5 contenders vie to lead UK Labor back from election defeat

January 13, 2020

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s opposition Labour Party said Monday that five lawmakers will contend to lead the party as it tries to rebuild support and regain power after last month's electoral drubbing. Labour is choosing a new leader to replace Jeremy Corbyn, who is stepping down after the left-of-center party suffered its worst election result in almost a century.

The party said Rebecca Long-Bailey, Lisa Nandy, Jess Phillips, Keir Starmer and Emily Thornberry had all met the threshold of securing nominations from at least 22 Labour lawmakers and would advance to the next stage of the contest. A sixth contender, Clive Lewis, dropped out after failing to get enough backers.

Labor is one of Britain’s two dominant political parties, but hasn’t won a national election since Tony Blair's third consecutive victory in 2005. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservatives won 365 of the 650 House of Commons seats in the Dec. 12 election, while Labor took 203, its worst total since 1935.

The party is enmeshed in a blame game for the defeat, with some members accusing the socialist Corbyn of veering too far to the left and making lavish spending promises that voters regarded as unrealistic.

Labor is also agonizing over its Brexit stance -- which tried unsuccessfully to satisfy voters who wanted to leave the European Union and those who wished to remain -- and continuing claims of anti-Semitism in party ranks.

All five contenders are calculating how far to distance themselves from Corbyn, whose left-wing approach retains strong support among rank-and-file Labor members, many of whom have joined the party since he was elected leader.

Starmer, the party’s Brexit spokesman, received by far the most backing among Labor lawmakers, with 89 nominating him. The next-highest total was 33 for Long-Bailey, a Corbyn protégé and the party’s business spokeswoman.

But Starmer, a relative centrist, may struggle to win over party members wary of a return to the middle-of-the-road “new Labor” of the Blair era. Some of the five candidates could be eliminated if they can’t win the required backing from local Labor associations and trade unions. Those who make the cut will be put to a postal vote of the party’s half-million members and registered supporters between Feb. 21 and April 2. The party’s new leader will be announced on April 4.

UK voters decide who they want to resolve Brexit impasse

December 12, 2019

LONDON (AP) — U.K. voters were deciding Thursday who they want to resolve the stalemate over Brexit in a parliamentary election seen as one of the most important since the end of World War II. Voting was underway across the country in a contest that pits Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who says he will take Britain out of the European Union by Jan. 31, against opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn, who promises another referendum on Brexit.

With so much at stake, political parties have pushed the boundaries of truth, transparency and reality during five weeks of campaigning. Johnson's Conservative Party was criticized for using misleading tactics on social media, while Corbyn's Labor Party sought to win votes by promising to tax the rich, boost government spending and nationalize industries such as railroads and water companies. One of the focal points of the ugly campaign was the National Health Service, a deeply respected institution that has struggled to meet rising demand after nine years of austerity under Conservative-led governments.

Jill Rutter, program director for the Institute for Government, said one of the things that stood out during the campaign was the shamelessness of the politicians. She cited Johnson's claim that the Conservatives would build 40 hospitals. In fact that number includes many existing facilities that will be renovated.

“Normally, if you point out to people that something doesn’t stand up, it’s actually sort of fiction, you slightly expect them to start ... replacing that with a different new fact,'' Rutter said. “But here, actually, you’ve seen this from No. 10 under Johnson that they’re prepared to run a deeply manipulative operation.’’

All 650 seats in the House of Commons are up for grabs in the election, which is being held more than two years ahead of schedule. The prime minister called early elections in hopes of breaking a logjam in Parliament that stalled approval of his Brexit agreement in October. Johnson didn’t have a majority in the last Parliament and was stymied once he lost the support of the Democratic Unionist Party because of concerns about how Northern Ireland would be treated under his deal with the EU.

Opinion polls have consistently showed Johnson's Conservative Party in the lead, but recent surveys suggest the margin may have narrowed in the final days of campaigning. While Corbyn’s Labor is unlikely to win an outright majority, smaller opposition parties hope to win enough seats so they can team with Labor to block Johnson’s Brexit plans.

All of the parties are nervous about the verdict of voters who are more willing to abandon long-held party loyalties after three years of wrangling over Brexit. The Conservatives have focused much of their energy on trying to win in a “red wall” of working-class towns in central and northern England that have elected Labor lawmakers for decades, but also voted strongly in 2016 to leave the EU. Polls suggest that plan may be working, and the Conservatives have also been helped by the Brexit Party led by Nigel Farage, which decided at the last minute not to contest 317 Conservative-held seats to avoid splitting the pro-Brexit vote.

Labor, which is largely but ambiguously pro-EU, faces competition for anti-Brexit voters from the centrist Liberal Democrats, Scottish and Welsh nationalist parties, and the Greens. One of the campaign's defining images was a photo of a sick 4-year-old boy sleeping on a hospital floor because no beds were available. Johnson's initial failure to even look at the photo in an on-camera interview put the prime minister on the defensive because he was seen as being insensitive to the child's plight.

The photo, initially published by the Yorkshire Evening Post, swept across social media like a firestorm, injecting an explosive jolt into the political war of information in the final days of the election.

Social media platforms were a critical battleground during the campaign, with political mudslingers waging cyberwar with few legal constraints after the government failed to act on calls for a new law to protect democracy in the internet age. Just two years after Britain found itself at the epicenter of a global scandal over the misuse of Facebook data by political campaigns, the parties bombarded voters with social media messages — many of which were misleading.

The Conservative Party circulated a doctored video that made it look as if an opposition leader had been stumped when asked about his position on Brexit. Then during a television debate the party re-branded its press office Twitter account as a fact-checking service. The Labor Party also sought to co-opt the roll of independent fact-checker, rolling out a website called The Insider, which called on voters to “trust the facts.”

The Conservative Party, with a dynamic online campaign, found itself in the crosshairs of many media critics. Some, such as Rasmus Kleis Nielsen, director of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford, wondered why Johnson, who has been in the lead, would feel compelled to be at the forefront of pushing the edge of accepted norms.

“This is a governing party. It's a mainstream party. It's a career politician. This is not an outlier. You don't get more establishment than the British Conservative Party," Nielsen said. “If that is what they see as fit and proper, we must confront the fact that this is the new normal.''

Matthew Goodwin, a visiting senior fellow at the Chatham House think tank, said the Conservative Party's tactics were partly motivated by alarm over the potential for a Corbyn-led government. “We have to remember this is probably the most consequential election we’ve had in the post-war period,'' he said, citing Brexit and other implications of the vote.

“For the Conservatives, the reason they have become so direct and so personal is, I think, they view this as paving the way for a Marxist project, a radical left-wing project that is more of a threat to this country, to the union, to Britain’s economy, to its place on the international stage — a greater threat than anything the country has faced before," Goodwin said.

Leaders scramble for final votes as UK's ugly election ends

December 11, 2019

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s election has been like the country’s late-autumn weather: chilly and dull, with blustery outbursts. On the last day of the campaign, political leaders dashed around the U.K. on Wednesday trying to win over millions of undecided voters who will likely determine the outcome.

Opinion polls suggest Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservatives have a lead over the main opposition Labor Party led by Jeremy Corbyn ahead of Thursday's election. But all the parties are nervous about the verdict of a volatile electorate fed up after years of Brexit wrangling.

Truck driver Clive Jordan expressed a weariness that could be heard up and down the country during the five-week campaign. “Basically I just want it over and done with now,” he said. “Nobody’s doing what they said. Everybody’s lying.”

Britain's first December vote since 1923 has been dubbed the Brexit Election. It is being held more than two years early in hopes of breaking Britain’s political deadlock over the country’s stalled departure from the European Union.

Johnson has focused relentlessly on Brexit throughout the campaign, endlessly repeating his slogan “Get Brexit done.” He says that if he wins a majority of the 650 House of Commons seats on Thursday, he will get Parliament to ratify his “oven-ready” divorce deal with the EU and take Britain out of the bloc as scheduled on Jan. 31.

“If we can get a working majority, we have a deal, it's ready to go,” Johnson said Wednesday as he watched pies being baked at a catering firm in central England. "We put it in, slam it in the oven, take it out and there it is -- get Brexit done."

As a slogan, “Get Brexit done” is both misleading and effective. If Britain leaves the EU on Jan. 31 it will only kick-start months or years of negotiations on future trade relations with the bloc, involving tough trade-offs between independence and access.

“His campaign was all about ‘Getting Brexit done,’ but actually it’s about getting Brexit started,” said Tony Travers, professor of government at the London School of Economics. “Elections seem to suggest these things are easy; they’re not.”

But the notion of an end to the Brexit melodrama is tempting to voters who have watched politicians bicker for more than three years since Britain’s June 2016 vote to leave the European Union. “Brexit is fueling the election,” said Allan Bailey, a parish councilor in Clowne, a former coal-mining village in the central England constituency of Bolsover. “If one person can offer this area ... Brexit, that person will win.”

The Conservatives have focused much of their energy on trying to win seats like Bolsover — working-class towns in central and northern England that have elected Labor lawmakers for decades, but also voted strongly in 2016 to leave the EU.

Polls suggest that plan may be working, and the Conservatives have also been helped by the Brexit Party led by Nigel Farage, which decided at the last minute not to contest 317 Conservative-held seats to avoid splitting the pro-Brexit vote.

Labor — which is largely but ambiguously pro-EU — faces competition for anti-Brexit voters from the centrist Liberal Democrats, Scottish and Welsh nationalist parties and the Greens. “The only reason the Conservatives are so far ahead in the polls now is that the ‘remain’ vote is divided,” said Rosie Campbell, professor of politics at King’s College London. “For ‘remain’ voters it has been a real failure of leadership.”

If the Tories fail to win a majority, it will be a sign that voters think other issues are just as important as Brexit. Labor has focused on domestic issues, especially the wear and tear to the country’s state-funded health service after nine years of Conservative government austerity. Labor also promises to boost public spending, nationalize Britain’s railways and utilities and provide everyone in the country with free internet access — all paid for by raising taxes on high earners.

“My message to all those voters who are still undecided is that you can vote for hope in this election,” Corbyn planned to say Wednesday at his final campaign rally. On Brexit, Labor says it will negotiate a new divorce deal with the EU, then offer voters the choice in a new referendum between leaving on those terms and remaining in the bloc.

For many voters, Thursday's election offers an unpalatable choice. Both Johnson and Corbyn have personal approval ratings in negative territory, and both have been dogged by questions about their character.

Johnson has been confronted with past broken promises, untruths and offensive statements, from calling the children of single mothers “ignorant, aggressive and illegitimate” to comparing Muslim women who wear face-covering veils to "letter boxes."

Corbyn has been accused of allowing anti-Semitism to spread within the party. The 70-year-old left-winger is portrayed by opponents as an aging Marxist with unsavory past associations with Hamas and the IRA.

Though the candidates claim to carry positive messages, the campaign has been littered with allegations of mudslinging and dishonesty — largely by the Conservatives. The Tories doctored a video of an interview with a senior Labor lawmaker to make it appear as if he had failed to answer a question, when he had. The party re-branded its press office Twitter account “FactCheckUK” during a television debate, earning a warning but no sanction from the social media site.

Johnson combined an aggressive online campaign with a cautious approach to live appearances. He largely avoided tough interviews — to the fury of opponents — and had a generally gaffe-free election until the final days of the campaign.

On Monday, Johnson was caught making a ham-fisted and seemingly unsympathetic reaction to a picture of a 4-year-old boy lying on a hospital floor because no beds were available. Asked to look at the picture on a reporter’s phone, Johnson grabbed the device and pocketed it.

On Tuesday, the father of a man killed in last month’s knife attack near London Bridge accused the prime minister of using his son’s death for political gain. It's unclear how much those moments will influence the outcome when Britain’s voters pass their verdict on Thursday. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. (0700GMT to 2200GMT), with most results expected early Friday.

Associated Press writers Danica Kirka and Jo Kearney in London and Alex Turnbull in Clowne, England contributed to this story.

UK political leaders chase undecided voters on eve of vote

December 11, 2019

LONDON (AP) — British political leaders rose early Wednesday to pursue undecided voters on the eve of a national election, zigzagging across the country in hopes that one last push will get the wavering to the polls.

Though opinion polls have consistently shown Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservative Party in the lead, surveys suggest the margin may be narrowing before Thursday's contest. All of the parties are nervous about the verdict of a volatile electorate weary after years of wrangling over Brexit, and increasingly willing to abandon long-held party loyalties.

All 650 seats in the House of Commons seats are up for grabs in the election, which is being held more than two years early in a bid to break the political impasse over Brexit. Johnson has tried to focus minds on the potential of an uncertain result and a divided Parliament, which would endanger his plan to lead the U.K. out of the European Union on Jan. 31. He started his day before dawn, helping load milk and orange juice bottles onto a delivery vehicle in northern England.

“This could not be more critical, it could not be tighter — I just say to everybody the risk is very real that we could tomorrow be going into another hung parliament,'' he said. ”That's more drift, more dither, more delay, more paralysis for this country."

The main opposition Labor Party said polls showed that momentum was moving in their direction. The party has tried to shift attention from Brexit and onto its plans to reverse years of public spending cuts by the Conservatives, who have been in power since 2010.

Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn campaigned in Scotland and urged people to elect a government that would “give real hope." “In this city of Glasgow, which has some of the poorest people in this country, which has wards which contain the lowest life expectancy all across this country, they need an end to austerity,'' Corbyn said. “They need a U.K. government that will invest all across the country."

For many voters, Thursday's election is an unpalatable choice. Both Johnson and Corbyn have personal approval ratings in negative territory, and both have been dogged by questions about their character.

Corbyn faces allegations that he has allowed anti-Semitism to spread in the left-of-center party, and is seen by some as a doctrinaire, old-school socialist. Labor was embarrassed on Tuesday by the leak of a phone recording of the party's health spokesman suggesting that the party would lose Thursday's election because voters "can't stand Corbyn."

Jonathan Ashworth said his unguarded remarks were merely banter with a Conservative friend. Johnson has been confronted with past offensive comments, broken promises and untruths. This week he was caught out making a ham-fisted and seemingly unsympathetic reaction to a picture of a 4-year-old boy lying on a hospital floor because no beds were available.

Johnson ally Michael Gove said Wednesday that the prime minister was deeply concerned with the boy's plight but had suffered “a single moment of absent-mindedness.”

Johnson, Corbyn clash in final debate before UK election

December 06, 2019

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and opposition Labor Party leader Jeremy Corbyn clashed Friday night in the last head-to-head debate before a general election in six days — an underpowered showdown that saw both men stick to well-worn phrases and promises about their plans for Brexit and Britain’s future.

Johnson, a Conservative who supports Britain’s exit from the European Union, tried to portray Corbyn as a waffler with no firm Brexit stance who would plunge the U.K. into more uncertainty. Corbyn reminded viewers about the Conservative government’s spending cuts, and claimed Johnson was bent on striking a trade deal with the United States that might harm Britain’s interests.

Each questioned the other’s character. Johnson accused Corbyn of a “failure of leadership” for failing to stamp out anti-Semitism in his party. Corbyn retorted that “a failure of leadership is when you use racist remarks,” as Johnson has done with glibly offensive language. In a magazine article last year he called Muslim women who wear face-covering veils “letter boxes.”

BBC moderator Nick Robinson suggested voters faced an “impossible choice” between two unpopular and untrustworthy leaders. That impression was reinforced Friday when two former prime ministers criticized their own party’s contenders. Former Conservative premier John Major called Brexit the "worst foreign policy decision in my lifetime," while ex-Labor leader Tony Blair urged voters to make the best of a “horrible” choice.”

Opinion polls put Johnson’s Conservatives ahead of the Labor opposition before the election next Thursday, in which all 650 House of Commons seats are up for grabs. The Conservatives had a minority government before the election, and Johnson pushed for the Dec. 12 vote, which is taking place more than two years early, in hopes of winning a majority and breaking Britain's political impasse over Brexit. He says that if the Conservatives win a majority, he will get Parliament to ratify his Brexit divorce deal and take the U.K. out of the EU by the current Jan. 31 deadline.

In the debate, Johnson contrasted that promise with Corbyn’s refusal to say whether he favored leaving the bloc or remaining. Labour has promised to negotiate a new Brexit deal, then give voters a choice between leaving on those terms and remaining in the bloc. Corbyn says he would be neutral in that referendum.

“You cannot end the uncertainty on Brexit if you do not know what the deal is that you want to do,” Johnson said. “You cannot negotiate a deal if you are neutral on it.” Johnson's opponents say his promise to “get Brexit done” rings hollow, because leaving the bloc will be the prelude to months or years of complex trade negotiations.

Corbyn claimed that under a Johnson government, Britain would “walk out of the EU into a relationship with nobody” and spend years trying to strike a new trade deal with the United States. He said that would bring “seven years of complete uncertainty and continued job losses in manufacturing and industry.”

The two men also tussled over security in the wake of last week’s deadly attack in London by a knife-wielding man who had served a prison sentence for terrorist crimes. Johnson tried to portray Corbyn — a longtime anti-war and anti-nuclear campaigner — as soft on security. Corbyn highlighted cuts to police and prison services under the Conservatives.

Johnson’s party is promising to increase public spending if it wins the election, and Corbyn tackled Johnson on inflated promises, such as a claim his government will build 40 news hospitals. In fact that number includes many existing facilities that will be renovated.

Labor also took aim Friday at Johnson’s insistence that there will be no new checks on trade between Northern Ireland and the rest of the U.K. after Brexit. The divorce deal Johnson has negotiated with the bloc agrees to keep Northern Ireland aligned to EU customs rules and some goods standards to avoid checks along the currently invisible border with EU member Ireland.

Trade experts say that means some checks will have to be conducted on goods moving across the Irish Sea between Britain and Northern Ireland. Labor said it had obtained a leaked Treasury document that says “there will be customs declarations and security checks between Northern Ireland and Great Britain,” and Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay has previously said there will have to be some checks.

Corbyn said the document “drives a coach and horses through Boris Johnson's claim that there will be no border in the Irish Sea." But Johnson claimed it was “nonsense” to suggest there would be any new checks. The Conservative Party said the leaked document was an "immediate assessment” rather than a detailed analysis.

Labor has a radical domestic agenda, promising to nationalize key industries and utilities, hike the minimum wage and give free internet access to all. The party has struggled to persuade voters that its lavish spending promises are deliverable without big tax hikes. Labor's campaign also has been dogged by allegations that Corbyn — a long-time champion of the Palestinians — has allowed anti-Jewish prejudice to fester in the left-of-center party.

Corbyn has called anti-Semitism "a poison and an evil in our society" and says he is working to root it out of the party. This election is especially unpredictable because the question of Brexit cuts across traditional party loyalties. For many voters, their identities as "leavers" or "remainers" are more important than party affiliations.

The Conservative lead suggests the party has managed to win over many Brexit-backing voters, while Labor faces competition for pro-EU electors from the centrist Liberal Democrats and several smaller parties.

But the Conservatives have also lost support from some pro-EU voters by taking a strongly pro-Brexit stance. Several ex-Conservative lawmakers who were expelled for rebelling over Brexit are running against their old party as independents.

The independent former Tories were endorsed Friday by former Conservative Prime Minister John Major, who called Brexit the "worst foreign policy decision in my lifetime." "It will make our country poorer and weaker,” he said. “It will hurt most those who have least.”

In another blow to Johnson's claims that Britain will be better off outside the EU, Britain’s Brexit envoy in Washington quitthis week, saying she no longer wants to “peddle half-truths on behalf of a government I do not trust."

Alexandra Hall Hall resigned as the embassy’s Brexit counselor with a letter slamming the British government’s use of “misleading” arguments and reluctance “to address honestly” the challenges and trade-offs involved in leaving the EU.

Associated Press writer Danica Kirka contributed to this report.

UK election is full of dirty tricks and political clicks

December 05, 2019

LONDON (AP) — Britain is proving a lawless landscape for political mudslingers mining cyberspace for votes in an election that could determine the U.K.'s future relationship with the European Union. Two years after Britain found itself at the epicenter of a global scandal over the misuse of Facebook data by political campaigns and a year after lawmakers called for sweeping reforms to protect democracy in the digital age, the country's biggest political parties are bombarding voters with misleading social media messages after the government failed to act.

The ruling Conservative Party circulated a doctored video that made it look as if an opposition leader had been stumped when asked about his position on Brexit, then during a leaders' debate the party's press office temporarily rebranded its website as a fact-checking service. The Labor Party has also sought to co-opt the roll of independent factchecker, rolling out a website called The Insider, which calls on voters to “trust the facts.”

“It's the Wild West out there,’’ said Matt Walsh, who researches digital political communication at the University of Cardiff. “The parties can pretty much do what they want in terms of putting political messages out there and they can do what they want in terms of upsetting social media users.’’

Britain's electoral laws, like those of most countries, were largely written before the dawn of the internet, meaning social media campaigns are mostly unregulated and open to exploitation by a new generation of political strategists who grew up with the technology. While Russia was able to exploit these loopholes in an effort to disrupt the 2016 U.S. presidential election, the big story of 2019 may be the willingness of Britain's political parties themselves to push the boundaries of truth, transparency and reality.

The stakes couldn't be bigger. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is seeking a mandate to take Britain out of the EU by Jan. 31. Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn promises a second referendum that could block Brexit, along with left wing economic policies including the nationalization of railways, water companies and broadband networks. And tactics applied in the British campaign are but a harbinger of how digital misinformation could affect other coming votes, including next year’s U.S. presidential election.

The U.K. House of Commons' media committee last year called for widespread changes to electoral laws, which it said weren't “fit for purpose'' in the 21st century. The report followed an 18-month inquiry into fake news and data manipulation by political campaigns, which was triggered by concerns about Russian interference in western elections. The probe helped fuel a scandal about how consultancy Cambridge Analytica used Facebook data to target voters during Donald Trump's 2016 run for the White House.

The government's failure to act on the committee's recommendations leaves voters at the mercy of unscrupulous campaign operatives at a time when more and more people are turning to social media for news and information. Since there are no sanctions for misbehavior - other than having your post removed from Twitter, Facebook or Google - the campaigns have realized there’s little downside to posting doctored videos or misleading information.

“You aren’t seeing any blowback from that. It’s almost the opposite,’’ said Zvika Krieger, head of technology policy at the World Economic Forum. “(Being misleading) gets more attention. There’s a perverse incentive to post as much misleading information as possible. It’s a very worrying trend.’’

While misinformation is not new in political campaigns, digital data is improving exponentially political campaigns’ ability to tailor messages to voters based on their behavior online. And this comes at a time when parties are devoting more resources to digital communications.

The Conservatives spent 3.98 million pounds ($5.17 million) on social media and data-driven advertising during the last general election campaign in 2017, up 71% from the previous election in 2015, according to research by Tactical Tech, a Berlin-based group that seeks to mitigate the impact of technology on society. Labor's digital spending more than tripled to 1.47 million pounds in the same period.

But it is hard to know how to regulate digital campaigning as it is difficult to get a complete picture of how and where parties focus their digital spending. The campaign that has pushed the limits furthest this year is the Conservatives.

First, they took a TV news interview with Labor's Brexit spokesman, Keir Starmer, and edited it to make it appear that he couldn't answer a question about the party's position on leaving the EU. The video has been viewed more than 1.1 million times. Then, during a leaders' debate last month, the party's press office temporarily rebranded its Twitter feed ``factcheckUK'' and used the account to attack Corbyn's comments.

Will Moy, chief executive of Full Fact, a real fact-checking website, criticized the stunt. “It was an attempt to mislead voters, and I think it is inappropriate and misleading for a serious political party to behave that way,” he said at the time.

Caught unprepared in 2017, when social media helped Labor to a better-than-expected performance, the Conservative Party this year brought in a New Zealand-based firm called Topham Guerin to sharpen its online message.

Sean Topham and Ben Guerin, both in their 20s, helped Scott Morrison become Australia's prime minister in 2018 with a strategy to flood online platforms with hundreds of posts with a consistent message. They specialized in memes with tacky messages that would riff off events like the finale of the cult show “Game of Thrones.’’ People would laugh - and share.

The content wasn’t slick, but it was plentiful. “You’re going to slap some Calibri font on some ... re-used meme and you’re going to publish it and you’re going to get on to the next one,’’ Guerin told a conference in May in Sydney. “And you know what? Their content is going to do better than the thing your poor graphic designer spent a week on. Sad but true.’’

While such posts may draw laughter and wry comments as readers share them, they have serious implications for society. Even as candidates are lowering the bar on what they are willing to do or say, campaigns are increasing their sophistication in using data from a wide variety of sources to micro-target voters with custom-made messages. At the same time, improvements in technology are making it easier to manipulate audio and video in ways that are invisible to the untrained eye, Krieger said.

“As our lives get more and more connected - smart cities and sensors and movie-watching preferences, smart appliances - campaigns are going to be able to target people with frightening levels of consistency,’’ he said. You can push voters ``in the direction you want them to go. ...''

“It’s going to provide a critical threat to democracy.’’

Jo Kearney contributed to this report.

UK attack now political football as Johnson, Corbyn spar

December 01, 2019

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s political leaders sparred Sunday over who is responsible for the early release of a convicted extremist who launched a stabbing attack in central London that left two dead and injured three.

After a one-day pause out of respect for victims, Friday’s attack is dominating the political scene as the Dec. 12 election nears, shifting the focus, at least for the moment, from Brexit and the National Health Service to issues of security and criminal justice.

The argument centers over the early release from prison of Usman Khan, who served roughly half his sentence before being set free. He was able to stab five people before being shot dead by police despite conditions imposed on his release that were supposed to protect public safety.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, portraying himself as tough on crime, on Sunday blamed Khan’s freedom on changes in sentencing rules made by the last Labor Party government before Johnson’s Conservatives took power in 2010. He promised to toughen sentencing laws.

“I think it is repulsive that individuals as dangerous as this man should be allowed out after serving only eight years and that's why we are going to change the law,” he told BBC’s Andrew Marr Show. Marr repeatedly challenged the prime minister by pointing out that the Conservatives had been in power for nearly a decade and not taken any steps to change the situation Johnson was complaining about.

The accuracy of Johnson’s claim was challenged by Ed Davey, deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats, who told Sky News that the prime minister was misleading the public about the current law regarding the early release of prisoners.

"Either he's incompetent and doesn't know the law, or he's deliberately misleading people when we've got a tragedy on our hands, and I'm afraid, either way, it does not look good for the prime minister,” Davey said.

He said Johnson has a track record of misleading the public on this and other matters, including Brexit: “I'm really alarmed that we are on the brink of having a prime minister who is the most untruthful prime minister of all time.”

Regardless of who is to blame, it is clear that setting Khan free before his sentence was concluded put the public at risk at a time when the official terrorism threat level had recently been lowered because of a perceived reduction in the risk of jihadis returning from Syria to Britain to launch attacks.

The Ministry of Justice has begun an urgent review of cases like Khan’s that might pose a threat, including a review of the conditions governing the movements of every convicted terrorist who has been released from prison.

Officials say about 74 people fit this category. Conditions typically including the wearing of an electronic device that allows police to track a person’s movements, a curfew, limitations on internet use and smartphone use, and reporting on a regular basis to police.

Police have said that Khan appears to have been in compliance with the conditions governing his release, which weren’t made public, but nonetheless was able to carry out a deadly assault that didn’t rely on sophisticated weaponry or detonation of an explosive device.

Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn accused the Conservatives of trying to provide security “on the cheap” and said he doesn’t necessarily agree that all terrorist prisoners should be required to serve their full terms.

He said it depends on the circumstances and called for the Parole Board and the probation service to be more actively involved. Johnson’s Conservatives quickly tried to capitalize on Corbyn’s statement in a clear indication that the extremist attack is now fair game for political brinksmanship.

The party tweeted a promise — “We will change the law so terrorists serve every single day of their sentence” — along with a warning about Corbyn’s opposition to this plan. “Who do you trust to keep you safe?” it asks.

Surge in new voters sparks talk of UK election 'youthquake'

November 29, 2019

LONDON (AP) — In a British election dominated by Brexit, young voters who had no say in the country’s decision to leave the European Union could hold the key to victory. That is, if they can be bothered to vote.

It has long been a truth in British politics that young people vote in lower numbers than older ones. In the last election in 2017, just over half of under-35s voted, compared to more than 70% of those over 60.

But that may be changing. According to official figures, 3.85 million people registered to vote between the day the election was called on Oct. 29 and Tuesday’s registration deadline — two-thirds of them under 35. The number of new registrations is almost a third higher than in 2017.

Amy Heley of Vote for your Future, a group working to increase youth participation, says the figure is “really encouraging, and shows that politics has been so high profile recently that it is encouraging more young people to vote.”

That doesn’t mean, however, that young voters like what they see. Many appear unimpressed with the choice between Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservatives, the main opposition Labor Party under Jeremy Corbyn and a handful of smaller parties.

“I think they’re all unlikeable,” said Callum Nelson, a 21-year-old law student attending a question session with local candidates at his London college. “I’m tempted to exercise my right to spoil my ballot.”

About 46 million people are eligible to vote in the Dec. 12 election to fill all 650 seats in the House of Commons, including hundreds of thousands who were too young take part in the U.K.’s 2016 Brexit referendum. Britain’s voting age is 18, although Labor and other parties, including the centrist Liberal Democrats and environmentalist Greens, want it lowered to 16.

The current election campaign is a product of that 2016 vote, in which Britons decided by 52%-48% to leave the European Union after more than four decades of membership. More than three years on, the country remains an EU member. Johnson pushed for the December election, which is taking place more than two years early, in hopes of winning a majority and breaking Britain's political impasse over Brexit. He says that if the Conservatives win a majority, he will get Parliament to ratify his Brexit divorce deal and take the U.K. out of the EU by the current Jan. 31 deadline.

Labor says it will negotiate a new Brexit deal, then give voters a choice between leaving on those terms and remaining in the bloc. It also has a radical domestic agenda, promising to nationalize key industries and utilities, hike the minimum wage and give free internet access to all.

While most opinion polls give Johnson’s Conservatives a substantial lead overall, the surge in new young voters is good news for Labor, which is seeking to defy the odds and win a general election for the first time since 2005.

Young voters are more likely than their older compatriots to oppose Brexit, which will end Britons’ right to work and live in 27 other European nations and will have a major — though as yet unknown — economic impact.

Matt Walsh, a senior lecturer in journalism at the University of Cardiff, said young voters also strongly back abolition of tuition fees and stronger action against climate change — both policies “at the center of the offer that the Labor Party is putting forward to young people.”

Labor’s strategy “is to try and grab those missing voters, get them registered and get them to vote and support Labor policies,” he said. Labor is spending more than its main rival on social media ads, churning out a stream of memes and messages on Facebook and Instagram. It is also outspending the Conservatives on Snapchat, whose users tend to be younger than those on the other networks. Twitter has banned all political advertising.

Labor also pushed to get young people to register to vote before the Nov. 26 deadline, spreading the message through tweets from celebrity supporters, including grime artist Stormzy. Corbyn posted a link to the government's voter registration website 26 times on Twitter and 31 times on Facebook in the month before the deadline. Johnson, in contrast, didn’t post the link or the word "register" at all on Twitter, and just once on Facebook.

While some analysts are forecasting an electoral “youthquake,” others are cautious. This is a rare winter election, and turnout could suffer if Dec. 12 is a wet, cold day. It’s also difficult to know how much the voters’ decision will be motivated by Brexit and how much by domestic issues.

“At this point, I’m kind of sick of Brexit,” said Susie Chilver, a first-year politics student at the University of Bristol, in southwest England. “So, the things that are swaying it for me are things like social housing, and things like health care, more about social issues than foreign policy."

Konstantinos Matakos, senior lecturer in the department of political economy at King's College London, said there is an assumption that young voters are “leaning more Labor.” But he says their geographical spread —and whether they show up on polling day — will ultimately determine their impact on the outcome.

“It’s not a straightforward assumption to say that this surge in the registration rates will undoubtedly benefit Labour in terms of gaining electoral seats,” he said. Some young voters agree that Labor shouldn’t take their support for granted.

“People think that students will definitely vote for Labor,” said Molly Jones, a 19-year-old student at London’s Westminster Kingsway College. “But a lot of them who I’ve spoken to, it’s not like that. They will vote for the Liberal Democrats, or the Greens, or even the Conservatives.

“All the parties are just a mess at the moment, and all the leaders are terrible,” she said. “It makes it really hard to vote for someone — you just hold your nose and vote.”

Jo Kearney and Vicki Ferrar contributed to this story.

Opponents attack Johnson's character as election day looms

November 28, 2019

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s opposition parties are intensifying attacks on Prime Minister Boris Johnson with two weeks to go until election day, as polls suggest Johnson’s Conservatives have a substantial lead.

Jo Swinson, leader of the opposition Liberal Democrats, was using a speech Thursday to say Johnson has dragged the office of prime minister “through the mud.” The party says Swinson will argue that “you cannot trust a word Boris Johnson says,” because he vowed to lead Britain out of the European Union by Oct. 31 — and didn’t — and said he would never ask the EU to delay Brexit, but did.

Britons will vote Dec. 12 to fill all 650 House of Commons seats. Johnson says that if the Conservatives win a majority, Britain will leave the bloc on Jan. 31.

Boris Johnson unveils election platform, promises Brexit

November 24, 2019

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson used the launch of his Conservative Party platform to claim that his is the only party in next month’s election that will complete the Brexit process.

“Unlike any other party standing in this election, we are going to get Brexit done,” he told supporters while waving his party’s printed platform, which was unveiled Sunday. Johnson said the rival parties — the Liberal Democrats, the Labor Party and others — would only bring more delay and eventually betray the will of voters as expressed in the 2016 vote in favoring of leaving the European Union.

Johnson spent more time ridiculing opposition Labor Party leader Jeremy Corbyn than offering details about the plans laid out in the party platform, poking fun repeatedly at Corbyn’s plan to remain neutral if a second referendum is held next year.

“Let’s go carbon-neutral by 2050 and Corbyn-neutral by Christmas,” he said to appreciative chuckles from the crowd. Johnson promised to bring his Brexit deal back to Parliament before Christmas, with passage likely assured if the Conservatives win a majority in the Dec. 12 vote. He said that would enable his government to get Britain out of the EU by the Jan. 31 deadline while other parties would slow the process down for months or stop it altogether.

Brexit was the sole focus of his party’s platform launch. Johnson is trying to keep the focus on Brexit policy, while Corbyn’s Labor hopes people will look at a broader range of issues, including funding of the National Health Service and restoration of cuts in public services.

In his response, Corbyn said Johnson can’t be trusted. “After a decade of the Conservatives cutting our NHS, police and schools, all Boris Johnson is offering is more of the same: more cuts, more failure, and years more of Brexit uncertainty,” Corbyn said, adding that only Labor can deliver “real change.”

Labor has outlined ambitious and costly new proposals while the Conservative platform, only about half as long as Labor’s, takes a more limited view of what’s needed. Johnson repeated several times that making Brexit happen would “unleash” Britain’s potential.

The Conservatives, leading in most opinion polls and mindful of a series of problems that followed the party’s platform launch in 2017, took a cautious approach Sunday, declining to outline a rash of new programs that might spawn controversy.

The manifesto does call for increased spending to recruit 20,000 more police and 50,000 nurses, and also a 2 billion pound ($2.57 billion) nationwide pothole repairing effort. It also makes crowd-pleasing gestures like eliminating car parking charges at hospitals for staff working night shifts, disabled people, those with terminal illnesses and their families.

The prime minister for the most part stayed on familiar ground, blaming the outgoing Parliament for the failure to make Brexit happen by the last deadline at the end of October. The 2016 referendum, which saw 52% of British voters choose to break with Europe after decades of integration, was followed by difficult negotiations with the EU that eventually led to a divorce deal — but one that was rejected in Parliament and then renegotiated by Johnson.

The prime minister says that will change if his party wins a majority, because each of the party’s candidates has agreed to back the deal. His repeated promise to “get Brexit done” will be much more difficult if he doesn’t win an outright majority as other parties plan to slow Brexit down — or halt it altogether.

Johnson revealed the party’s campaign plans at an event in the West Midlands, where the Conservatives hope to make inroads with traditional Labor Party voters unhappy with the opposition party’s Brexit stance.

Johnson called the election more than two years early in a bid for a parliamentary majority that would back his Brexit plan before the Jan. 31 deadline. All 650 seats in the House of Commons are up for grabs.

UK Labor party vows radical changes if it wins Dec. 12 vote

November 21, 2019

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s main opposition Labor Party promised Thursday to radically expand public spending and state ownership if it wins the Dec. 12 election, trying to close a persistent opinion-poll gap with the governing Conservatives.

The party said a Labor government would nationalize Britain’s railways, energy utilities and postal system, cap rents, hike the minimum wage and abolish university tuition fees. Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn called the platform a “manifesto of hope.” Critics called it a pipe dream.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson pushed for Britain to hold the December election, which is taking place more than two years early, in hopes of winning a majority and breaking Britain's political impasse over Brexit. All 650 seats in the House of Commons are up for grabs.

Labor’s ambitious manifesto is an attempt to shift the focus of the campaign from Britain’s stalled departure from the European Union and onto the country’s fraying social fabric, stressed after a decade of austerity measures under Conservative-led governments.

The platform unveiled Thursday at a rally in Birmingham, central England, revives policies of nationalization and central government control that have been jettisoned by both Conservative and Labor governments since the 1980s.

“Yes, it is a radical manifesto,” Corbyn said. “But when you travel around this country and you talk to people, radical answers are what’s necessary.” Labor promised to build 150,000 new public housing units a year and to create hundreds of thousands of “green jobs” to combat climate change by expanding renewable energy and cutting carbon emissions.

The party also says it will part-privatize telecoms provider BT and bring free broadband internet access to every home and business in Britain. The costly new policies would funded by raising taxes on the wealthy, including a higher corporation tax, a windfall tax on oil and gas companies and an income tax increase for those earning more than 80,000 pounds ($104,000) a year.

Johnson’s Conservatives accused Labor of reckless spending and outmoded socialist ideas. “None of this has any economic credibility whatever,” said Johnson, who labeled Labor’s policies “ruinous.” The Conservatives, however, also are promising more money for infrastructure, health care and public services if they win, a major change of policy after years of backing public spending cuts.

Paul Johnson, who heads the Institute for Fiscal Studies, an economic think tank, called the scale of Labor’s financial promises “colossal” and said the idea it could be paid for without raising taxes on most workers was “simply not credible.”

Business groups reacted more cautiously to Labor’s plans. British Chambers of Commerce chief Adam Marshall said businesses would “welcome proposals to reform skills funding, upgrade our failing infrastructure and review business rates.”

“But command and control isn’t the way,” he said. “Excessive intervention in business governance and sweeping tax rises would suppress innovation and smother growth.” Edwin Morgan, director of policy at the Institute of Directors, warned that “Labor's measures on business risk being too much stick and not enough carrot.”

Corbyn, who spent decades on Labor’s left-wing fringe before winning the party leadership in 2015 thanks to a surge in grassroots support, said his policies would be popular with the public. He compared himself to U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, whose “New Deal” helped tackle the Great Depression, saying that Roosevelt “had to take on the rich and powerful in America to do it.”

“So I accept that the opposition and hostility of the rich and powerful is inevitable,” he said. “The billionaires and the super-rich, the tax dodgers, the bad bosses and the big polluters — they own the Conservative Party,” Corbyn added. “But they don’t own us.”

While Johnson's Conservatives have a lead in most opinion polls, analysts say the Dec. 12 election is unpredictable because the question of Brexit cuts across traditional party loyalties. For many voters, their identities as "leavers" or "remainers" are more important than party affiliations.

Johnson says if voters give the Conservatives a majority he will “get Brexit done” by getting Parliament to ratify his Brexit divorce deal and taking the U.K. out of the bloc by the current Brexit deadline of Jan. 31.

Labor says it will negotiate a better Brexit deal with the EU, then hold a new referendum offering British voters a choice between leaving the EU on those terms or remaining. Corbyn, a long-time critic of the EU, has refused to say what side he would back.

“Let’s take this out of the hands of politicians and give the British people the final say,” he said. Smaller parties in the race include the centrist, pro-EU Liberal Democrats, who want to cancel Brexit; the pro-independence Scottish National Party; the Brexit Party, which wants Britain to leave the EU without a divorce deal; and the environmentalist Greens.

EU chair Croatia votes in tight presidential runoff

January 05, 2020

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — Voters in Croatia on Sunday cast ballots to choose a new president in a fiercely contested runoff race, with a liberal opposition candidate challenging the conservative incumbent while the country presides over the European Union during a crucial period.

Croatia took over the EU's rotating presidency on Jan. 1. for the first time since joining the bloc in 2013. This means that the EU's newest member state will be tasked with overseeing Britain's divorce from the union on Jan. 31 and the start of post-Brexit talks.

Sunday's runoff presidential vote is expected to be a very tight and unpredictable race. It's being held because none of the candidates won more than half of the votes in the first round on Dec. 22. Current President Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic is running for a second term, challenged by leftist former Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic.

Milanovic won slightly more votes than Grabar Kitarovic in the first round but analysts have warned there is no clear favorite in the runoff and that each vote counts. There are 3.8 million voters in Croatia, a country of 4.2 million that is also a member of NATO.

The two candidates represent the two main political options in Croatia: Grabar Kitarovic is backed by the governing, conservative Croatian Democratic Union, a dominating political force since the country split from the former Yugoslavia in 1991, while Milanovic enjoys support from the leftist Social Democrats and their liberal allies.

Even though the presidency is largely ceremonial in Croatia, Sunday's election is important as a test ahead of parliamentary elections expected later this year. Milanovic's victory over Grabar Kitarovic would rattle the conservative government during the crucial EU presidency and weaken its grip on power in an election year.

While starting out stronger, support for Grabar Kitarovic had been slashed following a series of gaffes in the election campaign. The 51-year-old had a career in diplomacy and in NATO before becoming Croatia's first female president in 2015. Going into the runoff vote, Grabar Kitarovic evoked the Croatian unity during the 1991-95 war in a bid to attract far-right votes to her side.

The 53-year-old Milanovic is leading the struggling liberals' bid to regain clout in the predominantly right-leaning nation. Prone to populist outbursts while prime minister, Milanovic lost popularity after the ouster of his government in 2016. He now says he has learned from the experience and matured. Milanovic has urged the voters to give him a chance to surprise them.

Though a member of the EU, Croatia is still coping with graft and economic woes, partly because of the consequences of the 1991-95 conflict that erupted because of Croatia's decision to leave the Serb-led Yugoslav federation. The Catholic Church plays an important role in the society

Croatia's presidential contest heads to Jan. 5 runoff vote

December 23, 2019

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — Croatia's conservative president will face a liberal former prime minister in a runoff election early next month after no candidate won an outright majority in a first round of voting Sunday, near-complete results showed.

The vote was held just days before Croatia takes over the European Union’s presidency for the first time. The governing conservatives are hoping to to keep their grip on power ahead of assuming the EU chairmanship.

Left-wing former Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic led the field with nearly 30% of the votes in preliminary returns. President Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic had almost 27%, the state election authorities said after counting almost all ballots.

Right-wing singer Miroslav Skoro was in third place with around 24%. Some 3.8 million voters in the EU's newest member country chose from among 11 candidates in Sunday's election, but only the top three finishers had been considered serious contenders.

Milanovic and Grabar Kitarovic now will face each other in a second round of voting Jan. 5. Although the incumbent finished second in the first round, analysts said Grabar Kitarovic could be considered a favorite in the runoff because other right-leaning challengers would no longer be in contention.

Addressing supporters, Grabar Kitarovic called for all those on the right to unite behind her candidacy in the second round. She described the first round as a “10 on 1 battle.” “Unlike Mr. Milanovic, I had a tough fellow-candidate at my political specter,” Grabar Kitarovic said. “Now, we must all gather together and go for a victory!”

Milanovic, too, said he can win and called for a “civilized civic match” and not a battle, referring to traditionally deep divisions in Crotia between the political left and right. “We are going to the second round, not a war," he said. “Let the better one of us win and I believe I am better.”

Croatia's presidency is largely ceremonial. The office holder formally commands the army and represents the country abroad. But retaining the post is important for the ruling Croatian Democratic Union party, known as HDZ, as Croatia prepares for its six-month term in the EU presidency. The job will include overseeing Britain's departure from the bloc, expected to take place Jan. 31, and the start of post-Brexit trade talks.

Grabar Kitarovic started off her campaign looking strong but her position weakened after a series of gaffes. The 51-year-old incumbent is known for flirting with the extreme right while seeking also to portray herself as a peoples' president.

Milanovic promised during the campaign to turn Croatia into a “normal,” tolerant country. Although Croatia has recovered since the devastating 1991-95 war that followed the breakup of former Yugoslavia, it still is one of the poorest nations in the EU and corruption is believed to be widespread.

The nation of 4.2 million people is best known for its stunning Adriatic Sea coast, which includes over 1,000 islands and picturesque coastal towns such as the medieval walled city of Dubrovnik. Critics blasted the government for setting the election date three days before Christmas, a time when many people travel abroad. The governing HDZ party, they said, counted on the support from Croats who live abroad and normally flock home for the holidays.

Analysts said the strong showing by the right-wing Skoro party signaled that the governing HDZ had lost some support among party followers ahead of a parliamentary election set for next year.

Croats pick president in tight test for ruling conservatives

December 22, 2019

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — Voters in Croatia cast ballots Sunday in a tight presidential election, with the ruling conservatives seeking to keep their grip on power days before the country takes over the European Union's rotating presidency for the first time.

Some 3.8 million voters in the EU's newest member are picking among 11 candidates, but only three are considered to be contenders in the vote held on rainy day during Christmas holiday season. Conservative incumbent Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic is running for a second term, challenged by leftist former Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic and right-wing singer Miroslav Skoro.

Although the post is largely ceremonial in Croatia — the president formally commands the army and represents the country abroad — keeping the presidency is important for the ruling Croatian Democratic Union party as its government is set to assume the EU chairmanship on Jan. 1. That job will include overseeing Britain's departure from the bloc, expected on Jan. 31, and the start of post-Brexit trade talks.

Analysts predict that a presidential runoff vote will have to be held in two weeks as no candidate is expected to win an outright majority. Grabar Kitarovic started off stronger but her position has weakened after a series of gaffes during the campaign. She is still believed to have a slight lead going into the election, followed closely by Milanovic. Skoro is trailing in third.

“We are deciding in which direction Croatia will go,” Grabar Kitarovic said upon voting in Zagreb, the capital. The 51-year-old incumbent is known for flirting with the extreme right while seeking also to portray herself as a peoples' president. Milanovic during campaign promised to turn Croatia into a “normal” tolerant country, while Skoro played an anti-establishment, nationalist card.

Although Croatia has recovered since the devastating 1991-95 war that followed the breakup of former Yugoslavia, it still is one of the poorest nations in the EU and corruption is believed to be widespread. The nation of 4.2 million people is best known for its stunning Adriatic Sea coast, which includes over 1,000 islands and picturesque coastal towns such as the medieval walled city of Dubrovnik.

Critics have blasted the government for setting the election date three days before Christmas, a time when many people travel abroad. The ruling HDZ party, they said, counts on the support from Croats who live abroad and normally flock home for the holidays.

After voting in Zagreb, Milanovic predicted there would be a runoff. “We have done all we could, I have done my best," he said. “People could see that and now it is up to them to decide.” Skoro urged citizens not to stay at home because of the rain.

“The voters decide today about the future of our country," he said. “Changes have to happen and people must come out to vote despite bad weather.”

Iraq officials: Rocket attack hits base housing US troops

March 14, 2020

BAGHDAD (AP) — A barrage of rockets hit a base housing U.S. and other coalition troops north of Baghdad, Iraqi security officials said Saturday, just days after a similar attack killed three servicemen, including two Americans.

At least two Iraqi soldiers were wounded in the attack at Camp Taji, according to the Iraqi officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. The officials said over a dozen rockets landed inside the base. Some struck the area where coalition forces are based, while others fell on a runway used by Iraqi forces.

The was no immediate comment from the coalition regarding Saturday's attack. The attack was unusual because it occurred during the day. Previous assaults on military bases housing U.S. troops typically occurred at night.

The previous rocket attack against Camp Taji on Wednesday also killed a British serviceman. It prompted American airstrikes Friday against what U.S. officials said were mainly weapons facilities belonging to Kataib Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militia group believed to be responsible.

However, Iraq's military said those airstrikes killed five security force members and a civilian, while wounding five fighters from the Popular Mobilization Forces, an umbrella organization including an array of militias, including some Iran-backed groups.

Iran-backed Shiite militia groups vowed to exact revenge for Friday's U.S. strikes, signalling another cycle of tit-for-tat violence between Washington and Tehran that could play out inside Iraq. America's killing of Iraqi security forces might also give Iran-backed militia groups more reason to stage counterattacks against U.S. troops in Iraq, analysts said.

“We can’t forget that the PMF is a recognized entity within the Iraqi security forces; they aren’t isolated from the security forces and often are co-located on the same bases or use the same facilities,” said Sajad Jiyad, a researcher and former managing director of the Bayan Center, a Baghdad-based think tank.

“Now the (Iran-backed) groups who supported the initial strike in Taji, who were the most outspoken, feel obliged, authorized, maybe even legitimized to respond, ostensibly to protect Iraqi sovereignty but really to keep the pressure up on Americans,” he added.

“There are no red lines anymore," Jiyad said. Wednesday's attack on Camp Taji was the deadliest to target U.S. troops in Iraq since a late December rocket attack on an Iraqi base, which killed a U.S. contractor. That attack set in motion a series of attacks that brought Iraq to the brink of war.

After the contractor was killed, America launched airstrikes targeting Kataib Hezbollah, which in turn led to protests at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. A U.S. drone strike in Baghdad then killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, a top commander responsible for expeditionary operations across the wider Mideast. Iran struck back with a ballistic missile attack on U.S. forces in Iraq, the Islamic Republic’s most direct assault on America since the 1979 seizing of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.

The U.S. and Iran stepped stepped back from further attacks after the Soleimani incident. A senior U.S. official said in late January, when U.S.-Iran tensions had cooled, that the killing of Americans constituted a red line that could spark more violence.

US starts troop pullout, seeks end to Afghan leaders' feud

March 10, 2020

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The United States began withdrawing troops from Afghanistan, the U.S. military said Tuesday, taking a step forward on its peace deal with the Taliban while also praising Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's promise to start releasing Taliban prisoners after he had delayed for over a week.

The U.S.-Taliban deal signed on Feb. 29 was touted as Washington's effort to end 18 years of war in Afghanistan. The next crucial step was to be intra-Afghan talks in which all factions including the Taliban would negotiate a road map for their country's future.

But Ghani and his main political rival, Abdullah Abdullah, were each sworn in as president in separate ceremonies on Monday. Abdallah and the elections complaints commission had charged fraud in last year's vote. The dueling inaugurations have thrown plans for talks with the Taliban into chaos, although Ghani said Tuesday that he'd start putting together a negotiating team.

The disarray on the Afghan government side is indicative of the uphill task facing Washington's peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad as he tries to get Afghanistan's bickering leadership to come together. In an early Tuesday tweet, Khalilzad said he hoped the two leaders can “come to an agreement on an inclusive and broadly accepted government. We will continue to assist.”

U.S. military spokesman in Afghanistan Sonny Leggett said in a statement Tuesday that the military had begun its “conditions-based reduction of forces to 8,600 over 135 days.” Currently, the U.S. has about 13,000 soldiers in Afghanistan — 8,000 of whom are involved in training and advising Afghanistan's National Security Forces, while about 5,000 are involved in anti-terror operations and militarily supporting the Afghan army when they are requested.

Ghani had been dragging his feet on releasing some 5,000 Taliban prisoners, something agreed to in the U.S.-Taliban deal. Ghani promised Monday to announce a decree to free the prisoners, after the U.S. and a number of foreign dignitaries appeared to back his claim to the presidency by sending their representatives to his inauguration.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo released a statement Monday saying, “We also welcome President Ghani’s announcement that he will issue a decree March 10 on Taliban prisoner release.” Taliban officials said late Monday that a flurry of biometric identifications were being conducted on Taliban prisoners, hinting at a mass release, according to prisoners currently in lockup. The Taliban officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to talk to the media.

Pompeo also said he “strongly opposed” the establishment of a parallel government in Kabul, despite the early signs of one emerging. Abdullah had quickly sent his vice-presidents to occupy the official offices on Monday, ahead of Ghani's plan to send his vice presidents to their offices Tuesday.

Pompeo warned against “any use of force to resolve political differences.” Both candidates — but particularly Abdullah — are backed by warlords with heavily armed militias, underscoring fears they could use force to back their candidate.

The U.S. has said its partial troop withdrawal over an 18-month period provided for in the deal will be linked to the Taliban keeping their promises to help fight terror in Afghanistan, but not to the success of talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government.

On the weekend, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed said the insurgent group was committed to their agreement with the United States and called on Washington to do its part to make sure their prisoners were freed.

The Islamic State claimed responsibility for a rocket attack that took place during Ghani's inauguration ceremony. IS also claimed a brutal attack last week on a gathering of minority Shiites that killed 32 and injured scores more. The U.S. in reaching its deal with the Taliban said they expected the Taliban, which has been battling Afghanistan's IS affiliate, to further aid in the effort to defeat IS.

Gannon reported from Islamabad. Associated Press writers Matthew Lee in Washington and Tameem Akhgar in Kabul, Afghanistan contributed to this report.

Floods put Mississippi capital in 'precarious situation'

February 17, 2020

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — With the waters in the Pearl River continuing to rise in and around Mississippi's capital city and more rain on the way this week, the governor warned residents that it would be days before flood waters start to recede.

Gov. Tate Reeves said Sunday morning that the Pearl would continue to rise throughout the day, and he warned that the state faces a “precarious situation that can turn at any moment.” In one Jackson neighborhood, residents paddled canoes, kayaks and small fishing boats to check on their houses, giving lifts to other neighbors. Some were able to get inside while others peeked into the windows to see what, if any damage, had been done inside. Outside floodwaters lapped at mailboxes, street signs and cars that had been left in driveways.

In a bit of good news, officials at a reservoir upriver of the capitol said Sunday that water levels in the reservoir had stabilized, allowing them to send less water downriver. The National Weather Service, which had been anticipating the river would crest Sunday at 38 feet, on Sunday slightly reduced that to 37.5 feet. The river is now anticipated to crest Monday.

But even with that development, officials urged residents to pay attention to evacuation orders, check on road closures before traveling and stay out of floodwaters, warning that even seemingly placid waters could mask fast-moving currents and pollution. Law enforcement officials went door to door in affected areas, telling people to evacuate, Reeves said.

Rescuers performed four assisted evacuations Saturday, although they said none were needed overnight. “We expect the river to continue to rise over the next 24 hours or so, “ Reeves said at a news conference in Jackson. “We are not out of the woods yet.”

Jackson Mayor Chokwe Lumumba said power had been shut off to 504 residences as a safety precaution. He said some city homes had been flooded but officials do not yet know how many. About 30 people are at a shelter that has been set up in Jackson, he said.

Nearly 2,400 structures across the three counties closest to the river and the reservoir — Hinds, Rankin and Madison counties — could be impacted, meaning they either get water inside or are surrounded by water, said Malary White, of the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.

In the suburb of Flowood, John and Jina Smith had packed up as much as they could and left their home as waters rose Thursday. On Sunday, their neighbor Dale Frazier took them back to their house in a rowboat, where they checked on the damage, then got in their own canoe and rowed away.

“We’ve been able to stay in here when the water gets up," John Smith said. “But as you’ve watched it over the years, you know when to get out. It’s time to get out this time.” A foot and a half of water was inside his house, Smith said. He'd already been in touch with a contractor and insurance agent about rebuilding. Both he and his wife said they love their home, where they can sit on their back porch and watch deer and other wildlife.

”It’s going to take a while for us to rebuild, but we are safe, and we’re all OK," Jina Smith said. On Frazier's lot next door, the water was at the bottom of the driveway but had not crept inside the one-story house where he's lived for 23 years.

“The water is very close to my house. It could flood; it could not flood. It depends on the crest right now,” he said. Down the street, a Presbyterian church and several businesses were flooded. While the focus now is on the Jackson area, the heavy rains and flooding has affected a much larger swathe of the state. State emergency management officials said Sunday that they had received preliminary damage reports from 11 counties connected with the severe weather that hit the state starting on Feb. 10.

The Pearl's highest recorded crest was 43.2 feet on April 17, 1979. The second-highest level occurred May 5, 1983, when the river rose to 39.58 feet. On Saturday night, officials released water from the nearby Barnett Reservoir to control its levels. They urged residents in northeastern Jackson who live in the flood zone downstream from the reservoir to leave immediately. By Sunday morning, Reeves said the reservoir's inflow and outflow had equalized.

Reservoir officials said that allowed them to release less water than expected. “We have some good news today," said John G. Sigman, who oversees the reservoir's operations, during a separate news conference Sunday afternoon.

Once the river crests Monday, it will take the water three to four days to go down significantly. Part of the reason is that forecasters expect more rain between midday Tuesday and Wednesday evening.

”It will be days before we are out of the woods and waters start to recede,” the governor said. __ This version corrects the name of the reservoir. It is the Barnett Reservoir, not the Ross Barnette Reservoir.

Santana reported from New Orleans.

Snowfall blankets Texas, Oklahoma; Deep South to see storms

February 06, 2020

EL PASO, Texas (AP) — A powerful winter storm in the central United States dropped snow as far south as El Paso, Texas, on Wednesday while areas of the Deep South were at risk of severe weather including tornadoes and torrential rains, forecasters said.

Winter storm warnings or advisories were in effect from northeastern Oklahoma to the Great North Woods of Maine Wednesday evening, the National Weather Service said. Meanwhile, the Storm Prediction Center said storms that could generate hail, 60 mph (95 kph) winds and twisters were possible across much of Mississippi and Alabama. The threat extended into border regions of Tennessee, and forecasters said bad weather could continue after dark.

Mail carrier Pablo Salinas of San Elizario said the weather and traffic accidents nearly doubled his drive to work from south of El Paso on Wednesday. “There were four accidents coming in. They closed I-10. I was close to an hour late,” Salinas said.

By noon, Salinas said about 4 inches (10 centimeters) of snow had melted, with only a bit of snow dusting the palm trees lining the street and the red rock hills above. El Paso International Airport recorded 2 inches (5 centimeters) of snow Wednesday, according to National Weather Service meteorologist David Hefner, who said the city averages 6.9 inches (17.5 centimeters) of snow per season.

Hefner said the snow tends to melt quickly. “We can get 4-5 inches overnight and it's generally gone by the next afternoon,” Hefner said. The weather service forecast sunny skies and a high of about 50 degrees (10 Celsius) for El Paso on Thursday.

However, freezing temperatures were expected to preserve Wednesday's snow accumulations from the Red River Valley of Texas through Oklahoma, prompting school systems to remain closed Thursday in those areas.

The winter storm caused a multi-vehicle pileup Wednesday on an Interstate 70 bridge in central Missouri but mostly missed a parade to celebrate the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl win. The National Weather Service initially predicted 2 to 3 inches (5 to 7.6 centimeters) of snowfall along the parade route. But National Weather Service meteorologist Jimmy Barham said the storm shifted slightly, sparing fans from all but a few flurries.

Snowfall was heavier to the east, where several tractor-trailers and passenger vehicles collided around noon on a bridge that spans the Missouri River near Rocheport, shutting down westbound traffic on the interstate. Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. Scott White said at least one person was taken from the scene in an ambulance.

The Missouri Department of Transportation warned drivers against traveling in the storm amid worsening road conditions. As the storm hit, University of Missouri officials announced that no classes would be held after 1 p.m. and Jefferson City closed its city offices at 10 a.m.

In Oklahoma, the state House and Senate both closed due to snowy weather, and the annual anti-abortion Rose Day rally that typically draws hundreds to the state Capitol was postponed. Highway Patrol troopers worked more than two dozen accidents in the Oklahoma City area early Wednesday, including some with injuries, after several inches of snow fell overnight, said Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Sarah Stewart.

“The biggest impact has been snarled traffic from jack-knifed semis,” Stewart said. In Arkansas, forecasters said up to a quarter-inch of ice and 1 to 3 inches (2.5 to 7.5 centimeters) of snow were possible in the northwest part of the state. The remainder of the state was expected to get heavy rain on Wednesday.

Snow also was expected to extend into Illinois, Michigan and other parts of the Midwest on Wednesday and Thursday before reaching the Northeast by Friday, the weather service said.

Associated Press reporters Jill Bleed in Little Rock, Arkansas; Heather Hollingsworth in Kansas City, Missouri; Terry Wallace in Dallas and Sean Murphy and Ken Miller in Oklahoma City contributed to this report.

Virginia's capital braces for gun-rights rally

January 20, 2020

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia’s capital city is bracing for the expected arrival of thousands of gun-rights activists and other groups that have vowed to descend on Richmond to protest Democrats’ plans to pass gun-control legislation.

Gov. Ralph Northam declared a temporary state of emergency days ahead of Monday’s rally, banning all weapons including guns from the event on Capitol Square. Militia groups and white supremacists were among those expected to mix with gun-rights activists, raising fears the state could again see the type of violence that exploded in Charlottesville in 2017.

Virginia's solicitor general told a judge Thursday that law enforcement had identified "credible evidence" armed out-of-state groups planned to come to the state with the possible intention of participating in a “violent insurrection.”

Toby Heytens also suggested during his arguments in a lawsuit by gun advocates that challenged the weapons ban that the crowd could number in the tens of thousands. The Supreme Court upheld the weapons ban.

The Virginia State Police, the Virginia Capitol Police and the Richmond Police are all coordinating the event and have plans for a huge police presence at Monday's rally with both uniformed and plainclothes officers. Police plan to limit access to Capitol Square to only one entrance and have warned rallygoers they may have to wait hours to get past security screening.

Authorities will be looking to avoid a repeat of the violence that erupted in 2017 in Charlottesville during one of the largest gatherings of white supremacists and other far-right groups in a decade. Attendees brawled with counterprotesters, and an avowed white supremacist drove his car into a crowd, killing a woman and injuring dozens more.

Law enforcement officials faced scathing criticism for what both the white supremacist groups and anti-racism protesters said was a passive response. Monday's rally is being organized by an influential grassroots gun-rights group, the Virginia Citizens Defense League. The group holds a yearly rally at the Capitol, typically a low-key event with a few hundred gun enthusiasts listening to speeches from a handful of ambitious Republican lawmakers.

But this year, many more are expected to attend. Second Amendment groups have identified the state as a rallying point for the fight against what they see as a national erosion of gun rights. The pushback against proposed new gun restrictions began immediately after Democrats won majorities in both the state Senate and House of Delegates in November. Much of the opposition has focused on a proposed assault weapons ban.

Virginia Democrats are also backing bills limiting handgun purchases to once a month, implementing universal background checks on gun purchases, allowing localities to ban guns in public buildings, parks and other areas, and a red flag bill that would allow authorities to temporarily take guns away from anyone deemed to be dangerous to themselves or others.

Company suspends pipeline work over US sanctions legislation

December 21, 2019

BERLIN (AP) — A company that operates ships laying sections of a new German-Russian pipeline said Saturday that it is suspending those activities after the approval of U.S. legislation threatening sanctions.

President Donald Trump on Friday signed legislation passed earlier this week by the Senate that provides for sanctions against companies involved in laying the Nord Stream 2 pipeline through the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany.

The U.S. has been an outspoken opponent of the pipeline, which will transport natural gas about 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) from Russia to Germany. Along with eastern European countries that also oppose the project, the U.S. government argues that it will increase Europe's dependence on Russia for energy.

On Saturday, Switzerland-based Allseas, which operates ships laying sections of the undersea pipeline, said in a brief statement that “in anticipation of the enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Allseas has suspended its Nord Stream 2 pipelay activities.”

The company will “expect guidance comprising of the necessary regulatory, technical and environmental clarifications from the relevant U.S. authority,” it added. Construction of the pipeline is already well advanced.

The German government said it regretted the approval of the U.S. legislation. “The German government rejects such extraterritorial sanctions,” spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer said in a statement. “They affect German and European companies and constitute an interference in our domestic affairs.”

Demmer said the U.S. measures are “particularly incomprehensible” in view of the fact that Russia and Ukraine reached an agreement in principle Thursday on the future transit of Russian gas through Ukrainian territory.

Ukraine has been one of the countries that opposes Nord Stream 2 because it feared being frozen out as a gas transit country as a result of the pipeline's construction. On Wednesday, Chancellor Angela Merkel made clear that Germany is not considering retaliation against the U.S. sanctions. She told lawmakers in Berlin: “I see no alternative to conducting talks, though very firm talks, (to show that) we do not approve of this practice.”

Merkel in quarantine after doctor tests positive for virus

March 22, 2020

BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel has gone into quarantine after being informed that a doctor who administered a vaccine to her has tested positive for the new coronavirus. Merkel, 65, was informed about the doctor's test shortly after holding a news conference Sunday announcing new measures to curb the spread of the virus, her spokesman Steffen Seibert said.

He said that Merkel had received a precautionary vaccine Friday against pneumococcal infection. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever or coughing. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. About 93,800 people have recovered, mostly in China.

Seibert said in a statement that Merkel would undergo "regular tests" in the coming days and continue with her work from home for the time being. Merkel had earlier expressed her gratitude to Germans who were following the rules on social distancing, saying it was important to remain at least 1.5 meters (about five feet) apart to reduce the likelihood of infection.

Merkel on Sunday thanked "the overwhelming majority" of Germans who were following rules on social distancing to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. "I know that it means sacrifice," she said, citing the economic and social costs that the lockdown is having. "I'm moved by the fact that so many are abiding by these rules. This way we show care for older and sick people, because the virus is most dangerous to them. In short: we are saving lives with this."

Merkel said the lockdown had already affected her profoudly, too. "My life has also fundamentally changed and now consists largely of phone calls and video conferences," she said. The development illustrated how even world leaders aren't free from the risk of infection.

"With a certain distance the risk of infections is reduced almost to zero," Merkel told reporters. "Whether you are half a meter apart or 1.5 meters apart makes a huge difference." Seconds later, she was informed that her doctor had tested positive for COVID-19.

The Associated Press receives support for health and science coverage from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.