the required 151 votes in the 300-member parliament for the agreement to be ratified. He recently lost his parliamentary majority after his junior coalition partner, the right-wing Independent Greeks party, pulled out of the government due to objections over the name deal.

Elena Kountoura, the tourism minister, said she had received death threats after refusing to join the party's departure. "I have received photos of dead women, threatening phone calls, threatening messages on my cell phone and on the internet," she said, urging her political opponents to speak out against the threats. "If anything happens to my family or myself, the blame will lie not only with the perpetrators but also those who incite them."

In northern Greece, hundreds of farmers and other local residents arrived in cars at Evzones, Greece's main border crossing with Macedonia, blocking traffic despite a heavy police presence. Authorities were diverting traffic to two other border crossings, which remained open. Trucks were still able to cross at Evzones, although long lines were developing.

"We came here to protest on the border, to try and shut it, in order for this betrayal not to pass," said Thomas Karytidis, president of a local farmers' union. The town of Polykastro, the closest to the border on the Greek side, shut down all municipal services for two hours in a symbolic show of opposition, while residents and schools held a protest outside the town hall.

"Flags are flying at half-staff, the (church) bells were ringing mournfully because we don't want this deal to go through," said Mayor Christos Gountenoudis. Polls show that at least two in three Greeks oppose the deal, with sentiment against the agreement particularly high in northern Greece where lawmakers have come under intense pressure to vote against it.

In an attack potentially linked to the agreement, late Wednesday arsonists tried to set fire to the home of a lawmaker with the governing Syriza party in the northern town of Yiannitsa. Nobody was injured, and the fire service said damage was minor.

The lawmaker, Theodora Tzakri, said her family had been at home at the time of the petrol bomb attack, which she blamed on far-right activists opposed to the deal with Macedonia.

Costas Kantouris reported from Evzones, Greece. Nicholas Paphitis and Elena Becatoros in Athens contributed.

After violence, Greek parliament debates deal with Macedonia

January 21, 2019

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece's parliament on Monday started debating a historic agreement aimed at normalizing relations with Macedonia, a day after violent demonstrations against the deal erupted in Athens.

The agreement would see Macedonia change its name to North Macedonia, while in exchange Greece would lift its objections to its northern neighbor joining NATO and, potentially, the European Union. The deal was being debated Monday in the Greek parliament's committee on defense and foreign policy, coming under strong criticism from opposition parties that say it concedes too much to Macedonia.

The house's plenary session will take up the debate on Wednesday, before a vote tentatively set for late Thursday. Left-wing Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' government is struggling to secure the majority needed to back the deal and may need the support of as many as six opposition lawmakers.

On Sunday, tens of thousands of people gathered outside Parliament to protest the deal, and at least 25 police officers were injured during extensive clashes. More protests are expected this week, including plans by farmers' associations to use tractors to block roads on the Greek-Bulgarian border on the final day of the parliamentary debate.

The deal is aimed at ending decades of hostility between the two Balkan countries. Greece wants its small landlocked neighbor to change or modify its name, arguing that it currently poses a potential threat to the territory and ancient heritage of Greece's own region of Macedonia.

While the proposed compromise has been ratified by Macedonia, it remains deeply unpopular in Greece — with more than two-thirds of the public opposed to it, according to recent opinion polls. The government narrowly survived a no-confidence vote last week after its right-wing coalition partner quit in protest at the proposed deal, leaving Tsipras' reliant on opposition support.

On Monday, a potential ally, the centrist Potami, lost its party status in parliament, falling below the minimum representation requirement after a lawmaker declared himself an independent. The government spokesman, Dimitris Tzanakopoulos, blamed Sunday's violence on "extreme right elements," but added that opponents of the agreement should be respected.

"Many of the objections are reasonable, but the government has its policy ... and a patriotic duty to secure the national interest," Tzanakopoulos told private 24/7 Radio. Strongly backed by the U.S. and Western European leaders, the Greek government argues that the deal would boost Balkan stability and improve regional trade.

Costas Kantouris in Thessaloniki contributed to this report.

Greek protesters angry over Macedonia deal clash with police

January 20, 2019

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Protesters clashed with police outside Greece's parliament during a rally that drew tens of thousands of people Sunday against the Greek-Macedonia name deal. At least 25 police officers were injured and seven people arrested, police said.

Demonstrators threw rocks, flares, firebombs, paint and other objects at riot police who responded with repeated volleys of tear gas. Some protesters jumped over a fence and tried to scale the steps, but officers chased them back down. One man draped in a Greek flag attacked police with a large stick, while others swung big flags on wooden poles and struck officers.

People attending the rally said large clouds of tear gas led many to abandon the protest. The square in front of parliament had nearly emptied out by early evening, though small groups of protesters continued to clashed with officers.

Some protesters also attacked photographers, injuring four, one of whom was hospitalized and also had his camera stolen. Greece's parliament is expected to start a debate Monday on ratifying the deal and vote on it by Friday. Macedonia's parliament has already approved it, agreeing that the country would go by the name North Macedonia.

Macedonia and Greece struck the deal in June to end a decades-long dispute over Macedonia's name, which Greece says harbors territorial claims on its northern province of the same name. Protesters are against the deal because they believe that any use of the name Macedonia in the neighboring country's name is a usurpation of ancient Greek heritage and implies territorial claims on Greece.

A statement from Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' office blamed "extremist elements and members of Golden Dawn" - an extreme-right, anti-immigrant party - for the clashes on Sunday. "In our democracy, citizens' free expression is an inalienable right, even for those who want to abolish democracy ... It is also the duty and obligation of those of us who do believe not to allow them. Let's isolate and condemn them," the statement said.

Police said in a statement that officers had been attacked by "organized groups of individuals with special ferocity, (using) rocks, iron bars, wooden clubs, firebombs, etc. ... Police forces acted according to operational plans and orders, showed restraint and professionalism and, using the appropriate methods, repelled the attacks."

Protest organizers said they hoped to attract more than 600,000 people. Police released an official estimate of 60,000. While organizers had said about 3,000 buses would travel from northern Greece alone, police said that a total of 327 had arrived from across the country Sunday afternoon.

Among the people who addressed the protest were former conservative Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, a member of the Mount Athos monastic community and a Greek-American former politician, Chris Spirou, once a member of New Hampshire's House of Representatives.

In northern Greece, farmers temporarily blocked the highway leading to the Macedonian border in solidarity. It later reopened. About 300 anarchists staged a counter-demonstration Sunday. Police erected barriers to prevent clashes. After their otherwise peaceful rally, anarchists burned a car with official license plates.

Costas Kantouris contributed reporting from Thessaloniki.

Greek PM survives confidence vote after coalition collapse

January 16, 2019

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece's left-wing prime minister narrowly won a confidence vote in parliament late Wednesday days after the governing coalition he leads collapsed over an agreement to end a long-running dispute over neighboring Macedonia's name.

Lawmakers voted 151-148 on a motion called by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, giving his government the minimum it needed in the 300-seat legislature to survive. During a heated debate earlier in the day, Tsipras argued the Macedonia deal would bolster stability in Europe's Balkan region.

"At the critical times, we all must have a clear position," he said before the vote, which coincided with the one British leader Theresa May won over her Brexit deal with the European Union. The leader of a small Greek nationalist party, Panos Kammenos, quit as defense minister in Tsipras' government last weekend over the proposed agreement with Macedonia. The deal calls for the country to be renamed North Macedonia in exchange for Greece lifting its objections to its young northern neighbor joining NATO and the European Union.

Several members of Kammenos' party voted to support the government. Along with independents and opposition dissenters, they gave the 44-year-old Tsipras six votes from outside his party, allowing him to remain in power. His term ends in October.

Greece's western allies also strongly back the deal Tsipras and Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev agreed to in June. Russia remains strongly opposed to the prospect of Macedonia's NATO membership. Tsipras has strongly defended his efforts to end the 27-year dispute with Macedonia over that country's name, which Greece long argued implied designs on its own Macedonia and on Greek cultural heritage.

Tsipras had said he would seek to get the Greek parliament's approval of the name-change deal soon after the confidence vote. Hardliners in both countries claim the deal conceded too much to the other side. But Greek government officials say they are optimistic the agreement will be ratified in Athens even though most opposition parties reject it.

In Greece, sentiment is particularly high in the northern Macedonia province, where opponents say their regional identity and heritage is being signed away. Posters have appeared in recent days with pictures of local lawmakers who back the deal and the caption: "Will you betray our Macedonia?"

Four people were arrested Wednesday over the posters in the northern towns of Grevena and Kozani and charged with breaching advertising laws and traffic codes. Opponents of the name-change deal are planning a protest rally in Athens on Sunday.

Costas Kantouris in Thessaloniki, Greece contributed

Greek PM defends Macedonia deal ahead of confidence vote

January 15, 2019

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece's prime minister on Tuesday defended his deal to normalize relations with neighboring Macedonia ahead of a confidence vote in parliament after his governing coalition collapsed over the agreement.

Alexis Tsipras said he chose to end the 27-year dispute over Macedonia's name, seizing "a great opportunity" despite the potential political cost to his government. The agreement — heavily backed by Greece's western allies who want to limit Russian influence in the Balkans — will see Macedonia renamed North Macedonia. In return, Greece will lift its objections to its northern neighbor joining NATO and, eventually, the European Union.

"I am certain we are doing the right thing," Tsipras told parliament at the start of a two-day debate leading up to a vote late Wednesday. He is expected to narrowly win the vote even though his left-wing Syriza party is six votes short of the 151 votes it needs in the 300-seat parliament after its right-wing junior partner, the Independent Greeks, left the coalition in protest at the deal.

Though all opposition parties will vote against the government, four lawmakers elected with the Independent Greeks have said they will vote against the party line. Tsipras is also counting on the support of a right-wing and a centrist lawmaker.

Tsipras also played up his government's record in seeing out Greece's troubled bailout era that saw the economy tank, unemployment soar and incomes shrink. "I ask you to renew your confidence in this government that took the country out of the bailouts and the crisis, and can open up new favorable prospects for the Greek people," he said.

If Tsipras wins the vote, he proposes within days to seek parliamentary ratification of the agreement with Macedonia. He is also expected to win that vote, with the support of some opposition lawmakers.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis, leader of the main Conservative opposition party, accused Tsipras of lacking a popular mandate to govern, and repeated calls for elections before the government's mandate expires in September.

"The economy is in a critical condition, which will be burdened much more by a protracted period of campaigning ahead of elections," Mitsotakis told parliament. Macedonia has already fulfilled its part of the deal, formally ratifying the agreement and changing its constitution to incorporate the new name.

Macron claws back support amid focus on yellow vest movement

February 06, 2019

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron appears to be clawing back support as he tries to quell the yellow vest protest movement with a national political debate. Recent polls by Ifop, BVA and Harris Interactive institutes show Macron's approval ratings rising — from 23 to 31 percent in December to 31 to 35 percent.

But Macron knows the rebound could be fragile, saying recently he feels like he's "walking on ice." Macron's popularity reached its lowest level after the anti-government, yellow vest protests broke out in November —with many demonstrators calling for his resignation. The protests reached their peak in early December when the French capital was scene to rioting, shops and museums closed and graffiti was sprayed over the Arc de Triomphe monument.

The fear of further violence became so acute that Macron's wife, Brigitte Macron, and some presidential aides visited the nuclear-proof bunker, the location of which remains secret, French newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche recently revealed in a report called "the ten days when Emmanuel Macron trembled."

Macron has since announced a package of measures worth about 10 billion euros ($11.4 billion) to boost workers' and retirees' purchasing power and launched a "grand debate" to let ordinary French people express their views on the country's economic and democratic issues.

"These were first steps that enabled some people to be a bit less opposed to Macron, even if there was no enthusiasm about the measures," said Edouard Lecerf, deputy general director of the BVA polling institute.

The three-month nationwide consultation launched in mid-January involves a series of meetings organized by citizens, groups and elected officials as well as an internet website where people can air their grievances.

Over the last three weeks, Macron has travelled across France to take part in several debates. Rolling-up his shirt sleeves, standing in the middle of crowds of hundreds, he repeatedly answered dozens of questions for six to seven straight hours, often broadcast live on French news channels.

Lecerf noted that "the grand debate now takes almost as much place as the yellow vests in the French media." He said Macron's move aims at showing political "courage and authority" and to provide a reminder of his first six months in power in 2017.

Frederic Dabi, deputy director general of Ifop, said the combination of emergency measures and the grand debate "give the impression that he's back in the game, and in the context of protests he appears as a protection against instability."

Macron is also meeting this week with France's main party, including Wednesday with far-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon and head of far-right National Rally, Marine Le Pen. The French leader promised the grand debate outcomes will influence his domestic and European policies. But he insisted planned reforms, including an overhaul of the indebted pension system and of France's relatively generous unemployment benefits, are maintained.

During a debate in Bourg de Peage, a small town in southeastern France, a man wearing a yellow jacket asked Macron to call new parliamentary elections. He refused, saying he "has been elected by the people."

He also insisted he won't re-establish the wealth tax —one of the main demands of the yellow vests. "Two years ago with the wealth tax, did we live better? Were there less homeless people? No", he said.

Pollsters stressed that the rebound in Macron's ratings remains fragile and that overall, the French leader is still very unpopular and widely perceived as arrogant. Macron has been dubbed "president of the rich" because his pro-business policies are perceived as favoring the rich.

"Just a little thing could make the ice too fragile and Macron would fall down," Lecerf said.

French yellow vest protesters back on the streets

February 02, 2019

PARIS (AP) — France's yellow vest protesters are taking to the streets to keep pressure on French President Emmanuel Macron's government, for the 12th straight weekend of demonstrations. Multiple protests are planned Saturday in Paris and other cities to denounce Macron's economic policies, seen by critics as favoring the rich.

This week, demonstrators in the French capital are planning to pay tribute to the yellow vests injured during clashes with police. The government says around 2,000 people have been injured in protests since the movement began Nov. 17, including at least four serious eye injuries. Separately, 10 people have died in road incidents related to yellow vest actions.

France's Council of State has ruled Friday that security forces have a right to use controversial high-velocity rubber ball launchers for crowd control.

France's Macron to press Egyptian president on human rights

January 28, 2019

CAIRO (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron is to hold talks Monday with his Egyptian counterpart in Cairo, saying beforehand that he wants to boost ties with an important ally to fight terrorism but also use the visit to encourage respect for human rights.

Macron, heading a large delegation on a three-day trip to the Arab world's most populous country, said he wants to "pursue a truthful dialogue on topics of public freedoms and human rights" — an area he feels Egypt has not progressed enough on since he raised it with officials earlier in his mandate.

France, which considers itself the birthplace of human rights, has come under pressure by advocates to raise the matter with general-turned-President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, whose human rights record has been widely condemned and is seen as worsening.

Macron said that too many normal people "who do not threaten the regime's stability" were being jailed. "It is on this area of what is happening in Egypt that I will continue to focus things. I will do it more openly during this trip," Macron told reporters late on Sunday, adding that better treatment for political opponents was in the interest of el-Sissi and Egypt.

Macron said he felt the current crackdown on opposition in Egypt, begun after el-Sissi overthrew his elected but divisive Islamist predecessor in 2013, had become worse than under the country's longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak, who was overthrown in the 2011 Arab Spring uprising.

"I think what is happening here sooner or later threatens the stability of Egypt," Macron said. "That's to say, I think that the policies as they are being done are perceived by intellectuals, the Egyptian civil society, as being even stronger than (under) the Mubarak regime."

Macron also said that he would raise specific names with el-Sissi in a confidential discussion. Aside from heightened public emphasis on human rights, he did not mention raising any new specific levers to try and incentivize the Egyptian leader, who has faced no real competition in parliament or elections.

Rights groups and activists have urged France and other Western powers to halt weapons sales to Egypt, a major purchaser, until it shows improvement on the way it treats its own citizenry. But Macron dismissed using such pressure, saying it was important to respect Egypt's sovereignty and not cut it off because that could drive it further into the arms of the West's authoritarian rivals, Russia and China, which el-Sissi has courted.

Asked specifically if human rights issues could affect specific arms sales, such as one under discussion for additional Rafale advanced fighter jets to Egypt, Macron said such matters were separate. "I would differentiate between the two subjects, they are not linked for us and they never were."

Macron arrived Sunday in Egypt and visited the country's south, where he toured the famed temple of Abu Simbel and other archaeological sites. He is to meet el-Sissi later on Monday, when he will sign several bilateral accords.

His delegation includes government ministers, two dozen representatives from academic, cultural, and scientific fields, and a dozen business leaders -- including the heads of Rafale producer Dassault.

Macron will also dine with local business leaders and meet the heads of Egypt's Christian and Muslim communities during the trip, his first to Egypt since taking office in 2017.

Day and night, yellow vest protests keep pressure on Macron

January 26, 2019

PARIS (AP) — France's yellow vest movement kept up pressure on President Emmanuel Macron with mainly peaceful marches and scattered skirmishes Saturday, its 11th straight weekend action despite internal divisions and growing worries about protest violence.

Multiple anti-government protests took place in Paris and other cities, centered on Macron policies seen as favoring the rich. France deployed about 80,000 police officers to patrol the events and to disperse trouble.

A few cars were set ablaze in the Normandy town of Evreux. In Paris, crowds gathered at the columned headquarters of France's lower house of parliament. Police used tear gas on demonstrators at the iconic Bastille Plaza who hurled items within reach.

Armored vehicles circled the Arc de Triomphe monument as a group of protesters weaved down the elegant Champs-Elysees, the site of recent rioting. Some yellow vest leaders want to maintain momentum by holding protests after dark as well as during the day. Two groups planned Saturday events at Place de la Republique in eastern Paris, and some protesters threatened to try to defy police and stay overnight.

Macron has sapped some support for the movement by taking an active role in recent days in a national debate in towns across France, launched to address the protesters' concerns. Participants at the Champs-Elysees march called Macron's national debate a "smoke screen" to distract the French from his pro-business policies. They expressed views from the far left to the far right, or a middle-ground, middle-class malaise. Many want Macron to restore France's wealth tax and allow the public to propose national referendums on anything from pulling France out of the euro to rewriting the constitution.

"We are forgotten," said protester Mervyn Ramsamy, a hospital employee from north of Paris lamenting recent closures of maternity wards and other medical services in already struggling areas. "We won't give up."

It's unclear how long the movement can maintain its momentum. Macron scrapped the fuel tax hike that initially sparked the protests and offered widespread tax relief when the protest violence hit a peak in December.

A 52-year-old home care worker who identified herself only as Nadine says the measures aren't enough, so she's still protesting. "I have a salary of 1,200 euros. I don't run out of money by the 15th of the month, I run out of money by the 6th of the month. I can no longer manage to survive. That's why I'm here, because nothing is moving, nothing is changing," she said on the Champs-Elysees.

One branch of the movement launched a bid this week for the European Parliament elections in May, but other protest leaders disagree with the idea. In another challenge for the yellow vest movement, rival groups calling themselves the "red scarves" plan demonstrations Sunday to condemn violence unleashed by recent protests.

Police armed with guns firing non-lethal rubber balls — which have seriously injured several — are equipped with body cameras Saturday for the first time, in an experiment to record use of the weapons, providing context and eventual evidence if needed.

In between the Saturday protests, yellow-vested crowds occupy scattered roundabouts and tollbooths around France , disrupting traffic to express a sense of neglect by the central government. The movement began Nov. 17, named after the fluorescent garments French motorists must carry in case of emergency.

Milos Krivokapic contributed.

Brexit could spell economic peril for parts of the EU

February 06, 2019

BARCELOS, Portugal (AP) — For the more than 120 workers at the Pedrosa & Rodrigues garment factory in northwestern Portugal, events in another country 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) to the north could jeopardize their livelihood.

Sales to Britain make up about half of this family business's annual revenue of about 14 million euros ($16 million). But the U.K.'s impending departure from the European Union could make "Made in Portugal" labels less attractive once borders go back up between Britain and the 27 other countries in the bloc.

"The worst-case scenario is losing 7 million euros" a year, says Ana Pedrosa Rodrigues, the company's client relations manager. "It would be extremely worrying." Companies like Pedrosa & Rodrigues fear they could be part of the collateral damage from Britain's withdrawal from the EU's single market, which guarantees no tariffs on trade and free movement for goods, workers and money. As Brexit-inspired economic adjustments ripple across the bloc, small countries like Portugal could feel a lot of economic pain, although the extent of the disruption remains unclear because the terms of Britain's divorce deal with the EU remain unresolved.

Some economic forecasts have produced scary numbers. The Portuguese government says Brexit could wipe out up to 26 percent of Portuguese exports of goods and services and shave 1 percentage point off the country's GDP.

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, a policy adviser to developed economies, estimates that if Britain leaves without an agreement on new trade terms with the EU, it could reduce the EU's GDP by around 1 percentage point by 2020. That's more than half a year's economic growth at current rates. It could be three times worse for Britain, the OECD says.

The OECD notes that some countries, sectors and businesses across the EU will feel more pain than others. A report last year by the European Committee of the Regions, an EU advisory body, identified Ireland as the likely major casualty of Brexit due to its geographic proximity to Britain, which historically has tied them together commercially.

Some German regions, such as Stuttgart, that rely on auto industry exports to Britain could also feel the economic shockwaves, it said. Chemical and plastics companies in Belgium and the Netherlands are at risk, too.

In Portugal, which has had close ties with Britain since the Treaty of Windsor in 1386, the textiles sector based in the northwest is one of the country's most exposed industries. It is largely located in what is one of the poorest regions of Portugal and western Europe.

The textile companies already have felt a chill, with sales to Britain dropping by more than 3 percent since the 2016 Brexit referendum, according to Paulo Vaz, director-general of the Portuguese Textile and Clothing Association, which represents about 500 companies in the sector.

He puts that down to the weak pound, which makes purchases from countries like Portugal that use the euro more expensive, and cautious spending by British consumers at a time when their financial future is uncertain.

He says these are tense times for Portuguese companies, especially with the U.K. playing such a central role in the local textile industry. "We're talking about a market that is our fourth-largest, that's worth around 450 million euros ($516 million) a year to us and that was growing, and that now can be severely harmed by all this," Vaz said, referring to Brexit.

For some businesses, the British market is their lifeblood. The two-story Pedrosa & Rodrigues factory sits amid green fields on the fringes of a small town in Portugal's industrial heartland, where textile companies are an economic mainstay and provide about 130,000 jobs.

Inside, there is a hum of sewing machines, a hissing of irons and a rumble of high-tech cloth-cutting machines. Ana Pedrosa Rodrigues remembers sitting as a child on the running boards of these machines after her parents started the company with five employees in a garage in 1982.

Ana and her two older brothers recently joined their parents at the company. The other employees include husbands and wives, fathers and sons, brothers and sisters. Generations of workers are common in the industry. Almost all of the workers live in town, many of them within walking distance, and have served on average of 19 years.

Pedrosa & Rodrigues has prospered in part by selling "affordable luxury" brands to some of Britain's well-known fashion labels. The company makes ME+EM T-shirts that can be found at Selfridge's in London and produces some of the All England Club's range of Wimbledon tennis wear. In an ironic twist, it also delivers to British brand L.K. Bennett — a label occasionally worn by British Prime Minister Theresa May.

Every Friday, workers stack dozens of brown cardboard boxes at the factory's loading bay and place them on trucks for the 2-3 day trip to warehouses in central Britain. At the moment, the trucks drive straight across the EU's open borders. If they are shut, the paperwork, delays and tariffs could add 12 percent to the cost price.

A loss of British business would translate, inevitably, into job losses— and not just at this company, Ana Pedrosa Rodrigues says. "We are at the front end of a supply chain, and the losses would have a knock-on effect for our suppliers," she said. That includes the fabric producers, dying companies, printers and embroiderers. Most of them are their neighbors. "Nobody would escape the impact."

Sofia Cardoso, a 43-year-old employee of Pedrosa & Rodrigues whose husband also works for a textile company, refuses to be gloomy, saying the sector has built up a lot of resilience over its long history.

"We've been through crises before and we've survived," she said. "I think we'll get through this one too."

UK prime minister vows no return to hard border with Ireland

February 05, 2019

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Theresa May told business leaders in Northern Ireland Tuesday that she is seeking changes to the Brexit withdrawal agreement but not the total removal of the backstop plan that is the most contentious part of the deal.

May said during a visit to Belfast that the British government retains its commitment to preventing the construction of a physical border between Ireland and Northern Ireland when Britain leaves the European Union.

The prime minister said she was in Belfast "to affirm my commitment to delivering a Brexit that ensures no return to a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland — which is unshakable." She also emphasized the government's commitment to the Good Friday agreement, largely credited with ending decades of violence known as "the Troubles" when it was signed in 1998.

Britain is scheduled to leave the EU on March 29, but no withdrawal agreement has been approved because Britain's Parliament has voted down May's plan, in part because of concerns about the difficult border issues.

The situation is complex because Ireland is a member of the EU while Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom. The currently wide open border between the two entities will after Brexit become the only land border between the U.K. and the EU.

May plans to meet with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in Brussels on Thursday seeking concessions on border-related issues and will return to Parliament next week with what is expected to be a modified plan.

Her original plan was defeated by more than 200 votes, a loss of historic proportions for her minority government. May is expected to have an uphill fight in Brussels because EU leaders have steadfastly opposed reopening the 585-page withdrawal agreement negotiated over the course of two years.

Belgian climate minister resigns after protest march scandal

February 05, 2019

BRUSSELS (AP) — A Belgian environment minister resigned Tuesday after claiming she had confirmation from state security services that massive climate demonstrations in recent weeks were staged as a plot against her.

Though regional environment minister Joke Schauvliege initially failed to step down after admitting she had no such information from intelligence officials, she resigned after talks with her party leadership.

"I said something that was not correct," Schauvliege said, but insisted it didn't amount to lying. The opposition said it was outrageous to lie and abuse the name of the state security organization for personal purposes and also said she sought to discredit a just cause that is widely shared in the nation.

"This way, it is tough to continue on as climate minister," she said at an emotional news conference. Over the past two months, tens of thousands of protesters have demonstrated across Belgium for better climate protections and have often targeted Schauvliege's policies, which they consider woefully insufficient.

At first she welcomed the marches, but over the weekend, she said "a lot of people in these marches don't realize that they are part of a system which is a setup." She added that "state security has told me about this."

In her apology, she said she overreacted because of social media criticism and lack of sleep. Anuna De Wever, the 17-year-old driving force behind the Thursday student protests that gathered up to 30,000 demonstrators, said she was dumbfounded when she heard it. "At first, I had to laugh really hard," she told VRT network, denying she was a pawn in a plot against anyone.

A new march of schoolchildren and students is set for Thursday. Two weeks ago, 70,000 demonstrators took to the streets of Brussels for the biggest march up to now. Schauvliege was the environment minister for northern Belgium's Flanders, the biggest, most populous and richest area of Belgium.

Belgian climate minister denounces protest marches as plot

February 05, 2019

BRUSSELS (AP) — A Belgian environment minister has been forced to climb down over accusations that the massive climate demonstrations in Belgium over the past weeks were a plot and that she had state security confirmation.

Though regional environment minister Joke Schauvliege said Tuesday she had no such information from state security services, she said she would not step down over her remarks. Over the past two months, tens of thousands of protesters have demonstrated across the country for better climate protections and have often targeted her policies.

At first she welcomed the marches but over the weekend, she said "a lot of people in these marches don't realize that they are part of a system which is a setup." She added that "state security has told me about this."

Central African Republic, rebel groups initial a peace deal

February 05, 2019

CAIRO (AP) — Central African Republic's government on Tuesday initialed a peace deal with 14 armed groups following unprecedented talks aimed at ending more than five years of conflict. The agreement represents rare hope for one of the world's poorest nations, where religious and communal fighting erupted in 2013. Thousands of people have been killed and hundreds of thousands displaced in a conflict that has sent two people to the International Criminal Court.

"The difficult time starts now, and that is implementing the Khartoum Agreement ... This agreement is crucial for peace," said Herbert Gontran Djono Ahaba, speaking on behalf of the rebels. The talks that began Jan. 24 in Sudan's capital were the first-ever direct dialogue among the warring parties.

Representatives of the rebels shook hands with President Faustin Archange Touadera and Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir after they initialed the deal. "Now is the time for us to turn a new page, the page of Central African Republic which has reconciled with itself, in order to preserve its dignity," Touadera said, adding: "We do not have the right to disappoint."

Details of the agreement have not been announced. The head of Central African Republic's government delegation said they will announce them after the formal signing back home in the capital, Bangui. A date has not been set.

"I'm very happy to see this day," African Union Commission Chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat said. The AU facilitated the talks, supported by the United Nations. "Concessions should be made, and we should all accept each other, and this page should be closed, the page of violence and destruction."

The fighting has carried the high risk of genocide, the U.N. has warned. The conflict began when predominantly Muslim Seleka rebels seized power in Bangui. Largely Christian anti-Balaka militias fought back. Scores of mosques were burned. Religious leaders were killed. Many Muslims fled the country after mobs decapitated and dismembered some in the streets.

The vicious fighting in a country known more for coups than religious violence was so alarming that Pope Francis made a bold visit in 2015, removing his shoes and bowing his head at the Central Mosque in the last remaining Muslim neighborhood of the capital.

"Together we say 'no' to hatred," the pope said. The violence has never disappeared, intensifying and spreading last year after a period of relative peace as armed groups battled over lands rich in gold, diamonds and uranium.

In a grim report last year marking five years of conflict, the U.N. children's agency said fighters often target civilians rather than each other, attacking health facilities and schools, mosques and churches and camps for displaced people. At least half of the more than 640,000 people displaced are children, it said, and thousands are thought to have joined armed groups, often under pressure.

A majority of Central African Republic's 2.9 million people urgently need humanitarian support, the Norwegian Refugee Council said last month as the peace talks began. Last month the chief of Central African Republic's soccer federation appeared at the ICC for the first time since he was arrested last year in France on charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes. Patrice-Edouard Ngaissona is accused of leading the anti-Balaka for at least a year early in the fighting.

In November a Central African Republic militia leader and lawmaker, Alfred Yekatom, made his first ICC appearance, accused of crimes including murder, torture and using child soldiers. He allegedly commanded some 3,000 fighters in a predominantly Christian militia in and around the capital early in the fighting. He was arrested last year after firing gunshots in parliament.

So far no Seleka fighters have been publicly targeted by the court's chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda. On Thursday, the U.N. Security Council voted unanimously to extend an arms embargo on Central African Republic for a year but raised the possibility that it could be lifted earlier, as the government has long urged.

Israel's Netanyahu to meet Putin in Moscow this month

February 05, 2019

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow this month. Netanyahu announced the trip Tuesday during a press conference with visiting Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen. It will be his third meeting with Putin since July.

Netanyahu says the Feb. 21 visit will deal with Israel's efforts to prevent Iranian entrenchment in neighboring Syria. The prime minister met with a delegation of senior Russian officials in Jerusalem last week to discuss "strengthening the security coordination mechanism between the militaries" to prevent possible friction in Syria.

Israel and Russia maintain a hotline to prevent their air forces from clashing over Syria. Israel has acknowledged carrying out hundreds of airstrikes in Syria, primarily against Iranian targets and suspected arms shipments to Hezbollah militants.

Russia says it will develop new ground-based missiles

FEB. 5, 2019
By Clyde Hughes

Feb. 5 (UPI) -- Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Monday his country will develop new ground-based nuclear missiles by the end of next year after Russia and the United States ended a Cold War-era nuclear agreement.

The U.S. and Russia had long taken part in the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty that banned ground-launched medium-range missiles with a range of 310-3,400 miles.

The U.S. announced Friday it was dropping out of the agreement after Russia denied that some of its new cruise missiles violated the agreement.

The following day, Russian President Vladimir Putin said it would end its obligations to the treaty, as well. Shoigu charged that it was the United States that violated the agreement and Russia will now move forward with its own plans.

"In 2019-2020, we need to develop the ground-based version of the sea-launched Kalibr system with the long-range cruise missile, which has proven its worth in Syria," Shoigu said, the state-run news agency TASS reported.

"At the same time, they [the United States] are actively working on creating ground-based missiles with the range capability of over [310 miles], which is outside the treaty-stipulated limitations. In this situation, the Russian president has set the task for the Defense Ministry to take tit-for-tat mirrored measures," Shoigu added.

The INF treaty was originally signed in 1987 by President Ronald Reagan and Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday that the U.S. could return to the INF if Russia came under compliance again in 180 days.

U.S. officials charged that Russia has violated the accords since 2014. Russia countered by saying that the U.S. began its violations in 1999 by testing unmanned aerial vehicles that have the same characteristics as land-based cruise missiles banned by the treaty.

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2019/02/05/Russia-says-it-will-develop-new-ground-based-missiles/6231549378479/.

Iran unveils new long-range cruise missile

February 3, 2019

Iran on Saturday unveiled a new cruise missile with range up to 1,350 kilometers (around 840 miles), according to Iran’s state television.

The missile, named Hoveizeh, was displayed in a ceremony attended by Defense Minister Amir Hatami.

According to Hatami, the missile was produced with local capabilities.

The missile was successfully tested with Iranian officials saying it has ability to fly on a low height and hit its target accurately.

Iran has developed a large domestic arms industry in the face of international sanctions and embargoes that have barred it from importing many weapons. Last month, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi was quoted as saying: “Iran’s home-grown defensive missile program is the Iranian nation’s natural right”.

A US-Iranian war of words has escalated since US President Donald Trump took Washington out of a world powers’ nuclear deal with Iran in May, and reimposed sanctions on its banking and energy sectors.

Iran has warned that if it cannot sell its oil due to US pressure, then no other regional country will be allowed to do so either, threatening to block the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf. The Guards’ naval arm lacks a strong conventional fleet. However, it has many speed boats and portable anti-ship missile launchers, and can lay mines.

Source: Middle East Monitor.
Link: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20190203-iran-unveils-new-long-range-cruise-missile/.

Asia welcomes Year of the Pig with banquets, temple visits

February 05, 2019

BEIJING (AP) — Asia welcomed the lunar Year of the Pig on Tuesday with visits to temples, family banquets and the world's biggest travel spree. Celebrations took place throughout the region, from Beijing and Seoul to Hanoi and Singapore.

The streets of Beijing and other major Chinese cities were quiet and empty after millions of people left to visit relatives or travel abroad during the year's biggest family holiday. Families gathered at home for multigenerational banquets. Companies, shops and government offices closed for official holidays that ranged from two days in South Korea to a week in China.

Worshipers stood in line for hours at Hong Kong's Wong Tai Sin Temple to welcome the new year by lighting incense.

Lana Wong, a prominent Hong Kong actress, wore a pig costume for the event.

"My first wish is for world peace," said Wong, 88. "Everyone has food to eat, employment and houses to live in. The elderly also hope the government will take better care of them."

In Beijing, performers in traditional Qing dynasty robes strummed zithers for a re-enactment at sunrise of a sacrificial ceremony at the Chinese capital's Temple of Earth park.

An actor portraying an emperor bowed before an altar as dozens of people in ceremonial dress behind him.

Acrobats and drummers also performed. Vendors sold toys branded with the British cartoon character Peppa Pig, which is enjoying a surge of popularity for the Year of the Pig.

"My wishes for new year are a promotion, a raise and finding a boyfriend," said a spectator, Cui Di, a 28-year-old employee of a foreign company.

The holiday in mainland China is marked by the biggest annual travel boom as hundreds of millions of people visit their home towns or travel abroad.

The railway ministry forecast mainland travelers would make 413 million trips during the three-week period around the holiday.

Chinese set off billions of fireworks to celebrate the new year. An explosion at an illegal fireworks shop in southern China killed five people early Tuesday. Investigators said it was triggered by fireworks set off by the shopkeeper outside the shop.

In Bangkok, people lit incense sticks and burned paper money and other symbolic offerings for deceased relatives despite government appeals to avoid contributing to smog.

Some shopkeepers sold symbolic ballots to burn as offerings following official promises of an election this year, the first after four years of military rule.

In the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, visitors left bouquets of flowers at statues of former leaders Kim Il Sung and his son, Kim Jong Il.